Chapter Title: Tension

Disclaimer: No matter how much I wish I did, I don't own OHSHC or any of its characters. All rights go to Bisco Hatori, seeing as without her I wouldn't have been able to write this.

Dedications: I'm going to dedicate this chapter to… anyone who read the first three chapters and waited an entire year for me to post up the fourth (you guys are me heroes, seriously).

Kyoya awoke the next day, his headache gone and feeling quite refreshed. He tried to clear his mind of everything as he got ready for school and climbed into his limo. As the limo made its way to Ouran, Kyoya leaned his head back against his seat and closed his eyes, finally letting his thoughts free.

His mind was still stuck on that dream kiss and the fact that Tamaki had most definitely figured out Kyoya's secret. Why was it such a secret anyway? So Kyoya was a little jealous that he wasn't Tamaki's number one anymore, what was so bad about that?

What was so bad was the fact that Kyoya knew that it was more than just the fact that Tamaki thrived in the moments when he was in Haruhi's company. Sure, it had simply started out as simple and friendly jealousy and for a while that's what Kyoya had thought, but it was that damn kiss. Kyoya knew that it hadn't been real, just a strange dream that his subconscious had created, and it was because of that that Kyoya was starting to admit to what his true feelings were.

Tamaki had been close to a savior for Kyoya. When others turned their backs to him or tried to get close to him just because of his last name, Tamaki saw Kyoya as a person. Tamaki saved Kyoya from the life of someone who was trapped. Tamaki was Kyoya's friend, his partner, and the person that made Kyoya's heart do flips at a simple touch.

Before Kyoya could really think hard about his true feelings for Tamaki and admit the full truth, his car stopped in front of Ouran High School and his door was opened. Stepping out, Kyoya looked up at the large building, his laptop under his arm, and a glint of… something like fear in his eye.

Tamaki walked into the Third Music Room. Looking around he saw that he was alone in the room. None of the other members had arrived yet. He'd tried desperately to stay near at least one person throughout the entire day, which wasn't exactly a hard feat for the King of the Host Club. He'd been trying to stay surrounded because he knew that the moment he was alone his mind would head straight to Kyoya.

It wasn't that Tamaki didn't like thinking about Kyoya, seeing as he was his best friend, but the fact that he couldn't stop thinking about the black-haired boy scared him. Every moment that Tamaki would let his mind wander, it would settle on Kyoya. It wasn't normal to think about your best friend too much, especially the ways that Tamaki was. He kept thinking back upon that kiss. He reminisced about how he felt when Kyoya's lips were pressed against his and he couldn't get the image of Kyoya's sleeping form out of his mind.

Thankfully Tamaki was saved from his thoughts by the opening of the door behind him. Turning with a large grin on his face, Tamaki froze as his eyes fell on Kyoya Ootori standing in the doorway, one hand still on the doorknob. Tamaki couldn't speak or even breath. He just stared at Kyoya, his eyes wide. Why was his heart beating so fast? Why could he feel his cheeks heating up? Why wasn't he able to send a simple hello at his best friend? All day Tamaki had avoided Kyoya, even in the classes they had together, but now he couldn't run. He couldn't walk off to a group or pretend he hadn't noticed every move that Kyoya made. He was trapped.

Kyoya hadn't expected for Tamaki to be in the music room when he entered. The Shadow King was always the first one to enter the room before the hosting began. Of course, Tamaki was always right after him seeing as they often walked to the room together, but that day the blonde hadn't done so.

Kyoya had known that something was wrong from the moment he had entered his first class with which he shared with Tamaki. Normally the blonde would bounce over and give Kyoya a happy hello, but that day he hadn't. All through the day it had seemed as though Tamaki was avoiding him. It had hurt Kyoya, though he'd never admit it, and it only concreted the fact in Kyoya's mind that Tamaki knew his secret.

Thankfully, Kyoya wasn't one to falter under pressure and he was able to walk into the third music room without that much trouble. Neither of the teens had said anything yet and Kyoya could feel Tamaki's wide-eyed gaze on him as the black-haired boy walked over to the table that the blonde stood beside and set his laptop on. As he did so, Kyoya silently cursed the portable computer. It was because of it that the secret of his hidden jealousy had been revealed.

Kyoya sat down in the chair in front of his laptop and nodded at Tamaki, that being the only thing he thought that he could do. His face was set and he hid all of the emotions that were welled up inside of him easily. The tension in the room was so thick that Kyoya almost felt like he was suffocating. It had never been like this between the two friends and it sent a bullet through Kyoya's heart as he realized that he couldn't do a thing to stop it.

"Kyoya…" the blonde started and said person looked up at his friend with his eyes, his head never moving. Tamaki looked almost sad, and his eyes were averted from his friend's. Seeing the expression on Tamaki's usually cheerful face, Kyoya nearly slapped himself.

He was just about to say something, anything really, that he believed would make the blonde happy once more when the door leading to the hallway was once more opened. Both of the teens looked over at it, shocked by the interruption. Neither had been expecting to be interrupted and both had secretly been anticipating what Kyoya was about to say.

Haruhi opened the door leading to the third music room with the Hitachiin twins standing beside her, discussing something that had happened in their last class. Haruhi wasn't exactly listening and had let out a sigh before opening the door. The twins' conversation ceased immediately as the scene taking place in the host club's headquarters was thrust at them. The three younger students could both see and feel the tension that was flitting around the two older students before them.

No one really seemed to know what to do. Haruhi wasn't used to the tension and didn't exactly know what to say and the twins were slightly afraid to make any comment. It was obvious that something important was going on between the two older students that the trio had interrupted and the twins didn't want to have to feel the force of Tamaki and Kyoya's anger.

"Hi guys," Haruhi said awkwardly, shattering the uncomfortable silence.

"Hello Haruhi, Hikaru, Kaoru," Kyoya replied before turning back to his laptop. His voice clearly showed that he was hiding something and Haruhi caught on quickly.

Wanting to help the tension however she could, Haruhi walked through the doorway and came to stand beside the two older students. She thought that maybe if she distracted Tamaki the stress between him and Kyoya would end.

"How are you Senpai?" she asked, her gaze set on Tamaki.

When the door was opened revealing Haruhi and the twins, Tamaki instantly became aggravated. He had wanted to hear what Kyoya was going to say. He could just feel that his words were important and that he needed to hear them. Upon seeing Haruhi standing there, Tamaki was stuck in place. He couldn't really move or speak. He remembered the oath that he had made that he would ignore Haruhi so as to make Kyoya feel better since he was in love with her.

The thought of Kyoya being in love with Haruhi made Tamaki even more annoyed and he forced himself to believe that it was because he was angry with himself for hurting Kyoya so much by being close to her. As Haruhi walked over to them and Kyoya turned away from Tamaki, the blonde felt as though he had to make a decision right then and there. It was Kyoya or Haruhi. His best friend or his "little girl".

Without even thinking, Tamaki shrugged in response to Haruhi's question and turned, walking away towards the changing rooms where he was going to get ready for the day's work. He hadn't even had to think about the decision. Tamaki wanted to make Kyoya happy no matter what and if that meant that he had to ignore Haruhi then he would. He didn't say a word and just kept waling, feeling the eyes of the others on him.

Kyoya felt his heart skip a beat and his eyes widen as Tamaki just ignored Haruhi and walked away. It was the first time that anything like that had happened. Normally Tamaki would've hurried into a cheerful and crazy discussion with Haruhi, but instead he had completely blown her off. The silence in the room dragged on until Tamaki disappeared into the changing rooms and throughout that entire time Kyoya felt the thud of his heart against his chest. He'd expected Tamaki to be much closer to Haruhi and even more distant from Kyoya now that he knew the truth, but it seemed like he had miscalculated. Did that mean… Did that mean that Tamaki… No. Kyoya wasn't ready to let those thoughts come into his head until he knew the truth.

The twins behind Kyoya stood in the doorway, their mouths nearly hitting the floor and Haruhi stood there in shock. None of them had ever seen Tamaki act like that and as though on cue, every eye turned to look at Kyoya. He didn't notice them, though, too busy trying to push his damn thoughts about.

The strange silence and awkward looks being thrown about was broken by the entering of Honey and Mori. The cheerful loli-shota boy and his stoic partner were able to melt the strange air and things went back to the closest thing to normal that they could acquire at the moment. Haruhi started talking with Honey, Mori standing close by, while the twins went off to their own dressing room to get ready for the day as well.

Kyoya, as usual, sat in front of his laptop and tapped the keys in a comforting rhythm. Though he was writing out a letter that would be sent to a company manager, thanking him for letting the host club use their products, his mind was elsewhere. He was thinking about his plan to confront Tamaki the moment the others left after their club duties were completed. Kyoya just knew that Tamaki would stay after, maybe for the same reason. It wasn't long before Kyoya had finished the letter and by the time he was completed with writing it, his mind was made up about what he was going to do so as to get the truth out of the stubborn blonde.

Tamaki spent the rest of the school day going about his normal hosting gimmicks. Though he tried hard to act normal (or however normal you can get with Tamaki) he couldn't seem to act exactly right and even his guests noticed the change and voiced their worries. He brushed them off with some sweet whispers and the matter was forgotten. Haruhi, however, wasn't that easy to throw off. The young woman kept trying to get a reaction out of Tamaki until finally she believed that he hated her or something.

Of course the blonde could never in a million years hate Haruhi and it was preposterous to even bring up the idea, but despite that most all of the host club members (excluding Kyoya) were thinking it. It actually hurt the blonde to keep causing that confused, almost sad look come over Haruhi's features. Tamaki didn't want to keep ignoring her, but Kyoya was his best friend and he would do anything for him. Of course, when Tamaki was alone he acknowledged that his pain was also jealousy at how Kyoya must feel towards Haruhi. Every time those thoughts came to Tamaki's head, though, he would push them away, telling himself that he was just being selfish and that it shouldn't bother him that Kyoya liked Haruhi.

Finally, the third music room cleared. Haruhi was the last to leave, following Honey and Mori out the door. Once the door was closed behind her, Haruhi let her features fall and show the sadness that she had been trying to mask all day. Though she'd never admit to it, Tamaki's fawning over her had always brightened Haruhi's day just a little bit. With him ignoring her, it had caused Haruhi to feel extremely rejected. She couldn't help comparing it to the loss of her mother. The same feeling of being abandoned was starting to creep in.

"Haruhi."

Haruhi didn't realize that Honey and Mori were watching her until she heard her name spoken. She looked up quickly, standing up straight instead of leaning against the music room's door as she had been doing previously. Honey was the one who had spoken and he was standing before her with a smile, knowing smile on his face. Mori stood behind him, that expression of distinguished absence from the conversation ever-present. Haruhi didn't know what to say so she stayed silent, though she tried to cover up the emotions on her face.

"You don't have to pretend like it doesn't hurt," Honey said, continuing to smile up at her, "but those two are going through a lot, too. I think they're just starting to realize the truth and that's scary. Don't worry, though, they'll get through it. You need to be the strong one this time. Things will get better soon, I'm sure of it!"

At that moment Haruhi saw Honey not as a little blonde kid who liked sweets, but as her senior in age and maturity. Even as he walked away, chatting to Mori about how he was going to eat an entire cake once he got home, Haruhi saw Honey as someone who saw the world like an adult instead of as just a high school student.

Haruhi smiled softly to herself as Honey's voice faded into the silence. She leaned back against the door for a minute, breathing deeply and telling herself that everything would be all right. Just like Honey had said. Haruhi would be strong for Tamaki and Kyoya and whatever they were going through she would let them deal with on their own and she would take whatever emotional blows this led to. With one last glance at the Third Music Room – where Tamaki and Kyoya were alone in – Haruhi put her hands in her pockets and headed towards the staircase that would lead her to the front entrance of Ouran.

Good luck you two, she thought as she exited the building.

Author's Corner – So… yeah. This is a bit awkward I must say. Over a year has passed since my last post and I must say I feel positively horrid about it. High School arrived and I just… well, I just stopped writing and eventually I forgot all about this story. Now, though it's summer again and I really do want to continue writing this. Hopefully you all will accept me and not completely reject me for the year-long wait.

So this chapter I actually had half-written a year ago. I just finished up a bit of it and, well, here you go! I like the whole "Honey is super mature" thing simply because that's really how Honey is deep down inside. Of course, deep down inside he's also a sweet-hungry little kid, but the two sides of him mix well.

I know that this probably wasn't as entertaining and funny and what-not as you expected and I'm sorry for that, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway. I hope to bring in some extremely intense Tamaki-Kyoya-ness stuff next chapter, don't worry. =]

As I said, it's summer, which means that I will have a lot of time to write and post so I – hopefully – will have a new chapter up soon. We'll see.

Sincerely Yours,
Julia