Haruhi's POV

"Ahh, those lectures just don't get any easier, do they," Shana groaned, stretching. I laughed at her. "You're the only one who's still griping about the stupid chairs and mumbling professors after almost a month," I shot back. Kaori laughed at our friendly bantering.

Just then, everyone fell silent. Kaori raised a perfectly arched brow. "Lemme guess. Mori's showed up. God! Don't those girls ever get tired of swooning? If her hasn't noticed them by now, he isn't going to." She rolled her eyes.

Shana laughed. "Girl, not all of us are as invulnerable to his charms like you two. Me, I'd like to get a piece of that hot ass!" She told us.

We glanced at her in askance. "Shana!" Kaori said reprovingly. "Ew! He's fucked so many different girls! Like, a new one every week or something. He probably has a dozen STDs."

I flicked Kaori a droll look. "I doubt he has an STD. Mori isn't an idiot, you know." She rolled her eyes at me. "So he's a man-slut, but he's STD-free! Whoopee!" I laughed at her.

My reasons for not being interested in Mori-senpai were totally different. One, he was like an older brother to me. Just the thought of making out with him sent shivers down my spine- the "EEEW! Get the hell off me!" variety, not the pleasure kind.

Secondly, I was already engaged to Tamaki, whom I loved. And he was more than enough for me… I blushed as I recalled fond memories.

Kaori looked at me and sighed. "Haruhi… are you thinking about Tamaki again?" I blushed even more. "May… maybe." Honestly, she knew me so well after just a month that it was almost creepy.

Just then, Mori walked past us. "Yo," he said to us. I grinned. "Mori-senpai! Honestly, you're going to scare us with that look." But he was barely listening. He was staring at Kaori with so much heat in his gaze that she blushed. But I noticed she was returning his gaze…

So Kaori had a hidden crush on Mori-senpai! And by the looks of it, he liked her back. No wonder she objected to his womanizing so strenuously… but I doubted she was even aware that she liked him.

"Shana, Haruhi, I'm hungry," Kaori said, finally looking away, a faint blush tinting her cheeks. "Can we go grab a bite?" I grinned inwardly. Why not? I was feeling mean anyway.

"Sure Kaori! Mori-senpai, wanna come?" I asked. "Yeah. Okay," he told me. Kaori shot me a venomous glare. It promised dire retribution later. I sweat-dropped.

Mori's POV

After Haruhi invited me, Kaori sent her such a venomous glare that I feared for Haruhi. At the same time, I found Kaori's spitfire spirit to be so adorable! I almost laughed at her.

We went to the cafeteria to eat. After we took our food, we sat down. Haruhi was trying her best to start up a conversation.

"So, Mori-senpai. Do you know Shana?" she asked, tittering nervously. Wow. Kaori must be really scary when she's angry if she made Haruhi panic like that with just a glare.

I decided to make it easy for Haruhi. "I don't believe we've met," I said. Haruhi then busied herself with introductions.

I looked at Shana. Although she was pretty, I still found Kaori to be far more beautiful. She seemed to have lost interest in me too. I wondered at that. I had vaguely heard her expressing her interest in me to Haruhi and Kaori… I thought about it for a moment, then cringed inwardly. Had she seen me staring at Kaori? And I had thought that I had been doing it with utmost discretion… still, if she had backed off because of it, I had to respect her for keeping her distance from me after she realised that I wasn't interested in her but in Kaori… she was a really good friend.

While we were eating, an ear-piercing shriek caught our attention. Kaori choked on her food. As I was sitting next to her, I had no choice but to thump her on the back. "Wh-what was that!" she exclaimed after swallowing several gulps of water.

I had the unmistakable sound of high heels running on the tiled floor, and sighed. "Takashi! How could you!" the shrill scream grated on my nerves, but before I could ask her what she was freaking out about, she turned her glare on Kaori.

"You slut!" she hissed at Kaori. "What kind of bitch steals someone else's boyfriend!" Her gaze went a little wild for a moment, before she saw Shana. "What the hell do you think you're doing! I bet you put your little bitch friend to steal my boyfriend, didn't you! Why! I know, it's because you know you're inferior to me, and he obviously wouldn't be interested in you after dating me, isn't it!"

Then her hysterical gaze fell on Kaori again. "You bitch! Slut!" she advanced on Kaori, as if she wanted to slap Kaori. I moved to stop her, but Kaori was fast. As Chantelle's hand pulled back to deliver the blow to Kaori's face, Kaori's arm shot out. She grabbed Chantelle's wrist and twisted her arm. "Who do you think you're calling a bitch and a slut?" she asked sweetly, almost conversationally.

Chantelle burst into tears, trying to pull away from Kaori. "Help! Save me from this violent bitch, please! Baby!"

I was unable to hide my disgust for her. Chantelle, you acted totally without reason or rationale. What made you think you're entitled to come here and interrupt us with your crazy hysterics?"

At my harsh words, she started wailing even louder. Disgusted, Kaori flung her wrist away from her body and stepped back. "Guys… do you know this… person?" she paused before saying 'person', probably searching for the most tactful word possible. I had to respect her for that. I would have just called her 'bloody crazy'. Her arched brow and the disparaging glance she flicked at Chantelle belied her words though…

Shana said wryly, "Guys, meet my exalted roommate Chantelle." I winced. Poor Shana. I added to her words with a flat, "And my ex-girlfriend."

Chantelle's face crumpled. "But Mori! We still have that hot party next week! If you don't escort me, I won't be able to go! Mori, please!"

Did she really think I'd take her back just so she could attend a party? Really. "Should have tried another line, Chantelle. I don't care about your party."

Kaori's POV

Wow, that was really harsh. I almost felt sorry for Chantelle. I was vaguely aware that everyone in the canteen was watching, fascinated. By the end of the day, everyone would be talking about it. This was made even worse because Morinozuka-senpai was involved.

But try as I might, I was just unable to dredge up any sympathy for her, because this was the woman who had tried to slap me and called me a slut, not to mention screaming at Shana like some schizophrenic.

Shana suddenly laughed. "Dude! You put her down good!" she exclaimed. I cringed. Chantelle's eyes almost bugged out as she glared at Shana. "Shut up, brat," she sneered.

Oh, so I'm the brat! Well, okay," she said. Apparently unable to stand any more, Chantelle ran out of the cafeteria.

I arched a brow at Shana. She shrugged. "Well… you saw how she treats me."

"Ah." If anything I'd seen about Chantelle's behaviour was normal, I could hardly fault Shana for grabbing at any opportunity to insult Chantelle.

"Uh…" Haruhi broke the silence. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm still hungry. That didn't do anything to kill my appetite. If anything, it only whetted it." She shrugged nonchalantly. "Sorry but I really love food!"

Mori smiled slightly, for just a second. "Yeah," he agreed.

I realised I was really hungry and sat down again.

Mori's POV

When I sat down next to Kaori, who was already seated, I caught an accidental glimpse of the upper slopes of her generous breasts before sitting down.

BAM. Instant hard-on. I grimaced. My slacks had suddenly become a little tight. I was aching -pardon the bad pun- to reach down and adjust my pants just a little, but fear of getting caught kept my hands from straying.

I risked a quick glance at Kaori and instantly regretted it. Having finished her food, she had moved on to her little slice of cheesecake.

She put her fork in her mouth, then drew it out slowly. Her eyes closed with ecstasy, and she gave a little moan of appreciation. I instantly imagined her with her eyes closed in ecstasy, moaning in delight for an altogether different reason.

I barely resisted the urge to groan as all the blood ran from my brain significantly southward. I doubted I could walk. Even if I could, the bulge in my trousers was like a neon sign blinking away at everyone.

She had finished her cheesecake and now ran her tongue over her lips, trying to catch any stray crumbs. I closed my eyes for a moment, cursing my wayward body.

"Morinozuka-senpai? Are you okay? You look like you're in pain," Kaori said, looking concerned. Oh shit! My dilemma had been discovered.

I smiled half-heartedly. "No, I'm all right…" and tried to wipe the expression of aching lust from my face.

"Oh… okay." She looked dubious, but left it at that. "Senpai… if you don't mind my asking, what was this big party that Chantelle was talking about?"

Chantelle? Party? My lust-fogged brain strained to make sense of her words. "Um… oh. It's Mitsukuni's birthday party. I'm sure you know why Chantelle would want to attend."

I could see understanding dawn on her beautiful face. Of course she would understand why Chantelle would want to attend a big party thrown by a Haninozuka. I wondered what I had seen in Chantelle, other than a pretty face who knew a few sheet-scorching tricks.

"Why would you bring her to a party like that?" Shana sounded aghast. I shrugged in response. "I needed a date. She was my girlfriend."

Haruhi frowned. "Well… now you're out a date." I knew she wasn't angling for an invitation, because she wasn't like that. Besides, she was going with Tamaki.

I grimaced. I didn't want to do it, because it would mean getting Sakura and Hani's hopes up. Since Hani and Sakura had gotten together he had been bugging me about finding someone to settle down with.

"Kaori… will you let me escort you to the party?" I asked formally.

"What? M-me?" she squealed.

Oh my goodness. I hope you enjoyed it… I enjoyed writing it but definitely not typing it out. Gosh it was so tedious. Well, the usual, please R&R! I haven't gotten a single review for this story. Sobs. This is all I've written so far, but I'll start writing soon! (: