I sat, shoulders rigid, watching with dread as the plastic two-liter bottle of soda slowed down ominously, skidding across the pink-tiled floors of Music Room #3. It spun and spun, but alas, the bottle cap hurtled to a stop, pointed directly at me.

I sighed, throwing my hands up in the air in defeat and scowling at the snickering twins. "Okay, okay, dare. I'm not a wuss, you know. So, what'll it be?"

Knowing that the sealers of my fate were the twins, of all people, I didn't have much hope for the future. I waited with bated breath, watching in trepidation as they whispered back and forth, exchanging animated hand gestures.

"Okay, that's perfect!" Hikaru finally exclaimed, clapping Kaoru on the back. "Ready, senpai?"

"Well, this should be interesting," Kyoya remarked to himself, haughtily adjusting his glasses.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I let out a huff of frustration. "Oh God, I am so dead."

Kaoru gave me a cheeky grin, assuring, "Don't worry, senpai...it's not all that bad!"

"After all, all you have to do is join the cheerleading squad!" they finished in unison, before dissolving into snickers at the incredulous look on my face.

"Whoa, whoa, there's no way in hell I'm going to do that!" I protested, shuddering at the thought of flaunting a bright blue miniskirt and chanting enthusiastically alongside the bratty blondes of Ouran. "This is a really funny joke and all, but-"

"A dare is a dare, senpai," Hikaru said in a singsong voice, silently challenging me. "You only have to do it for the first tennis game of the season, and then we'll let you quit. Deal?

"And besides," Kyoya smirked, jotting something down on his clipboard, "I'm on the tennis team, so of course, I would absolutely love to see your darling face in the crowd of our guests cheering me on. It would be...illuminating."

I stuck my tongue out at Kyoya. "Fine, but only 'cause I'm not a wimp. I'll do this, yeah, I'll be perfectly fine." Somehow, it seemed more like I was trying to convince myself more than anyone else.

"Oh, come on, Ayame-chan!" Tamaki patted me reassuringly on the shoulder, flashing me a charming wink. "I'd think you'd look absolutely gorgeous in one of those lovely uniforms! Those cute little skirts, my darling daughter a cheerleader...oh, this is too much for your dear Papa!"

Hikaru stifled his giggle with a cough, exchanging a knowing look with his brother. I shot them my deluxe death glare, before sighing, resting my forehead in my hands when my attempts to banish the scarring mental images from my head failed.

The moral of this story?

Never agree to play Truth or Dare with the twins.

Ever.

"Besides, is it even possible for me to get on the squad?" I whined as a giggling Tamaki dragged me to the Ouran gymnasium. "I'm about as coordinated as hell, and what about my asthma? Shouldn't that count for something? Honestly, we should rethink this...we're getting a little-"

"Come on, Ayame-chan!" Tamaki tugged on my shirt, an insane gleam in his eyes. "You'll be great! Think of it, you, standing on top of a pyramid of beautiful teenage girls! Wouldn't that be a stunning sight? Of course, not as impossibly gorgeous as me. As I say, it's not always often that the universe creates as wonderful of a man as me, perfect inside and out!"

I shoved him off of my shoulder, affronted. "This is ridiculous! You tell the twins later that when this hell is over, I'm gonna murder them."

I stormed into the gymnasium, where a group of about ten to fifteen girls were practicing, moving in sync and chanting something totally incoherent. A curvy girl with honey blonde hair paused the music, screaming into her megaphone, "No, no, no! Get it right this time! Akane, your stance is off, a little to the right! Alright, let's try that again!"

"Yes, Mayumi-chan," a blonde muttered under her breath, averting her eyes.

I froze in my tracks. Wait...Mayumi? The entitled little brat with the plate of chocolate croissants? The one at that Valentine's Day party? That Mayumi? Damn it, those shady twins were getting more out of this than I had bargained for.

"Hey! What's that sewer rat doing here?" a petite brunette jeered, pom-poms clutched between her perfectly manicured fingers.

Mayumi whipped around to stare at me, her pink-colored lips curling into a smirk. "Well, well. If it isn't Ayame, the little prodigy of the school. What brings someone like you here?"

I just barely managed a grin, resting a hand on the back of my neck to conceal my clenched fist. "Well, Mayumi-chan, it's nice to see you again, too! I was just interested in joining the cheerleading squad." I flailed my arms around. "You know...go team!"

"You? You think we'd have-" she began to scoff, before pausing. "Actually, that's not a bad idea, hon...alright, you're in!"

In a last ditch effort, crossing my fingers behind my back and praying to whatever supernatural being was watching over me, I asked, "Um, but, shouldn't I at least have a try-out first? For all you know-"

"Nah...it's quite alright, sweetie." She gave me a simpering smile, but I could detect the pure ice in her eyes. "And just look at that, we were just looking for a little darling small enough to stand on top of our pyramid. You seem absolutely perfect for that, dear- a fun-sized shrimp!"

"Shrimp?" I screeched, biting back a retort. "Top of the pyramid?

"That garbage dump?" the brunette retorted, sharing a look with the girl besides her. "Honestly, Mayumi-san? What are you thinking?"

A poisonous look from Mayumi silenced her immediately. "Oh, that reminds me- Hana-chan, would you get our dear Ayame-chan an extra uniform from the locker room? We have to be courteous to our new member...right, girls?"

"Yes, Mayumi-chan," they muttered in unison, as if hypnotized, Hana scurrying away to fetch me a cheerleading uniform of doom. What was this, a boot camp?

"Great!" she cheered. "Alright, girls, let's go over our routine. The first game of the season is coming up, so we have to show everyone else that Ouran is the best! Go ocelots!"

The mascot of the academy never ceased to amaze me. An ocelot, of all things?

I continued to cling to the doorway, managing a weak a grin towards all of the girls who were staring at me in ill-disguised disgust. As I stood there, fidgeting and picking at my nails, I silently cursed the stupid twins for forcing this on me.

A bundle of blue was soon tossed unceremoniously into my hands, along with instructions to change in the locker room and begin practice as soon as possible. Nodding stiffly, I complied, shuffling into that cursed locker room and wrinkling my nose at the overwhelming scent of designer perfume. Determined not to look in the mirror, I hastily tossed on the uniform.

Fortunately, it hung loosely from my body, the baggy skirt falling below my knees.

I exhaled shakily. Just one game, Ayame, just one game.

How could I have gotten myself into this?

"Hey, Aiko! Get a ladder! There should be one in the storage room!" Mayumi commanded a first year, who let out a squeak of assent and scurried to comply, hurrying out of the back door.

"A ladder?" I raised an eyebrow at her from my place collapsed on the gymnasium floor, having attempted a series of complicated kicks that had left me a bit worse for wear.

"Yes, Ayame-chan," she sighed. "Do you have the attention span of a slug or something? I did say that you were to be the top of our pyramid, yes? Since you're clearly incompetent, we'll get you ladder so you climb to the top. We wouldn't want you get to get hurt. Isn't that what I said, Keiko?"

"Yes, Mayumi-san," Keiko murmured, suddenly developing an all-consuming fascination with the floor.

"Thank you, dear. I'll be stationing myself at the bottom, so of course you can have complete and utter trust in me! Of course I've completely forgiven you for that tragic incident several months previously. No need to worry, dearie!" Mayumi said wryly, twirling a strand of hair between her fingers.

I winced as I recalled the memory of the fated battle of the pastries. She just had to bring that back up, didn't she?

"Well, of course, I'm sure we'll do great at the tennis game! All you have to do is watch out, stand tall on those dreadfully clumsy legs of yours, and keep your fat ass from hitting the ground. Simple concept, right? Just don't screw up."

I gulped and cursed my bad luck, watching in dread as Aiko planted a rusty blue ladder on the gymnasium floor. On cue, the girls began pile on top of each other like acrobats into a fairly-solid formation, Mayumi shooting me an icy sort of smile. "Good luck, sweetheart!"

Bouncing on the tips of my toes, I started up the ladder, feeling an odd chill run up and down my spine when the structure wobbled beneath my weight. I took a breather to inhale deeply, squeezed my eyes shut, and continued to climb, listening as the cheerleaders chanted something about awesome ocelots.

You know what? Fuck my life.

"Cheerleading is just the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of," I complained to Kyoya as I accompanied him to the tennis courts. "I mean, it's not like a group of brats wearing skirts and waving around these fuzzballs are going to motivate you any way.

"It is a trivial thing," Kyoya agreed, slinging his tennis racket over his shoulder. "Although, I must admit, it's rather amusing to see you, and I quote, 'waving around these fuzzballs.'"

I scowled, sticking my tongue out at him. "Gee thanks, Kyoya-bastard. You just know the thing to say. Good luck in the game, sweetheart."

"Why, thank you. Not that any word from someone like you's going to improve the levels of skill I utilize in this match. But I'm grateful for the effort, Ayame," he said drily, lips upturning in a self-satisfied little smirk.

"God, you're insufferable."

"The feeling's mutual. And what happened to the 'good luck'? It was actually very encouraging."

"Bastard."

He patted me on the shoulder, before jogging briskly to a a group of boys smacking the tennis balls against a wall as a warm-up. I stared after him for an inordinate period of time, still feeling the contact of his hand on my shoulder, before shaking my head and chastising myself. What was wrong with me?

Breathing in and out, I kept reminding myself that after this match, I could quit dragging my pathetic feet to the cheerleading squad and gnashing my teeth to prevent myself from wringing Mayumi's bitchy little neck every time she made a snide comment. To be honest, almost preferred dealing with the squealing girls at the Host Club meeting over cheering with my arch nemesis.

"Hey, Ayame-chan!" Mayumi sneered, coating her lips with another layer of strawberry lip gloss. "Ready? I know you'll do great...that is, if you can actually do a simple thing like climb the ladder, which you failed to demonstrate in practice a couple of days ago."

I coughed delicately in my fist, biting back a torrent of expletives. "My memory's as clear as ever, Mayumi-chan. Ocelot might!"

She rolled her eyes, tossing her ponytail over her shoulder. "Whatever. Just don't screw up. Alright, ladies!"

Groups of boys and girls chattered and filled the bleachers, waving blue and yellow flags embroidered with the Ouran insignia. The opposite stand was crowded with a horde of teenagers from the opposing school, bedecked in green and red. The two sides proceeded to engage in an all-out pep rally war, snubbing one another and pelting each other with empty coffee cups.

I nervously took my position in the front row, narrowing my eyes at the sight of the twins snickering and snapping pictures of my predicament. Tamaki wiped his eyes with a silk handkerchief and blew kisses in my direction, and Honey shot me a smile and a wave from his spot on Mori's lap.

"GO OCELOTS!" Mayumi shouted into her megaphone. "GO OURAN!"

She proceeded to lead the squad in a series of gravity defying kicks, spins, and flips, while I struggled to keep a winning, movie-star smile plastered to my face in an effort to mask my confusion. I did my best to imitate the movements by thrashing my legs wildly around, doing my best not to look like a complete and utter idiot.

Kyoya managed to take a moment to smirk at me as he whacked the ball back to his opponent. I scowled in retaliation, but a sharp look from the cheerleader next to me put the forced grin back on my face.

"Up and down, our team don't mess around, because we're the best from the east to the west! And when our team is up, you're down. Go, OCELOTS!"

"Fifteen-love!" the referee shouted when Kyoya's opponent sent the ball spiraling over the fence, prompting a loud, ear-splitting cheer from the Ouran side.

"Stand up, it's time to shout! Come on fans, yell it out! Say it loud, say it proud! Go Ouran! Go! Go! Go!"

Tamaki was sobbing in happiness, blowing his nose into a handkerchief; a mortified Haruhi shrunk away from him. "My Ayame-chan looks so beautiful! GO OCELOTS!"

The stupid cheers seemed to last for an eternity, but at last, Kyoya finished clobbering his opponent and the next singles match began. The rest of his team congratulated him on his win, exchanging high-fives and claps on the back.

"Alright, ladies, pyramid time!" Mayumi ordered her squad, before grinning sleazily at me. "Time to shine, sweetheart."

I swallowed back a gulp, watching in horror as the cheerleaders obediently shuffled into position and formed their pyramid. Mayumi, a horribly malicious look lighting up her face, snapped her fingers, some errand boy of hers promptly bringing over a rusty ladder.

I grimaced, placing my feet onto the rungs of the ladder, and gradually began to crawl my way up, working hard to contort my face muscles into a broad grin. I let out a strangled scream of horror when the ladder trembled in the breeze, before taking a deep breath continuing my trek upward. When I reached the top of the ladder, I prayed that I wouldn't fall straight on my ass and took my leap of faith, placing my feet onto two pairs of supporting hands. Upon realizing I was no longer in mortal peril, I let out a sigh of relief, watching the crowd dissolve into wild applause.

After this, it would be over! No more cheerleading squad for the rest of my life!

Suddenly, the hands caved, the pyramid of cheerleaders toppling over and collapsing into a heap. I felt suspended in time as I fell, wanting nothing more than to scream at the top of my lungs, watching as the crowd gasped in unison. Shit, shit, shit-

However, before I could a crumple to the ground, a pair of arms wrapped around my waist, warm and insistent. Turning my head to the side, I was ready to thank whomever had saved me several broken bones in a godforsaken miracle, but scowled when I realized that it was just Kyoya. Before I could swear heatedly at him, he seemingly anticipated my next course of action. "Just play along," he hissed.

I nodded stiffly and stuck my hands into the air. "GO OCELOTS!"

The Ouran crowd erupted into earth-shaking cheers, and I, dropping my fake smile for a moment, muttered to Kyoya, "You're so dead. And those damn twins, too."

"For what? Saving you from painfully smacking your face against the ground?" Kyoya challenged, his forehead glistening with sweat. The breathiness in his voice overruled his attempt at sounding prissy, as usual. "If anything, you should be on your knees thanking me right now."

"Over my dead body!"

I stormed back to the locker room, where the girls were angrily milling around, massaging sores and bruises. "Mayumi-chan! What the hell was that for? You almost killed us!" a first year demanded, clutching an ice pack to her cheek.

"I-I," she stuttered, her eyes welling up with tears. "It was an accident-"

"It so was not!" Hana cried out indignantly, retying her hair and limping towards her. "I saw you! What were you trying to do? Seriously, if it weren't for Ayame and Kyoya-senpai, we would have been humiliated for life! At least they made it look good!"

She sniffled, looking lost and pitiful, before finally catching sight of me, jabbing a finger in my face. "What the hell was that? You weren't supposed to be caught! You were supposed to be humiliated, and you were supposed to fall, and-"

I wanted to insult her to no end, but truth be told, I was sick of all of this drama. "Look, Mayumi- I'm really sorry for that pastry fight. I shouldn't have done that, and, um, can't we just forget that anything happened? It's time for us to put the past behind us. Aren't you sick of us just fighting all the time?"

Lip quivering, she sprinted out of the locker room mix of mascara and tears dripping down her face. "I hate you! You ruined my life!"

"Ah, guess I can't do anything about that." I grinned sheepishly at the other girls, who stared at me in awe, before continuing to obey the unspoken laws that higher-ups like themselves must shun and ignore filthy commoners like me. Striding past me, they straightened their disheveled hair, reapplied make-up, and made trips to the school infirmary on account of twisted ankles, bruises, and cuts.

But honestly, that was just the way I liked it.