Hello again! Argh, sorry it's been so long AGAIN. School has just been sooo hectic. Anyway, to make up for it, I wrote this extra-long chapter for you guys!

Enjoy!

"Where did you get that idea anyway?" Kyoya asked on the way back to the house.

Alex jumped, a little startled. They had been riding in silence, as usual, so it was surprising when he spoke.

"The…holiday thing?" Alex turned towards him, her head cocked to the head slightly. He was studying her with an equally curious expression.

"Yes," he answered simply.

Alex felt her cheeks flush slightly. She looked down at her lap, biting her lip. "It's was something we used to do, at home," she admitted. "Mom and Dad would throw this big Holiday Party every year and invite the whole town. We'd have all different kinds of games and decorations and music for all the different holidays."

"So basically you saw an opportunity through this dance to re-live something from your childhood," Kyoya states.

Alex's cheeks reddened even more. "Not consciously," she mutters, "it just seemed like, well, an idea."

Kyoya smirked despite himself. She seemed to be getting to know the Host Club well enough already.

"What's that look for?" Alex asked wearily, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. Today she had part of her hair pulled back, like a crown, kept together in the back with a pin, so she couldn't rely on her hair shield.

Kyoya hadn't realized that he had been giving her a look. He just shook his head and returned to looking through the club's expenses for the month.

Alex looked out the window, still a bit startled. For a moment there, it had seemed almost as if Kyoya were smiling at her.


Alex woke up Saturday morning to her stereo blasting in her ears.

She jerked, sitting up quickly as Aerosmith sounded throughout her room at top level. Her pulse sped and she worried that for a moment she wouldn't be able to breath.

Then the music cut off as soon as her eyes opened and she was sitting up, looking around wildly, the silence almost as startling.

"I told you it was a bad idea," a voice said.

"But it worked," two voices chimed.

Once Alex got her breathing under control, she opened her eyes and looked at the group that had gathered around her. The entire Host Club was in her room, around her bed, and staring down at her. One of the twins held the remote to her stereo, which she'd left on her night table.

"What the…." Alex muttered, rubbing her eyes and trying to get her heartbeat to slow down.

"We tried to wake you up by calling your name," one of the twins said.

"But it didn't work," his brother went on.

"So naturally, you decided to give me a heart attack," Alex muttered, running a hand through her mused up hair.

"Hey did you hear that?" the twins said.

"Alex made a joke," the one on the right said.

Alex sighed and threw herself back down on her bed, covering her eyes with her arm. She was too exhausted to be angry or embarrassed that there were six guys in her room. "What do y'all want?" she muttered, slipping into English because of her sluggish mind.

There was a silence, then she heard a whispered "Kyoya what did she just say?" from Tamaki.

"I believe it is an American slang word for a group of people, or 'you all,'" Kyoya responds.

"Of course!" Tamaki exclaims, as if he knew that all along.

"Arekku-chan, Arekku-chan!" Honey exclaimed, shaking her. "Come on we don't want to be late."

Alex removed her arm from her face and looked at his big, innocent and excited eyes. "Late for what?"

"Why the festival of course!" Tamaki said enthusiastically.

Alex glanced at Haruhi, who looked as if she too would rather be at home sleeping in. "Festival." Alex repeated.

Haruhi just shrugged, like she didn't know what he was talking about either.

"Yes, we thought that it would be a good way for you to start your job," Kyoya says.

Oh yeah. She'd forgotten about that little detail.

"And it's rather chilly outside, so I would dress for that in mind," Kyoya goes on.

"We suggest this," the twin say, holding up a smoke colored dress, a black leather jacket and leggings.

Alex looked cautiously at the outfit. "You went through my things?" she asked. The outfit was one that Ally had sent her, the same night she had given the club their gifts. She'd kept the clothes in the box, not really wanting to think about them. Ally was always sending her clothes she wanted Alex to try on, even though her sister knew that Alex wasn't much for dressing up in any sense.

The twins shrugged. "We got bored."

"Be thankful that's all they did," Haruhi mutters to her.

"Hurry up, Arekusandoria," Kyoya said, making her head snap to him. "We don't have all day."

Alex decided to go with what the twins suggested. She knew she was going to have to wear it anyway, Ally would be expecting it, and she'd never let her sister down, no matter how much she put it off.

When she emerged from the bathroom she found that her room was—thankfully—empty. She added the silver headband Ally had sent with the outfit, her locket—letting it hang freely over her shirt—her two charm bracelets, and the ring Adam had sent her. She pulled on her black boots that went half-way up her calves and a matching belt around her waist.

She doesn't dress up a lot. Not even dress-casual like this. It just wasn't her style. That was all Ally. But when she did, she did it right.

She grabbed her scarcely used messenger bag and her new camera and headed to find the others.


All Alex had to do was follow the piano music. She found everyone—including the older Ootori brothers—in a sitting room with only a few seats and a grand piano at the center of it.

Alex knew of the room only because of her midnight explorations of the house. When she couldn't sleep, she walked around to help get her mind to calm down. She hadn't had a chance to try out the instrument herself, but it sounded beautiful now, with Tamaki at the keys.

The boy hadn't struck her as someone who would be so gifted at the piano, but watching him play she couldn't believe she hadn't seen it before. He had the same calm and peaceful look that Adam got when he was painting or playing the guitar.

Taking advantage of the fact that no one had noticed her yet, she snapped a few pictures of everyone, first of Tamaki, then of the others. She was even able to get a picture of everyone in the room, all of them intent on the music.

Only after she was finished did Tamaki open his eyes and notice her standing in the doorway. He stopped playing and smiled at her. "Well, are you ready to go?" he asked.

Everyone's heads turned to look at her. She felt herself shrink away a little at the bewildered looks they all gave her. None of them had ever really seen her in anything other than her uniform, or her comfy clothes. "Yeah," she muttered, "let's get this over with."

They were taking a limo, so that way all eight of them could ride together. Alex, naturally, chose a seat closest to the window, though that was slightly hard as the seats were sideways. Haruhi looked almost as awed as Alex felt, though she was sure that by now the girl should be used to this kind of stuff by now.

The ride involved a lot of the twins and Tamaki bickering about something that Alex didn't care about. She noticed that Kyoya and Mori both looked very disinterested, however Haruhi and Honey watched the trio as if it were the best source of entertainment.

She stifled a yawn. She'd been up half the night, unable to sleep, looking through some of the photos she'd brought with her to pass the time.

"Hey Alex, where did you get those charm bracelets?" Haruhi asked out of nowhere, cutting off the twins and Tamaki's bickering.

Alex looked down at her left wrist, where she wore both bracelets. "They're just presents from Adam and Ally. We bye charms for each other whenever we go to a new city or country."

The seven of them leaned forward a little to get a better look at the charms.

"How sweet!" Tamaki exclaimed, his eyes shining. He put his hand on his cheeks and shook his head, like he couldn't believe it. "What a perfect way to share your adventures with each other!"

Alex almost laughed. Adventures. That was one way of putting it.

"Speaking of your siblings," one of the twins said, one with the huskier voice. He took something out of his jacket pocket and handed it to her. It was a picture—one she must have forgotten to put away the night before, and handed it to her. "I think you left this one out."

"Why didn't you just leave it?" Alex asked, though she didn't' sound angry. If anything, she sounded amused.

The twin shrugged. Beside him, his brother leaned over and took the picture from Alex to get a better look at it. "Why didn't you show the rest of us, Kaoru?"

So that was Kaoru. Alex took note of what he was wearing—a plain white shirt with a blue jacket over it—and filed it away in her mind.

Kaoru shrugged. "Figured it was Alex's decision."

Weird, Alex thought with some amusement, that he brought it out while we're all stuck in a car together.

Rolling her eyes, Alex took the picture back. It was one of her, Adam and Ally when they were around seven or eight. They were in a giant apple tree that resided on their property. The three of them were hanging upside down on one of the branches like monkeys, the biggest grins on their faces. They'd tucked their shirts in so that they didn't fall down, and they were holding each other's hands. Their faces were red from the blood rushing to their heads, but none of them seemed to care.

"How adorable," Tamaki says, leaning across Haruhi, who was sitting next to her, to look at the photo.

Haruhi swatted him away, annoyed.

"Why don't you smile like that anymore, Arekku-chan?" honey asked, he too leaning over to get a good look at the picture.

Alex looked away, tucking the picture safely into her purse. "Not much to smile about anymore," she muttered, so low she doubted that they heard her.


When they arrived it was a flurry of colors and music.

There were hundreds of people milling around, some in tradition Japanese style clothing, some in modern. Decorations were everywhere, all around them. Somewhere in the distance, music was being played.

The group walked under a large arch, welcoming them to them to the festival. Alex couldn't help but look around in wonder. There were vendors selling food, souvenirs, jewelry, and art. She couldn't believe her eyes. She'd never seen so many people packed together before, not even in New York.

Instinctively, she moved closer to whoever was closest to her of the group she was with. Large crows made her nervous. She always felt like someone was following her.

"Don't tell me you're claustrophobic," a voice said, right above her.

She jumped and looked up. The person she had moved closer had been Kyoya, who was looking down at her with a curious expression.

Blushing, she moved away as much as she could without getting separated from the group. "No," she said over the murmuring of the crowd.

Her lie couldn't have been more obvious.

Every time someone brushed against her, she would tense up, and she would look around constantly, as if looking for a way out.

Taking a small bit of mercy on her, Kyoya led the group over to a less populated area to discuss what they were going to do.

Honey senpai wanted to try out all of the sweets in the area. The twins wanted to take Haruhi shopping for some of the clothes (much to hers and Tamaki's objections), while Tamaki wanted to look at everything. No surprise there.

Alex, however, stay silent. She kept looking around, a mix of awe and a little bit of fear in her eyes. However Kyoya could also see curiosity.

He sighed, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Very well, we'll split up for the mean time. Alex," he turned to the girl, who snapped her attention back to him. "You'll have to go from group to group to get the pictures. So once you're finished with one, come fine another."

She looked absolutely terrified at that, but she managed to push it away. "I can do that," she said in a confident tone that didn't match what she was obviously thinking.

"Come with us first, Alex," Hikaru said.

"Yeah, you wouldn't want to miss getting this on camera," Kaoru added with a smile.

Haruhi looked as if she wanted to be anywhere but there. She gave Alex an almost pleading look behind the twin's backs.

"Alright," Alex said with a shrug, seeming a bit relieved.

The group dispersed, and it was only until Tamaki said "Weird, we split up in our years," did Kyoya realize that too.


It didn't take long for the first years to find the clothes. They were everywhere, in all different kinds of styles.

Alex got pictures of the twins dressing up Haruhi, as well as dressing up themselves. She had to keep herself from laughing at their antics. Haruhi obviously resented being the twin's dress up doll, but still she complied while Alex took the pictures.

Then Hikaru said, "Hey, Alex, it's your turn!" completely taking her by surprise.

Kaoru appeared at her side. "Hand it over," he says, holding gout his hand for the camera. She clung to it, not willing to trust anyone with her brand new camera.

"Come on, I'm not going to break it."

"I'm only supposed to get pictures of you guys," Alex defended, pulling away from him even more.

"You're supposed to get pictures of the Host Club," Kaoru corrected. "Which involves you now. Besides, wouldn't your siblings want to see that you're having a good time?"

Damn. He'd hit the nail right on the head with that.

Reluctantly, Alex slipped the camera over her head and handed it to Kaoru. Immediately, Hiakru took her arm and started picking out different outfits for her to wear. She had to admit, she did have a good time with it. It reminded her of when she and Ally used to play dress up in their mother's clothes.

The saleswoman was nice, helping to figure out what would look best on them. She even posed for a few photos.

They went from booth to booth, trying on everything from kimonos to obis. They traded out the camera, making sure to get photos of everyone.

The crazy part was, after each booth, the twins each bought something. Not for them, though, for Alex and Haruhi. Both tried to deny them, but the twins insisted, pushing the bags into their hands.

Alex even noticed that they had gotten an extra of pretty much everything for her to send to her siblings.

When Alex decided that it was time for her to move on to the next group, she said goodbye to the twins and Haruhi and texted Mori senpai to find out where him and Honey were.

She found them by what seemed to be the dessert corner of the vendors. Anything sweet was located there, and Honey seemed to have bought something of everything.

When she approached, Honey was sitting on a low wall, surrounded by sweets and wrappers. She snapped a quick picture of the two of them together, Mori standing protectively over Honey, glaring at anyone who might look at him weirdly, and Honey pretty much stuffing his face with every sweet Japan has to offer.

"Hey Arekku-chan!" Honey called when he spotted her. He held out a small cake. "You should try this, it's really great!"

Alex accepted to cake, eating it gratefully.

Once Honey was finished with his sweets, he wanted to go see some of the decorations that donned the square. She got pictures of the two of them in front of a giant paper mache dragon, of Honey playing through streamers whilst sitting on Mori's shoulders, of Honey climbing on statues.

Honey, too, insisted on getting pictures with Alex. Mori senpai took most of them, but there were even a few stragners who offered to take some with all three of them. Alex managed to put on her picture smile for these, trying not to think what a stranger could do to her camera.

Then Honey wanted to go back and get more sweets. Alex figured that this would be a good time to find Kyoya and Tamaki, so she bid the cousins goodbye and pulled her phone out to text Kyoya.

The boys were sitting at an outdoor café, having a cup of tea. Tamaki looked up and smiled at her, standing to help her to her seat.

"Gotten sick of the others already have you?" Kyoya asked.

Alex rolled her eyes. "Hardly. Just doing my job."

"I see," Kyoya says, taking a sip of tea.

Tamaki stretched, turning his face towards the sky, a peaceful smile on his face. "What a beautiful day to be out!" he exclaims.

Alex had to agree with him. It was a sunny day, no clouds in the sky. There was a breeze, which made it chillier than it already was, making Alex grateful for her jacket.

"Haruhi hasn't killed the twins yet, have she?" Kyoya asked.

Alex scoffed at that. "Not since I left them," she answered.

"I just hope those shady twins take care of her," Tamaki said casually leaning back in his chair, his hands behind his head.

Alex glanced at him, wondering what that comment was about. She looked at Kyoya, who just had an amused smirk on his lips. He leaned back in his chair, taking a sip of tea.

"Anyway," Alex said after a moment of silence. "What have you two been up to?"

"Enjoying the beautiful day!" Tamaki exclaimed, suddenly very excited. He took something out of his pocket and practically shoved it under Alex's nose. "Look at this stone! Isn't it amazing? It's in the exact shape of a heart!" before she even had a good chance to look at when was in his palm, he'd pulled his hand back, cradling the object. His head snaps up then, as if he'd seen something in the distance. Then, in an instance, he was out of his seat and weaving in the crowd.

Alex raised her eyebrows at Kyoya. She knew that Tamaki was maybe a little…different, but she didn't expect that.

Kyoya sighs. "That moron has been running around all day trying to see everything. It's like looking after a child."

Alex bit her lip to keep from smiling, however she couldn't stop the small giggle that escaped her.

Kyoya looked up at the sound. "What is so funny?" he asked.

Alex shook her head. "Nothing," she says, though she kept her eyes down. She stood, scooping up her bags. "We should probably follow him before he hurts himself."

At that, Kyoya does smile, if slightly. He stands as well, and joins the crowd. Alex moves to follow him, quickly glancing down to make sure that she had all of her bags, and froze.

Her left wrist, where she usually wore her charm bracelets, was one short.

Gasping, she spun around, looking around the table where she'd been sitting for it, but saw no signs of it. No glimmer or twinkle of the charms, nothing that looked out of place. Cursing, she dropped her bags and got on her knees, looking around for it under the table cloth. There she saw it, just near the center of the table, where the legs protruded. She started to reach for it when two shadows loomed over her.

Expecting Tamaki and Kyoya, or one of the other Host Club members, Alex turns to greet them.

Only to be taken aback when she sees that it's two complete strangers. They were maybe Kyoya's age, possibly a little older. One was taller than the other, with a shock of obviously bleached hair and hazel eyes. He had a strong build that suggests he worked out. The slightly shorter one had grey eyes and light brown hair, slightly scrawnier than his friend.

And they were grinning right at her.

"Hello, little lady," the bleached one says in a bad attempt of an American accent.

"What's your name?" his friend asks, again attempting to speak with an American accent.

Alex just stared at them, unsure of what to say or do.

Unaffected by her lack of reaction, they continue. "You know, a lady like you shouldn't be crawling around on the ground like that," grey eyes say. "And all alone."

The taller one extended a hand to her. "Why don't you come hang out with us?" he says. "We can show you a real good time."

Alex didn't need a translator to know what that means.

Clearing her voice and trying to settle her nerves, she gets to her feet and tilts her head up to them, focusing her eye on a nearby hanging lantern. "Thank you for the offer, but I'd better go and find my friends." She made her voice as polite as possible, hoping that they would just leave her alone.

"Come on, babe," tall guy says, actually trying to slip an arm around her waist. On instinct, she swatted his arm away.

The boys chuckled, glancing at each other. "Ohhh, she's a feisty one," they cooed.

Alex looked around desperately, hoping to see Kyoya or one of the others, but Kyoya had long since passed through the crowd and disappeared.

Feeling her chest tighten, Alex realized she was on her own.

"Don't fight it, sweetheart," the shorter one said. "We don't bite…much." he grinned, reaching towards her just like his friend had. This time she moved out of his reach, her eyes scanning around for a way for her to run. Surely they wouldn't try anything in such a crowded place. And if she screamed, it would defiantly call attention to them.

But she felt her throat go dry as soon as the thought had passed through her head. Screaming wasn't an option. It was never an option…

Suddenly hands grabbed her. She'd been so distracted that she hadn't noticed both of them reaching for her. Startled, she automatically tried to get out of their grasps. "Let me go!" she exclaimed, trying to elbow them away, which only made them chuckle. A hand covered her mouth, pressing too hard against it for her to bite him, though she tried. Sure enough by now people around them were starting to take notice. Surely someone would help her…

Almost as suddenly as their hands had grabbed her were they ripped away. She heard a stream of cursing—in Japanese this time—from the boys. Alex stumbled forward, away from them, into someone else's arms.

Gasping, she tensed to fight off the person until a familiar voice drifted into her ears. "You meanies leave Arekku-chan alone!"

Alex whirled around, seeing Honey senpai penning the taller boy to the ground, his arms twisted behind him, and Mori senpai holding the shorter one by the scruff of his shirt. "Hey put me down!" he exclaimed, outraged. Mori senpi set him down, but kept a firm hold on him, his face as expressionless as ever.

Tamaki and the twins sauntered up to the boys as if they were taking a leisurely stroll. "Gentlemen," Tamaki says, his voice oddly cold.

"Enjoying the festival are we?" the twins ask, their voices, too, were emotionless.

"Alex," Haruhi says, hurrying over to me. "Are you okay?"

She realized then that she was shaking. Trembling uncontrollably. The arms around her were the only thing that was keeping her from collapsing.

"Arekusandoria," the voice of the person holding her said. Alex looked up and saw Kyoya looking back at her, as expressionless as ever.

Alex didn't have time to say anything. Kyoya put his hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her towards Haruhi, who took her arm to hold her steady.

Almost as soon as he released her, at least half a dozen officers appeared, surrounding the group.

Immediately, the two boys stopped struggling to get away. They looked, wide eyed, at the officers.

Alex recognized the symbol on the back of their uniforms as that of the Ootori family. Kyoya walked over to who must have been the head officer. "Escort these gentlemen out of the festival, please, and let the authorities know of what trespassed here. And please, keep it silent."

The officer saluted him. "Yes sir!"

Two officers moved towards the boys, who started thrashing again, as much as Honey and Mori would let them.

Their eyes were widened. "She was! She—" his eyes turned to me and thy filled with anger. "You tell them, bitch!" he yells, thrashing in Mori senpai's grip. "Tell them what you did!"

Instinctively, Alex shrunk away. Haruhi's grip tightened on her, but only slightly. Two guards stepped in front of the girls, their clubs out for defense. Another two stepped up behind them.

"Arekusandoria," Kyoya says, turning to Alex, his voice softening slightly. "Go with Haruhi to a quiet place while we finish up here."

Alex didn't move at first, but after Haruhi tugged gently on her arm, she turned and followed the other girl. Without a word, two officers went after them.


"Sir?" one of the officers said. They had the two boys from Mori senpai and Honey senpai, and were awaiting orders to leave.

Kyoya turned to him. "One moment," he says, approaching the two boys. "What made you target her?"

When they didn't answer, the officers tightened their grip.

"Agh!" the taller one groaned. "She's hot!" he exclaimed. "And she was kneeling on the ground by that table. We figured she was lost."

"So you thought you would take advantage of that," Tamaki says, shaking his head. He frowned at the two boys. "And a gentleman never refers to a girl as 'hot' it's insulting."

The boys looked at him as if he were from another planet.

Kyoya sighed. "Very well," he said to the officers. "Take them."

Once the boys were gone, Kyoya turned to see the twins over by the table where he, Tamaki and Alex had sat. Alex's shopping bags were still on the ground. Kaoru was on his knees, Hikaru holding the table cloth for him.

"Ah," Kaoru says, standing up. "This was what she was looking for." He holds up the charm bracelet.

Of course. She wouldn't stop looking if she'd lost one of her bracelets.

A rustle caught Kyoya's attention. He looked over and saw Tamaki gathering Alex's bags. "Well, gentlemen," he says, straightening with all of the bags in his arms. "We'd better go find the ladies."


They end up at a fountain that's a bit separated from where the main events were being held at the festival. Haruhi sat Alex down at a bench in front of the fountain, which was surrounded by little kids, all running around it, chasing each other.

"Alex?" Haruhi said. Alex's head snapped up to her. She was studying Alex with concern, looking ready to call for help if she needed to.

Alex took a deep breath. "I'm okay," she promised. Then she remembered her bracelet. Her hand clapped over her wrist. "My bracelet!" she exclaimed, shooting to her feet. "We have to go back! I-I lost it and I need to get it back…"

Haruhi set a gentle hand on her shoulder and sat her back down. "It's okay Alex. I'll call Tamaki senpai and tell him," she promised. Though Alex wanted to go back herself, she found herself nodding. The last thing she wanted at that moment was to go back into that crowd.

But as Haruhi was pulling out her phone, they heard a chorus of voices calling their names.

"Alex!" the twins called, rushing up to her. "Are you okay?" Hikaru asked.

"They didn't hurt you did they?" Kaoru asked.

Alex shook her head. "No. I'm just shaken up," she admitted, surprising herself slightly. Normally, she'd never admit to something like that.

They looked relieved. Kaoru held out his hand. "I think you dropped this," he says, her bracelet sparkling in the sunlight.

Alex took it gratefully. "Thank you so much, Kaoru!" she exclaimed, allowing herself to breathe a sigh of relief.

She didn't see the twins giving each other baffled looks. They hadn't thought she could tell them apart.

"Arekusandoria," Kyoya said, joining them. Alex didn't hear him, though. She was examining her bracelet and muttering to herself.

"The clasp's broken again. I'll have to find a whole new chain this time. Adam's gonna kill me…"

"Arekusandoria," Kyoya says again, this time capturing the girl's attention. "Perhaps we should speak of what just happened."

Biting her lip, Alex slipped the bracelet safely into the small pocket in her purse before turning back to her awaiting audience. Mori, Honey and Tamaki had joined them, Tamaki setting her shopping bags down at her feet.

"There's really not much to tell," she says honestly, keeping her eyes downcast. "They were a couple of pervs who thought I'd be an easy target."

"Did you even try to fight them?"

Alex shrank back a little, not wanting to admit that she'd froze in fear. "Sure," she muttered. "But two against one isn't going to work very well." She brushed off an invisible spot on her leggings.

Kyoya adjusted his glasses, making them glint against the sun.

"Kyoya," Tamaki said softly. "Perhaps we should continue with the festival. That is," he glances at Alex, "if you're okay."

She stood and made an effort at a smile. "I'm fine. I'd like to see more of what this place has to offer. Besides, I don't have near enough pictures." she stoops and grabs her bags. "Thank you for bringing these, by the way," she says to Tamaki.

Tamaki smiles at her. "Of course. Well, what are we waiting for?" he asked, his usual happy mood kicking back in. "I think I saw a man breathing fire a few yards back, let's go check it out!"

"Yeah, that's a great idea!" the twins exclaimed, following their club president. Haruhi, with a sigh, followed them, with Mori and Honey right behind her. Kyoya looked at Alex and motioned for her to go first before joining them.

As they walked Alex didn't miss how the Host members were glancing at her, as if making sure she wasn't going to have another panic attack. Honestly, Alex was a little surprised as well, especially after something like that.

The thing is, though, she felt fine.

"Arekku-chan?" a sweet voice said beside her.

She looked over and gave a small smile to Mori senpai and Honey senpai, who was riding on his cousin's shoulders. "Yes Honey senpai?" she said.

"Are you really okay?" he asked, his head tilting to the side in curiosity. "Your face was really red earlier, and you looked panicked."

Alex sighed and nodded. "Yes, I'm perfectly okay senpai. That kind of stuff," she waves her hand back at the festival. "Happens sometimes. Granted it's never gone that far, but I get crap all the time from immature guys. Girls too sometimes." At that, they turn their heads towards her. She shrugs. "What? It's happened."

"I don't think that's the point, Arekku-chan," Honey says. "I think everyone's just angry that they left you alone." He leans down slightly and lowers his voice so the others can't hear. "Kyo-chan and Tama-chan think that they because they left you, it's their fault, so don't be too hard on them okay?" she pulls away to look at him and he gives her one of his big, innocent grins.

Alex glances at said boys. Tamaki was walking beside Haruhi, trying to engage her into a conversation by showing her the rock he'd found. Kyoya was walking by himself, not too far away from the group, his hands in his pockets and wearing an impassive expression.

With a sigh, Alex shifted her bags, giving herself something to do other than look around at the group.

Would she ever stop messing up the lives of people around her?

There you have it! Again, sorry for being gone for so long, but I've now got a week off, so more chapters soon! (Hopefully)

I still need some holiday info, so if you have any facts or advice you can give me, I'd really appreciate it!

As always, please review! It's the best encouragement I can get.

Thanks for reading!