I hurried down the stairs. I even stumbled, tripped and fell one step. Geez, more bruises and scratches. I raced through the living room, ignoring those who are playing Chess. "You seem to be in a hurry, Alice." Kyouya said. "Checkmate." Mori mumbled as he flicked Kyouya's King over. "...Damn." Kyouya cursed. "YEAY! Takashi won! Now since you won, we can buy cake now, can we?" Hani clung to Mori. I sighed. Then I continued to run, the door to the room was in view now. Geez, why is this house so big? And I haven't seen Nekozawa today. I heard he stays in his room at day and comes out at night. Vampire? Hope not.

I silently opened the door. The piano sounded beautiful. Yes, that's right. I rushed here because I could hear the piano from my room. I took a peek to who was playing it. TAMAKI? SERIOUSLY? He can play? And he can play awesomely, too. "Alice?" he noticed me. Damn, why'd you stop playing. "I didn't know you could play." I said as I went near him to watch. He smiled. "A King has lots of talents, Alice. Watch this." then he started playing. Shit, his hand was too fast, I can't even follow it. I didn't want to praise him, but...

"That... is awesome." My eyes sparkled with delight. "Canon in D, Alice. That's the title. It's quite fast, but I love this song." he said. "Can you play, Alice? That look on your face is a sign that you like this kind of music." He stood up and offered me the seat. I blushed. "Eh? But... no, I'm just an amateur and... well..." A sweat drop appeared on my forehead. "You don't have to be shy! You're a Princess! And my daughter, too! Make Daddy proud and play well!" He forced me to sit down.

Well, it's not like I have a choice, right?

The twins stared at me. I raised an eyebrow. "What? First time seeing a girl with hair tied up in a ponytail?" I asked. Then suddenly, they both laughed. "It looks surprisingly good." Hikaru said. "What do you mean by 'surprisingly'? You expect me to look uglier?" I glared. "No. You do look good, seriously." Kaoru defended. I sighed. These guys are hopeless.

Then suddenly, the piano was heard again. But this time, the song was...

"...Lacie." I mumbled. Both the twins looked at me, confused. "Lacie?" Kaoru asked. My eyes widened. "The song... the song is..." I said. Then I rushed to the room where the piano was kept. Who could possibly be playing it?

"Wait, Karylle!" The twins ran after me. The three of us ran across the living room. "...Why does everyone seem to be in a hurry today?" Hani innocently asked. Surprisingly, Mori carried Hani and ran after us, too. Then Kyouya followed. "...I never heard Tamaki play a song like this. I'll go see." he said. Then if it isn't Tamaki, then... maybe?

I opened the door slowly. Only to be greeted by a hand covering my mouth. "Shh! It's such a wonderful sad song, isn't it?" Tamaki said, tears stinging his eyes. "What's going-" Haruhi asked, but was silenced by the twins.

We all went inside. And found Alice, playing the piano. It was that song. The song we always hummed. From the anime, 'Pandora Hearts', the saddest and prettiest music box I've ever heard. Lacie...

Then she finished playing, we all stared in awe. "...Alice, that was..." Even Mori looked surprised. "...THAT WAS SO COOL, FIFI-CHAN!" Hani came rushing at her. "For a girl with that kind of personality, being able to play the piano is a miracle." Kyouya grinned. "Yep, I was expecting that she knows how to play guitar, instead." Kaoru smiled. "Wow, that was beautiful! What's the song called?" Haruhi asked, suddenly interested. "The song is called Lacie." she answered.

"It's the song of our childhood. That music box from an anime we used to watch." I proudly declared. Times like these, I go proud. "That. Was. Beautiful! It was sad song, but the way you played it, you truly are a princess!" Tamaki looked like he was about to fly. "That was good. Keep up the good work." Mori bowed his head in approval.

After the Lacie incident, I wanted to go outside for a while and take pictures. "Karylle!" A voice called out. I turned around and then there was Hikaru. SHOOT, WHY ARE YOU HERE.

All of the sudden, my heart beat paced it's speed. Almost to the point that I think it's going to burst. What in the world is happening to me? ALICE, THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT.

He even smiled at me. SHIT, YOU MORON. DON'T GO SMILING AT ME. "Going to the garden?" he asked. "No, I'm going to the pond to take pictures underwater." I put on my sarcastic face. He laughed. DON'T YOU DARE LAUGH LIKE THAT. NO, I am NOT looking at that stupid face again!

"What do we do, Alice?"

"Avoid them as much as possible."

"What? That's not gonna be easy."

"Can't be helped. Don't wanna fall in love, right?"

That's what Alice said. I knew this is going to be hard! That girl's plans, they're so... shoot, Alice. Help.

"Um, I'll be going." I said as a quickened my pace. He was still following me. "Hikaru, just go to your brother, okay?" I tried to keep my normal self. "Nope. Kaoru told me to leave the room for a while. So I did. He seems to have a problem nowadays." he explained. I stopped in my tracks. Problem? Could it be?

"So what would you do if ever Kaoru falls for you?"

"That's impossible. The twins like playing games. And I'm not losing to their game."

"What game are you talking about?"

"Whoever falls in love first, loses."

"Are you sure? So what if he did fall for you?"

"...That's just impossible, Karylle. Don't make me expect stuff like that, I don't want to be friendzoned again if I fall first. He's a host, it's dangerous."

Actually, Alice did have a point. "Hey, Hikaru." I asked. "Yeah." he also stopped walking. "...Do you think it's possible for your brother to fall in love?" I sighed. I wanted to make sure Alice is safe, I know that girl. She falls for people whom she knows that loves her. Loves her as a friend, sister, or family. She has a strong belief that love like that can be developed into something more.

And I do not want her to get hurt once more, like what happened before.

Hikaru bit his lip. "I... I don't know. But..." he started, scratching the back of his head. "But?" I asked again. "I don't even know if he likes Alice or if he is just toying with her like what he does to the girls we entertain at the club." he said. I knew it. No one can tell if he likes her or not. But I really have to make sure!

I started taking stolen shot of Hikaru. "Karylle..." he chuckled. "Give me that camera." he extended his hand. I moved my hand away from him. "Nuh-uh! Pictures are the greatest blackmail ever!" I laughed. I got that line from Alice, that girl is a blackmailer, too. I ran around the garden and he chased me. "Karylle, if I ever get a hold of that camera, get ready." then he hugged me from behind the stomach. SHIT, PLEASE DON'T DO THAT, IT'S...

Then he lifted me up the ground and spun me around. "YOU LET GO OF ME NOW!" I said, laughing. Why am I laughing? This is absurd! This is definitely absurd! "Let go now!" I yelled again. "Not a chance! Let go of that camera, Karylle!" He said, obviously having fun torturing me. Why must I be tortured?

"Alright! I'm giving it to you, so let go!" Then he stopped and put me down. I ran away as fast as I can. "Bleh! I am not giving this to you!" I laughed the 'victory laughter'. He chased me once again. "Karylle, just stop running will you?" He's expecting me to stop running and wait for him? This is one of the reasons why I love using sarcasm on this guy. "If you want the camera, come over here and get it!"

Sorry, Alice. Staying away from someone really close to you is hard...

I once again listened. I swear I could hear soft cries in the room. I wonder who's inside? I took a deep breath. Then the soft moaning stopped. I couldn't take it anymore, so I opened the door. "Sorry for intruding, but whoever you are-." I stopped. "...Kaoru?"

He looked shocked when he saw me. Wiping off his tears quickly, he put on a grin on his face. "Hey, Alice. What's up? And don't just go barging in random rooms, okay?" he said. I could've sworn something was up. "You're crying." I pouted. He laughed. I can tell it was forced, though. "No, I'm not. Do you think I can even cry?" he said. Yeah, right. I'm not that of an idiot to not notice that something's wrong.

He stood up. "I have something to do, so you can now leave the room, 'kay?" Then he ran. Into the wardrobe. "HEY! And what the hell are you going to do in that wardrobe? Hang yourself?" I tried to force the wardrobe open. Dang, he locked it from the inside. "Kaoru, you open this wardrobe right now!" I commanded. "Go away, Alice. I'm fine, okay?" he said. I sighed. Then all of the sudden, the lights went out. Shit.

"...The lights went out. It's so dark..." My heart raced. I leaned my back on the left door of the wardrobe and sat down, hugging my knees. Shoot, what am I going to do? It's so dark, what if there's a weird 'thing' in this room? What if something pulls me legs from under the bed? Shoot. Don't tell me the generator is broken. And it's 6:00pm, too. Why does this has to happen at night?

It was a long, creepy silence. I buried my face on my knees. I could hear the other door of the wardrobe creaking open. Oh no, a monster is going to kill me. Shit, there's a monster in the wardrobe!

"...Alice?" Oh. I forgot about Kaoru. "...Go away." I mumbled. I'm not in the mood to open my eyes now, it's scary in here. I'm not scared of the dark, I'm just scared of whatever's in it. "Alice.. you're afraid of the dark?" he asked. "NO. Just... nothing. Go away." I repeated. He sat down beside me. "Sorry for suddenly going in the closet and leaving you alone in the dark." he quietly whispered. "I'm fine. You can go cry in the closet now."

There was a long moment of silence. I still couldn't open my eyes, frightened to whatever will appear. "I'm not leaving you here, Alice." He said. I groaned in dizziness. I like the dark, but I'm not comfortable when I'm not on the bed in a dark room. "I'm okay, I promise. You have to let all your feelings out. Go ahead and cry. I'll be fine." I was serious. He just stopped crying when he saw me, of course I don't want to be the reason for him hurting himself by keeping all of those feelings inside. "I'll be right outside the closet. Get in there and let it all out. Keeping them in will only end up hurting you more." I added. "I am not getting in there, Alice. You can't even open your eyes when I'm just right here beside you, how do I expect you to be okay when I'm not?" he said. "Open your eyes, don't be scared. I'm here, you idiot." He poked my head.

Okay, take a deep breath. Kaoru's just right beside you. But what if it isn't Kaoru? What if it's just a big monster pretending to be Kaoru? What if it's some kind of weird devil? Relax, Alice!

I opened one eye, then the other. Then I turned my head to my right.

A face of a monster was right in front of me.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH! GET AWAY!" I pushed the monster and quickly went in the closet. Never mind the clothes blocking my view, I knew it wasn't Kaoru! It was scary! My heart is pounding hard against my chest. Shoot, how am I able to get out now?

"Alice! That was just a mask!" I could hear Kaoru's voice laughing. I gulped. "...You're not Kaoru." I coldly said. Shoot, how dare he. How dare he!

"Alice, you locked the closet. Come out now, please?" The monster kept on pleading. I didn't answer. I'd rather die here than be eaten! I sighed as I closed my eyes once again. "Alice, look. I'm sorry. Now please come out?"

I stayed quiet. No way am I going to fall for that! I am Alice! The girl who doesn't trust easily! Never fall for silly tricks. There was a long moment of awkward silence. I hope the monster left. I can't kill monsters! I have to get out of here.

Then, without a word, I heard someone humming Lacie. It sounded like a guy. Who could possibly...?

Wait, is the monster singing? But, the voice is so beautiful... for a guy, at least. Wait, what about just a little peek outside. Surely, the monster wouldn't notice, right? Here goes...

I unlocked the closet door and slowly opened it. Then suddenly, I noticed the lights went back on again, and someone from outside pull the door open. I shrieked and quickly closed my eyes, waiting for the pain. But there was none. Confused, I opened my eyes, still adjusting to the brightness. And there stood Kaoru, laughing like an idiot. "I-is that really... you?" I asked, still in doubt.

Kaoru was still laughing when he opened up his arms. "Come over here, will you?" he smiled. "K-Kaoru... KAORU!" I yelled as I jumped into those arms. I buried my face on his chest. "That was scary, you monster! HOW DARE YOU!" I yelled, and the idiot is still laughing. "I'm sorry, okay?" he ran his fingers through my hair. "Come on, Alice. It's already late. Tamaki says we're going home now. We'll arrive in Tokyo at dawn, okay? Stop crying already!" He laughed, wiping off my tears.

I flailed my arms. "I am not crying! I'M SWEATING THROUGH MY EYES!" That was a lame excuse, but hey, at least it was witty! Plus, there's just no way I'm going to admit to this lame jerk that Alice, the number one Princess in the whole wide world, can actually cry because of monsters and other stuff in the dark!

After, freaking out. I sighed. "Thank You... for staying with me, Kaoru."

Hikaru was laughing uncontrollably. "Seriously, Karylle? Alice still believes in monsters?" He said, wiping his tears of joy. I face-palmed. I never expected him to laugh like this. And Tamaki was just staring at me in awe. "What's so funny, Hikaru? If our Princess is afraid of monsters, then we must not cosplay monsters ever again!" Tamaki scolded. Kyouya chuckled. "That's an interesting piece of information, Karylle." What the hell? We were talking about fears, then I just told them Alice's fear of monsters, and now they're laughing?

"Hey, Kary-chan. Is Fifi-chan afraid of Pocket Monsters, too?" Hani asked me, tugging my shirt. "She's not. I saw her at the club room one time, playing Pokemon." Mori answered his question, carrying him on his back. "Eh... I don't think it's funny making fun of someone's fears. I mean if someone were to scare me with thunder..." Haruhi sighed, rubbing the back of her head. "Haruhi is right! We must not make fun of fears." Tamaki patted Haruhi's back in approval.

What have I done?

Sorry, Alice. I was just sharing!