A yawn threatened to escape my lips, it would have succeed if I hadn't suppressed it in time. My feet padded back towards the direction of my classroom the following week. All of today I found myself unusually exhausted than usual. I had to rub a cooling makeup gel under my eyes several times. There was no way I would be seen exhausted by anyone in this academy. It would ruin not only my elegant reputation but the Suoh reputation as well.

For the past few days I had been finding myself sleeping more than my usual time. I barely had time to catch up on my homework with Honey or my diet. It was difficult hiding this from prying eyes. Within these past few months, I had come to realize that some of the Hosts were quite the particular observant ones. They would notice the small things I would or would not do. In result I attempted to spend less time than expected with them. If I get any closer with any of them, then it would be the end of my independence because of their strange illusion of being a family.

My brother continuously insists that I spend time with the 'family' on their outings. It was troublesome having to create evasive routes to escape them.

I let out a deep sigh when I reached the door handle. In a quick moment, I corrected my posture and concealed my exhausted under a poised composure. My hands smoothed out any unwanted wrinkles on my dress and smoothed out my fringe. I styled my hair in my usual side bun style. There was no changing my elegant hairstyle. When I opened the classroom door, I was greeted with a chorus of excited shouts. All of my classmates were eagerly chatted with one another about an unknown topic. Since our teacher is gone for the remaining days of the week, our class presidents were obligated to take charge.

"Suoh-san!" Our Vice President, Momoka Kurakano, skipped towards me. A pleasant smile tugged at her face, getting her a beautiful appearance. I had always found her a pleasant presence with not only a positive mind but an elegant composure. It was pleasing to note how lady-like she is.

"Hello, Kurakano-san." I greeted humbly with an acknowledging tilt of my head.

Kurakano smiled prettily at me before motioning to the clipboard in her hands, "We were just discussing a class bonding activity. While you were away we have concluded that a Fright Fest would be the best way to bond! The entire class will split up into two separate groups: the scarees and scarers! Now we would switch roles halfway through so everyone is able to have a chance of each role."

"That's great." I smiled politely at her as I clasped my hands gracefully in front of me. Although I was aware that we were going to do a class bonding activity, I would have never assumed that frightening each other would suffice as bonding. Perhaps the people in Japan simply do things much differently than France.

"Unfortunately, there is a maximum of four people in each group. Everyone had already chosen their groups. The only group that has three in it is my group, the scarees. There is Renge-san, Mashiro-san, myself, and now you!" Kurakano explained to me as she showed me her notes on her clipboard. It appeared everyone has been chosen partners while I was away. Internally I was disappointed I couldn't choose my own partners but a lady doesn't complain.

I bowed in front of her respectfully, "I look forward to being in a group with you, Kurakano-san."

A small flustered blush grew on her face and she giggled in agreement. Shortly after she explained the money situation about 300 yen per prop— according the commoner's rule. Following what I have done previously, I had given my share of fund towards Renge. Considering I was partnered with Renge, she will definitely take leadership and I do not have to stress to much.

All I have to sit idly and watch this scene unfold. I glanced over my shoulder at Haruhi's group. She had both of the fearless twins on her team against ours. This Fright Fest was definitely in the twins' area of expertise, much to our class' horror. There was no chance for survival for our team if we were against them.

All of the focus in 1-A was towards the Fright Fest in the next two days. The entire class was determined to not have their most petrified moments published to the entire academy. There was a silent competition between every group which resulted in secretive business. Everyone had put all of their efforts in making their plans and props flawless. It was admirable of the dedication from these students.

Renge was one of the more dedicated students. Her mind was constantly racing with different scary tactics from binge watching scary movies. It was a strategy of hers to innovate ways horror movies had used. Whenever she came up with a brilliant plan or idea, she would text the three of us eagerly despite the time of day.

Renge had Mashiro collect data of everyone in Group B in attempts to find their darkest fear. The latter was known for her curiosity due to her family's gossip magazine businesses. Around school she was someone you didn't want as an enemy because she had a knack for collecting data.

Kurakano had been assigned to slyly check what Group B's plans were but indirectly using her status to her advantage. There was no abusing power of her status as the vice president because she was to ensure that everyone was working together and that there was friendliness. It was to ensure that there class bonding and we had simply used that to our advantage. She had also had a knack for innocently inquiring into other's business.

Memorizing the blueprints of the high school and checking for any flaws in our plans was my duty. It was to ensure that no one could sneak up to us and check for any possibly hiding places of the scarers. With my perfectionist ways, it was perfect to check for the flaws. The four of us were determined to not have any disgraceful pictures of us taken and published.

I hadn't voiced my doubts in our planning in fear of holding our group back.

"There is a maximum of 4 different tags we are to collect. I assume that they will be reasonably spread out across campus."

My breaths was short and quick the moment we stepped onto Ouran Academy the eve of the a Fright Fest. There was a temptation to return to the comforts of home but that would damage my reputation. I had to put a brave mask on for a couple of hours before I return home. No one could see the discomfort that was settled deep within me. It made me jittery and queasy from the overly sensitive nerves. Concealing these nerves was one of the hardest things I had to do.

Everyone in Group A was putting on a brave face and facing the unknown scares directly. The silence of the dark and gloomy hallways of Ouran Academy was nerve wrecking. The shadows increased its size and was darker than ever due to the drifting clouds in the midnight air. It not only made me anxious and jittery, but the other girls on my team as well. They all huddled in a tight group behind me with vice grips on my dress. The flashlight was gripped so tightly in my hand that it made my knuckles white.

"...Let's check the libraries then the science labs." Mashiro quietly suggested with her deep brown eyes flickered everywhere around us.

The libraries was the eeriest places I have ever been to. No light touched any of the bookshelves nor stairwells. It was all casted in darkness that immediately set me on edge. We shuffled into the library and shined the flashlight in every direction possible. There was no movements nor sounds.

As we walked into the depths of the library, there was a sudden snap.

We all jumped high in the air and blindly faced the direction. The light was shined towards the center of the library where all of the long wooden tables stood. There was no indication as to where the sound came from. I narrowed my eyes to see better. I walked down one of the book shelves and flashed the light to my right with my footsteps echoing softly. There was a ridiculously tall and slender figure standing there. It was wearing a dark suit and had no face. It was all white.

Kurakano let out an ear splitting scream and tugged us all away from it.

My stomach clenched at the darkness that surrounded us. The four of us raced down the isles in blind panic. There was no clear light because of the running we did hat caused the flashlight to juggle. Renge tugged me down to the left and snatched the light from my shaky hand. She hesitated before looking down each isle. The light flashed to our left and taped to a book was the tag! Two more screams were let out at the sight of another inhumanly tall figure with no face beside the tag.

"T-T-There's two of them!"

Renge let out a screech the moment it began to stalk towards us fast. I could only stand there completely stunned of the sight. As fast as a rabbit, Mashiro bravely tugged me out of the way before letting go. She dodged the inhuman figure and snatched the tag before dragging all of us out of the library. At that moment of recovering from our terrified state, we only stood in the dark hallway panting. A small itch at the back of my throat made me swallow uncomfortably.

"S-Stupid G-Group B..." Renge spat out angrily to cover her fear. Her brown eyes continuously darted over her shoulder in paranoia.

"Good...job...Mashiro-san!" Kurakano panted heavily as she weakly congratulated the brave hearted girl. The said girl only panted heavily and waved off the praise.

Mashiro gave me the tag to put in my small purse, "I trust you with this more."

"Let's keep going to the biology lab."

Renge poked her head through the biology door cautiously.

"Now we have to be careful this time. No sudden movements. There was slime everywhere on the tables and walls. From what I could see is there dead brains, rats and frogs surrounding the place. My previous scanning of the blueprints reminded me that there is two different storage closets here. I'm assuming that's where the next group is. Kurakano-san and I will serve as a distraction while Mashiro-san and Renge-san will sneak in from the back door." My whispering voice held a newfound authoritative tone after I scanned the classroom from the door that was cracked open.

Renge nodded in confirmation before making the four of us place our hands on top of each other in an act of team bonding before splitting ways.

Kurakano hadn't let go of her vice grip on my bicep the moment we left the library. Her rapid breathing and shaky hands were obvious signs that she was internally panicking.

In a voice just quieter than a whisper, I rubbed her arm comforting whilst trying to sound stronger than I really was, "I'll go first but you must keep a level head. I know you're afraid but just remember that these are your classmates. There's nothing truly to be afraid of, Kurakano-san."

I am such a hypocrite.

As I nervously walked in the biology laboratory, my eyes darted in every shadowy corner. The darkness of the academy really ground heavily on my over sensitive nerves and allowed a small paranoia to appear. Anything could creep up to us or jump scare us at any given moment. Bile crept up through me at the sight of the once alive organisms. The stench was absolutely disgusting. It tingled my nose and made me want to sneeze. There was vials and glass containers of strange bubbling liquids. It emitted a strange glow that casted creepier shadows along the walls. A cold shiver ran up my spine.

Serve as a distraction.

"The tag must be in here somewhere..." Kurakano stated fearfully while quickly glancing around the room. We slowly shuffled deeper into the chilly laboratory with the flashlight clutched in my hand. The only sounds were the bubbling and our heels clicking on the ground. My breath hitched when our light flickered before lighting back up. I shined it around the room, trying to steady my shaky arm. As I shined it around, I had noticed something unusual at the corner of my eye. When I shined it, there was nothing there.

"Did you see that?" I whispered to her seriously with my eyes trained around the room.

"See what?" Her usually soft voice was shaky with nerves and paranoia.

My eyes narrowed around the room to focus more in the shadows.

Kurakano tightened her grip on me and hurriedly pointed to the corner of an examination table, "T-There! In the c-corner!"

She let another ear splitting scream at the sight of a dark figure in the corner of the laboratory. When I shined the light on it, my blood ran cold at the sight of our mangled classmate. Blood oozed from mangled wounds all over his body. There was blood splattered all over his body. With a deep growl, he lumbered quickly over towards us. Kurakano screamed again and tugged me away from the zombie. As we backed away, another one jumped out of a cupboard with a loud groan. He was just as mangled as he other one with a wretched smell on him that burnt my nostrils.

I gagged quietly as the bile threatened to come out. Dizziness washed over me from the stench. Kurakano hurriedly dragged me out of the laboratory the moment our other group members rushed in to snag the tag whilst the attention was on us. The zombies were starting to chase after us regardless of their limbs. I couldn't think straight from the dizziness, queasiness, and the burning in my throat.

Running to the nearest garbage, I dry heaved disgracefully while Kurakano met up with our teammates. I hadn't gotten sick in ages and I certainly did not miss the sensation. When I was positive I wouldn't get sick, I returned to the group quietly.

"Are you okay, Suoh-san?" Renge asked concernly as she gently held my arms in hers. I breathed deeply and nodded my head.

"I'll be fine, thank you, Renge-san." I straightened my posture in a poised fashion despite the illness I felt, "Have you retrieved the tag?"

She grinned happily and handed it to me, "Here."

"T-That was so scary..." Kurakano whimpered quietly in Mashiro's arms. There was a line of cold sweat on her hairline and she breathed in shakily.

A false smile pulled at my lips at my classmate and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, "You were very brave back there, Kurakano-san. It was very admirable of you to think quickly like that."

A blush blossomed on her face cutely as she smiled sweetly at me.

"Now," Renge started as she stared determinedly at me, "We have two tags and there will be two more to go. Suoh-san, may I see the blueprints once more? Okay, if we go down this hallway we should be able to sneak behind the other group that would be stationed here hopefully. And-"

Bang!

The four of us jumped once more at the sudden noise. My eyes squinted in an attempt to adjust to the darkness with my flashlight lighting the large empty hallways with a soft glow. Anxiety began swelling within me and my breaths grew short from fear. There was nothing we could see within the darkness and that made me ultimately nervous.

Bang! Bang!

It gradually grew louder— closer towards us. Instinctively I took a step backwards. The queasiness feeling grew stronger and a cold sweat began on my body. The unknown sound increased until it made the windows vibrate and I could feel it in my feet. Then, everything stopped. A single skull rolled towards our feet. Blood coated the bone and dripped onto the marble flooring. The only sounds we could hear is each other's harsh breathing.

Something wasn't right.

Within a split second the skull exploded into a purple gas. Screams echoed throughout the hallway. We were encased in a thick fog that ultimately smelled foul. It had to be the most disgusting thing I have ever smelt. The smell seemed to blur all of my other senses and confuse my mind because the disgustingness was all I could think of. I could only dry heave from the stench. Following the explosion was a sudden voice that was laced with innocently malice, "We found you~"

Renge screeched for all of us to run.

Tears lined my eyes as I continuously vomited in the nearest trash can. My stomach could not handle any foul stench as I learnt from when I was younger. It was after learning that Tamaki had forgotten about old milk in a cup that was in my room that had grown rotten. Any food I had consumed throughout the evening is now gone. There was a shake in my limbs from my growing anxiety and the loss of food within my system. I had long dropped the flashlight in my hands and was now encased in darkness. Alone and miserable.

How in the world did I end up like this? This was not supposed to happen.

I was out of breath with the same burning in my throat. My hands clutched my purse for dear life. The other girls had all run in different directions without any trace as to where they went. After I had finished vomiting, I had nervously wandered the hallways in search of my group with eyes anxiously glancing over my shoulder. Occasionally I would hear the same bangs from earlier and I would flee as fast as my heels would take me. My breaths were ragged and uneven as I walked down the hallway with fear crawling over my skin.

BANG!

A nervous squeak left my lips and raced further down the hall. A deep feeling of shame overwhelmed me for my cowardice. There was no evasive way to get out of this situation. The only thing I could do is find someone— anyone to help me find my way out. Another sound behind me made me glance over my shoulder to peer into eery darkness of the grand halls of the academy. In these eery times, it led to my imagination to become over-active with many different scenarios frightening me more. To add onto my horror, I fell ungracefully onto my hands and knees. Tears lined my vision in fear, frustration, and loneliness.

"Madeline?"

I looked up to find Kaoru, Hikaru, Haruhi, and our class president, Kazukiyo.

Surprise was clearly evident in each of their eyes as they peered down at my knelt form. Eyes were wide as they looked down at me speechlessly. They must have seen how disastrous I look. Cold sweat, tears drying, and a frightened look in my eyes. How disgraceful. I averted my eyes shamefully and gently wiped my tears away.

"What happened to you?" Kneeling down in front of me, Haruhi softened her voice as she asked me cautiously. Her eyebrows were pulled together in worry as she examined my state. With a gentle force, she pulled me to my feet and kept a gentle grip on me. I pursed my lips and averted my eyes while answering in a raspy, grave voice.

"...something's wrong."

"What do you mean something's wrong?" The twins asked as the walked over to us. Confusion was sprawled across their faces as they peered closer towards my face in question. I nervously gulped and glanced over my shoulder in paranoia.

"Something happened while my group was looking for the tags. I-It..."

Haruhi rubbed my arm soothing when I trailed off. Kaoru stepped forwards and draped his arm around my shoulders in a side hug. The comfort that these Hosts gave me was welcomed wholeheartedly as I attempted to regain my lost composure with slow breaths.

Klunk!

"Oh, please no..." I murmured try myself under my breath with the shakiness in my limbs returning to me. Subconsciously I leaned into Kaoru's side closer with the echoes of the unknown source growing louder.

"Was it my imagination or did you guys see something white move across the window?" Haruhi asked as she stared transfixed at the gloomy windows with narrowed caramel brown eyes. Her innocence scared our class president and he began spluttering out exclamations of fear. The klunking noise increasingly grew louder and I wanted to shrink back to run away.

"Those must be the scarees from Group A. It's the sound of their footsteps coming downstairs." Haruhi reasoned, being the logical one of the group.

"Nah, can't be...our teammates on standby would've seen them coming." Hikaru stated matter of fact, he placed his hands on his hips sassily. "Besides, according to the route, they would've approached us from downstairs. So if it's coming from upstairs..."

Klunk! Klunk! Klunk!

A singular skull rolled down each stair, creating echoes. My blood ran cold once more this evening. I muffled a gasp with my clammy hand, "T-this is what was wrong...It's back...!"

Concern swelled within Kaoru's eyes as he peered down at my frightened state. In a quick motion, he removed his arm that was around me and intertwined our fingers reassuringly. His eyes glanced at me briefly before the entire group raced down the stairs without hesitation. A burning sensation settled in my throat as I breathed raspily. Screams echoed down the stairwell— mostly from the president. Hikaru whipped out his phone when he heard it go off.

"Hello?! This is Hikaru!"

A moment passed by before he angrily whipped around with flames igniting in his eyes, "We've been had! It's the damned Group A fooling around! No underhanded tricks under my foot! How dare they! You scarees are supposed to be good and scared! Not sending your teammate to fool us!"

Any words of refusal of my group fooling around died on my lips when Hikaru angrily kicked the skull back up the stairs. The skull flew high in the air and hit someone who was kneeling down at the top of the stairs. It let of a low groan of being hit. The words of this creepy figure hadn't registered in my head because of the fear surging through me. When the figure reached out towards us, effectively revealing his face— my breath hitched in my throat as I paled considerably. It was mangled and gory and half covered in thick blood.

Our usually composed class president fled for his life. His screams echoed off the walls and windows. Kaoru, being the nicer twin, raced after him after tightening his grip on my hand. Coughing took over my body as I stumbled to catch up to his long strides. The more I coughed violently, the dizzier I became. A sudden push caused me to tumble into Kaoru ungracefully who quickly ensured that I didn't hit the floor by wrapping one secure arm around my torso and one around my head.

A slam from our door caught all of our attention.

Once I was promptly out of Kaoru's grip, who raced to the closed door angrily, I slumped against the nearest wall with raspy breaths. Everything turned out a complete disaster. The pride, dignity, and grace I preserved graciously over the years had been shattered in million of pieces. No amount of work can fix it. Several people has now seen me in my humiliated state. Exhaustion had taken over my limbs and now I was too weak from running to reach for my purse that was near Kaoru's feet. I had another round of severe coughing that interrupted Kaoru's and Kazukiyo's small conversation about phone signal.

"Are you alright?" Kaoru asked and he instantly raced over to crouch in front of my sitting form. Worry encased the teenaged boy as his amber coloured eyes flickered over me. He placed a gentle hand on my forehead and widened at the overly hot body temperature.

"Madeline! You're burning!"

Weak was my voice as I pointed to my purse, "Pass...me my purse...please."

The moment my purse was passed over to me, I hurriedly opened it and grabbed my inhaler. Shaking it in my hand, I placed it between my lips and pressed down. The burning in my throat and lungs ceased as the gentle chemicals soothed them. This was done another round until the burning ceased.

"You're...asthmatic." Kaoru stated dumbfounded as he watched me put my inhaler in my purse. There was a lingering warmth in his voice as he shifted his weight to his knees. "Why hadn't you told me sooner?"

"I hadn't expected anyone to take notice to care. It is not that important so I always had taken care of it myself." The raspiness in my voice soothed down to my usual soft voice. My hands rubbed together for warmth in the chilly classrooms. The chilled evening air lingered in Ouran Academy adding more affect to the Fright Fest.

"Tsk, why do you do this?" Kaoru asked as he clicked his tongue disapprovingly with the smallest of frowns on his face. He shook his head, making his perfectly styled hair swish. Upon looking at my questioning look, he continued, "You always act so independent, as if you're the only one in the world. You never ask for things even if it's serious or you're in danger. When really you have a bunch of new friends and a brother who is more than willing to help you in any way they can."

"I've just been taught that a lady must not be dependant on others. She must always have the solution to all answers and do things without question." I recited perfectly before shivering from the chill. My clammy hands were clasped together tightly as I tried to settle the queasiness and dizziness. I briefly closed my eyes to calm my racing heart.

Kaoru smiled sadly at my independence before draping his pullover sweater over my shoulders, "A lady must also know when to rely on others. No one should handle everything on their own, not even you."

"Thank you..." I trailed off, for once in my life, I am speechless. The kindness in this boy is a surprising amount. Underneath his mischievous and rebellious acts, Kaoru is truly a sweetheart.

"I hate to interrupt but where do you think the others went to?" Kazukiyo asked nervously with beads of sweat lining his jawline. He was curled against the wall tightly with arms clasped around his legs.

Kaoru shrugged and glanced at the doorway, "Dunno, everyone just ran off."

"After a particular fright, my group all scattered in different directions. The next thing I found was getting sick frequently and being surrounded in darkness. I had dropped my flashlight long ago so I wandered in the dark for a long time. Who knows where everyone could be. I wouldn't worry if I were you, President. They'll send a search party for us or Hikaru will end up kicking the door down when he finds us." The words flew out of my mouth in an attempt to soothe his shaky nerves. A small light of relief shined in his eyes at the truth of my words.

Instinctually I gripped his large sweater closer to me as I gazed across the darkened room before closing my eyes in almost a pained way.

"...Are you afraid of the dark?" Kaoru quietly asked me from his intelligent observations after he sat directly to my right. His arm was pressed firmly against mine. Silence overcame the eery classroom after his question as I averted my attention to folding my legs close to my side. The three of us sat in the cold darkness in apprehension. When I hadn't answered him, I felt him wrap an arm around my shoulders and pull me closer to him.

A fierce blush erupted onto my face. My heart pounded for more reasons than one.

The two boys had a conversation about Kazukiyo's childhood crush he has had on Kurakano. The topic was irrelevant to me that I involuntarily tuned them out. All I could focus on was how ill I was feeling and Kaoru's warmth that I had subconsciously curled into. The duration of time we were in the classroom, I was praying that I wouldn't give into the temptation to vomit again. The only thing that averted my attention was the current topic.

"-I was thinking about the whole 'Family playacting' and all. I totally get what you mean about wanting to maintain the status quo. I mean, for Highness and us...we've never had so many friends before...ever... So we want to enjoy the friendships we have now, for as long as we can. But Hikaru is longing for something more than friendship."

To say I was shocked was an understatement. Honey had informed me that the twins were mean and devious during their childhood. No one had broken past their little barrier they created around themselves in an act of protection until Tamaki. It was miraculous of my brother to see the potential in these two and pull them out of their walls. Now they have their own little family of friends that they could be themselves in comfort. It is recent that Hikaru had developed feelings for Haruhi, unbeknownst to either of them.

I placed a gentle hand on Kaoru's knee.

When he glanced down at me questioningly, despite my sickly state, a soft and genuine smile was on my face, "I am personally glad that you have opened up to the world. You two are very wonderful people. Thank you for being ever so kind to my brother and I. Even though you two may relentlessly tease him, I know you two care a lot for him. Thank you very much for caring for us. I greatly appreciate it."

The smallest of blushes blossomed on his cheeks as he squeezed me tighter to his side, "Ha ha, I-I mean, Milord would die without any attention..."

When I leaned upwards to place a gentle kiss on his cheek— his face burned in a brighter blush.

"Kaoru!"

That was when we were saved.

Well, how do you all like this story development? Please do not hesitate to review or DM me for any constructive advice or questions!

If anyone is curious about any other stories I may publish for Lord of the Rings and/or The Hobbit, please message me if you are interested!