Chapter Thirteen: The Halloween Party
"I don't know, the coat has too much embellishment." Kaoru said with a thumb on his chin.
"I agree, Mori's already really huge, the extra work just makes him even huger." Hikaru added. Mori stood still in his Halloween costume and let the twin brothers dress him. It was only a week away before the Halloween party, and the costumes were getting their last minute detailing.
"Hmm this is much better." Kaoru said wiping the sweet off his forehead. Mori looked at himself in the mirror. He was indeed tall and overwhelming even though his personality was soft; and instead of thinking of himself good looking, he wondered if he was going to be cold with most of his chest revealed.
"Alright, Mori's done. That's everybody then." Hikaru confirming ticking off his list. All the costumes were done, and ready for the Host Club's Halloween Party.
They came out of the fitting room to see the rest of the members enjoying some tea over snacks. Honey seemed to be really enjoying the fall snacks that the school baked.
"Alright, so we're done. So now we just have to show up." Hikaru said sitting down next to Haruhi as Ai served him some hot tea.
"Finally, I thought the costumes were never going to get done." Kaoru sighed happy with their designs.
"The costumes really look amazing. I think the clients are going to be pretty happy." Haruhi smiled, she was actually really happy with her outfit and was looking forward to the party and all the new food she was going to eat. The members talked, the only person missing was Kyoya who was giving the final report to the administration for the ball room on Halloween night. Ai smiled happily as she listened to them talk.
"Kyoya's outfit was actually the most challenging, but I think we pulled off a great look for him." Kaoru said relieved. The group talked about Kyoya's final costume change, and they were content that wizard fit him really well; and the look of this costume really tied together with his mysterious side. Ai smiled a bit more hearing them talk about Kyoya, somehow it made her lifted to hear those words.
"Of course, there's that other more darker mysterious side of him that also shows up in the costume." Hikaru said falling dark himself as the group members feared the worst if they agreed even if Kyoya wasn't there. Tamaki suddenly looked up at Ai, watching her smile as she stood on the side lines listening to them. Somehow she had become part of their group and yet was still excluded. An idea came to mind.
"Hey what about Ai-chan? She doesn't have a costume." Tamaki said. The group looked to a surprised Ai who didn't know what to say.
"Ah that's alright. I'm not actually a member." Ai smiled waving the idea away. She didn't want to be a burden to the group.
"That's not true. You're here with us everyday during club so you're a member too Ai-san." Haruhi smiled agreeing to the idea. Mori stepped into the discussion after getting out of his costume. He didn't know what they were talking about.
"Mori, we were just talking about getting Ai-chan a costume too for the Halloween party. Whaddya think?" Honey asked catching Mori off guard a little. He looked at Ai smiling nervously for being in the limelight.
"It's a good idea." Mori smiled kindly.
"It's settled then. Ai-chan is going to join us and wear a costume." Tamaki happily skipped to Ai's side. She was still nervous, they all decided this without Kyoya, and if she had learned anything these past couple of weeks, is that Kyoya was the head of the club.
"Um but shouldn't we ask Ootori-san?" Ai asked.
"Ohmygod we decided this without the demon king?" Hikaru said freaking out. The group suddenly huddled together in a mass panic attack.
"Ohmygod, we'll be killed if this gets out." Tamaki added pulling out his hair.
"If what gets out?" Kyoya said nonchalantly entering the club room. He was already suspicious, they had done something.
"Kyoya!" Tamaki and the twins yelped stepping back into a tighter huddle. The group whispered to each other trying to figure out the best way to cover up this mess all the while Kyoya and his business smile grew.
"Out with it." Kyoya asked kindly, his glasses fogged white as the room became dark with the weight of Kyoya's smile. Ai shivered a little, she smiled while being frightened hoping she wouldn't be questioned. Mori stepped forward looking rather plain, the group reaching for him as if he was taking his own life.
"He was a good man." Kaoru said wiping his tears as they consoled Honey for the loss of Mori.
"We were thinking about getting Ai-san into a costume too." Mori said looking Kyoya straight in the eye. It wasn't anything threatening but it still had taken Kyoya aback.
"A costume for Sakamoto-san?" Kyoya said looking at Ai who had been next to him the whole time.
"Yeah, since she's already in the club and she'll be attending the Party, we thought it would be a good idea." Honey appeared suddenly on top of Mori's shoulder with a cute friendly smile. Kyoya thought about it for a moment, and for some reason he was against the idea. He looked at Mori looking down at him with a slight smile. Kyoya looked at Ai who was smiling nervously, he knew even if he asked her what she wanted to do, she would just tell him whatever he wanted to do.
"I guess it makes sense. But it's last minute." Kyoya replied. The group cheered.
"Nah, we're way ahead of you Kyoya, we're already making plans." Hikaru and Kaoru said together already talking about what Ai should dress up as.
"What should she be?" Haruhi asked as the group thought long and hard about it. Ai smiled as she watched them. Kyoya sighed, he wasn't as irritated as he thought he would be.
"Ai-chan lets plan together." Honey said as he happily climbed down from Mori's shoulders and grabbed her hand. Ai agreed and went to the group to help them, even though she had no idea what she wanted to dress up as. But she was thankful to them for letting her be a part of the club. She felt welcomed and a part of something. Mori's eyes softened with just a hint of a smile appearing on his face. Kyoya noticed Mori's attention to Ai and it bothered him to the core. He moved away from the group to work on other matters as they gathered together to plan with her. It was an irritating feeling, her smile, her happiness with them was all just frustrating. He wasn't sure why, but he knew it stemmed from Mori.
"I have the perfect idea." Tamaki suddenly announced when the group had calmed down. By this time Kyoya was engrossed in his thoughts, and wasn't paying attention to them anymore. Tamaki smiled looking in Kyoya's direction, there was something Kyoya had to first realize and admit.
"Um, it feels a little tight…" Ai said feeling like the waist was clinging to her body as second skin. She didn't want to burden them, they had already done so much for her by including her into their party and making this costume just for her.
"Nah, it's about the same tightness as the school uniform. You probably just feel like that because you never expected to wear something like this." Kaoru said kindly as he handed her a small witch hat with a small amount of purple netting just enough to distinguish her black hair and the hat. Her hair was tied up in a simple tight pony tail. Her outfit was mainly black with the inner portion of the outfit a dark purple, a short frilly black skirt with gold embellishment and patterned detail, with a matching short sleeved laced-to-the-neck top; and netted hosiery and black strap shoes. She felt a bit overdone and too sexy to be a witch. Her image of a witch was like a witch outfit she once wore at her school's haunted house.
"Thank you for going through the trouble." Ai said with a smile but still uncertain if she really looked like an evil witch.
"And to complete the outfit." Hikaru handed her a wooden broomstick. Ai took it and smiled. She had never had never worn a costume so tailored and fancy.
"Thank you very much." She smiled and bowed to them both. Hikaru and Kaoru smiled, they were pleased with the final piece.
"Now lets go have some fun at the party!" Kaoru said waving his hand into the air with Hikaru joining in. Ai smiled at them, she was really glad she was able to meet such great people. Her drive to do the best she can renewed in that instant, she would do all she could to make the party fun.
It was 7 and the students started to show up. They were dressed up in wonderful costumes, everything from the dark deathly to the beautiful princess. The hall was decorated to invigorate the senses, with dark lanterns lit, orange pumpkins, dark colourful leaves mixed in with spider webs and of course the over the top opulence. High vaulted ceiling with small streams of lights, chandeliers and the smell cinnamon and roasted pumpkin seeds.
"Wow, it's so amazing!" One of the guests exclaimed in awe. The guests had all arrived, the stage set, it was time to start the party.
"Welcome everyone to the Host Club's Halloween Party!" Tamaki said from the 2nd floor twin staircase. The crowd of girls squealed when suddenly the darkness behind Tamaki lit up revealing the Host Club members all dressed differently. The squeal's grew, a couple of girls even fainted. The boys clapped somehow feeling inadequate.
"Tonight on Hallows Eve we enjoy the Fall festivities. Tonight we all will become…part of a spell, a part of the magic." Tamaki said looking the part indeed.
"The whole hall lit up with lights from the ceilings to the walls. It brightened only to showcase the dark black drapery on the high windows, to the pumpkin jack o lanterns on each table.
"Enjoy tonight, like it was your last night." Tamaki grinned a little menacing but still sexy, enough to make the girls wail as if they were in the presence of real royalty. Kaoru and Hikaru walked down the staircase first making their way to the bottom.
"Meet the brother combo, Hikaru the all American cowboy to save you from the bandits and Kaoru the young gladiator fighting to win all your hearts." Tamaki introduced as they smiled and winked to the crowd. Hikaru even gave a finger gun shot to the crowd making the girls lose their senses.
"Here to steal your gold and your hearts, the ever mischievous Pirate Honey-senpai together with the tall, dark and mysterious as the night, an Arabian knight Mori-senpai. " The crowd cheered as they mis-matched duo walked down to the bottom.
"And here comes, the sweet and sensitive Haruhi, a Chinese acrobat." Tamaki's smile extended further while introducing her, since she looked very cute in her Chinese outfit. She walked down the stairs waving and smiling gently to the crowd, making the boys even a little confused about their feelings.
The lights turned off suddenly, catching everyone off guard, only Tamaki's voice could be heard.
"And now...The wielder of true magic, the man who made tonight a night to remember. The mysterious man of the dark and light arts...Kyoya!" Tamaki exclaimed, a light shone down on Kyoya as he walked down the stairs, he wasn't expecting this distinguished entrance, he knew right away it was Tamaki's doing. Was he trying to shine the light on Kyoya on purpose so that everyone knew it was him who made tonight what it was. It didn't matter right now, right now Kyoya focused on walking down flashing the audience a to die for business smile. The girls were at first shocked to see Kyoya looking the way he did. He was dressed in a long black frock, with a outer no sleeve coat on top embroidered with black stars on the outside and dark purple on in the inside, glasses and carrying a book of spells and a wand. He looked a bit more mysterious than normal, a little more friendly and nothing like the sophisticated Kyoya they were used to. The crowd cheered showing their appreciation for a job well done. It somehow felt very good to be recognized, and praised this way. Ai looked up and clapped along with the crowd, it felt really good to cheer him on. She watched him make his way down the stairs paying closer attention to him than anyone else in the room.
"Last but not least, me, as your King for the night." Tamaki bowed like a gentlemen and flashed the crowd a sexy smile giving the final touch to an already touched audience.
"Enjoy yourself tonight! Dine, dance and celebrate the night!" He said finally making his way down to join his club members. Confetti dropped from the ceiling shimmering gold. The crowd cheered, this was just the beginning and already everyone was amped up for a wonderful night. This october ball was going to be like no other ball they had ever had, and it was going to be the one that was remembered forever at Ouran.
They re-grouped with Ai who was standing and smiling and cheering for the club members as they made their way through the crowd. Music came on, and people started to mingle and enjoy the food and dance. With the atmosphere so uplifted and sexy, it would be hard for anyone to not get into the halloween spirit.
"Ai-chan! How did you like our entrance!" Honey asked enthusiastically. He was eager to get her review.
She smiled happily, blushed a little from all the wonder and excitement she saw.
"It was amazing! I've never seen anything like it!" She happily clasped her hands excited. The group smiled delighted that she seemed to be having fun. Loud dance music started to play, the crowd for the first time hearing music in a ball that wasn't refined and classical. Kyoya looked to the crowd with a smile on his face, the kids of the rich let themselves go and grouped on to the dance floor and started to dance without restraint. Hands in the air, jumping, neatly done hair flying everywhere as the let themselves go and having the time of their lives.
"Lets go dance!" Hikaru and Kaoru said together grabbing Haruhi and Ai to the dance floor eager to have fun. Ai was going to politely refuse as was Haruhi who wanted to try out the food more than anything, but it was too late; they were both dragged to the floor. Kyoya watched as they got to the floor mixing in with the crowd. Haurhi and Ai at first didn't know what to do, but followed Hikaru and Kaoru's lead and started to just go with the flow.
"What are we doing standing here! Lets join them!" Tamaki exclaimed and he and Honey made their way to the floor to join in the madness of loud music. Ai started to get the hang of it and started to let lose and have fun. Her and Haruhi held each other's hand as they hopped and swung their hips to the music.
Kyoya and Mori stayed back watching their friends going nuts on the floor. Mori watched Ai closely and smiled to himself.
"I'm going to join them, come along Kyoya." Mori said plainly with a small smile. Kyoya was surprised to see Mori going for this.
"It's alright, I'm going to keep an eye on things." Kyoya replied thinking about putting his silly wand on to their table. Mori smiled a little disappointed, but he nodded and headed to the floor. Kyoya watched him go to Ai's side, by then the group held on to each others hands and made a circle dancing. Hikaru let go of Ai's hands and let Mori into the circle. Kyoya's face became very blank, anxiety starting to stir up in his chest. He was tall and uncoordinated, but he was trying to match Ai and the others, he looked down to her and smiled. She looked up to him and smiled mindlessly like she normally did. Kyoya knew something was up with Mori. He was the gentle giant who always considered the feelings of girls, but when it came to Ai, there was a special glint in his eyes. Without thinking about what he was doing he felt a harsh snap in his hands, he had broken his wand into half. He hadn't even realized he done it until he looked down to his hands. His eyes widen, he was shocked that he could do something like this. He had never in all his years of facing anxiety and pressure done such a thing. He put the broken wand down on the table, still shaken from what he did.
He looked up to the dance floor, see the happy faces around him dancing and having fun. Somehow he felt dissatisfied. Everything was going very well, and yet he was feeling agitated.
The song ended and the group spread back to their table, Kyoya adjusted himself and got up to meet them, tossing his wand aside into garbage.
"Kyoya, you should've joined us." Honey said in high spirits.
"That's alright, I got a chance to observe everyone. And seems like everything's going very well." Kyoya smiled. He had to calm down, this was no time to be losing his cool. He had an objective he had to achieve.
The floor staff came around serving snacks and drinks as the students rested up for the next round of dancing. The lighting changed to match each song, the atmosphere changing each time the mood changed, which helped the crowd adjust from high level energy to calming down.
Mori was standing next to Ai who felt like her heart was still racing from all the dancing she had done. This was the first time in her life she had ever danced like mad. She felt excited and yet relieved.
"Are you thirsty?" Mori asked her noticing that she was a little out of breath.
"Yes I am a little thirsty, I'll get something for us to drink." Ai said thinking that it was her cue to get the group their drinks.
"Ah a drink would be really good right now!" Hikaru said wiping the sweat from his forehead.
"I'll be right back with some drinks." Ai smiled kindly excusing herself.
"I'll help you." Mori offered coming along with her, much to Ai's delight.
"Thank you." She replied accepting his offer. Kyoya watched their interaction, and it was rather close. He had expected Ai to politely turn down Mori's help like she had many other times. This sent up a strange sensation in his heart. He wasn't anxious, but he felt nervous. The club members rested and mingled with other students as they came to the table, but Kyoya separated himself following Mori and Ai slightly from the corner, watching them talk and interact on a level he wouldn't expect.
Mori seemed to be very talkative with her, more than even the group members. He smiled and even laughed a little as she talked. They got the drinks and started to head back to the table, Kyoya quickly busied himself with some female guests who were regulars with the Club.
"This is amazing Kyoya-sempai! Thank you so much for putting on such a great show!" The girls exclaimed, clearly they had been dancing hard since their clothes and hair seemed to be a little messy. He flashed them his famous smile and thanked them for coming and their compliments, and yet; his attention was still on Ai and Mori walking back and giving the drinks to the table.
He excused himself from the girls and headed back to the table too since Ai and Mori were still talking to each other as if they were the only 2 people there. Suddenly the lights changed, it became dimmer, a romantic song came on. Couples came on to the dance blushing as they shared the first real romantic song they had ever really danced too. They were all clumsy and a little nervous as they approached the floor, the song so powerful and beautiful, felt like couples could be made there and then. Kyoya turned back to Ai and Mori, he continued to walk towards them when he noticed Ai accept Mori's hand and blush. Kyoya stopped in his tracks shocked, Mori led her to the dance floor, her face blushing, an expression Kyoya had never seen her make. Mori gently took a hold of her waist and her hand and came close, bending down a little so she position herself better. Kyoya's mouth dropped open a little, his eyes showing the full impact of what he was seeing.
"Hey look at that! Mori-sempai and Ai-chan are dancing!" Kaoru exclaimed excitedly.
"Hey, don't you think they look really cute together." Hikaru adding feeling a little bashful. The group agreed, but Tamaki looked worried and he looked towards Kyoya who was a few feet away from the table, looking stunned.
The song played and Mori's expression looked calm and gentle, like a man dancing with the one he loved, and Ai holding on to the tall gentlemen looking like she belonged there with him. Kyoya's fits balled, the rage in him fighting against the incredible remorse he felt. Conflicting emotions confusing and agitating him to the point where he looked away and hurried off away from them. Tamaki saw this, while no one else noticed. He sighed.
"Danm, this isn't good." He said under his breath looking out to Mori and Ai dancing.
Ai felt a bit strange, the only man she had ever danced with was Aizawa, and it was never like this. She blushed a lot, but it wasn't something she could refuse. After all Mori was someone who was a friend now, and a close friend of Kyoya's. Her feelings were battling too, feeling like she worried about what she was doing, was comfortable and yet so uncomfortable. The others around her were dancing couples, dancing like she was with Mori, this was normal. It was a normal dance and Mori was kind enough to include her. She smiled to herself, her life in Ouran was really becoming a great blessing.
When they finished the dance, the lights and song transitioned to another type of song while the crowd changed and regrouped. She parted from Mori hold and thanked him for dancing with her. Mori smiled to her with such soft eyes.
"Thank you for dancing with me Ai-san." His words were soft and Ai couldn't help blush a little. They walked back to the table talking like normal. Their table was half empty with Hikaru and Kaoru gone to mingle, while Haruhi and Honey ate and Tamaki who seemed to be in deep thought.
"Tamaki, what're you thinking about?" Mori asked noticing his deep thought pose, where he sat on the chair his knee's crossed and a hand to the chin.
"Ah, nothing nothing. You guys must be hungry, wanna grab something to eat?" Tamaki said snapping out of his thoughts. Right now, he couldn't think of what to do, especially with the situation so delicate. Ai looked around the table and noticed that Kyoya was not there.
"Souh-san, do you know where Ootori-san is?" Ai asked politely. Tamaki looked to her a little defeated.
"I think he's outside getting some fresh air on the 2nd floor." Tamaki said practically telling her to go to him.
"I'll go find him, thank you." She smiled, bowed and left. Maybe it was her intuition as a employee of the Ootori home, or maybe she was aware of Kyoya. Tamaki watched her leave.
"Its complicated isn't it?" Tamaki said to himself.
"?" Mori looked wondering what that meant.
"Ah nothing nothing, come Mori-senpai, lets get some food!" Tamaki led Mori off to the buffet tables.
It was dark upstairs, she made sure to walk carefully, especially with her high heels. She reached the top, the large windows allowed her some good light. It was dark outside, the moon and stars out to celebrate the Halloween party with them. She smiled and looked on for Kyoya. She noticed a couple of doors open leading outside to a balcony further down the hall. She made her way there.
She peaked out and saw Kyoya standing under the moon looking away from her.
"Ootori-san." She called out. Kyoya didn't respond, he was surprised to hear her voice and for a moment thought it was in his head. Ai stepped on to the balcony.
"Ootori-san?" She said again wondering if he could hear her. She approached him calmly, but feeling very nervous for some reason. She somehow could sense from his back that he was upset with something.
"What are you doing here?" He asked suddenly not turning around to face her. He knew his voice sounded stern, and it was probably the reason why she stopped from getting any closer to him.
"I came to find you, Souh-san told me where you were." She said in a small voice. She knew he was mad. Was it because she neglected her duties as an employee of his to dance with one of his friends? Was this inappropriate behavior? She felt bad and horribly ashamed.
"I'm sorry." She said looking down to her feet feeling really stupid. How could she make these large mistakes and after everything he had done for her. She was out there having fun, while he was alone here probably still working. She looked to his back again, his shoulders looked stiff and his coat fluttered a little in the wind. It was getting chilly outside, and she was feeling cold in the small amount of clothing she was wearing.
"You are not to leave my side for any reason tonight, no matter who it is, deny them." He said sternly knowing that she was probably cold.
"Yes. I'm sorry for not knowing my place." Ai said feeling further ashamed.
"You have a place here, and that's next to me." Kyoya replied not knowing why he was saying these kinds of things to her.
"Yes." She lowered her head, she understood she had messed up. She left his side, her employer and Saviour to go dancing; it was showing him horrible disrespect. Her teeth chattered a little. Kyoya calmed down, the rage and bitterness that held good control of him was draining out of him. Now he felt strangely sorry for her. She was clearly cold and feeling horrible. He turned around to look at her. She stood before him, looking nervous and truly sorry for her mistake.
"Can you stay out here with me for awhile?" Kyoya asked sternly with a face that was vacant and unchanging.
"Yes." She said her body shaking a little as the wind picked up. Kyoya wasn't sure what he was thinking, was he trying to punish her for making him feel this way? Or was it something else? Something like a test to see if she would stay with him. They could hear the music from the dance floor, the crowd cheering and then the atmosphere changed again, another love song started to play. Ai stood there waiting for instruction as Kyoya looked off to the distant night sky. He was fully clothed and warm, and there she was visibly cold, and yet the heartless side of him wanted her to remain cold and feeling responsible. She hugged herself to warm up her body, her pony tail and skirt fluttering in the wind. He looked at her, her skirt was too short, he knew he should've looked over the design of her costume rather than trusting the twins with it. He fumed, wondering why she never learned to say no, and yet; he knew that what he was doing was no different.
He wasn't sure if it was the song that played in the distant from the ball room, or if it was the moon or just impulse. He came close to her, she looked up to see him before her, towering and almost menacing; it frightened her a little.
"Here." He said taking off his coat. It had no sleeves, so it was more like a long vest, she looked at him as he placed it around her. Her expression for once had changed and it surprised Kyoya. Her eyes were big and a little watery from the nights cold air, all light blocked her since he hovered before her, for once she looked at him with eyes he was not used to.
"Um, thank you Ootori-san, but won't you be cold?" She said still trembling from the wind. Kyoya knew it, with him, she would always first refuse. Not like with Mori, with whom she accepted things from. It hurt to feel like this, his eyes soften, a small defeated smile came to his face.
"No matter what, you'll always just say no to me." He said in such a small voice, it surprised Ai. He looked alone, and somehow it hurt to see him like this.
"No, it's not like tha-" Ai was cut off when suddenly he hugged her tightly.
"You can say no to me so easily for the things I do for you." He said holding her tighter. Ai was shocked, she didn't know what to do or say. But the loneliness in his voice, the way he was acting right now shocked her. She wondered had something happened? Confused and rattled by the situation she didn't know what to say or how to respond, but he was misunderstanding her.
"That's not it Ootori-san. I would never say no to anything you say. You are someone who is very important." Ai said feeling like she had to say the things that were in heart, and how she felt for him. Kyoya listened a little surprised with what she was saying.
"You saved me from so many things, and have done so much for me. I have never known a person as generous and as kind as you. So I would never say no to you." She explained feeling like her face was hot from clearly blushing. She was no longer shivering.
"I only want to make things easier for you, since you have given me so much." She added unsure how to clearly say what she wanted to. It felt like she was confessing to him and it felt a little uncomfortable. Kyoya listened unable to move.
"You're someone as important to me as my family." She said finally hoping to get across the place she held for him. Kyoya's eyes opened wider, surprised, he felt his arms loosen a little. No one had ever said such things to him, and he felt his cheeks blush. This sensation was new to him, he had never felt this embarrassed and happy.
Ai relaxed feeling like she got across what she wanted to say, and felt her arms reach and grab gently on to his sides. She didn't even realize what she was doing, but she knew it felt comfortable and warm. Kyoya couldn't let go, and he really wanted to, something warm and strange was building in the pit of his stomach. A sensation that was utterly new to him. But he couldn't part, this felt too good and too comfortable. She was small and fit perfectly in his body and arms, her smell and softness were all contributing to his blurred judgment, and for once in his life; the man in him was beckoning for him to do something he never had the urge to do. He just didn't know what it was and he tried his best to block it from coming known to him. Ai didn't move away from him, and he knew she wouldn't resist him so he took advantage of it even though he really wanted to move back, to detach himself from her and the feelings he was having.
Suddenly, he heard voices and it gave him the courage to move away from her. She realized what was happening and what she was doing. She was hugging Kyoya back, her employer. She suddenly felt really embarrassed, she had said so many things to him; and even done this. This was the first time they had hugged, not that she had been thinking about it.
"We should head back now." Kyoya said taking back his coat from her and slipping it on, he avoided any eye contact with her, and played the whole thing off like it didn't matter and wasn't anything to be considered. And yet for Ai, it was something; for the first time she felt something in her heart. She was blushing, excited, a feeling completely different from hugging Aizawa or her father. She couldn't put it into words or understand it.
"Lets go." Kyoya said not turning around. She followed as he closed the doors to the balcony and headed down the stairs, it was still dark, and the romantic song still playing. It was even darker now without any of the large lights on.
Ai tried to watch her step as she followed Kyoya when she mis-stepped. She squealed trying to hold on to the banister to prevent herself from falling. Kyoya turned around and was able to grab a hold of her but ended up falling back on to her.
"Are you alright?" Kyoya asked wondering if she had hit her head on the steps. He looked down her as she tried to sit up a little, her back seemed fine.
"Yes, I think so." She said her face coming up close to Kyoya's, who still was on top of her holding her up. He looked alarmed, as did she, their faces close enough to kiss. Kyoya realized what it was, what he wanted to do on that balcony, what the man in him wanted to do. It terrified him. This couldn't be right. He pulled back abruptly shocked. Ai composed herself fixing her skirt since it had rolled up high enough to showing more than enough thigh. Kyoya looked away feeling tense, this couldn't be right. Could he be feeling attracted to her, could he really be feeling like this?
"If you're okay, just be more careful." He said turning his back to her as she got up on to her feet on her own. He was too terrified to look at her.
"Yes." She said still feeling the effects of what happened on the balcony and now on these stairs. She blushed, her face feeling hot, her body trembling a little.
'Can't be. This can't be.' Kyoya thought. He knew he had found girls pretty before, and he had to admit that Ai was the prettiest girl he had ever seen; and yes he felt a certain attraction to her, but it wasn't like this. He felt angry with himself, how could he actually feel like doing these things? Feeling her body against him in that hug, the words she said, being on top of her with their faces inches away, a slightly exposed thigh; these were things that shouldn't have made him feel this way. He wasn't like the other boys where he had urges to be with a girl, he was focused and determined with bigger aspirations than just being able to hold a girl.
He came down the stairs, with Ai right behind him. He felt strangely uncomfortable with her. She looked down to her hands clasped in front of her, feeling just as uncomfortable as he did with her. The music changing was a relief and it helped lift some of weirdness he felt and was felt between them.
"We should meet up with the rest." Kyoya said making his way to the table, pushing back the things he felt and thought, he had to focus on things that took priority. Ai followed behind wondering what to do with how she was feeling. She was tense, her heart unable to stop beating loudly in her chest. She wondered if Kyoya felt the same, but he looked like the normal man he was always, so perhaps for him, it was nothing to get worked up about. This calmed her a little, but still she had never experienced these feelings before.
The group smiled and welcomed back to the table, no one asked where they had been and why they had been missing for a while, and it was lucky for Kyoya and Ai both since neither one would be able to answer properly. Right now was not the time to think about petty things, Kyoya had to make sure the party continued on to the night without a problem. He had to focus and make good use of his time, since he wasted so much on that balcony.
'Think about things that are important.' He scolded himself.
It was 8:30 and the Host Club had one more amazing portion to show off. The haunted house, with real actors playing the roles of ghosts and the undead. It was on a large scale being outside in the courtyard of the ballroom, closed off for the haunted house sitting on a make believe graveyard. It set the mood for a lot of couples and everyone interested in getting a little scared. Groups of them went inside and came out scared but laughing and having fun. It was a huge success and the likes of which they had never seen. The actors and gore so real, the club members looked back to Kyoya suspiciously, 'had Kyoya hired real undead and used real blood and guts from his access to his family's medical company?'
"No comment" Is all Kyoya said, shaking the club member's bones.
"Ootori-san, this is amazing. I have never seen such a realistic haunted house. You worked hard." Ai said smiling and ignoring the fact the rest of the Host Club members were huddled afraid that all the stuff inside this haunted house was real. Kyoya looked down to a happy cheery Ai, it didn't seem like she was greatly affected by what happened earlier which annoyed and satisfied Kyoya.
"Hey lets go in too and see how it is!" Tamaki exclaimed triumphantly, but the club members had already started walking in without him. It was to be done in pairs, mainly for couples. Tamaki happily grabbed Haruhi, he wouldn't miss an exciting chance like this. Haruhi wasn't afraid of these things, and went in nonchalantly. Mori of course went in with Honey, but what struck Kyoya was that Mori looked back to Ai who was always next to Kyoya so naturally they would go in together. Kyoya felt strangely uncomfortable that he would be going in with her into a place where the scare was mainly for the girls to leap into the arms of the guys. He wondered if such a thing would happen here.
Ai went in happily with Kyoya, expecting a scary show, and a scary show it was. They stepped into a dark entrance completely empty of anything but darkness. She wondered where was the fright. Kyoya walked slowly in sensing Ai's confusion, as was probably most people when they walked in expecting to be scared. They walked up to 5 doors, 5 different ways to go.
"Which one?" Kyoya asked Ai. She thought about it carefully unsure.
"Door one?" She asked. They walked into door one, it was again a dark empty corridor. Ai looked around hoping to see some kind of monster or bones or gore, but it was nothing but nothing. She let her guard down, and yet the heightened expectation of terror lurking around the corner scared her too. They turned another corner and suddenly a ghost from below the floor appeared grabbing a hold of Ai's ankle, she looked down to see what it was when she met with the ghost asking for her leg. She screamed loudly quickly jumping into Kyoya's chest. It surprised him, both to hear her voice go that loud, and also because she was now in his embrace. The ghost returned to the floor boards, as Ai recovered breathing heavily and clutching on to Kyoya's chest.
"Are you okay?" Kyoya asked bringing her back to reality. She looked up at him with tearful frightened eyes, her hands trembling.
"That shocked me." She laughed a little still unable to make her hands let go. Kyoya couldn't help thinking how cute she was, and the man in him stirred again. His calm cool demeanor wavering as he continued to look at her.
"I'm sorry!" She exclaimed suddenly realizing that she had been glued to him for a while now. Kyoya turned around before he pulled her back into a hug.
"It's alright, lets continue." He quickly said.
They walked through the maze of doors and corridors filled with unexpected ghosts and gore. Kyoya knew at each turn what to expect since he designed this haunted house himself so nothing fazed him, but he could tell Ai was scared. She was visibly shaking, her hands cold, her eyes always teary. Kyoya had never seen her shaken like this, and even though she tried hard to smile her way through, he noticed that she stayed closer and closer behind his back as if trying to hide. He found this automatic response of hers utterly cute and it was somewhat driving him mad. This was a good opportunity he should use to his benefit to grab a hold of her and lead her out, it wouldn't appear to mean anything other than being kind. He bargained with himself and outweighed the good and bad.
"Here." He said wrapping his arm around her and keeping her close to his side. Ai's eyes opened wide. Kyoya looked straight ahead avoiding any eye contact since he was already wavering, had he looked he would have seen a face ablaze. Ai was blushing madly, she felt thankful and excited. Her heart was beating rapidly, her face was hot and her trembling body no longer shaking. Kyoya's heart was racing too, he hated himself and the fact that he really liked this.
As they approached the end, Kyoya casually let go of her hand.
"We're at the end now." Kyoya said nonchalantly. Ai blushed again, and tried to calm her heart, from being scared and also from being excited.
The night ended, with the students leaving feeling still very excited about the night they had. They had experienced things they had never experienced before, like bobbing for apples, pie eating contest and tasting common fall western foods like pumpkin pie. Kyoya was very pleased with himself. He delivered a party that exceeded even his expectations just by putting on a classy version of a commoners halloween party. He would for sure thank Ai, because of her and her album he was able to put on a show that guaranteed a never to be forgotten trophy and place in Ouran history.
"This was so much fun!" A student leaving exclaimed.
"It was the best party I've ever been to! I'm going to tell my parents about it and have my own Halloween party next year!" Exclaimed another. Kyoya's grin stretched. Good, the students who needed to be affected the most were affected, and now when they go home to tell their wealthy parents, new partnerships will grow from their contact, and business will the Ootori's will increase. It was perfectly calculated, and hit three birds with one stone. The first bird being the recognition Ouran wide accompanied by trophy from the school, and the second bird was further business for the Otori family which would ultimately lead to the third bird, his father's recognition.
"Looks like you really did it Kyoya, everyone had the best time." Hikaru said as the group came to Kyoya ready to go home. The cleaning staff was arriving and ready to clean, which meant Kyoya would still have to stay back a little longer to ensure quality work was done.
"I'm glad it all went well." Kyoya replied adjusting his glasses. Ai came and stood next to him waiting for instruction as always, beaming a bright smile when Kaoru noticed.
"Hey, you guys match!" He said alarming Kyoya. His expression could have changed if he hadn't had this much control.
"What are you saying?" Kyoya said sweating a little and looking nervous. Was Kaoru implying that they looked good together, that they 'matched' well. His heart beat a bit harder as he anxiously waited the few seconds between replies.
"The outfits match! HAHA we didn't even notice and we made the clothes." Kaoru added. The group noticed finally and agreed. Kyoya looked at Ai who looked at herself and then to Kyoya and realized, he was the wizard and her a witch. She giggled to him, how did they miss such an obvious thing. Tamaki smiled and quickly grabbed Kyoya in a head hug.
"Aw, lucky, you got to match with Ai-chan!" Tamaki whined jokingly. Kyoya's heart calmed down when he understood they were just talking about the outfit, but when he looked at Tamaki as he let go of his head, he saw a gentle smile, a smile that suggested something.
"Alright! Lets go home!" Tamaki proudly announced with one hand on his hip and the other in the air, as if leading an army. The group stormed off leaving Kyoya and Ai looking confused with the groups random behavior.
"You can go home too, the car is waiting for you. I'll be a little longer." Kyoya said quickly and turned his back to her. Ai was baffled and followed quickly behind.
"Wha? Wait Ootori-san I will stay here with you and help." She voiced. Kyoya didn't turn around and nonchalantly started to oversee the clean up.
"No, it's alright, it's late and I'll be even later going home. It's best you go on first." Kyoya said not paying attention to her, and trying hard to keep it that way. Ai's face looked disheartened, she was being shoved aside and she knew it. Was he still upset because of earlier, did she not redeem herself during the night?
"I can help." Ai said in a small but clear voice. Kyoya turned without thinking to look at her.
"I said go home-"
"I promised I would stay by your side for the evening." Ai suddenly interrupted with her eyes shut, it caught Kyoya by surprise.
"Please, let me help." Ai said looking up at him with those big black eyes. Kyoya knew it then from her expression what she meant by the things she confessed on the balcony, she was indebted to him, and she was paying him back by being 'the good help'. His heart sank, and he didn't understand why. He sighed and continued to work with her quietly by his side.
It was getting late and the clean up staff was still working diligently under Kyoya's watchful eyes. He had sent Ai back inside the ball room since it was only getting colder outside. He looked at his mobile and saw that he had been outside for more than 2 hours leaving her by herself for a long time. He went back inside the ballroom preparing to leave for home. The clean up staff was almost done taking down the decorations and restoring the former glory of the ballroom. He looked around and spotted Ai sitting on the one of the bay windows looking outside. She seemed to be in deep thought, a face that was almost disheartened. He wondered what she was thinking, he walked towards her and as he came up to her, he noticed that she brought up a picture. He recognized that photo, it was the one she had shown him a long time ago, the one she carried with her everywhere, even here wearing a costume with no pockets. She smiled to it smiling sadly and stuffing it back into her chest. Kyoya stopped in his tracks. Anger and fear rising up in the pit of his stomach. What was this? Why was she still keeping that with her, why did she look like she missed the man in the picture. Was she still thinking of Aizawa. All these questions angered Kyoya, he turned heals ready to go back outside and continue working rather than going home when a worker came to him to report that the cleaning was done. Ai turned around to see him and quickly walked to him with her regular smile. Kyoya thanked the worker and turned to see Ai there.
"Are you done Ootori-san?" She asked kindly. He was frustrated looking at her face, this fake smile, and that broken hearted expression she had when looking at Aizawa, it was all annoying about her.
"Yes." He said heading out to the car as she trotted behind. She had learned to follow him even when he didn't say anything. Kyoya felt stupid, he understood it now. When he got into the car, he understood it all. The sensations that stirred him during the night had calmed, and Kyoya did what he always did, pegged his intimate time with her as 'in the moment' and nothing more.
Ah, so how was it? Long enough chapter hahaha
On the next chapter: The success of the Halloween party gets the Ootori family more business contacts, this pleases Kyoya's father, who gives him the invitation to come to the Takara family Christmas party, this angers Fujimaro and Akira, what will they do to hinder Kyoya!