You avoided Kyouya for the rest of that day as much as you could. Tamaki tried to talk to you several times and you avoided that as well. After class you tried very hard to book it out of the room as fast as you could. You watched the hands on the clock on the wall and synchronized your own watch to it. The minutes and seconds had to be down the exact tick or else everyone would be able to recover from the ringing of the bell too fast. Counting down the last minutes you packed your bag with haste, and when the distraction called, and everyone's heads snapped up in unison, you were already pulling your bag onto your shoulder. If only you were one of those graceful characters who could have swooped up their belongings and started to take the first strides to the door you would have been out of there with no problems. The strap of your bag caught on the side of your chair. You jerked back with a force that made you take a few steps, almost landing into Tamaki. He saw you almost fall and stretched his arms out to catch you if you fell. You didn't though, to your advantage. He started to ask you if you were okay but you replied before "Yuko are-" where out of his mouth.

"Yeah, I'm fine. The stupid chair," you say to replace his words. You tried to move your feet quickly while also trying to cover as much ground in one stride as you could. The movement gave notice to your thighs and it felt like you were actually moving slower. You thought about running but you knew that would have the same effect as having a laser pointer aimed at your forehead. You dealt with the strides and soon the edge of the room was passing by. Everyone else was still gathering their things at this point, you knew because you could head the rustling of papers. Other class rooms were starting to erupt into after school noise so you ran and never looked back.

You tried to make the hallways pass in a blur but they didn't. The walls only pulled into pink "light-speed" vectors at your peripheral vision. When the floor gave way to steps you practically jumped down the majority. You stumbled a few times when your feet only caught the very edge of a single stair so you ended up sliding down more stairs then you had jumped. It wasn't that problematic though because it did quicken your descend. Once at the bottom of the very last flight you swerved at the last second as you caught the bulbous ending of the rail. The front door wasn't too far ahead, maybe a couple hundred feet. Your breathing was extremely labored, and you could feel a heavy thump in not only your pained chest but also your neck, ears, and behind your temples. Your hands and feet didn't escape the adrenaline and you only hoped that they would hold out long enough for you to reach raw daylight. A few more seconds were allowed to pass for you to get the metallic taste from the back of your itching throat.

It was the last stretch. You imaged that this was one of the greatest moments of your life. The static in your ears was taken as the roar of a crowd, your shoes squealed against the polished floors, and as the doors weren't approaching as fast as you wouldn't have liked you forced yourself to think past the stitch in your side. The sun streamed in from the windows adjacent to the door and you concentrated on that. A few more strides, that was all you needed, just a few more. Then you turned sideways so you wouldn't smack your face against the door. Your feet stopped moving but your momentum made you soar and your body crumbled against the pink painted wood. The thump reverberated off of every stone on the hall and a few of the servants', teachers', and administrators' heads moved attuned. The sweat from your hands greased the handles and made you fumble. Using both hands the doors were pulled back. When enough room had been made you snaked out the crevasse.

Half of the terrible work had been done, all that was left was to get home without limos and blond heads going past you. You pulled your jacket in closer to your neck and face and walked briskly. The cold left a stinging down your throat and around your face, but it helped your thumping school grounds still made you nervous but there was nothing to be done about the long walk to the front gate. The air outside was starting to get over the chill of the early winter; in a few months the first blooms of spring would appear. The ground was covered in a dirty paling white that only just concealed the brown grass beneath. The trees had been twiggy for months now, and the rose bushes where walls of snow and thorns. The grounds made you very happy. While the interior of Ouran maintained its pink splendor- always warm and plush, always marble and high vaulted, always overflowing with the perfumes of silk, blossoms, and rich spices- it was never real. The outside was more to you then any of the chai, green tea, peppermint, and sugar that Ouran could offer. You had always wondered why it was that classes were never outside during the winter. Many kids complained that the cold was terrible and they preferred stone fireplaces. You too liked fireplaces, but the brutal cold was more honest. Outside the seasons bared witness to reality. At this moment, it was just the thing you needed.

Far ahead of you limos started to pull around the long curved driveways toward the doors and sides of the buildings where their passengers would soon await. The way to the front gate stretched and rounded up, making the distance seem longer. You skipped ahead at a fairly quick speed, hoping to ignore everything else. Drawing in most of your breath then exhaling, you prayed that maybe your powers would activate as they should. For once you wanted to actually make that work when you wanted it to. The area behind you slowly increased in volume, and just as you were but a few hundred feet from the front gate, the first cars began passing you by. Every time the sound of tires hitting the pavement almost reached you, you stiffened until they moved right along. You finally passed the gates. Once taking a step past them you turned around, held the bars, and leaded up against them. Finally, relief. You straightened back out, turned toward your home, and started the long walk.

No unexpected visitors awaited you in your living room. You could have cried from the joy of it. In fact, nobody ever came by. Not the next day, or the next. A week flew by, and as each day rolled over into the next the panic of that first was never quite as intense. The day after you had tried to hide you had expected someone to question where you had been, but no one ever did. The hosts did as you asked and emailed you two days after the note about the plans that they wanted. Neither Tamaki nor Kyouya bothered you much in class, and they never asked. That was when you started to feel suspicious.

Nobody? Really? Nobody was saying anything. Tamaki smiled when you both happened to catch each other, but he made no other attempts to talk to you besides usual casualties. Kyouya was silent. You never saw much of the other hosts during school hours. During lunch after the first week you decided that you might be able to leave the homeroom. In the dinning hall you found places to sit by yourself and you had no intruders. You happen to see the twins one of these days and became stiff when they noticed you too. They looked at you, paused, smiled and waved, then sat with the other hosts. You heard you name called out by Hunny a few times as well. When you turned to look you saw him jumping and waving. The few times it happened he ran over to you, gave you a quick hug then let go to jump up onto Mori's shoulders. Mori would pick up his little friend, smile at you, then turn back toward the hosts. You noticed after a few times as well that Haruhi avoided looking straight at you. If she did catch you watching her, she would make a pained smile. In her expression there were so many things, but she held them back and sat with the rest.

Two more weeks went by. The room set ups were done in the morning before anyone else was able to get there, just like you wanted. After the way that you had seen everyone treat you during lunch, or any other time they saw you in the halls for that matter, they left you in peace. They were never rude of course, that just wasn't a host's style. You could also tell that they were being extremely nice in their set themes. Before you had turned back into a recluse you heard from your little corner all of their plans. They were elaborate and grand, but the ones since you note they were almost dull. Most days it was just the typical chairs and tables. The few times that they had planned they simply asked you to put up snow flakes, maybe a few color schemes, but nothing more than that. You longed to rejoin them but was never able to gain the courage to face Kyouya. You also knew that if you came back you would most likely have to explain what you were doing for some weeks that you couldn't perform you duties that you had previously. Every time you thought about showing your face to them your stomach rippled, and if you entertained the thought longer the ripples would turn into waves, escalating into storms.

You uncle had called you for other events, which you went to. You assured him that you still planned on going through with his plans. When you told him you made sure to smile wide, make your voice go higher, and blush. From what you could tell he was honestly happy. He told you many times during those weeks that we was glad that the plan had worked out. He told you it wasn't because he wanted to get rid of you- your comment from the car obviously cut deep- he just wasn't sure how to do anything else. He told you he knew that he couldn't make a very good father figure, but he hoped that he could be a provider. You understood and felt a passion not to mess this up. He said that while he might not understand how to connect with you, he might as well use the only thing he did know, which is to say his business sense. You couldn't blame him for that, at least it was a step. He called you sometimes for other balls and social events. You played the role you had been given the best you thought you could manage. After a few times it felt that doing it for a life time might not be so bad. Your feelings weren't exactly shut up or numb, they just shifted. After a while your uncle would called you out for breakfast during the weekends. The first few times were painfully awkward, but he then called you out more often. He asked you to sit with him during dinner now as Mim and Shima were gone. He asked you about what you liked, what you normally ate for dinner, the usual small talk. You uncle started to feel less like an unknown landlord and more like an acquaintance. Maybe that's why it was easier to play your role during the other balls.

January passed.

You thought that maybe they would allow you to do this until graduation. Everything conformed into a nice dream-like state. You worked on the host's room in the morning, lived through school, came home and did homework, and ate dinner with your uncle. The repetitious cycle hazed your panic over and soon a lovely fog worked it's way around everything you did. You art work even started to show it. After a few times of talking with your uncle, he finally asked to see them. When you had brought some of your better works to the table one of the nights he was shocked.

"Honestly Yuko, they are...beautiful," he said. You couldn't help but smile.

You painted more because he kept asking to see other ones and you didn't want to disappoint. The works were nothing like you had been making while you were close with the hosts. Those months with the hosts had turned your artwork into vibrant forests and scenes, laughing people or quiet companies, either way they were fantastically thaumaturgic. It didn't upset you in any way that you noticed the change in your work, you took it as you were moving past the childish stage of your life, moving towards the grown up world. The world of children are always over exaggerated anyways, right?

You expected that your new life would have to be more down to earth anyways. You didn't expect that being married to Kyouya would give you the chance to be in the clouds. Where did the sky meet the earth anyways? The "family-gathering" day when you were little, when you tried to tell about the colors in the sky, there was also no knowing where the sky meet the earth. That deep horizon was where you were. Between the blur. Life was starting to finally look up.

A week and a half into February you got an email saying that the room needed to be decorated with hearts and flowers. "LOTS OF HEARTS, FLOWERS, AND RED!" The note read. "Must give an air of the holiday. Be creative as you can," it continued. You smiled. Challenge accepted. Who did they think you were? If they wanted creativity they better hold onto their unicorns and talking trees. It was with this haughtiness that you picked out supplies, sent the bill back to Kyouya, and went into the room to decorate just a few days later. The early morning was still your call time to the room and you finished everything without a problem.

You had made your own paper hearts and hung them around the room randomly. They had poetical sayings and white trim. Then with red and white streamers, you laced a web above the heads of future visitors that would morph into a heart shape over the individual hosts seating areas. The couches where changed to some more comfortable deep brown ones. You laid heart shaped covers over the arms. The tables were also switched to glass. Finally, to get rid of the bright ceiling and floors, you laid plush brown rugs down and adjusted the lighting to be softer. You pulled out mint green tea cups, set up the cakes on their racks, and placed golden candle -holders with white candles, in the hosts supplies room with notes instructing how they were to use the candles for any extra lighting the room might need, and where they could find more cakes and treats if they needed them. After that you headed off for class.

The day could have almost been perfect if right after class Tamaki hadn't approached you after. You had picked up all of your things just as you had done all the other days. They had left you to yourself so much that his presence made you almost as shy as when you first meet.

"Yuko, want to come by the club after school?" He asked suddenly. He had his bag slung over his shoulder and Kyouya followed up right behind him.

"Why?" you questioned back disinterested. You felt like you pulled back from him so you leaned forward just a little in case you did.

He looked hurt for a moment and replied whiningly, "Well, if you don't want to you don't have to. I just thought that you might. You haven't been come by the club for a while." His eyes widened out to large glassy disks, his forehead just barely tugging between the eyebrows, and one thin section of his hair drooped down in front of one of his eyes. Then there was that stuttering lip that protruded ever so slightly.

"Well, I never really hung out in the room to begin with," you said trying to lighten your bluntness.

"Having you in the room, in that corner or otherwise, is company 're apart of the club, and today is a big day for us as hosts," Kyouya said in Tamaki's place.

"I didn't think I contributed that much to the club room by my actual being there. The other guests seemed scared of me when I sat in the corner. Besides I'm not a host. I just decorate, I don't participate," you aimed at Kyouya.

You pulled your bag over your shoulder and avoided eye contact.

"Wouldn't decorating be participating?" Kyouya challenged.

"You know what I mean." You started walking out.

"Yuko, have you ever seen what effect your sets have on the costumers?"

"I don't really pay attention to them that much." You were almost at the door, but they also followed you.

Suddenly Tamaki placed his hand on your shoulder, stopping you just shy of the frame.

"I understand now," he said pulling his chin down to almost touch his chest. One of his fists clenched up near his face then he looked up at you. "That settles things!" He said excitedly. His demeanor changed as his hair flipped back into the perfect twist that make the girls so happy. "Come on let's go," He yelled swinging his arm wide making a trail of flowers and sparkles. He took a hold of your arm and started walking in the direction of the club room.

"What?" You struggled slightly but you didn't want to send him into a corner of his own, not when he was attached to your arm.
"You don't feel like you've been appreciated in the club because you never payed any attention. If you did then you would realize just how important you are," he said almost too loud, waving his arm around again in the melodramatic form only he can do. He pulled you by your arm and Kyouya played wing-man by taking your other.

"There is a different way of doing that besides dragging me to the room," you said desperately.

"We tell you all the time how much we love your designs, and they obviously haven't gotten through to you," Tamaki smothered. "The only way for you to recognize your own achievement is to hear it from the guests for yourself," he signed mournfully.

"Then have them send me a card," you grumble.

"Stop complaining, you aren't getting out of this. You've been avoiding the club for some time now, so the only way for you to get back into the scene is to jump right in," Kyouya said cruelly.

"This isn't swimming. Besides I don't think that they would say the cheesy things you say to my face. They are there for you, not to boost my ego."

Tamaki suddenly pulled back. "I don't say cheesy things," he said putting his hand on his chest.

"I might as well make crackers and wine available at your table," you almost said, but Kyouya stopped you.

"What you say pleases our guests. Hurry up, we are going to be late."

Tamaki grabbed your arm again and did as Kyouya asked. Still you could hear him grumbling about what he said wasn't "cheesy", and his face flickered between the pout he had started in the classroom and his dignified nature. You all got the the room and they both pushed you inside. The other hosts were already in some of their finer suits, and when they saw you they piled on top of you with hugs. The twins reached you first and sandwiched you between them.

"Yuko, you came back!-We thought you were getting tired of us or something," they said as they rubbed their heads all over your face. You could hear Hunny somewhere around the twins trying to get in and express his love for you.

"Gentlemen," Tamaki called, "We still have to set up somethings, let Yuko go. Hikaru, Kaoru, you messed up her hair." Then he walked over while changing out of his ouran coat to the new ones. You stood there as he tried to pat down your hair and fix it into the original smooth low pony-tail that it always was. You looked at him, and his mouth pressed into a line.

"I've got a brush she can use," Haruhi called out.

"Good job, Haruhi! Help Yuko," he said. Then he walked into the storage room with the twins to get the tea sets and candles, scolding them more.

Haruhi handed you the brush and you pulled your elastic out of your hair.

"Thanks," you mumble.

"Any time," she said and hugged you quickly. "Being left here with out someone to talk to has been.."She sighed and shook here head.

"Hell?" you asked smiling.

"Nearing," she replied. "Don't tell Tamaki I said that." She was called from the storage room so she hurried back to do her share.

After you brushed your hair back into place you walked back over to your old corner and placed you bag and jacket there. Once the hosts had set out the trays and candles they refused to let you be. Tamaki told them what he had said back in homeroom and they joined in. They made a deal, in fact. You had to sit at each host's table for at least fifteen minutes to hear what the guests thought, then you were be left alone.

"Deal?" Tamaki cocked his head to the side and smiled brightly. You thought, however, that there was a slight shadow.
"I hate you all," you glared.

The twins laughed.

"Just for that-" said one.

"You get to-" said the other.

"Sit with us first!" They cried in unison. They pushed you into one of the chairs near their table while you squirmed.
"Shouldn't I get to pick which one I want to go to first?" you asked.

"If you leave that chair before our fifteen minutes are up- We'll tie you to it," was their reply.

"That's not fair," Hunny sniffled.

"I'll go to yours next," you said to stay the water-works.

"Okay!" Hunny twirled.

"That means that you agree to the plan," Tamaki said smugly, poking you.

"No it doesn't," you stuttered. "I hate you all!"

"You hate ALL of us Yuko-chan?" Hunny suddenly appeared near your arm.

"No, not you sweetie. Wait..." They gathered around you in the chair.

"Do you agree or don't you?" asked the twins leaning over you.

"Fine I agree. Now get away!" You stood up and pushed them from your personal space.

"Oh, she left the chair!" The twins cried.

There was some commotion on deciding whether your leaving the chair was worth of punishment. Haruhi stuck to your side saying that if they hadn't been leaning over you, you wouldn't have had to push them away- and besides, they didn't give you the chance to say whether or not you were going to sit with them first. After your trial they agreed that you wouldn't be fully tied to the chair. "Fully" tied to the chair, yes, because the twins wouldn't budge on the fact that you still deserved some of the blame. When the guests stared coming in the twins had just gotten done tying one of your ankles to the leg of the chair. They had given you some room by giving the rope about two feet of slack so you could stand up if you wanted, but you would have to drag the chair if you wanted to go anywhere.

The girls came giggling, whispering, and bouncing. Several of them brought chocolates, some of which presented theirs to the host of their choosing before any of the others could. The hosts lead the way back to their tables, the girls finding seats, and the flirting began.

Three girls sat themselves around the twins' table and looked at you and your rope oddly. The twins introduced you, and one of the girls asked why you were tied up.

"She's special," Hikaru winked.

"Don't say it like that!" you moaned and slumped down in your seat.

The twins gathered on either side of you. One pulled put his hand under your chin and lifted it. The other slipped his hand down your back to push you to sitting straighter. On either side, their free hand was used to lean on the chair handles.

"You are special," grinned Kaoru.

"Admit it, you're enjoying yourself," whispered Hikaru.

You squeaked and your back muscled locked up. You flailed your arms about and shouted "no" repeatedly until they were well enough away. They of course laughed themselves almost into a fit, and the girls swooned and cried that they weren't as special. At hearing the girls' cries the boys automatically stood between the the girls so there was one at each of their sides, dropping their arms over a girl's shoulder, somehow also having a rose in each hand, and said that the other ladies would get a special present of their own. This was all done in unison of course. And it worked, because the girls forgot their complaints and soon wiggled and danced in their chairs. You observed completely unamused.

"Does this mean you'll be looking after them first?" Kaoru asked suddenly, eyes watering, looking deeply hurt at his brother.
"You know I'll always have time to tie you up Kaoru." Hikaru pulled his brother in by taking his hand. You thought that the girls might pee themselves, and you melted down the seat and under the table.

"How was this supposed to help me feel appreciated?" you whimpered and banged your head on your knees.
"Oh, right," said the twins in unison.

One struggled to pull you out from under the table while the other actual explained why you were tied up.
"You're the one whose been decorating the room." gasped one of the girls. The twin had finally managed to pull you out, picked you up slightly, and dropped you back into the chair.

"Yeah," you said grudgingly, puffing your cheeks out at the twin.

"Well, you do a beautiful job," one girl said leaning over the table.

"I wish that I got to spend extra time with them," said another.

"How did you get them to give you the job?" asked the third.

"I tripped over them and locked myself in a closet."

The twins scoffed.

"She has some really amazing art works and we needed a consultant," said the twins.

"By 'consultant' they mean full-time decorator," you mumble and one of the twins smacked your arm. Somehow that turned into a kicking war with them under the table when the other girls weren't paying attention.

Thankfully, the rest of your fifteen minutes were used up with the twins' attention on each other and the girls.

Next you moved to Hunny as promised, which involved less rope. You were able to sit next to Mori, who would nudge you a little bit when one of the girls started "oohing" and "awing" over the decorations.

On and on you were passed around from host to host every fifteen minutes, which started to feel longer and longer because the girls basically all said the same things. They loved the decorations, it gave the mood, but their concern was mostly on the boys. The one thing you did learn from it was that you could very well tone down on the decorations and stick to lighting, because it seemed to be the way in which the girls perceived the boys that made their experience enjoyable.

At last, on the final stretch of your time, you sat with Kyouya. You let him serve you some cakes even though you had eaten at least two over with Hunny, one with Haruhi, and maybe one and a half with Tamaki. You asked for extra refills on your tea.
You looked down every couple of seconds at your black and white watch, not even paying attention to the girls any more. You heard something about the decoration that sounded slightly more original, but didn't care to listen.

You looked up, smiled, and made polite chitchat. At least the girls who sat with Kyouya could hold a conversation
You looked down at your watch again. Kyouya walked around to refill your tea cup again.

"Five minutes," he whispered to you.

Then four...

Then three...

Then two...

Then one...

The second hand flicked over to the twelve mark. You smiled and let out a sign of relief.

"I'm sorry, you are going to have to excuse me," you say sweetly. Kyouya got up and moved your chair back for you.
"Thank you," you say even more sweetly while batting your eyelashes at him, and gave a little curtsy. You stopped for a moment to look at the other tables, which had momentarily paused to look at you, and beamed your smiled toward the rest of them. The club was almost over so you pranced your way over to your corner, swaying your dress around. Plopping down onto the floor you giggled slightly and stretched out over your space.

"Free at least Motha-Effa!"

Then you rolled around and flung your limps about.

Curling deep into the corner, you took out a book and read the rest of the time away.

The girls left, some still dropped off chocolates to the hosts, and finally it all ended.

"You already gave me two boxes, Tamaki-sempai," you heard Haruhi say.

"Can you really have too many?" Tamaki asked lovingly.

"Yes," Haruhi said factually.

Then the twins also rained their expensive chocolates down on her as well, which remind Hunny about his, which soon had Haruhi being buried under a pile of imported chocolates. She complained about the usefulness of such sweets amidst her drowning.

"Hey."

You looked up from your book. Kyouya stood casually over you.

"No chocolates for Haruhi?" you asked.

"I decreased the interest on her debt. I thought that might be more special for her than candy." You both looked over at Haruhi trying to dig her way out of the mountain pile. You nodded in agreement.

"Yes, that is a more thoughtful," you reply. He still stood over you.

"Is there something I can help you with?" you ask.

"Do you want to go on a date with me tonight?" he ask.

You blinked, then blinked again.

"Would I like to what?" you ask confused.

"Would you like to go on a date tonight? I already have some reservations at a few places," he stated.

"Date. Not as in it's Tuesday, but as in we go somewhere and act like a couple?" you clarify.

"We are supposed to be a couple after graduation," he said. "Plus," he continued, "We haven't talked about this arrangement since that ball a couple of months ago."

You felt your throat cracking and swallowed so you wouldn't feel it bleed.

"Yeah, yeah, sure. Of course. What would you need to talk about though?" You scurried to pick up your things, which he bend down to help you collect.

"All of it," he replied. You nodded quickly. He looked at you, almost like he expected you to say something.

"Y-yes?" You ask.

"Does you uncle have anything planned for you tonight?"

"Why would he?" The question struck you as odd. He pushed his glasses back into place and calculated something.

"Today is your birthday, Yuko," he said expectantly.

"Yeah," you say still confused. The two of you looked at each other awkwardly, you obviously not getting what he was trying to hint at.

"Alright. Then consider this as a birthday present from me,"he concluded, getting up and helping you up as well. You wondered why he thought that your birthday was supposed to be something special. You stiffened for a moment and thought about the fuss that other people make on their birthdays.

"Do the other hosts know about this," you whisper pulling his tie down urgently. He coughed and pulled your hand from his tie.
"Don't you think they would have told you if they did?" His voice was slightly husky. You almost fainted for joy.
"Yeah, they would have," you quickly agree. "Let's not tell them," you conclude.

"Why?" He asked.

"Because then they would have a big scene, and I don't need another unexpected party at my house."

Kyouya shrugged. "It's your birthday, I suppose."

You slid your way stealthily past the other hosts to avoid them asking questions. Kyouay said his goodbyes to his friends while you slipped out the door, after which you ran a little down the hallway.

On your way home you got a text from Kyouya saying that he would be by later that evening to pick you up. Understanding finally hit you as you realized what you were going to be doing tonight. Everything you had been building yourself up to would come into action tonight. You had promised you were going to make this work, and you had to make Kyouya believe that you wanted this. You had to make him forget your spirit at the ball. You wanted this now. If not for you, then for your uncle.

(Please remember to comment. Honestly. If my story seem weird and you don't understand you need to say something. Right now, Elle is about the only voice for my readers. The reason I'm writing is to tell a story to you but if what I am saying isn't coming through then I'm not doing my job. However, I can't fix it if nobody says anything. I'll just keep typing away thinking you all understand.)

((*Evil laugh* now for all of you who are reading this in the month of February of 2014 you get to wait just like all of my other readers. Congratulations on being caught up. Just letting you know, the time difference between the last four chapters for Quotev readers was about 4 weeks per chapter update. The next up date won't take me nearly that long because I've already gotten it somewhat worked. However, after that, I don't know how long it will take me.

For all of you time travelers...Boo. You don't have to suffer as much.))