Disclaimer: I don't own Ouran.

Thanks to belelle, Lily Fenton Phantom, lmncake, claraowl, kc495 and emilybrock101 for your amazing reviews.

This chapter is in Haruhi's POV and is based on the song Tighten Up by The Black Keys!

I feel like the writer of this story has been deliberately keeping a massive secret from both myself and the readers.

To be honest, I am not a fan of it. I would much rather learn of this secret.

I am not stupid.

I do realise that something quite significant is occurring. I mean, I saw Kyoya-sempai smirking his sinister smirk far too often this past week for my own personal comfort.

Kaoru appears to be involved also.

I am becoming increasingly fed up with being left out of the loop in relation to this plan of theirs.

I often see the pair of them conversing in private and shoving pieces of paper to one another. I wonder what it is they are writing about.

Hmm…

A lot has happened and yet simultaneously, it feels like nothing has happened in the sense that up until a week ago, Hikaru and I were getting along famously. But now he is barely speaking to me. He passes me in the corridors and just the other day, he blanked me whilst I attempted to speak to him.

But as I am contemplating my current situation, I spot Hikaru aimlessly strolling in front of me. As quietly as I can, I swiftly run towards him in an attempt to surprise him. However, I fail miserably in my endeavour. Perhaps, it is because my bag weighs a ton and I am currently slipping and sliding all over the freshly polished marble floor. Or perhaps it is due to the fact that I am currently breathing deeply as I sprinted quite a distance.

Whatever the reason, Hikaru spins around with a beaming smile on his handsome face. His orange hair is spiking up more so than usual and for a moment, I am become consumed with curiosity. What has caused his hair to abnormally peak up from his head?

But first I scowl.

"Hikaru, you have ignored me for over a week and now you think it appropriate to smile at me in such a manner. You can really be such a jackass. Tell me, why did you ignore me so?"

He merely smirks.

"I have been gathering information for a pending battle," he enigmatically utters with a careless quirk of his lips.

I simply roll my eyes in infuriation. He really is just too vague for my liking, even more so than usual.

I would rather that he not speak to me than to wander around in circles with his twisting tales and double entendres. You never can fully guess if he is joking or if he is being profoundly serious.

Although, it is predominantly the former than the latter in this context. He is such a natural mischief maker, he can't help but stir a sense of excitement into everyone whom meets his charismatic self.

I am not the exception.

"Hikaru, you know that I hate it when you are being so deliberately vague and you don't try to explain. I do hate it when you are being so abstract…" I punch out, clearly annoyed at this point.

He has the impudence to saucily wink at me. Although to be quite fair, I am rather used to his winking at this point.

It is part of his character. Well, I have only known him since I have started high school so apparently his winking is a rather novel phenomenon.

"But I do love annoying you, Haruhi," he playfully utters, pouting pathetically as he does so.

I swear that boy will someday be the death of me….

"Anyway, Hikaru is there any chance you could get straight to the point? You are exhausting me and without Kaoru's somewhat calming influence, you are downright unbearable. And I mean that in the best possible way."

Hikaru merely shrugs it off and continues to chatter nineteen to the dozen about seemingly nothing.

I gaze at him with quiet wonder. He has the gift of the gab, that boy does…

"…I think Kaoru and Kyoya-sempai are planning something," he says with a quick quirk of his eyebrow.

I have always envied people whom could raise their eyebrows… it would be so practical if Tamaki-sempai were to suddenly dramatize the situation considerably, which to be perfectly honest occurs quite often. If Hikaru has the gift of talking, then Tamaki-sempai has the gift create palaver in everything he does.

"You have noticed as well? How they have been scuttling away like guilty puppies?" I question.

"There is no need to sound so surprised, Haruhi, believe it or not, I do have two eyes of which I put to great use."

I roll my eyes once more for lack of anything else to do.

"I don't doubt that Hikaru, but believe it or not I wasn't questioning your observation skills. I thought that I was imagining this entire situation, so I was just a tad taken aback to discover that Kaoru and Kyoya-sempai cooking up some hare-brained scheme that is apparently related to the pair of us."

Well, that appears to have silenced Hikaru for the time being but I wouldn't hold my breath that this moment of taciturnity will last a significant amount of time. I am talking about Hikaru after all.

But as brief as this moment is, I can't enjoy it. It is a weird feeling to announce that you would prefer he talk than be uncharacteristically silent.

It feels like simultaneously infinity and seconds in the time in which he gathers his thoughts once more.

"No, they are definitely up to something," he concludes. "I am hungry, let's go and have lunch."

"Need I remind you Hikaru that it is indeed not lunch time yet? The bell has thus far failed to ring relentlessly for the next class. There are three classes to go before we can finally have lunch."

"Haruhi, we don't always have to follow the rules…"

"But Hikaru, I am a scholarship student. I can't make my own rules up."

"Don't worry. They are not going to care if you are with me."

I find that both quite narcissistic and somewhat endearing that he is wheedling me so relentlessly. It makes me feel like he wants to spend time with me.

"Anyway, try to convince me that you are not hungry, go on."

"But Hikaru, I am really not hungry."

Perhaps, my statement would have more credibility if my stomach remained silent instead of grumbling like a beast awakening from a hundred year slumber after being disturbed by foolishly clumsy travellers traipsing around the country side.

His smirk irritates me as it seems to take over his face bit by bit. Pretty soon his face will be one big smirk and the wind will change causing utter mayhem as his face is stuck in that smug position for life.

I don't really mean that of course.

"If I promise you that you can come home with me today, can we go to class?" I ask.

This is probably what he wanted in the first place but I can't afford to miss any class. I need to keep up my grades, they need to be the best to maintain my scholarship.

Hikaru breaks out into a broad grin of which I am sure is well practised.

"Of course! Why don't we go to class Haruhi like the good students we are?"

"You mean, I am the good student and you are the one whom adores copying my homework?" I retort playfully.

To be fair, I am not overly concerned that Hikaru barely does any work. With his family name, he could buy a small country. But what does annoy me is that he copies my work without even attempting to use his own functioning brain. I know that he can achieve if he puts his mind to it, he is just so languid that if he were ever to seriously study, I would fall down in a weakness of complete and utter astonishment.

He grabs my hand and gently pulls me towards the west wing. I am not really surprised about the hand holding. It happens often and I have grown used to it. But what does surprise me is his sudden intensity. I wonder what is plaguing his mind.

But that is probably a question for another day because now we are seriously late.

We are essentially dashing through the grand Romanesque hallways. The bay windows allow the glittering sunlight to shine through after the sudden shower that could be heard pelting the rooftop mere moments ago. My heart is racing in my chest and for a moment, I am certain that I feel a flutter deep inside myself. I shrug that off, I have too much to contemplate already instead of adding another problem to my large pile of unsolved dilemmas. Like what am I going to say when I enter the classroom? Karawaka-sensei is notorious for his abrupt changes in mood without as much as a warning. One moment he can be jolly and generous, the next he is like a great white in a fish tank-a frightening thought.

But as it turns out Hikaru has it all sorted out.

He pounds on the door to notify Karawaka-sensei of our arrival and steps in, dragging me along as he does so.

He flashes me a mischievous grin before rattling off a learnt excuse.

"Karawaka-sensei, I apologise for our late arrival. Haruhi was not feeling well, so I accompanied him to the nurse's office and then the nurse asked me to remove his clothing-"

It is at this point that I cover his mouth before he can mention anything else that even implies pervert. I should have known that this was his plan. But the damage is done and the girls are giggling and squealing.

I still can't believe that they haven't guessed I am a girl.

I am so sorry that I haven't updated in ages! Hopefully, this chapter makes up for my absence.

Please read and review :)