Chapter TwentyFive

It was a beautiful afternoon in town. Eccentric locals casually made their way through the busy shopping centers, chatting about their daily activities. A child pointed and begged his parents for a shiny new toy displayed at a window shop. Laughter erupted from lively teens waiting in line for their desserts at the new bakery and coffee shop that opened in town three days ago. And man, it was bumping! The line went all the way around the block. Since the town was small, any new business excited the residents. Especially if it sold desserts!

In a flash of white ruffles and ribbons, Ren bolted between tables in a maid outfit; all the while struggling to stay balanced on the world's highest heels. Normally she fought against wearing blasphemous attire, preferring her comfortable baggy clothes and beat up sneakers. Unfortunately, comfort was far from important to the owner of The Flour Shop bakery, her new boss. Her left foot gave in unexpectedly, but thankfully Ren managed to stop herself from tripping and falling face flat on the pavement. Growling in irritation, she endured the discomfort and continued taking orders from sugar deprived customers.

"Excuse me! Sorry!" She apologized. All around her were gasps of surprise and looks of fear as she hustled and bustled tables, oblivious at how her tiny skirt flared up sometimes in her haste. She took orders, filled cups with beverages, added toppings to pastries, cleaned accidental spills, and greeted customers.

But wait, how did Ren end up as a cafe waitress? Surely sporting a frilly maid outfit and walking around in stilettos were not a new thing for her.

Lets go back a few weeks earlier.

On a large whiteboard, the president of the Host Club hastily scribbled terrible drawings that could easily be mistaken by a two year old. Actually, a two year old's sketch would look better than the one Tamaki was putting together. When the tall blonde felt satisfied with his drawing, he gracefully whirled around to face his club comrades sitting around a oval table. Lilac eyes gleamed excitedly, and he pointed to the sketch, "Do you know what this is?"

All hands remained down. They wore expressions of bewilderment. This was the opposite reaction Tamaki expected from his friends. The positive energy started deflating as he desperately waited for a response. Any response.

One brave soul attempted a guess.

"Is it . . . mash potatoes?" Inquired Hani unconfidently, hugging his bunny rabbit for support.

"Er, no."

"Carrot cake?" Hani tried again, a bit more enthusiastic this time. "OH OH! Banana pudding?"

"What's with the food names?"

Hani blushed sheepishly, "I'm hungry."

The Golden King sighed, pinching the bridge between his eyes. "It's Cupid, guys. See the little wings and the bow and arrow?" Mumbles of disagreements could be heard under the twins breaths which both annoyed and offended Tamaki. Ignoring the rude behavior emitting from the Hitachiin twins, Tamaki decided to be the mature one and continued with his proposal, "Valentines Day is around the corner, and you know what that means. The Kissing Festival will be coming into town soon. So I was thinking we should set up a booth to get the designators back and to also raise money for the club."

"Since when do we raise money?" Scoffed Hikaru, left brow arching.

"Since now," Voiced the vice president, indifferent.

Confusion rearranged the Hitachiin's face. "Explain."

To everyone's curiosity and surprise, Kyouya somehow unearthed a large poster from underneath his chair. He placed it on an easel so that everyone got a good look. First, he cleared his throat, and then emphasized the following words very carefully, "Here are the recent changes in our club's profit." He pointed to the poster with a colorful line graph representation.

Several hands shot up. Kyouya picked one person in the front row.

Hani popped up from his chair, "I like the color." He stated simply, and sat right back down.

"Thank you, Hani-senpai. Now, does everyone see the line plummeting?" Asked Kyouya to the entire group. All nodded. "That line represents our funds."

Questions erupted afterward.

"WHAT?!"

"How did this happen?!"

"Where did the money go?!"

All Kyouya had to do was raise his hand and everyone settled down into silence. "So most of you already know we've been short on designators since the Winter Ball. As I previously predicted, the reason behind this terrible decline is due to them disliking us for accepting Miss Ichihara in the club."

Sitting between the twins, Ren hunched her shoulders and sank lower in her chair.

"That's unfair" It was obvious by the disappointed expression on Haruhi's face that she didn't like how the girls at Ouran were treating Ren. "She isn't accountable for the actions of others."

"That may be true," said Tamaki wearily, exhausted suddenly. He pressed a hand against the table while the other one rested on his hip. Sighing deeply, Tamaki peered into Haruhi's eyes once more, totally serious. "But, at the end of the day, our club still needs designators to be profitable. If we don't find a way to get our funds back up, I'm afraid we may lose the Host Club."

Haruhi's eyes grew big. No more Host Club? Terrible, frightful thoughts entered her mind. This organization meant so much to her Senpai. He would be crushed if it went down forever. And her friends? She glanced around the room. What would become of them?

"How much?"

Almost in a daze, Haruni slowly looked back over her shoulder. Ren stood up from her chair, scratching her elbow nervously. "How much money does the Host Club need to be stable again?"

"According to my calculations . . ." Kyouya pulled out his little black book, looking over his notes. Ren held her breath, hoping for a low number. "Twenty-three thousand dollars."

The light in Ren's eyes died out. "Oh . . ."

Ren thought for a moment. Where was she supposed to get that kind of money? Manaka? But requesting such a large amount of money from her aunt made her feel ashamed and uncomfortable. Growing up, her parents taught her that working hard was the only way to earn things in life. So, she flattened the idea of asking her aunt for money the moment it surfaced and decided to look for the only thing logical.

"It's alright," Ren said, knowing what she needed to do to help out the Host Club, "I have two ideas to solve our problem. One, I somehow convince H.C.E.A to return to the Host Club with the understanding that I detach myself from you guys completely. . ." Immediately that got a negative response from everyone. Inside she was happy for their interjection, but on the outside she wished they made this more easier on her. "My next idea was to pay you back by getting a part-time job."

That day forward, Ren went into town to apply to several jobs. The only problem with getting a job was keeping one. Her dark and morbid personality frightened the customers away, so the managers' kept letting her go. It was bad business to have an employee talk about how to murder a person. Thankfully Hikaru and Kaoru convinced the owner of The Flour Shop, a popular bakery and cafe that opened recently, to allow Ren employment if they work as well. To which the owner accepted immediately, knowing they would attract excessive crowds to his business. Because, who wouldn't want to meet the handsome twins from the super rich school?

"I will work hard each day." Promised Ren, "You have my word."

And now, lets fast forward to the present day.

In the back kitchen, Ren was found alone crying while eating a croissant roll dipped in strawberry jam. "How am I ever going to get enough to pay back the Host Club? I'll be working till I die."

Starting the second semester of school with a job wasn't part of her big plan. She always imagined herself getting hired during her senior year to start saving up money for college. Too bad she couldn't keep a cent of her paycheck. Barely fifteen and she already had a debt large enough to bury her alive.

Wiping away the snot running down her nose, Ren checked the clock on the wall - thirty minute break almost over. Shoving the rest of the bread into her mouth, she stood up and decided to get back to work. When she pushed open the door, another body appeared on the other side. Her face smacked into a broad chest. He didn't budge. Instead he held her shoulders firmly and waited. For what? Maybe he was waiting for her to find some balance on those high heels. Or maybe he was waiting for her to gather what dignity she had left. She heard customers behind the counter ordering coffee to-go and imagined them staring at her oddly. Best-case scenario, they thought she was hugging a dear friend. Worst-case scenario, they witnessed an intoxicated employee stumble into trouble. Either way, he knew what really happened. He knew why her cheek was plastered to his chest.

She finally eased away from him and peered up the torso covered in a plain white button-up shirt and black tie. Her eyes stopped at his honey golden ones and her breath got caught in her throat. The fire on her cheeks had nothing to do with the fact that she was standing next to the oven and had everything to do with the fact that she just tripped into the most attractive guy on the planet. But she would never admit it out loud.

Hikaru wore a playful smile as he looked over Ren. "Are you alright, Creepy-chan?"

For a moment, she could almost see her face imprinted on his tailored white shirt. Ren swallowed nervously, dislodging the lump in her throat. Was she alright? Well given the newly discovered feelings she developed for the Hitachiin and coming to terms with working until she was a corpse, Ren was not alright.

In fact, she was the opposite of alright.

Ren was a hot mess.

Still she couldn't let Hikaru know this. That would be too embarrassing.

Something caught Hikaru's attention, and his eyes zeroed in on the tiny splotch of strawberry jam lingering on her chin. When he used his thumb to clean it, Ren's heart started racing and she blushed. Hikaru blushed too, noticing how pretty and vulnerable she looked in front of him. Her willowy frame. Her lack of makeup. Her big eyes. But in her, he saw beauty. Her eyes were a rich black that stole Hikaru's breath while looking through his soul. Her hair was like an obsidian waterfall that tumbled down her back in thick locks. Her hands were strong yet at the same time gentle. And her mouth … oh, how he wanted to touch that mouth.

Without realizing, he slowly moved closer like he wanted to kiss her. Ren stood frozen, from both fear and excitement.

"Hey, Hikaru!" Came his brother's voice from the other side of the door.

Blinking back to reality, Hikaru looked surprised. "Uh, e-excuse me," He stammered, and they exchange an awkward goodbye.

Ren didn't understand what just happened.

So she did what any normal person would do in her situation.

Blood squirted from her nose.

Okay, maybe not a normal reaction.

Face still blushing from her recent encounter with the dashing Little Devil, questions rambled around in her head as to what happened between them in the kitchen. Was he about to kiss me? He looked like he was about to kiss me? Both hands clasped each side of her face when realization dawned on her, A DAZZLING CREATURE WANTED TO KISS ME?!

A lady tried getting her attention. "Hel-looo? Are you listening to me?"

Ren snapped out of her internal screaming and peered at the customer impatiently waiting for a response.

"Sorry." Ren said, "Can you please repeat that again?"

The lady huffed in annoyance, finding it odd that Ren had pieces of tissue paper wedged inside her nostrils. "Very well. I would like three orders of a puff blackberries souffle with a dollop of cool whip, not too much, okay? One slice of your strawberry cheesecake with only fresh strawberries, none of that frozen stuff."

Ren anxiously tried to write down the large order with nervous, sweaty hands.

The lady continued her list. "I would also like a passion fruit tart, mango tart, blueberry tart - four of each since they're so tiny. But so delicious. Did you get all that?" Asked the older lady, glancing up at the teenager for the first time and flinched at the very sight of her creepy demeanor.

Shrugging off the reaction, Ren smiled but it looked more like a grimance. "Yeeessss . . ." She muttered before swiftly turning away to place the order, white ribbons and ruffles trailing behind her.

"Strange girl." Mumbled the lady.

"Order for table three," announced the baker, handing over a silver tray into Ren's hands. The ceramic dishware raddled. She struggled carrying the heavy tray with cups of hot tea and warm flakey pastries oozing with sweet raspberry filling. At a table by the tall windows was a young couple who regarded the teenager with fearful eyes. There was a strange feeling of a ghostly chill that seemed to follow her every wake - a strange contrast to her cheerful attire. She seemed more like a spirit from a haunted mansion than a cafe waitress.

With a semi steady hand, Ren placed the young couple's order on the table and poured them each a cup of tea from a dainty teapot. The spicy steam flowed toward the ceiling. "Enjoy," she muttered in a flat tone, unaccustomed to casual conversations with strangers. The couple gulped.

Giggling erupted from a nearby table, and Ren turned to see what was going on. She batted the bangs that fell over her eyes. Somehow, through all the commotions in the café, she could still hear his voice above all. His light and cheerful laughter filled the air. And she couldn't look away, as if she were drawn to him. Hikaru seemed so relaxed in the chair, back slouched, one knee bent and the other stretched long beneath the table. On his left, an exact copy sat in his chair properly, Kaoru poured each girl a steaming cup of freshly rich coffee.

Throwing his head back, Hikaru laughed, slapping the table lightly. "I still remember when we took a tour in the south of France, and Kaoru wanted to check out a local chocolate store. They had so many chocolate candy. Kaoru went to town on them. I lost count after his twentieth piece!"

His brother's face deepened a few shades of red, and he closed his eyes, turning away, "Hikaru," he placed the tip of his thumb on his lip, tears swimming in his warm eyes, "you promised not to tell anyone that . . ."

Hikaru suddenly became serious. "I'm sorry, Kaoru." He took his brother's face in his hands, standing over him. The smooth tips of his fingers brushed away tears. They gazed into each others eyes like in a trance. "You looked so adorable with the chocolate on your lips . . . I couldn't help myself."

The younger Hitachiin blushed, "I forgive you . . ."

All the girls around them squealed.

Ren rolled her eyes. How dense can you be to fall for those cheap lines? Even from where she stood, she could see Kaoru slipping the eyedrops into his pocket. Those two never work. All they do is flirt with the customers and chill through their shift. How annoying.

After a long Saturday spent working, it was time to go home. The three students from Ouran High School walked home on the sidewalk. Ren was thankful to finally take off those blasted heels. Her feet bothered her after spending all day walking in them. She peered down at her worn out sneakers and smiled, her toes were in feet heaven. The boys chatted about non-important things. Ren listened silently a couple of steps behind, not wanting to get too close to the elder Hitachiin as she watched him warily for any forbidden actions.

"Ahh," Kaoru stretched his arms above his head, "How was your first day on the job, Ren?"

"Exhausting." She grumbled, pulling the cloak over her head to offer shade from the sunlight.

"Really?" The young Hitachiin seemed surprised, "I had a great experience at The Flour Shop."

"Because all you did was play tea party with the customers." Ren stated without a care.

Hikaru laughed at her bluntness. "True."

"I don't understand something." Ren said, "Why can't you ask your parents to donate twenty-three thousand dollars to the Host Club and end this charity work? Beats working minimum wage all semester with me when you could be doing rich people stuff like eating caviar and decorating your summer homes."

"Asking money from our parents would be like putting a bandaid on our problem. It wouldn't solve anything." Hikaru said, loosening the black tie around his neck. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw the guilt on Ren's face. Hikaru didn't like seeing her sad, so he tried putting a smile on her face. "Besides, we wouldn't want to miss you wearing that cute maid outfit everyday."

Ren stiffened, clutching her chest in horror. Even though his teasing did the opposite effect, he did succeed in removing the sadness from her eyes.

"Black is definitely your color." Complimented Kaoru. "Although that frown doesn't go well with such a pretty dress. Try smiling once in a while."

Deepening the grimace on her face, Ren mumbled incoherent words that the twins couldn't hear. They continued encouraging her to smile, but she refused to be a team player. She tugged at the micro skirt's hemline, not agreeing with the length at all. "Couldn't you two choose a more laid back job? Like working at the public library or movie theater?"

Together the twins replied, "We felt this job fits our personality better."

"Besides," Hikaru tossed an arm around his little brother's shoulders, "who wants to work at a library with smelly old books."

"Or a dark theater." Added Kaoru in disgust.

"Thats just boring!" They chimed in sync.

Irritated with their response, Ren scowled and gave up trying to change their minds.

A cellphone began to ring. Kaoru took the device out from his pocket and checked the caller ID. "Oh, I better take this." He answered the call, but seemed to have trouble hearing the person on the other line. He wandered ahead of the group, trying to get better reception.

Shoving his hands deep inside his pockets, the eldest Hitachiin struggled with his feelings. He couldn't explain his actions back in the kitchen. If it weren't for his brother's interruption, he would have kissed Ren. He placed a hand over his mouth while a blush bloomed across his face just thinking about it. Hikaru tentatively peeked sideways at Ren, wondering if she knew he wanted to kiss her. Judging by her cautious stance and disapproving glare, it looked like she knew. Oh, boy.

Blowing strands of bangs out of her vision, Ren couldn't take the awkward silence between them anymore. Their relationship will only continue to grow complicated if neither of them bring up what almost happened. Was it a mistake? Did he mean it? She needed an answer and now. It didn't look like Hikaru was going to step up, so she inhaled deeply for encouragement and leaped out of her comfort zone.

"Erm . . ." She hesitated, unsure of herself. Sweaty fingers pulled the cloak closer to herself. This emotional stuff was killing her with humiliation. "What happened in the kitchen today?"

"What do you think happened?" Hikaru responded rather fast.

"Well," Ren blushed bright red, looking down. "It sorta seemed like you were about to . . . kiss me."

They stared at each other for a long while in the evening light. Neither of them said anything. The wind picked up, tossing their hair around their faces. Despite the fresh breeze, Ren could feel her whole body burning up.

Hikaru's lips slowly parted as he opened his mouth to speak, "Ren, I-"

"That was our driver," Kaoru jogged back to them, interrupting his brother once more, "he's close by. Would you like us to take you home, Ren?"

With eyes still glued to the only dazzling creature that made her heart beat irregularly, Ren replied, "No, thanks. Mana-san is picking me up."

At the end of the day, Hikaru never got the chance to give her an appropriate answer and felt terrible because she deserved better. Crestfallen, he glanced out the window of his limo ride and watched as the town passed by in a blur of bright lights and dark shadows. Kaoru noticed his twin brother's change in behavior once they got inside the limo. He wondered if something happened between Ren and Hikaru when he wasn't paying attention. All he could do was place a hand on his brother's shoulder, consoling whatever demons Hikaru was battling with in silence.

Hikaru sighed, running a hand through his fiery locks. "Will this ever get easy?"

"What will get easy?" Asked Kaoru, although he already had an idea what his brother was talking about.

At the last second, Hikaru deciding to keep his thoughts to himself instead. "Never mind. It was nothing."

A/N: Holaaaaa! A lot of you asked for an update, and I came through for you. There I was on the sofa watching Jane the Virgin when all of a sudden it hit me: I haven't finished Chapter 25 for Strawberry Flavor! I spent the rest of my time dedicating to complete it. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I know, I know, shame on me for taking this long. I'm so so sorry :( I'll do better to update more often, because once a year is unfair for you guys. I greatly appreciate all the reviews and favorites. You guys are too sweet. Just wanted you to know that.

Have an excellent day!

-Anna