Haruhi was glad for the distraction of the host club over the next few days, keeping her from constantly glancing at her phone. She was wondering every day if Tamaki had found his mother yet, if she was okay, when he was coming home… so many 'if's, it was driving her crazy.

"Haruhi-" her name was called louder, looking up to see Kyoya staring down at her with a frustrated expression. "You're staring off into space again."

"Sorry." Haruhi sighed, looking down at her teacup in her hands. "I don't mean to-"

"It's fine, I understand you're thinking of Tamaki." Kyoya shook his head as if it couldn't be helped.

Haruhi blushed, feeling flustered. Was she that easy to read?! "I'm not-"

"Oh please, Haruhi." Kyoya interrupted with a wry smile, pushing his glasses back up. "You're so easy to read when you're like this."

That only made Haruhi's face turn a deeper shade, looking down with wide eyes. She'd have to be more careful around Kyoya, he could read her like a book!

"Don't worry. I rather enjoy watching your true emotions. It's very… sincere." Kyoya made a strangely soft smile, one that made Haruhi stare in surprise. What was this? Kyoya was being so nice.

"Now, get ready for our guests to arrive soon. Perk up, build up those walls." Kyoya swung her pen toward her to give the directions before turning around, writing something on his clipboard before making a sound, turning back around. "I almost forgot, how would you feel about hosting a barbeque?"

"A barbeque?" Haruhi tilted her head in confusion at the sudden change of subject.

"Yes, it would be a more private event because of the numbers involved, perhaps… a limited number of tickets." He made a slight smile, that conniving grin coming to his face. Tickets brought in money for the club.

Haruhi couldn't help but laugh at how sly Kyoya could be. "I haven't grilled in a while, but sure. Is this because I told the girls about burgers the other day?"

"They are the talk of the school, now. A limited time opportunity to try Haruhi's burgers would be the best opportunity to pay for some… expenses." He sighed in dismay.

What had been so expensive that they had to make up costs? She looked up to him in confusion, and he turned back around again as if not walking to discuss it further. "Prepare yourself for tomorrow night, then. It will be a wonderful event, and of course we'll hire chefs to help you, but you will be the star of the show."

"Great, no pressure." Haruhi grumbled as the girls started streaming in, and it was time for another host club.

"Are you really going to host a barbeque?" Hikaru said excitedly, looking forward to trying more of Haruhi's cooking. The club had dispersed, and the only girls that were left were a few that were talking to Honey and Mori.

"Looks like it, though I'm kind of nervous. That's a lot of people to cook for, and you guys have more refined taste-"

"You'll be fine." Kaoru set a hand on her head in comfort. "It's something different, and that's more important than anything. Even if it is high brow, the same food gets boring after a while."

Haruhi hummed, having never thought of it that way before. Was that why they were so interested in commoner things? She'd thought it was perhaps they were teasing her, but maybe they were just curious because it was something different.

"Besides, this will be a good distraction. Have you thought about a plan for when Tamaki comes back?" Kaoru said, sitting on one side of her while Hikaru sat on the other.

"Plan?" She frowned in confusion.

"You know, whether you'll come out as a girl, or if you'll stay as a boy and be openly gay." Hikaru explained.

Haruhi bit her lip nervously, knowing that either way she would be causing a lot of drama. If she came out as gay it may be less drama, but it was extremely disingenuous. She was fine letting them assume she was a boy, but she didn't want to openly lie to people.

"I guess… I'll come out as a girl." She said anxiously. "I'll just deal with the fallout from it. I'm really not looking forward to that." She said flatly, knowing how catty these women could be even thinking she was a boy.

Kaoru set a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "We'll be here for you, all of us will be. There shouldn't be anything to worry about, Haruhi. The girls will give you a hard time because you'll be with Tamaki, but… he'll make sure they know that he chose you too. He doesn't mince words with that kind of thing."

"It's about the one thing he's really serious about." Hikaru chuckled. "When he defends someone it's always a shocking change from his flamboyant demeanor."

"Yeah." Haruhi said with a small smile, knowing how passionate he was taking care of his friends. She really liked that about him. He didn't even care who they were or if it benefited him or not. He just wanted people to be happy.

Kaoru chuckled at the dreamy look on her face as Hikaru rolled his eyes with a long sigh. She really was a goner.

"Come on, let's get-" Kaoru was standing up when a ring tone went off, Haruhi blushing brightly and squealing as the song played. With her face turned bright red she fled out of the room toward her study as the song played, the husky lyrics echoing behind her. Kaoru laughed in amusement as Hikaru just looked confused, not really understanding why she was so flustered.