The rest of the Host Club arrived early the next morning, along with twenty or so girls that were regulars at the club. The girls were staying at a nearby luxury hotel while Haruhi and the boys all joined us at Kyoya's family's home. Once everyone arrived and got settled, we headed to the beach. Haruhi remained undercover as one of the boys, which didn't seem to borrow her at all. I would have been frustrated to not be able to wear a comfortable swimsuit or don a cute sun hat. Thankfully, the Suoh maids had me well taken care of with their packing.

I laid on a towel in the sand in my pink bikini — which got a seal of approval from the twins at the house before we headed out. I was enjoying a cheesy novel while the boys and Haruhi performed their hosting duties.

"Lori-chan!" a small group of girls approached me. "You look so comfortable! Can we sunbathe with you?" I smiled up at them.

"Of course! Just make sure you use sunscreen so you don't burn!" They all laid out towels around mine and the conversation came easily. I had never had an easy time making girl friends, but the girls of Ouran were certainly welcoming — at least most of them were. Thankfully, I hadn't had any issues in a while.

"Lori-chan, you looked so beautiful in your interview the other night!" One girl told me.

"Oh, thank you! I was so nervous. I never interview well!" I chuckled.

"I thought you were very well-spoken. Much better than that creepy guy who keeps starting rumors about you! We're all so glad we've gotten to know you. You're so much better off without him!" Another said. I was surprised by their comment. But it felt really nice to have someone on my side.

"T–thank you for saying that! It was a hard time of my life but I'm so happy to be able to move forward and make such wonderful friends like you all!" I told them. If only I could remember their names…

"A bunch of us are big fans! We always have been! And, to be honest, we kind of hope you and Tamaki will date next!" Another girl giggled. I felt my heart skip a beat at the thought. We have a fan club I guess.

"That's a thought!" I laughed her off. "We're just childhood friends is all!"

"Hey, Star-chan!" The twins interrupted our conversation by coming to sit on my towel with me.

"What's up?" I smiled, happy for the change of subject.

"We're going to try and figure out Haruhi's weakness. You in?" They spoke in unison.

"Weakness?" I asked, wondering if there was a translation error in my mind.

"What she's scared of." Karou clarified for me. I glanced across the beach at Haruhi who was collecting shellfish with Hunny-senpai.

"Sure!"

All of the hosts were enjoying trying to figure out Haruhi's weakness. But none of them seemed to be going about it the right way. The twins tried a haunted cave. Hunny tried darkness. Mori tried some type of spear. As it got closer to sunset, no one had been successful. So, in between their attempts, I was helping Haruhi gather more side dishes for dinner tonight and took a different approach.

"Haruhi, is there anything that really scares you?" Directness. If there's anything Haruhi responds to, it's directness.

"Hmm… Probably thunderstorms. They freak me out." She answered after a moment.

"Oh, same." I replied. "Why can't storms just give us rain and move on?"

"Exactly!"

"Haruhi! Lori! Look up here!" We heard some girls call. We looked up and saw them standing atop a large cliff watching the sunset.

"The breeze up here feels great!"

"It's dangerous, be careful." Haruhi called back. It was then that I noticed a group of guys making their way up toward the girls.

"Haruhi, look there!" I grabbed her arm so she could see what I saw. "Get the boys." I yelled over my shoulder as I took off running knowing those girls would need help. As I made my way up, I passed discarded beer cans and cigarettes.

"This is a private beach, you guys are not allowed to be here." I heard one girl tell them as we got closer.

"Private?" one of the guys replied. "Does that mean we're all alone?" I threw my bucket of urchins, clams, and everything else we had collected at the men.

"What the hell!" The man screeched as he released the girls. The three of them took off running down the cliff.

"Leave them alone!" I yelled at the men.

"That's fine." The man closest to me replied. "Who needs some random chick when a celebrity comes to you!" He grabbed my wrists and pulled me close to him.

"H–hey! Let me go you bastard!" I demanded, trying my best to pull away from him but his grip was too strong.

"I want a turn with her, too!" One of the men near the ledge laughed. He still had a cigarette hanging from his lips.

"Go for it. She's not my type." The one holding me said. The other man put out his cigarette and the one holding me pushed me toward him. He grabbed both my wrists in one hand and smirked before slamming his lips to mine. The drunk man pushed his tongue into my mouth. The taste of cigarette smoke overwhelmed me and I felt frozen. I was terrified and disgusted.

"Me next!" I heard another man say excitedly. It was that comment that pulled me out of my head. I managed to rear my leg back and kick the man as hard as I could right between his legs.

"OW! YOU BITCH!" He screamed, shoving me away from him. I couldn't tell which way I was falling until it was too late to catch myself. I watched the edge of the cliff disappear as I tumbled toward the ocean below.

"LORI!" I heard his voice before I saw him. But a moment after I realized I was falling off the cliff, I saw Tamaki come diving after me. I felt myself trying to reach for him even though I knew it was useless. A second later I hit the water head first and everything went black. I felt cold. So cold enveloped by the water. I could taste that man's cigarette. Was this it for me?

I suddenly felt something warm press against me. I was wrapped up in that warmth and the direction I was traveling changed. It was only another moment before I surfaced, able to breathe once more. I coughed, the feeling of my lungs reinflating seeming foreign to me. I was lifted out of the water and found myself in Tamaki's arms. He carried me back to shore.

"Lori!"

"Boss!" I heard the host club members calling out to us as we got closer.

"Where'd they go?" Tamaki asked, handing me to Mori who had a dry towel waiting in his arms.

"We took their ID cards and made them leave. The girls all went back to the hotel and I've already called a doctor." Kyoya answered.

"Thank you." Tamaki said simply.

"I don't need a doctor." I told him. A mint or some toothpaste to get this horrible taste out of my mouth maybe. But definitely not a doctor who would go to the news about this.

"What were you thinking?" Tamaki asked angrily, moving to put his hands on my shoulders. "You're not some martial arts master like Hunny-senpai. Why did you confront them? What made you think you would stand a chance against those men?"

"There was no time to think of anything like that. People were in trouble, I was there. I had to do something!" I told him, pissed that he had the audacity to be mad at me. "I'm sorry to cause anyone any trouble, but I did nothing wrong."

"Fine." He spat, removing his hands from me and walking off. "But until you admit that you were wrong I refuse to speak to you!"

"How is that any different than you treated me before!" I yelled back trying to ignore the ache in my chest and the taste in my mouth.