The next time Riley found herself in the host club, the hosts were particularily keen on going to a carnival to ease the "stress of the toy store incident". Of course, the hosts who were most excited about the carnival idea were Tamaki, Honey, Hikaru and Kaoru. The other hosts didn't seem to care much about going though were talked into it by their "king". Riley frowned when Tamaki finished his speech on why they should go to relax, "Whattya mean 'trauma'? You weren't even in the store."

"Oh but my dear sweet princess," the blonde king purred, "we were so worried about you two stuck in that horrific fire!"

"Tamaki it wasn't even a fire!" She countered, "A printer caught a little on fire and then, when it was put out, it just started smoking out the whole building! Not fire. Just smoke."

Kyouya eventually looked up from his notebook and said, "Nevertheless, it was a rather stressful time for Tamaki and this carnival could be a great for morale, not just for Tamaki, but for the whole club. That and I believe some clients would be most appreciative to accompany the hosts to this carnival for the day."

"Of course Kyouya would think of that," she thought to herself. Both herself and Mori were sitting with Honey, who just started on his fourth piece of cake. "Rye-chan?" Honey asked, "Are you gonna come to the carnival with us?"

Even the thought of going to the carnival made the blood drain from Riley's face. The heights and the sudden drops of the rollar coasters terrified the baker, though she never wanted to admit it. She found herself shrugging and saying, "Y'know sweets, I don't think I'd be able to make it. I got a lot of things to do tomorrow."

Haruhi, who was sitting not far from the trio, said, "They're not planning on going tomorrow. They're going after school."

Hikaru and Kaoru swooped in on either side of the only female host and said, "They?"

"You know you're coming with us, right?"

"I don't really have to go, do I?" She asked.

While Haruhi tried to find a way out of going, Riley also tried to find an excuse to stay behind. "I'm not even part of the host club. Technically. So I don't see why I should go..."

Honey looked up from his cake and looked at the baker with sad eyes and muttered, "But... but Rye-chan... it'll be so much more fun with you there."

For once, she found herself able to withstand Honey's sad eyes and said, "I'm sorry Honey-buns but... I don't see any reason I should go if I would just be shoved to the side because I'm not a paying customer and you guys should give all your attention to your customers. It's just good customer service and all."

While she was saying this, she noticed Tamaki out the corner of her eye and turned her gaze to him which she immediately regretted doing when she saw his sad puppy eyes. "Tamaki," she began, "don't-" but it was too late. His puppy eyes melted whatever was left of her hard demeanor, causing her to sigh in defeat. "Alright. I guess I'll go with you guys."

In his excitement, Tamaki jumped up and hugged Riley tightly in his arms, "You won't regret it my princess! I swear I'll give you the time of your life!"

Mori, who stayed silent this whole time, felt the same protective ting flicker within him but decided to restrain from doing anything. Only when she managed to choke out, "Mori, could you maybe help me get out of this suffocating hug...?" did he stand from his chair and easily pluck Riley out of Tamaki's grasp. While he held her in his arms, he felt all too aware of the warmth her body emitted and felt a strong almost pain in his chest. A faint scent that smelled almost like vanilla cake icing reached the tall host and he found himself extremely intrigued by the scent.

While Mori was noticing all these things, Riley also noticed some things about Mori she never remembered before. The way his arms felt around her made every muscle in her body clench and her cheeks burn from embarrassment at her own attraction of having Mori so close to her. "Um..." Riley muttered, "th-thanks Mori. That's all... fine and dandy." Her words snapped the host from his trance and, with them, he set her down.

Honey, who was watching intently, smiled to himself before leaning close to Usa-chan, "Okay Usa-chan. We need a plan to make Takashi and Rye-chan fall in love with each other." He looked back to his tall cousin, who shifted his weight from one foot to the next, and his baker, who nervously rubbed her nose, then nodded to himself almost as if to confirm his resolution to try and get the two to fall in love with each other.

Later that day, after school had let out, the hosts and a few lucky customers were scattered throughout a local carnival that just reopened for the season. Riley was with Honey, Mori and a couple nameless customers who fawned over the two cousins as they went about their business. "I was right," Riley thought to herself, "I'm ignored while those two bimbos are treated like queens. This isn't fun..."

The group was in front of the ring toss and the three girls were giggling and squealing at their own inability to successfully get the ring to fall around the pegs. Honey decided to put his plan into action, though he suspected either Riley or Mori would initiate the beginning of his plan without any interference from him. His suspicions were correct.

Riley stared slightly longer than she planned at a large stuffed panda that was the top prize for the ring toss before staring back down at her feet. She knew that there was no way she was good enough at the ring toss to actually go through all the levels to win the over luxurious panda bear, no matter how much she wanted it. Mori noticed her lingered gaze and looked up at the one large stuffed animal at the top of a pyramid of lesser plushes. Not only did he notice her gaze, he also noticed how unhappy she seemed and was trying to think of a way to brighten her mood. Before he could think of something however, the baker cleared her throat and muttered, "Look I'm gonna go get some cotton candy. I'll meet you guys here in a couple minutes, 'kay?"

She didn't wait for a response before wandering away from the two hosts and their clients. "Man this sucks..." she said to herself while waiting in line at the concession stand. Not only did she have to leave Ghost behind but all the rides and the loud chaos made Riley's mood drop as fast the rides were dropping. "Plus side, I get cotton candy." That was the only bright light she could think about for being at the "god forsaken" carnival.

While walking back to the ring toss, she was plucking pink cotton candy into her mouth in an attempt to stop her lips from getting too sticky and was wondering how much longer she had to stay. Just as she was nearing the mini game Honey and Mori were at, she could hear the excited squeals of the clients as they watched Mori get yet another ring on another peg. Riley walked up to the group and stood beside the equally excited Honey, "Hey sweets," she said, "he winnin'?"

"Takashi is just about to win the big prize!" Honey responded in an excited tone. The baker looked at the big panda and felt a pang of jealousy. "Man," she thought to herself, "I wanted the big ass panda. Now one of those girls are gonna get it probably. This day just keeps getting worse."

So she just waited until Mori had officially received the big panda from the carnie who manned the ring toss before looking off at the big merry go round found in the heart of the carnival. Through the crowd of people, she managed to see Kyouya with Tamaki and Haruhi who were all entertaining a few lucky clients who fawned over them. "At least someone's having fun." Riley thought to herself when she saw Tamaki laugh with the girls and start talking to them about something she couldn't make out since he was on the other side of the grounds.

When she looked back at the ring toss, Mori walked over to her and held the panda in front of her. "Yeah," she said, "congrats on getting the big panda. It's pretty adorable."

He gave her a small smile and asked, "Do you want it?"

At first she didn't fully comprehend the question since she just assumed that he would've given it to one of the other girls as some sort of clientele type reason she didn't understand. "Don't you wanna give it to one of those bit—gals?" She heard herself asking.

His smile grew and one of his eyebrows raised as he shook his head so slightly no one else noticed. The baker giggled and took the large panda out of his hands, "Oh my this is... thank you Takashi!" She threw her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek, leaving a sticky pink outline of her lips on his skin. "Oh sorry." Riley said before rubbing her thumb along his cheek in an attempt to rub off her cotton candy outline.

In her own excitement, she didn't even notice that the bear had fallen from her grasp and was being held by Honey in her stead. She laughed nervously and let the tall host out of her embrace before taking the bear back, "Thanks Honey-bun. This thing is almost as big as I am!" The gift from Mori made Riley so happy she forgot about how much she disliked all the rides and all the people and felt her spirits brighten.

"Hello my princess." She heard Tamaki say as he, Haruhi and Kyouya appeared from the crowds of people. "Winning at the games, I see?"

"No," Honey corrected, "Takashi won it for her!"

Kyouya adjusted his glasses before furiously scribbling something in his notebook, "Is that so? Interesting."

Haruhi also seemed intrigued by that information and smiled, "Well that was nice of him."

Tamaki, who remained as oblivious as both Riley and Mori, exclaimed while pointing at the biggest ride, "We should all go on that roller coaster! All the commoners seem to really like it!"

Suddenly, all the excitement drained out of Riley the moment she set eyes on the large metal contraption that was one of the main attractions of the whole carnival. "Um... maybe you guys can," she muttered, "just because I gotta, you know, look after this big panda. Don't wanna leave it down here by itself."

Tamaki was about to object but was cut off by Honey saying, "What a great idea Rye-chan! Maybe Takashi should wait with you then, just in case it isn't safe."

The baker and tall host looked at each other and shrugged, "Sure I guess." Riley said.

So soon after, every host besides Mori were sitting on the large roller coaster, waiting for the ride to start its incline. "Why did I agree to this..." Haruhi muttered. She was talked into going on by the twins and Tamaki combined. Kyouya, however, was nowhere to be found. It was almost like he knew what the other more "rambunctious" hosts were planning on doing.

Riley and Mori were sitting on a bench within eye shot of the large ride, named The Red Hammer, and Riley kept fiddling with the large panda. "Mori this is so cute! I mean, look at'em!" She said while making the panda face the host. Seeing her so infatuated with the stuffed animal made Mori feel involuntarily happy and, the host's kind gesture made the baker feel, not just infatuated with the panda, but also with the dark haired man beside her. The very feeling made her nervous and she pressed her forehead against his shoulder, "Really though. Thank you."

She was so close to him Mori could barely stop himself from holding her even closer, to feel the warmth she emitted against his chest and even feel her lips press against his own. From there, his mind began to wander and his arm started to lift so he could pull her closer but when he realized what he was doing, the limb froze before setting back down.

After, Riley just made small talk until the rest of the club got off The Red Hammer, each in a different state of hysteria. Tamaki looked pale and was staggering slightly, Haruhi seemed a bit uncaring about the ride whereas Honey and the twins were completely ecstatic about how wonderful the ride was. "Rye-chan!" Honey exclaimed, "You and Takashi should go on the ride too!"

Out of habit, she ran a finger over her lower lip and looked down, "Look sweets, uh-"

"Mitsukuni," Mori said before Riley could finish her sentence, "what if the panda gets scared?"

Honey looked absolutely horrified that he hadn't thought of that and said, "Maybe you should go on a ride that isn't so scary... like the ferris wheel!"

The twins, who had figured out Mori's feelings for Riley long before, nodded and started to shove the baker and tall host towards the large ferris wheel, "We think that's a great idea!"

"Yeah, nothing like a good ol' ferris wheel to end a night!"

Before either could object, Mori and Riley found themselves squished together on a seat on the large ferris wheel, that began to light up since it was beginning to get dark out. As they sat, the baker began to get fidgety and rubbed her lower lip. "Riley?" Mori asked. She turned and looked at him, her eyes slightly wider than usual. "Are you alright?"

As the ride started with a screech, Riley gripped the handle in front of her so tightly her knuckles turned white. "Fine. I'm fine." She managed to mutter.

He was skeptical of her obvious lie and, in attempt to soothe her, he took her hands in his and pulled them away from the handle, "Riley look at me." Her body turned towards his though her eyes remained closed. The whole situation reminded Mori of the time he was panicking in the cellar and she calmed him down. He felt that it was right to return the favour. So, to get her to open her eyes, he lifted her chin with his index finger and said, "Riley. Open your eyes."

Slowly, her eyelids fluttered open and he could see the panic lingering in her blue eyes. "Before you say anything," she choked out, "I'm not scared of heights. I'm just... mildly uncomfortable with my feet... not being on the ground. Okay?" In her panicked state, a few strands of hair fell in front of her face which she didn't seem to care about.

Mori, on the other hand, lifted his hand and tucked them behind her ear. It was as if that action knocked Riley out of her state and she became all to aware of Mori holding her hands and she felt a tingling sensation where his finger brushed along her cheek. A small smile grew on his features, "When are you going back to school?"

The ride continued slowly moving in its round motion and, as they were going down, Riley's eyes began to wander down to the ground. Before she could get a good look, Mori turned her gaze back to him and waited for her to start talking. "Um... f-four months. September... it was supposed to be August but I got put in a different class than I expected." For the rest of the ride, the host continued trying to get her to talk about anything to keep her attention from the ground so many feet below them.