Chapter 14: Prom Queen and King Nominations

Back in Japan:

"Kasanova is going to the Prom with Haruhi." More than anything, Hikaru was regretting that he and Kaoru had not beaten the living daylights out of that guy when he had first found out about Haruhi being a girl. "KASANOVA-KUN IS GOING WITH HARUHI!!!"

"Hikaru, calm down," Kaoru, as cool, practical and calm as ever was trying to stop him from ripping up their pillow.

In four other places, the other host club member's reactions were quite contrasting. Tamaki had thrown a tantrum in his household but deep inside he had felt acceptance. Kyouya's response was only to disappear in his room, but inside he was greatly annoyed. And plus there was what his father had said to him…

"Where were you, Kyouya?" His father was emanating furious anger. "During these holidays, you took our best jet and flew over to India. You took our police force. You made choices without my consent."

"Father, I'm sorry." Kyouya finally answered stiffly and politely.

"I do not forgive easily." The old man replied coldly. "You will not involve yourself with that commoner again." Kyouya's heart missed a beat.

"What do you mean?"

The old man's nostrils flared. "To take actions like that for her, I will not accept," he spat. There was nothing more to say, nothing one could say. Kyouya nodded and left the room.

In stark contrast, Hunny was as cheerful as ever while Mori felt and showed his gentle disappointment.

"How can you be so calm?!" Hikaru retorted angrily towards his brother. "How were our perfect plans meant to end like this?!"

"End like what?" Kaoru asked innocently. Hikaru swore violently.

"Stop acting like that. We're never gonna get a chance with Haruhi. By this rate, I won't." He glared at his brother meaningfully. "You won't."

"There's still the Prom Queen and King."

"Yeah?" Hikaru's eyebrows rose suspiciously.

"And there are before Parties."

"Yeah?" Hikaru frowned.

"Idiot." Kaoru folded his hands. "It's like Haruhi said at the beginning. Prom Partners aren't important."

"Excuse me?" spluttered Hikaru. "Haruhi is practically walking into a date with that guy."

Kaoru narrowed his eyes at his brother. "At Prom night, you don't have to stay with your official partner."

"You don't…?"

"You should have known that Hikaru. Prom Partners aren't the end of the world."

"If we annoy Kasanova-kun, Haruhi's going to get annoyed," Hikaru scowled.

"We won't do anything to him," Kaoru answered with a faint smile. It seemed that out of all the host club members, only the twins had the extent of annoyance and freedom to hatch up some ghastly counter/revenge plan. It was only a matter of time and of course the way they executed it.

PROM QUEEN AND KING ANNOUNCEMENT

She thought the worst of it before the Prom was over. There had been naturally, chaos at school when everyone had found out about her Prom Partner.

"You've got a partner?" The girls had squealed. Haruhi had nodded. That had resulted in a number of girls quite depressed and upset. In fact, Haruhi almost found herself being dragged to the Principal's office for explaining why she was the cause of so many tantrums and tears.

"Kasanova?" A lot of people had whispered. "Who the hell is she?"

"He's in class 1D." Haruhi had to explain. "No, he's actually from this school. Yes."

"1D???!!!" There had been uproar at this information.

Then a minute later. "HE???!!!" Girls had fainted on the spot.

"Yes, he's a he. And no I'm not gay." Haruhi answered wearily. She found herself trying to say this repeatedly to a crowd who never listened to her. It had gotten so bad that she started saying it at home whenever her Dad would say (for whatever reason) "Haruhi" in a surprising way.

"Don't go with him, Haruhi!" That was another common phrase Haruhi was accustomed to, as well as "You deserve to be with someone else," and "Dump him." Even Nekozawa had popped up, offering her a magical potion to get rid of Kasanova. Seriously…no matter how hard she tried to get the message I-m-going-to-the-prom-with-him-as-a-friend-not-lover into their thick heads, she never succeeded.

"Kasanova-kun!" A motor engine rumbled. "Hohohohoho!!!" Haruhi's heart sank like a lead weight. Oh no. Renge. I forgot about her. It's been a while since I've seen her.

"Kasanova-kun!" Renge cried dramatically. She drew out a handkerchief and dabbed at eyes which were brimming with tears of happiness. "Kasanova-kun, you're bravery and courage has been rewarded!"

"Eh?" Haruhi blanched. What does she mean by that?

"Do you remember girls, from the Ouran MOE records, this young man was so so so…brave when Haruhi rejected him." Renge couldn't go any more. She was overcome by the memories. Suddenly it seemed everyone was crying. The place was raining with tears.

"Oh I remember him."

"Kasanova-kun."

"Oh, how brave he was."

Haruhi couldn't believe it. Just a minute ago, you were all adamant that you didn't know Kasanova-kun and were convinced that he didn't belong to this school.

"Renge-san, don't cry!"

"Tell us his brave story. Tell us the ending."

"The ending," Renge gallantly rose up on her platform. Her eyes sparkled with madness. "Haruhi has asked him to be his Prom Partner!"

"Excuse me, but he asked me first," Haruhi muttered. Her mutter was heard by no one.

"Oh, how sweet!"

"A happy ending!"

"They love each other!"

"I'm going to the Prom with him as a friend. A friend!" yelled Haruhi.

"Renge-san, have you written this down?"

"It's got to be in the MOE records."

"Omg, I don't think I can handle this!"

"We must learn from his example," Renge shouted, wiping final tears away. "To never give up. Love will reign in the end. It will shine out. It will-"

Haruhi decided to walk away at that point. I can't wait until this Prom is over. To her surprise, she was allowed to leave. No one dragged her back inside. They were all too occupied by their MOE fantasies.

She walked into school the first week and found a huge stack of letters in her locker.

"L-L-Letters!!!!" Haruhi had felt a strong sense of déjà vu. Why the hell am I getting love letters again? She had grudgingly opened them up and was surprised to find that they were-

"Invites to before parties!" Kaoru ruffled her hair and grinned at her.

"Wow Haruhi," Hikaru appeared and looked genuinely shocked at all her letters. "You're invited to so many. Which ones are you going to?"

"Are you kidding me?" Haruhi shoved the letters in her bag, with the secret intention of destroying them once she got home, "There are before parties?"

"Of course," the twins chimed. "Parties before the Prom start the day before."

How much more extravagance does this Prom involve? Haruhi didn't know. In any case, she fully intended not going to any of them. "I not going," she said bluntly.

To her suspicion, the twins shrugged. "Thought you'd say that," they answered in unison. "Going to our Prom is good enough for us," they grinned at her and disappeared.

"H-h-h-h-hey H-h-h-aruhi…" Kasanova rocked up. He was shaking from head to toe and his face was tomato red.

"Kasanova-kun," Haruhi smiled at him. Kasanova collapsed on the floor but he managed to croak out;

"Thanks for agreeing to be my Prom Partner. I'm overjoyed…"

"It's my pleasure," Haruhi replied in a friendly way.

"WHY does she have to be so nice to him?" Hikaru and Kaoru were eavesdropping on their conversation behind a potted plant.

"Shh! Hikaru," Kaoru grasped his twin's waist to stop him from furiously running over and punching Kasaonva. "They'll hear us."

"She's NEVER that nice to us!" Hikaru was absolutely furious.

"I uh," Kasanova began nervously. He smoothed his hair. "I got all these invites to before Parties. I uh-"

"Did you want to ask whether I would come or not?" Haruhi asked.

"GAH!" Hikaru was almost pulling out his hair. "How did she catch on so quickly? Isn't she usually dense about this stuff?"

Kaoru narrowed his eyes at his twin. Trust you to criticize her. You're just as dumb when it comes to matters of the heart. No wait, you're worse.

"Uh," Kasanova gave a nervous laugh. "Uh, yeah…"

"Sorry," Haruhi replied immediately.

"HaahAHH!" Hikaru'e eyes were shining and he jumping about in victory. "You're rejected. Go Haruhi."

"Stop jumping!" Kaoru tried furiously to stop his brother from revealing their hiding spot.

"Sorry," continued Haruhi. "But I think I'll pass." She looked at Kasanova kindly. "I'm not a fan of extra extravagance."

"I see," Kasanova replied faintly. "Then…" he hesitated and his face went redder. "I won't go too."

"YOU IDIOT!" Hikaru was clawing at the pot plant.

"SHUT UP HIKARU!" Kaoru whispered fiercely.

"He's supposed to be grateful he got invited to so many high-class before parties. He's in class 1D for God's sake!" Hikaru's hands curled menacingly.

"Would you like a voodoo charm?" A sly voice came out from nowhere.

"Nekozawa…" the twins almost wet their pants with fear and shock. "What are you doing here in broad daylight?"

"Taking risks to sell my charms…"he hissed from beneath his black hood. "I take refuge in the shade of this leafy plant…" The twins rolled their eyes. "I offer you a SECRET charm. It makes sure no one can discover your hiding spot. You'd like that wouldn't you?" The Hitachiins stared. "Otherwise one push, and he'll know you're eavesdropping," Neko nodded evilly towards Haruhi.

"I don't think so," the Hitachiins said in unison. Hikaru pulled out a torch. Neko fled without hesitation. Kaoru chuckled.

"I wonder what he's doing," Hikaru narrowed his eyes.

"Listen," Kaoru urged, clearly not interested. Haruhi was still talking to Kasanova.

"No," Haruhi's voice was firm. "You should go and enjoy yourself. Don't make the choice because of me."

"H-H-Haruhi…are you sure?" Kasanova stammered.

Haruhi beamed at him. "You shouldn't be affected by peer pressure."

"Ok…" Kasanova stammered. "I'll do what you say." He walked away muttering, "I'll do what you say, yes I can do that, yes…I'm your friend…"

Hikaru burst into laughter. "Idiot…"

"What are you two doing back there?" Haruhi's sharp voice sent shivers up their spine.

"Ah Hikaru!" Kaoru placed his hands tenderly around his brother's neck.

"Ah Kaoru!" Hikaru gazed into his twin's eyes. "To think our hiding spot was discovered…but it doesn't matter. Let's keep on…" His fingers drifted towards Kaoru's shirt which was half unbuttoned.

"Hikaru!" cried Kaoru, his face deepening in colour. "N-not here…everyone is watching…" he stammered.

"WAA BROTHERLY LOVE!" screamed a thousand girls. "OH I CAN'T STAND IT ANY LONGER!!!"

Haruhi rolled her eyes. "Why were you eavesdropping on me?" she asked, unfazed by their act.

"We weren't," the twins pulled their eyes and stuck out their tongue at her. "See you in class."

Haruhi snorted disbelievingly.

A terrible disaster was yet awaiting her. She walked into school the third day of week 1, to be confronted with a huge poster with the words:

PROM QUEEN AND KING ANNOUNCEMENT

At lunch time today in the Great Hall.

Make sure you're there for this significant event!

So, she had to give up her precious lunch time for this pointless announcement. She sincerely hoped she would not end up as Prom Queen. She had even considered the idea of somehow sneaking in to the office, getting the key, opening the glass display cabinet and crossing out all the votes for her. She might have succeeded if not Tamaki had caught her in the act. Aghast at her immoral behaviour, Tamaki had stationed a host member every recess and lunch time to guard the glass display and to make sure nothing "corrupted" the votes. It was ridiculous guarding a stupid glass cabinet.

Haruhi sighed again and opened the door to the Great Hall.

"HARUHI!!!" Tamaki was admonishing her. Suddenly Haruhi found herself being dragged to the front, surrounded by a huge crowd of people who were looking as if she had committed a crime.

"Haaa?" Haruhi backed away from their fiery eyes and angry bared pointy teeth. "What did I do wrong?"

"You're late," whispered Tamaki. "We're almost announcing Prom Queen."

"Ah, well sorry."

"Every vote has been counted," the head girl and boy were standing up the front and were in the process of opening an envelope. "I have the greatest pleasure in announcing the Prom Queen as…"

"HHHH!!!!!" A thousand girls held their breath. A Japanese tribal drum thundered. Haruhi was the only one muttering underneath her breath "Not me. Not me. Not me-"

"FUJIOKA HARUHI!"

"CONGRADULATIONS!"

"ARGHGHGHGHGHAA!!!!!!!!!" Haruhi was buried under thousands of screaming people. This is the worst thing that could ever happen to me. WHY do I have to be Prom Queen? I like the quiet life. I never wanted to be this popular…

"We knew you'd get it!"

"OHHH! This is going to be sooo good."

The Japanese drum was almost ruptured due to excessive beating. It was, of course necessary to get everyone's attention back.

"It's my pleasure to announce that the Prom King is…"

The tension in the air was incredible. Haruhi would be paired up with who? Tamaki was gripping his fists so tightly, he had stopped blood circulation there. Kyouya was looking as mysterious as ever behind his dark glasses. Mori was so still, he might have been a perfectly carved statue. Hunny's mouth was wide open and he had –gasp- stopped eating his cake. Kaoru was waiting patiently. Hikaru on the other hand was struggling to stop himself from running out from the hall. Haruhi was counting the ticks of her watch to pass the time. Oh how wonderful…I get to be Prom Queen. I have to dance with-

"Ootori Kyouya."

Haruhi's heart skipped a beat. Kyouya? The hall was absolutely silent for five full seconds as the whole school digested this information. Kyouya's face was characteristically still and did not betray any shock or surprise. Then the whole school erupted into chaos. But Haruhi was searching for Kyouya's eyes. Kyouya, when you kissed me, I felt so confused. You were like a different person, the Kyouya inside that I didn't know very well. I was afraid to see it again. I didn't want to face you again.

Kyouya raised his eyes and looked straight at her.

And now I must dance with you. What are you thinking? What are you feeling? Do I have to face the same eyes, the same feelings as before?

Haruhi went cold. His eyes were black, hard and icy.

W-what happened to you?!

A/N: For your information, here are the tallies for the votes. You can see how close it was! (At one stage Kyouya and Hikaru were really close -.-)

Prom King:

Kyouya: 16

Hikaru: 13

Kaoru: 10

Tamaki: 6

Mori: 5

Hunny: 5

Nekozawa: 3

Prom Queen: was obviously Haruhi. I gave up counting.

Thanks very much for voting! I'm going interstate for a week. Will be back mid December,

lu.e3