A/N: Thank you so much to all my readers and a big, extra thank-you to my reviewers! I really appreciate all your feedback, and I hope you all continue to enjoy, read, and review! =^.^=
Oh, and Renge has a special announcement to make: This time TangerineSummer will be awarding each reviewer a special, Ouran-related prize! XD You could win anything from an exclusive copy of Kyoya's notebook to a weekend touring France with the Hitachiin brothers! So get those reviews in and get a once-in-a-lifetime award! :D
CHAPTER FOUR:
I watched from the changing room as Kyoya-senpai slowly and nervously approached Tamaki-senpai, who was sitting behind his desk, still dressed like a king. Kyoya-senpai stuttered nervously, "Y-yes, T-tamaki?" I had never heard him utter a sentence in such a tone, in a way less than impeccably proper and cool.
Tamaki-senpai held the notebook in his hand and closed it. "This is quite a page turner, Kyoya."
A few globules of sweat cascaded down Kyoya-senpai's forehead. Another first for me to witness. He didn't speak but instead waited for further comment from Tamaki-senpai.
And that comment was: "But I don't like what I read here."
Kyoya-senpai hesitated and tried to process what he had just heard. "You don't."
"Not at all. For one club member to feel this way about another sickens me, Kyoya!"
Obviously completely unaware of what to say for once in his life, Kyoya-senpai stuttered, "I-I'm sorry, Tamaki. I…"
"Haruhi is cute, and for you to say she's unpleasant makes my blood boil!"
With widened eyes, Kyoya-senpai quickly took the notebook from Tamaki-senpai's hands and looked through it. All the pages about Tamaki-senpai were gone, cut out and hidden safely in my book bag. Kyoya-senpai looked calmer now, realizing that I would never reveal his secret to Tamaki-senpai myself; I just thought he needed a little push in the right direction.
But before Kyoya-senpai could truly breathe a sigh of relief, Tamaki-senpai put a hand on his shoulder and stared into his eyes in a very serious and passionate manner. "All of the host club's members should like each other, Kyoya. For you to view Haruhi the way you do is against that principle."
"Well, actually, I don't dislike Haruhi anymore. In fact, we may have formed a bit of a friendship today."
Tamaki-senpai looked surprised and then smiled widely. He jumped upon Kyoya-senpai and began shaking him back and forth giddily. Just like Kyoya-senpai had been missing! And that was something Tamaki-senpai never did to me. I mean, maybe he was smart enough to figure out I was too small to handle it, or maybe it was something else. You could never really tell with that idiot, after all.
"Oh, Kyoya, I knew you would! I knew you'd work something out! You just don't have hate in your heart, do you, mon cher?"
Kyoya-senpai didn't bother pretending to be annoyed by Tamaki-senpai's burst of affection. He instead smiled and returned the gesture, wrapping his arms around Tamaki-senpai right back. He stopped Tamaki-senpai from shaking him and instead just held him in an embrace. Tamaki senpai looked surprised, but he didn't seem to realize just what a big step Kyoya-senpai had just taken by such an unabashed display of affection. Instead, Tamaki-senpai merely laughed with childlike delight and—after a few moments—jumped down from Kyoya-senpai, somehow gracefully.
Judging by his expression, Kyoya-senpai realized that Tamaki-senpai hadn't quite understood what Kyoya-senpai was attempting to say through this gesture, and as I had hoped, Kyoya-senpai wasn't ready to let that be the end of the discussion. "You know, Tamaki, I think your principle about this club is right. We should all like each other. It's the most effective path to a sustaining happy—and therefore more successful—club."
"Exactly!" Tamaki-senpai exclaimed as he sat down behind his desk once again, beginning to flip through some catalogues of costumes so he could find the perfect ones for our medieval event next week.
"And I do like Haruhi now. I like Hikaru and Kaoru. I like Honey. I like Mori. I like Renge."
"Good to hear that, Kyoya!"
"And I love you."
Tamaki-senpai looked up at this point, his lilac eyes shining under the chandelier. He then smiled. "I love you too, Kyoya." His voice sounded too casual, and Kyoya-senpai knew then that—as he expected—the blond-haired fool still had no idea what he was talking about.
As Tamaki-senpai began browsing through the catalogues again, Kyoya-senpai got on his knees so he could face Tamaki-senpai eye to eye from across the desk. Even though I was watching from quite a distance, I could see the look of love in his eyes as he gazed at Tamaki-senpai. It was a new look for Kyoya-senpai, too. He was always able to emit charm and romance from his eyes when he was entertaining our guests, but this look was something different. Something more akin to pure love. Real. Passionate. Vulnerable.
"No, Tamaki. I mean…" Kyoya began, as he gently put his hand Tamaki-senpai's chin and brought his face in closer. "I love you." Tamaki-senpai's expression still read innocent cluelessness, so Kyoya-senpai sighed and had to be as unsubtle as he could be.
As their lips met, I decided it was only appropriate for me to close the curtain and look away. As much as I would have liked to witness the epic moment, I had invaded Kyoya-senpai's privacy quite enough for the day and had to be respectful.
Unfortunately for Kyoya-senpai, I didn't need to keep the curtain closed for long. The kiss had only lasted a few seconds before Tamaki-senpai pushed Kyoya-senpai away from him. As soon as heard Tamaki-senpai's voice, I opened the curtain and peeked out from it again.
"Kyoya, what are you doing?" he exclaimed as his entire face and body turned pasty white and dark blue lines streaked across both.
"I just thought…"
"You're a host! You like girls!" Tamaki screamed before Kyoya-senpai could get a word in edgewise.
Kyoya-senpai stepped back, attempting to remain composed. "You're right. I do like girls."
In a voice that had raised an entire octave, Tamaki-senpai questioned, "Then what…what was this?"
"Have you never heard of bisexuality, you moron?"
"'Bisexuality'?" Tamaki-senpai sounded like he was a mere baby learning how to talk.
Kyoya-senpai chuckled slightly, almost evilly. Was he enjoying this? If I were him, I'd have been pretty darn nervous right about now, but he just smiled, collected and confident. "For me at least, it means I can be attracted to and fall in love with both girls and boys, depending on the individual. For the falling in love part, it's about who they are inside. Of course, good looks don't hurt matters at all, but basically, gender is irrelevant to me."
The color finally returned to Tamaki-senpai as he began to calm down, though it was obvious he was still completely bewildered inside. Kyoya-senpai waited for a few minutes, trying to let Tamaki-senpai understand what he had just learned. Finally, Kyoya-senpai continued, "So, do you…do you think you may be bisexual, Tamaki? And if so, do you think you could…possibly, by any chance…reciprocate my feelings for you?"
Wow. Kyoya-senpai moved quickly once he actually decided on a path to travel by. I had a sinking feeling that those questions had been asked much too soon, but I couldn't do anything about it. All I could do is wait anxiously for Tamaki-senpai's response right along with Kyoya-senpai, who didn't seem so cool anymore. His exterior began to once again express the ponderous and tense emotions that I'm sure were tied in a tight knot in the pit of his own stomach.
Tamaki-senpai looked up from his desk and met Kyoya-senpai's eyes. He then blushed, turned away, and stood up from his desk. His back faced Kyoya-senpai and his voice was panicked. "Kyoya, can I have some more time to process all this?! I mean…this is all so…this is all moving so fast! I don't even really understand…I mean, I understand, I guess, but…"
"Of course. That's perfectly reasonable. This is probably extremely confusing right now. For everyone involved, to be sure," Kyoya-senpai offered, attempting to hide his embarrassment. "Take all the time you need, Tamaki."
Tamaki-senpai remained with his back turned to Kyoya-senpai as he took a heavy breath. "Thank you. I'll get back to you as soon as I have this all…sorted out," Tamaki-senpai assured, sounding more distant and formal with Kyoya-senpai than I'd ever heard him sound before. I wondered what that meant.
Kyoya-senpai then bowed slightly before his king and began to leave Music Room #3. "I'll be waiting."
After Kyoya-senpai left the room, Tamaki-senpai slowly turned around and took a seat at his desk. "What the hell was that?" he whispered to himself. I had never heard Tamaki-senpai swear before, even that mildly. I watched as he looked down at the catalogue again, this time with a blank expression on his face. His expression then rapidly transmogrified into one of anger as he took the catalogue in his hands and crumbled it up into a fury-induced ball. He knocked the ball off his desk and put his head in his hands, staring at the wall across from him with an illegible look. He then closed his eyes and looked as if he was meditating.
I didn't want to disturb his contemplation at such an important time, but I did have to get to the restaurant. My dad was probably wondering where I was. So, after hurriedly putting on my dress, I slowly stepped out of the changing room and hoped that I could run out the door before he opened his eyes again. I began tiptoeing in a hurried fashion across the floor and had placed my hand victoriously over the knob of the exit when I heard Tamaki-senpai's voice.
"H-Haruhi?"
My hope was shattered.