The word tension could not describe what was felt among the host club the following weeks. Not a word had been spoken between Tamaki

or Kyoya in fear of a third world war breaking out.

Kyoya couldn't even begin to get his mind around what he had saw in the picture. He recognized the shirt that Tamaki was wearing in it.

He himself had just set it aside when they were laying together in bed. It was new, but Tamaki told him it was a gift. Nothing more,

nothing less. Kyoya didn't pry much; he trusted Tamaki. And with their new found relationship he believed everything to be good between

them. He didn't know he could possibly be so wrong.

Tamaki was sure he stared at the photo for what seemed like an eternity. It took a while for his eyes to really focus. It took a while for his

eyes to believe what they were looking at. He felt the tears only after they were falling down his cheeks and when Hikaru left, he wasn't

sure what to do. He took in his atmosphere, Kyoya's room. Everything here smelled like him, felt like him and seemed to whisper his name

in every direction. It was impossible to get away. He left without really feeling his legs.

When neither of the two had shown up for the club the next day, the twins truly new how much damage they had caused. Tamaki had

never failed to show up to be his princely self before. Even if he were to severe a limb he would be there, bandaged and ready to tell his

daring story. But now, the room echoed his absence.

"Where's Tamaki and Kyoya senpai?" Honey's lower lip protruded over the other, threatening to wobble. Mori scooped him up instantly,

but you could see his confusion as well. They only had a few minutes before the girls would be arriving and they had no way of explaining

why two of their most important hosts were not there.

"Hikaru...Kaoru? Do you two know where they are at all?" Haruhi stood with her arms crossed, searching the twins faces for answers that

they scrambled to hide.

Kaoru's stomach was still turning from the day they played this "game". He couldn't get his mind off of it and it had been eating him alive.

The two of them came up with multiple plans to reverse the damage they had done, but nothing added up to the weight of their mistakes.

No one had seen Tamaki or Kyoya around the school in days and Kyoya's laptop was missing from his room.

Kyoya had been taking a walk through a park he visited a few times as a child. He could envision himself and his sister, trying to get away

from whatever was happening at their home. Now he had placed himself on a bench, his laptop propped against his legs. His mind was

begging to think about the exact word he had extracted from it. There were many rules he lived by but this was the most important as of

now. Yet everything brought it to mind, making this a particularly difficult rule to follow. His heart jumped every time he were to see

something the colour of...the colour of hair he promised himself he would never be involved with again. The name was not of importance.

No one bothered him here. It was far enough from the school that hardly anyone recognized him specifically. And if they did, he hid his

face in a book and pretended he wasn't the same person they thought they were seeing.

So far this plan was working well.

Kyoya was tired of being sad. He was tired of being angry also. He couldn't really blame Tamaki. There was no official mention of a

relationship up until that point. But still, he was sure...no. There was that name again. The one he wasn't allowed to let in. Instead, he

focused on a group of girls wandering along the path, giggling about something. He recognized some of their faces and soon realized they

were from Ouran Academy. He was about to tastefully cover himself when he noticed something even more familiar. Or someone rather.

Noriko was following along behind them, not fully aware of whatever they were chatting on about. She looked lost like usual. Kyoya

rememebered that face well from their "date". Her hair was as white as ever and shone against the streams of sunlight. Kyoya suddenly

wondered if she still had the book he gave her.

He was so distracted that by the time they were getting close, he forgot to remain anonymous.

"Oh my gosh it's Kyoya-senpai!" On of the girls in the front half squealed-half whispered.

"Huh! I've never seen him outside of school before. Especially not in a park!"

"He looks so cute!"

"Hey Noriko, don't you think he would be a great boyfriend?"

Her head shot up to where Kyoya was sitting instantly. They made eye contact and Noriko wasn't sure if she should smile or not. Kyoya

looked lost. Noriko remembered that face well from their "date". She took a moment to study him. His hair was a mess, he had deep circles

around his eyes and she couldn't be sure when the last time he showered was. This was not the Kyoya Ootori they were used of seeing. Yet

the rest of the girls noticed nothing.

"Will you excuse me for a minute." Noriko started to make her way to Kyoya.

"She's going to talk to him!?"

"Noriko is sooo brave!" The voices faded away as she neared him and she was suddenly glad they were too afraid to follow.

"Senpai?"

"Hm?"

He looked up slowly and she realized he hadn't been looking at her at all, he was just staring at what was in front of him all along. There

was definitely something very wrong.

"What happened to you?" It had been so long since the last time he actually spoke real words so this engagement was quite difficult. Kyoya

opened his mouth, but nothing that would be of any use came out. Instead he managed to shrug, a movement that would have not

happened often before this.

"Come on, let's go somewhere."

Tamaki couldn't get over the fact that the picture was with Haruhi. Out of everyone, he would never believe it to be her. Yet, it made so

much sense. Why hadn't he seen the signs. She had never budged when it came to Tamaki throwing himself at her, but with Kyoya, it was

a different story. Haruhi was always softer around him. She acted more like a girl than usual. Yes, why had he never noticed!

Still, when had that picture been taken? He knew it couldn't have been very old by the way that they both looked in it. Was it during the

time they were together or not? Tamaki sighed and put his head in his hands, trying to block out the image of the two of them together.

What was the use of getting so attached to someone when this was bound to happen?

So many times he had wandered to Kyoya's room to put this picture to rest, but as he approached the hall, all expectations of what he

wanted left his mind and he had to return again to deal with the tears falling from his cheeks. Why hadn't Kyoya tried to get a hold of

him? Did he know about this too? Was this his way of breaking up with him? Were they even dating in the first place?

Questions tumbled one by one into Tamaki's mind. He wanted answers. He needed answers. But how was he supposed to get something

he couldn't even begin to think about in the first place?

***Authors Note: Hey, hey, hey...so it's been a while. Don't worry, this story has not been forgotten! It is going to be finished for sure, it has just been extremely hard to find the time between university exams and starting new classes to write any more. My life has changed quite a bit in the past little while and I apologize a million times for that. This story will probably be wrapped up in the next little while *sigh* )': But, if anyone has any questions, comments or suggestions, feel free to express any of them! I want to thank you guys so much for your support, it's been insane. 3 Hope you enjoy! xoxo- Sarah3 ***