Haruhi tried to fake a smile while she danced with the boy. He took it very slowly, allowing her to keep up with his steps the best she could. She knew she had seen him somewhere before. "Who are you?" she asked bluntly.
"That's cheating, isn't it?" He laughed.
"No, you aren't a host. I think I may know you though…" She stared at him, still trying to keep her balance.
"Wait, say something else." He looked at her quizzically.
"Like what? What do you mean?"
"Haruhi!?" He paused for a moment, but continued dancing.
"Huh? But how-"
The dance ended, and he bowed to her. "Thank-you, I can't wait to talk to you again later tonight." His voice was gentle and warm, slightly less forward than before.
Haruhi stared blankly as he went to find another girl to ask to dance. 'What in the world does he mean by that?' she wondered. Suddenly she saw Renge coming towards her.
"Who is that? I saw you two dancing and talking, you like him don't you!?" She was her usual self. "Oh my! A masked romance cast at the stroke of midnight! How romantic!"
"Heh, no it's not like that, I just think I have met him somewhere before." Before Renge could continue, Haruhi asked, "Did you get anymore pearls?"
"No, but I know what one of the twins is wearing. I'll get him when I see him." She was peering through the crowd, trying to catch a glimpse of the mask she danced with earlier.
"I'm sure you will." Haruhi walked away, trying to keep herself poised and not fall on her face. The heels were hurting her feet.
As she began to walk, another song was ending. She found herself at the punch table. After the song had completely finished, it was silent in the hall except for the chatter of the guests. Lights lit up the stage and Tamaki was again standing in the center.
"It is now 10:00 P.M. We have scheduled for your entertainment a commoner's band! I hope you all enjoy the music, we will continue with our own easy listening after the performance! Keep up the good work, and give a big hand for the band!" He bowed and clapped, walking back down the stairs as the curtains opened.
Hikaru was watching the stage and was surprised by the sight. There were two guitar players, a drum player, and in the middle of the stage with a microphone and a guitar was the boy he had seen earlier. He was still in the black and red outfit, with his brown messy hair. 'That explains it…' he thought to himself. The boy grabbed the mic and gave a big grin.
"Thanks for having us tonight. I have had the honor of dancing with many of you lovely girls and this school truly is elite in both beauty and manners. I hope you fully enjoy our performance!" As he ended their song began. Everyone was dancing again and enjoying the new beats. They were more quickly paced, and some guests found it difficult to dance properly to the fast beats. Several began to just shake around awkwardly. Everyone was laughing and having a good time. 'Excellent.' Tamaki smiled.
Haruhi stared at the performance on stage. She was completely confused. 'He is the singer of a "commoner" band?' she thought for a moment, 'then how does he know me?' She began walking through the crowd. She noticed Kyouya and walked the opposite way, accidentally bumping into someone else. "Oh! Sorry." She mumbled.
"It's alright, care to dance?" The boy asked, uncaring.
"Uh, I don't dance much." She looked up at him. 'Hikaru!'
"Oh. That's cool then." He smiled a little. She felt really bad.
"Maybe for a second." He shrugged and began dancing with her. It was still fast paced, but suddenly the band took up a slow tune. Hikaru took her around the waist, still having a good deal of distance between them. He was looking around, hardly even paying attention.
"Looking for something?" Haruhi asked, noticing his absentmindedness. 'Probably me, how ironic.' She laughed to herself a little, but then refocused on not giving herself away by being a clumsy dancer.
"Uh, yeah. It's nothing important." He thought he saw a short brown-haired girl, but she was much too tall.
"Well for it being so unimportant you seem to be trying very hard. Is it a girl?" She asked, in an uncaring and unromantic tone.
"Actually yes, and I guess she is very important to me." He replied, and she could see through his mask that his eyes were slightly glazed and his smile became soft. 'Oh, I guess it isn't me… I didn't know that Hikaru liked anyone that way.' She was surprised.
"Oh, well I hope you find her. It's supposed to be romantic on a night like this, right?" She smiled, almost loosing her footing. For some reason, she felt a strange pain in her chest.
"She doesn't care about things being romantic; in fact she doesn't care about many things. But I hope I find her, too." He smiled again. "Find any of those pearls yet?"
"No, I'm not really playing." She said awkwardly. 'Why do I feel this way?'
"You don't want a date with a host member?" He seemed surprised as the song began to softly fade.
"Not really. I don't see the big deal." They bowed and she began to walk away. She turned around before he left and said "Good luck finding that friend of yours."
"Thank-you…" He watched her walk away. 'Wait a second, she doesn't see the big deal? It couldn't have been…'
He tried to follow after her, but he lost of sight of her in the crowd. 'Damn it!' he thought as he continued walking past girls.
"Hey! I want another dance!" Renge had found him.
"Ugh, fine." He took her hand and they danced to the band. He was obviously not happy.
"You have to be Hikaru, because Kaoru is much more kind." She accused.
"Good job." He handed her one of his pearls and didn't even bother finishing the dance before going back to search for Haruhi.
The band stopped and the brown messy-haired boy wiped some sweat off his forehead. He took the microphone calmly and began to speak. "Thank-you! Now I'm going to need my favorite girl from the audience to help me with our last song. It's a duet, and well…" He smiled, "I can't really serenade myself." Laughter was heard from the crowd as girls raised their hands in excitement.
"You there." He pointed to Haruhi, "The young lady in the maroon dress and the big golden bow." He smiled widely, showing his teeth. Everyone turned to see her sitting quietly on a chair in the back. 'Oh no, why did I have to be his favorite?' she thought as she stood.
"Umm… No thanks!" She said and waved. Everyone laughed again and began encouraging her.
"Come on, you were my favorite dance of the night. It's alright, remember? You don't have to be afraid to do this sort of thing. No one will laugh." She was practically being forced up the stairs.
From the audience the club members watched, fascinated by the way commoners did things. Kyouya pushed his glasses up a little and smiled a little. 'Interesting.'
Tamaki was clapping along, and Hunny and Mori were cheering the girl they didn't know was Haruhi on. Kaoru was clapping, too. He saw Hikaru across the crowd with a surprised expression on his face and approached him slowly, trying not to be noticed.
"What's wrong?" He asked whispering while they all cheered.
"It's Haruhi!" Hikaru said, walking forward through the crowd. He had to get to her before anyone else noticed. He had to win. Kaoru watched in amazement. 'Is he really going to go for it?' Haruhi was finally on stage, standing awkwardly with a slight blush hidden by her mask. She didn't like this much attention focused on her, and she did not like to sing in front of anyone.
"I really don't think this is a good idea." She stuttered. He stepped close to her and took her hands, looking into her eyes with a genuine smile on his face.
"Please, do me this honor. You are the most beautiful girl I have ever met." He pleaded.
"Uh I-I just…" She looked around at the anxious faces. "Fine. But only if you tell me who you are afterwards." She sighed.
"Alright! It's a deal." All the girls in the audience were swooning over his words, and clapping over the new exciting deal they had made. Everyone wanted to find out who this mystery guy was.
Hikaru was towards the front of the audience watching everything. A look of pain washed over his face when she accepted his flattery and agreed to sing with him. 'Does she like him? Why does she want to know who he is so badly?' He was worried, maybe he was too late.
