Hi people! Sorry for the long wait...

By the way, this story probably only has a few chapters left (depending on whether I decide to do an epilogue, I'm scared it'd turn out cheesy! .)

Oh well, I'll do my best! :D YEAH! (randomness)

I do not own Ouran, and sadly never will.

Chapter 25 –

At last. Peace and quiet. I had managed to escape Kita, Fuiju, and the members of the Host Club for the first time in a week. Although I was no longer an avid member of the Chess Club, there was still something comforting about the pristine board of a new chess match. However, all of these great things about chess didn't make up for the fact that there wasn't much point playing by yourself.

Why wasn't I happy even now? Everything was fine again – I'd been telling myself that for the past week. I had made everything right with Tamaki and the club, but yet I still felt miserable, especially when I found myself facing an empty chess table. Despite the fact that his friends were annoying me every waking minute of the day (I'd even gotten a phone call from Tamaki at five am a day ago), Kaoru still hadn't even met my eyes since the day he ratted my secret out to the club and the customers. I sighed. Maybe this was what I deserved. I guess I pushed everyone, even a kind person like Kaoru, over the edge.

"Miyo-chan!"

I rolled my eyes at the sight of Kita standing at the library door, her face red with a combination of effort and fatigue. Her eyes were filled with excitement.

"What is it?" I asked wearily.

"I've been looking for you everywhere, Miyo-chan!" she exclaimed.

Somehow, she had come under the terrible influence of Honey-Sempai and had adopted the name of 'Miyo-chan' for me. I was kind of glad that we were friends again (my taste was so off these days) but I would have to put my foot down if she wanted it to stay that way.

"Miyo-chan," she piped up again, causing me to wince at the sound of that name, "You're still acting strangely. Are you going to be cruel to us like before?"

Her expression was suddenly a mixture of fear and disappointment. I felt ashamed. Even now, they were still afraid that I'd betray them again.

"It's nothing, Kita," I replied, laughing shyly. "I just – don't know why Kaoru is avoiding me, that's all."

Including that last sentence was one of the worst decisions of my life.

For once in her life, Kita was completely silent. She stared at me with a large frown on her face – before erupting into a squeal that could probably be heard all the way across to Mount Fuji.

"Eeeeeeeekkkkkkkk!" she continued, her voice so loud that I had to cover my ears.

"What's wrong?"I yelled uncertainly. Even though I should have been used to her antics after all this time, I still had no idea what was going on.

"You're so in love with Kaoru!" she exclaimed loudly, nearly jumping up and down in delight.

"What? No!"I denied quickly, turning away so she wouldn't see my bright red face.

Somewhere deep inside me knew that what she had said was the truth.

"Kita, that's silly!"I laughed nervously. "What makes you think that I-"

"Oh, Miyo-chan, I can see the drama now," she interrupted gleefully, clearly no longer in touch with reality. "A high school boy, absolutely torn between the desire for his new flame and the forbidden, homosexual love for his dearest twin brother! I'm so excited! This is nearly as epic as Home and Away!"

I wondered why she was comparing Kaoru to an Australian soap opera briefly between menacing thoughts and a desire to punch Kita through the window. Plus, she had just called me Miyo-chan AGAIN.

"I'm sure that's not it," I reasoned.

Instead of staying quiet, she suddenly looked at me with the most pitiful glance I'd ever seen.

"Aww, have I scared you?" she asked with genuine concern.

I twitched, praying for Kita's own sake that she would realize how close she was edging towards death.

"I'm sure you have a chance, Miyo-chan!" she continued in a reassuring, slightly sickening tone.

I groaned under my breath, swallowing a death threat.

"What's wrong, Miyoko?" asked Hikaru as he passed by my small desk at the back of the classroom.

"You're white as a sheet," Haruhi added bluntly from behind him.

Kita opened her mouth to answer, her eyes twinkling with excitement.

"Nothing," I replied quickly, saving myself from any further displays of her wild fantasies.

"Kaoru, what is the answer to this question on the board?" Iwamoto-sensei asked after lunch during maths class.

I looked over at his desk as Kaoru calmly recited the required answer to the question, deep in thought. It was now early March, only a few weeks away from spring break and the end of the school year. How long did he plan on avoiding me? I needed to know what I had done to offend him so badly – otherwise how would I be able to enter the second year without becoming a better person than I had been for my first?

Today, at the end of the Host Club's meeting, I would make up some ruse for Tamaki and the others before asking him directly, without any regret. This time, he surely wouldn't evade me… right?"

Random floating sakura petals were, as usual, waiting to greet me as I opened the ornate door to Music Room Three. Some things would just never change. I went over to the small group of ornate lounges where Tamaki usually entertained his group of rabid fangirls. Wearing yet another cosplay outfit, his eyes lit up happily as he saw me approaching.

"Welcome, my princess!"

I sat down at the spare spot beside him, smiling as happily as possible.

"Hi, Tamaki-sempai."

As the afternoon continued, it became obvious that Kaoru hadn't turned up. Trying to be as discrete as possible, I began to eavesdrop on Hikaru and his clients.

"Where's Kaoru today?" the girls asked in confusion.

Strangely, Hikaru burst into laughter.

"He has a cold, but it scared him so much that he was crying! He kept asking me if he was going to die! So he… went home."

I frowned. Hikaru was smiling widely and keeping up with his act, even when Kaoru was gone. I could still tell that there was something strange about that smile.

Finishing early at the club – there was no point anymore – I decided to go to the library and borrow the long awaited first volume of 'Summer Stained Romance'. I started walking faster, looking forward to getting my hands on the book.

I searched through the new arrivals section which was right beside the large wooden front desk. As I was reading, I began to realize that I was no longer alone. Turning around, I saw Kaoru sitting by the window. He was right next to my favourite chessboard. He was firmly staring out the window, his eyes following the movement of many soccer players on the sports ground below. His eyes were slightly wet and I could see some tear stains on his cheeks. I wondered whether or not he had noticed me.

"Kaoru?"I asked uncertainly. "Aren't you supposed to be sick?"

He jumped, startled at the sound of my voice. For a moment he stared at my face, before hastily standing. The chessboard, my favourite, was sent crashing to the ground.

"Listen to me, Kaoru," I pleaded desperately, grabbing the sleeve of his jacket tightly.

"I have to go," he replied quietly as before, his clear amber eyes focused pointedly on the floor. In a mere five seconds I was alone in the library once more. Looking around at the exquisite antique painting and the endless shelves of books, I thought about the first time I had set out of this room as a new spy of the Ouran High Chess Club.

"I only wanted an answer," I muttered, my mind flaming with new anger.

How dare he keep running away! However, my anger didn't change the fact that my voice echoed slightly in the empty space, calling for a reply that was long gone.

The Host Club was supposed to 'bring happiness to girls'… so why had it achieved just the opposite?

I sighed, preparing to give up and head to the fiction section. At least you knew where you were with books. As I turned around, sudden footsteps thudded loudly across the corridor. It sounded like the feet, whoever they belonged to, were running – fast. I jumped, startled, as the owner of the footsteps burst the door open.