The night was beautiful. Sakura trees were in bloom and rustled with the wind. The trees were planted within the walls of Ouran, which was hosting it's first annual host and hostess club ball. Dresses and suits of all colors danced around the walled-in grounds. The ground beneath their feet was a rich green, characteristic of the spring, which was just getting into swing.
The host and hostess club danced within the crowd. Oddly enough, at first, they seemed to only want to dance with each other. For example, Hakura and Kyouya were dancing in the middle of the crowd, blissfully unaware of the world around them. Kyouya twirled Hakura quietly, as the short brunette let out a small giggle of joy. Hakura noted absently that most "established" couples danced close together, so it must have been odd to see a soon-to-be-married couple dancing traditionally, with Hakura placing her hands on Kyouya's shoulders and Kyouya placing both hands on Hakura's waist. She remembered at that moment that first of all, they hadn't told anyone yet and second of all, she knew that Kyouya didn't like to show affection in public. However, the lack of PDA* didn't bother her, she loved Kyouya and he loved her too, she could tell. Nearby, Tamaki watched Haruhi dance with another girl. Most of the school knew she was a girl, but she was still allowed in the host club because Tamaki's father had pulled some strings. The blonde male's mind drifted to sobering conversation he had with his parents the previous night and his reaction to it.
"Why are you doing this to me?" Tamaki asked, trying to stifle his tears to no avail.
"Tamaki! Jenette is a beautiful and kind young lady. And you two are so similar. You're perfect for each other!" Tamaki's grandmother chided, giving her grandson the stink eye".
"But grandmother, father, I don't love her. I l-" Tamaki insisted, giving up the battle with his tears and letting them stain his cheeks.
"You will court her and marry her. That is final," his father commanded, hanging up the video phone.
Tamaki's grandmother and father were both currently in France, talking over whether or not Tamaki could become the heir to Suoh family. After all, he was an illegitimate child The blonde let the tears fall from his violet eyes, staining his blue uniform jacket that he had forgotten to take off.
"Haruhi…" he whispered softly, before walking to his room to take a shower, hoping it would numb the pain in his ribcage that intensified with every breath he took and every beat of his heart.
"Haruhi…" he uttered softly aloud, not realizing he even said it.
As the memory dissipated, Tamaki blinked and smiled weakly at the guest he had been dancing with. The girl bowed politely, noting something was wrong and left him to his thoughts. Tamaki strode over to Haruhi, holding out his hand to her as he bowed.
"May I have this dance?" he asked quietly.
Haruhi nodded, bowing out of politeness and respect and took his outstretched hand at the beginning of the next song. Tamaki took notice of the apple red dress Haruhi was wearing. It had an intricate beading from the bust and down the sides to stop at the waist. Her cheeks and the bridge of her nose were colored a rosy pink by her embarrassment. She still couldn't believe that Tamaki-sempai had asked her to dance. The slow tempo of the song made the two almost lovers gravitate toward each other. By the end of the song, they were in a close embrace.
Close by, Hakura and Kyouya watched their friends, smiling at each other. Haruhi and Tamaki were destined for each other. Unfortunately, they were both oblivious to it. Everyone else knew; it was painfully obvious.
Meanwhile Tamaki and Haruhi acted like they were the only ones in the world. Just as Tamaki's lips drew to Haruhi's, the music ended. Haruhi let out the breath she didn't realize she had been holding. Tamaki wanted to talk to Haruhi alone, about everything. The engagement, his feelings for Haruhi herself; it was all weighing heavily on Tamaki's chest and he felt like he was going to be suffocated by the truth if he didn't tell someone. He prayed that her heart wouldn't be broken when she found out the very truth he longed to tell her.
Keiko sat by herself, watching everyone, including Akita, have a good time. She let out a silent sigh, wishing that someone would dance with her. Most of the customers were too interested in dancing with the other hostesses to notice the poor ravenette sitting by herself. As a girl spun him effortlessly, Hunny noticed Keiko all alone. He frowned, asking the girl to let him go. When she asked why, he gave an answer that seemed like he was equivocating.
"Takashi," was his simple, but painfully terse reply.
Quickly, the petite blonde ran into the crowd of swooning teenagers. When he finally found Mori, he grabbed the seemingly stoic gentle giant's hand , taking him over to Keiko. Hunny nodded to Keiko, then looking back to Mori before leaving the two silent teens to dance with another customer. Mori slowly helped Keiko up and started to dance with her slowly. The ravenette looked confused, her eyebrows furrowing. He gave her a silent smile, mouthing 'Come on, dance' slow enough so she could understand. Keiko nodded, holding his hand tighter and dancing in time with him.
Jenette approached Tamaki hesitantly, politely bowing to him. Tamaki grimaced at Harhi, who put on a mask of cheer. In truth, she felt the pang of something deep within her ribcage. Was she hurt? Or jealous? She lowered her eyes and walked over to Gabriel, feeling eyes burn into her back.
The two brunettes talked for a little while, dancing around the reason they were so removed from everyone. Their jealousy was deserved; after all, Gabriel had been in love with Jenette since they were young and now he was being told that he couldn't see her anymore. Haruhi had been in love with Tamaki since she had walked through the doors of the Host Club, but refused to admit it until the current time. It seemed to Haruhi and Gabriel that Tamaki and Jenette were a match made in heaven.
As Hakura danced with a client, she noticed Gabriel and Haruhi removing themselves from the party. She frowned visibly and her guest politely asked her what was wrong. She put on her smiling mask, telling vehemently him it was nothing and continued to dance with him, but not after apologizing profusely. He simply laughed, telling her it was all right and he could understand why she was upset. Hakura smiled, giggling. If only you did understand… she thought woefully, keeping an eye on the brunettes.
It was at the ball that the two sets of twins started to truly get to know each other. They had a lot in common and realized they were in the same class and never noticed each other. Karou could tell that Hikaru had taken a liking to Akira right away and he decided he would do the same with Kira.
Nearby, Jenette and Hakura noticed the two sets of twins sitting together and looked at each other, smiling knowingly. 'Told you' Hakura mouthed to Jenette over her shoulder. 'Knew it' Jenette mouthed back.
As Hakura bowed to her customer, she smiled to herself. This was a night of romance for sure. She absently wondered why Gabriel was with Haruhi and not Jenette, but she dismissed it as an inconsistency.
The night came to an end, which disappointed many. This ending however, was going to be bittersweetly unorthodox. After the hosts and hostesses gathered on stage and thanked everyone, Tamaki took the microphone from Kyouya, who wore a poker face. Tamaki was pallid as a ghost as he spoke. He could feel a small panic attack coming on. He focused on the crowd, putting on a forced smile for them.
"I have a very important announcement," Tamaki started in a shaky voice.
Everyone, including those on stage looked at each other, then back to Tamaki, letting the room echo in silence.
"I would like you all to know that Jenette Yamato from the Hostess Club and I, Tamaki Suoh are engaged to be wed," he said, holding back tears and trying not to let frustration and despair bleed into his words.
A shatter of something that sounded expensive echoed off the walls that was quickly covered up by an audible gasp that could be heard from everywhere in the room. The other hosts and hostesses didn't take the news well. The two sets of twins looked at each other in surprise. Both Akita and Hunny started to cry quietly while Keiko and Mori comforted them; all the while, Keiko looked sadly at Mori. Hakura gnawed on her lower lip, looking at Kyouya, who sighed and looked at her with a sad smile.
Of all of the group, Gabriel and Haruhi took the news the hardest. Gabriel didn't dare look at Jenette, so instead, he angled his eyes to the floor and ran off. Haruhi choked on her breath, feeling the wind knocked out of her. She fell to her knees, for they were weakened by the blow of Tamaki's words. How long did he know about that? And why didn't he tell me? Haruhi thought, feeling the hurt grow with every beat of her treacherous heart. She prevented herself from looking up, for people would know she was crying.
Tamaki put the microphone back in the stand. To everyone else around him, it seemed he reacted callously to Haruhi's actions. It was as if Tamaki had just brushed it off; as if it were unimportant. Kyouya went to Haruhi's side, letting the latent medical professional inside him shine. He felt for her pulse, feeling her warm tears on his hand. Sure, he didn't care for her in the way Tamaki did, but Haruhi was still his friend and he had a little room in his heart to help her.
All the guests left, seeing the drama onstage and wanted to leave before it got overly dramatic. Jenette cried as the last person stepped through the exit door. The other hostesses with the exception of Hakura ran over to their "queen", fussing over her. Tamaki ran off, only looking once at Kyouya before doing so. This was the last straw for Hakura. There was one quiet 'thunk' then another, as Hakura threw her shoes aside and looked at Kyouya before pursuing the Host Club King in attempts to find her other friends and console them.