Me: The last chapter was boring.

Karson27: But necessary.

Me: I don't care if it's necessary. I still think it was boring.

Karson27: Whatever. Just start the story.

MAKE SURE TO REVIEW!

The Ouran Festival was a big deal, like every other event at Ouran. It was only a few days after what would've been Thanksgiving break back in America for me. It was just another fancy party with a lot of very rich, high powered people present and gossiping away. The parents of the students. Of course, it was going to be a total disaster but I didn't realize how exactly.

I was still steaming mad at Kyoya. We hadn't really been talking since Karsyn and Marx left. He was trying to be nice to me but I wouldn't say he went out of his way. I just acted like I couldn't care less, which I couldn't. I secretly hoped he'd be hit by a bus or a limo. Or, with the final irony, his little black book would spontaneously combust, killing him in a massive explosion. Now that, I would pay money to see.

Of course, he was still my friend and somehow, I knew he and Karsyn would end up together. For that reason, I tried to be as human as I could be to him, at least outside of my head.

Anyway, the festival was well underway. The host club had invited all of the clients' families to attend a soiree of sorts. Just talking, a little dancing, and food. Some fake gambling and probably a few mergers discussed as well.

"Tailyr-sempai!" Kaoru and Hikaru said together, coming up and grabbing my elbows. "Our parents wants to see you!"

They drug me over to see their mother and father. Of course, I'd met the infamous Hitachiin parents before and I liked them. For whatever reason, they found me interesting, much like their children.

"Hey, Hikaru," I said, nudging the red head in the ribs. "You should introduce Lily to your parents tonight." I wiggled my eyebrows at him and he turned red.

I laughed. I went around, greeting and meeting. Like a good little host. That's when, my world got rocked. I wasn't sure how it happened exactly. I was scanning the crowd for Takeshi and Honey when the sharp, sudden sound of skin on skin contact froze the air. My head whipped to the familiar sound quickly. Kyoya's head was turned to the side, his glasses on the floor, and a middle aged man that I assumed to be his father, had his hand raised for post smacking the living hell out of your child in front of god and everybody.

That instantly pissed me off. I might not have really liked Kyoya at that moment but that didn't give anyone the right to just smack him like that. It was my job and I didn't like anyone encroaching on my territory.

"You're an ignorant child." the man said sharply. His voice was like ice. There was no love of a father. Nothing, except some loathing.

"Hey!" I said angrily, gaining his attention quickly, stepping into his view. "Who in the hell do you think you are?"

"Keep out of this. It's not your business. I'm his father."

"I don't care. You don't need to smack him like that! And he's not an idiot! Kyoya just happens to be one of the smartest people I know! You should be proud of him and everything he does! Hell, if I was half as productive as he was, I wouldn't have to worry about anything for the rest of my life!" I told him. "And when you smack him out in the open like that, you make it everyone's business."

"What's your name?"

"Tailyr Mitchell and you better not forget it either," I told him my eyes narrowing at him dangerously. If Karsyn was there, she would've been yelling at me to shut up – if she hadn't already pounced on Kyoya's father like a spider monkey.

He returned my glare. "Oh. Don't worry. I won't." He gave his son a look that said, wait until you get home, and walked away. Like it was nothing. That guy just boiled my blood.

"You shouldn't have done that," Kyoya said, his voice even more lifeless than usual, as he bent to pick up his glasses.

"You shouldn't be such a wimp. Don't let him treat you like that Kyoya," I said. "You're worth a lot more than he says and I don't even like you."

He shrugged, putting his glasses back on his face. "Maybe." He walked away, giving me and everyone else a small wave. "Bye."

I glared and gave a huff. I didn't understand him. I didn't understand a lot of things as of late. The only thing that could've made my night worse was a dress and heels, which I'd begun calling ankle breakers after Haruhi nearly broke hers in a heel related accident. Thankfully, I wasn't in such a get up. I was wearing a suit, similar to what the rest of the club was wearing. It had black pants and a white vest. The difference was that instead of a black button up shirt and a red tie, I had the black button up, unbuttoned at the first few with rolled sleeves. The yankee thing fit perfectly. I also had the overwhelming joy of wearing black loafers.

I headed to a different part of the room, continuing to scan for my AWOL boyfriend and his cousin. Where could they be? Then I felt someone grab my arm, tightly. Too tight to be anyone I was going to be happy to see.

"What the-"

"Keep quiet and come with me." I didn't know the voice, though it was vaguely familiar. I was led to an adjoining room. Inside was Kyoya's father. I was released. I glared back at my captor, rubbing my now throbbing arm. He was definitely Ootori. he had the same dark hair, dark eyes, and cool expression. Though, his was way flatter than Kyoya's. There was no malice or even the occasional tenderness. There was no soul in that man's eyes.

"I see you've met my eldest son, Akira," Kyoya's father said.

"Unfortunately," I spat. "And you are?"

"Yoshio Ootori."

I gave him a nod. It would really piss me off if someone I hated was polite, which was half the reason I hated Kyoya.

"You have a very loud mouth, Miss Mitchell," he continued. "You're sticking your nose in places it doesn't belong."

"When you slap your almost full grown child in front of god and everyone, you don't have a right to privacy anymore. Especially if I just happen to be friends with the boy."

"You also have a very interesting record," he continued as if I hadn't said anything at all. "How many times have you been arrested?"

I leveled a Kyoya worthy glare at him. "What difference does it make to you?"

"A commoner, especially a foreigner like yourself, needs to know their place. I can have you, erased, without a second thought. No one will miss a simple criminal. Your parents certainly wouldn't."

"You leave them out of this. They have no part in my life," I snapped. "What's your point, Yoshio? You know me. Congrats. Everyone else does too. I'm not ashamed of my past. It happened. I moved on from that. You can try all you want to throw it in my face but it doesn't bother me."

"That's a lie if I've ever heard one. I can see through you. I can tell by the way you reacted that you don't enjoy your criminal record brought to the light. And the most recent one, I'm assuming that it's the only one that the Host Club knows about. What about all those other times, Tailyr? Do they know? I bet you'd really hate for word to get out about them."

"You listen here, Yoshio," I snarled, beginning to advance on him but two guards grabbed my arms. "Those weren't convictions. You can say what you want. Try to intimidate me. I don't care. I'm not afraid to die and I sure as hell ain't afraid of you. You can threaten me all you want. I've survived to damn much for some washed up old bastard in an expensive Italian suit and penny loafers to scare me! Try all you want. I won't cower to you."

"How will the Morinozuka's feel about that?"

"If anything, they'll applaud me. You seem to forget that I not only have Takeshi's family but Honey's, the Hitachiins and the Suoh on my side. Your money might win but then again, my special talents might convince them otherwise-"

The door came open.

"Not that you'll have to use them," the headmaster said entering. "Release her."

The guards instantly let me go and melted into the shadows. My arms hurt.

"You're not hurt are you?"

"Not immensely," I grumbled.

"Yoshio. I'm going to request you take your leave now. I will not have you treating my students so harshly," Tamaki's father said stiffly and angrily. "And if I find out you've threatened or contacted Tailyr in any way, you will not like the consequences. That much, I promise, friend."

Yoshio seemed to be swallowing every ounce of pride and anger in his body. I silently enjoyed this. "Certainly." With that, he and his robo-son left.

The headmaster turned to look at me. "Mr. Takeshi Morinozuka and his cousin Mr. Mitskuni Honinozuka are waiting to pounce on you the second you leave this room. Best not mention the bruises. We don't need a feud. We'll talk about this when we get home."

"Yessir," I said leaving quickly.

He was right. I was pounced on the second I left the room by Honey.

"Tailyr! We were looking everywhere for you!" Honey cried. "We thought that you might have gotten eaten by zombies."

I laughed, patting the top of his head. "No. No zombies. I thought you guys might have gotten kidnapped or something. You just disappeared."

"The girls surrounded us! It was fun!" Honey reassured me. "We weren't in trouble."

"Elbow?" Takeshi said in a low voice so only I could hear. I looked at it. It was kind of puffy and bruising.

"Later," I said, not wanting to lie to him but remembering the headmaster's orders.

The rest of the night flew by without incident. I didn't see Yoshio the rest of the time so I guessed that he left the party. Whatever. If I never saw him again, it would be too soon.

Finally, I made it home to the mansion. I went to my room and changed from my outfit that I'd worn to the party and into a pair of shorts, with sweat pants over the top, and a certain Skillet shirt that I loved to wear.

"Miss Mitchell," one of the maids, Kohana, said appearing at the door. "Mr. Suoh needs to see you in his office, please."

"Thank you Kohana," I said. "Can you bring me up some soda later? You always bring me the big glass." I smiled at her.

She smiled at me and bowed out. I went to the headmaster's office. He was still wearing his business suit, being the formal kind of guy that he was. He also looked very serious.

"Thank you for joining me," he said. "Please sit down."

I sat in the seat that was place directly in front of his desk. It was close enough to be personal but far enough to let me know that he was strictly business at this moment. I wondered what he had to say.

"Tailyr, I know you haven't done anything wrong. I want you to know that I will not let Yoshio Ootori push you around or hurt you in anyway."

I nodded. "Thank you Headmaster Suoh but I don't want you to risk yourself. He's perfectly allowed to try to do something. I'll be fine on my own."

The headmaster smiled. "You're very brave for standing up to the Ootori head of family," he said simply. "They're a very powerful family and it's a shame that Yoshio doesn't see how very valuable Kyoya is -"

"It's really too bad that your mother doesn't see how valuable Tamaki is," I interrupted. "He really is valuable and has a big heart. Just like Kyoya."

He laughed aloud now. "You're willing to take on the world aren't you Tailyr? I've always liked that spark. It's a real shame that you didn't fall for my boy. He could use a girl like you," he said amused.

I laughed. "I don't think so. He needs someone with more of a level head that can handle his craziness all the time. I can't and I'm just as thick as he is. It would never work out."

"Well, he does consider a close friend, as do I. I take care of my friends and family. So, if he tries to harm you, I want you to know that you can come to me and I will handle it. I also want to make sure that you're happy here. If you're not, tell me."

"I'm more than happy here," I said. "I don't have the backbone to keep my mouth shut when I'm not comfortable. Karsyn and Marx, they didn't leave because of anything that you did, Headmaster. They left because they missed home. Their home."

He nodded understandingly. "Okay. If there are any problems, just let me know. That is all. I'm going to turn in for the night. Goodnight Tailyr."

"Goodnight headmaster."

I left his office and headed back to my room. There was a big glass of Diet Mountain Dew waiting for me. I smiled. It was only about eleven o'clock and I wasn't ready to go for bed. I had a feeling that my night was far from over.

I sat down in my chair in the corner. It was a nice, 70s style living room chair. It smelled like the seventies too. I sat in it when I needed to think or relax. I pulled my cell phone out and called Takeshi.

"Ah," he grunted.

"Did I wake you up?"

"No," he said. "I couldn't sleep. Worried."

"About me?"

"Always."

"Keep a total secret? Like, you can't even make the reaction I know you're going to want to make when I tell you what happened tonight. The headmaster told me not to tell you but I can't keep it from you. You saw my elbow and you should see the rest of the bruises."

"Who hurt you?" he demanded.

I sighed. "You have to swear to me Takeshi Morinozuka."

"I swear."

"I had a little run in with Kyoya's father. Akira hurt my elbow because he didn't want me to get away and then I got bruises on my arms and stuff because of the guards that tried to stop me from mangling Kyoya's father because he pissed me off. That's pretty much it."

"Down playing."

"Only minorly but that's okay. Safer on everyone and then I won't be breaking the rules for once. I didn't start a feud."

There was a knock. "Miss Tailyr. You have a visitor."

"A visitor? At this time of night?" I said, frowning a little. "Okay. Give me a second! I have to go Takeshi."

"Ah," he agreed.

"I love you. Call you in the morning."

"Ah. Love you too."

I hung up. Then I went to answer my door. "Yes?" I said.

"I sent the maid on. I hope you don't mind," came Kyoya's voice.

I took in a sharp breath and looked up. Kyoya looked down at me apologetically. I wasn't expecting him. "What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Can we go for a walk or something?" he asked. "Somewhere more private?"

I knew what he meant. You really didn't have a lot of privacy. If the maids knew something was going on, they liked to listen in at the door. So, maids were the best informed people on the house but it wasn't so cool when they were informing on you.

"Yeah. The courtyard out back," I said, leading the way. Kyoya followed along quietly.

The night was cool. Actually, it was cold. I should've brought a jacket or something. It was getting close to December and Japan's winter was feeling a lot like the one back home. I could feel it building in my chest and I didn't like it.

"So what's this about Kyoya?" I asked, crossing my arms in front of me.

He sighed. "First of all, I want to thank you," he said. "For earlier with my father."

"It was nothing. I wish everyone would stop making a big deal out of it," I said sharply. "I just stood up for myself and everyone else. You shouldn't let him treat you that way Kyoya and I don't want to see him do that to you. Simple as that."

"But you didn't have to."

"I did," I said. "Because you believe him. Because of the look on your face. I had to say something Kyoya. I know what it's like. He's going to keep feeding you those lies and you'll believe him because it's been drilled into your head so much. I know how it is and I know you. You're a lot better than what he says."

Kyoya didn't say anything. I shivered a little.

"Does your dad know you're here?" I asked him.

"I don't know. I don't care either," he said. "If he does, he'll be angry but I'll be fine."

I chuckled. "That's the spirit," I told him.

"I also came here for another reason."

"Okay?"

"I want you to know that I'm not going to let my dad hurt you."

"I've already told the headmaster that I'm not scared of your father. He's good at his work though. I'll give him that. He can find out some amazing things but I don't care. There's nothing he can do to me. I'll be fine."

"I don't know if you're brave or stupid, Tailyr-sempai."

"I wonder the same about you Kyoya."

This was a long one and Karsyn and Marx didn't get a P.O.V. I feel kind of bad for it though. They just aren't having as much fun as Tailyr right now. Haha but they will be in the next chapter! LoL. I hope everyone likes and make sure to REVIEW!