I heard some faint knocking. I sighed, dragged myself from the floor and opened the door to my room. Standing in front of me, holding an ice patch was Haruhi. She was very cute, indeed, with her Channel cut brown hair and brown eyes, short stature and cute summer dress that disguised the fact that she was an A-cup.

"Hi." She said, sheepishly, "This is for you."

"Thanks!" I said, smiling. Damn. I'd forgotten about Haruhi. I already felt like a bad friend enough about what her dad had told me, and now I felt horrible, since she very likely knew that I'd lied to her about not being related to the founders of Kotoku Inc. "Come in." I stepped aside.

"What for?" she asked.

Uh…"To talk, of course! We barely see each other. And it's such an amazing coincidence to see you here!" Oh, God. Do I sound like a guilt-driven train wreck waiting to happen, or what?

"Um, okay." She walked in unceremoniously and sat on my bed.

I took the ice patch and held it on my still lightly throbbing head. Though now I blamed my dad for it more than I did Tamaki.

"The guys are just bringing our suitcases in." Haruhi said, "They already brought up the things you had with you at the beach."

"Oh, thanks." I said, and realized that a trip to the mall wasn't going to be enough time for these people who brought suitcases to chat with their friend and leave. "How did you guys know we were here? I mean, Ootori sounded pretty surprised at seeing you." That was putting it mildly.

"Well, we were making these day-long trips from place to place. Tamaki was really worried about Kyoya-senpai so I suggested we took a break. So we went to this hotel a friend of my dad's has. But instead Tamaki just got even more depressed because we went there a couple times with Kyoya and he kept remembering every moment that we were all together. So Hikaru suggested we go to Kyoya's beach and take Kyoya out of his system. I was excited, since I really like the beach, but it didn't really work as well as Hikaru thought. And before you knew it Tamaki got stressed and when Kaoru told him that we couldn't play soccer with a volleyball. He kicked it and… well, the rest you know."

"He's very sorry." She continued, "But it's actually not the first time it's happened."

I laughed. "Impressive." Then, because I couldn't just dance around it forever, "Haruhi, I'm really sorry I lied to you. I've been a horrible friend."

Her eyebrows shot up, "When did you lie to me?"

I was a little taken aback by this, "When you asked me, a while back, if I was related to anyone from Kotoku Inc. I said no, but…" shouldn't she know this by now? Didn't Kyoya tell his friends who he was engaged to? I mean, I didn't tell my friends right away, but it's been two weeks now. "Actually my father owns it."

Her beautiful brown eyes settled in comprehension. She smiled, "It's all right, Risa, I didn't even remember I'd asked that."

I felt the guilt weigh off me.

"Come on," she said, standing up, "They really want to meet you."

"Right." I said, just as her eyes spotted something on my bed.

"I think your-" she reached for something that was sticking from under a pillow, then stopped when she realized what it was, she handed the can to me. "Sorry, I thought it was a deodorant, or something."

I laughed. She was so sensible and composed, she reminded me a little of Izumi, "Relax, Haruhi." I put the can on my nightstand.

"Pardon me for asking," she said hesitantly, as we headed out the door, "But why do you have a can of pepper spray under your pillow?"

"That was just in case Ootori decided to try anything funny with me." I said plainly. Like I said, my karate wasn't good and this guy was dragging me all alone to his private beach house.

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that." She replied lightly, "Kyoya-senpai would never do anything if he didn't have something to gain."

I was about to argue that sex was indeed something to gain, when I realized I actually agreed with her. "Yeah, I sort of picked up on that already." I said, remembering the way he'd said I didn't mean to touch you.

Despite our openly rude behavior towards one another, in that aspect, I was assured of Kyoya's disinterest.

O0o0o0o0o0o0o

Haruhi and I walked down the stairs talking easily, Noel finally showed up and started following us around. And I led her to the living room that was exactly the way Kyoya and I had left it the night before. His box of tissues was on the floor and the pillows were assembled on one corner of the sofa where I rested my back so I could stretch my legs.

Noel jumped up on the sofa and started tackling his toy mouse.

Haruhi, the small thing, sat on the other sofa and picked up a book. "Do you mind if I study, Risa?" she said, her face almost begging.

"Sure." I said, with a smile. Then picked up a random magazine from a pile and adjusted the ice patch on my head. Izumi had posed for a Vivara ad recently and was convinced her hair had been frizzy, I was supposed to contradict that, but I had yet to see if it was true.

I had barely leafed through two pages when two of Kyoya's friends walked in, already changed into decent clothes.

"*Risa-chan! Haru-chan!*" he exclaimed happily from where he was. On top of the tall guy's shoulders, holding a pink stuffed bunny, "*We found you! Mori said we could find you before Hika-chan and Kao-chan.*"

Haruhi sighed sadly and closed her book.

I looked up at who I assumed was Mori and finally my mind clicked and recognized him.

"Takashi Morinozuka." I said, and the feeling of being a bad friend came tumbling back on my shoulders. This was Riko's three-month long boyfriend whom I'd kept making excuses not to meet and especially not to go out on a double date.

His face had also cleared with recognition. "Yuriko's friend." His deep, manly voice rumbled.

I gave him an awkward smile, "The one and only."

"*You figured where you remembered her from, Takashi?*"

"Yeah. Yuriko showed me pictures of her in her cell phone. This is Risa Kotoku."

Before my mind could start fretting over what Riko might have told him about me, the Hitachiin twins came running in.

"You cheated, Honey-senpai!" Hikaru accused.

"How come you didn't check her bedroom like we did?" Kaoru asked, and sat next to me on the sofa. I had to draw my legs closer to me for him to do that.

"You were in my room?" I asked incredulously.

"The door was open." He said, widening his eyes innocently.

"No, it was-"

"Why do you have a can of pepper spray on your nightstand?" Hikaru asked.

"I- erm…" Damn! I should've stuck that back under my pillow.

"We most certainly won't leave!" Tamaki's voice sounded, also showing up in the living room.

"I wasn't asking, Tamaki. You shouldn't have brought your bags. Kotoku and I need to work." Kyoya (wearing a T-shirt, thank God.) walked in the room and sat in his usual spot on the floor, leaning his back on the sofa I was sitting, I curled my legs even closer to me so I wouldn't touch him. He took his notebook from the coffee table and opened it. "Right, Kotoku?" He looked at me for the first time then noticed the magazine on my lap.

"Man, you really are all work and no play." I adjusted my ice patch, "You can't possibly expect me to work. I am an injured woman." Plus, it's Sunday.

"Wait a minute." Kaoru said, then put his hands on my knees looking at my face, "You're Risa Kotoku? As in the heiress that was raised like a commoner by her grandparents?"

"Was it really because your mother had left you when you were only three?" Hikaru asked sitting on the armrest and leaning on his brother.

"*Oh! From that oil and electronics company?*"

I couldn't help but give them a chilly smile, "I was four actually."

Kyoya blew his nose. "Please leave, now." He said nasally.

"Kyaaah!" I looked up to see Tamaki standing over me, his shining eyes locked on Noel, "Santa Claus!"

I dropped the magazine and took Noel in my hands, "Actually I named him Noel, like you suggested. It suits him much better." I smiled and handed the cat over to him.

Except, just as soon as Tamaki's fingers touched Noel's head, the cat turned his head and wriggled out of my grasp, then went under the sofa Haruhi was sitting. Tamaki looked like he was about to cry.

"Do you all know her?" Kyoya asked. And I noticed that he was watching intently Tamaki and me.

"Well," I said, pointing to Tamaki, "He's Haruhi's boyfriend."

His face was impassive, but did I detect some concern?

"Yeah! Haruhi lives in the same apartment building as Risa's grandmother." Said Tamaki, sitting down next to Haruhi.

"We already met her at that boring auction." Said Hikaru and Kaoru together.

"*And Risa-chan is friends with Takashi's girlfriend.*" Honey exclaimed, climbing down from Mori's shoulders. "*I talked to her at the pet store.*"

"What pet store?" Kyoya asked. And Honey made the funniest face ever, like he'd just said something that was supposed to be a secret.

"Eeer…" he started, a bead of sweat visible on his temple.

"I see." Kyoya said thoughtfully. Then, "Ever the more reason for you to leave. You already know her, she already knows you. Now go."

I couldn't hold back a giggle, he glared at me. "Now I don't feel so special anymore," I said, feigning disappointment, "You're a jerk even to your friends."

"Oh, come on, Risa," Kaoru joked, pulling me from my reverie, "So what made you say yes to him?"

"Blackmail."

Oops.

It slipped. I swear it slipped.

Eyebrows went up and jaws went down. Only Kyoya glared at me as if I had pinpointed Anne Frank's location to the Nazis myself.

I bit my lower lip, "They, um, they didn't know?"

"No, they did not." Kyoya said, irritated, adjusting his glasses.

"Kyoya, how could you!" Tamaki scolded.

"What was the blackmail?" Hikaru and Kaoru asked together.

"Don't be so outraged, Tamaki, she blackmailed me too." Kyoya said, ignoring the twins.

Again the collective shocked faces turned towards me.

I smiled sheepishly.

"What was the blackmail?" the brothers insisted more earnestly now.

I glanced at Kyoya.

He gave a tired sigh, "Oh, go ahead. They won't rest until they find out and since you say you can't work today either." He stood up and took out his cell phone, "I'm going to order us some food."

I turned to the twins in front of me. I could feel deep inside the beginning of a liking for these people, and just like I was with Kyoya, I was afraid of that feeling. "Well, basically, if I don't finish a project until the end of the month he and I need to marry. If I do, the project becomes the basis of a deal between our companies."

"Mmm… how boring." Hikaru said, leaning more weight on his brother.

"*What's the project, Risa-chan?*" Honey asked.

Then I forgot all about my headache, I started telling them the whole story, the idea, what I had and how far I intended to go. I felt for a moment, like I was talking to the board of directors themselves, letting my enthusiasm and excitement flow in with my words. When I finished I was a little breathless.

I was so happy to see everyone's impressed expressions that didn't even notice that Kyoya had wandered back until he spoke: "I hope everybody likes mint ice cream, we got it as a free dessert for making such a large order."

"*Oh, yes. Ice-cream is Risa-chan's favorite dessert.*" Honey said smiling. Which reminded me to ask him what the hell had he been doing impersonating an employee at a pet store.

But then Haruhi suddenly yelped and jumped up, "Ah! Something scratched me!"

Everyone could see Noel's little gray paw disappearing back under the sofa. I saw a look of comprehension in Kyoya's face right before he looked at me accusingly.

So my cat had scratched him at my house before. Served him right.

O0o0o0o0o0oo0o0o0o0o

I felt like an exciting new toy in the playground.

Kyoya's friends wouldn't get bored of me. And, truth be told, I couldn't get bored of them.

Since Kyoya's friends had had the right to know the truth I'd decided to confess to my friends, as well, the real deal between me and Kyoya, very far away from the shoujo manga stories Riko used to read in her early teens.

The reactions—after the initial shock and reproof—varied, Chika wanted to know how many of his friends were single, Riko (who I found out had a fight with Mori about him spending more time with his friends than with her) wanted to know if her Takashi was enjoying himself, something I really couldn't say, because although I prided myself on the game of reading expressionless faces I had to admit Mori's was over level 9000.

Izumi was the only one who showed actual concern on my situation, but her solution was ridiculous, she wanted me to talk to my father. For a friend who's known me all my life it was a little bit of a disappointment, she was with me during the months of negotiating that if I started going to private school I'd go to the same one Izumi'd started going after her big break as a model. That time alone should be enough to convince anyone that my Dad was very hard headed and didn't like at all not getting his own way. So much that when Izumi switched to Ouran High, I was forced to stay on the same academy.

With no advice from my friends on how I should behave as a "fake-fiancée", we went to the beach again after lunch, where I sat in the shade with Haruhi. Inside I was itching to play volleyball with the others, but I kept repeating to myself: "They're not my friends, they are Kyoya's friends", it was horrible.

But they did not have any respect for that inner mantra. They kept throwing the ball at me, inviting me to play, asking me questions.

My God! The incessant questions!

"How old are you?"

"Twenty."

"Do you play the piano?"

"Yeah, horribly."

"Where do you study?"

"Sato College."

"What do you think of Kyoya so far?"

"He's a bit of a jerk."

"When's the wedding?"

"Oh, God. Hopefully never."

"Are you still gonna work as a waitress after you two get married?"

"But I'm not a waitress."

"HA! Told you so Tamaki!"

Afterwards I suspected it was my reluctance to answer more openly that made them continue prodding me with questions. But I couldn't help it, I felt like I had chains inside me that kept me trapped and safe, I knew that if I trusted these new people, it would be unconditional, I was incapable of making it a gray area.

Either they were my friends or they weren't. As of now, they weren't.

"Hey, what are you afraid of, Risa?" It was late afternoon already and the sun was setting. It reminded of the times my grandfather and I used to walk back home after a baseball game I played in, "If you look closely enough, Beanstalk, you can see the night pushing the day to sleep".

"Um, snakes." I said, feeling a shiver up my spine just thinking of it.

"Really?" Hikaru said lightly, they were all almost at the door, I was still lingering behind trying to get as much of that beautiful sunset as I could. "You should watch out then, Tamaki once filled an entire bucket with poisonous snakes from Kyoya's garden."

They all laughed at some long ago memory. But I couldn't even breathe.

Snakes?

In the GARDEN?

I could feel all of my muscles tense in fear, I couldn't move.

"Kotoku, will you quit staring at the horizon and get a move on." Kyoya's voice sounded close.

"They were joking, right?" I whispered, "You don't have snakes in your garden, do you?"

"Maybe a few rat snakes. I haven't come here in a while, so I don't know. But the ones Tamaki had found were donated to a zoo."

I started trembling. I remembered walking around his garden on the very first day, looking for Noel. Were there snakes then? Oh God. I couldn't move. My feet were planted firmly in the sand.

Kyoya sighed, "Come on. I'll walk you inside."

When I didn't move, he did something that shocked me.

He took my hand, and guided me.

I was sure I was practically crushing his fingers the closer we got to the house, but he didn't complain and I was too focused on putting one foot in front of the other to make fun of him.

We climbed the steps and finally, finally, we were inside the house, the others must've gone to the kitchen. I let out the air I was holding and felt Kyoya drop my hand like a hot potato.

I looked at him, surprised, "Thanks, Ootori."

"Don't mention it." He said after a pause, then he turned suddenly and placed a hand under my chin, he turned my face upwards. His lips were mere centimeters from mine. He said nothing, he just hypnotized me with those gray eyes.

Wha-What?!

I could feel my heart beating erratically and my lips tingling. There hadn't been any hesitation the first time he'd kissed me, I was surprised to see him looking at me expectantly.

"What are you doing?" I managed to whisper over the turmoil inside me.

He blinked and his expression changed, I felt sure I'd seen that expression before. He didn't answer right away, instead he took the time to caress my cheek with his free hand. I could barely hear my own thoughts over my heartbeats.

"Just testing a theory." he said in a low voice that had my skin crawling, "I've been wondering, how far would you go to get a deal between our two companies?"

Sharp stings of disappointment struck me. Oh, come on! Why should I want him to kiss me anyway? I remembered where I'd seen his expression from, it was on the first day we'd met and I'd run after him begging him to forgive my rude behavior; I remembered him looking at me with a curious look and whispering "I wonder…"

I lifted my chin high and gathered what had remained from my pride, I locked my eyes on his, "Not as far as that, I can assure you." I answered in a steel hard voice.

He let me go and let a little laugh from his nose. I felt my outrage boil over, "And I don't think you'd stoop so low either." I told him, then deliberately hit my shoulder against him as I walked away. I stopped and faced him again, "And I'll only say this once: unless it's absolutely necessary," I made sure my voice had the same tone he'd used with me only two days ago, on that rainy night, "don't touch me again."

I stomped away. Without saying goodnight to anybody I went to my room and shut the door. I'd had enough of Kyoya Ootori and his pack of friends to last me a full year.

Just before I went to bed I took out my computer and started working on my project. By any means necessary I was going to have this thing up and running by the end of the week!

At some point Haruhi knocked on my door telling me dinner was on the table, I just told her I wasn't hungry and to please not disturb me for the rest of the evening.

I worked on until my eyes were burning and my lids had already closed twice without my say so. I could feel my back hurting and my arms were as heavy as lead. I decided I had proven my point enough for one day so I saved my work and was asleep before my head reached the pillow.

At some point I started dreaming. I dreamt it was my wedding day, but for the life of me I couldn't remember with whom, and all of the sudden I was walking down the aisle, white dress, bouquet, I looked over at the guests hoping they could give me a hint.

I saw my gramps (yes, the dead one. He was often my clue in to the fact that I was dreaming) on one side giving me thumbs up. "Go get 'em, Beanstalk!" he cheered me just like he used to before a baseball game.

I made him a reproachful face for shouting out during a wedding ceremony. Then some other cheering caught my attention, and I looked over to see Kyoya's friends, all sitting together, clapping their hands over their heads.

I felt angry and embarrassed, "What are you doing here? You're not my friends!"

They laughed joyfully at this, "Of course we are, Risa-chan!"

Suddenly I was already at the altar, in front of me was Kyoya. Very handsome in his tuxedo, only he was wearing a very beautiful mask, it was black with silver details, and it represented a wolf. I could only see his mouth, his thin, pink lips, that turned up in and evil smile then showed his teeth, straight rows of perfect white sharp teeth.

Then he bent down, and I knew he was going to kiss me.

I'M A BARBIE GIRL! IN A BARBIE WO-ORLD!

I jumped up in my bed frantically, my heart racing as my mind struggled to understand the surroundings and start dividing reality from dream world.

LIFE IN PLA-STIC! IT'S FANTA-STIC!

I sat up panting and dug through my sheets for my cell phone.

YOU CAN TOUCH MY HAIR! UNDRESS ME ANYWHE-ERE!

I finally found it and pressed the Go Back button.

AW, YOU SUCK!

The e-message of the cat holding the 'Risa Kotoku rocks!' sign disappeared from my screen.

I sat in the dark silence that surrounded me while I caught my breath. I checked the time. It was five forty, I mustn't have been asleep long, I remembered setting the program to send a message to my phone, but instead of a minute later, the program decided to send it an hour later.

I sighed, and felt my heart start beating in a more reasonable rate.

I fell back into my pillows, clenching and unclenching my fingers. I knew my distress was only on a small amount due to the sudden wake up. It was because of the dream, and, what troubled me most of all, it wasn't that I was afraid of Kyoya that my heart had started racing.

It was because I wanted him to kiss me.

A/N: Hmmm... I'm a bit unhappy with my writing now. I don't know why, but this chapter (and the next one, which is under it's final editions) turned out a bit depressing I think. But, I'm sure I'm affected by Risa's own sour mood and I hope you all enjoy and keep reading anyway.

Response to reviews:

Kamili: Thanks!... I think. Well, I knew Risa couldn't meet any of the Host Club with a dull "How do you do?" and Tamaki should learn not to use his Starlight Kick anyway. You do remember when he hit the Newspaper Club's president, right?

princess26966: But it's not as funny if it's got drama all the time! *pouts* Oh, well, I hope you'll enjoy this and the next two chapters then. The origin of Risa's trust issues are soon to be revealed.

etzelg: Weeeeeeell, you see, Risa's dad loves her in his own particular way. He doesn't see it as if he's using her, only that he's setting her up with a very good future.

Extended Experience: Nonono, be nice to her dad. Risa will have to try harder for him to stop seeing her as a delicate princess.

GIR3: Valid point. And yes, I particularly thought it was cute, too, I always intended that once Risa took care of him when he was sick, he'd have to shield her somehow from the hosts curiosity (he sure didn't expect actual harm).