Marrick's favorite activity during the school day was walking down the long sandstone halls and looking out of the obnoxiously large windows. Staring out at the courtyard while the students chat on the sides of the fountain and in the spirals of the rose maze. Watching groups of friends huddle together, giggling. Each with their bangs bouncing and dresses swaying. It placed a certain kind of yearning in Marrick's heart she has yet to fulfill in her 15 years.

Friendship seems to always run away from her. Even back in elementary school at the beginning of the "Fantastic Ouran Experience". All the other kids avoided Marrick as if she had some kind of disease they didn't want to catch. In reality, each of them had been instructed by their families not to speak with Marrick. There would simply be no point in a friend like that. A Sotosa? If someone did, it would only downgrade their family in society. Leaving them to have to suffer another generation of stagnant societal status.

The Sotosa's have always been successful but in the likes of those at Ouran, they are nowhere near to the standard of the hospital CEOs and old royals that roamed the halls. Bakers who just happen to make some really popular pasties and since Marrick is an only child it was fairly easy to get into such a prestigious school. Her parents had a good friend on the board as well who was able to get her a kind of scholarship that helped pay for the few odds and ends.

Marrick was grateful for the opportunity. She didn't even really mind that she didn't have friends. She liked to listen in on the conversations at lunch that they would have even more. The gossip that would leave their lips could light a fire quicker then a spark during a gas leak. The knowledge that she knew could ruin lives. Not that Marrick would do anything with the knowledge that falls onto her ears, it is just fun to listen to friends being friends.

One of their favorite places to sit at lunch was behind one of the most prestigious clubs the school has.

The Host Club

Marrick could write whole books with the information she had from listening to The Host Club. She didn't intend to eavesdrop on them this much at the beginning. She just happen to sit near them at lunch and they just so happen to… well, talk.

It started with just Tamaki Suoh and Kyoya Ootori at first. They were all in the same grade, in and out of classrooms together for years now. Marrick was sure they had no idea who she was. The conversations these two had were usually pretty one-sided but occasionally a quick back-and-forth would break out between the two boys. Tamaki getting a "bit of inspiration" and Kyoya quickly diminished the boy's thought. Quick but meaningful.

Next came the two boys from the dojo that Marrick went to after school for practice. They taught her a few classes a couple of months ago. Mitsukuni Haninozuka and Takashi Morinozuka. They were great teachers and even better at martial arts. It was strange seeing them with Tamaki and Kyoya. Marrick's worlds of classroom life and extracurriculars collide. And they seemed different when sitting with the other two. Haninozuka seemed more carefree, not as serious as when he was teaching all of the 1st years about the importance of balance. Morinozuka was also different. More silent. The opposite of his short companion, he seemed way more on edge than when in the dojo. Like he is waiting for someone to attack him or even worse, talk to him.

Two more from the grade beneath Marrick joined later in the year when she had just started high school. They looked almost identical to each other so she assumed that they were twins. They seemed so distracted, talking to each other more than the others at the table. They seemed to be the most disconnected from the group, even more than Morinozuka himself.

They seemed to really enjoy one another's company. They even started to eat breakfast together. Marrick usually got to school before most and enjoyed the silence that was breakfast. It gave her some time to do some homework or read a good book. It ended abruptly when she reached her 11th year of school when a small brown-haired girl joined the table with the hosts. They immediately started enjoying their breakfasts in the cafeteria with their new friend. She seemed nice and all the hosts seemed infatuated.

The incident happened during breakfast, as Marrick frantically scribbled her math homework barely paying attention to her surroundings. She was the first in the cafeteria which means first pick at breakfast. Everything was fresh and warm. Delicious. She placed her fluffy croissant to the side as she glared at the numbers in front of her. She barely noticed when the host club sat at their table soon after, speaking in hushed tones about the upcoming physicals as they gathered together with their meals. Marrick couldn't bother paying attention this morning with the mountain of work she decided to leave at the last minute. If her mother knew about her failure to complete the day before, she would basically be disowned. That is why it will stay a nice secret. The quick thought passed as Marrick took a bite of her now cold croissant.

It was sudden but it didn't shock me when Tamaki, the blonde from her class, stood up on his table screaming:

"HOW WILL WE KEEP HARUHI'S IDENTITY AS A GIRL SECRET?"

As loudly as he could muster, Marrick is sure of it.

That sure isn't how it's done she thought to herself rolling her eyes. The curiosity rushed through her and so she decided, with an exclamation that large, it was time to sneak a peek. When she turned her head to try and get a better look, 7 pairs of eyes met hers. There was a pause, a silence in the air as Marrick took in all of the stares that made their way onto her face. She knew her face wasn't hiding the shock and surprise on her face very well, either. It was like the emotions were basically stapled onto her forehead to display.

She started to gather her belongings as quickly as possible, putting her head down and trying to shake away all the eyes that had landed on her. Her packing was quickly interrupted by two pairs of arms grabbing Marrick on either side, pulling her away from her own table. Again, in shock, she looks up to find herself in the middle of the group she was sitting away from just moments before.

"Did you hear that?" Tamaki basically whispered in front of me

"Hear what?" Marrick squeaked, trying to put on an innocent face as if her classmate didn't scream such a "secret".

"Take her," A calm voice said, Marrick assumed it to be Kyoya, remembering the same voice answering the math question she has been stuck on all morning. Her fear was mixed with relief as she was whisked away, a bag placed over her head as the answer to the missing piece of her homework bounced around her head.