A/N: Hello again! So, finals week was hell, but now it's winter break! Yay! And I know, I'm a piece of trash for keeping you guys waiting so long, hopefully the next update won't take as long. Special thanks go to lunarestings, Fragile Mercy, justaislinn, setsunaxx, Fairy-lover123, ryu-f, kana-yamamoto, Secret Companion, crazy1person2you3been4warned, abblesindatardis, Sammsis, Sadie Pearce, TwilightMelodiac, brit2014, Futago no Akuma Shimai, and Utau54 for following and faving!
justaislinn: Thanks for the feedback! And yeah, I'm sure everyone is ready for Rena to stop being so stubborn. :)
Secret Companion: Thanks! And yeah, I'm sticking to 3rd person, sorry it was so confusing at first, took me a while to get the hang of it. I'll most likely end up re-writing those first few chapters.
abblesindatardis: Sorry it took so long! As for your theory, I am not at liberty to either confirm or deny it. Seriously, they won't let me... *sweats nervously*
YuYuHakushoObsesser: Sorry it took so long!
Disclaimer: I wish I owned Ouran, alas, I do not, only my OCs.
In order to keep from talking herself out of showing Haruhi part of her past, Lorena went over to Haruhi's house the next day. Ranka was working and the Hosts were no longer bothering them. She eventually reached their door, without hesitation, she knocked. Haruhi let her in and made some tea for the two of them.
They talked about trivial things for a while, then Lorena took a deep breath and started. "Haruhi, you've been a great friend to me, and I feel I can trust you..." She paused, not exactly sure how she should go about this.
"Lorena?" Haruhi asked worriedly. She put a hand on Lorena's comfortingly. "What is it? Is everything okay? You know you can tell me anything."
Lorena breathed deeply before looking up into Haruhi's eyes. It was hard to not doubt how her friend would react. She'd never shown anyone her scars voluntarily, she was afraid that they would hate her. She smiled at her friend and continued, "I want to show you something. But I'll be honest, I'm scared of how you'll react."
Haruhi came around the table to give her a sideways hug. "You know you can tell me anything." She said again.
Lorena gulped, she decided to just do it quickly. Just rip the band-aid off, right? She turned to face Haruhi and lifted her shirt, looking away from her friend and preparing for the worst. When she heard her gasp of horror, she clenched her eyes shut tightly, a few tears managing to escape and slide down her cheeks. She had just gotten a foot under herself, about to rush out when she felt arms clutch her torso tightly and Haruhi's head buried in her shoulder. She felt the wetness of tears, and they weren't hers. Haruhi was crying? Why?
She lowered her shirt back down and pushed her back so she could see her face. Haruhi's eyes were filled with tears. "Wha- Why are you crying Haruhi?" Lorena asked hesitantly. Did she hate her that much? What if she never wanted to see her again?
Lorena's irrational thoughts were interrupted by Haruhi's words. "I'm angry!" Lorena shrunk back, her worst fear was happening. "I'm angry you had to go through so much pain!" Lorena looked up hopefully. "But I'm also happy. I'm happy that you can trust me enough to show me this. It was incredibly brave of you, Rena-chan." Haruhi truly was proud of her, and her body language showed that to Lorena as well.
Lorena smiled at her best friend. A huge weight had been lifted off of her shoulders, and the crushing fear and dread vanished. She'd done it. She had trusted her heart to someone, and it wasn't destroyed. Maybe things would change now. For the better.
~Time Skip~
Lorena sighed as she entered the Host Club. Just one more hour, then she could go home and maybe get some sleep. Lorena hadn't been sleeping well lately. This was mainly because of the stress of both her father and her stepmother pressuring her to move back to America, that and the work she did for her family's company, school, and trying to figure out how she could get back on good terms with the other Hosts. Her pride prevented her from giving in on her own. Although, things were becoming normal again all on their own, slowly but surely. She was content to just leave it at that.
She set her bag down in the changing rooms and went back out to help set up. She was carrying a tray of sandwiches when her phone started buzzing in her back pocket. She set the tray down on a small table and looked at the caller ID. It was her father. Great. She was about to decline the call when she thought, 'Dad never calls me during school. It might be important. Then again, it might be another attempt to persuade me to return.' She answered it, just in case it really was important.
~Haruhi's POV~
I saw Lorena pull her phone out and answer it. She quickly walked into the food storage/kitchen area. I was curious, but I didn't want to betray her trust by eavesdropping. I knew how hard it was for her to trust people. If she wanted to tell me, she would.
~Back to 3rd Person POV~
Lorena walked slowly back out into the main room, her eyes distant, as if she were trying to process something. Worried for her friend, Haruhi approached her. "What's wrong, Rena-chan? Is everything okay?"
Lorena saw the worry in her eyes, she smiled reassuringly at her. "It's nothing. I don't want to burden you with my problems."
"You know you can tell me anything." Haruhi assured her, worry still creasing her face.
Lorena dropped the fake smile, looking at her feet for a second before facing Haruhi again. Not knowing how to properly word it, she decided to just come out and say it. "My mother died an hour ago."
Haruhi was shocked, her eyes widened and a hand went over her mouth. The other Hosts went silent, Lorena hadn't noticed until now that they were all observing their conversation. Haruhi's eyes began to water in empathy. "Oh... Lorena I'm so sorry..."
"It's okay," Lorena assured her, wiping away her friend's unshed tears. "I didn't know her at all." She smiled as if to emphasize that she was, in fact, alright.
"You.. Didn't know her?" Haruhi wondered. She realized what she had said, "Oh, it's none of my business."
Lorena laughed lightly at her friend's antics. "It's alright, I don't mind talking about it." She lead her to a nearby couch and waved the others over as well. She knew they'd want to know too. "My mother disappeared after she gave birth to Elena, my older sister, remember her? She must've come back because four years later... Here I am!" She joked. "Anyways, as soon as I popped out, she was gone again." Everyone looked at her with pity. "My dad never wanted to talk about her, he really did love her, so her leaving hurt him deeply."
"Wahh~!" Honey cried as he hugged her tightly. "Poor Rena-chan!"
"What was her name?" Hikaru and Kaoru encouraged her.
"Iris Boone." Lorena answered them.
"Wait, Boone? Not as in-" Hikaru started.
Lorena cut him off, "Yes. Boone as in Boone Industrial Company." Kyoya whipped out his laptop and began typing quickly. "Where did you even get that?" Lorena sweatdropped only to be ignored.
Kyoya educated everyone, "Ah, that's why I recognize the name. Boone Industrial Company is the largest Industrial Company in the Northern Hemisphere, they also dabble in shipping."
"Yep. And apparently I'm in her will. Since she owned the whole company, she could do whatever she wanted with it. My father is going to send me a copy of it through an e-mail." Just as she said this, her phone buzzed again, signaling she received an e-mail. "And there it is. I'll look at it once we're done hosting."
"Nonsense! Look at it now!" Hikaru and Kaoru jumped up and down in excitement.
Lorena relented and pulled out her phone again. She opened the e-mail and began scanning it quickly for any mention of her name. "In the event of my death... Blah blah blah... Stocks... Boring stuff..." She muttered, oblivious of her friends eagerly awaiting the news. "My eldest daughter, Elena shall receive control of a third of the company... What ifs... Technicalities... Wow, she really did cover every possible future event... Ah! Here I am... " she paused, confusion flashed across her face and she scrolled back up. She reread and reread the section about her, as if the words would change the second or third time she went over it. But they didn't. "I'm going to own thirds of Boone Industrial when I come of age."
"Woah~!" Honey exclaimed, his eyes wide with wonder.
Lorena turned her phone off put it away. "Okay, that's enough drama for today." Everyone just stared at her. "What? Aren't we opening soon?" That snapped them out of it, and they all went back to setting up.
~Time Skip~
Lorena was sitting at a table reading her book with Kyoya on his laptop and Takashi also reading a book. She was taking refuge there from the devil twins and Tamaki. They were trying to make her and Haruhi dress up in some fancy bunny outfits, no way in hell was she about to do that. The twins were chasing Haruhi around the room-who was annoyed that Lorena had abandoned her to the wrath of the twins-when they bumped into another table and causing tea to spill all over Honey-sempai's Usa-chan. Luckily, Honey-sempai was taking his nap when this happened so they had time to figure out how they were going to break the news to the third-year. Tamaki and the twins were flippin' out while Haruhi was just confused as to why they were being so dramatic-not like they were born that way or anything. Lorena also wanted to know why they were so scared of Honey-sempai finding out. I mean sure, his coveted toy was ruined, but they were acting like he was going to kill them.
"Excuse me," Kyoya interrupted the idiot trio, "we don't have any guests at the moment, so I don't mind if you make a racket, but please, be careful. You don't want to wake Honey-sempai." The three froze, looking over to make sure Honey was still asleep, which he was. Lorena wondered how he could sleep so peacefully with all this racket.
"He's a third-year who still takes afternoon naps?" Haruhi wondered. "Well, we're gonna have to tell him about the bunny at some point. Let's just wake him up and apologize." Ah Haruhi, always the optimist.
The idiots called her back to "safety" behind a couch with them. "Honey-sempai wakes up in a very bad mood after napping." Tamaki tried to explain. "Now this may just be rumor, but the Haninozuka family once visited a U.S. military base to give combat training. Supposedly, Honey-sempai slept through most of it because of his jet-lag. Then, a soldier came in and carelessly tried to wake him up since he had been sleeping for so long. On that day, he wiped out two entire platoons of soldiers, and not just any soldiers, green-berets. And I've heard, we've had diplomatic issues with America ever since that day. And we've got a bigger problem, Usa-chan was handmade for Honey-sempai by his deceased grandmother! You've seen the way he carries it around, that little bunny is his most prized possession. I can't imagine how he's going to react when he wakes up and sees that his precious Usa-chan ruined!"
"He's gonna do to us what he did to those green-berets!" The three of them wailed. Haruhi still wasn't convinced.
"You're exaggerating, there's no way that story could be true. I mean, come on. Rena, you're American, did that really happen?" Haruhi responded.
"Oh yeah," Lorena replied with sarcasm dripping from her voice, "things have been so tense between Japan and America it's like a conversation between me and my stepmother."
To further prove his point, Tamaki continued, "It is! And there's other evidence that Honey-sempai has an evil side to him. Listen to this, his blood type is AB, how d'ya like that?"
"Yeah, so what?"
"But Haruhi," Tamaki whined, "that means he's the same blood type as Kyoya..." Haruhi was instantly convinced, hell, Lorena was convinced now too.
They looked warily at Kyoya who was typing on his laptop, "What's the matter? Do you guys have a problem with my blood type?"
Tamaki then tried to get the twins to go on some crazy trip to get a medium to channel Honey-sempai's dead grandmother to make a new Usa-chan and to bring back souvenirs. They quickly shot it down. Then they tried to get Haruhi to wear a pink bunny suit to placate Honey while the bunny was at the cleaners. The noise they made trying to get Haruhi to accept woke Honey-sempai from his nap. Thinking they could fool him, they substituted Tamaki's bear for Usa-chan. Honey immediately slammed the bear onto the ground, Lorena could hear echoes he threw it so hard.
Dragging his blanket, Honey walked over to his bunny rabbit that was still on the table with tea surrounding it. He picked it up and looked menacingly at the three idiots still crouched behind the couch. Lorena couldn't see his facial expression because Takashi placed one of his large hands over her eyes, successfully blocking any and all vision. No matter how hard she tried, she wasn't strong enough to move it. Takashi didn't want her to see the nightmare-inducing look Mitsukuni had on his face.
"Who's responsible for this?" Honey asked in a scary voice. "Who got my Usa-chan dirty?"
The twins and Tamaki yelled for help, "Mori-sempai help! Don't let him hurt us!"
In the next instant, Takashi was standing in front of Honey, having dragged Lorena with him so she still wouldn't be able to see the frightening look on Honey's face. She was still struggling to get him off of her, and she was curious to see how he would handle this situation. "He wanted tea. So Usa-chan decided to have a drink." Lorena could hear the stillness from the three hosts in front of her.
"I see, so that's why his face is all dirty, isn't it? Do you think he wants some cake too?" Honey was back to his cheery and innocent self. Lorena was finally released and now got a good look at the extensive stain on Usa-chan.
She knelt down to Honey's level, "Hey, do you want me to clean Usa-chan up for you? I know a good way to get him back to his old self in no time."
"Sure!" Honey took her hand and dragged her to the kitchen area to do just that.
~Time Skip~
The club was going by normally. Lorena was helping one girl with her math, while the other girls she was hosting were chatting together while they were snacking on the cookies and tea.
"Wow! That makes so much more sense now! Thank you Rena-chan! You're a saint!" The girl she was helping praised. She had just finished her math homework and finally understood what she was doing.
Lorena chuckled lightly, "Really, it's no problem. My purpose here is to help you girls with anything you may need."
The three girls fawned over her, going on and on about how she was so sweet and humble. Of course, Lorena tried her best to deflect these compliments.
Trying to direct the conversation away from herself, Lorena commented on a cute stuffed monkey on one of the girl's lap. She picked it up. When she did, Lorena saw that the monkey's tail had been detached. "I was kind of hoping you could fix it, Rena-chan... Can you?" The blonde girl asked shyly.
Lorena held out her hands for the monkey. When the girl gave it to her, she looked it over. "Looks like an easy fix. I can fix him right now if you want." She suggested.
The girl's face brightened instantly. "Oh, yes! Yes please! Thank you so much, Rena-chan!"
Lorena smiled at her. She quickly went over to Haruhi and borrowed her mini sewing kit she always kept on her. She sat back down in front of the girls and began to work. As she worked, the girls observed in raw amazement. Not even a minute later, Lorena cut the extra thread and looked at her handy-work. Deeming it worthy, she nodded in finality and offered it back to the girl. The girl took it back, tears in her eyes, she repeatedly thanked her.
Lorena went to refill a girl's tea cup when she discovered they had no more tea. "Oh, it looks like we're out of tea. I'll go make us some more real quick. I'll be right back."
She quickly made her way into the kitchen area and put a kettle on the stove. She hadn't been standing there for twenty seconds when she heard a commotion in the main room. Curious, she left the stove to peek into the main room to see what all the fuss was about.
Lorena stepped back into the room, seeing all the girls squealing and looking over where Honey and Takashi were sitting, she also looked. If she were holding something, she would've dropped it. She saw Takashi holding Honey-sempai down on a couch and trying to look into his mouth for some reason. Her soul began leaving her body when Haruhi noticed she had come back in at the wrong time.
"Oh, Lorena, did you hear? Honey-sempai has a cavity." she explained. Everyone looked at her still motionless form.
Realizing how weird this probably looked to someone who didn't know what had happened, Hikaru started, "Uh, Rena-chan-" He stopped when Lorena just put her hands up with her palms out and slowly backed up back into the kitchen area with the same blank look on her face. Takashi also realized how this might be misinterpreted and how he probably looked like a huge weirdo to her right now, but he was more focused on Mitsukuni's cavity. He should've taken better care of him, it was his fault this happened and now Mitsukuni was in pain because of him.
Lorena was pouring the boiling water into the teapot when Takashi walked in with a half-eaten piece of cake. Figuring it was Honey's, she just turned back to her teapot. Isn't that a bit cruel? She thought, I mean, he could've at least let him finish his cake.
She was about to leave the room with the finished tea and snacks when Takashi spoke up finally. "Rena-chan," he said with his usual deep, monotone voice. She turned around to face him. "We should talk." He had been meaning to talk to her about some things for a while, but so much had happened recently, one of them being Lorena not interacting with any of the Hosts-except Haruhi-outside of what was required. This was as good a chance as any, they were alone and no one would interrupt, hopefully.
She gave him a look that said, 'What'dya think we're doing right now?' He ignored it and continued, "About that night."
She tensed, he wanted to talk about what happened at the beach house. About what he saw, and what he'd heard from her. Though she knew it was impossible, she had been hoping that he had forgotten about it. At the time, she was emotionally vulnerable because of the cruel "gift" her stepmother had sent her, and then Takashi saw a side of her that she never wanted anyone to see. Oh God, she thought, what if this is it? What if he wants me to leave and never come back? What if he hates me?!
Her irrational thoughts were interrupted when he placed a large hand on her upper arm. He took the tray from her hands and placed it on the counter to his left. He drew her back and trapped her against the counter, caging her there with his arms on either side of her. This way, she wouldn't be able to run away from him. "Umm, I should really get back to my customers.." Lorena weakly tried to excuse herself. He just gave her a look that expressed his determination to get the truth out of her, the whole truth.
Lorena avoided his piercing eyes and looked to the side, she nervously licked her chapped lips. Lost in her thoughts of trying to find a way out of this situation, she chewed her bottom lip. A bad habit she hadn't been able to get rid of over the years back in America.
Takashi watched as she did this and couldn't help but remember the kiss they'd shared from what felt like years ago. Ever since then, he'd been wanting to do it again. There was something about this girl that was just irresistible to him and made his heart pound almost painfully. It was a wonder she didn't have suitors lining up around the block. But now, he was so close. Just a few small inches and he'd have his wish. But this was hardly the time for such a thing, considering he wanted her to talk to him. The only sign of his internal struggle was his grip tightening on the edge of the counter and his eyes lingering on her lips.
Lorena came out of her inconclusive thoughts and looked back up at him. She saw as he snapped his gaze back up to her eyes. What was he looking at? Is there something on my face? She was oblivious to his inner struggles. She was about to spew some half-assed excuse or explanation when Haruhi called for Lorena out in the main room. Lorena gave him a look saying, 'What can ya do?' and slipped under his arm, grabbed the tray, and bolted out of the room before he could stop her.
With his plan to get her to open up to him failed, he also went back out into the main room.
~Time Skip~
Lorena was dragged by Haruhi and the twins to go check up on Honey-sempai before class started. They found him walking down a hall to his first class, they also saw Takashi walking towards him. "Mitsukuni, bag."
"I can carry it."
"Yes you can. Hand it over." Takashi took his bag and flipped it upside down, pouring out all the candy Haney-sempai had hidden in its depths. It was a mystery as to how he fit so much candy in one bag.
"I was just looking, I wasn't gonna eat them." Honey excused.
"Really? If you're just looking, then try this." He held up a piece of paper with pictures of all sorts of candy and sweets on it. "I'll keep the real stuff." From around the corner Lorena could see the crocodile tears welling up in Honey's eyes.
"Oh, man. That was rough." The twins chorused.
"I can't help but feel sorry for him." Haruhi also commented.
"With how much sugar he was eating before, couldn't Honey-sempai go through some sort of withdrawal? Should we be worried?" Lorena asked only to be ignored. Thanks guys, love you too. She thought sarcastically.
"You know I had no idea that Mori-sempai could be so brutal." Hikaru stated as the four of them were returning to their own class.
"You wouldn't expect it. I thought his principles kept him form doing anything that upset Honey-sempai. And to think that he could get the boss to go along with him." Kaoru remarked.
"As far as his principles go, I think it's more about making sure Honey is safe and healthy. Sure, that includes making sure he's happy, but if it's for his own good, I think he'd do it. And it's not like this is a permanent thing, he'll be back to shoveling sweets in no time." Lorena interjected from her spot next to Haruhi and behind the twins. Haruhi stopped and put on her thinking face, Lorena stopping with her. Haruhi was the smartest out of all of them, what was she thinking about?
~Time Skip~
Lorena was sitting at her own group of couches again since she had so many customers today. They were disappointed that they couldn't have or share any sweets today, but once it was explained, they were more willing to go along with it. Earlier, Kyoya had warned Lorena about Honey trying to get her to give him any sweets, seeing as he was desperate. She understood, and made sure not to have anything with sugar in her bag or in her pockets, she wasn't sure if she could resist his tearful eyes. She truly felt bad for him, but it was for his own good. Eating anything sweet left him in pain, and Lorena would do anything to keep her friend form being in pain.
Lorena saw Honey running up to Takashi and giggling, seeming to be normal again. "Look Takashi! My cavity's all better now!"
"You sure?" Takashi asked him without looking up from his book.
"The swelling has even gone down!"
"Has it?"
"So, do you think I can have a piece of cake? Just one? Pleaseee~!"
Suddenly, Takashi pulled out a sugar-free ice pop out of nowhere and stuck it into Honey's mouth. Honey yelped in pain and the swelling came back almost instantly. "You're not fully recovered yet."
That's just cruel, Takashi. Lorena thought as she witnessed this whole scene.
~Time Skip~
After the failed attempt to get sweets from the guests, and the realization he had gone to the wrong person with Haruhi, Honey spotted Lorena reading a book all on her own. With the perfect plan in mind, Honey sulked over to her.
Tugging on her sleeve to get her attention, he put on the waterworks, "Rena-chan, you gotta help me. Why is everyone being so mean? What have I done? You don't hate me, do you Rena-chan?" He asked in his most pitiful voice. His hope rose when he saw her heartbroken look on her face. She picked him up and hugged him.
"Oh, Honey. Of course I don't hate you, nobody could ever hate you. We just wanna help you is all."
He looked up at her with hopeful eyes, "So, you'll help me?"
Doing as Takashi had asked of them all, she had to refuse to give into his tricks, but why not get her own revenge for the little stunt he pulled back at the beach house? She pretended to think, "Hmm, help huh?" She rolled the word "help" around in her mouth as if it were a new taste. "Gee, I haven't gotten any help in so long, I wouldn't know how to give you any help..." Honey knew instantly what she was talking about.
Lorena was walking away from his crestfallen form when she thought, Revenge is mine.
~Time Skip~
Lorena and the rest of the Hosts excluding Takashi were all sitting around a table watching poor Honey-sempai from afar. Lorena had the misfortune of being stuck between the twins, they really didn't want to let go of her. They all knew Honey was about to crack, the issue was staying out of his way when the time finally came.
Honey went into the kitchen area to look for any remaining sweets. "He's headed for the candy!" Hikaru exclaimed worriedly.
"Not to worry, we emptied out all the sweets." Kyoya said with a smirk on his face.
"Kyoya-sempai, you seem really chipper today." Haruhi stated.
"Yeah, it's putting me on edge, knock it off." Lorena interjected. Honey pulled out Tamaki's teddy bear from the cabinet and trew it on the ground. Again, Lorena could hear the echoes.
"Ah! He keeps doing that to my teddy bear!" Honey floated back into the main room, and collapsed. Lorena was about to jump up and check on him but was stopped by the twins holding her arms.
"Well, there he goes. Three days and he gives up." The twins commented.
Tamaki went over and shook his shoulder. "Uh, Honey-sempai?" Lorena jumped when Honey latched onto Tamaki's arm like a piranha. Tamaki ran around in circles shouting, "Somebody help me! He's eating my arm off!"
They all watched as Takashi stood up slowly and approached the two of them. "Mitsukuni, don't take this out on other people." Honey detached himself from Tamaki's wrist. Tamaki rubbing his sore wrist in relief. "It's disgraceful." Takashi finished.
Lorena jumped again when Honey yelled at Takashi and flipped him over his shoulder, sending him flying. "A little bit isn't gonna hurt me! You're so mean! You're such a hardhead! That's it I hate you! I hate you Takashi!" He then ran out of the room, a concerned Lorena running after the distraught boy.
Her longer legs easily caught up to him and she managed to lead him back to the doors of Music Room #3. She had him listen as Takashi explained how he felt guilty for Honey's cavity and how he had punished himself by making Honey hate him.
It wasn't until he explained everything did Lorena understand why he did all the mean things he did. Of course, Haruhi being the smartest of all of them by a long shot, figured it out all on her own.
Lorena opened the doors for Honey and placed a hand on his shoulder, smiling encouragingly at him. Crying again, Honey ran over to Takashi, apologizing for forgetting to brush his teeth and for saying he hated him.
~Time Skip~
A few days later, Honey was all better. He could once again stuff his face with all the sweets he could want. He decided to celebrate with all his favorites, even sharing them with Lorena. The two of them were so wrapped up in their food and coversation that they didn't notice the brunette girl talking to Takashi.
"Excuse me." The quiet girl said, approaching the group of Hosts.
"Oh, are you a fan of Mori-sempai?" Tamaki asked her.
She walked right up to Mori and continued, "Well, Mori, I understand now, I know who you feel so strongly about. And it's okay." She looked over to the table where Honey and Lorena were laughing together. "I must say I find it a little surprising... It's just so... I can't explain it... It's just so... YAY!"
And so, the events of that crazy week came to a close. Lorena went back to fighting off a migraine from the squealing fangirls and burying herself in her books.
Lorena was walking home with Haruhi when she broke the silence with, "You know that girl that came into the Host Club today? The brunette one with the braids?"
"Yeah, why?" Lorena was confused as to why she was asking her about this.
"Well, I saw her confessing to Mori-sempai a few days ago." Haruhi said slyly, looking at her friend from the corner of her eye.
"Okay, why do I need to know this?" Lorena feigned ignorance.
Haruhi chuckled at her, seeing right through her rouse. "'Cause you like Mori-sempai, of course."
If Lorena were eating something, she would've choked on it. She cleared her throat, "I don't know what you're talking about, Haru-chan."
Haruhi smirked and faced her, "I think you know exactly what I'm talking about. After all, you seen to have the most fun spending time with him and Honey-sempai. And when the girls are talking about their crushes your eyes drift over to him. Not to mention your eyes get this glint when you look at him or talk to him, you look almost happy. It's pretty obvious that you like him."
Lorena jerked her face away from her friend to hide her blush. She was also disappointed in herself, she was sure she could hide it from everyone. Then again, Haruhi was way too smart for her own good, always noticing the little things.
"In any case," Haruhi continued, "he turned her down. He seems to have his eye on someone else."
Lorena hummed and took out her keys, luckily they were coming up on her apartment complex. She said her goodbyes and started going up the stairs to her apartment when Haruhi called out to her, "Hey, I'm gonna make some more rice balls tonight, would you like some? Maybe you could even learn to make them for yourself."
Lorena's face lit up instantly, excitement pouring off of her in waves. "Definitely!" She smiled. What a great way to end the week. Lorena briefly wondered what was going to happen next with the Host Club. Then again, I don't really want to know what's coming next.
A/N: Alright, now you can tell me how much you hate me. But before that, Merry Christmas Eve Eve! I hope everyone has lots of fun and happiness these holidays! Stay warm and safe! Hopefully I'll have another update out within a reasonable amount of time for once...