(A/N: Sorry for the hold-up folks! I had a rather nasty case of bronchitis and have only now stopped trying to hack up a lung. I own nothing, enjoy!)
Chapter 3: Headstrong
"Should we dump some water on him?" Was the first thing Sam heard as she came to. Well, she couldn't let that happen; her shirt would become very see through and her bindings would therefore become very visible.
"Do that and the club will be short one twin indefinitely." She groaned as she opened her eyes. She also became aware that she was on Kyoya's lap. She jumped up quickly and flushed. (Much to the other hosts' amusement.)
"What the hell was I doing on your lap and how long was I out?!" Sam demanded of Kyoya.
He adjusted his glasses and responded. "About two minutes and you fell on me."
"I'll try and aim better the next time I pass out." She commented dryly, then continued, "Hell, I probably wouldn't have passed out if I wasn't abandoned and forced to entertain a good 500 ladies by myself. I had no chance to stay hydrated!"
At this, Tamaki went to the room's designated emo corner, Mori looked down, the twins looked guilty, Haruhi glared at the others, and Kyoya looked genuinely guilty before he hastily put up his mask again.
"We're so sorry, Sam-chan!" Hunny wailed and glomped her. As she looked down at his kicked-puppy expression, Sam realized she wouldn't be able to hold a grudge. And she really wanted to.
"I forgive you all…" Sam started. The hosts perked up. Sam turned on her 'glare of doom'© and continued, "…but if anything like this happens again, I will kick your asses from here to next Tuesday."
The hosts sweat-dropped simultaneously.
####
Sam spent the rest of the weekend doing homework, doing her usual exercise, brainstorming song ideas, and trying to refine her plan to escape from under her father's thumb. 'Trying' being the operative word. It was rather difficult without her laptop. Her father hadn't let her keep that either because it had all of her recordings on it. Sighing in frustration, Sam admitted to herself that going to the library wouldn't be a bad idea. She flung on her jacket, grabbed her wallet and keys, and was out the door.
She had walked all of five steps when she heard her name being called. She turned and saw Haruhi jogging up to her.
"Hey, Sam-sempai, where are you headed?" Haruhi asked when she drew level with her.
"I'm going to the library." She replied.
"So am I, do you want to go with me?" Haruhi asked.
"Sure, it's not like I would go some other route to avoid you." Sam replied, teasing.
Haruhi rolled her eyes and asked, "So what are you going to be looking for at the library?"
"Information." Sam replied flippantly.
"For which subject?" Haruhi pressed.
"Who said it had anything to do with school?" Sam asked, smirking.
Haruhi face-palmed.
"So what are you looking for, Haruhi-chan?" Sam asked.
"I have to find some American teen literature to analyze for Language Arts." Haruhi replied.
"I would suggest the Hunger Games trilogy. It seems like something you might like." Sam suggested.
"Thanks, Sempai. I'll look for them. Who are they by?" Haruhi asked.
"Collins, Suzanne." Sam answered.
Just then, they had reached the library. The librarian smiled and waved at Haruhi and glared distrustfully at Sam. Sam sighed. Sure, she was used to the looks she got for her clothes, piercings, and hair, but she still wished that people wouldn't judge her without getting to know her. Shaking her head, she started searching for a computer to use. After combing through the library twice, Sam was forced to accept that there were no computers there.
She slumped into the seat next to Haruhi, who was engrossed in "The Hunger Games." Haruhi blinked and looked up when she realized that she had company.
"Did you find what you were looking for, Sam-sempai?" Haruhi asked, placing a bookmark carefully in the book.
"Nope. I can't believe there aren't any computers here!" Sam grumped.
"Well, this library isn't very well-funded." Haruhi replied.
"Does Ouran have computers in any of its libraries?" Sam was grasping at straws.
"No, because most of the students have their own laptops." Haruhi replied apologetically.
It looked like she had no other options. "I guess I'll have to make a deal with the devil."
"Um, who?" Haruhi asked nervously.
"Kyoya-san." Sam replied with a desolate expression. Haruhi just shook her head and read on.
####
Sam was woken up much earlier than she would have wished by her phone ringing.
"What!" she growled.
"Manners, young lady! We took time out of our lunch break to call you!" her father's voice barked out over her phone's speaker.
"It's not even light outside yet! I have every right to be a little grumpy with you, father!" Sam snapped, sitting up fully.
"You're a teenager, you can run on a little less sleep!" her father said mockingly.
"Actually, teenagers need about nine hours of sleep per night." Sam quipped.
"This is all beside the point-" Ha! He couldn't deny it! "-we called to see how your classes are going and to give you a message to pass on." He said importantly.
"The classes are relatively easy. Now, what's the message?" Sam was impatient to get off the phone with him so that she could work off some anger.
"Tell that Ootori boy to stop searching your name online and to stop trying to hack our database. It's bringing unwanted attention to your location." He stated in a slightly irritated tone.
"How is that bringing attention to my location?" Sam asked, confused.
"We received a threatening letter that suggested that they had been tracing any searches about you and that they now know that you are in Japan." He state gravely.
"Who sent it?" Sam asked, the blood leaving her face.
"We believe it was KNIFE." He said.
'Shit.' Sam thought. Killers Needing Information For Elimination is an infamous terrorist organization that is notorious for their ruthless tactics in their search for information that would help them kill their enemies easier and more efficiently. Who were their enemies? That varied. The organization was a band of serial killers around the world that each had their own groups of people they hate and want dead. 'And now they're after me because of fucking McIntireCo and its stupid weapons!'
"Sam? Sam! Sam Alex, answer me!" her father was yelling at her.
"What am I going to do? Are you going to send me a security team?" Sam asked, still mentally freaking out.
"We're not sending a team, that would lead them straight to you. You are going to act as if nothing is wrong; but up your training and constantly be on guard." He replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Fine. I'll just do that." She snapped and hung up, pissed at the lack of help she was going to get.
This was really a terrible way to start the day.
####
When Sam made her way into the classroom, she was rather proud of how calm she appeared. The only things that might give her away were her restless nibbling of her lip ring and a slight twitch whenever a door was slammed. Since she was early, she walked directly toward Kyoya.
"Good morning, Kyoya-san. Might I borrow your laptop at lunch?" Sam asked in her politest tone. Tamaki's jaw dropped like she was asking Kyoya for his child or something. Kyoya gave her a calculating look before putting on that damn fake smile.
"Sure, Sam-san." He responded.
Tamaki fell over in shock.
"Thanks." Sam replied with a slight smile.
Of course she knew he would be looking at what she did on his precious laptop. That was part of her plan.
####
Once Kyoya handed her his laptop, she immediately began her work. She searched places to record demos, their prices, the local talent agencies, quality wigs, and colored contacts. She was taking notes in her little black notebook she was using to make her plans, all in her sloppy English writing. This plan was even more important now, because if she would be disowned, she would become less of a target. She could also further lessen her likelihood of being attacked if she entered the industry with a different name and appearance. (It actually helped that she currently looked like a guy. Go figure.)
After she was finished with that, she deleted any trace of where she had visited online. Then she opened the word processer and left Kyoya a note:
Kyoya-san-
Please stop searching me online. Stop trying to hack the McIntireCo database. You've brought a rather large blade to my throat, so to speak. (Yes, I'm implying what you think I'm implying.) I'm leaving you this information in a note for a few reasons: One, I don't want eavesdroppers. Two, this is a difficult thing to trace from a different location. Three, I don't want the other hosts freaking out. I did NOT, however, tell you this so you could call your police force to surround the area. That will only slit my throat, to keep with my earlier metaphor. Here's my cell phone number if you want to text me about this: (xxx) xxx-xxxx.
Signed,
Sam
She left the document open, closed the laptop, and returned it to Kyoya.
####
Sam noticed immediately when Kyoya read the note. It was during Host Club when they were making the plan to 'save' Haruhi from her physical examination. (She was safe from it because her father waived her from it.) His eyes widened and he paled. His expression didn't change otherwise, but Sam knew that was from practice.
Seconds later, she got a text.
You must know that this wasn't my intention. I sincerely apologize.
-Kyoya
Jumping into the conversation so as not to be suspicious, Sam said, "Why don't we just make Haruhi a hostess? That way she could be herself and still pay her debt. Also, this would widen the appeal of the club and raise our customer numbers. If any guy tries to be fresh with her, we would destroy them. (Though I'm pretty sure Haruhi doesn't care about what gender people think she is.)" While she had been saying this, she responded to Kyoya's text.
Apology accepted. I know you didn't want this to happen. This was just product of your compulsive need to know everything about everyone. XD
-Sam
Sam's suggestion sent Tamaki into an insane rant, which the twins were egging on, and Mori and Hunny were just sitting at their normal spot with Hunny eating cake. She saw Kyoya's lips twitch as he read her text. His response was rather funny.
Ha. Your ability to text with perfect grammar in your second language without looking is both impressive and slightly frightening.
-Kyoya
Sam was about to respond, when the twins popped up behind her.
"Who are you-"
"-texting, Sempai?" They asked in tandem.
"Oh, just my dear friend None-ya." Sam replied with the barest hint of a smirk.
"None-ya, who?" Hikaru asked.
"None-ya damn business!" Sam replied with a full-on smirk. (A/N: I know this probably doesn't work in Japanese, but I just had to!)
The twins' jaws dropped and Sam just had to ruffle their hair as she walked over to Haruhi.
"So Haruhi-chan, I have to work today. I can still give you a lift, but it will be to the shop a block away from our apartments." Sam explained.
"That's no problem, sempai. I'm just grateful for the rides being offered. A little walk, won't hurt me." Haruhi responded earnestly.
Sam didn't notice Kyoya still fighting laughter at her rude but witty verbal jab at the twins.
####
Sam walked into 'Rock On' and went straight toward Mr. Honda.
"Yo, Boss! What do you want me to do?" Sam asked.
He looked up from the guitar he was repairing and gaped. "Hold on- you're one of those rich bastards?! Why would you want to work here?"
"For one thing, it's my parents who are the rich bastards. They're only giving me the bare minimum to feed myself. If I want to replace the guitar they took from me, and make myself a music career; I still need this job. Also, another thing is that this job exploits a loophole in their rules for me here. They didn't want me to 'indulge in my useless music hobby,' but they did say I could get a job for 'spare money.' They didn't say I couldn't work at a music store." Sam explained defiantly.
Mr. Honda sized her up with a new expression. "You've got guts, brat. Go change out of that prissy uniform and I'll show you what you're going to be doing."
####
The rest of Sam's week flew by. What with work, school, that hilarious plan with the hosts, and beating up a pervert that wasn't actually a pervert.
Sam thought that just maybe, she could handle the whole KNIFE problem.
####
Unknown POV
KNIFE HQ
"So, little McIntire's at Ouran Academy? This will be almost too easy." The sociopath chuckled, and then reached over to make a phone call that would enact a plan to deliver a potentially lethal message.
(A/N: And the plot thickens, ooooooooooo~! I may have screwed up with the time difference, but that's because I was guesstimating using my phone. So, let's pretend it was correct. Anyway, tell me what ya'll think!)