The Americans

By: Hita-Chan and peachydreamside (formerly Lietiana)

Disclaimer: We don't own Ouran or any of its characters or storylines! Just our characters and this plot we've created for our self-insert!

Kyoya led them back to his workspace and motioned to the chairs across from his own. He sat down and waited for Honey and Mori to finish leaving the club room before letting out a sigh.

Jasmine slouched down in one of the chairs, feeling she didn't really have a say in if she sat down or not. "What's this about Glasses?"

"Cut that out, will you?" Erin hissed as she sat down next to her sister. "Take things seriously."

"I take them as seriously as I need to, thank you," Jasmine rolled her eyes, still staring Kyoya down.

"We have to talk about the dance," he stated simply, ignoring their bickering. "You two left before the event was over, causing many issues along with not helping us with cleaning up."

Erin nodded apologetically. "We did, I'm sorry we caused a problem by doing that. Is there something we can do to help now? Like something extra to do?"

Jasmine elbowed her sister. "Shush. I'm not sorry for doing that. You sick assholes forced Haruhi into kissing another girl without even talking to her first. You should be happy I left instead of inflicting my rage on you."

Erin held her tongue, not wanting to speak up. Even though she didn't want Kyoya to be mad at her she knew that Jasmine was right.

Kyoya stared at the pair for a moment before shaking his head. "It was a simple peck on the lips. It's not like they made out or anything," Kyoya adjusted his glasses. "Regardless of why you left, you still made the rest of us have to clean the entire ballroom which took several hours."

Jasmine went to speak again but was shushed by Kyoya's icy stare. He typed something on his laptop quickly before closing it and leveling his gaze with the two across from him. "There are punishments for not pulling your weight here."

"Punishments?" Erin began, half worried, half angry. "What do you mean?"

"You will report to kitchen duties for this week of club duties," Kyoya replied simply then turned to Jasmine and a small smirk came back onto his lips. "Jasmine will take up hosting duties for the week. Living up to the code of us hosts and making the guests' happiness a priority."

Jasmine's jaw dropped and she was speechless for a minute before her face turned red with anger. "Hell no, I would rather transfer schools than do that shit."

"It's not that bad," Erin said sharply as she elbowed her sister. "It's just a week, you'll be fine. Haruhi will be there with you."

"No, I don't believe Jasmine will be suited for hosting with Haruhi," Kyoya interrupted.

"Excuse me?" Jasmine raised her eyebrows at the raven haired boy.

"You're too unladylike to pair well with Haruhi like Erin does," Kyoya stated.

"You couldn't possibly be leaving me to host alone," Jasmine pointed out, thoughts running circles in her head.

"Correct. You will be joining Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai," Kyoya said after checking something in his notebook. "I believe that will be a much better match for you."

"See? You'll be fine," Erin mumbled, a touch of jealousy in her voice. "I'll be fine in the kitchen, it shouldn't be a problem for me."

Kyoya smirked. "I didn't think it would be. Do be sure not to make a mess of things back there. If there's anything this volatile girl can do right it's organize a kitchen."

Jasmine scowled. "Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

"Take what I'm willing to give," Kyoya stated coolly.

"Can we just stop this?" Erin said, fed up. "We know what we need to do, no need to argue about it or make things worse than they already are. We'll get through this week and it'll be taken care of. No big deal."

Jasmine rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, Mother." She stood from the chair, avoiding the glare her sister was probably giving her for comparing her to their mom. She grabbed her backpack off the floor and turned her head towards Kyoya. "Can we go now?"

"Ah, yes. You may go. I expect to see you here tomorrow ready to go with Honey-senpai," he turned his head to Erin as she began to rise. "Erin, I need a bit more of your time yet."

Jasmine went to sit back down and Kyoya shook his head, shooting her a pointed look. "Alone. If that's okay with you, Mother."

She tightened her grip on her bag, turning away from him. She cussed him out the whole walk to the door leading out to the hall, slamming it behind her once she stepped out. The nerve of that asshole…

Kyoya looked over to Erin, his face emotionless with full visibility to his eyes. He rolled his pen back and forth between his fingers, clicking his tongue a few times in thought.

Erin waited a moment to see if he would say anything, her mind still reeling in anger from her sister's comments. "What is it that you need to talk to me about that Jasmine couldn't hear?" She snipped after another beat of silence.

"You really think you're clever," He murmured to himself, an amused smirk on his lips as he watched her. "I would have never suspected you to try such a silly thing."

"Excuse me?" Erin barked, even though he'd switched gears on her before she never seemed to see it coming. "What are you talking about?"

Kyoya chuckled and reached under his laptop and slid a paper across the table to her. "I think you know what I'm talking about."

Erin glanced down at the paper, reading the report from their bacteria identification assignment from a few days prior. "I don't think I do," She said as coolly as she could while she marveled at how neat his handwriting was on the worksheet.

"Really?" Kyoya pulled the paper back and looked at it himself for a moment. "There's nothing you recall about this lab that sticks out to you? Or perhaps the deal you decided to make with me in that class?"

"I remember perfectly well," Erin replied nonchalantly. "I remember the deal and how I finished the experiment first so you had to stop asking me about my personal life. What about it?"

Kyoya rose from his chair, walked around the table and grabbed the chair Jasmine had once occupied. He moved it right in front of Erin's. He sat down in it, now staring into the girl's eyes from a few centimeters away.

"I recall that as well. However something didn't seem right about the whole event. I give you one last chance to make sure you want to stick to your story." His glasses slid down the bridge of his nose slightly, allowing direct eye contact.

Erin's eyes narrowed as she sat up in her chair. Every last alarm bell in her head was ringing louder than ever. Even in the lab Kyoya had never sat this close to her. "If you have something you want to say you should just say it instead of playing games."

Kyoya sighed and pushed his glasses back up, a disappointed frown made its way onto his face for a brief moment. Then he shook his head at her, a blank expression taking over again as he spoke, "You cheated."

A beat passed, Erin's expression unwavering. "I don't know what you're talking about."

He rubbed his temples, his head was hurting from her insane relentlessness. "You cheated and mixed up the experiment so you would beat me. I know you did it, you can stop feigning innocence now."

Erin leaned back and crossed her arms, her distant hope of him bluffing gone from her mind. "Fine, you got me. What now? I'm already being punished for something and it's not like you lost points on your assignment."

"What now? Your punishment for cheating would be far worse than anything I could ever give you if anyone one above us found out about it," Kyoya raised an eyebrow at her. "Did it not occur to you that taking that risk of cheating could get your scholarship revoked or you could have even been expelled? Was beating me in that worth those consequences?" He was honestly shocked when he had learned Erin had cheated, Jasmine he would have expected to do those things but with Erin it made no sense to him. "It's on video, you know. You swapping the test tubes, the cameras caught it all."

"I'm not stupid, I know what I was risking," Erin started as shame began to burn in the pit of her stomach. "Did it not occur to you that I might have understood what I was getting into? Why confront me like this instead of going to administration anyway?"

Kyoya leaned back in his seat now, his mind was racing with thoughts. This showed that the girl in front of him was far more complex than he had originally thought, she was more similar to her sister clearly. He shook his head and adjusted himself in the chair. "What would I gain from ratting you out to the chairman? I destroyed the video now so we are the only ones that know about it and I do intend to keep it that way." He brought his leg up on top of the other, brushing it against hers in the process. A small smirk came onto his lips, his eyes sparkled with a bit of mischief. "You'll just owe me something in the future for my secrecy."

Erin's eyes widened as she felt his leg touch hers. Every movement of his seemed so calculated, there was no way it was an accident. "Owe you?" She asked quietly. "Owe you how?"

His smirk grew. "In due time you'll find that out. I promise it'll be just one favor down the line, no tricks or strings." He leaned closer towards her, he felt as if he could hear her heart racing. He grabbed a hold of her hand and lifted it upwards, his lips brushed her knuckles lightly before he dropped it and stood. He adjusted his suit and grabbed his belongings off the table, he shot one glance down at her out of the corner of his eye before exiting the music room without another word.

Jasmine watched him walk by her from her place on the ground and groaned as she stood up. They were taking forever and she had fully debated just walking herself home soon if there was no sign of them. She stepped into the music room again, looking around for Erin.

"Jeez, what took so long? Were you two making out or something?" She laughed at her own joke. She looked down at her sister who was still stuck in her chair. "Woah, what happened?"

She sat down in the chair that was still across from Erin, concern washing over her at the expression on her sister's face. "Are you okay?"

Erin didn't initially respond, she sat still in her chair with her eyes fixated on her hand. She flexed it open and shut once before swiftly grabbing her bag and standing up. "We should go home," She muttered as she grabbed Jasmine's arm. "I've got to talk to you."

Jasmine nodded silently as her sister dragged her out the door of the music room and all the way home. She wondered what happened, her sister seemed very nervous and that in turn made her nervous. What could that selfish rich asshole have needed to talk about that got her so worked up?

Once they were home Jasmine watched as Erin took off her shoes, waiting patiently for her to speak first. She knew Erin didn't like being pestered and sometimes she tried to respect that, this felt like one of those times.

Erin flopped into one of the dining room chairs, resting her head in her hands. "We've got a problem."

"What do you mean?" Jasmine asked, walking around the island and standing across from her. She pushed a glass of water across the counter to her sister. "What kind of problem?"

The taller girl heaved a heavy sigh before she spoke. "Kyoya figured out what I did, but he's not going to tell the school."

"Okay, this sounds like it's going to bite us in the ass somehow. What does he want for not saying anything?" Jasmine asked, still trying to figure out what is causing her sister to be so freaked out.

Erin looked over at her sister, a conflicted look in her eyes. "He said it was a favor he'd ask, something he'd ask for later," She said, looking back down at her hand. "I've got an idea of what he means, he kissed my hand before he left."

Jasmine raised her eyebrows, faltering for a few minutes. "He what? What does that have to do with what the favor is? And why would he kiss your hand? Was it like a full on kiss or just like fleeting?"

"Fleeting, I guess," Erin said with a shrug. "What do you mean why would he kiss my hand? He was like an inch away from me that whole time, and he said it would be something with 'no tricks or strings'. You and I both know what that means."

Jasmine blinked a few times, unsure if she should be angry or concerned. She took a little bit of a breath before hesitantly speaking. "And how do you feel…? After all of that? I mean I imagine you're used to being close to him but I dunno about that close. Did you get any butterflies?" The questions seemed to just keep coming until she finally smacked her hand over her own mouth.

Erin shot a glance at her sister before looking back down at the table. "I don't know, I'm just confused I guess. I definitely didn't think that's what he was going to do. My heart was about to jump out of my chest but I was also terrified that he was going to report me."

"It's good he didn't report you but I mean," Jasmine rubbed the back of her neck. "What're you going to do now when you see him next? Is it going to be weird? What if you start dreaming about him now instead of Mori-senpai?" Jasmine gasped, looking at her sister.

"I'm not dreaming about anyone," Erin said as she rolled her eyes. "It's definitely going to be weird, but I can handle it. Maybe I'm just misinterpreting the whole thing, who knows. I just want to get something to eat and study to get my mind off this whole thing."

Jasmine rolled her eyes. "Oh please, I hear you muttering in your sleep. The walls aren't that thick you know and you talk a lot when you're out cold." She handed her sister a yogurt out of the fridge, careful to not bump her wrist that got roughed up earlier during the whole exam fiasco. "Have a yogurt while I find something that I can cook for you after having such a rough day."

Erin's mouth hung open in shock at her sisters words. "There's no way I talk in my sleep like that, at least not about specific people," She said as she peeled the lid off her yogurt cup. Erin looked back up at her sister as she grabbed her spoon. "How are you holding up? It was a rough day for you too. I know standing up to that creep can't have been easy."

Jasmine smirked to herself about her sister's denial as she rummaged around in the cupboards. She glanced at her wrist after her sister's question before shrugging her shoulders, still avoiding eye contact. "It's nothing new."

"That doesn't mean it isn't awful," Erin began, turning in her chair to try and face her sister. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but I'm here if you do, you know?"

Jasmine simply nodded and grabbed out a pan. "I'll make us some rice and chicken if that sounds good?"

Erin nodded back. "Sounds good to me." She knew better than to press about something like this, doing so wouldn't help either of them. Erin perked up for a moment in an attempt to change the subject. "How do you feel about hosting this week?"

Jasmine turned around and looked at Erin while the pan heated up. She crossed her arms with a grimace on her face. "I feel like I'd rather get hit by a bus. Or a train. Or a plane. Or anything that would end my existence on this planet."

"You'll do fine," Erin said with a laugh as she leaned over the back of her chair. "You can charm all the ladies with your sarcasm," She teased as she waved her arms around theatrically.

"I'm pretty sure if Kyoya wanted me to host that way he would have put me with the twins," she pointed out. "I don't really understand why he picked Honey and Mori. I've barely interacted with them."

"Because you contrast with them!" Erin said as she stood up from her chair and walked over to the stove. "If you were with the twins it would just be more of the same. If I had to host with anyone besides Haruhi, they're who I'd go with."

Jasmine smirked and wiggled her eyebrows at her sister. "Are you sure you wouldn't end up distracted by a certain someone?"

"I'm not saying I wouldn't mind being close to Mori, but you know what I mean," Erin brushed her off, a slight blush on her cheeks. "Besides, we're done talking about my connections with the hosts for the day."

Jasmine shrugged and resumed cooking in silence. The meal didn't take long once the conversation stopped. She dished up her sister and herself a plate before taking it and heading off to her room, closing the door behind her.

Erin watched her sister close herself in her room before she tucked into her food and pulled out her bag. The last thing she wanted to do was ruminate on the day's events any more than she already had. They both needed a break, and most of all they needed sleep.

By the time Erin made it out of her bedroom the next morning Jasmine was already awake and sitting at the table with a plate of breakfast. She raised an eyebrow, her sister was never up earlier than her on school days. As she sat down next to her after she grabbed her own food she caught a glimpse of her sister's sour expression.

"What's up with you? You're up pretty early," She asked, leaning her elbows on the table. "That and you're already dressed and eating breakfast, which you also never do."

Jasmine shot her sister a glare. "I'm not in the mood for your pestering." She dropped her head onto the table with a solid thud. "I need coffee. All the coffee in the world."

"How much have you had already?" Erin asked as she turned to look at the coffeemaker. "When did you get up?"

Jasmine shook her head against the wood. "I lost track at 4 or 5 I think. I know I just made a new pot a little while ago so there'd be some for you. As for when I got up, that was around 4 am. I did good not waking you though so you're welcome."

"Thanks for leaving me some," Erin replied quietly as she stood to pour herself a cup. "It's going to be a hell of a day, I don't know what I'm going to do when I get to class today."

"Why?" Jasmine asked, her face still smooshed against the table.

"I'm going to have to spend the entirety of science alone with Kyoya," Erin grumbled as she stirred sugar into her cup. "What did he think he was doing yesterday anyway? Sending you out of the room and saying things like that to me. What's he playing at?"

Jasmine turned her head to look at her sister. "He's probably just messing with you. I highly doubt he'll even act like it ever happened."

"Of course he will," Erin said through a sigh as she sat back down. "Honestly it's better than the alternative. Just gotta get through this week and it'll be fine."

"You think so? You owe him now. I wouldn't expect it to just blow over that easily," Jasmine pointed out, sitting up to take another big swig of her coffee. "I just want to get this hosting business over with. I'm honestly nervous to be with Honey and Mori." She confessed quietly, playing with the rim of her cup.

"What for? They seem really nice," Erin started as she scooted closer to her sister. "You'll do fine, I bet Honey will do most of the talking anyways."

Jasmine shrugged and muttered softly, "You know how I am with new people."

Erin gave Jasmine a knowing look. "I know, but I'm sure they're going to do whatever they can to make you feel more comfortable. I promise, you'll do great. I just hope I don't mess with your system in the kitchen too much."

Jasmine groaned and dropped her head back down. "Don't remind me that you're going to be in there. I've worked so hard on all of that. The girls that visit with Honey-senpai are probably the ones that irritate me the most so I don't think that's going to help my mood."

"I swear on my life I'm not going to screw it up," Erin said with a laugh. "Just answer their questions, the boys will do most of the work. It's surprising how easily the girls get so wrapped up in it all."

"More like nauseating," Jasmine chuckled before lifting her head up again. A frown on her lips still. Finally she looked at her sister, a tinge of concern still showing in her eyes. "What if they don't like me? I don't think I've made the best first impressions. And before you start teasing me, I know when do I ever care about what people think." She quickly threw her head back down onto the table to avoid her sister's stare.

Erin's expression softened as she reached over to wrap her arm around her sister. "They'll like you just fine if they have any brains in their heads. Well, maybe I shouldn't say that, some of them genuinely might not have brains in their heads," Erin added with a shrug. "But seriously, if anyone gives you a hard time, send Honey or Mori to the kitchen and I'll come out and fight them for you."

Jasmine chuckled. "Right, you're gonna fight someone. Thanks for the laugh." She finished her cup of coffee and sighed. "Well, I suppose we should start heading to our wonderful school."

Erin nodded as she stood. "At least let me brush my teeth first, then we can head out. Let's hope my plant is still alive in the lab."

Jasmine waited for her sister, managing to drink another cup of coffee. She grabbed her bag from the ground by the door and tapped her foot as she waited. Maybe she drank too much coffee. Let's just hope that maybe it won't affect her behavior in class, however she could already feel some of the caffeine jitters starting to kick in. She'd hate to anger her sister after their pleasant morning.

Erin flew out of the bathroom, quickly grabbing her shoes. If Jasmine was up and ready she didn't want to waste any time getting there early. She grabbed her bag and gathered her thoughts, she'd have to be ready by the time they arrived.

The classroom was nearly empty when the sisters arrived, it was a lot earlier than when they usually arrived. Erin set her things down at her desk, glad for a little bit of time to not have to worry about school. She turned to Haruhi, who was somehow earlier than them no matter how quickly they got to school.

"Good morning," Erin said quietly, pulling a book out of her bag before giving Haruhi a sympathetic look. "How are you doing after yesterday?"

Haruhi glanced over at her, a confused look on her face. "Fine, why?"

Erin sat for a moment, she'd almost forgotten how blase Haruhi had been about the whole thing. "Just checking, I guess I didn't think the physical exams would be such a hassle. I'm just glad it's done."

"It wasn't that bad, no need to dwell on it if we don't have to," Haruhi responded, still fully engrossed in her notes.

Jasmine blinked a few times. Haruhi was something else, that was for sure. "Yeah," she trailed off, pulling her books out of her bag. "Do we have any tests today? I hope not, I didn't get any studying done last night."

"Nothing yet, those are at the end of the week," Erin replied as she opened her book. "More fun stuff to look forward to this week, huh?"

Jasmine resisted the urge to smash her head into the desk. If she kept it up, she'd end up with a concussion for sure. Maybe that would get her out of hosting though. She smirked in thought, weighing the pros and cons silently.

"I know you don't like it, Jasmine," Erin said knowingly. "I can feel the steam coming out of your ears."

"You don't know anything," Jasmine rolled her eyes, deciding it best to not give herself a concussion. "I'm just ready for this to all be done and over with so we can move on."

Erin shot a glance at her sister, even if it wasn't out of the ordinary for scholarship students to only stay for a year she didn't want any questions coming up. "We'll be done soon enough. Where are the twins? They should be getting here by now."

Jasmine glanced around the room, her hands shaking a bit from the coffee as she swirled her pencil around in one hand. "Maybe they're sick. Or ditching. I wish I could ditch."

"Are you serious?" Erin snapped as she closed her book. "We just spent a whole day searching for you after you ditched the other day! Let's hope they didn't get inspired."

Jasmine chuckled and shook her head. "I'm just joking. Jeez, lighten up."

The door to class closed as the instructor walked in. It was a very quick roll call before they jumped into their lecture, Jasmine was bouncing her leg up and down as she tried to focus on what the teacher was saying. The voice in the back of her mind however said that she should do something more amusing.

She quickly shot a glance over at Erin and Haruhi, both were very focused on the lesson. Jasmine bit her lip and carefully tore a piece of paper out of her notebook.

"Hitachiin-san," the teacher sighed when the door opened and closed again revealing the twins, both looking equally disheveled.

"Yep, we're late," said one twin.

"We know," said the other as they walked to their seats behind the three scholarship students.

Jasmine glanced over her shoulder at them curiously. She still couldn't deny the interest she had in the pair and was thankful Erin didn't pester her about it too often. She looked back down to her piece of paper and scribbled something on it before wadding it up into a ball and tossing it over her shoulder to the twins' desks.

Erin glanced over to Jasmine, somehow not surprised she'd do something like this today. She tried to ignore her, at least she was having a little fun after being less than enthused about everything earlier that morning.

The ball soon returned, flying between Jasmine and Erin's desks. It landed on the floor a little ways away, Jasmine tried to reach it with her foot but came up just short. While the teacher had their back to the class, she quickly jumped out of her seat to grab the paper. She uncrumpled it and read the new writing. She snickered a little before ripping another piece of paper out of her notebook and writing something hastily and then wadding it up into a ball again. This time however she chucked it towards the front of the classroom, hitting the board and bouncing back on the floor. The twins behind her started laughing quietly.

The teacher paused their lecture and bent down, grabbing the paper and picking it up with a very annoyed look on their face. After opening it up, their eyes scanned it before crumpling it up. "Rivers, Hitachiin, Chairman's office. Now."

Jasmine's eyes widened and shook her head. "No, I'll be good."

"Office. Now." The teacher repeated through clenched teeth.

The twins grabbed their belongings and walked out to the room, not really phased by the dismissal. Jasmine's face dropped as she wanted to argue further but figured that would only land her in more trouble. She quietly packed her bag, glancing over at her sister once before stalking to the door and exiting the room.

Erin bit the inside of her cheek, it was hard seeing her sister continue to cause issues. Even though she knew Jasmine didn't do things like that to bother her, it didn't make things easier. As she turned back down to her notes, she hoped that the chairman would be kind to Jasmine, maybe he'd give her the benefit of the doubt with being at a new school.

Jasmine walked along behind the twins, her shaky hands stuffed in the pockets of her big jacket. She couldn't believe that they'd been sent to the office for a crumpled up paper! Maybe the teacher was getting less patient with their antics. She groaned to herself as she imagined the scolding she was going to get later from Erin and then probably the even worse phone call from their parents. Why couldn't they just leave her alone? She was never going to be able to live up to their expectations of a perfect child.

"Have a seat," the receptionist said to the three and pressing a button on her desk.

The twins took two chairs next to the chairman's door and Jasmine opted to sit across from them by herself, figuring she didn't need to make the matters worse. She felt bad dragging them into this, she didn't know why she felt bad. It wasn't like her to feel this way, similarly to how it wasn't like her to be nervous about Honey and Mori. She glared at the ground, this place was changing her and she didn't like it. She kicked her feet in the air, not quite tall enough to reach the floor when she sat all the way back in the chair, trying to run out some of the adrenaline that was coursing through her from the caffeine.

"You okay?" She heard the familiar voices of the twins ask. She glanced over to them, seeing them staring at her.

"I'm fine," she shrugged, eyes going back to the floor and following the lines in the tile.

The twins exchanged glances with each other before mumbling to themselves in conversation. Jasmine looked over at them, studying them as they talked. She made mental notes of the things she noticed and tried to not eavesdrop in the process of watching them.

"Are you sure you're good?" Hikaru asked, staring at her jittery hands.

"Yeah what's going on with all the shaking today?" Kaoru followed, tipping his head to the side.

Jasmine clenched her hands in tighter fists, willing them to stop moving. "Too much coffee."

Hikaru cracked a grin. "How much coffee?"

Jasmine stared at the little glimmer in his amber colored eyes, it reminded her of a look she got often when she was in elementary school.

"Oi, stop staring and answer my question," Hikaru stuck his tongue out at her and ran his hand through his spiky hair.

She couldn't help but blush a little when she realized not only was she staring at him but that he noticed too. "Sorry," she muttered, her eyes shifting to the ground. "I couldn't tell you honestly how many cups of coffee. It was at least one whole pot worth."

"That's a lot of coffee. What happened? You wake up early?" Kaoru pried, cocking his head to the side. The girl was acting differently and he couldn't figure out the reason behind it. Maybe it was exhaustion? Over-caffeinated?

"I fell asleep early," she stated. "I need something to get me through the day at this hell hole."

The loud sound of a throat being cleared caught her attention, her face paling as she looked up to see the chairman. She winced instinctively from the anticipated reprimanding that she would usually get from her parents. Instead the chairman smiled sadly at her and motioned into his office.

"This way, you troublesome three," He chuckled to himself.

Jasmine stalked past him, dragging her bag behind her before taking another seat. The twins plopped down in the chairs adjacent to hers, casting a glance at her before looking at the chairman as he began to speak.

"Hikaru, Kaoru," The chairman shook his head at them then glanced at Jasmine. "Ms. Rivers, your first time in my office. Not quite the way I wanted to check in to see how you're adjusting here. I would guess on your 'hell hole' comment that you aren't finding the academy accommodating?"

Jasmine merely shook her head before admitting truthfully. "I didn't mean it literally. I just don't fit in here and I'd rather be anywhere else."

The twins cocked their heads as they listened to her, a slight frown on their faces. The chairman motioned to the two ginger haired boys.

"It seems you're finding the people most like you," He said with a slight disappointed frown.

Jasmine looked at them briefly. "Not by choice. They're in this club that my sister is in."

The twins' faces went blank for a moment, turning away from her. Jasmine made a small note of that, realizing her words probably stung a bit.

"So your sister has fallen into the Host Club, eh? My son does run quite the fun little club," Yuzuru chuckled to himself.

Jasmine gawked at him, seemingly forgetting that somehow. "Tamaki is your son?"

The chairman nodded. "Yes, I know it's a little hard to believe."

"That's an understatement," she chuckled.

The chairman smiled a little before shaking his head. "We need to discuss why you three are sitting in my office right now instead of in your class. Who would like to go first explaining yourselves?"

Jasmine bit her lip and glanced at the twins who were still avoiding looking in her direction. She sighed. "It's my fault, Chairman. I started goofing off throwing paper and roped them into it. I'm sorry."

The twins' eyes widened, exchanging looks with one another. Jasmine's eyes stared at the ground in front of her, awaiting the punishment that would be coming but hopefully the twins wouldn't suffer as much. Maybe they would forgive her harsh words then too.

"Well to say I'm disappointed is an understatement but I have been made aware of your previous behavior issues. I will have to inform your parents of this incident. You will serve some detention time for this as well," Yuzuru explained. "I do appreciate your honesty. As for you two, I will give you detention for today and tomorrow as well as a phone call to your mother to inform her of the incident. We will serve it until the end of lunch, I'll have my receptionist fetch some homework for you to work on while we sit."

The twins groaned before standing up and walking over to two desks that sat in the corner of the giant office. Jasmine slowly followed and took one a few down from theirs. She pulled out her books and began reading while she waited for some homework. Her hands were still trembling from the caffeine but she took a deep breath and let it out. Only a few hours of detention? She could manage that. However overall it felt pretty harsh for tossing a few papers around. Soon enough she would be reunited with her sister and could hear more scoldings from her. Oh joy. She rolled her eyes, resting her cheek on her hand as she held the book open with her other arm.

--

As the class was dismissed to the cafeteria Erin began to worry. Jasmine still hadn't returned, and neither had the twins. She gathered up her things and hurried out the door, eager to catch up with Haruhi.

"I didn't think that would be worth sending them to the chairman's office, did you?" Erin asked when she finally made it to Haruhi's side. "That seems a little extreme."

Haruhi shrugged. "Scholarship students are usually held to pretty high standards here, I'm honestly a bit surprised it took this long for her to have to talk to him."

Erin grimaced, afraid of what Jasmine must have faced in his office. "What about the twins? They're definitely not here on scholarship."

"Do you honestly think this is the first year they've caused problems during class?" Haruhi deadpanned back as they passed through the doors into the courtyard. "The teachers were probably warned about them when they started."

"I guess you're right," Erin replied as she sat down at the edge of the fountain, leaning down to pull her lunch out of her bag. "I just worry about her, you know? We're far from home, the last thing we need is to have any issues with school and our scholarship."

"Was she like this at your old school back in America?" Haruhi asked as she opened up her own lunch.

Erin hesitated, trying to find the right words that didn't reveal their past but were still at light slightly truthful. "Kind of, she's always been rebellious. It was mostly by herself though, she has a hard time connecting with people. As happy as I am that she's being more social, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that it's with people who do the same thing."

Haruhi nodded knowingly. "Some habits die hard, I guess. At least she would have had you here if you both hadn't joined the host club."

"I don't know if I'd say that," Erin admitted with a sad smile. "I feel like I get so wrapped up in my studies sometimes that I'm not there for her as much as I should, especially now that we're here. In a way I can't really blame her for acting out a little," She added before pausing for a moment. "Do you have any siblings, Haruhi?"

"No, it's just me and my Dad," Haruhi replied as she picked at her food. "It must be nice to have a sibling so close in age in a situation like this."

Erin nodded. "I'm pretty lucky," she added as she looked at the courtyard gate. "Do you think they'll be back in time to get back to class? I'm surprised it's been this long."

Haruhi shrugged. "Detention tends to run through lunch, I'm sure she'll be back by class."

"Detention?" Erin shrieked. "What do you mean? They just got sent to the office this morning! Isn't detention after school hours?"

"Nope, it usually happens during lunch here, I guess it has something to do with not having the teachers stay late," Haruhi replied nonchalantly. "I'm sure she can handle herself."

"It's not her I'm worried about" Erin thought to herself before trying to steady her mind. "At least she'll be back soon, hopefully they weren't too hard on her in there. I guess she's got the twins in there with her so it won't be as bad as it could be," She said, still trying to get her mind off the subject. "You've spent more time with the twins than I have, is this the kind of thing they usually do? I'm sure they've gotten up to some things behind the scenes before."

Haruhi nodded. "This is all they do. They get bored easily is what Kyoya-senpai told me once, so they tend to scheme and play games with people to entertain themselves."

"That sounds about right," Erin responded knowingly. "Growing up with them must have been a wild experience. Kyoya's gotta have a lot of stories to tell about them," She trailed off for a moment, remembering the awkwardness that was awaiting her at the end of the day.

Haruhi shook her head this time. "They didn't grow up together. Tamaki-senpai said the twins were always cold and distant from others. It took a lot of work for him to get them to join the club. Even now, they really don't get close to anyone. They're always the first ones to leave after the club is done. Plus you rarely see one without the other. I'm sure whatever stories Kyoya-senpai has wouldn't be good ones."

Erin sat for a moment, ruminating on what Haruhi said. Jasmine and the twins seemed like they were getting along well together, that seemed pretty odd if what Haruhi was saying was true. Even if they weren't close in any sense of the word the fact that they'd connected at all struck her. "Well, you certainly wouldn't be able to tell it took convincing them to join the club by the way they act while they're hosting."

Haruhi grimaced. "Yeah, they really enjoy their brotherly love act. Not sure if it's real or fake sometimes. I also don't think the guests really care either way, they just like something to fawn about."

"You're definitely right about that, the guests seem pretty surface level in terms of what they come to the club for," Erin replied before shuddering. "You couldn't pay me to act that way with Jasmine. I don't know how they do it."

A loud thud came from behind them as Jasmine's body hit the grass near the fountain. Her bag lay abandoned back by the door they used to come in and out. "Did you bring any extra lunch Erin? I'm going to die of starvation."

Erin leapt up from the edge of the fountain where she sat. "What the heck happened to you? You look exhausted! What do they do for detention here, hard labor?" She yelled, digging something out of her bag. "You're lucky I actually brought extra today."

Jasmine held her hand up in the air otherwise unmoving. Once her sister handed it over she ate it in as few bites as possible, she let out a sigh and rolled onto her back. "Thanks."

"What happened in there? Did you actually meet the chairman? What was he like?" Erin rapidly asked, not waiting for answers as she continued to fire questions at her sister.

Jasmine groaned and pulled the sides of her coat over her face. "Shhhhh. I'm not in the mood for 21 questions. I need peace before we have to go back to regular classes."

Erin raised an eyebrow and opened her mouth to speak before quickly shutting it again. It had been enough time since Jasmine had overloaded her system with caffeine that she was definitely crashing by now. "Fine, I'll pull you up when it's time to get back to class."

"I knew I loved you," Jasmine made a kissy noise from under her coat to symbolize her blowing a kiss. She sat in silence for a few minutes before blurting out, "The chairman is Tamaki's dad."

"He's what?" Erin exclaimed. She thought that if Jasmine was burrowed under her coat she wouldn't have had anything interesting to share. "The chairman's son is the head of the host club? I didn't think the chairman would allow his kids to be involved with something like that."

"It makes so much sense now though. Why that club is allowed, why they get to drink alcohol on the school grounds with no adult supervision, why they get funding. I'm sure his dad just views it as a networking party. Probably doesn't realize the emotional and sexual tension that it's causing this school," Jasmine muttered, peeking out from one side of her coat to see her sister's shocked expression. "He told me Tamaki runs 'a fun little club' and I did my best to not just walk out of the room then."

"Honestly I probably would have done the same thing," Erin replied incredulously. "Well, at least we'll look better to him if we're in the same club as his son, that should help with any issues that come up later, right?" Erin asked, trying to hide her rising panic about the chairman and networking.

Jasmine frowned to herself. The twins wouldn't look at her let alone say two words to her the entirety of the detention and then when it was time to go they basically ran out the door. She was a bit put off by it, again not really sure why it bothered her so much. She didn't think she had said anything bad but clearly whatever she said really offended them. She groaned, almost sounding like a growl, and covered her face back up. "Just leave me here to die. I'm in no shape to exist, let alone host."

"Well, we've gotta get through class at least, it's about time to head back," Erin said as she gathered up her things. "No need to be social there at all, I think it's mostly review for the tests later this week anyways."

Jasmine groaned again. "I'll go back to detention by myself then and do that."

Erin rolled her eyes. "Be thankful you don't have to leave for a separate science class," She said as she shot a glance at her sister, hoping she didn't have to reveal any more information about the situation with Haruhi around.

"You can stay here to die too then," Jasmine said simply from under her coat.

"You can go back to detention later, you'll be fine tonight hosting," She said as she reached down to grab Jasmine's arm. "I said I'd pull you to class, let's go before we're late."

Once her sister grabbed ahold of her arm, Jasmine stuck her tongue out and licked her until she pulled away. "Let go of me," She muttered as she stood up and then turned to shake off her coat.

"Gross!" Erin yelled as she pulled her hand away. "Come on, before I throw up my lunch."

Jasmine followed after her, not looking forward to the rest of the day and anxiously awaiting getting to crawl back into her bed.

When class resumed, Erin couldn't help but notice the strange awkward energy in the air around Jasmine and the twins. Even if they didn't usually talk during class the tension in the air was definitely palpable. Jasmine was quieter than usual, and it didn't seem like it was because of her caffeine crash. She tried her best to focus on the review material but she couldn't shake the thoughts from the back of her mind.

Walking into science brought a different challenge. Erin wasn't sure what she was going to say to Kyoya, if she'd say anything at all. She'd triple checked her planner to make sure she knew what the lesson would be that day, she'd already made a fool of herself too many times in that class. All she had to do was check their plant's progress and start the growth chart. It would be easy, at least that's what she repeated in her head as she sat down.

Kyoya didn't even move to look at her, not showing any signs he noticed her arrival at all. He had already gotten a headstart on the growth chart, using a piece of poster board and a couple of sharpies. Their plant was sitting in the middle of their work station, a few extra leaves had appeared but otherwise nothing else visibly seemed to stand out. His eyes were glued to his notebook, writing something at a fast pace.

Erin looked the plant over, glad it appeared to be growing well. She looked over at what Kyoya was working on, but couldn't make anything out with how quickly he was writing coupled with the fact that it was upside down from her perspective. She looked back up at him, annoyed at the fact that he seemed to be ignoring her.

"I see you've got a plan for the growth chart, then?" She observed as she took out her own notebooks, laying them out on the table in front of her.

"Yep, it's mostly done already unless you don't like it," he replied without pausing his writing or looking at her. He did tip his notebook upwards a tad to prevent her from looking at it.

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Erin replied, slightly miffed. She would have expected at least some kind of change in demeanor from him after what had happened the night before, but it hadn't seemed to change anything.

"Good, then you can finish it. Then we can just focus on studying for the quiz that's coming tomorrow," Kyoya glanced up for a moment and nodded to her.

Erin sat for a moment, stunned. She watched as he continued to work and write in his notebook, completely unfazed. "Are we really not going to talk about what happened yesterday?"

Kyoya's pen hovered over the paper for a moment before he set it down and looked at her. His steely gray eyes locked with her blue ones. "A lot of things happened yesterday. Which one are you referring to exactly?"

Erin fought to hide a scowl. Even though she was sure he knew perfectly well what she meant, it had been a full day yesterday. "What you said about me owing you."

"What's there to talk about? I said at a later date I'd let you know," Kyoya replied smoothly.

"You can't expect me to have no questions when you mention 'no tricks or strings'," Erin replied, frustrated. "If that's how you're going about it I'd like to at least have an idea of what to be prepared for when you come to collect."

Kyoya smirked to himself. "I don't think talking about it in class is really the best time to deal with it."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Erin asked as she crossed her arms and leaned onto the desk, peering down at her notes. The amount of eye contact coupled with his unwillingness to be direct were starting to overwhelm her.

He resumed writing in his book. "Perhaps the thing I will be asking for is something I don't even know yet myself. You'll just have to wait and see. Did you finish the chart?"

Erin nodded, tearing out a sheet from her notebook. "I've got it all mapped out, all we have to do is wait for the plant to actually grow," She said as she turned to look at the seedling that sat between them. "I guess I've got a lot of waiting to do, then."

"Perhaps you do," Kyoya replied. There was a moment of silence before he looked over at her and inquired, "Anything else on your mind?"

"Of course I do, but something tells me you aren't going to answer most of my questions," Erin replied, looking back up to meet him. "Why make Jasmine host? She doesn't seem like she's going to be very enthusiastic, what's in it for you outside of punishing her?"

"Why do you think there needs to be something in it for me? She needs a punishment for her actions. What else would there be than to make her host? I tried to give her someone that might make it somewhat enjoyable at least," Kyoya replied.

"If punishment for someone's actions was enough, why keep my actions a secret?" Erin countered, looking back down at her notes. "Don't get me wrong I'm thankful that you are, it just stuck out to me that you responded differently with her. I'm sure she'll do fine, Honey and Mori should work well with her."

Kyoya raised an eyebrow. "I respond accordingly. She caused us an inconvenience. You broke rules and caused us an inconvenience. I told you I gave you a punishment and that you will pay me back for staying quiet about your wrongdoings with that experiment. If you don't want to pay me back I can go tell the instructor now."

"Fair enough," Erin replied, keeping her eyes down. Even though she wasn't fully on board with what was going on it was certainly better than being kicked out of school. She glanced up at the clock, class was about to be over, and there was something she still needed to ask. "One more question."

"Yes?" Kyoya asked, already packing up his belongings. His tone seemed more impatient this time when he spoke.

Erin gathered herself for a moment before she spoke. "Why did you kiss my hand before you left?"

"It was the gentlemanly thing to do," He smiled politely at her, a different kind of look in his eyes behind his glasses. He tilted to hide them with the usual glare. He stood as the bell chimed. "I'll see you in the club, Erin. Make sure your sister doesn't disappear again."

She watched as he walked out, somehow even more confused than when she had come into class. Once he was out of the room she let out a sigh that she hadn't realized she'd been holding in. Erin gathered her things and started to make her way down the hall, hoping that their evening at the host club would be uneventful, despite the fact that it never was.

Thanks for reading!