A Challenge from Lobelia Girls' Academy

Jacklyn had never been the most sociable child. With a knack for being at least three or four months behind every trend at school, she never seemed to realize when something new had taken over the minds of her classmates. So, when she walked onto Ouran's campus that morning and immediately noticed that all the students around her were abuzz about something, Jacklyn understood that whatever was happening was a massive deal.

She kept her ears open as she made her way into the high school building. Everyone was talking fast and their conversations overlapped, so she wasn't able to pick out many details through her eavesdropping. Most of the students seemed to be talking about shows and music and… new students? No, that last one wasn't quite right. Maybe a better translation was-

"Jacklyn!"

Before she could finish her thought, Jacklyn was trapped in a tight hug and spun around in circles, familiar blond hair smacking against her face with every turn. After a few spins, Tamaki set her back down on her feet and let go. She stumbled backwards on unsteady legs straight into another pair of arms that were quick to steady her. Jacklyn glanced up at her newest pillar of support, coming face to face with her boyfriend. She blushed and stood up properly, tucking away a lock of hair that Tamaki's greeting had knocked loose. "Good morning, Kyo-kun. Good morning, Tamaki."

"Good morning, Darling," Kyoya replied, taking hold of her hand before she could drop it back to her side. Jacklyn's heart stuttered to a stop as he bent at the waist and kissed the back of it. He let go and Tamaki jumped to Jacklyn's side. He started pulling her down the hallway by her elbow, leaving Kyoya no choice but to follow along. Just as well, since it took Jacklyn a few steps to remember how to breathe properly. Tamaki didn't seem to notice as he went on and on about the club's plans for the day. So distracted by her own thoughts and Tamaki's chatter, Jacklyn almost didn't realize she was being led straight past their homeroom.

"Um… Tamaki? Don't we have to get to class?"

Her friend gave her a weird look. "No?"

Now Jacklyn was even more confused. "We don't have class today?"

"Darling," Kyoya began, easily stealing Jacklyn out of Tamaki's grasp and winding his own arm around her waist. "Do you remember last year when the cultural clubs were excused from class for two days and we were all given the opportunity to travel to another school?"

"Vaguely… wasn't that for a festival of some sort?"

"An exposition."

Jacklyn furrowed her eyebrows, sounding out the word to herself. She had never heard that word in Japanese before. Noticing her confusion, Kyoya clarified, "It's like a fair. Sorry, I don't know the English translation for it, but there are various plays, musicals and other performances put on by the various culture clubs for students to enjoy. Ouran usually hosts the event annually, but last year there were a few complications and another school offered to host in Ouran's place. This year things seem to be back to normal."

Jacklyn hummed along to the explanation, unconsciously tucking herself further into Kyoya's hold. "I see. So, in order for all the clubs and students to participate, classes are canceled?"

"That's correct."

"Is it safe to assume that the Host Club will be doing something special to mark the occasion?"

Tamaki very abruptly stopped in front of the couple and spun to face them. "Not exactly, my dear American friend! We would never think to pull students away from the cultural events being celebrated! We will merely be keeping our usual hosting hours to give our regular guests and any newcomers a chance to stop by. Kyoya and I have decided to offer short ten minute hosting slots for any girl from another school who want to give our club a try."

"Or," Kyoya interjected, "if our regular clients want a quick moment away from the busy event schedule as opposed to a full session. The short slots will give any newcomers a chance to try various hosts and find a favorite more quickly."

"So… will we have time to check out some of the performances?" Jacklyn batted her eyelashes at her boyfriend. She knew he wasn't one to be swayed by flirting and whatnot, but it was fun to tease. And it also got the message across that she would very much like to explore the festivities despite her duties to the Host Club. Preferably with her boyfriend by her side.

Kyoya, to his credit, seemed amused by her expression, giving Jacklyn's hip a squeeze and a teasing response, "If we must."

*Time Skip*

Honey and Mori were already in the club room when they arrived, though the five barely had a moment to greet each other before Tamaki was directing them into their cosplay for the day. Apparently, their outfits would take some time to put on correctly. When Jacklyn entered the changing rooms and saw the costume laid out for her, she could see why.

The green and white dress she'd been given looked like something she had seen around the local Renaissance fairs her family sometimes visited back home. She could have sworn there was an animated movie where the main heroine had almost the exact same dress, but the name wasn't coming to her. Instead of trying to wrack her brain for the answer, Jacklyn started dressing. To her relief, the design along the front was not part of an actual corset. She liked her organs in their rightful places, thank you very much.

Jacklyn had only just finished pulling the back zipper all the way up when Tamaki started shouting angrily from the main room. There were only three people Tamaki spoke to that way, so Jacklyn quickly grabbed her remaining accessories and ran out of the room to either provide her boyfriend with backup or sneak Haruhi away while the twins and Tamaki hashed things out. To her surprise, however, neither of those things needed to be done. Tamaki was indeed yelling at the twins, but Haruhi was nowhere in sight. A few seconds later, the twins offered an explanation.

"Don't freak out, Boss. Haruhi will be back in time to change."

"We sent her to buy more instant coffee for the club. We're almost out, right?"

"And like we told her, she's the only one who knows where it's sold."

That was a bold faced lie, but Jacklyn decided not to call them out on it. If she did, Tamaki would just keep yelling and she needed the twins to do her hair. Lucky for her, Hikaru and Kaoru finally noticed her standing off to the side and came to the same conclusion.

"Welp, glad we had this talk, Boss, but we need to get changed-"

"-and braid Jacklyn-senpai's hair!"

Then they bolted, Hikaru vanishing into the dressing room while Kaoru ushered Jacklyn over to her piano bench. She took a seat on one end while Kaoru knelt on the other, snatching the hairbrush out of her hands and getting straight to work. Jacklyn shut her eyes. She'd always liked the feeling of fingers in her hair. So long as they weren't trying to yank the knots out. Thankfully she had already brushed her hair pretty well in the changing rooms knowing this was in her future.

"Hey, thanks for not snitching on us to Tamaki-senpai. We owe you one."

Jacklyn cracked one eye open. Across the room, Tamaki was cautiously warding Honey off from using the swords that came with their cosplay. She was seventy-five percent sure that Kyoya had bought fake weapons, but if they were heavy enough they could still deal some damage. Especially in the hands of Honey or Mori. Either way, Tamaki was far enough for the time being. Jacklyn reached back and gave Kaoru an awkward pat on the leg.

"No problem. But I thought doing my hair was you repaying me?"

"Nah. This service comes free of charge. Our little sister won't let us play with her hair any more and no one else in the club has hair long enough to braid properly." Kaoru paused for a moment and tugged at a few strands of hair. Jacklyn wished there was a way she could watch what he was doing. It would've at least given her a heads up when he leaned in and whispered directly in her ear, "By the way… I've noticed you and Kyoya-senpai have been awfully touchy with each other lately. Ever since we came back from the beach. Did something happen, I wonder?"

If Kaoru wasn't presently holding onto Jacklyn's hair in the middle of an intricate braid, she might've jumped off that piano bench then and there. It was bad enough that she was unable to disguise the embarrassing squeak that escaped her mouth. Kaoru laughed behind her, but didn't prod any further. What he didn't know, however, was that Jacklyn had been dying to tell someone what had happened and Haruhi, while a wonderful friend and neighbor, was not in the least bit interested in Jacklyn's relationship drama.

"Actually… we kissed. Ow!"

"Sorry! I'm sorry!" Kaoru tenderly patted the top of Jacklyn's head as an apology for pulling too hard. But his voice was still laced with excitement. "Details! Give me details!"

"Where's Kyoya?"

"He hasn't come out of the changing rooms yet, now spill! Was it on the beach?"

"No, it was before we all went to bed. We were sort of dancing around it all day until that stupid craziness on the cliff happened. We talked for a bit after dinner and once the air was cleared it just… happened."

"Okay, but was it just a little peck? Did you really get into it? How did it start? C'mon, he'll be out here soon and he's going to make a bee-line for you."

"Well, first he asked if he could kiss me-"

"Yes!"

"Shut up! But then I put my arms around his neck and he kissed me."

"Oooh…" Kaoru quickly finished the last of his braiding and spun Jacklyn around, his eyes dancing with joy. "This is the best gossip I've heard all week! How many times did you kiss?"

"Just the one. Or, I guess two if you count the off-center one I gave him before I ran to bed. Don't look at me like that, I was embarrassed because Tamaki had just caught us alone in Kyoya's bedroom."

Kaoru leaned in, wiggling his eyebrows. "How often have you kissed since then?"

"We haven't."

He fell back on his heels, pouting. "That's boring. And no good. Do you want to kiss him more?"

Jacklyn opened her mouth right as Kyoya walked out of the changing room. Her heart thundered in her chest, but to her relief he was immediately distracted by Hikaru who was also exiting the changing room. Kaoru impatiently smacked at her arm for an answer. Without taking her eyes off her boyfriend, Jacklyn quietly mumbled, "Maybe?"

"That's code for yes. You should tell him. Kyoya-senpai can't deny you anything."

"But what if he doesn't want to? I don't want to push him out of his comfort zone. You know we're not big on PDA."

Kaoru rolled his eyes, though he still stood up from the bench and had Jacklyn spin around to face the piano, fingers plucking at various pieces of her hair. "I'm not saying you two should start making out in the middle of the cafeteria, but I'm sure Kyoya-senpai wouldn't mind kissing you here and there. Besides, judging by the way he's looking at you right now, he's probably dying to kiss you again, too."

And, with a final teasing pinch to her cheek, Kaoru ran off. Jacklyn's whole face was warm. A horrific turn of events considering Kyoya reached the piano five seconds later.

"Well, I see I just missed out on a thrilling conversation."

Jacklyn offered her most convincing dismissive wave. "Just Kaoru being Kaoru. Something about making you joust for my honor or something."

Kyoya set his helmet on top of the piano, followed by his two gloves. He kept the rest of his armor on, each of his steps making a metal clanking noise as he walked around to sit in the spot Kaoru had abandoned. "Hm, that would be entertaining."

"Up until you're skewered in the first round."

Kyoya raised an eyebrow in mock offense. "You don't think I'd even make it past one challenger? You wound me, m'lady."

"Oh, don't start with that. Tamaki is going to be insufferable with his "method acting" today without you adding fuel to the fire. Now, I have a few Celtic songs that I can play to keep everything in theme, unless you had specific songs in mind?"

"None. I trust your judgment."

"Really? Then why are you over here?"

"Pleasurable company."

Jacklyn could feel her face heating up once more and she fought hard to not turn her face away. Judging by the exceedingly proud look on his face, Kyoya had already seen. In the brief silence, Jacklyn wondered if there would ever come a time when she wouldn't be so caught off guard by the notion of Kyoya actually enjoying spending time with her.

"Kyoya! Stop flirting and come get your props!" Tamaki's voice rang out across the room, forcing a sigh from Kyoya's lips. He slowly stood up from the bench and picked up his metal gloves and helmet one by one. Then, without any warning, he bent down and kissed the top of Jacklyn's head. Without another word, he turned and walked away, leaving a shell-shocked girlfriend in his wake.

Jacklyn was gobsmacked. There was no better word for it. She stared after Kyoya's retreating form, unable to stop reliving the kiss over and over in her mind. Standing off to the side of the group of boys, she could see Kaoru snickering to himself while also offering a "discreet" thumbs-up in her direction. Needless to say, Jacklyn was mortified. Oh god, this probably meant Kyoya had heard-

The doors were suddenly flung open and all internal malfunction had to pause. On instinct, Jacklyn daintily crossed her ankles and sat up straight, flashing a smile at the open doorway. The hosts fell around the couch they had gathered by and offering their standard greeting to whoever had just come through the door. Jacklyn had to admit, the boys looked a little silly as full-armored knights lounging around a modern-day sofa. She could only imagine the look of surprise on Haruhi's face.

Except it wasn't Haruhi standing in the doorway. It was two girls dressed in white and wine-red uniforms. They stared, blank-faced, at the hosts. Not surprised, but not excited either. They must be lost.

"Oh ho? I see you ladies are from another school! I certainly hope we haven't startled you." Tamaki swung his sword around in time with his words. It looked like the weapon had some weight to it. They were fake swords… right? Either way, Jacklyn shelved the question when she noticed the two newcomers hadn't reacted yet. Her smile faltered. Something wasn't adding up here.

Tamaki strode forward regardless, ready to allure the girls for however long they might be in his presence. Still, even as he called them 'Princesses' and leaned hard into the fantasy of today's cosplay, the girls didn't react. They didn't even blink as far as Jacklyn could tell. Her uneasiness grew with each passing second Tamaki rambled to his stoic crowd. Finally, one of the girls moved, tilting her head to the side cheekily.

"Oh my, do you really think you'd be able to protect us? That's awfully arrogant of you, wouldn't you agree?" The taller girl giggled softly, like she had just made an inside joke. She stared down at Tamaki, who was kneeling before her, and cracked the tiniest smile that didn't look the least bit friendly. "You think that's what a woman wants to hear? Well you're wrong."

The shorter girl widened her stance, a bigger but no less mean-spirited smile appearing on her face as well. "C'mon, give him a break, Sister Suzuran. Men are just lowly lifeforms who don't care about anything but perpetuating their testosterone-laden image. By "protecting" us, he is actually attempting to disguise the fact that he is weak and unable to even protect himself."

"You're such a clever girl, Hinagi-kun."

"That's so rude!"

Everyone turned their heads towards Jacklyn, who stiffened. She hadn't meant to speak. The words had sort of tumbled out of her mouth without warning. At least she'd said it in English, so it was possible the strange girls didn't recognize what Jacklyn had said. But the girls were staring at her in obvious shock, so perhaps she wasn't that lucky.

To her relief, Tamaki stood up and spoke once again. "Er, don't you think that's a little harsh? Very well, if that wasn't your cup of tea, then what do you ladies want to hear?"

"How about, "I would never leave my darling alone"."

Everyone refocused their attention on someone just outside the club room. After her brief unexpected moment in the spotlight, it took Jacklyn's legs a few seconds to stop feeling like jello. She walked over to the couch, Kyoya standing just as Jacklyn reached his side. He must've seen the confusion in her eyes, because he proceeded to softly repeat the fast spoken words of passion coming from a third stranger who was spinning Haruhi around in the middle of the hallway.

The stranger was another woman dressed in the same uniform as the other girls, obviously the tallest of the three, and she was waxing poetry about never leaving "her love" alone. And while Jacklyn could agree that the words were pretty (especially considering Kyoya was whispering them in her ear at the time) it was rather unpleasant watching Haruhi being tossed around like a ragdoll. Or a prop. She had to avert her eyes when the girl dropped down to one knee and kissed the back of Haruhi's hand. The action gave off vastly different vibes compared to the kiss Kyoya had bestowed upon Jacklyn just half an hour ago. It left a very sour taste in the back of her mouth.

"Beni-bara, we thought you'd never show."

The two girls from earlier stepped out of the music room, teasingly chiding the apparent third member of their group. They were also quick to ask her where she'd "found" Haruhi. Talking about her like she wasn't even there.

"I just met her outside of the school. She may be dressed as a boy, but I knew the truth." The girl, Beni-something, grabbed Haruhi by the wrist again and twisted them so she was dipping Haruhi almost parallel to the floor. "She has such pretty, maidenly eyes."

The other girls descended on Haruhi, inspecting her from top to bottom. They rolled up her sleeves and her pant legs, even taking off one of her shoes. Jacklyn's skin crawled as they fondled and rubbed their hands and faces all over Haruhi's exposed skin while the tall girl kept Haruhi stuck in the dip. One of them made a comment about Haruhi "shining when polished" that actually made Jacklyn feel a little sick to her stomach.

After watching them for what seemed like forever, Tamaki finally launched himself forward towards the strangers, figurative flames shooting out of his ears. "Don't you go touching my Haruhi without my permission!"

Before he could get anywhere close, however, the tall girl drew her right arm back and punched Tamaki in the cheek. "Leave her alone!"

Jacklyn gasped and covered her mouth. While she didn't think Tamaki should claim Haruhi like he owned her, seeing her close friend being hit was awful. But at least he had managed to stop the strangers from fondling Haruhi.

"Look there, Beni-bara. They've captured another maiden. The lovely one standing by the couch over there."

Panic seized Jacklyn's chest as the three girls stared directly at her. The tall one clapped her hands together, releasing Haruhi from her grip.

"Oh, she is positively darling! And a foreigner, too. The poor dear… forced to hide away from all the cultural experiences. Guess the rumors we heard were true."

Jacklyn took a half-step closer to Kyoya, their elbows brushing. Kyoya gave her a quick side-glance before adjusting his glasses. "Those uniforms… I assume you ladies are from Lobelia Girls Academy?"

"That's right."

All three girls suddenly threw off their white and red uniforms, revealing fancy dresses and tuxes. And, just to make it even weirder, they started singing as they introduced themselves one by one. As the trio posed and gestured grandly, Haruhi slowly walked in a semicircle around the "performance" until she too was standing with the Host Club, by Jacklyn's left side.

Jacklyn bent her head down and whispered, "Are you okay?"

"Hm? Yeah, I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

"I mean… did they ask before touching you like that?"

"No, but they weren't doing any harm."

Jacklyn furrowed her brow. Haruhi blinked at her friend's reaction and asked, "Were they?"

"If you weren't bothered by it, I guess not. You're generally pretty chill about people invading your personal bubble. But it made my skin crawl watching that one girl rub her cheek against your leg. If a guy did that wouldn't you have freaked out, even just a little?"

Haruhi hummed to herself, shuffling her feet. She opened her mouth, but whatever she had to say was overwhelmed by Hikaru and Kaoru's laughter. The twins were falling all over themselves over the Zuka club's "stupid name". Jacklyn wasn't quite sure what was so funny. Maybe it was like that doctor they'd run into during physical exams, whose name actually translated to "quack doctor". Jacklyn made a mental note to ask Kyoya about it later.

"You shouldn't underestimate the Zuka Club!"

The floor shook beneath their feet. Renge's high, off-pitch laughter echoed around the room as her pillar-of-self-importance rose up behind the Host Club. Today the pillar was even decorated. It looked like a chunk of a traditional outdoor tea ceremony had been cut out and placed neatly on top. Renge knelt beneath the umbrella with a steaming tea cup in hand.

"I may not know much about instant coffee, but I'm fascinated with girl's schools," she explained. Jacklyn didn't know what point she was trying to make about instant coffee, but it didn't matter since Renge tossed the cup away after a single sip. She then proceeded to gush about Saint Lobelia Academy and the Zuka Club. She was halfway through her explanation when Jacklyn suddenly realized Renge was speaking with the same slowed down pace that the rest of the club used around Jacklyn. Despite everything going on at the moment, Jacklyn was touched. And, since she didn't have to focus solely on translating every word as quickly as possible, Jacklyn was able to help lift Tamaki's unconscious body up onto the couch while Renge continued to list all the events hosted by the Zuka club.

She gave the blond a quick pat on the head and realized Kyoya had walked off. Not that he had gone very far. He was standing by a nearby table which was now covered with the various bits and pieces of his cosplay. He had made quick work of that, considering how long it had taken the boys to get dressed up in the first place. Jacklyn watched as he straightened his tie and began walking back towards her, mentioning to Renge in passing, "You sure have a vast wealth of knowledge, Renge."

"Well, I've always admired Saint Lobelia's. I just couldn't go to school there, though. What would I do without any boys?"

I suppose Renge will always be Renge, Jacklyn thought. Still, while the various activities put on by the Zuka club sounded interesting, there was still one phrase Renge had used about the Zuka club's purpose that was bugging Jacklyn. Before she could say as much, the Lobelia students spoke up once more. Even though they were talking too fast for Jacklyn to catch every word, especially when they used words she didn't know or did hear often, she seemed to be the only host even half listening. Tamaki was still lying down in a daze, but the others were all relaxing on another couch. They clearly weren't going to take the Zuka club seriously despite Renge's "warning". While their composure helped to ease Jacklyn's nerves a little, she couldn't help but pay attention to the loudest voices in the room. And despite their quick words, she was able to figure out the gist of their complaints.

As a woman, she could kind of understand where the Zuka club was coming from. There were plenty of people, mostly men, who believed women were the sub-gender. Jacklyn had met quite a few of them while in Japan and back home. It was unfair, yes, and while the concept of flipping the script was nice to think about, something about it didn't sit right with Jacklyn. Maybe it was just a case of her opinion against theirs, which Jacklyn supposed didn't mean anything in the long run, but she didn't like the idea of these girls being mean to every guy they bumped into just because they felt like they could. It seemed to Jacklyn that the members of the Zuka club had decided for themselves that every man thought the same, which meant they could treat every man the same.

But if it wasn't right when a man treated them poorly because they were women, why should it be right for women to treat men poorly?

Why were these girls so comfortable bullying the Host Club when they'd only just met?

So wrapped up in her thoughts, Jacklyn hadn't noticed the Lobelia girls slowly approaching where she and Haruhi stood on the far side of the couch. That is, until the tallest, Benio, was towering over them and softly stroking Haruhi's bangs.

"And to think they're dragging these sweet young girls down with them." Benio gave Jacklyn a pitying look before spinning around and clenching her fists, shouting at the boys. She was so fired up, Jacklyn could barely follow the plot. "The Host Club's president … pretty halfer …shouldn't … using false romances! To fool the heart … demeaning … "club activities" are … macho fantasies. I promise you, we will bring you guys down. The Ouran Host Club will be abolished!"

A spike of fear shot through Jacklyn's heart. She quickly skirted around Benio until she was practically standing in between Kyoya's knees. "They can't do that… can they?"

He smirked and set his book aside before whispering back, "They most definitely can not. Don't worry, Darling." In a louder voice, he said, "I see. I understand your position, but could we continue this some other time? It would seem our President is still suffering from culture shock, so it would be best to wait until he's woken up before we… negotiate with you further."

Kyoya gestured back towards the original couch where Tamaki was still laying comatose. Dude was out like a light. Jacklyn noticed a brown teddy bear tucked in by his elbow and couldn't help but smile a bit. Even while behaving totally ridiculously, her friend could be really cute. The rest of the club quickly caught onto Kyoya's subtext and gathered around their fallen president once again like they were concerned caretakers. Jacklyn lingered a step away, not sure what to do with her hands, but not brave enough to stand away from the crowd. Unlike Haruhi, who walked towards the kitchen without a backwards glance to finally put away the coffee she'd been out buying when this whole mess started.

Despite the gentle dismissal, the Lobelia girls seemed angrier than ever. Benio stomped one foot forward and Jacklyn's heart lodged itself in her throat.

"Slap him awake, then! Don't take me lightly!"

"No, don't! Just go away!" Jacklyn took three steps forward until she was somewhat blocking Tamaki from Benio's line of sight, her right arm outstretched to further block him out. Her hands shook, and the look in the Lobelia girl's eyes as they stared at her in shock made her want to run and hide in the costume closet, but she held firm in her new stance. These girls weren't going to lay a finger on Tamaki. She hoped. Still, her anxiety was so obvious it was embarrassing. The only positive was when, as if on queue, Kyoya moved to her side and wrapped his arm around her waist. His warmth and comfort was all the support she needed.

Unfortunately, this seemed to send the Lobelia girls into another fury.

"Take your hands off that poor maiden! Are you so pathetic that she is not allowed to speak as she pleases in your club?"

"I knew it! They probably forced her to sign a contract in Japanese to trap her!"

"The nerve!"

To Jacklyn's relief, Kyoya's hold didn't falter for even a second. She caught a glimpse of his gentle expression darkening for a moment before he hid it behind his other hand. He adjusted his glasses and dropped the hand, a smile back in place. Although, his voice was a touch firm as he told the girls, "For your information, Jacklyn doesn't enjoy confrontation. Holding her by the waist is something we do often to display our affection and support. If my girlfriend did not like it, I would stop without hesitation."

Jacklyn knew her face was red, again, before Kyoya even finished his little demonstration. Smug bastard knew it, too. He even had the audacity to give her hip a little squeeze on the word "girlfriend". The only reason she didn't bury her face in her hands out of total embarrassment was because the responding noise Benio made nullified any appropriate response. They watched as Benio spun around with a hand to her forehead, looking physically ill. Her schoolmates rushed to her side and helped prop her upright, the youngest staring at Jacklyn and Kyoya in horror. The third was daintily brushing away unshed tears! That was too much, even for a drama club. It was actually… infuriating. Enough so that Jacklyn managed to speak up once more.

"If you're done acting like children, please leave. We don't want you here."

Slowly, as if it caused her great pain to do so, Benio straightened her legs out beneath her and pulled away from her friend's support. She turned around and pressed a hand to her heart, staring straight at Jacklyn. "I am truly sorry, Maiden, that these men have gone to such lengths to trap you. Bewitching you with tales of fairytale romances and star-crossed lovers… denying you the chance to join clubs that would feed your musical or cultural growth."

Just then, Haruhi stepped out of the kitchen, sans bag of instant coffee. With the help of an admittedly graceful pirouette, Benio suddenly scooped Haruhi back into her arms and faced the club as one.

"Now that we know what is really going on, we can't allow these maidens to stay here! We'll prepare their paperwork and have them transferred to Lobelia at once! And we will welcome them into the Zuka Club with open arms!"

Tamaki jolted upright on the couch, drenched in a cold sweat. He made a half-aborted noise before his legs became hopelessly tangled in his blankets and he fell face first onto the floor. A lump formed in the base of Jacklyn's throat. She parted her lips to ask Kyoya, once again, if the Zuka Club was truly capable of their threats. But the tight expression on her boyfriend's face changed her mind. That was one question she didn't really want to know the answer to.

"Hold on, there seems to be some misunderstandings here," Haruhi interjected, throwing Benio's arm off of her shoulder. "First of all, you called Tamaki-senpai a 'Halfer'-"

"Because he is a Halfer. He's half French and half Japanese," Honey called out.

"Er… well, you also claimed that they kept Jacklyn-senpai from joining other clubs."

"I wouldn't call it keeping her away," Kyoya interjected. "But as an exchange student Jacklyn is technically allowed to only be in one extracurricular club here at Ouran. Even though she has been sought after by some of the musical clubs here, she would not be allowed to join them without leaving the Host Club."

Haruhi let out a sigh and continued. "Anyway, I don't think it's fair of you girls to look down on the Host Club just because you don't think they have the same history as you."

"We barely have a history, the club was founded only two years ago."

"Yeah, the boss founded it when he started high school."

Being interrupted for a third time seemed to knock most of the wind out of Haruhi's sails. With significantly less enthusiasm, she tried one last argument. "Be that as it may, saying their club activities only serve to satisfy their appetites is just… wrong. I mean, it's not like this club is charging their guests for their services or anything."

"Again, I wouldn't call it a charge or anything. The girls are allowed to come as they please free of charge, but we do incorporate a point system for preferential treatment and our invite-only events. The girls earn points by spending money on our website, such as promotional items, newsletter subscriptions, and the occasional auction. That reminds me…" Kyoya flipped open his laptop and navigated to the auction page. "Our most recent auction just timed out. Check it out, Haruhi, your used mechanical pencil just sold with a winning bid of 30,000 yen. Bravo."

"What used pencil?" Haruhi stormed over and grabbed the laptop by its screen, staring hard at the photo. "Are you kidding me, I thought I lost that! Why are you selling my things online, Kyoya-senpai? I had no idea we were taking in money!"

Jacklyn tentatively approached Haruhi from the other side, trying not to startle her. She didn't want Haruhi yelling at her either. "Haruhi? As a brand new club the school doesn't provide us as big an allowance as some of the others. With travel expenses, food services, and all of our themed costumes and decorations, we really need the auction just to keep afloat. The promotional items pay for themselves, but that's it. Any extra money is put into our savings."

Haruhi spun around, looking ready to unleash another bout of shouting, but appeared to stop herself which Jacklyn found incredibly relieving. Still, Haruhi was scowling as she started to whip her head around between Kyoya and Jacklyn, saying, "But that doesn't explain why my mechanical pencil is on the auction site! Taking my things without permission is stealing!"

"It wasn't stealing!" Kaoru yelled across the room.

"Yeah! You dropped that pencil in the hallway!" Hikaru followed up.

Haruhi turned to the twins and growled. Before she could say anything, however, Jacklyn began reprimanding the twins herself.

"Boys! I thought I made it clear that when you're collecting auction items you need to clear it with the host it belonged to and Kyoya! Don't you remember when you accidentally sold Tamaki's art project before he even managed to turn it in? I understand that this was just a pencil but my point remains!"

It was a real testament to how far their friendship had come that the twins actually looked a little scolded when Jacklyn was done. Kaoru's bottom lip stuck out in a little pout. Hikaru's expression was more of a frown, but he also wasn't looking Jacklyn in the eyes. A few seconds ticked by before he scoffed and dug his hand into his pocket, pulling out a metal chain with a treble clef charm hanging from the bottom.

"Fine, if you're so adamant we stick to the script, Jacklyn-senpai, may we sell this old necklace that fell out of your backpack-"

"Give that back!"

Hikaru jumped back a half step, shocked by how quickly Jacklyn had run up to him. He pulled the necklace away on instinct.

"Hikaru! Give that back!" Jacklyn sobbed. Hikaru moved his hand back, allowing her to pry the necklace from his loose fingers. She looked down at her prize for a split second. The treble clef charm still had chipped black paint on the bottom half and the chain hook was still broken from last week. It had snapped in the middle of changing for the club and Jacklyn had stuffed it into one of her backpack's side pockets for safekeeping. She had remembered on and off throughout the past week that she needed to take it out and leave it at home, but she clearly hadn't done it yet.

"How did you get this?" Jacklyn clutched the jewelry to her chest. "There's no way it just fell out of my backpack, it was in the bottom of a pocket I never use! How could you steal from me?"

"Jacklyn-senpai, wait!-"

"We were just joking around. And it's broken-"

"This isn't something to joke about! My parents gave me this on my birthday before I came to Japan! This is nothing like a pencil or a used fork! It's important to me!" Jacklyn was shouting for real now. Her face felt heavy and hot. She probably looked like a bright red wreck and that was even before a fat tear rolled down the side of her face. She'd always been an ugly crier. It didn't help that the twins looked so upset now, too. And to top it all off…

"Oh, you poor dear!"

Three pairs of hands grabbed Jacklyn by her arms and shoulders, pulling her away from the twins. A silk handkerchief rubbed at her wet cheek as someone hugged her tightly around her waist. Fingers stroked across her French braid with just enough pressure to be slightly uncomfortable. All the while the Lobelia girls cooed at Jacklyn with simple words of affection and misplaced comfort. A tidal wave of embarrassment washed over her as the girls continued their coddling. She struggled in their hold but found herself quite stuck.

She blinked and one of the girls was suddenly right in front of her, cupping Jacklyn's face in both of her hands. There was no way she'd remember the girl's name even if she tried, but for some reason Jacklyn was able to remember that this girl was the Zuka club's vice president. The girl was pretty, Jacklyn was well aware of that, but the way she smiled at Jacklyn… It was like Jacklyn was a helpless little puppy wandering around in the rain. If Jacklyn were a meaner person, she'd kick the girl in the shins for that look alone, let alone as punishment for getting all handsy with her face.

The girl parted her lips to say something, but was interrupted by a low voice.

"Take your hands off of her. Jacklyn is clearly uncomfortable and you three are upsetting her."

Kyoya stood barely two steps to the left. His mouth was set in a straight line and Jacklyn could see the way her boyfriend was tightly gripping his journal, almost white-knuckling it. She pushed her hand out of the hoard and offered it to Kyoya who was quick to take it and pull her out. To Jacklyn's relief, the Lobelia girls didn't try to wrench her back. They were speaking again, but Jacklyn had officially had enough of their bullshit. Without a backwards glance, she slipped her hand from Kyoya's grasp and ran across the room to the piano. She left all her music sheets where she'd set them out and just grabbed her backpack, hauling it into her arms as she hightailed out of the club room and down the hall.

Jacklyn took off down the North hallway, heading straight for the exit and Ouran's front gate. Or at least that was her first plan before she realized she could hear the voices of many students milling around. She stopped next to where the hallway wall connected to the staircase balustrade. Tucking herself beside the wall, she peeked over the handrail and saw a huge crowd waiting on the first floor.

She didn't need a mirror to know that she was unpresentable at the moment, and there was no way she'd get through to the front doors without being recognized. Jacklyn spun around and ran right back the way she'd come from. She ran past three doors before throwing herself through the fourth one, slamming it shut behind her.

The bathroom was empty and quiet. Her footsteps echoed on the tile as she rushed to the nearest corner. She slid down into a crouch, dropping her backpack in front of her feet. She stared down at the necklace in her hand.

Jacklyn wasn't really a jewelry person. It was pretty on other people, but she personally found earrings cumbersome and bracelets felt annoying against her bare skin. And she never knew how to properly pair a necklace with the rest of her outfit. The only exception was the necklace she was holding right now. The chain didn't pull out the thin hairs on the back of her neck and the charm didn't irritate the dip between her collarbones. Most days she forgot to put it on in the morning, but she made sure to wear it on special occasions. When she wore one of her many t-shirts it could be hidden away like a secret good-luck charm. And when she wore it with a nice blouse like she had on her and Kyoya's first date, it felt like a less secret good-luck charm.

She clutched the necklace to her chest and tried to not make too much noise as she cried. She couldn't believe the twins had just stolen it out of her bag! It didn't matter if they hadn't intended to sell it, they had no right to go through her stuff and take whatever they wanted! What if they had lost it?

Jacklyn knew she had cause to be upset… but she felt guilty all the same. She had blown up on the twins. What if they hated her now? It was so embarrassing to lose her cool like that. And in front of everyone! They all probably thought she was overemotional. And those stupid Lobelia girls were the worst of them all! They'd been treating her like a child even before Jacklyn started yelling. Although, they probably didn't want her to transfer to their school any more. Not when she acted like a tantruming child. She felt so stupid-

A low hum started coming from her backpack. Jacklyn hastily brushed her tears away. Her phone vibrated twice more with pauses in between. It wasn't a phone call. Just texts. She pulled her phone out of its front pocket. After a moment's hesitation she put her necklace into the same pocket. At least she wouldn't forget about it in there.

Sure enough, there were three new texts on her lock screen. All from Kyoya.

'Darling? Where did you go?'

'I'm so sorry for this mess. I'll come find you.'

'If you want to see me, that is.'

Jacklyn slowly stood, her knees and calves aching from how long she'd been crouching. She stepped over her backpack and caught a glance of herself in the mirror. She'd stopped crying, but her face was blotchy and swollen and she desperately needed to blow her nose.

No way was Kyoya allowed to see her looking like this. She fired back a quick text. 'I'm okay, Kyo-kun. I'm going home. You don't have to come. I'll see you tomorrow at the usual time, okay?'

His response was a quick, 'Okay. I'll see you tomorrow.'

She felt guilty for dismissing Kyoya. Honestly, she would've liked a little comfort from her boyfriend. It wasn't often that he let out his sweet, caring side, and Jacklyn would be lying if she said she wasn't a little interested to see how he'd comfort her after today. The feeling of something starting to drip out of her nose shook her back to reality.

Jacklyn pushed her phone back into its designated pocket and hurried over to the sink. She gave her nose a quick blow then went about trying to fix up her face. The best she could do was wet one of the complimentary towels with cold water and pat it around her face until she felt less feverish. Her eyes were still a little red when she eventually walked out of the bathroom, but she felt presentable.

To her surprise, Haruhi was waiting for her outside.

The two girls looked at each other for a moment before they started walking down the hallway in silence. They passed through the crowds on the main floor of the building without any interference. Before long they were walking across the mostly empty grounds of Ouran Academy. Jacklyn wrung her hands around the strap of her backpack. She couldn't help but look over her shoulder to see if the girls from Lobelia were following them. To her relief, no one around seemed the least bit interested in her or Haruhi. That said, she didn't speak until they had officially left the campus.

"So… what happened after I left?"

"Kyoya was furious," is Haruhi's immediate response. "I could tell he really wanted to tear into those girls, and he wasn't the only one. Especially since they turned to me next. They didn't try coddling me like they did with you, I think they assumed the problem was because they touched you? Anyways, they left pretty quickly after that, saying they'll come back tomorrow for our "answer". I left soon after. There's a sale going on at the market today and I figured I would do the shopping early since I didn't need to stay at school. If it makes you feel better, I heard Kyoya berating the twins as I was leaving."

Jacklyn cracked a small smile. "That does make me feel better."

Haruhi smiled back and the two girls finished their trek to the train station in calm silence. The station wasn't as busy as it normally was in the morning but, as they were nearing the lunch hour of most nearby businesses, there were still a fair amount of people milling about. The girls stood in one of the shorter lines of people waiting for the next train, passing a bottle of green tea Jacklyn had bought at a vending machine back and forth. They had made it about halfway down the bottle when Haruhi asked, "Are you going to leave Ouran?"

"What?"

"The Lobelia girls want to take us both back to their school. Are you gonna join them?"

"No way," is Jacklyn's immediate answer. "Those girls gave me the creeps! They talk to me like I'm five years old! Besides, why would I want to leave the Host Club? Or Kyoya for that matter?"

"I figured you say that. Personally, I think Kyoya would fall apart if you went somewhere he couldn't follow."

For the millionth time that day, Jacklyn blushed. She swiped the green tea back and downed the last of it. "What about you? Are you going to leave?"

"Of course not. I might be a little irritated with the boys right now, but I didn't come to Ouran to join a club and I'm not going to leave it for another."

Jacklyn smiled. She opened her mouth when a shiver went down her spine. She looked over Haruhi's head and noticed three boys standing by the vending machine she had used not five minutes ago. She had no idea what school they were from, but vaguely recognized their uniforms from another one of the visiting schools at Ouran today. The boys were sipping on cans of coffee and staring straight at her and Haruhi. Once they realized they had Jacklyn's attention, one of them gave her a wink.

Jacklyn looked back down at Haruhi. Her neighbor had followed her line of sight and also turned away from the boys. The two locked eyes before moving as one from the line they were in over to the line for the neighboring car: the women's only car. Thankfully, that was when the train pulled into the station and they were able to board quickly before the boys had a chance to come over and try to talk to them. They passed by an old lady as they boarded who gave Haruhi's uniform a second glance, but otherwise no one said a thing to the pair.

They sat down and pulled their bags into the laps. For a few seconds they were silent. Then Jacklyn said, "I'm glad we were on the same page."

"Yeah," Haruhi replied. "I don't know about you, but I'm getting real tired of strangers looking at me like I owe them company."

"I guess this means you aren't as dense as the boys feared."

The girls exchanged another look, Haruhi glaring at Jacklyn's innocent expression. Neither were able to hold it for long. Jacklyn quickly dissolved into a fit of giggles that Haruhi had no choice but to join in.

*Time Skip*

As promised, the next morning Jacklyn walked through Ouran Academy's front gate as per usual. She told herself that, while she wouldn't mind hiding at home today, if things went bad again she could go home early. with that comforting thought, she walked across the lawn towards the high school building. Kyoya and Tamaki normally waited for her inside, meeting her by the front doors or at the entrance to the 2nd year hallway. Today, however, she was gifted with a nice surprise.

"Jacklyn!" Kyoya called out to her from beside one of the many trees that lined the front walkway up to the school. Jacklyn didn't hesitate before running to his side with a smile. He took her hand when she was close enough and opened his mouth to speak, but Jacklyn beat him to the punch.

"I'm not mad at you, Kyoya." She squeezed his hand between both of her own. "You never put anything that belonged to me on the auction site without asking me first, and you wouldn't have started with my necklace."

Whatever amount of tension had been in Kyoya's shoulders loosened at her words. He gave her hand a returning squeeze before pulling her even closer. He gently dropped his forehead against hers, his glasses bumping her eyebrow.

"I'm glad. I wanted to call you or drive to your apartment yesterday, but I wasn't sure if that was the right thing to do. I was going in circles all afternoon."

"Aww… poor Kyoya." Jacklyn received a glare for her mocking tone. She just smiled wider.

"Exactly. You should be ashamed of yourself."

"Ha! Well, for future reference, if you want to come over just send me a text. I probably won't say no."

"Don't tempt me."

Jacklyn managed to hold Kyoya's stare for a total of three seconds before she leaned away, taking a quick look around the grounds. Luckily, they didn't seem to have been noticed by any faculty. Not that public displays of affection were outright banned or anything, but making out or looking like you might start making out on school grounds was generally frowned upon by the teachers and other staff at Ouran. Or so Jacklyn had heard. There was no need to get themselves in trouble for something they hadn't even done yet, y'know?

"So, how did Haruhi's mechanical pencil end up on the site without her knowing about it?" Jacklyn inquired.

"Unfortunate oversight. Tamaki's been trying to give the twins more responsibilities this past month. He tasked them with finding an item from Haruhi for the auction, then took it upon himself to teach them how to upload a new bid. Thankfully for all of us, you put the fear of God into them yesterday. I doubt they'll pull a stunt like that again, but for the time being I've changed the password required to access the auction page until I can trust them with it."

Jacklyn sighed and shook her head. "What are we going to do with them?"

"Prepare yourself. It'll be worse next year when Tamaki starts training the twins how to run the club in earnest." An uneasy look passed across Kyoya's face, but it was gone in a matter of seconds. "For today, the twins should start with giving you a proper apology. They've asked me to send you their way once we're done here."

"That wouldn't have anything to do with you yelling at them yesterday, would it, Kyo-kun?" Jacklyn batted her eyelashes at her boyfriend, who seemed surprised and embarrassed that she knew about his scolding the twins. As he flushed and promised her the twin's apology would be in earnest, Jacklyn watched in amusement. She knew that already, and she was happy that she wouldn't have to be mad at the twins for much longer. But that didn't mean she couldn't tease.

After a few more seconds of blustering from Kyoya, she took his hand again and gently shushed him. "Kyoya, it's okay. I know you wouldn't force them to do anything they didn't mean. I just thought it was cute how protective you are of me and my feelings. I don't think I've ever heard you talk to someone like you did to those Lobelia girls…"

Kyoya's blush spread up to his ears, which Jacklyn thought looked positively adorable. She might have said so out loud if Kyoya didn't pull her around to stand properly by his side. Jacklyn finally let go of Kyoya's hand, leaning her head on his shoulder instead. Without direct eye contact with the other, the nervous tension that had been building in her stomach released. She was surprised she had lasted so long without stuttering. Character development.

"The twins will also be paying to fix your broken necklace."

"They will?"

Kyoya hesitated. "Well, I can't say they offered to pay on their own. But I believe they should."

Jacklyn laughed, rubbing her cheek across Kyoya's arm. "They will do no such thing. They don't owe me money."

"Then I'll do it," Kyoya whispered. And just like that, the air between them was charged once more. Jacklyn's breath hitched.

"You don't have to do that."

"But I want to."

The offer almost brought a tear to Jacklyn's eye. She thought about all the times Haruhi complained about how heartless Kyoya was. And maybe he was… sometimes. To some people. Jacklyn was just lucky enough to be part of the other group. Although, whether or not she would've accepted his offer was brushed aside when Kyoya's phone chimed. He pulled it out of his pocket. Jacklyn caught a glimpse of Tamaki's name on screen before Kyoya pocketed the phone again with a mighty sigh.

"I have to go. Tamaki is threatening to come get me himself if I'm not in the club room in five minutes."

"So what you're saying is we have five minutes to ourselves?"

Kyoya gave her a little smirk that had Jacklyn's stomach doing cartwheels, but unfortunately he slid his arm out from behind her back. "I wish. But knowing Tamaki he won't bother waiting that long. Don't come to the club room until 1pm, and make sure to bring Haruhi with you. Lobelia's big performance should be over by then."

"Kyoya, what are you boys planning-"

Kyoya leaned over and kissed Jacklyn's forehead, whispering a quick goodbye before walking away, leaving his girlfriend swooning against the tree.

*Time Skip*

Jacklyn enjoyed the festival more than she'd expected to. Once she'd collected herself from the pile of mush Kyoya had left her in, she walked into the main building and was immediately ambushed by the twins. They apologized for their blunder, and the three had even shared a laugh at Kyoya trying to trick them into paying for it. Once that was over with, the boys had run off for the club room, reminding her to not come to the club room until after the Zuka club had finished with their performance.

Jacklyn still had no clue what Tamaki had come up with this time, but decided not to dwell on it. In the end, she and Haruhi weren't leaving Ouran whether the boys made fools of themselves today or not. She was also a tad curious how the boys were going to try to market the Host Club as better than the Zuka club.

With that in mind, Jacklyn wandered the festival on her own. She worried for two minutes about how she was going to steer clear of the Zuka club and other Lobelia affiliates, but to her surprise there were clubs from almost twenty schools all holding simultaneous plays, performances, demonstrations and interactive workshops throughout the day. Reading through the timetable for the festival, Jacklyn was actually disappointed that she hadn't stayed the day before to check out some of the exhibits.

She popped in and out of various rooms, and was even able to participate in an official tea ceremony. The most fun was the World Languages club she found performing skits that involved various languages. She laughed so hard during the English skits she actually started tearing up. Haruhi found her five minutes before they were supposed to meet the Host Club, still chatting with the English students of that club.

In other words, Jacklyn was in a much better mood than she'd been in the last time she was in Music Room 3. Haruhi was also in a good mood, and the two girls wondered aloud what the boys might have set up. Haruhi guessed the boys were going to hide them away until the Zuka club gave up and left. Jacklyn guessed that Tamaki was going to challenge the Zuka club to a duel, though given Benio's brute strength that probably wouldn't have gone over well.

In the end, they agreed that no matter what the club had planned it was going to be stupid, but heartfelt. And that was what mattered.

Their good mood didn't last, unfortunately. As the pair rounded the last corner, they stopped at the sight of the Zuka club standing in front of the music room. Jacklyn took a step back, but it was too late.

"Hello, young maidens."

"We've come for your decisions! Are you prepared to leave?"

"We're ready to confront those Ouran Host Club idiots and set things straight once and for all!"

Without waiting for a response, the Zuka Club grabbed hold of Haruhi and Jacklyn's wrists and pulled them down the hallway, continuously spouting how they needed to spend time with "their own kind". Though Jacklyn's anxiety kept her tongue tied for the moment, anger started to boil in her stomach once again.

Benio threw the doors open. Her determined smirk faltered. The music room was completely dark. If it weren't for the sunlight still peeking in from the windows, they wouldn't even be able to see the shadow of a single couch in the middle of the room. Jacklyn squinted her eyes, trying to make out the lumpy shapes around the furniture, but she couldn't make it out.

"Ouran~"

"Ouran~"

The shapes moved. Two people stood up in time with the singing. Jacklyn was immediately reminded of how the Zuka club had introduced themselves yesterday.

"Ouran…"

Jacklyn gasped unintentionally. That had definitely been Mori, no mistake. Which meant-

"Ouran~"

"Ouran!"

The lights for Music Room 3 suddenly blinked to life, throwing the group into sharp detail. The colors alone made Jacklyn's head spin, and that was before a blond woman wearing Tamaki's face straightened up and belted out one final, "Ouran~!"

Then, as one, the six host club boys sang, "Host Club~ welcomes you!"

Jacklyn bit down hard on her bottom lip.

"Ah, Haruhi! Jacklyn! You're back!"

"Lookie! Lookie! I'm a princess, Haru-chan!"

Jacklyn shut her eyes. Her lips were starting to hurt.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Benio sounded absolutely furious. "Are you attempting to make fun of women-kind? The nerve! The-"

"Oh, no, no. We would never dream of it," Tamaki insisted, his voice pitched an entire octave higher than normal. "This is just our counter offer against the Zuka Club. My dears, you have all lived sheltered lives at Lobelia so you may not know this… but commoners and Americans have a weakness for free stuff."

Jacklyn's eyes were starting to water. She raised her hands and covered her face, pressing the heel of her palms against her mouth.

"Haruhi. Jacklyn. You two may be distracted by the Zuka club and Lobelia, but choose us and you'll gain not only a Host Club full of brothers, but sisters as well! This way, you can experience feminine bonding while staying in the Host Club! Isn't that a great idea? After all, I am rather pretty dressed up like this."

The rest of the club made their way one by one in front of Haruhi and Jacklyn, though Jacklyn kept her eyes and mouth shut the whole time. She was going to lose it any second now. She couldn't keep this up. Benio's angry voice helped a bit, bringing a dose of reality into the mix. Jacklyn might've been able to hold herself together until she was able to excuse herself…

But when Haruhi burst into laughter beside her, Jacklyn broke.

Her initial laugh was more of a shriek as she collapsed to the floor, holding her stomach. Tears sprung up in the corner of her eyes. It didn't help that Haruhi kept calling the boys idiots in between her own laughter. Jacklyn wasn't able to contribute much, only able to repeat the word "No" while gasping for air. She wasn't even sure what she was saying no to, just that it felt like the right response.

Jacklyn forced her eyes open for a second, hoping to spot Kyoya, but instead found Hikaru, Kaoru, and Honey crouched in front of her face.

"Are we really that funny?"

Jacklyn shoved them away as more laughter forced its way up out of her. Her chest and cheeks hurt and she was trying to breathe, but that only made her snort which sent her into another strong fit of laughter. The three boys started chasing a laughing Haruhi across the room and Jacklyn had to look away because she couldn't breathe at all. She fell to her side and buried her face into her arms, trying to calm down.

"Cut it out! Ha ha! Jacklyn-senpai's going to pass out!"

She waved off Haruhi's concern, already coming down on her own. She rubbed at her sore cheeks while Haruhi asked the boys what they were even trying to do.

"We did this because we don't want you girls to leave the Host Club."

Jacklyn giggled again, turning her head so she once again faced the main room. She smiled. These boys really were predictable, even when their ideas came out of left field. Jacklyn pushed herself back up, taking Haruhi's hand to get back on her feet. The girls from Lobelia were still around them, staring with soured expressions.

"Have you made your choice?"

"Yeah, I have," Haruhi responded. "I'm sorry, but your club isn't for me. I won't be joining you at Lobelia. I came to this school with a goal and a plan for my future, so while your school sounds interesting I already knew as soon as you offered that I was never going to leave Ouran Academy."

Tamaki rushed over and pulled Haruhi into a hug with tears streaming down his face. Benio pinched her lips together at the scene, but didn't say anything. She then turned to Jacklyn and asked, "And you, young lady?"

Jacklyn didn't hesitate. "I was also never planning to leave. These boys are my friends, and I'm not going to leave them just because you say so."

The shortest girl made a noise of annoyance and crossed her arms. "Poor thing probably doesn't understand-"

"Will you stop that!" All sense of merriment and peace vanished from Jacklyn's mind in an instant. She shoved her anxiety as far down as she could and shouted, "Stop talking about me like I'm incompetent! I'm a scholarship student at Ouran Academy! Do you think they let me in by accident? The school even allows me to take advanced English and Math above my grade level! You claim that your whole point is to not look down on women, but that's all you've done to me! And every compliment you've given Haruhi is about how she'll look once you've dolled her up! How dare you call the Host Club shallow?"

The girls from Lobelia looked stunned by her outburst. Benio snapped out of it first, and after giving Jacklyn a strange look she gestured for the other two to stand down. Then she looked above Jacklyn's head.

"We aren't going to give up so easily. I swear to you, we will find a way to abolish the Ouran Host Club and rescue these maidens! And as for you…" Benio looked down at Jacklyn and gave her a wry smile, "We certainly won't underestimate you again, my dear. But until then, adieu."

The Lobelia students danced away with laughter and big smiles, which pissed Jacklyn off. But she was more relieved than angry, so she slammed the doors behind them and left it at that. With that problem out of the way for now, she turned her attention back to the Host Club who were all staring at her.

"What?"

The twins grinned and rushed to her side, crushing her between their frilly dress skirts.

"Way to go, Jacklyn-senpai!"

"Yeah, you really told them off!"

"We're so proud of you!"

The pair brushed away fake tears while the rest of the club also congratulated Jacklyn on standing up for herself. It was embarrassing, but only a little bit. Still, she was grateful that the conversation quickly changed back to the boys and their newest "getup". Apparently the "two-for-one" bargain had been Tamaki's idea (no surprises there) because he and the rest of the club worried Haruhi and Jacklyn would fit in too well at an all-girls school.

Haruhi scoffed, though she was still smiling. "As if. Jacklyn-senpai and I talked about it on the way home yesterday, and there was no way we were going to change schools on a whim. Let alone because someone else told us to."

"I guess that's a fair statement," Hikaru mused.

"You both are too independent for that," Kaoru agreed. "And to be honest, I'm not surprised Jacklyn-senpai stayed."

Honey giggled from the other side of the couch and added on, "Yeah! Even if Jack-chan was thinking about going, Kyo-chan would've bent over backwards to change her mind and keep her at Ouran Academy!"

Everyone laughed at that. Hikaru even gave Jacklyn's cheek a teasing pinch before his hand was swatted to the side. Jacklyn looked around for Kyoya's reaction, only to realize he wasn't there any more. Kaoru must've noticed, because he leaned in and whispered, "Kyoya-senpai went off to the changing room. I think he wants to get out of that dress before you laugh at him again."

A seed of guilt blossomed in Jacklyn's gut as she thanked Kaoru and hurried off to catch up with her boyfriend. She slipped into the costume closet and shut the door right as Haruhi let out another loud laugh. The curtains for the first changing room were pulled shut and she could hear someone shuffling on the other side. Hoping she hadn't accidentally hurt Kyoya's feelings, Jacklyn stepped closer and knocked against the wall that separated the changing areas. The shuffling noises stopped.

"Kyoya? It's me."

There was more shuffling and suddenly, from between the curtains, Kyoya's head popped out. He wasn't wearing his glasses, clearly mid-makeup removal, and Jacklyn could just barely see his bare shoulders past where he was holding the curtain shut. He still had his dark purple lipstick on.

"Is there something you need, Jacklyn?"

"I… no, I… I wanted to make sure you were okay."

Kyoya squinted at her. "Why wouldn't I be okay?"

"Kaoru said-"

"Oh, what has he done now?"

Jacklyn pursed her lips and counted backwards from three. It wouldn't be a good look on her if she laughed while apologizing for laughing. Kyoya sounded exasperated enough as it is. Once out of the danger zone, she said, "I didn't mean to laugh at you."

"Why not? I looked ridiculous."

"No, you didn't-"

"I did. Why are you apologizing? You did nothing wrong." A look of understanding crossed Kyoya's face and he shook his head. "What exactly did Kaoru say?"

"He mentioned that you were changing so I wouldn't laugh at you again."

Kyoya scoffed. "As if you aren't going to laugh at me in the future. That is… assuming I stay friends with Tamaki long enough for him to pull me into another one of his schemes. And I'm changing because there's no need for me to be in heels and makeup any longer than necessary. I don't understand how girls do it. My eyes itched the entire time."

A giggle snuck past Jacklyn's lips. "You're so dramatic. But I do love that lipstick color."

Kyoya's eyes slowly roamed up and down Jacklyn's face. She wondered idly how much detail he could see considering he still wasn't wearing his glasses. After a lengthy pause, Kyoya said, "I think the color would look lovely on you."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Jacklyn's stomach felt tight. "Then… would you mind if I tried it on now?"

"Of course."

Kyoya ducked his head back behind the curtain. Jacklyn shuffled her feet against the smooth tile floor while she waited. An idea had slowly been taking shape in the back of her mind while bantering with her boyfriend. It scared the hell out of her, but beneath the nerves there was undeniable excitement. Not to mention how her anxiety was all but shot after the past two days.

"Here you go." Kyoya's head returned. He still held the curtains shut with his left hand while his right reached out, extending the tube of lipstick for her to take. Jacklyn shifted closer. She placed her left hand over his wrist and held him still while she leaned forward and kissed Kyoya square on the mouth.

Kyoya's noise of surprise was muffled against her lips. Jacklyn could feel her hands shaking and she already felt like she needed to gasp for air, but she held firm. Tilting her head to the side, she closed her eyes and tried to remember the motions from the last time they'd kissed. She'd thought that, given her tendency to replay the moment over and over in her head, their second kiss would go much smoother. To her horror, they didn't seem to have made any improvement.

They stood frozen like that for what must've been an eternity. Jacklyn's anxiety was already gathering itself into a roaring tsunami of panic, ready to unleash itself on the poor girl's mind.

Something clattered against the floor by their feet right as Jacklyn pulled back with a tiny gasp. She would've turned to see what made the noise if Kyoya hadn't surged forward to kiss her again. The curtain parted between them and Kyoya's newly freed hand quickly wrapped around her back. On instinct Jacklyn's hands shot up to steady herself. Kyoya's bare chest was smooth and warm beneath her fingers. She broke the kiss again. A halfway-formed question danced on her lips before Kyoya's right hand came up to her chin and pulled her in for a third kiss.

This felt nothing like their first kiss at the beach. Kyoya's lips were waxy from the lipstick and they chased after Jacklyn's mouth without hesitation. Every move she made, he followed. If Jacklyn had any space left in her brain to think, she'd be nervous about being handed the reins for something she knew next to nothing about. But whether they were doing it right or wrong, it didn't feel half bad and that had to count for something.

It wasn't until Kyoya's right hand began slowly migrating across her cheek towards the back of Jacklyn's head that she realized they were not in a very private place. And it didn't seem like Kyoya would be the one to hit the brakes. Jacklyn leaned into the kiss a little harder before pulling back with a loud smack noise. As expected, Kyoya tried to lean in again, but this time he was stopped by a hand over his mouth.

The two stared at each other, both of them breathing hard like they had just remembered that was something they needed to do to survive. All Jacklyn could really see were Kyoya's eyes. Like last time, they weren't hidden behind his glasses, but today she was also able to see just how dilated they were in the light of the changing rooms.

"We should do that more often." The confession sort of tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop it.

And before she could feel self-conscious, Kyoya replied with a quick, muffled, "Yes."

Jacklyn started to lower her hand, but brought it right back up when she felt Kyoya start to push forward again. "I didn't mean right now," she whispered. "I can hear the others getting closer and I don't think you want Tamaki to find us kissing like this when you're half naked!"

Kyoya's eyes darted over to the door, then back to her. His pupils were already returning to their normal size as he nodded and slowly dropped his arms. Jacklyn dropped her hands as well, though she couldn't force her feet to step back. Kyoya wasn't moving either. He kept staring at her face and if one of them didn't break the tension soon they were just going to fall right back into kissing each other. Not that there was anything wrong with that…

Kyoya chuckled and finally took a step back. He grabbed the curtains with both hands, but didn't pull them shut. He gave Jacklyn once last up-down glance and said, "You have a point, Darling. Dark lipstick looks good on you."

With one last evil little smirk, he pulled the curtains shut. Jacklyn felt like her face was on fire. She bent down and scooped the dropped lipstick tube up in a hurry before diving into the changing room right next to Kyoya's.

Thankfully, Tamaki didn't enter the changing area until after Jacklyn had finished wiping off the purple lipstick that had been smeared across her mouth.