Chapter 8 | The sun, the sea, and the Host Club!

~Arabella's POV~

"Wait, the beach?" Haruhi asked.

"Of course! The beach!" Hikaru and Kaoru said.

"But, why?" I asked.

"Don't you girls remember what you said?" Hikaru asked.

"You said you wanted to go to a real beach." Kaoru said.

"Did we say that?" Haruhi asked.

"Yeah, did we really?" I asked.

"Yes, Haruhi. Yes, Arabella." Hikaru and Kaoru said before they stepped out of the way to reveal probably hundreds of swimsuits filling Music Room 3. My eyes widened.

"Here's the fun part~!" the twins said together.

"We brought some swim suits for you two ladies to choose from!" Kaoru said. Then he held up two swimsuits: a pink bikini with ruffles, and a red bikini with a small yellow flower on the side.

"They're pretty cute, don't ya' think?" Hikaru said as he showed off the pink bikini with the ruffles to Haruhi.

"No! Not that one!" Honey-senpai suddenly jumped in. He picked up a blue and white one-piece. "I think this swimsuit would look much cuter on Haru-chan!" he said.

Hikaru and Kaoru shook their heads. "I don't think you get it, Honey." they said.

Honey looked confused. "Huh?"

Hikaru and Kaoru sighed. "Just look!" Then they each grabbed one of Haruhi's arms.

"This uniform barely hides the fact that Haruhi is as flat as a cutting board." Hikaru said.

"A one-piece swimsuit like that would only upset Haruhi because it would draw attention to her lack of feminine features." Kaoru said.

"That's why we picked this one! See? The ruffles help hide the fact that she's so flat-chested." they said.

Haruhi rolled her eyes. "Gee... Thanks for that, guys..." she said, irritated.

"You're welcome!" Hikaru and Kaoru said happily.

"And, we also carefully selected this swimsuit for Arabella!" Hikaru said as he showed the red bikini with the yellow flower to Honey.

"Why did we pick this one, you ask? The answer is simple: Arabella has the exact opposite of the problem Haruhi has; Arabella's feminine features are apparent." Kaoru said.

"So we had to find something to bring out those features. And, here we go! We found this beauty! These colors complement Arabella perfectly! This way, she'll look like a model while she's having a fun day at the beach!" Hikaru said.

"This swimsuit not only makes her feminine features stand out, but it brings out her other features as well; like her hair and skin, as well as her body figure and curves. It's perfect!" Kaoru said.

"Wow... Thanks for explaining the science of swimsuits to us... That was so useful...!" I said sarcastically.

"Again, you're welcome!" Hikaru and Kaoru said.

Tamaki suddenly appeared out of nowhere and slapped both Hikaru and Kaoru.

"You punks better stop sexually harassing my little girls!!!" Tamaki shouted. "I've had enough of you!!!"

We all just looked at him.

"So that means we're not going to the beach...?" Hikaru and Kaoru asked.

"Who said that we're not going?" Tamaki said.

"Really? So you wanna go after all?" the twins asked.

"Can Usa-chan come too?" Honey asked, referring to the pink stuffed bunny he always carries around.

"I have no problem with that." Kyoya said.

"Wait, we're really gonna go?" Haruhi asked.

"Seriously? We're actually going?" I asked.

Tamaki smiled. "Why not?" he said happily. "Let's go to the beach!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So... Why'd we come Okinawa?" Hikaru and Kaoru asked.

"Because, Kyoya's family has a private beach here." Tamaki explained.

"It's beautiful! Isn't it?" Honey said.

"Yeah." Mori said.

"But why couldn't we have gone..."

"... to the Caribbean? Or even Fiji?"

"Do you think commoners like Haruhi and Arabella have passports?" Kyoya pointed out.

"Ah." Hikaru and Kaoru said, understanding.

"You do realize we can hear you, right?" Haruhi said.

"We're right here." I said.

Fifteen minutes later, we all arrived at Kyoya's family's private beach and went off to do our own activities.

"It's so beautiful out here, isn't it?"

I turned to see Tamaki and some girl sitting on a rock by the coastline.

"Tamaki, being out here, alone with you, looking out into the sea... It's like a dream!" the girl chirped happily.

"It's no dream. It's real. But, if I could have my way, my princess...," Tamaki said as he leaned into the girl. "I'd be in your dreams every night."

"Oh, Tamaki..." the girl swooned.

I rolled my eyes. "And there's another dollar for the swoon jar..." I said to myself.

Suddenly, a beach ball bounced past me.

"Hey, take it easy, Hikaru!" I heard Kaoru's voice. Then I saw him run by.

I looked over to see that the beach ball had been theirs, and that they were in the middle of a game of volleyball.

"Sorry, Kaoru! I'll get it!" Hikaru said as he ran after Kaoru. "Wait for me, Kaoru!"

"It's not my fault! The ball is rolling away!" Kaoru shouted as they ran.

The girls they were playing volleyball with swooned.

I sighed and kept reading my book.

"Ugh... Why???" Haruhi complained next to me. "This sucks... I thought going to the beach meant a day off..."

"So did I. But, apparently, when you're in this club, you can't expect anything anymore..." I said.

"Uh, Haruhi? Arabella?"

Haruhi and I turned to see three girls.

"Aren't you going to swim with us?" one girl asked.

"No, I like looking at the sea from a safe distance." Haruhi said.

"Same with me." I said.

"Well, if you two aren't going to swim, do you mind if we sat here and talked to you?" the second girl said.

"But why? You girls should go swim. You've got cute swimsuits on, why not go and show them off?" Haruhi said.

After she said that, the girls swooned.

This is gonna be a long day at the beach...

~Third Person POV~

"I can't believe he fooled us." Hikaru said.

"I know. Who would've thought he'd bring the ladies along?" Kaoru said.

"We certainly didn't expect it." Hikaru said.

"You were invited on this all-expenses-paid vacation for a reason; to keep our clients entertained." Kyoya said.

"We know... But with the ladies here, Haruhi can't change into her swimsuit..." Hikaru grumbled.

"Hm... That may be true, but at least Arabella can change into hers." Kaoru pointed out.

Hikaru nodded. "True." he said.

"Don't worry, boys. I've got it all under control. Besides, my little girls shouldn't be prancing around in swimsuits. At least, not in front of two perverts like you," Tamaki said as he relaxed in a lawn chair. Then, he stared off into space. "After the sun has began to set, Haruhi and I will take a romantic stroll on the beach, alone, just the two of us. She'll say, 'I love you, Tamaki! I wish I could just stay here forever with you!' And just like that! The best day of my entire life!!! I don't know if I can handle it...!!!" Tamaki turned incredibly red and squirmed in his lawn chair.

"What's wrong with Tamaki? Is he having a seizure???" one of the customers asked.

"I wouldn't worry about it." Hikaru said.

"He gets like this occasionally." Kaoru said.

Meanwhile, Haruhi and Arabella strolled along the beach together.

"Haru-chan! Ara-chan!"

"Huh?" Haruhi said as she and Arabella looked over.

Honey was kneeling on the sand with a bucket and a small shovel. "Wanna go hellfish shunting with me?" he said.

"Uh, I think you're trying to say shellfish hunting." Arabella pointed out.

Haruhi nodded. "And this doesn't seem to be that kind of beach, Honey-senpai. You're not gonna find much shell--" Then she and Arabella saw that Honey's bucket was filled with several shellfish.

"Huh?!" Haruhi exclaimed. Arabella's eyes just widened.

Arabella suddenly saw something scurry across the ground.

It was a crab.

Haruhi and Arabella slowly looked down and saw the ground was flooded with them.

"What?!" Arabella gasped.

"H-How?!" Haruhi said.

"W-What the hell?!" they said together. "No way!"

Mori just looked at the ground curiously before he suddenly heard something.

He looked over a large rock and saw a huge truck and Kyoya, and also a bunch of men that were unloading buckets full of something.

"Oh, Mori-senpai," Kyoya said when he noticed Mori was there. "My private police force stopped by. They wanted to make it up to Honey for attacking him at the water park. So, they brought shellfish for Honey to 'find'." he explained.

Honey gasped from behind the rock. "Wow, look at how much we found!" he said to Haruhi and Arabella.

"It's awesome!" Arabella said.

"We're gonna have some fancy side dishes tonight! It's gonna be delicious!" Haruhi said.

"My, my," Tamaki said as he watched the three of them. "it certainly looks like they're enjoying themselves. All is right with the world."

"Senpai!" Haruhi called. Tamaki looked up.

"Dinner is gonna be awesome!" Haruhi shouted.

"Totally! It's gonna taste amazing!" Arabella shouted.

"It's a major haul!" Haruhi added.

Tamaki smiled happily. "I'm just so proud! Look at my little girls~!" he chirped. Then, he approached them.

He picked up a crab. "Tell me, Haruhi, isn't this crab scrumptious looking?"

Haruhi smiled. "Oh, yeah!" she said.

Tamaki closed his eyes and smiled. "You're so cute..." he mumbled.

Then, Tamaki looked down at the crab and noticed something was crawling on it.

It was a centipede.

Three of the Host Club customers immediately froze when they saw it.

"Cen..."

"... ti..."

"... PEDE...!!!" they said before they jumped and screamed.

Then, they all ran at least ten feet away, a safe distance from the centipede.

Tamaki froze too and looked at the centipede, crawling on the crab he was holding.

Arabella rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, people! It's just a bug...!" Then she plucked the centipede off the crab Tamaki was holding. "See? It's harmless!"

"Here, let me see it." Haruhi said calmly. Arabella obeyed and handed her the centipede.

Haruhi then threw the centipede over a large rock. "There. Problem solved. Happy?" she said.

Hikaru and Kaoru appeared beside Haruhi and Arabella. "Hey, you two." they said.

"Now I know most girls aren't the bug-loving type and I didn't think you were, but..."

"... don't you think you could've been easier on that little guy?"

Arabella put her hands up in defense. "Hey, I wasn't the one who threw it..." she said.

"Come on, it's not dead. It takes a lot more than that to kill a bug." Haruhi said to the twins.

Suddenly, a mob of their customers approached them.

"Oh, Haruhi is so sweet and manly!"

"He's the best!"

"He's amazing!"

Hikaru and Kaoru stauntered over to Tamaki, who was still holding the crab.

"I don't think Haruhi and Arabella are normal..." Hikaru said.

"Yeah, I thought all girls were afraid of bugs." Kaoru said.

"I'm sure they're afraid of something..." Tamaki mumbled.

A lightbulb suddenly went on inside Hikaru and Kaoru's brains.

"Hey, boss! Listen up!" they both said.

Tamaki turned to look at them.

"We just thought up a new game to play that could be a lot of fun. Whaddya say?" Hikaru and Kaoru said. "It's called Who can find out Haruhi and Arabella's Weaknesses game! So, think you're up for it?"

Tamaki just looked at them. "But that game sounds terrible!" he said.

Hikaru and Kaoru shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess you're right... Besides, Haruhi and Arabella would only show their weaknesses to someone they were really close to...!" Hikaru said.

Tamaki's eyes widened before he blurted out, "What are the rules?!"

Hikaru and Kaoru smirked. "Now that's more like it!" they said.

"The deadline is sunset, tomarrow." Hikaru said.

"Whoever finds out their weaknesses first, win!" Kaoru said.

Kyoya approached them. "And I have the perfect prize for the game's lucky winner." he said as he held up some photos.

They were of Haruhi and Arabella when they were younger.

One of them had Haruhi when she was in middle school, she had long hair and was wearing girl clothes back then. There were more of them like that with her as well.

Another photo showed Arabella, when she was in middle school; her hair was a bit longer than it was now, but not by much. The photo showed her playing beach volleyball in a white bikini.

Hikaru, Kaoru, and Tamaki gasped at the photos.

"W-What...??? HOW???" Tamaki studdered.

"This one is of Haruhi when she was still in middle school; she was a bit more in touch with her feminine side back then. And this one is of Arabella when she was also in middle school, back then she played in several beach volleyball tournaments; which explains her swimwear." Kyoya said as the three boys stared at the photos. Then he waved the photos in their faces, Tamaki and the twins followed them as they moved.

Hikaru and Kaoru then tried grabbing for them, but Kyoya saw it coming and pulled them out of reach. "Nice try, these are for winners only. If you win, you can have them. But only then." he said.

"We wanna play too!" Honey said cheerfully with Mori next to him.

"I guess that means we're all competing." Kyoya said. He kept moving the photos out of Tamaki's reach, who kept following them.

"WHERE DID YOU GET PICTURES OF MY LITTLE GIRLS?! I WANT THEM! HAND THEM OVER!!!" Tamaki shouted.

"Hey, Kyo-chan, how did you get those pictures anyway?" Honey said.

Kyoya smiled. "I have my sources." he said.

Tamaki tugged on Kyoya's shoulder. "Kyoya, tell me, are you with me or against me???" he pleaded.

Kyoya ignored Tamaki and cleared his throat. "Okay, let the game begin. Winner gets the photos. Ready, set, go."

~~~~~~~~~~

"This is the place." Hikaru said as he, Kaoru, Haruhi, Arabella, and some of their customers who wanted to come along approached a spooky-looking cave.

They all went inside it.

It was dark and it was huge.

"It's the most haunted spot in all of Okinawa..." Kaoru said.

"The locals don't even come out here..." Hikaru whispered.

"They say that the only time you could find this cave is during lowtide. Apparently, many people have died down here from drowning. And their souls still linger, taking revenge on anyone who happens to come inside..." Kaoru said.

Suddenly, a figure appeared on the cave walls.

Their customers screamed, terrified.

Suddenly, a boney hand reached out and grabbed Haruhi and Arabella by their shoulders.

Haruhi and Arabella didn't even flinch.

"What's going on?" Haruhi asked, not scared, but curious.

"Are guys trying to freak us out?" Arabella asked Hikaru and Kaoru, who were holding the fake boney hands that were on Haruhi and Arabella's shoulders.

"Uh..." Hikaru gulped nervously when Haruhi and Arabella saw him.

"What's wrong with you? I thought everyone was afraid of ghosts." Kaoru said, holding a large puppet, the figure that was supposedly on the cave walls.

"I've never seen a real one." Haruhi said.

"Ghost stories are just myths." Arabella said.

They all exited the cave and went back to the beach.

"Hey, Haru-chan, Ara-chan! Will you both come over here?" Honey called.

When Arabella and Haruhi approached Honey, he was standing at the entrance of a huge semi-truck.

"What the..." Haruhi and Arabella mumbled.

"Are you sure it's okay to drive a truck like this on the sand???" Haruhi asked.

Honey pulled her and Arabella into the truck.

"Well, we're ready whenever you are, private police people!" Honey said. "Please lower the door!"

Kyoya's police force saluted Honey. "Yes, sir!" they said before they closed the door of the semi-truck, encasing all three of them in darkness.

~Arabella's POV~

It was dark.

I began breathing heavily.

Don't worry, Arabella... The inside of this truck is very big... You're fine... You're fine...

You're not closed in at all... The space around you is huge... You're open and free... It's just dark, that's all...

And the dark is nothing to be afraid of.

I calmed down a bit after I told myself that.

I'm claustrophobic, so I HATE dark, closed up spaces...

I had a lot of experience with them when I was a child.

My train of thought was suddenly interrupted by Honey shouting, "Ahhh!!! It's dark and scary in here and I feel like I can't breathe!!! Let me out!!!"

I'm glad he said it before I had to...

"Honey-senpai, calm down...! It was your idea to come in here...!" Haruhi said.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Uh... Mori?"

"What are you doing with a harpoon...?"

Mori stood in front of us on the beach, holding a harpoon that was almost touching our faces.

"Mori, you're our senpai, not a sentai..." Haruhi said. I nodded.

Mori stared at us.

~~~~~~~~~~~

~Kaoru's POV~

"Hikaru?"

"Yes, Kaoru?"

"This game is harder than I thought it would be..."

"No joke, I'm totally bored with it already..." Hikaru said as we sat on the beach and watched Haruhi and Arabella take a stroll on the coastline.

We've been trying all day to find Haruhi and Arabella's fears, and so far we've been unsuccessful. It seems those two aren't scared of anything!

"What kind of girls are they?" Hikaru asked as we stared at them. "They've got to be afraid of something...! Right?"

I just groaned.

We suddenly heard a laugh from behind us.

We turned around to see Tono messing with a patch of long grass in a grassy area.

"What's up, boss?" Hikaru asked.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I found some rat snakes! Surely Haruhi and Arabella will freak out when they see these...!" Tono said as he held a bucket full of live snakes.

"Anyone would think those were creepy. So it isn't really a weakness." Hikaru pointed out.

My eyes widened a bit. "Hold on... I thought there weren't any rat snakes in Okinawa..." I said.

~Arabella's POV~

"Ha! Another side dish!" Haruhi exclaimed as she picked up another shellfish as we walked around looking for some.

"Look up here, Haruhi and Arabella!"

Haruhi and I looked up to see three of our customers on a large rock that towered over us.

"What's up?" one of our customers shouted down at us.

"The breeze up here feels great!" said another.

"It's dangerous, be careful!" Haruhi shouted up at them.

"Yeah! Don't get hurt up there!" I shouted.

Haruhi and I went back to hunting for shellfish before we heard a scream.

"Hey! Please, leave us alone!!!"

"This a private beach, you shouldn't be here!!!"

Haruhi and I looked at each other before we dropped what we were doing and went up the large rock.

Once we got to the top, we saw two guys, one trapping two of our customers in his arms, and another holding the last one.

Haruhi grabbed some shellfish from our bucket and tossed some at one of the guys' backs.

"Why don't you quit bothering them?! Weren't you jerks listening?!" Haruhi said.

"Yeah! You better leave them alone or I'll introduce you boys to a world of pain." I threatened, even though I had no idea how I'd do that... I'd probably just kick them where no man wants to be kicked, if you know what I mean.

"Haruhi! Arabella! You came to save us!" one of the girls said.

"You little runts!" one of the guys growled at us.

"AHHHH!!! THOSE AREN'T RAT SNAKES, THOSE ARE POISONOUS HABU SNAKES!!!"

"Ahh!!! What do I do with them?!?!? Come on, guys, HELP ME OUT!!!"

Huh...? Hikaru... Kaoru... Tamaki...?

Were those just their voices...???

And what are they doing with poisonous snakes?! Jeez, you can't leave those guys alone for more than five minutes before someone's either seriously injured or dead...

It took me a second to realize that one of the guys had cornered Haruhi before he suddenly yanked me by my arm and cornered me with her.

"I'll go get help!!!" one of the girls said before she escaped the grasp of one of the guys and ran down off the rock.

The guy that was cornering us held Haruhi by her shirt collar. "What are ya' gonna do now, loser?!" he said. "Now you and your girlfriend are dead meat!"

"What? I'm NOT her--er, I mean his girlfriend...! We're just friends, TRUST ME." I studdered. Haruhi gave me an annoyed look.

"Do you really think this guy cares about our life stories???" she said.

I just shrugged.

"Don't hurt them!!!" another one of the girls (who was being held by the other guy) said.

"Now don't you try to act all tough, you little sissy-boy!" the other guy shouted at Haruhi.

The first guy glared down at us. "Hey, I've got an idea... How'd you two like to take a swim?!" he said as he shoved Haruhi and I closer to the edge of the rock, which was above the ocean, and it was a long drop down.

Tamaki suddenly appeared on the rock, running towards us. "HARUHI!!! ARABELLA!!!" he shouted.

"Have a good swim!" the guy said before he pushed Haruhi and I over the edge of the rock...

And we fell.

Down, down, down... A long fall, indeed...

Tamaki jumped off after us, he too, fell.

We all hit the water at about the same time.

That's before the pressure of hitting the water at such an impact made me black out.

~~~~~~~~~~

I felt someone carrying me.

I forced my eyes open and saw it was Tamaki, and he was carrying both Haruhi and I, he struggled a bit under our weight.

"Haru-chan! Ara-chan!"

"Boss!"

The blurriness of my vision subsided somewhat and I was able to make out the Host Club, standing at the coastline, with worried looks on their faces.

When we got to them, I saw Kyoya put a towel over Haruhi and I.

"Where'd they go?" Tamaki asked, probably talking about those guys.

"We took their ID cards and respectfully asked them to leave. The girls all went back to the hotel and I called a doctor, he should be arriving here any minute now." Kyoya explained.

Haruhi got out of Tamaki's grasp. "Don't worry, guys, I'm fine... I don't need a doctor and I'm pretty sure Arabella doesn't need one either." she said.

I wiggled out of Tamaki's arms and stood by myself before I wobbled a bit, my legs felt like jello and like I might fall over at any second.

I stumbled into Kaoru... at least, I think it was Kaoru... My vision is still a bit blurry... It could've been Hikaru for all I know, I can't really tell right now.

"S-Sorry..." I said.

"It's alright, you definitely don't need to be apologizing." Kaoru's voice said. Oh, it was Kaoru... Even in blurriness my ability to tell the twins apart hadn't failed me... Woo hoo...!

I couldn't really feel my legs, so Kaoru had to hold me for a second. "I'm glad Kyoya called a doctor... You seem to need one... Are you okay?" he said seriously.

"I'm fine, really...," I said before I stood on my own and backed away a bit. "I'm just a bit shaken up, that's all. And Haruhi's right; I don't need a doctor."

"What were you thinking? Ya' know, neither of you are like Honey-senpai; you aren't martial arts masters. Why did you confront them? What made you two think you stood a chance? You two, against two BOYS?" Tamaki said.

"But it doesn't matter that they're boys and Arabella and I are girls." Haruhi said.

"Yeah, we were there, we had to do something." I said.

"Exactly, there wasn't any time to think--" Haruhi was cut off by Tamaki.

"That's no excuse, you idiots! Don't forget; YOU'RE BOTH GIRLS!" Tamaki said.

"Look, we're sorry you had to come and save us, Senpai. But I don't understand why you're so mad at us right now." Haruhi said, irritated.

Frankly, I was irritated too. "Yeah, Senpai, it doesn't matter what gender we are! What mattered was there wasn't anyone nearby but us! We couldn't just stand there and do nothing! We had to do something!" I said.

"I don't think we did anything wrong!" Haruhi shouted at Tamaki.

"I agree!" I said.

It was silent. Tamaki looked at us before he said, "You don't think so? Fine. Whatever you say. But I'm not speaking to you two until you admit that you were wrong!" Then, he stormed off.

~~~~~~~~~~

Soon, we were all back in the Ootori family villa, where we were staying.

Well, Tamaki stayed true to his word, he hasn't uttered a word to Haruhi or me since we got back.

I've never actually been in a fight with my one of my friends before... mainly because I didn't have any friends to fight with... But still, it feels weird to be fighting with Tamaki...

After I got dressed in what I was going to wear to dinner, I went down to the dining hall.

When I got there, Tamaki was sitting in a corner moping, Hikaru and Kaoru were watching him, Mori and Honey were watching the food, and Kyoya was just standing around.

Haruhi came in right after I did.

When she entered, everyone looked up at us and their eyes widened.

"Woah!" Honey said.

"Haruhi, Arabella, where did you get those dresses???" Hikaru and Kaoru asked.

"I got mine from my dad... He probably repacked my bags when I wasn't looking..." Haruhi said.

"I got mine from my mom, she made me pack it." I said.

"It's annoying... My dad's always trying to get me to wear this frilly stuff..." Haruhi said.

"So is my mom! Ugh, parents, right?" I said.

Hikaru and Kaoru stuck their thumbs up. "That's awesome! Your mom and your dad sure know their stuff!" they said. I rolled my eyes.

"Hey, Ara-chan, I know this has never come up before and it's a bit off topic right now... But, I always wondered, how did your father die?" Honey said.

I was taken aback by his sudden question. I had told the Host Club that my father was dead, but I never told them how he died.

Mori looked down at Honey disapprovingly. "Mitsukuni, it's not nice to pry, especially with something like that." he said.

"No, it's okay... I haven't told you all because we weren't exactly friends back then... But, my father... died from cancer when I was young." I said.

The room was silent for a couple of seconds.

"Oh my gosh... Arabella, we're so--" Hikaru and Kaoru started before I cut them off.

"It's fine. Really, it is," I said. Then, I clapped my hands together. "Well, who's hungry?" I changed the subject as soon as I could. I then sat down at the dining table.

Everyone else followed my lead.

"Uh, Arabella...?"

Tamaki was standing by my chair.

"I thought you weren't talking to me." I said.

"I-I'm not... I just wanted to say I'm sorry for what happened to your dad and all... I didn't know..." Tamaki said.

"It's okay. None of you knew. It's fine." I said.

After the whole awkwardness about my father was over, a new awkwardness filled its place; the awkwardness of Haruhi and I's fight with Tamaki.

Everyone just sat at the table, not talking at all. It seemed everyone was on edge.

No one even touched the dinner that was made for us (cooked crab), which looked incredibly delicious. I didn't even touch it either.

Hikaru suddenly broke the awkward silence. "Well, this is uncomfortable..." he said.

"Yeah... Kind of awkward..." Kaoru said.

"Really? I hadn't noticed." Kyoya said. The twins glared at him.

More silence.

"Let's dig in," Honey said, ending the silence. "These are the crabs we caught! I bet they're delicious!" He held up his crab. So did Mori.

Haruhi grabbed a crab leg and broke it open.

Tamaki flinched.

Haruhi ate her crab leg.

And then she ate another.

And another.

And another.

The only sound heard was Haruhi munching on her crab legs.

"These crabs... taste incredible...!" Haruhi said as she chewed and threw the shells of her crab legs on a nearby plate.

Tamaki just stared at her and watched.

After Haruhi eating about seven more crab legs, Tamaki spoke up. "Don't you think you've had enough...? Give it a rest..." he said.

Haruhi stopped mid-break of another crab leg. "Excuse me? I thought you weren't speaking to me." she said before she finished breaking open her crab leg.

I started eating my crab to avoid looking at Tamaki or Haruhi. I guess everyone got what I was trying to do, because they all followed my lead, all suddenly very interested in their dinner.

"You tryin' to be cute?" Tamaki grumbled at Haruhi.

Haruhi chewed for a second before she gave Tamaki a look.

Tamaki gasped before he suddenly stood up and slammed his napkin on the table. "Okay, fine. I get it. It seems that neither you or Arabella will admit you're wrong. See if I care then. I'm going to bed. Kyoya, would you show me to my room, please?" he huffed before he and Kyoya exited the dining hall.

Haruhi was about to break open her thirteenth crab leg (I've kept count) when she suddenly stopped.

"Maybe he's right," she said. "Maybe I do need to learn a way to protect myself..."

I sighed. "Yeah, he's right... We were just too stubborn to listen... I'm always too stubborn, it seems." I said.

"So that's it? He got to you, huh?" Hikaru and Kaoru asked.

"Well, it wouldn't hurt for you two to learn martial arts or something." Hikaru said.

"But it's not like we're going to force you to learn it." Kaoru said.

"Besides, that's not the real issue here." they said together.

"To be honest, we were all worried. About how recklessly you both acted." Hikaru said.

"What do you mean?" Haruhi asked.

"We didn't cause any of you guys trouble or anything." I said.

"That's not true, Ara-chan. I think you and Haru-chan need to apologize. 'Kay?" Honey said. "You made us all worried. Especially Tama-chan, I think you need to apologize to him the most."

"So... you were all..." Haruhi said, trailing off.

"... worried about us...?" I finished for her.

"But why?" Haruhi asked.

Honey sighed.

"You're both hopeless." Hikaru and Kaoru said.

"Ya' think?" Haruhi asked.

"Guys, I'm really sorry..." I said.

"Me too. I'm sorry too." Haruhi said.

We made up with a group hug. "Aw~! Apology accepted, you two little rebels!" Hikaru said. I chuckled.

"You're both so cute, we forgive you!" Kaoru said.

Suddenly, I saw that Haruhi, who was next to me in the hug, had turned green and groaned.

"Uh... is something wrong...?" Hikaru and Kaoru asked.

"I'm not feeling so good..." Haruhi mumbled.

"You must've eaten too much crab..." Hikaru said.

"How much crab legs did you eat?" Kaoru asked Haruhi.

"Thirteen. I kept count." I said.

"Be strong, Haru-chan!" Honey said.

"Let's get her to the nearest bathroom, hurry!" I said.

~~~~~~~~~~

After Haruhi was finished puking, we all decided it was time to go to bed.

Not too long after we declared we were going to bed, I fell asleep.

When I came home from school, I found a baseball on the ground amongst several pieces of glass that used to be a vase.

My little brother stood next to the mess, holding a baseball bat nervously.

I immediately dropped my backpack and ran to him. "Daniel! What happened?! What did you do?!" I said.

"It was an accident, I swear!!!" Daniel cried.

"Why did you do this??? You know he's coming home soon! He could be here any minute! If he finds this, you're gonna get it for sure...!" I said, panicking.

My baby brother can't... he just can't be beaten... He's too young... He won't be able to take it...

Suddenly, I heard the front door open.

"Arabella...!" Daniel whined, he was terrified.

He should be.

"Don't worry, I've got an idea. Let me do the talking. Don't say a single word. Got it?" I said.

Daniel nodded.

I grabbed the baseball bat out of his hands.

"Daniel, go to your room. Now. Go!" I said.

Daniel immediately obeyed and ran as fast as I've ever seen him go, up the stairs.

I took a deep breath, preparing myself.

Then, Robert came in.

He looked down at the floor and he immediately grew angry, just as I knew he would. He has a very short temper, he's proven it too.

"What is this?! What happened to my vase?! Well, tell me, runt, WHO BROKE MY VASE?!" he shouted.

I stayed silent for a second. "I did," I said. "I broke your vase. It was an accident."

When Robert heard that, he brought this hand to my cheek and slapped me, hard. My cheek stung. I hissed at the contact.

"You little useless RUNT! How dare you break one of my things?! Your mother is going to hear about this!!!" Robert shouted. Then, he kicked me across the room.

My body slammed against the wall. I knew this would happen.

And, when he said Mom would be hearing about this, I knew what he meant. I wish I was wrong about it. Every time that bastard beat my mother I wished Dad was still here and he had never died, that Mom hadn't remarried to this douchebag, that we were all still one big, happy family like we were before Dad passed away.

But, that was all gone, it was just a fantasy now, a fantasy that would never become reality.

When Robert was done beating me he shouted, "GO TO YOUR ROOM!!!" And, I went.

When I got upstairs, however, I couldn't walk very much farther and I suddenly collapsed in the hallway by Daniel's bedroom door.

He immediately came out of his room and held me close. "Big sister...? Ari...? I'm sorry... I'm sorry I made Robert get angry at you..." he said.

"It's not... your fault... It was my own decision to lie and say I broke the vase... You didn't deserve what he was gonna do to you if he knew it was you..." I said.

"I'm so sorry, big sister...," my little brother sobbed, tears streaming down his cheeks. "I'm sorry he got mad at you. I love you."

"It's alright... I love you too, Danny." I said.

I woke up screaming. And crying.

The door immediately flew open, and the light turned on.

It was Kaoru.

"K-Kaoru..." I gulped.

"Woah, what happened??? I heard you screaming!" Kaoru said.

"Only you heard me?" I asked.

"Hikaru and I's room is the closest to yours." Kaoru said.

"How come Hikaru isn't here?" I asked.

"Hikaru's a heavy sleeper, he can sleep through anything." Kaoru said. I nodded.

"So... care to tell me why you were screaming your head off?" he said.

"I had a nightmare... The same nightmare I've had ever since I was young... I haven't had it for a little over a year now, but now I had it again..." I said.

"It must've been bad since you were crying too..." Kaoru said.

"Yeah... it was bad...," I said. Then, I sighed. "Kaoru, I'm sorry."

Kaoru looked confused. "Sorry for what?" he asked.

"It's just... My childhood was... it was just messed up and bad... So, I'm not used to people caring for me... I used to have to do everything by myself... And I'm definitely not used to guys caring about me... My dad died when I was only eight years old... he was the only guy who ever actually loved me. So, after he died, I lost that feeling. And that's why I acted so recklessly today... I'm used to getting things done by myself and no one really caring about me... I guess I never thought about how you guys felt, and I'm so sorry for that," I said. "Can you ever forgive me?"

Kaoru sighed before he looked at me warmly. "Arabella, we already forgave you. And it wasn't completely your fault. Also, from now on, you never have to be worried about losing another guy in your life ever again, because we're here, and we're not going anywhere anytime soon, whether you want us to or not," Kaoru then opened his arms wide for a hug. "Now, come here."

I immediately grabbed him into a hug. Then, I cried. And it felt good.

Kaoru hugged me as I cried. "Hey, it's okay. We're not going to leave you. You're okay. Everything is fine. We're here, and we're here to stay." he whispered.

We sat there for the next five minutes, just hugging, when I suddenly heard an angry shout.

"YOU BASTARD!!!"

It sounded like Tamaki.

Kaoru and I separated.

"What do you suppose he did now?" I asked.

"Eh, it's Tono. Someone's probably dead or something. Maybe he somehow burned down his room. I don't know, it probably doesn't concern us." Kaoru said with a dismissal wave of his hand.

I chuckled. "You're right."

~~~~~~~~~~~

Someone is breathing on me.

How do I know? Because I feel air being continuously blown on my cheek.

Who's breathing on me???

I reluctantly opened my eyes and saw that it was morning and the sunlight was shining into the room.

I also immediately noticed that not even an inch from my face, was Kaoru's face.

Before I could back away or wonder what the heck he was doing in my room, his eyes suddenly snapped open.

I flinched a bit.

Once he noticed how close we were, he turned red and immediately backed away. I did the same.

"W-What are you doing in my room???" I asked.

"We must've fallen asleep together... I have to say I don't ever remember going back to my room..." Kaoru said.

We just awkwardly sat there until, suddenly, my door opened.

Standing outside was the rest of the Host Club.

"Would you just shut it, you shady twin?! Where's your brother anyway?!" Tamaki said to Hikaru, he hadn't noticed Kaoru and I yet, mainly because he wasn't even looking in the room.

Honey and Mori stared at Kaoru and I. "Uh... Tama-chan...?" Honey said.

"Not now, Honey-senpai, I'm trying to put this shady twin in his place." Tamaki said.

"Uh... Senpai...?" Haruhi asked.

"Not now, my little girl!" Tamaki said. "Now, where is your brother, you shady twin?!"

Hikaru shrugged. "Oh, you won't have to worry about finding him..." he said before he pointed in my room at Kaoru and I.

Tamaki turned to look, he then saw Kaoru and I, and he froze.

Mass freakout in three... two... one--

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING IN MY LITTLE GIRL'S ROOM WITH HER IN HER BED?!?!? FIRST KYOYA, NOW YOU?!?!? I WILL NOT STAND FOR IT!!! PREPARE TO BE BEATEN TO A PULP, YOU SHADY TWIN!!!" Tamaki screamed.

I immediately silenced him. "Senpai! CHILL. We didn't do anything! He just came to check on me and we ended up just falling asleep together. THAT'S IT. NOTHING HAPPENED." I said.

Tamaki stopped breathing quite so hard and calmed down a bit. "Are you SURE???" he said.

"Yes, WE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!" Kaoru said. I nodded, confirming the fact.

Tamaki calmed down. "Alright then. Let's get going and go home." he said.

So, we left.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey, you better watch your back, Haruhi. I never would've pegged the boss as an S&M pervert." Hikaru said as we loaded the limo.

"IT WASN'T LIKE THAT!!!" Tamaki shouted.

"What happened?" Kaoru asked Hikaru.

"We caught Tono trying to do the hanky-panky with Haruhi! He put a blindfold on her and earplugs in her ears! It was some strange kind of perverted foreplay... It was nasty." Hikaru said. Kaoru choked down a laugh. I just gave Tamaki a look.

"I WASN'T TRYING TO DO ANYTHING TO HER!!! I WAS HELPING HER WITH HER FEAR!!! I SWEAR!!!" Tamaki shouted as we all got into the limo. "IT WASN'T LIKE THAT AT ALL!!!"

"I see. Well, now I know what S&M is. I can't believe I almost let you get away with it." Haruhi said to Tamaki.

"I wasn't doing anything freaky!!! I WAS TRYING TO HELP YOU!!!" Tamaki said, his face turning red.

"Let's go." Kyoya said before he ordered the limo driver to start driving.

Tamaki jumped. "WAIT A MINUTE...! I'M NOT IN THE LIMO YET...!!!" he shouted. We started driving away. Tamaki chased us. "DON'T LEAVE WITHOUT ME!!!"

Talk about an insane trip to the beach... I think that's just about as insane as things could possibly get.

"WAIT, YOU GUYS!!! WAIT FOR MEEEEE!!!"