January 21

"Honey, where did you get this dress from?" My mother called from the living room. I walked into the room to see her lift a gorgeous blue dress out of fancy packaging.

"Oh, she was serious?" I asked myself, sitting next to my mom. She gave me a questioning look, so I explained.

"Mrs. Hitachiin- the twins' mother- said that she wanted to give me something to wear and, quote, 'model while you're twirling'." My mother shook her head, smiling as she handed me the dress.

"You truly did make the right decision, going to Ouran." She looked over at me fondly, waving me in the direction of my room. "Go try it on, and hurry, so we can do your hair and makeup!" I laughed at how excited she was as I walked back to my room.

Hurrying as she had requested, I slipped the silky dress over my head and put my long arms to use to zip up the back. After adjusting the straps properly, I turned to my mirror to assess the dress. It was beautiful, and I knew it would shine under the chandeliers in the ballroom. Mrs. Hitachiin did a phenomenal job, and I'd have to thank her 70 more times.

My mother knocked and entered as soon as I granted her permission, holding her makeup bag and a few hair tools. She gasped as soon as she walked in, smiling brightly and clasping her hands together. My mom stopped in front of me, her brown eyes shimmering under the soft sunlight coming from the bedroom window.

"You look divine, Kaiyoka..." She seemed at a happy loss for words, lifting her arm to curl a lock of my hair around her fingers. "My beautiful daughter is growing up." I smiled, pulling her into a hug.

"I can't get all sentimental now, mom, the tears might pucker the fabric!" I joked, and we laughed together as she sat me down and began doing my makeup. We talked about school and work and Kasoiya, and many other things we could think of while she worked. I knew what she was going to say as soon as she said,

"So." I rolled my eyes playfully as I finished her thought for her.

"Kyouya?" I saw her smile in the mirror, and she nodded.

"Kyouya. You're not dating yet, are you?" My eyes widened at the thought.

"No, not at all... Wait, what do you mean, 'yet'?" I asked, backtracking her words. She smiled a knowing smile, a trademark expression of hers.

"Oh nothing. Although Kyouya is quite the interesting personality. He must think that I don't know his intentions already.... Ah, young men. Such naive people." I had a lot of questions, but my mother had become unresponsive and was dazed off in the musings of her mind. I just shook my own head slightly, directing my thoughts instead to the car that should be arriving at my house in exactly 30 minutes. Kyouya-senpai insisted on chauffeur-ing me to the dance, and he stuck me as a person who was punctual to the second. Not that I minded.

My mother's voice shook my out of my own thought bubble, saying,

"It's all done." I looked in the mirror for the first time in a while and my face promptly broke into a wide smile. She knew I didn't like wearing much makeup, so she left my face looking natural but almost more regal. She had curled my hair, putting it in a half-up half-down style with the trailing ends of my hair pulled into loose waves. In short, I looked beautiful.

It was a whirlwind after that. Kyouya rang the doorbell at exactly the time he said he would, as I anticipated. My mother harassed us both, taking too many pictures before finally letting us go. The car ride was a quieter blur, both Kyouya and I surrounded in our own thoughts. It wasn't until we were out of the car and Kyouya offered his arm to me did either of us open our mouths.

"Shall we?" He asked. I took his arm, unable to stop my smile.

"We shall." He and I walked up to the school and the stairway that led up to the huge ballroom. The doors were open, soft apricot-colored light and lilting music spilling out into the evening. My smile grew as we stepped into the ballroom together.

"Tamaki and the others should be here already... Ah, there they are." Kyouya spotted them across the floor, and we were lucky enough to make it through the few early girls on the dance floor easily. Once we got there in one piece, I sighed with relief and my eyes lit up at the sight of my friends.

"You all look wonderful!" I complimented, smiling at all of them. It was a little strange, admittedly, to be the only person in a dress, though I wasn't the only girl, but that was soon forgotten in the midst of last-minute preparations. The hosts went up to take their place on the grand white staircase at the front of the ballroom, and as soon as Tamaki got to the top, every girl in the room shut up and stared at him in awe. I was proud.

"I bid you a fond welcome to the Host Club ball!" Tamaki announced. His words were lost almost immediately amidst a mirage of high-pitched screams and cheers. He put his hands up for silence, and then turned to Kyouya.

"We invite you to enjoy yourselves to your heart's content. I hope you all will have a wonderful time dancing with your favorite hosts this evening," Kyouya continued, making me smile. "In addition, the best dancer will be crowned tonight's queen, and will receive an impassioned kiss on the cheek from our king." Kyouya motioned back to Tamaki, who was mid-flip of his hair.

"Good luck to you," He batted his lavender eyes at the audience and winked as he said, "Baby." A girl across the room actually fainted, and the room was filled with screams. Haruhi was talking quietly to the twins about something, which attracted the attention of the whole club, but they eventually got down to the floor and began dancing with the other girls.

A live orchestra was playing over to the left of the staircase, and I found myself gravitating toward them more than to the dancers. I ended up near a bay window and balcony, swaying along to the lovely tunes they were playing by myself. I closed my eyes and let the music wash over me, utterly content to listen to them forever. And I got my forever, for about fifteen minutes, before someone's hand landed gently on my arm. I opened my eyes, following the hand to meet the rest of Kyouya, and he gestured toward the balcony doors. I nodded and let him lead me gently outside, where the music was faint and people's voices fainter still. A cool breeze was blowing, soft enough to accompany the mood of the evening light.

We both stood in silence for a moment. I waited for him to speak, still listening with one ear to the orchestra inside.

"You look exquisite this evening, Miss Sahni." He said, turning to me. I mirrored him, smiling down at the fabric I had adorned. That was not what I expected to hear.

"Thank you; Mrs. Hitachiin really did a fantastic job with the outfit." I said. Kyouya shook his head, a small but genuine smile creeping into his face.

"You misunderstand. You look good in the dress." He said. Blush roared into my cheeks, and my face became hot. I looked down, unable to say anything that resembled a real sentence. We stayed in silence for about a minute, and my eyes stayed on the ground.

"If I recall, I believe I said you look exquisite this evening, Kaiyoka." Kyouya said softly. My head raised slowly, my eyes meeting his in disbelief. He'd complimented me, but beyond that, he called me by my first name.

"Thank you, Kyouya-senpai." The words came out of my mouth in a whisper. I was still trying to process whether this was real or not. He didn't reply, but rather let his smile reach his eyes. My eyes searched Kyouya's face, and his did the same to mine. I could see the serene happiness in his gaze, and I just barely noticed how close together we were standing.

"Kyouya-senpai! Kaiyoka!" Haruhi came rushing outside, but stopped abruptly when she saw us. Kyouya made no move to step away from me, and I didn't either. We simply turned out heads toward her, almost in tandem.

"Yes?" Kyouya said, encouraging Haruhi to continue. She stared at me with wide eyes for a second, her gaze flitting between Kyouya-senpai and myself.

"Um... It's time for the announcement. Tamaki-senpai wanted me to find you." Without waiting for a response, she gave me one last look before going back inside. Kyouya and I looked back at each other, and he sighed quietly as he stepped away from me, smoothing the lapel of his jacket.

"A host's job never ends," He stated, gesturing for me to walk in front of him. We walked inside together, but he excused himself from my side almost right away and made a beeline for the rest of the club. They were all standing at the top of a grand staircase, looking flashy in all of their well-lit glory.

"Welcome once again to the Host Club ball!" Tamaki said with a grand gesture and smile to match, causing the girls to cheer and group around the base of the staircase. "I want to thank you all for coming tonight, and I hope you are enjoying yourselves. But tonight, we have a special guest to honor, a new addition to the club. Kaiyoka, come on up!" Tamaki pointed to me, and all at once, everyone in the room went silent and turned to where I was standing near the balcony doors. I heard a few whispers here and there, and even saw a few unexpected smiles from some of them.

The girls parted a path for me from the doors to the stairs, watching my every move as I walked toward the rest of the club. Once I got to the top of the stairs, Kyouya offered his hand and helped me up the last few steps.

"This is Kaiyoka Sahni, the author of all of our host club books." Kyouya announced. His voice cut through the silence, but was immediately lost in a burst of cheers. The girls were clapping and cheering, and it was a much more positive reaction that I'd imagined. I couldn't help but smile brightly.

"She has been with us formally for a while, but tonight is for her proper introduction. Now, please, mingle with the hosts, greet one another, and enjoy the dance!" Tamaki spoke, eliciting more cheers from the crowd of girls. The dancing began again soon after Tamaki had finished speaking; Tamaki had whisked Haruhi away to dance, the twins were (surprisingly) talking and dancing with two young ladies, and Mori and Honey were moving along with one another. As I spied each member of the host club, my smile grew a little each time.

"What are you smiling at, Kaiyoka?" Kyouya asked, once again using my given name as he appeared at my side. I smiled wider at that, replying,

"Everyone. The host club. The energy, the fun. You." He raised an eyebrow, offering me his hand smoothly. I took it, and he gently pulled me into the heart of the dance floor.

"Do I make you smile?" He asked, a small grin flitting across his features.

"You do." I confirmed. Our verbal conversation ended there, and we opted instead to let our dancing do the talking. We waltzed and twirled around the dance floor in time to the music- thank God for coordination- under the beautiful lighting in the ballroom. It was storybook magical, all the billowing gowns of the dancing girls making the floor spin like a satin kaleidoscope, the merry tapping of the boys' shoes in step with the beat of the music. I found it impossible to keep my eyes off of Kyouya-senpai; it was a treat to see him so unashamedly happy, his eyes sparkling behind the frames of his glasses.

We stopped dancing after about a half of an hour, as dancing was quite tiring. However, the moment I let go of Kyouya-senpai's hand, another snatched it up. As I stepped back, I saw that it was that same brunette girl who always comes to the music room to stare at Kyouya. The girl in my Language class who always tries to take the seat next to his; if I remembered correctly, her name was Miyuki (I had heard Kyouya say it once or twice at the host club and in class). She narrowed her eyes at me, smiling spitefully as she twirled away with Kyouya and leaving me where I was. I watched them disappear through the crowd, and Kyouya kept eye contact with me as they danced further away. I spared one last glance at Kyouya and smiled softly before weaving my way through the crowd and off of the dance floor.

I found myself returning to the balcony on which Kyouya and I had been standing before, perhaps in hopes that he'd know where to find me. But it was Haruhi who walked out onto the balcony moments later, staring out at the beautiful view the school gave us of the sunset.

"Kyouya got taken from you, too?" Haruhi asked. I nodded, assuming that the same was for herself and Tamaki.

"A host's job is never done," I echoed Kyouya's previous sentiment, and Haruhi nodded vigorously.

"Amen to that." She paused for a moment, staring out at the sun contemplatively.

"Kaiyoka," She asked after a minute, "Do you love Kyouya-senpai?" Her question had me immediately faltering, but she was quick to clarify.

"What I mean is, do you ever find yourself thinking about how easy it would be for you to love him? The thought that, because you already love so much about his personality, that it would translate into love for Kyouya himself?" After a moment of thought, I nodded.

"I know exactly what you mean, and I think that would be really easy to do. I've thought about it, but I don't think I'd act on it just yet." Haruhi sighed, a smile on her face.

"It's good to know I'm not the only one." We both giggled, and I was about to reply before two voices piped up behind us simultaneously.

"Haruhi?"

"Kaiyoka?"

We both turned to see Tamaki and Kyouya standing in the doorway of the balcony. I took a moment to appreciate the situational symmetry that was happening; two pairs of friends that were becoming two pairs of couples. How God managed to work this out, I didn't know, but I was thanking him for it.

"What were you two talking about?" Tamaki asked as Haruhi and I approached them.

"Love." I replied simply. Haruhi glanced over at me, surprised that I answered honestly, but I simply smiled, as both boys looked absolutely shell-shocked at my answer. Haruhi, now smiling as she understood, shot me a wink as we passed Tamaki and Kyouya, who were still standing in shock.

"Come on, guys," Haruhi said laughingly, "We don't have all night!"

*

"Kyouya-senpai, your event planning skills are unmatched." We stood at the front gates of the school, watching everyone leave. Soft orchestral music still played behind us as we oversaw the masses of girls dwindle to a few, and then to just the hosts. Without answering my question, Kyouya slipped his hand into mine and held it tightly. I looked over at him, surprised, but he didn't seem to notice.

"... Kyouya?" I asked, and he seemed to come out of a fog when he answered me.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Your event planning skills are amazing," I repeated, and he smiled at me.

"Thank you. I was hoping the evening was to your liking." I nodded, ensuring that it was. The hosts came up to us after about a minute, closing off the last bits of the night and bidding one another goodbye as they went home. Haruhi gave me a pointed look and a smirk, which I'm assuming was because of Kyouya, and I smirked right back as she got into Tamaki's car. We both smiled at each other, and I waved as they drove off.

Once Kyouya and I were the last ones left, he spoke again.

"Are you ready to go?" I nodded, and we made our way to his car, talking quietly about the events of the dance. I noticed (with too much glee) that he seemed to be annoyed that Miyuki had taken up so much of his time dancing, and I couldn't help but grin. Our conversation drifted to other things eventually, and then into silence as he dropped me off, but it was always natural. It wasn't forced, and it felt easy and genuine. And it wasn't until I had gone to bed that I realized that Kyouya didn't let go of my hand until we got out of the car.