Here's another chapter. I'm actually surprised at myself with getting this done. I hope you all enjoy it!

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Chapter 12: What's With Harry and Haruhi?

*Classroom*

"Hikaru, have you noticed something odd between Haruhi and Harry? It seems kind of tense," Kaoru asks. He sits at his desk staring at Harry. He watches Harry read a novel as Haruhi writes in her own notebook.

Hikaru leans into Kaoru's side as he also looks at the two brunettes in question. He hums in agreement. "Yeah… Now that you mention it, I tried to poke some fun at Haruhi about yesterday, and Harry was going to comment, but Haruhi immediately changed the subject. What have you noticed?"

"Well, Harry has been giving Haruhi some looks when he isn't looking at that book of his, and she hasn't looked once at him. I mean, he's staring so intensely at her, I'm surprised she hasn't exploded."

"Do you think the both of them are fighting? They seemed fine yesterday when we left."

"Let's bring it up to the rest of the club. Maybe Boss will know what to do?" Kaoru paused, "Actually, maybe Kyoya-senpai will know what is going on, and then Boss will figure out what to do." Hikaru laughs in response to the additional comment.

*Lunch Time*

"Harry-kun, do you have a moment?" Nekozawa appears behind one of the classroom doors while continuing to be in the darkened room.

"What do you need, Nekozawa-senpai? Do you need me to watch over Kurimi-chan this week?"

"Oh no, nothing like that right now. Though I greatly appreciate you helping me out when I can't be the brother she deserves right now. It's just that I've noticed an odd spike in the air today. It's been causing a few things of interference. Is everything okay?"

Harry tilts his head to avoid eye contact. He crosses his arms loosely in front of him and leans most of his weight on one leg. "I'm sorry. I'll try to get it under control. I've just been agitated."

"Oh? Do you need Reiko-chan to help with a spell? I know that you are fairly adept at your abilities, but it might help."

"I'm good, Nekozawa-senpai. I don't think there is much anybody can do at this point. I appreciate the offer though."

"If you say so. Do try and visit more. Reiko-chan and the others love to see your skills."

*After School Before Club*

"What do you mean Haruhi-chan and Harry-kun are fighting?" Tamaki asks. He slams his hands on the arm rests of the chair. His purple eyes widen in disbelief.

"I wouldn't say they are fighting, but there is definitely something going on between the two of them," Hikaru responds.

"Oh, this isn't good at all! Mother, what should we do?"

"This is rather sudden for the both of them. I haven't heard anything brought up by any of the guests. I suggest we wait and see what happens. However, if they cause trouble for our guests and our profits, I will make sure they are duly punished." Kyoya continues tapping away at his laptop. To a more experienced observer, somebody would have noticed Kyoya briefly stopping his typing when Hikaru and Kaoru first brought the information to the upperclassmen.

"What about cake? Maybe cake will make things better? Takashi, what do you think they would like? I know Haruhi likes strawberries, and Harry really likes chocolate! Maybe we should go to the cafe and see if they have a cake with both!" Mori nods along to Hani's suggestion. Both look at Tamaki to get the approval.

"Good plan, Hani-senpai! I trust you and Mori-senpai in getting the cake. Twins, good job with noticing! Mother, let's make sure that all the preparations are ready for today's activities! I'm sure if we show the both of them the beauty of working together, they will stop fighting and be okay." Tamaki jumps from his seat and strikes an assertive pose with one hand on his hip and the other pointing in the distance.

"I mean… You failed on 'helping' us, Boss. What makes you think you could help them?"

"Yeah, Harry was the one who uncovered our scheme."

Tamaki slumps back to his seat at both comments and looks at Kyoya with tears running from his eyes. "Mother, our boys are terrible to me! Help me!"

"That's your problem. Now get up and let's get ready."

*30 minutes later*

"Haruhi-kun, what are your thoughts on today's theme?"

"Yeah, I want to know, too! You and Harry-kun look wonderful in those sailor outfits."

Haruhi looks at the two girls, and stares down at her outfit. Today's theme focuses on navy uniforms. Tamaki is in a lieutenant commander outfit with Kyouya as petty officer, first class. Hani and Mori are wearing the leading seaman white service outfits while the first years are in the seaman first class white dress outfits. While Haruhi didn't see the point in the outfits, there wasn't much that could be changed.

She lifts her eyes to look at the girls before softening her smile and replying, "I think they are certainly interesting outfits. I think that the navy shows such a great quality of teamwork and relying on each other for a common goal. It reminds me of the both of you with how you both work together so well."

Both girls squealed at the compliment and continued to discuss the navy outfits with Haruhi. While Haruhi invests in talking to the girls, Harry focuses on the novel in his hands. He continues to watch Haruhi from his peripheral, but decides that nothing could be done right now. He knows that Haruhi didn't care for the outfits, and did agree that nothing could be done.

Harry watches out of his peripheral as Hani comes bouncing towards the table with a plate of cake; Mori walking behind Hani. He idly wonders if this was related to some sort of plot the club had about Haruhi and his situation. He has little doubt that the twins noticed something and brought it up to the rest of the club. Harry tenses in preparation of a possible problem.

"Harry-chan! Haruhi-chan! Let's share cake! I got us this delicious chocolate cake with strawberries on it! You both like chocolate and strawberries, right?"

"Thank you, Hani-senpai. What's the occasion?"

"Well, Hika-chan and Kao-chan told us that you both have been fighting, and cake is the best way to stop fighting! Isn't that right, Mika-chan, Kasumi-chan?" Hani directs his last question to Haruhi's two guests at the table.

"What? Haruhi-kun, Harry-kun, you're both fighting? Is everything okay? Is there anything we can do to help?"

"No, no, girls. Things are fine between Harry and me. We aren't fighting at all. Please, don't worry about anything. I'd feel terrible if some misunderstanding were to upset you," Haruhi consoles the two girls. She turns to Harry, "Isn't that right, Harry?"

Harry blinks slowly at Haruhi, reminding her of a cat who couldn't care one way or another as long as they personally weren't bothered. Haruhi stares a little more intently at Haruhi with a frown at the corners of her mouth. Harry sighs and puts down his novel.

"Haruhi and I aren't fighting. It's simply a misunderstanding. Hani-senpai, I'd appreciate it if the club comes to either one of us to address any possible issues privately. Haruhi is busy enough to have to deal with a misunderstanding that could be easily resolved by talking. Although, I do appreciate the concern you and the rest of the club have for the both of us. Isn't it great, girls?" Harry smiles tightly at the girls, but the girls stop panicking and instead begin to squeal about how 'knightly' Harry looked at protecting Haruhi from misunderstandings and handling the situation.

"I'm sorry, Harry-chan, Haru-chan! I just wanted to help you both, but I totally understand wanting us to talk to you in private in the future! Can we still eat this cake? It's so delicious! Takashi and I both picked it out together!"

Harry looks back at Haruhi and tilts his head in question. Haruhi smiles at Hani and Mori, and nods, "Yeah, let's have some cake. I'm sure the girls would love it as well."

*After Club Activities*

"Okay, you two! What is going on? The twins told us that there was something going on between the two of you. Even today with the guests, you both weren't talking the same as usual. Please tell Papa what is wrong," Tamaki bursts out once the doors of the music room close. At Harry's blank stare, Tamaki looks at Haruhi, "Please? What is going on? We're worried about you."

"There's nothing going on, Tamaki-senpai. I'm just not feeling well, and Harry has been upset that I'm not resting," Haruhi tries to downplay the situation. She has her hands in front of her in a placating manner as she wears a tense smile. "Harry, please tell Tamaki-senpai that nothing is going on."

Harry turns to look at Haruhi. Once again, Haruhi is reminded of a cat that clearly wasn't going to do what was asked despite hearing the question. She huffs at Harry and crosses her arms at him. The rest of the club watch the interaction between the two brunettes.

Hani notices that Harry's shoulders were tense despite trying to come off as relaxed. He sees the slight tension in Harry's neck as if Harry was restraining himself from exploding. Being more aware than others give him credit, Hani feels the subtle shift in the air suggesting a battle of wills.

Mori watches as Haruhi's eyes first widened in shock before her eyes gain a steely glint at Harry's silence. Mori wonders if Harry is wanting Haruhi to say something about the situation. He thinks about his own experiences with Mitsukuni and how he has pushed for Mitsukuni to do things that weren't desirable, like going to the dentist.

Kyoya slows his typing as he watches the interaction from his place at the table. He observes Harry more intently than he does Haruhi. He wants to see if Harry will blow up and jump to explaining what is going on between him and Haruhi. From his own observations, he has noticed that Harry tends to be more vocal about problems.

Kaoru's attention is drawn to Harry's hands. Despite being in his pockets, Kaoru could see fists forming. He even sees the small tremors from how tensely Harry holds himself. He bites the bottom of his lips, feeling some hesitation about the outcome of the situation in front of him.

Hikaru, from his place at Kaoru's side, looks at Haruhi as she huffs in annoyance. He notices the scowl forming on her face. He also notices how Tamaki was looking back and forth between Harry and Haruhi. The blond sophomore looks like he was about to have an aneurysm if neither of the two brunettes start talking.

The sound of the window shattering shocks everybody in the room out of their thoughts. Kyoya stands up and walks to the broken window. "How odd. We'll have to make a call to get this window fixed. I don't see anything that could have shattered the window, and it's unlikely anybody was singing in such high octave to do something like this."

"Octave? Singing? That's it! Let's go do something together! I know it's only Monday, but let's all spend time together. How about karaoke together? I heard that commoners often rent out a whole room to sing and eat food together?" Tamaki jumps up and rambles quickly. He manages to get Hikaru, Kaoru, and Hani interested in the idea.

Harry moves his attention from Tamaki to Haruhi. He watches as Haruhi tries to bring herself to say something. He wills for Haruhi to say something, anything. However, he sees Haruhi fold into herself without saying a word.

"Enough! I've tried waiting, and I can't stay quiet anymore. I want Haruhi to stand up for herself more. Do any of you know what it feels like to have other people impose their own interests over you? You all have these unrealistic ideas and shove them down her throat, and she goes along with it because she's too kind to say no. Sure, some of the shenanigans you all do can be funny, but have any of you thought about how Haruhi felt about some of the things? I hate how people can be so selfish. If you really cared about Haruhi, you would give her the chance to say something."

"Harry-chan, we do care about Haru-chan. We just want to have a good time with everybody. I'm sure nobody is trying to upset her. Haru-chan, do you really feel upset with us?"

Haruhi stammers as she tries to rebound from the shock of Harry's rant. "I enjoy the time with the club, like Harry said, but it's true. Sometimes, it is difficult to say no to you guys because it seems like you all won't listen. Honestly, I want to go home today and prepare for our exams next week. I'm sorry."

Haruhi loses her balance as Hani, the twins, and Tamaki attack her with a group hug. They babble apologies and begin to swarm Haruhi with questions about things they have done recently that have upset her. Harry watches the exchanges with a guarded look while Kyoya and Mori stay to the sidelines.

*Evening*

"Harry, can we talk about what you said earlier? It sounded like you had somebody do that to you, imposing their interests onto you. You never mentioned anything about that."

"I never felt the need to do so. Besides, you didn't seem like you wanted to hear it from me last night."

Haruhi averts her eyes to the ground as she and Harry continue to walk back to her apartment. "What happened to you? What about the people that pushed themselves onto you?"

Harry looks up at the evening sky. He tousles his hair in resignation before answering, "I was miserable and felt trapped with all of these expectations. Anytime I tried to say no to something, it was met with a lot of criticism. I haven't talked to those people in a very, very long time. However, I appreciated the few people I had that did listen to my thoughts and opinions. I think that if it weren't for them, I wouldn't have experienced what it was like to feel valued for who I was instead of some made up idea people had of me.

Nobody expects you to be okay with everything coming your way. It also doesn't make you weak to say no and ask for help. I know before Ouran, you always handled things alone because you didn't want to burden your dad or anybody. Things are different now, and you should recognize that. It's okay to ask for help because we care for you and only want you to be happy and to be able to reach your own goals. You don't have to be so stubborn."

"I'll try, but I can't promise anything to change."

"You don't have to promise. Trying is good enough to start. I'm sorry for exploding like that."

"I'm sorry, too. I know you were only trying to help. Like you said, I'm stubborn," Haruhi pauses, "I'd like to ask you something, Harry." Harry looks at Haruhi and makes a questioning noise. "Would you be able to tell me everything? Rather, you aren't keeping any secrets from me, right?"

"What do you mean by secrets?"

"I don't know. Sometimes it still feels like there is this wall around you, and you always seem so drained. I want to be able to help you, too."

"I'm doing fine. I'm just tired from learning some things for the future. There are quite a number of complexities behind running my parents' companies. Don't worry. If there is anything you want to know, you just have to ask. I try to keep honesty as a personal policy."

Haruhi smiles at the answer and begins to talk about plans for dinner and for preparing for next week's exams. Harry nods along and provides his own responses.

*Later*

I need to meditate more. The stress is getting to me that even Haruhi is noticing it. I can't believe I broke the window. I feel so stupid. Ugh. I need a better focus for this telekinesis thing. Snape would definitely tear my head off for how easily my emotions are getting to me. Maybe I should stop by Nekozawa-senpai's club tomorrow. Maybe they have something that can help me. After all, they did help me with that bracelet for the glamor.

Ugh… One more week left before summer vacation. I can't wait. Hopefully we can get past my birthday next week without any fanfare.

- To Be Continued –

A quick note: Summer vacation in Japan is often for 40 days from the research I did. Most schools will do summer vacation from July 20 to August 31. I am going to take some creative liberties with the dates. I want Harry's birthday to be addressed before they go to summer break so that the host club has a chance to find out and cause some shenanigans in school.

I had a hard time picking out a theme for the host club, but I tried my best to pick something out that wasn't too outlandish. I think it had a good theme focusing on teamwork and relying on each other to complete goals. It's somewhat of a reference for what Harry wants for Haruhi.

The next chapter will be focusing on some shenanigans around Harry's birthday. Hopefully I can keep up the pace for uploading new chapters.

Thanks for reading! Once again, feedback is greatly appreciated.