DISCE, OHSHC.

⁺ ♡ tamp down on rumours

It was not a kiss. You refused to even consider it as such. You had barely even touched Mori. Well, your mouth had barely grazed his, but you had unfortunately knocked him to the ground. Even though he assured you nothing was broken, you knew there had to be a cracked rib somewhere.

Mori took it well enough once you'd scrambled to your feet. Only a tinge of colour in his cheeks and his ruffled hair suggested anything had happened. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for the rest of the Host Club. Or the lingering guests who had witnessed the disaster.

Or your mother, who now thought you had a secret boyfriend you should have told you about. In fact, she was so worked up about your clandestine relationship that she took you to Ouran the next day instead of your chauffeur, badgering you the entire drive.

"Come on, you can tell, sweetheart. Who was that? He's very good looking, I won't deny that. And so tall too. Who is it? He seems familiar."

You kept up your stony silence.

"Tell me!" she said. "I'll call your school's Chairman so I can find out. Would you rather that? Is he from that Academic Debate Club the twins were talking about?"

You slumped in your seat. "Mom. Please."

You leapt out of her car as soon as it pulled up to Ouran's gates, muttering a "Byemomthanksloveyou." You scurried toward Ouran but then quickly found things weren't much better here.

"What? Mori-san kissed someone last night?"

"Yes! They just flung themself at him! It was so dramatic!"

"Romantic, more like! I didn't know Mori-san had a secret lover!"

Your face felt like a four-burner stove. The group of students you'd just overheard caught sight of you and giggled behind their hands.

"If we asked them, do you think they would tell us what Mori-san's lips felt like?"

"Oh, I bet they were so soft!"

"What about his cologne? He must have smelt amazing!"

As a matter of fact, Mori had been wearing very nice cologne, but like hell were you going to say that out loud. You flipped up the collar of your blazer and hurried past. You were about two seconds away from would've flinging your blazer over your head, actually.

It seemed like the entire academy had nothing to talk about but Mori and his gala kiss. You couldn't escape it. To your mortification, a few students actually walked up to you and asked you to describe what had happened. You might as well have gone to heaven and come back for all the reverence they gave you.

"Nothing happened," was the response you gave every time. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Nonetheless, the gossip swirled thick, and by lunchtime, you were Mori's ravished lover, flinging yourself into his strong, capable arms. Fearing for your sanity, you decided to have lunch outside, by the fountain with the kid pissing.

You knew it was only a matter of time until the Host Club found you, and sure enough they did. You spotted Haruhi, Kyoya and Renge coming towards you from the hedges. You were relieved and scared in equal measure.

"Hey. How are you holding up?" Haruhi asked first. Her smile said everything she didn't. It was slightly amused, sympathetic, and pitiful all at once.

"I'm contemplating transferring schools overseas, thanks for asking."

"My siblings studied at various prestigious institutions overseas, as a matter of fact," Kyoya said, because of course he couldn't resist. "I can ask them to recommend a few."