As I slowly made my way to the rose maze, my mind spun with the latest note; once again, the culprit had written it in her own hand, meaning it would be easier to trace, but I doubted that there was only one person behind all this. I had very few options at this point, and none of them were pleasant, since one involved cutting all ties with the Hosts, and the other meant doing whatever I wanted and facing the wrath of these girls. Once again, neither of these options were very pleasant...

As I walked to my usual spot, I smiled at the tall boy who took up half of the bench, as he always did. Ever since Mori had found me out here a little while ago, he had made a point of coming here every lunch time, though I didn't have the foggiest clue as to why. He looked so peaceful, his back was to me, and his head was tilted up, as though he was simply enjoying the breeze; when you add to that the fact that there was a space next to him with a bento sitting there, it was fairly obvious that he had been waiting for someone, most likely me.

Not wanting to move the bento if he was going to eat it, I simply walked up to him and sat on the grass in front of the bench and leaned back, relaxing for the first time that day with an audible sigh. As per usual, we sat in silence for a while before the bento dropped into my lap with some chopsticks, causing a flinch to rip through me as I looked up at the boy who had just scared me, "What the heck Mori?" My voice was both shocked and irritated, though he didn't seem to notice any of it.

"You forgot your lunch again." Was all he said before nudging me with his knee, giving me permission to open up the bento and eat.

The look I sent him was a little incredulous, I legitimately hadn't brought my lunch since I started here, either I bought lunch like everyone else, or I just skipped; Mori had never seemed concerned about this before, so why was he choosing now to pay attention?

As I popped the lid open, I was shocked by the meal inside; instead of a traditional bento meal of fish and/or some type of authentic Japanese food, I was looking at something that you would get from an Americanized Chinese restaurant. Pork fried rice, fried Mandarin chicken and wontons were sitting there innocently while I was trying to contain the urge to start worshipping Mori like a god of some kind.

"Where did you even get this?" I murmured, not taking my eyes from this heavenly display of food for fear that it would fade into something else that didn't suit my tastes nearly as well.

"You mentioned loving this kind of food once, so I had the chef make you some." He made it sound like it was no big deal, but I tore my gaze from the food to gape at him in awe. He had his professional chef make cheap, American food that I could get for less than ten dollars back home, simply because I mentioned liking it? What. The. Heck?

Not wanting to let this go, I pushed myself off the ground and onto the bench next to him, before throwing my arms around his neck and pulling him into a tight hug. Thank heavens we were both tall, otherwise this would have been a lot more difficult to pull off.

"What did I ever do to deserve you?" I asked quietly before letting him go and digging into my meal. This wonderful man helped me to forget about the threatening notes, and what they could mean... well, at least I forgot for now.

The food completely preoccupied me for a minute or two, but when I did look up, I couldn't help but notice that a light shade of red colored my friend's cheeks... Perhaps throwing myself at him made him uncomfortable, I couldn't help but beat myself up mentally, I had not meant to do that...

Oh well, food now, problems later.

***

That day was one of the rare days that I couldn't stay after school because I needed to help my parents out with some house work, and because of that, I knew nothing about the condition Honey would be in when I got to class the next day.

Seeing the sweet teenager with a wrap around his head like the ghost of Marley in the original Christmas Carol nearly sent me into a panic attack right then and there; I mean, honestly! I had never had a cavity growing up (I keep knocking on wood so I don't jinx myself), but the people I knew who got them never looked like that!

Of course, my sympathy for the poor guy was decreased when I watched Mori dump a huge pile of candy out of Honey's bag. If that crap was hurting him, why was he still trying to eat it? The more cynical part of me couldn't help but feel that he was bringing the pain on himself; which, as much as I tried to fight it, was totally true...

Not long after I walked in the classroom, the poor boy came up to me right away and threw himself into my arms, blubbering about how much it hurt, and the fact that he couldn't have sweets. I sympathized with him for the first period of class, but after that, my patience went downhill quickly.

This boy was a Martial Artist, for heavens sake! There was no way that one teeny cavity caused him more pain than half the crap he would feel during training sessions.

By the end of the first day, I was sure that he was whining simply to get attention, which he got ample amounts of from his fangirls; but was that enough for him? No, of course it wasn't. Mori stuck annoyingly close to him during this time as well, which meant that we didn't hang out in the rose maze together for several days (I did my best not to examine why this fact bugged me so much). I also started spending more time in the Black Magic Club helping to calm Umehito down when the light became too much for him, just so I could avoid Honey, who would inevitably find me during breaks and try to get either candy, or more sympathy from me.

All of this obviously took a toll on me, and by the end of the third day, I was done... Honey caught me on my way to the Black Magic Club, and was trying to get me to come to the Host club when I finally snapped.

"Jessi-chan, please, you know how difficult this has been for me! Please come sit with me during the Host club! I know it'll help me feel better." Honey was making his best pouty face and he didn't seem to realize that any form of emotion was wiped from my face, and I was permanently settled into my RBF (resting B**** face).

I sped up slightly, still not wanting to hurt his feelings too much, but also not being in the mood to humor his wounded pride. "Sorry Mitsukuni," I said, hoping he would get the hint and stop trying, "I promised I'd help Umehito out today, so no can do."

A high-pitched whine came from Honey that was probably used as an echo location device at some point, before he caught up with me and tugged on my hand, "But Jessie-chan, Nekozawa isn't hurt like I am, we would be so much better for you to hang out with! Pleeaaassee?!"

This stopped me in my tracks, and I spoke quietly to our shadow, "Could you go on without us, Mori? I need to say a few words to the prince here." I think Mori could tell how strained my voice was, because he didn't argue with me, he simply kept walking, patting my shoulder reassuringly before he turned the corner. In the back of my mind, I couldn't help but marvel at how much he had opened up to me since the beginning of the year.

No, I couldn't think about that, I had to deal with the spoiled brat who was still pulling at my hand pitifully, not aware of the land mine he just stepped on.

"Hey Mitsukuni?" I asked, my voice strained, before I turned around and picked him up, throwing him over my shoulder and walking down the hall away from the host room, "Could you shut up about yourself for just a minute?"

I was under no illusion of superiority, I knew the Mitsukuni was stronger than me in every way, but for heaven's sake! He was acting like my three-year-old nieces, and I was sick of the act! I walked into an empty supply closet and set him down as gently as I cared to at that moment, before glaring at him. It was my turn to talk.

"Listen, I know you're in pain, but right now, I need you to pull up your big boy pants and stop acting like a child for one minute. Do you think you can do that for me?" My voice was dead serious, and I think Honey finally realized the situation he was in, because he simply nodded meekly.

"You need to realize that you have been a pain in the butt for the last several days because of your tooth, and I am sick of it. You've not only been annoying to me, but also to the rest of your friends; and because of what? The pain? Oh no, that's not it. This whole thing is made all the more infuriating because you're melting down over a lack of candy, which is pathetic!"

Honey opened his mouth, probably to explain, or at least try to defend himself, but I was far to ticked to allow that, "Honestly, Mitsukuni? You are one of the best people I know, definitely one of my favorite people I've met here in Japan, but I have half a mind to put you in time out because of the way you've been acting."

My rant came to an end, and I couldn't help but feel that Mitsukuni was either going to cry or explode at me, "J-Jessi-chan?" He stuttered out in shock, tears were welling up in his eyes, but the guilt I felt was still far below my threshold, so I stared back emotionlessly, daring him to contradict my words. "I thought you un-understood... Sweets are my way of being me, why don't you understand that?" His shock and sadness were slowly starting to turn into irritation, but he was poking a flipping polar bear by fighting back, I could make presentations to describe how wrong he was.

"Okay, so let me get this straight; you're saying that because you've used food as an escape for the last year or two, you've earned the right to act however you want when you perceive that your rights are being trampled on?" Always ensure that you and your opponent are fighting the same battle before you engage.

Honey thought through what I said before nodding hesitantly, "You make it sound a lot worse than it actually is, but I suppose that's right."

I nodded thoughtfully, "So when you are throwing a tantrum and acting like a spoiled brat, this is actually you trying to stand up for the rights you feel are owed to you?"

Something akin to relief started to spread across his face at my words, don't celebrate yet, my short friend, "Yeah! Jessi-chan, you get it, I knew you would!"

I flicked a finger up, stopping him before he could keep going, "You know who else used this rationality to try and get what he felt he was owed? Hitler... Stalin did that as well to some extent, as did Mussolini. Many of the terrorists who attack people whose beliefs don't fit with what they personally believe do this as well if I'm reading this right. Are you really sure that that's the mentality you want to be maintaining?" Mitsukuni's face paled as I spoke, but I wasn't done quite yet.

"If that's how you want to live your life, go ahead, but don't you dare try and pull other people into this toxic mess you've got going on; we don't want that."

I think my words broke something in Honey, because in the next instant, I was face down on the floor, with the munchkin on my back, "Don't you say that Jessica, you twisted my words until it wasn't what I meant! I came to you looking for support, but you turned me away, maybe I should leave you here to think about what you've done!" With that the weight lifted from my back, and the door of the closet slammed shut. A click signaled the fact that Honey had locked me in, despite the fact that I hadn't seen a lock when I came in.

Well, crap... At least I wasn't claustrophobic.

Third Person POV

Honey walked into the room alone only a minute or so after he left Jessica, though no one thought anything of it, seeing how rare it was for her to come to the Host Club recently. Despite this, the Host Club continued on as normally as it could, given the circumstances... All the hosts watched Honey with a wary eye as he stalked around the room like some kind of wild animal; almost everyone just assumed that this was just the next step in his sugar withdrawals, well, all except one.

Mori was studying his cousin with concern, he had left his cousin alone with Jessica for only a minute or two, and yet it was obvious that whatever she said had affected him greatly. Honey was never one to lash out without reason, so it was obvious that whatever she said had pushed him past the breaking point... At this point Mori was conflicted about whether to be more concerned about his cousin or his friend.

Eventually, Takashi went to save his teddy bear from Honey, yet was bit for his troubles; that's when Mori decided it was time to step in.

"Mitsukuni, enough." Mori said in his consistently stoic voice, grabbing his cousin by the shoulder and pulling him away from Tamaki, "You are behaving shamefully, this needs to-"

Before Mori could even finish, Honey had grabbed his arm and judo flipped him to the ground, "don't you tell me what to do! You and Jessica are both the same, you stick your nose where they don't belong! I hate you!" With that, the small teenager ran from the room, followed closely by Tamaki.

"Mori-senpai!" The twins and Haruhi rushed over to the fallen boy who was still lying flat on his back.

"Are you okay?" Kaoru asked, his hand unconsciously seeking out his brother's hand to deal with the stress, "You hit the ground pretty hard!"

"Yeah," His twin said, "I can't believe Honey-senpai did that to you! He must have really caught you by surprise!" Mori slung an arm over his eyes, not wanting to let the others see his weakness.

It was then that Haruhi stepped up, "That's not it, is it?" Her voice was quiet, yet it automatically drew every eye in the room to her, "You felt guilty, didn't you Mori-senpai?"

A brief nod from Mori caused the twins to gasp, "It's my fault that Mitsukuni has a cavity; twice this week I forgot to make him brush his teeth, and now he is in pain because of me. As a Morinozuka, I am obligated to protect Mitsukuni with my life, and yet I failed him in this one simple aspect... I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if he hadn't flipped me like he did." What Mori didn't say, but was prominent in his mind also, was the fact that Jessica had felt neglected because of him and that bothered him more than he would ever care to admit.

The sound of a door opening reached them and in half a second, Mori was tackled by a small blond object that nearly sent him back to the ground, "I'm so sorry Takashi! I've been horrible to you and it was all because of candy! Jessi-chan was right, I'll never forget to brush my teeth again! Please don't feel sad!"

All the hosts smiled at the cuteness that was Honey and Mori together; there was no doubt that all their fangirls would be doing the same thing if the Host club was open today. The moment lasted a little while longer, but it didn't take long for Honey to remember the one loose string he had left to tie up, "Um, Takashi?" Honey's voice was hesitant as he pulled away from Mori, "I was wondering if I could get some help with Jessica."

Haruhi was the first to step forward, a mixture of concern and confusion in her eyes, "What'd you mean? What's wrong with Jessica?"

"Well..." Honey stood nervously, "Um... I kinda...." He paused, trying to figure out the situation, which was not so much complicated as it was embarrassing, "Just come with me, you'll see."

Warily, the Hosts followed Honey, leaving behind a group of very confused customers who all sat blinking at each other... Though, a few of them were more of scowling at each other, but in the end, no one really cares about them... Right?

It was a tense few minutes as everyone walked to the supply closet that Jessica had been locked in, and the closer they got, the more Mitsukuni seemed to not want to continue forward. This caused concern for several members of the host club; namely Haruhi, Risa, and Mori, the first two seemed to expect a dead body waiting for them.

Once the supply closet had been reached, Honey tapped on the door timidly and called out, "Jessi-chan? Um, sorry about all this, I'm opening the door now." His face was beet red, and it seemed as though he was going to start crying at any second as he unlocked the door and gently pulled it open.

Everyone's expectations for something horrific came crashing down as they saw Jessica, hunched up in an incredibly uncomfortable looking position while reading on her phone. Sighs were heard as she stood slowly, stretching with a slight wince as she did so.

"Did you really have to lock me in there for so long?" Her voice was slightly whiney as she stretched, a rippling pop ringing through the air and causing most of the Hosts to flinch slightly, "I was leaning against that stupid crate for forty minutes waiting for you to come back! There wasn't even room to stretch my legs!"

She was glaring at Honey in a rather playful manner, which led to his obvious confusion. Eventually, he was able to shake off his shock thanks to Mori, who pushed him forward slightly, prompting the small host to bow deeply.

"I am incredibly sorry, Jessi-chan. I was rude to you when you were just trying to help me out... And I threw you to the ground, which was wrong of me." Gasps came from the two girls of the host club at that, and everyone else's eyes widened, obviously none of them had been expecting Honey to have done that.

He like would have kept going, but he was cut off by Jessica, who placed her hand on his shoulder before speaking kindly, "Hey, don't worry about it. Honestly, I was pretty condescending to you when I spoke, so I need to apologise to. We both were wrong, so let's just move on then, shall we?"

Jesica got to her knees in front of Honey, and opened her arms for him, which he gladly fell into, throwing his arms around her neck as he began to sob.

"Jessica-senpai?" Haruhi and Risa both stepped forward and Jessica looked up at them warmly, not letting go of Honey, "He flipped you? Are you okay?"

Slowly, Jessica nodded, not wanting to cause more worry than she may have already, "Yeah, but I'm fine, Just a bit sore!"

This seemed to be a cue, because at that, both girls nodded slightly when she spoke and stepped forward to grab one of Jessica's hands. Honey detached himself just in time to avoid being flung from her like a catapult as Jessica stumbled forward.

"That's terrible, Jessica-senpai," Risa said sympathetically, glancing at Hari, who nodded and continued speaking.

"That settles it, you should come over to my house for tonight. I think we all need time away from these meatheads."

Protests were heard behind the three, but Haruhi and Risa had already begun to pull Jessica away while all three of them smiled gently. Honestly, no matter what happened that night, Jessica was happy. She had people around her who cared, and she didn't completely destroy her friendship with Honey like she had been afraid of doing.

Perhaps this wasn't the ideal situation, but she had friends, so there that was enough to get her through her trials... For now.