  While radiation scattering data provides insight inside the microstructure of
liquids, the Debye relation relating the scattering intensity $I(k)$ to the
atom-atom structure factors $S_{ab}(k)$ shows that, ultimately, it is these
individual structure correlation functions which contain the relevant
information about the micro-structure. However, these quantities are not
observables, except in few cases where one can invert the Debye relation in
order to obtain the structure functions. In the majority of other cases, the
need for model dependent computer simulations is unavoidable. The resulting
calculations reveal that the scattering pre-peak is the result of cancellations
between positive pre-peaks and negative anti-peaks contributions from the
atom-atom structure factors. What of systems where this cancellation is such
that it entirely suppresses the scattering pre-peak? One would be tempted to
falsely conclude that there is no uderlying micro-heterogeneity. Hence, the
structure functions appear as hidden variables, and it is important to
understand the relation between their features and the micro-structure of the
system. Through the computer simulation study of various mono-ols, ranging from
methanol to 1-nonanol, as well as the branched octanols, we show how the
features of the atom-atom pair correlation function $g_{ab}(r)$ affect that of
the structure factors $S_{ab}(k)$, and reveal that the micro-structure is
ultimately the result of the charge ordering between different atoms in the
system.
