Disclaimer: Don't own Ouran High School Host Club.
A/N: Okay, my first OHSHC fic. It's a bit slow at the beginning but it gets more exciting, I swear! Just bear with me for a little bit before I get into it.
The second semester was upon them and life at the Host Club was still... well, life at the Host Club. Insane. This time, the twins were arguing with Tamaki on why they couldn't do a photoshoot with Haruhi.
"Come on, King, think about it... we will only take a FEW pictures for the shirtless edition, and they will all just be from the back. You wouldn't want us blowing our cover, would you?" Hikaru argued.
"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Tamaki stood firm, arms crossed. He raised a finger. "It's inappropriate to be doing such dirty things with the precious Host Club Hime! Just Shop in the pictures with her head!"
"But that's not authentic!" Kaoru chimed in.
"Since when did I become the 'Host Club Hime'...?" Haruhi sighed, leaning back in the chair as she watched the boys battle it out. "Nobody bothered to ask me..."
"Would you do it?" Mori asked her quietly.
"No." Haruhi sighed again and looked out the window. She had been spending so much time in this club, pretending to be a guy, entertaining stupid girlish fantasies... it was tiring. She watched a group of girls running out of the school together, laughing. That could be me...
Mori eyed her as she stared at the girls outside. A lightbulb went off, but he said nothing. He would wait until the others noticed.
Haruhi turned back to the commotion inside the room and a small smile crept onto her lips. But I don't mind being here that much either... whether I admit it or not, I really like spending time with these idiots. Even the biggest idiot of all. Her smile grew ever so slightly as she turned to Tamaki, who was still yelling, red-faced, at the twins, who were now deciding on a pose for Haruhi.
Lightbulb number two went off in Mori's head. But he still remained silent.
Tamaki had retreated into the corner, poking the tiles with a stick.
Haruhi sighed. "Moping again... He's just such a big baby." She laughed a little and went to kneel next to Tamaki. "Don't worry, baka, it's not like I'll ever agree to that."
Tamaki immediately perked up. "Really! YAY, OUR HOST CLUB HIME REMAINS PURE!"
Haruhi sighed, but smiled in spite of herself. Idiot. "Okay... whatever..."
She stood up and as she walked past the Hitachin brothers, a couple of lightbulbs went off in their heads. They looked at each other and blinked, before looking at Haruhi, and then at Tamaki. Hikaru scowled and crossed his arms. "Tch."
"Oi, Haruhi! What do you think of this dress that our mother designed. We want a woman's opinion!" Kaoru waved a simple, thin-strapped light blue dress in front of Haruhi.
Haruhi stopped and examined it, running her fingers across the fabric.
"Well?" Hikaru asked, putting his hands on his hips.
"It's... very pretty..." Haruhi smiled, almost reluctant to release it.
Hikaru and Kaoru exchanged glances once more. Lightbulb number two blinks into awakening. Grins spread on their faces. A plot awakens.
"Haru-chan! Do you want some cake?" Hunny asked Haruhi, pulling her towards the table. "You like the strawberry kind, right?" She handed Haruhi a plate of strawberry-topped cake.
"Hai..." She took a bite and giggled. "This reminds me of this dress I had when I was little. It had a strawberry pattern... it was... so... kawaii!" She giggled again and took another bite of cake. "I'm not really into wearing dresses now, though... I actually haven't really worn one that wasn't over pants in a long time..." She sighed and thought.
Lightbulb number one went off in Hunny's head. Just at that moment Haruhi reached over the table and grabbed a slice of cake. "You want another one, Haruhi?" Hunny asked.
Haruhi shook her head. "No... I was just thinking... this is Tamaki's favorite kind so I thought I should save it for him... he'll whimper like a baby if I don't!" She laughed slightly and set the plate aside. Lightbulb number two went off in Hunny's head.
Well, now everyone had realized the situation. (Well, except Tamaki, and Kyoya knew from the start)
It was then that the twins decided to make the announcement.
"ATTENTION, HOST CLUB!" They yelled in unison. The others looked up, and they continued. "We have come to two conclusions! LIGHTBULB ONE: Haruhi misses being a woman!"
The others looked to Haruhi (Tamaki with surprise) to see if their suspicions were correct. Haruhi scratched her head and looked down. "Well... I don't know... I'm really kind of a tomboy anyway, but... you know... sometimes I do miss not having to lie to everyone... and I miss being friends with girls a little too..."
"Then it's settled!" Hikaru grinned, crossing his arms. "Haruhi-kun is going off as an 'exchange student' to England and her cousin Hana-chan is going to take her place!"
"Do you understand?" Kaoru winked.
"Oh... you mean I'm going to dress as Hana-chan..." Haruhi thought a moment, before smiling. "That sounds good then! Just for one week, though. And I'm going to need a wig, so it's not TOO obvious."
The twins nodded and Kyoya took notes. Before things got too carried, Kaoru stopped them. "As for lightbulb number two... that is... Haruhi is falling totally in love with our King, Tamaki-senpai!" He ignored a pouting Hikaru, who was pretending he hadn't realized this.
A short silence was followed by Tamaki grabbing Haruhi's shoulders, practically sparkling. "NANI? IS THIS TRUE, HARUHI? IS IT? IS IT?"
Haruhi shoved Tamaki aside and crossed her arms, looking in the other direction. "Of course not! Your imaginations are getting the better of you! How could I fall for... that idiot..." She grumbled, but the blush spreading across her face was a dead give-away to everyone except for our famous, thick-headed King, who had retreated to moping in the corner again.
Kyoya adjusted his glasses and looked up from his cellphone, with which he was making a call. He snapped it shut and smiled. "Well, it's been settled then. I called some people and pulled some strings for 'Hana-chan' to come to our school. Here, Haruhi, your new uniform." He handed Haruhi a bag with the girls' uniform and the wig she had used in previous schemes.
"Arigato, minna-san, for giving me this chance." Haruhi bowed, and left the Host Club for the day, taking the steps two at a time.
The next morning whispers were rushing all around the school about the new exchange student who looked just like Haruhi... except she was a girl! This was fortunate for all those boys out there who wanted a chance to get with a bishoujo, but there was something unfortunate that prevented them from even approaching her. The other members of the Host Club were attatched to her like bees on honey. During classes the twins were on either side of her, making it hard to even get near her, and Hikaru was giving them dirty looks. And during PE, which they had at the same time as the seniors, Mori-senpai and Hunny-senpai would sneak over. Hunny would be hanging on Hana like a child hangs onto his mother and Mori would be giving intimidating stares to all the males who were caught looking at her. Kyoya somehow appears at the end of every one of Hana's classes to peer into the classroom as he passed as if daring the boys to try anything on her. Worst of all was Tamaki, who would escort her from class to class after every period, talking animatedly to her, shoving any brave boys trying to approach her aside, even as she protested every time. Through the eyes of every jealous male and female, the two looked most definately like a couple.
But these were the problems for the boys. The girls, however, found no problem in going up to her and talking to her, without having to face the icy stares of the Host Club.
"Hana-chan, tell us, where are you from again?" one girl out of a cluster of three hospitable girls asked Haruhi.
"Uh... From... O-Osaka..." Haruhi said quickly.
"EHH? But you don't have an accent at all!" another one spoke up.
"Ahaha... um... My father is from Tokyo so..."
"Oh, I see! Well, would you like to have lunch with us, Hana-chan?" The third asked as the lunch bell chimed and class was dismissed.
"Uh..." She glanced back at the twins, who smiled and nodded. She smiled too and turned back to the girls. "Okay. But... do you mind if we sit with the Host Club? They've been really good to me since I got here."
The girls squealed. "Would we mind? You're new here, so you might not know, but any girl would KILL to be in our place right now. Those are the most wanted bishounen in the school!"
They made it to the lunchroom without fainting, and all sat down with Tamaki, the twins, Mori, Hunny, and Kyoya. The rumor has it that Kyoya used blackmail to get them all into the same lunch period everyday, but nobody talks about it for fear of what Kyoya will do to them. Anyway, at this point, one girl was actually looking a bit pale, but managed to keep her consciousness even when Tamaki began sparkling.
"HIME!" He took Haruhi's chin into his hand. "What fair maidens have you brought to accompany us?" He gave a sidelong glance to the girls, who looked like they would melt right then and there.
Haruhi slapped his hand away (much to the horror of the other girls) and twitched. "This is Sakiko, Yuki, and Mai. They're my classmates, and have been very nice to me. Please, hesitate in seducing them any further."
They had just begun eating ("Hana-chan, your bento is so KAWAIII!") when a girl with dark curls swooped in out of nowhere and glomped Kyoya.
"KYO-CHAAAN!"
Kyoya dropped his fork. "Emi-chan...?" A short silence enveloped them. Until...
"KYOYA! WHO IS THIS FAIR MAIDEN WHO HAS DROPPED FROMT THE HEAVENS INTO YOUR ARMS?" Tamaki exploded, standing up and pointing. Kyoya picked up his fork.
The girl looked up at Tamaki and blushed, her arms still around Kyoya's shoulders, hugging him from behind. "Eh? I'm Emiko..." She blinked. "Kyo-chan... why didn't you tell me you had such gorgeous friends? GOOD JOB, KYO-CHAN, I KNEW YOU COULD MAKE FRIENDS, EVEN THOUGH YOU WERE ALWAYS SO COLD AND ISOLATED!" Emiko hugged Kyoya tighter, squeezing him and nuzzling against his cheek. Kyoya dropped his fork again, his face not showing any reaction to her affection.
The twins raised their eyebrows and exchanged glances as Kyoya finally cleared his throat and spoke. "Ano... this is Hashimoto Emiko, a childhood friend of mine. We're not couple, by the way," He gave a meaningful glance at the twins "Just childhood friends. That's all."
"YEP!" Emiko grinned in agreement. She nudged in between Kyoya and Tamaki before observing Kyoya. "Kyo-chan, you look so cool with your glasses!" She grinned before pulling them off. "But without them you look so cute too! Oh well, might as well keep them. Here." She handed him his glasses but they slipped from his grip and fell under the table.
"Excuse me." He said before crouching down to find it. Haruhi knelt down too, to help. But as she brushed aside the tablecloth and saw him, she stopped. Kyoya was on his hands and knees, covering his face with one hand. "Pull it together..." He whispered, unaware of Haruhi. He removed his hand and a blush was visibly spreading across his face. He took a deep breath, let the red shade fade out, before putting on his glasses and getting up.
Haruhi quickly stood too, not wanting him to know what she had seen. She smiled, realizing why Kyoya was acting so strangely. She had thought it was strange of him to be so clumsy. But now she knew... Kyoya was head-over-heels for his childhood friend, Emiko. Don't worry, Kyoya-senpai... your secret's safe with me... Although I think Hikaru and Kaoru already know, judging by the looks they're giving you right now...
After lunch, Haruhi was pulled aside by Tamaki, who led her into a corner as the lunchroom was clearing out.
"Ano... Haruhi? Are you free this weekend?" He said, running his fingers through his hair.
"Yeah... why?" She tilted her head slightly to the right.
"I'm sort of... having a party... can you come?" He asked hopefully.
"Sure." She said before looking at him darkly. "This isn't going to be... fancy or anything... is it?" She twitched at the thought of being surrounded by expensive clothing and jewerly and shoes that probably cost more than a year's rent.
He shook his head. "No, it'll be pretty casual. It's not going to be any Cinderella ball, just a regular party. You can wear pants if you want, even if you are Hana."
She smiled. "That's good to hear. I'll be there."
"At eight, okay?"
"Okay." She waved and walked off down the hall, as Tamaki twirled in the opposite directing dropping all calmness, and practically pirouetting into his next class.
As she turned the corner, Haruhi saw Kyoya and Emiko walking together. She was about to greet them, but stopped when she heard the conversation.
"Kyo-chan... can you please set me up with Tamaki-kun? He's so prince-like... I could melt!" Emiko was giggling, clutching Kyoya's arm.
"He likes another girl, Emi-chan. He's not interested in you." Kyoya said quietly, not meeting her eyes.
"Ah... It's Fujioka-san, isn't it? Well... I don't care. Come on, you're his best friend right? Tell him good things and lead him to me--"
She was interrupted by Kyoya yanking his arm away from her. "Is that all you want from me? To use me to get to him? He's not interested! And I..." Kyoya's voice trailed off and he sighed. "Nevermind..." He said, returning to his normal calm and collected self. "I'll see you later, Emi-chan..." Kyoya brushed past her, and continued on to class, leaving Emiko standing there, confused.
"Gomen ne... Kyo-chan..."
Haruhi sighed. Poor Kyoya-senpai... And Emiko-san doesn't even realize how he feels...
Emiko turned around, saw Haruhi, and scowled, looking very unlike the nice girl Haruhi had met at lunch. Jealousy could change the most gracious of women into beasts. "I won't let you win." She said as she passed her.
Haruhi blinked before laughing. "She's so jealous over nothing. Tamaki doesn't even like me... right...?" She stopped, but didn't have a chance to finish her thoughts because her eyes flashed out the window and at the big clock tower. "KUSO! I'm going to be late!"
Well, it gets more eventful and fluffy, I swear! Please read the next chapter (and review, of course).