Chapter 1
Everyone has a Routine
I hurried down the halls of Lefleur Academy, not only was I unprepared for 'Les Belles Filles' rehearsal, but I was also late. Normally that wouldn't be surprising considering, nothing I did was ever on time or orderly, but today was a special case. Kimberly had been specific that I had to be at rehearsal today at the time she told me to be there, something about some sort of foreign exchange group coming from Japan, or was it France, or did she say one of the boys was half-Japanese, half-French. It wasn't like I actually listened to the minute details; I just knew I had to be there. Well whatever the case, the fact was I was late and that wouldn't make Kimberly very happy.
To be completely honest, Kimberly didn't really scare me. The thing that scared me was the people she could find to do the job for her. I continued to run down the halls until I finally caught up to Hannah, who surprisingly was just entering the auditorium herself. "Mariah, you sure look out of breath. Why were you running?" Hannah questioned, obviously oblivious to the time. I gestured the watch around my wrist and brought it up so it was inches from the tip of her sharp nose. "Oh that, you thought you were late? Since when have you ever worried about that? Kimberly knew you were going to be late so she set the time an hour earlier so she knew you'd arrive on time." I twitched irritably as Hannah explained, since when did she know anything.
Hannah and I were close friends, but she was the most scatterbrained freshman I knew, not only did she never know what was going on, but she usually thought she knew what was going on until someone told her she didn't. She in my mind, reminded me of modern dance, she was free and did things her own way. I respected her for that. "You...mean to tell me..."I began between heaving pants as I collapsed against the adjacent wall. "That I ran here...only to hear that I'm early?" Hannah nodded with a small apologetic smile, her sandy blonde curls bouncing softly as she did so. I grimaced at my stupidity, of course Kimberly would make sure I made it on time, she didn't find any merits in punishing me for doing something I always did, so she just adapted around it.
"If it makes you feel any better, you aren't all that early in fact you are right when you're supposed to be here," Hannah commented, as she opened the door to the backstage area. We entered together, I was still panting heavily. Kenzie sat alone in a corner of the stage, her brown curls piled high on the top of her head in a messy bun; obviously ready to run the dance scenes I was unprepared to teach her today. She was stretching silently, as her sister Hazel worked on some technical issues on the sound system.
Though they were twins, they were nothing alike. They had the same face, but that's the only thing that was similar. In a way they were like two different dance styles. Kenzie was ballet, majestically graceful and relatively level-headed, with the occasional twist to a routine. While Hazel was hip hop, everything got her angry quickly and she loved to raise a commotion even if there was no reason to. Their dance styles didn't mesh, at all. Ever.
In the audience, the devil's advocate was sitting there front and center, present as always. Kimberly Oswald was emotionless, unless it proved to be in her favor to do otherwise. Like the other girls she too had her own dance routine that I linked with her, Tap dance. Everything about Kimberly was precise. Tap was defined as well; every move you make could be a dire consequence if not done completely perfect. So like Tap dance, it took many years for Kimberly to be so precise. She smirked when her eyes landed on me and I quickly turned away to grimace, the little spawn was evil down to the bone. "Congratulations Mariah, you made it right on time, we should be expecting the exchange students any moment." Kimberly calls from over her laptop screen, her sunglasses are balancing carefully on the tip of her long nose. She had a tight smile spread across her face, like she always did.
"Where's Tanya, Kimmy?" Hannah pipes out, as her crystalline eyes scanned every crevice of the stage in search for the missing President of 'Les Belles Filles'. Kimberly rolled her eyes, but I was the only one to notice this slight falter in her physique. In her routine.
"She has yet again abandoned the club to attend the Student Council meeting. We are on our own until she is finished, any other questions?" Kimberly hissed. I watched Hannah wince away from Kimberly's acidic words and I frowned. It was still a mystery to me how so many different girls, different dance styles, could mix together to form one large routine. I sighed irritably and turned to run through one of the dance routines I still needed to teach the girls. The music began from Hazel's improved sound system and I began to move to the beat, making up several different moves on the fly, like I said I wasn't prepared. Kenzie watched intently from her spot on the ground, she always watched when I danced; it was one of the few things I was actually good at.
'Les Belles Filles' is an all girls acting group at the Academy, it had only the best in it. We had several honorary members as well, who would join us in our shows, but these were the core members. Tanya, our president, had come to me in hopes of gaining me as the dance instructor for the girls. To be completely honest, I didn't want to do it despite my interest with dance at the time. But after much persuading on Kimberly's part, I eventually agreed and now here I am, completely unprepared to instruct. They didn't expect anything more from me.
The backstage door opened, but I simply dismissed it and continued the routine. My moves were swift and graceful when I danced, one of the few times in my life when they actually were. To say the least I wasn't the tiniest dancers. I towered over most of the girls in 'Les Belles Filles', everyone except Kimberly, but when you're the devil's advocate I'm not surprised. And it's not like I was stick thin either, not that I was fat, but dancing does give you a fair amount of muscle. Though much to my dismay, being so fit left me with a really small set of 'goods'.
Finally the music slowly died off and I stood in my ending pose. My eyes were focused on Kimberly who was staring skeptically at me and coughed lightly, her eyes glancing toward the backstage door and then back at me. She looked displeased to say the least. Scattered applause could be heard from behind me and my heart skipped a beat. Several to be completely honest. Hesitantly, I returned to my natural posture and turned to see what Kimberly had been looking at. Seven rather attractive boys were standing in a small cluster at the edge of the stage wings; the applause was coming from them. I inhaled sharply and quickly made my way out of the spotlight, a blush making its way across my cheeks.
"Welcome to Lefleur Academy," Kimberly stated coolly when I was out of the way. She made her way onto the stage. The rhythmic click of her heels only brought the idea of tap dancing back to my mind and I smirked inwardly. "We are extremely thrilled when you accepted our invitation to join us for the Lefleur Charity Ball. It's always a thrill to have the sister school from Japan participate in our activities. As you know 'Les Belles Filles' will be at your service while you are staying in America." She continued, gesturing to the other girls who seemed to be staring in awe at the boys. I rolled my eyes and couldn't help but chuckle softly; I was a lone wolf and didn't have any intentions on getting to know these Japanese boys.
One boy made his way to the front of the group and smiled politely, he had dark hair and glasses that strategically blocked his eyes from being viewed. "And may we say the Host club is honored to be invited here Ms. Oswald if I'm correct. I am Kyoya Ootori, the Vice President of the Host Club," The boy replied, like Kimberly, his words were well rehearsed and the sincerity appeared true, but both Kimberly and I knew better. Like Kimberly, this boy reminded me of a tap dance, they were too much alike for their own good. My eyes began to examine the other Hosts who stood together, engaged in their own personal conversations.
Two boys identical in looks stood together, their hands wrapped firmly around the other's waist as they spoke quietly to each other. A tango was my initial thought, two boys of perfect symmetry working together to accomplish graceful movements of everyday life. I ducked slightly behind the curtains as I continued my examination. A boy, slight in build with crisp brown hair stood at the front of the group. At first glance he appeared miserable; my guess was that in actuality he was miserable. For a moment, I considered several options for this boy, but finally realized there had to be another side to him, like an actor. He had performance dance written all over him.
My eyes then trailed to two blonde boys, the taller stood dramatically beside the brunette boy, his vibrant violet eyes were gazing at the auditorium in complete wonder. He seemed to fidget in excitement and I couldn't help but smile. A major jitterbug that boy was, somewhat like the dance, an ever moving dance which contained fast jerky movements. The other blonde boy was significantly smaller and was perched on the shoulders of a taller boy with dark black hair. The small boy appeared innocent, I was sure there was another side to this boy, again another performance dancer. The final boy tall and dark haired stood still, his eyes focused on Kyoya and Kimberly as they spoke. His face was expressionless and he didn't speak even when the small blonde addressed him.
My mind was blank, nothing came to mind when I looked at this boy. I couldn't pin point his style, his routine, nothing could be figured out. "Mariah," a sharp voice called. My eyes refocused on Kimberly who was standing center stage look slightly irked. "Thank you for rejoining the real world again, will you please stop hiding behind the curtain and come out." Her eyebrows were knit together in grave irritation, so I did as I was told and slowly made my way to the rest of the girls who were still staring intently. "Now Mariah as the only senior here, Takashi's partner for their stay. You will be in charge of helping him around the Academy." Kimberly gestured to the tall dark haired boy, her eyes locked firmly with mine before turning away. Takashi's steely eyes were now on me and once again they were empty.
"Of course," I replied shortly, placing my hands firmly behind my back. Kimberly nodded and continued to pair off the other girls with one of the boys. Kenzie and Hazel were given the twins, it wasn't that much of a surprise on any of our parts. Hannah got the small blonde boy, and she appeared overjoyed to have him. Kimberly took it upon herself to take both Kyoya and the tall blonde boy, whom I learned was Tamaki Suou. As Kimberly continued to speak, Takashi kept his gaze on me. And as I gazed back, my mind was still blank.
The next morning, I stood by my locker and piled books into my bag for the coming day when Takashi made his way up to me. Despite my height, he was at least a head taller as he leaned against a set of lockers. "Good morning." I acknowledged simply. He countered with a single grunt and turned to look at the students passing by. I threw my dance shoes in the bottom of my tote bag and slung it over my shoulder. Out of the corner of my eye, Takashi sighed, the first bit of emotion I had seen him show. At practice, he seemed almost dead as he sat in the audience with a glassy eyed look, even when the small blonde, Hunny as Hannah told me, spoke to him.
My first class of the day was art, a class Hannah had made me take. I hated art, loved dancing, but hated anything else artistic. "Are you ready to go?" I questioned slowly. Takashi turned to look at me for a brief moment than glanced at the students, admitting yet another grunt in reply. Not a straight answer, but I'd take it.
Hannah sat in the art room when I got there, talking animatedly with Hunny who sat beside her. In his arms was a large plush rabbit, bright pink in color. When Hunny saw us walk through the door, he immediately jumped into the arms of Takashi, who suddenly seemed a lot less heavy lidded now that Hunny was there. I took my respectful seat beside Hannah and began to fume silently, she seemed to notice and smiled apologetically.
"Kimberly?" She guessed obliviously. I gave her my best Kimberly impersonation, the stern glare she gave everyone and anyone. Even the teachers. "Then what?" I thrust a thumb toward Takashi, who was now listening intently to Hunny talk about his walk to class with Hannah. "Takashi? What did he do? From what Hunny told me, he's the sweetest guy in the group of boys that came. He's always looking out for Hunny, they're cousins or something." I cocked an eyebrow at Hannah, since when did she know what was going on and I didn't. Oh yeah as of recently. "Though everyone in the group say Takashi is not a man of many words."
"Tell me something I don't know." I countered tartly. "Took all my social skills to get him to grunt as a response." Hannah giggled quietly and gave me a sympathetic pat on the back. Hunny pulled Takashi back toward our table. Hunny's small hand was gripping Takashi's wrist tightly.
"—Hannah has been really nice to me! And I asked her to come over for cake at the hotel this afternoon, you should invite Mariah too!" Hunny continued as he tugged the taller boy along. I knew I had a look of horror on my face when the smile on Hunny's face dropped. "Do you not like cake Mariah?" His large eyes brown eyes began to brim with tears at the thought of someone having a distaste for cake. Hannah nudged me under the table and cast me a severe glance.
"N-no Hunny, I simply wasn't expecting your kind invitation," I answered quickly, instinctively reaching out to ruffle his hair. I had three younger brothers, it was something I always did to cheer them up. Hunny suddenly smiled wide, his eyes brightening as well as he began to chatter about the type of cake that would be there this afternoon. From behind him Takashi caught my eye. I could have sworn a smile crossed his lips, but I dismissed the thought quickly. Hannah and Hunny continued to talk to each other, while Takashi towered over Hunny protectively. I pulled out a sheet of paper and tried to be slightly prepared for tonight's rehearsal with 'Les Belles Filles'. I never said I didn't try to prepare.
Ms. Duff, the art teacher made her way slowly into class while balancing several boxes of acrylic paints in her hand while doing so. "Good morning class, today I'm going to have you—" She stopped and with her free hand adjusted the thick frames on her small freckled nose. "Foreign Exchange students, this early in the school year?" She was looking at us now as she set the boxes in front of a young freshman girl who cowered away from the loud noise.
"Ms. Duff these are the Ouran Foreign Exchange students, you know our sister school in Japan," Hannah explained knowingly. I bet she rehearsed it. Hunny jumped up from his seat and threw his arms around Ms. Duff. "That's Mitskuni, we call him Hunny for short." Hunny began to chat about cake with Ms. Duff who stood their completely dumbstruck. I would be too. Hannah nudged me and gave me yet another severe look, did she expect me to introduce Takashi? Probably. I stood up slightly and threw a hand at Takashi.
"And this is Takashi Morinozuka, he's Hunny's...cousin." I stated jadedly, falling back into my seat with a low thump. Ms. Duff glanced at me then back at Takashi with her beady little eyes.
"I can see why you two were paired together." She stated with a stern glance. "Very well, let's continue on with class, Now today—" I turned to look at Takashi and then back at Hannah who shrugged when I gave her a questioning glance. I was nothing like Takashi, was I? Well yeah I didn't talk a lot, but I talked a hell of a lot more than he did. And I was a dancer, I'm pretty sure he's not a dancer. A pretty safe bet at least. I just couldn't see it, whatever.
At lunch that day, I sat with Kenzie near the back of the cafeteria. Takashi sat farther down the table, away from us, looking tragically lonely while Kenzie's Exchange Student sat on her other side, he too looked tragically lonely. I brought my fork to my lips and bit on it thoughtfully. "Shouldn't you be sitting with Hazel, so your exchange student can sit with his brother?" I questioned quietly. Kenzie glared at me and stabbed her meatloaf mercilessly with her fork. A cold aurora settled over the dark brunette and I winced away. Sometimes she was worse than Kimberly was.
"I won't sit by my sister, just so Kaoru can sit with his dear brother. I don't need to endure torture just so someone I barely know is happy. It's bad enough I live with her." She sneered. Like I said, their dance styles didn't mesh. Kenzie pulled her fork out of her meatloaf and glanced pointedly at me. "Why aren't you letting Takashi sit with Hunny, they seem to be a pretty tight pair." She added with an ill-fitting smile. I glanced back at Takashi who sighed sadly.
"If he wanted to leave he could, but he won't. He's like a puppy. If he's given to a master, he won't leave their side. Even if he wants to." I whispered back. Kenzie glanced at Takashi and shrugged.
"Did you tell him he could go and hang out with Hunny, or did you assume that he would just know?" She questioned smartly. "I may not be too smart, but I know boys like the back of my hand, and if you don't tell them they can do something, they won't do it. I'm sure the same goes with Asian boys too." She continued, waving her fork through the air. Kaoru looked up from his lunch tray and eyed Kenzie with curious curiosity. His attention now directed towards her, though Kenzie didn't notice and pressed on. "And did you ever think he doesn't talk because his English isn't great?"
"Mori-Senpai doesn't talk even when he's in Japan. It's just who he is." Kaoru cut in. Both Kenzie and I turned to look at the fiery red head questioningly. "If you get to know him, he may open a little more, but I'm not guaranteeing anything." Kaoru continued.
"You speak English?" Kenzie questioned bluntly. Kaoru scowled at her, but after a moment it softened, his amber eyes straying across the cafeteria to his brother.
"Quite well actually, I just didn't feel like I needed to speak considering none of you girls seem too thrilled to have an of us boys here." Kaoru replied with a sneer at Kenzie. She rolled her eyes at him and turned back to her torn meatloaf haughtily. "Though I can understand why that scary lady paired you with Mori-Senpai." I snorted at Kaoru's name for Kimberly. Rather fitting. No? "But I can understand why Mori-Senpai would be upset. Hunny and him are really close and are rarely seen apart."
Perhaps that's why Takashi sighed so much this morning? I turned back to where he sat alone, poking disinterestedly at the meatloaf on his plate. A groan escaped my lips as I stood up and stalked over to the dark haired senior. His hazel eyes gazed up from his plate and eyes me blankly. The small empty smile on my lips twitched slightly at the lack of response. "Yeah, you know if you want you can—you know, sit with your cousin." I mumbled irritably. Takashi didn't reply, but simply stood up and walked away toward Hannah and Hunny across the cafeteria. I clenched my teeth and turned swiftly away, adamant on ignoring the itching temptation to follow and demand a response from him.
By the end of the day, I still couldn't get more than a grunt. And my mind remained blank. Everyone had a routine. And still, Takashi made my mind run on a blank reel. It was really starting to piss me off, and I'd only spent a day with him.
~I hope you guys like it~ Review to tell me any ways I could make it better (Constructive critscim) or comment to sya you liked it. Hope you enjoyed it!