I smiled politely as my mother and Mr. Ootori continued their long chit-chat. Mr. Ootori hardly spoke, only offering polite nods and words of approval while she raved about marriage. Of course, it wasn't their marriage. No, my mother refused to love again, and Mr. Ootori was not a single man. He was married with three sons and, I beleive, a daughter. Forgive me if I've made a mistake.

They were speaking of my marriage. The wedding wouldn't be for a long time. Mr. Ootori's youngest son, Kyoya, had propsed just yesterday, and a dinner party was absolutely nessacary in my mothers' eyes. A lot of talking was done, too much for my liking. Kyoya even offered his hand in quite a few dances, and i was more than willing to dance with anyone who asked. Many men, and quite a few women, did ask. Of course, no boy would lay a hand on me without Kyoya's full aproval, and I knew he could care less. Either way, Kyoya let them, saying, 'of course, so long as you don't get too attached'. It was getting quite annoying.

"I really didn't think Melody even excepted such an offer. She's so stubborn, and I'm afraid she gets it from her father. Anyway, she often avoids such bright young men such as your son, and goes after anyone she can get a thrill out of." she spoke with energy, speaking loud and clear.

I laughed dutifully, though I was extremely annoyed. She hardly knew me. "No, mother. I would never dream of throwing myself at any man, no matter how captivating. But I can't deny that Kyoya is quite the gentleman, and will be extremely sucessful, even if not the heir to business. I will try my best to love him as much as I possibly can."

"Of course," Kyoya stated, speaking for the first time in an hour. "And I wish you the best of luck with your future business."

"Thank you, and I wish the same for you." I said with the same fake respect, as if challenging his own polite smile.

Mother grinned at us, "You two can support each other like a husband and wife should. Or either business would fail."

"I doubt it. Harmony is hard to find when you don't exactly like the person."

"You'll live."

"Of course." I replied. "And I'll give as much advice as he'll except."

My mother laughed, "Men are stupid, dear. He'll have to learn to listen to someone as smart as you. It's their nature."

"Anyone can be smart or talented. I think girls fawn too much, and most men are extremely smart."

" I haven't met any." she snapped.

"Then you haven't looked hard enough." I turned my head and cleared my throat.

She smiled this demented grin that she often gave off when trying to control her anger, obviously she didn't like me talking back so rudely. She turned back to Mr. Ootori, "What do you think? What made you want your son to marry her? Obviously she is beautiful and talented, but her father hasn't left her much wealth."

He gave a stony, cold smile, "I already think highly of her. If continues such good grades and doesn't stop her commissions, I think she'll make a sucessful at-home business."

I gave a curt nod, "Thank you,"

I yawned, covering my mouth with a hand before turning to mom. The dinner had long been over with, and the other guests had already gone home. It was late. "May I leave? The dinner was wonderful. Thank you."

"Yes, of course." Mr. Ootori said. "It's our pleasure."

"Make sure to get some sleep, Melody. Tomarrow will be a busy day. I'm sure Kyoya will show you around Ouran." Mom said.

I laughed, "he's in a grade above me, and we have completely different classes. I'm sure he will be busy getting to his own classes, not showing me mine. I beleive I'll navigate the school by myself."

"He wouldn't mind introducing you to his little club, and sitting with you at lunch." she defended, her sharp look warning me not to talk back. I almost rolled my eyes. But,no.

I smiled, and arched one eyebrow. Kyoya assured her than he would show her around as much as he could, which I beleive consoled her worries.

"Well, then, I suppose I will see you tomarrow, Kyoya. Good night."

They all murmured they're own good-byes, and mother promised me she would be home soon, wanting to extend her talk with my soon-to-be father-in-law. Kyoya was also allowed to go.

I hardly spared him a glance once in the hallway, completely concerned about getting home. My car was left back home, so I had two options. To walk or call a taxi of some sort. Since I had a huge fear of taxis after some... unfortunate experiences, I decided to walk along the sidewalk. I hurried home as fast as I could.

By the time I was in my room, I was completely and utterly exhausted. I prepared my backpack for the next day and climbed into my huge bed, shutting my eyes and quickly fading into a dreamless, deep sleep.

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~~!~!Breakline time

The school had very little style to offer. Hardly any comfort, either. The stucture and orginization of the buildings was a mess of different styles and horrific colors. Pink marble is not as elegant as it sounds. The gardens looked nice, but the hedges weren't quite shaped like they should've been. Maybe I was being too picky, though.

The school uniforms were possibly the worst part. They were a horrific yellow color, and I felt like a marshmellow, though I didn't completely mind the fact they added some weight to my waist, without making me look fat. I was skinny, and a lot of times it disgusted me. Just like those super models; it was revolting. Except this was natural, and, in my moms words: 'A young lady should never stuff her face with too much sugar, because once she grows out of a size 2, she's hardlyy attractive.' I hate mom...

During the school day, I made sure to walk with Kyoya through the halls as much as possible, just to be a bother. Though I tried to express my hatred for him subtly.

"Miss Chevalier, how are you?"

"Fine. And you?"

"I'm doing fine."

I smiled, "Oh, and please call me Melody. We're engaged, theres hardly an excuse for formalities anymore."

"If thats what you want."

"Thank you." I clasped my hands behind my back as we walked.

With that, no more was said until we entered the cafeteria, where I spoke up, "I'm not hungry right now. The noise would only give me a headache. So, if you don't mind, I'm fine with walking around. I need to find my way around this maze of a school eventually."

"Of course. Perhaps I should introduce you to the Host Club?"

"No, no; I couldn't bear to be such a bother. We can wait until it opens."

"If you insist. You remind me too much of your mother." he stated, a slightly amused smirk on his face.

I scoffed, "I am nothing like my mother. No one has ever made that comparison, and I dare say it's not a true statement. She has no grace, no common sense and definately no patience. I hate that witch, so please, don't compare me to someone as awful as she is."

"I didn't mean to offend you, Melody. While it is true you both posess a...different charm, you are just as stubborn as she is."

"You didn't exactly offend me, Kyoya. I was simply letting you hear my thoughts on such a disgraceful woman."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"I doubt you'd care so much."

"Then you've misjudged me."

I laughed.

He arched an eyebrow, and I couldn't help but smirk, wondering how they managed to be so nicely shaped.

"Whats so funny? I don't know if I should be offended or not that you think me being genuinely kind is odd."

"I'm not trying to hurt your big, bad manly pride."

He gave his best civil smile, as I did mine. "The difference between you and I is that I know my place; you don't."

Ouch. I glared at him, refusing to let him win this little competion. "I know very well were I belong; if I didn't, I would've refused you right away. But, life isn't that easy. Sometimes I wish it was." And with that, I spun on my heel and walked away. With my back to him, I smirked widely, and quickly left the cafeteria. I was sort of scared he'd stop me and say something that I couldn't answer to.

i strolled around aimlessly until the bell rang for the next class. I sighed, hurrying to find it. The moment I got there, I was asked to stand up front and introduce myself.

I smiled politely, but it was fake. "Hello, my name is Melody Odette Chevalier. It's a pleasure to be here. Thank you for your kindness."

"Thank you, Melody. Please have a seat where ever you choose."

I stated my grattitude and hurried to take any random empty seat. Which was behind two red-head twin boys that I had no intention of talking to. Instead I fixed my gaze on the board, and dwelled on things that didn't really matter

Except my engagement. I couldn't stand Kyoya and his dad and brothers almost as much as I hated my mother. Of course, I never let my hatred for any of them show. Well, except for Kyoya. But he didn't do a very good job at hiding his dislike of me. I'll admit, half the time I'm around him, I ramble. I say the first thing that comes to mind, and hardly give my choices of speech a second thought. Kyoya thought his words over carefully, and was never blunt. He almost never snapped at people. if he means to offend you, it could easily be mistaken for a compliment. Except when you know him as well as I do, you'll soon learn he never compliments anyone. He's a bitter, hateful annoying, and smart boy for his age, and it'll only grow more intense as he ages. He'll only get worse, and I'm confined in an unwanted marriage with him.

And my stupid, stupid rambling. Everything I said seemed idiotic and spiteful and never well-thought-out. I said the first sarcastic thing that came to mind. I wish I was elegant and brusque. i wish my words were cunning and sharp, and that I didn't talk so much.

But that will never be me, some inner voice told me. I inwardly huffed.

No, I'll be what I want to be...eventually, I consoled myself.

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~breaklinetime

I let my fingers brush against his as we walked, and I continued glaring at the ground. It took merely minutes for Kyoya to notice something was out of place. God, I hated him. I hated pretending to be in love in front of everybody. I hated this twisted relationship.

"Where's your engagement ring?"

"Left it at home." I said simply, not looking up at him. I suddenly didn't feel like bothering with fake smiles and fake signs of affection.

"You were wearing it earlier today."

i blushed, "Oh, well...The diamond is so lovely, I really didn't want to show off so much. It must've cost a fortune." I looked up at him, using my prime acting skills as an excuse. An excuse for being too proud to wear a ring that should symbalize love, but in reality only shows a deal. A promise. Something for your own good. It was cruel, selfish, rude, even disgraceful.

I'm pretty sure he had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. I gave a sickly sweet smile.

"Here we are, Miss Chevaleir."

"Kyoya, we're engaged, you can at least call me Melody." I said. "Does it bother you if I call you Kyoya?"

"Certainly not."

"Then please call me by my first name."

"As I said before, we're here." he said, and, being the gentleman he pretended to be, he opened the door, gesturing for me to walk in. I gave a grateful nod- a genuine one, this time. It's about time he showed real civilty.

But, dear Lord, was I surprised. Because when the door opened, we were welcomed with...

"Kyoya! Your late!" a bunch of boys all screamed. I winced at the noise. And the look on Kyoyas face? Pure gold. I smirked at his annoyed expression, eye twitching. I held in a laugh, but made sure he saw my smug expression before heading inside. This might be more fun than I thought.

And cut! Alright, please don't hate me because this is so different than what I normally write! But I actually think I'll update this one becaue this is like, my secret hobby. Writing stories in this kind of style, because it's amusing. And I'm sorry it's so...cliche and terribly written. Please review!