Sweet Intoxication: Chapter 1

Julietta Caprice held her school bag tight in one hand as she climbed the grand staircase of her new school. It hadn't been the best day... of course, she didn't expect for her first day at a new school, in a new city, of a new country to be great.

Language was not the problem. When she was little, her parents brought her to Japan several times due to her father's work. Then, when her parents were busy working, she'd stay with her uncle and his family. Her cousin, Nathan, grew up in Japan. He was two years older than Julietta, and he wasn't much of a talker. So the two of them would sit for hours, watching TV shows that Julietta cannot understand. But Nathan will translate it to her, in the briefest way possible. After several years of visits, she soon gained the ability to understand the language, and then learned to speak it.

Julietta sighed and looked at the note her homeroom teacher has written, as she continued walking up the red-carpet staircase.

It was the people here that troubled her. Everyone here already had their own friends. They I knew /I each other. The cliques had already established. But that was not the biggest problem yet. No one paid attention to her. Everyone here came from a wealthy family. They all had powerful lineage: some were relatives of ancient feudal lords, some were the heir of a large company, and some were relatives with the modern emperor. All the girls seemed to talk about were the brand names of the tea sets that Julietta never heard of, or brand clothing and make up goods that their fathers recently bought for their collection. The boys talked about what their father's company is offering, and who their fathers will choose heir out of their siblings. This just made her feels so unwelcome. So out of place.

Orchestra Club meeting
After school 3:30
In the third floor music room of the...

She couldn't read what the note said after that. Did her teacher write N Wing or S Wing? She looked at the messy scribbles on the piece of paper again. It could be an N... but then again, it might be an S.

Must be South... It's more vertical than horizontal, the curves. I can always turn back if I went for the wrong Wing...

Suddenly, the chime of bells rang threw the air. Julietta saw the Clock Tower from one of the large windows.

Oh no, it's 3:30 already? Please be the South Wing, she thought, and started running. As she reached the end of the hall and turned the corner, she spotted a double door and a black sign with white letters that read "Music Room". She smiled, and slowed down to a walk. She took a deep breath and prepared what to say when she enters for being late as she slowly pushed open one of the heavy double doors. But little did she know what trouble was awaiting her on the other side...

"I'm so bored!" a red haired boy said as he threw himself back onto the couch, hands crossed behind his head.

"Me too, me too!" another boy who looked exactly like the first agreed, hands also crossed behind his head. "Kyouya, can we go home now?"

"Yeah! There's no customers today! What's the point of staying in the club?"

"Well, well, don't be hasty," a black haired boy with slim, frameless glasses, apparently Kyouya, replied simply and went back to writing things in his clipboard, and calculating and making graphs on the computer.

"Hikaru, Kaoru! Let's play hide and seek! Please? Pretty please? Then we could share my cake!" a cute little blonde haired boy jumped up and down in front of the two red haired boys, hugging a pink teddy-bunny.

"Do we have to?" one of the red haired boys, Hikaru, whined.

"We already played that for the past 20 minutes!" the other red haired boy, Kaoru, replied.

"But..." the little boy started getting teary eyed.

The twins sighed. "Fine, fine. We'll play a game," Hikaru began.

"The 'Who Can Get The First Customer Today To Have Tea With Him' game!" Kaoru finished Hikaru's sentence. "Kyouya, how about it?"

"Hmm? Seems like a good plan... anything to get you guys enthusiastic and more involved in the club. Let's say the prize will be all of today's brand name sweets from Paris and a rare tea set..." Kyouya said.

"Yay! I'll play, I'll play! We want those cakes and chocolates, don't we, Bun-Bun," the little boy exclaimed to his bunny.

"But Kyouya," a handsome and tall blond boy with deep penetrating indigo eyes stood up. "Those prizes are boring... you sure know how to put the fun out of games! Besides, that game sounds so childish..."

Kyouya's eyes glinted behind his glasses. "Let's also throw in some 'pictures', shall we?"

The ever so penetrating indigo eyes lit up. "Oh! Oh! I'll join! I take back what I said."

Kyouya smiled. "Great. Haruhi, Mori, what about you two?"

Mori, a tall, dark haired boy at the back of the room, was silent at first, but walked over to the little boy and said, "Okay." Haruhi, chestnut hair and brown eyes, finally agreed to join after all the other club members sent Haruhi an expecting and glinting look.

And as if on cue, the double doors opened, and in came their first "customer".

Julietta gazed in awe as she entered the Music Room. Sunlight shone threw the large, Gothic style windows framed with heavy, rich maroon velvet curtains with golden linings and tassels. The walls were creamy ivory wooden panels, with matching golden outlines. The ceiling arched high into a gothic vault, decorated with oil paintings of angels, Gods and Goddesses with a background of a blue sky, like the ones in Italian churches. A large, grand chandelier was hung in the middle of the room. The floors were crystalline tiles of marbles, which seemed to glitter. There was a grand piano in one corner, and string instruments displayed neatly in the other.

"Welcome," a chorus of soothing voices echoed. She suddenly turned her attention to the center of the room, which she was too distracted by the detailed work of the room to notice, and found 7 boys around the couch.

Julietta was startled, for she remembered the time back in her old school when she was tricked into an empty classroom by several of the boys in her class who tried to take advantage of her, but luckily a teacher was passing by and she barely escaped before anything happened.

As Julietta hurried to the door and were about to exit, two boys that looked exactly identical except for the way their hair is separated at, each took one of her hands and led her to a cute little table and seated her in a chair.

"Hmm? A new kitten? Don't be shy, love," one of the boys whispered into her ear, and cupped her face with his hand.

The other took her school bag from her hands and poured her a cup of tea. He came to her other side, and also whispered, "Here, have a cup of tea. Cute little doves like you will always be welcomed..."

"I-I have to go, I'm already late," Julietta stuttered, taking a look at the clock tower from one of the grandiose windows. Fifteen minutes already gone by since she last checked. And besides, she was kind of frightened. She tried to stand up and leave, but the twins had a hold on her shoulders, firmer than she expected.

"Let's share a cake! Do you want a strawberry, melon, or mango flavored one?" a cute little boy asked. "I like the strawberry one! But you can have the strawberry on top... but now that I mention it, I want the strawberry too... Hmm... maybe we can cut it in half! And can I have the bigger piece? Oh, but if you want, you can have the bigger piece-"

"Mitsukuni, stop it," a tall dark haired boy emerged and carried the little boy to the back of the room.

In spite of the hectic situation that she desperately wanted to get out of, she let her mind wonder why a little boy was dressed in the high school uniform, and here in the high school.

"You guys," a tall, handsome blonde boy with deep indigo eyes approached. "You are scaring our guest... right, Princess?" he leaned in extremely close. Julietta pulled her head backwards.

"I really have to go... Please, let me go!" she pleaded.

"Ah, but the fun's just begun..." the blond boy said, leaning in even closer. "Let me guess what type of men you like... The Cool Type?" he pointed to another boy with grey eyes and glasses, "The Little Devils Type?" he pointed towards to the twins holding her. Pointing to the tall boy who held the little boy, and then at the little boy, he said, "The Strong and Silent Type? How about the Cute Type? Or..." he stroked her chin gently, and said, "Do you prefer me, the Prince-like Type?"

By now, she was not only frightened, by irritated. "Please! Let go of me!" she said, and with a violent jerk, she rushed out the door.

"Tamaki, you scared her away... right, Bun-Bun?" The little boy said to the blonde boy.

"Yeah, you did, Milord!" Hikaru said, Kaoru nodding in total agreement.

"What! You guys share the fault too! And you little twin devils were holding her captive! That's why! Right, Kyouya? Right?" Tamaki looked at Kyouya.

Kyouya pushed up his glasses and sighed. "Oh well, no point opening the club any longer today. Let's call it a day, shall we? And Hikaru, Kaoru, don't forget to lock up when we leave. We have to keep Lady Luck safe, for the next auction. That gem stone is worth over two million dollars. It would be a pity to have it stolen," Kyouya pointed to a small satin cushion with a finely cut transparent gem stone that gradiented from forest green to blue, then to purple, pink, and orange about the size of a grown man's fist. "It's also extremely delicate, so no more jumping around in this room. Got it?" Kyouya aimed the final comment unintentionally at the twins.

"Okay, okay, we get it," the twins sighed in unison as everyone started to leave. "Hey, isn't that that girl's bag?" Kaoru said, pointing towards a school bag beside the chair Julietta sat in.

"Let's leave it outside, incase she comes back for it." As Hikaru bent down to get her bag, he knocked the stand of Lady Luck, and the gemstone fell into Julietta's bag without realization.

"Hikaru, Kaoru, hurry up!" Tamaki's voice boomed through the grand hallways.

Hikaru put Julietta's bag against a wall beside the door as Kaoru locked the doors, and caught up to the rest of the club.

"I'm really sorry, but there's no more open positions," the registration lady said as Julietta finally reached the right music room. "But there's always next year," she smiled sweetly and left.

Julietta smacked herself on the forehead as she walked out of the music room. Damn it, she thought, Is God holding a grudge against me? Today is definitely not my lucky day. Suddenly, as she finally reach the first floor, she realized she forgot her school bag in the other music room with the boy students. Great. Just awesome! What other awesome things are waiting to happen to me today? she thought sarcastically as she started to climb the stairs once again. Seriously, if this school was so rich, at least they could install several elevators here and there.

When she finally spotted her school bag, she grabbed it, and ran straight home, to avoid any more misfortunes.

"I'm home!" she said as she finally reached the safety of her home. She lived on the 10th floor of a large apartment, about 13 floors in total.

"Oh Julietta, we've been waiting for you," her mother emerged out from the living room.

"We?" Julietta questioned. She only lived with her mother, and she had not made any visitor friends since she just moved.

"Your cousin Nathan, silly. Have you forgotten him already? But I don't blame you, it's been 10 years since you last met him..."

Julietta remembered him alright. They were quite inseparable when they were young, and she missed him deeply when she went back to England..

"Hello, little cousin," a voice said as she entered the living room. Julietta seated her self facing her cousin, and studied him. His skin was a little more tanned than when he was a child, and few strands of his dark hair fell in his hazel green eyes, which became deeper as he grew. His face was now more angular and well defined than what Julietta remembered, and his lips curved into a slight grin that could be interpreted many different ways.

"Hi Nathan," she smiled genuinely.

"You haven't changed one bit," Nathan states.

"But you have."

"Is that so?" Nathan leaned back in his chair. "I see that we now attend the same school."

Julietta's eyes slid from Nathan's eyes to his clothing, and indeed, it was Ouran Academy's high school uniform.

"Here you go," her mother said as she placed a glass of juice in front of both of Julietta and her cousin. Nathan politely thanked her as she took a seat beside her daughter.

"My dear little cousin, I've come here today to ask you something... I've already talked about it with your mother, and now all I need is your response..."

Julietta looked at her mother for some hints, which her mother returned with a bright smile.

"You see, I was chosen as the leading male character for a new action TV drama, but I can't do it alone... The character I act as works with a partner, and that spot is currently still open. You know how bad I am at socializing... so I was wondering it you would want that role."

Julietta's eyes widened. "I-I don't think I can, Nathan. You know how I hate being on camera... not to mention being seen on TV! And what about school? I can't afford to fall behind in school!"

"Oh, don't worry, honey, the shooting sessions are only on the weekends, from 8:00 AM to noon every other week," your mother explained.

"B-But I'm not good at acting! I don't have the experience!" Julietta protested.

"That's not a problem. Your role is to act icy and anti-social, and you don't have many huge speeches. And don't worry about all the action bits... there will be wires to control you. And believe me, you'd be a perfect candidate for the role. You are already anti-social in real life, anyways," Nathan said, provokind a defense response from Julietta but was interrupted by her mother.

"Oh come on, Darling, it would be such an experience! And it could count towards the extra credits you need for university! And maybe you can get rid of that shy and quiet personality. It'll be a great life lesson for social skills! You're going to need to make connections with people when you go out into the society, you know? Please? Even if not for yourself, please do it for your dear mother? Please?" her mother pleaded.

"But- oh what's the point?" Julietta knew that she could never change her mother's mind. "Fine. I'll do it."

"Great," Nathan instantly handed Julietta a piece of paper, as if he knew she'd say yes. "Julietta, sign this... it's the contract and policy that says you work for the set. The managers need it, to make sure that you understand the policy."

Julietta looked at the piece of paper crammed with micro printings. It hurt her eyes, and she never did like signing anything. She sighed. But it's only policies, right?! She reassured herself as she hesitantly slithered the tip of the pen on the line, and the line forming into her signature.

Nathan took the piece of paper and put it safe in his school bag, and dragged Julietta along with him. "Aunt Estelle, I'll need to borrow Julietta for a few hours!"

"Have fun!" her mother literally pushed then out the door.

"Uh, Nathan, what are we doing?" Julietta asked as her cousin brought her to his mansion and seated her on a chair, he a couch few feet away. With a clap of his hand, several maids rushed into the room, carrying scissors and such.

"Your hair style looks dull. We're going to change it a bit..."

"What? I've never agreed to this!" she said, touching her a bit above shoulder length hair. "You're not going to make it shorter than it already is, are you?"

"Martine is one of the best hair dressers around," Nathan said.

"That's not my question!" Julietta got up to leave, when she heard the sound of scissors cutting something. She turned around, to find good lengths of her hair falling to the ground. "Nathan!" Julietta touched her hair, which was now only up to the base of her neck FYI: the base of the neck is where the neck connects to the head, not the shoulders.

"Sorry, little cousin, but it's all a part of your character. Now you can leave and quit, or you can let Martine work on your hair." Nathan said casually.

Julietta stared at her hair in the mirror. Her hair was cut straight across, and it puffed out now that her layers were gone, and it was all the same length. She looked i dorky /i .

With a sigh, she sat back down obediently in the chair. "You know, Nathan, actually you haven't changed at all ."

After about half an hour, Julietta took a look at herself in the mirror once again. It wasn't what she would've liked, but she had to admit, the hair cut was beautiful . Her now boyish chestnut colored hair was now once again beautifully layered, and strands fell in her eyes, giving her a more matured and icy look. If only she was a boy, then it would look perfect.

Nathan walked behind Julietta, and looked into the large mirror. "Cunning," he said, and gave a smirk-like grin. He clapped his hands again, and another maid came in, holding a pile of clothes. "Try them on, Julietta. Take your pick."

This time, she didn't argue and obediently went behind a opaque screen set up for her to change, for she knew there was no way to win against her cousin. After trying all the clothes, she decided on a elbow-length sleeved black T-shirt inside a short sleeved open white shirt so the black sleeve showed. For the bottom part, she chose loose but not baggy khaki shorts that went up to her knees. On top of that, the maids made her put on a chain with big silver cross around her neck, and a watch intended for men around her wrist. For shoes, she wore a pair of black sports sandals.

"Nathan..." Julietta said unsurely as she took a look at herself once again in the mirror. "I look... like a boy."

"Oh, sorry, did I not tell you?" Nathan smirked again, as a maid brought a male Ouran High School uniform. "From now, you will be going to school wearing this instead of the girls' uniform. And respond as a boy.

"But why? Nathan, why?" Julietta was holding back from yelling.

"Because... The character you're acting as is a boy. And now, you have to act as a boy. At least until the end of the drama series."