Chapter 1
"Hey, do you think this school doesn't have a cranky old librarian because all the rich kids would complain about her complaining?" I ponder aloud, watching the smaller brunette following me down the hall. Haruhi Fujioka, my best friend, shrugged her sweater-covered shoulders lightly, light reflecting off her thick glasses enough that I couldn't read her face.
"Maybe. There are four library rooms, you would think one of them would be quiet." Haruhi replied, followed by a tired sigh, "I'm beginning to think that these rich kids only go to school for the fun of it."
I smiled slightly in agreement and re-shifted my bag on my shoulder, running my free hand through my short, chocolate brown hair, brushing my bangs off my nose and holding them to the top of my head.
"You are probably right about that, Haru-chan. Are you sure you want to tutor me today? I mean, I don't want to keep you from Ranka-san or anything. This is becoming quite problematic, ha ha ha." I ruffled my hair nervously and dropped my hand with a nervous smile when Haruhi paused to give me a stony stare from a couple steps above me, for once making her 2 inches taller than me.
"Don't think that you will get out of learning History just because we haven't found a quiet room, Jessie-san. I will help you with your studies, just like always." Haruhi grumbled then turned and continued up the stairs, leaving me to slightly chuckle in nervousness as I followed her up.
"Sure, Haru-chan. I apologize." I finally caught up to her on the 2nd floor, where I was restored to my comfortable height of 5'6".
A piece of blonde hair swung past my eyelid, making me blow it out of my face in annoyance before I suddenly snatched it with my fingers and stared at it the best I could.
"Hey! Do you think I should dye my hair again? My blonde streak seems to be turning brown. Maybe I should dye my whole head blonde this time. Hey, hey! Do you think I would make a good-looking blonde? Haru-chan?" I asked enthusiastically, dropping the strand and looking to Haruhi eagerly, only to see her staring up at a large pair of peach doors with a curious look on her face. I leaned forward on my toes staring at the sign by the doors with curiosity while Haruhi spoke aloud, "Music room #3."
"Do you think it's abandoned? It seems pretty far off from our classes.." I trail off uncertainly, taking a quick look around the abandoned hallway.
"An unused music room.. I guess this is the only place we can study in peace and quiet." Haruhi says before she places her hand on one knob, while I mirror her. We both open the doors only to be blinded by a bright light and overwhelmed with rose petals.
"Woah!" I complain loudly, dropping my hand from the door and shielding my eyes. I hear a near-quiet click of the door behind me and a chorus of male voices saying "Welcome!" from in front of me.
I hesitate before I slowly open my eyes and lower my hands, revealing a gathering of five boys surrounding one sitting elegantly in a chair. The scene made me furrow my slightly arched, slitted eyebrows in confusion, my eyes bouncing between the assortment of boys in front of us.
"Uh.. Hello? Who are you guys then?" I questioned in bewilderment. The lone male sitting in the chair stood with a sudden flourish, flashing a dazzling smile and flicking his blonde bangs dramatically before gazing at me with a wide grin.
"We? We are the Ouran Host Club!"
"H-Host club?" I heard a quiet voice stutter next to me, making my eyes flash to Haruhi.
"Oh, it's two boys." A pair of identical voices chimed simultaneously, causing me to blink and turn my attention to a pair of red-headed twins. They were gazing at the both of us with blank, bored faces, causing me to purse my lips a bit in concern.
"Hikaru, Kaoru, one of these boys is in your class, right?" Another male voice asks, causing me to turn my gaze to a fox-faced, onyx haired man with square glasses.
"Yes, but he isn't very sociable, so we don't know him too well. All we know is that he only socializes with that boy from class B1." They finished, still completely in sync. I couldn't help but cringe a tad in surprise to their synonymous statement, while Haruhi was watching them all with a panicked expression, sweat running down the side of her neck.
"It's impolite to say it like that." The glasses-wearing boy lightly chastises with an amused grin. He directs his gaze to me, giving me a charming smile.
"Welcome to Ouran Host Club, Honor student-san, Dowling-san." I felt myself shiver slightly in paranoia, giving him a frightened look.
"How does he know my-"
"What! Then, this exceptionally rare honor student we've heard about, Haruhi Fujioka, is you?!" The blonde from earlier exclaims loudly and curiously, leaning forward and giving Haruhi an amazed look. Haruhi, who I just realized was fumbling with the doorknob, froze and looked over her shoulder with a cautious face while I scowled at the blonde nearing us.
"How do you know my name?"
"Oi, why do you sound so starstruck?" I grumbled simultaneously.
"It's just that our school tradition makes it difficult for commoners to get in." the glasses-wearing boy pointed out, causing me and Haruhi to simultaneously flinch at the word 'commoner'. "I've been told that unless you possess a rather audacious nerve, you cannot become an honor student here." Haruhi's face blanked completely, while mine turned a little flushed in annoyance.
"Hey, that was rude! You would think your rich vocabulary could have worded it more politely." I stated, crossing my arms and huffing in annoyance, which drew his attention to me with his polite smile still in place.
"Oh?"
"Yes! He's saying that you are a hero, Fujioka-kun!" The blonde shouts eagerly, interrupting me again and darting over to Haruhi, throwing an arm around her shoulder happily which made her slump in discomfort. I immediately bristled and whirled to face him, however, he continued talking obliviously.
"Even though you might be at the head of the class, you are still the poorest person in the whole school!" Haruhi immediately slipped from under his arm and scooted away from him, not that this seemed to bother the boisterous blonde, instead, he followed after her casually while I stayed in my spot and watched him with stern eyes.
"Maybe you lowly people are looked down upon,"
"No, I wouldn't go that far." I murmured tensely while Haruhi circled around to me. I instinctively slid Haruhi behind me, giving the blonde a warning glare that he seemed oblivious to.
"It doesn't matter, does it? Long live the poor! Welcome to our world of beauty, poor man!" He says, reaching out to lay a hand on Haruhi's shoulder again, however, I smacked his hand away before he could touch either of us. He froze and stared at me with wide blinking eyes while I glared back coldly.
"We don't have to put up with these insults. Haruhi, let's go." I said, turning and guiding the both of us to the door. I had just put my fingers on the knob when suddenly Haruhi gets tugged roughly from my side, her being spun away with a yelp while I stumble back with a grunt of surprise.
"Wha- Excuse you?" I sputter out, spinning to see a dizzy Haruhi being interrogated by a tiny boy with blonde hair and large blue eyes.
Before I could rescue Haruhi again, the blonde from earlier steps up to me with a toned-down charming smile. I straighten myself and give him a blank look, raising a slitted eyebrow in question.
"I'm sorry if it seems like we have neglected you, this is just our first time meeting such a school-famous commoner like this. What is your name, young prince?" He asked, bowing slightly and lightly grabbing my hand, which made me immediately shake it out of his grip.
'Did you just assume my gender?'
"Excuse you, who are you calling a prince? That's, like, pedo-creepy, don't ever call me that again. And if that's your reaction to meeting a 'famous' commoner, I dread seeing you meet a regular commoner. My name is Jessie Dowling, from class B1, and what you super-richie's label a commoner." I spat out, glaring up at him with flushed cheeks. He leans back a tad in surprise, before giving me a once-over with curious eyes.
"You're a commoner? You can afford the school uniform though-"
"Pfft. Yeah, not without some ingenuity from my father and mother though. I had to sell some good manga because of this monkey suit." I muttered, tugging my purple tie with a sour expression. This only seemed to further confuse him, which made me sigh and roll my eyes in annoyance. "Why are you making such a confused face? Let me guess, you've never heard of manga before or something, right?"
"No, not that, it's just, if you barely could afford the uniform, how could you afford the tuition?"
"Now that's a very invasive, if not rude, question. It's not any of your business either." I snarked, rolling my eyes and barging past him towards Haruhi. I stopped next to Haruhi and gently grabbed her elbow, gaining her attention from the young blonde. I gave her a concerned look, to which she gave me a small reassuring smile back.
"To think that such a fabled, erudite student would be openly gay though.." The blonde speaks up from behind me, making me bristle in annoyance while Haruhi flinches and glances over her shoulder.
"Hey!" I growl, spinning and staring angrily at the annoying blonde. "How dare you assume I'm gay- for your information, I am a bi-"
"G-gay?" Haruhi simultaneously whispers under her breath before blinking and covering my mouth with her hand hurriedly, cutting off my angry rant.
The blonde brat ignores my words and gives the both of us an easygoing smile, "So what is your preference?" My insulted squeal was cut off by Haruhi's hand, which meant that Blondie continued.
"Are you into the Wild type?" He swings his arm to a tall, broad-shouldered black-haired boy with steel grey eyes,
"the Boy Lolita type?" he lowers his aim to the titan's legs, where the shortie from earlier peeks out, holding a pink bunny and giving us a watery look,
"the Little Devil Type?" He gestures to the two twins, who are now standing in a symmetrical pose and giving us a mischievous grin,
"the Cool type?" He points to Mr. Vocabulary, who in turn straightens his glasses and gives us a small smile.
Haruhi drops her hand in surprise then staggers back in horror while I literally bite my cheek, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath to calm down.
"I-it's not like that! We were just looking for a quiet place to study!" I hear Haruhi stutter in embarrassment. Suddenly, however, I hear Blondie speak up again, suddenly closer than I remember causing my eyes to snap open.
"Or maybe you're into the Princely type? How about it?" He asks Haruhi. My eyes widen in horror when I see his face extremely close to Haruhi, a hand gripping her cheek as he leans in to-
"Hands off, perv!" I shout, charging and forcibly removing his hand from Haruhi, however, in my saving her innocence, my momentum knocked her off balance, sending her stumbling backwards...
And into a large blue vase. Needless to say, since this is Haruhi after all, she didn't catch the vase.
The shatter seemed to echo forever.
It was silent for all of 5 seconds before I returned to myself and rushed forward, releasing the blonde's hand and rushing to the frozen Haruhi's side. I didn't get to her first, the 'little devil' twins managed to get to somehow get in front of me, leaning over her frozen form with simultaneous 'awes' escaping their mouths.
"That Renaissance vase was to be featured in the school auction!" One twin exclaims, "Now you've done it. We were going to start the bidding at 8 million yen for that!" The second chimes in.
I freeze completely in shock while Haruhi stutters out "8 Million Yen!?" in loud horror. It feels like a bucket filled with ice has fallen over me, causing me to tense and shiver in growing terror. 'Mom is going to kill me 10 times over when she hears about this..' I take a moment to lament over the amount of shit I'm in before I snap out of it, looking to the twins with a determined expression.
"Can I pay you back?"
Haruhi and I said simultaneously, which made our gazes snap to each other with a stern look.
"What are you doing? This is my problem!" Haruhi silently said.
"Don't be stupid, I'm just as guilty as you are" I silently reply back.
"Could you even?" The twins drawl, "You can't even afford the designated uniform. What is that grubby outfit anyway?" I instantly glare at them, but it dies just as quickly since even I have to admit that Haruhi looks like a train-wreck today. Mostly because her alarm didn't go off, but I'm not gonna point it out to her again.
"What will it be, Tamaki?" A voice questions behind us, causing us to simultaneously stiffen for different reasons, her because of her fate and me because he genuinely frightened me.
"Have you ever heard this saying, Fujioka-kun? Dowling-kun?" Tamaki, the tall blonde starts, sitting in his chair, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do!". He closes his eyes and lifts one hand, dramatically pointing it at us, "If you have no money, then pay with your body! Starting today, you are the Host Club's dogs!" He finally opens his eyes and gazes at our two frozen bodies. I exhaled heavily and closed my eyes, covering my eyes with my hands to try and force my sudden tears back and regain myself. I opened my eyes a second later, sucking up my feelings to be let out when I'm not in front of a bunch of judgmental snobs.
'I'll be the best damn mutt this rich-bitch school has ever seen.' I thought before looking to my side, where Haruhi was staring, pale and unseeing in front of us. Recognizing the symptoms of her about to faint, I got into catching position just in time for her to fall into my arms, making me stumble a tad. I sighed and gently sat us on the floor, looking up at the group of confused, curious and (one) concerned faces of the Host Club.
"Sorry, this happens when she's super stressed and shocked. Do you guys have a sink?" I asked, digging into my pocket and pulling out a paper napkin and silently offering it up. I gazed at the group, but before they could really fight over it, the youngest nodded eagerly and grabbed my napkin, running off into the back. I watched him go for a moment before sighing, looking back up at the club with a determined look.
"I have a couple of questions for you guys. First, what is everyone's names, since you seem to know ours so well. Second, what does this 'dog' position entail, and when are we supposed to start? And what times are we required to work?" I listed out, shifting a bit to get more comfortable, but before I could settle completely, the small blonde came back with a wide smile and my damp cloth. I smiled wearily back at him and started dabbing at Haruhi's forehead, wiping her sweat off and looking for any signs of her awakening. Luckily for me, it only took a couple of swipes of the damp cloth on her face before she stirred, giving me a confused, sick look. I smiled reassuringly, giving her a cheeky wink.
"Morning, sleeping beauty." She rolled her eyes and weakly muttered 'shut up' as she sat up on her own. I stood up and gently helped her stand before looking at the group of boys studying me.
I met their gazes with a slightly cold look, raising a brow without amusement and laying a hand on Haruhi's elbow reassuringly.
"Well? Introductions might be best to start with." I stated unamused, "I'll start, even though you already know them. This is Haruhi, and I am Jessie Dowling, first years. You?" I stated in boredom, which fortunately led the youngest to perk up with a smile.
"I'm Mitsukuni Haninozuka, third year, but you can call me Honey!" He chirped before the tall boy beside him spoke up. "Takashi Morinozuka, third year." "You can call him Mori!" The not-youngest, stated cheerily. With wide eyes, I stared him down, blinking a few times as I registered that he was a goddamn third year. I inhaled then exhaled before turning to glasses, who spoke in a business-like tone.
"Kyoya Ootori, second year."
"Hikaru/Kaoru Hitachiin, first year." The twins spoke at the same time, which made me instantly hold my hand up to Tamaki before he could open his mouth.
"Wait, I'm sorry, can you repeat your names again? Slowly please?" I asked politely, my gaze bouncing between two hazel orbs in confusion. They both exchanged a glance before they turned to give me a sneer, one more mocking than the other.
"Why, are you hard of hearing?"
"Or just stupid?" The two said, which made my face fall into an unfeeling, judgmental gaze.
"I could do without the insults, thanks. But no, I just want to put a name to the face. It's hard enough for me to associate names to faces, especially with identical twins. I'm just trying to get a leg up with remembering your names." I stated nonchalantly, shrugging a bit in the end.
'Honestly, if they weren't so identical, this wouldn't be a problem to associate something with them. Like midget-sempai is Mitsukuni, and glasses is Kyoya. It took long enough telling the difference between Katie and Kathie, and they don't mimic each other like these two do. It's gonna be a bitchin' long time trying to find a difference between these two.'
It was silent as the twins' gazes turned calculating and cold, giving me a surprisingly blank look over before they sniffed/sighed in annoyance.
"I'm Kaoru Hitachiin." The less-mocking voiced twin said first, tilting his head forward a tad.
"I'm Hikaru Hitachiin, however, I don't think you will be able to tell us apart regardless." The second twin said haughtily, which made me raise an eyebrow in sudden understanding.
"Oh? How interesting." I drawled, which made their eyes narrow simultaneously, much to my amusement. "Don't fret, Hikaru, Kaoru. I'll learn. Besides, I have a feeling we will get along well." I turned my head towards Tamaki to finish the conversation, but Hikaru immediately leaned forward slightly, giving me a warning glare.
"What do you mean by that?"
I huffed a quiet laugh before looking back to them, giving them both an obvious once-over as I drawled, "Well you're the little devil type, right? I gotta say, I can't wait to see what earned you such a… naughty title." I licked my lips and winked saucily, causing Hikaru to immediately step back while Kaoru's eyes widened, both with a large blush on their faces. 'Ha! One point for Jessie!' I chuckled before turning to Tamaki, who was gazing at me with a wide-eyed look, a slight blush on his features.
"I apologize for that, what is your name?" I asked pleasantly, now in a slightly better mood having messed with a certain pair of twins. The blonde swallowed before straightening up, giving me a small smile and saying "Tamaki Suoh, second year" nervously. I nodded before sighing, rolling my shoulders as I give them all a sweeping glance.
"Alright, now please explain to me what it is you expect us to do as… dogs." I mutter, which made Kyoya flip a page in his notebook, which he was already writing in, while the rest of the boys left to their own devices.
"Well, as I see it, each of you owes the Ouran Host Club 4 million yen apiece, and in order to pay it off, you two need to work it off. Seeing as the Host club specializes in entertaining young ladies, we tend to serve our guests tea or coffee, a slice of cake, and of course time with our hosts. What your duties will be will include cleaning the windows, any furniture or equipment when not in use, and all the dishes and silverware. You will also be expected to serve our guests tea, coffee, or cake, but remain unseen while doing so."
"Unseen? How exactly do you expect us to help the guests 'unseen'?" I questioned sarcastically.
"Well, I would suggest either anticipate their needs or to refrain from speaking. Any other useless questions?" I opened my mouth to argue, but Haruhi covered my mouth and shook her head no.
I grumbled but pried her hand off, rolling my eyes and remaining quiet. Kyoya gave me a nasty smile then continued his explanations, "You will also be expected to occasionally go out and retrieve any items from a store if we happen to run out. Ah, and I should hope that this last rule is obvious, but make sure that you are always respectful when in front of our guests or hosts. You may start your work today, but keep in mind that the host club opens 30 minutes after classes ends, however, we expect our members to be here after class to help set up. We then host for 2 hours and then stay after to clean up, most of which will be done by you two. We do not meet up on the weekend. Any questions?"
I immediately shook my head along with Haruhi, however, I was pouting while she was blank-faced.
"Good. You two officially start today, I'll show you where we store the refreshments and deserts. You can also leave your bags in the changing rooms. Follow me." Kyoya stated, turning and walking towards a small room to the side of the entrance.
We both followed silently, and once we entered we were faced with a corner sectioned off with two large pink curtains – the changing area – and across from the curtains was a moderately sized kitchenette, much to my surprise, with black granite counters and a stove-oven combo. They even had one of those professional bakers' cabinets next to the fridge. I raised my eyebrow in surprise while Haruhi mumbled something under her breath.
My gaze was caught by Kyoya who walked over to the see-through, overhead cabinets and opened it up, fully showing the elegant tableset within.
"This is where we store our plates and our tea-sets. At each table, every guest receives a teacup and saucer, feel free to ask them if they would prefer tea or coffee, or if they desire a slice of one of our deserts. I hope I don't have to remind you to be courteous to all our patrons."
Kyoya fixed his glasses ominously, causing us both to simultaneously shiver and shake our heads in negative. Kyoya then gestured to a clipboard hooked to the side of the desert-cabinet, "This is what desert we are serving every day. We always offer a strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla cake, but we also have one or two other 'specialty cakes' that we serve once a week. This week is Carrot cake and Lemon meringue cake. Usually, when we serve the deserts, we put the cakes on the trolley cart and cut the cake with the silverware you can find in this drawer," He paused to nonchalantly point out said drawer, "in front of the guests. You take the whole cakes to each table, and if a lady would like a slice, you cute her a well-proportioned piece and give it to her on a plate from the trolley's second shelf. You can also store more cake and some kettles on the second shelf as well. Any questions?"
Haruhi and I pause and look at each other before I look back into Kyoya's eyes.
"Uh, so basically we just serve the guests refreshments and bring out a desert trolley every couple minutes? And then general house-cleaning stuff and that's it?" I clarified, to which Kyoya nodded.
"Okay then, we can do that. How much time do we have left before the club opens?" Haruhi questioned.
"Roughly 10 minutes. The teapots are down in the bottom cabinet, I'll leave you to it." He finished before leaving. The second the wood door closed, I slumped in defeat against the counter and gave Haruhi a look.
"Well geez, his personality seems to be pretty 2-faced. This sounds just like being a waitress or busboy." I whined while Haruhi pulled out a couple teapots and filled them with water.
"Yeah, well no one asked you to help with my debt," I smirked and grabbed her bag, taking them both to a nearby chair and setting them on the seat.
"Yeah, but technically I am just as much at fault as you are, having pushed you and all. Besides, what type of friend would I be if I left you in debt by yourself?" I questioned rhetorically.
"A smart one." Haruhi deadpanned, giving me an unamused look, to which I grinned cheerily back.
"No, a poor one. Besides, this may seem horrible, but who knows, there may be some benefit that we don't know about yet." I opened up a cabinet and pulled out a bunch of tea cups and saucers just as the kettles whistled, "Besides, at least we get to work with some yummy eye-candy." I sang, waggling my eyebrows teasingly causing her to smile and shake her head.
"Whatever you say, Jessie-san. Now come on, let's get going."
"Aye Aye, Captain!" I sing in English.
˚✧₊⁎(✿ ⑅σ̑ᴗσ̑ )⁎⁺˳✧˚✧₊⁎(✿ ⑅σ̑ᴗσ̑ )⁎⁺˳✧˚✧₊⁎(✿ ⑅σ̑ᴗσ̑ )⁎⁺˳✧˚✧₊⁎(✿ ⑅σ̑ᴗσ̑ )⁎⁺˳✧˚
A/N: Hey all! Here is the first chapter of my New Fic; The Jokester Type! Hope you enjoy~
I disclaim all rights to OHSHC except for my OC/OFC Jessie!
Read, Review, & Stay Awesome!
Jewels~
