Hayley sighed heavily and slumped, exhausted, onto the front steps of the prestigious Ouran Academy. She had been there all day, receiving a tour of her new school from her soon-to-be new teacher, Kaya Tsuda. Hayley swore they must have covered every single inch of the school, inside and out. Even with a tour of the school, Hayley was sure she would get lost at least once in such a large building so, it seemed like a waste of a day, not to mention her teacher's Saturday, though she didn't let that thought put a damper on her naturally good mood. At least this way, she had gotten to know her new teacher who, Hayley learned, she got along quite well with. Her tour was also something to occupy her day and her mind with, as she was somewhat nervous about transferring to such a high-ranked school.
A small chuckle reached Hayley's ears and she looked up to see her teacher glancing down at her from the top of the stairs with a smile on her face. "Tired, huh?" Hayley simply nodded her head in response and gave her a weak smile. "I think you will be glad to hear that our little tour has officially come to a close," Kaya said, putting plenty of emphasis on the word "little." She made her way down the steps until she had reached the bottom and stopped in front of Hayley, checking her watch for the time. "You'll do fine on Monday, I'm sure. It's only natural to be a little nervous about your first, though. Your mother should be here by now. If you don't mind, I'll go and see if I can find her, there are a few things I want to discuss with her while I have the chance. You may stay here and rest a while, alright?" Without waiting for an answer, Kaya had turned and began walking along the path, leading outside of the school gates and soon, disappeared out of Hayley's sight.
Stifling a small yawn, Hayley stood up and stretched, looking up at the sky. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining and the sky was clear, not a cloud in sight. She held out a hand to shield her eyes from the sun's brightness and frowned ever so slightly when she realized she was beginning to heat up. As she looked around at her surroundings, a large cherry blossom tree caught her eye. Quickly, she set off towards it, eager to soak up the coolness waiting for her in the shade of the lovely tree.
As soon as Hayley had entered the shade of the cherry blossom tree, she sighed happily, feeling the instant chill. She leaned her back onto the trunk of the tree and slowly slid down into a sitting position, pulling her knees close to her chest. Her mouth split into a pleasant smile as she absorbed the shade. As she sat there, she began to get lost in the enchanting smell of all the trees surrounding her, until she was suddenly ripped away from the scent and her thoughts by an abrupt voice. "I haven't seen you around before. Are you new?" Hayley's eyes shot open and she stood up, quickly, causing a light-headed feeling to wash over her, which she ignored easily. She looked to the owner of the voice, a boy who looked to be about your age with fiery orange hair and amber eyes, and she nodded, smiling. "Great!," he said, enthusiastically with a huge smile, "It's nice to meet you, I'm-"
"Ah, I see you have made a new friend in my absence, Hayley." Kaya Tsuda walked up to the two teenagers, swiftly. "How lucky of you to get to meet.." Her sentence trailed off as she looked at the boy, questioningly.
His smile faltered for several seconds before he spoke, causing Hayley to be rather confused. "I'm Kaoru, Tsuda-Sensei."
"Right. Well, as you two are both in my class now, I'm hoping I can count on you to make Hayley feel as comfortable as possible around Ouran, Kaoru." The boy that Hayley now knew to be Kaoru jumped beside her and slid his arm around hers, linking them together.
"I'd be honoured to show such a beautiful young lady around," Kaoru replied, sending a wink Hayley's way. "If that's alright with her, of course."
A small blush crept up onto Hayley's face but, she smiled nonetheless. "I'd love that, then maybe I won't get lost!," she exclaimed with a giggle.
A friendly smile appeared on Kaya Tsuda's face and she nodded, as if in approval. "I think you two are going to get along just fine." Her full attention then turned to Hayley. "Your mother's waiting in her car, just outside of the gate, Hayley. I told her I'd send you straight out so, you had better get going soon. I'll see you both on Monday." With that, Kaya walked away, towards the school's entrance, leaving the two teenagers alone.
"So, Kaoru, was it?," Hayley questioned, looking up at the boy, into his eyes. He nodded his head slightly, and waited for her to continue. "What are you doing at the school on a Saturday?"
Kaoru let out a small laugh and ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm in this Host Club and we had a meeting today. Our leader's father is the Chairman of Ouran so, we get to meet up here whenever we please." Hayley smiled and nodded to show her understanding. "Hey! Speaking of which, why don't you come around tomorrow, say, around 1pm? We're getting together again and I'm sure everyone would love to meet you. Plus, there are two other club members who are in our class, too. Do you know where Music Room 3 is? That's where we usually meet up."
Hayley nodded her head, excitedly. "That would be great! I'd love to meet them. The more friends, the better, right?" Kaoru chuckled at the young girl's happy attitude. "Oh! I forgot, I'm keeping my mom waiting, I better get going! Bye, Kaoru, I'll see you tomorrow!" She gave him a small hug, which he returned happily, and set off at a run, heading for the front gate.
When Hayley hopped into the front seat of the car, her mother immediately noticed the large smile on her daughter's face. "You had a good day, I'm guessing?," she asked, with a laugh hidden in her voice. Hayley rolled her eyes and stared out the window, thinking of her new friend and waiting for the coming day, as the car sped off.
Hayley's entire night seemed to just fly by and, before she knew it, 1pm arrived and she was standing outside the doors of Music Room 3 within Ouran Academy. She stared at the large double-doors and bite her bottom lip, pondering whether she should knock or just head right in. Hesitantly, she reached her right hand out, opened the door a bit and peeked her head in. She soon found who she was looking for, although his back was to her, and a smile spread across her face. "Kaoru!," she yelled and opened the door the rest of the way. She ran over to her new friend and wrapped her arms around his middle in a tight hug, who had turned around to find the source of the unfamiliar voice.
She felt the boy stiffen at her touch and frowned slightly. "What are you doing? Who are you?" Hayley looked up in confusion and her frown grew larger.
"You're not...Kaoru. There's something different about you," she said and took a step away from the new boy, keeping her gaze fixed on him. He stared back, trying to hide the shock of this unknown girl being able to tell the difference between him and his twin so quickly, his one eyebrow raised in confusion. 'Hm, they must be twins. It would have been nice for Kaoru to mention that yesterday.'
"Hayley? What are you doing here?," came a new, yet familiar voice. Slowly, Hayley's gaze shifted to see a face that she recognized.
"Haruhi! I didn't know you went to Ouran Academy! You've changed since the last time we met," she laughed and walked towards her old friend. "I just transferred here. I met a boy named Kaoru yesterday during my tour of the school and he invited me to come here today to meet you." She paused for a moment and looked around, seeing several new faces staring at her but, no Kaoru. "Um, where is h-"
"Hayley! You actually came," she was interrupted by the voice she knew to be Kaoru's and she felt an arm slip itself around her shoulder. "How do you know Haruhi?"
Hayley went on to explain to everyone that her mom and Haruhi's dad were good friends so, they had spent quite a bit of time together in the past, although they hadn't seen each other in a while. Afterwards, Kaoru and Haruhi introduced Hayley to the rest of the Host Club. She met Tamaki, the proclaimed King of the Host Club, Kyoya, an intelligent and charming young man, Mitsukuni, also known as Honey, a child-like teenager who looked far younger than he really was, Takashi, aka Mori, cousin to Honey, whom he contrasted in almost every way, and finally, Hikaru, Kaoru's twin brother, who caught Hayley's attention the most.
The rest of Hayley's afternoon was spent getting to know the members of the Host Club better and eating every sweet that was placed in front of her by the smallest Host Club member, Honey. She began to wondered where he was getting it all, there seemed to be an endless supply. "Come on, Hay-Chan, one more piece of cake!" Hayley rubbed her stomach and groaned quietly.
"Honey, I'm stuffed, I don't think I can fit anymore in!" She laughed and ruffled his hair playfully. "I'd like to know where you fit all the cake you eat." She glanced out the window and realized how low the sun in the sky was. Glancing at her watch, she saw it was well passed 6pm. "Oh, it's getting late. I told my mom I'd call for a ride before 5 o'clock, I'm gonna be killed," she said, rubbing the back of her neck, nervously, and hopping up off of the couch where she was sitting.
"Would you like a ride home? It will save your mother the trip," came the voice of Kyoya. Hayley beamed and nodded her head in response to the question.
When they all made their way outside, to the front gate, Hayley noticed a large limo waiting for them in front of the school. The entire Host Club, along with Hayley, crawled into the vehicle and found a seat, Hayley being situated between Tamaki and the door. All of them joked and laughed during the ride until the driver mentioned he was in need of directions to get to the young girl's house.
Hayley had to lean over Hikaru in order to be heard by the driver. She didn't pay much attention to it at first but, a blush appeared instantly on Hikaru's face when he noticed how close she was to him. With his eyes fixed on the floor of the car, Hikaru cleared his throat nervously, causing Hayley to look to him, questioningly. As soon as she realized their closeness, she made a quick movement and planted herself back into her seat and, like Hikaru, she stared downwards, avoiding everyone's eyes. Small, knowing smiles crept onto the faces of each member of the Host Club as they exchanged glances, apart from their clueless leader, Tamaki, of course.
Still embarrassed, Hayley raised her head and looked out the window as she felt the vehicle slowly come to a halt. She smiled, realizing she was home and she would be able to get out of the awkward situation. "Looks like we're here!," Tamaki chimed and turned to Hayley, hugging her quickly. "You should come to the Host Club tomorrow at recess! We'd love to see you again. I think we're going to be good friends, Hayley." She agreed right away, and flashed the others a quick smile before stepping out of the car and walking towards the front door of her house. Before heading in, she turned and waved goodbye, with a grin on her face, to the departing vehicle that was filled with all of her new friends.
There she stood, confused, staring at a note that had been placed on the double-doors of Music Room 3, in Ouran Academy. "The Host Club will be closed today." It had been two weeks since Hayley arrived at Ouran and two weeks since she had met the handsome members of the Host Club. Every school day of those two weeks, Hayley had spent her recesses within this very room, growing closer to each and every one of them, some more than others but, she classified each one of them as her friends. She had even developed a slight crush on one of the boys, although she would never admit it out loud. The Host Club had never been "closed" before, though, not since she's been there.
Curiosity got the best of the girl. She opened the large doors and took a step inside. Instantly, seven pairs of eyes were on her and she stared back. The seven members of the Host Club were all sitting around a table, seemingly discussing something important. Hayley smiled as Honey greeted her happily, running towards her and pulling her back to the couch to sit with him. "We're closed today but, Hayley can come in, right?," Honey asked, looking around at the others. Kyoya nodded his head as he closed the lid on the laptop he had been typing on only moments before.
Honey giggled childishly and turned to Hayley. "We're having a meeting today! There's a school break coming up soon so, we're all thinking of going to Kyoya's cottage for it. It's a really nice place, and it's on the edge of a private beach, and-" Honey was then interrupted by his own loud gasp. "Can we invite Hay-Chan, too, Kyoya?" Honey asked, with excitement clearly evident in his eyes.
Before Kyoya could speak, you shook your head. "No, no! I really don't want to intrude on your outing or anything!"
"That won't be a problem, Honey, of course she may join us." Kyoya's reply surprised Hayley and she simply stared at him as he took out his black notebook and began writing in it. "We will be leaving this Friday evening, be sure to pack enough for a week. We'll pick you up at your house at 6:30pm, sharp."
When Hayley got home later that day, she realized she had agreed to go on a trip with the Host Club without asking her mother. She knew her mom wouldn't be too fond of letting her daughter go off for a week with a bunch of boys but, she hoped that she would be able to convince her mom to allow it. Hayley walked into the kitchen to see her mom preparing dinner. "Hey, mom, I'm home from school." Her mom turned around and smiled at Hayley.
"Did you have a good day, hunny?," she asked, with a warm smile. Hayley returned the smile and nodded her head.
"I was invited to join my friends on a trip to one of their cottages for the upcoming school break." Hayley's mother looked at her, and Hayley could tell she wanted to know which friends she was talking about. "It was the boys from the Host Club. You know, the ones that I've been hanging around a lot lately."
"Hayley, do you really think I'm going to let you just get up and go with a bunch of teenage boys?"
"Mom, they're my friends!" Her mom shook her head, letting Hayley know it wasn't going to happen. "Haruhi will be there, though! Please, mom?," Hayley stretched the word "please" as far as she could. Her mother looked up at her and Hayley smiled, knowing that she got her.
"Fine, I guess you can go but, be careful." Hayley squealed and hugged her mom tightly.
"Thanks, mom!" After she let go of her mother, she darted upstairs and began packing the things she thought she would need for the trip.
The days leading up to the weekend went by quickly and, after a fairly long car ride with Haruhi and the boys of the Host Club, Hayley arrived at the place she'd been so excited about the past few days. They all made their way inside the house, many of them holding back yawns, as it was quite late.
"I think we should all get some rest tonight. We'll start the fun tomorrow," Tamaki said, already on his way to find his bedroom.
"But, we're not tired yet," Hikaru and Kaoru said in unison, complaining about the other members.
Hayley then chimed in, "I'm gonna have to agree with the twins, it's not even that late, guys!"
"Then, you three find a way to entertain yourselves. The rest of us are going to rest up," Kyoya said over his shoulder, as he walked away, leading the others to their rooms.
"Well, Hayley? What do you wanna do?," Kaoru asked, standing on her left side and slipping an arm around her shoulder.
"Yeah. Any ideas?," came Hikaru's voice from her right side, his arm finding it's way around her waist.
Hayley crossed her arms, trying to think. "We could...watch a movie?," she suggested.
Hikaru groaned, "Hayley, that is such a-"
"Such a great idea!," Kaoru said, happily. Hikaru looked at his twin brother, confused but, was ignored. "Come on, let's go pick a movie."
After several minutes of discussion, the three of them decided on watching a horror movie, which made Hayley happy. She absolutely adored horror movies, she couldn't get enough of them. They all got settled and comfortable, Hayley sitting in the middle of the couch with Kaoru on her left and Hikaru on her right.
As the movie started, Hayley pulled her legs up tightly against her chest and hugged them for comfort. Throughout the first half of the movie, she didn't take her eyes off of the TV screen, making her completely ignorant to the odd glances being exchanged by the two boys on either side of her. Suddenly, a loud yawn was heard from her left and Kaoru stood up, stretching. "Are you going somewhere, Kaoru?," Hayley questioned.
"I'm starting to get tired," he replied, covering his mouth to stifle yet another yawn. "I think I'm going to head off to bed." Hikaru began to rise as well, but Kaoru stopped him. "You two can finish the movie. Don't forget to tell me how it ends tomorrow!" Hayley nodded, bid him goodnight and returned her gaze to the TV screen. Kaoru winked at his older brother and walked away from the two of them, grinning.
Hikaru rolled his eyes at his brother's actions and leaned back on the couch. He wasn't into the movie all that much at all so, he closed his eyes, trying to sort out Kaoru's behaviour. Suddenly, he was ripped out of his thoughts by a loud squeal emitting from the young girl next to him. Hayley turned towards Hikaru and buried her face in his chest, gripping his shirt tightly. She felt his body tense up slightly but, he calmed down quickly and returned to normal.
She raised her head slowly and looked up at the confused boy, apologetically. Before she could stop herself, or even think, she moved closer to him and pressed her own lips against his, taking him by surprise. Hayley broke away quickly and pulled back, away from Hikaru. "I-I'm sorry," she stuttered, staring straight ahead of herself. Hikaru said nothing but, wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to him. She glanced at him, wondering what was going through his head, and noticed a small blush on his cheeks. He avoided her eyes but, she smiled anyway and rested her head on Hikaru's shoulder for the rest of the movie.
Unknown to Hikaru and Hayley, just mere steps away stood Kaoru, a large grin spread across his face, from ear to ear. He turned away from the two and began walking towards his room, happy that his simple plan was so effective.