~Chapter 1~
It was a normal day in Ouran Academy. Wealthy student were walking the school halls, talking of their rich lives and other social news. Classes were taking place in the large facilities. Yes, it was like any other day here. But, down the halls at the, what is said to be, the abandoned Music room 3, the Ouran Host Club is arranging their usual activities.
Tamaki, the host king, was talking the host club's members. "All right, so everything's set?" Kyoya pushed up his glasses with his middle finger. "Everything is prepared, and our guests should be arriving soon," he replied. Tamaki nodded. "And everyone's in their costumes," he confirmed. The members were wearing different colored tuxedos, ties, and crowns.
"Can someone explain the theme of this?" Haruhi asked, adjusting the crown on her head. Tamaki smiled. "Glad you asked, today we will be doing a Prince and Princess theme! We will be their Prince Charmings!" he exclaimed. 'Well he seems excited,' Haruhi thought. "This'll be fun!" Hikaru and Kaoru said in unison. "Yeah!" Hunny replied and jumped up and down. Mori just stood there and grunted.
Suddenly, the door opened, and the members got into position. A girl in a boy's uniform entered the room, someone unfamiliar. She had black hair that turned brown at the ends and electric blue eyes. "Welcome!" the members said all together. The girl seemed like she was taken off guard, and looked surprised. "Oh, sorry, I thought this room was empty..," the girl said almost quietly.
"You must be knew here," Tamaki began, "Welcome to the Ouran Host Club!" The twins, Mori, and Hunny stared at the girl. "Wait, you're the new girl in our class, right?" Haruhi asked. The girl nodded. "Yeah, I'm in class 1A, Elizabeth Arickson," she replied. "So you're the new foreign exchange student," Kyoya said. The members faced their attention on him. "Foreign exchange student?" Tamaki repeated.
Kyoya nodded. "Yes, she came from America. The Arickson family has been known for their famous works in the visual arts such as acting and dancing. She's the eldest and the heir to the family name," he explained. "Though rumors have said that's she's a real tomboy, and I see they're true." Elizabeth looked away. "Yeah, but I'm not into that stuff, and I don't want to be the heir…I really just want to be a manga author…Sorry to interrupt you guys, I just needed a quiet place to draw," she apologized.
The twins were quick and walked over to Elizabeth, roses in their hands. "Aw come on, don't go now," Kaoru pouted. "Stay a while," Hikaru chimed in. Elizabeth blushed. "Uh…I really should be going…," she backed up a little, but found not a door, but a wall. Tamaki then added, "We won't mind you drawing in here. Actually, if you let us watch, and maybe make something for us, we won't charge you for coming in! What do you say?"
Haruhi glared at Tamaki. "Sempai! Now you're forcing her to stay!" she said. Elizabeth sighed. "I guess I could…," she said, taking out a sketch book and pencil out of her little book bag on her back. She took a seat on one of the couches and started drawing. At that point, girls started flowing in. They stared at Elizabeth, whispering about her in a boy's uniform when she's clearly a girl.
As the members started to greet and entertain their guests, Haruhi walked over and sat next to Elizabeth. "Hey, sorry about that, Elizabeth," she apologized. Elizabeth shook her head. "Nah, it's fine, and you can call me Eli or Liza," she said. "Ok, Liza, so why do you dress like a guy? I mean, not be mean or anything-" Haruhi began. "Well, I'm just not comfortable in dresses and skirts. And I could ask you the same thing," Liza replied.
Haruhi was shocked. "How did you know I was a girl?" she whispered. "I could tell. Don't worry, I won't say anything," Liza said, giving a small smile. "You know, I haven't talked like this in a long time." Haruhi tilted her head a little. "Why is that?" she asked. Liza shrugged. "I don't know…I was too shy to talk to anyone, and in America, no one wanted anything to do with me…I was invisible."
Hunny then ran over to Haruhi and Liza. "Haru-chan! Eliza-chan! Do you guys want any cake?" he asked innocently. Liza shook her head. "I'm good, I really got to get this done," she replied. "Sure, Hunny-Sempai," Haruhi answered, then faced Liza. "Are you ok by yourself?" she asked. "Yeah, I'm used to it." Haruhi frowned a little but nodded and went with Hunny.
As Liza drew the rough sketch to a page of her manga, the twins watched from behind the couch. "So what are you drawing?" they asked in unison. Liza gasped, not knowing they were there. "I was drawing some panels for a manga I'm working on," she replied. The twins looked at each other and smiled, then facing Liza again. "May we look at them?" they chimed. Liza blushed a little. "Um well…," she mumbled, but the sketch book was already taken out of her hand.
"H-hey!" Liza exclaimed while the twins flipped through the pages, finding many pages of rough sketch of panels, character profiles, and other things. "Wow, this is impressive," Kaoru said. This made Liza blush harder. "Good for an amateur," Hikaru said. Kaoru looked at Hikaru. "Hikaru!" he exclaimed. "Just saying," Hikaru replied. Liza let her eyes wander. "Yeah, I know they're not the best, but I'm going to get better. And those aren't finished yet, just rough sketches that need to be cleaned, shaded, and inked," she said, her voice barely hearable. "Still, these are really good," Kaoru said, handing the sketch book back. "So what manga are you in to?"
Liza hesitated. "I'd say Shoen, though I've read a few Shojo and they were pretty good. But I'm more into the action," she replied. Tamaki then walked over towards the twins and Liza with some girls. "So how is our little artist?" he asked with big grin on his face. Liza handed the sketch book to him. He flipped through the pages, the girls looking at it also. "This is good, maybe you could do a manga series on us!" he exclaimed. Liza chuckled. "Yeah, I don't think I could, I'm more into the action than romance," she said. As Tamaki handed back the sketch book, the girls whispered comments, making the smile on Liza's face disappear. The twins and Tamaki noted this. "Say, will you be coming here often?" Tamaki asked. Liza shrugged. "Maybe, it's a nice place,"
Tamaki gave a huge grin. "So, I heard that you could dance, is there any way you could dance for us?" he asked. Liza looked away. "Um…you see I…I can't..," she stuttered. "Why not?" the twins chimed. "I….have a fear of getting in front of people," Liza replied. That earned a "Oooooh," from Tamaki and the twins. "Well that sucks…," the twins agreed.
Soon, a few girls were calling for the twins. "Seems like we have our guests, see you later, Liza!" Hikaru said, walking over to the girls. Kaoru hesitated, then followed his brother.
"You'll have to be careful of those two," Tamaki warned, "They're called the mischievous type for a reason!" Liza nodded. "Ok, I'll keep that in mind," she said. She then tore out a piece of paper from her sketch book. "Here, you wanted a picture, right?"
Tamaki took the paper, examining the contents. It was a hand-drawn picture of the host club. "I hope it's alright," Liza said. Tamaki's eye went wide. "Of course! Everyone! Look at this!" he exclaimed. Haruhi, Kyoya, Mori, Hunny, and the twins walked over, looking at the drawing. "Wow…look Takashi! It's you!" Hunny said. Mori gave a "Mhm" in reply. Haruhi was impressed.
"We should hang this on the wall of our host club! Kyoya, do we have any frames?" Tamaki questioned. "Most likely, they would be in the prep room," Kyoya replied. Tamaki then snapped his fingers. "Hikaru, Kaoru, go get a frame," he ordered. The twins saluted with a "Yes, boss!" and ran off. The rest of the members turned back to Liza.
"So…are you going to become a regular guest here?" Kyoya asked nonchalantly. Liza thought for a moment. "I think so…it's a nice place to relax, and no one has ever really cared so much about my art," she replied. "So yeah! Just please, don't make me wear a dress to get in." The members laughed at Liza's last sentence. 'I think I found the refuge I've needed," she thought. 'And maybe….something more."