The Host Club. That was what most of these girls would talk about here in Ouran Academy. I don't know what it is exactly, but when I had asked my older brother, Nikko, about it, he just told me to stay away from the said club. He had claimed that it was bad for my well-being. I knew that he was possibly exaggerating, so I had asked my sister after his long, stupid explanation of how I should never go to the Host Club and how it would ruin my innocent mind and stature. My sister, Kaya, had basically said the same thing, but she had included something my brother never had.
"They basically get paid to flirt with girls."
Was that so hard to explain?
"Why am I not allowed to go to the club when I wander around during my break?" I remember asking both my siblings at one point.
Nikko responded first. "You are too precious to us to go see those... Those devils! Why would you ask that? You are my little-"
"Do you want guys to flirt with you?" Kaya interrupted him which immediately sent him into his sulking corner.
"No…" I mumbled.
"So why would you ask?"
Why did I ask? Well, I was curious, of course. The club was the most talked about in my school once I went into my first year of high school. It had barely developed and it was basically the best thing since toilet paper. Why wouldn't I want to know about it?
Because of my siblings' worried speeches about the Host Club, I decided to listen to them and not be convinced by my friends to go and join them at the club. Well, they used to be my friends. They would always talk about the Host Club. They noticed that I haven't gone along with them, so they had invited me to go with them one day. I had told them that I couldn't go.
"What's so important that's happening in your life that you can't go a club with your friends?" Isaki had asked me. She was the only senior in our small group of friends. We called her VP or Vice President. We weren't a club so I didn't understand why she was a vice president.
"Well, I can't-"
"Well, if you're saying that you can't, you might as well be saying that you can't be our friend." Uki scoffed. She was one of the first years, besides Kimi and I. We would call her princess. I hate calling her that. Her personality and looks are nowhere near what a princess's should be.
"But I really can't…" I mumbled.
"If you can't, then we can go some other time." A meek voice had spoken. I looked over at Kimi who had a shy smile on her face. Kimi was new to the group and we decided to call her the Sorceress due to her knowledge of black magic and the fact that she was in the Black Magic Club.
I gave a smile back and went to thank her for her understanding, but a voice had stopped me. "Haha, no." Tomiya's voice immediately wiped the smiles off both of our faces. Tomiya was known as the president or the queen. She was the only second year in our group. She walked over to Kimi and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "Kimi, that's nice and all, but no. We can't skip out on something like the Host Club." She walked over to me and placed both her hands on my shoulders before bending over until she was eye-level with me. "So tell me, Emi, what is so important that you can't come and hang out with your friends?"
Tomiya kept on staring into my eyes. Her dull green eyes held such ferocity that I thought if I moved a muscle, even if I had twitched, she would snap. "I... Can't because…"
"Because…?" She urged.
I inhaled. "Because I'm not interested in joining you just to have boys flirting with me. It's not right."
I felt Tomiya's hands grip my shoulders before relaxing. She stood up straight and smiled. "Okay, then." She spun on her heel and started to walk towards the class door. "See you around, Emiya~" The others left along with her, not even looking back. Well, Kimi did, but her look bothered me the most. It was a look of sympathy.
The next day, none of them talked to me or even bothered to look at me, with the exception of Kimi giving me small pitiful smiles or waves in the hallway. I had asked Kimi during class why the others were acting that way, but Uki had interrupted us by pulling Kimi away. The only hint that I got from them was when Uki harshly whispered, "Did you forget about what Tomiya said?" to Kimi as she pulled her away. I wondered what Tomiya had said. It wasn't long before I knew the answer. I was constantly being teased by the three girls and they would ruin my belongings by losing them where I wouldn't know where to find them or even throwing them in the school's fountain. That was when I realized that I was being bullied by the people that I thought were my friends. I'm glad that Kimi wasn't involved. Kimi was a shy, kind-hearted girl. She wouldn't hurt a fly, even if her life depended on it.
I couldn't tell my siblings about them. They would get easily angered and try to hurt them. I couldn't tell my parents at all. They were too busy. My father ran a business, Sugars & Sweets. My father and I came up with the name when I was six years old. He knew about my love for sweets and toys, so he decided to make the business for me. He told me that once I'm old enough and if I find someone to marry, I can take over the company for him. My mother is an actress, so she is usually traveling to perform a certain movie or show. Because our parents are rarely home, my siblings and I tend to rely on each other. It was what we did. But... no matter what happens to me... I can't let them know what they had done to me.
I can't let them hurt... my friends.
