AN: I'll try to keep this note brief. If you want to skip to the drama or you've already seen the anime/manga for OHSHC, skip to Part 2 of this chapter. Thanks!
HHSHC, Chapter One.
Chapter One, Part One: Welcome to Hetalia Academy
"Only those with excellent social standing and those with filthy rich parents are lucky enough to spend their time here at the elite private school, Hetalia Academy."
Today's the start of a new day. The mark of new beginnings and fresh starts, the time for rebirth and renewals. I mean, when you're having your first day at school with a bunch of rich people, it's best to stay optimistic, right?
As soon as I wolfed down my toast and said goodbye to my father, I'm ready to go. With my bookbag slung over my shoulder and my glasses resting on my nose, I'm ready to face the world.
I've never been happier.
Well, actually, that's a huge exaggeration.
You know what I mean.
The door swiftly opened, moving without a single creak. All the wind rushed in my face, ruffling up my hair even more. But I smile. When my hand leaves the doorknob, the door closes with a satisfying, audible click.
Outside seems more appealing than it normally does. The trees and grasses seem so much more vibrant and green, and the smell of flowers is much more pungent. The sky is also a pretty shade of light blue with the clouds as puffy as sheep's fleece but no bigger than small wisps. The sun hung high in the sky as it normally does, but the sunlight seems even more warm and inviting today.
The sidewalks are tepid and a dreary shade of gray, but it gives my stride a bit of an extra hop or skip every now and again. The other people who pass beside me on the pavement give me a nice smile and a greeting, and I can't help but smile back. Everyone looked like they were much more friendlier today.
After a long stroll around a few blocks I reached the long line of wrought iron fences connecting to the gates that marked the entrance to the entire campus. On the top of the gate is an ornate cornice bearing the school's crest. They pay attention to the small details, I guess.
Even though I didn't put any force in my action, when I pushed open the gates they swung open dramatically.
It was truly a strange sight indeed: Rather than just a neat arrangement of all the different grade schools, they were all grouped like a bunch of individual buildings that interconnected in a sort of large box shape. In the middle of the 'box' was a giant courtyard that most people considered a hangout of sorts and the main gateway to the other buildings. In the back housed the main building for the high school and the giant clock tower stood behind it. In the front of the box where the doors to the courtyard and the front yard were, there were also two extra buildings stuck to the edges of the 'box,' kind of like outstretched arms. Although there was five different divisions for every different school, I would only have to visit the high school.
Since the academy's color palette consisted of pinks and purples, the entire faculty were painted in those shades. The walls of the buildings were cream colored, accented with light pinks and rosy reds. The entire academy had rows of daily-washed windows that went across the entire edifice. The rooftops of the school were lilac-colored and a shade of lavender that shone almost like glittering jewels. Behind the high school there was a large clock tower, somewhat like the Big Ben but colored in the school's own colors.
In front of the school, there was a pathway made of old cobblestone that stretched to the large stone fountain in the middle of the front yard. The fountain had a statue that resembled a vase with many different flower designs and patterns carved in it. On both the left and right were arrays of stone raised flower beds that were circular with all sorts of roses of every different color and variety planted in them. The rows of roses had neat trimmed grass hedges surrounding it.
I am stunned by the beauty of the school grounds. Maybe it's just because I'm won over too easily, but, it didn't matter. Even as a person who most other students would consider me as "uneducated in the arts of architecture" or "a commoner who never had tastes for finer things," it's hard to deny the handiwork and craftsmanship of this entire place.
How do all these rich kids get used to this place? How am I ever going to get used to this place?
As I followed the stone pathway to the courtyard doors, I couldn't help but to look at some of the other high schoolers scattered around everywhere. I noticed that there was one pattern that they followed and I didn't. All the girls had a yellow bodice-fitted dresses with a white collar and a red ribbon tied around it. All the boys wore a light blue blaze accompanied with a navy blue tie and black dress pants. I was wearing an old olive green sweater vest and a white button up underneath with some patched brown pants.
I stuck out like a goddamn sore thumb.
Once I reached the doors, I didn't hesitate at all to get inside of the courtyard. Unfortunately, there were tenfold the amount of students here than the amount I saw outside. I knew they were all judging or making comments about my garments, but the only thing I could do was to ignore them. By the way they were whispering and snickering, I could tell I was a whispering campaign among them.
Once I blocked out the other undergraduates here I had the chance to examine and admire the courtyard for what it was worth. I could see why it was a plaza among the scholars here. It was much larger than I expected, almost about the size of the high school itself. It had a huge systems of gardens that grew many different varieties and species of plants and flowers. Each garden had a different color scheme; one had blues, purples, and blacks, while another one had oranges, whites, and yellows. Each new plot had a more eye-catching and extravagant display of greenery than the last. In the middle of the yard was a large water fountain that had various coins tossed into it. Along the sides of the courtyard were cloisters. If I looked closely enough I could see darkened faces within the walkway.
After examining and exploring the unroofed yard and walking a long distance, I finally reached the high school. The building loomed over me, casting a shadow on me. On the left of me was a small patch of cherry trees. I caught myself staring at a few stray cherry blossoms that danced in the air. The smell of them are so intoxicating I actually took a moment to stand still, close my eyes, and take in all the scent. It's sweet and floral, but with such a light undertone of honeysuckle.
And that's when it hits me: I'm actually here.
For one more time, my hand rested on the doorknob, and I opened the doors. Then, the foyer of the school greeted my eyes.
The foyer resembled a large and long hallway. Along the ceiling of the first floor were arches resting upon pillars that connected to the floor and the ceiling. On every other pillar was a wall lamp lit with candles. Further along the foyer was a grand chandelier made with silver and gold. The luster that reflected off of it looked like twinkling starlight. A little over to the left was a enormous staircase with iron railings and velvet on the stairs.
I'd love to explore the whole school, but I was running out of time. Right now, my priority is to find my first class. Then I could go wander around. Yeah, that sounds good.
If I recall correctly, I should go up the stairway and I'll be in the Third Floor Landing. There should be a long corridor right next to it. Then, I should take a left. Or was it a right?
I pulled out my crumpled up schedule from my pocket. Besides the actual useful information printed on it, it was also filled with incoherent scribbles and random doodles I'd written when I got it. As I read the first line one the paper I put it back in its respective place. Japanese History, first hour. Room A103, east campus.
I'll find it on my own, I'm confident of it.
Chapter One, Part Two: Color Me Interested
After countless minutes of aimlessly wandering around the school, that's when I finally realized I had no idea what I was doing. I kept finding myself going around in a circle, in a dead end, in the wrong direction, you name it. Now that I took so long to get nothing done, all the other people found their classes. The hallways and corridors were completely empty.
I was stuck in this complete labyrinth and maze of a high school.
After I got tired of running around, I slowed my pace to a walk. My footsteps echoed off the walls, only reminding me how alone I was.
Atleast I could stare at the windows. I admired the garden that was outside. There was also a little pond nearby, with cherry blossoms resting on the top of the waters. If I looked closely, I could see the dewdrops in the grass sparkling.
I was so immersed in the view, I almost didn't feel the shivers that went down my spine. Suddenly, the room got much colder than it was before. If that wasn't enough, a cloud covered the sun, dimming the aisle.
Footsteps reverberated around the room. Footsteps that didn't belong to me.
I turned around, not knowing what I should expect.
It was a boy who had somewhat wavy and rippled black hair. He was the direct opposite of unkempt and untidy appearances; with his neatly kept and styled hair and his school uniform clean and ironed, you could tell he meant business. He had glasses pushed up to the bridge of his nose that seemed to gleam even if the light didn't catch the lenses. He also had a seemingly random strand of hair eroding from his hair that stuck out from the rest of his locks.
He seemed to be staring directly at me. When we made eye contact, he didn't back down and look away. Neither did I. We both examined eachother in silence without a single word being spoken. He cleared his throat.
"Do you need something?" His voice had a hard edge to it.
"Y-yes." I almost choked on my words. "Do you know where room A103 is?"
The look of caution and intrigue on his face was replaced by an understanding expression, maybe even with a hint of sympathy.
"I see. As a new student here, everything must be very confusing. Especially as a commoner."
I tried to ignore the fact that he called me a commoner.
"Allow me to escort you, Arthur. Follow me."
When he said those words, it reminded me how suspicious he seemed. How did he know my name? How did he know I was a 'commoner?' To sum it up, he didn't give a good vibe.
He turned around and walked the complete opposite direction I was walking in before. Oh, great. Looks like I was going the entirely wrong way before.
Once more, he cleared his throat.
"Are you coming or not?" I could hear how annoyed he was getting.
"Right, sorry." I ran to catch up with him.
Once we were side by side, I had the opportunity to talk to him. "So, uh, mind telling me who you are?"
"Does it matter?" He sighed. "I'm Roderich Edelstein. Second year."
"Doesn't it seem a bit unnecessary to state how old you are?" Judging by the look on Roderich's face, I knew I shouldn't have said anything at all.
"You're the one who asked." His glasses gleamed even though there was barely any light in the hallway.
At this point, I could care less if he got annoyed. I looked up at one of the clocks that was mounted against the wall. We had less than two minutes left. "Right, right. Do you mind speeding up a little? You're walking pretty slow." I smirked at how offended he looked.
"You're the one who asked for the help," he muttered under his breath. Regardless, he did follow my suggestion and fastened his walking speed.
As we walked in silence, I noticed that we passed an entrance to a gigantic library. Next to the entryway was a little sign with the words 'Library Room 4' printed on it. Even though I only had a few seconds to look at it, I could see all the students there browsing for books and looking around. There were so many lines of bookcases filled to the brim with books of all variety.
When we passed the library, we ended up back at the staircase. He walked up the flight of stairs and went to the top floor, where another long hallway was. Turns out I was on the wrong floor the whole time. Wow, is my sense of navigation really that bad?
After some more walking, I decided it was time to talk again. "Are we almost th-"
"Say, Arthur," he immediately interrupted, trying to shut me up. "Are you in any after-school activities?"
"No," I replied, raising an eyebrow. "Why would I need to be in one?"
"Well, the school requires each student to be in one extra-curricular activity. Did anyone tell you this?"
I shook my head.
"The rule applies to after-school clubs, too."
"Well, that's great," I said sarcastically.
He ignored my sarcasm and continued with his spiel. "I have a club I co-own with a friend. I think you'd like to join."
"We just met. How would you know what I like and don't like?"
"Trust me." He gave me a smile which wasn't genuine, but seemed more evil than anything else. "Meet me in the third music room after your classes are over."
"What if I can't find it? Would I have to come to you for help again?"
He rolled his eyes. "You'll find it. It's at the end of the Northern Hallway, top floor of the South Wing."
Then, without saying another word, he simply stopped walking and turned around, and then walked in the other direction. I was about to open my mouth to yell for him to come back until I realized I was right next to one of the classrooms. I looked at the room number, and sure enough, it was A103. I had arrived on time.
Once the first hour officially began, I was bored out of my mind. I knew I should've payed attention to the teacher, but I was so distracted by the events that happened. Why did that guy act so weirdly? What was this club he talked about?
Should I even go there after school? I feel like it would be a waste of my time. But, then again, he did lead me in the right place. I guess he expects me to be there, too. I owe him, since he helped me, right? Plus, he knows who I am. Would he just approach me tomorrow and ask the same thing?
Throughout the whole day, I was stuck between an internal conflict. All my classes were a bore and I didn't really pay attention throughout the whole day. It seems so weird that I worked so hard to get a scholarship for this school and now I didn't even care. I was so distraught over this one decision.
What's the worse thing that can even happen? Why are you making such a big deal out of this?
Maybe I should just go join his club so I can actually pay attention tomorrow.
Before I knew it, my final class had ended. All the students bombarded the exit while I was still packing all my things in my over-stuffed bookbag. After I said goodbye to my teacher, I left the room.
Well, looks like I'm going after all. Where did he say it was, again? I tried to remember the things he said from this morning.
"Northern Hallway, top floor on the South Wing."
I tried looking around the hallway to see where I was. When I couldn't find any signs around, I just ended up asking someone. Looks like I was already in the Northern Hallway.
At the end of the Northern Hallway was a door. It had a sign next to the entrance like most of the doors had, but I couldn't read it from here. Time to investigate.
When I reached the doors I was finally able to read the sign. In its fancy, neat letters it bore the words 'Music Room #3.' Looks like I'm at the right place. Turns out, it's right next to where my last class is. That's pretty convenient, almost too convenient.
I brought my ear up to the door to see if I could hear anything. To my surprise, I could hear the loud arguments coming from inside.
"I'm the leader of this club! Why can't I meet him?" Someone exasperatedly cried.
"Because you're an imbecile," Roderich said. "Keep it together alright? He's almost here.
"What about us?" Two people asked in unison. "We're not that bad, are we?"
"Just be quiet, okay? I'll be the one who formally meets with him. I can't have you idiots meddling with this delicate work."
I guess Roderich considers persuading me to join his club as 'delicate work.' I'm not sure whether I should be offended or thankful.
Let's just get this over with.
I clasped my hand over the brass doorknob and opened to doors to the room. I heard a strangled cry as I opened the door but I saw nobody inside except Roderich.
The music room was actually bigger than I expected, it looked like four rooms combined together to make a single one. The entire room was mostly colored in pinks and whites. It had panels of marble along the walls. There was also a shiny chandelier in the middle of the room made with copper. The wall facing the outside had pink stained glass windows with colonial grid.
There were many tables with teasets on them along with red cushioned couches, a suitable place for tea and conversation.
The whole setup was pretty odd.
Roderich was seated at a table that was behind the doors. The chair he sat in looked like an antique Queen Anne chair with a velvet cushion. The table set nearby was a Victorian console table. There was an empty chair at the other side of the table that I presumed was for me. On the table was a sheet of paper with text printed all over it.
"Take a seat." He pointed towards the empty chair.
I followed his order and sat down.
"As you might've guessed, this is where the club meets up every day and where most of the events happen," Roderich began.
I quickly skimmed the first line of the paper that was on the table.
'Ouran High School Host Club Rules and Regulations'
"What's a.. Host Club?"
"I'm glad you asked," Roderich said with a smile. "Well, we call ourselves a host club because we consider ourselves 'hosts' for our guests."
"Guests...?" My voice trailed off.
"You see, every day we have our guests come in and we do fun activities."
"Activities such as...?"
"These activities vary. Sometimes they can be games, a form of entertainment, et cetera," Roderich finished, taking a pen out of his pocket. "Have you made up your mind? Will you join?" With the pen, he motioned towards the paper.
Hesitantly and slowly, I took the pen.
Should I join? Roderich's descriptions were extremely vague at best. The whole situation felt too awkward and formal. Something was going on here that I didn't like, but I couldn't tell.
I looked at the paper while twiddling the pen between my fingers. After glancing towards the bottom and seeing a place for my signature, I realized it was a contract.
Is it really that important to have a contract for just joining a club? Now this seemed really suspicious.
"I'll join." When I said these words, I expected him to give a reaction, but his face was as blank and unreadable as ever. "But on one condition. Let me meet the other members."
His face turned as pale as snow and his lips slightly parted in shock. I could tell how tense he was just by my single wish. He quickly regained himself and nodded.
"Of course. May I be excused for just a moment?" His voice was shaky and watery.
I nodded, and he took off. He ran to the back of the music room to where a large yellow curtain was. He pushed it back and went behind it. What the hell..? How didn't I see that curtain before?
I could see a few outlines of people behind the curtains. It looked like there were five other people in there besides Roderich.
There were hushed whispers that were actually very loud. I could hear them from all the way over here. All I could make out were a few affirmatives and a few whisper-shouts.
"Pardon me for interrupting," he said while emerging from the depths of the drapery. "Here they are."
The five other members also came out from behind the curtain. They lined up in an arch, all except for Roderich.
"Please come up closer to our guest," Roderich requested.
They followed his order, moving in a synonymous manner like robots.
"Here they are," Roderich said while clearing his throat. He pointed towards the one in the middle of the arch. "That's Francis Bonnefoy, second year."
Francis had curly hair that fell down the sides of his face and stopped at his shoulders. His hair was thick and luminous, and it was obvious that he styled it very often. When I stared into his eyes, it was hard to make out his light shades of blue in his iris' since it also had a violet hue.
Roderich pointed towards the two boys that stood next to Francis. "They're Matthew and Alfred F. Jones, first years."
The pair of twins looked exactly alike. They both were lean but a bit bulky, and both shared the same blue eyes. They also had the same shaggy, disheveled blonde hair and wore glasses. The two of them even had a wild strand of hair coming up from their hairline. The only difference between them was that one of their ahoges was curly, and the other one was straight.
Roderich then moved his hand to the boy that was next to Alfred. "He's Ludwig Beilschmidt, third year."
The first thing that stood out to me about him was how tall he was, and how muscular he was. Apart from being large and sinewy, he had slicked back blonde hair and blue eyes. Not a single hair was out of place. Not only did he look intimidating, it felt like he gave off an aura of scariness.
Roderich then directed his hand to the last boy left. "And that's Felicano Vargas, third year."
I was shocked that he was a third year. If anything, he looked like he was in grade school. He had had a pretty short height for a high schooler, as he almost went up to my chest. Digressing from the topic of his height, he also had brown hair and brown eyes that were a vibrant and light shade. Like most of the others, on the left side of his head he had a large curl. He also seemed very cheerful because he had a huge grin plastered on his face.
I walked up to Francis and he tried to avoid my gaze.
"Hello," I said.
He opened his mouth to say something, but then quickly closed it. He seemed was fixated towards something that was behind me. I turned around to see Roderich holding a finger up to his lips. He immediately whipped both his hands behind his back. He smiled innocently as if I didn't catch him shushing Francis.
"I've made up my mind," I announced, breaking the silence throughout the room. The members stared at me intently in anticipation for my answer. "I'll join."
Eyebrows got raised at me and mouths were gaping open, but there was still silence.
How bad can this 'host club' really be? It just seems like a normal club. It's better if I just join this host club now so I don't have to get dragged into some other club. I'm already here with the contract, so I might as well just do it.
I sat back down at the table and picked up the pen. I guess I'll quickly skim through the contract.
'In order to officially be a member of the Ouran Academy Host Club, you must be in agreement to the statements below. Failure to comply by these rules will result in you consequences.
1. I understand that my membership as a host in this club is based on my own decision, and that working alongside my fellow hosts is mandatory.
2. I acknowledge that I am a respectable member of this club along with the other boys, and I will contribute to all club activities that I am able to participate in.
3. I understand that this club, being an extra-curricular activity for Ouran Academy is purely for preferred club interests and will not expect to be paid, pampered, or treated differently by my teachers or this school in any way.
4. I understand that I may not join any other official after-school clubs at Ouran Academy whilst being in the Host Club. This will be the rule unless Francis Bonnefoy officially states otherwise.'
When I finished reading this rule, I realized there was still a block of long text that droned on and on about all sorts of different boring stuff. Whatever. I'll just sign the damned thing already, there's no point in wasting any more time. I bet it's all talking about the same stuff, anyway.
I picked up the pen in a dramatic fashion and with a swoop of the arm I wrote my signature in perfect cursive.
All at once all the others shared a collective sigh of relief. Roderich smiled, but instead of a real smile it seemed more malicious in nature.
"I'll take the contract." He held out his hand.
I gave him it, and he rolled it up into a scroll. "Francis, take this for safekeeping." Roderich handed it to him. Francis nodded and left the music room, disappearing down the hall. "That's all you need to do for now, Alice. You can come back tomorrow to officially start engaging in the club."
And with that, they dismissed me. The rest of the host club turned their backs to me and started putting away the chairs and the table Roderich and I were sitting at.
As soon as I left, I was able to think about what just happened. On my first day of school here I joined this weird superficial club with a bunch of weird boys. Do you they even know I'm not a boy? Is it even worth it to keep up this act? I mean, the rest of them are boys so maybe I should just keep posing as one. It just seems so selfish of me to pretend to be a boy for this club. At first I didn't care about my appearances or my gender, but it seems like it matters now.
Whatever.
I'll just have to see what happens tomorrow.
Chapter One, Part Three: What Happened to that Glamorous Club?!
Today was the same monotonous and tedious routine as yesterday. I went to my first class, followed by my second class, and then so on and so forth. I knew everything was going to be the same, except for one thing.
The Host Club.
The Host Club was the only wild card in my perfect and organized schedule. The only thing that was unexpected, crazy, and unpredictable. Not only was the club remarkable, but the members of the club were even weirder.
I found that this was the only way I could describe the Host Club in its true justice.
As the final bell of the day rung in my final class, I knew what impending doom lay ahead of me. I'd have to go back to that dreaded music room.
I packed up all my materials up in my bookbag and left the room. When I walked down the seemingly endless hallway that led to the club room, I felt my heart speeding up. My body shivered up and down and all round even though the hallway wasn't cold at all.
Would it be possible to not even go at all? I was hoping that'd be the case, but Roderich would just track me down. I guess that would probably violate a few club rules as well.
I sighed as I neared the end of the Northern Hallway. The doors to the music room were nearly in my reach. In all its beauty, it stood there, like a solitaire solider. I knew what were behind those closed doors. In retrospect, I think I regret joining. Maybe I should just go join the ski club or something.
My fingers closed around the brass doorknob, and I pushed open the doors with all my might.
I was expecting a lot of things, but I didn't expect this: through the crack of the opened door was a blinding light, shimmering and shining like purest of diamonds. Rose petals flew onto my face, landed in my hair, and littered the ground.
When the piercing light faded, I stepped inside. As soon as I walked in, the doors behind me slammed shut, and a final image was clear.
The six boys were clustered in an arc with roses in their hands. Except for Francis, of course. He had his rose clamped in his mouth.
"Welcome," they said in unison.
"Oh, nevermind," Alfred sighed, looking disappointed.
"It's just Arthur," Matthew groaned, finishing Alfred's sentence.
"Regardless, we should welcome any and all visitors we have," Ludwig said, holding a finger up to further prove his point.
"My, my! This is my wonderful little apprentice, isn't it?" Francis cooed, walking towards me. "I love new additions towards our family!"
"Your apprentice? I thought I made it clear that he was going to me mine," Roderich said, narrowing his eyes.
"Family?" I snorted. "You see them as your family?!"
"Of course!" Francis explained. "I'm the big brother, Roderich's the big sister, the twins are the little brothers, and Feliciano and Ludwig are the neighbors! I think you'd fit in perfectly as my little brother!"
"Forget about it. I don't want to be apart of this weird family, I interrupted, sticking my head up in a cocky fashion. "I'm better off on my own. I joined this club purely out of convenience."
Francis ignored my refusal and crouched down so we saw eachother directly eye-to-eye.
He poked my nose.
"You're so cute!" Francis cried.
I tried to open my mouth to say something, but I couldn't think of anything to say. I was speechless. For a moment, everyone was silent. It seemed like we were all astonished by Francis' audacity.
"I'm sorry. I can't do this." I pushed Francis away from me and he tumbled backwards, looking stunned. "I'm leaving. I can't stand to be with this idiot."
I turned around and tried to pry the doors back open. Just when I was about to finish my goal, I got swept away by a blur of movement.
"Don't leave, Arthur! We need money for gelato!" Feliciano pleaded, wrapping me in his tight yet small embrace. He spun me around in circles which got me discombobulated.
I wrenched him off me and backed away until my back hit the doors. "Money..? Wha?" I was already getting dizzy, and it wasn't from the spinning. "W-what are you, a bunch of male prostitutes?!" I spat with disgust. "Is that what you mean by entertaining guests?!"
"Prostitution?" The twins said together as if they were offended. Both of them raised a eyebrow. "We don't uphold that level of debauchery."
"Nonsense!" Francis yelled. Out of nowhere, he came up next to me and planted his arm around my shoulder. "We are a host club! I'll explain it to you clearly;" He put a hand on his chest. "We entertain guests by smothering them in compliments and with compassionate flirting. That is what our club is all about."
My mouth gaped open. "Compliments..? Flirting..?" I needed to physically shake myself to fully understand everything. "I quit! Resign me! I can't bear to spend another minute in this damned club!"
"Sorry," Roderich replied sinisterly. He held up the contract. "I understand that I will remain in the host club until it officially disbands. This will be the rule unless Francis Bonnefoy states otherwise."
"W-what?!" I stuttered, collapsing onto Francis' shoulder. "Where the hell did it say that in the contract?!"
"It was in the fine print." Roderich grinned a horrible, crooked smile. He rolled the contract up.
"No... No..." The words slipped from my mouth as a stressed groan.
"Yay! Arthur's staying!" Feliciano was now sitting at a table eating cake and drinking tea. A few specks of crumbs were around his lips.
Today was only the second day at school here, and I was already having one of the worst days of my life.
Francis turned to me and gave me a long look. He slightly cocked his head, eyeing me up and down.
"Let's try... This." He took off my glasses.
My vision turned into a blurred cesspool of random colors. I could no longer see the clear outline of objects, instead I saw fuzzy edges.
I tried locating which hand Francis had my glasses in. Did his complexion turn two shades pinker?
"Give those back. I can't see." I tried snatching them back but Francis was good at keeping it out of my reach.
"If he's going to be a host..." He took a sudden dramatic pause. "We have to make him look the part. Alfred, Matthew, get him a proper wardrobe. Also, do something about those eyebrows. Ludwig, get him contacts. Roderich, get an extra school uniform for him. I'll trim his hair up to my liking."
"What about me?" Feliciano asked.
"You can just eat cake and sit pretty," Francis concluded.
Feliciano looked slightly upset, but soothed his discomfort by stuffing more cake in his mouth.
"Now, now, fellas. I think this is all a tad bit unnecessary. What do you think?" I tried to persuade them in dropping the idea, but it was no use. The twins chucked under their breath.
"Nice try," Alfred began.
"You're not going anywhere," Matthew finished.
They grabbed me by both arms and dragged me to the doors at an unbelievable rate. I struggled against their grasp but it was no use. Their grip was as strong as steel.
As we left the room, I'm sure everyone in the school could've heard my screams and my curses.
Chapter One, Part Four: Looks Like I'm Already Better
"P-please stop," I panted, sweat rolling down my face. I was in a world of hurt, my entire face and body ached.
"Y'know, if you just stood still, the pain would be easier to bear," Alfred suggested between gritted teeth.
"It's really not that bad, is it?" Matthew asked, trying to restrain me from strangling Alfred.
"It.. It hurts!" I yelped. My eyes actually watered a bit from the pain and my nostrils started to flare.
"We've been going at this thing and we haven't gotten a single thing done. I think we should just give up," Matthew proposed, slightly lifting his shoulders.
"Yeah, you're right." Alfred put down the tweezers. "We've tried plucking his eyebrows for like a hour. All these hairs are glued down to his face, or something." The twins turned their heads to look at me.
"I don't pay much attention to my appearance," I simply said.
"Whatever, let's just keep the eyebrows," Matthew sighed.
"Francis won't be too mad, hopefully. The real thing we have to worry about is finding him some clothes he can wear." Alfred turned to the old armoire in the corner of the room.
They dug through the closet, looking for suitable shirts, pants, accessories, etc. It was a while before they found anything nice-looking. After I tried it on and it looked nice, the twins and I had a solid rhythm of finding clothes and trying them on. Before we knew it, we had a large pile of clothes.
"Hey, Arthur," Alfred purred, a sly smirk growing on his face.
"I think this would suit you!" Matthew snickered under his breath.
Alfred pulled out a dress from the wardrobe. It was lavender, but had small little pink ribbons around the waistline. I couldn't ignore the ruffles and frills on the hems of the dress. It wasn't a particularly flattering outfit, but it wasn't too bad.
"Oh Matthew," Alfred said in a high, airy voice. "Anything would look good on Arthur!" He pushed the costume towards my chest.
"Of course," Matthew snorted, enjoying the act. "Arthur just has that flair, don't you think?"
A blush was painted on my cheeks. "Yeah, yeah, right. Whatever." I threw the dress aside and stared back at the twins.
Surprisingly, they were focused on me. Examining me.
"Look, let's just get back. We have everything, okay?" I tried to direct their attention away from me.
They nodded slowly and unsurely, with eyes narrowed. I raised an eyebrow and they mirrored my action.
Matthew whispered something in Alfred's ear, and Alfred whispered something in Matthew's ear. They both chortled in unison.
"Yeah, yeah, let's go," Alfred said while chucking inbetween. He stacked the pile of new clothes on his arms.
When we got back to the music room, everyone looked up at me with interest. I could feel their gazes on me as I walked towards Francis.
"What did I say about the eyebrows?" Francis looked disappointed.
"Sorry, boss. No matter how hard we tried, we couldn't get rid of them," the twins explained.
"Remember, don't call me 'boss.' Call me 'King.' That goes for you too, Arthur." Francis gave us a smile sweeter than honey. "Ludwig, do you have the contacts?"
Ludwig nodded. He held the small bag containing all the supplies needed.
"Do you need help getting them in?" Francis asked.
"Look, I've worn contacts before. It just happens that I forgot my contacts back in England. I'll go put them in." I took the bag from Ludwig and left the music room to go to the bathroom. When I finally got them in, I returned to the club.
"Oh, Arthur, I'm so glad I can see you turn into a lovely host! It reminds me of the transformation between the caterpillar to the butterfly. Once, you were a lowly caterpillar, a green and slimy worm. Then, the weaving of time transforms you into a beautiful winged beast."
"Okay. Just give me my uniform." I took the neatly folded clothes from Austria and started to walk towards the changing room. "Well, I'll be off now."
"Do you need help getting dressed in it?" The twins asked while grinning.
"No, thank you!" I shouted back at them as I shoved the curtain back, concealing myself.
Once I wore my new uniform, I stepped back into the main room. Feliciano gawked at me with bright eyes.
"Wow, Arthur's so cute!" He cried.
Before I knew it, he had me in his infamous hug like the one he had me in before. He spun me around in circles until I was dizzy. Right before we were about to stop, he rested his head on my upper midriff, his nose going straight in-between his chest. He then immediately let go.
I was almost too dizzy to realize the confused look on his face.
"That's enough, Feliciano." Francis grabbed my by the arm and guided me towards one of the corners of the room. "It's time for me to give you a haircut."
"Why couldn't you just get a professional?" I asked as he sat me down in a chair with a mirror facing it.
"You're looking at a professional right now." He winked. He set a black sheet over my shoulders as he took out scissors.
"Hey, since when did this room have a place for someone to have their hair cut?"
"There are a lot of things in this room you don't notice," he simply said.
"How does that logic make any sense?!"
"Shhh." He put a finger to my lips. "Just let me cut your hair."
As I read a magazine, he cut away at my hair. I wasn't particularly paying attention to how he was cutting it, since I was so immersed in the tabloid.
"There, how do you like that?"
I took my eyes off the magazine and stared at myself in the mirror. I had one of the most ugliest haircuts I'd ever seen.
"This.. This is just a shorter version of your hair!"
"It is!" He chirped. "The question still stands. Do you like it?"
"To put it simply, there's no way in hell I'd ever like this... abomination!" I frantically tried to ruffle up my hair to let it return to its natural state.
He sighed. "I knew you weren't going to like it, but I didn't know your hatred was going to be this extreme."
"What I wanted was my original haircut but in trimmed. I thought you knew this!" I exasperatedly explained.
"Fine," he huffed.
I switched to reading a newspaper and he kept cutting my hair. I had to occasionally look up to see what he was doing to make sure he was following my request.
"It's done. Are you happy now?"
I looked up from the newspaper and stared at my new haircut. "Tis' satisfactory. As a matter of fact, I am happy."
He sighed. "Go back to the rest of the members and I'll clean this up."
When I walked up to everyone else, they stared at me in awe.
"This'll do," Roderich said with a smirk.
"He's gonna be a heartbreaker," Alfred mockingly said. Matthew snickered.
"Arthur! Arthur! Let's have cake to celebrate!" Feliciano cheerfully said.
"Cake? No thanks, I'll pa-"
Everyone gave me a cautious look.
I sighed. "Do I really have to eat his cake?"
"It's better if you eat it," Ludwig said. "If Feliciano doesn't get what he wants, he gets fussy."
"Fine."
"Yay! Arthur's eating cake with me!" Feliciano grabbed me and sat me down at a table with two chairs. I sat in one of the chairs while he sat in another.
He took out a large cake that was covered in a glossy vanilla frosting topped off with strawberries. He put a slice on my plate, and then put a slice on his. He ate his cake ravenously while I ate my cake in small, dainty portions. I even poured myself a small cup of tea and sipped it slowly.
Hey, I figured that if I was going to eat cake and drink tea, I might as well do it in a dignified way and with manners.
When we finished our desserts, we hopped off our stools and walked up to where the rest of the group was. For whatever reason, I kept catching Ludwig looking at me in a weird way. Once Francis came back, he looked me up and down and nodded in approval.
"He looks good enough to be a host, but he needs a host personality." Francis patted my head in a friendly way.
"Host personality...?" My voice trailed off.
"You see, every girl has their own desires. That's why every host has a different host personality to pander to every type of wants and needs!"
First, Francis pointed to Roderich. "He's the calm, and collected type."
Next, he pointed to Ludwig. "The silent, strong, and efficient character."
Then, he pointed to Feliciano. "The cheerful, childish, lolita-boy type."
Finally, he pointed to the twins. "The mischievous, up-to-no-good type."
He then gestured towards himself. "What am I, you may ask? Well, I'll give a answer; I am the king of this host club. The romantic and the charmer!"
"More like a hopeless romantic," I uttered under my breath.
He ignored my remark. "So, what are you, then? Any ideas?"
"Well, he hasn't shown any remarkable character traits. He isn't stranger, and he isn't boring. He's not shy, but he's not loud. He's just.. A nobody." Roderich's glasses gleamed.
"Excuse me? I'm full of interesting traits and personalities!" I argued.
"Well, for one, he hates Francis," Matthew said. "We can start with that."
"Who doesn't hate Francis?" Ludwig brought up.
Everyone nodded while Francis looked offended.
"Well, you're from England, right? We could always go by English stereotypes," Roderich offered.
"But English people are kind and nice! They're quirky and gentlemanly! Arthur isn't anything like that!" Feliciano cried.
"What?! Are you saying that I'm not-"
"You're right," Francis said, agreeing with Feliciano. "If anything, Arthur is the complete opposite of that stereotype!"
"Y-you're kidding me, right?"
"Ooh! Ooh! I know! The rude, cynical type!" Alfred suggested.
I had to physically restrain myself from strangling him. "Alfred, you son of a-"
"Can we make Arthur the 'delinquent' type?" Francis piped up.
"That works! Arthur does seem rebellious!" Feliciano giggled.
I sighed. "I guess it's official. Everyone thinks I'm an asshole," I said sarcastically.
"You are," Alfred said nonchalantly.
I shot him a dirty look.
"Well, it may be true that Arthur is all of these things, but it won't attract any customers. I say the best course of action is what Francis suggested," Roderich said.
"Let's try it out! You can test your skills in about five minutes when the girls come around." Francis gave me a wide-eyed grin.
I groaned.
"If you don't do well, we'll change the contract so I get to decide when you leave this club," Roderich said.
"No pressure, or anything." The twins smiled at me.
"Don't worry! If you put your heart and mind to it, I'm sure you can do it!" Feliciano chirped.
Ludwig stayed silent.
"Thanks," I muttered. I didn't put too much appreciation in my voice, but I meant it.
The next few minutes were agony for me, but not for the host club. It was mostly me staring at the clock, waiting for open business hours.
"We've got two minutes left. Places everyone!" Francis announced.
Before I knew it, the whole room became pristine right before my very eyes. The host club had already taken a dramatic pose in front of the door, ready to welcome the girls. Since they didn't tell me where to go, I awkwardly stood behind Ludwig and struck a smile that strained my face.
The doors opened before I could barely comprehend what was happening. A crowd of girls swam into the room and the hosts took their seats in their respective chairs. The crowd of girls separated and sat next to their hosts and conversations began. The whole room was erupting in a noisy chatter and I was amidst the middle of it standing there. Luckily, Francis took a hint and left his clients for a few short moments and directed me to a little table of my own for me and the clients I would have. I sat down nervously tapping my foot. Before I knew it, three girls came over, looking slightly excited to have a host all to themselves. I don't know how, but Francis convinced them to come over.
"How do you do?" One of the girls said with a smile. "My name's Lily, and you are?"
I turned my chin up and scoffed. "The name's Arthur. Arthur Kirkland. I'm doing fine." I let the harsh expression on my face soften. "But, when you girls came here, my day got a lot better."
The girls all blushed and giggled, swooning over me.
"I never expected a commoner to be so charming!" Another girl piped in.
"I never would've thought that someone could be as beautiful as you are," I responded, shying my eyes away from her gaze to appear bashful. "Has anyone told you that you're as beautiful as a maiden?"
"You're so adorable!" The girls cried in unison.
"D-don't call me adorable!" I said, a blush painted over my cheeks. I tried to look shy and cute. When she wasn't expecting it, I cupped my hands around Lily's face and stared straight into her eyes. "Call me handsome." A devilish smirk grew across my face.
Lily's face instantly turned red as she was completely won over by me. More and more girls came over when they saw my display of flattery. In only a matter of minutes, I had a small crowd of girls surrounding me.
As I kept entertaining my crowd I noticed that in the corner of my eye Francis was watching me. He was observing me, picking up every little thing that I had said. He made a "come over here" gesture.
Once I came over, he greeted me with a smile.
"You're doing great, Arthur. Keep it up, and you might even do better than me."
"Thanks, Francis. Is that all you needed to say?"
"Yeah. You can go back to your clients now." Francis turned back to his girls.
When I was about to leave, I heard a voice speaking up.
"Say, Francis, who's this?" One of his clients asked.
"It's just Arthur. Pay no attention to him," Francis said. "He's a new host."
"Let her pay attention to me all she wants." I smirked. "I don't want to tell such a pretty girl what she can and can't do."
The girl giggled and Francis looked annoyed.
"To be fair, you aren't too bad yourself, Arthur," she flirted back.
The girl had curly orange hair that was messy and unkempt. Her ginger locks rested on her shoulders with a few wild strands of hair falling on her face. Her eyes were a shade of green that reminded me of emeralds and her lips had coral pink lipstick on them. She was tall and slim, petite and lean.
"What do you think you're doing?" Francis whispered to me, trying to make sure no one else could hear.
"I'm doing my job. Entertaining beautiful girls," I cooly replied. His clients laughed at my response.
"That's enough," Francis reiterated. "You can go back to your clients."
"If he's going, we're going, too," one of the girls said. "As far as we're concerned, we are his clients."
Francis was completely stunned. I was almost giddy with happiness. I relished his defeat and my victory.
When I walked back to my table with my new customers, I couldn't help but to look in Francis' direction and savor the look on his face. With all the new clients I had, business was a breeze. My afternoon had flew by without me realizing it. Once everyone had left, Francis was enraged.
"What was that?!" Francis yelled.
"You told me to try out my host personality, so I did!" I argued back.
"Not like that!" Francis cried out exasperatedly. "You weren't supposed to steal my clients!"
"You never said I couldn't! And it's not like I had a gun against their heads! They came to me on their own free will!"
I grabbed his collar and he grabbed me by the edges of my blazer. He pulled me closer to him and I did the same thing.
"Keep it up, and I might be even better than you, huh?" I said, imitating the way Francis had said it before. "Looks like I already am!"
I smiled and he frowned.
"Would you two please stop bickering?" Roderich pulled us apart. "Look, just apologize to each other or whatever and make up. Arthur's still a rookie, so you don't have to worry about your king status being lost."
"He doesn't have to worry about his king status yet," I muttered.
He held out his hand and I took it. We shook hands sheepishly in order to appease Roderich.
"Sorry," I muttered.
"Sorry," he muttered back.
"Are you happy now?" I asked, turning to look at Roderich.
He nodded.
"Okay. Can I go home now? I can't stand to be next to Francis for another minute!"
"You can't stand be to next to me? I can't stand to be next to you!" Francis sighed.
"Yes, you can go home now. Do you still want your old clothes back?" Roderich held out another small bag.
"Yes, please." I took the bag from his hands. "I'll go change into my old clothes again, and then I'll be on my way."
I made my way to the changing room and quickly stripped down to my undergarments. I set the uniform aside and picked up the bag. When I peeked into the bag, I only saw something yellow.
What the hell?
I plopped the contents of the bag on the ground and picked it up to get a full image of what it was.
It took me a moment to realize what it was.
It was the girl's uniform. The yellow dress.
How did Roderich know? Was this all a mix up? Did he intend to give me my old clothes and instead gave me this?
I knew that a mix-up wasn't the case. Roderich definitely knew. Should I be worried? How long did he know this? Well, he didn't say anything to me, so that probably means it's not a big deal. Does he expect me to walk out in this get-up? It'd look weird if I just came out with my regular uniform on when I said I was going to change my outfit.
"Arthur, I brought your glasses too, just in cause you need them."
I was snapped out of my thoughts, and the only tangible course-of-action I could process was to stop Francis from coming in here. I heard his footsteps coming towards my way, and before I knew it, he was right behind the curtain.
My mouth opened to say something, but it was already too late.
He unveiled the curtains and saw me with only my corset and my underwear on. I could feel my face heating up uncontrollably. We held eye contact for a few seconds. His face was blank and expressionless, and mine was painted in utter horror. I scrambled for words to say, but I couldn't find any. To my dismay, I said the first thing that popped up in my head without processing it.
"Please, get out."
My voice was shaky and raspy. I gave a nervous smile and I could feel my cheeks twitching.
He let go of the curtains, and we were separated. Once I put on the dress, I stepped out of the changing room and I was met with a red-faced Francis and the rest of the host club.
"Arthur.. you're a.. girl...?"
I wanted to say something to defuse the awkwardness of the situation, but I couldn't find the words. I just stood in silence, meekly nodding.
"Francis, are you kidding me?" Roderich chuckled. "You didn't notice? Everyone else did."
I took out my ID card from my bookbag and gave it to Francis. The picture showed me in girly pigtails that were held up with little hairpins and bows. I still had my old glasses, but I had much thinner eyebrows.
"Your real name is Alice?!" He yelped. He gave the card back to me and tangled his fingers into his hair in distress.
"Look, I just think that gender shouldn't be what defines you. I prefer to be myself with my personality instead of my sex and my appearance. Plus, everyone else in this club was a guy. I just thought it would complicate things if I told everyone. Especially when I found out this club was for wooing girls."
"I wish Francis stayed oblivious," the twins sighed together.
Francis tried to conceal the blush on his face with his hands, but the pinkness seeped to his entire face. He was a sputtering and stuttering mess.
"Well, isn't this the beginning of something more than just friendship?" Roderich muttered under his breath while smirking. "Let's go, everyone. We have more important matters to discuss than Alice's gender."
We all left the room, except for Francis. He was still there, blushing profoundly.