Rebel, Rebel
1. Wilde Thing
So, first of all, I'd like to complain about the fact that my own father, my blood and flesh, has sent me to Japan, to go to some swanky-ass school, as to train my 'composure' and encourage 'ladylike demeanor'. Second of all, the fucking girl's uniform looks like something a duck wiped its ass with, so to hell with that. Plus it doesn't help that my hair is the color of the sky, who knew that hair dye was the devil's own broth here in Japan? And lastly, I'd like to give a positive and say the food is mouthwateringly amazing, and it's not my fault the cheesecakes seduce me, I swear, it was coming onto me.
My name's Alexis Wilde, but call me Alexis and I'll probably tear your throat out. I've gone by Alex ever since I was a kid; I guess my Dad wanted some sort of son or something. Which may account for my tomboyish nature, attitude. But don't get me wrong, I'm not brawny, I like learning, and I have some skills, being the daughter of an English billionaire has its benefits. That being said, I hate school, I hate conformity, and I hate social standards. You could say I'm somewhat of a rebel, or a dickhead, I go by both.
This is the story of how I was late to my first class, got punished, and assigned to work with the devil's child, Kyouya Ootori. It is not some sappy love story, about me joining the Host Club and falling in love with one of the members, no chance. I was forced into all this, that fucking asswipe Kyouya's got some strings to pull. That, and Tamaki is so much fun to make fun of. And I guess Mori's somewhat of a stress reliever, and maybe I abuse Hunny's endless supply of cake, but if your punishment for being late to class is assisting Kyouya's work in the Host Club, then you might as well make the most of it, am I right?
Really, it all started when I slept in. What can I say, I'm a chick who likes her sleep, it's a British thing, I swear. That's a lie, but I'm smoothly ignoring that, and carrying on. School back home started at nine, but in Japan it's eight on the dot. I'm staying in a fairly large holiday home near the city, as Papa dearest loves Japan, and regularly visits for work. Anyway, it's seven thirty by the time I wake up and begin to freak out.
I tripped out of bed and groan when I catch sight of myself in the mirror. Blue hair isn't all it's cracked up to be, it makes you look like a poufy piece of sky in the morning. This is where I'd like to clarify, MY HAIR IS NOT SHORT. It falls in layers to the nape of my neck, I have a decent fringe, and back home it's considered a little punky for a girl, but femme none the less. But not in Japan it isn't, unless you have hair down to your ass and back no one even considers you female. Social standards, I'm telling ya.
Pulling on my uniform, I looked at myself, adjusting the blazer. It's actually a lot like my uniform in England, the blazer, shirt, and tie. Girls had the option of wearing trousers or skirts, but I digressed and chose trousers. I'm fairly tall and gangly, on account of my English blood. I have pale skin, dark eyes, and a straight nose, with a dark red mouth. I frowned at myself, unbuttoning the blazer, rolling the sleeves up, and undoing the top button of my shirt. Much more comfy.
Legging it out of the house, I catch a lift from my driver. Much beloved to me, Joe has never uttered a word to anyone, least of all my father, about where I've been or who I've been with. The middle aged man gives sound advice, and in another life, he had to have been a bear or something, all growls and half the time I don't even understand him, but smiling seems to do the trick.
When I arrived at Ouran, the big ass princess castle of a school, I'm already late for class. Seriously, what kind of school is pink? It doesn't help that the place is positively elephant, and it took me another twenty minutes to find my class, 2-A. What demented my Dad to ship me here is beyond me, everything was so prim and proper, I wanted to vomit, but I don't think that would have made the best impression.
I stood outside the door, and the thought crosses my mind that I could easily skip this class, and the rest of them, but I decide against this. Give it a go, anyway, English is my first class of the day, so I should do fine. I knocked on the door, and walked in without invitation. The class stared at me like I fucking murdered a basketful of puppies and smeared the blood on the walls. I smirked at the ridiculousness of it all, and then realized the teacher was talking to me. Some middle aged bag of a woman, baah.
"Punctuality is a key component to organization in student life, and exceeding all expectations here, Wilde-san." She frowned at me, and my smirk grew wider, as I realized she disapproved of everything I wore, my hair color, everything. I sidled into an empty seat, sandwiched between a blond, and a dark haired boy with glasses.
"With all due respect, sensei, I exceeded expectations by showing up for this damned class." I challenged her, which she rose to.
"See me after class." She said swiftly, and then moved on with the lesson. I could feel the blond smile and I raised an eyebrow at him. He had to have been foreign as well, blond hair, blue eyes, cheekbones to die for. I'd interrogate him later.
The class dragged on, and although I thought it would be an easy A, I found myself bored, and doodled contentedly on my notebook. I could feel someone piercing the side of my head, and I turned to see the dark haired boy with glasses staring straight at me, as if trying to recognize me. I raised an eyebrow, and childishly stuck out my tongue.
"I'm assigning you all to work in pairs on a group project regarding the importance of English in the growing world." The teacher began to call out names, and I slouched in my seat. Group work was not what I needed right now.
"Alex Wilde," She glared down at me, and I smiled sweetly back, infuriating her more. "To be on the safe side, I think pairing you with Kyouya would be seen as fit."
"Well, you know best." I replied patronizingly, and the boy to my left coughed. I turned to acknowledge his presence.
"Miss Wilde, my name is Kyouya Ootori; I'll be your partner for this project." He smiled, and I cringed inwardly. Not that it was a horrible smile or anything, but it was just so practiced and perfect, and completely and utterly FAKE.
The bell sounded indicated the end of class, and I stood up abruptly. "Call me Alex, Kyouya." I said shortly, "And if we're gonna do this project together, then let's get one thing straight." My hands slammed down on either side of his desk, as he remained composed.
"Kyouya, don't smile unless you mean it. Fakers like that make me want to die." I advised him, and Kyouya merely smirked. That was more like it; I knew he had to be fucking evil or masochistic, or whatever he was into.
"Understood, Alex." He remained standing, as he surveyed me, and the blond guy came over, with a smile plastered onto his face, although I could see this was a genuine one.
"Mama, you've already met the new girl without me?!" He was mock dramatic, as he bowed, taking my hand and kissing it. I raised an eyebrow at Kyouya, and he shrugged.
"My name is Tamaki Suoh, and I hope we can be good friends. After all," He twirled, finger on his lip, "People like us, different people, should stick together, right Mama?"
I nodded, as the teacher barked for me to go up to her. Stupid old bag. She was rifling through papers, as she nattered on, and I stood lazily with my hands in my pockets.
"Miss Wilde, I know this is your first day, but first impressions are vital. The way you spoke to me was completely out of order. I hope pairing you with Mr. Ootori will tame you, but until then, your punishment is to assist his club's activities after school until I see an improvement in behavior."
Okay what? Basically she's tying me to this Kyouya dude, who already I didn't like, and I had to help out with his stupid ass club? My eye twitched irritably, and I let out a sigh. She looked up, at me and glared.
"I also expect a 1000 word paper on manners and etiquette."
I let out a small laugh, and I felt the two boys look at me. "But sensei," I slung my bag over my shoulder, as I headed out the door. "My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations."
I didn't wait round for a reply, and continued walking down the hall, till I realized I didn't know where I was going. I paused for a second. Well that wasn't very punk rock of you, Alex. Tamaki caught up with me.
"Hey, Alexis-chan." I winced at the name, but decided to give Tamaki a chance.
"It's Alex." I corrected, and he nodded, glancing down at my timetable.
"It seems we have the same class next. Would you give me the honor of letting me walk you?"He flourished a rose, and I batted him away. What kind of prince was he? I wasn't a damsel in distress, no fucking way; I was my own knight in shining armor.
"Cheers, Tamaki." I grinned, "But let's cut out the whole 'princely' act, I'm a big girl, I can look after myself."
He looked somewhat offended. And by somewhat, I mean he sobbed into my shoulder, whining at me, and pawing at me pretty desperately. I raised an eyebrow, and thought about how to treat a puppy.
"There, there, Tamaki." I petted his blond hair softly, as comical tears streamed from his face. "Alex will save thee, damsel in distress!"
His mood suddenly changed from hopelessly brokenhearted to free spirited, waving his arms wildly, not caring at all about who saw him. I liked Tamaki, he wasn't afraid to be himself, and that was pretty cool, even if he was a total baby, and had the emotional range of a chipmunk, with the same attention span.
"You know," I said carefully, but I couldn't talk to him, as he was suddenly swarmed by a crowd of giggling girls, wearing the same yellow dresses, and mostly having the same cut and colored hair, that all blended into each other. I shook my head, as Tamaki regained his composure as a princely character, and slid into a seat.
The classes sort of bled into each other, with me, following Tamaki to most of the classes, then spending my time alone, per usual. When the end of the day arrived, I was lost. But of course, I wouldn't ever admit that. Wandering through the halls, with my bag slung lazily around a shoulder, I listened to music blasted from a pair of old headphones. Axl Rose was whining about his sweet child of his, when I saw them.
Either I was seeing double, or a pair of red heads were clouding a brunette. Like me, she was dressed in a guy's uniform, with a head of pretty punk hair for Japan, which I noticed had many girly girls and guys. I sidled towards them, and their heads turned towards me. The two guys looked me up and down, walking around me.
"Huh... Blue hair, how about that, Kaoru?" This one had a voice smoother than silk, as he had a hand on his hip. I raised an eyebrow, letting the headphones rest on my collarbones.
"Such pale skin too, and those wide eyes." Continued the other, with a voice like crushed velvet. "With that straight European nose, she's got to be the new girl." The other finished, and the pair linked arms, and outstretched their hands.
"We're the Hitachiin twins," They chorused. "I'm Hikaru," the silken voiced one announced. "And I'm Kaoru." The other piped up. "And you're the English girl the second years have been talking about."
I crossed my hands to shake theirs, and smirked. "I prefer Alex, but English Rebel has a nice tone to it, y'know? Actually, I was wondering whether you two bookends have any idea where this Host Club is, 'cause I'm looking for Kyouya Ootori."
The twins exchange a look, and appear awfully close to me. "Why?" Questions Kaoru.
"You interested in Kyouya as a host?" Finishes Hikaru, and they chuckled, while I rolled my eyes.
"I've got detention, and I have to assist him in this stupid club." I correct, getting a little sick of their act. The brown girl plucks the courage to talk.
"Hey, I'll take you, if you want. I'm Haruhi, by the way." She smiles, and I return the gesture, as I followed her through the doors, into a large, well lit room, where Kyouya sat, typing away at a notebook. Tamaki was chattering on to a little blond boy and a tall, dark haired boy.
Tamaki turned, and his eyes widened and a grin broke out onto his face, as he embraced Haruhi in a hug, which she didn't return but was pokerfaced. I grinned. Talk about unrequited love.
"My darling daughter, daddy missed you all day!" Tamaki was drabbling on, while the twins began to taunt him.
I made my way over to Kyouya, who was engrossed in his work. Look at him, specs and all, acting the nerd.
"So, this whole 'daddy' thing Tamaki has going on, should I be worried?" I questioned, and Kyouya looked up.
"Tamaki's tame, he thinks of this club as his family, nothing to be concerned about." He replied, and a ghost of a smile flickered across my face. Kyouya looked slightly confused.
"Have I humored you?"
"No, it's nothing." I hid my amusement, "Ever since I was little, the word 'tame' has been thrown at me left, right and center. I leave the continent, and still it follows me around."
"Perhaps it's a sign."
"The only problem is, Kyouya," I said, "I'm Alex Wilde, not Alex Tame."
Kyouya smirked, returning to his work. "I suppose you're right."
Work at the host club was pretty easy shit. Cleaning up after the hosts, fetching tea, and cakes, whatever. Ignoring the looks, and above all, according to Kyouya, not saying anything unless asked. "Your mouth has gotten you into a lot of trouble already." "But, it's also gotten me out of a lot of trouble."
To be honest, the whole Host Club seemed like a starter version of a brothel, Hikaru and Kaoru acting out like little incestuous brats, Tamaki sweet as syrup, Mori stoic, Hunny ever the innocent, and Kyouya buttering up his few clients. Haruhi seemed like the only one at ease, and not pretending, but I supposed it was easier around girls. After hours, I collected up the plates and cups, and piled them onto a tray. Rich bastards, who uses china in high school?
"So, Haruhi," I struck up a conversation with the brunette, who was shaking off the twins and Tamaki's unwanted affection. "Why'd a pretty little girl like you get messed up with this load of pansied lady boys?"
Tamaki's head, no lie, did a complete 180, and I thought I was honestly going to pee myself. Hikaru and Kaoru had the same stony look on their faces, and each took an arm, while Tamaki began questioning me.
"WHO TOLD YOU HARUHI'S SECRET?" He demanded, and I rolled my eyes, shaking the twins off.
"Dude, I come from England, every second girl has short hair. You ain't pulling the wool over my eyes by throwing her into a guy's uniform." I shook my head, "What's the big deal anyway?"
Hunny padded over to me, Usa-chan in tow. I thought the whole bunny thing was a little weird, but whatever, to each their own. His huge chocolate brown eyes looked up at me, and his bottom lip quivered slightly.
"You won't tell anyone, will you Lexis-chan?"
I stared down the little boy, who was a year my senior and sighed. There was no fucking way I could say no to that; I'd sooner shoot a puppy. "It's not my place to tell," I glanced over to Kyouya, who said nothing. "I'm just stuck here because of a stupid teacher."
I picked up my bag, and headed towards the door, waving a hand at the club. "I don't want to get tangled up in any more trouble." I said as I paused at the door. "Trust me; I can't afford to get into any more."
Without turning back, I made my way back to the house, feeling a little hollow as I did. No one said being away from home was easy. Because it's not. It didn't matter how aloof I was, I still had trouble being on my own, and I guess my Dad thought that isolating me would fix me. Getting messed up with the host club would probably just ruin me even more than I already was. I blasted music until the walls shook, lying on my bed, I let the waves crash through me.
But I guess that's the thing I love about music. It hits you, and you don't feel any pain.
! At The Host Club!
"What made you bring that nutcase here?" Hikaru asked lazily, as he sprawled across one of the sofas. Kaoru sent him a reproachful look, as his twin shrugged.
"She's not a nutcase." Tamaki defended the girl, "She's not afraid to be herself, that's all."
"Still," Kaoru continued, "It's like she's trying to make people dislike her, we heard about the way she goes on in class, on her first day."
"It must be pretty lonely though," Haruhi was gazing out the window, onto the sunset view of Ouran, and she turned as Tamaki's eyes were glazed over, as he supported his head with his hand.
"What do you mean, boss?" Hikaru asked, and Tamaki smiled a little sadly.
"Alex Wilde is the eldest daughter of the CEO of Wilde Corporations. She's attended nearly every private school in England, and as a last resort, her father sent her here, to Japan, knowing full well she'd stick out like a sore thumb. She's just as lost and lonely as I was." Tamaki sighed.
"I heard that Lexis-chan isn't allowed to be with her family." Hunny clutched Usa-chan, as he sat beside Mori. Everyone turned to look at him, surprised. Hunny's brown eyes were wide, as a somber look was on his face.
He nodded and continued. "I heard that when Lexis-chan was born, her Mommy sent her to her Dad, saying she wanted nothing to do with her. When her Daddy remarried, his new wife wouldn't let Lexis-chan live with her, or interact with her half siblings. That's why her Daddy kept sending her off to boarding schools, and eventually Japan."
Tamaki smiled a little, as he watched Hikaru and Kaoru duck their heads down, a little ashamed of themselves. "And here we are, discussing how weird and ill-mannered she is. We're the true animals here."
He stood up abruptly, slamming a fist into the palm of his hand, a grin breaking out on his face, as his eyes glinted dangerously. "I know Kyouya!" He turned to the shadow king, who had been concentrating on his notebook. "We should adopt Alex into our family, so she can have one here!"
The twins joined in with his bout of joy, as they excitedly planned out future Host Club events with Alex included. Tamaki had begun whirling Hunny around, as the twins encouraged him. Haruhi watched them, shaking her head at their childishness, while Kyouya remained quiet.
He was busy researching Alex's family history, which was one well painted over. There was no mention of Alex's mother, who seemed to escape from all sources online. Indeed, there was little mention of Alex herself, as he presumed her family was too ashamed of her brash and indeed wild behavior.
A part of him, felt a slight empathy with her, although it was overshadowed by the curiosity of the mystery of the Wilde family.
He traced her back to many different school websites in England, though he excelled at the language he had somewhat of a difficulty understanding most of it. From what he could tell, Alex had been a quiet, intelligent child until she came to the age of eleven or twelve, where there were many reports of accidents, or trouble regarding her. He found a website that was obviously made by teenagers from England. It was a website dedicated to Alex, shredded with hatred. People had commented under pictures of her, wishing her dead, calling her an array of insults, freak, weirdo, maniac, and psycho. Kyouya raised a hand to his mouth in surprise when he came across photographs of Alex, only from a couple of years previous. Someone had stripped her of her clothes, save a t-shirt, caked her in some form of flour, strapped her to a chair, and poured a sickly colored jar of jam over her head. There were shards of glass in her lap, and cuts were carved into her arms. Her dark eyes matched her dark hair, and Kyouya was somewhat reminded of Haruhi.
It wasn't the same person he had met earlier that day however. This girl looked up meekly, with humiliation and pain etched across her features. Kyouya closed his notebook, disturbed by what he had witnessed. He then wondered to himself.
Alex Wilde. True to her name.
Kyouya was ready to unravel the mystery surrounding her, her family, her past.
Because after all, the Shadow King always had evidence to blackmail.
And she was no exception.