Summary: HikaruxOC. Welcome to Ouran Academy, where the teachers and students go out of their way to buy costumes, candy, and life-sized snow globes all to celebrate a holiday we call Christmas. In one specific room of the school, you will be fussed over by seven equally handsome boys and if you're lucky, you might possibly maybe perhaps get a kiss under a mistletoe.

When Alley wakes up on Christmas, she's grouchy and in a bad mood. But then a certain redhead offers her a surprise and the rest of the day feels like a walking dream.

Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club.

Living a Dream

Ouran Academy is a school that completely lets loose and isn't afraid to let the world see them go to extreme extents for holidays of any kind.

Take Valentine's Day for example. From the outside, the school would look exactly the same as any other day, but if you open the embellished doors and take a step inside, you would see that everything changed so much that even a regular student who attends the school everyday might not recognize it at first.

As if it wasn't already pink enough, the building would be decorated from corner to corner in that sickly bright shade of pink that could make the toughest gangster hug a teddy bear after looking at it for too long. When you finally absorb in all that, you start to notice (pink) streamers, the (pink) heart-shaped balloons, and the (pink) boxes of chocolate that the girls have spent weeks and weeks to prepare for their crushes.

And that was only in the halls and classrooms. If you thought that was bad, walk a little further up the stairs and open the doors to Music Room #3—otherwise known as the Ouran High School Host Club. There, you will be greeted by seven undeniably handsome men, each attracting a group of different yet similar girls. These were the people who have gone over and beyond the limits of normal preparation for a simple holiday and each year, the decorations, the activities, the methods of earning money becomes wilder and wilder.

As hard as it is to believe that the mouse could get the cheese without walking into its death trap, all that fuss and weeks of planning was only for one holiday. (Let's not even go into detail about the others.)

So when Alley Rose walked into the school on a snowy December 25th, she wasn't at all surprised when she saw the candy canes, the Christmas trees, or even the multiple Santas that roamed around in the hallways, slowly but surely ruining the dreams of the elementary school students nearby. (None of the items listed were pink, though—thank god.)

It was a darn good thing that budget wasn't a problem for Ouran Academy.

Unlike all of the other girls, Alley entered the school with a grumpy expression on her face while muttering a string of curses. As she walked, her dirty blond hair swayed behind her and her eyes were narrowed into a glare, glued to the floor and avoiding all eye-contact with anyone else. Not even the cheerful welcomings of her classmates could bring her out of this mood and her really good friends knew to leave her alone on this particular day every year, though none of them knew why.

At first, two years ago, people simply thought that she was just in a bad mood. The next year, they knew it wasn't a coincidence. After much pestering and still no decent reply from the girl other than a grunt of annoyance or a rude remark telling them to leave her alone, it had become a sort of tradition to stay out of Alley's way every Christmas. Every Christmas, she was in a sour mood and as a result...

... every Christmas, Alley became a loner.

But that was okay, she convinced herself. It was okay because she wanted to protect a very precious thing to her. She didn't want to sweep up the broken glass pieces and glue them back together only for it to eventually fall apart again. She didn't want to spend sleepless nights staring up at her ceiling thinking about how, if she had only been a little more careful, all this could've been prevented and she could go on with a smile, even if it was a fake one.

And most of all, she didn't want to be heartbroken.

Because that was going to happen if she didn't go to extreme measures to shield her heart, she was sure. Alley knew, from the very beginning since two years ago, that she had no chance to be with the boy she fell in love with since she had so many rivals and he was just on a completely different level than her. She knew that fact all too well, and yet, no matter how much she tried to focus on her studies, to forget him, to go for someone else, she always found herself falling for the boy all over again.

It was ironic, she had to admit, because she was starting to sound like one of those love-sick girls in books that she has read over the years; the ones who would go to the end of the world, face a fire-breathing dragon, and even kill themselves for their loved ones. She was becoming like Romeo and Juliet. But even they liked each other; hers was completely one-sided.

Why couldn't it have been someone else? She thought as she reached her classroom and slumped down in her seat, burying her head in her arms. Anyone else would've been fine, but why him?

Alley made the mistake of lifting her head up at that moment. She expected to see their teacher walk in the door, but her guess couldn't be more off. Almost immediately after the door swings open, a chorus of "Kyaaa"s echoed throughout the classroom and before she even saw them, she knew that the people who have just arrived were two redheads who have the most brilliant smiles that she's ever seen in the world.

Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin.

The girl's breath hitched to a stop, her entire body froze, and she could feel pieces of her heart chipping off slowly. She caught one glimpse of their costume, complete with red and green clothing and a Santa hat to top it all off that was probably designed by their mother, before she quickly buried her head in her arms again. Just that one little peek was already too much for her green orbs to handle.

It was impossible to avoid them altogether because, after all, they were in the same class, but she would try as hard as she could to protect herself. Squeezing her eyes shut, Alley tried—and failed—to not focus on their footsteps as they approached her with incredible speed. Her heart pounded loudly in her chest, her entire body trembled and shook with fear.

Two years ago, she admitted her feelings to herself and she thought that, over time, she would eventually get over it; that it was just a simple crush; that she had nothing to worry about. Now, two years later, she still held feelings for a certain Hitachiin twin who had finally made it to his seat right behind her.

"Hey, are you okay?"

The voice jolted Alley awake and she looked up to see who had talked to her—who dared to address her like normal on Christmas—only to come face-to-face with him.

Hikaru.

Oh, kill me now. There's no reason for me to live anymore. Someone please save me from the humiliation. Helphelphelp.

"Are you okay?" He repeated and Alley blinked. "Where's your Christmas spirit?" The boy—the gorgeous, amazing, handsome, incredible, marvelous boy—poked her arm and smiled his gorgeous, amazing, handsome, incredible, marvelous smile playfully at her.

Alley's cheeks flushed and she forced herself to return his smile. "I—Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks."

She guessed that Hikaru must've not believed her because what he said next was simply incomprehensible. "Why don't you visit the Host Club after school today? I have a surprised for you! Maybe it will cheer you up."

Alley was taken aback. Impossible, right? Hikaru personally inviting her to go to the club? She must've heard wrong. When Alley opened her mouth to ask the boy to repeat what he said, just to make sure she hadn't gone mad and wasn't hallucinating, she was interrupted by the entrance of their teacher. Immediately, everyone scurried back to their seat and Hikaru turned around to face the front of the classroom, but not before giving her a secretive smile.

Ba-bump. Her heart was beating a million times per minute.

He's made me fall for him all over again. Alley sighed, but for once, she was looking forward to the end of the day.

-xXx-

Hesitation. Insecurity. Doubt. Reluctant.

Alley was feeling all those things at once. She had been so excited all throughout last period, thinking about Hikaru's offer and wondering what the surprised could be, but when school finally ended, a part of her couldn't help but think that maybe the boy would end up pranking her and humiliating her in front of all the Host Club's customers. He was a Hitachiin, after all.

But what if it was a genuine offer that could repair the broken pieces of her heart? She wasn't expecting a confession or anything beyond a hug even, but if she got to simply hold hands with the redhead, she was sure that it would be enough. Drawing in a deep breath, Alley slowly made her way up the stairs to the Host Club room.

Her hand paused at the doorknob, shaking uncontrollably. Now that she was already here, there would be no point in leaving, right? Gulping, she twisted the metal sphere and took one brave step into the room.

The room was organized, yet chaotic; calm yet hectic; harmonious yet disordered. It was quite a lot to take in for Alley's first time visiting the club. In each corner of the room, a different host was seated surrounded by Christmas decorations; Hunny and Mori eating cake together to her left, Haruhi peacefully sipping tea from a cup on the couch, Kyoya typing away on his laptop deeper into the room. They all shared one thing in common: A group of girls—fangirls—circled them, squealing and swooning over every little thing they did.

And finally, to Alley's right, were a pair of twins that she knew all too well. Their red hair made them stick out in a crowd of brunettes and she felt her heart ache every time they wrapped their arms around one of the girls and teased her playfully. This was exactly the reason why she didn't want to come; she couldn't bear to see the one she loved with all those other girls, even though she knew that he wasn't even hers.

That was it. She couldn't stay here any longer. Her heart wouldn't be able to take all the damage.

"Hey!"

Alley stopped mid-step on her way out the door when she heard a voice calling out to her. Once again, she found herself face-to-face with Hikaru and her face immediately turned a shade of red.

"I was wondering when you'd show up! I've been waiting for you." The smile that he sent her made Alley want to melt.

H-he was waiting? For me? There was no way. Not when he had so many other girls beside him earlier. But even though she knew that, that he probably saw her as someone who is no different from all the other girls, she couldn't stop her heart from pounding loudly against her chest, the warm giddy feeling that was beginning to build up inside of her increasing.

"Come on," Hikaru wrapped his arm around her like how he did with the other girls. They were so close, already touching each other. Ba-bump. "Have a seat and tell why you were so depressed this—"

Hikaru's angelic voice was interrupted when someone yelled out, "Mistletoe!"

They both stopped walking; Hikaru was surprised, and Alley in a trance because all she could think about was that the Hitachiin actually cared about her problems and that was enough to make her mind clouded with the feeling of love.

When she finally registered Hikaru's nudging, her eyes followed his outstretched arm and saw something green dangling from the ceiling. She looked back at the boy, eyes wide. Green orbs met amber ones and for a moment, the world stopped spinning.

"Well?" the boy asked, that dazzling smile still in place. Looking around, Alley noticed that everyone in the room had crowded around them, anticipating their next move. Before she could even mutter a word, Hikaru was already lowering himself to her level, the gap between their lips closing at an extremely fast pace. Her cheeks flushed, her heart sped up, her eyes closed, waiting for the moment to come.

Closer and closer they got, so close that she could feel his breath brushing against her skin, so close they could just kiss—

-xXx-

—Alley jolted awake.

She sat up slowly in her bed, blinking at the blinding rays of sun that peeked through her windows. Glancing around, she realized that she was in her bed, in her room, at home, far away from the school. So it had all been a dream? Talking to Hikaru in class, going to the Host Club, the mistletoe... it had all been nothing but a fragment of her imagination?

Groaning, she pulled the covers back over her head and replayed the scenes from her dream that were still vivid in her mind. Was she really so pathetic that she had to dream about getting a kiss from Hikaru? So pathetic that even her dreams pitied her?

When she finally got up, changed out of her sleeping gown, and made her way to school, she was in a worse mood than any year in the past. Although she had felt nothing but happiness during the hours that she had been asleep, she now dreaded the dream because it gave her false hope and the feeling that maybe, just maybe, Hikaru might kiss her again—in real life this time.

Alley cursed at everyone who bumped into her by accident, resisting the urge to scream and let all her anger out. It was a foolish thought, she knew, because there was absolutely no way that Hikaru would kiss her out of all the other girls in the school, but now she couldn't get the image of the mistletoe out of her head.

She reached her classroom and banged her head repeatedly on her desk, ignoring the concerned looks that her classmates were sending her. Any minute now, the Hitachiin twins would walk in and this time, she wasn't sure if her heart would be able to repair itself after all the damage it had taken.

"Hey, are you okay?" Hikaru sat down in his seat and turned to face the girl. "What's wrong? Where's your Christmas spirit?"

Alley jerked up, startled, and took one long look at the boy in front of her. I-it's Hikaru. He's here, just like in my dream... She pinched her leg under the desk and winched at the pain. She wasn't dreaming this time. This was real.

Ba-bump.

"I—Yeah, I'm fine," she managed to muster out a reply, still shocked by the change of events. "Thanks."

Hikaru looked unconvinced. "Why don't you visit the Host Club after school today? I have a surprised for you! Maybe it will cheer you up."

Alley couldn't believe her ears.

-xXx-

The rest of the passed quickly for Alley. Before she knew it, she was standing in front of the Host Club door, grinning from ear-to-ear. This time, when she turned the doorknob, there was no hesitation or doubt; she twisted the metal sphere like she was the queen of the world, opening a vault of treasure that had been hidden for centuries.

When Hikaru came up to her just like he had in her dream, she was stunned into a silence. And she was so, so happy.

"Mistletoe!"

It was the scene that had played over and over again her head; the one that she wished so much could be real. And now... it was actually happening and she didn't even have time to react. It was a dream come true—literally.

Hikaru bent down—

Alley's day had been a living dream and she wasn't ready to wake up just yet.

—and their lips touched.

Above them, the mistletoe glistened.

A/N: This was requested by Alley Hitachiin. Hope you liked it!

It feels really good to be writing again after being gone from FF for so long. I think my writing style's changed quite a bit, but I personally like how this turned out. May all of your Christmas wishes come true, like Alley's. :D

I'm still taking requests! Check out my profile for more information and just PM me if you want me to write anything. And look forward to a Percy Jackson request I will be writing very soon!

Happy World-Wide Otaku Day, guys! And an early Christmas too!

Reviews are appreciated!

~Square Root of Three √3