Chapter 2: Guchi to Hosuto no

( Of Bitches and Hosts )

We made our way to the dining hall, making small talk as we went. I told them a little about my younger sister, Alaina, and I learned that Haruhi's dad was a tranny, and that the twins' mom was a fashion designer.

"So that's why you complimented my outfit," I said to Kaoru as we stepped into the dining hall.

The twins and I grabbed a spot in line while Haruhi took her bento and got us a table. I tried to stay away from foods on the menu that were too fancy for my palate and stuck with a simple fruit salad, chicken dumplings, and a bowl of fried rice. The twins got a few things that were hard for me to pronounce and we made our way over to the table Haruhi picked; it was by the windows, and practically on the opposite side of the hall.

"Itadakimasu!" we said simultaneously.

As we ate, I asked, "Hey, do you think the middle schoolers have the same lunch period as us?"

"Maybe," said Hikaru. "Why?"

"Oh, I wanted to try and see if I could check up on her," I said, popping a dumpling in my mouth. After I swallowed, I said, "But I'll see her later. After all, I don't want to butt in. Knowing her, she most likely has a shit ton of friends already." I grinned.

They all chuckled, then Haruhi asked, "So, what's your family like?"

"Well, my mom owns a bakery chain and makes all different kinds of goodies," I said. "The most popular products are her apple pie and a recipe that I came up with for jam-filled muffins. My grammie and grampa still live in America. My grammie's a bus driver for the Tilton school district, and my grampa is retired. He likes making things out of wood and fixing up his Oldsmobile."

"My little sister, though," I added, becoming a little serious, "she's on the fast track to becoming as famous as I am."

"You're famous?" asked Haruhi, tilting her head.

"Well, not by this name," I said. "I'm famous as 'Lady Luna'. I'm an artist."

"No WAY!" said the twins simultaneously.

"You're 'Lady Luna'?" asked Kaoru, his eyes wide.

"We have a painting of yours in our bedroom!" said Hikaru, grinning like a fanboy.

"Yes, I'm 'Lady Luna', Kaoru; and which one do you have?!" I asked excitedly, grinning.

"One of your earlier pieces," said Hikaru.

"Do you remember 'Concert by the Full Moon'?" asked Kaoru, smiling.

"Oh man . . . that is an old one," I said, reminiscing. "That was one of my first big hits. I never realized that you guys bought it."

"Wait, you painted that picture of the wolves howling at the full moon that they have?" asked Haruhi, her eyebrows raising. "Wow."

"Thank you," I said, giggling and blushing a little in embarrassment. "I try."

"So, how is your sister becoming as famous as you?" asked Kaoru.

"Yeah, cuz that confuses me," said Hikaru. "She must be pretty good at art."

"No, not at art," I said, chuckling. "She's a musical genius. She can learn how to play an instrument in a month or less, and she can play a song on any of them after just listening to it a few times. She's a little like Mozart in that way; she can play by ear, not by reading sheet music. She literally hates that crap, and she has a hard time reading it. It's mostly cuz she's dyslexic. I think her musical talent was the Great Mother's way of balancing that out."

I smiled tenderly. "She's honestly one of my best friends. And she's wicked talented; she's teaching me how to play violin," I said. "Before she started teaching me, the closest thing to an instrument that I could play was anything on Rock Band; and my voice, too, of course. But I'm getting pretty good at the violin. She says that she won't have to teach me anymore pretty soon."

We continued eating in a companionable silence. I finished before them, so I got up and said, "Be right back; Imma go take care a this."

I made the slightly long treck back to the front of the dining hall and dropped off my tray. Halfway back to our table, three girls blocked my way.

"Hey, stay away from Haruhi, Hikaru, and Kaoru!" said the one in the middle, crossing her arms. Her voice was nasally, and quite unpleasant. "Don't think that just because you are new here that you can just steal the Host Club first years away from us, American."

My eyebrow twitched. "Look, girly, I don't know what your bloody problem is, but they talked to me first," I said calmly. "It wasn't the other way around. And I don't see a problem with me being friends with them. So put on your big girl panties and get the hell over it."

She just looked at me in shock. "How DARE you talk to me like that!" she said, fuming.

"Hey, I don't like being told what to do," I said, shrugging nonchalantly. "Be careful walking on the field of your jealousy, you might step on a landmine and become even more of a Hündin." I smirked slightly, then became grave. "Now, please move, cuz you're in my way. I don't want Haruhi and the twins wondering where I went off to."

She shook with rage, spluttering, "You . . . you . . . you-!"

"Is there a problem over here, ladies?"

I turned around to see who spoke and saw a tall boy with sunshine blonde hair and indigo eyes. Behind him was Kyoya and two other boys; the first was a short boy with honey-toned hair and topaz eyes, and he was clutching a little pink bunny stuffy. The second, I'm embarrassed to say, took my breath away.

He was the tallest out of all of them, with olive-ish skin and black, slightly spiked hair. I could tell that he was strong, simply by the way he carried himself. But what really got me were his eyes; those bottomless, smoky eyes . . . . They seemed to peer into my soul and mind. They were so expressive! Someone with eyes like those must've been more of a quiet person, I reasoned. No one gains that kind of apparent wisdom from chattering all the time; it's gained by observation and listening.

"Oh, Tamaki-senpai," crooned the lead bitch. "This girl was being so mean to me~ . . ."

"Oh, oh no, don't lie through those semi-perfect teeth of yours, dearie," I said, whirling back around to face her. "You're the one who got all up in my biz and said that I wasn't allowed to be friends with Haruhi and the twins. And you're the one who got into a pissy mood when I pretty much told you to stop acting like a jealous, spoiled brat."

Tamaki came around to stand next to me, looking between the girl and I. "Is this true, Princess?" he asked her, raising a brow.

"I . . . you . . . UGH!" She stomped off, her little cronies following her. I sighed.

"Seriously, girls these days are so dumb," I muttered, shaking my head. I turned to face Tamaki, Kyoya, and the other two boys.

"Thank you for that," I said, running a hand through one of my pigtails. "I guess even at rich kid schools you get girls like her." I looked at Kyoya and grinned. "Hi, Kyoya-senpai. What do you think of the uniform? Came out just right, didn't it?"

"It certainly looks like how you drew it," he said, smiling grudgingly.

"Whaaat? You know her, Kyoya?" asked Tamaki, looking between us. Then, he got an "aha!" look on his face. "Oh, you must be Gwenivere Beilschmidt!" he said, smiling at me. He pulled a white rose out of somewhere and presented it to me, taking my hand and raising it to his lips. "It is a pleasure to meet you, mademoiselle. And may I say that you are the picture of American beauty? Such fire and passion~!"

I took the rose and quirked my head; I looked at Kyoya. "Is he always like this?" I asked.

He smiled pleasantly. "Yes, usually."

"Huh, "I said, looking back at Tamaki. I quirked my head to the side. "Are you French or something?"

He looked shocked and dropped my hand. "How did you know?" he asked.

I chuckled sarcastically. "Oh, trust me, anyone could see it, Tamaki-senpai. You act French," I said, smirking.

"Waaah~! You must be really smart, Gwen-chan!" said the short boy. "It's nice to meet you! I'm Mitsukuni Haninozuka! And this," he added, holding up his bunny, "is Usa-chan!"

I grinned. "Omigod, that has got to be the cutest bunny I've ever seen!" I said. "Can I cuddle it for a quick minute?" I asked, silently begging with my eyes.

"Sure! Hehe!" he said, handing Usa-chan over. I hugged it and sighed.

"Ah~! So soft~," I breathed. I took a quick sniff. "Do I smell strawberry cake with cream cheese frosting and vanilla glaze on this?"

Mitsukuni-senpai looked surprised, then grinned. "Yep! That's what I had last night after dinner! You could smell it?" he asked, his expression full of awe.

"My mom is a baker, so I know my cakes and other goodies," I explained. Then, I grinned. "And I'm usually the one in the house that steals them from the kitchen at midnight to munch on them in my room, hehehe. My mom gets sooooo mad!" I giggled. "Ah, I can still taste last night's gateau chocolat . . . that one was good."

"You eat cake at midnight, too!?" he asked, eyes wide and sparkling. "So do I!"

"Remember to brush your teeth," the tall one said to him quietly. His voice made me shiver slightly; it was so deep and resonating . . .

"I know, Takashi," said Mitsukuni. "Oh! Introduce yourself, Takashi!" he added, smiling brightly.

"I'm Takashi Morinozuka," he said quietly, looking me in the eye. I fought to keep from fainting at the sound of his voice.

"A pleasure to meet you, Takashi-senpai," I said, smiling. All of a sudden, I felt two arms fall onto my shoulders.

"Oh, it's just you guys," said the twins simultaneously.

"I told you so," said Haruhi, coming up next to Kaoru.

"Haruhi~!" said Tamaki, smiling like a kid on Christmas morning. He went to hug her, but she held her hand out to stop him. "Haruhi . . . . " he muttered, tearing up.

I facepalmed. "Yep, he's French, all right," I murmured. Takashi and Mitsukuni seemed to have herd me, cuz they both smiled slightly, the latter trying not to and biting his lip to prevent it.

"Anyhow, Miss Beilschmidt," said Tamaki, over his bout of sadness, "how would you like to come to the third music room after school today?" He smiled genuinely at me.

"I dunno," I said. "Mum wanted Alaina and I home after school . . . But I guess I can go," I added, seeing the sad expressions that were forming on Tamaki's, Mitsukuni's, and the twins's faces. "But Alaina will have to come with me so I don't forget her or whatever."

"The more, the merrier!" said Tamaki. The bell rang, signalling the end of lunch. "I look forward to seeing you later, Prinzessin Beilschmidt!" he said as him and the other three walked away.

I sighed. "Quick question," I said as Haruhi, the twins, and I walked back to class. "Is he seriously that . . . flamboyant all the time?"

"Yes," they all said at once.

"I think I might kill him, then," I groaned, thinking, If I have to deal with that kind of flashiness all afternoon later, I'm gonna die . . .

But, I added, blushing slightly, I might see Takashi and Mitsukuni again. They seem so nice . . . and Takashi . . .

I stopped my line of thought, shaking my head and fighting the ruby red blush that was most likely on my face.