It was a new day, but the situation had not changed. Music room #3 was still occupied, leaving the Host Club feeling lost and homeless. They were currently surveying their new club room and no one was impressed. Still, after having scouted all the other rooms the Chairman had approved for them, they had decided that this particular room was the lesser of all evils. It was clean and serviceable, enough. It was large, but still half the size of their former headquarters. Some of their other options had been larger, but they chose this one based on its proximity to Music Room #3. It was just down the hall from their beloved club room, allowing a smoother transition for their customers. Despite the convenience, the hosts still weren't happy with the situation.
"We have to make the best of a bad situation." Tamaki declared. "After all, we still have princesses relying on us. If we really buckle down, we can make this our new home and be just as happy here."
It was obvious to everyone that Tamaki's cheerfulness was less than sincere. They all plastered their own fake smiles on their faces anyway, rolled up their sleeves (figuratively speaking) and set to work in an effort to create their new home.
It took an entire week before club activities were able to resume to normal. Each host had put forth as much effort as possible to recreate the environment that they and their customers were used to. Now, with nearly all the members assembled in their new club room, they were putting on the final touches of the day's theme and preparing for their customer's arrival. They were scheduled to open in 30 minutes.
Haruhi slipped in the room and all the boys turned to stare at her disheveled appearance. She was carrying a tray with two tea kettles, full of steaming hot water. She did not look happy.
"You know, it's a pretty big inconvenience having to trek all the way through a crowd of psychotic girls jammed packed into the world's longest hallway to get only two kettles of hot water for tea and come all the way back. I miss our old club room. Their was a door that connected it to the Culinary Arts classroom. We should consider investing in a few hot plates."
"Uh oh." Kaoru mused.
"Haruhi's in a mood." Hikaru smirked.
"I AM NOT IN A MOOD YOU IDIOTS!" She shouted at the top of lungs. Each host stared at her in stunned silence. "Okay. Maybe I'm in a bit of a mood." She admitted sheepishly.
"It's okay, Haruhi. I'll have one of those devil twins go fetch the water next time."
"Thank you, Tamaki. I don't think I can endure that again." Haruhi smiled up at her boyfriend as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She loved those rare moments when he was sensible and mature like this.
"Yeah…no we won't." Hikaru said.
"We'll just delegate whatever you ask us to do to Haruhi." Kaoru explained.
"Yeah, milord. That's how it works. We've been hosts longer, so we can do that." Hikaru added.
Tamaki went red and began chasing the twins around the room, shouting obscenities and threats. They shouted back in their usual insulting banter.
Well, it was nice while it lasted, Haruhi thought.
Just then, the doors to the club room opened and a girl slipped in.
"I'm sorry, but the club will not be open for another 20 minutes." Kyoya said, without glancing up from his notebook.
"That's nice, but I'm not here to visit your club." Kyoya looked up at the girl's voice and immediately recognized the curly haired red head sauntering up to him. "Ms. Prescott, what a lovely surprise. To what do we owe this pleasure?" Kyoya recovered from his momentary shock with grace and assumed his best manners. He stood up and gave her a slight bow. The other members of the host club began to converge on the bespectacled individuals.
"I'm afraid that this is not a social call, Mr. —" She hesitated.
"Ootori."
"Mr. Ootori. Ms. d'Acosta is troubled by the large volume of people outside of our room and she is insisting that something is done about it. The level of noise is unbearable for her and it is making it impossible to concentrate on her work. I spoke with one of the ladies in the hall and they said that they were waiting for your club to open. If something is not done about this, I will have no choice but to involve Chairman Suoh." Abigail said.
The red head's voice was cutting and short. Her eyes were narrowed. There was a single bead of sweat on her forehead and a large, blue vein was throbbing near her temple. She was obviously distressed by the situation.
Calmly, Kyoya replied, "Once again, Ms. Prescott, I apologize for the inconvenience. It is not our intention to constantly disrupt Ms. d'Acosta. Please send our apologies to your employer."
"Thank you, Mr. Ootori." She gave Kyoya a curt head nod and turned on her heel. She had crossed the span of the room and slipped back out of the doors before anyone could blink.
"Geez. What's her problem?" Hikaru asked to no one in particular.
"How dare she come here and talk to us like that!" Tamaki cried.
"Did you hear how she said 'our room'? Like she owns the damn room. We were there first!" Kaoru added.
"This is getting ridiculous." Haruhi complained.
"Is anybody going to eat this cake?" Honey had been staring at the delicious looking 3-tiered chocolate cake with wide eyes when he realized the room had gone silent after his question. He turned to see them all staring at him in disbelief. "Um…I mean…she's a mean, mean lady. Uh-huh. A mean, mean, mean lady."
"Nh." Mori motioned to Honey to stop talking. He handed Honey a fork who prepared to dig into the cake.
"We should go over there and give this Ms. d'Acosta a piece of our mind!" Tamaki declared, fist raised in the air.
"Yeah!" A collection of voice cheered. They began heading towards the door. A cold voice stopped them in their tracks.
"Not so fast." Kyoya cautioned them. "I do believe that Ms. d'Acosta's demands are ridiculous and that she is out of line. However, we must handle this properly. We do not want to tarnish the school's reputation. We will go over there, but I will do the talking. Tamaki, you will not be allowed to go if you cannot promise to keep your mouth shut."
"But—" Tamaki tried to protest, but Kyoya cut him off.
"No 'ifs, ands, or buts' about it, Tamaki. Keep quiet or stay here. Those are your choices."
He was not happy about it, but Tamaki agreed. He nodded sullenly and allowed his head to droop in disappointment.
With a plan in motion, the host club headed over to their former room. Upon entering the hallway, Kyoya gave their apologies to the adoring fan girls clustering around the door. They all cried out in frustration and sadness, but they dispersed. With that, the hosts enjoyed an uninhibited walk down the hall to Music Room #3.
Kyoya paused to knock. A large man in a fitted black t-shirt and black jeans opened the door. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could deny them access, Kyoya pushed pass him and everyone followed him into the room.
Music Room #3 was unrecognizable. The curtains were closed. The plush couches and marble topped tables were no where in sight. They had been replaced by amplifiers and cables and lights. Various backgrounds and screens hung on the wall. Loud club music was pounding through out the room, bouncing off the walls and marble pillars, vibrating through the floor. The biggest difference was a large platform on one side of the room, that was most likely used as a stage. The most interesting difference was a large curtain blocking a large section of the room from view. The music was coming from that location, as well as flashing lights. Most of the people in the room were converged in or around that area. The curly haired red head was watching the events unfolding on the other side of that curtain.
The hosts began to make their way towards the assistant. The large man tried to stop them. He was shouting incoherent ramblings and causing a scene. Abigail glanced over at the commotion and blanched when she saw all seven members of the host club. She raced over to them, begging them to leave before Lola saw them. They couldn't hear her voice over the loud music until it was too late. The song ended in time for them to hear Abigail shout "—JUST GET OUT OF HERE!" She gasped and clamped her hand over her mouth, in a desperate attempt to take back her words.
"Abigail?" A voice called out from the other side of the curtain. The voice was followed by a beautiful blond girl with bluish-grey eyes. According to a picture on a nearby poster, the girl was none other than Lola d'Acosta.
And Lola looked pissed.