A/N: Hi everyone! I'm so sorry for the delay in updating; I promise I haven't given up on this story! I've just been really busy with my school semester coming to a close. My updates may be really sporadic until my finals are over, which is going to be in three weeks. Anyways, I'm going to change this chapter up a little bit and switch to first-person POV. Let me know if you like/dislike it so I can know how to write the next chapter. I'm also willing to rewrite chapters one and two if first-person is preferred by a lot of people! As always, thanks for reading.
"Hey, uh, Amira?" Haruhi suddenly looked up from her textbook at me, slamming it shut. We had been studying after class in the library together before going over to the host club.
"Dude, I just don't think calculus is for me. I mean, this stuff makes no sense to me. It's like a foreign language. But harder; learning Japanese wasn't even close to this hard! But yeah, what's up?" I looked up from my book to meet her gaze.
"It's already four." She stated, eyes wide.
"Oh, shit, umm… Hurry up, let's run over there!" I spurted out and quickly stood up to gather all of my belongings. The host club met at four, which meant we were already late. We both sped down the halls to Music Room 3, where the club met. If I was late, I couldn't really be punished besides just being kicked out, since I just wanted to join the club to have a place to practice piano. Haruhi, on the other hand, was trying to pay off her debt and would probably have repercussions.
As soon as we got to the grand wooden doors of the music room, Haruhi slowly turned the handle to open the door and we both immediately froze as soon as we saw what was on the other side. A lush rainforest stood before us, complete with palm trees, grass, animals, and flowers. An overpowering rush of warm, humid air flooded our senses along with the strong smell of sweet flowers. Scattered across tree branches were a variety of exotic animals, such as toucans, chameleons, snakes, and tropical butterflies.
"Where are we?" Haruhi mumbled, glancing across the room with wide eyes.
"Welcome!" The hosts all chimed together, smiling at the pair of us. They were all adorned in tropical costumes, all scantily clad and still looking as handsome as ever. We both stood in silence, too awestruck to come up with a response.
"Oh, it's just you two," The twins said in unison, smirking at us, "You're late."
"I-I don't understand…" I rambled off, still looking around the room at the lush forest surrounding us, "It's the middle of April, why are we in the tropics?"
"It's not supposed to be this warm!" Haruhi complained.
Tamaki chuckled to himself, "Huddling under a kotatsu table, fearing the cold would be nonsense. Why else do we have this perfect heating and cooling system?" He spun around and gestured dramatically to our surroundings. I rolled my eyes at this, why did he always have to be so expressive?
"Do you have some sort of criticism of our club's policies? Haruhi-kun, you owe us a dept of 8 million yen. And Amira-san, you are more than welcome to leave our club anytime you'd like." Kyoya smiled darkly at us, flicking his eyes between us. Just his stare was enough to give me chills and I realized just how scary this man could be. Haruhi paled and Tamaki came to her rescue, putting an arm around her shoulders.
"It may be a chilling early spring out in the world, but in our club, we welcome our chilly, little kittens to a warm, south tropical aura!" He cooed to her, smiling brightly, "Yes! Today, this place is a supreme paradise, a hot, hot island of everlasting summer!"
"I, on the other hand, feel a chill in every sense of the word," Haruhi glared, pulling away from his grip. Hikaru and Kaoru flocked to either side of me, both wrapping an arm around my waist.
"Ami-chan, don't you think the warmth is just so nice?" Kaoru smiled at me, leaning down to rest his head against mine.
"And you have to admit, no lady wants to see a man all bundled up. Do you like our outfits?" Hikaru asked, pulling me in closer to his bare chest. Just then, I noticed what the twins were wearing: harem shorts with a loose wrap overtop, with blue bandanas tied around their heads. They were both shirtless, and truthfully it wasn't a bad sight to see. They had slim, toned bodies and I had to force myself to not stare and instead began to redden. This seemed to not go unnoticed, as both twins started to laugh, which made me grow frustrated.
"No, how do you expect me to play in this? The humidity is going to ruin the wood of any good piano, and not only that but the trees are completely impractical for the sound to travel in!" I complained, pulling myself away from the extremely tempting twins, who just stared amusedly at me during my rant.
"Amira-san, we have set up an electric keyboard for you to use. Surely that will be good enough for you in an area like this. We also have speakers spread out amongst the tables, so each guest will be able to hear the music regardless of where they are." Kyoya stated calmly, not bothering to look up at me.
"Oh, um… I guess that works," I mumbled, feeling slightly bad for assuming the worst. The hosts began to scatter to greet their guests and I made my way over to a piano in the corner of the room.
"Ami-chan!" Honey-senpai came out of nowhere, ran up to me, and grabbed my hand, "Play a happy song for me today, please!"
"Sure thing, Honey-senpai." I smiled down at him and almost melted as he gave his cute smile in return.
"You normally play such melancholy music," His smile quickly faded away to an expression of concern, "Why is your piano so sad?"
I paused for a moment in disbelief, then gathered myself and forced a smile back at him, "I'm not sure what you mean, Honey-senpai. I play a lot of different songs, a lot of them have happier melodies."
He didn't return my smile and instead shook his head, "They may have happy notes but the tone is way different," He paused for a moment, "Ami-chan, just try to let yourself smile for me, and then your piano will smile, too." I stared at him in utter shock. I had no idea Honey was even capable of such deep conversations. In reality, I knew that the way I played my piano was different from most. You can play a happy song but it will always carry your true feelings through your tone and the way your fingers press each note. Before my mom passed away, my music carried hints of childish innocence and pure bliss. After she passed, the notes faded to ones of mourning and loss. They weren't empty, they were filled with emotion, just not a very happy one. I didn't think it would be that obvious to hear, especially for someone so optimistic like Honey.
"I'm excited to hear you play today," He squeezed my hand and walked away. I watched him leave and then sat down to play. I was going to try my best to sound happier for him, but it's so hard to force an emotion that isn't actually there.
Later that day, after the host club had ended, Haruhi, the guys, and I all met in a neighboring room to discuss an upcoming dance that the club was planning. They had all changed out of their costumes and back into their regular school uniforms. Tamaki sulked in the corner of the room, upset that one of his regulars had chosen to be Haruhi's guest that day instead.
"Sir, stop eating commoner's ramen and help us with the party planning," Hikaru nagged Tamaki.
"Is Princess Kasuga taking a liking to Haruhi really bugging you that much?" Kaoru asked, both of them staring over at him.
"Her illness isn't something that just started, right?" Kyoya asked, without looking up from his laptop.
"Illness?" I asked, immediately expecting the worst.
"Wandering host-hopping disease," Hikaru answered, popping up at my side.
"Otherwise known as never-the-same-boy-twice disease," Kaoru finished for him, popping up on my other side.
"Usually, our guests designate the same hosts in perpetuity, but she seems to change her host on a regular basis," Kyoya explained, all the while continuing to type on his laptop.
"Up until now she was with Tama-chan, right?" Honey asked, glancing over at Tamaki.
"So that's why he's being like this," I nodded thoughtfully, glancing over at him. It made sense, the narcissistic man clearly couldn't handle being chosen second. I wondered if the fact that his guest chose Haruhi, a female, over him somehow made it even worse in his mind.
"That makes sense. He's just jealous," Haruhi nodded along with me, sighing.
"I am not! That is not why!" Tamaki came flying from across the room and shouted at her, "I'm at the limits of my patience, Haruhi! Start dressing like a girl! Why do you have to be so woefully talented with the girls when you yourself are a girl?!" I laughed quietly to myself at that; I knew it. Tamaki was just jealous, and the fact that Haruhi was a girl was just making it worse. I started to tune their conversation out, closing my eyes, drumming my fingers across the table, and thinking of the music I would play tomorrow.
Suddenly, I heard shouting. I looked up to see Tamaki holding a picture of Haruhi and her scolding him for it.
"Where did you even get that? And you can't just go around blowing up people's pictures without their permission!" She shouted at him and reached to grab the photo from him. However, the rest of the hosts pushed past her and gathered around Tamaki to look at a more feminine version of Haruhi from middle school.
"Haruhi, how did you go from that to this? I mean, you looked so girly in that picture," I asked her softly, looking up at her long, flowing hair and beautiful big eyes in the picture. Before the hosts changed her, she looked so unkempt to the point where I could see how people would think she was a guy.
"The day before the entrance exams, I had a kid from my neighborhood stick some gum in my hair. I didn't want to deal with trying to get it out, so I just cut it all off," she replied calmly, and the boys all turned around to look at her. Once again, she referred to herself with the Japanese male pronoun ore, which didn't get past Tamaki.
"Haruhi! Stop saying 'ore', it is a dirty word for girls! I want you to go back to being my beautiful daughter!" Tamaki wailed.
"It's kind of impressive that you can be so cute as a girl but still handsome as a boy," I commented, smiling over at Haruhi.
"Well, thank you, and it's helpful because I can pay off my debt much faster as a host than as a club errand boy," she replied as Tamaki was still sobbing dramatically in the background.
"Speaking of, do you have any experience at social dances? It's essential for the party," Hikaru asked, referring to a club dance they would be hosting next week.
"What? Um, no, and it's not essential for my quota right?" Haruhi sputtered out, she clearly hadn't have thought about her going even being a possibility before.
"Social dances are a must for a gentleman. If you want to be a host so badly, then you must learn to dance and entertain!" Tamaki perked up immediately and declared dramatically, "If you cannot master the waltz in one week and demonstrate it at next week's party, then I will reveal to the school that you are a girl and you will be demoted to club errand boy!" Haruhi stood in silence, staring in shock at Tamaki, clearly at a loss for words.
"Well good luck Haruhi, I almost wish I could be there to see it!" I smiled over at her, knowing fully well that she'll be fine and has nothing to worry about. I assumed I wasn't invited to the dance since I wasn't a host and had no interest in dancing with them or interacting with them when they're putting on a show for guests. Their acts were starting to irritate me because I was realizing just how forced they all were.
"Actually, Amira, we're expecting you to go," Kyoya stated, flicking his eyes up from his laptop to meet mine for a brief second.
"What?" I stared at him, awaiting a response.
"You're going to dance with me, right Ami-chan?" Hikaru's husky voice whispered in my right ear and I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
"I'd love to see you in a ballgown," Kaoru whispered into my left ear, giving me shivers. These twins were absolutely infuriating.
I stomped away from them angrily and crossed my arms, "Why do I need to go when I'm not even a host?"
"Amira, I thought this would make you happy! Daddy just wants his daughters to love him!" Tamaki wailed again, running back into his corner.
"How would this make me happy?" I asked, glaring at each of the hosts.
"We wanted you to play at the dance as part of an orchestra briefly, but also as a soloist with accompaniment," Kyoya stated calmly, "This would be a chance for you to build your resume and to also practice your skills as a soloist."
"I don't get it, what's in it for you?" I stared at the man. There was no way he would just be doing something like this for me out of the kindness of his heart.
He glanced up at me and had the slightest smirk on his face, "It would save us money from having to hire a pianist,"
"Ami-chan, please?" Honey walked up to me and tugged on my hand, "Takashi and I want to hear your piano sound happier, right, Takashi?"
"Mm," Mori nodded in agreeance. I felt my cheeks redden because of the meaning behind his statement, and I noticed everyone in the room staring at me and awaiting my response. I wondered for a moment whether or not Honey had mentioned anything to the rest of the hosts.
"Um, s-sure. I'll do it, thank you guys so much," I said quietly, then let out a small smile.
"You're going to do amazing, Amira, trust me. We've both got a week to practice!" Haruhi smiled at me.
"AH! My daughters are so cute! Daddy loves you both so very much!" Tamaki flew up to us and enveloped us both into a big hug with him. He was way too excitable.
The next day, we all stayed after the club ended so we could help Haruhi with her dance lessons. Kanako worked as Haruhi's dance instructor, much to Tamaki's avail. He wanted to train her, yet it would be impractical for them to dance together based on height alone. Besides, I doubted Tamaki even knew how to dance the women's parts. I played various waltzes for them using sheet music given to me by Kyoya, who claimed to have hired a full orchestra to play with me during the actual event. When the lessons started, Haruhi was awkward and rhythmless, but quickly improved over time.
"Ah!" Haruhi exclaimed, tripping over herself and falling down on top of Kanako, "I'm so sorry Kasugazaki-san!" I stopped playing immediately, turning to watch it all happen.
"That's alright, Haruhi-kun," Kanako smiled calmly and wrapped her arms around Haruhi's neck. The two girls laid there, staring into each other's eyes for a brief moment.
I cleared my throat loudly, making them both look at me, "Um, I'd say that's a pretty good place to stop for today." It was making me uncomfortable; Haruhi didn't seem like she knew what to do and Kanako just looked like she wanted to bust a move on the poor girl. And the guys all were cluelessly staring from the sidelines as if each of them were hoping for something interesting to happen.
Haruhi quickly stood to her feet and held a hand out for Kanako as well, "I'm sorry again, Kasugazaki-san. Would you like some tea before you go?"
Kanako grabbed Haruhi's hand and held onto it, smiling widely at Haruhi, "That would be delightful, Haruhi-kun." The girls walked out of the room together, holding hands, and the guys all followed behind them awkwardly.
I stayed in the room, turning to face the piano again. I should probably practice some more since the dance was already a week away. Yet, I was entirely unable to focus on the music. Even while playing for Haruhi's lessons, I felt like I was in a separate room entirely. I was stuck thinking about my childhood and my mother.
"Amira! Come here, sweetheart!" My mother called out to me from her practice room. I looked over at my dad, who shrugged.
"Race ya!" I grinned at him wildly. He threw his head up and laughed into the air, then counted down for us to race.
"3… 2… 1… Go!" He shouted, and we both took off. The room was right down the hall, but I ran as fast as my five-year-old legs could possibly carry me. My dad trailed close behind me, laughing the entire way.
"Mom! I won!" I giggled, slamming to a stop right beside her bench. The practice room was a small square room, containing only her favorite grand piano.
"Oh, baby, I'm so proud of you," She smiled down at me, running a hand through my hair lovingly, "Tell me if you recognize this song, love," She turned back to the piano and placed her hands on the keys. She began playing a song, quickly at first. My father and I stood together for a moment, both listening intently. The introduction faded out to a familiar tune: the Sleeping Beauty Waltz by Tchaikovsky, which I recognized from one of my favorite Disney movies.
"Ah!" I squealed excitedly, "It's Sleeping Beauty!" I jumped up and down and turned to face my dad.
He laughed a little, then kneeled down to reach my level and held out one hand to me, "May I have this dance?" My eyes widened as I met his, then I nodded excitedly and took his hand. He stood up and took both of my hands, beckoning for me to step onto his feet. I stepped up and we swayed together, as he walked to spin us around. My mom laughed happily as she turned to watch us for a moment over her shoulder. My dad smiled down at me the whole time, laughing on occasion as I struggled to keep my footing on top of his feet.
After she passed away, my dad spent the majority of his time in the room, sitting on the bench with his cheek laid against the surface of the piano. I refused to step inside that room ever again, never wanting the memories to come back. Eventually, my dad got rid of the piano. One day, I came home from school and it was missing. I wasn't sure what he did with it, but I doubt I could ever handle seeing it again.
"Amira," A voice called out in front of me, bringing me back to reality. I looked up with tear-filled eyes into the amber eyes of Hikaru.
"Are you okay?" He asked, brows furrowing in concern.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine," I took a deep breath, collecting myself, then realized he was alone, "Where's Kaoru?"
"How do you know I'm not Kaoru?" The concern on his expression faded to one of surprise.
"Your voice, your hair, your expression, lots of things," I waved my hand nonchalantly. It was obvious which twin was which at this point, they were clearly two completely different people.
"He's in the other room, we're all about to leave and we wanted to see if you were coming or staying here," He answered, still looking a little shocked. I wondered if he was being so honest because he wasn't expecting me to know who he was.
"Oh, okay. I think I might stay here for a bit if that's alright," I nodded, lowering my eyes to the floor. He took a seat next to me on the piano bench, leaning slightly against me. Our arms rested against each other and for a moment I could only focus on the warmth resonating from his body. Then he shifted away from me, turning to look at me once again.
"What were you doing all this time? I didn't hear the piano," He said softly. I looked up to meet his eyes once again and found an honest, earnest expression on his face. He genuinely wanted to know, he even seemed a little worried.
"I just… I don't know, the music brings me back. My mom loved waltzes," I signed. And she did, she preferred the romantic era of music and loved the beauty in waltzes.
"Oh," He paused for a moment, as if deep in thought, then continued, "Loved?"
"She passed away."
"Oh… I'm sorry," He said quickly, looking down at his hands.
"It's okay," We sat in silence for a moment, then I felt bad about making him feel uncomfortable, "She used to play this one song for me, it was from a movie I liked, and, anyway, my dad and I used to dance to it," I laughed quietly, "I would step on his feet and he would sway and spin us around and around while my mom played the whole time."
"What song is it?" He asked, looking back up at me. Once again, a surprisingly earnest expression was on his face, as if he actually cared about me.
"It's called the Sleeping Beauty Waltz, it's by Tchaikovsky," I answered plainly. To my surprise, he pulled out his phone immediately.
"What are you doing?" I demanded, turning to look at his phone screen.
"I want to hear it," He said plainly, finding a recording of the song. I hadn't listened to this song in years and was slightly nervous to hear it again after all this time. He pressed play and set his phone down on the bench between us and we both sat and listened for a moment. I closed my eyes and let the memories take over again.
All of a sudden, I felt a rush of air beside me and opened my eyes to see Hikaru stand up quickly and walk in front of me with his hand outstretched.
"Do you want to dance?" He asked, his cheeks slightly pink. I must've looked bewildered, because he quickly said, "We don't have to," And set his hand down.
I stood up and grabbed his hand, "No, we can." He smiled a little and led me over to the middle of the room, where he put his opposite arm around my waist.
"Don't step on my feet, please," He whispered into my ear and gave me a cheeky grin. I rolled my eyes at him and focused on my footsteps. I had waltzed before at events my mother performed at, but it had been years ago. Eventually, I got into a groove and was actually able to enjoy the dance. He spun me around and we both laughed in delight and continued dancing around the room.
"Hey, Hikaru?" Kaoru called out, appearing at the doorstep. He stopped immediately, making both of us freeze and drop our hands from each other. "Are you ready to go?" He already seemed unfazed by what he had walked in on, as though he had almost been expecting it.
"Y-yeah, let's go," Hikaru quickly recovered, walking over to grab his phone from the bench.
"I'll go, too, I guess, I don't really want to practice more today," I mumbled, picking up my backpack from the corner of the room.
"Do you even need to practice more in general? You already sound so good," Kaoru smiled at me.
"Of course I do! Did you even hear my solo during the Blue Danube?" I grumbled.
"I don't even know what that is, but I'm sure it was fine," Kaoru laughed.
"Dedicate a song to us, Ami-chan!" Hikaru smirked at me, knowing their nickname for me was absolutely infuriating. He had already resorted back to his usual ways, making me question my own sanity for a moment. How do you go from waltzing with someone to teasing them endlessly again?
"No. I'm going home," I stated, walking out of the room. The twins laughed in unison behind me, following me out.
I gazed at my appearance in the mirror. I had on an emerald, strapless ballgown for the event tonight. Its sweetheart neckline perfectly framed my curves and it tugged in at the waist, then spilled out into sparkly tulle. My normally straight burgundy hair was pinned up into a high updo with a few curls falling down and framing my face. I had dark eye makeup on, making my eyes look a little larger, and a deep red lipstick on, which popped against my pale skin. A strapless gown was a must when performing, as I needed to have my arms free to play the piano. Ever since my first performance when I was 6, I've always felt that sleeves restricted me and messed me up as a pianist.
"What are you all dressed up for?" My step-brother, Riku, asked. My step-mother, Tomoko, had him when she went to medical school in America. He was only 9, so while he did go to Ouran Elementary School, he had no idea about the host club or any of the activities I'm in.
"It's a school dance," I answered plainly. My dad wanted me to quit piano ever since my mom passed since it reminded him too much of her. For all he knew, I did. I wasn't going to let Riku ruin that by letting it slip one night.
"Can I come?" He asked, puckering out his bottom lip.
"Why would you want to? There are no video games there, and there's going to be boring classical music, which you hate." I smirked at him. Even though he wasn't really my brother, I still loved the kid.
"Ewww! Why are you going then?" He frowned, sticking out his tongue in disgust.
"I like classical music, remember?" I laughed.
"Amira-san, Riku-kun," A maid knocked on the door, making both of us turn around and gaze at her, "Dinner is ready,"
"Tell dad we'll be down in a moment," I nodded to her, taking one last look in the mirror.
"You look like a princess," Riku gaped at me, meeting my eyes in the mirror.
"You really think so?" I smiled at him, feeling a blush creep to my cheeks.
"No. You're my sister, you're gross," He giggled and ran out of my room. I rolled my eyes and followed him through the house to our dining room, where Tomoko and my father were already seated. They both looked up and stared at me. Well, for Tomoko, it was more of a glare. For whatever reason, that woman hated my guts.
"Amira, you look lovely," My dad grinned at me, standing up to give me a hug.
"Thank you," I hugged him quickly, "Can I be excused from dinner tonight? I have a school dance tonight and they'll be serving us there."
"What? Why didn't you tell me you had a dance already?" My father asked softly, looking slightly hurt.
"I've just been busy, I wasn't even planning on going until this week," I mumbled, looking down at my feet.
"If you don't tell us where you're going ahead of time, you're not allowed to go, and that's that," Tomoko snapped at me. See? She hates me.
I gasped and looked up at my dad, "Dad… Please? It's really important to me, I just want to make friends here,"
He looked back and forth from his wife to his daughter and then shook his head, "Amira… You can go, just this once. But you need to listen to your mother and respect her wishes. Tell us in advance, please," He begged.
"My mother is dead," I stated darkly, "Thanks, dad." I spun and walked out of the room before I could see any of their reactions. Tomoko would never be a mother to me. She would always just be Tomoko, no matter how hard they tried to push it on me.
"My little lambs, who have gathered here tonight, Ouran Host Club bids you a fair welcome to this dance tonight!" Tamaki announced dramatically. That was my cue. I looked up at the conductor, who raised his baton to get the orchestra's attention, then took a deep breath as he lowered it sharply, and we all began playing. I looked up at the staircase to see the hosts announce a few more things, then they all made their way down to the floor to begin dancing with guests.
The previous day, the hosts had briefed me on a plan they made. Apparently, Kanako was host-hopping because she was unwilling to be with her fiance, Toru, and was basically just avoiding him. So, the hosts decided they had to solve this. Basically, at the dance, Kanako would dance with Haruhi, then Tamaki would interfere and steal Kanako away while the twins and I would take Haruhi to make her look like a girl. Then, Haruhi would try to profess her love for Toru, who would then reject her. Meanwhile, Tamaki will have led Kanako over to the room where Haruhi and Toru were interacting, so she would see Toru rejecting Haruhi and thus realize she was in love with him. …the plan was really far-fetched. There was no way it would work out.
Anyways, I was doing my role in the plan perfectly. Lay low and play piano until the twins got me and told me everything was ready. The performance was going smoothly, I hadn't hit any incorrect notes yet and the orchestra sounded lovely. However, as soon as one of the songs ended, a man appeared beside me holding a folder of music.
"Um, hi?" I set my hands down on my lap and looked at him quizzically.
Suddenly, a pair of hands grabbed my shoulder, "It's time!" I turned to face the twins who ushered me out onto the dancefloor as the random man took my seat at the piano. Then it hit me. He was my replacement for the rest of the night.
"Ami-chan, Haruhi is dancing with Princess Kasuga already," Hikaru whispered to me.
"Everything is going to plan, wait here," Kaoru whispered from my other side, then both boys sprinted out onto the dancefloor to grab Haruhi, then sprinted back with her between their arms.
"Let's go!" the boys said in unison and dragged Haruhi out of the room to a changing room. I rolled my eyes and followed closely behind. Once we got to the room, the other hosts besides Tamaki were waiting for us there.
"Haru-chan, Haru-chan! Put on these!" Honey squealed, thrusting a pale pink dress and a wig into her hands.
"Hurry up! Get changed!" The twins shoved Haruhi through the curtain, then closed it behind her.
"So, remind me again why Haruhi had to be the one to get dressed up instead of just having me do it," I crossed my arms and glanced at each host.
"Exactly!" Haruhi yelled from the other side of the curtain.
"It's the king's wishes," Hikaru shrugged.
"I wouldn't argue with him if I were you," Kaoru mimicked his twin's gesture. Eventually, Haruhi came out of the dressing room and sat down beside a table so I could start working on her makeup.
"Suzushima-kun is already waiting for you in an adjoining room," Kyoya stated, staring at my hands as I worked to brush blush onto Haruhi's cheeks.
"Gracefully ask him what his feelings are!" Honey suggested, gaping up at us.
"Since this is his highness's strategy, there's something unsettling about it," The twins said in unison, watching closely behind me.
"Yeah, this isn't going to work. Anyways, what color lipstick?" I asked, holding up two tubes. Just then, the doors burst open to reveal a frustrated Tamaki.
"Hey! What's the big idea, having everyone in here? Who's looking after our guests?" He demanded. Haruhi stood up and turned around to face him, rendering him speechless.
"I guess no lipstick then," I laughed, "What do you think?" I turned to face Tamaki, smirking at the blush that was slowly creeping onto his face.
"Haru-chan! You look so cute!" Honey squealed, as she slowly walked over to meet Tamaki at the door.
"My face feels heavy, and it's hard to walk in these shoes," She grumbled and turned to glare at me.
"Welcome to being a girl," I shrugged, happy with my handiwork.
"I'm fine with being a guy! I already miss it!" She snapped, walking out of the room down the hall.
"Don't say that, Haruhi!" Tamaki moaned, and I prayed that he wouldn't start crying like usual.
"Good luck in there!" the twins shouted at her, waving dramatically.
"She's just too cute…" Tamaki whimpered, face reddening once again.
"So that's why you made her go and not me," I mumbled, rolling my eyes at him.
The hosts and I made our way back to the dancefloor, and Tamaki left us to go find Kanako. Honey and Mori went to go dance together right away, and Kyoya was asked by a guest to dance, leaving me alone with the twins.
"Hey, I'll be right back," Kaoru smiled and look at Hikaru with a devilish glint in my eye. I felt my stomach drop when I realized they were up to something, but couldn't follow Kaoru through the dancefloor as he weaved his way through girls.
"What's going on?" I demanded, turning at Hikaru.
"You'll see, Ami-chan," He smirked at me. I felt my stomach drop, already dreading whatever was in store. Suddenly, the orchestra faded out in the middle of the song they were currently on, leaving dancers standing awkwardly on the floor. Then, they cut in to a familiar tune. The Sleeping Beauty Waltz. I turned to look at Hikaru, knowing he and Kaoru somehow planned this, only to see that he had taken a knee and was holding a hand up to me.
"May I have this dance? We never got a chance to finish our first one, and Kaoru felt bad," He smiled up at me, much less insecure of himself.
"Y-yeah, of course," I sputtered, taking his hand and helping him up. He placed an arm around my waist and spun me around on the dance floor.
He leaned into me and whispered, "I forgot to mention earlier that you look really nice tonight,"
"Thank you," I mumbled, blushing profusely, "You clean up pretty nice, too," I was trying but failing to keep my cool. It's not every day that I get to dance with an extremely handsome guy. Yet, he didn't even seem to notice and just chuckled and continued to dance. We finished the dance in silence, and both bowed at each other.
"Thank you for that. I know you said waltzes reminded you of your mother and made you a little sad, so I wanted to make sure you were doing okay tonight," Hikaru smiled kindly at me, "I wanted to make sure you were happy and get you to smile."
Before I could even say anything in response, Kaoru appeared beside us, "Ready for the last part of the plan?" He asked. I was still shocked at Hikaru's statement, and was at a loss for words. They both stared at me blankly for a moment, then I realized they were waiting for me.
"Um, wait, what? Last part? I thought Haruhi-"
A loudspeaker interrupted me, "And now, ladies and gentlemen, this enjoyable evening of ours has at last come to its final song," Tamaki's voice rang out, and the twins grabbed my hand and rushed me over to the balcony, where the hosts were waiting for us, "The Host Club's last waltz falls upon this couple." Tamaki stood before us and gestured dramatically to Kanako and Toru. Toru kneeled and asked Kanako to dance, then stood up and began to waltz.
"Banana?" The twins asked, interrupting my thoughts by both shoving a banana in my face.
"What? No, where did those even come from?" I shook my head, extremely confused. They both shrugged and unpeeled the bananas and began eating them. I looked back down to the happy couple and smiled sweetly, hoping one day to find a love as pure as theirs.
"May this awkward couple be blessed!" Tamaki declared, spreading his arms out wide. The twins both scarfed down the rest of their banana peels and pulled out microphones.
Kaoru ran over to Tamaki's side, "Tonight's dance queen,"
Hikaru mirrored his action, "Is hereby declared to be Princess Kasugazaki Kanako!" The audience erupted into a grand cheer, but I could only focus on the twins as they threw their banana peels when no one was looking.
"Now then, the blessed kiss from the king-" They said in unison.
"I'm on," Tamaki gave a flirtatious smile, interrupting them.
"...has been switched to Fujioka Haruhi!" The twins finished.
"WHAT?" Tamaki and Haruhi both shouted. I burst out laughing, now this was going to piss Tamaki off.
"Kyoya-senpai said that having an 'accident' happen at the end would be more thrilling!" The twins replied coolly. Toru put his arm around Kanako and whispered something to her, probably giving permission, and she walked forward towards Haruhi.
"Of all the things to put me through…" Haruhi grumbled beside me.
"We'll cut your debt by one-third," Kyoya stated without looking at her.
"Well, if it's just a peck on the cheek," She mumbled, walking down the staircase to meet Kanako.
"Say, by any chance, could this be Haru-chan's first kiss?" Honey asked, making Tamaki spring to action.
"What?!" He leaped forward, reaching out toward Haruhi. However, he slipped on the twins' banana peels and ended up tripping and pushing Haruhi into Kanako. The intended kiss on the cheek escalated to a kiss on the lips, and the crowd roared with excitement. The twins burst out laughing beside me.
"By 'accident', you guys meant this, right? Not her and Tamaki-senpai switching roles?" I asked the twins, smirking slightly. It was kind of entertaining, I had to admit.
"Hahah, no, this was completely just an accident," Hikaru laughed, wiping tears from his eyes.
"Definitely not at all intentional, I don't even know how those peels got there!" Kaoru laughed beside him, holding his belly. I looked over at the rest of the hosts, who all held bemused expressions and realized they must have planned this out, too. I guess the host club wasn't so bad; they were pretty entertaining, after all.
A/N: Wow that was long… It took a lot more time than I thought it would. I wanted to build on Hikaru and Amira's budding relationship and also begin introducing her family and her past. It's all going to be really important throughout the story. As always, love you guys! Please leave me reviews with whatcha think! 3