A/N: Sorry for late update! I'm inconsistant... and I think I was sick 7/8 of the month. I hate February. 4 times sick, I say, 4 times... I couldn't even get myself to post somethimg lovey-dovey like a one-shot for SAD/V-day. My doctor probably thinks I go around licking the floor of public bathrooms in my free time...
Anyway, I'm not one of the people that does this, but I need reviews before I can post the next chapter. I want to know who you would like to see end up with Clarissa. Your choices are Mori, Kyoya, or an OC. No chapter until I get the requested reviews... maybe around ten would be good but whenever I update I update so if you were hoping to see Clarissa with someone but didn't review with your vote... too bad. The next chapter contains potential and I might have to edit it depending on what everyone says. I'm not trying to be mean, it's just impossible for me to continue without getting to the romance part of this fanfic.
A big thank you to my reviewers! And as for Clarissa being a Mary-Sue, well, you can call her what you want. She doesn't have a sad background (an overprotective brother does not count.), the whole school hasn't confessed their love to her, she isn't wildly rich, she isn't a copy of Haruhi, she isn't related to anyone, her friends are prettier than her, not everyone thinks kindly of her, she's smart but not that smart and it tends to surprise people when they hear that, she isn't a kick-butt martial artist (maybe worthy of Honey or Mori's teaching, but never at their level), and she makes quite the truckload of mistakes. If she's the perfect character, the hosts are in a ton of trouble.
Sorry for my rant, but after this, any further comments about Clarissa's Mary-Sue-ness can be ignored. That being said, I have pulled a cliche today! The whole 'hostess' thing has always fascinated me and I wondered what kind of people that would attract... and how Clarissa would handle it. And also, because said hostesses tend to get on some people's nerves (and the poorly written ones annoy me too and I don't want my fic to permanatly have that label) this and the next chapter are about all the hostess your gonna get... sorry for hostess club fans but I don't feel like writing one of those!
Disclaimer: Clarissa and a few OCs featured in here are all I own.
"You weren't at the Host Club today." Ootori said. "I'm fining you 50% of that day's wages for not notifying someone."
"One: You'd think the whole scene at the restaurant would be a good enough hint for someone as smart as you that I didn't feel like being anywhere near Souh. Two: I wasn't even at school. I tripped last night while walking home and sprained my ankle. So I can't work for I don't know how long. Three: How in bloody blue blazes did you get this number!"
"Are you fond of giving rants in list form?"
"Quite. Answer the bloody question, Ootori."
"Off of Ouran's student database, Clarissa. Unlike some of your more shady friends, I am not a stalker." I stared at the phone, astonished, and hung up on him.
|!|!|!|!|
"CJ, are you okay?" My eight-year-old cousin asked as soon as he was in the door.
"Mm. I'm fine, Akiko, it's just a sprained ankle." I called from the bedroom where I was lounging on the bed. Akiko ran in and leaped onto the bed.
"Hello, Clara. Hideki will buy the crutches you wanted on his way back from work." My aunt said from the kitchen.
"Okay. Come on in, Auntie!" I called. She opened the door carrying a box of ramen.
"For you and Akiko. I figured since it's easy he can make it."
"Oh, thanks, Auntie."
"It's no problem. I have to go grocery shopping. Would you mind entertaining Akiko?"
"Not at all. Have fun!" I said. She leaned over to hug me and then gave Akiko a hug and left.
"CJ, I brought my DS." Akiko said.
"That's awesome!" He pulled it out from out of his pocket and grinned happily. "Where's yours?" I told him and he went to go fetch it. When he returned we spent an hour and a half playing our favorite game together until Akiko wanted lunch.
"You know how to make ramen, right?" I asked him.
"Mm! Just tell me where the pot and the oven mitts are." I let him take care of that while I managed to hop on one foot to the TV. There I started unplugging the wires, then placing it on a roll-away flower pot holder, got it into the bedroom, leaving my pot of sweetpeas in the sunlight.
"What are you doing?" Akiko asked.
"Oh, right about now, Death Note is playing." I said. "Ever watch it?"
"No."
"Well, it's about time you have!" I said, still hopping around on one foot.
"Are you sure you can do that, CJ? Maybe you should go back to bed and let me take care of it."
"I can do it. Why does everyone think I can't handle myself?"
"I'm just trying to help." I heard Akiko mutter.
"Sorry, Akiko. It's just… there are a few people at school who are giving me a hard time. They don't like my friends, because they don't know them, so they don't trust them. And they want to control me. They think I can't be with my friends because they don't trust them." I said, trying to explain without giving too much away.
"It's alright, CJ, go ahead and do whatever you were going to do with the TV." Akiko said. I smiled and went back to plugging in the wires as he carried in two cups of steaming ramen.
|!|!|!|!|
I took a deep breath. Don't hit anyone. Don't hit anyone. Don't hit anyone. HAD THESE PEOPLE NEVER SEEN A PAIR OF CRUTCHES BEFORE!
"Will… not… hit…" I muttered. As I worked my way through the crowd, silver bag slung over my shoulder, I came to the stairs. Ah, a new challenge. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a hair band I used to tie back my red tangles. Then, I slung my left crutch over my shoulder on the strap I'd fastened to it so it laid the opposite way of my bag. Ready to rock 'n' roll! I tightened my grip on the crutches and met the new challenge with fierce determination. I raised the crutch of my right hand, placed it on the step, and hopped with my left foot. My balance was a little off because although the crutch increased my clumsiness, my bag was heavier. But I had made it up a step. One down, a hundred to go.
By the time I reached the landing, I had attracted quite an audience. When I finally put my foot down on the top of the stairs, I heard clapping. I turned to see them all applauding and cheering. I attempted a bow, balancing on one foot and one crutch, imitating a flourish to the best of my abilities. A drop of sweat fell to the carpet as I laughed at this odd turn of events. I straightened myself out and looked up at the second flight of stairs. I would do it in half the time, I decided, thrusting out my jaw at the now-seemingly-shrinking steps.
|!|!|!|!|
"Clarissa… what are you doing here?" I heard Ootori ask. I turned to see him shocked, an emotion the cold bas- the evil boy had never shown.
"I came to work."
"You're supposed to be at home." He said.
"Mm. But I got crutches!" I held one up to show him, almost hitting him in the head.
"Kyoya-san… you're not going to make her work if she's using crutches, are you?" I heard Souh asked. I turned to see the twins, Souh, and Haruhi all staring at Ootori with accusing looks.
"What? No, she insisted on coming here in this condition." He said, for once caught off guard. I was loving this.
"He's right." I had to admit, although it would've been fun to play along. "I have a job, and I came here to do it. I'm perfectly capable of working." I felt their eyes slide down my crutches, then back up to my face with doubtful expressions. "I can handle it!" I yelled, and hop-swung away, thankful for the extra padding Akiko and I had placed on the armrests.
Akiko and I had watched two episodes of Death Note, beat his DS game, and were bored when Uncle Hideki showed up with my crutches. They were brand new and very boring but Akiko and I had the idea to customize them, and I proudly sported a sticker-covered crutch on each arm with all the amenities we could squeeze on there. I had straps, extra padding, a holder for the MP3 I didn't own and another for a cell phone that was empty for the same reason, a water bottle holder I was actually using, and a harmonica strapped to the side. Why I would need a harmonica, I didn't know, but it was reassuring to have something so blatantly out of place. Kind of how I felt in the Host Club.
Thankfully, they weren't planning on cosplay today. I walked over to where Takashi had already pulled out the tables and was arranging the chairs.
"I'm here now." I told him. He looked up at me, looked back down, and continued working. I was just about to deliver a long list-style lecture on how everyone needed to let me do what I needed to do, when something he said made me stop.
"I'll help." He said, and there was no questioning the command in his tone. I stared, aghast, for a few seconds until I managed to snap out of it and start working. Sure, I could tell him I didn't need help, but I didn't think that was about to stop him. Instead, I tried my best to do most of the work and actually managed. Takashi getting the tables and half the chairs done already helped.
It was when I got to the china that I stopped. How was I supposed to do this without breaking some and adding to my debt? I could already here the sound of far off giggles. The girls would be here soon. I looked around, trying to remain calm, when I saw a teacart. Perfect. I grabbed it, awkwardly rolled it to the closet, and moved all the china onto it. Then I crossed my fingers, took a deep breath, and pushed it back. As I passed the Host Club, sitting on two of the parallel sofas, they appeared to be having a meeting of some sort. I ignored them and set the tea sets out as quickly as I dared. Then I put the cart back where it was, hopped over to the closet, and pulled out the bigger pot Haruhi used when she needed to pour water into the smaller teapots on each table.
As soon as I set it down, the doors opened and the rose petals that seemingly came out of nowhere fluttered into the guests' eyes. I frowned as the Host Club got up and assumed their position.
"Wel-" They were interrupted by my crossing the room.
"Don't mind me. Go back to your business." I said, hop-swinging towards the chair I usually studied in. It was fairly quiet in that corner, and well away from the Hosts' usual shenanigans.
"Ah… Chandler… san… we've been wondering, how did you hurt your ankle?" I heard a girl ask. It stopped me dead in my tracks. I wasn't sure if I wanted any of these psycho girls that fell for the crazy antics Souh called "entertaining" to know my name.
"Uh, that is… I sprained it walking home the day before yesterday."
"Oh. That's too bad." I heard them murmur. I was just about to continue on when they started talking again.
"Going up the stairs that way was very brave and strong of you." One of the girls said. "Didn't you know about the elevator?" I suddenly wanted the Earth to swallow me up.
"Ah… no." I admitted sheepishly.
"Oh, does your ankle hurt very bad?" Another girl asked. At this point I was too embarrassed about the elevator to be rude.
"Not really, unless I step on it." I said. It occurred to me that none of the girls were making a beeline for the chairs of the different Host's designated areas. They were mostly clustered around the door. I wondered what the Host Club was thinking and turned my head a little just to catch a few stunned faces. Interesting.
"My brother was very impressed by your feat." One girl said. All I could think about was that I was annoying Souh and the twins. And maybe Ootori, if I was lucky. I felt as evil as Kira. "He was wondering, since I said I saw you in the Host Club, if he could request you sometime."
"Sure… I mean, what? What did you just say?" I said, brought out of my gloating.
"Ladies, may I please have a word with Clarissa-chan?" Ootori said, pulling me carefully away. "Clarissa, the offer for becoming a host still stands. Or rather, hostess, despite the fact this feels a bit trite."
"Ootori, you must be out of your bloody mind!"
"Please hear me out. Your pay will increase; you can still do your other job. There are only benefits. Boys will be less prone to swooning." Suddenly I liked the idea of a bargain… a bargain in my favor!
"Only if there are no more attempts to control me."
"Deal. But Renge may want an interview, we reserve the right to sell photos of you to your fans, and no protests if Mori-kun wants to help you again."
"Not so fast! I also want the right to send away any guests that are… rowdy or creepy or just plain weird."
"Fine." He said. I smiled. So what if the scary girl from under the floor wanted an interview, Ootori wanted pictures, Takashi wanted to help, and I was going to be a Host…ess? I had just secured my freedom from their annoying "help".
"Oh-Hohohoho!" Renge's voice echoed throughout the room. "And so, the era of the Hostess begins!" I shut her out and made my way over to my chair while Ootori announced to the girls that I was now available for request. Phones were pulled out, thumbs were typing, texts were sent, and I managed to get all my math and half of my science homework done.
"Clara-chan, Kyoya said you can sit over there." I looked up to see Honey, pointing to a sofa and a few chairs arranged in a circle.
"Oh, thanks, Honey-senpai!" I said. I stuffed my homework in my bag and hop-swung over to the area and sat. I didn't have long to wait. The first guys came in a group of four. I recognized them from my class, but couldn't remember their names. They sat down and smiled at me.
"H-hi." The first one said. He had short, spiky black hair and hazel eyes that couldn't seem to make up their mind about what color they wanted to be, black or green-brown. Everytime I looked at him, they seemed to change again.
"Hi." I said. "I'm Clarissa." All it took was the memory of the elevator and I was too embarrassed about it to even think about being rude.
They introduced themselves, but I quickly forgot their names. Now the silence became a little awkward.
"So, Clarissa-san, how did you hurt your ankle?" The third one asked. He had a reddish color of brown hair and brown eyes. If I gave them nicknames, perhaps I could keep better track of them?
"Uh, I tripped walking home a few days ago." I said. "I was wearing those shoes with the really big heel… stilettos."
"Oh." The first one said, nodding his head nervously. He could be Mouse-san. The third one looked eager and seemed more physically fit than the others… Hawk-san? The fourth was wearing round glasses and had lighter brown hair than the rest. Owl-san. And the second was unbelievable… his flawless skin was the pale color of white chocolate, his eyes a light red-brown that resembled milk chocolate, and his hair a glossy dark brown that looked like dark chocolate. Yummy-san.
"So, how about we get to know each other…" I said. "Like, um, we can go around in a circle and tell each other five things about ourselves?"
"Sounds like a good idea." Yummy-san said. "I'll start and we can go counter-clockwise. My favorite color is green because I like lizards."
"Alright! Looks like I'm next." Hawk-san said. "I have a little brother that hates me and trashed my car this morning."
"Oh, uh, me… um… I like to watch racing on the TV." Mouse-san said.
"I have a scar on one shoulder and on my hand from a knife." I said. "I like martial arts and it's one of the marks I got from when I started learning how to fight with real weapons and my training armor was faulty. It reminds me of how dangerous it is not knowing how to protect oneself."
"My favorite author died last week. My dad knew him from when they were both in college, and he was invited to his funeral. The first time I saw him was at the wake."
We went in a circle again four more times. I learned that Owl-san did not like to give out too much personal information, Hawk-san liked to complain, and Yummy-san was just plain weird. Mouse-san was more interesting than his appearance and behavior suggested. I told them about how I was half-English, Robert Frost was my favorite poet and I wanted to see the places he wrote about some day, that my favorite cousin helped decorate my crutches, and that I collected panda-printed mugs and pillows. There were plenty of other things, but I didn't want them to know everything, did I?
Afterward there was an awkward silence until I asked if they wanted tea. After I poured them each a cup we had more awkward silence. I thought of a saying I had learned from surfing the net in England about awkward silences, and laughed.
"What's so funny, Clarissa-san?" Hawk-san asked.
"It's just something I thought of… never mind. Why don't we play a game? Ah, I know, let's narrate for the other Hosts! Who wants to be who? I claim Souh!" I said, turning around on the couch so I could see what the other Hosts were doing. We were far enough away from Souh, Haruhi, and the twins so we couldn't hear anything, but it was easier to hear the girls at the table for Takashi and Honey.
"Uh… okay, Kyoya." Owl-san said, choosing the dignified one.
"No, you can't choose Ootori. He's too boring. Or Takashi-senpai, unless you do thoughts." I said, since all Ootori was doing was writing.
"I want to do Mori-senpai's thoughts!" Yummy-san said.
"Then I guess I'll choose Haruhi." Owl-san said.
"The twins!" Hawk-san, already in the spirit. They got up and joined me so the couch shielded us; except for our eyes.
"Then I guess I'll, uh, be Honey." Mouse-san said. "Cake, cake. I want cake." I cracked up at his flat way of saying it and he smiled, loosening up a little.
"Ah! Souh is walking over to Haruhi! He's saying 'Haruhi! Haruhi! We're all out of commoners' instant coffee! What do we do? We're all doooooomed!' Now, Haruhi will answer back." I said.
"Tamaki. I'll just go to the store and get some. Why are you freaking out and hugging me? Get off!" Owl-san said, wrinkling his nose as Souh grabbed Haruhi so tight her face turned red. She pushed Souh off and as she dusted off her pants, the twins entered the scene.
"Oh? To the store? Why, when we have this delicious gourmet coffee right here? In fact, it's so gourmet that we're going to start hugging Haruhi and each other in a questionable way!" Hawk-san said, as the twins did that weird embrace thing they do to Haruhi.
"Ah! Let go, let go! Haruhi has to go to the store and buy us some coffee! We can't have the gourmet; instant is the only kind this Host Club will drink! Let go of Haruhi!" I said.
"Honey to the rescue! Super-bunny swinging attack! Ahh, I missed!" Mouse-san said as Honey swirled his Usa-chan around the room in circles.
"Should I sneak up behind Tamaki with that broom I'm staring so intensely at, or should I stay here? Hit Tamaki, stay here. Hit Tamaki, stay here…" I giggled, as I often thought of doing that exact thing to make Souh shut up.
"Why do I suddenly feel cold shivers of fear running down my spine?" I said as Tamaki yelled at the twins again.
"Don't ask us, why do you?" Hawk-san said, laughing as the twins yelled something right back.
"Guys, coffee, remember?" Owl-san said as Haruhi gave one of her "Oh-great-kill-me-now" faces.
"Honey to the rescue again!" Honey was making his second round about the room. "Oh, cake! Captain, plot an immediate course to that table! Om nom nom!" We all laughed so hard that for a second Takashi looked towards the couch and we all ducked.
"Staring at the broom. Staring at the broom. Staring at the wait, what? Was that laughter? No, must focus, or the broom will never turn into a pony! Staring at the broom. Staring at the broom." That was the last straw. We all cracked up Yummy-san's weird narration, because we could totally picture Takashi doing that.
"What, exactly, are you doing?"
A/N: Hehehehehe so I wonder who that could be? It's not that hard iof you use some logic and subtraction... I guess I fail at suspense after all. Meh, wasn't really trying.
Anyways, the computer is failing like a whale (haha wow I really should not make jokes -puns included- after eating Doritos) so the next chappie will be slow in coming. Oh well. Like I said before, I can't exactly update until I get a few reviews saying who Clarissa should end up with.
On that note, who does everyone like to see Haruhi with? I will seriously write anyone except Honey with her. But y'gotta tell me cause I can't mind-read. Not that I would like to anyway, because I'm sure peoples' minds are filled with a lotta stuff I'd be better off not knowing. And eventually I'd go crazy. I think mind-reading is a pretty lame-o superpower. But that is irrelevant. I digress. (is that the right word... I dunno... I think of Degrassi, a show I've never even seen, whenever someone says that word.)
SO REVIEW. STOP RIGHT THERE. Click the button. DO IT! If you don't understand why, you need to read my author's notes... like NOW. Seriously, it's not that hard, p'sheesh (don't ask), here's a format you can use.
Hey, I really _*insert feeling/emotion here*_ed your story/fanfic. Your character sounds _*insert adjective here*_. I think she should end up with _*insert host or type 'OC' here*_, and if you add _*insert host here*_, it would really be _*insert positive adjective here*_. I ship _*insert first two syllables of host's name here*_Haru, and will give you a _*insert object here. Cookies prefferred, will accept more Doritos or other foodstuffs*_ if you include them! Update soon!
_*insert your username, nickname, psuedonym, penname, name, or the name of the nearest orange object here*_
Just fill in the ( _*thisisanexamplelol*_ ) blanks! Seriously, feel free to use, I actually would feel sad if no one used it :( because I took the time to type it. But as long as you tell me, I don't care.
Disclaimer: I own neither OHSHC nor Doritos...