Author Note:
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~The Nerdlings

Chapter 6- The Health Of A Nerdling:

Chris:

I yawned as I woke up. It took me a minute or two to realize that- 1. I was on the couch at 'home.' 2. My head was in Lori's lap. 3. I must have made a giant fool of myself.

I looked to Lori, who was focused on the TV as Harry Potter played.

"I thought you said you weren't going to continue the marathon without me," I yawned.

"Well look who's awake," she laughed, "It's already like eight o'clock."

"So, how was I," I asked as I got up, referring to what happened at the Host Club.

Honestly, everything was a bit of a blur and I was pretty embarrassed. Lori just laughed,

"You were a fucking dumbass," she wiped an imaginary tear from her eye, "I didn't even know you could cart wheel!"

"... I can cartwheel," I muttered. Then what she said processed and I hit her arm,

"Lori! Language!"

She just shrugged, but didn't really apologize. By now, I should realize that it was useless to try and get her to stop cursing and I knew it was. It was just something... fun I supposed- to just bicker with her.

I stood up and ignored Lori's laughter at my 'bed head.'

"I better get changed," I yawned.

"Chris?"

"Yeah?"

"Look down."

I did as asked and my eyes bulged,

"Who changed me?"

"You did, dumbass," Lori laughed, "When we got home, you insisted on changing into PJs, and as soon as I had changed and came out here to watch Harry Potter, you plopped down on the couch anf fell asleep. Don't you remember? You were muttering about a certain third year and a certain twin.~"

I turned red,

"...I don't think I want to remember now from that look on your face."

Lori laughed.

"Whatever, I'm going to bed. I got less sleep than you did."

Lori:

I was way tired-I was surprised I actually managed to stay up for twenty four hours straight as well. Last time I stayed up that late I didn't last very long, and that was a little under a year ago when the nightmares were almost every time I so much a closed my eyes.

When I got to my room I almost didn't change into my pajamas. Then I realized if I wanted the blissful sleep I desperately craved, I would need my PJ pants and Thor shirt.

When I was done changing, I flopped down on the bed. Thankfully, since I almost threw up on the first night, it was a regular bed with aqua green sheets and a light blue pillow, along with my stuffed octopus. I couldn't sleep unless I was touching someone or something, and Bill fit the bill for that.

Heh, play on words. At times like these I'm glad I named him Bill.


"Miss Lori, you can wake up now," Sebby said flipping on the light switch. I groaned and pulled my pillow over my head.

"It burns, I'm going to melt."

"Not with that many covers on."

I glared at him under my pillow and got out of bed, not even realizing that instead of my Thor shirt, I was wearing a black tank top.

"Hm. Must have gotten hot."

I turned towards the closet and heard a gasp from Mamoru.

"What's-"

Then I realized that I was in a tank top that more or less showed the majority of the scar Derek had given me.

"Oh, don't worry about it, it happened a long time ago."

He just stood there shocked with his mouth hanging open. I walked over, closed his mouth, turned him around, and pushed him out of my room.

After that awkward stage of the day, I put an over shirt over the tank top and put on a pair of jeans and my combat boots. Soon after, it was just the normal routine. I met Chris for breakfast downstairs and we left for school.

I still kind of felt the shock oozing out of our personal Sebby, and I was afraid that he would think different of me and that things would be tense between us.

Thankfully, I was good at hiding my emotions. I didn't want Chris to ask questions or get worried, so I didn't tell her-not yet anyway. I told myself I would after hosting hours and we were safely in one of our rooms.

Not only was I good at hiding my emotions, but I was also bottled things up inside. That was probably because I was over protective, but to be honest, I would rather worry my head over someone over having them worry over me.

Chris:

I knew that something happened between 'Sebby' and Lori. I could guess what happened- I was Slytherin for a reason. I knew that Sebby saw her scar and honestly, I felt sad for her and him. He didn't sign up for all the drama that was us. However, I didn't bring it up since I knew we would be talking about it later and we will talk about it later.

I knew it was still bothering Lori and it was still bothering me too- seeing her like that. I knew, however, that Lori didn't like being pitied so I didn't. I just... I didn't want to see my best friend, my sister, go through that and deal with all the nightmares. So I did what I could do- I was there for her when she needed me.

School was quieter than usual, even in a class with Tamaki. I was sore from the cart wheels that I had apparently did yesterday, I was still tired, and I wasn't in a good mood. However, like Lori, I didn't show it.

"Ah, is my poor little daughter nervous for her first day of hosting today?"

"Nope," I smiled, "Because I'll rock it!"

"And just what you think that," Kyoya asked as he pushed up his glasses.

"Why Kyoya," I batted my eyes, "Of course I can do it. I am, after all, a hostess... Watch."

I could only imagine why Lori was giving me a 'what the hell' look as I dropped my pencil and gently kicked it behind me- smooth operator baby. turned to the guys behind us.

"Hey," I whispered, "Could you hand me my pencil please," I batted my eyelashes sweetly.

The guy looked flustered,

"U-uh sure..."

He reached down, grabbed my pencil, and handed it back to me.

"H-here."

"Aw, thanks, you're a sweetie," I smiled, "Hey, have you heard of the Host Club?"

"No," he scowled, "Why would I do I look gay or something?"

Tamaki had went into his 'emo corner' but I ignored him.

"Of course you're not gay," I winked, "But I thought you'd be a member since you're so handsome and I was thinking and I haven't seen you there."

I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear sheepishly,

"See, I just joined. I'm the new hostess! So.. since you're not a host, can you come visit me there sometime? It'd be really nice to see you," I smiled, "And your friends! Oh, speaking of friends, my friend, Lori, over there, gets pretty lonely in the club too so you could always visit her too! I'm sure you'll her!"

The guy was beat red as he nodded enthusiastically. I smiled and after a quick 'thanks' I turned back to face the front. Lori was laughing,

"You sneaky little shit," she laughed.

I nudged her,

"Language."

Kyoya pushed up his glasses,

"...Slightly impressive. Quite a natural. Though I do hope you act more like your type in the host club while maintaining that level of flirt. That goes for you as well, Lori."

"You got it Shadow King," Lori and I said in union.

His eyes flashed,

"And just how did you know of my nickname?"

His eyes were screaming murder and I was sure that our faces screamed 'murder victim.' I turned to Lori,

"Wait... his nickname really is Shadow King?"

Third Person:

"Come my nerdling," Lori said as she ran to the Host Club.

Chris followed a bit slowly, huffing and panting as she ran. Lori was the first to reach the Host Club,

"Run, nerdling, run," Lori yelled out the door.

"Nerdling," Hikaru asked as he shared a look with his twin.

The twins shrugged and decided to not question it.

"She'll be here in a second," Lori explained.

Soon afterwards, Chris appeared. She stopped and hunched over, her hands on her knees.

"...Not running...ever again... you... hairy nipple."

The twins burst into laughter,

"Hairy nipple," Hikaru wiped a tear from his eye.

"-That's a good one," Kaoru finished and the two began laughing again.

Lori looked at Chris concerned, but Chris waved her off. She didn't want to worry Lori by telling her that her lungs felt like they were being tighter than Ciel Phantomhive's corset.

"Interesting," Kyoya said as he pushed up his glasses, "With all of your health conditions, you really shouldn't be running."

"Is that...," Chris huffed, "...a sign of compassion?"

Lori was back at Chris' side.

"Chris, are you sure you're okay?"

"...Peachy," Chris panted, "...just...catching my... breath."

Finally giving in to Lori's look, Chris grabbed her inhaler and took a hit. After a second, she started to breath normal again and was able to stand up straight.

"Health conditions," Hunny asked concerned, "What's wrong, Chris-chan?"

Kaoru also looked at Kyoya curiously and Hikaru gave a look to his twin. Weird, he's never paid that much attention to anyone else before.

"Christina Venn has a history of bad health," Kyoya informed, "Not only has she had asthma since she as a young child, but she's deaf in the left year as of last year due to a complication in surgery for a brain tumor."

"A brain tumor," Hunny and Kaoru whispered.

"My poor daughter," Tamaki wailed.

"Specifically, it was Acoustic Neuroma- a tumor that was behind the ear. According to records, she still experiences short spells that cause spasms, lost of balance, hearing ringing, headaches, and a few times she has stopped breathing for up to 30 seconds. She currently takes a muscle relaxer and a medicine for anxiety. Quite troublesome, really."

Chris glared heavily at Kyoya. She held Lori back to give Kyoya a piece of her mind herself.

"You smelly crotch-sniffing Nazi," Chris said as she poked Kyoya in the chest, "You have no right to be in my health records and you had no right to tell everyone without my consent! I don't flippin' care who you are or what your family does, but one more incident like this and all connections to our family's business- mine of which, I may remind you, helps yours a lot in America. Unless you want your daddy dearest upset with you for losing his American connections and branches because he will lose them. THEN KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT YOU LITTLE-"

Lori put her hand over Chris' mouth to keep her from cursing, but both girls were still glaring at Kyoya. Neither of them were happy in the least. I know my little nerdling has health problems, Lori thought, but damn it Kyoya, you little shit.

Hunny looked at Chris sadly on the verge of tears. Tamaki and the twins were clutching each other as they cried. Takashi even looked saddened and Haruhi as well. Kyoya, however, felt... different. He only told because he thought that the Host Club deserved to know in case Chris had a fit or stopped breathing. Telling them now saved the issues of panic later should an emergency health issue arise.

As soon as Chris and Lori were calm, Hunny tackled Chris.

"WAH! I'm so sorry, Chris-chan!"

Chris looked shocked that Hunny was not only hugging her, but hanging onto her.

"It's...okay?"

"Yeah, sorry," Hikaru and Kaoru said in union.

"So," Lori said to change the subject before her last nerve snapped, "What's the cosplay?"

"I thought you were deciding," the twins asked in union.

"No," Kyoya said, "They have informed me that they will cash in on their other cosplay in the future. For today, we cosplay Marvel."


When the hosting started, everyone was ready and in costume. Kyoya was Loki- as Chris, Lori, and the twins agreed that he was a 'little shit.'

Tamaki was Iron Man and Takashi was Captain America. Hunny was Agent Coulson, who had on a suit that was too big and Takashi's helmet which was also kind of large on him. Haruhi was Hawkeye, Kaoru was the Spider-Man, Hikaru was the black Spider-Man, Lori was Iron Fist and Chris was dressed as the Black Widow.

Lori however, skipped the mask. It didn't have a hole in the back for her to let her hair through. Then again, it didn't really matter whether she had it on or not. There have been plenty of Iron Fists that hadn't had the mask-it would have been useless when the enemies tracked them by their chi and not their faces.

"Shall we partner up, my little nerdling?" Lori asked Chris, linking her arm in with Chris'.

Chris smiled and nodded.

"This is going to be fun."

A few minutes later the clients came in. A few were stunned that there were two hostesses but quickly shook it off and went to their favorite. The guys on the other hand went straight for the girls.

"So, why did you decide to join the host club," Boy number one asked.

Chris smiled.

"We figured we spent a lot of time here anyway so why not just join, you know?"

The boy nodded.

"That's nice. I'm glad you two are fitting in well, you guys would be perfect for a host club actually."

Lori and Chris both blushed slightly.

"Thanks," they said in unison.

"Would you like any tea or something?" Chris asked.

The boys nodded.

"Okay, I'll be back in a few minutes then."

With that, she left them.

One guy with black hair scooted closer towards Lori, taking Chris's spot and squishing her against the armrest.

"C-could you scoot back just a little bit?" She asked nervously.

"Why? Hosts are supposed to entertain us, aren't they?"

Lori gulped.

"I don't think it's like that though..."

He just smiled and leaned in more. He was so close she could feel his breath on her neck.


Kaoru watched as Hikaru fumed slightly when they glanced over at Lori. She was being pushed up against the armrest of the couch by some pervert. It was obvious she was uncomfortable and none of her other clients did anything to help her.

Then he looked over to Chris and smiled slightly. Though he knew that he found her really pretty and cute, especially since the Black Widow cosplay really showed off her curves and figure... But he wouldn't do anything about it- not when it was obvious that Hunny had feelings for her.

"Excuse me ladies," Hikaru said standing up, "There's something I need to take care of."

Kaoru watched as Hikaru walked over to Lori, most likely asking how she was doing. By the look on his face he could tell she was doing fine, but her eyes screamed for help. Kaoru then watched as his twin did the most unexpected thing.

Hikaru squeezed in between the boy and Lori and started talking with each of them. Lori looked a bit flushed but soon wiped it off of her face as she started talking about the history of the four Robins from her Batman comics. A few minutes later, Chris came back with refreshment and Hikaru came back over to Kaoru.

"Is everything okay over there," one girl asked concerned. He nodded.

"Yeah. Don't worry about it."

They then started doing their 'brotherly love' act.

Chris:
I was happy that I got Black Widow since she was awesome and kick-butt. I could understand why Lori chose Iron Fist since that was her favorite superhero... Still not as good as Batman dang it.

But the Black Widow doesn't have to go get tea, I pouted slightly. I headed over to Hunny,

"Agent Coulson," I greeted formally with a nod.

Hunny turned to look at me with a piece of cake in his mouth. I turned to Takashi,

"Has he shown you the trading cards yet?"

Takashi's eyes showed amusement,

"Yes."

I looked at him a bit shocked, but covered it up. Of course he talks I just didn't expect an actual word- I expected the usual "Hmm."

I giggled at Hunny with the large helmet on his head,

"Agent Coulson," I giggled, "The tea is over there isn't it?"

Hunny nodded,

"Yep that's right, Chris-chan... Opps! I mean, Black Spider!"

"Widow," I corrected with a smile, "But close."

He looked a bit embarrassed of his mistake,

"Sorry."

"It's okay," I shrugged, "I didn't expect you to get it right anyways."

I really didn't. I knew full well that the poor members of the club were superhero-inclined. They didn't even know what DC or Marvel was! I pitied the poor fools.

"But you like Marvel and DC and all the superheroes," Hunny wailed, "So I should know some of them too!"

"You really don't have to... But if it makes you feel better, I'll teach you about Batman and The Justice League later."

I turned to the girls,

"By the way, The Justice League is totally better than the Avengers," I winked.

Then I headed to get the tea, but as I was bringing it back, I realized two things. One- there was a pervert messing with Lori. Two- Hikaru was the one defending her. Huh, maybe he's got a crush on her? I smiled wickedly, oh those two would be perfect for each other.

Either way, when I got over there, Hikaru excused himself. I turned to the pervert,

"Oh, I'm sorry, but dear, you're sitting in my seat."

"You can always sit in my lap, it's more comfortable," he eyed me up and down.

"Honestly," I giggled, hiding my disgust, "I'm pretty sure that the couch is better. At least it's big enough."

The male customers plus Lori, got the joke and busted a gut. The pervert looked angry as he stomped out of Music Room Three.

Lori:

I was really thankful for what Hikaru did for me. I don't like tight spaces and I feel extremely uncomfortable around pervy guys like that. True, most of them had been staring at my boobs but at least they didn't try and make a move on me. That was just down right disgusting. I didn't even know his name!

I was just glad hosting hours were finally over. I walked over too Chris, who was eating cake with her favorite third year. It was obvious they liked each other, they were both just a little oblivious to it.

I poked her in the side as she took another bite.

"How do you do that?" I asked.

"'o' 'wa'h'?"

I mentally translated it into Do what? I sighed.

"How do you eat without getting fat? Do you now how many girls want that superpower?"

I saw her physically choke on her cake for about half a second and took that as a distraction to steal a strawberry off of her plate.

"Hey," she protested, but I was already chewing it.

"That was my strawberry...Crotch sniffer..."

I laughed at her insults. They never ceased to amaze me.

"Hurry up and finish eating, Sebby will be mad if we're late for dinner again."

She just nodded ad took another bite.

"S 'e' e' 'o' 'wi' 'I' 'ha' 'o' 'ta' to you about that."

I nodded, revealed she didn't say the entire sentence with a mouthful of food.

"Alright, but I have a few of my own things to share. I'm gonna go talk with Hikaru. Holler when you're done."

Chris:

As Hikaru and Lori were chatting, I started to eat cake with Kaoru. Hunny's table seemed to have the best cake. Seriously. Though I had cake with him and I wanted to keep Kaoru company since Lori was talking only to Hikaru.

"~Nom," I bit into the cake.

"You're pretty cute when you do that," Kaoru commented.

When I realized that Kaoru called me cute so my face felt warm.

I hid my face in my faces.

"Are you okay, Chris?"

"Hai," I mumbled, but my face was just getting hotter as Kaoru put his hand on my forehead.

"It's okay to blush, it's cute," he laughed.

"Gah," I put my head on the table and my arms over my head, my face was just about as red as a firetruck.

Lori's right. My gravestone's gonna read 'killed by blushing overload.'


When we got home, I spend no time to lock Lori into my bedroom.

"Talk," I demanded, "Because I know you need to. And I will listen."

I grabbed the chips and multiple cans of pop that I had hidden in the room for emergencies. Besides, it was also habit since I had an older brother that liked to steal my chips (even if they were in my room hence why they were hidden in my room in places like my pillowcase, the fake bottom of a drawer, a book that had been emptied out).

"Comfort food," I said, holding up the chips and pop, "Now... girl talk."

I sat criss-crossed on my bed. I was prepared to listen to Lori and I knew she had a lot to talk about and I had some talking to do myself.

"So I got up in the middle of the night and changed into a tank top, of course, me being half asleep I don't remember this at all. Anyway, when our personal Sebby woke me up, I didn't know I had a tank top on, so when I went to my closet he saw my scar. I feel like our relationship is just going to be awkward now. It's like, he looks at me, and doesn't see me, he sees my scar, and I don't want that. I think of us as friends, and the scar is getting in the way. By the way, can you hand me a Dr. Pepper?"

I handed her the Dr. Pepper as I nodded,

"I understand... Just talk to him, ask him to forget about it, if that's what you want. Tell him why it's there if you want, that's your choice. Personally, I think you should remind him that the scar isn't just a scar, there's a person there too with feelings, a past, a story, and emotions and just act like you normally do."

I took a sip of Mountain Dew that I really shouldn't be drinking so late.

"Act like nothing happened," I continued, "After all, you're not required to acknowledge it and give him an explanation, it's all your choice."

Lori nodded.

"I guess. But this whole thing has got me thinking as well..."

I looked expectantly at her.

"Ummm," she started, rubbing the back of her neck, "D-do you think I should tell the hosts too? Or do you think they already know, you know, because Kyo-yo and his medical records and everything..."

I snorted at 'Kyo-yo', but I shook my head and smiled comfortingly,

"It's your decision to tell them when you're ready. I don't think Kyoya has told them yet, especially since Tamaki would have made a big deal out of it, ya know? I think... I think that they will find out eventually, when I don't know, but it will happen whether it be from the cosplay we were or Kyoya tells them or you tell them... And I think you should tell them before Kyoya does or they found out another way. I mean, I didn't want them to know about my health history since it still effects me and it's my issue to deal with so you should only tell them when you're ready."

Lori nodded and took a sip of her soda.

"Ah, drink of the gods... You're probably right, but is there ever really a good time to tell them I have a huge scar saying 'heartless bitch' on my back made by my ex boyfriend? Even that's stretching what little luck I have left. What if they don't want to hang with me anymore? What if they start hardcore worrying over me? That's not something I really want to put them through, you know?"

Lori groaned.

"Stupid insecurities," she muttered.

I resisted the urge to hug her senseless from the minor fear of turning into Tamaki.

"Yeah. I know... Lori, I don't think that it will make them not want to be friends with you anymore, I mean, they're not like that- at least from what I can tell. I can't tell you that they won't worry, 'cause they will. I still worry. The thing is the worrying isn't from that scar. The worrying is just of you because you're my best friend and like a sister to me and I don't want anything bad to happen to you. Because I can't change the past, but if I can, I just want a good future for ya. That's what being a best friend and sister is all about, right? I'm sure the hosts will feel the same I do."

She did something kind of unexpected next. Lori hugged me.

"Thanks. How do you know exactly what to say?"

I just shrugged and she chuckled slightly.

"So...Wanna watch Spaceballs?"

"You know it."