It was the first day of Matthew and Alfred's new found duties to the Ouran High School Host Club. They arrived at the school fifteen minutes early, and they waltzed into the large formerly abandoned music room. The sun had just risen outside, warming the cool air that entrapped the town. There was nothing quite like walking to school in the morning, Alfred thought. The goosebumps on his skin had vanished, leaving him with a toasty warmth that tingled down his spin. The rough buzzing of Clarence Clemon's saxophone in "Jungleland" made his ears buzz, giving him excitement like a small child running through a toy store. He and Matthew sauntered up to Kyoya, who was sitting at a mahogany table, typing away on his laptop like a robot processing a new organism on another planet. His thin glasses shimmered from the reflective light on the screen.
"Glad you could get here on time." Kyoya said without looking up from the laptop. "Wanted to let you know the protocol for the day. Basically, do nothing illegal. That's it. The customers are very forgiving when it comes to the Host Club, so be creative. today will be a normal host club day, so you'll be getting a group of customers, and you'll entertain them. That's basically it."
Alfred raised his hand. "So, dude. I know I'm a hero and all that, but how could I be one here? I can't exactly do my role unless something happens."
Kyoya sighed and pushed up his glasses towards the top of his nose. "Think of something. Maybe the Hitachiins will pull some prank, and you could swoop in and save the day. Creativity is key. Just don''t burn a house down for an ant problem. You two will be fine."
Matthew looked at Kyoya with a worried expression. His back was tense, and he had a tough time sleeping the night before. Even though he wanted to take a proverbial leap of faith and dunk himself into the murky waters of high school life, his chronic nervousness and tension plagued him. He looked next to him at his twin. Alfred was smirking, his eyes twinkling with curiosity and confidence. His chest was puffed out like an owl ready to strike a running field mouse at night. He turned and quickly walked out of the room, breathing slightly faster than before. Alfred scurried after him as they walked to their first class. He put his hand on Matthew's shoulders as Matthew closed his eyes and held his breath.
"Ten seconds. Let it out." Alfred said.
Matthew blew a hot stream of air into the cool honeysuckle atmosphere of the school. He looked at Alfred, who had a small frown on his face. "I heard you pacing in the room last night."
Matthew scratched the back of his head before lowering it, fixing his eyes on the white marble floor. "Those walls are pretty thin, aren't they."
"No one's forcing us to do this." Alfred put his hand under Matthew's angular chin and lifted his head up, forcing him to look at him. "Don't feel like you need to prove anything."
"Everything will be just fine, Al. Let's go to class." Matthew shuffled past him, leaving Alfred to look at his twin brother, a ghost of doubt and worry washing across the confidence that once embodied him.
"So in 1814, who was the main leader of the American forces that drove down the British to the Gulf of Mexico in the battle of New Orleans."
A hand shot up, making Mr. Abernathy look around the classroom for any other volunteers, to no avail. He pointed at the hand, and Alfred lowered it.
"Andrew Jackson." Alfred said with a small frown on his face.
"Right. Now let's keep it going. Reviewing is important. This test is coming from what you all know. Not me."
Alfred leaned his elbow onto the windowsill, making a small cloud of fog on the cool windowpane. He saw the town in front of him with cars that swept in every direction towards and away from the blurry horizon. The colors of the different buildings and people's clothing in town were more diverse than the rainforest ecosystem of the Amazon River. Next to him, Matthew tapped his finger on the wooden desk, clicking his fingernail onto the dusty surface while looking up at the frozen clock of Mister Abernathy's obviously fake hair.
The mystique of the large double doors at the end of the pink hallway shimmered with the aura of the dirty glitz and high-society muddle that was heard from beyond the two wooden portals. Matthew and Alfred walked inside, and found Tamaki running around with an emerald vase in his hands. He was shouting out in unintelligible garble akin to a drunk man at a swanky bar in uptown Greenwich Village after New Years' Eve. Hikaru and Kaoru were scanning each other with lint rollers, collecting the dust and hair that clinged onto them with static electricity. Kyoya was calmly sitting at the front desk, awaiting the sea of customers that would crash into the shores of the music room any second. Honey already had a large dish of yellow cake in front of him, topped with chocolate-dipped strawberries. He laughed as he clanged a spoon onto the dish, impatiently waiting for his cue to begin his sugary quest for satisfaction. Mori sat with a stoic expression in front of him, resting his head on his strong arm. Finally, Haruhi was sitting on the couch as quiet as the hallways outside.
Tamaki spotted the twins, and pointed at a table. "Alfred, sit at that one. Matthew, mon cher, the chair by the stereo system is yours. Good luck, and hop-sing. Haruhi! Why aren't you spraying the perfume I got you?" Tamaki scurried over to the brown-haired cross dresser, who had her arms crossed in annoyance.
Alfred winked at Matthew and walked over to the table with a glass vase of white roses planted in the middle, with a cup of steaming min tea waiting for him. Matthew quickly walked over to the table by a silver stereo system with large black vertical speakers almost as tall as himself rested behind him. He sat there, and tapped his foot to the soft trumpet playing and the crooning singer's silk vocals.
"You like it, mon cher? Bobby Darin is one of my favorites, behind Elton John, of course." Tamaki said to Kyoya, who was penciling in his notebook.
"Of course you'd like Elton John." Kyoya snapped at him.
Just as the pink clock above the main door struck four, the wide doors opened, revealing a swarm of yellow-dresses sailing past the entryway and filing over the room like spreading water spilled onto a floor. A number of girls talked amongst themselves, chattering animatedly as they saw the two new hosts seated at separate tables. Alfred winked at a pair of brown-haired girls, who laughed in return and flocked towards him. Three girls automatically headed towards Matthew, making his back frozen stiff as he started to become overcome by his pressure-sensitive nerves. He mentally chastised himself to keep his cool. He clasped his hands together in front of him, and put on a small smile. He adjusted his glasses on his face as the three sat down. The one directly in front of him appeared to be the trio's leader, having the others follow her around like baby geese. She had flowing, straight chestnut hair, and dark-chocolate eyes. The other two sat beside her as they reached for the tea cups in front of them.
"So you're the new host. What's your name, cutie?" The ringleader winked at him, causing Matthew to lean back slightly.
"I'm C-Matthew. Alfred's over there. He's my brother." Matthew nodded his head towards Alfred, who was making large gestures into the sky, making the two girls by him to cover their mouths to stifle giggles.
"He looks fun, but it's the quietest ones who have the wildest times, am I right?" The girl said as she leaned forward.
Matthew laughed nervously. "I'm sorry, but it's been a while since such beautiful girls have talked to me like this."
The two girls next to the main girl squealed in delight while the brown-haired girl laughed. "Your so silly. You must have had all the girls on you where your from. Which is?"
"Canada."
"So are you part french?" The girl on the left asked excitedly.
Matthew smiled and nodded while ruffling his hair. The two girls wrapped their heads behind the middle girl's back, talking in high-pitched tones to high for males to comprehend accurately. The girl on the left turned back to Matthew and clapped her hands together. "I'm sorry. you're so far away from home."
"Well, it is a long trip, but if I come across girl's like you, I won't feel as alone." Matthew said.
"I bet that's not all that's long, if your french." The middle girl winked again and smirked at Matthew.
Matthew's face grew redder than a small boy holding his breath to win an argument. He chuckled nervously and took a sip of the tea to ease his tension. The three girls gawked at him, and let out a simultaneous "Aww."
"So ladies, what makes you happy?" Matthew said with a shaky grin. The girls looked at each other, and the middle girl raised an eyebrow.
"Just in a general type way?" She asked. Matthew nodded.
"I guess seeing hunky guys like you." The other two girls nodded in agreement. Matthew's face flushed again as the middle girl leaned forward.
"Now, Mister Shy Guy, what do you see in a girl?"
Matthew took another sip of his tea, letting the warm liquid swish down his throat. "I just like a girl that knows I'm here. For her, and for needs, and a girl that can love herself."
Matthew smiled as the girls let out noises of awe again, and he looked across the room, squinting his eyes as his vision darted to Alfred. Alfred sat in front of a couple of girls, who held each other's hands as Alfred spoke with the speed of a diving eagle.
"So then Arthur fell into the water. He's always had trouble with water, which is hilarious since he was a pir-he always wanted to be a pirate when he grew up. There was nobody there, and the water was close to frozen solid on the surface. So, I took an anchor that was laying on the dock and flung it in. Alfred shaped the air around him and flicked his hands like he was throwing something away from him. "After it plunged it, I swam down and saw him. His face had turned blue, so his day was close to ruined. I dragged him up and we flopped on the dock like a bunch of fish." Alfred took a sip from his tea as the two girls gasped in fear.
"What happened to your friend?" One of the girls asked.
Alfred set down his small white mug with a clatter, and he gave the girls a thumbs up. "It was no big deal, because I saved the day. He wasn't breathing, so i swallowed my pride, and locked lips with him. I blew air of life into him, and then he started to breath again. He got hypothermia, but he recovered after a few weeks. He pretends he was embarrassed, but he was grateful."
The girls clapped as they held wide grins on their heart-shaped faces. "That must be tough, to see your friend almost die."
"Crazier things have happened. I tease him about preforming CPR now and again, but I would do it again in a heartbeat."
The girls squealed and leaned closer towards each other. "You wouldn't mind kissing him."
"Absolutely not. As a matter of fact, if the same thing happened to you, I would do the exact same thing. Maybe even a little longer, just to make sure." Alfred said with a wink from his ocean-blue eyes. The girls blushed furiously and covered their mouths in excited glee.
Lean in close. I want to tell you a secret." Alfred shifted his eyes and leaned forward and cupped his hands around his lips, masking the secret he was going to tell them. "The truth is, Arthur is madly in love with me. Every day since then, I can see the sparkle of love in his eyes. Now, heroes want everybody to be happy, but I'm only into hot, smart girls like yourselves," The girls reddened once again like they were being sun-burnt. "So, I need to lay him down gently, but I have an idea. How about one day I bring him here, and you two can help whip him into romantic shape. That way, he can chase the French guy I was talking about, and you two can be heroes like me. We'll have even more in common." Alfred lowered the tone of his voice. The girls nodded their heads, bouncing in their chairs like excited children.
With much more blushing and menial small-talk, along with a healthy mixture of suggestive incest from the Hitachiin twins and flirting, the Host Club shut down for the day. The crew cleaned up quickly, and Tamaki came up to the twins and threw his arms around each of their necks, giving them kisses on their cheeks. "well done, my amazing proteges. Those few you started out with already requested you two again. And those few are going to grow. Soon, you'll have so many people around you, you won't be able to breath." Tamaki laughed and rushed out of the room, his bag in tow. Alfred and Matthew gave each other questioning glances. Alfred smiled, causing Matthew to chuckle slightly. They fist-bumped each other, and then they turned towards the door.
"We broke down the first wall of high school, Mattie. Now we ride out the waves." Alfred said.
Matthew looked at the door while bumping his shoulder with Alfred. "Sometimes you have to run with the bulls, Al. We might escape without causing a war."
They both chuckled and heaved open the heavy doors before disappearing behind the walls. Kyoya looked at them, and down at the financial spreadsheet in front of him. He sighed, and marked down a few numbers.
"They may prove useful yet. If only I knew who these Canadimerican idiots are."
It's not that I have anything less worthy to do, but these are not to hard to churn out. As always, long reviews and suggestions for the future of the story are held closely and dear to me. Thank you, and check out the awards I'm setting up.
