Chapter 10

Requirements Are Overrated

"The Host Club will be holding a spring Masquerade Ball!"

Rose and Lilly's heads perked up, along with the rest of the Host Club. Tamaki was getting the meeting ready with a bang, standing in the center of the room with his arms outstretched. "Eh? You mean, like, dancing in a mask?" Rose asked, the idea still not pleasing to her.

"Of course!" Tamaki was already off, hitting a montage of dramatic poses straight out of a photo shoot, "What better way to welcome spring then behind the masks of winter?"

Rose raised an eyebrow. Lilly's brow furrowed. Haruhi groaned quietly to herself, not anticipating the event.

Hikaru and Kaoru were already concocting a few plans in their heads. "Of course, you'll come, right?" Kaoru asked Lilly, slinging his arm around her shoulders while she sat in a chair.

Lilly looked over to Rose, who was glaring at Hikaru, knowing something was up. "We get to choose what we wear, right?" Lilly asked.

"Of course, of course!" Hikaru was leaning against the table, shooing the thought away with his hands. "But you'll come, right?"

"And watch you host the entire time? Heh, not me! Lilly can go because of Kaoru, but I'm going to be stuck in a closet that locks from the outside again," Rose rose (A/N: No pun intended) from her chair, directing all her complaints to Hikaru. He winced a bit at the memory of the last ball.

Rose didn't stick around for an answer. "I'm going to head home," she grumbled, already out the door.

"What was that about?" Hikaru raised an eyebrow, staring at where Rose had just been. The rest of the Host Club was thinking more or less the same thing.

Lilly chuckled. "That," she pointed out, "Was Rose Gengara on only three hours of sleep."

Rose and Lilly were fast asleep in their room that night, dreaming away to what Saturday, or tomorrow, might hold. Rose had finally managed to get some more shut-eye, buried in her sheets, when she heard a very familiar ring tone. She groaned, looking over at the alarm clock on her nightstand. It was 5 in the morning. Someone was making a death wish if they were calling Rose at 5 A.M. when she had only a few hours of sleep the night before.

You see, Rose and Lilly may be similar, but one of their biggest differences was mornings. Neither of them wanted to get out of bed, but once Lilly threw her covers off and splashed her face with a bit of warm water, she was good to go for the rest of the morning.

Rose, however, shared a morning attitude not too different from the Shadow King and Hunny; only she tended to only snap when someone talked to her too much. Other than that, she was just grumbly and her mind was groggy.

Rose reached out her hand, fumbling around her nightstand to find her cell phone. Lilly groaned a bit in her sleep, pulling the sheets over her head. Rose searched a little faster, until she finally managed to feebly flip open the phone and hiss into the receiver, "This had better be pretty damn important if you're willing to wake me up before the sun's up on a Saturday!"

Rose's eyes widened a bit as the caller was revealed to her, seeing as how she was too tired to look at the Caller I.D. "Calm down, princess." She knew the voice all too well.

"Hikaru Hitachiin, I suggest you hang up now, or you'll have five days to live."

Hikaru winced, remembering Lilly's words. He was in the bathroom, trying not to disturb Kaoru. He told her truthfully, "I can't go to sleep."

"And…?" Rose wanted to speed this up so she could hang up already.

Hikaru sighed, "And I have something to get off my chest."

This would be the part that Rose shot up in bed, wondering why Hikaru would call her to talk to her about something that seemed to be so important. This would be the part where Hikaru poured his heart out, and they talked on and on for hours. This would be the part that Hikaru and Rose realized their true feelings and confessed, and then it would be the part where they meet somewhere in the afternoon to have the time of their lives.

But there were two key factors. One, this was Rose Gengara on below minimum sleep, and two, this was Hikaru Hitachiin, who wasn't good at 'pouring his heart out'. Rose hissed, "So why don't you try calling someone else?"

Hikaru sat on the bathroom sink counter, stunned. She was right. Why had he called her first? Normally, he would try to go back to sleep, maybe even wake up Kaoru, or call another host, but this time, he had chosen Rose. He kept telling himself it was to bug her, but it was more like he was trying to convince himself. He responded, snapping, "Well, why don't you just hang up?"

Rose was too sleepy to mumble a comeback, so she simply stated, "That's a good idea. Be prepared to die tomorrow for calling me at 5 in the damn morning." And with that she hung up, dropping her head back onto her pillow, letting the cell phone fall into the bed.

She told herself to ignore the cell phone ringing the first time Hikaru tried calling her back. It was obvious to her that he wanted to annoy her, although that was a wrong assumption. She told herself to ignore it again on the second and third time it rang. She made herself reject the call the fourth, fifth, and sixth time. She finally just turned her phone off and dropped it on the ground by the seventh attempt.

Rose smirked to herself, beginning to drift off. No more Hikaru Hitachiin to annoy her… Until the home phone rang.

She couldn't ignore it anymore, or Lilly would wake up. Rose grumbled as she picked it up, "Hikaru, here's a thought. Try calling your mom who's with our mom on the other side of the world. It's the afternoon there, so she'll actually talk to you."

"Eh, I don't really talk much to Mom."

Rose sat, slightly stunned at how calmly he said that, as if it were just a fact he had gotten used to. She quickly shook herself out of it. "Alright, I'll talk to you. You have five minutes while I go downstairs and make myself a pot of coffee, seeing as how it's already 6, and I won't be getting any more sleep, no thanks to you, to convince me I shouldn't hang up right now."

Rose began making her way down the stairs, the kitchen within sight as Hikaru explained, "It's about the Masquerade Ball."

Rose sighed, pulling out some instant coffee and a mug. "Look, I'm not going no matter how hard you try to convince me."

"That's not it." That definitely got Rose's attention. Hikaru took a deep breath, and told her, "After you left, Tamaki told us it's actually a ball for the entire school, the Host Club is just arranging it."

"So?"

"Dates are required."

"…"

"…"

"And you're calling me because…?"

"I have absolutely no idea what to do!"

Rose rubbed her temples, trying to get her brain to work. She poured herself a cup of coffee, taking a sip. "Okay," she asked him, "How serious is it?"

"How serious is what?"

"… Don't annoy me with yours stupidity in the morning if you want to live. The dates! Friendly dates, date dates, what?"

"Oh, I have no idea. Tamaki barely gave us any information."

"…"

"Rose?"

"You're not helping, Hikaru…" she growled, her teeth grinding. She took a deep breath. "Well, who do you know that you could take as a friendly date?"

"Why do you think I called you?"

"Okay,,, What about Haruhi?"

"Now you're being stupid. That would blow her secret to the school!"

"Sorry, but my brain can't work when a certain someone has woken me up at 5," she mumbled, taking another sip of her coffee and taking out a granola bar for breakfast.

"Well, I guess I could take one of Mom's models for her teen line," Hikaru bit his lip. For some reason, his mind was praying that Rose would say no, that she would argue, just do anything. Hikaru wasn't planning on asking her, though…

"Well, sounds good." Hikaru's hear dropped in his chest. Rose sounded fully awake, and munching on a granola bar.

"Yeah, um… thanks."

"Hikaru?"

"Yeah?" His heart began to lift. Was she going to argue now? Or say something even more important?

"That doesn't mean you're off the hook for making me wake up early. I suggest you have an ambulance ready at all times."

"Perfection!" Tamaki was oohing and ahhing at how amazing the inner courtyard looked for the ball later that day. It was Monday, after school, and the Host Club was decorating for the school's Masquerade Ball… with the help of a few professional decorators, a highly skilled construction team, and the finest imported goods.

"Uh, is this their idea of 'just a little get together'?" the Gengara Twins mused, remembering Tamaki's words earlier. The courtyard was designed so it resembled a Victorian era garden (A/N: Google it), the pond and floral maze still intact.

Haruhi sighed, "Yes."

Kaoru walked over to Lilly, beaming. "Do you like it? Hikaru and I picked out the flowers and decided where to put them."

Lilly put on a small smile. "It looks beautiful."

Rose rolled her eyes. She looked around, asking, "Is there some sort of theme to it?" She knew the answer faster than Tamaki could make a lady faint.

"Of course!" Rose should've placed a bet on it. Tamaki came up to her, admiring a fountain. "It's done in the Victorian style to fit our Victorian costumes! Doesn't it look magnificent?"

Before Rose could open her mouth, Lilly elbowed her. Lilly told him, holding Kaoru's hand, "It's actually really nice."

Hikaru was watching from a distance. He kept looking at Rose, his mind a hurricane of thoughts. He didn't want to ask her to the ball, and yet he almost did… He wanted her to argue earlier, and yet he didn't… So many contradictions, so little time.

Kyoya looked up from some blueprints an architect was showing him, telling the hosts, "I need everyone to please tell me whom they are taking to the ball to make sure that we have no problems as far as that goes."

Rose grumbled, turning to head off to her limo, "Well, I can go home now, seeing as how I'm not even going."

Hikaru whipped it out faster than Kyoya could, surprising them all by yelling, "It's a school requirement!" He wanted Rose to come. Yes, he wanted her to come, but not for the reasons he told himself. Hikaru had a plan, a plan to bug the crap out of her, and he needed her there. But as I said before, that wasn't completely true…

Rose was frozen. For a second, the Host Club was afraid of what she might do. Lilly simply chuckled a bit to herself as her twin stomped back, grumbling, "Requirements are overrated."

"Yes, well, I shall be taking the young Miss Kimiko," Tamaki told them, Kyoya nodding and writing down a note. Miss Kimiko was a fellow classmate of theirs, and hadn't stopped gushing about how Tamaki had asked her.

Kaoru rolled his eyes. "Honestly, Kyoya, you must be blind if you can't tell I'm taking Lilly."

Lilly whispered into Kaoru's ear, "Why do you think he wears glasses?"

Kyoya moved on, Hunny telling him that he was taking one of his family friends and Mori was taking a female classmate of theirs.

Kyoya nodded, simply stating that he had managed to get Ayame to be his date. (A/N: Ayame is in the manga, if you hadn't read it, Google it along with an image of a Victorian garden)

Haruhi reminded him that he had forced her to take a classmate of hers called Yuki. She also silently remembered to herself all of Tamaki's complaints about how Haurhi shouldn't have a female date seeing as how she was a girl herself, and that she should just tell the school her secret already so that, and I quote, "Daddy can see his little girl truly blossom into the beautiful flower that she is inside and outside.

The only one left was Hikaru. He was prepared. He stood up from his seat on a brick wall, calmly stating, "I'll be taking Masumi Ichigo, a model for my mom's teen line. I realized you've never seen or met her, so I've asked her to come."

Sure enough, a young model stepped out from the entrance to the courtyard from the school, and Rose felt a pang of jealousy stab at her heart. Masumi was tall and elegant, the kind of girl that even fellow models might be jealous of. She was so tall that in her low heels she was Hikaru's height, and she was curvy. Her long and silky ebony hair was cut in layers, and her emerald eyes popped and glowed. Her skin was ivory and fair, not a single blemish in sight. Her makeup was perfect, and her clothes flattering to say the least.

"Hello," her voice was light and charming, like a silver bell. Her smile was perfect and petite, making her look humble and honest, "I'm Masumi."

"No duh," Rose hissed to herself, feeling envy and rage at the same time.

Hikaru noticed Rose's looks, and smiled smugly to himself. Step 1 was a success. He motioned to a metal patio table and chair. "Why don't you take a seat, Masumi? We're finishing up anyway, and then we can give you a ride home so you can get ready."

Rose felt another rush of rage as Masumi took a graceful seat in the chair, her voice clear and ringing, "Thank you, Hikaru. But please, take your time. I'd hate to be a burden to you or any of your friends."

'Beauty and manners? Next thing you know, she'll be able to fly,' Rose thought in disgust. She didn't hide it on her face. She mentally shook her head clear of thoughts, and put on a small, fake smile. She approached Masumi. It was time for a bit of an interview.

"Hello," Masumi greeted politely, looking Rose in the eyes. "Do you happen to be a friend of Hikaru's?"

"Of sorts," Rose replied with an equally charming smile.

Masumi laughed, and it sounded like bells chiming. Rose felt another urge to hit her. "You must be Rose. Hikaru has talked about you."

Rose's ears perked. "Oh, really?"

"He told me that you're the one who gave him the advice to ask one of his mother's models to accompany him. Is that true?"

Rose thought back to their conversation. "I suppose."

Masumi gave her a grateful smile, her voice sincere, "I would like to extend my deepest thanks to you. I have been admiring Hikaru from afar for quite some time now, but without your help, he may have never even noticed me. I think there's really been a connection."

Rose felt her heart stop. A connection, huh? Rose felt another stab of envy shoot through her. She mentally shook it off. "So, is modeling your only career plan?" This girl had to have a fault.

"Oh, heavens no. I love modeling, but I can't do it forever. I've already applied for a few law schools in Japan, along with some highly regarded schools in America. You may have heard of them. Harvard, Duke, Yale, the likes. I hope to become either a lawyer or a doctor, but for now I'm focused on my high school education and having as much fun modeling as I can while I still can."

"How… lovely." Rose tried hard to keep the irritation from her voice.

"Will you be attending the ball this evening?" Masumi asked innocently.

Rose was about to spit out a no, when an idea made its way into her head. Her mouth was moving before she knew it, telling her, "Oh, absolutely. It's a school requirement, but I would come even if it wasn't."

"Really?!" the entire Host Club was now listening, but Hikaru had been the one to ask, coming to pick Masumi up.

Rose cast them a smile. She turned to the Shadow King, asking, "Dates are required?"

"Yes." Only Kyoya and Lilly knew what was going on in Rose's head.

Rose waved them off, starting the walk to her limo. "I'll see you there!" she yelled to them, not bothering to look over her shoulder.

Kaoru looked down at Lilly. "Care to explain your twin's sudden mood swing?"

"No." Before he could protest, Lilly gave him a quick peck on the cheek and ran off to join her sister.

Kyoya never looked up from his clipboard. He smiled smugly at the host's confused faces, mumbling, "This should prove to be one interesting night."

Disclaimer: You know the drill.

Yay! I finally got this up! (does happy dance) We're now into double digits for chapters, baby!

A big thank you to all of you who have reviewed. I hope that all of you are liking how it's turning out, but new ideas are welcome!

So, obviously next shall be the ball itself! Stay tuned for the humor, drama, romance, and Host Club!