Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran Highschool Host Club!
But I DO own Madeline (Lizzie), Edward, Alex, and my other OCs!
Thanks to Extended Experience and awesome (guest) for reviewing! I'm so glad you guys like it!
I've been really busy. . . and just plain lazy. Hey. I'm a procrastinator. So sorry! Sorry about the late update. I'm going to try to update every two weeks or so. So, that means less frequent updates than what I've been hoping to accomplish. :( Oh, well.
Now, to the next chapter before I just start to ramble.
Enjoy!
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
It was a week before the contest. Everyone else had talked us into signing up. Tamaki had suggested a great duet for us to sing and perform together. There was a small problem though; it wasn't a piano song. So, we came up with a piano duet accompaniment all on our own to play along with the vocals. I personally thought it was beautiful. It was simple, which was probably the complete opposite of what Lobelia had planned. I supposed we just had to cross our fingers and do our best on that one. The rest of the Host Club still had no idea what we were doing, since we refused to tell them or practice on front of them. We wanted to surprise them.
The people taking over my country hadn't tried anything in a long time. No threats, no guns, no suspicious characters. . . I was starting to get anxiety from waiting for them to do something. I almost wished they would just show up already. My parents were still imprisoned, but still alive- thankfully.
I was helping Haruhi with her English homework when one of the large double doors opened. Everyone turned to see the man standing in the doorway. To our surprise, it was the chairman, Tamaki's father.
"Hello." he greeted with a warm smile.
"Hello." we all greeted back in unison, a bit blandly.
"What a nice surprise to see you here, father." Tamaki said with a smile.
"It's nice to see you too, Tamaki." he said. "There's something I wish to talk to you and Miss Elizabeth about." he said, a small smile still plastered on his face. Tamaki looked a bit worried.
"A-Alright." he said. Mr. Suoh walked over to a sofa and sat down, making himself comfortable. He gestured for us to sit down beside him. I sat on his right, Tamaki on his left.
"Tamaki," Mr. Suoh said, getting right to the point. "What is your relationship with this girl?" The smile I had on my face was now forced. He hadn't told him yet? I slowly leaned forward so that Tamaki was in my view.
"Tamaki." I hissed through my teeth. His face was a bright shade of pink. His eyes flickered over to me, a smile stuck on his face as well.
"Yes?" he hissed back. Mr. Suoh had an amused look on his face.
"You haven't told him?" I asked.
"Not exactly." he said. "I never thought to." I sweat-dropped and a vein pulsed in my head. 'I swear, he has the worst memory ever!'
"Well." I said, my eyes flicking to Mr. Suoh for a second. "Tell him." Tamaki nodded nervously and I leaned back once more.
"Well, father." Tamaki started, a sheepish look on his face. "L-Lizzie and I-I-I a-are. . ." then, he trailed off. A light bulb seemed to light up in his eyes. "W-what makes you a-ask in the f-first place?" he asked nervously.
"These." Mr. Suoh said, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a stack of pictures, and fanned them out for us to see. They were pictures of Tamaki. Mostly Tamaki and I together. There were several pictures of us together and smiling, the pictures having to be taken unsuspectingly. There were also a few pictures of us. . . kissing. Or, making out. How he got his hands on those was a mystery to me. Tamaki and I blushed a vibrant red.
"H-How. . .?" I managed to say.
"I asked a few of your friends for some pictures of Tamaki, since I don't have much of any. I found some normal pictures, like what I had expected. But, I found some of these mixed up in here." he said, gesturing to a picture of Tamaki and I. It just happened to be the one when Tamaki had confessed his love to me, and he was straddling me, also kissing me. Then, it occurred to me. I knew exactly who was responsible.
Hikaru and Kaoru.
"So, could you explain to me what is going on, Tamaki?" Mr. Suoh asked, amusement written all over his face. He seemed to be enjoying this. Sadist.
"Uhh. . . I-I. . ." Tamaki stuttered, a bead of sweat rolling down his temple.
". . . Well?" Mr. Suoh asked, staring him in the eye.
"She-she's m-m-my. . . g-g-girl-girlfriend." Tamaki managed to choke out, his face as red as it could be.
"You just confirmed my suspicious." Mr. Suoh said, placing the pictures back into his pocket. "Well, congratulations, Tamaki and Miss Elizabeth." he said with a smile.
"T-Thank you?" I said, although it sounded more like a question. The next thing I knew, he was holding one of my hands between two of his, and a red rose was in my palm.
"Tamaki is very lucky to have a young woman like yourself." he said, turning on the charm. 'I see where Tamaki gets his flirtatious ways from.' I thought to myself as I could see Tamaki glaring at the back of his head.
"Thank you, Mr. Suoh." I replied cheerfully, giving him a closed-eye smile.
"Father!" Tamaki shouted. Then, he began raging. While he was yelling, Mr. Suoh turned to me and said, "Has he told you he loved you yet?" I nodded my head in conformation. Tamaki was too busy throwing a fit to even take notice of out conversation. Mr. Suoh smiled softly.
"I'm glad." he said, then he watched Tamaki, love for his son in his eyes. "I'm supposing you returned his feelings?"
"Yes, sir." I said, holding back a laugh as Tamaki started ranting to the twins about how it was rude to give pictures of someone to someone else without asking first.
"Good." Mr. Suoh said with a smile. "I'm glad he's finally happy. He always cares so much about others that he hardly thinks of himself anymore. Will you continue to make him happy?" Mr. Suoh asked, turning to me. "Not just for my sake, or his sake, but for all of our sakes." I nodded and smiled. He returned my smile in full.
"Of course, Mr. Suoh." I said.
"Ever since Tamaki hasn't been allowed to see his mother," he began, and I saw the sadness beginning to gather in his eyes. I had heard from the club members about Tamaki's family situation. "he hasn't been quite as happy as he used to be. I'm glad to finally see the light and happiness in his eyes again." I smiled brightly. I never knew I made Tamaki that happy. It made me content to hear that from his father.
"I promise I'll make him happy." I said, turning my body to face Mr. Suoh. "I love him too much not to." Mr. Suoh's smile widened a bit at my words. He nodded softly.
"Thank you." he said. Then, he patted my arm gently and turned back to Tamaki, as did I.
"-so rude! You should learn to be proper gentlemen!" Tamaki hissed at the twins.
"We were only doing what the chairman asked!" Hikaru said, throwing his arm around Kaoru's shoulders.
"Who are we to deny his requests?" Kaoru asked. Tamaki crossed his arms and pouted.
"You could have at least asked first, still." he huffed, glaring.
"Are you going to come to the contest next week?" I asked Mr. Suoh, turning my head back to him.
"I'm planning on it." he said, turning to face me. I saw out of the corner of my eye that my question had caught Tamaki's attention. "I'm also going to try to persuade Tamaki's grandmother to come along as well." my eyebrows raised at this. From what I've heard, Tamaki's grandmother despises Tamaki. How would he ever persuade her?
"I have a plan." he said, then he gave me a wink. I smiled and nodded.
"Winking at my girlfriend." Tamaki muttered under his breath, glaring out the window.
"He wouldn't have to if you did it yourself!" I called out to Tamaki. He froze in his tracks. I saw his eyes widen, and he turned his head to me. Then, he smiled a seductive smile and winked straight at me. I tried not to laugh. He only did that because he was jealous. I couldn't stop a few giggles from escaping my lips.
"Are you laughing at me?" Tamaki asked, a mildly hurt expression crossing his face. "Was it not good enough?" then, he began winking rapidly, only making everyone laugh. Then, he went into his corner and pouted.
"This is no way to act in front of your girlfriend." Mr. Suoh said, amusement written all over his face. Tamaki didn't respond. Mr. Suoh turned to me and smiled wryly, then gently took hold of my arm and stood, me following suit.
"Seeming as you're not going to, I suppose I'll take Miss Elizabeth out for a bite to eat." he said, and began leading me towards the door. I tried so hard not to laugh at Tamaki's reaction. He jumped up, a look of horror on his face. Then, he yelled at the top of his lungs.
"FATHER!"
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
It was now about three hours until the contest. Tamaki and I had our piece perfected by now, and we were ready to show Lobelia who was boss. The entire Host Club had shown up at Tamaki's mansion- my temporary home. The twins had bags in hand, devilish grins on their faces. They had picked out our outfits for the contest, even though we hadn't seen them yet. Everyone was dressed and ready to go, except for Tamaki and I. Haruhi was dressed like a boy since there was a chance of us seeing some of our customers.
The twins had pushed Tamaki into his room, wanting to dress him up first. When he came out about twenty minutes later, he was groomed to perfection. He was wearing a black suit with a white button-up shirt, black pressed pants, black shiny dress shoes, a red tie, and a red rose was in his breast pocket. His hair was even more golden than usual, and his violet eyes stood out beautifully. I felt a faint blush cross my cheeks.
"You look very handsome, Tamaki." I said as casually as I could, trying to play off my nervousness at his sexiness. He smiled at me.
"Thank you, Lizzie." he said, and he winked at me. He had been winking at me at least three times a day now. Not like I minded. "Is that a blush I see?" he asked, bending down to be level with my face.
"N-No." I said, lifting up my hands to cover my cheeks with my palms. He grabbed my wrists an moved them, staring intently at me. This only made my cheeks turn pinker.
"You are blushing!" Tamaki said as he smiled widely. "Do you find me. . . attractive?" he asked seductively. He had been flirting with me a lot lately, ever since Mr. Suoh had found out about our relationship. He probably thought that I had hinted he didn't flirt enough with me. I was flushed practically 24/7!
"Uhh. . ." I said, not thinking of anything else to say.
"Aww!" Tamaki cooed. "You're just so cute!" he pressed his cheek to mine and nuzzled them together. I laughed lightly at him.
"If you're done now," Hikaru started.
"We would like to get Lizzie dressed." Kaoru finished, both of them rolling their eyes exaggeratedly. Tamaki stepped to the side, and I followed between the twins as we began walking to my room. Out of nowhere, I felt someone- or something- blow on my ear. I jumped forward about three feet and spun around, only to see Tamaki standing there with a grin on his face.
"Tamaki!" I shouted. The entire hallway erupted in laughter. I groaned loudly and slowly turned back around and walked towards my room, the twins staggering behind me.
Once we were in the safety of my room, I shut the door, hearing a soft click. Hikaru and Kaoru were sobering up from their laugh fest.
"What am I going to be wearing?" I asked, turning around to face them. Kaoru held up a hanger covered by a bag, hiding my view of the item on the hanger. He removed the bag, and on the hanger was one of the most beautiful dresses I had ever seen.
They left the room and shut the door softly. I marveled at the elegant dress in my hands. I took off my clothes and carefully slipped it on. I turned and looked at myself in the tall mirror.
The dress was a bright red color. It reached past my feet and dragged slightly on the floor. It was A-line and sleeveless, with a V-neck, and thin double straps running along my shoulder blades. There was a 2 inch red sash around my middle. The dress was made of chiffon. It was absolutely stunning. ( .com/store/ product / (Remove the spaces)) I also put on the shoes they had left for me. They were a matching red, and very shiny. They were three-inch heels, with a pointed toe and an ankle strap.
"You can come back in, now." I said loudly, still examining myself in the mirror. I heard the door open, and two sets of slow footsteps walking towards me. I turned to Hikaru and Kaoru and put my hands on my hips, smiling.
"How do I look?" I asked. They gave a wink and a thumbs up.
"Boss is gonna faint when he sees the final product." they said in unison. I laughed, and they led me over to a table and chair, their makeup kit already waiting for us. I sat down in the chair and let them do what they did best.
When they finished, they handed me a mirror. I looked into it and smiled at my reflection. I was wearing bright red lipstick, smokey eyeshadow, and my entire face was practically glowing. I had on diamond dangling earrings. My hair had been brushed thoroughly and curled. Some was laid neatly over my shoulders, the rest trailing down my back.
"Thanks, guys!" I said happily as I set the mirror down. "You did a wonderful job!" they smiled and replied in unison, "Thanks, Lizzie!" then, we all walked to Tamaki's room, where everyone else was waiting.
The twins peeked inside the room, and told everyone that I was ready. Then, they opened the door all the way and stepped to the side to let me enter. I smiled at them and stepped into the room, my heels clicking on the hard, marble floor.
Everyone gave a smile when they saw me. Except for Tamaki, that is. His jaw was hanging too far down for him to be able to. His face turned about as red as my dress. Then, I saw little hearts in his eyes, and he smiled, as if in a daze.
"She's. . . beautiful. . ." he said dreamily. I giggled and walked over to Tamaki, grabbing his hand.
"Let's get going, Tamaki." I said, leading a stumbling, red-faced French-Japanese boy towards the door. "We don't want to be late."
"Uh, uh," was all that Tamaki could manage to say. The others laughed and followed after us downstairs, where Alex and Edward were already waiting for us.
I held onto Tamaki's arm when we got outside, which only seemed to make him even more flustered. When we got into the limo, I noticed Tamaki's knee begin to bounce up and down rapidly. I laced my hands in my lap and twiddled my thumbs. It was dead silent in the limo.
"You guys nervous?" Haruhi spoke up after a moment, breaking the silence. Tamaki and I looked up to her, who was sitting across from us.
"Just a little." I said with a small smile. "What makes you ask?"
"You both just seem anxious." she said, studying us.
"It doesn't help that we're performing last." Tamaki mumbled. Lobelia would be performing right before us. We were all sure their performance was going to be over-the-top, as usual.
"They're saving the best for last!" Honey said encouragingly. I smiled gently at him.
"Thank you, Honey." I said. He giggled and smiled right back.
"What song are you performing?" the twins asked for the eighth time this week.
"We told you already," Tamaki said.
"It's a surprise." I finished for him with a smirk. Most of everyone groaned at our answer. We had refused to practice in front of them, or even tell them the name of the song we chose. So, our performance would be brand new to everyone.
After a few more minutes of riding, we finally arrived at the auditorium where the contest was taking place. We walked in with the rest of the Host Club, but stopped when we reached the doors leading to the audience.
"Good luck, you guys!" Haruhi said, smiling at us.
"Go out there and kick some Lobelia ass!" the twins cheered, giving us thumbs-ups.
"I know Tama-chan and Lizzie-chan can win!" Honey said, his eyes sparkling.
"Good luck, Elizabeth and Tamaki." Kyoya said with a small smile.
"Good luck." Mori's deep baritone voice said.
"You're going do great!" Edward said with a smile.
"We'll be cheering for you!" Alex said with a bright smile. After thanking them for their support, they went into the double doors and found seats. Tamaki and I continued on to where we were to wait for our turn to perform.
Performance by performance went by, and it was getting closer and closer to our turn. Then, it was Lobelia's turn. They passed by us, wearing decent and regular clothing. I was positive that some ridiculous outfit was being worn under it.
"Looks like they actually have the guts to show up." Benio said, her face covered in tons of makeup. The other two girls also wore loads of makeup. "Get ready to lose, Host Club." she said before walking off, not giving us the chance to respond. 'What makes her think she's all high and mighty?' I thought to myself. 'If I could, I would tell her who I really was. Maybe then she might feel bad for the way she's treated us.'
I turned my attention to the monitors in front of me. This was being put all over TV. More pressure; great. Tamaki and I watched as Lobelia's seemingly simple performance turned into a high-scale Broadway show. There were lights all over the place, platforms, special effects, and, of course, ridiculous outfits. Then, their performance began to come to a grand finale. I glanced up at Tamaki, and I saw a forlorn look on his face.
"What's the matter, Tamaki?" I asked.
"Will they come?" he asked quietly after a moment, not meeting my eyes. At first I was a bit confused, but then a light bulb turned on in my head. He was talking about his father and grandmother.
"I can't say." I said, not wanting to give him false hope. "But the Host Club is here." I said, placing a hand on his arm. "As long as you have them, nothing else really matters." I said with a smile.
"And you." he said, taking my hand and holding it gently in his. "You're right, Lizzie." he said, smiling down tenderly at me. "As long as I have my friends, I have all I need right here." he said, then he hugged me gently. I pressed my cheek to his chest and felt for a heartbeat. His heart was pounding and racing at the same time.
"I love you." I said, wrapping my arms around his waist. The sounds and noises of Lobelia's performance were all background sounds and noises now. All that mattered at the moment was the person in front of me. The person I loved very deeply. It didn't matter whether we won or lost. As long as I had Tamaki and the others here, I felt almost complete. Almost.
"I love you, too." he replied, and he pulled away enough so he could look at my face. He pecked me on the lips and released me, standing straight again. "It's our turn." he said, his violet irises watching the Lobelia girls come backstage, the crowd chanting "Lobelia!" over and over.
"Beat that, Host Club." one of the girls said, smirking at us. I wasn't paying much attention to them any more because Tamaki and I were just about to walk onstage. The curtains had closed, and a large grand piano was being pushed and positioned on the stage. I heard the host speaking into a microphone.
"And now, our last performance of the night!" he said, his voice booming. "The part you've all been waiting for! Elizabeth Swansea, and Tamaki Suoh from Ouran Academy!" the crowd roared. Tamaki and I were hoping to say something with this song. Hopefully everyone would understand the message. I took a deep breath and glanced up at Tamaki one more time. We smiled at each other. The curtain began to open, and we began walking onstage.
'Showtime.'
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
That's the chapter! Sorry it took me so damn long to post it. I'm so mad at myself right now. In the next chapter, Lizzie and Tamaki will be performing their song (yay!), and you'll (probably) find out who the winner is. Unless I feel like being mean and making you wait. * smirk *
Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Remember to read, review, follow, and favorite!
Thanks for reading!
Byeeeeeeeeee! :)