Dr4g0nQu33n : I'm glad that you are enjoying this story so far. And thank you! ^-^
Chapter 3
Ignored
I was minding my own business as I sat at my desk with my hand resting on top of my palm. My eyes were trained to the clouds through the window. I couldn't deny that I was not really paying much attention to everything going around me. I was lost in deep thoughts about how my life had gotten so chaotic. It was only my second day at this school and I already wanted to be graduating so I could be out of here.
"I see that you are still the center of attention," I heard a familiar voice say as the person sat at the desk in front of me. I turned my head forward to look at her. She had turned in her chair to smile at me. She still had her hair all messed around her and her thick glasses. I could understand why people believed she was a guy but she couldn't fool me. After all, I was a girl pretending to be a guy.
"Hm?" I let out. She turned her head in the direction of the door. I moved my gaze in that direction to see a mob of girls looking through the entrance eyes staring at me. I blinked at them all as they smiled and blushed at me. I looked away feeling awkward that girls were checking me out.
"You know," Haruhi start, "For a movie star, you aren't as arrogant as I thought you would be."
"Thank you?" I replied, unsure if I should take it as a compliment or not.
She laughed, "Sorry. What I meant to say is that you are not what I expected, which is a good thing."
I shrugged. I wondered if Adrian would have been insulted. Knowing him, he would have shrugged it off or laughed. My brother may be a star but he didn't let it go to his head. I mean, hello? I was pretending to be him so he could have a normal high school experience. He didn't want to be in the spotlight all the time. I honestly didn't understand how he could ever want to have the spotlight. But we were different.
A hand suddenly slammed on top of my desk. "Don't think you are all that just because all the girls at this school are giving all their attention to you," I lifted my head up to spot an angry boy, "Just because your some actor doesn't mean you-"
"What's going on here?" I heard another familiar voice before I spotted the twins as they walked towards us.
"Is this guy bothering you?" the other twin asked as he looked at me.
The first one that spoke was already in the angry guy's face, staring down at him with an unimpressed glare, "I'm sure he wasn't. He'd be stupid if he did."
The second twin looked at them, "Yes. He would." He pointed at the entrances of the class as they were crowded with girls. "You are making a scene."
"Would hate for you to get in trouble," he smirked.
The angry boy looked away in terror as he started to back away from the confusingly intimidating twins, "I… I…" He kept backing away before turning around and sprinting right out of the door.
"That wasn't really necessary, Hikaru," I looked at the twin that had been smirking. He looked at me as his smirked dropped at his jaw tensed. I turned to his brother, "You too, Kaoru. You didn't have to go to all this trouble." He blinked at me for a few seconds before I looked away and looked at a smiling Haruhi.
"How?" I snapped my gaze back to Hikaru who looked at me with an angry look. I tilted my head to the side, confused as to what he meant. "How do you keep doing that?"
I frowned, "Doing what?" He just stared at me as if trying to figure me out. Kaoru was looking between us, unsure what to do. I was sure he must be debating if he should cut in or not. I realization came to mind, "You mean, tell the two of you apart?" Once again, he remained silent as he stared at me. I sighed, "If that is what you mean then that would be a stupid question. You and Kaoru are two different people. You might be twins but there are things that make the two of you unique." They were now both staring at me as if I had grown two heads. "What? Did I say something weird?"
I blushed as I looked away in embarrassment. I instantly regretted talking to them. I should have kept that to myself. I was just glad I hadn't slipped up and told them about when my brother and I were kids. When no one could tell us apart unless we were undressed. Don't get me wrong. It was fun to pull pranks on people. We had even done it to our parents a few times growing up. But it hurt when your friends couldn't tell who you were. It was like you weren't your own person. I loved my brother more than anything but we were two different people. I guess that was why I had studied Hikaru and Kaoru so much yesterday so I could tell them apart. I knew what it had felt like.
"That was amazing," Haruhi said. I turned to look at her. I watched as she looked between the two of them, "I wouldn't be able to tell them apart. But I don't know them well enough for that yet." She turned back to me with a smile, "You're amazing, Yukimura-san. In one day you were able to tell them apart."
My cheeks heated up even more, "It's not that amazing." I felt so self-conscious again. I blurted out, "Adrian." She blinked at me in confusion. "You can call me Adrian," I turned to the two boys that were zoning out, "You two as well. Please call me Adrian. We are friends, right?"
Hikaru's eyes narrowed, "Why the hell would I be friends with an idiot like you?" He stepped away in anger before choosing a desk to sit.
"..." All I could do was stare at him as he crossed arms over his chest and looked away.
"Um…" Kaoru started before he moved to go sit next to his brother.
I turned to look at Haruhi with confusion before we both shrugged. The teacher walked in to start the class soon after that. The crowd of girls had long since disappeared so they could go to their own classes.
XXX
I opened the door the walk into the classroom. I had been a little later than usual because Adrian had been running late this morning. Yesterday his interview had been postponed for a quick commercial he had to film. He had come home past midnight. His bedhead was luckily hidden by the wig but he had bags under his eyes. It had been clear that he was exhausted. I was shocked that he was as peppy as usual. I guess he was used to the busy schedule.
My eyes locked on the three people I was more familiar with. Hikaru and Kaoru were crowded around Haruhi as she sat at her desk. I almost didn't recognize her. "Looking good, Haruhi," I said as I walked towards her.
She smiled at me before looking down at the male uniform she now wore, "Yeah. It's not as comfortable as my own clothes though."
"Tsk," I turned to look at the twins, "Come on, Kaoru. The air here smells bad now." Hikaru moved away to go sit somewhere far away from me.
I looked at Kaoru, "What is his problem?"
"I-"
"Kaoru!"
He looked apologetically at me before saying, "Yeah. Smells awful." He turned to go join his brother.
Haruhi and I shared a look before I moved to settle into my seat behind her, "Boys are weird."
She laughed as she shifted to look back at me, "Aren't you a boy?" Oh. Right.
I bit my bottom lip, "Yeah. But that doesn't make us boys any less weird." She laughed again as she nodded her head. "So, what did I miss?" I asked her as I gestured to her uniform.
"I somehow became a host," she said as she scratched the back of her head with an awkward laugh.
"Really?" I said as I tilted my head to the side.
She nodded her head, "Yeah." She came closer and whispered, "Please keep my gender between us. This is the fastest way I can pay off that vase."
"Sure," I agreed. "Your secret's safe with me." I suddenly felt sick to my stomach for lying to her about who I really was. She easily told me this and I was the one being dishonest.
She looked relieved, "Thank you, Yu- Adrian."
"Um," I turned my head to look up at a girl that stood next to me. She looked flustered as she spoke, "I was wondering… when you'd be back at the host club…" I looked behind her shoulder to see that there was a crowd of girls looking and listening in. No doubt they had made her ask me.
"I don't know," I answered, "A few days. I have an audition tonight and tomorrow I have an interview. It would have to be after that."
She perked up, "An audition? You're going to be in another movie?"
I shrugged, "If I get the part, yeah."
Her face looked down at me with excitement, "You will! You're the best! There's no way you can't get the part!"
Hear that, bro? Everyone has got your back. They all want you to succeed. I wouldn't know what to do with all that pressure. My brother was amazing. I could see why he had so many fans.
"Thank you," I said, "Means a lot. I will do my best to not make you a liar."
She blushed and looked like she was about to faint, "O-oh no. I… I was just telling the truth. I umm…" She looked awkward before saying, "Well, bye." She quickly turned around, holding her cheeks as she walked away towards the other girls. Class soon started after that.
XXX
The next day was similar. Hikaru would ignore me while Kaoru would follow his brother. I still had no idea what it was that I did to make him so angry. Hikaru was confusing and unreadable. That was how I could tell them apart. It was like Hikaru was holding things back while Kaoru's eyes were more open. I don't know how to explain it better than that. Haruhi had told me about the girl who had tried to sabotage her. She also told me that she had been found out by the whole host club that she was a girl but she still wanted to keep it a secret for her to get the money to pay them back. She had asked me how my (Adrian's) audition went. I could tell her that I got it. Well, my brother did get the part after all. He would start at the end of summer. He had plenty of time to get the lines down and get into character. She even told me good luck on the interview. It wasn't going to be me but it still meant a lot that she told me that. All in all, I had really found a good friend in Haruhi. I was glad we had met.
The next day after that was basically the same. I was still ignored by Hikaru. I was still able to have a proper conversation with Haruhi. She told me about the cosplay they had done the day before. It was some sort of tropical theme. I was glad I had missed it. There was no way I could begin to explain that I can't just show off my chest. I had dodged a bullet. I hoped there wouldn't be many of those shirtless cosplays in the future. Otherwise, I'm in deep shit.
"I think it was so sweet," one of the girls that were standing in front of me said. I was in the hall about to leave for the day when I had been ambushed.
"The way you talked about your childhood friend was adorable," another said.
I was trying my hardest not to let my eye twitch. I had watched Adrian's interview. He had been as charismatic as usual: winking at the crowd and being secretive about certain details. It was just enough to get his fans at the edge of their seats. But what had gotten me annoyed was when he brought my existence up. He talked about his 'childhood friend Aiden Chase' and how we had been separated for a few years before he came to live in Japan. Fine, I get why he brought it up because we would be seen together and it was best it would be brought out that way but still. He wasn't the one with his fans gushing about it all.
Although, I had to admit that him bringing up the fact that 'he' was in a host club was smooth. He told them that he was always looking for opportunities to grow as an actor by trying everything in the event that he would have to play a part similar to it. It was a genius move. The reporter had gushed over how amazing that Adrian put all his efforts into everything he did. She was right. It really was.
"Ladies," I started, "If you don't mind, I need to go to the host club now."
"Of course!" they squealed, "We will see you when you open!" They rushed off in excitement.
I sighed as I rubbed my forehead, "When does this get any easier?"
"You want to walk together to the club?"
I jumped in my place before snapping my head towards the person, "Haruhi. You scared me." I really didn't hear her coming.
She smiled, "Sorry. I didn't want to interrupt you with the girls."
I frowned, "So, you've been waiting there behind me?"
She shrugged, "I feel like you will need the support once Hikaru sees you walking into the room."
"I still don't understand what his issue is with me," I said as we began to walk to the music room.
"Maybe he is jealous. He wouldn't be the only one. A lot of the boys at this school dislike you because all the girls have their eyes on you," she informed me.
"Don't remind me," I said under my breath. "They can have them. I'm not interested in having a girlfriend right now." Or ever. But I kept that to myself.
"I don't think that matters to them," she said.
I looked over at her as she smiled at me, "You are not helping."
She laughed at me, "Honestly though," she looked forward, "I just think that he needs time to warm up to you. Maybe there is something bothering him that it has nothing to do with you and he is trying to process it."
"Hm," I said as I looked ahead, "Maybe." Maybe I had to ask him. I had been shrugging off the way he seemed to be mad at me. It might be time that I forced him to stop being an ass and tell me what was wrong. I couldn't fix it if he didn't tell me.
We finally made it to the room as the others greeted us.
"You're finally back, Yuki-chan!" Haninozuka said with a bright smile as he hugged his stuffed animal to his chest. Morinozuka was right behind him with a stoic expression as he nodded at us in greeting.
"It's nice to have you back~!" Suoh said as he held my shoulders with a look of relief.
"Indeed," Ootori said as he pushed his glass up, "You have many requests and they cannot be filled when you are away. Do try not to miss many days consecutively."
Suoh turned to him, "But he is a busy actor. We can't ask him for much of his time." He shifted to look at me with a smile, "We will make do with any day you can be here."
The twins were standing further away. I stepped passed Suoh to walk towards them. I had to stop this once and for all. Hikaru noticed me, sent me a glare and looked away from me. He was about to step away but I grabbed on to his elbow before he could.
"Hikaru, we need to talk," I said to him.
"No," he said, pulling his arm out of my grasp before he turned to look at me, "We don't."
I pointed at the area where it was hidden behind curtains from the rest of the room, "Either you go there with me willingly or I'm dragging your ass," I waited to hear his decision. He was staring at me with his jaw clenched.
"Hikaru," Kaoru said, "Just go with him. Hear him out."
Hikaru looked over at his brother before he relaxed a little. He turned back to me for a second before he started to march towards the hidden area, "Let's get this over with."
Right now, I am writing the story as if she will end up with Hikaru. If any of you feel like she should end up with someone else please let me know. ^_^