"Did you have fun Lori?" Tamaki asked as I gathered up the plates from my table.
"Mhm! It was really fun and everyone was really nice." I smiled, "The cakes were delicious too!"
"Ahh~ Star-chan." The twins said, snaking their arms around me.
"Can I help you boys?" I asked, looking between the two of them. One gently grabbed my chin and tilted my head toward him.
"You have some cake." The other twin said.
"Right there." The one that grabbed my face added before moving close and licking the sweet off of the corner of my mouth.
"YOU PERVERTS! LEAVE HER ALONE!" Tamaki yelled as I wiped off my face.
"Geeze. That's embarrassing. I hope it wasn't there long." I said. The twins laughed and ran off as Tamaki chased after them, calling them all sorts of names.
"They do this all the time." Haruhi sighed, collecting the plates from my table.
"Would you like some help?" I asked, taking half of the dishes from her before she could object.
"Ahh… th—thank you." She stuttered.
"I guess it's safe to assume the boys don't help too much when it comes to cleaning up?" I laughed as she nodded in response.
"That's an understatement." She sighed, exasperated.
"Is this place always so overwhelming?" I asked.
"Today actually wasn't that bad. Just wait until they start cosplaying. As soon as Tamaki-sempai gets into character… it gets to be a bit much at times." She explained. I couldn't help but giggle at the idea of these boys in different costumes.
"Why did you join the Host Club, Haruhi? I know we just met, but it doesn't really seem like the type of thing you're in to." I asked her.
"Ahh well… I sort of stumbled in here one day and broke a very expensive vase. I couldn't afford to pay them back, so I'm working off my debt." She explained as we put away the cleaned dishes.
"What exactly do you have to do to pay them back?" I asked, feeling bad that she was forced into this club.
"I have to get a certain number of clients to request me, but the number always seems to be changing. First it was one hundred, then one thousand, then that was cut by a third… but Kyoya is always adding on rental fees for the costumes." She told me as we walked back into the main clubroom.
"Tamaki!" I called to my friend who was still yelling at the twins for sexually harassing me.
"A lady shouldn't yell across a room, Lori!" Tamaki whined, giving up on the twins and coming over to me.
"A lady will do what she wants. But that's not the point, I want to help Haruhi pay back her debt to the club." I told him causing everyone in the room to stop and look at me in surprise.
"It's okay Lori, y—you don't have to." Haruhi said, equally as surprised as the rest of the hosts.
"Kyoya, you handle all the finance stuff, right?" I asked with a smile, "Haruhi mentioned you keep track of rental fees and whatnot."
"Yes." He replied simply.
"Is there a way the club could use me to make a profit that would help our Haruhi?"
"You did attract a lot of new guests… females as well as males. What do you think, Tamaki?"
"Having new guests would be fun!" Honey said.
"Yah." Mori added.
"But what about the craziness we had to go through today?" The twins asked in unison.
"We could find a way to tame that." Kyoya answered.
"It was a bit of a free-for-all today…" Haruhi stated.
"We would have to have stricter appointments and make sure no one gets in without one." Kyoya explained.
"So? What do you think Tamaki? The dynamic duo at it again?" I asked my old friend who was being oddly quiet. His hand was on his chin and he was clearly deep in thought… but then he spoke.
"We could wear matching outfits!" He exclaimed before pulling a chest out of seemingly nowhere. He started pulling different costumes out of the chest as if looking for the perfect thing for us to wear.
"It seems that our king is on board with it. Haruhi, are you okay with Lori helping you with your debt?" Kyoya asked.
"What do you think about this Lori!?" Tamaki asked holding up a red Arabian looking dress with white and gold details.
"This is beautiful!" I told him, taking the material out of his hands as he began to pull out different accessories.
"We can be the king and queen of the host club!" Tamaki beamed, excitedly.
"I think it'll be fun!" I replied, smiling up at him. He suddenly engulfed me in a tight hug.
"So cute! That was the perfect smile for a hostess!" He cheered.
"I can't breathe…" I said, pushing myself away from him.
"Are we done for the day?" Haruhi asked, "I have to get home and get started on dinner for Dad."
"Yes, you can be excused for today. We'll see you tomorrow." Kyoya told her.
"Bye Haruhi!" I called after as she left the club room, "Is it okay if we head out soon too, Tamaki? I'd like to get a jumpstart on all this homework we have."
"Of course!" He said to me before addressing the rest of the club members, "Lori and I are off as well. Be prepared to match these costumes for tomorrow! Bye everyone!"
"See you all tomorrow! Thank you for allowing me to join your club." I bowed toward the boys, excited to have people to hang out with.
