disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club.
Chapter Three | Ocean of Eyes
1 October 2007
He didn't want to go to school.
He didn't want to go to school.
He didn't want to go to school.
But there he was, standing in the doorway of class 1-A.
"Breathe, Yuu. You'll be fine." Tamaki had risked being late to his class to show Yuu to the classroom; the least he could do was pretend it was easy. The elder of the two pulled the dark-haired teen into a tight hug. It didn't help his steadily rising anxiety, but for Tamaki's sake, he pretended it was calming. "Honey-sempai and Mori-sempai both have brothers in this class, so you won't entirely be alone," the blond added in what was meant to be a reassuring tone.
"Remember." The blond pulled away. "Right after school, meet me in Music Room Three."
Yuu shook his head in reply. "Yeah, whatever."
"Now go." He nudged the younger forward. "It'll be fine."
The dark-haired teen nodded. "Righ-right." He was beginning to stutter, his hand beginning to fidget with the hem of the periwinkle blazer to his school uniform—a uniform was new to him; his old school back in France didn't require one. He could feel his heartbeat speed up as his breath quickened slightly.
Not again.
The anxiety was still rising; he could feel it.
He could do this.
Taking a deep breath in through his nose, Yuu released a quick sigh. "Okay."
"Hey, Souh-sempai!" The sudden sound of a new voice yelling from down the hall. It wasn't long before Yuu could get a clear glance at him. He was fairly tall, approximately six feet. Standing next to Tamaki, they were about the same height. His hair was black and spiked all over the place and his deep onyx eyes held a grin prominently on his lips.
Tamaki acknowledged the newcomer before Yuu could even think of anything to say. "Hello, Satoshi-kun. Running a little late, I see."
"Just a little." The new teen—Satoshi, as Tamaki said—shrugged it off with a whole-hearted laugh. "Yasuchika left me behind today. So loyal of him, don't ya think?"
"That sounds like Chika," the blond chuckled.
Yuu didn't feel like joining the conversation. He didn't know this kid, even though Tamaki did. He couldn't help but avoid looking at him, feeling awkward and unsure of how to react to the newcomer. It wasn't until Satoshi said his name that Yuu felt obligated to meet his onyx gaze.
"You must be Sempai's brother. Yuukou-san, correct?" Curiosity shined bright in Satoshi's eyes. "Taka told me a thing or two about you, but he told me to play nice and look out for you since you're transferring into my class and all."
"Uh..." He couldn't think of anything to say. "Hi."
"Hi!" Satoshi beamed.
Yuu glanced at Tamaki, almost like a plea for help.
The blond didn't exactly notice as he introduced the two first years. "Yuu, this is Morinozuka Satoshi, Mori-sempai's little brother." He gestured towards the newcomer before doing the same with his brother. "Satoshi, this is Suoh Yuukou—"
Yuu cut the elder off. "de Grantaine."
Tamaki glanced at Yuu for a moment, caught off guard. He then smiled and said, "Sorry, Yuu."
The younger brother just shrugged. "Whatever."
"Pleasure to meet you, de Grantaine-san, or should I just call ya Yuukou-san?"
"Just Yuu s'fine."
There was an abrupt sound of a bell chiming through the halls, signaling class was beginning.
"Well, it looks like that's my cue to leave. I'll let you two get acquainted. See you after school, Frère." Tamaki turned walking down the first-year hallway before turning the corner and going out of sight.
"So," Yuu glanced at Satoshi as he spoke. "Y'ready for your first day at Ouran?"
"No."
The young Morinozuka laughed at his reply. "You're kinda funny, must get it from Suoh-sempai."
"I guess..." He stared down at his feet, kicking lightly at the tile and leaving a scuff mark from his shoe on the polish.
"Well, we're already late, but it takes a few moments before class actually begins. Class Rep will begin roll-call soon, so we should go in before we're counted tardy."
"Sure..."
The spiky-haired teen took the other's hand, sliding the classroom door open as he pulled him inside.
"Morinozuka-san, you're late—"
"M'sorry, Class Rep, I ran into Suoh-sempai in the hall and he asked me to get Yuu-san here settled into class."
It started with a simple "Who's the new guy?" in a hushed tone towards the back of the room. Then it was a wave of whispers. It caught each person one-by-one as they did not attempt to hide their under-the-breath chuckles and giggles. An ocean of eyes, glazed over with hungry curiosity, stared at him as though he was an isolated sheep in a room full of wolves.
"So that's the rumored little brother?"
Shifting his weight from one foot to the other, Yuu glanced down to avoid eye contact. He bit his lower lip to give himself something to focus on, trying to pretend their inquisitive eyes weren't interrogating him.
"Why would he never talk about him?"
A bead of sweat formed along his temple as he crossed one arm to hold the other at the elbow. Blue-violet eyes scanned the students in an attempt to find some sort of anchor in their sea of never-ending curiosity. A sea he was thrown into, full force, with no life vest. And he suddenly couldn't remember how to swim.
"Are you really Tamaki-sama's brother?"
Yuu decided looking up was a terrible idea as he allowed dark bangs to fall over his eyes. He shoved his free hand into his pocket, toying with a crumpled-up gum wrapper to keep himself busy.
"Why did you move to Japan?"
"I, uh—" He was trapped between four claustrophobic walls and a river of students. Everything grew closer. Closer. Closer. Whispers echoed. Questions tackled him one-by-one. Anxiety's invisible hands crushed his chest from the inside out.
Too many questions.
Too many people.
Panic latched around his neck, digging rotten claws into his throat and stealing his words before they could escape.
"Hey now—" A voice he'd heard not long before. "—The poor guy just got here. Let him breathe a little."
Yuu would have to personally thank Satoshi later.
"Morinozuka-san is right. Homeroom is beginning now." Class Rep's turn for attention. "You can all get to know our transfer student over lunch."
1 October 2007
Turn off water. Dry hands. Leave the bathroom. Avoid every single person from his class.
It sounded easy enough.
With a sigh, Yuu pushed the door open using his elbow. The hallways were quite—a lot emptier than it was when he hid in the bathroom stall. Only a few students were lagging and, thankfully, not a single one of them were from class 1-A.
The lunchroom wasn't that far—he could hear the chatter from down the hall—but avoiding his classmate's never-ending questions was still at the top of his to-do list if he planned on surviving the rest of the day.
Maybe he could find a library nearby or something. A quiet place sure did sound amazing.
"Hey, Yuukou-san."
Damn, he had almost escaped disaster.
The said teen closed his eyes for a moment, drawing his lips into a thin line as he exhaled through his nose. As he opened his eyes, he was met with the sight of short, slightly messy, brown hair and a stupid periwinkle blazer.
"It's just Yuu." He gave her a quick glance over. In all honesty, if he hadn't met her two days ago, he would have assumed she was just a feminine boy. She was rather pale and several inches shorter than him, maybe even half a foot but who could say. Give or take a few feminine features, she had the appearance of the typical male student.
"Hello, Yuu-san." She gave a small nod. "We never got to properly introduce ourselves the other day. Satoshi-san mentioned you didn't go to the lunchroom, so I thought I'd come find you,"
The first year leaned one shoulder against the wall beside him, crossing his arms. "It's nice to meet you, I guess."
"Ditto."
From what he had gathered the other day at the mall, Yuu didn't peg Haruhi to be the intrusive type. The few conversations he had with her seemed natural actually. They flowed easily and just had a calming aura to them. But something about this encounter didn't feel as relaxed.
He could be wrong, but it was almost as if someone else had given her the idea or—
"Tamaki sent you, didn't he?"
Haruhi bit down on her lower lip. She quickly scratched just below her nose with her index finger, confirming his suspicion. "How'd ya guess?"
It made perfect sense.
"Just a hunch." The dark-haired teen shrugged. "Speaking of Tamaki, I'm surprised he didn't hunt me down himself."
"He came to the lunchroom to find you actually." The brunette paused, then laughed. "But he got stuck there."
Yuu raised an eyebrow, uncrossing one arm. "Do I even want to know?"
She smiled before quickly covering it with her hand and shaking her head.
"I don't know, maybe I do want to know what mon frère did to get his hands tied this time," Yuu said.
There was a moment before Haruhi could respond without laughing. "Just a Tamaki-sempai thing. The usual. He's always doing something."
Yuu nodded, the corner of his lips etching upward. "Yeah, that sounds like him."
Another pause. Yuu took this time to take in the hallway. He'd kept his head down the entire walk to the classroom, avoiding unnecessary eye-contact.
The walls were a light shade of salmon, a golden trim lining them with fancy light fixtures hanging from the walls to brighten the hallway. The floor was a dark cherry hue, each tile polished to perfection. The ceiling was a mixture of a medium pink and white, a pristine design carved diligently into the cream-colored tiles.
Haruhi spoke up. "Sempai is probably wondering where we're at. If we're gone too much longer, he may lose his head or something. We should probably get to the lunchroom."
Yuu gave a quick laugh that probably sounded a little rude. "I'll pass. You can go on though. Tell Aki I went to the bathroom or something."
If the brunette noticed the nickname, she didn't comment on it. "I get it. You're not much of a people person, are you?"
"Not really. No." Blue-violet irises scanned along the salmon-hued walls as he avoided eye-contact.
"Don't worry, I'm not much of the lunchroom type either. Too much of a hassle with all these damn rich people." She paused briefly before continuing, "So the other day... what was that?" She took a bite of some kind of candy bar Yuu didn't notice her grab, chewed and swallowed. "You really looked like you didn't want to be there—wait. Let me guess, Sempai made you go?"
"You could say that..." He proceeded to pick at the skin around his fingernails as he averted his gaze. "He's always been that way though. I don't think he realizes social situations aren't my forte."
Haruhi seemed to notice his uneasiness and changed the subject. "How long until Tamaki-sempai realizes how long it's been and comes charging?"
Yuu laughed. "Five-hundred yen says it's ten minutes and potentially embarrassing."
"Five minutes and Hikaru and Kaoru instigate it."
"You're on." The taller teen extended his hand towards the other, which she took with a firm shake to make it an official bet.
She took another bite of her candy bar—no, wait, it was a granola bar.
They waited. Quietly. Not quite comfortably. But it was better than anything else that day. Yuu's eyes were glued to a clock on the opposite wall, while Haruhi's attention was fixed on the rest of the granola bar in her hand. She was folding up the wrapper when they heard footsteps coming closer and closer, pounding louder and louder.
"No, Haruhi! You can't kiss him!"
The said brunette glanced at her wrist as if checking the watch she didn't have for the time. "Five minutes on the dot. You lose, pay up."
Yuu clenched his jaw as he bit the inside of his cheek, giving the blond an evil look.
Just as Tamaki arrived, he slipped on god knows what and slid down the hall with a girlish squeal.
"Potentially embarrassing." Yuu pointed. "I don't technically lose."
"Call it a draw?"
"It's a draw."
Yuu could already tell he had made a good choice in a friend.
Translation: frère (brother), mon frère (my brother)
Teaser: It's time to see the Host Club in action! But is it really something Yuu can handle?