A/N: This is definitely my longest chapter yet. And it has to be, I promised to introduce Hikaru in this one. It was hard cause I wanted to describe some stuff, add in Kyoya at some point... yah know. The works. I just hope you guys like it. I was up at like 7 o'clock Sunday morning to write this. No kidding. Well enjoy. For all those who need help, this is CINDERELLA BASED. It DOES NOT take place back in the olden times. It's RECENT time, just so I can add strobe lights in my story. –throws a rave- Oh yeah, and for those who said that I inspire their writing works, thank you. It makes me squishy with pride. However, I do ask that you not copy my little quirks and ideas added onto the original Cinderella. -grins- Cause THAT is PLAGERISM!!! YAY FOR SPELLING ERRORS!!!
Disclaimer: I OWN ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!! I AM HOMELESS AND WRITING THIS ON THE PUBLIC LIBRARY'S COMPUTER WHERE EVERYONE CAN SEE EXACTLY WHAT I AM TYPING!!!! (but not really)
---Prince Charming---
The place was huge. No joke. It almost appeared to come out of a fairy tale, minus the fact that it wasn't exactly a castle carved of only the finest Roman architect. No, it was a mansion. At least thrice the size of the house Kaoru was used to tending to. It stood, far above the others, on a hill that seemed so conveniently placed underneath the towering building rather than vise versa. There must have been a thousand windows, each glowing with radiant lights that flashed and danced in a multi different arrangement of colors and brightness. Levels were undeterminable, for the building looked like it could have fifteen floors easy. The path up to the mansion was as smooth as the silk dress Kaoru wore and finished, leaving the ground clear enough to practically skate on in socks alone. Kaoru was in awe as he was escorted from the carriages towards the now intimidating house. He tore his vision away from the flashing lights long enough to see people lounging around, each wearing either a highly skanky dress or a tux lazily thrown together. Kaoru felt his face fluster. And here he was, dolled up in a dress fit for a royal lady. He lowered his head as he marched up the marble staircase that seemed to go on forever and ever... his heels were killing him.
"I'm sorry Miss, but the party invitation clearly stated you must be on time."
Kaoru glanced up to see some sort of butler glaring in an undignified manner towards his approaching figure. The teen quickly glanced at his watch and moaned. Thirty minutes after seven. How predictable. Kaoru sighed and continued to make his way towards the door.
"Look, dude, I'm running a little late. Can't you cut a 'lady' some slack and let me in? I mean, I've been looking forward to this for days..."
The butler cackled dryly at his expense, giving him the obvious "N-O" for an answer without even having to say anything. Kaoru felt his eyebrows furrow together as he lunged forward and grabbed the man by his front collar. Shock and slight fear rewarded the orange hair boy and he felt a pang of superiority.
"Listen, you, I've tried being nice. Hell, I've tried being nice since the day I was born but obviously it isn't working out. Here's your options, you either A) Let me into this freaking party or B) Get the living shit beat out of you 'cause I'm SICK of it!!! I WILL not listen to anybody other than myself ANY longer!!!" Kaoru exploded, pulling the guy's face very close to his, close enough for the man to see himself in Kaoru's steaming eyes.
His small outburst was disrupted by a sudden calm clapping. He turned to see who would dare mock him further when a tall man with short, soft looking black hair and glasses stepped forward. He casually fixed his tie to his sharp looking suit and gave an easy smile.
"Forgive my associate, esteemed guest, he seems to not know his place. Surely you will be admitted in with such a fiery attitude such as yours. Please, follow me," he said in a mellow tone, quickly easing Kaoru's fury.
The teen rolled his eyes and tossed the horrified man to the side, quickly stepping in pace to the taller gentleman's strides.
"You don't do this for everyone," he said as if the statement were as clear as day.
The man smirked then suddenly and fixed his glasses upon his face.
"No," came the simple reply.
Kaoru frowned and had to pick up the hem of his dress again to keep up. How troublesome these things were...
"And I'm an exception because...?"
The question was one worth stating, at least in Kaoru's mind. He wasn't good looking, especially in a dress, wasn't a rich or highly thought of guest, frankly, he was a strange random boy... in drag.
The man just turned and gave him a glance over, turning back his vision to a door secretly concealed behind some shrubbery.
"Because I believe our young Prince Charming will be most interested in a person like you," he stated in that mellow voice which was now beginning to unnerve Kaoru ever so slightly.
"Yeah, ok well thanks I guess... hey, Mister, what's you name anyways?" Kaoru questioned, really just finding an excuse to start up a conversation.
The man laughed slightly to himself; a soft sort of ringing that Kaoru found himself smiling at.
"It's Kyoya," he said in a voice that could resemble a whisper.
Kaoru grinned.
"Well it's nice to meetcha, Kyoya-san," the boy blurted, stumbling over the ruffles in his dress and making a nice face plant in the ground.
Kyoya laughed and watched Kaoru pick himself up to his feet, blushing and trying vainly to swipe dirt away from the nearly perfect dress.
"Odd that you chose that outfit," he chuckled, pulling the door handle after inserting a special key that required no turning or twisting, "Odd indeed for a young gentleman. Yes, yes, our Prince will surely find amusement in you."
Kaoru immediately felt his face drop to the ground in dismay as he again, tripped and tumbled onto the floor.
Ah, what a lovely way to start off the evening.
---
Kaoru sighed and felt his face slump further down the palm of his hand. He was slouching, resting his arms against the banister railing of the second floor. The house was big and beautiful, as expected, with elaborate designed craved into the walls and lights flashing as if it were a rave. Music blared. Bodies danced. People conversated, laughing and getting intimate. There were a lot of them surrounding the already crowded doors, blocking Kaoru's escape plan if he were to even try to leave. He sighed again and watched the couple on the stairs try to make out while keep their balance on a single step. It was suffocating.
'How irritable...' Kaoru thought, rolling his eyes upward.
What a drag. When he was amongst the people, he was too embarrassed to dance because all the boys thought he was a babe they could grind with (not to mention he could barely move in the swaying mess of flesh, much less breath). People looked at him weird because he was one of the few dressed elegantly... and nobody seemed interested in anything but their dates and their friends. No time to make new friends, no time to pay attention to the scrawny pink frilly girl in the corner of the room. So with stealth and precision, Kaoru had snuck up the stairs, slinking down the hallway so that he could observe the party from afar. It was much more pleasing to be surrounded by nothing more than air and a few expensive artifacts the family probably collected. With a dull expression, Kaoru let his eyes rove over the crowds, trying half-heartedly to find his brothers. Ch. Like that would be possible anyways. Hunny was probably engulfed by people and Tamaki was probably laughing at him, crying because he got lost, or hitting on girls.
"Why does nothing go right for me...?" Kaoru muttered, closing his eyes.
He was about to drift into a light snooze when he felt something brush up against his side. His ears perked up when he heard someone snicker and something drop, ending with a splash and a few angry shouts. He opened his eyes quick enough to see the couple, once making out, shaking their fists, faces red and wet with what could only be water from a water balloon which had popped on their heads. Kaoru quickly paled and ducked out of view so that the couple could not see him in the exact place the water balloon had come from. He slumped to the ground, eyes wide. If they found out he was here... he might be sent home... how could he explain coming home in a dress to Mori-san when he wasn't even supposed to leave the house?
"Hey, while you're down there, you think you could pass me up another balloon?"
Kaoru blinked then shifted his vision upward, right into the smirking face of a boy not a day over Kaoru's own age. He was dressed in a loose white dress shirt, ending coming out at the sides making Kaoru have to resist his obsessive compulsive disorder of having everything be neat and tidy by tucking it in. His messy orange hair stood out in every angle; at least, the hair peeking out of his hat was sticking out in every angle. He was almost amusing looking, as if he were swimming in his attire. The only thing that kept his whole outfit together was the slim black belt, putting more emphasis on his slender waist. Kaoru found it hard not to stare. This boy was definitely different from all the guests in the building, not only personality wise, Kaoru thought as the boy reached down and picked up another balloon, chucking it far over the edge then ducking behind a roof support, chuckling evilly as loud shrieks and angered shouts could be heard. It was hard to pull his sight away... but mainly for the reason... this kid looked just like him!! How awkward was that?! The boy had another fit of laughter as he dumped the remaining water from his balloon bucket on a group of preppy looking girls, stooping down next to Kaoru before they could catch sight of him. It was then the boy finally set his sights on him for the first time.
"Don't tell anyone," he grinned, flopping down next to Kaoru, pulling a soda out of his pocket and opening it.
Kaoru continued to stare.
"Who the heck are you?" he question quietly, more to himself or the air.
The boy, however, frowned, even, dare say, pouted.
"Well I suppose I should be asking you the same damn question. I've never seen you before in the village, how did you manage to get into MY party?" he stated, crossing his arms in front of his chest in an almost bratty notion.
Kaoru gasped and quickly looked away, face flustering.
"Good grief, are you telling me YOU'RE Prince Charming?" he stuttered, hastily brushing the wrinkles out of his dress.
The boy was quiet for a moment before bursting into a fit of uncontrollable laughter.
"Prince Charming you say?! Haha! That's a hoot!" he howled, slapping his knee as tears started to form in his eyes, "I'm anything BUT charming! My superiors only wrote that on the invitation so that girls who come and throw themselves at my feet! They want me to get married or something before my eighteen birthday!"
Kaoru felt his face turn a deeper hue, only this time because he felt insulted. It wasn't as if HE found this boy to be charming!
"Ok then, smart one, what SHOULD I call you?" Kaoru spat, raising his head high in dignity.
The boy calmed his laughter to a few small giggles, eyes opening halfway to stare at Kaoru's embarrassed face. He smiled in an almost sly, devious way, and ran his hands down his sides to shove into his pockets.
"You should call me Hikaru," he said easily, closing his eyes and resting his head against the banister of the staircase.
Kaoru blinked then looked off to one side in frustration. He had only been with this boy for a matter of five minutes and he was already bugging the crap out of Kaoru.
"Hey, you know what? You could be like my twin sister..."
The pensive boy turned to stare at the one called Hikaru.
"Eh?" he muttered intelligently.
Hikaru just grinned in his little arrogant way.
"We look alike, you and I. I find it to be funny. Think we were separated at birth?" he mused, peering over the edge of the balcony to stare off into the mess of people.
It was then something came to Kaoru, causing him to straighten and prop himself up right next to Hikaru.
"This is your party, correct?" he began, earning a confused nod from Hikaru, "Then why aren't you down there CELEBRATING it?"
The prince shrugged and made a great show of not caring.
"Don't wanna. Too many strange weird people running around that I don't give a crap about. I'd rather be up here making my own merriment out of their anger!" he replied, wriggling his nose in an odd fashion when something caught his eye, "Hey, I don't recall inviting any five year olds... oi, is that guy foreign? Look at his blonde hair, that's crazy!"
Immediately, Kaoru recoiled and took in a shuddered gasp.
"Shit! Shit Shit Shit Shit, did they see us?!" he near hollered, causing Hikaru to raise an elegant eyebrow.
"Why? You know them?"
Kaoru nodded.
"They're my brothers. I'm not supposed to be here. If they found me..."
Hikaru smirked.
"You'll be discovered sooner or later, you do realize. Honestly, you MUST be crashing my party if you're this paranoid about being found," he chuckled, looking at the two without care of being spotted.
"Hey get down here! If they see you they're gunna think it's ME!" Kaoru hissed, leaning forward to grab Hikaru's shoulder and tug him back.
Hikaru's smirk grew wider as he released the balcony and fell completely onto the startled boy behind him. It was slightly awkward, the young Prince was now sprawled out all over Kaoru in a slightly provocative way.
"So, now you're coming onto me, eh?" Hikaru questioned, shifting so that he was more comfortable resting on Kaoru's chest.
Kaoru blushed hotly as the prince, completely without shame, sat on him and fondled with his ruffles and lace, sighing and running his hand gently up his arm. Kaoru felt goosebumps snake up his spine.
"GET OFF ME!!!" he yelled, shoving the taller male off him, all the while trying to retain any dignity.
"You know what? Since you and I look so much alike, I think we should screw with your brothers. Ya know, make them think you're here and mess with their minds a little bit. What do you say?" Hikaru asked, seemingly unaffected by Kaoru sudden bout of anger.
The shorter boy sighed and looked at the prince in front of him with dull eyes. The other boy was smiling away.
Sigh.
What the heck? If he was going to get caught, he might as well do it in a fun way, huh?
"What did you have in mind?" Kaoru gave in, earning a hoot of exhilaration from Hikaru.
The prince grinned and rose to his feet, offering Kaoru a hand.
"Well I got a dress that resembles yours in my mother's closet, how about we go see if it fits me?"
---TBC
(sorry for any spelling errors and please review so I'm inspired to write the next chapter then the ending! Pwease and fank oo.)