Chapter 3

By the time Alexis got home her back was aching. The type of ache that only a warm bath could soothe. As she made her way to her room her mind returned to the gray-eyed devil that had pushed her buttons without even meaning to.

She stepped into her bathroom and began to run her bath, adding in cranberry scented bath salts. She pulled out her robe and bathing supplies and placed them within reach for when she was done.

Should I have been so hard on him? Goodness knows some people have a hard time being themselves around others, especially when they first meet. She tapped her finger against her mouth. No, I don't have the time to coddle a person into being real with me. I tried to yank him out of that act he was putting on and it didn't work. End of story.

Still his face drifted into the forefront of her mind as she went to her room and began to put away her school clothes. Suddenly a spasm hit the middle of her back. It was small and lasted for only a few seconds, but, it put a little fear into her heart. She walked to her medicine cabinet and pulled out a pill bottle. Opening the bottle she pulled out a small pill which she quickly popped into her mouth and followed with a handful of water from the sink.

The doctors warned me not to overdue it. If I become stressed out I can shorten what time they have bought me.

Slipping out of her underclothes she made her way to the bath and sank into the warmth that would ease her pain. With just her head and arms above the water her thoughts traveled again to the black haired vice president of the host club.

Under normal circumstances she would be chasing him like a storm chaser a tornado. He was her type to a tee, if you ignored the personality deficiency. Tall (about 5'11"), dark hair, steel-gray eyes, smooth voice and a brain. God help her if she ever found out he had a sense of humor (though that was seeming less and less likely).

With her current circumstances it wouldn't be fair to him or her to get tangled up romantically. They would both have their hearts broken if she allowed that to happen. First because she had no plans to stay here beyond the school year and second she wasn't sure how long she had left period.

Yep, thank god he has no sense of humor. I need to keep my heart in one piece at least; since my body is out of my control. She let the warmth of the water carry her away.

The next day she arrived at school slightly earlier than usual. Stepping onto the campus she tried to remember the last place she had used her drawing pad. Her morning ritual included a quick bout of sketching (it was her form of a diary). But, this morning she had been unable to complete her routine when she had failed to find her pad.

I had it in study hall. That is where I did the drawings of the twins. But, what did I do with it afterwards?

Perturbed she made her way to her first class. She walked in giving a quick wave to Haruhi who had arrived before her. Still wracking her brain, she almost failed to notice a small, brown, package lying dead center on her desk. As she got closer she saw her name on the outside.

Peeling off the wrapping paper she found her drawing book ensconced within. Startled she look up and around to see who had returned it to her. When she realized that only Haruhi was in the room with her, she turned to thank him.

"Good morning, thank you for finding my drawing pad and returning it to me. I looked for it all morning."

"Oh that wasn't me. It was here when I got in this morning. I didn't know you draw Alexis, can I look at your stuff?" he asked.

"Nope, sorry this one is like a running diary for me. That was why I was so worried that I had lost it. I started this one a few months ago so its a bit personal." She turned to put the pad in her brown messenger bag.

"Oh, I understand. So are you going to join the art club than, you know you have to join one club. Those are the rules." Haruhi continued to get out his supplies for class.

"Well how many clubs are their to choose from?"

"243" Alexis' eyes bulged "Yeah, they can range from fine cooking to separate religions- it can be intense."

"Does the school have some sort of catalog I can use to navigate my way through them? Preferably with short summaries and a map." She asked still a little amazed at the sheer number of clubs.

"On line, at the school website, you need you student id#. Why don't you join the art club if you like to draw?" Haruhi looked puzzled.

"I've been in art clubs before and I want to try something different. That is what my whole stay in Japan is about; trying new things. Besides the art clubs I joined before weren't very welcoming."

"What do you mean?"

"Well to be truthful I have already sold some of my work and that kind of rubs other artists the wrong way. A lot of them have had to struggle to get where they are and I have been blessed. My artistic sense came naturally and I've never had to do without. To them I am not just a sellout but a fake." She said sadly.

"That doesn't sound fair, who are they to judge?" Haruhi sounded peeved.

"Yeah, well fair or not, I really don't want to go through that again. As far as I can tell nobody knows about my skill and I would like to keep it that way if you don't mind." She looked at Haruhi imploringly.

"Sure," I wouldn't doubt that Kyoya already knows though.

As they were talking the twins arrived in class. "Morning" they chimed together.

"What have you two been doing? You have this freakishly scary light in your eyes." Haruhi said glaring curiously at the twins.

"We just bumped into "daddy" on our way in." they smirked.

"Am I going to regret going to the club today?"

" No, it should blow over by then."

"Alright, good"

The twins turned to Alexis. "Hey Alexis," the twin on the right said. "Where did you go to yesterday?"

That would make him Hikaru, since he started up first.

"Yeah," said Kaoru on the left, "One second you were talking to Kyoya, and the next you were gone."

"Oh, sorry about that. Me and Kyoya didn't have a lot in common. So I went home, there is still stuff for me to finish before I'm fully moved in." She didn't think it would be right to tell the guys what she thought of their friend.

"Are you going to come to the club today?" they said in unison.

"Sorry guys apparently I have to join a club so I probably won't be down for awhile. You know first I have to find a club and than acclimate." She thought that sounded like a decent excuse. Saying " I don't want to bump into your robot of a friend" would have come off a little, well bitchy.

"You could join the host club," their eyes sparkled "than we could see you everyday."

"You'll see me everyday anyway. We are in the same class. Besides I'm missing a very important piece that makes a person a "host"," Their eyes widened. "Manly charm?"

All four busted out laughing...

Her second day of school passed much quicker than the first. Mostly because the twins insisted on entertaining her. From the history teacher who had practically lived it, to the boy in math who toke himself to seriously no one was safe from their pranks.

She nearly lost it when an off handed comment turned into photo shopped picture of Tamaki in the girl's uniform. She really wished she could be there for the unveiling of that particular fiasco, but, she was intent on selecting her club (and avoiding Kyoya).

She visited one of Ouran's libraries (they have 5!) and printed out a list of the schools clubs. The stack of papers she got was the size of the length of her thumb! Deciding she was going to need plenty of space and quiet she set out to find a spot to begin her reading.

After being inside all day she decided a place outside in the sun would be ideal. She walked around campus until she spotted a wooden bench, under a cluster of trees, near the hedge maze. She toke a seat, pulled out a marker and pen and started her way through the list.

Quickly becoming frustrated she started to crumple the papers she read through and drop them beside her seat. She didn't really notice as the pile got larger or when a pair of gray eyes spotted her in the middle of her endeavor...

I don't own Host club. Though I wouldn't be adverse to borrowing them...