Chapter 2 - Some Boys Have Too Much Time
She walked up to the large, intricate door timidly. She smoothed her skirt, fixed her hair, even fixed her makeup before even laying a hand on the giant door. These doors were scary, intimidating. She was afraid to enter, even if her potential friend was on the other side of this thick door. She stepped towards the door, and placed one soft, shaking hand on the handle. When she turned the handle, she turned it slowly, and peeked her head in slightly. However, there seemed to be a wind coming from inside - it pushed the door fully open, and threw her to the ground.
A thousand red rose petals flew from inside the door, and she stared in shock. Sitting on the cold floor, she could see nothing past the petals, until they cleared, and six attractive boys were in some kind of arrangement, in cosplay. The cosplay wasn't really cosplay, but seemed to be some kinds of hip-hop outfits.
She thought she saw Hikaru, with his flame-red locks, and smiled excitedly, but there were two of him, when she really looked. She knew she wasn't just seeing doubles, because, for one, she wasn't drunk, and the two were wearing different outfits. One even wore the same $500 pair of Dr. Dre headphones which she'd seen on two Korean celebrities, in music videos.
She wondered if she was awake. She wondered if she was alive. Suddenly, everything went black.
She opened her eyes, sitting on a fancy pink sofa, in a huge pink room. The six boys were gathered around her, so naturally her heart tried to throw itself out of her chest. Each had such beautiful features…She found herself staring. However, she didn't need this now, as she shook her head, holding it when she found herself dizzy. The blond boy's eyes widened, and he quickly snapped his head over, to look at the red-haired doubles. She wondered if she'd really died.
"You two, what did you do to this girl?" He demanded, fire in his eyes. What did he care? He didn't even know her.
The two flame doubles shrugged, they seemed innocent.
"We don't know" One said. The other crossed his arms, and answered, "And besides, what motive would we have to make a random girl pass out?".
Adelaide cocked her head to the side, trying to figure out what had just happened from their words. She sat up a little, and all eyes were on her again. Her eyes flickered from boy to boy, and then she asked, "I passed out?"
5 of the boys nodded, like she was one prone to overreaction. One just gave her an "I'm sorry" smirk, out of the corner of his mouth.
"Why?" She asked, sounding stupid, surely. The blonde boy seemed annoyed and went out of the circle around her to pace, fingers on his temples. The red-haired doubles stepped forward, one putting his hand on her forehead. He seemed confused, then sighed, reporting, "She doesn't have a fever…". The other asked if she was alright.
She paused, dumb-founded by it all for a second. Then, she finally asked, "why are there two of you?". The brown-haired shorter one of the group, the one who had smirked, seemed slightly annoyed by her question, but didn't go pace, like the short-tempered-seeming blond one. Both the red-haired doubles seemed slightly saddened, too. The shortest one, a little blond boy, came up to her, and handed her a pink stuffed bunny, which she tucked under her arm softly. The boy said, "I'll explain". She nodded, eager to know what had just happened. He spoke in a child's voice.
"You see, this is a host club. We entertain girls of all types here, and for us, that involves cosplay, as we talk to them. That explains the outfits - today's cosplay was hip-hop. Hikaru and Kaoru are identical twins, it's their game to tell them apart. Hikaru was talking about how he invited you here earlier, actually. He was really excited. He kept mentioning how you were a foreigner. Anyway, Kaoru is his twin brother. They must have seemed like doubles when you first saw them, you only met the one, and didn't know there was another." She saw one of the flame-headed boys look up, interested. "We're sorry for startling you, miss foreigner." He said, smiling.
"Wait.. how do you know that I'm Adelaide, the 'foreigner'?" She asked. So far, she had only introduced herself to Hikaru.
"You fit the description." He answered, winking, then running off to stuff his face with cake. The tall, tough-seeming, black-haired boy went with him, smiling at her before turning away.
By this time, the taller blond had stopped being annoyed with her utter confusion at the moment, and came back to her, bending to take her hand and kiss the back of her palm. She felt her heart nearly stop. He opened his eyes, and she felt like she was drowning in them.
"My name is Tamaki Suoh. I'm very pleased to meet you. What is your name, dear?" He asked. His voice rang with the beauty and clarity of a bell, the softness of a cat's fur, and the smell of roses. She had to remind herself to breathe.
"M-My name is Adelaide Cayce. I-I'm from America." She stuttered, with effort. Her breath came in short almost gasps. He was just too perfect for any one girl to handle.
He seemed to be listening to her thoughts, or maybe she was just very readable, because he was now smiling at her. He smiled at her in a way that made her believe he could actually hear her thoughts right now. Could he, she wondered? No, she highly doubted it. Though, he was definitely analyzing her, and reading her expressions.
"Nice to meet you, Adelaide." He said, again kissing the back of her hand. He smiled at her sweetly, then stood up and gestured, calling "Hosts, hosts". Every one of the 6 boys walking around stopped to turn to him, and waited for the announcement, or whatever it might be. The blonde, Tamaki, spoke in a very audible voice, asking them to introduce themselves.
Each one of the boys got in a line of sorts, for introductions. One of the flame-headed doubles seemed to be slightly blushing, but it could've just been her imagination. The blushing one had slightly glassier, deeper, eyes..Yes, she could begin seeing some differences now. The two were not doubles, they were different. It must have hurt them when she'd asked why there were two of them. It must be an issue for them, since she had to really look to see the differences. One of the twins saw her staring, and looked down at the floor, blushing slightly, if he wasn't already. The other twin looked at her with a crooked smile that was familiar to her, she'd seen it before.
"You know me already," He said, " But my name is Hikaru Hitachiin. I'm the twin brother of this nervous thing right here." He joked, messing up the others' candle-flame hair and laughing. The other pouted, still looking at the floor.
"Hikaru~.." The other said, looking at his shoes. "Don't mess up my hair like that…And I am not nervous!" Hikaru removed his hand from his twin's head, and placed it under his chin, lifting it so he could look into his eyes. Adelaide felt that she shouldn't be watching them anymore, so intently.
"Don't worry, Kaoru…I think it's cute." Hikaru remarked, placing a stray hair of Kaoru's behind his ear, dragging his own thumb along Kaoru's cheek in the process. The other, Kaoru, she presumed, blushed a bright red, and looked around, embarrassed.
"Hikaru.." He whispered, his face red.
"Kaoru.." He whispered back.
"Um…" Adelaide commented by mistake. The word just kind of came out on it's own.
The two looked up from their little moment, both crookedly smiling now.
"Yaoi." One explained.
"What, not a fan like every other girl that comes here?" The other asked. Adelaide had heard about this. Yaoi..or, in simpler terms, boy+boy.
"She doesn't seem to like incest, either." They continued.
"What a waste of a good scenario." They said together. Adelaide hurried to reply before they walked away.
"Well, no, not really.." She said, as both twins sighed. "Are you two..really..?" She asked, or rather, tried to ask through surprise.
"No, we're not." They explained, bored now. " We act like it though, to draw in fans of taboos. Bad boys. Rebels. Anything of the sort, really."
"And especially yaoi fans. They're always strange ones." The other remarked, examining his nails. Tamaki snapped at them to bow and introduce themselves properly. They did, Hikaru giving a sweet little smirk while bowing. They'd met before, he'd already introduced himself. The other, Kaoru, just bowed politely, though she thought she saw a small blush on his perfect face.
When he came up from his bow, Kaoru stepped forward to her, feeling a bow and a name wasn't enough of an introduction, or maybe he thought she deserved more, or maybe he wanted another second of her attention, she'd never precisely know. She looked up into his eyes as he lifted her palm to his lips, and kissed the back of her hand. She wasn't sure is she was blushing or on fire anymore. Not only did he just place his perfect lips on her skin, which set her on fire every time, but looking in his eyes, she saw a gentleness in them that melted her heart into them.
Kaoru was beautiful. He had a way about him that made everything he said or did wonderful. She was watching him before, but now she was intensely staring. She didn't know what to say when he looked back, straight into her eyes, so she let her heart speak, as it tried to fling itself at him. She couldn't say anything, her breath was trapped in her throat. He pretended not to notice her current troubles with speaking, and smiled kindly at her before stepping back into line. She tried to blink, and look away, but he was engraved into her mind now, there wasn't much she could do anymore.
The next in the line for introductions was a shorter brunette. This boy stepped forward and bowed, but did not try to flatter her or kiss the back of her palm. He bowed politely, with an air of intelligence. He was not more refined than the others, but not one to try to make girls blush, like the others. When he came up from his bow, he pulled her a bit closer, to whisper in her ear a warning. He really smelled good, almost like her own perfume. His breath smelled sweet too, as he whispered his warning, which went something like "This club is very strange. It takes time to adjust. Please, don't be freaked out by anything. The twins over there," He glanced their way, "They use yaoi and incest to draw in customers. The little one, he's really 17 years old. The older one doesn't talk much, and takes care of the little one. Don't bother the one with glasses. Tamaki, the tall blonde one, he's really childish, but calls himself 'king' here. And me, well...Maybe one day you'll find out my secret." He said, pulling back to smile, state his name as Haruhi, and step back in line. Adelaide nodded, as a thank you, and he nodded in return.
The next one to come up and introduce himself was the small, blonde one, carrying his stuffed pink bunny, which he had gotten up from the couch. The tallest, black-haired, silent one came with him. The little one introduced them both, saying his name was Mitsukini, but everyone called him Honey, and the "tall one here" was named Takashi, but everyone called him Mori for short. The little one, Honey, gave her a small hug and ran off, past the line, to the sweets. The taller one, Mori, nodded and smiled, his form of a hug or a kiss on the hand, and followed him.
The last to introduce himself was a clever-seeming, and fairly cold, black haired boy. He carried a notebook and a pen, quickly scribbling down something on an empty page before placing it under his arm, to hold it, before bending down and kissing her palm, politely. He was more refined than the others, she could tell, especially the twins. As she thought about the twins, though, her thoughts crawled back to Kaoru. Thinking about Kaoru, she felt lightheaded, and her heart pounded. The boy looked up at her from his her palm, puzzled, then realizing. He stood and pulled out the notebook, scribbling down something with what seemed like only a flick of his wrist. She tilted her head sideways, and was about to ask about the notebook, when he turned and walked back to the line. The blonde one nodded, and those who were in the line bowed simultaneously, Hikaru's eyes seeming to watch her the whole time his head went down. She was pretty sure there was something going on behind the liquid gold of his eyes, but she didn't bother to question it.
"Now that the introductions are done, I'll be entertaining her." Tamaki announced, stepping forward to take her left hand in his gentle, yet eager, grip, and begin to pull her away. She stared up at him, and he smiled back, but when she looked around the room, something seemed to be troubling Hikaru. She stared at him curiously, until he got closer and grasped her right wrist, a look of wanting in his eyes that she couldn't quite understand. He blushed, some of his orange hair falling in front of his eyes as he looked at the floor and spoke.
"Actually, Tono.. Kaoru and I would like to entertain her today. You can have her tomorrow." He said, in a tone that made it noticeably hard for Tamaki to refuse. Though, however hard it was from him to say no, he walked a couple steps forward, tugging Adelaide along with him. Adelaide felt a tug on her other arm, and she stumbled back, almost falling into Hikaru entirely. Tamaki gave Hikaru a look that said something like "why?", looking wholly confused by Hikaru's actions. No matter how confused he was, though, he got the message, and let go of Adelaide, as Hikaru pulled her away gently. He seemed to be treating her as gently as a rose after a hard rain.
He pulled her away with a quickness to his step, but a softness to his nature. He seemed annoyed by the little mishap a second ago, but knew to keep his cool, and gentleness radiated through him to her wrist. She followed willingly to the table where Kaoru sat, and where there were two more empty seats. He sat first, and then kept hold of her wrist as she sat, only letting go when she looked at him and smiled.
"Hello there." Kaoru said, leaning across the table towards her, seemingly having gotten over his shyness. He smiled a heartstoppingly beautiful smile. She was pretty sure she blushed.
"Hi there." She said quietly, blushing and smiling at him slightly. He reached forward and placed a strand of her cocoa hair behind her ear softly, ever so slightly smoothing over her ear.
"Your hair is really nice, you know." He complimented, "It's so soft and it's the perfect shade of brown. I also love the curls, it really makes your face look cute." He said, smiling a sweet smile that she couldn't resist smiling back at. He was just the sweetest thing.
"It really is, dear." Hikaru said, leaning far enough over to make her feel fought over by the twins. Maybe she was being paranoid, but Hikaru seemed awfully clingy, and Kaoru coming up and just touching her like that might've made him jealous. She giggled. That was a cute thought, the twins fighting over her. Hikaru startled her out of her thoughts with "Mind if we ask you some questions about yourself?".
She nodded, and their interrogation began. Kaoru was first.
"So, what's America like?" He asked, both twins then staring closer, intrigued. Her eyes flickered back and forth from twin to twin, then focused out the window.
"It's very busy there. There are a lot of places where people are always rushing to do this, or do that. But, it's also a pretty creative place, filled with opportunity. You can become anything you dream of there, you can do anything. I loved it. Especially the candy." She said, giggling. Kaoru tilted his head a bit, confused.
"If you loved it, why did you leave?" He asked.
"You know that feeling you get sometimes? Where you just want to explore and see the world? I'd been studying Japanese and Japanese culture for years, when I decided I'd just enroll in a school there, one with a foreigner scholarship, and study in the place that started it all. So far, it seems like.." She paused, remembering the flaws in her plan. "A new beginning." She decided to use that term, not wanting to worry anyone. Hikaru pursed his lips and asked the exact question she'd wanted to stay away from.
"Did you make any real plans? I mean, for example, where are you staying?"
Adelaide looked at her lap, and faked a smile, answering with a lie at first. "I..I have somewhere to say out of the city. It's just a small place…" She went on with her lie until both twins only looked concerned. Then out came the unpleasant truth. "I don't have anywhere to stay, I don't know what I was thinking." She admitted, sighing. Next thing she knew, she felt one of their hands on her back, gently rubbing it, comforting her. Then she heard some subtle whispering between the two behind her back. Soon, Kaoru was in her ear, saying "Why don't you just stay with us?"
She looked up, right into his mesmerizing golden eyes. She had trouble breathing upon seeing his warm, gentle eyes, but she managed to breathe and ask if he was serious. He said he was, and they had an extra room or two to spare even after she moved in. Hikaru then pulled her into a hug, very tenderly. Kaoru rubbed her back, and she leaned into Hikaru, hugging back.
"You two are being very kind, you know that, right?" She said. "I mean, I'm not a handful, but you are saying you'll take responsibility for another person. That's big."
Hikaru just smoothed her hair, and told her it was no big deal, the family home had space. She sighed and cuddled into his chest. He sure was warm, it was comforting in its own way. A life holding another life dear, quite a feat of creation. She didn't fall asleep, but she closed her eyes, and thought, rather than dreamt. She'd think out everything until his warmth had burnt away all her worries slowly.