I walk up to Music Room 3 and hesitate before opening the giant door. This is where the host club meets? It's just an abandoned music room. Okay, maybe this is a bad idea. I quickly turn on my heels and start to walk away when I hear the door fling open. I groan. Well, no choice now but to go in.
As I step slowly into the room, my nose is attacked with the smell of fresh roses and tea. Four boys appear in front of me. I recognize two of them, the Hitachiin twins, from my grade. The other two- one blond and one with glasses- I'm not so sure.
The blond one extends his hand out towards me and flashes a smile. "Welcome to the host club, my friend. What brings you here?"
"Um, I... This is the host club, right?" I ask.
He stands straight and nods. "I see, you must be a new guest! And telling by your drab, lackluster appearance, you must be a commoner. How exciting this must be for you! To be in the presence of such rich and handsome gentlemen. And so openly gay, too! It's amazing. You're an inspiration to commoners everywhere, young man."
I stand in front of him, frozen and speechless.
Mom, I seriously hope you're seeing this right now. These boys think they're running a host club, and this one thinks I'm a boy. He keeps calling me a commoner. I don't think I can handle this much longer.
"I'm not gay," I say quietly, "I'm a girl." I smooth down my hair and take off my glasses momentarily for him to see. His jaw drops and his face grows red.
All of a sudden I see a little blond figure dash towards me. It latches itself onto my legs. I peer down and see it's Honey.
He smiles at me. "Haru-chan, you came! I'm so happy you're here," he cheers. Then, he looks at the group and says, "This is Haru-chan. She's with me." Honey takes me by the hand and drags me to a nearby table.
"I saved this table just for us," Honey says, "so we won't be bothered! Here, sit next to me." He pats the spot next to him on a plush couch.
I take the seat and smile gratefully. When I sit down, he gives me the stuffed rabbit again. At first, I refuse it gently, but he stares at me expectantly with big, innocent eyes so I can't resist. Honey's cousin Mori- the tall one- is in front of us, vacant expression on his face. I avoid eye contact by plastering my gaze onto the pink plush on my lap.
For a while, I sit quietly and listen to Honey while tells me about his day, his adventures with Usa-chan, and his recent gripes. My head nods occasionally to show that I'm still engaged in the conversation.
Thirty minutes later, my stomach rumbles. I cringe when I hear the low growl and immediately hug my gut in hopes to reduce the noise. Believe me, the tea they gave me is phenomenal. Hell, it's even on fancy china. But it's been hours since I last ate, so my fuel tank's running on empty.
I can't suppress the noise, and Honey catches on. He looks at me, concerned. "Haru-chan, are you hungry? Because we have this great cake, and now that I think about it, cake sounds really good right now, so I guess I'm hungry, too."
"No, thank you," I politely decline, "I'm fine. Don't worry about me."
He completely disregards what I say and promptly runs off to fetch some sweets, leaving me with Mori.
Not sure of what to say, I awkwardly twiddle my thumbs, dying for Honey to come back.
"How has your day been, Haruhi?"
I quickly look up at Mori, who hasn't said a word to me until now. My name comes out like smooth caramel as he says it, and I instantly wish he'd repeat it over and over. "Me? I guess it was okay. Uneventful. How about you?" I manage.
"Boring for me, too."
I try to respond with some witty comeback, but struggle to find the right words. Mori turns his head and stares out of a window. My hand moves towards my face and pushes up my glasses- one of my nervous habits.
Honey returns with three platters, each with a small slice of vanilla cake adorned with strawberries and white cream. When he sets them down on the table, I notice the excitement in his eyes. Before he shoves a fork-load into his mouth, he turns to me.
"Haru-chan, do you like strawberries? I can get us another cake if you want."
"Actually," I say, picking up a fork, "they're my favorite." I scoop up a corner of the golden sponge and bring it to my lips. It melts in my mouth, and my heart races.
Oh my God, it's so good. I haven't had anything so decadent before. Does all the food rich people eat taste like this?
My thoughts are interrupted when I hear the soft clinking of metal against porcelain. I turn and see Mori shoveling his strawberries onto my plate.
"You can have mine, then."
"Wow, thanks, Mori-senpai. That's so kind of you." I smile brightly at him.
Surprisingly, I find myself with Honey and Mori until club activities end. Seeing that I am one of the remaining lingering girls, I decide that it's time to go.
"I should get going. I had a great time- thank you for having me." I stand up, hinting towards my departure.
Immediately, Honey and Mori stand up, too. The little blond host grins at me.
"No, thank you for spending the afternoon with me! I had fun. Are you gonna come back to hang out again?"
"Oh, I don't know... I wouldn't want to be a burden," I run my hand through my hair absently. "Besides, I'm sure you have other clients to look after."
Honey looks up at me with sad eyes again, and his bottom lip quivers. His little hands are folded. Giving in, I sigh and nod.
He squeals my name, thrilled, and tackles me. He clings onto me and my ears are filled with incoherent cheering. I stand awkwardly, unsure of what to do. Surely it'd be rude to push him off, so I remain stiff, overwhelmed.
"Mori-senpai," I cry out desperately. "Help me!"
Instantly, he rushes over and releases me from his cousin's iron grip, lifting me up into the air. His face remains as stoic as ever, as if he's had to do this hundreds of times, but I can't help but feel the blood rush to my face.
"Takashi?" Honey says, on the floor. He stares at Mori, surprised and confused.
Realizing that I'm still in his arms, I panic. "Uh, Mori-senpai..." My face feels hot, and I'm sure it's as red as an apple.
He lets out a small grunt and sets me back down onto the ground carefully.
When my feet hit the floor, I bolt towards the exit. I call out a goodbye to Honey as I leave and close the heavy door behind me. I exhale in relief and regain some level of sanity.
My footsteps echo against the endless empty hallways. I try to ignore my pounding heartbeat as I scurry away.