A/N: Hello there! I decided to update a little early this time, just for you guys! Enjoy reading Chapter 5!
Disclaimer: No, I still don't own anything. I know, I know- I'm just as surprised as you are!
Chapter 5
After school in Music Room 3 . . .
""Hey there, pipsqueak!"" the twins chorused, grinning as Ed, Al, and Tamaki entered the room.
"DON'T CALL ME A BEAN!" Ed yelled, stomping his foot in agitation.
"Twins, knock it off!" Tamaki said as he started to help set things up for the meeting that day.
"Eddie-chan, Allie-chan, are you gonna stay for the meeting today?" Honey asked, skipping up to them. As the school day had gone on, most of the Hosts had warmed up to the brothers, once they'd realized that Tamaki was perfectly fine after letting them stay at his house for the night. The only one that still seemed wary of the brothers was Kyoya, but Tamaki had assured them that Kyoya just hadn't had time to really get to know them yet.
"Yeah, Tamaki said we could hang out and see what exactly it is that you guys do around here," Ed replied in answer to Honey's question.
"Yay!" Honey exclaimed, smiling. "You can eat some cake with me!" Ed grinned and shook his head, wondering how this kid could actually be seventeen years old.
"Alright, places people!" Tamaki called from the doorway, his hand resting on the brass door handle. All of the Hosts quickly scrambled to gather around the couch in the center of the room, leaving Ed and Al standing alone.
"Um, what exactly are we supposed to do?" Ed asked.
"Oh, you two can just stay there- we'll introduce you to our guests!" Tamaki grinned.
"Oh no, that's okay-" Al started to say, but he was cut off as Tamaki opened the doors and a group of girls streamed into the room.
"Welcome, ladies!" the Hosts chorused as the girls crowded around them. Some of them noticed Ed and Al and cast a few curious glances their way.
"We're so glad you lovely ladies could join us this afternoon!" Tamaki said, striding over to the brothers. "But before we start the meeting, I'd like to introduce you to some new students: this is Edward Elric and his brother, Alphonse."
"Um, hi," Ed said awkwardly as all of the ladies' gazes turned to him and his brother. There was a pause, and then all of the girls started talking at once. It was hard to discern exactly what each one was saying, but Ed managed to pick out a particularly loud squeal coming from a girl to his right.
"Ooh, that little blonde is sooo cute!" she exclaimed, and her friend nodded in agreement. Ed let out a little growl of annoyance and turned to her.
"WHO ARE YOU CALLIN' SO SMALL THAT WHEN HE GOES TO THE STORE HE HAS TO STAND ON AL'S SHOULDERS JUST TO SEE OVER THE CHECKOUT COUNTER?" he yelled, startling everyone but his brother, who just sighed wearily. There was another silent pause, and then all the girls squealed at once.
"He's sooo adorable!"
"HEY!"
As Ed freaked out again and most of the girls continued to fawn over him, some of the ladies turned their attention to Al.
"Alphonse, if you don't mind my asking, how much older are you then Ed?" one of them asked, distracting Al from watching his brother's rant.
"Uh, actually, I'm a year younger," Al replied. The girls frowned in confusion.
"Really?" another one questioned. "But he's so much . . ."
"Less mature? I know, but I've learned to deal with it; after all, he is my brother."
"Aw!" the girls cooed. "How sweet!"
""Are you all discussing brotherly love?"" said two identical voices. The twins appeared next to Alphonse, their arms draped around each other.
"Ah yes, nothing can beat the love between an older and a younger brother," Hikaru commented. Suddenly, Kaoru's expression turned almost pained and he stepped away from his twin, who looked at him questioningly.
"Hikaru," Kaoru said softly, glancing at his brother shyly. "Do you ever wish that I wasn't your twin, but just a younger brother instead?"
"Of course not, Kaoru!" Hikaru exclaimed, throwing his arms around Kaoru's shoulders. Kaoru looked away, but Hikaru grabbed his chin and pulled Kaoru's face close to his dramatically. "You know I'd never want you to be anything less than my twin!"
"Hikaru!" Kaoru cried, gripping Hikaru's shirt, and Al could swear he saw tears in his eyes.
"What are you two doing?" Edward said, having escaped the mass of girls surrounding him and noticing the twins encounter.
"It's called 'brotherly love,' if you must know," Hikaru snapped, and Kaoru clung to him tighter. Ed and Al shared a very wierded-out glance.
"Alright, well, would you knock it off? It's kind of disturbing," Ed said. All of the ladies let out a gasp of surprise at how brazen Ed was being. The twins narrowed their eyes.
""We're the 'little devil' type; it comes with the package,"" they said. As Ed started to retort, the door to the clubroom opened and everyone turned as Crona shuffled into the room.
"Um, I'm sorry I'm late. I was- oh, my . . .," he trailed off when he realized that not only was the Host Club there, a huge group of girls, plus Ed and Al, were staring at him as well.
"T-that's a lot of people . . .," Crona muttered to himself, frozen in place. "I really don't know how to deal with this . . ."
"Crona, I'm so glad you made it!" Tamaki beamed, practically skipping over to him. He put an arm around Crona's shoulders, and Crona made a little squeaking sound and jerked away from his grasp.
"Oops, sorry!" Tamaki apologized, remembering how shy Crona was. He smiled again and turned to the group, who by now had completely forgotten the argument between Ed and the twins.
"Ladies, I'd like you to meet another friend of mine; this is Crona," Tamaki announced. The girls stared at Crona, and Ed thought that they looked almost like a pack of lions about to pounce. Sure enough, they suddenly started to rush forward.
"Whoa, whoa, wait!" Tamaki exclaimed, stepping in front of Crona protectively as the pink-haired boy backed up against the door, his sad eyes wide with terror. "Please don't crowd around him; he's extremely shy!"
The girls slowed down and eventually stopped, looking at Crona like he was the strangest yet most interesting thing they'd seen all day. Kyoya walked over to stand in front of Tamaki, smiling sweetly.
"Ladies, I know you're all eager to chat with out new guests, but we really must start the meeting before it gets too late," he said. "However, Ed, Al, and Crona will be walking around and sitting with each Host for a time, so you'll still get the chance to speak with them, okay?" The girls nodded. "Alright, then let's start; Hosts, please go to your tables!"
The ladies and all of the Hosts except Tamaki dispersed to go to their designated tables. Honey grabbed Ed and Al's hands and tugged them over to his spot, which was laden with cakes and other sweets. Tamaki told his guests that he would be at his table in a moment, and then he turned to Crona.
"Sorry about that; the ladies can get a little too excited sometimes," he said, smiling apologetically. Crona just stared at him, seeming to still be in shock at nearly getting swarmed by a mob of girls.
"Are you alright?" Tamaki asked, looking into his eyes. Crona nodded and averted his gaze to the floor, gripping his arm.
"T-thanks for not letting them surround me," Crona said quietly, glancing at the blonde.
"Oh, it was nothing; I didn't want you to feel uncomfortable. You are my friend, after all!"
Crona frowned at him, confused.
"I . . . I am?" he asked, and Tamaki grinned.
"Of course you are! Don't you think so?"
"Oh, yeah . . . I guess I am." Crona smiled weakly and Tamaki beamed again, happy to get at least a slightly positive response out of him. The Host King held out his hand to Crona.
"Do you want to stay at my table with me for a little bit?" he asked, and Crona nodded shyly again. Ever so slowly, he took Tamaki's hand in his own and allowed the blonde to lead him over to a set of couches where six ladies were sitting, waiting. Crona and Tamaki sat down, and then Tamaki commenced his Hosting.
The rest of the meeting passed by without any more major incidents, except for Ed and Al continuing to be wierded-out by Hikaru and Kaoru's "twincest" act. Crona didn't talk much, but Tamaki considered the fact that he didn't bolt for the doors when all of the ladies started cooing over him at once an accomplishment in itself. After the meeting had ended and all of the ladies had left, the Hosts cleaned up the room and then started to go their separate ways. Crona noticed Ed and Al exiting the room with Tamaki and he ran to catch up with them, remembering Medusa's orders from earlier about trying to make friends with them.
"Wait!" Crona called, and the trio paused so he could catch up with them. Crona gripped his arm as they all stared at him questioningly. "Um, can I walk with you?"
"Of course, Crona!" Tamaki grinned.
"Thanks."
"So, Crona, you just transferred here, too?" Al asked as Crona fell into step with the trio.
"Uh-huh," Crona replied. He glanced at Al and immediately started to stare at him with fascination, much as he had done the day before when he'd first encountered the brothers after school.
"Is my brother really that interesting?" Ed questioned, noticing how Al had started to shift uncomfortably from the intensity of Crona's gaze. Crona immediately looked at the floor.
"Oh, um, no. Sorry."
"Hey! Stop acting like a weirdo!" Ragnarok suddenly exclaimed in the back of Crona's mind, making the boy wince. "They're never gonna try and be your friends if you keep acting like some creepy kid!"
"But . . . Al's soul wavelength is so strong . . . it's not normal . . .," Crona said quietly so the others couldn't hear. Ragnarok laughed loudly, and Ed raised his eyebrow as he saw Crona flinch again.
"You're worried about someone not being normal?" the Demon Sword said derisively. "You're not exactly a prime example of normal yourself!"
"Well, no, but-"
"Crona, are you okay? Do you want to tell us something?" Tamaki asked when he saw Crona muttering to himself. Crona's mouth snapped shut and he shook his head, gripping his arm. There was a moment of silence and Tamaki looked at Crona anxiously, not really believing that he was as alright as he claimed to be. After a few seconds, Ed yawned and stretched his arms into the air. Crona and Tamaki's heads turned when they heard the chink of metal, and Ed quickly put his arms down.
"Heh heh, my joints must really be stiff," Ed laughed nervously, massaging his shoulder. "I should work out some more . . . anyway, so Tamaki, that's some club you run back there!"
"Oh, did you enjoy it!" Tamaki beamed enthusiastically. "I'm so glad! Yes, making young ladies happy just gives you a good feeling inside, doesn't it?"
The group continued talking about the Host Club until they got outside. Tamaki actually managed to get Crona involved in the conversation at one point, and despite his nagging feeling of nervousness and worry, Crona was starting to get a little more used to being around Tamaki and the brothers. He and the trio parted ways at the entrance to the school and set off to the places they were staying, already anxious for the next day of school to begin.
A/N: The next chapter will include more troublesome twins, bodies (or lack thereof, as the case may be), and a new character to add to the boys' troubles! Look for it in about two weeks (or hopefully a little before)!