The club wasn't open on my first day.

"Why isn't the Host Club open?" I asked while trying to walk on the ceiling (Honey and I had gotten into a sugar-eating contest which ended up in a tie).

"We need to train you," Kyouya said.

"And advertise the fact that I joined?" I asked.

Kyouya smirked. "And that."

I was taken to a table and three girls sat in front of me. I liked them, they were some of the kids who were friends with me from the start.

"First try with people you like," Kyouya said.

I smiled. "Hello."

"Hi, Hayze!" one girl said.

"Do you want some tea? Cake? Coffee? Whaddya want?" I asked eagerly.

"I'll have some tea," one girl replied. They all agreed.

"Sweetness!" I said. I handed them some tea.

"So why are you in the Host Club?" one girl asked.

"Well, I came to Japan to live with my cuzzie Haruhi. My parents wanted to get rid of me and I'm all like, "Why Japan? Fuck you!" Then they sent me on the damn plane anyways, but not before I replaced my step dad's hair gel with blue ink." I grinned evilly.

That practice went pretty well. Then came the next group.

It was a bunch of girls I didn't really know.

They asked me a few questions and I answered with my "rebellious statements" and told random "rebellious stories." Plus I swore my fucking ass off.

The next group was girls I hate. They kept commenting on my hair and makeup and the fact that I was wearing a guy's uniform and my "modifications." I was pissed beyond belief, especially when they made these "subtle" comments that weren't really so subtle. But I just smiled at them and told them some stories in a threatening tone. Usually, my eyes can convey the message easily. Especially when I'm smiling. They shut up after that and I grinned broadly and menacingly. After they left I laughed.

"What did you do?" Haruhi asked warily.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I replied innocently. Then we heard three ear-splitting screams from the girls' bathroom and I laughed my ass off again.

The Hosts all stared at me silently until I told them what I did.

"I may have accidentally slipped non-toxic permanent ink in their tea and completely ruined their shoes and dresses when I dropped my fork." I said with a sadistic grin.

Ten seconds later a teacher walked in with the three girls.

"Miss Cross! I need to talk to you! Girls, go back to class," she said.

They all made faces at me and walked out. Heh, they were really screwed now.

"What's wrong?" I asked, pulling on my innocent look. "Did I do anything?"

"As a matter of fact, these girls said that you put ink in their tea and ruined their possessions," the teacher replied.

Show time.

I let out a sob. "It figures!" I said through my tears. "I can't get rid of it!"

The teacher was taken aback by my sudden outburst. "What's the matter? What do you mean?" she asked frantically.

"Th-those girls!" I sobbed. "They've been m-mean to me since I g-got he-re! A-and they made fucking faces at m-me when they... when they were leav-ving!"

"Do you have any proof?" she asked.

Kyoya stepped up and, pushing up his glasses, said, "As a matter of fact, I have cameras set up for today for undisclosed reasons, ma'am."

This wasn't part of my plan, but these girls needed the pain and Kyoya was helping.

He played her the footage of the things they said to me and the looks they gave me and... everything!

The teacher left to find the girls and give them detention.

I smiled and tackled Kyoya. "Thank you!" I said with a grin. And I'm sorry I did the thing with the ink and the scissors and the gunpowder..."

"What gunpowder?" Kyoya asked.

I blushed. "Umm... Nothing really..."

Kyoya had enough sense to just leave it at that.

"You're insane, you know that?" Haruhi asked.

"Probably." was my reply.

Next I worked with guys. I hosted Nekozawa, who is really nice and one of my awesome new friends. He was eternally grateful when I smashed the twins' flashlight and shoved them into a closet telling them to fuck each other. He is definitely coming over one night. (Night and not day because he hates the sun) I hosted Kasanoda, who I called Kassie. He doesn't hate me, but he's a little pissed about the nickname. I also hosted random strangers, adults, and the other Hosts. Gosh, I bet the rest of them didn't have to do all this.

I voiced my revelation and Haruhi said, "You're insane. We need to make sure you don't blow up the guests."

"Hey, I'm the rebellious type, not the homicidal type," I said jokingly.

Mitsy giggled and I smiled. "Now," I said, "Tell me if I passed so I can kidnap Mitsy to hang out with him all day. MWAHAHA!"

Everyone gave me a funny look and I smirked and said, "Oops, did I say that out loud?"

Mitsy started laughing. "Let's vote! Who things Hayze would make a good hostess?" Him, Hikaru, Kaoru, Haruhi, Takashi, and Tamaki raised their hands. "And who doesn't?" Kyoya just stood there.

"You gonna vote?" I asked him. He shook his head.

"I think it would be better if I just let things play out without my influence."

"So in other words," I said, "You don't wanna vote so that if I fuck up you can't get blamed?" He looked taken aback my my accuracy and bluntness for a second.

"If you want to put it so bluntly, I suppose so," he answered, pushing up his glasses.

"Well, I do. So I've got one thing to say to you," I said.

"Yes?"

"Great plan!" I exclaimed, giving Kyoya a thumbs-up.

"So," Tamaki said, "Looks like you passed!"

"FUCK YES!" I said, doing an upward punching motion. I then walked over to Mitsy and grabbed his hand, running out the door and dragging him along with me.

We went to a little coffee shop on the outskirts of town, a very quaint place that was a hell of a lot cheaper and better than Starbucks. There we talked and I smiled at how much I loved being around Mitsy. He was just so good to hang out with.

We then went to a park. It was one of those places that just looks fun when you're there during the day, then when the sun sets it's too beautiful to look away and you end up sitting there till well after dark because it's so enchanting at night.

I immediately ran over to the swings. It was one of those blessed days where we were a few of the only people there and the others weren't interested in the swings. So I swung as high as I could go without flipping over and jumped off. I flew pretty damn far.

"MITSY, LOOK!" I shouted. "I CAN FLYYYYY!" Then I landed with an "Oof!" I landed on my feet in a way that my legs evenly absorbed the impact and nothing broke.

It still kinda hurt though.

"Fuck!" I muttered, falling on my ass. I rubbed my feet. Mitsy rushed over to me and frantically said, "Hayze! Are you okay?"

"'M fine," I grunted. I looked up at him and grinned. "Wanna go on the swings?"

"Do I have to jump off?" he asked warily, remembering my fall.

I shook my head. "Nope, all you gotta do is sit on the swing and I'll push you. And even if you do jump, you're a hell of a lot more agile than me. C'mon, it'll be fun!"

"You don't have to push me," he pointed out.

"I know, but I want to," I replied.

"Okay," he said with a smile. We walked back over to the swings and I pushed him, letting him go a little higher each time until he was swinging at an adequate height.

All the while I thought about him. Why was he the one I noticed most distinctly at the airport? Why did I ask him to take me sightseeing instead of Haruhi or one of the other Hosts? Why did I spill my guts out to a complete stranger? And why did I say what I said back at the store? "Well, that's not the sugar..." What did I mean by that? Did I...

Did I like Haninozuka Mitsukuni?

I stopped pushing him immediately. I ran over every blush, every smile, every heartbeat in my mind and came to my conclusion.

Yes. Yes I did.

"Hayze, is something wrong?" he asked.

I snapped out of my reverie and looked at him with new eyes. And with these new eyes, I noticed him a lot more. A lot more subtle things about him.

I noticed the way his eyes shined when he was excited and dimmed when he was sad. They darkened when he was angry, creepy in a way that oddly suited him. They glowed when he was happy and when he was worried or guilty they were clouded over. I never wanted to make them cloud over, only shine and glow and sparkle.

"Hayze!" he said, relieving me from my trance again. The swing was still moving, but he had already jumped off and landed much more expertly than I did. Damn black belt.

"Oh, it's nothing," I assured him with a smile. "Just thinking, y'know? I am known to do that from time to time."

"From time to time," he repeated with a smirk.

"Shut up!" I wailed, smacking him playfully on the shoulder. "I bet I think more than you!"

He just stuck his tongue out and ran away.

"Don't you walk away from me!" I shrieked, chasing after him. I had a rough time catching him, but being a few inches taller helps. I tackled him to the ground and my heart raced at the short contact. I was sure he could tell - despite the fact I was wearing my customary four shirts and a jacket - but if he really could I hoped he would think the exercise made my heart beat faster.

No amount of exercise, however, would ever make my heart beat like he did.

Of course, I wasn't gonna tell him. How could he ever feel the same about me? I was completely pathetic - people told me so all the time. After a few years I just started to believe them and it turned into an inferiority complex. Of course, nobody believed it was as bad as it was so they just treated me shittier; God knows why.

"Gotcha!" I yelled a few seconds too late. Thinking was really starting to screw me over.

"Have you forgotten I'm the karate champion of Japan?" he asked semi-threateningly.

"No, but I gotcha anyways. My best friend from America knows karate and I chipped her leg." I replied getting up.

"You are truly a worthy adversary," he said bowing.

"Hey, don't fucking mock me! I'll beat the shit outta your cute little ass!" Wait, did I just say... But I didn't mean... Oh, shit.

Thankfully he took it how it was meant (unlike most people would).

After a while of doing just about nothing we went over to the pond in the middle of the park and watched the sunset from a park bench. It was so beautiful, and as I sat there and watched I couldn't help but let my thoughts wander back to how I felt about Mitsukuni.

I felt like a total imbecile when I realized that I liked him. I mean, from the moment I got off the plane he was the only one I paid much attention to, I mean genuine attention.

The sunset was beautiful. The sky was painted pink, yellow, and orange with a hint of purple and a dash of its original blue. Then, it was reflected in the shimmering, serene water where the swans were swimming. There were lillies floating in the pond and cherry trees surrounding the scene, adding to its beauty.

But the most beautiful part? The childlike senior sitting next to me, his arm wrapped around mine. I smiled. Of course I wasn't going to tell him, but moments like this... Moments like this were precious.

He looked up at me once the sky turned to black with diamond stars littering its scape and said, "Ne, Hayze-chan, what are you thinking about?"

"You," I replied thoughtlessly. And another signature "Hayze oops moment".

"What about me?" he asked.

I decided to answer with half the truth and force the rest to stay in my head.

"How I'm so glad I met you, glad you're my friend, glad I came to Japan... I'm just really glad you're around," I stated warmly. How much I like you...

He smiled and I asked, "So what were you thinking about?"

Mitsy blushed. "I was thinking about you."

"What about me?" I asked, slightly mocking him, but in a friendly way.

"How I'm glad you came to Japan, and glad you asked me to take you sightseeing, and glad you joined the Host Club, and glad you came to Japan, and glad I met you, and glad you're my friend, and glad you're around, and glad you feel the same way."

I grinned. "I guess the feeling's mutual then?" I asked, to which his eyes lit up and he nodded.

It was now beautifully dark but a little chilly. The lake was like a dark portal, reflecting the moonlight in an eerie way that chilled your blood in the most enchanting ways. I loved nights like this.

Suddenly it got very late and we had to get home or else. But I still didn't want to go.

As we left, I jokingly asked, "So, how much do I owe?"

"Ne, Hayze, what do you mean?" he asked.

"You're a Host. I hung out with you. Technically I was hosted and that means I have to pay you. So how much do I owe?"

"Nothing," he replied. "You're a Hostess. I hung out with you. Technically I was hosted too so I would have to pay you the same amount, which would make us even. Plus, we're not in the Host Club."

"Or we'd have to pay double, since we were both hosted," I remarked.

"True, but like I said, we're not in the Host Club."

I just shrugged and walked off.

_________________________________

A/N: Okay, so this is sort of half filler, I guess. The story can't go without it, though, so that's why it's only half filler.

I'm rambling.

But anyway, the beginning of the previous chapter happens to me almost every day. Waking up late, running around frantically and trying to get ready, all the while throwing out a string of profanities.

I really should get to work on my creative writing prompt... Damn genius class!

I have to write a short story about a historical event as if I were there, so I'm doing Mudstock. If you don't know what Mudstock is, it's when they tried to re-create Woodstock in '94. Green Day was playing and Billie Joe kept egging on the crowd until it ended up starting the biggest mudfight ever...

I have to edit out the swearing, though, to make it G-rated... And I'm not allowed to write anything yaoi or yaoi related. Grr.

Rambling again, but the next chapter should be up in a few minutes. Teehee.

One more thing, I went on eBay and got an Usa-chan, just like Honey's! It's official, too! I've been carrying it around everywhere with me and it might be going in the yearbook... even though I'm in the higher school... :)