"Oh wow, Alexander, you're so handsome," a girl with curly brown hair gushes, placing her delicate hand on Almonds, well, Alexander's hand. Almond smirks.
"I know, but I'm clearly no comparison to you," Almond compliments, looking at the girl through her bangs. The girl blushes and glances away, giggling. Almond wanted to gag, but instead, she leaned back and placed her hands behind the large furry hood. Two more girls walk over, looking nervous.
"Mind if we sit with you, A-Alexander?" A blonde girl asks, blushing.
"Go for it," Almond says with a smirk. "More the merrier, yeah?"
"Of course!" Says a brunette. The two girls sit down, and stare at Almond.
"So, tell us about yourself, Alexander. What have you done? What are your hobbies?"
Almond stretches and then sits up, leaning on the table with her chin resting in her hand. A smirk plays on her lips, as she narrows her eyes.
"Are you sure you really want to know? I wouldn't want to frighten you pretty ladies," Almond says in a flirtatious, calming voice. The girls all blush and glance to each other.
"No, please, we're curious."
Almond smirks.
"Well, back at home, I liked to go out and party, but not like the parties you ladies have. Instead of ballroom dancing, and eating calamari, I went out to an open field, stood near a bonfire, and got wasted."
All the girls gasp, their eyes widening. Almond continues.
"And at the end of the night, I'd go home with my friends, and we laid there, talking about how wasted we were, how much vodka we drank. You know stuff like that," Almond says, winking.
"That's so different compared to us," whispers a girl, looking at Almond.
"It seems so forbidden, but so daring," whispered another.
"I wouldn't recommend it to you lovely ladies. Crazy stuff happens at those parties, and I wouldn't want to see any of your pretty faces in trouble," Almond coos, reaching out to run a delicate finger down each girls cheek.
Every girl at the table squeals with delight.
"She's a natural at this," Tamaki comments, supervising with Kyoya. "She didn't even come to sit at my table to learn some tactics, she just jumped right in."
"Mm. It is very impressive indeed. Though, I'm curious, Tamaki," Kyoya says, looking at his friend. Tamaki blinks. "What are we going to do about tomorrow's theme? We already have Haruhi covered, but we don't have anything for Almond."
Tamaki gasps, and then places his chin in his hand, pondering. "Very correct, Kyoya, this is quite the predicament, isn't it."
"Yes, it is," Kyoya says. "Also, have you realized the twins keep hovering near her?"
Tamaki blinks, and looks over to where Almond, Alexander, was entertaining the ladies. Near them, were the two redheaded twins, watching. "What could they be up to?"
"I'm not too sure," Kyoya says, tilting his head to the side. Then, the group of ladies seated with Almond gets up, giggling and blushing, as another larger group takes their seats. "Almond is sure attracting a lot of attention."
Almond smiles at the girls, lowering her eyelids to gaze at them through her eyelashes.
This was fun for her.
"Where have you gorgeous ladies been hiding all my life?" Almond asks, winking.
Every single girl started to blush and giggle.
"Alexander, why haven't we've seen you around?" Asks a petite red head, fluttering her eyelashes. The twins then dive in, wrapping their arms around Almond.
Almond blinks and glances to her side, looking at Hikaru.
"He's been busy,"
"Keeping us company."
At the same time, the twins both lean in and lick Almonds' cheeks, before holding hands and walking away. The girls were going ballistic, squealing, blushing and fanning themselves.
Almond rolls her eyes discreetly, and glares at the twins, who were sniggering to themselves.
"Ah. Now things make a bit more sense," Kyoya comments with a nod. Tamaki was gawking, but he quickly snaps his head towards Kyoya.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, they were expecting a question like that to come up, so they jumped in to avoid the answer. I think we're planning on using the whole, 'advanced classes' as a back up plan."
Tamaki huffs, and folds his arms watching.
"Jealous?"
Tamaki spins around and looks at Kaoru, who was hovering beside him, Hikaru leaning against his brother.
"I'm not jealous of anybody," Tamaki says, looking at Kyoya. "Mommy, they're bothering me."
Kyoya sighs and looks at Tamaki. "Daddy," he begins, fighting the urge to roll his eyes, "Why don't you go entertain those ladies over there?"
Tamaki blinks and then grins nodding. He flounces off in the girls' direction, whipping out roses from his winter coat.
Kyoya sighs, looking at the twins.
"Be careful with what you do, we don't want Almond being found out," Kyoya says. The twins wave him off, going to a table.
"So, what do you ladies do with your time?" Almond asks, not really interested.
They all begin to say their activities, and the clubs they're in. Almond nods a few times, and smirks at others, causing the girls to be confused with glee. A little tanned girl, probably of Korean descent, leans in close to Almond. Almond in return blinks and leans closer as well, reaching out to rub her finger over the girls chin.
"Your skin is so pretty," the girl gushes, trying not to blush.
"Not as pretty as yours, darling," Almond says softly, leaning back.
This continued for the rest of the hour, before the club shut everything down, all the girls flocking out of the room, happy. Once Kyoya shuts the door and locks it, Almond lets out a loud sigh, unzipping her winter coat. She shrugs it off, and then takes off the wig, unpinning her hair. She leans back and sighs, again.
"You did well," Haruhi compliments, appearing by her side. Almond grins.
"It was pretty fun, I'll admit. Though, I feel bad for toying with their emotions so much," Almond says, as Tamaki appears next.
"Toying? Oh no, no, no! We aren't toying with their emotions, we're just giving them the attention they desire, and the joy they crave," Tamaki tuts, his eyes sparkling. Almond rolls her eyes, and looks at him upside down, considering her head was leaning over the edge of the chair.
"Whatever you say, Tamaki."
Tamaki grins, and then claps his hands. "Everybody, come here please! We have a change in theme, for tomorrow!"
The club gathers around, as Almond sits up, turning in her seat to listen to Tamaki. He clears his throat and grins.
"We're going to be having a little majestic, romantic evening!" Tamaki cheers. Everybody remains silent, waiting for him to continue. "Our little pianist, Almond, will be playing throughout the afternoon, Kyoya and Mori, you're going to be 'waiters', Haruhi and I shall entertain guests, Hikaru, Kaoru, you guys will also be entertaining guests, and Honey, you'll be in charge of sweets!"
"Sweet."
"Sounds interesting."
"So, we're serving supper?"
"Why do I have to play?"
"I'll order the costumes now."
Tamaki just grins and waves everybody off, looking impressed with himself. "It'll be great fun, the girls will love it. We'll hang dark velvet drapes over the windows for ambience, have rose petals everywhere, and give the ladies each a lovely red rose. It will be a great success!"
"I have ordered the costumes," Kyoya says, closing his cell phone. "The flowers will be here tomorrow morning, the velvet drapes will be here tomorrow afternoon."
"Perfect! Well, let's have some coffee before we depart, and also," Tamaki pauses, looking at Almond, "We're all going out tonight, for some off the scene club activities, and since you're a part of the club, I insist that you join us!"
Almond blinks and rubs the back of her neck. "Well, I'll see what my mothers' and aunt are doing, then I'll text one of you?"
Haruhi smiles. "You should come, it'll be fun."
Suddenly, a piece of paper is shoved into Almond's face, as she takes it. Kyoya smiles slightly. "Text me to see if you're able to make it."
Almond nods, and then stands up, looking at the clock. "Oh, I have to go. My aunt should be here."
Tamaki claps his hands, looking at the group. "Let us escort you down, but first, change out of your winter gear." Almond snorts, and trudges to the changing area, happily removing the winter clothing, and the bindings. She soon emerges out of the room, with her hair in a loose bun, wearing the canary yellow monstrosity.
"Let's go," Almond says happily, as Haruhi walks beside her. Almond smiles. They easily made a connection, and were definitely on the path to friendship.
They all climb down the staircases, and out the main doors, walking to the end of the path. They walk past the gate, and Almond looks down the road, frowning slightly.
"I wonder where she is," Almond comments. She opens her cell phone, and notices a text from Evangeline.
'Baby, I'll be coming to get you in five. Be outside! Love, mom1.'
Almond smiles, and notices it was sent ten minutes ago, meanin-
Then, a silver ford truck drives down the street, parking in front of the group. Almonds mouth drops, as both her mother's grin from the windows, her aunt tucked in the middle.
"The hell did you get this beast?" Almond asks loudly, running to the truck. Her mothers' and aunt laugh.
"Bought it for three grand! Pretty damn cheap for such a decent truck," Kitashi says, before noticing the group of people. "Are these your new friends?"
Almond blushes and then grins nodding. She motions for everybody to come over, so they comply.
"Guys, these are my mothers' and my aunt, Evangeline, Kitashi and Kina, mothers' one and two, plus aunt one, these are the guys," Almond says with a chuckle. Everybody then crowds the window.
"I'm Hikaru, and this is Kaoru!" The twins say at the same time, pointing to each other. The women in the truck chuckle.
"Kyoya."
"Hi! I'm Honey, and this is Bun-Chan!" Honey says, holding up his rabbit. Almond could have sworn Evangeline wanted to leap through the window and hug Honey instantly. Mori then smiles slightly.
"I'm Mori," he says softly.
"I'm Tamaki," the tall blonde says, with a broad grin.
"I'm Haruhi," she says, looking at Kina. "Though, I think you already know that."
It goes silent, as Almonds aunt peers out the window. A look of recognition flashes through her eyes, as she grins. "Little Haruhi! How's your dad doing sweetie? I haven't visited you're old man in ages," Kina says as Haruhi laughs softly.
"He's good, he was actually planning on calling you soon. I didn't know you were Almond's aunt," Haruhi says. Kina grins.
"Well, now you know," she laughs. Almond looks between the two, kind of in shock. She then clears her throat.
"Well, I have a question," Almond says, catching her mothers' attention. "The group invited me to join them tonight, and I was wondering if I could?"
Kitashi smiles. "Of course, I don't see why not."
"As long as you stay out of trouble, that is," Evangeline says with a grin. "Don't pull out the whole 'I'm Canadian, I love beer, let's go pet a moose' act, alright?"
Almond huffs, as some people of the group snigger, mainly the twins.
"Don't tell me you've done that," Tamaki jokes. Almond rolls her eyes and glances away.
"Maybe."
Everybody laughs, Kyoya and Mori simply smiled.
"Well sweet pea, hope in. We're going shopping," Evangeline says, before looking at the group. "She'll be available at about 6pm, if that works."
Tamaki grins brightly, and bows. "Of course, we'll be there."
"I know where she's staying, so I'll just give them the directions," Haruhi says with a smile. Almond grins and nods, hugging Haruhi. She hugs back, also smiling.
Almond was about to get in, when she heard a chorus of, 'Hey!', behind her.
The twins were standing there, with their arms open, mocking hurt. Almond rolls her eyes, walking over to them, hugging Hikaru and Kaoru at the same time, before leaning over to hug Honey, who happily hugs her back. She stands back up and looks at Kyoya.
He looks back.
"Why the hell not," Almond says, as she hugs him. Kyoya sighs softly, but hugs her back none the less. She let go of him and grinned up at Mori. He just smiled and slightly opened his arms for her. She hugs him, and he gently hugs back. Talk about a gentle giant.
She looks at Tamaki, and then sticks her tongue out, turning away.
"Momo, why!" Tamaki says, pouting.
"Because, you made me wear that stupid snow suit today," she says with a grin. "See you guys later."
"Bye!" Came the farewell from the group, as Kitashi opened the door to let her daughter in.
After awkwardly climbing to the back seat with her large dress, she sighs heavily.
The group walked back, as they drove off. Evangeline looks at her daughter from the rear view mirror.
"How was school? Seems like you're fitting in quite well," she says with a laugh.
Almond laughs as well, glancing out the window. Oh yeah, definitely.
"It was great, I really liked it. I found a music room, went in, and then I was bombarded by that group. I was… Accepted quickly, and I became friends with them. Each one of them are in at least one of my classes," Almond says, smiling.
"Great! That's amazing," Kitashi says, smiling proudly at her daughter.
"I'm also in a Host Club," Almond says. The truck grows silent, but Kina shivers with laughter.
"A Host Club? What's that?" Evangeline asks.
Kina then bursts out laughing.
"Oh my, you're in the same club Haruhi is in?" Kina asks while laughing. Almond nods.
"What is it?"
Before Almond could explain, Kina takes over. "They basically answer to the desires of the teenage girls there, making them happy, spending time with them and giving them all the attention they want."
Kitashi and Evangeline look at each other.
"What?"
Almond laughs and nods.
"Yeah, that's pretty much it. Though, I dress up like a guy for it," Almond says, waiting for her parents reactions.
It was quiet, except for Kina's laughing. Soon, her parents begin to laugh as well.
The rest of the ride to the shopping district was nothing but giggles and laughter, as they parked the truck. They all climbed out, and headed for a small clothing store.
"I buy most of my stuff here," Kina explains, opening the bamboo door. Almond nods, and enters behind her mothers'.
Her eyes instantly zeroed in on this pretty cocoa brown kimono, with faded pink lilies as a pattern. It was shorter, more casual, even with white lace at the bottom, and around the band for the waist. Almond instantly goes over to it, checking the price tag. It was cheap. She looks over at Evangeline, who was watching her, and smiles sheepishly.
Evangeline raises her eyebrows.
"It's cheap?" Almond says with a grin. Evangeline rolls her eyes and nods, as Almond happily pulls the Kimono off the wall.
"Going to wear that tonight?" Kina asks, grinning.
"Perhaps."
"Well, you're going to need a hair piece then," Kitashi comments, looking over. Almond blinks.
Evangeline then claps her hands. "I know, come here!"
Almond obeys, and follows her mother to a small stand, where pink and white flowered headbands were resting.
"Perfect," Kitashi comments, appearing at Almonds side. Almond frowns.
"Are you sure? That seems really fancy," Almond mutters. Kina rolls her eyes along with Almond's mothers'.
"No, we're getting one."
With a defeated sigh, Evangeline pulls off a two flowered headband and takes the Kimono from Almond. They browse the store for a bit, before paying, and piling back into the truck. After getting home, Almond checks the time. Twenty minutes until she went out. With a quick jog, she runs up to her room, and happily strips out of her yellow dress, putting the kimono on. She slides off her leggings, and wears black flats, looking in the mirror.
The kimono looked exceptionally well, but the manly make-up on her face had to go. She goes to her bathroom and scrubs her face, before re-applying her usual make-up, eyeliner and mascara. After brushing her wavy curls, she places the headband on, examining her reflection.
Pretty, not to elegant, but not casual. Perfect.
Her phone vibrates, as she picks it up, sitting on the bathroom counter.
'On our way.'
She blinks. She couldn't remember ever giving her number to anybody in the club yet.
Kyoya. Of course. She rolls her eyes, and then hears the doorbell chime.
That was fast.
She exits the bathroom, and walks down the hallway, opening the door.
Standing there, dressed in black pants and a white, slightly ruffled, long sleeved shirts, were Kaoru and Hikaru. They grin brightly.
"You look good," they say at the same time, inspecting her outfit. They then pause and give each other a glance. "You don't think..."
Almond raises her eyebrows.
"Our mother designed that dress," Hikaru says with a grin, as Almond blinks.
"Wow, that's really ironic," she laughs. "I'll be back later!" Almond chants behind her shoulder. She could hear mumbled replies of 'yeah, be good' in the distance.
"Well, let's go then," Kaoru says with a grin, stepping aside.
On the street, was an elegant black stretch limo. Her mouth drops.
"What is this?" She asks frantically.
Hikaru and Kaoru look at each other, before looking at Almond.
"Our ride," they say at the same time. They noticed her dumbfounded look.
"Welcome to the life of the rich," Hikaru jokes, giving her a shove towards the limo.
No shit.