Chapter 2: Haruhi and the Host Club

I walked through hideous pink hallways and somehow managed to find my way back to my classroom. I moaned quietly as I took my seat.

'I only finished half of my lunch thanks to him. Humph! "Princess" he called me. Yuck! It makes me want to puke, my own brother, well, half-brother, hitting on me. I see now why my father didn't want me to meet him.' I must have had a strange look on my face because when Misawa took her seat next to me, she looked at me, confused.

"Miss Sohma. What's wrong?" she asked. I looked at her and wondered if I should ask her.

"Well, I..." I said, averting my eyes, "Do you know a guy named Tamaki Suoh." She started giggling; it must be a stupid question.

"Of course I do, silly, every girl at Ouran knows him. Why?" she questioned, looking at me. "Oh, let me guess, you have a crush on him!" At this, I was genuinely appalled.

"No!" I screamed in denial as I slammed my hand on the desk. Everyone in the room looked at me, and I shrunk into my seat. Misawa giggled at me, and I could feel how red my face was. I took a few deep breaths to recover.

"I ran into him in the gardens, and we talked for a bit. I was just wondering what kind of guy he is, that's all." I mumbled, tapping my pen on the desktop.

"He's not my type though he is pretty good-looking. He's the Princely type and makes every girl feel like a princess."

'So that's what was with the "foreign princess" stuff. It's not just me either, he does that to all the girls... That's... kind of weird. Is he like a player?' I thought to myself as she went on.

"Haruhi is my type." 'Haruhi? Familiar name, but no way it's the same Haruhi.'

"Haruhi?" I urged her to continue.

"Haruhi Fujioka! He's just wonderful; he's the natural type, and I love everything about him!" She said, blushing and putting her hands on her cheeks like a fangirl about to swoon.

'No way the exact same name! The odds of that are pretty slim. Now that I think about it, Haruhi did seem like the study hard nerdy type. It would make sense that she was able to get enrolled in this school with a scholarship, of course. I haven't seen her since middle school during the short time my mother worked at the same bar as Haruhi's father... Wait... did she just say that Haruhi was her type?' I froze and looked at Misawa; she was still in lovey-dovey land.

"I think... I want to meet this Haruhi that's got you so... fluffed up. Do you think... you could introduce us?" I asked unsurely. She emerged from her sparkly state and stared at me blankly.

"Why?" she asked; I turned to look at the board for no reason.

"I knew a person with the same name in middle school; we were sort of friends, I mean, we hung out. I'm a bit curious to find out whether they're the same person." I answered, glancing at her, and an evil grin stretched across her face; it scared me.

"Of course," she said darkly just as the teacher walked into the room to begin class.

After the last bell, Misawa said she'd take me to Haruhi's classroom but when we arrived Haruhi wasn't there.

"Where's Haruhi-kun," Misawa asked a girl there.

"Ah," she answered, "Haruhi and the twins already left."

"Okay," Misawa replied, and she turned to me, "We'll just catch up with them there."

'There?' I thought when suddenly, Misawa grinned another evil grin and turned towards the other girls in the room.

"Hey girls," She called to them. They all turned to look at her. "New girl here says she's old friends with Haruhi. They used to go to school together!" Many of the girls gasped, and four of them walked up to me and started grilling me with questions.

"Oh, really!"

"How long ago did you know him?"

"Were you friends as children?"

"Do you have any pictures of you two together from back then?"

"Was he as cute then as he is now?" All of it overwhelmed me for a bit.

"Hold on! I don't even know if they're the same Haruhi yet," I said, putting my hands up to calm them. The four became sad, and their shoulders fell.

Then a short girl with brown hair spoke up. "Let's all go now and find out!"

The group cheered and began forcefully pushing me down the hall.

Along the way, they kept asking questions about Haruhi and me, but I didn't know how to answer them. Finally, we ended up in front of a pair of French doors at the end of a long hallway. I looked at the sign above the door; it read Music Room Three.

'I've gotten myself into it now,' I thought as Misawa, and another girl put their hands on the door handles.

"Wait-" I started, but it was too late. They threw the doors open, and I was hit with a breeze of rose-scent-filled air. I could even pick up the smell of sweets such as cake and tea.

"Welcome," I heard a group of boys say, and there, standing in a group, stood seven amazingly handsome young men. I blushed a pink as I took in their good looks.

There was a pair of orange-haired twins, a dark-haired one with glasses, a very tall one with a stoic expression, a very short blonde that looked more like a kid, an average one with brown hair, and in the middle stood one with an all too familiar face.

"Please come in, Princesses!" Tamaki said in his most princely voice. Then his eyes landed on me, and he stepped forward, smiling.

"Ah, my new princess! You decided to come after all." He reached his hand forward to take mine, but I slapped it away.

"Stop touching me, pervert! I didn't come here on my own will, and I most certainly did not come here to see you!" Tamaki staggered back and fell to the floor dramatically; the twins laughed at him in unison.

"Ha ha ha ha ha, you've been rejected!" They teased him together.

"What did you do to her Boss?" One asked.

"Something inappropriate?" The other continued.

"Must have been pretty bad to warrant such a complete and utter shut down." The first finished both of them laughed again. Tamaki looked up at them from the floor.

"This isn't funny!" He exclaimed through the tears in his eyes. "This poor princess was eating her lunch all alone! I only wanted her to come here to make some friends! I did nothing ghastly or inappropriate at all!"

'Such an immature guy is supposed to be my brother? Please!' I sighed when the girl behind me spoke up.

"She says that she used to go to school with Haruhi." She said placing her hands on my shoulders.

'And my hate list is getting longer every second...'

The group all looked at me questioningly, when average boy with brown hair stepped forward.

"I'm Haruhi," he said, smiling, "do we know each other?" I looked him over, and he did seem familiar. Then suddenly, a girl with long orange hair appeared from out of nowhere, literally.

"What's this then?" she exclaimed, "A girl who is claiming to know Haruhi?" She leaned towards Misawa, who gave her the low-down on the whats-what in like three seconds flat, I swear.

"I see!" The orange-haired girl said, nodding. The orange-haired girl looked me over intently, observing everything about me, before her eyes lit up like fire.

"YES!" She exclaimed. Then the girl holding my shoulders gave me a push from behind and I unwillingly stepped forward into the center of the room.

I took in a deep breath, conscious of all the staring eyes. It felt like I had a spotlight cast onto me. I took a few steps forward and examined the brown-haired boy as I got closer. I was taller than him by a few inches, which would be about right if this he was, in fact, actually the she I knew.

"Could this be an old spark from Haruhi's past!? Or perhaps a friendship reunited?" The orange-haired girl exclaimed into a microphone.

'Where in the world did she pull that out from? This situation is just getting more awkward by the second.' I stopped about a yard from him and studied his features carefully. I had to imagine him with long hair, and that was it.

"Oh my god!" I exclaimed in English. "It is you."

The entire room looked to Haruhi, who just tilted her head in confusion.

"Have we met?" she asked, and I snickered.

"Yes, but it's been nearly two years since we last saw each other." Her eyebrows pulled together, and she put her hand on her chin as she studied me carefully.

"You do look a little familiar - but I can't put my finger on it... where?" by the end of her sentence, it was more of a mumble to herself.

The entire room waited. The room was entirely silent as everyone leaned forward with anticipation for her to recognize me.

I sighed and leaned forward in a bow.

"Ayami Sohma," I greeted. It hit her like a truck.

"You-" she said, taking a step back and throwing a hand over her mouth. I knew why. She was holding in laughter.

The last time I had seen Haruhi was just before I went to stay with my aunt. At that time, I only wore boys' clothing, and I had contacts; my hair was much shorter too. Suddenly the girl with the mic yelled.

"Could it be that the old spark is being rekindled? A former flame, turning up after all these years!"

'All these years? What are you talking about? It's only been about two, and what do you mean by a flame?' I thought as I watched Haruhi. She held her middle, trying hard not to laugh, covering her snickers with coughs. I watched her sarcastically and sighed.

"Haruhi appears to be holding back his strong feelings of surprise and happiness! Could this be Haruhi's middle school crush?!"

'She is way too excited about this, not to mention, way off base.' I noticed now that there were over twenty girls in the room that I hadn't seen before, and they were all whispering to each other; a few screamed in surprise when she said "crush."

I looked around the room, a little embarrassed. Even the group of boys were staring, all looking a bit wary. Then Haruhi stood up straight and cleared her throat from the rest of her laughs. She looked at me, and another giggle threatened to come out from the wry smile on her lips.

"Is it really that bad?" I mumbled.

"Not really," she managed, "It's just... different." She smiled and I smiled back halfheartedly.

"Well, I could say the same," I added with a grin, pointing at her hair, and she coughed away another laugh.

"Aya," she said after she recovered, motioning with her hand in a welcoming gesture. "Would you like to sit and have some tea with me? We could catch up some." The entire room grew quiet, and everyone seemed to lean in all at this moment to hear my reply.

"Sure," I replied and the girls all went berserk. Some were screaming, and others were swooning, although I wasn't quite sure what I had done to earn that reaction. Honestly, I couldn't understand any of their reactions.

I nervously shuffled along behind Haruhi as she lead me to a couch to sit down. In front of it was a coffee table and another sofa, upon which sat two blushing girls. I took a seat, and Haruhi served the tea.

"Thank you," I said, taking the cup from her. I kept my eyes down as the room swirled with murmurs.

"So, Aya," she started, "What are you doing here at Ouran?" I looked up at her.

"That's... complicated," I answered, giving her a meaningful look. I knew she was terrible at taking hints, so I had to help her out. "Another time maybe," I whispered to her. She understood that and nodded her head.

Just then, the short, blonde boy who looked like a little kid bounced to my side. With his bright smile and big eyes, he reminded me of my little sisters and it made me smile back softly.

"You're a friend of Haru-chan?" he asked in a very cutesy way.

I nodded in response.

"Do you like cake?" he asked. I leaned toward him

"I love cake." I winked and his responding smile was adorable. He pulled out a plate with a slice of chocolate cake on it.

"Here!" he said, handing it to me.

"Thank you," I said as I placed my teacup on the table and took the dessert from him. He bounced away to the very tall one, and the two of them walked off to another table together.

"How old is he?" I asked Haruhi.

"Eighteen," she replied indifferently. I sat eyes wide for a second before the twins came up behind me, and each placed a hand on one of my shoulders.

I looked up at them as they asked, "So you're old friends with Haruhi, are you?" The tone they used irritated me; I sat up straight, shrugging off their hands.

"Yes, we attended the same elementary and middle schools," I answered, giving Haruhi a partial smile. I glanced around and wondered, 'What type of club is this, one with a few boys and lots of girls? It's a little strange...' I looked back to Haruhi.

"By the way, Haruhi, what kind of club is this?" She opened her mouth, but before she could answer, Tamaki stepped forward.

"This, my princess, is the Ouran High School Host Club," he said, entirely recovered from his earlier state of dejection.

Not even a whole second from when the words "Host Club" passed his lips had I froze in place, my breathing ceasing. I knew the term all too well.

My mother had dated the head of a "host club" once. He had a bad temper and preferred conveying anger with his fists. One day my mother came home with a broken nose, and that was it. I went to him and told him not to ever lay a hand on her like that again. Needless to say, he didn't take kindly to that. I still have the scars he gave me. My mom took months to dump him and in that time he and I exchanged blows more than once.

I realized at this moment that everyone was still staring at my blank expression. I took in a deep breath to calm myself. 'I've got to stop with the flashbacks.' I tried my best to hide my displeasure and returned to my cake.

"I see," I said, forking a bite into my mouth, "I didn't think you were one for this sort of thing, Haruhi." I glanced at her, and she shrugged.

"I wasn't at first, but it's not so bad," she replied nonchalantly.

'That's really weird to hear her say that, I wonder what's so great about this club,' I thought as an unsettling silence washed over the room. I realized that everyone was still staring at me.

"Well, don't let me get in the way of club activities," I said trying not to sound nervous. "Please just continue with whatever you were doing before I got here." I turned my attention back to the cake I was eating, hoping that people would all stop paying attention to me.

Slowly, Tamaki and the twins walked away. Haruhi gave me a strange look, eventually though she got the hint that I really just wanted to fade away into non-existence and she turned back to her two guests.

"Would you like some more tea?" she asked them.

"Yes, please," one of the girls answered, blushing. As Haruhi poured her another cup, she looked at me. "Umm, Sohma-san."

I looked up at her surprised. "Yes?" I asked, blinking.

"How long have you and Haruhi known each other?" she asked.

I took yet another deep breath and thought, 'And now, I've become a hostess, just perfect! Ugh!'

"Well," I started unsure of where this was going to end up. "We've known each other since the fifth grade, but we became closer friends in the first year of middle school."

"What was Haruhi like when he was younger?" the girl next to her asked. All the boys in the room looked my way.

"He was pretty much the same as he is now." I heard a sigh of relief come from all the club members.

'They must know that she's a girl and want to keep it a secret for some reason. Of course, they do! This is probably some sort of strange male harem or something! Haruhi is probably being dragged into this corrupt world. One that apparently my brother is running? What is going on at this school?'

"How did you two meet?" the first girl asked as the second took a sip of her tea.

I laughed in remembrance. Haruhi was being picked on by a bunch of boys, and I came to her rescue, well sort of, I ended up with a black eye and detention, but that's not the point.

"Haruhi," I started, then decided to flip the story to shine a good light on Haruhi. "Saved me." I finished, and the girls looked at me curiously. "I was being picked on by some boys, and Haruhi came to my rescue." I looked at Haruhi with a grin, and she responded with a half-smile back.

It continued like this, question after question, girls and more girls. I don't think that I ever been so talkative in my life; it was rather tiresome to keep up.

When I wasn't playing 20-Q's with the girls, I was studying the hosts as they entertained their guests.

The vertically challenged blonde sat with "tall, dark, and handsome." He ate cake and played with his stuffed bunny. The tall one didn't seem to do much but sit there and watch. The cute kid and protective friend thing, I guess?

The one with glasses sat by himself, typing away on his laptop. Every so often, he would write something down in his notebook, and when a new guest arrived, he would show them to their host's table. Obviously, he was the organizer and brains of this club and probably the only reason it was still active.

Tamaki, my half-brother, was entertaining the most girls. Circulating them out in intervals like clockwork. I'm guessing that's because he's the main attraction? The self-proclaimed Prince.

Lastly, the twins... were doing some sort of twincest routine, which had me both confused and blushing at the same time.

By the time club hours ended, I was worn out. Not a second after the last guest had cleared the doors, I slumped back on the couch with a sigh, then I heard Haruhi burst out laughing. I stared at her menacingly.

"Shut up!" I said, giving her a kick in the shin that could have left a bruise, but she kept laughing.

"I'm sorry... It's just... too... funny!" she managed to say in between laughs. I scowled at her.

"I didn't laugh at you when I saw that you were wearing boy's clothes," I added stubbornly she was unfazed and started keeling over.

"Miss Sohma," I heard the boy with glasses say.

I looked up to see them all gathering around me watching Haruhi. I blushed, they really were handsome, which I guess is good for the club, right?

"Thank you for not blabbing Haruhi's secret," he continued with a charming smile.

"No biggy," I replied trying to sound nonchalant while also trying to hold back my blush. "I take it that you all know that Haruhi's a girl?" They all nodded save for the one with glasses who was writing things in his file folder. "Is there some reason why-" I started to ask but was interrupted by the one with glasses.

"Due to certain circumstances, it's necessary for Haruhi to conceal her identity as a female while here at Ouran." He said finishing his writing and snapping his file shut. "I hope we can continue to trust you to keep her secret." He smiled at me but for some reason it felt threatening.

I nodded in agreement.

"Excellent." He said keeping the same two-faced smile plastered on his face. It felt menacing.

"What's so funny?" the twins suddenly asked in unison lingering over the still snickering Haruhi.

"I'm sorry... but it's just..." she didn't finish that sentence as she tried to answer through the laughter. I nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, it's just as weird for me as it is for you." I looked at the twins. "Haruhi finds it funny that, out of the two of us, she's the one wearing men's clothing and I'm the one in a dress." I poked her in the arm. "Last time Haruhi and I met, I only wore boy's clothing. The truth is that the story I told about the boys picking on me was flipped. I'm the one who saved Haruhi, although it landed me in after-school detention for a week." The boys seemed to look me up and down like they didn't believe me. I sighed and turned to Haruhi.

"How did you get them to let you wear a boy's uniform?" I said a slight whine in my tone, "They're forcing me to wear this yellow tent and I have to take lessons on how to be all ladylike. It's really unfair if you ask me." I said with a grimace.

"I think you look adorable!" the short blonde said, causing me to blush.

"Yes, I agree," Tamaki said, stepping towards me, "You look like a prin-" I shot him a glare and he froze.

"Stop calling me a princess." I interrupted him curtly. "And stay away from me." Tamaki fell back into the frozen wasteland of his mind and sat in the corner, poking the ground. 'Why is he just... so damn annoying!' I thought to myself.

Since Haruhi was still recovering from her hysterics, I decided to introduce myself.

"I'm sorry I haven't properly introduced myself yet. I'm Ayami Sohma." I said while standing and bowing slightly.

"I'm Kyoya Ootori," the boy with glasses said. "This is Mitsukuni Haninozuka and his cousin Takashi Morinozuka, the Hitachiin twins, Hikaru and Kaoru, and you've met Tamaki." He said, pointing to each of them in order. The short blonde, his tall friend, the twins, and lastly, the lump in the corner. I smiled back kindly but fakely.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all, and thank you for taking care of Haruhi," I said bowing again. "Speaking of Haruhi," I turned to her, "Are you quite done yet?" I asked, putting my hands on my hips, and the snickers came to a stop.

"So," Haruhi said, regaining her composure, "Are you going to explain to me how you got into Ouran?" She looked at me curiously along with the rest of the host club. I bit my lip and walked around the couch she was still sitting on.

"It's a long story..." I said, trying to think up a way to tell her without giving away too much information. "Remember how my mother was obsessed with finding my father?" I asked, leaning over the back of the couch next to her. She nodded.

"If I remember correctly, there were several candidates, and she couldn't locate a few of them." I smiled and nodded.

'Oh Haruhi, you say things like that at point-blank, and you don't judge. I remember now why I liked you so much.'

"Well, she finally found him." I saw the surprised look on Haruhi's face. "It turns out; he's rich and, at first, I thought he was just going to pay my mother in child support or try to get rid of me. You know, like dust under the rug, but instead, he took me in. He set me up in a huge mansion and had me enrolled in this school," I paused. "So here I am!" I finished with another one of my fake smiles.

"That must be..." she was searching for the right word, "interesting."

"You have no idea," I said with a sigh.

"Such a tragic tale," I heard Tamaki say, sniffling, and I looked up at him. "You never had a Father growing up! Come here!" He exclaimed, and he reached forward to hug me. "I'll take on the burden of making up for lost time as your new daddy!" I held him at arm's length.

"I don't know what you're going on about, but I'm sure I don't want to find out," I said as I pushed him away and he fell to the floor crying.

"You know boss," a twin said.

"I don't think she-" the next said.

"Or anybody for that matter-" the first twin again.

"Wants you as their father." The second finished, and it made me smirk. The triplets would do that all the time, finishing each other's sentences. I always thought it was cute, but Meme and Hero would always find it irritating.

"Then, I will assist my new princess with her lessons!" I heard Tamaki exclaim having recovered and burst into my thoughts.

'What is with him? Up and down, confident, then depressed; will ya pick an emotion, bro?'

"And what makes you think I want your help?" I challenged him, irritated this was even something I had to explain to him. "I think they've already done me some good. I mean, I'm not punching your pretty face into the ground right now, so I think they've helped me a lot." He seemed to be caught off guard by that one.

"Yes," Haruhi said, "I'm very impressed with how much you've improved." I was sure she meant that as a compliment, but it was kind of thoughtless, and I couldn't help but feel a little insulted by it. I gave her a sarcastic look.

"Thanks," I said in a flat tone. "Does that mean I get a gold star for playing nice with the kiddies?" I mumbled sarcastically while taking a glance at the clock. "Yikes!" I exclaimed. "I've got to be somewhere in like ten minutes." I started shuffling my way towards the door. "It was good to see you, Haruhi; we should talk more sometime, maybe over lunch or something, okay?" She stood up and smiled.

"Definitely," she replied with a nod. I nodded back.

"It was nice to meet you guys," I said to the hosts with a wave as I left the room.

I walked through the halls aimlessly; I didn't have a place to be, I just wanted to get out of there. 'The atmosphere was almost suffocating, not to mention that I wasn't supposed to go there in the first place. My dad is gonna be so pissed.'

~Or so I thought, but when I told him what had happened, he laughed.~

"Bu-wa-ha-ha-ha! That's alright. I figured that you go there eventually," he barked then sighed. "Just don't let him find out who you are, okay?" I nodded in response, confused as to his reaction. He stood to walk me out of his office.

"Actually," he said, "I need to tell you something as well." I looked at him curiously.

"I'm going to be out of town for a few weeks, maybe a month or longer, on business. I'm leaving tonight; I hope you will get along fine without me." I stood and smiled, flexing my right arm.

"I think I can handle myself," I said with a chuckle; he laughed with me.

"I don't doubt that," he said with a grin and a pat on my shoulder.

"I'll see you when you get back... fa-father," I stumbled on that last word, but he just smiled, and he sent me home.

The car ride home was a lonely and quiet one, my driver not being one to talk much, which was okay, but the silence was deafening. I wished for my long-lost MP3 player, which I had misplaced in my move to the mansion.

At home, the same lonely feeling lurked, and the house began to feel even bigger and emptier than the first time I entered it. It felt like I was being swallowed whole, eaten alive by the crown molding and fancy wallpaper.

I did not like the idea of having others serve me, but my father insisted on me having a driver, which I couldn't exactly deny since I have no driver's license, a maid, which I also couldn't refuse because who really wants to clean a mansion by themselves, and lastly, a cook, which I didn't need but my father insisted on so I gave in.

My driver is an older gentleman with a rough voice and an epic mustache named Christopher Wilson.

The maid is a very short Japanese woman named Hinata Ikeda, and she talks a lot. Most of our conversations have been her just blabbing away about something friends, family, etc. hardly requiring me to say anything.

The cook, Georgina Harold, is a forty-year-old, slightly overweight, Scottish-born, woman. She could make a bear apologize for attacking someone. She has a booming laugh and red hair and freckles.

Christopher rarely shows his face around the house, and the maid and cook are always gossiping so I'm pretty much left alone most of the time. Which I don't mind; it's just that I'm so used to caring for my family and looking after them that I haven't been putting aside alone time for myself. Not that there was ever really anything that I wanted to do by myself, I enjoyed taking care of my little siblings, even though it was hard to juggle school, a part-time job, and the triplets it was also fulfilling.

My mother was trying to handle two jobs, so I cared for the kids most of the time; there was never really any time to wish for alone time.

I do like having free time to do what I want but... what do I really want to do? Most of my life has been doing everything for others; I don't know what to do when it comes to me. I guess you could say that I'm selfish about being selfless, as ironic as that is. I hate self-psychology, where you try to analyze how you feel; I only ever end up finding more dead-ends than I started with.

"How was your first day at school, miss?" the maid asked when I entered the front hall.

"School was..." I sighed, "fine." She looked a bit worried, so I smiled at her a smile, fake, but when did I ever really smile anymore? I shuffled up the stairs trying to think of where I packed my MP3 player.

When I got to my room, I quickly got out of the royal yellow puffiness and into a pair of sweatpants and a baggy T-shirt. I lumbered around, played some video games, then finally gave in and did my homework.

After I finished, I turned off the lights and went to bed without eating dinner. I wasn't hungry. I didn't even bother to change into my pajamas because I was just exhausted from my long first day at school.

I lay in bed wondering what tomorrow would bring.

What would I learn about this new brother of mine?

How would I learn more about him without giving too much away?

What would the triplets be doing at their day care?

I wonder if Hero finished his science project?

Did Kotomi pass her saxophone exam?

Questions bombarded me and, like every night since moving into the empty house, I cried myself to sleep and awoke more times than I can count.

~Thank you for reading! Please review, I would love some more opinions on my work.

~MiraCarpathia