Chapter Text
“Haruhi! Wait up!” I called out as I saw her walking just ahead, and she stopped to let me catch up to her. “Where are you going?” She sighed before replying.
“Finding a quiet place to study. You would think that with four libraries, there would be a quiet place for self-study.” Her eye twitched in annoyance. “I honestly feel like all the kids here are just at school to have fun.” I smiled and snorted in amusement.
“What did you expect? You do realise that Ouran is a school for the rich, right? We’re just lucky to get into this school through scholarships.”
“Hm. I guess, but your scholarship isn’t based on academic though. You’re so lucky.” I laughed and noticed Haruhi opening the door to a room labelled ‘Music Room 3’. She stepped inside, and I followed her in.
“I never peg you as a music type…” My sentence trailed off as I noticed we weren’t alone.
“Welcome. ♡” A group of boys chorused. A good-looking group of boys. Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see Haruhi panicking.
“Hmph. It’s just a couple.” Two voices sounded, and I realised it was the twins from our class.
“Hey! They are still valuable patrons, so stifle it.” A French-looking blonde said. “Welcome to the Ouran Host Club...Haruhi Fujioka and Sakura Kim, scholarship students! You are rare creatures in this place!” Did he just call us ‘creatures’? And how did he know our names?
“Huh? Um…I’m…” Haruhi was at a loss for words. Hm, come to think of it…they look familiar.
“It is my determination that common folks don’t fit easily into our elegant culture...and that a scholarship student would need a pretty thick skin and mulish stubbornness just to make it through, let alone achieve anything. If no one knows you, it’s an uphill climb to get noticed, know what I mean?” A raven-haired guy with glasses said. I was annoyed at first by the dumb blonde’s comment, but this guy brings it to the next level.
“Just because you’re rich doesn’t mean you should belittle us. Being born into a respected family doesn’t make you a respectable person straight away.” I pointed out, and this caused the guy to death-glare at me, but I just death-glared back. No one gets away with calling me and Haruhi ‘thick-skinned common folks’.
“Yes!! In short, Fujioka, Kim, you’re trail-blazers!!” The blonde guy completely ignored my words. If I had to take any more of this dumb blonde’s words, I’m going to die. I zoned out and observed the boys surrounding us, and realisation dawned on me, but before I could panic, Haruhi’s exclamation brought me back to reality.
“Wot? Man lover?!”
“What is your type? Wild man? Boy Lolita?” The blonde gestured to the boys behind him. “Or…am I more your style? How ‘bout it?” I stifled a laugh and was glad all the boys’ attention was on Haruhi.
“Yikes!” Haruhi shouted, and something caught my eye. It was a pretty vase nearby, and I gravitated towards it, ignoring the chatter. I’m sure Haruhi would deal just fine. It looked like one of those old vases the museum usually showcases, but why was it put here in the middle of nowhere? I was about to go to the door when someone bumped into me from behind, causing me to push the vase over. It shattered all over the floor before I could catch it, and I turned around to see that it was Haruhi who bumped into me. I sighed and closed my eyes, knowing this was going to end badly. I was waiting for our judgment and praying for the best now.
“That vase was by Rune. It was to be the featured item in the next school auction…” one of the twins started.
“The bidding was going to start at $80,000, but I don’t think it’ll fetch that now…” the other twin finished.
“I…We’ll pay for it!” My eyes shot open, and I gave Haruhi an incredulous look.
“You bet you will, but how?!” One twin started again.
“You can’t even afford uniforms!” The other finished, and I felt my eye twitch.
“I would rather die than wear that monstrosity of yellow!” It was true that the dress made them look like walking muffins! I looked down at my attire, and it wasn’t honestly that bad-looking. I wore a pale blue wool jumper over a white blouse and a pair of faded jeans with red Converse shoes. I couldn’t find my usual pair of golden-framed glasses, so I grabbed my black frames instead. I knew my hair was a mess, and I was too lazy to tie it up, instead letting it fall in my face. I left Haruhi to herself to explain her horrible fashion choice.
“Well, Tamaki? How shall we handle this?” The glasses guy asked the dumb blonde one, whom I now assumed was called Tamaki.
“Fujioka, Kim, are you familiar with the saying… ‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do?’ And this— ‘If you don’t have the cash, pay with your carcass?!’” Tamaki suddenly became very quiet, and honestly, it was scary to watch his sudden change in attitude. “As of today, you’re the Host Club’s Dogsbodies!!” What the hell?! That sounds like we’re selling out our bodies! I watched as Haruhi’s soul left her body and debated whether or not to call in favours from my contacts to get us out of this situation, but decided to just wait it out and see. After all, I wouldn’t want them to know who exactly I am just yet.
~Time Skip~ After School
“Where will you take me for the summer, Tamaki?” A girl asked Tamaki while sipping tea.
“Wherever you wish to go.”
“What’s your favourite kind of music?” Another girl asked.
“Whatever you like, I like.”
“I baked a cake today. <3 Will you have a piece?”
“If you feed it to me,” Tamaki replied while leaning close to the girl who said that. I shared a judgmental look with Haruhi, and we both turned to the twins.
“So, this guy, half asleep, tried to save the data he’d pulled an all-nighter compiling…” The girl that they were with giggled at the story.
“Not that story, Hikaru!!” One twin yelled at the other, now named Hikaru.
“…And came running to me all in a panic…”
“Hikaru!!” The unnamed twin exclaims before softening his voice. “How could you tell that story in front of everyone?”
“Sorry, Kaoru…” Hikaru cupped said twin’s face. “…you’re just so adorable when you’re pitiful…”
“Hikaru…!!” Kaoru teared up, and the girls around them squealed.
“How does this appeal to the majority of the girls in this school?!” I deadpanned, and I can see Haruhi thinking the same thing.
“We simply apply our individual talent to meet the needs of our customers. Tamaki, by the way, is our number one draw.” Kyoya Ohtori explained. I steered myself away from the ‘Shadow King’, the less time I spent with him, the less danger I’ll be in and the less information he will get out of me. I’m pretty sure his personal database would be able to find my fake file with no traces to my real one, but still, precaution. I wandered around the music room and noticed that after a while, Haruhi left for groceries, and then I was left alone with the rich people. A second after I realised this fact, a presence loomed behind me and blew in my ear. I jumped away and was about to roundhouse kick them when I saw it was Tamaki. My foot stopped an inch from hitting his face, and I lowered my leg down. I glared at him, disregarding the looks I got from the people in the room and crossed my arms when he started to retreat into his emo corner like before. I was made to move away but someone jumped on my back. A glance told me that it was the short, cute blonde boy.
“Kura-chan! Do you want to have some cake with me?” He asked sweetly. If the information on the internet were correct, he would be the son of the Haninozuka family. Hm, he doesn’t seem to recognise me at all. I guess that’s a good thing. I smiled and nodded.
“Of course, Han—Honey-san.” Crap, he noticed my slip-up. My smile didn’t fade from my face as he pulled me to his table. I was just enjoying a peppermint and chocolate cake when Haruhi was back from shopping. I made my way over to stand next to her with my plate of cake in hand.
“Eh? What’s this?” Tamaki pointed to a jar of instant coffee.
“Coffee. It was on your list.” Was Haruhi’s reply.
“But…ground coffee?”
“Not ground…instant.”
“Instant…” Tamaki echoed dumbfoundedly. “Whoa! The one you just poured hot water in? How proletarian!!”
“Hmm. I’ve heard of it, but never seen it…” I blinked. That coming from Kyoya Ohtori was a surprise.
“So it’s true! Poor people have no time to grind their beans!”
“It’s how common folk cope!”
“I’ve always wanted to try it! Let’s brew some up! Common folk’s coffee!” I shared a look again with Haruhi.
“What world do you guys live in?” I asked them seriously, worried for their well-being.
“Okay, I get the point! I’ll go get the expensive stuff!” Haruhi huffed out angrily.
“No, I’ll drink this!!” Tamaki shouted as stars shone in his eyes.
“Whoa! You’re brave!” Gosh…rich kids…
“They’re just messing around, you know. That stuff won’t suit their taste at all.” A red-headed girl chuckled. That girl is a b…
“Huh?” Haruhi said, just noticing the girl.
“Oh, sorry…I was talking to myself.” I take that back; she’s not even worth a label.
“Haruhi!! Make us some of this common folk’s coffee!!” Tamaki shouted across the room. “Everyone’s keen to try it.” Haruhi sighed tiredly and resigned herself to making the coffee. I followed behind her and grabbed myself a cup. I sipped it and watched as the rich kids looked cautiously at the brown liquid.
“Hey, Haruhi. Do you want some?” I offered her my cup. “You look like you could do with a bit of coffee.” She thanked me and drank a mouthful from it before passing it back to me. We continued enduring the club’s demands until the bell rang.