comfort zone (host club/any)

[ele2]

The music room, specifically the third one, was Celia's only real comfort zone, other than of course the theater. She sighed slightly as she put her hand on the golden, gilded door handle, looking at it and then up at the door itself, eyes gazing straight ahead. Slowly, she turned the handle and stepped inside.

There were no roses flying around and threatening to choke her dare she open her mouth in the next few seconds- of course there wouldn't be. It was already after club hours. She had had theater practice after school that day for the upcoming play, and it had run later than usual, being an extended practice. Celia stepped forward and turned around to close the door behind her. Once she'd done that, she walked into the extravagant room, breathing in its familiar scent.

It was good to be in her comfort zone.

Ceci looked around the room to see if anyone was still there. Even if they weren't, she would probably still stay in the room for a while. It was better than going home, at any rate. Her mother had just picked up another boyfriend a couple days before, and so far everything had gone well. That meant there was probably only a few more days before everything went wrong for the thousandth time.

Usually Celia would try to avoid being at home when her mother was seemingly at the 'tail end' of her relationship, because she knew that they'd start fighting after a while. The problem with her mother's choice in men, or the main one, perhaps, was that she was usually drunk out of her mind when she brought them home. Then once she woke up the next morning, she would end up just keeping said 'boyfriend' there until whenever they began fighting. Whenever the fights were over, her mother would just go out and get drunk again, and would more likely than not come home with a new boyfriend.

Honestly, this whole charade was getting old. If her family wasn't rich already, Ceci had a feeling that she and her mother would be living in a one-room apartment and barely paying for that, considering her mother didn't work. Celia's family money came from the company that they owned, and her grandparents and aunt had always taken care of things. Having two daughters, Ceci's mother being the older of the two, Ceci's grandparents had just planned on giving the business to Ceci's mother and her husband, whenever it was she got married. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case because of the scandal Ceci's mother had caused when she had divorced her husband after only about a year of marriage, and had followed through with the sort of lifestyle she led now. Celia's grandparents had then made an executive decision to give the company to her uncle, who was her aunt's husband. Even so, being part of the prestigious Sinclair family, Celia and her mother lived in a grand, luxurious lifestyle. Nothing would ever change that, whether her mother was the head of the family or not.

Celia sighed and walked to one of the many bay windows in the music room. She sat down and curled up on the sill and tilted her head so she was looking outside. She refused to think of her family unless she had to. Pretending it was all right, pretending it wasn't there... those things made everything better. At the very least it made her feel better.

As Celia gazed out the window she thought of how she would be able to leave all those problems in only a few years. She'd graduate in a few years, and then she could go wherever she wanted, do whatever she wanted. Perhaps she'd even go out of the country to attend college. As long as they had a good theater program, Celia was happy. As long as she could escape.

[tsarashikaoru]

Kaoru hummed to himself as he straightened a small pile of papers on a table in one of the back rooms of the music room. The back rooms were often used when they had themed days, but at the moment it was empty except for a table, some chairs, a few stacks of books and papers, a tea set, a stack of storage boxes against the far wall that were labeled ‘luau’ and a set of twins who were very unmischievous at the moment. They were at the tail end of their social sciences project and had dedicated the rest of the day to finishing it early so that they could spend more time gallivanting around.

For a change of pace they had decided to stay after the club was over to work on it there. They had decided this last minute to keep their lives interesting and to keep people on their toes, specifically their personal staff. Their driver was already half way to the academy when they had called to cancel and he sounded exasperated when they broke the news to him. But of course he didn’t complain because he was paid extra to expect the unexpected; it was written specifically in his contract.

He looked over at his brother and smiled. They had accomplished a lot today, all that was left to do was type them up on their computers at home and print them out to hand in to a very shocked teacher in the morning. The only other assignment that the teacher had been given was Haruhi’s, but that was to be expected of the honor student. Carefully he pulled a manila folder out from under a stack of paperwork and placed his project inside it.

”I’m just going to put this out there, and then I’ll help clean up, ‘kay?” Kaoru said as he started walking to the door. As an afterthought he placed the folder under his arm and grabbed the tea set to take out with him. He pushed open the door with his back, since his hands were full, and stepped into the empty music room. It was so serene after hours. It was amazing that so much could go on in such a quiet space during the day.

After placing the mostly empty tea set on top of the covered piano and putting his folder a safe distance away from it, the redhead turned back to the door that his brother was behind. But then he stopped, having seen something out of the corner of his eyes. Something that didn’t belong. A shadow, a silhouette of a girl sitting on the window sill. Kaoru froze as if he had just seen a ghost and quickly looked over his shoulder. It was still there, meaning that it wasn’t an apparition. He sighed in relief when he saw the yellow dress. She was one of theirs.

Kaoru continued on his path to the door of the back room and opened it a crack. ”Hikaru, we have company.” he called quietly in the room before turning away and heading towards the window that seated the solemn female. He didn’t know if Hikaru heard him or not, but he would be out at some point so it didn’t really matter. Kaoru recognized the girl from the club, she was a regular, but he didn’t so much as know her name. That made him feel rather bad since he was usually good at names.

As soon as Kaoru was as her window he leaned against the wall beside it and followed her gaze out over the courtyard. He might not have been as good at deciphering a girl’s mood as Tamaki was, but he knew enough to know that a look like that wasn’t a really happy one, something must have been eating at her. He shook his head and smiled warmly before addressing her. ”The club is closed, you know. Everyone else has already gone home, so there’s not much to do. But if staring out a window will make you happy then by all means, don’t let me be the one to stop you.” A grin replaced his smile as he lightened the mood a bit.

[ele2]

There was a noise, and Celia heard someone on the other end of the room ever so quietly say something. There must have been more than one person in the room; she had at first thought she was alone. Nevertheless she didn't mind whether or not she was alone, not really. It was really all the same to her, being alone or with others, as long as she was away from home and her mother. Ceci didn't hate her mother. Hate was such a strong, overused word, said so many times by people who didn't mean it and ended up regretting it. No, Ceci wouldn't use that word unless she was sure she meant it, and even then... it just didn't feel right. After all, she heard her mother use the word all the time, and in such an immature way, as if she were Ceci's age.

It was really quite sad how things like this could turn out. Disappointing, rather. It showed one how low people could really get.

"The club is closed, you know. Everyone else has already gone home, so there’s not much to do. But if staring out a window will make you happy then by all means, don’t let me be the one to stop you.”

Oh, so it was Kaoru that had been talking. At least, Ceci would guess that. He must have been speaking to Hikaru, who she guessed was somewhere nearby as well. Celia smiled at the twin, glad for some company, and spoke in reply.

"I don't mind. I know it's closed. I'd just rather be here than at home, y'know? If you don't mind, that is." she said, giving a sad and knowing smile as she did so, which grew from the more happy one that had come before she'd spoken. "I don't want to be in your way, so please tell me if you want me to leave." After all, Celia knew how it was to have people in her way when she was cleaning up from theater. It was a horrible pain, unless they were there to help her. Which, she thought, she should do herself- offer to help, that is. "If you need any help, too... please don't hesitate to ask. I'll probably hang around the building for a while anyway." she added hastily, not wanting to seem burdensome.

Celia was happy that the twins were here, because they were always the ones to talk to when you needed to get your mind off things and just relax and have fun. Even if they weren't hosting, it was nice to be around them. In fact, she preferred the hosts outside club hours, because that was when they were natural. As much as Ceci loved acting, she thought people were at their best, and certainly preferred them, when they were natural and acted themselves. It always felt like a forced conversation when people acted differently and other than their usual selves. Not that she minded that once in a while. But today, she was glad she missed club hours.

Celia sat upright, as she'd been curled up and slouching by the window, and turned so her legs hung over the side of the window-sill, the toes of her shoes just brushing the floor. She smiled up at Kaoru once more, this time showing her gladness at his being there, and thinking of how wonderful it was to attend such a school as Ouran.

[tsarashikaoru]

Kaoru frowned as he watched the girl speak and readjust her position. She was smiling at him, but he didn’t like that her eyes didn’t quite match her lips. It bugged him a bit. ”You’re not in the way.” The younger twin said slowly, trying to figure out what it was exactly that made him feel funny about her smile. She seemed sincere enough, and she wasn’t lying. He decided to go with his first guess that something was eating at her thoughts. ”And there’s really nothing to help with, we cleaned up after closing. We were just doing school stuff.”

With a short glance back at the door that his twin was behind Kaoru came to a conclusion. He closed his eyes and grinned before slowly opening them again. His body slowly started to slide down the wall that he was leaning on until he found himself sitting on the floor. Crossing his legs underneath him Kaoru looked up at her and said ”But I’m more than happy to keep you company.”

He was positive that Hikaru wouldn’t mind, it wasn’t like he was sneaking around behind his brother’s back, he had told him that there was someone there. She was still a customer, after hours or not. There was only one thing that he was slightly nervous about though; this was his fist customer without his brother by his side. He wasn’t quite sure how he was supposed to be, since the customers usually expect the twin act. But he was just him, so he would just be himself.

Kaoru couldn’t help but wonder; if he and Hikaru hadn’t decided to stay after school at the last minute how long would she have been sitting by herself alone? He pushed that from his mind, it wasn’t something that he wanted to dwell on. ‘Ifs’ weren’t fun because there is no way to turn back time to follow through with them. It was best to look forward and keep going with your head held high, which was something that Kaoru did ninety nine percent of the time.

”Yeah, we didn’t want to go home either. It’s pretty hectic with all the party planners there. Mother is planning a party for our Aunty’s birthday.” He looked over at her again and grinned with a glimmer of excitement in his eyes, though he knew his grins weren’t as mischievous as Hikaru’s he still found enjoyment out of what they had planned for that party. ”It’s going to be a blast.” He said with an undertone of ‘It’s going to be dead boring, so we’re going to brighten it up.’

They were still in the planning process, but it was going to be good. Suddenly his grin fell as he realized something. It was quickly replaced with a apologetic smile as he pointed to himself. ”Kaoru, by the way.” He said to clear up anything. People always switched them up so it was best that she knew who it was she was talking to now before later in the conversation. It would have been embarrassing to her if she had been thinking of him as his brother and he knew he would feel a tinge of disappointment as well. Clearing it up was always easier.

[ele2]

It was nice of him to offer, really. To keep her company, that is. Celia appreciated it more than he probably knew. Unless Kaoru could read emotions, and in that case, it was better they keep talking. She didn't exactly want him to know she was upset. Ceci didn't want to worry others over her condition, good or bad. It wasn't any of their business, so why should they have to trouble themselves over her? It wasn't fair to them. As much as she'd like a confidant, Celia didn't want anyone to feel bad for her. It was her life, and she'd live it whether she wanted to or not. She only had a few more years before she could escape anyway... Why was it she so often thought this? She must be truly miserable...

No, she wasn't. There were plenty of people out there worse off than her, she just had to remember that. It would make her a better person, that way. Wouldn't it? And it wasn't right to be so upset all the time. She was perfectly healthy, or for the most part, anyway, and she had a lot of money. What was there to worry about? Why was she always so stressed? If only she could make it all go away, she'd be so much more better off. She'd have to try harder.

"That's really nice of you." Celia thanked him, doing so a thousand times more in her head than the just once she did out loud. "As long as you don't mind... I don't want to keep you here, especially when cleanup's done." then he told her of their aunt's birthday. Celia couldn't help but laugh when he added the bit about it being a 'blast'. She could tell that it was only going to be a blast because the twins would make it that way. Celia knew a lot about boring parties, what with her grandparents being the way they were and all. She was glad someone else understood, but now she rather wished she had a sibling as well. What fun it would be to have a sister or brother and go around causing trouble and smiles like the twins! She wondered what having a sibling was like. Sure you'd have your little squabbles from time to time, but it must be worth it when it's all said and done.

Ceci noticed that Kaoru had said his name, as if she didn't know it already. Well, maybe he thought she couldn't tell them apart. Honestly she didn't understand how people couldn't distinguish between the two. To her, it was so obvious, it was almost painful to see others have to ask every time. The twins were two different people, wasn't that alone enough to be able to tell them apart? "I know," she said, cursing herself for saying it after she had, for she didn't want to seem like a know-it-all or anything. "I-I mean..." she stuttered quickly, trying to patch up the assumed 'know-it-all-ness', "I can tell. Isn't it funny, how not many people know? I don't understand that." she said, now just speaking what was on her mind. "It's like they don't even try to tell you apart. But you're not one person, you're two, you and Hikaru, so I think you should be treated that way. Like two different people, I mean." Celia stopped for a moment, before continuing a bit shyly, "Because even if you look similar, you're very different. I wish people would pay attention and stop being so daft, so they could realize that."

[tsarashikaoru]

Kaoru smirked when he heard her light laugh. That was better. Pretty girls like her were better off laughing freely than forcing smiles. He peeked at her surreptitiously so that he could see the lightness fill her. Maybe, if he was lucky, he would be able to completely get her mind off what she had been thinking about beforehand. It certainly looked like he was getting somewhere; maybe working solo wasn’t as difficult as he thought it would be.

She really was cute, he noted mutely. She had an innocence to her that made her cherub-like in a way. The shadow that had clouded her eyes was almost gone, which was good because it had made her look like some sort of fallen angel whose hope was just out of reach. Sure, she wasn’t exactly his type, but he could definitely see her making someone really happy someday. Maybe it was the calm that she was exerting, or perhaps it was her politeness and desire to help? The redhead didn’t really know what it was, but he liked it. To Kaoru this girl was exactly how he imagined the ideal mother to be like, so unlike his own rebellious one.

Yes, he was absolutely more than happy to keep her company for as long as she desired it.

He and Hikaru had been raised by various nannies and at rare times their actual parents and their crazy maternal grandmother who had the strangest obsession with flowers in her hair. The mothers that he saw on TV were always kind, not running around the globe to attend fashion shows. Those mothers doted on their children; they didn’t dress them up like dolls and make a showing of not knowing which child was which. Kaoru always wondered what he would have turned out like if he had been raised by one of those TV mothers. He shuddered at the thought of him with slicked back hair in a neatly ironed formal suit.

His attention was caught once again when she admitted that she knew who he was. Kaoru was shocked to say the least, but he quickly ruled out her identification methods as recognition of the way his hair was parted and the slight differences in their tone of voice. No one could truly tell them apart, they were completely identical. Well, aside from Haruhi and that was simply because Haruhi has a sharp eye and they are starting to know each other better. A customer who only spends a limited amount of time with them being able to tell them apart with no aids whatsoever? It was laughable.

Kaoru blinked when she finished talking. Sure, they had personality differences, but anyone who paid close enough attention could notice that, right? That was why Hikaru was always the pitcher in their skits, it just wouldn’t work the other way around. After staring at her for a good two minutes Kaoru snorted abruptly. Quickly he covered his mouth with his hand to cover his laugh. When he was able to talk he smiled up at her brightly, his body still shaking in mirth. “Of course people see that we’re two different people.” He said merrily. “But they also see that we’re the same person, ‘cause we are in a way.”

To demonstrate Kaoru stuck up the middle and index finger on his left hand so that they were touching. “We were only supposed to be one person in the beginning, but we decided to be two.” He separated his fingers into a ‘peace’ sign to represent the separation and grinned. “But we were still the same person. Most parts of us are identical, but yeah some of our personality traits were divided among us like personal property in a lawsuit divorce.”

[ele2]

Celia couldn't help but smirk as Kaoru explained his and Hikaru being two, yet one. Sure, when he explained it, it made sense, but did he really believe such a thing? She certainly didn't, and her stubbornness made it evident that no amount of 'convincing' could tell her otherwise.

But, she'd be polite. "You can think that." she said mistily, a small smile replacing the smirk. "But if we all believed the same things, the world wouldn't be very interesting, would it?" This way, she wasn't flat-out saying 'you're wrong' to Kaoru, but she was hinting at her own opinions. Ceci didn't want to offend anyone, after all, so she really was quite careful, or tried to be, when saying things or speaking her opinion.

She had had enough of people saying harsh and cruel things from her mother, who was always throwing out names and insults like nobody's business, and hardly seemed to care who it was she spoke to that way or whether or not it hurt their feelings. Perhaps even bad mothers could teach their children things.

Celia had never seen the twins' mother as a bad parent; but from what she heard, she didn't seem like one of those 'tv moms', either. Especially from how the twins were. But, it was good to have different types of moms that produced different kinds of kids; it kept the world interesting, and it was one more thing to discuss in a conversation.

"What's your mom like?" Celia asked rather randomly. She didn't mean to prod into someone else's personal life, but she was almost positive that Kaoru would say something if he weren't comfortable talking about something. Or at least she hoped he would. She wouldn't want to make him uncomfortable after all....

After asking it Ceci realized what a personal question that might be, considering of course what one's family life was like. As for herself, Celia didn't like to talk much about her family. She wasn't exactly close with any of her family members and barely knew her dad nowadays (but who was to say she even knew her mom, or her grandparents for that matter?). It wasn't exactly the best subject of choice. It was rather touchy, for her, to say the very least. She hoped the situation wasn't the same for Kaoru.

Though honestly it would be nice to have someone to sympathise with, she really didn't want to push her burdens onto others.