Out of Place [Open]

[cleary]

The sign above the doors read 'Music Room Three', but almost everybody at the school knew that room had a lot more than music inside.

Those doors opened on another world, one that smelled of roses and sounded like Baroque and laughter. During club hours, they were usually left closed. But as guest came and went, they would open briefly and allow small gleams of the inside to leak out to the rest of the world.

Shione hovered outside, near the doorway. Not too close as to get in the way of traffic, but close enough to catch small glimpses of the inside every so often as small groups of cheery-looking students walked through. She was restless on her feet, moving slightly just to blend in or look like she was headed in a particular direction as someone passed by. They didn't really pay much notice, of course, but it seemed natural.

Another group of girls walked passed, paying her a glance. Shione tried to look busy, suddenly very interested in the button on her cuffs. Such a fascinating button. Maybe it had come loose, maybe it had come undone. Perhaps if they asked, she could use that excuse- ...No, no, they just walked by. The doors opened. As soon as they passed, she quickly looked up again, craning her neck just so slightly as to sneak another look inside the Third Music Room.

Again, only a few seconds. The music and mingling smells of roses and tea; everything had a warm glow to it, lively. It seems every face was smiling. It looked nice, but at the same time made her insides shiver with anxiety. So many people. They made it look so effortless.

Inside was the Host Club, an extracurricular activity with the sole purpose of entertainment, mingling, and socializing with people who were paid to make conversation... It was a great plan! What better place to learn how to be more sociable than a club filled with experts? Perhaps there was hope yet.

The door clicked shut once more. Silence began to settle back into place, pulling her thoughts back to reality.

"Oh, what am I even doing here?" she asked the empty hallway, hanging her head. Nearly eight minutes she had been standing here, each time promising herself that she would go right through those doors. It was simple enough in theory: she would follow a group in. No need to make a show of herself, just blend in. And then...well, she wasn't sure what then.

But that wasn't the point! Eight minutes, and still she hadn't mustered the courage to walk through a silly old pair of wood slabs on hinges. What kind of coward was she?

For years now she had been content to blend in. Shione fully accepted that she was not a people person, and probably never would be. People were confusing, much more so than anything in a textbook. Why did socializing seem to come so naturally to others?

'Everybody's got their strengths,' her brother had reassured her, earlier. 'You're brilliant. You'll probably be something great someday, save lives, change the world... But it really would help if you learned to deal with people.' His eyes never focused quite right - just slightly off-kilter in the way they danced, fruitlessly grazing the general direction - but they were always so warm. 'Not just for changing the world, you know, but for you.'

Naoki was right. What good was standing here afraid? Resisting the pull of the butterflies in her stomach, she walked towards the door and reached for the knob. It was with unexpected ease that the door clicked and the door swung open...in the wrong direction.

Shione quickly backed out of the way of another group who had decided to leave just as she was about to enter, barely being missed by the swinging door itself. She let out a sigh as the giggling girls passed and the doors began to close again. Not again.

This time, she caught the door and gently pulled it open, quickly slipping through before she had time to hesitate.

And there she was. The music now flowed around her without the door to block it, and the whole room was bright and alive with people talking and laughing. Shione just stood for a moment, looking around. It seemed much more tangible now that it was not being observed in seconds-long intervals, but not much less intimidating. Unsure what to do next, she continued to stand awkwardly, glancing back at the door and wondering what she had just gotten herself into.

[haruhi]

Haruhi... still didn't get it. What was so special about these guys that made girls look at them as if they were gods or something equally mystical? First there was Hunny sempai, who looked far too young, and Mori sempai who was far too quiet. Then there was Hikaru and Kaoru, pretending to be lovers while being twins... what was that about? There was Kyouya sempai, looking as scary as ever, even when he was smiling. But the worse of all, the one that bothered Haruhi the most, was Tamaki sempai. Such an odd place full of odd people.

Haruhi stood there, looking around, the tray she was holding full of newly made tea and pastries. Every table seemed full of snacks, so she could actually 'make her move', whatever that meant. She needed clients and she needed them quickly. She smiled awkwardly at the group of girls who just entered, giggling, pointing and talking among themselves. She had to admit, girls at this school were very cute when they behaved that shyly. She could see the appeal of spending time with them. Too bad she never actually knew what to say to them... Still, she needed clients, it was just everyone looked so busy at the moment. Girls already had their favorites, even if the 'new guy' did offer some refreshing and welcoming change. Haruhi was just too quiet and asocial to actually walk right there and interrupt someone.

Letting out a sigh, she placed the tray on the nearest table. This was useless. She was never going to pay her debt and, was it her or Kyouya sempai seemed far more scary than usual? Still, Haruhi tried her best to get away from the rest of the hosts.

The door suddenly opened and Haruhi saw a small girl enter. She seemed shy and out of place, just like Haruhi felt herself. Mother in heaven, She thought as she approached the girl, Please protect me.

"Hello, Miss." Haruhi said, smiling gently, her natural appeal starting to show the moment she talked. Not that she noticed, mind you. Haruhi merely did what Haruhi did. "Would you like to join me for some tea? We also have some sweets..." Was it just her or she was sounding far too awkward?

[cleary]

Shione continued to stand, toying absentmindedly with a strand of hair and wondering if it would be better just to sit down somewhere... Maybe it was like those lower-class restaurants her mother took her to when feeling nostalgic, where they served hotcakes and customers seated themselves? Then again, this was Ouran; it seemed the practice wasn't exactly well-known or common here. Also, there were no hotcakes.

Before she could overanalyze further, her eyes locked with one of the boys in blue, who had apparently noticed her. Carrying a tray full of tea and pastries, he seemed to hesitate for a moment before setting down the tray and walking in her direction. Shione resisted the urge to look back at the door, just to see. This was not the time to run.

She looked over the approaching host, noting that he was several inches shorter than her and slight of build. Was boyish the right word? Maybe not... Effeminate? Maybe a bit androgynous? With that face, if he had not been wearing the boys uniform... Well, but he was.

Upon researching this establishment (Shione always did her research), it seemed that each member had their own appeal or "type" to suit the fancy of various customers. There was a cool type and a wild type and a prince type... Not that she really saw particular appeal in any of the above, but it made her wonder. What "type" was this one? The questionable-gender type? Part of her wanted to ask, but she supposed that might be rude. For now, she would simply assume he was a he.

"Hello miss," the host greeted her, welcoming her warmly. Shione reluctantly raised her gaze to meet him. He had a very friendly disposition, and ontop of that what felt like sincerity. "Would you care to join me for some tea? We also have some sweets..." If there was any level of awkwardness in his statements, Shione was far too concentrated on her own awkwardness to notice.

Shione dropped her hands from her hair, and clasped them behind her back, trying not to fidget. Tea and sweets. How...nice. That wasn't a bad sign. She nodded and looked up earnestly.

"Of course. Sweets are good," she said, with a hint of a smile, but little too wholehearted to sound humorous. Shione hoped she didn't sound like she was trying too hard... She paused a moment, a little unsure whether to ask. "You're a host, right? ...I mean, you talk to people and whatnot..." She paused again before adding. "And eat sweets."

[haruhi]

She was nervous. Haruhi blinked as she seemed to get even more nervous after she spoke to her. She kept her easy, gentle smile though, trying to figure her out. She was asking about being a host, and Haruhi took an extra second to answer.

"Ah- I guess you could say that." She said finally. Well, she was a host now, wasn't she? Except she wasn't making any money for herself, it was all for the club and to pay that ridiculously over prized vase she broke last time. Stupid Tamaki sempai for having her do something this ridiculous instead of letting her study.

The girl wasn't done with her fidgeting and Haruhi could only blink at her words. Eat...sweets? "Uh...yeah!" What was with this girl being so shy? It was almost...

It was then when Haruhi started to chuckle, covering her mouth not to seem too rude. It wasn't all that quiet though, and made some people turn to see what was so funny.

"Ah- I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" She said as a couple of chuckles escaped. "I know I shouldn't have laughed, it's just..." Haruhi took another glimpse at the girl, her smile widening, "You're really cute, aren't you, Miss?" Well, if a handsome boy calling a girl cute wasn't enough to make her feel good about herself, Haruhi wasn't sure what would work. Not that it was a line, like most hosts used. She was rather cute, in a very mousie way. This was why the other hosts liked talking to these girls. They were all so adorable.

"I'm Fujioka, Haruhi." She introduced herself, still smiling gently. "What is your name?" She hoped she would answer and not get offended by her chuckling. She was just so adorable, with big glasses and a shy disposition. Sure, Haruhi had never been shy, but she liked glasses better than the lenses she was forced to wear. Plus, they seem to suit the girl.

"Do you like sweets?" She wondered then, extending an arm and pointing at an empty table, the one where Haruhi had placed her tray. "We have a lot of snacks and tea flavors. I can prepare for you anything you like."

[cleary]

"Ah, I guess you could say that," he said after a moment's hesitation. What exactly did that mean? She watched as he blinked a few times before adding an agreement about the sweets. Had she been too specific?

Shione was wondering about this when, of all things, he started laughing! Not even a giggle, either, but a full-on chuckle that he struggled to cover with a hand over his mouth. Confused and now a bit embarrassed, a pink flush began to spread over her face, slowly deepening to red as several people looked over. Her posture seemed to shrink slightly. Shione didn't think she had done anything particularly funny or wrong. She looked back up at Haruhi for some kind of answer, her expression flustered.

"Ah, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have laughed, it's just..." he apologized, stifling the last of his laughter, though a smile still remained. Shione didn't know whether to smile or frown... "You're really cute, aren't you, Miss?"

Shione was taken quite aback. That was something she was definitely not expecting... She was rarely called cute, except maybe by her mom. The surprised showed on her face for a moment, along with a bit of relief that she hadn't done anything wrong. She felt a little flattered...being called cute was quite nice, even if it might only be flattery. She wasn't going to protest. Her face was still a bit flush, and she let out a nervous laugh that came out as more of a squeak. She reached up and adjusted her glasses slightly, regaining her composure.

"Oh, well, um," she said, voice making its way back down from squeaky. She smiled. "Thank you, I-I guess." He seemed very nice and pleasant, if only based off of first impressions. But she couldn't quite shake the uncertainty of his gender, which made her all the more curious. And the voice. Just speaking, he passed for a male with a higher intonation, but his laugh seemed more feminine. If he had been wearing a female uniform, she would have little doubt he was female. But he wasn't. She did want to know, but didn't want to ask.

He introduced himself as Fujioka Haruhi (a gender-neutral name, she mentally noted). The same sounded a bit familiar, as if she had read it somewhere before, though she couldn't recall quite where...

"Motoori, Shione," she introduced herself with a mild-mannered smile. "Second year. Pleased to meet you." She didn't really recognize him from any of her classes. Although she did not usually pay much mind to her peers, she figured she would at least recognize a face she had seen in passing. This led her to the conclusion that Haruhi was probably in a different class, possibly a different year. A first-year, perhaps?

Shione nodded agreeably as Haruhi offered tea and snacks. "Thank you," she said, following towards the table in question. "I do like sweets. And tea. They're both good."

[Tamaki Suoh]

Today was to be Haruhi’s first full day as a Host after the discovery of his large eyes being a perfect level of adorableness to attract some customers. That, and the debt on the 8 million yen vase that he broke, which had brought the boy into the Host Club in the first place. Still, the boy should be appreciative that he was a Host instead of the errand boy; he’ll make his money a lot faster that way. However, Tamaki really didn’t want the boy to leave; he felt particularly close to the boy and wanted him to stay in the club for reason. To a degree, Tamaki thought of himself as a (second) father to the boy. Or well that was how he was explaining his attention and doting on the boy for now.

For now, Tamaki could only deal with Haruhi by occasionally glancing over at him whenever he had the chance to, like during the switching of guests or a lull in conversation. He didn’t want to be rude to his guests, but he couldn’t resist the urge to spy on Haruhi like that. They hadn’t had a lot of lessons yet, so he wanted to see how well Haruhi could do with such minimal training. When he last saw her, she was dealing with a girl he had never seen before. First day and he was already drawing in new customers. Bringing him on board had apparently been a good idea after all. From the looks of it the girl was rather shy and nervous, but that wasn’t unusual. Many first time guests were nervous about the whole idea, but eventually they warmed up to it all.

Oh good, Haruhi was sitting down and getting to work as a Host. Excited by it, Tamaki sort of excused himself from his last guest and turned to spy on her from the comforts of hiding behind the couch. He could get the gist of the conversation, with Haruhi flattering the girl by emphasizing the cuteness her shy behavior inadvertently caused. And Haruhi had such the cutest laugh! It was almost like a girl’s laugh in how adorable it was. Of course, she was also offering the girl sweets. Hmm, that made him wonder if Haruhi liked sweets? He really didn’t know that much about the boy. This might be a good way for him to figure out more about her, but he was going to need to find a way to get closer to the conversation so he could hear better…

Slinking off the couch, he silently towards the table where Haruhi and the new guest were at, using the various walls, couches, and other furniture to try and hide himself. Whether or not he could actually get close without being seen was a different question….

[haruhi]

Haruhi chuckled again, this time far more quietly. The shy way she thanked her only proved her point further. Maybe being a host wasn't going to be so bad after all. Still, she had to deal with the... others. She turned as some movement caught her eye. Had that been her imagination? Oh well...

"Motoori-san." She said, as if tasting the name. Hosts referred to their clients as 'princesses', but Haruhi found that to be too tacky. Instead, she preferred to talk to others with respect, she was still a rookie after all. "Please join me for the evening." She bowed her head slightly, before showing her the way to the table- What had been that?

Haruhi blinked at the back of a couch, staring for a second. "Ah- I'm sorry." She told her guest, still blinking in confusion. "I thought I saw something there." She laughed nervously, before walking to the table. She pulled the chair out for her guest, considering she had to act like a man now.

The female host quickly moved to sit down herself, serving the recently made tea. She was used to do these kind of small tasks so far, so it wasn't that difficult... except when you thought you were being watched. A shiver went down her back and her eye twitched as she felt eyes on her. Haruhi looked up, only to see Motoori-san's face. That was odd. She could have sworn...

"Is this the first time you come to the Host club?" Haruhi wondered, considering her shy demeanor from before. Girls usually had a favorite, so the fact that she hadn't known who to go to was a pretty big clue. "It's my first day as a host too, so please be nice to me." Another gentle smile was sent her way. This wasn't hard at all. Except for that chilling feeling...

Haruhi turned, this time her gentle smile breaking into a glare. There it was. A handful of blonde hair peeking out from the back of a chair. She knew exactly who it belonged to. It made her left eye twitch in anger.

"Senpai..." She started, still staring that way. Her words weren't directed to her guest, but rather the intruder. "What are you doing?"

[cleary]

Shione followed along to the table, feeling a bit less awkward now. Haruhi was nice, and not too intimidating. And she hadn't messed anything up so far, so that was good. She found that people were usually polite for the first conversation - a social standard - only acting on their opinions afterward. Either seeking out or avoiding more contact. Honestly, knowing that first impressions were so statistically important to interpersonal communication only made her more nervous, usually.

She really didn't want to mess this up, too.

Looking up at Haruhi, she saw he looked somewhat distracted, gazing past her at something else. Shione peeked behind her, but saw nothing that seemed unusual... A couch? A purple couch?

"Ah, I'm sorry," Haruhi apologized, still looked a bit confused. Shione turned back and shook her head dismissively, shrugging it off. She wasn't bothered, and in fact wasn't aware he had done anything worth apologizing for. "I thought I saw something there," he explained with a nervous laugh.

"Perhaps it was light reflecting off dust particles near your eyes?" she suggested, having seen nothing unusual. But who knows. It was a possibility that something had been there. Maybe an insect? "When my glasses get dusty, that sometimes happens... Oh, thank you."

Shione thanked him quietly as her chair was pulled out. This kind of thing seemed to be normal here. He then poured her tea, to which she offered a smile of thanks. She decided it would be better not to mention that she actually did not like rosehip tea, and took a sip anyways. To her surprise, it wasn't all that bad. She was impressed by the tea quality, even if she didn't like the flavor.

Haruhi had sat down again but had a look on his face again, though she couldn't place it. Maybe she was just overanalyzing. Shione looked at him curiously, but an instant later he was back again smiling. As he asked if it was her first time at the Host Club, Shione looked down at her tea, thinking that it must have been pretty obvious.

"Yes," she said with nod, looking back up. "It's very unusual." A second passed before she caught herself and hurriedly added. "N-not in a bad way."

"It's my first day as a host too, so please be nice to me," he said. Shione tilted her head a couple degrees, a little surprised. He seemed to play his part with ease. Of course, he hadn't been featured on the website when she had researched it several days ago, so it made sense. If anything, she was a bit relieved to know she wasn't the only new person around here.

"Of course," she said, returning the smile. "If you did mess up, I probably wouldn't even know." Haruhi seemed to twitch before turning again, his tone of voice sharper.

"Senpai... What are you doing?"

Leaning to the side, Shione spied the blond Haruhi was addressing. Or at least the small portion that was visible from behind a nearby chair. A friend of his? Why was he spying? Haruhi seemed annoyed if anything. Not wanting to interrupt, she kept quiet but watched.

[Tamaki Suoh]

Throughout his sneaking about, Tamaki had found himself in several close calls of being seen by Haruhi and his guest. So far everything seemed to be going fine. While he didn’t call her a princess, it was something that was forgivable. It could be part of his style; the commoner type! Wait, was that an actual type? Meh, it didn’t matter; whatever worked for Haruhi worked, and as long as the guests were happy that was all that mattered. Haruhi also seemed to be adapting well to all the close sightings, not letting them bother him too much and still keeping the focus on the guest. OH, and she got the chair for the guest. That was wonderful, just as polite as a real gentleman would do. This was all turning out great! Haruhi seemed to be a natural at this.

As he ducked out behind a couch, however, Tamaki found himself being angrily talked at by Haruhi. HE SAW HIM! Rising slowly out from behind the couch, he looked over towards Haruhi’s face to get an idea of just how angry he was at him. There seemed to be a bit of a twitch in one of his eyes. Ohhh…he had worse. Still, he didn’t like having people being mad at him, and so all he could do was nervously laugh at the boy as he tried to think of something to say.

”Oh, Haruhi, there you are. I was just wanting to come by and make sure that you were keeping up to the standards set by the Host Club. I had to hide of course to make sure that you wouldn’t just improve your act all of a sudden just because I was near. Yeah, that works, I was simply doing quality control…”

Seeing an excuse to being able to change the subject and bring it all to a more comfortable position to him. In a move that almost seemed like he was sliding into place, he appeared right next to the glasses-wearing girl, a rose being offered to her from his hand as he smiled gently at her.

”After all, a woman as beautiful as yourself deserves only the best that we humble men can offer. So tell me, how has Haruhi been treating you?”

[haruhi]

Haruhi nodded at Motoori's explanation. "Could be..." She said, rubbing one eye, "I just had my eyeglasses removed, so I'm not used to contacts." Still, it really felt like there'd been something right there...

Well, whatever it was, wasn't important. She needed to show Motoori a good time. Not that Haruhi was working too hard. Talking to girls was kind of fun, and this one was particularly shy and cute. She certainly deserved all the smiles and gentleness. Besides, she had to treat girls differently, right? More gently. That was how the rest of the hosts did, at least.

"But your glasses look very cute on you." She said, smiling widely. "I always preferred glasses myself. They are far easier to wear than contacts. It's just that I can't wear them as a host." Why exactly, she didn't get, but she had a debt to pay.

They were at the table now, and Haruhi kept smiling pleasantly while feeling that awkward shiver all over. Someone was watching them, wasn't there?

Motoori was talking again and Haruhi's attention went right back. She didn't want to be rude. She laughed again at her description of the club, and she couldn't help but agree. "Ah yes, it is. And don't worry. I find it very odd myself." Her eyes went to the other tables and the other hosts. They are all so cheerful though, laughter and smiles everywhere.

"But they all seem so happy, don't they?" Haruhi mused, still smiling gently. "That's what I've noticed here. Every girl seems to be having a good time, so I don't think it's that bad. Even if I don't understand much of it." Her eyes returned to the girl in front of her and she smiled again. "That's why I don't mind that much. Being here I mean. If I can make you that happy, then I'll have done well."

Haruhi grabbed some tea for herself, wondering, just for a second, if they would charge her for it. Well... no one said she couldn't try some, right? Besides, she didn't like sweets that much, and drinking tea was something to do. And it smelled relaxing too. Maybe drinking some would take away that feeling of being watched.


...Except she was actually being watched.

Haruhi frowned the moment her senpai made himself noticed. What did he want? "Quality control?" She repeated bitterly, obviously not buying one word that came from him. Why was he so bothersome? And now he was flirting with her guest.

Letting out a breath, Haruhi sent an apologizing smile toward Motoori. "I'm sorry for him." She said with a small glint in her eyes, before smiling gently again.

"Motoori-san, this is Tamaki-senpai." She introduced them politely, though she was still sending Tamaki glares that obviously meant 'go away'. "Tamaki-senpai, this is Motoori-san. This is her first time at the Host club."

[cleary]

Haruhi was really nice, she thought. If this club really made people happy, perhaps it wasn't really all that absurd. Seeing the sudden change in attitude as the blond was spotted from behind the couch was interesting. He seemed to be familiar enough with him to act less polite. Also, he did look pretty annoyed.

The observer slowly rose and made his away over with an air of confidence, and went on to explain something about checking up and quality control. It made sense, considering that it was Haruhi's first day. But he seemed to be doing fine, as far as she could see. The blond did indeed look familiar.

Shione recognized him after several seconds as somebody from her homeroom class, 2-A. He was just a face seen in passing, though, and she didn't recall his name... In retrospect, she barely spoke to any of her classmates. Even in the same class, they weren't much more than strangers. (She hadn't quite formed this connection when browsing the club website. There were always those subtle differences between people in photography and real life, something to do with the motion.)

Shione turned slightly as Tamaki appeared beside her. ”After all, a woman as beautiful as yourself deserves only the best that we humble men can offer," he said in a tone smoother and more formal that Haruhi's. He certainly had a kind of elegance to him, but the kind that made her feel more a bit more intimidated than Haruhi's openness had. Given such compliments and attention was a bit overwhelming, enough to bring a slight hue of pink back to her cheeks. She did not want to become so flustered again if she could help it. "So tell me, how has Haruhi been treating you?”

She looked hesitantly from Tamaki to the offered rose and back, and gently took it with a small nod of thanks. Roses usually made her think of hospitals and recovery, and her brother's sickness. In the past few months especially there had been lots of flowers delivered with cordial well wishes, many roses. A hospital-style bed had been moved into his room, and it all smelled of sanitation and roses... Because of this, she was not fond of them, or the rose tea. But this one was a pretty shade of red, and she really couldn't complain. It was a kind gesture that would be rude to refuse.

"Very well, thank you," she replied quietly, with a small smile. Haruhi still looked a bit stressed and quickly apologized.

"I'm sorry for him," he said, the agitating glint in his expression fading back into a smile. She returned it for a brief second, brushing it off. (She had never really understood apologizing for other people.) "Motoori-san, this is Tamaki-senpai; Tamaki-senpai, this is Motoori-san. This is her first time at the Host Club." Ah. So that was his name. Tamaki...something. It rang a few bells, but not enough.

"Motoori, Shione. Second year," she said, thinking it polite to introduce herself formally. "Pleased to meet you."

[Tamaki Suoh]

Looking closer, Tamaki recognized the girl that was in front of him. She was from his homeroom; huh, why did he not notice her? Her shy demeanor must have meant she just never approached him, and when he was distracted by more active and social girls he could miss someone who hid in the corner. Well, that just wouldn’t do for a host; he would have to make sure to notice her in class more and bring her into the family that was the homeroom class. He could never let a girl simply hide their beauty and grace in the shadows of a corner desk. No beauty went unnoticed to him after all (minus the one of course sitting right across from Shione)!

He waited patiently for the girl to accept the rose; he knew some women could be intimidated by him. Perfection such as himself was always intimidating, and so he knew he had to accommodate for those who weren’t so accepting of it as others. Still, she did seem to like it; after all, blushing did not lie. Once she took the rose, he backed off just a little bit.

”You’re welcome mademoiselle.”

Glancing over at Haruhi, he found just an glare at him, apparently bitter. Oh, was the rookie jealous he was winning over her customer so easily? Well, he couldn’t blame the boy really. Still, Tamaki remained quiet as Haruhi ‘apologized’ for him (what was there to apologize for?) and introductions began. Since he had yet to introduce himself formally, he might as well go ahead and join in all the fun. For now he would just ignore Haruhi’s complaints; he would just let the boy bathe in the perfection of a host that the king was…and his own little jealousy (it never occurred to Tamaki it was more annoyance at him).

”Tamaki Suoh, second year and host club king. It is our pleasure to meet you Motoori Shione…you wouldn’t happen to be in 2-A would you? You look rather familiar, but I can’t believe that I had missed such a lovely gem such as yourself. It would be like missing a diamond amongst a pile of coal.”

[haruhi]

Haruhi forced the urge to roll her eyes as her senpai did what her senpai did best: Act like an idiot. She really didn't understand how he could be the most popular person in the room, especially among the girls. Wasn't it worst to be so complimented by someone just as everyone else? It just took the special out of it. Besides, most of them were lies, she was sure. He merely told girls what he thought they wanted to hear.

Courtesies were exchanged and Haruhi let out a sigh, pouting slightly. If Tamaki took her very first client, he might as well take them all. That way she would never be able to pay her debt and be stuck in this place forever. What other things would these freaks make her do after high school? Oh well... at least Mootori-san didn't seem angry because of the interruption. The last compliment made Haruhi sigh again. What was it with those complicated compliments? Wasn't it just easier to say Mootori-san was cute? She was, true, but that didn't mean he had to compare her to diamonds.

Someone motioned at her and Haruhi stood up, obviously slightly put off. "Excuse me." She smiled gently at the girl, before turning to glare at her senpai for a second. Then she moved away. If Tamaki was the most popular host, then she could trust him to take good care of her own client. Anyway, it wasn't as if Haruhi cared that much about the whole hosting thing anyway.

The girl moved away from the two as best as she could, letting them speak for a moment. She looked around the room, almost grimly, at the many small groups, giggling happily, talking about sweet nonsensical things. They really didn't have a care in the world, did they? She let out a sigh again, before smiling. Well, every life was different. She had things they didn't. It felt her feel somewhat accomplished to be that different from others.

She did her usual routine. Pour hot water into the very expensive looking porcelain china. Placing the every bits they needed, cream, sugar, tiny pastries on a trail, and moving to place said trail on someone's table. She smiled gently at the greetings, before going right back at her table. Hopefully Tamaki senpai would have gotten whatever conversation and compliments he'd been practicing out of his system...

[cleary]

Host club king. The title did make sense, considering that he was the founder and arguably the most favored host. At least statistically. Shione couldn't help notice that his eyes were very blue. While his facial features suggested at least some Japanese heritage, she wondered if he was a foreigner.

"Oh, um, yes. I'm also in 2-A," she confirmed. Shione wasn't quite sure how to react to being compared to diamond amongst coal. That's not at all how she saw it. It was a very nice compliment, but it felt like it was meant for somebody else. She didn't really feel right agreeing, but it might also be rude to blatantly disagree. Offering a polite, neutral shrug, she looked down at the rose in her hands. "It's really alright, though. I don't generally act very noticeably."

Shione nodded and smiled at Haruhi as he excused himself. He still seemed very annoyed with Tamaki, probably for the unwanted intrusion. Haruhi was a deal less intimidating than Tamaki, she felt. Tamaki was very intense. There was a strange transition between very little, and then suddenly very much attention; she wasn't really sure if she liked it or not. Shione glanced over as Haruhi went to tend to some tea, wondering if he would be gone for too long, but quickly brought her attention back.

"I didn't remember your name either, at first," she admitted with a sheepish smile, trying to make conversation by finding some sort of common ground that did not involve various forms of carbon. Also, she greatly wanted to avoid letting in one of the long, awkward pauses that seemed to define many of her conversations.

[Tamaki Suoh]

During his entire shtick, Tamaki kept an eye on Haruhi to see how he reacted to it all. He wanted to know how the new boy felt about the whole thing, and whether or not he was willing to learn from the king. Instead, all he got was a roll of the eyes and a pout. Was he doing something wrong, was the boy not impressed? What could…ohhhhh, he got it. Tamaki finally realized what the issue was; the boy was mad because Tamaki had stepped in and stole his guest. Well…yeah, that was rude of him to do so (though if the boy hadn’t called him out on spying he wouldn’t have had to approach them). He was going to have to find a way out of this whole thing and let Haruhi have his guest back. After all, he had to allow the boy to pay off his debt; there was 8 million yens worth of it. There was plenty of time for the boy to learn his lesson and fall in love with the Host Club, Tamaki was sure of that.

Still, for now he had to pay attention to the guest in front of him as Haruhi was called off elsewhere to deal with tea or whatever. He still felt bad for not noticing Shione since she was in his homeroom after all. Considering how much attention he gave the other girls, leaving her out felt wrong to him. He would have to try and talk to more, to give her a chance to shine out like the diamond she was. There was a tone to her voice that made him feel like she didn’t think herself worthy of being called that. If there was anything Tamaki was though, it was sincere. He didn’t even mind when she said she didn’t remember his name (okay, well, he was a little disappointed he had been forgotten too, but whatever). Now he just had to figure out how to transition back to Haruhi…

”Well it’s all right, I really should have been more attentive. It’s always a shame when someone is ignored like that. You do seem like a very beautiful person, and I’m not just talking about your looks.”

From the way she had looked at Haruhi as if wanting him back, Tamaki saw his chance to step out and let Haruhi have her guest back.

”Anyway, even I can tell when I’ve come on a little too strong. It was wonderful talking to you madame, and I will let you get back to your time with Haruhi. Besides, it was rude of me to steal a guest from him, even one as priceless as you are. Twas a pleasure to meet you.”

More diamond-based compliments aside, Tamaki headed over to where Haruhi was at to inform her that she had her guest back

”Oh Haruhi, you can go back there now? I’m sorry for taking away your time with Shiore, but I can tell by the way she talked with you and looked at you that she prefers you to me as a host. Seems you got yourself a regular customer there, my little rookie.” he said, giving his newest host a wink. From the looks of it all, it seemed Haruhi was going to make a fine host.