Nobody - OHSHC
pairing - host club x reader
ongoing series, chapter 1
word count - 4,595
chapter 2 & 3 up now!
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01
Lost and Found
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In front of the doors, she stood still among the crowd of flowing students. The first day of school, it's cold, the sun shines meekly through winters wind, that of which rushes the teenagers into school - bidding them good day.
In the middle of the fading waves of students, a girl fiddled nervously with her sweater sleeve - she stood out like a sore thumb; in her rose pink sweater and black jeans, surrounded by bright lemon gowns and blue suits; she bit the inside of her cheek.
Regardless of her anxiousness, she swallowed her fear, gripping her worn out messenger bag with clenched fists. It's now or never - because if she bailed now, after all the paperwork, and all the preparations, and all the time both she and her mother invested, she wouldn't be able to show her face here ever again. It was then, in front of the large, extravagantly over the top double doors, that she took her first steps into the school that was once distant in her dreams; Ouran Academy.
It was a beautiful place, she thought, even more so than the pictures on the website portrayed. It was an impossibly large place, with the huge fields surrounding it, the smooth pavement walkways to the different entrances and the gardens, to the gates that circled the property. It made her feel small, being engulfed by such architecture and design.
She couldn't wait to visit the gardens in spring.
Inside the halls, the pitter patter of footsteps echoed off the tall walls, painted pristinely, and the ceiling that seemed higher than the sky. The chit chat of students somehow eased her, as she caught snippets of “how are you”s, and “it’s good to see you're doing well”s were exchanged. They sounded like normal people, which, honestly, she felt silly for not expecting. Rich people are, in fact, people. That comforts her for an odd reason.
While looking at a guide she was given, she left in the supposed direction of her new classroom, hoping she doesn't get lost in this maze of a school.
- nobody -
Great. Amazing. Good going, (Y/N).
Lost, is just what she had become. Though, really, who could blame her? All the halls look the same, it seemed they stretched for miles and miles - unending hallways of doom, is what she'd come to call them. All the classes are in session, so nobody's roaming the halls but herself; she's late for class, and is short of breath from running from door to door, already on the third floor, and she can't find her classroom. A nightmare come true.
Then, she heard footsteps. A hopeful flutter rose in her chest.
Turning towards the sound, a boy walked down the hallway - tall, jet black hair, styled pristinely and smoothly; not a strand out of place. He seemed to be looking through a notebook as he walked, holding maybe two or three of them under his arm, his glasses glaring from the light that welcomed it's way through the window.
"Um, excuse me.."
Her fear of missing her first class overcame that of talking to the unfamiliar male. Her hand went to tap the collarbone of hers that peeked out from the neckline of the sweater, a nervous habit she had.
His head lifted, notebook snapping shut - he examined the girl. Now only ten feet away, she saw the steely gray of his eyes and the flecks of brown that peeked through. His head tilted, a curious frown adorned his lips as he questioned, "Yes? Who may you be?"
"I'm, uh-" the stutter on her tongue made her cringe, "I'm the new transfer student, who got the scholarship. I got myself lost while trying to find my class," she exhaled shakily, cursing herself for stumbling over her words.
"Ah," he nodded in understanding, "I see. And you need help to your class?"
"Yes! I mean, if you don't mind." Stepping closer, she showed him the paper she's been grasping - all crinkled up from her grip.
"That's class 3-B, on the second floor. From the stairway, it should only be a few doors or so down."
Oh my god. I totally missed it.
"Oh! Thank you!" A shy smile graced her lips as she stepped back, turning towards the stairs and took off running - almost slipping in the process.
The male watched her retreating form curiously.
- nobody -
One embarrassingly late entry, an annoyed teacher, and a few profuse apologies later, she was settled almost in the middle of the room, surrounded by students who scribbled notes furiously in their notebooks - well, except one girl, who was asleep by the window.
The teacher droned on, and she, bored, doodled in her dollar store notebook. Light pencil lines taking form of random flowers, clouds, eyes, anything that her pencil wanted, she let it do.
After class ended and the teacher left, the students packed their things and began shuffling along; sitting on desks, making small talk, pairing up to go to classrooms together, the like. Since she was looking out the window, copying the birds perched on the branch of a bare cherry blossom tree in her notebook, she saw the once sleeping girl wipe her eyes and yawn - grabbing her bag and heading out with a lazy drag to her step.
Right as the door had closed behind her, only did the girl realize; she left her notebook laying on the desk.
She closed her own, haphazardly tossing her items into her bag, walking over and grabbing the brightly colored thing in her hand. I should probably go give this to her , she thought, and she went to open the door to do just that, but the unnamed girl was out of sight.
Maybe she'll be in another one of my classes. Besides, this is only the first one. Hopefully i'll be able to give this back soon.
- nobody -
The day, unexpectedly, seemed to flow by quickly. She was able to find the rest of her classes relatively easily, and thankfully so, with the help of a few kind teachers. The sun, now, was much lower in the sky, as late afternoon had settled in at the order of the clocks hand. The winter breeze had taken the clouds across the sky, to who knows where, leaving the endless blue clear as crystal.
In the corner of her eye, she caught that familiar head of burgundy turn a corner, so she turned to followed after. That had to be her; the one who'd forgotten her notebook, that is.
There was a lot of people going this way, she noticed - girls with excited grins, the loud chattering and large crowd made it hard to catch up to the clueless girl.
"Hey! 'Scuse me! You forgot this! Um, excuse me!"
It was no use. The echoing of everyone's conversations made it hard for anyone to hear, or be heard - especially with the meek voice she was using. She just decided to follow the crowd, hoping she would get a chance to return what was lost.
They approached a pair of large doors, intricate engravings and swirls decorating it. the talk then became squeals as they opened, the bright overhead lights momentarily blinding, as flower petals flew out in a rush of warm air gracefully.
What the hell?
Seven males stood, charming smiles adorning their handsome features, the middle ones hands outstretched in a grand gesture. His voice, light and welcoming, only stirred up even more excitement.
"Welcome, ladies! to the Ouran High School Host Club!"
Host club? What on earth ?
The excited greetings and squeals of the girls cut off her thoughts, as she stood in bewilderment. They all went in, in bunches at a time, then were led off by one of the males and sat at tables, with tea, cakes, sandwiches, you name it - what was this, speed dating?
As she stood outside the door, brows furrowed in confusion, the lost notebook was held tightly in her grasp. She was unsure of just what it is that she should do. she saw the girl, through the doors now propped open, by the far left to the room by the wide window - with two other girls, and... Twins? Boyfriends? Wait, what-
"Don’t be shy, princess,"
Her free hand was lifted and taken into the palm of another; who then lead her into the room gingerly. The tall blond kissed her knuckles, peering at her confused and shy expression through his long lashes. Violet eyes met with her own starstruck ones.
A deer in headlights is what she reminded him of.
He lowered her hand, keeping hold of it, "princess?"
She snapped out of her frozen state, as a garden of pink bloomed on her cheeks, both shy and unbelievably anxious. "M- uh, me? Oh, um..."
The blond grinned kindly at her timidness; releasing her hand, to place his pointer finger under her chin to raise her lowered head - forcing their eyes to meet once again. "No need to be shy," her breath hitched, too close to him for comfort, "who are you here to see, princess?"
He's already called her princess three times, now. She couldn't be any more uncomfortable.
"N-no," her head shook, and the males hand fell to his side, head tilting in confusion. "I just followed someone here so I could return a notebook they lost... I, I'm not here to see anyone."
Her eyes searched, and landed on just the girl she was looking for; and without a second thought, only desperate to escape this awkward situation she found herself in, she jogged towards the girl and let out a shaky breath. Tamaki stood, left even more confused than anything else.
Unbeknownst to herself, a tall boy with glasses watched her curiously from his spot at a table; eyebrows raised, causing some of his customers to question his unusual actions.
"Excuse me!" She slowed to a stop, tapping the girl on the shoulder, and the two... Twins? Yes, twins, paused what they were doing to both quirk a brow at her interruption. She bowed her head, explaining herself, "I'm so sorry to intrude, but you left your notebook in class earlier this morning."
The girl let out a sound of surprise, and thanked her for returning it. She hadn't even known she was missing it.
"Kaoru, who's this?" One deviously smirked, throwing his arm over the shoulders of his other half. "I don't know, Hikaru. The new scholarship student, perhaps?" A matching smirk, that, for some reason, made her stomach drop as she tried to slowly back away from the devilish twins.
Her back collided with a tray, hot liquid and broken tea cups clattering on the floor along with the clang of the tray hitting marble.
"Oh, gosh! Are you okay, miss?"
She quickly turned around, face red, as she had gotten the attention of the rooms occupants, curious gazes burning into her like fire. Her skin itched with embarrassment.
"Oh, oh my gods! I'm so sorry! Here, let me clean it up.." She dropped to her knees with a thud, picking up shards of broken porcelain, the design of flowers and delicate gold now nothing but trash of what they once were. The guilt she felt was suffocating.
The male, a bit shorter, with large hazel eyes and chocolate hair, kneeled down to help, a polite smile on his face as he assured her it was alright. Another, who she assumed to be, host kneeled down with a few napkins and a broom in hand, a stoic face kept as he helped clean.
After the mess was dealt with, all eyes remained on her; she didn't know what to do. Her face was hot with hues of red - she fiddled with her fingers, unsure of what to say.
"Hey, isn't that the commoner who won the scholarship recently?" A girl spoke. A hum of “ohhs,” washed over the room, and with that, chatter started rolling in.
"Ohh, I heard that she won through an art program!", and "she couldn't even afford a uniform?", and "she's so clumsy. I wonder what she thinks she's doing here."
This, though, made a certain blond beam. New opportunities to learn about commoners and their way of life was something he always welcomed, and it was that very thought that he had while he walked up to the girl, who seemed to be caving in on herself in this moment.
Kyoya decided to talk to her about how she'll pay them back for the broken teacups later. She's flustered enough as it is, he supposed.
"Ah, yes! A commoner! Tell me, How-"
"Uhm, I, I'm sorry! I have to go!"
One deep bow and a fast spoken apology later, she sprinted out of the room, down the hall, and down flights of stairs. She sprinted the way home, that day - overwhelmed out of her mind - trying to outrun her anxious feelings.
Tamaki stood, a mischievous smile on his face.
(maybe those shady twins have rubbed off on him, after all.)
- nobody -
The club room, now emptied of customers, was lit only by the light that danced its way through the window as the hosts sat, gathered around, beckoned by the king himself.
Kyoya sighed at his dear friends antics.
"Guys, I really think we should leave her alone. She obviously didn't mean to come here in the first place, so, senpai, let's just let her be." Haruhi, bless her, felt this odd need to stick up for the girl; having been in just her situation before, she understood, she did - though, she also understood Tamaki's unyielding curiosity and need to befriend literally everyone. She sweatdropped as she silently apologized to the new girl in advance.
Tamaki stood from his seat on the couch, mouth opening, ready to state his claim - but of course, the twins beat him to it.
"Now, now, Haruhi," Kaoru's airy voice started, "she caused such a scene. And broke our brand new tea cups!" Hikaru continued, then both chimed "she has to do something about this," shrugging nonchalantly in sync.
"Ah, yes, that commoner ruined our fine china. It's only natural we have her pay us back, correct?" Kyoya added, adjusting his glasses smartly; sparing a glance at the sulking Tamaki, who's crouched on the floor with a pout. "I'll make sure I see to it."
And just like that, Tamaki's mood did a 180, as he jumped up and propped his head in his hand - eyes sparkling with something akin to excitement. "Yes! She does have to pay us back after all," he flicked his blond hair with his index finger, "and besides, I'm curious as to who the new commoner is. Kyoya, do you know?"
"Well, from the records I've read through, her name is (L/N) (F/N). She's here on a scholarship, her studies focusing on the arts," with cool confidence he spoke, collected as ever, as he skimmed through the documents pulled up on his laptop.
"Oh! So (N/N)-chan's an art student?" Honey chimed. His curiosity spiked, wondering of what her works would look like. He hugged usa-chan to his chest tightly, perched on Mori's shoulders.
"It appears so. Actually, I ran into her on the 3rd floor hallway this morning, she was late, running through the halls searching for her classroom. She seems a bit... Scattered, to say the least," his laptop closed with a snap, then he placed it away in his carry on. "I will talk to her tomorrow." He added, exasperatedly.
"Actually, Kyoya," Tamaki added, voice soft and confident, "bring her to the host room to discuss the matter. I want to chat with her myself, as well." Kyoya withholds a sigh, nodding his head at the leader.
"Alright, hosts! Meeting adjourned!"
Haruhi, unlike Kyoya, sighed heavily. Tomorrow was going to be another eventful day.
- nobody -
Home, finally home.
Kicking her vans off, she walked into the small apartment. A bit messy, with a few cups on the coffee table and loose papers and letters that was scattered over the surface - a basket of socks sat on the couch, waiting to be put away.
She ignored all that, and crashed in her room with a grunt of relief. Changing into more comfortable clothes, she made her way to the kitchen, and peered out the small window by the sink, letting the fiery oranges and inky blues of the on-coming night sky give her comfort. The cold water from the faucet chilled her hands, then she went to work making her mother lunch for work tomorrow. She'll probably be asleep before the woman returns, so she thought she might as well go ahead and prepare it.
The apartment, quiet, save for the drying machine that hums and bumps every now and then, was warm. Her cat was curled up on her pillow, her garden box sat at the window sill looked happy and full of life, if not for the few browning leaves here and there. The crystals sat on her nightstand contentedly, the carpet under her feet welcomed her - she was glad to be home.
She lied on her bed, her head beside the sleeping feline on the side of it, who started purring at her arrival.
She fell asleep, on top of the blankets, to the sound of the cars driving by, her noisy drying machine, and the purr of her cat.
The moon bid her goodnight from outside the window.
- nobody -
At least today, she didn't get lost again; she made sure to memorize her classes and what floors they were on, so when lunch came around this time, she knew exactly where to go, thankfully.
Today she wore a muted yellow sweatshirt and light washed jeans rolled up a few times at her ankles, making a clear effort to not stick out so much in the sea of yellow and blue - feet clad in the same worn out vans she always wore.
The lunch hall buzzed with chatter, students happily munching on their overpriced trays of food, gathered in their little cliques. She looked around the large room for a moment, then went and settled at an empty table, close to the exit, and pulled out a small lunch bag. Inside was a peanut butter sandwich she threw together hurriedly this morning, along with a small bag of pretzels and a bottle of strawberry milk.
The slight shake of her cold hands made it a bit difficult to open the milk bottle, but when she finally managed to open it, she gulped.
Forgot to drink water this morning, oops.
Squeals suddenly erupted from all around the cafeteria, making the girl jump, almost spilling the flavored drink - looking towards the door, she saw just what she expected to see;
Those boys from yesterday. She wondered, just what is it about them that everybody gets so excited for? Why're they such a big deal? Well, yeah, they're handsome, but honestly, what else are they? Playboys? She just wanted to eat her lunch in peace-
Someone cleared their throat from the other side of her, "Excuse me, (Y/N)?" She turned to face them - oh! It's the boy from the hallway. She gave a small smile.
"Oh! Hello. Yeah?"
"Allow me to introduce myself," she felt the stares of multiple others on her, and to be perfectly honest, it made her skin crawl. How does he know her name, anyway?
"I'm Ootori Kyoya, the manager of the Host Club."
...Oh. Oh shit. Her eyes widened.
"I believe you were there yesterday, correct?" The way he spoke, cooly, confidently and like he was better than herself - she didn't like it one bit. She nodded reluctantly.
"So I'll presume you know why i’m here," another nod. "you're responsible for breaking property of the club, you see, so I'll have to ask you to replace what was lost."
Her heart dropped. From what she could tell of the broken pieces of porcelain on the floor yesterday, it looked expensive. There’s no way she could afford to replace it. She has bills to pay, food to buy.
"I'll now ask you to come to the club room, Music room 3, to discuss on how the damage will be paid after school ends. Is this alright with you?" His glasses glinted in the light, the polite smile on his face did nothing to comfort her - chills grew on her arms.
She nodded again, tongue refusing to cooperate.
"Alright, well, we'll see you then, miss (Y/N)." And with that, he struts away - she glared at his retreating back.
She felt as if she'd just seen the devil. Why? Maybe it was how businessman-like he was, his mask of politeness didn't set right with her - felt as if the male in front of her wasn't really there, if that makes any sense. As if conversing with a mannequin.
She shook her head, and sighed at her loss of appetite. Maybe she'll go ahead and go to her next classroom.
Haruhi glanced at her with understanding.
- nobody -
She stared out the window at the end of the hallway, in front of the dreaded host club doors. Outside the sun hung low, barely managing to shine through the clouds that covered sky; no birds were seen, as the first few raindrops tapped on the window.
I can’t avoid this for forever. Let's go.
With a moment of false bravery, she opened the door and peeked around the crack - to see all the hosts lounging and conversing among themselves.
The one she bumped into the other day, Haruhi, is what she'd heard them call him, wore a deadpan expression as the tall blond was chasing the twins around the room, who cackled as they ran. A shorter blond was sat with a very tall male at a table, sharing vanilla cake with a smile on his face. Well, the tall one was hard to read, but the blond looked pretty happy. Then there was Ootori - sitting at a table with his laptop perched open, tapping away, a concentrated frown rests on his features.
Gulping down the nervous lump in her throat, she spoke in a timid voice; "excuse me... I was asked to come here,"
All the hosts stopped what they were doing and looked to the girl, standing in the doorway with a nervous flush on her face.
The shorter blond verbally awww ed at the sight, swallowing his mouthful of cake and skipping towards the girl. "You must be (Y/N)-chan, right?"
She nodded.
"Oh! Welcome, sit down. Haruhi, be a dear and go get this lady some coffee!" Haruhi growled at Tamaki under her breath, these damn rich people.
She cracked a small smile at that, "No! No, it's fine. You don’t have to. Uhm," she walked deeper into the room, eyes exploring the empty space. Her eyes, once again, met pools of warm violet; she averted her gaze quickly. He frowned.
"Actually, Ootori asked me to come here," said male smirked, closing his device, "also, while I'm here," she paused to bow, looks of confusion played across the expressions of the hosts, "I wanted to apologize for breaking the tea set. I'm not sure how I could repay you, but-"
A warm hand on her shoulder, standing her up right interrupted her apologetic rambling - it was that boy again. I still don’t know his name, do I?
"Fear not, dear commoner, don’t worry about the tea cups! I just wanted to talk to you abou-"
Suddenly, two pairs of hands pried the obnoxious male away from her, arms linked over each others shoulders as he flopped on the ground dramatically behind them. She raised her eyebrows.
"You know, those tea sets are expensive,"
"We got them imported all the way from Scotland, you know? It’s a shame they were broken,"
The smirks on the two auburn's faces made her stomach drop.
"Guys, stop scaring her," Haruhi interrupted their little charade, smiling sympathetically at the girl in front of her. "Don't worry, (Y/N). We'll figure something out, don’t let these two dimwits get to you," she sent a quick glare at said dimwits, and the girl instantly felt relieved. Haruhi was comforting to talk to, so her nerves were eased.
"Yes, indeed we will," ah, there he is, the man of the night: Mr. Businessman. She turned her head towards him, who slowly walked over to where she stood with Haruhi and the twins. "Now, either you can pay us back, or, you could help around the club for awhile, until you've settled your debt."
"Helping out as in washing dishes, fetching groceries, making the food, and the likes. Not hard tasks."
She frowned. That wasn't good. She has a part time job to work at, there is literally no time for after school housekeeping.
"Are you sure there isn't anything else I could do? I could pay it off, but it would take a few months.." She trailed off, thinking in silence for a moment. If she put a little of her paycheck up each week, it would only take 3-4 months to pay it off. But she really, really needs that extra cash. "I work after school most days, so I don’t really have time to stay after classes. Um.. Maybe I could come in early each morning instead to do the chores? Would that be okay?"
Kyoya listened carefully, nodding as she spoke. Where do commoners get the time to work like that? And attend school?
"Yes, I suppose that would be okay. I'll have a to-do list made. Oh, you'll need keys to get in early. I can get those made soon. When shall you start?"
Tamaki didn't like any of what he was hearing. He quickly wondered how Kyoya could make the girl come in early after knowing she had to work after school. His compassionate heart got the better of him in that moment, a frown present on his handsome features as he stepped next to his friend and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"But you have to work after school, right, (Y/N)? Are you really okay with coming in so early?"
She froze for a moment. Why was he pitying her? She's only repaying a debt. She clenched her jaw for a moment, breathed in, and attempted to relax. He waited for her answer.
In all honesty, no. She's gonna be dead tired by the time she has to work, but what options does she have? She's already made up her mind. It'll only be for a little while that she'll be doing this. Only for a few months. Then it'll be over, just like that. It'll be over soon.
With newfound determination, she met Kyoya's steely eyes with a smile - at which his eyes widened for only a moment at. He smirked at her.
"Yes, I'm sure. Thank you for the concern, but I need to repay this debt." She answered Tamaki, not taking her eyes off Kyoya's. She treated this as a challenge - and Kyoya was more than amused, to say the least.
Haruhi was shaking her head at the whole ordeal.
"I can start next week. Is that alright with you, Ootori?" And just like that, she averted her eyes again. Back into the socially awkward hunch of her shoulders, she sighed softly.
"Yes, that's quite alright."
And with that, the girl had been thrown into a completely different world; one that would rip her away from her shell and into the world of the eccentric Host Club.