September 7

"But Kaiyoka, they're so cute!" Sachi, one of my good friends, was currently yelling, though I was sitting right next to her. Not that there was anything new about that.

"But Sachi," I said, mocking her tone, "I so don't care!" She just laughed at my stubbornness and poked my cheek.

"You're no fun, but fine. If you don't really care, can't you just come with me and sit?" She pleaded. I cocked my head to one side.

"That doesn't seem logical. I don't want to go, but since I don't care, I should?" She sighed, clearly about to dish out some clarity.

"You're always writing, anyway, just bring your notebook like you always do. You don't have to do anything. It'll be just like that one time we went to a 'party'. You didn't have to talk." I thought for a moment before shaking my head and looking back down at my math textbook.

"Sachi, I'm not here on academic scholarship to ogle at a bunch of boys," I stated, which was true- we were supposed to be studying right now, since we're sitting in the library, but Sachi had abandoned her books some time ago. She gently took my book from my hands, forcing me to look up. Unfortunately, upon seeing her pleading look, I caved.

"I guess I could-" Sachi cut me off before I could even get to the 'but'.

"Great, let's go!" She grabbed my arm and bolted up from her chair, pulling viciously on my arm and sprinting down the hall.

"Wait- Sachi, I didn't mean right now!" She giggled and turned around to look at me.

"Well, I did!"

"I'm in the middle of a story." I tried to combat her again, but of course, she had an answer.

"Finish it when you get there."

*

"Welcome!" I heard seven distinct voices surround me in a setting that looked straight out of a book. A large rose petal- one among many- came flying out the door and landed on my face. By the time I got it off, the pink fog had cleared and before me sat seven boys. Well, six boys and Haruhi Fujioka. She was dressed in the male uniform, though.

I knew so much- too much- about these boys' 'personalities' because of Sachi. I still mixed up their names every now and again, but I still knew far more than I ever wanted to about them. She was next to obsessed with them, and I could never quite decide how unhealthy it was. She squealed behind me as the blonde one in the chair stood up.

"Please, princesses, make yourselves comfortable." He spoke as if his words were a magic spell, and it seemed to work on Sachi. I glanced over at her to give her a 'seriously?' look, but she was busy melting into a puddle. I grabbed her arm before he could seduce her further and pulled her over to the first table I could find, sighing in relief as I sat down and opened my notebook. Finally, just what I needed- some down time to write.

I clicked my blue pen once and set it to the page, and time seemed to be of the least importance as my handwriting appeared across the page, sometimes neat and sometimes practically illegible, sometimes printed and other times in cursive. But it didn't matter, because I got into my groove. Or I was about to, before I got interrupted halfway through the second page.

"My fair maiden, why must you sit here so forlorn? A fire ignites in my heart to see you so; I must see you smile." I raised an eyebrow at my notebook before turning around and coming face to face with the same blonde student from before. He set a pastry on my side of the table (I didn't even notice when Sachi had received one) and put his hand on my chin. I tensed at the action and quickly moved his hand away from my chin. No, thank you.

"I'm fine," I stated with no rudeness intended, but with finality. His eyes softened further, taking on an anime-like shimmer as he dropped a hand lightly next to my arm.

"Princess, to know that you sit here alone hurts my heart. I'd cross every mountain and valley in the world if it only meant that you'd smile." He was doing it again, softening his voice to try and do whatever it is that he did to Sachi.

"Thank you, but I'm really okay," I told him. I picked up my pen, gave him a small smile to show that really, I didn't need him to cross anything, and I went back to writing.

"But-" He seemed to cut himself off, and I heard his footsteps retreat after a long moment of hesitation. I kept writing, hoping to forget about his strange declarations, and I did after a minute. But of course, nobody wanted to just let me be.

"Hey!" I heard two voices say simultaneously. I looked up and saw two things. First, Sachi was now behind the two people standing in front of me, red in the face next to the blonde boy. Second, there were two boys in front of me- twins, in fact- Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin.

They were in my math class and were almost totally inseparable. I mean, everyone knew the Hitachiin twins. They also happened to be Sachi's favorite hosts. Kaoru was the twin who always talked to people first- the more sociable one, according to her. Hikaru apparently always looked to Kaoru for approval before branching out. I think she'd be proud that I remembered one of three million things she'd said about them.

"Let's play the 'Which one is Hikaru?' game!" One twin said. His eyes glinted and he already looked satisfied, and I could see that both twins had parted their hair the same way. It didn't matter, though- with the amount of times Sachi had made me go with her to 'observe' (stalk) the two of them throughout the school year, I could actually tell them apart, so long as they both spoke. Sachi also never forgets to remind me that Kaoru has a higher, gentler voice.

"What's your name?" One of them asked. He smiled at me, quirking the left side of his mouth. I looked between the two of them, watching as the twin who hadn't spoken looked over at his brother intently.

"I'm Kaiyoka," I informed them, giving them a small smile. The same twin glanced at his brother again, and then lifted my chin when his brother nodded 'okay'. I promptly shrank out of his touch, deciding that the one who was doing all of the talking was Kaoru.

"Alright, Kaiyoka. Which one of us is Hikaru?" Kaoru asked.

"You're Hikaru," I said, pointing to Hikaru, who was still uncomfortably close to me, and then I pointed to the twin next to him. "And you're Kaoru."

"Oops, that's incorrect!" Hikaru said, laughing quietly as he drew back from me.

"Afraid I'm not," I rebutted gently, already back to writing. "You two have different personalities. Sure, you parted your hair the same way, but your appearance doesn't make it impossible to distinguish the two of you." I smiled as I looked up upon seeing their expressions. They looked totally shocked, and I felt a little bad. I could only tell them apart by their voices and actions because of Sachi, not because I actually knew them for who they were.

Either way, I saw them leave in my periphery, and sighed in relief as the quiet consumed me once more. This time, I had about five solid minutes before someone walked over to me.

"Good afternoon!" I held in a sigh and looked up as Haruhi approached me; another person I recognized. She sits next to me in math. We used to attend the same middle school, too, although we've never held a conversation. I looked to her right and saw the blonde boy crouched behind a couch, peering over at us.

"Good afternoon, Haruhi," I said, choosing not to attach an honorific.

"How are you?" She smiled brightly, and three girls who she wasn't even talking to began to scream. Something about her eyes.

"I'm... Alright, and yourself?" I asked. She nodded, echoing my response.

"Is there something I can do for you?" I asked. By the way the blonde was looking over here, she clearly had a reason to approach me.

"Oh, yes. I just noticed that you were over here alone, and that other hosts had approached you but none stayed." I sighed, spinning my pen around my fingers as I usually do.

"I do apologize if I came off as rude. I'm just writing, and it happens to be easiest when no one is around," I explained. Haruhi nodded thoughtfully.

"But girls don't come in here for the sole purpose of writing." She said confusedly, and rightly so.

"True enough," I agreed. "The girl over there-" I pointed to Sachi. "The one getting entranced by Hikaru and Kaoru? She dragged me here. I'm only here because she told me I could sit and write, so I apologize if I'm any trouble." I said. Haruhi quickly shook her head.

"No, not at all!" She smiled again. "I suppose I'll leave you to it, then." And with that, she got up and walked away. I looked back at my notebook, surprised to find that I didn't feel like I'd been pressed to get back to writing. She was interesting.

*

"Senpai, she's just writing." Haruhi said as she walked back over to Tamaki. Writing? In a host club? Not on his watch.

"I will go over there and cheer her up. Our customer's happiness is of the most importance!" Tamaki exclaimed. Haruhi began to speak, but he was already halfway back to Kaiyoka's table. She looked so alone and upset in Tamaki's eyes, writing quietly all on her own.

"Young maiden, I come to you once more with a plea. I do wish for nothing but your happiness. Please, stop writing all alone. Tell me what will make you happy, and I will do it," Tamaki declared. He thought that, surely, this would work, but she looked unfazed.

"What will make me happy? Honestly, to be alone. I don't want to be rude, but I am trying to write," She told him gently, looking sincere. As her head dropped back to her page, Tamaki immediately ran over to Kyouya, his eyes brimming with real tears.

"Kyouya! That customer is so sad!" He yelled, draping himself successfully over Kyouya's computer and causing him to shut it. Kyouya sighed once and adjusted his glasses before looking at his blonde best friend.

"What, Tamaki?" He asked. Tamaki simply pointed back to where Kaiyoka sat, her head still slightly bent over her book.

"Why is no one attending to her?" He asked.

"She won't let anyone," Tamaki answered forlornly. "I sent the twins and our natural after her, and the only thing Haruhi could tell me was that she wanted to write." He looked over at Kyouya, who was now glancing over at her with the smallest morsel of interest.

"Move," He demanded, waving Tamaki aside as he stood up. The blonde complied, sitting back to watch as the Shadow King himself went to go speak to the girl who would not be spoken to.

*

I set my pen down, more than satisfied. Ten more minutes of uninterrupted work allowed me to finish my story, which was actually for my writing class. And it seemed I did it just in time, too, because another boy was headed straight for my table. Unlike the blonde boy and the twins, who never sat down, and unlike Haruhi, who introduced herself before she sat, this boy just sat in front me and fixed his glasses.

"Miss Sahni," He said. I raised an eyebrow. Clearly, someone had done their research. "Good afternoon."

"And a good afternoon to you as well," I replied, cautiously cordial.

"I do not believe we've formally met. My name is Kyouya Ootori," He introduced himself, and the name was familiar. The boy a grade above me who was famous for being cute but not wanting to talk to anyone. It seemed everyone at this club was well-known for something.

"We have not met, but you seem to know me, Kyouya-senpai." He nodded.

"We are in the same Language and Composition class. It is the only class in which I am not the top; you seem to have taken the spot." He stated. It took me a moment to process what he had told me. Luckily, though, he wasn't looking for a response. He simply nodded toward my notebook.

"May I?" He asked. I looked down at my book, which was at the moment about three-fourths filled with soft love stories and magical realms.

"Um, must you?" I asked. His mouth turned up at one corner, in so nonchalant a manner that I wouldn't have noticed it if I weren't paying attention.

"Of course not," He said. And somehow, by saying that he didn't have to, I trusted him a little more. Knowing the decision I was about to make was totally irrational, as I'd known him for all of 20 seconds, I flipped to a short story I wrote that involved magic and turned the book toward him.

"Don't read past that," I instructed, and immediately looked away. I always disliked when people read my work in front of me. The live response was very... Telling.

After a few minutes of silence from the both of us, I got a,

"Hm." From Kyouya.

"What does that mean? I'm not sure I'm fluent in Onomatopoeia," I said. He raised an eyebrow and quirked the corner of his mouth a little further- that seemed to be the extent of his expression.

"There is a reason you are at the top of the class, that you were allowed into the second-year language class at all. You compose your words very eloquently." He said. Both of my eyes rose in surprise; I certainly wasn't expecting a compliment.

"I have a proposal for you," He continued, pulling a little black notebook from nowhere and writing in it. "I'd like for you to write a love story for me." I froze in place.

"What?" Was about all I could manage.

"If you would feel so inclined as to take up the offer, write me a love story," He repeated, clearing his throat as to pronounce the end of his statement.

"May I ask why?" I asked, recovering my foreground a little bit.

"The host club-" He cut himself off to motion to the girls and boys mingling as an explanation, "-is a grand unit. If you were not aware, we have a budget, and we spend it monthly on various things. In order to create more revenue, we've sold books in the past filled with pictures. But the overwhelming response, while positive, could have been improved overall with a story."

"A story would allow for more money to be charged, which means the host club's budget expands, and the customers get what they'd always dreamed of- a story of their own with the host of their choice. Or, if you agree to it, a story of their own with all of us." He looked at me once more, his two fingers adjusting the frames perched on his nose.

"So I ask again, as a trial run, per say- would you write me a love story?" A slow smile spread across my face (partially because he managed to say something so ridiculous with a completely straight face). I crossed my hands on the table in front of me, shaking my head as I smiled.

"Sure, Kyouya-senpai," I agreed. "I'll do it." I had no concrete reason to accept, but something about the way this all played out made me want to. The writer in me always sought to write.

"Very well. I'll expect a transcript by the end of next week, at least ten pages in length. And if that goes well, we can consider what the next step may be in terms of hiring you as the official writer of host club stories. Does this work for you?" He asked, posing it more as a statement that dared me to object. I sat there a moment, lingering on the question just enough that I knew it'd irritate him a little bit. I wanted to see if he'd react, but of course not.

"I'll write for your trial run, as long as it reaches no one's eyes but yours and mine. And as for hiring... We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," I declared.

"Very well. Good day, Miss Sahni." He said, standing up and straightening his blazer before strolling off to... Host, or something.

Suddenly, I had quite a bit to do for next week.

"Kaiyo!" I turned and saw Sahni barreling up to me. "Sorry I left you all alone, but you'll never believe what just happened." I smiled, thinking about the conversation I had just had.

"No, you'll never believe what just happened."