The Hosts dispersed to their rooms in the worst spirits yet.
Masae kept her head down on the way to her room– the furthest journey of everyone in the club, as far as she could tell. The Ootori villa was a maze of long corridors, but she'd been here before as a child. The layout was a map in her brain.
The room itself was acceptable. Her bags had already been brought inside. Masae perched on the edge of the bed, gazing into the open closet. There was a dress hanging up in it.
She got to her feet, drawn to the only visible piece of clothing in the room. Masae reached out to touch it, smoothing the soft white cotton between her hands. It was a long sundress, covered in embroidered flowers. A note pinned to the front suggested that she wear it to dinner.
Masae hummed appreciatively. So the Twins weren't as mad at her as Honey thought they were! They'd even picked out something that she liked for once. She decided she would wear it to dinner.
Grabbing her bags of makeup and toiletries as well as the dress from the closet, Masae disappeared into the bathroom. She was dressed and primped to perfection by the time her escort to dinner arrived.
Morinozuka was standing outside the door when she opened it, casual as usual. He let his eyes rove over her once, just to be polite, before nodding and giving an approving grunt.
"Thank you, Morinozuka," said Masae. "Good evening to you too. Dinner's ready?"
He nodded and offered his arm. Masae took it, wrapping her fingers around his forearm. Even in a pair of kitten heels, Masae was still significantly smaller than Morinozuka, and she imagined they looked rather silly as they began walking down the hall together.
"Did the shellfish turn out well?" Masae asked to fill the silence. A futile goal, she knew by now, the memories of being stranded in the rainforest with Morinozuka sticking with her. But the society woman in her made her at least try.
Morinozuka just nodded like she knew he would. He was staring straight ahead, not at her, and Masae wondered why she even bothered. Morinozuka didn't even pretend he liked her so why should she have to?
"That's good," she said. "I enjoy shellfish when it's prepared properly. A great end to a great trip, of course." As subtly as she could, Masae turned her attention to the dark clouds brewing outside the villa. Yes, a torrential downpour was a fitting end to this day.
Morinozuka grunted in response.
The pair couldn't reach the dining room quick enough. It was, like the rest of the beach house, a quaint little dining hall. Nothing close to the Ootori standard, nor the Aoki standard for that matter.
The rest of the Host Club was already gathered around the dining table. An array of crab and shellfish was piled high on the table, cooked by the third-years' loving hands. Its aroma was promising.
"Here! Sit next to me!" Called Honey from the far end of the table.
Masae complied and sat next to him. Thankfully, Morinozuka took a seat on Honey's other side, putting an acceptable barrier between the two of them. The Twins sat across from her.
Ootori, who sat to Masae's left, gave her an appraising look. "That's a lovely dress. It seems to be quite a theme tonight." He nodded in the direction of Fujioka, who looked almost unrecognizable in a frilly pink dress.
Her attention drawn to Masae, Fujioka offered a sweet smile. "You do look nice, Masae-senpai. You seem a lot more comfortable in this sort of stuff than I do."
"Thank you," Masae directed her gratitude towards both of them, though their compliments felt lacking. She was willing to chalk that up to the tension in the room. As an afterthought she added, "Fixing your posture might make you look more comfortable. Boys' clothes can hide a lot, but slumped shoulders are obvious in a dress without sleeves."
YOU ARE READING
Comes up Roses
Fanfiction[OC x various OHSHC] || Seventeen year-old Masae Aoki doesn't believe in love; and why should she? Her mother ran away, leaving her to be raised by her father and his much-younger second wife, and she works as the secretary to a club false adverti...
