Comfort in Numbers (Tamaki X Reader)

Chapter 3: Theatrics

There were a few select classes in Ouran Academy that were shared between the three year levels- and there was one class in particular that you were lucky enough to be able to share with the entire host club.

Drama.

On average, your grades were pretty good- the only reason you were in 1-B in the first place was because of your grades. Your pedigree... Well, it wasn't anything to be proud of.

The host club, expectedly, was talented in the art of theatre- Tamaki in particular. They of course had their strong points- the twins had talent in suspense creating, Tamaki had talent in romance (and comedy, but don't tell him that), Kyoya had talent in creeping the entire audience out (also don't tell him that), Honey had talent in cute-comedy (it was really more cute than anything else) and Mori himself had talent in, well, surprisingly, everything.

Mori could talk a lot when he put his mind to it- but when he did speak, no one really payed attention to what he was saying, more at the fact that he was talking. You snapped a couple of sneaky shots, and no one (not surprisingly) noticed expect for Kyoya, who only smirked.

But then came partner work.

The drama teacher had her heart set on choosing the partners instead of letting us choose. The teacher in question was known for her partner picking- you see, she was pretty weird. She shipped her students- she played matchmaker with her partner picking. You ever you were partners with, she thought would look cute together.

There was an uneven amount of students in the classroom, which left you and two other students alone in a three.

You and the twins.

The task we were to complete was to create a short skit containing comedy, drama and romance. Quoting the teacher, 'underline romance'. But it was improvisation.

You weren't allowed to plan it until you actually got on stage, where the entire class could see. Since this was a class with all three years, it was three times larger than a normal class, and that also meant, that if you messed up there'd be three times more people there to laugh.

As if the universe thought it'd be a funny joke, the teacher chose us to go first.

The twins walked up onto stage like it was the most boring thing of their entire life, and turned to wait for me. I was shaking slightly- I don't do well with stages and things like that. I heard someone snicker, and I knew who it was.

I stood in the middle of the twins while staring at the clock. Someone started clapping, but you didn't look to see who it was; then three other people started clapping. You glanced, and saw the Host club clapping for you three and you couldn't help but smile a tiny bit.

Then the show began.

Turns out, the Twins hadn't even expected you to talk at all, so only gave you minimal lines (although, that could just be because of their 'love of acting'). You kind of just stood there, in the middle of the stage awkwardly until Hikaru wrapped his arm around your waist and dipped you backward.

"My dear, tell me you love me and only me." He spoke passionately, and out of shock, you started blushing like mad and had a mental blank. Then you sucked in a breath and knew exactly what you had to do.

"I can't." Hikaru didn't expect that.

"Why not? After all I've done for you!" Even if you weren't acting, you'd have reacted the same way.

"I am not an object that can be simply won over by actions." You bring yourself back to your own feet and walk away from Hikaru and Kaoru suddenly has you pressed up against his chest. A cacophony of screams erupt from the female audience, hearts floating around about the room. It dawned on you that this could be interpreted as 'business'. You looked toward Kyoya whom seemed to tell you 'make us look good'. All for the name of business, you follow along.

"How about words?" Kaoru whispers into you ear and your blush deepens, and you're overcome by a sudden wave of shyness.

"Ah..." You say awkwardly, thinking about what you could possibly say to make them look good.

"I saw her first." Hikaru says quickly and loudly, taking your left hand and tries to pull you away form his twin, but Kaoru catches your right.

"I talked to her first." Kaoru counters, and tries tugging you away from his twin.

One of the twins pull too hard, and in a matter of moments, you're flung into the other. You lay there for a moment, trying to figure out what just happened- when you hear a groan come from the twin beneath you, your eyes widen and you sit up straight.

A chorus of 'are you okay?''s echo from the audience, but it's clear they're all directed toward Hikaru- the twin you had fallen upon. You're sitting next to Hikaru, closest to the wall, when girls start surround Hikaru and Kaoru is there in a flash, quickly turning the situation into Host Business. You sit there for a moment, still fazed about the events that had just occurred, when you see someone's hand being offered to you.

You look up and see Hikaru, his hand outstretched with a rather annoyed expression.

"If you like me that much, you could'a just told me." He sighs, and you immediately start panicking.

"Uhm, sorry, but uh... I think--" He laughs.

"I was joking!" You take his hand, with an awkward smile, and he smiles to you before running off to his brother. The rest of the host club manages to get through the barricade of girls and surround you.

"That was some show [Y/N]-chan~!" Honey beams, flowers sprouting everywhere and you smile gratefully, although parts of that wasn't actually supposed to happen.

"Yeah." Mori agrees, his voice a tone lower than usual.

"That turned out to be quite beneficial for business..." Kyoya scribbles something down again and you watch him for a moment.

"You were great out there [Y/N]! You should become an actor someday- imagine that! My daughter, an actor!" Tamaki cries, and he sounds like he's your father and you're his 7 year old daughter. You stare at him, slightly horrified but mostly embarrassed and confused.

"Ugh, first me, now her? Come on Senpai- give her a break!" Haruhi interjects Tamaki's spiel and quickly enough, they're all going on and on about all sorts of things.

They start walking, and you stay behind, but Hikaru and Kaoru take your arms and link theirs to yours, leaving you sandwiched between two of the most popular boys in school.

The Host club walk around you, talking and laughing and you can't help but wonder how you got here- this was just supposed to be a photo shoot, an extra credit thing. They can't possibly think of you as a friend- you've barely known them for a month.

You smile as you listen to their childish banter, and laugh at the silly moments. They were an extremely close family, but you couldn't help but feel some kind of tension or rift, particularly between the twins.

You decided to focus on that later- it wasn't your business.

~

A/N: sorry for the wait! I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Feedback will be greatly appreciated, and I'll see you next time! :D