BLOOM [OHSHC]

Chapter 6 - Like Sharks to Blood

A few more days passed with no overt signs of the Host Club.

I began to worry that they were secretly trained assassins.

Just kidding.

Or am I?

Weirdly enough, I began to notice them everywhere I went at school. I never really realized how many classes I had with the twins and Haruhi, or with Kyoya for that matter, either. I even had a class with Tamaki (Intro to Painting) and one with Honey and Mori (Kendo), due to my weird student status. They didn't say anything, and neither did I. Their rabid fangirls ebbed away, leaving me alone once more in a sea of raging hormones - just the way I liked it. I preferred anonymity. At Ouran, everyone was special, which meant no one really was.

And it was perfect.

Mei and I slipped back into our old routine. I went to quartet practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Art Club on Wednesdays and Fridays, and we ducked the paparazzi left and right. When I wasn't doing homework, I was looking up new recipes for us to try or ways to hack the housework so I wouldn't have to do quite so much.

My parents still refused to answer their phones.

After a long weekend of video games and binging on our favorite American foods (pizza rolls and doritos, a poptart sprinkled in here or there for vitamins), Mei and I rolled ourselves to school on Monday, tired and full of preservatives. I clutched a venti latte (with two extra shots of espresso) with both hands like it was a holy grail full of pure energy, ignoring the stares from my classmates at my new hair.

Late Friday night, I'd called my stylist and decided to switch it up. He'd answered the call at 3 AM, and by 5 AM I had mint green hair. I loved it.

I slid into my first class - Intermediate Latin - and slumped into my seat, my head resting on my desk, only to find a piece of paper I hadn't noticed in the way. Frowning, I sat back up, and found the fancy envelope stuck to my forehead. With careful fingers, I peeled the thick paper away from my sticky face and examined it.

My name was printed on the front of the creamy envelope in precise blue calligraphy ink. Curiosity got the better of me, and I tore the envelope open with no grace. Inside, a single piece of navy cardstock waited for me, white ink swirling and looping across its surface.

Mei and I'd been invited to a private tea at the Host Club that afternoon.

No exceptions.

And for some reason... I was a little bit excited.

-

But, I think Mei was more excited than I was.

She tugged me down the street, up the landscaped path, and back into Ouran Academy, talking non-stop. "What do you think they want to talk about? Do they want us to come and hang out every day? Maybe we forgot something there..." Mei turned to me, eyes shining, and said, "Can I see the invitation?"

"Not while we're walking," I laughed, steering her around a group of students that she nearly barreled into. "But I promise, all it says is 'Mei and Michiyo Kimura have been invited to a private tea at the Ouran Host Club' with today's date."

Mei picked at her lips, spiraling into deep thought.

I let her go, guiding us toward Music Room 3 as she muttered out loud. She didn't even notice when we finally made it to the room, or when I pulled the double doors open, or when I pushed her inside. No, Mei only shuddered out of her thoughts when Honey bounded up with a huge grin on his face, Mori tailing from a distance. "Mei-kun and Chiyo-kun! Good to see you again!"