Brilliant Red Love (An Ouran Highschool Host Club Fanfic)

Chapter Two: Falling for You

Akane opened her eyes, scanning the crowd. There, in the corner, was Kyoya, as promised. His eyes were wide in shock. She smirked a little, then went back to the music. Here came the hard part. She focused, and her fingers flew over the keys, creating a whirlwind of notes, spinning higher and higher, until Tamaki came to an end with a final flourish.

Akane set down the flute, taking deep breaths. "Whew! Glad that's over."

Suddenly, someone tapped her shoulder. She glanced over, and saw Tamaki. "Time to bow, Akane." He smiled. "Well done."

She smiled wearily back. "Gosh, that was long!" 

Tamaki chuckled, then bowed to the audience, and was met with a round of applause. Akane shrugged, then dipped into a little curtsy.

Silence. She stood up, and was met with the faces of shocked girls. Eyes wide. Whispering. Staring. Akane shifted, uncomfortable.

Then, in the front row, a girl stood up, clapping. A few others joined in. More and more followed her example, until Akane was met with a standing ovation. In the back of the room, Kyoya was applauding politely, though he had a strange half grin on his face.

Akane blushed. Somehow, that little grin and applaud from him meant more to her than anything else. Her heart fluttered as their gazes met, until she looked away, feeling her cheeks heat up.

"Let's go." Tamaki whispered in her ear, ushering her off the little stage before returning to join the girls, along with Mori, and Honey.

Kyoya, Haruhi, and the twins met her back in the changing rooms. "Well, that was quite impressive." Kyoya remarked.

Kaoru pretended to look outraged. "How dare you! That was way more than impressive. That was incredible!"

Akane smiled. "Thanks, Kaoru. I'm just glad it's over. I've never really performed as much as other flutists did back in England."

Hikaru crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, then you'd better start performing more often. I'm thinking maybe everyday, here at the Host Club. They'd adore you, Akane. And not to mention, we may even get a few guys to come here, too. You looked hot up there on that stage." Kaoru wolf-whistled.

Haruhi glared at the twins disapprovingly. "That's not a very gentlemanly to do, you know. Why don't you go join the others out there? The girls would appreciate your whistles much more than Akane would right now." Akane smiled in relief as she watched Haruhi shove the twins out from the changing rooms, until she realised that she was alone with Kyoya.

"Um, sooo." She said, trying to fill in the silence.

"You know, Akane." 

"Yeah, senpai?"

"At your old school, were there any boys of your interest?"

Akane cocked her head. 'Well, no. I mean, they'd come up to me occasionally, but none of them really got to me."

"Why not?"

"Um, well. A lot didn't think very highly of classical music. And the rest weren't really after me for me, if you know what I mean."

For a split second, she thought she saw Kyoya clench his jaw ever so slightly. "Oh." He replied finally.

Akane frowned. "Are you okay? Did I say something?"

Kyoya blinked. "Oh, it's nothing. Now, Tamaki and I have agreed on a deal. You can either work as a host and earn at least two hundred requests from guests, or you can be a musician and play as entertainment. Do this for two years. You can choose either option. After you have completed one or the other, you'll get the flute of your choice. Until then, you may borrow a school flute if you'd like."