While escaping angry upperclassmen, American transfer student Tyler Reed accidentally runs into our favorite host club. After a compliment from Haruhi and a forced performance, Tyler somehow becomes the musician for a ball taking place at the end of...
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—1— 「In Which Tyler Meets the Host Club」
I'd admit it: I zone out when it comes to music. That was why mom used to always yell at me when I had headphones in—I literally ignored everything else and ended up ramming into things. That being said, this wasn't the first time I'd ran into someone. In fact, the last time I rammed into a stranger, it was on a school trip. The song had just reached the bridge—my favorite part—and when I went to sway into the melody, bam. Right in the shoulder of some vendor trying to sell me lotion.
Even though he was irritated, his reaction was better than the upperclassmen at Ouran High School.
"Are you going to apologize or not?" he barked, leering down at me. He was almost an entire foot taller than me, auburn hair down to his shoulders. His gray eyes were narrowed, angry and impatient.
I bit my lip, reminding myself that I couldn't cause any trouble, and held up my hands, trying to seem as innocent as possible. "I'm so sorry. I didn't see—I mean—I was a little distracted," I tried, motioning to the headphone cord dangling against my t-shirt.
The guy next to him leaned in. "Hey, Toru, I think that's the American transfer," he said, eyeing me. "You know, that one that got in on a music scholarship?"
He snickered. "Oh? That explains the street clothes."
My fist twitched, and I bit down harder on my lip to keep from snapping back, looking down at my green long-sleeve to distract myself. It was a nice pastel color in my opinion, going well with the white capris I had dug from my suitcase this morning. The move here had been abrupt and unplanned, so I hadn't been able to pack as much as I wanted—just a suitcase full of clothes to tie myself over until Uncle Wes could make the arrangements to get the rest of our things. Honestly, people were just lucky I found something that looked decent, let alone actually matched. Instead of defending myself, though, I thought it'd be better if I just kept my mouth shut. Maybe if I did, he'd let me go without too much of a scene.
After all, the only reason I was able to go to a good school at all was because of my aunt and uncle. It'd be awful to pay them back by getting suspended.
Auburn haired guy, Toru or whatever, opened his mouth, but a creepy grin spread across his friend's face. Before he could say anything, his friend tugged on his arm, whispering something in his ear.
A pit of dread settled in my stomach.
"How about you play me a song then?" he said, puffing out his chest in that alpha-male way. "To make up for running into me."
I almost shuddered. The offer itself wouldn't have been bad, but the disturbing grin on his friend's face made me wonder what he whispered, and then I remembered that there weren't any cameras in the classrooms, only in the halls.
