Stage fright (OHSHC)

Chapter 3

"Excuse me?" I can't help but blink in confusion at what Ootori just said.

"You want to pay off your debt, don't you?" He asked while writing something down in his book.

"Y-Yes, but I don't even know what a host club is..." A nervous laugh escapes my lips as I see the group of boys stare at me.

"The Host Club is where boys with too much time on their hands entertain young ladies with too much time on their hands." Suoh sparkled, but what he said only confused me more.

"I'm a bit confused... What do you actually do?" I tilt my head in confusion.

"We basically spend time with girls who like us." Hikaru said with a shrug.

"Yeah. There's a bit more to it than that, but you'll catch on." Kaoru smiled kindly to me.

"Ok, but how do I fit into that? I am a girl after all." I see their eyes shift to Haruhi quickly, but it wasn't fast enough for me not to notice. Haruhi look flustered as I continued to stare at him.

"W-what is it?" He asked while scratching the back of his neck.

"Please don't take this the wrong way, but there's just something about you." This has been bothering me since the first time I saw him. I stood and got closer to him and looked him up and down.

"W-wait! Don't tell me, you like Haruhi?!?" Suoh started screaming and panicking as I continued to try and work out this puzzle.

"Of course not, senpai. Don't be ridiculous." Haruhi said with an exasperated sigh. I watched every gesture and facial expression, when all of a sudden, something clicked.

"Ah, so that's it! I knew something was off!" I giggled as I threw my arms around Haruhi. Haruhi got red in the face and started acting really flustered.

"W-wait! What are you doing?" Haruhi said while holding one of my arms.

"You're so cute, Haruhi! But why are you dressed like a boy?" Everyone in the room froze as I continued to hug Haruhi. I looked around confused, as now it seemed so obvious.

"H-how did you know?!?" Tamaki screamed as he started to shake Honey and Mori back and forth.

"Hey! What did WE do?!?" Honey shouted as he held on to Mori for support. I couldn't help but giggle seeing their silly antics.

"Well actually, that's what I want to talk to Haruhi about." Haruhi looked at me confused. I let go of her and slightly pouted. "I'm sorry I didn't recognize you before, but do you really not remember me, Haru?" I looked her in the eyes as she stared at me in confusion. I saw her wracking her brain for any kind of memory of me, but I smiled sadly and shook my head. "Don't worry about it. I wouldn't expect you to remember. It was so long ago." I turned away slightly disappointed, as she put a hand on my shoulder.

"J-just give me some time, ok? It's really hard trying to imagine knowing you personally when I see you on tv all the time." She tried to cheer me up. I nod and smile, hopeful she'll remember even the slightest bit about how close we were.

"Don't worry, Yun-Yun. You're pretty hard to forget." Kazumi said as he patted my head. He looked over at her and scratched the back of his neck. "I'm guessing that means you don't remember me either?" He said somewhat hopeful. Haruhi stared at both of us trying to remember. Suddenly, I had an idea.

"Ah, maybe this will help!" I pulled Kazumi down to my face, and everyone got flustered seeing how close we were.

"Yun-Yun, I don't exactly see how this is going to help her remember." He said confused and unfazed at our noses barely brushing together.

"Ready, set- DON~!" I yelled as I reared my head back and bumped our foreheads together. Kazumi fell to the floor and stayed still for a bit, before he sat up pointing an accusing finger at me.

"Oi! What the heck was that for?!?" We suddenly heard an outburst of laughter, and looked to see Haruhi double over laughing.

"THAT was you?!?" Haruhi roared with laughter as I giggled and nodded my head. She calmed herself and wiped away a few tears as she looked at us. "Sorry, you look so different from then. You too, Mi-Mi." Hearing his old nickname made Kazumi flustered.

"H-hey, I'm not a grandmother." He said looking away. I almost forgot there were others in the room. They all looked towards Haruhi for an explanation.

"Sorry guys, these are some friends of mine from my childhood. Now that I think about it, Tachibana isn't your last name, is it? That's why I couldn't place you. I don't know any Tachibanas. Okazaki, right?" I nod as she looked proud to finally remember me.

"Yuki Tachibana is my stage name. My real name is Yuki Okazaki." I smile to everyone as they give a different range of reactions.

"Why did you change your last name?" Haruhi tilted her head in confusion.

"W-well..." I looked toward the floor trying to think of how to answer that.

"Oh, her manager suggested it. Her being so young and all." Kazumi cut me off before I could say anything. Everyone nodded, but some didn't seem to believe his answer.

"I hate to break up this heartwarming reunion, but we still need to take care of the matter at hand." I looked towards Ootori slightly shocked, because I had honestly forgotten about what I had done until now.

"That's right. What am I supposed to do? Clean?" I genuinely have no idea how I'm supposed to be a part of a 'host' club. I know Haruhi is dressed as a boy, but people have already seen me today. Ootori pushed his glasses up, for what I'm assuming is for effect, and looked to everyone in the room.

"Miss Tachibana will be our first hostess."