Ch.1 (1/1)

[Last edited: November 13, 2016. If you're not a new reader and decide to reread this chapter, tell me if you can spot any differences :v][Sade POV]There is a special place of loathing in my heart for being lost anywhere.That being said, one can probably imagine how disagreeable I became while lost in the preppy labyrinth known as Ouran Academy. There was only thirty minutes left until class started, and I still needed to talk to the Chairman about my classes, escort, and uniform.Exasperated, I charged into a hallway on my left in some sort of cross between speed-walking and stomping. I plastered on a look of indifference to keep from looking too scary. Nearly ten minutes of me wandering around aimlessly had passed, and my frustration was becoming anger. Right now would probably be a good time to ask for directions.Girls would probably be better to speak to, since boys were mysterious creatures. Smaller groups of people probably wanted privacy, but bigger ones left more room for awkwardness. My desire to leave people undisturbed versus the preference not to be awkward were equivalent to each other.I had just reached a large group when suddenly, a girl across from me swiveled in my direction. Her eyes lit up, and she broke into a grin that reached her ears. Odd though, I didn't know who she was."Look! It's the Host Club!!" she squealed.                    Of course she wasn't talking to me.The whole group, as did all the other girls and a few boys, turned toward the hallway where the girl was actually looking, speaking rapidly to one another and calling out greetings to the Host Club. I was well-aware of what a host club was, but I had never seen one until that moment.It became obvious why the girls surrounding me were melting into sighing puddles. The whole Host Club's looks were nothing to sneeze at, but the cute blonde in the front was the most noticeable. A handsome boy with glasses stood behind him like a shadow. There was a pair of amber-eyed twins with impish grins, both draping their arms around a brunette's shoulders. One of which had a cast on his arm. A tall boy with serious eyes and broad shoulders stood next to a short blonde who looked like he belonged in elementary school."Good morning Tamaki!" screamed the crowd."Good morning, my darlings!" he replied to his fans within closer distance. Then to the entire hallway. "And the rest of my darlings!" he said, "It's so wonderful to start off the day with the serenade of your angelic voices!"Hm. And a cute personality to match. A Host Club's affections were nothing special and easily attainable.They continued forward in the general direction of where I was standing.No thank you."Last night," Tamaki went on, "I had the opportunity to dance to my heart's content with many beautiful princesses at the Finale of the Ouran Fair!" He spread his arms with a content, closed-eye expression, "I hope that you all had as good a time as I did! The fireworks weren't nearly as beautiful as you!"I narrowly dodged being right in front of him."Additionally," said the boy in glasses cheerfully, "to capture the memory, we will be selling picture books of last night in the club room today. They're much higher in quality than the last ones, but they're also limited in supply. Don't forget to stop by the club room to purchase one today."While creeping away, I stole a glance back, and Tamaki looked straight at me. It looked like he was about to say something, but the bespectacled boy went on."It also happens that I have a few copies with me. Would any of you care to get an exclusive sneak-peak?" He pulled books out of thin air.The entirety of the female population made a noise pitched well above what a human should've been able to hear. I thanked God for the kid with the glasses as fans flocked to him and practically trampled Tamaki. It'd be best to leave before anything else went on.These were just other people living their lives. Not in the most agreeable way, but their business nevertheless. I didn't know them personally and they weren't affecting me. Besides, it wasn't my place to judge."Oh, joy! It seems that a new princess has arrived to our kingdom," Tamaki pointed out.The sound of footsteps followed me. I turned around.If I left now it would like I was running. Although, I shouldn't give a damn what it looked like! I knew who I was and what I was doing--but the last thing I needed was for him to go chasing after me."Hello there, I don't think that we've met before, princess," he said suavely waltzing right into my personal space. He then took hold of my hands and leaned close to my face. "Your lips are lovely. They remind me of a rose, so full and pink."As tempting as it was to believe this random boy, I refused to fall so quickly for his flattery, even if his sureness in doing so had flustered me. Especially with all the swooning comments made by the girls surrounding us. I leaned away and forced my lips to stretch into a somewhat pleasant smile.My first impressions, initial assessments, and the rest of that crap were only useful for handling small talk. They didn't really say anything about a person.I knew well that I could be wrong in all of my assumptions, but playing up to whatever people put on the table was the way to protect my pride from those who didn't seem all that trustworthy (AKA, Tamaki, at the moment)."You're right. I don't quite think we've met before. However," I said calmly while removing my hands from his, "that being said, I'd appreciate it if you would please get out of my personal space.""Oh. I apologize," he said dawning a look of realization and taking a few steps back. "Please forgive me princess."He put a forearm to his stomach and bowed. The fact that he actually listened to me almost confused me. From the looks of his fangirls, who were staring at me as if I had slapped him, rejecting Tamaki was not a normality. I had expected him to ignore my request and harass me instead."Thank you," I told him, returning his bow. My words came out slowly, because I was still processing his courtesy. I was glad he proved me wrong. "You're forgiven. Thank you for the compliment as well."" 'Tis my pleasure," he replied, "what is your name, Your Majesty?"I chuckled, the falseness of my earlier visage becoming a genuine smile. "Sade Tanielu, first-year. And you, Your Highness?"He gasped, a giddy little expression on his face. He looked close to squealing. Did the word "Highness" really mean that much to him?"I," he said pressing a hand to his chest, "am Tamaki Suoh! Second year and king of--""The Host Club. He's the president of the Host Club," interrupted the bespectacled host, leaving Tamaki to wilt. He passed his blonde friend and stood before me at a conversational distance. "I presume you must be the second honor student?""Yep. That's me. Nice to meet you. .?" I replied, trailing off to ask for his name. People flocked to Tamaki instead of staying to observe us. He bounced back, assuring them that he was fine and waving them away from us with the rest of the Host Club. "Otori. Kyouya Otori, second year class representative and Host Club vice president. It is a pleasure to meet you as well," he replied with a smile.Hm. The cool and collected guy, probably a guardian of the Host Club and natural born leader. With all of his achievements on hand his glasses certainly weren't just for decoration. Welcoming demeanor and possibly one open to helping others. He fixed his glasses and continued. "You've reached quite an achievement, Miss Tanielu. Ouran's policies permit only one honor student per grade level at the high school, however, your intelligence seems to be the first exception. It's not often that we receive people like you."Okay then, maybe not that welcoming. Perhaps it was the way the light glared off of his glasses or the calculative aura that he radiated, but something about this guy made me unsure of what whether his comment was good or bad."People like me?" I asked."Yes. As in--" but he was interrupted by the twins."As in commoner. You must be smarter than Haruhi to even enroll at Ouran while he's here and at this time of year," they said.The supposed Haruhi muttered about how they were taking 'this poor thing too far again.'"Commoner?" I said incredulously."Yeah! A superhero to other commoners, just like Haru-chan!" the elementary-looking boy said. The tall fellow behind him nodded."Precisely! You must have worked so hard to earn your place here at Ouran! We fully acknowledge your valiant efforts in becoming a hero to other poor people!" Tamaki exclaimed.His tone was that of one who pitied. Not even half an hour into my new student life and I had already found more than one person who irritated the crap out of me. Wonderful. I pushed up my glasses, trying to keep my face as a mask of neutrality. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't call me a commoner. It's rude.""How so?" Kyouya said, "It refers to people from the middle class, such as yourself.""It's also degrading from a time period where monarchy was still popular. It's synonymous to peasant, and peasants were uneducated and seen as lowly. You realize that, don't you?" I replied."I am well aware of that definition, but that wasn't the meaning I was referring to. Besides, this school was built for the elite so you wouldn't be one if you were able to enroll here on a whim," he retorted. Though I didn't look directly, I noticed a few spectators on the far end of the hallway shifting uncomfortably. My face grew hot with anger and slight embarrassment. Thankfully, my light brown pigmentation was sure to hide any redness from the blood rush. First he said that 'lowly' wasn't what he meant, and then he decides to put the school on a pedestal and fling me beneath it?! How the hell was I even supposed to respond to that? With that quick of a tongue he could probably keep an argument for hours. No. No, fuck that. That middle school mindset that said the only objective here was to one-up him. He could only 'win' this if I let him. "I deserve to be here just as much as you do," I said, enunciating every syllable with calmness."And yes, I do realize that you didn't say anything about me not deserving to be here, but at the same time you're implying otherwise. I couldn't care less if you were politically or figuratively speaking because you're not thinking about the real message your words convey.""Oh really?" he said with an unchanging expression.  I hated his composure. It was the unreadable, heat-withstanding type that left me with nothing to infer and a smugness I envied. I wanted that. I wanted a mask that revealed nothing and the power to remain unaffected by others' irritating ways. However, I was raised to know that I am whatever I wish to be. I realized my mistake in envying him, even for a moment. I caught the error running through my mind and snapped its spine, telling myself to keep calm and simply exist. "Really. I know I wouldn't have gotten into this school without my brain, but now that I'm here, we're equals. What you were implying is that there's only a financial distance between me and the rest of the people here. That 'commoner' is just a word I shouldn't be offended by, but," I swept an open palm in his group's direction, "my point is only further proven by the rest of your friends back there."I gazed into the tiny boy's, the twins', and Tamaki's eyes, then back to Kyouya, lowering my hand."I'm a hero to poor people, am I? How on earth did I go from 'princess' to 'peasant'?!" I said making air quotes with my fingers. "I'm not a poor person. I'm a member of the middle class, and if you knew me, a provided-for, well-adjusted girl who is proud of her middle class mother and father, you'd know that I'm not someone to be pitied because you speak as if I am weak and unprivileged. The difference between my parents' wallets and yours will not and will never qualify you to call me a commoner. If you really thought that I was equal, you wouldn't be trying to convince me of what I should feel, like some overbearing power figure. You'd show me that my feelings are indeed valid."He remained unmoving, and that was fine with me. I kind of regretted mentioning 'parents' wallets' since his parents might even be dead, but what was done was done. Can't be friends with everybody, can I? "But then again, I don't need or care for your validation. You and I are irrelevant to one another's lives, and have nothing to prove to each other. Please don't bother me again," I concluded.I stared him in the eye for a few seconds more, then charged past him and the Host Club.<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><                                                 ><>[3rd Person POV]"Please don't bother me again," Sade finished, leaving without so much as a backwards glance. They said nothing until sure that she was out of earshot."Wow. Someone's not having a good day," Haruhi remarked."Man, Kyouya-Senpai," Hikaru began."You really set her off," Kaoru concluded.Honey and Mori nodded. Tamaki didn't remove his eyes from where the new girl was last visible."If I recall correctly, you lot made  similar comments as well," Kyouya replied raising a brow. He had to admit that she made a few points, but wondered if it was really necessary for her to be so angry instead of simply accepting her place in society. It was merely a fact. Perhaps it was because she was a foreigner? She certainly didn't look Japanese. He had only received the news about her arrival that morning, so he didn't have a chance to look at her student file.The hallway buzzed about the latest honor student, a bold girl who dared confront their beloved club. This could be a problem."She hates us now!" Tamaki cried out, sinking toward the ground with a hand on his forehead. Haruhi patted his shoulder."I don't think she feels that strongly, Senpai, but she's not just mad at you," she said, directing her gaze toward Kaoru, Hikaru, and Kyouya."To be honest, she took it way too seriously," commented Kaoru and Hikaru shrugging."Sa-chan's unhappy now!" Honey said with worry.Tamaki regained his composure and sparkled. "In any case, it is the Host Club's job to make every girl happy!""But boss, she's so touchy," retorted the twins."--and we have done the exact oppposite!" he continued."I was stating facts," Kyouya replied.Tamaki pouted at him slightly."But that didn't exactly make things any better," Haruhi muttered, receiving a sideways glance from Kyouya."Regardless of whose fault this was," Tamaki powered through," I intend to make sure that Sade knows that she is welcome! Operation Win Over Sade Tanielu begins now!"Honey and Mori were the only ones showing remote enthusiasm in their king's latest scheme. While Haruhi was indifferent, it seemed that Kyouya and the twins were less than satisfied. Kaoru and Hikaru sulked, and Kyouya, of course, revealed nothing.Nothing would be gained from trying to comfort this fussy commoner. The simplest thing to do was to leave her be. However, Kyouya knew by now that Tamaki's bleeding heart couldn't be assuaged for such reasons.V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^VAhh! Thank you so much for reading this far! I needed so badly to test out the water because I can't tell how long I've been thinking about this story, writing this chapter alone over and over and over again. I have a feeling that I messed up on tenses a lot. (I also rewrote parts of it, which got erased when I didn't save them properly. I felt like dumping my laptop out my window).By the way, Sade's name is pronounced Shaw-day. Rhymes with latte. So when Honey calls her "Sa-chan", it'd be pronounced Sha-chan. Tanielu is Tah-nee-eh-loo. It may sound weird, but trust me, it isn't Japanese. Sade is half Samoan [Saw-mo-en not Suh-mowen] and half Filipino. Refer to the map in the media above for where Samoa even is. There's two Samoas: American and regular. Regular is the one that is independent, and not a territory of America.I haven't gotten further than the second chapter because I was insecure, but I decided to publish this now and see how it goes. I beg of you to be honest and tell me if there was anything that I could improve on! Was everybody in character? (And what do you think of Sade as a character so far?)And please, remember to comment, vote, and add to your library if you enjoyed! Peace out mah lovelies!~Nua(P.S. Today is November 13, 2016. Sorry for unpublishing Sade for a bit. I'm slowly republishing it because I wasn't satisfied with what I had so far, so Ch.2-10 are still in the works. I am grateful to those who continue to read this story and grow with me. Thank you).