*****Okay, so I thought I'd be only writing 2 chapters this week, but you guys get 2 chapters in one day. Yay!! ^_^ *****

I rolled my eyes as Tamaki droned on and on about "proper etiquette". 'I've been here forty-five minutes and all he's done is talk to me like I'm some uneducated street rat,' I thought bitterly. "I know how to behave like a lady. I just choose not to," I sighed, on the verge of dying from boredom. "Alright then," he snapped in reply. "Why don't you show us how it's done? Let's pretend I'm one of the customers. How would you treat me?" I leaned back in my seat and mumbled under my breath, "If you were one of my clients, I'd throw you out a window." The twins snickered from behind me. "Can't I get someone else to practice with?" I whined. "You can practice with me," Haruhi piped up. "Haruhi you're a girl," he groaned. "Adrienne needs practice on how to treat young gentlemen." I resisted the urge to roll my eyes again (which took A LOT of effort) and sat up straight, crossing my legs and brushing a stray lock of hair behind my ear. "Fine. Whatever you say, Tamaki," I replied. I could feel everyone's eyes on me, like I was on display. In a way, I kind of was. "Hello and welcome to the host club. Please, take a seat," I smiled cheerfully, gesturing to the chair across from me. Tamaki rose an eyebrow at me, looking impressed; nonetheless, he sank gracefully into the seat. "How are you today?" he asked. "I'm doing well, and you?" I replied, carefully leaning forward and pouring tea. "My day has definitely brightened now that I'm here," he answered. Be flirty. Be flirty. We want the guys to feel welcome here. The words Tamaki had practically drilled into my head repeated over and over like a mantra. I batted my eyelashes at him. "Why thank you, I'm flattered," I giggled, handing him one of the cups. "You're new here, yes? Tell me about yourself," he sighed, gingerly holding the tea cup in his hands. "Well, what is it you would like to know?" I asked bashfully, purposely glancing around to add effect to my little performance. Be modest. Be modest. Ladies are diversely talented, but never conceited. The mantra in my head had changed. He watched me expectantly. "Well, I am from America, and I was raised by my father," I said softly, setting my tea down. "I like books, and I love music. Fishing is a bit of a hobby of mine, growing up near the river and all." I laughed lightly, twirling the ends of my ponytail around my fingers. Be attentive. Be attentive. Take interest in his interests. The mantra changed once again. "Forgive me if I am too forward, but I really would like to know more about you," I whispered, reaching across the table and brushing his hand lightly.

Silence. Did I do something wrong? I looked up at him warily.  "Tama-" The air was suddenly squeezed from my lungs. Tamaki was sobbing happily as he rocked me back and forth in a bone-crushing hug. "Oh that was perfect! You're going to do great! You are so adorable! Daddy is so proud of you!!" he squealed excitedly, all of his words running together. "Not...your...daughter," I gasped for air, inhaling greedily once he let me go. Oh, here we go again, back to his little emo corner. "Well done Adrienne," Kyoya complimented. I stared at him, taken aback a bit. "Thanks," I mumbled, playfully curtsying. "People are gonna be here soon! Are we gonna make her look pretty?" Honey asked, smiling and flashing his adorable dimples. Tamaki immediately stood up, giving me a mischievous look. I turned around and the twins were standing there, grinning evilly. Once again I was dragged away. They shoved me into a room off to the side and tossed a bag at me, closing the curtain.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"C'mon out Addie-chan," Honey called from the other side of the curtain. "N-no!" I yelled back, blushing at my reflection. My ash-brown hair was down, half of it pulled back with an aqua-colored butterfly clip. The dress came up just above my knees. It was a white dress with three-quarter length sleeves and turquoise accents. The flats also matched the clip in my hair. Trailing over every inch of me with humiliation and curiosity, my eyes finally met the ones in the reflection. They were full-on emerald-- no muddy swirl of earthy colors, just this one shimmering shade of green. "You have to come out right now," Tamaki demanded. This outfit was...perfect. One thing did strike me as odd though. Haruhi was the only other girl here. Although she was pretty, she was much more petite than me, so they wouldn't just keep outfits like this on standby, unless...

"T-Tamaki," I called. "Yes, Adrienne?" he replied. I could almost hear his smug smile. "You weren't expecting me to say no when you asked, were you?" He chuckled softly. "No I was not. I knew you wouldn't be able to resist our lovely charm, and you would say yes no matter what," he said triumphantly. I turned my back to the mirror, one hand raised toward the curtain. This was it. Might as well let them laugh at me now. "Oh, stop being a baby and just come out," someone fussed. Suddenly the curtain flew open, and my immediate instinct was to start swinging. My fist connected with someone's chest, and they went stumbling backwards. The curtain fell, and again I was left standing there alone, the thick sheet of fabric the only thing separating me from them. I peeked through the curtain and saw one of the twins flat on their butt, glaring up at me. The rest of the host club stared at us in shock. I glared right back at the strawberry-brunet on the floor. "You wouldn'ta got hit if you woulda respected my privacy! I coulda still been undressed, yeah. What's wrong wi'cha?" I yelled, my accent coming out now that I was angry. "Oh yeah, well you could've stopped being so whiny and just come out when you were told to!" he exclaimed, rubbing a hand over his chest. I frowned and stepped out from behind the curtain, no longer angry. "You're right. I'm sorry, Hikaru," I mumbled, offering my hand to help him up. His gaze softened and he stared at me wide-eyed as he took my hand. I pulled him up, smiling sheepishly. "Again, I'm sorry," I whispered. He let go of my hand and looked away. "It's okay, I guess," he sighed. "Addie-chan," Honey chimed, popping up in front of me. "How did you know that was Hika-chan?" I could feel all eyes on me, silently asking the same question. "It was just a lucky guess, I suppose," I answered with a slight shrug.

*later that afternoon*
"See ya tomorrow A.J.!" Haruhi called as we parted ways in the hall. I was so ready to go home. Today had been awful. Only three boys came in, and it was awkward. If I was acting like myself, I would have talked about video games (which one of them were very passionate about), sports (the other was very athletic), hunting, cars. Honestly, we could've gotten along well. But no, since I had to play by Tamaki's rules on how to behave like a lady, I made small talk and listened to them talk about all those things, nodding along like I didn't have the slightest clue what they meant. "Do you know how tough it is to put a new starter on a car like that? Oh, I'm sorry. A girl like you couldn't possibly be entertained by this stuff," I mimicked one of the boys that came in today. "No, I'm just an air-headed bimbo who knows nothing beyond cooking and shopping. Of course I know! You think that's hard? You should try changing the transmission on a twenty year-old Chevy!" Oh, great. I was talking to myself. I smiled gratefully as I saw my aunt's car pulling up just as I was walking out the door. "Hey there stranger. How was your day?" she asked, smiling at me. I climbed in and pulled my cigarettes out of my bag, lighting one as soon as we were off campus. "Today...was...shitty," I sighed, closing my eyes and laying my head back against the seat. "Do I have to go back?" Aunt Jeanie just laughed. "Afraid so sha. Five days a week, thirty-four weeks per year," she replied. I pouted and flicked the ashes out of the window. "Tell ya what ma petite belle, how about I take you out to eat tonight?" she offered. I cracked one eye open and glanced at her. "I can't be ya li'l beauty if I'm bigger 'dan you," I pointed out. She rolled her eyes and turned the radio up as we cruised down the street. Living with Aunt Jeanie was nice, but I didn't want to be here. Then again, I didn't want to be at my father's either. I just wanted to be with Momma...

*****Well, that's it for this chapter! :) Read, comment, vote, & enjoy! P.S. be sure to follow me 'cause I'm awesome! ^_^ ***** 

Oh! And another thing, here's what the dress looks like (see picture above) but instead of brown, I made it green-blue.