I Wanna Take a Ride on Your Disco Stick

“Drink it.”

“No way in hell sempai,” I muttered.

“But you have to drink it!” Tamaki whined. “Instant coffee is the official drink of the host club!”

“I’m not drinking that commoner’s crap!”

Tamaki caressed my cheek, letting his fingers slip down beneath my chin. He tilted my face upwards so I faced him more directly and whispered, “What if I let you drink it from my mouth?”

“I’d probably punch you in the nuts and puke all over you,” I smiled innocently. Tamaki got the hint and took a step back, taking his hand with him.

“Drink this right now!” He demanded.

“I’m not gonna drink it,” I sighed.

“Drink it!”

“No!”

“Shane-chan, just drink it,” Honey sempai said. “Then you can come eat cake with me!”

“Fine,” I grunted, snatching the cup out of Tamaki’s hands. Everyone watched intently as I lifted it to my mouth and took the tiniest of sips.

“So?” Haruhi asked once I’d swallowed.

“It’s good,” I said softly.

“What?”

“I said it’s good okay?” I yelled. “Happy?”

“No need to get so upset,” Kyoya smirked, cool as usual.

“She’s always that pissy,” Ehiko snorted, a little louder than he meant to apparently.

Slamming the tiny cup down on the nearest table, I turned to face him. “What’d you say?”

“You heard-“

But he was interrupted by a noise. A very loud noise that sounded a lot like a powerful motor mixed with evil cackling.

“What in the name of God’s green earth is that?” I screeched in English, leaping back in surprise as a platform began to rise out of the floor.

“What? You mean you haven’t met Renge yet?” Kyoya asked.

I shook my head no.

Renge? Who’s Renge?

“Oh the tragedy, two best friends torn apart by love,” Cooed a girl with a very annoying voice. She had long, light brunette hair and wore the Ouran Girls’ dress. The awful yellow one with the puffy sleeves.

“Is she talking about us?” Ehiko said, forgetting that he was supposed to be angry with me for a second.

I was about to answer him, then decided against it, crossing my arms with huff instead.

“Honaka Shane, Naga Ehiko, meet our manager Hoshakuji Renge,” Kyoya announced.

“What? You said there weren’t any girls in this club!” I exclaimed.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Ehiko eyeing Haruhi wearily.

Don’t tell me he’s got the hots for him now too!

“Well technically Renge isn’t a host, or should we say hostess. She is solely our manager. Anyway, what are you so worked up about? We did let you join after all.”

Stupid Kyoya with his logic.

“Oh the torment between these two!” Renge wailed on, oblivious to our side conversations. “What hope is there for these young damaged souls? Will their friendship ever be repaired?”

“I didn’t even know you two were fighting,” Haruhi said, catching me slightly by surprise.

“It’s not that big of a deal. It’s just a petty fight. Happens all the time.” Okay so maybe I was stretching the truth a little bit. Sure E and I had a few arguments here and there, but it hadn’t ever gotten this bad…

“Doesn’t sound that way listening to Renge,” He muttered. “Than again she tends to be a little dramatic?”

“A little?” I scoffed when Renge gave a particularly loud sob. “I dislike her already.”

“You get used to it after awhile.”

“Does she always just pop up like that?”

“Pretty much.”

“She’s weird,” I concluded. “Oi! Weirdo!” I called. “Go away would ya?”

“Now Shane, that is no way to talk to our manager,” Tamaki said. “Though she can be a bit annoying sometimes…”

But sure enough, with a huff and the booming sound of a powerful motor, Renge’s platform disappeared back into the floor.

“Shane, your birthday’s next week isn’t it?” Kyoya asked.

“Yes it is, and boy that was random…”

“Just making sure.”

“Kyoya, you’re kind of creepy. And when I say kind of, I mean you’re like a full blown stalker.”

“Is it so bad that I like to check up on the members of our club? This way I can get you a birthday present,” He said matter-of-factly.

“Like you’d ever get me a birthday present!” I snorted, plopping down on the couch next to Honey and reaching for a piece of cake.

“Actually it would look very good, considering our family buys a lot of equipment for our hospitals from your father’s electronics company.”

“Is it really your birthday next week Shae-chan?” Honey asked excitedly.

I nodded, unable to talk around the giant chunk of cake I was gulping down in a very un-lady like way. Once I’d gotten to know the boys better, I’d stopped being so uptight about eating in front of them.

“What kind of cake do you want?”

“Something with lots of chocolate, strawberries, and whipped cream!”