Comes up Roses

Chapter 2: Belle of the Ball

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The next day after school, the Host Club was closed in order to teach Haruhi how to dance. Which is to say, Masae taught Haruhi how to dance while the others watched.

Haruhi kept a close eye on Masae's hands, one on their shoulder and the other in their own hand; and on her feet, which moved smoothly and with confidence. Haruhi's concentration was so deep that they barely registered the presence of the other Hosts. Kanako was there as well, her presence not doing much besides riling up Tamaki.

"Is this...right?" Haruhi asked. The position was uncomfortable, the footwork ridiculous. Haruhi wondered what the point was of doing all the steps to end up in the exact place you started. But, they'd found thus far, if something in high society was uncomfortable, ridiculous, and pointless, that was usually on purpose.

"You're doing well," Masae praised. Her input thus far was small, just adjustments here and there. Haruhi had trouble keeping in time, not the musically inclined sort.

Haruhi was quiet, waiting for her to add more. Masae didn't need to look at the ground like Haruhi did, and when Haruhi glanced up for a moment, they found Masae already watching them through her thick eyelashes. She grimaced a little– probably not on purpose, bashful at being caught staring. Masae didn't smile much, Haruhi noticed, nor did she frown much either.

"You should pick up the lead, though," Masae inevitably added. "Otherwise there's no point in having someone smaller work with you. If you're just going to follow the whole time, you'd do just as well with Suoh."

She was...blunt. And even though she gave a polite little smile every time Haruhi looked her way, they got the feeling she didn't like them– didn't like any of the Hosts, really. Especially Tamaki, who was perking up from his perch on the windowsill at the mention of his name.

Haruhi snickered a little. "Not Tamaki-senpai. The horror."

Masae's lips twitched a little as Tamaki took visible damage, glaring at the still-swaying pair. Almost smiling, she called, "Any notes, Suoh?"

The Host huffed. "None that I can think of. How about some tea, and maybe we'll be done for the day!"

Haruhi shrugged. They weren't tired, but they also wouldn't protest finishing the lesson. And, as Masae walked to the table with a bit of a limp, Haruhi figured their teacher wouldn't either. Even though she'd insisted Haruhi hadn't stepped on her toes, it was obviously a lie.

"Thanks for agreeing to help me, Masae-senpai," said Haruhi, because they had to say something. They took a seat in between Masae and Hikaru.

The smile that Masae returned didn't quite meet her eyes. "It was no problem. Ballroom dancing is an essential skill in high society. Your test scores are nothing compared to your ability to fit in."

Honest, and not very humble. She had more tact than the Hosts, but at the end of the day Masae was just as rich and out-of-touch as they were. "Uh... yeah," said Haruhi, glancing to the side so they wouldn't see Masae's light brown eyes anymore. When they did, they noticed Kanako looking deep into her teacup.

They must have been staring, because Kaoru noticed. "She loves the boy who supplies them," he whispered, tilting his head in the direction of the princess at the other end of the long table.

"Yeah," added Hikaru. "He comes in for deliveries sometimes. Their stuff is good, but he's a little, you know..."

"Poor," Masae provided. Haruhi gaped at her in surprise. It was obvious that she didn't care much for people, but she hadn't been so blunt thus far. Masae didn't look particularly ashamed.