Chapter 4 Like New

Aaron stood with his back pressed against the door, breath quick and eyes wide like he was a mouse caught in the claws of a hawk. He scrabbled for the doorknob only to find it locked. He was defenseless, stuck in the open; he couldn't even latch onto his bag like usual, because it was still in the Lounge. Panicking, he looked around the hallway for a savior; it only made it worse because he realized everybody in the hallway was staring at him.

It was more than just the fact that he looked like a startled deer. The uniform with its backwards colors wasn't what drew attention either. It was the sudden appearance of a boy who was attractive enough to be part of the host club. A boy who nobody recognized as the sloppy mess who had made a mad dash through the halls in an attempt to save his bag. As such, they immediately began making up stories about who he was and why he had been in the host club; not a single one of them would have thought he was Sherwood's peasant, playing prince.

When it became clear that nobody was going to mock him, Aaron stood up a bit straighter, putting his chin up- but still not meeting anybody's eyes, because he wasn't quite brave enough yet. Feeling far more confident, he unstuck himself from the door. He was tempted to run a hand through his hair, a show of his nerves, but he was terrified he would ruin Harry's work. After only a few seconds being a host club prince, he didn't want to go back to being just Aaron.

The first bell of the day rang, making Aaron jump. He'd already been tardy once, and he wasn't looking to make a habit of it. So, despite his lack of books and pencils, he found himself running through the school once again, wondering if he should be trying out for the school's track team.

Aaron burst into the classroom in the middle of roll call, trying to look calm and collected as he controlled his heavy breathing. "Sorry to interrupt," he gasped.

The classroom exploded; whispers and bets and invented rumors filled the room. The only still points were Cara, who was staring at him with pure awe, and Kris, who was sitting next to the empty desk were Aaron had sat the day before, with Aaron's bag at his feet. Aaron's head went down again as he shuffled to his seat, face aflame.

"Who got a hold of you?" Kris asked, surprised but amused, as was becoming a pattern, by Aaron's embarrassment.

Aaron said nothing, as Harry had instructed. "How did you get my bag?" he asked back.

"Oh, Harry said you left it in the Lounge last night," Kris said, using his foot to nudge it under Aaron's desk with a thoughtful frown, "Funny, since I remember the strap was broken yesterday."

Aaron forced a puzzled look. "Well, maybe the book bag fairies fixed it for me," he breezed, drawing a smile to both their faces.

"Hey new kid," their conversation was interrupted by a familiar voice that made Aaron grimace. He looked up to see Cara with her golden hair and cat green eye. She smiled at him, and Aaron thought he must have been going crazy, because that smile couldn't be labeled anything but flirtatious, "Shame you missed the first day of school. Maybe I could show you around today?"

Aaron blinked at her, confused, until he understood and began to laugh. Aaron knew from experience how much a haircut and a change of wardrobe could do, how it could make you look like a completely different person. But this was different, just gel and a uniform. Cara's flirting after the previous day's debacle was too much for him to take.

Kris, though he didn't laugh, cracked a smile. "Sorry, Cara, but you're too late; the host club has a claim on him," he said. She opened her mouth to protest, but Kris was digging in his bag. He sat up with a small black case in hand, and held it out to Aaron, "In fact, we got you a present. A welcoming gift, you could say."

"What?" Aaron frowned at him, but he took the box, knowing Kris would insist whether he liked it or not. He flipped the catch, and his mouth dropped open, "Contacts? But... what... when... how?"

"Oh, it was easy. I just found your optometrist- it wasn't hard, considering there's not many who work on the other side of town. Turns out you only stopped wearing contacts at the beginning of last summer, so they were willing to refill your old prescription," Kris explained, as if it really meant nothing.

"I'm going to forget how creepy that is, and just say thank you," Aaron muttered, making Kris laugh again. Aaron was beginning to like his laugh, warm and cheerful, his smile lighting up those dark eyes.

Cara cleared her throat, a prim sound that reminded Aaron of a pudgy woman in a wizard movie he had seen as a kid. "Well, I'm sure there's no harm in me showing him around anyways," she said, leaning forward so her chest almost popped out of the top of her lacy white dress, and making Aaron's face turn slightly green, "I mean, it's the least I could do since he got rid of that awful peasant... what was his name again?"

"Aaron," piped up one of her followers, a pretty girl with luscious pale blonde hair. She fixed Aaron with her green eyes, and her smile said she knew Cara was about to make an ass out of herself. Aaron couldn't help but smile back.

Cara glared at her, obviously not appreciating the interruption of her thoughtful hair twirling that was supposed to look cute. "That's right, Aaron," she said with a thousand watt smile, "I've no idea what you did to get his scholarship revoked and take his place, but you've done us all?a favor. Imagine, filth like that in a place like this."

Her delicate shiver only served to enrage the boys. Aaron's hands were clenched into fists in his lap, nails digging into his palms. He looked up at her, eyes burning with anger, but Kris beat him to it. "Shut up, you air-headed bimbo," he snarled. Kris's voice was pure ice, his eyes frozen and almost frightening.

Cara looked back and forth between the boys, puzzled. "It was just some stupid charity case. What do you care?"

"Miss Knight, Mister Crue, kindly pay attention!" the teacher snapped, breaking into the trio's conversation before Aaron could stand up and do something he would regret, "And you, Mister Everett! I would think a scholarship student would have a better attention span than those here on their parents' expense!"

"Yes ma'am," Aaron muttered, properly chastised. Cara's mouth dropped open, shame and hatred mixing in her eyes as she realized who she had been flirting with. ?? Aaron was unable to help himself, even though he knew it would cause more trouble later. He looked up at her, eyes innocently wide, and said, "Sorry, but I have more important things to do than talk to you. Get a full ride to college, for one. Maybe we can pick up this conversation when I order from the drive-thru three years from now?"

The entire class, including Kris, burst into gales of laughter. Even the teacher cracked a smile. Cara's face turned bright red, and her fists clenched awkwardly at her side around her fake nails. "You'll pay for that," she swore.

"Sure. That'll be what, seven fifty?" At first she looked confused, until Aaron sweetly added, "Aren't you going to ask if I want fries with that?"

The students fell into renewed hilarity while Cara's mouth gaped open. She didn't have a comeback that time, so she simply stomped back to her chair, her poisonous glare promising revenge. Aaron ignored her, a small smile on his face as he took up his pencil.

"There's more to you than I thought," Kris said slowly. Aaron looked up to find Kris's curious gaze on him, the intensity of the boy's interest making him flush from head to toe, a thing he had been doing far too much in the last couple of days. He mumbled an incoherent reply before focusing on taking notes.

The whole time, he could feel the others' eyes on him, and it was a relief when the bell finally rang. Aaron was up and out of his desk before the rest of the students had a chance to blink. He hurried down the hall, away from Cara and her mountainous followers, knowing he wouldn't be able to sew together whatever they broke since he'd provoked them. Despite his bravery in the moment, his fear was evident as he made a dash for his second class.

The second class of the day was relatively uneventful. Kris made a point of sitting next to Aaron again, as if solidifying the host club's claim on him. It only made the rumors worse; Aaron even heard a few whispers about what a cute couple they would make. Kris didn't help matters any, talking through the entire lecture until Aaron snapped at him loud enough for the teacher to glare at him. Aaron bitterly noticed his discomfort amused Kris, who fell into gales of laughter muffled only by his hand over his mouth. Aaron had to fight the urge to kick the boy.

Aaron's third class was the only one where he had any peace. The novelty of his change in appearance had quickly worn off, and he was ready to snap; after finding out there was a host boy in every one of his classes the day before, Aaron was afraid this one would push him over the edge. However, his third class was the one he shared with Marcus, who seemed perfectly content sitting in the corner, stonily silent, while the girls swooned over him. It was perfect for Aaron, who was delighted to be able to focus on calculus.

In the middle of class, Marcus abruptly stood up and left the room without a word. The teacher didn't pause in her lecture, but Aaron was shocked; at a public school, a student could have been suspended for something like that. At Sherwood, nobody seemed to care. At least, not until Aaron stood up as well, walking to the front of the room and handing over the dean's note.

The teacher's eyebrows rose, and she looked at Aaron with disbelief. "First a scholarship student, and now?a host boy. If I ever meet somebody more set on overachieving, I'll eat my shoes."

Murmuring filled the room in response to the teacher's statement. Aaron's startling makeover had been bad enough- now he was suddenly part of the host club, and it was only his second day of school. The other students weren't quite as dumb as they seemed, and quickly figured out Aaron's new looks were courtesy of the host club. The other boys fumed, having been passed over time and again only to have them take on the messy nerd and attempt to make him into a gentleman. The girls were breathless with excitement, wondering what host club president had seen in the boy; obviously he was good-looking, especially having swapped his glasses for contacts, but there had to be something more.

They all had one thought in common, despite their differences, they would all be keeping a close eye on Aaron; nobody was given a spot in the host club, home of the school's most popular and attractive boys, without a very good reason.

Aaron scampered out of the room as quickly as possible. He might have once enjoyed being the talk of the school, but now he couldn't stand being the center of attention. He much preferred the hallway, so empty his footsteps echoed off the walls.

The solitude was nice while it lasted, but it was too good to be true. "Are you going to stand there all day, puppy?" A familiar voice shattered Aaron's inner debate over running away while he still had the chance. Aaron looked sideways to see one of the twins leaning against the wall, his leg cocked up and his hands in his jacket pockets.

Aaron gave the boy his fiercest scowl. "I'm not a puppy."

"Whatever you say," said another voice- the same, really, with just the slightest hint of softness. Aaron wasn't surprised to see the second twin join his brother. When they smirked at him, there was no way to know which one of them was Benji, and which was Harry.

"How do people tell you two apart?" Aaron asked, honestly curious.

Apparently is the wrong thing to say. The first twin's expression turned stony, a fire dancing in his eyes and his mouth set in a thin line. The other twin just looked sad, like he'd watch somebody run over his dog. "They don't," he said softly.

The first twin pushed away from the wall and stormed through the door to the Lounge. Aaron stared after him, puzzled, wondering why the boy had reacted so badly to such?a simple question.

"Don't worry about Benji. He's got a temper to match that red hair of his," the remaining twin breezed, though his eyes were tight with concern for his brother.

Aaron let his frown fade and turned to the twin. "If he's Benji, then you must be Harry," he said with as bright?a smile as he could muster.

"And you must be Aaron, the beast I made into a prince and Kris's new pet project," Harry rolled his eyes as if to say 'well, duh'.

Aaron's face heated as he vividly remembered Harry's hands in his hair, and brushing against his chest. Frowning, he shoved the thought away, focusing instead on, "Pet project?"

"Of course. We're all his pet projects, even Roman. Kris thinks he can fix all our problems," Harry confided.

Aaron wrinkled his nose. "I don't have any problems," he said, a bald-faced lie. Aaron had plenty of problems, but he didn't have any inclination to share them, much less let anybody else make a mess trying to solve them.

Harry gave the boy a knowing look. "There's no use lying; we all have problems, or we wouldn't be here."

Aaron made a face and looked away, but after a moment he looked up at Harry. The way unruly chunks of hair had fallen into his melted chocolate eyes made Harry's heart flutter, but Aaron's words quickly distracted him. "So what's your problem? Lack of a soul?"

"Oh, you brought the hair color into it. I'm wounded!" Harry pouted, pulling on his red-orange hair.

Aaron worked hard to keep his expression somber, but he cracked and laughed along with the other boy. It was the second time that day Aaron had been able to relax, the first when Harry worked his fingers through his hair, and it was almost enough to worry him. Almost. He eyed the other boy, playing with the stitches on his bag. "Are you going to tell me what your problem is, or keep distracting me?"

Harry grinned at the other boy. "I would tell you... but then I'd have to kill you."

Aaron rolled his eyes, but couldn't keep himself from laughing again. "Thanks, Harry, that's really helpful."

"Don't worry, you'll figure it out eventually," Harry leaned in close, a sly smile on his face, and whispered in the other boy's ear, "If you're clever enough."

Aaron swallowed hard, shutting his eyes tightly in an attempt to block out the sensations the other boy's breath washing across his skin caused. Harry pulled back slightly, grinning when he saw Aaron's eyes had closed. Then his eyes dipped down, and his breath faltered slightly as he began to lean in again. Aaron could smell something sweet on Harry's breath, and a shiver of anticipation ran through him.

"Hey you two, are you coming in or are you going to lounge in the hallway until Judgment Day rolls around?" Benji's voice shattered the fragile expectation in the air.

Aaron, startled, jumped away from Harry. He turned his head to see Benji peeking out the door, looking slightly suspicious as he took in Aaron's flushed face and guilty expression.

"Hold your horses, we're coming," Harry sighed. Aaron was just as disappointed, but quickly reminded himself there was no reason to be. In fact, it was better this way. Benji went back into the room, leaving the two boys alone again.

"After you," Harry said grandly, reaching over Aaron's head to push the door open. It put him far too close to Aaron, who quickly ducked under his arm, rushing into the East Lounge to begin his first day as a pet project.