I know what some of you are thinking: "Why are you not updating TU and Family Tales?"

Simple, because I'm still in the process of writing them. Lol, this is another of my story test-runs. I would just like to get them out to get some feedback so that I'd know what projects I'm continuing after TU is over.

From the tag, this is a romance fic between an OC of mine and my husband (#youwishhewas) lol, but really. I seem to recall that I couldn't write Romance to save my life but I am determined to overcome that and this is the product of my spontaneous hardwork.

Disclaimer: I don't own KHR but I did make a sandwhich in its likeness and ate it.

A lot of things could be said about Sawada Tsunayoshi; pathetic, weak, scrawny, and dumb. That's what the kids in his neighborhood called him at least. All of these words though, we're summed up into a title that would stay with him for years to come.

They called him Dame-Tsuna.

It started out as teasing whispers over an unfortunate accident during kindergarten. But having a low self-esteem and a shy demeanor didn't help his plummeting popularity. It got worse. The teasing became bullying and soon the abuse followed. Tsuna could hardly remember a time when he wasn't bullied at school. When he wasn't ostracized by his peers and beaten to a pulp.

But save the sob story for another time. Everybody who reads this pretty much understood who Sawada Tsunayoshi is. If you don't, go home. You're bloody drunk if you don't know the main character of this fandom.

Fast forwarding, Tsuna is now fourteen years old and attending middle school. He thought he could start new, hoped that he could turn his life around and possibly make friends. His hopes were immediately shot down when he realized, as he came to his class that day with a smile that most of his elementary classmates transferred to Namimori Middle. His smile immediately slipped off his face and his hope crushed.

It was with dread as he stood in middle of the gym during the opening ceremony. He could feel the stares, the whispers and mild spite directed at him. He withstood it, as he had for the last few years by telling himself that it was best to keep quiet and to let it pass. His eyes caught Sasagawa Kyoko's frame from the mass of students in front of him and his cheeks darkened.

Last year, she helped him to the infirmary after a mean beating. She was so gentle that he instantly fell for her and ever since then, he had developed a crush over the girl. He knew that she was too good for him but that didn't stop him from fantasizing.

After the ceremony, anything that happened after was what he expected. He went home that evening, grimacing as his shoulder ached.

"I'm home," he called out hollowly.

There was no answer.

"Right," Tsuna muttered to himself. "Mom won't be back till tom." He suddenly remembered that his Mother left the day before to go to Tokyo to attend a distant relative's funeral. Knowing that no one was around, he could feel the moisture in his eyes prickle and he sniffed. Limping towards his bedroom, he flopped on the bed and buried himself in the covers without changing.

Curling into a ball, he prayed with all his might that things would get better.

Fuck the universe. Nothing got better. Tsuna thought rather viciously after two weeks of school. He was just as bad at everything at school as he was in Elementary. He knew he was failing, knew that at this rate he'll never amount to anything in life. But goddamnit, he was content in falling into what others would call the 'spiral of despair'. He was nothing so why would the world care if he was loser?

Such thoughts plagued his mind as he walked around Namimori late at night.

"I still have that Math test tomorrow!" he screeched in frustration into the sky. No one was around to hear his outburst so Tsuna heaved heavy breaths to let out his pent-up feelings. Why can't he do anything right? So fed up with his shitty life, Tsuna threw his head back – not looking where he went – and accidentally smacked it against a street light, knocking himself out rather spectacularly. He was spread out on the ground like an exposed nerve, completely vulnerable to the dangers of the world.

(This is the part where a freaky molester appears – joke! #deathbytuna)

How long he lied there on the cold concrete he didn't know. But when he slowly opened his eyes, he found a shadow of a girl looking down on him, her face hidden by the street light shining above. As the world started to make sense around him, he noticed that she was crouching down beside him with an amused expression on her foreign face.

"Eh?" He gaped at her. Now that he had a closer look at her, he felt his face flush in embarrassment.

Her hair was a tangled mess of long blonde locks, some of it sort of stood up because of its layered style while the rest of it flowed down like waves. It looked nice – like it was just yanked out of a tight bun. Her eyes were the color blue that he couldn't identify as what. It reminded him of a flower. He was staring, he knew, but he couldn't turn away from her face. Something about the look she gave him had his face burning like the setting sun.

"It's past midnight," she said mildly. She had an accent but he couldn't focus on that, not after having registered what she said in his mind.

"Wh-What?" he gasped and shot up to a sitting position. He went out around seven! He had been out-cold for four hours? Holy shi –

"Go home before I call the police. Seriously, I thought you were on drugs or something," she joked, grinning widely at his expense.

"I-I-I… right. Yeah, yeah, thanks… for that." He stuttered lamely. He sighed at his own pathetic person, even talking to a stranger – who was pretty nice – made him stutter like a moron.

She frowned a little at him. "What's your name?" she asked.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi," he replied.

"What a mouthful," she commented and turned thoughtful. "I'll think I'll just call you Tsunayoshi… chan?"

Tsuna blanched at the nickname. She backtracked quickly at his expression. "Mannagia tua! Sorry! Sorry! I'm not… familiar with using honorifics in Japanese." She laughed. "What am I supposed to call you then?"

He blinked then blushed again. "Just Tsuna is fine. Don't bother with honorifics."

She beamed at him. "Fantastico!"

So she really is a foreigner. From what country, he could only guess. "Um, can I ask for your name?"

"Sorry, I'm Mia Matteis. My first name is Mia, just call me that."

Tsuna pursed his lips. It was alright, his mind told him. She's from another country so Japanese customs didn't necessarily apply to her. He smiled at her a little. "M-M-Mia then."

She grinned and he found that her grin was infectious as his own appeared on his face. She held out a hand that he took a bit hesitantly. They shook hands, a concept that was foreign and fascinating to him.

"Well Tsuna, I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship." She declared. "As your friend, I'm telling you to go home now. It's really late and I don't think I'd want to see my new friend on the TV tomorrow saying that he's missing or something."

He actually found himself laughing, albeit a bit shyly. "Yeah, thank you Mia."

"See you around the neighborhood Tsuna!" she waved goodbye as he left.

When he went home that night, he felt better than he ever did in his whole life. He had a friend!

Well there's my shitty attempt for writing romance. Sorry if its not love-at-first-sight or that shoujo stuff, I'm more western when it comes to romance. Will I do the whole canon story? Probably, I would skim most of that stuff (that's the plan).

So what did you guys think of Mia? Like her, hate her?

Do you think my attempt at Romance was shit or not? I know there isn't much of romance but... you get the idea.

Worried of this OC of mine? Go ask questions. Send me mail or in a review and I'll answer them soooooo...

Review?