I cannot simply drop off the wallet.

This painfully frightening revelation had me in a panic as I gripped onto Haruhi's wallet until my fingers and knuckles were white. Whilst I had been gathering up my things, I had accidentally dropped the wallet again and it fell open, and when I picked it up I accidentally saw the identification inside, showing a picture of a pretty girl with long hair just like mine. A girl. Haruhi was a girl. A girl dressed as a boy who was part of the host club. If I left this wallet lying around then someone else surely would pick it up and then discover Haruhi's secret. Although I am not sure why she would conceal herself this way, I did not want to be so rude and expose her when she might have a very good reason for dressing as a boy.

Oh no, what do I do now? I can't just wait until tomorrow to try and find her on her own as she may need the money to get home. This is terrible, absolutely terrible. I'll have to give it to her in person so that no one else sees the wallet. Alright, I can be brave, all I have to do is knock on the door, hope that Haruhi answers and hand the wallet over. I can do this, I must try otherwise Haruhi may be stuck here overnight! Shaking my head I walked towards the Host Club room, music room three, and tried my best to slow down my breathing as my heart started to hammer in my chest.

I was trembling all over and as I lifted my tiny fist to knock on the door, it barely made a sound and I was already sweating buckets. For a moment there was no answer and I wondered if they had even heard me, but then the door handle started to shift downward and the door slid open. It was before hosting hours, but I knew from the chatter of the girls in my class that they met beforehand to prepare the room so I knew they would be here. As the door opened a flurry of petals were tossed at me and I jolted violently, retreating back a step as a group of strange and intimidating boys stood there waiting.

"Welcome princess." They greeted however I couldn't even open my eyes, clenched up tight as I stood in the doorway, unable to move.

"My greetings to you princess, have you lost your way? Do not fear, for I, Tamaki, will take the greatest of cares to protect your beautiful self from any and all that may cause you distress." A beautiful pale haired boy with the deepest blue eyes introduced himself rather flamboyantly, reaching out to take my hand but the moment I sensed him I squeaked and dropped to my knees whilst hunching over, clutching the wallet tightly into my chest and Tamaki froze, looking down at me in surprise. "Did you hurt yourself? Are you alright princess?"

"Does your tummy hurt a little? You can hold Usa-chan if you want!" I knew of Mitsukuni Haninozuka as he was a prestigious third year student who looked like he was still meant to be in junior school, yet he was actually the oldest of us all here. All the same, I couldn't even look at him, flinching away from the bunny which he thrust in my face. Please, please don't touch me, I don't want to talk anyone! Oh, where is Haruhi?

"Why's she acting all weird?" The twins from my year, Kaoru and Hikaru Hitachiin spoke at the same time, somehow having slid behind me and I tightened up further as they peered down at me curiously, everyone crowding around too close. "Who even is she? We've never seen her before."

"That is Megumi Akiyama, a first year student who achieves some of the best scores out of all students in first year, surpassing even Haruhi." I stiffened, freezing in place when I heard his voice. Kyoya Ootori, a boy who's family was closely connected to with mine. I had rarely seen him, but his father and his eldest son came to my father a few times to discuss business of sorts. I never went down to see them or join them for dinner, I stayed tucked away in my room where no one could see me. Kyoya was very bright, one of the cleverest in the entire school and his rather menacing presence made my blood freeze in my body.

"Oh I remember you, we met at lunchtime today in the classroom. We studied together." Hearing Haruhi's voice I finally lifted my head, blinking as she walked towards me with a warm smile that melted my frozen blood and allowed me to breathe easier. She was a girl, so I wasn't as frightened to interact with her, just a little nervous was all. "Are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost." Uncurling my hands from my chest I gulped down the lump in my throat then lifted up the wallet, producing it outward for Haruhi to see as I offered it back to her. Her eyes widened and instantly she reached out to take it. "My wallet! I didn't even know I dropped it. Thank you very much miss, that's really kind of you to bring it all the way back to me, here. Allow me to help you up."

Haruhi was so sweet and charming that I couldn't' help but warm to her a little as she reached out her hand and before I knew it, I was placing my fingers against her palm and she helped me to my feet as I exhaled, giving Haruhi a fair smile and she blinked at me, perhaps seeing that I was much calmer around her than I was the others as I leaned forwards a little, giving her a nod of my head to try and express that she was more than welcome. "You don't talk very much, do you?" The twins questioned, their voices directly next to my ears and instantly I was violently shivering, the jolt of fear shooting up my spin and I hurriedly whirled around, trying to retreat away from them but my dress caught on my heel and I tripped, making to fall to the ground.

"Hey! Look out!" Haruhi dove for me with quick reflexes however she wasn't strong enough to catch my falling weight and we both landed on the ground, though she had cushioned my fall and was holding my arms to try and keep me from hitting my head. "Please, don't be so afraid. They may act like strange people most of the time but they're completely harmless." Haruhi reassured me, giving another pretty smile and I almost blushed. She was a very cute looking girl even though she made a passable boy.

"Meg-chan, you fell down again. Do you need cake to make you feel better?" Mitsukuni questioned but as he hopped closer I lifted my arm, fear flashing through my eyes and I breathed heavily, scrambling backwards as Haruhi stood up and hid behind her, my fingers holding onto her shoulders as I made myself as small as possible behind her.

"Oh no! She's using my Haruhi as a shield! Please princess, don't be so shy, come away from Haruhi before another accident occurs." Tamaki panicked, flustered and a little red as he reached forwards to reclaim Haruhi but the moment I saw him coming closer I lifted my arms to protect my head upon natural instinct, tears beginning to slide down my face and I dropped to the floor again. I want to go home now, this was all just too much for me to handle. These boys were scary, especially that tall intimidating one standing next to Mitsukuni, Takashi Morinozuka. He frightened me the most. However now that I had broken down and started crying, everyone was just staring at me. This was so embarrassing, I have to run away before they start to tease me and taunt me like the other boys do.

Surging to my feet I hid my face in my hands and bolted for the door, somehow managing to find it despite not looking and I yanked it shut behind me, wanting to escape as quickly as possible so I bolted for the stairs, ignoring the protests and calls of my name behind me by several voices. They asked me to stop and give them a few moments but I continued running, refusing to stop until I had left the school and was racing towards the car that waited for me. The driver was used to me running up crying and didn't even ask what was wrong anymore. He just closed the door behind me and drove off.

Sniffling I pulled off my glasses and cleaned them before wiping my face dry, knowing full well that I was flushed from embarrassment. That had gone worse than I had feared, they'd circled around me like a pack of wolves and bore down upon me before I could even realise what was happening. I am never going back there again, not for any reason. Sliding my glasses back onto my nose I gave a deep exhale, fisting my fingers into my skirts as I was driven home to the hotel that my father's grandfather had owned and been passed down to us. We lived on the top floor, the entire suit made into a living space suitable for anyone with money and wealth to enjoy it. Father moved around so much due to his work that he saw no point in buying a proper home, it was all hotels and private jets for him so I stayed where he knew the staff could keep an eye on me.

Usually I was alone, father rarely coming back from work even when he was in the city. At most I might receive a call to check that I was working hard and not causing trouble, but that was it. He never called to ask if I was alright and sometimes the loneliness got to me. The maids had already cleaned and had left a report in the book for me to glance over, but everything seemed to be in order so I went ahead and made myself food. I wasn't a marvellous cook, but I could do basic meals in a wide variety which I learned through practice. I enjoyed cooking for myself, though I could very easily just order room service.

After cooking I ate then cleaned up, not wanting to leave too much work for the maids to do. I know it was their job but it made no sense that someone else had to constantly clean up after me, I wasn't a child anymore after all. After food I did my homework, advanced myself on some of my lessons and made sure all preparations for tomorrow were complete before I allowed some time to myself, which I devoted to my music. I loved music and my mother enjoyed it more than anything else. She had used to be a professional musician, playing almost any kind of instrument you could think of and she passed that passion down to me. In fact, my father had met her at one of her concerts and he had fallen in love with her the moment she had begun to play.

My favourite instrument was the cello, its rich diversity in tones making it one of the most satisfying instrument to play in my opinion, so I started with that. Mostly I could play from memory, very rarely needing to refer to the music as my fingers danced over the strings. I never felt nervous or anxious when I played music, though I could never play to an audience except my mother and perhaps my father if he was there to listen. When I was younger and their love unstrained by her sickness, they would ask for me to play the song that my father fell in love with for her. I will admit, it was my favourite one to play. As the music wrapped around me in a comforting blanket I allowed it to carry me up into the skies, spiralling above the earth until there was no one left except myself in the face of the setting sun with music enchanting the clouds.