UWAHHHHHH, so sorry for not submitting anything in what seems like centuries :( Freakin' AP world, orchestra, final exam shtuff. JUST SCREW IT ALL. But merrr, hope you guys enjoy this chapter! It's kind of long-winded and boring, I must say -_- Surprisingly enough, this chapter has more words than my previous chapter, yet it took half the time of that of the previous chapter to write it.
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Panting with beads of sweat dripping down from her forehead, Amu oh-so-gracefully stumbled into a seat near the back of the bus. She took out the Ouran Academy pamphlet she received previously in the mail out from her satchel and rapidly waved it in front of her face. She let the cool breeze evaporate all those nasty beads of sweat. Normally, she would have used a handkerchief but she had forgotten her personal one back home during the little fiasco as she attempted to gather her things mere seconds before the bus arrived. After she cooled down a bit, she focused her interest on the Ouran pamphlet she was just using to fan herself off. The images of the castle-like building that was the Ouran campus made her even more excited than she already was. She then ruffled through her satchel to find the large, royal purple envelope that held some of the information sheets and permission slips that were needed to be filled out prior to the day of the orientation.

'Let's see now… contacts, curriculum booklet… ah, here it is!' Amu swiftly slipped out the sheet with all the clubs listed on it. She looked eagerly down the list to see if any of them caught her interest.

'Oh, volleyball? I suppose I could chara-change with Ran for that one. Ah, Art and Calligraphy? Miki could definitely help me with that. Hehe, Suu would love Culinary Techniques!' At that moment, Amu realized that she didn't have her Shugo egg pouch with her. She had forgotten her guardians! She tensed up, thinking of how badly they must have felt when Amu left them behind. Amu was a bit disappointed, as well. She truly wanted to share this special day with her three guardians. She tried to see the brighter side of things. 'I'll just bring them on my first day of school! I can always just tell them about orientation tonight. The longer they wait, the more they'll anticipate!' Amu continued looking down the list of extracurricular activities and could not contain herself from smiling like a complete goof. They all just sound so interesting. Fencing, archery, young adult literature club, international cuisine, she wanted to join them all.

There was one that caught her eye that she didn't quite understand, though. "Host… club?" Amu said out loud, thinking it would help her get a better understanding of what the club might be about. It didn't. Just then, the bus came to another stop, this time in a more secluded area of the district. Here, you could see from afar some mansions and condos gated off from commoner civilization. Some more students wearing commoner school uniforms boarded the bus. Then came a dashing young man with hair as bright and shimmering as a finely cut diamond. His light-golden mess of hair was barely covering his equally-as-amazing royal purple eyes; the same exact color as the envelope. Everyone except Amu, who was oblivious to the eighth wonder of the world walking down the aisle, was staring at the one and only Suoh Tamaki. He was sporting the typical Ouran powder-blue blazer with black slacks. He was fixing his tie as he approached Amu, who was still oblivious to him towering over her petite body.

"Excuse me, miss", he said in that infamous gentle voice of his, "Is this seat taken?" he pointed at the space directly next to Amu. Amu looked up and she could feel his eyes piercing through her soul. Tamaki flashed the small and subtle smile that every girl went weak in the knees to (with the exception of Haruhi, of course). Before Amu could reply with something intelligible, she merely nodded, blushed wildly and scooted over two inches to allow room for Tamaki's wide and broad frame to fit. She felt her face getting hot when the sides of their arms pressed against each other. She looked down in her lap and pretended to be preoccupied with some official school-related business when really all she wanted to do was hide her scarlet red cheeks from the probably-male supermodel sitting next to her. Tamaki looked down and automatically noticed the papers she was reading.

"Ah, Ouran! I go there, see?" Tamaki pointed at the crest sewn on to his blazer. Now finding a spark of interest, he started showing his truer side; his ditzy, laid-back, less suave side. He giggled an awkward giggle and continued to point at the crest as if she didn't already see it yet.

"So you do! Thank goodness, I have someone to get me around on my first day at the academy!"

"You're a freshman, eh? Always nice to see some fresh new buds ready to bloom into delicate Ouran blossoms~" his eyes sparkled. 'Is this guy serious?' Amu thought.

"Ehehehe, yea. Would you help me get around today? I don't want to be a nuisance, but…"

"NONSENSE, fair maiden! I shall escort you like the fair knight that I am", he bowed his head and brought his hand up to his chest. Amu blushed once more 'Wait, I find this attractive?'

"Oh, what a relief. You have no idea how worried I was about being left alone today, especially on such a huge campus", she smiled.

"My host club will take good care of you, little one! Don't you worry, Miss…"

"Hinamori Amu", Amu held out her hand to shake it with Tamaki's but instead, using both hands, he took hold of her's and brought it up to his lips. A small, gentle peck was what came of his unforeseen gesture.

"What a lovely name… Amu-chan", at this point, Amu was blushing like mad and steam was practically spewing out of her ears. "Th-th-thank y-you", she tried, and failed, to keep her cool as much as possible. She pulled back and sunk into her seat. Then she remembered, "Wait, your host club?" she asked Tamaki with a look of curiosity.

"Yes, my host club. Are you interested in becoming a client? Or perhaps even joining us and bringing in some male customers to entertain?" he rubbed his chin and leaned down to eye level with Amu.

"Clients? Entertain? What is this, some sort of strip club?" she looked appalled. She was almost ready to pull back her hand and land a nice old smack on the host club king's cheek.

"WHAT? N-NO! Nothing of the sort! It's just a club for our school's fair ladies who wish to be entertained by beautiful, charismatic young men. We drink tea a-and eat desserts", Tamaki said all in one breath. He had his arms blocking his face to avoid any injury that may result from Amu's boiling-hot temper.

"Tch… what kind of club is that?" Amu snapped her head back to face forward as she stood up. The bus had come to a complete stop. They were now within walking distance of Ouran Academy. "What kind of skill is required to be in the host club? You just make girls feel good while wasting time drinking tea? What a waste of time and money". True, drinking tea and doing nothing was all she ever did with the Guardians back during her Seiyo Elementary days. But this was a high school. Better yet, this was a high school for the rich. A host club sounded ridiculous. She slung her satchel over her shoulder, walked swiftly off the bus and made her way towards the campus. Tamaki sat there dumbfounded. Not even Haruhi had spoken to him in that harsh of a tone when she first met him. 'Heh, I really shouldn't let her get to me. It's just one person's opinion, after all. I'll manage', easier said than done, Tamaki struggled to erase that one scene from his memory and dragged his feet while walking to the building. It was a very rare occasion when a lady did not fall head over heals to Tamaki's smooth-talking and chivalrous gestures.

Meanwhile, Amu was fast-walking to the main salon where all new incoming freshmen were told to report to. She was silently scolding herself and grabbing the sides of her head. 'GAH, you idiot! Why did you have to yell at him! AHH, this is not the sweet and likable Amu that I wanted to be. NO MORE COOL AND SPICY. NO. MORE.' She squeezed her eyes tight shut and tried to forget about what just happened and didn't even notice the young, brown-haired man she had bumped into. The force was enough to take both her and the boy down and they both fell to the floor, rubbing their bottoms. She looked up only to see a boy with skin as clear and milky as, well, as a girl's, trying to clean up the spilt tea on his tray. 'Damn', Amu thought 'I could get use to this school. So many cute boys crawling all over the place!' Amu dusted herself off and fixed up her hair. The boy said in the lightest voice Amu had ever heard from a guy "I'm so sorry! Are you okay, miss?"

He balanced the tray in one hand and pulled Amu up by the waist with the other. She grabbed on to his tiny, brittle shoulders and hoisted herself up. "Y-yes, I'm fine. I'm so sorry! Your jacket, it's ruined!" Amu gasped as she reached into her satchel for her handkerchief, only to remember once more that she had left it back home.

The boy chuckled and waved his hands to relieve Amu of her regret, "No no, it's completely fine! I can just wash it in the school's laundry room. Would you like to follow me, miss? It seems as though your shirt has been stained", he pointed out. Amu looked down and couldn't believe her eyes. There was a jarring, faint pinkish-brown stain on her new shirt! She frowned and rubbed the stain.

"Please follow me", the boy placed the neglected tray of tea on a table and took hold of Amu's hand and led her through a series of hallways before reaching the laundry room. He unbuttoned his Ouran blazer and placed it in a basket on top of the dryer. "Would you like your shirt to be washed first? It shouldn't take too long if it's on delicate wash", he asked courteously, following the "lady's first" rule.

"Uhh, sure…" Amu took off her shirt and handed it to the boy, whom she had yet to learn the name of. Luckily, the tea didn't bleed through the tank top, so she was still able to wear it and not feel uncomfortable around him. Actually, it was still pretty awkward, considering that she was still somewhat bare. The two sat in silence on a chaise longue, listening to nothing but the sound of the washer running.

Then the boy asked, "Oh, right! I still never caught your name, did I? My name is Fujioka Haruhi – Second year of high school. You?" He held out his hand to shake with Amu's.

"My name is Hinamori Amu, Nice to meet you! Thank you so much again for doing this for me. Ahh, on the day of my orientation, too." She rubbed her temples and leaned forwards.

"Oh, you're going to be attending Ouran this year? I couldn't tell. Incoming freshmen wear the uniforms that were sent in the mail for them."

Amu sat there in confusion, looking blankly at Haruhi. "Uniform? Mail? What?" 'I don't recall getting anything in the mail. Not clothes, at least', I didn't get any sort of clothing in the mail from this place".

"Neither did I. Student's who are not able to order uniforms beforehand don't wear them to orientation. Or they just can't afford them. Even I couldn't afford them. I spent a good few months wearing some old sweaters before switching to the uniform", Haruhi said, flattening out his tie.

"Well, how did you afford them?"

"I didn't. My good friend is the son of the school principal. He managed to snatch a uniform for me", he laughed.

"Oh… if only I were that lucky", Amu swung her arms behind her and rested them on her head.

"Who knows? Maybe you'll run into him later today."

9 minutes had passed and Amu's wash was now complete. Haruhi tossed her shirt into the dryer and then proceeded to wash his jacket.

The two chatted for a couple of minutes, talking about school, college and life in general. Haruhi told Amu that he was on a scholarship. He was studying to graduate at the top of his class and to get into a good law school. He wanted to be a lawyer. He explained how sometimes his extracurricular activities got in the way of his studying, which was never a good thing. He was on a scholarship and was not actually able to afford Ouran's tuition, so studying hard and being on top of his game was all he could do to keep his scholarship.

Bzzzzzzzzzt~ The dryer stopped and Amu's shirt was nice and toasty. A tad bit wrinkled, but Haruhi offered to iron it out for her. In a few seconds, Amu was ready to go on with her day. She thanked Haruhi and told him she would like to meet up with him again. Before she left, Haruhi stopped to tell her something: "Make sure you visit the third music room later today. We'll be waiting!" he smiled. She smiled back and was on her way. She enjoyed spending time with Haruhi. He was very easy to talk to and he wasn't anything like that over-dramatic Tama-whatever his name was from earlier this morning. 'Third music room, huh?' Amu thought. 'I wonder what awaits for me there…'