A/N: Dude has it seriously been a month already?! No way! Hahaha, oh well! X)

Because of very encouraging review from a certain reader (ca-ru-te-ru: update), I was forced to get my butt back in gear. I blame the start of skool. For the past two weeks, I have officially started my high skool career! Yay? Anywho, things hav been crazy and I was sort of putting this off cuz of lack of inspiration and plain laziness. But here it is! the next chappie of Sunshine and Roses!

Warnings: my crappy writing skills...yeah, that's about it

General POV

"Hello there. And who might you be?"

It was a rather silly question, for he already knew the answer. Oh yes, he knew who she was. And yet, he didn't know who she was.

What was her favorite color? Her dress size? Her favorite childhood memory? Did she like ice cream, or gelato? Did she have any hobbies? Any dreams? How was her family life? Tragic, pleasant, twisted? Did she speak any languages? Did she play an instrument? What is her favorite type of music?

These questions kept bouncing around in his brain as his eyes flickered back and forth between the picture on the computer screen and the face that was in front of him. He pushed his glasses up his nose, a seemingly casual gesture, but in truth was angling them just right so the light reflected off of the glass, blocking the girl from reading his eyes.

The girl blinked, not sure how to respond to the boy's question. She was frozen. She felt like he could see into her, like he knew all of her imperfections, all of her mistakes, all of her…secrets. She felt that if she moved, she might set off a time bomb.

"Excuse me," his cold tone brought Annabel back to reality. "I asked you a question. It's only polite to respond with an answer, not just stare at me stupidly."

Annabel's face hardened. What the hell? What right does this guy have to call me stupid?! She folded her arms across her chest. "It's courtesy to give your name first before asking another's, don't you think?" she challenged.

Oh, she's stronger than I had anticipated. Kyoya's interest was heightened.

He ceased his typing and chuckled a bit. Grabbing his teacup by the handle ever-so-gracefully, the older boy looked up at the girl with a completely innocent (not) smile. The light no longer reflected off his glasses, showing his cheerful-looking closed eyes.

"The name's Kyoya. Kyoya Ootori." He lifted the cup to his lips for a sip.

Annabel was not wavered by his smile that would make most girls blush and make complete fools of themselves. She simply gave a small "hmph."

"And you are…?" Kyoya gestured with his head for her to finish. She sighed, looking away.

"Annabel. Annabel Korutanii."

"American."

She turned back to him. "Huh?"

"Your name." He placed his teacup back on the saucer. "It's American, isn't it?"

Annabel was slightly perplexed by this comment. Why does he care about my name? "Uh, yeah that's right. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, it's nothing." He put the china on the table, making a small clinking noise as the cup hit the saucer. "Just…curious."

Annabel started to really feel uncomfortable under his gaze. She felt like her being was being stripped away, layer by layer to get to the very core and put under a microscope. And being with this guy wasn't making it any better. She shifted her weight to one foot and hunched her shoulders slightly and looked away again. Kyoya studied her body language.

She's clearly uncomfortable at the moment. Not sure what else to do, she'll probably ask me for directions soon since it's obvious she doesn't know where she is exactly.

"Um, anyway…could you help me? I need to get back to class, and I'm pretty sure I'm in a completely different building…" She trailed off, not liking the fact that she had to ask the teen for help.

…Just as I thought…

"I could," he said calmly, resuming his typing. "But 'will I?' is the question."

"I don't know," she replied. "Will you?"

The speed of his hands hitting the keys never faltered. "No."

"Tch…and why not?"

"What could I possibly hope to gain from helping a stupid girl find her way back to her classroom?"

This made her stop. What could he possibly hope to gain? She knew the answer: nothing. Just wasted time and a favor he'd have to owe up to later. It was obvious he thought she was stupid, so why did she even bother asking for help if he wasn't willing to offer any? Maybe she'd thought he'd pity her and…No, that's even worse. All she wanted was to get back to class! He didn't even have to walk with her, he could just give her directions and she'd be off! What the hell was this guy's problem?! Her confusion slowly turned to anger.

"Well fine!" she finally cried. "I don't need you! I'll just find it by myself then!" Without another word, she stormed out of the music room in a huff, purposely slamming the door shut behind her with a loud bang!

Kyoya's fingers stopped, letting the sound echo in the room for a few seconds. The clicking of the keys soon filled the silence that followed.

Interesting…

(insert line)

Annabel couldn't see where she was going. Her hazel eyes were blinded with rage at the moment. She just wanted to scream. That…that… that jackass! He had absolutely no right…no right at all! How…how dare he! Calling her stupid, acting all high-and-mighty…so what if he probably had more money than her? So what if he probably got everything he wanted? So what if he probably had to world at his fingertips? (Judging by the way he acted, he probably did.)So what if he had never felt the pain of being neglected, unloved and forgotten…? So what if he'd never felt alone?

Her anger quickly turned to hurt and sadness as she felt warmth fill her nose and tears prick the back of her eyes. She shook her head. This was no time to cry. What was wrong with her? Usually she was able to control her emotions. But now…with that guy…

Annabel's steps slowly came to a stop. The sunlight from the window to her right outlined her figure and cast her shadow on the perfectly waxed tiles. She tilted her head to the large glass and gazed out. The tall pinkish clock tower rang a few times, signaling the end of lunch period and the beginning of the next class as three pigeons flew across the sky. The windowsill framed the scenery perfectly, putting her at some sort of ease. She was late, but now she didn't care.

Her eyes opened (she had closed them in content) when the sharp sound of shoes on tile filled the otherwise empty hallway. She didn't turn. She simply waited for him to pass. But he didn't pass without a word.

"You better hurry, or you'll be late."

Had it been a few moments earlier, she might've taken him to be mocking her and probably would've lashed out with another smart-ass comment of her own. Instead she just hummed in response, not giving him the luxury of a full answer.

His strides didn't falter, just like his typing. They were even and confident, not a sliver of uncertainty among them. For one reason or another, Annabel wanted to get another look at his face, but he never looked back at her. So she started at the back of his head, black hair gently swaying with every step he took.

Then everything became slow motion. Her vision shifted. One moment she was staring at the back of a male student at Ouran Academy, and then the next she was staring at the back of an older man, one with longer hair, more unkempt and dirty. The light was bright and inviting, then it was dark and grim. This picture was an exact copy, a parallel. He was leaving her, alone, helpless. She couldn't look away. But she wasn't sure she wanted to…

"Wait!"

The word flew out of her mouth before she could stop it. She didn't understand. Something about this feeling, about this boy, caused her gut to pull and twist in a way that was unfamiliar to her.

But it didn't stop there. The boy stopped, and slowly turned over his right shoulder. The conflicting images flashed through her vision. Color, then black and white, color, black and white. It played like a moving picture, but the pictures were from different stories. The only difference was that the boy in front of her was turning back, and the other hadn't. She didn't want him to leave. She wanted him to stay with her, protect her.

Kyoya turned until he was facing Annabel, his body twisted at the waist. He blinked, confusion evident beneath his wire-rimmed glasses. But it was only for a split second, his eye quickly back to the indifferent pools of brown. However he had no need to slap the mask back on, for Annabel didn't even notice the change in his pupils. She was too busy trying to figure out just exactly what she was feeling.

The girl was trembling. Her hands grasped at the skirt of her dress, wrinkling the bright fabric. Her eyes shook, staring into his, practically screaming, "Don't go." Suddenly it happened again. Onyx eyes turned purple, frowning lips turned upwards in an all-too-familiar smirk. Her breath shortened, becoming more and more shallow. This panic attack was stronger than before, but she didn't know how to stop it. Soon, the flashing of images stopped, and all she could see were those dark purple eyes, leering at her, undressing her. Annabel's shaking became worse as she saw the purple eyes start to approach her. As they came closer, she took an uneasy step backwards, slowly beginning to shake her head.

…Annabel…

"No…I don't want to…"

Annabel…

"P-please, stop…"

Annabel.

Her violently shaking hands grabbed her own shoulders in a vicious attempt to hug herself. "I don't wanna do it, please don't make me!"

Annabel!

A loud combination of a scream and whimper escaped from her lips, her breaking point as she fell to her knees and squeezed her eyes shut. She pressed her forehead to the cold floor, whimpering so much she was on the verge of tears.

ANNABEL!

Annabel's eyes flew open at the sudden physical contact. She shot up and shoved the hand that was on her shoulder away with a solid thwack!

"Don't touch me!" she screamed. She stumbled to her feet and glared at Kyoya with hatred burning in her eyes.

The older male stared up at her, even more confused than before. During her breakdown, he had quickly rushed to her side, forgetting his precious laptop for once. He had no idea what to do. This sort of situation was foreign to him. Kyoya was never good at comforting people, that was Haruhi or Tamaki's job. He was usually the one who inflicted the pain.

Annabel's face softened, her eyes becoming tired and her breaths heavier, her shoulders dropping. Her whole body relaxed and she seemed to familiarize herself with her surroundings again. Kyoya saw this and took the opportunity to regain his composure himself. Fixing his glasses (they had become askew), he got back to his feet and straightened his jacket and smoothed out his pants. After retrieving his computer from the floor, he turned to face Annabel once again.

He opened his mouth to say something, but she beat him to it.

"Just go."

Chestnut-colored locks fell over her eyes, casting a shadow on her face. Her arms were limp by her side, and all of the energy seemed to be drained out of her. It wasn't a cold command, but a desperate plea. She wasn't asking nor was she ordering him. She was begging him. She was begging him not to ask any questions, not to delve any deeper. For if he did, there would be serious consequences.

And for once, Kyoya listened.

He nodded, and even though she couldn't see him do so, she felt relief rush through her when he didn't respond. Turning on his heel, the boy briskly continued to walk down the corridor. Without looking back.

How…curious…

A/N: Wow, that was just...ugh that was horrible. I know it's short, but it's better than nothing right? A lot of the descriptions might not make any sense (cuz i suck at that) so if you hav any questions, just review or PM me. And in all honesty, don't expect this to be updated regularly. I have no idea what i'm doing next, im pretty much making this up as i go along. -_- I really didn't think I'd get this far...

And so, I apologize in advance. *bows at a 45 degree angle*

Reviews are greatly appreciated! X3