A/N

Thanks so much to everyone that reviewed! Internet hugs and alpacas for all of you! :D please continuing reading and reviewing!

oh, and by the by, the last line in the previous chapter was from one of my favorite songs, It's My Life by Bon Jovi. Those who have never heard that song are sorely missing out, and should listen to it immediately!

Disclaimer: I don't own Ouran High School Host Club :(, but I do own Emiko Kobayashi, Mark, her mom, AJ, and any other random OC that happens to pop into this story! :)

~Thorn of a Rose~

Chapter 2

Finished unpacking, I looked around my apartment. It was rather small but comfortable. I had put my desk in the living room, along with a small t.v. The couch was plump and armed with comfortable pillows, and the coffee table already had my textbooks and notebooks for when I started school the next day. My laptop, phone, and iPod were already plugged in and charging, getting ready for use. Satisfied, I turned to the kitchen, ready to make some lunch.

There was a knock at the door, and I paused. Going over to it, I opened it to find a girl about my height, maybe a little taller, standing there. [A/N Emiko is rather short, not as short as Hunny, but like a little shorter than Haruhi] She had short brown hair and large chocolate-brown eyes. She smiled at me. "Hi! I'm Haruhi Fujioka, and I live next door to you."

I smiled. "Hiya! I'm Emiko Kobayashi. I just moved here from Maine, in America. I'm on a music scholarship to Ouran Academy."

She smiled. "I'm on an academic scholarship to Ouran Academy. Would you like to come over for some lunch?"

I nod and grin. "Thanks, I'm starving." I follow her next door to her apartment. It's clean and neat. I chatted with Haruhi while helping her prepare lunch, giving her some facts of my life, while leaving everything to do with Mark entirely out of it. That part of my life was over and done with, and I had no intention of ever going back to it.

I could tell that Haruhi and I were fast becoming really good friends. I was growing more comfortable and more relaxed around her. It felt so good to be hanging around a girlfriend again. Once Mark started to show his true side, I was banned from ever seeing my friends again. That day in the band room was the first time I had talked to them in weeks.

We had finished lunch and was tidying up the place when there was a knock on the door. I continued cleaning up while Haruhi went to answer it. I watched as she opened the door, and saw six guys standing outside, each more gorgeous than the next. I blinked, staring. Who were these guys?

"~Come plaaay with us, Haruhi!~" four of them sang, the tall blonde with the iris eyes, two ginger-haired twins with glinting amber eyes, and a small boy with a sweet-looking face. There was a tall, tall guy with black hair and a stoic expression. The small boy was hanging off of his shoulders. There was also a guy just out of my eyesight, who I couldn't see.

Haruhi sighed in frustration. "No, you guys, not today. I'm spending time with my new neighbor."

They all perked up at that, and then they saw me. Immediately, the tall blonde with the iris eyes appeared in front of me. When he grabbed my hand, I flinched instinctively. Even though his touch was gentle, it still brought back memories of Mark.

The guy gave me a concerned and thoughtful look, but it was quickly gone. "Hello, my princess, my apologies for not seeing you sooner. I am Tamaki Suoh, and it is my pleasure to meet a beautiful princess such as yourself. May I inquire as to your name, Madamoiselle?"

I smiled softly. I could see that Tamaki was a really good and genuine person. "I'm Emiko Kobayashi, and it is my pleasure to meet you, Suoh-san."

"Please, just call me Tamaki," he said, flashing a smile at me.

The two twins elbowed him out of the way. "Hey, our turn, boss," they said in perfect sync. They turned to me with a smile, each grabbing a hand and kissing it. "We're Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin! Pleased to meet you, Kobayashi-san."

"Please, just Emiko. I'm still not that used to all the honorifics," I explained.

"Are you from America?" the little boy piped up. "I'm Mitsukuni Haninozuka, but you can just call me Hunny! And that's Takashi Morinozuka, but you can call him Mori. He doesn't say much, but he sticks with me." Hunni patted his head.

"Nice to meet you, Hunny and Mori. And yes, I'm from America, specifically Maine." I smile at them both.

I feel someone standing next to me, and I look up to see the last boy, the one who I couldn't see. He was taller than me, as was to be expected, almost as tall as Tamaki. He had raven-black hair, with glasses. The glare from the lights was covering them, so I couldn't see what color his eyes were. He pushed his glasses up on his face, making them flash. "You're Emiko Kobayashi, the one going to Ouran Academy on a music scholarship, are you not?" he inquired in a smooth and suave voice. Privately, I thought that he was the best-looking out of the bunch.

I nod, but before I could say anything, Hunni asked, "Music scholarship? Then what instruments do you play?"

I smile at him. "I play the piano mostly, but I do play alto saxophone and violin. My best instrument is the piano, though."

"I play the piano as well!" Tamaki exclaimed. "We should do some duets sometime!"

I grin. "I'd love to!"

One of the twins looked at the raven-haired boy. "Kyouya, how do you know about this girl already?"

The boy, Kyouya, smirked, whipping out a black notebook. "I make it my priority to know about any new students entering Ouran Academy. She lived in Portland, Maine, with her mother, Mary Kobayashi, and younger brother, Aaron Jason, also known as AJ. She plays the alto saxophone, mallets [A/N I play percussion in my band, mostly mallets, but I do some snare/bass drum too. Mallets are like marimba, xylophone, bells, chimes, etc.], piano, violin, and does guitar for fun. She is a pretty good student in school, and has been reported as kind, sweet, and thoughtful, though, but over the last couple months she has been reserved and keeping to herself. Allergic to bee-stings. Was in the hospital about a month ago with a broken arm and a concussion, the reason being that she fell. Hasn't really been in contact with her relatives in a couple of months." He paused, looking at me. "This is all true, correct?"

I had been staring at him the whole time. "Stalker much?" I was nervous that he would say something about my relationship with my ex, Mark, but he didn't. At least he didn't go into depth about the hospital visit.

Kyouya smirked at me, and I began to get a small itch to smack that smug look of his face. I turned my face away from him, resisting the urge. I could feel the smugness radiating from him, as if he knew what I wanted to do.

One of the twins grabbed onto Haruhi. "C'mon, Haruhi! Let's go play! Bring your new commoner friend, too!"

I sweatdropped. Commoner? I sighed and mentally groaned. Great. All these guys were probably freaking billionaires.

Haruhi sighed. "Hikaru, get off of me, please. And that's entirely up to what Emiko wants." I noted Hikaru's features, looking for differences from his brothers, so it would be easier to tell him apart from Kaoru in the future. I quickly deducted that Hikaru's face was more sly and mischeivious than Kaoru's.

Realizing that Haruhi was still waiting for an answer, I smiled. "No, thank you, I still want to get things ready for tomorrow. Thanks anyway, though!"

"Alright, nice meeting you, see you tomorrow!" Tamaki, Hunni, and the twins chanted, then grabbed Haruhi and raced from the apartment, with Mori following them. I sweatdropped. "Umm...okay?"

"You'll get used to their ways," Kyouya said, coming up next to me, in a disinterested voice.

I sighed. "Okay, if you say so. It was nice meeting you, Kyouya. I should get going." He followed me out of the apartment.

I was about to go inside my apartment, when Kyouya said, "Emiko." I paused and looked at him. His glasses had slipped down just enough so that I could see the color of his eyes. They were a beautiful grey color, but filled with a careful guardness, as if he constantly was on alert and hid his emotions.

He watched me. "I didn't say it before, but I'll finish my report. There was a boy with you, a year older than you, when you went to the hospital. He was the one who said you fell. The doctors were suspicious because you had other injuries that happened before you 'fell' that day. Some teachers and students also recall you having numerous bruises everywhere, and would constantly hang out with a boy. Is this all coming back to you?"

I gripped the doorhandle. "I am a clumsy person. I could walk across a smooth floor and fall. I was just being clumsy a lot, and my friend was helping me through hard times. Please excuse me." I went inside and shut the door, catching a small glimpse of his smirking face. The itch to smack him was coming back, but I sighed heavily and went to sit on the couch. Why was this Kyouya-guy bringing back unpleasant memories? What happened with Mark was over and done with. It deserved to be let rest in peace.

All thoughts of the very-annoying boy vanished as I thought of school the next day. Excitement began to bubble up inside of me again. Although I had the wear the yellow-marshmellow that decided to pass itself off as a dress, I was still happy with the outcome. I grinned. This was going to turn out better than I had dared hoped.

A/N

Second chapter out! Whaddya think? It's much lighter in heart than the first chapter, that's for sure! Please review and tell me what you think. People who review will get an alpaca. Those who don't will face the wrath of my ninja penguins. Have a nice day :3