A/N: Hello! I'm back! I've officially changed the summary to say "No regular updates" as I don't see myself getting into a regular schedule again, sorry guys! Take this super long chapter as an apology! Seriosly though, this thing's at least twice the size it should be, but I just couldn't find a good place to stop it! So, that's why I am finishing up the episode and doing a whole other episode in this chapter! That, and my depression has been kicking me ruthlessly, but that isn't important to you guys, the update is! Special thanks go to monsibaisamaya, K.C. 96, KanayaAmayaJade3, dancerchick98, scarletbleedsforyou, Shadowwolf Birdsong, AmyBoboNguyen, Leftfordead1, dark chocolate thunda, WhiteLily.R, Miss OtterDiva, Little Juniper Tree, and pervychan1 for following and faving!

storygirl99210: Thank you!

NightHunterDeath: Here it is!

Chibi-Ninja-Writer: Heh.. Sorry about that! School's been a b*tch.

15samcre: Thank you! As for the adoption, I know nothing about the process to adopt someone, so I sorta just went with it (shh don't tell anyone!).

Zorua1: I love that you enjoy my story so much!

YuYuHakushoObsesser: Thank you thank you thank you!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my OCs and their stories!

Oh yeah, **Trigger Warning** there is mention of a house fire and pain. (Not sure if this is necessary but just in case, better safe then sorry eh?)

As the other Hosts changed into normal clothes and removed their makeup, Haruhi started talking to Lorena.

"Hey," Haruhi hugged her. "I'm glad you're back. That was really sudden, is everything okay?"

"Sorry about that, everything's fine. I just had to visit someone really important to me. Usually I visit her on my birthday, but I was with you guys. I think she was okay though, with me being a day late." Haruhi looked at her with confusion. "I'll tell you everything later, I've gotta deal with them first."

"Please tell me they didn't go through with the video spying thing?" Haruhi sighed exasperatedly. She hung her head in defeat when Lorena nodded.

"You don't have to stay on my account. I'm sure you have things to do at home." Lorena assured her.

"No, I'll stay. I have to admit, I'm curious to see how you'll handle this. But don't be too hard on them, they were just worried about you. We all were." Haruhi patted her on the shoulder one more time and moved behind a couch a safe distance away when she saw the guys emerging from the changing rooms.

The tension could be cut with a knife as Lorena turned to face the boys. She placed a hand on her hip and tapped her foot as she awaited their most likely rehearsed apology.

When no one said anything, she sighed. "Look," she began, "I want to know who had a part in all this?" Slowly, all the Hosts-excepting Haruhi-raised their hands. She sighed again, there was no way she could let this go. "Okay." She had the full attention of everyone in the room. "Coming here, I was fully prepared to leave the Host Club for good." At this Tamaki wailed and collapsed to the ground. "But," he picked his head up in hope, "I won't do that." The twins cheered and Tamaki stopped crying. "Only because you guys made me laugh harder today than I have in years." They all looked relieved, thinking that was the end of it. "But don't think you've been let off the hook. I will have no part in any extra activities with you guys outside the Host Club, the only person who shall be my friend is Haruhi. You all will have to earn back my trust. Not buy, earn. It's seriously messed up you guys invaded my personal life like that. I won't forgive you guys easily."

Tamaki went to his corner of woe, joined by Honey. "Don't you think that's a little overkill?" Hikaru tried to reason with her.

"Yeah," Kaoru joined in with his brother, "we were just worried about you."

"You know what normal people do when they're worried about someone? They call them! They don't send someone to follow them around and report on very private matters."

"Two people, actually." Hikaru and Kaoru stomped on Tamaki's feet. "And it was videotaped-" they slapped their hands over his mouth, preventing him from saying anything else and getting them into any more trouble.

Lorena crossed her arms over her chest, "Videotaped? Well isn't that just peachy. I don't suppose you'd like to tell me exactly how much you saw?" She tried her best not to yell at them or make her growing anger obvious in her voice.

Kyoya pushed his glasses up, "All of it." He stated plainly, as if he were commenting on the weather.

Lorena locked her jaw and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. It didn't work. If he says they saw everything, then she has to believe him. After all, they had no reason to keep anything from her, they couldn't possibly make it any worse. She didn't want to ask them if they had heard what she had said to Jenna at the cemetery, cause if they hadn't they'd do anything to find out what. But if they did... Suddenly a private conversation just became not so private.

Lorena looked at Kyoya with a look that would have even the toughest ruffians running scared. "You. You hired them, didn't you?" She was sure she knew the answer already.

"That is correct." He replied coolly, waiting to see what would happen next.

"You're at the top of my shit-list then. You so much as look at me funny and I assure you they'll never find your body. Clear?"

He smirked at her threat, amused by her words. "Crystal."

Out of patience and energy, Lorena finished, "Okay." And with that, she turned and left, Haruhi not too far behind her.

~Time Skip~

That night, Lorena slept fitfully. She was reliving a memory, specifically the one that earned her the large burn scar that wrapped around her left side.

~In the Dream~

Lorena was walking home with Jenna. Snow piled on the ground and ice bordering the sidewalks. She looked at Jenna, who was saying something to her. She was too blurry to see, her words not making any sense, only sounds. It was an old memory, the details had faded over time.

After a minute of walking, Lorena smelled smoke, a lot of it too. There they saw it, right in front of them, a house was ablaze. The firemen hadn't arrived yet, and Jenna started to call 911 just in case. Lorena was unsure what she could do.

Just when she was about to move herself and Jenna farther away from the smoke and fire she heard a cry. It was faint, just barely heard over the roaring flames. For a minute she thought she had imagined it, but then she heard it again, this time a little louder.

"Someone's in there! Jenna, stay here!" Lorena then dropped her bag and ran to the front door of the house. She faintly remembered Jenna yelling after her. She stopped briefly to wrap her scarf around her nose and mouth, then made her way into the house.

The heat was almost unbearable, but a cry from the back room made her go on. She ran down a hallway to what looked like it used to be a living room. The furniture was on fire and the television was melting. "Help!" The voice cried out again, she looked to her left and saw a young boy, no older than 6 trapped on an end table. He was gonna suffocate if she didn't get him out quick. The problem was, there was a huge support beam lying in between them, and there was no way he could jump over to her. Her mind raced, trying to find some other way to get to him, but there was none.

"Hey!" She yelled to him, he looked up and saw her. He again cried for help. "I'm gonna get you out of here! But you have to jump!" He shook his head wildly, it was only now she noticed he had tears streaming down his blackened face, she just hoped he wasn't too scared to move. "You have to trust me! I promise you'll make it! I will catch you!" He hesitated, seeing no other option, he got to his feet and prepared himself to jump. "Ready?" She called out to him, arms outstretched, waiting to catch him. He nodded his head. "Now!" She shouted, at the precise moment he jumped towards her, she leaned her body over on top of the burning beam.

She screamed as it seared her flesh. She caught him. Pain clouded her vision, she couldn't breathe with all the smoke. The boy was on the brink of unconsciousness as well.

Running as fast as she could in her condition with the boy in her arms, she had just made it to the doorway when the house let out ominous splintering sounds. It was collapsing.

She limped her way across the yard about fifteen feet away from the burning house when she couldn't hold on anymore, she collapsed, the pain too great.

Vaguely, she remembered Jenna screaming, the sirens of emergency vehicles, and the crying of the boy she had saved. So she lay there, choked, covered in soot, and crippled with pain. The cold snow contrasting greatly with her charred side. She could go no further, and relented to the sweet temptation of unconsciousness.

~End Dream~

Lorena awoke with a start, breathing hard and sweating like she just ran a marathon. She could feel the heat on her skin from the fire. And her side, oh how it burned. It was the worst of all. She threw off her covers and pulled up her shirt to see it. It looked no different, but it certainly didn't feel that way.

This had happened a handful of times before. She'd have a dream of a memory in which she had gotten hurt, and then awoke to that ghost of a feeling that it was.

She remembered how furious Jenna was with her. But her anger didn't last long, after all, she saved that little boy's life. Apparently, the house had fully collapsed just after she had come running out with him. He would've been killed instantly most likely.

She was told later on that the fire had originated in the kitchen. Apparently, their grandfather with Alzheimers had left their gas stove on, which had lit some papers on the counter on fire. Luckily, the boy was the only one in the house.

She sighed and went into the bathroom to take a shower. She stripped off her shorts and tank top and stepped into the shower. She started it off cold, to cool down her skin. Once she was a more normal temperature, she changed it to hot and began cleaning herself.

When she was done and dressed, she looked at the clock and saw she had about fifteen minutes to get to school. Not in the mood for food, she left.

~Time Skip~

During class, the twins learned what Lorena meant when she said she would have no "extra activities" with them. She didn't say a word to them the whole day. She wouldn't even acknowledge their presence! The only person she interacted with was Haruhi.

"Just give her a few days," they said to each other, "there's no way she can keep this up. No one's that stubborn."

But they were wrong. Even during the Host Club, she ignored everyone except her customers and Haruhi. Again, they thought she'd return to normal in a day or so.

But they were wrong again. She kept it up for the next few weeks. She was relentless!

Today, Lorena was going to spend the whole day with Haruhi. Obviously, being the only one she was around, Lorena and Haruhi grew even closer as friends.

In fact, Lorena was even thinking of showing Haruhi her scars voluntarily. She could only hope Haruhi's reaction would be similar to Honey's. Of course, she knew that Haruhi was a good person and only judged people based on their quality of character. But then again, Lorena had seen people flip at the drop of a hat.

After all, you can never know the true value of a person until you put them in a situation that calls for their best.

She had decided, she was gonna do it. She was going to trust Haruhi and show her. It was a huge risk, and she would be very vulnerable. But she had to have faith in her friend.

Now, Lorena was waiting for Haruhi back at her apartment. She was out at the grocery store. She had jimmied the flimsy lock on her door and let herself in. She had brought her guitar with her, practicing as she waited for Haruhi to get back. She hadn't played since she had arrived at Japan and seriously needed to practice. She also didn't want to lose the callouses on her fingers.

Lorena was wearing ripped jeans, a long-sleeved black off-the-shoulder top, a light colored beanie, a layer of lip gloss on her lips, and her angel wing necklace that was over her shirt today instead of under it, like it usually was. She had left her white converse at the door.

She started strumming along to a song called Thistle and Weeds by Mumford and Sons. She sang along.

Spare me your judgments,

Spare me your dreams,

'Cause recently mine have been tearing my seams.

I sit alone in this winter clarity which clouds my mind.

Alone in the wind and the rain you left me,

It's getting dark darling, too dark to see,

And I'm on my knees and your faith in shreds it seems.

Corrupted by the simple sniff of riches blown,

I know you have felt much more love than you've shown.

And I'm on my knees and the water creeps to my chest.

But plant your hope with good seeds,

Don't cover yourself with thistle and weeds,

Rain down, rain down on me.

Look over your hills and be still,

The sky above us shoots to kill,

Rain down, rain down on me.

But I will hold on,

I will hold on hope.

I begged you to hear me, there's more than flesh and bones.

Let the dead bury the dead, they will come out in droves.

But take the spade from my hands and fill in the holes you've made.

But plant your hope with good seeds,

Don't cover yourself with thistle and weeds.

Rain down, rain down on me.

Someone cleared their throat behind her. She whipped around to find an exasperated Haruhi and the rest of the Host Club.

Lorena narrowed her eyes at the Hosts and turned back around to put away her guitar.

"How did you get in?" Haruhi asked her curiously, setting down her bags.

"It's not that hard to pick your lock, just jimmy it the right way and it pops right open. You should really get a better one. Maybe even a deadbolt if you're feeling fancy." Lorena responded easily, as if breaking and entering was something she did normally.

The guys let themselves in, asking something about slippers. Lorena was trying her hardest to ignore them.

Lorena closed her guitar case and stood to leave. "Did you need something, Rena-chan?" Haruhi asked her, starting to worry about why she would come over so suddenly.

"Oh, I was gonna talk to you about something, but it can wait."

She had made it to the door when Haruhi latched onto her arm. She whispered to her, "If I'm stuck with them, so are you." Lorena didn't like the evil glint in her eyes. Lorena made a whiny noise in her throat when Haruhi turned her around and started to push her back to the sitting area that the rest of the Hosts were occupying. "You need to make up. Stop being so stubborn." She sat her down between Honey and Kyoya and left to finish the tea.

Not a good idea, considering Kyoya was at the top of her To-Kill-List. Things were tense, until Honey broke the silence. "You have a really good singing voice, Rena-chan!"

Haruhi sat down with the tray of cups as he said that. "He's right, you're good." She agreed.

"Nah, I'm not that good. I'll admit I'm not bad, but I'm not great either. Just average." Lorena answered Haruhi.

"In any case, it was nice. We've never heard you sing before. And I never knew you could play the guitar either." Haruhi continued.

"I'm just full of surprises." Lorena joked as she flipped her hair over her shoulder dramatically. She sipped her tea that Haruhi had handed her. "This is yummy, did you get a new tea?" She ignored the fact that she had seen the twins give it to her.

"Uh, yeah. It's my first time trying it out. I'm glad you like it." Haruhi answered awkwardly, not sure what to do now.

Honey once again broke the tension by offering Haruhi first pick of the cake he brought. She took a strawberry piece and the others took their own as well. Lorena ended up having a rich chocolate piece of cake. Meanwhile, the twins and Tamaki were going on about not offending Haruhi and her "commoner ways." Lorena had to restrain herself from laughing at their stupidity.

Then Takashi began giving his strawberries to Haruhi, saying, "You like strawberries, right?" Lorena was internally going 'Awww, he's so sweet.'

"Yes!" Haruhi answered happily, "Thank you!" She was so adorable. The three idiots then began wailing about how they didn't think of that first like no one else was in the room. They were ignored.

A few minutes later everyone had finished their cake. Then they decided to impose more on Haruhi by asking about lunch. Lorena saw a chance to escape, but things had to go the way she wanted them to.

"We're the ones who dropped in on you unexpectedly, so we'll pay for lunch." Kyoya said while standing up. "Why not order some of your favorite sushi or something?" He suggested.

Haruhi was quick to object. "No, that's okay. I don't want to add to my debt."

He pulled out a gold credit card. "Not to worry, the money is coming from the pictures of you we auctioned off."

"So I really am paying for it?" Haruhi hung her head. "All right, I have a friend who runs a nice sushi shop nearby, so I'll give them a call. They have some real high quality stuff."

Tamaki got a weird look on his face as he quickly wrote a note and not so subtly handed it to her. Haruhi read the note aloud, "Even if the sushi pack says Premium on it, you can't call it 'high quality.' Be very careful." She crumpled it up and threw it in the trash can. "I know. I'm not stupid." She angrily replied. Tamaki freaked out again.

Cutely, Honey approached Haruhi. "I'd like to have something made by Haru-chan~." Now it was the twins that were freaking out.

"That's fine. But it'll take some time to make." She replied, already thinking about what she could make for all of them.

"That's fine! We'll wait!" He cried out happily, raising his arms into the air triumphantly.

"Ah, I'll have to go to the supermarket again," she remarked. Lorena saw her chance. She could go with her to the supermarket, then, when they were passing her apartment building, she would run and lock herself in! Perfect!

Her thoughts were interrupted when she was hauled up by her arms by the twins who were chanting 'Commoner's Supermarket.' Her guitar case was being left behind, but she could come back later to get it.

On the way down to ground level, the group passed Ranka, Haruhi's transvestite father. Lorena nodded her head in greeting as she was being hauled by the two devils. Soon enough, the twins turned around to see what was taking Tamaki so long, still dragging Lorena as they did so.

"Hey boss, what's taking you so long?" Hikaru asked as the three of them poked their heads in through the open door.

"Woah, check it out. That person we passed was Haruhi's father." Kaoru remarked.

"Hikaru! Kaoru! Rena-chan! Help me out here!" Tamaki begged, he was being held to the ground by Ranka's foot.

The twins jumped in immediately. "It's nice to meet you, Haruhi's dad. We're good friends if your daughter, the Hitachiin brothers." They greeted simultaneously while stepping on Tamaki.

"So you're a transvestite, aren't you?" Kaoru asked.

"You're the first real transvestite we've ever seen." Hikaru added.

"You finally put the moves on Haruhi, huh Boss?" They went back to unison.

"Sorry about him, he's a ladies man, if you know what I mean. He's a pheromone machine. In fact, I'll bet he's fooled around with more ladies than you can count." They deviously informed him.

A tick mark appeared on Ranka's face. "He like to fool around, huh?" Lorena knew first-hand how Ranka could be about his daughter, he was the definition of over-protective.

"No!" Tamaki protested loudly, getting himself up off of the ground and into a sitting position. "I'm not a ladies man! I'm a nice guy, I care about her!"

Is he confessing his love? The twins and Lorena thought at the same time.

"I'm being completely honest here, I care about Haruhi like she's my own daughter." Tamaki professed. Lorena face-palmed. He truly was an idiot.

Everyone gathered around the table again to properly meet Haruhi's dad.

"I get it, you must be the Host Club I've heard so much about. You certainly are a fine looking bunch of young men! I'm not sure which of you I like best. What about you dear? I tell you what, why don't you boys go ahead and call me Ranka? That's the professional name I use at the transvestite bar I work at." Ranka happily babbled.

"Professional name? You mean like a stage name?" Honey asked.

"Exactly like that Mitsukuni." He replied.

"Hold on, how did you know my name, sir?"

Ranka chuckled, he then proved that he knew everyone's names and years. Of course, he had known Lorena for much longer as she frequently came over to study or hang out with Haruhi.

"What? So Haruhi told you about us?" Hikaru asked, a little shocked.

"No, Kyoya told me about you over the phone~!" Kyoya smiled at him.

"You know you really are a beautiful person, Ranka." Kyoya complimented.

"Say what?!" Everyone else exclaimed at the same time.

"Kyoya.." Tamaki grabbed his shoulder from his corner of woe.

"We've been entrusted with the care of his precious daughter, it is only natural we introduce ourselves and give him periodic reports. Ordinarily, that would be your job, wouldn't it?" Kyoya jabbed.

"I'm impressed the club has such a capable president. But wait a minute, you're only the vice-president aren't you Kyoya? I guess that president of yours is pretty much good for nothing, huh?" Ranka also jabbed at Tamaki.

"You never mentioned this to me dad! Why didn't you say that you've been getting calls from Kyoya-senpai!" Haruhi practically yelled.

"Well what am I supposed to do Haruhi? You rarely tell me anything about school!" Ranka whined.

"So that makes it okay to talk behind my back?! Come on Senpai would you please stop growing mushrooms in other people's closets?!"

As Ranka gushed over his daughter, Lorena poked Kyoya's shoulder harshly. "Does this mean you're also talking to my dad as well?"

"Hmm? You're breaking your oath of silence?" He goaded her.

"Just answer the question." Lorena dead-panned.

"Your father is difficult to reach as he is a busy man. Because of this, I keep in touch with your older sister, Elena-san. She's a wonderful person." Kyoya pushed up his glasses and smirked at her annoyed expression.

Lorena narrowed her eyes at him when Ranka asked, "Wait! Haruhi, where are you going?"

"The supermarket, alright? I have to go shopping and I wanna do it by myself. So all of you just stay here and try to behave yourselves." Haruhi sounded a little annoyed still.

"Wait! I'm coming with you! There's some things I need as well!" Lorena rushed at her, determined not to be left behind. She was going to escape!

"Fine, but only you." Haruhi relented.

They walked down the street for a minute or so when Lorena spotted her apartment building coming up. She had to be smooth to get away successfully.

Haruhi was muttering to herself, still annoyed that her dad hadn't told her about the phone calls.

"You know, I actually left my wallet in my apartment, maybe I should just..." Before even finishing her sentence, Lorena made a mad dash for her apartment. She heard Haruhi yelling at her to come back, but no footsteps. She got to her door and hastily unlocked it, flew inside, and slammed the door shut.

Sure that no one would bother her now, she sighed and went to the window above her sink kitchen. She watched as Haruhi continued down the street towards the supermarket. Then she saw the rest of the Club and Haruhi's dad following her from a distance. Should she tell Haruhi? Nah.

Lorena took off her beanie and went to her room. So much for telling Haruhi today. She had to do it soon or she'd talk herself out of it.

Sighing again, Lorena flopped down onto her bed, looking at the ceiling. Her laptop dinged, and she looked at the email. It read:

Dearest Lorena,

I would like you to seriously think about moving back home to America. Theresa has expressed her concern over your well-being. She believes that you are in an important stage of your development and should be able to reach your full potential at home where you are with your family. I too believe this to be true. While it is technically your choice, I urge you to do this. It is for your sake as much as it is mine.

It is of Theresa's opinion that staying in Japan will only do you harm. She has informed me that you are not truly happy where you are and you aren't getting your proper attention and care.

If you were to return home, I promise that things will be different. Please consider these things.

With love,

Your father.

"What a bunch of bull!" Lorena shouted at her laptop. Creature came running into the room, alert for any immediate threats. Lorena patted the side of her bed and let him jump up to join her. She snuggled with him for comfort instantly. "It's not fair, Creature. Somehow she knows. Somehow she knows that I'm actually becoming happy here. That I have friends that I value and who value me, even if only a little. And now she want to take that away from me too." A tear escaped her eye and ran into Creature's soft gray fur. He whined and looked at her with sad eyes. "It's okay, though." She scratched his head. "I won't leave here. Not when I've found this bit of peace. I haven't felt this content in a long while. No way am I going to let her take that away from me." She looked out of her window at the sky. "I won't let her." Creature lowered his head and closed his eyes, calm now.

A/N: So? Did it suck? Feel free to leave an opinion or any questions, but no pressure. SUPER IMPORTANT INFO: If you would like to go to my Polyvore account to look at Lorena's outfits, they are on there. The username is dragonheart4568. Yes, include the 8 as well. I tried to get the same username, but it just wouldn't let me (grr..). The outfits are labeled by chapters that they are in, so if you wanna go back and look at them...or not. Your choice. Anyways, hope everyone is enjoying the cold weather (I sure am!). Alright, I can't think of anything else to say so.. Good night all!