Her name was Philomena Alivia Johns and she was a transfer student at Namimori High School. Her father's job had them all move to Japan from her home in England. Learning to write in Japanese had been the hardest, but she thought she was getting the hang of it. Making friends however…that was something completely different. She was different obviously. Her hair was on the lighter side of brown, her eyes were green, she was taller than most of the girls. It was fine with her though. She immersed herself in books, and studied extra hard to make good grades while she was here. Not that she wasn't smart, just the opposite, but it was harder to read and write everything out.

She sighed softly, staring at her textbook. It was lunch and she was eating her sandwich while she deciphered her homework. She took a moment to glance around as she sipped her juice. Groups were scattered here and there talking and eating. Looked like fun. She shrugged a bit, then her eyes fell on the one group that had spoken to her once, well two of them had anyway. Sawada-kun and Sasagawa-kun had introduced themselves on her first day. They were really nice, but the rest of their group looked intimidating. Granted, it was just two more guys, but still. One was super tall, even to her. He looked friendly enough, but all the girls swooned over him. That in itself was scary. The other one looked half Japanese. He had silver hair and Aquamarine eyes, and the meanest glare for anyone outside the small group. Also he had a following of girls.

Philomena was shaken from her thoughts when her phone made a noise. She picked it up and looked. There was a text from her childhood friend. He had moved to Italy a few years back, but they still talked nearly every day.

"Got time for a video chat?" The text asked. She replied with a yes since lunch had just started. When her phone made another noise, she answered the call. At least this way she could talk to someone and wouldn't have to try to fumble out bad Japanese.

"Philly" Her friend said with a very slight smile. "Make any friends yet?"

"Haha Spanner I am soooooo glad you called." She said giving him a smile. "Yeah no…not yet. No one talks to me. Well, two people did when I first started…"

"You have to talk to people to have them talk to you ya know. Besides, you're my friend! Your Japanese is better than you think" He frowned slightly. "Did you find Shoichi yet? I told you….he's a good friend of mine. Did you ever meet him? You came to a competition or two…."

"I've met him…I need to make friends on my own! I can't ride your coattails forever you know." She said laughing a bit.

"Nothing wrong with that. It's nice to have a friendly face in a new place." He glanced to the side, then rubbed the back of his neck. "Also…" He blinked a few times.

"Excuse me….Johns-san?" Philomena looked over her shoulder and blinked a few times.

"Sawada-kun….please, call me Philly. I'm…not used to being called by my last name." She smiled a bit

"Ah…Philly…call me Tsuna then." He glanced at her phone and broke out into a bright smile. "I thought so!"

"Eh?"

"I thought I heard Spanner's voice. I didn't know you knew him!"

"You…know each other?" She asked, looking at Spanner.

"Long story." He said simply, then gave Tsuna a half wave. "Vongola. How ya doin?"

"Great!" He said with a smile. "We're going to steal your friend though. Kyoko-chan asked me to come get her."

"I…I couldn't intrude" Philomena said, shaking her head.

"Philly…" She looked back to the phone screen. "Go. Make some friends. Trust me, if he friends you, it's not because of me. He makes friends with everyone." She bit her lip gently, and looked from Spanner to Tsuna, who smiled at her, then back. "Go. Call me when you get home." With that Spanner ended the call. She sighed, and put her phone away. She grabbed her book and her lunch, then looked at Tsuna.

"After you then." She stood, looking at Tsuna, then at the group warily.

"Don't worry! It'll be ok." Tsuna said, walking her over. "No matter how they look, or act, they're really nice people." She nodded, still unsure as Tsuna motioned to a nearby desk for her to sit at.

"Johns-kun!" Sasagawa squealed, giving her a smile. "You looked so lonely over there! Hopefully we can all be friends."

"Ah….just Philly please. And I wasn't lonely. I was talking to my best friend in Italy." She gave the other girl a smile. "Well, he was my neighbor…we grew up together. Then he moved to Italy." She bit her lip, and pulled her sandwich back out. She was rambling.

"It was Spanner!" Tsuna exclaimed, smiling brightly. "I wish I would have known that sooner!"

"I…ah…wanted to make friends on my own…" Philomena said quietly, staring at her lunch.

"Oh well, we did approach you before we knew that" Tsuna said, rubbing the back of his neck. "You seemed nice."

"Ahahaha we can make up our own minds." The tall one said with a blinding smile.

"Tch, speak for yourself. I'm not looking for new friends." The silver haired one spat out. Philomena shrank back and opened her book. She might as well go back to her studying.

"Ahhh Gokudera, don't be so mean. Don't you remember when you were a transfer student?" She jumped as an arm was slung around her neck. "I'm Yamamoto Takeshi. Nice to meet you…ah…..ahaha…what was your name again?"

"Philomena Johns. But please just call me Philly. All my friends do." She blushed faintly as she turned back to her book.

"You always have your nose in a book." Yamamoto said, taking it out of her hands, and closing it. "Do that later and hang out with us."

"Ah… Japanese is hard to read. It takes me longer to get my work done." She said quietly. "Thank you Yamamoto-kun, but I should try to get a head start on my homework." He blinked a few times, and handed her book back.

"Oh sorry" He went back to his seat, and gave her a smile. "Gokudera can help. He's really smart. He helps me and Tsuna all the time."

"Tch. I'm going to start charging you guys." Gokudera said, crossing his arms. "And not like I can help. I'm not fluent in English…."

"It's ok. I've been getting good grades regardless." She said quietly, finding her place in the textbook. "In another week or so, it should be a lot easier for me."

"Stupid woman." She glanced to the side to see Gokudera glare at her book over her shoulder. "What are you having a problem with?"

"Oh well, it's just reading the kanji and such. I don't get this one…" She pointed and he leaned in closer.

"That's an easy one…see here…" As he explained, everyone else watched the two with raised brows.

"Ah…." Tsuna sighed.

"Ahaha I guess she's making friends after all" Yamamoto laughed, running a hand through his hair. "Kinda jealous. She's pretty cute." Tsuna and Kyoko just looked over at Yamamoto, then at each other, sharing a weird look.

Philomena sighed softly as she gathered her things to head home. Lunch was weird, but she got passed it. At least she was making friends. And Gokudera helped her a lot with her studying. He was super smart. Made her wonder why he was still in highschool. She yelped as she ran into someone, bouncing back. She was sure she was going to fall, then arms wrapped around her and pulled her close.

"Ahahaha Philly, you should be more aware of your surroundings" She looked up and saw Yamamoto's warm brown eyes look down at her.

"I am so sorry!" She said, feeling herself blush. "I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention. I have a lot on my mind."

"It's ok!" He said with a laugh, still holding on to her. "Actually, I'm glad I literally ran into you. Do…you want to come watch my baseball practice? I…I'll walk you home after."

"I have a lot of homework to do…" She said quietly and blinked a few times. "You're still holding onto me…"

"Well, it's a beautiful day…" He let her go, giving her a smile. "Sit in the bleachers and do some of your work." She could do that. With all this she rarely got outside anymore. She bit her lip gently and looked up at him then nodded.

"Yeah ok. That'd be a nice change." She gave him a slight smile. His face broke out into the biggest smile she had ever seen.

"Ahaha! Great!" He picked her up and spun her around. She wasn't sure what to make of any of this. Weren't Japanese people supposed to be more reserved? This was the exact opposite. She blinked a few times as he set her back down. "Come on. This way." He started walking and she followed still a bit bewildered. Well, at least she could tell Spanner she was, in fact, making friends. She supposed she should get in contact with Shoichi sooner or later, before Spanner does. That's all she'd need. Don't get her wrong, she loved the fact he treated her like a sister, but sometimes it bordered on silly. He was worrying too much. She shook her head and sighed. She'd have to tell him not to worry so much. They were supposed to talk later, that'd be a great time. She came out of her thoughts and realized that Yamamoto was talking this entire time. She felt bad tuning him out like that, and blushed faintly, looking at her feet.

"...and then it was like tink, whoosh, pfssssss and I won the game!" He laughed a bit as she just blinked up at him. "Do they have a lot of baseball in England?"

"No. A lot of football and rugby." She replied in a quiet voice. "I'm afraid I don't know the rules."

"I can teach you if you want." He offered, flashing her a toothy grin. "I taught Tsuna and Gokudera."

"You guys seem really close. Must have been friends for a really long time."

"Not really. Sometime in middle school. That's when Gokudera transferred. He's from Italy you know. And me and Tsuna…well… we knew each other but not friends until that same time. It's a long story and I don't come out so well so…"

"Did you bully him?" She asked, wide eyed. His eyes got as round as saucers and he shook his head quickly.

"No! No…no…nothing like that. He…kinda saved my life." He gave a sly grin. "Maybe I'll tell you the story sooner or later if you come watch me practice often." She blinked a few times, blushing faintly.

"Ah…well…"

"No worries!" He turned to her and held out his hand. "We're here. Let me help you up the bleachers. It can be kinda tough."She placed her hand in his, feeling a blush creep up in her cheeks. He held her steady as she stepped up, taking a seat.

"Thank you Yamamoto-kun" She said, giving him a small smile.

"Just make sure you watch some of it." He said, letting her hand go. She watched him turn and head off.

A few hours went by and Philomena had just finished up the last of her homework. She was putting her things away when she blinked a few times and paused, seeing an empty field. Did everyone already leave? She finished putting everything in her bag and stood up. Sticking her tongue out, she carefully maneuvered down the bleachers, and on the last one, she hopped down onto the ground.

"I suppose I should go home." She said softly to herself, and turned in that direction. She paused for a moment hearing her name.

"Philly! Wait up!" She looked over her shoulder to see Yamamoto jogging up. "I told you I would walk you home."

"I…thought everyone left…" She said quietly, looking down at her feet.

"Nah. Just showered and changed back. Come on." He gave her a smile as she began walking with him. "I was thinking, for letting me drag you to practice on the day we met…." He stopped and turned towards her. "Do you like sushi?"

"Well…yeah. Can't get far with having Spanner for a friend if you don't like that sort of stuff." She laughed a bit, playing with her bag. Wow, she felt awkward right now.

"How about I treat you then?"He asked with a smile. "That's if you don't have to be home yet?"

"I'm already running late, I probably should head home. Can I take a raincheck?" She felt a blush creep onto her face. It was weird, she was sure it was because he appreciated the company, but it felt like he wanted to take her out on a date.

"Yeah sure." He thought for a moment, then smiled. "The day after tomorrow is a holiday from school. How about then?"

"Yeah ok." She gave him a smile as they walked. It was a comfortable silence for most of the walk. A few times Yamamoto would tell her a story about something outrageous. Well, his stories were full of sound effects, but she found it endearing. It felt too soon when she stopped in front of the gate to her house.

"You….live like three doors down from Tsuna you know," Yamamoto said as he looked around, blinking a few times.

"Do I?" Philomena asked, looking around. "I didn't realize…"

"Just means we can walk together more often" He said with a smile, then looked away, his hand on the back of his neck. "I…I'm really glad I met you today Philly." She blinked a few times and stared at him for a moment, before breaking out into a smile.

"I'm glad I met you too Yamamoto-kun" She gave him one more smile, and turned to head inside. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw him standing there, waving as she closed the gate. This had been an interesting day.