Summary: So what happens when Ikuto saves a suicidal girl named Amu, who threw herself off the balcony, on the floor above his apartment? He becomes completely motivated to show her what it really means to live, that's what. AMUTO.

Hi everyone, I'm back! This is the first story I have done in a while, I will be working on it and I'm completely motivated to finish this one. Enjoy, read and review!

The Art Of Living – Chapter One (Ikuto's P.O.V)

I fumbled with the keys in my hand, looking for the one that would open the darned door in front of me. The stupid apartment key just had to be similar to most of my other keys, of course it was. The damn landlord hated me the minute I said I needed a place to live and gave me the worst apartment room of all, the one with the old key and old lock. He often gave me dirty looks when I went to pay the rent. At least I'm decent enough to pay on time, I mentally scoffed.

Recognizing the rusty feel of the right key, I pushed it into the lock and turned. With a satisfying click, the door was unlocked. The hinges of the door squeaked and I made my way inside, dropping my belongings upon the old, worn out couch. There was an already opened beer sitting on the kitchen bench from this morning and I grabbed it and drank, letting the refreshing taste slide down my throat and into my stomach.

"Ah," I sighed out loud, "nothing better than a beer after a hard day."

No one replied, and that was how it always was. Always silent, with a single voice echoing throughout the house. I lived alone, after my parents died and after my sister left for a singing career. I had no one; I kind of liked it that way.

I brushed a few strands of dark blue hair out of my face and wiped the sweat on my head with the back of my hand. It was unusually hot today, and that wasn't helping the fact that my school did not have shorts for boys to wear; only girls. For the boys, it was only pants, a button up shirt and a tie that suffocated the majority of us.

I ripped off my shirt, proudly smirked at how toned my body was for a split second, then walked to the balcony bare chested, a gust of hot air blowing into me. I took another gulp of the beer and leaned over the edge. I could hear the buzz of the busy streets below, the honking of the cars, the chirp of the birds… And the arguments of the floor above me, which didn't really fit in with the usual surroundings. The floor above me never made a sound at all. Curious, I stuck my head out a bit and tried to see what was happening up there. The potted plants were blocking my view, but I still had the ears to listen.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" One gruff voice yelled.

"None of your damn business," replied a feminine voice, who didn't sound very interested at all.

"Excuse me? What did you just say?"

"You heard me. I said, none of your damn business. Get out of my room."

"Stupid b*tch, you don't deserve to be my daughter. I'll let you rot and die in here, alone. I'll let you kill yourself in here, like you always do. Bleed yourself dry, or you know what? Go jump off right now. You're sick of life? I'm sick of you. Go, jump!"

"Sure," was all the girl said. There was a moment of silence, and I wondered what had happened. Did one of them leave? Kill the other?

A pair of slender, pale legs were suddenly dangling above me, the red heels on the person's feet falling off and hitting the pavement with a soft thud. It was a long way down from where I was and those heels must've been made of metal to not break.

Then, she jumped.

There was a blur of colors before my eyes, and panic shot through me like a bullet. My heart stopped, and it was like I had no control of myself. My body reacted on its own, arms outstretched and reaching for the figure. I thought she would've slipped through my fingers, but I caught a thin wrist and held on. I had almost flung over my own balcony, but I steadied myself and reached for the other wrist of the hanging girl. I didn't look at her or even think about anything but to save her. I pulled her limp body over the ledge, lost my balance and fell. She landed on top of me, head on my chest and we just stayed perfectly still in our positions. I was still holding her wrists, and I thought to let go, but I didn't. Her hair was an odd, bubblegum pink that stuck out anywhere like a sore thumb – but I wasn't one to say anything about odd colored hair – and she had a petite, slim and fragile body that could shatter so easily. She didn't move an inch and didn't even breathe. Was she even alive?

And then, as if to answer the question, her head lifted and her facial features were revealed to me. Her cheeks were pink and her lips were slightly parted, strands of pink hair falling over her face. She stared at me with her beautiful, round, yellow eyes under her long eyelashes that made my breath hitch in my throat.

She opened her mouth a little wider like she was going to say something, then she fainted in my arms. Okay, I had definitely not seen this coming. I had not expected her to faint on me, hell; I didn't even expect her to jump off the balcony. Her small head was positioned the way it was before, resting on my chest. Her mouth was a little open, and she looked adorable while she slept. I furrowed my eyebrows and shook my head. This wasn't a time to think about how cute she looked when she slept, or the way she had a model type body or how sexy her legs were…

Stop being a pervert, my mind scolded. I mentally slapped myself reminded myself of the situation. This poor girl had just been forced to jump and die, and the man above was probably still waiting to see her body hit the ground. I began to move away, dragging her unconscious body along with me until we were in my living room and what I thought was out of the man's sight. The girl breathed heavily, even in sleep, and I watched her chest go up and down, up and down. I slapped myself again.

Pervert, mocked my mind.

"Shut up," I growled out loud, and then it was quiet in my head. Sighing, I looked at the girl sleeping in my lap and I felt like a creep for staring. I couldn't help but think how beautiful she was, and stroked her soft, silky hair.

You're a creep, my mind teased. Ikuto's a creep.

I pushed away the annoying voice. Her mouth was slightly parted, lips full, pink and just begging to be kissed. I hesitated, what if she woke up?

Stop being a creep, creep. You're taking advantage of a passed out girl, you creep. How could you even do that to her? You're creepy, creep.

I grit my teeth and pushed away the voice again. Sometimes, I felt crazy for pushing away what I really thought but I knew the real crazy thing was thinking the voice wasn't from my own mind.

It's only a quick one, she won't even notice. What she doesn't know won't kill her, I convinced myself. It's not like we'd ever talk again after this, or even see each other. I rolled my eyes at my own stupidity. Of course I'd see her again; we live in the same flat for crying out loud!

I lowered my head and hesitated again. I took a glance towards her still closed eyes and reassured myself that she was still passed out. Her lips were just millimeters away, so close and-

"What are you doing?"

Okay, so it's a little short and not that good. I'll write longer chapters after this one; this is only the first chapter. Fingers crossed that it'll go well though, tell me what you think of the story so far, and tell me if you think I should add or change anything!
Thanks for reading!