Hello everybody! This story is my first My Candy Love fanfiction. I started playing it a while ago and all the characters in it seem like so much fun to write about, so...yeah! This just randomly popped out of my head! Hooray! This story is romance/humor/hurt and comfort/friendship...you get the idea. I'm gonna say I'm leaning towards Armin for the love interest for my OC, Marikaya, but you never know. I may just change my mind. I tend to do that a LOT. xD

Hahaha, so bear with me-and may I present the first chapter of Arming Myself. I hope you like it! Please Review and Favorite and stuff. It would make me so very happy and stuff:)

Disclaimer: ~ShermanTheWorm~ does not own My Candy Love. The characters belong to the game-makers... but Marikaya is my own creation. Thanks!

Arming Myself: Chapter 1-

~First Day, First Impressions~

I stood silently on the balcony of my new apartment, lost in thought as I stared into the distance. I had just moved here to Sweet Amoris, and I could tell it was just another place. It was just like the places before it. I sighed, feeling weary after a day of hauling boxes around and stressing out. There weren't many boxes, considering I was going to be living on my own. Why was I living alone when I was only seventeen? Well, I'm glad you asked. My mom wanted to travel the world and observe cultures or something, but I wasn't interested. I'm more of a stay at home kind of person. So I begged her to let me stay somewhere instead, and after a month of pleading, she finally gave in. She bought me my own apartment and told me to behave, and then she was off. I really didn't miss her too much yet, to be bluntly honest. She never paid any attention to me anyway.

I would be starting my senior year in a new school. It was a horrible year to start…everyone here was probably already had their tight-knit group of friends and wouldn't want the new girl to ruin their fun.

It's not like I cared, of course.

I went back inside and lied down on my bed, staring at the slightly peeling white ceiling, slowly beginning to dread what I would have to face tomorrow. My eyelids began to feel heavy, and as soon as they closed, I was asleep.

I really need to start working on first impressions. You'd think that I would be great at them, considering I had moved wherever my mom wanted to go and switched schools so many times that I couldn't remember a single one of them. But here I am. Standing in the student council room and acting like a complete asshole to the student body president.

"Why do I need to pay money? And where do I get a stupid student ID? This system is ridiculous." I scoffed, glaring at the floor as I sat in a chair next to this overly-classy looking blond guy.

"There's no need to complain, you know. I'm sorry, but the money is for admission fees and you can go into town today and get an ID cheap at the dollar store." He explained cautiously, obviously trying hard not to set me off.

"This is just obnoxious. I'm leaving now. Goodbye." I declared angrily, abruptly standing up and leaving Blondie, as I've decided to call him, shocked and disgruntled.

I quickly walked down the halls to the bathroom, almost slamming the door open but catching myself in time. I didn't want to make a scene on the first day. People would think I was crazy. I rushed into a stall and put the toilet seat down, sitting on it with my legs against my chest and sobbing quietly. I was so angry at myself. This happened every time I arrived at the first day; I would always blow it. I wasn't hot-tempered at all, but when I'm nervous I tend to act…not like myself. I continued crying like a baby until I heard a soft voice behind the stall door, sounding worried.

"Excuse me…but are you okay? Whoever you are?" a voice asked cautiously. I lifted my head off my knees and wiped it. My arms were glistening with tears.

"I-I'm fine. Don't worry about me." I responded despondently, my voice sounding a bit crackly from crying. I'm glad I wore water –proof make-up.

"No, you're not. Will you tell me what's bothering you? Maybe I can help." The voice suggested kindly. I smiled slightly at the sincerity in her words. I could tell she wasn't joking around. I slowly got up from the seat and stumbled slightly. My legs were cramped up from being pressed so tightly to my chest. Once I regained my ability to walk like a normal human being, I unlocked the stall door and stepped out shyly. The girl standing before me was taller than me by a couple inches, and her braided orange hair fell past her shoulders. Her eyes were kind and a pretty blue. She wore a purple t-shirt over a long sleeved green shirt, shorts with fluff at the ends, and black and purple tights covered her legs. Around her neck was a purple choker. I looked at her curiously, wondering why she wanted to help me.

The girl tilted her head confusedly when she finally saw me.

"Are you new here? I don't think I've ever seen you before…" she asked. I sighed.

"Yeah, I'm the new girl. Sorry for worrying you or something, but I have to go." I firmly stated, already making my way towards the door. She grabbed my wrist, much to my surprise.

"Hey, wait! You haven't explained why you were crying yet!" she exclaimed, the concern evident in her eyes. I shrugged nonchalantly, averting my eyes from hers. "Please. I don't want your first day here to suck. Just tell me." She pleaded, frowning. I huffed and tugged my wrist away. I thought I might as well just tell her. What did I have to lose?

"I'm such an idiot." I confessed, biting my lip. "I get nervous around new people and end up acting horribly around them. I'm already making bad impressions, and class hasn't even started yet!" I explained, gesticulating crazily like I did when I was angry.

"Oh. Well, everyone has their weak points, I guess. Just make a better second impression, and the first one might be forgotten." She suggested. I pondered that idea for a moment and took and deep breath, calming myself.

"I guess. Thanks." I mumbled, annoyed with how childish I was acting. I looked into her eyes once more, and they seemed to be smiling, matching her mouth. She really was a friendly person. I liked her already.

"No problem! I'm Iris by the way. I hope we can be friends, being in the same first period English class and all." She said happily. My eyes widened and I suddenly felt very relieved.

"Oh, good, at least I'll know someone now!" I laughed. "My name's Marikaya, but you can just call me Kaya. Most do." I told her.

"What a pretty name! I can't wait to introduce you to everyone else!" she squealed, looking excited. Then she remembered school was still in session. "Oh shit! We're gonna be late!" she exclaimed, grabbing my wrist once more and pulling me out the door and down the hallway. We ended up in busting into a classroom, and everyone stared at us. We probably both looked quite frazzled. I blushed from the attention. I didn't like it much. Iris, on the other hand, merely smiled and waved to everybody. She was just one of those people who nobody hates; I could tell right off the bat.

Only one person seemed to not be paying attention to us at all. He sat in the far back of the class, his eyes locked onto the screen of his PSP and his fingers pushing buttons furiously. His black hair fell across his face as he stared down at the device, and it covered his eyes. I found myself staring at him for a moment, intrigued, but was pulled back to reality when Iris poked my arm.

"-Kaya! Earth to Kaya!" she laughed.

"W-what? Sorry, did I zone out?" I apologized shyly. Iris chuckled once more and nodded, then pointed to the teacher.

"The teacher was talking to you." She said. Then she went to sit down in her seat at the front of the class, leaving me alone with the stern looking teacher. He smirked down at me.

"So, class, as I was saying, this is Miss Marikaya. Please treat her nicely." He grumbled. Then he pointed to a seat next to the PSP guy in the back. "Sit there." He must have noticed the boy playing on his PSP during class while looking back there and abruptly yelled, "Get your face out of that gaming device, boy, or you'll have detention for the next three weeks!" The boy looked up nonchalantly and sighed, pressing the power button on the PSP and sliding it into his desk before leaning his head on his hand and gazing outside.

I finally made my way to the back of the classroom, trying not to act as if I was aware of the stares I was getting from guys and girls alike. I sat quickly and took out my notebook. Then I lowered my gaze to my desk and tried to drown everything else out. Once I had calmed down a bit, I lifted my head and everyone was staring forward once more. I sighed silently in relief.

The rest of the class went by smoothly. The guy next to me, whom I decided to call PSP guy, was once again absorbed in a game without the teacher noticing; I would constantly hear the noise of buttons clicking and clacking in my left ear. His gaze almost never left his game, but when it did, he seemed to glance at me. It was very daunting, but I got used to it quickly. I won't lie and say that I didn't glance at him once in a while. Only once did our eyes actually meet. It seriously awkward. His eyes bored into mine, and I found them beautiful, to say the least. They were blue; the kind of blue that would be considered ice-blue. But they weren't cold or anything. Instead they seemed warm and inviting. I felt blood rise to my cheeks as he continued to stare at me, and my gaze left his first and traveled to my desk instead. I heard click-clacking again and deduced that he was most likely absorbed in his game once more. I glanced over to him for what I decided would be the last time, to see a faint pink coated his cheeks. My eyes widened at this, but I didn't want to read into it too much.

After first period Iris asked me what I had next and we were both ecstatic to find that we also had Calculus together. We got seat next to each other, much to my relief, and class went by in a blur of numbers and equations.

After the torture that is Calculus, Iris approached me and grabbed my arm. She smiled. "So, Kaya. Do you want to sit with me and my friends at lunch? We'd love to have you!"

I smiled back at her, but then bit my lip. "Um…I don't want to intrude…" I confessed, backing up a little. Iris shook her head quickly back and forth.

"No, no! You wouldn't be intruding at all! I promise! Please come sit with us!" she dragged me once more out the door, hopefully towards the cafeteria. But once we passed right by it, I was beginning to get confused and cleared my throat.

"Uh…Iris?"

"Yeah?"

"Where are we going, exactly?" I questioned, lifting one eyebrow. Iris let out a cute, girly giggle.

"The courtyard, of course! It's where we always eat lunch!" she answered. We reached a large double door and Iris finally stopped and let go of my arm.

"I need to warn you about the people in my group before you meet them. They're kind of…interesting." Iris warned me. I suddenly got nervous all over again.

"Interesting?"'

"Yeah, but don't worry. No one's gonna kill you or anything. Just...prepare yourself. Okay?" Iris told me. I looked at her curiously before nodding slowly and taking a deep breath. Iris opened the door. The sunlight immediately leaked through the cracks, effectively blinding me for a couple second until my eyes were adjusted. I found myself staring at a beautifully decorated courtyard complete with the greenest grass I've ever seen, flowers in artfully organized rows, and benches made with a shiny wood material. I smiled gently at the sight. It was really amazing; it looked as if they had hired expert landscape designers or something. As my eyes scanned the space, they finally landed on two students sitting on the grass near a big tree. I tilted my head slightly as I examined them.

Iris was leading the way as we made our way towards them. Neither of them had noticed us yet; they were immersed in talking and eating.

Iris and I stopped near them and finally gained their attention. They both turned around and smiled at Iris before their eyes landed on me. I blushed at the attention and bit my lip.

"Who's this?" The guy to our left asked confusedly, eyeing me like I was some kind of foreign creature. Iris rolled her blue eyes at him.

"Kentin, stop staring at her like she's a freaking alien. Geez, you're making her feel uncomfortable." She scolded the brown-haired boy with piercing emerald green eyes. I was a bit intimidated by the fact that two dog tags hung from his neck and he wore army pants. He looked like he had been to military camp or something of the sort.

"Well, sorry. It's just not every day that a new student comes to Amoris High. The last ones were probably the twins, right? And that was a year ago." He reminded Iris. The girl next to the boy rolled her eyes just as Iris had done.

"Kentin, just shut up now." The girl said. Then she smiled at me. "It's nice to meet you, um…"

"Marikaya." I interjected. The girl's eyes widened.

"What a cool name! Anyway, I'm Candy, the old new girl. If you need any advice on how to get used to all the crazy shit that goes on at Amoris, I'm your girl!" she offered, smiling broadly. She patted the space next to her. "Come on, relax! You can sit with us!"

I smiled back at her tentatively. "Thanks…" and I sat down on the grass. Iris sat beside me.

"Oh, and this dork over here is Kentin. He may look all tough, but he's actually a big softie, so don't let him intimidate you or anything, okay?" Candy smirked at Kentin as he scowled at her.

"Can't you just-" Kentin began to retort but Candy pulled a sandwich out of her bag and jammed it into his mouth, effectively shutting him up.

"Wha da ell wuzzat fur?" Kentin shouted with his mouth full of bread and peanut butter. All of us snickered at him. Then Candy scooted closer to give him a kiss on his cheek, making his face immediately turn a dark red. We all laughed. Just then two more boys and a girl walked over. One of them was PSP guy, and I stopped laughing and looked at my lap, not wanting him to look at me. This could be awkward.

"Oh my god. A new girl! This is so exciting!" A blue-haired boy bounded up to where I sat on the ground and immediately sat down right next to me, smiling so widely it left me wondering if it hurt his cheeks. I smiled back shyly. The boy, who wore a colorful array of clothing, as I observed, reached his hand out to me.

"Nice to meet ya! I'm Alexy!" he exclaimed happily. I reached my small hand out to his and he took it. His large hand completely encompassed my tiny one as he shook it wildly.

"I'm Marikaya, but you can just call me Kaya." I said, shaking his hand back.

"Sounds good to me!" Alexy said.

He let go of my hand and looked behind him, his violet eyes finding PSP guy. He looked back to me and pointed at him. "And that's my bro, Armin. Hey, Armin, say hi to Kaya!" Armin looked up from his PSP and put it in his pocket before looking at me. I could see faint recognition in his eyes. He had remembered me. He smiled faintly and raised his hand in a welcoming gesture before looking down to the ground and walking over to Kentin to sit next to him. I could hear them talking about some show on TV and I averted my gaze from Armin after realizing I hadn't stopped looking at him. The girl who had walked in with the twins was now talking to Candy and Alexy. She had short black hair and seemingly neon green eyes, which stood out against her dark skin. Just by looking at her you could tell she a sassy, tomboyish attitude about her.

"Well, little girl, I think you shouldn't worry about that too much, really. Amber just doesn't know when to let up." The girl declared, pressing her hands to her hips in a defiant gesture. Candy smiled.

"I guess you're right. There's nothing we can do, I guess. Alexy, are you sure it's okay?" Candy asked, looking concerned. Alexy smiled that broad smile once more and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah, it'll be alright. I've gotten used to it. Oh! We forgot to introduce you to Kaya, Kim!" he suddenly said, his eyes lighting up. "Kaya, c'mere!" Alexy said. I went over to their little cluster and smiled at Kim.

"Hi. I'm Kaya, the new girl." I introduced myself. Kim smiled lopsidedly.

"Great, another misfit for the group. Welcome aboard!" she draped her arm around my neck and squeezed slightly, jokingly choking me. I laughed.

"Oh, so this is the misfit group. Thanks for inviting me, Iris." I said sarcastically, making Kim snicker.

"Eh, while we may be misfits, we still know how to have fun. And being with us is a million times better than being with Miss Amber and her posse of stuck-up bitches." Kim informed me in a serious tone. I gulped.

"I'm guessing they're the rich, popular girls?" I bit my lip. I had some bad experiences with those types.

Kim nodded, then handed me a half of the sandwich, seeing that I had forgotten my lunch today.

"But don't worry about them. They only go after girls they see as a threat. Just don't make her angry." Candy suggested, rolling her eyes in emphasis.

"Okay then." I agreed, taking a large bite of the ham sandwich.

So tell me what you think so far! I'm already writing the second chapter at the moment, so I'll be updating again asap! Thanks for reading~