I'm so sorry that I haven't posted in so long! Not that anybody cares. x'D I might continue Cinnamon and Sugar, but I don't really know yet. I don't have any storyline planned out for it or anything. It was basically a series of randomly concieved ideas that weren't edited at all. xD

This is in Neku's POV. Enjoy~

-LINE-

The first thing I noticed was that I couldn't breathe. I couldn't do anything, really; I tried to move, but my body wouldn't listen to me. Everything was pitch black. I wasn't dying, I was just... suspended in darkness. I couldn't even feel my heartbeat anymore. Would this be how I would spend my eternity? In the darkness, trapped?

"Hello, dear."

Struggling to open my eyes, I tried to place the voice. It sounded so familiar. I knew who it was... but at the same time, I didn't. Suddenly, warmth spread through my limbs, penetrating through the cold that had kept me from moving. Finally able to open my eyes, I stared directly above me. Staring right back at me were a pair of deep, purple eyes. I didn't know it was possible to have purple eyes... Still hovering over me, the voice emerged again.

"Time to wake up now, Neku~"

A more shrill voice came from all sides of me, yelling in my ears.

"Neku. Neku! NEKU!"

Opening my eyes, I noticed that the side of my face was throbbing, and Shiki was standing next to my bed, staring at me with relief all over her face. Blinking to clear my vision, I realized what she'd been doing.

"... Shiki? Why the hell are you in my room, and why are you SLAPPING me?" I asked angrily.

"I came over to tell you that we were going to hang out today with Beat and Rhyme today, so I waited downstairs for you, and I was waiting a long time, so I came in your room and told you to wake up, but you wouldn't! So I yelled at you for, like, 5 minutes, and you still wouldn't. So I slapped you awake. I thought you were dead!" She spouted frantically.

"... Get out." I said.

"Neku, don't be angry at me! I was just worried!" She cried.

"Um, okay. But I need to get dressed, and I don't think you want to see me naked."

"Oh! Okay, but hurry up, please. Beat and Rhyme are probably at Hachiko already." She called, walking out of the room.

"Whatever." I said, shutting the door behind her.

Ten minutes later, I was walking out the door with Shiki, with my headphones over my ears to drown out the noise around me. In a few minutes, we'd arrived at Hachiko.

"Yo, Phones!" Beat yelled out at me, smirking.

"Hello, Neku." Rhyme said with that cute little smile of hers. She was the only one who didn't irritate me daily.

"Hey." I said, trying to hold back a smile. It broke free anyways. Smiling was a rare thing for me since the games, and even before, but it was happening more frequently now. It was... nice.

"Man, I need some curry. Le's gooo!" Beat groaned, already running off toward Ramen Don, with Rhyme trailing behind him.

Plopping into a chair next to Shiki, across from Rhyme and Beat, I stuck my headphones over my ears. Once Shiki had realized that me and my headphones were a package deal, she had stopped bugging me about them. I didn't have my music that loud, anyways. Just enough to tune them out if I wanted to. A while later, four bowls were set in front of us. Two medium, one small, and one huge and full of curry.

"Ahhh, yeah!" Beat said happily, and proceeded to shove his face in his bowl.

"Thank you." Shiki and Rhyme said in unison.

Breaking my chopsticks apart, I started to lower them into my bowl. But before I could start eating, I noticed a boy across the room, staring at me. Even creepier, he didn't look away after I caught him. He just kept staring at me with an amused smirk on his face. He looked to be about my age, with dust-bunny brown hair and pale skin. Raising an eyebrow at him, I tried to get him to look away. But he just let out a small giggle at my obvious discomfort. Wow, girly. Even so, it sent goosebumps up my arms. Across the room, I could still hear it clearly. It sounded so familiar... I wonder why. Shaking my head and attempting to ignore him, I started eating. It was really unnerving, though.

"Something wrong, Neku?" Shiki asked with a worried look.

"Not really. There's just some weirdo staring at me from across the room." I said, pointing. That seemed to make him giggle even more.

"Aww, you should talk to him! He's really cute, and he's obviously checking you out." She said, smiling. She already knew that I was gay, but it was still awkward when she tried to talk about guys with me.

"Um, think I'll pass." I said.

A while later, we were walking out of the shop when I felt a small tap on my shoulder. Hoping that it wasn't the weirdo from the shop, I hesitantly turned around to look. And of course, who else would it be but him.

"Go on ahead, guys." I said to Shiki and the others, who nodded and kept walking, Shiki giving me a knowing look.

"Hello, Neku." the boy said, with that smirk he had worn in the shop. He had deep, purple eyes. Where had I seen them before...?

"I don't care how you got my name, and I don't want to know. But you are extremely creepy, and I'd appreciate it if you'd stay away from me, thanks." I said with as much venom as I could force at him. That should make him back off.

"How could you... Neku." He said with a small frown. Something twinged in my head. With a small flinch, I realized that I had heard that before. Who exactly was this kid? I could feel something pushing at the back of my mind... The more I thought about it, the worse my head hurt.

"Who are you?" I said, trying to hide the pain in my voice.

"Mother and Father call me Joshua. I guess you can call me Joshua too," he said.

That was it. Crumpling to the ground, I cried out in agony as a splitting pain shot through my head, and everything went black.

-LINE-

Heehee. Reviews are loved~