*A/N: I've finally decided to post the first part (of two) to the New Year's story I worked on last week. Originally, I was going to just put it up as one chapter, since it's not too long, but I split it up because it seems to have a natural break at the end of this part. Part two will most likely be shorter; it'll cover Amu's confession scene, which I'm still working on. :) Anyways, enjoy! And, again, I don't own Shugo Chara!*
A friend had stopped by her house just minutes before, and after an hour or so of mindless conversation over tea, her friend informed her that she had to leave. After seeing her friend to the door, the third year middle school girl sat on her bed, still holding her small, flowered teacup.
As she lifted the now empty teacup to her eyes, she saw a glimpse of her reflection. Another pair of golden eyes staring right back at her, straight into her mind and soul, framed by shoulder length pink hair, and complemented by a petite nose and small, pink lips. It had only been two years since Ikuto had left—one since she had last seen him at Nikaidou-sensei's wedding—and she was still looking for any signs of change in her, anything to prove to herself that she was indeed "growing up faster," as Ikuto had told her to do. She sighed; she looked no different than she had the year before, minus the fact that she was two and a half centimeters taller and that she had an ever so slight hint at developing her curves. And to Amu, this was no progress at all. Wishing with all her might for herself to grow up faster, Amu was actually thinking about Ikuto and how she was awaiting his return. In truth, all she wanted was for time to pass more quickly so that Ikuto would be home sooner.
Realizing how lethargic she had become, Amu snapped out of her reverie and leapt to her feet, deciding that the ultimate cure for her overflowing thoughts of the boy she loved would be to go to the convenience store and buy ice cream. Amu grabbed her coat and walked out the door, humming a tune and skipping along briskly. As she reached the store, she spotted a friend of hers waving at her from inside, who, unfortunately, was going to get her started with thinking about Ikuto again, seeing as she was Ikuto's younger sister.
"Hey Utau," Amu spoke coolly, already having trouble pushing out thoughts of Ikuto.
"Hey Amu, it's been a while, huh. How've you been?" Utau asked, seemingly just as indifferent.
"Well, the usual, I guess," Amu dejectedly replied, heaving a great sigh.
Utau raised an eyebrow and said, "Been thinking about Ikuto a lot, recently? I know I have. But, from the looks of it, you've been thinking about him even more, which is a surprise."
Amu seemed shocked that someone else could read her mind like that. "What? Why would I be thinking about your brother? He only calls me… every day… to tell me that he loves me. Uh, okay, fine, you got me. I have been thinking about Ikuto a lot… He's been gone for so long, and I miss having him here, even his teasing..." Amu trailed off. Wait, did I just say that out loud? Amu thought to herself.
"Hmm? Looks like someone has finally realized that she has fallen for I-ku-to. Ahem. Amu. You know who I mean, yes?" Utau questioned, half doubting that Amu really was dense enough to have not realized it.
"Uh… Me?" Amu asked, very unsure of herself.
"Yes, you dummy! Of course you! If I wasn't talking about you, who would I be talking about? Wait, don't answer that. Anyways, now that you know you love him, you've got to do something about it, jeez. Ikuto told me the other day that he'd be coming back for a visit at the start of the new year, in time for the countdown to 2012. So, you have two days to get ready to confess!" Utau exclaimed, clearly excited about the progress in Amu and Ikuto's relationship.
"Wait… What? W-w-who said I was going to c-confess? I mean, he's only coming back temporarily, right?" Amu sputtered, trying to keep calm.
Utau rolled her eyes and sighed. "Silly! It doesn't matter if Ikuto's only going to be back for a little while. You've got to make the most of this time with him, and tell him how you feel. I mean, it's only fair, seeing as he's already confessed to you several times and told you his feelings over the phone for so long. And who knows if he'll actually plan on leaving after hearing about that?"
Amu paused, deep in thought. Do I really want to do this? she considered in her head. After a few minutes of silence, Amu finally replied, "Okay, I'll do it. I mean, you're right… Ikuto's been very to the point about his feelings and how he promised to make me fall in love with him. I… I'll do it for Ikuto. And myself, too, I suppose…" She trailed off, biting her lip.
"Yes, yes, do it for yourself and my brother and not the girl giving you moral support and encouragement. Well, it's not like it matters much to me. I'll be on my way now," Utau replied in a rush, already on her way out the door.
"Wait! I mean, thank you Utau! For you, too! I'll tell you how it goes!" Amu yelled to the back of Utau's head while she was still within earshot.
"Yeah, yeah. See you around," Utau called back casually, smiling to herself. My dear brother, I've gotten you the best thank you gift for all the things you've done to protect me while we were under Easter's control. Ikuto, you'll finally have your happiness, she thought while walking home.
Back at the convenience store, Amu barely remembered what she was doing there in the first place after her conversation with Utau. Flustered, she put her hands on her cheeks, anxiously thinking about how she would go about confessing to the boy she loved. Eep! Ice cream! Right! Amu remembered, suddenly. Going to the frozen food section, Amu pulled out a small carton of chocolate "Moo-Moo" brand ice cream, which, again, triggered more memories of Ikuto, as his favorite flavor was also chocolate. What am I going to do with myself? I'm hopeless when it comes to him… Amu mentally sighed and made her way home.
The next morning, Amu sat around in her room, still considering her dilemma, all the while absent-mindedly eating from her carton of chocolate ice cream. What to do, what to do... I have a huge problem and no solution in sight...Oh dear... Amu inwardly sighed. What was a girl with a puny two days to figure out how to confess—amazingly—to do? An amazing boy, who had already confessed in, in Amu's opinion, an amazing way, was coming to see her, and she felt completely un-amazing. Deciding not to rely solely on herself for this matter, seeing as she couldn't seem to get past the mere idea of confessing, Amu went to her most trusted friend for advice, Nagihiko—formerly Nadeshiko—as he had always been able to help her, though he used to do so as a "girl." As she decided on calling Nagihiko up instead of traipsing down to his house, Amu waited while the ringing of the phone went on… and on… and on… Just as Amu was about to hang up, the phone clicked and Nagihiko's voice sounded on the other end.
"Hello?" Nagihiko sounded sleepy.
"Um, hi? This is Amu speaking, by the way. Did I wake you up?" Amu asked, now worried that she never considered the time. She just realized that she had woken up way earlier than usual, at, well, 4:00 a.m.
"Yeah, but it's fine. What's up?" said Nagihiko, stifling a yawn.
Amu hastily replied, "Nothing much… Well, actually, I wanted to tell you about something important…"
"Okay, go on," Nagihiko said, finally sounding awake.
"We-Well… Uh… The truth is… I… I'm in love with Ikuto!" Amu said in a rush.
"No kidding. What's new about that?"
Amu blinked in confusion. "What do you mean? I just realized it yesterday, and I've never told anyone about it… Only Utau should know," Amu spoke hesitantly.
"Well, how should I put this… I think everyone has pretty much guessed it by now. Only you are kind of slow about your own feelings, and you seemed unsure, so we didn't want to push you about it. But to us, it's pretty obvious," Nagihiko said nonchalantly.
"What? So, I'm the only one who didn't know…" Amu trailed off. "Never mind that. I wanted to ask about, er, well, confessing. I decided to confess to Ikuto when he comes back to visit next week, and I'm stuck on how to do so…"
Oh, big progress, big progress indeed, thought Nagihiko, raising his eyebrows, though Amu couldn't see it. "Well, just tell him your feelings, right? I mean, that's all there is to it, no?" Nagihiko said calmly.
"No, I meant, I want to be able to make my confession special. He… Ikuto's important to me, is what I finally realized. And, uh… I want to express it somehow. Not just the words will suffice." Amu, embarrassed, was glad that she was on the phone, so that Nagihiko wouldn't be able to see her blush.
"Hmm… I think it'll be best to do something on common ground, I guess. Something the both of you like or know. Something important to the both of you will resonate with him the most, yes?"
"Oh. Wait. What? That sounds good, I guess."
"Good? Good. Okay, well I gotta go. Dance practice starts in a bit, so, I'll talk to you later. Let me know how it goes!" Nagihiko exclaimed, chuckling to himself as he ended the call. Good luck with your confession, he smiled slightly at his thoughts.
"No, wait, what do you mean exactly by common ground?" Amu half yelled, starting to panic now that her lifeline was disappearing. Oh great, thanks, Nagi. You make it sound so easy. I think I like Nadeshiko much more than Nagihiko. At least she was nicer, even though it was really Nagi acting as a girl… thought Amu. Well, she could decide tomorrow. After all, there was one more day to figure it out. No, wait, Ikuto is returning tomorrow! Amu sat up in bed as she realized that she had been having a nightmare; she had fallen asleep in the midst of her pondering a solution to her problem after talking to the ever so helpful Nagi.
Whew, it was just a nightmare… she thought. Well, she still had a problem. It was seven a.m., and she had forty-eight hours instead of twenty-four, minus, give or take, eighteen hours for sleeping, another three hours for eating, giving a grand total of… twenty-seven hours. Reaching that conclusion, Amu really wanted to pull her hair out. But, she decided, she couldn't allow Ikuto to see her bald and all, so the best thing for her to do would be to play nicely and think calmly. Hmm… Tick, tock, goes the clock. Tap, tap, tap, I need to clip my nails some time…Wow, this is really not helping. Oh, wait, I got it! Amu jumped out of bed and onto her feet as inspiration struck. All that rhythmical ticking and tapping got her brain to start up, apparently, as she grabbed a paper and pencil, drew a music staff, and continued to scribble notes down for the next few minutes. Luckily, she wasn't entirely musically illiterate, as her mother had forced her to take piano lessons; she had resented them then, but now, Amu was extremely thankful. La la la… Won't Ikuto be surprised by this? But, it's not amazing enough by itself, huh? Great, and now I'm back to square one… And, miracle of miracles, inspiration knocked on her door a second time as Amu gave a yelp of excitement. This confession was going to be perfect.
*A/N: Please do review and tell me what you think! And I hope you stay tuned for part two!*