"Amu. Amu. Amu!"

Amu Hinamori was pulled back into reality when her friend Rima Mashiro began calling her name and snapping her fingers in her dazed friends face.

"I'm sorry Rima," Amu apologized. "I'm not all here. What is it?"

"I was just wondering if you're coming to my party this Friday?" she asked again.

"Oh. Yeah, I'm planning on it," she said. "Unless something comes up like a funeral or something, I'll be there."

"Good. What about the rest of you?" She looked around at the rest of the table. They were having lunch with the rest of their friends, Tadase Hotori, Yaya Yuki, the twins Nadeshiko and Nagihiko Fujasaki, Kairi Sanjo and Kukai Souma. The rest of them nodded in agreement.

"Now, I also invited some of my popular friends," she explained. "So no offense, but try not to embarrass anyone."

Amu rolled her eyes. She, Rima, and Nadeshiko were best friends, but the group easily got annoyed by Rima. She was fun to be around, but she was popular and she sometimes let it go to her head. Amu wondered why Rima even hung out with them, but she never said anything.

"Who else did you invite?" Kairi asked.

"Well, Utau Hoshina, Saaya-" but Amu cut her off with a scoff. "Amu, I'm sorry. I know you two don't like each other, but we're friends and I wanted to invite her. I also invited her friends."

"Well then this party should just be lots of fun," Amu said sarcastically.

"Of cheer up Amu. You don't even have to see her," Rima reminded. "Please come Amu and enjoy yourself." Rima started hugging Amu's arm and didn't let go until Amu promised that she would go. "Yay."

"Hey, did anyone watch Idol last night?" Nadeshiko asked.

"Ugh, yeah, my sister was watching it. She's convinced that she's going to become some famous singer one day," Amu explained. "I'm not a fan, but I do like that one German guy. He's pretty good. I voted for him a few times, but I only watch it when Ami does."

"Really?" Tadase asked. "I don't like him. He's pretty bad."

"You watch Idol?" Kukai asked. "Wow, Amu, are you sure you picked the right guy?"

"Of course I'm sure." She grabbed his hand and kissed him.

"Get a room you two," Rima said. "On second thought, no, I don't want to have to hear that."

"I'm with Rima on this one," Kairi said. "Please keep it G rated."

"That'll be a bit difficult, but we'll try," Amu said with a small laugh.

"Well, lunch is about over, so I'm going to go empty my tray," Yaya said.

"I'll go with you," Amu offered and picked up her tray.

"Amu, you didn't hardly eat anything," Tadase pointed out and gestured to her almost full tray of food.

"Well, I'm not very hungry," she explained. "Plus my stomach's upset. I'll eat more when I feel a little better."

"Okay. I'll be right back." She turned and walked to the trash cans. "I'll be right back," she said when she returned. "I'll see you guys later."

Amu walked into the bathroom and locked herself into a stall. She thanked God that there was no one else in the bathroom, because she almost instantly threw up. When she was done, she popped in some minty gum and flushed the toilet.

"Amu, are you in here?" She heard Nadeshiko's voice ring through the small room.

"Hey," Amu said once she got out. She washed her hands and started drying them on her pants after noticing that the bathroom was still out of paper towels.

"Amu-chan, are you okay?" Nadeshiko asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I've been worried about you," Nadeshiko said. "You haven't been eating well, and you're just not yourself lately. Is there something you want to talk about?"

"No, I'll be fine Nadeshiko-chan," she assured her.

"You know that you can tell me anything, right? I'll keep it a secret if you need me to."

"Of course," Amu said. "I'd trust me with my life." She made a backwards "c" with her right hand and Nadeshiko made a "c" with her left hand and put it together with Amu's, completing the heart. "Lylas," she said and the two hugged and exited the bathroom.

"Crap," Nadeshiko said once she saw that the cafeteria was emptying. "Once this clears, can you come back to the table with me to get my purse?"

"Of course," Amu said and grabbed Nadeshiko by the wrist. As soon as she saw an opening, she ran and pulled her purple haired friend along behind her. They got through the rest of the crowd and got the purse quickly, even though Amu had gotten knocked over.

"Thanks for coming back with me," Nadeshiko said. "But are you okay? You hit the ground pretty hard."

"I'm okay," Amu assured. "I don't break that easy."

"Good. Now let's go before we're late for class," she suggested.

"Good idea," Amu agreed and they both dashed to their Algebra class. Upon arriving, though, they realized that they'd forgotten their books.

"Don't worry, I'll go get them," Amu offered. "You go inside. I'll take the blame this time for being late. It's my turn."

"Thanks Amu," Nadeshiko said briefly before going inside and sitting in her desk in the back.

"I'm telling you, that girl's going to get me expelled one of these days," Amu said once she was on her way to Nadehiko's locker. She entered the combination and retrieved both of their textbooks. She grabbed Nadeshiko's with a neat green cover, and hers, with no cover and papers jammed throughout. She also got her friends folder and kicked the door shut and turned on her heel. She ran back to the classroom and walked inside and as soon as she did, every head turned in her direction.

"Hinamori-san, why are you so late?" asked the teacher.

"Um, forgot my book," she mumbled and walked to her seat in the back with her head down.

"Thanks," Nadeshiko whispered when she was handed her textbook.

"No problem," Amu said.

"Well it will be a problem if you end up getting written up and sent to the office if you're late too many more times," she hissed.

"It's better than both of us getting in trouble," Amu said. "It's a good thing that they were in your locker and not mine."

"How can you find anything in there?" Nadeshiko asked and watched Amu flip through her book.

"It's actually rather easy," she answered. She smiled when she pulled out the homework assignment. "Crap, can I copy the last three?"

"Sure. I owe you," Nadeshiko answered and pushed her completed sheet towards her friend. Amu quickly finished her own when the teacher walked by and collected it.

The lesson drug on for another half hour. They eventually packed up their things and picked up their homework on the way to the next class. The two girls parted ways when they reached Nadeshiko's locker. Just as she rounded the corner to the alcove where her locker was, Amu ran straight into someone and knocked both of their books on the ground.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry," she apologized and bent down to pick up the books. "Are you okay?" She looked up to see a pair of dazzling purple eyes. "You're Ikuto Tsukyomi, right?"

"Yeah. Um, here's your book."

"Thanks." She averted her eyes and handed him his things. "I'm sorry. Here's your stuff," she said and walked around him to her locker, keeping her head down the whole time.

She put the algebra book in her locker and pulled out her Chemistry book and Japanese book. She walked up to the third floor and slid into her seat just before the bell rang.

"Alright, clear your desks," the teacher commanded. "I'm passing out the test and answer sheets. Do not write on the test. If you do throw it away. Put your name on the answer sheet and begin when I give you the test."

Amu looked around the room and caught Tadase's eye. They smiled at each other and mouthed "good luck."

A hundred thoughts whirled through her head once she got her test. She didn't remember what an alloy was or how to figure out what bonded with what on the periodic table. She didn't remember what percent of the earth's atmosphere was nitrogen or what happened when sugar mixed with sulfuric acid. She guessed on a lot of the questions, but was thankful when she figured out the essay questions. She turned in the test at the end of the period and hoped for the best.

Afterwards, Tadase walked her to Japanese and he went down to the first floor for gym. Japanese was her best subject, so it went by quickly and easily. She completed the assignments and then did her homework in class. When she was done, she began to work on some homework for other classes.

The bell rang and she walked out of class with Kairi. Things had been a little strained between the two of them recently after he admitted his feelings for her, but they were still close friends. They left the school together and walked along the streets until they had to part ways to go to their respective destinations.

Amu walked into her house as quietly as possible, praying the door wouldn't creak and that she'd be able to make it to her room without anyone realizing that she'd come home. She managed to slip through the door and up to her room before she heard sounds downstairs. A few minutes later, a small knock was heard outside her door.

"It's Ami," the girl on the other side whispered.

Amu jumped to her feet and tip toed over to the door. She peered through the crack in her door and saw that her little sister was standing alone. When she saw this, she quietly opened the door and welcomed her little sister into her bedroom.

"Hi Ami. What's up?" Amu asked.

"They're fighting again," Ami said.

"I know it's hard, but you'll be okay," Amu assured and sat down on her bed, gesturing for her sister to follow.

"Yeah, but I don't like it. Mom and dad never fought," she grumbled.

"Well, dad's not around anymore," Amu pointed out gently, "And for some reason, he makes mom happy. Couldn't you be glad for mom?"

"I know," Ami said. "It's just that I don't like seeing mom with anyone else besides dad, and this new guy isn't always nice to her."

"I know Ami. The truth is; he's not a very good man. But even though they fight, he's good to momma. Nothing we say could make her get rid of him," the elder sister explained.

"Amu, why do you always sneak around?" the girl asked.

"Well, just like you, I don't like the fighting," Amu explained. "So I just stay up here, and I figure that if they don't think about me being up here, then I won't get involved."

"You'll always be there for me, right Amu-chan?" Ami asked with wide, watery eyes.

"Of course I will," she answered and wrapped her little sister in a big hug. "I love you, and I'll do whatever I can to keep you safe."

"I love you too Amu."

A single tear escaped from Amu's eye, and she was glad that it went unnoticed by her little sister. Only Amu knew what really went on in the house, and she had to be strong for her family.

"Anyway, don't you have some homework to do?" Amu asked. "Didn't you say you had a test coming up? You don't want to be like me and have to guess on the answers, do you?"

"Yeah I do have some homework left," Ami said and hopped off of the bed. Just as she opened the bedroom door to leave, however, she turned back to her sister. "And you're wrong Onee-chan. I want to be just like you." With that, she smiled and walked to her bedroom.

Amu sighed and collapsed onto her bed and clutched a pillow to her chest. "Trust me Ami, no you don't. You don't want to be anything like me."
***