Disclaimer: I don't own The World Ends With You!

Of Music and Dances

What kind of music does she listen to?

This thought came so suddenly that Neku accidentally dropped the stuffed animal he had been tossing on his face. He sat up on his bed, turning down the music that had been blaring in his ears.

He'd learned that Beat, obviously, listened to rap music. And also, not so obviously, some soft rock music.

Rhyme listened to what her brother did, except she leaned more towards the soft rock.

Eri listened to pop music. Surprise surprise.

Joshua...well, that was a different story.

But, in the time he had known Shiki, he had never found out her true musical tastes.

He remembered, a couple months ago, that Shiki had stolen his headphones when the group was at his house. She returned them the next day - after he nearly had a panic attack - with an apologetic smile on her face. She had told him that her curiosity sometimes got the best of her, and he had just shrugged.

Now, he knew how she felt. He carefully put the orange haired stuffed cat, courtesy of their beloved seamstress, on his desk as he thought. He could just ask her, couldn't he? Neku quickly dismissed the thought. It'd be too weird. But what else could he do?

He spent a while devising a plan, or trying to. Echoing through his discarded headphones were different songs that he quickly shut off. He went back to pacing around his room, not quite understanding why it was such a big deal to him.

"Nee nee, kiita? Saigo ni wa hai ni naru. Kore. Kore? Shoumikigen, sugita-"

"Hello?" he answered quickly, caught off guard by the noise. A familiar, bubbly voice replied back.

"Hey, Neku! Are you ready for the dance on Friday? Shiki and I made dress clothes for you and Beat!"

Neku nearly slapped himself. He had forgotten all about the dance that their school was having. He had to go, as his friends had practically threatened him into going. In a few days, he was going to have to wear a stuffy suit along with those awful dress shoes Mr. H gave him. While he was thinking, Eri rambled on.

"The teachers said there'd be a lot of different music than usual, just for our new exchange students. Like that one American boy, Ty, who can hardly speak Japanese, though he is pretty cute..."

Neku hardly paid attention to what she was saying until she was nearly screaming into the phone, trying to get his attention.

"What?" he asked, his voice a tad annoyed. Eri must have rolled her eyes, because she took her sweet, sweet time before answering.

"I was asking if you were going to bring Shiki anything when you pick her up," she repeated, and Neku blinked.

"What do you mean?" he asked, clueless. The other line was silent for a moment, before the pinkette's voice sounded again, this time quieter.

"...You did ask Shiki to the dance, right?" she asked, and Neku flushed as his eyebrows knit together.

"Not yet! I was gonna do that...eventually," he replied, his tone slightly defensive. He was going to get around to it sometime in the next couple days. Eri was quiet again, which was starting to freak Neku out, since she's never quiet.

"Well, you're too late," she said simply, and he almost dropped the phone.

What?!

Neku sat at a decorated table near the back of the gymnasium, his hands fiddling with his clothes as he watched Shiki dance with her date.

Her date.

That wasn't him.

He slammed his head on the table, his frustration showing. He couldn't watch it anymore.

Shiki had come in with her date, her shoulder length brown hair put in a messy bun. Her green and black dress accented her eyes, which gleamed with excitement. She only had a chance to say hello to Eri before being whisked off to the dance floor. Which, of course, led to Neku's current predicament.

Why? Why him? Why did he have to be cursed with being at a dance while his best friend danced with some jerkface? Why did she have to say yes to said jerkface? Why couldn't he have just bucked up the nerve to ask her before it was too late? Why?!

"Hi Neku!" a voice chimed as he lifted his head from the table, his inner depression interrupted. The youngest Bito was standing there, her orange dress much different than her usual attire.

"Rhyme? What are you doing here?" Neku asked, surprised to see her there. She laughed, her eyes twinkling.

"I was told to make sure Beat didn't get into trouble, not that he would." At Neku's scoff, she continued, "Plus, I was chosen as one of the representatives of the junior high school, so here I am!"

Rhyme's smile was contagious, and he managed a small smile too. That is, until a guy came over and started hitting on Rhyme. Neku was laughing as Beat came over and threatened to send the guy to an early grave. Only after the guy ran away fearfully and Rhyme assured her brother that it was fine did he go back to the food table. Rhyme laughed, sending Neku a small wave before she walked away to go find her friends.

He heard songs start and end, most people dancing with each of them. Eri was dancing with the foreign exchange student she had talked about, her smile big. Beat was, surprisingly, talking with a girl by the food. Shiki was dancing and talking with her date. It wasn't until the night was half over did Neku decide to go home. He stood up to leave, but ran into someone, both of them dropping their things.

"Sorry," he said, not even looking at the person as he grabbed his coat off the floor, dusting it off slightly before throwing it over his shoulder.

"It's alright, Neku," came a small voice as Shiki bent down to pick up their music players that had fallen, stuffing hers back in her purse while handing him his.

"Shiki? What are you doing over here? What about your date?" he asked, his teeth clenching as he forced it the last word. Shiki paused, her sad expression marring her pretty face.

"Another guy that wanted to get close to Eri," she explained with a sigh, taking a seat at the table. "I was just thinking about going home."

Neku nodded, his eyes searching for the stupid boy who dared to use Shiki.

"I was gonna head home too," Neku replied, a very faint blush tainting his cheeks as he turned back to her. "I can walk you home."

Shiki blushed, stuttering a reply as she stood up again, following him out the door.

They walked in silence. Shiki cursed herself for not bringing a coat as she and he walked through the dark streets. Neku noticed her slight shivering and held the jacket out to her, his dress suit that he was wearing already much warmer than her short dress. She smiled gratefully, wrapping it around her petite body.

The streets of Shibuya were fairly empty, the occasional straggler running down the roads. All together, it was quite peaceful for a Friday night.

Neku knew the way to her house, so he just enjoyed the silence until they were a few houses from hers. One of Shiki's neighbors, a young girl with musical talents, was practicing that night. Neku paused, watching as Shiki smiled at the music before turning to thank him for the walk. She didn't get a chance to, though, as her hand was grabbed and she was pulled towards the orange haired boy.

"N-Neku...?" she managed to gasp out, and the teenager in question just shrugged with a straight face.

"You deserve one good dance tonight, don't you?"

With that, Neku led them - rather awkwardly at first - in a dance to the music. Shiki was surprised at first, but then her smile grew until she laughed a little. They danced in the streets even as people passed by.

Her neighbor must have seen them, for the melody slowed and became calmer. Shiki leaned against him as he led their dance, her eyes closed.

"Neku..." Shiki began quietly, her head underneath his.

"Hm?" he questioned, one eye opening. She was quiet for a moment.

"Thank you," she said softly as the song drew to a close. They stayed in their embrace until a bush rustling drew them back to the real world. A gap was quickly made between them as they jumped apart, their faces burning crimson. An awkward silence reigned between them as they looked everywhere but each other.

"Um..." Shiki began, trying to break the silence. The relief was given as her door opened, her dad in the doorway. He smiled at the two, before pointing to his watch. Shiki nodded and turned to Neku one final time, handing him his jacket.

"Thank you...for everything..."

As the door closed behind the brunette, Neku put a hand to his cheek. Shiki's light kiss made the spot tingle, and a smile found itself upon the normally stoic boy's cheek. He lingered for a few moments in front of her house before turning and walking towards his own.

A hand stuck down in his pocket and extracted the music player that had been sitting there. He started looking through the songs but paused when he noticed, much to his shock, it wasn't his. In his hands was Shiki's music player, which must have accidentally been switched with his when they fell.

With a smirk, he resumed walking and flipped through Shiki's playlist. Surprisingly, he knew a lot of the songs, the others being unique to Shiki.

He soon got home and played through her songs, going through the motions of getting ready for the enticing sleep that was in the near future.

Little did Neku and Shiki know that the same song played in each home as they drifted to sleep.

"A lullaby for you. Don't you worry, baby, I'll be here by your side..."

Meanwhile...

"You totally almost gave us away!" a feminine voice exclaimed in exasperation once Neku was out of earshot. The bushes that had earlier disrupted Neku and Shiki's moment gave a little shake with the words.

"Neku was too busy fantasizing about Shiki to have noticed us. I'm almost disappointed," another voice replied cooly.

"Well, I got the pictures. These'll be great Christmas gifts!" The first voice paused, before a loud rustle in the bushes indicated that the person had turned. "By the way, how did you know they were out here?"

A giggle was heard, but not from the feminine voice.

"Oh, I have my ways."

So, the plot bunny attacked me. Here it is! This is dedicated to Amulet Misty, who's lovely reviews have given me the inspiration I needed to write more!

By the way, the first song that plays is the Japanese version of Twister, just in case anyone didn't know.

There are references to two stories that I want to write. They will come in time!

By the way, can anyone guess who the two people at the end were? I hope I made it obvious!

Thanks for reading! Leave a review if you can!