I. Meetings

And I don't want the world to see me, 'cause I don't think that they'd understand. When everything's meant to be broken, I just want you to know who I am.

Goo Goo Dolls - Iris

Every story has a beginning; the part when you meet the main character who is beautifully imperfect and their struggles in life. In love.

Will it have a happy ending? There's no telling that at the moment. Stories are told and explained and feelings and drama are pictured in great detail as the protagonist fulfills her destiny.

Our heroine? Hinamori Amu. Is she really fit to be a called that? No, she isn't. And that is what makes her truly incredible. Because even the most plain people aren't all that ordinary in the end.

Still waters run deep, is what they say after all.

Twelfth of September, 2011 - freshman year - 8.17 AM

With a last tug at her skirt, Amu entered the school. People were gathered together in circles; laughing and hugging and doing who-knows-what before the bell would ring.

She was used to it; it had always been this way. Luckily, only a few boys glanced over at her as she sat down beside one of the few trees of the property, her headphones soon taken out of her striped backpack.

Cliché? It might be, but it was far better than anything else, and she surely didn't feel like standing in the middle of the place like a complete moron.

She could hear the slow shuffling of her peers as they walked over to her, staring. She only looked back, her eyes slanted and her look vicious.

"Hey, Hinamori," one of them called, a girl with long, brown hair. Amu nodded in her direction as she looked back at the screen of her mp3; wondering what song was playing.

"Could you please find another place to sit? You see we'd like to be here and well, you're only alone after all." Amu's eyes widened, mostly surprised but also a bit ashamed.

"No," she blandly answered, as she struggled to keep her eyes locked onto the other's. The brown-headed girl lowered her glance as she stepped away, annoyed with the antics of the lonesome girl.

"I told you she would say that. She's such a waste of space!" Another girl stated rather loudly, as she glared back at the pink-head. Amu tried to look at something else, desperately trying not to listen to them.

Of course she was failing, and briefly she thought about getting up. But she knew that the others wanted that, so she kept put and set the volume higher.

Maybe it would've been better for her to get there later, but she knew it would worry her mother if she loitered around at home… And since the school was in the same street as her house, she couldn't exactly stay nearby.

In front of her, a flash of blue passed by, and even before her mind could register anything, the person fell down, landing only a few meters from her.

Forgetting her previous thoughts, she quickly got up, dashing towards the person to see if something happened to him.

"Are you alright?" she asked, as she pushed away some of the blue strands that covered his eyes. He groaned in return as he placed his hands on the pavement, straightening himself up.

"I'm fine," he mumbled lowly in return, his eyes glancing up at the girl. "Why are you even talking to me?"

"What do you mean?" Amu asked, worried that she did something wrong. The boy sighed as he stood up.

"Ikuto. Does that ring any bells?" Blinking, she wondered what he meant. But as the bell rang clearly through-out the school, the boy was nowhere to be seen, already lost in the huge crowd.

'Strange…'

Twelfth of September, 2011 - freshman year - 9.54 AM

With a silent sigh, Amu slacked off against the yellow wall behind her. Just like always, she sat at the back of the class; her hands placed on her lap, her thumbs fiddling with one another and her eyes glancing down.

Even now she still wondered what the guy had meant when he said 'Ikuto'. It sounded all too familiar, and she was almost sure that it was a name… What did it had to do with her helping him?

"Hinamori, can you read the text on page six?" She nodded vaguely, distracted by her thoughts and feeling almost unable to concentrate on the words in front of her. But she knew she had to, so monotonous, she began reading.

Twelfth of September, 2011 - freshman year - 12.13 AM

Walking through yet another hallway, the young Hinamori let herself fall to the ground. She still didn't know who or what 'Ikuto' was, and since she had no friends, she didn't really know who she could ask.

"Yaya-chii wants sugar!" Interest piqued, Amu tried to look around the corner. Before she knew it - and before she could look-, a pigtailed girl appeared, jumping up and down. Next to the said girl was a petite one; she looked frail with her short gestalt and her long, wavy blonde hair, but the look in her eyes clearly spelled out that she wasn't a kitten to pet without gloves.

The slightly taller, yet immature one, yelled out something as she dashed towards Amu, eyes gleaming and hair wiggling.

"Hey! Do you have candy?" she asked, almost pleadingly. Amu bobbed her head and nodded slightly. The other girl giggled loudly in return as she held out her hands.

"I'm Yaya! And the grumpy one is Rima… But don't let her hear that!"

"I can hear you," the blonde stated incredulously as she put her hands to her hips.

"Um - I'm going, Amu, see you later!" And with that last promise, the girl fled, scared that the smaller one would follow her.

"Hm." Rima let out, as she took a glance at Amu. The pink-head looked around nervously, not knowing what to say.

"I'm Amu… Nice to meet you, Rima," she said, feeling a bit more comfortable now that the other was staring at her phone.

The blonde shrugged and muttered something. Her gaze was still fixed upon the screen, and Amu wondered what it was about once she saw the scowl appear on the pale face of the girl right in front of her.

"You shouldn't frown. As bad as life can get, you should still stay optimistic," Amu said, hoping that it would help the girl. She didn't even know her, but she still felt that the girl wasn't that bad. After all, she could've easily went after the hyperactive girl instead of staying with her.

"You don't know what's wrong…" Rima answered.

Knowing that pushing wouldn't work, Amu only nodded. "True, I don't. But doesn't everyone have their demons?"

Rima looked up to her, before grinning faintly.

"You aren't so bad… Amu."

Twelfth of September, 2011 - freshman year - 2.41 PM

Picking up her English book from the desk, she quickly threw it into her bag before moving along with the crowd. She didn't know anyone in her class, but she didn't mind. Almost two weeks had passed and at least she knew some people in the school now.

"Thanks…" She could feel a warm breathe touch her neck before it disappeared along with the blurry shapes of other people.

'Huh?' Touching the place where she had felt the cozy feeling, she couldn't help but wonder if whatever happened was real. And if it was - was it the boy from before? Why didn't he just tell her that right in the face? Deciding that her thoughts would only hinder her, she kept them on hold as she followed the rest to the class, where her science teacher would drone on about things that didn't interest her for hours.

Note: A cliché that isn't cliché yet is still defined as a cliché? Yeah, I am a pro at making things sound difficult, it's part of my wonderful personality. I'm guessing that most of you won't note the sarcasm, so the reviews are going to be fun~ Either way, I have a plan with this. A plan that makes use of every single problem the characters have. Of course, they're all quite obvious, like Rima's. But don't worry, I'll make sure to elaborate on her feelings and the effects of them a lot more than some do. At least, that's what I'm hoping.

Also, this will take place during the four years of high school. All characters will eventually come up, but don't expect them to be introduced immediately. I am not sure how long this will end up to be, but it will probably be around 20-25 chapters. This means that every 'arc' (every year) will be around 5 or 6 chapters. This one, being the start, is only about one day, but do expect others to go along quicker. Instead of splitting up the day in parts and explaining them, the other chapters will only have one random hour each day, and will contain 5-10 days each.

That's all, I think? Well, aside from the fact that this is my first multi-chaptered fic since 2009.