L.O.V.E M.E. T.O.M.O.R.R.O.W

By: K.DLC

Rating: M for future adult situations

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize, I obviously don't own.

After listening to the sound of drops tap against various objects, including her hand, which hung loosely out the window, Ame Yawarakai pulled back with a gentle sigh and closed the window, allowing the sweet smell of sugar cookies to become stronger within the house. Ame had always loved the smell of her mother's baking, but over the past few days, her love for the baked goods increased since it was the only real thing that remained from her old life.

A few weeks back, though to Ame it felt like years, the young seventeen year old girl had gone from living a rich and happy life with a close family to living in a two room apartment with her mother—a middle class life. The speed at which everything occurred still left Ame in shock. She still remembered arriving home from school and getting out of the chauffeured BMW to see her large home surrounded by police officers. Her mother stood at the steps crying as her husband was led to a police car in handcuffs.

The money they had lived comfortably off for so long had been acquired through illegal means. Shortly after her father had been sentenced, changes began to occur. A divorce was quickly filed and everything (That hadn't been confiscated) was sold. "With your father gone, things will be harder Ame, but we'll make it. We're strong women, ne?" Her mother had told her.

Luckily, she had been allowed to stay at her private school—Chujitsu Academy, with a scholarship, however, she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to stay. Things were very different. Many of her friends—aside from her four closest ones—had become her enemies. She had ruled the school and now she was scum. "They're pretty fake." She complained to herself.

"Ame! Telephone!" Her mother cheerfully called from the kitchen.

Ame pulled her dark hair back in to a pony tail and brushed her bangs out of her eyes as she left her room. She missed her cell phone. "Mm, I got it. Arigatou," The girl nodded, took the phone from her mother and headed back to her room. "Moshi Moshi."

"Ame-chan, it's raining again." A pouty feminine voice spoke through the phone, "Are you sad? Are you thinking about him again?"

"Rika-chan, I don't think that's any of your business." Ame replied, going back to sitting near her window, "But if you must know, I'm not thinking about…him." She swallowed. Just thinking of his name brought a sharp pain to her heart.

"Oh" Rika replied after a long pause, "Because I was."

"That really doesn't surprise me…." Ame told her friend with a bit of a laugh, "You've thought about him since the day you were born, haven't you?"

"I wasn't thinking about him like that—not this time!" Rika protested, "I was thinking about what he's been doing to you. It's totally rotten…"

"It's no big deal, Rika. It doesn't bother me."

Ame heard Rika sigh on the other end, "But I know it really does."

Ame wasn't surprised that Rika had been able to tell that she was lying. The two kept a strong friendship that dated back to kindergarten. "Mm." was all she replied.

"You should fight back or something, Ame. Your father was a low-life thief. Not you. He has no right to throw that title on you and especially after everything you two have been through…"

Ame dropped back on to her bed, "A king has no time for paupers." When Rika didn't reply, Ame sighed, "Daijoubu, daijoubu. Just…don't worry about it, okay?" It wasn't that she wanted to shut her friend up. She just didn't want to think about what was going on at Chujitsu.

"Hai…" Rika sighed in defeat, "But hey, listen, even if everyone else turns their back on you, you know you still have us, right? Fabulous four until the day we die, ne?" she giggled slightly.

"Hai. Until the day we die." Ame replied, smiling faintly. "I have to go Rika, but thanks for calling…"

"Mm. Anytime! Ja ne!" Rika ended the conversation and Ame rolled over to set the phone on her nightstand.

She sighed, pressing her face against the pillow. "Fabulous four until we die…" she repeated again. It had been a name she, Rika, Chise Nagashima and Yuki Odagiri had come up for their little group back in first grade—and it had stuck. She groaned loudly, muffling her sounds with her pillow to avoid startling her mother. Rika was right. Things at school just weren't fair.

He wasn't fair.

Wind-chimes jingled and jangled in the wind, school girls giggled as they entered the academy, boys laughed and joked as they followed suit. With it's rich population, high marks and wide variety of activities, Chujitsu Academy was a school for the best of the best. Students of Chujitsu were above and beyond all….though in reality, they were just as rotten as the average joe.

"Grab your pens and pencils, keep your Gucci and Prada and Luis Vuitton near by, here comes the thief!" A boy announced in to a make-shift speaker phone as he stood up on a desk and pointed at the person he spoke of. "You've been warned. If anything goes missing it's your own---Oi!"

"Stuff it, Hiroto!" Chise snapped, whacking the paper speaker phone out of his hand. "Ame is not a thief and you're being really annoying!" Chise crumbled up the paper and tossed it in to the nearest trash can. "Oi! Ame, we're over here!" She then waved to her friend.

"Looking kawaii today. I love your shoes, what are they?" Yuki asked, bouncing over.

"I don't know. The neighbor gave them to me as a welcome gift." Ame shrugged.

"Oh." Yuki replied, "Well, they're cute anyway."

"If you like that type of thing!" A girl teased, crouching over to look at Ame's shoes. "They look about as make shift as Hiroto's speaker phone! Don't they?" she looked back at some of her friends who nodded in agreement and laughed.

Ame glared, "Leave me alone Asakusa, or I'll—"

"Steal my shoes?" The girl laughed at her own comment and waved a hand at Ame as she walked away. "Oh how the mighty have fallen!"

"Yeah…well…you know what else looks make-shift!?" Chise called, annoyed. When Asakusa turned around with a raised brow, Chise smiled and asked, "What did you stuff your bra with this time?"

Asakusa gasped, stomped her foot and stormed off.

Chise, Yuki and Rika laughed. Ame only smiled, "I'm going to go to my locker. I'll catch you ladies later, okay?"

They nodded and Ame headed off.

Her locker was empty, aside from her pencil case and notebooks. Ame recalled the days where she'd open her locker and find some small surprise—a box of chocolates, a silver necklace or ring, a cute picture or sweet note. Her locker felt unusually bare without such gifts. Once she had gathered her things and set them in her bag, she looked to locker 47—the locker she had decorated with gifts and surprises. He had always loved them. He'd always smile and laugh and tell her he'd out-do her next time. But now there was no next time. There was no gift-giving competition. There was no laughter, no smile—Just empty lockers. "You….really are a jerk." She whispered under her breath.

Squeals and giggles and cheered interrupted her thoughts and she closed her locker. Any minute he'd be coming down that hall and he'd see her. He'd say nothing to her but would give her a look that broke her heart in to a million pieces. He did it day after day without any remorse.

"My mother thinks…"

"I don't want to hear what your mother thinks, baka! I just…I don't want to hear it any more!"

"…Fine."

Fine. That had been his last word to her. Since then, not a word—only looks. She wished for him to speak to her, even if they were hurtful words. Anything was better than the silence.

As the squeals and giggles and cheers grew in volume, Ame walked away from her locker and headed down a second hall. Back when she still had money, she had been the cause of all the excitement. She, along with her three friends, had ruled the school. People had respected her…because she had been the richest of the rich. Now, Tsuyoi Tomo was the top—the best of the best of the best. He was the one everyone fawned over. He had the power. His words were law.

"She has every right to be here if she has a scholarship." He had told the student body when students questioned him about what would be done in respects to the 'thieving pauper.' "But…bad habits are contagious and it's best to stay away...until she chooses to leave."

Ame sighed. Directly, he wasn't causing her any trouble but his words were misinterpreted by the student body and that caused her trouble. "Ah." There he was-- the short haired, dark eyed, lonely looking leader with a light complexion and distant eyes. Tsuyoi Tomo. He had gone down the secondary hall to avoid running in to her and had ended up doing it any way.

Their eyes met as they came down the hall and Tomo stopped. There he went giving her the look—a look of pity and regret. It was a look that expressed nothing but pain and sorrow. She felt her heart snap and crumble.

Behind him stood his pale haired friend—Nibai Kao. He gave her a smirk and Ame rolled her eyes. She had never been fond of Kao. He had always seemed so manipulative, greedy and two faced.

"Ame-chan, how's life at the bottom of the food chain?" He asked.

Tomo ignored the two and turned down a different hall. Kao shrugged, "He really does hate you now, even after everything."

"I want to try to fix things with him. I want to at least be friends with him." Ame informed.

"Well, you could start by apologizing to him." Kao tapped her nose with his finger and smirked, "Who would have guessed you were such a dirty little girl!"

"Excuse me?!" Ame raised her voice, swatting Kao's hand away. "I'm not some kind of slut."

"Yeah?" Kao asked then looked in the direction Tomo had gone, "Whatever you say. See ya around."

"Did you see him? Did you see?!" Rika grabbed on to Ame's arm and gave it a squeeze just as Kao left. "Oh, he gets cuter each and every day! Did you see him?"

"Yeah, I saw him."

Even if she hadn't wanted to, she had seen.

I don't need to apologize to him for anything. I haven't done anything to him. He should apologize to me, if anything, for acting so immature!

"I'm going to class. Bye"

They had met once Tomo had moved back to Japan from Paris and enrolled in a high-classed school owned by the Yawarakai family. Ame had been settling a dispute between two other students when she caught sight of him sitting on his own towards the back of the dining hall. "You're new," she had said, "I'm Yawarakai Ame. My pappa own's this building! He has a lot of money. I'm the princess. So you'll be nice to me ok?"

"My mamma has a lot of money too. I'll be nice to you if you're nice to me." Tomo had answered, seeming unimpressed with the fact that her father owned the school.

"I have to be nice to you first?" Ame asked, confused.

Tomo nodded.

"You're really brave!" Ame suddenly exclaimed, eyes wide as she covered her mouth with her hands. "That's….you're weird!"

Tomo didn't say anything. He didn't care that the girl had found him weird. He had just met her and she wasn't really important to him.

"You can be the prince cause I'm the princess, okay?"

"Why?" He asked, raising his brows.

"Cause every princess needs a prince." Ame frowned a little. "Hey! You should try it!"

Tomo thought about it a moment and nodded, realizing that maybe it was his chance to make a new friend. "Okay."

Things had escalated from there. They weren't sure how it had happened, but it had. By the time they had reached their first year of high school, their families had already agreed that they would marry and merge the two companies to improve and ensure financial success and power. Ame and Tomo had loved the idea.

But then the police came and everything changed.

Tomo sighed and slid in to his seat, setting his bag on top of the desk and taking out his notebook. He could feel eyes on him—girls were staring and fawning over him still. How annoying. He glanced at the empty desk a few seats up and sighed a second time, resting his cheek in his palm.

There had been so many lies that had been exposed during the arrest and trials. Those lies had ruined the way he saw Ame. And for the sake of his pride, self respect and his family's company, he had to forget her. He just hadn't realized it would be so difficult.

"Tsuyoi-kuuuun!" Rika smiled as she slid out of her seat and went to his desk. "How are you today?" She asked him. "I was going to talk to you this morning but you went in a different direction and it took some time to follow you."

Tomo looked at her, waiting for her to finish.

"I already talked to Ame and she doesn't have a problem with this…so…I was wondering if you wanted to go out some time? Just a walk maybe?" Rika asked hopefully, leaning over and resting her elbows on his desk.

"I can't."

"W-what? But…why not?" Rika asked, pouting, "Ame really did say it was okay.. and even though you're being a jerk to her…I can't just give up my dream. I really like you."

"I can't date you because she's still on my mind." He confessed, shrugging a little bit.

"So if she were gone there wouldn't be a problem?" Rika asked with a raised brow. Tomo said nothing in reply since their teacher had walked in and it was time for class to begin.

Rika went back to her seat and slid down a little. She couldn't betray Ame and force her to leave the school just for the sake of dating Tomo. No matter how much she loved him, there was no way she could betray such a long and close friendship. She pouted some more before raising her hand, "May I be excused?"

The teacher nodded and Rika left the room. Annoyed didn't even begin to explain how she felt. She had been crazy about Tomo ever since they had met. Even when things had begun to evolve between Tomo and Ame, Rika continued admiring him. Ame had realized that things between her and Tomo had finally ended and Rika had finally thought that she had been given her chance...but now she was ruining it!

No. It was wrong to blame Ame. How Tomo felt wasn't really her fault and Ame had already been through enough. Rika would just have to sit back and wait...hoping Tomo would change his mind a little later. As she continued down the hall, Rika realized she wasn't the only one there. "Chise, what are you doing out of class?"

Chise looked as surprised to see Rika as Rika was to see her, "I was just thinking...about Ame. Asakusa was talking about how pathetic Ame looked still clinging to idea of her and Tomo. Kao mentioned that Tomo was going to have a talk with her today...I think I know where it's going. I have karate and Yuki has piano but I thought one of us should be there, at least."

Rika nodded, "I can be there. I have soccer practice and it ends at the same time Tomo-kun ends archery. I can follow him from there to see if he goes to talk to her."

"Rika."

"What?"

"I heard something else too." Chise hesitated a little, fixing the collar of her shirt, "I heard that Ame isn't here on a scholarship at all."

"That's stupid. She couldn't afford to be here otherwise."

"Yeah but I heard that Kao's father was paying her tuition..."

Ame glanced at her watch. Tomo had told her to meet him near the bank at around 6:00 and it was now 6:30. He was late...which was unusual normally, but with his recent behavior, it didn't really surprise her. She sighed loudly, leaning against the wall and glancing at her watch once again. She had been so happy when he had approached her..even if he hadn't said much to her. If he wanted to talk, it was a first step to something--anything. Ame pushed off the wall when he spotted Tomo's car pull up at the curb. He climbed out and walked over to her quickly.

"I didn't think you'd come." Ame tried to smile.

"I want you to leave the school."

"Ex..cuse me?"

"I told you I didn't want to have anything to do with you any more." Tomo spoke so calmly that it gave Ame chills. He kept his gaze away from her and instead locked on a fallen leaf between them. "Is it really so hard to understand?"

"Is it really you? Or are you just repeating you're mother's jibberish again?" Ame asked quietly.

"You have no right to say that to me." Tomo sounded a little more heated as he glanced up at her. "You're beneath me now, Yawarakai-san, you owe me respect."

"Tomo-ku-"

"You're an eye sore to me now, Yawarakai-san. An eye sore. That's all you are to me, if not less. I don't want to see you…ever."

The sad boy turned to leave, "And by the way, it's Tsuyoi-sama to you now."

"Are you really going to play this game with me? Tomo….Tomo!" Ame called as the boy climbed in to a car.

"Rika came to talk to me today. She wanted to go for a walk. I turned her down but maybe...it's better if I do meet her. We both need to get on with our lives. Becoming involved with other things will make it easier. Our lives don't revolve around each other any more. Rika is...more my league now too."

She hurried forward and stopped to speak to him through the open window. "Did the money matter that much to you?"

"It wasn't even about the money, Yawarakai-san. Get your hands off my car."

"Tomo. Don't meet with Rika, please." Ame pleaded sounding a little angry at the same time. "She's my friend. You can't be that low! Don't use her just to hurt me, Tomo. She doesn't deserve it. Don't be a jerk!"

"What's wrong with Rika?"

"She...isn't me!"

"I know. But we need to move on. Leave Chujitsu and get away from my car, Yawarakai" Ame did just that, allowing him to drive away. She looked partially stunned. Her last name had sounded so bitter as it rolled off his lips. His feelings towards her had changed entirely. Was that really her Tomo?

Sighing quietly, Ame turned and headed back to her small apartment. That had been it—the official break up….and it hurt. Ame felt the tears begin to build in her eyes. She blinked them back—or at least did her best to. It wasn't the shock of being dumped for the first time that made her feel so horrible. It was the realization that things between her and Tomo had actually come to an end. They weren't a couple. They weren't friends. They weren't even enemies. She didn't…even think she existed in his world any more.

She took a deep breath and balled her hands in to fists at her sides, stopping at the top of the bridge. She took two more sharp breaths and tilted her head down. The pain was incredible. He had just…tossed her out. "Grrr…." She tapped her fists against the railing.

How…dare he! She thought as the tears finally began to fall. Best friends since the first grade, A couple since Junior high…and now….nothing! "I…I hate you Tsuyoi Tomo!" She called over the bridge. He had broken her heart and wounded her pride.

"Ame?" Kao stopped a few feet ahead of her, a plastic bag in hand. "Are you okay?" he asked with a raised brow.

Ame sniffed and shook her head, "Nothing."

"Are you okay?"

"….I don't think so."

Kao stood there silently as Ame stared over the bridge and allowed a few more tears to fall, "Here," he told her, holding out the plastic bag. "Cookies cheer everyone up."

Ame looked over to him, slightly confused. "What…are you up to?"

"Tomo told me he'd be coming to talk to you. I knew you'd need some support. I'm not totally rotten, you know." He kept the bag extended. "Here!"

Ame took a deep breath and approached Kao, "Arigatou…" but instead of taking the bag, she hugged him, burying her face against his chest.

"I was wondering when you were going to break." Kao sighed, hugging her back gently. "I never thought I'd live to see the day where the great Yawarakai Ame finally became fell."

Ame looked up at him, looking even more confused and seeming somewhat embarrassed. Slowly, she pulled away, drying her tears, "Gomen."

"S'ok." Kao replied and grinned at her.

"What?" She asked.

"Welcome to my world."