Disclaimer: I don't own Shugo Chara
Chapter Three
I woke up and felt extremely hot, it was like being in an overheated sauna on a summer day. Popping one eye open, I looked around to see that I was in my room and wearing my pajamas instead of the dress from the night before. I kicked the blankets away, feeling the cold morning air hit me as soft sunlight streamed through the closed windows.
"Amu honey, it's time to wake up," Mom's voice echoed up the stairs.
I opened my mouth to reply but nothing came except for a few coughs. Wanting to not let Mom worry, I tried to walk downstairs but was hit with a headache as soon as I sat upright. Hearing no response, Mom walked up the staircase, turned the knob on my bedroom door and came in.
"Amu, what's wrong?" Mom exclaimed when she saw my current state.
"N-nothing," I said hoarsely and fell back onto my pillow as a wave of exhaustion hit me.
I heard footsteps and a cold pair of hands placed itself onto my burning forehead. For the next few minutes, I heard some rustling and the squeak of the bedroom door, maybe Mom went back downstairs to do her own business.
"Amu," Ami's voice said through the doorway.
"Hey Ami," I smiled weakly and went back to closing my eyes.
"Ami," I heard Mom whisper something to her ears.
"Will do Mom," Ami said and dashed off, her loud footsteps echoing throughout the house.
I heard soft movements and felt something cold touch my forehead. Flinching at the sudden change in temperature, I opened my eyes to see Mom's worried expression.
"Mom, what's wrong?" I asked.
"You're sick Amu, probably the 24 hour flu," Mom answered and shifted the cold object which I noticed was an ice pack.
"Mom!" Ami piped up and ran into the bedroom.
"Yes honey?" Mom turned her head to look at Ami.
"Dad said yes as long as Amu doesn't go anywhere," Ami chirped and I gave her a questioning look.
"Splendid, go change then," Mom smiled and stood up.
"Mom, what's this about?" I asked.
"We're going to visit your relatives today to let you rest in peace Amu," Mom answered as she wrapped the blanket around me.
"So I'll be home alone?" I asked, that didn't seem like a bad idea actually.
"I'll go call your friends over so they can keep you company," Mom said and picked my phone.
As she flipped through the contacts, her expression became quirky like she didn't understand something. She continued to scroll down, I realized something...I have Utau's number on it! I panicked, what would Mom think when she finds out that I hang around a famous pop star?!
"Wait Mom, I'll call them for you," I quickly said which I regretted once I felt a searing headache.
"Are you sure honey?" Mom looked over at me and frowned.
"Yea, I can text them," I said and Mom handed the pink phone over to me.
I sighed in relief as the bedroom door closed, I was safe. Quickly looking through my contacts, I decided not to call anybody since I didn't want to infect them with my flu.
After about another hour of sleep, I woke up to hear the garage door open, the sound vibrated through the house. A car could be heard driving off and everything became quiet again. While I was sleeping, it seemed like Mom left me some medicine and a note telling me to go eat something once I felt better. Shifting onto my side, I stared at the balcony door, the curtains shaded out the bright light outside, it reminded me of a rainy day. Suddenly, my phone went off.
"Hello?" I answered.
"Amu?" A voice said from the other line.
"Hey Nagi, what's up?" I asked, my voice sounded so frail right now.
"Amu, what's wrong?" Nagi asked.
"Nothing, it's just the 24 hour flu," I answered and laid my head back down the pillow.
"Are you alright? Let me ask Rima to come over," Nagi said and I bolted up causing another headache.
"I'm fine Nagi, I just need some sleep," I said and rubbed my head.
"If that's what you want Amu," Nagi's voice trailed off, he seemed uncertain.
"Yes, I have to go back to sleep now, bye Nagi," I said quickly.
"Bye Amu," Nagi's reluctant voice said and I hung up.
I wondered why Nagi called, it's not like him to suddenly do that. Deciding to ponder the question another time, I drifted off to sleep.
As I dreamt, I suddenly felt hotter, it felt like somebody was rapidly puffing hot air into my ears. Feeling the heat rise, I mumbled something incoherent and opened my bloodshot eyes only to stare at two round midnight blue orbs.
"Gah!" I exclaimed and backed against the wall.
"You should've seen the look on your face Amu," Ikuto smirked and I glared at him.
"What are you doing here Ikuto, I was sleeping," I said and clutched a pillow to my chest.
"Utau called me and said you didn't go out today," Ikuto replied and sat down on my bed and talking up more space.
"I'm sick okay?!" I said frustratedly, my mind was in a jumble right now.
"I bet it's because you didn't wear a coat for your strapless dress yesterday," Ikuto emphasized the word.
"Well if you didn't agree to take me to the dance, I wouldn't be in this mess!" I retorted back, my vision was getting blurrier.
"Whatever, go back to sleep, you look like a train wreck," Ikuto said and tucked me into bed.
I huffed and buried my face in the purple blanket, it looked like the ice pack on my head melted into a puddle of warm water.
"Would you mind?" I asked and pointed to the water.
"Sure," Ikuto smiled and kissed my forehead and left me to get even redder.
As I lay in bed, I looked at my whitewashed ceiling, the intricate little golden designs shone brightly in the sunlight, it took me a whole summer to paint that. I continued to sulk, Ikuto was right to tell me to bring a coat, it was freezing yesterday.
"Here," Ikuto came back with a pack of fresh iced and a bowl of warm chicken soup.
"Did you make that?" I asked in surprise.
"Of course not, your Mom must've made it," Ikuto said and placed the steaming bowl on my nightstand table, the steam whipped around.
"Thanks Ikuto," I smiled gratefully as I sat up on my elbows.
"Want me to feed you?" Ikuto smirked devilishly.
"I can feed myself," I said indignantly and began to blow on the hot soup.
As I ate in silence, Ikuto perched on the side of my bed, his eyes were full of concern. When I finished, I asked Ikuto to hand me a glass of water and the two Tylenol pills on the table which he grudgingly obliged since I was sick.
"Ikuto, why are you here exactly?" I asked once I swallowed.
"To check up on you," Ikuto replied.
"And...?" I prompted.
"I had nothing to do," he answered and smirked.
I rolled my eyed playfully, he was still the same old Ikuto even though so much time had passed. When the medicine took effect, I began to feel drowsy and my visions blurred.
"Go to sleep," Ikuto said and patted my head.
"How do I know you won't try anything funny?" I accused and earned a chuckle from him.
"Don't worry, I won't do anything after until we're married," Ikuto whispered in my ear and that was the last thing I heard until I blacked out.
Later*
"Amu, we're home!" Mom's voice called as the front doors unlocked.
I immediately sat up and was glad to see the headache was gone. Looking briefly around my room, I saw no sign of Ikuto, it seemed he mastered the skills of being a ninja.
"Amu, are you feeling better honey?" Mom came into my room.
"Yea, I think the headache is gone," I smiled.
Mom came over and placed her warm hand in my forehead and smiled at seeing my temperature dropped. Ami was at the doorway, she had a smirk on her face for some odd reason.
"You seem to be better," Ami commented and came over, she was wearing a light blue sundress with her hair tied into twin braids.
"Yea," I said and ruffled her hair.
"Can you walk and eat properly?" Mom continued to check me for any other symptoms.
"I don't know, just woke up," I mumbled and realized I was in my sweaty pajamas all day.
"Take a hot bath and come downstairs okay?" Mom sighed when she saw I had a healthy color to my face.
"Sure Mom," I said and stood up, my legs wobbled slightly but I could walk.
I went over to my closet and took out a new pair of pajamas which was chalky blue and covered in bubbles.
"Amu-chan, are you okay~desu?" Su floated over and landed on my shoulders.
"Yea, I think it was 12 hours thing," I replied as Su breathed a sigh of relief.
"Gosh Amu, you worried us," Ran said.
"Well, you worried us until Ikuto came over," Miki said slyly and went back to her drawing.
"What's that suppose to mean?" I asked and blushed deeply.
"It means you like him enough to accept his company when you're sick," Miki answered.
"You DID reject all the others," Su implied.
"Yea, I think Ikuto is the special one here," Ran cheered mischievously.
"W-whatever," I said and stomped to the bathroom, my head was clearing up.
As hot water ran down my hair, I thought about what Ran had said. Did I really make Ikuto an exception to seeing me in my worst moments? Sighing, I turned off the water and stepped out onto the white fluffy bathroom mat, my towel wrapped tightly around me. I brushed my wet hair and put on my clothes. Even though in still felt a light headed, I was glad that I recovered quickly.
"Amu!" Ami cried when I stepped downstairs, the smelled of food wafted through the kitchen doors.
"Hey Ami," I said and smiled, she grew up to be quite cute.
"Play with me," Ami demanded and pointed over to the TV.
"Guitar Hero?" I asked skeptically, I though Ami outgrown that game already.
"Yup!" She grinned and handed me a red guitar that was connected to an amplifier.
"Okay, one, two, one two three four!" Ami exclaimed and music notes started to appear.
It was a relatively easy song to play to since I was addicted to that game for a year since it came out. Ami had a smile on her face as she sang into the microphone, it reminded me of when she was little.
"Amu, Ami, dinner is ready," Mom came out, she was wearing a white frilly apron.
As I sat down to dinner, I could hear a loud thud upstairs like something was knocked over. Horror struck my face as I realized what happened, Ikuto was back!
"Amu, what was that?" Mom asked suspiciously, I think she just an idea what was going on.
"Nothing Mom, maybe it's the wind, I left the windows open," I quickly said.
"You shouldn't open a window when you're sick," Dad intervened.
"Sorry Dad," I said and finished up my rice, wiping down the soy sauce on my lips.
Once I finished, I excused myself and dashed up the stairs, my long pink hair whipping against my face. Just as I suspected, Ikuto was sleeping on my bed, his tail swishing softly. I noticed a knocked over lamp, the white shade was partially ripped and the bulb was cracked, that careless cat.
"Ikuto, what are you doing here?" I hissed quietly.
"Nothing, it was too cold on the roof," Ikuto mumbled and rolled onto his side.
"You were on the roof?!" I asked in disbelief.
"Your parents were home," Ikuto replied and opened one eye.
"Whatever," I huffed and went to brush my hair.
Once I had my hair tied into a ponytail, I made my way over to my bed, feeling Heat emitting from Ikuto's body once I touched the mattress.
"Ikuto, I need to ask you something," I said and looked at the sleeping guy next to me.
"What?" He asked with his eyes shut.
"Were you serious when you said you love me?" I asked cautiously.
"Of course," he answered so causally that it made me blush harder.
"Whatever you perverted cat," I huffed and drew the blanket over my head.
As I listened to my own heartbeat, I became extremely aware of someone touching my back. Breathing quickly, I snuck a glance behind me to see Ikuto, he was staring at me.
"W-what?" I asked with a flushed face.
"What's your answer Amu?" Ikuto's melodic voice said, it made a shiver run down my spine.
"I-I don't know," I said, my feelings were jumbled right now.
"Guess I'll have to try harder then," Ikuto smirked.
"Go to sleep you cat," I said and snuggled into Ikuto's warm chest, it'll felt like a ball of heat.
"Good night Amu," Ikuto whispered and stroked my hair.