Morg: Heyo! So life in China is cool. I really enjoy my job. It's fairly rewarding.
Ikuto: No one cares about that. Get to the story.
Amu: Harsh.
Morg: It's partly true though. The readers came to read.
Ikuto: I have no idea how you became a teacher. Seriously? The readers came to read?
Amu: At least she doesn't own us.
Morg: Maybe someday…
~Be a Little Inappropriate~
The worst thing about going to bed angry was waking up angry. Amu had definitely woken up angry. Part of her really wasn't surprised that Ikuto had skipped. The majority of her mind was rather pissed that he had. The man had been getting better in the subject, but they still had a long ways to go before he was anywhere close to getting the A he needed. That and Amu just knew that the reason for his absence was going to be something incredibly stupid. There was no way something had actually happened to him to make Ikuto miss their session. Amu wasn't worried about him. At least, not yet. His safety could be a concern after she got her hands on him.
Dragging her brush through her hair, Amu scowled at her mirror. If Ikuto thought that she was going to keep helping him after he missed when she specifically told him not to, then he definitely had another thing coming to him. Sure, he was an idiot. That was the reason that he needed a tutor, but she had had no idea that he was really that dumb.
Storming out her front door, ponytail swinging, Amu barely grumbled a goodbye to her parents. They wouldn't take offense to her cold personality. They thought she was cool for it. Then again, Amu's mind wasn't really focused on her parents. Not when she had an idiot to destroy.
XXX
Ikuto couldn't shake the feeling that his day wasn't going to be a good one. Something just felt off. There were plenty of bad omens around him. Like the fact that his toothpaste had fallen off the bristles of his toothbrush before he'd gotten it into his mouth. That was never a good thing. And he'd had to actually look for his favorite pair of shoes when they should have been waiting for him by the door. Something was just off. He contemplated getting back into bed and calling in sick.
Despite his morning not being the best, Ikuto still got himself to school. He wasn't early, but he wasn't late. At least he had that going for him. The girls that always seemed to be waiting for his arrival also made him a bit more optimistic about his day. Not a lot could go wrong when everything about him was so right.
Smirking, Ikuto just wrapped his arms around a couple of the girls that were waiting for him. Things were definitely looking up. "Ladies, let's get to class."
Their giggles never sounded so good. Surely his day could only get better.
That's what he thought until a pink ball of fury stood directly in his path. Ikuto blinked as he stared down at Amu. She never approached him in school. Then again, he had skipped their tutoring session the night before. Man, did she look pissed. "Hey, Amu."
Eyes narrowing to slits, Amu turned to look at one girl and then the other. "Leave."
Ikuto wasn't at all surprised to find that the two girls that he'd been walking with didn't hesitate to run for it. He would have, too, if not for the fact that he knew Amu would definitely kill him. "Don't be rude to people you don't know."
Turning her glare back to the boy she despised above the rest, Amu let out a silent sigh. She'd already known that Ikuto hadn't done anything except decide to skip. Still, seeing that he was perfectly fine and flirting with sluts still stung. "You have one chance to explain yourself. Did I not tell you that if you missed then I wouldn't waste my time?"
So maybe skipping hadn't been the best idea that he'd ever had. Ikuto couldn't help but run his fingers through his hair. For the first time in his life, he actually, sort of, maybe felt bad about something he'd done. There was no doubt that Amu had spent the time in the library working on other work. It wasn't like he'd completely wasted her time. He'd only missed once. "Something came up."
The excuse was half-assed, if that. All it did was infuriate Amu more. To think she'd even given him a chance to explain himself. Amu was so angry that she couldn't do anything but clench her fists and grit her teeth. "To think I wasted time actually looking for you to make certain that you weren't hurt. Fuck that and fuck you. We're done."
Ikuto as stunned. The girl before him, the one that he'd assumed was so full of herself to not have room to think about others was admitting to being worried about him because he hadn't been there. It wasn't that he thought Amu was a selfish person, oh no. He'd just thought that she'd never take the time to actually care about someone else. Not when she was so focused on her future. That guilty feeling came back. "Amu, wait."
Not pausing as she moved down the hall, Amu refused to let her tears of anger fall. She was so completely frustrated with the idiot behind her that she was about ready to cry. Damn him! There was no way that she was going to allow a tear to fall for him. Not when he didn't deserve a second more of her time.
Catching up to the shorter girl was rather easy for Ikuto, especially with his long legs. Actually getting Amu to listen to what he had to say was going to be quite the challenge. "Seriously, just listen to me for a moment."
Shrugging off the hand that grabbed her, Amu shook her head. "No, I gave you a chance and you blew it. I won't waste my time by giving you another. Go ahead and fail."
Knowing that he'd really messed up, Ikuto cut in front of the angry girl to halt her escape. "Listen to me, please."
"No. Move."
Sidestepping so that Amu couldn't get around him, Ikuto did the only logical thing his mind could think of. He pulled Amu into his chest and hugged her so tight that she couldn't get away from him. "I'm serious. Listen to me for just a second."
Struggling proved to be pointless. Ikuto was a lot stronger than she was, though Amu really didn't want to admit that. "Fine. Talk."
Pleased that he was being given a chance, Ikuto didn't dare to loosen the grip that he had on the girl in his arms. He might be almost failing a class, but that didn't mean that Ikuto was stupid enough to just let Amu go. He had to say what he needed to say first. Then she could make whatever decision that she wanted. "Yes, I skipped yesterday. I shouldn't have done that. I had a moment of weakness and decided that some other things were more important. Now I feel like an idiot and I know it was the wrong choice. However, I can't go back and change it. I can promise you that it won't happen again. Fuck, I'll even be on time. Just give me the chance to prove it to you."
Amu really didn't want to do that. Ikuto had already had a chance and had royally messed it up. Why should she consider giving him a second one when she knew the result was most likely to be the same? "You are an idiot."
Sighing, Ikuto just continued to hold the girl in his arms. It really didn't matter to him that they were both incredibly late for their first class, or that they were standing in the middle of the hallway. Getting Amu to forgive him was what he needed. His grade be damned, Ikuto just didn't want her to hate him. "I know. I really am. I wouldn't blame you for not giving me a second chance. You've helped me so much already that I at least know what Tsukasa's talking about during class. Even if you say you won't help me, I'll still be in the library to study on our usual days."
Doubting that Ikuto would actually keep his word, Amu pushed back. She was a bit surprised that he just let her go, though not entirely. He had said what he wanted to say. "Fine. You go to the library today after school and see if I come. Maybe I'll be the one that stands you up."
Ikuto knew that he wasn't going to get a better answer than that. In complete honesty, it was more of a chance than he'd thought he was going to get the moment he'd laid eyes on Amu's upset expression. He'd definitely dodged a bullet.
XXX
With the school day winding down, Ikuto couldn't help but become a bit anxious. The emotion was no unlike him that he almost didn't know how to handle it. If Amu decided not to come then he deserved being stood up, though he'd been honest when he'd said that he'd keep studying even if she didn't come. Graduating was important, but he also didn't want her hard work to go to waste.
The girl was busy, Ikuto knew that. She had lists of her lists so that she wouldn't forget everything her brain wanted her to get done. As much as Ikuto wanted Amu to relax and have fun, he knew that she couldn't do that when so many things were pressing down on her. Though, Ikuto couldn't deny that he'd thought about how she'd be a spitfire when it came to doing some not so appropriate things.
Sighing, the rather popular male made his way through the school. The library was where he was going to go even if it wasn't his favorite place to be.
"Ikuto-sama, let's go play."'
A different girl than the one that had approached him the day before stood just to his side. Her fingers were clasped around his sleeve, though Ikuto had no problem shaking her off. "Not today. I'm busy."
"But, Ikuto!"
Her whiny expression really wasn't cute. Ikuto didn't want to deal with her. Even if he didn't have to study, he would have turned her down. "Seriously, leave me alone."
Pouting, the girl jutted out her bottom lip. "Saaya-chan said that you were going to the library today. That's no fun. Just come with me. We can study together."
Ikuto should have known that some of the other girls that he'd already turned down had spread the news that he was going to be in the library after school. He shouldn't have told them that that was where he was going to be. "I don't want to study with you. I want to study by myself."
Leaving the girl behind, Ikuto continued on his way through the halls. A part of him dared to hope that Amu was going to be at their usual table. It was a foolish hope. One that he felt stupid for the moment he saw Amu's seat empty. Of course she didn't come. He was the one that had messed up. Still, he'd said that he was going to study.
Dropping his bag onto the table they used, Ikuto pulled out his books and notes. Amu wasn't there to explain everything to him, but he could read. Putting forth some kind of effort would help him out, even if it wasn't much. Besides, if she did show up then he didn't want to look like he was slacking. There was no way that she'd help him if he wasn't trying on his own.
Giggles interrupted Ikuto in the middle of a paragraph. He'd been so focused on memorizing the important information that he was reading that he hadn't noticed the amount of people in the library. For all the hours that he'd spent there with Amu before, Ikuto had never seen the other tables so full. The second thing he noticed was that every other person in the library was a female.
Sinking slightly into his chair, Ikuto refrained from openly rolling his eyes. Great. His fan club had stalked him to the library. Now there was no way that Amu was going to help them. Even if she did come, the other girls were going to be ridiculous and interrupt them. That would only piss Amu off and then he wouldn't get another chance.
Biting back a groan, Ikuto almost dropped his head into his book. Leave it to him to fuck things up twice. He should have never skipped.
XXX
Amu had no idea why she was currently on her way to the library. The entire day she'd been telling herself that she wasn't going to see if Ikuto was telling the truth about going to study on his own. However, no matter how many times she told herself that she didn't care, Amu couldn't help but want to know if he'd do it. She could be disappointed with him not being there and stay firm with her decision to never talk to him again if he wasn't actually there.
But if he was trying… Amu wasn't entirely certain how she felt about that option.
Approaching the doors to the room she spent quite a bit of time in, Amu peeked through one of the windows rather than actually going in. A bit of blue immediately caught her eye. Ikuto was actually there. He'd actually come to study. Amu wasn't sure how she felt about that.
Contemplating going in and helping the male that looked rather annoyed, Amu took a step away from the doors. Getting involved with Ikuto again would leave her vulnerable to being stood up again. Ikuto had already done it once. Just because he'd apologized didn't mean that she could trust him. On the other hand, it would look really good on her resume if he passed his class because of her help.
Squaring her shoulders, Amu turned to head into the library. One more chance was all she was going to give him. Fool her once, shame on her. Fool her twice, Amu would be out for blood.
It wasn't until she'd actually entered the library that Amu realized that Ikuto wasn't alone as they usually were during their study times. The room was actually rather full. However, not one of the other occupants seemed to be there to study. Well, at least, they weren't studying school related material. No, their eyes were all on Ikuto. The scowl on his face made a bit more sense.
Holding back a laugh, Amu crossed the space between herself and her designated seat. "Having a hard time concentrating?"
Ikuto had been about to snap back a reply to the comment so that the girl would get the hint and leave him alone when the voice registered in his mind. Eyes lifting from his book, he had to blink several times to make certain he was really seeing Amu. "Hey, uh… yeah. Kind of noisy in here today, I guess."
Ikuto really was an idiot, but Amu couldn't just let him be. Maybe she was the real fool. "All right, you proved your point. You're serious about studying."
"Really?" Clearing his throat and acting less excited, Ikuto sat back in his chair. "I mean, yeah? How so?"
Really, this guy. Amu didn't bother to hide the way she looked at all the other girls in the room. "If you can attempt to read your book with all these distractions then I suppose I can give you another shot."
The urge to jump out of his chair and pull Amu back into his arms was strong. Ikuto fought it off. Maybe if they'd been alone he would have done it. With all the other girls there, he wasn't going to embarrass the girl before him. "Cool. Are you going to sit or…?"
Shaking her head, Amu motioned for Ikuto to pack up his things. "Even with me here to help you, there's no way that we'd actually get anything done today. Come on, I'll tutor you somewhere else."
Ikuto didn't bother to hide his smirk as he got up and followed the pinkette out of the library. The hisses that he was leaving with Amu didn't miss his ears, however, he couldn't seem to care about them. Amu was giving him a second chance.
.
Morg: Hopefully he won't mess this one up.
Ikuto: Like I would.
Amu: I have no comment.
Morg: I mean, I know what happens, but no one else does. So…
Ikuto: Like you would write a story where we don't end up together.
Amu: That would be new.
Morg: I could always try something different!
Ikuto: Forget I said anything.