Sierra: Oh. Hey. Sup.

Lol. So, really, what's up? Just kidding! Thank you for reviews last chapter! Hey, I think I might start doing review responses. Would you guys like that? I don't know, it's still just an idea but I think it would be fun. Otay otay on with z chapter! Also, Lulu's Cafe in this chapter will be kinda like Olive Garden. K? It's a restaurant if you don't know what Olive Garden is.

Also, I think the chapters might get a little bit longer from here on out, because I've decided how many chapters I'm ganna have for this story, and it's not a lot. So the only way to fix that is to make them longer!

I hope you guys won't mind too much. I'll try to make it an easier read without making it look so...wordy. XD

XXShugo Chara: I have not, nor have I ever been, playing any part in the making of this show.


Orion

CHAPTER 4

~*Lulu's Sugary Wish*~

~*iWish*~

"What do you want to order?" he asked, inspecting the menu himself.

"I don't know, what do you want to order?" She took a small sip of her Strawberry Lemonade before setting it back down and checking out her own menu.

"I think that's what I just asked you." Ikuto pushed over his silverware to the side and set down his menu.

It was already the next day, which meant the third day Ikuto had shown up to be with Amu. Surprising how time seems to fly by, and Amu herself couldn't seem to believe it. Yet he was there, by her side as she wished. It was quite the histerical scene if anyone would have asked. Turns out, Ikuto hadn't been all that mad the day before. Sure he was hurt but Amu didn't so anything too out of her way to upset him. He forgave her of course. And now, today they decided to go out together so Ikuto wouldn't be upset. and what better place to go than to Lulu's Cafe?

Oddly they both sat on the same side of the booth. Nobody necessarily sat across from them but there were others in other booths by them. And of course, they were both having problems trying to figure out what they wanted.

Ikuto, being a star and all, probably had never been there. But he did know what restaurants were and all that fancy jazz.

Amu hadn't been here since her parents were still there. It had been quite some time. She found if you don't go to a place regularly you forget what all they had to offer last time and what you got when you came.

How difficult her life seemed to have gotten with Ikuto, but she didn't particularly mind.

Amu looked over at Ikuto who was still inspecting his menu. She remembered how he looked just the day previous. Those vibrant blue eyes looked so sad and dull before. But now when she looked it seemed as if all the color returned. He had been smiling a lot today, and they even held hands on the walk to this place. She was surprised at how quickly things changed. And how much closer they got in just three days.

Ikuto must have noticed her staring, because his eyes met hers and they locked for a moment. "Something wrong?"

All Amu could do was smile for the briefest moment then go back to looking at her menu. "No, not at all," she said, trying to hold back a giggle.

And no matter what, going out to eat with him was sure to be fun. And most likely interesting. Anything can happen when you're with a star.

"Alrighty, sorry for the wait. We're a little busy today." Their server came up to them almost unnoticed. It had taken quite a while but that's a good thing because neither Amu or Ikuto knew what they wanted. The best thing to do now was just wing it.

The waitresses name tag read Lulu.

Well, that was ironic. The name of this place was Lulu's Cafe. And this girl seemed to be wearing something different than the rest of the servers. Maybe this was the owner.

"May I take you're order?" she asked.

Amu wasn't paying attention to that at the moment. She was too busy looking at the girls long light green hair.

What an odd color for hair.

Lulu's hair was long and made one big flip at the end which almost looked like a giant curl. Her big eyes were wide and cheery on her pretty face. In some strange ways this girl reminded Amu of Utau.

Oh...Utau. Amu still hadn't forgotten about that. She hadn't heard from her since they met, but that's to be expected. They weren't able to exchange numbers or anything. And-

Amu's train of thought was stopped by Ikuto's elbow nudging at her ribs. She looked over. "She's talking to us," he said. She suddenly remembered they were in the middle of ordering their food. All that thinking about other things was making her head spin. It seemed to stop on every other topic all the time besides what was actually happening right now.

"Oh, sorry." Amu scrambled for her menu. She truly looked pathetic and clumsy. "Um...I uh-I-I'll have the uh-"

"I think we'll both just get one large order of salad and split it," Ikuto said, covering for her almost. Even if he was a star, he was pretty quick with his wit and could cover up all of Amu's mistakes. Which made her seem just a little more unreliable and made Ikuto seem just a little more responsible.

Lulu wrote down the one order on her notepad and put the pen on the binding and put it in her pocket. "Of course, I'll have that right out for ya."

When she turned to leave, Amu swore she saw something familiar dangling from her ear. But too quickly Lulu passed and headed toward the kitchen. She didn't stop staring after her which probably looked weird. Seeing as Ikuto sat on the outside and she sat on the inside next to the window.

Her head was then bopped by a hand and once again she was forced to get off her train of thought.

"Hello? Is anybody in there today?" Ikuto kept bopping her on the head and Amu flinched every time.

"Stop it," she breathed, pushing his had away. "Sorry. I was just...looking at something." Something might have had more meaning than just anything.

Ikuto raised an eyebrow in a skeptical way and said, "Yes, I see that."

Instead of answering him, or at least replying in a way that would make sense, Amu bit down on her straw and played with it a little. She came to the realization they put way too much sugar in her Strawberry Lemonade which probably made it taste good but was highly unhealthy. Lemonade by itself would be healthy, she guessed, without the extreme amount of sugar they had to add to it.

And before she realized it she was back in her own world; the one where she thinks.

She thinks about a lot of things there, and is somehow swept away from her original world in the process.

"Amu?"

"Huh?" she replied, automatically.

Ikuto sighed. "I asked you a question. What's wrong with you today? You keep spacing out."

"Oh, um, sorry. I guess I have a lot on my mind. What was the question again?"

Ikuto shifted in his seat and rested his face in one hand which was propped up by his elbow on the table. He looked at Amu and asked, "So what took you so long yesterday?"

For a moment she was confused, but then remembered her trip to the supermarket and meeting with Yaya. She hadn't even bothered to tell him about that.

"Oh, that...um, I just got so caught up in shopping. Well, I was having problems picking the right foods apparently. Sorry," she lied. Technically some of it wasn't a lie. The only part she left out was the most important part: the one where she met Yaya.

Without changing the expression on his face, Ikuto blankly said, "You're a terrible liar."

That hit Amu straight in the stomach. She hadn't even gotten that far with explaining and already he knew she was lying. Stars are smarter than they look.

"Okay so I did meet this one girl..." Mind as well tell the truth now. Nothing she can really do about it if he knows every time she's going to lie.

"Hm?" Ikuto's expression actually changed to interested.

She couldn't decide whether that was good or bad.

"Well, she was just a little girl, maybe, twelve, or something. But, she helped me pick out some vegetables, and she was really nice and cute." Just talking about Yaya made Amu smile, and she forgot to finish responding. She had forgotten that Yaya became another friend, which made Amu so happy. The little girl really did have a lot of confidence. Amu wished she could have been as brave and outgoing as her. Maybe if they met again soon she could ask how Yaya does it.

Amu again forgot she was talking to Ikuto. Her eyes focused on his shoulder which was covered by the black shirt he had been wearing for quite a while now.

"Amu!" It came out as a whisper yell from the mouth of Ikuto.

Her eyes darted up as her head followed.

"Okay, one Salad. I brought two bowls and here are your bread sticks," said Lulu, their previous server. She set tow bowls in front of them, and then a small basket of bread sticks. She pulled out a cheese grinder and began sprinkling it over their salad. "Okay, will that be all for you?"

Ikuto nodded, then looked at Amu who stared in confusion.

"Okay. Let me know if you need anything else," she said with a smile. Lulu turned and walked away.

Ikuto then seriously turned to Amu and looked at her straight in the eyes. "What is wrong with you today? You keep spacing out. Can you please stay on this planet for more than a couple seconds?"

Amu puffed out her cheeks at this. "You're one to talk, star. You live in a place that's surrounded by planets."

"Yes, well," he began, taking another sip of his water. "I have a reason. You don't."

"You don't know that," she remarked. "Maybe I do."

Ikuto set his glass back down on the table. "Whether you do or not, that's not an issue right now. This salad can't eat itself you'know."

Amu scooted away her Strawberry Lemonade and placed a bowl in front of her. "I think I've been on earth long enough to know that," she said, scooping some parmasean cheese covered salad into her bowl.

Ikuto followed her movements and grabbed a fork from his napkin. "Even though I'm a star, I'm really no different from a person that lives here on earth." He mixed up his salad and looked at Amu, who was still having problems trying to get the tape off her napkin to reveal her silverware. He sighed and took it away from her, opening it himself. "At least I can open a napkin when needed."

Amu puffed out her cheeks at this, which made her look cute and childish at the same time. "I'm just having a little trouble is all."

Ikuto chuckled and handed her a fork.

She stirred up her salad, as Ikuto had. It's almost as if they were just copying each others movements. It's odd that today they were getting along so well, while other days no matter how hard they tried nothing worked. Indeed, Amu had thought about having Ikuto around more than once. She lived alone which was a true fact. She wished for someone to always be by her side. But she wasn't expecting that someone to be an incredibly attractive star that looked more human than star.

Even now, she still didn't know what she wanted.

Amu stabbed a piece of lettuce with her fork and lifted it to her mouth. "Just eat," she said. "I'm paying for it, even though I shouldn't be." Her palm was feeling unusually hot at that moment, although her whole body had been feeling warm that day. And as if the whole world was going against her, the fork slipped from her sweaty hand and on to the carpeted floor.

She stared down as if she didn't know what just happened.

Ikuto also looked down at her mistake.

Then sighed. "Honestly, Amu, what's with you today?"

She didn't bother to answer because she didn't know what was wrong exactly.

"I-I'll just ask our server when she comes back..." Amu picked up the dirty fork and placed it on a napkin in the middle of the table. Of course her stomach chose that moment to growl.

"You sure you can wait that long?" Ikuto asked, a smirk spreading his lips. Amu looked away and crossed her arms over her stomach as if that would stop the growling.

"I can wait," she mumbled stubbornly. Her stomach growled once again and she pressed her elbows into it.

Ikuto chuckled. He pierced some lettuce and held it up, but not for his own mouth.

"Amu," he said, trying to catch her attention.

She turned her head slightly to the side, trying to peek at him through the corners of her eyes. "What?"

Ikuto's hand traced Amu's jaw bone, then he grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him.

She, of course, eyes wide and face burning, stared into his eyes with a surprised expression she really hadn't meant to have.

He held up the fork in front of her mouth and said, "Open up."

The simple sentence made Amu go crazy for some reason but she kept her cool. "I told you I can-"

In the midst of her talking, Ikuto slipped the fork inside her mouth and she bit down on it.

She hadn't meant to bite down on it, but that's how it turned out. She couldn't open her mouth at this point to shove the fork and salad out of her mouth because that would just be disgusting and un-lady-like.

"Chew it," Ikuto urged, tilting the fork up.

Instead of resisting and making a scene, Amu licked the salad off the fork, closed her eyes, and chewed the food in her mouth.

Ikuto watched her in complete and utter interest as she ate; however, she tried ignoring this fact.

The salad was delicious and tasted sweet in her mouth.

When Ikuto slipped the fork away she opened her eyes and swallowed.

His eyes met hers and she stared at him for what seemed like forever.

Until her eyes slid from his.

She felt like blushing, especially since he was doing this in a restaurant where everybody could see them.

He shouldn't be showing off something as odd as this.

"Don't," she whimpered, covering her mouth with the back of her hand.

Ikuto smiled and placed his fork back in his bowl. Who knew losing a fork could get you here? He took hold of her wrist and removed her hand from her face. "Stay still," he said, picking up a napkin and folding it over his finger. Amu watched him doing this. With the cloth around his finger, Ikuto brought the napkin to the corner of her lips and dabbed the spot which had dressing on it lightly. Amu stared at Ikuto who focused on removing the food from her face. When his eyes met hers again, she couldn't find it in her to look away. Those eyes, in which she had only been acquainted with for a couple days drew her in so immensly she found herself lost. What was she doing exactly? Things were hard to understand when he stared at her with such an expression.

Ikuto pulled his finger away and his eyes were the first to leave hers that time.

"I think I need another fork," Amu muttered, trying to restrain the weird feeling slowly growing in the pit of her stomach.

Soon that one feeling made her feel sick and uneasy. She didn't feel like eating anymore, or even looking at her star. "I need to go to the bathroom."

Amu looked at Ikuto who was the only person that could let her out because she was stuck with the window seat.

Ikuto sighed but this time Amu didn't feel guilty about leaving him. He put his hands on the table and pushed himself up and over so she could also leave. Quickly, maybe a little too quickly, she shot from the booth and darted towards the bathroom. The complicated maze of chairs and tables made it harder to get around.

Amu turned a sharp corner and ran smack into a door which she hadn't expected to be there. She winced and felt stupid for running into something so close and obvious.

When she looked at the sign on the door though she was incredibly relieved that it read "Women".

She shook her head and pushed through the door and into the room.

It's temperature was low, as most bathrooms were cool for the open public. It gave a soft effect to the perfectly clean light brown and white tiles on the floor. The walls were a darker brown, and lights were planted in the cieling, shining dimly on the automatic sinks and half open stalls.

Everything in the bathroom seemed to sooth Amu and that weird feeling in the pit of her stomach diminished.

Slowly she walked over to the sinks and placed her hands on the shiny granite. Her eyes met her own in the spotless mirror. She looked a little pale today. Her hair was neatly brushed, but it also felt out of place on her own head. All the feelings she was feeling previously couldn't cope with this one.

A deep breath in, and a long exhale calmed her.

The slightly loud creek of the door to the bathroom opening made Amu jump a little. She turned to look at the guest.

It was Lulu.

It surprised Amu when she sighed and flipped her long hair back behind her shoulders. "Ugh, it's so hot in that kitchen."

Lulu seemed oblivious to the confused girl in front of her. When her eyes opened after her sigh, Lulu stared at Amu. "Oh, hello." She walked over to the sink and examined herself in the mirror as Amu had been doing previously. She straightened out the creases in her apron and fixed her badge. When Lulu tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, Amu saw it.

The star.

The earring stood out so blandly in her ear, but nobody knew what it was besides Amu. At least she guessed. The blonde color mixed in with her hair, and Amu figured that's what made her so confused last time. This girls star was yellow. But how is it she keeps running into girls with stars? Or, she guessed again, that these accessories were stars. They looked exactly like her necklace, only different colors.

"Sorry," Lulu said, catching Amu off guard. "Didn't see you there."

Amu didn't answer but instead stared at Lulu. "It really does get hot in that kitchen. We air condition the bathrooms a lot, so yeah. It would cost way too much to air condition the entire building." Lulu wiped some of the makeup off her face and blended it in with the rest.

She looked over back at Amu. "Sorry, am I confusing you?"

Technically, Amu was confused.

But she didn't want to tell her that.

She shook her head quickly in response. "N-no, it's fine."

Lulu smiled. "Am I bothering you?"

What? Now Amu was super confused. If anything, it was her that was bothering Lulu. If it's hot in the kitchen, it's only natural she would want some cool air. Odd place to get that from a bathroom, but it wasn't Amu's place to be judging how other people spend their time.

Amu waved her hands. "No not at all!"

"Good," Lulu replied, pulling out a hair tie.

She began gathering her hair to put it into a ponytail.

"So, are you enjoying yourself?"

Amu looked at Lulu. Then realized she asked a question. "Huh? Oh! Yes, I-I'm enjoying it here!" She tensed up and stuttered through her words.

Lulu laughed. "No need to look so tense. It was just a question." She leaned her back up against the wall.

"S-sorry," Amu stuttered, taking a step back.

She hadn't meant to seem tense or awkward, but she didn't want to upset the girl in front of her. As an apology, she said, "But, this place really is relaxing. I'm enjoying myself." Yes, the atmosphere had been relaxing, but her partner had not.

Lulu smiled softly then turned to face the mirror again. "I'm glad that you're enjoying yourself. Thank you," she said sincerely.

There was something in that sentence that made Amu feel like answering quickly, yet holding back. It sounded most melancholic, but kind at the same time. Amu stared at the long haired girl with wide eyes. "Thank you for what?" She had said thank you.

Why?

The server smiled genuinely, and her eyes met Amu's. "For enjoying yourself," was all she simply said.

Amu was still confused. "For...enjoying...?"

Their eyes disconnected and Lulu went back to staring into the mirror. Although it didn't seem there was anything in particular she was staring at. "I know it might sound a little weird, but thank you for enjoying yourself. I love that you're able to come here and have a good time, and I hope not only you appear relaxed but are relaxed. It's all I want for my customers to not have to worry about a single thing."

In a way, that made sense to Amu but also confused her still. Why did she want her customers to not have to worry about anything here? Well, that kind of made sense. If they were able to forget everything else then it would be easier for the customer to relax and enjoy themselves.

"Why is that?" Amu asked, suddenly growing less tense and more relaxed herself at her own question.

Lulu sighed then adjusted her bangs. "Doesn't it feel nice to not have a care in the world?" she asked.

Amu's eyes widened again, but she managed to answer by giving her a tight nod.

"Me too. It's relaxing to relax, as weird as that may sound. If you were able to go to a place and forget about everything, then you would want to visit that place a lot. Wouldn't it be cool if you got to go to that place with a friend, or someone closer, and talk and get the comfort of eating at the same time?" Lulu traced the faucet of the sink. "That's what I thought to myself at first. I know how hard it can be to relax and forget all your worries, without everything else getting in the way."

Amu kept staring at what Lulu was explaining, unable to say anything and dead quiet during her pauses.

"My mother, well, she has a busy schedule and never finds herself time to relax. Same with my father, at least that's how it used to be when I was younger. Everything they did always seemed to affect me, the prestigious daughter of the beautiful actress and cook. Soon I couldn't find time for myself to even think straight." Lulu laughed dryly, seemingly recalling her memories.

"I was a fool for taking everything how I did."

Amu wanted to urge her to keep talking, to finish her story that seemed somewhat painful. But she already had her entranced and Amu wanted to hear the rest of it. "What do you mean?"

Despite the pain she seemed to be feeling, she continued. "Instead of enjoying all the fame, I hated when cameras were constantly shoved and flashed in my face. I didn't like the way people were all over me, or my parents. It got harder and harder to cope with it, and soon I just snapped, and blamed my parents for everything."

Amu imagined a small girl yelling at her parents, even though she probably shouldn't have.

"Now I understand how terrible that was of me, but at the same time how it helped me now. Because of that, I was able to understand that everybody needs a little space, a little time to think by themselves. I guess back then it would have helped to have a little time to talk with my parents, but I didn't understand that yet. However, I do remember how I cherished the moments I had to myself, and with friends, or someone else I'm close to."

Suddenly thoughts of Amu and her parents flashed through her mind.

"So," Lulu said, making Amu forget about her parents quickly. "That's when the thought came to me: What if I could make a place where people could come and relax? Possibly, if even for a little while, forget about everything and just enjoy what they were doing now. And that thought didn't seem so bad."

So...her wish...?

Her voice suddenly became happy again. "And that's where this came from!" She gestured to the bathroom around her, but Amu knew she meant the restaurant.

"Of course, however, it's hard to open a place like this by yourself." Lulu smiled and her hand went up to gently touch her ear with the earring dangling from it. "But, with a little help it was possible."

Amu finally realized why she was telling her this. Her wish, her reasoning, and why she was grateful people actually came here and got to relax.

The thought and everything seemed extremely nice already.

But the fact the owner was able to make a place like this just so people could get away for a while, well, that was more than nice.

It was extremely generous.

Lulu wished for this, and again with a little help from someone, it happened.

She made it all work out.

That, was the fact that surprised Amu the most.

All of the time this beautiful girl could have been doing something else, she dedicated her time to others. To the public.

Honestly, before she explained all that Amu hadn't even thought about this place being so important. To her, and as she realized the rest of the general public, would have never guessed something so incredible.

Opening this up, having to work in hot kitchens.

It must have been hard, just having to come in the bathroom to cool down.

"That's..." Amu began, trying to find the correct thing to say to everything she was just explained. "Amazing."

Lulu looked at her with a confused look, then smiled. "Thanks. Sorry you had to listen to all of that," she apologized.

Amu shook her head. "No, it's okay. It was a really nice story. It's so nice of you to do something like that," she said, placing her own hands back on the granite of the sinks.

"Thanks," Lulu replied, laughing dryly.

When Amu thought she was done, Lulu surprised her by going on.

"So, now that all that's out of the way, who did you come here with to relax? He's awfully cute," she mused, giggling and putting a hand to her cheek.

Amu almost blushed at this, but somehow she could tell her face didn't turn colors in the mirror. However it did embarrass her. "U-um...that's just..." She couldn't even finish her sentence.

The green haired girl laughed. "He must be your boyfriend, no doubt about it."

The flustered pink haired girl didn't know how to respond to that.

Ikuto wasn't her boyfriend...he was her star.

For a moment she thought about telling Lulu she had a star, like herself. For some reason she didn't.

"No, it's not like that..." Amu waved her hands in defense as if she had done something wrong.

This only made the owner laugh. "If you say so," she giggled.

Amu couldn't even reply anymore.

"Well, it's about time I get back to bossing people around. I know they must miss me," Lulu joked, tapping her chin.

Amu couldn't see someone like her bossing people around, but at the same time she could.

"It's hard to imagine someone as nice as you doing such a thing," Amu said, the tone in her voice making it seem as if she were joking.

"Haha! Please honey, you don't know me." Lulu lifted her back from the wall and pulled out her pony tail. "I can be cruel when I wanna be, not saying I always am though. It does come with the job however, and nobody else is ganna do it."

She made her way around Amu and through the bathroom. "Guess that leaves me." She pointed to herself.

The pink haired girl smiled at the joking owner. "Only you," she replied.

Lulu opened the door to the bathroom, and was about to take her leave. But before that she turned to Amu. "I hope you enjoy the rest of your time here, relax, and cherish the precious moments with your boyfriend." She winked.

Amu didn't get a chance to even be flustered before the owner was out the door and into the restaurant.

She sighed, then smiled.

That was a nice talk.

But they had been talking quite a while, and Amu just left Ikuto by himself to finish eating.

She needed to get back.

Especially since she left in such a hurried manner.

Before returning to her 'date', Amu examined herself in the mirror.

She was looking much less pale now, and her hair fit her again.

The reason why she up and left Ikuto like that was still a mystery. Although after having that long talk the feeling in her stomach was gone. She seemed to relax. After all, this is the place for getting away and relaxing. A place to enjoy your time with others.

Almost as quickly as she ran from her table, she flew out the door and into the restaurant.

Back to the complicated maze of chairs, the talking people. Back to the food she smelled, the food that made her nose tingle with excitement. Back to her booth, her window seat that gave a perfect view of the world around her she had been so excluded from since her loss. Back to her dirty fork, her used napkin, her un-eaten bowl of salad. Back to her water, in which would certainly sooth her dry throat and calm her once more. Back to the boy, the beautiful boy that sat there, waiting for her return with an empty glass of water in front of him. A boy that made feelings confuse her. A boy she constantly felt she was running from, but sprinting right back to. A boy that made her flustered in ways she hadn't before.

Back to her star, the person she was to relax with and enjoy every single moment she had with him because nobody else was there.

Back to everything.

She stood, almost panting in front of the blue haired boy. Her eyes bore into him. In reality they were only asking for him to move.

Ikuto got up out of his seat slowly and moved to the side. "What took you so long? I was waiting."

Amu scooted herself into her old window seat and made herself comfortable. Ikuto got back in after her.

"I was just freshening up," she lied, picking up her wet glass of water and gulping it's remaining contents. She had been right to predict it would sooth her.

Ikuto rolled his eyes. "Girls."

Amu made up her mind. Now that she was back, she would enjoy her time and not blow it off. She didn't have much with anybody. She would relax and savor every moment she spent here, and everywhere. A special place to go when you need to get away. She was so grateful she had that talk with Lulu. It was funny how before that she simply took this place for granite. She took the food lightly and even ran away from the person who was supposed to stay by her side. How could she have been so blind? No, she wouldn't do that. Not now, not again. Previously she would have done it without even thinking. She was smarter now.

She knew so much more than she did before, and she regretted that. Time is simple, but there's not much of it when life goes by as fast as it did in the eyes of someone so uneducated. Couldn't she have realized all this before she became alone? It would have helped, but now she was lucky enough to get a second chance. Someone had been so nice as to give her this chance to try and fix things this time. She wouldn't mess it up. She couldn't.

"Without us girls, you guys would be nowhere. Star or not," Amu said, rolling her eyes right back and setting down her empty glass of water.

Ikuto almost seemed surprised at Amu's sudden change of attitude. She did too.

But she would have been lying if she said she didn't like it.

Amu noticed a shining piece of silverware right next to her full bowl of salad. She picked it up.

"I asked someone to get that since you dropped yours," Ikuto said, looking at the fork himself.

Generous.

Amu smiled. "Thanks. It will be much more befitting of me to eat with my own fork, and not off of yours."

Even though it wasn't that bad...

As if she'd ever admit that to her star.

~*iWish*~

Amu and Ikuto walked down the frostbitten sidewalk, hand in hand.

"It's starting to get colder," Amu commented, looking up at the gray sky that lay beyond her reach. Her summer hadn't necessarily been a lot of fun, and school was just around the corner. She was somewhat looking forward to it. The air bit at her nose and she tried tucking it away behind her sleeve. A soft yet cold wind swept through the air and into her clothes. Summer's air had been far too hot, and winter's air only proved to be worse than hot. Freezing. It was that simple word that made her think of that day, and how cold her heart had become to the world around her. Like you close your windows to block out the cold chill of the winder wind, she closed her heart to everything that could potentially hurt her.

She was afraid to open it back up.

"Seems so," Ikuto replied, a little late with his words. The girl he held hands with couldn't help but smile.

Even though it was cold, Amu felt incredibly warm. Her face felt feverish almost.

"I can't control what the weather does," she giggled out, still trying to protect her already hot hand from the cold.

"I never said you could." Ikuto gripped Amu's hand tighter, and then raised an eyebrow. "Are you okay?"

The pink haired girl removed her hand from her nose and pretended like it wasn't red as a tomato from the chilly wind. "Perfectly fine." Although when she said that she began feeling a little uneasy. "Why do you ask?"

"Your hand feels hot," he dead-panned.

If he was going to say it, he could have worded it differently at least.

Amu shook her head. "It's because your holding it. You must have a high body temperature. Are you okay?" she asked, trying to evade his question.

The blue haired star loosened his grip slightly. "I'm fine. But my body temperature has nothing to do with it."

"Of course it does," Amu argued, pulling her hand from his to feel it for herself. "It feels fine. I should be glad it's not freezing."

"I think you're just trying to avoid the subject of whether you're okay or not."

She couldn't argue that, but she couldn't say anything to it either. She simply grunted and puffed out her cheeks. Her hand felt hot in her other like Ikuto had said. Which was odd because nothing had happened. The weather certainly couldn't have done anything since it wasn't one hundred degrees anymore. There was no real explanation for the warmth of her hand.

"I'm fine," she mumbled through flared cheeks.

Ikuto didn't really say anything but he did look at her quite a while until she thought he wouldn't stop. His eyes bore into her like daggers and she swore she felt a twinge of pain through them. "Are you going to stare at me like that all day or are you going to look ahead of you so you don't trip over your own two feet?" she asked.

Ikuto's eyes immediately left the girls body.

"The day is halfway through, and I find it impossible to stare at a person for twenty-four hours straight." Ikuto almost looked disappointed for a reason unknown. "I don't think anybody would want to either."

Amu could think of several girls that would have liked to stare at Ikuto for twenty-four hours straight.

Thinking about it was kind of weird.

But in a way, funny.

She couldn't help but let a giggle escape her lips.

"What's so funny?" Ikuto asked, raising those blue tipped eyebrows of his.

"You're so funny," Amu admitted.

"How?"

"You just are."

"You're...odd."

"Yeah."

Amu wasn't only acting odd, but she was feeling quite odd herself. Maybe it was the weather? She couldn't tell. But she started feeling light-headed. She even just recently ate, but her stomach was starting to feel queasy.

Her hand found her stomach and she rubbed it lightly. She wasn't intending for Ikuto to see her, but he did anyway with those super sharp eyes of his.

"Seriously, are you okay?"

Amu got irritated but suppressed it. Why was she feeling this way? It was just a question. "I'm fine. I already told you that."

"You're rubbing your stomach." Ikuto cocked his head at her hand moving across her upper body.

"I'm fine. It was...just a good meal is all," she lied, smiling sweetly when she finished lying through her teeth.

She wobbled to the side.

"You're not okay," Ikuto dead-panned, grabbing her and setting her straight.

She really wasn't starting to feel 'okay' anymore but there was no explanation for it. Sure, her stomach felt a bit queasy but she was also light-headed and her palms were way too sweaty for a normal palm temperature. She even just lost her balance and practically fell to the side with only the help of her star to set her straight. And even after realizing all of this she was going to continue to lie to him and say she was okay.

"I am okay," she argued to his protests of her not being okay.

"I don't think so," he replied, drawing out the I for whatever dramatic affect he was trying to give off.

Amu rolled her eyes in an annoyed manner. "Get off the subject, I'm fine Ikuto."

"No, you're not," he complained, reaching for her again.

Amu's brows furrowed. "Ikuto, I'm fi-!"

Her eyes suddenly went so blurry she couldn't see Ikuto's hand clearly. That weird feeling in the pit of her stomach made her feel so sick, she actually thought she would be. Her palms grew hotter, and her face started getting warm. The balance she tried keeping up made her legs feel so noodle thin. They wobbled and shook and if Ikuto wasn't right there, she would have fallen face first into the concrete.

"Hey, Am-"

She closed her eyes, and passed out.


Sierra: Hey! It wasn't even a month yet. Er, hasn't been a month yet. Almost, but not quite. At least I updated!

I would have done it earlier but then school started and I am doing way too many things for my own good so I was too busy to even think about writing. But somehow I managed like, at least a thousand words a week. Then I just typed the last bit and here we are! I hope you liked it! Chapter 5-

You know what? I should stop promising early updates because I never keep my promises when it comes to updating. Oh well. I love you people who still bother to read it though! You make me want to write more!

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