Summary: Amu is a debuting singer that has a lot of potential to break into the industry. However, when her record company decides to pair her up with Iktuo, a hot, famous singer, will sparks fly? Amuto 3

almosthere13: Hey all! D I'm updating again! XD I have exams these 2 weeks so I'm not sure when my next chapter will be. But I'm updating now. Enjoy!!

Thanks to:

Mokimoki-chan

Ryugenta

fiasse

chocolistic

Aoi Faith

KeikoHayasaka -- thanks for your suggestion, I love that song as well! (Or really, HaMC is just awesome!)

nongpad -- hahaha, was that long? XD I dunno, sometimes it comes to me.

ellabell

SUNCAT333

Cuttyanime

naritaijibun0310

lileve305

Mysticchowz

For reviewing, adding the story to their alert/fave list! D Thanks a lot guys!! XD If I've forgotten anyone, I'm really sorry!! Please don't take offence D hugs Yea, feel free to hit me over the head with something.

Disclaimer: I don't own Shugo Chara. Nor do I own any of the songs, lyrics that are posted in the fanfic.

Italics – Thoughts (sometimes), singing, recapping

Recap:

I turned to look at him, startled. "What?"

He smiled. "They said that it was fine. You're not getting fired."

Relief washed over me and I suddenly felt overcome with happiness. In this euphoric state, I hugged Ikuto. He stiffened for a second but then patted me awkwardly on my head. Realizing what I was doing, I instantly pulled away, blushing furiously.

"Sorry," I whispered.

He chuckled. "It's okay."

I turned to face the city again, trying to calm my racing heart and to cool down my burning face. Ikuto and I stared at the city, a comfortable silence enveloping us. And we stayed like that for a while.

Chapter 4 – Lyrics

Ikuto POV

I watched Amu as she was furiously writing on a piece of paper, her face scrunched up with concentration. She paused for a second, frowning thoughtfully and then smiling before continuing. I watched with amusement.

"What is she doing, nya?" asked Yoru, watching Amu as if she had gone insane.

"Shush! I can't concentrate!!" snapped Amu angrily, waving her hands in the air. Her charas exchanged a look and floated towards me, probably all thinking that it was safer over here. I wouldn't blame them. I didn't know that song-writing was such a dangerous task.

Yes, we were stuck in a room again and were forced to write a stupid song. Usually, I was bored out of my wits every time I had to do this to record a new single but Amu was providing some refreshing entertainment.

"Gah! This isn't right!!" Amu growled and ripped the paper out of her pink book and scrunched it up. She threw it angrily across the room and returned to writing something else in her book.

Yoru ducked and moved out of the way as the paper ball rebounded off the wall and aimed towards him. He glowered at Amu indignantly but she ignored him. Ikuto chuckled silently. Her antics were hilarious.

Amu sighed and leaned back on her chair. She glanced at Ikuto. "It's not working."

He shrugged. "You'll get it."

Amu huffed. "Don't you do anything?"

"Nope."

Amu snorted. She looked outside the window longingly, watching the cloudless sky. She shook her head and continued writing.

I watched her face and suddenly wished that we could go outside. But we had restrictions and I knew that if we were to leave, the Board would definitely fire her.

Amu's face suddenly changed and her eyes lit up. She frantically began to write with such speed, I thought the paper would catch on fire. I wanted to say something but thought otherwise.

After one hour of listening to her mutter to herself and cross out things on the paper, she finally stopped and smiled. She looked at me and beamed. Her golden eyes sparkled delightfully.

"I'm done with the lyrics!" she said happily.

"Really now?" I said. I didn't want to sound eager to read them, so I waited for her to show them to me. She leaned over and passed me the book.

I read them and nearly choked. "What is this?"

"The lyrics," she replied.

I raised my eyebrows. "That pile of crap is what we are going to sing?!"

Amu pulled a face. "It's not a pile of crap!" she shouted.

"I'm not going to sing that. It's corny," I retorted.

"It is not!" Amu snapped.

I rolled my eyes. "Why did Easter even trust you to do the song-writing? You're just a child. Those lyrics are pathetic." The words just slipped out. Realizing what I had just said, I glanced at Amu. She was staring at me with such cool defiance and anger that it surprised me.

"Well, that's coming from the famous Ikuto who can't write his own songs and has to have people write them for him!" she yelled, her cheeks ablaze.

She stormed out of the room, making sure that she slammed the door as hard as she could. I sighed. What have I done?

Amu POV

That inconsiderate jerk!! That was all I could think about as I walked around Easter Records, with my charas trailing behind me. I could tell that they were exchanging looking behind my back, which made me even more annoyed. How dare he insult my lyrics? I had spent forever on them!! Let's see him try!

I suddenly realized that I had left my book with him. I cursed loudly. He was probably laughing at my 'corny' lyrics.

"Where do you guys want to go?" I asked my charas. When no one answered me, I looked around. They were nowhere to be seen. I sighed angrily. They had wandered off without telling me!

I felt so annoyed that I just sat down in the empty corridor that I was standing in. I leant on the pale creamy wall, thinking hard. Had my lyrics been the cheesy? I thought they were sweet….

I had the urge to call Nadeshiko. I hadn't talked to her in ages. Come to think of it, I hadn't talked to anyone since I told them that I was debuting. Guilt flooded me. I wasn't a snob.

I pulled out my phone and dialed Nadeshiko's mobile number, hoping that she would pick up. After a couple of rings, I heard a sweet, soft voice say, "Hello?"

"Nadeshiko!!" I yelled, unable to contain the joy I felt when I heard her voice and how much I missed her.

I heard her chuckle. "Amu! We haven't heard you in a while," she said.

"Sorry. I've been very busy," I said sincerely.

"No, it's quite understandable. How is everything?"

I wanted to say fine. I really did. But then, I found myself spilling out everything that had happened so far.

"…and now, I feel horrible. I feel stupid," I sniffed.

Nadeshiko had been silent throughout my rant and now finally voiced her opinions. "Amu, don't let him bother you."

"That's kinda hard considering that I am going to have to debut with him," I muttered sadly.

"Amu," sighed Nadeshiko. "I'm sure you'll be fine. I know this because you are Amu. You won't let some cocky, arrogant singer get in your way of debuting."

My eyes brightened when she said that. That was true! I was Amu! And Ikuto couldn't tell me what to do. This was my debut after all!

"Nadeshiko, thank you so much! I wish I could hug to right now!" I said happily.

Nadeshiko laughed. "Just be happy, Amu! And good luck with debuting. Everyone is supporting you!"

I smiled and we said our goodbyes. I stood up, filled with determination. "Yosh! I'm going back and telling that stupid jerk that he was going to have to deal with those 'corny' lyrics!"

Ikuto POV

I was in the "black room", the place in which I usually came when I was upset or just wanted peace (A/N: The room where Amu first met him D And also 'felt' him ). I was surprised that Amu's charas were with me. They floated beside Yoru, watching me. I looked away, feeling slightly guilty at what I said to Amu.

I was still holding the book in which she wrote the lyrics in. I sighed and read over them again, my heart heavy. The lyrics weren't that bad at all. Was I too judgmental?

I sighed again, confused. I leaned back onto my couch, pondering over what she said.

Flashback

"Well, that's coming from the famous Ikuto who can't write his own songs and has to have people write them for him!"

Flashback End

I grunted in annoyance. That wasn't entirely true! I glanced at my guitar, leaning on a corner of the wall and gathering dust. I hadn't touched it in ages. Not since I debuted and became an instant hit.

I reached out for it and picked it up, blowing away the dust. Yoru and Amu's charas sneezed. I chuckled at them. I carefully plucked the E string (A/N: I was about to type G-String but LOL!! D Maybe later…XD) and let the sound resonate throughout the room. I suddenly realized how much I missed my guitar.

I flipped through Amu's book to where she wrote the lyrics and quickly read over them again. I closed my eyes and almost could hear the melody weaving itself in my head. I shuffled around, looking for manuscript paper to write down the composition.

"Wow…he's composing something!" muttered Miki, looking at Ikuto with admiration.

"Yea, he can compose, you know!" scoffed Yoru. Miki glared at him. They fell silent and just watched Ikuto compose the song.

Amu POV (A/N: WAHHH! Is it annoying that I keep switching the persona?)

I walked around, trying to find Ikuto, determination running through my veins. I paused as I passed by a black door, frowning as I tried to remember where it looked familiar. Hearing a beautiful melody, I was entranced and my hand was outstretched to open the door. But I snapped out of my daze and shook my head. I had to find Ikuto!

I took a step away but then remembered something. The black door!! Of course! I whacked myself on my head for being so slow. That was Ikuto's room!

I was so tempted not to barge in, for the beautiful melody still rung in my ears. But I wanted to. I banged open the door and saw Ikuto sitting on the couch, with a guitar in his arms. I slammed the door behind me and advanced towards him.

"Right! I don't care what you think about my corny and cheesy lyrics, this is my debut. You've already debuted. You are already in the limelight. Now, it's my turn. And if you have a problem with that, you can go talk Easter Records and I'm sure they'll do something about it. But I'm not giving up," I snapped, rambling on.

Ikuto blinked in surprise and started laughing. I pulled a face at him, confused. This wasn't the reaction I was expecting.

"Sorry," he muttered after a while. Then he stared into my eyes. "I'm sorry for saying that your lyrics were cheesy. I actually quite like them now," he continued, smiling slightly.

My eyes widened. "W-what?"

"Actually, I tried composing something with it. Would you like to listen? " Ikuto smiled again.

I nodded, surprised by his newfound kindness. I listened to his composition and found myself falling in love with it. It was perfect. Raw, beautiful, emotional – everything I wanted the song to sound. I bit my lip, recalling what I had said to him.

"I'm sorry as well," I said regrettably. "I didn't mean it when I said that you couldn't do anything." My eyes were downcast and I felt ashamed that I said such a horrible thing. He definitely had talent, so much more than me. "You're so talented at composing…but how come you don't compose any of your songs?"

His sapphire eyes flickered at me and I held his gaze. I never noticed how sad his eyes were. When I usually gazed into them, I was too preoccupied with how beautiful they were. But now, they looked so sad and lonely.

"Easter Records decided that I had to be a more 'mainstream' singer, with my looks and abilities. They thought that rnb, dance tracks suited better for my image," he replied.

It was true, I thought. If someone told me that "Ikuto" was going to sing a ballad before, I would have laughed at them. He was too cool for ballads. But after hearing his composition, it sounded so emotional and beautiful that I realized that all this time, he had to hide who he really was. I smiled at him.

"I really like the song," I said warmly. "I think it would be a good idea to use your composition."

He quickly looked at me, amazed. I smiled at him again. "You captured the emotions in it perfectly," I said.

He blushed and I was surprised how cute he looked. (A/N: No!! Ikuto's mine -sigh-)

"Let's get out of here," he muttered. He picked up his guitar and walked to the door, with me and our charas following him.

The door wouldn't budge. He frowned at it. I frowned at it. "Here, let me try," I said, making him move over.

I pulled but nothing happened. I tried again, pulling with all of my strength but nothing happened again.

"Uh oh…was it because I slammed the door before?" I asked timidly, remembering my actions before.

Ikuto raised his eyebrows. "I guess we can camp here." He glanced at the couch. The very small couch.

"Eh!!" I cried.

I was stuck with Ikuto for the night?!

Hmmmmm, sorry again for the rushed chapter bows head shamefully But I hope you liked it!

I didn't proof read this since I'm busy, so if you see any mistakes, kindly point them out )

Please review! D I don't want to be one of those writers that complain about not getting enough reviews, but it seriously motivates me to write faster. XD

Gah, I need to revive my CCS fanfics as they are like…dead. But school is killing me.

No flames Thanks!