A/N: Summer break is here! And that mainly means I have nothing to do but write. Apart from this, I will be working on new things, also, so expect more from me soon.

Response to reviews: Taiyou no Yume - Thank you! I hope I've managed to present their relationship with all the constant bickering, as it is in the manga. And I also hope I don't get a block ever again, it is really annoying to just not be able to put anything on the paper. Dragongirl2319 - Well, Utau may be a bit tricky... Stay tuned to see. Kingdoms hearts otaku - Yes, I thought it to be in character for her. And thank you. Not everything is in reviews, you know, although I know how happy it can make us. I'm sure you'll get many more reviews :) En-Fleur-Isabelle - Thank you :) As I mentioned before, I just like those chance encounters, so I'm glad other people enjoy them, too. Purple Pearls Turned Black - True... I will probably switch back to Ikuto in a bit, but I needed to explain some things from Amu's perspective. Thank you. DeannayIkuto - Why, thank you. Purely out of curiosity, though, what is your favorite language? tourist127 - Truly, she was. Poor little dear, being teased like that. But then again, isn't it why we all love Ikuto? KL - Don't worry, I'm very satisfied that you told me. Happy that you are enjoying the story so far.

I would also like to thank A Hopeful Romantic Imagination of Some Amuto Stories because she included my story in her community. There are some good stories there, so I'm feeling quite flattered.

There is so many mentions of the word 'bus' in this story that every time I try to type 'but', I end up writing 'bus' instead. Anyway, OOCness, as always. But what can ya do. I also learned that people don't mind it as much as I thought they would, so at least it works out somehow. Please, proceed.

Chapter 4: A day in a girl's life

"Wow", Nagihiko flinched. "What happened to you?"

He had a reason to ask that, considering Amu stormed inside their English classroom a moment ago, spreading such a menacing aura that people literally just ran out of her way. She slammed her bag onto the table and looked around with an expression even a demon wouldn't be ashamed of. Even if she was daring someone to come and scold her, nobody really seemed willing to.

Satisfied with that, she turned to Nagihiko and instead of answering his question, glared at him in a manner that should've told him to shut up unless he wanted his head flying through the window. She considered it a warning, because she didn't really want to behead him. He was a good friend.

So good that he, as usually, completely ignored her every attempt of cautioning him. "Don't be ridiculous", he huffed. "I thought that you knew me well enough by now to know that I won't let you slip." He patted the stool next to him. "Come, come. Tell Big Brother Nagihiko what's wrong."

She landed on her seat with so much force it was pretty much a miracle it didn't break. She ignored the scared looks of other students and busied herself with glaring at Nagihiko again. "You're. Not. Helping."

"Oh, I see. Boy problems?"

There was a long pause there, during which Amu was contemplating about how it's impossible. Completely impossible. It is impossible to know someone so well as he knows her.

She dignified him an answer in the form of a "hmph" and a turn of her head.

He grinned. "Well, then." 'Oh God, here it goes.'

"Tell Big Sister Nadeshiko what's wrong. Which asshole is bothering you? Say his name so I can kick his butt." With his high, transformed voice and the concerned expression he put on his face, it wasn't really hard to believe he was a girl.

A corner of her lips twitched upward. Nobody could notice it, so she had no doubt he did. "I could hit you."

"You could. But you won't."

"Now I'm really going to hit you."

"You might."

She hit him.

Everyone else would probably die from internal bleeding, but Nagihiko just laughed and then offered her one of his bright smiles. Amu sighed and rolled her eyes in what was supposed to be pretended frustration, but allowed herself a small smile at the same time as well. 'Impossible.'

Amu was indescribably tired. She stayed up untill three in the morning working on a project she had to finish by today, but started only yesterday. The reason behind that was simple - she completely forgot about it. She was feeling incredibly distracted lately, but feared researching into the causes deeper. She already knew what she might find if she did that and didn't like it one bit, mainly because it involved a certain pervert she saw every day.

Anyway, considering how little sleep she got, it was no wonder she fell asleep in her seat. It wouldn't be really problematic if, again, there wasn't for him. But because there was, it was pretty dangerous.

She awakened to the sound of giggles. She rolled her eyes beneath lowered eyelids. Like she didn't know, after he did the same thing every morning for the last few days. She was tempted to not open her eyes at all, but then he was just going to stay there untill she did. And it wasn't really comfortable to hover over a person for a long time, so she did feel a little sorry for him (but only a little).

So she opened her eyes and was greeted by... Ikuto's - gosh, it felt so weird thinking about him now that he had a name - face, only millimetres away from hers. Although she already carried out her daily routine of showing the irritation she felt through the eye-rolling, she wished to do it again upon the sight. Ikuto smirked at her. "Even after so long, you still blush every time, do you know that? It's getting weaker, but it's still here."

Amu felt herself boiling. So much the more because it was true. There was still something extremely embarrassing about the whole ritual - probably the thing about their faces being so close that she could literally taste his breath (not that she did, by any means, or would just, you know, ever admit it) and that he was staring so intensely at her while they were at it so she couldn't help but tense up while expectation hung low in the air, but then he stepped back and she would redden even more at the thought that she was ever stupid enough to think he was actually going to do something and no matter how hard she tried to suppress that feeling, and succeeded bit by bit, it was still present.

And she could not show it. No matter how much she was not in the mood for it.

She shoved him in the chest, ignoring the fact that he was wearing a very thing shirt through which she could feel everything beneath it, and gave a small, "Idiot."

He grinned, apparently not intending to move. "Now, come on, Amu. You know that's not enough. Our audience is waiting, so I would advise you to hurry, though."

Oh, how she hated this. But it was, once again, true. The people behind Ikuto were almost drooling, expecting the usual morning show. Seriously, was the guy Pinocchio, or something? Amused for a moment with the thought of Ikuto's nose growing with every lie he said, she gave in and gave him a proper push, which send him flying to the nearest seat, right in Mrs Yamamoto's lap (she was pretty sure he helped her with that bit, though - she wasn't quite that strong) and screamed the usual dead-awakening screech. "YOU PERVERT!"

The bus burst out laughing. People fell from their seats, other ones smashing their heads in the windows and armrests. Amu nonchalantly watched the whole scene, eyes diverting toward Ikuto after some time to find him apologizing to old Mrs Yamamoto, who was giggling and assuring him it was okay, and then coming back over to her. "Well," he concluded calmly, "that went well. I would rate it as the third best we ever did." Amu didn't pay him much attention, rather focusing on Mrs Yamamoto who was winking at her and wildly gesticulating toward Ikuto. Amu smiled out of the corner of her mouth. You just had to love the old woman.

She didn't remember when this stopped being real and started becoming a show, but the whole charade lasted from the first morning after she found out his name. He did the absolutely same thing as today, or any other day for that matter, closing in on her while she was too busy drawing to notice him, but that time she was genuinely scared and angry. She practically tossed him to the other end of the bus while screaming on top of her lungs. The 'audience' was thrilled. They literally made such a fuss that the driver came to check if everything was alright.

She didn't talk to him for the rest of the day. Next morning, he did the same thing. And the morning after. And the one after that.

She wasn't really sure why they did it, except to satisfy the crowd. If you didn't give them what they wanted, they were going to eat you. They gave them games. It was a miracle they didn't have to share bread yet.

But despite how messed up everything was, they loved their little bus family, which they apparently parented for some time now. So they kept their little show up.

Watching the people who were just recovering from the hiccups as of an after effect of the laughter, she asked herself how they never get bored of the same thing over and over again. "It's your fault, you know" she said, not turning.

"Mine?" he asked, seemingly shocked. "You couldn't possibly be blaming me for this situation, could you?"

"Of course I'm blaming you!" she snorted, choosing to oversee the fact that he was not being serious in his consternation. "If you haven't done this that morning, we wouldn't be here in the first place! Actually," she said, finally turning to him as a thought crossed her mind for the first time, "why did you do it? Is it just another whim of your sick and twisted mind, or is there actually a motive behind this?"

Smirk. "Probably my twisted mind, yes. I just like seeing you blushing like that. It's really cute when you can't tell where is the line between your face and hair."

Amu shook her head in disgust, although she was quite embarrassed inside. "You are seriously such a pervert."

"Really? What about you? You are the one who stares at me all the time."

Amu blushed - it was just a constant state now. And look at that, Pinocchio effect once more. But she just couldn't help it. He was so mysterious that it just ate her away from the inside. Not like she was going to find out something more by pinning him to the wall with intensity of her gaze, but she kept doing it in some sort of fake hope she will manage to cut him open and see what is going on in his brain. She didn't think he ever noticed, though. It was strange, but he always seemed pretty busy with looking out of the window. Apparently, she was wrong. "I do not", she smoothly lied.

"I won't hold it against you, don't worry. I am super attractive, so I guess you just can't help yourself." He stopped her fist in the air. "And if you want to know something, you could just ask, you know. I am pretty well familiar with your talking abilities."

A mind-reading Pinocchio. Seriously wonderful.

She kept quiet for the rest of the ride in protest. He was smirking to the window. She was determined to not look at him, which she regretted when they arrived to her stop. She felt him nudge her. "Come on." She looked up wanting to shot him a pointed retort, and flinched. His expression was so serious that she felt fear rouse in her insides. She obliged.

When they came out, he was constantly walking by her in such a way that he always covered her so passing people couldn't see her from one side. She was curious, among other things, and kept stretching her neck out so she would see what was he shielding her from, but he just walked faster every time she did it, so her attempts miserably failed. They finally reached a passage between two houses in which he pulled her. By that time, Amu was quite sure that there was no danger lurking around the corner, and was pretty pissed by his strange behaviour. Seriously, if this was just another of his pranks again, she was going to catapult him into the sky. However, he wasn't moving, just looking around and studying passers, and Amu concluded she was fed up with it. "Listen, what the heck are you..." she began before he grabbed her and put a hand over her mouth. "Shh."

Amu looked angrily up at him and bit his hand. He winced a bit, but didn't remove it. Strange. Usually that technique worked (not that she was often cornered by handsome young men who tried to shut her up, but still).

Some time passed, in which Amu tried to free herself of Ikuto in any way she could think of - which included a lot of legs kicking, feet stomping, more hand biting and even an occasional elbow to the stomach - while not paying attention to the way Ikuto smelled, or the way his arms were wrapped around her, keeping her in place, or that her head came just below his chin, so they fitted perfectly. When she realized those thoughts still found their way into her head, she felt pretty down. Maybe Ikuto was right. She is a pervert.

Just as she gave up on forcing him to let her go, and started wondering will they ever move from that place and what time it was and will she be late for her class, soon after which she decided she probably will if this goes on for a second longer, he removed his arms. She was so surprised she forgot to yell at him (she was also a bit occupied with cursing at herself for missing the warmth already).

Ikuto looked at her slightly interested. "Hm. Not really the reaction I was expecting, I must admit. Or are you too shocked to talk?"

She decided to go with that. "You... What was... Do you really think that... WHAT THE HELL?"

He smirked. "And she's back. Good. Then I shall bid you farewell."

She didn't even try to stop him as he walked away.

"Amu. Amu. Earth to Amu!"

Amu jumped. "What?"

Nagihiko shook his head. "Okay, that's enough. You're going to tell me now what the hell has been bothering you this whole time. You've not been yourself for days now, and I'm suspecting that today was finally when it all hit the boiling point."

Amu sighed. Maybe that was not such a bad idea after all. "Yeah. But you better prepare your girly gossip senses, because this might take some time."

Although she made the resolve to tell Nagihiko everything, when she tried to start, she discovered she didn't really quite know how. "So,"she nervously tried, "there is... this guy." And nothing else came out.

She was stuck.

There was a long pause once again. "How interesting", Nagihiko noticed. "And where exactly did you and 'this guy' meet?"

An incoherent murmur.

"Sorry, didn't hear you there", Nagihiko said with a devilish smile on his lips.

Amu, enraged, turned toward him. "On. The. Bus. Okay?" she squeezed through gritted teeth.

"Well, now we're getting somewhere", Nagihiko grinned as his suspicions were confirmed. "Really, you never do tell me enough about this mysterious person. And what did he do to make you so mentally disheveled?"

Amu's head miserably plopped onto the desk. "He... he just... He acts in this one way, and it's incomprehensible. He just has such annoying personality."

Nagihiko cocked his head to the side. "Okay, but since when is that enough to get you out of your tracks?"

Amu sighed. "It's this... thing he does. Like, every time we're together, he tries to hide me from somebody. This morning, he came out at my stop and walked beside me the whole time as if to cover me, and then he just pushed me to some pass between the houses and kept me there gagged for some time. And it's not just that. All the time, I see him looking around like he's looking for something and sometimes he positions himself so you can't see anything but him through the window. A few times he even held me by the wrist when I tried to get off untill he examined the outside. Why does he do that? I just don't get it. It's like he's protecting him me from something." After some time, she added, "Or he just doesn't want to be seen with me." It hurt her to say that, and Nagihiko must've noticed, because he put his arms around her and pulled her into a hug.

"Hey," he whispered, "I'm sure that's not it. I don't know why he does that, but it's certainly not because he's ashamed of you. And if, by some miracle, he really is, then he's a jerk. And I know I sound like every stereotypical teenage novel, but it's true. I'm not going to tell you all the reasons why, though. I'm still a guy, no matter what the outside world believes."

Amu cracked a laugh. "You're spending too much time with me."

He hugged her tighter. "Definitely."

By that time, other students started to eye them with suspicion. Nagihiko eyed them back. "Hey," he said, "I think people are starting to wonder why are we hugging for so long."

Amu snorted. "The crossdresser and the goth, huh? Let 'em." She had enough problems even without having to explain to every single person in their English class that she and Nagihiko are just friends. Actually, she realized as a smirk started to form on her face, this might be the perfect opportunity to have some fun at the expense of others. And she needed something to cheer her up badly.

She put her arms around Nagihiko, returning the hug. He looked down at her, confused, but as he saw the look in her eyes, he figured out where was she going. He hid a matching smirk in her hair as he leaned in and planted a kiss on her head.

Amu saw people exchanging looks that were going from curiously confused to completely horrified. She heard a few whispers coming from the girls about how they 'didn't think Fujisaki-san had a girlfriend'. Perfect.

She snuggled closer, shifting so she was now sitting on his lap. It felt a bit weird, but in past few weeks she became so accustomed to acting that she didn't care. She leaned next to him, so his longer and her shorter hair were covering their faces. She got several inhales of terror as the whispering continued, but more furious. By that point, she couldn't stop herself and began giggling. Then she felt Nagihiko shaking and realized he was laughing too, and she burst. They both began laughing louder, and then louder, and even louder, and after that they just proceeded to a phase where they laughed so hard that not a sound came out. Amu couldn't breathe. She tried to calm herself and looked away from Nagihiko's face, only to see faces of their classmates and begin laughing again. Just the thought of those people thinking that she and her best friend, a friend which she knew for ages, from when they were both kids, her crossdresser, female pretender friend and her doing such things together made her stomach hurt.

Unfortunately, it was that moment that Nikaidou-sensei walked into the classroom with ten minutes delay. Stumbled, more exactly, which made him to spill his coffee all over the papers he was holding. He cursed under his breath and turned toward the blackboard, hopelessly hoping his students didn't notice. When, however, the usual chuckles and fake "Can I help you, sensei?" comments were absent, he looked around the classroom, curious to see what made the kids forget to be mean. He noticed they were all watching toward the same spot, so he looked, too, and saw two of his very good students clearly offending the rule book and, moreover, laughing. Seeing the opportunity to restore some of his lost dignity, he walked over to them silently, waking the students from their trance one by one. They all murmured, "Sensei", and scurried to their seats. When he finally reached the laughing duo, they just looked at him and started laughing even harder. Sensei decided to stay calm. Two teenagers were making fun of him in front of the whole class, and they were not going to get away with it. He straightened and with every fragment of his coffee-soaked pride that was left, said, "Fujisaki-san? Would you be so kind to explain to me what exactly are you and Hinamori-san doing?" When he didn't receive an answer, he asked, more persistently, "Well?"

Nagihiko managed to stop laughing for just as long as it took him to say, "Well, you see, sensei, we were just exchanging the usual boyfriend and girlfriend affections."

Amu interjected, "Because it is so obvious that's what we are, isn't it, Nagi, dear?"

They couldn't talk anymore after that.

Nikaidou-sensei watched them completely bewildered. Then he slowly closed his mouth and smiled. "Well, isn't that so. Well. Well, well, well." He turned toward the class. "I see."

"And just as I was starting to think he was a decent guy", Nagihiko grumbled.

It was the end of their classes for the day and most of the students have gone home already. He and Amu, however, were in the file room, sorting out some papers Nikaidou-sensei told them to categorize. "It would be really desirable for it all to be sorted by the end of the week. More you do today, less you have tomorrow. I appreciate your help." And that's how they found themselves locked in a room that was a complete mess of papers, envelopes and open drawers. It will take them ages to sort all of that junk out.

"Yeah, and he said that he chose us to 'help him' because we're such good students to him", Amu huffed. "Okay, I have no objections when we're talking about you in that context, with all your dancing contests all over the world, but me? I suck at English."

"Oh, come on, that's not true."

"Yes, it is. But for a guy who is that clumsy, he sure is clever. Such excuses to give us punishment, like we are still in high school. Punishment..." she complained. "Punishment for what, exactly?"

Nagihiko cleared his throat. "For 'inappropriate behaviour in class, making fun of the professor and sexual references in acts'", he finished with surprisingly good imitation of Nikaidou-sensei's voice.

Amu smiled a little and then sighed. "Really, though, I'm sorry for this. I was just in such a weird mood this morning, and now you're stuck here with me because of it. Do you hate me now?"

"You know I could never hate you."

"Well, I don't know. First I practically molested you, and then I earned us a punishment."

Nagihiko waved it off. "Firstly, it's not molestation if the partner is participating willingly, and at least you're in a better mood. Secondly, don't worry about me. Just missing an hour of being told to 'find my inner woman'. No, it's you I'm worried about. Weren't you supposed to be at the café already?"

Amu looked at the clock which was hanging on one of the walls in the crammed room. "Yeah, I'm already late. Can't do anything about it, though. He said at least an hour, so..."

She tried to seem carefree, but she knew he saw right through it. He knew how much her job meant to her. She took an early shift so she could get home earlier and finish things for college, but recently it also meant something else. She will have to take the next bus.

Nagihiko watched as a pile of papers dropped from Amu's hands. He knew she hated pity, but he couldn't help but feel sorry for her. "You know what?" he asked as he walked over to her. She looked up with sad eyes. "Go."

Her eyes brightened, but immediately became worried again as she stuttered, kneeling and starting to collect papers she dropped. "B-But I can' leave... You shouldn't... I will..."

She fell silent when he crouched next to her and took the papers. His eyes were warm. "Amu? Go."

"But -"

"No. Go." She looked at him, smiling his reassuring smile. And she gave in. "Okay."

Nagihiko watched as she climbed through the open window, which they probably left like that so they wouldn't suffocate. He shook his head and began collecting the papers once again.

Amu barged into the café sweating and panting. She ran the whole way there, and when she finally reached the back entrance, she fell to the floor, feeling like somebody violently squeezed the life out of her. Rima, who was sitting at the small round table drinking coffee (Amu felt sick at the sight of the beverage), flinched. "Sheesh", she commented, pursuing her lips as she lifted her cup. "What happened to you?"

Amu barely had the energy to contemplate the fact that it was the second time somebody asked her that question today, let alone to answer her. Rima shrugged and went back to drinking her coffee, viewing her suspiciously like she would some being that landed from space and she wasn't sure was it good or not yet.

When she finally recovered some breath, Amu dragged herself over to the lockers. She put away her bag and tied her apron around her waist. She then went over to the table with Rima, who was still calmly sipping the hot liquid. "Where's Manager?"

Rima shrugged again. "Don't ask me. I'm on my break", she said, lifting her mug as proof.

Amu groaned and prepared herself to get out of the kitchen and face Manager. Just as she was about to walk out, she was stopped by Rima's voice. "Hey, Amu?"

She turned around. "Yeah?"

"What's going between you and Tadase?"

Amuz stared at her. Rima had yet to learn that bluntness wasn't always the best quality one could have. "Nothing", she said, rather stiff.

"Really? Because after that fight you had..."

"Yes, we broke up. Therefore, there is nothing happening between us", she snapped.

Rima eyed her from head to toe. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you break up?"

"Listen, why are you asking me all of this? If he came here looking for..."

She was cut off by Kuukai, who came inside with a rather expressed frown on his face. He slammed his tray on the table and sat down heavily, sighing and running a hand through his hair. Rima looked at him compassionately. "He still didn't leave, did he?"

Kuukai sighed again and shook his head, slumping down on the table. Amu looked from one to another. "Wait, did I miss something? Who didn't leave?"

Rima looked over to Kuukai before her gaze travelled back to Amu. "This one guy, rather good-looking guy, came here about half an hour ago. I was just heading to my break, but I was around long enough to see all the people of female sex fawning over him like he was a piece of meat. It was really insufferable. But Kuukai had to deal with it a lot longer than me." She threw another glance toward the sad heap on the table that was once their friend. Amu shook her head in confusion. "A newcomer? We don't get much of those."

"I know. But he said that he works near, but just hasn't ventured here untill today. He said he was hiding from someone, and he also mentioned we were just one stop away from where somebody special to him usually gets off the bus. I think he was hoping to see her."

One stop. One bus stop. Bus. Rima said 'bus'. "And... " Amu gulped. "What... does he look like?"

Rima eyed her again before she answered. "Tall, dark hair, dark eyes. Not ugly. He reminds me of a cat. Why?"

But Amu wasn't in the kitchen anymore. She dashed through the door, ignored the raised hands and calls of other people, apologizing and promising she will take their orders later. She went straight toward the corner by the window. Although she expected him to be there, she was still unprepared for actually seeing him. She stood by his table, in the noise of the busy café, and waited for him to realize she was there. He eventually did, she supposed, as he tore his eyes from something he was scribbling in a notebook and turned. His blue eyes met hers as he smirked.

"So, this is where you work... Amu?"

A/N: This. Was. So. LONG. I honestly don't know what came over me, I just... I don't know. Hope you don't mind? And also, it was kind of a weird chapter, I guess? Yeah, I just don't know...

I don't know whose P. O. V. will the next chapter be yet. I think it might be time for me to go back to good ol' Ikuto, but I really don't know how will it turn out. As you see, I mentioned the fight again, and I tried to give you some more insight into the characters' backgrounds. It will all develop more soon, I promise. R&R (read and review), C&C (compliments and criticism)? Longer chapters mean more chances for mistakes, so if you find any, please do let me know. Thank you for reading!