Disclaimer: I do not own Shugo Chara or any or its characters. I also do not own A Girl Can Dream by Nina.

A Girl Can Dream

Tick tock. Tick tock.

I could hear the sound of the clock at the front of the room repeating its rhythm.

Tick tock. Tick tock.

That, and KusuKusu laughing next to me.

I rolled my eyes at my chara before folding my arms across my desk and laying my head on top. My mom thought it'd be a good idea for me to come to school early. Was it a good idea? No.

There were a handful of students at school already, but none of them I knew. So, here I am sitting in an empty classroom waiting for any of the guardians or even the teacher to show up. I sighed.

I was about to get lost in thought when I remembered something. Before I left for school, I asked KusuKusu to slip a gag manga in my bag. I faced my chara's direction who was prancing around the classroom doing funny tricks. I giggled slightly before asking. "KusuKusu, you did put one of my gag mangas in here, right?" I lifted the bag off the ground onto the table to search through it.

"Yeah, it should be there. Look Rima, funny face."

I paid no attention to her as I felt what seemed like my gag manga. When I pulled it out though, my smile faded. KusuKusu didn't grab a gag manga. Instead, she grabbed a book my mama used to read to me as a child. It was an old fairy tale book.

"KusuKusu, you got the wrong thing," I complained to my chara. She didn't hear me. She was still posing in a funny face.

I might as well make the best of what I've got. I flipped through the pages of the book. Memories came pouring through my mind. I remembered as a child, the story would say that somebody will sweep me off my feet someday. A smile formed on my face. I hoped that would happen with Nagihiko and me, more than he could know.

I sighed heavily as I continued through the book. In the corner of my eye, I saw KusuKusu leave the classroom, probably because she found me boring. I went on reading the book.

When I finished, I shut the book and slammed it against my desk. I looked up to see the once empty classroom full of talkative and lively students. I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see three of the guardians.

"Morning." Amu greeted. We've been waiting for you to finish, Rima." She faced the blond boy next to her. "Tadase-kun, has to tell us something," she spoke dreamily. I rolled my eyes at my pink-haired best friend without her noticing.

"We have some guardian business after school today. We have to help out some students in the elementary school. I already informed Yuiki-san and she agreed. Do you all think you can make it?"

Nagihiko and Amu nodded without any hesitation.

I, on the other hand, thought about it, wondering if I had anything I had to do at home. "There is a brand-new comedy special airing tonight, but it won't start until six, so I'll be there."

I heard a chuckle. "You and your comedy."

My eyes flashed to the person it belonged to. "What's so wrong about that?" I questioned Nagihiko.

He chuckled once again. "Nothing, Rima-chan. Forget I said anything."

That should be easy. By now, Amu and Tadase were off in their own conversation. My eyes wondered around the classroom. They finally rested on my desk a few feet away. I saw the book I just read sitting there. I looked back at Nagihiko, then the book again. This time when I looked at the book, I felt like it was mocking me. It wanted me to tell Nagihiko that my heart was in his hands.

I slightly twitched at the thought. Remind me to never ask KusuKusu to pack me a book.

"Something wrong, Rima-chan?" Nagihiko asked with that smile of his.

I stared at him. Inside I was praying to have the courage to finally tell him what I wanted to say ever since he got back from Europe. I inhaled, then exhaled. "Yeah, I have something to say."

He gave me a gentle look. "What is it?"

Just as I worked up the courage to try, much to my surprise something happened. "Nagihiko, I think I-" I stopped mid-sentence when I saw a pair of hands go around Nagihiko's eyes.

"Guess who?"

Nagihiko smiled. "Good morning, Faith. Can you take your hands off of my eyes now?" Faith removed her hands. Nagihiko turned in her direction and gave her a quick hug. "Where'd you go? We came to school together. You were supposed to be in the classroom-"

Faith interrupted him. "I saw Yaya-chan and she told me to follow her. She gave me candy." Faith revealed the sweet treats. Okay, who gave Yaya sweets in the morning? "She also told me you guys have some guardian business after school. Can I help?"

Nagihiko turned to me. How should I know? "I don't know, Faith. You'd have to ask Hotori-kun." I pointed at Tadase who was still standing and talking to Amu.

"Okay, then. Thanks, Rima-chan." She gave me a short hug before skipping over to ask the king.

I was going to get lost in thought the second time this morning when a hand waved in front of my face. I looked up to see Nagihiko. I realized I stopped my sentence before finishing.

"Care to finish your sentence, Rima-chan?" Nagihiko grinned.

"Uh, well..." I trailed off. "You see I started to-"

Now for the second time that day, I got interrupted. Faith joined us once again. "Good news, I get to help you guys after school. Yay! Tadase-kun told me to ask you what I should do to help. Come on." Faith got a hold of Nagihiko's wrist and yanked him over to Tadase and Amu.

Before they left my side, Nagihiko apologized to me for not letting me finish. I shook my head, although he didn't see it.

I sighed and went to sit down at my desk. Maybe, this is why I haven't told Nagihiko sooner, because he has someone else. I faced the group of four near the back corner before I returned to the front. I think it'd be better this way, to just keep these feelings to myself.

I heaved a sigh, propping my elbow against the desk and placing my chin on the palm on my hand. I sat there quiet, waiting for class to start.

"Baby, a girl can dream

I sat at the table in the royal garden bored out of my mind. We were supposed to wait for Kukai to arrive before Tadase was going to give out the duties. I was drinking my tea watching the scene before my eyes.

Tadase and Nagihiko were filling out some paper work to pass the time, Yaya who crashed from her sugar rush had her head on the table and the charas were off playing in the doll house Ami bought them. Amu, however, was giving Faith a brief tour of the elementary school.

I pouted thinking about that. Faith better not steal my best friend. In the mere moments after I thought about that, Faith and Amu walked in, along with an auburn-haired boy.

Amu called out, "We found Kukai!"

Nagihiko and Tadase looked up from their work and Yaya slightly raised her head from the table. Kukai made his way to us, showing off his goofy grin. "Yo!"

I watched as Daichi flew from his side to join the other charas.

"Souma-kun," Tadase spoke. "Since everyone's here I better start by telling all the jobs."

Tadase talked as I twirled strands of my golden hair. I swear I was paying attention.

When Tadase was still speaking, Yaya miraculously regained her energy from the sugar crash, interrupted him and exclaimed, "Everybody should all hang out at Amu-chi's house this weekend!" She stood up from her seat with a fiery look in her eyes.

Amu began to spaz. "What? No, Yaya!"

Of course Amu would feel that way. She doesn't want a repeat of what occurred last time.

"Don't worry, Amu-chi." She lightly slapped Amu in the back. "It'll be just the four of us then: you, Yaya, Rima-tan and Faith-chan."

"Okay, I guess," Amu replied slowly, thinking it was a better idea.

"Actually, it'd only be three. I can't go. I'm busy this weekend," I confessed.

Yaya crossed her arms across her chest and huffed at me. "But Rima-tan-"

Yaya I looked up when we heard someone clear their throat. Yaya immediately sat down, so Tadase could continue and tell us the rest of the information.

"Yuiki-san, had a great idea. Souma-kun, Fujisaki-kun, why don't we do the same at Souma-kun's house?"

And that's how the boys got side-tracked talking about their plans. Faith was laughing and Amu was scolding Yaya for bringing her idea up in the first place. As for me, I rolled my eyes.

Once I was tired of just sitting, I decided to clear my throat.

The conversations stopped in a flash. I have to do that more often.

Tadase finally assigned the jobs. "Souma-kun and I will be helping the students with the newspaper. Amu-chan, Yuiki-san and Suzuki-san will be organizing the books in the classrooms. Lastly, Fujisaki-kun and Mashiro-san, you will be watering the flowers."

I was full of relief when I got assigned an easy job while Yaya complained about hers.

In a few seconds, our charas hovered by our sides and we all left the royal garden.

All, but Nagihiko and I stayed outside while the others went to do their jobs inside the building. Nagihiko and I went to get watering cans. We filled them up and headed for the flowers.

"To finish quicker, Rima-chan, you take that side and I'll take this side."

I obeyed Nagihiko. I wanted to end this fast, so I could go home and watch the new comedy special.

The time it took to water the plants seemed to go by quickly with KusuKusu next to me doing her famous gags. I laughed at them. And before I knew, I was done watering the plants on my side. I stood up. KusuKusu followed me as I went in search of Nagihiko.

I went around the corner of a building and found Nagihiko finishing up the rest of his side. At the moment, he looked slightly annoyed at something. I realized what it was when my eyes traveled to the side. His charas, Temari and Rhythm, were in an argument.

To me it looked like Temari was at the point of wanting to strangle Rhythm. Let me guess it's Rhythm's fault.

I shook my head disapprovingly at the charas' actions. "KusuKusu, go break it up," I told her.

She flew away from me to the two charas. When the charas saw her, they stopped for a second, but continued arguing. KusuKusu sucked in a big breath and then let out a huge roar, I've only seen her done one other time. That shut the two charas up.

Nagihiko wondered why his charas were quiet all of a sudden, so he turned. He saw KusuKusu and immediately looked for me. His eyes wandered around until he caught sight of me. A smile appeared on his face. He stood up. "All done, Rima-chan?"

I walked toward him and nodded. I pointed at Rhythm and Temari who were now being counseled in therapy by KusuKusu.

"Oh, them? You see Rhythm was messing around with the watering can and accidentally got Temari's kimono wet. Temari got angry and chara changed with me. For a while I was chasing Rhythm around, but then Rhythm decided to chara change with me and chase Temari around. I chara changed with them at least five more times until they gave up chara changing and wanted to battle-it-out face to face."

I knew it was Rhythm's fault.

I giggled. Nagihiko was in disbelief that I was laughing about something like this. I seized my laughter when Nagihiko added, "It's not funny."

So then I smiled.

Nagihiko threw his hands in the air. "I can't believe my would-be selves are a bi-polar Japanese dancer and an impulsive flirt."

At least my would-be self was a happy clown that makes people laugh. I snickered. "It must suck to be you."

"Rima-chan!" Nagihiko shouted. I turned to face him with I noticed his expression changed. He was smirking. "By the way, what were you trying to tell me this morning?"

Damn. I thought he forgot. I began to ponder if I should tell him or not. I rewound to the events this morning, but as I did the book came to my mind.

The main girl character as she slept imagined her being with the boy, not the other girl. They'd be talking, laughing and sharing their dreams. When she woke up though, it was just a fantasy. This situation was similar to me.

I let out a sigh.

"Rima-chan, are you okay?" I felt Nagihiko grab my hand with concern.

I inhaled and then exhaled like this morning. I, again, worked up the courage to try. "This morning, I was saying that I think I-"

"Rima-chan! Nagi! There you guys are!" a recognizable voice yelled. The person it belonged to ran to us. Nagihiko had dropped my hand by now. "We're all done with guardian work today. Want to go home?" she asked cheerfully.

"Sure," Nagihiko and I said in unison.

"Great! I need to get my things. I'll meet you guys in the front." Faith ran off.

Nagihiko and I stood there for a bit. I didn't bother finishing my sentence for the third time that day and Nagihiko didn't pester me to continue my thought. I knew it'd be a good idea for me to keep these feelings to myself because Nagihiko has Faith.

At last, for a long period of silence, we gestured for our charas.

As Temari and Rhythm floated to Nagihiko. They bowed to Nagihiko and apologized for their behavior. He raised his eyebrows in shock. I looked over my shoulder at my giggling chara. KusuKusu's actually a helpful shrink.

We walked over to the front. When we arrived though, Faith was getting into a car. "I guess my mom sent the car." He looked down on me. Curse my vertical height issues. "Do you want a ride, Rima-chan?"

"Nah, it's fine. I'll walk home."

"If you say so. See you Monday." Nagihiko and his charas went in the direction of the car. Before he shut the door, he waved goodbye. I waved back. He closed the door and the car drove off.

I began my journey home with KusuKusu floating by my side.

"Baby, a girl can dream"

It was some time after dinner. My dad actually came over and ate dinner with my mom and me. It was great to be a happy family again, if only for tonight. The four of us, including KusuKusu, watched the new comedy special.

My mom and dad laughed occasionally at the gags as I smiled at the time we were spending together.

After the comedy special, my dad explained he was leaving for a business meeting soon and had to hurry home. Before he left, though, he promised he'd come over again for dinner. I not only smiled because of that, but also because my mom said that he could come anytime he wanted.

Although I do wish my parents were still together, I'm glad they get along better when they're divorced. I guess not seeing the other everyday, didn't give them a reason to argue tonight. The arguing is what drove them apart in the first place.

I shook away those thoughts.

Now I was sitting in my room, lying on my bed, cuddling onto my pig pillow. I was thinking about the plans I would've had tomorrow if I wasn't busy. I would be with Amu, Yaya and Faith at Amu's house. Instead, though, tomorrow I will be going to the mall with KusuKusu to buy new gag manga.

I rolled onto my side and got my bag which was on the floor of one of the sides of my bed. I stuck my hand in and pulled out the item I desired. The fairy tale book.

I opened the book to the middle page and reread the words from this morning. I flipped to the next page and so on. I stopped reading after I read three more pages. I shut the book and laid it next to me.

The part I just reread was where the main girl thought she'd never get to be with the one she loved. I sighed and sat up on my bed with my legs hanging on the side.

It was like me and Nagihiko. I may never get to hold him so tight, I may never get to kiss him goodnight or I may never get to look deep in his eyes probably like Faith does.

At least, that's what it seems like for now.

I hopped off my bed and went over to my window. KusuKusu joined and helped me lift the pane up. I looked up to the sky and gazed at the stars.

I always will be wishing he was mine. I think about what could be all the time and all the happiness I will find because…

A girl can dream.

I smiled remembering Utau telling me that during her concert a few weeks ago. It's true that a girl can dream. And to call Nagihiko my own… it'll be the sweetest dream I know.

"Rima, look a shooting star!" KusuKusu exclaimed.

I scanned around the night sky for it. When I saw it, I smiled again. Then, when it was out of sight, I retreated inside and closed the window.

I went back to my bed and laid down ready to go to sleep and dream.

"Baby, a girl can dream"

"Ready to go, KusuKusu?" I asked my chara.

She hovered up to me. "Rima, can we buy more gag manga, please?" She pointed over to a pile where she collected a couple more volumes of manga. Then, she made her funny face to try to make me crack.

I stifled the laugh. "Sorry, KusuKusu. We already got all the gag manga I could buy." I showed her the bag I was holding. She didn't give in. She sat on top of the pile and pouted.

Sometimes, I regret having a chara like her. I tried to think of a way to get her to leave. An idea popped into my head.

"Fine, you can stay. While you're just sitting here, though, I'll be at home reading the new gag manga."

She got up from the mound of books. "You win this time. Bring more money next time." She flew ahead of me.

I rolled my eyes at her. KusuKusu can be a handful sometimes.

I walked out of the bookstore. As I was about to exit the mall, I saw that it was pouring hard. And that's why I wanted to leave sooner.

"Ah, Rima it's raining!" she wailed.

No kidding. "Here go into your egg." I got her egg out of my pocket and she slipped in. I placed the egg back into my pocket.

Before I headed out, to keep the manga from getting wet, I tucked the bag under my jacket. I stepped out of the mall and hurried on my way home.

As I was running, I had to be careful not to slip. More raindrops kept falling. And to add to that, it was falling faster and faster.

If I get sick, I'm so blaming KusuKusu.

I was finally approaching the crosswalk. A few more blocks and I'll be home. I stood at the end of the crosswalk waiting for the walk signal to show up.

I zoned out for a couple of seconds, but when I was snapped back into reality, I saw the green walk sign. I stood at the end, about to move when in the distance I saw a person with purple hair coming in my direction.

Now, how many people do I know that have purple hair?

I was about to call out his name when all of a sudden, a car came sliding down the street colliding with Nagihiko. My eyes widened in shock.

"Shit," I cursed.

I ran to the middle of the sidewalk where Nagihiko was lying on the ground. The car that hit him came to a stop and the person got out.

"Oh, my!" she yelled horrified. The woman ran to me. She shot out questions. "Is he a friend of yours? Is he alright?"

I slightly twitched. Does he look alright? "Y-yeah, he's a friend of mine. What happened?"

"The rain made the road slippery and made the car travel faster than normal for me. I tried breaking in time before I hit your friend, but it was too late. I better call an ambulance. You keep an eye on him?"

I nodded and she went back to her car. I went over to Nagihiko who was lying motionless on the ground. I peered at his face.

With one of my hands, I took one of his and brought it to my face. With my other hand I caressed his cheek.

Even though it was raining, I could still feel the tears falling from my eyes.

I was still caressing his cheek. "Nagihiko, I love you not because of who you are, well that, but also because of who I am when I am with you. I'm the way I am… because you live."

I gazed down at him again.

Nagihiko…

Don't leave me.

To be continued…

Wow. The ending was so… *Face-palm*

Sorry if the chapter seemed rushed. It was meant to be a filler.

Constructive criticism, please.