MHD: And then there were seven. Chapter seven is ready and raring to go. I'm not sure if that's spelled right, it's something I've often said but have never written. Anyway, this one took forever. It feels like the chapters get longer everytime I write. Anyway, before anyone gets mad, just remember that this story will have an Amuto ending, and that other situations are sometimes necessary along the way.

Ikuto: (has already read chapter) I can't believe you leave her totally oblivious to my feelings, and then put her...

MHD: Hey, I know how it feels to love somebody who's totally oblivious, trust me. Well either that or A. He knows and doesn't care, B. He doesn't like me "that way," or C. He likes some other people better.

Ikuto: Shutting up now.

MHD: Thank You. Iru, would you do the honor?

Iru: Sure, MourningHisDoom does not own Shugo Chara, I Never Told You By Colbie Caillat, or Breakeven by the Script, or the other two songs mentioned in this chapter. Now, let's get this show on the road.

The week flew by, and Friday afternoon came way before I was ready for it. I'd learned mine and Ikuto's duet so well I was almost confident that I could sing it backwards while juggling five lit torches. Like, if I could actually juggle lit torches, or just juggle period, but that's not really all that important right now.

My song, I was not so confident about. Oh, I had the lyrics well enough, and the tune was easy enough to sink into, and every one of the notes were easily in my range - which is actually a pretty good size – but I couldn't get the emotion right. When I sung the duet, Ikuto's voice, the pain there, the reality, the life he gave the song, made it so much easier to express emotions I'd never even felt. I would never admit that to anyone, but it was the honest truth. In my solo, I didn't have his abilities to hide behind, and loneliness or broken-heartedness wasn't something you could fake. I was totally sunk.

So here I was, in my dorm with Kukai – currently sitting on my bed - singing and re-singing the song, trying to somehow force the emotion, and ending up with an epic fail every time. I finished the song for the thirteenth time, I also ended up collapsing back onto my pale pink comforter. "I'm doomed." I said, finally giving up all hope of getting this right.

"I don't get it, Amu."
"You don't get what?" I said, turning to look exasperatedly at his back, which was about the only angle I had in my current position.

"Well, I've seen you act before. Your amazing at it, even crying on command, but you can't get this one little song right?"

"I," I said, sitting up to look at his profile rather than his back, "I guess I've been barely scraping by all this time in romantic scenes."
"Yeah, those always were your worst, but why did you have so much trouble? The scenes were simple enough."

"Simple enough if you've had experience with romance. But I haven't, ever, and now it's going to ruin my chances for this competition."

"Maybe some group will just suddenly drop dead and you won't have to worry about elimination." I leaned over to playfully nudge Kukai. He always knew what to say, and I was grateful for having him.

"Alright," I leaned over to tap replay on my iPod, "let's run this again."

Another group finished, one less group before I totally ruined my chances of winning, my groups chances of winning. Ikuto's chances of winning. Well, at least that one good thing came out of this whole predicament. I wasn't worried about him losing at all, it would be a good thing. I just had to keep reminding myself of that, keep telling my self that I didn't care.

Speaking of which, where had that idiot disappeared to? Sure, we were the second to last group, followed only by Utau and Kukai, but we were on after two more groups, the first of which was starting it's performance now. I wandered around quickly, searching everywhere for him, until I finally came to a dimly lit area full of extra lights and other props. This place was full of dust, like no one had been back here for awhile.

Well, excluding the two figures who were back here now. If I was the betting kind, I'd be willing to put good money on the figure closest to me being Ikuto, and on the second figure most definetley not being someone who went to our school. Let me tell you this guy was huge, like bodyguard huge, like scary huge.

"Ikuto-sama, I was sent by your father. It is his request that you depart immediately after your performance tonight. I have the car ready to leave immediately after the final song." Even with the proper speech, this man's voice sent chills down my spine.

"It's to bad that you wasted the gas to come here, Hikaru, but as you know my father's summons have never effected me before, and they won't begin to now." Yes, that was definetley Ikuto, I could tell from the voice, the attitude, and the general annoyance the two caused me when put together.

"Sir, it is immensely important, even Kyoko-sama has requested your presence, she told me directly to make sure that you came with me this time." Kyoko? Who the heck was Kyoko?

"If it's really that important to her, I guess I really have no choice but to go. To drop everything, same as I always do, for her sake." And why did she have enough leverage to change Ikuto's mind the second her name was mentioned. Why did that small fact make me feel like I was about to start crying? Or was it the idea of Ikuto leaving that brought me tears? No, neither of those could have been it, I still hated Ikuto right? So why should him leaving bother me in the slightest? No, it had to be just all the dust here, starting to bother my eyes. That was the only logical solution, wasn't it?

"AMU HINAMORI, ON DECK PLEASE." I was shocked that there were speakers for the backstage P.A. system located even here. I was left no choice, I had to move quickly, or we would be disqualified before we really even started, so I ran.

Clumsiness is not a good quality to have when your in a dark, small, cluttered hallway. After my first few steps I kicked over what I hoped was an empty can, and I hit about three about five steps later. That's when I heard someone coming after me, and I assumed it was Ikuto. I kept pushing forward, even if this was one of my last chances, I really didn't want to see him. I thought I was finally out, or really close to the exit, since I could already see the bright lights of the main backstage area. Unfortunately, I didn't see a thin pole lying across the hallway, I stepped on it, and it rolled out from under me.

As I was falling back, my thoughts remained surprisingly clear. I guess I really won't be able to perform today, it seems like fate is dead set against it anyway. It doesn't matter anyway, if Ikuto leaves, we'll be disqualified anyway. I wonder if I'll die, if anyone will realize I'm here, or if I'll just bleed out. I hope that, either way, I can't feel it. Maybe I should scream, so they'll know I'm here. Hmm, that's weird, I can't scream, that may be really bad. Either my minds started working really fast, or I'm falling really slow.

Just then, I stopped falling, but it wasn't the floor that I finally made contact with. The floor was cold, hard concrete, and whatever it was that I hit was warm and soft. I decided to open my eyes, and figure out if I had somehow gone straight to heaven, the only reason I could come up for not being in pain on the floor right now. I didn't find pearly gates or St. Peter, but instead I was uncomfortably close to Ikuto. Relief was evident on his face, which was easy to tell since it was only a few inches from mine. Oh, so Ikuto had caught me. IKUTO WAS HOLDING ME RIGHT NOW! In my mind I was having a freakout to end all freakouts, yet my face only continued to show the anger, sadness, and pain my former eavesdropping session had brought on.

The relief disappeared from Ikuto's face as soon as his eyes opened, he looked down to shoot me a glare that, to be honest, scared the heck out of me.

"Amu, I swear to you, if you ever scare me like that again, I'll personally kill you." I had never seen Ikuto this mad. I don't know why he was so worried, he would be leaving after this, so what happened to a group member wasn't going to affect him. I looked up into his face again, and behind the anger, I found honest worry. Then I realized that I really didn't want to see his face right now. I stood up quickly, brushed myself off, and, careful to avoid the pole this time, I peeled out of there as fast as I could. I stopped eventually, right as I reached the "on deck" area. It wasn't much, actually it was only a small space near the curtain that was just out of the audiences view.

Kukai was there, waiting for me patiently as the preceding group began their duet. Like with every other time, he could tell from one look how I was feeling, how low and broken I felt. There wasn't really much time for a deep "feelings discussion", so he just came over and wrapped his arms tightly around my shoulders, assuring me that no matter what it was, everything would somehow be OK. As he was continuing with the soothing words, applause erupted outside as the music softly came to a stop. It was my turn now, and I was barely managing to hold back the tears. God, this made absolutely no sense.

"You need to go." Kukai said, shoving me gently towards the stage. I turned for one last glance at him. He offered me his signature goofy grin, as well as a thumbs up. I thanked my lucky stars that I had him here to help me sort through all these feelings, and I hoped that he could figure out what I couldn't seem to.

I looked out into the crowd, and I immediately regretted it. There were multiple signs, some held only a few feet away from the stage, with the word Amuto written across it and some sort of picture of me and, and...Ikuto. I prayed that I could begin singing soon, so I could lose myself in someone's pain rather than my own. And, as if attuned to my wishes, my musical cue came, and the words poured out.

I miss those blue eyes
How you kiss me at night
I miss the way we sleep

Like there's no sunrise
Like the taste of your smile
I miss the way we breathe

But I never told you
What I should have said
No, I never told you
I just held it in

The tears started about here, but my voice stayed strong, refusing to break.

And now,
I miss everything about you
Can't believe that I still want you
And after all the things we've been through
I miss everything about you
Without you

I see your blue eyes
Every time I close mine
You make it hard to see
Where I belong to
When I'm not around you
It's like I'm alone with me

But I never told you
What I should have said
No, I never told you
I just held it in

And now,
I miss everything about you
Can't believe that I still want you
And after all the things we've been through
I miss everything about you
Without you

But I never told you
What I should have said
No, I never told you
I just held it in

And now,
I miss everything about you
Can't believe that I still want you
And after all the things we've been through
I miss everything about you
Without you

And just like that, it was over. I was engulfed in applause and shouts, yet I enjoyed none of it. I took a small bow, waved to everyone, and then quickly exited the stage.

Kukai was still waiting for me, and he welcomed me back wit a huge hug, and a laughing "At least you solved your song problem." I was really lucky to have a best friend who always had something good to say.

"Amu?" I was unlucky to have to come face to face with the last person I wanted to see right now. I cringed tighter into Kukai, and based on his reaction, he got the message.

"Um, dude, maybe you should just go perform, like, now." Yup, he got the message. And, to my astonishment, Ikuto listened. I turned my face back into Kukai's chest as the applause for him began, but I couldn't block out the song he was singing, from my ears or my heart.

I'm still alive but I'm barely breathing
Just prayed to a God that I don't believe in
'Cause I got time while she got freedom
'Cause when a heart breaks, no it don't breakeven

Her best days will be some of my worst
She finally met a man that's gonna put her first
While I'm wide awake she's no trouble sleeping
'Cause when a heart breaks, no it don't breakeven, even, no

What am I suppose to do
When the best part of me was always you and
What am I suppose to say
When I'm all choked up and you're okay

I'm falling to pieces, yeah
I'm falling to pieces

They say bad things happen for a reason
But no wise words gonna stop the bleeding
'Cause she's moved on while I'm still grieving
And when a heart breaks, no it don't breakeven, even, no

What am I gonna do
When the best part of me was always you
And what am I suppose to say
When I'm all choked up and you're okay

I'm falling to pieces, yeah
I'm falling to pieces, yeah

I'm falling to pieces
(One's still in love while the other one's leaving)
I'm falling to pieces
('Cause when a heart breaks, no it don't breakeven)

You got his heart and my heart and none of the pain
You took your suitcase, I took the blame
Now I'm tryna make sense of what little remains, oh
'Cause you left me with no love and no love to my name

I'm still alive but I'm barely breathing
Just prayed to a God that I don't believe in
'Cause I got time while she got freedom
'Cause when a heart breaks, no it don't break
No it don't break, no it don't breakeven, no

What am I gonna do
When the best part of me was always you
And what am I supposed to say
When I'm all choked up and you're okay

I'm falling to pieces, yeah
I'm falling to pieces, yeah
I'm falling to pieces
(One's still in love while the other one's leaving)
I'm falling to pieces
('Cause when a heart breaks, no it don't breakeven)

Oh, it don't breakeven, no
Oh, it don't breakeven, no
Oh, it don't breakeven, no

I could not believe that he had brought more tears to my eyes, or that I still had to sing with him. But he did, and I did, so I forced myself out of Kukai's arms and onto the stage, attempting to wipe away some of my tears. I let my eyes roam quickly over his outfit. His white slacks were still pristine despite the dirt trap he had been in not so long ago, and his black button-down shirt was the same way. The front was plain, and unassuming, but even without having it currently in my sights, I knew the back was a different story. It was decorated with an ornate white cross, and delicate, red lines curling off from it in different directions. I hated how amazing he looked, and the fact that I just admitted he looked amazing.

I walked the rest of the way next to him, looking always at the crowd, offering the pageant style wave I so often used during performances. Then the music started, and the rest was a blur.

I spent all of Utau's song with Kukai, just standing in his arms, trying not to cry. I knew what her song was, Kukai had told me earlier it was "I Miss You" by Miley Cyrus, I wasn't really all that fond of Miley's voice, but I knew Utau had a wonderful voice – which I would never actually tell her – and that she could pull this song off. The funny thing was, even though I was right next to the stage, I didn't hear anything. The music, the lyrics, the crowd, it was all lost in a sea of silence.

Unfortunately, me not hearing it didn't mean it didn't happen, and that Kukai didn't have to leave me for his performance. Again, I knew the song, It's Not Over by Secondhand Serenade, I loved this song, I knew exactly what I should have been hearing. Should, doesn't mean did. I couldn't hear anything, and I couldn't stand it anymore. I ran.

I'm sure plenty of people said something to me, I ran into enough to warrant some kind of vocalization, but I didn't hear anything. Maybe they didn't say anything, maybe they let me be, since odds are, they could see the tears streaming down my face. I didn't really stop to think about it, I just kept running, and running, and running, until my legs gave out from under me.

I ended up leaning against a wall, crying out my eyes out. Through the blurry mess the tears made of my vision, I managed to figure out that I was in a completely abandoned, completely silent – like I could tell if it wasn't – completely white hallway, and I was a mess.

I tried to wipe away my tears, but I finally gave up and decided to examine the remains of what used to be an amazing outfit. My black denim mini was rumpled and wrinkled and a complete disgrace, my white off-the-shoulders top wasn't much better, it was covered in tears, and the design on the front was shedding glitter everywhere. I absolutely refused to consider the mess my hair was in. I was totally ruined, and he had done it to me, he had brought me to this. Worst Saturday Ever.

"...se me?" The voice sounded like I was surrounded by water, and the person was speaking from the surface, but it was sound. Real, honest to goodness sound. I turned to look up at the speaker, and was immediately shocked.

This guy looked amazing. He had blonde hair, and ruby eyes, he was dressed pretty casually, a black T-shirt and jeans pretty much made up his outfit, but he still looked really great. Finally he spoke again, his voice coming through slightly clearer.

"Are you OK, Hinamori-san?" I stared at him blankly for awhile before I finally managed: "H...how...d..do...you...know...m...my...n...na..name?" And it was even more pathetic than it sounds. I realized that I wasn't really crying anymore, just having, um, I guess you could call them dry sobs, so I decided to wipe away the remainder of my tears with my arm.

"Everyone knows your name, especially after that performance." He said offering a dazzling smile. "Oh, I'm Tadase by the way, I'm a junior, like you. I didn't make it in the contest, so I'm helping out a friend backstage today."

"Oh." I said, still staring into his eyes, "Um, what department are you in?"

" I'm a performing student, too." How did I not know this guy? "Anyway," he continued "the reason I came over here, Hinamori-san, was to ask if, if, if you would go to a violin concert with me tomorrow?" Uh, heck yeah! A cute, sweet, kind, guy, asking me out, definetley sounds like a good thing to me.

"Amu." I said, offering him my best attempt at a smile right now.

"What?" he said, looking slightly confused, tilting his head slightly to the side in the cutest way ever.

"If your taking me on a date tomorrow, you should call me Amu." He offered me another amazing smile.

"Then I'll see you tomorrow Amu. Wait, do you want me to walk you back to the main stage area? I have a little time before I'm needed..." It sounded like not enough time the way he said it, but I was really glad he was sweet enough to offer anyway. I turned him down quickly, and went off as soon as he offered to pick me up at noon tomorrow outside my dorm.

I walked off towards one of the multiple exits, deciding to wait for Kukai by his bike. Just my luck, guess who was walking out the same exit. Your options are:

A. The Queen of England

B. Bigfoot

C. Justin Beiber

D. Rhianna

E. Ikuto

For those of you who guessed E congratulations, you were right. For those of you who wish it was A-D, join the club. Ikuto walked out without a glance back at anything he was leaving behind, the school, his life, me. He just let Hikaru guide him out, and then, in a burst of night air, he was gone.

MHD: I apologize, and just so you know, I was tempted to cut my fingers off when I was writing that. Well, that's about it. Iru?

Iru: R&R, NOW!