A/N: So the reviews this time made me so happy that I feel I must respond to you all from now on.
XoxoFallenStarxoxo: I'm glad you agree that Ikuto is sexy (like anyone would say otherwise…) And I'm glad you caught onto the irony. Remember how the teacher was like "Boys you will fall first." Totally wrote that on purpose. ;]
Mystic Spirit Angel: Oh don't worry. This is just the beginning of the Amuto moments. Ikuto's charm hasn't even been turned on yet. Mwuahahaha!
Neji0392: Let's totally exchange thoughts on Harry Potter after we see it! I'm totally excited for the Rimahiko too! It's going to be all cute and such =]. Oh p.s. Last time when you said you were waiting for reviews, I totally caught the hint and went to read your story, only to find out you had like 834927 of them and I didn't know where to start! But I promise I will get to it sometime soon!
The Black Stray: Thanks! I'm trying to take things slow on purpose because I think developing their relationship in a realistic way makes the story better! And I totally love your story by the way! Just saying!
Neji'sTrueLover: I was completely honored that you reviewed my story, especially since you normally don't review. Makes me feel extra special! =]. I will be sure to keep my author notes interesting and quirky now just for you!
AnimeLovaXD: Thanks for your reviews. Rimahiko/Amuto for the win!
ArtGrrl-Sunna Bluecat: To my most loyal reviewer (you've got one in on every chap so far) I send mucho love out to you! I'm glad you love my story so much. It makes me so happy to read that you do! It is only going to get better, I promise!
Moonlight X Luna: I know isn't it? Thank you for continuously reviewing also! I'm glad you read it at a normal hour this time! (Well I'm assuming you did, I actually have no idea…)
Okay so maybe I won't keep doing that every time because it almost took up like a whole page! Just know that I love you all!
And so the story continues…
"What are you so happy about?"
Rima's voice brought Amu out of her daze and she looked over at her best friend. They were sitting in homeroom, waiting for the bell to ring to leave for their first class. It was Friday so everyone was anxious for the weekend to start. It had been a short week since school had started on Tuesday so the teachers could have Monday to prepare.
"What are you talking about, Rima?"
"Don't play dumb with me. You had this…like…smirk on your face. I've never seen you do that before."
"A smirk?!"
"Yeah."
Amu felt the familiar heat rising to her cheeks for the umpteenth time that week. I was…smirking? Just the thought of it brought the image of a certain someone smirking at her to her brain. Don't tell me he's rubbing off on me.
"So…?" Rima trailed off.
"Huh?"
"So tell me what you were thinking about that made you smirk like that."
Her blush deepened. Okay so she had been thinking of him. But not in any special way. She was just thinking about how funny it was that in just three days, she'd gone from hating the guy to…to what? Are we friends now?
"Okay something is definitely up. I haven't seen you blush like that since swim class in middle school when you got to see Tadase with his shirt off."
"Oh come on now. Who wouldn't blush at that?"
"Umm, most people. He was so white I had to shade my eyes to look at him. And stop avoiding the subject."
"You're the one who brought up Tadase with his shirt off!"
"You were thinking of that guy from your gym class weren't you?"
Amu blushed again at the sudden question. "N-no!"
"Ha! You so were! And that was your face for him. What was his name again? Iku…Ikuto! That was your Ikuto face!" Rima starting laughing so hard that people were looking in their direction.
"Shut up, Rima!" Amu reached out and slapped her friend on the arm. But Rima kept laughing and she realized it was the first time she'd really seen her best friend laugh like that all week. In fact, she seemed to be in a better mood altogether.
"What about you? Why are you in such a good mood today?"
Rima stopped laughing. "What?"
"You haven't laughed like that since I accidentally left the house without my skirt on last year."
"Oh yeah," she started laughing again, "that's still funny by the way. And I'm not any different than normal."
"Oh? So you're telling me that you smiling all the sudden has nothing to do with things getting better between you and your cooking partner?"
"How did you know about that?!"
"I didn't, I was just guessing. But you just admitted it was true." Amu smiled as she watched a tint of red spread over Rima's face. Ha!
"So spill," Amu said.
"Nothing happened. I just realized he wasn't completely terrible is all. So I can probably suffer through first term without killing him."
"Suffer? That blush on your face doesn't seem like you're suffering through anything. And you say I'm in denial."
Rima shot her a nasty glare but Amu just stuck her tongue out at her best friend. The bell rang before Rima had a chance to respond and she got up and walked out without saying a word more to Amu.
I am not in denial! Rima gritted her teeth at no one in particular as she walked down the hall toward cooking class. Just because he iced her hand and made her spaghetti and meatballs did not mean she liked the guy. They weren't even friends.
The good news was Amu hadn't denied that she had been thinking about Ikuto. Rima smiled. Hopefully things are getting better for those two. She hadn't even heard Amu talk about Tadase at all in the past day or so. And that was progress. She wished she could help move things along, but what could she do?
She sighed and entered the classroom, heading toward the back.
"Hi, Rima. How's your hand?"
Rima looked up at Nagihiko as she set her bag down on the floor. He was smiling at her. She felt a blush coming but fought it back. I am NOT in denial!
"It's fine," she said with a hint of anger.
She certainly wasn't going to let Amu tell her how she felt. She hadn't really had a crush on anyone since sixth grade, and even that was fleeting. There was no way she was developing feelings for this guy after one day. Hmph. I'll show her!
"Alright class," the teacher said, "today you will be making Strawberry Shortcake. You have three things to make: the biscuits, the filling, and the whip cream. Since you are only working in pairs, you'll have to figure out how to work together to make all three things. Have fun!"
She knew right away she was not going to do the strawberry filling. She didn't need Nagihiko to watch her cutting the strawberries at a snail's pace knowing he could do it in seconds.
"Which part do you want to do, Rima?" He said, smiling.
It was happening again. Her cheeks. The heat. She snapped her head in a different direction to avert his gaze. Control yourself, Rima! There is nothing special about that smile!
"I'll do the whip cream," she finally said. Today was about proving to Nagihiko that she wasn't totally useless. Who knows what he thought of her when she couldn't even boil water.
Not that she cared what he thought of her.
"Okay, I'll start on the strawberries then."
Nagihiko found himself wondering what had happened to Rima since class yesterday. He had been totally speechless when she thanked him for making her spaghetti and meatballs. And he was sure he'd blushed as well. It had thrown him off guard to say the least.
He hadn't even told Ikuto about it because he was afraid he'd jinx himself. He felt hopeful when he walked into class this morning, but now he felt like the tension between them had come back. Or at least she seemed a bit…on edge.
I guess I analyzed things wrong. I mean, she could've just thanked me out of politeness. He would've said the same thing to anyone who made him food.
He sighed as he started cutting the strawberries. Maybe I said something wrong when she walked in? He thought about it for a second. Nah, that can't be it. All I did was ask how her hand was…
Maybe I did a bad job with the ice. Maybe it got worse and she was lying when she said it was fine. According to Ikuto, that was something girls did a lot. Nagihiko felt his grip on the knife tighten. His hands were starting to sweat.
What if that is it? What else could it be? That has to be it. Damnit. He cursed himself as he started to cut the strawberries even faster. I knew I should've put some ointment on it. Way to go, Nagi. Once again, it's your fault she hates you.
"…Nagihiko?"
He blinked and looked to his left. Rima was staring at him with an eyebrow raised and a weird look on her face. He looked down again and noticed he had cut one poor strawberry into a million tiny pieces.
"Whoops, guess I got carried away there…ha…ha.." He laughed nervously.
Great. Now I look psychotic.
He tossed the mutilated strawberry remnants away and started cutting again. He was about to give up on this whole ordeal anyway. Last he had heard from Ikuto, he and Amu had been fighting constantly so he couldn't really help out. And he obviously wasn't doing well on his own.
He sighed again. I guess it's not a huge deal. I mean I don't know much about her anyway, right?
He looked over at her. She was slowly mixing the cream with a whisk, waiting for it to lighten. After just a few seconds, one of her eyebrows started to twitch and she clenched her teeth. Uh oh.
She started mixing it faster and faster until he could hear the whisk scraping the bottom of the bowl. Drops of whip cream started flying out and when one landed on her nose, she finally let go of the whisk.
"Uh, Rima, do you need help?"
"No," she glared at him, "I can do it myself!"
Nagihiko cringed. "S-sorry…"
He turned back to the strawberries. He'd finished cutting them and now all that was left was the biscuits. He gathered the ingredients to start making the dough.
Yep. She still hates me.
He glanced back over his shoulder. She was mixing it even faster than before, her teeth grinding together as she worked her arm in circles. At this rate there's going to be no whip cream left…But still…
As he looked at her getting all worked up over it, he couldn't help but think that she looked…he felt himself blush again. She's kind of cute when she's angry… Which was terrible for him. Because normally if a girl was angry with him, he'd just shrug it off and move on. But with Rima, her angry face just reminded him of how cute she was.
So he was stuck. There was nothing she could do that would make him dislike her. And she was clearly not on the path to liking him anytime soon. He was starting to get depressed just thinking about it. Damnit Nagi, get a hold of yourself. He'd never forgive himself if he started crying in the middle of cooking class.
If only he had just wrapped his arms around her waist when she fell…
"…Nagihiko…"
He flinched at the sound of his name. What did I do now? He looked down to see if he was kneading the dough with unnecessary violence. No, perfectly normal. So he turned to look at her and his eyes widened.
She was practically covered from head to toe in whip cream droplets.
"…I…" she looked at him earnestly, "Can you help me?"
The blush came to his cheeks so fast he couldn't stop it.
Rima gave herself a mental slap in the face. She couldn't make it through one dish without screwing something up. Nagihiko had already finished the strawberries and was almost done with the biscuits and she couldn't even make the whip cream.
Perhaps if she wasn't so tense and stressed out thinking about other things all the time, she could focus. She realized there was no need for her to get so worked up about cooking class. If anything, it was the one class she shouldn't have to worry about so she made up her mind that she was no longer going to since it obviously wasn't getting her anywhere.
And when it came to Nagihiko…what Amu didn't know wouldn't hurt her. She had taken her frustrations out on him all class and he had done nothing but ask how her hand was and if she needed help. She didn't need to have feelings for him to be nice to him.
"Nagihiko…I…" She swallowed her pride. "Can you help me?"
And then he blushed. What? Why is he blushing? I'm the one who should be embarrassed. Even so, it made him look…almost…kind of…cute. She gasped as she realized what she was thinking and immediately turned back to the bowl of cream.
"Of course," he said.
He's probably wondering why I'm even here at all since I don't contribute anything ever. He worked so much quicker without me last time, he doesn't even need me here. And now he's going to make the whip cream. I should just let him do everything next time…
She frowned. He had started a new bowl and was adding sugar to the cream.
"Rima, grab the whisk."
She reached for it and handed it to him. He just turned and looked at her with a confused expression at first, but then he smiled. And she didn't blush this time. See, you don't like him, Rima. You just weren't used to it that's all.
That aside, she had no idea why he was smiling at her.
"You said you wanted the whisk right?"
"No, I told you to grab the whisk. It's not fun if I do everything. Stand here. I'll show you."
He moved aside to let her stand in front of the bowl, then moved so he was behind her. She felt his fingers graze her elbow and he slid his hand down her forearm and took hold of her wrist.
In reality, this movement happened in about a second. But she felt every single touch of his skin against hers and there was no stopping the heat this time. It shot through her arm and up to her cheeks so quickly that she was grateful he was behind her and couldn't see it.
Slowly, her wrist started to move.
"Just start out slow, and then after about a minute go a little bit quicker, but not too fast or the peaks will never form."
"P-peaks?"
"Yeah. When you've done it right, you should be able to lift the whisk a few inches from the bowl and the cream will come with it, staying attached to the spoon. That's called a peak."
He was moving her arm a little bit quicker now, but all she could feel was the light tingle where his breath hit her neck when he spoke. Just concentrate on the cream, Rima.
"Not so fast, Rima."
"S-sorry."
Gah. I'm stuttering again. What the hell!
Finally, he pulled her wrist up to remove the whisk from the mixture. And just like he said, a peak formed between the whisk and the cream. Rima's eyes widened at the sight of it. He made it seem so simple.
"See, you did it!" He let go of her arm.
She turned around to see him smiling at her. She didn't feel a blush. Didn't feel the need to lash out at him. Or at Amu. She just felt…happy. So she did the only thing that felt natural. She smiled back at him.
"Thanks."
And then he did it again. He blushed at her. And apparently it was contagious.
Damnit, Amu!
A/N: Gah! Sorry it took forever for me to upload this! I wrote it in bits and pieces. And it turned out to be a lot longer than I thought. Whoops! Oh well, no one has complained about length yet. Overall, I like this chapter. It actually turned out a little different than I planned, but oh well. Unfortunately, my mind and my fingers don't always produce the same thing. Hope you guys are okay with it!
The next two chapters are centered around Amu and Ikuto (and there's gonna be a little bit of Nagihiko as well) but fear not Rimahiko fans, more will come soon!
And OMG, I've come up with so many more ideas for the last few chapters that it makes it hard for me to concentrate on these ones because I want to write those ones so badly. Nagi is so cute in my head and I hope I can make him come across write on paper. GAH so excited to write those chapters!
Anyway, after that long spiel, R&R!
P.S. Harry Potter was awesome. The climactic scene was a little disappointing, but oh well! Still awesome!
P.S.S. For those of you who don't know, the title of this chapter comes from the joke/saying: "Denial is not just a river in Egypt."
