Author's Note: GAAAHHHHARRGHH guys it's terrible. I've morphed into some self-proclaimed 'Ikuto genius.' (Not to sound egocentric) But for example, I started reading a new fic. In the first chapter, Ikuto's new to school and he introduces himself to Amu, who happens to be in his class - AND THIS IS THE PART WHERE I INSTANTLY STOP READING. Why? Because I'm convinced that Ikuto would not introduce himself. Amu would have to make an effort to get anything out of him. Therefore, I have found no new stories that meet my standards. Case in point: I have issues. And I'm suffering because of it. Anyhow, on with the story.

"'Cause I need a man and my heart is set on you." - Grease

Chapter 11: Risky Business

"I'm going to kill those DAMN MOSQUITOES!" Amu cried out after practically tearing off a layer of her skin with her nails. No matter how much she scratched, the bites just got itchier and more annoying. She was certain that if she kept up this huff she was in, Nagihiko wouldn't want to hang out with her anymore.

He looked at her warily from his seat across from her before he broke out into an understanding smile. Picking through the bowl of fruit in front of him, he reached out and offered her a strawberry, which she gladly accepted.

"Sorry for being a little…off lately." The pinkette murmured around the strawberry in between her teeth.

Nagihiko looked over her carefully. There wasn't anything physically different about her. Her hair was still very pink and eyes still very golden, but...there was something about her presence that had changed.

"Is…something wrong?" He finally asked after they both took a few more pieces of fruit. He had noticed this change the moment he stepped through the front door. She had invited him over to help her paint Tsumugu's office. Apparently Ami was too stupid to help (Amu's words, not his) and Ikuto wasn't feeling well so he had been sleeping all day and wasn't very accommodating either.

Amu exhaled sharply as she stared down at the kitchen table. She herself didn't even know what was going on with her. There was some sort of inner battle occurring, yet she couldn't figure out what the reason for that battle even was.

She sighed and rubbed her eyes, letting out a growl of frustration. "I don't know, Nagi. I'm having an internal battle and I want to cry and disappear and-" She pursed her lips together and dropped her forehead to the table, "I have no idea what's going on with me."

Frowning at his friend, Nagihiko moved closer to her and folded his hands on the tabletop. "Can you …try to explain exactly what heartstring this battle is tugging at?"

Taking a moment to compose herself, Amu finally lifted her head and stared straight ahead to try to sort everything out. It had just started a couple days ago. There was a bitter feeling in the pit of her stomach each time she thought of Tadase. It made her feel like a horrible person, which caused some sort of a left-brain-versus-right-brain kind of thing. But the reasoning behind that, she still couldn't figure out. All she was certain of was that she had a feeling of bitterness.

She attempted to explain this to Nagi, who nodded along slowly. He always had been amazing when it came to listening to her problems.

"And this started just recently?" He clarified. Amu nodded sullenly.

"Maybe I've come down with a deadly disease. One that starts in the pit of your stomach and slowly eats away at your insides so that soon enough you'll be regurgitating every meal you've ever eaten." Amu declared, expressionless.

Nagihiko placed a hand on Amu's shoulder as she dropped her head to the table again. "Amu-chan…maybe you need to think about…" He drifted off as Ikuto stumbled his way into the kitchen. His hair seemed to be in a permanent state of bed head. Especially today, as it appeared like he hadn't seen daylight in a couple hundred years.

It seemed to take all of Ikuto's strength to turn on the faucet and fill up the glass he had carried down with him. Once the glass was topped off, he turned to meander his way back up the stairs, nodding once at Amu and Nagihiko before he left.

Amu, who had removed her head from off the table, watched him while worrying her lip. It didn't matter what kind of temperature the summer presented itself with, Ikuto always, every single year, caught a summer fever. Amu should have been used to it by now, but she had never actually seen him at his worst when he was sick. She had always met up with him when he was well enough to step outside. This, on the other hand, made her feel sick to her stomach with worry.

Nagihiko noticed her anxious gaze and his eyes softened as he patted her shoulder and retracted his hand. "You should go visit with him." He suggested.

Remembering she had company, Amu's eyes widened as she quickly turned back to look at Nagihiko. "W-what? No, I'm still visiting with you!"

The purple-head stood up after taking a look at the wall clock. "It's about time I left, anyway."

Amu also glanced at the clock. "Really?"

"Well…no. But I'll leave now so I can get a head start on panicking about mine and Rima's date-ish thing later on today." He admitted.

Eyes widening, Amu quickly stood up. "I'm so sorry, I completely forgot! That was going to be today? Where? Does this mean that you two are together?"

"Caaaalllm down, Amu-chan." Nagihiko laughed as he walked over to the front door to search for his shoes. "I managed to convince her to go on one date and if she didn't like it, I'd forever leave her alone. So, no, we're not together…yet. I'm hoping this date-thing will go well and in a few days time, I can say that yes, we are together. Until then…" He exhaled and shrugged, "I can just hope my charm is enough."

Sending him a reassuring smile, Amu pulled him in for a hug. "Oh, it's more than enough, Nagi." Once they parted, she gave him another grin, followed by a thumbs up. "I have complete faith in you! You two are perfect together and this date will make Rima see that!"

Nagihiko chuckled softly as he opened the door and stepped out into the mid-afternoon sunshine. "Thanks, Amu-chan. And I had fun today, thanks for having me over." There was still a swipe of beige paint visible on the back of his hand from his work earlier that day.

"Thank you for being a lifesaver." Amu said in return. She gave him one last hug before he was on his way, a small nervous twitch in his hands.

The pinkette closed the door and sighed dreamily. She couldn't wait to get the phone call later that night from Rima, who would tell her all about the date and how she realized her love for Nagihiko and how they were going to get married and live happily ever after. Okay, so it was a bit far-fetched, but a girl could dream.

Speaking of dreaming… Amu glanced up the stairs. Would Ikuto be sleeping right now? She didn't want to bother him if he actually managed to fall asleep. These past few days he had hardly gotten any rest. The fever symptoms had started on Saturday's movie night when he went to sleep early. Since then his energy level had diminished drastically.

Padding her way into the kitchen, Amu filled up a fresh glass with water and started up the staircase. She grew more hesitant with each step. She didn't want to annoy him by visiting him, but she also didn't like the idea of him suffering by himself.

Meanwhile…

Ikuto's breaths came out laboured as his eyelids pressed shut, tightening his jaw while he held his breath and gripped the thin sheet beneath him. The slightest movement- even if he so much as breathed - would cause his body to ache and his stomach to bubble with acidic bile. Slowly exhaling, he winced when the churning in his stomach started up again. He never got sick. And when he did - which was never - he could usually pretend like everything was fine. And yet every single year when summertime rolled around, he'd instantly get a fever.

His watery-than-usual eyes glanced over at the wall clock, hoping to silence it with a look. The ticking was just adding to his headache.

A soft knock on the door made Ikuto cringe as he tightened his fist around the sheet. "I'm sleeping." He said as loudly as he could without bursting his eardrums.

Amu opened the door anyways and walked in with a glass full of water. Bless her. He had already finished the water he had gotten just half an hour earlier.

Ikuto peered over his shoulder before sighing and turning back to face the window. "I'm still sleeping."

"You are not, you liar." She snapped before closing the door with her foot. She sounded more confident than she felt. After setting the water down, she walked over to the window and pulled the blinds down, followed by the curtains. Ikuto could practically feel his headache cowering away as she continued to go around the room, getting rid of all the lights.

"What are you doing?"

The girl stopped and turned around once hearing how weak his voice sounded. She almost wanted to go over and pet him. Like he was a sick pet of hers.

Pulling back the thick blanket that Ikuto hid under, Amu slid into the bed beside him, leaving the blanket off.

"If you're going to have a fever, you really shouldn't overheat yourself by drowning your body in blankets and letting the sun into your room." She said as-a-matter-of-factly.

Ikuto just hummed, his back still facing her. "How fascinating."

Even though she acted like it was nothing when she climbed onto the bed beside him, her heartbeat was pounding in her eardrums and her palms were starting to sweat. Since when did she become such a wreck?

Amu frowned. Perhaps this was a bad idea.

"Should I leave?" She asked quietly.

He was breathing deeply, making Amu think he had fallen asleep. But finally he answered, "Yes."

She resisted the urge to beat him up as she growled at him and glared. Her stubborn side overruled the timid nagging in her head and she scoffed. "Well, too bad! You're stuck with me, bud."

They fell back into a comfortable silence as Amu sunk into the foamy mattress. Ikuto had the only pillow, but she wasn't about to fight him for it like she usually would. He was uncomfortable enough in his current state and she didn't want to add to that.

"You're going to get sick too." His voice came out no louder than a whisper.

"You sound like a dead man," Amu commented, dead-panned, "but getting sick is a risk I'm willing to take."

She watched the careful rise and fall of his shoulders, his back still facing her. Smiling softly, she reached out and rubbed his back in a way she hoped was soothing. So when he had said that she should leave, it was really only because he didn't want her to get sick as well. He could have just come out and said it that way instead of bluntly saying 'yes' to her asking if she should leave. But leave it to Ikuto to be capable of being rude while being kind.

Holding his weight up on his elbow, he moved the pillow closer to Amu and struggled to turn towards her, giving her one half of the pillow to lie on as he closed his eyes again. "Risks are good." He breathed out.

Amu frowned at this after moving her head to lie on the other half of the pillow. "Are they?" She whispered, not really knowing who she was addressing the question to. Her eyes searched his face for an answer. Risk. It was a scary word.

Ikuto cracked open a watery eye and glanced down at her.

In that instant, a lump formed in her throat as she stared up at him. Holy crap. She liked him. A lot. This was dangerous, troublesome and…risky. Was she really willing to risk two years of friendship just to see if it would work out between them? This made the lump in her throat grow larger and her heart clench as she watched him. This was the boy she had always gone to when she had a problem. He had always been there, had always been supportive of her. And he knew her. He knew her more than anyone else did. She didn't have to pretend to be someone different around him- she could just be herself and that was enough.

His tired eyes searched hers as he breathed softly. "Why wouldn't they be?" He murmured quietly.

'Oh if only you knew.' Amu thought sadly. So this internal battle she had been experiencing for the last couple days had been this. But then…how did she feel about Tadase? Her torn thoughts made her want to curl up and disappear for a while until this drama subsided.

"How's Tadase?"

Holy crap he was a mind-reader! Amu's eyes widened as she looked at him again. "Wh-what?"

"How's your relationship with him?"

Amu stuttered and stumbled over her words. "I-uh I…don't know."

"Don't you still like him?"

"O-of course!" She winced. She had answered out of habit. On the other hand, she was kind of glad she hadn't answered truthfully and said that she didn't know. That would just arise more questions that she wasn't prepared to answer at this time.

Ikuto hummed after a moment. "…That's good. Now go to sleep, I'm tired."

The atmosphere instantly took a turn for the worst and Amu felt her heart crush. She should've told him the truth. She hated lying to him. Though technically this wasn't lying, she just wasn't telling him the full truth.

And once again, she asked herself... did she still like Tadase?