ThemI do not own Shugo Chara or any of the characters.
Amu's P.O.V.
I stared at Ikuto, holding his hand gently in my lap. I watched the rise and fall of his chest from his steady breathing, the way his lip twitched every so often. I could've sworn that every time I took his hands into my own, his fingers squeezed mine ever so slightly. I knew it was just my imagination, though, longing for him to wake up and smirk at me again. To wake up and tease me, to make me blush, to kiss me.
I missed him. It had only been a week, but I missed him.
Slowly, I lowered myself down and laid next to the blue-haired male on my side so I could face him. Taking his arm, I placed it behind my head and used it as a pillow. As I cuddled up close to him, I felt my heartbeat quicken and my face become flushed. In that moment, I was glad no one else was visiting and we were alone. I let my eyes flutter closed as I rested my head against his arm, seeking warmth in his side.
Before I realized it, I had drifted into a light sleep, only to be woken up by a nurse entering the room and checking on Ikuto. I opened my eyes hesitantly and blushed when I saw the woman, quickly sitting up and causing the distance between Ikuto and I to grow.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." She said sweetly, bowing.
"O-Oh it's fine! I wasn't asleep, anyway..." I said quickly, trying to get her not to misunderstand even when she wasn't. By giving the excuse that I wasn't sleeping, I was the one causing her to misunderstand.
"Ah I see." The nurse said with a smile, then exited the room again. I gave an exasperated sigh and shook my head, then returned my gaze to the comatose boy beside me. Frowning, I took his hand again.
I wonder...
I had realized that something changed when Ikuto slipped into a coma. Before he got in the accident, every morning I would receive a little envelope in the mailbox by my secret admirer. Even on Sundays when mail stopped for the day, my secret admirer had somehow managed to place the envelope in the mailbox without anyone seeing him. It was truly amazing how devoted he was to giving me letters.
That, however, was different now. I hadn't received a letter since the day of Ikuto's accident. It was such a strange coincidence that I didn't know what to think of it anymore.
Or maybe it wasn't a coincidence?
I gazed at the comatose boy, biting my lip softly. Has he been my secret admirer all along?
Thinking about it now, it all kind of fits together. My secret admirer always acted like he knew me personally in some way, like we had spent time together before. Ikuto and I always spent time together, so that would make sense. Ikuto always caught onto things my secret admirer did, also, like the gifts he gave me. He even guessed that I had a secret admirer! Now it seemed too obvious that my secret admirer was Ikuto all along. Is it, though? Was it always this obvious?
I laced my fingers between Ikutos' and warmth came over me. I would never get tired of that. Slowly, I reached my other hand up and gently brushed his bangs out of his face, running my fingers through his soft and strangely not greasy blue locks. The nurses probably washed his hair recently, because it gave off a nice, minty aroma, yet it was a warm smell. It drew me closer, wanting to keep smelling it.
Once his bangs were out of the way, my hand slowly stroked his cheek and then I pulled it away. "You're my secret admirer..." I whispered to Ikuto even though he couldn't hear me.
It was no wonder I felt like I had fallen in love with my secret admirer. I did fall in love with him and his beautiful handwriting and smooth sentences. I fell in love with him without me even realizing and when I started getting closer to Ikuto, I realized just how much I fell in love with my secret admirer. I was hesitant to admit my feelings for Ikuto, too, so I hid them from myself as best as I could. My work failed, however, and I let all my feelings out during the kiss we shared on the night that Ikuto confessed.
Now that I knew Ikuto was my secret admirer, I was even more in love with him. It was almost embarrassing how much I loved him. He had swept me off my feet without my approval and I had fallen for him; madly and deeply. I was nervous, though. I didn't know if his feelings for me were as deep as mine, and that worried me.
It was even worse now that we couldn't communicate. Somehow, each day I spent staring at him in this hospital, I fell more in love with him. But there was no way he could feel the same way because he wasn't conscious. He wasn't falling deeper in love like I was. It was no use.
But that didn't matter. I just wanted Ikuto to wake up and be with me again.
"Ah, so this is where you were." I heard the familiar voice behind me and whipped my head around in surprise.
"O-Oh hello Rima-chan..." I smiled at the short blonde in the doorway, letting go of Ikuto's hand and standing up to face her.
"So you really do come to see him every day?" She asked, stepping inside the room and walking over to me. I nodded, and Rima laughed softly. "You're completely in love!"
My face heated up and I looked away in embarrassment. My gaze made it's way to Ikuto again and I blushed darker red, biting my lip.
Rima just chuckled. "It's okay, Amu-chan! Hey, you never told me that story about what happened the night before the accident... Do you want to go eat something with me and tell me about it?" She asked, clearly still eager to hear the story.
I laughed softly and nodded. "Okay, where should we go to?" I glanced over my shoulder one last time at Ikuto before joining Rima and walking out of the door.
xxx
The sound of rain and traffic echoed in my ears as I walked down the sidewalk. I held my umbrella firmly over my head, trying my best not to accidentally tip it to the side resulting in me getting soaked.
In my right hand there was a neatly folded red origami rose. I stared at it with a smile, my eyes glowing with pride. After a bunch practice, it finally came out perfect. When Ikuto woke up, I'd be sure to brag about how much better I got while he was in a coma. Maybe then he could teach me more origami, because the origami rose my secret admirer gave me was wonderfully crafted. He must have skills in paper folding.
As I walked, I tried to avoid puddles of water. When I wasn't looking, I accidentally stepped into a pool of rain water and sighed with frustration. I shook off my wet foot but it was no use; my shoe was completely soaked. Clutching the umbrella with anger, I continued walking in the direction of the hospital.
Even with the pouring rain, the walk felt nice and nostalgic. I kept thinking back to the day Ikuto and I shared an umbrella, and how the boy had purposefully tilted the umbrella toward me so I wouldn't get wet. I giggled softly at the memory of us playing around in the rain, getting each other soaked and chasing one another. It was a precious memory.
When I finally reached the hospital, I closed my umbrella and placed it on the rack near the door. Smiling at the receptionist, she nodded and let me go down the hall to the patients' rooms. The woman had see me visit everyday, so she let me through without having me go to the reception desk first.
Smiling softly, I made my way to Ikuto's room and opened the door.
And then I saw her. Her. Sitting on the bed where I sit. Holding Ikuto's hand that I hold. I stared, my heart sinking, at the redhead facing the comatose boy. As soon as she heard the door open, she turned her head to face me. She looked practically as surprised as I did, but her face was stained with tears.
"W-What are you doing here?" I asked while trying to sound confident. My nervous stutter ruined it, however.
"I should be asking you that!" Saaya exclaimed, standing up from the bed and clenching her fists together. "Why are you here to see Ikuto!?" She demanded I answer, taking a step toward me.
"I-I always come to see him..." I said softly, taking a step back. I was surprised by how angry she was. Did she think she was the only person allowed to visit Ikuto?
"Why!? Why are you so obsessed with him!?" Tears of anger and sadness trickled down the girls' face and my eyes widened a bit. "Why do you care so much about him!? He doesn't feel the same way about you!"
"Of course he does!" I said, finally gaining a bit of confidence and taking a step toward Saaya. I knew about Saaya's huge crush on Ikuto since the first time I saw her. She was always clinging to him, and it made me feel really uncomfortable and upset. She didn't want to accept the fact that Ikuto loved me and not her. "Ikuto and I feel the same way about each other!"
"Oh don't try to convince yourself!" Saaya said, taking another step toward me. "You know your silly little secret admirer? I know that it's Ikuto who's been giving you letters and romantic gifts. You must like finding out that he was your secret admirer, huh?" Saaya's eyebrows tilted downward. "Well I hope you find it amusing that it was all a joke, too!"
I stared at the raging girl in front of me, my eyes growing wide with confusion and uncertainty. "W-What? What's a j-joke?" I felt my stomach flip and worry wash over me. What is she talking about...?
"That's right! Ikuto doesn't actually love you, it was all a game that he and Kukai made up! Ikuto wanted to get you to fall for him so he could mess with your feelings then end up hurting you for their amusement!" Saaya practically yelled in my face and I stared at her in disbelief.
"W-What...?" I suddenly found it extremely hard to move from where I was standing as I looked at the angry girl in front of me. Although her face was fuming, her expression showed no traces of lying. For some reason, I couldn't doubt her words. My gaze slowly rested on Ikuto lying in the hospital bed and I felt a deep pain in my chest. "T-That can't be t-true..." I stuttered, mostly trying to convince myself.
Without me being able to stop her, Saaya went on. "Of course it's true! Did you honestly think a perfect guy like Ikuto would love a stupid girl like you!?" Her words hurt, but I could barely feel them. I didn't want to hear any more.
It's true... Ikuto seemed like he was completely flawless, whereas all my flaws seemed to shine though. It is confusing. Why would Ikuto love someone like me?
"N-No..." I muttered, unable to tear my gaze from the blue-haired teenager.
"If you don't believe me, ask Kukai. He knows all about it, too!"
Not wanting to hear another word come out of the redhead's mouth, I turned on my heal and ran out of the door and down the hall. I didn't bother to grab my umbrella as I rushed into the pouring rain and down the sidewalk. As soon as I felt the water fall against my face, that's when I began to cry.
My chest hurt and my body felt weak. The sky looked even darker than before, and the rain seemed to be even colder against my skin. I sobbed, seeking shelter from the rain from a nearby tree by leaning against it. It was wet and uncomfortable, which only made me cry even more. I kept thinking about all the sweet things Ikuto had done for me and how he had made me feel when he did them. The way he made me blush so easily by just coming closer. The way he teased me and made my heart skip a beat without my permission. Was it all a joke? A lie?
It can't be...
The more I tried to convince myself otherwise, the more I realized I had no argument of persuasion. I didn't want to believe it but the more I sobbed against the tree, the more I had acknowledged Ikuto's betrayal.
With one last shred of hope, I took my phone out and dialed Kukai's number, needing to be certain.
Please let it not be true. Please.
~Chapter End~
Wow, a lot of people sure think there's gonna be amnesia in this story. I've already written a story about that! If you want to check it out it's called Please Remember. It was my first story on fanfiction so my writing style was a lot different, haha xD Anyway, what did you guys think of this chapter? Review and tell me what you thought!
~AmuletFortune98