XX

It was Sunday morning and Amu's mother had woken her up early to help her shop at the cities local weekly Farmer's Market. This was much to Amu's annoyance since she wasn't a fan of waking up early on weekends, especially when she had to wake up early for school the following day. Regardless, she managed to get up, dressed and not look like a zombie (thanks to a lot of makeup). Before she knew it, she was walking around the booths of the market alongside her mother.

While her mother did some shopping in the fresh produce, she allowed Amu to walk around the market, giving her some spending money in case she saw something she liked. As she was browsing the stalls, stopping at a hand-made accessory booth, she could have sworn she spotted a familiar shock of blond hair out of the corner of her eye. She looked over just in time to see an unmistakable, tall figure with dark hair. There was no doubting that the dark-haired figure was Ikuto, which could only mean one thing. The blond was Tadase.

Oh boy. Amu was not ready to face Tadase after quite literally admitting she found Tadase attractive and that she was drawn to him because of it. What if he had taken it the wrong way? What even…was the 'wrong way'? Would he think Amu only hung out with him because she found him attractive? Would he think Amu was shallow because of that?

Or…maybe he'd forgotten about it already. He must have gotten comments like that from other girls a lot, right…? For some reason, the thought of that bothered her though.

Flip-flopping between thinking he didn't care and that he cared a lot, Amu walked around cautiously after that. She was fine for a while, eventually, much to her glee, spotting a Taiyaki stand. She beamed widely and rushed towards the stand, ready to waste all of her remaining money on it. On her way, not paying much attention to her surroundings, she collided into a sturdy chest. Despite it being her fault, she put on her resting bitch face, ready to chew the person out, seeing as they seemed to be a younger person.

"Oi, watch where you're going!" she said bluntly, not even noticing who it was until a familiar voice responded.

"Is that how you treat people older than you?" the voice questioned with a teasing lilt.

Amu slowly looked up, eyes wide in surprise as she looked at Ikuto, his lips curled into an amused smirk. "O-oh…it's you, Ikuto."

"Yo." Ikuto saluted with two of his fingers, sounding all too casual. "What brings you out this early? And on a weekend to boot."

"The same thing you're doing," Amu replied simply, trying to get him to leave. "Browsing. I was going to get Taiyaki but someone got in my way." she shot Ikuto a glare as she emphasized the word 'someone'.

"Don't eat too many," Ikuto said. "Or you might get fat." There was a long pause as if Ikuto was thinking, then a smirk formed his lips. "Though Tadase might like chubby girls."

Amu was conflicted between kicking Ikuto where the sun doesn't shine and being embarrassed about what Ikuto was implying. She opted for sighing and rolling her eyes.

"Whatever, can you just move so I can get-" Amu's sentence came full stop when she heard the voice of the exact person she was trying to avoid for the day.

"Niisan! Where'd you go?"

Amu cursed under her breath and shot Ikuto another glare as she darted behind the nearest stall. She really hoped that glare told Ikuto to not tell Tadase where she was or that she was here. If he even mentioned Amu's name, she would definitely give him a swift kick to his nether regions…or maybe just a jab on the foot. She watched as Tadase hobbled over to Ikuto, remembering what happened to him just the other day and feeling a little bad for him yet again.

"Whoa, kiddo, slow down. This isn't a race!" Ikuto said. "No need to run. I was just getting Taiyaki."

"Have you seen Amu-chan?" Tadase asked. "I thought I saw her around here with her mother."

Amu inhaled sharply as Ikuto looked in her direction. She tried to make a motion that said 'don't you dare tell him', but she wasn't sure if it came across. Ikuto just looked away and smiled at Tadase slyly, shrugging nonchalantly.

"Actually…I did see her." Ikuto admitted, much to Amu's annoyance.

Tadase perked up. "Really? Where? Is she around here?"

"She was here ordering Taiyaki," Ikuto said, earning an excited look from Tadase. "But she left just before you got here. I didn't see where she went."

Amu sighed in relief that Ikuto had actually saved her ass but instantly frowned when Tadase's excitement quickly changed to disappointment, a pout forming on his lips as he looked down and murmured a soft 'oh…'.

She sighed once more, this time in defeat. She couldn't resist that face of his. Reluctantly, she stepped out from her hiding place, pretending as if she hadn't noticed Tadase or Ikuto, while at the same time, trying to act as casual as possible knowing they were there.

"Amu-chan!" Tadase beamed brightly when he spotted Amu. "I thought I saw you around here!"

"Hmm?" Amu let her eyes flit over towards Tadase as casually as possible. She offered a friendly smile. "Oh, hey there Tadase-kun! Fancy seeing you here!"

"My father and I come to this market every Sunday, but since he's busy with…you know, Ikuto came with me instead. What about you? I saw you with your mother earlier. I didn't expect you'd be up this early on a Sunday."

Amu sighed inwardly at yet another comment of her being awake early on a weekend. Did she seem that much like a late riser?

Regardless of her slight annoyance at Tadase's comment, Amu nodded her head slightly. "We needed some fruits and veggies so my mom dragged me out with her to look around while she got produce."

"Do you want to look around with us a bit?" Tadase asked. "We can walk around until you find your mother again?"

Amu hesitated, looking at Tadase, who was already giving puppy dog eyes at her. "I…I guess it can't hurt…"

Tadase grinned widely, dazzling Amu as always. "Great! I actually have something to tell you about…that anyway."

Amu nodded slowly, but when they started walking, she stayed silent for quite a while, afraid she might say something that could be as bad as what she said the afternoon prior. She looked around, getting distracted by as many things as possible in an attempt to maybe 'accidentally' lose the two. Unfortunately for her, hey stopped every time she stopped.

After a long period of somewhat uncomfortable silence, Tadase finally spoke. "My father told me that we're meeting with Saaya's parents tomorrow. They didn't want to come to school on a weekend so they made a compromise. The meeting will be after school."

Amu immediately tensed up at the mention of the meeting. So much could go wrong. Anxiety shot through Amu's spine knowing exactly when this meeting would be. Tadase reached out a reassuring hand, patting Amu's shoulder gently, immediately sensing Amu's concern about the meeting. Amu tried not to flinch away, though it wasn't too hard since she didn't mind the feeling.

"Don't worry, Amu-chan." he offered a reassuring smile as well. "Everything will be okay. I'll be with you, my dad will be with us. It's us against her."

Amu smiled awkwardly, her mouth feeling slightly dry suddenly. "Thanks, Tadase-kun… I appreciate it."

In the distance, Amu managed to spot her mother. A great way to escape before the conversation changed to what embarrassment Amu caused yesterday. She waved and called out to her mom, turning to Tadase and Ikuto as she slowly walked backwards.

"Sorry for how I acted today…" she mumbled softly before clearing her voice. "I'll see you tomorrow, Tadase-kun! Take care, Ikuto."

Ikuto did the same two-finger salute he did earlier. "See ya, Amu."

"Don't think about the meeting too much, Amu-chan!" Tadase called out as she got further away, still walking backward. "I'll talk to you later!"

With that, Amu regrouped with her mother. She was somewhat relieved Tadase hadn't even brought up the fact that she called him attractive, though now she felt bad that she had been so paranoid in the first place. She should have known better that Tadase wouldn't bring up something so small when something so large was going to be happening soon.

The next morning, Amu was startled awake by her phone going off. It was nearly seven in the morning, who could be calling her? She wondered, peeling her eyes open. She groggily grabbed her phone from the side table and looked at the caller ID. Of course; it was Tadase.

"Tadase-kun…?" she answered tiredly, suppressing a yawn. "I know you're an early person but I'm not. Why are you calling me at quarter to seven in the morning?"

"Sorry…I had a feeling I would wake you up…." Tadase sounded sheepish and, surprisingly, just as tired as Amu did. "I just woke up too…my father told me that there was a sudden change of plans. Mr. And Mrs. Yamabuki asked to meet this morning instead of this afternoon."

"So…what are you saying?" Amu asked, her brain not functioning well enough yet to figure out what Tadase was saying. "Do I need to come over to your place or something?"

"No, no. The meeting is at the school, remember?" Tadase let out a tired laugh. "Not that I would complain if you wanted to come over. My dad loves having you around."

Amu let out a tired laugh as well. "I'll pass. I've been to your house too many times in the past week. People will start to get suspicious." She joked. "What time is the meeting?"

"An hour before class starts," Tadase responded. "I can come to pick you up if you'd like. My leg is feeling a lot better."

Amu hesitated before nodding, forgetting Tadase couldn't see her. "Alright. Does that mean I can sleep a bit longer?"

"Of course," Tadase said. "You sound exhausted anyway. Rest up, I'll stop by at 7:30, how's that sound?"

Amu sighed in relief, but doing that also caused a yawn to escape. "Alright…sounds good. Sorry if I was a little brain-dead."

"Sleep well, Amu-chan." Amu could almost hear the smile on Tadase's face through the phone. She hung up and flopped back onto her bed.

Unfortunately, she only got 20 minutes of extra sleep. She sighed, at least not feeling as exhausted as she did earlier. After managing to drag herself out of bed, she threw on her uniform and snuck downstairs, not thinking her parents would be awake yet. She somehow failed to notice her mother reading on the couch, so when her mother heard movement behind her while Amu opened the fridge, both looked just as confused as the other.

"Amu-chan? What are you doing up this early? You usually don't wake up until 15 minutes before class starts." Amu's mother asked, putting down her book and turning towards Amu.

Amu was surprised…and a little called out. "Sorry mama, didn't see you there! I forgot to tell you since I just got news not too long ago. I have a meeting this morning with Tadase-kun. It was supposed to be this afternoon but the times changed."

"Will he be picking you up?" Midori asked. "Or do you need a ride?"

Amu shook her head. "Tadase's coming in about…half an hour? Thanks anyway though, mama."

"How about I make you breakfast in the meantime, then?" Midori offered with a motherly smile. "Clearly you were looking for food."

Amu smiled. "I'd appreciate that, thanks, mama. I'm going to freshen up in the meantime, then."

While Amu's mother made breakfast, Amu ran up to the bathroom to fix her hair and makeup. Since she had been called out for her 'offensive' makeup before, she decided to change things up and go for something more subtle this time. Then, she threw her hair up into two ponytails, attaching her usual cross clips to the hair ties. Shortly after she finished fixing her appearance, there was a knock on the bathroom door. Amu opened the door and stepped out to greet who she could only assume would be her mother.

"I just came up to tell you that breakfast is ready." Amu's mother said. "Oh, and you have a guest."

Amu blinked at the last statement, watching her mother walk back downstairs. She checked her watch. She only spent 15 minutes in the bathroom. Had Tadase come early? Or maybe she heard the time wrong? She shrugged and jogged downstairs.

As suspected, she was met with Tadase, already sitting at the dinner table. It was a good thing Amu's dad was absent for a business trip, otherwise, he would freak out seeing a boy sitting at his table.

"Good Morning, Amu-chan," Tadase said with a dazzling smile. "I hope I'm not too early. My dad didn't want us to be late."

Amu shook her head, returning the smile. "It's fine. After everything you've done for me these past couple weeks, I'll gladly have you over for breakfast."

"Thanks for the offer but I'm not hungry right now," Tadase said. "I'll just drink some tea."

Amu's mother smiled. "Tea, coming right up. I'll be right back."

While Amu's mother walked to the kitchen to brew some tea for Tadase, Amu moved to sit at the table across from Tadase. Tadase gave her another sweet smile, which Amu returned shyly. There was a moment of silence as they both thought of something to say that wouldn't make them anxious about the morning's big event. Luckily, it didn't feel as awkward as their entire walk together the previous day.

"Did you change your makeup, Amu-chan?" Tadase asked, examining Amu. "It looks nice."

Amu's face flushed at the sudden comment, shocked he even noticed. "Thanks, Tadase-kun… The teacher said my old makeup was 'inappropriate' for a student my age…so I figured I'd go more subtle."

Why was she explaining this to Tadase as if he cared? Maybe it was a nervous tick to just ramble about random stuff. She bit her lip shyly, looking down at the food in front of her.

"My pleasure." Tadase smiled softly once again.

Amu's mother returned with the tea and Amu ate breakfast while Tadase sipped his tea. Once they were both finished, they immediately set off towards the school. Despite saying he felt better, Tadase was still limping and it almost physically pained Amu to see him like that. She started subconsciously watching out for any bump in the sidewalk to make sure he didn't trip or stumble over anything. It felt like a much longer walk than usual due to her constant concern.

Amu and Tadase arrived at school at 8 o'clock and walked into Tsukasa's office only 5 minutes after. It would be another 15 minutes before Saaya and her parents would be here, but Amu didn't want to wait. She was already anxious enough as is and waiting was only making it worse. She sighed as she paced the room nervously.

"Amu-chan, are you okay?" Tadase asked, noticing Amu's obvious stress.

"What? Yeah, I'm totally fine." Amu responded quickly as if she hadn't even thought about what Tadase asked. "Just anxiously waiting for my bully and her parents to walk through that door and hope someone besides you and your father believe me. Totally fine."

Tadase stopped Amu's pacing by placing his hand on her shoulder gently. "Amu-chan. Calm down. Everything will be okay. If you get too nervous or anxious, you can like…hold my hand or something,"

Amu looked away as she thought about Tadase's offer. It was both tempting and embarrassing. Regardless, just hearing Tadase's comforting words helped Amu even just the slightest. She took a few breaths as Tadase led her into a chair to keep her from pacing anymore.

She checked the time nervously. Time seemed to be moving slowly but quickly at the same time. There were only 5 more minutes left, but it had already felt like 30 minutes to Amu. Tadase joined the seat next to Amu and took her hand in his, causing Amu to jump slightly at the sudden impact, a literal shock going through her body. She shivered slightly at the contact, not expecting him to hold her hand so soon.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity to Amu, the door opened and she watched feeling both eager and a bit scared as a woman, clearly, Saaya's mother stepped into the room first, followed by Saaya, who immediately gave Amu an icy glare as soon as she spotted her. Amu didn't hesitate to shoot her own scary glare despite how anxious she felt. It was almost natural instinct at this point.

Tsukasa gestured for Saaya and her mother sit in the two remaining chairs next to Amu and Tadase. Saaya's mother sat next to Tadase, while Saaya sat at the end, leaning away as if trying to be as far as Amu as possible. Tsukasa cleared his throat and thus commenced the meeting.

A/N: Just a reminder that the title has nothing to do with the drama Jealousy Incarnate, I just thought the title fit for the plot since Saaya is extremely jealous almost 100% of the time. Everything here is original and came from my head (besides ofc the characters haha)

Anyway we're reaching the tail-end of this. Not sure if i'm going to redo the 2nd 'season' of this fic (considering it's not even finished lol) I apologize that there isn't too much 'romance' but I really didn't like how fast pace the original version was so I made both unsure about their feelings. The finale or semi-finale will definitely have a big moment, I promise.

Though I guess since i changed a lot in this story I'll probably need to edit events in the sequel- I'll think about it. I might need to rewatch the show to get motivation or something though.