Hello guys, sorry for the wait. In case you haven't read the updated author's note on every last chapter of my stories and are impatient with me, I'll post it here.

Update: I have been on holiday the past few days, and I had brought my thumb drive along with me; being the paranoid person that I am. The first night at the hotel, I realized it was gone from my luggage. I really don't know what to say; except I'm really sorry, guys. The thumb drive contained more than 50 000 words of Guns N' Roses, Downright Delinquents, Their Paid Girl, and The Way He's Not, all of which I planned to upload today. As you can guess, I am very, very disheartened about it and re-writing the chapters seem like a chore now. I definitely will update and finish every story, but it will be a long process. I sincerely hope you can all bear with me.

Note: This story will be the first to be updated again.

I apologize again. I can't say enough how sorry I am. Oh yes, and thank you all so much for the encouraging reviews.

Please enjoy.

Inspired by Victoria Duffield ft. Cody Simpson's They Don't Know About Us

Their Paid Girl

Chapter 3

The blue haired boy quickly pressed a few buttons on his phone and sent the message to a newly acquired number. A few moments later, a beeping sound erupted from the stranger's pocket. She fumbled with taking out her pink phone and when she tapped the screen, she rolled her eyes.

She turned to face the oblivious boy beside her. She yanked her cap off, causing her pink locks to tumble down, and tapped his shoulder. "Yo."

He jolted involuntarily, eyes widening when he realized the "stranger" was his supposed girlfriend. "Amu?" He mentally cursed himself for not noticing it sooner. Who the hell else would have pink hair anyway?

"Yeah," She giggled a little at his stupidity, but then her lips turned downwards. "Sorry for hitting you earlier, I wasn't in a very good mood. But you still deserved it."

"I could see that," He smirked, pretending to wince and rub his cheek, exaggerating the after effects of the slap. "Ouch, Amu."

She shrugged uncaringly.

"We're here," The taxi driver interrupted their little chat.

Ikuto tugged the door open and shooed her into a low-rise, though lavish, building. Although it may have seemed cramped on the outside, the inside was extravagant, decorated in a baronial design.

As Ikuto closed the door behind them, she had to grudgingly admit; the pampered brat did have style. And dough. Was the entire three-story house his alone? This took spoiled up to a whole other level.

"Be ready for our date in a second, I'm going to take a shower." He called over his back, making his way up the flight of stairs and leaving her alone in the gigantic apartment.

She sighed, running her fingers over a coffee-coloured table, brushing away the film of dust that now coated her fingers as she frowned. The house seemed almost unlived in. It was perfect, sure; there was a pile of magazines arranged neatly on a glass table along with a remote, and the couch was neatly made, but where was the home feeling about this place? It was almost like a hotel.

She wandered about the room, noting that the fruit placed in a glass bowl were fake; used for decoration. Was anything not artificial in here?

She tripped over the wire of a lava lamp while making her way across the room. Wincing, she plopped on the nearby couch, resting her injured toe after she stubbed it on the polished floor. There, she noticed a photo album laying innocently on the arm rest. She took a look around. Dare she look through Ikuto's things? She was his "girlfriend", after all, she reasoned with herself. And what he doesn't know won't hurt him. She reached out to flip to the first page.

Suddenly, a knocking sound resounded around the eerily quiet room, frightening the girl out of her wits. Amu stared straight ahead, startled and horrified, frantically aligning the photo album in its place without opening it. What if they found her in here? Ikuto was taking a shower and she was in his house. They would jump to conclusions right away.

She quickly raced over to the massive staircase, forgetting her injury, taking care not to make a sound, hoping that the visitor at the door would think that no one was home and take his leave. Unfortunately, the impatient knocking on the door sounded louder and louder, obviously frustrated at being kept waiting. She tiptoed into the first room she saw, exhaling deeply when she shut the door. She was safe.

Or not.

Her jaw slacked open when she noticed the sight in front of her. She had accidentally stumbled her way into Ikuto's room, the said person himself clad in only a thin towel around his waist. Her eyes unconsciously followed the beads of water trailing down his masculine chest, and immediately flushed bright red when they traveled lower.

She screwed her eyes shut, not noting a similar shade of pink cover his cheekbones. "I-I'm sorry!"

A slam of the bathroom door was the only response she received. She peeked her eyes open a tiny bit, and heaved a sigh of relief when he was gone from her sight. Not for long, though.

He walked out into the room again, hitching his towel a little higher. "Erm, I need to get my clothes." He muttered sheepishly.

"O-oh," was her genius response.

She quickly darted out of his way as he approached the closet. He rummaged for his clothes, before grabbing the first things he touched, as she struggled to remember why she was in his room in the first place.

"Ah! There's someone at the door!" She blurted quickly as he was about to step in the bathroom.

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, at the same time a knock sounded loud enough for the both of them to hear. "What? Who?"

She tried to step out the door at the same time he did, which caused his leg to trip both of hers. She fell, flailing her arms wildly in an attempt to catch herself as she let out a surprised yelp. He acted quickly; twisting his body in an awkward angle to break her fall while his fingers twisted into the hem of his towel to stop it from falling.

A loud thump ensued its way across the corridor as they stared at each other blankly in shock. A loud cough alerted them of the presence of another person as they turned from their tangle of bodies to the intruder.

"Found yourself some new arm candy, huh, Ikuto?" A boy in long purple hair which cascaded down to his waist, smirked down at them.

Amu blushed a brighter shade of red when she realized what they looked like. She was straddling Ikuto around the waist with her arms on his bare chest, with his clothes scattered on the ground. She withdrew her hands and scrambled to her feet in a flash, straightening out her clothes to make herself seem presentable and refusing eye contact as if it would make the situation better.

Ikuto got up to his feet slowly. "It's not what it looks like."

The boy chuckled. "How cliché, Ikuto. What happened?"

"Long story." He tried to sound monotonous, but it'd lost it's effect after he fidgeted uncomfortably.

Yeah right, Amu almost added through clenched teeth, obviously embarrassed as she gripped the hem of her shirt in a death grip, her knuckles almost turning white.

He noticed, turning and flashing her a wide smile. "I believe we haven't met, Miss. I am Fujisaki Nagihiko. If you please, what may your name be?"

Amu opened her mouth to reply, but before she could get anything out, Ikuto interrupted, "She's Amu. My girlfriend." He emphasized. Nagihiko nodded in understanding.

She shot a glare at him, which didn't went unnoticed by Nagihiko. "Pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure's all mine, Amu-chan." He replied smoothly. "Now, if you don't mind, Ikuto, but please put on something decent before we have a talk."

Ikuto muttered darkly under his breath but proceeded to do as he said.

Nagihiko smiled at her genuinely after the door slammed. "He can be a pain, but he really is a nice person under all of that."

Amu offered a smile. He seemed like a trustworthy guy. "Can I call you Nagi?"

"Sure," He chuckled a little. "Someone else in school calls me that too."

She raised her eyebrow. "What school do you attend?"

"Seiyo High boarding school."

"I go there as well!" She squealed a little too excitedly, ready to bombard him with questions. "What year are you in?"

"I'm a sophomore," He chuckled nervously at her childishness.

"So am I!" She grinned wider, happy to have made a new friend. "I-"

"Enough of your chit-chat already," Ikuto stood at the threshold of the doorway. "Nagihiko, get to it. What was it you came here for?" He seemed a little upset at how animated Amu was around Nagihiko.

Amu frowned at him and Nagihiko cut in quickly, "Oh, yes, Ikuto. Your manager wants me to bring you to the studio for the recording of your new song. Did you forget?" Ikuto's blank face gave away everything. "Well, you'll have to cancel any plans now," He said, glancing at Amu.

"You sing?" Amu asked incredulously, gaping at Ikuto. "Weren't you supposed to be a instrumentalist?"

"Nothing you should care about," He answered her coolly before turning to Nagihiko. "I can't, I have a date with Amu."

"I have to make up a dance routine for your singing debut, you know." Nagihiko tried to argue with a stubborn Ikuto. He looked away furtively.

Nagihiko frowned, then turned to Amu pleadingly. "Please, just call it off this once? Nikaidou-san will have my head if I don't bring Ikuto back with me." His desperate expression seemed to work as Amu's resolve softened and she turned to Ikuto.

"We can always have another date, alright?" Ikuto relented after seeing her plead with him. It was always so hard to say no to girls. He mentally cursed himself for being such a softie. "Ugh, fine."

Nagihiko smiled triumphantly. "Let's go then, Ikuto. We'll drop Amu off on the way before Nikaidou-san comes to find you." He winked at her. Just at that moment, the bell rang. Ikuto groaned almost inaudibly, dropping his head in his hands. "Speak of the devil..."

Ikuto's manager stepped into the corridor. "Ikuto." His tone was nothing close to happiness. "I need to talk to you."

Amu noticed Ikuto's shoulders sag. When was I need to talk to you ever a good thing?

"Look, Ikuto," Nikaidou said in hushed tones as they reached the end of the corridor. "Tadase had gotten a picture with you and Amu."

Ikuto felt his heart drop. I knew there was someone there...

"You've got to be able with your actions now, Ikuto. You can't be seen around many other girls." He warned. "I'll be going to a interview later today while you're recording. I'll confirm that Amu is your girlfriend. Remember, you're a public figure."

His jaw clenched and unclenched tightly, unwillingly to say a word. He resisted the urge to drag Nikaidou up by his collar.

"It doesn't really matter anymore, does it?" Nikaidou continued. "That girl can be crushed as easily as a butterfly." His manager's cold voice struck the boy heavily. "You're going to be in this company for a long time."

Ikuto just stood in suffocating silence. "...Let's just go."

Amu dropped to the couch heavily the moment she got back to Seiyo High. Rima wasn't back from her cooking club yet. Lazily, she grabbed the remote and pressed a random button, hoping for something to entertain her before she had to make dinner.

Yes, it is now confirmed that a recent sighting of star celebrity Tsukiyomi Ikuto and this mysterious girl, is found to be authentic. Who is this girl? Let's hear a few words from his manager, Nikaidou-san.

Amu's eyes widened as a picture of her and Ikuto was enlarged on screen, beside a snarky reporter. She recognized that it was just taken earlier that day and it was already on the news? Was this celebrity really that big a deal? She groaned. Usually, her "affairs" would not be broadcasted. Once it was revealed on air that it was her, she would be given hell by all his fans until she stopped "dating" Tsukiyomi. Hopefully, her cousin wouldn't see the broadcast, she prayed.

Yes, Ikuto's manager's voice came rumbling from the television. Tsukiyomi Ikuto, is indeed dating this girl. Whether he wants to reveal her identity or not is all up to him to decide. Amu let out a huge sigh of relief. She knew his saying that was all just for suspense purposes and it would be revealed sooner or later, but right now, she would prefer later. Thank god.

At the same time, a certain blonde was also watching the broadcast. Ikuto...

This was slightly different than I planned to put it, but I think it'll all work out. It's kind of fun making Ikuto nervous. I'm sorry for the delay once again. Thanks so much for sticking with me and reading. :)

Reviews are very much appreciated. Any guesses?

- J