Here you go. I really hope you guys like this chapter I spent a bit more time on it then I have done with the previous ones so hopefully it shows. Let me know what you think!

*Disclaimer* No, I do not own shugo chara

Chapter 5

Spaghetti Sauce and Break Ups

Amu couldn't believe what she was hearing, she was going to be acting now? As Juliet?! Suddenly her eyes widened and her knees grew weak. Oh no! she thought to herself. What have I gotten myself into! Her eyes searched over the dozens and dozens of rows of empty seats that were sure to be filled on opening night and her resolve and excitement faded dramatically. She felt light-headed and dizzy, No way would she be able to act in front of someone people! Panic ensued and her heart started racing. I HAVE TO FIND A WAY OUT OF THIS! Her eyes got even bigger and her breathing came quickly and shallow. She was majorly freaking out, suddenly everyone was staring at her with a concerned look; she wanted to run from the stage and hide behind the curtains, but she couldn't. Oh no…..ooooh no. This is not good. Her vision started to get blurry, the room started to move, it was like she was swimming all of a sudden. Not good! Not good at all! The edges of her vision started to turn black, she tried to fight it off but couldn't, suddenly she felt herself falling. Oh no! I think I'm gonna….fain-

"Amu!" Ikuto cried catching her carefully in his arms. He had been watching her carefully the whole time, ever since the color had drained from her face he had known something was up. Regardless he was still utterly lost, she just found out she was going to be playing a lead role in a play, she should be happy, however she looked anything but, in fact, she was terrified. He noticed she was starting to sway and stumble a little bit, not a very good sign, he walked towards her just in case something were to happen. He was glad he had for a few seconds later her body started to fall rapidly towards to the stage floor and she wasn't attempting to correct herself at all. He acted quickly and managed to catch her in his hands before she hit the ground. He looked down, she was out like a light. Ignoring the startled gasps and quickly spreading gossip and whispers of everyone around them he hurried from the stage and towards their room. He reached the door and not wanting to put Amu down he skillfully lifted his foot and turned the latch, the door swung open. He stepped inside and gently set her in the bed after which he took a step back and looked at her. He frowned there was something inside of him that wanted to stay, to be by her side until she woke up. Instead he turned and hurriedly made his way out of the room he shut the door behind him and paused a moment. Only couples had those kind of thoughts he reasoned What was that? Seriously I don't care for Amu that way at all…sure she's fun to tease and make fun of, but the only reason I hang out with her is cause I'm bored and having nothing better to do, not mention I love getting under that kiddy kings skin.

He shook his head and ran his fingers through is midnight blue hair, it was a good thing he had gotten out of that room otherwise he probably would've stayed behind, he didn't understand why though, why was he feeling this way, he didn't want to think of Amu in that way. He had a hard enough time allowing himself to be friends with her considering what Easter would do if they ever found out, it'd be even worse if they ended up as boyfriend and girlfriend.

He shook his head once more and resumed his normal apathetic composure; there was just no way he felt that way about Amu, no possible way. Amu was his friend, that's all she ever was and all she would ever be. With renewed determination he headed back to the stage to finish rehearsing.

Amu didn't resume consciousness until about halfway through dinner. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked around in disorientation. What happened? She thought trying to remember. I remember…I was backstage watching Ikuto and some girl act…..they were doing Romeo and Juliet. Her eyes widened and she sat upright

"JULIET!" she cried

That's right….I'm going to be playing Juliet now!

She groaned and leaned back into the bed. "Ugh….what did I get myself into?" she wondered aloud rubbing her forehead ruefully.

She sighed dramatically and rose carefully she was surprised to find that she wasn't sore at all or didn't have any bruises from falling. "That's odd…." She murmured. She moved on however and headed for the door, she opened it and looked outside and instantly was met by a warm enticing aroma coming from the dining hall.

Amu's stomach grumbled and she realized she hadn't eaten since breakfast due to being unconscious the whole time, as such she decided it would be a good idea to see if there was any food left. She let her feet go; following the scent of the food. She reached the last corner and was in such a hurry that she wasn't paying any attention to where she was going; she turned the corner and ran into something. Her eyes grew wide as she realized it was a tray with a plateful of spaghetti on it, being carried by none other than Ikuto. After that everything went so fast; it was all a blur to her. First the spaghetti was flying through the air meanwhile Amu was rebounding; stumbling backwards after which she eventually slipped and began falling backwards towards the ground. The spaghetti followed suit and landed all over Amu who was still falling; in a panic she quick reached out and grabbed hold of the nearest stable object which just happened to be Ikuto's shirt. Ikuto; being caught completely off guard by the sudden grabbing of his shirt crumbled and went crashing down with Amu.

The back of Amu's head collided the with ground and she was met with a quick explosion of pain. She winced slightly then looked up to find herself staring into a pair of gorgeous blue eyes. She turned to the left and the right only to be met on both accounts with a finely toned arm. Ikuto was hovering over her body, one hand placed on either side of her head; she realized the situation her and Ikuto were in and started turning bright red. A couple seconds ticked by and Ikuto didn't move, he just kept staring at her.

"u—u, um, Ik-Ikuto…could…could you maybe g-g-get off me n-now?" she asked infuriated by the incessant stuttering.

He looked down at her and suddenly his trademark smirk spread across his face and Amu's heart rate accelerated, she didn't dare ask what he was thinking.

"I-Ikuto?"

The smirk widened and he started leaning towards her. Amu cringed and averted her eyes she could feel him getting closer and closer to her, soon she was inhaling the sweet smell of his cologne and could feel his breathe on her; she tried to struggled out from underneath him and he paused suddenly and frowned, he started whispering pleadingly into her ear "Aww Amu, why are you trying to so hard to fight me, you know you want to,"

She shuddered, "a-a-actually…I-Ik-Ikuto I d-don't."

"Then tell me to stop." He told her as he grabbed her hands and pinned them above her head.

"S-s-s-s-st--sto---Stop?"

He then got even closer to her face, stopping with his own lips only a few centimeters from her mouth, and chuckled quietly. "Was that a question?" he asked breathing heavily so she could feel his breathe on her lips

"N-no" she managed quietly.

He just grinned, "I'm sorry but you're going to have to be more convincing then that kitten," he told her cradling her cheek in his hand, "Unless you can say it with more authority, say it like you actually mean it, I promise you I won't stop. You're the one in control here Amu, all you have to do is say it" With that said he continued to toy with her first rubbing his hand up and down her arm as she cringed "p-p-please I-kuto s-s-stop it."

He continued smirking, "Wow, if that's all you've got then you really must want me." Then he started to run his fingers through her hair.

Amu cursed inwardly and tried once more "S, S, ST,,,sto----" Try as she might it just wouldn't come out, so many emotions were coursing through her veins at the moment she could make sense of them. There was fear, annoyance and….something else, she couldn't name it though. Deisre? No! Definitely not desire. Love? Not that either, she mentally slapped herself in the head, there had to be better words to describe her emotion, something that wasn't suggesting that she actually liked the situation she was in. What was it then? Her heart was pumping, but it wasn't entirely from fear, and her cheeks were flushed, but not totally from embarrassment, at the same time she was experiencing some intense butterflies in her stomach and there was a heat in her heart that was burning bright, like a fire. Was it Passion? She wondered, it was certainly close, however that would suggest she wanted Ikuto to do whatever he was going to do to her, but she didn't, not at all, right? Right??? Suddenly she didn't know anymore, she didn't know anything. It was so unlike anything she had experienced, the fear, it wasn't a normal fear, it ran deeper than she had ever known fear to run and it wasn't a fear of danger, but rather a fear of the unknown, fear of being hurt somehow. But why? Why was Ikuto bringing out all of these emotions in her? It was like her mask had been ripped off and every emotion she could've ever felt was exposed and so much more intense than ever before.

Suddenly Ikuto leaned down and stuck his tongue out Amu flinched and turned her face away closing her eyes tight afraid of what he was going to do.

She jumped as something wet touched her neck and her eyes snapped open, she looked down to see Ikuto licking some spaghetti sauce off of her, her face turned ten shades darker "You P-P-perv-PERVERT!" she shouted and suddenly he sat up and laughed; ruffling her hair playfully "Ah my little kitten, still just as much fun to play around with as ever."

She immediately stood up fuming with anger as she looked down at him, "PLAY AROUND WITH????!!!!" she cried.

He cringed, she was pissed, not just kind of pissed either, she was really pissed.

"I don't care if you were playing or not! You can't just do that to people! Uhhhh! You are such a perverted jerk!"

He stood and shrugged it off, "I didn't see you complaining about it a few seconds ago."

She paused, "What are you talking about?"

"I told you, all you had to do was tell me to stop and I would."

Her anger immediately dulled, "Well-well that's just…cause I-I was so-so nervous I, I couldn't, couldn't really t-t-talk you see."

He started walking away. "mhm….except you could say plenty of other stuff."

She stomped after him, "That's different! I said I didn't like it okay! And I mean it, I didn't!"

"If you say so." With that he disappeared through the stage door so he could get back to practice and Amu glared at the door he had just gone through with annoyance. Letting out a frustrated sigh and shaking her head at the perverted cat she headed back to her and Ikuto's room to change out of the now spaghetti stained shirt. First she went to the bathroom though and washed it off of her face, picking off noodles and throwing them into the trash. She grabbed a washcloth and scrubbed her neck fiercely still completely grossed out by the thought of Ikuto licking it with his tongue, unfortunately no amount of scrubbing could take away the memory or the feeling of utter disgust. Reasoning with herself that dwelling on it wouldn't do her any good she forcibly pushed the memory to the back of her mind. She turned her attention to her hair and frowned at the spots where the sauce had dried and were stubbornly stuck in her hair, she soon realized that if she wanted to get it out she would have to take a shower. She turned and started the water, muttering under her breath, "that cat is so gonna pay for causing so much trouble." She didn't care anymore that it had been her thoughtlessness that had originally caused her to run into Ikuto in the first place. Eager to get all the sauce off of her she tested the water, saw it was the right temp and quickly shed her clothing. Once in the shower she basked an reveled in its warmth as it began melting away her frustrations. About 30 minutes later she was done and stepped out of the shower, grabbing a towel she dried herself off and towel dried her hair. She then got dressed in a pair of slimming light blue jeans, ones, that unlike her pair earlier didn't have any holes and weren't tattered, then she put on a long form-fitting white t-shirt with a rose design along the right side of the front of the shirt. Turning to look in the mirror she swiftly pulled her hair into a pony-tail and exited the bathroom. She glanced at the clock, it was nine o'clock which meant rehearsal should be getting done right about now. She decided to go and see if it was over so she could talk to the director about her playing Juliet. She exited the room and moved quietly down the hallway, as she neared the end Ikuto came through the door and she slowed to a stop, she wanted to still be mad at him but the truth of the matter was she was already over it, for some reason she never could seem to stay mad at him for a long time no matter what he did.

"Hey Ikuto." She called.

He paused and looked at her with surprise, "Hey," he waved.

"How was rehearsal?" she asked.

He shrugged, "Alright, nothing special. I see you managed to get all the spaghetti out alright."

"Yes, no thanks to you." Sure she had forgiven him for it, but that didn't mean she didn't still want to make him feel at least a little sorry for what he had done.

He just smiled, "I see that, good for you. Maybe next time I won't be so busy and I can offer a bit more assistance though, I'd hate for you to have to do it alone."

She started turning red at the suggestion, "n-no, no that's alright, I, I'm fine on my own…really."

He laughed, "Really Amu, you make it too easy."

Her anger flared realizing she had let him get to her again, she was about to punch him when suddenly she saw behind Ikuto and stopped mid-punch.

"Crap." She said out loud, "It's Ryan!"

She hated the thought of having to see him again, especially after she was so close to having made it through the entire day without running into him; as such she wasn't about to let him see her now. She quick ran down the hallway and jumped into the prop closet somehow pulling Ikuto inside with her.

"Wow Amu, I didn't realize you wanted to be alone with me so badly, all you had to do was tell—" the rest of what he was saying was instantly cut off as Amu pressed her hand against his mouth.

"SHHH!" she warned turning her head towards the door and listening.

A pair of footsteps approached, she looked under the door and saw Ryan's shoes stop right outside. She bit her lip and started to sweat nervously a couple seconds ticked by but it seemed so much longer to Amu. Then at last he moved on. She breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed, leaning against the wall while letting go of Ikuto at last.

He watched her in silence for a few minutes, leaning against the opposite wall, which was about 3 feet away, with his arms crossed. He shook his head and spoke, "You do realize you are going to have to face him eventually right?"

She nodded, "Of course I do….I just….don't want to until I absolutely have to."

"Amu, it's really not that big of a deal, just tell him you want to break up with him, then you won't have to worry about it anymore."

"But I could never do that!"

He stared at her in confusion, "Why not?"

"Because, he loves me, or at least whoever he thinks I am, it would break his heart if I told him I didn't want to see him anymore. We've been together a whole year!"

"He doesn't love you Amu, he wouldn't have taken advantage of you last night if he did."

"But maybe he really honestly thought I did want to kiss him."

He let out a sigh, "You, are impossible. Stop defending him, he'd have to a be complete idiot to not realize that you didn't want to kiss him, regardless, your not who he thinks you are, all you're doing by continuing to be his girlfriend is lying to him, do you really want to do that?"

Her head sunk in defeat, "No…" she mumbled.

"Good." He said "Then all you have to do is go up to him and say 'Ryan I'm sorry but I think it's time we end our relationship together, you're a great guy but you're not the one for me.' That's it, it's not that hard."

"Easy for you to say, you've probably broken up with dozens of girls."

"That doesn't matter Amu, all you have to do is say a few simple words, that's it. If you have to, use that cool and spicy tone of yours, it'll be perfect."

She groaned, "I realize that, but I don't want to hurt him."

"Why do you care, you don't even know him?"

"That's beside the point, everyone, no matter who it is, deserves to be happy."

"Amu, he'll be fine, sure he'll mope around for a week, maybe too, but I promise you, he will get over it."

"How do you know?"

"I just do."

"That's not very helpful."

"Well, it's the truth, whatever happens he'll survive. You however may not if you keep this act up."

She sighed, "Alright…."

He brightened, "Good, now let's practice, pretend like I'm Ryan."

"okay…" she looked up and tried to picture him as Ryan, it didn't work too well considering the complete difference in height, hair color, eyes, and everything else that mattered. She shrugged it aside and stared at Ikuto.

"Hey Rosie whats up?" Ikuto asked putting his arm around her waist and pulling her towards him.

Amu was slightly caught off guard but forced herself to recover. "R,Ryan?" she asked.

"Yes?" Ikuto asked looking at her lovingly

"I…I, have s-something, I need t-to tell you."

"Yes, what is it?" he asked turning serious
"I….I'm sorry but….but…."she tried to force the rest out but nothing happened, she just stood there looking like an idiot with her mouth hanging open; her nerves crumbled and groaning in defeat she walked away from Ikuto, "I can't do it!"

He frowned, "Why not?"

"I just can't! If I can't even do it with you, then how in the world will I pull it off with Ryan?"

He sighed, "Just don't think about it, just do it. Now come on, lets do it again," he told her grabbing hold of her and pulling her close like before, completely ignoring her protests.

She sighed and finally gave up resisting. "Ryan?" she asked and events played out just the same as before with Ikuto holding onto her as they were talking. Then the moment came, "I'm, I'm sorry but…but" Amu closed her eyes and focused. Don't think, just do. Cool and Spicy. She opened her eyes and her demeanor changed as she allowed the cool and spicy façade to take over. She stared at him quietly and said it, "Sorry but, this isn't working out for me. You're really great and all, but…you're definitely not the one for me. I think it's time we end our relationship. I'm sorry."

Ikuto decided to push her, he let his eyes start watering and his voice chocked as he spoke to her, "But…Rose, why? We've been together a whole year, why are you doing this? Why are you hurting me like this?"

Inside Amu was a mess, she wasn't sure she could handle it. Outside however she remained firm as steel. She took another deep breath and somehow kept the mask of indifference in place. "Sorry, but I just don't love you anymore, don't worry I'm sure you'll find someone else before too long."

Ikuto grinned and released her "Good!" he cried, "See! That wasn't so hard now was it?"

Amu's legs were weak as she leaned against the wall for support she glanced at Ikuto, "Are you kidding me? That was horrible!"

He shook his head, "Anyway, it's time to do it! Come on, let's get it over with before you run out of courage."

She nodded knowing he was right. She turned and grabbed the handle and pushed. Nothing happened, she pushed again but the door didn't budge.

'Uh…Ikuto…." She said worriedly, "It's not opening…."

"What? Here let me see, you're probably just not doing it right." He pushed past her and put his hand on the handle and pushed, again nothing. He tried several times with no result.

He turned back to Amu and said quietly, "Amu….It's locked."

Her eyes widened with worry.

He continued. "Everyone will be in bed by now, which means calling for help won't do anything.

Her eyes widened even more.

"Which means we'll be stuck in here for the rest of the night."

Uh-oh…looks like they're gonna be stuck in that closet for a while…..wonder what'll happen next….

Well what do you guys think? Please Review, I won't put the next one up until I get fifteen reviews, so please review so I can get the next chapter up quickly.