Hi everyone, I am so so soooo sorry, that its taken to so long to get this chapter up, it turns out my summer reading ending up taking a really long time to finish….sorry! But now here it is, and I should be able to post fairly regularly from now on. I hope you enjoy this chapter, It may feel a little out-of wack just cause I haven't written and so long, so I do apologize for that.

*I don't own shugo chara

Chapter 9: Hey Juliet

Ikuto wrapped his arms around Amu and just held her there as she cried. It was like she was crying for him, the silent tears of his heart that he had kept locked up. Ikuto couldn't remember the last time he had cried. After his mother died he had resolved to never cry again. And Easter, well, easter only strengthened his resolve. He knew that to easter crying was a weakness, and so no matter what had happened he had never cried. And now, here she was, his little strawberry, crying a flood of tears for him. It was one of the most beautiful sights he had ever seen.

Jeff stared at the two of them with tears welling in his eyes. "Oh…its beautiful….just so beautiful!" Honestly these two were like a gift from heaven, if they could move him to tears in a single moment then just think how audiences would react to an entire show. Oh it was such a beautiful thought. He started clapping and grabbed the two of them and pulled them both into a hug, "Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!!!!" he cried joyously.

Ikuto, broken from his shock and sorrow when Jeff latched onto him, glanced over at Amu who was also squished into a hug. She too seemed to have lost the moment with thanks to Jeffs interference.

At last the director let them ago and they stumbled backward. Ikuto ran his hands through his hair and shook his head trying to shake the intensity of the emotions he had just felt. What had gotten into him? He couldn't believe he had lost his cool like that. He sighed, that was it, there was no denying it, he was in love with Amu and there was nothing he could do about it. He knew now that the way he felt about her couldn't be one of those things that he ignored and kept locked at the back of his mind. So, he only had one choice left, see if he could make her feel the same way about him. He smirked as he watched her Be warned Amu, I'll definitely make you fall in love with you.

~Amu's POV

Amu didn't fully comprehend what had just happened. All she knew, is that she couldn't bear to see Ikuto that way anymore, and that she was willing to do whatever it took to make him smile again. After that, her body had moved without her knowledge and next thing she knew she was sobbing into his shirt. Great Job Amu, yes, you crying, that will definitely make things better. She thought to herself, but she couldn't help it, no matter how hard she tried she just couldn't stop the tears. And then she felt Ikuto's arms around her and she just knew, that somehow, she actually was helping.

And just like that the moment was over as the annoying director starting clapping with joy at how good their "acting" was. She rolled her eyes as he hugged the two of them and started ranting about how the audiences would love them. She tuned him out and looked over at Ikuto, he was watching her. She shuddered nervously, not because he was watching her, but because he was smirking. And when Ikuto smirked, bad things happened. In fact the last time he smirked, was when he forced her into that horrible dress. She could only imagine what he had in store for her this time.

~Normal POV

"Alright you two," Jeff announced, forcing their attention on him, "Now that you've got the whole hugging thing down, let's work on the kissing!"

Ikuto turned to Amu and smirked even more as she turned bright red and started stuttering.

"W-what?! B-b-but, it's not a r-real k-k-k-ki,"

"Kiss?" Ikuto provided with amusement evident in his tone.

She glared at him and continued talking to the director, "yes, it's not a r-real k-kiss, right? Just you know, a fake one, like in the movies, r-right?" she prayed to God it was.

It wasn't.

"My dear, that's the movies, and with movies of course they can change the angle and the lighting and everything else to make a fake kiss look real. But in theatre, we can't control that, besides in theatre we are professionals dear, and professionals NEVER fake anything!"

"B-b-but , but but-"

Ikuto pressed his finger to her lips and silenced her, "So, I guess I finally get to make your dreams come true huh?"

She blushed and let the 'Cool and Spicy' take over as she shoved his hand away, "As if! Like I would ever dream about kissing a perverted cat like you!"

Ikuto chuckled, "Then it shouldn't be such a big deal then should it? "

"I-It's not!" she insisted, "I don't care one bit about whether I kiss you or not."

"Good, then why don't you just kiss me now?"

"B-b-b-because!"

"Because why?" he insisted

"Just because okay!"

"Is it because its you're first kiss and you're scared you'll mess up?"

Amu's eyes widened and she almost dropped the act, "Yeah right! I've kissed p-plenty of other guys!"

He frowned ever so slightly, "Oh really? And who might they be?"

"Um…well…uh…"

"ENOUGH!" jeff finally shouted putting an end to the argument.

Amu breathed a sigh of relief, saved by the bell.

Jeff shook his head and ran his hand over his forehead. "Honestly," he muttered to himself, "how can they fight like that when one second ago they were in pretending to be in love?" He turned his attention back to then, "I don't care what your problems, are, all I know is that you HAVE to stop fighting NOW! You can't convincingly make-out with someone when you trying to tear their throat out. I don't care if this is rehearsal or not, I want it to look real right now so I know you can actually do it when you're on stage. Got it?"

Amu nodded quietly feeling bad for causing such a scene.

"yeah sure," Ikuto muttered. This guy was crazy, one minute he's happy go lucky and the next he's biting their heads off for one little argument.

"Okay good," Jeff said calming himself. "Now, Amu, there are some scenes in this play where Juliet has to initiate the kissing, and you're the one I'm most concerned about right now, so I want you to start this time okay?"

'But-"

"NO BUTS! JUST DO IT!"

She shrunk back with fear and nodded then looked towards Ikuto. She bit her lip and blushed slightly thinking about what she was about to do. Ikuto was right, she had never kissed anyone before, okay sure there was that one time with Ryan, but Ikuto had thankfully stopped the kid before anything could really happen. And so the thought of kissing someone terrified her. Yes, she was afraid she would mess up. She looked at him and her heart was nearly beating of its chest with nervousness. There he was, watching her, waiting. She gulped once more and decided to at least try. She stretched out her shaking hand and placed it on his cheek, uncertainly. And leaned slowly towards him. I can't do this, I just can't! her voice screamed inside her. She paused about an inch from his face, her resolve slipping. Come on, just…pretend its Tadase-kun! She told herself. She couldn't let herself give in, she could only imagine Ikuto's taunts afterwards. She closed her eyes , thought of Tadase and moved closer. Soon she was only centimeters away from kissing him and she could smell his breathe, which smelled surprisingly sweet. And then before her courage could give out on her she did it! She kissed him. Well, sort of. She closed the gap, pressed her lips to his in a quick peck and immediately pulled back. She was amazed that she had done it.

The director however was not. He stopped her victory dance, "What was that?!"

She paused and gulped, "Um, a kiss?"

"That? A kiss?!!! Are you kidding me?! That was a peck, a, a, I don't even know what that was, but that was most certainly not a kiss! Try again."

Amu groaned and looked back at Ikuto, she was surprised he wasn't making fun of her right about now. Okay, one more time, you can do it Amu! She told herself. She moved in again. Pressed her lips to his again. She held her lips to his for a few seconds, not making any movement, just holding them there, pressed together, and then after what she deemed the appropriate of time, she pulled away, again.

Jeff slapped himself in the face and let his palm slide down. "Ugh this is a disaster."

Amu stared at the ground, feeling bad, she didn't know what else to do, what did this guy want? Her to use her….she turned ripe red, tongue? She shuddered at the thought, no WAY would she ever put her tongue inside that perverts mouth, never ever!

"Okay," the director started again, "This clearly is not working…so, how bout we set the mood for you okay?"

"Um…okay." She said, she wasn't quite sure what he meant by that but whatever.

"Jake,' the director said, "Start flirting with her." With that the director flipped the switch and dimmed the lights and Ikuto smirked advancing towards Amu.

Flirting was something he was good at, and something he was dying to do with Amu anyway. He knew he once again wouldn't have to try to act. Regardless of the fact that her kiss wasn't really a kiss, the feel of her lips was still warm and pleasant, leaving him wanting more. It reminded him of the night in the closet, how he had kissed her to help her calm down. How he wished she remembered that.

"Amu…" he said, sliding one hand around her waist and tucking her hair behind her face with the other. "Amu, I just want you to know, that, regardless of what any other man thinks, or says, you're the most beautiful girl I've ever met. And when I'm with you, I'm happy again, and I mean, really happy." Sure it was cheesy, but he didn't care, he was speaking from the heart.

Amu blushed once more, she wanted to believe that what Ikuto was saying was true, that he really meant it. But she couldn't allow herself, she knew that he was only acting, he was just saying what he knew she wanted to hear. But even so, it made her weak.

"Amu," he pulled her closer to him, "Amu I…." he leaned in and Amu panicked pulling away suddenly and tripping. She fell and quickly stood up as Ikuto approached. He kept coming closer and closer, as she kept going back.

Suddenly she felt something firm and unyielding behind her back. She had hit the wall. She looked at Ikuto as he kept coming closer. He placed his hands on either side of her head and caged her there. "Amu," he pressed his forehead to hers, "Amu, my sweet strawberry, kiss me, please"

Amu refused to look into his eyes, knowing she would lose any will to keep from kissing him. Those eyes, were just too gorgeous and powerful to make her not want to kiss him.

But your lips are sealed, that ain't no big deal
'Cause I know you really want me, yeah
I hear your friends talk about me

Both Amu and Ikuto paused and glanced towards the sound. It was Jeffs cell phone, the director cursed and turned away from them in search of the phone.

Ikuto smirked that gave him an idea. He turned back to Amu, the song on the phone still playing.

Hey Juliet
I think you're fine
You really blow my mind
Maybe someday you and me can run away
I just want you to know
I wanna be your Romeo

Ikuto figured the director was too pre-occupied with his phone to really pay attention to them, so that meant, he could actually start the kiss without the director knowing, and oh how he wanted to kiss her. Besides, it would make it easier for Amu, the director wouldn't make her start the kiss again and so she wouldn't have to worry anymore. So then, Amu would actually be grateful to him for kissing her. At least that's what he thought.

With his mind made up he leaned into Amu, whispering tenderly into her ear. "Hey Juliet," he said. "I just want you to know, I wanna be your Romeo."

With that he slipped his hand around her neck and pulled her towards him and pressed his lips to hers. He could tell she was shocked so He started gentle, almost asking permission to enter her mouth, he didn't want to overwhelm her. He was surprised when she gave in so easily and started kissing him back. Then the kiss grew in intensity as Ikuto pulled her closer to him and deepened the kiss, putting more emotion into it.

Amu had never felt so much joy in all her life. It was like she was tasting paradise. Joy and wonder flooded her veins as she felt him deepen the kiss. It was such a beautiful thing. At last the need to breathe became insistent at last the pair broke apart, panting for air.

Amu couldn't believe it. She had just given her first kiss to Ikuto.