Chapter 2
"You will what, Hinamori-san?" Nikaidou-sensei asked, staring directly at her. Amu immediately felt her cheeks warm up as everyone stared at her.
"N-nothing," she stuttered, looking the other way.
"Crap, did I just say that out loud?" Amu thought, her blush turning darker. She let out a sigh. Everyone was still staring at her; some were giggling. She felt her mask come back on. Oh how she hated her mask, but it kept her from being insulted at times.
"What are you looking at?" she asked with a cool expression.
"A freak," a brown-haired girl replied, grinning. Amu rolled her eyes.
"That's oh so new," Amu spat firmly. Amu glared at her intensely. She returned it. She was about to retort when a blonde boy with ruby eyes stopped him.
"That's enough, Saaya," he commanded, staring at the girl.
"But Tadase-kun!" Saaya whined, failing at trying to be cute.
"Saaya, please stop," he said in a princely voice.
"Fine, only because you told me to," Saaya babbled, turning away. She shot Amu a nasty look before stomping off to her followers.
"You must be Hinamori Amu," Tadase chattered on, smiling at Amu sweetly. She nodded her head, a bit dazzled by his smile.
"I'm Hotori Tadase, nice to meet you." Amu heard rumors quickly spreading.
"Oh my gosh, why's Tadase-kun talking to her?" a girl whispered from behind them.
"Maybe because it's her pink hair," a boy replied, shaking his head.
"Yeah, that must be it!" the girl exclaimed, a triumphant grin on her face.
"I have to take care of some business," Amu smiled sweetly. "I'll talk to you after class." Tadase nodded with another of one his dazzling smiles before taking his seat. Amu made sure he wasn't looking and turned around to face the girl.
"You know I'm right in front of you, and I have a fist that can break your nose," Amu threatened wickedly. The girl shivered, but kept her position.
"Like you would do that," she giggled obnoxiously.
"Try me," Amu replied loudly, raising her fist. Her fist was about to make contact with the girl's face when Nikaidou-sensei cleared his throat.
"Shall we get back to class?" he questioned, eyeing Amu carefully. She let out a low growl and pulled the girl's collar so that she was close to her.
"You got lucky," Amu murmured into her ear. "Next time, maybe not so lucky." She pushed the frightened girl back and turned back in her seat.
"Today we will experiment on chemicals," Nikaidou-sensei announced, smiling. Everyone cheered excitedly. Amu let out a small groan and glanced at Ikuto. He didn't really seem to like the idea either.
"Your partner will be the person to your left," he carried on, smiling at Amu. She sent a deadly glare back. He didn't seem to be affected because he continued to talk about safety precautions and stuff like that.
Ikuto looked sleepy; Amu swore he was taking a nap. His beautiful deep blue eyes were closed, and he looked quite adorable. He opened an eye, revealing the beautiful midnight color.
"Why are you staring at me?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.
"N-no reason," Amu stuttered, another blush present on her cheeks.
"Real smooth, Amu," she thought, mentally slapping herself.
"Whatever," he replied, closing his eyes again, "just don't wake me up again, you stalker."
"Me, a stalker?" Amu babbled, glaring at him heavily.
"Yep," he muttered, falling asleep again.
"Stop falling asleep when the teacher is talking!" Amu whisper yelled quietly.
"Don't tell me what to do," Ikuto replied, sending a lazy stare her way. Now that she noticed, Ikuto had dark circles under his eyes and was swaying back and forth.
"Did you get the right amount of sleep?" Amu asked, worried. He looked like he was about to faint any minute. He suddenly fell on his left, where Amu was. She quickly caught him and pushed him back on his seat.
"Ikuto, you need to go to the nurse, now!" Amu nagged, pulling on his shirt.
"No… If I do he'll come," Ikuto whispered, his eyes closing.
"Who will come?" Amu questioned, holding him tighter.
"He will come," Ikuto repeated, his eyes closed. He fell out of his seat, onto the floor. Amu couldn't catch him this time.
"Sensei, there's something wrong with Ikuto!" Amu shouted frantically. Nikaidou-sensei stared at the boy on the ground with a shocked expression. The young boy looked so fragile now.
"Hinamori-san, bring him to the nurse now," Nikaidou-sensei said loudly. Amu nodded and grabbed Ikuto's arm.
"Hoshina-san, help her," he ordered strictly. Utau quickly nodded and ran to the unconscious boy. She held his other arm. They ran out of the room to the nurse's.
"He fainted during class," Amu squeaked, gently placing him on the white bed along with Utau.
"Oh, let's see," the nurse murmured, examining Ikuto closely. She took a thermometer and took his temperature.
"Oh my, 103 degrees," the nurse muttered, taking the thermometer out. "He has a high fever." Utau and Amu nodded their heads silently.
"I advise him to stay in bed for a couple of days," the nurse continued, sighing. "It looks like he didn't get sleep for a couple of days."
"Okay," Utau murmured, "I'll take him home." Amu was a little surprised by her bold words.
"May I ask why?" Amu asked; a little feeling was boiling inside of her. Utau stared at her blankly before a mischievous smirk came to her lips.
"And why are you asking; do you want to take him home?"
"N-no, of course not; I'm just curious." Amu stared at Utau's features. She was way too beautiful and graceful. Utau had beautiful long blond hair, magnificent amethyst orbs, a perfect shade of peach for her skin, and a tall slim body. She could be a model if she wanted to.
"What's your relationship with Ikuto?" the rosette questioned impatiently. Utau grinned at Amu brightly. Utau slowly stooped down and kissed Ikuto on the cheek.
"Does that answer your question?" Utau replied, smiling. Amu felt angry and wanted to slap the blonde for kissing Ikuto.
"So you're his girlfriend?" Amu spat out the words as if it were venom. Utau stared at her with a funny expression. She suddenly started laughing. Amu felt embarrassed because she didn't know why Utau was laughing. The blonde fell to the floor, clutching her stomach, tears coming out of her eyes.
"What's so funny?" Amu stammered angrily. Utau stared at her, wiping a tear from her eye. She gracefully stood up and smiled brightly at Amu. She was at least three inches taller than her.
"He's my brother," she giggled. Amu was shocked. The pretty girl was related to someone known as a freak.
"Oh… Utau, is it?" Amu continued, staring at her with a hard expression. "You're brother has been bullied since he's been here."
Utau stared at her with a hurt expression.
"I know, but I can't do anything about it," she whispered silently, her bangs covering her eyes, "or he will punish us."
"Who's he?" Amu asked, frustrated. Utau shook her head violently.
"I can't tell you," she replied quietly. Amu knew she was hiding something, but she didn't push on the topic any further.
"So how's it like being Ikuto's sister?" Amu questioned, changing the subject.
"Just like any other sister of a big brother," Utau replied nervously. Amu narrowed her eyes. Utau was acting suspicious. Amu was about to ask Utau something when a deep groan was heard. They turned around to stare at the boy on the bed.
"Looks like he's waking up," Utau stated blandly, "I should be taking him home." Amu nodded her head like a bobble head. Utau began pulling on Ikuto's arm. She grunted quietly.
"Amu, can you help me?" she asked sheepishly. Amu giggled and walked over to the other side of Ikuto. She grabbed his arm and dragged him with Utau to the parking lot.
"This is where you can stop," Utau said, patting the top of a shiny black Porsche. Amu gawked at the black beauty in front of her.
"This is your car?" Amu blurted out. She immediately covered her mouth, dropping Ikuto on the concrete. Another groan escaped his lips.
"Oops!" she rambled, grabbing Ikuto's arm again. She was making a complete fool of herself. Utau laughed and nodded her head. Utau used all of her strength and threw Ikuto in the backseats.
"Isn't that a little too harsh?" Amu asked nervously. She was clearly worried for Ikuto's safety. Utau shook her head and climbed into the front seat.
Utau suddenly looked like she had an idea and took a pen and a small piece of paper before scribbling something on it. The blonde smiled warmly.
"Thanks again," she said happily, "here's my phone number." She handed Amu the piece of paper. Amu shakily took the piece of paper, shocked. Hoshina Utau, the beautiful and popular girl, was giving her phone number to Hinamori Amu, the bullied and ugly girl.
"T-thanks," Amu murmured, still in a trance.
"You're pretty cool," Utau continued kindly. "Let's hang out sometime."
"Sure," Amu immediately replied brightly.
"See you later," Utau said, waving a hand at Amu. She backed out of the parking lot. Amu was frantically waving her arm back, smiling.
She finally had a friend, perhaps a best friend.