Sorry for the lack of updates but I've been busy. And lazy. :P But particularly for this story, I've been losing inspiration and motivation. But I'm not going to discontinue it. I don't wanna be like those authors who discontinue a story of theirs and upset their readers. That's the absolute last thing I want to do.

Thanks to these reviewers:

Kurai Tenshi-1214, ShugoCharaLuvr, Renae Harada, xXxStrawberryAngelxXx, Foxgrl18, alchemistlover14, Sukiya62, xheyxhaleyx, rainycandy101, kassi, RomanticaKH1, JayMar, kallen11, lilpopsplash, mountaingirl47, xxxUtauloverxxx, NellyLuna252

Shoutout to RomanticaKH1 for reviewing almost all my chapters in one shot. (:

Also, I'm dedicating this chapter to JayMar. Didn't know she read my stories but glad she does. Just want you to know that I hope everything is going well for you and that I'll always be here to support you. (:

Hope you like this chapter! There's gonna be some Amuto hotness ;D hopefully. :3

X-x-Flashback of Chapter 11-x-X

"Vampires have super strength." He was beside me in the next moment.

"Ow!" My back knocked against a tree. It didn't hurt but I was so surprised. Ikuto's body smoldered against mine as he leaned in.

"The worst part is that vampires always have a thirst for blood." His hands were on my hips as he inhaled my scent, his mouth on my neck. His voice then turned quiet, making me strain to hear it. "Last week when I saw your blood, I went insane from smelling it. If Kukai hadn't stopped me…I would've drunk your blood until you died." His lips were on my cheek, giving me a light kiss. My cheeks heated up and he chuckled.

"This is what I mean. I can just feelyour blood under your skin." He stepped back a little, giving me a bit more space. He fingered my neck at the spot where he bit me. "After I showed you all these powers a vampire has…"

I gazed into his amethyst eyes as he neared my ear. He then softly whispered:

"Are you still scared of me?"

X-x-End of Flashback-x-X

X-x-X

Temptation

His eyes held anticipation as he awaited my answer. But there was also…fear. But fear of what?

I raised my hand and cautiously caressed his cold, cold cheek. I closed my eyes, smiled, and softly breathed out.

And Ikuto was off me the next instant. I opened my eyes in surprise. Did I do something wrong? My eyes analyzed my surroundings as I searched for Ikuto. He was at the other end of the small meadow but I couldn't really see what he was doing.

"Sorry. Just…give me a second," he said, so softly that I had to strain my ears to hear it.

I nodded and waited patiently for him to come back. A few short seconds passed before he materialized in front of me. He held a calm expression despite his rigid posture.

"Did…I do something bad?" I asked, cocking my head to the side as I frowned.

"Yes, you did." He smirked. "I may have some control over my hunger but that doesn't mean I have complete control."

"I still don't get it." My frown deepened.

"When you touched me and sighed, it was a double-blow to me. Your touch and smell drove me crazy, especially since I've already tasted your blood. I had to give myself some space before I sucked the life out of you." He gave me a lopsided grin that sent my heart pounding.

"Sorry," I murmured, blushing furiously.

His hand reached out hesitantly. Ikuto breathed out slowly before his hand touched my cheek. My eyes closed shut as I leaned towards his touch and smiled.

"You still never answered my question."

My eyelids gradually opened and I saw Ikuto lowering his head with a serious look upon his features. "Are you afraid of me?"

My right hand reached up and placed itself over Ikuto's hand that was already on my face. I looked him in the eye and confidently answered, "No. It's the exact opposite. You know, finding out you're a vampire doesn't change my view about you. To be honest, I feel safe around you. You're kind of like my knight in shining armor." I giggled and noticed Ikuto scoff.

"A vampire as a knight? That's a first."

I grinned and continued. "That's why I'm not scared. I never will be." Because it's you.

"You never know what'll happen in the future. You may be so frightened by my actions that you'll never want to see me again." He smirked but his hand that was on my face pressed onto my cheek even more, as if he was trying to make me stay by his side.

The possibility of that sent my heart aflutter.

I smiled to myself and quietly whispered, "I don't think that'll ever happen."

"And why's that?" he probed.

Because I like you too much. "Just because."

He groaned. "I wish I can just read your thoughts."

"Everybody does, Ikuto. But no one actually can." I shrugged my shoulders and looked at Ikuto, who had dropped his hand and was gazing into my eyes.

"W-What?" I began to grow nervous but as I thought back to what I said, it hit me like a ton of bricks. No freaking way. I asked in complete disbelief, "You can read people's thoughts?"

He sighed and backed away, much to my disappointment. "Yes."

"But…wait, that means you know what I'm thinking constantly!" I accused, my face growing red. He's invading my privacy! I buried my face in my hands from embarrassment. My thoughts (some about him) were weird and random and—

I heard him chuckle and felt him pry away my fingers. "Amu, Amu, Amu…did you not just hear me say that I wish I could read your thoughts?

I stopped. He had a point. "But you just said you could read minds."

"That's true. But for some reason, I can't read your mind. It's never happened before with anybody—just you." He advanced towards me but I didn't expect him to be this close. My back hit the tree and his head descended to mine. "And it infuriates me that I can't read your thoughts."

Completely uncomfortable being so close to him, I stuttered, "I-It's not my fault. I think it's kind of fair actually. I want to know some of your thoughts too, y'know." I looked away to avoid his intent gaze. "What thoughts of mine are you interested in?"

"During the time with the car accident, that night at the restaurant, you finding out I'm a vampire… Pretty much everything," he confessed.

My cheeks flushed. I warily placed my hand over Ikuto's cheek and smiled. "I'll tell you my thoughts during those times on a different day. But when I found out you were a vampire, I was shocked of course. But to tell you the truth, I suspected you being a vampire."

"How?"

"Um, Tadase-kun told me a story."

"Ah, the Hotori family."

"You don't like them?"

"It's not like I don't like them. They're very generous and my family is grateful for their past actions but not all of them exactly like us."

"How come?" I frowned.

"They don't like vampires in general and the fact that we suck human blood." He gave me a grim smile.

"But…Tadase-kun told me that your family was different. You don't drink human blood, but animal blood."

"Did he really?" he mused.

I nodded. "When he was telling me the story, he didn't say it with hate or anything of the sort."

"Huh," he said, "that's interesting." He looked past my head at the tree bark, pondering about something. He looked at my neck and lightly touched the mark he left on me a week ago. The red web was almost completely gone but traces of it stayed. "I want to know what your thoughts were when I bit you that night."

"Well, it did hurt," I started but then I inaudibly whispered, "but it kind of felt…good."

"Good?" He gave me a look and sighed.

I blushed. "Well…"

"If you say that, I don't think I'll hold myself back from biting you another time," he trailed off, giving me a playful look as he fingered my neck, leaving a trail of sparks.

I frowned. He really did like teasing me. Wanting to start another topic, I asked, "Hey, Ikuto, could you tell me more about your power?'

He took a deep breath before looking back at me. "I can read everybody's minds—except for you, of course—within a three mile radius. If I know someone personally, then I can still discern their thoughts even if they're more than three miles away from me."

"Wow, that's amazing. I wish I had that power…" I sighed deeply, smiling.

He stroked my cheek once again, causing my heartbeat to accelerate. "It's not that great, Strawberry." If he keeps up this charisma, I think I'm going to have a heart attack. "I've learned to block out unnecessary thoughts but some manage to get through to my head." He made a disgusted face.

I giggled. "Like what? Thoughts about girls?" I lightly slapped his shoulder and stuck my tongue out. "Pervert."

He smirked at me before lowering his head once again, causing my breath to hitch. "Actually, the thoughts I wanted to block out most concerned you. Well, when you first arrived."

"Me?" I shot him a perplexed look.

"On your first day of school, almost everybody's thoughts revolved around you. I couldn't even attempt to cut off those thoughts because left and right, every student was talking about you. That seriously annoyed me to no end. And when I found out it was just about a girl, I became more irritated. No offense, Amu." He sent me a crooked smirk that made me blush. "And then the boys. Their thoughts about you were…seriously indecent."

"What could they possibly think of me?" My eyebrows furrowed. It's probably because I have weird hair, right?"

"Hey, blue hair isn't natural either." He ruffled my hair and grinned at me. "But you honestly don't know? You should stand in front of a mirror and properly look at yourself."

I made a face. "I think that'll just lower my self-esteem. Every time I look in the mirror, I feel so plain."

"That's not what your male classmates think. They were practically drooling at the sight of you." He chuckled as he reminisced about the first day of school.

I folded my arms stubbornly. I stepped away from him and walked a few feet away. "Frankly, I don't believe that." And Ikuto was in front of me the next second. I stepped back, surprised. "Ikuto, don't do that!"

"Should I tell you what they were thinking of?" he suggested, ignoring my previous request. He stepped forward, making me step back.

"F-Fine, tell me," I dared.

"They were staring at your body, fantasizing about dating such a pretty girl like you." He stepped forward while I stepped back.

"They called you 'hot and cute at the same time'." Step forward, step back.

"Every time you smiled, they burned it into their memory in an instant." Step forward, step back.

"They called you sexy…" Step forward, back against the tree.

He stopped talking as his head leaned down towards mine. I couldn't breathe properly as he focused his stare on me. I could seriously just gaze into those violet pools forever if I was given the chance.

He placed his hand upon my cheek before combing my pink strands with his fingers ever so gently. "At first, I didn't get what was the big deal. You're just like any girl but when I laid eyes on you myself…and caught your scent…" His voice softened as he murmured, "That's when I became attracted towards you."

"O-Oh," I muttered, not knowing what to say.

"I couldn't stop thinking about your scent. When I got to know you personally later on, I eventually couldn't stop thinking about you."

He ducked his head and his lips lowered towards my awaiting ones, ever so agonizingly slow. My eyelids drooped and I could practically taste his breath. Not a second later, his lips were upon mine, sending me into a state of bliss. It was much better than the first one (probably because Ikuto is more in control of himself). If he continued this sultry kiss, I think I'm going to die. I slightly parted my lips as I got more into the kiss. I sighed contently and ran my fingers through his hair.

Very abruptly, my face was pushed back, and Ikuto was looking down, just holding the sides of my face.

"Ikuto?"

"Remember what I said about self-control?" he asked, talking about himself.

"Oh." I blushed as I apologized. "Did I go too far?"

"Yup," he cheerfully said, taking deep breaths.

"I can stand over there to give you some space." I moved my head but he firmly held on.

"No. Stay."

Just that one word caused the butterflies in my stomach to increase. "O-Okay."

"Besides, I need to get used to this if I don't want to accidentally kill you." He gave me a grin as he leaned his forehead on mine.

"Accidentally?" I teased.

"Of course. Amu, I would never intentionally hurt you." He looked me in the eye and now that our eyes were a mere inch apart, his orbs seemed even more breathtaking. "If I did, I don't think I could ever forgive myself."

"Ikuto," I whispered. Very slowly, my hand reached up to pat his head. We stayed like this for a while and I didn't mind it one bit. After a while, I said, "Feel more in control?"

"Yeah. I don't really mind doing this," he responded, talking about our connected foreheads. "Your strawberry scent is utterly amazing but now, I can bear it. It's more tolerable every time." He gave me a quick peck on the lips and smiled to himself with satisfaction. "At least I know I won't pin you to the bed and drink all your blood." He smirked and winked at me.

"W-What!" The blush on my face increased by tenfold and I was looking down now. Well, at least tried to. What does he mean by that? 'Pin me to a bed'? Oh my god, does he mean it in a sexual way? No, he's not like that. Actually, he kind of is but—

Ikuto burst out laughing, the loudest I've heard from him. He stepped back and continued laughing. I growled and punched his arm but I knew he probably didn't even feel it.

"Were you thinking of something else? And you called me the pervert." He wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed the part under my ear. With his alluring voice, he huskily whispered, "Or we could do what you're thinking. I could tie you to the bed and do some of this and that…"

I swear my face was so red to the point I really did resemble a tomato.

He chuckled in my ear, causing shivers to run down my spine. He bit my ear and stepped back before I could even utter a sound. I squealed and grabbed my earlobe as he laughed. This was the second time!

"Jerk!" I stomped off towards a random direction, fully intent on leaving this meadow. He appeared beside me and suddenly picked me up bridal-style. I squeaked and subconsciously wrapped my arms around his neck. "Ikuto, you really have to stop spontaneously doing these things. You scared the crap out of me."

"That's good. You need to feel some fear." He smirked down at me. "A normal girl would be scared and shocked after almost being raped and around me as well." He "glared" down at me.

"I'm scared when you suddenly pop out of nowhere. That's normal enough." I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Not scared enough." He shifted his arms so that I would feel more comfortable in this position. "Want to go home?"

I nodded. I was feeling really tired. "But can you please don't run super fast like you did when you came here?"

He pouted, making me blush. How can he be so cute? "But Amu, that's part of the fun."

"Not for me. I felt like throwing up when we came here."

He sighed. "Fine. I'll go at half the speed." Not accepting any response for me, he bounded past the trees, towards my house. Sure, it wasn't as fast as the first time but still fast. We arrived at my balcony in about four minutes. My head felt dizzy but luckily, I was all right for the most part.

I thanked him and opened the balcony door. I turned back around, suddenly feeling nervous. It felt extremely rude if I just told him to leave. He should be able to leave whenever he wanted. "Um…do you want to come in?"

"Is that an indirect invitation to your bed?" He gave me a Cheshire grin while I glared at him.

"You really like tease me, don't you?" I glared as I went to plop down on my bed.

Except Ikuto beat me to it.

"Hey." I climbed onto the bed and made an attempt to push him off the bed. "No one said you could lie down on my bed." I went to push him again but his hand reached out to seize my wrist. He pulled, resulting in me falling onto his chest. "Hey, what are you—" I glowered at him but my expression faltered. He gazed at me, not saying anything. Of course, I was blushing like a strawberry. "W-What?"

"Are you honestly not scared of what I am?"

I let out a long sigh. I rolled off him as I laid down beside him on my back. "Ikuto, why won't you believe that I really am not scared?"

"Because that's not normal!" he hissed, propping himself up using his elbow—which was kind of hot—and glaring at me.

"Ikuto, please trust me on this one. I am, without a doubt, not scared that you're a vampire." I boldly grabbed his hand, intertwining my fingers with his. "Please believe that."

He groaned. "I give up." He rolled on top of me and hugged me like I was some kind of big teddy bear. I shuddered from his freezing skin but I didn't mind it much. He buried his face in the crook of my neck, breathing in deeply.

"Ikuto?" I called, slightly scared he'll sink his fangs in my neck again.

"Let's just stay like this for a while." To establish his point, he pulled the covers over us and tightly hugged me, as if he was never going to let me go. He kissed my cheek and stroked my hair. As I laid under him, I fell asleep to his soothing touches.

X-x-X

The sunlight streaming through the curtains was my wake-up call. I instantly opened my eyes and looked around me. Feeling a slight pang in my heart, I patted the spot where Ikuto was last night. It was unpleasantly cold, meaning he had left a while ago. I stood up and got ready for school. Deciding on some skinny jeans, a V-neck, heels, accessories, and a decorative scarf to hide my mark, I headed for the bathroom. I grabbed the curling iron but stopped. I clutched the counter, looking at myself in the mirror.

I never cared much for how I looked. This was the second time I prettied myself up for school. Stupid Ikuto, making me think too much.

Instead of curling my hair, I chose to just clip my bangs up. I looked over at my lame excuse of a make-up box to the left of me, which contained mascara, eyeliner, and one kind of eye shadow. I shook my head at myself—I'm trying too hard. I slammed the lid shut and bounded down the stairs with my backpack.

Tsumugu was already gone so I had the house to myself for a bit. I took a quick peek at the clock and my eyes widened. Crap, I'm late! I made myself a bowl of cereal and hurriedly wolfed it down. I slipped on my heels and rushed out the door.

But what was in front of me made me completely halt.

I slapped my forehead and said, "Ikuto, you really need to stop randomly popping up from nowhere without warning."

Said male took long, slow strides toward me, smirking all the while. "Where's the fun in that?" He stopped in front of me and played with the ends of my hair. "You look cute today." He stepped forward while I stood my ground. His right arm snaked around my waist, pushing me up against him. He hotly whispered against my ear, "Are you trying to seduce me, Amu?" He licked my earlobe, causing me to squeak. "We should just ditch school and stay in your bed…"

I shoved him away from me, my face red, without a doubt. "I-Ikuto, you perverted idiot!" I stomped to my car and opened the door but a pale hand easily slammed it shut. I turned my head and his face was an inch away from mine. Blood boiled to my face as I noticed the position we were in—I was against the car while his chest was pressed firmly to my back.

He closed the distance between our mouths while he slowly turned me around so that I was facing him. It didn't last long and it was chaste—but it was enough to muddle my mind.

"That was my morning kiss." He winked at me and dragged me to his car that I just noticed now. "Come on, we're late."

"And whose fault is that?" I grumbled.

He chuckled and got in the car with me following suit. He sped down the road as he held my hand, rubbing the top of my hand with his thumb.

"You seem to be awfully comfortable with me now."

"Yeah, I've gotten used to your scent. The more time I spend with you, the easier it is. I'm glad that's the case because I don't think I could refrain my actions another longer." He sent me a wink that made my heart leap.

"Why did you suddenly appear on my doorstep this morning?" I questioned, genuinely curious.

"I thought you would love to see my handsome face in the morning." He sent me a cocky grin that earned him a slap on the arm.

"You're really arrogant, you know that?"

"Doesn't change the fact that you don't mind seeing me pop out of nowhere."

I quietly admitted, "I guess…"

He smiled and gripped my hand tighter.

We arrived at school faster than I usually do, thanks to his urge of "going a little over the speed limit." At least we're not late now. I got out of the car and saw Ikuto making his way around his car. He clutched my hand once again and I darted my eyes left and right, already noticing the amount of stares that were boring holes through us.

"Ikuto! We're in public!"

"Does that mean you want a secret relationship?" He smirked at me and shook his head. "Don't worry about it. Let them think what they want to think."

"Oh my god, this is embarrassing."

Everyone's—I'm not even exaggerating—eyes were on Ikuto and me. He gripped my hand tightly, silently saying that he was here for me. I smiled, thankful that he was here by my side.

X-x-X

When we arrived at our homeroom, the chatter died down to complete silence. Great, just what I wanted. Ikuto, who was still holding my hand, pulled me to our assigned seats and we sat down quietly.

If there were crickets in here, they would be as loud as a bulldozer.

There some coughs and shuffling before the buzz grew again but some curious eyes still stayed glued to Ikuto and me.

"Well, that was quite an entrance," Rima remarked, turning around in her chair. Astonished, I looked at her. If she was here, does that mean the rest of the Tsukiyomis returned to school?

Ikuto smirked.

"So I'm assuming you're dating now? Well, that's not a surprise." Rima grinned at me. "Just warning you, Amu—he can be such a pervert sometimes."

"Thanks for the warning, but I already found out." I gave him a pointed look.

"It's not like you don't like it." He smirked right back.

I stuck my tongue at him before Nikaidou-sensei waltzed into the room but not before tripping over his own feet. What a klutz. All his books fell and the class roared in laughter.

I thought back to what Rima said. The word "dating" didn't seem right. Just what relationship did Ikuto and I share? Certainly not "friends" and "girlfriend/boyfriend" didn't sit well with my brain. He didn't exactly ask me out. Yet.

After class, we walked to our biology class only this time, he didn't hold my hand, leaving me slightly disappointed. Just a little.

By now, people were used to seeing us together but that didn't stop the whispers to spread across the room like wild fire. I noted that Daichi was looking at me with narrowed eyes and when I stared back, he made no attempt to turn away. I gave him an awkward wave before sitting down next to Ikuto.

Every time Daichi attempted to talk to me, Ikuto would avert my attention. I giggled at that—he was jealous.

After class, he walked me to my next class even though I protested. "Ikuto, you're going to be late."

He shrugged. "Doesn't matter by me." He stopped at the doorway to my class and mentioned, "Oh yeah, your friend Ran is going to ask you questions."

"About what?"

"You and me." He grinned.

I groaned. "Questions like what?"

"How should I know?" he said innocently.

I glowered at him. "You're not funny."

"Never said I was." He patted my head and said, "I'll be waiting for what you're going to say to your friend."

I sighed and entered my math class. Before I could even plant my butt on the seat, Ran had already turned her body to me, giving me her full attention.

"All right, spill, Amu-chan."

Deciding to play it cool, I said, "What are you talking about?"

"Amu-chan!" she whined. I cracked a smile. "About you and Ikuto! Are you guys dating? What was with the handholding? Do you love him? Does he love you? What about—"

"Ran, if you ask that many questions at once, I'm going to get a headache."

"Oops. Sorry, Amu-chan." She gave me a sheepish smile before slamming her hand on the desk. "But I'm really curious!"

"One at a time, Ran."

"Oh, right. Are you guys dating?"

"To be honest, I don't know." I looked Ran straight in the eye, hoping Ikuto could see my expression. "It's not official but I'm guessing we are."

"Have you guys kissed?" Ran asked excitedly.

My lips formed a thin line as I tried to hide my smile. "A couple times."

"Ooh, you go, Amu-chan! Is he a good kisser?"

"Too good." I probably just inflated his ego.

"Do you like him? Or do you love him?" Ran waggled her eyebrows, nudging me.

I blushed and pursed my lips. "I don't know."

"Do you like him a lot?"

"Yeah. A lot more than he likes me." Yeah, Ikuto, that's right. I like you so god damn much.

"Aww, that's so cute!" Ran gushed. "Are you going on another date anytime soon?"

I shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not."

Before she could spit out another question, the teacher had come in and we never got another chance to talk after that during the period. After class, Ran and I walked to the door, chatting.

"Finally, it's lunch time!" Ran said, raising her fist in the air.

I laughed. I was going to say something when I felt something cold snake around my shoulders. Ran and I both looked to see who it is and she gasped, clearly shocked.

"Do you mind if Amu sits with me at lunch today?"

"N-No, not at all," Ran stuttered. She sent me a sneaky smile before running off to her locker.

"Was that necessary?" I questioned, giving him a look.

"Of course." He kissed my forehead, causing gasps from all around us, and casually walked us to the cafeteria.

"Now that wasn't needed."

He childishly pouted. "But I need kisses from my Amu-chan."

The blush on my face increased. "H-Hey, I'm not some object you can have!"

"May be, but you're still mine. No one else can have you, especially that Saito kid." He growled.

I giggled and laced my arm around his. "Let's go."

We got in the lunch line and he began piling food onto the tray. He paid for the food and we picked a table where nobody sat so we had the space all to ourselves.

"Are you trying to make me fat?" I said, raising my eyebrow as I glanced at the food.

"Didn't know what you wanted so I just grabbed anything I saw."

"I can see that."

"Eat, Amu."

I opened a bag of chips before asking, "Hey, Ikuto, what would happen if someone asked you to eat food?"

"Well," he started, propping his elbows on the table while his chin rested on his hands, "I can eat food but it doesn't exactly digest. I can eat this food but I'll probably be throwing it up later."

I frowned. "That doesn't sound enjoyable."

He shrugged. "Doesn't matter." He looked past me and grinned. "Your lunch table is staring at us. Just thought you should know."

I glared at him. "Thanks to you, I've been receiving glares from my female classmates."

"I guess I'm just so popular," he said, mocking himself.

I laughed. "So were you listening when I was talking to Ran?"

"I told you I would, didn't I?"

"And were you happy with the answers?" I took a bite of my pizza.

"There was one thing you said that was wrong."

"Oh, really? Please explain."

He took my hand in his and traced patterns on my hand with his thumbs. He quietly said, "You said you like me more than I like you."

My cheeks warmed and I intelligently said, "So?"

"How would you know that?"

I wiped my fingers on a piece of napkin and said, "I think I would know how strong my feelings are."

"What about mine?" he interjected, leaning in.

"You can't possibly like me as much as I like you. I'm not special enough."

He held both of my hands this time and stared at my golden orbs. "Amu, you don't understand, do you? You're on my mind constantly and it pains me to leave you whenever I have to. You're extremely special and important to me and if I lost you, I don't think I would be able to live anymore. That's how much you mean to me and so much more." He stroked my cheek and smiled at me. Whenever he smiled, my heart would race faster and faster until I'm sure it would burst.

We stayed like this for who knows how long but before I knew it, the students were already starting to file out the door. I glanced behind Ikuto and caught sight of Utau. Her eyes met mine and when it did, I trembled. Her violet pools displayed anger and frustration. Why did she hate me so much?

Ikuto looked behind him and a look of understanding crossed his features. "Don't mind, Utau. Shall we go?"

I nodded and this time, I was the one to interlace my fingers with his. He smiled at this and gripped my hand even tighter.

X-x-X

"Amu-chan, watch out!"

"Wha—"

Before I could respond, a basketball had collided with my face and I fell backward and onto the ground. Daichi rushed over to me and knelt down.

"Amu-chan, you okay? Sorry, I threw the ball to you on impulse and I thought you were paying attention."

I clutched my nose and said, "It's all right. This is what I get for spacing out so much." I laughed as Daichi helped me stand.

"Let's go to the nurse to get you an ice pack."

"No, I'm really fine." But it was too late. The green-haired boy had already told the teacher where we were heading. I walked beside him while I concentrated on something beside the pain. He sure can throw hard.

"So, you and Tsukiyomi? Didn't know you guys had a thing for each other."

I sneaked a glance at Daichi and I could see he was visibly vexed. "Daichi, that's none of your business."

"But why him?" he growled.

"What's wrong with Ikuto?" I frowned as we reached the infirmary. The nurse went over to the fridge to get an ice pack.

"I don't know, it's just this bad feeling I have. Every time I see him looking at you, it's like you're a piece of meat or something." He shuddered.

I couldn't suppress the grin that was creeping onto my face. Oh, the irony. "Ikuto isn't like that." I accepted the ice pack and left the infirmary with Daichi on my tail. I pressed the ice against my nose and smiled as the pain died down.

He grabbed my shoulder and pinned me to the wall. Shocked, I dropped my ice pack and it landed on the ground with a quick thud. "Daichi, what are you—"

"Amu-chan, I really like you. A lot. It's just that every time I see Tsukiyomi with you, I feel like you're in danger. That guy isn't…normal, Amu-chan."

I sighed and looked away. "It's my choice, isn't it?" I looked back at him and gently pushed him away. "I'm sorry that I can't accept your feelings." I picked up the ice pack from the ground and began walking away. "There's someone else that has feelings for you. Unfortunately, it isn't me." My pace increased and when I saw that Daichi wasn't following, I was a bit relieved. I didn't want to walk with him back to gym—that would've been really awkward.

X-x-X

After school, I rushed to my truck and as expected, Ikuto was leaning against it, waiting patiently for me. When he saw me, he smiled but I could see anger in his eyes, leaving me confused. His arms wrapped around mine and he said, "How was your day?"

"Pretty good. Yours?"

"Good. Only the end of the day wasn't so great."

Puzzled, I looked at him. That's when I put two and two together. I sent him an accusing glare. "You listened, didn't you?"

"How's your nose?" he replied, getting into the car.

"Ikuto!" I complained, getting into the passenger seat.

"I couldn't help it. Especially what happened after you two left the nurse's office. That sneaky bastard is going to get it," he seethed, pulling the truck out of the parking lot.

I couldn't help but smile. "I kind of like it when you're jealous."

"Expect it often then. I hate it when people touch what belongs to me. Maybe I should leave a hickey here and there to show the world that you belong to someone else already." He sent me a sly look.

"W-What!" I spluttered, blushing furiously. "Ikuto, don't be a pervert!"

He chuckled. "Can't help it. You're too much fun to tease."

"Jerk."

X-x-X

I sat at my desk, gazing at the snow globe. I was still upset that Ikuto left quickly after he dropped me off after school (though he did give me a kiss or two…).

After I took a shower and freshened myself I up, I told Tsumugu I was going to bed. As I dressed myself, I hummed a tune to myself. I glanced at myself in the full-length mirror and it still baffled me that Ikuto could see some redeeming qualities because I certainly can't. I stepped closer to the mirror and inspected the two tiny holes on my neck. The web was gone but the dark red circles around the bite remained. I sighed and turned around.

Only to see Ikuto leaning against my balcony.

My blood ran cold as I brought a hand to my chest. "Holy crap, you scared me."

"Sorry." He grinned and waltzed over to me. He hugged me and placed his forehead on mine. "Would you like some company tonight?"

X-x-X

Was Ikuto too OOC for you guys? Sorry if he was. ): but I felt like he was too "Edward" in the beginning and I'm trying to change that.

Oh and you guys should watch City Hunter. It's this absolutely AMAZING Korean drama. You won't regret watching it, promise. I've been obsessing about it for the past couple weeks. It's even number one in Korea right now :D or was it just Seoul? Eh, doesn't matter, it's still high in the ranks.

I think this story is going to end soon. Probably a few more chapters. I just reread Twilight, more like skimmed, and I noticed I was skipping around a lot. But now I know what to write for the rest of this story. It might be similar to the fight with James but I'm going to switch it up a bit and change some details here and there.

Please review! It would be much appreciated (: