CHAPTER 8

ALERT! Okay so I decided to change this story into a third-person point of view, because when I read it, it felt like I was Amu and that just kind of bugs me…Kind of LOL…but I hope this sudden change doesn't affect any of you…it might even be better! Okay well…TIME TO READ!

Amu was eating her breakfast quietly when suddenly she heard a car honk outside her house. She walked over to her front door and opened it and saw a limo outside. "Well, that's strange." Amu thought. "Why would there be a limo outside my house? I wonder who it's for…" Amu went back to her breakfast when she remembered something right out of the blue. She gasped and said, "Oh my god! I totally forgot…Ikuto told me yesterday that he was going to pick me up from my house from now on. Oh shoot! If mom sees the limo, then she's going to bug me about it."

"Amu, who is that outside our house?" Amu's mom yelled from the laundry room.

"Uh, it's no one! Okay well I finished my breakfast so I'm just going to go now alright?"

"Okay, that's fine! Bye, Amu! Come home safely!"

"Okay, bye mom!" Amu yelled as she opened the door. She proceeded to run out but then she crashed into someone.

"Ow. Watch where you're going next time, got it?" Ikuto said as he looked at Amu rubbing her head.

"God, your chest is so hard. What the heck is it made out of? Rock? Geez…"

"You're the one that crashed into me. Whatever. What took you so long? I waited here for like two minutes already."

Amu glared at Ikuto and said, "Oh wow, two minutes. That is such a long time! And besides, yesterday you never told me what time to get out."

"Uh, yeah I did. Remember? After we got out of Science class, I told you I would pick you up from now on and I told you to come out at 7:30 every morning."

"…Oh. Well, I guess I forgot. You don't even have to pick me up anyway. I could always walk to school, take the bus, or have my dad take to school."

"Well, it would look bad if I arrived to school without you. We wouldn't look like we're in a relationship. Besides, who's heard of the girlfriend taking the bus and the boyfriend taking his limo?"

"Okay, whatever! Let's just go before my mom sees you."

"You haven't told your mom yet?" Ikuto asked.

"Why would I need to tell her? This is a fake hookup anyway," Amu said as she looked back to see if her mom was looking out the window, "Okay it's safe to go now. Come on! Hurry! Just get in the car already!" Amu said quietly so no one could hear.

"What the hell are you doing? Just get in!" Amu nearly screamed as she stared unbelievably at Ikuto who was standing there, holding the car door open.

"What the hell am I doing? What the hell are you doing? Can't you see I'm opening the car door for you? Ladies first." Ikuto smirked. Amu glared at him because she knew he was doing this on purpose. After Amu got in, Ikuto immediately got in after her and bumped into her.

"Oh sorry. You wanted to hurry, so I'm hurrying for you!" Ikuto sneered.

"Ugh, whatever. Just…get off my hand! You're sitting on it!" Amu screamed.

"What? Oh! Sorry…I didn't notice."

"Yeah, sure, of course."

There was an awkward silence, and Amu began feeling uncomfortable. She fidgeted with her hands a little and looked out the window many times. As a matter of fact, she looked everywhere. Just not at Ikuto. Ikuto then noticed that something was different and the atmosphere felt awkward.

"Ahem…so…"

"So does this mean I get paid more now?" Amu suddenly spoke up.

"What? Excuse me?" Ikuto asked surprised and puzzled.

"Does this mean I get paid more now? I mean, since I have to be seen arriving to school with you everyday from now on."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because this isn't your problem. It's my problem, and you agreed to help me out for $150 a week. You can't back out now. We're making great progress! And I'm not going to curve the pay for you, so you can just trash those dreams of yours."

Amu looked disappointed, but she shrugged it off. Then everything went silent again. Amu felt stiff and she was afraid to move a muscle. "Why do I have this warm sensation in my chest? And why does my stomach feel like it's crowded with butterflies?" Suddenly, the car stopped and Amu snapped out of her daze. She looked at Ikuto who his hand up as a signal to hold hands.

"Do we have to do this? I mean you could just put your hand on my shoulder. I think that's better."

"Look, how many times do we have to go through this? Handholding says 'in a relationship'. Hand-on-shoulder says 'just friends'."

"…Okay, okay. Fine…"

"Good. Now take my hand and be a good girlfriend."

Amu slowly lifted her hand and put it over Ikuto's palm. Her fingers slowly grasped his hand, and his fingers slowly grasped her hand. "Ikuto's hand…I can feel it again. His hand is big and warm. His fingers are long and I can feel the veins on the back of his hand. His hands are soft too. Soft and big and warm…OH MY GOD WHAT AM I THINKING?"

"You know, your hands are quite small and cold. It makes me feel like I'm holding a chicken foot." Ikuto said out of the blue.

"Yeah? Well your hand feels too soft. It makes me feel like I'm holding a girl's hand."

Ikuto glared at Amu, who was smiling to herself at how great of a comeback she had just come up with.

When they arrived to school, everyone stared again. As a matter of fact, this happened everyday and soon Amu and Ikuto got used to the uncomfortable attention.

(A few weeks later)

"Saaya…Have you heard?"

"What? What do you want? Can't you see that I'm busy? Ever since Ikuto transferred here, I haven't had much time to talk to him. Now I just need to make some minor adjustments…a little blush…and lip-gloss…that should do it!" Saaya said while she gathered her cosmetics, "Anyways, will you help me with my make-up?"

"Uh…sure…but I need to tell you something."

"What? Just spit it out!" Saaya yelled as she took her drink in her hand.

"Uh…well…I heard a rumor that Ikuto…he…has a…girlfriend already…"

Saaya suddenly spit out her drink and coughed wildly. Her expression was made of rage and she started to clench the chair handle.

"WHAT? WHO IS IT?" Saaya yelled.

"Uh…it's…uh…it's someone…from our s-school."

Saaya became more enraged as she heard these words spilling out of her friend's mouth. She clenched her shaking fist up, and slammed it hard on the table.

"WELL WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? HURRY UP AND FINISH MY MAKE-UP!" Saaya snapped. Her friend flinched at this, and hurried with the blush, and the lip-gloss.

"Okay! I'm done!" Saaya's friend said nervously as she was finishing up. Saaya then pushed her friend out of the way and dashed out the classroom door. "No one can have Ikuto but me. He's mine, and that bitch that's with him should know that. I'm coming for you, Ikuto. Don't go anywhere. You belong to me, and only me!"

"Look. I'm just asking when you're paying me, all right? A week's gone by already and I want to know when the money pays up!" Amu said to Ikuto as they were walking out of their last class.

"Must I tell you when the money pays up? All you need to know is that you're getting the money. That's all. When I make a promise, I stick to it. Besides, if I ever forget, which I never will, you can always remind me!"

"Fine…but it better be today, since today marks the end of the week!"

"I guarantee that you will get your weekly pay to—"

"Ikuto Tsukiyomi!" Saaya yelled, "How could you do this to me?"

Ikuto looked at Saaya with a confused look, and then turned to Amu for an answer. Amu just shrugged her shoulders meaning she didn't know what was going on either.

"How can you have a girlfriend? Don't you know that I'm your number one fan? If anything, I should be the one who's your girlfriend! I deserve that spot more than whoever you're with right now!" Saaya yelled, completely out of her mind.

"…Uh…I'm sorry. I think you have the wrong…person? I'm just going to go now…" Ikuto slowly said as he started grabbing for Amu's hand. Amu just stood there and stared at Saaya, stumbled a little, then started walking away with Ikuto. Then Saaya noticed that they were holding hands and immediately became more unsatisfied. She grabbed Amu's wrist and stared unbelievably at the two hands linked to each other. Then, she looked up at Amu and then at Ikuto, and back to Amu again. Then out of nowhere, Saaya raised her hand and slapped Amu hard, right across the face. Ikuto, with wide-open eyes, held Amu by the shoulders and asked if she was all right. By then, everyone created a circle around them and watched the fight go on.

"Why the hell did you do that?" Ikuto yelled at Saaya. Saaya stood there still in shock that she had done such a thing. She soon came back to her senses and then yelled back, "Don't you know that I have feelings for you? I'm your number one fan! I deserve to be your girlfriend more than her! She's just some ordinary girl off the street! How could you be with someone like that? I'm a much better pick than her! I'm the most popular girl in this school…everyone praises me everyday…but you…YOU HAVEN'T EVEN TOOK ONE LOOK AT ME!"

"SHUT UP! I asked why you hit my girlfriend! I didn't ask for a sad story!" Ikuto exclaimed.

"…Girlfriend? I don't believe it…huh…" Saaya said hysterically. Now she was chuckling, trying to pretend that this whole thing wasn't real.

"What? What are you doing…why are you laughing?" Ikuto asked, now puzzled.

"HA! All right! I'll go with this story…but my friends have also been telling me that this relationship that you two have…isn't REAL! So yeah, I'll go ahead and go with this story of yours…but how are you going to tell all these people?" Saaya said, pointing out all the students surrounding them.

"What the hell are you saying?"

"I'm saying…that your relationship…is a fraud!"

By now, all the students that were surrounding them began thinking.

"What are you talking about? My relationship with Amu Hinamori is real!"

"Then why haven't you two kissed yet? All you two do is hold hands, right?" Saaya questioned, "Ha! That's right. I have my sources. You can stop the act now! It's over!"

Ikuto looked at Amu who was still rubbing her cheek, but now Amu looked like she was about to explode.

"Saaya just shut the hell up! You have no right to declare whether our relationship is real or not." Amu said, trying to keep her anger under control.

"Fine! Then if you two really are together, then I guess you wouldn't mind proving it with a kiss!"

Amu suddenly blushed and looked back at Ikuto who looked stunned.

"Aha! See, everybody? I knew it! They weren't together! They were never together from the start!"

"We don't have to prove ANYTHING to you! People like you aren't worthy enough to be proved to. What you're doing right now just shows exactly how LOW you are! That's EXACTLY why you don't deserve to know anything! What kind of a person are you to be talking like that in your place?" Amu yelled at Saaya.

"WHY CAN'T I KNOW? Is there something wrong? Huh? Obviously, if no one here will show me proof, then it's not real!" Saaya screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Just shut up already! All right. You want proof? Then I'll show you proof!" Ikuto yelled out unexpectedly. Suddenly, Ikuto grabbed Amu's wrist and spun her around to face him. He circled his other arm around her waist and pulled her closer till their bodies were touching. Amu looked confused, but felt nervous as she looked into his eyes. She could feel his breathing and his teeth clenching, and she knew that their faces were just inches away from each other. Ikuto looked into her eyes as he slid his hand up her spine and held the back of her head. Then he whispered, "I'm sorry." And before Amu could say something, he forced his lips onto hers and held her tight. He loosened his grasp on her wrist and slowly put that arm around her.

"What…just happened? I feel like I'm floating…in a dream…and this dream feels light and happy…and there's tons of puffy white clouds…and I'm floating towards the sun…and it looks a lot like Ikuto…" Amu thought as she silently died of happiness inside. Her widened eyes slowly closed and she felt her hands clench the sides of Ikuto's sleeves. Everyone around was shocked at the sudden action, as they watched Ikuto kiss Amu with such a sudden passion. Saaya stood there paralyzed and couldn't take her eyes off of the two lovers no matter how hard she tried. She fell to the ground and started sobbing, regretting that she had asked for proof.

"What's going on? What did I just do? Am I…kissing…Amu? But…if I am…why can't I stop…? And why does it feel so…good?" Ikuto wondered. He never wondered about having feelings for Amu until now. Maybe it was because he never kissed a girl before…He didn't realize it himself, but he started to circle his arms around Amu tighter, and he couldn't stop himself from kissing her so single-mindedly.

"Hey, Kukai…what's going on over there?" Tadase asked, pointing out the huge crowd.

"Huh, I don't know. Why don't we go check it out?" Kukai suggested.

They walked over there and began squeezing through the shocked crowd. When the two finally squeezed through, they couldn't believe their eyes.

"Whoa. Is that Ikuto Tsukiyomi?" Tadase asked.

"Yeah…"

"And is that the girl from our class…uh…Amu Hinamori?"

"Yeah…"

"And they're…kissing?"

"Yeah…"

Kukai suddenly came out of his daze and a wide grin soon appeared on his face. Suddenly, he started clapping and cheering loudly, and soon everyone else was doing it too. Tadase just stood there confused, but decided to go along with what everyone else was doing.

"Whoo, yeah! That's my boy, Ikuto Tsukiyomi! And that's my best friend, Amu Hinamori! And they're KISSING!" Kukai yelled happily.

"And they're together!" Tadase added in. Suddenly, Kukai turned to him and said, "Excuse me, but let's not try to make it OBVIOUS, okay?"

"But you…"

"NO, BUTS!"

Finally, Amu and Ikuto broke the kiss. Amu was panting and looking into Ikuto's eyes, and Ikuto was still holding her face. Amu was embarrassed so she looked down and hid her face. Ikuto swiftly pulled her in again, held her tight, and yelled, "So there's your proof. You asked for it. Are you happy now?"

Saaya just raised her head and sobbed harder.

"Good. So now you know not to mess with me or her." Ikuto said. Then he took Amu's hand and pushed past the crowd. The two were walking for a while and finally stopped hearing the cheering. Then Ikuto worked up the nerve and started talking.

"…Look…I know what I did back there was sudden for you…and I know it's kind of…wrong. I wouldn't blame you if you hate me more now…"

There was a long, silent pause, but Amu managed to say something.

"It's…fine. Don't sweat it. I don't hate you…and besides, it was all another act…right?"

"…Uh…y-yeah," Ikuto stammered, "Yeah, I guess so…"

"You know, all the things that Saaya accused of us was actually true…I think we did a pretty good job covering that up though."

"Yeah…yeah, we did!" Ikuto agreed.

"Okay so that means you agree with me that from now on you'll have to pay me twice my original salary?"

"Yeah! Wait, what?"

"Well you kissed me so suddenly and it was uncomfortable for me. Plus, it was totally inappropriate. It's like freakin' rape! You don't just grab a girl and kiss her out of nowhere! And plus, we never agreed on the kissing portion of this fake relationship. So…I think twice the pay is fair."

"I don't think I have to pay you extra, because I believe that you enjoyed the kiss."

"Excuse me?"

"Yeah, I mean you were grabbing at my sleeves and you were also grabbing at the sides of my jacket."

"I was trying to pry your puffer fish lips off of mine!"

"No, because if you were trying to do that, you would be pushing me, and not tugging at my jacket!"

"Oh, whatever! You're thinking way too much into this!" Amu yelled, crossing her arms.

"Okay let's just forget about that. So…now what? Do you want a ride or do you want me to look good in my limo and you walking on the sidewalk on your way home?"

"…I'll take the ride. When you get near my house, just park behind the giant bush so my mom doesn't see me with you."

"All right, then. Let's get going, because our ride is already here."