CHAPTER 10

Ikuto was stepping out of the elevator, just several paces away from Room 528. As he was walking towards the room, he thought to himself.

"Should I go in? It might hurt Amu's reputation…but it's just her parents…" Ikuto pondered. His hand hovered over the doorknob of Room 528. He hesitated for a while, but slowly turned the doorknob, and pushed the door open, wide.

"Dad, I'm here with the soup!" I exclaimed excitedly as I walked into the room. Dad was sitting on a chair beside Mom's bed, stroking her hand. He looked over at me and quickly got up to help me with the soup. Carefully, I helped Mom sit up against the pillows I quickly fluffed for her. She sighed and looked over at Dad, who was setting up her food on a tray.

"Oh, thank you, hon." Mom said softly, her voice weak and raspy.

"No problem, Mom." I replied with a warm smile. I walked over to the left side of the room where there was a coffee table and two chairs. Slowly, I took a chair, placed it next to Mom's bed, and sat on it. Dad then turned to mom with the tray in his hands. He carefully set it on top of the mini table above Mom's lap.

"I'll do it, Dad. You should rest." I said, taking the spoon away from him. He looked at me, startled for a brief millisecond, then adjusted to a slight smile and sat down in a comfy chair, sighing. I chuckled a little to myself, and then scooped some soup for Mom to eat. She eagerly gulped down the first spoonful, and then the second, and then the third. It was almost as if she hadn't eaten in decades!

"Wow, I guess pregnancy can really make women, really hungry…" I said in awe, scooping the last of the soup onto the spoon. Just as mom was drinking the rest of the soup, I heard a voice at the doorway of the room. "Knock, knock!" No way. It can't be. It shouldn't be. It won't be. It's not! I thought to myself. And right then and there, Mom just had to spit all the soup in her mouth, out. And it just had to spray all over me. Judging by her reaction, I didn't need to turn around to figure out who it was.

"Oh, it just has to be, and it is!" I whispered harshly to myself.

"T-that…that's…that…h-he…" Mom stuttered, nearly out of breath. Ugh, how am I supposed to explain this…?

"Sweetie, what's the matter now…?" Dad questioned with a hint of annoyance in his voice. I quickly looked over at Dad, who thankfully, had his eyes closed. But then, he just had to open them! He looked at me, then at the evil person behind me.

"OH MY GOD! IT'S…I-IT'S! IT'S IKUTO TSU-TSUKIYOMI! HEY, AMU-CHAN, IT'S IKUTO TSUKIYOMI! IKUTO TSUKIYOMI IS HERE!" Dad screamed.

"YES, I KNOW DAD, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!" I barked loudly.

"W-what? You know?" he gave me a confused look.

"Oh…that's not what I meant…see…what I meant was…what I meant was…what I meant…was…. uh…uh…" I struggled for an excuse, but nothing seemed to come in mind.

"Excuse me…" I finally said, breaking the awkwardness. Slowly, I got up and scurried over to Ikuto. I was trying to shoo him out as fast as I could, hoping my parents didn't already jump to conclusions. When we were finally out and away from the room, I started shooting out questions.

"What the hell are you doing here? Didn't I tell you to stay away? Did you hear anything I said at all? What in the world were you thinking? Don't you know what you're doing could ruin my reputation with my parents? How could you possibly do this to me? What the hell did I ever do to you?" I spitted at him in steaming anger.

"Whoa. Slow down. Okay, well, first of all…wait, what were the questions?"

"URGHH, NEVERMIND! Just forget it!" I yelled, frustrated, "Just answer me one question. Just this one question is fine."

"Okay…what?"

"What the HELL did you have in mind when I precisely told you to NOT come near my parents?"

"You've got some tiny bits of vegetable in your hair…" Ikuto stated quietly, obviously trying to change the subject.

"Stop trying to avoid the subject! Answer me." I demanded. Ikuto looked at me and gave me a cheesy grin, followed by a nervous laugh. I stared him down till I felt like my eyeballs were going to fall out.

"It's bad enough that the whole school thinks we're dating! Now, my parents know what the hell's going on too!" I hollered. Nurses and patients were staring at us now. I had to tell you, we were quite a sight. A pink-haired girl with the reddest face in the world, steam blowing out her ears, screaming at a blue-haired dude, who just so happens to be the most popular idol of our generation, and the cockiest!

"Okay, first, shush. Second, calm down! People are starting to stare, and it'll ruin my reputation if word starts to spread about an ordinary girl off the street yelling at the most famous singer in the world!" Ikuto whispered in my face, holding me by the shoulders.

"You're so dumb! Just shut up! You ALREADY ruined my reputation! And…" I trailed off suddenly struck with an idea that Ikuto just gave me. He stood there giving me a weird stare.

"You know what? You're so right! If word starts spreading about you…and me…then your reputation will really be crushed to millions of pieces!" I cackled.

"What?" Ikuto stared at me in disbelief and horror, "Oh no…"

"Oh, yes!" I happily giggled as I danced around him.

"HEY, EVERYONE! HIM AND I ARE DATING! THAT'S RIGHT! IKUTO TSUKIYOMI AND AMU HINAMORI ARE TOGETHER! WE'RE A COUPLE!" I screamed the loudest I could. I looked around at everyone who was gawking at me. Some people were snickering. Others looked almost, sad. Some looked at me as if I'd gone mad. Then my eyes fell on Ikuto, who looked like he just died.

"Why did you just do that? You just put my whole rep in danger! I only showed up in front of your parents! You humiliated me in front of the whole hospital—Wait a minute…!"

"What?" I said with a bright beam.

"You just put your rep in danger too, by embarrassing yourself in front of everyone!" Ikuto laughed.

"So? I'm not the one who's 'the most famous singer in the world'. My reputation is not even half as big as yours, so it doesn't matter to anyone. You're the one who's in a heap of trouble!" I mocked, filled with even more joy.

"Well what about your parents, huh? I'm pretty sure they overheard what you said just now."

"Again, so? They already saw you with me, so they must've known something was going on. I'll just have to explain less to them. And I won't have to face them by confessing to them about our fake relationship!" I exclaimed, making sure to quiet down at the word 'fake'.

"But didn't you say that you didn't want your reputation with your parents, ruined?" Ikuto questioned desperately, apparently running out of comebacks.

"You already ruined it! And plus, ruining yours just practically made me explode with so much joy, that I completely forgot about my own!"

Ikuto glared at me angrily. I had to admit, his angry face made me a teensy bit guilty, but he totally deserved it!

"Okay, fine. I'm sorry." I apologized in the most sincere tone that I could conjure up. Sadly, I let the guilt take me over.

"Sorry doesn't cut it." He said grimly. His tone of voice was so sudden that it took me a moment to adjust to it.

"Just kidding!" He suddenly rattled.

"What?" I said, confused.

"I totally fooled you! You should've seen your stupid face! 'Sorry doesn't cut it' man, you're so gullible!" Ikuto mocked.

"Well, make fun, but that was really believable." I muttered.

"Well, I guess not only could I be a singer; I could also be an actor!"

"Oh, just put a cork in it!" I shouted at him as I started walking back to Room 528. Ikuto followed along, but this time I decided to let him, since my identity was already spilled.

When we walked into the room, Mom was positioned upright like an eager dog waiting for their owner to come home. She stared wide-eyed at the two of us walking together into the room. Dad just sat there in his chair, bug-eyed and ready to scream. I looked back at Ikuto to see his face. He looked a bit uncomfortable and uneasy. I turned back and smirked to myself. Casually, I walked over to the coffee table, took a chair, dragged it to the side of the bed, and told him to sit. Ikuto made his way stiffly to the chair, and sat down in it like it was a Venus Fly Trap.

"You don't have to be so stiff. It's only my parents." I merely whispered to him.

"A-Amu…what's going on here? This…this man…is he really…the one and only? I-Ikuto Tsukiy-y-yomi?" Mom stuttered.

"Yes, mom. That's him…" I replied awkwardly. I stared at my mother who looked like she was going under a state of extreme trauma. Or at least, I think she was upset.

"Well, what is…he…doing here?" Mom questioned, questioning the ultimate question.

"Well…see…that's what we're here to tell you…" I said meekly, "Remember when I told you Ikuto was transferring to my school?"

"Yes."

"Well, see…" I trailed off, looking over to Ikuto. He had his head down, staring at his own shaking hands that were nervously resting on his lap. He looked up anxiously at me, and then looked down once again. Looks like he's not going to be much help to me. Guess I have to do this myself. I met eyes with Mom again, and started off from where I left off.

"Well, see…we kind of met in an awkward situation at the library one day…and we grew to be come close friends!" I exclaimed, grabbing Ikuto's shoulder and shaking it. He gasped, then calmed down.

"Hah, just kidding…" I said quietly, "What really happened was…well, we did meet in the library, and kind of came to know each other better…so one day, I think it was the day after we met, Ikuto confessed his problem to me. He said that everyday, his fans always crowd him, and it makes his life difficult. And because he noticed that I was the only one person who wasn't his fan, he came to me for help…and I agreed. And the plan was…that we go together in a fake…relationship." My voice cracked on the last word. Mom looked at me with puzzlement in her eyes. She sat there looking at her hands for a while, slowly taking in everything I'd just said. Then she turned to Dad, who lost his jaw somewhere on the ground.

"Dad, please pick your mouth up off the ground. The news isn't that hard to take. I mean it's not like we're official. It's FAKE." I explained more thoroughly, making sure to put the emphasis on the word 'fake'.

"Amu-Chan, I thought you said you hated Ikuto Tsukiyomi. Remember that day he transferred to your school? You came home in anger, venting your feelings on me! So there had to be something that made you agree to this act."

"Well…"

"I promised to pay her." Ikuto suddenly chimed in.

"What?" Dad asked, raising his voice.

"Right, right! Ikuto promised to pay me…in order to make me play along in this act!"

"I just knew it!" Dad exclaimed.

"Oh, Amu, we didn't raise you this way! This is a new low for you! How can you so casually just take his money? Don't you know that it's wrong?" Mom scolded.

"Oh, Mrs. Hinamori, it's no problem, really. I…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on! Just wait a minute!" Dad interrupted. We all looked at Dad, startled.

"Just how much are we talking, 50 bucks a month? 40?"

"Uh, it's not as easy as it sounds…"

"OKAY! AHEM! I really think it's time for Ikuto to leave, so Ikuto, leave!"

"Um, okay…" Ikuto got up, ready to walk out, just when my dad stopped him.

"Hold on, kid, you didn't answer my question. I said…how much money are you paying my daughter?"

We still had our backs turned on my dad. I was running out of options, so I tiptoed up to Ikuto's ear and whispered in it.

"Just say 50."

"Okay." He whispered back. He swiftly turned around and looked at my dad. Confidently and loudly, he spoke, "50 bucks a week, Mr. Hinamori!"

"50 BUCKS A WEEK?" Dad hollered. He turned to stare at me fiercely. I almost choke. Not even thinking, I quickly grabbed Ikuto's shirt collar and pulled back. He stumbled backward and almost fell, but I stopped him.

"I told you to just say 50 a month!" I whispered harshly.

"No you didn't! You only said 50, so how was I supposed to know if I was supposed to say week or month?" he whispered back.

"Okay, so I only said 50! Why didn't you just plainly tell him 50? Why did you have to go, '50 bucks a WEEK'?"

"Well, I'm sorry! I didn't know! I thought if I spoke in a proper sentence, your Dad would think I'm well-mannered!"

"Don't…make…me…punch…you…right…now." I said, trying to keep my irritation under control.

"Amu, 50 dollars a week is TOO much!" Mom exclaimed, "Mr. Tsukiyomi, why don't you not pay her, huh? I mean, you have to go through all this trouble to pay her, and this fake act! Why don't you two…just make it…real?"

We both stared at her like she was insane.

"Mom! You know I hate him! Stop making up such ridiculous ideas! I mean, I could NEVER be with him! We're always at odds, he's far too conceited, he always brags about himself, he's annoying, he's immature, a teensy bit perverted, he…"

"AHEM!" Ikuto coughed and gave me an evil stare.

"I agree with our daughter! He's not right for her. As a matter of fact, no one is! Amu, you're switching schools, okay? From now on, you're being enrolled into an all-girls' private school! It's okay, we'll think of a way to come up with the money!" Dad said anxiously.

"Dad! I am not switching schools! All my friends are here, and I'm not leaving!"

"But…"

"No, buts! I'm staying here and that's final!" I shouted. Dad looked over at Mom desperately. Mom just looked at the two of us lovingly, and she stared at Ikuto like he was her son in law. It made me sick, just wondering about what mom was thinking in her head at that moment. I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs because this wasn't the way I expected them to react. They just went with it so informally, that it was almost impossible to take! I expected them to faint, or yell at me! Well, Dad was somewhat of what I expected. But Mom was the exact opposite!

As I walked out of the room, Ikuto followed behind me. I looked back at my parents, and waved goodbye.

"Wait, Amu-Chan, who is taking you home?" Mom yelled, straining her voice.

"Ikuto is. He drove here." I yelled back. I waved once more and then walked down the hallway. People were still staring and whispering at us. Well, they were mostly staring at Ikuto. I looked back and he was just waving and smiling sheepishly at them. Nurses in their pressed white dresses and their little hats, came scurrying over next to Ikuto. They held their phone cameras in their hands and grabbed him by the arm, trying to get a picture with him. He reluctantly agreed, and the cameras began flashing. After they were done, Ikuto was about to walk away, just when a nurse came up to him, and kissed him on the cheek. My eyes bugged out and I stared in doubt. My mouth fell to the floor, but so did my heart. Ikuto stared at her, shocked at her sudden action. The nurse was really pretty, too. She had auburn-colored hair, styled neatly into a bun. Her side bangs swept neatly across her forehead. Her skin was a glowing pale, peach color. Her eyebrows were perfect, and her eyes were a light, light brown, caressed by long thick lashes. Her lips were full, stained with a very light, red lipstick. Her little nurse hat stood happily and neatly on her head. And her nurse outfit hugged her slender curves well. I stared longingly at her, wishing I could look just like her. She was as perfect as the most beautiful angel in the heavens. Ikuto gazed at her, and how perfect she was. His eyes stared at her everywhere. She smiled a bright white smile with super straight teeth, and giggled. Even her voice belonged to an angel! Her laugh rang with such purity and beauty! I almost felt a tinge of jealousy as I watched Ikuto's gaze linger all over her.

"Hi. I'm one of your biggest fans! Will you please sign my clipboard?" the attractive nurse asked in the sweetest tone. It would've been the lamest thing any nurse could've said, but she made it sound like chocolate coming from a chocolate fountain, drizzling all over fresh red strawberries. I felt sick.

"S-sure…" Ikuto stuttered. The nurse beamed and gladly handed him her pen. I watched as their hands touched for a mere second. Ikuto turned the clipboard over to the backside and opened the Sharpie. He scribbled his autograph on there as carefully as he could. Then he closed the Sharpie, but suddenly the nurse stopped him.

"I didn't get to take a picture with you, and I could tell that you have to leave now. I hope we can meet again." The nurse said sadly. She took the pen from his hand and said, "I hope you don't mind me writing on your hand, if that's alright with you."

"Um, sure…"

"Okay, great then!" She exclaimed happily and started writing something on his hand. I was too far away to see what it was. She capped the pen and tiptoed to meet his height. Then she whispered something in his ear. I ached to know what it was. After that, she smiled sweetly and walked away. Ikuto just stood there in a daze. I quickly walked over to him and shook his arm wildly. He immediately jolted out of his dream, only to find me grunting at him.

"Sorry to interrupt you from your goopy love daze, but I would very much love to go home, because I'm starving to death." I spit at him. I stomped away with my slippers clapping heavily on the ground. He quickly caught up and linked his arm to mine. I looked at his arm like it was a snake and I swiftly retreated.

"What's going on? I thought we were going to keep up the act."

"That's only needed at school, where most of your fans are. Here, there's only a few nurses that go gaga over you, so there's no need." I said coldly.

"Whoa, wait. What's the matter with you? Is this still about that reputation thing?"

"No, I'm over that. Next time, just put on a disguise when you're out in public. That way, I don't have to wait on you."

Ikuto looked at me confusedly, but shrugged it off. Come on, it was just one fan girl. I bet there are tons of them that come up to him individually and flirt with him. There's no need to feel jealous, right? I thought you hated him. He's not worth getting jealous over. I looked over at Ikuto carefully to make sure he didn't notice. His eyes sparkled and he looked content. I can't believe one girl could make him so happy. Suddenly, he turned to me and caught me staring. I quickly looked away and turned my attention to something else. When we were in the parking lot, I started hitting him with questions.

"So…I noticed there was a special nurse that came up to you for your autograph."

"Yeah…"

"What did she write on your hand?" I interrogated, trying not to sound too demanding.

"Why? She wrote her number on my hand…"

"What?"

"She wrote her number on my hand. It was weird. This was the first time that any fan has come up to me individually for a private autograph session. And she kissed me on the cheek, too, like I was her date, or something. And then she tiptoes up to me and whispers in my ear, telling me to call her."

"…Oh." I managed to choke out, trying not to show my jealousy.

"But she was really pretty…almost like an angel."

"Yeah. She was really, really pretty."

I wasn't lying, to tell you the truth. That girl was pretty. Finally, we got to Ikuto's car. I expected him to open the door for me like he normally did, but today, he didn't. I got in the car, even unhappier, but I did my best not to show it. On the way home, I had a feeling that Ikuto had his eyes on me at times. He would glance for a few seconds, then focus back on the road. Suddenly, he spoke up.

"I just noticed that you're wearing your pajamas."

I looked down, just noticing that I was wearing them, too.

"Yeah. So?"

"They're so cute! They have bunnies on them! And look at your slippers! You look just like a little girl."

"What are you talking about? I'm 16."

"Then maybe you should start wearing more decent clothing. No guy is going to be attracted to you if you spend the rest of your life wearing bunny pajamas."

"You're so full of it…"

"I mean, you said it yourself that you're 16. So, you're a 16-year old girl who wears bunny pajamas. You know what you should wear?" Ikuto asked, stopping in front of my house.

"What?" I asked, annoyed.

"You're 16. You should be wearing something sexy. Like…" he said seductively, leaning closer to me. We were face to face and he stared intently in my eyes. Then, he slowly lowered his head and began staring at my chest. He was scrutinizing my chest, and it made me incredibly uncomfortable.

"Huh, I was going to suggest lingerie, but it would go to waste on such a poor body like yours."

"Excuse me?"

"Just look at yourself. You have no chest or curves! Just stick to your bunny pajamas."

"What did you say?"

"See, if you had a nice figure and curves like those nurses back at the hospital, then you would really, really look good in lingerie. But, it's a shame."

I glared at him without saying anything and quickly got out of the car. I slammed the door so hard that I thought his car was going to break into pieces. When I walked up the driveway, I heard a car door slam. Then I heard footsteps running towards me.

"Wait…wait." Ikuto said, panting.

"What? What do you want?"

"Let me into your house. Your parents already know me, so it should be fine for me to go in, right?"

I paused for a moment, but decided whatever. I didn't really care, just as long as he didn't talk to me for a while. When we entered my house, he stared in awe.

"Wow, it's so homey. And small…"

Of course it's small compared to whatever you live in…

"Make yourself at home." I muttered, making my way to the kitchen. He walked around in my house, into every room downstairs, taking in everything he saw.

"Are you done yet? You can go sit on the couch and watch T.V." I snapped.

"Hold on a minute. I haven't seen anything upstairs, yet." He murmured, looking up at the staircase. Suddenly, he began walking up the stairs. I raced towards him and blocked him.

"Where are you going?"

"Upstairs."

"You can't go up there."

"Why not?"

"Because I said so."

"Because you said so."

"Yeah, because I said so. This is my house."

"Why can't I go up there? Are you hiding something?"

"No, I'm not hiding anything. You just can't go up. It's impolite."

"Uh huh…I see," Ikuto slowly said, looking past my shoulder, "You probably have posters of me in your room."

Ikuto pushed past me and proceeded. I blocked him again.

"I don't have any posters of you anywhere in this world, much less, this house. I just don't want you upstairs!" I shouted. He stared at me skeptically, and then started walking downstairs. I slowly followed after him, believing he wouldn't go up anymore. Suddenly, he turned around and headed up again, but this time, he ran. Not knowing that I was right on his tail, he crashed into me, and we fell down on the stairs. It took me a while to know what was going on, because there was so much pain in my back. Ikuto was right on top of me and my frail body was crushed under his. I could feel his breathing on my ear and his broad hands on my shoulders. My face became hot and my cheeks flushed.

"C-could you get off?" I asked, "You're kind of…crushing me."

Ikuto propped himself up with his arms and stared at my face. He chuckled to himself. Then he leaned down to my ear and whispered, "Amu, you're blushing."

"W-What? No I'm not! Why would you say…"

"Shhh…why don't we just stay here for a while? Seeing how you enjoy it so much…" he said seductively.

"You're so disgusting! Get off!" I yelled, trying to push him off. Just then, I felt his lips on my ear.

"Stop!" I yelled. Surprisingly, he listened. He stopped, but I still felt his breath at my ear.

"Admit it," he suddenly said.

"Admit what?"

"You have feelings for me."

"What?" I asked, shocked.

"I said you have feelings for me, don't you?"

"No…I don't."

"Stop playing games with me. I know you do. I noticed it."

"Like what? What the hell did you notice?" I asked, annoyed.

"Back at the hospital. When that nurse came up to me and kissed me on the cheek, I caught a glimpse of your face. You looked upset."

"Yeah, because I wanted to go home."

"No, because you have feelings for me. I clearly saw the way you looked at me when she kissed me, and when we were walking in the parking lot."

"You're imagining things."

"If I was imagining things, I wouldn't be asking you such a serious question."

"So do you have feelings for me?" he asked again.

I paused for a long time, not knowing what to answer him. He just kept staring at me, waiting for an answer. It was really dangerous during that moment, because he was so close to my face that I could feel his breathing. And I could practically feel his heartbeat transfer through my chest.

"Is it really that hard for you to admit that you like me?"

"Yes, because I really don't like you!"

"Stop resisting. I know that you like me. Just say it." Ikuto taunted, propping himself up with his arms.

"No, I don't! I do not like you! Stop saying that!" I exclaimed nervously.

He tilted my face up to make me look at him. I caught a glimpse of his face. He was smirking at me. I shifted my gaze sideways.

"Look at me." He said. It was as if I was under his spell, once again. I felt my gaze slowly linger up to his face. He was still grinning.

"You better not do anything stupid, or…"

Then out of nowhere, he kissed me. He kissed me right on the lips! I tried to reject, but he wouldn't let me. He grasped my wrists tightly and pinned them down. My heart sped so fast and my mind was racing uncontrollably. I didn't know what to do next. All I could think of was what was happening right now. When we kissed, it felt…like flying. He kissed me so softly and tenderly, exactly like how I see the men kiss their women in romance movies. Suddenly, he came up for breath, making me come back to reality.

I breathed heavily, looking up at him. He looked down, giving me a smile that said 'I told you so'. Then out of nowhere, he started cracking up. He was laughing uncontrollably into my shirt and suddenly lifted his head only to say…

"You're good, Amu Hinamori." He chuckled. I couldn't say anything, because my brain was still trying to recover from his sudden display of affection.

"Yup, I know how to make them ladies' hearts flutter."

"Shut up! Get off!" I yelled, pushing him off. I got up walked to the kitchen, remembering that I hadn't eaten anything for the entire day. He followed behind, putting his arm around my shoulder. I turned around to look at him. He gave me a sweet smile that just made me want to slap him across the face.

"Don't be so cute. My Dad could walk in any minute with Ami." I said bluntly, shaking his arm off.