A/N: Tadaa! I'm not going to say much because I want you to read the chapter :) I do not own Shugo Chara.

"Rima-chan?" Nagihiko looked at her and then to the box she was holding. She tightened her grip around them. "What are you doing here?" She looked down at the ground.

Nagihiko's eyes widened as well. "Wait, are those...for me?"

Chapter 10 – Valentine's Day II

So close. She was so close to just letting all her feelings go and now she was going to be exposed. Hmph, as if. Rima started laughing and Nagihiko looked at her bewildered.

"What are you laughing at?"

"You thought t-these were for you, haha." Rima pretended to wipe a tear out of her eye from laughing so much. "Did a basketball hit you on your head too hard or something?" Kusu-kusu joined in and started giggling too.

Nagihiko frowned. "Then why are you in front of my locker?"

Rima stopped laughing and looked at him with a surprised expression. "Your locker?" She turned to Kusu-kusu and narrowed her eyes. "You said locker 552 was his locker."

Kusu-kusu giggled. "Oops...I meant 553."

Rima sighed and made it look like she was angry. She glared at Nagihiko. "I wanted to keep this secret. So you better not tell anyone who I'm giving these chocolates to."

He looked as confused as ever. "But locker 553 belongs to...Hotori-kun."

This didn't faze Rima's act. In fact, this was probably a good thing. "Which is why I don't want you to tell anyone." She turned to the locker next to Nagihiko's and started fiddling with the lock. She pretended to ignore Nagihiko's presence.

Nagihiko looked like he understood but still looked a bit doubtful. "Are you being serious?"

"Do I look like I'm joking? Me and Hotori-kun have a lot in common, you know." Yeah, like having a really bad Valentine's Day.

"A lot in common," Nagihiko repeated. He looked at his guardian characters who didn't seem to have anything to say. He looked back at Rima. "Since when were you close to Hotori-kun?"

"Well we've been spending more time together." And Nagihiko could not say anything about that because that was true.

"Yes...but – did something happen between you two?"

"That's none of your business," Rima said coldly. "Do you happen to know Hotori-kun's combination?" Nagihiko didn't reply and was still frowning. "Well?"

At that moment Tadase Hotori himself walked up to them. "Fujisaki-san? Mashiro-san? What's going on?"

Nagihiko glanced sideways at Rima which Rima pretended not to see. This was her ticket out of this mess. She muttered, loud enough for Nagihiko to hear. "No choice now..." She gripped the chocolate box and pretended to look like she was being hesitant.

"Hotori-kun..." she said. "Could I talk to you...alone?"

Tadase raised an eye-brow at the question. "I – uh – I guess."

She glared at Nagihiko as a way of telling him to leave. After a while he turned and started walking away. Okay, better make this audible for Nagihiko.

"Hotori-kun," she said making her voice sound only the tiniest bit nervous yet determined at the same time. She shoved the box of chocolates to him acting as though she was also embarrassed and wanted to get it over with. "Please accept them – along with my feelings."

She looked sideways at the end of the corridor and saw Nagihiko's purple hair only just disappearing from view. Good. He must have heard that last part. So now he wouldn't believe that the chocolates were for him anymore. She felt immensely relieved.

"W-what?" said poor confused Tadase. "This is...thank you Mashiro-san but I'm sorry, this is really sudden and I don't understand-"

"Relax Hotori," Rima said.

Kusu-kusu giggled at Tadase's distress. "Don't worry that was just so Nagihiko could see that."

Now Hotori looked relieved. "Oh...good. I mean, not that I don't like you as a friend, Mashiro-san, but-"

Rima waved it off with her hand. "It's okay, I know what you mean."

"Wait." He looked at her sharply. "Why did you want Fujisaki to see that? And why do you have chocolates in the first place?"

"I was going to put chocolates in his locker," she said simply.

"You what?"

"It was going to be anonymous."

"Yes...but..." He ran his fingers through his hair. "What are we supposed to do when he asks us about it?" He looked over Rima's shoulder. "And I think someone other than Nagihiko saw you give me the chocolates." Rima looked back and saw a girl peering at them from behind her locker. She realized Rima had spotted her, let out a small scared squeal and run down the corridor.

Rima sighed exasperatedly. "I didn't think about that..."

"Well, I could just say that I didn't accept it and that you were okay with it."Rima glared at Tadase and he flinched. "What?"

"By this afternoon the whole year will know about this. And what will they say when they hear Rima Mashiro got turned down?" Okay, she hated to admit it, but her reputation still meant a lot to her. "Plus Nagihiko will get suspicious if you do that and I still hang out with you and Yaya as if nothing happened."

Rima thought quickly about what they could do. "Alright Hotori-kun, for now act as if you haven't decided. At the end of school you'll accept me and we'll pretend to be together for a while. Later, we'll break up with each other on even terms saying that we're better off as friends."

"Ordering a King around, what a nuisance," Kiseki muttered. Rima ignored him. Tadase gave him a warning look but also looked doubtful.

"Is this... I don't know...some way to make Fujisaki jealous or something like that."

"No," Rima snapped feeling slightly offended. "As if Nagihiko would be jealous about anything. You make it sound as if you think he likes me when he obviously doesn't."

"Sorry. You know...it's always in movies and stuff..." Tadase mumbled.

"What movies have you been watching?"

"Hey, Utau-chan used to make me and Ikuto-nii-san come with her to the movies against our own free will."

"Well those movies are stupid then." Rima glanced up at the clock on the wall. "Okay, it's time for class. Let's go."

"Wait, so we're seriously going to do this? This feels like a bad idea."

"You owe me remember?"

"Right..." Rima started walking back to class. Tadase shook his head. "That doesn't mean it's not a bad idea."

xxxxx

Rima and Tadase acted as planned. Rima would steal some glances at Tadase and Tadase would look away and then look back at Rima when she wasn't looking. Of course, since a lot of the class had heard about the incident they were watching them carefully and their actions did not go unnoticed. Nagihiko couldn't see what was going on since he was in front of the two of them but he sometimes turned back to look at them. Amu was sitting next to Rima and caught the gestures and was looking puzzled. The news didn't seem to have reached Amu's ears, but they were purposely making their actions so obvious that even she could tell that something was happening.

After the last bell rang Tadase stood up. Ignoring the bad feeling he had, he reminded himself that he did in fact owe her and had to do this. He walked over to her.

Now was the time to put Tadase's acting skills to the test. "Mashiro-san...about the chocolates you gave me."The whole class fell silent and watched them attentively waiting to see what would happened. Nagihiko was watching them closely and Amu dropped her books in surprise. Tadase glanced at her, though she didn't notice. "I...accept your feelings."

And now it was Rima's turn to respond. And expertly, she made her eyes light up happily. "Thank you...Tadase-kun." Silence.

Wait for it...Rima thought. Wait for it...and...

"Kyaa!"

"Nooo Tadase-kun!" girls screeched.

"Queen Rima – why!"

And the crowd goes wild!

The class exploded with noise and it was lucky that no teacher was around.

Amu and Nagihiko walked over to the two of them.

"Congratulations," Nagihiko said. Amu stared at Rima looking lost for words.

"Sorry Amu-chan, I know I told you I wasn't going to give chocolate to anyone but I wasn't sure how it'd turn out," Rima said.

"No, this is great!" Amu said. "Congratulations you guys."

Rima and Tadase took this as a cue to look at each other and decided to smile sheepishly.

"Should we go, Rima-chan?"Tadase said, offering her his hand.

She took it and they left the classroom together. They had managed to convince Amu and Nagihiko. Mission accomplished.

The best actor awards go to Rima and Tadase, Rima thought in her head.

Once they were out of the school gates they looked around and then let go of their hands.

"That wasn't so hard was it?" Rima said, feeling, she had to admit, very proud about being able to act like that.

"I'm not even going to answer that," said Tadase.

"Well, it worked anyway." Seeing as Tadase still wasn't convinced she sighed. "Oh and sorry for suddenly using your given name like that."

Tadase shook his head. "It's okay. I had to use yours too. Makes it more convincing right?"

Rima was about to nod when she heard a yell. The two turned around to see Yaya speeding towards them.

"Shoot...we forgot about Yuiki-san," Tadase said.

Before Rima could say anything Yaya was shouting at them. "WHAAT! Is it true? Are you guys a couple? How did that happen?"

"No it's not true, no we're not a couple, and this is just an act so people would think it's true," Rima replied calmly.

Yaya stopped shouting and giggled. "Oh, so that's it! Haha, I thought I was missing something." Tadase sweat-dropped at that. "But, why would you want people to think you're dating?"

After a long explanation by Tadase, because Rima didn't feel like it, Yaya looked at them both impressed. "So how long are you going to keep the act up?"

"Maybe about a week," said Rima. "It depends on how fast the excitement dies down."

Yaya grinned mischievously. "Hehe, when it dies down? You mean if it dies down. That's unlikely."

"What do you mean Yuiki-san?" Tadase asked Yaya.

"You'll see tomorrow," she said grim tone.

Yaya being grim? Only now did Rima begin to see how this was a bad idea.

xxxxx

"Anything bothering you?" Nagihiko asked Amu as they walked back from school together. They left a while after Rima and Tadase had left.

"Well...yes," Amu admitted. "It's just that I didn't notice anything between them before."

Nagihiko knew who she meant and nodded. "It was unexpected."

"I think I'm just wondering why it was a surprise." Amu frowned. "When it comes to Rima I thought we were really close. I don't know...I thought that she would tell me something that important to her." She looked down. "But I guess I feel like we're sort of...drifting apart."

Rhythm nodded by Nagihiko's shoulder. "Yeah things are very dramatic right now."

"Hey! I'm not dramatising anything, I'm just saying what it feels like," Amu said.

Nagihiko shook his head. "I think what Rhythm is trying to say is that lots of things are happening this year and maybe things are changing a little bit. Don't worry I'm sure you two can hang out again."

"Yeah...but we did have this conversation before," said Amu.

Ran flew in front of Amu. "Yes! So second time's the charm! Or was it third...oh well then second and third can both be charms!"

Amu had to laugh at that and the rest of the charas and Nagihiko joined in.

Maybe we can hang out tomorrow, Amu thought brightly. Oh, but she must want to spend some more time with Tadase-kun first. I should hang out with her next week. With Yaya too, since the three of us haven't had an outing for a while time. Maybe I can even invite Utau. She imagined Utau's face at the question. Ehehe...maybe not, since she's busy with that upcoming concert at the moment.

Amu looked to the right and saw the park that she always went to.

I wonder if Tadase-kun is going to take Rima there. Maybe they're there right now.

xxxxx

Rima and Tadase walked to school together the next day, holding hands, of course, to keep up the act. Now Rima knew what Yaya meant.

"I still can't believe it," she heard a girl whisper. "It's not fair."

"But it's expected right? They were the King and Queen chair of the Guardians in elementary school, remember?"

But it seemed that the whispers that were usually like small sparks popping up here and there now seemed to Rima like a furious flame spreading across the school.

"What's with the atmosphere?" Rima whispered quietly to Tadase. She didn't really need to ask, but it would let everyone see that she was talking to him though they couldn't hear them. And the stares were starting to bother her.

"I guess this was what Yuiki-san was talking about," Tadase replied, also in a whisper. "I don't think a lot of people are happy about...this arrangement."

Rima guessed that Tadase's fan-girls were not happy at the moment. Rima's fan-base was probably much smaller than Tadase's so they might not be a problem. Girls could sometimes be more dangerous than boys, because they didn't need to attack you directly to hurt you. But really, who would try to hurt Rima?

"I think you were right...this wasn't one of my best ideas."

Tadase grimaced. "No way to change it now. One week shouldn't be that long."

"Let's just get to class already."

Rima and Tadase entered the room and the room went silent. Though the venomous glares directed at Rima did not go unnoticed. Rima sat down and Tadase did too, giving Rima a smile to try and re-assure her. This smile also came out more of a grimace which was not at all re-assuring. Rima smiled back nonetheless.

Why didn't Amu and Nagihiko have this kind of problem? Unless everyone can tell that this is fake and are angry at me. Rima shook her head. The students in this class couldn't spot acting.

Rima saw Amu and Nagihiko come in the room and take their seats. Amu leaned over and whispered to Rima. "How did it go?"

Rima was confused for a moment, until realizing that everyone must think that Tadase and Rima went for a date. "It was..." What to say? 'Good' would not be a sufficient answer. 'Magical' was just being sappy and Rima was not sappy.

Rima turned to Tadase and smiled sweetly as if she remembered a good memory. Tadase noticed this, and smiled back. Not answering at all, that would be the most believable thing to do. She was lucky that Tadase had caught on.

Amu looked between the two and smiled as well. "I guess that means it went well. Where'd you guys go?"

Rima wondered why Amu was so interested. Did Nagihiko tell her about me being near his locker? Does she suspect anything? Rima quickly studied Amu's expression. It looked only curious.

"To the park," Tadase answered. "Rima-chan wanted to eat some ice-cream there."

Amu smiled wider. "Oh, that sounds nice." Then she turned to her bag and looked through her things. Rima noticed that her characters were looking at each other with anxious expressions. Amu was acting a bit strange but Rima couldn't put think what it was.

And neither could Amu.

Amu had a memory flash through her mind at the mention of the park and ice-cream. And that memory wasn't supposed to be there. Amu looked at Nagihiko. He was talking to his characters and didn't see Amu looking at him.

Amu then relaxed as she had some memories of her dates with Nagihiko come to her. She smiled contently. That was better.

And she didn't notice Nagihiko turning around slightly. He looked at Amu, then at Tadase, and finally at Rima. He frowned as he had yesterday and turned back to the front.

xxxxx

Nagihiko gritted his teeth and he jumped and tried to make a shot. It was no good; the ball missed the hoop completely. He glared at the ball, as if it was its fault that he was missing.

"Nagihiko, what's wrong?" Temari asked him worriedly.

Nagihiko looked up at the hoop. "I don't know." But he knew what was wrong perfectly well.

"Whatever it is, why don't ya give it a rest and take some time to chill," said Rhythm.

Nagihiko ignored him. He picked up the ball and bounced it a few times, before shooting.

It missed.

Get a grip Nagihiko, he thought to himself. It was done months ago. It shouldn't matter anymore. Your games in a few weeks and you have to practice. And this was the reason that he came out for extra practice after school in the first place, other than wanting to clear his head from what was bothering him. Usually basketball would help him relax, but it wasn't working today. He picked up the ball again and stared hard at it, as if wanting it to tell him what to do.

He heard familiar voices speaking and looked towards the path next to the basketball court. He saw Tadase and Rima walking past. Tadase was laughing and Rima seemed embarrassed about something. She looked away from Tadase and seemed as though she was muttering something. Suddenly her eyes met Nagihiko's.

She glared at him and then went back to talking to Tadase.

Nagihiko watched them go, frustrated. What did he do this time? He threw the ball carelessly at the hoop. He didn't even look to see if it got in or not. He started making his way to the changing rooms.

He really couldn't concentrate at basketball at the moment.

A/N: Ahh, this was supposed to be a good chapter but I feel like there was something missing. Oh, well I'm still quite happy with how it came out.

...hehe. I so wanted to put an author's note where Nagihiko says it's Tadase's locker saying 'A/N: OH YES I DID!' But that would've ruined the moment at the time.

Anyway, Nagihiko can't concentrate on basketball. I wonder why? Lol okay, I can't even act mysterious anymore. You guys know why 8D

And because I'm so nice, here is a preview of the next chapter.

Kukai walked into the changing room after a long session of practicing football by himself. He, like Nagihiko, had a tournament coming up. He was about to change when he heard a strange clanging sound. Feeling curious, he peered around the row of lockers and gasped.

"Nagihiko! What the hell are you doing?"

Nagihiko had a hand against his locker and his head bent down. He turned his face to Kukai once he heard his voice. "Oh, nothing."

"What do you mean nothing? You were hitting your head against the locker. Are you trying to give yourself a concussion or something?"

"...maybe."

Kukai sat down on the bench next to the lockers. "Do you have anything you need to talk about?"

"No." Nagihiko paused. "Wait...yes."

"Great!" Kukai said enthusiastically. "Let's hear it! Er – Nagihiko?"

Nagihiko was trembling. He turned around and pointed a finger at Kukai. "This whole mess is your fault!"

Kukai jumped, startled. "My fault? What the heck are you talking about?"

A/N: Kukai and the rest of you will find out 'what the heck' Nagi is talking about in the next chapter. Hehe, I'm not that nice after all. Actually I decided to give this preview because you guys are the nice ones. I can't believe I have 100+ reviews. You guys are the best T^T -happy tears-