"WHAT THE HELL, STUPIDCHI!"

"I can say the same! You embarrassed me in front of my friends."

"Ha! You're embarrassing yourself. Making this fake relationship. Dating Ryjuui."

Ryuuji set the bowl of miso soup in front of Taiga.

"So I'm embarrassing now," sighed Ryuuji.

Ryuuji, Taiga, and Ami had met up at Ryuuji's house for this emergency meeting. Ryuuji had made miso soup and some rice for their meeting. By doing this, he hoped the cat fight would be just verbal abuse rather than physical. Ryuuji served himself and sat down on his knees to eat. He sat on the long side of the coffee table as Taiga and Ami sat at the short sides of the table, facing each other. He clapped his hands and slightly bowed his head. The girls also did this out of respect.

"Thanks for the food," they chorused.

Ami and Ryuuji soon started attacking the miso soup. taiga looked down at the miso soup as her eye twitch.

"Hey, Ryuuji. Why are we having miso soup?"

"Eh?" wondered Ryuuji.

"I just find it weird," said Taiga coldly. "We are having miso soup for dinner, and Stupidchi's favorite food is miso soup."

"Oh," Ryuuji realized. "This was on sale."

"Oh, really."

"Yes."

"My, Takasu," addressed Ami. "This is one of the best miso soups I've ever tasted."

Ryuuji turned towards Ami with a delighted face.

"Really?"

Ami nodded.

"Mm... Could you make my lunch for me?"

"What?"

Ami chuckled.

"Just kidding. I can take care of my own lunch."

"I think you mean the convenient store will make lunches for you," said Taiga arrogantly.

"Hey, I make food from time to time."

Ami looked down at her bowl of soup and frowned. Ryuuji, concerned as a friend, looked at Ami with a sincere face.

"Ami, do you know how to cook?"

Ami blushed in embarrassment.

"I…I can c-cook," she said proudly. "I-I'm not li-like Taiga."

"Eh?" Taiga expressed with a confused face.

Ami's worried expression quickly was replaced by her smug look.

"I mean with Ryuuji making you breakfast, lunch, and dinner… You know, it just seems you can't cook."

"W-Wh-Whatever, Stupidchi. I can c-cook… I-It… It's because as my dog, I served Ryuuji for many years, so now he has to serve me for many years."

"Many years?" Ami smirked. "Are you saying Takasu's going to be at your side for that long?"

Taiga took a moment to reflect on her words. Her face quickly turned in a tomato as she looked down at the ground. She stood there silently until she found the strength to speak.

"O-Of course not," she stated calmly, still embarrassed.

"Then you don't mind if-"

Taiga's fists slammed on the table.

"I do mind. A stupid Chihuahua like you has no authority over Ryuuji, my dog."

Ryuuji gently placed the palm of his hand on his forehead and sighed.

"This isn't a friendly dinner anymore."

"Keh. Never was to begin with. In fact, I shouldn't have agreed to help you, Stupidchi."

"What?" wondered Ami half-heartedly.

"The reason why I wanted to help you was because you seemed terrified by this guy. It looked like even more than the stalker. But now you're taking it too far."

"I have to. I have to take it far."

Ami clenched her fists as her voice started to shake.

"He will come soon and then just… He'll ruin me! He'll ruin me. Not only do I have to convince him, but I have to convince the class as soon as possible. It may seem I'm having fun doing it, but I'm stressing out. To make people believe we are a lovey-dovey couple within a week is just too much stress. I'm just doing…"

Tears started to drop onto the table.

"I'm just doing the best I can."

Taiga looked at Ami, confused how to respond. She looked over at Ryuuji and saw him warmly smile.

"Ryuuji…" she whispered.

"Kawashima?"

Ami glanced up at Ryuuji with watery eyes.

"Listen, today was the first day, and I think it was like you were trying too hard. You were very clingy."

"What are you saying?" wondered an irritated Ami.

"Nothing of the sort. Just listen. You are going to be an actress, right? Just think of a mature couple. If someone knew we were a mature couple, it would tell them we have been together for a long time."

"What do you mean by mature?"

"Instead of clinging to my arm, we can just hold hands as we walk."

Taiga narrowed her eyes, but Ryuuji sensed her frustration.

"Taiga. What do you think about it?"

Holding hands is still too much, thought Taiga. Still, Ryuuji wants to help her, and even if I say no, he will still find in an excuse. Hah… I just have to be strong until this act ends.

Taiga sighed and had a calm expression on her face.

"Only if Stupidchi agrees she isn't all clingy and stuff."

Ryuuji smiled and faced Ami.

"So, we will help you, but be more mature about it. Like pretend we are an experienced couple with each other."

Pretend, thought Ami with a small smile. Right. This act is all pretend. Even I pretend to be nice at school when these two know who I'm really am. That word though… I never realized how horrible was that word until now.

Ami faced Ryuuji and Taiga with a determined face and grinned in content.

"Thank you both. Let's do this."

Six in the evening soon turned into nine. Taiga, Ami, and Ryuuji had been finishing their food and discussing what to do about the planning. Well…it was mostly Taiga and Ami going back and forth as Ryuuji stood in the crossfire of their harsh words. These words were exchanged as Taiga played a video game as Ryuuji and Ami played checkers. There was no clear cut winner in the checkers game though. As Ami was winning by two pieces, she said something to Taiga, which Ryuuji kind of showed agreement towards. In a burst of anger, she flipped over the short-legged table and ruined the checkers match. She stormed off quickly afterwards, leaving Ryuuji a mess to clean. Ami, thinking she accidentally went too far, decided to help him collect all the pieces of the checkers set.

"Thanks, Kawashima," said Ryuuji as he wiped the dust off the table with a cloth rag.

Ami unsurely smiled.

"Thank you for saying that, but I went out of line…saying that to Taiga."

Ami rubbed her left arm gently as she looked down in shame.

"Saying that she will be alone at the end… Even if it's not true, I…"

Ryuuji sighed.

"I said we should act like a mature couple, right? It would make things more believable when that guy shows up, but we can't be a mature couple if we do not act mature completely."

Ryuuji finished wiping the table and faced Ami.

"No matter how you look at your fights, you and Taiga act like children. Going back and forth, calling names, arguing on stuff that doesn't really matter or is unrelated… Geez."

Ami wanted to reply, but Ryuuji was right. If a stranger spotted them arguing, they would just think they were kids. Putting on the act at school, Ami had convinced everyone that she was a proper adult. She hated this fact. It was not the real her. But Ryuuji did not see her this way. He was the first to tell her that she acted like a child. As far as insults, this lifted her heart and gave her happiness that someone understood her. By telling her this, it would remind her she needed to act more proper like an adult. It reminded her that a few people saw her as imperfection. Ami, reflecting back on the discussion and arguing she had with Taiga, realized that the important things they talked about were about twenty minutes in total length. The rest either came from Ryuuji's mouth or were in the form of daggers. Ami sighed.

"Then, I'll need to apologize to her."

Ryuuji smirked.

"But you probably need to do it tomorrow."

"Huh?"

"She just needs some time to relax her anger."

"Oh? You know a lot about her."

Ryuuji blushed.

"I guess."

Ami lightly smiled and then looked at the time.

"Oh! It's getting late. I better be going."

Ryuuji nodded.

"You're right. Time went by fast."

"Well then," Ami said, standing up. "Thanks for the food and help."

"Yeah. Um, I'll see you tomorrow."

A few moments passed, and Ami stood still, looking down at Ryuuji. Ryuuji saw her begging eyes. Getting a vibe from her that she wanted his kindness, he smiled. After all, Ami did help him clean up.

"Do you want me to walk you home?"

Ami's slightly frowned.

"Geez, that sounded like a question more than being chivalrous."

Ryuuji got to his feet and closed his eyes briefly.

"Got it, got it. I'll walk you home."

Ami and Ryuuji left the house and walked down the neighborhood's sidewalk. They walked as Ami lead the way, guiding them to her aunt's house. Under the moonless night, they walked out of the neighborhood Ryuuji lived and walked across the bridge to get to Ami's aunt's house. It was quite a walk, but ironically, it was near the school.

"You cross the bridge every day to get to school," asked Ryuuji as they walked across the steel arch bridge that connected two roads over a river.

"Yeah. It takes thirty minutes to get from my house to the school. I just cross the bridge, take the sidewalk to the park, cut across the park, and get to school."

"Thirty minutes? From my house to the school, it takes twenty… Wait. So this morning, how long were you waiting for me?"

Ami blushed in embarrassment and turned away from Ryuuji.

"That's…something you shouldn't ask a girl."

"Mm… If I made you wait long, I'm sorry."

Ami blushed deepened for a bit, but she controlled herself.

"N-no. It's fine… Say, Ryuuji. Would you mind if I hold your hand?"

"Wha?" blushed a surprised Ryuuji.

"Well, I just thought that if we were going to be a matured couple, we should practice. Besides, it's kind of embarrassing, and I think the more practice I get, the less embarrassing it is."

"Embarrassing?" wondered Ryuuji, turning his head towards her. "You were clinging to me this morn-"

He stopped himself. He saw Ami looking down towards the concrete in front of them, slightly blushing and having dullness in her eyes. He thought about it and faced forward.

"Well," he started and then blushed, "I could use practice too."

Ami looked at him with a curious face and then calmly smiled.

Sorry, Taiga.

She grabbed Ryuuji's hand gently, causing him to blush. His blush was contagious and affected Ami. Though it was an act, there was no cameras or fake background. There was no director or assistants. It was just two teenagers walking hand-in-hand. This was real.

As they almost finished crossing the bridge, they saw a figure approaching them. At first, they could only distinguish a girlish outline of the figure, but once the person walked under a lamppost, they quickly recognized the person completely. The person was a girl that went to their high school. In fact, she was in their class. She had short, red hair and violet eyes. Her skin was as white as Taiga's skin, even though she played in the softball team. She was recognized as lively. To Ryuuji, she was considered his love interest, until she somewhat rejected him on Christmas Eve.

"Kushieda?" called out Ryuuji.

Minori Kushieda stopped and looked up to see who called her. In front of her, she saw Ami and Ryuuji in front of her. She stopped and smiled as they confronted her.

"Ah. Takasu and Ami. Greetings, couple."

Ryuuji grew slightly embarrassed by the way Minori said it.

"Hi, Kushieda," said Ami.

Minori looked down and saw that Ami's hand was gripped around Ryuuji's hand. She looked up.

"Kind of weird though. One day, it seems you guys were just friends, and the next day, you are now going out."

Ryuuji smiled nervously.

Did she figure it out, he thought.

Minori looked up and faced Ryuuji with a serious face.

"So, how did Taiga take it?"

Ryuuji grew even more nervous.

"Taiga, she-"

"It's a working progress," Ami half-lied. "She seemed down, but the more we are with her, the more she accepts it."

She just wants to help, thought Ryuuji. Though, when I think about it more, she did seem somewhat down.

"Ryuuji, Ami. I feel somewhat betrayed."

"Hm?" they chorused.

"Dating behind the class's back. I think all of our classmates feel this way."

"Oh, that," Ami slightly shrugged. "I didn't want to make a huge commotion on the first day we decided to date. Like you know how celebrities date and then break up. I was testing Ryuuji if he was the right one for me."

That's a bit harsh, thought Ryuuji.

"So, Kushieda, are you walking home?" asked Ryuuji.

"Yes. I was working on this side of town today. Hey, hey. It's getting late. I better get zooming on home, but you and Ami have a lot of explaining to do during lunch."

Minori excused herself and continued her walk home. Ami and Ryuuji looked at each other, kind of worried.

"Did she figure it out?" wondered Ami.

"I had the same thought."

"Well, if we explain it to her, she'll believe we are for real."

Ryuuji sighed.

"You mean lie."

Ami stood silent. Another word that she did not know the magnitude of shot her down. Ryuuji was right though. The whole relationship was a lie. She dully looked in front of her as they crossed the bridge, still holding hands. Ami enjoyed the warmth of Ryuuji's hand. It made her heart beat faster with every moment. She felt Ryuuji stop and looked his way.

"What is it?"

"Ami, isn't this the more commercial side of town?"

"Yeah. My aunt owns a store close by."

"Seems like your family is either rich or famous."

Ryuuji started to walk, giving Ami the lead. They walked down the sidewalk, making a couple of turns here and there, as they continued their conversation.

"Not really. They are just jobs."

"What are you talking about? Your mom is an actress and you're a model. Plus, that summer home."

"Well, those facts are true."

"Sometimes, whenever I see you, I think you're this rich girl who thinks high and mighty of herself because you're a model."

"Kind of mean," snorted Ami.

"But when you show your true colors, just a girl struggling to reach her hopes and dreams…well, that's the person I want to see more of."

Ami started to blush feverishly and turned away from Ryuuji. She somewhat found the courage to change the subject.

"O-oh! We're here."

Ryuuji looked to his right to see a one-story Japanese-style home that seemed kept up. It even had a four foot tall brick wall, a gate, and a nice grassy lawn. A stoned pathway led up from the gate to the wooden door of the house. Ami let go of Ryuuji's hand and faced him.

"Thanks for walking me home."

Ryuuji nodded with a smile.

"Goodnight, Takasu."

"Goodnight."

Ami smiled and quickly ran happily into her house. She glanced back as she closed the door to see Ryuuji leaving. With the door closed behind her, she sat down on the lifted wooden floor to take off her shoes. Her thoughts prevented her from doing so. All she could do was look at the hand she held Ryuuji's hand with.

Takasu is the only boy I know that can make my heart race. To him, it's fake, but to me, every second is real. I told myself to not get involved though. When we bonked into Kushieda, I thought she would be scornful towards me, but it seemed she was sad at Takasu even more, though she didn't show it… Could it be she's mad because Takasu betrayed Taiga? Mph!… Well, I would be mad to if I was Taiga's best friend who knew the relationship between Taiga and Takasu was strong and then I saw this different relationship Takasu was having…

Ami paused her thoughts as her eyes trembled.

Does this make me a selfish friend? Begging Takasu to do this? Toying with Taiga because of this? Acting like a true girlfriend to Takasu? Is this really my attempt to make that guy go away forever...or just my selfish desires to get closer to Takasu?