**~~ Moonlit Garden ~~**

Chapter 3: Amu Hinamori: No one but you

Amu woke up at 6:15 and sighed. 'Why'd I have to meet him on a Saturday? Why couldn't I have met him on a Friday?' she ruefully thought as she pulled her socks on. 'Now I have to wait to see him, again!' She got dressed and went downstairs to get breakfast.

"…U-chan, Amu-chan!" her dad snapped her out of lala-land. ((That's actually a place. My friends and I are there several times a day *nod nod*))

"H-huh?" she looked up, realizing she had been chewing on her toast for a minute without swallowing.

"I said, are you on your period?"

"What, why?" she swallowed suddenly. He knew she started hers on the fifth, and it was the 17th.

"Last night you were giddy and bouncy and now you're sluggish and in a daze."

"No, Dad, I'm just not a Monday-person."

"Alright, but you're gonna be late if you keep eating that slowly."

"Oh, you're right, thanks Dad, I'm leaving now!" Amu called; bag in one hand and toast in the other.

"I've raised such a ditzy girl, haven't I?" her father sighed, watching her slip and catch herself on the wet sidewalk.

*~~ With Ikuto in the Garden ~~*

Ikuto was practicing his violin when his mind started to wander until he stopped the song altogether. 'What is it about that girl that makes me only think of her?' he thought. 'I can't even play that song without her face appearing in my mind, she said she wanted to go out with me, but I can't just go out with a strange girl I just met; much less even consider it. Great, now I can't focus on anything else, might as well go back to sleep, I can't dream of anything else, either.' Ikuto jumped up into a tree and leaned against the trunk. 'Well, this sucks. God, if I'm just gonna think about her this way, it would've been better if she never came into my life…' he thought as he drifted off to sleep. ((I don't own that line in Eternal Snow; that would be Myco from Changin' my life)) Once he woke up, he began playing the song. The song he knew Amu loved. The song he knew he'd regret playing…

**~~ Last period at Amu's school ~~**

Amu tapped her pencil impatiently. She had finished her work quickly, hoping for time to move faster if she did, then her math teacher her made her double-check. So after that, she had to help all the students who didn't understand the lesson. 'What is it with retarded kids and saying 'I don't get it,'' she thought, glaring at the clock. 'This is probably the longest ten minutes of my life!'

"Hey Amu, why were you so eager to get out of class today?" Rima asked after class had ended.

"Oh, I have someone to meet," she answered, finger-combing her hair.

"Oh, have you found Mr. Right yet?" Rima smirked. "Looks like my little Amu has finally experienced her first love."

"S-shut up, you have Nagi, too, so why is it a big deal if I have a guy I like?" Amu blushed.

"Because you've never even had a crush on a boy before!"

"Is that the only reason you can think of?" Amu looked away.

"Yep," Rima replied, making the "P" pop. "So… what's his name?"

"Ikuto Tsukiyomi," Amu's heart nearly exploded thinking about him. And it ached when she couldn't be around him. 'I wonder if this is the pains of the first love…' she thought.

"Wow, sounds so mystifying!" Rima giggled. "I have to meet him!"

"M-maybe, if he wants to meet you…"

"So, what does he look like?"

"Blue eyes, dark blue hair, lean figure, black clothes, a black choker with a cross-charm, plays the violin… well, it's kinda hard to describe him without you seeing him…"

"Okay, but you left out one detail: is he cute or not?"

"Y-yeah, he's pretty cute…" her blush deepened.

"How cute is he?" Rima pressed. Amu closed her eyes and sighed, remembering his voice and how he looked.

"Ha~ drop-dead-gorgeous, majorly-cute, any-other-girl-scratching-my-eyes-out-if-they-saw-us-together cute… do you want me to continue?" she was on the verge of hyperventilating.

"No need!" Rima giggled. "You've found yourself a perfect guy; someone who's just as charming as you!"

"I kinda want to see him now…"

"Go get 'em tiger!" Rima pushed Amu, making her go from walking to stumbling to cursing under her breath.

**~~ At the Garden ~~**

The moment Amu walked through the gates Ikuto stopped his song and walked near her.

"Why weren't you here earlier?" he asked, "not that I care, or anything." Amu tilted her head, confused.

"I was at school, weren't you?" she walked over to stand in front of him.

"I don't go to school."

"Oh, well… why'd you ask?" Seeing him turn away, she looked into his eyes, "Ikuto, tell me." 'Oh great,' he thought. 'I can't resist her eyes.' He sighed and sat on the bench, Amu right behind him, defeated.

"Well now I'm used to having you bug me, and it's too… quiet without you…"

"Then I'll come and bug you every day!" she smiled. Secretly, Ikuto was happy she wanted to be around him, but he couldn't think of telling her that.

"You're too persistent, do you annoy every boy you meet like that?" he closed his eyes, enjoying the afternoon breeze… and the girl he was starting to warm up to next to him.

"Nope, you're the only one; ever since junior high there has been non-stop confessions and guys never willing to get to know me, just wanting to have the glory of going out with a cute girl, you're the only one who's not like that and has actually listened to what I say, and I really like you for that," she inched closer to him and whispered, "thank you, Ikuto."

"You're different than most girls; wouldn't most girls want that attention and affection?" he turned to face her, heart beating fast when he looked into her honey-golden eyes.

"It gets kind of suffocating after one White Day full of chocolates, besides, the only one I want affection from is you."

"I've told you this before: I'm not going out with you."

"We'll see about that, just wait and see."

"Do you… seriously like being with me?" Ikuto asked.

"Of course I do, you're very… special to me," Amu shivered. "Ikuto, I'm cold."

"What do you want me to do about it?"

"Hold me," Amu pushed herself closer, causing Ikuto to sigh.

"How do you say these things with a straight face?" Ikuto asked, reluctantly embracing the happy Amu.

"Easily; it's just telling the truth."

"There are too many people here; just like the stars in the night sky."

"But there are many more stars than humans," Amu pointed out.

"It's too quiet when you're not here…"

"Does that mean you miss me when I'm gone?" Amu giggled. "You know, I really do like you, you really can believe me, I'm not like the fan-girls you have nor the fan-boys I have; I promised myself to never be like that."

"… I see," he looked away, embarrassed.

"Ne, Ikuto, tomorrow I don't have school, wanna go somewhere with me?" she buried her face in his chest, greatly flustering him.

"I-I guess…" he automatically responded, too confused by Amu's actions to say no.

"That makes me so happy, let's go see that one movie, 'Scarlet Moon'!"

"Easily pleased, huh, I wonder if I've fallen in love." Ikuto muttered.

"What?" Amu asked.

"Nothing, it's nothing."

"Tell me what you said." Amu wasn't going to give in. 'Great, how do I get out of this one? Hmm, that might work… I just have to make it believable…' he thought. Thinking about how close they came to kissing the night before, Ikuto was able to blush, making Amu eager to hear what he had mumbled.

"I-I just said that your outfit is pretty cute," he stammered, coiling his arms around her. "It's kind of overwhelming to know that you like me."

"Such romantic words from the one who says they won't fall for me…" she giggled. "Well, I think I'd better go home now, or my Dad'll think I was fraternizing with some boy again."

"Again?" Ikuto raised an eyebrow. "He's accused you of sleeping with someone before? But you're only sixteen…"

"That's what I said; anyway, I'll leave you… for now." She stood up, brushed off her skirt, and kissed Ikuto's forehead.

"See you tomorrow; ten o'clock!" she waved as she locked the gates back.

"Crap, what have I gotten myself into now?" He cursed, realizing that he couldn't cancel going out with her. Plus, he'd have to deal with her wrath even if he thought of a good excuse. 'I don't even have her phone number, anyways, I wouldn't be able to cancel…' he thought. 'Man, there's no way I can get out of this now!'

***~~~ TBC in Moonlit Garden: Exciting First Date ~~~***