Hey y'all!! How's every1 doing?

I've just finished typing the new chapter for this, so I decided to post ASAP! Hope you enjoy! Big thanks to strawberriebubbles and an anonymous person for reviewing!! Also, shout out to the people who read and don't review! You know who you are!!

The Character Within My Heart

All kids hold an egg in their soul. The egg of our

heart…Our would-be selves…

Yet…

Unseen…

After a few days, Beth was used to Roxanne's presence. She had worried about bringing her to school, but Roxanne that had reassured her that the other kids couldn't see her, because they didn't have "Heart's Characters", as she liked to call them. The week had ended with nothing major happening, and Beth was especially glad that Rick hadn't said anything to her all week.

"Aahh…" Beth sighed as she slid into the hot bath water. The steam filled the bathroom, fogging the windows. Smiling to herself, she closed her eyes, relaxing in the warm water. Roxanne floated past her, riding a rubber duck. She held a toothbrush in her hand, using it like an oar. She slid across the water like she was in a gondola. The brunette opened one eye to watch Roxanne. "That better not be my toothbrush."

Roxanne jumped at the sound of Beth's voice, "Of course not! I found it in an unopened pack. There were three, so I thought, why not, you know?"

Beth closed her open eye. "Whatever. I was just checking," the two sat in silence for the longest time, relaxing in the steamy room. "I wonder where Mandy and Yvette were these past two days," she murmured, thinking out loud.

"Probably sick or something," Roxanne said, not looking up from her project; plucking all the bristles out of the toothbrush.

"Yeah, I can see that being Mandy, but Yvette is so careful. She rarely gets sick, and even when she is, she usually forces herself to go to school. I remember she had the flu once. It was really bad; she was throwing up every chance she had. But she still wanted to go to school!" Beth giggled at the memory.

Roxanne glanced up from her work. "Sounds like she had it pretty bad," she said sympathetically.

"Yeah…" Beth trailed off. "But why would Mandy be gone all week? She takes sick days occasionally, but she's never gone more than three days in a row,"

Silence reigned in the bath. Neither girls spoke, but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. They were just both lost in their own thoughts.

After about an hour of soaking, Beth stood and wrapped herself in a warm towel, rubbing herself dry. She unplugged the bath, letting the water drain. Roxanne remained on the duck, riding it down to the drain like she was in a water park. She put her wet hair in a ponytail and pushed back her bangs with a headband. She was about to turn and retrieve Roxanne from the bath, but there was a tap at her window.

"Huh?" she walked over to the window curiously. She rubbed away the steam, but nothing was there. Still curious, she unlatched the window and pushed it open, cold air rushing into the bathroom. She looked out into the night. Nothing was there. "I must be hearing things…" she said uncertainly. Then, without warning, a tanned face swung down from above, stopping just before bonking noses with Beth.

"Boo," the black-haired boy said.

"AAAIIEEE!!!" Beth screamed, backing away and slipping in a puddle of water. She fell to the tiled floor with a thud.

"A little jumpy, now aren't we?" the boy teased, smiling. He jumped through the window nimbly, light as a feather.

"Wh-Who are you?!" Beth stuttered nervously. Her cheeks were on fire, and she held the towel close to her body, trying to make sure that the strange boy didn't see anything she didn't want him to see. She pressed her back against the cold wall, wanting to be as far away from the visitor.

"You're Beth, right?" the boy asked, ignoring her question.

"Beth? Are you alright?" there were heavy footsteps on the stairs as Beth's father traveled up them. Beth and the boy both looked at the door nervously. "I heard you scream. Is everything alright?"

"I-I'm fine, dad! I just…slipped and fell! I'll be okay!" Beth said, flustered, "Just go back downstairs and…go back to whatever you were doing!"

The steps paused, "Are you sure?"

"Y-yes! I'm okay!" Beth said quickly. Both she and the boy breathed a sigh of relief when the steps retreated.

"I guess I'm at the right house then," the boy said.

"How did you know this was my house?" Beth asked, still shaking a little.

"We know lots of stuff about you, thanks to Mandy and Yvette," the boy said casually.

"'We'?"

"Hey, Yuma," a small figure popped up from behind the boy's shoulder. His face was also framed in black. "Iain said we just needed to double-check for Mandy. Can we go now?"

"Heart's Character!" Roxanne appeared from inside the now-empty bath, pointing at the black-haired character.

"I guess that clears that matter up," the boy, Yuma, said. He turned back to Beth, who tensed when his eyes locked with hers. She sat, mesmerized by his unflinching gaze.

"Your eyes…" he whispered. Then, he rushed forward, kneeling down and grabbing Beth's chin. She was taken by surprise, and didn't shrink away from him. He stared into her eyes, and she stared back, unable to move. She blushed even deeper when she realized how close he was.

"H-hey… back off…" she mumbled, grabbing at her towel.

Nearby, a similar situation was unfolding. Roxanne confronted Yuma's character. "Hey! Who do you think you are, just barging in like that?!" the character didn't respond. He simply floated around her, taking notes on a small pad of paper. "Hey! What're you writing? Give me that!!" she swiped at the pad, aiming to rip it out of the character's hands, but he dodged her easily, jumping above her and landing on her head. Roxanne cursed at him, trying to pull him down, but he just sat down and continued writing on top of her head. He reached down and examined a strand of her hair, scribbling in the note bad furiously. He turned to take a look at her bangs, but as soon as he reached his hand down, Roxanne pulled on it and bit down hard.

"Ow! Let go!" the character cried out in pain. Roxanne bit down harder.

"I said…back off…y-you pervert…" Beth mumbled again, but Yuma did not back away. In fact, it seemed like he pressed in closer, trapping her against the wall.

"Your eyes…" Yuma said, almost to himself, "They're just like Yvette said, only…" he came even closer. In an act of defiance, Beth closed her eyes.

"Get off me, you pervert," she said, more forcefully. Help, Roxanne. Character Change with me, Beth thought.

Roxanne turned towards her owner, realizing what was going on. "Beth!" she exclaimed, releasing the other character's hand. Immediately, the spiky-petal flower appeared in Beth's hair with a pon!

Beth snapped her eyes open, energy flowing through her. She put her hands on Yuma's chest and shoved, pushing him away.

"Hey!" he was caught off guard, and he fell to the floor.

Beth didn't hesitate. She grabbed the nearest object, a hairbrush, and held it up like a bat, preparing to beat the crap out of the uninvited visitor. But as she swung down, Yuma caught the brush and pulled down, taking Beth with it. As she fell, he rose. Before she knew it, she was on the floor, with the black-haired boy above her, pinning her to the ground. The shock on Yuma's face mirrored her own shock, but she gathered her wits quickly. "Get off, you perv!" she squirmed under his grip, trying to free herself. His expression had not changed. "Hey! Did 'ya hear me?! I said–" but she was cut off. Yuma had suddenly leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. Her eyes widened in astonishment. The flower hair clip disappeared, Roxanne's energy going with it.

"Yuma," the un-named character floated over to his owner. Yuma pulled away from Beth sharply, as if he just realized what he was doing. In one sweeping movement, he let go of Beth's wrists and jumped out the window. He vanished into the night, leaving no trace.

Beth lay on the tile floor, unmoving. She was still in shock. "Beth! Beth! Daijoubu?!" Roxanne said nervously, patting the brunette girl with a tiny hand. "Oh, no. This isn't good…"

(A/N: "Daijoubu desuka" is a way to say "are you okay?" in Japanese. Just saying "Daijoubu" is usually used when speaking to a friend)

Beth lay with her eyes open, staring at the ceiling. She knew Roxanne was speaking to her, but the words sounded muffled and far away. Her lips still tingled with the warmth of Yuma's lips against them.

"Beth! Beth! Wake up!!" the coffee-haired character waved her hands in front of Beth's eyes. She didn't blink.

"That guy…" Beth breathed. Then, with sudden realization, she sat bolt upright, hands on her mouth. "That guy kissed me!!" her cheeks were on fire once again.

Raz: Oh, dear. Things are getting quite intense.

Amu: Isn't this a bit similar to what happened when I met Ikuto?

Raz: Uhh… no it's not….*casually pushes Amu out of sight* anyways! I hope you all enjoyed this new chapter! If you're wondering, Yuma is a Native-American name. I think it means "son of a chief", but I'm not sure. I love getting reviews, so I beg you to write me one. I was at a bit of a writer's block on this one, but I pushed through. I do it all for you!!

Until next time!