I'm so sorry for the late update. Of course, I could come up with a list of excuses, but most of you are skipping this A/N anyways so I find no point. But does Writer's Block sound familiar? Don't blame me; blame Writer's Block. I tried making this chappie longer...but it didn't turn out really long either. Really sorry.

School these days is harsh. I just told my best friend about a guy I liked. And another kinda-friend almost forced it out. She's got it narrowed down to three people. Haha, I know; I'm so weak-hearted. *sigh* Feeling slightly...scared after telling my secrets.

BUT, that does not concern you. I'm seriously doubting if I should just write whatever story the poll's highest for now, but the votes are so close. :P Please vote!

(Disclaimer: I do not own Shugo Chara! or He Could Be The One by Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus. Enjoy!)


Chapter 11: Before the Christmas Ball

"Truthfully, I—" he was cut off by a crash outside the door. We turned our heads towards that direction to see Amu and Nadeshiko holding bags of fruits and fallen on the ground.

"Nadeshiko! Great, now they'll discover that we've been eavesdropping all the tim—why hi Nagi, Rima. Ehehehehehe…the weather's nice isn't it?" Amu said with a nervous laugh. I turned towards Nagihiko, who smirked and nodded. I turned back to Amu and Nadeshiko, turning my death glare up to 120%.

"You. Two. Are. Sooooooooo. Dead."


Sadly, we couldn't make our punishment too serious for Amu and Nadeshiko, because they still needed to be physically fit for the Christmas Ball. Sighing that we had a restricted amount of choices as to how to punish the two troublemakers, Nagihiko suited with what he wanted Nadeshiko to do.

"Now, Nade-chan, why don't we talk about who you're going with to the Christmas Ball?" Nagihiko said in another sickeningly sweet yet evil tone. Nadeshiko gulped, seeing where the conversation was leading to.

"Errmm…Ryuu-kun—" Nadeshiko's tentative response was cut off my Nagihiko.

"NO! You'll be going with ME!" he exclaimed, jabbing a finger at himself. Amu and I blinked.

"Isn't that incest though?" I asked, as Nagihiko glared at me for wrecking up his genius plan. Evidently, he didn't want his status at school to drop, as he sat down and rethought his plan, his genius mind's gears twirling to work. Suddenly, his eyes brightened up, as Nadeshiko's darkened.

"Alright! You can go with your kangaroo," Nagihiko said nonchalantly. Nadeshiko blinked at her brother. "Seriously?" she asked, questioning if he had a fever or not. Nagihiko smirked.

"Course," he said. Nadeshiko still couldn't believe it. "You mean it? No taking back your words?" Nadeshiko asked amazingly, as Nagihiko smirked.

"Course," he repeated himself, as Nadeshiko basically leaped with excitement. Suddenly, her eyes narrowed down and she stared at her brother. "There's an 'if' somewhere, isn't there?" she said. Nagihiko let out a laugh.

"Glad to know you still understand your brother. Course, you can go, IF you follow all of my rules," Nagihiko said innocently, while Nadeshiko groaned. She sighed, facing her brother seriously.

"'We must be in a room with at least another person, we cannot sneak off anywhere, we cannot kiss each other, neither of us are allowed to touch each other anywhere besides the places you need to for dancing, not including my butt, and—'" Nadeshiko gulped. Nagihiko, on the other hand, was smirking evilly.

"You need to stay in my vision 24/7," Nagihiko finished, as Nadeshiko sighed tiredly. "Fine, fine," she agreed, as she stood up to work on the fruit tarts. Maliciously, I turned towards Amu.

"Why, Amu, I think I've thought up of the perfect punishment for you!" I exclaimed ever-so-innocently-as-Purplehead-could-get. Amu gulped. "Y—yes?" she asked, attempting to keep her cool. I smirked.

"Hmm…seems like you and Ikuto are going to the ball, right?" I asked rhetorically, remembering her telling me about it when we went shopping. Hesitantly, she nodded her head, looking at us suspiciously. "So?" she questioned, as I smiled widely.

"Then it's set!" I exclaimed, walking out of the room. School was going to end in awhile, and we needed to finish all the foods before then. The teachers wanted to lock up the room directly afterschool.

"W—wait, Rima, what are you going to do to me?" Amu asked, as I shrugged.

"Oh, I don't know. You'll see though," I finished vaguely, leaving her to think up of all the punishments I could come up with. Smirking to myself as ideas sprang into mind, I walked over to Nagihiko's and my finished works: cakes with elegant toppings, frosted cupcakes, beautifully decorated cheesecakes…why in the world was Purplehead so talented?

"Whadda we do now?" I asked Nagihiko, who was observing Nadeshiko's movement if she'd thought of anyway to loop around Nagihiko's rules. Turning his attention to me, he shrugged.

"Wait for them to finish and start bringing the foods to the gym, I presume," he said. "In fact, why don't we start moving them now. That'll be faster," Nagihiko said, walking over to take a plate of cakes and a plate of pies in the other, looking a lot like a waiter, as he started moving towards the gym. "Come on now, Rima-chan, don't slack off. Help out too," he said, as I growled. Taking one plate of cupcakes in my two hands, I followed after him towards the gym.

Plate by plate, we put all of the finished foods in the gym. Finally, Nadeshiko and Amu came from behind us, each holding two plates of complete fruit tarts. What was up with people holding two plates at once? Was I really so petite? No!

Tadase, Yaya, and Kairi were already in the gym. It took all Kairi had to hold back Yaya from attacking our food supply, as we protected it possessively. Hey, we'd spent a whole school day on that! They weren't just gonna get gobbled up by Yaya!

Tadase was a worrywart. Seriously. Or maybe perfectionist. Every frill, in his opinion, need to twirl at a certain angle. Every ornament, he believed, had to be placed in a good fengshui position. Heck, the arrangement of the desks needed to form a lucky word! What was up with him and his worries? After an hour or so of work, finally, we gave up.

"Hotori-kun, I think we're fine," Nagihiko tried persuading him, as he started protesting about the angle of a table again. Tadase protested, but nonetheless proceeded to fix it on his own when no one helped. We all started retreating home, feeling rather (not) guilty of leaving Tadase by himself.

"Hotori-kun, just leave it. It'll be fine. Go home and shower and switch up," Nagihiko insisted. Tadase seemed to question Nagihiko's directions but followed them nonetheless. Everyone eventually split up, each returning home to get ready for the ball.

Mama came to pick me up. I smiled while I was on the car.

I'm ready…for anything

Or am I?


"Rima, here!" Amu exclaimed, beckoning me over towards her in her prom outfit I'd helped her pick out. Already, she was helping out with some of the people who came early. Alright, I admit I was slightly late: I arrived at 8:30. FINE I WAS REALLY LATE. STOP GIVING ME THE GLARE MAKING ME FEEL GUILTY. Well, I couldn't help it!


Flashback:

"Rima! Didn't I say you needed an escort?" Mama exclaimed with an edge of accusation. I sighed.

"But Mama, there's no one that I want to go with. They're all jerks." I knew Mama understood I had a lot of fan boys. Hopefully, she'd agree. Though a certain glint in her eye made me doubt myself.

"How about that Fujisaki boy?" Mama hinted ever-so-casually. "He seems nice and polite, and not one of your fan-boy type," Mama said in a call-him-for-him-to-be-your –escort tone. I rolled my eyes, as a smile lit up on my face.

"I can't Mama. He's already going with someone else," I pretended to look sad, so Mama would believe me. She sighed.

"Alright then. But come home with someone, alright?" Mama said caringly. I smiled at her. The motherly care she gave wasn't always seen, and I was feeling rather warm. "Then I'll go get on my dress," I said, as Mama's eyes brightened up.

"Dress? I need to see! Oh, my Rima-chan is growing up! Mama will help you with the make up and pedicure and hair and—"

"MAMA!"

Flashback End


And that was what happened. So basically, I had to spend half-day putting on all that useless junk. As I approached Amu, she let out a gasp. "Rima…you look nice Really nice," she complimented sincerely. I smiled.

"You too. And Yaya," I said, complimenting her who was already snacking on the foods. Yaya looked up from her gobbling and smiled weakly, soon returning to her food.

"Are we interrupting?" a voice came from the side, as Amu, Yaya, and I turned to face the voices. We gaped.

The. Boys. Were. Frickin'—

What, did you expect me to say 'hot'? Sorry, but one of those 'boys' is the one I…hate. I hate. I hate. I hate h—him. I hate him. Course, I hate N—Na—Nagi—Nagi. I hate him.

Tadase was dressed up in a formal white tux with the edges frilled with a yellow-gold color. He was wearing a pale blue tie, matching with his outfit, actually looking rather…princely. Though I guess I won't say that word today for his sake.

Ikuto was in a black tux, though it seemed to be midnight blue, way darker than his hair. To even out his… 'darkness,' he was wearing a plain gray tie that seemed to fit him fine.

Kairi was in a plain black tux, like what I had expected him to wear. He was wearing a black bow as well instead of the usual tie.

Lastly, the boy I h—hate. Nagihiko was wearing an awesome, die-for tux—PAUSE.

*breathe, exhale, breathe, exhale*

Alright. Nagihiko was wearing a slightly gray tuxedo, but he made it up with his midnight blue tie that looked—good on him. Neutral opinion.

"Tadase," Amu greeted friendlily, as the two exchanged a friendly smile. Ikuto soon swooped over, grabbing Amu by her waist.

"I'll be taking her away now," Ikuto said, grabbing her up against her will and pulling her away. We all laughed at that, as I looked at Nagihiko. He nodded, as he pulled out a recorder from his pocket and nodded, as I smiled.

"KAIRI-KOI!" Yaya exclaimed. "Yaya told you to not look so boring! Mou, mou! Why did you still?" Yaya complained, as Kairi desperately attempted to explain how he was wearing the traditional tuxedo. The two complained as they started drifting off, leaving me with Nagihiko and Tadase.

"So…where's Sasaki-san? Didn't you ask her?" I asked Nagihiko, trying to get a conversation going. Nagihiko shrugged.

"I didn't have a chance today. I couldn't find her. In fact, I don't know where she's been this last week. She's been gone from school," Nagihiko remarked. Tadase nodded too.

"We have to be careful. Oh, I think Souma-kun needs help with asking for the gift from everyone coming in. I'll go help him," Tadase remarked, walking off. I looked up at Nagihiko, who was smirking.

"I got it up," Nagihiko said, pulling out the recorder once more. Yes; I've put a recorder on Amu so anything that they said—or did—I could embarrass her with in the near future. Wow, am I evil.

"By the way, Rima-chan, where's your partner?" Nagihiko asked emotionlessly. I shrugged like I couldn't care less. "Decided against it. Cause if I have a partner, I certainly can't ditch. Though now, I can't anyways cause Amu and Yaya are watching." Nagihiko laughed when I said I wanted to ditch as I scowled. "By the way, where's Nadeshiko?" I asked. Nagihiko sighed.

"You know how she was supposed to follow my 'rules'?" Nagihiko asked rhetorically. I nodded, prodding him to continue. "Well, I changed my mind." Nagihiko stated. I blinked.

"Why? Where did all of your overprotective-brother-ness go?" I asked. Nagihiko shrugged.

"I saw Ryuu afterschool. He was also walking down the street. Suddenly, towards his right, he saw some young boys bullying a group of small girls. Well, he stood up for them and agreed to play with them for awhile, though that meant watching them play 'house' and dolls. I thought that maybe…I should give Nadeshiko the chance to try out things. Cause I won't always be around…" Nagihiko said ominously, as I smacked him on the shoulder.

"Hey, don't say so unlucky things, or things that sound unlucky, two days before Christmas." I scolded, as he laughed.

"Yeah." Suddenly, Utau's voice filled the gym.

"Hey everyone! How are you doin' at this wonderful Christmas Ball?" she asked. She was wearing a strapless black dress, layered at the bottom along with a red tight pice of cloth at her waist. The bottom was decorated with red shiny rims. Everyone cheered and whooped in response, as Utau let out a smile, a smile she only let out when in pure ecstasy; when she was having true fun, on the stage, making people happy.

"Alright then!" she exclaimed after the cheers died out. "We'll welcome the Christmas Ball with a starting off song! Remember, at intervals, I'll be choosing a song at the song request booth, so please request songs if you need to! This one's requested by me, for my boyfriend Souma Kuukai," Utau said affectionately, as the crowd 'awh'-ed. "Everyone, I give you He Could Be the One." Utau said, as the lights of the gym dimmed down except for the ones directed at the stage. An electric guitar strummed its strings as the sound filled the air.

Smooth talkin', so rockin'
He's got everything that a girls' wantin'
Guitar cutie, he plays it groovy
And I can't keep myself from doin' somethin' stupid

Think I'm really fallin' for his smile
Yeah, butterflies when he says my name
Hey!

He's got somethin' special
He's got somethin' special
And when he's lookin' at me
I wanna get all sentimental.

He's got something special
He's got something special
I can hardly breathe somethin's tellin' me
Tellin' me maybe he could be the one

He could be the one, he could be the one
He could be the one, he could be the one
He could be the one

He's lightnin', sparks are flyin'
Everywhere I go he's always on my mind and
I'm goin' crazy about him lately
And I can't help myself from how my heart is racin'

Think I'm really diggin' on his vibe
He really blows me away, hey!

He's got somethin' special
He's got somethin' special
And when he's lookin' at me
I wanna get all sentimental.

He's got something special
He's got something special
I can hardly breathe somethin's tellin' me
Tellin' me maybe he could be the one

And he's got a way of makin' me feel
Like everything I do is perfectly fine
The stars are aligned when I'm with him
And I'm so into it!

He's got somethin' special
He's got somethin' special
And when he's lookin' at me
I wanna get all sentimental.

He's got something special
He's got something special
I can hardly breathe somethin's tellin' me
Tellin' me maybe he could be the one

He could be the one, he could be the one
He could be the one, he could be the one
He could be the one

The crowd erupted into cheers, as Utau attempted to talk above the woops. "Everyone, thank you for your participation! Remember there's a gift exchange at the end! Thank you, and I'll be performing for you in a while! Thank you for your support!" Utau exclaimed, walking off stage with people attempting to charge at her, yet a single glare from Kuukai who had walked over to Utau was enough to keep away any fan-boys from her.

"Well, that was nice," Nagihiko remarked. "It really fits them," he continued. I nodded. "Yeah, they're cute," I said, thinking of them together. It was nice, the picture. It filled me with…happiness that someone was happy. A couple was happy.

"Ah yes, Rima-chan, I almost forgot. Because you weren't willing to stand at the entrance to help with the taking of gifts, you're responsible for the Secret Santa booth," Nagihiko said, as I sighed tiredly. Seriously, taking gifts from everyone? Wasn't that just boring? I agreed doing so as I maneuvered through the crowd towards the booth, bringing along a plate of snacks with me. Taking a seat behind the booth labeled "SECRET SANTA – WE'LL DELIVER YOUR SECRET GIFTS," I settled down as Nagihiko took a seat next to me. I glared at him.

"What are you doing?" I hissed, as Nagihiko shrugged.

"I signed up for this too," he said innocently, as I opened my mouth and was empty of a comeback. Glaring at him to finish up the argument, I turned to face the crowd.

Basically, the booth worked like this: you take your gift or card and place it into a box. At intervals, members of us, the Guardians, would check and hand them out. This process made sure your gift or whatever was completely secretive. We kept watch of the box so no one would hack it or something. Also, there were cards available from us, drawn by Nadeshiko and her genius-brother, and of course, Chara-Changed Amu. One lucky girl: with four Charas that are good at everything you can be: sports, arts, domestic skills, and singing. Dargh. She seems Mary-Suey. But then again, she is the heroine.

"M—Mashiro-san," a timid boy said, approaching me. I mustered up a smile. "Yes?" I asked politely, as he directed towards a card. I smiled, passing him a red card with a Santa Claus on the front. He smiled and walked off, thanking me. I sighed, leaning back in my seat.

"This is boring," I remarked, as Nagihiko turned his head towards me. He smiled and took my hand. I blushed at the contact between his skin and mine. His was soft for a guy, yet rough, probably due to basketball. Pulling me out of my chair, he walked towards the box and opened it up. Inside were a wonder of gifts and cards, all about to be given out. My eyes lightened up at the amount of gifts, as Nagihiko chuckled.

"The people's responses to these gifts is why I signed up for this," Nagihiko said, letting go of my hand to pick up the box, pushing another one there in place and nodding as Nadeshiko and Yaya slipped into the booth seats. "Come on, let's give these out," Nagihiko remarked, as I grabbed a card out. First stop: Yamada Hana. She was a girl in our grade.

After searching amidst the crowd and from a higher elevation, we finally found her and gave her a card addressed to her. Tentatively, she took the card from me and opened it up, at which she dropped the card. What did that bastard boy say to her that caused her to—

"I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!" she exclaimed, her hands on her mouth as she exclaimed in surprise. "He asked me out!" she exclaimed to no one in particular, as Nagihiko smiled encouragingly. She excused herself and maneuvered through the crowd to locate whoever asked her out. I smiled. I really felt like Santa, giving out gifts of happiness to people. I turned towards Nagihiko who smiled. "Next?" he asked, as I pulled out a gift.

This went on for an hour. Locating people sure was hard. But the surprise on their faces, or joy, or happiness; it was worth it. Every gift I gave out, I felt like giving out a helping of joy. Every card I delivered, I felt like sending to others a package of warmth. No matter what I gave out, I truly felt happy that for once, everyone was happy. I grabbed the last card out.

"Alright, last one," I said, slightly tired yet excited for this. "It says…for…me," I finished, as Nagihiko leaned over to see. Curiously, I smiled at the cover. It was a Santa Claus laughing, grabbing his belly and leaning his head back, with a cartoon bubble saying "HO HO HO! MERRY CHRISTMAS!" on it. I smiled at the cover. The person probably at least knew a bit I'd rather have something funny than serious, like a snowflake, or two bells, or a wreath. Opening up the card, I beamed.

There was a picture of me with all of the Guardians taped on. The names were all labeled, along with our Character Transformations. Tadase was being nuggied by Kuukai who was also ruffling Nadeshiko's hair. Ikuto was hugging onto Amu possessively. Yaya was clinging onto Kairi's arm while he looked rather flustered. I was glaring at Nagihiko who was rubbing his shin, probably since I kicked him. I smiled warmly and looked at the comment on the bottom.

Friends forever, till the end. But our friendship will have no end! Merry Christmas, Rima!

FROM: the Guardians

I smiled at the picture, while I turned towards Nagihiko. "You guys did this?" I asked. He shrugged.

"Well, I suggested it, cause she said you were looking slightly down these days, but everyone participated." I sighed, as Chika came back into mind, but I didn't want to ruin my good mood so I shrugged it off, turning back to the card. I smiled blissfully, cuddling it close to my chest and closed my eyes, savoring the moment.

"Thank you," I whispered to him, as I decided, I finally ran up to him and hugged him. I looked up and smiled at him thankfully, as he smiled back.

"Your welcome, Rima-chan," he said, as he took my hand. I looked at him with confusion. "Nagi…?" I asked, as he smiled.

"May I have this dance?" he asked, as I saw Utau at the corner of my eye preparing for her next song. I smiled, walking towards him.

"Sure," I said, as we stepped onto the dance floor, as I looked in his hazel eyes. I smiled.

Was I truly in love?


Sigh...I feel...unsatisfied with this chapter. I feel like I kinda rushed it. Hope you'll find it alright. (: Now, back to homework! Yes, I got online just to udpate for you guys! Back to English analysis paper! (DARGHHHH. I came on so I could procrastinate that.)

By the way, I realized that though not a lot of people reviewed, a lot of people at least read my A Collection of Songs for the Soul. I'm presuming some of them are you. So thank you for those who read it!

And also, I have a quesiton. If I make a self-insert, will you guys kill me? I guess you guys will if I snatch Nagi for my OC/self-insert *readers attack Hope-chan mercilessly* Well, actually, I just want to post it cause I've tried. If I don't, I never write, and stories never get done. So...opinions? I'll write more...Kuutau...to make up...? Haha, I don't know. But your opinions please.

Besides that, thanks for your time!

~~*Hope-chan*~~