I DO NOT OWN SHUGO CHARA, ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS, OR ANY LICENSED MATERIAL THAT MAY APPEAR IN THIS STORY AND CHAPTER.

THIS STORY IS RATED T FOR LANGUAGE AND CONTENT SO BEWARE OF THE LANGUAGE!

I know it's summer and I'm supposed to update…but my wise parents made me get a summer job. Don't worry I absolutely positively will finish this story! I promise you this people I will work so hard to conclude this story and no one will ever have to worry about what happens next. So here we go!

Taking One for the Team

CHAPTER 27: I See an Old French Man

"Rima!" He said excitedly, "Brought you some lunch!"

"Shouta…?"

"I knew he wasn't waving at Lulu," I heard Yumi mumble.

"Oh yeah, that's right! Rima met you too!" Kukai exclaimed.

"Kukai, you remember?" He was so drunk I swore he wouldn't even remember whose concert he went to.

"Well duh Rima…I remember you were with me and Utau when we met Shouta,"

"Amazing,"

"Yep, and we've been texting, when she told me you guys were at the gym I decided I would stop by and bring her some lunch," Shouta explained to all of us.

"Hold up!" Yumi shouted, "Rima you were texting? I thought you were playing a cheap cellphone game!"

"That explains why she kept closing the phone and waiting..." Saaya said nodding.

A smirk instantly appeared on Shouta's face when she said this. He tossed a cynical glance at me, and the outside Rima managed to appear unconcerned whilst the inside Rima flipped out over my waiting a while tactic being exposed.

"Rima…do you know how to text?" Amu asked perplexed.

"Amu I'm a big girl, I think I can figure out how to make letters appear on my phone." I hissed rolling my eyes.

"My hands are getting cold here… wanna eat this food in the park?" Shouta suggested harmlessly, as though I had agreed to this in the first place.

I seized him up with my eyes for a second. I knew that I was perfectly capable of kicking his ass and defending myself, that wasn't the problem. While I know normal girls would fuss over security issues…I was more caught up with the fact that I didn't know how to act around guys who like me.

"Wait, what did you bring me?" I asked remembering that there was food involved. I figured that this whole hanging out thing couldn't be too complex. I know that he was displaying interest in me but deep down I knew the reason why I was so reluctant about hanging out with him was because I felt like it would jeopardize me and Nagihiko's potential relationship…the potential relationship that Yumi's sister has already graciously ruined for me. So…why not? He's cute…right? He brought me food…right? This is kind of romantic…right?

"Well, I figured you were too classy for a burger, so I just went with something most people like." He replied, snapping me out of my mental musings.

"Which is…?"

"Pizza," He grinned.

"Hmm, let's roll!" I agreed abruptly. If Nagihiko can rock out all night with the infamous and slutty Yura…then why can't I have lunch with the cute and funny Shouta?, "Bye guys!"

O.O.O.O

NORMAL POV:

"Did Rima-chi just go on a date with that guy?" Yaya gasped.

"Yes, yes she did." Amu said nodding, wide-eyed, "But I don't think she knows…"

"How can she not know? She's been texting a guy…a cute one at that…and he surprises her and brings her lunch…that they eat together in the park…HELLO! If that isn't a date, then Kukai-senpai isn't a boy." Saaya explained angrily.

"Yeah, we know that…but trust me, if Rima were reading the signs like us, I don't think she would've went with him." Amu sighed.

"Then what is she thinking?" Lulu asked pouting.

"Probably ,'I'm so popular, I text people, and I go places with people, because I have a lot of friends' or something like that," Amu replied.

"That's ridiculous!" Yumi laughed.

"Well, that's Rima. She's a little clueless about teenage stuff…but she's anything but innocent," Amu explained further.

"Wow, Amu you almost sound smart," Kukai teased.

"You're still here?" Yumi and Amu said in synch.

O.O.O.O

RIMA POV:

It's amazing how I didn't notice I was on an official date…and I'm really worried because I actually really, really, really, enjoyed it. Shouta was the perfect gentlemen…the kind of guy normal girls wait years and years for..the prince in the mangas, and the lead actor in the movie. The thing is, I've been spending these past weeks and all my hours dreaming about Fujisaki Nagihiko, and I'm sure some girl out there is dreaming about Nakimura Shouta. I didn't ask for a prince charming, shoot…I didn't even know they existed until our date…so…why me?

We made our way to a bench that was conveniently in a place where we were far away from everyone but still close enough to see everything that was going on in the park. He took out the small box of pizza that had four neatly cut slices of cheese inside when I was seated comfortably. He handed me a soda and smiled.

"There you go your highness," He said laughing.

"Thanks, although, I really shouldn't be eating this. I'm sick, remember?"

"Yeah I can hear it your voice sounds all stuffy, geeze," He teased making a face, "You sound terrible."

"Hey!" I gasped ready to hit him.

"Help! This scary girl is abusing me!" He shouted. I instantly pulled away looking around to see if people were looking at us.

"Hey! Stop that shhh…."

"Only if you promise not to hit me," He bartered. I rolled my eyes.

"Fine," I whispered, "So…are we sharing this small pizza?"

"Don't tell me you want all of this? Mrs. I'm too sick for junk food anyway,"

"Oh shut up," I laughed. I suddenly realized that I didn't have a laugh like this in a while. I spent the entire night mourning and crying over some guy who probably has a girlfriend anyway. It made me pause and think. Why weren't you laughing and enjoying your trip to Tokyo, Rima? How could you let this get to you, Rima?

"Before you decide that you want more, how about trying it first." He suggested. I looked at him and his short brown hair, and the way he smiled at me so brightly, like he was just happy being with me, like agreeing to eat with him was doing him a favour.

"Good idea!" I said with a nod , trying my best to appear elated. I grabbed the slice and bit it ferociously.

"You eat so daintily," He commented sarcastically.

"I try," I replied with my mouth full, "Well this didn't solve anything, the pizza is delicious, I want more!"

"It's okay, because I already ate before I came." He confessed, "It's all yours,"

"Bitch! If I had given in and shared it with you, you would've had twice as much…Have you no shame?" I exclaimed angrily. He wasn't shocked by my exclamation, and he didn't say anything. He just smiled, like he always did.

For the rest of the time, we talked about all sorts of junk, teased each other and shared stories about our schools. It didn't feel like a date at all, it felt like I was talking to Kukai…or Ikuto. More like Kukai though. It didn't feel anything like how I feel when I talk to Nagihiko.

"Hey," He said nudging me, "Those kids are jumping rope over there, you think they're skipping school?"

"How am I supposed to know?" I replied laughing.

"Maybe they're sick like you!" He laughed, "Let's go check!"

Before I knew it, he grabbed my hand and dragged me to the other side of the park, stopping once to dispose of our food in a garbage bin. We approached the kids.

"Shouldn't you guys be in school?" He asked becoming all friendly-like.

"Why do you care, old man?" A little girl who couldn't be any older than eight sneered. Again, I found myself laughing, only this time it was far more hysterical.

"Old man!" He gasped, "Look at this youthful face! You should be calling me Onii-san! Onii-san!"

"Whatever, old man," Another boy added.

"If you don't apologize, I'll call the police and tell them we caught some kids skipping school!" Shouta threatened.

"We didn't skip, it ended early, looser!" A second little boy said, sticking his tongue out.

"You should respect your elders," Shouta admonished.

"Says who?" They all said in synch.

"Says me!" Shouta declared, "Hey, if me and this pretty Onee-san here beat you guys at double-dutch, will you call me Onii-san?"

"Deal," The little girl said shaking his hand, "This should be over quickly,"

"I didn't agree to this!" I whispered harshly.

"Oh yeah? Well don't be too confident, my girlfriend is a cheerleader you know!" Shouta informed the kids, ignoring what I had just said….

Wait…Girlfriend?

"Shouta…what are you talking…."

"Shhh," He interrupted me, he winked at me, and then went back to the kids, "She can jump really good since she is a cheerleader,"

"Yeah well, bring it on!" One of the little boys shouted.

O.O.O.O

NORMAL POV:

"Oh my god, if Rima isn't back in like five minutes she's going to be late, and we have a uniform fitting today!" Lulu gasped.

The whole crew stood outside the gym. The girls glanced in every direction hoping to see that blonde curly hair come springing towards them. The Apprehension sank in. What if she does come late? What then? They already got in trouble last night for sneaking out, how much worse can it get for Rima?

"Rima-chi!" Yaya cried out concerned.

"Relax, let's just run over to the park, she's there, right? With Shouta-kun," Kukai said calmly.

"Who?" Ikuto asked confused.

"The guy Rima is with,"

"Rima was with a guy?" Utau asked puzzled, "What did I miss?"

"Yeah what did we miss?" Ikuto said agreeing with Utau for once.

"You guys left her with some random guy?" Nagihiko cut in loudly, he was evidently concerned, and everyone stared at him sensing his anxiety. Indeed, even he knew he was getting worked up, he could feel his chest rising quicker and his breaths getting heavier. How could they let her go off on her own like that? She may be tough…the toughest girl he knows…but she isn't invincible!

"He's not random," Kukai said with a pout, obviously ignoring the angered Nagihiko, "He's Shouta-kun!"

"Shouta? Wait, the same Shouta from last night?" Utau asked, quickly gaining some insight on Rima's situation.

"Yeah," Kukai replied, "It seems she's been texting him and he brought her some lunch today as soon as we were let out for break. He waited outside for her, and they went to eat the food he brought in the park,"

"Aww, that's sweet," Utau sighed, admittedly, and after hearing a repeat of the story, even the other girls thought to themselves what a great opportunity it must've been for Rima. "This is all my doing, I did introduce him to her after all…can't remember why, but I know this is all my doing!"

"Oh that's so like you, you have to take credit for something that has nothing to do with you," Ikuto spat.

"Excuse me?" Utau said turning to glare at him, "Listen pretty boy! I remember introducing Shouta to Rima as her new man, okay? How much more of an explanation do you need? It's obviously me who is their matchmaker; now get off of my case!"

"New man? Why would you do that?" Amu asked.

"Because her old man left her…look I'm not sure either I was hammered…I don't even remember what Shouta looks like…every time I picture him I see an old French man with a beret, and I'm pretty sure it's not him…I think…" Utau explained.

"I miss the times when you weren't talking so freaking much," Ikuto hissed again.

"Look, I am answering Amu's question!" Utau exclaimed, "What is your problem?"

"Well, I understand why Utau would do that, I mean Nagihiko did leave Rima all alone at that concert by herself," Amu snorted loudly, then shot a glare at Nagihiko.

"What?"Nagihiko's heart stopped as he slowly began to realize that he had made a mistake. "I…but…Yura-san said she wanted to be with the guy she liked so…"

"Please tell me you don't mean Yura-san…as in Minazaki Yura…as in my conniving, bitch of a sister?" Yumi sighed, "Please tell me the intelligent Nagihiko did not fall for her lies."

"Lies….?" Nagihiko trailed off in confusion.

"Oh my gosh, you did! Yura made you ditch Rima, and now she is with another guy. Great Nagihiko you blew it!" Yumi shrieked throwing her hands in the air.

"Guys, we really need to go get Rima!" Saaya reminded the group.

O.O.O.O

When the group of teens arrived at the park, the first thing they saw was Rima and Shouta…Jumping rope, with a bunch of kids. They were laughing with the three kids as if they were their younger siblings. It was a weird sight.

"That's Shouta?" Utau asked, "Wow…I was off."

"We don't need your commentary," Ikuto hissed.

"Ikuto," Kukai said forcefully, gripping onto his best friend's arm, "Cut it out, okay?"

Utau had finally learned to be herself in front of his friends, (probably because she had gotten drunk and threw up in front of them already) and Ikuto was ruining it! Did he know how hard it was for her? How hard Kukai worked to convince her it was okay to show the amazing side of her. She didn't need Ikuto making it seem like she was annoying just for talking.

"Whatever," Ikuto mumbled, shaking out of Kukai's grip.

"But still Shouta is cute…" Utau trailed off, "You'd think I'd remember that, right?"

"Definitely!" Saaya agreed laughing.

"Oh come on, I've seen cuter," Kukai grunted, jealous.

"A little queer are we?" Utau teased.

"SHUT UP!"

"Guys, do any of you notice Nagihiko walking towards those two?" Lulu spoke up. Everyone turned their heads at once towards Rima and Shouta, where Nagihiko was now heading to at full speed.

" You think they're gonna fight over Rima-chi?" Yaya asked, excited.

"Don't get your hopes up." Yumi sighed, "Rima and Nagihiko can never be that simple."

O.O.O.O

RIMA'S POV:

So, it was Shouta and I's turn to turn the rope for the kids, whom we were totally beating. They had agreed to call us Shouta-nii san and Rima-ne chan, and weren't really that bad. They were rude, but then again so am I. Shouta and I retreated away from the rope and got ready to pick up both ends, as I held the long pieces of rope in my hand stretched out before me I could see Shouta on the other end laughing and smiling.

Why couldn't things be like this with Nagihiko?

"Ready?" I asked the kids with a grin. All of them paused, and just looked at me. Even Shouta stopped and stared, "Are you guys oka…."

All of a sudden, a chill shot through my spine, and I felt warm breath on my neck, it was scary…but I wasn't able to move, there was a hand on my shoulder, and I could feel someone's chest against my head. My body, against there's.

Remember when I said I just wanted to throw myself at Nagihiko and put my head on his chest? I didn't mean it like this!

"Hey best friend," That familiar, super-friendly, male voice greeted me…whilst he was holding me from behind! Best friends don't do that! I know! It feels too nice!

"Hey…Nagihiko?" I said awkwardly, tilting my head back to check if it really was Nagihiko and not some rapist who thought I was his best friend. I immediately regretted it. I saw him there and I was overwhelmed with dramatic feelings, the urge to pull away, cry, shout 'you made me sick!' or, 'what kind of best friend ditches you?'. But I stayed there, frozen and enveloped in his intoxicating and all-to-familiar scent looking up at him.

"If you don't leave soon, you're gonna make us all late for the cheerleader's uniform fitting," Nagihiko informed me.

This was too weird, why was he all up behind me? This felt so weird…and nice…and it was doing things to my body that I knew was not my cold! My heart was pounding so hard it really did hurt, and I just didn't know what was going on anymore.

"Oh, I didn't know," I managed to say.

"Do you have to go now Rima-ne chan?" The little girl, Emi, asked me. That's when I realized what he actually said, we were late. I had to go…now. This 'thing' with Shouta was over.

"Oh! Uh…yeah I guess," I said with more consciousness, I managed to finally escape from Nagihiko and approached Shouta, "Thank you so much for all of this, but I might make everyone late so I gotta rush out of here, but it was fun, and you're way too nice for surprising me like this,"

Shouta was smiling, but he wasn't looking at me like usual, he was looking behind me. My best guess was that he was looking at Nagihiko. He walked closer to me until he was towering over me and then pulled me into a hug.

Now my head was in his chest.

This is just fucking great.

"Shouta!" I gasped in surprise.

The hug didn't even last ten seconds before I was yanked away by Naigihiko. He grabbed hold of my arm tightly and dragged me…literally dragged me, across the park. I was so confused I didn't know what to do I only looked back at a shocked Shouta standing there and gaping.

"I'll call you!" He shouted after me, I tried to nod or reply, but nothing happened. I was in shock.

O.O.O.O

The uniform fitting was fun, but I wasn't able to enjoy it properly. How could I when all of that junk just happened to me? Our uniforms were pre-made for us, using the same measurements from the last game. Instead of a shirt and a skirt like last time, we had a one piece, turtle neck dress with a pleated skirt, and it had a diamond cut-out by our chest that showed some cleavage. The dress was light blue, but the pleats were outlined with black as well as the rims of the sleeves and the top of the turtle neck. We had a black S on our belly too.

There are fifteen girls on the squad so it took a little while, but eventually all of us tried on our clothes and if there were adjustments to be made, the tailors made note of it. It was finally over and I sat in the waiting room patiently next to Amu, who was acting weird all day. Almost as if she had a brain.

"So…you gonna write about Shouta in the Love Journal?" She asked me suddenly.

My mouth gaped open. There were so many things wrong with that sentence. First of all, why would I write about Shouta when it wasn't like we were on a date or anything? Second of all, the love journal would have to be here…in Tokyo…for me to write in it and I TOLD HER NOT TO BRING IT! Last of all, this is the first thing she has said to me since like this morning, and she knows I'm in mourning phase over Nagihiko.

"Let me guess, you didn't know it was a date, right?" Amu sighed.

"Well look at you reading me all of a sudden," I hissed, crossing my arms and looking away from her.

"It was a date Rima," She said as though I didn't hear her the first time.

"I heard you, but I disagree,"

"I knew you would." Amu said matter-of-factly.

"Look Amu, you don't know anything…you never do…you never have…you never will! So just shut up!" I almost yelled. She looked at me. She didn't look hurt, but she didn't look happy either. She just stared and didn't say anything more. She got up, walked away from me and went out of the building.

"A little harsh, don't you think?"

I turned around and saw Utau, who keeps frigging appearing every time someone walks away from me. I looked at her for a second then went back to staring after where Amu just was.

"I know," I whispered back to her, "I don't know what's wrong with me,"

Utau sat beside me on the couch in the reception area, which made the couch sink a little. When she saw this, she started laughing uncontrollably.

"Geeze, that Tailor wasn't kidding when they said my uniform was too small for me! Looks like I put on a few, huh?" She laughed again. I looked at her wondering why she was so close to me.

"It always sinks, maybe it's cuz it's leather…?" I mused.

"Listen, Rima, I think if you like Shouta you should go for it, he's cute!" Utau laughed, "Go for it,"

"Utau," I sighed. I was angry now, I was angry that Amu was acting like a know-it-all, and I was angry that she didn't understand why that pisses me off so much, I was angry that Yura took Nagihiko from me and I couldn't do anything about it, I was angry that we got in trouble for doing something I didn't even enjoy. "I don't like Shouta…I like Nagihiko!"

Utau's eyes widened the moment I said it. The world stood still. To be honest, I was surprised I said it out loud too. I awaited her response. I was scared; I stood absolutely still and avoided all contact. Through the corner of my eye I saw that she paused, thought for a moment, nodded her head, and then gave me a thumbs up.

"That works too,"

O.O.O.O

NORMAL POV:

Amu ran out of the building. Ikuto told her he was going to be with the other guys on the team waiting outside. As soon as she saw him, she plunged into his arms. Tears spilling out of her eyes.

"Enough! Enough is enough! We gotta tell them," She wailed into his chest.

He looked surprised for a second, he instinctively squeezed her tightly, but it took him a while to realize that Amu was outside, that she was in his arms, and that she was upset. The other guys looked at him in concern.

"What's enough, Amu?" He asked softly.

"Don't you see?" Amu asked, titling her head up to look at him, her mascara running down her cheeks, "Rima cried all night in that fucking bath all because of the lie I told! We need to tell the truth!"

All of the guys stepped back a little when she said the 'f' word. Ikuto was only even more concerned.

"We have to tell Nagihiko that Rima likes him! This is all our fault, Ikuto!" Amu cried, "Who the fuck is that Shouta guy, anyway? Rima helped us get together, and what did we do? We fucking told her that the guy she liked has a girlfriend!"

"Amu-chan….?" Nagihiko said, watching the whole thing amongst the crowd of boys, "What are you talking about…Rima-chan…likes…"

"Nagihiko!" Amu gasped shoving Ikuto off and walking over to him, "Rima likes you! She always did, me and Ikuto lied about everything! Everything! She liked you, and you liked her! We told her you had a girlfriend, and we told you she liked another guy all because of some stupid misunderstanding between me and Ikuto, I am so sorry!"

"Rima-chan…likes….me?"

O.O.O.O

Dun, Dun, Dun! Yes Nagihiko, she does, and let's see how you will react to this now, ha ha ha!

THANKS FOR READING! ONCE AGAIN, REVIEWS ARE APPRECIATED

NEXT CHAPTER PREVIEW: It's a Mystery Chappie!

Okay….so….I'm kissing Kukai. No…no…Kukai is kissing me. Does it even matter, Utau!? Kukai and I are kissing and I'm just sitting there like it's nothing!

When I was finished peeing however, I picked one of the flyers up as I made my way back to the room and read it.

This is not a schedule.

This is bad.

I am very sorry, but she is not allowed to ignore me for that guy that no one cares about.

I don't mean that in a rude way…it just made me angry.

No I meant it in a rude way.

"We need to talk, it's very important," I persisted.

"We have a problem," He said to me seriously.