CHAPTER 1:

"You are completely insane if you even think for one second that we are getting back together after what you did!"

Those were the words the indigo-haired girl said or more likely screeched - right before she turned and ran smack to me.

It was my first day in my new school. Naturally, I was yet again expelled from another school which was, by the way, my fifth one since I graduated from junior high. My father, who never ceased being able to pull all the right strings, had me enrolled in one of the few remaining prestigious, private schools left that haven't kicked me out yet. This time it was a boarding school, Charanari High. Yes, I did find the name strange. But hey, who was I to judge? Even I accepted the fact that I was utterly strange and weird because of what I did and will do.

The girl fell on her butt then, looked up at me. "E...to, gomenasai. Gomen, gomen," she said as she stood up and brushed invisible dirt off her uniform.

[gomenasai=I'm sorry; gomen=sorry]

"Daijoubou-desu," I said flatly as she repeatedly bowed in front of me.

[daijoubou=it's fine]

The girl made nervous sounds and scratched her back. I simply watched her, assessing her as she fidgeted. She had long indigo hair that fell just shy of her waist tied in a ponytail using a thin red ribbon. Her eyes had a very light honey color.

"Nade-chan! Please listen to me!" a blonde boy appeared behind her and begged. "Please, please, please,"

The guy looked so miserable but the girl didn't bother looking at him. Clearly, they were some sort of a couple. Or else students wouldn't be staring at us like we were causing a scene - which clearly, we were. And there's nothing I hate more than a crowd staring at me.

So, I backed away, effectively detaching myself from humiliation and went straight to the director's office.

The director pushed his eyeglasses up his nose bridge and put my records back in its envelope. He looked stern while he read my file earlier but his face gave nothing away right now.

"You seem to have very colorful high school records, uhh..." he looked back at my records, "Hinamori-san," he said as he intertwined his fingers.

I sighed. "Yes, I do. This is actually my sixth school in three years if I remember it right,"

The director raised one brow but said nothing. He just handed me my schedule when someone knocked on the door.

"Come on in, Fujisaki-kun!" the director called.

The door clicked and in came the girl who bumped me earlier...but now she wore a boy's uniform.

What the heck is going on here?

"Fujisaki-kun will be the one to show you around, Hinamori-san. Go on now, you wouldn't want to be late on your first day," said the director and waved us away.

I followed 'Fujisaki-kun' outside and wordlessly walked beside him...or her. Whatever. He/She seemed to pick up that I didn't want to talk so he/she spoke right away.

"I'm Fujisaki Nagihiko. You're?"

"Hinamori Amu," I said immediately.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Hinamori-san," he/she said.

"I can't say the same to you since you bumped me and fell on your butt earlier," my mind was already processing how fast he/she was able to change into a different uniform when he/she suddenly chuckled.

"I'm guessing the person you saw was my twin sister, Nadeshiko," he said.

Well, that was a little stupid of me. I didn't even think of that.

"Oh, right," I mumbled.

We stopped in front of a closed door labeled ROOM 135. Then, he surprised me when he opened the door for me like a gentleman. The teacher in front looked our way. Apparently, we were late. Way to go for first day, huh?

"Gomenasai, Nikaidou-sensei. I was asked to bring a student in our class," Nagihiko said to the male teacher.

The teacher's gaze shifted from Nagihiko to me. His eyes drilled into me in a flash, making me cringe uncharacteristically.

"I know not of a student being transferred in my class. Is the director forewarned about this?" Was it just me, or this teacher person probably had the most ancient tongue in this era? Forewarned? Seriously?

I cut my eyes to Nagihiko who awkwardly scratched the back of his head and looked back at the ancient Nikaidou guy.

"Actually, sir," I sarcastically emphasized the word, "we were just from his office a while ago. And if my schedule is correct, I am in your class now," I handed him my schedule but he gave it back immediately.

"Very well. Fujisaki-kun, you may take your seat. As for you," his eyes drilled into me once more, "I do appreciate it if you'd introduce yourself to the class,"

I nodded subtly. And again, I'm in a situation I hate most.

"My name is Hinamori Amu. Nice to meet 'cha," I kept my hands tucked inside the side pockets of my skirt.

The class went silent. Then, they gawked. Really, it was VERY awkward.

Nikaidou cleared his throat. "You may sit wherever the manner of your choice is, Himamori-san,"

I gritted my teeth. "It's Hi-NA-mori,"

But the weirdo of a teacher wasn't paying attention anymore.

I was stuffing books inside my locker when a small fist suddenly slammed on the locker beside mine.

"Okay. Look, I don't know what's with you but keep your paws off my boyfriend. Got it?" a girly voice said.

I stared at the girl. She was a few inches shorter than me but the menace in her voice and the hateful glare she shot me told a different story.

"Excuse me?" I raised a brow at her. This wouldn't be my usual response but I was really caught off guard.

What boyfriend?

She flipped her knee-length, curly blonde hair and fixated her topaz eyes at me. "Don't play dumb with me, pinkie. I know you've been hanging around Nagi all day," and finished the sentence with a dramatic eyeroll.

"First, you don't call me pinkie. Second, Nagihiko is the one hanging around me. Not the other way around. And third, who the hell are you?" I shut my locker door. HARD.

She automatically gasped and flinched. "Have you always been this delusional? And you even call him that way?"

[A/N: Do remember that Japanese people find it disrespectful to call someone by their first name without the honorific especially when you just met them.]

I sighed. The girl just practically oozed drama. Might as well end it. "You know what, I don't have time for this. Besides, Nagihiko was only showing me around because the director asked him to,"

By the end of the day, the news about the new girl - me - and Rima - the short, curly blonde - fighting spread in the campus like wild fire. Apparently, she and Nagihiko were something like campus royalties and were officially boyfriend and girlfriend. And as much as I hated to say it, I got caught in a tangle with them.

Well, so much for no fighting in the first day.

A tall guy suddenly jumped in front of me right after I stepped out of the school's back door. The one in the front just had too many teenagers at once and an anti-social person like me could only handle a few.

"I heard you got in trouble with the Queen," he said a little too innocently.

I shot him a death glare. "What are you, her knight?"

The tall kid chuckled, his sandy brown curls bouncing as he flipped them smugly, "Actually, I'm the Jack,"

"Right! The male donkey," I said with mock enthusiasm.

He blushed furiously. Though, I have no idea if it was because of embarrassment or anger.

Another tall kid appeared but he was probably an inch or two shorter than the brown-haired one. The guy had a strange cyan-colored hair.

"Hey, you don't get to talk to royals like that," he snapped.

My left eyebrow automatically quirked up. The guy had no idea what he just asked for. "Whatever," I said and walked away.

"Hinamori!" the brown-haired called.

I stopped walking but didn't look back. He caught up to me and suddenly he was by my side.

"We were just fooling around. I'm Kuukai. This is Daichi," he motioned for the cyanhead. "We just wanted to ask if Rima did something harsh to you. The school council in this school is called the Guardians and we have the Jacks' Chair so–"

I cut him off with a wave of my hand. Was this guy really serious? They named themselves after decks of cards?

"I don't know if you already know this but...I'M. NOT. INTERESTED," I said.

My sister Ami was jumping on the sofa when I got home. For an eight-year-old, I could definitely say that she had the maturity of a four-year-old child.

I heard myself sigh.

Where the heck was her nanny?

"Onee-chan! Onee-chan!" Ami squealed and ran towards me.

The thing about Ami was...she loved me more than she probably should. And for that, I'd be forever thankful.

I messed with her chestnut hair. "Where's Baaya-san?"

The little girl moved my hand away from her head and frowned. A little. "She went to the store to buy me some milk,"

"SHE LEFT YOU HERE ALONE?"

For as long as I can remember, nannies, guards and other security staff at home shouldn't leave me or Ami alone in the house. It was considered as a major disobedience.

My sister cringed. I guess my voice came out a little louder than I intended. "She didn't leave me alone. Rikka's here, too,"

Rikka Hiiragi, the annoying little girl who happened to be Ami's bestfriend, was the nanny's daughter. They were so close they could pass for twins. Rikka and her mother also lived in our house. They have been in service for about five years.

The nanny...left Ami with her vulnerable eight-year-old daughter. GREAT.

And as if her name alone was jinxed, Rikka came trotting down the hall, clinging on the cookie jar as if a hungry monster. The girl, in fact, was also known as the Cookie Monster.

I sighed a second time. Not that I didn't like Rikka but I really felt tired after a long day in Charanari High. So, I dismissed the cookie-crazed girls and climbed up my room.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

It's short, I know. Forgive me. I just can't seem to find the right words (I'm thinking of burying my head in a dictionary for a while). Still, first chapter is DONE! XD

I'm betting many would ask, "Where's Ikuto?". Well, you guys are gonna have to wait. I'm still thinking of how they should meet. Mwehehe.

Anyways, please tell me what you think of this story. Remember, loooooonnnggggg reviews inspire me a lot. And if I'm inspired, I might put an Amuto moment in the next chappie. Haha.

'Mmkay... Enough author rant for now. Don't forget to review! Thanks! ^w^

With all the love for writing,

Lace Ashdown