Shelly cullen owns both plot and ch 1 through 10. I am continuing after chapter ten.

Shugo Chara

Hell's Lingering Kiss

ShellyCullen: In my story stats…there's been a lot more visitors than reviews. It makes me wonder if some of you aren't saying anything cause your bored or something. Please don't be shy. Say what's on your mind! :)

Please enjoy the chapter. I'll be especially looking forward to how I did on everything on this particular one. Your review really does matter to me!

And so…its time for chapter five…

Chapter Five:

Contentment

Dear Lord, thank You for the happiness You bring to my life. Help me to find my contentment in You and all that You have given me. Amen.

The moment I woke up, I immediately regretted it. I began bundling my body into the blanket, outraged at myself for another night of lost energy.

I decided that staying up as late as possible may get rid of my dreams. Or shorten them, for that matter. But each and every one of them lingered with a sort of timeless tale. It was hard to escape the enticing story rolling out of my mind.

I figured that somewhere along the way of my depression, my imagination went wild. Maybe I was insane after all.

I sighed and threw a pillow over my face, before realizing how cold the room actually was. I buried deeper into the puffy blanket and brought my knees up to my chest.

I stole a quick glance out the window, before jumping out of bed and rushing over. I twisted the handle and pushed them outward, struggling as the cracking sound of frozen frost protested against me. I popped my head out into the brisk morning air and gazed around.

The whole city, streetlights and all, were covered in dozens of white flakes. I leaned out more for a better view of everything, taking in the first snowfall of the year. I smiled, before my morning drowsiness wore off and the chilling air attacked my chest.

I closed the windows again and ran downstairs.

Mom was already there, cleaning dishes while an enthusiastic Ami tugged at her leg. I watched the scene, my mood shifting into a more composed style. Mom turned to me and smiled.

"Morning Amu-chan." She called, finishing up her work and grabbing a piece of paper. Ami started whining restlessly.

"I wanna go in the SNOW, Mama!" She complained, her shoes and coat already on. Mom patted her head while searching for something.

"In a minute, Ami-chan. I need to pay off the bills first."

"B-But…the snow is gonna DISAPPEAR!" She gushed and mom sighed, but smiled anyway. I stood on the back of my heels, arms crossed behind my back and peeked up at mom.

"I'll take her." I offered quietly, and mom froze completely. She and Ami turned to stare at me as if I were some alien that fell into their kitchen.

"Um…okay." Mom stated after a second, still shocked. Ami jumped up and squealed.

"Yay! Onee-chan, let's go!" She declared, walking to the door. I glanced at mom, and she seemed to understand as I paced back up the stairs, eager for the turn in events.

::~0~::

"Onee-chan! Onee-chan!" Ami called, pushing and shoving the snow into a pile. "We need a snowman to be made!"

I sighed, stuffing my nose into my scarf, secretly smiling. "There isn't that much snow, Ami. I don't think we'll be able to do that." She pouted, but continued on her sculpture.

I stared around at the now glistening white park, amazed at how wonderful it looked during this weather. After living here for many years, it never ceases to take my breath away.

"Onee-chan? Who is tis boy?" Ami asked, giving me the full effect of her childhood lisp. I saw a small boy around Ami's age with shiny blonde hair and crystal blue eyes. He stared at her work of piled snow.

"Um…I don't know," I whispered, bewildered. "W-Who are you?" I asked, squatting in front of the kid at eye level.

Two much older figures panted over to us as I slowly released my gaze into pink eyed ones.

The face was very innocent. Much more than I thought possible. His skin, just tints darker than the swirling snow itself, only kept him from seeming ghostly pale. His bangs swept over the side and hair was neatly combed over into a stylish haircut. I stared, too amazed to talk with those pure eyes boring into my own, that I forgot what I was doing.

"I-I'm sorry." The cute looking boy stated, flushing slightly. This action had my eyes widened and my heart begin to pound. He smiled at me suddenly and I felt my cheeks heat up in something other than embarrassment. I looked to my side, awkwardly.

The guy held his hand out to the little boy, leaning over to lock gazes with the child. The kid stared at him knowingly and walked toward him; as if he already knew what to expect with one glance.

The innocent one patted his head softly and returned his eyes to me.

"Oh, I'm sorry. What was your name?" He asked, showing a perfect set of gleamingly white teeth.

"A…Amu…Hinamori." I said, cheeks heated once again.

"Well, then. Hinamori-san." He bowed down to me, hair falling across his face and straightened up. Then he lightly reached for my hand, and patted it once. "My name is Hotori Tadase. A pleasure to meet you." He said, softly and carefully releasing my hand. I felt numb for a moment.

"P-Pleasures all mine!" I stated, flustered for some reason. It sounded like we just came out of a 19th century play. God, I'm an idiot.

He looked back, as if someone had called him and then stared at me, grinning shyly. "Oh, that's right. This is my friend, Sanjo Kairi."

The other boy, the one I had barely noticed before now, studied me with focused eyes. He bowed politely and I bowed in return.

The green hair and glasses seemed familiar to me, but I couldn't quite place where I remembered seeing him from.

It was silent for a moment, making me feel an uncomfortable era surrounding us. The tiny boy with blue eyes ran off and the green haired one ran after him. I stood, alone with cold hands and a boy I knew nothing about, just two feet away from me. Minutes seemed to pass.

"You…like the snow?" I asked, staring down at my winter boots. It was a useless attempt at small talk, but it was better than nothing.

He didn't say anything as I glanced at his face. His lips made a tight line as his eyes narrowed, surpressing some kind of thought.

"No…" he replied lowly, before giving me a guilty look. My throat went dry. He peeked at my face and I must have looked sad. "I'm sorry, I'm being indecent. It's just a season I tend to forget about." He sighed, shaking his head.

"Its okay." Was all I stated. There was nothing else I could say. He smiled and the mood was instantly brightened.

"This isn't your fault," He shook his head in disgust. "It never was." I waited, confused by his statement, but he never explained. Instead he looked up at the cloudy sky and pointed into the air.

"You see that?" He asked, as I looked up as well. Behind several other clouds, on a patch of blue sky was a shining star. I stared at the twinkling object, so far away, appearing in the early morning.

"A star? How is it even out?" I wondered, mostly speaking to myself. The star continued glowing, before a cloud covered it up. My eyes fell slightly.

"It's like the North Star; you know, the first star out at night? Most people don't pay attention, but early morning its still out. Its pretty small compared to the rest of the sky, but it never leaves. It's always there, and it will always find you."

I looked at him, Hotori now, admirably. What he said hit a nerve deep inside me. His face, so free of regret and obviously positive to the smallest things, showed greatly on his features. He seemed so assured, so mature for a guy that could actually fathom what the world was about. I wish I could be able to see the world that he saw. Not being burdened by such grief and sadness.

He smiled at the sky, far away before returning a grin at me. I returned it, but without as much happiness. The two guys arrived back and Hotori waved.

"I hope to see you in the distant future, Hinamori-san." He gave a kind, bow of respect while the green haired one simply nodded. I waved and watched them leave the park, almost wishing to go away with them.

::~0~::

"Ahhh…." I sighed in pleasure, lying my head back in the tub and having steaming air and water cover my body. It was also nice to relax in such calming ways. Another reason winter appealed to me. I laid inside before letting my thoughts drift.

A lot has happened during the incident, and surprisingly, most of it was good. Besides the horrid memories overwhelming me and strange, dreams hidden somewhere in my mind, I wasn't as completely sad as I had been.

I know even now I would still break down in tears and remorse, having blame and guilt and shame take over me. But despite the mixed emotions of sadness, I still wasn't as broken as before.

Perhaps the encounters of the kind people filled me now. Maybe I had too much on my plate to think about the bad, just as I had wanted. Or I could just be trying to forget and move on, as the others had always said.

I shook my head and finished my bath short as thoughts crowded and racked my brain. I changed into black sweats and a pink tank as I began Friday's homework.

I must have dozed off somewhere, because before I knew it I was being shaken softly. I tried to fall back asleep, against the person's will, but they didn't stop. I finally opened my eyes and sat up, waiting for whoever had woken me to speak.

There was no response.

I opened my eyes, a little aware of what was going on. Someone, or something, had woken me up.

My eyes scanned the room, too dark and too tired to make much sense of it all before falling on a dark silhouette. I strained my eyes to see, while the figure came up to me.

"Your finally awake." The spoken words took me a minute to understand. I wiped my eyes, concentrating to know who this was. "I didn't think it would take this long for you to get up."

"I'm awake NOW," I replied, still too groggy. My voice cracked. I ignored that and studied the figure. I still couldn't pinpoint anything. "Um…who are you?" I asked, uncertain. The voice wasn't a family members, and this began to worry me.

The side of the their mouth curved up, and I realized this wasn't someone who SHOULD be in my room. My eyes glared and my heart pounded violently.

"What are you DOING here?" I hissed, surprised my voice had broken down to a whisper. This wasn't going to help me if something was going to happen.

"Just visiting," He mused, looking up boredly. My eyes were finally adjusting to see the features of his face. "You invited me in, after all." He clarified.

The expression on his face challenged my own, making me wonder if I really HAD let him in. But that didn't make any sense. I shook my head.

"N-No. You shouldn't be here." I declared, sure of myself. The guy's smirk widened and he leaned over the desk I sat in front of. His face came forward, inches away from my own as I blinked.

"Why not?" He whispered, letting cool air blow my bangs back. My eyes widened more, stunned for a moment, before speaking.

"I don't know who you are… b-but I WILL call the cops if you don't go." My lack of confidence was growing weak and I was sure he could tell. He straightened back up, smiling, and stared down at me.

"You put up a greater fight than I would have thought." His hand came out, with ease and gently stroked my cheek with frozen fingers. I shivered, before smacking the hand away.

"What are you doing?" I demanded, my voice only audible in the bedroom. He stared at me intensely, trying to see past my face. My cheeks blazed.

"Nothing to worry about. Just…having fun." He laughed and I remembered down in the alley, where he took a bite of my candy. I was sure it was still stocked in the fridge somewhere.

I came out of the daydream, to see him standing in front of me with a strange expression. Seconds ticked by.

"If I were to…" He started, reaching out and holding my chin. I couldn't move at all, and he seemed please with this reaction. He didn't say anything else, but lowered his head and licked just behind my ear. I flinched, by the cold sensation as the saliva melted into my skin and froze over my whole body.

His breath, heavy on the base of my neck, but colder than ice hesitated, before the cold tongue brushed over my flesh. My body was trembling in fear, and he didn't seem to mind one bit. The hands on my face fell to my shoulders, before his lips kissed angry and urgently at my skin.

My attempts at pushing him away came to no avail. He was still much stronger than me, before his hands drew me nearer and his hair tickled my face. His squeezed my body tighter.

Feeling as if solid ice collided to my body, I still felt hot to the core. I could feel sweat build up on my forehead. The boy licked the spot he just kissed, were I felt his lips curve to a smile and slowly let go of me.

I stared up at him where he sighed, smiling as excitement flooded his eyes.

"Y-You look p-pleased." I tried to sound angered, accusing him, but my face cracked twice. With widened eyes I crawled a few feet away. My strength was lost somewhere in this mess. He smiled down at me now and offered a hand.

"It was…a different experience from what I thought. Much better than anticipated." I got up, avoiding his hand and trying to grab onto common sense.

"Than you THOUGHT? Were you planning this all along?" I let acid drip in each, wondering how long exactly he new he was going to do this. I had to be cool though, tears and crying out us nowhere. My neck, dry after the kisses, still felt hotter than the rest of his body. I was able to point out the exact place his mouth fell on…

"A while it wasn't an intention, but it's much more…necessary." He smirked and whispered into my ear. "Now I have a favor."

"H-Huh?" Was all I could manage. My head started spinning.

"What is your name?" He questioned, and this took me by surprise.

"Why do you want to know?" I asked, more curious than I should be. This guy was practically violating me!

"Mmm." He started, too stubborn to admit. "Just to know, who's name to call when we prepare ourselves on the bed-."

I smacked the top of his head, furious. "PERVERT!" I yelled. By now I heard footsteps and a knock on the door.

"Amu-chan?" Mom called.

I smiled, relieved and turned back to the molester. "Your busted, perv." I stated, and mom popped her head in, flicking the lights on. My eyes adjusted, seeing a blue color cross my vision before everything came into perspective.

"Amu?" She called again and I waited for her to see the boy. She only stared at me. "What's wrong?" She asked, puzzled.

"What's WRONG? There's a -!" I gazed into the bedroom, seeing as it was only me. I stood, both dumb founded and embarrassed.

"There's what?" Mom questioned, yawning. My thoughts went haywire. Had I made him up? Was I dreaming? How could he escape so fast?

"Nothing." I replied after a while. "I guess." I murmured under my breath. Mom left and I sighed.

"Maybe…maybe it was a dream." I stated to myself. I rubbed the back of my neck, before feeling cold spots on my flesh. I touched the base and behind my ear, seeing as it was extra cold in the areas.

There was no denying what happened here. This boy, whoever he was, was not apart of any of my wildest dreams.

I let out a rigid breath before crumbling onto the floor and letting out a long, frustrated scream.

ShellyCullen: Hmm…was my attempt at romance okay? It's been a while and I need to make sure I'm presenting it right…So, comments? Questions? Mistakes? Anything that is bugging you and so nerve racking you might as well ask now?

Of course, I can't reveal what the plot line shows. Hehe. ;3

LONG REVIEWS ENCOURAGED, as always, and hope to hear from you in chapter six to this! ^-^

Shelly