A/N: HERE IT IS! THE LAST CHAPTER OF TM!

Sorry it took longer than expected to post this. My family has sort of last-minute decided to sell my house and move. And I literally had like a two-week notice to pack up all my stuff and get it to my new house. It's been crazy. I almost just posted what I had at that point, but I really didn't want you guys to have to wait for yet another chapter, so I sucked it up and waited to finish it.

I also spent A LOT of time and effort on it so hopefully you like it. All feedback is welcome, good and bad!

Also, thanks to everyone who reviewed last time, and also to everyone who read it and favorited this story! It makes me so happy :D

P.S. I didn't take the time to proofread so I apologize for that. I was just so excited to post it!

Without further ado, the final chapter of Tagteam Matchmakers:

We're like fire and rain.

You can drive me insane.

But I can't stay mad at you for anything.

We're Venus and Mars.
We're like different stars.

But you're the harmony to every song I sing.

And I wouldn't change a thing.

Nagihiko switched between staring at the clock and at his best friend while waiting for the last school bell to ring. Ikuto had been acting strangely all day, and the silence between him and Amu at the lunch table spoke volumes. There was clearly something that happened between them. And he was going to figure it out.

The two of them had apparently forgotten that he was present at the eatery a while back when they had argued about the Trust Fall before. So that story had obviously been a lie. The bell finally rang after a few minutes and he and Ikuto exited the classroom. He sent Rima a quick text saying he'd call her later and to not worry about waiting for him after school. He turned to his friend.

"Hey, Ikuto. Want to come over and hang out today?"

"Yeah sure."

He could tell Ikuto's mind was still somewhere else even now. I wonder if one of them confessed? Though he knew better than to think Amu would take that step, and he wasn't even sure if Ikuto had admitted his own feelings to himself yet. They got into Ikuto's car and drove over to the Fujisaki mansion.

They greeted the maids and walked up to Nagihiko's room. After tossing their schoolbags off to the side, Nagihiko sat on the edge of his bed while Ikuto plopped down into the nearby recliner. He decided not to waste any time.

"So, did you want to talk about whatever it is that's going on between you and Amu?"

Had Ikuto been drinking something, Nagihiko thought he probably would've spit it out just then as he looked back at him with a slightly shocked expression. Nagihiko raised an eyebrow and spoke again.

"Did you think I didn't notice? I heard the Trust Fall story the first time I met Amu."

He saw Ikuto blush with guilt.

"Sorry, Nagi. I just didn't want to talk about it at lunch today. And Amu ran with it."

"Okay, so spill. What's going on?"

He studied Ikuto as he waited for his response. The blush deepened, and Ikuto was looking everywhere but back at him.

"Umm…I'm not sure how to say this, but, well…I have feelings for Amu."

Ikuto's face was on fire now as he opened up to his best friend. It felt weird to say it out loud. He felt like he was practically confessing it to her even though she wasn't there.

"Okay," Nagi responded, "Tell me something I didn't already know…"

Ikuto's jaw dropped slightly as he stared back at Nagi.

"What? You knew?"

Oh my god. Am I that obvious?

He watched Nagihiko roll his eyes.

"Seriously, Ikuto? I told you on day one that you guys were too flirtatious to be just friends. It just took you forever to realize I was right."

Nagi smiled playfully as he said this. Ikuto leaned back in his recliner as he shook his head at his best friend.

"You suck sometimes, you know that?"

"Yeah, I know. That and I saw you guys practically make out in the movie theater that day."

Ikuto's blush returned as he shot up in his chair. No way…

"We didn't make out. We didn't even kiss, man. That was just…an odd moment."

He didn't know what else to say. Remembering that moment just made his cheeks more red. He really wanted to kiss her at that time. He wondered where the two of them would be now if they actually had kissed that day.

"What about when she slept at your house the other day?"

Is he serious?

Ikuto looked up to see his best friend grinning at him and he didn't even know why he was still surprised anymore with the things that Nagihiko was apparently aware of.

"How did you even know about that?"

"Rima, of course. She told me about it when we saw you guys passed out on my couch yesterday."

Damnit, Amu. You just had to tell Rima didn't you?

Ikuto shook his head again. No point in being discrete now. He spent the next hour describing the details of his and Amu's relationship in recent days so that Nagihiko had enough information to give him solid advice.

Nagihiko sat back for a minute as he processed everything Ikuto had told him. He hadn't realized just how intense Ikuto's feelings were.

"Wow," he said.

"I know," Ikuto responded, "I don't know what to do."

Part of Nagihiko just wanted to yell that Ikuto was an idiot and that Amu obviously liked him back, but the other part of him still wanted them to figure it out on their own. And that part still won.

They're so close now. They just need a little prodding.

"Have you thought about just confessing to her?"

He watched as Ikuto blushed again. He kind of liked this side of Ikuto. It made Nagihiko feel less like an idiot for being so out-of-sorts over a girl himself.

"Of course I've thought about it. But the thought of losing her entirely makes it seem like it's not worth it."

Ikuto sighed deeply as he leaned back in his chair again, and Nagihiko's lips curved upward.

"I know exactly how you're feeling right now, Ikuto. I was there once too. But I can assure you that you'll never really be happy if things stay the way they are. You'll eventually reach a point where you don't want to hide it anymore. Where every time you look at her, you have to fight yourself not to just tell her then and there how much you love her."

He studied Ikuto's face as he let his words sink in.

"Ugh. I'm practically at that point already. At least you got lucky and Rima confessed to you."

"Actually Ikuto, I confessed to her first. And she rejected me."

"What? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't know! It was a spontaneous decision. I had finally reached that point and I couldn't take it anymore. So I told her. And due to a whole bunch of misunderstandings, she ran away."

"Wow."

"Yeah. And I was so depressed, I didn't go to school for two days, and then miraculously, the 3 of you showed up at my door and she apologized and said she had feelings for me too. I can honestly tell you that her saying that to me made everything I'd ever been through worth it."

He could see Ikuto's eyes search his as his mind was probably working overtime at that moment.

"Ikuto, I don't want you to do anything you don't want to do, but I think you just need to tell her. Worst case scenario, she says no and needs a little space from you. But it's not like she's going to outcast you forever. I don't think she's that kind of person."

"I guess…but I'll feel like such an idiot. When will I even have the opportunity to confess? It's not like we're alone in gym class."

"If you can get her to sleep in your bed for a night, I'm thinking you probably have the skills to get her to go out with you somewhere."

Nagihiko laughed as Ikuto shot a glare in his direction.

"I told you, that was an extremely unusual series of events that lead to her staying over. It's not like I've ever asked her out before."

"What about when we went to the movies?"

"She only went to that because she knew you guys were gonna be there."

Nagihiko looked up at his ceiling as he thought about that for a moment, and smiled as he came up with an idea. When he looked back at Ikuto, his best friend raised an eyebrow at him.

"I think we can help you out there."

Rima finished washing the dishes after dinner, and walked up to her room for some privacy from her mom. They'd gotten into a small fight about her future and a bunch of other nonsense at the dinner table. There was no way she was going to tell her mom that she had a boyfriend now, although she almost said it anyway just to make her mom angry.

It's not my fault she doesn't trust men.

She sat down at her desk and pulled out her schoolbooks. She worked up the courage to open her math book to the set of problems they had to complete by the end of the week. A frown appeared on her face as she stared at the numbers in front of her.

Such a ridiculous subject.

She might not know what she wanted to do with the rest of her life, but she was certain that it would involve as few numbers as possible. She could leave all that stuff to Nagihiko. He was definitely smarter than her.

Oh my god. What am I even thinking about?

A blush formed on her cheeks as she realized she was already assuming he was going to be a part of her life in the future.

You've only been dating for two days, Rima. Stop being creepy.

She was fairly certain he wasn't over his house fantasizing about their life together. Not that she had been fantasizing. It was just one thought! She finally closed her eyes and willed away all thoughts of her boyfriend and focused on her homework. But soon after, her phone rang, and her stomach danced a little as Nagihiko's name flashed across the screen.

Oh my god, it's him! He's calling me right now! What do I do?

She blinked for a second before realizing how stupid her thought process was. She reached out and grabbed her phone, staring at it as it continued to ring.

Good god, Rima! Just pick it up!

She finally flipped open the phone and held it up to her ear.

"H-hello?"

"Rima! It's Nagihiko."

"Well duh. It says your name before I pick up."

Damnit. She scolded herself for already saying something rude.

"Oh right. Anyway, I called because I have some news that I think you will want to hear."

Rima raised an eyebrow.

"And what's that?"

"Ikuto has feelings for Amu!"

"What? How do you know?"

Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!

"He came over after school and told me. He just left a few minutes ago or I would've called you sooner."

Rima got up and did a little happy dance after hearing the news. Finally!

"I didn't tell you this before out of strict confidence," Rima said, "but Amu likes him too! She told me so herself the other day!"

"Yeah I know."

"You do? How?"

"Let's just say I have an eye for these things."

She raised another eyebrow and shook her head.

"Oh really? So you were just faking your depression when you thought I didn't like you before?"

Let's see you talk yourself out of this one. She smiled to herself.

"Obviously. I mean, how could you not have fallen for me at first sight?"

She laughed as she heard the sarcasm in his voice. Who knew talking to him on the phone would feel so easy?

"Oh right. Yeah. I forgot to mention my immediate attraction to girly-looking men."

"Ouch. That was below the belt."

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Anyway, so is Ikuto going to confess? Please say yes."

"He seems a bit reserved about it at the moment, but I think I talked him into it. I didn't want to tell him about Amu's feelings because it's just more fun this way."

"Well aren't you a devious one?"

"I told you I wasn't as nice as I seem."

She could hear the playfulness in his voice and laughed once again.

"Anyway," he continued, "He didn't know how to get her out alone, so I told him we could all meet up somewhere and then you and I can go off on our own at some point. How does that sound?"

"Interesting. We could do that. Or, even better, we could say we're going to meet up, and you and I can just not show up at all. Less work on our part and much more chaotic."

"Wow. And I'm the devious one here?"

"Are you surprised?"

"Not at all, my dear. As long as you're not avoiding hanging out with me."

Rima's smile widened at his words. It was weird how happy she was knowing that he wanted to see her. And she was surprisingly okay with being called 'my dear'.

"Hmm…I guess we can still hang out. Want to have a girl's day?"

She laughed at the silence on the other end of the line.

"You're so mean."

The next evening, Amu sat on a bench in the park waiting by the ice cream shop they had all agreed to meet at. If she was being honest, she didn't want to be there at all. Only because she knew she'd have to see Ikuto again. And that was nerve-wracking. But Rima had begged her to come along because she didn't feel comfortable being alone with Nagihiko yet. Which made sense. They'd only been dating for three days now. She just wished Ikuto wasn't also coming.

She sighed as she stared up at the slowly darkening sky. The sun was still out but not for too much longer. She'd have to come to terms with this Ikuto thing sooner or later. She'd managed to avoid him asking her about the person she liked in gym class this morning. Not that he'd ever tried, but she certainly wasn't going to even give him the opportunity.

I'm just not ready.

"It's called a sky."

Amu jumped as her thoughts were interrupted by the one person she didn't want to see. Ikuto sat down next to her on the bench and she closed her eyes for a second to compose herself.

"Yes, thank you. I was just thinking."

She looked over and watched him mimic her and lean back on the bench to stare up at the sky.

"About what?"

She blushed as she thought about the answer to that question.

You. Idiot.

"Just stuff." She needed to change the subject quickly. "Any idea when Nagi and Rima will be arriving?"

She felt Ikuto move the bench as he shook his head.

"Any moment now I assume. Been awhile since I've had ice cream."

"Same. Though it seems odd that they'd want us here with them."

Just then her phone went off and she opened it to see a text from Rima. She clicked on it and her eyes widened. She sat up straight on the bench.

"Are you shitting me?"

She saw Ikuto glance over at her with a raised eyebrow.

"What?"

I'm going to kill her.

Ikuto repeated his question. "Amu, what's wrong?"

He recoiled slightly as she thrust her cell phone into his face, but still leaned in to see what it said.

"Sorry, Amu. I can't make it tonight. Mom's being stupid. Apologize to Nagihiko for me."

She couldn't believe it. As if the night wasn't already going to be awkward for her. Now Rima wasn't even going to be there. She better be telling the truth. Although, it might actually be a good thing her best friend wasn't coming. Rima probably would've spent the whole night awkwardly trying to play matchmaker.

At least Nagihiko is still going to be here.

"Wow," Ikuto responded, "I didn't realize Rima's mom was against ice cream."

Amu shook her head. "It's not that. Her mom is just oddly protective sometimes and doesn't like to let Rima out of the house at night. I offered to pick her up before but she told me not to worry about it."

Another phone went off then and she watched Ikuto dig in his front pocket for his. He pulled it out, flipped it open, and put it up to his ear.

"What's up Nagi? You here? What do you mean?"

She watched Ikuto's smirk fade and an awful feeling came over her.

Oh god. No. Please no.

Ikuto leaned back against the bench again as he let out a sigh.

"Yeah. No, I understand I guess. Nope, can't do that. She couldn't come either."

Amu just wanted to hide under the bench. Nagihiko wasn't coming either. She heard Ikuto say goodbye to Nagihiko and snapped his phone shut.

"So it looks like Nagi can't make it either."

"This can't be happening to me," Amu said without even thinking.

"Sorry?"

"This cannot be happening." She said, ignoring him.

"Well I'm sorry you're so upset that you have to be alone with me. You don't have to stay."

With that, he got off the bench to leave. She blushed lightly as she looked over at him. He didn't deserve her rudeness. She called out to stop him.

"No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean…that. I just…ugh."

She ran her fingers through her hair as she tried to think of a response, but came up with nothing. He turned back toward her and stopped in front of her. He reached out a hand to her.

"Come. Last I checked, we were friends. I think that means we're allowed to eat ice cream together."

He flashed his famous smirk at her, and she couldn't help but smile up at him. She took his hand and he pulled her to her feet. Their faces were suddenly closer than she was prepared for, and she turned away slightly as she felt him let go of her hand. He turned around to head toward the ice cream shop, and she instinctively reached out for his hand again. She realized it quickly and pulled her hand back before it touched his.

Shit. This is bad. Being alone with him isn't safe.

Ikuto found himself cursing Nagihiko as he walked toward the ice cream shop. He couldn't believe that he and Rima had simply decided to not show up at all. He already wasn't prepared for what he was supposed to say to Amu tonight, but he was supposed to have some time with the group to get his thoughts together. Yet they were already alone. And she didn't even want to be there.

I should just let her go home. This is already a failure.

They reached the front of the ice cream shop and got in the back of the line. There were a few families there, and probably a few couples sitting around that area of the park watching the sunset. The silence between him and Amu became obvious after a few seconds. He tried to think of something to say, but couldn't really come up with anything.

"Hey," she finally spoke up, "I'm sorry about earlier. It's not that I don't want to be alone with you. I just wasn't expecting it, that's all."

He looked over at her, and she was staring straight ahead, a faint pink lighting her cheek. He smiled at that. She looked like she really had a lot going through her mind, and he didn't like feeling like he was the cause of that. He gave her a soft push on the shoulder.

"Lighten up and don't worry about it. I can tell you've got a lot on your mind."

"Yeah…" he heard her say softly.

He was partially afraid that the person she liked was on her mind and that that person was not him. But he didn't want her to think she couldn't talk to him about things, and despite Nagihiko's warning, he was starting to think that he should just accept being friends with her.

"You know, as I reminded you earlier, we are friends. You can talk to me about things. I promise I'll listen. And not make fun of you. Well…I'll do my best not to anyway."

He laughed as he felt her slap him playfully.

"Shut up," she said smiling.

Good. This was the Amu he loved. The oddly quiet and depressed version of her he'd seen over the past two days worried him, and if he had to keep his feelings to himself to make her smile, then that's all there was to it.

Sorry, Nagihiko.

"So spill," he said. They were getting closer to the front of the line.

"It's nothing," she said, waving her arm to dismiss the subject. "Honestly, don't worry about it. Just girl things."

"Oh? Try me. I have a sister you know."

Just then, his sister's words from the other day reached his mind.

"She really cares about you, you know. You should just tell her how you feel."

His cheeks flushed a little at the thought of it. Before Amu could respond again, they reached the front of the line. An older woman leaned forward through an open window at the counter.

"What can I get you two?"

"Chocolate, please." The two of them said in unison.

He and Amu looked at each other with a somewhat shocked expression on their faces. Her favorite is chocolate too?

"Well aren't you two just the cutest things," the woman said. "Coming right up."

Amu tore her gaze from Ikuto's and blushed immediately upon hearing the woman's words. She tried to compose her thoughts. It didn't mean anything that they both wanted chocolate ice cream. Didn't everybody like chocolate ice cream? But Amu couldn't ignore the woman behind the counter smiling at them as she made their ice creams. No matter how she looked at it, she couldn't deny the fact that she and Ikuto looked very much like a couple right now.

I should've ordered something else.

But she had to start acting like her normal self or Ikuto was going to keep asking her questions that she didn't want to answer. She had to think of something to talk about that would not make her uncomfortable.

"I didn't see you as a Chocolate person," Ikuto finally broke the silence.

She laughed at that. "I'm not exactly sure how to take that, but okay?"

She saw Ikuto smile a little bit too.

"Yeah," he said, "I guess that didn't really make sense."

See, Amu? You can do this. Normal.

"I should've known you were a chocolate person 'cause your pillow smelled like chocolate."

Amu's face practically melted off at her own words.

Oh my god! I did not just say that!

They were finally beginning to have a normal conversation and she had to go and ruin it by bringing up the most awkward morning of her life. And now the silence was back. And she could feel him staring at her.

"Well, to be honest, I had you as a Strawberry person since that's what your shampoo smelled like."

Her eyes widened and she turned to look at him, her cheeks redder than ever. She was surprised to see his cheeks mirror hers, but he was looking straight ahead. She remembered him leaning over and gently removing the hair tie from her knotted bed-head that morning. And how he had grabbed her hand after she had let it go. And how he had called her his good luck charm.

Ikuto…

Staring at him now, looking cute with his cheeks all red, made her feelings for him flare up inside of her. It made her want to reach out and touch him. Her hand missed the feeling of his. Just like she had been afraid it would. She suddenly felt like she was tired of hiding from him. She knew part of her wanted things to just go back to normal, but she really couldn't ignore that part of her that wanted to always spend time with him, just like this.

His hand was draped lazily at his side, and her gaze shifted to it. Her heart got the better of her and she reached out her hand to grab his. But as she did this, his hand moved forward as the woman's voice cut through her thoughts and delivered their ice creams.

"Here you go," she said holding two chocolate cones in her hand.

Amu pulled her hand back quickly. Her heart was pounding in her head now. Ikuto grabbed the cones from the woman and handed one to Amu. She couldn't look at him as she took it.

"That'll be $5.35."

Amu immediately dug into her pocket for her cash, thankful to have something to occupy her hands.

"Honey, what are you doing?" The woman's voice cut in, and Amu looked up at her. "Let your boyfriend here pay for you. He was planning on it anyway, weren't you hon?"

The woman looked at Ikuto this time, and Amu's face was so hot, she was afraid her ice cream might melt. She felt an odd sadness wash over her knowing that, despite what it looked like, he was not actually her boyfriend. And even though it looked like a date, it wasn't. She was surprised when Ikuto didn't reject and dug for more money.

Now he feels obligated! Shit.

"Umm," She hestitantly cut in, "Don't worry about it, Ikuto. We're not—"

"I got it, Amu." He cut her off.

"But we're not dat—"

"Here you go, ma'm." He cut her off again as he handed the woman some money, ignoring Amu this time.

"Have a good time, you two!" The woman smiled as Ikuto left the line. Amu stared at him in disbelief for a moment before following behind him.

"Ikuto, wait!"

He stopped for a second as he let her catch up. She could tell he looked a little mad or upset about it.

"Here, let me pay you back." She reached into her pocket again.

"Don't worry about it, Amu. It was like two bucks."

"But, I have the money right here. It's really not a big deal. Take it," she said as she held out two bills.

"Amu, put the money away. Just enjoy the ice cream."

She saw that he was getting annoyed so she obliged and slipped the bills back into her pocket.

"Fine," she said stubbornly, "then I don't understand what you're so upset about."

"I'm not upset."

"Oh please, I can hear it in your voice."

She took a few licks from her ice cream to calm herself down. He wasn't responding and it was starting to piss her off.

"If it's because she thought we were dating," Amu continued, "then maybe you should have denied it like I tried to."

She continued to walk forward eating her ice cream, but realized that she was the only one moving. She turned around to see him a few feet behind her staring at her with an expression she couldn't really make out.

"I was trying to be nice and not make it awkward for her. I'm sorry the idea was so repulsive to you that you couldn't even pretend we were dating for one minute." Ikuto said coldly.

How dare he!

She walked closer to him.

"I never said it was repulsive! I just didn't think it was right for you to have to pay for me when I'm clearly not your girlfriend!"

She was breathing heavily now, hurt and angry. Her eyes widened as she saw a hurt expression cross his face at her words.

"Yeah…clearly not." He said.

He moved past her as his words cut into her. Her body was trembling and she felt her eyes start to water. Suddenly, a familiar voice cut through the air behind her and she heard Ikuto stop a few steps from her.

"Hey it's Ikuto. Oh, and Amu."

Ikuto's eyes widened as he saw Tadase and his girlfriend walk toward them.

Talk about awful timing.

He thought the night had just reached rock bottom, but apparently it could go further down. It was quite obvious to him now that Amu did not think of him the same way he thought of her. And that this night alone was a waste of time. He just wanted to get out of there so he didn't have to look at her anymore. He'd been pleasantly surprised when Amu remembered the scent of his pillow. It brought back good memories from a great night.

But now he just wanted to get far away from her. And he definitely did not want to see or speak to Tadase. He composed himself as the blond got closer, walking hand-in-hand with his girlfriend. Amu was still facing the other direction behind him.

"Hey guys. I didn't even know you guys knew each other." Tadase said.

Unfortunately, Tadase was the kind of guy who wasn't good at reading the atmosphere. Amu finally forced herself to turn around and move up next to him. Ikuto tried his best to seem normal while not looking at her.

Tadase looked over at his girlfriend with a stupid smile on his face.

"Hina, you met Ikuto the other day, and this girl next to him is my classmate, Amu. Amu, this is my girlfriend Hina."

He watched Amu fake a smile as she greeted the other girl and said hello to Tadase.

"I see you guys got your ice cream already," Tadase said. "We were on an ice cream date as well. Are you guys going out?"

Shit.

The blond boy asked so innocently, probably assuming that the answer was an obvious 'yes'. Ikuto didn't need to be hurt by Amu a second time so he answered before she could.

"No. We're not dating. We're here with some friends."

He felt Amu stiffen beside him, and raised an eyebrow as he looked over at her. His eyes widened again. Her face was flushed and he could see her eyes start to gloss over.

Is she about to cry?

"Well," Amu cut in, her voice shaking slightly, "the line's getting long so you better get over there. See you in school, Tadase."

And with that, she awkwardly walked off past them, leaving Ikuto at a loss for words.

What the hell?

Tadase looked back at him.

"Is she okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, just a rough day," Ikuto responded, moving past him as well. "Have a good night guys."

He pace picked up as he watched Amu take the walking path off to the left in front of him. He saw her pace quicken as well as he got closer to her. Then she took off at a run.

Is she running away from me? Idiot. I'm obviously faster.

He ran after her and caught up to her within a few seconds. He grabbed onto her arm and pulled her just off the path. Though, there wasn't really anyone else around anyway. He forced her to look at him. As soon as he looked at her, he saw a few tears slowly trickle down her face. His eyes widened yet again. His anger faltered at the sight of her.

"Please let me go," She cried, as she used her free arm to wipe her eyes. She was refusing to look straight at him.

"As if I would," he said sternly, tightening his grip on her arm. "You've been acting odd all evening, and now you're crying, and you think I'm just going to walk away like everything's okay?"

"Please," she said, new tears falling down her face, "I'm begging you. I can't do this anymore."

"Do what? We got into a stupid fight. So what? I'm not going to leave you here, Amu. You didn't leave me crying in the cemetery, and I'm not going to leave you now."

Her tears stopped for a second as she finally looked him in the eyes. Ikuto's heart started pounding.

Holy shit. What did I just say? Did I practically just confess to her?

Well…I might as well just do it at this point.

But her voice cut him off.

"Stop it! Just stop it! Stop being so nice to me. It's only going to make things worse."

"Amu, I don't understand what you're saying. What the hell is going on? Talk to me."

"I like you, you idiot!" She blurted out. "So damn much!"

"What?" Ikuto said softly, not believing what he was hearing. His grip on her arm loosened.

Amu's eyes widened and she slapped a hand over her mouth as the tears continued to well up in her eyes.

Oh my god…I told him! I said it! Oh my god, what am I doing?

She felt his hand loosen on her arm, and after staring at his shocked face for a few seconds, she tore free from his grip and took off back toward her car.

Oh my god. Oh my god.

What was she thinking? How could she let that slip? She sprinted as hard as she could and the parking lot came into view. She didn't even try to turn around to see if he was following because she didn't want to see him. She found her car quickly, jumped in, locked the doors and sped off. Her eyes had begun to dry as the shock from her confession made her forget to cry.

Shit Shit Shit Shit.

Now everything was over. He had made her so upset and emotional. And he had to go and say that stupid line about how he wasn't ever going to leave her. It just made her heart explode and she couldn't stop herself. She'd never wanted so badly to tell someone how she felt as she had just then.

Ikuto, you idiot. What did you make me do?

And how was she supposed to go to school tomorrow? There was absolutely no way she could face him. And soon Rima and Nagihiko would find out what happened and everything would be awkward for her.

This is so bad. So bad.

She managed to reach her house safely and ran inside and up to her room before anyone could ask her about her evening. As soon as she entered her room, she shut the door, locked it, jumped on her bed, and cried herself to sleep.

You lift my feet off the ground
Spin me around
You make me crazier, crazier
Feels like I'm falling and I
I'm lost in your eyes
You make me crazier,
Crazier, crazier.

The next morning, Amu managed to convince her mom that she was sick, and couldn't go into school that day. She had cried so much that she had actually slept really well once she fell asleep. And luckily, enough time had passed that her eyes were no longer swollen from all the tears.

But there was just no way she could go to school today. Eventually, she was going to have to face everything, but for now, she just wanted to curl up in her blanket and compose her thoughts. Or forget about everything.

She was sure to receive a text from Rima fairly soon to ask why she wasn't in school. She could just tell her that she got food poisoning from the ice cream last night or something. As if on cue, her phone went off and Rima's name flashed on the screen. Amu opened the phone and read the message.

"Where are you? Don't forget today's our last day to meet before our presentation tomorrow!"

Oh shit!

She had completely forgotten about the History project. They were presenting tomorrow and were supposed to go over everyone's part in class today.

Damnit, damnit, damnit!

Amu's mind reeled for a few minutes as she tried to figure out what she was going to do. History was their last class so she could definitely skip first period and avoid Ikuto in gym class. But they wouldn't let her in school late after second period. So she just needed to figure out a way to get out of going to lunch.

She got up and started getting dressed for school. She put on some light makeup to cover any remaining evidence of her crying session last night.

I can just tell Rima I'm really not feeling well and that I want to spend lunch in the nurse's office. That should work.

She never ran into Ikuto in the halls apart from when they left gym together so she should be fine. And it's not like he was going to be actively searching for her to reject her, so she didn't have to worry about that.

She finished pulling herself together and walked outside to head to school. She should get there in the middle of first period so the hallways would be empty for her to go to her locker and just camp outside math class until the bell rang. Even though she didn't normally see him, spending as little time in the hallways between classes was probably for the best.

As she entered the school building, she stopped by the office to get a late pass, and headed for her locker. She had been right. The hallways were empty save for her right now.

You can do this, Amu. You have a good avoidance plan.

She continued to mentally motivate herself as she opened her locker to get her math book. But when the locker door opened, a small piece of pink paper fell out and floated down to the ground. She froze and her heart started pounding.

What the hell?

She shut her locker and immediately turned around to look down the hallway. There was no one there. She turned back around, reached down, and picked up the folded piece of paper. She quickly unfolded it and her eyes widened as she read its contents:

"Amu,

I know we don't talk much, but I want you to know that I think you are very nice and have the best smile. I've always thought you were cute and funny and I just wanted you to know that someone out there cared for you.

From,

Ikuto

P.S. Turn around."

Amu was frozen in place as she read her own note to herself. Except the names had been crossed out and replaced with her and Ikuto's. She was still in shock as she read the added line at the end.

Turn around?

Just then she heard footsteps and listened as they got closer. She started to tremble as the words started to sink in. And then the one voice she didn't want to hear, but wanted to hear so badly, rang through her ears.

"Why aren't you turning around?"

Tears started to trickle down her face as the words confirmed that it was in fact Ikuto standing behind her.

"I-I can't."

"Why not?"

He was closer now. She could feel him right behind her and she could barely breathe as she continued to shake, frozen to her spot. All she could do was lift the paper up and cover her face. Then she felt his warm arms encircle her waist as he leaned down next to her ear.

"I love you," he whispered.

She burst out into audible sobs at his words as her heart burst inside her. Her mind stopped working and all she could hear was those words repeating over and over again in her head. She'd been so afraid. Of seeing him. Of everything. And for days, she'd been imagining what it would be like to hear him confess to her, and imagined what she would say. And now here she was. And it was happening. But all she could do was cry.

"Turn around, Amu."

She shook her head. She was such an idiot. For some reason, her only thought was that she did not want him to see her red, puffy, tear-stricken face. Her mind was so fuddled that somehow, her appearance took priority over everything else right then.

"I-I-I'm ugly right now," she managed to say.

She heard Ikuto laugh, and the sound of it sparked a bit of anger in her, making her tears stop.

"Don't laugh you ass!"

She instinctively spun around and slapped his arm hard, and then her eyes widened as she realized what she did. He smirked at her, causing her to blush, and leaned forward until her back was pressed up against her locker, his hands on either side of her head. His face was just inches from hers as those big blue eyes sealed her to her spot.

"Amu," his voice gave her goosebumps, "I'm never going to think that you're ugly."

She couldn't help but smile as the last few tears still trickled down her face.

"And you may have forgotten," he continued, "that I saw you like this last night when you decided to confess to me and then run away. Which, by the way, was a dick move."

"B-but," she was silenced as Ikuto placed a finger against her lips.

"The only reason Nagi and I set up an ice cream night was so that I could confess to you, Amu. And then you went and pissed me off, and somehow managed to confess to me instead."

Amu's eyes widened.

"Are you serious? That was your way of prepping to confess to me? You said I was clearly not your girlfriend! That's why I started crying. And then Tadase showed up and—"

"First off, I don't care about Tadase. Let's not even talk about him. Ever. Second, you were the one who said you weren't my girlfriend first. I just agreed with you because I was upset."

Amu laughed on the inside as she saw a bit of anger in Ikuto's eyes when he spoke of Tadase.

"I'm sorry, were you jealous of Tadase? Who, I might remind you, you were trying to set me up with. How the hell was I supposed to know how you felt?"

He leaned in closer, now just centimeters away, and Amu's breath caught in her throat.

"I didn't know back when I agreed to that deal that I was going to fall for you, Amu."

Her blush increased ten-fold at that statement.

"S-so when did you?" She asked.

"When did I what?"

She could feel his breath against her lips.

"When did you fall for me?"

He smirked at her.

"I think it was around the time I got to see you in that little red bikini."

"You perve!" She laughed.

"What about you?" He asked. She blushed deeper.

"Movie theater," she said almost whispering.

His eyes got a little bit darker as she watched him glance down at her mouth. She imagined that the same scene was running through both their heads just then as her gaze shifted to his mouth as well. She reached her hand out and clutched a chunk of his shirt. They both smiled as she pulled him forward, finally closing the distance between them.

Amu felt a jolt run through her as their lips touched. Her grip on his shirt tightened as his mouth moved against hers tenderly. His thumb moved and caressed her cheek softly, wiping away any traces of old tears before his hand buried itself in her hair. She felt like her heart was exploding over and over again as he continued to kiss her. His tongue slid across her lips and she felt her body heat up as she opened her mouth, deepening the kiss.

Unfortunately, they had to come up for air eventually, and he pulled away, though just slightly. They searched each other's eyes as they panted, trying to catch their breaths. And then he smirked.

"Even better than the first time."

"What?"

She listened as he explained what happened the night she stayed over his house. Her jaw dropped and her face flushed even more than she thought possible.

I attacked him in my sleep?

But before she could comment, she felt a finger on her chin and his lips were on hers again. She let her eyelids fall closed as she got caught up in his mouth again. He pulled away after a few seconds and smirked at her.

"That's what's going to happen to you from now on whenever you let your mouth hang open like that."

"You ass," she said smiling, and this time she pushed her lips back onto his, and the edges of her mouth curved upward when she knew she had surprised him. She pulled away and then gave him one last peck before letting him speak.

"I love you," he said again.

But this time it actually sunk in. Wait a minute…Love?

"You…you love me?" She asked in shock.

"Yep."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"As in not just like me a whole lot, but actually love?"

"…yes, Amu. I love you." He leaned into her again. "As in you're the only person I think about. As in you're the only one who can piss me off and cheer me up at the same time. As in I want to wake up to your stupid snores every morning. I love you."

Amu thought she was going to start crying again at his words. Why was he so good at making her fall for him? Which, she realized, was exactly what was happening to her. Rima's words echoed in her head.

"When you love someone, you still like them no matter how stupid, or ignorant, or stubborn they are about everything. You like them for their faults. And when something bad happens to them, you just want to wrap your arms around them and protect them."

Do I love him?

She searched his eyes for some sort of answer to that question, and she smiled when she found it.

"Ikuto, when I first met you, I thought you were a complete asshole. Which, let's face it, sometimes you are. But when I got to know you…all of you, I realized that you were so much more than that. And I didn't want anyone else to know. I wanted—I want you all to myself. I promise I won't let your head hit the ground ever again."

Her eyes started to water again as she spoke. God, I'm such a sap.

"God damnit, Amu," he said, blushing intensely now. He kissed her again. Much more softly and slowly than before. And she could feel every part of his lips, every move that he made. One of his hands found her own and she felt his fingers slip themselves between hers.

God, everything about him. I...I just…

"I love you," she said, as she pulled away.

She watched as his jaw dropped and smiled as she knew it was true. She could feel it as she said it. She just hadn't realized it before.

The school bell finally rang, signaling the end of first period. She couldn't wait to tell Rima what happened so she gave him one last kiss before saying goodbye and walking toward her next class.

She felt his hand grab onto hers and she spun around blushing. He was blushing too.

"What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't walk my girlfriend to class?"

Her cheeks flushed every shade of red before she smiled at him.

"Boyfriend hmm?" she teased, "I like the sound of that."

All of us fall in love differently.

Some of us know right away.

Nagihiko laughed as Rima's first attempt at baking bread failed miserably. She had been so excited about her new-found cooking prowess ever since she made that soup. And yet here she was with a clump of un-risen bread dough sitting in front of her.

"Stop laughing at me, you ass!" She yelled as she threw dough at him.

Nagihiko responded by grabbing some and wiping it on her face. Her jaw dropped.

"I can't believe you!" She said, pouting.

Nagihiko walked up to her with a smile on his face. He grabbed a hold of her wrists, leaned down, and kissed the bread dough off her cheek. Her felt her cheeks heat up.

"Hey Rima…I love you."

While some of us need a little time.

"I-I-Idiot!" Rima blushed as Nagihiko leaned back in for a quick kiss.

She smiled knowing she'd be able to say it someday.

It punches some of us in the face.

Ikuto pulled Amu into the cemetery behind him. It was the anniversary of his parents' death. But for once, instead of being depressed, he finally had something exciting to share with them.

"You're pulling too hard, Ikuto. Slow down!"

He stopped, turned around, saw her flushed face, and decided to reach out and pick her up, princess style. He loved seeing her blush whenever he did something she wasn't ready for. He ran toward the grave.

"I really hate you sometimes," Amu said as they arrived.

"No you don't," he said, sticking his tongue out at her as he placed her back on her feet.

The grave had already been cleaned and there was a fresh bouquet of flowers from when Utau had visited the grave earlier that day. He sat down in front of it and motioned for Amu to do the same.

"Dad, mom, this is Amu. And I'm in love with her."

While some of us have to hear it first.

Amu's cheeks burned as he said this.

"Ikuto, don't just start with that!"

"Why not? Oh, and, guess what Mom and Dad? She loves me too."

Amu practically fell forward. Somehow she was embarrassed in front of a tombstone. Regardless of how casual Ikuto was being, she felt she owed it to his parents to be respectful.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Tsukiyomi. I'm Amu Hinamori. It's nice to meet you."

"And I love Ikuto," Ikuto whispered in a high-pitched voice.

She gave him a solid punch on his shoulder.

"And yes," she continued, "for some reason or another, I apparently love him."

She turned to stick her tongue out at him this time, but Ikuto pushed his lips against hers before she could. Her cheeks flared up again, but she kissed him back smiling.

No matter how it happens to you, it's your choice to say it out loud or keep it to yourself. But whatever you do, don't bother fighting it. It's pointless.

A/N: OMG It's SOOO LONG! Though I'm sure that didn't upset anyone. It's finally over! Though I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit sad. Obviously. It's kind of funny because it's completely different from how I originally pictured the ending way back when I first imagined this story and starting writing it.

But I like how it turned out. It's not perfect, but hopefully you guys were satisfied with it! I just want to thank everyone who stuck with me as well as all the new readers that I get with each post. I never would've stuck with it if it wasn't for you guys!

I would also still love to do the Kutau side story but we'll see if I have time before I go off to vet school and sell my soul. Haha.

Anyway, I look forward to your reviews and feedback! Thanks all! I promise this won't be the last of me! :D

Love,

FBGoldfish