I promised a oneshot a while ago... and I've been working on it! Trust me! So here it is... :D Be happy! -glares- yes, I'm talking to you... Anyway, here it is! Here... is my awesomeness story of awesomeness! Okay, so, it may go fast in some parts, not make sense in others, and get cheesy or whatever in whatever is left, but I kinda like it... :3 And yes, I did get the idea from a Facebook like. xD Anyway, just read it!
Ikuto: Grace ... I mean... TWAP does not own Shugo Chara!. She doesn't own anything. Not even one brain cell.
Me: HEY!
Ikuto: -shrugs-
Me: -glares... well anyway... here it is...

$20 Bet!

Saturday (The Beginning)

"Psst…," I said, leaning down and putting my head on a little pink haired girl's shoulder.

"Aah!" she screeched, and I laughed, sitting up straight again. She blushed, and turned away from me. "P-pervert! Idiot! You don't sneak up on people like that!" she scolded. I laughed a bit more.

"Well obviously, I do," I replied with a smile. Then I walked in front of her.

"What do you want?" she asked me.

"Nothing, really," I said. "I'm just bored… and making you scream and blush is entertaining… Oh, wait, that shouldn't have been said…"

She blushed even harder. "Shut up!"

I laughed. "Why should I, Amu?" I asked.

She looked away from me, and kept walking.

"What, are you just going to leave me here alone?" I asked.

"Yes," she replied bluntly.

I did a kitty-cat-frown. "So you don't love me…?" I asked, walking next to her.

She blushed again, and started walking faster. "N-no! Of course n-not!" she yelled.

I laughed again. Then there was silence (but I still had a smile on my face because of my evil plan brewing in my head). Then finally, I said, "I bet you twenty dollars I can make you fall in love with me."

She looked at me with a shocked expression. "Wh-what?" she asked.

"Deal?" is all I responded with.

She looked at me, thinking deeply. "Deal," she said. "But what are the rules?"

"No rules," I said. "Well, one. If I can't get you to love me by the end of three days, then I owe you twenty dollars. And if I do get you to love me, you have to give me twenty dollars. We'll start tomorrow. Deal?"

She looked at me with that same look—that same cute look. "Deal," she finally said.

We shook hands.

Day One (Sunday):

I woke up, and remembered my bet with Amu. "Here goes nothing," I said. I yawned and rubbed my eyes, then got up. I walked out of the alley I was sleeping in. My parents were home last night, and I knew that they would check my room for me… so I left. I can't stand them… I shook my head, clearing the thoughts of my parents. I shouldn't bother with them. I looked around, and started to head towards Amu's house.

Once I got there, I saw her light was on, so I climbed up on her roof, then plopped myself on her balcony. I peered inside, and saw her talking to her three Charas, pacing. I knocked, and she turned her attention to me, with surprised eyes. Then when she processed that it was someone she knew, she walked to the window. I was expecting her to open the door. Turns out she had a different idea.

She closed the curtains.

I sighed, and got down from her balcony. I walked over to her front door, and knocked.

"Hello," her mother answered with a smile. I was guessing her father was at work.

"Hello," I responded. "Is Amu-chan home?" I had to use formality in front of her parents. What would they think if I didn't?

"Oh, yes! Please come in," she said.

"Oh, thank you, but I shouldn't. I have to leave soon… I just need to talk to her for a second." I smiled.

"Alright, then," her mother, still smiling, told me, "I'll call her down."

Her mom called her, and Amu came rushing down. Then she saw me, and started running back up the stairs.

"Amu-chan, that's no way to treat a guest," her mother called.

Amu froze, then walked slowly down the stairs and to me. She came outside and closed the door so her mom couldn't hear or see. "What?" she asked sharply.

"You can't avoid me," I said, "it's against the rules."

"You said there were no rules!" she spat.

"Well, that one was applied," I replied.

"It was not," she mumbled, crossing her arms.

"It was, and you know it," I said.

She looked away, and I sighed. "Either you really want that twenty dollars or you really don't want to fall in love with me," I said.

"Both," she replied.

"Why do you want the twenty bucks so badly?" I asked her.

She looked at me, and there was this sudden happiness glowing in her face. "There's this really pretty hairclip and matching bracelets and belt, and I want it so bad!" The happiness vanished as she said, "But… it costs twenty dollars, and I'm broke."

"What does it look like?" I asked.

Happiness rushed into her features again. "I'll be right back!" she said, and ran into her house. A minute later, she ran back down. She came outside with a piece of paper in her right hand. "Here, this is a picture of it," she said excitedly.

I hadn't seen her like this, all happy about a simple thing like a hairclip, bracelet, and belt. I looked at the picture. They really were quite pretty, and Amu's style, too. The belt would go in a slant across her hips, the bracelets were like bangles, with red heart jewels on them, and the hairclip was an x with a heart in the middle. "Wow," I said, "it's like it was made for you."

"I know!" she said, that smile still on her face.

I took a mental photograph of the picture in my hands, and also that cute, excited face of Amu's. Then I gave the picture back.

She stared at it for a while, but then her smile dropped. "I really want it… but my parents won't buy it for me, or give me any money. So I can't get it."

I studied her face. Then something clicked. "Well, I better go," I said after a couple seconds of killing silence.

She looked at me curiously. "What on earth do you have to do?" she asked.

"Cat stuff… you wouldn't get it," I said, and smiled. "Unless… you want me to stay."

She blushed and yelled, "W-why would I w-want that? Leave, you perverted cat!"

I laughed and walked away.

I walked into the mall, and started looking around. 'What store would have that?' I thought. It took me half an hour to find a store that looked like it would have girl stuff, like hairclips. That I had passed five times before.

I walked in, and someone greeted me. "Hello! Are you looking for something for your girlfriend?" she asked.

I wanted to say so badly that, no, it was for me. Just to see her reaction. But, even though Amu wasn't my girlfriend, I wasn't about to say that. I was determined to make her mine in a week.

"Yes," I said. "I'm actually looking for something specific. She wanted a hairclip and matching bracelets and a belt… it comes in a pack together. Do you have it?" I asked.

"Yes, we have multiple different ones!" she said excitedly. She led me through the store to the back. "Here they are," she said. "When you're ready to check out, the cashier is right over there, and if you need anything, I'm Akiko," she said.

"Okay, thank you." She left, and I looked at all of them. There were a lot of different ones—pink, blue, black, grey, yellow, green… but then I found the one she wanted. But another one caught my eye… it was navy blue, and there was a symbol of a black cat on it… I picked up the one she wanted, and the black cat one.

I went over to the cashier and checked out. "Forty dollars, please," she said with a smile.

'Wow,' I thought, 'everyone is really happy here…,' I paid for them, and then left the store.

"Now," I said aloud, "what to do…?"

I decided not to go back and talk to Amu again. I'll give her the two package things tomorrow.

Day Two (Monday):

The next day, I woke up in the same alley that I did the day before. I headed off to Amu's again, and when I got there, I got on her balcony again, and knocked on her door.

I had the two packages wrapped, in a brown bag, and behind my back.

This time, when she saw me, she actually opened the door. "What do you want?" she asked.

I took the brown bag out from behind my back. "This is for you," I said.

She took it with a quizzical look on her face, and sat down on her bed. I opened the bag as I stepped inside and closed the door. "Open the red one first," I replied.

She did as she was told, her face still curious, and when she was what is was, her jaw dropped. Then her face lit up. "You got this for me? Thank you! Oh, thank you!" she said, and ran over to me and gave me a hug. That was a surprise. But I smiled and hugged her back.

"Now open the black one," I said.

Still looking at her new present, she walked back to her bed. She set the package down (which looked like a hard thing for her to do), and opened the bag. She took out the package wrapped in black paper, and opened it. It took her a while to register.

"I saw that one, and thought that it would remind you of me… maybe when you fall in love with me during these three days, you'll wear it," I said with a smirk.

She looked at me. I didn't really know what to make of her expression. She just… looked at me. Finally, she smiled and said, "Thanks." Then she looked at it again. "And if I do end up falling in love with you, I'll wear these bows the moment I realize I do."

When she said the last sentence, her face looked like she was enjoying a dark joke to herself.

She was making fun of me.

"Look, if you don't like it, I can take it back," I said.

"No, no! I want to keep it," she said, hugging it to her.

I stepped closer, and she hugged it tighter and leaned a bit away from me. I smirked, and took another step. Again, she hugged it tighter and leaned even more away. I kept taking a step closer, and soon she was on her side. Then, one more step and… she fall off her bed, onto the ground.

I laughed, highly amused with her behavior. She wasn't really acting herself, which worried me, but it was still funny.

"Stop laughing!" she said, but she herself was laughing. Which actually made me laugh more.

After a while when we both stopped laughing, I asked, "So, want to go do something?"

She looked up at me innocently, and asked, "Huh?"

"Let's go somewhere fun," I said, and grabbed her hand. I pulled her out onto the balcony.

"Well how are we going to get down?" she asked.

"The cat way," I said.

"Wha-" she asked, and as I picked her up bridal style, her 'what' turned into a screech.

"I told you," I told her, "the cat way." I jumped off the balcony, and landed on my feet. Then I set her down, grabbed her hand, and we started walking.

"Let go of my hand!" She yelled.

"Aw, why?" I asked her, still gripping her hand firmly.

"Because I never even agreed to come with you, let alone hold your hand!" she argued.

I looked down at our hands and lifted them up. I pointed at them, stuck out my tongue, and said, "You're holding my hand, too."

She looked at me, confused, then she looked at our entwined hands. Then, oh-so-cutely, she blushed and looked away, her pink hair covering the side of her face I could see. But she didn't let go.

After we walked for about seven minutes, we ended up in the park. We were still holding hands as we walked to the ice cream stand. On our way there, an old woman stopped us. "Excuse me," she said, "I never do this, but I just have to say… you two are the cutest couple I've ever seen."

I glanced at Amu, and she was blushing insanely. I looked back at the elderly woman, and smiled. "Thank you," I told her, and she continued on her way. I looked back at Amu. "Well, that was nice of her."

"But we're not a couple!" Amu yelled.

"Not yet. We will be tomorrow," I responded.

"…That would mean you would love me, too," she said, looking up at me.

I was silent. "I never said that," I finally said.

She looked at me with a 'whatever' look, rolled her eyes, and then started pulling me to the ice cream cart.

Right when she looked away, I felt myself blush. What made my tongue slip? Was it her cute face? I didn't know.

I ordered two chocolate ice creams, and handed one to here. "Just don't get fat and jiggly," I told her.

"I am not fat!" she yelled.

I smirked.

~
After a couple hours of walking around and talking—more like teasing—with Amu, it finally got dark. I took her hand again, and she didn't protest. I led her to the amusement park, and flipped on the switch. The lights of the rides lit up the night's darkness, and made it look like stars on earth.

She got on the teacup ride and patted the seat next to her to motion me to come sit on it with her.

"Fine," I said, "but after this, we're going on the carousel."

"Fine," she said, "but I get to ride my own horse."

"No, you might fall because you're so tiny," I replied.

"My sister sits on them alone!" she protested.

"Don't argue!" I said.

She sighed in a mad way, and then I sat across from her in the teacup. It started spinning, and she started to laugh.

"What?" I asked, knowing it wasn't the spinning.

"This bet! It's so stupid. Love shouldn't be bet on… I'm not backing out, but still!" She started to laugh again. She wiped the tear out of her eye that formed from laughing. "'I bet you 20 bucks I can make you love me in three days,'" she mocked me in a deep voice, then started laughing again.

I started laughing, too. It was a dumb bet. Why would I do such a silly thing as to put money on love?

When we were finished laughing, but still smiling, I asked, "Want me to walk you home?"

She smiled and said sure. So I took her home, said goodnight, and headed home myself.

I was in too good a mood to decide to sleep in the alley again. Even though my parents were home, I went inside.

"Oh, Ikuto!" my mother yelled with happiness. She ran up to me, setting the plate she was drying down on the counter, and she held me.

I didn't want to, but for some reason, I hugged her back. "Hi, mom," I said.

"Oh, where have you been?" she asked.

"Nowhere," I said, and let go. The moment was over. I didn't like her to act like a mother. Because she wasn't. Not anymore.

"We were so worried about you!" she exclaimed, still holding on to me.

I got out of her grasp and said, "I'm going to bed."

"Honey, come have dinner first," she replied.

I looked at her, giving her a look saying that I wouldn't eat, and walked upstairs to my room.

"Ikuto," she called after me, "come eat."

"No," I said, and closed my door. Now I remember why I never come home. She tried to be a mother, but we both knew she couldn't be. She'd try to be nice and caring, but she would always snap at some point… and it got ugly.

She came upstairs and opened my door wide. "Ikuto Tsukiyomi, you will do as your mother says and come downstairs for dinner!"

"No. No matter what DNA tests say, you aren't my mother. So leave me alone," I told her.

"Don't you dare talk to me like that!" she whispered. "This'll teach you a lesson!" She raised her hand, and I thought she was going to slap me. But instead, when she lowered her hand… she slapped herself, then screamed helplessly.

My dad came rushing in. "What's wrong?" he asked, worried.

My mom burst into tears. "He… he told me I wasn't his mother… then he hit me!" she cried.

My father looked at me with anger in his eyes. He raised his fist…

And it went black.

Day Three (Tuesday)

I woke up and looked at the clock. It was 12 a.m. I got up off the floor and felt the punch my father had threw at me four hours ago.

I jumped out the window, and landed on the ground, like a cat. I started to walk, but I didn't go to the alley. I couldn't stand it. I've been there too much. So I found myself automatically walking to a girl's house—Amu's house.

I climbed her balcony, and knocked on her sliding glass door.

I saw her wake up through the tiny bit of the door that wasn't covered by the curtain, and look outside. Her eyes were slowly closing, so I knocked again. Her eyes opened wider, and she looked outside more closely. I waved, hoping she would see me. She got out of bed, turned on the light, and walked quickly to the door.

She opened it, and asked harshly, "What the heck are you doing here? It's 12:15!"

I stared at her with blank eyes, and said, "I need to stay here."

"You can't!" she whisper-yelled. "My family is sleeping! And I can't hide you here again!"

"Amu, I've been sleeping in an alley for the past week. I cannot go back there," I told her.

"Go back to your own house then!" she whispered in the same tone.

I had a flashback of the last second before I was knocked out. I could tell she couldn't see my black eye because of the lighting. "I can't," I said.

"Well why can't you?" she asked.

I stepped inside her room. Her jaw dropped. "Oh… Ikuto… what happened to your eye…?"

"This is what happens," I said, "when I go home."

She got tears in her eyes, and hugged me. "Ikuto… oh, Ikuto, I'm sorry…," she whispered into my chest.

I hugged her back, and her tears almost made me cry. In fact, I think I felt one tear fall down my cheek. Just one. I don't know if it was because I was sick of my life, sick of my family, or thinking I was sick for making Amu cry.

She made room for me in her bed, and I smiled and shook my head. "I can sleep in the beanbag chair," I said, and sat down in it.

"No, you can't," she told me. "Come on, I know it's just for tonight…"

"I'm fine."

"Ikuto Tsukiyomi, get your butt up here," she demanded.

I laughed, and got in her bed. She turned off her light then got in, too, and we fell asleep.

I woke up, and realized two things. One, my arm was around Amu. And two, she was already awake.

"Oh…," I said, and moved my arm. "Sorry."

She smiled at me and said, "It's fine. Oh! Come here," she said, and pulled me out of bed. She sat me in front of a mirror she had, and told me to wait there. She came back with something in her hand. "Cover-up," she said, when she noticed my questioning look.

She put the skin-colored cream around my eye to cover up the bruise, and I looked in the mirror. You couldn't tell I had a black eye unless you got really close. I smiled.

"Hey Amu," I said.

"Yes?" she asked.

"I have another bet."

"…What is it?" she asked hesitantly.

"I bet you twenty bucks I can kiss you without using my lips," I told her.

She looked at me like I was crazy. "You're on," she said.

I bent down, and kissed her gently. I felt a spark… but who ever said she did? We broke the kiss, and I said, "I lost."

Her eyes were wide, but then she coughed. "Um… y-you owe me twenty dollars," she said, avoiding my eyes.

I smiled and gave her the money. She took it hesitantly, still not looking at me.

"Let's go do something," I said, and got up. She got up too, and we walked to the door. She seemed to be in a daze.

We were right outside her house, about to go to the park, when she yelled, "Wait! I forgot something!" She rushed back inside. I waited for about two minutes, and when she came out, I noticed something in her hair. She gave me back the money I had given her earlier, then kissed me.

"And if I do end up falling in love with you, I'll wear these bows the moment I realize I do."

So, did you guys like it? I liked it. :3 I enjoyed writing it, as well. It was fun. I'd get an idea for it, and I'd be all, "Oh!" -type type type type type-
Ikuto: I cried?
Amu: Ikuto cried?
Ikuto: ...Hunh.
Amu: ...I love Ikuto?
Ikuto: I'm not surprised about that one. -smirk-
Me: xD Anyway, hope you enjoyed! xD (And I hope you got that she was wearing the cat bows... I mean, if you didn't... I think... you have short-term memory loss xDD) (But I'm not making fun of people who do! Dx It's sad.)