It's summer vacation, you guys! :D YIPPEEE (: which means a lot more updates~ (hopefully)

I was honestly shocked but pleasantly surprised when I saw all the reviews that came in. I guess Tadase did the trick, lol. You guys will want to yell at him some more in future chapters. ;) But seriously, over 50 reviews! You guys are the best! And thanks to those who reviewed every single chapter!

Do any of you play the logo game on the iPhone? (or iPod) It's really fun. :D

So the link from the last chapter didn't appear in full ._. please go to my profile for the full link!

Here's the next chapter! (:

X-x-X

Ninth Year

Ikuto was lying on his bed, completely bored out of his mind. Utau was at her singing lessons and their parents had gone out for lunch, leaving the preteen the whole house to himself. Usually, he would relish the peace and quiet but not today. He was annoyed because Amu changed their plans at the last minute, saying she couldn't come. Again.

Ever since Tadase came along, the amount of time Ikuto spent with Amu was slowly dwindling. She would always apologize, claiming she had already made prior plans and would go off with Tadase to play. As much as Ikuto didn't want to admit it, he was jealous of Tadase because he ruined the quality time he spent with Amu. But this was ridiculous—he was jealous of a 10-year-old.

Frustrated with himself, Ikuto threw a pillow over his head and released a muffled growl. Several seconds later, he tossed the same pillow across the room and sat up.

"What's so good about that kid anyways?" he grumbled. Not wanting to mope around any longer, he stood up and walked down the stairs. Locking the door behind him, he headed outside for a long walk around town to alleviate his irritation.

The blazing rays of the sun hit him instantaneously. He hadn't even walked fifteen feet and was already sweating. He didn't expect it to be this hot. Deciding against the idea of walking around the city in this blistering heat and possibly getting a nasty case of sunburn, he made a beeline for the park where he could find a cool spot under the trees. As Ikuto ventured towards his destination, he began regretting even stepping out of the house. It was way too humid and the weather furthered dampened his mood.

'This sucks,' he bitterly thought.

Twenty minutes later, he reached the park. It was filled with families who wanted to spend a nice afternoon outside. Ikuto's eyes scanned the area for the right tree. To the far left, he spotted a tree that had a vast canopy of leaves upon its branches. Perfect. He was about to head over there when something else caught his eye. An ice cream cart was several feet away and it seemed as if it was calling out to him. With the heat more apparent than ever before, sweat beaded down his forehead and his parched throat became more noticeable. Good thing Ikuto brought money or else he would've stared longingly at the ice cream cart the entire afternoon. He took two steps before his eyes spotted another thing. Unlike the first two times, the object he spotted was something he wished he hadn't seen. This time, it wasn't a thing—it was Amu. And right beside her was Ikuto's now most hated person in the world.

Laughing together on a bench, the two were eagerly digging into their cool desserts as they chattered excitedly about something. Off to the side was what Ikuto assumed was Tadase's mother.

Ikuto's fists impulsively clenched. The sight of them twisted his heart in a painful way. He and Amu were supposed to go to the park as well but she stood him up to go to the same place with another boy? Thoroughly betrayed and hut, Ikuto turned on his heel and walked out of the park without looking back.

Before he was out of their sight, Amu had turned her head at the last second. Her laugh faltered as she spotted Ikuto's familiar blue hair. Her eyes widened. She thought that there was no way he could be here. He couldn't have been. But what if it was him?

"Amu-chan?" Tadase called, causing Amu to avert her attention back to him. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just thought I saw my friend…" She bit her lip, suddenly feeling worried. Amu was aware that she had ditched Ikuto at the last minute. She felt horrible for doing that but she couldn't say no to Tadase when he asked her to play with him. She thought Ikuto would understand since they were best friends but…

Shrugging the thought away, she continued to have fun with Tadase for the remainder of the day. However, she couldn't shake off that uneasy feeling that was crawling up and down her spine.

X-x-X

"Ikuto, phone call!"

The blue-haired boy retrieved the phone from his mother and held it to his ear. "Hello?"

"Hi, Ikuto! It's Amu." She stopped calling Ikuto by his nickname shortly after she befriended Tadase. It was either because she was growing up and had to stop using such a childish nickname or she didn't want to appear immature in the blond's eyes. Ikuto believes it's the latter.

"Hi." He didn't mean to come off as cold but he couldn't help it. He was still pretty peeved at his friend for ditching him for another guy.

"I was wondering if you wanted to hang out tomorrow at my house?" she asked hesitantly. Even though she couldn't see him, Amu suspected Ikuto wasn't in the best of moods.

"Sorry, can't. I have plans." He didn't want to sound like such a jerk but honestly, it's not like he didn't have the right to do this! She did it first! And for once, she should feel the disappointment after being rejected.

"Oh…then maybe the day after tomorrow?"

"Why don't you ask your buddy Tadase to play? I'm sure you'd rather hang out with him." He ended the call and bit his lip. Maybe that last part was a little too harsh.

"Ikuto! How could you be so rude?" Souko, who had eavesdropped, reprimanded.

He was already at the top of the staircase, however. "I'll be in my room. I don't want any lunch so don't call me down." And the slam of his door ended their conversation.

"What has gotten into that boy?" Souko muttered to herself. Right after she said that, Utau poked her head out from the kitchen doorway.

"I'm home, Mom! Did I miss anything?"

X-x-X

The next day, the doorbell rang around noon. When Aruto opened the door, he didn't expect his friend's daughter to be anxiously standing in front of him.

"Hello, Amu. Did you want to talk to Ikuto?"

She nodded. "Is he busy?"

"He's in his room at the moment."

She knew it. He had been lying when he said he had "plans." But then again, Amu thought he had every right to since she did such a terrible thing to him.

After giving her friend Utau and her mother a quick greeting, she ascended the stairs to Ikuto's room. Feeling uneasy, she clasped her fingers together and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath before knocking lightly on the door.

"Come in," came his quick response.

She twisted the doorknob and let herself in his room. She found him sitting by his desk, listening to music. Amu cleared her throat, which caught Ikuto's attention. He swiveled around in his chair, slightly surprised to see her standing there.

"Hi." Amu waved.

"Hey."

She began bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. "May I sit down?"

"Yeah, sure." He gestured to his bed.

She went over and plopped down on his bed. Not wanting to beat around the bush, she blurted out, "I wanted to talk about yesterday."

"Same here." He rested his chin on the palm of his hand. "Sorry for saying that yesterday. I didn't mean it."

She shook her head. "I'm sorry for cancelling our plans. It was my fault."

"Why did you go with him instead of me?" he suddenly asked.

She looked down at her hands. "I was right when I thought it was you. I'm sorry. I just… Tadase is a very good friend of mine—"

"Then what am I?" he said, his voice steadily increasing.

"—and I didn't want to hurt his feelings."

"So you're saying you didn't care if you hurt my feelings?" he deduced, facing away from her.

Amu glared. He had a good reason to be mad but this was getting out of hand. With her anger increasing, she stood up and exclaimed, "Why are you getting so worked up? You're my best friend so I thought you'd understand the most why I cancelled our plans."

"I don't feel like I'm your best friend. I feel replaced by that stupid Tadase!" he yelled back, standing up as well.

"Don't call my friend stupid!" she demanded, closing the distance between them by taking a few steps closer to him.

"I can call him whatever I want!"

Amu released an aggravated growl. 'I can't believe this!' She had never gotten in a fight with Ikuto. Well, maybe a couple times but not as serious as this. She felt tears prick her eyes as Ikuto continued to throw hurtful words at her. "Why are you being so mean?"

"If I'm being so mean, why don't you run to Tadase? I'm sure he'll comfort you in a heartbeat. After all, you guys are best friends."

Amu felt as if her heart had split in two. Her tears broke free as they cascaded down her rosy cheeks. Gritting her teeth, she screamed, "Ikuto, you're the worst!" She ran out of his room and eventually out of the house, startling the Tsukiyomi family. They all rushed up to his room to see what had taken place.

"Ikuto, what did you do?" his father said, entering his room.

"Why were you yelling at Amu?"

"Ikuto, why was Amu crying?" Utau asked.

He couldn't stand all the accusations being thrown at him. "Just leave me alone!" He dashed out of the house and ran wherever his feet took him. Anywhere but back there.

'I really am the worst.'

X-x-X

Several days had passed and Ikuto had no contact with Amu whatsoever. He admitted that he was wrong but he still wished Amu would apologize first. However, that's ridiculous—he's the one that made her cry.

"Ikuto, let's go somewhere!" Utau insisted, tugging on her older brother's arm.

"Not in the mood, Utau." He was lying down on his bed, attempting to forget what had transpired last week. Unfortunately, the event was unforgettable. The constant twinge of pain that lingered in his heart reminded him incessantly.

Even though the blonde really wanted to spend time with her brother, she wasn't that oblivious to his depression. Concerned, she gently said, "Ikuto, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," he curtly replied. "I just need some time to myself."

Utau frowned. "Is it because of Amu?" She didn't receive a response, as expected. She sighed. "Maybe I should just call her—"

"No!" he shouted, louder than necessary. He sprung up from his bed, startling Utau. In a softer tone, he muttered, "Don't call her, Utau."

Utau stood up and said, "I guess I'll leave then."

Ikuto was about to apologize but his sister had already left in a rush. Flopping back down onto his bed, he rubbed his eyes. He couldn't believe he yelled at his sister when she didn't even do anything wrong. This further gave him a reason to call himself the worst of the worst.

Back with Utau, she was descending to the living room in deep thought. She and her family wondered why they had been fighting. Ikuto wouldn't divulge any information and Amu had kept shut about it. She really wished they made up. Although she was jealous of their close bond, she had to admit that Amu was truly the one who brightened Ikuto's day every single day. But if they don't even want to see each other…

"Honey, is something the matter?"

Utau hummed in response and glanced up at her mother, who had begun to pat her head in a soothing manner. "It's not me. It's Ikuto."

"Ikuto?"

"Yeah, he's still really depressed. I suggested calling so they can make up but he flipped out. He scared me, Mom." Utau subconsciously shivered as she remembered her brother's sudden shout.

"I'll go talk to him. Why don't you play the piano?"

"Okay," she agreed happily, already skipping to her treasured instrument.

Souko softly tapped on her son's door. "Ikuto? I'm coming in." She swung open the door and found Ikuto lying on his stomach on his bed. She sighed but smiled. She strolled over to his side and sat down. She began brushing Ikuto's azure locks with her slender fingers for she knew that calmed Ikuto down.

"You know, if you talk about it with someone, you'll feel a whole lot better."

"That's what they always say," he grumbled against his pillow.

"It's true. Is it about Amu-chan?" He didn't reply, of course, so she resumed talking. "Mind sharing what happened with your mother?"

Sighing, Ikuto gave in. And so he told her the entire story, starting from when he met Tadase. She patiently waited for him to finish and when he did, she leaned back on her hands and said, "Why aren't you apologizing to her now?"

"Why me?"

"You both are at fault. She did try to apologize. But then you got mad at her. Now it's your turn to apologize for yelling at her. I'm sure she's still waiting for you to speak to her."

"But…" he trailed off, biting his lower lip.

"Ikuto, it's natural for you to be jealous. Really. It all depends on how you convey that jealousy. While some talk it out with their best friends, in this case, others lash out because they don't know what else to do. And that's wrong. If you just tell it to her straight, she'll forgive you."

"You sure?"

She winked. "I've been in this situation before so trust me. You may not believe it but your father gets jealous really easily."

"He does?" Ikuto questioned. He always thought his dad was such a chill and relaxed person. He never once saw his dad explode in rage or excitement.

She nodded. "But that story's for another time."

He smiled. "Okay." He heaved himself up from his bed and proceeded to exit his room. Before leaving, he said to his mom, "Thanks a lot, Mom. I do feel better after talking with you."

She returned his smile. "You're welcome, Ikuto."

X-x-X

So that's where he found himself an hour later around four. In front of Amu's bedroom door. Twice he was about to knock but he stopped himself at the last second. He wanted to smack himself for being so stupid. Before he could try tapping the door (for a third time), a loud crash from inside reached his ears. Alarmed, he thrust the door open.

"Amu!"

Stunned, Amu glanced up at Ikuto. She was on the floor clutching her knee. Tears were welled up in her eyes as she continued to stare at her friend. "Ikuto? What are you doing here?"

"Never mind that. What happened?"

She sniffed. She simply said, "I tripped."

He couldn't help but laugh. "Wait here, you klutz."

After a few minutes, he came back up from downstairs. "I got some ice for your knee. We wouldn't want the injury to get worse, right?"

She smiled and nodded. She wiped her tears away and attempted to stand up but a jolt of pain went through her body. She collapsed back to the ground with a cry as she grasped her knee. Ikuto set aside the ice pack. Walking over to Amu, he tenderly picked her up princess-style and set her down on her bed.

Blushing, Amu thanked him. She sat up and applied the ice pack to her bruised knee. She sighed in happiness. "That feels so much better."

He sat directly beside her. "That's good."

An uncomfortable silence settled between the two and Amu couldn't stand it. Apparently, Ikuto couldn't either for he suddenly uttered, "I'm sorry for making you cry, Amu."

Her eyes widened.

"I didn't mean to do that. I just…" He took a deep breath and sucked up his pride. "I was jealous that you were spending more time with Tadase than me."

Amu was pleasantly astonished to hear those words come out from Ikuto's mouth. "I'm not mad about that anymore. I'm sorry too for hurting your feelings. I won't cancel our plans like last time ever again." She held out her pinky and grinned. "Friends?"

"Best friends," he corrected, grinning back as he linked his pinky with hers.

"And just so you know, Ikuto, I'd rather hang out with you." She smiled and gave him a hug. He hugged her back and savored this peaceful moment.

But of course, all good things must come to an end.

"Amu-chan, Tadase-kun came over to play!" Midori's voice echoed from down below.

Ikuto emitted a low growl as he disentangled himself from Amu's grasp. The pink-haired girl couldn't help but frown when she had to separate from her best friend. She heard footsteps approaching her room and sure enough, Tadase appeared a few seconds later.

Ikuto thought he should probably go so he stood up. However, he felt Amu grab onto his hand. Taken aback, he peered down at the girl.

"You don't have to go." To Tadase, she said, "Hi, Tadase-kun. What's up?"

"Hello, Amu-chan, Tsukiyomi-san. I was wondering if you wanted to play today."

Ikuto made a move to go but Amu's firm hold on his sleeve halted him. He thought, 'Don't tell me she wants all of us to hang out together?'

"I'm sorry but I can't. I already made plans with Ikuto," she confessed apologetically to the blond. Ikuto couldn't help but feel elated.

"Oh, that's too bad then. I'll come over another time. Goodbye, Amu-chan." He gave her a smile and waved goodbye to the both of them. After he left, she sent the blue-haired boy a wide smile.

"What should we do today, Iku?" She happily laughed as she tugged him down to sit on her bed. "I missed playing with you."

His expression mirrored hers. "I missed you too, Amu."

X-x-X

Man, my back hurts. xD Some parts were really rushed and I'm sorry. ;_; I really wanted to finish this by today but good thing I did. :D Bit shorter than I wanted it to be though…

Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!

What was your favorite scene? Mine was the big fight between them. :O

Oh, and to you writers out there. Please make sure to have a backup of your stories. Apparently, FanFiction has been cleaning out the archives of any stories with inappropriate themes. Just a warning to you all.

Please review! (: And Happy Summer~