Staying Afloat
Author's Note: Hello everyone. It's been a long time. I'm sorry if it isn't good though. Please comment for suggestions though. Thank you and hope you enjoy! Oh by the way this one is somewhat related to my other ones such as Wild and Unbridled Passion and Overprotective and Jealous Mikan and a little reference to Unsettled Loathing.
Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Gakuen Alice
She finally received it, the beautiful crisp invitation that was designed by the best student artisans of the school. Mikan couldn't help but adore how the invitation glowed with the tiny stars that would arrange themselves into different constellations. She had half the mind to keep it instead of just handing it to her boyfriend.
"No Mikan…you can't keep it." Hotaru said as she raised her baka gun to show that she was intent on whacking her to her senses. "If you didn't notice Mikan, that is an invitation that the girls give to their partner for the 'Stars Fall In Line' dance this Saturday."
"Aww come on Hotaru it's so pretty. No guy would actually appreciate the beauty of this invitation." Mikan explained as she brandished the invitation for Hotaru to see.
"Would you look at those stars!" said one of the guy classmates of Mikan who was walking by. "That invitation is just plain beautiful I'm hoping that my girlfriend will give it to me soon!" the boy said as he talked to one of his guy friends who nodded in agreement.
"You were saying?" Hotaru said as she raised her eyebrows and Mikan continued to look in shock at the boys who passed by.
Mikan then pouted and crossed her arms over her chest. "Fine but I'm not happy. I still don't understand why the girls have to be the ones asking the boys to the dance in the first place." Mikan said as she rolled her eyes and put the invitation in her school bag.
"Sure you can say that because you actually have a boyfriend. Some girls on the other hand are actually thrilled that we can ask and not wait to be asked." Sumire said as she popped up and explained to Mikan. She then rolled her eyes at how obvious it is.
"Once again Mikan is wrong," Hotaru simply said as she peered at her invention. "No surprise there."
"Moving on from the insults." Mikan said as she glared at the two. "Since Hotaru insisted I'm going to give Natsume the invitation."
Sumire perked up at her words and turned to face her. "OH MY GOSH!" she said in excitement which made Mikan jump up in surprise. "Tell me everything! What are your plans? How are you going to tell him?"
Mikan simply raised an eyebrow at her in confusion. "Simple…I'm giving him the invitation." She said as if it was the most obvious thing ever.
Sumire deflated and her face turned into a face of shock and disgust. "You're not doing anything special. You're just giving him the invitation? How did you ask him?" Sumire asked as she continued looking at Mikan with disbelief.
"How? I didn't ask him." Mikan said slowly in reply as Sumire's expression made her feel anxious. "I thought I didn't need to."
"Woah Woah Woah…Mikan…" Sumire said in disbelief as she shook her head. "Don't you know anything about relationships? You should have at least done some effort. I mean come on…you're dating Natsume Hyuuga. His fans can bring down machines and bake devious pastries. Would it kill you to do something just even a little special for him?"
"Well…um…" Mikan was thinking hard as it hit her. Hotaru on the other hand wouldn't stand for this.
"Mikan how idiotic can you get?" Hotaru explained as she rolled her eyes at Mikan. "This is Sumire we are talking about. Remember the last time you listened to her about love advice." Hotaru said as she narrowed her eyes at Sumire and Sumire backed up in fear. Hotaru then turned to Mikan "You better watch it Mikan. If in the end you and Natsume break up once again I'll make sure to fine you for it." With that Hotaru left not wanting to hear another word.
Mikan looked at Hotaru and bit her lip. She then shook her head in order to concentrate. After doing this she turned to glare at Sumire. "She's right! I shouldn't bother with what you say. I'm just going to ignore it and pretend that you never made that comment."
Sumire gaped at Mikan in offense and then glared at her. "I'm offended. The next time you need help you better be on your knees." with that being said Sumire stormed off.
"It's not like I needed it! It's not going to bother me at all!" Mikan screamed back as she walked farther from her.
Sadly it did bother Mikan. Mikan was twiddling her thumbs as she thought about what Sumire said. In fact she was so worried that anyone could see it all over her face. Many times she would see Hotaru, Ruka and even Natsume peering at her. She had to get out because they would all bombard her soon. Who could blame them though? The brunette is known after all to do pretty idiotic antics especially when she gets fired up with stupid ideas.
As soon as the bell rang Mikan ran straight out of the door to get some fresh air and escape the wrath of her friends. Not even bothering to stop or look back she simply ran straight to the sakura tree. After taking huge breaths she faced the tree and continued bumping her head on the tree in frustration. "It's too late. I let it get to me." Mikan said to herself as she let what Sumire said to her set in.
She remembered clearly how the fans adored Natsume however she as a girlfriend never bothered to do something special for him. She bit her lip as she tried to think of the numerous ways she could do to make it more spectacular.
"I know it's useless but I'm still hoping you aren't doing anything stupid." said a voice that Mikan knew all too well. Mikan jumped up in shock and unwillingly turned to face her red-eyed glaring boyfriend.
"You know. You should stop popping out of thin air. It really gets on one's nerves. I just might get a heart attack." Mikan said as she clutched her chest and let out a huge breath.
"You get a heart attack?" Natsume said as he narrowed his eyes at her. "I have girlfriend who has disaster following at her footsteps." Mikan was about to object when Natsume interrupted her. "Do I honestly need to narrate you everything before you surrender by keeping quiet."
"Psssh…" was all Mikan would say and she turned her head away from his direction. Natsume surprisingly spoke up first in their usual game of cold shoulder. "So…are you going to tell me or do I have to wait for things to plan out?" Natsume said as he crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at his girlfriend.
Mikan jerked up at his words and was at a loss for words. Mikan rather kept quiet about it. It was her problem not his anyway. Mikan then turned to Natsume and put on a weak smile. "Don't worry Natsume. I'm perfectly fine here!" she said as she faked a laugh and playfully slapped him.
Natsume rolled his eyes and sighed in frustration. "Are you sure there's nothing you want to talk about?" he said as he stared at her straight in the eye.
Mikan bit her lip in nervousness and slowly shook her head as a reply. Natsume then ran his hand through his hair and let his arm support him on the Sakura tree as he sweat-dropped. "Ok…Mikan. One, I know you are keeping something from me. Usually I would ignore it because I shouldn't really care but knowing you it would lead to disastrous results. Two, you are just a terrible liar. As your boyfriend I would know when you are lying. Just accept that fact."
Natsume then took hold of Mikan's hand and stared at her straight in the eye. "Now…Mikan are you going to tell me now?" he said slowly as he continued looking at Mikan in the eye. Mikan actually felt her resolve dying when someone came to save her.
"Mikan!" Anna called out and in the process it broke the intense moment between the couple. Both of them turned to see both Anna and Nonoko waving at them. "Hey Mikan. Hope you didn't forget our plans." Nonoko said as she smiled a big grin and stressed out the word plans.
Mikan said in a whisper 'plans' as she shook her head because she couldn't remember making any plans with her. Nonoko sighed as she knew Mikan was too slow so she coughed to get Mikan's attention and gave her a look. Mikan raised her eyebrow in confusion and it was only a few moments later when she got it.
Mikan then turned to Natsume and tried to put on a smile that she hoped looked apologetic. "Sorry Natsume but I forgot that I had to…um…do something…" Mikan started but Natsume cut her off by sending out an evil aura. The aura quickly spread sending chills to the girls who witnessed it. He glared at Mikan and turned to glare at Anna and Nonoko. The two took a step back in fear.
"Honestly Mikan. I'm not stupid. I even got it before you did." Natsume said as he continued glaring at her. "Since you are actually steeping this low then I might as well leave you to do it. Just remember that I tried to do something and stop you from doing something stupid." Natsume said as he let go of Mikan's hand and turned the other way. He placed his hands in his pockets and started walking.
It took a while before Mikan could recover and feel the feeling in her legs. When she turned to Anna and Nonoko all she could do was widen her eyes in fear.
"So…how did you guys know that I needed help?" Mikan asked plainly as she was walking beside Anna and Nonoko. She tagged along after Anna and Nonoko asked her to join them for real.
Anna and Nonoko glanced at each other with worry and it wasn't overlooked by Mikan. Mikan took a deep breath. "Why do I feel like that I'm going to regret the answer?"
Anna and Nonoko then stopped and Mikan just mimicked. Anna then spoke up. "Well you see. Someone told us that you needed help. She sorta knew that you were going to have this problem."
Mikan looked at the two in question when she realized the situation. After all Anna and Nonoko were also parts of that event. Mikan threw back her head as she groaned. "Please tell me it's not Sumire."
Mikan then straightened up as she heard clapping coming out from the nearby area of trees. There Mikan saw the cat woman leaning on one of the trees. She was smiling an amused smile as she continued clapping.
"I must say Mikan. You actually got smarter. Usually it would have taken you much longer to figure it out." Sumire said plainly as she started walking towards Mikan. "Now down to business, we should start planning how you should ask Natsume." Sumire said as she smiled amusingly and raised her eyebrow at Mikan.
Mikan simply looked at Sumire plainly then quickly turned around and said. "I'm out! See you." and started walking away without another word. This shocked not only Sumire but also Anna and Nonoko.
"HEY!" Sumire shouted as she raised her fist at her. "DON'T JUST WALK AWAY." Sumire said as she gritted her teeth. Mikan then turned to look at her with uncaring eyes and continued walking away.
"Hmmm…I think Natsume became quite an influence on her. Don't you think?" Anna said as she observed Mikan's actions.
Sumire wasn't happy though. It made her feel like tearing Mikan's heart out. Here Sumire was willing to offer her expertise and Mikan just simply shrugs it off and walks away from her. Sumire then called out in anger. "FINE! Be that way! Just remember! You needed Anna and Nonoko to save your freaking butt when Natsume was questioning you. I bet Natsume was trying to find out what was wrong with you. No doubt that you were actually troubled about what I said!" Sumire concluded as she glared at Mikan's back that was walking away. However when Sumire finished her speech of words Mikan stopped.
Sumire then straightened up and crossed her arms as she was confident in her deduction. "I was right wasn't I? You're bothered by this and we both know that Natsume isn't an easy boyfriend to keep when there are tons of people who want him for themselves. You secretly want to prove that you are his girlfriend and no one else can top that."
After hearing this Mikan's mind was in turmoil. She was feeling that indeed. She felt exactly as Sumire said she felt. She loved Natsume so much and just thinking about those other girls ogling at him made her furious. She wanted to do something about it but she knew that if she went with Sumire there could be a ton of things that could go wrong. Mikan shudders at what happened the last time she took Sumire's advice. Mikan had half the mind though to turn right there and then and start planning with her.
Sumire on the other hand just narrowed her eyes at Mikan's back that was still facing her. Mikan had stopped for quite some time and Sumire knew that what she said must have been a thing that needs to be taken in slowly. The cat-dog girl then took a breath and spoke up. "I'll let you think about it. Once you realize completely that I'm right come find me. I hope you hurry though. The dance is soon and Natsume can only wait for so long." With that Sumire turned on her heels and walked the opposite direction.
Mikan needed to talk to Natsume. He was probably still angry from earlier and she needed to explain herself. He would probably get even more angry at her once she tells him that Sumire was the one who made her act that way. Mikan tenderly touched her hair as if saying goodbye to it. Natsume hadn't burned her hair for a long time but who knows. After all, old habits die hard.
Mikan couldn't find Natsume though. He wasn't in his room, the library, the cafeteria and heck, not even the sakura tree. Mikan was getting tired already. She has been walking and looking for Natsume for who knows how long and she still is. Mikan was passing through the courtyard when she heard his voice.
Mikan gasped in happiness as she silently rejoiced that she found him. She looked around to see him across some trees and bushes. She was about to walk towards him when she realized that Natsume wasn't alone. Mikan peeked trough the gaps between the trees and saw that he was with another girl. The girl was actually beautiful and stunning.
Mikan had to shake her head in order to remove those thoughts that were bothering her. She already had that episode where she immediately jumped the gun when she saw Natsume with another girl. That was another bump on the road for their relationship. She didn't want to repeat it again.
Mikan in her jealous state would have strangled that blonde green eyed girl without hearing a thing. She wised up though. Mikan decided to hear and see everything completely before she would strangle her so the nullifier simply stayed there and observed what was happening.
"Ok…I swear if you continue to hassle me I will burn your hair." Natsume said as she breathed out in frustration. He had his hands in his pockets and looking at the girl as if he just wished she would disappear. Mikan punched the air in happiness knowing that Natsume had no feelings for the gorgeous blonde. Now she can just direct all her anger on the blonde.
"Natsume…" the girl said, simply with her confident smile and flipped her hair. "I will go away once you hear me out. I just need a few moments of your time then I'm gone.
Once Natsume heard this he rolled his eyes and ruffled his hair. "So if I hear what you have to say will you just leave me?" he said as he rubbed his forehead with his thumb due to his migraine.
The girl just smiled a dazzling white smile and nodded. She then turned to get out something from her pocket. Natsume watched her and when he realized what it was Natsume groaned. "Another one? You're going to invite me to the dance?" Natsume said tiredly. Natsume continued as he sighed. "Don't bother. You aren't the first one and each one of them I said 'no' to. Save your tears and just find someone else."
Mikan clutched onto a nearby tree when she heard Natsume say that other girls invited him. Mikan had the urge to hunt down each and every one of them. Mikan immediately thought though "Maybe Anna was right. Natsume has influenced me too much." as she thought about what she wanted to do. However before she could ponder about how much she changed the unknown blonde girl spoke up once more.
"Oh I know!" the blonde girl said plainly. "I just want you to know how much I like you. I don't expect you to say yes but I just hope that you'll remember me." the girl said confidently. Natsume replied a "tch" as he rolled his eyes.
Natsume's eyes widened though, as the girl was now giving out a light that slowly brightened over time. Then as if he teleported right into space he was surrounded by stars. Not too far off he could see Jupiter at the background. The girl then smiled and raised her hand and the stars surrounding him slowly formed a single word. 'DANCE?'. Just like that the illusion ended and the stars faded away and the courtyard came back.
"My power is illusion you see? I've been practicing. I'm not that great but I really wanted to show it to you." The girl said as she blushed. Natsume then sighed and shook his head.
"Although I must admit that was impressive you know the answer. I can't go with you." Natsume said simply
"Oh…I told you. I know." The blonde girl said. Just hope you remember me by." She said with a peaceful smile. Natsume simply looked at the stunning blonde and turned on his heel and left without another word. After a few moments later the blonde girl turned to walk in the opposite direction.
Mikan however was pulled into the illusion and saw exactly what happened. It was indeed beautiful and she can't shake that feeling away. That was the last straw.
Sumire walked towards the door of her room as she heard the rapid knocking on it. Sumire opened the door and leaned on the doorway as she crossed her arms and looked at her visitor. "So? Have you decided?" Sumire said as she boringly looked at the brunette standing in front of her.
"I'm in…" she said with determination in her eyes and Sumire let her in.