Disclaimer: Last time I check, Gakuen Alice does not belong to me.

:: Going High ::

by

:: Madame Awkward ::

On a daily basis, you would find no one being in the Great Library of Alice Academy, save for a few librarians who were on duty. Besides that, it was safe to say that the place would be deserted for most of the times.

The library was large, thus its name. Its walls were covered with a layer of bookshelves that were filled with books from any genre, any language. There were fictions and non-fictions, picture books and books that were filled with tiny words. There were multiple copies of bibles, Qur'ans. Whatever books you are looking for, it's probably sitting on a shelf, waiting for someone to pluck it out from its place and flip it open.

It was not a normal day for the library that day for there were two students sitting at one of the tables. A boy with tousled raven hair was bent down, his eyes trained on the piece of paper before him, his hand gripping onto a pencil while he scribbled furiously onto it. Occasionally, he would look up from his piece of paper to scan the thick book that was laid open beside the paper, or he would just shoot a glance at his partner for the report that was assigned to them a few weeks back.

Usually, Natsume would've ignored the homework and went on with his life. He didn't need the points from this report to maintain his grades. Everyone in the Academy knew that he was a genius by birth. Effortlessly, Natsume Hyuuga could've scored perfect marks for any exams. But his partner, on the other hand, was not lucky enough to inherit the genes and brains Natsume was gifted with. No, Mikan Sakura needed those crucial points to bring up her grades. She was already failing at sciences and math, she could not fail languages and plus, she didn't want to disappoint her favourite teacher, Mr. Narumi.

Natsume continued to scribble frivolously. If it wasn't for Mikan's constant nagging, Ruka's gentle persuasion, Hotaru's threats, mix it in with the small, small part in Natsume that wanted to help the brunette, he wouldn't have needed to sit in the library with Mikan to complete the report.

Suddenly, the soft humming from a certain brunette was heard and Natsume's hand stopped its motion immediately. He looked up at Mikan through his bangs only to find the brunette staring idly into space, her chin supported by a hand, her elbow propped onto the table. The fingers on her other hand were unconsciously tapping on the table in a steady rhythm repeatedly. A whimsical smile was playing on her lips.

Unlike Natsume, Mikan had completed her part in the report days after it was announced. The rest of the days were spent trying to convince Natsume into doing his part and there she was, sitting in front of him to keep an eye on him as he worked, humming to a tune, which Natsume grudgingly recognized it as 'Little Bo Beep', all the while tapping to its rhythm. Natsume tried to concentrate on the task at hand, his hand gripping hard onto his pencil. Mikan continued to hum and tap, each passing second she did that, Natsume was gripping his pencil harder and harder until finally, it gave in and was snapped into two.

The hummings and tappings stopped and Mikan looked at Natsume with surprise. But instead of a question like 'Why did you do that Natsume?' as what he expected, Mikan broke out into fits if giggles. Puzzled and a little bit annoyed, Natsume narrowed his eyes at the brunette while he burnt the broken pencil into ashes. Reaching to his pencil bag, Natsume fished out another pencil and continued to focus on his report, all the while trying to ignore Mikan's giggles.

A while later, when the giggling had ceased, Natsume looked up briefly at Mikan only to find her hunched over her notebook, the pen in her hand moving across the page. Curious, Natsume stretched out an arm and snatched the notebook away. Mikan screamed her protests while she futilely tried to retrieve it from his grasps. The librarian who was on duty merely looked up from his book for a quick second before returning his attention to it; his face nonchalant.

Natsume held out Mikan's notebook at arms length, far away from the brunette who he was pushing away with one hand while she flailed her arms around in an attempt to take the book back. All the while smiling and laughing and screaming. Natsume read the five sentences written onto the paper.

There was once a land of black and white.
And then a rainbow came.
Everyone oohed and aahed at how colourful it was.
Then a rain came.
When it stopped, everyone kept their umbrellas away.

Feeling an eyebrow twitched, Natsume threw the book back to Mikan while she caught it awkwardly in her hands. Mikan was grinning widely and Natsume could sense something was wrong. Very wrong.

In reality, Natsume knew something was wrong with Mikan ever since he saw her that morning during breakfast. It wasn't that Mikan wasn't already an annoying, hyperactive, loud-mouth, optimistic, happy-go-lucky girl. But the Mikan that was sitting right in front of him was overly annoying,hyperactive, loud-mouth, optimistic, happy-go-lucky. Something was off. Way off.

Eyeing her warily, Natsume grabbed onto Mikan's arm which made the girl yelped before breaking into fits of laughter once again. "Polka, are you high?"

Mikan tilted her head one side innocently. Her bright grin was starting to get on Natsume's nerves, even though usually it would've brightened his day. "Why would you say that, Natsume-chan?"

Natsume scowled at the way Mikan was addressing him. "Polka, you're obviously high on something." Thinking that drugs were obviously out of the question for the innocent fourteen-year-old, the closest thing that came into his mind was the girl's favorite snack. "How much howalon did you eat this morning?"

Mikan began to tilt her head to one side and then the other. "None, Natsume-chan. I did not have any because my supply went out last night." She singsonged. Natsume looked at her skeptically.

"Polka, you're obviously high on something. Now be honest or I'll burn you." To emphasize his point, Natsume made a small fireball in his hands before it was extinguished by Mikan's nullification Alice. The girl giggled at the emptiness of the threat while the boy scowled.

Mikan got up from her seat to sit on the table. She ran a hand through Natsume's silky locks. "Natsume-chan, when are you ever gonna learn that you can't hurt me no more." Another giggle escaped her lips. "Actually, to be honest, this is not the first time I'm so hyper. This always happen to me when I haven't had my howalon."

"And what if you had?"

Mikan tilted her head to one side, smiled and flashed Natsume her blindingly bright grin. "Then perhaps I'll be sober."

Immediately after her sentence ended, Natsume stood up abruptly from his seat, causing his chair to topple over. After stuffing his bag with his unfinished report and his stationeries, Natsume slung his back across his shoulders and grabbed onto Mikan's hand. The girl was weak against his strength so the only thing she could do was follow him as they exited the library.

"Natsume! What are you doing? Where are we going?"

Natsume didn't stop walking as they trudged through the campus towards the bus stop. "I'm bringing you to stock up on your howalon supply in Central Town." Without pausing his stride, Natsume took out his wallet from his shirt pocket and took out a few bills before handing them to Mikan. "Here, this should be enough for a few dozens."

Mikan gaped at his gesture. Seeing that the girl made no move to accept his offer, Natsume stuffed them into her hand. Then they continued their mission to Central Town.

"Natsume?"

"..."

"Your hand feels nice and warm."

"..."

"..."

"(:"

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