New one-shot! I hope you enjoy! I have had this idea for a long time, and finally just now got it type up.

Summary: He made a bet to befriend Hotaru Imai, but instead may find himself falling in love with her best friend. NxM

Pairings: NatsumexMikan, RukaxHotaru

Disclaimer: Not in a million years

Love comes when manipulation stops; when you think about the other person more than his/her reactions to you; when you dare to reveal yourself fully and when you dare to be vulnerable.

-Dr. Joyce Brothers

It was an average day at Alice Academy. Every person was hanging out with their friends, talking and laughing. An average day also meant also called for the academy's boys to make jokes, bets and in general, just fool around.

"Natsume," Koko grinned, "It's your turn this week."

Natsume raised an eyebrow at his sandy-blonde haired friend, "Fine."

Ruka and Koko simultaneously looked at each other, knowing what exactly they had in mind. For Koko, it was for laughs, but for Ruka, it was for revenge on Hotaru Imai, "You have to befriend the Ice Queen for two months." Kitsume tried hard to stifle his laugh.

"Imai? Are you serious? She has no friends," Natsume sighed.

Ruka gave him a smile, "That's the point. You humiliate her, by getting her hopes up that she actually has you as a friend, and then you betray her." Koko, Kitsume, Yuu, and even Natsume were baffled by what Ruka said. What Hotaru had done to him really hurt him.

Normally, Natsume would not take bets that embarrassed his classmates, but the Ice Queen had deceived Ruka, so he would do the same thing to her, "I accept."

"Oi, Imai," Natsume inwardly scowled. He regretted taking up this bet. He didn't want to hang out with Hotaru Imai at all. She was the living Ice Queen. He used to have to put up with her, because of her relationship with Ruka. After the two of them broke up, Natsume was thankful that he didn't have to deal with Imai anymore, but now….

Hotaru shot him a glare, "Hyuuga, what do you want? If you're here to tell me that I was a bitch to Nogi, I already know. Now, if you excuse me."

"I don't think you're a bitch. I think Ruka is just overreacting. I was thinking I should make it up to you. Do you want to hang out tomorrow after school?" Natsume lied. No word he said was true. 'Damn bet,' he cursed.

Hotaru felt like smirking, "Sure Hyuuga. Sure."

"You must be Natsume Hyuuga," a brunette girl smiled at the crimson-eyed lad in front of her, "Hotaru has told me about you. Although she doesn't express it, she is really grateful that you are trying to befriend her." Natsume gave her a peculiar look. The girl looked the same age as he was, and she was acting like she was Hotaru's mother.

She kept smiling at him, waiting for him to respond. However, she soon realized he wasn't much of a talker, "Well, my name is Mikan Sakura, Hotaru's best friend," she paused, "I know you and Hotaru were going to hang out today, but Hotaru's…..busy, so she sent me as a replacement!"

"Hn," Natsume causally replied, walking forward, gesturing her to follow.

Mikan grinned at him once more, "Hyuuga-san, you should talk more. Your voice….it's beautiful." Natsume eyed her suspiciously. He had never been told he had a beautiful voice. He felt a light blush flush across his face.

"Call me Natsume," he smirked.

3 weeks later

"So, where are we heading Natsume?" the curious hazel-eyed girl asked the man in front of her. They were forced to hang out once again, due to Hotaru's clouded up schedule.

"Park," he instantly replied.

Mikan began happily skipping ahead of Natsume, excited to go to this park, Natsume had mentioned, "Well than what are we waiting for! We better hurry!" Natsume sighed, as he closed his eyes. He knew the way to the park by heart.

"Polka, we are here," he mumbled, opening his eyes, as he looked around for the said girl, but she was no where to be seen, "Polka? Dammit, where did that idiot go?"

He couldn't find her. He couldn't find Mikan. How did he lose her on a five minute walk?

'Dammit. Dammit. Dammit," Natsume cursed in his mind.

"Natsume," he heard a worry filled voice call out, "Where are you? Help me!"

His eyes widened, that was Mikan's voice, "Polka?" Then he saw her. She was sitting on a rock, soaking wet, crying, and with scrapes all over her arms and legs.

"Polka, what happened?"

She rubbed her eyes, trying to compose herself, "I was trying to find you and the park, and I tripped and fell into the lake over there. The bottom of the lake was covered in rocks, and when I was attempting to get out of the lake, I scraped my arms and legs. I was worried about you Natsume. I thought you had left me."

He embraced her, "I'll never leave you; I promise."

Natsume inwardly smiled to himself. He was grateful for this bet. If not for it, he would have never met Mikan Sakura, the girl whom he realized he was in love with. They had been hanging out so much these days it was inevitable. He knew that he should've been going along with the bet, by forcing Imai to hang out with him. But Mikan was much more fun than Imai.

"Natsume, come on, we have to get to the café," She smiled, concealing her blush.

He fought the urge to smile, "Hn."

Natsume knew Mikan liked him. He just knew it. She would always blush around him, and even though he didn't like admitting it, he did the same thing around her.

"Natsume," Mikan approached him at the Sakura Tree, "Why did you want me to meet you here today?"

Natsume contemplated numerous ways on how to confess to her. And he figured the best was through action. He pinned her against the tree, ignoring the flushed look on her face. He began leaning in as she shut her eyes, and their lips met. Mikan responded right away.

She felt her face go completely red and eventually broke the kiss, "What was that for?"

Natsume smirked, "What do you think, Polka?"

"You have a fetish for kissing random girls under the Sakura Tree?" Mikan smiled, "Well, if that's all you have to say, I will be goin-"

Natsume cut her off, "Fine, I love you." He hated embarrassing himself. He hated how he wound up confessing through words anyway. But he knew it was worth it.

"I love you too Natsume," Mikan smiled, "So…. Are we like an item now?"

Her only answer was a kiss.

"Mikan-chan, over here," Koko called out, waving excitedly at his cousin.

Mikan gave him a smile as she walked over to him, "Hey Koko! We haven't talked in such a long time."

Koko pulled her chair out, letting Mikan take a seat at the table, and then went to the other side to sit down in his chair. Here they were, two friends, enjoying lunch together, separate from their other friends.

"So, what's new with you?" Koko asked, trying to start a conversation.

Her face flushed, "I-I-I got a boyfriend."

The sandy raised his eyebrow, "Ooooooooo, do tell!"

Mikan laughed at her friend's behavior. Sometimes he really did act like a girl, "He's one of your friends, but other than that, my lips are sealed."

"Hmm, one of my friends? Let's see, it couldn't be Kitsu, he's got Anna, and Yuu has Nonoko. Ruka is still not over Hotaru, seeing as why he set up that whole bet to get back at her, and Nat—"

Mikan cut in, "What bet?"

"Well, you won't tell Hotaru, so I will tell you. Ruka and Natsume had a bet. Natsume would befriend Hotaru for two months and than humiliate her, just like she did to Ruka," Koko smiled.

Millions of things were running through Mikan's mind right now, but the main one was that Natsume had betrayed her.

"Hey Polka," Natsume gave her a slight wave at his approaching girlfriend.

Mikan glared at him, "Don't hey me! I know that the only reason you are befriending her is to make fun of her!"

Natsume bowed his head down, a little ashamed himself, "It was just a harmless bet."

"Harmless! When Hotaru finds out, she won't think it's very harmless!"

"Mikan," Natsume began, but before he could continue, Mikan cut him off.

"Ruka set you up for this, didn't he?" Mikan was fuming, "He set you up to mock Hotaru! I trusted you Natsume! It's one thing to hurt me, but to hurt my best friend, that's just unforgivable."

Natsume knew she was pissed, but he didn't think she any right to be, "Mikan, just listen…."

"Listen to what, Natsume? Listen to you tell me that you didn't hurt Hotaru, and you didn't do it on Ruka's behalf. I'm all Hotaru has, and she was all I had. We were happy, but you and Ruka just had to screw that up. I could barely stand the fact that Ruka was your best friend, but now that I know you joined in the cause of causing Hotaru pain, I can't even look at you!" She screamed. Natsume had no right to do this. No right at all! Hotaru had thought Natsume really wanted to be her friend, but he only befriended her for a bet. Mikan couldn't take it, nor could she stand the fact that she had fallen in love with the boy who smashed Hotaru's already broken heart into even smaller pieces.

"If you are all she has, she would want you to be happy. And we both know you're happiest when you are with me!" Natsume backfired. Mikan sighed. Why did it have to be like this? Why couldn't Natsume be genuine? And why does she still find herself trusting him and his words, after everything he had done?

She bit her lip, "I won't have Hotaru sacrifice her happiness for mine. If I leave Hotaru, she won't have anyone…. And I would have broken our promise."

"Hotaru, let's never leave each other! We will be happy together forever. No one will ever separate us," Mikan smiled holding up her pinky for Hotaru. Hotaru raised her pinky as she nodded. That was the day their friendship was sealed with a pinky promise.

Natsume scoffed, "She already broke your silly little promise, when she dated Ruka! If only one person keeps the promise, it's not really a promise anymore, is it?"

She turned away form Natsume, unable to look him in the eye, "I don't care. I never back out of a promise, just like you never back out of a bet." She walked away from him, trying to restrain herself from looking back. By the time she did, he was already gone. She hated herself, because when she did look back, she wanted him to be there. She wanted to jump in his arms and kiss him senseless. But he was gone, before her.

'Looks like he breaks promises too.'

"Natsume, we're sorry," Koko began, "we didn't know she and Hotaru were friends. We didn't know that you and Mikan had developed such a relationship. We were just talking and it came up in the conversation."

Natsume scowled, 'Damn talkative friends. It would have better if Mikan never found out about the stupid beat.'

"Natsume, don't give me the silent treatment!" Koko pleaded, "At least answer me with your, 'Hn!' Natsume! Don't ignore me! I can't take being ignored! Natsume!"

Natsume walked off angrily, not wanting to deal with any of his friends at the moment.

"No! Natsume," Koko wailed, "Come back! You can't leave me!"

Kitsume laughed as he patted Koko's pat, "He'll cool down eventually. Don't worry buddy."

"Nogi," Hotaru approached her ex.

"Hey Ruka, did you hear? Hotaru doesn't actually love you. She's using you for the popularity," Kitsume whispered to his blonde haired friend.

"Imai," Ruka acknowledged.

His eyes widened, "You're lying."

"We need to talk."

"Ask her yourself than, but the whole school is saying that," Kitsume shrugged as he noticed Hotaru coming towards the two, and left.

He laughed, "When you finally show your face around me again, you want us to talk. Like that will ever happen."

"Hotaru, tell me it isn't true. Tell me the rumors aren't true. I know you love me. You wouldn't lie to me, would you?" Ruka pleaded.

Her violet eyes hardened, "Trust me, Nogi, I don't want to be talking to you as much as you don't want to be talking to me."

"You honestly think I ever loved you?"

Ruka stopped laughing, "Well than, why are you here?"

Ruka felt like crying, but he knew he couldn't, it would only give her satisfaction, "You were just using me for more friends. They would only be fake! At least I would be a true friend. Isn't a couple true friends better than millions of fake ones?"

"I know about the bet," Hotaru said passively, "I knew about it from the beginning. The only reason I went along with it was because I wanted Hyuuga and Mikan to find happiness together. Why do you think I never hung out with Hyuuga, and always let Mikan act as a replacement?"

"You're a fool, Nogi. And fools don't make good friends," Her icy voice matched her equally icy glare.

The blonde boy bit his lip, "And why are you telling me this? I have no business of Natsume's and Sakura's relationship."

"Hotaru, please tell me this is some sort of joke. I don't want to lose you," Ruka couldn't help the tears at this point.

"Tell Natsume to go after her," she sighed, "I don't want what happened to us, to happen to them, and if you cared about your best friend, than you would feel this way too."

"It's not a joke," Hotaru smirked.

"Our relationship is nothing like theirs. Theirs is mutual love, but a failure in trust. Ours was a disaster."

"Fine, Hotaru! We are done! Go crawl back in your cave of sadness, and return back to your expressionless self. Let's just pretend we don't even know each other," Ruka yelled. Then he turned around, and walked away from her.

She shook her head, "Our problem was trust. You didn't trust me. You didn't understand my motives. You didn't hear what I said. You didn't listen."

"I love you," she silently said to herself, "I just didn't want you to be stuck with me. You can fly so much further without the weight of me on your shoulders. Your mom told me that. She also said that she was going to kick you out of her house if we didn't break-up. Find someone better and love her. She will defiantly be someone that your mom will approve." Hotaru knew he didn't hear, but it helped to get it off her chest, and later she would go and tell Mikan, because she knew that Mikan will make her feel better, just like she always does.

"Stop trying to blame this on me. I was the one betrayed by you." And for the second time in her life, Ruka had turned his back on her, and left.

'Goodbye Hotaru.'

"Hotaru," Mikan cried, "He betrayed you. He betrayed me! He betrayed us!" Mikan still couldn't believe that the man she had fallen in love with had played with Hotaru's insecurities for a laugh.

"Idiot," Hotaru sighed, "I knew."

Mikan's eyes widened, "You knew, Hotaru? Why didn't you tell me? Why did you let me love him if he treated your feelings like that, Hotaru?"

"Don't you like being in love, Mikan?" Hotaru gave her a small smile, "I wanted you to experience what I had experienced when I was with Nogi. I wanted you to feel that feeling, Mikan. I knew Hyuuga would be the one that could make you feel that. I didn't want my happiness at the expense of yours."

Mikan bit her lip, "But Hotaru, how could I forgive him for what he did to you?"

"Mikan, I hurt Ruka. They see the story in a different light, and it's completely my fault that they do. I lied to Ruka, about how I wasn't in love with him. I lied to him for his happiness and his mother's; they don't know that. Hyuuga is Ruka's best friend. When someone hurts Ruka, Hyuuga can't stand it. It was revenge. Wouldn't you want to get revenge on Ruka if he had done that to me?"

Mikan found herself nodding in response, "I can't leave you alone, though. Hotaru, we are best friends."

"Best friends need to branch off sometimes."

Mikan couldn't help, but smile, "I'll go find him. I'll go find Natsume."

Hotaru felt a smile come upon her face once more. At least she could fix her best friend's love life.

"Hotaru," she heard, startled by the familiarity of the voice, "Was what you told Sakura, true?"

Hotaru face him, "Ruka."

"Natsume, where are you?" Mikan called out. She felt terribly. She never did look at things in Natsume's perspective. She just looked at everything in hers. She knew she would have done the same thing if Hotaru got hurt. And once again she felt grateful Hotaru was her best friend. She silently prayed that Hotaru and Ruka would be able to make-up. They deserved a second chance.

"Natsume, please…" Mikan cried. She instantly knew where to go: the park. It was the place he promised to never leave her. He just had to be there.

She reached the part, and her assumption had been right, "Natsume…."

He was surprised by her voice, "Mikan…"

"Natsume, I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have gotten so mad. I would've done the same thing, if I was in your place. I just…. I just couldn't believe you at the time. I didn't want to see Hotaru get hurt again. I thought that if she found out about the whole bet and found out that we were together, that she would hate me. I feel so terrible, Natsume," Mikan apologized.

"Why are you apologizing?" Natsume asked, "Look, it's my fault. Sorry about what I planned to do to Imai."

"Natsume, it's not your fault at all! I just overreacted, that's all. I'm such an idiot! I never looked at your side of the story, and-"

Natsume interrupted, "Polka, shut up."

Mikan gave him a glare, "Natsume, don't tell me to shut up!"

He kissed her, for the third time, and it felt like the first again.

"Natsume," Mikan began, after breaking the kiss, "Please Natsume, can we start dating again?" She smiled.

Natsume smirked at her, "When did we ever end?" And then, he captured her lips once more.

When you're in love, you would change yourself for the happiness of that person. But true love is when you know you don't have to.

-Unknown

Thank you all for reading! Leave a review, please. Sorry if it is rushed. I just had a lot of fun writing it. xD Especially the whole RukaxHotaru part. :D