Mikan
"Mikan?" She yawned, looking up, her eyes soft and kind. And there, directly in front of her face, was a pair of crimson flames. Rather, crimson eyes. She yawned again and rubbed her eyes sleepily.
"Hi Natsume," She smiled. "What's up?" She asked, seemingly more awake than before. He handed her a piece of paper and as usual, she thought nothing of it, stating the obvious.
"Huh? A piece of paper?" She began to open it but Natsume stopped her, placing his hand gently over her's. She looked up at him and stared deep into his eyes. Did they seem… kinder?
"Are you sick?" She asked, reaching up to touch his forehead. His eyebrows creased but his smile didn't falter.
"What do you mean, Mikan?" He asked, his hand never leaving her's.
"You're being rather kind I guess." She shrugged and looked down at his hand, covering both her own and the small piece of paper she held securely in her grasp. He gave a short laugh and took his hand away, leaning back in his seat.
"Don't open that until class is over, okay? And stop sleeping. I know it's free study but you can't keep dozing off, you'll get bad grades and loose all your stars." He said, resting his arms comfortably behind his head and putting his feet up on the tabletop, his eyes flickering shut.
"And you're telling me I shouldn't sleep during class." She mumbled.
After class, Natsume had all but disappeared. And that seemed to stir something deep inside Mikan's heart, although she pushed it aside. She dug around in her skirt pocket and pulled out the scrap piece of paper that Natsume had given her as soon as she'd shut her door behind her. She sat down on her bed and stared dumbfounded at the small folded piece of paper and realized that she was hesitant to open it.
But her hands did the job without any sign from her brain, carefully opening what she was somewhat afraid to open. She stared at it, blinked, and then read it again. It certainly was Natsume's handwriting, that, she had no difficulty figuring out. But what was written seemed to shock her; it knocked on her heart several times as she read it over and over.
'Mikan, I need to tell you something. Meet me underneath our tree tomorrow night after dinner ~ Natsume'
She flopped back onto her bed, holding the paper high above her, letting it hit the light coming in through her bedroom window. If there was one thing she was certain of, it was that he had such delicate handwriting.
"It kind of pisses me off that he has better handwriting than me." She mumbled to no one in particular.
"I guess I'll have to go." She murmured. She rolled over and curled up into a ball, letting the piece of paper sit neatly on her pillow. Catching a glimpse of her watch, she squealed.
"I'm gonna be late for dinner!"
Puffing, Mikan collapsed into her seat in the dining hall. Hotaru eyed her curiously as she looked up and smiled, her breathing gradually becoming slower.
"What's up with you, you're never late for dinner. Did something happen that I should know about?" Hotaru asked, picking up a bit of bread and taking a big bite out of it, her eyes never leaving Mikan's. Mikan felt her eyebrow twitch, something she did when she was trying to keep a secret, and she wanted to slap herself.
"I was sleeping. My alarm woke me." It seemed plausible in her case. She did tend to sleep a lot. Hotaru kept staring at her until she'd finished her bread.
"Okay then, if you say so." She murmured, her attention wavering from Mikan and landing on Ruka. Mikan giggled to herself and began to eat her own dinner. But she found that, surprisingly, she'd lost her appetite somewhere. She managed to finish half of her bread for the sake of it, but her stomach seemed to be filled to the brim with butterflies.
'I don't get it, why am I so nervous? It's not like he's going to propose to me or anything. He probably just wants to borrow some homework. But then why wouldn't he just barge into my room and take it like he normally does!?'
Currently, a war had enraged in Mikan's head. One she gave up on with a sigh, her eyes darting around the room. Everyone was talking, no one would notice if she slipped out early.
Wrapping a black cardigan she'd taken from her closet tightly around her, Mikan made her way out onto the balcony of her room. Her mind roamed to Natsume as it often did and she closed her eyes, leaning against the banister as she inhaled the cold night air around her. Opening her eyes, she looked up at the stars.
"I want him to kiss me." She said aloud. Her face flew up in flames and she gasped as if realizing it for the first time. Her hands automatically went to her mouth and then they retreated back to the banister.
"I need to sleep." She whispered to herself, looking back up at the stars once more before going back inside, closing the sliding door and locking it. She closed her curtains, got into her nightgown and slipped under her covers. She closed her eyes and gripped the note that still lay on her pillow, sighing.
"I love you, Natsume."
When she opened her eyes the next morning, her curtains were open and sunlight was pouring in and pooling on the wooden floorboards. She sat up, staring at the glass windows.
"Didn't I close those last night?" She said.
"I opened them." She turned her head towards her doorway. Hotaru stood there, holding her horse hoof glove.
"Get up or I'll hit you."
"Okay, I'm up, I'm up." Mikan said, raising her hands defensively as she stood up. She walked over to her dresser and crouched down, opening the bottom draw. She took out her uniform and stood up again.
"I'll see you at breakfast." Hotaru said, closing the door.
"Okay." Mikan said to her empty room.
She pulled on her uniform and walked over to her vanity table, sitting down on her chair. She watched herself in the mirror as she brushed her hair and tied it up into two pigtails as she did every morning. She still had a slight blush as she made her way downstairs and entered the dining hall. She took her seat next to Hotaru and stared at her cocoa puffs. There was no sugar much to her dismay. She looked around the table and zoned in on the pot of sugar sitting across the table from her. She followed her eyes up to the figure scooping up a packed teaspoon of sugar and just stared. Shaking herself out of her daze, she opened her mouth. It wasn't as if she'd never talked to him.
"Natsume, can you pass the sugar?" She asked. Good, her voice was relatively smooth. He looked up and nodded.
"Sure." He grabbed the pot of sugar and reached over the table to give it to her. Their hands brushed and Mikan jumped, dropping the pot of sugar, scattering the little white specs all over the table. Natsume caught the pot, tipping it upright, trying to save whatever sugar was left in the bottom of it. He stood up and declared that he was getting the brush and dustpan. Mikan jumped up.
"You sit down I'll get it."
"I'll get it,"
"I'll get it!" Their eyes met and Natsume sighed. "Suit yourself." He sat back down and watched her retreat. She could feel everyone's eyes on her as she ran from the dining hall.
'Good job me' She chastised herself. Heading for the store room, she felt tears stinging in the back of her eyes.
Breakfast had finally finished and everyone was currently heading to class. Mikan hung back behind everyone and her eyes grew wide when she heard a pair of footsteps slow to match her own. She looked up to find Ruka walking beside her and smiling down at her gently.
"Hey Ruka-pyon." She smiled back weakly out of kindness and then kept her gaze on the hallway in front of her.
"You seem depressed. Did you fight with Natsume?" He asked. Did he sound sort of… Hopeful?
Mikan shook her head immediately and intertwined her fingers. She looked down at her hands.
"I'm fine."
"No you're not."
"Ruka-pyon, I'm fine."
"No you're not."
"Ruka-pyon!"
"Ruka, leave her alone. She said she was fine, just leave it." Mikan's head shot up. Natsume stood in front of them, his hands in his pockets, watching Ruka intensely. Ruka looked between Natsume and Mikan and then walked forwards to join Natsume.
"Okay, let's go." Natsume looked at Mikan once more as her head fell and she trailed behind them and into the classroom.
Taking her seat at the back of the class beside Natsume and Ruka, Mikan buried her face in her hands and let out a sigh. This was going to be one long lesson.
Finally, class had long since finished and dinner had finished as well rather recently. Pacing up and down the floorboards of her room, Mikan fought a war in her head once again.
'Should I go? Is he even going to be there? What if I turn up and he's not there! But he said he would be…. He wouldn't break a promise right? Although, it's not like he did promise, he just said so.' She looked longingly out her glass sliding door panel and sighed.
'I have to go.'
Opening her closet, she dug around in the back and pulled out light blue dress. On her, it hung down to about her knees and it was sleeveless, bearing just a string halter instead.
"Am I trying too hard?" She said aloud, taking her hair out of their pigtails and combing it out nicely after she'd put on the dress. She looked at herself in her vanity table mirror and smiled. She grabbed the same black cardigan she'd worn last night from the back of her chair and slipped her arms into it. She left it unbuttoned and quietly made her way down the stairs of the high school dorms. Pushing open the doors, a strong gust of wind hit her in the face and she shivered as she made her way down the campus and out into the elementary branch gardens. Approaching the tree, she could see Natsume's figure sitting in one of the highest branches and she sat down underneath the branches, the Sakura flowers adorning the space above her head. She didn't look up, she just stared straight in front of her until the silence surrounding them started to bug her.
"Why did you call me out here?" She asked.
"Well you must have some idea, you dressed up."
"I was already wearing this." She said plainly. She didn't know why she was lying, but she was. She heard the branches rustle above her as Natsume climbed down to sit beside her. She knew he was looking at her and she didn't mind.
"Man I hate Ruka." He said casually, his head leaning back to rest against the tree. Mikan finally looked up at him.
"Why?"
"Because he stole my chance to comfort you after breakfast this morning."
"Comfort me? Why would you do that?" She asked, blinking at him.
"You say you were already dressed like that," He said, ignoring her question. He turned his face towards her and locked their eyes together.
"Was that a lie?"
"Maybe"
"Then why did you dress up if you were just meeting up with me?"
"I don't know, Natsume, I just did okay!"
"Were you expecting something to happen?" Mikan felt the blood rush to her cheeks.
"I never said that."
"I know, that's why I'm asking." She could feel him leaning closer, feel his heat radiating off him.
"Maybe." She whispered.
"What did you think was going to happen?" He was really getting on her nerves now and he knew it. She couldn't take it anymore.
"I wanted you to kiss me okay? Is that really so much of a crime?!" He smiled devilishly and leaned his forehead against her's. Her eyes widened as his breath tickled her nose and her cheeks.
"If it is, it's a crime I'm willing to commit." He murmured, staring into her eyes as he lifted his hand up to brush her hair.
"Mikan," He whispered. "I love you."
It all happened so fast. He leaned in and closed the final few centimetres with a kiss, his mouth locking against her's. And she kissed him back passionately, feeling a weight lift off her shoulders as her hand slid up to slip into his raven locks. She pulled him closer, as close as the laws of physics would allow and eventually broke away to breathe. Resting her forehead against his once again, she watched his eyes. His cheeks had a small blush to them and she smiled.
"How does it feel to commit a crime?" He asked her, smiling back.
"Totally worth it. Besides, you taste like howalon" She giggled. Giving her another small kiss, he muttered something for the second time that night.
"I love you." And she answered. Not because she felt obliged but because it was the truth. Resting her head against his chest, she giggled happily.
"I love you too."