Disclaimer : Gakuen Alice does not belong to me.

A/N : This story isn't like my other light-humorous-happy-go-lucky stories. It's kind of on the dark side...well not that much, but the main theme of the story is kind of depressing. But if you know me, I always ( well, mostly always) end my stories on a happy(ish) note, so you can probably expect one from this story, haha. This story will have 5 chapters (I've already written the entire thing, so I know for sure, haha).

Little Pills
Chapter One

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Twenty-four. Probably twenty-seven.

Or perhaps thirty?

Yes, thirty. Thirty would do.

Natsume clutched the tiny bottle in his hands tightly as he walked down the narrow alley. It was late in the evening; the sun had already set and there was a slight drizzle going on. Not having an umbrella on him at the moment, Natsume simply lifted the hood of his sweatshirt to shield his hair from the tiny droplets of water. Spotting an elderly looking man walking towards him, he slipped the tiny bottle into his pocket. He knew the elderly man wouldn't notice the thing in his hands, hell, nobody would even care—but he hadn't wanted to risk it. Natsume discreetly watched the elderly man stroll past him ; the man hadn't even glanced his way. Letting out a breathe he hadn't known he was holding, Natsume removed the bottle from his pocket.

Thirty.

He hoped thirty would do.

Natsume hadn't the faintest idea how many it would take to ease the pain forever, but he as sure as hell wasn't going to do a half-assed job about it. Unscrewing the cover of the bottle as he walked, Natsume didn't notice when a door from the building he was walking beside abruptly opened. Unfortunately, he walked right into it.

The bottle tumbled from his hands at the impact, and it burst open on the ground.

"Oops, I'm so sorry!" A girl's voice came from the other side.

Scowling at the contents of the bottle which now lay on the ground, Natsume looked up from the mess to see a girl, probably his age or younger, standing next to the door with a bag of garbage in her hand. She was wearing an apron and a t-shirt with some sort of emblem on it, indicating that she was probably a waitress.

"Thanks for nothing," Natsume muttered, sending the girl a loathing look.

The girl looked embarrassed. "I'm so sorry about that!" she looked at the mess on the floor, "Were those really important? I hope -" She looked up at his face. "Wait," a look of recognition dawned on her features. "I know you."

Natsume frowned. She knew him?

"You're Natsume Hyuuga, aren't you?" She didn't sound a hundred percent sure though.

He didn't say anything.

"Those red eyes and that look on your face, like the weight of the world lies on your shoulders. You're definitely Natsume Hyuuga." Her voice was more confident now. She was looking at him curiously.

Not liking how correctly she described him, Natsume pursed his lips. He couldn't recall ever seeing this girl before. Did she live in the same neighborhood as him? Had she been one of his sister's friends?

A flash of pain jolt through him at the thought of his sister.

I can't. Not now.

He decided not to directly answer her question. "And you are?"

"Mikan Sakura," she answered him. "We have Physics together."

Ah. So they went to the same school.

"I see," he said, as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

"You don't recognize me," she smoothly said. It wasn't a question. It was a statement.

Natsume gave her a blank look.

The girl threw her head back and laughed. She then rolled her eyes and dumped the bag into the bin. "Of course you don't recognize me," she gave him a small smirk. "You're always too busy glaring daggers at the walls."

Natsume sent her an irritated look. Why was he standing here again?

She laughed once more. "See! You're glaring again!"

Scowling at her once more, Natsume made a move to step around her. But she blocked him. "Don't go just yet! Come inside. Let me get you a coffee or something. It's the least I can do after making you spill that," she looked over at the ground.

Natsume pursed his lips. Coffee did sound a bit appealing at the moment.

She noticed his silence and chuckled. "Come on, it's on the house!"

"Fine," he crisply said. "I'd like a black coffee without sugar."

Nodding, she pushed the door open and indicated for him to come inside.

"I'll be back in two minutes!" She informed him, with a small smile on her face. "Don't go anywhere!"

Rolling his eyes at the girl's eagerness of giving him a coffee, Natsume watched as she nearly bounced down the corridor and opened another door. Presumably the kitchen or something. Sighing, Natsume leaned against the wall. The evening hadn't turned out the way he had planned and he didn't have any money left on him anymore so he couldn't even buy another bottle. Natsume scowled. If that girl hadn't so rudely opened the door like that, he'd already be on his way out of his misery.

Stupid girl.

He heard the kitchen door open, revealing the girl again. She was holding a styrofoam mug in her hand.

"Here you go!" she chirped as she handed him the coffee. "One black coffee, without sugar! Just like you asked." She gave him a ridiculously big smile.

Natsume took the coffee from her. It was hot and smelled wonderful. "Um, thanks I guess," he muttered, slightly annoyed by her smile. Why the heck was she smiling so much?

"No problem! It was my fault anyways," she told him, the smile still in place. "See you at school tomorrow, Natsume!"

Giving the girl one last nod, Natsume turned on his heels and headed out of the door.

He had meant to end his night in the company of his pills but instead, he now had a warm cup of coffee with him.

How irritating.

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Carolle Royale

September 11th, 2015