Summary: Ruka promised to be supportive of Natsume and Mikan, but sometimes it was just so hard. 2/3

Background Song: Love How It Hurts by Scouting for Girls

Pairing: One sided NatsuRuka, NatsuMikan

Genre: Angst/Romance

Rated: T for minor curses and slash.

Warning: This is slash; as in, boy likes boy. Don't like? Don't read.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice or "Love How it Hurts"

The Most Beautiful Pain in the World

Ruka was sprawled on his king sized bed in his three star room. His arms were hanging off the edge. He was alone, rereading the fifty-seventh volume of Naruto, and yet, he felt like he was the luckiest guy in the world.

Natsume Hyuuga, the one he had confessed to several years ago, was still speaking with him. He was still asking him to skip classes with him, still passing notes to him during boring lessons, and was still his best friend. Natsume had told Ruka that it was okay, that they could forget the entire episode and pretend that it had never happened. But it wasn't easy. How could he forget something like that? And he knew Natsume couldn't forget either. But both had pushed the moment to the back of their brains, which was as close to forgetting as they could get. And that was all that was necessary, anyway.

So Ruka had promised to be completely supportive of Natsume and Mikan. A couple of days after the fact, Natsume asked Mikan out, she accepted, and for the last seven years, they had been dating, and the blond had been looking from the sidelines, cheering them on.

But it hadn't been easy on Ruka. There were the Christmas Dances, the Valentines days, etc. where Ruka had bit his lip and fake a smile as watched Mikan and Natsume do their typical couple things. He had to tease the couple and laugh convincingly along with everyone and it seemed to exhaust him more than his actual school work.

But Mikan was happy, Natsume was happy, and because of this, Ruka was happy; happy enough, anyway. He heard the sudden ping of a new email in his inbox. He slid off the bed and gravitated towards his laptop. It was provided by the Academy and everyone got one once they reached the high school.

He opened it and clicked on the little inbox icon provided by Microsoft. The program took a moment until it opened up on the screen. He had about thirty new emails, but ninety percent of it was spam or junk mail that he had been too lazy to delete. The one on top of the list was from… Natsume.

He clicked with trembling fingers that he chose to ignore.

"Meet at the Wang Restaurant at 8 on Friday. Dress formal."

The message was brief and to the point. But why would Natsume want to meet him at one of the most expensive restaurants in town. He looked at the top of the message with the addresses of the people the message was sent to. He wasn't the only one. There was Koko, Mikan, even Tsubasa, everyone in their circle of friends was there.

And it started. Message after message flooded Ruka's inbox asking "why the sudden meeting" and "isn't that place expensive? Are you paying?" and saying "Ohh what am I gonna where?". Before Ruka could join in, one single message from Natsume appeared:

"No questions. I pay. Just come."

This was rare. Natsume inviting everyone to a restaurant was one thing, but offering to pay? He was as stingy as Imai when it came to paying for people he didn't like, despite the others being his friends; the only people he would pay for anything were Mikan and himself.

No one replied after that. They all knew that they would either go or have their hair burned off and miss out on delicious food. Besides, who'd refuse a free meal? He shut his laptop and sighed.

He felt petty for thinking it, but, what was he going to wear?

Ruka was standing in the middle of his room. Suits were everywhere, hanging from the shelves, laid on the bed, one was hanging off the TV. Koko and the other guys, excluding Natsume, were in his room, helping him pick out a suit for the evening ahead. Well, that was supposed to be what they were doing, Yuu was the only one actually making an effort.

"I feel like I'm dealing with a teenage girl. What does it matter what suit you wear?" Koko asked, for the first time in the time Ruka had known him, he was wearing an exasperated, annoyed look. Kitsune was reading one of Ruka's comics on the couch next to Tsubasa who was half asleep.

Yuu held out the fifty-third suit that night. "How about this Ruka?" He asked; his smile and patience beginning to fade.

Ruka looked at it before shaking his head. "No. Sorry, Yuu. It's not the right one."

"Right one?" Kitsune finally exploded, throwing his comic on the floor, "What right one? They're just suits, Ruka!"

Ruka sighed. It was true. They were just suits and Ruka was a guy. He shouldn't care what he was wearing for a hangout with his friends. But this was for Natsume and this wasn't any old hang out with his friends. Natsume had to say something important, that was obvious, and whatever it was, Ruka wanted to be wearing the right outfit. Koko was right. He was like a teenage girl.

But it was getting late and if he didn't pick a suit, he would have a riot on his hands, or at least a room of half-asleep people. He scanned the suits in the room and finally settled on a white one. It may have been the twentieth one he had tried on. It was a bit tight but it was the best looking one in the bunch. "I'll wear that one." He said, taking it off the desk and walking to the bathroom.

"Hallelujah." Koko said as he and the other breathed a sigh of relief.

Tsubasa jolted awake, "What?" He looked around at the suits and sighed. "He hasn't picked one yet?

"I have, Tsubasa-senpai." Ruka muttered irritably. He came out of the bathroom and grabbed his jacket. "Let's go. Natsume always has a fit when we don't come on time."

The boys shuffled out of the room, Ruka hanging back so he could shut the lights and lock the door.

They arrived at the Chinese restaurant where the girls and Natsume were already waiting. "You're late!" Sumire hissed. The others mumbled their agreement and even Natsume gave a disapproving growl. Sumire was holding onto the arm of her new boyfriend; Arthur or something. Ruka didn't know him well.

Koko took one look at Sumire and Arthur and actually growled back, "It's entirely Ruka the teenage girl's fault!"

It was a fancy place, with calligraphy and other old looking paintings lining the walls and pots of exotic flowers standing in the corners. The waiter led Ruka and the gang to a back room that was smaller than the room they had entered. It was a private room Natsume must have reserved it for the party. They took their seats, Ruka somehow getting stuck next to Natsume. Even if they talked, sat together in class, and skipped on Narumi's lessons, things were still awkward between the two. Even after all these years.

Luckily, Mikan took up most of Natsume's time and Ruka managed to get into an invigorating argument with Koko and Kitsune on exactly why you shouldn't feed chocolate to dogs.

"It would kill him!" Ruka insisted to a stubborn Koko.

"But, chocolate is awesome! I'm sure the dogs would want a little bi—"

There was a sudden clinking noise. Natsume was standing up, hitting a knife gently against a wine glass. "Everyone," He said, his face beginning to turn a red. "Could you all be quiet for a minute?" He set the knife and wine glass and turned to Mikan.

Natsume bent down on one knee on the floor in an awkward sort of way. He looked up at Mikan who was blushing fiercely, her mouth open slightly. "Mikan Sakura," The raven haired started, blushing as much as she was, "Will you marry me?"

Mikan gushed and nodded. Her friends, except for of course Hotaru, squealed loudly in delight. The guys clapped Natsume on the back of the back in congratulations, being immediately greeted by flames.

Ruka just stood there, frozen to his chair. His fists were on his legs, trembling slightly. Natsume was getting married. He was going to marry Mikan Sakura.

"Ruka-pyon?" Mikan tilted her head thoughtfully and looked curiously at him. "Are you alright?"

Ruka put on his best fake smile and nodded. "Of course. Congrats you two. I need the bathroom though. Excuse me."

He rose up quickly and exited the room and went into the main dining area, quickly maneuvering around the tables of diners and out into the hallway, by passing the men's bathroom doors through the lobby, and out to the street. The cold winter wind's bit at his cheeks, but they were a relief for him. Tears were falling quickly down his face and it made the stinging worse. He should have remembered to bring his coat.

Natsume was getting married, so he should be happy. His best friend, who had always been a loner, had finally found love. So he should smile, laugh with the others, and hug them in congratulations. So why couldn't he?

He hated this.

This thing called love. It wouldn't let him be okay. It made him crumble inside and cry like a little kid. He was nineteen and he couldn't take this much.

But he loved how it hurt, because he loved Natsume. This, this pain that was slowly destroying him, it was the most wonderful pain in the world.

This was mostly based on the song, "Love How It Hurts" by Scouting for Girls. So I guess you could say this is a songfic. But it has its own plot. It just goes well with the song. Gah, I never understood what a "songfic" really was.

Gah, I'm sorry Ruka-pyon for putting you through so much pain! D:

I'm starting to like NatsuRuka more and more. I used to not be able to separate NatsuMikan for anybody. But now…. *sighs*

Anyway, I hope you liked the song suggestion. It's one of my favorite songs by my favorite band.

Also this is the second in a three story thing. The third one will be out soon. I will also be finishin the stories I have started, so don't worry! :D

Reviews are appreciated~!

-MM6