Hello! Yesterday, I made a boredom story (which is a story you make when you are bored), which is called Ruka-pyon is Mine. It's quite random. xD
Anyways, this story was in my mind yesterday, and since I am bored today (it's a repeating pattern :P), I decided to write the first chapter.
Enjoy, I hope you like it ;)
Note: Mikan uses the Japanese phrase Hajimemashite, which means 'Pleased to meet you'. Sometimes, Mikan will use Japanese phrases to show respect and formality to others.
It was simply another day for teen idol Mikan Sakura. She had just finished a photo shoot for her own spread for Innocence weekly, Japan's hottest fashion magazine. Just posing in front of flashing lights could make anyone tired, but Mikan was still filled with energy, much to the dismay of her pokerfaced friend Hotaru Imai.
"Hotaru, it was so much fun! I got to wear these cute skirts and jangly bracelets! People were saying how it suited me! I got to keep the clothes too!" Mikan chattered excitedly on their way to their shared condo. Hotaru sighed and jabbed the key in the keyhole and opened up their condo door.
"Mikan, shut up. Aren't you tired?"
"Nope!" Mikan replied cheerfully, still full of liveliness. "Hotaru, it's so much fun being an idol!"
"I get it." Hotaru said blankly, opening up the fridge to get something to eat. It was another day for her too, she managed to finish the new version for her bestselling spy kit, and earned another load of yen. Yes, just another day for a world-class inventor.
Then, Mikan phone rang. She flipped it opened without looking at the caller ID.
"Hello."
"Sakura-san! You won't believe who called!"
"Saito-san?" Mikan said. Her agent hardly ever called her after her idol time was done. "Who called?"
Hotaru was watching from the kitchen, eating some melon-pan with the most detached face.
"White Wind Media!" Saito yelled. Mikan actually flinched and held the phone away from her for a while and then returned it back to her ear.
"What about White Wind?"
"Sakura-san! White Wind Media is one of the biggest producers of teen dramas! They want you to star in their latest romance drama! Guess who you're starring alongside with." Saito didn't wait for Mikan to even guess, not that she would even have a clue "None other than the biggest male idol Natsume Hyuuga!"
Mikan's jaw dropped. Natsume Hyuuga! He was the leading male idol out there. Girls and boys alike idolized him. He was the hottest thing out there, and whoever knew his name was a fan, no doubt about it.
"...So, they said to meet with them on Monday at one of their studio. I said 'Yes! Sakura-san would love to do this!" Saito chattered while Mikan took the time to let the information sink.
"Of course! Tell them I'm there!" Mikan said hastily. She was definitely excited. A romance drama with Natsume Hyuuga was a huge opportunity.
"Okay!" and with that, Saito hung out, too excited to muster a simple 'Bye'.
Mikan started jumping excitedly and squealing until Hotaru whipped out her infamous baka gun and shot her at full force. Mikan fell over and onto the couch.
"Idiot. I could hear Saito from the kitchen."
Mikan stood up on the couch, which Hotaru strictly told her never to do. She was beaming proudly.
"I'm starring in a drama! A drama!" Mikan echoed, jumping on the couch.
"Yeah, with Natsume Hyuuga."
Mikan was still registering that thought, but she was still thrilled.
"I know." She said, taking one last jump and sitting down immediately.
"You do know he has a playboy reputation, right?"
Mikan looked at her knees. She knew this fact, but it really didn't bother her until now. What if Natsume flirted with her constantly? Would filming scenes be too difficult?
"What....if he's just misunderstood? What if he's just looking for the one..."
Bam! Another blast of air shot Mikan. Mikan fell back, with her head on a pillow.
"HOTARU!!!"
"You are too stupid, Mikan. There's nothing about being misunderstood. Playboys are playboys.
And on Monday, I'm coming with you. You're not smart enough to handle this."
And with that, Hotaru turned around and started preparing dinner, leaving Mikan to sigh and close her eyes, pondering over this thought.
xOxO
When Monday rolled around, Saito and Mikan were extremely excited. Saito more than Mikan though, because he could hardly contain himself in the car, so when they arrived at the studio, he started singing and skipping around the parking lot until Hotaru shot him with her baka gun and asked him to 'act his age' and 'open the door'.
When Mikan opened the door, the bustling atmosphere suddenly stopped and somebody yelled "Mikan Sakura's here!". Mikan blushed furiously when somebody said this, because she believed she should be treated equally like she was someone who wasn't an idol. But that was virtually impossible. This was Mikan Sakura.
"Mikan-chan, if I may call you that, welcome to White Wind."
"Leon! Hajimemashite! You can call me Mikan-chan." Mikan greeted. Leon Tivoli, a half-Japanese, half-Italian producers was famous in the area for creating enthralling dramas for all ages. He was exceedingly thrilled to work with two of the most famous idols who haven't even met each other. Leon was certain that this would be one of his biggest hits.
"When I received the script, you popped into my mind."
"I'm honoured!" Mikan cried, grinning her trademark smile. Leon smiled, nodding and gestured towards the left.
"Natsume-kun and his 'lil friend are there. Why don't you meet him?"
Mikan's hands started getting clammy. She reminded herself that Hotaru was there. Hotaru would always be there. She promised. Mikan nodded, smiling and walked towards the left.
And there he was. None other than the famous Natsume Hyuuga, Japan's teen playboy, who dated countless girls and dumped them about a week later.
He didn't notice Mikan and Hotaru at first. Mikan was too nervous to say anything, not even her cheery 'Hi!'.
"Natsume..." a blonde boy with shining blue eyes whispered, with a rabbit in his arms. Natsume turned around and looked at Mikan, face to face.
He had striking crimson eyes and the darkest shade for his hair. Raven-black, they called it. Those features simply stood out from everything else. Mikan found herself getting hotter. She swallowed and tried to snap out of it.
"H-hi! I'm Mikan Sakura, and I'm really excited to work with you!" she managed to say. Hotaru stared at Natsume and the blond boy as Mikan said this.
At first, Natsume didn't say a thing. His friend attempted to say something, but Natsume beat him to it.
"Wow. I didn't think you were that ugly."
Mikan's blood literally froze right there. Her jaw dropped and Hotaru fought the urge to shoot her for the umpteenth time.
"How dare you say that! We're going to be working together! I am not ugly!" Mikan cried, ranting on and on. Hotaru groaned.
Natsume's friend tried to salvage the awkward moment.
"Um...hi, Sakura-san. I'm Ruka Nogi, but call me Ruka." He said uneasily, reaching out his hand. Mikan took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.
He seems much nicer than his friend. Mikan thought.
"Hajimemashite, Ruka. This is my friend Hotaru Imai." Mikan introduced, ignoring Natsume.
"Hi." Hotaru said blankly. Ruka feigned a smile and stepped back.
"Tobita, fix that, okay? Ah, I see you four are finished getting acquainted-" Mikan glared at Natsume when Leon said that. She already disliked him. "I have the scripts here, and some of your co-stars are here. Natsume, go practice with Kusayama-sama and Maria-sama. Mikan, Hisakata-chan is waiting for you in her dressing room."
The two answered 'Okay' without looking at each other, but secretly Mikan glared at him with the corner of her eye.
"Imai-chan and Nogi-san, you can wait somewhere, or eat some sweets at the table. Got it?"
The other two nodded and waved to their friends, walking away. Leon sighed contently and walked away, ordering around other people.
Before leaving, Mikan turned to Natsume.
"Listen, I know you think you're the best, but how about both of us pretend that we're at least getting a long so we can make a great drama and make Leon happy, okay?"
Natsume looked at Mikan. She was too cheerful and she was annoying. He didn't know how he would even survive.
"Whatever." He said, and walked away. Mikan's blood was boiling at this point, but she closed her eyes and exhaled, walking towards Hisakata's dressing room.
xOxO
The drama was about two lovers who loved each other deeply, but the boy's parents arranged an engagement to enhance their company's business. The boy was trying to persuade his parents to break off the marriage, and the girl was trying to cope with her father's recent death. Mikan thought this was pure genius and extremely romantic.
"Isn't this passionate, Hisakata-chan?" she asked her co-star.
"Yeah, it is." Hisakata answered, smiling. She was a calm and kind girl with long ash blonde hair with grey eyes to match. She was excited to be working in the drama too, as she was still fresh and new to the idol world.
"Okay, okay, let's practice."
"Mmm hmm."
Hisakata took a deep breath and took one glance at the script and looked at Mikan.
"Rika-san, why are you with Hiroshi when you know that it's difficult for you to simply love?"
"I don't know...it is hard, but...I guess love is always difficult."
Hisakata glanced at her script and looked up at Mikan.
"Well, I can't hold you back. I know you love Hiroshi too much..."
Hisakata smiled tenderly, according to the script.
"I hope this isn't a mistake."
"You know it's not when you feel this way."
Mikan and Hisakata smiled and sighed. Suddenly, they started giggling.
"Imagine life like that!"
Mikan giggled and nodded "If only!". She loved the script and could imagine her own life being a tragic fairytale of love and despair. She pondered over the thought and for some strange reason, Natsume was in the story. Mikan shook her head intensely , trying to erase his image.
xOxO
"Oi, Ruka, throw me a bottle."
Ruka Nogi tossed a chilled water bottle at Natsume after he finished running lines with the other actors and actresses. Natsume grabbed the bottle and twisted the cap open and savouring the chilly liquid.
"That was good, Natsume."
"Thanks." He said nonchalantly as if he didn't care.
"Hey, Natsume..." Ruka gathered up his courage to ask a question that was haunting him since this morning. "Why were so harsh with Sakura-san? I mean, she seems really nice and eager."
Natsume twisted the cap back on and looked at Ruka. He just knew Ruka would ask him that question. It was simply a gut feeling. So he already knew his own answer.
"She seems like the person to plaster a smile in every situation. Sometimes you actually have to react. Smiling through every agonizing moment won't help you push your emotions out. It pisses me off and I know her personality is like that." Natsume said. He tried to hide his angered and pissed off tone.
Ruka understood what Natsume was getting to. He had a rough past and family problems here and there, and his smile was rare, even on the covers of magazines and photo shoots. Ruka barely saw the smallest smile on Natsume's face, and he was a close childhood friend. But still, how can Natsume just know Sakura-san was like that? Was he that scarred that he misunderstood people by first impressions?
Ruka bowed his head and refrained from asking anymore questions. He merely stood beside Natsume and waited for anything to come up.
"Did you get those two? Right...ah, Mikan-chan!"
The two best friends pivoted around and saw Mikan and Hisakata walk out from the dressing room corridor. Ruka held his breath and Natsume simply looked at them without a care in the world.
"Mikan-chan, can you practice a scene with Natsume-kun?"
Mikan froze. She completely forgot that she'd have to perform romantic scenes with him! This was going to be hard. She turned towards Hotaru, who was drinking lemonade from the food table. She impatiently waited for Hotaru to come and help her or show any sign that signified that she would help her, but Hotaru simply poured herself another cup of lemonade and stared at Mikan, emotionless.
Mikan mentally groaned. Didn't Hotaru say she was going to help her?
"Mikan-chan! Mikan-chan! Natsume-kun is here!" Leon called. Mikan looked at him and forced a smile. She took a quick glance at Hisakata and walked towards Natsume.
"What scene?" Mikan asked coolly.
"Scene 5, paragraph 14."
Mikan and Natsume flipped through their script books and found the scene.
"Okay, you can start." Leon said. Natsume nodded, as he was the one who would start.
"Rika-chan...My parents...they arranged an engagement between a wealthy girl who is the daughter of another big company. They said it could help our business."
"Hiroshi-kun-"
"I don't want to do it!" Natsume said angrily, in character. Mikan was suddenly amazed on how good he was. He really did seem heated.
"I don't want to do it! They're not considering me at all!"
"Hiroshi-kun, I know this is a strain in our relationship but please stay strong."
"I'm going to persuade them to cancel it. I can't possibly marry a girl that will simply help our family's business. It's stupid. We're in the 21st century."
Mikan took a quick glance at the script, where in brackets, said Rika reaches out and takes Hiroshi's hand. She tried not to gape. Instead, she forced herself to reach out and take Natsume's hand. Natsume was shocked by the action, but then noticed that it was on the script.
"Promise me you won't think about this too much."
Natsume looked deep into Mikan's eyes. Innocent brown Natsume thought without noticing it.
Mikan, on the other hand, was thinking about his eye colour too. Red. Dark red. Like he's always angry. Why? Mikan thought, still looking at him, as directed That's it. I'm going to find out why he's always like that.
"Yes. I promise you."