Greetings! Thanks to all those who reviewed and favorited this story. I'm pleased to see that you guys are interested and that gives me more than enough reason to continue writing. I hope you all enjoy the second chapter and please review! Thanks again!

Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice or any of its characters.

The whole class froze as they watched Riku and Natsume stare each other down. The tension was so thick that it felt as if it could be sliced with a knife. No one dared to make a single sound. Mikan looked back at Natsume with wide eyes, feeling her heart beat faster and faster. She couldn't believe the words that just came out of his mouth. When did he become so possessive of her?

Smiling slightly, Riku let go of Mikan's hand and asked her politely, "Are you a new student here as well?"

"Actually, no I'm—"

"Why does that matter?" Natsume asked coldly, highly aware that he was just ignored.

"Well, since she needs to have a partner, that's the rational conclusion, is it not?" Riku replied coolly as he met Natsume's dark gaze with an amused one.

"She doesn't need to be new to have a partner."

Riku laughed. "But if she isn't new, then she obviously doesn't need someone to show her around."

Mikan opened her mouth to have a chance to reply for herself, but suddenly Natsume walked towards her and stood beside her desk. "Why don't you find yourself another volunteer?"

"I will, as soon as she declines my offer."

Suddenly, the whole entire room rustled as everyone turned their gaze onto Mikan. She looked back nervously between Riku and Natsume, feeling the pressure build and build. Mikan didn't know what to do. Riku smiled warmly at her, while Natsume continued to stare at Riku with flaming eyes. She couldn't choose.

But as if saved from making such a difficult decision, Narumi-sensei suddenly jumped in and said hastily, "Mikan can have a temporary partner."

Natsume and Riku both turned their head toward the front of the class. "What?" they asked simultaneously.

"Since Riku is only staying for a week, I can see no harm with Mikan having two partners. Don't you two agree?" the teacher replied, hoping to ease the stiffness in the room.

Natsume clenched his hands together while Riku smiled.

"That sounds reasonable," Riku replied happily as he turned back to Mikan. "That's okay, isn't it, Mikan?"

Feeling the anger flare in the pit of his stomach as he heard Riku say her name, Natsume was about to say that he didn't agree at all until Mikan replied in a small voice, "I guess it's alright…

Natsume froze.

"…as long as Natsume is okay with it."

He didn't understand why he felt so angry. It wasn't as if she said she didn't want to be his partner anymore, but feeling more betrayed than ever, Natsume quickly turned his back on her and replied stiffly, "Do as you wish," as he stalked out of the classroom.

Luca immediately stood up and followed him, not even bothering to look around at the stunned faces of all of the other students.

"Natsume—!" Mikan called.

But the door had already slammed shut.

Although Riku looked pleased, Mikan was extremely upset. The look on Natsume's face as he left made her uneasy. She didn't understand him at all. Why was he so angry? And to make matters worse, Mikan felt as if it was all her fault. Desperate to catch up to him before he left the building, she was about to stand up and run after him until suddenly, Riku pulled up a chair beside her and said, "Thank you, Mikan. I really appreciate it."

Mikan forced the corners of her mouth to curve upward. "No problem."

But hearing the stiffness in her voice, Riku said reassuringly, "And I'll talk to Natsume later. I was quite inconsiderate of him and it's my fault he left."

"No, it's okay, I can—"

Riku laid a cool hand on hers. "Please, allow me to fix the situation. It's the least I can do."

Hearing the sincerity in his voice, Mikan nodded and replied, "Thanks Riku."

The smile he returned was ten times brighter as he comfortably situated himself besides Mikan, turning his attention back to the teacher.

Although class started normally like any other day, Mikan couldn't help but have this sort of nagging feeling in the back of her head. Her mind kept wandering to Natsume and eventually she started to wonder where he was. Of course, she had a pretty good feeling that he was lying under the shade of his favorite tree on campus and decided to go out there and meet him as soon as she got the chance.

Thankfully, class ended not a moment too soon, but when Mikan swung her backpack over her shoulder to find him, she suddenly felt Riku's hand on her arm. She turned around and saw a slight frown on his face.

"Are you upset with me, Mikan?"

Surprised, Mikan looked back and replied with earnest, "Of course not. What makes you say that?"

"Well, you seem sort of…distracted."

Mikan smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry. I just…I really need to go check on Natsume…to see if he's okay."

But before she could take another step, the whole class suddenly swarmed around her desk like flies and bombarded Riku with all of their questions, trapping Mikan within their circle.

"Why is your fire blue?"

"Does it hurt?"

"Have you ever used it on anyone?"

"How many times have you used it?"

"When did you find out you had an Alice?"

"What's it like having the ability to make fire?"

Riku laughed warmly. Nearly everyone smiled, hearing the tinkling sound of his voice. They were so captivated by him that they didn't even notice that they were allowed to leave and go back to their dorms.

"I guess, I'll answer your questions in order then," Riku replied as he counted the questions off his fingers.

Taking in a deep breath, he said calmly, "I'm not exactly sure why my flame is blue, but I predict it's because of my personality and physical appearance. And yes, the flame does hurt like any other flame. I have never actually used it on anyone, although I have lit a few campfires for people before. The times I have used my Alice are limited, but enough to have caused some suspicion back in England which earned me a place at the Academy. I discovered my Alice when I was around five years of age. I accidently set my father's car on fire when he refused to buy me candy. (The whole class laughed.) And as for the last inquiry, I find having the ability to make fire is like having any other Alice, I feel highly blessed to be able to do so."

Everyone broke out in cheer and some even clapped him on the shoulder. Mikan couldn't help but smile and realize how quickly Riku had made friends. Thinking back to the first time she arrived in this classroom, she couldn't believe that these were the same people who threatened to kick her out of the room. Watching Riku interact with everyone made her slightly envious of his charming personality.

"Hey Riku," the mind reader of the class, named Kokoro, began eagerly with excited eyes. "Do you mind demonstrating your Alice just this once?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, the class immediately erupted into pleas and begging as Riku smiled sheepishly and replied, "I'm not sure that's such a good idea. Narumi-sensei said—"

"But he's not here!"

"And we'll never tell anyone!"

"PLEASE?"

Riku chuckled. He stared into their enthusiastic faces and found his will to be crippling. Sighing softly, he said, "Alright, just one demonstration."

Looking around the room to see the perfect thing to use, Riku finally decided on a simple wad of paper. His pointed his finger at the crumple on the floor and in a flash, it burst into blue flames. The class applauded loudly as they watched the icy flames consume the object until it disappeared into ashes.

Riku smiled humbly as the kids cheered. "Thank you," he said with a slight bow of his head.

Mikan clapped with the others, finding herself awed by how much control he had over his Alice. If any amateur did that, he could have burned the class down. But the flames only consumed the paper and died away as soon as it was finished. It suddenly dawned on her just how skilled Riku was.

"But Natsume is too," Mikan thought to herself reflexively.

And in an instant, the uneasy feeling she felt before came right back as she averted her gaze from the rest of the class. It didn't feel right at all being here without Natsume. Sure, he had ditched class a few times already, but those times were only because he was bored—not because he was upset.

Looking around the classroom, it seemed that no one had really noticed that he was gone. They were all too busy fawning over Riku. Bothered by this fact, Mikan quietly tried to make her way out the door, thinking it wasn't too rude to leave Riku here with everyone else. However, before she could even place her hand on the doorknob, Nonoko, a girl who had the Alice of Cooking, caught her wrist and asked, "Mikan, where are you going? Riku is looking for you."

"He is?"

"Yes," she said with a bright smile. "Come on!"

And Mikan was helplessly dragged back into the center circle, unable to escape and unable to find the one person she desperately needed to talk to.

Natsume had his eyes closed and his face turned toward the sky, feeling the cool breeze rustle his dark hair. Luca had gone to visit the farm animals after Natsume told him that it was unnecessary for him to stay. But in reality, he just wanted to be alone.

Thinking back to what happened earlier, Natsume could feel an irritation quickly build inside of him. He didn't understand why he suddenly developed such a strong dislike towards Riku. There have been plenty of boys who went after Mikan before—heck, even his own best friend—but it never bothered him to this extent. So why did this guy elicit such an intense response from him?

Sighing heavily, Natsume placed his arm over his eyes. He couldn't help and wonder what was happening back there, or rather if everyone was still awed by Riku. It was true that Natsume was slightly interested in the fact that there was another person with a Fire Alice. He always thought that he was the only one cursed with this ability, but it seemed like there could be more like him out there in the world.

"She must be really impressed," Natsume thought involuntarily as he clenched his teeth together. If anything bothered him today at all, it would be Mikan's blatant acceptance to be Riku's partner. She should have denied it, should have said she already had a partner.

But even Natsume was aware that he was being irrational. What was he to her that she would stand up like that? Besides, it's not like Natsume was the best partner she could ask for. He barely went anywhere with her and all the places she knew around the Academy were due to her own curiosity.

Still, he had to admit that no matter how angry he was with the whole Riku situation, he was more annoyed at Mikan. So when he heard her familiar voice calling his name, instead of feeling happy like he normally did, he wanted nothing more than for her not to see him at all.

However, Mikan knew exactly where to find him and didn't hesitate in the slightest to walk up to him.

"Natsume," she said in a slightly breathless voice as she peeked around the large tree trunk. "There you are."

He looked up with hard eyes. Her cheeks were flushed and her hair was slightly messy, but she still had the same gentle smile upon her face. Natsume hated it.

"What?" he asked in a bored voice, not daring to look at her.

Mikan bit on her lip, slightly hurt by his tone. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm lying down."

"Mind if I join you?" Mikan asked bravely.

Natsume didn't reply.

She took that as a sign of yes and sat herself down beside him, with her knees curled up to her chest. Looking out of the corner of her eye she said softly, "Are you okay?"

Natsume glared at the tree in front of him. "Why wouldn't I be?" he replied.

"You left the class all of a sudden. And it seemed like you were mad."

Natsume averted his gaze, refusing to respond.

Mikan restlessly shifted her feet and waited for him to reply. But the silence seemed to stretch on forever. She leaned her chin onto her knees and listened to the birds chirping from above.

"How long you do you plan on sitting here?" he asked in an annoyed voice.

Jumping in surprise that he actually spoke, Mikan said quickly, "Until I know you're okay."

Natsume chuckled darkly. "Why do you care?"

"Because you're my partner."

"No," Natsume replied in a hard voice. "Riku is your partner."

"I have two partners!"

"No one can have two partners," Natsume said as he closed his eyes. "That's just stupid."

Oddly frustrated, Mikan slammed her hand onto the grass and said in a loud voice, "Well if you had such a problem with me being Riku's partner, why didn't you say so?"

Natsume's eyes sprang open. He didn't know why he said it. It was almost as if it was an impulse. But like a switch, the anger he felt from earlier ignited inside of him as he gritted his teeth together and said harshly, "I don't care who your partner is."

"Liar," she retorted back with the same intensity. "If you didn't, why did you stand up in the first place?"

Natsume shook his head. "I just wanted him to know what's mine is mine."

Mikan raised an eyebrow. It was evident that she was highly confused since she blinked a few times and murmured, "What?"

Natsume glared at the floor. "I just wanted him to know that you were my partner. That's all. I don't care if he wants you."

Feeling as if someone had pulled her feet right from under her, she murmured in a hollow voice, "So it doesn't matter to you?"

Natsume chuckled grimly. "Why should it? It's probably even best that you're not my partner. Takes a load off of my back."

Natsume's heart stopped altogether as he heard his own words ringing in his ears. It was all a lie, but he didn't have the courage to take them back. Mikan agreed to be Riku's partner and in doing so, it felt like she had abandoned him for good.

In an instant, Mikan felt a fury that she had never experienced before in her life, but also a pain that nearly tore her apart. She clenched her hands into tight fists at her sides, but couldn't find the voice to say anything. She could feel her body tremble violently as she slowly brought herself to her feet.

Natsume seemed unfazed as he looked at her, seeing that she had already stood up. He noticed how her arms were shaking at her sides.

"Is that really what you think of me?" she asked quietly, turning her face downwards.

Natsume stared at her face and felt his heart clench painfully.

Then like a raging flare, Mikan fiercely glared down at him and cried, "Well for your information, Riku is ten times a better partner than you will ever be and I'm glad he chose me!"

Natsume's mouth twitched, but no sound escaped his lips.

And in a huff, Mikan angrily turned her back on him and walked away. But suddenly, without any clue as to why it happened, the rage suddenly died away as Mikan stopped right in her tracks.

He stared at her back with quiet surprise.

Rooted to the spot, she said in a barely audible whisper, "You know, for a second there, I thought you and I were actually friends."

She laughed feebly as she brought her hand to her eyes, the sadness clearly evident in her voice.

"Obviously, that was a mistake."

And without another word, she quickly ran away.

Natsume could hear the sound of her retreating footsteps behind him. He wanted to say something, to call out to her and say that he didn't mean any of it—that it was only his frustration talking. But at the same time, he realized that a small part of him really did want to say such harsh things to her so that she could feel at least some of the turmoil he was going through.

Natsume felt strangled for breath as his heart throbbed painfully from her absence, from knowing that he hurt her on purpose.

And feeling as if everything in the world had gone wrong, he slowly picked up a fallen leaf and set it on fire as he murmured quietly to the gentle wind, "I'm sorry, Mikan."