Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Gakuen Alice is too cool for me. ;) But of course, I've guessed that you guys have already worked that out.

Hope you enjoy.


Mikan slumped against the window and banged her head against it, a hollow echoing noise made.

"Mikan, you should already be incredibly grateful that I let you into my apartment and now you're damaging my window. Plus, you're already dumb enough, I don't need you losing more brain cells," Hotaru deadpanned and held up her invention to inspect it.

"But still! I can't get over how–"

"Being the idiot you are, you threw your phone at Natsume Hyuuga's face and ran out immediately after seeing him."

"Huh?! Are you serious?" Sumire exclaimed, looking up from her magazine and smacking her forehead in exasperation. "You really are an idiot. So, what are you going to do now?" Mikan looked up and tilted her head questioningly.

"What do you mean?"

"You're not just going to go back to his side, right?"

"Of course not! But…"

"But?"

"But there's one little problem…my phone's with him…"

oOo

"Are you sure this is where he lives?" Mikan hissed as she ducked behind the bushes with Hotaru and Sumire. She looked at the mansion that loomed over them with wide eyes. She had never thought mansions like this actually existed in Japan, but it seemed that they did. And what they were doing outside Natsume's mansion? They were currently in the middle of an extremely operation to retrieve Mikan's phone. Mikan and her two friends were crouched in the bushes outside Natsume's house, or to be more correct, outside Natsume's five-hundred metre garden.

"I'm positive," Sumire whispered. "Are you ready?" Mikan looked up and frowned.

"For what?"

Ignoring her question, Sumire sent a questioning glance at Hotaru who nodded and took out a large bag with a strange glint in her violet eyes.

After a series of protesting, running and chasing, Hotaru and Sumire had finally managed to get Hotaru's 'stick gloves' and 'stick shoes' onto Mikan, who was now in the midst of climbing the wall surrounding Natsume's mansion.

"Hotaruuuuu, I don't want to do this! I'll just get another phone!" Mikan cried and tried not to look down. Mikan was around twenty metres up, clinging to the wall.

"No, coming down is not an option, if you do come down, I will personally kill you. Plus, this is a good chance of getting over that bastard," Sumire said. "If there's any problem, you know all you have to do is contact us with Hotaru's panda earphones and we'll help you."

Mikan gulped and slid another inch up. Suddenly, there was a flash and the sound of a camera's click.

"Hotaru, did you just take a picture of me?" Mikan raged; looking down at Hotaru who was holding a camera with barely suppressed laughter. However, as soon as she looked down, Mikan immediately regretted it. Her stomach dropped and her legs went weak. Mikan had never been good with heights.

"I'm sorry," Hotaru said, not sounding at the least. "Your starfish pose was just too funny, don't worry, I'll show you when you get home."

"Hotaru you meanie."

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps was to be heard. Hotaru quickly stuffed her camera into her bag and looked around for the source.

"Hurry Mikan! I think the gatekeeper's coming!" Sumire whispered as she and Hotaru ducked behind the bushes.

"Guys, don't leave me!" Mikan cried and frantically tried to pull herself up quicker. She hurriedly slid up another few inches and smacked her hand over it. Then, she swung a leg over the wall and hauled herself up, managing to disappear over the wall just before the gatekeeper arrived.

"Strange, I definitely heard voices over here," the gatekeeper muttered to himself before walking away. Mikan let out a sigh of relief and slowly, she descended, somehow managing to fall the last few metres. Good thing that she landed on the grass, not the thorny rose bush next to her.

"Ow ow ow," Mikan whimpered and rubbed her back gingerly. Slipping the 'sticky gloves' and 'sticky shoes' off, Mikan looked around for an entrance and found one a few metres away from her, the door slightly ajar. Quickly pushing the door open a little and squeezing in, Mikan found herself in a large room full of plants. There were plants of all different kinds, vines, flowering plants, conifers, everything. Looking around, Mikan took a cautious step forwards, stepping on a vine that was sprawled over the floor. Mikan squeaked and immediately, her hands flew to her mouth, her eyes darting around for any sign of movement.

"Who's there?" someone asked and Mikan felt her heart skip a beat.

"I-I-I, sorry!" Mikan said, fumbling for words.

Mikan bit her lip and knocked her fist against her head, she was so stupid, she shouldn't have answered on instinct. She saw the shadow of a person approaching her and she looked around wildly for any hiding place. The person was nearing and all that was around Mikan were plants. Squeezing her eyes shut, Mikan dreaded what would come after she got found out.

"…Mikan…?"

Mikan snapped her eyes open and looked up to see a girl that resembled Natsume standing in front of her. It was a person she'd known, a person who had grown her hair long and it was held back with a red hairband that matched her eyes.

"Mikan!" Aoi squealed and flung herself onto Mikan, knocking over a few pot plants in the process. "Mikan, I haven't seen you in ages, ever since that devil of a brother dragged me to America, not saying that it wasn't fun there, it was, but I missed all you guys! Oh, and why are you here?" Aoi blinked and faced Mikan. "Oh Mikan, you've become so beautiful. Eeeeek, I just sounded like a mother seeing her child for the first time or something. Oh sorry, I'm talking too much, aren't I? Come talk with me in my room."

"Wait, Aoi–"

Aoi grasped Mikan's wrist and dragged her out of the room, up several flights of stairs, passed hundreds of rooms and finally reached her room.

"Sit sit," Aoi said and ushered Mikan onto a seat. "Do you want me to call Natsume? I mean, you're here to see him, right?"

"No! I mean, no, I-I don't care about him any more." Mikan looked down and tried to ignore the awkward silence. "It's a long story."

Aoi grinned. "And we've got lots of time."

oOo

"So that's why Natsume didn't call you in America, I've always wondered why, but…but…" Aoi trailed off and chewed at her perfectly manicured nail.

"But what?" Mikan prompted while absentmindedly dropping sugar cubes into her cup of coffee. After a moment's of thought, Aoi shook her head and smiled at Mikan.

"It's nothing, by the way, do you want me to take you to Natsume's room now? I'm pretty sure that's where your phone is. Don't worry, he's not home."

"Oh…thanks." Mikan got up and followed Aoi out of the room. They passed thousands of rooms, corridors, artworks, butlers and maids on the way to Natsume's room.

"This place is huge," Mikan breathed and admired the ornate ceiling.

"Aoi-sama, there you are, your tutor, Youichi-sama, is here," a passing maid informed them and Aoi's eyes widened before a small blush made its way to her face.

"I'm sorry Mikan, I have to go, Natsume's room is just up the stairs, turn right and walk to the end," Aoi said as she walked after the maid. "Come visit sometime! I'll call you!"

Mikan laughed at Aoi's hilarious turning head forwards and backwards in order to see where she was going while talk. She made her way up the stairs and followed Aoi's directions. She stopped outside Natsume's room and felt her heart do a little dance in her heart. It was the first time she'd entered his room.

"This is stupid, I don't even care about him anymore," Mikan scoffed to herself and pushed the door open. The well-oiled door slid open without a sound, revealing a large spacious room, like all the others, however it was different.

Everything she saw and smelt reminded her of Natsume.

Scanning the room, Mikan looked for her phone, however instead of her phone, her eyes landed on the handmade doll Mikan had given him on his tenth birthday. No, it wasn't just one doll; it was a whole collection he had there. Walking over, Mikan realised that he had kept every doll that Mikan had given him. She took a step back and fumbled for the door handle. She found no door handle and instead, she crashed into someone behind her. The person steadied her with hands she knew too well.

Natsume

Shrugging the hands off, Mikan twisted her head slowly to see him behind her. His blood-red eyes penetrated through her and his expression was unusually serious. He was wearing a fitting black suit with a loose tie, similar to the one he wore yesterday. Although most other girls probably thought that the tie was purposely made loose, Mikan knew better. Natsume couldn't wear ties properly, therefore leaving it half-done, something that somehow made all girls fall head over heels over him.

"So you really did miss me, even coming to visit me," he drawled, a smirk sliding onto his face. Mikan scowled, she couldn't bear his cockiness.

"Who would miss you?" she lied, trying not to remember her pathetic self a few years back. "I'm going." Mikan turned around in a huff and made her way to the door, however Natsume grabbed her hand and pulled her back.

His hand was warm, like always, however Mikan didn't feel the tingle that she always had when his hand brushed hers. Instead, she felt a dull flat numbness.

"Don't touch me," Mikan said lowly, but it somehow turned out sounding like a squeak. She heard Natsume snort before he sighed and slipped something rectangular out of his pocket and into her hand. Mikan looked down to see her phone in her hand and she quickly shoved it into the pocket of her jeans before looking away.

Why does he have to know me so well?

Damn.

"Aren't you going to thank me?" Natsume asked in an irresistibly low and husky voice.

"For what? Returning the phone that you stole?"

"I think that you forgot that this phone was thrown at my face."

"No it wasn't, you slit-eyed fox pineapple."

"…Pineapple…?"

"What? You have a problem with that? Your hair is just as spiky as a pineapple and whenever I think of you, it makes me want to puke."

That was another lie, Mikan loved pineapples, but he didn't have to know that. Another smirk made its way to his face.

"That's a lie, you love pineapples."

Damn again, how did he know that?

Mikan seethed for a moment before taking a deep breath.

"Natsume Hyuuga, you've become awfully friendly, talking to someone you didn't bother contacting for five years." Mikan brushed past Natsume and left the room.

oOo

Mikan knocked on the door and entered when she got Koko's word. Seeing Mikan hovering at the door, Koko's face brightened immediately and he quickly ushered her in. After getting Mikan seated, Koko took out a wad of paper and flicked through it, eyes scanning for something.

"D-Director, I'm sorry for running out yesterday," Mikan apologised. It was bad to get on Koko's bad side; after all, Koko was the one deciding whether or not she was suited to become an actor.

"It's fine, by the way Mikan, what do you think of tagging along on a shoot in a few weeks? I'm sure it'll greatly help you improve," Koko said and handed Mikan the wad of paper with a smile on his face.

"What's this?" Mikan asked.

"That's details on the shoot, like who is acting and the summary of the script. You don't have to read it, but for some background information, it'd be best to. I'll inform you on the details later."

Mikan nodded and slipped the papers into her bag. She hoped they wouldn't get crumpled.

"Is that all you wanted?" she asked.

"Mmhmm oh, and by the way, what is your relationship with Natsume?"

After a few moments of thought, Mikan answered, "He's my enemy."

Koko stroked his non-existent beard and scratched his head after that. "That would be troublesome as your boss is Natsume."


Sorry if this story is not up to your expectations :(

But that's because it's me writing it. Also, do you guys prefer Mikan to be an actor or singer? There's a poll you can vote on my profile. And lastly, thanks for reading! Drop a review, please? :))