Chapter 3

Thursday, Morning

"What am I going to wear on my date on Saturday night?" Mikan asked Hotaru as they walked to school

"Date? What date?"

"With Natsume!"

"It is not a date" Hotaru sternly reminded her. "You are going to a party together. Besides, it's not like he is your real boyfriend. You don't have to impress the guy. You can wear whatever you want."

"I have to make it look like I have put some effort into it."

"Why? It sounds like you care what Natsume thinks about you. And that can only mean one thing. Trouble." Hotaru pulled Mikan into a corner. "We need to talk."

"About what?" Mikan asked, noticing the serious expression on Hotaru's face.

"This situation. I am getting worried."

"Situation."

"You have got to guard your heart," Hotaru warned. "Even though this is all pretend, you are going to be spending a lot of time with Natsume."

"And?"

"You need to be careful that you don't really fall for him."

Mikan laughed, walking off. "That will never happen!"

"Why not?" Hotaru asked, hurrying after her. "What about all those girls he's gone out with and never called back? It happened to them! There's a reason why he is called the Heartbreaker and I don't want you finding out!"

"I am different from those other girls," Mikan said as she waited for the stoplight turn green

"How?" Hotaru asked

"Easy," Mikan answered." I am not going to fall for him. And I know that after Valentine's Day, Natsume and I will go our separate ways."

"Well, I am still going to be keeping my eye on you," Hotaru said. "Just to be on the safe side."

"You are overreacting. There is nothing to worry about. You'll see."

Hotaru didn't answer.

"Hotaru?"

"I think you have something to worry about," Hotaru pointed across the street at the Gakuen Alice Academy student parking lot.

Mikan followed Hotaru's pointing hand finger and couldn't believe what she was seeing. Natsume had just parked his motorcycle. That wasn't the problem. The problem was the girl sitting behind him with her arms wrapped snugly around his waist! Mikan watched as she jumped off the back of the motorcycle, handed Natsume her helmet, tossing out her long, sun-streaked blond hair, shampoo-commercial perfect hair and then hurried into the school.

When the stoplight changed to green, Mikan rushed across the parking lot to Natsume's side.

"What do you think you are doing?" She shrieked, confronting him like a crazy girl, throwing her arms up in the air.

"Hey, Mikiko." Natsume took down his sunglasses and his helmet. "How's it going?"

"My name is not Mikiko!"

"It isn't?" Natsume held up a hand. "Wait, don't tell me. Let me think. Michiko? Mieko? Mikka?"

"It is Mikan!"She hissed

Natsume slammed his hand against his forehead. "Mikan! Right! Sorry. I forgot. But I know it started with an M"

Mikan couldn't tell if Natsume had really forgotten her name or if he was only messing around with her. She'd worry about that later.

"We are supposed to be couple!" She reminded him. "Did you forget that?"

He smiled at Mikan, his crimson red eyes filled with amusement.

"What are you having meltdown about?"

"That girl!"

"What about her?"

"You gave her a ride on your motorcycle."

"So?"

"She looked pretty cozy sitting behind you! What is everyone is going to think if my boyfriend is giving a ride to another girl? They are going to think you are cheating on me!"

"Nice to know you have such faith in me," Natsume said

"You do have a reputation," Hotaru piped up and she joined them. "No offence. I am just saying."

"I am well aware of my so-called reputation," Natsume said to Hotaru. "I don't need you reminding me."

"I will see you inside." Hotaru said to Mikan

"The girl I was giving a ride to is my next-door neighbor," Natsume explained after Hotaru left. "We are just friends. I have given her rides before. You are just going to need to control that jealously, Polka."

"I am not jealous," Mikan quickly snapped. "And don't call me Polka, you hentai."

"Why not? Couples usually have pet names for each other. And you have a nice panty by the way, Polka."

"Stop calling me that!"

Natsume held his hand up in surrender. "Touchy, touchy."

Mikan noticed other students were staring on their direction as they walked through the parking lot. Even though they hadn't heard what they were saying, it was obvious that she and Natsume were fighting.

"People are watching us," Mikan whispered. "What are we going to do?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing? We have to do something! Otherwise they are going to talk about us."

"Let them talk. It is a good thing that they saw us fighting."

"Why is it good?" a panicked Mikan asked

"We were having a fight," Natsume pointed out. "That's what couples do, right? They fight. It means they have lot of passion for each other. And passion equal love."

Natsume's answer left Mikan speechless. But before she could answer, he left for school already.

Thursday, Lunchtime

Mikan was busy working on her Most Romantic couple essay when a voice asked, "Is this seat taken?"

She looked up and saw Natsume standing above her with lunch tray.

"What do you want?" She asked in surprise

"Is that any way to greet your boyfriend?" Natsume scolded as he slid into the seat opposite Mikan and he unwrapped his hamburger. "Don't you think we should be seen having lunch together? After all, we are dating."

Mikan leaned across the table. "Go away! I don't want anyone to know to know about us until Saturday night."

Natsume took a bite of his hamburger and started talking with his mouth full. "Why is that?"

Mikan peered over Natsume's shoulder an across the cafeteria to the table where Luna was sitting with her back to them. "I want the element of surprise. Luna isn't going to expect me to come to her party with you."

Natsume followed Mikan's gaze. "Relax. She can't see us. Contrary to popular belief, not all demons have eyes in the back of their head."

Mikan ignored his joke. "Still, you should leave. Just to be on the safe side."

"Where is your sidekick?"

"If you mean Hotaru, she is in the library studying. She's got a test in History next period."

"Natsume pointed to the pages in Mikan's hand. "What are you working on?"

"Our essay."

"Our essay?"

"For the Most Romantic Couple contest," She explained

"Mind if I take a look?"

Mikan grudgingly handed over the pages she had been working on. "It is very rough," She said. "I still have to polish it up."

She watched as Natsume read the pages. From the face he was making, she could see he didn't like them.

"What's wrong?" she asked in panic

"It's so, so…" Natsume said "Ooey-gooey. And sappy!"

"Don't you mean sweet and romantic?"

"No, I mean Ooey-gooey. You are giving me sugar shock! We met on New Year's Eve and I asked if I could give you your first kiss of the year?"

"I already told Luna that, so it has to be part of our story."

"We talk on the phone every night? We like snuggling on the couch watching TV? We like walking through the snow holding hands?" Natsume said in disgust. "This isn't me."

"Then who are you?" Mikan asked

"You tell me," Natsume challenged

"Fine," Mikan said. "You are a bad boy. You like breaking the rules. You like going your own thing and not answering to anyone else. You like shocking people and catching them off guard. You are never expected to go out with a 'good' girl like me. You only go out with girls who are as bad as you."

"That is an urban myth. I go out with lots of nice girls."

"But you only go out with them once," Mikan reminded him

Natsume shook his head. "That is not true. Sometimes I go out with them twice. Same with the so-called bad girls, who really aren't so bad, just so you know."

"You are hard to figure out," Mikan continued. "You don't want anyone to get too close, so you keep them at a distance."

"What is so hard? I'd rather hang out with my friends, do my own thing. I don't need some girl constantly harping at me, asking me where I am, where I am going, telling me when to call her and freaking out if I forget. I already have a nagging mother and I don't need another one."

"Do you think all girls are like that?"

"I don' think you are."

"You don't?"Mikan was surprised.

Natsume shook his head. "Nope. I think you are your own person. Look at the way you are standing up to Luna. You are not sucking up to her the way everyone else does. You are not afraid of her the way they are. I like that."

"You do?"

"Sure. It takes guts."

"Either that or stupidity," Mikan admitted. "I am still not sure which""

"And you don't need to be defined by the person you are dating. I don't see you as the clingy type. You don't have to be Natsume's girlfriend. That's why we are attracted to each other. We do our own thing and we respect that. We are not trying to change each other. And because we have just started going out, we are still learning about each other and that is the most romantic thing of all. Because we keep discovering how much we have in common." Natsume leaned back in his seat, giving Mikan a smug smile. "There is your essay."

Mikan hated to admit it, but it was good. Very good. It was simple and honest and straight from the heart. She crumpled up the essay she had already written and began writing furiously on her notepad.

"I think we may have gotten ourselves a nomination." Mikan said