Disclaimer: Guess what?! Pigs can fly and I own Gakuen Alice! NOT! Fooled ya there for a sec, didn't I? ;) The Higuchi guy owns it. :D This plot is owned by Vione, and adopted by yours truly.

Dedication: Dedicated to Annabel (Cookie Craze). It's your late Christmas gift, sweetie! Enjoy. ;)

Special thanks to IndigoGrapefruit for beta reading this chapter! :DDD You were very helpful!

A Quiet World

Original Author: Vione

Adopted by: jazziscool

Chapter Three

I'll stop the world and melt with you,

You've seen the difference and it's getting better all the time.

There's nothing you and I won't do,

I'll stop the world and melt with you.

-I'll Melt with You by Modern English

"Honey, it's time to go!"

Yuka poked her head into Mikan's room and watched as her daughter put a bright blue object inside her bunny-shaped travel backpack. Natsume had given Mikan that backpack as a Christmas gift; he had tried to cover his blushing face with his hair while Mikan had glomped him with hugs and cute, bright smiles worth patenting.

"Okay, mommy! I really can't wait to go camping!" Mikan exclaimed cheerfully.

She wore an adorable frilly orange dress and had yellow flower-shaped barrettes in her auburn hair. Mikan had stayed up all night in anticipation and there was a hint of weariness in her eyes. Yuka gave a small smile, knowing her daughter would eventually drift off to sleep in the car.

As the pair went down the stairs and entered the living room, Izumi came into the house. He had finally packed the mountain of luggage in their SUV. "Sorry kiddo, but looks like Hyuugas can't make it after all."

Mikan's face dropped in utter disappointment.

Seeing his daughter's heartbroken face, Izumi rushed to pacify her. "But I talked to them and we decided that we'll pick up Natsume on our way to the resort."

Yuka and Izumi watched as their 10-year-old daughter's face brightened. "We get to pick Nat-chan up?!" Mikan squealed in disbelief.

Mikan had grown especially attached to Natsume over years; much to their annoyance, Yuka and Kaoru would always joke that the pair would get married some day.

***

"Yuka, darling, how are you? I'm so sorry we couldn't make it. Aoi's teacher suddenly called-," explained Kaoru.

"Oh no, don't worry about it! It's fine, it's fine," interrupted Yuka before launching off on a conversation about the book club's latest challenge. They had joined together in hopes of finding a useful and bonding way to spend their free time.

They were all standing outside Natsume's house. Natsume was wearing a casual blue shirt and khaki shorts. He held his backpack over one shoulder and was blandly staring at Mikan. His backpack appeared to be bulky and his luggage was already inside the car. Izumi had muttered profanities under his breath while shoving the bag in an attempt to get it to fit inside with all the other bags.

As the mothers conversed, Mikan gave Natsume a joyful smile. 'Goodmornin' Nat-chan! I'm so excited!' Mikan signed happily. She was able to shorten the amount of time it took to make the hand gestures by simultaneously using facial expressions and body language. She could also express herself without having to make signs for every single little thing she wanted to tell him.

Natsume gave her an amused glance. 'Mornin', little girl,' he gestured. 'You're way too excited in the morning to be a normal person. And what kind of moron are you to call me "Nat-chan"?' He enjoyed teasing Mikan at every opportunity. Her reactions were comical, and though no one could see it, they usually brought smiles to his face.

Mikan huffed. What's that supposed to mean? She closed her eyes and childishly poked her tongue out. Natsume recalled how Mikan made him less anti-social and less uptight. Though he wouldn't admit, she was his blinding light. Because of her, he didn't think about his deafness every waking moment of the day.

Natsume gave her a coy smile; 'Only an idi-,' he signed.

"Alright! Time to go. We don't want to be late," interrupted Yuka, before giving her last goodbyes to Kaoru and headed towards the car.

Kaoru signed to her son, 'Take care and have fun, darling!' She leaned down and gave him a kiss on his cheeks. She crouched down so that her face was level to Natsume's. She placed her hands on his face and pulled his cheeks before giving him a wink.

Natsume glared at his mother with an annoyed look and slapped his mother's hands away from his face. She couldn't resist teasing him, even though she knew it got on his nerves. He was just too cute to resist.

Kaoru gave a whole hearty laugh at Natsume's antics; she knew he was embarrassed she was doing this in front on Mikan. Mikan snickered and fortunately for her, Natsume didn't see.

"Don't worry! We'll take care of Natty!" Mikan brightly called out to Kaoru before she took Natsume's hand and promptly dragged him to the car.

'What did you just say to my mom?' Signed Natsume.

Mikan grinned sheepishly. She knew he'd scoff at her if she told him the truth.

'Nothing much. I just said we'll have lots of fun!' Mikan grinned. Natsume gave her a disbelieving look telling her he wasn't fooled. 'It's true!' Insisted Mikan.

***

After a while, fatigued overcame Mikan's body. Mikan's eyes gradually began to droop and she fell asleep. Her head dropped to the side and landed on Natsume's shoulder. Natsume, feeling the sudden weight on his shoulder, turned his head a saw Mikan's head on his should, her lips slightly parted. He gave a tender, small smile as he stared affectionately at the brunette.

Yuka and Izumi exchanged knowing smiles when they glanced at the pair through the mirror.

***

Mikan skipped towards the clearing, her eyes shining with enthusiasm. She looked around and saw tall lush trees extending into a forest. The day was bright. Birds were chirping, and Mikan could've sworn she saw a bunny peek at her behind a bush.

She suddenly felt a tug at her hair and turned around to see Natsume.

He raised his eyebrows and signed, 'what're you drooling at, idiot?'

'Bleh. I'm just looking at this beautiful scene, short-brows!' Contrary to her beliefs at first, it was easy to throw insults in sign language. Mikan pouted and made faces at him.

Natsume twitched. He hated it when she made fun of his eyebrows. They are not short, thank you very much, he thought. He glared at her and signed, 'You're one to talk! What kind of moron wears pig-tails?" He chuckled. 'Well, the word certainly fits you; you eat like a PIG.'

"I do NOT eat like a pig!" Mikan screeched at Natsume before realizing he couldn't hear her. She just fumed and walked away as Natsume snickered behind her back.

***

The night had grown dark when they were all sitting around the camp fire making smores and toasting marshmallows. Yuka and Izumi were tired after setting up the tent. They only had three tents and one of them a hole in it; and so it was decide that Yuka and Izumi would share a tent while Mikan and Natsume shared the other.

The fire's crackling gave a cozy feeling and the heat emitting from the fire was comforting. They'd spent the day setting up their camp and hiking through the woods. Although their bodies were sore, they had enjoyed observing the wildlife. The unpolluted air of the forest was crisp and they found it quite enjoyable.

'Natsume, I think we should make a canopy in the trees tomorrow! It would be so cool if we could sleep on it during the night!' Mikan signed excitedly.

'Pfft. What if it rains, little girl? And what if an animal attacks us in the middle of the night?' Natsume slyly signed. Mikan's eyes grew wide as she considered his notion; she didn't even catch that he'd called her a little girl. Even though she had known him for so long, she was still wasn't accustomed to his teasing; it didn't help that she was a naïve innocent girl. I'll have to keep an eye on her as we grow older, thought Natsume.

"I think it's time to hit the sacks, yes?" Izumi finally said after the long day. While he spoke, Mikan made hand signs for Natsume telling him what he just said.

***

Mikan gasped as she awoke. She had a scary dream where a bear was about to jump at her. She glanced to her right and saw Natsume was fast asleep. She studied his face and blushed as she noticed his innocent expression. He acted tough, but she knew deep down, he was a boy who was defenseless. She tried to go back to sleep, but the bear's ferocious expression haunted her sight. She decided nothing would be better than to get some fresh air outside.

As she silently tip-toed out of the tent and stood up, she noticed the full moon's illumination. It shined on the clearing, yet it gave a foreboding feeling. Telling herself she was silly for feeling scared, Mikan walked a few yards away from the tents and moved closer to the woods until she was standing just in front of the woods. She leaned forward and peered in, as if trying to see what was inside. Funny, she thought, it wasn't this scary earlier when we were hiking. A bright light flashed.

Wondering what the bright light was, Mikan walked into the woods, heading towards it. Suddenly the light disappeared, and darkness overcame the woods. Mikan's heart accelerated. A heavy, eerie silence overwhelmed the area; she was starting to panic.

Snap!

Hearing the sudden noise was the last straw for Mikan; she ran, desperate to get back to the tents.

She looked over her shoulder while she ran, frantically wondering if the noise was following her, when she suddenly bump into something. She fell to the ground and moaned when she notice the thing she'd bumped into was also on the ground;

"Natsume?!! What're you doing here." Mikan yelled in surprise. Her voice echoed through the woods. She slapped her hand on her forehead when she remembered he couldn't hear her. She saw him make a quick and urgent motion with his hands, but it was too dark for her to clearly see. His face was troubled and though it was hard to see, she thought there was a glimpse of horror in his eyes.

Realizing she couldn't understand him, Natsume picked himself up and took Mikan's arm. He pulled her up and tugged her towards where he knew the tents were. However, Mikan thought otherwise and tried to pull him in the opposite direction.

In the middle of their exchange, Natsume suddenly stiffened. Mikan was still tugging at him when she noticed his state. Natsume wildly turned his head towards Mikan and she noticed the alarm in his eyes. He roughly grabbed her hand and started running for dear life.

Mikan kept stumbling over rocks and she narrowly avoided clashing head-on with trees. After a few seconds, Mikan looked over her shoulder and was greeted with the sight of a towering bear chasing them. He had brown fur and Mikan reckoned he had the bulkiest body she'd ever laid eyes on.

She was utterly terrified to death and after she'd gotten over her initial, two-second shock, she let out a blood curling scream.

Natsume kept his hand tight on Mikan's hand and ran as fast he could without dragging her. Natsume realized that even if they arrived at the tents, the bear would still follow them. It would just endanger Yuka and Izumi's lives.

He came to an abrupt stop. He knew he only had a few seconds. He let go of Mikan's hand and picked up a heavy looking rock on the ground. He threw it at the bear with all his might. It hit the bear smack-dab in the middle of the eye; the bear let out a ghastly roar in pain.

Natsume took the opportunity to grab Mikan's hand once again, and he ran like there was no tomorrow. Their faces were filled with sweat and they were panting as they run. They saw the clearing and broke into sprint.

They finally broke through the woods and glanced behind them relived the bear was not following them.

As they stood there panting from the long sprint, Mikan burst into tears. She had never been so scared all her life. Unsure of what to do, Natsume took her in his arms. He gently patted the brunette's hair, sympathizing with the terrible experience they'd gone through. She wrapped her arms around him tightly, not wanting to let go. Although she'd been scared, she felt the security in his hands as she held them while she was running away for her life.

His body was warm, and he his arms created what felt like a safe haven for her. No words were needed. At that moment, nothing mattered. They felt secure in each other's embrace.

End of chapter.

A/N: Smores are traditional snacks people make when camping. It's basically toasted marshmallow and chocolate in between crackers.

Cute scene, but I had to take it out: ---- Soon enough, Natsume was also asleep; his head also dropped to the side. And while Mikan's head was on his shoulder, Natsume's head bonked with hers. ----

I can't think up of another word for "signed". Darn it. :(

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-Liz