Chapter 3
Disclaimer: Really now? U guys think I'm cool enough to own Gakuen Alice?
As always, hope you enjoy! 19/10/12
Boss, huh?
Mikan slumped against the window and weakly banged her head against the window, jerking a little at the hollow sound it made.
"Why is this happening again? You two are at my apartment again," Hotaru said and pointed a slender finger at Sumire and Mikan before taking a sip of her tea. "Mikan is damaging my window again and losing brain cells again. This is ridiculous."
"But still! I can't get over how–"
"That bastard, Natsume Hyuuga is your boss."
"Lol, it really is happening again, Hotaru finishing Mikan's sentence," Sumire piped in and Hotaru shot her a glare which immediately shut her up. Turning her head back to Mikan, Hotaru placed her cup down on the saucer.
"Look, I know you're an idiot, but how on earth did you not know that Hyuuga was your boss?" Hotaru said stonily. She had never liked nor supported Mikan's love for that Hyuuga guy, she had only let him go near her with the condition that he would never make Mikan cry. And now look what he had done. Hotaru gripped the handle of her teacup tighter at the thought of that disgusting bastard.
"I don't know!" Mikan whined in answer to Hotaru's question and slumped her head on her knees pitifully. It seemed that Hotaru's window was her emo corner and Hotaru didn't like it one bit.
"Why don't you just quit being an actor or find another agency?" Sumire suggested flippantly and flicked another page of the magazine she was reading.
"I don't want to find another agency, Acting Stars is the best acting agency in the whole of Tokyo," Mikan cried and lolled her head against the window.
"Then just find another occupation. And by the way, you're acting like a drunk."
"I don't want to either, it had always been my dream to become an actor!"
"So you're going to stay put then?" Hotaru said, looking at Mikan, who nodded glumly.
"I mean, I don't care about him anymore, I won't let him get in the way of my life. I'm not going to let him toy with me anymore." Saying that, the light came back into Mikan's eyes and she stood up with new fire in her eyes. She looked outside the window and pressed a hand onto the window, gazing at the people below. She watched the cars zoom about and the skyscrapers loom over the scurrying people.
She wouldn't let Natsume get to her anymore.
Mikan smiled bitterly and clenched her hand into a fist.
Natsume, just you see, I'm not the Mikan you left behind five years ago.
…
Mikan returned to her apartment, well, not really her apartment, more like the apartment Acting Stars supplied her as being a possible future actor. It was a privilege given to all under the wing of Acting Stars. It wasn't really like an apartment, more like a really big room with a kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. It was a three-in-one room. Shaking her head at the funny thought, Mikan stepped into the lift and waited a few seconds before the lift doors opened at her level. Making her way to her room, Mikan fished out her key and slid it into the keyhole. The door swung open to reveal her cozy room and Mikan immediately made a beeline to the balcony.
Swinging open the door, a cool breeze swept up Mikan's hair and immediately cleared her mind. Mikan spread her arms out to catch the wind before smiling to herself.
She really loved this place.
"Enjoying yourself?" someone drawled in a voice that reminded Mikan so much of Natsume.
It couldn't be, right?
Mikan nodded to herself confidently and looked to her right only to see Natsume leaning on the railing of the balcony beside Mikan's. He had a smirk on his face as he watched Mikan's expression.
She was horrified, her mouth an impressive 'o' shape.
"What are you doing here?" she hissed darkly, the good mood instantly blown away. Natsume pretended to look surprised, however the smirk was still there, reminding Mikan of how much she loathed him.
"Why are you asking me what I'm doing in my own home?"
"Your home? I thought you lived in that humongous mansion of yours."
"Well, starting from today, this is my home."
"And who said that?"
"I did, did you forget? I'm the boss."
This guy really was getting on her nerves. Mikan took a deep breath and swallowed.
"Fine then, do whatever you want, I don't care," she called carelessly and Natsume's smirk faltered a little. Feeling a bust of satisfaction, Mikan walked back into her room.
…
Mikan flipped through the wad of papers Koko had given her on acting and the media. There was so much to learn, she had never known being an actor needed so much training and skills. Mikan glanced at the clock while leaning back and stretching, knocking over a pencil tin.
It was late.
Yawning, Mikan stood up and artfully weaved in and out of the books and toys sprawled on the floor. Suddenly, a burst of fireworks in the sky caught her attention. Eyes shining, Mikan burst onto the balcony to see the fireworks illuminating the night sky, their explosions echoing in the crisp night air.
"Wow!" Mikan breathed and clutched at the balcony railing. Another firework shot up into the sky and exploded into thousands of tiny lights. It was so romantic.
"Do you like it?"
Mikan turned her head to see Natsume walk onto the balcony, an energy drink in his hand. He was wearing a loose grey shirt that somehow emphasised his robustness and a pair of tracksuit pants. Even in casual clothes, Mikan had to admit that he looked good.
"What are you doing up so late?" he drawled in a velvet voice and tipped the remains of the drink into his mouth. Scrunching up the can, Natsume chucked it over the balcony.
"What are you doing?!" Mikan cried and looked down to see the can sail gracefully into an open bin. "Oh."
Natsume smirked and leaned on the railing, looking at the sky. The wind ruffled his soft black hair and the moon was reflected in his crimson eyes.
"So, what are you doing at this hour?" he asked.
"I could ask the same thing for you," Mikan snapped impatiently. There was a pause and Mikan shifted uncomfortably, suddenly aware of the silence. Then, his smooth voice returned, breaking the silence.
"Mikan, do you hate me?"
Mikan's eyes widened and she looked over at Natsume to see a wistful and almost pained expression in his eyes. Her heart softened for a moment, however her new self kicked in and she rolled her eyes.
"Isn't that obvious?"
…
Hotaru crossed her legs underneath the chair and waited few minutes before tipping the tea out of the decorated teapot and into her cup. The rich fragrance of gyokuro green tea immediately filled the room, a satisfied smile slipping onto Hotaur's face. Expensive tea was expensive for a reason.
"And what is this emergency meeting you called all of us here for?" Hotaru sighed and sniffed the tea before raising it to her lips. Tapping a finger on the handle, she waited for Aoi to stop squirming and begin talking. Seriously, she didn't have to call everyone and everyone meaning Anna, Nonoko, Nogi, Iinchou, Sumireand even Youichi. Large amounts of people annoyed Hotaru. What did Youichi have much to do with Mikan anyways?
"Well, I find that it is a major crisis that Onii-chan and Mikan are on bad terms," Aoi piped, leaning on the edge of her chair nervously.
"And why wouldn't they be?" Sumire asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Because I think Onii-chan still loves Mikan!" Aoi blurted out and the room immediately went silent.
"That's stupid," Sumire scoffed.
"It's not, I've always thought so too," Ruka said and every pair of eyes turned to him and he blushed bright red. "W-Well, Natsume called me in America and he always worded his questions about Mikan in a way that wouldn't make people think he was asking about her, but I'm his best friend so I can tell."
"What if it's just that you're mistaken?" Hotaru pointed out.
"I don't think so!" Aoi hurriedly cried and the spotlight was on her. Unlike Ruka, she didn't turn red; she kind of liked the attention. "Because I found Natsume's phone and because he never let me play with his phone, I decided to just mess with his phone a little. However, in that process, I found a whole heap of unsent replies to Mikan's texts. I had always thought it was weird, but I didn't know that…yea…"
Hotaru put down her cup, letting the clatter echo in the room, and stood up.
"Well, if Hyuuga supposedly still loved Mikan, then why didn't he call her or send those unsent texts?" Hotaru's face was blank, she allowed no emotion whatsoever on her face, and that just made it the more intimidating.
"I-I don't know, but I think it was something to do with Mother. He had to go to America in the first place because of her and, and, he's always in a bad mood whenever he comes out of Mother's office."
"And you think Mikan will become all cozy with Hyuuga now because of the idea that Hyuuga still loves Mikan."
"I-I don't think so!" Aoi gulped and tried to ignore Hotaru standing over her before continuing. "That's why I'm want you guys to help me set those two up."
…
Natsume woke up at 6am on the dot as usual. Running his fingers through his hair, Natsume shrugged on a black jacket and pair of jeans before leaving. As he passed Mikan's door, he stopped for a brief moment, but then changed his mind and continued.
Natsume walked outside the 'Acting Stars' dorm to see the sleek black car waiting for him. A man in a black suit, Yamamoto, quickly got out of the car and opened the door for Natsume. Nodding a curt 'thanks', Natsume got in. After a few minutes of silent travelling in the car, Natsume's phone suddenly vibrated and the 'new text' sign popped up. It was from Ruka.
Natsume r u free right now?
Natsume quickly replied with a 'yea, why?'
Meet at WcDonald's?
Natsume texted a 'sure' and leaned back on the leather seat.
"Yamamoto," he said. "Drop me off at the next intersection."
…
"Hurry up," Hotaru snapped and strutted down the street, her heels clacking against the ground and her skirt fluttering slightly in the wind. From the back, Hotaru was elegant and tall, like the models you can only see in magazines. Her back was straight and her long legs showed off by the skirt Hotaru had chosen to wear today. Hotaru looked incredibly beautiful, especially with her elegant black jacket with diamonds artfully sewn here and there and the earrings brought out the purple in her eyes, captivating all those who looked into them.
"Did you possibly dress up for Ruka-pyon?" Mikan teased and chased after Hotaru who snorted and quickened her pace so Mikan and her shorter legs couldn't catch up. Why did Hotaru have to have such long legs?
"Don't be an idiot," Hotaru scoffed.
"Mmmmm…so you did dress up for him!"
"Mikan, stop acting like a retard. Anyways, why did you wear jeans?" Hotaru looked down disdainfully at Mikan's dark blue jeans and wrinkled her nose.
"Hey! What's wrong with jeans? Plus, I don't need to dress up for a certain someone!"
Mikan smirked at Hotaru's death glare and skipped happily after her.
"Hotaruuu, why am I tagging along your date anyways?" she asked as Hotaru walked through the automatic sliding doors of WcDonald's.
"Because," Hotaru said, "it's a double date."
Mikan stopped and raised an eyebrow.
"With who?" Mikan cautiously asked.
Hotaru pointed to the table over to their right with Ruka on one side and Natsume on the other.
Natsume?!
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