Chapter 3

"You're horribly late!" Asako screeched when Mikan was sighted in the distance. "We have to be there by four and now's already three thirty! Where've you been?"

Panting, Mikan came to a stop beside Asako and apologize. "So sorry! I'd something on! That's why I was late! Will you forgive me?" Mikan pleaded and hoped that Asako would be in a better mood to forgive her for this mistake. As hard as she tried, she just couldn't stop herself from committing more and more mistakes. 'It's all Natsume's fault for distracting me! But what was he up to just now… he was too close…'

"Earth to Mikan! Let's go! Now! We haven't got a time to waste. I heard tonight there's a party to celebrate the opening of a new branch in dad's company. It's important to us!" Mikan bit back at the word 'us'. It was as though Asako did not include her in the 'us' and even Mikan was dense enough to catch the hint.

However, she just showed her brightest smile and hurried away, before she could annoy her sister any further. 'It's okay… it's been like this for years.' She crushed the hidden feelings in her chest and masked her face with her smiles. 'It's okay…'

Natsume watched from the window as the brunette rushed off with her companion. 'Her sister? Friend?' Anyways, since the partner was a girl, he did not mind much. But he was indeed pissed when she interrupted them. Damn! They were so close.

He touched his cheek. 'The first and only girl who can make me feel this way. I hate her for turning me into such a sap! But then again…' He paused when the door opened. His eyebrow arched as a mob of blond popped from the other side of the door.

"Ruka… I can see from all the way here." He rolled his eyes. It was just like his best friend to be so lame. The blond boy stepped away from the door and grinned sheepishly. "Aww… you caught me."

"Don't be such a girl. Let's go." He grabbed his bag and exited the classroom, but not before looking back at their seats again. He smirked, will tomorrow be as fun?

"What're you smiling at?" Ruka asked, curious. There were only a few things Natsume would ever smirk at, or show interest in. but what exactly had caught his eye in this particular classroom?

"Nothing…" Natsume shrugged and smirk again. Before Ruka could ask, he walked down the corridor, leaving his best friend to ponder over his weird behavior.

"It must have been a good day for you…" Ruka probed, hoping to get some sort of answer. Natsume was always a tough nut to crack. But Ruka was confident that in due time, he would be able to solve this mystery.

But in the end, all he received was another shrugged and a mysterious grin. 'Such an unusual behavior for Natsume. Too bad we're not in the same class anymore. Damn, if only I knew…'

Ruka Nogi, aka Natsume Hyuuga's best friend and the second best looking guy in the school. With his light blond hair and blue foreign eyes, he was always known as the beautiful blue blooded prince. Unlike Natsume, he was the 'gentleman' in the girls' eyes. Up till last year, they were always seen together, never once separated from one another. Ruka, like Natsume, has his own fan club too. Both boys hated the attention and perhaps that was their only similarity. However, being together meant more girls after them; after all, they were better than a picture.

Snapping out of his reverie, Ruka chased after the raven-hair lad. "Did you hear? Uncle wanted us to be home by five. Said there's something he wants us to be in tonight."

"What? My dad said that?" Natsume frowned. What did his dad want from him again? That old geezer had always pushed him to his limits and wore him down. He was not going to comply again.

As though reading his mind, Ruka interrupted, "Uncle said it's compulsory." He grinned as natsume's face fell. Whenever Hyuuga the old said compulsory, it meant 'go or else your allowance will get it.' Natsume knew by experience, and he sure as hell did not want to suffer from the consequences again. He sighed. There was no escaping tonight.

Mikan sighed. As much as she hated it, she had to attend the party. She knew how much it meant to her family, and she wasn't willing to ruin everything for her parents now. First things first, she needed to pick out a dress. One that wouldn't stand out too much but would still be presentable.

She had dresses of course, but none that she really liked. She scurried through the clothes and quickly decided on a red crimson dress that caught her eye. 'Red…' She blushed. Even if it was just the color, it reminded her of his eyes. How it sparkled even when dark and their intense gaze that were always fixated.

She held the dress an arms length away. It was a beautiful dress indeed. Is it okay to wear such a glamorous dress to the party? The crimson classic strapless shone in her eyes. It begged to be worn and Mikan find it lesser and lesser to resist. 'I shall… wear this? It's okay… only tonight…'

Five pm… two more hours to go…

"You're finally back" Mr Hyuuga frowned and sighed as his son swung in with the door. "Tonight, we've a party to attend." Natsume groaned.

Five thirty…

Mikan wiped her hair dry as she laid out the dress on her bed. Prancing around the room, she turned up the stereo as she prepared herself for the night. For some reason, she couldn't help but look forward to the party, something that she never did. Call it a woman's instinct?

Six pm… one more hour to go…

Natsume gulped at the suit laid out in front of him. It looked itchy and uncomfortable. 'Oh hell…' He was not going to wear that. "Natsume! Time!" His father bellowed from below. He rolled his eyes, grabbed the suit ad headed towards the bathroom. 'May as well get over it…'

Six thirty…

Mikan glanced at herself in the mirror. It had taken her nearly thirty minutes to get the dress on. Did she put on weight? Must be the chips. But she admitted that the dress made her look different than usual, more mature and sophisticated. The red clung to her pale skin, matching perfectly. And the flora on the dress seem so feminine on her. It's time to put on the make up.

Seven… time's up.

"Natsume Hyuuga! What's taken you so long?" His father shouted as his son approached him, tugging on his collar all the way. "We are running late. Get on the car now, please." He sighed as he watched his only son slide into the car, never trust a son to be punctual.

Seven fifteen… running late…

"Mikan! Where are you? The guests are coming in!" Asako hissed as she barged into the room. "Oh my god! You look… good! Anyways, let's go now, if not dad and mom will come screaming into our ears." Poor Mikan, barely finished her make up, got dragged from the room and into the living hall.

Mikan watched from the second floor as the guests started streaming in. The sun had set earlier than expected. Evening had arrived.

Seven thirty…

Natsume felt the car come to a stop. His chauffer got down and opened the door, ushering him to go in. He nodded as a sign of acknowledgement and sighed. Tonight's going to be a long night.

Mikan turned around as she felt a tap on her shoulder. Surprised to see her mother standing behind her, she bowed and stuttered, "I was going to get going but then…" her mother, with long brunette hair like hers, gave her a small smile and pushed her towards the crowd. "Go on. Don't keep standing here. It's rare that you got dressed up." Mikan, shocked, stumbled towards the cocktail tables. It was rare that her mother ever smiled at her. Even if the smile was cold, Mikan was glad that her mother would smile at her. Tonight might not be that bad at all.

Her eyes searched for Asako and found her standing among the younger teenagers, laughing and drinking. 'Too young to be drinking…' Mikan thought, but she did look mature for her age. Asako wore a long icy blue sapphire halter top, defining her well developed chest and slim figure. Mikan thought that her sister was truly one of her kind to shine so much at her age. For goodness sake, she was only a first year middle school. That's thirteen!

She pondered about joining their group, but then dismissed that idea as trash. There's no way she would be able to interrupt just like that, besides, it might be rude to interfere… or worst, if they did not want her there.

She took a glass of orange mix and sipped as she surveyed her surroundings. Her eyes widened as she saw a shock of jet-black silky hair. She blinked, and the image was gone. 'I must be getting delusional…' she blinked again. To think that she was still thinking of him at times like this.

Suddenly, she felt a tap on her shoulder. Hoping to see the crimson eyes she craved, she turned around, a smile creeping on her face. But as soon as she saw who it was, her face fell with disappointment. It was a stranger. She nodded politely as he started to chat with her, "My name's Sam Hirosaki. Nice to meet your acquaintance Miss…"

"Sakura. Sakura Mikan." She smiled politely. She was not in the mood to make small talk but…

"Ah! What a cute name. Miss Mikan." He smiled as he sipped his champagne. "Perhaps you're acquainted with Mrs Sakura?"

"She's my mother." Mikan dreaded the way the topic was leading to. Somehow, mentioning her family was always problematic.

"Oh? I see… I always thought… well, never mind me." He smiled again, even though Mikan already knew what he was trying to say. She felt that she needed to get away, before she was discovered for who she was. "Did I mention that you're the most exquisite thing I've seen in this room?"

'Thing…'

Not flattered, Mikan managed a weak smile before excusing herself. "Thank you but I've got to…" Sam was around her in a minute as she started walking away. Still not fronted by the lack of her response, he slid his hand in hers and asked her for a dance as the lights dimmed and the music played.

"I don't really dance so if you'll excuse me…" Mikan was starting to panic as the man before her started guiding her to the dance floor. 'This is for mom and dad… this is for mom and dad…' she clammed her eyes shut as she moved reluctantly.

But even before Sam could hold her in his arms, she felt another arm slid around her waist. She opened her eyes in surprise as she felt someone behind her. Intoxicating scent…

She almost burst into tears as she saw her familiar red eyes.

Natsume…

It was exactly eight o'clock.

How was it? it's kind of stereotypical but cute. i intend to make it complicated (ABIT). so PLEASE review. thank you for the readers who reviewed! i will consider your ideas! w

XOXO: LoVes