editing this coz i forgot to answer Anilissa's review.. Gomen'nasai Anilissa
So I am sneaking in this 2 part update of the Scam while I am at work since my wifi at home is busted. LoL.
And thank you for those who read and reviewed 'The Princess and the Pauper'. If you haven't read it yet, you can head on over there right now and check it out :D
Since Katherine Kalissa Amara asked so nicely, by request, here is part 1 of the 2 part update for The Scam. :*
Text in italics is a flashback ;)
xoxo Lexi1989
Previously:
"That can't be true." Mikan's voice was barely a whisper.
"We'll know tonight."
"How?"
"They say she's going to be his date to the victory party and the Gold Homecoming Ceremony."
CHAPTER 3: INTOXICATED
The victory party for the Alice High basketball team was in full swing at Koko's mansion. Koko was one of the rich kids on the block and was a former player during their freshman year. He stopped playing midseason on his sophomore year when he collapsed after a game during a very hot day. He was brought to the hospital and it was found that he had a weak heart. He was banned by his doctor and parents to play. But since he had a passion for basketball, he was provided a spot on the team as assistant coach.
Almost everyone in the student population was present. The rumor mill had been non-stop since this morning when Reo Mori was spotted driving the rival school's cheerleader home. Even the members of the elites who wouldn't usually condone gossiping, were talking in hushed whispers about it. The key players of the rumor had yet to arrive. And everybody present was sure that all hell would break loose when they did.
Natsume was holed up at home, desperately trying to call up Luna.
"Hi, this is Luna. Leave a message after the beep. *BEEEEP*"
"Hey, it's me. I'm sorry if I overreacted. I need to talk to you. We need to talk this over. I love you Luna, you know I do…" A short beep indicated he had run out of time for his message and the automated prompt asked if he wanted to send it. His finger hovered above the number keypad on his smartphone and he pressed 2 to delete it. He raked his hand through his hair, and threw his body unceremoniously on his bed.
His phone rang for the first time that night and he scrambled under his covers to find it before the ringing ended.
"Hello? Luna?" He fought hard to keep the excitement out of his voice.
"Natsume, my man!" The smooth low voice on the other end certainly wasn't Luna's.
"Oh, it's you. What do you want Kage?" It was just Tsubasa. Natsume laid back down on the bed and let out a long sigh.
"Hey! That's no way to talk to your best friend!" Tsubasa put on a mock-hurt voice.
"Ruka is my best friend." He deadpanned.
"That hurts man."
"Why are you calling?" His patience was wearing thin.
"Ruka and I are making an appearance at the victory party at the Yome's. You up for it?"
"Dude, my girlfriend just broke up with me."
"I know! This is the perfect opportunity for you to move on with your life. Find a girl, settle down, if you want you can marry." Natsume had to fight to roll his eyes. Tsubasa loved old music and would always find ways to quote a lyric or two.
"Did you just quote Cat Stevens?"
"Yes. Yes I did. Now get your sorry ass up and out of bed."
"No." He hung up the phone and placed it on his night stand beside the bed. He made sure it was within reach just in case Luna calls. He was sure she would come to her senses sooner or later. For now he just had to give her space.
Two hours later, he would receive a call that would start the chain of events in his life he would never ever forget.
Mikan woke up the next morning with a throbbing headache. She wasn't an alcoholic and would only drink moderately at parties. Last night was an exception.
She'd made a grand entrance with Sumire and Misaki at the party, strutting with her head held high and confidence right through the roof. It was shot down ten seconds later when Reo walked in with the rival school's cheerleader.
All eyes were on her as the pair walked in through the door in the middle of laughter and with their arms linked together. It was as if everyone was expecting some sort of violent reaction from her. But since Sumire had given her a head's up that morning, she came prepared. She wasn't going to ruin her hard earned reputation by throwing a tantrum because of a temporary hitch in her plans.
She put on her reserved smile and approached the couple who were accepting drinks from Koko. Koko having seen Mikan approach, and thinking she was going to make a scene, tried to usher the couple to the backyard and poolside but failed to do so in time.
"Oh, Reo, you guys are such a lovely couple." She said in a sickeningly sweet voice that made Sumire and Misaki roll their eyes.
"Thank you Mikan. I hope you're not mad or anything." Reo answered hesitantly.
"No, no, no, of course not. Why would I be? We weren't going out yet to begin with." She made an emphasis on the 'yet' in her sentence and that prompted the girl on Reo's arm to raise an eyebrow.
"Honey? Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?" The emphasis on the last word was not lost on Mikan.
"Ahh, of course. Mikan, this is Yuri, from the basketball game the other day. Yuri, this is our student council president, Mikan." The two girls smiled at each other but people in the room could feel the tension. Invisible sparks seem to be coming from each of them from all that tension.
From that moment on Mikan's memory of last night's events became hazy. She remembered turning her back on the newly celebrated interschool couple and heading to the bar. She could still remember the gang's warnings to her as she downed glass after glass of whatever liquor Koko had stocked for the party.
"Mikan, that's enough. If you don't stop it, I'm leaving." Sumire left, clearly annoyed and exasperated, not wanting to take the drunk Mikan home. (She didn't want Mikan to puke on her newly upholstered leather seats)
"Mikan, you've had too much to drink."
"Mi-chi, he's not worth it." Anna's voice floated into her consciousness as she downed another shot of Patron. She had brushed Anna and the rest of the girls off and continued to drown her sorrows.
She was now beginning to regret that impulsive decision and vowed to apologize to her friends and never do it again. She sat up on the bed, still reeling from her headache and swung her legs on to the floor. Something was off, though she couldn't get her brain to function properly yet. She needed coffee, black to be exact, to make the headache go away and for her to have everything make sense.
She blinked, her mascara matted lashes were clumped together, making it hard for her to see. The sunlight was blaring at her from the window and she desperately wanted to walk towards it to close the curtains. She stood up and slowly wobbled on her feet towards the window. She grabbed the rod of the blinds, rotating it and had the slats midway through when she suddenly stopped.
"I don't have blinds in my room. I have curtains." The though registered itself two minutes too late.
She looked at the room she was in and realized she wasn't in her room. The walls were painted black with posters of rock bands everywhere. Her feet kissed cool tiles instead of the warm fuzzy carpet in her room and the bed she just got out of from was a familiar huge double bed. There was a study desk in the corner with a fancy computer set up and next to it was a full length mirror. She looked at her reflection for an odd length of time.
She wasn't wearing the outfit she had specifically chosen the night before for the party. She was in a guy's t-shirt that came up to her mid-thigh. And what worried her more was that she only had her lace underwear underneath. She looked on and under the bed but could not find any trace of her clothes from last night. That was the final straw. She mustered up her strength and screamed at the top of her lungs.
"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Not thirty seconds later, the door burst open.
"For Kami's sake, do you want the whole neighborhood to wake up at seven in the morning on a freaking Sunday?"
"NATSUME HYUUGA, WHY AM I IN YOUR ROOM AND IN YOUR CLOTHES AND WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME LAST NIGHT?"
END OF CHAPTER 3
Well it looks like Mikan's last line in this chapter sums up the questions you all may have. Stay tuned for the 2nd update for this story in the next couple of days ;)
newroz - you are most definitely welcome. I love Tsubasa too! And yeah, the plot will be unraveled soon ;)
Anilissa - Gomen, Gomen i forgot to answer your review :( i've updated this to show it now though.. i knew i forgot something! but yeah the girl is Yuri (female pheromone Alice in the manga/anime) and the scamming will begin soon!
KitsuneSenpai18 – the spamdexing issue has been fixed and I understand completely. I look forward to reading your stories on Ao3 though. And as for Mikan and Natsume, well, we'll have to wait and see if they really do end up together ;)
Guest 1– Thank you for your lengthy and awesome review! And I'm glad I can still keep they mystery of the story going haha.. I do hope you still stay tuned for this :)
Katherine Kalissa Amara – By request, here ya go and a 2nd update is due by the next couple of days. And as for why Mikan goes abroad for those other stories, I think I Pm'd u about that one. (In D.T. she's a DJ so she has gigs abroad, and in TGND, she went away to escape from her guilt about losing the baby.)
Guest (Feu) – yeah, I wanted to do something new and something that isn't quite predictable. ;) Glad you liked it!
seeceon – Enjoy this update and look forward to another one coming in a couple of days ;). And yeah, that part will be answered at a later chapter.
bad ass chick404 – thank you so much for your reviews! :) and I love your story too! Hope you update soon!
So story cycle update for those who have just read this story.
A 2nd update to this will be posted in the next couple of days. Then it is off to the below stories on my profile:
Secrets - Karaoke Nights - The Guy Next Door - Delicious Taboo.
The latter two will be ending soon. A few more chapters to go for each before we will see how they conclude. And then I may be putting up new stories as well too. It depends on my schedule since summer is fast approaching here in the Philippines and we all know that summer means beach outings! ;)
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Ja Ne!
xoxo Lexi1989