No, I do not own Gakuen Alice.

I gaped at him; I could feel Daichi and Koko staring at me, no longer smiling, but I paid them no mind. I was too busy controlling the urge to fume and go on some long rant about what a bully this guy was.

In the light of day coming in from the big windows at the front of the building, he looked just as good, if not better, than he had cast in shadows the previous night. His skin was tanned, just enough so that the black of his hair and his leather jacket and black jeans didn't wash him out. His eyes were even redder now, and so captivating that the only reason I didn't get lost in them was because I couldn't stop thinking about him beating on that poor boy. His black leather jacket was worn and broken in, which probably just made it comfortable, and it was open to reveal a navy shirt with a logo I didn't recognize with a bit of a V-neck that hinted at a toned chest.

So he was good looking. Big deal.

"This?" I looked over my shoulder at Koko, motioning to the boy in front of me. "This is Natsume? The scary guy? He's just a big bully!"

Koko snapped his mouth shut. "How do you even know him? You just got here yesterday! Natsume, don't you go corrupting this girl. She's very sensitive and-"

"And naïve?" Natsume finished for him.

I folded my arms over my chest. "I'm not naïve."

He stared at me. "Get out of my seat."

"Quit being a baby and sit in an empty one." I pointed to the empty one on my right. "Wide open."

Daichi whistled under his breath and shot Koko a look, but Koko wasn't paying attention. He was still looking between Natsume and me, trying to connect the dots on why I wasn't running and why Natsume looked about to throttle me.

"He was beating a kid up last night," I grumbled. "So rude. The boy – his name was Yuu – was so nice. I just wanted to pinch his cheeks. And then some guy that's with this big jerk pulls out this gun – which I'm sure was fake, because people don't go around carrying guns these days – and points it at me and this guy tells me to skedaddle, so that was what I did."

Koko raised an eyebrow. "You…skedaddled? Just like that? Away from the fake gun?"

Natsume's eyes were burning big holes in my back, so I turned in my seat again. "Look, I'm not going to move."

"Yes you are."

"Natsume," Koko warned.

Daichi sighed. "Stubborn as always. Mikan, you best let him take his seat."

I snorted. "No way."

"I'll make you get out if I have to, little girl," Natsume said darkly. Here was the brooding personality Koko had been talking about. Dark and brooding.

"No, you won't. Would you stop acting like a child? I don't see your name on this chair or anywhere near it, and it belongs to Koko and his dad, so you can't make me do anything. And I have a name, and you know it. I told you myself."

Koko's eyes swung to me. "You told him your name?"

"He threw me up against the wall," I said dryly. "I had to establish familiarity so I introduced myself."

Natsume scoffed. "Figured she knew you. Your mouth isn't favourable, little girl. It's starting to annoy me."

"Oh, boohoo. I don't make room for bullies, thank you very much. When you apologize to me and to poor Yuu, then maybe I'll consider showing you my much nicer side. But until then, this is the Mikan you get."

He didn't like that. His eyes narrowed and his mouth straightened into a line. But only for a second. Eventually, he smirked at Koko over my head. "She has no idea, does she?"

Koko sighed and shook his head. "Not at all. And you're not going to tell her. Were you and Reo collecting?"

"I'll spare you the details."

Someone called across the store and Koko excused himself, muttering something else about needing a new waitress.

"Hey, little girl. You move out of my seat, I give you an apology, and we never see each other again." The way he said it made me think that he thought there was no way I'd turn it down, but I just scowled at him.

"Yuu needs an apology more than I do. If I hadn't followed that cat-"

"Whoa, hold on," Daichi interrupted. "You followed a cat? That's how you ran into him and his sidekick?" He barked a laugh. "Natsume, tell me, was it a black cat?"

"She's not superstitious."

"But it was," I threw in.

Daichi laughed harder. "Oh, the irony! There is something seriously creepy about that."

"Nothing creepy. Just rude and unethical and if this seat really means that much to you, then I'll give it away for an apology." I studied him, searching his eyes to a clue to what he was thinking.

His smirk was barely noticeable. "Fine."

I shot to my feet. "Fine!" Sitting down in the seat directly next to the one he was now sitting in, I waited for him to get comfortable before clearing my throat.

He glanced over at me. "Don't believe everything everyone says to you, little girl. Chances are they're lying to get what they want out of you."

Before I could object and throw a fit like the child he thought I was, Daichi hooted. "Koko! Look who just rolled up!"

Koko looked out the window from the table he was taking an order from and sighed, rubbing out the frown lines on his forehead. I followed Daichi's gaze, and saw a sleek silver car swing into a parking spot just out front. I watched the car until a tall blonde boy climbed out, and then swung my gaze to Natsume the Jerk and Daichi. Daichi looked victorious, and Natsume had a sort of fond look carefully hidden away in his eyes.

The pieces fell together and I shot out of my seat, forgetting Natsume's unfair tactic at getting me out of my seat. I threw my arms in the air and twirled around. "Yes! That's Ruka, right? The guy you have coffee with sometimes?"

Natsume arched a perfect eyebrow at me. I took it as a yes.

"I have a job!"

Koko came back to the counter with his new order in his hand and sighed once more. "This is against my will," he said, catching a look I didn't recognize from Natsume. "She was determined to get it and Daichi was determined to make her get it."

"She doesn't belong here, Yome," he said.

"Tell that to her."

"Shut up," I said to Natsume the Jerk. "I'm just as suited to this place as you are, and I'm going to rake in the money for Koko and his dad. Just watch me! Pass me my bag, Koko, I have to celebrate!" I waited for him to pass the bag over the counter, and then hoisted it onto my back. "When do I start? Tomorrow? Tonight? I know how to work till. I worked in the same coffee shop for four years. What should I wear?"

"Wear long black pants and a white shirt that shows as little skin as possible," Koko said. "Come in tomorrow at seven in the morning, and I'll have you out of here by eleven."

"But that's only four hours," I objected.

"I'll be training you. Four hours is long enough. If Sumire shows up, then she'll work the long shift, and my dad will come in when I get off."

"You just don't want me to see Natsume because you think we're going to get in a cat fight."

The bells on the door notified us of someone's entrance, and I turned on my heel, beaming. "Hello, Ruka! My name is Mikan, and I'm Koko's newest employee, thanks to you!" I offered my hand, although I almost forgot because his shocking blue eyes nearly floored me.

He cocked his head curiously. "Thanks to me? Nice to meet you, Mikan."

"I had to withstand your buddy's presence until you got here, and I did." I jabbed my thumb at Natsume, who rolled his eyes and turned to Koko, demanding a coffee and a plate of eggs, toast, and bacon.

Ruka chuckled. "You deserve something for that. Natsume's pretty good at scaring people off. Too bad for him, he was cursed with good looks so he's a natural magnet for unwanted attention."

"He's a jerk," I grumbled. "Nothing more to it." I slipped past him, opening the door. "See you tomorrow, Koko! See you never, Natsume! Thanks, Daichi! Nice to meet you, Ruka!"

"Cover up, Mikan!" Koko called, a second before the door slammed shut after me.

I breathed in the warm air, satisfied with myself and with where this was going. Tonight, I was sleep in the same place, except this time when I woke up in the morning, I wouldn't feel hopeless. I would feel reborn, because I had a chance.

It was funny how it worked. The moment I get a job, everybody suddenly wants me. My cell phone rang three times that afternoon, all asking for interviews later in the day. I took two out of the three of them, because the last one was at the same time as another and I would prefer the job for the interview I was attending.

I pulled my hair into a high ponytail and changed into my most sophisticated outfit, which was my sandals and the blazer I'd packed, along with my skinny jeans.

The first interview was at a bar I'd applied at for a waitress position. It was classy, dark on the inside with these neon blue lights under the counters and tables and chairs. The second interview was for a coffee shop, family run, much like the one I'd worked with before my grand escape. It was quiet and the manager/owner was such a doll, and I felt like I related to her personally.

There were two reasons why I chose the waitress job, however. One, because it paidd better. Secondly, because no matter how quiet and quaint this coffee shop was, how relaxing, every time I walked in here it would remind me of the horror I'd escaped that I just wanted to escape.

When the coffee shop called later that night, I told them that I was sorry but something had come up. And, as I'd hoped, the bar called me, too, when there was one bar of battery left on my cell phone, and offered me the job for the night shift, nine in the evening until three in the morning, every second day, and three in the afternoon to midnight, with weekends off. I accepted their offer, and as I hung up my phone, the battery promptly gave out.

I'd packed smartly, having planned on getting a job. The black pants and white button up shirt were what I had worn at the coffee shop, which was fortunate for this new job at Koko's. I was being provided with a uniform at the bar, but I imagined it wouldn't be much different. The manager had been female; that offered me an ounce of assurance.

I slept under the same tree that night, and although I still woke up a hundred times and still woke up sore and disoriented, I was in an infinitely better mood. I was on my feet at five in the morning, stumbling down a path surrounded by trees, lugging my bag off of me, and hating what I was about to do.

I changed into my bathing suit with my blanket wrapped around me, and then stood on the river bank that I'd purposely slept by. I stared down at the water tumbling over the rocks, rushing past my toes, knowing it was going to be cold.

I patted my hair. It was tangled and greasy and I really didn't have a chance. I'd promised to blow Koko's mind with my work ethic. To do that, I figured I'd best be clean.

Holding my breath, I leapt into the water, landing on the rocks on my feet and wincing before dropping my entire body into the icy liquid. A shiver escaped up my spine and made me tremble as I swam against the current to warm up before wading over to the riverbank and fishing through my backpack for my travel sized soap, shampoo and conditioner.

By the time I climbed out of the water, I was shivering and my lips were probably blue. Since I didn't have a towel, I used my blanket to dry off, and then hid behind a bush to change into my work clothes and shake as much water as possible out of my long, heavy hair before braiding it over one shoulder. I used my compact mirror to bat on mascara and give color to my ashen face with foundation and bronzer, and then beamed at myself and used a water bottle from my backpack to brush my teeth.

I was at the door to Yome's Truck Stop and Coffee Shop by quarter to seven.

Koko looked up upon my entrance. The shop was adequately busy with truckers stopping in for breakfast or taking a rest before continuing wherever their journey had them headed. There were a few bikers, too, who were huddled in a corner talking amongst themselves over coffee and donuts. Daichi was nowhere to be seen, and neither were Natsume or his buddy Ruka.

"Morning, Mikan!" Koko exclaimed, motioning for me to go behind the counter. "Welcome to your first day on the job!" He took my backpack from me, apparently startled by its weight. "Why the hell are you carrying this around with you?"

It hadn't even crossed my mind that he hadn't asked about it before, and now that I was faced with the question, I wasn't sure how to answer it. Why did I need a backpack that weight four thousand pounds with me all the time? I couldn't tell him that it currently held my entire life in it.

"Always prepared," I offered meekly.

He looked about to argue, then sighed and dragged it over to a cupboard under the till. "This is where personal items go. It's not very big, so maybe pack a little lighter next time."

"Sorry."

He grinned. "No worries. Come on. I'll show you the ropes."

The kitchen in the back was bigger than I expected, apparently because they did more than coffee shop goodies here. They served soup, salad, and sandwiches at lunch and for dinner had burgers and fries, but breakfast was their specialty. I knew how to use a till and how to answer the phone, and Koko told me that I wouldn't have to worry about the gas station part of the business, just the customer service related part, because that's what I would be best at.

"There's one thing you have to understand, Mikan," he said, suddenly very serious. "I will tell you what tables to serve. You have to listen to me. If you serve a table that I don't want you serving, then I'm going to have to fire you. It's for your own safety and your well-being, understand?"

I didn't understand at all, but I nodded anyway.

He clapped his hands together. "So what have you learned?"

"Discount cards do not apply to anything but gas. Customers cannot get a ten percent discount off of their donuts because they get gas here. Bills in the till should be face up at all times, and our menu does not have anything vegetarian on it. I cannot promise that something has not come in contact with nuts, therefore it isn't entirely safe for someone with severe nut allergies to trust our food. If Natsume comes in, I'm not allowed to serve him – not that I'd want to. If Hotaru comes in, I'm not allowed to serve her because she'd probably find a way to fire me. If you tell me not to serve a certain customer or group of customers, I have to listen or I'm fired."

He nodded in approval. "Good. Let's get you started then. Table three. I want you to take their orders."

The first hour and a half while it was just Koko and I working the shop went smoothly. I fell back into the routine of helping customers like I'd never stopped, and I could tell that whatever I was doing was impressing Koko. I forgot about the strange boy Natsume with the rude attitude and amazing eyes, and I forgot about Koko's paranoid warnings.

And then I was fortunate enough to meet Sumire Shouda.

She came barrelling into the store at ten after nine, wearing a short black skirt and a low cut white shirt. Her curly hair was tinted a strange shade of green and her skin was dried and dark from too much time in the sun, or in a tanning bed. Her teeth flashed out white against the tone of her skin and her lips were heavily glossed. I felt like she'd be much prettier if she didn't try so hard.

"So it's true!" she wailed, pointing an accusing finger at Koko. "You replaced me!"

I stood as still as a stone, a tray of drinks clasped tightly in my hands. I looked from the raging Sumire to Koko, who was just shaking his head in disbelief and sighing. But I caught the look. The fond look that gave me a whole new insight as to why Sumire was still allowed to work here given her awful work ethic. Getting out of high school didn't make you blind to the obvious attraction of one person to another.

"Sumire, stop being a brat," he said, tossing her an apron. "You're irreplaceable."

She looked at the apron in her hand, and then at me, and then she grinned and strutted over to me. "I'm Sumire Shouda, Koko's best employee. Ever."

I took her hand and shook it. "Mikan. Nice to meet you."

Koko was laughing from where he was behind the counter. "Shouda, you're far from my best employee. Mikan's already giving you a run for your money."

She scowled. "Don't play games with me, Yome."

"I'm not. She's got more done in less than two hours than you usually get done in four hours."

I stepped away from her to take the order of the elderly couple that had just taken a seat by the doors of the coffee shop. I figured whatever flirty feud Sumire and Koko had between them had best stay between them. If they wanted to fight over Sumire's usefulness – or uselessness – then I'd better stay out of it. Conflicts had never been my favourite situations.

Either Koko had been exaggerating Sumire's bad work attitude, or she was trying to show off to me, because she was the golden waitress for the whole time she was there with me. By the way Koko looked at her like she'd sprouted a second head, I had to assume that she was showing off. And for some reason, that didn't surprise me. As non-judgemental as I was, it was very easy to tell that she fit the stereotype of snobby rich kid very well.

But hey, kudos to her parents for making her get a job. At least she wouldn't be totally useless when she was out on her own. Unless she planned on marrying rich. Or maybe she had an arranged marriage to someone rich. Maybe she already had her life all figured out for her.

As I cleaned empty coffee mugs and a plate with a half-eaten donut on it off of a table for two, I wondered what I would rather; having a life all planned out for me, or being in the situation I was in now. Knowing that I would probably be going back to the tree that night for bed, I wished I had her life.

Daichi came in around the end of my shift and seemed delighted to see me, not to mention incredibly impressed with my service. I couldn't help but glow at his compliments; it really made me so joyful to know that my hard work was being appreciated in some shape or form.

"Hey, Mik," he said at some point from where he sat at the counter on the high bar stool, the exact same place he'd been sitting yesterday. When I turned to him, he motioned me over. "Watch Sumire for a minute. Notice what she's doing?"

I looked over my shoulder at Sumire while I absently dried a coffee mug with my hands. She was shooting smiles at customers and being excessively flamboyant with the male customers, especially the ones with the long beards that eyed her exposed legs like they were pieces of chicken.

"Being super friendly?" I asked. "Friendly enough to make Koko seethe?"

Apparently not expecting that answer, Daichi looked back at Koko and slammed his fist on the counter. "Well, I'll be darned."

"What?"

"The kid's looking at her with stars in his eyes! You know, I could have sworn he hated her for causing so much trouble. Always late, never stays as long as she's supposed to, no self respect." He looked up at me, eyes narrowed in consideration. "How is it that you can walk in here and notice something like that, that I haven't even noticed when I'm in here five days a week, but you don't notice how often she glances at the clock?"

"I'm fresh out of high school," I reminded him. "I'm attuned to teenage attraction. Is she really that anxious to get out of here?"

He snorted. "Nah. It nearly eleven o'clock. That means it's about an hour until Natsume's due to come in."

I reached for the coffee pot to warm up his depleting cup of coffee. "So what? He doesn't strike me as the type to tip well. Actually, he doesn't strike me as the type to tip at all. And it's not like he's overly friendly or anything. He's a nasty jerk."

"I thought you were attuned to teenage attraction."

"What? Sumire's attracted to Hyuuga? No way. There is no way someone as pretty as her could actually think a big jerk like him is worth an ounce of her time." When he just stared seriously back, I frowned. "You're kidding. She really does like him? Didn't you say he doesn't give the time of day to any female?"

"Not the ones like Shouda, who are like every other girl on the planet, stopping in the middle of the street just to stare at him as he walks by. Women worship him, Mik. I think you surprised us all when you didn't."

"He's an asshole! Wait, that was mean. He's just…a really big jerk. It shouldn't matter that he's good looking. He's just-"

"No, it shouldn't matter that he's a jerk," Sumire said, walking around the counter and sticking a slip of paper with someone's order on the kitchen window. "Someone who looks like that doesn't need a good personality. Hell, I'd be his bitch if he asked me to be."

I stared at her, nose crinkled. "But why?"

"He's a god, honey. All of my friends would be so jealous if I could get with him." She grabbed the mug of coffee I'd been pouring for one of my tables and put it on a tray with two glasses of water before shooting me a smile and strutting off.

"All right, Mikan," Koko said, putting his hand on my back and moving me out of the way. "You're done for the day. Daichi, what have you been corrupting her innocent mind with?"

"It wasn't me," Daichi objected. "Shouda's trying to twist logic around on her." He pointed at me. "This girl's smarter than we thought."

Koko watched me with a calculating stare. "Maybe you're right. We'll see how she holds her own. So you still want to come back?"

"I'll stay longer if you want me to."

"No. You don't need any longer on your first day. Same time tomorrow?"

I nodded, pulling my backpack out of the cupboard under the till. "Thanks, Koko! It was really great working with you. Really. It was. I'll see you at seven tomorrow morning!"

"Wait!" Sumire called after me. "Isn't she going to stick around for Natsume?"

"Unlike you, Mikan has a head on her shoulders," Koko answered. "Where you're shallow and think that looks are what makes a man attractive, Mikan is very self respecting and believes that no woman should allow herself to be treated like a piece of meat simply because the object of her lust thinks he's high above her. Now that is an admirable aspect."

I laughed, throwing the door of the shop open and stepping halfway out. "You're flattering me Koko. Sumire does have self respect, just a different kind."

I had ten hours to kill before I started at my evening job. With two different incomes now securely in my grasp, it was easier to warm up to the idea of spending my money wisely. The manager at the bar, Chihiro, had assured me that the entire uniform, except the shoes was provided. I was told to purchase a pair of black heels that were comfortable but still sexy which I didn't believe was possible but didn't plan on arguing with her about.

That was my first stop. I pulled the map out of my backpack and sat down on a bench, pouring over it in search of a nearby mall. When I found one, I used the walk over to contemplate whether to buy a pair of shoes that were good quality and expensive, or a pair that were cheap but may need to be replaced soon. I ended up making my decision based upon the fact that I picked up a pair of thirty dollar heels with a white bow on the toe and fell in love with them.

I spent the next hour and a half at a library, which took me an hour to walk to. Instead of looking for an apartment, I looked for people who were looking for roommates to split rent with. I wrote down all of my options on the piece of the Safe Grad permission form that I'd stuffed into my backpack months ago and never taken out again. Then I picked up and took everything to a table to compare my options, and while I used a borrowed calculator from the library desk to calculate the cost of living, I charged my phone in a nearby plug-in.

It was five o'clock by the time my stomach grumbled in agony. I complied by feeding it a burger and fries from the burger joint that was on the way to the river. On the river bank, under the strong sun where dozens of people were already dotting the riverbank and enjoying the warm day, I laid down on my blanket and closed my eyes.

Here, it would just look like I was sun tanning. Really, I was having a nap, because I had nowhere else to go to have a nap.

I don't know why, but when I woke up at eight o'clock my stomach was in knots in anticipation and walking to the bar was made difficult because my legs felt like jello.

The bar was on the corner of a street downtown, which meant that when I got there it was already overflowing with people, half of whom were already drunk. Inside, it was mostly dark, save for the lights on the dance floor and the neon blue lights that were beneath the counter at the bar and under tables and chairs. The music was so loud that I didn't know anyone was supposed to hear anything that was said to them, and I wondered how the waitresses or the bartenders managed to get through each night without ODing on painkillers.

"Mikan!"

I looked towards the bar, where the manager who had interviewed me the evening before was waving from the counter. She was short, and wearing a long sleeved black shirt with black pants. She was mixing a drink beside the bulky bartender that had been there during my interview, and he was looking towards me too.

His name was Narumi. He was tall and blonde and my first instinct when I'd seen him was that he was gay, but I couldn't be sure. He had the most charming smile and he'd been unbelievably polite to me. Now, he waved in welcoming.

Chihiro slid the drink to her customer across the bar and then hurried around counter to grab my arm and drag me after her. "I'm so glad you came! Come on, come on! Let's get you changed! You'll look beautiful! I'm going to introduce you to Nonoko and Anna. You'll love them!"

I grinned. "Great!"

She took me into the staff room, where she picked up a clothing bag off of the break table and pressed it into my arms. "This is your uniform. Let me see your shoes! Oh, those are beautiful! I hope you can walk in them. Your feet are going to be sore at the end of the night. I highly suggest a foot bath tonight. Or I guess, tomorrow morning. The bathroom's right over there. Go get changed and come on out and I'll show you how it's done."

The uniform was not what I expected. I was expecting long pants and a shirt like Chihiro's. But no. I was given a short black jean skirt and a low cut black tank top. I stared at myself in the mirror for a long time, trying to decide how I felt about it.

"Oh well," I muttered, opening the bathroom door. "No one will hit on me. I look too young."

As I walked into the break room, a girl with the most extravagant pink hair I'd ever seen, all down her back, burst in from the bar, a grin on her face. When she saw me, her eyes lit up.

"You must be Mikan!" She skirted around the table to me and held out her hand. When I offered mine, she took it and gave it a solid shake. "I'm Anna. It's so nice to meet you! Has Chihiro given you the DL on how to act? Probably not. She usually forgets. Come with me. I'll train you tonight until Chihiro gets back." She grabbed me by the wrist and tugged me after her.

I didn't stumble in my heels. I'd always been good at walking in four inch stilettos – it was pretty much a talent I was born with, it came so naturally. Anna looked back at me a few times to make sure I wasn't falling over, and gave my feet a glance of approval.

"So first," she said over the noise, "it's really important to be able to read your customers here. Know what they're thinking and what they're here for, but never be too forward, because that could get you into trouble. Chihiro takes good care of her staff, and she never wants any of us to get into something that we can't get out of, or something that would be dangerous for us. Okay?"

I frowned. "Dangerous how?"

She laughed. "Mikan, we're working a bar where men are going to be drinking a lot. Half of the men that come here are single and looking, or newly single and looking to forget an ex. Enter the waitresses, who are wearing skimpy clothing and are giving our male customers attention – because that's our job. The bottom line is, guys are going to hit on you. Hell, even girls will hit on you. The trick is to know how to keep yourself safe."

I looked down at myself. "You really think they'll hit on me?"

She didn't even look back at me when she said, "Oh, without a doubt. You're hot. It's a consequence."

Behind the bar, Narumi was mixing two drinks for the ladies sitting daintily across from him. They were talking to each other, but of the two, the brunette kept sending Narumi fluttery-eyed glances hoping he'd notice.

"See that?" Anna pointed. "What is the woman doing right now?"

"Flirting?" I guessed. "With her eyes?"

"Yes. Like that Katy Perry song. I'm flirting with my eyes, wanna leave with you tonight. Good job. You see what Narumi's doing? He's being friendly but very distant. That's what you have to do. If he were to be any friendlier, that girl would probably ask for his number. He doesn't want that. There's a really fine line. You can't be too distant or customers will complain about customer service."

"Hey! Anna!"

We both turned to see the approach of a tall, pale girl with hair that was so dark it looked black in the lack of light of the bar. She pranced over to us on heels that looked even higher than mine and came to a stop in front of me. "Mikan? I'm Nonoko! Nice to meet you! First time working in a bar?"

I nodded.

She laughed. "You've got that deer in the headlights look. Don't worry! Just keep your cool and avoid any men taking swings at your ass!"

It was harder than she made it sound. Anna had me follow her to the first table she took orders from so I could see how she did it. She gave smiles all around the table of guys, never coming in close enough contact that one of them could touch her, but always wearing this charming, welcoming smile that gave off a friendly and slightly flirty vibe.

The next table, she made me do on my own, which I wasn't sure I was ready for. She sent me with a table populated with men and women, however, so I felt far less uncomfortable. As soon as I was at the table, it was easy to melt into the usual friendly person I was.

"Good job!" Anna praised. "Looks like you're not going to need much help after all!"

She had me memorize the specials in case someone asked, and then had me memorize the kind of beers we had on tap, and then she sent me off on my own. Since I'd waitressed before, it wasn't hard to pick up on, and before I knew it, I was on my dinner break – on which I ate nothing – and then we were closing the bar.

Chihiro apparently had caught up to Anna while I was at a table taking orders, and told her to tell me I was doing a great job before she had to leave for the end of her shift. It was just me, Anna, Nonoko, Narumi, and two other bartenders whose names I didn't know for the rest of the night. Until three in the morning. Around midnight I started feeling tired. By two o'clock, when we closed the bar and started clean up and count the tills, I was sluggish and my feet felt broken.

I can't quite express my hopelessness knowing that I didn't have anywhere to go where I could soak my feet in the bath, or any bed to curl up on to sleep comfortably before tackling my two jobs again the next day.

"So, Mikan," Nonoko asked while we were cleaning up. "Are you new in town?"

I nodded, pretending I was energetic when all I could think about was sleep. "Just graduated high school. My aunt lives here and came here to live with her while I work so I can go to post secondary here!" It came easily now, as automatic as if it were the truth. But it wasn't. And I couldn't forget that.

I changed my shoes while we cleaned up, slipping my flip flops on and jamming my pretty heels into my backpack. The sigh was impossible to muffle; it felt amazing.

Anna laughed. "That's what I did after my first shift too. I'm really impressed though. You did an amazing job."

I grinned, grateful. "Thanks! Do you two always work the night shift?"

Both nodded. "We've both been working here for a year now," she explained. "We're roommates. It pays the bills."

"It actually pays really well," I put in. Which was good for me.

"That's why we stick around," Nonoko said. "That, and the atmosphere is great. We like the people here. Never had any trouble!"

Anna shot her a look. "I wouldn't say never."

I stood up from where I'd been crouched on the ground picking up a fallen fork and turned to face them, instantly curious. "What kind of trouble?"

Nonoko waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, nothing huge. Gangs come in here, you know? It's a bar, kind of the place they'd gravitate towards. Anyway, two different gangs ended up in here and they had this showdown. We called the police. Everything turned out all right."

"Was everyone all right?" I asked, unable to hide my concern.

Anna patted my shoulder. "You're too cute. Everyone was fine."

The lights in the bar shut off, and without batting an eyelash, Nonoko and Anna made their way to the break room. I trailed behind them, stumbling over the leg of a table and catching myself on the bar counter. The lights in the break room were still on though, so I could see as I reached for my backpack and waited for Narumi, Anna, Nonoko, and the other two bartenders to grab their stuff.

"How was your first shift, Mikan?" Narumi asked with this cheerful grin that was out of place at three in the morning. "Fantastic? Adventurous? A beautiful journey?"

Nonoko rolled her eyes. "It's too late for your drama, Narumi," she muttered. "How 'bout, was it good?"

I laughed. "It was a fantastically adventurous, beautiful journey."

Narumi clapped his hands together. "See, ladies? That's how it's done!"

Anna groaned. "Mikan, you can't play along with him. He'll drive you mad eventually."

"Now, now, Anna. Don't be mad because I like Mikan more than you already."

"Hey!" She slapped his arm. "That's not the kind of thing you say to the girl that gave you a ride home because you were too baby to walk in the rain last week!"

That was one thing I was not prepared for. Rain. And when I opened the door first and stepped outside into the torrential downpour, I believe I died a little bit inside.

Nonoko barked out a laugh. "Suck on that Narumi! Now what are you going to do?"

The two other bartenders, who hadn't said much, said their goodbyes and hurried across the street to their vehicles. Narumi latched onto Anna's arm, pretending to sob – or maybe he really was sobbing. It was hard to tell.

"I'm sorry, Anna! You're my favourite! You always have been!"

She wiggled out of his grasp, chuckling. "You're an idiot. Come on. We can take you home."

Nonoko crossed her arms over her chest. "Oh, can we?"

Anna laughed and stepped out from under the cover of the bar and into the pouring rain. "We're nice people. You don't need a ride too, do you, Mikan?"

I managed to smile. "No thanks. I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Bye, Mikan!" Narumi called.

I didn't dig my sweater out of my backpack because I didn't want it to be wet in case I had to sleep with it on. I wrapped my arms around myself instead and began walking through the dark, my path lit only by the occasional flashes of lightening and the streetlights. Ten minutes into the walk, I was pretty sure that I wasn't going to be able to get back to the river.

"Mikan, you are full of bad ideas," I muttered to myself, shivering when a gust of wind blew my wet hair, matting it against my face and neck and bare shoulders. "Next time, maybe you should make sure you can afford an apartment before you decide to run away."

I heard the vehicle before I actually processed that it was close and that it was stopping. The brakes squeaked from the rain, and I could hear the windshield wipers beating back and forth. I slowed down, looking over my shoulder as the small red car came to a stop at the curb next to me.

The passenger window rolled down, and a boy leaned across the seat. "Need to get somewhere?"

I squinted into the car, and then the boy's face eventually processed as the face of the boy from the other night, the one who Natsume the Jerk had been beating up. Fighting the sigh of relief, I reached for the car door and let myself inside.

"I'm sorry," I said, shoving my backpack down by my feet. "I'm soaking wet."

"That's all right." He pushed his glasses us his nose, his eyes awkwardly lingering on the skin that my short skirt exposed. "What are you doing out in the rain?"

I caught my breath. "Um. Going…home?"

"Where do you live? I'll take you there."

I looked over at him. We were stopped at a red light, and in the glow of the streetlights and the lights coming from the dashboard, I could see the raw innocence of his face, which made me wonder all the more how he'd gotten himself into trouble with Natsume the Jerk.

"Can you keep a secret?" I asked.

He looked over, surprised. "Yes?"

I turned to look out the windshield, running my hands over my face before bending over and burying my face in my knees. "All right. Here it goes. I don't have a home."

His eyebrows shot up, disappearing under his blonde hair. His glasses fell all the way down his nose before he pushed them up irritably. But just as quickly as it came, the expression disappeared. "You need somewhere to stay?"

"I've been looking. I'm trying to find somewhere to rent, and I think I'm getting pretty close. I just need to make a final decision. It's not a big deal. I've been sleeping down at a park for the last couple of nights. It's not bad, but…" I motioned out the window. "I'm not dumb enough to get pneumonia."

"Mikan, right?"

I nodded.

"You can stay with me until you find a place. If you want, I mean. You don't have to, if you don't want to. I just have the couch. But it's a little better than the ground at the park. Depending who you ask, I guess. It's up to you. You can use my washing machine, too, and the shower and everything. It's not a big deal. Right? You might not want to hang around me, though, because I'm caught up with all that crap. But I'm not a bad guy, honest."

I barely noticed the blush creeping up his neck. My own heart was beginning to beat with this sense of hope that I pleaded with fate not to let me false. "Are you sure? I don't want to cause any trouble…"

He swallowed loudly. "I'm sure. It's no problem. I owe you anyway."

I didn't bother fighting my grin. Safely stopped at another red light, I threw myself at him, winding my arms around his neck and holding him tightly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! Oh, I can tell we're going to be good friends."

His apartment was about a ten minute drive from the bar. He was on the fourth floor, right above a couple that liked to fight and right below a few teenagers that liked to party. However, since I would be working until three in the morning, I would likely miss the worst of their parties for the duration of my stay.

The apartment was a single bedroom, with a small bath and shower and a small living room that had only enough room for a couch and a chair and a small TV. But the moment I sat down on the small, worn couch, I groaned in joy and comfort and melted into the fabric.

"Thank you, Yuu. I mean it. This means a lot to me."

He ran his hand through his hair. "It's not a problem. Like I said, I kind of owe you."

I stood up. "Don't be ridiculous. You don't owe me anything. I was just in the right place at the right time."

He nervously stuck his hands in his pockets, rocking back onto his heels. "Nothing bad would have happened. I know it seemed like it, but…Natsume wouldn't have hurt me."

"Are you kidding? The guy's a jerk."

He shook his head. "We went to school together. I've known him since the first grade. He wouldn't have hurt me. He was just putting on a show because he's got a reputation to keep and it would be against Persona's rules if he let me off easy. He's just doing his job."

I snorted. "His job is beating people up?"

He tilted his head, studying me like I was forgetting something. "Mikan, aren't you going to ask why he was after me to begin with?"

"No. Why would I ask that? That's your business. And I don't want you to think I'm judgemental. Because I'm totally not."

"You're staying in my apartment. Don't you want to know what kind of person you're sharing a bathroom with?"

"Yuu, you don't really strike me as a criminal. But if it makes you feel better, fine. I'll ask. What was Natsume after you for?"

He took a deep breath, exhaled slowly through his nose. "Natsume's a collector. He collects the things that Persona is owed. I got into some trouble a couple years back financially. I thought Persona was a godsend when he gave me money out of the blue. And then he started asking for it back.

"He wanted me to sell drugs for him. Traffic them. He wanted me to race cars too. Natsume does that. He races cars for money. But Natsume wouldn't let me get into all of that. He said if I paid the cash I owed, Persona would leave me alone, and that would be that."

I felt my face soften. "This Persona guy sounds nasty."

"He is. He got Natsume out of trouble, too. That's why Natsume's in the gang. He can't get out because he owes Persona too much. And he's Persona's best racer, so it's not like he'll let him go easy."

I couldn't help the feeling of bitterness towards this Persona character. He reminded me a lot of my mom; controlling and kind of a bitch. I didn't want anyone to have to go through a situation anywhere close to similar to mine, whether it was Natsume the Jerk or not.

"Thanks for telling me, Yuu," I said softly.

He nodded. "I'm going to head to bed. Feel free to have a bath or something. You look cold."

Now that he mentioned it, I realized that my skin was prickled with goosebumps and I was quivering in my wet clothes. While he turned and closed himself into his bedroom, I made a beeline for the bath. While it filled with steaming hot water, I ate a granola bar and promised myself to start eating more in the next little while.

I got into the bath with relish, letting the scalding water engulf my aching limbs and soothe the cold out of them. I leaned my head back against the wall and closed my eyes, and while I drifted, I thought of Persona, and how he demanded the impossible from Yuu – money – and my mom, and how she demanded from me the things I couldn't give her – affection, loyalty, and perfection.

A/N: This was longer than I realized. Sorry about that! Once again, this required more building up! But I promise you, now that they have met, it can only get better from here on out! Stay tuned!

xo.