Hey! I'm back! Well, I don't want to waist any more of your time, so I'll just get this over with! Just really quick! See ya at the bottom! :D
DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Gakuen Alice nor do I own its characters! They belong to the one and only Tachibana Higuchi! I only own this story plot and the characters that I randomly make up! :D
Last time on Outside the Gates
(Yeah….I'm still using this line)
"Do you need anything?" Mikan asked me, poking her head in through the door.
I shook my head, lying down on the bed with my arms under my head as Mikan nodded.
"Well, if you need anything, I'm right across the hall" Mikan said.
"Hn. Night" I said, closing my eyes.
"Night" she replied, closing the door.
I didn't know how exhausted I was until I closed my eyes; because instantly, I fell asleep.
Outside the Gates
~Chapter 4~
~Natsume's POV~
The next morning, after I woke up, I went upstairs to find Mikan, clad in tan shorts that ended mid thigh and a white tank top that hugged her curves. Her hair was down, falling perfectly to her small waist. She looked beautiful in a tomboyish way. I have no idea how she pulled it off, but she did.
I found that she hadn't noticed me yet, for she kept on with her business of making breakfast. She was humming a tune as she did so. Her voice, as much as I have heard, was like an angel. No, it was even BETTER than an angel! It may be even better than a goddess' voice! Well, at least I think it sounds that way. She's only humming after all. And a lot of people sound really good when their humming. But the little girl made it sound as if it were the most beautiful sound coming from heaven!
"There's a song that's inside of my soul…" she began singing. And guess what? I was right! She sounded magnificent!
"It's the one that I've tried to write over and over again." Mikan walked around as she sang, the sizzling of the food on the cooking pan sounded as if it were trying to harmonize with her voice.
"I'm awake in the infinite cold. But you sing to me over and over and over again." By now, she was setting up the table as she let the food sit on the pan.
I snuck to the counter behind her as she sang, setting up the plates. Wow, she was really distracted to not notice me. I swear she should have noticed I was here by now.
"So I lay my head back down. And I lift my hands and pray to be only yours; I pray to be only yours. I know now, you're my only-" she turned around and gave out a small squeak of surprise.
Since the counter and the table only had enough room between it for a person to pass through, she came up face to face with me when she turned around; or rather, my chest.
When Mikan found out it was me, which didn't take long, she gave a sigh of relief and closed her eyes to regain her breath. A few seconds later, she was looking up at me with a cute pout on her lips. She crossed her arms and furrowed her eyebrows cutely.
"What are you doing? Don't you know you almost gave me a heart attack! Don't do that!" Mikan scolded me. She took a deep breath before asking "How long have you been there anyways?"
"Long enough" I replied, smirking.
"And how long is that?" she asked me, raising her now not furrowed eyebrows.
I shrugged.
"D-did you hear me….sing?" she asked hesitantly.
I nodded, looking at her with a stoic face. Then, she started getting nervous. What was up with her? She seems, uneasy. And then I realized something. She's nervous because I heard her. I'm guessing no one knows how great she sounds when she sings.
"H-how'd it sound?" she asked quietly.
I raised an eyebrow as I said "It wasn't bad." I wasn't lying when I said that. She wasn't bad at all. She was great! I just couldn't say that she was so amazing because of my damn stupid pride.
"I knew they were only saying it!" Mikan exclaimed, flailing her arms in the air.
I blinked before I caught her arms, holding them by her wrists. "Stop doing that idiot. Now who told you what?" I was utterly confused. I ignored the jolt of electricity that was sent through me when I touched her and set my gaze on her.
"U-uh, my brothers. They told me I sing like an angel…I don't believe them. Of course, my brothers wouldn't want to hurt my feelings if they said I sucked so you just proved my theory" Mikan explained.
I stared at her wide eyed. Wow, she doesn't believe in her singing abilities. I closed my eyes and shook my head, not letting go of her wrists. I looked up and into her beautiful honey-brown eyes, seriousness in my eyes.
"You are an IDOT" I told her slowly, emphasizing the last word.
Mikan gave me a confused looked before I continued, "You DO sing like an angel you twit. I was just trying to see how you would react. You really don't have any self esteem do you? What an idiot."
Mikan pouted. "I'm NOT an idot!"
Mikan pulled out of my grasp and went to the stove and turned it off, finishing up the cooking for breakfast. She had the worst excuse of a scowl adorning her face. Honestly, when she TRIED to look mad, she looked cute instead.
"Are you just going to sit there day dreaming all day or are you going to have some breakfast?" Mikan asked, still sounding irritated.
"Hn" I hopped off of the counter and went next to her, following her lead in getting food.
We sat at the table, eating our breakfast in silence. The silence wasn't awkward, it was perfectly comfortable. I actually liked it. It was much better than having breakfast at Gakuen Alice where all of my fangirls will be watching my every move as I tried to eat without feeling...awkward.
"So" Mikan started, "How long are you going to stay this time?"
"What day is it?" I asked.
"Uh...Wednesday...why?" she replied with a confused expression.
"Hn." I thought about the timeline. Since I left Monday, I only have two days to stay here. And with the teleportation Alice stone, I just leave on Thursday at sunset. Easy as that.
"I leave Thursday at sunset" I said.
"Wow, a specific time set, huh?" Mikan asked me, grinning like an idiot.
"Hn" I replied.
Mikan got up and took my plates along with hers, seeing as we were both done.
"Well, I have to go to work today at noon. Do you wanna come along? I work at a cafe, so it'll be easy for you to hang out in the shop as I work." Mikan asked as she washed the dishes and I cleaned the table.
"Hn."
"Hey, is hn your favorite word or something? 'Cause you sure use that word a lot."
"Hn."
"Hey, that doesn't even make any sense!"
"Hn."
"I'll just take that as a 'shut up'."
I didn't mean for her to take it that way! But, she just stayed silent as she finished up the dishes. I didn't say anything because of my damned pride. Jeez, it really does get in the way a lot.
When we were finished, Mikan went downstairs while I just sat on the couch, waiting. Mikan came back up a few minutes later with pure with high top converse and a high cut sweater. Mikan tossed me a pair of blue jean shorts that would end at her knees and a black shirt with converse.
"Change" Mikan said. "...Well, if you want to come."
I nodded and headed downstairs to my room and changed. There was a tooth brush on my bed along with toothpaste. I did what was intended for me to do: brush my teeth. When I came up, Mikan was waiting next to the door, checking on the time. I looked at the clock myself. The time read 11:27; 33 minutes until Mikan's shift.
"C'mon Natsume! We have to leave now if I'm going to make my shift!"
"Shouldn't you be going to school little girl?"
"Nah, I don't think I can. I'm pretty sure if I showed my face in front of Luna I'd be ripped to shreds."
"What happened?"
"Oh, uh, she's just...I dunno...jealous?"
"Why?"
"You ask a lot of questions, huh?"
By this point, we were walking down a little dirt road towards the town. It wasn't that far away. It would probably just take five to ten minutes to get into the main town.
I raised an eyebrow at her, waiting for her REAL answer.
"Sigh, fine. I'll tell you. Well, Luna had her eyes on this guy and he asked me out. If you ask me, it's nothing really big." Mikan said.
I felt jealousy course through my veins. A guy asked her out? I could feel the air around us actually get a bit warmer. Well, not a bit warmer but way fucking hotter. It's probably because I'm mad and my Alice would act up if I'm mad. Hehe, you won't like me when I'm angry. (A/N: I'm sorry, I'm just HAD to put that! Haha, did any of you get it? :D)
"Wow, did it just get hotter out here?" Mikan asked, fanning herself with her hand while taking off her sweater.
I just rolled my eyes at her and we kept walking. Within the matter of minutes, we had reached the small cafe she worked at: Nadeshiko Cafe.
"Well, here we are!" Mikan said, beaming a huge smile at me.
"Tell me," I started as the two of us walked in through the front door and towards the staff room, "how come it was faster for us to get here than to have gotten to that shack of yours yesterday?"
"Oh, we had to go the long way to throw off Luna and my aunt. I don't want them to know that I have that shack."
"Hn."
"Stay here. I'm going to get into uniform."
I nodded as she entered the staff room. I decided that it would be a good time to take a look at my surroundings. The cafe was small yet homey. It had tables where they could be placed. I was standing near the staff room door which was in the far right corner of the cafe. A counter to serve drinks and pastries was aligned at the back wall. I saw that the waitresses were staring at me with seductive glances. It seemed as if there were only waitresses...where are the guys?
And then, I noticed what the waitresses were wearing: maid costumes. It was the type of maids dress that was the 'original' except that the skirt was...shorter.
The costume was black. It had poofed sleeves that ended mid-arm. The top hugged the curves of the waitresses and flowed out at the waist. The skirt ended mid thigh. It had a white colar and a white apron on top. The head piece was the traditonal white crown thing. Trust me, I have no idea what it's called. Black boots adorned their feet.
And then, something seemed to click. This place didn't have any guy waiters because... don't tell me Mikan's gonna...
All of a sudden, the door to the staff room opened and out popped Mikan. I felt my cheeks get warm as she stepped out. She looked...wow. I looked her up and down and couldn't help but feel...aroused? Yeah, that. And now, I feel ashamed as well. Why do I feel such an attraction to a girl I don't even know that well and not feel that way to other girls that I don't know that well when they're dressed this way? It's completely weird.
"So, can I get you anything while you wait?" Mikan asked me, a huge smile on her face.
I blushed a deeper red as I saw her smile. Beautiful...
"Natsume? Hello, earth to Natsume! Are you there?" Mikan gave me a confuzzled look, eyebrows furrowed as her face got nearer. I blushed even deeper. I can feel her breath on my face!
"O-oh...uh, some...black coffe?" I answered.
"...okay..." she gave me a questioning look before she took me to a little booth in the corner and sat me there. She left for the small kitchen behind the counter and started making me my coffee.
I ignored the seductive looks the girl population of the cafe were giving me
as I concentrated on how the guys looked at Mikan. Those damn bastards! No one looks at Mikan like that! She's MI- wait! Stop. Thinking. About. This.
I took a deep breath and let it go. Mikan came to me and gave me my coffee and went to take the orders of the other customers. I watched her carefully, observing how she would wait her customers.
"Hello and welcom to Nadeshiko Cafe! My name is Mikan and I will be your server today!" Mikan gave her each customer her big, beautiful smile. And guess what? Most of them were guys. Bastards. "May I take your order?"
"Yeah sweet cheeks. Just some coffee will do. Why don't you sit down and join me?" the stupid bastard was caressing Mikan's cheek and holding her waste. I had to use all of my will power not to kill him right now.
"I'm sorry, but we have so many customers and they need me right now" Mikan declined politely, a smile on her lips. "I'll be right back with your coffee sir!"
The guy sighed as Mikan walked off, going behind the counter to get his order. That guy's lucky I didn't kill him. What the fuck was he thinking? He doesn't deserve to touch her! No one but me! ...Well, I haven't touched her...yet.
Mikan gracefully walked back to the guy and gave him his coffee before going to serve another guy. The process was pretty much the same: Mikan introducing herself and giving the dude a table, him telling her what she wants and then flirting with her, her running off in a polite way, serving the bastard, and getting the next one. And let me tell you this: it is fucking annoying.
By the time she was off of work, a billion guys have flirted with her and I've gotten pissed out of my mine a billion times. Now, I know one thing for sure: all the dudes here are fucking hormonal; more than me. And that's saying something.
Mikan walked up to me as her shift ended at 5. "I'll just get dressed and we'll be going soon, 'kay?"
I nodded to her as she walked into the staff room once more. When she got out, she smiled at me and signaled for me to follow her. I complied as the both of us headed out, Mikan letting her boss know she was leaving.
When we got outside, the two of us starded walking towards her 'small' shack. As we walked down the dirt road, we relished in the sun's setting rays before day turned into night. It was a silent walk; no one tried to talk. Until I decided to break the silence.
"Does that happen all the time?" I asked her, my tone sounding a bit annoyed.
"What do you mean?" Mikan asked me with innocent eyes.
"You know, your job. Do all the guys flirt with you?"
"Oh, that."
It was quiet for a little while. I guess I hit the awkward spot. Then, Mikan started laughing. I looked at her like she was crazy. What the hell?
"Sorry, laughing eases the awkwardness. And yes, it does happen all the time." Mikan answered both my questions; told and untold.
"That's just annoying" I muttered under my breath, glaring at the ground.
"What did you say?" Mikan asked. I just shook my head.
I can't let her know that I feel...jealous. I can't let her know that I...have feelings for her. I've only known her for a few days; tops. And trust me, that would be a disaster.
~Chapter 4 End~
Well, it's done! I hope all of you liked it! Well, I would like to say thanks for all who reviewed and/or added me to their alerts! I am really sorry for not being able to put down your names and reply to your reviews! I'm just...my life's just...WOW! It's gotten WAY crazier than I had imagined! So, I guess I could say that I'm kinda depressed right now too. Bad stuff is happening...bad BAD stuff...
Anywho, thank you very much and many apologies! I gotta go now! I'm pressed for time! :D
~natsumikanluverization697 logging off! :D