No, unfortunately I don't own Gakuen Alice, or the songs used.
The Last Night by Skillet
Faded by the Veronicas
Mikan stared out the window of her room, her elbow propped up on the windowsill and her cheek cradled in the palm of her hand. The rain pattered softly against the glass, but she was barely aware of the soothing sound.
She was more focused on her messed up feelings.
Unfortunately, she hadn't had a whole lot a time to think about the things going on around her, the people she was letting herself fall dangerously close to. Her passion for music and her strong want to keep her grades up was making her fall behind in herself.
A light wrap on her door dragged her out of her reverie. She pulled herself away from her window and strode over to the door. She's been expecting to see one of her band mates, and seeing Natsume's band standing there definitely shocked her.
"We have something to discuss with you and your band," Natsume said roughly.
Mikan shot him a scornful glare. "What about?" she demanded.
Ruka held out a piece of paper for her to read. It looked like a fan letter.
"What?" Mikan gave the piece of paper a curious glance. "You get them all the time. What's the big deal?" She looked up at Ruka, her eyes wide and innocent. "There's really no reason to be here." She was hinting for them to leave, that was written all over her face, plain and simple.
"Read it, idiot." Natsume snatched it away from Ruka and waved it closer to her face.
Mikan scowled and grabbed the piece of paper. Natsume watched in amusement as her eyes scanned over the page and slowly began to widen in absolute horror. When she looked back up at them and practically threw the paper at Ruka's face, she looked as though she could be pushed over with a touch from a feather.
Tsubasa, who was standing behind Ruka, chuckled.
Koko had to restrain himself before he burst into a fit of his annoying laughter.
"I'm not singing with you," Mikan stated firmly, shaking her head to throw her train of thought back on track. "I'm not singing a duet with you, Natsume Hyuuga, no way in hell."
"This is for the fans, Mikan," Ruka assured her.
But Mikan was barely listening. She was still glowering at Natsume. He's so mean, she thought angrily. She shuddered in disgust as she remembered the feel of his lips against hers, a thought that brought her back to her previous predicament, before she had been so rudely disturbed. Why on earth did I kiss him back?
Ruka waved his hand in front of her face. "Uh, Mikan?"
She'd zoned out.
Anna clapped enthusiastically. "I think they should do it!"
They were currently at a meeting in the school's music room, The Fallen Angels and The White Tigers, Natsume and Mikan, all together in one, spacious, echoing room. That could only mean one thing.
As usual, the two lead singers were bickering back and forth while the rest of the people in the room talked amongst themselves, trying to tune out the loud voices.
"I'm not doing it!" Mikan insisted.
"If you don't do it, I lose fans, and that means I lose money," Natsume argued stoically.
"What would we even sing?" she argued. "I don't have any boy-girl duet songs!"
"We do, Mikan," Koko piped up. He dug through Ruka's briefcase, which was sitting against his chair. When he stood up, there was a thin booklet in his hands, the papers stapled together in the corner. He held it out to her.
Mikan looked to her band for help, but they all nodded eagerly (except for Hotaru, of course).
Rolling her eyes, she took the paper from his outstretched hand and read over it from where she was standing in the middle of the room, facing Natsume, who was also standing, but in an a lot calmer fashion.
The Last Night, Broken, and Gotta Go My Own WaySeeing that the first choice only had a few parts for her, she smiled. "I'm willing to sing 'The Last Night', but that's it," she said, giving the papers back to Koko. Photocopy the song lyrics for all of us and have it to us by tonight." She turned to leave, but Tsubasa stopped her in her tracks.
"We have another concert."
The room fell silent, mostly because of the girls' shocked expressions (once again, except for Hotaru).
Mikan was facing the door, so her facial features weren't visible, but Anna, Nonoko, and Sumire's mouths were hanging open impossibly far and their eyes were as wide as saucers.
"When?" Hotaru asked calmly.
"A month."
"WHAT?" Mikan spun on her heel to face them, her eyes dancing with rage. "A MONTH? That's hardly any time at all! How do you expect me to learn that song in a month?"
"You'll find a way, Polka-dots," Natsume said before stalking gracefully out of the room. His band members followed closely behind.
"Another one?" Nonoko finally said, breaking the deafening silence. She sounded uneasy. "But last time…"
"The Academy will take extra caution this time, Nonoko," Hotaru reassured them. "We won't be getting kidnapped again. Both Ruka and Natsume have been told to keep us in their sight at all times, and we are not to leave the building without them."
Mikan was stunned. "You knew, didn't you?"
"Yes."
Sumire, Nonoko, and Anna turned to her. "And you have everything planned out already, don't you?"
Hotaru placed her own briefcase gently on her lap and undid the latches. She filed through some of the papers before finally stopping and pulling a booklet out, much thicker than the one Koko had handed her, and placing it in Mikan's awaiting hands. "You'll be singing two songs with Natsume, no arguments."
Mikan stared at the names of the songs. Faded, Emergency. With Natsume: Broken, The Last Night.
The rest of her band stared at her expectantly, waiting for her reply. When they received nothing but a blank look, Anna burst out laughing.
"What?" Mikan asked, clueless.
Nonoko and Sumire joined in the laughter. "You should have seen your face!" Sumire managed to choke out. "You looked like you just saw a plane crash, or something crazy."
Mikan's lips twitched into a small smile.
"Enough talk." Hotaru stood up. "We need to practice."
"I think we have a right to choose our own costumes, perverted jerk!" Mikan crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Natsume's emotionless face. "This isn't just your concert this time."
"Too bad." Natsume's tone indicated the end of the conversation. "We'll have your outfits for you the day of." He made his way to the door of her room. "7:00 tonight, music room." And then he was gone.
They had three days left of rehearsals, one day for a break, and then it was the day of the concert. They'd already been practicing with each other, and that hadn't gone too well for the first few times. By the fourth practice with The White Tigers, however, Mikan found herself getting so absorbed by Natsume's voice that she almost forgot the words – and that was why it hadn't worked the first couple of times, because she had forgotten the words.
Mikan sighed and let her anger fade. Her face was getting sore from frowning so much. She had to relax so she didn't look like a wrinkly old fart on stage.
She sank to her queen-sized bed and closed her eyes, trying to clear her thoughts of all her stress. There was so much to do, so much to think about, so many people to impress. If was driving her over the edge.
There was a knock on her door and she let a frustrated groan escape her lips. She stood up, her long hair, which was let loose, falling graciously down her back. She stormed over to the door and tore it open.
Sumire, Nonoko, Anna, and Hotaru stood on the other side of the wood, all but one smiling.
"Let's practice, Mikan!" And they grabbed her wrist and pulled.
"NATSUME! I'M NOT WEARING THAT!" Mikan stomped her foot as if to prove her point. They were standing face to face backstage, five hours before the show. He was holding out a costume for her.
It was in black and white again, but this time there was no back to the black and white polka-dot shirt, giving her even less comfort.
She struggled to contain her voice. "If you're going to force me into wearing one of those slutty little outfits again, then at least let me wear the same shirt as last time." She pushed her bangs off of her forehead. "You're so pushy."
Natsume tossed the back-less shirt aside and pulled the old one off of the rack, followed by a headband of some sort with long, floppy things…
"Oh, no." Mikan's eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm not wearing bunny ears!"
"You don't have a choice." He raised an eyebrow, as if challenging her.
Mikan gave the outfit in Natsume's arms a disgusted look. "On second thought, I'll pick my own outfit. You can't make me wear any of that. Nice try." She turned to the rack and began rifling through the clothing.
"You're wearing this." He shoved it into her arms.
Mikan staggered back. "No, I'm not," she said once she regained her balance. "And you can't make me." She held the pile of clothes out to him.
Natsume seized her arm. "Do you wanna bet?"
Mikan glared. "You wouldn't."
Without another word, he began to tow her to one of the change rooms. He opened the first door he saw and pushed her in, following close behind, slamming the door, and then locking it.
Mikan was wordlessly shocked. She dropped the clothes to the floor and leaned against the far wall, across the small room from Natsume. He was staring at her with that famous blank look of his, but she was too…dense to realize he was serious.
She laughed half-heartedly, still trying to capture her breath, which she had lost when he closed the door behind him. "Oh, you're intimidating," she said sarcastically. "Natsume Hyuuga wouldn't actually force me to wear that." She pointed at the heap of clothes on the floor. "You're too much of a chicken."
"You think I'm a chicken?" he challenged.
She shrugged. "Sure."
He advanced towards her. "Are you serious?"
Mikan shrugged again. "Yes."
He grabbed her arms, pinning them to her sides. "Even you're smarter than to question this, Polka-dots." He smirked. "Unless you want me to undress you."
She scowled at him. "Hands off, Hyuuga."
"You believe me now?"
She managed to free one of her arms. "Out." She pointed to the door. "I'll wear the damn costume. But you aren't putting it on me."
He rolled his eyes. "Like I'd want to see you of all people in nothing but undergarments."
Mr. Narumi, The Fallen Angels' manager, stepped onto the stage and calmed the crowd. "Tonight we'll be starting off with The Fallen Angels and their newest song, Faded! Are you ready to rock?"
The crowd screamed.
"All right! The Fallen Angels!"
Mikan pranced onto the stage, waving at the crowd with a bright smile on her face. Mr. Narumi wished them good luck as he passed, and then he disappeared behind the curtain.
Anna, Nonoko, and Sumire started with the music. Hotaru and Mikan took the two microphones at the front of the stage, closest to the reaching hands of all their desperate fans.
(Anna, Nonoko, Sumire) Faded, faded, slipping away…
(Mikan) You never take
Take the time to really look
Look at the one
The one I really am
(Hotaru) You try to fit
To fit me in your perfect box
You let me slip
Between the cracks
(Mikan) Now I'm faded
Into someone else
Baby someone I don't wanna be
(Hotaru) Yeah I'm faded
My true color's gone
Like a picture nobody sees
(Hotaru and Mikan) I bet you don't
(Mikan) Don't even know my favorite song
You tell me how
How I should wear my hair
(Hotaru) You wanna change
Everything I ever was
Try to erase me
'Til I'm not there
(Mikan) Now I'm faded
Into someone else
Baby someone I don't wanna be
(Hotaru) Yeah I'm faded
My true color's gone
Like a picture nobody sees
(Mikan and Hotaru) Now I'm faded
Like I never was
'Til I don't even know myself
(Mikan) Yeah I'm faded
Into what you want
But I'm not taking it too well
(Mikan and Hotaru) I don't wanna be your little picture-perfect-pretty-girl
Who's got nothing to say
And I'm not gonna wait around for you
To run my whole life down
I'll let you watch me fade away
Mikan tapped her foot to the beat.
(Hotaru) You try to fit
To fit me in the perfect box
(Mikan) You let me slip
Between the cracks
(Mikan) Now I'm faded
Into someone else
Baby someone I don't wanna be
(Hotaru) Yeah I'm faded
My true color's gone
Like a picture nobody sees
(Mikan and Hotaru)Now I'm faded
Like I never was
'Til I don't even know myself
(Mikan)Yeah I'm faded
Into what you want
But I'm not taking it too well
(Anna, Nonoko, Sumire) Faded, faded, I'm slipping away…
Faded, faded, I'm so far away…
The screams erupted, people cheered.
Mr. Narumi returned to the stage while the girls set up for their next performance, one that Mikan wasn't looking forward to.
"Now we'll have both The White Tigers and The Fallen Angels perform a song called 'The Last Night'." And he danced off the stage once more.
It was mostly girls that could be heard screaming when Natsume's band came onto the stage, but they ignored their fans completely and took their places. Natsume grabbed Mikan by the upper arm and hauled her over, making her stumble against him.
"If you forget the words, Polka-dots," He caught a strand of her long hair, "I'm going to burn all of this pretty hair of yours."
Mikan rolled her eyes and pulled away. "I won't forget the words."
The screams were extremely loud when the music began, both bands working together, and it took a lot of self control for Mikan to keep her attention fixed on her work rather than her fans.
(Natsume)You come to me with scars on your wrist
You tell me this will be the last night feeling like this
(Mikan) I just came to say goodbye
I didn't want you to see me cry, I'm fine
(Natsume) But I know it's a lie.
This is the last night you'll spend alone Your parents say everything is your fault
Look me in the eyes so I know you know
I'm everywhere you want me to be.
The last night you'll spend alone,
I'll wrap you in my arms and I won't let go,
I'm everything you need me to be.
But they don't know you like I know you they don't know you at all
It's just a phase, you'll be okay, you're fine
(Natsume) But I know it's a lie.
This is the last night you'll spend alone
Look me in the eyes so I know you know
I'm everywhere you want me to be.
The last night you'll spend alone,
I'll wrap you in my arms and I won't let go,
I'm everything you need me to be.
(Ruka) The last night away from me
Natsume caught her wrist and used his eyes to point somewhere in the throng of people. Confused, she followed his gaze.
(Natsume) The night is so long when everything's wrong
If you give me your hand I will help you hold on
Tonight,
Tonight.
(Mikan and Natsume) This is the last night you'll spend alone
(Natsume) Look me in the eyes so I know you know
I'm everywhere you want me to be.
The last night you'll spend alone,
I'll wrap you in my arms and I won't let go,
I'm everything you need me to be.
I won't let you say goodbye, The last night away from me,
I'll be your reason why.
Away from me.
Mikan didn't think she had ever heard a crowd cheer so loud before. But she wasn't focused on that. She was focused on the group of six Men in Black making their way through the crowd towards the stage, sunglasses over their eyes and annoyed looks on their smug faces.
She looked up to decipher Natsume's expression.
He was still holding her wrist, staring blankly at the crowd, hoping that the men would see, to give them a warning.
Ruka was at his side in a second, looking first at Natsume, then at Mikan, and then over his shoulder at the rest of the girls.
No, the screaming crowd wasn't their first priority.
The advancing AAO men, however, were.
A/N: Please don't kill me for the late update. I've been, uh, busy! Yeah, busy! Actually, no, I use that excuse all the time. The truth is that i was utterly unenthusiasitc about writing fanfictions for awhile. I was more focused on my own book. Sorry about that, guys.
Thanks to all who reviewed the previous chapters! I need the support!
xoxo
Ducky-san