A/N: Gosh, I am so sorry for taking this long to update the next chapter. Yeah, I know it's been like 3 months already but I just hope that I haven't lost any of you amazing readers and that things go fine for this chapter. Just to be nice and lovely, I'm writing this when I'm ill. I am off school today because of a massive headache and dizziness. I've had too much stress lately and pressure because of exams but I will try to do my best to update all of my stories that I have left for too long. Thanks very much for the reviews last chapter, I really appreciate it.
I don't own Gakuen Alice, never will.
Perfect Acts
By EuPhoRia RoSe
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Act 06
No one is perfect... that's why pencils have erasers. ~Author Unknown.
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She breathed in and out afraid that she would lose it at any minute. She wasn't scared for herself she was scared of what she would do to him if she snapped. Mikan was at the edge, she couldn't think straight let alone stop herself from getting her own back to the smirking raven-haired boy standing rather smugly in front of her. The worst thing was, he didn't seem to care. He found it amusing how she tried to glare at him with such intensity.
Maybe this was his plan from the beginning, to humiliate her at all costs. Natsume didn't understand anything. He did not know the trauma that she had been through. From what she knew, he hadn't found that cracked mirror. If he had wouldn't he have said something? Or was this way of torturing her? He was nothing more than those people she used to know. The ones who made her life a living hell. And now, for heaven's sake, her picture was on national television. A picture of her sleeping, of all the ones he could have possibly taken!
Her image had been smashed right then and there. She had tried to be perfect, but now all of her effort had been for nothing. She was definitely angry, but now she was also close to tears. She couldn't cry in front of him. She did not want him to know of her awful past. He'd be disgusted if he found out. She didn't want to revisit the time when the only thing she trusted was herself. Even her parents thought the same way. A waste of space, ugly. She shook her head. No, she wanted to forget all that. She looked at Natsume, gritting her teeth.
"How could you put that picture on live television!" she screamed at him, her voice sounding cracked and broken.
Natsume's smirk was now wiped off his face as he stared at her in confusion. He knew she would be angry at him, but not this angry. Then again, he had no idea why she wanted to be so 'perfect'. It was extremely fake. He hated fakes like that.
"Did you want me to take a picture of you that isn't even natural, sorry, I don't work like that," he told her as she stared at him in despair.
She had to understand that the picture he had taken was beautiful. Not just because he was the one who took it, but because it was a picture of herself. Not Mikan trying to be a completely different person altogether.
It was better off like that. If only she looked at the picture properly with her eyes than judging it before she could understand the concept of it. Natsume wouldn't say it, never in his life, but when he had taken it she hadn't looked more beautiful, more at peace than she had before. This was his definition of perfect if there had to be one.
Besides, everyone is perfect in their own way but they all have faults. Mikan was one to believe that you had to be like the show off girls in magazines to be beautiful. Natsume never took a picture of a girl who was trying to be a plastic doll. Mikan sunk down to the floor staring vacantly at the camera that was in Natsume's hands. Natsume looked at her and lowered himself down to her level. He looked at her in the eyes.
"Ok, I admit I shouldn't have put that photo on live television. But I wanted to get across to you that you didn't need to be someone else. Be yourself, you idiot," Natsume flicked her forehead hoping to see a little smile creep onto her face.
Mikan sniffed and punched him back, "It was a fine apology until you called me an idiot."
Natsume smirked as he stood back up, "Who said I was apologizing."
She glared at him as she folded her arms. What an annoying man. But even though he had tried to make her feel better about herself, she still felt as bad. She could feel the lump in her throat. She wished she could wipe away the memories of when she was younger. It wouldn't have started if she had just kept her stupid mouth shut. Her parents were to blame as well.
She had been forced to believe that she was worthless, that her existence meant nothing. She had thought for a long time that it was true. Hotaru had kept her sane, kept her from completely losing it. That was one thing she loved about Hotaru. She always rescued her from the dark times, even if she could be a little harsh. Even now this photographer was helping her slowly climb out of the dark. He didn't know it, but soon enough he would find out. It was only a matter of time until he found that mirror.
Mikan stood up and looked towards Natsume who was now back to sitting on his bed and looking at his camera. She didn't exactly understand why he wanted to take pictures of her anyway. In her opinion, she wasn't special at all.
When she first met the man he had been nothing but rude to her. He had infuriated her on the first audition and sent her away fuming. Now, she had got what she wanted. She was now his 'cover model'. This wasn't how she expected it to happen. Not ever. But there was one thing she was relieved with. She wouldn't be fired or get Nonoko fired. She was just a little bit unsure about one thing. She was aware that Natsume liked to take pictures of girl looking natural at their best. Mikan couldn't do that. It was impossible, wasn't it? But she would try.
"Are you sure you want me to be your cover model?" she asked, just to make sure that she wasn't going crazy.
Who knew, maybe the photographer had realized that she was a liability and decided to reject the whole idea. But no, he turned to her with a very expressionless expression (if that was even possible to have an expressionless expression) and confirmed her fears.
"I am pretty sure, Polka. I wouldn't have wasted my time otherwise," he snorted at her.
Now he was acting like a jerk again. One minute, he was being nice the next it was back to Mr. Jerk. Of course being nice was a little outlandish for Hyuuga Natsume. That was what Mikan thought anyway. That had been the only time where he had said something that wouldn't make her want to hit him. Then again, he had called her an idiot right at the end of it. He's still a jerk whatever he does.
"Fine, but here is a warning Mr. Hyuuga. Don't take a picture like that without my permission again or I will hunt you down and kill you," Mikan tried to say as seriously as possible.
Natsume stared at her in disbelief, which turned to confusion, then a giant smirk.
"Whatever, Mikan," he chuckled.
Mikan didn't think that this would be his reaction at all. Of course, she didn't think she would scare him. But she had prayed that he would be nicer now.
"I'm being serious!" she frowned, "And who said we were on a first name basis?"
Yes, he had called her Mikan. And until she mentioned it he hadn't really noticed. It had just rolled of his tongue so easily. He didn't think about it. He had called her so many names ranging from idiot to polka. But never ever had he actually called her by her name. Especially her first name. But he just let it slide pretending that it was planned, even know it definitely wasn't.
"You called me by my first name. Doesn't that give me a right to call you by yours?" he paused as Mikan looked at him trying to think of a suitable come-back, "Then again, I prefer calling you Polka."
Mikan still thinking, let out a sound that could have been a cross between a 'so what' and a strangled cat. Let's just say it sounded very odd indeed. She wasn't one for great comebacks and all she could do was glare at him and wish that he really did have a nice bone on him somewhere. But knowing him, it probably didn't exist.
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"I'm so happy for you, Mikan!" Nonoko hugged her tight nearly suffocating the life out of her.
The way Nonoko was acting people would have thought that Mikan was engaged to be married. Oh wait, erase that thought. If that was true then she would be engaged to Hyuuga who was the topic of this conversation. Now that was a very bad thought that she had to get rid of. It was midday and Nonoko had called up Mikan earlier to arrange a meeting about how Mikan had become the cover model. It was supposed to be 'business' but it was more gossip than anything.
Nonoko finally let go of Mikan eventually leaving Mikan feeling like she had the air squeezed right out her lungs. She loved Nonoko and everything but her hugs were deathly. She was kind of glad to be now leaning back on her chair.
They had agreed to meet at Dearest Doll in Nonoko's office. It was a small office, quite cramped, but it felt sort of roomy in a way. There were pictures of past models that had successfully made their way into model stardom from Nonoko's help dotted around the room. Also, there was a large coffee machine in the corner which had drawn Mikan's attention right away. Now, she was sipping on her much needed coffee and staring at Nonoko not sure how to respond to her.
"Well at least you're happy..." she mumbled hoping Nonoko hadn't heard her.
But of course, she did.
Nonoko grabbed onto her shoulders and shook her back and forth, "Come on, Mikan-chan! Smile! You've just been made Alice's Cover Model. Aren't you happy?"
Mikan sighed. If only Nonoko knew the truth behind all this. Nonoko thought that Natsume was some kind of charming casanova. Casanova, he was. But charming? Hell no. He was no where near charming and never would be. Mikan sighed once more sipping her coffee.
"The photographer is Hyuuga Natsume, Nonoko! He took that picture with me without permission and he laughed at me when I warned him not to!" Mikan moaned.
Nonoko leaned forward grinning from ear to ear. She was one for drama but she didn't need to be this interested about it. She couldn't tell Nonoko every detail about what happened. She couldn't tell her the reason why she was trying so hard to be perfect. Only Hotaru knew the real Mikan. And unfortunately, Natsume was getting close to uncovering it too.
"So what exactly did you say to him then?" she asked with curiosity.
Mikan looked dreamily at the coffee liquid and replied, "I just told him that if he ever took a photo of me without permission again I would hunt him down and kill him."
It was now Nonoko who let out a hysterical laugh. Was it really that funny? People just didn't understand that she was being serious. Even Nonoko was laughing at her like it was the most hilarious thing she had heard all day. Well it was good that she was keeping her friend entertained. But still, the fact that her reaction was the same as Natsume's annoyed her. She felt that this day was going rather badly and it had only just started. Nonoko finally stopped her fits of giggles as she straightened her back.
"Oh before I forget. Hyuuga-san said that you have a photo shoot with Nogi Ruka today at 2," she informed her.
So Natsume had gone ahead and arranged the photo shoot already. Mikan felt that familiar lump come back in her throat. She was just a tad nervous. Nogi Ruka was a very successful model. She didn't want to look like a complete fake standing next to him. Although, the amount of times Natsume had called her fake that was no problem. Mikan sank down in her chair. She could tell that this would be a long day.
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She slammed the door behind her fixing her hair that was tousled from the wind. She had basically run down 5 flights of stairs and nearly fallen twice. She was surprised she hadn't hurt herself along the way. But of course, this wasn't just her clumsiness. Her room-mate Hyuuga Natsume had left her without telling her he was going and had taken her keys instead of his. And of course, this must have been done on purpose.
She had to find his somewhere or she would have been locked inside the apartment for god knows how long. When she had finally found them she was huffing and puffing and felt like the world was spinning around her. Then she realized that Hyuuga was waiting for her in his car and if she didn't come in let's say, a minute, he'd drive off and make her go her own way. She could go by taxi but she couldn't find her stash of money anywhere and time was running out. How she hated being late. She really didn't trust that photographer.
Maybe he had taken the money too, 'supposedly' thinking that it was his. Bull. Shit. Mikan had become angrier than ever and as she finally reached the door to the outside the world she saw Hyuuga Natsume sitting his car impatiently and staring at her like it was all her fault. For your information, it was all his fault that she was this frazzled. Blame the Hyuuga. He always makes things feel like hell. Natsume snorted when she clambered inside, no doubt thinking about the mess she was in. Mikan, feeling suddenly conscious, tidied herself up and glared at him.
"Why the freaking hell did you take my keys?" she questioned.
Natsume stared at her in fake shock.
"They were your keys? Oh, I am so terribly sorry," he smirked at her all the while being as sarcastic as ever.
Mikan stuck her tongue out at him in annoyance. He was only doing this to rattle her cage. And believe me, it was definitely being rattled and Natsume knew it. She tucked her hair behind her ear realizing that all she was wearing was a plain shirt and some jeans. She groaned inwardly. She was going to a famous model agency, the biggest in Japan and all she was wearing was a t-shirt and jeans. Wrong move, Mikan. She tossed her head back as Natsume looked at her inquisitively.
"What's wrong with you?" he asked.
Mikan sniffed, "I'm an idiot beyond belief."
Natsume snorted looking out of the window, "You said it."
Although, Natsume had said this under his breath. Mikan had still heard it. But she just didn't have the energy to argue with him. It seemed that was all she had been doing. She needed to have a little faith and confidence now. She was doing a photo shoot with Nogi Ruka. She was on her way to getting what she wanted.
Hopefully, nothing would go wrong and she wouldn't cave in from the nerves. She was feeling pressurized and they weren't even at the agency. She just had to make sure that she would be able to be the model that Natsume wanted. Otherwise, this whole thing would go wrong. She didn't want to end up smashing more of that mirror by the end of it.
They arrived at the agency as the driver opened the door for her. He seemed to be nicer than Natsume who just walked away from her as soon as he jumped out of the car. He did seem to be in a rush. Mikan followed him with haste wishing that he would slow down and realize that she was lagging behind. Of course, he knew. He just felt like teasing her. It was rather fun, in his opinion.
Natsume let out a small chuckle and finally stopped as Mikan ran into his back. She stepped backward, knowing that Natsume would probably insult her in some way. All he did was stare at her looking like he was going to say something and then shut it thinking otherwise. Shame, he didn't want to insult her this time. Besides, he had an image too. Even if he hated it he couldn't be mean to his models when he was in the agency.
It was something he could get fired for. There was many rules about the agency Mikan did not know. But she was going to have to find out sooner or later. Natsume walked inside the grand building as he came face to face with none other than Nogi Ruka who's hair seemed in a little bit of a moppy mess. Had he been introduced to a comb? Maybe this was the reason why he was looking so stressed out. He was talking on the phone to someone and his voice sounded desperate.
"Oh come on! You're only doing this for pay back for what happened-pause- I am not apologizing for something I didn't do-pause- ok, I admit that I did borrow some of your money, but I asked you for it, remember!" he finally realized that he was speaking rather loudly as he quietened down and looked towards Mikan and Natsume.
He pointed to the phone and mouthed something to Natsume that Mikan couldn't understand. This was all confusing to her. She had no clue what was going on. Ruka ran a hand through his hair.
"Please, if you come I'll buy you whatever you want-pause-I do mean it, please, please, please-pause- right now I sound like some beggar on the streets do I? Oh fine, then. I, Nogi Ruka am sorry for being an absolute idiot for stealing 'cough' borrowing your money. Amen. Right ok bye," Nogi Ruka finally hung up as he gave a very exasperated sigh.
Natsume snorted like this was something he saw everyday. But Mikan just stood there in surprise wondering who exactly was on the other end of the line. Ruka put his phone in his trouser pocket and smiled at Mikan. Now, Mikan could definitely understand why he was such a successful model. His smile was lovely. It was genuine and natural too, that was probably why Natsume was willing to take pictures of him. Mikan felt inferior besides him. Natsume put his hand on her hair rather abruptly as Mikan looked at him wanting him to take his hand off right away.
"Ruka meet Polka, the other model for the shoot," Natsume informed him as Ruka raised his eyebrows.
"Ah, nice to meet you. Strange name, Polka," Ruka said as Natsume stifled a laugh.
Mikan sighed. Of course Natsume would do this. Confuse the poor boy why don't you. He seems to be already stressed as it is.
"Actually, my name's Sakura Mikan," Mikan corrected him as Ruka looked at her in confusion.
She looked at Natsume wishing he could read her mind so he would know the many threats swarming around in her head. She was tired of his stupid teasing. She wanted to make a good first impression to Ruka. But Natsume was destroying that idea entirely.
"Well then I best be going. I have to wait for my notorious manager. If I'm not here when she arrives who knows what will happen," he laughed awkwardly as he waved and walked away.
When Mikan watched him go the only thought going around in her mind was who's his manager? Of course, Natsume knew too well who it was and understood why Ruka was scared. But he wasn't going to mention anything about it to Mikan yet. What they needed to do now was sort out Mikan's make up and he was not going to let her tart herself up with any old rubbish. He had a plan in mind. Yes, he was a photographer and could do make up. Having more than one skill was a good thing.
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Act 06-end
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I hope you liked this chapter, I tried my very best. If there are any mistakes please tell me because I haven't had enough time to proof read it today. Please review as it would make me happier than I am now being stuck at home ill. I will update this story quicker than before and won't leave it for months. Thanks very much for reading. Oh and yes, my heart goes out to Japan right now.