"Mikaaaan!"

Sumire latched onto my arm, wailing her arms dramatically in circles.

"I can't believe I'm stuck with him," she pointed a shaky finger at Koko, "HIM of all people!"

I let out a small chuckle, knowing all too well that somewhere deep inside of her, she was happy to be spending more time with him.

"Stop over exaggerating Sumire," I said, taking out my bento. "At least you don't have..." I pause to make gagging motions to prove a point. "Natsume."

"I'm honoured to see you have such a great impression of me," a deep voice speaks up from behind me. I let out a small groan. He just won't leave me alone.

Natsume pulls a seat out and drags it next to me. To my astonishment, he takes a pickle from my bento and plops it into his mouth. "Not bad."

"Natsume!" I swat his arm away and hide my lunch protectively behind me. "I woke up at six to prepare this! I don't need someone like you to taste the food I put all my love into!"

"I don't taste love. You must have woke up with bitterness and hatred today. It shows in your food."

"You just said it was good!"

"I take back my words."

Before I could retort back, Ruka and Hotaru joined us.

"Mikan, you seem to get alone quite well with the transfer student."

Ruka pats my head, causing heat to arise to my cheeks.

Calm down Mikan. He has a girlfriend. I'm painfully reminded as I take notice of their intertwined fingers.

"N-not at all." I manage to reply.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Ruka. This is Hotaru." He offers a hand to Natsume.

"Pleasure," he reciprocated the handshake.

"You seem to be popular with the ladies."

"I get that a lot," Natsume replies, his infuriating handsome smirk on his face.

From the corner of my eye, i can see a flock of girls slowly getting closer. They surround Natsume.

"When's your birthday?"

"You're sooo hot."

"Do you have any siblings?"

"Can I have your number?"

"How old are you?"

I groan. This is just like how they acted when Ruka transferred here. I turn to make a snide remark to Ruka, but stop when I see him talking to Hotaru. They seemed to be getting intimate and I quickly averted my vision to the ground. I could slowly feel a barrier forming in between Ruka and I. I felt painful hot tears pool up in my eyes and I plead for them not to drop. I glanced around looking for a subtle escape, but could find none.

If I leave now, everyone will see me crying.

My vision blurred and I could feel my cheeks getting wet.

"Mikan, are you okay?" Sumire blurted out, causing the entire class's eyes to be on me.

Ruka and Hotaru looked up concern evident in both of their eyes.

No, don't look at me like that.

"Mikan?" Ruka reached for me, but was stopped by a muscular arm.

A jacket was thrown over me, blocking out my vision. A pair of arms swept beneath me and I could feel myself being lifted into the air. Confused murmurs swept across the room.

"L-let go of me!" I struggled in Natsume's arms, but he held on tight. I could no longer hear my classmate's voices as the door shut from behind me.

"Shut up. You're not in a position to be arguing with me."

Although his voice was cold, I felt safe in his arms. I felt my body relax, and exhaustion began to take toll. Just for now, I wanted to forget today's events. Forget Ruka and Hotaru, forget my classmates' confused faces, forget this intoxicating scent coming from a certain crimson eyed boy.