Chapter 7: The new RIVAL?
"No were not making out!" Mikan shot back.
"Phew" Anna sighed. "Coz I thought you were! What were you doing then?" she curiously asked.
Yuu was heading for Mikan's room. He needed to call Mikan because Narumi had told him to.
He neared Mikan's door and saw that it was already opened and Anna was standing at the doorway.
'Maybe their talking' he thought, being so sure of himself.
He smiled at Anna first, then shifted his head through the opened door.
"Oh hey Mika-" his eyes widened. "What were you doing? Why's Natsume in your room?" he questioned.
Natsume stood up with his hands in his pockets while Mikan stiffened in a sitting position.
"We did nothing" he lied in an emotionless tone.
"Yeah… we really did nothing. Nothing at all" she added, nodding her head, playing along with the lie.
"Why was Natsume on top of you a while ago?" Anna asked.
Yuu's eyes which were about to return to their normal size after knowing that they did nothing, widened even more upon hearing Anna's question.
"Natsume? You were on top of her?" he questioned.
"Well, actually, she fell on top of me because of her clumsiness…" Natsume bluntly stated. Wow! He's good in pretending!
"Yeah, what he said" Mikan added, nodding her head again.
"Oh, okay… I've gotta go!" Anna waved and left the room.
Yuu was still standing at the doorway, partly relieved.
"Hey Mikan," he called out.
"Yeah?" Mikan stood up.
"Narumi ordered me to tell you that you need to go to the classroom now" Yuu replied.
"Well, okay" she answered. "Can Natsume go too?" she asked.
"Of course he can" he said, smiling. "And we need to go right now".
"Come on Natsume," Mikan held on to his hand and slightly pulled him. "Let's go".
"Fine" he replied.
The three of them exited the room and walked towards their classroom.
There was silence among them because of the "issue" that happened a while ago. But since Natsume's lie was very convincing, Yuu and Anna believed him.
About Natsume and Mikan's affair, the two of them seemed to be slightly blushing and looking slightly away from each other. Nope, they were not yet in a lovers relationship but they are sort of taking the route towards it.
Meanwhile, on the other end of the hallway, rushing footsteps were heard.
It was Hotaru carrying folders and papers, walking rapidly towards the meeting place – their classroom.
Being a chosen member of the Technology Type is really a hard job. You've got to attend this and then you have to plan that and so on. It's a real pain in the neck! (expression only)
While she was walking fast, she accidentally bumped at the person walking right before her.
Guess who!
It was Ruka Nogi. He was also in a rush to their classroom.
Because he was so lost in his thoughts, and not looking sharply in front of him, he bumped at the Ice Queen.
Hotaru's papers, files and folders fell on the ground.
"Darn!" she muttered, picking her things up. "Would you mind where you're going?". She doesn't know yet the person who she bumped with but managed, as always, to tell and remind the person her statement.
"Oh! I'm terribly sorry! I was lost in my thoughts and then…" Ruka continued his apology as he bent down to help her pick up all her stuff.
Hotaru knew at once, the owner of the voice. She shifted her eyes to glance at him.
Ruka was still blabbering his plea until he noticed that Hotaru was looking straight at him.
"What?" he asked, slightly blushing.
"Nothing. There was bug on your nose" she lied, standing up.
For the first time, or maybe not, she found herself almost staring at him. Why? Why staring? Is there something in him that attracts her? Or maybe for the reason that she may not be aware of that she had already grown to… like him? Or better yet… LOVE him?
'Snap out of it!" she mentally slapped herself.
"Oh, thanks" he smiled a bit as he stood up and handed her the things he picked up for her. "And sorry again"
"Whatever" Hotaru monotonously replied as she continued to walk towards their classroom.
Ruka sped up until he reached her side.
"Hey, wait up!" he called out.
Hotaru didn't reply and continued to walk but lowering her speed.
"Uhm… Hotaru-san, will we have fireworks tomorrow on Christmas Eve?" Ruka asked.
"Yeah" Hotaru replied, not bothering to look at him – again.
"Oh, okay" Ruka heaved a sigh.
'For once Hotaru, when will you start acting nice? But then, I'm kinda used to it now. I just wish you would change… even for just a little bit. But that attitude of yours is kinda unique… That's why I like you… I like you the way you are…' Ruka unconsciously smiled.
But when he got back to his senses…
'Did I just say that I like her? Do I even like her? Ugh! I hate it when my mind blabbers by itself… Wait, my mind is control. Was it my heart?' he pondered.
Hotaru had a sudden urge to face him and so she slightly tilted her head to glance at him.
Ruka had a questioning look on his face and it seems that he was pondering over something.
"Hey," she said, calling his attention. She regretted the fact of calling him. That would mean that she'll open up a forum or a conversation. But nonetheless, an idea popped up in her head.
"Yeah?" Ruka faced her, his cheeks turned vaguely pink.
"About the fireworks thing, I need to ask you which colors match the best. Is it red and orange or red and purple?" she asked. She was supposedly going to ask Mikan this question since she's an expert in color combination. But Ruka was worth asking to for the moment…
"Why don't you combine the three of them? It would be nice… I think…" Ruka replied, smiling.
"Not bad…" she commented, gesturing a small smile. She really got the answer she expected.
Ruka smiled. Hotaru never smiled at him before, or so he thought.
He never actually saw her smile at him. Whenever Hotaru involuntarily smiles at him, she keeps it to herself, not showing it to him. She doesn't even recall if she did smile. But I, the author, knows the story behind this story. Hehe :)
'What is this I'm feeling? My heart is really softening up… and beating fast. Am I suddenly falling for him? That couldn't be right. My mind is telling me that this is just nothing. Nothing important. But my heart is begging me to think that this is something. Something I really need… Wait, I'm thinking nonsense here! Why can't I think straight anymore?! What is wrong with me!?' Hotaru thought as they got near the door of their room.
Ruka opened the door, being the gentleman that he is. He made way for her so that she could enter. You know, that's what guys do in the movies.
Hotaru smiled a little as she passed him.
"Thanks" she said. 'I can't believe I'm still smiling'.
Hotaru's emotionless face reappeared as she hid her smile behind her nonchalant look.
For his part, Ruka never minded it. He was used to it and he also knew that she was going to. Just like her usual self.
They both entered the room and there were only a few people in it. One of them was of course, Mr. Narumi. He was sitting on his table, writing something.
Yuu was sitting on his seat, reading a book, as always.
Nonoko was chatting with Mikan about something.
Beside Mikan was Natsume, with a manga covering his face.
But as Hotaru looked closely, Natsume was actually staring at the brunette through the space between his face and the book.
She sighed soundlessly. 'Hyuuga is really in love' . She thought in disgust unaware that she too is secretly in the same manner.
As she walked towards her seat, she noticed a figure sitting near Narumi's desk. The figure was almost unnoticeable but as she came near, she found out that it was a guy whose alice was obviously invisibility.
The guy was about the same age as her. He had red hair and his olive eyes was somewhat attractive.
But Hotaru is not the kind of girl who falls in love easily. She never minded the red head and sat on her seat.
Just then, Narumi stood up and walked towards the center of the room where everyone could see him.
"You all might be wondering why I called all of you at this time of day" he said. "But, oh well, I'll check if you are all here"
"Nonoko?"
"I'm here!"
"Yuu?"
"Present!"
"Ruka?"
"Here"
"Mikan?"
"I'm here!"
"Hotaru?"
"Present"
"Okay, all of you are here. Wait, Natsume? What brings you here?" Narumi asked upon sighting Natsume's presence.
"And so?" Natsume coldly replied.
"Oh, never mind!" Narumi smiled then faced the group. "The reason why I called you here is that our class needs to perform a presentation on Christmas Eve which will be tomorrow. I'm very sorry that I didn't tell you this earlier"
"That's okay sensei" Yuu said, a positive smile on his face.
"Thanks. And I guess it is very obvious that the chosen dancers are you guys" Narumi said, a hopeful sign on his face.
"What?! We're the dancers?!" Mikan asked, partly shouting.
"Yes. And you have partners too" Narumi brightly smiled as he replied.
"Who are our partners?" Nonoko asked in a soft tone.
"The partners will be: Yuu and Nonoko, Hotaru and Ruka and lastly, Mikan and Rei"
"Rei?" almost everyone in the room asked in unison.
"Oh! I'm sorry! I forgot to introduce Rei to you!" Narumi said, rubbing the back of his neck.
Rei went to the center in front of Narumi, an eye-catching smile plastered on his face.
"Everyone, this is Rei. Rei, these are: Hotaru, Ruka, Nonoko, Yuu, Natsume and lastly, your dance partner, Mikan" Narumi introduced him to everyone as he nodded after each name.
Natsume glared at Rei with jealousy. He couldn't believe that Narumi had just chosen Mikan, the love of his life, to be partners with some newbie whom no one knows about yet.
"Uhm… Mr. Narumi, is Rei a new student?" Mikan asked.
"Yes he is. He had just arrived this morning" Narumi replied.
"Oh, okay" Mikan smiled warmly.
"Okay everyone, let's start practicing" Narumi clapped twice.
Everyone went to their partners except Natsume who had none.
Mikan walked towards Rei.
"Hey," she said, a smile on her face.
"So, your Mikan-chan right? Nice meeting you, princess" Rei said in a cool tone.
Mikan vaguely turned pink.
Natsume who saw this, clenched his fists in jealousy but stayed calm.
Narumi turned on the stereo and a soft, sweet tune was heard. It was a romantic dance.
Narumi positioned them by pair and Mikan and Rei were at the center. They were the lead dancers since both of them were very good at it.
A/N: If you wanna know why I made Mikan and my OC, Rei, partners, continue reading this. Mikan is very good in dancing and so is Rei. Simple ne:) But if you're wondering why Natsume isn't Mikan's partner, it's because… Natsume is a really feared guy in the academy. One wrong move and your toast and Narumi was aware of that. But he was not dumb enough to be oblivious of the fact that Nasume feels something for Mikan. And so his first resort was Mikan and Natsume as dance partners. Natsume may refuse, but is very willing to be Mikan's partner. But Narumi isn't sure of that feeling. When Rei came to the academy, he changed his mind upon reading Rei's autobiography that he is a really good dancer at his hometown and upon seeing the friendly (just pretending) look on his face, he was very sure that Rei would accept being one of the chosen students to dance.
BACK TO THE STORY:
Narumi began teaching them their moves. These moves were very easy to master for excellent dancers like them.
Ruka is Hotaru's partner as mentioned above. When they were practicing a part of the dance wherein the pair should look at each other's eyes, he was somehow stunned by how beautiful she is. They were really like 'lovers' when they continued practicing.
Yuu and Nonoko didn't actually look romantic or anything close to that. They never even felt anything for each other. They were like dancing a 'friendship' dance.
Mikan and Rei were the pair that Natsume kept an eye on incase if Rei does 'something' to the gorgeous brunette whom he is dancing with.
"Rei," Natsume heard Mikan say.
"Yes princess?" Rei replied.
"How does it feel like to be in love?" Mikan asked.
Natsume's interest on listening to their conversation perked up. He kept his ears open for Rei's response.
"Are you in love?" Rei replied with a question, thinking that the brunette had fallen for his looks and features. Dummy.
"Well, I am…" was her reply.
Natsume was smart enough to know that Mikan was talking about her feelings towards him.
'Mikan is not the kind of person who falls in love easily… And I know her too well. She would never have a sudden feeling towards anyone new to her. Besides, she already told me that she loves me and so did I' Natsume thought, a smirk appeared on his face.
"Then I guess we should start" Rei said, looking deeply into her eyes as he held her waist.
"W-What do you mean? W-What are you doing?" she stammered, nervous of his next action.
"You'll find out" he replied, bending forward, nearing her face.
It came to her that he was about to kiss her. She suddenly stiffened as their lips were only 4 inches apart.
Natsume went to them and pushed Rei off Mikan.
"What the hell was that for?!" Rei glared at Natsume.
"Don't you ever get too close to my girl" Natsume warned him, returning him his glare.
That caught everyone's attention. The people looked at the two who were almost fighting.
"Natsume…" Mikan softly spoke. She was standing behind him, fully aware of the dark aura filling the classroom.
"What makes you think that she's yours, huh?" Rei said, glaring at him intensely. "She's mine!" he said, attempting to grab Mikan's wrist and pull her. But Natsume caught his hand in time.
"I already told you… Never ever get too close to her" Natsume threatened, tightening his hold.
"Stop this!" Narumi yelled.
Natsume let go of Rei's hand. Both were exchanging glares.
After a second or two, Natsume held Mikan's wrist and gestured her to leave with him. Mikan nodded as they exited the classroom without a single goodbye.
Rei sighed angrily. He walked out the room and slammed the door. He went to a different direction from where Mikan and Natsume went. His stomps could be heard even if he was now two meters far from the room.
The remaining people in the room heaved a 'what-was-that?' sigh.
"I bet Santa Claus would be disappointed when he hears about this" Narumi worriedly said as everyone nodded in agreement. O.o
"Oh well, I know they'll be friends again tomorrow. Let's just continue practicing" Narumi positively smiled.
Everyone's sweat dropped. But they obeyed him anyway.
- - -
Natsume's grip on Mikan's wrist never loosened as he continued to walk. Mikan's feet, although were quite tired of the moment, determined to walk, following him in every direction he turned to.
No complaints escaped from Mikan's mouth. She dared to keep her mouth shut for the moment.
After what seems like an endless walk, Natsume stopped in a secluded corner of the academy.
He let go of Mikan's hand.
Mikan bent down as she placed one hand leaning over the wall and the other on her knee as she panted silently.
"Mikan…" he said in a low voice. "Sorry for dragging you to this…"
"Oh, it's okay. (pant)" she replied.
"If you're really tired right now, I could carry you" he said, half nonchalantly.
"No thank you" she replied, declining the offer.
"I guess that's a yes" he said, taking the opposite of her answer.
Natsume motioned to carry her bridal style and succeeded to do so.
"Thanks Natsume" she said, snaking her arms on his neck so as not to fall.
"Whatever" was his not so cold reply.
Mikan only smiled.
The two were silent along the way. Probably because Mikan had already fallen asleep.
Both of them reached her room and Natsume went inside through the unlocked door.
He placed her on her bed and whispered the words "I love you" through her ear. Then, he planted a short kiss on her cheek.
When he was near the door, he turned and faced her, one last time.
"Good night and sweet dreams, Mikan" he said and exited the room. "Sleep soundly"
-
A/N: I HADN'T CHANGED A THING IN THIS CHAPTER. Too lazy and I'm just editing the Author's Note part. I once said last time (08-25-07) that this fic goes by random. And it does. And I also blabbed about some stuff that I was going to update on the next week which sort of didn't happen. One year later, I come back to the picture and read everything and all the reviews. I'm very thankful to you guys that you actually even bothered to review! I honestly think it's crappy. But whatever. I'm just here to say that this fic will be on some kind of a hiatus. I'm still debating with myself if I'm going to continue or just save this fic to my memories and focus on my other stories in my other profile. Hmmm. :)
