VII. Polka Dots
The shrill beeping of the alarm awakened Mikan from her dreamless slumber. Mikan didn't know how long the rays of sunlight had peeked through the gaps in the curtains before they found their way to her face; nor does she know how long it took her to become aware of them.
Since Mikan woke up from her nightmare last night, ghosts of the past had flooded her mind. She could still remember the distinct metallic taste of the blo—No. She refrained herself from finishing that train of thought. She'd gone through enough to know that it will only bring her harm.
She didn't want to go back to sleep; afraid that she'll dream of something worse... Until she remembered that she had packed in her duffel bag a box of sleeping pills that her doctor had prescribed in case her nightmares would return.
Mikan rubbed her knuckles against her eyes to drive away the sleep and tried to remember what she was supposedly doing today.
'Oh, yeah... school. My favorite.'
~o0O0o~
Unlike yesterday, Mikan didn't acknowledge Hotaru's presence one bit. Mikan didn't even heed Hotaru's way once as she pretended to listen to Ms. Serina's lecture. When the classes ended, however; Hotaru hastily blocked the door, preventing Mikan and some students from exiting the room.
"Mikan, we need to talk." As Hotaru said this, she glared at the students who were eyeing her and Mikan with interest. The students hurriedly scurried off the room in response.
"Then, talk."
"I know you're probably upset with me for lying to you about who I am... I'm sorry." Hotaru reduced her speech to a whisper when she said the last part. Mikan could tell that Hotaru wasn't used to apologizing.
"Why lie? Why lie if you knew that I'm going to know all about it just a few hours after that?" There was no animosity in Mikan's voice. Her voice just held pure curiosity about what Hotaru's reason was.
"Whenever I tell someone who I came from a rich family, they'll all pretend to be my friends. They treated me like their own personal credit card... but I want you to see me more than that."
It was obvious that Hotaru didn't know that Mikan is the sole daughter of the infamous Yuka Azumi; one of the wealthiest personalities in the country. It's probably because of the fact that Mikan retained her father's surname—Yukihira.
Mikan looked at Hotaru for a moment before doing what she normally doesn't do—pulling someone into a tight hug. Hotaru momentarily stiffened at the sudden contact before relinquishing in it as she patted Mikan's back soothingly.
"Friends?" Mikan asked after a while.
Friends. Hotaru didn't realize until that moment how important that simple word was to her. She realized that she was in fact; a loner. Aside from her arrogant brother; who all could talk about is how good butter stick is, she doesn't have anyone else to talk to... even if it was as basic as what toothpaste is she going to use.
Yes. She was that lonely.
But when Hotaru first saw Mikan, she instantly knew that the girl was different... and now she know why.
Hotaru seemingly took forever in gathering her thoughts. But when she was done; she let out a broad smile before linking her arms with Mikan's—both of which she rarely do.
"Friends."
~o0O0o~
After that, Mikan noticed that Hotaru had a 360 degree turn from her aloof attitude. Hotaru was always there waiting for Mikan outside of her classroom at the end of each period... and she'll always smile each time Mikan would ask her something. Everyone would look at Hotaru in puzzlement since it was their first time seeing the girl act that way.
Before they knew it, it was already lunch time. For some reason, Hotaru looked so dejected at the prospect of eating. Mikan gazed at her worriedly.
"What's wrong?"
"Could you seat with us?" Mikan instantly knew what Hotaru was asking. Hotaru wanted her to sit with The Crew.
"I don't know..." Mikan trailed off; unsure on how she'll continue without hurting Hotaru's feelings. Mikan felt like she's going to intrude their little private circle if ever she joined them. Add the fact that the delusional slimy bitch was gonna be there. Yuck.
"Come on. Just this once? I'm going to introduce you to the others." Hotaru smiled hopefully at Mikan. Mikan just sighed in frustration.
'Why can't life just be easy?'
Taking Mikan's silence as a 'yes', Hotaru grabbed her hand and burst through the entrance of the cafeteria. All eyes were on them as her and Mikan got their meals. Mikan subtly hid her face beneath her auburn tresses; it was her defense mechanism for attention, but Hotaru was not having any of it.
"You're doing it again."
"What?" Mikan confusedly asked; unable to comprehend what Hotaru just said.
"Hiding behind your hair. You'll look like that girl who crawls out of the TV—sorry, not a movie fan; if you don't do something about that. Confidence, my friend. Work on it."
Much to Mikan's delight, only three out of the five were present; Natsume and Luna were nowhere to be found. It seemed that Hotaru also noticed the absence of the two for she sighed in relief as they walked towards the table. By now, everyone in the cafeteria were looking at them; most were bewildered at the prospect of Mikan sitting at the Crew's table while some—a mere minority, were indifferent. By minority; meaning the Superfly gang.
"God, they're looking at us like we're some freak show or something. It's unnerving." Mikan remarked as she rolled her eyes at the attention they were getting.
"We can't do anything about it. Trust me, I tried. Once, I practically yelled at their faces to call them out of it but after a few days; they're at it like hawks again."
When Hotaru sat on her usual space on the table, she pulled Mikan between her and Nobara—who was surprised since Hotaru never had a close friend in this school; much less that she'll bring someone to sit on their table. She didn't really care... but that may as well be the understatement of the century.
"Pumpkin?" It was Ruka who first broke the silence. Both Hotaru and Nobara looked at him oddly before looking at their tray. Nope, no pumpkin there. Mikan, however, just threw her head back laughing.
"Oh my god. No. Just no. Think of something else."
"Huh?" Nobara confusedly asked; looking between Mikan and Ruka.
"Nicknames and all that jazz." Mikan replied casually. Hotaru's eyes widened at that.
"You've already met each other before?"
"Yeah."
"Why didn't I know about this? I'm supposed to know this..." Hotaru muttered lowly to herself before pulling her phone out of her denim pocket. She frantically fired away text after text; her fingers almost too fast for the other three to see. After a few seconds, Hotaru's phone resounded a shrill beep.
"If you'll excuse me."
With that, she practically jumped off the table and sprinted towards the exit of the cafeteria.
"Umm... What's wrong with her?"
"Imai's not used to not knowing every single thing in this school; no matter how small it is."
"Uh-huh. Does she need to know the color of my underwear or something?"
Nobara looked at Mikan wide-eyed before letting out a small giggle. She's not used to someone talking to her that way. Everyone acted so formal around her.
"Well, that too." Ruka simply said as he nodded thoughtfully. He looked so serious at the moment that Mikan almost believed him.
"Nice try, dumbass." Mikan half-smirked; playfully punching Ruka's arm.
"Seriously though, Hotaru's not elected as the prez of the Newspaper club for nothing." Ruka laced his hands together and leaned towards Mikan's direction before continuing in a somber tone for added effect.
"She takes her job very seriously, Jelly Bean."
~o0O0o~
As the school bell rang—signaling the end of another school day; Mikan shot out from her seat and hurriedly walked towards the parking lot. She just wanted to take a nice, long, hot shower as soon as she get back to her cabin. And she's not gonna have any time for that if she'll wait for Youichi, who has football practice. 'Till six in the evening. At the second day of school. Sucks to be him.
Which reminds Mikan: She needs to try-out to clubs so that she'll have something else to do other than a bunch of homework.
"Mikan!" A booming voice called out as Mikan was about to rev up the engine of Cherry Bud. Mikan sighed in frustration before turning to face the source of the annoying voice.
'Well, there goes my nice, hot shower.'
"What do you want, Koko? I'm in a hurry."
"Ouch, Mimi. Is that how you treat a friend?" Koko asked; all the while looking at Mikan with mock-hurt.
"How about we repeat from the start?"
"Sure... Mikan!" Koko yelled excitedly right at Mikan's ear causing the girl to jump in shock before cradling her poor ear.
"You asshole! You don't need to shout right at my ear!"
"Now, now. That's just plain rude, Mikan!" Koko crossed his arms against his chest as he stared at Mikan; clearly upset.
Mikan looked at Koko blankly. What did she do wrong? Mikan deemed that she should be the one angry and not the dude. A few moments have passed, but no one was saying anything. Mikan pulled on her auburn tresses in frustration when she couldn't take the silence anymore.
"I can't believe I'm saying this... but I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for letting you scream at my poor ear. There, happy? Or do you want me to kneel by your feet?"
Koko still didn't say anything after that. He kept looking at Mikan as if he was waiting for something. Her eyes widened in incredulity when she realized what Koko wanted her to do.
"Seriously?"
Hesitantly, Mikan was about to kneel on one leg when Koko began laughing his ass off. He threw his head back and bit his fist in an attempt to control himself.
"You should have seen your face!" Koko bellowed between guffaws.
"Ugh, Shut up! Seriously, what do you want?" Mikan rolled her eyes in exasperation before looking at Koko.
"Could you come with me to the bookstore? Ms. Serina will kill me if I don't have that Jane Eyre book by tomorrow. I don't have a ride and the others have things to do... You're my last resort, Mimi."
"As much as I want to, I ca—" Mikan didn't finish her sentence when she saw Koko's eyes watering. Darn it.
"Please?"
'Oh well, that shower can wait.'
"Hop on." Mikan reluctantly declared before straddling Cherry Bud. Well, that just sounded wrong.
"Are you really going to ride your bike wearing that?" Koko asked; gesturing towards Mikan's clothing. Mikan, in turn; skeptically looked down at what she's wearing.
"Nothing's wrong with it, Koko. It's just a skirt and a cropped top."
"A skirt, Mimi. That's what's wrong. Doesn't it fly all the way up when it gets all windy or something?"
"Umm... Well, I've been wearing skirts while riding bikes back at my old school but it never did 'fly up'. But if it did 'fly up', you'll not look, okay?" With that, Mikan slyly winked at Koko before wearing her riding gear.
"This is gonna be a long ride."
~o0O0o~
"You could stay in that café while waiting. The bill's on me." Koko pointed at the nearby café before sprinting towards the bookstore; leaving Mikan to her own thoughts.
'If I'm going to wait, might as well bring a book.' Mikan thought to herself before grabbing her tattered copy of The Great Gatsby from her bag.
As Mikan started towards the café, she could see a couple smiling at each other by the window. Just like that, seeing them triggered a distant memory from the innermost depths of Mikan's mind...
~o0O0o~
Mikan is sitting in a secluded corner of the café. She keeps on glancing at her watch impatiently as if she is waiting for someone. As she takes a small sip of her warm coffee, she takes notice of a red-haired guy out of the corner of her eye.
"You're late!" Mikan pouts at the redhead. The red-haired teen lets out a deep, throaty chuckle in response.
"Aww, don't be such a baby, M&M." The redhead coos teasingly; using his favorite nickname for Mikan.
~o0O0o~
Mikan snapped out from her reverie when she heard her book hit the ground. She looked at it blankly; still slightly out of it.
"Oh, shit!"
When Mikan went to pick it up however; she heard someone amusedly chuckling behind her. Book forgotten, she faced the person at her rear... and was surprised to see that it was none other than the lad with an uncanny hair obssession; Natsume Hyuuga.
"Need help with that, Polka Dots?" The young lad asked teasingly. Mikan furrowed her eyebrows in confusion at Natsume's use of a nickname for her.
"So we're in nickname basis now?"
"Oh, no. We're much closer than that." Natsume seriously began. He smirked boyishly when he saw Mikan raised a delicate eyebrow. He crossed his firm arms against his chest before continuing.
"I mean, we're practically in underwear basis now."
It took Mikan a good minute to understand what Natsume meant by that... as if an imaginary light bulb lighted up, Mikan remembered that she had in fact, worn her favorite pair of panties today... They are Polka Dotted to be precise.
'Oh. My. Fudging. God.'
"Y-you pervert!"
"Nu-uh. You shoved it in my face. Big difference, Polka." Natsume scoffed before purposely letting out a sexy half smirk.
"Don't call me that! And you were looking at it. Big difference, asshole!" Mikan bellowed before unconsciously pulling at the hem of her skirt.
"And now you want to talk about my ass? Tsk" Natsume sneered before mockingly shaking his head. Mikan just openly gawked at the lad in response.
'Unbelievable! Who does this guy think he is? Freakin' twat, that's who.'
"Admit it. You're a bigger pervert than me, Polka." Natsume lowered his voice before doing a suggestive wink. But before Mikan could form a retort, Koko came running towards them with a book on his hand.
"What are you doing here, man?" Koko asked Natsume after doing that weird, complicated handshake that most guys do.
"Decided to skip practice today. Coach doesn't know when to take a break." Natsume rolled his eyes exaggeratedly before looking at Mikan, who was still not saying anything. She was stunned. It was her first time meeting someone who could challenge her wits.
"I gotta go, Polka." With a final salute at Koko's direction, he sauntered towards the opposite direction.
"Polka? What kind of nickname was that?" Koko asked Mikan as soon as Natsume was out of hearing distance.
An unconscious smirk fleeted across Mikan's face as she recollected what Natsume had said earlier.
'Not nickname, Koko... we're in underwear basis.'
"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" Koko gazed at Mikan confusedly. Mikan, on the other hand, didn't realize that she said that out loud as her hazel eyes visibly widened.
"Mind your own beeswax, dude."
~o0O0o~
A/N: And finally, they met! That's just the start of their many encounters. I loved the way this Natsume challenged Mikan; wits and all.
Clue on what's gonna happen on the next chapter: Silly Walkie Talkie nicknames and more Natsume!
Ya'll know the drill: REVIEW & get a mean teaser in return!
Cheers,
Major Sugar Assassin