Ch. 9

"You like him." Ruka pointed his black plastic fork at Mikan, who sipped on her Dr. Pepper. "I'm sorry?" she said putting down the cup then picking up her burger, taking a bite. There they sat in the bustling cafeteria with about one hundred other students eating and talking. The smell of cooking oil hung thick in the air, the main menu: burgers and fries.

"That's why you were upset. You. Like. Him." he repeated again slowly. He grinned, "Don't try to deny it."

Mikan carefully put down her burger not wanting to spill the mayo mixed with ketchup that was already dripping past the brown patty. "Of course." she said fluidly. Ruka stopped picking at the small, red-orange tomato in his salad and focused completely on Mikan. "I wouldn't be friends with someone I don't like."

"No that's not what I meant." Ruka sighed. "Mikan, I've been friends with both you and Natsume and truthfully, it's starting to get a little old."

Mikan was already halfway done with her burger, "What is?"

"The denying."

Mikan raised an eyebrow, "You're one to talk Ruka." she took another bite, chew chew chew. "You like Hotaru but-"

Ruka spat out his water on the poor kid who happened to be walking by. Struggling with the apologies while quickly dabbing away at his shirt, Ruka's face turned pink. "Me? Like Hotaru? What kind of blasphemy is that!"

"Here we go again." Mikan rolled her eyes, munching on her crispy, golden french fries. Ruka stared at her, mouth agape.

"Me and Hotaru? Hotaru and I? Us two?" he babbled. Mikan only nodded along, finishing off her fries. "Mikan, seriously. Me and Hotaru?"

Mikan propped her elbow on the table and leaned her chin in her hand. Still nodding, "Mhmm. 'Don't try to deny it.'" Throwing Ruka's words right back at him, Mikan grinned. Then she picked up her tray and headed towards the nearest gray trash bin. As she dumped the contents, Mikan looked back at the table and saw Hotaru striding over to sit across from Ruka. Mikan smiled at Ruka's flustered face, seeing him stammer a sentence with Hotaru looking bored as ever, but this time there was a little glint in Hotaru's eyes. Better to leave those two alone, she thought and walked off towards the other direction.

;p

Mikan walked through the empty hallways, her head up in the clouds. A kiss and run? Really? She mentally scolded herself. Mikan felt lucky she hasn't seen Natsume since the incident. Every time she'd think about it, her face would feel hot and her heart pounded against her rib cage. The mere thought of having to confront him after what happened made her mouth dry. Mikan didn't even know what had possessed to even kiss him.

Adrenaline? She thought, rounding the corner of the hallway. There were a couple of people now. A group of boys sat on the ground playing with Yu-Gi-Oh cards, across from them were a couple cuddling and holding hands. Two of the boys were booming with laughter, while the others let out a string of curses and something about trying to raise the defense. The couple looked at them, the boy whispering in the girl's ear, then she blushed and giggle. Mikan walked on and tried putting her thoughts aside when she saw him.

Walking towards her with his hands in the pockets of his dark pants. He looked out the window, observing something with Koko next to him talking animatedly. Mikan felt the wheels in her head stop, her legs moving for her as she turned around and ducked behind the boys who were still in a heated Yu-Gi-Oh match. She tried squeezing herself between the wall and the boy sitting next to it. The boy didn't even notice as he was about to release his hidden card.

"-ice cream and she totally freaked out! I mean it's not my fault she suddenly turned around while walking through the place, it was freakin' crowded!" Koko said, exasperated. Natsume only nodded his head and drawled out a "Mmmhmmmmm." They kept walking not noticing Mikan. Her heart still wasn't ready to face whatever would come her way with Natsume. She needed more time, A lot more time, she thought.

As Mikan was getting up, she felt something tug on her shirt, then a tear sound was heard. She wasn't the only one who heard it because the boys' voices weren't booming but instead quiet, their eyes wide and a faint blush crept along their faces. The side of Mikan's blouse had a gape revealing these thin red streaks. Mikan's face was warming up as she covered the gape with one hand and covered her face with her other free hand. She walked past the group of blushing boys and the staring couple, the warmth of her face growing hotter.

Mikan sped walked to the nearest bathroom to check the damage. It was a clean tear on her right side starting from her hip diagonally to her the right part of her back. Part of her bra was clearly showing and if Mikan wanted to change, she'd have to walk all the way to her locker to get her PE clothes. Mikan could not fathom the outcome if she did that, especially with five thin red streaks on her waist visible. The thin red streaks being stretch marks from when Mikan was overweight and her losing weight. The streaks were atleast two inches long and looked abnormal, as if they were scars. They would always be a part of Mikan now since they weren't easy to get rid of.

A soft click along with the sound of water in motion was heard behind Mikan. Mikan stopped looking at her marks, her eyes widened as she once again hid them from Yuu, who was standing in behind her. Yuu couldn't hide his shock either, "W-W-What the?" Mikan felt her heart sink as the realization dawned on her, she was in the boys' bathroom. She looked around spotting the urinals lined up on the far side of the wall with the few stalls adjacent to it.

Yuu noticed Mikan's shirt that she desperately tried to hide, but her marks could still be seen. "Mikan, are you okay?" Yuu asked, still confused. "What are tho-"

"Sorry!" Mikan blubbered before Yuu could finish. How embarrassing, she thought as she ran to her locker, turned the dial, opened the locker, grabbed her clothes, then closed it again. This time Mikan checked to make sure it was the girls' bathroom before changing into her PE clothes, hiding her marks again.

;p

"Where's Mikan?" Hotaru asked. Ruka looked around and realized it's been quite a while since she got up to throw away her trash. He shrugged, "Bathroom?"

Hotaru poked at her crab roe when she heard the sounds of chairs scraping against the floor. "Hey guys!" a perky voice chimed followed with a grunt. Ruka continued to scan the cafeteria looking for Mikan while Hotaru eyed Koko and Natsume. "What's up?" Koko asked when his eyes met Hotaru's. Hotaru poked at her crab roe again, clearing her throat. The table became quiet, the sounds of forks hitting plates can be heard.

"So uh. Ruka! When's the next showcase?" Koko tried easing the awkwardness a little.

"In a month or two. Maybe." Ruka responded, fiddling with his water bottle. Natsume eyed Ruka wondering what has him on edge. His eyes then fell on Hotaru who kept picking at her crab roe. Definitely interrupted something. he thought.

"Oh." Hotaru said, her eyes lighting up at the life of the party. Mikan walked with her back hunched over, sighing every few steps of the way. She hasn't bought a new PE uniform so the XXL white shirt with the school's logo on the center was baggy, the sleeves covering most of her arm. The XXL black shorts with the school's initials on the left side looked like boy shorts on Mikan's slender legs "How embarrassing." she mumbled as she sat down. She put her head down on the table, recalling the moment when Yuu saw her marks. "He saw them. They saw them. Ugh they all saw them! What am I gonna do now? How embarrassing!" Mikan whined, banging her fist on the table. Her head was still down and she couldn't see the confused reactions of her friends surrounding her. "Mikan.." Hotaru started.

"The boys' bathroom! How could I be so stupid not to check which bathroom I was in, but really, no one checks those things because it's natural to go in the right one, am I right?" Mikan squealed, head still on the table. Ruka, Hotaru, and Koko exchanged looks while Natsume only looked at the back of Mikan's head.

"Mikan, what exactly happened?" Ruka worried. Mikan took in a breath and after a moment, her head shot up "It was horrible! I was in the hallway walking when I see that guy, so I hide behind this group of boys playing Yu-Gi-Oh. When he left, I got up but I guess my shirt caught onto something. A nail? But I heard a ripping noise and thought 'Wow, these things actually happen!' The side of my back was showing where it was. They all saw it and then I ran. Into. The. Boys'. Bathroom! You think it couldn't get any worse than that right? Nope! Yuu came out from out the stall and saw it too. Oh the humiliation! I ran out and went to my locker in record time, and changed in the girls' bathroom this time." Mikan caught her breath, but still couldn't shake off the embarrassment.

"You idiot." Hotaru mumbled. Ruka sent a worrying glance at Hotaru then at Mikan, "Who were you hiding from?"

"Who else! That fella we were talking about earlier, before you tried denying about your fee-"

"Oh oh! I got you!" Ruka interrupted, taking a swig of his water.

"Wow that really sucks, right Natsume?" Koko piped in, elbowing Natsume's arm. Mikan felt her blood drain from her face, she didn't dare turn.

"Yeah. It does." Natsume's husky voice commented, his eyes still on her.

Mikan couldn't move. The tension got thicker as Mikan fidgeted in her seat, refusing to reply or turn around. Her eyes focused on Ruka and Hotaru, "Why. Didn't. You. Tell. Me?" she mouthed to them. Ruka shrugged, and Hotaru sighed, shaking her head.

"Hey." Natsume's gruff voice made Mikan stiff, she swallowed. The air felt thick, the chatter of other students surrounding them didn't sound as loud to Mikan as her own heart beating in her ears.

"Hey." Mikan said in almost a whisper, her back still turned towards Natsume. She could feel the heat of Natsume's eyes on her back. "Let's go." Hotaru stood up, picking up the tray just as the bell rang for lunch to be over. Koko followed suit with Ruka getting up slowly. Natsume was still sitting in his seat, looking at Mikan

Mikan started getting up, but felt a tight grip on her elbow and what felt like gravity pulling her down. She turned around, locking eyes with Natsume, "Stay." he barked. His eyes shifted to Ruka and the others, then he slightly jerked his head a little to the right signaling them to leave. They did as they were told, Mikan looked back at them sending an SOS. Once they were alone did Natsume let go of Mikan's wrist, "We need to talk." He sat back in his chair crossing his arms. His gaze never left Mikan's face, yet Mikan kept her eyes on the table in front of her. Thump thump thump.

"I have to get to class." Mikan replied, but she didn't move, her eyes strained on the table. The cafeteria was eerily quiet now, Mikan felt heavy again under Natsume's gaze. She started feeling insecure underneath her XXL clothes, she felt the clothes becoming tight even though in reality they were loose. Natsume didn't respond for a while so Mikan thought it was okay to leave. She got up again, pushed in her chair, and headed for the exit.

"Wait." Natsume's voice bounced off the walls. Mikan stopped and slowly turned around, watching Natsume slowly stride her way. He stopped in front of her, looking into her eyes, he reached for her hand. Mikan immediately looked at his hand holding hers, then looked back at Natsume. He rose her hand and put it on his chest. Thump thump thump. The feeling of his hand over her hand over his chest felt so warm, she could feel his palpitating heart. She looked back up, meeting Natsume's eyes. His eyes were so mesmerizing, Ah there's that twinkle again she thought.

Someone cleared their throat. Mikan broke the gaze and slipped her hand away from Natsume's chest. The kitchen staff who cleared her voice looked at them and then looked away, "Class started 10 minutes ago. Please leave, we need to clean up here." Mikan started walking, feeling like looking back but then not wanting to. She mumbled a bye before leaving Natsume by himself for the second time that day.