New update is here and I am so excited for you guys to read it yay. I hope you enjoy!

"Do you know how to row a boat?"

I made a face at him. "Are you seriously asking that to someone who has lived in the city all her life and has never taken family vacations?"

Natsume rolled his eyes at me. "Okay, Jesus, I was just asking."

Glad to have him back.

"And anyway, is this what you were planning? Go on a boat ride? Boring."

"Hm, then why don't you get some rifles from my dad's garage and then we'll shoot some deer, yeah?"

I gaped at him. "Are you actually serious?"

He sighed. "Of course not." He gestured to the boat by the small pier in front of their house. "Are you coming or not?"

"I told you I was in." I glanced behind me. Aoi was nowhere to be found—probably joined my mom and Mr. Hyuuga in the backyard. "What about them?"

"They'll survive without us for a few hours."

"Hours? Where do you actually plan on going, the ocean?"

He smirked. "Just trust me."

Okay, not gonna lie, I didn't care how long we were gone, to be honest, I needed a little escape too.

Natsume seemed to know what he was doing, hopping in the boat right away and grabbing hold of the paddles. Okay, not gonna lie, now that I stood at the end of the pier, the jump seemed too high for me all of a sudden. I've been on boat rides before, like during school field trips, but they always freaked me out. I mean I could handle the actual ride, wherein the boat was already moving against the water, but the part where I had to get into the boat and get out of it, where it was all wobbly gave me so much anxiety. I always felt like I was going to fall in the water, and that would be terrible because I was not a good swimmer. Or rather, I hardly knew how to swim. Okay, scratch that, I didn't know how to swim.

Well, can you blame me? My mom never really enrolled me in swimming classes or any sport during my childhood as a matter of fact, because she knew I was too focused on my art during that time. And besides, I never got swimming for any of my PE classes in elementary and high school, so there was that.

I was already starting to question what the hell I'd gotten myself into, when Natsume called my attention.

"Mikan? Hey, are you okay? Are you getting in or not?"

"Um yeah," I mumbled. "Hey, maybe you shouldn't be standing in the middle of the boat already. What if it like, tilts and we both fall off?"

He just stared at me for a second, then a grin crept on his face. "Wait, don't tell me you're actually scared?"

I glared at him. "No, God. I just don't wanna get my clothes wet." Yeah, how convincing, Mikan.

He nodded, as if trying to humor me. "All right then. Here just grab my hand."

I looked at his outreached hand, unsure whether or not this was a good idea. I know I decided to be friends with him, but physical touch? Was I actually ready for that already, even if THAT certain dream was still fresh in my mind? But it seemed like I had no other choice. With my luck, and my klutziness, I was eighty percent sure I was going to fall into the water, if I jumped by myself.

So I did grab his hand, my grip going on to his wrist for support, and tried to ignore the electric jolts in my body that touch gave me and focused on not falling. Instead of hopping in right away like he did, I sat on the edge of the pier first, then I slowly jumped into the boat. The boat then started wobbling, and I didn't notice that I had two grips on Natsume's arms now until the bait stilled a little bit and I felt him staring at me.

Realizing what was going on, I immediately let go. "Um, thanks for that," I told him.

He seemed to notice it too. "No problem," he muttered, quickly.

Wow, two minutes in and our little hang-out sesh was off to a rocky start. Great work, Mikan.

Moments later, I was seated on the left side of the boat, while Natsume was in the middle, and started rowing. And I had to say, it was distracting to watch his arms flex and his upper body move forward a little bit every time he rowed. Yep, this was definitely a bad idea. But seeing as there was no other escape, and we were a bit far from the lake house and like I said I didn't know how to swim, I guess I just had to stick around.

"You know," I said, breaking the silence. "I have this huge urge to sing 'row-row-row your boat' right now."

To my surprise, Natsume actually laughed. "You are such a dork."

"Since nineteen-ninety-three."

He just rolled his eyes playfully at me, and I was glad to see that he was more relaxed now.

"Okay, so I just have to ask, you've never went on family vacations since nineteen-ninety-three?"

I shook my head. "Well, at least not like these. If you count roadtrips with your mom to different diners and camping out in your minivan in a motel parking lot, then yes I've been on family vacations."

"That actually sounds more fun than family outings."

I gaped at him. Not that I hated those times with my mom, because I don't. We both did it for fun, and we made a lot of great memories on those little trips. My mom wasn't really an out-doorsy type, so beaches for her were a no and roadtrips were the farthest she'd go. Even if I did enjoy those trips with her, I still longed for actual vacations really away from the city and just someplace quiet even if it was just the two of us.

"Are you kidding?" I said, "this is actually pretty awesome. I mean, road trips are nice and all, but I think it's a whole different feeling when you arrive at a place you know nothing about and forget about reality for a few days."

"I know. But I kind of want to do that alone, you know? I love my family, but there's only so much time we can spend together before we actually get sick of each other and want to cut each other's head off. I just want time for myself, peace and quiet."

"Is that what you wanted to do earlier?" I asked. "Ride the boat by yourself?"

"Yeah." He glanced up at me. "But having company isn't so bad. Thanks for um, coming, by the way."

I stared at him. Whoa, was he actually blushing? Oh God he was! I found it adorable actually. He averted my gaze as he continued rowing the boat.

I grinned. "No problem. If you ever have any more shenanigans in the future, then don't be afraid to hit me up."

He smirked slightly. "Oh I will."

There was a silence between us as Natsume continued to row the boat. But it was a comfortable silence, like we were in our own thoughts at the same time, aware of each other's presence. I noticed the sky turning to a different color, when Natsume stopped the boat, so we were in the middle of the lake.

"Why'd we stop?" I asked, confused.

"Because we're here."

"What?"

He pointed behind me. "Turn around."

I did as he said, and saw the sunset. It was halfway gone already, but from where we both were, it looked so near. Almost like I could touch it. I stared at it, amazed. The only sunsets I've seen were from rooftops in the city. And if I thought those were beautiful, this sunset was absolutely breathtaking. I watched as the sun's colors dragged downwards the sky, and finally disappearing. I suddenly wished I had my sketchpad with me right now, so I could draw it. But something tells me I'd definitely remember this scene no matter what.

"Wow," I said, facing Natsume. "That was beyond beautiful."

"My mom and I used to come here when I was kid every day of summer just to watch the sunset. The last time we were here was five years ago."

I smiled. "That sounds nice."

I was glad that he finally opened up to me a little, but at the same time I also felt sad for him. I couldn't imagine how hard it was for him right now to come back here. I suddenly felt like an intruder. He should be having this moment alone. But then again, he did tell me he didn't mind the company, so maybe I was right. He just really needed a friend.

I guess it should have been a pretty good idea to tell both our parents where Natsume and I were going, because when we came back about three hours later, my mom was pretty freaked. After watching the sunset, Natsume and I just sat there in the boat and talked. He told me stories about his mom, while I told him stories of my childhood and my students. It amazed how easy it was to actually talk to him, that it literally felt like there were only the two of us in the world. That was, until we realized we had to come back, eventually.

"Mikan, oh my God!" my mom exclaimed when Natsume and I got off the boat. "God, we were worried sick about you two. We were so close to calling the cops. Where have you been? Why wouldn't answer your phone?"

"Mom, calm down," I said. "Natsume and I just went for a little boat ride that's all. I thought you'd notice, considering the boat was gone."

"Yeah well, we did think of that. But you both were gone for so long that we thought you drowned or something."

I wanted to roll my eyes, really. But I knew better than to pull my sassiness out when my mom was in a frenzy. "It was only for three hours, Mom."

"Three hours? You were gone for over five hours!"

Whoa, Natsume and I actually talk for that long? I was about to say something, when Natsume's dad came out from the house. "Yuka, I tried calling Natsume again but..." He trailed off when he spotted us, and he let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh good, you're back safe. Are you both okay?"

"We're fine, Dad," Natsume answered, curtly.

"What were you thinking taking the boat out? We haven't used that in a long time. Who knows if that thing's still put together."

"Well we've never really checked the past five years, have we?" Natsume said.

There was silence in the air, and I knew things just got awkward. My mom and I hated these situations, and I knew she was uncomfortable right now from her expression. At that moment, Aoi decided it was a good time to come out the house.

"Hey guys, I made soup for when Mikan and Natsume... oh hey, you're back!" She grinned. "Just in time. Come on. You too, Yuka. You're probably really hungry."

Okay, Aoi was a lifesaver. Natsume was scowling at the ground as his dad stared at him. Mom and I quickly made a beeline to the lake house, while I wondered how Aoi didn't seem to notice the tension at all. Or if, she was just used to it so much it didn't affect her one bit.

"Don't worry about those two," Aoi said, leading us to the enormous kitchen. "They'll get over it."

She then proceeded to take two bowls from the cupboard, and starting filling them with the soup she cooked. "Home-made mushroom soup. Not from a can, I promise."

Aoi placed the two bowls by the counter where my mom and I sat. "Wow, Aoi," Mom said. "This smells so good. I already know it's going to be delicious. Where do you get these recipes of yours?"

"Mostly from Mom. It's just this thing we liked to do together. When I was a kid, I thought my mom created food, period. I didn't know the concept of supermarkets or cook books." She smiled at the memory. "She never actually wrote the recipes down though. But I always remembered them."

"That's nice," Mom said. "So, what was your mom like, if you don't mind me asking?"

Aoi grinned. "She loved doing everything, I can just put it at that. I mean, she's literally good at absolutely anything. She used to dance as a teen, she loved singing, cooking, art, bike-riding, boat-rowing, cliff-diving, you name it. She will try anything in the book, if she hasn't already."

I remembered Natsume telling me similar things as well. It was sad I never got to meet their mom when I became friends with Aoi. Something told me she'd be really fun person to be around with.

"Do you mind me asking what happened to her?" Mom asked.

"No, it's fine. She um, got into a car accident. She was on her way back from a company outing. We didn't see it coming."

This, I knew from what Aoi has told me before, and I just never shared it with my mom. She never really asked, and I thought Mr. Hyuuga had told her already.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry, honey," Mom said softly.

She smiled. "It's okay. Dad never told you?"

My mom sighed. "I never asked."

For the next few moments, we ate our soups in silence, as Natsume and his dad were still outside. That, or we didn't hear them come in. My mom then excused herself since she had to take a shower, but she didn't forget to tell me we still needed to talk. Although, I had no idea what we really needed to talk about because what happened earlier wasn't really a big deal. And besides, it wasn't like I was a child anymore, who still needed to be scolded at.

"So," Aoi said, once my mom was gone, "is Natsume okay?"

"He's in a better mood, than earlier today," I answered. "At least, before we came back."

She nodded. "Thanks for coming with him. I thought he wanted to be alone, but I could tell he didn't at the same time. I'm glad you went."

"I could tell he needed it."

Okay, I had to admit I was a bit relieved that Aoi didn't suspect anything. But then again, what would she suspect? I was sure now that Natsume and I were just friends. I guess that I was just glad that Aoi didn't think anymore of it, than just me being concerned for her brother.

"Anyway," Aoi chirped, happily. "Tomorrow's another day, right? Oh, and I almost forgot. I brought my camera equipment with me. I was thinking we could film a few shots tomorrow, if that's okay with you."

She was grinning widely at me, so of course I had no other choice than to say yes. "Yeah, sure. It'll be fun."

"Yay! You are amazing. Anyway, this day has literally drained me. I think I'm gonna get ready for bed." She kissed my cheek. "Thanks again, Mikan. I'll see you in the morning!"

And with that, I decided to call it a day as as well. Fortunately, my mom forgot about that talk she mentioned earlier, which was a relief, because I literally had no energy to deal with that. Everyone had already went into their respective rooms, so the house was quiet. As I entered my room, I looked behind me and was tempted to knock on Natsume's door and ask him what happened between him and his dad. But I decided not to, thinking that this time, he probably needed to be alone.

A little later, I woke up, sometime around two in the morning, feeling incredibly thirsty. Back in my apartment, I always remembered to put ice-water in my dresser before I went to bed, so I didn't have to get up. Obviously, I forgot to do that here, so had no other choice but to get up. At that moment, I instantly hated how big this lake house was, because to get to the kitchen, I had to walk through the ginormous living room. Plus, I had no idea where the light switches were so I was walking in the dark, thus bumping on a few furniture because of my sleepy state. After grabbing a water bottle from the fridge, I made my way back groggily in the living room. That was, until I heard footsteps, and I was wide awake.

Scared for my life, I immediately ran back into the kitchen. Okay, it was probably just one of them wanting to get some water too. But then again, they probably would have turned on the lights, right? Slightly panicking, I grabbed the first thing I could feel beside me, and found that it was a big plastic spoon used for cooking. Great, just my luck. I was sure I'd be the first one to survive during a zombie apocalypse. Not.

I heard the footsteps coming towards the kitchen, so I readied myself. If it was a burglar or something, I had to be sure to take him or her by surprise. So, I counted to three in my head. 1...2...

"HA!" The spoon I was holding, was already raised halfway in the air, until I realized who the "burglar" was.

Natsume screamed at the same time, his arms over his head.

I sighed in relief, and dropped the spoon. "Natsume? Jesus Christ, you literally scared the shit out of me!"

"Mikan, what the hell?" he hissed. "What are you doing?"

"Um, trying to protect your house, obviously," I whisper-yelled. "I thought you were a burglar or something."

"What? I thought you were the burglar!"

"Why the hell would you think that?"

"Okay, let's see. I heard a ruckus coming from the living room at like two a.m., like someone was moving the furniture around or something. So what was I supposed to think?"

Oops, I guess I did make too much noise with bumping with the furniture a while ago. "Sorry," I said, sheepishly. "My fault. I was thirsty and I wanted to get some water, but I didn't know where the light switch in the living room was, so I had to walk in the dark. Plus I was so sleepy I didn't really notice I was making a lot of noise."

He was quiet for a moment, and to my surprise, he actually started laughing. Eventually I laughed along too, since this whole situation was just downright ridiculous.

Natsume went into the kitchen, and turned on the lights (to which I took note to this time), and opened the fridge, while I picked up my water bottle and the spoon I dropped on the floor earlier.

"Okay, really, a plastic spoon?" Natsume remarked. "And how were you supposed to protect our house with that?"

I rolled my eyes at him. "Well it was the first thing I grabbed a hold of, genius. At least I had a weapon. Where was yours, big guy? You going to confront a burglar with your fists? And first of all, why would you even come out of your room after hearing weird noises? Have you not watched horror films?"

"I was wide awake, and I guess I panicked too a little bit. But who else was supposed to confront this burglar?"

"Wow, brave soul."

He just rolled his eyes at me, as I finally took a sip from my water. "So, you said you were wide awake. Couldn't sleep?"

He sighed. "No."

"What were you thinking about?" I asked, slowly, hoping he'd tell me what happened between him and his dad earlier. I know, I was that nosy.

"I don't know, everything? My brain just won't shut up."

I smiled. "Yeah, it does that sometimes."

"Anyway, um, you're probably still tired. You should go back to sleep."

Surprisingly, I didn't feel tired anymore. Must be still because of the adrenaline rush earlier. I actually wanted this huge urge to just talk. But I could tell Natsume wasn't feeling it right now, so maybe next time. I hope.

"Yeah, actually," I said, faking a yawn, "I still have some shots to film with Aoi tomorrow."

We walked back towards our rooms silently, while Natsume had already shown me where the light switch was in the living room, as to avoid further burglar scares, according to him.

"So um, goodnight," Natsume said, as we both reached our doors.

I smiled. "You too. And get some sleep, okay?"

"Yeah, I'll try that."

I nodded. I didn't know how things suddenly turned awkward. "Um, I'll uh, see you in the morning then. Goodnight!"

With that, I quickly went inside my room and closed the door behind me. I leaned against it, feeling my heart beat against my chest furiously for some reason. A part of me wanted to just barge in to Natsume's room and climb in the covers with him. I shook my head. "You can fucking do this," I told myself.

Yes, I hoped I could.

Did u like it? Did u like it? I also had fun writing this chapter as well, since some of you were asking for MxN scenes. Well I hope this would suffice, for now.

P.s. Just a fun fact, Mikan's feelings towards boats was derived from my real feels on boats. I HATE GETTING ON AND OUT OF THEM. Idk is that weird? Or am I the only one?

Anyway I hoped you guys enjoyed this, and don't forget to tell me what you think in your reviews! Love u xx