Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice or any of its characters. They were all made by the amazing work of Tachibana Higuchi.

Notes: Sorry! Been working overtime lately so I haven't had a chance too write too much, but I'm definitely getting ideas now!

Thanks to Ritu, Gothic-Neko-Writer, and xxxHazelxCrimsonxxx! My top 3 if not my only supporters lol. Love you guys!

~oOo~

Chapter 10:

Natsume's POV

"What's up Ruka? Did Imai finish the project?" I inquired hopefully as I answered my phone.

"Ya she gave it to Mikan this morning...she told her to never take it off because it was a special best friend pin," he replied with a chuckle. "Hotaru even told her to sleep with it on because if she found out she didn't, she'd disown her as a friend."

"And Mikan went for it?"

"Hahaha, ya she was so excited! Hotaru made herself a matching pin too but without a camera to make the gift more believable. It's so cute because you can even link the two butterflies together, like a real best friend thing-a-majig. When Mikan saw that her eyes lit up and she started tearing. She tried to give Hotaru a hug but that didn't go well" he stated pausing his laughter.

"She got shot down?" I asked already knowing as I smirked to myself. Geez Mikan... don't you ever learn? No matter how much time passed and how much harder she tried to avoid me, I refused to give up on her. Why you ask? Simple. No matter how hard I tried to deny the fact to myself everyday, I loved her. I sighed.

"As always" Ruka chuckled again, "It'll be alright Natsume... I mean, before she started acting weird she seemed to like you. Something must have caused her to be different around you right? I bet we'll find out what she's up too in no time"

"Hn. I'm trying not to think about it too much Ruka. But I gotta go, Luna's calling. If I don't answer Luna's call she'll blow up my phone till my battery dies like she did last time" I grunted.

"Heh... you need to do something about her already...see you at the rally?"

"Probably" I said as I tapped the button on my phone to switch the call.

"What do you need Luna?" I muttered.

"Natsume! Natsume! I'm so excited! You're coming to the rally right? I'm performing and I want you to see me!" she squealed in my ear.

"Performing?"

"Yes Natsume! The Cheer Squad is performing for the first time and the football team is being introduced!"

"Okay... and I care because?"

"Because you're my boyfriend and I'm a cheerleader!"

"Since when?" I asked puzzled.

"Natsume you are so unbelievable! Do you ever pay attention to me?"

"To be honest? Not really..."

"Errrrrr! Natsume Hyuuga... if I didn't like you so much, ugh! Just come to the gym now!" she said as frustratedly hung up.

Eh, whatever. I shrugged my shoulders and walked towards the gym.

As I entered the gym, I saw Ruka stand up in the bleachers and wave his arms at me. I made my way through the crowd and took my seat next to him. The gym was so damn nosy I couldn't help but look around. Some students seemed to be excited for our first pep rally while others whispered that it was a complete waste of time. I on the other hand was indifferent. I was just grateful for the fact that it was cutting into class time.

The lights in the gym went dim and a large projection screen rolled down against the far left wall. The screen read Alice Academy with a big yellow star type logo flashing on it. Music started playing and confetti shot out everywhere from the ceiling. I could feel it falling all over me, but made no effort to shake it off.

I turned towards Ruka who sat there with an almost amused look on his face as he held a hand out to catch some of the falling confetti.

"A bit much don't ya think?" I asked him. He smirked and just shrugged at me. I stared at the pile of colorful paper sitting on his head and smirked back at him. Instantly we both shook our heads and a million tiny pieces of colored paper tissues fell into our laps then onto the floor. Naru stepped into the bright spotlight in the middle of the gym wearing a purple circus ringleader outfit and looking as ridiculous and flamboyant as ever. Geez... out of all people Mikan considered this guy her father? I shook my head again then propped my elbows on my knees so I could rest my head in my hands. This place really was a damn circus and it was all already giving me a headache. After Naru made a few announcements about the first game later tonight, he introduced the football players one by one stating their name, year and team position. If I rolled my eyes for every time I saw a girl swoon or squeal everytime a new player was announced I had no doubt my eyes would be red with soreness by the end of it. Mikan's precious Blake was second to the last introduced before Tsubasa. I learned forward and carefully examined him. What the hell did he have that I didn't? Did she like him better because he liked to play with balls? Hahaha, I laughed to myself. I could be such a pervert sometimes. Heh, if she wanted me to play sports, I'd play catch with her. I laughed to myself again then quickly dismissed the thought... Speaking of Mikan, where was she? I glanced around the gym looking for her, knowing she was probably somewhere staring at that silver haired idiot down there.

Everyone was applauding while Naru announced special student recognition awards. One by one students names were being called out for whatever reason. The football team split in half with players on both sides of the stage floor while the award students went and stood in between them in the spotlight. Funfun! How much longer could they drag this out...

"Lastly we have special recognition for our top Honor Students. All of the teachers have gathered to choose one special student from each of the elementary, middle, and highschool divisions. If you see your picture appear on the projection screen on the wall, depending if you are a girl or boy, one of our players or cheerleaders will present you with a congratulatory kiss as well as your award, giving you special privileges for a week!" Naru announced, "Now let's bring out our lovely ladies!"

I sighed deeply and rolled my eyes as I watched the squad make their entrance through the players and set up in a formation to get ready to do their little dance. Just so I could say I saw her I looked for Luna in the lineup. I caught her eyeing me from the far right end of the front line. She smiled and waved at me happily. She was such a simple creature... she has been following me around for a whole month now and I never did anything the slightest bit meaningful or relationship like yet she happily clung to my arm like a damn leech. I didn't purposely try to treat her badly but I didn't try to treat her well either. Why I ever agreed to let me call me her boyfriend in the first place was beyond me. I had laid down so many rules for her such as no-touching, no-intimacy, no-cute pet names and time limits that I was actually surprised she stuck around. I guessed she was just happy flaunting around the fact that as far as anyone was concerned, we had been linked together this past month. If anything it was benefiting her more than me, defeating my original plan for saying yes in the first place. Sighs...

Moving down the line was Permy... another leech. I laughed. Of course her and Luna would be cheerleaders. They could be such attention divas with a "Look at me! Look at me!" attitude. The spotlight than hit the left end of the front line and was now shining on Anna. She was nice. Actually surprised she'd wanna join such a circus though. Next to her, Mikan was being introduced. She shook her pom-poms over her head and smiled from ear to ear then the spotlight went to Misaki in the middle of the front line with the rest of the squad in the second line... wait a second. I quickly whipped my head back and did a double take. I heard Ruka chuckle next to me and I glared at him.

"I guess we found out what she's been up too" he smirked and looked back down at her.

"Did you know?"

"Nope, been too busy scheming with you and Hotaru, I didn't catch this minor detail..." he said innocently.

"Ruka, you're fired!" I told him with a firm face.

"Haha, Natsume! You'd never fire me as your best friend!" he laughed as he playfully punched my shoulder.

"Hn... I don't like this..." I frowned watching Mikan trying to shake her butt to the song.

**Music starts playing and cheerleaders start doing their routine 'Nice legs, Daisy dukes, makes a man go -whistles-That's the way they all come through like -whistles- ' Starstruck by 3OH!3**

I leaned forward and watched intently as Mikan dipped her body suggestively every time the damn song whistled. Geez... this girl. Why couldn't I just get over her? I ran a hand through my messy hair and roughly pulled it in frustration. Grrrr! She had been ignoring me for about 6 weeks now just so she could learn this? What was it all about? It had to be more than cheerleading that made her change her mind about me and ignore no one else but me.

I forced my head up out of my hands and started to watch her again, only to see her looking right back at me as she danced. Wait... she couldn't be staring at me specifically... the room was pretty dark and she would have had to specifically look for me.

"Ru-ruka, is she.." I stuttered. He smiled and nodded at me. I sucked in a breath and held it in as I saw her noticeably change her focus to a blank spot in front of her.

**Song changes in background to My First Kiss also by 3OH!3**

First picture of the Elementary Honor Student flashed up on the screen, as a spotlight hit a cute little girl in the crowd with glasses and brown braided pigtails. Tsubasa smiled as he raised his hands up in pretend triumph as Naru handed him the award to give to her. He quickly ran up the stairs, worked his way to her then gave the little girl a kiss on the cheek, a hug then a big smile as he handed her the award and made his way back down, still smiling and pointing at her. The little girl's picture showed up on the screen and she was smiling from ear to ear but blushing like crazy.

My eyes were drawn away from the screen when I looked down to see Misaki and Luna having some type of disagreement. Misaki looked like she was holding the next award and Luna seemed to be trying to pry it out of her hands. Misaki shot Naru a look and the highschool Honor Student showed up on screen. Spotlight hit a pretty blonde sitting near the front of the crowd and I saw Blake running towards her for her award. I quickly glanced down at Mikan who just looked lost in her own little world, smiling and watching him approach the girl. Whatever... I was done watching this circus. I stood up and started to scoot past Ruka.

"Want me to come with you?" he asked

"Naw, gonna take a nap."

"Okay Natsume, see ya in a bit then" he nodded then turned his head back toward the chaos. I made my way to the stairs and hurriedly walked down them. Just when I was about to hit the last step I saw Misaki smiling mischievously and viciously tugging an award out of Luna's death grip and slapping it into Mikan's hands. Damn Circus... I didn't even want to know. If Luna wanted it so badly, it might have something to do with me and the faster I disappeared, the better. I didn't need a kiss or an award from a damn cheerleader. I actually couldn't even recall how often I had actually been in class over the past 6 weeks. I started walking quickly towards the exit door, hoping no one would notice when I hear a loud click and could clearly see my shadow on the door as a spotlight hit my back. I whirled around to see my picture on the projector and then saw Mikan confidently striding towards me, holding an award and giving me a bright perfect smile.

I instantly froze right where I was and stared at her in a daze. Her eyes glistened brightly in the lights as her long beautiful brown curls held in her tight ponytail swayed back and forth rhythmically with each step she took. Her eyelids glittered and her lips were perfectly glossed. Her uniform shell top was red with designs of white and silver lines forming a V in the front. It said "Alice" in cursive script across her chest with her name in the upper right corner. Her short red skirt with a similar white and silver design swished as she continued to make her way toward me. I could do absolutely nothing but stare. My legs felt like lead, unwilling to move or run even if I willed them too. My heart and body instantly started to pound and hammer as I felt the palms of my hands start to sweat as she stopped right in front of me and smiled.

For a second she made direct eye contact with me and we held our gaze. It had seemed like forever since I looked into those eyes of hers. She looked like she was hesitating as she bit down on her bottom lip then moved closer to me. I turned my head slightly away from her, expecting her to kiss my cheek like the others had done. I sucked in a breath and tried to brace myself as I just stood there, doing my best and pretending not to care.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her arms lifting then felt them wrap around my neck. I gulped hard, now looking at her. In the distance behind her, I could see Tsubasa and Blake holding Luna's hands firmly restraining her with Misaki standing in front of her to block her. I was wondering why she hadn't tried to attack Mikan by now. I couldn't help but laugh. Mikan touched my lips with her finger and smiled back. She purposely turned my head a bit again and leaned forward. I saw her nervously swallow as her face came closer and I again held my breath for control as I felt her soft but sticky gloss filled lips make contact with the corner of my mouth and my right cheek. She released her hands from around my neck and looked up at me with a deep sigh, then smiled towards the crowd as she handed me my award.

She blew fake cheerleading kisses around the room as I watched her run back to the line up and pick up her pom-poms. I turned to try to exit again when something suddenly hit the back of my head with a weird crinkling noise. Looking down to see I had been hit with one of those stupid white and red pom-poms, I rapidly picked it up and glared daggers out of my eyes from the direction it had come from only to meet Luna's icy blue daggers staring right at me... If looks could kill...eh! Whatever. What did I care what she thought of anything at all. I saw Mikan looking at me with a hand over her mouth. I smirked... that had been the same spot she kissed me before at the dance... I'm guessing she made that no coincidence. Still smiling to myself, I tossed Luna's pom-pom back in her direction and we all watched it fall right in front of her shoes. I arrogantly snapped my fingers and turned away, finally making my exit as I heard the cheer squad squealing in fright and the football players shouting for water or an extinguisher as the gym began to smell like burning pom-pom. Its about time Luna broke up with me right?