Okaaaaay.. took me awhile to process an idea for how I want this story to go.. Gomen'nasai minna-san..
And for the meantime, I did release a new story so be sure to check it out. It's titled Karaoke Nights. (Sorry, couldn't help myself)
A quick reminder, characters may be OOC here, just in case you forgot and before anyone complains about how it isn't like the original in the manga/anime. Also this is set in an AU (Alternate Universe).
And on to the story!
xoxo Lexi1989
Previously:
"Mikan.."
His scent impregnates the warm autumn air and I curse myself inwardly for still loving the way his body smelled of peppermint and sandalwood. I know I cannot avoid noticing him any longer and I look up, immediately getting lost in his fathomless crimson eyes. Why did it have to be you? Why did you have to become my teacher? Why did you have to be the guy next door? I ask myself silently as I stood up and felt his eyes roam my body. He is speechless yet his eyes display a myriad of emotions and the dominant one is lust. I can feel it in the tension in the air for I also found myself lusting over him. No matter how hard I try to run away from what I feel for this man, something beckons me back to him.
I step out of the Jacuzzi and walk over to him wordlessly. My mind screaming at me to end this once and for all but my body aching for the exact opposite. I don't know what to do and which I should follow…
CHAPTER 11: THE GROUND RULES
NATSUME's POV
Her beauty could surpass that of a celestial being in my eyes. She walks towards me with grace and elegance. She's a no frills, simple kind of girl and that is what attracted me to her. She dares to be herself in a society that blindly follows the latest trends and it makes her stand out. It was at that moment that I realized I didn't want to just date her. I wanted her to be mine and mine alone. I wanted to know what makes her tick, what scares her, what she despises, basically everything about her. I was falling in love with her.
"What are you doing here Sensei?" Her melodious voice wafts through the air as she stops a few feet in front of me.
"Can we talk?"
"We're already talking aren't we?" She's definitely mad.
I take a step forward but she takes two steps back. She wasn't letting me near her and I really couldn't blame her.
"Don't come near me."
"Why not?"
"Just don't."
"Why are you so afraid of me Mikan?"
"I'm not afraid of you."
"Then why do you look like you are?"
"I'm not. What do you want?"
"You."
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me. Don't make me repeat myself."
"I am not a thing that you can own."
"I never said you were."
"What is it that you really want then?"
I let out a large breath. This girl, no, woman in front of me is driving me crazy. Literally and figuratively. Just the sight of her alone is enough to make my body temperature rise up. And the way she can't grasp the reality that I like her, makes my head throb. I try my best to subdue the raging hormones in my body so I don't jump her right then and there. When I'm about to answer, her phone rings. She walks over to where her phone is docked and speaks in hushed tones. It doesn't mean I couldn't hear her though.
"Hey Tsubasa" So it was that star tattooed freak. Looks like he hasn't given up yet.
"I'm good, how about you?"
"They're at the mall."
"Yeah"
"I'll check my calendar and I'll let you know." He may have just beat me at asking her out.
"Bye." She hangs up and puts the phone back into the dock.
Before she can turn around, I decided to give up and take my leave. Maybe this guy is really better for her than I would be. If I care for her, then I shouldn't do something that would jeopardize her future right? I already made the situation worse when I applied for the department head job. I walked to the side of the house and was almost about to jump the low part of the fence when I hear her call out behind me.
MIKAN's POV
I turned around to find myself alone. He was suddenly gone. I think back on our earlier conversation.
"Don't come near me." I take a step back away from him because having him in near proximity to me would mess with my brain.
"Why not?" Those bottomless pools of crimson stare at me with hurt.
"Just don't." I couldn't tell him the reason. I can't.
"Why are you so afraid of me Mikan?" I'm not.
"I'm not afraid of you." That much I can say.
"Then why do you look like you are?" Because I'm afraid of how you make me feel.
He made me feel reckless. He made me afraid of myself because I abandoned rationality when I was with him. I was intoxicated by him. He made me feel wanted. He made me feel loved. I don't even know if he loves me. But I knew deep inside that I was falling for him.
"I'm not. What do you want?"
"You." The word reverberates in the air. My heart swells with joy, but my brain tells me to shut up.
"Excuse me?" I must have heard wrong. It can't be true.
"You heard me. Don't make me repeat myself."
"I am not a thing that you can own." I put myself on the defensive. It's the only way I can stop myself from making a mistake. A costly one.
"I never said you were."
"What is it that you really want then?"
My phone interrupts the conversation and I hastily pick it up. It's Tsubasa. He's asking me out again. I politely tell him that I'll check my calendar and get back to him. Code for: I'm not interested but I don't want to reject you outright because that would be rude. I then realize he must've heard the conversation and he decided to leave. I look around and see the patches of grass in the lawn that were disturbed by his footsteps and follow them. I see him just about to jump the fence.
"Hey! Where are you going?" Before I can stop myself, I had called out to him.
"Home. Duh." He rolled his eyes.
"You never answered my question."
"Never mind. It isn't important." My eyes clouded over.
I'm about to burst into tears when something in me snapped. I am tired of being deemed unimportant. Of being used by the men I cared about. And this conversation seemed to hit all too close to home.
"Had enough of what my body could offer huh?" I glared at him.
"What the hell are you talking about Mikan?"
"I should've realized why you were so hung up on me. It was all about the sex, wasn't it?" My words were spiteful.
"That's not true."
"Then what is the truth then? Tell me so we can get this show on the road."
"I –"He opened his mouth and closed it again.
"See? You can't even give me an excuse." I turn to walk away but he grabs me from behind and holds me in a tight embrace, uncaring if his clothes got soaked.
"I'm falling in love with you." He murmurs in my ear.
"Liar!" I twist in his grasp to face him but he tightens his hold.
"I'm sorry." The traitorous tears begin trickling down my cheeks. I cry silent in his arms.
"I'm sorry. I know you've been hurt before. But I'm not lying when I tell you I'm falling in love with you. I'm sorry if you thought I was only after your body. I'm not. Yes, we met because of a one night stand three years ago, but you've been on my mind after you left. I looked for you. I wanted and I still want to get to know you. To be with you. I'm jealous of any guy that's interested in you. I left because I figured that Tsubasa may be better for you than I ever would be. Because he's younger. Because he's not your teacher nor your department head. Because he's not going to mess up what you've worked hard for. "
"But I don't want him. I want you." I bury my head on his chest.
He gently cradles my head in his hands and tilts it up to face him. I can feel his breath on my lips. My heart is beating wildly in my chest that I'm afraid the whole neighborhood can hear it.
"Stop crying you silly girl. You couldn't possibly want me as much as I want you. This is for the best." He kissed my forehead and turned to leave. My body on autopilot, I reached out for him and pulled him back.
I couldn't stand it anymore and closed the gap between us. I kissed him with every ounce of feeling that I could muster.
Screw the consequences. I was falling in love with Natsume Hyuuga and I didn't want to hold back anymore.
NATSUME's POV
Mikan's words had me worried. It seems that Koko was right. She did think I wanted her just for sex. And my decision to come here to talk to her seems to have paid off. Her earlier outburst had me telling her how I really felt and not in the way that I would have wanted, but I guess the end point was the same. She wanted me too. I'm going to have to thank Koko later for this.
It started raining suddenly, which made us break off the kiss. She led me inside as I felt my stomach grumbling, realizing I haven't had any food intake since breakfast. It was already past one in the afternoon. I helped her make some chicken salad sandwiches and fixed her up with some hot chocolate when she went up to her room to change.
I whistled as she came down wearing a loose tank top over ripped jean shorts. It took all of my restraint not to kiss her and take her there on the kitchen counter. She must've noticed because she blushed and giggled.
"Easy there, tiger. We still need to establish some ground rules." She teased to which I rolled my eyes.
We ate in silence on the kitchen counter facing the window as the torrential downpour relentlessly splattered the windows. When we were done, she placed the dishes in the dishwasher and snuggled with me on the couch.
"Since we're just starting to get to know each other, I think we should go slow." I said.
"It's a little too late for that at this point, don't you think?" She asked, her face in a confused and amused expression.
"Well yeah, but I don't want this relationship to start off based on sex."
"So you want an epic fairy tale kind of love story?" She gave me a smile that could melt hearts.
"Don't girls want that?"
"Well, yeah, we do, but we also know, that rarely happens in real life."
"Are you sure you're a girl? You talk like a guy. Girls are usually mushy, have their head in the clouds, and idealistic. Guys on the other hand are practical and realistic, something that you seem to have mastered." I teased and she punched me lightly on the shoulder.
"Seriously, sensei, that is so sexist. And second, you've seen everything that is to see about me, and you still think I'm a guy?" She rolled her eyes.
"Rule number 1: Calling me Sensei should be restricted in the vicinity of campus." I caught her off guard and pinned her down on the couch, peppering her jaw with light butterfly kisses.
"Rule number 2: We need to be discreet in public so we'll set up a time to meet and we can go somewhere where no one can recognize us." I nuzzled into the crook of her neck and lightly nipped at her collarbone.
"Or we can go out in disguises." She wagged her eyebrows at me and gave me a mischievous grin.
In a split second, she hooked her leg on mine and we toppled on to the floor. She expertly maneuvered this so she would end up on top of me, pinning me on the carpeted floor.
"Who said you can make all the rules huh?" She leaned in towards me and I take in her sweet scent.
"Rule number 3: We take it slow. We go on dates like we initially agreed to and then we can decide if we want to be intimate with each other." She couldn't help but laugh at that one.
"What year are you from? The fifties? That is so old-school."
"So you don't want to take it slow?"
"Let's revise that rule. Rule number 3: We take it slow. We go on dates. We can be intimate given it's a mutual understanding. How does that sound?" She smiled much like the Chesire Cat from Alice in Wonderland.
"So you really want to do it that much, huh? Polka Dots?" She looked confused until she realized her tank top was drooping down in the front revealing her childish choice of underwear.
"PERVERT!" I gave her a look that said 'Really?' and she yelled raising her hands to her chest. It gave me just the right time to gain the upper hand as she jumped off of me.
"If I recall, you liked the idea of me doing perverted things to you." She blushed furiously as she now once again found herself underneath me.
My manhood was slowly making its presence known and if she kept on squirming under me, I wouldn't be able to fight the urge to undress her and make love to her right on the floor. She seemed to be feeling the same thing because the next thing I know, she's brought my head down and our noses are touching, lips a mere millimeters apart.
"Did you mean what you said earlier Natsume?" I love the way she calls my name.
"Which one? I said a lot of things."
"That you're falling in love with me?" A tint of pink is evident from her neck to her face.
"It's not easy for me to admit to falling in love with someone you know. I've only ever loved two women in my life. You might just be the third." Her face fell a bit on hearing that and she turned her head away.
"The first was my mom and the second is my sister." I tweaked her nose and pulled it so she would face me again. She gave me an embarrassed look.
"Mikan Sakura, were you jealous?"
"NO! Why would I be?" The look in her eyes said it all despite her frantically shaking her head.
I claimed her lips with a gentle but firm force and when she sighed against my mouth I used the opportunity to run my tongue along her lips before entering her mouth. She kissed me back eagerly now, nibbling on my lower lip which caused the excitement in my nether regions. She pulled my shirt up and over my head and ran her hands up and down my chest, gently caressing while our lips and tongues battled each other.
Our hands were busy ridding each other of our clothing as each kiss we shared became more urgent, more fiery. A gentle caress here, a lick there, my hands were all over her. Pretty soon, we were bare and I laid her down gently on the couch. I stood up for a moment, taking the time to look at her, excitedly admiring this beautiful young woman who was beckoning to me to make love to her. The only thing that stopped me from doing so was the sudden scream heard from the hallway.
"OH MY GOD!"
Her housemates were home and standing in the hallway, staring at me standing naked over Mikan.
Shit. There goes being discreet.
END OF CHAPTER 11
Soooo… there's drama – check and Fluff – check
No lemon for this chappy though.. LoL
Mikan and Natsume caught in the act.. well, almost.. LOL
Wonder what her housemates will say? Stay tuned to find out ;)
Anilissa – Here's what she does ;)
frozenbutterfly – I'll save the lemons for a little bit later :D
redvelvety – as requested LoL just wait a bit for the lemons, too many succeeding lemons might make the story go sour :D
princess lulu of koronia – serious talk and fluff up, I hope it is to your liking ;)
Seiren Rindo – hey hey hey my friend, not to worry, it's perfectly fine, we all have a life outside of the fanfiction world after all. Lemons will still come soon not to worry ;)
KitsuneSenpai18 – sorry no lemons for now LoL.. just a bit of drama and a sprinkle of fluff.. :D
Thank you everyone for reviewing and please check out my new songfic collection/story Karaoke Nights and don't forget to watch out for the next updates for Delicious Taboo and Secrets ;)
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Ja Ne!
xoxo Lexi1989