I am so sorry! I know it's been an extremely long time but I've gotten wicked busy. So I've decided that this is going to be about 10 chapters so thankfully I won't leave you grueling over an ending for too long.

Also, I've decided to make this story my priority over my other story, Pretending Nothing. Thanks a bunch for supporting me!

"...On our left is the Sistine Church where the infamous painting on the ceiling done by Michelangelo is. Many people call him one of the greatest artists in all of time!" our tour guide, Terra, said with a heavy Italian accent.

We had been sitting on the same plastic, red seats for over three hours. With Natsume taking up the aisle space plus my own, I had been feeling rather grouchy, especially since the kid behind us had been continuously kicking my chair. Altogether, we had learned of hundreds of boring facts and explored nothing.

I leaned to Natsume. "Can we jump out the window or will mopeds kill us?"

"I'd rather be hit by the mopeds," he replied in a torturous tone.

"At least then I'd feel something." I gingerly rubbed my butt. "My entire body is numb."

Natsume did his common, "Hn."

"Maybe," I continued tentatively, "if someone allowed me some stretching space I'd be able to get my blood flowing."

He turned to me with hardened, crimson eyes. They were a warning. I already knew that he was most likely also at his limit - if his bouncing leg didn't alert me then his tightened jaw and constant 'tch'ing would - but even so, I needed some form of entertainment.

Finally, the tour bus pulled over.

"Alright everyone!" Terra cheered over the speakers. "We are going to have a quick bathroom break. Please be back on the bus as soon as you finish as we'd like to continue our tour."

Everyone stood and groaned while stretching their stiff limbs. We all inched our way off the bus and found Narumi with his purple umbrella held in the air. His face was stuck in his 'this-was-one-hell-of-a-mistake-but-I-should-make- the-best-of-it' smiles.

Once our group had gathered, he started, "Well, isn't this fun-?"

"Get us the hell out of this," Youichi interjected. He looked beyond pissed with crossed arms and tense features.

Koko nodded. "Sorry, Narumi, but I don't think I can handle it anymore, either."

"I speak for us all when I say I am not getting back on that bus," Tsubasa added.

Narumi sighed, letting his smile drop. "All right. What should we do instead, then?"

I looked around, trying to find something to spur an idea. Then, a group of mopeds whizzed by, lifting my floral sundress and my loose braid. A grin slowly crossed my face as I saw what I was looking for.

"I think," I started, turning to the attentive group, "that we should all rent mopeds."

For a moment, they were silent, before Anna nodded, an excited smile gracing her lips. "Yeah! That'd be a ton of fun; we could do our own tour with our partners."

Yuu nodded. "We could purchase a map from a tourist store and-"

"Imma friggin' cruise on those damned mopeds. They be splashing me, now I be splashing them," Mucho declared animatedly.

"Then it's settled." Narumi clapped in finality.

I grabbed onto Natsume's shirt, tugging it like a child. "Let's go! Let's go! I have so much I want to see! Maybe we could get pizza for lunch and then see the Leaning Tower of-"

"I'm going back to the hotel."

I looked up at him in shock. "No," I said. "No, you're not."

Natsume turned away from me, ready to board the bus that I doubt led to our hotel.

This time, I grabbed his collar and began dragging him to the rack that had the mopeds. "You are riding on one of these with me even if it costs you your life."

"Let go," he threatened lowly.

"Let go," I mimicked in a high, sassy voice.

We reached the stand where a man stood, yelling in Italian at the passer-byers.

I smiled and called out to him to gain his attention. "We'd all like to rent some mopeds, please."

He peered behind me, seeing the group, and smiled brightly, glad to make a sale. "Welcome! Welcome, to Rome! Mopeds are a great choice to tour our city."

The man led us to the mopeds where we picked out our colors and signed a waiver. Upon glancing at the cost, we apprehensively handed our credit cards over and flinched when he returned them with a beaming face.

Natsume and I got a green one that had a basket perched in the front. I placed my bag in the basket and sat on the front, patting behind me to signal him to get on.

He scoffed. "If I'm doing this, I'm driving."

After several moments of debating, I relinquished my seat and allowed him to sit in front of me.

"Hotaru, Ruka!" I called. They were awkwardly attempting to decide on an agreement on who would drive and where their hands would go. Upon my beckoning, they turned, both their faces flustered yet blank. "Let's drive to a pizzeria together and get some grub."

Ruka nodded with a smile. "Sounds good. We'll follow."

I sent him a wave and pulled on my dark blue helmet. Natsume already had his matching helmet fastened on his head and his hands on the handles, revving the engine with impatience. I placed my hands on his sides, feeling too uncomfortable and shy to wrap them around his torso.

He waited for a few more moments, then he glanced back at me. I smiled at him, letting him know I was ready, and then he slammed the gas. We lurched backwards, far enough to make me squeal and forget about my discomfort and shyness to wrap and secure my arms around his thin stomach.

Natsume drove us over the bumpy cobblestone, maneuvering the crazy, renowned traffic of Rome as if he were a prodigy. I eventually learned to open my eyes and marvel at the historical architect that we passed by. To me, seeing the gape-worthy columns of the banks and witnessing other tourists like ourselves taking pictures near the Leaning Tower was fulfilling enough.

Eventually, we reached a small, hole-in-the-wall pizzeria that oozed the scent of sauce and melted cheese. My mouth watered as I peered through the windows, watching as a server brought forth a steaming pepperoni pizza to an eager table.

I began to bounce like a child. "Natsume, can't we just go in and get a table? We don't have to wait for them to show up, right?"

He didn't even glance at me when he replied a deadpanned, "No."

"Natsume!" I whined, grabbing his wrist and pulling on it to gain his gaze. He glared down at me with his rusty eyes, but then, upon seeing my desperate face, his face slowly softened.

After a long moment of apprehension, he finally looked away. "Fine."

As we began to walk in, however, the stir of a moped caught our attention and surely enough, when we turned to see, Hotaru was gliding towards us with a pale, terrified Ruka clinging onto her like a cat. She pulled the vehicle over and took off her helmet, shaking her hair loose. Then, she turned and glared at Ruka's hands.

"Nogi..." she said with an underlying tone of warning.

Almost instantly he jumped off her and stumbled to his feet. "S-Sorry, Imai."

She stared at him for a long time and then walked towards us. "The idiot was too cowardly to even open his eyes."

Ruka sheepishly placed his helmet beside Hotaru's and joined our group. As we walked in together, I heard him whispering to Natsume, "She's a crazy driver."

Natsume chuckled in agreement and I could imagine him picturing Hotaru, with a sinister gleam in her eyes, maniacally tearing through Rome.

We were assigned a table and decided to order one large pizza, half cheese and half pepper and onion.

"Ruka and Natsume, where do you guys live?" I asked.

Ruka smiled. "We both are planning to go to Stanford in California for college."

My jaw dropped. "Wow! Stanford? You guys must be extremely smart then."

"Natsume is a true genius, acing all of his classes without participating in a third of them," Ruka countered with a flattered flush. "I just worked as best I could so that we could stay together. We've been best friends since we were four and I don't want that to be ruined...and neither does Natsume, despite what he may say."

I looked at Natsume, expecting an argument, but he just continued looking out the window.

"I know how you feel," I said. "Hotaru and I have been together since we were five but she's our school's valedictorian and is heading to Harvard in Massachusetts to get her degree as a lawyer. Meanwhile I'll be stuck in good ol' San Mateo, California."

Ruka's eyes light up. "Wait, isn't that near Stanford?"

"Yeah!" I nodded."It's probably a twenty-minute drive from my house to Stanford University."

"Are you not going to college?"

I looked at Natsume, who had finally taken an interest in our conversation at exactly the wrong time - as per usual.

Thankfully Hotaru saved me, relating to my earlier comment by saying, "I may not go to Harvard."

"Hotaru," I groaned. "They accepted you and everything and even offered you a scholarship upon seeing your hesitance. There's no reason for you to not go."

Ruka choked slightly on his water. "Wait." He coughed. "You got a scholarship to Harvard?"

Hotaru shrugged.

Ruka began to sputter in disbelief. "They only accept 7-9% of all applicants and are always the top school in the US!"

I raised an interested brow. "How do you know that?"

Ruka suddenly became quiet and laughed uncomfortably. "Well...I wa-"

"He applied there," Natsume interrupted. "Didn't get in, of course, but applied."

I frowned softly, sympathizing with Ruka. "They don't know what their missing, Ruka. Don't take their rejection to heart, okay?"

He smiled. "Thanks, Mikan, but I already knew I wasn't getting in. The real reason why I know so much is because Natsume was also offered a scholarship there. They wanted him so badly but he refused, saying he wanted to go to Stanford - where I was going."

For a minute, I sat there in shock. Then I began to laugh. Everyone looked at me as if I had gone crazy, but I didn't care. Something about Natsume being so kind and caring while nonchalantly defying any of the said emotions tickled me.

"So," I began after catching my breath, "Natsume rejected Harvard to stay with Ruka?"

Natsume glared harshly at me, finding offense in my laughter.

"Don't get me wrong, Hyuuga, I'm not making fun of you. It's just that you always deny caring and kindness and yet you gave it to Ruka." I smiled tenderly at him. "I think that's one of the sweetest, most amazing things I've ever heard."

He stared at me for a moment. Then he blankly stated, "Better than not going to college at all."

I played with a strand of my hair self-consciously. "It's not like I don't want to go," I said solemnly. "I just don't have enough time."

Hotaru's fist clenched beneath the table, but her face remained stoic. "Her grades could send her to Harvard; she did the same as Ruka, working hard to stay with me."

Natsume leaned forward on his palm and analyzed me. "So why aren't you going?"

I gaped at him like a fish and then noticed the waiter coming with our pizza. My stomach flipped upside down in discomfort and distaste.

"Buon appetito," the man said as he placed the food on a platter.

Everyone instantly reached to grab their fair share. Natsume had two slices of pepper and onion and a slice of cheese, Ruka had three cheese slices and Hotaru had two pepper and onions. I took one cheese, having felt my appetite vanish.

Hotaru tried to catch my eye but I avoided it. So, she took matters into her own hands and slapped another piece of cheese on my plate. I flinched and tried to hold back my gag as I watched the cheese spread from the impact. My sense of smell made me feel nauseated once the scent of tomatoes and onions hit me full force.

Even with the urge to push everything away, I managed to swallow the entire two pieces, excluding the crust. However, forcing them down had taken up all my strength and the only thing I desired to do was go back to the hotel and sleep. The meaning of my emotions and mental state made me so depressed and vulnerable that I felt miserable.

"Hey, Natsume?" I called once he had finished his share and was sitting back, looking somewhat content.

He looked up at me.

"What do you want to do next? I asked, plastering a smile on my face.

For a minute he looked out the window, contemplating, then he looked at me and blankly said, "Hotel."

I knew he wanted to go to the hotel for his own, selfish reasons, but even so, a part of me couldn't help but think that he was doing this for me.

"Okay," I said, turning to Hotaru. "I'll be in our room. Have fun out there you crazies."

Ruka smiled and waved while Hotaru called after me, "Don't forget to text me."

I got on the moped after Natsume and we drove to the hotel. This time, I didn't bother trying to watch the beautiful things that passed by. Instead, I closed my eyes, breathing in the smell of Natsume that lulled me into a limbo between sleep and awareness. By the time we reached the hotel, I was barely able to lift my head.

Natsume waited for me to get off, but I pretended to be asleep. I could feel him turn and heard him start a sentence but upon seeing me seemingly asleep, he stopped. Then, to my surprise, he lifted my helmet off my head, hulled me off the moped and began to carry me into the hotel. I didn't dare move to show the slightest sign of awareness in fear that this sudden burst of kindness would disappear when my eyes opened.

We entered the elevator and I continued feigning sleep. It was silent the entire ride up, until the ding that signaled the stop of our ride. Then, he muttered softly, "Moron."

He accidentally banged my arm against the elevator door and I took that chance to curl up closer to his broad chest. If Natsume was like this all the time, I think I would fall in love with him. With that thought in mind, I fell asleep.

I woke up feeling sticky and hot. Grumbling, I tore off the covers of the bed and sat up, getting ready to peel off my shirt and shorts while still not having the strength to open my eyes. Before I could, however, I felt the familiar pain in the back of my throat. My heart began to pound erratically as my brain began to reminisce and remember the agony of going through this process.

I reached over to the nightstand on my left and got a tissue. Then, I began to hack. My eyes clenched shut in pain as I felt the unpleasantly familiar liquid spring from my lungs and through my mouth, onto the tissue. Without even having to look at it, I knew the color: red. For several minutes, I continued to cough and wheeze in an attempt to breathe until suddenly, I felt a hand on my back.

My eyes slowly lifted. "Hotaru, can you get me my medicine? I don't think I took it today."

"Mikan-"

I jumped up, startled by the deep voice. Then, I realized that the person who was in the room with me wasn't Hotaru, but Natsume.

Slapping the tissue over my mouth, I tried to speak through the object. "Why are you here?"

Natsume stared at me with a frown on his face. "You fell asleep so I had to bring you into my room."

I slowly began to remember the moments where I was in limbo and wanted to kick myself. "Oh, thanks. I should get going to my-"

"With that thing on your mouth I can't hear you," he said in aggravation as he reached and tore it from my grip.

"No!" I cried out.

But it was too late. He slowly looked down at his hand, having felt the moisture. Realization began to cross his face.

"Mikan?"

I collapsed onto the bed. How could this happen so soon? This was supposed to be a secret that no one figured out; that was the point of going with people that we didn't know. How could I have been so foolish as to let him take me to his room?

"Is this blood?

Thanks for reading! I'd really appreciate any suggestions or specific opinions about specific things. PM me with any questions and I'll try my best to help :)