Disclaimer: Gakuen Alice doesn't belong to me. It is owned by the great mangaka Higuchi Tachibana.

A/N: Thank you for all the reviews! Especially to (purple and pink dreams) I guess I wanted people to stop thinking that's he's such a cold-blooded person He's only human, after all. :P

Chapter 2: How Do You Guys Do It Again?

Natsume stared out of the window at the full moon, lost in thought.

How the hell am I supposed to tell that idiot, he wondered, running his hands through his hair in exasperation.

And without losing my pride in the process, he added silently. He stood up, walked to his desk and tried writing a note. A love letter, a voice in the back of his mind said teasingly. For your girlfriend!

Shut up, moron, he thought irritated.

I am you so I guess you're a moron, too, the voice cackled evilly.

Natsume ignored him this time and proceeded in writing down the letter. After about an hour, the pile of crumpled pieces of paper in his trash can was beginning to grow larger and larger. He finally cracked, banged his head on the table and let out a string of curses.

Damn it, he thought angrily. Why is this so hard?

And with that, he reduced all of the paper he used into ashes.

He flopped onto his bed and stared at the ceiling.

I got it! He smiled a bit and drifted off to sleep, thinking that it could wait 'til morning.

OOO

Natsume strode to the door of class B and crashed the door open. A few people jumped up in surprise and Natsume gave them a few nasty glares in return.

He gave Ruka a nod of acknowledgement and settled in his seat. He propped up his feet on the table and read his usual shounen manga. But unknown to Ruka, his mind was hard at work.

Who do I ask, he thought, fighting to keep calm. More importantly, how do I ask?

He just sat there, brooding.

Meanwhile, Ruka thought, Natsume is at it, again! It's boiling in here. He tugged at the neck of his polo and gulped.

Natsume clenched his fist and fought to keep his racing heart calm. I have to do this. Now. If I don't, I won't have the strength to do it some other time!

Hotaru, Yuu, Ruka, Otonashi and Kokoroyomi. Piece of cake. Except for Imai, that is, he thought bleakly. I'll save Imai for later, he finally decided.

Please don't let her catch me, he prayed. (Her, meaning Mikan ;D) Finally, he gathered up his courage and approached Yuu.

"Hey, Yuu, can we talk for a while", he said finally, averting his eyes.

Yuu-chan looked surprised but smiled and agreed. Natsume led him over to a corner of the classroom and took a deep breath. Yuu-chan looked at him patiently, waiting for him to say something.

"Listen.."

"Uhh.. Well, you see..", he trailed off.

"Yes, Natsume?", Yuu-chan looked at him questioningly.

"It's about.. about.. Mikan", Natsume finally choked out, turning redder by the minute.

If Yuu-chan was surprised, he didn't show it. "I see.." He waited for Natsume to go on but it seems as if Natsume lost his voice (and was looking for it ha ha ha ).

Finally, Yuu-chan spoke up, "I get it now, Natsume", he smiled at him. "If you want to tell Mikan, just be yourself. Tell her like you mean it. And in you own retarded way", he teased a bit. "I'm sure she would appreciate it", he assured him.

Natsume gulped and nodded.

Yuu-chan grinned knowingly. "Well, I have to get back to work now. And.. Good luck with that".

He was about to return to his seat when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Natsume was looking down, with his bangs covering his eyes.

Yuu-chan looked surprised, smiled and said gently, "Don't worry. I'm not telling on you".

Natsume nodded and said something under his breath that vaguely sounded like 'thanks'.

And with that, the subject was dropped.

OOO

Natsume was back on his seat, planning his next move carefully. I could ask him, but how? I never felt uncomfortable discussing something with Ruka. Knowing him, he probably knows something's up with me, he thought, a small smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. Well, I better get to it.

Ruka was relieved that Natsume wasn't giving off so much heat anymore 'cause his bunny wasn't acting all fidgety now. He looked up and saw Natsume gazing at him, with such a serious look on his face.

"Hey.. uhm.. Ruka?"

"What's up with you, Natsume?"

"Well.. uhm.. It's about..", he trailed off, not trusting his voice to continue.

Ruka looked at him critically for a few moments before saying something. "It's Mikan, right?", he finally said.

Natsume looked surprised but nodded a little. "How'd.. How'd you know?", he asked in a low voice.

Ruka laughed and said, "Well, I noticed that for the past few days, you did nothing but gawk at a certain brunette, right before our teacher comes in", he said, in a matter-of-fact tone.

He rendered Natsume speechless.

"All I can say is try to treat her nicely, for once. For starters, you can stop teasing her and 'perverting' her, as she would put it", he grinned at him. "And two, stop calling her 'idiot' and 'stupid' AND 'little girl''. Or worse, 'polka dots' or 'polka-dotted panties girl', he teased.

Natsume glared at him but Ruka just grinned more widely at him.

He clapped him on the back and whispered, "Go for it, Natsume! You might never have another chance. Confess before she falls for another person. You know who I'm talking about", he added.

And with that, he went over to Hotaru to argue with her some more about her, taking unauthorized and embarrassing pictures of him.

Natsume sat down again and mentally thanked Ruka. Thanks, Ruka. Reliable as always.

Now.. Kokoroyomi and Otonashi..

OOO

Natsume wasted no time in talking to Kokoroyomi and Otonashi.

With a bit of difficulty, he told Koko-chan (I wanna call him Koko-chan! XD) the situation. Koko-chan beamed at him and said, "I knew about it all along".

Natsume was about to scowl at him but stopped. He replied in a strangled voice, "Y-You knew all about it already? How come you didn't say anything about it?"

Koko-chan just shrugged and said, "It's because it's your business. And I know you wouldn't want it blabbed to the whole school. Your fan club might start a riot", he added, grinning wickedly.

Natsume looked at him piercingly for a second before saying "Thanks..", quietly.

Koko-chan grinned once again and said, "What I can do for you is to read her mind whenever you make a move. That okay?"

Natsume just nodded, not capable of speaking.

Koko-chan stood up, put his hand on Natsume's shoulder reassuringly then walked away.

He exhaled sharply. This really is a difficult job, he thought grimly. Three down, two more to go.

OOO

Hey, wait a minute. He stopped in his tracks and froze. Where the hell is she? That idiot.

He glanced to the front of the classroom and noticed that the substitute teacher was there, writing history terms on the blackboard with tears streaming down his face. Suddenly, someone chucked a huge eraser at the back of his head and he cried even more. He smirked, trying hard not to chuckle.

Okay.. Next: Otonashi, he thought determinedly. God, help me. I'd need strength dealing with this.. uhh.. interesting girl. Interesting, right.

He pasted a blank look on his face and went over to the girl.

A/N: Well, guys? What do you think? Was it too boring? Or silly? Please review! XD