((sigh)) Please review, ghost readers! ((gets down on knees and begs))
I wouldn't know if you guys liked it or not.. Alright? Reviews!
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Disclaimer: Gakuen Alice doesn't belong to me. It is owned by the great mangaka Higuchi Tachibana.
Summary: It's the day before their graduation and Mikan and the gang went out for drinks. Unfortunately, Natsume still hasn't told the girl of his dreams what he really felt. Would he ever have the courage to tell her OR would he just watch her slip through his fingers?
NatsumexMikan with a minuscule drop of RukaxHotaru. When I say miniscule, I mean miniscule.
A/N: Again, I'll be on hiatus in creating Gakuen Alice fanfictions. As I have said previously, I'll upload this chapter, then the last chapter of 'Baffled'then the other songfic I made. Hope you enjoy this last chapter and maybe I'll take a break from GA fics for a week or two. Depends on how long it'll take to complete my Otogizoushi fic.
Another note: Natsume doesn't call Mikan 'polka dots' anymore. He actually calls her by her name, once in a blue moon! Again, they're all nearing their twenties for God's sake!
No more lines telling me "They're all too OOC" or "They're not like that" 'cause that's the way I want them to be! Again, they're almost twenty here! People have room for change, do they not?
Read on and review later!
Chapter 3: It Was YOU
Natsume walked to the garden with his hands in his pockets. He knew it was very unlike him to stay quiet for a long time but these past few days, he just wasn't himself.
He admired the beauty of the plum and cherry blossom trees, which seemed to give off this ethereal light and glanced up at the sky, dotted with stars. It was all breathtakingly beautiful.
He laughed at himself mentally for being a sap. I never did admire nature before. Why start now?
Because, a voice whispered in his ear, this will be the last time you'll ever see this kind of peacefulness. Who knows what will happen to you outside the academy?
Natsume knew this was true so he sat under an oak tree and leaned against its sturdy trunk. He closed his eyes and let his mind wander off.
He thought he had dozed off when a feminine voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Natsume?"
Without opening his eyes to see who was it, he mumbled, "What is it?"
"I came here to check on you. Are you alright?", she asked, her voice sounding concerned. She sat down beside him and hugged her knees to her chest.
"Yeah.."
They were both silent for a few minutes when Mikan remarked, "You're fond of trees, aren't you? I always seem to find you under a tree. A cherry blossom tree, an oak tree, a birch tree, whatever." She chuckled at that.
"I guess I am.."
By this time, Natsume was wide awake now. He watched Mikan at the corner of his eye and clenched his right fist, contemplating if this would be the appropriate time to tell her.
"Hey.. uhm.. Mikan?"
"Yes, Natsume?", came her voice, still perky as ever.
Oh man, Natsume sweatdrops. I better swallow my pride and be done with it.
"Uh.. Remember the time when I said I'd tell you something when we're about to graduate?"
Mikan furrowed her brows, thinking hard. Then her expression cleared and she exclaimed, "Oh that! That was when we were 14 and you peeked at my underwear again, you pervert!"
He raised his eyebrow at her. She suddenly stopped yelling then asked, "What about it?"
"You see.. I..", Natsume was beginning to sweat like a lake, despite the cold weather.
"Uh-huh?" Mikan was looking at her with an expectant expression on her face.
Stall for time, Natsume. Stall, he said to himself.
"One more thing.. Do you recall the charm bracelet someone left you for your 16th birthday? The one with the 'M' studded with diamonds?"
"Yeah, of course I do. Am wearing it right now", she said, dangling her wrist in front of him.
He suddenly blushed at the thought the she was wearing it, right now. Luckily for him, it was dark so she didn't notice.
"What about it, Natsume?", she questioned, looking more curious by the second.
"Y-You see.. I-It's from..", Natsume stuttered. Nice move, Hyuuga. Stutter like there's no tomorrow, he thought to himself wryly.
"It's from whom?", she asked interestedly.
"…", came Natsume's intelligent reply.
Mikan stared at him, weirded out. "Spit it out, Natsume."
He continued to open and close his mouth, as if trying to find the words he wanted to say.
All of a sudden, Mikan stood still, realization dawning in her eyes. Natsume tried hard to avoid her gaze, which he was sure would be focusing on him.
"It was from you, Natsume", Mikan breathed. "It was from you.. And the thing you were about to tell me was..", Mikan's voice trailed off.
Natsume's gaze focused on the rock by his shoe and he kept it there. "Yeah.. You're right.. I.." But he wasn't able to finish his sentence because he suddenly froze.
He felt her hand, clutching his wrist tightly. Her bangs were covering her eyes so he couldn't guess what she was thinking.
Time seemed to stand still at that very moment.
"Why would you tell all of these to me just now, Natsume?", her voice sounding obviously controlled.
Natsume was taken back and before he could reply, she buried her face into his chest.
"Why just now, Natsume? Why just now?", her voice sounding strangely nasal. He then realized she was crying and soaking his sweater in the process. She pounded her fists on his chest helplessly and continued crying for the next few minutes. He didn't move as he was unsure on what to do.
Should I hug her? Should I comfort her? Should I stroke her hair? What, Natsume thought wildly.
Mikan then pulled back and gave him a watery smile. She punched him lightly on the arm and almost yelled, "I love you too, Natsume!"
Natsume's eyes widened slightly, looking incredulous. She.. what? Did she just say..
Natsume's throat tightened and he wasn't able to say anything more. In response to her confession, he pulled her closer to him, breathing in the lemony scent of her hair.
Finally, having found the strength to speak, he said quietly struggling to control his voice, "I'm sorry if I made you miserable during years that we've known each other. I did it only to mask my interest in you. This was a new feeling for me and it scared me tremendously."
He took a steadying breath then continued in the same quiet voice, "I tried angrily to ignore these feelings and I.. I voiced it all out on you. I-I'm sorry."
Mikan's only reaction was to tighten her arms around him. "That's alright. It wasn't just you, you know. Even though I hurl insults at you at almost a daily basis, they had another meaning. I did that, since I have no other way of showing you how I truly felt.."
"I waited for you, Natsume", Mikan whispered.
"And I'm sorry for making you wait..", he murmured.
They pulled back and stared into each other's eyes, searchingly, as if convincing themselves that this was real and that it wouldn't turn out to just a cruel dream.
Mikan then moved closer and enveloped Natsume in another embrace. She closed her eyes, as if weary of all the waiting and pressed her hand over his beating heart.
He embraced her tighter and murmured in her ears, "I love you, polka dots."
She laughed softly at this and whispered back, "I love you too, pervert."
And things went well for the two of them for the rest of the night.
What a lovely way of confessing: calling each other names. Where else would you find something like that?
●●●
Three people were hiding behind a huge plum blossom tree, obviously spying on someone. Or someoness.
'It's wrong to snoop, Hotaru!', Ruka whispered urgently.
'We're not 14 anymore, you know", Yuu put in.
Hotaru resisted the urge to whack them both in the heads then turned back her attention to the two, hugging.
'I'll just take a quick picture then we're out of here', she said tonelessly.
Snap! Snap! Snap!
'There', she said, obviously pleased.
Yuu and Ruka exchanged a glance and sweatdrops.
'You're not planning to sell those, are you, Hotaru?' Ruka asked looking nervous, as if dreading her answer.
Yuu looked uneasy as well.
Hotaru stared at them before answering, 'Of course, not', she said, in a matter-of-fact voice.
'Pardon me?', Yuu asked, gobsmacked.
'Come again?' Ruka looked at her, a bit dazed.
Hotaru rolled her eyes and said in her famous dull voice, 'It's for the two of them. I'm sure they'd want a picture of this moment.'
Yuu and Ruka looked at each other again, then grinned.
'That's truly nice of you, Hotaru', Yuu said, heartily.
'Why Hotaru', Ruka teased. 'I didn't know you were capable of such things'.
She gave him a hostile glare before truly whacking him on the head with her baka gun, version 2.
While Ruka looked lovely slumped on the floor, Yuu and Hotaru watched the couple slowly pull away from each other. He took her hand and they walked away, probably going somewhere to have more privacy.
Somewhere romantic and memorable.
OWARI
A/N: Okay, anyone still remembers the drill? (grins) Please review! Oh, and read again the note above with the symbol.
Gamsahamnida! (bows)
- diana, signing off for a week or two