Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice or any of the characters!

Hi! I'm trying to write more and more. This chapter drags a bit but I really hope you enjoy it anyways. Please review it and tell me what you think! It would be much appreciated. Thank you and enjoy!

Mikan's POV

"Who is that?" I asked. Natsume picked up his phone and answered the call. I took a look around his apartment. It was similar in structure compared to mine—kitchen connected with the living room and the bedroom off to the left side. His bed sheet was spread out in the corner of the living room with the blankets and pillows that I gave him. In the other corner, there was a large suitcase still unpacked. Judging from that, I could tell the bedroom was completely empty.

"Ruka!" he said, sounding relieved. It's odd. That's the first time I've ever seen him slightly happy… Ruka? Is that his girlfriend?

"Don't worry, I'm fine," he said, "It was nothing." I can't help but wonder about his personal life. Natsume… what a mysterious guy. Who is this Ruka person that puts him at such ease? I wouldn't be surprised if it was his girlfriend. He seems to be popular with girls—which I don't understand how or why since he's stupid and perverted.

"I'll see you soon, Ruka. Stay safe." With that, he hung up.

"Who was that?" I asked again, kicking my legs in the air. I was comfortably sprawled on the carpet, lying on my stomach.

"No one you need to concern yourself with it," he answered coldly, "Now hurry up and do this problem."

I scrunched up my face, showing a sign of annoyance. I took a look at the problem and immediately felt tired. I was studying the whole night without sleeping. I'm so hungry and tired. It was just past 10 o' clock. I laid my head down and I could feel my eyelids growing heavier.

"I-I don't get how to do…" And I drifted off into sleep.

Natsume's POV

Did she fall asleep? Geez… what a hassle. I tilted my head back against the wall and took a look at my phone again. Ruka said something about being careful… Something about the headmaster's growing suspicion. I should've looked at the idiot's files before coming here.

She was sound asleep. When she's not so loud and annoying, she's kinda… What am I thinking? Watching her made me feel calm and peaceful. I sighed and decided to carry her back to her apartment. I propped one arm under her knees and the other under her back. A surge of pain shot at my shoulder , but I ignored it.

I set her down on the couch and laid a blanket over her. I stood there for a few seconds, staring at her serene sleeping face. She looks like a little girl.

It took a couple more seconds to pry my eyes away. I rummaged through her cupboards and found a loaf of bread. I cut the loaf into slices, toasted them, and spread some butter and jam on them. A loaf of bread for two people… tch, she does like to eat a lot.

I took two plates and put four slices of toast on each plate. I poured orange juice into two tall glasses and set them down on the coffee table. I turned on the TV, sitting on the carpet, leaning against the couch. I could hear her steady breathing.

Mikan's POV

I opened my eyes, vision slowly growing clearer. Huh? Did I fall asleep? I sat up and looked down at the blanket that covered me. Did Natsume put this here? Did he bring me back to my own apartment?

"You're finally awake," a voice called out, "You sleep like a pig."

Natsume was sitting on the ground near my feet, watching TV. Pig?

"Did you just call me a pig?" I spat, "Well, it takes one to know one!"

"You seem to be back to your energized, annoying self, so you should start studying again." I glanced at the coffee table. He had brought my textbooks and worksheets over, and beside my textbooks, was a plate of toast and a glass of orange juice.

"Did you make this?" I asked. He looked away, ignoring my question. I smiled, "Arigato, Natsume!" The toast was cold, but I didn't care. I happily munched down on the four slices of toast and took the last sip of orange juice.

"Ah, that was yummy!" I said, "Now it's time for lunch!"

"Baka!" he yelled, "You are seriously the biggest pig I've ever seen. Hurry up and study or I'm leaving."

I sulked and climbed down the couch. We sprawled out in front of the TV where there was plenty of space for us. I untied my pigtails and wrapped a headband around.

"I'll do my best!" I cheered.

"When your hair isn't in pigtails, you look less like a five year old girl. Put your hair down more often."

I gushed, "What's that supposed to mean?" I averted my gaze and pointed at the textbook, "Let's start."

For the next couple of hours, Natsume helped me with any problems I didn't understand—which was a lot.

"What don't you understand about this?" he sighed.

"You're so impatient!"

"Or maybe you are just too stupid." Every other minute, Natsume's patience was tested to his limits and he would yell at me. I don't blame him though… I suck at math.

"There!" I exclaimed happily, "I got the answer! Look!" I held up my scratch paper and showed him proudly. "That's the answer, right?"

He looked over the paper monotonously and nodded, "Now do the next fifteen by yourself."

Fifteen?! I gulped as I scanned the next fifteen problems. "Can't we take a break? We've been studying for so long! It's dinnertime!"

"You're so whiny," he sighed, "Fine. Go suit yourself."

Natsume's POV

She's always smiling. It pisses me off. But I have to admit, her cooking isn't all that terrible.

I set the bowl down and said, "Thanks for the meal. Now you have some work to do."

We spent the rest of the night studying. I grew even more frustrated from her inability to understand math. By midnight, she was slowly dozing off.

"N…Natsume… let's call it a day… you should get some rest," she mumbled, eyes slowly closing. Baka.

The next morning…

"Natsume! Ohaiyo!" a cheerful voice rung in my ears, "I'm ready to study again today!"

She might be ready… but I'm not. I don't want to deal with her stupidness again.

We studied all day again. And the day after that, I saw her studying quietly by herself at school. After school, she pounded on my door and asked for help again.

"Why are you trying so hard?" I asked her, "If you don't make it into the top five, Naru will probably tweak the results so that you will be one of the top five."

"That's exactly what I don't want. I don't want to take someone else's spot unfairly, so I'm trying to get into the top five with my own ability and hard work. Plus, I owe you at least that much for helping me study." Tch. What a persistent brat.

The day of the exam…

We biked to school together while I quizzed her. We arrived to class as the bell rung. Jinno-sensei distributed the first part of the exam— Japanese. I was the first one done and I turned it in up at the front of the classroom. He gave me the second part of the exam which was English. I finished that one quickly too. Finally, he gave me the last part of the exam— math. When I completed it, I turned it in. I was the first one to finish.

I glanced over at the idiot girl. She had just finished the second part of the exam and was moving on the last part. She scanned the exam and frowned. Shit. Does she not understand any of it?

Suddenly, her bright brown eyes lit up. Her frown slowly faded into a smile and she rapidly answered the problems.

"You have one more minute to finish," sensei announced. The idiot girl was the only student that didn't finish the exam yet. She'd been stuck on the last problem for fifteen minutes. Her eyes lit up again and she quickly scribbled down her answer and turned her test in.

"Good work, class," sensei said, "Results will be posted tomorrow."

The next day…

I wouldn't have bothered checking the results, but I was a little bit curious to see how that idiot did. There was a huge crowd of people standing in front of the school, reading the results, all disappointed they didn't make it high enough to be invited to the ball. Compared to everyone else in the crowd, I was taller than most, so I could easily read the results.

"Natsume-kun!" an annoying voice squealed, "You placed first! My parents are going to buy my way into the ball so I could go with you!" Ugh, it's that annoying girl with the curly, permy hair.

"This is the first time Imai-san didn't place first! Natsume-kun's a genius!" someone shouted, "Wow, he's so cool! The new student right away gets to go to the ball!"

I ignored the comments and scanned the results.

Hyuuga Natsume

Imai Hotaru

Tobita Yu

Umenomiya Anna

Sakura Mikan

That moron did it. She actually made it into the top five. Unless if Naru already altered it… no way. Naru wouldn't risk angering her. In the corner of my eye, I spotted her covering her eyes, afraid to look at the results. I made my way over to her and blew in her air.

She jumped up and glared at me, "Oh Natsume, it's just you."

"Baka, you can look," I nodded at the results, "It's fine." She slowly removed her hands from her face and peeked at the top five. Her eyes did that thing again—where it slowly lit up.

"N-Natsume…" she started, "I-I-I did it! Yata!" She nearly pounced on me.

Mikan's POV

I can't believe it. I actually got into the top! My heart was slowly calming down, but I couldn't seem to stop shaking.

He said monotonously, "You did well. For an idiot like you, I'm surprised you did well on Japanese and English without much studying on those. Math really is your worst subject."

"What about you? You only helped me study but you never actually studied yourself. What are you anyways?" Natsume is so mysterious… I never know what he's thinking. He never shows any emotion on his face and he beats Hotaru and Iinchou so effortlessly.

A gold envelope awaited on my desk and on Natsume's desk. I examined the envelope. "Sakura Mikan" was written in fancy calligraphy on the front. Anna and Nonoko gathered around me.

"Omedetou Mikan!" Nonoko shouted, "I saw you studying yesterday. Looks like it paid off!"

I smiled, "Arigato, Nonoko. And Anna, omedetou to you!"

Anna giggled nervously. "I'm going shopping for my dress today!"

"A dress, huh? I guess you have to wear one of those to events like these."

"Of course, Mikan! It is an exclusive ball after all."

A bigger crowd gathered up, surrounding Natsume and I.

"Lucky! Mikan is going to be wearing a dress! I want to go! Maybe I can buy my way in!" someone shouted.

"And Natsume is going to be wearing a tux! Kyaaaa!" a girl screamed. I shook my head and glanced at Natsume. Thankfully, the bell rung and everyone scurried back to their seats. I sighed in relief and slumped down in my chair.

When I got home, there was a large package waiting at the doorstep. "Natsume," I called, "This is for you too."

I turned on the TV and accepted Narumi-sensei's call. "Mikan!" Narumi-sensei yelled into the screen, "How was school today? Congratulations on making it to the top!"

"Arigato," I answered curtly, "So what's this box?"

"Still getting the cold treatmeant…" he mumbled, "Gomen, Mikan."

Natsume tore open the package. Inside the box were two dresses, a tuxedo, and three pairs of formal shoes.

"Nobara picked out the two dresses for you! She wanted you to pick which one you liked more." Nobara-san! I haven't seen her in so long. She was more like a friend rather than a higher up boss to me.

I picked up the first dress. It was a rose gold champagne color and it radiated off an indescribable elegance. It was strapless and it flared out at the waist all the way to the ground. It was so simple, yet elegant. It was also strapless and the idea made me uncomfortable.

I took a look at the second dress. It was a long red dress, with a large bow tied at the back and an intricate lace overlay across the shoulders. It was beautiful, yet the crimson red of the dress somewhat intimidated me.

"Do I have to wear these? Can I wear something less long and poofy? These dresses draw too much attention and I won't be able to move!" I groaned.

"Don't worry. These clothes are designed so that you can easily move around in them. And of course, those dresses are suitable for a ball. At the ball, I want you to find out who the headmaster is working with and see if there's anything suspicious. I have sent a limo to take you both to the ball and back. Be careful, Mikan, please. Natsume, if you let anything happen to Mikan…"

"I can take care of myself," I said, "And Natsume can worry about himself."

"Tch. Whatever." Natsume shut off the TV, "I'm leaving." He took his clothes and shoes that came in the package and left.

The day of the ball…

It's finally here. I flopped in my bed, pillow covering my face. Which dress should I wear? The champagne one is strapless, but the color wouldn't attract as much attention as the red one. I debated with myself for a bit and finally chose to wear the champagne dress. I twirled around in front of the mirror, admiring the elegance of the dress. Heh. Who am I kidding? Am I really going to wear this?

I sighed and slipped on the nude heels that complemented the dress. These heels do feel like they are fairly easy to walk and run in. I stared at myself in the mirror. I brushed my hair back and heard a voice echoing in the back of my head—"When your hair isn't in pigtails, you look less like a five year old girl. Put your hair down more often."

I grunted and decided to let my hair loose. But it's definitely not because Natsume told me to.

Natsume's POV

What is taking that brat so long? I decided to go over and knock on her door.

"Hurry up," I said, pounding on the door, "The limo is waiting."

"I can't go out looking like this," she mumbled, "This is so embarrassing!"

Slowly, the door creaked open. She peeked out, so I could only see her head. "P-Promise me you won't laugh!" she stammered.

"Whatever," I said, "Just come out already." Reluctantly, she stepped out and shut the door behind her.

"D-Don't laugh!" she yelled. I was speechless when I eyed her head to toe. I hate to admit it, but the scatterbrain looks… pretty. With her hair down, she looks a lot older and sophisticated—like an actual 16 year old.

Her long hair cascaded down her shoulders, partially covering her collar bones. I couldn't seem to look away, but I managed to. "You took long enough," I muttered under my breath.

It took the limo more than half an hour to get us to the ball. It was up a huge hill where a castle-like building sat. It was grand, and I could immediately tell that security was strong. I spotted three cameras at the entrance, carefully hidden in marble statues.

"As expected of the headmaster," she mumbled, "We're finally here."