Disclaimer: My name is not does not begin with a H or a T, therefore, I do not own Gakuen Alice (as cool as that may sound).

My head hurts.

Not only did I not get insufficient sleep last night, but I had spent yesterday reviewing our class notes and doing homework. I spent 1 hour finishing off trigonometry, and then I moved on to History. It was the best I could do at least, since my mind was completely functioning crazily. What with the dreams and the frequent thoughts of Natsume, I might as well have been going insane.

I haven't entirely got over yesterday's incident. There was one thing, though, and it was one thing I could not overlook. It was what I noticed in the first day, because I had seen it in his eyes. Natsume looked at me, not with unfamiliarity, but looked at me, his face expressionless. And yet it was with the blankness of his expression that he seemed cold and unconcerned... But it wasn't a look that told me I was forgotten. I may not have seen Natsume in years, but I knew him long enough that he was masking some part of him- pain? Frustration? There was a thick barrier that made him so distant.

It was time to move on to my next class, and I didn't have a chance to pack up so I hastily packed up the books and put the pen in my purple pencil case. I didn't bother to put the crayons in the right order of color anymore.

As I stood up, I was shocked to find someone directly behind me. I saw Natsume was there, as if the whole time he was there, waiting for me to stand up. He spoke first.

"Oi. You… Why are you even here?" he asked, tone cautious, carefully choosing the right words. Each word stung as he said them.

I knew what he was trying to ask. It wasn't a question of why I was in the classroom, but why I even came here in the academy at all. I knew it. I knew he didn't want me here.

"What am I doing here? I should be the one who should ask that question, Natsume, not you!" Impulse, not caution. But I didn't care.

"I study here, that's what I'm doing. But I asked you first."

"I'm here because of my alice, obviously," I said, with heavy emphasis on the last word, as if that alone explained the whole thing.

"You... have an alice?" he asked with insulting incredulity.

"Yes, I do," I managed to reply with equal hostility.

There was a brief pause before he spoke again.

"So what is it? Transforming people into fairies? Or was it turning anything to pink?"

"Don't be so stuck in the past, Natsume. I've grown up."

"I wasn't stuck in the past, I was simply reminiscing it."

"Oh wow, I didn't know you still remember a past, because I thought you've forgotten it!"

"I could say the same, actually. What past were you actually referring to? I thought you would've buried anything that reminded you of me."

"Well sor-ry for apparently forgetting it, but maybe it's because you never even revealed so much as how to contact you! Cøme to think of it, has this academy been your hideout all these years?"

"I wasn't hiding- but that's beside the point. I had reasons, but do you?"

"I don't need to explain myself," I said, carefully now. I wasn't so sure about what he meant either. Reasons for what?

"Of course you don't," he murmured sardonically.

"What are you trying to say?" I demanded with a mix of confusion and annoyance.

He didn't answer my question and instead, he moved closer and whispered to my ear:

"Math is starting Don't anger the lightning guy."

He left me, face puzzled.

I wish I could stop it, but I couldn't help it. There it was again: The feeling of being at ease by the comfort of his presence. It was amazing how his presence chased away all my worries. I was angry, but his very presence made me feel relief- the constant worry, the sadness that filled me when he had left. I felt more whole.

That split second, I looked fixedly at him, saw how the light gently touched the flawless features of his face: I couldn't deny that he was ridiculously good-looking, for a guy like him who could be so infuriating. Some part of me thought I understood why girls were squealing and swooning because of him. Just a few days ago, I heard a girl cried non-stop for 5 days from being rejected by him. Well, technically, she wasn't rejected, because all Natsume did was glare, and she understood. Well, at least, she thought she did. Who knows what a guy like Natsume could be plotting?

Cunning. I could not fall under the path of hope again.

Jinno-sensei's class, though I hated to admit, made me fall asleep. I didn't mean to, but the lack of sleep plus the whole boring lecture about numbers was enough to make me fall asleep.

"Mikan Sakura," came the voice. Sharp. Scary.

I had to swallow, nervous, before I faced him.

Then there was the whole eye-to-eye contact business. I could've sworn he was glaring at me, but I knew better than to take that to heart.

"Well, well. Being a three-star in the school, I would've thought you'd be a bit more… competetent with your work. I guess I was mistaken," he said with a trace of humor in his face.

Talk about being a sadist.

"Sensei, I-"

"Enough. The next time I ask a question, be sure to listen. The next time you do this... It won't be so pleasant."

I just nodded. I wasn't really sure what to say. It had been my fault anyway. I thought it was over, but I saw a stroke of lightning hit my text book, and it ended up looking badly burnt.

"My book," I said in despair.

I could barely make out the words in the next hundred pages of my book. I needed a replacement. I remembered what Natsume said ealier...

"Math is starting Don't anger the lightning guy."

I didn't get a word he said then, so it wasn't really like he warned me.

By the end of the class, everyone was rushing for the door, and for a second, our eyes met. It had the annoying I-told-you-so look, which was doubly worse than the glares. His look was teasing- I never thought I'd be so angry with someone this way. Never. That's why it was such a surprise that it had to be Natsume of all people. But then again, it wasn't totally surprising, because he was the only one who could make me feel this way.

Words hit me out of nowhere. Clear and concise. The memory entered my mind... and it hit me- hard.

"If I'd leave, you'd understand, right?" Natsume's voice said. The memory brought back how he used to be- his gentle voice, his worried look. It all hurt me. This Natsume, I have definitely missed.

Stop. I need to stop this. Soon. I need to snap out of it.

"Sakura-san," came Ruka's voice, and immediately, I woke up- as if an alarm just rung, or like a splash of cold water on me, or a shake in the shoulders- I realized I had stopped dead on my tracks. Ruka had a concerned expression, so I had to say something.

"Uh... I'm fine, you can go ahead," I said, forcing a smile. He didn't buy it.

"No, really. I just... I just... remembered something."

"If you're sure..." he said, face still unsure. Thankfully, he left the door and only looked back at me one last time.

I walked towards one room- the room besides my own that I've only ever wanted to visit ever since I came to the academy. My feet went forward automatically, one foot after the other. This was the room I could go to any time, awake or asleep. My feet would find its way, my heart memorized the directions.

"You look like you've just seen a ghost," Hotaru said the second she opened the door.

Ah, the familiar face and voice of my best friend- the one person who has not changed.

"No, not a ghost," I said shaking my head. I sat down.

Ghost of my memory, more like it.

"Do you want to take a look at yourself in the mirror?" Hotaru said, teasing me. Before I could even respond, she took a mirror from her study table and sat next to me.

"If you didn't look so utterly horrified, I would've taken pictures of you."

Hotaru. You haven't changed at all.

I took a deep breath.

"That bad?"

She frowned. "It's not even hilarious."

"Oh," I said taking a look at myself. "No wonder Ruka-pyon looked so worried."

It wasn't that I was messed up or had my hair all around me- it was just that my face was creased with worry- like something big was bothering me.

I sighed.

I tried to relax, thinking of Hotaru, trying to comfort myself.

"Ruka-pyon?" Hotaru asked, eyebrows raised.

I blushed a deep red.

"Just a nickname. He always has that rabbit," I admitted.

CLICK.

"Wha- Hotaru!"

"There. That ought to make up for that freaked-out expression of yours," she said with a smirk.

There are just some things that never change- And heck, not all of them were pleasant.

For the short time that I've been in the academy, I discovered one thing. Being late was absolutely a big deal. Truly, it was.

I hurried to class, but someone ran past me, but we bumped on each other, and I fell, ankle twisted. He stopped for 3 seconds as if deciding whether to help me or not, then he quickly ran past me.

It was only then that I was able to recognize him- Natsume.

It was downright rude. He didn't even apologize or stop to help me... But man was he amazingly fast and– What am I thinking?!

My ankle hurt, and as fast as I was capable of at that moment, I went to class.

"Mikan-chan," Narumi sensei said brightly. "You're late."

Uh, I already know that.

"I sprained my ankle," I stated simply.

"Care to elaborate on that?"

"Well, I just collided with some guy who sprained my leg and didn't even have the guts to apologize," I explained, fuming.

I noticed that there was someone who entered the room just seconds before me, but I ignored it. It wasn't only a little bit after that I was able to identify that presence. Natsume.

"And here he is," I added.

I turned to face him.

"Are you stalking me?" I bluntly asked.

"No. We're in the same class," Natsume stated, as if it were the most obvious fact in the world.

Well, curse my egg shell head for not picking that one up.

"The reason for lateness, Mr. Hyuuga?" Narumi sensei demanded.

"That girl," he remarked, pointing directly at me.

He- The nerve!

"I can't believe- You were the one who bumped into me and I was the one who got a sprained leg! How the heck is all that my fault?" I burst out in rage. He was blaming me for his unpunctuality, but it was obviously HIS fault. Where was the justice in that?

"OK. Let me get this straight. You were the reason why he was late, and he was the reason why you were late," he stated, then he threw his head back and laughed.

"You are the most amusing couple to watch."

I'm sorry, did he just say 'couple'?

He was making fun of us!

"We're not a couple, and it's not nice to make fun of other people's situation," I replied in chagrin.

"Your verdict?" Natsume asked in a bored voice.

Ha. Verdict. This isn't even a death sentence, though I would've probably considered it one, if it were Jinno-sensei who handed the punishment out.

"Sorry, but no can do. Detention. It's the rules."

March is a big month for me. Assignments are piling up. Assignment. I hate that word. Means less update and more work.

Anyway, I should be doing HW right now, but it just so happens that I keep procrastinating.

As always, don't forget to review. ^^