Title: Buy Me With Your Love

Chapter Four

The scene seems too surreal. Maybe it's cliché to call this kind of sensation of feeling like a princess when it's in fact that I feel like a goddess. After one hour in the salon, I totally look like a different person. My brown hair is curled, my lips are coated in peach, and I look like… not Mikan at all.

I'm currently inside the hotel's comfort room and I've been here for about ten minutes already. I've been taking my time admiring myself in the mirror for I am astonished in what the dress and the parlor has done to me.

In Gioppe's, Hyuuga bought the most expensive dress in there—a long white shimmering dress with gold chains attached at the back. I touch the fabric one more time to make sure it's not a dream. Hyuuga indeed paid for me, but he didn't tell me I could keep the dress either. He only said it was on loan and he told me not to remove the price tag.

Maybe for tonight, I can be Cinderella.

As I am about to leave the comfort room, two familiar voices pop in. Anna's clad in an aqua blue dress with countless of frills trimmed at the bottom. On the other hand, Hotaru's wearing a peach slit-in-the-side dress. When Hotaru glance at me and catch me staring at them, she pauses and silently stares at me. "Mikan?" she says. "What are you doing here?"

I fidget and this time it's Anna who speaks. "Oh my gosh, Mikan!" she exclaims as she holds both of my hands. "You look stunning! Gorg, girl! I didn't recognize you!"

"T-Thanks." I mutter, shy from the compliments that Anna's throwing at my face.

"So," Hotaru speaks once again. "This is a party that requires an escort, who are you with?"

In Alice University, if there's one person who knew everything about everybody, it would be Hotaru Imai. I understand what's going on inside Hotaru's mind right now. After all, who would even take a Mikan Sakura in this kind of extravagant party?

"Don't tell me," Anna suddenly says and we all look at her. "It's Youichi!"

"What? No!" I deny hastily.

"Girl, you don't have to lie." She says as she winks mischievously. "I see sparks when you guys sit together and whisper to one another."

"Anna, Youichi and I always talk about student government matters," I explain. "We're both vice presidents, remember?"

"Balderdash!" Anna pouts.

"Anyway, I have to go now, my e-escort's waiting." I say as I walk past them.

As soon as I got out from the room, I search for Hyuuga in the crowd. It's really quite easy to spot the man. He's just leaning on the pillar, but he emits an aura that makes him own the entire hall and who wouldn't notice all the people glancing at him and whispering softly? I go up to him and mutter, "Sorry."

"You're late." He hisses under his breath.

"I said I'm sorry, didn't I?" I say to him. This time, I sense that everybody's not looking at Hyuuga anymore. This time, it's me that their eyes are glued to. I could feel their piercing stares, wondering probably on how a girl like me could be this man's partner. If only they knew the truth.

"Liking the attention, Miss Sakura?" he whispers to my ear. His action makes my palms sweaty and the crowd's whispering got a bit louder. In the corner of my eye, I see Hotaru and Anna staring at me in shock.

"Compose yourself, Miss Sakura," Hyuuga says softly as he could. "From this moment on, everybody would look at you. Some would even try to talk to you to get to me, ignore them all. Everybody in this party would think that you're my woman and they'll suck up to you, so don't fall for it." Woman? Before I could give out a proper comment about that, he pulls me close to him and we both enter into another room.

Bright lights greet my eyes as soon as I enter. Soft music drifts in the air and everywhere I look, people are staring at me and the man beside me. I glance at Hyuuga and he acts like nobody's looking at us. He strides to his right and I follow him from behind.

"Mister Hyuuga," a man greets and blocks Natsume's path. "How kind of you to finally join us. I sent you an invitation last week to my daughter's debut, why didn't you attend?"

Hyuuga smiles a little. "I was a bit preoccupied."

"Kuonji overdid his party this time, hasn't he?" the man comments as he raises his glass. "Tell me, how did he manage to make you attend? You usually don't come to these kinds of gatherings."

"Let's just say I was bored at home." Hyuuga replies.

The man looks at me and I twitch. He smiles widely and I could see that his entire teeth are made from gold. "Hyuuga!" he exclaims. "What a lovely bird you have here. She's quite a beauty. Is she a European model?"

I feel my cheeks turning warm with the man's compliment. I barely get any compliments. In school, my clothes are usually wrinkled, my hair is messy, and my shoes are worn-out. Honestly, who in the right mind would compliment a girl like that? Even with a student government position, the only ones who would attempt are the desperate ones to get instant access to what they want and most of them have a difficult time in choosing which to compliment.

Hair? X. Eyes? X. Clothes? X. Fingernails? Someone actually tried, but failed miserably.

This time Hyuuga laughs and the man is caught off-guard. "A model? I'm afraid not, Sir Masachika." I notice that Hyuuga is doing his best not to laugh out loud. "She's just a friend."

The man named Masachika holds my hand and gives it a peck. "You're very lovely, you look like someone I knew in the past."

I blush. "T-Thank you."

Hyuuga fakes a cough and drags me to the other side of the room. "We have to go now," he says to Masachika. "My apologies."

I still feel a bit giddy with what just happened. The sensation's strange, I couldn't put a word to describe what I'm feeling right now. If I compare it with a material, it would be a bubble. Masachika's words made me feel bubbly and tucked safely inside a huge bubble. If only Hyuuga didn't prick my happiness.

"You seem to have believed Masachika's word, didn't you?" Hyuuga comments as we pass by the buffet table. "You have to…."

This time his words seem to be a blur in my head. All I could focus on is the food lying before my very eyes. Their aromas drift in the air and my nose freely welcomes them. Hyuuga must have noticed my saliva since he pinches my elbow fat.

"Control yourself, Miss Sakura," he says. "You look like a poor girl who hasn't eaten this kind of meals."

"But I am a poor girl, Mister Hyuuga." I tell him that and he looks surprised. His expression tells me one thing: he must have forgotten my real identity and believed that I'm this girl who likes fancy clothes and elaborate makeup. I smile at this, but his words instantly put my twitching lips into a halt.

"Kuonji's coming, prepare yourself and whatever you do, do not try to get his attention." Hyuuga hisses under his breath.