Disclaimer: Gakuen Alice is not mine, unfortunately.

Note: Slightly OOC

Chapter 4: Cinderella

"Hey." Natsume greeted the lady who was looking outside the window.

The lady turned her gaze to the man who spoke to her.

"Hey!" She replied as she curved her lips into a bright smile.

"Mind if I sit here?"

"Of course not, please sit!" Was the lady's cheerful reply. "It's surprising to see you here, Hyuuga-san."

'Hyuuga-san? What the heck, didn't I tell her to call me Natsume?'

"Natsume," He corrected. "It's fine to call me Natsume. Yeah, what a coincidence." The photographer added.

"Hmm… If you'd ask me, I think you're stalking me." Mikan teasingly said.

Natsume was taken aback by what she said. He became rather stiff and nervous inside. But being himself, putting on a pokerface was very simple.

"Isn't it the other way around? I figured you wanted me to find you since you left me your umbrella." Natsume uttered with a smirk. "Playing Cinderella, aren't we?"

"Hey—"

"Here you go, Mi-chan." The waiter successfully interrupted the brunette's outburst.

When she saw the cakes before her, her mood changed drastically. She immediately calmed down before flashing a smile to the waiter and saying, "Thank you, Jun-kun."

'What the? Mi-chan?! Who the hell is Mi-chan and Jun-kun? Are they close or something? And why is she smiling stupidly for this waiter?' Natsume was never a nosy person, but of course Mikan was an exception to the rule. She had become an exception.

"No problem," Jun answered back. "Hey Mi-chan, is he your boyfriend? I'm hurt; I thought we were going out."

'Going out?!'

Jun was a twenty year old, dark-violet haired guy with purple eyes. He had a tall stature and slim built, definitely one of the probable reasons why many girls prefer this cake shop. He gave off a cool-guy type of aura.

"Pfft… Boyfriend?! Who? Him?" She uttered as she pointed a finger to the photographer's direction. "You know I'll only go out with you… to the supermarket." Then cries of laughter were heard from the two.

'The hell, was the joke supposed to be THAT funny? Was that even a joke in the first place? Are they idiots or what?' He thought to himself but he couldn't deny the relieved feeling that crawled up to him.

"Hey Junnosuke! Quit slacking off and deliver this food to the next table," his fellow waiter called.

"Oops I gotta go and work. See you at school Mi-chan and nice meeting you… Err... Mikan's friend-san." Jun said before leaving.

"Your classmate?" Natsume asked as his gaze was still pinned on the guy that had just left their table.

"Yup. He's quite famous in our school."

Natsume observed Mikan as she stared at her cakes. He found it fascinating how the cakes were able to change her mood so fast. A while ago, she was ready to strangle him, but now her eyes were like twinkling stars.

'How childish.' He chuckled to himself.

"For a little girl like you, you sure ordered a lot." He taunted her once more.

"Hmph… I didn't think you'd be this annoying!" She irritatingly said.

Again, he chuckled to himself. He didn't know why but he found bickering with Mikan rather amusing. It was especially entertaining to watch her change expressions. He couldn't stop himself from 'bullying' her although he knew that the lady before him was starting to become irritated.

"Anyway, what are you doing here? Aren't guys supposed to find cake shops gay? OH! Don't tell me you're–"

Natsume abruptly stood up to cut her off before she could say something INCREDIBLY ridiculous. His right hand made its way to the brunette's loose hair, whose eyes were now filled with wonder and surprise, and tossed it gently to the back of her ear before lessening the gap between their faces.

"Does this look gay to you?" He whispered in her ear with a velvet voice.

Mikan, with eyes wide in shock, felt something stingy in her chest by the man's gesture. Before she could even express her protest, the man had already withdrawn.

"You should really start eating all those cakes; you're drooling all over the table."

"I am not!"

The action was something that bolted from the blue, even raven-haired man himself didn't think that he would be able to do something like that. But he couldn't also deny that he felt somewhat happy when he saw the young lady's flustered look that she failed to conceal.

She paused for a moment when her eyes landed on the camera hanging from the young man's neck. "Hey Natsume, are you a photographer?"

Karma.

It was now Natsume's turn to feel embarrassed. That one word that escaped for the brunette's mouth was enough to make him feel uncomfortable. Hearing her say his name was something he never thought would cause that much effect on him.

"Natsume? Hello~ I'm talking to you!" Mikan said who was looking worriedly at his eyes, trying to snap him out of his trance.

The raven-haired young man shifted his gaze from the brunette's amber eyes. He knew that if he wouldn't, she'd definitely see the faint blush painted on his face.

"Yes." He was finally able to calm himself down and answer the young lady's question.

"Wow! That's great!" She said excitedly.

"Hn. How about you? What's keeping you busy?" he asked, feigning ignorance.

"Me? I'm a student in a music school," She paused then shoved another piece of cake into her mouth. "I'm learning how to play the piano."

The young lady was busy digging in her cakes when Natsume, who had been staring at her for quite a while now, noticed that there was an icing on one of the brunette's cheeks.

'Childish AND clumsy.' He thought.

He was about to tell her about her clumsiness when he remembered his camera.

*click*

"Eh?!" She was surprised and confused by the young man's sudden action.

"Clumsy girl, you have icing on you cheeks," Natsume leaned towards her and wiped the icing off her anxious face.

"Then why did you have to take a picture of me?!" Mikan blurted out as she felt self-conscious over her clumsiness, not to mention Natsume's abrupt gesture.

Natsume licked the icing off his hand and responded, "Hmm… this cake is not bad at all."

The sight of the young man's actions made her feel something familiar. Whatever it may be, she was quite sure it was something she wasn't ready to pour thoughts into yet.

"Hmph... Are you a pervert or what? If you want a cake so badly then why don't you buy yourself one?" She said trying to shake off the feeling.

"Why should I buy when there are already three of them on the table?" He replied then got a fork, speared it through one of the brunette's cake and shoved it into his mouth.

"Hey! That's mine you know," the brunette pouted. "Anyways, you said you're a photographer, right? What kind of pictures do you shoot?" She sounded very curious and interested. Being a pianist herself, she understands how it feels to have something you are passionate about.

"Landscapes."

"Really? That's amazing! So, why landscapes?"

"I think lots of people don't appreciate the sceneries that surrounds us…it's different for me. When I go on trips and see those panoramas by myself, I don't know why but I feel refreshed. There's something about them that can make me go on forever just by looking at them." Natsume's eyes were very calm when he stated that.

Every time he would talk about photography or sights that he shoots, he would be rather talkative. His love for his job is something very obvious. It's like there's a different Natsume whenever this was the topic and the brunette was not oblivious to the fact.

"I completely understand that feeling. That's exactly how I feel when I'm playing the piano. It seems like my worries disappear whenever my fingers create such harmonious melodies."

They continued to talk about their passions, never failing to notice the softness in each others' eyes. Having something you are so serious and dedicated about was definitely one thing they had in common. Natsume didn't seem to be as annoying and irritating as he was few minutes ago and Mikan started to develop respect for the individual before him.

'He's not as bad as I thought.'

'She's better than I thought.'

*ring ring*

'Stupid cell phone!' He cursed.

"Hey do you mind if I go and answer this call first?" He frustratingly said.

"Sure sure." She answered honestly.

Natsume left their table and answered his phone.

"Hello?" The photographer uttered.

"Yes, Hello? Is this Hyuuga-san?" An unfamiliar voice answered Natsume's greeting.

"Yes."

"Good afternoon Hyuuga-san, this is the Hiroki from the Be entertained magazine."

"Ok, what do you want from me? I don't remember having anything to do with your magazine." He began to sound irritated.

"Ah, about that. My friend told me about you. He said you take great pictures."

"And?" he said without concealing the sound of impatience from his voice.

"I'm sorry for suddenly calling like this but could you be so kind enough to be the photographer for my article?"

"Didn't your loquacious friend tell you that I am a landscape photographer?"

"Yeah he did mention that but he also said that you sometimes accept other jobs. Please Hyuuga-san, I need someone to photograph my pianist."

'Wait, did he say pianist?' His mentally asked himself.

"Pianist? What exactly do you want me to do?" He suddenly became interested.

"Well, my article is about young pianists that are excelling in their profession. I just want you to take pictures of the pianist while she is playing."

"Hmm… I think I could waste my time on it," The voice on the other end of the call sounded very pleased with the news. "But on one condition."

"Eh? Condition?"

"Yes, one condition."

"Ok ok. What would be your condition?"

"I'll get to choose the model." He plainly declared.

"What?! Hmm…I guess it would be fine."

Of course He didn't like taking pictures aside from sceneries, but this was an offerthat he couldn't get himself to refuse. This job seemed like an opportunity for him to know the brunette more.

It was the perfect excuse to see her again.

"Good. So when's the shoot?"

"I'll e-mail you the details later. Thank you Hyuuga-san! You didn't know how you saved my life!"

"Hn. Ok is there anything else? I'm hanging up now."

"Ok. Thanks again Hyuuga-san!"

Natsume ended the call and headed straight to the brunette's table. He found her done eating her cakes and is now waiting for him patiently.

"I'm sorry; the call lasted longer than expected." He said as he took a sit.

"No it's alright," she smiled in reply. "Was the call about your job?"

"Actually, it was," he paused for a while as if he was building up his confidence.

"Hey, do you want to be my model?"

Author's note: hehe... Sorry for uploading this chapter late. Errr...actually I forgot about this so that's why I updated late. Sorry o.O

Anyways, thanks again for continuing to read this story. Please send me your comments and ideas. I really want to know what you guys are thinking so as to improve my story. ^^

I need to apologize if this chapter is a bit crappy. I don't know but I sorta didn't like this chapter...hehe...sorry. T_T

Hopefully I could update next week, though I doubt it since I have to start making my computer program. I only have one week to make it so good luck to me! anyways, thanks again and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! \^o^/