Chapter 4 – First Day

I kicked the ball heading to the goal post, letting myself forget everything else besides the ball. I had only one purpose right now, and that was to kick Natsume's butt. And with the ball in my hands (er, feet) my objective was becoming really easy. I looked up, and saw that I was almost to the goal, and there wasn't a Natsume in sight. I looked back down, and saw that the ball wasn't there anymore.

"Catch me if you can!" I turned towards the voice, and saw Natsume. He had his right foot on the ball, and his arms folded across his chest. I scowled. I had a feeling that this wasn't going to be as easy as I had thought it was. Noticing my gaze, Natsume smirked, and started to run to the goal.

I was almost frozen (almost, but not quite) with shock. As much as I hated to admit it, Natsume really looked good when he was in action. His raven hair was flying in the wind, and his muscles were rippling. The way he moved seemed graceful too. I blinked. There was no way that I would lose this match. Even if I was up against Adonis himself.

By the time I knew it, we had already played for thirty minutes, and neither of us had scored a goal. That was unusual for me; normally, I could make at least one goal in thirty minutes. Either I wasn't playing like I normally do, or (I definitely didn't want this to be true) Natsume was just that good.

"Just give up already," called Natsume as I caught up to him, trying to get the ball. "We both know that you could never win against me," he said, smirking.

I groaned. Just like him to be full of himself. "You realize that neither of us has scored a goal? So that means that nobody is in the lead."

He frowned, before it was replaced by his usual smirk. "Yeah, but I'm about to change that."

I rolled my eyes. "Dream on, Hyuuga." I saw an opening, and I swerved around him, coming up on his other side with the ball in between my legs. "Ha!" I shouted, taking pleasure in seeing the scowl on his face.

I leaned down to kick, but instead of the ball, I felt something hard, and longer. The next thing I knew, I was lying on top of Natsume. "Falling for me already, little girl? And here I thought that you were different than the others."

"Ugh!" I screamed. (But from this point of view, I had to admit that he looked really good, even with the sweat lining his hair. He also felt good. ) "I'm not falling for you, Hyuuga, I unfortunately fell on you. Besides, if it weren't for your stupid foot tripping me, I wouldn't even be here."

"Yeah, right," said Natsume, smirking. "You can make up whatever excuses you want to, but it won't change anything."

"For the last time, Hyuuga. I don't like you."

"Oh yeah? Then why are you still on top of me?"

I looked down, and realized that he was right. Why was I still on top of him?? I scrambled to get up fighting the blush that was creeping up my cheeks. "That doesn't prove anything."

"Uh huh. Sure it doesn't."

"Look, do you want to play, or not?" I snapped.

"Fine."

"Hyuuga, I think we should stop," I panted, plopping down on the prickly grass. We had played for a long time, and neither of us had scored a goal. It was well into the night, but we had continued playing by the light of the bright floodlights. Koko and Ruka had left hours before, after trying to persuade us to the match.

"Giving up already, little girl?" Natsume asked, sitting down in front of me. (Not too close of course. I would slap him if he tried to get closer than a five feet radius)

"You know I'm not," I said, too tired to argue. "If I could, I would still play. But I can't, because I have to walk all the way to my dorm, - who knows how long it will take me to find the way back – and I don't want to over sleep for my first day of school."

"Why don't you take the bus?" he asked.

"Well, all the buses are gone, because it's almost ten right now." I glanced at my watch. Actually, it was over ten. More like eleven. This isn't good. What if I ended up getting lost, and had to sleep on the road?

"You know," he began, sounding as indifferent as always. "I could drop you off. That is, if you want."

I stared at him. Was The Natsume Hyuuga actually offering to drop me off? Well, I couldn't decline. I mean, what if I really did get lost? I didn't even have my map with me. "Sure," I said, not trusting myself to say anymore.

Surprisingly, for once, Natsume didn't make any perverted jokes. Instead, he nodded, and started searching for something. When he pulled it out, I saw that it was his car keys. "You're coming or not?" he asked, getting up. I nodded and followed him.

He got into the driver's seat of a black car. I couldn't tell in the darkness, but I was pretty sure that it was expensive. At least, that was what I got out of the leather seats, the hi-tech stereo and all. I followed into the passenger seat, closing the door behind me. "Nice car," I commented.

"Thanks," he muttered, turning up the radio.

The rest of the ride was in silence, except for the music. "I thought that you would be fan of heavy metal, or rock or something," I said, indicating the stereo. The music was really soft, and sounded like something that they play in hotel lobbies.

Natsume raised his eyebrows. "Are you kidding me?" he asked, sounding genuinely surprised. "I hate heavy metal. Hurts my ears with all their screaming."

My eyes grew wide. "Me too!" Was it possible that me and Natsume could have anything in common, or was the world just coming to an end? The second option would have made much more sense.

"Really? Are you sure that you aren't just saying that to be like me?"

"Why would I do that?" I asked. The old (arrogant, obnoxious, egoistic, … the list just goes on and on) Natsume was back again. I knew it was too good to last.

"'Cause you're in love with me," he said, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

I snorted. "In which crazy parallel dimension would I be in love with you?" Not waiting for his answer, I looked outside and saw that we were almost at the dorm. "Oh look. There's my stop."

Natsume frowned, but stopped anyway. I got out, and walked over to the driver's seat. He rolled down the window, asking, "What?"

"As much as I hate to say it, I still have to, so…Thank you."

He narrowed his eyes. "Come here, little girl," he said, pulling me down to the window by my collar. (Gently, though. I would have punched him if he hurt me in any way. That doesn't mean that I wasn't thinking of punching him right now, of course) "You know," he whispered. I really didn't like the way that his lips tickled my ear. "I always get what I want. No matter what, or who it is." He released me, and I staggered back. I had no clue what to make of what he had said. He snickered at my expression, and waved before he rolled up his window and took off down the road.

I looked myself in the mirror. I was wearing the Academy's uniform; a white, short-sleeved shirt, a red and black checkered skirt (actually, it only came down to the middle of my thighs, so I should really call it a mini-skirt) a black blazer, and a red and black checkered tie. The school insignia – a golden star with the letter 'A' etched into it – was on pinned on the breast pocket of the blazer. Since we were allowed to wear any shoes, I put on zip-up boots that almost came up to my knees. I reached up and loosened the tie, so that I would be able to move around freely. "There," I muttered to myself. I looked pretty good in it, even though I despised skirts. Especially ones that didn't reach until my knees.

"You ready?" called Hotaru from outside.

"Yeah." I opened the door, and saw Hotaru looking at me. "What's for breakfast?"

"Cereal," she said, moving to sit on the sofa. She picked up the remote and turned the TV on, watching the news. I walked over to the table, poured cereal in the bowl and started eating it dry. The moment I was done, we walked outside and got into Hotaru's car.

We didn't talk much on the way there, but the moment I saw the school building, I knew that even if I wanted to, I couldn't have spoken a word. It was just so big. And you would think that being the daughter of a very successful business man I had already been exposed to all the grandeur that people would die to see… but here, I saw that I had missed one important place on my 'must visit' list.

The high school building looked more like a palace than a school. The driveway split in two around halfway through, to make space for a huge ornamental fountain, and then rejoined before it reached the entrance to the building. The left path branched of into the small parking lot, and the right one led to the gardens near the back of the school. There were large, newly polished marble columns near the entrance, along with a couple of bushes trimmed into the shape of birds. The school itself was only about three stories high, though I could see that it spread out for more than thrice the size of my old school. And this was only the high school block!

"If you don't shut your mouth soon, then a bug's going to fly into it."

"Huh? What?" I asked, stunned. "Oh. Right. Yeah. Sorry." I got out of the car, running after Hotaru. I didn't trust myself enough to find my own way around the school.

I really didn't know where Hotaru was leading us, but I tied to make a note of the twists and turns and room numbers as they whizzed by. Finally, she stopped at a room, and said, "This is our homeroom. You might want to remember it, 'cause I'm not going to walk you to the door any more than I have to."

"Don't worry, I don't want you to," I muttered. (I mean, the way she put it, it was like I was a overactive child that needed to be looked after every moment) "Anyways," I said, louder so that she could hear. "by our homeroom, do you mean that you have the same homeroom as me?" I questioned.

"No. Actually, this isn't my original room," she said, sounding mischievous. "But, with a little…persuading, I managed to convince the teachers that changing my homeroom would be the right thing to do."

I snorted at that. Hotaru?? Persuading?? Yeah, more like black mailing. I fought to suppress my chuckles as a picture of Hotaru holding some of the teachers captives in a store cupboard flashed in my mind. "Really? You changed your homeroom to be with me?" I asked mockingly, making my voice go all high-pitched like the girls on the cheerleading squad back at home.

Hotaru rolled her eyes. "Yeah right. I changed to be with my boyfriend, not you." I pretended to look hurt, but inside, I was really curious. I wonder who her boyfriend was…I pushed the door open, walking inside.

The first thing I noticed was that the room got all silent when me and Hotaru walked in. I didn't bother with introductions, but began looking for an empty seat. It was then that I noticed that they weren't looking at me, but at Hotaru. They looked intense and expecting, almost heating up the atmosphere with their stares. I followed their gaze, 'cause obviously they were waiting for her to do something. Hotaru seemed as indifferent as ever though, and just stood there at the front of the class coolly, as thought there wasn't anybody in front of her. Finally, she sighed and walked over to one of the free benches and sat down. Instantly, the atmosphere cooled, and everybody let out their breaths at the same time.

I was still at the front of the classroom, and I was starting to get calculating looks. Before I was asked to introduce myself, I went and sat down I one of the benches at the back of the class. (I would've sat next to Hotaru, but she gave me a don't-sit-here-or-else look, so I didn't bother. I wonder if that seat was reserved for her 'boyfriend', whoever he was…) I had barely sat down when I heard the door opening, and feminine gasps erupting all over the class. I looked up, expecting to see Brad Pitt, or some movie star, and I end up seeing…who else? Natsume and his gang. (At least that would explain the gasps.)

"Hey little girl, are you sure that you aren't stalking us?" asked Natsume, walking slowly up to my desk. I was consciously aware of the many pairs of eyes that were staring at Natsume and me, as though we were some sort of TV show or something.

"I should ask you the same thing," I replied. Why did I feel the sudden warmth creeping up my cheeks? And why did I feel like I had butterflies in my stomach? And above all, why was my heart suddenly beating so hard? I had no answer to any of this though, and I just concentrated on not meeting anybody's gaze.

"I guess you should," he answered, taking another step towards me. I suddenly remembered in all too vivid detail what had happened the night before…but Natsume wouldn't do anything with so many people watching, right?

"Umm…yeah…right…I should…" Why was it so hard to frame a coherent question with him around? I never had this problem before, even when I was meeting famous movie stars…What was happening to me?? Natsume chuckled (no, more like snickered, but anyways), sitting down on the desk beside me. I shook my head, like I was trying to get rid of some kind of drug. "What do you think you're doing," I asked, more intelligibly. At least the shaking helped.

"I'm sitting. That should be obvious, right?" I could hear some giggles in the background. Why were they laughing? That wasn't even funny! It was just downright annoying.

"Yeah, but where are you sitting?" I scowled at his sarcasm.

"Next to you. That should also be obvious. Are you sure that you don't need glasses?" More giggles. This was getting really frustrating.

"I know you're sitting next to me," I growled. "I'm asking why you can't sit somewhere else. There are so many more benches available!" I said, pointing around the class without really looking.

"You might want to look again."

I looked around, and saw that all the empty places were occupied by Natsume's friends. Ruka was sitting next to Hotaru (could he be her boyfiend??…Nah, that was impossible) and Yuu and Koko were both seated near the front of the class. "Oh."

"Yeah. So, unfortunately, the only open space is next to you."

I glared at him. "What do you mean 'unfortunately'?" I hissed.

Natsume just smirked. "I mean exactly what I say." I groaned. Why couldn't people tell you the reason and be done with it?? Oh no, they just had to speak in riddles.

"Hey, could you two find a room before you start making out?" I turned towards the voice, cracking my knuckles. Whoever said that was gonna land in the hospital today. "I mean, its bad enough that we have to watch you flirt." I glared at the voice – a grinning Koko. Of course, Koko didn't seem to realize the change in my expression, (either that or he was just dumb) cause he just kept on grinning.

"Koko," I said, grinding my teeth together, not bothering with concealing my anger. "You're a dead man."

I ran at him, but before I could make contact with his thick head, I felt a pair of strong arms pulling me back. I struggled, but the arms just squeezed me tighter. "Who know," a soft voice whispered in my ear. "I don't think Koko will look so good with an eye out." I froze. Not because I actually cared about what Koko would look like one-eyed, but because the pairs of arms belonged to Natsume.

I pulled out of them, and this time, his arms loosened. I was surprised to see that my cheeks had become flushed, and that my hands were sweaty. Something was really wrong with me. Maybe I should go to the doctor's after school…

"Good morning, class!" a voice interrupted. It sounded all happy, as though everything in the world was all right. (And it was not.) "I see that we have a new student! Why don't you come up to the front and introduce yourself?" I looked at the speaker, and saw that it was a blonde guy with very… unique clothes. I hadn't seen so many ribbons and ruffles since the last time I'd been to a wedding. (and let me tell you, that was a long time ago) "I'm Mr. Narumi, I'll be your homeroom teacher. And you are…?" he asked, still smiling.

"Great. I have a psycho as my teacher," I muttered, walking up to the blonde guy. (I was pretty sure that he was the teacher) "Hi. The name's Mikan. Mikan Sakura." I hadn't been paying attention before when I had first walked into the class, but now I noticed some familiar faces.

Ana and Nonoko were both sitting in the benches near the front of the classroom with expressions of awe on their faces. I looked back at them and waved. Their expressions didn't change, except for their mouths literally dropping out of their sockets. (I doubt that they could've said anything even if they wanted too, but I honestly didn't understand what was so surprising) I shrugged, and walked past them, sitting on my seat. (that was unfortunately now next to Natsume's)

"Wow…That's all I can say…Wow."

I rolled my eyes. "Ana, that's all you've been saying since the last…oh I don't know. Three hours?" I picked at my salad and forked it into my mouth, chewing slowly. The school food was actually good, at least better than what they usually serve in school cafeterias. "Besides, what's so 'wow' about having to sit next to an arrogant jerk like Natsume?"

The day had gone by quickly, changing from chemistry, to English, and then to math, and before I knew it, it was already lunch. I had figured out (by tossing paper balls across the room to Ana and Nonoko) that Narumi was supposed to be very nice, though he dressed in an unusual way. (Well, I could obviously tell that)

"You don't get it!" replied Nonoko, sitting on my other side. "He actually hugged you!! You should be screaming in joy!"

"Nonoko, he didn't hug me. He was just restraining me from taking out his best friends' eye," I replied. I was tired of explaining this to everybody who asked. And tired of everybody giving me quizzical looks.

"Yeah, but the way he did it –"

"It was just so cute!" interrupted Ana.

"Yeah, sure," I sighed. It was bad enough that every time I closed my eyes I got the feeling of his arms around me, and his lips tickling my ear, without having to talk about it too. "Whatever."

I pushed my chair back, going to dump my uneaten salad in the trashcan, but I ended up colliding with Hotaru in the process. "I saw you flirting with Hyuuga in the class today," she said impassively.

"Oh Hotaru, not you too!" I groaned. "You of all people would know that I would never flirt with Natsume, even if I were paid a million bucks to do it."

Hotaru smirked. "I was being sarcastic, idiot. Besides, even a dope like you wouldn't choose Natsume to fall for."

I frowned at her. "What about you? Didn't think that you would fall for Ruka."

"You know," she said, shooting daggers at me. "If you know what's good for you, then you won't say that again."

I flinched, but grinned. At least I knew who Hotaru's mystery boyfriend was. "Sure, sure." I looked back at Ana and Nonoko, who were talking to each other. (Probably about how best to ask Koko or Yuu on a date.) "Bye guys," I called, looking back over my shoulder as I walked with Hotaru to the exit.

"See you last period," she called as we walked down the corridor.

"Sure," I said, not even recalling what the last period was. All that was in my mind right now was the twists and turns that led to biology.

"Oh, so this is what last period is," I said as I walked to photography class. The last period was electives, where the students were asked to choose a hobby that they would like to improve on during their time in school. Unfortunately, the school didn't count soccer as a hobby, (How unfair!) and the only reasonable choice was photography. (Unless you went to drama, or dance or something, and I certainly did not want to be seen on stage with a stupid costume)

I pushed the door open to the room, and saw that a lot of the students were already there, sitting on desks, or simply standing. They all turned their heads towards me when I entered. This time, I looked through the crowd in search of familiar faces, and unfortunately, found quite a few. Ana and Nonoko were sitting near the front of the classroom again, while Hotaru was discussing something with Ruka. Natsume was leaning against the wall, half reading some sort of comic book, and half listening to Koko and Yuu talking nearby. But the worst face was one I recognized from the train journey here, and one I never wanted to see again – Luna Koizumi.

Hows the story? i personally think that this chapter was boring, but that just me. (dont worry, if you agree with me, the next one is better)

I've been thinking about moving the story a bit away from soccer, so could u guys tell me wat u think about that? Thanks.

The next chapter is called -- Partners. (No sneak peeks!)