Hi! Thanks for all the reviews you guys have given me! And I want to apologize for the character-name mistake in the last chapter. Highly clumsy of me, but nonetheless, thank you so much for pointing it out! Well, here's the next chapter and I hope you all like it! Please read and review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice or any of its characters.

"So sleepy…" Mikan thought tiredly as her eyes began to droop closed. She could feel her head bob up and down as she desperately tried to focus on the math problem Jinno-sensei had put on the board.

"Come on Mikan!" she scolded herself as she gave her head a quick shake. "Pay attention!"

Prying her eyes open, Mikan stared at the blackboard and forced her eyes to move from side to side as she read silently, "A cashier has…three dollars…in his pocket that consist of dimes…and nickels. There are a total of…36 coins. How many…nickels does he…have?"

A large, muffled yawn escaped her lips. Mikan hadn't a clue of how to solve it. Jinno-sensei had gone over problems like these before, but she couldn't recall anything he had said. And to make matters worse, her vision was getting fuzzier and fuzzier by the second. Racking her currently-dysfunctional-brain for an answer, Mikan decided to avert her hazy gaze as the teacher looked up and down the aisle, carefully choosing his next victim.

Unfortunately, Mikan was not exactly Jinno-sensei's favorite and if there was anyone he liked to test, it would be her. So in a sharp voice, he called, "Sakura!"

"Yes?" Mikan cried loudly in full alert as she stood up from her chair.

Jinno-sensei glared. "The answer, if you will."

Mikan gulped. "The answer…" she repeated nervously, feeling her hands start to get clammy. "The answer…"

Jinno-sensei shook his head and asked quietly, "You don't know?" Lightning began to spark around the teaching stick he held as the frog on his shoulder gave a loud croak.

"Um—!" Mikan began in earnest. She decided to blurt out any random number that came to mind until a white piece of paper caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. A slender hand slyly pushed it towards her until she could clearly read the number written neatly on top of it: 12.

"It's twelve!" she said hastily as Jinno-sensei was about to open his mouth in scorn.

"Twelve?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "And how did you get to that?"

Mikan froze. "Well, I—"

But as if the heavens had favored her, the school bell rang loudly, signaling the end of class. Jinno-sensei looked highly disgruntled as he pointed at the board and told the rest of the class to finish all the other problems for homework. Mikan breathed out a sigh of relief, but just as she was about to sit down, Jinno-sensei called her name again.

"Yes sir?" she answered quickly as she jumped to her feet.

"I want you to write down how you solved that problem and turn it in tomorrow morning. Understand?"

Nodding fervently, she replied, "Yes sir."

And without another word, Jinno-sensei left the classroom.

Mikan slumped down into her chair. "If only I knew how," she replied sadly.

"I'll help you."

She automatically turned her head to the left, staring into the icy blue eyes of her savior. Mikan smiled. "Thanks for that Riku. You're a life saver."

Riku chuckled as he crumpled up the piece of paper in his hand. "Not a problem. What are partners for?"

Mikan nodded. "Exactly," she replied with a smile.

For the last couple of days, Riku and Mikan had gotten quite close as friends. They were seen everywhere together—walking to class together, eating lunch on the benches together, playing dodge-ball together, visiting Mikan's friends at the Middle School together. They seemed practically inseparable.

And it wasn't as if nobody had noticed. Anyone could see that Riku and Mikan were compatible, and as a result, rumors were starting to spread about them. It also didn't help very much that Riku was highly attached to Mikan. The sparkle in his eye whenever she spoke and how he smiled whenever she met his gaze were obvious signs that he saw her as more than just a friend.

Mikan enjoyed Riku's company as well though. He was kind, understanding, and highly patient. He loved to talk to her as much as he loved to listen. But the one thing that set Riku apart from others was his reaction when he discovered Mikan's Alice.

The topic came up when a couple girls from the Middle School approached him and asked him to use his Alice for them to see. As soon as they left, giggling and throwing Riku awed looks over their shoulder as his blue flames disappeared, he suddenly turned towards Mikan and said, "You know what I realized? I never asked you what your Alice was, Mikan."

Mikan blushed. "It's not very special."

"I don't believe that. A kind person like you must have an amazing Alice."

Mikan grimaced. She shook her head and said sadly, "You would think so."

Riku looked at Mikan curiously and had a calculating look on his face. He must have seen something in her facial expression because suddenly, he placed a gentle hand on her arm and smiled. "Whatever kind of Alice you have, it doesn't change how great you are. I'm lucky to have a friend like you."

Hearing her heart beat slightly faster, Mikan could feel her cheeks blush scarlet. She shyly averted her eyes and stared at the flock of birds soaring through the sky. Murmuring softly, Mikan said, "It's Nullification."

Expecting him to laugh or even run away, Mikan unconsciously closed her eyes and waited for it, but suddenly, Riku said in a voice filled with admiration, "That's amazing."

Mikan turned around. "Really?"

Riku smiled widely. "Of course it is!" he said eagerly. "That's really rare! It's like the ultimate shield. I mean, every Alice out there has an enemy. But you don't have a weakness at all, Mikan. That's remarkable."

Mikan had no idea of what to say. A part of her thought he was being ridiculous, but another part of her sort of agreed with him. His words gave her a surge of pride that nobody had ever given to her before and she felt eternally grateful to him.

It was moments like those that made Mikan feel really lucky she had a friend like Riku. For once, she felt like she was appreciated and it was one of the best feelings in her life.

But no matter how kind or friendly Riku was, he couldn't distract Mikan from the distraught she felt deep inside her as she walked into homeroom the next morning and looked at the empty desk in the back. Natsume hadn't come to class ever since their argument and Mikan felt horribly guilty.

She knew that she shouldn't have yelled and that she overreacted, but he had made her so angry! And every time she thought about what he said, she could feel her body churn with frustration that nearly crippled her. But, anger wasn't the only thing she felt. Mikan was also hurt...bad.

Natsume's sharp words had reinforced her greatest fear: of being nothing but a pest. All her life she had wanted to help people and to somehow be of good use. But all she could think of now was: "It's probably even best that you're not my partner. Takes a load off of my back."

And to Mikan's surprise, this pain had stung more than she would have ever thought it would. In fact, she was quite shocked that she had such a strong reaction to it. After all, it wasn't like insults were new to her. People have said plenty of mean things to Mikan before, so why did it hurt her so badly this time?

Mikan shook her head in confusion as she sat herself down on the park bench after class. It was the first time she had been alone ever since Riku came. He was unwillingly dragged off somewhere by the other boys and it looked like he wouldn't be coming back for a while. But Mikan didn't mind. She enjoyed the peace and quiet.

Sighing heavily, Mikan curled up her legs, wrapped her slender arms around them, and leaned her chin onto her knees. "I'm pathetic," she murmured sadly.

"You finally realized it?"

She jumped in surprise. Turning around, Mikan could immediately feel a smile form at the corner of her lips as she stared into the blank face of her best friend. "Hi Hotaru."

Not responding, Hotaru sat beside her, laying her scooter down at her feet. "You look sad," she stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

Mikan nodded.

"You're ugly when you're sad."

Mikan furrowed her eyebrows. "Thanks Hotaru," she said darkly.

"You're welcome. Now do something about it."

"It's not like you're helping me feel better!" Mikan retorted sharply. "You're making me feel worse."

"It's not my job to make you feel better about yourself."

Mikan glared at the floor. "You could try."

Hotaru looked ahead of her. "I could," she replied simply.

Mikan waited for it, but no sound escaped her friend's lips. Frustrated she stood up and cried, "Mo! Aren't you going to say something?"

"Like what?"

"Oh I don't know!" Mikan exclaimed in exasperation. "How about: 'You're a great friend Mikan! You're not pathetic at all! Don't be sad!'"

Hotaru rolled her eyes. "Well, obviously you know exactly how to make yourself feel better. So why are you moping?"

"Because I want someone to say that to me," she murmured pathetically as she dropped herself down onto the bench in a slump.

"That's stupid. You should just rely on yourself."

Mikan flinched as Hotaru's sharp words pierced through her like a knife. Looks like Natsume wasn't the only one who thought she was an annoyance.

She sighed sadly, feeling the familiar pain wash over her. "I know I should."

Hotaru gazed back at her with a confused expression. It was odd for Mikan to just accept her being so cold. Usually she responded with what she thought would be a clever retort—or at least cry. But her friend did nothing of the sort. She just sat there—spiraling into further sadness. Seeing that she wasn't going to bounce back, Hotaru let out a breath and suddenly placed a warm hand over Mikan's.

She raised her head in surprise.

"Did you know the carnival is coming to Central Town tomorrow?" Hotaru asked casually.

Mikan blinked in confusion. "The carnival?"

Hotaru nodded. "It comes once every two years. I heard it will be a lot of fun." Hotaru stood up and reached out a hand. Let's go," she said with a small smile.

Mikan stared at the slender hand before her, unmoving. Hotaru never invited her anywhere. She was the one who normally dragged her to places.

Hotaru slowly dropped her hand. "You don't want to go?"

Jumping up, Mikan replied fervently, "Of course I do! Let's go!"

And as she dragged a pleased Hotaru back to the girls' dormitories, Mikan couldn't help but wonder if she would find him there as well. Even though she was still incredibly mad, it had been awhile since the last time Mikan had seen him and it was quite odd not seeing his serious face every day. It was almost as if she sort of missed him…

"Mikan," Hotaru asked curiously with a raised eyebrow, "why are you blushing?"

Luca furrowed his eyebrows and bit on his bottom lip. He had been watching Natsume throw that pebble up and down for at least an hour now and he was still nowhere close to asking him what was on his mind. Natsume didn't even care to spare him a passing glance. And with each passing minute, Luca was missing his window to confront him about what was bothering him once and for all.

Staring up through the trees at the bright lights in the sky, Luca sighed softly and murmured, "Sounds like the carnival started."

Natsume didn't reply.

"Want to go?" he asked tentatively.

Turning his head around, Natsume replied in an empty voice, "That's why you stayed here this whole entire time? To ask me about the carnival?"

Luca looked down at the grassy floor. "Not really."

"Then what?"

Taking in a deep breath, Luca determinedly looked up at Natsume's intense eyes and said, "I want to know what happened between you and Mikan."

That didn't seem to surprise Natsume in the least. He resumed to throwing the rock into the air and catching it with ease as he looked at Luca out of the corner of his eye. "Nothing happened."

"Then why haven't you been going to class?"

"You haven't either," he said as he snatched the pebble from the air.

"Because you haven't!"

Natsume sighed.

"That shouldn't deter you from going."

Luca glared and crossed his arms angrily. It looked like Natsume was going to make this difficult.

"Besides," Natsume began in a calculating tone as Luca remained silent. "I've skipped out before and you never wondered why. What makes this time any different?"

Luca shook his head. "You've been avoiding her."

Natsume caught the pebble in his hand and stood still. He could feel the sadness he felt for the last two days creep up inside him and the slight irritation at Luca for bringing it up. But forcing himself to stay calm, Natsume tossed the tiny rock into the creek and walked down the path they were standing on. Luca followed suit.

"So what if I have?" Natsume said as he looked at Luca over his shoulder. "Why do you care so much?"

"Because it obviously bothers you. Ever since Riku came, you have been—"

Natsume stopped in his tracks.

"I'm not jealous of him," he murmured quietly with his hands clenched into tight fists, shaking at his sides.

Luca's eyes widened. "I never said you were," he replied in a surprised voice.

Shaking his head, Natsume turned around and faced his slightly apprehensive friend. "Look, let's just drop this okay? It doesn't matter."

Luca's eyes hardened. "Prove it."

"What?"

"Prove to me that it doesn't matter," Luca challenged.

"How?"

He smiled and pointed in the direction of the shining lights. "Go with me to the carnival."

Natsume faltered. "The carnival?"

His friend nodded. "If you go, then I'll drop it. If not, I'll pester you."

"And what if I make you drop it?" Natsume replied in a hard voice.

"By all means try," Luca answered calmly, knowing for a fact that Natsume would never hurt him.

Natsume glared. Even though he didn't expect Luca to take the bait, it still annoyed him. He always had the uncanny ability of making him do things he never wanted do.

Besides, he didn't like this conversation. Natsume had been avoiding anything that had to do with Mikan for the last couple of days and talking about her wouldn't do him any good.

Sighing, Natsume ran a hand through his hair. "Fine," he said stiffly. "I'll go."

Luca smiled triumphantly as he led an irritated Natsume the other direction, towards the bright, loud carnival. As soon as they were close enough, the noise of thousands of students rang in their ears as they saw a giant Ferris wheel spinning before them, a bright blue rollercoaster, numerous of little game booths, and even a dance floor that was decorated with little baubles of flashy lights.

Natsume glared. "I can't believe you're making me come here."

Luca looked over his shoulder and said, "It'll be fun. Besides, it'll take your mind off of whatever that's not bothering you, right?"

"Luca," Natsume began in a slightly menacing voice. "We had a deal. You said you'd drop it."

Nodding, his friend waved an impatient hand and said, "Right, right. Then come on. Let's go on the rollercoaster."

Natsume shook his head and allowed himself to be dragged through the crowd. Many people were surprised to see him there, shouting out eager greetings and waving. Natsume didn't pay them any special attention as he and Luca got closer and closer to the line.

Once they had reached the entrance of the ride, Natsume was about to walk in and join Luca until he felt his heart painfully stop altogether as he stared at the scene in front of him.

Mikan was standing in line as well, smiling and laughing…with Riku's arm wrapped around her shoulders.