Hey, there, people! After quite a few days… I have returned from nowhere! So here is chapter 14 for you, my dear reader, please read and enjoy!
This chappie is pretty long… For me, that is. It's mostly sane, yet be wary of a scene that will make you turn to jelly later in the chapter. You have been warned: I am not an expert at making 'intimate' scenes. Aww… Don't look at the computer like that! It's not lemon, don't worry. Sorry if I couldn't do it very well. Just review to tell me if I did it right. It's actually my first time to write such a scene as that. Very sorry. T-T… I don't do much comedy, either… I pity myself… *sniffle* *sniffle*
Oh and there are some sentences later on that are not mine. Got that? Okay! There, I've said it, so don't sue me if the original author of these sentences reads this. You can say that this is a disclaimer. I'm making this as a safety net, 'cuz there are some people who accidentally use other people's original and catchy sentences. To those who do not understand, don't worry, that only means you're not guilty. Hehehe. Just kidding.
After listening to my rambling, carry on.
***Chapter 14***
"Mikan, wait."
The said girl was about to turn the knob of Hotaru's door when she was stopped by the voice of the owner. She turned around and faced the lavender-eyed raven. Her chocolate orbs puzzled, she asked, "Why? Is something the matter?" Her best friend sighed internally. "The senpais aren't here yet. They probably weren't informed of the early start of the get-together. Judging from the noise inside the room, I am able to say with certainty that the upperclassmen aren't here yet."
Mikan was silent for a bit. She recovered a moment later. "Oh, I see." Natsume shook his head. This girl is hopeless. The boy raven turned on his heels and headed to where they had just come from. "What are we lounging here for? Let's get those latecomers and have them explain why they weren't here two nights ago." He had already reached the elevator and pushed the 'down' button.
"Oh, I see. Two nights ago, they weren't present when the fireflies did their formations. Are you interested in knowing why they weren't there to see Ruka-pyon's firefly friends?" She had her hands behind her back and was walking step by step. Hotaru, already halfway to the elevator, rolled her eyes. "No he isn't, dummy. From what he sees, YOU'RE the one who is interested. Now hurry up so we can get to the party immediately." Mikan nodded and quickened her pace. Natsume's hand was already on the button to close the door.
As the elevator was heading to the ground floor, the door leading to Hotaru's room opened and Koko came out. He was scratching his head rather comically. "I swear I heard those three here not long ago. They must have left already." He heard Ruka who was passing behind him think; Natsume, Sakura-san and Imai-san aren't here yet. I wonder where they are. His face was blank, though. He was carrying two glasses of punch and was heading to the window overlooking the Sakura Park below. When he arrived near the window, he pulled out a stool and rested his head on his hand that was propped on the windowsill. The animal pheromone user sighed and stared at the twilight sky. Stars were starting to come out.
Koko's voice interrupted his thoughts. "I was thinking the same way. Didn't Mikan-chan come with you? I heard Inchou think about it." Ruka staggered and had to act fast in order to keep himself from falling out of his chair. "Yome! Don't sneak up on me like that! And even reading my mind! I swear I'm going to die early, my man." He had his hand on his fast-beating heart. The mind reader rolled his eyes and took the other glass on the windowsill. It was a good thing that Ruka had somehow managed not to upset the two glasses. Ruka's punch was still half-full.
"Stop kidding, Bunny Boy," Ruka's blond brow raised. "Yeah, I know what Imai calls you. Now shut your mind." A Penguin Waiter brought a chair to him. "Thanks. Now," the sandy-haired guy turned to the golden-haired as the black and white robot rolled away, "I said that I was thinking the same way. Those three are late. So are the senpais. I wonder where they are, too." He turned his stool to the window. A sudden thought escaped Ruka's mind and he immediately half-stood. Koko flashed a hand to him, signalling that he knew what he meant.
"Yup, that's probable. Imai must have known that Sumire forgot to tell the senpais about the early start of the party. They must have gone to fetch them." Koko was still wearing that plastered smile of his, but he had one hand cupping his chin. Ruka did the same (cupping his chin, I mean). They were silent for a few minutes. Later, they spotted the trio walking to a certain direction.
"Hey, Bunny Boy," he turned his head to Ruka who was glaring at him, "sorry, sorry, I won't call you that again. I was just wondering why Mikan-chan wasn't with you when you entered here. Didn't you come with her?" He raised an eyebrow. Ruka once more faced the window. "Yeah, she did come with me. We had barely stepped out of the building when she paused and looked at me. 'Go ahead, Ruka-pyon, I'll fetch those two. I have a nagging feeling that they'll take forever if I don't.' Then she smiled at me and went back in. Of course I followed what she said, and landed here, worrying where the heck they are and—" he never got to finish what he said when he averted his eyes back to the mind reader.
"The hell, Koko. What's with that face? It's creeping me out, man. I'm going to have nightmares for the whole week, wacko." He frowned. "The face you just made and the thought that came with it was just funny. And interesting. Aside from that… Well, that's mine to know and you to find out." He flashed that creepy grin again. Ruka shuddered. "I'll pretend I didn't hear anything from you. I honestly think that you need to see a professional, chum. Did you hit your head or something? Cause you must have hit it hard." He shook his head as if with remorse for his mind-reading friend. He took a sip from his glass.
"Nah, I don't remember hitting my head. I just guess my Alice has evolved. I don't just read the thought that's passing through your mind anymore. I can also hear and see the memory that is hidden inside your mind, even though it is not at the front right now. Unfortunately, I can't read anything that you aren't happy to share, so you still have some privacy. Shocked. Hmm… I understand your reaction, Ruu-chan. Oops… Sorry about that. I myself wasn't too calm when I learned about this." A small intake from the glass in his hand.
"Liar."
"Yup. I know. You won't see it in my face, eh? But really, I was a bit shocked. I never knew that Alices evolved. I always thought that they just stayed the way they were. I wonder if my Alice really evolved or that my Alice was like this all along but I just didn't know about it. I'll never know."
"I'll pretend I believe you."
"Thanks." Both guys took sips from their still-halfway full glasses of punch.
The two boys faced the wide window once more. The breeze was lukewarm, so they didn't freeze but didn't sweat either. A few more moments of silence. Sumire's voice was hovering above them.
"Hey, Sumire's singing a great song." Small talk from Ruka.
Koko nodded, still facing the window. "Yep. She sings fine. I heard Imai-san thinking about having some kind of activity later. Do you know what?" He turned to Ruka who was already looking at him quizzically.
"Uhhh…," Ruka looked thoughtful. "I seem to have heard something of the sort. She had asked Nonoko-chan to create something for her. I don't know what." The soft breeze ruffled both of the boys' blond hair.
"She asked me to make an Alice Stone for her, too. But at that time, I couldn't read Imai's mind. She was blank."
"Blank?"
"Yep. She was trying not to think about anything at all. It's probably so that I won't know what her surprise would be."
Ruka nodded. "That is most probable. But I wonder what she wanted that Alice Stone for."
"Whatever her reason is, it is none of our business."
"I completely agree with you. But still…"
"Shut it, Ruu-chan."
"YOME!"
Koko sweat dropped.
***…***
"Ahhh… The breeze is so refreshing!" The brunette waved her hands up in the air. Hotaru burst a nerve and shot her with her Baka Gun. Three red lumps glowed in the dark. Mikan made a face and pouted. "You know, if you wanted me to shut up, you could have just said so. You didn't have to hit me like that!"
"I hit you because of that reason. It is so much better to act rather than speak. I find it a waste of my time to talk to idiots like you who do not understand in one sentence. One paragraph is needed to make you comprehend." She paused. "See? I spoke in one paragraph to shut you up."
Mikan sweat dropped. "Hotaruuuu! How could you!" The pout became more pronounced.
Natsume was walking behind the two girls. He could not believe these two were best of friends. Their relationship was doubtful. He shook his head.
"Shut it, Hyuuga." Hotaru spoke.
Natsume was taken aback. But just for a split second. Note the split second. Did she just read his mind? The usual stoic face of the heartless blackmailer was showing an amused smile. Teeny weeny. Note the miniscule. Miniscule.
Mikan was looking at some flowers so she didn't see their short interaction. Hotaru shrugged. It was a minute shrug. Note the minute. Natsume took this as a confirmation and smirked. You have a plan and I am sure it will be good. The corner of Hotaru's lips curved up into an infinitesimal smirk.
Mikan was still wearing her school uniform. She had leaned down to pluck a flower she thought would make a great addition to her bland dorm room. The wind blew once more. This gave Natsume, who was walking behind the two girls, a great view. Almost in the same split second that the thought registered in his mind, Hotaru glared at the fire caster who just smirked then shrugged. "What? I didn't look! She showed me!" Natsume whispered so that only the inventor could hear. He was trying very hard not to snigger out loud because inside, he was about to burst out laughing. Hotaru just rolled her eyes. She knew hitting him with her Baka Gun would be futile and a waste of her energy.
Instead, she tapped Mikan in the shoulders and stared at her, hard. Mikan was stunned a little bit. What did she do wrong now? The nullifier raised one eyebrow. "Is there anything wrong?" Her voice rang with alarm. The inventor slunk back to her stoic mask. "I am not dressed properly for a night's walk," she said without much expression, "so I think I will go back to my room and stay there. The two of you go ahead and fetch the senpais. They should be waiting for you. I had already called them." The raven girl started to glide away in her Duck Mobile.
"Huh? Underdressed? Why? You're wearing black leggings underneath a purple blouse that reaches to your mid-thigh. Plus you have a black long-sleeved half-jacket over it. How can you be underdressed?" She hollered to Hotaru's back. Her best friend just waved to her without even turning around. The pissed off brunette pouted and stomped her right foot, hitting Natsume's left. The boy raven winced and frowned. "Can you ever be more careful? Someday you are going to kill somebody with your clumsiness. At least this time it is just my foot." He folded his arms.
Mikan smiled apologetically. "Sorry 'bout that. I didn't mean to—" She was cut off by Natsume's arm. It was on his waist and he wasn't looking at her. "Shut up. Take my arm and help me walk to the High School Dorms." Mikan grinned and did what she was told.
After a few minutes of silence, Mikan decided to talk. The lights on the lamp posts lit their way. "You know, Natsume," she said, "I think Hotaru was trying to tell me something. I wonder what." She was staring at the invisible stars. Natsume smirked. "Oh really? So you finally got over your density then?" Mikan couldn't understand what he was talking about. "Density? I'm dense?"
Natsume's smirk grew wider. "Nope, I was wrong. You're just plain stupid." Mikan frowned and her eyebrows met. "Why you-! Bastard! Jackass! Jerk!" she screamed at him and let go of his arm. Natsume just chuckled. "I love it when you get excited like that." He was laughing now. Mikan's chocolate eyes became as wide as they can be.
They had arrived at the doorstep of the Dorms and Natsume pushed the button to Tsubasa's room. A bell rang inside faintly. They heard the door open and a robot arrived to show the couple in. Mikan was still in a state of shock. They rode an elevator just like in the Middle School Dorms and halted when they reached the 3rd floor.
A door near the end of the narrow corridor opened and Tsubasa's head popped out. He scanned the hallway and his twinkling deep blue eyes landed on Mikan and Natsume who were walking to him.
"Yo guys! How's it going?" he greeted. His face registered concern when he saw Mikan's face. "Hey, Mikan-chan… Are you sick? Do you have a fever?" Mikan blinked and stared at her senpai for a few seconds before replying. "…Sick?" She blinked again. "I don't think so…" Then she felt crimson eyes boring into her head. She bowed her head again.
Tsubasa looked at Natsume, puzzled. "Hyuuga, what happened to her? Did you do something perverted? Aww, man… You should have left it until you were official!" Natsume glared at him and he fell silent. "I did nothing of the sort. Now, hurry up so we can head to the party." Tsubasa nodded.
"Wait here," he said then vanished back inside. Natsume is not known for his patience and so he folded his arms and tapped his foot. "Imai said they were already waiting for us. Hn. What a joke." Then he leaned on the wall and stared at Mikan. The girl was still looking at her feet like it was the most interesting thing in the world. She was weird.
***Mikan's POV***
How evil. He just said I was stupid! He said I was stupid! "Why you-! Bastard! Jackass! Jerk!" I hollered. Then he laughed.
"I love it when you get excited like that."
What did he just say? I think he said a sentence that had the words 'I' 'love' and 'you' in it. I bit my lip. Wacko. He's probably joking. Yeah, he probably is. Joking.
…
We walked a distance more.
But what if he isn't? Gosh… My face is getting hot…
God… Don't kill me just yet… I'm too young to die. I haven't even seen that bastard best friend of mine who left me yet!
Natsume's staring at me like I've gone mad. Well maybe I am, but so what? I met his gaze and darn… Why does he have to be so goddamn handsome? Darn it! Why does MY FACE have to be so EXPRESSIVE? That red colour is invading my features again. Alright God! Kill me now! I'm going to die of shame anyway!
"Hey, Mikan-chan?"
What? Somebody called my name. I looked up and saw Tsubasa-senpai. We had reached his room already? What the heck was he talking about? What's with that worried face? He's a wacko.
"Are you sick?"
What the hell is he really talking about? We have a cuckoo!
"Do you have a fever?"
…Sick? I don't think so…
I guess I said something just then because Tsubasa-senpai looked at Natsume and spoke to him. I didn't really listen… Okay, okay… I didn't listen at all. Ugh. Why am I thinking like a lovesick girl? It's not like Natsume said he loved me or anything… He just constructed a sentence that had those three romantic words.
Wait a minute! Was that even Natsume? I could have just heard him wrong. It's not the first time I've done that. There was one time when I heard that Sumire was—oh sorry; Sumire said I shouldn't say anything… Yeah. That's right. I must have heard him wrong. I heard him wrong. I heard him wrong. I heard him wrong.
Yes! I heard him wrong!
I saw Natsume widen his ruby eyes. Oops… Did I just say that out loud? My bad…
***No One's POV***
Hey there! No One speaking… Kidding aside…
***Normal POV***
"What? Who did you hear wrong? Me?" asked Natsume. He had one of his brows raised.
Mikan blinked rapidly and blushed. "Y-y-y-you? Why would I hear you wrong? Y-y-y-you must be out o-o-of y-y-your m-m-mind! A-a-are you g-g-going crazy, Na-Na-Na-Natsume?" Mikan stuttered. Why was she stuttering?
"I keep asking myself that." He smirked. Mikan rolled her eyes. This guy's cheese has definitely slipped the cracker (I think that's how it should be properly phrased…). Natsume stood up straight and stretched his arms. Only then did Mikan notice that the flame caster had a find build; his muscles looked strong and finely tuned, if that makes sense. He was tall and incredibly masculine: no wonder girls would kill for him and guys envy him. Mikan only just saw him as a pain in the ass and a certified pervert.
As her eyes roved his body, she also recognized something at his neck, hanging on a thin silver chain. 'Must be a pendant,' Mikan thought. She then moved on to his clothes. As a student who is thrifty and is given quite a big allowance by the Academy despite them all being equal, his threads weren't bad. He wore a tight-fitting shirt that hugged his perfect body. It was black and had a white collar. His athletic legs were covered by normal jeans that were a bit wrinkled; but still looked good on him. He was wearing casual shoes and he was in his usual messy do.
"Done fantasizing, Mikan?" A deep seductive voice cut through Mikan's thoughts. It could be heard from the tone that it was serious yet the words were jesting. Mikan blinked twice and moved her amber eyes to lock to ruby red. Natsume was wearing his signature smirk. It made him a hundred times more handsome.
Mikan shook her head. What the heck was she thinking? Natsume raised an eyebrow. "No?" Mikan stared at him, eyes wide, alarmed. "No!" What she didn't say was, No, I wasn't fantasizing! But she didn't manage to utter it, so Natsume became intrigued. "Oh really?" He was about to laugh now. (Try to imagine Azuma from La Corda 'd Oro Primo Passo, he's a good example for the next scene)
"Yes! No! I mean yes! No, no! You got it all wrong!" She took a step forward—"I didn't mean it that—" and tripped, probably on her own feet, and fell forward. It was a good thing that the hallway was narrow, so she didn't fall face-first to the ground. Instead, she accidentally leaned on the person smirking in front of her, and nailed him to the wall.
Mikan was leaning on to Natsume who had his back glued to the wall. Both of Mikan's hands were straight out and propped on the wall, intended to break her fall. Mikan finally had the mind to move and the first motion she did was to look up, a bad idea.
As her head moved upward (if you understand what I mean), Natsume at the same time looked down. Finally their eyes locked, brown into red, the perfect match. Mikan felt that sensation she once had before, it was like being sucked into his soul and never managing to get out. Natsume bore his scarlet orbs into Mikan's. Her lips were parted slightly, ripe for the picking. The flame caster had to struggle a lot to force his self to not mind this fact.
Their bodies were pushed together and seemed to fit perfectly just like jigsaw puzzle pieces, Natsume noticed. Even more the reason why they were destined for one another, he thought. Mikan had miraculously noticed it too. Heat was crawling to her face, she felt.
Faces barely an inch apart, (don't make me mention their lips, fellas…) their noses were already touching. Could this be the first time they were this close? They had been close before, but not THIS intimate. Mikan could feel Natsume's sweet breath fan her hot face.
Natsume's hands were unintentionally circled around Mikan's body, an impulse he did earlier. One of his thighs was between the two of Mikan's, again, unintentionally. His groin was on top where hers was supposed to be. A lump that was bulging through his zipper showed his emotion right now. Mikan could feel it, but she had no idea what it meant. All throughout that fleeting moment, Natsume was thinking: God, forgive me for being a man. And a hormonal adolescent for that matter.
"You know, making out in a public hallway is pointless," a voice said matter-of-factly.
Mikan and Natsume's heads snapped to where the sound came from without moving out of their position and without their eyes leaving each other.
"Staying in that position must be tiring, too, huh?"
Mikan instantly stepped back and leaned on the opposite wall, still staring at Natsume. Natsume crossed his arms, his eyes still not leaving Mikan's. It was as if each other's eyes were the most interesting things in the world.
"How will you know who I am if you don't break your eye contact and look at me?"
Mikan blinked once and reluctantly peeled her eyes from Natsume's and fixed them to where her head was directed. What she first saw was—a gun pointed at her. It looked strangely familiar…
BAKA! BAKA! BAKA!
Three shots served as greeting to the shocked brunette. Three new red lumps replaced the formerly-glowing red spots on her head. "Oww… That hurts…" Mikan felt the parts where Hotaru's bullets hit her.
"Imai, what are you doing in here?" interrogated Natsume. "You said you were going to go back to your room and wait there. What made you turn around and barge right into the High School Dorms?" He had his eyebrow raised. Things are starting to get fishy.
"What I do is none of your business. What were you doing fraternizing with this idiot?" She pointed to the sulking Mikan who pouted at the sound of being called an idiot.
"What that 'idiot' and I do is none of your business." Natsume replied then looked at his watch. "It's 7 already. Those two sure are taking their time. Should I go get them?"
Hotaru shook her raven head. "No need, they'll come out in a few seconds." She looked at Mikan and offered her a hand up. Mikan took it and smiled gratefully. The inventor just shrugged.
The door cracked open and out came the two senpais. Tsubasa looked apologetic. "Oh, sorry to make you all wait. Misaki got a call from the hospital inside the grounds and was told that Kaname, that blonde guy we were with at the last dance, is sleeping now and told us to go ahead with you."
"Kaname-senpai is at the hospital?" Mikan suddenly got full of energy and bolted straight to Tsubasa.
The shadow manipulator took an involuntary step back and raised both his hands to his chest. "No biggy. He was only discharged for a short time. I told you that he was just visiting us from the hospital, right?" Mikan nodded. "Yes, I think I do. Actually I think it was Misaki-sempai who introduced Kaname-senpai. You were sitting there, watching us and drinking Coke (I don't own Coke)." Her brows furrowed as she tried her best to remember.
"Err… Yeah… I guess so… Well anyway… He got back to the hospital yesterday so we stayed with him a bit that night. I was about to tell you where we were going but you and your gang were out of sight. I thought you had gone back to your rooms already so I didn't get to tell you. Sorry." He shrugged. Mikan nodded thoughtfully. "It's alright. I finally got my question answered. Though it was a bit lame." She giggled. Tsubasa and the others couldn't understand what she meant so they decided to shrug off their doubts and walk to the elevator. The elevator bell dinged and in they all went.
***Inside the Elevator***
"Hey, Mikan-chan… Why are you wearing a uniform?" Misaki looked at Mikan's outfit. Mikan followed her gaze and looked at what her sempai was wearing. Misaki had a hot pink dress that ends to her mid-thighs on with a big black belt with a silver buckle. For accessories she had silver hoops on her ears and big silver bangles on her wrists. Her dress was a turtle neck (It seemed like Tsubasa had complained of her showing too much skin) with sleeves that puffed up and ended to her elbows. On her feet were hot pink 3-inch stilettos that glittered at the straps.
Tsubasa looked at Mikan's face. "I think that's the expression for 'holy crap'. Don't get so worked up. You should've seen her at the Middle School Graduation ceremony," he whispered the last sentence. Mikan turned to him instead and evaluated his clothes. Typical Tsubasa chose random clothes. But as he is handsome, anything will look good on him, just like this instance. He had jeans just like Natsume's and he had a dark blue collared shirt. His shoes were his usual and that never-absent knitted wool cap on his dark blue head. "And now I think that expression is for… Uhmmm…" Tsubasa flushed a little and Misaki hit his head, hard.
"What an idiot. Don't mind him, Mikan. He accidentally got caught in a flurry when a High School student with the Wind Alice lost control of a small tornado and made things fly in the air. This dummy here," the doppelganger pointed to Tsubasa, "acted hero and stopped the Alice when he stepped on the kid's shadow. What he didn't see was a baseball club that had been flying around fall to his direction. He got hit and he messed his head. So now, I'm stuck with a half-crazed guy who gets hit by sudden attacks of idiocy. Just like now." Misaki shook her head. "Sorry about that."
Mikan beamed. "No, it's fine. I'm an idiot, too, anyway." Hotaru and Natsume nodded behind her. It's a good thing she knows, thought Natsume to Hotaru. The girl genius nodded again. "She's not dense anymore…" She noticed and whispered so that only Natsume could hear. The raven boy smirked. You got that right. I never knew she would get around admitting it so openly. Hotaru nodded.
The bell rang again and the doors opened to the ground floor of the dorms. They all stepped out and headed back to the Middle School Dorms.
***Along the Way***
"How about Tono-senpai? He seemed to be a party animal…" Mikan mused. Tsubasa stared at her like she was insane or something. "Are you out of your mind? Tono in a single room with all you cute girls inside? You should never think about such things, Mikan-chan. It'll be bad for my health." He put his hand over his heart and pretended to be sick. Misaki shook her head and massaged her temples. "Honestly, Tsubasa, won't you ever grow up?" She formulated a log out of nowhere and hit him on the head.
Then the doppelganger girl smiled at Mikan. "Sorry 'bout that again. But for the first time, he's right, anyway." Tsubasa whined, "Hey! It's not the first time I was right! Don't say that, Misaki!" Forgetting that the log was still in Misaki's hands, he blurted this out without much thought. And so Misaki did the inevitable. She hit him for the second time. Mikan sweat dropped but laughed anyway.
Hotaru turned to Misaki and gave her a piece of paper. Then the inventor walked briskly again to head to the front of the group. It seems like she didn't like being in the close proximity of idiots. Misaki took one glance at the flyer, grinned, and then quickly put it inside her small bag before Mikan could ask what it was for. Mikan, not the curious type, didn't press on.
They continued to walk until they had reached the right dorm. The now-familiar elevator with its now-familiar ring dinged and the now-familiar doors opened to the right floor. They all stepped out to the now-familiar carpeted hallway. All dorms inside the Academy look the same, except for the Elementary Division Class A wing. The structure there is built to best suit the young students who were still toddlers.
Mikan and Hotaru's room front each other, and their doors look the same from the outside. If it were not for the music coming from inside Hotaru's flat, you cannot tell each apart. It was fortunate that the Academy only recently put the silver names on the door along with the class (SPECIAL ABILITY and TECHNICAL) and room number (380 for Mikan, 381 for Hotaru) above the peephole.
Anyway… Mikan leaned on her door as the 4 people who were with her trooped into Hotaru's room. Natsume and Hotaru were last to come in. The inventor paused with the door half-open and looked back only to find Mikan staring at her. The raven girl raised one black eyebrow as if silently asking Mikan why she wasn't going in. The brunette shrugged. "I think I should wear something better. Don't wait up." Then the Nullification Alice wielder unlocked her knob and went inside the dark room.
Mikan heard Hotaru's door snap to a close. She sighed and left her room's door open and headed to the nearest chair without turning on the lights. Before sitting down on the stool, she opened the window and let the refreshing night air in. The moon shone dimly behind thick clouds, crescent-shaped. Mikan was appreciating the natural beauty of the scenes when—
The lights turned on all of a sudden. Mikan blinked rapidly, her eyes not accustomed to the bright light. When she could see clearly again, she spun around to see—
Nobody. The flustered girl could not comprehend what had just happened, but it was not impossible. Tsubasa could have turned on the lights with his Alice and the shadows used were lit away. Mikan stood still for a few more moments, the surroundings not silent because of the party going on at the other room. The wind blew again and something fluttered. This caught Mikan's attention and she sought after it. After a few seconds of searching (eh, is that possible?), the brunette found a piece of paper on the floor near the door.
If you think you can skip this party, think again. Hurry up and wear some suitable dress. Also bring that red necklace of yours. I want to see it clearly. HI
PS: Don't think you're underdressed, idiot.
Mikan couldn't help but smile. Hotaru sure knew her very well. What a good friend. But then again, if Hotaru had gone inside already, then who turned on the lights? Mikan poked her head out of her oak door. Her brown eyes scoured the area and—
Red. … Red? Natsume?
"What's with that expression? Yeah, I turned the lights on. It's weird to be in a room that's in the darkness with another person of the opposite sex. It's freaky, don't you agree?" The raven boy leaned in and found amusement in seeing her red face. He chuckled. "Thought so." Then he looked over her head and glanced at the room. "Aren't you going to invite me in? Staying in the doorway is considered rude, you know. Your neighbours might think badly of you. They might think we were having an LQ or something." He smirked. How Mikan wished she could swipe that smug smile on his face and rub it hard on him. Still blushing, the nullifier looked away and made way for Natsume to enter. The boy shrugged at her indifference and headed to the chair he took before.
Mikan stood staring at the handsome lad lounging inside her bedroom. "You're weird, you know that?" She frowned. Natsume stopped poking the stuffed bear on the table in front of him and looked at her with a blank face. After a moment of awkward silence, Natsume shrugged and continued what he was doing, poking the bear. Mikan sighed and closed the door behind her. "Alright, fine, you can stay, but just don't turn around, 'kay?" The girl bit her lip in anticipation. She saw Natsume's shoulders move up once.
Mikan rolled her eyes and faced her back to the boy. She opened the dresser and pulled out random clothes and threw them to the bed beside her. All in all, the outfits she took out were 3 in number. She didn't want to dress up but also didn't want to feel left behind. So the clothes she picked were breezy and cute. Mikan closed her eyes and reached out her hand to choose what to wear randomly.
As she almost touched one dress, a sudden rising of the hair on her nape made her stand very still and pause what she was doing. "Natsume, what are you doing?" She hissed, eyes still hidden, hand still outstretched. "The clothes here are not fit for just a get-together." He paused. "Would you open your eyes and look? It's frustrating to talk here and you appear to not listen." Mikan complied and blinked a few times.
When she could see again, her senses kicked and she became SUPER aware of her surroundings. She couldn't see Natsume, but she could FEEL him behind her. His sweet breath was fanning her neck. He was so warm she could feel his body heat. It was already hot and Natsume was making it hotter. The creeping blood rush doesn't help much to her current predicament. Mikan blinked profusely. She can tell Natsume was speaking yet she couldn't make out what he was saying. What is wrong with her? Has she really gone mad? She slapped herself mentally.
Her hand was starting to ache. She didn't notice that so much time had passed. It was as if the seconds had ticked by so slowly. Hey, wait… Didn't the pocketbooks always say that when time stopped, it meant the person was enjoying his or her partner's company? Hell no! She wasn't enjoying this at all! ... Or was she? ... Mikan couldn't understand. But the heck she cared. Even though her hand was screaming, she couldn't help feeling happy, comfortable… Secure…
"Mikan? Hey… You alright? What're you thinking of?" Natsume's calling of her name cut her thoughts in half. It sounded so much better when he said it in his super deep and seductive voice… HEY! What the hell is she REALLY thinking? Mikan shook her head to clear her confused mind. For a brain so small, it was sure packed with lots of things…
Mikan felt her hand wrenched away from its current position. The next second, she was staring at Natsume's angelic face. His hand was holding hers in a way wherein she couldn't pull it back. His other hand was on her chin, forcing her to look at him. "Did you just get kicked out of the mental hospital or something? Oh, you're red. Really red." He smirked. A new wave of red engulfed her already glowing face.
Mikan couldn't find her voice anywhere near her. So she was stuck with no response. Natsume was just WAAAY to close. But then again, earlier WAS closer…
"Ugh. You are so perverted. Jackass." Mikan stuck her tongue out at him, intending to demoralize him, but no such luck. Natsume just smirked then moved his head closer to her, his eyes unreadable. Mikan's orbs, on the other hand, closed again, preparing for the worst. The seconds that passed by seemed like an eternity. She felt Natsume's grip on her hand tighten, but not in a painful way. A moment later and the expected pressure on her lips didn't come.
Curious, Mikan lifted one eyelid to peek at what Natsume was doing. "Scared?" said Natsume's voice. Both of Mikan's eyes burst open and she tugged at her arms until Natsume let go. He was still a bit of a gentleman, after all. But what he did WASN'T gentle at all! It took Mikan a second to analyze what was in Natsume's face. It was empty. His voice earlier that said 'scared?' was playing rewind in Mikan's mind over and over again. There was something off with Natsume's tone then. It wasn't like he was jesting at all. But she didn't know what he was implying, so she stared at him again.
"And so, as I was saying before I was RUDELY not being paid attention," he said then pointed to the clothes, "wear THIS." He finished, and then threw a dress to her still-thinking face. His voice wasn't the same again. He wasn't kidding, wasn't he? "Hurry up and put that on. Imai will be screaming for your blood if you don't move," Mikan heard him murmur while she was still hidden beneath the garbs Natsume told her to wear. Then she felt on her feet the moving of the chair. Natsume must have pulled the chair to face the window, she mused.
Mikan slowly took the garment off her face and stared at it. It was a frilly baby pink dress that she had totally forgotten about. Near its hem at the bottom was scattered Sakura petals embedded. It had ended a little beneath her knees and she remembered she had bought matching doll's shoes for this. Its sleeves were see-through white material that reached her wrists in one arm, the other absent. She looked just like Athena, the goddess of wisdom by the Greeks (sorry, I don't like Venus). Her pigtails didn't seem fit, so Mikan gathered her caramel brown locks and tied them with a handy baby pink ribbon she uncannily had lying around to one side and inserted a pale pink fake rose barrette to the ribbon. On her ears were white pearl earrings. Then she remembered Hotaru's request and took out the necklace Natsume gave her back at the Last Dance out of her drawer.
Natsume glanced at her and frowned. Mikan was clumsily trying to make the lock work, but couldn't. The flame caster sighed and came to her aid in three long strides. "Let me," he said softly, then took the necklace from her hands and proceeded to her back. Mikan blushed without Natsume seeing her. The raven finished clasping the two ends of the lock together in a few seconds. The ruby-coloured pendant hung perfectly on Mikan's neck.
"There. Perfect." Then he took one step back to look at her better. Mikan blushed again. "A little pink on your cheeks, good." Little? He called her ripe tomato face 'a little pink'? Wacko, he is.
He offered his arm for Mikan to hold. "Let's go!" He smiled. Mikan blinked a few dozen blinks in 30 seconds before she took the crook of his arm. "About time you moved," Natsume sneered and then opened the door to Hotaru's room.
Koko, who was sitting where we last saw him, jumped from his seat and faced the newly-arrived couple underneath the doorframe. His frozen smile still crystallizing on his face, his head moved to the direction where the noise was loudest without taking his eyes off the two and hollered, "HEY, GUYS, THEY'RE HERE!"
Ruka, who was with Koko where we last saw him, twitched in his seat when he heard Koko's shout. Then he took a big intake of breath then stood up carefully. When his sapphire eyes revealed Mikan and all her splendour, he took another sharp breath. Damn, she's hot. Koko glanced at him disbelievingly.
Hotaru, who was using an invention of hers to make her invisible, showed up behind Mikan and Natsume. "Took you long enough," she said in a cold voice, scaring the living wits out of a jumpy Mikan who screeched when Hotaru appeared to appear out of nowhere.
"! HOTARUUUUUUUUUU!"
The inventor smirked then pushed a button on a device she had in her hand.
"Great. The game is about to start."
***…***
Author's corner P2 (for this chapter)
How about it? Dd'you like it? Not? Tell me!
Coming up, Chapter 15: Game Time!
Push that button down there… I know you want to… Hehehe…
V
V
V
V
V