Hehe! Two chapters in one day! One for Heroine and another for this! Enjoy!
Chapter 6
"WHATT?!" Sumire shrieked so loudly that Mikan grimaced as she pulled away from the laptop. "Y-YOU'RE TELLING ME. NATSUME...N-NATSUME MADE YOU PROMISE THAT?!"
After a few moments of hesitation, a smile curved up. "Yeah...h-he...did."
"OH MY LORD..." she gasped, breathing dramatically. Mikan could only imagine the frazzled hair of Sumire wildly waving while she was screaming. "Oh my lord...Mikan. O-M-G!"
"That is very strange. He usually acts differently - you know, like an imbecile." Hotaru's voice popped up, her chilliness slicing through Sumire's melodramatic outbreak. "An arrogant person like him typically does not involve himself around females."
"He hangs around you two," Mikan pointed out, a bit exasperated at both Sumire and Hotaru's analysis of Natsume's uncalled proposal. Only a few days ago when Mikan first Skype-called the group, Natsume had privately asked - actually, dictated - that he would be the first to video-chat Mikan. The brunette crushed her head into her pillow, her cheeks flaming red.
Natsume: I have to be the first to video-chat you.
The message still stood in its place, no matter how many times Mikan went back to their chat. It was still there. It wasn't a dream. It was real.
If there was a God above watching humans, she hoped with all her life that nothing would go wrong. For goodness sake, it was Natsume! ...Natsume...who was also known as Flame, currently the number one player of Gakuen Alice...
Mikan paused for a second, her mind wandering into the abyss, suddenly wishing for the sound of his beautiful, smooth, masculine voice. When she first heard it, she almost melted into a puddle of butter. What if she could hear that sound everyday?
Then, something popped into her mind. Mikan was surprised that it had never occurred in her head before. She stopped open-throated, before tuning back into the GIRLS-ONLY Skype call. "Hey, have any of you seen Natsume's real face?"
"No, I wish," Sumire sighed disappointedly. "Koko and I have tried to coerce him into video-chatting us. We don't know Ruka's or Tobito's faces either... Anyways, Natsume refuses every time. Seriously."
"I've seen his Facebook," Hotaru said with no shame. "He has lots of tagged photos from his friends. But he doesn't upload them himself."
"WHAT?" Sumire yelled. Something in the background crashed as she continued. "You stalked him on Facebook?!"
"Yes."
"You stalked him on Facebook," Sumire repeatedly deadpanned.
"Yes."
A moment of silence passed in the chat. Then Sumire spoke again. "Show me."
"No."
"Whyyy nott?!" she whined like a child, causing Mikan to laugh. "It's nott fairr! You got to see his face! We want some information too! Especially Miki, right?"
"S-sure..?" the brunette shrugged, and then remembered they could not see her.
"I would have shown you two. After a cheap price rate, of course." Mikan and Sumire groaned, but Hotaru continued, now with a darker tone. "However, a peasant sold me out after Natsume questioned him."
"Peasant?" They both questioned. "Who?"
"I do not break promises, so I cannot tell you two," Hotaru replied simply. "Though it provides excellent blackmailing information."
"So Sumire hasn't seen his face, while Hotaru has but can't tell..." Mikan frowned and pouted in disappointment.
"Why? What's on your mind, Miki?" Sumire asked.
"Well...don't...laugh at me, but...I'm kind of scared he'll think I'm ugly..." The brunette finished with a hint of shame in her voice, lowering her head and groaning in embarrassment. Speaking of embarrassment, why did she confess that when Hotaru - the queen of blackmail - was present?!
After only a second, she could hear Sumire chuckle and Hotaru snort.
"I thought I told you guys not to laugh," she moaned grudgingly. "This is so embarrassing..."
"Miki," Sumire laughed, "that's completely normal. Of course you would be self-conscious. You've never met him. And you've only heard his voice before pft."
"I agree with Sumire, though I am curious on what you look like," Hotaru spoke.
"I want to see what Mikan looks like too," Sumire sighed. "But we can't because of Natsume's request, and we have to listen to their promise."
Mikan sighed in equal disappointment. "I want to see what you guys look like too..."
"Well," Sumire clapped her hands, "we will once Natsume possesses the first look at you. For now, let's go back to the main chat."
The other two agreed as the Skype call briefly ended.
Nearly one week passed by.
Mother of God. Even though she had received the ultimatum from Natsume, he had not contacted her in the past week. In fact, whenever she went on, he seemed to dwindle, and then popped offline. It infuriated the brunette; she was embarrassed to have overreacted from his audacious request.
"Jerkface. Wandering poophead. Fatface," she muttered as she scribbled into her summer assignments. "The nerve of that jerk... Some time this week? It's nearly the end of the week!" The tip of her pencil snapped, and Mikan was forced to stand up to sharpen her pencil.
"Wow, you're really mad."
"I'm not mad!" Mikan stubbornly harrumphed at the Skype screen. "I'm just disappointed he failed to complete his promise."
Sumire sighed. "That guy is kind of a klutz when it comes down to girls. Give him a chance. The week isn't over yet."
"The week isn't over yet. Hah!" the brunette scoffed, crossing her arms. After steaming a little to herself, she frowned and sunk her head into her folded arms. "Fine, I will give him a chance, but I'll tell you...he won't remember or care enough to do it."
A little pause ensued. Then the girl replied, "Meh, who knows? Maybe he planned a surprise at 11:59 P.M. on Sunday night." Mikancould imagine Sumire wiggling her eyebrows while saying it...not that Mikan knew what she looked like anyways.
"That's not like that guy."
"You're right," Sumire agreed. "It is a bit cheesy. Then the most likely possibility is that he's a bit embarrassed and nervous to video-chat with you."
"You guys are serious right? You haven't seen his face through video-chatting?" Mikan asked, awed while interested. She pretended not to heard the previous statement Sumire made.
Her friend sighed on the other side. "I'm telling the truth. Anyways, do you like Natsume or something?"
Mikan sputtered. "Like Natsume? You're kidding me! I don't like the jerkface at all!" She checked to make sure no stuttering was heard while she talked.
"Hmmm..." Sumire said with a hint of smile in her voice. "That's what they all say."
"I'm serious. I don't like him," Mikan sighed exasperatedly.
"Ok ok, fi -"
Bloop!
Both were silent.
Bloop Bloop!
"...Was that Koko?" Mikan asked cautiously.
"It's not my Skype. It's yours. And why did you immediately ask if it was Koko?!"
"You two seemed close. That's all," the brunette laughed. She then clicked out of wide-screen from Sumire's Skype call and looked on the column with a small expectation.
"Oh...Ruka messaged me."
"You seem strangely disappointed, Mikan," Sumire joked.
"Am not," she insisted before clicking on Ruka's conversation box.
Ruka: Hey Mikan!
Ruka: Kinda a weird question, but are you free right now?
Ruka: Just asking.
Mikan blinked before reading out loud the text messages to Sumire.
"Oooo what is this relationship development?!" Sumire squealed in delight. "I've always thought he had feelings for Hotaru, but maybe they shifted to you!"
"It's probably nothing big." Mikan rolled her eyes before typing back.
Mikan: Yea
Mikan: Why?
Ruka: Oh, uhm
Ruka: I
Ruka: Just felt like
Ruka: asking...
Mikan: ...
Ruka: C:
"What did he ask you?" Sumire questioned intently. "Tell meeee~"
"Really, he just asked if I was busy. Then he said he just felt like - wait, what kind of stupid question is that?!" Mikan jumped to her feet, trying to scrutinize some hidden code behind Ruka's messages.
"What, show me!" she demanded.
After copying and pasting the message to Sumire's chat, they both pondered over Ruka's apathetic questions.
"Maybe he's shy in showing interest?" Sumire guessed.
Bloop.
Bloop. Bloop.
"I'm guessing that's Ruka," Mikan sighed as she went back to look at the side chats. However, Ruka's name did not light up...nor did Sumire's...
There was one name that flicked up, and after reading it, her heart leapt in flames of joy. Not that she was ecstatic or anything...but it was because he finally remembered his promise.
"What did Ruka say this time?" Sumire drawled.
Mikan could barely contain in her giggles. "I-It's...Natsume."
"Oh my," came her shocked reply. "That stupid kid finally did it...Oh dear lord. O-M-G, Good luck, Mikan! I'm going to hang up!"
"What, wait! Don't leave me a-!"
Call, 1 hr 52 min 12 s
Mikan: -_-
Sumire: XOXO GOOD LUCK
Mikan: wahhhh
Although she sounded hesitant, she felt as if she were mixed into a blender of happiness and nervousness. Her heart pounded against her ribs. She was going to video-chat with Natsume. Nothing was going to stop her...except her own voice.
Natsume: Wanna v-chat now?
Mikan: Yeah.
Mikan: Uh
Mikan: Just the two of us?
Natsume: Yes.
Before she could inhale another breath, the Skype call came on. Her hazel eyes glared into the screen, specifically at that green button that had an image of a video. She was going to click it.
It was now or never.
As soon as Mikan pressed the tiny green button, she snapped her hand to the webcam, covering it with the tips of her fingers. Holy, crap. What had she just done?
With one eye closed, she yanked the other open, forcing herself to look at her computer screen. Immediately, she took a sharp intake of breath at him.
Gentle baby blue eyes. Blond hair. A small, delicate smile. A cute...flower boy.
Her eyes nearly flew out of their sockets. This was Natsume? The rich, dark, husky, sexy tone...came from this guy?! Silently, she prayed to the heavens above that she would never judge a book by its cover again.
Almost shyly, the boy waved at her from the screen. She released her fingers from the webcam and stared, shocked. Was this boy capable of calling her a Noob?
Desperatedly, Mikan searched the ocean-blue eyes for any sign of negativity, sarcasm, and...jerkiness. But there were none as she double-checked herself. There really were none. She opened her mouth to say something, but stopped due to notifications in the GIRLS-ONLY chat.
Hotaru: what is happening?
Sumire: she's video-chatting Natsume rn LOL
Hotaru: Oh
Hotaru: Take some pictures of his face.
Hotaru: I want to blackmail that guy.
Mikan: What?! No!
Hotaru: Unless you want me to tell everyone that you like Natsume...
Mikan: That's not true!
Hotaru: They'll believe it.
Hotaru: Especially Natsume.
Mikan: DFAHSDFJLD
Mikan: FINE
Mikan: I can't believe you, Hotaru!
Sumire: I'm not surprised at this point.
Angrily, she snapped off the girls' chat and smacked a smile on her face when she glanced back at her webcam, waving at the blond boy in front of her. He had a small, pale complexion - so fragile that Mikan felt guilty for typing all the mean stuff to him (then again, he started it). This was Natsume...the number one player of Gakuen Alice.
It's not like she expected much...yet her cheeks colored after replaying his voice in her head. She wanted to hear that voice badly.
"Hi," Mikan finally said.
There was a cough on the other side as she watched Natsume adjust his microphone. He cleared his throat before lowering his head to the small microphone. "Hi."
She blinked, absorbing the voice.
It took quite awhile before the brunette realized the unresponsive reaction of herself. It wasn't the same voice. There was no resonance of a tenor-bass voice. There was no switch to flaming her cheeks and stampeding her heart to butter. It was...normal.
"Are you sick? You sound a lot different," Mikan remarked.
The blond boy suddenly jumped, blushing as he scratched his neck. "Yea. I-I...I mean, my voice gets like this when I'm sick. Haa ha."
"Oh," Mikan reluctantly released the subject, watching the figure plastered on the screen. "You look quite different than I imagined you to be, Natsume."
Her hazel eyes blinked when he looked at the ground, unresponsive.
"Natsume?"
"What? OH! Yea," he chuckled, a bit nervous, "You look different yourself, Mikan."
She raised an eyebrow. "In what way?"
"In what way? Oh, I didn't mean it in a bad way! I swear!" He threw up his hands in alarm. "I just meant that uh...you don't...uh..." He squinted at the screen. "Uh...you don't look like a noob."
"Wow," she huffed. "Thanks?"
"Sorry! I mean-yeah. You're w-welcome," he stuttered.
She frowned even more, judging the boy one by one. It wasn't that she was turned off by his looks. He was actually cute. In fact, he was a beautiful person - a typical, gentle, and popular boy. It was just the dissimilarity in...their personalities and his way of speech. The Natsume who helped her out in Gakuen Alice was someone else in comparison to the Natsume she was video-chatting.
As she absentmindedly talked about life with the blond boy, she secretly pulled out the snipping tool from her computer and snapped a picture of the boy in mid-smile. While smiling all in politeness, Mikan transferred the photo to the group chat, the file reading HIM.
The brunette tuned back into the conversation, smiling and waiting minutes before the boy stopped stuttering over words. The conversation continued awkwardly, and Mikan regretted her agreement to video-chat with Natsume.
Not long after, frantic notifications popped from the girls' chat, and Mikan looked into it.
Sumire: What do you mean?!
Sumire: Then who is she with?!
Sumire: What the heck?!
Hotaru: It's not him.
Mikan: What
Mikan: What's going on?
Hotaru: I...
Sumire: That's not Natsume!
Sumire: Hotaru knows what he looks like
Sumire: That's not him!
Mikan: WHAT?!
Hotaru: That's
Hotaru: not Natsume.
Mikan sat frozen, tuning out whatever that blond boy was saying. This little jerk wasn't Natsume. Her eyes focused in on Sumire's and Hotaru's claims before they flickered up to the webcam, angry and betrayed.
"Who are you?" she calmly asked with venom dripping in her voice.
"E-eh?" he squeaked before looking down. "I'm N-Natsume!"
"Don't pull that bullcrap on me. I'm asking you one more time. Who the hell are you?" Mikan growled.
"I'm Natsume! I-I told...I'M SO SORRY!" The blond stranger smashed his forehead against the desk, immediately giving up. "The real N-Natsume made me! I'm really sorry, Mikan!"
"Why'd he make you do that?" As Mikan questioned him, half of her felt relieved he was not the real Natsume. Yet the other side felt betrayed, hurt, and meaningless. Was she the only one who felt so elated at his video-chat request? Was he too busy for her? Was she just another annoying online friend?
Mikan's poor heart wrenched in sadness and loneliness.
The guy tried explaining. "H-he...! I-I can't say it, but Mikan, I swear, Natsume was-!"
"That's enough," she croaked. "I don't want to hear anything." Mikan then hung up the call, ignored the girls' Skype chat, turned off her computer, and walked to sit on the edge of her bathtub. Absentmindedly, the brunette turned on the faucet and set up a bath, allowing herself to soak in it as tears eventually dribbled down her cheeks.
The running water drowned her hiccups and sobs for the gameless night.
A/N: Hey gu - (ducks from flying tomatoes) - woah, lol. So yeah, SORRY! I know many of you were expecting the video-call this chapter, but instead, I wrote the fake video-chat. So now, Mikan's sad after discovering it (thanks to Hotaru), and we have no clue what happened to Natsume. Le gasp lol.
What's a story without some drama, am I right, guys? :D -gets groaning complaints- LOL. Anyways, stay tuned for the next chapter. Maybe something will happen. Wink wink.
-blessifier