Disclaimer: Do not own.
I will never be able to thank my reviewers and readers enough. All those reviews made me so happy and eager to write more so here we are!
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Picture this: you are in a blackhole and don't know anything about your surroundings—perhaps you are in hell, perhaps you are not. It is dark; you meet no one that cares about you enough to help you on your journey to escape this blackhole.
Well frankly, I can honestly say this is my current situation right now. Not that I'm in an actual blackhole of course, I was just saying that out of a metaphorical sense to prove a point. But if you were in my position, you'd definitely see why I'm saying this.
I am stuck at the Hyuuga residence, for a month; all because my own mother decides to leave me here and all because of a stupid business trip that she could have brought me all along! "No, Mikan, I don't have another ticket and it's far too short notice!" she said to me, stubbornly as possible as I flung my arms in the air and groaned in agony.
Not only has my mum betrayed me, but so has my dad as he has completely supported my mum and decided to 'take responsibility as her husband and join her just to secure her safety and well-being'. Now that, ladies and gentlemen, is what I'd like to call lies. They're just trying to shove me off to another household just because they're tired of having me around, of course—even if they so obviously deny it.
The Hyuugas' house—more like mansion—scares me, slightly. It's big and you can get lost in so easily, unless directed to your destination by a maid. Despite all of that, not any of the Hyuugas brag or boast about it, and they're all actually quite modest. "Our house is tiny!" they'd say to us whenever we'd proclaim our jealousy before them.
With fifty different buttons in front of me, I press one of them and stand upon the mansion gates, a shadow hovering above my body like a statue. "Hello, may I please ask who this is?" a voice asks through one of the buttons, though I'm unsure as to which one.
"U-um, Mikan Sakura," I reply, palms sweating crazily as I release my suitcase on to the ground. The silver, metallic gates open wide and several maids come bursting out, grabbing my luggage and taking it inside with no haste. "I-it's okay, I can do it myself-"
"Don't worry about it Ms. Sakura, Mrs. Hyuuga said to do it for you since you're probably really tired right now!" the maids say in unison, bowing and leaving the gates open for me to walk through. I quickly walk on the stone path and greet the maids who wait for me at the front door. They're all dressed in neat, white aprons with a dark blue dress underneath that comes down to their knees.
Kaoru Hyuuga, the mother of the household, comes running down the golden carpet and flings her arms around my neck, hugging me extremely tightly, almost so tight I feel no air being exchanged in and out of my lungs. She finally pulls away and even though I'm flushed pink and panting, she takes a good look at me with the same crimson-coloured eyes that I came across a few days ago and strokes my hair gingerly.
Her long, jet-black hair stays behind her shoulders gracefully; her scarlet-coloured lips stay pursed together but slightly extended to show a small smile and despite her age, Mrs. Hyuuga has to be one of the classiest women I have ever come across. She doesn't need orange skin or to cake her face in make up in order to look beautiful, she's got it naturally.
"My, my, how much you've grown since the last time I've seen you!" she says, taking in a deep breath and releasing after a few seconds. Her hand parts from my head and she takes a hold of my shoulders.
"Mrs. Hyuuga, that was a week ago," I respond with a shaky laugh as she does the same.
"Ah, I'm sorry about that Mikan darling, my memory flies by sometimes!" Mrs. Hyuuga's eyes dart up and down, examining and trying to work out all the differences from the last time she had seen me and gives me a big smile. Her hands swing back to her sides and she walks me to my new bedroom.
Half of it is creamy-white, while the other half is pastel blue and decorated with the outline of sea waves. There's also a balcony that leads out to a view of the closest beach and I feel my heart leaping out and doing somersaults out of joy and happiness. Although our house is big, it's definitely nothing compared to all of this! "This might take a while to get used to, Mrs. Hyuuga!" I giggle, eyeing the curtains and daring to touch them with my not-so-clean hands.
"Oh, everything will become familiar to you after a few days, don't worry about it at all!" I nod at her response and spread myself out across the cornflower blue bed. It's decorated with several different patterned anchors at the bottom and one way or the other, I feel like I'm in an imaginary ocean and ready to be carried away by the tide.
My imagination becomes perfect; I can just lie here forever and not have any worries. Perhaps I can have a rest for an hour or two, maybe three if I'm lucky and I can just go out to the beach later on with Nonoko and Anna, maybe Hotaru if she's willing to come although she probably won't, knowing her attitude. We could all go shopping after that and it'll all be perfect—
"Mum! I heard Polka is staying at our house, what's that all about?"
—or maybe not.
His voice carries on trailing after Mrs. Hyuuga as she opens the door to his face and I feel my eyelids fluttering open, although one takes longer than the other out of fatigue. I pull myself out of the bed and limp behind her, not wanting to face him. "Yeah she is, why?" Mrs. Hyuuga replies, sitting on a chair by my desk.
"Just... just wondering," he says, though the wavering and uncertainty in his voice doesn't make me too sure if he's telling the truth. "Where is she?"
"Right behind me." Hyuuga takes a peek behind his mum's back and finds my stiff body, tensed up and arms crossed. I'm not sure what I see in his eyes, a bit of shock, joy and disappointment? Those three do not add up very well.
"W-wow, never thought I'd see you here," he says, arms spread out wide and gesturing motions.
"I come here every weekend, idiot. Not this week though, I'm staying the whole month," I complain. Hyuuga's mouth turns wide and so does his eyes, he turns to look at his mother for confirmation and she nods out of approval. His hands are raised by his chest as if to transmit a message to her saying, 'What? Why? How did I not get told anything about this?'
"Natsume Hyuuga, now what did I say about being too happy in the morning? I can see you're jumping with joy but it's the morning, stop being so happy about it! Just... chill out," Mrs. Hyuuga sarcastically says, laughing. Natsume raises his eyebrows and crosses his shoulders to show no humour about her so-called 'joke'. "All jokes aside however, Yuka is out on a business trip to America and can't bring Mikan, so she thought that staying here would be a great place for her to stay, seeing as you li-"
"Mu—um!" Hyuuga shouts with a raised voice.
"What? What's going on?" I ask, uncertain of what they're talking about.
"Nothing," Hyuuga replies, face sterner than ever.
"I-I'll leave you two to be, okay?" Mrs. Hyuuga says, leaving out the room in silence as an awkward tension fills the room. Minutes and seconds pass as neither of us talks.
"I bet you can't stand this," I say with a shaky laugh, head down and my back leaning against the creamy white walls. He sits down by me and shrugs.
"I don't mind, personally."
"Well, that's a surprise. Why?"
"You want to know why?" I nod; he takes a deep breath in and releases after a few seconds. "I've been trying to tell you this, but-"
"Natsume! It's almost ten o'clock, your shift starts soon!" Mrs. Hyuuga's voice booms above ours. I can hear Hyuuga's small, quiet voice cursing under his breath, yet it's still loud enough for my sensitive ears to hear, I pretend to ignore it.
"Shift? What shift?" I ask him as he sighs.
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"I can't believe you have a summer job!" I exclaim, laughing hysterically and clutching my stomach tightly with my arms.
I never thought to see the day that the Natsume Hyuuga works as a waiter at a summer resort. Never. Of course, he told me that his mum made me him do it but do you know what I think? I think that's a lie because strangely, the Hyuuga family own that summer resort. Why would he need to work there if his parents own the place?
"God, calm down! It's not like I told you the world's greatest joke so stop laughing. I have a normal life, believe it or not." I see a smirk forming on his lips. "Plus, mum told me to remind you that you need to get a summer job as well—preferably at the resort so looks like we're on the same level here."
My mouth gapes open and I look at Mrs. Hyuuga who's sitting in the front seat, comfortable and daydreaming like there's no tomorrow. She can't possibly do that, right? Of course not. "It's not a lie Mikan. You can't be staying at home the whole of this summer break so why not have half of it working with some of your friends at a resort?"
"Correction, Natsume's friends. They're probably going to hate me!" I grumble, looking out of the car window in dismay. I begin to realize that the further we are from that house, the sunnier it begins to get.
"Come on, Mikan, just give it a go! I'm sure Natsume will escort you round and teach you everything, won't you?" she says, as Natsume rolls his eyes and mouths me a 'fine'. "That's the spirit, kids! Now, I'll make sure there's an open spot for you and you'll get started right away." She pulls over and we all get out of her white BMW six series convertible in front of a large, mansion-like reception. It has glass windows and creamy white sofas, chairs and wallpaper.
"Hello and welcome to the Hyuuga Springs Summer Resort, how can I help—oh! Mrs. Hyuuga, how do you do on this fine evening? I never thought I'd see you here, today!" a blonde in her mid-twenties comes over to us and exclaims, pen behind her ear.
"Ah well, Akira, they say to expect the unexpected. Now then, I'm here because I'd like to employ Mikan here for a job available in the Resort. What's available?" 'Akira' shifts a little in her two inch platforms and over to the computer behind the reception, where she stabs at the keyboard and a list appears before her.
"Ah, well... you're in for some luck. We only have two jobs left for now and that is either working as a waitress at the cafe or we have a female spot available as a lifeguard. What do you say, Mikan?"
Although I've always loved water and swimming, I've never thought about becoming a lifeguard; for me, becoming a waitress seems more realistic. I can't see myself saving other people's lives and telling others off for things they shouldn't be doing—that's just not... Mikan, enough.
"I'll take up the waitress offer," I say with a big smile.
"Fantastic! You'll be joining Natsume then!" Mrs. Hyuuga says coincidentally, beaming happily. I freeze, my stomach churning crazily. "Alright, I'll leave now but I'll keep the car at the car park and leave the keys with Natsume so whenever you want to leave, he can just drive you both home, is that okay?" I nod with a blank expression on my face.
Mrs. Hyuuga leaves to go the hot springs and Natsume just stands in front of me, hands in pockets while wearing a smug smirk across his face. "You did that on purpose just so you could be with me," he puts it bluntly, like it's no big deal. I arch an eyebrow until I crack up laughing and blow a raspberry in his face.
"It was an accident, I swear!" I say, face-palming with one hand. But it truly was an accident because why would I want to spend more than half of my lovely summer break having to deal with the guy I hate most?
"Of course it was," Hyuuga replies, pulling off a grin and pretending to believe me as we begin to walk out of the reception and in to the cafe, located right next to the pool.
"But I-"
"Natsume!" a loud voice booms, rushing down and giving him a high-five. "I haven't seen you for so long, man! How have you been doing?"
When I look up from the tiled, marble floors to see what's going on; I see a male figure who's possibly of the our age, but slightly shorter. His dark and shaggy hair remains in his face and above all, stands out his darker shade of emerald-green eyes. After a few second worth of talking, the figure takes a peek at me and gives a point with his index finger as if to say, 'Who's she?'
"Oh, Youichi, this is Mikan Sakura. Our parents know each other and—" Hyuuga hesitates, unsure whether to tell him about my little stay or not (though, it's not going to be very little).
"And?"
Natsume freezes in place, thinking of words to say.
"...and our parents decided it'd be good if we worked together at the resort because we're childhood friends and all," I continue the sentence for Hyuuga, plastering a fake smile to my face and ignoring Hyuuga's face which I can hardly read. Technically, I didn't lie; it's all true.
"Are you a couple now or something?"
"N-no! Just friends!" Hyuuga and I deny, hands frantically waving about in the air. Now, that was a lie, since we're not even friends at that matter; it's better to say enemies.
"Oh, okay then."
"Polka, this is Youichi. His parents are the CEO of Starbucks so he was immediately offered the job as being the head of the Hyuuga Springs Resort Cafe Manager, and he gladly accepted." Youichi and I nod as a greeting and one question pops up in my mind: do all of the people who work here have rich parents? I really hope not, being the odd one out is probably going to be quite awkward for me.
"The cafe's finished refurbishing and it's now moved next to the pool so people can order and we can take it to them there, and since neither of you know where it is, both of you can come with me." We obediently follow him and we're taken to a large but empty coffee shop that has a similar style to Costa or Starbucks.
The room gives off a heavenly yet bittersweet scent of chocolate and I feel so vintage walking in such a plain and ordinary room. There are brown and white walls, glass doors and the cakes placed on the counter just make me squirm inside out of happiness and my hands grab out to reach one—
"Youichi! Where's Natsume? You clearly said that he'll be arriving soon and soon in your world is like waiting a century!" I know that high-pitched, feminine squeak anywhere. Permy (or commonly called Sumire). "Ah, there you are, now where is my honey boo boo—Natsume! There you are!" The annoying perm-head flings her arms around the poor boy and squeezes him tightly, her dagger-like nails digging in to his skin despite wearing three different layers. "I missed you so much, darling!"
"Ah, nice to see you too, Perm—I mean Shouda." Hyuuga pushes her away, dusting off his shoulders and pulling a sick face just as she turns around. Permy takes her turn towards her 'gang' (with Wakako being the only one I'm familiar with) and flips her hair towards me, eyeballing at my presence.
"What's she doing here, Natsume?" Permy flinches, eye twitching and arms crossed.
"Surprised, perm-face?" I say, grinning wildly.
"Alright, if he's not going to answer my question, why don't you?" she asks, Wakako trailing and nodding away behind her like a lost puppy.
"I don't have to do anything you tell me to." Permy widens her mouth and raises both her eyebrows, not understanding the fact that not everyone is going to love and want to be her. But after all, we are talking about Permy. She stomps back in to the staff room with her clique and Youichi rolls his eyes, leading us in to where she went, where a group of teenagers our age stay lounged on the couches, drinking coffee and smiling as we all walk in. Besides Sumire, Wakako and Ruka (who looks straight at me and nods), everyone seems to be unfamiliar.
"So this is the little doll we were notified was coming!" a pink-head giggles, coming over to me and pinching my cheeks. Her medium-length, choppy hair stays by her shoulders and she twirls a finger round one, crouching down to be at level with me.
"She's not eleven, Harada, leave her alone," Hyuuga says, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Ooh, a little protective are we, Natsume?" I blush slightly. "She's going red! She's going red, she's going red!" Misaki exclaims, pointing to my cheeks.
"I-I'm not!" Misaki laughs and pushes me lightly to all the others.
"C'mon, I'll introduce you to everyone." She scoots over to where I am, and points a finger. "On the left side, there's Sumire, Wakako, and Luna. On the right, there's Koko, Kitsuneme and Ruka," she says, pointing to each person though for some people, I don't need an introduction.
"Nice to meet you all. I'm—"
"Mikan Sakura, we know," Koko says, though not impolitely; he smiles and walks up to shake my hand.
"So, what's the relationship between you and Natsume?" Kitsuneme laughs. Natsume and I glance at each other, rolling our eyes as if to say, 'Oh, if only you knew!'
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"Alright, Mikan, you're about to do your first shift! Go up to table two—the one next to the pool—and just hand them this bottle of water. That's it!" Misaki says, handing me a bottle of water and glass. "Good luck!" I nod, inhaling heavily and getting myself prepared. My uniform is spot on and I begin to tell myself that it's going to be okay. I can do this.
I begin to stroll over casually, taking small steps with my flip-flops and reach table two with my heart almost pounding out of my chest. I think it's almost over, but I'm proven wrong; still with the drink in my hand, Permy knocks me over by putting her foot in front of mine and before I know it, my feet slip and the drinks fall out of my hand, god knows where.
After a few minutes, all I hear is several screams, the loud noise of a glass shattering to pieces and the buzzing of chatter until my body plummets to what seems like the bottomless pit of the pool, watching a pair of eyes dive in the water after me—eyes that are not Hyuuga's or anyone familiar to me.
Hehe, hope you guys enjoyed!
And before I finish this chapter, I'd like to give a message to pinkpocket23: I'm so happy you reviewed my story, you are my role-model and I love your stories so much! :)
To all my readers, have a nice day and thanks to those who review because it does mean a lot!
The person at the end isn't an OC, by the way. :3