Sadly, I do not own Gakuen Alice.

The saddest thing about betrayal is that it never comes from your enemies. It comes from friends and loved ones.

–Horus Fe-Nix

It's hard to trust someone, especially the ones you trusted the most, were the ones that betrayed you.

"Get out of here," You growl, "Get the hell out of here."

The idiotic girl just stands there, paralyzed. Her knees are shaking, her eyes are the size of saucers, she's trembling, and her eyes are shining. She no longer seems like the self-confident, flirtatious person she once was.

You smack yourself on the forehead. "Don't make me repeat myself."

She only opens and closes her mouth repeatedly, mimicking Mikan's actions and resembling that of a suffering goldfish.

But you have no time for her. You have no time for this girl's antics. You don't have time for her games.

You stalk towards her.

Once you are in front of her, she is quaking terribly.

Irritated, you hiss, "Get out."

Her next move surprises you.

She lunges forward, closing the three-feet space between the two of you.

She stares into your eyes, defiance taking over. Her orbs show a hint of hesitation, as if she's battling with herself.

Wordlessly, she slaps you.

Stepping away, not a single trace of remorse is evident on her pale face.

You stand there; numb, unable to comprehend what just happened.

Her voice low and shaking, she whispers, "Why, Hyuuga? Why did you have to do that? Why did you… Why didn't you tell me that the two of you were together?"

You are stunned into silence.

She continues, "I knew she spent time with you, I knew she admired you… She never told me! Neither did you."

You narrow your eyes, "And why should I tell you?"

"You were toying with me, weren't you? Why?"

"Kaoru…" You trail off. You mentally kick yourself. Why can't you speak properly?

Her eyes widen in realization. Mirroring your scowl, she bites out, "Don't use stupid, retarded excuses. You don't actually love me, do you?" Holding up a hand, comprehension dawns her features, "For that, I don't care. But Mikan? Why hurt her?"

Seething, you growl, "I was forced."

"Excuses, Hyuuga, fucking excuses. She's like a sister to me! Of all the things you had to do, of all the people you could have chose, you chose me! And you chose to hurt her!"

"She wasn't supposed to know." You gesture to the two of you, "Whatever the two of us have, it's nothing," You growl, "Nothing."

You make out a glint of hurt flashing in Luna's eyes. Within a moment, it has vanished.

"And you, Natsume Hyuuga, were not supposed to commit this in the first place.

People call me a bitch, a whore, I am aware of that. But that gives you no right, no right, to do what you did."

You aren't used to her scolding you. You aren't used to seeing her more than a girl who just wants your body.

You aren't used to anyone looking down on you.

Your body grows cold all over.

Taking a step forward, you growl, "I know what I'm doing. I don't need you to intervene."

You expect her to retort. You expect her to glare at you. You even expect her to slap you again.

But she does none of this.

Brushing past you, she heads for the door.

Stepping into her silver heels, she shoves the door open.

Standing there proudly, head held high, she turns halfway around. Blue eyes shining, her voice sounds soft, almost pleading. "Fix this, Natsume. Fix this."

With that, she's gone.

Overcome with fatigue and a sore heart, you slump tiredly against the wall.

Two pairs of eyes haunt you.

One pair is a bright hazel brown brimming with betrayal, heartbreak, and broken love.

The other… is blue. Luna's eyes.

Your head jerks forward.

You fell asleep. Stupid.

Eyes turning towards the large windows around the room, the sky is a dark, indigo, almost black color. Two single stars could be seen, one smaller than the other.

That's a load of bullshit, Hyuuga.

You feel a deep pang of hurt and betrayal.

You betrayed her. Her sweet voice betrayed her feelings.

You never loved me, did you? I was just a toy, a keepsake, wasn't I? I'm your cute little Mikan, right?

That's bullshit. Mikan isn't your 'cute' or 'little' toy.

The fact that Mikan saw herself as something so little, so insignificant to you. It hurt. Her heartbroken voice eats away at you.

You want to hold her close. You want to blow her trivial worries away. You want to comfort her, to hold her safely in your arms, to kiss her hair and caress her face.

But part of you… Part of you doesn't want to confront her. Part of you doesn't want to see her distraught face again, to hear to dejected voice, or to feel the blow of her walking away again. You just can't.

You are debating with yourself.

You are afraid.

You are…

You are a coward.

You scowl at the screaming voices in your head, forcing you to apologize. A small voice in your head says that everything would be easier if you just let Mikan if go. If you learned to love Luna.

Never.

Making up your mind, you snatch your car keys into your palm. Striding out in nothing but jeans and a dark polo short, you are out the door.

"One."

The slinky woman nods and winks at you seductively.

You groan and ignore her.

You are standing alone in the midst of a small, crowded space. It is dark. Dim, smoky lights illuminate the area, emanating a opaque glow.

Downing your first shot of tequila, you exhale and signal to the bartender for another. Before long, your surroundings become hazy.

Eyes forming into slits, you shake your head. Running a hand irately through loose strands of dark hair, you clench your jaw.

What the hell have you gotten yourself into?

"What the hell have you gotten yourself into?" A hand grips your shoulder, thumb pressed against your neck. A slap makes its way across your face.

It's numbing.

"The hell, Ruka?"

"You're drunk."

Your hands ball into fists. "I'm not." Your eyes are swimming, yet you manage to keep your voice from slurring.

"Yes you are. Stop acting like a five year old."

You snort. "I'm not a five year old, idiot."

"I dislike seeing you drunk, Natsume." His voice is hard and bitter.

You remain silent.

Allowing yourself to be steered out of the dark building, you find yourself seated in the passenger sear of your best friend's car.

Revving up the engine, he turns to you. "Fix this with Mikan."

You clench your jaw.

"It's your fault entirely."

You click your tongue in annoyance. "How is it my fault? You weren't even there."

"Your actions caused it."

At this, you groan. Cupping your forehead in your right hand, you let out an exhale. For some uncanny reason, your friend knew which buttons to press to send your walls tumbling. "How?"

He shrugs. Mimicking your polka-dot's best friend, he says, "I have my sources."

You let out a frustrated growl. Kicking the door open, you take your leave. "I'm getting out of here. Stay out of my business."

Before you slam the door shut, your tuned ears manage to catch his soft sigh. "She would take a bullet for you... But you ended up being the one behind the gun."

Bullshit.

The stars in the night sky wink, just to spite you. Even the moon is shining proudly; a white halo stretches out tauntingly for everyone to see, for you to see. Standing there on the street in the dead of night, you curse your luck.

Your body is rigid. And cold.

All traces of alcohol are gone. Replaced by that, however, is dread. Dark, sick dread of how your sweet brunette will take to your appearance.

You dread to hear her sobs, to feel her anguish, her pain.

You dread speaking to her.

But…

You long to fix this mess you've created.

You long to move past this, as if everything were alright.

You long to prove her wrong.

This is all fucked up.

Everything is all fucked up.

You never should have consented to your mom's wishes. You never should have given Luna even half an ounce of pleasure. Never should you have… you never should have cheated… on Mikan. On Mikan.

It was already clear to both of you. It was already clear that you loved her.

You just went ahead and broke it. You went ahead threw the shared love into the fire without a second thought.

It hurt, thinking of it that way. It hurt, knowing that Mikan is ignoring you.

But you hurt her.

Natsume. Fix this.

You reach hesitantly for the handle. Drawing your hand away, you opt on knocking instead.

You knock.

Once.

Twice.

Thrice.

No answer.

You try again, this time louder. "Mikan."

Still no answer.

Agitation gnaws at you. Your blood begins to boil. You swallow your irritation and grind out, "Mikan. Open this damn door!"

That's it.

Shoulder tense and eyes narrowed, you have no problem preparing to collide into the door.

You have no problem at all, bursting into her apartment and emerging as Iron Man, apologizing profusely and hugging her body tightly, promising her no more harm.

You are prepared. You are prepared to see her readily forgive you, as she always does. You are prepared to hear her spout out her tears. You are prepared to feel her embrace and bury her head into your chest.

However, you aren't prepared.

You are not prepared. At all.

As you ready yourself to barge through the door, an icy voice stops you.

How much I love you

Yours truly,

Alex

A/N: I am truly sorry for not updating earlier, but I hope this chapter will suffice. For any of you who are wondering, after this chapter, there will be three to four chapters left.