Markers

"Mikan?" Hotaru knocked on the door of her best friend's apartment. Why was she doing this again? Oh yeah, because she was very intimidating and scary. She could blackmail the prime minister and rule the whole country and even the world if she wanted to. No one would think twice before going against Hotaru Imai's orders. Mikan didn't show up for work again this morning so Misaki called Hotaru who was Mikan's closest person to a family. Mikan grew up with no parents and lived in the countryside with her grandfather before he passed away when Mikan was in middle school. Although it was hard to have no parents and watch her only family member pass away, Mikan still stayed optimistic and survived through her life with the thought of her parents and grandfather watching over her from the sky. Knowing Mikan from childhood, it amazed Hotaru how nothing gets to her best friend. Yes, her stupidity was amazing. Hotaru would never say this with her own mouth but she does love Mikan as a sister, and it was her wish that she would always be surrounded by people who could make her happy.

Hotaru rang the doorbell this time and heard shuffling of feet inside the apartment which sounded quite heavy. The door opened and she saw Mikan leaning her body against the door frame. She had messy bed hair which was sticking out and she was wearing a pink lace dress which was almost undone and looked slept in. Her eyes were droopy and smudged by some make up, in other words, she looked wasted.

"Hmm…what is it?" asked Mikan groggily struggling to keep her eyes open.

"You look like you had quite a night" said Hotaru as she checked Mikan from head to toe.

"Hotaru? What are you doing?" asked Mikan rubbing the dirt out of her eyes making her look like a raccoon.

"You didn't show up for work again this morning" answered Hotaru.

"Oh, there was work?" said Mikan almost incredulous to herself, she gestured Hotaru to come in and went to the kitchen to get a glass of water.

"You do usually work for five days starting from Monday" said Hotaru looking around her apartment. Well at least it wasn't messy like before when it almost turned into a crime scene.

"Ugh my head is pounding" complained Mikan as she dropped herself beside Hotaru and drank some water.

"Did you go to a party last night or something?" asked Hotaru looking at her best friend's messy state.

"I…don't…remember" replied Mikan while massaging her head.

"Well you look like a stripper right now" commented Hotaru.

"I think I drank too much…I'm gonna be sick" said Mikan as her face was turning a bit pale.

"Don't throw up on me" said Hotaru, more like ordered as she moved farther from Mikan who was having a hangover.

"I-I think I'm gonna get some painkillers" stuttered Mikan as she stumbled towards her bathroom with a glass of water in her hand.

"You don't usually drink so much Mikan, maybe you should rest for today. I'll tell Misaki you're not feeling well" suggested Hotaru.

"No! I can go to work! Just give me…uhh…a couple of hours to throw up all the alcohol I've ever drunken and…ugh…my idiocy" said Mikan weakly as Hotaru heard her throwing up. Disgusted, Hotaru decided to wait outside her apartment. She didn't want to hear the horrible gagging noise Mikan was making.

"This is worse than last time. Nausea, headache and vomiting, all signs of…" Hotaru stopped as her brain started to process thoughts and theories "Oh my…"

"Mikan!" yelled Hotaru as she burst through the bathroom door startling her best friend.

"Ugh, don't yell. You're making my headache worse" said Mikan as she held her head. Hotaru went towards her best friend, grabbed her shoulder and turned her around making her face her.

"Are you pregnant!" asked Hotaru as she shook Mikan back and forth, Mikan pushed her away and tried to regain her sense of balance.

"What kind ridiculous question is that? Hotaru, you're supposed to be the smart one here" said Mikan giving Hotaru an irritated look; she didn't care if it was Hotaru she was glaring at. Who accuses their best friend like that?

"Mikan, think about it. You don't remember anything from last night. You feel sick and even throw up the moment I woke you up" explained Hotaru. Hearing her theory makes Mikan stop and think a little.

"Hotaru, that's stupid. I'm just having a hangover" said Mikan not wanting to think about the theory being possible.

"It doesn't hurt to make sure you know?" said Hotaru "I would check if I were you"

"It's impossible! Even I wouldn't do that if I was drunk" said Mikan "Would I?"

Markers

"Mikan, are you sure you should be working? You seem a bit edgy" said her pink haired boss as she looked worriedly at Mikan.

"I-I'm fine! I already missed some of last week's work so I want to catch up!" said Mikan as she tried to show her boss she was alright.

"Alright, if you have any trouble you can just talk to me okay?" said Misaki who was unconvinced but decided not to make a fuss over it. Mikan went back to her work unable to concentrate due to Hotaru's theory.

"I was with him yesterday but he wouldn't do that right?" thought Mikan as she was staring into space "He's a bit of a pervert though but even he wouldn't go that far…would he? Argh! This is killing me! I just can't sit still!" Mikan was pulling her hair and muttering frantically in her work space making her other co workers look at her strangely.

Markers

After work Mikan decided to go to a drug store to buy the…markers…you know, those thin sticks where you piss on it and…surely by now the readers already know the whole process of reproduction so coming back to the story…

"Okay, so I just have to go in and buy it then get out of there. I'm an adult now so these things should be normal" thought Mikan trying to relax herself "But why is this so nerve wrecking! I'm already a working lady so this shouldn't be embarrassing!"

Mikan was already in her twenties but she never had to buy these kinds of things before. Mikan believed herself to be unattractive in high school since other boys never really bothered to talk to her much less try to ask her out, she was completely oblivious to the fact that Natsume was the reason boys wouldn't even dare look at her. When she was in university she barely dated since she was focused on her studies and not to mention anyone who tried to soil the infamous ice queen's best friend and made her cry would suffer dire consequences. Mikan went out with a few men when she started working but it never resulted to more than just linking arms or holding hands. She also pecked them on the lips but they were never really anything deep or meaningful like when Natsume had kissed her on the day she tagged along her best friend's wedding preparations. So Mikan was a pure white flower girl untouched by any man like some rare endangered species. Well, that's what she wanted to believe until today.

"It's gonna be fine, it's just to make sure" whispered Mikan as she took a deep breath and entered the drug store. She looked through the aisles of different products and finally found herself in front of a shelf full of the…markers.

"U-Umm…what should I get? There are so many different brands" said Mikan to herself as she felt her pupils going around in circles. Her hand was shaking as she reached out to get a box; she hesitantly took one box and held it with one hand. As she neared the counter she felt her legs going stiff and she was walking like a robot. The cashier who saw this was giggling a bit. Mikan placed the box on the counter and slowly pushed it towards the cashier. The cashier swiftly took the box and ran it over the price checking machine making a 'beep' sound. The price was displayed on the machine and Mikan rummaged through her purse in search of her wallet while the cashier placed the box in a plastic bag.

"U-Um…here" stuttered Mikan.

"First time?" asked the cashier as she was counting the money and getting change.

"Huh?"

"It's alright honey, be more careful next time" she said as she gave her the change and smiled. Mikan stuffed the change into her pocket and stormed out of the drug store.

"How embarrassing!" muttered Mikan as she was walking rather very quickly while keeping her head down resulting in bumping into a passerby.

"I'm so sorry!" she apologized in panic. She looked up and saw the person who was the cause of all her nervousness and anxieties "Gah! It's the root of all my troubles!"

"Huh? Oh it's you!" said Natsume as he saw Mikan with her face flushed in a shade of red and her eyes widened in horror "Are you okay? You look sick? Oh let me guess, the aftereffects of last night right?"

Mikan bit her lip; he looked pretty calm like nothing happened last night. Unless something did happen last night and this is his way to taunt Mikan about the events she doesn't remember. Only he would know what Mikan would not.

"Last night was pretty…crazy right?" said Mikan trying to sound as casual as possible.

"Yeah it was" said Natsume scratching the back of his head "I didn't think you would do that, I mean it kind of took me by surprise" Mikan stifled the urge to let out a scream, she didn't want to lose face in front of him, anybody but him.

"Well I did drink a bit too much, ehehe" she gave out a fake laugh.

"You were pretty bold, I didn't think you even had it in you. Well last night was pretty interesting" he said making her curiosity itching even more.

"B-But nothing serious happened right? I mean we didn't do anything dangerous…" Natsume's mouth suddenly turned into a smirk.

"You don't remember what happened after the cruise, do you?"Said Natsume as he started to tease her, she had been caught.

"Well I…I…I was drunk okay? Nothing happened right?" said Mikan losing her cool. Of course nothing r-rated happened but Natsume wouldn't pass up the fun of messing with our naïve brunette.

"Well you did give quite a performance, you weren't a boring drunk I'll tell you that" said Natsume as he showed her a cat-like grin. Mikan's lips quivered and her face was heating up intensely.

"Baka! Pervert! I hate you! You should've stopped me from making a fool out of myself!" yelled Mikan pointing at him accusingly.

"But honey, you were having so much fun. I didn't want to ruin that for you" teased Natsume as he enjoyed her frantic reaction.

"I can't believe it! You're the worst!" yelled Mikan as she tried to pound her fists on Natsume's chest, instead being the clumsy woman she was, she tripped and landed herself right into his embrace.

"Do you want me to reenact what you did last night?" he whispered seductively into her ear, his breath making her sensitive ear tingle and her body heating up at the sensation. People were starting to look at them, some cooing at how cute a couple they were and some disgusted at the display of affection.

"I…" sudden rock music started to come out from Natsume's pocket. He pulled away from her and grabbed his smart phone from his pocket.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Hon bun! Where are you? We have a meeting at my company's conference room" Natsume started to feel dread the moment he heard that annoying high pitched voice.

"I'm on my way" he said shortly and hung up before the woman on the other line could say anything. He turned to Mikan with a reluctant look on his face. If he could have his way he would spend more time with her.

"I have to go" he said in his sincere apologetic voice. Why did Mikan feel so disappointed? She was mad at him awhile ago but now that he had to leave, why did she feel so sad?

"You go then" said Mikan trying to act like she doesn't care.

"I'll give you a lift first" offered Natsume, Mikan shook her head.

"Its fine, my apartment is nearby. Bye" she said as she started to walk away.

"Wait!" called out Natsume as he reached her hand, Mikan turned back to look at him. Now that Natsume had gotten Mikan's attention, why was he feeling so clueless on what to say to her?

"I'll…see you around, yeah?" Natsume wanted to hit himself in the head, that wasn't the smoothest line in his pick up book. Mikan gave a short nod "And…um, we can go for coffee or something"

"Right" she said with an unsure tone, she wasn't sure why Natsume was acting this way but before she could even do anything she felt his warm lips on her cheek.

"Call me! Or I'll call you!" said Natsume as he grinned and ran away pumping his fist in the air. Mikan was left in a daze; the last thing on her mind was 'What just happened?'

Markers

Eh, not my best work. This was just some random filler or something like that. I guarantee you though; things are going to start heating up in the next chapter. Angst, drama and rivalry all the way! Will Natsume catch Mikan's heart or will he end up marrying Rumiko?