Happy Reading!
Don't Forget
By Tsuki's Angel
~Chapter 6~
-Two Plus Two Equals Me and You-
Mikan didn't know where to go at this point. She was parked in some random parking lot, and she didn't know what to do. She wondered how much trouble she would get in if Natsume turned her in? She highly doubted it, but he could if he wanted to. That wasn't what she was worried about, though. She was worried about what Hotaru would say. That was a nightmare.
"Man, I'm screwed up," Mikan murmured.
She checked the time. It was pretty late. She decided to return the car to Luca. He would give it back to Natsume. She didn't want to face him like the coward she was. What would she say? Would she say, "Here you are, Natsume? I keyed your car and drew on it with one of my favorite lipsticks? Please don't sue me?"
She turned the car back on and checked through the list of bookmarked places on his GPS. She found Luca's name, clicked on it, and the monotone voice began to tell her how to get there. She pulled back out of the parking space and followed the monotone voice's directions.
It took half an hour to get back to Luca's place. Mikan took one look at herself in the mirror and found out that she looked awful. Her hair stuck up in odd directions, and her nose was red. She tried to fix herself but gave up. She walked up to Luca's apartment complex when she noticed something. Oh yeah, she thought. I forgot that they were sharing an apartment while they were here.
She took the elevator to the very top and took a deep breath before knocking on the door. She heard locks being undone, and then the door opened.
"Natsume, sorry about tricking Mikan—" Luca started, but he froze when he saw Mikan standing there with her arms crossed.
"What about tricking Mikan?"
"M-Mikan!" Luca sputtered. "Where's Natsume?"
Mikan sighed. "I don't know. I lost him a while ago."
"Lost him?"
"Oh," Mikan said. "Sorry. I lost him after I stole his car." She held out the keys to him. "The lipstick should come off easily, but you're going to need a new hood."
"And why would Natsume need to do that?" Luca asked. "What the hell did you do with lipstick?"
Mikan sighed. "I really need to go. Hotaru's going to be really angry—"
"You!"
Both Mikan and Luca turned to see whose menacing voice just yelled down the hallway. Standing a few feet away and pointing an accusing finger, Natsume stood fuming. Mikan flinched and Luca visibly paled.
Mikan glanced at Luca. "Err, well, I ought to get going. I've had a long night."
"Get going?" Natsume asked, his voice nearly hissing at her. "Why don't you come in, Polka?"
Luca stood aside while Natsume let Mikan in by the arm. Luca decided to leave. He didn't want to see anything he shouldn't.
"I'm going out for some coffee. Want some?" Luca asked, grabbing his coat and keys. When he was simply ignored, he decided to leave them alone and just get them something to eat instead. Luca shut the door behind him and sighed. "Those two really are idiots."
Back in the living room, Mikan glared at Natsume. "I told you not to call me that anymore."
"Oh yeah?" Natsume said. "Then why the hell did you key it into the hood of my car? Huh?"
"Because I can," Mikan said, matter-of-factly. She wasn't going to back down. If she did, his arrogance would tell him that he held power over her, which he didn't.
"Because. You. Can?" Natsume said through clenched teeth.
"I don't have time for this," Mikan said. "And you probably have to get back to that tramp, anyway."
"Tramp? You mean Luna? Are you still stuck up on that?" Natsume asked incredulously. Mikan started to walk past him, but Natsume grabbed her arm. "Tell me something—why do you care who I'm with if you hate me so much?"
Mikan blushed and felt her anger rising all over again. She jerked her arm away. "Because you told me you loved me! And when you just kiss some random chick after saying that, you…I…it feels awful!"
Natsume's face softened visibly although his temper remained intact. "It feels awful because you love me too," he said. "Why can't you just admit that to yourself?" Mikan didn't reply. "Well? Why?"
"I…" Mikan didn't know what to say. "Because I don't love you anymore…"
"Look at me, Mikan," Natsume said, his anger fading.
Mikan glanced up, and her eyes' stare hit his. "I don't love you. I don't."
Natsume cupped her cheek with his hand. "You don't need to repeat it."
Mikan backed away from him. "Why do you always do that?"
Natsume blinked. "Do what?"
"Try to sweet talk me," Mikan said accusingly. "Like back then. You can't do that anymore."
"I'm not sweet talking you," Natsume stated.
"Yes, you are," Mikan spat. "I trusted you, Natsume. Don't you understand? Imagine being in my shoes. All of your buddies hated me, didn't they? Imagine how I felt. Was I really that difficult to be around? Apparently so."
"They didn't hate you—"
"And when you suddenly broke up with me…I snapped. All of the worst case scenarios went through my head. I kept thinking I did something wrong. But then you ended up leaving me after you found her."
"Mikan, that wasn't my fault—"
"Natsume, you have to understand that I really thought we would be together forever. All of my songs—they're for you. Read the message. I thought that my happy ending would become a reality, but you crushed that. And now, I'm just afraid. What if you do it again? I just couldn't take it," Mikan finished. Her chest was heaving. "I'm leaving." Natsume grabbed her arm again. Mikan tore away from him more forcefully this time. "Stop touching me."
"Do you even have a ride home?" Natsume asked.
Mikan froze. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of being right. "Of course I do. My driver's waiting for me outside," she lied.
Natsume was silent. "Fine," he finally said. "Leave."
Mikan felt a little guilty for lying to him after ruining his car, but she didn't care. She ran out of his door so quickly, he didn't even get the chance to say goodbye. Mikan stood outside in the cold winter air. Her made-up driver obviously wasn't there. She took out her phone and went on the internet. She found directions to her penthouse.
"Here goes nothing," she mumbled.
She began walking home. The streets still had people walking in it. People always walked in New York. Nobody would notice another. That's when she saw Luca stepping out of the coffee shop that was right across the street from his apartment complex. He raised an eyebrow when he saw Mikan.
"Is…everything okay?" he asked.
Mikan avoided his gaze. "Yeah."
"Do you want a cupcake?" Luca held out a bag.
Mikan felt herself get sick. Her appetite was beginning to disappear like before. "No thanks."
Luca frowned. "Was it really that bad?"
"I just…" Mikan stared at Luca's kind face. Why couldn't Natsume be like that sometimes? He could learn to control his temper like Luca. Hotaru deserved him. "I need to get home."
"Um, okay," Luca said. "Do you have a ride?"
"I'm fine," Mikan replied, waking past him. "Oh and Luca?"
"Yes?"
"You should go out with Hotaru again."
Luca's face turned pink. "I don't think she's up to that."
"I'll see if I can change her mind," Mikan said.
Luca smiled. "Thanks."
"No problem," Mikan said before she sneezed.
"Are you okay? Are you cold?" Luca asked, worried.
"Um, no," Mikan laughed. "I just had an itchy nose. Chill."
"It's good to hear your laugh," Luca said. "Brings back memories."
Mikan frowned. "Yeah?"
"Yeah," Luca confirmed. "I'll go tell Natsume you're okay."
"Don't do that," Mikan said. "He already knows."
"If you say so," Luca said. "Bye Mikan."
"Bye," Mikan said, walking towards the crosswalk.
Mikan pushed the button and waited for a 'go' signal. The green walking man popped up, and she made her way down the road. She was walking for a good ten minutes when she heard someone screech to a halt next to her. She turned her head to see a taxi, and a woman stepped out of it. It was Luna. The tramp from earlier that day. Mikan's eyes widened.
"Ohmigosh! I was right! It's Rose!" she squealed. She walked up to Mikan and grabbed her hands. "Oh, I'm just your biggest fan! Tell me, are you walking? Do you need a ride?"
What was with people asking her for rides tonight? "I'm really fine, thank you." Mikan tried her best to remain polite. She didn't like this woman at all. "I need to get going."
"No, I insist! You must be, like, freezing!" she said.
"No, really," Mikan said. "I'm fine."
"Oh, then I guess I'll just ask you really quick," Luna said.
Mikan quirked an eyebrow. "Ask me what?"
"Can you pretty, pretty please perform at my birthday party next weekend? It would be so amazing!" Luna asked.
Hell no, Mikan thought. She said, "Um, I'm not exactly sure. I'm really busy."
"Oh, please? It would mean the world to me," she said. "My fiancé would love to see you there!"
"Fiancé?" Mikan asked.
"Oh, do you know Natsume Hyuuga?" she asked.
I was just at his house, she thought. "Yeah, I used to date him."
Luna blinked her mascara-drowned lashes. "Oh, yeah! I completely forgot that Rose is your stage name!"
"Mikan. Mikan Sakura," Mikan replied, holding out her hand. "Nice to meet you, Luna."
"You know my name?" Luna squealed.
"Natsume may have mentioned you," Mikan said. "But he never told me he still had his fiancée around. I thought he left her…"
Mikan vaguely remembered that night after the party. She was pretty drunk, but she remembered him saying something about his father setting up an arranged marriage for him. She grew angrier by the minute. He was freaking engaged, and he still wanted to date her? That was going too far, even for him. She didn't know this woman, but if she was engaged and in love with someone else, she would have the decency to break up the engagement before dating someone else.
An idea popped into Mikan's head. They were more like lyrics. After a while of having writer's block for her music, everything came crashing down on her. Two different beats, two different rhythms, two different songs, and most importantly, two new singles to rake in the cash.
"Ah, about that," Luna said. "We had a tiny little argument. But it's all better now. You know, I really don't know why you let him go." Luna giggled. "He's so rich and handsome, too."
Mikan stiffened. "You shouldn't judge people by how much money they have."
"True," Luna agreed, "but people also say, 'Don't judge a book by its cover,' and they do it anyway." Luna waved her hand. "Forget that, though. Will you do it? We'll definitely pay you for what it's worth."
Mikan placed a hand on her hip and tilted her head. "Fine, I'll do it." But only because I want to confront your fiancé about his actions lately.
Luna squealed, "Thank you, thank you!" She wrapped Mikan in a tight hug before running back to her cab. "The party's at The Plaza on Saturday. It starts at ten in the evening and ends whenever. See you there!"
And just as quickly, she was gone without a trace. Mikan sighed as she began walking home again. The thought of Natsume being engaged bothered her. There was no way, right? Why would he do such a thing? It wasn't like him at all. Her jaw clenched as she took out her phone and began to text him.
To: Natsume Hyuuga
Wednesday, Nov. 30 11:39PM
Congrats on your engagement with the tramp. Didn't know you were such a huge two timer. I'll see both of you next weekend at the party.
Mikan clicked the Send button. She put her phone on vibrate and stuck it into her back pocket as she walked faster.
. . .
Natsume paced his living room when the door opened. He turned around only to be disappointed by seeing Luca. It must have shown on his face since Luca said, "Geez. And here I was, bringing you coffee."
"Sorry, Luca," Natsume mumbled. "Did you see Mikan out there by any chance?"
"Yeah," Luca said. "She was walking home."
"Walking?" Natsume asked. "She said she had a driver."
"Didn't look like it," Luca said. He recalled the way she reacted to the cupcakes. "She actually looked kind of sick."
"It's freezing out!" Natsume said, grabbing his coat. "What the hell is she thinking?"
"Err, Natsume, I don't think she wants to see you right now," Luca said.
"Do I look like I care?" Natsume growled. "I'm taking the company car." Natsume picked up the keys to his own car and threw them at Luca. "Take my car to a shop and get it fixed."
Luca had caught the keys with ease. "You're not going to charge her?" Luca already knew the answer, but he just wanted to hear him say it.
"Do you really think I would do that?" Natsume asked. "I don't want her to hate me anymore than she already does."
Suddenly, his cell phone buzzed. His heart skipped a beat when he saw that he had received a text from Mikan.
From: Mikan Sakura
Wednesday, Nov. 30 11:39PM
Congrats on your engagement with the tramp. Didn't know you were such a huge two timer. I'll see both of you next weekend at the party.
Natsume's jaw dropped. Where did she hear that he was engaged to Luna? She was his ex-fiancée, and he was most certainly not engaged to her. Why was she going to her birthday party? Was he missing something? Natsume's head started to spin. Just when he thought things couldn't get any worse…
"Natsume?" Luca asked when he saw his friend pale. "What's it say?"
"Mikan thinks I'm engaged to Luna," Natsume breathed. "And she's going to her birthday party next weekend."
Luca grimaced. "Shit, man. Why does she think that?"
"How am I supposed to know?" he growled. "Do you think I would tell her something like that? Now she thinks I'm a two timer."
"Natsume—"
Luca didn't get to finish because Natsume was already out the door. Natsume made his way quickly down the stairs and into the company car. He frantically texted Mikan as he pulled out of the parking lot. Now he had to find her, wherever she was, and explain everything to her.
. . .
Mikan looked at the text she had just received. No doubt that it was from Natsume.
From: Natsume Hyuuga
Wednesday, Nov. 30 11:44PM
You lied to me. Where are you?
Mikan stared at the text in disgust. She was the one that lied to him? It was the other way around, damn it, and he should know that. She wasn't even going to bother to text him back. He could worry his head off all he wants. But she was still annoyed when she received another text from him.
From: Natsume Hyuuga
Wednesday, Nov. 30 11:45PM
Where the hell are you? If you don't reply in the next minute, you're in serious trouble, damn it!
Mikan scoffed. What could he possibly do? He couldn't lay a finger on her. Then all of a sudden, for the second time that night, Mikan heard tires screech next to her. Her eyes widened when she saw that it was Natsume's car.
The passenger door opened and he said, "Get in. Now."
So, Mikan ran. She couldn't go very fast in three inch heels, so she did what she could to run across the street. Luck must have been on her side because as soon as she was on the other side of the street, the lights turned red, causing Natsume to stomp on his brakes. Mikan ran down the rest of the way and around the curb. She knew it would be a matter of time before he found her, so she hid in the nearest shop, which happened to be a classy bar. It was small and crowded.
Nobody noticed her come in. She made her way over to an empty table in the corner and took a moment to calm her pulse. She ordered herself lemon water while she mulled over her thoughts. Natsume's an idiot, Mikan thought. He was always so impulsive and arrogant and doesn't know when to quit bugging people.
"I hate you," Mikan mumbled.
"Your water," the waiter said. Mikan briefly glanced up at him. Her eyes widened when she saw it was Tsubasa. Tsubasa seemed to have the same reaction. "Whoa. I keep bumping into you everywhere, don't I?"
"What are you doing here?" Mikan asked, staring up at him.
"I work here," Tsubasa replied.
"In this place?" Mikan scrunched her nose.
"We can't all be superstars, y'know." Tsubasa grinned. "So why are you here? Shouldn't you be at some fancy party?"
Mikan turned her head away. "I'm still kind of angry at you."
Tsubasa laughed as he took a seat across from her. "Really?"
"Yeah," Mikan said, still avoiding his gaze.
"I'm sorry."
Mikan glanced at him again. "Why?"
"What?"
"Why are you sorry?" Mikan asked as if it was obvious. "I want to hear you say it."
"I'm sorry that I dumped you for a car," he stated boldly. "Is that what you want me to say?"
"Sounds awful, doesn't it?" Mikan said. Tsubasa frowned. "Seems like I'm always being left behind for something else…" Mikan said the last bit to herself, but Tsubasa heard it loud and clear.
He took her hand in his. "I really am sorry, but Mikan, to tell you the truth, it really wasn't the car at all. You should see the way he looks at you—"
"Ugh!" Mikan said. "Stop talking while you're at it! I've heard it already." Tsubasa was confused. "I know what you're going to say, okay? I've heard it three times already from three different people. I don't need it a fourth time."
"Then why can't you see?" Tsubasa asked.
"Because I don't like him that way," Mikan spat. "In fact, I really don't care for him at all. Why can't you see? I don't want to be bothered by this anymore. I was fine before he showed up here."
Tsubasa's eyebrows scrunched up. "Are you lying to me?"
Mikan frowned. "What? What makes you think that?"
"I don't think you're telling me the truth," Tsubasa said. "Do you really hate him—"
"Of course I do!" Mikan interjected.
"—or do you want to hate him?" Tsubasa finished, ignoring Mikan's jibe. Mikan stopped talking and Tsubasa continued. "I think you're just so angry that he dumped you that you don't even want to consider your feelings for him."
Mikan scoffed. "What are you? Some love guru now?"
"Nope," Tsubasa said. "All I really know is that you two look really good together. Almost like you two were meant to be."
"We lost that a long time ago," Mikan whispered.
"Hey, don't look like that," Tsubasa said, lifting her chin up. "You look better with a smile."
Mikan sniffed and laughed. "That's what Hotaru used to tell me. She always said, 'You look twenty percent uglier when you cry.' It made me laugh every time."
"She seems like a pretty amazing friend."
"She is," Mikan said, looking down again. "She deserves the best. And I know she loves Luca. I just know it. But she won't admit it because of my situation with Natsume." Mikan stared at the lemon floating in her water. "Am I not the worst friend ever?"
"You're not," Tsubasa comforted. "It's just…complicated is all."
Mikan managed to laugh again. "Thanks." She managed a small smile. "You know, you're a pretty amazing friend yourself."
Tsubasa grinned. "I know."
"Now you're just being conceited," Mikan said. "Hey, do you want to go to Luna Koizumi's party with me this Saturday? As friends?"
Tsubasa ran a hand through his hair. "Ah, I don't know. I have work, but I'll see if I can get off early. I'll text you?"
"Sure." Mikan sipped at her water. Tsubasa squeezed her hand, and she felt reassured.
Mikan got up, said goodbye, and left the club. She looked around for any signs of Natsume's car, and when she didn't see anything, she began walking home again. She stuffed her hands into her pockets and mulled over lyrics in her heads. They were all jumbled up. She was furiously wishing for a pen and paper when she felt someone grab her arms.
She was about to shove Natsume off, but when she saw who it really was, she wished it was Natsume. Some shady guy pulled her into him and covered her mouth with his hand. She struggled against him, but he was too strong. He reeked of alcohol. The split second that Mikan ripped his hand off of her mouth, she screamed bloody murder. That's when he slapped her and hit her in the back of the head, effectively knocking her out.
. . .
Natsume had been driving for a good ten minutes when she appeared again. He was at a curb, hidden, when she came out of the club. She was looking around for him. Did she really want to avoid him that badly? Natsume was about to follow her when he saw some man grab her and drag her back into an alley. The stoplight was red, so Natsume quickly skipped it and parked in a nearby parking lot.
He sprinted towards where he saw Mikan. When he saw her on the ground, unconscious, Natsume saw red. His blood boiled with fury. He glared at the man who had done this to her. He had three other friends with him. Natsume's first impulse was to kill them with his bare hands, but he wasn't sure if he could win against four burly men.
"Who're you?" the man asked. He lifted Mikan off the ground and threw her over his shoulder. "Get lost!"
"Put her down, now," Natsume hissed.
"Save your breath, pretty boy," the blonde said.
"I said, put her down, damn it!" he roared.
The man holding Mikan looked at Natsume like he was nothing. "Get rid of him," he ordered his friends.
Immediately, a punch was thrown at Natsume and it hit him square in the left cheek. For a split second, he was thrown off, but then he knelt to the ground and swung his leg under the man's feet, taking him down. Natsume kicked the back of his head at the same time he threw the guy coming behind him over his shoulder. He piled him on top of the first man, but not before kicking his rib cage. The third man held a gun. Natsume ducked a few seconds before the shot he predicted. He hurled himself at the man and punched him until his knuckles were bleeding as bad as the man's face.
As soon as he was sure the three of them would stay down, he ran towards the man that held Mikan. He punched him straight in the jaw, making sure he didn't drop Mikan. When the man stumbled backwards, he scooped Mikan into his arms and gently set her down against the alley wall. He felt the man stomp his foot down on his back. The air was knocked out of his lungs.
Natsume grabbed the man's foot and twisted it forcefully before he could kick him again. He lifted his foot as he got up and knocked him to the ground. Natsume was barely conscious of what he was doing—he was so angry. He threw kicks at the man like there was no tomorrow and didn't stop even when he asked him to. When Natsume realized he was out of breath, he stopped.
And all of a sudden, all he wanted to do was get out of there. He picked Mikan up again and walked back to his car, laying her across the back seat and covering her with his coat.
"Stupid girl," Natsume mumbled to himself. "What the hell do I see in her? She keeps getting herself in trouble—"
Mikan sighed in her sleep and incoherently mumbled, "Natsume…"
Natsume sighed. "That's what I see in her," he said to no one.
. . .
Mikan woke up the next morning in the hospital. Her eyes felt dry, and she could barely pry her eyelids open. An IV was hooked up to her arm and she was in a hospital gown. She could barely make out people talking.
"—I don't know what she was thinking."
"It was lucky that Natsume was there."
Natsume, Mikan thought. She sat up and groaned. There was a sharp pain in the back of her head.
"Hotaru?" Mikan called.
She immediately saw her friend appear from behind the curtain. "You're finally awake."
Even though Hotaru didn't show it, Mikan knew that she was relieved. "Yeah. I think I need some painkillers."
"What were you thinking?" Hotaru asked sternly. "You could've gotten killed!"
"I'm sorry" was all Mikan could manage.
Hotaru sighed and shook her head. "You better get better soon because I got you a couple of new gigs. You get to perform with Mochu."
"You mean the rapper?" Mikan's face visibly lit up. "This is great." She couldn't get herself to raise her voice.
"Yes, the rapper," Hotaru said. "You better come up with a great song. You have another concert coming up soon."
"I have a couple of ideas," Mikan grinned. "Oh, and we're going to Koizumi's party this Saturday."
The nurse came in and set two tablets of ibuprofen on the table next to Mikan along with a glass of water. Mikan thanked the nurse and knocked back both the tablets along with a swig of water.
"Koizumi? Is she that horrid woman with the fake nose?" Hotaru asked.
"Hmm, yeah," Mikan said, lying back against the pillows. She closed her eyes and murmured, "It'll be fun. We'll show up, blow them away, sing some songs, and break some hearts."
Hotaru raised her eyebrows. "Where did this enthusiasm come from?"
"I don't know," Mikan said. "Maybe I'm just confused about what's going on."
Hotaru was about to reply, but she could see that her friend was already beginning to doze off again.
. . .
Natsume walked through the hospital building. It was late at night, but he didn't care.
"Visiting hours are over," the nurse at the station said monotonously.
Natsume ignored her and kept walking. She didn't seem to notice as he walked onto the elevator and pushed the button to the third floor. He made his way to room number 301. He didn't even bother knocking and walked straight into the room. He wasn't surprised to see Imai sitting on a chair, reading a book. Mikan was sound asleep.
"What took you so long?" Hotaru asked, closing her book.
The plastic that the roses he bought were in made a crinkling noise as he shifted them from one hand to another. "Why didn't she accept any of my other flowers?"
"She seems to really despise you right now," Hotaru said. Natsume frowned at this. "But who knows if that's how she really feels? She was always a bit crazy from the beginning."
"How long has she been asleep?" Natsume ended up asking after a long pause.
"Around four hours. She'll wake up again soon," she replied. She stood up and patted imaginary dust off of herself. "I should get going. I trust that you will take care of her?"
"Hm," Natsume replied vaguely.
"You really need to get out of the habit of making that noise. It's completely incoherent and makes you no more intelligent than an infant."
Natsume glared at her. "Fine. I will take care of her. Happy?"
"I'm never happy," Hotaru said facetiously. "It should go the same for you."
Hotaru's heels clicked against the cold hospital floor as she left Mikan's room. Natsume pulled up a chair next to her hospital bed. He took her hand into his and squeezed. He was beyond relieved when he heard that all she had was a concussion. She would be out of the hospital tomorrow morning. Minutes were ticking away, and Natsume was lost in his thoughts. He was startled out of his reverie when Mikan stirred awake.
"Hmm?" she mumbled. "Natsume…?"
Natsume swallowed thickly. "Yeah?"
"What are you doing here?" Her eyes were still closed and she was half asleep.
"Imai left me in charge."
She slowly opened her eyes and turned his head to look at him. "You never listen to Hotaru…"
Natsume swallowed again. "She threatened me," he lied.
Mikan was beginning to become more awake. "Oh."
There was an awkward silence.
"Why are you so stupid?" Natsume said out of nowhere.
Mikan glared at him. "What's with the bipolar attitude? It's like you're two different people."
"I'm bipolar?" Natsume scoffed. "One moment, you're crying to me about my ex-fiancée, and the next, you're stealing my car!" Natsume held her hand even tighter. "You're the one with the split personality."
"Ex?" Mikan asked.
"Yes. Ex, Polka."
"I told you not to call me that," she said. She made no move to take her hand away. "You're messed up."
"So are you," he said.
"I hate you," Mikan grumbled.
"I know."
"I'm still going to Luna's party."
"I know."
Mikan was rendered silent. The silence was a little less awkward this time as Mikan gave Natsume's hand a gentle squeeze. She did it before she realized it, but it was too late to take it back because Natsume placed a soft kiss on her knuckles.
"Don't be so reckless," he murmured.
"I don't need you to tell me that," she replied.
"Trust me; you do," he replied. "You're a walking hazard."
Mikan sat up. She propped herself up against the pillows and reached to her bedside table for the glass of water. She took a sip and downed the entire thing in one go. She leaned back against the pillows when she was done.
"I know I'm not the most coordinated person out there," Mikan said, "but I can take care of myself."
"Then how come you walked into an alley of thugs?"
"I didn't walk into it," she snapped. "I was doing just fine before you came and tried to be superman."
"I'm not superman," Natsume stated. "I won't save just anyone."
Mikan blinked. "You're doing it again."
Natsume's eyebrows scrunched up. "What?"
"Sweet talking me. It's not gonna work," she said.
"I'm not trying anything," Natsume said. He smirked. "But it's nice to know that I have an effect on you."
Mikan felt her jaw drop. "You do not have any effect on me whatsoever!"
"But I do," he said. "Even if it was a negative one."
Mikan frowned. "Why are you still here? Didn't I just say I can take care of myself?"
"Yeah, you did." Natsume ran a hand through his hair. "But I make of point of doing what I want most of the time." Natsume lifted his other hand that was not holding Mikan's. He held up the roses. "You rejected all the ones I sent. Keep these."
Mikan reluctantly took the bouquet and looked at them. "One of them is fake."
"You said you hated to see flowers die."
"So you put one fake one in there?" Mikan asked incredulously.
Natsume shrugged. "I'll love you until the last one dies."
Sorry about the lateness? Very cheesy ending? Yeah, I know. ;)