SONG/S FEATURED: (I kinda missed this part. ;) )
• Fall For You by Secondhand Serenade – suggested by Shirozu.
Turn
the Music Up
Written
by: Aminatsu032
XX
Natsume shrugged and closed his eyes.
During that moment, I didn't know what came to me. I suddenly felt the urge to walk to him—to touch him...
My hands reached out to his face and felt his soft skin. I just couldn't believe one of his eyes were sightless. And at that moment, I don't know what had occurred to me. I wanted to touch him—to reach out to him, but he was so distant.
Distant? I was right in front of him…
My face drew nearer and nearer to his, filling the gap, enclosing everything. I loved Natsume and there was nothing to deny about that.
XX
VERSE THIRTEEN:
I was only inches away from Natsume's face, my right hand slowly reaching for his face to touch it. Natsume didn't move or react, causing me not to snap out from my trance. I could feel his warm and smooth skin and the perfect features of his face.
Soon, I was so close to him. So close, I could already feel his breathing. I kept my eyes closed as I waited.
Actually, I didn't know what came to me, but I only realized what I was doing when I felt his hands gently push me back.
I froze. What the heck was I just doing?! I was trying to kiss him?
I raised my head to look at him and opened my mouth to explain, but I noticed he was looking at the open door behind me.
"Somebody's coming," he said in a low voice.
I blinked twice. I could have sworn, somewhere between his actions was a small smile!
Not long after, I heard footsteps coming near. I turned my head to see who it was. A woman with a blue, ruffled uniform came into sight, similar to what one of the persons who welcomed Natsume was wearing.
"Sir Natsume," she said. Her voice was soprano and high-pitched. "Your father has arrived."
Natsume's eyes narrowed as he nodded. The woman gestured and slowly walked away with both her hands entangled on her stomach.
"Natsume, your dad…" I started, but he suddenly changed the subject.
"You're oddly into your character," he said, his eyes derisive.
Immediately, I knew what he was talking about. My eyes narrowed in irritation. "I do not like being your girlfriend one bit!"
"Yup, I see that," he muttered sarcastically.
My thin-string-of-a-patience finally broke. It's not like I knew what I was just doing!
I turned away, not letting him see my blushing face. From behind, I heard Natsume let out a low chuckle.
"Face it," Natsume whispered into my ear. "Face your feelings."
My eyes suddenly widened as my heartbeat increased. I felt my cheeks flush more than it did before.
"Y-you're kidding!" I blurted out, tilting my head to one side, looking at him, but hiding my face. "O-of course I'm not in love with you!"
Natsume sat on the chair and leaned his chin at the back of his right hand. "See? I just caught you."
I finally turned to get a good look at him. "Caught? What the heck are you talking about?"
Natsume smirked. "When did I say that feeling was love?"
My mouth hung wide open. Come to think of it, he didn't say it was love, did he? Damn it, Mikan, damn it!
I bit my lower lip, looking at my feet. "You're not meeting with your father?" I suddenly asked. I was thinking of another topic, when this was the one I blurted out.
Natsume's expression suddenly changed. "Tch. I better just leave now. Personally, I wouldn't want to ever see him again, as a matter of fact."
My brows furrowed. "Natsume, he's still your father." I reminded him.
He shrugged; his usual gesture when he didn't want to answer. I sighed. This was the very problem with Natsume.
"Look, I know he must have a reason for what he did," I told him in a reassuring tone.
At that moment, his crimson eyes met me in the eye. I saw grief and frustration in him—two emotions he wouldn't actually want to show people around him.
I was so concentrated in his eyes that I didn't notice him reach out for my hand. I almost jumped in surprise. Not like the usual, his hands were ice cold.
Slowly, his other hand reached for mine as he gently pulled me closer to him.
"So you're telling me I should go there?" he asked, his voice mild and gentle.
When I didn't answer right away, his hold suddenly tightened.
"I…" I paused, weighing the consequences. I wouldn't want to give him an answer that would not be good for him. "I think you should."
Natsume finally released his hold and stood up. He walked, but stopped at the door.
"Shall we go?" he asked, looking at me again.
I nodded in response. It was really rare to see Natsume like this. He was oddly kinder and out-of-character.
I followed him, running because he was far away when I started walking again. I noticed him suddenly stopping as his expression changed.
I turned my head to the direction where he was looking and there stood a tall woman with dark blue, straight hair. Her hair was shoulder-length and tucked into her ear that made her face more visible. She was wearing a formal black suit and skirt, her hands positioned in front of her stomach.
"Is she…" before I could continue, Natsume had already nodded, saying yes.
I could have guessed—it was the woman Natsume's father married. It was Tsubasa-sempai's mom!
The woman raised her head the moment she noticed us. Behind her mild face, I could see the anger in her grey eyes.
"Hello, Natsume," she said, her voice alto and mature. "It's been long."
Natsume's eyes narrowed. "I thought you'd be away," he said with no emotion present.
"Oh, I thought I would come here for the sake of my stepson," she said, slightly chuckling as she spoke.
Seeing that Natsume had no answer, she slowly ascended to the stairs. I could feel the tension between them as the woman drew closer. She finally stopped a few steps away from us when she looked at me.
"Who's this?" she asked Natsume, not breaking her gaze.
"None of your business. She was just leaving," Natsume mumbled.
"Natsume, it is my business to who entered my house," she said, laughing afterwards. Then, her look was back to me.
"Ah!" she finally said after scanning me repeatedly. "So that's why you looked familiar." Slowly, she extended her long, slender arms towards me. "You're Mikan Sakura, aren't you?"
I froze. I couldn't move, just hearing her voice gave me the chills. But before she could touch my face, Natsume yanked her hand away.
The woman looked at Natsume once again. "My, my, aren't you overprotective?"
"Tch," Natsume said, obviously annoyed. All of a sudden, he looked at me and grabbed my hand.
"We're going," he declared as he dragged me down the stairs. I didn't speak nor pull my hand back until we were already outside.
"Where are we going? I thought you were going to see your father!" I angrily whispered.
"Forget it. Maybe some other time." he said, about to grab my arm and take me back to the car.
"No!" I evaded his touch. "Natsume, you must!"
Natsume grunted. "Look, you have to get away now. You don't know what she can do!"
I didn't answer him back. I just looked away.
Seeing this, Natsume's voice softened a bit. "Alright, I will. I'll talk to him, but not today."
I gave my stare back to him. "Do you promise?" I said in a soft voice.
Natsume fell silent, but after a while he finally responded. "I promise." he said in a low voice.
I nodded in agreement and then walked ahead of him. I didn't know if he talked to anyone in the way because he was quite late when he arrived.
He took the car keys out of his pocket and opened the door to his side. He pressed one of the many buttons on his car door that opened mine. I quickly slid down to my seat as he started the engine and drove away.
-xx-
It's been about two hours since we left the mansion and it's currently sundown. We were caught by the heavy traffic and none of us spoke since we left.
Suddenly, I felt guilty forever barging in his life. And it was his birthday today.
After a lot of songs finished over the radio, one caught my attention. I didn't know why…
The best thing about tonight's that we're not fighting
It couldn't be that we have been this way before
I know you don't think that I am trying
I know you're wearing thin down to the core
But hold your breath
Because tonight will be the night that I will fall for you
Over again
Don't make me change my mind
I won't live to see another day
I swear its true
Because a girl like you is impossible to find
You're impossible to find
This is not what I intended
I always swore to you that I would never fall apart
You always thought that I was stronger
I may have failed
But I have loved you from the start
Oh, But hold your breath
Because tonight will be the night that I will fall for you
Over again
Don't make me change my mind
I won't live to see another day
I swear it's true
Because a girl like you is impossible to find
It's impossible to find
So breathe in so deep
Breathe me in
I'm yours to keep
And hold onto your words
'Cause talk is cheap
And remember me tonight
When you're asleep
Because tonight will be the night that I will fall for you
Over again
Don't make me change my mind
I won't live to see another day
I swear it's true
Because a girl like you is impossible to find
Tonight will be the night that I will fall for you
Over again
Don't make me change my mind
I won't live to see another day
I swear it's true
Because a girl like you is impossible to find
You're impossible to find
We continued passing through the now-darkened streets of Tokyo. Finally, after the long ride, the places we passed by, became more and more familiar. After a few more moments, Natsume stopped the car. I almost didn't notice that we were one house away before ours.
I was about to get out of the car when he suddenly spoke.
"That's it?" he asked.
I looked at him, confused. "What's it?"
"No gift?" he said, his hands both at the wheel.
My expression twisted. "But I thought you said you didn't want a gift?" I clarified.
Natsume rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know, but knowing you, you'd still have prepared one, right?"
I narrowed my eyes. Stupid Natsume! Now he was looking for a gift?
Natsume examined my expression blankly. After a while, he said, "Never mind."
"No!" I immediately boomed, looking at him in the eye. "Wait here."
As soon as I got off the car, I hurriedly ran to our house. I grabbed the house keys under one of the pots near the door and swiftly opened the door. I was sure Mom put those imported cookies in the kitchen somewhere!
I opened one of the cabinets and found the red box with a white ribbon in it. I zoomed out of the house without bothering to lock the door. I got into my car seat again and extended the box to him, panting.
"Here you go," I said, breathless.
Natsume took it calmly and lightly tugged on the ribbon. As soon as the ribbon unknotted, he opened the box and ate one of the cookies inside.
"It's cheap," he said after a while. "I've tasted better."
A vein popped in my head in irritation. "Well, if you told me you actually wanted a gift, I could have bought something expensive." I said, emphasizing the words as I turned away.
"I'm kidding," he said in a low voice. "Thanks."
Well, that put me in shock! Was he serious? He just thanked me?
I turned to him again, surprised to see that our faces were near each other. My heart beat fast. At that moment, I wanted to run, remembering what I was intending to do the last time.
I was surprised when Natsume's hand suddenly touched my face as he drew near and kissed me. Though it didn't last more than one second, I felt I wasn't on Earth anymore. Or was I just dreaming? I was so dazed that I couldn't think clearly. I broke my trance when I heard his voice again.
"I think you woke your mother when you barged in." he said.
"Um…yeah," I mumbled. "Gotta go—bye!" I took my bag and got out of the car. I didn't notice when he left. When I got in the house I immediately locked the door behind me, flushing.
"Mikan?" I heard my mom say from her bedroom. I didn't look at her because I was looking down. Everything that followed after that became a blur.
I couldn't believe what just happened today.
I couldn't believe that he actually…
…kissed me.
Author's Notes—
Yeah, that was rather short. But, sorry. That's how it goes. YAYYY!! CHAPTER POSTED!!! XD
Oh, yeah—thanks for my new beta Ninjah Keewi!!! YAY!!!!! (pause) God, the head has gotten in to my brain! Anyway, your reviews and request please, would be very much appreciated. (nosebleed!!!)