Hey loves, another blast from the past. Ew I'm so corny, I suck.

4 years ago

Tsubasa had a girlfriend.

At first, I didn't know what to feel about this, because it was all too sudden. That or, I wasn't paying close attention. MY brother was good-looking and all, but when he hit the 'teens' age, he wasn't interested in any girl. But a lot of girls were interested in him. Whenever someone asked him out, he would always turn them down (nicely of course). Tsubasa wasn't into dating, since hanging out with his guy pals made him contented. That went on for a few years, until he turned sixteen.

I was thirteen already, and the only boy I was interested in was my brother's best friend. And I've been crushing on him for five years already. Not that I was proud of it, because trust me, I never planned on it to happen. I never actually told anyone. Not even my best friend. I just couldn't. I still remembered that pinky promise we made when we were eight that we would stay away from boys. And on that day we made that pact, that was the day I realized I liked him. As in, liked him, liked him. Natsume was still the same. Reserved, and sometimes cold. But there were some times that he acted like an actual human being. He actually teases me now. That had to be an improvement compared to when we were kids wherein he always ignored me.

Anyway, back to my brother. He and his girlfriend have been dating since the start of summer (it was September now), and the way I found out about it was... memorable. In a cringe-worthy way. The main thing was, I found them making-out on the couch when I got home from Hotaru's one afternoon. I had never seen my brother so embarrassed. But it was just me, his little sister. Most brothers would've thrown a t.v. remote at me or something. But Tsubasa wasn't like most brothers. Instead, he was the one who apologized instead of me, and introduced me to her. Her name was Misaki Harada, and she was in the same grade as my brother. I've seen her sometimes outside the high school building, with a bunch of people always with her. I immediately thought she was one of those snotty, popular people when I saw her at my house that day, because she looked like it. She had light reddish, layered hair that reached her shoulders, the lightest shade of brown eyes, and she was tall and skinny. But it turned out she was really nice, and I immediately liked her for my brother. He formally introduced her to our parents that night.

Now, I was at school on a Monday, after class, waiting for my brother to pick me up. Since our house was on the beach, our school was in the main city, and it was sort of a long distance to our house, so Tsubasa had to drive both of us. Although right now, I have been standing outside the school for twenty minutes. He wasn't usually this late.

I started to worry, because he promised we would go out for pizza after school today, and he never turned down a commitment.

Just then, I saw our family truck (which Tsubasa drives because Mom and Dad had their own company cars, so the truck was for personal uses), and I felt relieved. But when it pulled over in front of me, I had not been expecting Natsume coming out of the driver's seat.

My heart suddenly pounded faster, like it usually did every time I saw him. "Hey, what are you-"

"Tsubasa had this project he had to finish today," he said. "So he asked me if I could pick you up. Also, he said he was sorry you guys couldn't go out for pizza today, and I could take you out if you wanted."

I felt my cheeks flush. Me and Natsume alone? As much as I wanted that to happen, I would just end up embarrassing myself and making things awkward. "No, that's fine," I said. "We can always go on another day. But wait, how is he getting home?"

"He said he'll get a ride," he said in a bored tone. "Come on."

I climbed onto the passenger's seat, and Natsume and I drove in awkward silence. It was only awkward for me though, since he was clearly not interested in talking. So I was shocked when he started a conversation.

"So how was school?" he asked.

I stifled a laugh. "Um what?"

He sighed. "School. Your day? I'm trying to make an effort here."

"I'm sorry, but you sound exactly like Mom. But to answer your question, school was school. We had this pop-quiz in Algebra that I think I would fail in."

"How could you fail Algebra? It's the easiest math class."

I frowned. "Well, not for a seventh grader like me. You're in high school. Plus you're smart, so of course you think it's easy."

We stopped at a red light, and he glanced at me, smirking. "You think I'm smart?"

My cheeks flushed again. Darn it, did I say he was smart? God, why am I so stupid around him? "Well...yeah. Tsubasa said you were always top your class, so I guess that makes you smart."

"Huh."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

The light turned green then, and Natsume didn't say anything until we reached the highway that led to our neighborhood. That lasted for about five minutes. "I just had this idea," he said, nonchalantly.

"What is it?"

"Nothing. Forget about it."

I pouted at him. "Oh come on! That's so unfair. Tell me!"

"Nope."

I was so annoyed at that point, that I crossed my arms over my chest and slumped in my seat. It was something I always did since I was five, and I guess I hadn't grown out of it yet.

Natsume gave me a quick glance. "Oh quit acting like a baby. You're thirteen years old, Mikan, for God's sake."

Despite the fact that the way he said my name put butterflies in my stomach, I didn't respond.

He sighed. "I did not sign up for a babysitting job, so stop acting like one."

Ouch. That one stung a little. No matter what, I'd always be his best friend's little sister. So it was definitely better this way, to keep my feelings hidden for the rest of my life. I still didn't answer.

He didn't say anything either, so we drove in silence until we reached our houses. Natsume parked the truck right in front of ours.

"Thanks," I muttered, as I got out the truck. I expected him to tell me to wait, so he could tell me what he was going to say earlier. But he didn't. He just nodded in reply and got out of the truck too.

About five seconds while I walked to my house, I cracked. "Natsume, just please tell me!"

Natsume, who was already at the patio of his house, looked surprised by my outburst. "What are you talking about?"

He was doing this on purpose. I knew he was. Without knowing, I ran to his patio so we wouldn't have to shout at each other. "The thing that you were going to say earlier, that you didn't say. Tell me now!"

"Mikan, it's nothing. Geez, why are you acting like a five-year old?"

"Because you won't tell me!" Okay, I knew I was acting way immature, but I couldn't think of another tactic for him to spill it out.

He sighed in defeat. "All right fine! It's a stupid idea anyway."

"Just tell me," I said, gritting my teeth.

"Okay, remember earlier when you were talking about algebra class and all that?"

"Did you just say 'all that?'"

He glared at me. "Do you want me to tell you or not?"

"I'm sorry. Yeah, of course I remember. Duh, it was like twenty minutes ago.

Natsume smirked at me, the kind of smirk that actually made me speechless. Curse you, feelings. "Well, Einstein," he said. "I thought that maybe I could tutor you."

I swear, my jaw dropped about four feet onto the ground. "T-tutor me?" I stammered.

"Yes. Didn't you hear what I said?" He sighed. "Anyway, like I said, it's a stupid idea. I'm busy with school too. So, are you happy now? If you'll excuse me, I am in dire need of a nap." He turned his back to me, and opened the door. He was about to go inside before I shouted, "Wait!"

He turned around again to face me, with a confused expression. "What do you mean, 'wait?' I already told you-"

"I think I do need a tutor," I said. I felt my face getting hotter each second. The truth is, I actually do need the tutoring. Plus, I get to spend some time with him...

Natsume just looked at me as if I was a stray puppy that wanted him to take me home but he couldn't. "Mikan-"

"Look, if I fail Algebra this semester, then my parents will never let me out of the house this summer. So, I really need your help. I'll even pay for it. Okay, maybe Mom will, but you know what I mean."

He thought about it for a few seconds. "Okay, deal. I'll tutor you, but I don't want money. It doesn't feel right."

"Then what do you want me to do in return?" I asked.

"How about you look after Aoi for a week."

"Aoi?" I was a bit confused. "But she's ten already. Won't she hate it if someone babysits her? I mean, I would be if someone did that to me at that age."

"You're not going to babysit her," he said. "Just keep her company. My parents are going out of town next week, and I've got a ton school work, so I'm going to be busy."

"Oh. Well sure. I'd love to baby- I mean, 'keep her company', in exchange for your tutoring services."

Natsume rolled his eyes at me. "You talk too much, kid. We have a deal."

"Right. I'm going to get at least a B right?"

"I'm going to tutor you, not be your fairy godmother. But I think you're not a completely hopeless case, so maybe a B-minus."

I stuck out my tongue at him. Did he have to make fun of me every chance he got?

"Real mature, Mikan."

Without another word, I walked off his front porch, and headed to my house.

"Oh, and don't forget four o'clock sharp tomorrow!" Natsume called out. "And if you're late, deal's off."

With my back still turned to him, I raised my right hand for a thumbs-up. It was when I was already inside the house, in the safety of my room, did I have a chance to react. I immediately flopped to my bed, buried my face into a pillow, and screamed.

Natsume was going to be my tutor. We were going to be alone. Just the two of us. Well, not that type of alone of course. But something like that. This was almost a dream come true, since you know, I dream about him sometimes. And daydream most of the time. I was truly looking forward to tomorrow.

It was Saturday night already, meaning it was family-dinner-with-a-few-friends night. Our family usually eats at a fancy restaurant every week, and Tsubasa and I could bring one close friend along. This started when I was eleven when this new, fancy, French restaurant called La Cuisine just opened up in town. My family insisted we try it, so we did, and we fell in love with their food instantly. We've been going there every Saturday night ever since.

I always brought Hotaru with me, of course, and Tsubasa always brought Natsume (and that's one of the reasons why I look forward to Saturday nights). But this week, Tsubasa brought along Misaki.

"Don't get me wrong, Tsubasa," I told him, as I waited outside his room while he was getting ready. Since it was a fancy restaurant, we had to look the part too. Usually, I was always the last one to get ready, but since it was Misaki my brother was bringing, he had to look perfect. "But is Natsume okay with this?"

"What do you mean?" I heard him walking around his room.

"I mean, you always brought him for dinner. Not that I don't like Misaki, because she's great and you two look good together, but even if Natsume won't admit it, I know he likes going to these dinner things we have."

It was true. I always saw a sparkle in his eyes whenever our family would go out and he was included. Even on vacations.

I heard Tsubasa chuckle. "Mikan, we're big boys now. We don't get upset over that stuff. Besides, Natsume said he was cool with it. I could always take him next week, and then Misaki again the week after. No big deal."

"Oh." I tried to hide the disappointment in my voice. It was a good thing Tsubasa was so busy right now, or else he'd know something was up. My brother was the last person that should know about how I feel for Natsume.

"Speaking of Natsume," Tsubasa said. "How's the tutoring?"

I immediately blushed at that, like I always do when I hear his name. "Great," I replied. "I'm actually starting to not hate algebra." I actually thought my tutoring with Natsume was going to be awkward, but it wasn't. He wasn't one of those tutors who have slow patience. He didn't seem like the arrogant Natsume that I always see. For some reason, I felt that the way that he was with me while tutoring me, was the real him. I then realized that after ten years of knowing him, I really didn't know anything about him at all.

Actually, there's going to be more chapters about ze past later on. But the next chapter will be the present. And that will come very soon. I tend to write what I daydream about, and sometimes I daydream something awesome from out of the blue, and when I start typing to later, I forget all about it. It sucks. Lol feeling like a legit writer. Anywho, hope I'm not boring you guys too much. 'Til the next update! Xx