Hey hey! Happy Mother's Day to all the mommas out there! Here's a chapter that contains mothers in it. Lol okay. Enjoy! x

Welcome to my mornings. Where a piercing headache was always the first thing I wake up to. This time, it was as if someone was literally punching my head. It was throbbing like crazy. My head was still buried in the pillows and I honestly didn't feel like getting out of bed. Like ever. What happened yesterday? All I remembered was seeing Tsubasa's old classmates and...

Holy. Shit.

I jolted right out of bed when it all came flooding back. Then, regretted it two seconds later, because my head started to ache more. But that didn't matter. I drank last night. I had been drunk. And for the epic finale, I threw up on Natsume. What in God's name was I thinking? This was why I don't get drunk. This was just the type of situation that I wanted to avoid. So far, that was all I could remember. God knows what spilled out from my mouth last night. Besides the vomit.

I cringed. How was I going to face Natsume now? Then I remembered. I had something more challenging to face, and they were right downstairs. I wondered how mad my parents were. I expected for my mom to yell and my dad to give me disappointed looks. I listened carefully. Obviously, they were in the kitchen having breakfast. For some reason, I was nervous. I've never been this nervous when they'd give me lectures back in Tokyo. Well, maybe I did know the reason. I crossed the line last night. If they were already upset enough that I party and come home late, what more if I partied, and came home late drunk.

But before anything else, I knew I looked like I've been living on the streets for a week so I got out of bed, took a quick shower and put on fresh clothes. My head was still throbbing, and if my mom yells at me then I'd think it would explode.

I took a deep breath before opening my bedroom door, and went down the stairs as quietly as possible. Maybe I could sneak out the front door and...

"Mikan?"

Too late. My mom's voice was emotionless, so that made the situation worse because I had no idea what was going to happen. I entered the kitchen to find my parents sitting across from each other on the dining table, with one cup of coffee each in their hands. No one was saying anything, so I started.

"Look, I just want to say-"

"Sorry that you came home late?" Mom said, sharply. "Or that you were drunk? Or how about embarrassing your father and I in front of Rie and Hotaru? Or that we tried to call you but you weren't picking up? Oh how about making Natsume go through all that trouble?"

I was actually taken aback that I didn't know what to say. My mother was really furious this time. Like she couldn't believe I would actually go that far. "I really am sorry," I said. "I know I screwed up and-"

"Screwed up? I don't think you screwed up. I think you're doing this on purpose because you're unhappy with-"

"I'm not," I interjected. "I didn't mean for things to happen last night. I just, I wasn't thinking."

She shook her head. "So you expect me to believe that what happened last night was just an accident? Do you not know that we waited two hours for you? Eventually we had to eat because the food was getting cold. Don't give me the excuse that you weren't thinking, Mikan. Because you thought about the choices you made. You could have come home early like what I asked you but you didn't. You made a choice. And you have to pay for that."

This was the problem with having a mom as a lawyer. She was always right. And I hated that. For a second, anger washed through me. Nobody asked me if it was okay to have dinner with Hotaru and her mom. Nobody asked me if it was okay to come back here in the first place. But then I decided to let it go, because this was already as complicated as it was.

"Okay," I finally said. "How many weeks am I grounded? Or maybe months?"

My mom now stood up and faced me. "Honey, it's summer. Of course we wouldn't ground you. Your father and I decided that you're going to get a job."

I did not expect that. "A job?"

"Yes, a job. You know, working for a living."

"But I had a job in Tokyo!"

"A job that you hardly even go to," my dad said, speaking for the first time. "We want you to get a real job. Here."

I looked at him, then at my mom. "What kind of job?"

"Anything you'd like," Mom said. "As long as it doesn't involve any alcoholic surroundings."

Alcoholic surroundings? Did she think I was an addict or something. "Mom, drinking was a mistake. I'm not doing that ever again."

She sighed ruefully. "I hope so. Oh and one more thing. You have to go to Rie's house and apologize."

Oh no. "Now?"

"Yes, now. It's the least that they deserve after going through all that trouble."

I gulped. That meant I had to see Hotaru as well. And talk to her. With this headache, I wasn't sure I could deal with any more confrontations. But for some reason, I really wanted to make it up to my mom. Pissing her off wasn't my hobby anymore. I guess. I was going to get a new hobby anyway. My job.

I skipped breakfast and headed out of the house so I could get everything over with already. When I came out and saw Natsume outside of his house, I knew Hotaru and her mom weren't the only people I owed an apology to. He was seated on the chair on their patio, drinking coffee and clearly immersed in a book. This whole scene seemed a little strange to me, because back then Natsume never came out of his house this early in the morning just to read. Heck, he never came out of the house before ten. I knew he loved reading though. I always thought that was what made him smart. I shook my head. Wait, I came here to apologize. Not take a trip down memory lane. He eventually saw me and gave me small wave. I took this as my signal to approach him.

"Hey," I said.

"Hey." He motioned to the chair beside his, so I sat down. He closed his book and set in on another chair. "So, how much trouble are you in?"

There was a hint of teasing in his voice, and I should have been annoyed, but I wasn't. Surprisingly. "If you consider getting a job as a punishment, then yeah I'm in way too deep."

"You're not grounded or something?"

"No. Mostly because I think my parents knew I would prefer being locked up at home than going out of the house."

He looked at me carefully. "Why is that?"

Because I hate it here. "Because the moment I stepped out of the house was when things started to mess up."

He didn't say anything, so I took this moment to apologize. "Look, about last night. I'm really sorry that you had to go through all that trouble. And if I did say something horrible or any sort of nonsense, I probably didn't mean it. Oh, and one more thing. I'm so sorry for throwing up on you."

He grinned. "No worries. I'm sure you had a reason for... last night."

I let out a sigh. "Just so you know, I don't drink at all. I mean, I did a few times in Tokyo, but I never got drunk. I don't know, I just had a lot going on."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

I shook my head. Natsume might be being nice to me (which was something I had to get used to), but I wasn't ready to open up to him about anything. Not to anyone.

He nodded in reply and we remained quiet for a moment.

"So you need a job, right?" he suddenly said.

"What?" Then I realized what he was saying. "Oh right. Yeah. I have no idea where to look for one."

"Well, we're sort of looking for another lifeguard. That is, if you're interested. I just remembered that you liked swimming so much."

I froze for a moment, but immediately regained composure. "Oh. Thanks for the offer, but I think I'll pass." I couldn't possibly let him know that I was afraid of being in the water. He'd think of me as weak. Or worse, he might actually feel a hundred times sorrier for me than he already was.

I knew he wasn't expecting that answer, because he looked surprised. I was relieved he didn't ask why."Oh. Okay then. Well, I think there's an opening at that ice cream shop we always went to..."

"Tony's Ice Cream Shop?"

His face brightened. "Yeah that. Man, I really loved their ice cream sandwiches. It was all I ate every time I go there."

I smiled half-heartedly. "I remember."

"Are you okay?" he asked.

I so wanted to tell him the truth, that it scared me. Of all people Natsume was the last person I should be opening up to, right? We weren't that close before, but he treated me like a sister. I wondered if he was still treating me the same way. Because now that he's changed into someone way different from whom I've known, it was hard to figure him out.

Finally, I forced a smile, hoping it didn't seem fake. "Yeah. I'm fine."

He seemed convinced though, because he smiled back and said, "By the way, I have an Advil for that headache."

My next agenda for the day was Hotaru. My headache wasn't that bad anymore (thanks to Natsume's Advil), so if I handled talking to Natsume after what happened last night, I was sure I could handle Hotaru after two years of not talking to her.

What the hell was I talking about? Of course I couldn't handle it. I was a coward. There. I finally admitted it to myself. I'm a coward because I was scared of seeing my (allegedly) ex-best friend so I let myself get drunk and make a fool of myself. Hotaru's house was only two blocks away from Natsume's so I was definitely taking my time walking. What was I supposed to say to her? Which should I apologize for first? Not talking to her for two years or for bailing out on their dinner because I was too much of a coward? Or maybe I should just start on a simple greeting. Ask her how she was or how awesome her life was without me. What if she slams the door on my face? I have seen her mad a bunch of times, and it wasn't pretty at all. When she was mad, she was mad. She'd ignore you until you realize that your efforts mean nothing to her. We had arguments before, but never a "falling-out" like this one.

Then it occurred to me. Why was I getting so hung up on the past? A lot has changed for me in two years, and obviously a lot has changed here too. And I didn't care about any of that anymore. Did I?

Without knowing it, I have reached Hotaru's house. It still looked the same. It was the same colored yellow from when I was a kid. The garden stood out, of course because ever since the divorce, Hotaru's mom loved gardening. I suddenly had flashbacks from my childhood when Hotaru and I would help out with the gardening. I shook this off, and took a deep breath before I rang the doorbell. It seriously felt like it was just another normal day when we were kids and I would go over to Hotaru's place.

The door opened, and I came face to face with Hotaru's mom. She still looked the same. Her jet black hair that was exactly like her daughter's was placed in a neat bun. She and Hotaru had the same amethyst colored eyes; they practically looked like sisters. Mrs. Imai smiled warmly at me, and I swear a part of me wanted to breakdown and cry right there. Must be the hangover.

"Mikan! I'm so glad to see you." She let me inside their house, which surprisingly looked the same. I mean seriously, was I the only one who've changed? She pulled me into a warm embrace, and I felt comfort right there. It had been a long time since someone hugged me like that.

"It's nice to see you too, Mrs. Imai," I said. "I actually came here to apologize for last night. I knew all the trouble you went to just to plan that dinner and I am truly sorry that I wasn't able to show up. I promise I'll make it up to you."

Mrs. Imai just smiled at me again, and shook her head. "No trouble at all, Mikan. I'm just glad nothing's happened to you. We were so worried. Hotaru really wanted to see you right away when she heard you were back home."

Surprised, I took an involuntary step back. "She did?" Was she just saying that to be polite or was it the truth?

Hotaru's mom was also surprised at my reaction, but she recovered right away. "Of course. You two were best friends."

Were. I wasn't that stupid to realize that Mrs. Imai knew what happened betwen Hotaru and I. Only, why wasn't she hating on me? Not that I'd known for certain that Hotaru hates me, but I had this strong gut feeling.

Speaking of which, Hotaru appeared halfway down the stairs that led to the hallway. It looked like she just got out of bed. It relieved me to see that she's changed a little physically. She obviously got taller, her pale skin was now a darker shade (but not tan), her black silky hair which she always liked cut short when we were kids was now longer and almost reached up to her waist. In other words, she was stunning. Seeing her again made me feel... home.

She stopped abruptly down the stairs when she saw me. There were a lot of emotions that passed through her face at that moment: shock, happiness, confusion, sadness. But the one emotion that was branded in my brain forever, was coldness. She just stood there on one step of the stairs and glared at her mom.

"What is she doing here?" she snapped at her. I almost flinched. The harshness in her voice made me feel like I was a terrorist on main land.

Mrs. Imai cleared her throat. "Honey, she came over to see you."

Something told me now wasn't the time to correct her. Hotaru was now looking at me with pure disgust.

"She doesn't want to see me, Mom," she said coldly, but towards me. "I think she made that clear two years ago, and last night."

Never in my life have I ever felt this intimidated by someone. I wanted to tell her everything. Explain to her what really happened. But I promised myself I wouldn't care. So far, I was on the verge of breaking that promise if I didn't already. Well, the hell with it, I thought. I might have lost my brother, strayed away from my parents and pushed Natsume away, and maybe Hotaru too. But she was the one person whom I wanted to be back in my life. She was the only one who was ever there for me in everything that I've been through. And what did I do to thank her? I ignored her for two whole years. If it was me being ignored, I would have felt the same anger and hurt she was feeling right now. Everyone deserved an explanation. And even if Hotaru wasn't willing to hear mine, I was determined to let her know.

"That's not true," I said. My voice was weak, like I was eight years old again, and I hated myself for it.

Hotaru let out a snort. "Oh so now you want to talk? I'm sorry, then maybe I'm the idiot for even trying!"

It was anger that was in her voice right now, and I felt like it was a good start. At least it was better than being emotionless at all.

I responded with firmness in my voice, that I knew so well. "Yeah. Let's talk right now. You have no idea what I've been through, so you have no right to make assumptions about me. If you want to clear things out so you could move on with your life without me, then I'll be waiting outside. If you don't come out, then I won't care. I'm only here for the summer anyway, and it's not like I want to be around here any longer than you want me to."

I walked out the door, and closed it softly behind me. My legs were shaking, and my palms were sweaty. I couldn't believe I just said all those things. What if she didn't come out? Then she'd be out of my life forever. And I didn't want to lose my best friend of fifteen years to some idiotic thing I did.

Ten minutes later, when I decided that there was no hope in what I was doing and decided to leave, the door opened suddenly, and I saw Hotaru standing there with that emotionless facade back on her face. I was relieved.

Don't worry, next chapter will be the continuation of Hotaru and Mikan's conversation. Btw, I am so sorry for the OOC characters in the previous chapter, namely Tobita! I love him in gakuen alice, but I couldn't think of another character for this role, so I'm so sorry of you didn't like it.

Anywho, next chapter will be up soon! xx