Please note before continuing on with the story.

Mikan, Natsume and the group are either 15,16 or 17.

Aoi and Youichi are both 11 years old.

Misaki and the other senpais are around their 20s

They are also more free than the actual manga/anime. They get a choice of staying at the academy or go home when they want. Unless certain circumstances make them stay at the academy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice.

And, I suck at grammar (:

~Previously~ "Seriously? Is that all you need? A partner?" Natsume asked, cocked an eyebrow, this time, arrogantly

~Continuing with the story~

Mikan popped a vein while she went towards the bed, Natsume following her and joined her to sit with her on the bed. "Shut up" she retorted back, "it's not easy to find someone who can partner dancing, and agree to dance with you!"

Natsume cocked eyebrow, 'does this girl not know any guy would dance with her, any day? Except me, of course. Wait, why the hell does that sound like bullshit to me?' he thought.

"Ruka would be alright, but he probably would just decline the offer, Koko and Mochu…" Mikan shuddered before continuing. "I don't even want to think about it. The only person left is Yuu, and he's going to be too busy. So… oh, geez", she said staring off into space. The whole time she was listening names, Natsume popped a vein, everytime she said a name that wasn't his. Annoyed, he grabbed her iPod from her desk and started going through her list of songs.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Mikan exclaimed, annoyed by the fact that Natsume had just snatched her iPod without permission. She got even more annoyed when he replied her with silence and just continued looking through her songs. 'Damn, this girl has too many songs for my liking at the moment' he thought.

Finally, found a song and played it, then quickly pulled Mikan up from the bed and waited for the right time to dance, with Mikan automatically following.

'What the hell?' she thought, he knows this dance, eh?

"What the hell? How…?" she asked out. Natsume remained silent for a while then answered with, "Well, you're not the only one who knows this dance, and I guess I've got a thing for dancing" he added arrogantly. Mikan then leaned closer to his face and whispered, "Well then, I guess we're both on the same page then" with a genuine smile.

They continued dancing, with Mikan still in shock, Natsume Hyuuga was actually dancing. He sure as hell doesn't seem like the people who would like to dance let alone know and actually allow someone to dance with him.

As they were quietly dancing, they were both trying to be the better dancer, though, unfortunately for them, the dance they were doing didn't really help and the only thing they could do is dance freely and express emotion into their dancing. A few moments after dancing both gave a smirk before hearing footsteps coming their way and soft murmurs of voices, voices belonging to their friends. Mikan silently panicked before getting an idea. She ushered one word to Natsume hoping he would understand. His door was being knocked at right about now and if he didn't answer, others would wonder.

"Balcony" she whispered. Natsume gave a nod before giving a nod and headed for the balcony. Before jumping off, he looked back to see Mikan looking at him, giving a small smile and mouthed the word "go, quickly." With that, he jumped off. As soon as he jumped off, Mikan's door was knocked. Mikan quickly looked back at her room making sure everything was ordinary. She turned off her iPod and quickly answered the door.

When she opened the door she was greeted by her friends and with four pieces of information from Hotaru, "Central town. Get partner. Go get ready. Meet bus stop." Mikan looked at her friend blankly as she walked away. When she snapped out of it, she quickly ran after then, calling out, "WAIT! What? Why?"

"We're going shopping for our dresses and suits for the Masked Ball, Mikan-chan!" Anna exclaimed excitedly. Mikan looked at them dumbfounded, "What? Why? It's till next month! And how did Hotaru agree to this anyway?" she exclaimed. They had already reached Natsume's room, where he was glaring the boys in front of him, namely, Koko, Mochu, Ruka and Yuu sweat nervously. Natsume nodded at her, acknowledging her coming. Her friends then turned around and Sumire answered her.

"Yes, indeed, Mikan" Sumire started off, "but if we go later, lots of people will be buzzing around and all the good dresses that we want shall be gone and there would probably be troubles with fighting for dresses, that's how Hotaru agreed to come along. So, we're going early"

"And what about class?" Mikan asked. Hotaru answered her this time, "all our teachers were called to a meeting, and therefore, our classes are cancelled. Hurry up and get ready, we're going after we pick up two more people." This caught Mikan's attention.

"Two more people? Who?" she asked.

"Aoi Hyuuga, Natsume's younger sister, fire alice and Youichi Hijiri, same class as her, spirit alice, both 11 years old". Mikan only nodded before realising something.

"Wait, Natsume has a sister?" she exclaimed. Everyone nodded. "Didn't you know, Mikan?" Ruka asked. Mikan just stared at Ruka for a while, expecting him to figure out the answer for himself. Ruka the realised that no ever mentioned it to her, and he let out a small "oh…" then backed off at the back of the group. Then, Mochu spoke up, "Come on people, let's move some ass and get this hell over with!" earning a shot from Hotaru's gun.

After Mochu recovered, the girls and boys, apart from Natsume and Mikan, then headed off to the Elementary section to pick up Aoi and Youichi. Mikan then quickly headed back to her room to change into something more comfortable. When she was done, she was wearing a colourful summer dress with white heels, since she was going shopping for a dress. She quickly brushed her hair, grabbed her purse, she was about to dash for it when she saw Natsume waiting outside her door. He looked at her for a moment then spoke, "come on, let's go". With that, they headed off to meet the rest of the group at the bus stop.

They walked in silence for a while until Mikan broke it, "how did you learn to dance?" She asked.

"Do you really want to know?" he asked giving her a quick glance before looking back in front of him. When Mikan was about to answer, he quickly cut her off, "actually, don't bother answering that. I'll just tell you". Mikan unconsciously walked faster to keep up with him and was also in shock that he actually agreed to answer her question. 'Damn, his legs are too damn long...Can't keep up' she thought as well. She wasn't exactly short, or too tall, but she was tall. She didn't like people looking down on her that much. 'WHY THE HELL DOES HE HAVE TO BE SO TALL FOR?' she shouted in her head. She dismissed the thought, knowing how stupid it is. She then looked at him, urging him to go on and answer her question.

"Hn, well… let's just say that my mother and sister really like dancing. We use to go out about every weekend to dinner then go on the dance floor to dance. I hated every single day of it, it annoyed me. I hated dancing back then, and I still do, just not as much anymore, I guess. My dad wasn't much of a fan of it either" he said with a smirk.

Mikan gave out a giggle, "Father like son, mother like daughter?" she asked mockingly.

"I guess so" he said, giving her a smirk, then continued, "though, after a couple of persuasions, my dad gave in and ended up dancing and found it wasn't as bad as he thought. So, in the end, it was the rest of my family against me. So, in the end, I just gave in a bit. Then I started to learn other dances due to curiosity. I think… now that I think about it, I don't know why I did…" he thought aloud, trailing off before concentrating ahead to where they were walking.

After hearing Natsume talk a hell lot more than he usually did, she felt somewhat happy, very happy, that he was opening up to her. They walked for a while in silence when Mikan talked about what the rest of the group were probably going to wear when she asked him mockingly, "So, do you think you could teach me a few dances?".

"Don't push it, little girl" he replied back firmly, making Mikan pout, though, she smiled again when she remembered Natsume opening up to her just a moment ago.

When they arrived at the bus stop, everyone was already there, their friends were next to the bus stop sign, when the saw Natsume and Mikan arrive, they turned around and Anna and Nonoko gave them a wave, Mikan waved back before looking for certain unfamiliar faces. There, she had spotted them, two 11 year old kids sitting on the bench. The girl was sitting peacefully, swinging her legs back and forth whilst the boy was just starring ahead, bored and not caring a thing that was around him. Though, he looked Mikan and Natsume's way when he saw them approach. Both of the them stood up, the girl, Mikan, who assumed it was Aoi, gave a bow while the boy, Mikan assuming it was Youichi, gave them a nod in acknowledgement. When Mikan approached them, she introduced herself.

"Hello, I'm Mikan, 17 years old, same class as Natsume" she said with a bright smile. Aoi returned a smile, and then introduced herself as well.

"Hello, I'm Hyuuga Aoi, 11 years old, Natsume's younger sister" Mikan smile at her, then, Aoi continued on, "and this is Hijiri Youichi, same age, same class as me." Mikan gave him a warm smile and the boy nodded at her again in return then added, "call me Youichi" Mikan gave him a small nod. After that, Mikan spoke, "please to meet you Aoi and Youichi." Then,she focused on Aoi Hyuuga. She had the same raven hair and crimson eyes as her brother, though, her attitude was completely different. The way she looks and talks to people was different. It was polite.

"Aoi, you seem to pick up a few features from your brother, you're such a beautiful looking girl!" she exclaimed, at the same time cursing her weakness of not being able to shut the hell up. Aoi blushed at the compliment and stuttered a thank you while the two boys scoffed. "Of course she would, got the looks from me" Natsume said arrogantly. Mikan playfully slapped him on the arm, "you and your pride!" she cried. Aoi just walked away to the other group. They continued to argue and mock each other, when a voice interrupted them. "Otou-san…" Natsume looked at the owner of the voice. 'Otou-san?' Mikan wondered, also looking at the owner of the voice, only to be shocked.

Natsume walked up to the owner at ruffled his hair. "Hey, Youichi. How have you been, I haven't seen you in a while."

"I've been alright. Still get annoyed with those girls though" he replied with his arms crossed, puffed. Natsume gave a warm chuckle, making Mikan go into daze. 'He look like such a sweet heart right now…Ew… I'm not use to it' she thought, shuddering.

Natsume caught her looking and gave her a questioning look, she shook her head and answered, "nothing much. It's just that I'm not use to this scenery of you" she smiled "you look so caring and nice…" Natsume lifted an eyebrow.

"Oh really?" he asked arrogantly with a smirk making Mikan pop a vein.

"What are you smirking about?" Mikan cried out while waving her arms up and down. "Oh, nothing much, just, nice to know that you like observing me so much." Mikan playfully slapped him on the arm.

"Oh, shut up!" she said crossing her arms across her chest. While they continued bickering away, Youichi stared at them, observing Mikan, how she looked and talked to Natsume and how Natsume was much easier going and calmer around her. She also had a smile that could warm the block of ice within you, which is what's clearly happening to his Otou-san. Then, suddenly, he blurted out, "Okaa-san". Both stopped arguing and turned towards Youichi, wide-eyed, and looked at him questioningly. Youichi merrily pointed to Natsume, "Otou-san", then to Mikan, "Okaa-san". Natsume just smirked inwardly while Mikan just continued to stare until she let out a confused "eh?" then she pointed to herself.

"What? why me? I mean, I don't have a problem with anything, but, what? Okaa…?"

"I like you, I like your smile. You're not a slut-"

Mikan butted in with, "Youichi, language." Youichi nodded, though smiled brightly inside. 'Just like anyone who actually cares would say' he thought. "Alright. You're not like those girls continuously trying to flirt with Otou-san and clinging onto his arm. You have a nice smile, a smile I want a mother to have. And just about 10 seconds ago you told me to watch my language, too… Plus… I don't have an Okaa-san yet…"

Mikan couldn't help but smile brightly at the young boy, after hearing what he said. "Thank you, Youichi", she said, leaning down to give him a hug.

"Welcome to the family then… 'Okaa-san'" Natsume welcomed, "you're married to a good looking guy." He earned a playful glare from Mikan and a slap on the arm. And they started arguing again. Youichi let out a small smile, Mikan and Natsume noticed and both smile inwardly. Then, unnoticed by them, the bus arrived.

"HEY! Don't want to ruin the moment, but the bus is here!" Aoi called out. All three nodded and headed towards her and hopped onto the bus, Aoi for a four-seat, she sat next to the window with Mikan seated next to her and Youichi between Mikan and Natsume.

Within the bus ride, Aoi and Mikan talked about the Masked Ball and what dress they were aiming for. "What dress do you want Aoi?" Mikan asked.

"Well, I'm not sure… though, I think I'll just get a flowing knee length dress." Mikan gave a nod. "What about you, Mikan?"

"I'm not too sure… I mainly want a floor length dress… most preferably white…" she replied trailing off. Unknown to her, Natsume was paying attention to what dress she wanted, 'so, she wants that dress huh… I think I saw that kind of dress at a store somewhere… I guess it will be my present to her'.

"You know you're going to need more than just that 1 dress, right? And Koko, read my mind and prepare to be turned into ashes" he said calmly, demonstrating a fire ball in his hand carelessly.

"Yes, I know. I need… what? Probably another 3 or 4 dresses… how long does the Ball go for?"

"Starts around 4, it ends earlier for them, around 8" he said pointing to Aoi and Youichi, "and ends later for us. It ends around half past 11"

"Ah… then… I'll change every now and then… need 2 for the two…uhh…yeah. That's already 3... Oh geez. 3, then... for the change... I already have 1 dress at home that should go well... So, 4 dresses to buy, ne Natsume?" Natsume replied with his usual 'Hn'.

"Ne, Mikan… why do you need more than one dress for" Aoi asked out of curiosity. "Don't worry, Aoi. You'll find out why on the day of the Ball" was all Mikan replied, hoping for Aoi to drop the subject, which she did.

A few minutes later, they arrived at Central Town. The rest of the group parted ways with Natsume and Mikan. "Hmm… you also need a suit for you, right?" Mikan asked out.

"Hn"

"Um… you'll need two, right? You're going to perform with me…right?" she asked more nervously this time, looking at him, who looked back.

"Yes, I'm going to perform with you" h replied with a grin, making the brunette flash a bright smile, making all the males that were walking by stop and stare. Natsume, getting annoyed of the gawking, took Mikan's hand and dragged her away. When he let go, Mikan unconsciously linked her arm around Natsume's arm as they headed to the direction of the store up ahead. Natsume saw how she linked her arm around his and he couldn't help but blush, though, luckily for him, he hid it with his bangs.

'This is going to be one hell of an interesting shopping trip" he thought, smirking inwardly. "Thanks…son…" he thought again as he stared down at the beauty that had her arm linked around his.

[YouTube]

.com/watch?v=8lpgesehOjI -The dance Mikan and Natsume danced. Song: A postcard to Henry Purcell.

I'm a bit of a Pride and Prejudice movie fan (:

Tell me if I got anything wrong! I'm currently typing down Chapter 6. So, I should have it up soon...(if nothing interferes with my work)

R&R, please!