DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Gakuen Alice.

Selfless

~Chapter 7~

"They're finally over!" Mikan, Sumire, Koko, Anna, Nonoko, Misaki, Paula, Patty and Kitsu cheered as they fell over into a giant group dog-pile. Unfortunately for Mikan, she was at the bottom.

"Hey! Why did you all have to fall on top of me?" Mikan groaned in pain. "G-get off!"

Everyone laughed as Ruka and Kenta got on top of the dog pile instead, squishing Mikan even more!

"Ugh, you guys!" Mikan complained, "winter break just started, and you have nothing better to do than try to kill me under all of your weights? Ah, somebody help!"

Natsume made his way towards the group, raising an eyebrow at them as if asking what the hell was happening there. He didn't know. It was kind of stupid how they decided to squish each other. And who in their right mind put Mikan on the bottom? He swore that when he found out who did it, they'd get a piece of his mind.

When the group felt the aura Natsume was releasing, they sweat dropped and quickly got off of the distressed Mikan and allowed her to breath normally again. Natsume sat beside her and placed her head onto his lap as her face began to turn from purple and back to her normal color.

"Thanks, Nat," Mikan smiled, using the nick-name she had made for him a few weeks before.

Natsume just nodded, giving her a small smile that only she could notice. He helped her up, leading her towards the benches at the usual spot that the group would hang out during lunch.

"Are you going to volunteer at the retirement home again this year, Mikan?" Anna and Nonoko chorused, looking at Mikan in wonder as the group sat down.

"Yeah," Mikan sighed. "They cornered my parents and said all this stuff and begged. We just couldn't say no."

"Ah, do you want us to come and cheer you on?" Ruka asked.

"That'd be nice, Ruka-pyon!" Mikan replied happily. "It'd be more fun that way. We have already received what we will be doing. I have to perform four times though. Two more times than last year…"

"You'll do great," Hotaru said, joining into the conversation.

Mikan became teary eyed as she tackled Hotaru with a hug. "Hotaru! You're so nice!"

"I can be mean if you don't let go," she replied, her voice eerily calm.

Mikan cleared her throat, sitting back in her spot next to Natsume and holding onto his hand, a bit scared of Hotaru's action.

Everyone laughed, except for Mikan and Natsume, at her actions, Hotaru grinning at the reaction she was able to get from Mikan. Natsume turned to the frightened girl.

"Was that the phone call that you guys got yesterday?" Natsume asked Mikan.

"Uhuh," she replied, nodding her head. "There's going to be a big practice day in a week and I need to be there."

"It can't be that hard," Natsume scoffed.

"You have no idea what we have to go through," Mikan replied. "I need to figure out what two songs I have to sing, practice those and the national anthem, and then practice another part that I'll have in a group song with the workers that will most likely be in Tagalog. It's not as easy as you think."

"Tagalog?"

"Yeah, it's a language smart one. Filipino?"

"I'm not stupid," Natsume growled. "Why Tagalog?"

"Because most of the citizens there are from the Philipines," Mikan replied as if the answer were obvious.

"Hn."

"Welp," Mikan sighed, getting up and stretching, "Natsume and I'd better get going. My Mom wants us home early so that I could practice and Natsume can babysit." Mikan looked at Natsume. "Sorry for not saying anything earlier."

Natsume shook his head, shoving his hands into his pockets as he stood up. "No prob."

"Bye guys!" Mikan waved at their group friends as they walked away. And when they were out of the school gates, Natsume turned to Mikan.

"What are we really doing?"

Mikan raised an eyebrow at him. "What do you mean?"

"You're not going to practice and I'm not babysitting. You're lying. So what's up?"

Mikan sighed and it was silent between them for a little bit. As they were turning a corner, Mikan said, "I'm avoiding someone."

It was Natsume's turn to raise an eyebrow at her.

"I…" Mikan started. "I noticed that this guy… he… uh…"

"Likes you?" Natsume finished.

"U-uh… yeah." Mikan replied. "And… well, he's always trying to look for me whenever he can. I saw him coming up to our group, so, I decided to just… run."

Natsume grabbed her arm and stopped the two in the middle of the sidewalk. "Why? You've never done that with a guy before."

"A-actually, I have," Mikan said. "…with stalkers."

Natsume choked on his spit. "W-what?"

Mikan rolled her eyes, feigning offence. "What, is it hard to believe I have stalkers? I always have. And I don't like it."

Natsume shook his head. "No, it's not hard to believe. It's easy to figure out why so many guys like you."

Mikan looked up at Natsume, butterflies in her stomach as she stared deep into his crimson eyes. "Why?"

Natsume smiled his heart fluttering smile and gently grabbed a strip of Mikan's hair, raising it up to his nose. "You're absolutely beautiful."

Mikan wasn't able to keep the deep red color off of her cheeks. Her heart beat heavily as she found it hard to breathe. She wasn't expecting his actions or his words to come out that way. And when he said that, she felt as if she had died and gone to heaven.

"You're not teasing me… right?" Mikan asked, her cheeks burning as she looked down to the ground.

Natsume let go of her hair and placed his hand beneath her chin, lifting her head up so that he could see her face as he slipped his free arm around her waist to pull her closer. As he felt her hands press against his chest, he replied, "Why would I kid about something like that?"

"I-I… It' just that…" Mikan took a deep breath, getting her stuttering under control, "No one's ever told me that before, so…"

Natsume blinked, not even bothering to contain his surprise. "Really?"

Mikan shook her head, blushing more when she noticed Natsume move his hand to cup her cheek instead of her chin. "N-no," she whispered.

Natsume placed his forehead on Mikan's, ignoring the furious pounding of his heart as he did so. He didn't know what he was doing, but his body was moving on its own. He couldn't say that he didn't like it. He actually enjoyed the feel of Mikan. He just didn't know why he was doing this in such a public place. There were sure to be rumors flying around already. After all, this was such a small town. Everyone knows everything.

"Well, I'll be the first to say it," he whispered, his lips inches away from hers. "You're absolutely, breathtakingly beautiful."

Mikan smiled as Natsume came closer to her; so close, that she could feel the heat radiating off of his lips. And just as they were closing the distance, a car horn sounded, a group of guys laughing their butts off over something stupid.

"Get a room!" the people cracking up in the car laughed as they skidded around a corner.

Natsume cursed silently as Mikan pulled away, redder than she was before. Well, Natsume knew that he couldn't just carry on and get what he had wanted to get from Mikan a long time: a kiss. He unwrapped his arms from around her and held her hand in his, leading their way towards their home.

"Come on," he said, looking back at Mikan with a smirk. "We should get home so we could continue what we were doing in our room."

Mikan stuttered and smacked Natsume on the shoulder with her free hand. "You stupid pervert!"

Natsume laughed and continued leading the way back towards their home.

Natsume was lying on his bed. Mikan had gone to that practice for the Christmas show at the retirement home about two hours ago and he had absolutely nothing to do. The show would commence on the twenty-second of December, two days from then. And that would be the time when all of his and Mikan's friends would gather and cheer Mikan on as she sang multiple songs in front of a crowd of old people and mayors of towns and cities. He didn't know if it was a big deal, but Mikan had told him that, sometimes, there was quite a lot of people there to sing and perform for.

Natsume sighed, turning over so that he was lying on his side. He was absolutely bored and he wanted to be able to just sit there and stare at Mikan. She was so fun to be around, and she always made him feel welcome and happy. She gave him this warm, fuzzy feeling. And she made him want to just wrap her in his arms and kiss her until she realized that he really liked her the way that he did. She'd probably realize it from the first second. But he'd still continue anyway. Who's to say that she won't like it?

His thoughts wandered to the time where he was so close to getting that kiss from her; the one thing that he's ever longed for in the history of forever. If those guys had just driven by like the sane humans that they were supposed to be, then he would have been able to see what those lips taste like. But no, they had to ruin everything. They were annoying and Natsume wanted to punch them for what they had done.

After they had gotten home, things had commenced as of normal and they hadn't been anywhere near awkward with each other. Natsume was thankful for that. And when Mikan had writing down 'first time someone called me beautiful' on the List of Firsts, Natsume laughed and wrote, 'first time calling someone beautiful' right underneath. This earned him a sweet smile and giggle from the one he longed to be his.

Natsume sighed contently, rolling back onto his back and closing his eyes as he thought. So many things had happened since the beginning of the school year. He was happy that he had been able to become friends with Mikan. It had made his life a whole lot better and had actually gotten him close to the girl instead of him just admiring her from a distance. He actually had a place in the social butterfly's circle of close friends.

"Hey, I'm back!" Mikan said as she opened up the door to their room, closing it and crashing on her bed when she had reached it. "I'm pooped!"

Natsume opened one eye and waited for Mikan to look at him before he nodded in acknowledgment and closed his eyes once more.

"What are you doing?" Mikan asked, lying on her back just as Natsume was.

He shrugged, knowing fully that Mikan was watching him. It boosted his ego and confidence when he knew Mikan was watching him. It made him think that she might just like him the same way too.

Mikan sighed. "So, what other things haven't you seen or done?"

Natsume opened his eyes and sat up, resting his back on the headboard of his bed. "A lot."

"Alright, Captain Obvious, you have to be a little more descriptive than that." Mikan said, rolling her eyes.

"I have no idea what type of answer you are looking for, Lieutenant Sarcasm." Natsume replied.

Mikan giggled, sitting up and bringing her legs to her chest. "There's no right answer, Nat. Just tell me what you want to do."

Natsume sighed, trying to think of something that had to do with the holiday season. "I've never decorated a Christmas tree."

Mikan grinned. "Don't worry, you'll definitely be doing that."

Natsume chuckled. "Alright. Um, I've never… seen a mistle toe, so I'd never be able to identify one and steer clear of it."

Mikan laughed. "Yeah, I've only seen one a couple times. I never even dreamed of walking beneath one."

"Hn, me neither."

"Mikan, dear," Yuka said, coming in, "I have some laundry that you had done."

"Mom, you didn't have to do that for me! I could have done it myself! You don't need to add more to your list of things to do," Mikan said, grabbing the basket from her mother.

"It's alright, sweetheart," Yuka replied, smiling, "I was already folding your father and my clothes."

"Well, thanks, Mom," Mikan said, smiling.

"You're welcome. Now put them away."

"Okay!" And with that, Mikan closed the door behind her Mother.

As Mikan began putting things away, she asked Natsume, "So what else is there that you haven't seen or done?"

Natsume watched Mikan's movements as he spoke. "I've never been 'in fashion' before."

Mikan laughed. "Do you know how girlish that sounded?"

"No."

"Well," she giggled, "it was very girly. Plus, boys' fashion doesn't really matter to most guys that I know. Girls are the only ones who care about fashion."

"Do you?"

"Hell no."

Natsume laughed. "But you always look nice."

"Do you really see anyone wear the jeans I do?"

"Yeah," he replied. "But, that was always after they see you wear it."

"Whatever," Mikan said, hanging up a couple of her shirts. "It's not like I act like all those other girls and wear really revealing outfits and have push up brash that have a whole bunch of lace."

"Bras with lace?"

"Yeah, I see them in the locker room."

"Don't you have those too?"

"Well, I have one… but it isn't really the best looking one. It looks nothing like the ones I see other girls wearing."

"Aren't they all the same?"

"No. Haven't you seen them on all the signs and stuff in magazines or stores?"

Natsume blushed red. "No…"

Mikan stifled her laughter. "Really?"

"I'm serious."

Mikan actually laughed this time. "Then consider this your first!"

Natsume went redder than he was before. "W-what?"

Digging through her drawers, Mikan produced a black and red lace bra and showed it to Natsume, dangling it in front of his face. She laughed hysterically when he turned beet red, finding herself doubling over in hysteria.

"Y-you actually w-wear that?" Natsume asked, trying to stop a nosebleed that was sure to start if Mikan didn't put the bra away.

Mikan grinned and gave Natsume a devilish look, "If I feel daring enough."

Natsume's resistance crumbled as blood began dripping from his nostrils. Mikan only laughed harder as she ran from the room to get a wet rag. When she got back, she handed it to Natsume, giving him orders through her laughter so that he could stop the nosebleed. She put the bra away, along with her other articles of clothing and asked if he were alright. He gave her a half-hearted glare as she got the rag from him to put away into the laundry bin.

"Never tease me like that again," Natsume said.

"But you wouldn't mind seeing it on me, right?" Mikan teased, grinning devilishly.

Natsume's heart beat faster as he tried to maintain his composure, not letting himself show how flustered she just made him feel as Mikan wrote down the reason as to why she did that on the List of Firsts. Too bad it didn't work.

Mikan laughed.

He stared at Mikan in amazement, completely mesmerized by her glow as she sang up on the stage and rallied up the crowd. She was… wow.

She looked so fun, playful. She sang the upbeat tune, smiling and gesturing; dancing and gracing each person with her presence. He had no idea that she was able to do such a thing. When she had sung the national anthem and the first song, she had been so calm, so serious that it gave him goosebumps listening to her. And when she was in the group singing, she was bright and happy, making the effect even more effecting. And now, she was perfectly amazing. She was wonderful. She was made to be on the stage, in front of a huge crowd singing her heart out.

The song ended and so did the party. The coordinators were right for having her songs be the beginning and final acts. She's the one who was able to keep the party going, no matter the hour.

As the song came to an end, there was lots of cheering and applause. And, of course, Natsume was clapping the loudest (because he absolutely refuses to cheer). And after she sang the last note, she breathed heavily, yelling out a, "Have a Merry Christmas everyone!"

People cheered and the workers started filing everyone out. Natsume and their group of friends- they had come to watch Mikan as they had said they would- weren't able to get close to Mikan, seeing as she was greeting many people and receiving compliments and congratulatory comments from anyone who got close to her. Natsume sighed. He wouldn't be able to get near Mikan at all. He'd be lucky if he were to get to her before she passed out from exhaustion.

Natsume wasn't that lucky. He wasn't able to talk to her. And she had fallen asleep once she had hugged him after she had all those boring conversations with the elders that were around her. He saved her from collapsing onto the floor and had to carry her to the car, ignoring all the wolf whistles everyone around him gave- especially their friends' whistles- and those looks and snickers coming from the adults around him. He had carried her to the car and she didn't even wake up when he had tucked her into her bed that night.

But now, it was the next morning and he was positive and determined to get his comments in on her performance once she woke up.

Natsume slipped underneath the sheets next to Mikan, facing her as he lay down. He smirked, anticipating what her reaction would be when she woke up to his face. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he closed his eyes, feigning sleep. As Mikan sighed and began to awaken, he tried to make his act look convincing.

Mikan opened her eyes, coming face to face with the cutest situation she'd ever seen. Natsume was so cute when he was sleeping! Wait… why is he in her bed?

"What the hell, Natsume? Get out of my bed!" She screamed, pushing him off the bed.

He fell down with a thud, groaning in pain. But Mikan instantly became confused when he started laughing as he sat up on the ground. "To be honest, I thought your reaction would be funnier, but it was pretty good."

Mikan gaped at him from on top of her head. "You were playing a prank?"

"Not really," he said, standing up. "I just wanted to see what you would do."

"Well, that was stupid," Mikan said, crossing her arms and laying back down. "It wasn't even funny."

Natsume shrugged, smirking. "Whatever."

Natsume crawled onto Mikan's bed, surprising her. Mikan was flustered when Natsume climbed over her, caging her body between his arms and legs, lowering his head into the crook of her neck and breathing in her scent.

"You know," Natsume whispered, nuzzling his nose into her neck, "you were amazing last night."

"H-huh?" Mikan asked, heart beating fast.

"When you were singing," he said, brushing his lips across her neck, causing a gasp to escape Mikan's lips.

"O-oh…" Mikan stuttered. "T-thanks."

"You know," Natsume began, resting his forehead against Mikan's, "it made me wonder how beautiful you would sound when we're in be-"

"Don't finish that sentence!" Mikan yelled, red as a strawberry.

Natsume laughed. "Cute."

She sat up when he crawled off of the bed and sat on his own beside hers. "W-what?"

"I said, 'cute'."

Mikan turned redder. "Why?"

"You're really innocent. It amuses me whenever I think about corrupting that innocence of yours."

"P-please stop talking!"

Natsume chuckled, standing up and holding a hand out to Mikan. "Come on, it's time for breakfast."

Mikan smiled and accepted his hand, holding it as the two made their way downstairs to have breakfast with their families together.

~Chapter 7 End~

Alright! Done! :)

First of all, I'd like to say thanks to all those who have added me to their faves/alerts, and/or reviewed! And I'm sorry to say that I cannot list your names right now- seeing as I don't have time. :(

But, I'd like to answer a few question from my reviewers! You know who you are if you are reading this right now. :)

I hope to see him soon. I don't know exactly if he's coming back, and that subject leads me to a certain thing that's going to be added to the plot line. But, I can't just tell everyone. You'll all have to stay guessing. XD

Aoi, unfortunately, isn't a part of this story. No matter how much I love her to death, I just haven't included her in the plot. She just didn't seem to fit in my eyes. Sorry. And as for Luna, well, she is coming in. Soon. Very soon, in fact. Just wait for it, and she will come; she always does….

This story is far from over. Okay, maybe not that far, but it isn't over quite yet. I still have a few things that I'd like to add before I end it. So, just look forward to it, if you will. :D

Well, that's all that I have to say right now, dear readers. And I am, once again, sorry to say that I am unable to write down all if your pen-names and reply to all reviews. I'm sorry. :(

So, I have to go now. I am quite tired. :)

~xXPaintingRealityXx logging off! :D