The original author of this story goes to Aileria. Everything plot-wise and anything else necessary goes to her.

Gakuen Alice owned by Higuchi Tachibana

Summer Madness

Chapter 10- Unfortunate Turn of Events

Mikan emerged from the bathroom, in a pair of gray sweatpants and a baggy black t-shirt. Her auburn hair was damp and more or less, she felt refreshed. She wrapped a small, white towel around her head and closed the bathroom door behind her. From down below, she could hear muffled chatter and laughter. How they ended up at the Nogi household was beyond her knowledge. After seeing Ruka in a state of shock, Aoi had decided to hang at someone's house for the time being. And Ruka, being Ruka, suggested that his place was the closest. Sighing softly, Mikan ambled down the steps, carefully absorbing every detail of the Nogi household. She was supposed to feel a sense of familiarity, considering she had attended Ruka's party. But instead, she felt like a stranger.

"Mikan!" Mikan's head snapped up; Aoi was beaming at her, with a glass of orange juice in her hands. "How was your shower?"

"Refreshing," Mikan chuckled softly. She turned to Ruka who was sipping a hot cup of French Vanilla coffee, "I'm really sorry for being so intrusive." Aoi handed Mikan a glass of orange juice.

Ruka laughed, "Why are you saying sorry? You and Aoi are my friends! You're welcomed here any time."

Aoi placed her empty glass on the table; she jogged towards Mikan and wrapped her arm around her shoulder. "Hey, Ruka and I decided that we should play a game of Twister! Are you up for it?"

Mikan's eyes widened; she coughed, spitting out some of the orange juice as she did. Ruka rushed over, grabbing the glass before she lost her grip ."Are you okay?" he asked worriedly. Aoi patted her back; that was not the reaction she had been expecting.

"Fine," Mikan coughed. She wasn't a very flexible person; the last time Mikan played Twister, she had sprained her ankle and nearly broke someone's neck. How was that even possible? Well, this was Sakura Mikan we're talking about here. Anything is possible.

"You're not going to play?" Aoi asked sadly.

"Er..." Mikan bit her bottom lip, "I'll spin it for you guys!"

"We'll take turns." Ruka suggested with a shrug, "That way, it won't end up in a disaster."

Aoi nudged the brunette, "You and Ruka can play first."

"What?" Mikan gasped, not meaning to sound offensive. "I really don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?" Aoi huffed.

"I'm really, really and I really mean really bad at Twister. I don't want Ruka to get into accidents." Mikan sighed, admitting the sad truth.

"It's okay," Ruka reassured, "Aoi will have a phone ready - ready to call 911 if anything actually happens."

Mikan frowned, "I'm serious!"

Aoi patted her friend's shoulder, "Shall we go?"

"You're not listening to me!" Mikan flailed. Her friends literally had to drag her to the large living room.

The mat was placed; the furniture had been moved. Everything was ready. Mikan's hazel eyes stared blankly at the Twister mat. She had warned them; if anything happens, she was ready to blame it all on them. Eagerly, Aoi spun the spinner, her eyes dancing in curiosity at where it'll land.

"Left hand blue!" Aoi said.

"Who are you talking too?" Ruka chuckled.

"Mikan,"

The brunette took a step forward, bent over and placed her hand on the blue circle. 'Hopefully, everything goes well'. She thought.

"That's strange," Natsume said, staring at his phone. Hotaru stopped and turned to face him. "Ruka's not picking up," Hotaru bit her bottom lip; her gaze drifted towards the concrete. Natsume, noticing Hotaru's troubled expression, placed a hand on her shoulder. "I bet he's just busy."

Hotaru's head snapped up, "I'm starting to think that this isn't such a great idea anymore."

Natsume frowned, "I don't want to go through this with you again," he said, exasperated.

"It's not going to work," Hotaru muttered, "Everything is just going to come crashing down like it did the first time."

Natsume ran a hand through his unruly hair, "Really now? I wonder why." he said sarcastically. Hotaru shot him a glare. "You two have got to be the most stubborn people I have ever met. You have finally decided on this and I'm not going to let you go back on your word."

"Clearly-" Hotaru smirked, "You do not know Sakura Mikan all that well."

Natsume arched a brow, "What has she got to do with any of this?"

"She's ten times more stubborn than I am. If you have any plans on dating her, I suggest you watch out." Hotaru replied with a lopsided grin.

"Who would ever want to date someone like her?" Natsume mumbled, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Well, your blushing face isn't making you all that convincing," Hotaru scoffed.

His anger was reeling inside him. "I am not!" he snapped.

Hotaru shrugged, "Just saying~" she chimed. As she sauntered down the streets, a heavy sigh escaped Natsume's lips.

The close proximity of their faces was enough to tune out any noises. As the phone stopped ringing, Mikan swallowed the lump in her throat. Staring into Ruka's alluring opalescent eyes made her cheeks flush.

"Y-you should have grabbed that," Mikan said, trying not to sound hesitant.

"I-it was probably not important," Ruka replied softly, diverting his gaze elsewhere.

Aoi had her elbow propped up on a glass table; she found it amusing that her two friends were hitting it off so well ever since their game of Twister commenced. She placed her empty glass of orange juice on the table and spun the spinner.

"Mikan, right hand blue," Aoi called. Mikan shook her head slightly, as if snapping out of a trance. "Mikan?"

"Right hand blue, right?" Mikan confirmed.

"Were you too infatuated with your partner over there?" Aoi teased.

Mikan frowned; she took a glimpse at Ruka who had a small smile on his face. She bit her bottom lip and twisted her body, feeling glad that her face was no longer at such a close distance to her friend's. Mikan trembled slightly, not liking this strange feeling that was sitting in the pit of her stomach. Before Aoi could call Ruka's next move, she was interrupted by the loud ringing of the phone.

"Someone's really popular," Aoi chuckled, eyeing the phone.

Simultaneously, Ruka stood up and Mikan collapsed on the mat. A soft groan escaped her lips; she didn't want to admit it but Ruka was the one who had been supporting her this whole time. Ruka sauntered towards the phone; as much as he didn't want to pick it up, it might be someone important. Ruka lifted the receiver and placed it to his ear.

"Hello?" he said.

"Hey."

Ruka froze; he bit his bottom lip. 'Why did he have to call? Why now?' he thought.

"Hey. Why the sudden call?"

Natsume arched a brow, "You sound annoyed. Everything okay?"

Ruka coughed, "Yeah, I'm fine. W-why are you calling anyway?"

"Don't lie to me, Ruka," Natsume snapped. "Is something wrong?" Hotaru, who had been walking beside him, stopped. Wearing a perplexed look on her face, she tilted her head slightly.

"Nothing's wrong," Ruka sighed, "The more you ask me, the more I'll get annoyed, you know?"

Natsume scratched his head, frustrated at his friend's actions. "Can you come meet me at the station?"

Ruka glanced at the two girls who were heavily engaged in a conversation, "I'm kind of busy right now, actually."

"Oh," Natsume said, not meaning to sound so shocked. "Mind if I come over there then? There's something I need to talk to you about."

Ruka gripped the phone. He had already tossed the image from his mind, but why was it when Natsume called, everything starts to pour back - the sickening feeling, the pain that ached in his chest and this anger that reeled inside him.

"I already said-" Ruka muttered, "I'm busy right now." Before Natsume could reply, Ruka cut the line. Feeling infuriated, Natsume threw his phone inside his pocket.

"Something wrong?" Hotaru asked, arching a brow.

"He said he's busy," Natsume said, exasperated. "That stupid kid; why won't he tell me what's wrong!"

"What are you talking about?" Hotaru asked.

"It...It sounded like something was bothering him." Natsume said, avoiding Hotaru's gaze. "Except when I asked, he said nothing was wrong."

"Maybe nothing is wrong," Hotaru said, shrugging. "You might be thinking too much."

"I'm not!" Natsume snapped. His sudden outburst startled her. Noticing Hotaru's shocked expression, Natsume refrained from raising his voice any further. "I know when something's wrong with him," he muttered, attempting to hide his pain that was quite evident on his face.

"Who was that?" Mikan asked, as the blond walked towards them.

"No one," Ruka replied, "No one that important."

Aoi arched a brow, "You guys talked for a while though. If it really was no one important, you wouldn't have talked for that long."

"It was a telemarketer," Ruka said sternly. "You know how annoying they can get."

Mikan and Aoi exchanged a glance but decided to drop the topic. Better being left in the dark than ruin the cheery atmosphere. Aoi stood up, carrying her empty glass. "Well, what do you guys want to do now? More Twister?" a small smirk formed on her lips. Mikan shook her head rapidly.

"We could play video games, if you guys are up for it," Ruka suggested.

Aoi gasped and clasped Mikan's hand, "Mario Kart!"

Mikan smirked, "I don't mean to sound cocky...but I'm really good at that game."

Aoi narrowed her eyes, "We'll see about that!"

Attempting to forget his conversation with Natsume, Ruka eagerly joined in on the girls' conversation as they made their way downstairs. Aoi and Mikan, fully aware of their friend's strange eagerness, had to resist the words from leaving their lips. Whoever was on the phone with Ruka a couple minutes ago, left a strong impression in just a mere couple minutes.

Mikan was astounded; the size of Ruka's basement was literally bigger than her very own living room. A giant 52 inch TV stood on the right of her; a few game controllers and games was scattered in front. Aoi bounded over, wasting no time in getting her hands on a controller. Her eyes glinted in excitement as Ruka dug through his large pile of games. Mikan glanced this way and that, completely absorbed in how modern his basement was. Unlike her, who specifically used her basement for storage purposes, Ruka's was quite clean and organized. It reminded her of a hang out place, something that her and her friends had back in their junior high days.

"Mikan!" Aoi shouted, "Who are you going to be?"

Snapping out of her thoughts, Mikan turned towards the brightly lit screen. To her amazement, Ruka and Aoi had already picked their characters. Mikan frowned, realizing that Ruka had "stole" her favorite character: Toad.

"No fair," Mikan narrowed her eyes, "I wanted to be Toad."

"There's always Toadette," Ruka suggested, hovering his curser towards the female version of Toad.

"Either way, King Boo is going to slaughter both of you." Aoi smirked.

After a few seconds of debating with herself, Mikan decided to go with Princess Peach. She may look girly but you should never judge based on appearances.

"This looks cute," Hotaru said, staring at a little mushroom pencil.

Natsume scoffed, "I never thought those words would ever come out of your mouth."

Hotaru's lips cracked a smile, "I guess you just don't know me that well yet."

"Oh please," Natsume rolled his eyes discreetly.

Hotaru picked up the pencil and surveyed the other cute items, "You know, if you're that worried about Ruka, we could just visit him."

Natsume frowned, "He's probably going to kick us out." he muttered.

"You shouldn't say that about your best friend," Hotaru replied nonchalantly.

"Are you defending him?" Natsume asked cooly.

"In a way, yes," Hotaru said, "Even if it wasn't him, I would still be defending whoever you're talking about."

"Who's the one talking?" Natsume snapped, "You're the one that treats your best friend like crap."

"I do not," Hotaru retorted.

"You clearly saw how upset she was when you decided to ditch her for me today," Natsume muttered. "Yet you did nothing about it."

"I tried to make a compromise. Besides, she can't...know about this yet."

Natsume frowned, "Are you running away?"

"I am not," Hotaru snapped, tightening her grip on the pencil.

"Then why don't you tell her?"

"Who's the one that said she was clearly 'such an annoying person that you would have to be an idiot to tell her anything?'" Hotaru replied nonchalantly.

His face turned a faint shade of red; instead of thinking of a witty remark, Natsume turned on his heel and walked down the aisle.

"Right, Aoi! Turn right!" Mikan screamed.

"I am! I am!" Aoi shouted, attempting to steer her character away from the obstacles.

Ruka, amazed that Mikan had actually beaten him at his own game, leaned back in a comfy chair. His eyes drifted from the screen, eyeing the brunette in curiosity. The Twister incident flashed in his mind thus making his heart flutter slightly. Ruka shook his head, expelling the thought from his mind. It was only a game. A childish game that was made to put people in awkward positions.

"WIN!" Mikan and Aoi jumped up simultaneously.

"That was freaking hard!" Aoi sighed, collapsing on the floor. "I swear I had to use more brain power for that than for my own schoolwork."

Mikan laughed, "I told you I would beat you guys!"

Aoi and Ruka narrowed their eyes, "Rematch!" Ruka demanded. Aoi's eyes widened slightly at his outburst. "I demand a rematch."

"Bring it on!" Mikan said, determination building up inside her.

"I can't believe you bought that stupid pencil," Natsume muttered.

"I don't think that's any of your business now, is it?" Hotaru replied. The sun had begun to set; splashes of orange, yellow and red were scattered throughout the sky. The colors melded together to form a beautiful sunset. Hotaru stopped, not liking this feeling that had been poking at her ever since Natsume's phone cal with Ruka. "Let's go visit him."

"Eh?" Natsume arched a brow.

"Don't make me repeat myself," Hotaru snapped.

Natsume smirked, "You seem to have a heart after all."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Hotaru spun around, glaring at her boss.

"Nothing," Natsume replied, walking past her. "Forget I said anything."

Hotaru rolled her eyes and reluctantly trailed behind him.

Mikan's jaw dropped. She, Sakura Mikan, the queen of Mario Kart, had just suffered a brutal defeat. Aoi couldn't contain her giggle fits; Ruka merely shrugged, biting back a smile as he stared at Mikan's outrageous expression.

"That was so unfair!" Mikan screamed.

"How was that unfair?" Ruka chuckled.

"Because!" Mikan shouted, flailing her arms in the air, "It just was!"

Aoi turned off the game, "So, when you win, that's when it's considered fair?" she laughed.

"I-that-you-" Mikan pointed at the dark screen, still unable to accept her defeat.

Ruka knew, that by chance, he had miraculously won that round. It wasn't because of his skill but because the brunette had somehow gotten distracted doing the most difficult part of the course. Even though Ruka was a kind child, it was amusing to see the flustered brunette attempting to keep her sanity together.

Aoi placed a hand over Mikan's mouth to prevent her from butchering the Japanese language any further. "You can rant to Ruka later, I'm going to go shower," Aoi giggled. "That's okay with you, right Ruka?"

"Yeah, of course," Ruka replied.

Aoi stepped into the shower; as she turned on the shower tap, a soft sigh escaped her lips. Water droplets rolled down her body, making her feel at ease.

Outside, Mikan's eyes surveyed through the large amount of books Ruka owned; his room was literally like a mini library. Ruka was sitting on his bed, glancing at the beautiful scenery outside his window.

Mikan stopped; her brows furrowed. She leaned over, blinking several times to make sure what she saw wasn't an illusion. Sitting on top of a pile of books was a photo album. But it wasn't just any photo album. Mikan felt an uncomfortable feeling stir inside her. The ocean blue photo album that was sitting so innocuously was making her break out into a cold sweat.

"Ruka?" Mikan spoke.

Ruka turned, "Yeah?"

The brunette picked up the photo album, "Can I look inside?" Ruka stared blankly at the album; he licked his lips and nodded. Mikan nodded as a way of thanking him and opened it.

A high school Ruka was smiling widely in the photo - radiating cheerfulness. To her amazement, an extremely attractive boy stood beside him; his hands were stuffed in his pockets and wore an irritated expression. Mikan squinted her eyes; she swore she had seen his face before.

"He looks so familiar," Mikan bit her bottom lip.

Catching her perplexed expression, Ruka walked over and peered over the brunette's shoulder. "Oh, that's Natsume standing beside me."

"EH?" Mikan jumped, nearly dropping the photo album. "N-Natsume?"

"Yeah," Ruka replied, "He doesn't look that different. Does he?"

Mikan bit her bottom lip. She didn't want to admit that Hyuuga Natsume, Hotaru's jerk of a boss, looked like a pretty boy back in his high school days. Mikan cleared her throat, "He certainly looks...better. I guess," she muttered.

Ruka laughed, "You're the first person to say that, you know. When girls see Natsume's high school pictures, it's usually all compliments and swoons."

Mikan scoffed, "I've seen better," she mumbled; her cheeks turning a light hint of pink. She turned the page and was greeted by a group photo full of smiling faces. As she scanned through the faces, Mikan's eyes widened slightly at the picture of her very own best friend, Imai Hotaru.

"Imai certainly looks different, doesn't she?" Ruka said.

Mikan never recalled seeing Hotaru with long hair before. But nonetheless, she looked absolutely stunning. "I never knew Hotaru had long hair."

"She grew it out for graduation," Ruka replied.

Mikan laughed, "I think short hair looks better on her though. I really can't imagine seeing Hotaru now with long hair."

"Really?" Ruka said softly. Surprised at his tone, Mikan turned to Ruka. His eyes were glued onto the picture but despite the warm look in his eyes, Ruka wasn't smiling.

"Is there...something wrong?" Mikan asked.

Ruka's head snapped up, "Oh, no. Nothing's wrong." he grinned. As much as Mikan wanted to ask, she decided otherwise. It wasn't any of her business and no one likes a nosy person. She turned the page, not expecting to see a photo fall onto the ground.

"What's this?" Mikan asked, leaning over. She picked up the fallen photograph; immediately, her eyes widened and before she could react, Ruka snatched the photo from her hands. He took the photo album and stuffed the photograph inside. 'Why is that there?' Ruka thought. He bit his bottom lip, as Mikan leaned upwards. "Was that..."

"It's nothing," Ruka replied.

Mikan was flustered but more or less, she felt angered. She didn't have time to stop the words that were now rolling off her tongue, "Were you and Hotaru dating?" she demanded. Ruka diverted his gaze, unable to look at the angry brunette. "Were you?" Mikan said, her voice rising.

"We...We did," Ruka replied hesitantly. "We didn't last long though."

A heavy sigh escaped her lips. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound so pushy."

"No," Ruka objected, "You didn't. Honest." Mikan walked over to Ruka's bed; unintentionally, she threw herself on the velvet sheets. Noticing her flustered expression, Ruka decided to change the topic. "Have you ever dated someone before?"

Mikan sat upright, "Kind of," she mumbled. "We didn't last long either."

Ruka ambled over and sat beside her. "You probably have a lot of questions regarding Imai and I, right?"

"S-sort of..." Mikan admitted. "I don't want to sound pushy though."

"Well, let's play twenty questions," Ruka suggested.

"Twenty questions?"

"Don't tell me you have never heard of the game."

"Of course I have!" Mikan huffed.

"I'm not sure if that's a yes or a no," Ruka laughed.

Mikan cracked a smile, "Okay, let's play."

"Ladies first."

"How...How long were you two together?" Mikan asked.

"Three years," Ruka replied.

"WHAT?" Mikan screamed. "That's a freakishly long time for a high school relationship!"

Ruka shrugged, "To me, it wasn't that long."

"You're crazy!" Mikan flailed.

"How long did your relationship last then?"

"T-Two months," Mikan replied, embarrassed.

"That's not bad."

"That's horrible compared to your three years!" Mikan sighed. "Where did you two meet?"

"Isn't that one obvious?" Ruka chuckled. "We met in school."

Mikan frowned, "I mean like...how did you two meet?"

"You do know that's two questions, right?"

"Whatever," Mikan muttered.

Ruka tapped his chin, "We actually met by chance."

"Chance?" Mikan questioned. "What do you mean?"

"She forgot her phone in the library one time. I was the one to find it," Ruka explained.

Mikan laughed, "It sounds like a Asian drama!"

"I know, right? That's what all of our friends used to say," Ruka chuckled. "What about you? How did you meet him?"

Mikan sighed, "It's not as romantic as you might think. To be honest, I actually despised him in the past."

"What made you change your mind?" Ruka questioned, completely confused.

"We hated each other ever since our first year of high school. But...after I found out about his situation, I felt sorry for him."

"You dated him out of sympathy then?"

The brunette sighed and nodded, admitting the sad truth. "You got it." Before Ruka could say anything else, Mikan butted in. "I learned my lesson though! I'm never making that mistake ever again."

Ruka smiled, "Everything comes with a learning experience, right? Anyway, it's your turn."

Mikan bit her bottom lip; the question that was on the edge of her lips was dying to come out. She fought back the urge; no, not yet. It's too soon. "H-how come you and Hotaru are...well...avoiding each other? At least, that's what it looks like. I'm sorry if I'm wrong!"

Ruka shrugged, "It's just...how it ended up. We still talk, I guess."

"I'm sorry..." Mikan said softly, noticing Ruka's pained expression.

"No, don't be," Ruka laughed, "You can ask about anything."

"Anything...?" Mikan asked.

"It's my turn though, remember?" Ruka smirked.

"Ask away," Mikan chuckled.

"Have you kissed the guy before?"

Mikan blushed - a heavy one at that. "N...No," she choked out.

"Really?" Ruka's eyes widened slightly.

"I know it's stupid that I haven't kissed him-" Mikan started. "To be honest, I haven't even had my first kiss yet. It sounds completely ridiculous and out of the question but it's true. I can't lie; well actually, I'm a bad liar but I-"

"Sakura."

"The fact that I didn't have any actual feelings for him I-"

"Sakura," Ruka said again.

Mikan stopped; it was then did she realize the close proximity between her and Ruka's face. His baby blue eyes was staring at her so intently that she couldn't look away.

"Y-yes?" Mikan asked softly. "I...Is there something on my face?"

Ruka pulled away, "You looked cute."

"Eh?" Mikan's cheeks turned a obvious shade of pink.

"How you were just going on and on," Ruka laughed, "You looked really cute."

Mikan placed both her hands on her cheeks. 'Stop blushing, stop it!' she thought. "T-thanks...I guess,"

"Did you really think I was going to do it?" Ruka asked.

Mikan frowned, "Y-you were so close! I really did thought that...you were going too."

Ruka leaned it, his breath tickled her lips, "Do you dare me too?"

Mikan gripped onto the velvet sheets. Ruka was teasing her; he had to be. "I dare you," she smirked.

A soft knock came at the doorway. Startled, both of them jumped. In an instant, Ruka's lips came crashing down on hers. His eyes widened, completely frozen to the spot. Mikan froze; her face turned a ghastly shade of white.

The door opened. Before they could pull away, a choked laughter resonated throughout the room. "I never thought you would sink this low, Ruka,"

Both of them pulled away; their hearts fluttering and shock was evident on their faces, as they stared at the two individuals at the doorway.

"N-N-Natsume," Ruka choked out.

"Hotaru..." Mikan gasped.

I'm going to confess that this chapter wasn't suppose to come out until tomorrow, but I couldn't resist XD Okay, from the next chapter onwards, everything is going to be written by me ;) Hopefully many of you stay patient!