I sat in the classroom together with Koko and Kitsu. They were still mad at me for throwing cold water at them this morning. They've been ignoring me all day. Aoi is also mad at me. I told her if she woke up, I would kiss her brother. Tsubasa on the other, he didn't seem too mad at me. I did put a headset on him before playing music on the highest volume. He didn't hear much before school, but his hearing is fine now. During class, I was bored, so I looked outside the window. Something caught my attention and curiosity. Natsume was talking to Hiroto-san. Hiroto-san was looking down at his feet and Natsume just looked mad. The bell rang and I walked out of the classroom. Koko and Kitsu still wouldn't talk to me. I had a free period so I decided to walk around campus a little. After walking for 15 minutes, I unconsciously went to the place I shouldn't go to.

"Come on, Natsume! You know how I feel!" Hiroto-san sounded like he was teary.

"Why did you attack her?" Natsume looked straight at him.

"Because! You were hugging her as you pushed me away!"

"I didn't hug her!"

"Yes, you did... Do you like her?"

"No."

"100% no?"

"I don't like her in a romantic way."

"But you like her."

"She's..." He paused. I felt nervous. "... Interesting."

I blushed for some reason. I thought it was wrong of me to overhear the conversation, so I turned around and started to walk as quietly as I could. I guess it didn't work, because I heard a fake cough and I stopped. I could feel the stare in my neck before slowly turning around. Two pair of eyes right at me; one murderous glare and one emotionless stare.

"What are you doing here?" Natsume didn't look away.

"Hmm.. Just taking a walk around campus. I didn't mean to listen to your conversation..." I looked down.

"That means you did listen..." Hiroto-san continued to glare at me.

"Hiroto, let it go."

"No!"

Natsume just sighed and walked away. It felt really awkward. Hiroto-san was still glaring at me, so it was hard to just walk away. I turned away, but before I could take another step before he interrupted.

"What do you want?" I heard him say.

I turned around, not surprised to find the glare still present on his face.

"I don't want anything."

"Not even Natsume?"

"No, not even him. I'm not after anything or anyone." I started to feel frustrated.

"I heard that he kissed you. Aoi told me."

I growled. Why did Aoi tell everyone?

"That was a dare." I told him.

"Nothing more?"

I nodded. "Nothing more."

Hiroto-san looked down at his feet. I was surprised when I saw him smile.

"I need to go now. Bye." I told him before I walked off.

I packed my books and was about to walk out of the classroom. I was stopped in the door. I looked up and saw Natsume.

"Are you done?" he asked.

I nodded.

"Remember the deal?"

I nodded again. I made a deal with Natsume yesterday night before going to bed. He'll continue to teach me how to drive if I do everything he tells me to without protesting. We walked to the parking lot and he drove to an empty parking lot a few blocks away. We switched places and started to practice. We practiced for hours and I must say; I've gotten better.

That night, we took take-out as our dinner. I was glad when the pizza arrived. We sat in the living room in our regular spots, watching television. It wasn't intentional, but we started to sit the way we sat that night when I couldn't sleep at the girls night; Koko and Kitsu on the floor, Tsubasa and Yuu in each their bean bag and on the couch you could find Ruka to the left, me in the middle and Natsume on the right. Aoi had went back home a few hours earlier, even though I asked her to stay a little longer. She wanted to, but school obligated her to return home. I overheard Natsume tell her to greet their parents on his behalf. I wondered when the last time he visited them, but I didn't dare to ask.

The weeks went by and my relationships with five of the guys were really great. The last guy on the other hand... Well, let's just say we have our ups and downs. We fight all the time and our relationship didn't really progress at all. At least he doesn't hate me anymore. Hiroto-san went home yesterday, after sending a text to Natsume with 'to Sakura-san' on the top. He apologized for the incident in the kitchen before threatening me about Natsume once again.

One day, I was at the supermarket together with Natsume. I was supposed to go alone, but apparently I had forgotten my keys, and he came after me. He went to get milk while I was looking at the fruits. I wanted a lot of fruits, but I knew I couldn't possibly eat it all myself.

Natsume came back and looked at me, curious. He picked up apples. "Ruka." He picked up the oranges. "Tsubasa." He picked up the cherries. "Yuu." He picked up two boxes of raspberries. "Koko and Kitsu." And last, he picked up strawberries. He didn't say anything to that.

"You like strawberries?" I asked. He didn't respond at once, but I got a nod. I smiled and told him they were my favourite.

After getting some bread and butter, we went to pay. We walked in silence back to the house. Somehow, it was comfortable.

I didn't do much that week. I just studied and cleaned my room once. I also cleaned around the house, since it looked like a huge mess. I asked Ruka if it was okay if I decorated the house a little, and since it was okay, I decorated with flowers and candles. It looked like a real home when I was done. Well, a home that includes a girl. But it wasn't girly. It still smelled like dude. At least I was friends with all of them now.

Who did I try to fool? Friends? HA! I'm laughing. Like I could be friends with such an arrogant jerk! It's only been a day since I thought we were friends... no, hours! He already proved me wrong.

"Why?"

He ignored me.

"Answer me."

He ignored me.

"Fine, be like that!"

He ignored me.

I stomped up the stairs and slammed my door shut after entering my room. I placed a chair in front of my door to before I lied down on my bed. I felt the tears running down my cheeks. I heard the front door slam shut. Why did he do such a thing? I didn't deserve that. Did I do something wrong? I groaned. I heard a knock on my door.

"Mikan..." Ruka said with a gentle tone.

"Mikan-chan, will you let us in?" Yuu asked.

I didn't answer.

"What happened?" Kitsu asked. I could hear the worry in their tones and I smiled weak. I wiped my tears away, walked over to my door and removed my chair before opening it. I saw the five guys standing at my door. Their eyes showed worry and I felt guilty.

"I'm fine, guys. Thanks."

"What happened between you?"

It was silent for a tiny while, but I broke it. "It's nothing... I don't want to talk about it." I looked at my feet.

"Okay. Do you want to go out and eat with us? We're getting pizza." Tsubasa offered me, trying to tempt me by having pizza. I gave them a weak smile.

"You know, I'm not really hungry. I think I'll take a nap, I'm tired."

"Okay. Sweet dreams."

"Thanks. See you later."

I closed my door and leaned my back against it. I hated to feel this way.

I slept for hours and it felt great. I felt refreshed and later I went out for a walk in the evening. It wasn't cold outside, but it wasn't warm either. It was comfortable. It was a small breeze making my hair fly in the air and tickle my skin. I walked on a path next to a river. I heard the stream in the river. I don't know how, but I liked that sound. It made me relax a little. I started to hum a son my parents used to sing me to sleep. That was, before they left me. Not many people knew my past; only Yoichi, his parents and my old neighbour. I never told anyone that my parents actually ran away, leaving me with Yoichi and his family. They left me. They left me. Just thinking about it made me want to cry. Maybe it's just like Natsume said. They were so sick of me that they left me with Yoichi's family. The only thing they left behind was a note with the words 'we're sorry'. I touched my cheeks and wiped my tears away. I sighed and shook my head, hoping the thoughts would disappear. I kept on walking, until I came to a bridge, where I walked into the middle of it and leaned on the face. I saw my reflection in the water. Seeing myself in the water, I felt I didn't look like myself. I tried to smile, but didn't manage. I felt awful again. Like someone took all my energy and literally dragged it out of me. I stood there, looking down the stream for a long time. I didn't even notice that the sun was already going down. Within 30 minutes, it would be dark. It was at least a 45 minute's walk back, so I should be going. I couldn't. My feet wouldn't move, it was like they were glued to the bridge. I jumped a bit when my cell phone started to vibrate in my pocket all of a sudden.

Ruka calling.

"Hello, Ruka?"

"Mikan! Where are you? You've been gone for more than 4 hours."

"I have?" I heard the surprise in my own voice. "I'm on my way back now."

"Let me meet you somewhere on the way. It will be dark soon."

"I'm okay. I'll head back soon, so just wait there."

"Mikan. We're worried."

"Thank you, but you don't need to. I'm fine and I'll be back soon. I promise."

"Okay." Ruka still didn't sound convinced. "But call me if anything happens."

"Of course. I'm already walking towards the road."

"On a path by a river."

"Okay. Hurry back. We ordered dinner, it should be here in a while."

"Sounds great. Bye."

"Bye."

I hung up and started to walk a little quicker. I walked for 30 minutes, when I saw three figures coming my way. It was dark, so I couldn't see their faces. When they were near enough, I sighed.

"I told you that you didn't need to meet me."

"But it's already dark outside. You're along and a girl." Tsubasa grinned. I looked over at Yuu and Ruka, they were smiling as well. I smiled and thanked them. We started to walk again.

"Are you feeling any better?" Yuu asked me. The others looked at me as well. Their eyes showed how worried they were.

"I'm fine. I told them, even if I didn't know myself. I still felt tired and sad, but not broken. It's not that easy to break me. We walked back and I just listened to the boys talking. I didn't have anything to say after all. I was glad when they didn't make me a part of the conversation. When we walked through the door, I was immediately squished by Koko's hug. He had leapt forwards and shouted my name after I had taken a step through the door. We all laughed and went to the living room. Natsume wasn't there. We ate and watched a movie.