Ok continuation of the last chappie!

Mikan pov

Since he seemed to have forgotten how, I returned the saccharin sweet smile to the Barbie Clone. "I tried puking my meals in ninth grade, but then this seems to be more your thing than mine." The laughter died, and Ruka choked on his swig of Red Bull while the rest of the group pretended to be conversing in lowered voices. The only sound, a chuckle, came from the place where Natsume Hyuuga sat. Luna frowned at me as if I'd spoken a foreign language.

"Did you just insult me?" The funny thing was she really meant it. I cut a glance skyward and sipped on my Coke. Thankfully, Ruka got a text message from his mother a little later.

Mrs. Nogi was hoping to see him again before she and her husband had to leave town for two days. Ruka looked at my glass of soda and asked me if I wanted to stay with the others. I downed the drink in three seconds, already standing. "Nope, I'm ready."

He shook his head, but smiled, and let me walk in front of him. "See you tomorrow, Rukkka," Barbie cooed. I ignored the rising heat of jealousy and resisted the urge to glare at her over my shoulder.

Instead, I counted the tiles on the floor to the exit. One, two, three…"How about it, Sakura?" Natsume Hyuuga said as I passed him. "Will you try out for the team or not?" I stopped, stunned that he was serious about it.

My eyes fastened on the easy smile he cast me. "I—" Ruka's hands on my shoulders gently pushed me forward. "You shouldn't tease her. She's just not made for soccer." My heels dug into the ground. Not because he tried to save me from answering, but because of her snorting laugh behind me. "Know what?" I turned to face Ruka with a determined glare. "I think I'll just give it a shot."

"You're kidding me." That didn't require a reply, but I raised my brows at him anyway. "Cool, so you're on the list. We meet at ten on the field." I turned to Natsume's amused tone and gave him a polite smile.

"I'll be there." A ball cap shadowed his face as he lowered his chin, but I could feel his gaze skim down to where my cut off jeans ended then travel slowly farther down my naked legs and back up. "Bring shoes." He smirked and winked at me.

This sent a shiver skating down my neck. Ruka shoved me out of the café before I could figure out why. We walked most of the way in silence, until we were close to home and I exploded right in his face.

"I can't believe you did that!" "What?" He looked at me baffled like a toddler who was robbed of his sucker. "You let that girl insult me and didn't say anything."

"You had everything under control. And she didn't really insult you." "Oh, right. You did! You called me an elephant."

Ruka took my hand and pulled me with him. "You know it wasn't meant like that. I don't see why you're throwing a fit now. You never liked soccer. When did that change?" "Today. Now I love it." "Yeah, I can see that. So badly that you want to be a player." He rolled his eyes. "Please, tell me you're not doing this because of Luna."

I'm doing it for you, idiot. But it would have taken more than a crazy afternoon to tell him that. I gritted my teeth. "The girl can get lost in her closet full of Barbie dresses."

Suddenly, his arm was wrapped around my shoulders, and he pulled me close to his side as we walked on. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're jealous of her."

"We have been best friends since we grew out of our diapers," I moaned, being slightly comforted by his embrace. "And I promise we'll still be when we need them again." His laugh rocked me with him.

"Luna is just a girl who likes to play soccer. But you're the only girl I know who can watch E.T. without bursting in tears." Even though there was this obvious note of admiration, I couldn't help but feel a chill sneaking around my heart the way he said it.

Like I was one of the guys and not a delicate girl like Luna. I wiggled out of his embrace, and a snort escaped me. Ruka quirked his brows. "What?"

"Nothing." "Are you mad at me?" "No," I grumbled. He waited a second, eying me with doubt. "Okay. Is this one of those moments where you say no but actually mean yes?"

"No." He slapped his hands to his face then slowly dragged them down, glancing helplessly at the sky. "You know I don't speak this language. Just tell me your problem." "There is no problem!" I ran up the path to my house, slamming the door behind me.

At nine thirty in the morning the following morning, I answered the door and found Ruka outside. Hands braced on the doorframe and head hanging, he cast me a sheepish grin as he looked at me from under those incredibly gorgeous lashes.

"Still mad?" I swallowed. The endless speech I had prepared for him the previous evening— including words like ignorant, idiot, and dumbass— had slipped from my mind. "Never again call me an elephant," was all that came out in a low grumble. "Promise." The silly boy pouted and even crossed his heart.

I smiled. "We're good then." Ruka's metallic green mountain bike leaned against our low picket fence. I grabbed mine from the shed, and we cycled to the high school soccer field together.

Close to fifty girls and boys from tenth to twelfth grade had gathered in front of one of the goal posts. Someone was handing out numbers as we joined them. Already a member of the team, Ruka didn't have to participate in the tryouts. But I lined up to get mine. "Forty-seven… Sakura," Natsume shouted to Hotaru, who wrote down names on a list.

He gave me the sticker, which I was supposed to pop on my chest, and smiled. So far, I hadn't seen Natsume without his ball cap, except on rare occasions, and then from far away, too. But today, the sun played in his dark hair that fell devilishly over his forehead, giving him a whole new appearance. His unexpected good looks took me unaware, and he caught me staring.

His matter of fact tone changed to a sly rumble. "Good luck, Sarkura." When everyone got their numbers, he raised his voice over the chatting crowd. "Okay, everybody. For a little warm-up, I want you to run three laps around the field then come back here."

Panic kicked me in the gut. "Is he kidding? Three laps?" "Don't say you already regret trying out for the team." I hated Tony's I-told-you-so chuckle as he dragged me from the trimmed lawn and started jogging next to me.

Swallowing my retort, I tried to match his pace. Impossible of course, when one of his strides measured two of mine. Shit, one lap seemed like ten miles. Screw Natsume and his warm-up. By the time I was done, I collapsed on the grass, hearing nothing but my own erratic breathing.

Thank the Lord, I had a chance to catch my breath as forty-six candidates attempted to score goals before it was my turn. Ruka got me a drink from the water cooler while I mimic a dead frog for several minutes.

My mouth and throat felt like the desert. As he stepped over me, his shadow was a welcome respite from the sun. I sat up, longing for the cup of water he held out to me. But when I grabbed the plastic cup, my heart sank. "So little?" I held the mouthful of liquid against the sun, turning it this way and that, seeing if it would miraculously become more.

"There's something seriously wrong with your head." "Not at all." He laughed. "But since you can hardly breathe after this short run, more water would make you sick. In fact, it would be better if you just rinsed your mouth with this and spit it out."

I offered him a sneer. "Can I spit it into your face?" Not waiting for his come back, I downed the little he granted me. The sip evaporated on my tongue in an instant. "Sakura! Your turn!" That was Natsume, and when I turned in his direction, the soccer ball came flying toward me.

Praise my mad reflexes. I caught it before it hit my churning stomach. Ruka pulled me to my feet and gave me quick instructions on how to hit the ball for best impact. Yeah, right. As if I really wanted to know that.

I placed the ball on the ground then kicked it toward KoKo who stood in the goal. It dropped to the lawn several feet in front of him then rolled on as if out for a relaxing stroll before it touched his left shoe. My beam at Ruka was full of faked enthusiasm. "Hey, what do you know, I got the direction right."

"Come on, Sakura." Natsume came jogging toward me with the ball under his arm. "I've seen you kick Nogi's butt harder than that." Beaten and exhausted, I was ready to capitulate, but when he offered me the soccer ball, his lips curved to a mocking smile, which prompted me to prove him wrong.

I accepted the challenge. He planted the ball in front of me, but then he had me taking several steps back. "Now take a short run and put a little more power in your thrust." "Ah no, don't let him make me do that," I begged Ruka and grabbed his shirt in growing horror.

"We both know I will just trip over the damn thing." The boys laughed, and Ruka pried my fingers loose from his collar. "No, you won't. Tell you what, if you hit KoKo straight in the chest, I'll buy you a chocolate decadence ice cream sundae. Deal?"

Ice cream? If there was the right incentive… "Deal." I started forward and kicked hard, aiming for the redhead guarding the goalie net. The soccer ball dropped neatly in Frederickson's arms.

"Well done!" Natsume yelled. Then he sprinted back to the low desk where Hotaru took her notes and called Sebastian Ramirez to try his luck. Unspeakably proud, I turned a smiling face at Ruka.

But my smile got lost the moment I glimpsed Barbie girl standing with him. Hands laced behind her back, she rocked on her heels in front of him. Her boobs pushed out so far, she could have staked him in the heart. "Will you be at Natsume's party later?" she asked him in a sickly sweet voice. I gulped. Natsume's parties were legend. I could only rely on the gossip in school of course, but rumor had it his father was friends with Chief Berkley, and so Natsume could turn up the music to a maximum all night.

Beer flowed in endless rivers, and he even had his own pool table. The closest I had been to his house was when we drove by to get to the library, but it looked big enough to bear several halls. Getting an invitation to one of those parties meant stepping up into the cool league.