xi. Secret Place
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"What are you doing?" Startled, Mikan looked up and saw a lean dark-haired boy standing in the doorway. He was frowning. Waving with her cell phone, she rolled her eyes. "Duh. Texting." she drawled.
Still frowning, he approached her. She was sitting on a large bed. Judging by the way it swayed, it was a waterbed. Mikan thought that was very cool. She'd always wanted to try sleeping in one. "Yes, I can see that." the boy replied, crossing his arms, and stared at her darkly.
"Then why do you ask?" Without bothering to wait for a response, Mikan went back to texting. just met a rly cute guy. 2 bad hes not 2 bright. When a hand suddenly seemingly appeared out of nowhere and grabbed her phone, Mikan's eyes snapped up. Indignantly, she demanded the boy give her her phone back.
Reading the text, he blushed sightly, then he bristled. "What's that supposed to mean, I'm not too bright?"
"Well, not very bright usually means a person is not very clever. You know, kind of...dumb, but not too bad?" She stood up and tried to get a hold of her cell phone. The boy dodged her. "I know what it means." he retorted, annoyed.
"Whatever." Mikan started a new attempt at retrieving her phone but again, unsuccessfully. "You'll get this back once you answer me one question!" the boy told her. "Shoot." Mikan told him angrily.
"What the fuck are you doing in my room?"
"I thought we already covered that." Mikan tossed her hair over her shoulder. "I was texting."
"Yes, we established that." the guy said slowly, as if she was the one being daft. "But why did you feel the need to do that in my room? And how the fuck did you get in?" Shrugging, Mikan pointed at the window. "You left your window unlocked." she explained.
"You are aware that breaking and entering is a felony, right?" He handed her back her phone. "God, don't be such a goody two-shoes." Mikan exclaimed, falling back onto the bed and checking a text Sumire had just sent her. The boy looked offended. Apparently he had never been called a goody two-shoes before.
"You are such a nutjob." he informed her testily. "And stop texting, we were having a conversation!"
he worth going after?
not rly. Mikan replied. When his words registered, it was her turn to bristle. "Who are you calling a nutjob, you asswipe?"
wanna meet up?
sure
"Anyway, I gotta run. Bite me." And with that, she left.
"You really should start locking your windows!" Gracefully, Mikan lowered herself through the rude boy's window, settling down on his windowsill.
"Clearly." he replied drily. He was laying on his bed, reading a magazine. "What are you reading? Porn?" she asked.
"Curiosity killed the cat." the boy said. Pouting, Mikan sat down on the bed next to him, sighing. "Boys are such jerks." she lamented, inspecting his room. "Ohh, you have a lava lamp! I love those." She walked over to it and turned it on.
Looking befuddled by her sudden chance of topic, he sat up. "So, what brings you here, to my humble abode?" he inquired. Mikan pondered if she should tell him the truth. But what fun would be in that? She decided to keep it to herself that she just longed for some company. Her parents were travelling, and all her friends were either on vacation or busy with other things. She quite enjoyed riling up that boy.
"I'm running from the mob. They're chasing me." she lied, wandering through his room and stopping occasionally to finger things. "Could you stop running around please? You're making me dizzy." the boy snapped. "And stop lying. Your story is a bunch of crap."
"Wow, no need to get angry, honey." Mikan replied, apparently angering him even more with her patronizing choice of words. "Can you not call me that, please?" He ground out through gritted teeth. He found her infuriating.
"Sure thing, hun." Mikan giggled, and sat down on the bed, next to his feet. "Anyway, what was your name again? I didn't catch it."
"I didn't give it." he grumbled, and started at her intently. Mikan fidgeted under his gaze. "Sooo, wanna make out?"
She laughed at his scandalized look. "Just kidding, cutie." Okay, she might have been a little serious. She was still sad about her breakup from Tsubasa and could use a little distraction. "It's Natsume." he said all of a sudden.
"What is?" Mikan asked, pulled out of her thoughts. "My name." he clarified.
"It is a real nice name.", she told him. The she got up. "See you around."
"So, I'm trying to find a pattern in your random visits. Or do you just drop by randomly whenever you feel the need to annoy someone?" Natsume casually leaned in the doorway, only wearing a towel. He was watching Mikan, who was using his laptop, which had been sitting unattended at his desk when she'd climbed in through his window earlier.
"Hm? Oh, good look with that, it's pretty much random." Looking up, she spotted him at the door, and didn't have the decency to look away, staring unabashedly at his naked torso. "Aww, c'mon, don't tease me like that. You know, you could just go without the towel!" she whined, winking at him.
Natsume snorted, and turned to the closet to hide his blush. "Do you always prey on unsuspecting guys?" he inquired conversationally, sending her a look that was a mix between annoyance and mild amusement. "I make it a habit only to spy on the good ones." Mikan replied, flopping onto her back and staring at the ceiling while he got dressed. (She wasn't completely rude, after all.)
Breaking the silence, she said. "I'm lonely."
Furrowing his brows, Natsume looked over and Mikan gave him a smile. The first genuine one she'd given anyone in weeks. "Feel like making out?" Again, Mikan had a feeling he was thrown off by her sudden change of subject. Smirking, he approached her. "Careful, I might just take you up on that offer someday." he warned. "I can't wait." Mikan replied breezily, but she felt her skin growing hot. "What did I miss? Tell me about your week."
Letting himself fall on the bed next to her, he pondered her question for a while. "Nothing, really. I spent most of my week wondering if and when the mystery girl who loves to break in through my bedroom window would stop by, that's pretty much about it."
"It's not breaking in if you're expecting me, my dear." Mikan protested, and gave Natsume a sly smile. He rolled his red eyes. "Wanna play a game?" Mikan suggested, sat up, and rested her chin on Natsume's shoulder. "Sure." he said.
"I'm going to give two statements; one is the truth, the other one is a lie, and you have to guess which is which. Got it? Okay, I'll start. One: I've been living alone for the past few weeks, because my parents are on a safari. Two: I have a super-hot boyfriend."
"I'm gonna go with the second one being the truth." Natsume ventured, but Mikan had a feeling he was just trying to figure out if she was single or not. "Wrong, silly." she giggled. "Your turn."
"One: I live with only my mom and my sister. Two: You coming to visit me is the highlight of my week."
Grinning, Mikan said "That's too easy. Clearly, me coming here is the highlight of your week. And you only live with your mother and sister. I can see a picture of the three of you, taken on the beach, sitting over there." She pointed at a framed photograph sitting on his bedside table. "You're only supposed to give one truthful statement, you genius. Okay, my turn again. Either I came into your room the first time because I was lonely, saw you through the window, and decided you were good material to pass the time with, or, I really wanna kiss you right now." Mikan blew into Natsume's ear softly, and hugged him from behind.
His voice sounded dry when he answered "Clearly, you are breaking the rules as well. I can tell you weren't telling me a lie just now. As punishment, I'm not going to grant you your wish now." He disentangled himself from her, and got off the bed.
Pouting, Mikan watched him. "Considering if you should take a cold shower, are you?" she teased him. Natsume shot her an annoyed glare. "Yeah, but I only just came out of the shower, and am not going to take another one."
"I guess I'd better leave then." Mikan sighed, and turned to the window. "See you around, honey."
"Are you just going to peek in through the window all day, or are you actually going to come in? You are such a stalker."
Grinning, Mikan climbed through the window, and stood next to Natsume, who was sitting on his desk, doing homework. Not even bothering to greet him, she flopped down onto his lap, successfully obscuring his view of what he was writing. "Hey, I'm trying to work here." His voice sounded only mildly annoyed. Putting her arms around his neck, Mikan buried her head on his shoulder. "Sorry I couldn't drop by earlier, I know we haven't seen each other in over a week."
"I hadn't noticed." Natsume murmured, picking up his pen back up and continuing staring at his page. "Still with the lying, I see." Mikan said. When he didn't answer, she frowned. "Excuse me, why are you completely disregarding the girl sitting on your lap?" she pouted. "Contrary to what you might think, the world doesn't revolve around you." Natsume snapped, causing Mikan to get up. Her arms crossed over her chest, she stared him down. "I said I was sorry I couldn't come any sooner, okay? No need to be such a jerk about it. God, Natsume, I'm not one of those girls who completely give up their lives if they meet a guy they might potentially, probably, maybe like. Geeze, get a grip. But I guess if you don't want me here, I might as well leave again."
Preparing to leave, she turned her back on her. The arms wrapping around her waist from behind took her completely by surprise, as did Natsume carrying her to his bed, throwing her down on it, and propping himself on his hands next to her head, looming above her body.
"I didn't say I wanted you to leave." he clarified."But Jesus, girl, I don't even know your name!"Overcoming her initial surprise, Mikan smiled. "Would you like to know it, then? All you had to do was ask, Natsume. It's..."
But Mikan didn't get the chance to give Natsume her name, because in that moment his door flew open, and a girl rushed into the room. When she saw the two of them on the bed, she squealed. "Mom!" she screamed, apparently overjoyed. "Natsume has his girlfriend over, and they're having sex!" Mikan stared at the girl with wide eyes, but she cracked her a smile when she heard Natsume muttering curses under his breath. "I'm sorry if I'm intruding or anything." the girl said, not even blushing. She strutted over, shoved Natsume off Mikan, and pulled her up and into a hug. "I'm Aoi, Natsume's awesome sister. And you are?"
Returning the hug, Mikan beamed at Aoi. "I'm the girl Natsume's is going to fall desperately in love with. He just doesn't know it yet."
"Oh hell." Natsume groaned from the bed, burying his face in his hands. "Aww." cooed Aoi, and engulfed Mikan in another hug. "You would be such an awesome sister-in-law. I can already tell I'm going to love you!" Aoi, who looked like the female version Natsume, tall, lean, dark-haired and red-eyed, squealed again.
Before Aoi could launch into a doubtlessly mortifying speech about Natsume's toddler years, a woman strode into the room, smiling like Aoi. She, too, looked like Natsume, and was undeniably the siblings' mother. Giving Mikan a welcoming smile, she shook her hand, and gave Natsume a stern look. "I didn't hear you come in, honey." she said to Mikan, then turning to Natsume. "Why didn't you ever introduce us to your lovely girlfriend?"
"Oh." Mikan shrugged. "I came through the window. Don't be too hard on Natsume, he's really shy about the whole thing." Aoi and her mother nodded understandingly. "So, what's your name?" Aoi inquired curiously. "Yes." Natsume chimed in drily. "Why don't you tell us your name, honey?"
Aoi gave her mother a smile that clearly said Aren't those two the cutest? Smiling, Mikan took Natsume's hand. "It's Mikan." she replied, and squeezed it. "And, how long have you two been dating? You know, Natsume never tells us anything."Natsume's sister and mother nodded disapprovingly, giving Natsume disappointed looks.
"Oh, I don't know. I don't quite keep track of such things. But Natsume would know, wouldn't you, honey?" Natsume, who had sat up by now, gave his supposed girlfriend a wry look. "It's hard to distinguish between meeting Mikan for the first time and starting to date her. The lines are kind of blurred." He pointedly emphasized Mikan's name. "And if you would excuse us now. We were in the middle of...something."
Both dark-haired women nodded sympathetically, shared a knowing smile, and, after having Mikan promise to stop by for dinner some time, they left. "I love them." Mikan exclaimed once they'd left the room.
"Can we continue where we left off now?" Natsume asked, and smirked. "No, sorry, babe. Gotta run." Mikan blew Natsume a kiss, climbed through the window, and left a frustrated Natsume in her wake.
Ringing the doorbell for the first time, Mikan felt slightly nervous. When Aoi opened the door and smiled at her, all her nervousness evaporated.
"So, I've been thinking I should get your cell phone number. Right?" Aoi said when she let Mikan in, linking their arms. "Oh, yeah, definitely." Mikan said, and entered her phone number into the cell Aoi handed her. "Natsume is upstairs." Aoi told her. "And you're lucky. Mom isn't home and I'm going to head out in a sec." Picking up her bag, she turned to the stars and screamed. "Natsume's, I'm leaving. But Mikan just arrived, so you two can have loud, unrestrained sex!" Kissing Mikan on the cheek, and giggling slightly to herself, Aoi left.
Natsume waited for her at the top of the stairs. "Your sister is the bee's knees." Mikan gushed and pushed past Natsume into his room. "There's something so wrong about Aoi making comments about my sex life." Natsume complained, ignoring Mikan, and scowled. "I thought that was all boys ever think about." Mikan teased him, giving Natsume a smoldering look.
"That's such a cliché." he snorted. "But anyway, I would just like to point out that I'm not happy with where this relationship is headed."
"Oh? Please enlighten me, my dear." Good-humouredly, Mikan took a few steps, until she stood in front of him, only a few inches separating them. "I would greatly appreciate it if you could give me your number, or at least your address, so I can have means of contacting you." he explained, putting his hands on her waist. Mikan arched her eyebrows. "I take it you're serious about us?"
"Well, at least I'm interested in seeing where we're headed. I'm not saying I'm in love with you or anything, but I will admit I like you. Somewhat."
"Oh, you're a terrible liar, Natsume. I happen to know you're smitten with me." Now it was his turn to arch his brows. "Sure about that, are you?"
Lowering his face, his lips almost touched hers. Moving to bridge the distance between them, Mikan arched her back, trying to reach them. "Oh no, my dear. Before I do you the honor of being kissed by me. " ("You're so full of shit." Mikan interjected.) "I want you to promise me to never to call me my dear, or honey, or any other horrible term of endearment you may come up with ever again. Are we clear?"
Pretending to pout, Mikan protested. "Doesn't it turn you on when I use them, honey?"
"Now, it makes me fucking mad." he growled. "Your not my mother, and you're not twenty years older than me, so please, please refrain from using them again. Ever."
"Fine, fine. But only because I like you so much. Now, do I get a reward? I've been wanting to kiss you since I first saw your hot lava lamp." Pulling her closer to him, he smirked. "Oh, so you're only with me because of my lava lamp?"
Licking her lips, Mikan let her hands wander across his back. "You got it." she breathed, and closed her eyes when Natsume finally pressed his lips to hers, silencing all the thoughts she'd been having.
A/N: Written 10/2013. So this was kind of random, but I liked it. I hope you do too. Thanks for the reviewes I received, and feedback for this chapter will be appreciated as well. Thanks to Gabsterela for the kind review. ;)