Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice.

I lay in bed staring at the ceiling as the clock ticked by. One minute, two minutes, thirty minutes…

Time was flying by.

I buried my face in the pillows willing my mind to stop thinking but I might as well have told the earth to stop spinning.

I sigh as I listen to the ever moving clock, I can't stop it, my time has been frozen for too long, and I forgot the feeling of what it felt like to grow each moment, to go through the promise of a new day, to be frustrated at the way time seems to slip through fingers sometimes.

Suspended in time that's what it is, my soul has been frozen for three years now, not growing, never changing. I've been the same body less girl.

So residing in someone else's body has made me forget, who I am, what I am, and what I came to do.

I have ten days left.

"Luna!" It takes me a moment to realize she's calling me; I pull the blankets higher above my head to cover my whole body.

Sumire's footsteps get closer and she snarls at me, "Get up Luna!" She tries to pry the blankets off me by force but I hold strong.

With an angry huff she pulls the blanket along with me off the bed. I land hard on my bottom and yelp. Rubbing my sore butt I get up annoyed and try to jump back in bed but Sumire holds on to my arm and starts dragging me away from my sanctuary.

"No!" I yell at her. "Let go!" I beg this time.

She stops and turns to me with exasperated eyes, "Why? So you can go back to bed?"

I nod hard as I try to shake my arm away but she only tightens her grip, the strength this girl posses could possibly rival a wrestler, she speaks softly to me now, "You've missed a whole week of school, I'm not going to let you miss another one."

"I don't want to go!" I realize I sound like a child but she doesn't know that a very angry boy is waiting for me behind the walls of Gakuen Alice.

"Yes, yes, the tantrum age, well don't you worry dear sister, I'm here and I'm more than happy to forcefully drag you to school if I have to." And she starts dragging me to the bathroom where I hear the sound of rushing water.

I widen my eyes and start hastily pulling away even though I know that my strength or rather Luna's was no match for Sumire's.

She drags me towards the tub and with an evil glint in her eyes releases my hand. The moment she does I try to run away but four maids grab a hold of me and each holding on to my four limbs throw me into the bathtub.

My sore bottom hits the warm water and I yelp splashing water everywhere as I try to escape but the maids hold on tight and four against one is hardly a fight.

I come out of the bathroom pristine and spotless wearing my school uniform and glare at Sumire who stands there smiling smugly.

"I could have taken a bath myself." I say in a hard voice.

Sumire nods understandingly, "I'm aware." She grabs my wrist and starts pulling me downstairs. I let her, there's no point in fighting, might as well go, I sit in the car and stare out the window getting ready for impending doom.

When the car stops moving and I see the familiar building in front of me, I turn and glower at the beautiful green eyed girl, "I'm going to kill you."

Sumire yet again drags me out of the car and towards the building as she giddily replies, "no time."

If only you knew.

With an effort I keep my head down as we walk to class, I don't want to make eye contact with certain red eyes. I grimace as I realize where my seat is and I grab Sumire's shoulder.

"Switch seats with me." She looks at me with confused eyes, "What? Why?" she asks.

I bite my lip, "I just don't want to sit there." I look at her pleadingly, willing her to understand my predicament. Finally she nods and walks away to sit in my spot as I take over hers next to Koko.

He grins at me and I smile back as I sit in Sumire's chair.

I feel something boring to the back of my head and having a pretty good idea what it is and where it's coming from, I try to ignore it.

Thankfully Narumi sensei walks in then and the class quiets down. He grins at all of us and announces, "Good morning everyone! We're having a transfer student today."

The whole class looks up and I hear giggles, I turn, a bit distracted to see what the commotion is. A brown haired boy with a lanky body and warm green eyes walks in. I almost fall off of my seat as I recognize the boy.

He stops next to Narumi sensei and bows in front of us all, "Hello everyone, my name is Kitsuneme, but I prefer that you call me Kitsu, please."

I register that the female population is a bit too excited at this and that I can still feel a piercing gaze at the back of my head but my attention is claimed by this new transfer student and as our eyes meet I feel the unspoken question answered, he's here for me.

When the lunch bell rings I'm the first one out of my seat as I walk over to Kitsuneme's desk before any of the other girls who have been looking in his direction like hungry wolves can.

"Come with me, I need to talk to you." I say in an even voice while I stare at him with evident anger in my eyes.

I can tell he's trying to look for a way out of this, probably fearing my wrath but he hangs his head and sighs, probably deciding to get it over with. Good choice.

He gets up and I grab his hand, I distinctly hear gasps around the room as I pull him away from the classroom, for a moment I look back and lock eyes with red ones that hold a familiar expression in them, I've seen it many times before, but at the moment I can't pin point what it is.

I yank him towards the roof stairs and haul him inside. We walk out into the open sky and cold wind sends goosebumps up my arm. I turn to him angrily and pierce him with a glare.

He holds up his hands and I see small droplets of sweat accumulate on his forehead, "Okay, before you get angry I need you to know that I came to help you."

"Help. Me?" I bite out.

He gulps before he starts speaking again, "Yes. Mikan, I'm supposed to be protecting you but I don't know how to do that when you're jumping off buildings and running into traffic lights."

I bite my cheek as I realize what he's talking about, "I can fly now, I didn't just jump."

The brown haired boy rolls his eyes, "That was luck Sakura, I don't know how you spontaneously learned to fly but you and I both know that it wasn't planned when you jumped off the roof."

I let out an exasperated sigh, "Fine, but I can fly now so there's no need."

"I wasn't sent with you because you can't fly, I was sent because you're still a novice and you need protection." He says calmly.

I press my lips together to keep from uttering something mean, knowing I'll only regret it later, "So coming and posing as a student is how you plan on doing that?"

"I'll be by your side and besides, you're doing the same thing." He retorts.

I sigh heavily, "Fine." I say and turn away ready to walk back to class, I don't get a step away before he grabs my wrist and calls out again. But I don't notice both because the roof door opens and a certain dark haired boy walks out. Our eyes meet and I lose all feeling. I silently kick myself, it's been a week and I'm already melting by him simply looking at me.

He looks away and his eyes land on my wrist that Kitsuneme is still holding on to. I pull my arm away jerkily and turn my eyes back to Kitsuneme, "I-I'll see you later then."

Keeping my eyes on the floor I make a beeline for the door downstairs, but I don't get to go through it because a very annoyed boy is leaning against it like it's the most natural thing in the world, blocking my escape.

I look at him but he's not looking at me, his eyes are locked on Kitsuneme who stares back with equal ire and annoyance in his gaze.

When he notices me looking at him too, his face clears and he holds up his hands, "Ok, ok, I get it, a lover's quarrel." He starts walking towards the door and Natsume steps aside to let him through.

I think about following him and mentally calculate my chances, but all thoughts of that disappear when the door shuts loudly behind my green eyed protector.

I turn to Natsume who looks at me with emotionless eyes and an expectant look in his features. I swallow thickly and mutter lamely, "hi."

He crosses his arms, still leaning on the door and asks in an eerily calm voice, "Where have you been?"

Straightforward and awkward, so typical of him, I smile pathetically, "I've been sick." I lie knowing he'll be able to see through it.

He plays along, "Really, angels get sick too?" his tone is sarcastic but hearing the word angel come out of his mouth makes me hate the word.

I fumble for words, "I-I still have a human host!"

He nods deeply and steps closer, "Well, are you feeling better now?"

I take a step back to keep at least a foot between us, "Umm, still a little sick."

He takes two steps closer with my every small step back, "Really? Let me see." He brings up his hand and touches my forehead. My cheeks heat up and I quickly slap his hand away with a curt I'm fine.

He brings his hand back down to his side mechanically and I catch hurt in his eyes before he conceals it and masks his face with the same expressionless look he wears every day.

I ignore the guilt in my stomach as I try the exit again, "well then, I'm actually in a hurry."

He blocks my path again and steps close enough that only an inch lies between our bodies, "Where to?"

I sigh in defeat as I slump, "Let me go, Natsume."

Something moves in his eyes and he presses his lips together, "Already made that mistake once, I'm not planning to repeat it again."

I bite my lip at his honesty and realize that there is no escape, I have to tell him now even if I have to watch him hurt but before I can pour out the truth and secrets I've kept from him for more than two months, he talks again, "Who is he?"

I furrow my eyebrows, "What?" I ask, confused.

Natsume looks away as he answers, "The guy just now."

Still confused, I ask him, "Who, Kitsuneme?"

He doesn't look at me but I hear his voice go hard as he replies, "Yeah, him."

I raise an eyebrow quizzically but reply, "He's a friend,"

Natsume looks back at me now, "Just a friend?" I'm taken aback as I recognize the emotion in his eyes that he wore earlier too when I dragged Kitsu away from the classroom. He used to wear the emotion a lot, quiet openly even, it shown on his face every time I flirted with Koko for his bagel or talked about books with Ruka or laughed with Yuu. It was jealousy.

"Are you jealous?" I ask even though I know the answer, the revelation would've brought me great joy and pleasure for teasing him once upon a time but all I felt right now was a sad frustration at his quick emotion.

He narrows his eyes at my exasperated expression, "And if I am?"

I look away, "Don't be, he's just a friend."

I see from the corner of my eye as Natsume's shoulders relax just a bit and he walks away from the door and out into the open sky. He sits next to the steel fence that keeps students from falling off the roof to their imminent death.

I look at the door and consider running but I know that I won't get even five steps down if Natsume doesn't want me to. I sigh deeply and walk over to join him. I stand in front of him and look down, "I need to tell you something."

He looks at me with empty eyes that make my heart quiver with hurt, "okay." He says, by the sound of it, I get the feeling that he already knows what's coming.

I sigh and kneel before him reaching for his hand; I clasp it with mine and hold tightly hoping it will keep me and my emotions from hay wiring.

I start from the list I found and how his name was on it, I tell him about how I watched him from the crystal ball, how I was given the task for one hundred days, how Kitsuneme helped me and became my protector on earth. I told him about Luna and Sumire and Hotaru. I even told him how I saw his midnight escapades and how each day I watched him grow a little taller and more broken.

When I was done I took a deep breath and looked up at him to see his expression but his face was covered by his bangs, I wanted to reach out and push them back to see what emotion he was wearing but I fisted my hand. After a moment, I loosened my grip on his hand and started pulling away but he grabbed it fiercely and pulled it hard towards him. I lost my balance and fell against his chest. He pulled me closer and caged me with his arms, situating his face in the crook of my neck.

My heart beat frantically and I tried to pull away knowing how dangerous it was right now and how much it would hurt me later, but he only held me tighter against him and if I moved any more I was sure I wouldn't be able to breathe. But I didn't want to move anymore because I knew why he held me, his body was shaking.

"Natsume?" I asked after a moment of silence, did I say too much?

"How long?" He whispered softly. I didn't need to ask him what he was talking about, I already knew, "Ten days."

I heard a small intake of breath as I said this and closed my eyes. I didn't want to think of the parting, I know I would start crying if I did. After minutes of silence as the words I uttered absorbed around us, Natsume started loosening his grip on me. I crawled out of his arms and situated myself next to him, mimicking his position as I leaned against the fence too.

I turned to him, "What now?" I asked although I already knew what I was going to do but I needed to know what he wanted, he let out a deep breath and looked up at the sky, "I don't want to think about it."

"But-" I started but I was cutoff yet again as his head fell on my lap, my breath caught as he turned his face to the side and I looked down to see the side of his face on my knees. I was going to sputter for him to get up and that my legs weren't his personal pillow but my breath caught and I almost choked when I saw a small black earring on his left ear peaking out from the mass of raven hair.

"Wha-what's this?" I touched his ear and poked at the piercing like it was an alien form.

He didn't flinch or make any movement as I touched the ear piercing with my index finger, he spoke in an emotionless voice, "It's an ear piercing. I got it after your…accident. It was either this or I shave my head. I actually like my hair so I took on the piercing."

I bit my lip hard; I had missed this part, "Why did you do it? Is there anything else I should know about? Like tattoos or self inflicted scars?"

He turns his head to look at me and I could see the emotion at the corner of his eyes, he was trying to keep it away but it was breaking through, "No tattoos, I do have scars, but they're not self inflicted, they're from…fights. I wanted to feel after you left, I could only feel numbness, anything would've been okay, and pain was the first I looked to."

I felt my heart break into pieces at this, in a controlled voice I asked him, "And? Did it hurt?"

He looked away, unable to hide the emotion in his eyes any longer and I looked blankly at the stupid piercing again, "Yeah, at first. It bled and even swelled up and got infected."

I swallowed thickly, "And now?"

He was quiet for a moment before he replied softly, "Now there's just a hole."

I bit my tongue and tasted blood as the double meaning behind those words came to me. Tears brimmed at the corners of my eyes and before I could stop them they spilled over. One fell down on Natsume's cheek and he looked up at me in shock. I looked away and hastily got up as his head hit the floor. I started running towards the door, I didn't want to think, my heart was breaking and all I wanted to do was cry and break over and over until there was nothing left.

I didn't make it out the door because he was there again, blocking my path, I could see it in his eyes, his time had frozen with mine. Even though he aged and grew, he didn't feel, my memory had stopped his clock.

"Move Natsume." I say in a thick voice.

"Why, so you can run away again?" He asks clearly but I could see the white rage that was just under the surface.

I look at him with tear filled eyes, "Yes."

His expression broke and I saw the different emotions break out, anger, sadness, loneliness and desperation.

He grabbed me roughly and kissed me hard, the kiss tasted like salty tears and all I felt was despair, mine mixed with his and the empty feeling of where I left a gaping hole in this beautiful boy's heart.

A/N: Hello after so long. So maybe some of you didn't notice but yes, I did start another story even though I haven't finished this one. After the summer I actually accumulated a tiny writer's block and I know that's no excuse but I really didn't know how to go on without making it seem overly cliché. So after a time I just gave up and sort of forgot about this when I started working on the other story. BUT then I got a review the other day from a very sweet reviewer (hi,cakeluver2) and that made me read all the other reviews that I got from you guys and so: writer's block meet guilt. And so this chapter was born. I do enjoy this story and I love it very much even though I cringe at some of my bad writing in the beginning but I don't want to leave it hanging so I'm going to try and finish it although I can't promise a chapter weekly but I will try.

So thank you for all your support through my bad writing as well, you guys are awesome, oh and before I forget I got the inspiration for the last few quotes from a manga I read long ago called,hajimari no niinaso check that out if you're bored, it's a really good story and it made me cry a lot. Anyway, love you guys a lot and thanks!