Author's Note: Hey guys! So here I am, I've been gone for so long and I even made it clear in my profile that I won't be writing anymore. But when I re-read my old stories, I just couldn't believe that I wrote those. I mean, there were a lot of grammatical errors and I just laughed at myself for it. I really wanted to edit it but I'm just too lazy. :P So yeah, if you're asking "Why am I here when I CLEARLY said I was in permanent hiatus" well, I seriously don't know either, I just had the urge to write again. I guess old habits do die hard. *sweatdrop* anyway, I hope you guys will love it. I am a bit rusty though. Carry on! ;)

A Hated Matched Marriage
Tsubame Sakura

Chapter 16

"Mikan… Mikan…"

"Who's ... who's there?"

"Mikan."

"N-Natsume?"

"Mikan, I love you—"

"Wah!" Mikan shouted as she grasps for air from under her blanket, morning came and the sunlight peeks from her windows that blinds her of her sight.

Silence took over from the stunned girl.

She rubbed her eyes, stretched and yawned. Then like a bolt, she stood up shocked from what she had imagined.

"A dream?" She said unconsciously, rethinking that thought made her blush out of embarrassment.

"Why did I dreamed such a thing?" A flustered Mikan shouted to herself, still blushing from the thought.

She looked into the mirror and thought deeply, "Now that I think about it, I haven't really paid attention on how serious this engagement is."

"I wonder if Natsume will like me," She said while looking sad, and then her facial expression changed "What! I mean, I don't care if he'll like me or not. I just think this arrangement is stupid!" She said to herself while blushing.

"Hey girl!"

"Gyaa!" Mikan shrieked from the sudden shout.

"How long will you sleep there, idiot! We'll be late for school." Natsume shouted from downstairs.

"Oh damn! Alright! I'll go down in a minute!" She replied while rushing to change and pack.

She went down and saw that Natsume was waiting for her, looking at him she blushed and carelessly looked away 'what the! Idiot! You shouldn't be blushing, you don't like him right! It was just a dream' She angrily thought to herself.

"What's your problem?" Natsume asked, seeing Mikan give out such an embarrassed face.

"Nothing!"

"Weirdo." He snickered.

'What a face' He laughed to himself.

"What's so funny?" Mikan asked frowning but still having some tint of pink color on her face.

"Nooothing." Natsume said and put his tongue out to tease her.

"Whaaat!"

Later at school

"Hey Natsume-kuuun! Let's go to a karaoke later!"

"Kya, Natsume-kun do you want to have lunch with us later?" The girls swarmed circling Natsume's desk as he reads some manga before class starts.

Mikan, who sits two seats away from him, stared while resting her face on her palm. "Girls are all over him, as always" She said to herself, feeling a bit annoyed.

Then her eyes widened, 'Huh? Why do I care anyway? No I don't, I don't care!' She denied to herself, showing off her expressions like an open book.

Natsume, who caught a glimpse of her from the open space that the girls are giving, chuckles thinking on how stupid her reactions are.

'Just what is she thinking' He thought.

While continuing to peek on how Mikan was doing, he frowned when he saw Keiji was approaching Mikan, 'Tsk, what's that guy up to now?' shooting a glare at Keiji.

'Hey, Mikan what's up?" Keiji smiled, and sat in front of Mikan.

"Oh! Hey Keiji-kun" She smiled back, "So what have you been doing lately?"

"Nothing much, school just started. I haven't really made friends yet, besides you." He said, scratching his head while having an awkward grin on his face.

"Me too," Mikan replied, "Well, new friends at least. My bestfriend's in a different class, and I was hoping that we would be classmates this year." She said, while feeling a bit down.

"Cheer up, Mikan! For sure, in no time you'll have lots of friends." Keiji patted her on the back and laughed. Seeing how cheerful Keiji is, Mikan laughed with him.

"Here, Keiji-kun" Mikan handed out a piece of caramel candy, "its thanks for cheering me up." She said as she smiled.

Keiji stared at Mikan, infatuated with her smile. He blushed then looked away, "Yeah, thanks—"

Before Keiji could thank her properly, the candy on his hand suddenly disappeared and was found flying through Natsume's mouth.

Glomp! Was heard, Keiji and Mikan's eyes widened, their jaws slightly dropped while looking at Natsume who's chewing on the stolen candy.

"Yum" He said, still chewing on it.

"What the!" Keiji was able to utter from the shock.

Natsume began to walk away and had his usual straight face. "Natsume! That was Keiji-kun's!" She said.

"Well he should've held on it tighter." He said, returning to his seat.

"Whaaat!" Mikan said angrily.

"Get to your seats!" The teaching shouted, walking in the classroom.

"I'm sorry Keiji-kun, that was my last piece." She apologized.

"It's okay Mikan, you can give me one again next time." He said and smiled.

Lunch

"Hey Natsume!" Mikan shouted trying to catch up with Natsume in the corridors.

"What?"

"Why did you eat the candy I gave to Keiji-kun?" She said, letting out a sigh.

"Hn? Cause it looked delicious. And I was feeling hungry then." He said, as he continued walking.

"I thought you didn't like candy?" She asked, following him around.

"Like I said, I was hungry then. So yeah, I didn't have a choice." He said, having a "you're annoying" expression.

"But you didn't have to eat it." Mikan pouted.

"You're annoying." He said, trying to end the topic. "Why do you have those anyway? You're like a kid."

"It just happens to be in my pocket. I don't bring candy everyday." She let out her tongue.

"Anyway, if you're the type that gets easily hungry during class just say so. You don't need to take food from other people." Mikan said.

"If that's the case, I don't mind bringing candy everyday for you." She chuckled.

Natsume's eyes widened and blushed a bit. "What? I don't need junk food." He said, hiding his face from her.

"If you say soooooo." Mikan said as she walked away giggling.

Natsume stared at her while she goes outside to eat lunch with Hotaru, he then let out a snicker.

"Pfft, what a stupid girl."

Author's Note: So yeah, I did told you I am a but rusty so you might notice some few errors here and there.. Well, I can honestly say I'm not perfect at English. I seriously need to develop Natsume and Mikan's relationship fast. Cause I really, really… REALLY want to end this story as soon as possible. AND! IF POSSIBLE. If my inner self will agree with me to continue writing this, I will. But if not… then help me God. I will not promise you for sooner updates. Sorry guys! I do hope you enjoyed this.