Dinner Date Chapter 2, a gakuen alice fanfic

Author's notes: Contrary to popular beliefs, I'm alive and breathing. See? Oh well. Happy 2011, everyone!

D I N N E R_ D A T E

Acrianz

Chapter Two

As soon as he closed the door of her office, he could hear the sound of the newspaper pages being turned and a string of quiet curses.

He walked casually towards the black leather couch and made himself comfortable. The other person in the room folded the newspaper and threw it across the room with such force that caught the guy's attention. He raised his eyebrow at the pink-haired lady in front of him.

"Just what the hell were you thinking, Natsume Hyuuga?" she shouted, looking extremely pissed. "Are you happy that you get featured in the newspaper's front page almost every week? It's not even funny anymore. And who was it this time? The Brazilian supermodel for crying out loud! I thought you, of all people, hated rumors," she said.

Natsume remained unfazed. "So what if I do? They just won't leave me alone so deal with it, Harada."

"Don't you dare talk to me like that. I'm still your boss," she hissed. Her eyes were narrowed at him.

The guy snorted. "Funny. You wouldn't even be there without me."

Misaki Harada fell silent for a moment, but then she continued, "These news aren't rumors anymore, are they? The paparazzi spotted you near a club. God, don't I know what happened next. Aren't you at all concerned about your image?"

Natsume scoffed. "Know what, I don't give a damn."

Misaki sighed and then rubbed the sides of her forehead. "Natsume," she didn't sound angry anymore, just exhausted, ". .this is not good. Just what would people think about this? You were seen with a different girl. Again. Why are you screwing with them?"

Natsume had the urge to roll his eyes but Misaki's next words stopped him.

"You have a lovely girlfriend, Natsume. How do you think she's going to react to this?"

The guy sat up straight, glaring at his boss. "How the fuck did you know about that?"

This time, Misaki smirked. "You know I have my sources," she told him. After that, she smiled a genuine smile, but not at Natsume. It was as if she was remembering something. "I actually met her," Natsume narrowed his eyes at her, but didn't say anything, "She's really nice. I went to the photo shoot of Enviture and there I saw Mikan. She's gorgeous but she's too humble to acknowledge that. She's hardworking, too and really sweet. I'm sure a lot of her co-workers are secretly in love with her though she seems to be so oblivious. I also think she's faithful to you even though I can cite a hundred of reasons why she shouldn't be. "

Natsume maintained a poker face. "What's the point of this?"

"Just. .How can you cheat on her? You have her wrapped around your finger. Fine, forget the whole image thing but Mikan's a whole lot different. She grows on people. She grew on me. I may not know her for a long time but I know just how great she is. She's back in town, in case you didn't know. She's going to find out. She doesn't deserve this."

Natsume was shooting daggers at Misaki. He had known that for a long time now. Mikan didn't deserve this. No, she deserved the exact opposite and a whole lot more. "This is none of your fucking business, Harada."

"No, of course not," Misaki muttered, "Just a word of advice, Natsume. If you can't let Mikan go, then stop fooling around. Otherwise, I think it's best if you cut all cords with her and let her move on with her life. She deserves to be happy."

Natsume stood. He doubted if he could stay for another minute. All this talk about his girlfriend was making him feel like shit. Did they honestly think he didn't think that Mikan deserved to be happy? He, of all people, knew that. But what could he do? He was a selfish prick.

:-:-:

He drove down the street for a cup of coffee. At the café, he chose the farthest booth, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. He ordered a classic black coffee and waited.

Soon, the opposite chair moved and he sat face to face with his High School friend, Koko. He looked the same, only a bit matured.

"Hey, man. What's up?" Koko asked.

Natsume rolled his eyes and answered, "Just the usual crap and bullshit." His friend winced. "Sucks."

Koko ordered his own coffee and when they came, their drinks became an excuse for the silence. Koko was the first one to break it.

"You're coming to Jun's birthday next month, right? You're his godfather, you know," Koko told him.

Natsume raised an eyebrow. "That's next month? That little man's growing up."

The other guy chuckled, nodding his head. "I know. Well, Permy wishes for him to grow up big time. She always complains about his diapers. But I'm sure when Jun goes to school, Permy will wish he's still a child. Ah, mothers."

The raven-haired guy snickered. It was funny how 'Permy' stuck as Sumire's nickname. "I know. Yeah, I'll be there. Wouldn't miss it for the world."

As they sipped their drinks once again, the blanket of silence surrounded them. When it finally broke, a serious look dawned upon Koko. "Hey man, how are. . you know, things between you and Mikan?"

Natsume raised his eyebrows. He was thinking of something sarcastic to retort – a thing he always did to avoid nosy questions – but this was Koko. Sure, he could be an airhead sometimes, but he was a great person. So he decided to be honest. "I don't know."

The doctor gave him a sympathetic look. "Uh, well what do you want to do? She's in town; you can meet up with her. I'm sure she'll be happy to see you." And that was exactly the problem. If she hadn't been so cheerful and nice, it would be easy to let her go. But then again, would he had gone after her if she was not? Ah, sweet irony.

"I highly doubt that. Have you been reading the news lately? No one in their right minds will continue to see me after all that shit," Natsume replied.

Koko had the urge to laugh but thought better of it. Who knew Natsume could be so mushy? Now he knew why girls always have their little talks.

"But Mikan is different. Why don't you try? I mean, she always forgives you, why is this one any different?"

"Maybe because she finally realizes that she's better off without a bastard!" Natsume snapped, surprising his friend a little. Koko smiled a sad smile, contemplating what Natsume had just said. At least, Koko thought, Natsume knew that what he did was wrong and stupid. But heck, everyone makes stupid things once in a while.

Koko sighed. "Nah. You're my best mate and most of the time I agree with you but not this time. I don't think Mikan is that narrow-minded to break up with you without hearing your side first. Go talk to her, man."

It was hopeless. Mikan was not narrow-minded, that's for sure. But hearing his side of the story might only make things worse. Besides, who said there was another side?

:-:-:

It had been two days since Natsume's talk with Koko. Somehow, the manipulative of a doctor convinced him to go and see Mikan. Of course Natsume wanted to do that, he just didn't have the guts. Not that he would admit that to anyone. And people called him brave and cunning. . .

He could not picture himself being so pathetic but he was exactly that at the moment. Pathetic. How else could anyone describe a man sitting in his car which was parked a few meters away from that apartment where he hoped his girlfriend would come out of? He gripped the wheel tightly that he knuckles turned white. Maybe this was not a good idea.

He was about to turn on the engine when the door opened and out came the girl he was hoping to see. His breath hitched as he took on her full appearance.

She was clad in a flowy white dress which she looked so comfortable in. Nevertheless, it hugged her body closely, making her curves obvious. She also let her brown hair down. Her flipflops were white, matching her dress. She was the image of purity.

Natsume also noticed that she cut her hair. It was now layered and fell onto her shoulders. She also got tanned a little bit. God, she was gorgeous.

The guy kept an eye on her as she walked towards an old man. She chatted with him and they both had smiles on their faces. Natsume knew Mikan was loved by most people. Maybe he was, too. By his fans. But that was because of his popularity and good looks. With Mikan, on the other hand, people seemed to love everything about her. And that fact only added to the list where she and Natsume differ.

When the old man left, Natsume got his phone and dialed the brunette's number. He saw her answer the phone without bothering to look at the ID caller. "Hello."

Something inside of Natsume flipped. Suddenly, he didn't know what to say. But he mustered all his courage and found his voice. "Mikan." He watched as her eyes grew big and her mouth parted slightly. Of course she was surprised. Perhaps his call was the last thing she expected. But then, her expression changed and her mouth curved up. "Natsume! How are you?"

"I'm fine. You?" Oh, way to go Natsume.

"Oh. I'm great. What's up?"

She sounded so expectant that Natsume just couldn't burst her happy bubble. "Well, I was wondering if we could go out on Saturday. Catch up and everything."

If possible, her smile grew even wider. "I'd love to!"

"Great. Uh, look. I got to go now, but I'll see you on Saturday, alright?" The line went dead.

Why was she so happy to talk to him? Damn it, she's only making it harder. But Natsume's mind was made up. Little did he know that what he was thinking of doing might just be the worst mistake of his life.

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