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FROM THE SIDELINES
By: xll KUROI TSUBASA llx

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DISCLAIMER: I do not lay my claim on Gakuen Alice. Higuchi Tachibana, alone, has the right to that claim.

◦ . , . ' ' ' εïз

I can still feel it – the subtle pain gnawing at my chest as I stare at them from a distance.

Momentarily, I grimace at my current state. Since when had I become such a masochist – subjecting myself to unnecessary pain?

Then, as I turn back to them, they started staring at each other with such powerful admiration.

I wanted to turn back and leave them alone. Yet, I couldn't stop staring.

εïз. , . ' ' '

I clutch my chest as we finally skidded to a halt.

That was close.

I peer through the window on his side and saw we had narrowly missed the telephone pole by a few inches.

Really close.

"What the fuck!" came his enraged yell as he brashly unbuckles his seatbelt.

Then, before I could even process anything, he had already shut the door of the car.

Upon hearing the sound of the door shutting, however, apprehension immediately replaces my shock as it finally dawned on me that something bad was going to happen. Knowing him, he won't let the other person off easily.

Realizing that, I hastily unbuckle my own seatbelt and rush out of the car, mentally pleading for the other person to still be intact after experiencing being on the receiving end of his rage.

However, just when I was finally mentally prepared to quell his anger, a new wave of shock washes over me.

She was there – heatedly arguing with him.

◦ . , . ' ' ' εïз

From that moment on, their bickering never seemed to cease. And since I was the only one close to him, seeing that I was his cousin and he had moved only recently around that time, I always took on the task of mediating between them in order to ensure that nothing serious would happen.

It had been tiring. There were even times wherein I already felt too exhausted to stop them even though I've always had the constant fear of seeing them go too far with their exchange of insults and snide remarks.

Despite everything though, I was content. After all, through those arguments, I got to know her more and see more of her brilliant smile and even more dazzling personality.

That alone, had been enough.

εïз. , . ' ' '

"Tch. Why did that gay professor assign us to that?"he mutters to me in unmasked disgust as he eyed the other member of our group in distaste.

"I am not a thing!" she immediately counters with a glare of her own. "And if there's anyone who should be complaining, it should be me since I'll have to get accustomed to working with a complete jerk."

"Hey, stop it, you two," I say as I quickly move in between them before the situation worsened. After being able to witness more than a year's worth of arguments in 2 week's time, I was able to quickly learn that it was best to stop their little squabbles early – before they get to throw heavier jibes towards each other.

She sighs.

"At least, you're here, Luca-pyon," she says with a bright smile causing my cheeks to heat up.

"Y-yeah," I reply as I avert my eyes.

"Tch. Whatever. Just call me if you need anything, Luca. I'm going to take a nap."

And with those words, he left us.

"Your cousin is really rude. It's not as if it would hurt him if he actually starts acting civil," she says with a pout as she plops on the seat beside mine.

I chuckled.

"Actually, he's really nice if you get to know him better. The two of you just had a rough start. Please be more patient with him, Sakura-san."

◦ . , . ' ' ' εïз

When I said those words to her at that time, I really meant them. I wholeheartedly wanted them to get along because they were both important to me.

Even until now – despite feeling this pang of jealousy every time I see them together, I can still honestly say that I still want to see both of them getting along.

It's just that I wish I listened to the signs sooner. I wish I didn't dismiss everything back then.

I wish I had acted earlier – when I still had a chance.

εïз. , . ' ' '

She was there – crying.

I had been watching her for a few minutes now, unable to move from my spot. I was too transfixed – too lost to do anything.

As much as I wanted to comfort her, I couldn't. I didn't have the courage neither did I have an idea on what to say to ease her pain so I chose what I thought was the next best thing – to stay and watch; taking in her pain from the sidelines.

"What are you doing here, ugly?"

I immediately turned to the direction of the voice – surprise. And apparently, she was too because as soon as I turned back to her, I could see that her eyes had widened considerably as well.

"I..."

Then she began wiping her tears away furiously.

"Just go away," she says miserably. "I... I can't handle your taunts right now, Hyuuga."

"Who says I'm going to talk to you? I just came here to have some peace," and with that, he sat down on the bench beside hers and just stared at the moon quietly.

The three of us stayed there in silence after that. Then, after a few moments, she spoke again.

"Thank you," she said in a mere whisper before breaking down into sobs once again.

For the second time that night, I could feel the slight painful thud in my chest.

◦ . , . ' ' ' εïз

From that day on, they started arguing less. And although the daily bickering never really ceased, the taunts had been toned down. I didn't even need to intervene anymore because they themselves would stop before things got out of hand.

It was nice to finally see them getting along but at the same time, it also felt like I was slowly becoming unneeded.

But I shrugged that off, regarding it as mere paranoia.

εïз. , . ' ' '

She collapsed.

"Sakura," I whisper as everything else around me started to become a blur. At that point, I could only see her form sprawled on the ground.

I knew there was something wrong with her. She had been too pale. She hadn't been as lively as she was before.

I started to run across the field towards her.

However, just when I was about a few meters away from her, somebody else scoops her up.

"I'll take her to the infirmary."

And with those words, he left with her in his arms.

◦ . , . ' ' ' εïз

Since that incident, they had become even closer.

I tried to ignore everything. I did my best to deceive myself but it was futile. I knew that at that point, it would only be a matter of time before something would happen between them.

It was during those days that I started to avoid them.

It was just too much to handle.

And then, just as I was starting to get used to spending less and less time with them, he confronted me.

εïз. , . ' ' '

We were at the veranda – staring at the cityscape below us.

"I like her," he said soberly.

I grimace.

"I know."

"Since when?"

"I guess..." I start to say before pausing and shaking my head.

"I've always known. I just didn't want to acknowledge it."

Then, before he could say anything else, I spoke again.

"Don't think too much about me."

Not wanting him to object any further, I start to walk towards the house.

◦ . , . ' ' ' εïз

Just as I had predicted, it only took a matter of time before they started going out.

They had been very discreet about it though and Natsume never brought the topic up whenever we were together. Knowing him, he probably just wanted for me to feel the least amount of hurt possible.

But even if they never mentioned anything – even if nobody else could tell that their relationship had gone past platonic friendship, I knew that something was different. They didn't need to voice anything out.

And without them knowing, I merely continued to watch them by the sidelines – even until now.

"Nogi,"

I turned towards the direction of the stoic voice – my previous train of thought momentarily cut off.

"What are you doing here?" she inquires as she takes in our surroundings. And as her eyes scanned the area that I was previously staring at, they widened slightly.

"I never knew that you were a stalker," she deadpans, making me scoff.

"That's just you, Imai," I mutter before walking away.

This time, it was her who scoffed.

"You really are a pushover."

I paused mid step and sighed– realizing that we weren't merely talking about my walking away from her. After all, she also knew about my current situation.

"Do you want me to destroy their happiness then?

There was silence between us for a moment. Neither of us moved. Even the wind stopped blowing harshly.

"You still should have told her. If you did, then perhaps you wouldn't be hurting as bad."

Those words came out so detached – so thoughtless – but she wasn't the type to throw away meaningless words. She never was.

I smiled grimly.

"I will," I say in a mere whisper. "Just... not now."

I didn't need to look back towards her to know that she was regarding me with careful scrutiny.

"You really should do something about that tendency of yours to stall. It makes you even more pathetic than what you already are," she says impassively, causing me to frown on irritation and giving me an urge to say something equally insulting but I bite back the insults.

"As much as I'd want to revel in your pathetic state, I have other things to do that are of more importance. I'll see you tomorrow. And don't forget about the dress."

Upon hearing the word 'dress,' I immediately spun around in haste and almost bit my tongue to stop myself from shouting.

"What?" I hiss.

"You still owe me for last time... and also for today. Now stop being so pitiable and start looking for your dress."

Then, before I could say anything else, she vanishes in a puff of smoke. I could only stare wide-eyed at the spot where she disappeared in mild disbelief before massaging my head and walking towards the opposite direction.

"She's still terrible at trying to cheer people up," I mutter as I smiled lightly and continued on with my walk back home.

εïз. , . ' ' '

END NOTES:

This idea plagued my mind for a very long time so I'm really glad now that I've finally gotten it out. I haven't edited most of this stor.y I'm not even sure if I even portrayed Luca's emotion properly yet and I don't know if I ever will edit this story. Ijust feel exhausted after writing this whole thing. But in case anyone found it confusing, I'll give an overview of the plot.

Luca and Natsume are cousins and Natsume has recently moved in with Luca and his family. During his first week in Japan, he almost crashed into a woman as he was driving with his cousin. That woman was Mikan. Due to their rough start, Mikan and Natsume's relationship had been far from ideal and Luca – being their common friend was the one who would always step in between the two. It was like that up until the night that Natsume found her crying and comforted her. Then, the two grew even closer when Natsume brought her to the infirmary immediately after Mikan passed out. Eventually, Natsume wanted to ask her out but he knew that Luca also had feelings for her so he found it appropriate to inform Luca first of his plans. And... that's basically it. I can leave it to you to understand the rest as well as to imagine what happened in between. I actually have several other things in my mind but I wanted to keep this story short and simple and focus mostly on the changes in Luca's emotions throughout the whole deal.

So now that that's over and done with, I'll start working again on 'Not Just a Toy'

'Til then,

◦:.Lian.: