Hello, fellow writers, and other readers galore! Pretty much my very first fanfic. Remembered this snazzy little tune from Nat King Cole, and decided, heck, let's try a hand at writing something warm and fuzzy. Certain parts, like the lunch scene, might not be as realistic as I might want it to be. It's definitely OOC. This is a one-shot, and it is written from Natsume's POV.

Disclaimer: I do not own, by any means, Gakuen Alice, its various characters, nor do I own any of the work of Higuchi Tachibana. I'm just, if you may, borrowing the story, characters, and premises. I also do not own Nat King Cole, and his various songs, definitely. If I am missing anything out, by all means, point it out to me! It's my first time disclaiming!

Without further ado, I present my very first fanfic. Constructive criticism, pretty please?

Geez, I wonder. My relationship with this idiot seems to resemble this jazz song I heard so long ago. As I watch her snooze in my embrace, I think a little back, drawing parallels with its lyrics. Gosh, since when did I become so cheesy? Well, never mind. Let's see, I suppose I can begin two months ago. On that day. The day I realised I felt something for her.

'L, is for the way you look at me.'

It's fifteen minutes to the start of school, and I saunter lazily into the classroom. Another ordinary day. Boring, comes the first thought to mind. Putting myself down lazily in my seat, I give Ruka a rather curt greeting, and, in my boredom, make a show of whipping out my trusty manga, propping my legs on the table, and beginning to read. The seat beside Ruka is strangely missing. Odd, I wonder. She's usually here before me.

About ten minutes after that, I hear footsteps along the corridor outside the classroom. As if on cue, the doorframe shakes as a half-grinning, half-panicked tangle of auburn hair, hazel eyes, and altogether crazy energy slips into the classroom. It's probably Polka. I look up, in realisation of her rather… dramatic entry. She looks up, as well, apparently having tripped over the floor in a rush to her seat. Really, the floor? Gosh, she's ever clumsy, isn't she? Probably overslept and rushed to class. Well, at least now everyone here knows it's strawberries today.

As if having noticed me staring at her in that 'perverted' manner, as she would normally put it, she perked up, a flustered look on her face. Her usual stupid grin is suddenly replaced with a blush and a scowl, as she squeaks at me. "NATSUME! You better not have…"

Her statement is suddenly cut off, as if she realises that getting angry at me would be a rather futile counterattack to my previous action. She then looks at me, and gives me an angry stare. What an idiot. Somehow, that glare fades into a softer look as she notices the fatigue (apparently) evident in my features. Her soft glance then fades into a look of… is that concern I see? Those hazel eyes, so full of care… Like gems… My heart, out of character, apparently, skips a beat. I whip my face around, out of her sight, as I try to force that blush off my face. Man, I swear I would have punched myself if I had been alone in that classroom. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Koko giving me a sneaky look, and a smirk.

Burn. Yes. Burn. Koko yelps and a triumphant smirk returns to my features. I can't seem to settle, though. Gosh, did I just think of Mikan in that manner? What is WRONG with me today?

I look back up, and see the girl in question sobbing into her best friend's, Hotaru's arms. Cue baka gun in 3,2,1… Oh, right on.

I continued smirking, as I watched her plop her butt into the bench. She greets Ruka, and then continues brooding silently. She looked like she was about to strangle me when I looked at her again, and our eyes met. Good damn thing that gaylord of a teacher, Naru, walks in. Man, a dress? He's creeping me out. Like seriously. I spend the rest of class thinking about random things, like strawberries and hazel-coloured eyes.

'O, is for the only one I see.'

Soon after, the class breaks for lunch. We trickle down into the dining area, slowly heading to our usual seats. I move slowly to my usual table. Ruka sits beside me, and begins to dig in, Usagi still in his lap. Hmm, I suppose I can begin on my lunch too. Suddenly, a clatter of a third tray brings me to look up. I am greeted by a familiar mop of coffee-brown hair before a hand flies towards my face. I grab it, and look straight at the owner of that hand. Mikan stares back at me, apparently not noticing the scene she's causing. Her anger over that little 'incident' in the morning hasn't faded, apparently. I, yet again, smirk, and speak, voice deadpan. "It's just strawberries, there isn't anything wrong with that, now, is there?"

Her angry glare yet again burns into me. I find myself feeling a little guilty, and let go of her hand. Immediately, that hand closes what little distance it has between it and my face, and I feel a slight stinging. Not saying that it hurts, or anything, but that girl certainly is brave. I burn her pigtails, like I always do, enjoying myself. I stop myself from sneaking a small grin, though, as Mikan looks ready now to blow up, reminiscent somewhat of an over-ripe, red turnip. Boy, is she adorable like that- wait, what am I thinking again? My face, not intentionally, turns red for the second time that day, at that small realisation. I fake a laugh to hide my reaction, and notice Mikan turn a shade redder in her anger. Smoke seemed to be coming out her ears now. I stifle yet another silly grin, conscious of all the people looking at the two of us bickering.

'Just like a married couple, huh?'

Sumire's voice rings in my ears, and I am suddenly in realisation of the majority of my class staring at me. Oh, damn that. I'm enjoying my small moment with this ball of sunshine here. I ignore everyone else, as her voice, shrill, irritating, yet oddly calming, fills my ears again. I shrug and grunt, ignoring everyone else in the room. I only had eyes for her, for the rest of that lunch, at least.

'V is very, very, extraordinary,'

Certainly, over the next few weeks, we bicker and converse calmly in varying degrees, but I somewhat find myself growing some attachment onto this stupid ball of happy. Seriously, she should stop grinning so much, it's rather scary. Or maybe, I was just in denial of the happiness she brings to everyone. Man, these are some odd thoughts I'm having… Oh yes, she's special like that. An extraordinary idiot, even. But I guess there are a ton of other things I enjoy about her. Like, I suppose her looks. Hey, I have hormones you know. That mop of wavy hair, tied into twin tails. A shame to burn, but I suppose it's fair punishment for being so damn irritating all the time. Her eyes, two hazel, sparkling gems, seem to read a good deal of my thoughts, much like Koko. Her arms, slender fingers, and her little caring touch as she helped tend to my wounds occasionally. The list goes on, and I sigh, somewhat dreamily, as I recall this. Man, I sound so damn lovesick.

Somehow, I find she always brings cheer to people around her, and the room never fails to brighten up as she walks in. Yes, she's extraordinary in that way as well. Certainly, her smile fills the room as well, and so does her voice. I suppose she has charm, and she's one hell of an optimist as well. I suppose, as well, I could say now that I miss her on missions. That extraordinary little idiot.

'E, is even more than anyone that you adore…'

In hindsight, certainly, I wondered back then if she ever noticed. My stoic demeanour occasionally being let down around her, the looks I gave her as I admired her face, my somewhat embarrassed replies when she asked me about how hurt I am after missions, her looks of concern nearly melting my legs to nothing, those small little polite gestures I began to adopt around her, my falling head over heels for her, stuff like that.

I mean, she always had other admirers. Ruka, for one. My best friend, certainly. He was a lot more open about his… infatuation with her than I was. She was always flustered around him, always seemingly happy around him, loving his bond with his animals, his pheromone Alice. In more ways than one, I thought they would end up happier with each other. She seemed to care so much about him it made me jealous.

There was also that stupid crush of hers on that Shadow guy. Seriously, her adoration came close to bordering on obsession. Certainly, she always ran to his arms and cried whenever I bullied her, and she seemed to look so longingly at her sempai.

I always wondered back then if she cared about me. I was blind, back then, to her looks of concern, her bashfulness when talking to me, her warm smiles whenever I gave a rational response, rather than a grunt, and many others, mainly because I was too much involved in staring in envy at those two other guys, and the affection they received from her.

I certainly wondered if she harboured the same building feelings that I had for her. I certainly was going crazy over her in my dreams back then already.

'Love, is all that I can give to you. Love is more than just a game, for two.'

I was certainly crazy for her, now. I had a barely controlled composure around her, and I was pretty sure it was beginning to get obvious, even for that airheaded ball of sunshine. I suppose, I couldn't control my feelings much longer. I had to reveal it to her, somehow. Eventually, I got the chance.

As the time for the Alice festival neared, everyone was caught up with preparations, yet again, for all that festivities, and I hardly got any chance to see Mikan. It let me gather my thoughts, as the Dangerous Ability Class wasn't allowed, in the least, to prepare our own exhibit. Not like the bunch of us cared, anyway. And so, I formulated a plan, to tell her what I felt during the Dance at the end of the festival…

And so, on that fateful evening, I took her arm, pulled her away, ignoring her protests, and dragged her into a secluded corner in the woods. (Genius plan, yep.) Oh, did I mention? She looked stunning that night in her gown. And so, I pushed her gently into a corner, against a tree, and moved my lips to her ears, whispering those fateful words.

'Mikan Sakura, I love you.'

I pull back, leaning her, yet again, against the trunk of the tree, and slowly let her gather her thoughts. I expected a slap, at least, as I saw that faint trace of pink move across her cheeks in the moonlight. I expected her to scream, shout, kick me, punch me, go all violent on me, yell rape/molest, even, but I never expected what happened next.

She closed her eyes, smiled, and murmured, 'Oh, Natsume. It took you so long just to overcome that pride of yours, huh? I suppose… I love you too.'

And then, she pulled me in for a kiss.

Remember when I said she was a brave girl? Yep, this just reinforces that statement. I was shocked, for a moment, but gave in after a tense moment later, surprise in my eyes fading to sheer glee as I realised that the girl whom I loved was returning what I felt for her. I felt her lips, soft and tender, brush across mine, and we slowly deepened it, passionately, and happily.

And then, we realised we needed oxygen. We pulled away, staring into each other's eyes, fighting for breath. I saw slight blushes adorn her cheeks, and I suppose, by the way she was grinning stupidly at me, that I looked somewhat like what she did. I then pulled her into a tight embrace, and she nestled her neck into my chest, whispering 'I guess it's official now, huh?'

I just laugh and hug her even tighter.

'Two in love can make it.
Take my heart, and please don't break it.'

And so, just like that, we were a couple. The next day, we shocked most of the academy as she and I walked hand in hand into the class, me grinning stupidly, happier than I'd been in a long time. Sumire just gawked, and various other random people began both clapping and hooting. I suppose they expected it. I burned them later, just for the fun of it. Hotaru gave me a dark look, but she seemed genuinely happy for her best friend. As we walked past, she mouthed, 'break her heart, and I'll kill you.'

Somehow, I think that was a genuine death threat. Well, I suppose that was it for people discovering us.

'Natsume, you'll love me forever, right?'

'Of course, silly. I'll never leave you. I mean, I couldn't ever, since my heart is yours now.'

'Touché, Natsume, touché.'

And so we moved in for yet another kiss, and here she is now, slumbering like a dolt in my lap. Sleep well, idiot.

'Love, was made for me and you.'

The End.

R and R please! I would love it if you guys give me constructive criticism! I hope I wasn't too OOC. Thank you for reading!