Alright, well; this would be the first chapter of the improved 'Love Me' series. I know that most would prefer me to write more chapters instead of rewriting but after looking at my work over the years, I have realised that it was simply impossible for me as my writing style has completely changed. Even when I was first writing the series, it would continuously evolve. It has been a long, long time- mostly due to multiple tech failures. I have lost my work more times than I can count. It's truly disheartening; however, I have finally completed the first chapter after about, what, a thousand years? Yes, I have replaced the first chapter. I'd prefer to erase my previous work and replace it because well... I can't stand reading my old writing. This new version shows the desired effect to the character's emotions. Mikan and Natsume's actions are explained better in this one and I'm sorry if it seems a little different but these were the original plans- I just put them in place a little differently. If anyone still reads this story, I'm so sorry for the long, long, long wait and hopefully I can get back on track in writing this. It will take a while since life is always hectic. Thank you so much for reading and I hope I'll see you soon.

Describing Sakura Mikan was one of the most difficult, yet devastatingly easy task for Hyuuga Natsume; however, the best description he could provide was that she was the love of his life. He didn't have a problem admitting that now, despite his years of denial. He needed her; needed her beautiful personality. Despite her idiocy, she really was one of the most honest people he knew of and it struck him with emotions he could hardly handle. Not only was her personality alluring but she had the body to match it. After all these years, Natsume oh so regretted his behaviour toward the girl but in his years of naivety, he couldn't help but tease the gullible girl. He assumes it was a way to hide his real affection that even he did not notice until much later, but now it seems he had driven her away; he believes Mikan might even hate him. His behaviour was, after all, incredibly scarring for such a young girl and yet, Natsume couldn't quite bring himself to regret all of his actions. Getting her to react in such away and drawing all her attention toward himself; that was something he'd always enjoyed. This was another reason he knew for sure that Mikan disliked him.

He wasn't dense, knowing that Mikan thought he was arrogant and unreasonable- but it was this fact which made him desire to prove his worth to her even more. He definitely wouldn't deny that he was indeed fairly selfish, wanting the girl to himself all these years, but he needed Mikan to see that he'd wanted her all along. He craved her smile and her tears. He needed to see every side of her and delve deep into her little world; breaking it down to little pieces so she had no choice but to take refuge in his own little world. Yes, he would get payback and make her desire him as much as he did for her. He'd make it so that every time he touched Mikan, she'd crave him more until she went insane. His goal was to force the same emotions onto her as he had felt for years now. However, he had no control when it came to the young woman and so, holding back was extremely difficult in itself. This is why as soon as he came to the conclusion that he'd confess and seduce her, he was unable to help himself from acting straight away.

Yes, Natsume hadn't been able to control himself at all, which is why he currently had Mikan pinned to the wall outside her room. Her hard-earned special star room was just as amazing as his, her alices being an extremely helpful addition to missions. She had worked herself to the bone, practicing using her nullification alice and even her stealing alice- only to other willing students. It had taken years but she was finally at the top- even her grades had risen to rival Natsume's. In the end, this made him proud; his ego growing when he came to the thought that she had worked so hard just to spite him and get on the same level as him. Her attitude showed through her stern eyes pointed at his own determined ones and she pushed at his chest. Natsume could tell she wasn't putting her all into the attempt which made his determination grow. He needed to tell her; his confession swelling in this throat as he leaned closer to her, his eyes challenging hers. If she asked him to back off, he might actually comply. He was weak to her and he knew it; he'd most likely do anything she asked if he knew Mikan was serious.

"What do you want, Natsume? I have homework." Her voice was sweet, soft due to their close proximity. After all these years, she was used to the young man teasing her; getting close and pulling her hair, so to speak. Natsume hummed in his usual tone but she could sense a slight difference.

"Go out with me." Mikan stood in stunned silence at the blunt demand and her half-hearted pushing came to a halt. He was messing with her again, she knew it. All these years he had been awful; teasing her and making her life miserable. She had tried to get along with him time and time again but he only continued his merciless onslaught of harsh teasing. Ever since the day she came to the academy he'd had it out for her. She glared at him, feeling annoyance and anger clawing at her heart from inside her chest.

"No." Her voice was slightly broken, the response weak but Natsume could clearly hear the aggressive undertone. The rejection squeezed his heart and he swallowed hard, his normal behaviour tearing through as a defence.

"Why not?" He was hurt but his tone sounded more outraged than anything. His stoic expression failed to show any sign of his disappointment.

"I don't like you, Natsume. I'd have to like you to go out with you but it's impossible for me." Her eyes were steady on his, wanting her response to get through. She hated appearing weak to him, wanting nothing more than to beat him at anything and everything. He huffed and leaned closer, their mouths close enough for Mikan to feel his hot breath against her lips.

"Why don't you like me?" He asked mostly because he needed to confirm his suspicions about how she really felt about him.

"Natsume, you've always been awful to me. You're selfish and quite frankly, you've never failed to be an asshole to me every chance you get. Even after seven years you never fail to piss me off." He wasn't surprised at the swearing, Mikan only having sworn at him through all these years. For some reason, he felt triumphant at that fact but right now he needed her to accept him. He wouldn't give up.

"An asshole, huh? I guess I'll have to continue living up to that..." He couldn't help it, his desire to kiss her too much. After all this time, he couldn't help but lean forward that small distance between them as he caught her lips for the first time. She gasped in surprised but he payed it no mind, kissing her surprisingly gently and with a slight suck on her bottom lip, Mikan had been coaxed into kissing back. She could feel her heart beating like crazy and through the seemingly incredible kiss, her mind was dazed; not yet processing that this was in fact Natsume Hyuuga she was kissing. She hated this man and had sworn revenge on him for all eternity. Even when she came to this realisation, she couldn't stop kissing him. One of Natsume's hands had moved to brush her hair back as his other held her cheek affectionately. She was confused by his actions, having expected for Natsume to be aggressive with this sort of thing, (not that she had thought about it before) but the gentleness was extremely unexpected. However, despite the contrast compared to his aggressive personality, Mikan found herself melting in his hold. She scolded herself, reminding her body that she needed to hate something like this happening; especially when it came to Natsume but according to her body, halting their actions was just impossible. This is why she was relieved when he finally pulled back, leaving them both panting as he touched his forehead against hers. His eyes were piercing her own as if he was trying to hypnotise her and honestly, she almost believed that he was.

"Still don't want to go out with me?" He asked, feeling satisfied by the kiss, yet he yearned for more. He was happy at the fact that Mikan had returned his kiss, his mouth curved into a smirk to show it. Mikan's eyes glanced down at his lips before she felt anger well up in her chest and she pushed him away with surprising force, so much so that he stumbled slightly. He huffed at the action but he didn't back down, walking closer to her once again. She was wary, getting as far back as she could but the wall didn't aid much in her attempt at escape. One arm was back to trapping her and Natsume leaned forward. Mikan flinched, expecting him to kiss her again and she closed her eyes but he felt his lips next to her ear after a moment.

"If you don't love me now then I'll make you fall in love with me." His voice was a whisper and his words seemed genuine. He pulled back, giving her an unreadable look as he shoved his hands back into his pockets before walking down the hall and to his own room. As she heard his door close, she let out a shuddering breath, her head hitting the wall as she leaned back. She was suddenly exhausted but she could still feel his lips on hers and she shivered. She recalled his words, frowning slightly.

"What does he mean by that?" She asked herself, not sure exactly what the man meant. Was he planning to attempt at winning her over so he can end up crushing her? Maybe he'd take embarrassing pictures of her and post them around the school. She shook her head. He wouldn't do that, she thought; she disliked him but she knew he wasn't that type of guy. The thought of Natsume having feelings for her flittered through her mind but she laughed at her own stupid way of thinking. "That's the least believable thing of all." She sighed before unlocking her door, walking into her room. For now, she'd have a bath and give some thought as to why he did that, and why she ended up kissing back.

She sat in the bath and looked up at the white ceiling helplessly as the cherry blossom scented steam from the water eased her headache. "Make me fall in love with him, huh? What a joke."

When Natsume got back to his room he leaned against the wall and began banging his head against it continuously. He was an idiot, allowing himself to force himself on her like that. Despite her having kissed back, he knew he'd made a mistake. She would definitely hate him more now. He hadn't even been able to say how he felt; she probably thought he was playing a stupid prank on her or something. It's not like she was new to this whole confession thing; now that they were all older, she got at least two guys a week coming up to her and confessing. She even had a fan club; girls and boys alike having joined to admire Mikan's beauty and determination. He felt pissed off suddenly, knowing that he had just failed to do what countless guys and girls had built up the courage to do. He was afraid; the rejection of just a simple question having pierced his heart. It would have been less painful if she had stabbed him with an actual dagger; however, he could understand her actions. He needed to get her to love him; crave him- just as he did for her. He needed her to return his feelings equally. He sighed, stopping his head from banging against his wall any longer. He'd try again and he wouldn't give up. Mikan was worth the pain, even if he gets rejected thousands of times, he refused to give up. With that, he began to do his usual evening activities as he planned with her on his mind.

Mikan had spent most of the night thinking about the whole ordeal with Natsume and she had hardly gotten two hours of sleep before her alarm clock had woken her up. She shook it off and smiled at the rising sun, looking forward to another good day at the Alice Academy; not to mention the fact that it was Friday and she would be able to have a good time with her friends at school, despite the difficult work that awaited her. Mikan always awoke with the sun, never wanting to miss out on the day. She got out of bed to start her morning routine, rinsing off in the shower as she exfoliated her skin. After getting out of the shower, she applied moisturiser to her face before she released her dry hair from the wet, pink and white polka dot shower cap.

Her skin had been looking good lately so she hadn't bothered with makeup most days but sometimes she'd look a bit under the weather and be forced to wear it. She actually enjoyed wearing makeup quite a lot but she didn't like to use it often, preferring to use her money on things like sweets and food. She decided against the makeup despite the bags under her eyes and began to brush her hair. It was well past her shoulders now, almost reaching the middle of her back. It was constantly wavy and she was never sure exactly what to do with it so she usually left it out. When it was hot, she'd like to tie it up but she didn't do much else with it- but seeing as it was winter, she preferred the extra warmth long hair provided.

When she had finished her morning routine, smelling like tangerine from her perfume and dressed in her Alice Academy winter uniform, she went out for a walk before classes started. She had a red scarf adorning her neck and she huddled into it at the cold breeze attacking her previously warm skin, matching red gloves keeping her hands warm. She yawned as she walked around the outer campus, the weather so cold that she could see her breath as if it were smoke. Her eyes followed the trail of the 'smoke' before catching familiar raven hair, crimson eyes focused on a manga. Natsume was sitting back on a bench, legs across the wood as he leaned against the armrest. He seemed to be engrossed in his manga and Mikan couldn't help her heart beating faster at the tingle she felt on her lips.

She had been thinking about why she'd allowed herself to kiss him back last night and she hated the answer she'd thought up; the conclusion being, despite the fact that she was incredibly inexperienced, she knew he was good at kissing and she'd been swept away by his skilled mouth. Her first real kiss, never before having had more than a peck on the lips or an accidental kiss here and there. You'd be surprised how many men fell on her around here and caught her lips by accident. Never before had she kissed them back and such a long and thorough kiss like she had with Natsume was unheard of. She suddenly felt the need to question him, the words forming in her head before she even realised. However, despite wanting to talk with him about it, she felt awkward about it. He'd kissed her; that wasn't anything he'd done before so how was she even supposed to act around him? Was she supposed to act like everything was normal or should she be angry? He did steal the kiss, after all. She still hadn't forgotten the fact that he was most likely pranking her.

She sighed, deciding to make her way over to Natsume in the end. Hands meeting each other for a nervous dance, she stopped in front of him and called out his name. Her heart almost stopped as that crimson gaze met her eyes and Mikan tried her best not to stare at those same lips which touched her own the evening before. He hummed that same way he always does, his emotionless face somehow seeming different to her once again. She was speechless as she stared, flustered by the sight of him from the flashes of last night running through her head.

He sighed. "You have something to ask me, right? Sit." She seemed surprised as Natsume lowered his manga and moved to make space for her, giving her his full attention. She sat and looked down nervously, playing with the fabric of her gloves. She'd have preferred if he did as he normally would- that he would continue to read and give her the cold shoulder.

"I've been thinking about last night." Her voice was quiet, uncharacteristically so and he knew she was serious. "I want to know what you meant by what you said. You said you'd make me fall in love with you." Natsume stared at her for a moment before he frowned, understanding what she was thinking. He was offended, to be completely honest; she should at least know he wouldn't do such a dishonourable thing. He slammed down his manga beside him before taking her hand and wrenching her toward him so that she was facing him, their bodies closer than what she was comfortable with.

"Don't you dare think for one second I'd use some cheap tricks like love potions or whatever kind of crap they sell around here." He took a deep breath to calm himself before he held her chin, pulling her closer as his voice lowered.

"I've fallen for you, idiot. Whether you like it or not, it's not something I exactly chose either but that's how it is. When I said I'm going to make you love me, I'm not going to force you. I mean I'm going to show you that I'm the one you want; the one you need. I'll make you love me with the entirety of your stupid, huge, polka-dotted heart, no matter how long it takes." The sincerity in his voice almost scared her and her face turned as red as Natsume's eyes at the words.

His eyes flickered to her lips before he leaned in to kiss her for the second time in the last twenty four hours. The smell of a freshly shaved face and aftershave attacked her senses and she noticed how gentle he was being, just as before. She wasn't sure what to do, stunned once again but it wasn't too long before he pulled back anyway. Their breath mingled for a still moment before he pulled back, glancing at her once more before he retrieved his manga and stood up. She watched Natsume's back as he walked away, her heart unable to calm down and her body left wanting more. She felt the regret of not kissing back but she scolded herself once again. This was Natsume. Natsume. She leaned against the bench hopelessly as she hid her red face.

"What do I do?" She asked herself before the she heard the bells echoing loudly from the school buildings, indicating she needed to get to class in the next ten minutes.

Mikan had a feeling she'd be late.

So there is the newly improved version. I have chapter two all ready but I'm working on the others right now. Hetero is quite difficult for me to write nowadays since I got into the dark world of yaoi but eh, what can you do? PM if you have something to say and comment if you like or dislike the change. I hope you guys liked it.

-Nykh