A/N: Hey, guys! Finally, I've put into writing the story that has been circulating in my mind for quite a while. I hope you'll like it! Don't forget to stop by at the Reviews section, okay?
Disclaimer: Natsume Hyuuga and Andou Tsubasa are gods. Like Zeus-Poseidon kind of gods. Courtesy of Higuchi Tachibana. Thank you for them! Also, to my favorite author, Judith McNaught, whom I got the inspiration to write stories, I am so lucky I came across your wonderful creations. I love you forever, my heroine.
X,
Alyx Hawthorne
And if my heart is lying then
What should I believe in?
Why do I go crazy
Every time I think about you, baby
Why else do I want you like I do?
If I'm Not in Love with You
Chapter One: Of Chocolates and Confessions
(18 year-olds. Senior High School)
Natsume blinked.
What just happened?
He stared at the empty space in front of him where Sakura Mikan just occupied a while ago. He shook his head to recall the series of unfortunate events.
He was sitting peacefully atop the Sakura tree, hiding from those crazy fan girls who have been cornering him every step of his way ever since he entered the gates of the Senior High School Division that morning and forcing their boxes of chocolates on his face, making him nauseous. God, how he really hated Valentine's Day! He didn't even get the chance to train with his teammates at the soccer field earlier because he knew what will happen there! As the Team Captain of the Alice University Senior High School Division Soccer Team, he has a big responsibility on his shoulders to maintain the championship to their name. He made it a point to his teammates to always train every morning and also in the afternoon, after classes.
But not today. No, no, no.
Today was different. It was Valentine's Day. And they will be bombarded.
He doesn't like seeing girls running around his field and running after him just to shove on his face their homemade chocolates. Natsume would bet his life that half of those girls didn't even know what he really likes, what he really hates, what he loves to watch on a Saturday night, and other things about him aside from those superficial information his fan clubs have about him. They were just overwhelmed with his face and his popularity that they decided to join the others in pursuit of him.
Damn it.
Good thing he has a hideout.
The Sakura Tree has been his solace ever since he stepped into this school. It may have been a miracle to find a secret place but maybe the gods were watching him that time and pitied him so they gave him this place. And for the years he has been in the school, no one knew about it. Well, except his best friend, Ruka Nogi.
He quickly slipped out of his class and made sure to be up at his hideout just before the lunch bell rang.He disappeared himself completely from those girls who throw themselves at him before they realize that he was already out.
He was having a very peaceful time and almost at the verge of sleeping when suddenly, this loud-mouthed, cheerful friend of hisshowed up, breaking the peaceful atmosphere surrounding him.
Sakura Mikan, the loud, sunny, over-energetic girl whowas the only girl (space) friend he ever had. And will ever have. Because Sakura's determination was unwavering in befriending him, in the end, Natsume found that she was not that annoying like the other girls. She was different and Natsume noticed that.
And so they became friends since Elementary.
But, boy, was he in for a shock when Sakura Mikan presented him a box of chocolates, which looked great, by the way - wrapped in a box with a simple silver ribbon tied around it. And hey! It was dark chocolate, just as he liked. But, Together with her homemade chocolates, which looked great, she also presented her feelings to Natsume.
Gods, THAT he did not expect.
That idiot friend of his had feelings for him and kept it until now? And what did she expect? Reciprocate her feelings? No way! Natsume didn't like her likethat. Sakura was just a friend. A loud, cheerful, thoughtful, attractive friend. Nothing more, nothing less. She was the only girl Natsume can tolerate near him and now she was hoping that they'd be more than that? Well, she didn't really say it like that but it was the gist of what she was saying. Had she gone mad? No freakin' way.
And of course, being Natsume Hyuuga, he said it to her face without flinching. He said that he didn't like her and he only sees her as a friend.
Sakura slightly stiffened, a sad smile on her lips. "Oh. Yes,of course. I know," she mumbled then looked down.
She looked up again and Natsume saw… tears? Are those tears brimming on her eyelashes?
Before Natsume could recognize it, she quickly spun on her heels.
"Sorry for disturbing you. Have a nice day, Natsume," she said and then ran off.
He shook his head again.
So it was real.
Natsume looked up, his crimson eyes following the wake of the running girl, red-brown pigtails flying crazily behind her.
Idiot Polka, he thought as he slumped back on his earlier position.
He tried to continue his peaceful sleep, at the same time, trying not to accommodate that tiny nagging feeling on his chest and hollow in his stomach.
Tch.
(20 year-olds. College Sophomore)
It has been two years since Mikan confessed to Natsume. Two years since he turned her down. No one knew about her confession. Even their friends Ruka, Koko, Iinchou, Anna, and Nonoko had no idea what happened on that day.
Just the person who confessed and the person who refused the confession.
Except, of course, Imai Hotaru, Sakura's best friend, who always knew everything and anything about everyone. She even knew things about people just before they knew it themselves. How scary was that?
"You're an idiot like her, Hyuuga," she said to him matter-of-factly as they once met in the school corridors leading to the science laboratory.
Natsume glared at her. "What is that supposed to mean, Imai?" he growled. Natsume Hyuuga doesn't like being talked like that.
Hotaru Ima's violet eyes trained on him, her right eyebrow perfecting an arc. For one crazy moment, Natsume felt like he was being thought of an idiot and he hated it. He was just starting to figure out a way to know what she wanted to tell him but she suddenly rolled her eyes.
"Go figure yourself," she said coolly and walked away.
But that was it.
No one ever said another word about it like it never happened at all. Sometimes, Natsume thought that it actually didn't happen.
If not for Sakura's odd demeanor ever since.
Now, as Mr. Narumi, with his usual strange costume, twirled inside the class and announced that tomorrow will be a free day for the class, everyone cheered and clapped. He told everyone that he was making tomorrow a free cut to give way to those girls who would give chocolates and presents to the one they admire most.
"It is a once-a-year celebration!" Narumi-sensei said, sighing, heart in his eyes. "Everyone must be happy and everyone must receive love, love, and love!" He made another twirl in front of the class, his hand acting like a fairy's magical wand. His strange antics were well-known to the whole campus.
Mr. Narumi told them that they could celebrate Valentine's Day whatever and however they wanted to.
Natsume, when heard the word "love", suddenly remembered the awkward events that happened two years ago under the Sakura tree. He discreetly glanced at Sakura Mikan and, for the life of him, did not understand how she bloomed into a fine, young lady in the past two years. Yes, she was still clumsy but not that clumsy anymore. She was still as cheerful as ever but somehow, Natsume can feel that something changed. He didn't understand how he knew it but he knew something was different with her.
She became... less energetic? Stronger? Aloof? Some people didn't notice it. But he did, he just couldn't pin point what changed and it started to frustrate the hell out of him. In the first place, why the hell did he even notice that there was a change in her? Now he was wracking his brain to know what it was. Ugh, dammit.
Sakura Mikan has also started to wear her curled tresses in a ponytail ever since they entered sophomore year and it suited her perfectly. How his friend transformed to who she was now, he won't ever understand in a million years.
For an intelligent person bordering genius, Hyuuga really is dumb when it comes to girls, Imai Hotaru thought to herself, not listening to Mr. Narumi talking about Valentine's crap. What in hell does she care about that day, anyway? Discreetly spying Natsume again, Hotaru knew that the intelligent, popular school jock never knew he was being observed by her ever since she heard Mikan crying inside the bathroom on Valentine's Day.
She wanted to see Hyuuga that moment because she was a hundred percent sure he was the cause of her best friend's tears but she didn't want to humiliate Mikan more by confronting the asshole. She'll just find some ways to make his life a living hell. But given how private and distant that jerk was, it would take double effort to know his dirt.
She began spying on him as soon as she could and the first thing she learned: Natsume Hyuuga didn't like breaking a routine, in which, it looked like her best friend obliviously did the next morning.
Hotaru also knew that he was always thinking on what happened ever since Mikan confessed to him. She always caught him looking at her, and even spent an entire class period just doing it.
Really. What was interesting with her best friend's hair? Maybe she could make money from it.
Hotaru was just starting to enumerate on her mind why Natsume was truly an idiotic jock who does not deserve her best friend when suddenly, a loud knock was heard.
Mr. Narumi stopped talking and looked on his left shoulder as a head poked in.
"Yo, Mr. Narumi," a voice said.
Then all of a sudden, girls gasped and squealed.
It was Andou Tsubasa, a senior, Vice-Captain of Alice University Swimming Team, and, obviously, a heartthrob of the campus.
"Oh, Tsubasa! What a surprise!" Mr. Narumi exclaimed, smiling at his former student. "What are you doing in the Sophomore Department?"
Girls started to coo and giggle.
"Hi, Tsubasa-senpai!"
"Tsubasa-senpai, you will accept my chocolates tomorrow, right?"
"Tsubasa-senpai, can I watch you while you train at the pool? With swimming trunks only?"
Girls' giggles erupted in the class. They continued to shout and cheer. Some guys were envious and glared at Tsubasa.
"Hey, girls!" He winked at them. The girls squealed.
Hotaru and some guys who weren't envious, shook their heads.
Pathetic, they thought, shaking their heads again.
Mikan, on the other hand, smiled with amusement at her classmates' frolics about an upperclassman and continued with her taking down notes about the special project Mr. Narumi was talking about.
Tsubasa Andou slipped inside the class smoothly. "Oh, I'm sorry for disturbing your class, Mr. Narumi, but I visited here to give someone this." Behind him, he was holding a very huge bouquet of Holland tulips and red roses. It was so huge and so fragrant that another gush of excited squeals from the girls were heard.
Mr. Narumi sighed happily and clasped his hands together,
"Ah, Valentine's! How sweet of you, Tsubasa. And may I know who this lucky girl is?"
He smiled at him, winked mysteriously. He walked between the desk aisles as everyone's eyes followed him. The girls hushed and tried to see who the lucky girl was, secretly longing to be the one who will be given the flowers.
"Actually, this is for…" He walked, circling an aisle and stopped suddenly.
Everyone gasped.
"This is for you, Sakura Mikan," he said, smiling, presenting to her the very large bouquet.
To Be Continued
A/N: Sweet criticisms are okay. But positive reviews will be much appreciated. Thanks a lot, guys! For those who do not know the song, it's entitled "If I'm Not in Love" by Faith Hill. Great song, I tell you. If you haven't listened to it, check it out now!
Leave a mark. X,
Alyx Hawthorne