There Will Be Angels

Mikan stared blankly at Hayate and the classroom was abuzz with quiet murmurs. The world seems to be in a state of chaos.

Hayate's eyes, black like that of night, transcended through the rows and rows of seats until he found her.

He stared at her as she did to him. Her face was blank, her complexion a bit pale, her teeth biting her bottom lip, and her fingers tightly grasping a pen.

And to her right, Natsume was sleeping on his des, his breathing even and his lips relaxed. He had not heard anything nor seen anything and was therefore unaware of the arrival of this new student.

"Hayate, why don't you find an empty seat? Class is about to start," said the teacher as he left he classroom momentarily.

The students erupted into a frenzy of gossip and debate over the strange happenings of this year. St. Alice rarely had new transfer students so Mikan's arrival at the end of the semester was already strange enough, but the arrival of Hayate made it even more unbelievable. Was St. Alice really that attractive?

Hayate walked down the podium and followed the aisle between the desks. His face was expressionless but his straight posture and black eyes gave off a sense of pride.

All the girls were very excited and pretended to organize the items on their desks hoping he would choose to sit next to them.

But he didn't see any of this and walked in a straight line towards the back of the classroom.

Mikan could feel his steps coming closer and felt like she couldn't breathe. She tried to take a breath, grasping her pen tightly, but it somehow managed to fall from her fingers, bounce off the table and fall to the floor.

The pen rolled away until it stopped before a pair of black leather shoes.

Hayate picked up the pen. When his 6'2" figure bent down to pick up that small pen, many of the girls in the class suddenly sighed.

He returned the pen to her.

"Thank you," said Mikan quietly, not daring to raise her head.

She reached out to take the pen from his fingers, but he grasped it tightly as though he were never going to let go. After a couple seconds, he took her hand and gently placed the pen in her palm and slowly closed her fingers around it.

His hand was very cold.

Mikan bit her lip and finally lifted her head to look at him. His black eyes revealed his hurt.

He silently turned around and left, sitting in the empty desk across the aisle from her.

"Hey! Who is he?" Natsume yelled. The first thing he saw when he woke up was that kid grabbing Mikan's hand. How dare he hold her hand? And how dare she let him?

Mikan jumped a little in her seat, "You're awake?"

"I asked you who he is!" Natsume glared at her, his fury spurting our.

"Oh…He…" she hesitated, forcing a slight smile, "He is the new transfer student."

"Where from?"

"…St. Mary."

St. Mary again. Natsume analyzed her carefully, "You know him?"

Mikan looked down at her textbook and slurred, "Haha, the teacher just introduced him."

"Mikan!"

Natsume's scream earned the attention of everyone in the class including the teacher who just walked in.

Hayate turned his head to look at Natsume, his eyes very dark. Natsume glared back at him.

Their stares were so intense that the class could almost hear the "crackle" of the sparks.

Mikan pulled lightly on Natsume's shirt, carefully observing the fury on his face, and whispered, "Class is starting."

"So what?" he hissed, "Tell me, who is he?" Natsume wasn't stupid. He knew that it was impossible for Mikan not to know that kid, especially after the look on her face after she saw him.

"I need to take notes…" she whispered.

"Screw the notes!"

"Taking good notes helps when reviewing for tests therefore increasing the chance of getting good grades," she said smiling at him, her eyes like crescent moons.

"I don't care about grades," he said with a slight pout. He couldn't be angry when faced with a smile like hers.

"And you should stop sleeping. This teacher's class is actually quite interesting."

"Stop telling me what to do!" Natsume hissed as he continued to sleep on his desk. The blinding afternoon sunlight is not suitable for lessons, only for sleeping.

The unconscious Natsume genuinely smiled like that of a child. Mikan silently watched him as the teacher's lessons went right by her.

She wanted to stay by him like this forever, just silently watching over him.

The afternoon classes ended at the blink of an eye.

Natsume slept for a whole afternoon and stood up with a yawn and stretch, "I going to take you somewhere in a minute."

Mikan closed her textbook, "Where?"

"You'll know when you get there! Stop asking questions!" he said with annoyance and looked at her. Her simple, white dress and silky, brown hair made her seem translucent under the sunlight. "You…"

"What"

"Um, you look really beautiful today." he said slurring his words.

"Oh, thank you."

"Why do you always wear white?" he asked. Besides their "first date" where he told her to wear that green dress, she always seemed to wear white.

"White is the color of angels," she smiled.

"Angels?" Why does she always like to talk about that.

"Yeah. Angels are pure and flawless so they like white. If one wears white, then it will be easier to find angels."

"Find what?" Natsume was more and more confused as the conversation progressed.

"Mikan," a deep, rich voice interrupted.

Mikan's hand froze and dropped a textbook. She frantically bend down to pick it up but two hands reached it before her.

She froze.

One hand got the book and picked it up, throwing it into her arms.

"Why are you so clumsy? When you meet my friends in a minute, you can't be this stupid, you hear me?" Natsume's fire burned again. Mikan hasn't been normal since that new kid transferred here. There must be something going on.

"Oh," Mikan said, smiling awkwardly.

"Apologize to her," said Hayate as he confronted Natsume. His tall stature was enough to intimidate many people, but Natsume glared back to his cold eyes.

"What's it to you?" Natsume yelled.

"She's not someone you can bully. Apologize!"

"It's fine!" Mikan hurriedly said.

"What's her relationship to you, anyways?" asked Hayate.

"She's my…" Natsume glanced at Mikan, "…my girlfriend. She's my girlfriend so it's none of your business whether or not I yell at her!"

"Girlfriend…"

Heavy, hurt eyes turned to Mikan.

"You…are his girlfriend?"

Mikan bit her lip. She couldn't seem to breathe under Hayate's pained eyes.

The afternoon sun lightly shined into the classroom. The rustling leaves by the window had a slight, clean scent.

Natsume turned his head slowly to glare at the silent Mikan, "Hey! Tell him you are my girlfriend!"

It was Natsume's first time seeing Mikan like this.

Her face was pale and expressionless. She stood right there under the sunlight, but Natsume felt she was unreachable.

"Did you hear me? Tell him!" Natsume's heart suddenly felt an unprecedented sense of panic and began to shake Mikan's shoulders.

"Let go of her!" Hayate said grabbing Natsume's hand.

But this action quickly led to Natsume's fist meeting Hayate's face.

"Hayate!" Mikan shrieked, rushing over to the hurt Hayate. At this moment, she suddenly seemed to awaken from her trance and tried to take deep breathes to calm herself.

Blood rushed out of Hayate's nose.

Mikan hurriedly took out a tissue and stood on her tippy toes to help Hayate stop the blood. He pressed against her fingers which were holding the tissue to his nose. Seeing this, Mikan quickly took her hand away and cautiously glanced at Natsume.

Surprisingly, Natsume seemed to have calmed down. He coldly analyzed the two, "You two knew each other before." This was not a question, but more of a statement.

"We've been together since childhood," said Hayate.

"Shut up! I'm asking her!" Natsume's eyes were sharp like a blade and they stared directly at Mikan.

"…Yes."

"And he likes you?"

Mikan became silente, not aware of how to answer this question.

"Whether or not I like her is none of your business," Hayate said, grasping her shoulder and whispering, "Is that him? The one that has…"

"Hayate!" Mikan interrupted him with fear.

Hayate smiled painfully, "I can't believe there are things like this in the world…"

"Mikan," Natsume said. "What is your relationship to him?" Ice seemed to freeze the blood within him. He felt like the world's biggest idiot.

"I…" Mikan knew Natsume had misunderstood but Hayate's sudden appearance wreaked havoc on her mind. Her relationship to Hayate? Say he is Rei's best friend? Say that he has always liked her?

"I was once classmates with him."

"Just classmates?" Natsume interrogated. Her figure next to Hayate's made him want to punch him some more.

"Yep," she said forcing a nod, her fingers tightly entertwined.

Natsume glared at her.

She's lying to me.

Is this the first time she's lied to him or has she been lying all along?

Hayate couldn't bear to hear anymore of this so he grabbed Mikan's arm and walked towards the classroom door. Mikan struggled. No, she couldn't leave. Natsume was already angry. His coldness was scarier than his violent outburst.

"Let go of me! Hayate! I can't leave, I have stuff to do…" she said trying to think of an excuse to be released.

"What stuff?" Hayate yelled.

"I…"

Mikan bit her lip and stared back at Natsume.

Natsume was standing alone.

The sunlight made his shadow slant sharply on the ground.

The diamond in his earring had a cold glint.

He icily stared at her.

"If you walk away with him now, don't ever talk to me again," he said, his voice even colder than his diamond earring.

"And I have something to tell you too, Mikan!" Hayated said, trying to suppress his fury. "If you don't want to leave with me, then we'll have our conversation right here in the classroom!" Why was she so protective of a kid she hasn't even known for a month.

"You—!" Mikan looked back with panic. In Hayate's eyes, she saw a reckless pain, one that could motivate him to do anything.

Hayate pulled her out of the classroom, not giving her a chance to explain to Natsume.

Seeing her leave with that kid made Natsume's face become pale and his fingers tremble.

Evening at the café was signaled by the red light of the setting sun. There were not many customers in the store so the atmosphere was very peaceful. At a table by the windows, a boy and a girl had remained silent for a very long time. The boy's ice water had never been touched and the girl's formerly warm milk tea had long since turned cold.

"Go back with me," said Hayate, finally breaking the silence. He couldn't just watch her do such a reckless thing for such a reckless reason.

"No."

He lifted his head, "But he is not Rei!"

Mikan tightly gripped her straw, "Hayate, you should go back. Your grades are so good that transferring back to St. Mary shouldn't be an issue."

"I won't unless you go back with me!"

Mikan stared at him. His stubbornness still hasn't changed.

"No," she told him.

"Mikan!"

Ever since he met her, she has already said "no" countless times. Rei was such a talented guy that there was no way he could compete. But how come she still says "no" after Rei is gone?

"Go back and pretend you never knew me."

Finished, she got up to leave.

In a state of fury, Hayate grabbed her shoulder and pushed her back down into her seat, "How many time do I have to tell you so you'll remember? Rei's dead! Already dead! That guy is not Rei! Do you understand?"

Mikan took her milk tea and poured it over Hayate's head.

The liquid flowed down and tiny beads of it reached his pitiful face.

Mikan took a deep breath as it was difficult to breathe with her body's trembles, "And I have already told you that if I ever hear you say that word again, you are not my friend anymore."

"I don't like Hayate!" she pouted with unhappiness. Why did they have to be neighbors? Ever since they were young, Hayate would always stare at her with the eyes of a hawk.

He was sitting in front of the computer researching, but smiled as he heard her say that.

"Can we just not talk to him anymore?" she pouted again, stuffing her mouth with a spoon of ice cream.

He smiled again. She would always complain to him like this two or three times a month.

"Hey! Did you hear me? I'm going to get mad!" she yelled into his ear.

He smiled and finally took his attention away from the monitor.

"What happened now?"

Her face suddenly reddened, "Well…he…he…kissed my finger!" That stupid Hayate insisted she watch his basketball game, which she agreed to as he was Rei's best friend. She sat down forcefully and watched the game while holding his clothes. But after the game, when she was returning Hayate's clothes, he grabbed her finger and kissed it. She immediately slapped him afterwards.

Rei wrinkled his brow and then took out a handkerchief to rub her finger, "Better?"

"It still feels disgusting!"

He then lightly kissed her finger, his kiss with the slight perfume of pine. Her heart immediately felt like her ice cream, soft and sweet. Cuddling up to him she said, "I still don't like him."

"He likes you."

"…I know," she said. That Hayate has confessed his love to her dozens of times since they were young.

"Hayate is our friend."

"No he is not!"

"Have you forgotten that year when you were admitted into the hospital and needed to stay overnight? I collected all the money I had and it wasn't enough. You were crying in pain and no matter how I begged the doctor he insisted I get the money first…"

"I hate that hospital!" she cursed. She remembered how Rei's pale face begged that doctor. No matter how painful she couldn't let her Rei, her proud Rei, to beg others. But at the time the situation was very chaotic and Rei couldn't hear her protests.

"Fortunately there was Hayate…"

"It's just that his family is rich," she muttered.

"Mikan!"

"Fine, fine," she surrendered. "Friends, friends, alright."

He shook his head while smiling, "Hayate has always been very nice to you."

She suddenly chuckled, "Yeah, now that I think about it Hayate has been quite good to me…why don't…"

"Hm?"

"…I try and date him for a while?" Her eyes seemed to glow, "Alright?"

He looked at her.

Her smile was so bright and mischievous.

He smiled, "Alright."

Her smile immediately collapsed. She glared at him, the fire burning in her chest.

"I dare you to say that again!"

She was so upset that he wasn't upset. He wasn't jealous at all, which was the natural reaction she was used to seeing in romance novels.

"You are supposed to be jealous!"

"Why?"

"Because I'm about to date another guy!"

He laughed.

"What's so funny? Don't laugh, be serious!" she glared. "If you don't tell me what's funny I'll…I'll…" She grabbed her ice cream to threaten him, "I won't give you a single bit of my ice cream!"

He rubbed his nose and smiled, "Oh." He really liked ice cream.

"Tell me!"

"Because you won't so I won't get jealous."

"Why won't I?"

He smiled, his eyelashes creating a light shadow over his face, "Because I like you."

"…"

"Because you like me too."

"…" The ice cream in her hands suddenly seemed to become softer.

"In this world, the person who likes you most is me and the person who likes me most is you." He hugged her and placed his face on her head and sighed, "I know you like me just as you know I like you."

A breeze blew in from the window.

He gently caressed her.

At that moment, all he could do was blissfully close his eyes and smile at the feeling.

"What if I die?" she asked. "Will you still love me if I die?"

He sighed.

She nervously grabbed onto him.

"If I die, will you like someone else? I once saw a movie where the main character's girlfriend died and then he found someone else and said that she must be really happy in her grave to see him move one."

She glared at him, "Rei, I'm telling you now. I will not be happy!"

"Oh, okay," he said.

"Even if I die, you can't like other girls, you hear me?" she said through her clenched teeth, "You just said that you like me the most but that's not enough!"

"…"

"You must only like me! You can't like other girls!"

"What about my mom?"

"Stop diverting the topic! When I die you can't like other girls you hear? Or else I will climb out of my grave, turn into a ghost, and haunt you! I will not give you my blessings!"

He laughed and touched her hair, liking the silkiness of it.

"Promise me!"

"Alright," he said. "I promise to only like you."

She smiled with satisfaction, "Me too."

"But, if I die first, remember to find a good guy to love you," he said, his fingers lightly gliding over his lips. "Don't be sad, don't cry, and don't only like me. You must be happy like you are now because my Mikan is the cutest when smiling. You must remember that I will give you guys my blessings…just…remember to think of me once in a while…"

"Why don't you just say that I should completely forget about you? Wouldn't you seem even greater that way?" she pouted. "You're always like this, making me feel like I'm such a bad person and you are so flawless."

He smiled, "I couldn't bear the thought of you completely forgetting about me. If you did, I would be very sad too. Just put me in a corner of your heart, the smallest corner of your heart, and I will be very satisfied.

"That won't happen!" she said eating her ice cream.

"…"

"You won't die. You'll die after me," she said, hesitantly looking at the small amount of ice cream left in the cup. "It's because I don't trust anyone else to take care of you…I'll give you some ice cream, but you can only eat a little…"

The breeze from outside gently swayed the chiffon curtain.

She carefully fed him a spoon of ice cream.

"Just a little…"

The milk tea slid down Hayate's face. He didn't wipe it with a napkin.

"He really is dead."

"An icy feeling ripped through her body. She breathed, taking out the milk tea money and placing it on the table.

She didn't want to talk to him ever again.

"That guy isn't Rei! If he knew that you only got close to him because of his heart, if he knew that your smiles and caring were for another person, how would he react?" Hayate cried with pain.

"Are you threatening me?" Mikan's voice was light, light like a whisper.

Her light voice suddenly froze Hayate. He recalled when they were young, she would always laugh and hold onto Rei, but turn around and give him a glare.

She stood up, "I know he is not Rei, but Rei is with him."

Finished, she left the shop.

The red light of the setting sun shined through the window. Hayate sat there, not moving. She didn't even look back at him. She had never looked at him at all.

Ever since Rei died, he stayed by her constantly, trying to make her happy again, trying to return that smile to her face. But it was only when she learned that Rei's heart was transferred to a "Natsume Hyuuga's" body that he saw that light in her eyes again. She transferred to St. Alice to be by that kid, but when he transferred from St. Mary to be by her, she didn't even give him a smile.

She only smiled at "him."

She knows that guy isn't Rei but she would rather smile at a ghost than at him.

Hayate closed his eyes.

The cold milk tea slid down to his neck.

It was the afternoon and there was a slight drizzle outside the window. Inside, a teacher was conducting a lesson and the student nervously took notes.

"Now who can answer this problem?" asked the teacher looking off her class list. "How about Natsume Hyuuga?"

"Natsume?" the teacher asked looking for him amongst the crows.

Mikan looked at his seat and bit her lip. Hayate raised his head too and looked at Mikan.

The window seat of the last row of the classroom was empty.

"Skipping class?" the teacher said with an expressionless face. She picked up a pen and started writing on the attendance sheet. "Hyuuga has already skipped lcass twice."

"He's sick!" Mikan said standing up, nervously trying to "explain" to the teacher.

"Sick? What kind?"

"Cold," Mikan said as that was the first thing that came to mind.

"He skips class when he has a cod?"

"But then he became feverish!"

"How much?"

"…39 degrees." Mikan said with a red face.

The teacher was still skeptical and turned to the class president in the front row, "Hotaru, did Natsume tell you about his?"

Hotaru slowly raised her head and glanced at the nervous Mikan, "Yes."

The teacher nodded and corrected her former note on the attendance sheet.

Mikan sighed and looked at Natsume's empty seat.

The desk had a thin layer of dust covering it.

He hadn't attended class in three days.

At the mansion, a breeze carried rain and swayed the white, chiffon curtain. The silence of the living room was disrupted by a sudden crash from upstairs.

Ruka Nogi sat on the living room couch and looked up at the ceiling and smiled. Three days ago, Natsume said he would introduce him to a girl, but after waiting in the restaurant for two hours, no one showed up. After coming back, Mrs. Hyuuga said Natsume locked himself in his room didn't come out, even refusing to eat dinner. That night, he got sick and a doctor rushed over to see to it. After a discussion with the doctor, Mrs. Hyuuga decided to cancel all business plan and stayed home for a couple days.

"Ruka," said Mrs. Hyuuga standing by the window. Her figure was partly concealed by the dancing, white curtain, but was revealed during stronger breezes. Her skin was pearly and translucent and the shallow wrinkles on the corners of her eyes were like the streams of the voice was low and soft like fog.

"Yes, Mrs. Hyuuga?" Rei respected Natsume's mother. She, a petite, frail woman, was widowed at 25 and began running the company alone. Countless people pointed fingers and criticized her, but she remained strong and completed everything perfectly and flawlessly.

"What happened to Natsume?"

"…"

"You have been his best friend since childhood so he tells you everything."

"Yeah…" Ruka smiled. He didn't want to tell Mrs. Hyuuga anything he wasn't sure about.

"What kind of girl is it?"

Ruka looked up with surprise.

"Natsume has fallen in love, correct?" Mrs. Hyuuga sighed. Only love could make Natsume go to school everyday, zone out during dinner, laugh suddenly while sitting on the couch, and look in the mirror every morning to see if his clothes and hair are perfect.

"Have you seen that girl, Ruka?"

"No."

"Have you heard him talk of her?"

Ruka hesistated a second, "Yes."

"How is she?"

"She seems like quite a cute girl," Rei said, rubbing his nose and smiling, "Hearing Natsume describe some things about her, she seems to be very cute."

"Cute…?" Mrs. Hyuuga looked out the window at the rainy fog.

Natsume was always a naive boy. When he was a kid, he really liked a cute kitten. He fed it everyday and waited for it to fall asleep before going to sleep himself. But then one day, the kitten ran away and never came back. Natsume cried for a very, very long time. It was then that his first heart attack came about, which hospitalized him for one month.

This girl is really cute too?

"Mrs. Hyuuga, I'm going to go upstairs and check on Natsume."

Ruka stood up.

"Alright," Mrs. Hyuuga softly said. "Ask him what he wants to eat. I'll personally make it for him."

Ruka walked to the second floor and stopped in front of Natsume's room. He tried turning the doorknob, but discovered it was locked. He knocked, "Natsume, it's me."

"Go away!" camed a muffled sound.

Ruka knocked again and smiled, "What happened? Unhappy things should be shared with friends."

"I said go away!"

"Natsume, there is someone here to see you," Ruka cooed. "If you don't want to talk to me, then maybe you want to talk to her."

There was a sudden, strange silence from the room.

"Hey, Natsume. She says she is your classmate and needs to see you. She is downstairs right now.

Silence ensued.

"…who is it?"

"Her name was something like 'Mikan'."

The door slammed open.

Natsume's hair was a mess and his face was dark. He glared at Ruka and yelled, "Tell her to leave! Tell her I never want to see her again."

"Tell her yourself," Rei sighed. "I can't possibly tell a girl something so hurtful."

Natsume glared at him, walked towards the railing, and looked into the living room. It was empty.

"You tricked me!" he yelled with fury.

Ruka walked into his bedroom and sat on his bed smiling at the furious Natsume, "I thought you didn't want to see her? So why do you look like you want to kill me when you don't see her there?"

Natsume trudged in and collapsed onto his sofa, silently staring up at the ceiling.

"You heartbroken?" Ruka laughed as he rubed his nose. Only a breakup could make Natsume this awkward and depressed.

"If you want to fight just tell me!" said Natsume through clenched teech.

"So it is heartbreak," Ruka said shaking his head, "You would hit your friend over a girl."

"You—!" Natsume clenched his hand into a fist. "I'm not heartbroken!"

"Alright, alright, you're not heartbroken. You're just sad over a girl. But are you so sad that you don't even want to hear her voice?"

"Ruka Nogi," said Natsume. "Enough!"

Ruka found Natsume's phone, which he had turned off, and found the there were 20 or so new messages all from a girl called Mikan.

He looked at Natsume, "Why are you picking up her calls? It could all be a misunderstanding."

"It's not."

"It's not a misunderstanding?"

"…yeah."

There was no misunderstanding therefore there was not a need for explanation. She left with that other guy in front of him. She didn't even hesitate. She didn't even look back.

Natsume's face was pale. He took a deep breath. She already left with that other kid so why does she call back anyway?

The cell phone suddenly rang.

Ruka looked down and smiled. The caller was this "Mikan" again.

"Turn it off!"

Natsume reached for the phone and wanted to slam it on the floor.

In the dorms, Mikan patiently listened to the rings of the phone.

Is he still mad?

He didn't return any of her texts or pick up any of her calls. He must really be mad. That day when Hayate pulled her out of the classroom, she saw how mad he was.

The dial tone continued to ring from her phone.

This was the thirtieth call she had made these past three days and three nights. She knew that he wouldn't pick up, but she still wanted to call him.

"Hello?"

The other side of the line produced the pretty sound of a male's voice.

"…: Mikan was so used to Natsume not picking up her calls that suddenly when it connected, she didn't know what to say.

"Hello, is this Miss Mikan?" the voice asked. "I'm a friend of Natsume's."

Mikan suddenly felt as if her mind were struck by lightning. That voice…that voice…she wanted to hear it more clearly so she replied, "…hey. Hello. I'm Mikan."

"Do you need something from Natsume?"

"He…he hasn't come to class in three days so I wanted to know…" Mikan felt a little unstable because that voice sounded so familiar. It was really familiar…familiar like her breathing, so familiar that would never forget it…

"Natsume is sick so he didn't go," that voice was smiling like the first rays of summer sun to shine on the tree leaves, soft and carefree. "I thank you for your concern."

"…"

"Hello?'

"…"

"Mikan, are you there?" the voice asked with care.

She shook her head rapidly. No, it could not be possible. She must be hearing things. There is no way that she could hear Rei's voice. It's just not possible.

She took a deep breath and said, "…I'm here..sorry. Could I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Could you tell me Natsume's address? I…" So he was sick. But she didn't know how seriously so she tried to call him but he never picked up for her to explain.

The voice laughed, "Alright, I'll tell you. But…"

"What?"

"You don't plan on coming right now right?"

"I…" Mikan bit her lip. She was, in fact, planning on going right after this phone call.

"It's raining outside. Why don't you wait until it stops? You can come later and in the meantime I will try to convince Natsume, alright?"

"…thank you."

"No problem. Oh right, Natsume is a really awkward and shy kid so if there are any misunderstandings, please communicate with him. He really likes you and from what I've heard, he says you are a really cute girl—"

Before he finished, the phone transmitted a terrifyingly scary yell.

"Shut up!"

The sound was so loud that Mikan was afraid she would go deaf.

"Hello? Natsume? It's me, Mikan."

A string of muttered curses were heard.

"Are you sick? Are you better now?"

"Why do you care?"

Well, he is well enough to yell and fight so he's probably a lot better now. Mikan relaxed a bit and said, "I'm sorry. I didn't actually want to leave with him that day."

"Shut up! I told you I never wanted to hear your voice again!"

"But you're hearing it now."

"You—"

She smiled, "Are you still upset?"

"…"

"What do I have to do to make you happy?" She was willing to do anything as long as it pleased him, as long as he let her stay by him.

"I said I don't want to hear your voice!" said Natsume as he violently hang up.

Mikan just stared at her phone.

The rain stopped the next day.

Summer was like this, every time it rained, the temperature seemed to become a littler warmer. The sunlight seemed especially bright, and even the leaves were blinding. The gardens of the two mansions on either side of the road were decorated with blooming floras of all kinds.

In the afternoon, even the breeze brought a wave of warmth. The mountain road was straight and broad without many people or cars.

Mikan was the only one walking.

The public bus stopped at the base of the mountain because all residents of the mansions had private cars. Mikan had walked on this road for about 40 minutes and was already sweating. The voice in the phone told her that Natsume's house was the white mansion that was highest in location in comparison to the other houses.

She could kind of see that white European building. The green trees covered it from her view, but she could already see its extraordinary elegance and grace.

Wiping some sweat off her forehead, she continued up the mountain, using her hands to block the blinding sunlight and trying to breathe the clear air.

Coming from the other side was a white racecar. Its color was elegant and not arrogant and its speed was steady and not fast.

The car passed Mikan.

A string of beautiful music drifted out of the car and into her ear.

She froze.

That song…

That was Rei's favorite piece by Chopin. He had liked it ever since middle school and would listen to it when doing homework and before sleeping.

She turned around to look at it.

Within the car, there seemed to be a familiar figure with a soft smile, glossy hair, and elegant facial features.

The car completely disappeared down the road.

She closed her eyes and felt her legs becoming weak. Sitting down on the road, she curled up and rested her head on her knees.

The mountain road was lonely.

It was empty with no signs of people. The leaves gently swayed and the cicadas tirelessly called. The sunlight was blinding enough to make one dizzy.

In the mountain, her petite frame was like that of a lost little kid.

Evening struck as the red light shined on the mountain path.

The cars on the road increased, but she was still sitting there alone. Every car that passed would honk, but she never seemed to hear it. There didn't seem to be any sound in her world.

The sun was about to completely set below the horizon, when a furious voice erupted in front of her.

"Why are you here?"

Author's Note:

Hello my beloved readers. It has been about a year since I wrote my last chapter and I apologize for this agonizingly long wait for I had been very busy throughout the year and just returned from a long vacation. Here is Chapter 6 and I hope you enjoy it. As always, please message me with any questions, comments, or concerns and definitely review if you have an opinion! Thank you to all my readers. You guys do not know how much I value you.

Love to all of you,

Linda