*It's weird, you know the end of something great is coming, but you want to hold on, just for one more second, just so it can hurt a little more.
"Come on." Natsume grabbed Mikan's hand, and together, the two of them went to the other direction, leaving Megumi behind.
Mikan just let Natsume lead the way. She didn't protest; she didn't argue; she didn't fight with him. She was still too shocked from what he said earlier and she had not yet recovered from the effect of his words.
Because you've hurt and insulted the woman that I love. The words ran through her mind.
Immediately, her face started to become warm. He loved her. Natsume Hyuuga still loved her. Without realizing it, tears started to form in her eyes, and before she was even aware of it, she was sobbing.
"Hey, are you alright?" Natsume turned to look at her, and he stopped on his tracks when he saw that she was crying. "Are you hurt?" He asked, deep concern evident in his voice.
Mikan just shook her head. Her heart was hammering in her chest.
"Then why are you crying?"
"There's just something in my eye." She lied.
"You're lying." Natsume's crimson eyes bore into hers. "Mikan just tell me the truth." He pleaded.
Mikan looked away from him.
"Like I said, there's just something in my eye." She insisted. "I'll just go to the restroom for a minute." She quickly ran away before he could stop her.
Luckily, there was no one in the bathroom and Mikan was able to cry as much as she wanted. Minutes have passed, and she had finally calmed down. She looked at herself in the mirror.
Her hair was a mess, her eyes were red due to too much crying and there was a bruise on her cheek. She looked like she had been attacked by a harpy, a pretty nasty one she might add. She sighed and ran a brush through her hair. After fixing her appearance, she finally got out, only to find Natsume waiting for her.
"What took you so long?" He demanded.
"I didn't tell you to wait for me." Mikan tried to sound as normal as she could.
"Well, I did."
"Never mind." Mikan sighed. "Let's just go and find the others." She said.
The two of them walked together in silence. After all, Natsume wasn't much of a talker and Mikan just didn't know what to say to him after what happened earlier. It was tense, awkward and quiet between them.
When they finally got to where the group had met before, they found that there was no one waiting for them.
"Where are they?" Mikan couldn't believe that Hotaru and the others would leave them behind.
"Who knows? They're probably looking for us." Natsume muttered. Sighing, he took his phone out of his pocket and started dialling.
Mikan also got her phone out and tried to contact Hotaru and the others, but none of them were answering their phones.
"The number you have dialled is either unattended or out of coverage area. Please call again later." Said the automatic voice of the operator as Mikan tried to call Eiji's phone. Sighing, she returned her phone into her pocket and turned to Natsume, hoping that he was able to contact any of their companions. But based on the scowl on his face, Mikan doubted that he had any progress at all.
"Ruka, Yuu, Koko and Kitsu aren't answering their phones at all." He grumbled under his breath, his expression full of obvious irritation.
"Hotaru and the others aren't answering their phones either." Mikan sighed. "We should probably wait for them here." She suggested.
"And then what?" Natsume raised his eyebrows at her questioningly.
"I don't know." Mikan admitted.
Suddenly, a young cheery woman, who was probably around her early twenties, approached them.
"Excuse me, but are you two a couple?" She asked.
Mikan blushed in embarrassment.
"No, we're just—" She tried to explain but she was immediately cut off.
"Yes, we are." Natsume answered. Mikan stared at him in shock.
"No we're—" She tried to protest, but Natsume placed his hand over her mouth, silencing her.
The lady looked at them questioningly.
"Sorry about my girlfriend. She's just not really used to the whole dating process yet." Natsume chuckled.
"Oh, is that so?" The lady laughed. "Well, you see, we are having a special event today for couples. Would the two of you want to join?" She asked.
"Of course we would."
The lady smiled. She guided them towards the booth that was surrounded by a lot of people. Natsume finally took his hand off of Mikan’s mouth.
"What the hell are you doing?" Mikan demanded.
"Did I do something wrong?" Natsume asked innocently.
"Yes! We are so not a couple!"
Natsume just smirked and leaned onto her.
"What are you doing?" Mikan couldn't help but blush at his closeness.
He just smirked again and whispered in her ear.
"Not a couple you say? Don't worry, we soon will be." And then he moved away from her. Mikan blushed even brighter than ever, while Natsume just chuckled in amusement.
When they finally got to the venue of the special event, Mikan's heart leapt out of her chest.
"You've got to be kidding me!" She couldn't help but shriek.
Right in front of them, was the largest darkest and scariest hunted mansion Mikan ever saw. She had to fight the urge to scream outright.
"Here is our Hunted Mansion. Inside are ghosts who are going to scare and catch each couple that they find. The first couple who can pass through all of the ghosts without letting go of each other's hands or getting caught will receive a special prize at the exit. Good luck to all of you!" The lady cheered.
There were only three couples participating in the event and the other two already entered the mansion. Mikan and Natsume on the other hand, had a little problem.
"Come on. Let's go already." Natsume complained. Mikan, however, had no intention of getting in that mansion.
"I. Don't. Want. To. Go." She said between gritted teeth.
Natsume snorted.
"Don't tell me that you're still afraid of ghosts?"
Mikan glared at him. All of the fear that she felt earlier had instantly evaporated.
"No, I'm not!" She grabbed hold of Natsume's hand and marched right into the mansion. Not until she heard the door close behind them did she realize what she had done. But it was already too late.
Mikan glanced nervously at all of her surroundings. It was dark inside, the atmosphere eerie; it was absolutely terrifying. She heard the floorboards creaking under their feet and suddenly, a headless ghost appeared out of nowhere. She screamed. Natsume, on the other hand, kept a calm expression and pulled Mikan away before she got caught. They ran as fast as they could, and after a few twists and turns along the way, they finally managed to outrun the ghost.
"That was a close one." Natsume muttered breathlessly. "Hey Mikan, are you still alive?" He asked.
Mikan was on the verge of tears. She didn't want to do this anymore. One more ghost and she'd have a nervous breakdown. Natsume must have sensed her fear, because he tightened his hold on her hand. Mikan turned to look at him, although it was a little difficult to see his expression since it was so dark.
"Sorry that I dragged you into this. But you don't need to be scared. I'm here and we'll be finished in no time. Just trust me." He said.
Mikan wiped her tears away with her free hand and squeezed his hand.
"Okay." She said. For a second or so, she could swear that she saw Natsume smile.
After passing through a moaning lady, a mummy and a severed hand that grabbed your feet when you pass by, they finally made it to the exit. When they got out of the door, they were immediately greeted by a shower of confetti.
"Congratulations! The two of you have won the Hunted Mansion's Couple Challenge!" Everyone in the crowds were cheering and applauding. "And now, your special prize is a dozen of free passes for all of the booths and games here in Central Town. Also, you will also receive a complementary photo with the two of you kissing!" The announcer exclaimed.
"Kissing?" Mikan shrieked. There was no way that she'd do that! She glanced at Natsume, hoping that he would feel the same. But unfortunately for her, he was, typically, grinning!
"Wow, I seem to be really lucky today." He grinned. Mikan stared at him in surprise.
"You're actually agreeing with this?" She demanded.
Natsume's expression was smug.
"Of course I am."
Then suddenly, the crowd started chanting "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" over and over again. Mikan could swear that her face was redder than a tomato.
But unexpectedly, Natsume grabbed a towel from one of the staff, draped it over the two of them, and leaned onto her. Mikan closed her eyes, wanting to get this over with already. But Natsume didn't kiss her. Instead, she heard him chuckle and whisper in her ear.
"Sorry, I know that you want me to kiss you so badly now but you'll just have to wait a little longer." He smirked. If Mikan wasn't so surprised, she would have punched him!
Murmurs and whispers echoed across the audience when Natsume took the towel off of them.
"What happened?"
"Did they kiss?"
"Was it caught in the camera?"
They ignored their curious faces, gathered the tickets and went back to their waiting place. Fortunately, the others were already there, waiting for them.
"Baka, where have you been?" Hotaru demanded.
"Sorry you guys! It seems as though we got lost." Mikan laughed. "But at least we won tickets along the way." She handed them the tickets.
"But these are prizes from a couple's challenge." Yuu said.
"Really?" Mikan laughed innocently. "Some lady just gave it to us." She lied.
The others didn't look like they believed her.
"Anyways, let's go back to the dorms. It's already getting late." She suggested. Youichi had already fallen asleep.
"But where's Megumi-san?" Nonoko asked.
"She already left." Mikan said.
Hotaru gave her a look that implied "We're going to talk about this later". Mikan sighed and nodded in her direction. Just as they turned to leave, Eiji wrapped his arm around her waist.
"I was worried about you." He whispered.
"Sorry about that. Don't worry. Nothing bad happened to me." Mikan couldn't bring herself to look at him straight in the eye. She can't continue doing this to him anymore. She had to set things straight.
One thing was for sure, she had to break up with Eiji.