Third Wheel

T.W/8/Light

"Miss Sakura?" the teacher calls out to the class and no response comes back to him, "Not here again huh?"

The class pays no attention to the seat in the corner because there was never anything there to begin with.

Only those who know Mikan would know about her and remember her presence. At this moment, its as if she disappeared into thin air.

DING DONG...

The bell rings.

Cat-kun glances at the seat in front of him. Usually, there is a certain girl who he likes to tease yet she isn't here today and hasn't been here for the last couple days. He sighs and decides that the best thing to do is sleep. Then he spots a certain purple eye'd girl glancing at the seat in worry. Once again he glances at it in wonder. Where the heck could she be? He's feeling a little anxious and angry. What else can entertain him in homeroom? He blames her and once she comes back she will pay him back in full. 

When break comes he notices that her desk is taken over by a couple of girls and he gets irritated again.

"Hey. Someone sits there." He growls and one of the bratty girls raises her brows.

"They're not here today."

Which makes him angrier and he glares at them until they leave the desk alone. He doesn't know why he did that or why he had to defend Mikan but he just felt like he did. It was her seat after all. If someone did that to his seat when he was absent, he'd be angry. It was like he never existed at all, like their presence was never there to begin with. It made him feel angry.

The break ends.

Suddenly he craves cream puffs and gets up from his seat in the middle of homeroom. The teacher gives him a glance and lets him do as he pleases, continuing on with the studies. The students(Female) gaze at him with hearts in their eyes and the others wonder what he does next. He walks out of the classroom and heads in a direction no one recognizes.

By the time he makes it to the cafe in the corner he spots a certain brunette and waits for a minute or so. It feels like a century since he last saw her. He thought it was funny how he pulled on her hair and poked her shoulder and whispered in her ear. He thought it was funny how red she got when she was misunderstood by the teacher. He thought she was amusing.

He missed her. But not like you think.

Then he faintly recalls what she was like before she started missing class. He saw her shake a little in class and her head was bowed down. He reacted by poking her. Out of instinct he poked her shoulder over and over and unconsciously utter the words:

"Yo Mikan. Give me your homework." and smirked. It made him feel better when she yelled at him and reacted just as she always has.

Ring-ring. The bell rings. He enters.

When she meets eyes with him, he lets out a silent laugh because the expression on her face is priceless. The disgusted look on her face is enough to make him cry in laughter because he has never known a girl like her, one that disappointed to see him.

"Yo. Mikan. Get me some chocolate cream puffs." He orders and she glares daggers at him as she silently picks them up from the shelves with her tongs and puts them in a cute bag. He gives her the money and she gives him change. He stands there a little longer than necessary and stares at the bag. "Can I have some coffee too?"

"Milk and Sugar?" She sighs and he nods. "Alright."

He takes a seat and watches her work. He thinks this isn't so bad. A girl like her is amusing and funny. Even though she hates his guts.

She works hard all by herself. He understands a bit of her reasons and can't help wanting to tease her a bit. She reminds him of his sister a bit. Caring and enthusiastic. Only she's a bit more aggressive and amusing. 

When she finally approaches him to refill his coffee. He can't help asking her.

"Do you hate me that much?" He finally asks as she places the coffee on the table in front of him.

She pauses, raises her brows and then laughs.

"Oh, how did you know?" she says in a sarcastic tone. "Is it not obvious enough for you?"

"Hm..." He sips the coffee and warmth overwhelms him. Just like Mom's. "Why?" He's curious about her. They way she makes coffee with so much love, yet hates his very being.

"Oh don't worry," She rolls her eyes, "It's not just you. I hate all men. I hate all of them." He watches her as she speaks, a sense of dread in her eyes and her voice getting lower and lower as she speaks. He can relate a little to her.

"Sounds like an excuse to me." he says a little too bitterly. 

He glances at her and sees she has sealed her lips tight; tighter than a tight rope. He gets up and mutters 'thanks' under his breath. He didn't come here to say that to her, in fact he didn't know what he came here to do. But as soon as he hears the ringing of the bell on the door, he regrets everything he said and chomps into the cream puffs. He doesn't taste a single thing as he eats. He's lost his appetite for the cream puffs and its all thanks to that woman.

He reenters the shop. She's cleaning the table that he was sitting at. He's pretty sure she heard the bell as he entered but she isn't looking at him. He wants her to look at him but he doesn't know how.

How can he make her look at him?

"Sorry." He unconsciously says and she stops. Ah... she's shaking again. Like last time.

He approaches her and pokes her shoulder. "Yo Mikan..." he doesn't know what to say, "Those cream puffs were delicious."

She doesn't move or do anything. He stands there and pokes her over and over until she glares at him with tears in her eyes. "What?!" she yells, the tears flowing down her eyes. At the moment, she is the most beautiful girl in the world. He's speechless.

He hides his eyes behind his bangs.

"Thank you for the cream puffs." he whispers as he turns around. He leaves the shop and feels the cold hit his hot face. He covers his face because its red, red, red, like the sun that's setting over the horizon. He tries to cool it down but its no use. It's already too late.

The light has touched the darkness.