Author's Note: This happened after I had a Backstreet Boys' song overdose, so beware! Haha it's not so bad actually, at least it has a plot... It's a one-shot and I will probably not make a sequel or a second chapter... unless y'all are desperate for one, but it's unlikely. Feed me reviews and my imagination will blossom! Lol. Anyways, love you readers! Please enjoy and review~

The Wet Rose

The heavens rumbled and threatened to pour as the young man paced across the parking lot. Tai Kamiya quickened his pace, full well knowing that if he did not hurry up, he might get caught in the rain. To him, it seemed as if the weather wanted to match his emotions. His heart pounded as he waited by the elevator of the apartment complex. He felt flooded with anticipation; earlier that evening his girlfriend had phoned him, her voice sounded shaky and hesitant, and she had said that she wanted to talk. As a result of his accumulated experience in relationships throughout his twenty-one years of life, Tai was well aware of what that might mean. He felt terrified of all the possibilities; his mind raced, but most of all, he was afraid that she wanted to end their relationship.

After stepping onto the elevator, his chocolate brown eyes were momentarily fixed on the changing numbers, anxiously waiting for the 7th floor, which was his destination. A beeping sound announced the end of his brief journey inside the elevator and the brown haired man hastily strolled towards apartment 704. Hesitatingly, Tai pressed the bell once; however he did not have to wait long for the young woman residing in the apartment to welcome him in.

She held her hazelnut colored hair up in a lazy bun, a few strands of her wavy hair cascaded down over her face, covering her amber eyes. A small, sad smile covered her lips, and she just—very subtly—returned Tai's hesitant, greeting kiss. "Come on in, Tai," she moved her body slightly, allowing him entrance to her abode. Behind her stood her West Highland Terrier, excitedly waggling its tail, clearly happy to see Tai had arrived.

"Hi Mimi," said the older man as he gave her hand a tender squeeze. The young woman led him further in to her living room. Walking behind her, he noticed just how gloomy her apartment seemed; only the kitchen lamp and a lamp deep within her bedroom were emitting light. He briefly let go of her hand to allow himself to take his coat off, then hastily followed her as she nested herself on the sofa. Tai was almost intimidated by the grave look on her face but decided to snuggle next to her. Her white dog also tried to jump onto the sofa, but was lazily pushed down by Tai, who was not in the mood for sloppy kisses right now.

Mimi offered him a fake smile before saying, "Thanks for coming, Tai. I know I shouldn't have sounded so urgent, you could have been caught in the rain."

Tai's heart thudded as he decided on what to reply, but eventually settled on just giving her a lingering kiss. "Talk to me," he whispered after a while.

He could swear he saw a blush grace her pretty face. She did not seem to know where to start though, and this bothered him. The young woman played with his fingers for a little while as silence engulfed the room. Her amber eyes looked up at him finally and she was able to say in an undertone, "Tai, I'm pregnant."

Tai Kamiya felt his heart skip a beat. He watched in disbelief as her eyes begin to fill with worry and uncertainty. It seemed as if his mind refused to believe her hesitant words, but realization finally came crashing down to him. "What?" He could not stop himself from blurting.

Mimi bit her lip and looked away; Tai could swear seeing her eyes watering at his insensible response. The young woman shifted her body away from him and explained, "I missed my period twice, and so I forced myself to take a pregnancy test… it came out positive."

He promptly left his seat next to her and paced the living room. How could this have happened? Well that should not be the question, something wicked inside of him told him. He perfectly well knew how it happened, but why? Had they not been careful enough? Did she stop paying attention to her cycle? His mind raced with questions, but the most important question to him at the present moment was, what was he supposed to do now? Quiet sobs shifted his attention to the cowering girl in the sofa, yet his anger at themselves for their lack of responsibility stopped him from reaching to her and soothing her tears. "So what happens now?" He did not even try to mask the disappointment in his tone.

"I—I'm sorry Tai," her voice was weak and wavering.

"Don't say sorry," the young man countered sourly. He knew he was also to blame, but how could he stop himself from making love to the woman he was so infatuated with? Tai Kamiya felt like an idiot, how could he not have foreseen this, after all the nights of passion they had shared? His hands ruffled the back of his hair in exasperation and he swiftly announced, "I need to take a walk," before walking away from her astounded expression and out of her tiny apartment.

His footsteps echoed throughout the empty hallways as he strolled towards the stairs; this time there would be no waiting for the elevators. It seemed as if his mind was too preoccupied with the past events, so Tai paid little attention to where he was going. His feet took him out of the apartment complex and towards the street. A strong breeze accompanied him while he paced in the sidewalk; his mind was now fast-forwarding, thinking ahead as to what should happen. He and Mimi would be parents; he would now have to prematurely assume the role of a responsible adult. They would now be forever bound by this child, the fruit of their union.

Tai Kamiya then realized that he was overreacting. Something within him seemed to have turned a switch, and he felt as if these were not as bad news as he was making them to be. Sure, he and Mimi would now have to assume a greater financial and emotional responsibility for their child, but it would surely strengthen their ties. The young man smirked to himself as he imagined just how adorable Mimi would look, clad in a flowery dress fit to cover her swollen belly.

As he reached the corner of yet another street he noticed a lonely flower vendor walking away, the man held several types of flowers, roses being the predominant kind. Tai quickened his pace and jogged towards the man, swiftly bringing out his wallet from his back pocket. The man had a scruffy appearance and dirty clothes; he no doubt made whatever little money he could by selling flowers in the streets. "How much for the roses?" Tai asked.

The old man inspected his own flowers and said, "Ah boy, you look like a good fella, I wouldn't sell you these, just look at how worn out they look." He motioned at his roses, and indeed, most were bent or several petals were dangling around the sides. "See, they're no good. It's about to rain, boy, go home. It's been a long day…"

The man tried to walk past him but Tai insisted, "That's alright." Tai quickly reached for a rose that, much to his luck, was beautifully erect and blooming. "I'll take just this one," he took the stem and held out a bill for the man that was a little too much for just one flower. The vendor was taken by surprise but before he could react, Tai jogged in the opposite direction, towards Mimi's home. "Hey! Thanks kid! Good luck with whatever you're doing!" Tai heard the man yell behind him.

Tai's good luck seemed to run short, though, for just as he was able to push all the negativity in his mind aside, the evening sky above him thundered, and before he could do anything, heavy droplets of water began to pour down from the heavens. He held tight to the beautiful flower in his hand and ran faster, his face, hair, and clothes soaked to the bone. Tai was determined to see Mimi again, to tell her that everything would be alright, that he was going to be with her forever and ever. He regretted making her cry, but perhaps the fragile token in his hand would be enough to make her smile once again.

The young man reached the parking lot and was astounded when he saw a lithe figure holding a red umbrella at a distance. He immediately recognized that red umbrella, and that wavy, hazel hair that was put up in a bun, and finally those worried, amber eyes that started back at him. He rushed towards her and was quickly welcomed under the umbrella, ending his exposure to the unforgiving rain. "Tai, you're soaked," Mimi whispered as she led the way back to the building.

"Yeah…" said Tai breathlessly. He made little effort to conceal the red rose in his hand. Once they were both safe from the rain, Mimi's umbrella was forgotten on top of the tiled floor, and Tai approached Mimi before giving her a desperate kiss. His stomach tingled when she kissed him back and he felt as if everything was back to normal. Mimi finally broke away from the kiss and they gazed at each other's eyes for a long while. "Mimi, forgive me for marching out," said Tai as he offered the rose, which was now a bit ruffled and wet.

Mimi held the flower up to her lips and gave it a meaningful kiss before looking up at him once again. His cold hands reached for her tummy as he said, "I don't want to let you go, Mimi. You mean everything to me; you both mean everything to me."

The young woman gave him a peck on the lips and without holding back, without any hesitation, said, "I love you, Tai Kamiya."

His face lit up at her wonderful words, he took hold of her waist and brought her closer to his soaked body before giving her a tender kiss. "I love you, too, Mimi Takchikawa," He said after breaking away from the kiss.

The young couple stood there, cold and soaked, hugging for the longest time, until Tai involuntarily let out a noisy sneeze. "Oh my… come on up Tai, you'll catch a cold," exclaimed the brunette as she took hold of his hand and the rose with one hand, and grabbed the umbrella with the other. Tai followed her to the elevators, all the while amazed at just how strongly in love he felt.

August 13, 2014:

Hello reader! I'm happy to see that you made it this far into my writing! I hope the story was entertaining to some extent and that you enjoyed it! Maybe you will enjoy this:

I am writing a novel, original fiction, and I am looking for a couple of people who will beta read it in its early stages. Now when I say "beta reader" I don't mean that I need help with spelling or grammar or plot elements or characters or writing or any of that stuff. I want to find beta readers who will be willing to start giving it a read (and keep on reading if it interests them) and tell me how they feel about it. Was it fun? Retarded? Boring? Would you recommend it? That sort of thing. I wouldn't want much, just some input here and there.

If you are interested, please let me know and provide a way for me to contact you back (email, PM, etc.) and I will happily give you more info on the story to see if it sounds like something you would like to do.

Thanks again for your time and attention, have a nice one :)!