Joe looks at the expanse of books before him on the plush carpet. All were pretty

easy subjects for him, considering he has already graduated. Tests were coming soon,

and Mimi had scheduled a much needed emergency study session. The two settled on

floor in her richly decorated living room. Adjusting his glasses, Joe asked, "Alright.

What should we start with first?" His companion put her finger to her mouth while she

pondered. "Hmmm…biology?" She decided. Joe nodded and dragged the heavy book

closer to them. They laid on their stomachs, sides touching so both could have easy

access to the book. Mimi grabbed her study guide, and began to rant off the list of things

on her test. Joe turned to listen intently, but was failing. His eyes were still permanently

affixed on her lips, moving with each scientific term. But no sound was spilling into his

ears.

When he noticed that her lips had stopped, he pretended to acknowledge what she

had said. "Okay, shall we start with chapter one?" he said conversationally. "I just said

that that's the review section! We don't need to study that!" Mimi corrected, giggling at

his mistake. "Oh…well then chapter…two?" he continued. Smiling, Mimi said, "you

didn't listen to a word I said, did you?" Knowing that she had pinned him, and there was

no getting away from Mimi Tachikawa, he nodded guiltily. "Honey, we start at chapter

five." Mimi was a very outgoing person, and had absolutely no problem calling any and

everyone 'honey', including her best friend. While Joe opened the thick book to the

correct page, she rested her head in her hands, waiting.

Joe started to read the first paragraph. Mimi immediately lost interest in enzymes,

and instead focused on his shaggy hair, which fell just above shoulders. The lamp from

across the room almost made it…sparkle. 'But that isn't very masculine, now is it?' she

pondered. She wondered what adjective (she did manage to pay attention in English

class for that one!) Joe would like best, to describe his hair. 'Gleaming? Glittering- no,

no…shiny? That's pretty plain and simple. Self-explanatory. But pretty ordinary.

Reflecty? Wait, that's not a word. Reflect…reflect….ah, crap, what is it?'

"Do you have that Mimi?" Joe asked, pulling her out of her thoughts. "Er, yeah,

go on."

'Reflective! That's it! It's reflective!' she thought. Mimi wanted to kick herself

for not paying attention. She tried to turn on her ears, but apparently they wouldn't work.

However, there was just one word that kept jumping out at her. "What does 'via' mean?"

she blurted, interrupting him. Joe turned to face her. "Huh?" he said quizzically,

thinking he had heard her wrong. "What does the word 'via' mean? I swear you're

saying it every two minutes," she said. Joe shook his head. "How have you gone all the

way through your first three years of high school without ever hearing that word before?"

he asked. She shrugged. Joe sighed. "It…it's kinda like…." Joe trailed off. "By means

of. Like if I said 'talk to me via texting', that means you would talk to me by means of

text messaging." Mimi did not hear a word. His beautiful eyes had mesmerized her, this

time. She was positive he wouldn't like the word 'beautiful' describing him either, but

they were just so damned pretty. She snapped out of it.

"Wait, what?" Mimi said, confused. Joe repeated himself. Mimi only raised her

eyebrows in question. It wasn't that she didn't get it- it was a simple concept- it was

more of the fact that when he was looking at her like that, all coherent thoughts ceased.

Exasperated, an idea came to Joe's mind. "I could show ya better than I could tell you,"

he said dangerously. Mimi was too flustered to respond. "Alright," he murmured. He

began to lean into her.

He didn't stop until his mouth was centimeters away from her ear. "How does

someone tell another that they love them?" he whispered in a low tone. Oh no. She was

certainly no longer deaf. Before her mouth could form a sentence, Joe leaned in and

claimed her lips and tongue. Her reaction was immediate. They deepened the kiss,

sending wildfire through their spines. It was even more intense because neither allowed

any other part of their bodies to touch, except for their sides. She fought the urge to run

her hands through his "reflective" hair. Joe controlled his hands from wandering to the

small of her back. The lack of touch built up so much pressure in between them that their

emotions crumbled like a wall, and they sought each other immediately.

Unfortunately, along with being a human being comes the necessity of breathing.

Mimi and Joe slowly broke it off. After gazing at him for a minute with sheer adoration,

she said, "via kissing?"