A/N: I thought I had retired from ff, yet here I am with a new story. I hope it is enjoyed.

Disclaimer: I disclaim any ownership

Chapter I: Odd Behaviors and Tiring Smells

She blew an auburn strand of hair out of her way. Sometimes, the aroma of the various scented flora became rather pungent. Mimi, however, never felt that way. She loved flowers. She even loved helping Sora arrange them. Couldn't Mimi use a little extra cash, but then again, her family was pretty well off. Maybe well off was an understatement. Mr. Tachikawa was the CEO of a well known company, and for some reason, he had chosen to remain in this small town of Odaiba.

Instinctively, Sora turned her eyes towards the paneled glass of the shop's entrance as if expecting the bubbly teenage girl she called her best friend to skip through, but much to Sora's dismay, there was no sign of the perky brunette. Instead, the clink of the bell announced the arrival of some elderly woman. Sora let out a sigh before grabbing another white daisy and sticking it into the arrangement she was working on. While most youngsters her age spent Saturday mornings in front of the television, she was stuck making arrangements in the flower shop her mother owned, or attending to customers while trying to keep her thoughts at bay. Oh well, Sora thought as she plucked a loose thread from the yellow apron tied around her with the words Takenuchi Florists printed on the front in green with a smiley faced flower in orange, at least she had tennis practice to look forward to later in the afternoon.

"Do these smell alright to you?"

Sora set down the minuscule banner in her hand that read Get Well Soon and turned to the lady. Mentally, she grinded her teeth for she really couldn't take the smell of flowers at this moment, especially roses. However, the number one rule her mother had taught her was to never be rude to customers. "The customer is always right…" She could distinctly hear her mother's voice as if she was standing right beside her. However, Sora was well aware that her mother was in the office working on future orders. With a silent sigh, she took the bouquet from the elderly woman's hands and took a whiff.

"You should waft dear, that's what I always told my chemistry students back in my teaching days."

She nearly cringed from the scent of the flowers. They didn't carry an odor. On the contrary, they smelled exactly as roses should, sweet and perfume-like. "You taught?" the girl asked, hoping to distract the woman from her lack of smile.

"Organic chemistry."

"Sounds very…organic," Sora muttered, handing the bouquet back over to the lady's papery hands. "The flowers smell great." Wonderful, Sora thought that was a very Tai-like response. The woman probably thought she had the intelligence of a turtle. Were turtles intelligent?

"Oh, splendid, I'll take them. They are 30 percent off, if I'm seeing correctly. You see, I forgot my reading glasses."

"No, you're correct. I'll ring you up," Sora smiled, gesturing towards the till. Oh, someone needed to come rescue her from this place. She still had four hours to go.

xoxoxox

She dropped her pencil upon the pad of paper placed in her lap, but much to her dismay, it rolled off the pad and onto the wooden planks. She let out a slight moan. Her drawing pencil had only left her hand for one reason, just to give those cramping muscles a bit of relief, but her pencil must have thought something else. A gasp exuded from her mouth and into the surrounding air at the sound of the wood on wood contact, a thud that bombarded against her ears. She was out here alone, or so she had thought.

"Giving inanimate objects a story, Mimi?"

The brunette looked up, her hair tinting with a hint of gold from the sunlight seeping through the heavens. Her orbs of hazel narrowed slightly, staring back at the occupant of the other boat. Her glaring efforts failed rather quickly as his eyes locked with hers, the sapphire-blue sharp and vivid under the afternoon sun, staring back at her with a piercing quality. Mimi was forced to turn the other way. "What are you doing out here, Matt?" she asked, bending down to retrieve her pencil. Her shift in movement caused the boat to sway in the water a bit.

He set down the pair of ores in his hands and looked in her direction. "Not happy to see me?"

"I thought we weren't on speaking terms," she stated in matter of fact tones, turning his way.

Running a hand through his blonde locks of hair, Matt caused a few tresses to fall over his eyes, and thus made the blue of his eyes appear even brighter.

Swallowing, Mimi turned to the sketchbook in her lap, so as to deviate her attention.

"The fight."

The fragment of a sentence caused her to turn back to him with a frown. This time, she wouldn't let him use his eyes as an advantage. This time, she'd be immune to his glances. However, Matt failed to let her know of his next trick, and she found herself succumbing to his infamous crooked smile, or lack of smile really. "Do you even remember what it was about?"

Her lips parted, but her brain refused to conjure a proper memory to what this so called 'fight' entailed or when it started. Mimi let out a sigh. "No."

"Didn't think so," he told her with a nod. His eyes fell to her lap as she decided to glance around her environment, drinking in the surrounding trees, the moistened bits of foliage littering the lake, and the sprinkled leaves with bits of autumn's colors. "What were you drawing?"

Drawing away from nature, Mimi picked up the sketchbook in her lap and turned the canvas to face him. Matt's eyes stared at the straight lines that pulled together, the curves, and the shaded areas that gave the illustration more of a depth. "The lake."

"And all its beauty," she laughed. "It's a still life for art class."

"You're going to paint it?"

She shook her head. "My talents fail in that region of the arts."

A chuckle rumbled from his throat. "I'm sorry for whatever it was that we were fighting about."

"Arguing," she corrected him. "And I am too."

Matt sent her a nod. He never had been eloquent, but luckily Mimi understood. After picking up the ores, he began to row his boat away from hers.

Confusion lit across her beautiful features, her eyes scanning his profile for some sort of answer to his hastened leave.

"I have something I have to do," Matt shouted over the flowing water.

A breath escaped her lips as she sent him a nod, bringing the pencil in her hand back towards the canvas after waving him off.

xoxoxox

Wiping at her forehead, she diminished the miniscule beads of sweat that had accumulated. Carefully, she tied the ribbon around the vase before admiring the finished product. This one held a bunch of white daisies, a few pink lilies, and a pinch of lavender to add a boost of color. A small balloon was stuck in the arrangement's center that read, It's a Girl. Hopefully, when her mother critiqued her work, the words lifted her spirits.

However, her thoughts of her mother vaporized the instant the clink of the bell announced the arrival of yet another visitor. Sora mustered a smile, ready to deal with another customer. Hopefully, this one would leave rather quickly.

"You should smile like that more often."

"Matt," Sora gushed, greeting him with more of a grin now. Boy, was she happy, no ecstatic, to see another familiar face, and one that happened to be her own age.

"Quitting time already," he told her as he approached the counter.

Sora shook her head, the smile refusing to wipe itself free. "Believe me," she said, pulling the apron over her head after untying it from behind. "I thought it would never get here."

He waited for her to come around the counter before holding out his arm for her. "Tai has requested for me to grace your presence with a cup of coffee."

The auburn haired girl paused for a brief moment, a pause that went unnoticed by Matt. Maybe that was why she hadn't noticed the time, although Sora was positive she was anticipating its arrival. Usually, Tai was the one that celebrated the end of the work day with her, trekking into the shop with the usual chime of the bell and grabbing a sunflower from the nearest pot and handing it over to her. Of course, she never kept them, placing them back into their rightful places before exiting, but still, it was the thought that counted, right? It was funny how he never went for just any flower, but the large yellow flowers she loved so much. Her favorite, he knew it all too well. "And where is my needs-a-haircut-best-friend?" the girl asked, placing her hand over Matt's arm as they walked towards the doors that would lead her to freedom.

Matt halted his steps, scratching at his head. "Didn't Tai tell you?"

Sora blinked back at him.

"He has a soccer game."

And once more, the stupid sport her best friend was so passionate about won over her. She let out a breath in the form of a huff. Not that she detested the sport; in fact, it was one that was dear to her heart. Soccer, after all, was the reason she and Tai became the friends they were now. A mere incident involving a ball that had spontaneously kicked in her direction caused a beautifully bloomed everlasting friendship to form, and for that, she was grateful. A smile lit across her cherry lips before she turned to the blonde standing beside her. "Lead the way to the coffee."

xoxoxox

A subtle hint of jazz music lingered in the air, pressed into the background, as the aroma of freshly ground coffee beans greeted them with scents of mocha, French vanilla, and hazelnut; just to name a few. Sora took in a whiff of the coffee scented air before entering the shop after the blonde. He lead her to a small table by a window strung with fairy lights where a large stone fountain was nestled on a cobbled path dispensing water from its tip just beyond the glass. Sora watched the water for a moment before taking her seat, the sight before her was rather tranquil. It was a shame she never paid much attention to it before.

"It's Mimi's favorite spot."

A faint smile crawled onto the auburn haired girl's lips. "She is very observant. So have you patched things up with my best friend yet?"

The blonde sent her a swift nod before turning his attention to the black boards that displayed a list of beverages and even a few lunch items just behind the large counter. "So what would you like? Don't hesitate, I get an employee discount."

Sora laughed. "A cappuccino will be fine."

"Extra foam?"

"No, just a regular cappuccino."

"Right," he stated, walking away from her. It was amazing how much he still had yet to learn about her, like her favorite way to have a cup of coffee, which Matt was certain that Tai knew like the back of his hand. Then again, he and Sora never spent much alone time. Usually, Tai or Mimi accompanied them.

Just as the blonde placed the hot beverage before her, an interruption arrived, but it wasn't Tai, which Sora oddly found herself yearning for. She missed his presence, despite the fact that Matt was pleasant company. The pair could easily settle into this comfort that she couldn't find with another guy.

"Matt."

The interruption was for the blonde after all, but at least it wasn't a fan girl asking for an autograph. He was a high school musician who had pulled together a band with a few other friends, yet the girls from school treated him like some celebrity. Sora didn't understand why. Matt was just a regular kid with a talent.

"Rehearsal after school on Tuesday?"

"Nick, this couldn't wait till later?"

The brunette standing at the edge of their table teetered with the thought for a brief moment. After running a hand through his chestnut brown hair, he spoke, "I was here and you were here."

Matt rolled his eyes as Nick turned his attention to the girl opposite him.

"Oh, hey, Sora."

Sora waved in return, sending him a sweet smile. "Hi."

"You sure you want rehearsal right after the first day of school?"

From his change in expression, Sora could tell that the idea was becoming less and less appealing. "…Yeah, it'll relieve some first day blues."

Matt pressed his fingers to his forehead as if a headache had formed. "Alright."

"Great, oh by the way, the lady at the counter…"

"Maggie."

"Right, Maggie, she said you have work tomorrow, and that I should tell you."

"What?"

"Well, apparently, Megan is sick."

The blonde frowned, grabbing his polystyrene cup and taking a sip without further acknowledging his band-mate's presence.

"I'll take that as my cue to leave. Bye, Sora."

xoxoxox

Mimi gave another lick to the creamy frozen treat encased in her hand, the minty taste with the crunch of chocolate she loved so much. Pausing to admire the trees transforming their leaves for the season headed the town's way, she paused when something much more interesting caught her eye. Perched against one of the trees was a redhead she had come to know rather well over the years, situated, as usual, with a laptop. "Hey, Izzy."

Fretfully, he looked up, his fingers pausing over the keys.

Mimi eyed him carefully for a moment. All she had done was disturbed him from his usual activity, but why did Izzy look as if he had been caught red handed?

He let out a cough, not a real one by any means, but one that was rather forced. "Mimi, what brings you here?"

She formulated her lips into a sweet smile, one that was rather mesmerizing. "It's a public park," she giggled.

His fingers twitched with irritation, still placed idly over the keyboard portion of the machine. "Right."

She gestured to the sketchbook in her one hand, bringing it forward. "I was drawing at the lake."

"Well, you do love to draw."

She nodded, still curious as to why he was behaving rather oddly. "So, what were you doing?" she asked, turning the question towards him for a change.

The redhead blinked before his eyes caught onto the notebook in his lap. "I was on my laptop."

"I could see that," she told him with a roll of her eyes "But what were you doing on your laptop?"

He felt the temperature rise around his cheeks, hinting at the color that would clash horribly with his hair. "I was just…" he blinked, staring at the screen for a brief moment where a set of words linked together to form a sentence, where those sentences strung together in some order to form a well written paragraph. "I was typing."

The brunette sent him a nod, although the look she was giving off stated that she was hardly convinced. He was telling the truth alright, but maybe not the whole truth. Whatever it was, Mimi wasn't about to pry further than necessary. After all, she didn't want to appear nosy. It was probably nothing more than a special edition for the school newspaper anyhow.

xoxoxox

He set down his empty can of soda upon the kitchen island with a light clank. He never was much of a soda drinker in his opinion, the caffeine made him a bit hyper, but today he welcomed the sugar rush. Besides, school was about to start in a few days and he wanted to remember this summer as enjoyable. He swiveled his chair in the direction of the younger girl seated beside him, ready to hear her opinion. Her chocolate-brown locks had grown a bit over the summer, almost reaching to her shoulders now in a straight fashion. She sent him a cute smile, her large orbs smiling in his direction. Kari may have resembled her brother a lot, but her personality differed by miles. "So what do you think is better, hand written or typed?"

The girl innocently blinked, appearing to look confused.

The boy let out a sigh, running a hand through his hair and gripping a few tresses before releasing them. Instead, he turned across from him to the guy seated behind a laptop that had just grabbed his mug of coffee once more. "What do you think, Joe?"

He set down the ceramic mug after taking another sip, enjoying the heat that toasted his esophagus as the liquid trickled down his throat. "What do I think about what?"

"Hand written or typed?"

Joe didn't appear to hear him; his attention was once more drawn to Izzy's favorite inanimate object, the laptop.

However, at this moment, he cursed such a machine.

"Joe!"

"Sorry, I'm working on my college application for Harvard, and it requires my utmost attention."

"Harvard is a bit overrated in my opinion," Izzy muttered.

Joe stared at the redhead as if he had grown ill before his eyes. Izzy had dreamed of walking the halls of this university ever since they were children. In fact, he even attended his first Harvard lecture at the age of 10. Now, that was determination, but this, whatever this was, was just repulsive. "What's gotten into you?" the dark haired young man asked, adjusting his glasses by their rim.

Before Izzy could reply, another voice raised a question. This one wasn't Tai's little sister, but Matt's younger brother. Ms. Takashi had left the pair in the hands of Joe, although Izzy was watching the two more than Mr. Reliable at the moment. However, Kari and TK were 12 now, hardly in need of watching, in Izzy's opinion, but Ms. Takashi was rather overprotective.

"Depends on the situation, Izzy."

The blonde had matured over the years from the cute little kid Izzy had met four years ago into a preteen that was wise beyond his years.

"If you want it to be personal, then I suggest handwritten, but for a more professional feel, typed is always better." His large sky-blues smiled back at the redhead. "So," he began nonchalantly, "what are you writing anyhow?"

"Um…it's sort of private," Izzy stated, returning to his odd behavior.

TK didn't bother making much of it. Instead, he hopped off his stool and turned to the brunette girl. "Wanna race me in a video game?"

Kari nodded. That sounded far more entertaining than Izzy's bizarre behavior and Joe's lack of company. "Funny, I didn't know Joe owned videogames."

"Oh, he doesn't. They're Jim's."

xoxoxox

She tossed another ball over the net with a whack of the racket encased in her hand. The sky was tingeing pink, highlighted with a hint of orange, just over the hills in the distance. Flickers of light faintly danced around her, but they were still hard to make out. Sora watched the bright-green tennis ball rattle against the fence before rolling back in the direction it had come.

She let out a sigh before walking towards the bleachers and leaving the ball behind. Tennis was more pleasing when she had an opponent, but Gwen had gone home early, not wanting to wait any longer for the mysteries of the next chapter in the vampire novel she had been reading for the past week.

Sora took a seat upon the bleacher and took a nice long refreshing swig from the water bottle, the tennis racket lying across her lap.

"Sorry, I'm late."

Her eyes widened at the sound of his familiar voice, her water bottle idly in her mouth. She pulled it away, wiping at her upper lip before turning in his direction. He was standing there, still in his mud stained soccer jersey and grass stained shorts. His leg had a fresh band-aid, his left arm brushed with a black and blue mark that would most likely sting in the morning. "Tai." It was strange how elated her voice sounded; after all, they had been away from each other before.

"You still wanna play?" He turned in the direction of the tennis courts as Sora placed her racket upon the bleacher she was seated upon and stood up.

She shook her head, running towards him. "I'm pretty tired out. What took you so long?"

"Well, we were down one to zero, but then I scored this goal, hence the bruise and cut, not to mention the grass stain, and it went in. We won," he told her, retelling his tale of the game as his large chocolate-brown eyes lit up, oozing with cheer. "So coach took us out for pizza."

Sora let out a laugh and practically jumped towards him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Oh, congrats, Tai! You scored the winning goal."

He placed a hand around her waist, the smile refusing to wash away. "Thanks, Sor. I just wish you could have been there."

"I would have been, if I didn't have to work."

"It's okay. Kari missed too due to ballet practice."

"How about I buy you some ice cream from the park?"

"You sure because it is getting rather dark?"

She slipped her arm around his shoulder. "You deserve it."

He placed still feet upon the asphalt. "I almost forgot," he said into the darkening air. "I swiped this from your mother's flower shop before coming here." He held the single sunflower towards her, causing Sora's eyes to brighten.

"Tai, did you really?" she asked, taking the large flower and giving it a whiff. This was one sweet scent that never got tiring.

"No, your mom let me have it. She said I was lucky I came before inventory."