I Want U Chapter 4: Let's Talk About It

"Do you honestly believe that the girls had PMS…at the same time?" Matt asked Tai. "I mean, c'mon, something was obviously bothering them… Or rather Sora. She turned on the water works pretty heavy, huh?"

Matt, Izzy, Joe, and Tai sat in Matt's living room late Saturday afternoon. Hiroaki Ishida was working late at the station, so Matt suggested everyone should come over to his apartment while he had it to himself.

"Well apparently," Tai spoke. "The real deal is that Sora likes this guy, but she's too afraid to tell him. She's scared of getting rejected."

"Mmm…" Izzy fingered his chin and thought the situation over. "Even so, that doesn't explain her, or rather, their strange behavior at the club."

"Maybe they saw the guy Sora likes?" Matt suggested. "I mean, think about it. Everything was fine until they came out of the bathroom. Then…well…" he trailed off and blushed, thinking about the girls' PMS outburst. "Y'know…"

"No…" Izzy shook his head, recalling last night's events. "Something was up with Sora before they went to the bathroom. She began to act peculiar right around the time Yuri appeared."

Joe's face turned red as perspiration began to form along his brow. Damn it Izzy, he thought. Don't put two-and-two together…

Tai's head immediately snapped to attention at the mention of Yuri's name. "Yuri?" he asked. "What does this have to do with Yuri?"

"I…I don't…know…exactly…" Izzy told him. "All I'm saying is Sora's behavior changed when that Yuri girl came around."

"You know," Matt spoke. "Izzy has a point. Sora was acting strange the moment Yuri showed up."

Joe became even more nervous. He promised Jun that he wouldn't say anything, but his biggest fear now is his friends finding out the truth themselves. Then what; Tai and Sora will live happily ever after?

"So…y'all are saying Sora's problem is Yuri?" Tai asked. At that moment, like a bolt of electricity crashing down on Earth, Tai put the pieces together. "Oh, when I drove Sora home last night, and we talked she never actually said this person was a guy…or girl…"

Joe inwardly sighed. Thank goodness for Tai's ability to be a thick as a brick, he thought. He didn't have to worry about his friends finding out the truth anytime, soon.

Both Izzy and Matt studied Tai with wide eyes. "You can't be serious…" Matt breathed.

"Yeah I am." Tai replied. "Maybe Sora's mystery person is…Yuri!"

"Maybe you're just an idiot." Matt hissed at him. "Sora's…not like that." He couldn't stomach the idea of Sora possibly liking women; especially since she was his ex.

Looking on, Joe felt it was wise to simply remain silent. He continued to listen to his friends ramble on.

- - - - -

All three girls laid on Mimi's queen sized, canopy bed. Mimi lay near the edge, Jun in the middle, and Sora near the headboard. Mimi rested her chin in her palm and spoke.

"I call this meeting for the Dream Team to help solve Sora's dilemma."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa…" Jun chuckled, waving her hand in the air. "Dream Team? Where did you get that name from?"

"Well…" Mimi blushed. "I thought it'll be a cute name we could name ourselves. Y'know…"

"I like it." Sora said. "It's cute."

Shaking her head at the two, Jun replied, "Whatever."

"Continuing," Mimi said. "The reason I invited you all here is so we could find a solution to Sora's problem."

"I do not have a problem!" Sora exclaimed.

"Nope," Jun stated. "You're just in love with your best friend, who doesn't have a clue, and who's involved with a nineteen-year-old college student. Nope, you suffer greatly from noproblems-atall…" she responded sarcastically.

Sora frowned at her. "Anyway…"

"Anyway…" Mimi continued. "We have to figure out how we're going to help our friend!"

"Well, I already told you guys my suggestion." Jun shrugged.

"Okay," Mimi said, "but an ambush is not what I had in mind."

Sighing, Jun replied for the second time. "Whatever."

"I'm not the only one who's going through a dilemma." Sora said in a sing-song voice. "Somebody was seriously checking you out last night."

Laughing, Jun joined in taunting Mimi. "Oh, yeah. Sora, Tai, and I noticed how he was looking at you."

"Well of course he was looking at me!" Mimi scoffed. "I mean c'mon! I'm beautiful, intelligent, talented, loyal, and I have an excellent sense of fashion! What man on Earth wouldn't notice me? Not unless he's gay." Mimi chuckled. "However, even then he'll have to at least look once!"

"A little confident, aren't we?" Sora raised a brow.

Mimi giggled. "Just a little." Thinking it over, she said, "Hey, who's 'he'?"

Sora and Jun looked at each other. Shrugging, they both replied, "Matt."

"MATT?" Mimi asked, looking at her friends ridiculously. "That's crazy in every sense of the word. Matt checking me out? He doesn't even like me!"

"I wouldn't say that." Jun assured her. "He likes you; maybe he doesn't take you seriously, but he likes you."

"And he likes you." Sora added.

"You know? This is ridiculous. You all are trying to mess with me." Mimi dismissed them with a wave of her hand.

"Trust me." Sora tried her hardest to convince her friend of the truth. "Take it from someone who's dated him; he likes you. Or at least, now he sees you in a different light.

Shaking her head at the news, Mimi still wasn't convinced. "This…none of this makes sense! Matt? Matt likes me? But…I have a boyfriend! And…and he taunts me whenever he has the chance! And…" she trailed off when she noticed neither Jun's nor Sora's expressions changed. Their faces remained neutral, and Mimi sighed, defeated. "You guys are serious, aren't you?"

"What's wrong with Matt showing interest in you?" Jun asked her. "Do you know how many girls would kill to be in your shoes right now?"

"I can think of a million reasons why girls would kill to be in my shoes…and it doesn't have anything to do with Matt!" Mimi boasted arrogantly.

"Moving on," Sora interrupted. "The question is Mimi, what are you going to do about it?"

"Absolutely nothing!" Mimi shouted. She stood up from the bed and paced the floor. "I'm not interested in Matt, he's just a friend, and I have a boyfriend!"

- - - - -

"Sora's not a lesbian, Tai." Matt frowned at his best friend. "Sometimes I wonder where your mind wonders off to…"

"Well," Tai shouted, immediately becoming defensive. "It was just a suggestion! I only said that because Izzy said Sora was acting all weird when Yuri came."

"Yes," Izzy admitted. He began to think over the club scene, again. "Chances that Sora has a liking for Yuri are zero to none. However…" he trailed off, instantly putting two-and-two together. He stole a glance in Joe's direction, and Joe's expression confirmed Izzy's conclusion: Sora likes Tai!

"However what…?" Matt asked, looking at Izzy suspiciously.

"However, who really knows why Sora and the girls were acting weird?" Joe quickly replied, preventing Izzy from spilling the beans. "C'mon guys, does it really matter? It's practically ancient history now. The girls might've wanted to go home, that's all."

Tai decided to drop the subject. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Looking at Matt, Tai smirked and said, "Hey Matt, did you enjoy checking out Mimi last night?"

Matt's eyes grew large, while a drop of sweat formed on the side of his face. Shooting daggers at Tai, he asked, "What in the hell are you talking about, Yagami?"

Tai gave a low whistle of surprise. Matt only called Tai by his last name whenever he was mad at him. "You're not mad at me, are you?" he taunted his friend.

With his left eye twitching, and a scowl deepening his face, Matt growled, "Get to the point, Tai…"

Chuckling and shrugging off Matt's anger, Tai continued. "No need to feel uncomfortable, Matt. Mimi's hot, and everyone knows it."

"Including her," Izzy joked.

"When she performed onstage last night," Tai gave his best friend his undivided attention. "It looked like…well…" he grinned and shrugged. "Like you were more than a little interested."

Matt rolled his eyes and snorted. "I didn't know she could sing that well. I was…surprised, that's all."

"You were looking under her dress when she pushed you on the stage, because…" Tai raised his brows. "You could've easily closed your eyes, but you didn't, you hentai!"

Matt's face instantly became red from embarrassment. He could've said when he fell after Mimi pushed him, that he "accidentally" looked under dress, but Tai knew him better than that. Matt decided he'll just be honest with everyone.

"So what if I do like Mimi?" he stated more than asked. "It's only natural that I'll feel a slight attraction towards her. She's changed drastically over the years. America did her some major justice, and you said it yourself Tai, she looks hot!"

Joe, Izzy, and Tai all stared at Matt with wide eyes full of surprise. Finally speaking after a few moments of silence, Joe said, "Matt, who said anything about you liking Mimi? The only thing Tai said is you were checking out Mimi."

"Yeah," a huge grin spread across Tai's face. "You kinda told on yourself there, pal."

Matt's left eye began to twitch in realization at what just happened. Growling in anger (and embarrassment), Matt quickly charged after Tai.

Laughing, Tai quickly dodged every single attack Matt threw at him. "Matt likes Mimi! Matt likes Mimi!" Tai teased Matt, as Matt continued to chase him around the living room. Joe came in between them before Matt's fist landed on Tai's body.

"Will you guys calm down?" he exclaimed. "Tai, will you leave Matt alone?" Turning to Matt, he said, "and will you please stop trying to kill Tai? Who really cares if you like Mimi?"

Sighing, Matt sat down again, along with Tai. "If she finds out, she'll probably avoid me like V.D." Matt sighed. "She'll think I'm out of her league. She's rich, and I'm sure her boyfriend is rich, and she'll want nothing to do with me."

"That's not true." Izzy tried to reassure Matt. "This is Mimi we're talking about. She's not that…shallow…" he trailed off realizing the truth. "…Well, yes she is." Matt shot daggers at him, and Izzy nervously continued. "Nevertheless, I'm sure the only reason she won't consider dating you is because she's already in a relationship. It wouldn't have anything to do with your financial status."

"Or lack thereof." Joe mumbled, causing Matt to give him a death glare.

"Sorry," he grinned. "I couldn't resist."

- - - - -

"So the only reason you wouldn't consider giving Matt a chance is because you have a boyfriend?" Jun asked her.

"Well, yeah," Mimi looked at Jun like she was completely stupid.

"I refuse to even think about cheating on my boyfriend! Even if Michael wasn't in the picture, which he is and I love him, I still wouldn't consider giving Matt a chance! I'm way out of his league! All of my life I was raised living a certain lifestyle. Matt simply doesn't fit the bill. Can he afford to take me shopping? No. Can he afford to take me to the finest places to eat? No. Can he…?"

Sora interrupted Mimi's speech to speak. "Is that what matters to you? Money? Matt may not be rich, but he's still a great guy, and I won't let you talk about him like that!" She refused to listen to Mimi disrespect her ex. Even though they're no longer together, it didn't mean anyone had the right to bluntly talk bad about Matt; including her best friend.

"We're not rich." Jun told Mimi. "If you feel that strongly about poor people, then why are you friends with us?"

"I'm sorry," Mimi sighed. "It's just…that's how I was raised. It was all my parents ever taught me. 'Make sure you find a man who'll give you a secure future'," she said, imitating her father's words. "'Make sure you'll bring a suitable heir to the family tree…' and so I listened. It's one of the reasons why I'm with Michael now. Don't get me wrong," Mimi quickly corrected herself before either Sora or Jun jumped to conclusions.

"I know I love him and everything, but sometimes it does get a little difficult trying to please my parents all of the time. There's no room for error, meaning there's no room for anything less than the best. Also," staring straight into the eyes of her friends, Mimi said, "I agree. There's no point in settling for anything, when you can have everything. Michael gives me everything and my parents like him. What is it that Matt can give me, besides a hard time and permanent resentment from my parents?"

"Okay…" Jun sighed. She decided to try to reason with the girl. "Let's say that Michael wasn't in the picture, neither were your parents, would you consider giving Matt a chance?"

Mimi's brows furrowed together in deep thought. It took a minute for her to answer because she was seriously contemplating the situation. "No," she shook her head, giving Jun her honest answer. "I wouldn't. Okay, Matt's not the richest guy on Earth, but he's my friend. I wouldn't want to risk losing our friendship over something as silly as his crush on me."

"But he's cute," Jun stated.

"And he can sing." Sora added.

"And I'm sure you two would make a great couple." Jun smiled, raising her eyebrows suggestively, causing Mimi to giggle.

Sitting down on her bed, Mimi said, "I don't wanna talk about it anymore, guys. I've said my piece. Besides," she turned to look at Sora. "Weren't we talking about Sora's situation with Tai?"

Smiling, Jun turned around to look at Sora. "I almost forgot…"

Groaning in frustration, she said, "Look, there's nothing either of you can do about it. Tai's obviously involved with someone, and I don't want to make things any more complicated. It'll be unfair to him, and his girlfriend."

"I thought we already established that we don't care about his girlfriend!" Jun rolled her eyes at Sora.

"Exactly." Mimi nodded.

"But…but she was there first!" Sora cried.

"No, correction," Jun told her. "You were there first! I'm sure when Tai finds out how you feel, he'll kick her to the curb so fast…"

"All you have to do is be honest with him." Mimi assured her. "He's your best guy friend; I know he'll understand. I'm two-hundred percent positive he feels the same way about you."

Smiling hopefully, Sora replied, "I know you're right. We talked last night when he drove me home. He told me that I was beautiful, and that any guy would be lucky to have me as his girl."

"So that means you told him?" Jun asked, already becoming excited.

Sighing, Sora answered, "No. I only told him I have feelings for someone."

"Well, there's no time like the present," Mimi cheered. "All you have to do is tell Tai how you really feel, and you can finally get this off of your chest."

"I wish it was that easy." Sora looked at a picture of Mimi on the wall and continued. "I dated his best friend for goodness sakes! At the time I knew Tai liked me! I'm, I'm afraid…" she trailed off and looked at her friends again, "that if I tell him how I feel, he'll turn me down, like I did him."

"That's a risk you're going to have to take." Jun told her. "All in the name of love. Love isn't easy, it has risks and all that other crap that we can't stand, but keeping your feelings inside isn't good for you, either. You owe it to Tai to let him know how you really feel. Whether he accepts it or not, it will be his decision to make; but at least you can cry, heal, and move on afterwards." Jun place a hand on Sora's shoulder. "It's not going to be easy, nothing worth having is, but you'll feel better knowing you did the right thing."

"I have the solution!" Mimi exclaimed. She rose from her bed and walked to her nightstand. Opening the top drawer, she retrieved a piece of folded paper. Unfolding it, she yelled, "I have the solution to Sora's problem!"

"What is it?" Jun asked her. "You seem awfully excited about it."

Mimi shoved the paper in their faces. "It's the fair! I've forgotten all about it until I went shopping earlier this week. I saw a flyer in a store, so I grabbed it. Odaiba has a fair every year for the spring and summer seasons. At the end of every summer, they'll have this big celebration until next year. The last day of the fair is August 31, and I think that'll be the perfect time for Sora to tell Tai her true feelings!"

Lying on her bed again, Mimi sighed contently. A dreamy look clouded her brown eyes. "Think about it, girls. The weather will be a bit cooler, which reminds me, I have to do some fall shopping. Sora'll have on this cute, knitted sweater, and a pair of killer jeans. You know, Tai is an ass man after all." She giggled. Jun and Sora rolled their eyes, as Mimi continued.

"She'll ask Tai to ride with her on the Ferris wheel, and he'll agree. When the Ferris wheel starts to spin, that's when our friend here will confess her love to the unsuspecting Tai. Tai's gonna look into her eyes and tell her he feels the same way, and he has waited patiently for Sora to tell him how she feels.

"Then, just before the first set of fireworks explodes into the sky, they kiss! As soon as they kiss, you see colors of blue, white, pink, and green light up the dark, evening sky. Of course our favorite lovebirds don't notice because they're still kissing while they're riding the Ferris wheel! Wouldn't that be romantic? Can you picture it? Isn't it cute?"

Jun made a gagging noise, and Sora's face spread into a wide grin. "Yeah…" she breathed. "Jun was right; you do tell stories well, Mimi."

- - - - -

"Izzy, can I talk to you outside for a minute?" Joe asked him. He rose from the carpet and headed towards the door.

Not needing to be told why Joe wanted to speak to him, Izzy agreed. "Sure, I'm right behind you."

"What's going on?" Matt inquired, not exactly pleased that his friends aren't including him in their secret.

"Yeah…" Tai agreed.

"It's nothing, I'm sure." Izzy told them. "We'll be right back." Izzy followed Joe out the door and asked, "Why did you interrupt me, earlier? Do you not want Tai to know that Sora has feelings for him?"

"Listen," Joe tried to reason with Izzy. "The girls already know, and I promised Jun last night that their secret is safe."

"Well, I didn't make any promises." Izzy shrugged.

Joe rolled his eyes. "Look, can't you just respect their feelings and let them figure this one out on their own?"

"Don't you think Tai has a right to know?"

"Yes," Joe agreed, "but this is Sora's decision to make, not ours."

"Fine." Izzy held up his palms in defeat. "I won't say a word."

"Thank you." Both of them headed back inside of Matt's apartment.

Before Tai could interrogate either Izzy or Joe, the phone rang. Rushing to answer it, Matt picked up the receiver.

"Yeah?"

"Cordial as always," a female's voice said, sarcastically.

"Feeling better, Sora?" he wondered. "You girls made us guys kinda nervous last night."

"Yeah," Sora smiled into the receiver. "I'm better, thanks for asking."

"So, what do I owe the pleasure of this call?" Matt joked.

"Well," Sora gushed. She began to think about the scene Mimi created involving her and Tai. "The girls and I were wondering would you guys like to hang out with us two weeks from now at the fair? Remember? It's the end of summer celebration."

"Sounds like a plan." Matt shrugged. "Let me tell the guys, okay?"

"Alright."

Matt placed the phone in its cradle, and looked at his friends. "That was Sora just now." He told everyone before anyone asked. "She and the girls wanted to let us know that we're going to the end of summer fair at the end of the month."

"Sounds like fun," Tai shrugged.

"It's going to be extremely crowded." Izzy stated. "Tourists and locals are going to be there."

"That'll make it more fun." Tai repeated. "Maybe I'll meet the love of my life there."

Both Izzy and Joe gave each other knowing looks.

"So you finally admitting that you need to leave Yuri alone?" Matt stated more than asked.

"Shut up." Tai replied.

- - - - -

Oh Tai. Yep, you're gonna meet the love of your life, alright! Mimi will get a reality-check soon enough!