+ slow dance +

+ chapter four +

+ mimi + sora + tai +

Summary: Confrontations abound. And all of them going nowhere.

+ mimi +

"Whoa—Hey, Mimi!" Tai said in surprise, getting off of the stool he sat on. "What's the big idea?"

"Why don't you tell me what's really going on, Tai?" Mimi cried in anger as she stood in front of him. "You're mad at me!"

"Wh—Wai—How is that even possible?"

He gave her an incredulous look, but that didn't fool her. She had already been convinced that he was not telling her the whole truth, but his stuttering only affirmed it.

"You haven't been talking to me, Tai. You haven't been telling me what's been bothering you, so the only reason I can see is because of me!"

"I told you it was about school! What more could it be about?"

There was exactly one thing she had been piecing together, and it made the most sense to her. "We've been dating for a while now, Tai, and not once have you invited me over to your place!"

Tai's hands had been up as he argued, but hearing that made him pause, then drop them to his sides.

"I'm not mad at you, Mimi. I have no reason to be."

"Then, why can't we ever hang out at your place? Am I not good enough for you?"

"Mimi, stop that." Tai held his hands on either side of her shoulders. His voice went back to his normal tone. "I've never had a girl over."

Mimi stared, wide-eyed. "Never? Not even S—your friends?"

Thinking about it, Sora always mentioned whenever Tai went over to her house, but never the other way around. Even Mimi herself had never been to his place, either.

"My mom and sister are always around," he explained. "Always. They already ask too many questions if they hear about you. They'd probably bombard you with more questions."

"I see." Mimi felt at ease after hearing Tai's explanation. She knew herself enough to recognize she had jumped to conclusions once again, but she just couldn't help doing it, even after Sora called her out on it, many, many times.

"Besides…" he said, and Mimi realized he was now gently rubbing her shoulders. "I don't want them hearing the things I like to do…"

"Oh?" Mimi took hold of the collar of his T-shirt to pull him closer. "What kind of things, I wonder?" Their faces only inches apart now, Mimi couldn't help but feel like she won; he slipped away from her grasp for a bit, but she succeeded in reeling him back in.

"Do you want to know?" he teased, and somehow, Mimi found her back against the wall, caught mesmerized by his stare. Who was winning here…?

A mischievous smile formed on her lips, forgetting what she was ever upset about.

"I guess you'll have to show me, then," she said, and up the stairs and to her bed they went for Tai to show her. Mimi let out a squeal, then a giggle, followed by other sounds beyond her control.

+ sora +

Another Tuesday. Another locker slammed shut. Another appearance from Mimi behind it.

Sora took note of Mimi's shocked expression and could already guess why she looked at her like that.

"You went out with Joe and you didn't tell me?" Mimi whispered with agitation. Sora was surprised it took three days for that to reach Mimi.

"What gave it away?" Sora asked, turning to hurry to class, carrying her books in her arms. She didn't want to talk about it, but Mimi walked briskly by her side.

"They were saying, 'It makes sense she would go out with a uni boy,' and, 'She's going out with that dark blue-haired senpai? She has good taste.'"

"What do 'they' know about my taste?"

"They don't, but I do—or I should!" Mimi sped up to stop Sora and met her face-to-face. "Why didn't you say anything? You tell me everything."

Sora shrugged. "I've been busy, and so have you. I didn't think you would have time for—"

"Boy talk?! Sora, I'm going to make time for that. Just like I would for you-always."

Mimi had always been so thoughtful to Sora. It was one of the reasons Sora loved her. She just wished that Mimi turned her thoughtful words into actions more often. Mimi was one to cut conversations short or cancel on her whenever it involved a guy. Sora could barely talk to her now, especially when she's been so occupied with a certain someone…

But that didn't stop her from telling Mimi everything. Sora stopped near her classroom door, leaning back on the wall next to it. She saw Mimi's face fall as she told her the end, minus Joe's last question.

"Oh, Sora…" Mimi said.

"I didn't feel anything with him, so I had to tell him that," Sora replied.

Mimi put her hand on Sora's arm in comfort. "Well, it really was worth a try. He's a good guy. You deserve that."

It was that thoughtful comment that made Sora miss talking to her.

"Mimi!" came a voice, and Sora looked on as a hug formed around her friend, and a head with a messy brown mane appeared at her shoulder. Mimi laughed along with him, her hands holding his as they shared a kiss. "Hey, Sora," he added after.

"Hey," she said, steeling herself quickly. Turning to Mimi, she bid her adieu and walked around the happy couple and into the classroom, telling herself that there truly were good guys out there, even if it wasn't Tai.

+ tai +

Before walking into the locker room, Tai noticed his teammates buzzing amongst themselves and looking in the same direction.

"Tai, isn't that that cute girl you always used to talk to?" said one of the first years, nudging his shoulder to make him look. It turned out they were staring at a group of girls in their tennis uniforms, tight-fitting sleeveless shirts and skirts reaching down to only the middle of their thighs. Among them, with her tennis racket resting on her shoulder, was Sora, chatting away. She might've been giving pointers to her juniors on how to improve their technique, and Tai figured she would say she was too busy to talk to him if he tried to approach her. Then, she'd try to turn and leave.

He swatted his teammates into the locker room, then ran over to Sora, anyway. He needed some questions answered.

"I'm too busy to talk to you," she said, as Tai expected. He put his hand on her shoulder as she made her attempt to leave. Why was she being so hostile?

"How long are you going to be busy until you talk to me?"

Sora slid his hand off her shoulder and turned to him, her expression unreadable. "I have matches coming up, Tai. I know you've got some, too. Practice is crucial right now."

The girls from Sora's club called for her to hurry up, and she turned from him again, leaving his question unanswered.

"I want to talk to you, Sora. It's been a while. And I know you have breaks."

Sora stopped but didn't turn to face him this time.

"You know where I'll be," she said, before walking away.

During his break, Tai headed just outside the tennis court, stopping outside the tall fence surrounding it. The girls including Sora were off to either side of the net, telling him that they were taking a breather.

He called out to her, and the whole court turned their heads. Sora wiped her face with a towel and slung it over her shoulder. She kept her hair up and visor cap on as she walked toward him, appearing nonplussed by the hushed voices and giggles from the rest of her team.

"One-on-ones?" Tai asked. Sora leaned against the other end, her back facing him.

"Yeah, awesome sets, too," she said, taking a swig of her bottled water, looking toward the court. "The girls are getting better."

"They're probably still no match for you, though."

"I haven't lost one yet."

Tai put his hands against the chain links in front of him. "I bet you can't say the same against me in soccer."

Sora took another gulp, then lowered the bottle from her lips, turning to look at him, now with skepticism.

"Don't be so sure of yourself, Tai."

His face was smug as she stared him down, her brown eyes showing a fire that happened whenever she was challenged to do something, or so he figured. Then she blinked a few times and that look was gone, and she was now looking back at the court once again. For a moment, things seemed normal between them.

"We live on the same street, Sora, and I see you every day," he said. "But, it seems like you disappeared off the face of the earth. At least, from me."

"And why do you think that, Tai?" she asked, her response seemingly quick. "We're in our last year of high school. We both have a lot of things going on for us."

"Well, we were busy last year, too, and the years before that, but we found time to hang out, didn't we? Hanging out at the diner, doing homework after school, training before practice—what about all that?"

Sora kept her gaze averted, and for Tai it triggered a memory long kept between the two of them, one that neither of them spoke of since. He kept his mouth shut, watching her, knowing even a mention of it would drive her even further away than she was now.

"Things change," she said finally, after her silence. "Tell me that you still have any ounce of time for that right now. Do you?"

It was Tai's turn to think. Sure, there was school, there was soccer, and there was Mimi, but there wasn't anything else, was there? Between classes today, Mimi would check on him. During lunch, Mimi pulled him out of the cafeteria so they could have lunch alone somewhere. Before practice today, Mimi found an abandoned closet for them to make out in…

Mimi, Mimi, Mimi. He did spend a lot of time with her. There wasn't anything wrong with that—she was his girlfriend. But…

Tai ignored the phone buzzing in his pocket, although Sora heard it.

"You better answer that," she said, pushing herself off the fence and walking back to the court.

"What should I do?" he asked all of a sudden, with his voice raised enough for her to stop walking further.

"About what, Tai?" she asked.

He wasn't so sure himself. It might have been a combination of things—what to do after high school, how to respond to Mimi's text, how to get in Sora's good graces again. Or, it might have been something he couldn't comprehend just yet. Sora would have had an answer for all of the above, if he asked her.

But the tennis coach called her, and Tai's teammate ran over to tell him that their break was almost up. To his surprise, Sora stood there, waiting for him to respond.

"Maybe we can talk some other time," he said, deciding to let the situation be for now. Sora had a look of disappointment.

"I'll see you around, Tai," she said and once more, she turned from him; and he turned from her, the distance between them growing further and further apart.