I'm baaack! xD Sorry this chapter took so long. I had finals and school got out and I finally graduated, yaaay! And then I got a new computer as a graduation present, and had to transfer everything over.

My new, faster computer will mean that I get to update more quickly (though this might not be apparent to you guys cause I have tons to do this summer). But it's a different style keyboard, and I type way too fast to see most mistakes. Even though I go over the rough draft and stuff, there might still be some typos that I miss. SORRY. D:

But anyway. I'm here now. xD

Thank you to all the reviewers of the last chapter (and those who reviewed other ones lately, as well): .Gabby-chan182., KoumiLoccness, flameachemist15, Aero Angemon, Depthmon, Moon Spirt, senses236, Super garurumon, devilishgiirl, Akane Naomi, D'MoonStarLight, BandGeek99, Dragonfire411, The Ilusionest, imaginedreams22, Tori R, and Gehktus Yht Kg Yht Tekesuh.

Responses to individual question-type things (xD):

flamealchemist15: Haha, I like Shinji too. Which of the girls should have a crush on him? :3

Moon Spirt: The next few chapters will be Sora-centric… About five or six, I think? And then Part III will be Kari's, Part IV will be Rika's, and Part V Zoe's. And… what happens when we get to Part VI? :o I actually have seven parts planned, so. Yeah. xD

Recent votes!:

Taiora: 20
Sorato: 9
Sora/OC: 1
Daikari: 5
Takari: 30
Kari/OC: 3
Rukato: 11
Ryuki: 21
Rika/OC: 1
Takumi: 19
Juzumi: 4
Zoe/OC: 1

It's looking like the dominant couples are Taiora, Takari, Ryuki, and Takumi. However, just in case you might have forgotten (since I've been gone forever xD), they still might not end up to be definite thingies. Some of the girls might not end up with anyone at all. Some might end up dating two! :o Oh, who knows. xD You'll just have to read and find out!

Part II, Chapter 2: When Hell Froze Over

"You have a detention?" Mimi gasped. Izzy, too, looked shocked. He nearly dropped Mimi's hand.

"You? Sora? For doing what, being too perfect?" Izzy asked.

This annoyed Sora a bit. Of course, there was the long-running joke that Sora would only get a detention "when hell freezes over". But she wasn't really that good, was she?

They were standing outside the school right after it had gotten out, and Sora was telling Mimi and Izzy the bad news, in hopes they'd pass it on to everyone else. Or not – that might be better for her reputation. "No… I called Kari on my cell phone," she replied.

Mimi sighed. "That's a dumb rule," she said. "We should have the right to call whoever we want, whenever we want! I've always thought that school is trying to make us antisocial freaks. Why'd you call her anyway?"

Sora shook her head. "Just… similar problems we have going on."

Her best friend's eyes lit up. "Ooh, you mean guy problems, huh? You can tell me everything too you know! I might not be in a love triangle thingy, but I can still give you some advice. I do know a lot about guys."

Izzy frowned.

"I mean, guy. This guy!" Mimi laughed nervously and kissed her boyfriend on the cheek. He smiled again.

Sora hesitated. If only it was just a guy problem. "Not everything is about guys, you know, Mimi," she said. Her voice came out sounding harsher than she'd meant it to. "We don't all live in your little fantasy world." Sora's face reddened. Listen to her – she sounded so… mean! Before she could say anything more, she hurried away. She had to get to detention.

Mimi and Izzy were left standing there, confused. "Well, that was weird," Mimi observed with a blink. "Was that really Sora?"

-x-

Sora thought that the detention hall would probably be as close to hell as the school got – some weird, subterranean boiler room – but she was shocked at how normal it was. Normal rows of seats and normal windows and even a normal teacher, her old Japanese professor. She blinked. It wasn't hell?

Nope, there was Tai. So it couldn't be.

Annoyed and a little embarrassed at her thought, she stared at her friend for a few seconds blankly as he waved at her. "Sorrra! Over here! Sit next to me!"

The teacher frowned. "You there – keep your voice down." She did a double take when she saw Sora. "Sora? Sora Takenouchi? What are you doing here?"

Sora smiled wanly as she made her way over to Tai. "I was on my phone during break," she replied. "I really didn't want to break the rules, but it was kind of an emergency."

Some kid near the back snorted, and Sora's face turned red. Ugh, she sounded like such a perfect little goody two shoes. Who was she kidding – she was! Sora was utterly tired of this reputation, even though she wasn't sure if she could change.

Tai whirled around. "Aw, shut up, Hiroshi. Just 'cause Sora's got a future ahead of her and you don't doesn't mean you have to be such a jealous asshole."

"You!" the teacher gasped. "Shh!"

Tai turned back around and sighed, eyes meeting Sora's. She gave him a slight, gracious smile. At least she had friends like Tai. Sora was actually quite popular, but she was sure this was only because she and Mimi were best friends. All their closest friends would tease Sora, calling her a prude and making exaggerated expressions of shock whenever Sora swore or said anything "unvirginly".

As Tai was one of the most popular guys in school, and one who had a massive influence on the rest of the male population, it made Sora happy that they were such good friends. Of course, there were many other reasons why she loved Tai – loved meaning as a friend, of course. He was always so fun and honest and good-natured. Of course, he did have a bit of a quick temper, and he could never sit still. He always acted before thinking. And his honesty was sometimes brutal, as she recalled.

"So seriously, how come you have detention?" Tai whispered to her, leaning over closer. Sora could feel his breath on her forearm.

"Actually, I called your sister," she replied as quietly as she could. "I wanted to see how she was… Um… With the whole TK and Davis thing." Lame!

But Tai nodded. "Kari's so selfless, it really bums her sometimes. She wants to please everyone, all the time. Man, it must suck to be in her position."

Sora just stared at him witheringly. "Yeah, it sure must."

"Hey, Sor?" Tai asked, as if he hadn't heard her last comment. "You know that dance that's coming up?"

A sense of dread filled her. "Um. Yeah… The formal ball?" It was one of the biggest events of the year, with a live band and gourmet food.

"Right, that thing. I was… er… just wondering if you were going with anyone."

Sora froze. "Um… The thing is… the thing is…" She suddenly had a stroke of genius and doubled over in her seat, grabbing at her abdomen. "Ow!"

"Sora! You okay?" Tai didn't even bother whispering now.

"I just… Feminine troubles!" Sora said, getting up and staggering to the front of the room, where she asked to be excused and hurried away to the bathroom.

She stood and stared at herself in the mirror. "Come on, Sora. Get a grip. Tai is your best friend, not just some loser guy who tried to ask you out. Sure, there's Matt, but… but…"

Sora was lying to herself. She let herself accept the truth. Yes, it would be fun to go with Tai to the formal ball. It would be fun to go with Matt, too, but in a different way. Or was it different? Ugh, she didn't know!

She tried to imagine what a date with Tai to the Formal Ball would be like…

A knock at the door. Sora glanced down at herself before answering it. Her red-orange dress fit her perfectly, though she did have doubts about how it clashed with her auburn hair. Oh well – it was Tai's favorite color. Finally, she answered the door with a huge smile.

Tai was standing there, wearing a suit… He certainly cleaned up well. He returned her grin and held up his wrists. "Check out my cufflinks!" he said, excited. Sora peeked at them. They were miniature soccer balls. Um… She guessed his overobsession with the sport was kind of cute, but she'd hoped he'd kind of… make her the center of attention tonight. But that was stupid, and selfish anyway. Besides, these were just cufflinks! He probably wouldn't talk about soccer at all.

"Dude, can we leave a little early? There's a soccer game on TV tonight, and I don't wanna miss it! I thought maybe we could watch it on your plasma screen. Sound good? It'll be like the old days, when we always used to watch together! Remember? GOOOOAAAALLLL!"

Sora stared at him. "Leave early? Like… how early?"

Tai shrugged. "We can still be there for like an hour and make the game, so it's cool. Besides, the whole dance thing is overrated. It's hanging out with you that's fun!"

Sora sighed. "Me and my plasma screen," she muttered inaudibly. "Wait, why is there a soccer game at night?"

"It's in Italy."

"Wait, what?" That didn't even make sense! Or maybe she was doing her time zones incorrectly… Ugh, it was too difficult to think about!

"Let's go!" Tai said, slinging one arm around her. "Oh, by the way, I couldn't get the car tonight. You okay with walking? There's just, like, ten blocks uphill, the rest is mostly flat."

Sora shuddered. Dating Tai would be like dating soccer. Sure, she was attracted to him, and flattered he liked her. She thought she might even… well, it didn't matter. Soccer would probably always get in the way, and she couldn't ask him to give up his obsession. That was like… his life.

Maybe she should go with Matt. He wouldn't be all buddy-buddy and casual like Tai was…

There was a knock at the door, and Sora smiled before she glanced at herself in the mirror to make sure she looked okay. She was wearing a long and elegant black dress that shimmered indigo in the light. Sora hoped it was a perfect match with her date. She opened the door with a smile.

Matt stood there, smiling back at her, eyes wide. "Wow. Sora, you look beautiful." He didn't look too bad himself, though his blonde hair still did that annoying-but-cute thing Sora love-hated where it fell in his eyes. He handed her the dozen red roses he held in his hand. "I got these for you…"

Sora smiled even wider. "They're beautiful!" she exclaimed.

"Just like you," Matt said. Sora blinked. Er, he'd already said that. Maybe he was just nervous? No, he didn't look like it. And what was up with the cheesy line anyway? This wasn't some overly-done romantic comedy.

"I rented us a limo," Matt continued. "There's a moon roof, so we can stargaze on our way to the dance."

Sora doubted that they'd be able to see any stars with how fast they'd be going in the car, but it was a sweet idea. If not a bit… Wait. Had he said… limo?! They weren't on their way to prom or their wedding or something! This was just some dumb dinner dance. Plus, that was way too expensive. This was only one date; it wasn't like they were going out!

"Also… I have a surprise for you," Matt said, with an excited gleam in his blue eyes. "I was able to get seven minutes at the mic, so I'm going to be playing parts of my new song – which is ten minutes. It's called 'You Make My Heart Soar'. Any guesses on what it's about?"

Sora's eyes widened. "Um… wait. You're playing a seven-minute long song about me?" she asked, panicked.

"Good guess!" Matt nodded with a bright smile. "Want a preview?" He took a deep breath, and began: "Beautiful girl, you make my heart soar – ah, ah, you make my heart soar." He hesitated, and peeked at her. "See how the 'ah's come after the 'soar'? It's because of how it makes it sound like your name."

Gross! She hated being the center of attention, and it was one of the worst songs she'd ever heard. Her imagination could never get a job as s songwriter.

Okay, she had to admit that Matt was quite possibly the most attractive, no, most devastatingly gorgeous guy at their school. But he would make the date way too romantic. She wanted it to be more fun, not so serious and deep and soul-mate-ish.

Kind of like how Tai would make it.

Only not that extreme – she wanted something in the middle. Fun like Tai, but romantic like Matt.

But it wasn't like she could just fuse the two guys together. Sadly enough.

-x-

Sora returned back to the detention room and took her seat next to Tai again. He looked at her with a concerned expression. "You okay?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine now," she replied. "Um…what were we talking about? Shoot, I forgot! Oh well!" She tried to laugh.

"The dance."

Ugh. Thanks, Tai. "Oh, right!" Time for her to divert his easily diverted mind. "Hey, Tai, remember when we went to that one middle school dance together? It was way back when Matt and Mimi were crazy about each other, and she flew all the way back from New York just to go. And we went… I mean, just as friends. But Matt and Mimi were too shy to dance together, so we ended up – "

"Playing that stupid musical partners game! Totally remember. How could I forget? We stopped the music when we were right at them, so they had to dance the next dance together."

Sora nodded, laughing. "And then Matt stepped on Mimi's foot, and she wouldn't talk to him. Until we locked them in the haunted bathroom together!"

Tai grinned. "I told Matt that Mimi was crying, and that she would only see him, so he went into that girls' bathroom… And then we put the chair in front of the door and turned off the lights."

"How did we do that?" Sora asked, frowning a bit.

"The light switch was outside the door, remember? And then, after hearing them both scream in very high-pitched voices, we ran outside and fell on the grass and laughed for like an hour."

Sora nodded. "Yeah! Finally, they came out and they were so mad… Later, though, Mimi thanked me."

Tai laughed. "Matt did too!" Sora wasn't sure if she wanted to hear that, but whatever. It wasn't like she was jealous or anything… "He told me he and Mimi were just hugging the whole time."

"That's what Mimi told me too. I guess it has to be true, then. Darn it! Why didn't they do anything more interesting?"

Tai lifted an eyebrow. "I'm telling Izzy."

"Izzy was already in high school then."

"So? They're going out now."

Sora laughed again. "Ugh, fine. Still. We did all that work for a hug."

Tai nodded. "Though hugs are nice, when they're with someone you like…"

Aw. Tai sounded, and looked, pretty cute right then. And she had known him since they were in elementary school, so she was well-acquainted with both his good and bad qualities. If they started going out, it wouldn't be something they would be rushing into. Same with Matt, actually. But Tai laid all his cards out on the table, while Matt still didn't open up to her completely. She had to admit, the mystery was intriguing, but there was something so appealing about the way she knew Tai. Nothing was hidden. And the way Sora felt when he looked at her, with his warm brown eyes… She knew that couldn't be anything bad. When he smiled at her, it felt like her stomach did a tiny, faint somersault.

And yet… There was still Matt. Sora felt herself feeling overwhelmingly guilty as she unlocked eyes with Tai and went to stare at her hands on the desk. Oh, Matt. I'm sorry.

She'd almost forgotten him, almost drowned in Tai. How could she hurt Matt by choosing Tai over him? Tai was always the happy one, and Matt was the one who seemed to have scars from his past. He didn't like to show his emotions, but it would be hard on Matt. How could she add another scar to the ones he already had?

Sora couldn't believe how complicated this was. How could she choose one over the other? Though… how could she not? There were other girls in this world. Girls who were prettier, smarter, nicer, more fun, more experienced. And if she didn't choose between Tai and Matt soon, she knew she would lose both of them.

And then nobody would love her. And she'd be alone.

End of Part II, Chapter 2: When Hell Froze Over

Hope you liked it. Remember to watch Fast Times at Odaiba High for an update soon…ish. And check out my new story The Parent Untrap! It's about Rika and Ryo and their growing relationship and whatnot. ;D

END OF SHAMELESS PROMOTION. xD

So, please REVIEW!! 8D