Author's Note: I feel like I always preface my chapters with some kind of half-assed explanation as to why I've been the worst updater in the history of forever no I'm not dramatic at all why do you ask. I won't bore you all with details, but real life things at work have been getting crazy busy lately and, ya know, gotta pay those bills. Yay, adulthood. BUT, let me just say that I do not plan on abandoning this fic. I promise. We're getting so close to the home stretch, it would just be plain mean to leave everyone hanging now. And I'm not that evil. Kinda. Maybe. Sometimes. To be determined.
That was a joke. And a bad one at that. Let's just move right ahead to the good stuff!
About Us
Chapter 10
December 19th, 2015
"Remember when Christmas shopping used to be fun?" Tai wondered aloud.
Kari looked up from the clothing rack she'd been casually perusing to find her disgruntled brother a few feet away, mulling over a display case of antique brooches with avid disinterest.
"I still think it's fun," she said as she plucked a lavender sweater from the haphazard collection of clothes. Yolei had always looked good in purple so she draped it over her arm along with the other maybes. "What's wrong with it now?"
"There's just so much pressure now, y'know?" With a laborious sigh, Tai stepped away from the brooches, tailing behind Kari with the kind of overzealous dramatics that never failed to make her choke back a laugh. "Like, if you get someone something small, then you're cheap. But if you get someone something too meaningful, it gives the wrong impression. And if you decide to forget the whole gift thing altogether, then you're a heartless asshole. We can't win!" he concluded with an exasperated hand gesture for good measure.
Kari cast him a sideways glance, full of amusement, but ever calm and wise beyond her years. "I think you're just overthinking it. Nobody actually reads that much into presents. After all, it's the thought that counts."
"Yeah, but," Tai began, mumbling indignantly. "This year is different."
"Because you have a girlfriend?"
"Hey," he snapped, following a little closer behind his unaffected sister, most likely in hopes of intimidation, but the subtle flush against his cheeks already denied him of that. "I don't have a girlfriend, okay? I have a… Mimi."
Kari couldn't help the gentle chuckle that escaped past her upturned lips. She peeled her attention away from the rack long enough to match Tai's steady glare. "You don't know what to get her."
It wasn't a question, which Tai resented just a tiny bit, but he knew she was still right. "It's not my fault that you girls are impossible to shop for," he defended. "I mean, you remember the whole hair clip fiasco with Sora, right?"
"You mean the hair clip that she wore to school every day in the sixth grade?" Kari reminded him. Tai didn't respond — he simply averted his gaze with undeclared defeat and tugged aimlessly on the sleeve of a nearby fur jacket. "So maybe it blew up in your face a little bit, but, at the end of the day, a gift from someone you care about is still special."
Tai continued to glare, but it didn't take long before his gaze started to soften. Sometimes he had to stop and wonder when exactly his baby sister had grown up into such a smart and formidable young woman. Then again, he thought, despite their age difference, she had always been at least one step ahead of him.
"Aren't I the one who's supposed to be giving you important life advice?" he asked, making Kari giggle.
"Don't worry," the younger sibling grinned. "I won't tell anyone that you've been slacking on your big brotherly duties."
He scrunched up his nose, sticking his tongue out at her like he always used to as a child. Kari adjusted the growing pile of clothes on her arm and quickly became aware of the dull ache in her muscle from the weight. "I should probably find us a cart," she said. "Stay here, I'll be right back."
Tai gave her a distracted thumbs-up while she wandered off through the department store. As inspiring as Kari's words might have been, he still didn't know what to get Mimi for Christmas. He had humored the cheeky idea of festive lingerie, but thought better of it when he realized that it would only end in another one of her longwinded feminist rants. And hair accessories were simply out of the question, having been permanently scarred by Sora's rampage all those years ago. His brown eyes scanned the store with a fair amount of hopelessness when he suddenly perked up at the glimmering sight of the jewelry department.
Mimi couldn't possibly turn her nose up at something that was sparkly, could she?
He was drawn to the counter like a magnet, palms splayed against the glass case as he peered down at the rows and rows of gemstones with inquisitive eyes. Barely a minute had passed before he was approached by an eager salesperson.
"Shopping for someone special?"
Tai jumped as if he'd been caught committing a crime, but the elderly woman's kind smile suggested nothing of the sort. She stood before him, overly attentive while the boy collected his bearings — what was left of them, anyway.
"Um, kinda," he drawled cautiously. "It's for a girl… friend. A friend who's a girl."
"I see," said the saleswoman, clearly mistaking Tai's apprehension for some form of smitten puppy love. She waved a graceful hand to the right, showcasing a few of the finer artifacts. "Well, we have a lovely selection of twenty-four carat bands over here…"
A single glance at the price tags had Tai shaking his head fervently. "Actually — uh — I'm looking for something more along the lines of 'I-really-like-hanging-out-with-you-and-the-sex-is-amazing-but-I'm-still-not-looking-for-anything-serious'. Got anything like that?"
"Oh, my… well, ah, let's see here…" the woman stammered uncomfortably as she flitted to the other end of the countertop. She began murmuring something about cubic zirconia when Tai's attention was captured by a sudden twinkle.
His eyes immediately landed on the source — a dainty gold charm in the shape of a star, looped by a thin cable chain that shone almost as brilliantly as the miniature white diamonds outlining the pendent. It was so very delicate, but so very difficult to ignore. Just like Mimi.
"Ma'am? Sorry, yeah, excuse me?" Tai jammed an anxious finger against the glass case. "What about that one? How much for that one?"
The flustered saleswoman returned when she was summoned, following the direction of Tai's finger with her gaze. "Ah, the star pendent? Two hundred ninety-five."
Tai openly blanched. "Two hundred…"
"Well, it's a fourteen carat yellow gold pendent with white diamond detailing so —"
The explanation was tuned out by his apathetic ears. Tai knew precisely why the price was so steep — because he'd stumbled upon the perfect gift. He could already imagine the gold necklace resting gently against the creamy skin of her neck. And, more importantly, he could already imagine that captivating smile — the one that did inexplicably bizarre things to his heartbeat — that would undoubtedly appear on her lips as she unwrapped it.
And, in his mind, there was no price that could compete with knowing that he was responsible for putting such a smile on her face.
The saleswoman stopped mid-sentence when Tai slammed his wallet ceremoniously onto the counter.
"I'll take it."
December 20th, 2015
It was a relatively quiet Sunday evening at the apartment until Mimi stormed into Sora's bedroom wearing a thin nightgown and a pair of bunny slippers, her recently washed hair piled atop her head beneath a towel turban. She was a ridiculous sight, but one that Sora was already quite familiar with.
"Try this on."
When those words were spoken from Mimi Tachikawa's mouth, they held the same power as a godlike commandment — unrelenting and irrefutable. From her bed, Sora looked over at the slinky black dress in her roommates' arms, frowned, and then returned her attention to her sketchbook.
"I don't think — "
"Oh, shush," the tiny brunette bounded forward and leapt onto the bed, causing Sora's pencil to go haywire across the page. "It's just a little something I found hidden away in my closet and — lookie here! — it's just your size."
Sora lifted a skeptical brow. "I can see the price tag, Mimi."
"Well, at least it was on sale!"
"It doesn't matter," the redhead insisted, pushing her fringe off of her forehead with an agitated hand as she stared down at the ruined sketch before her. "I'm busy right now."
A pout worked its way onto Mimi's pink lips. "Too busy for your very best friend who goes out of her way to buy you new clothes out of the goodness of her heart?"
"I never asked you to do that," Sora reminded her.
"See?" the other girl straightened her posture and gave her turban an affectionate pat, somehow managing to look glamorous even in her current getup. "Aren't I such an angel?"
A reluctant puff of air blew past Sora's lips as she muttered, "You're something, that's for sure."
Mimi wasn't so easily dismissed — she never was. And if Sora hadn't been in such a foul mood, she would've accepted the fact that it was easier to play along with her roommate's silly demands instead of provoking her more tenacious side. Especially since, at that very moment, her tenacious side took hold of Sora's arm and began tugging her off the bed, towing her toward the bathroom despite the redhead's protests.
"This will all go much more smoothly if you'd just stop resisting," Mimi hung the dress on the shower rod and simultaneously tossed her friend inside the room. "Now go — before I force it on you myself."
And that was her first and only warning before shutting the bathroom door with a resounding slam. Sora heaved an exasperated sigh when she found herself standing alone in the bathroom, eyeing the dress that was waiting enticingly on the hanger.
"I know exactly what you're doing here," she called out in defeat as she began undressing. "Pressuring me into trying on a dress isn't going to make me change my mind, you know."
On the other side of the door, Mimi bit back a devious grin that would've certainly given away her intentions had Sora been present to see it. "But you have to be there," she whined. "Do you even realize how many powerful music industry big-shots are going to be at this album launch party? I am one charming smile and flirty conversation away from stardom."
Sora had to chuckle as she hoisted her sweater over her head. "I'm excited for you, Meems, but what does any of that have to do with me?"
"Just imagine us waltzing through the front doors together," she began circling the bedroom with long, graceful strides, already lost in the fantasy that was beginning to take shape inside her mind. "Everyone will be talking about the stunning mystery woman who arrived with lead singer Matt Ishida's girlfriend —"
"Yeah, that might work if anyone at that party actually cared whether or not I show up," she hissed. Hearing his name alone was enough to make Sora yank the dress off the hanger in one angry swipe. "That includes lead singer Matt Ishida himself."
Mimi paused her dramatic trek around the room to roll her eyes. "This is his big celebration, Sora. Of course he cares if you're there."
"Well, then maybe he should tell me that instead of just treating me like —" she stopped herself before the words spilled out in another heated rampage. She was tired of talking about it. She was tired of everything. " —Can't you just go with Tai or something? It's on Christmas Eve — I thought you two would already have plans, anyway."
The brunette plopped herself down on the edge of Sora's bed and crossed her legs daintily, examining her manicured nails with intense scrutiny as she huffed, "I have not been officially invited anywhere by anyone on Christmas Eve. Therefore, I have no obligations to officially attend any party with a particular individual whatsoever."
Sora nodded knowingly. "Fair enough."
"Boys are just the worst," Mimi continued. "I would much rather grow old with you."
"Only if we get a few cats, too."
"Obviously."
Sora grinned and didn't even notice that she was donning the new dress until she caught sight of herself in the mirror. Her smile dropped slowly. "Um… Mimi?"
"Do you need a hand with the zipper?" the girl asked as she hopped off the bed and headed for the bathroom.
"No, actually, I…"
Mimi barged through the door just as Sora whirled around to face her. The redhead's arms were folded awkwardly over her midsection to hide the silky black fabric that clung to her skin in all the right places. Mimi's jaw dropped open, but Sora looked like she was debating whether or not to make a mad dash behind the shower curtain.
"I don't…" she fidgeted uncomfortably under Mimi's invasive gaze. "…think it's very me."
"It's perfect," the girl moved forward and tried to tug at Sora's stubborn arms for a better look at her black-clad figure. "You look hot —"
Sora blushed while she attempted to stave off Mimi's picking and prodding. "Mimi, oh my god."
" —And I'm sure I'm not the only one who would think that," she hinted with wagging eyebrows. "Everyone is going to care that you're there when you show up in this — especially you know who."
Sora turned to study her reflection in the mirror. No, she didn't look quite like herself, but she did look like someone who might attend an album launch party. More importantly, she looked like someone that would make Matt Ishida regret he ever took her for granted. Mimi was grinning at her side, looking comically underdressed in comparison, but she could tell that the brunette was already imagining their grand entrance. All eyes would be on them. People would whisper and silently envy them.
And maybe, for the first time in months, Sora would finally feel like she belonged in Matt's company.
December 24th, 2015 - 8:11pm
Kari hardly recognized the handsome young man sauntering toward her. He was dressed in a sharp, fitted suit and walked with a certain kind of confidence that demanded her undivided attention. If not for the telltale spiked hair blatantly contradicting his entire facade, she might not've even realized that the dashing young man was, in fact, her date for the evening.
"Davis?" Kari stepped forward, mildly expecting him not to respond. But then he turned and grinned — and that's when the recognition set in. That bright, cheeky smile could belong to no one else but Davis.
"Hey!" he waved enthusiastically. "Sorry I'm late. Got a little caught up down the street… Who knew you had to order ahead for a bunch of stinkin' flowers, ya know?"
It was then that Kari noticed the small bouquet of peonies in Davis' hand. They were colorful, a little wilted and windblown, but charming all the same.
She blinked in surprise. "Are those for me?"
Davis blinked in surprise, too. And then he looked down at his handful of flowers, slightly startled, as if he'd forgotten about them until that very moment. A bright blush painted his face, but he tried to play it off coolly — to no avail. "Uh, yeah, they are. You like 'em? I mean, I know it's kinda cheesy or whatever, but I figure it's not every day you get asked out by the girl of your dreams so I just kinda rolled with it —"
"They were Yolei's idea, weren't they?"
"Yep. A hundred percent."
A laugh rippled past Kari's upturned lips. So maybe he wasn't particularly suave, but she still found it endearing — in a very Davis kind of way.
"Well, thank you. It's still a sweet…" she watched a few limp petals snap off and float miserably to the ground. "…gesture."
"Lousy clump of weeds," Davis grumbled as Kari snorted in amusement behind her hand. He chucked the wilting flowers to the side in a fit of childish defiance. "Flowers are lame, anyway. Let's just get this party started. I think I can already smell the dessert table from out here!"
Davis led the way inside the venue with a bounce in his step, and Kari discreetly wondered what she'd gotten herself into.
December 24th, 2015 - 9:05pm
Buh-bum, buh-bum, buh-bum.
Sora's heart pounded an incessant and erratic rhythm against her chest as the taxi cab crawled through the downtown traffic, carrying them closer and closer to their destination. The sun had gone down hours ago, but the city was all aglow from the blinking banners and glittering signs that lined the bustling street.
Buh-bum, buh-bum, buh-bum.
The cab dropped them off outside The Lux, a notorious nightclub that was just as ritzy and extravagant as the name implied. Mimi gave the driver a generous tip along with a playful wink before sliding out of the backseat. As soon as Sora was greeted by a gust of chilly winter air, she felt her friend's warm hand slip into her own. She was silently grateful.
Buh-bum, buh-bum, buh-bum.
Mimi removed a small compact mirror from her purse for a final primp while Sora waited anxiously at her side, studying the throngs of people that were pouring in and out of the front doors. There were men with shady eyes and chiseled features entering with young women on their arms — giggling goddesses wearing fishnets, black stilettos, and too much eyeliner. Sora didn't recognize a single one.
Buh-bum, buh-bum, buh-bum.
They joined the crowd of strangers and entered the club. Sora's heartbeat was loud, but the music was louder — Matt's music, apparently, but it sounded so artificial and over-produced that it was hard to be certain. The dance floor was bouncing with a sea of well-dressed guests, and the perimeter was lined with circular tables, each one adorned by gold cloth and an elaborate centerpiece. Model-esque cocktail waitresses in leather mini skirts and frilly headbands pranced around the room offering sweet-tasting drinks to eager patrons, grinning seductively beneath the dim lights. Sora didn't even want to think about how much a party like this might've cost, and yet, she found herself wondering. The venue, the alcohol, the decorations — each individual centerpiece alone must've been worth a small fortune. Matt never cared about centerpieces. Or crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling or scantily-clad waitresses or —
Her dismal thoughts about superfluous decor were interrupted when she felt Mimi give her hand a tight squeeze. The redhead wasn't surprised to see that the glittering display had already worked its magic on her wide-eyed roommate.
"Well?" Mimi prompted, barely audible over the roar of the party.
"It's… impressive," Sora replied.
"You don't look impressed," the girl said astutely. "Actually, you look rather nauseous."
"I'm fine."
It was a lie and they both knew it. "You'd be even better if you had a teeny bit of liquid courage," Mimi's eyes flitted toward the bar. "If I'm going to spend the evening chatting up random strangers in the hopes that they'll be able to whisk me away to fame with nothing but a single cosmo in my system, then it'll certainly loosen you up, too."
"Mimi —" Sora tried to reach for the girl's hand again, but she was already scooting further away.
"It's a party, chickadee," she reminded her with a bright, reassuring grin. "Mingle."
Sora watched as Mimi disappeared in the crowd surrounding the bar. Her friend seemed to blend seamlessly with everyone else, but she still felt like an outsider. Not even makeup and a fancy dress could change that fact. The patrons at the bar were sipping from oddly shaped glasses and chatting about things that probably didn't matter. They were all lavish and gaudy and, as her eyes scanned the group, they all started looking exactly alike… until she was struck by harsh familiarity.
Matt was seated beside his brother at the other end of the bar. His hand gripped a nearly empty glass and he was smiling. Laughing. He looked like one of them.
"Ah, look who it is."
Familiarity struck again, but, that time, it was far more haunting. Sora turned over her shoulder to find herself staring up into Fox's smirking face. The tall man loomed over her, looking surprisingly low-key in a simple black suit, but the gold fedora atop his head succeeded in accentuating his usual flair.
"Mr. Fox," Sora greeted tepidly. "Hi."
"Funny bumping into you here," he chuckled after taking a quick sip of the amber-colored liquid inside his glass. "The gang hasn't seen you around in a while. We were starting to think that you're allergic to fun."
She didn't owe him any kind of explanation so she uttered through tight lips, "Well, I'm happy to be here to support the band."
"What a doll you are, little lady," said Fox. "All that support is gonna come in handy soon. Your boy is really gonna need it when he hits the road."
Sora had to remind herself how to exhale. "When he what?"
"He hasn't told you yet? That's funny," and he was grinning as if it really were funny, but Sora failed to find the humor in anything he was saying. "Guess you're in for a big surprise like everyone else. Always a pleasure, Sarah."
"It's Sora —"
But he didn't seem to hear. Fox was already wading through the crowd, making his way to the DJ booth at the front of the room. He stepped up onto the platform and whispered something to the DJ that made him cut the music. Everything went silent except for the murmur of the confused audience and the shrill shriek of a microphone as Fox brought it up to his lips.
"Alright — settle down — we'll get back to the celebration before you know it," the manager calmed the crowd with his ease and charisma. "But first I need to say a few words, yeah?"
He had the room's attention, which was exactly the way he liked it.
"Now I've helped a lot of acts make it to the big leagues before, but it takes more than just a pretty face to get there. It takes brains. It takes guts. It takes talent. And that's exactly what I saw from these boys the first time I went to their show. Not to mention their faces are still pretty, too, ladies," and the crowd laughed. A few girls whistled and cheered. "It makes me damn proud to say that Knife of Day is the real deal. And this studio album is only the beginning!"
Fox raised his glass as everyone burst into applause. Sora joined in halfheartedly, expecting the party to resume, but the man remained on the platform with the microphone still poised by his smirking mouth.
"If this is just the beginning, then you're all probably wondering what could be in store for these kids," Fox continued. The audience hushed once again. "And the answer is this — I'm happy to publicly announce that Knife of Day is going on a 2016 national tour. Let's hear it for our boys!"
The announcement was met with an explosive uproar. The crowd cheered and hollered and clapped their hands to celebrate the exciting news — but Sora couldn't hear any of it. Her muscles were tensed, frozen where she stood on the outskirts of the thunderous mob. The only sound that seemed to reach her ears was the returning thud of her heartbeat.
Buh-bum, buh-bum, buh-bum.
Her burgundy eyes were like a magnet pulled toward Matt's seat at the bar, and she was utterly surprised to see that he had already found her. He, too, was silent and unmoving, but his blue gaze was fixed directly on hers.
Buh-bum-buh-bum-buh-bum-buh-bum…
She jerked herself around and began pushing her way through the mass of strangers. The sound of his voice calling out her name penetrated the commotion, but maybe she was only imagining things. Still, Sora's unsteady legs carried her across the room, traveling faster and faster until she realized that she didn't even know where she was going.
Buh-bum, buh-bum, buh-bum.
The noise of the crowd finally died down when she charged through the back door to safety.
December 24th, 2015 - 8:28pm
"Man, I'm feeling all sorts of snazzy in this thing," Davis preened, tugging proudly on the lapels of his suit jacket. He chuckled and leaned so far back on the hind legs of his chair that it was a miracle he didn't fall flat on his back. "If this bow tie wasn't such a bitch to get on, I'd wear a suit every day!"
He looked to his side where Kari was gazing off into the distance — just as she'd been doing since the pair first entered the venue. "Mhm," she hummed distractedly.
Davis pursed his lips, ever persistent, and jabbed a thumb over his shoulder toward the bar. "Hey, want me to go score us some drinks?"
Kari shook her head politely, but her curious eyes were still scouring the room for a familiar pair of blonds. "No, thank you. I'm not very thirsty right now."
"How 'bout a dance then? I bet this suit'll give me some serious moves out there —"
"Oh, I don't really dance."
Davis straightened up on all four chair legs with a thump. He watched Kari not watching him, nibbling anxiously on her bottom lip, restless hands fidgeting with the hem of her dress. Her mind could've been anywhere at that moment, but it certainly wasn't there with him.
It was with a long, hollow breath that Davis sighed, "Everyone thinks I'm dumb, y'know."
He sounded so feeble, so unexpectedly vulnerable that it finally caught Kari's attention. She whipped around on the spot and muttered, "What?"
"It's true," he insisted with a heavy shrug. "And — yeah, okay — maybe I've taken a couple soccer balls to the head, but I'm not stupid. 'Least not about some things."
"I don't think you're stupid at all, Davis," Kari told him quietly.
He cracked a small smile and Kari couldn't help but notice how different he looked when he wasn't beaming like an arrogant child. "Yeah. You never did. That's 'cause you're not like everyone else. But still… I know about some things," Davis eyed her carefully. "Like, I know I'm probably not your first choice. Probably not even your second or third either. But you know what? I don't care. 'Cause I think we can still have a pretty fun time tonight, if you just let me try."
Kari's gaze was no longer wandering. It was firmly fixed on the boy in front of her as he rose from his chair and held out his hand like a bonafide leading man. "So I'm gonna ask you again — and I'm gonna keep asking 'til you say yes — wanna dance?"
She took his hand and let him pull her out of her seat as she told him, "Actually, I'd love to."
December 24th, 2015 - 8:36pm
The party was in full swing, but TK sat alone at the bar.
He tried to smile when he caught a glimpse of Kari laughing on the dance floor in Davis' arms, but he couldn't bring himself to mean it. He was glad that she was enjoying herself, finally abandoning her inhibitions, but he couldn't let go of the possibility that — had circumstances been slightly different — it could have been him making her laugh on the dance floor instead of brooding at the bar. TK didn't brood. Brooding was his brother's job.
"You seem pretty miserable tonight."
As if on cue, Matt walked up and occupied the empty stool beside him. TK wrinkled his nose. Miserable suggested feeling. All he felt was a horrible numbness. Or a numbing horribleness.
"I could say the same to you," he commented.
Wisely, Matt decided not to refute the claim because he knew it would only result in an argument that he had no hope of winning. Instead, he sipped quietly at his drink and, with a subtle free hand, slid a second one across the countertop toward his brother. TK's equally as subtle hand wrapped around the glass and brought it to his lips. He didn't know what it was. He didn't care. But it burned a little as he swallowed down a mouthful.
"Shouldn't you be with your date?" asked Matt.
"Shouldn't you be with your girlfriend?"
It was short, pithy, downright rude and had Matt turning on his brother with raised eyebrows. TK immediately recoiled from his own words, puckering his lips with distaste.
"Too harsh?" he said sheepishly.
"A little," was Matt's depleted response.
A sigh. A heavy, weighted sigh left his mouth in a way that nearly exposed the distress that was bubbling beneath his perpetually unflappable surface. "Sorry. I'm not trying to rain on your parade on purpose," TK stared into his drink. "It's just been a long week."
Matt lifted his glass in a sardonic salute. "I'll drink to that."
TK offered him a sad, lopsided excuse for a smile, clicked their glasses together, and then promptly finished off whatever was left inside.
"You think it'll ever get easier?" the younger brother wondered vaguely.
"What?"
"Growing up."
Matt's eyes followed the forlorn gaze that TK cast out onto the dance floor. "What does growing up have to do with Kari?"
TK refocused his attention back to the other blond, looking slightly ruffled. "Who said I was talking about Kari?"
"C'mon, Teeks, you've been staring since she got here," he pointed out dryly. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were crossing the line between admirer and serial killer."
"The only thing separating an admirer from a serial killer is a line?"
Matt rolled his eyes. He wasn't in the mood for the boy's witty literalism. "Hilarious," he deadpanned.
TK chuckled to himself as he found the dancing couple in the crowd once again. Davis was staring down at the floor, brow furrowed in deep concentration to — most likely — ensure he didn't step on Kari's feet. They spoke in voices that were too distant for TK to hear, but something made Kari throw her head back with laughter.
"She looks like she's having a good time," TK said. "Doesn't she?"
"I guess so," Matt answered. "You could always go ask her for yourself, you know."
The younger boy shook his head resolutely. "Nah. I shouldn't interrupt."
"Interrupt?" his brother snorted. "She'd probably be relieved to have an excuse to get away from that kid who looks like a drunk zombie when he dances."
"But she's happy," TK's glance was still chasing Kari around the floor. He was too entranced by her bright, lively eyes and the way her nose crinkled adorably in the center of her face — just like it always used to whenever he told a corny joke or cracked a lame pun. Then he continued, "Sometimes we have to step away from the people we care about to let them be happy. Even if it sucks." The corner of TK's mouth twitched upward into a somber, nearly imperceptible smirk before he added, "And that, dear brother, is why growing up is so terrible."
Matt's eyebrows shot up to his hairline, stunned and mildly impressed. "I never thought I'd see the day when you started sounding just as old and cynical as the rest of the world."
"You call it cynical, I call it mature."
"Is there really much of a difference?"
"I'll drink to that," TK waved at the bartender, signaling for another commiserating round.
December 24th, 2015 - 9:22pm
Tai's footsteps were slow and deliberate as he paced the alleyway outside.
"Mimi, I want you to have this."
He stopped, cleared his throat, and tried again.
"Mimi… I got you a present. Because I was thinking about you. As a friend. Because friends think about each other. And that's what we are. Friends. Just… friends… Goddammit."
His shoe scraped the ground in frustration as his eyes zeroed in on the small gift box in his hand. He threw his head back and downed the remainder of his drink. Apparently this was going to be harder than he thought.
Tai Kamiya wasn't scared of the nighttime monsters under his little sister's bed. Tai Kamiya wasn't scared of choosing a dare during even the most intense games of Truth or Dare. Tai Kamiya wasn't scared of tackling a player twice his size on the soccer field to score a goal. However, Tai Kamiya was scared, apparently, of gazing into those milk chocolate eyes and telling that bossy, gorgeous, walking headache of a girl that she hadn't left his mind since the day she blackmailed him into dancing on stage with her like an idiot. And, somehow, he managed to find himself in a very peculiar situation — with a three hundred dollar bauble in his hand and a mouthful of words that refused to come out right no matter how many times he pieced them together.
"Grow a pair, Kamiya," he chided himself. "She's just a girl."
But the kindling of his nerves proved otherwise. With a gruff sigh, Tai shoved the box back into his pocket. It was simple, really. It was just a crummy necklace. He could do this. He could do this. He could —
Somewhere in the vacant alleyway, somebody sniffled loudly. It wouldn't have normally been so distracting, but it was followed by a pitiful and wavering breath, as if the person in question's body was turning hollow. Or worse — already had.
He tiptoed closer until he noticed a small, miserable figure hidden in the shadows, sitting with her back against the brick wall of the alleyway. "Sora?"
She looked up, startled, and immediately began swiping under her eyes, but Tai wasn't so easily fooled. Not about her. "Go away, Tai," Sora ordered in a voice that lacked her usual stern authority. In that moment, she just didn't have the strength to scold. "I just want to be alone right now."
"You know," the boy began, ignoring his friend's request and slowly taking a seat on the ground beside her. "When people say they wanna be alone, that's usually when they actually need someone the most," and he smiled at her, tentatively, not knowing if it would even be reciprocated. "I could be that someone."
She lifted an eyebrow as she wondered, "Since when did you get to be so cheesy?"
"Since about a minute ago when I saw you out here looking like a big mess," said Tai with a gentle nudge to her arm.
The nighttime ambiance filled their silence with distant car horns and melting snow dripping onto the pavement — anything but the sound of their voices. Neither one of them could find words. Tai wasn't very good at mending broken hearts and Sora wasn't very good at being a victim. They were both painfully out of their element. Still, despite her previous demands, Sora was glad that she didn't have to be alone.
"I hate this," she finally admitted, broken and quiet, as she wiped the red lipstick off her mouth with the back of her hand.
"I know," he replied.
Sora allowed herself another wet sniffle, shaking her head with chagrin. "I'm not this kind of girl, Tai."
"I know you aren't."
"Then why do I feel like I am?"
"Because sometimes you just can't pretend that everything's fine when it's not."
"Yeah."
Tai stared ahead at the brick wall across from them, his gaze tracing all the cracks and crevices that ran through it like veins through a body.
"Wanna talk about it?" he asked.
"There's nothing to talk about," she said sourly. "He's leaving. That's that. And he wasn't even going to tell me."
Tai remained as diplomatic as possible when he replied, "He was probably gonna tell you eventually."
"When?" Sora flung back. "With his bags packed and one foot already out the door?"
"C'mon, have a little faith," a reassuring hand rested on her bare shoulder. "Maybe he was just —"
"Stop trying to defend him," the redhead barked abruptly, shaking off his touch. Tai let his hand fall limply into his lap, afraid that doing anything else would result in losing that hand completely. Then for the first time all evening, he finally got a good look at her eyes, which were damp around the edges and clouded with heartache. He wished he could erase that tormented image from his mind entirely, but she was staring him down and he couldn't bring himself to look away.
"I know you're his best friend, but you must've noticed how much he's changed. All I want is to be there for him and he just keeps pushing everyone further away. I'm trying my best to fit into his new life with his new rockstar friends, new manager, new music… And the same old me," Sora's face, which had been twisted and contorted into distress, suddenly began to soften. The air fled her lungs in one long exhale as the alarming revelation plagued her mind. "Maybe that's it. Maybe I'm the problem. Maybe I just don't fit anymore."
Tai was shaking his head before she could get all the words out. "Sora, that's crazy."
"Is it?" she challenged, and the desperation in her tone made Tai wonder if she was legitimately expecting an answer.
"Look, I don't know what's going on in Matt's fucked up head right now, but you're not the thing that doesn't fit. Alright? You can't be," he began with stubborn conviction creeping into his voice. "'Cause you're the kind of girl that makes a guy wanna turn his whole life upside down just to make sure you have a place in it."
When Sora appeared unconvinced by Tai's well-intentioned words, he quickly smirked and added, "So what I'm saying is that you're basically a life ruiner, Takenouchi."
Finally, at long last, she smiled. In fact, she even dared to laugh a little.
"Thanks, Tai," Sora said softly. "I needed that."
His hand found her shoulder again, only this time she didn't brush him off. His touch was warm and comforting. She looked up, burgundy meeting chestnut as their gazes locked, but something felt inexplicably different. That's when Tai's hand moved up to the side of her face and he started leaning in toward her lips at a snail's pace — though Sora could've sworn it was happening much faster than that.
She was all flushed cheeks and wide eyes when she gently pulled away. "Tai… don't."
It felt like someone flipped a switch in his head, shining a light on the darkness that was his impulsivity and bad decision making. Sora was staring cautiously into his face, which was caught somewhere between shock and shame.
"Shit," he breathed. "I know… Sorry. I wasn't —"
He was interrupted by the metal squeak of the side door flying open, followed by some very familiar voices.
"Well? Is she out here?"
"Sora —?"
Almost immediately, there was a high-pitched gasp. Matt and Mimi were suddenly standing in the alleyway with matching expressions of staggering horror. Tai and Sora went pale as their minds grappled to keep up with reality, and then he yanked his hand away from the redhead's cheek in a panic. They scrambled to their feet, but it was too late. Matt was already making his way toward the guilty pair.
Tai stepped forward, too, meeting him halfway. "Dude, it wasn't what it looked like —"
And then Matt threw the first punch.
December 24th, 2015 - 9:45pm
Admittedly, he didn't remember many of the details — everything had unraveled too quickly to process, and the couple shots of whiskey he'd taken earlier that evening weren't exactly helpful either. He remembered the ice cold wrath in Matt's eyes as he lunged forward. He remembered the sudden stinging pain as his best friend's fist collided with his face. He remembered Sora's cries, ordering them to stop. And then he remembered Mimi's forceful grip as she dragged him out of the wreckage. Her intricate up-do had come loose, tendrils of soft brown hair falling around her face, and she looked at Tai as if he were damaged, a monster, a disappointment.
That he remembered quite vividly.
And so Tai found himself in the back room of the kitchen where they'd made their escape. He sat on an overturned recycling bin, balancing a bag of frozen lima beans against his left eye, looking just as pathetic as he felt.
"Why do I get the feeling that this is becoming a habit of ours?" Tai's words were intended to lighten the mood, diffuse some of the tension that hung heavy in the air surrounding them, but Mimi was having absolutely none of his antics. She remained stony-faced as she dabbed at his bloody nose with a damp washcloth.
"Probably because the universe is trying to tell you that you deserve to get hit in the face," she remarked flatly.
"Hey, I —" the boy started his retort with an amused huff, but quickly winced away when Mimi pressed the washcloth maybe-not-so-accidentally harder against his tender wound. "—agh. That stings."
"It's supposed to," Mimi insisted impatiently as she gripped his shoulder with her opposite hand to keep him from squirming. "Now hold still."
For once, Tai did as he was told. He might've been temporarily blind in one eye, but he could still see, quite clearly, that Mimi's sharp, unblinking gaze, sternly set jaw, and irritably furrowed brow was not to be tested. He allowed her to finish her task in silence, expertly biting back his pain thanks to years of practice from various soccer injuries.
When Mimi was done, she retracted the washcloth and surveyed his bruised face with a hardened stare.
"How do I look?"
"Like a raging idiot who just tried to kiss his best friend's girlfriend."
"So in other words, like a total badass?" Tai smirked, still banking on cracking that agitated exterior. Mimi's outraged expression, however, had him quickly backtracking. "Kidding, I was kidding — jeez, it was just a joke."
"Well," Mimi spat as she rose from her seat, stomping her way toward the sink to dispose of the used washcloth. "I'm so glad to hear that Matt didn't manage to smack the sense of humor out of you."
Tai chuckled, seemingly unaware of the blatant saltiness behind her comment, and called out to her, "He took my dignity and my dashing good looks with that punch, so he had to leave something —"
"What in the world is wrong with you, Taichi?"
Her biting words were punctuated with the resounding smack of the wet washcloth hitting against the metal sink when she tossed it to the wayside. Tai turned over his shoulder to find her facing him, hands on her hips and a fury in her gaze that he never thought those doe eyes would ever be capable of.
He blinked his good eye and said, "That better be a rhetorical question."
"No, it most certainly is not," Mimi began inching closer, one threatening footstep at a time across the tiled floor. Tai knew better than to let her gain more ground — he leapt to his feet and started backing away like a cornered prey. "Please explain to me how it's possible for one single human being to be so selfish, impulsive, and just plain stupid —"
"You don't have to lecture me like I'm so proud of what I did," he countered. "I screwed up, okay? I know that, Sora knows that, and Matt would know that, too, if he'd just let me explain instead of throwing around punches."
Mimi took another ominous stride toward him. "He had every right to be angry with you."
"You're taking his side?" Tai demanded, incredulous.
"There are no sides when you were so clearly out of line!"
The bag of frozen beans dropped from Tai's hand when he felt his back bump into something large and cold — the refrigerator, most likely. Mimi was still moving in on him at an alarming pace and now he truly was a cornered prey. Tai lifted his hands in surrender, hoping to ward off the girl's fiery temper.
"Alright, already! I get your point," he said. But then his gaze focused in on her, even through the blurriness of his wounded eye. "But what I don't get is why you're the crazy one acting like I just tried to kiss your girlfriend."
"Crazy?" Mimi laughed shrilly, high-pitched and devoid of sanity. "You're the crazy one if you don't even realize how all of this makes me feel!"
She pounced at him, but Tai ducked and stumbled in the other direction for safety, narrowly avoiding yet another assault. "Oh, and I'm still the selfish one?" he challenged, voice rising in frustration. "You're the only person I know who can make yourself a victim in a situation that has nothing to do with you. Obviously all hell will break loose if you're not the center of attention one fucking time…"
Mimi gasped, utterly offended, and whirled around so aggressively that her fallen strands of hair whipped her in the face. "You think I'm doing this for attention?"
The girl stormed forward once again, but, this time, Tai didn't move away. He stood his ground, muscles tense with anger, and waited until they were face to face before he snapped, "No, I know you're doing this for attention — because I know you pretty damn well by now, Mimi. Mommy and daddy won't give you the time of day so you might as well steal the spotlight from your best friend when she's —"
Smack.
The slap was swift, effective, and uncoincidentally aimed right at Tai's tender bruise. The boy doubled over in agony, a hand grappling for stability against the metal countertop, but it proved to be too difficult a task when he was otherwise preoccupied by the searing pain throbbing against his left eye.
"Sweet mother of fuck —" he rasped helplessly.
"If you're so convinced that someone is trying to steal the spotlight, then allow me," Mimi began coldly. So coldly, in fact, that Tai had to flinch. "I think what you did was cruel. I think you aren't nearly as brave as you pretend to be. I feel cheap. I feel used. I feel like just another bimbo that you could amuse yourself with while you waited around for the one you really want. So, yes, maybe I do want attention — but only because it's yours and you're too dense to realize it!"
She ended her tirade with heavy, uneven breaths and wide eyes, as if she were truly surprised that she'd spoken those words aloud. She didn't like the thick silence that followed or the way Tai was gawking at her like a strange specimen beneath a microscope, so Mimi tucked some stray hairs behind her ear and allowed her gaze to wander idly around the room.
"Mimi," he said at last. "Are you… jealous?"
She quickly scoffed — too quickly. "That is not what I'm saying."
"But you're saying that you don't want me trying to kiss anyone else."
"I'm saying," her words were slow and measured to make sure they were heard loud and clear, "that you should be more considerate of other people's feelings."
"You're avoiding the question."
"Because the question is stupid."
Mimi finally looked up again. Tai was watching her, his face a battleground of emotion, but she couldn't read any of it. His brow was furrowed in confusion, his nostrils slightly flared in contempt, and the corner of his mouth was curved upward with a hint of amusement. Mimi could almost see the gears turning inside his thick skull, contemplating, figuring it out, and then — he paused. The boy's expression drained and was replaced by a sudden spark of remembrance.
"Wait, I — shit — I almost forgot," he dug a hand deep into his pocket. "This is probably the worst timing ever, but — I've been trying to give you this all night."
A small velvet box sat in the palm of Tai's outstretched hand, simple and pretty, but Mimi stared at it as if it were dangerous. He waited, uncharacteristically patient, as her eyes turned glossy and harsh.
"I don't want your pity gift, Tai," she told him quietly. "You don't owe me anything."
"I'm not paying you back for anything, I just… ah, I can't explain it," Tai's face contorted with the struggle to find the right words. "I just really want you to have this."
Carefully, he began to open the box, but Mimi's hand reached out like a bullet and stopped the lid from lifting before a single sparkle could escape.
"Well, I don't want it," she said sharply. "You can keep it."
The brunette shouldered past him, making a beeline for the door without a single falter in her stride. Tai curled his fingers tightly around the tiny box and watched her go.
December 24th, 2015 - 9:45pm
"Nothing happened, Matt, I already told you."
Not even the crisp, bitter breeze that smacked against her heated skin could cool her down. Sora was utterly seething as she spun around on the shadowed concrete to throw a jagged glower in Matt's direction. There was at least six feet of empty space between their stiff stances because anything closer was simply not an option — not with the raging fire burning through Sora's veins.
"Right, nothing happened, but tell me," the stoic blond could feel himself unhinging, teetering on the brink of instability as he growled, "Would something have happened if I hadn't been there?"
To Sora's ears, the blunt question sounded more like an accusation and caused the girl to scoff in offense. "Of course not!" she cried. "I would've never let that happen. The fact that you even have to ask me that just proves how much you've really changed!"
"I'm not the only one who's changed here, Sora," Matt countered gravely.
"Oh, so now it's suddenly my fault?"
"Sora, just —"
"Do you even know why Tai was out here with me in the first place?" the girl didn't bother waiting for a response. She spoke her words with such reckless abandon that her throat felt raw and abused, but she couldn't bring herself to slow down. "It's because I was upset about that special announcement — the one that I should've known about before anyone else, but no — I had to hear it from Fox, who, by the way, still doesn't know my name."
Matt was still. Too still. Dangerously still — like the calm before a storm.
"When were you going to tell me about the tour, Matt?" she demanded. "Were you even going to tell me at all? Or were you just planning on leaving without — "
"When were you going to tell me about FIT?"
The distant wails of traffic, the muffled pulse of music still blaring from inside, even the drumming of her relentless heartbeat — it all came to a screeching halt. Matt's words hung heavy in the air like a black cloud, drifting through their six feet of separation until it settled over both of their heads. The storm had arrived. Sora's mouth twitched as if she were about to speak, but not a sound was uttered.
"I know," he took a step forward. Her legs itched to take a step back.
"Who…?"
"No one told me," Matt explained, reading her mind fluently. "I saw the acceptance letter in your room."
Sora just waited in silence, idly wondering if he was expecting some kind of apology. But he wasn't getting one.
"I don't get it," he sighed. "That's amazing news. Why didn't you say anything?"
There was no anger hidden in his tone, she noted, but, in its place, there were the subtle vestiges of hurt. And it was the kind of hurt that Sora knew all too well — the kind that could only be derived from being the last to know about the person that she always put first.
"Because I wasn't —"
"Wasn't sure how I'd react when you told me?" his blue eyes narrowed. "Yeah, I know the feeling."
Sora's gaze quickly filled with guilt, though she turned her face away in an attempt to hide it. "Matt, I… I wasn't going to tell you because I wasn't going to go."
He studied her for a moment. "You were going to turn down grad school," Matt spoke as slowly and as evenly as possible, as if he were making sure that he'd heard her correctly.
"Yes," she confirmed. "Because for a little while I was stupid enough to think that maybe you needed me here, but now…" She broke off, because she feared the words that were beginning to blossom from her own tongue, despite knowing that they needed to be said. They should've been said a long time ago. She drew in a feeble breath and forced the rest out in a low, choked voice. "Maybe this is happening at a good time, you know? You going away on tour and me getting ready to move to New York —"
"What are you saying?" Matt snapped.
"I think we need to end this before it gets even worse," she spoke as if she were in a hurry — as if speaking quickly would lessen the pain, but it didn't. "We aren't working, Matt, and you know it. Even when I try, I just don't fit into your world anymore."
You are my world.
But he didn't dare speak the thought aloud. It wouldn't fix anything. It wouldn't keep Sora's flushed cheeks from being stained with tears. It wouldn't stop her from leaving. It wouldn't fix what they'd broken.
His ears ringing, Matt exhaled as if he'd been struck in the gut, then looked away. He glanced at the brick wall. He glanced upward at the black sky. He glanced down at his feet. Anywhere but Sora's intense eyes. A hand lifted and dragged through his golden hair, a gesture of both disbelief and bitter resignation.
"Is that what you really want?" Matt asked. He barely had enough air in his lungs to get the words out.
"No," she answered honestly. "But we need to."
The few feet between them suddenly felt more like miles. And the seconds that passed began to feel like minutes. Maybe it had been minutes. Matt didn't know for sure. But he knew that he was wallowing in the silence for far too long when Sora prompted him with a slightly more brusque, "Don't you have anything to say?"
"… No."
His short, detached, and definitive response seemed to echo off the walls, but Sora still couldn't believe her ears. A single syllable was all he had to say about everything they once had together. Matt still refused to look her in the face as he turned over his shoulder and began walking away. He passed the door leading back into the club, heading for the street instead.
"That's it? Nothing?" Sora trailed after his retreating back, her voice rising in a frenzy. "You don't even have the nerve to fight for me? For us? You're just going to walk away —"
Matt whipped around with darkened eyes and Sora all but skidded to a halt in front of him. "You said it's over, Sora, what else do you want me to do?"
"I just want you to say something! Anything!"
And so he did.
"Be safe in New York."
Except it sounded like goodbye.
Author's Note: You can tell that we're getting closer to the end of the story because everything is going to shit. So now things can only go up from here! Right? ...Right? You'll have to read for yourselves soon. ;) Thanks for the support, everyone, and, as always, for your amazing patience.