A/N: Hey guys here's chapter 12! I already have the ending planned out. Thanks for reading!

Spring Ranting

Chapter twelve – Liquid Courage

Day two of their vacation came and went. Unfortunately for the disappointed teens, the weather man was DEAD wrong about the "bright" and "sunny" day they were supposed to have, and instead were greeted with a heavy downpour and even a few thunderclouds. Instead of a beautiful day of basking in the warm sun, listening to the musical sounds of the sand, and playing in the cool ocean water, they were shoved off the beach by lifeguards and beach security. The drive back to Jyou's was an uneventful and quiet one. Eventually they shrugged off the setback and raided Jyou's grandpa's liquor cabinet, only taking the replaceable cheap sake he loved so much.

"Sorry the trip hasn't gone as planned so far guys," Izzy said a little morosely. Mimi rubbed his shoulder comfortingly.

"Iz, it's not your fault that the weather decided to change on us. It's the weather man's fault. He should have known. This is unacceptable," Mimi reassured him, a scary look crossing her face as she thought about how the weather man should pay for his crappy forecast.

"Hey, lots of things in life don't go as planned. They're called adventures," Yolei remarked, "Another shot guys!"

The group took simultaneous shots of sake.

"Hey…we should play that game we played at the hot springs." After the suggestion Yolei made, the girls shot her a look of pure evil.

"NO!" They barked in unison.

This sparked the boys' interests. "What happened at the hot springs?" Izzy asked.

"Please tell us there was some making out involved," Michael chimed in, not realizing how perfect his question was for this moment.

The four girls looked uneasy, making the boys even more curious.

Tai froze. When girls are playing games, it usually involves talking…about secret things…oh this might not be good. If Mimi or Catherine talked about anything inappropriate—

"Nothing happened! We were just…playing truth or dare," Mimi finished, wishing the last four words didn't come out of her uncontrollably honest mouth.

"Oh really?" Matt had a stupid smirk on his face.

"Stop thinking dirty thoughts Matt, it was an innocent game that we are most DEFINITELY not playing right now!" Sora retaliated, earning a sheepish look from Matt.

"Yeah, it's 3 a.m. anyway, I think I'll head off to bed," Tai said agreeing with Sora, hastily getting up from his sitting position on the ground and heading off to the bedrooms. "G'nite!"

As if on cue the others, mainly the boys, reluctantly muttered their good nights, got up and headed to bed as well. Sora gave a sigh of pure relief. There was no way they were going to play that game. She couldn't hear another word about Tai and Catherine's physical relationship. It just made her nauseous. She wasn't sure if it was jealousy or embarrassment or guilt she was feeling, but it just made her really grossed out. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Catherine pull Tai back into the living room. She watched them curiously for a second, debating on whether to follow them or not, but decided against it, instead stomping into her room and shutting the door.

"Tai? Can we talk really quick? I know you're tired and all…" Catherine whispered, releasing her loose hold on his arm.

"Of course."

Her face was flushed, probably from all the bottles of sake they went through, but they seemed to get redder as she looked deeply into his eyes.

"Is it weird that I'm here on this trip with you and your friends?"

"Wha—no! Of course not! They're your friends too you know. You and Mimi are really good friends and I know you have lunch with Matt, Izzy and Michael during school all the time. What are you talking about?"

"I know, but I don't really know your friends Sora and Jyou."

"They're both really nice people. Besides, you guys seem to all be getting along really well," Tai reassured her. He could tell she wanted to talk about serious matters and it made him a little uneasy. He really did feel a little awkward about her being here after their very recent break-up.

"Yeah…"

"Something wrong Catherine?"

"Well…Yolei kind of made me think. Mentioning what happened at the hot springs made me think about you…well I've been thinking a whole lot about you since we broke up. And I hated the way we left things when you were on your way to Seaside Park..."

Tai kept his mouth shut. They broke up for a reason. He knew it was still fresh for Catherine, but it had been a long time coming for Tai. He just couldn't handle the constant fighting, breaking up and making up. It seemed to be happening at least twice a week and he was exhausted. He knew Catherine was too. It wasn't that Catherine was a bad girlfriend, in fact, she was the best he's had so far, she was just too insecure about their relationship. He would have lunch with Izzy one afternoon and forget his phone, and then as soon as he'd return home, there would be 15 missed calls and four voicemails from Catherine accusing him of being unfaithful.

He tried getting advice from friends, but they all said he must have done something wrong to make her so distrustful of him. He couldn't believe his own friends said that to him! But he didn't do a thing! At least in his eyes…

"What happened at the hot springs?" Tai asked the dreaded question.

"We played a stupid game of truth or dare and honestly I didn't really want to play but they insisted and I didn't want to be a party foul. Then they were doing these crazy dares and I didn't want to do any dares so I kept saying truth…Yolei got me to say things about you and I…" Catherine rambled.

Tai couldn't believe her. "Catherine! Our relationship is our business, not theirs! You were just talking about how you barely know Sora and here you are telling her about our entire relationship?"

"Well I found out you were madly in love with Sora when you were younger."

Tai rolled his eyes. "I wasn't madly in love with her. Who even said that?"

Catherine looked down at her feet nervously and continued. "Apparently all your friends knew except Sora who thought you hated her."

"This is unbelievable," Tai sighed. In the back of his mind, he really, really wanted to know what dares they did at the hot springs, but the overwhelming anger he was feeling toward Catherine and Mimi for revealing his secrets was taking over.

"It all makes sense to me now!" Catherine continued.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Tai shot back. He knew Catherine was drunk, why did they have to talk about this now?

"Ever since the hot springs I've been more than aware of the way you look at Sora. You've never looked at me the way you look at her. You were a child back then, how could you still harbor the same feelings for her after not seeing her for four years! It kind of makes me think our whole relationship was a joke!" At this point Catherine had started crying and Tai had his arms around her.

"No, hey—Cat, stop crying please. I don't know where you got this idea from. I did like Sora back then, but that was a long time ago. She's more like a sister to me than anything now. I mean we have to live with each other for a while and all we do is fight about stupid things…like siblings do. I couldn't think of her that way anymore. I haven't been looking at her any differently than I've been looking at everyone else, I swear," Tai blatantly lied. He couldn't understand why the lies poured out of him like that. What am I doing? He wondered, mentally kicking himself as he stroked Catherine's hair. He just wanted her to stop crying.

"Really?" Catherine asked softly, a little hiccup escaping her red lips.

Tai's lies were never ending. "Yes." No. I'm a big fat, fatty liar and not only are my pants on fire but my briefs are too! Gods…briefs? Why didn't you wash your boxers before the trip… Tai's thoughts went completely off topic.

"I'm really sorry I never trusted you…you never did anything wrong. Gods, I must've seemed like a psycho girlfriend," Catherine laughed, wiping her tears as Tai's arms released her from his hold.

"No! You weren't a psycho girlfriend. You were great. I just wish you trusted me more when we were together. I never cheated on you and would never cheat on any girl I'm dating. I wish you knew that…" Tai said, his voice a little more serious. At least he was honest about that.

"I know. And I'm really sorry again. I wish I could make it up to you," Catherine murmured, placing her hand gently against his chest. Tai didn't know if it was the sake going to his head, but he was absolutely mesmerized by Catherine's large, sapphire eyes. She knew she was pretty and was taking advantage of it at that very moment. He could feel his mouth moving closer to her moist red lips. His face suddenly felt hotter than normal. Her mouth looked so inviting…

He stopped himself. I can't do this to Sora. Not when I have these feelings for her…

Curious little Sora had indeed followed the two into the living room, after debating with herself in her bedroom. She was too curious about what Catherine wanted with Tai and couldn't think about sleeping knowing she could eavesdrop so easily. Too bad Tai hadn't noticed her shadow in the hallway.

I'm just like a sister to him? Sora thought, feeling a little hurt and angry about the comment. He thinks of me as a sister after what almost happened on the roof the other day? After we kissed and almost…ugh! That jerk must have some pretty weird fetish for incest! Bastard!

She had become quite the outspoken person after her last boyfriend ended up being engaged to someone else. She wanted to give Tai a piece of her mind at this point and she didn't care that this was a private conversation between him and Catherine. She knew in her heart she felt something for Tai, but now her feelings felt a little betrayed. She was embarrassed at the thought that Tai would kiss her so passionately and then go behind her back to tell his ex-girlfriend that he thought they were siblings. She couldn't understand this boy.

The sake wasn't helping her understand better either. The liquid courage was only fueling her desire to go up to him and punch him square in the nose and smack is crazy ex-girlfriend. As she turned to do just that, her face faltered. Tai was about to kiss Catherine.

That jerk is going to kiss her. I can't believe it. I can't believe I thought he had feelings for me… she thought dejectedly. She turned back to her room, anger dissipating, not wanting to see the rest of the scene play out.

"No, I can't Catherine, I'm sorry…look we've both been drinking. Let's finish this talk when we're both thinking clearly. Good night," Tai whispered releasing his hold of Catherine. She looked disappointed but it couldn't be helped. Tai gave her hand a quick squeeze before retreating to the hallway to his bedroom. He knew that if he stayed there any longer, he would end up doing something he would regret in the morning.

.

The next morning couldn't come any sooner for a certain blond musician.

Matt was in the room Jyou had assigned him, staring at the Samui Kodomo tickets he had in his hands. Some of the others had planned to stay at Jyou's shrine for the day, still depressed over the surprising rain from yesterday that somehow seeped into present day.

Izzy had been thoughtful enough to buy everyone's concert tickets as part of the preparation for the trip, but even he decided to stay at the shrine since Mimi was complaining that they didn't spend enough alone time with each other during the vacation.

That was Tai's cue to grab the remaining tickets and proclaim his quest to re-sell the tickets to the box office and get Izzy's money back. Matt took the opportunity to grab two of the tickets before Tai could grab all of them. He knew he would need two for what he had planned.

"Knock, knock," came a familiar redhead's voice. He looked up and smiled at her.

"Hey Sora, what's up?"

She became self-conscious all of a sudden and looked down at her entwined hands. After witnessing the conversation between Tai and Catherine the night before, she made up her mind and decided she couldn't involve herself with someone who had just gotten out of a relationship. Tai's words cut through her like a knife and after the relationships she'd had, she didn't want to get hurt again.

Matt, on the other hand, was so sure of what he wanted. He made it clear he had feelings for her and didn't complicate it when ex-girlfriends or ambiguity. He was straightforward, honest, and to top it all off, he was such a gorgeous guy. She smiled, remembering the day Matt ditched school to take her to see Jyou all those days ago. He had been so sweet and so easy to talk to…

She wasn't sure what she was going to tell him at that point. But she did decide she would give him some kind of answer to his question. "Um…about the other night…I know we didn't get a chance to speak alone yesterday—"

Matt shook his head. "Look Sora, you don't have to say anything…I feel like I put a lot of pressure on you that night. I feel bad…all I wanted to do was tell you how I felt about you, not give you some sort of deadline." He smiled softly at her. "I really, really like you."

Sora couldn't help but feel warm inside. "I like you too," she replied, returning the smile. Forget about Tai… she told herself.

"Hey, you wanna sit with me at the concert? I don't know if you're a fan of Samui Kodomo—"

"Are you kidding me? I love these guys! I have them on my iPod. I love how they mix rock with electro, progressive and techno. It's bizarre but so awesome!"

Matt's eyes lit up. He couldn't help but think that Sora was the perfect girl at that very moment. "Really? Wow—that's great! Hey, maybe after the concert we can get something to eat and you can show me what other artists you have on your iPod?"

"Like a date?" Sora found herself asking, nervously.

Matt shrugged. "Um…yeah…or no…depending on what makes you comfortable," he responded, trying to read her expression.

"No, I don't mind, really! You just caught me off guard, that's all," she answered, a pink hue appearing on her face as she looked away from him.

"I really don't like hiding my feelings from someone I like. At least not anymore, Sora. I'm sorry if I'm so forward with you but I've been such a depressing load of crap for the better half of my life because of my fear of getting hurt that I never opened up to anyone. I think you're the first girl to make me feel comfortable in years," he told her, standing up and walking toward her as he spoke. "And I really like that feeling."

Sora couldn't believe what she just heard. Her emotions were so mixed. She was attracted to Matt, yes, but she knew she had conflicting feelings for Tai that weren't just going to go away even after her eavesdropping session yesterday. The thing was, Matt had been so open with his feelings; which was so refreshing compared to the way Tai had been treating her. One minute Tai was insulting her and the next minute he was holding her tight, comforting her after she saw her mother with that man.

She smiled. Well if Tai wasn't going to confront her about his feelings, why should she make an effort with him? Especially when Matt was here, baring everything. Plus, though she wouldn't even admit it to herself, she was still upset about hearing all those things about his and Catherine's relationship. The fact that he hinted having feelings for her after very recently breaking up with the poor girl irked her a little. And that kiss they shared on her roof…

"Of course I'll go with you," she whispered. As the whisper escaped her mouth, she realized that Matt was now standing right in front of her, looking quite happy at the response she gave him. A lump suddenly caught in her throat when he touched her cheek. Her face was on fire.

"Score!" he answered excitedly. "I thought you might say no."

"Why would I? I like you too Matt…I really do. And don't apologize for being straightforward. It's actually a huge relief," she found herself saying. Matt was stroking her cheek now, and she welcomed it, leaning her face into his hand and closing her eyes.

"Sora…I think I might kiss you…" he murmured. His face was only centimeters from hers. She gazed at his closed eyes. She could tell he was unsure by the way his breathing stalled. He was waiting for her to close the gap between them. Her eyes fluttered shut when she finally leaned in and brushed her lips against his. He shivered at the electricity he felt between the mild contact and he hoped she felt it too. The kiss intensified when he became more confident and she grasped the front of his shirt tightly in her small hands. He pulled her closer to him, hoping their kiss would never end.

.

It was his chance to finally talk to her.

Tai was in the living room holding a pair of the concert tickets Izzy had gotten for the group. He had the others stashed in his backpack to sell back to the box office when they got there. Maybe if Sora would just sit next to him at that concert then maybe the music and the crowds of people would make it less awkward for him to tell her how he felt.

Ever since that night he saw Matt confess his feelings to Sora, he couldn't help but feel enraged and even a little bitter toward his "best friend." But of course, it wasn't like he told Matt he had feelings for Sora. The feelings he had toward Sora that Matt knew about belonged in the past. And they had only been children then.

His eyes lit up when he saw Sora walk into the living room. She looked slightly flustered, but the look disappeared when she started chatting with Izzy, Mimi, Jyou and Yolei as they continued to play their game of Monopoly. He walked over to the group and pretended to be interested. He hadn't been able to stop thinking about Sora the entire trip. His talk with Catherine last night just made his feelings for her so much clearer and it was time for him to gather a little courage.

"Who's winning?" he asked, looking down at the board game, trying not to look at Sora.

"Ugh…Izzy. He's too good at this game," Mimi sulked, throwing her remaining property cards on the ground.

"I think he's cheating," Yolei muttered.

"I just excel at board games, what can I say losers?!" Izzy boasted. Then he blushed. "Sorry guys, I get way too aggressively competitive with these things…take them away from me! It's a curse!"

"I don't want to play with you anymore," Jyou pouted, walking away from the board. Mimi and Yolei agreed, leaving Izzy alone.

"Wha—guys! Hey, you're all winners inside!" he tried to tell them.

"Hey Sora, can I talk to you for a second?" Tai asked, turning to Sora. She looked up at him questioningly before nodding and following him out the front door.

"What's up Tai? You haven't spoken to me much since we came to Kyoto. What do you want now?"

Ouch, he thought. Well, I really haven't. I don't blame her…

"You're right…I'm sorry about that. I've just been thinking a lot about—our living situation…and about the whole Izzy being Hawaiian thing…" he lied. He hoped Sora didn't catch on to his lie.

"Well?" she asked, unfazed by his excuse.

"Um—well see…" he began. He started scratching his head and his feet were fidgeting. "I was wondering if you'd want to sit with me at the Samui Kodomo concert…maybe we could even have dinner after and talk…" he trailed off, looking away.

Sora's breath caught in her throat. No way…it's either he feels bad about ignoring me or he…no there's no way…after that talk he had with Catherine last night? she thought.

She shook her head. "Tai…I'm so sorry, I already said I'd go sit with Matt. He's taking me somewhere to eat after the concert too…" Sora's voice sounded guilty.

Tai's heart dropped. He was too late. "Oh."

"Tai—"

Tai forced a smile on his face. He couldn't believe Matt got to ask her first. He should have told her how he felt when he had the chance. He had so many opportunities back home. He mentally kicked himself. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately. They lived together for god sake! He could have told her so many times. Even that time he came to comfort her on her roof and it ended with a kiss…

"It's cool," he interrupted her. "I just felt bad 'cause I have been kind of avoiding you. I mean, I shouldn't be bitter about you being right about Izzy being Hawaiian. I should just accept defeat."

Sora furrowed a brow. She knew he was full of crap. She wasn't that dense. There was definitely something else, but she didn't want to assume anything. There was a twinge of concern on her face, but he gave her a very believable smile and chuckle after his last comment.

"All right, well I think we're leaving around 5 o'clock so be at the van by then. Matt's driving," she told him before smiling. "Hey I'm gonna try to convince the others to come, they're being so lame!"

Tai's face faltered as soon as Sora turned around. He felt shattered after getting rejected by the one girl he wanted the most. After all these years, Sora still managed to break is heart all over again without realizing it…

"Tai?" came a soft voice. Tai looked up to find Catherine staring at him with her bright blue eyes.

"Hey Cat," he replied, his words coming out a little sadder than he wanted.

Catherine didn't seem to notice the tone of his voice. She was just happy he wasn't calling her by her full name anymore. She loved it when he called her "Cat" even though it was a common nickname for her among her friends. When he said it, she felt giddy every time.

"So, um, I was wondering if I could get one of those Samui Kodomo tickets. I really like them and I didn't get a chance to grab one of the tickets earlier…" she said.

Tai's eyes lit up for a second. "Really? How about you sit with me?"

Catherine beamed. "That would be awesome. Maybe you can come with me to Zu Zu. It's this pub I found down the street from the shrine. We can just walk back after."

"Sounds perfect."

.

Tai didn't know how it happened, but after a few drinks at Zu Zu, he and Catherine ended up in her room, tangled in each other's arms, their lips trapped in a fervent kiss. Alcohol and teenage hormones were the obviously the culprits of the incident.

No, no, no! This is a bad idea Tai, he told himself, even though he didn't fight Catherine when she pulled his t-shirt up over his arms.

Sora and Matt returned, a few minutes after them, both crashing onto the loveseat in the main living room, exhausted and full from the concert and dinner.

"Where did Tai and Catherine go?" Sora wondered, mainly to herself, but Izzy and Mimi who were watching a movie, heard her.

"Tai went to Catherine's room. Those two seriously need to work out their issues. One day, he's babbling about you and the next day he's making up with his ex-girlfriend. No one can understand Tai nowadays," Izzy muttered, not realizing what he was saying. Mimi nudged him violently, softly reprimanding him.

"Izzy…you idiot!" she scowled.

"I meant—oh gosh—" Izzy tried to correct himself, but it was too late. He scratched his head and laughed nervously.

"Oh," Sora said, frowning. She turned to Matt. "Hey Matt thanks for today. I really had a good time with you. I think I'm gonna head to bed. I'm pretty tired."

As she got up, Matt stood up with her. He was a little puzzled with her decision. "Oh okay…yeah me too…it was fun…"

"Good night."

She walked down the hall to her room, only to bump into Tai. She gave him a weak smile before muttering an "excuse me" to get past him. Tai obviously just came from Catherine's room, and by the looks of his rather crazier-than-usual hair, she could only imagine what they did in there. She cringed and avoided standing there any longer with him.

"Sora—hey! Um did you have fun at the concert?" he asked, quickly, hoping she would stop rushing to get away from him.

"Yeah, I'm going to bed, good night," she replied shortly.

"Hey are you mad at me?"

"Just leave me alone Tai," she snapped, slamming her bedroom door shut behind her.

Tai stood there, dumbfounded. He always seemed to make Sora mad. What now? Did she resent him for asking her to go to the concert with him? Did she dislike him that much?

The thought of Sora actually hating him sunk him into a deeper depression. He walked to his own bedroom, exhausted. It took him all the power in the world to reject Catherine's offer to sleep with him. He just couldn't do it knowing he still liked Sora.

Even if she hates me and likes Matt…he thought, dejectedly. Replaying her rejection in his head made it hurt all the more. He walked over to his bed and slumped into it. Even with the alcohol still drifting in his system, he couldn't seem to close his eyes and go to sleep. He wondered whether he should just suck it up and get back together with Catherine.

"This trip was a bad idea…" he thought, staring up at the ceiling, wide awake.

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A/N: From things I read online, underage drinking isn't really a big deal in Japan (at least in the smaller cities and rural areas) as long as you don't get too rowdy in public. But that's all opinion. Oh well, if I'm wrong, don't correct me. Thanks. NEXT!