WE'RE ALMOST THERE. ! (Please, i know you know what im about to write anyway - 2 (more or less) chapters left)

Oh and

Listen to the new album of Fall Out Boy

((keep your eyes peeled bc i might finish this before the week ends. Huhu sad.))


December 29

Friendship

FriendlyHusky: OK REAL TALK

MichaelBartonII: MERRY CHRISTMAS

FriendlyHusky: I KNOW

FriendlyHusky: LISTEN

FriendlyHusky: MIMI WROTE ME A SONG

MichaelBartonII: woah calm your tits

FriendlyHusky: why. did she write YOU a song?

MichaelBartonII: no

MichaelBartonII: but

FriendlyHusky: HAH

FriendlyHusky: IN YOUR FACE

FriendlyHusky: JK

FriendlyHusky: BUT MIMI WROTE ME A SONG

FriendlyHusky: IT WAS FUCKING FANTASTIC. BEST SONG EVER

MichaelBartonII: Alright. Pass it over

FriendlyHusky: ..l didnt record it

FriendlyHusky: SHIT I JUST REALIZED. I DID NOT RECORD WHY DIDNT I RECORD WHAT A DUMBASS FUCK ME RIGHT NOW MICHAEL

MichaelBartonII: STOP FANGIRLING

FriendlyHusky: CRYING

MichaelBartonII: God. Who knew Ishida Yamato was like this.

FriendlyHusky: just on certain moments and on the internet. I'm usually the laid back and serious type

MichaelBartonII: and if youre in love you turn into a psycho

FriendlyHusky: ...

MichaelBartonII: ...

FriendlyHusky: SHES AN AMERICAN BEAUTY

MichaelBartonII: IM AN AMERICAN PSYCHO OH OH

FriendlyHusky: SHES AN AMERICAN BEAUTY

MichaelBartonII: IM AN AMERICAN

FriendlyHusky: IM AN AMERICAN

Michael BartonII: AMERICAN PYSCHO OH OH

FriendlyHusky: OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH

MichaelBartonII: alright lets stop with the fall out boy reference

FriendlyHusky: you listen to them?

MichaelBartonII: mimi introduced me. She knows a lot... And by that... I mean. A lot.

FriendlyHusky: tell me about it.

MichaelBartonII: so... What happened...

FriendlyHusky: I had a concert. Mimi and I sang together. Then I sang a song I wrote for her, then vice versa... Then ヽ(;▽;)ノ

MichaelBartonII: wtf is that emoticon

MichaelBartonII: THEN WHAT DONT LEAVE ME HANGING WITH THAT EMOTICON

FriendlyHusky: dont kill me. But we almost kissed

MichaelBartonII: IM ABOUT TO KILL U

MichaelBartonII: WHY ALMOST

FriendlyHusky: because Satoe Tachikawa

MichaelBartonII: AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW BAD FOR U

MichaelBartonII: I'm laughing so hard right now, you were cockblocked by her mom.

MichaelBartonII: on the lips?

FriendlyHusky: yes

MichaelBartonII: LOL

MichaelBartonII: what did you give Mimi as a present

FriendlyHusky: necklace she wanted and a guitar bc she needs one

MichaelBartonII: you smart motherfucker

FriendlyHusky: :P

FriendlyHusky: what did you give Colette

MichaelBartonII: a short film of me acting out a tragic life without her

FriendlyHusky: ok

FriendlyHusky: thats pretty good

Sincerity

"Alright. Let me borrow Sora first." I say, opening the door of the Takenouchi residence, above their flower shop. Taiora was spooning, Sora's legs sprawled on Taichi's. "AWWW." Cute. Someday I will label them as annoying, but today is not that day.

They sit straight, bodies separating. Taichi looks at me blankly. He stands up. "Should I go?"

"Get us something and come back?" Sora flutters her eyes cutely. Taichi nods and ruffles her hair. He pinches my cheek before leaving.

"That's so cute... Then again, not much changed except you can now justify your PDA validly." I sit on the spot Taichi used to, beside Sora. She rolls her eyes.

"What's up?"

"Something happened."

"With Yamato? I'm all ears."

"Never tell Taichi."

"Never?"

"Not now. At this day and age."

"Fine."

"I wrote him a song. And... I sang it to him at Christmas Eve."

"Oh shit, that's Mimi-romance."

"And... I think Fool's Holiday was for me?"

"Who else would inspire Yamato? At this day and age?"

"Sora!" I tackle her and wrap my arms around her neck... Which smelled like a boy. I whine. "What should I do?"

"I don't know! What do you want to do? Do you want to date him?"

"Do I want to date him?" Am I good enough to date him? Wait. Yes, he did just say that right? Nooo. Thinking about it makes me flustered.

Sora chuckles. "The last time I've seen you this troubled is when you were deciding what gift to give Ken-kun last year."

"It's not my fault. We're not that close."

"Don't say that. Might release the Mimato-syndrome."

I cross my arms and raise an eyebrow. "Did Taichi-kun invent that?"

"Yes." Sora leans forward seriously. "It's a phenomenon in which two people do not have solid notable interactions throught half a decade or more they've known each other, and had managed to fall in love, in only a short time."

"What the fuck."

"See? It's science. My boyfriend is so cool."

I cover my blushing face. "Actually, something else happened last night."

Courage

I whistle. "Hey there sexy." He walks in the opposite direction, not noticing me.

Yamato glares at first, then rolls his eyes seeing its me. "People might think you're gay."

"I'm always gay for my friends." I link my arms with his and walk with him.

"Gross, Taichi." Though he doesn't pull away.

"Whatcha up to?"

"Gonna check the music store for something interesting. You?"

"Café. Sora wanted me to bring her and Mimi something."

"Mimi came over?"

"At Sora's, yeah. Her face looked like they needed a girl session." He knits his eyebrows. "Do you know something?" He suddenly turns red. I groan. "You know what."

"What."

I boop his nose. "We need a guy session."

"Shit."

Friendship

In the music store, I was browsing along the racks of the rock genre, while Taichi was listening to Guns n Roses, wearing headphones. Goofily banging his head. He takes off one ear. "So, what happened between you and Mimi?" He was moving his feet to the beat.

"No violent reactions, but we almost kissed." I answer casually.

Taichi abruptly takes off his headphones, falling to the floor with a slight thud. "YOU AND MIMI ALMOST KI-"

"-SHHHH." I cover his mouth. The few people look at us. Isn't that Ishida Yamato?

I drag him out, blushing, realising I wasn't wearing a beanie or sunglasses. I forgot three thousand attended our last concert. News spreads fast.

"She sang me a really good song for Christmas... And... And I couldn't help myself."

"No nevermind that, why almost kissed?"

"Her mom called." He bites off a laugh. I punch him in the stomach.

"That's such an epic fail. Are you gonna try to kiss her again?"

"That's like saying are you gonna jump off a cliff?"

"What's wrong with kissing Mimi? She's attractive." I stop on my tracks and stare at him. "What? Everyone knows that."

I continue walking. "Did you... Did you have a crush on her when we were kids?"

"Yamato, you have to understand that not all eleven year olds put personality as a priority over aesthetic quality."

"So you did."

"I just thought she was pretty cute."

"And when you got to know her?"

"She's a lot cute. But I love Sora."

"Pssh." I stop walking upon a sudden comprehension. I gasp. "All the boys of the original eight had a crush on Mimi."

Taichi looks up in thought, then nods. "Yep."

"Except me."

"What a loser."

"You're a dick."

He laughs. "But doesn't that mean something?"

"Like what?"

"Save the best for last."

Courage

When I come back to the Takenouchi's, Mimi leaves, claiming she would undergo retail therapy. I bought Sora a bagel and a hot Chai latte, laying it on the table. "So I ran into Yamato today."

"I'm guessing he told you the same thing Mimi told me?"

"They almost kissed."

She sighs. "What is he waiting for, anyway?" I purse my lips and look away. Her eyes widen. "Oh my God, Taichi. What did he tell you?"

"No." I won't betray him.

"Taichi!" She shakes my arm. "Why isn't he asking her out yet?"

"..." I bite my lip and shut my eyes. Please mouth, hold on.

"... Fine. Be that way." She turns away. "No kisses for a week."

"He's waiting for the album!" I spit out.

"Well, when is it coming out?"

"I don't know!" I lift her onto my lap, nuzzling my head on her neck.

She clicks her tongue. "Sometimes I hate it when he's on his dramatic side." I tuck her hair behind her ear. She pouts. "Mimi told me she's been dropping hints everywhere."

"Pssh. They've been dropping hints for each other everywhere."

"I don't understand why Yamato's avoiding a circumstance." I don't know, he seemed pretty upset about not kissing her. Which is confusing.

"I have an idea." I sit straight, and she bends her knees to settle herself on my body. "The new year's festival."

She grins. "Are we gonna put our matchmaking skills to test?"

"Let's."

January 3, the day of the Shogatsu

Sincerity

It was nerve-wracking that I have to see Yamato, when we haven't talked for days. My hair was tied up by two black chopsticks, with a string of blue beads hanging, the usual strands framing my face. My yukata was mint green, pink lilies and midnight-blue leaves surrounding the sleeves and bottom. The obiage was white, all this was thanks to Yuujin. I was the only one they were waiting for, though they should be used to me being fashionably late by now. Sora was wearing a red yutaka with white roses, she looked in place, like a queen. Yamato only glanced at me, and looked away.

"Akemashite Omedetou!" I blurt out cheerfully. They grin. After the greetings, we proceed to roam around the shrine's base, filled with shops. Red glowing lanterns where draped above us, and the scene of the people's smiles did not show a trace of loneliness. It's been a while since I attended. I was walking beside Sora, Yamato and Taichi behind us. The kids were in front, and Jyou and Koushiro on the back.

"That's a pretty necklace, Mimi-oneesama. Where'd you get it?" Miyako takes a look at my neck.

I blush and trace a finger on the pendant. "Someone gave it to me as a present."

"Jyou-senpai. Jun-onee texted me that she just arrived." Daisuke says, handling his phone.

Senpai turns red. "Eh? Why are you telling me?"

Daisuke sweatdrops nervously. "... Well, who else would she be here for?"

Taichi clears his throat. Yamato and Sora smirk knowingly. Koushiro pats Jyou's back. "Go ahead." He says. I giggle.

"But-" Jyou adjusts his glasses, and sighs. "Fine. Are you sure you guys are okay with this?"

"Yes! Now go be cool to Jun-chan!" Sora pushes him away. "Don't forget to buy her a snack!"

"Good job, Daisuke." Taichi compliments, giving the younger a wink. "We all did see Jyou kiss her."

"I didn't." Yamato excitedly grins. "He did? That's good."

Taichi nods. "Right? A kiss is always nice in Christmas Eve." I give Sora a look. She purses her lips.

"Onii-chan? Can me and Takeru-kun check out the fortune-telling first?" Hikari asks.

Taichi pats her head. "Of course. Come meet up in a little while."

"Eh? I'm gonna go with you!" Daisuke tags along with them. Miyako, Ken and Iori sigh, helplessly following suit.

We all get some Takoyaki and cotton candy when we see a father and daughter running toward us on the stone grounds. Oh wait, it's only the gigantic Aiko and tiny Nagisa. They were both dressed for the occasion, Nagisa in a pale lilac yutaka, with red volute motifs all over.

"Taichi-kun!" She calls out.

"Be careful, you might trip on those wooden slippers." Aiko says. I smile.

"Hey, you two." Taichi greets, then he laughs. "Aiko, are you planning to carry Nagisa on your back so she can see the fireworks later?"

Aiko crosses his arms. "I don't think she'd like that. After all, she came here to watch them with someone else." His eyes drift to Koushiro.

Nagisa chuckles and takes his hand. "Koushiro, do you mind if I steal you for a while?" Meanwhile, he was lost for words.

"Go ahead and take him." Taichi says. She nods gratefully and drags him away. "Don't forget to look for a high place to see those fireworks!" He reminds them. We laugh at the shorties.

"Oy, Kaichou. Since you're part of the reason why I'm here, want to compete in a game of get-the-toy?" Aiko points to a stall, with fake toy guns and a lot stuffed animals.

"You're on!" Taichi takes Sora's hand by impulse. They walk away.

"Oh fuck." Yamato realizes we're left alone, looking around. I avoid his face. "I think we just got duped."

"If you want to go with Taichi-kun, then that's fine." I say.

"You think I'd rather be a third wheel of them than be with you?"

"I didn't say that." I turm my head, meeting his eyes. I blush suddenly.

"You look a lot stunning tonight." My heart races.

"Thanks."

"You just made the necklace seem like its twice as much valuable."

"Speaking of which, how much did this cost?"

Friendship

About ¥30,000, but who's counting? I knit my eyebrows. "What kind of girl asks that?"

"The kind of girl who doesn't want people to spend too much on her."

"That's unfair since your the kind of girl to spend too much on people."

She blows up her cheeks adorably. "Sorry if it was a burden to get this."

"Trust me, you're worth it." I'm free to spend my own salary, anyway.

She licks her peach pink lips, looking down. I wish she wouldn't. Her mascara made her eyes look so desirable, like candy. "Say, did the macarons taste good?"

"Best thing I ever ate." We start walking. "By the way, would you like a Mimi-apple?"

"Mimi-apple?"

I give her a lop-sided grin. "A caramel apple."

She giggles. "You're so corny."

"A giggle from you is enough to say I have a sense of humor."

"I disagree. I just do it a lot." She links our arms together. I smile to myself.

Courage

"I can't believe you pushed me into attending this." Aiko says, aiming for a stuffed rabbit, and missing.

I laugh. "Someone had to be with Nagisa for it to seem like Koushiro wasn't supposed to be stolen away." I fix my stance and hold the long gun.

"I have to admit though, you're good at setting people up. It's for Mimi and Yamato, right?"

"Yep. They need to have a moment." I close one eye and shoot.

"You're amazing in the most unexpected ways." He shakes his head hysterically, as the guy in charge gives me a big, as big as Sora's torso, cute lion with a white ribbon on its neck. Sora kisses me on the cheek in glee,

"Hey. Are you Hori Tokiya?" I squint my eyes, seeing his familiar face.

"Oh. The student council president." He bows slightly. "Happy New Year."

"Do you always guard this stall?"

"Yeah. Me and my mom make the stuffed animals in our free time. She makes me and dad run this game every year."

"Wow." Aiko crosses his arms. "How multi-talented. Singing and sewing." Tokiya raises an eyebrow. "Oh I didn't mean for it to sound offensive. I'm genuinely amazed."

The blue-haired chuckles. "Sometimes I do forget I'm applying for a performing arts university when my parents throw me all these things to do."

"Performing arts university? Me too."

"Really?"

"In New York?"

"Small world."

Me and Sora look at each other and sneak off quietly. "We ended up accidentally matchmaking those two along." I whisper as she laughs. I buy us a snow cone and sit on one of the benches nearer to the shrine.

"Thanks for the lion." She inserts her hand on the fold of my arm. I feed her a snow cone.

"You know what else I planned tonight?"

"You mean we? What?" She leans closer.

I kiss her. "To be alone with you."

"Another year you're stuck with me." She whispers.

"Why stop with a year?" Not a lifetime? I pull her closer.

Reliabilty

Koushiro was right when he said things are different in concerts, and in real life. I put my hands on my pocket. I really am an awkward dumbass. "What else do you want to do?"

"Can we sit? My slippers are killing me."

Shit, I'm so sorry. "Okay." I lead her to a bench beside a fish-catching stand. "Hey, I'm gonna be honest here."

"Go ahead."

"I'm sorry if you're having a terrible time?"

Jun's eyes widen. "What makes you think that?" She snickers. "My feet just hurt."

I blush. "I'm not someone people would like to spend time with."

"You think too much... Cute." She pinches my cheek and rests her head on my shoulder. "Just go with the flow and everything will turn out well."

"You're such an oracle when it comes to these things."

"Sure. Following that principle led me to meeting you."

"See? I just don't know what to reply to that."

"Jeez, just put your arm around me and don't ruin the mood." I follow her words and chuckle. "You're such a dork."

"But I'm your dork."

She lights up. "Really?"

"Yeah. To everyone else, I'm just a dictionary."

Knowledge

"I bet Taichi-san told you to come, huh." Nagisa and I were eating mochi. It was sticky, so some of it stuck on her face.

"You can say that, but he just told me you were coming, then I said 'okay' then he said 'you should go with him'." She pokes her fingers together. "I would never have come if I knew you want to be with your friends."

"That guy." I sigh and smile. "You look taller than usual. How high are your heels?"

She blushes. "Meanie." I laugh. "You're short, too."

I stare at her small feet and guess it's about two and a half inches. She kicks me gently. Our eyes meet. "You're like a little girl. How are you older than me?"

"Of course." She crosses her arms smugly. "Heh. I know Physics better than you do."

I blink and poke her cheek, catching a smudge of the mochi. I eat it. She turns red. "I know how to eat better than you do."

She playfully punches my arm. "Koushiro, stop acting like you're my boyfriend."

"..."

Then she turns red, and covers her face. "Aren't you going to say something?"

My cheeks turn pink. "How? I don't even know what I am to you."

"You're more than a friend."

"So, are we going out?"

"I don't know, you're the genius here." She pouts.

I look up and look away, sweating. "This is more confusing than memorizing the morse code."

She suddenly stands up in realization. "If we become lovers now, we have to promise each other to always go out in new year's festivals."

"Yeah. It'll be our anniversary."

"You know what, nevermind. Let's not be boyfriend and girlfriend today."

I laugh. "Why not?"

"Because. If we do, you'll lose commitment to your friends, and I don't want you guys to drift apart because of some love story."

"..."

She's a keeper. "What?"

"We'll be boyfriend and girlfriend tomorrow."

"Deal."

Friendship

In the end, Hikari and the others didn't meet up with us again. We were stuck with partners, but I have no problem with that. I look at my watch. The fireworks should be exploding soon. "Let's find a spot with a nice view." I say to Mimi, staring at the goldfish I won her.

"I'm gonna name it blondie." I roll my eyes and take her hand.

We go to the back of the shrine, with relatively few people situated on. I blush when I realize most of them were couples. She sits on one stair step, motioning me by her side. When we look up, the sky was clear. A few stars were present, but not enough for it to look as beautiful as Mimi tonight. I glance at her profile, looking up patiently.

"Listen, I'm sorry about what happened on Christmas Eve. It was inappropriate."

"I'm not sorry." I feel my heart shake.

I gulp. "It's just that... We're friends, aren't we?"

"Yeah." She fixes her eyes on mine, with the most sincere look, no smile, no frown. Just pure sincerity.

I lick my lips and rest my hand on her shoulder. She comes closer, I innerly sigh to myself. I'm sorry, but you have to wait for a while. Click

"Oh God." I frustratedly stand up, catching a cameraman behind a tree taking photos. Mimi giggles, staying in place. I hold out my hand. She takes it. We run. She laughs. I smile. The world brightens up. Everything is perfect.

We end up stopping by the river, behind the festival. "Sorry." I manage to utter in between breaths.

She points to the sky ignoring me, anticipating the sound. "There it is."

I turn my head. Explosions of thin multi-colored neon lights filled my sight. Bright red, yellow, green. Mimi was shouting something while grinning, I couldn't hear over the booming noise. I read her lips. Yamato, you idiot.

She laughs. I embrace her. She embraces back. "I'm sorry." I say.

"Don't be." Her eyes twinkle in the flashing lights. I kiss her cheek and hug her tighter.

.-.-.

Love

"How'd it go with Yamato?" I ask while searching for a cute dress for Mimi among the tons of racks.

She groans. "He wants to remain vague about us."

"As expected. At least you understand him. I never really know what he wants until he sings it to me." I check a collared beige dress that reached up to the knee. Yuck.

"Maybe that's a clue." She jokes. Wait a sec, she might be on to something. The new album?

"Mimi, do me a favor and try this on." I throw her a black and white turtleneck vertically-striped cocktail dress.

"What are you testing clothes for?"

"For fun." And I want to figure out what looks good on me. Without any advice from you. She grunts and follows anyway.

"What if I hate it on me?"

"Well if you hate it on you, I'd hate it on anyone else."

Miyamura household

Friendship

"How was the holidays?" Setsu finally comes in and sits in front of us four, lounging under the kotatsu. We don't hold our meetings in café's anymore, with the risk of paparazzi and uncontrollable fans.

"Great! I had no girlfriends last year." Akira frowns. We roll our eyes.

"When's the album coming out, Yamato? Have you decided on the exact date?" Setsu laces his fingers together, laying them down on the table. My band looks at me expectantly.

"February 28." Their eyes widen, what I said was an earlier date than expected."Promise you won't promote the name of the album yet."

"Why not?" Setsu leans forward. "It'll be good publicity."

"No promotions. Let's not forget Michael already hooked us up with a new record label. After this album, we'll sign a new contract." I reply.

"This is nuts." Akira chuckles. "Yamato's gone nuts."

"It's a surprise for everyone, to see who are the loyal fans." I defend. Besides, everyone already knows we're secretive as we can get.

"How are the people going to know about it then?"

"The website, the introduction of the album, and song lyrics." Lyrics of a secret song. Only decicated people check the website.

"What song are you even talking about?" Takashi laughs. "Where did all this come from?"

"From the holidays." Yutaka giggles at his joke.

"Fine, fine. I'll tell staff." Setsu rubs his temples. "Damn, you guys are so demanding sometimes."

"Not us. Only Yamato." Akira sneers. I smirk in satisfaction.

"Next agenda." Our manager slams his palm on the table. He pulls out a large brown envelope. "Explain this, Mr. Romantic."

Lead singer of teenage band, In love (again) on Christmas? Below the headline, was a photoset of me putting my beanie on Mimi's head. The band breaks into laughter. I groan.

"That's not the only one we've got." Setsu lays down other articles.

New year, new love for Ishida Yamato photo-My arm around Mimi's shoulder on the festival.

The girl in the baby blue scarf, a Teenage Wolf's new prey? Photo-Mimi's hand circled my arm, we were walking home. Oh yeah. I remember she kissed me on the cheek that day.

The bandmates kept laughing. "I love that third one." Takashi comments. "A new prey."

"Okay, but seriously. It's not Yamato who's seasonly in love." Yes, finally, someone on my side. Thank you, Yutaka. "It's the paparazzi who become predators during winter."

"Because they know Yamato is his best during the cold." Setsu nods. "What do you want to do about it?" He faces me.

I run my hand over my hair. "Can we do anything about it?"

"You can make a statement to deny... Or accept it as facts."

I bite my lip before answering. "Let them do what they want. We'll stay neutral." The band groans at my answer.

"You do know that they'll figure out who Mimi is, since you chose her as you're lady for the music video."

"Sure. It's your call now. Just release the music video after the 28th, alright?"