A/N: Hello everyone! First I want to apologize for such a short chapter considering the gap between updates. But I have just been extremely stuck on one scene, so I thought I should at least share the one that is finished right?
This is the first chapter which is not from Sora's perspective, in fact it doesn't have Sora at all so I'm a bit worried about it.
Anyway thank you for reviewing the last few chapters, hope you enjoy this one too!
Nine
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It wasn't odd for her to receive a cryptic note in her shoe locker, in fact Mimi was extremely sure that this was a trap set up by some of her scheming classmates to call her to a secluded area and probably bully her about something completely irrelevant. Her mother had always told her that she should never engage bullies, so following her advice Mimi should have already been on her way back home after tearing the note into pieces and stuffing it in a dumpster. But instead, the brunette was now making her way to the library, because as much as she loved listening to her mother, she also loved a challenge. And if this really was an invite from her bullies to make her life in school even worse, then the least Mimi wanted to do was show those spineless girls what she was made of.
Naturally it was surprising when the person waiting for her behind the last bookshelf in the library wasn't any of her arrogant classmates, but an even more arrogant blond who was definitely on her 'person she least wanted to be alone with' list right now, right after Koushiro. His eyes were closed as he stood leaning against the shelf, music from the earphones plugged into his ears blasting so loud that even with some distance between, Mimi could faintly recognize the song. The lighting in their library had always been dull, but even in the somewhat dingy view the thought of him looking like a prince did crossed Mimi's mind, but she quickly rid herself of it, lest she forget all his jerkiness from the day before. Without any traces of a scowl or a frown his face looked serene similar to how it had looked when he was singing on stage, the brunette concluded to herself.
And as much as she currently disliked the boy, looking at Yamato now, Mimi understood clearly why her stoic senior was so popular among the girls despite his grumpy attitude.
There was also that tiny flutter that she had felt in her chest when her eyes first landed on him after reaching the spot mentioned in the note, but Mimi had already wiped that moment from her memory, fearing deeply what it could lead her into.
She folded her arms across her chest, bracing herself for what was to come, and coughed loudly.
He opened his eyes sceptically, but once he noticed her, Yamato immediately took his earphones off and fished his phone out of his pocket to pause the song. He continued to lean on the shelf and Mimi was glad for the distance between them, she wasn't sure whether she would be able to maintain her confidence if her senior stood too close to her. Once she had his complete attention, she tilted her head to the eyes and allowed a tiny smirk to settle on her face as she addressed him.
"You write like a girl."
"I do not," Yamato's face reddened slightly and without any delay, the frown covered his entire face, "There's nothing girlish about having a neat handwriting." He retorted in annoyance.
"I honestly thought I was being called out to get bullied by the snooty girls in my class, but whatever you say." Mimi shrugged and passed him a smile, which seemed to annoy him even more.
"Sora said I should avoid talking to you in front of an audience, that I should be more discreet." He defended himself, locking eyes with her determinedly. The blue in his eyes was alluring. Mimi had spent a long time abroad, so she shouldn't have felt so taken aback by this colour and yet she felt that if she stared into them for too long, she might forget how to speak.
It hurt her pride deeply, to be the one to look away first but her heart was skipping into a dangerous territory and she intended to reel it back in as quickly as possible.
"Of course, it was Sora-chan."Mimi said, that slight tinge of disappointment she felt meant nothing, the brunette reassured herself.
"So, getting to the point of all this," he started, running a hand through his hair almost instinctively and Mimi was sure that his tousled golden locks would be silkier than they looked. She shook her head vigorously, feeling her face heat up at the thought that had just entered her mind, and was aware that a confused stare had already been fixed on her, but she refused to meet his eyes dreading that he would know what exactly she was thinking about. The brunette heard him clear his throat once and continue on with his statement, "I'd like to apologize for my behaviour yesterday. I was rude and unwelcoming and it won't happen again."
This made Mimi direct her attention back to his face, because she couldn't believe that she had actually heard genuine sincerity in his voice. Yamato was apologizing to her, not just because Sora had asked him but he understood that what he had done was wrong. She was surprised to see his face, holding a similar gentle, earnest look that matched his tone. The brunette couldn't remember the last time a fellow student had apologized to her in such a manner. Ever since she had started high school in Japan, it had been one incident after another with most of her classmates refusing to let her into their group. They would say mean things about her sweetly, and then apologize mockingly for crossing the line. Even with Koushiro, apologies had never been about admitting fault but just moving on from the fight and being normal again.
She was touched.
And just as she was about to forgive him, something that Sora-chan had said the other day floated back into the brunette's mind and she couldn't stop her lips from curling into a playful smile as she cheerfully met his gaze.
"Then by all means, please apologize." Mimi gestured with her hands for the blond to keep going and the dumbfounded look on his face was truly a sight to behold. She had already decided when her eyes met his, that she was going to be friends with him even if he didn't like it, so some teasing and poking fun wouldn't be unusual right?
"I just did." Yamato replied finally, scrunching his eyebrows at her. The earnestness he was displaying just a few seconds earlier was now replaced with hints of annoyance as he kept her gaze.
"No. You said, you'd like to. You didn't actually say the word sorry." Mimi beamed up at him, she figured he had to know that she was just messing with him, but the way her senior's face deadpanned as soon as she finished talking made her realize that he was yet to realize that she was joking.
"I mean I don't actually have to say the words, you got what I meant," Yamato scratched the back of his head, doubting the words of his own apology.
"But I want to hear you say 'I'm sorry', otherwise I won't tell Sora-chan that you very sweetly apologized to me." Mimi had to give it her all to hold back the laughter bubbling inside her as she watched him. A tint of pink had now appeared on his cheeks as he went from being doubtful to embarrassed and maybe even slightly nervous. The brunette made a mental note to tell Sora-chan, that she had been right, it was definitely a lot of fun to watch Yamato squirm.
"If I say it, you won't say anything weird to Sora right?" He asked, regaining just a little bit of his cool aura back.
Mimi nodded and grinned excitedly in reply. Her reaction seemed to annoy him as he became even more fidgety than earlier and the brunette was close to reaching her limit on controlling her laugh. Yamato shook his head a bit roughly and shifted his weight from one foot to another, then finally after a few minutes, he looked her straight in the eyes. The sudden confidence buzzing through his deep blue eyes, sent a shiver down Mimi's spine. She had never imagined that locking eyes with someone could make her heart stop, but in this moment, when Yamato's poised gaze rested on her, she felt like he was piercing straight through her eyes into her mind, becoming aware of all the crazy thoughts that were swirling in it.
"I'm sorry." He said finally, after what seemed like an eternal pause. Holding her gaze for just a few seconds, she felt that he was trying to read her, only to give up and look away sooner than she expected.
Despite of her teasing demand, the sincerity in his voice had not been lost when he uttered the apology and Mimi was awestruck and at a loss for words, something that was extremely rare when it came to her.
"It's okay." She muttered faintly in reply, her gaze falling down to her feet as she twirled a strand of her hair around mindlessly. To think that she had wanted to see him get embarrassed, only for him to unknowingly turn the tables on her was laughable. She decided that she would definitely leave out her silliness while narrating this to Sora-chan.
"I know I don't come off as friendly as Sora, but she is worried about you, so it'd make everyone feel better if you ate lunch with us for a while. Till at least things settle down." Yamato said, taking a step forward from the shelf he was leaning against.
Mimi understood from his stance that the conversation was now drawing to an end, of course it had to, they both had to go home eventually, but she was hoping to stay just a little while longer. She hadn't had peace and quiet in over two weeks, or a conversation that didn't revolve around Sora-chan constantly asking her if she was doing okay. Their meeting had been unexpected, but Mimi was just beginning to enjoy the atmosphere around her, not wanting it to clear out so quickly. As she pondered over a reply to his invitation, realization hit her. Yamato must have heard all the rumours about her too. She couldn't help but wonder, whether he believed them or what he thought about her, she couldn't help but feel humiliated by the fact that he knew all the nasty things being said about her. No wonder he had been unwelcoming the day before, because who would want to be friends with someone like Mimi?
"The rest of the school sucks anyway, so you should be glad that you get to hang out with us instead." His smile was slightly arrogant but warm. In his simple and proud words, he'd managed to comfort and assure Mimi that he was on her side.
And once again she was awestruck.
"Thank you. For the apology and the invitation," Mimi started, breaking into a smile that she could feel was reaching her eyes, a smile that wasn't forced, a smile that wasn't trying to hide what she was really feeling. If only she would've met the blond's gaze a second sooner she would've noticed the deep blush on his face that he so quickly buried with pride. Mimi tilted her head and added mischievously, "I am glad to be able to hang out with Sora-chan and Taichi-san, you…I'm not so sure about."
Yamato scoffed in reply and buried his hands in his pockets and made to leave, but even from a distance Mimi could see a hint of a smile on his face and it made her feel giddy inside.
"I'll leave first," he said, and as he crossed her he stopped to look down at her. Bringing his face just a little bit closer to hers, he smirked infuriatingly and added in a quieter voice, "so that people don't get the wrong idea about what we were doing in this dingy corner."
And just like that he was gone, without sparing another glance in her direction.
Mimi was not sure how long she stood rooted in her spot, the heat and colour from her face travelling from her forehead to her toes. In a span of twenty four hours Yamato Ishida had shown her that he was mean and distant yet understanding and humble. She had never had trouble deciding how she felt about people, liking them, disliking them, developing feelings for them, all these things had always been very clear cut in her mind and yet for the first time she had met someone she wasn't able to categorize. For the first time someone had confused her by constantly making her switch her opinion from like to dislike. One minute he was being mean, the next he was apologizing. From stupidly falling for her ruse to getting her embarrassed instead, every single moment she had spent with him had only confused her further.
So she decided that there was only one way to go about this riddle. Whenever she saw him next, Mimi would not allow her princely senior to have the last word.
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A/N: Let me know how you liked this Sora-less chapter haha. Thanks for reading everyone, stay safe!
