Has anyone read The Love Hypothesis? It's such a good book. T_T

Fake It 'Til You Make It

Chapter 2: Thanks (Not You) For the Memories

Two weeks ago

"Why did this have to happen to me?" Teà blubbered, as tears of anguish ran down her face. She felt like she had been hit by a car, breaking all of her bones, run over twice, and smashed again. "W-why did he have to do this now? A-and by text?" She really didn't feel like looking at her phone again, knowing she would only find a long-ass message saying 'oh, I can't do this anymore, even though you're really great, I think we should see other people, etc.'. She didn't need anyone patronizing her; she had a hard enough time getting to where she was today.

She had yet to even delete said text message, much less deleting her ex's contact information.

"He's a coward, Teà." Teà snorted at her friend's response. Coward was definitely an understatement; she really couldn't imagine why her boyfriend of two years would suddenly break up with her, and to make matters worse, he couldn't even tell her in person. Well, apparently he was living his best life now, and had no intentions of seeing her turn into a monstrous wreck.

But at least Mai could see how much this was hurting her. Teà didn't really care that Mai had to see her like this – after all, if friends couldn't handle her at her worst, they didn't deserve to see her at her best. She was more or less thankful that Mai had rushed over to her apartment twenty or so minutes after Teà got dumped.

Seriously, who had the time to drop whatever they were doing, just to make sure Teà was alright? Teà couldn't find a more loyal friend than Mai.

When Mai raced over to her apartment, she expected a trainwreck; empty chocolate bar wrappers, clothes littered all over the floor, some used Kleenex, and a heartbroken friend. It certainly broke Mai's heart to see Teà – who happened to be one of the strongest women she knew – this upset; as far as she knew, she hadn't seen her this vulnerable. Sure, she had seen her break a little whenever Teà was hard on herself for not doing a dance move perfectly. But this was different.

Meanwhile Teà was thinking how much time she had wasted when she waited for Mai to come over. Teà attempted to watch Legally Blonde to make herself feel better, and yet, she could do nothing but cry for the past half hour or so. And so here she was, in a set of her old pink, flannel pajamas (which served to dry any tears that Teà failed to wipe), with dishevelled hair, and snot running down her face. Not exactly her classiest look, but she hadn't really anticipated this evening to go the way it did.

"He's not worth your tears, honey," Mai sighed, handing her friend another tissue, just as Teà was about to lean on Mai's shoulder.

"I-it's hard not to cry. I-I mean… Diva and I… I thought we were fine," Teà continued, stumbling on her words. "I thought we were gonna have a future together. He-he supported me in my d-dance career." Now it was harder to take a deep breathe as she thought about her now ex-boyfriend. "He went to all my shows! Hell, I even gave up a lot of my time to support him! I just… I don't understand," Teà mumbled, deciding to slump her head forward into her hands.

"I wish I had the answer to that," Mai said simply.

"I really liked him, and he just… he just…" He just threw her away, like garbage, and Teà didn't think it would hurt this much to admit that. "You know, I haven't been interested in anyone for a while. I thought Diva…" Teà trailed off, but she didn't want to tell Mai what had been on her mind since she left Domino after high school. "I thought he was different."

"Well, you certainly deserve better. And he is a dumbass for not being able to see that," Mai said firmly, as she turned to face Teà. "You are one of the strongest people I've ever met, Teà. I don't know anyone who's more loyal and determined than you. You have a lot to offer – not just in terms of your dancing career, though you are pretty badass in that regard; you're determined, you're smart, you're pretty…I've seen you in that certain ensemble that shows off that cute butt of yours."

Teà managed to release a small laugh at that; Mai was her biggest cheerleader/wing-woman, and she also knew that she wouldn't lie to her about anything. Mai was pretty straightforward and honest. Most people would be intimidated by her, but Teà had gotten used to it. "T-thanks."

"Look. That asshole can think whatever he wants about you, but what does his opinion matter in the long run? You are going to find someone who will grab the moon and stars for you." Teà flinched a little bit at Mai's word choice, but she knew deep down that she was right. Teà looked away, deciding to stare at her feet (more specifically, her painted toenails).

"I-I used to think it mattered a lot," Teà confessed, wiping more tears with the back of her hand. "It's not like he cheated on me or anything. I…I really liked him." Just by saying that last sentence alone just makes it harder for her to stop crying. In fact, she was certain she would have a panic attack at any point. Nope – she was having one now.

"I know you, did, Teà, but... Teà, Teà, you need to breathe," Mai advised, noting how her breathing had quickened. "You can take a slow, deep breathe."

"No, no, I can't," Teà shook her head. Her chest was starting to feel heavy, making it harder for her to breathe.

"Yes, you can," Mai said firmly. "I know how this guy was your first love, and I know it hurts, but just focus on your breath. Even if it's for a minute."

Breathe in, breathe out. Teà tried desperately to focus on her words, as she took a stilted breath. She tried to be mindful – letting her feelings. As this was her first serious relationship, Teà knew that she wouldn't be able to forget – much less heal from – this break-up for a long time.

"There you go. See?"

"Thanks, Mai," Teà whimpered, after a few moments of silence and deep breathing. "I should hope I'll get the best sleep of my life tonight." Both women burst into giggles, however forced, at Teà's half-serious joke.

"We girls have to stick together, you know."

"I know. Now… Now I don't know what to do, you know?" Teà said softly, as she curled her legs up toward her chest. She rested her chin on the top of her knees and wrapped her arms around her legs. "My group is taking a break from dancing for a bit. I-I don't know what I'm gonna do for the next few months." It was pretty convenient, on the other hand, for this break-up to happen now.

"We'll figure it out, kid," Mai started to brush strands of Teà's hair away from her face, making sure none were sticking to it. "You can take all the time you need."

"You're thinking I should burn every single thing he gave me, aren't you?"

"Burn everything to the ground."

Present day

"Teà, earth to Teà, are you in there?" A recently manicured hand started waving in front of Teà's face, hoping to capture her attention.

Teà jolted in her plane seat, apparently so deep into her thoughts that a single wave of Mai's hand was enough to jump scare her. "Sorry about that," she apologized, turning to look into Mai's eyes.

"You were pretty deep in thought there. Something on your mind?" Mai raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms.

"I was just thinking," Teà deadpanned, as she laid both of her hands back on her lap. She wasn't really up for talking about the night of her break-up with Diva, so she decided to change the subject. "What time is it? Are we almost there?"

"It's almost 9:30. Yeah, we're pretty close."

Teà could feel her heart sink, as well as a million butterflies flying around in her stomach. To say she was nervous was an understatement; she was coming home to Domino – though it was more or less temporary rather than permanent. She had every right to start biting her fingernails – a bad habit that she used to have back in high school.

"Sweetie, you look like you've just seen a ghost."

"I haven't been here for a couple years, Mai. Of course I'm nervous." And she hadn't seen any of her friends since graduating. Yes, she still had their numbers, and she did text them that she was coming, so it wasn't like it was going to be a complete surprise for her appearance.

"So tell me, which of your loser friends are picking us up at the airport?"

"They aren't loser friends," Teà threw a playful glare in Mai's direction. "But as a matter of fact, it's Joey," Teà grinned, feeling grateful that at least Joey replied to her text, which she sent to him a few days ago. "I've told you about him."

"Yeah, you did. He sounds ridiculous, to be honest."

Teà shrugged, though the smile on her face was still present. She wasn't going to refute Mai's statement – Joey could be ridiculous. Of all of her friends, Joey Wheeler and Tristan Taylor were the designated goofballs. And that was putting it mildly. Joey was the prankster who would get really salty if something backfired on him, which was hilarious. There were so many pranks that he tried pulling at school that didn't work out. Tristan was his second in command, and could just be as goofy as Joey, whenever he wasn't crushing on Serenity, Joey's younger sister. As much as they annoyed her sometimes, they were like the older brothers she never had. They both were extremely loyal to a T, they could beat someone up if they made Teà cry, and they could actually be good shoulders to cry on when they felt like it. Tristan was a little bit more serious and restrained than Joey, though – he actually made an effort to calm Joey down whenever he was riled up.

Teà felt somewhat guilty for not being in touch with them enough, but she was glad that they didn't hold it against her. From what she had been told, nothing really changed. She couldn't imagine how awkward it would have been if Joey or Tristan drastically changed.

"I think you'd like him," Teà stated, as she began to stretch her legs. She'd just had about enough sitting in a plane for sixteen hours; at this point, she was feeling pretty jittery. She wished she had put on some more comfortable clothes as well; maybe flying in jean shorts wasn't the best idea. But at least her grey sweatshirt kept her warm.

"Look at you, trying to play matchmaker," Mai cooed, and she suddenly brought Teà into a headlock. "I'm really flattered."

"Well, you know me…"

"What about your other friends?" Mai released Teà, just as she had seen one of the flight attendants pass by their section. "What about Yugi?"

"Yeah, I texted him."

Yugi was the one that Teà talked to the most ever since she left for New York. Yugi was her oldest friend, after all, as they were together since their early days in primary school.

Yugi was just as kind and loyal as Tristan and Joey. He always wanted to walk to and from school with her, he made it a point to come to a few of her recitals. Sure, he was quite shy throughout the time that Teà knew him. But he had gradually become more confident by the time they all graduated. He was always interested and invested in what Teà was up to after high school. She could say that he was the glue that held the whole group together. She suspected that he had a crush on her, but she never said anything; she knew how some friendships could be ruined because of that.

But yes, Yugi did know that Teà was coming back for a little vacation, and he was the one that suggested that Joey should pick them up at the airport. He would have come, if not for the reality that he was working at his grandpa's game shop.

There was someone else that came to mind that she hadn't spoken to as often, but before she could think about him, Teà could feel Mai's inquisitive gaze on her.

"And?"

"And what?"

"Don't play dumb with me. What did he say?"

"What are you expecting me to say?"

"From what you've told me about him, he likes you a lot."

Teà blushed in embarrassment. "No, we're just friends. And no, I'm not going to hook up with him. I'm not looking for a rebound, remember?"

"Look, I'm just saying, you should try and have some fun while we're here."

Teà was slowly starting to regret telling Mai anything about her friends. "I can't believe I'm going to be sharing a room with you."

It just so happened that Mai had a place she could rent for a good price, and Teà figured that she could stay with her.

"You'll love it."

"Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We have just arrived in Domino City, on 9:35 AM, and we will be preparing to land. Thank you for choosing to fly with Domino International."

Teà was extremely grateful that the conversation came to a grinding halt, but at the same time, she was aware of the nerves coming back.

She had to remind herself to take deep breaths in order to calm her racing heart. She had performed solo dance recitals in front of large groups of people: she could definitely handle coming back to her hometown.

She luckily had a few moments to collect herself; by the time that they landed, everyone on the plane started to unbuckle and grab their carry-on luggage. Teà decided to wait, knowing it was far easier to grab her own luggage when she wasn't caught in a stampede.

The next twenty minutes felt like a blur to her. She was lucky that she hadn't been run over by the other passengers, who definitely seemed to be in a rush to leave the airport. As she grabbed her hot pink carryon suitcase, she and Mai managed to make their way out of the terminal.

"I could definitely use a coffee right now," Mai moaned, interlocking her hand into Teà's arm. "I didn't get the best sleep on the flight."

"You were too invested eyeing up the guy a few rows ahead of us," Teà pointed out, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

"How could I not? He was pretty cute."

Teà didn't say anything in response, instead, she chose to focus on heading towards the escalator, which would lead the two of them to the area where they could retrieve their other suitcases.

She could hear Mai talking, but at this point, Teà was finding it difficult to pay attention. Taking another slow breath in through her nose, Teà focused her gaze towards the lower level of the airport, hoping to spot the familiar blonde hair of her best friend.

It took her a few moments to find him, but she eventually found him in the corner closest to the escalator, leaning up against the wall with both hands shoved in his jean pockets. It was good to know that Joey didn't appear to be any different. He was still wearing the same denim jeans and emerald jacket that he wore often in high school.

But what Teà didn't anticipate was that he wasn't alone.

Her heartbeat almost stopped together when she saw a familiar spikey hairstyle, but judging from the looks of it – it was not Yugi; she could tell that this hairstyle had specific blonde lightning bangs, but more than that, this guy was taller than Yugi. Finding it a little harder to breathe, Teà instinctively knew who this person standing beside Joey was… Yami Mutou, Yugi's older brother.

And just like in any generic romantic comedy, he sensed that she was looking at him, and so her eyes locked gazes with amethyst eyes.

Yep – she definitely did not anticipate this.