Virgin State Of Mind

Part 2

A/N 1: General clarification, we don't own them and as such the characters may not necessarily follow the story line and will probably follow our own demented minds. :) Gomen, don't sue. *Kate: BUT I OWN TAI!!!!! I SWEAR I DO!!!*

Warnings~ This is serious warning for all readers, this fic deals with teenage pregnancy and with the options out there. If you find any of this offensive, please don't read. This fic also hits on the sensitive topics surrounding this, so be warned.

A/N 2: Matt and Sora fans, sorry, but we did have to take the characters out of character to make this fic work. Hell, how boring would this story be?! And damn right this will never turn out Taiora. Hello, I am writing this fic to! I am single handedly the biggest anti Taiora fan ever.



Got a knife to disengage.

The voids that I can't bear.

To cut out words I've got written. On my chair.

Like. Do you think I'm sexy? Do you think I really care?



K's Choice - Virgin State Of Mind





Curled up on my bed, alone I sobbed. I cried for my relationship with Matt, for how naive I had been to believe that us making love had meant as much to him as it did to me, but more then anything I cried for the small child in my belly. The one that I had no idea what to do about.

There was no way I could keep it. I'm still a kid myself and being on my own, well I don't think I could handle it. I figure I have three choices, one of which is to keep the baby and become a teenage mother, a dishonor to my family, I would never be able to be with my friends in the same way again, never get to hang out without a care in the world. I would have to be home, changing diapers and trying to be a mom without screwing up too badly. Keeping the baby was definitely out of the question which only left two other alternatives, abortion and adoption.

My head was swimming, I wish that Matt was here. No I don't, I am so mad at him. I can't believe he acted like that, after all we have been through together, after how many times he told me that he loved me. Was it all a lie? Was it just a lie to get me in bed with him? Couldn't be. Could it?

I sat there on my bed for hours thinking of nothing except my current situation and what I could do about it. I knew I couldn't keep the baby, there was no way. I was too young for starters, I had no idea about raising children and hell I couldn't even properly care for myself at this point and time in my life and I was not too proud to admit that.

Giving the baby up for adoption was a nice thought, but that would mean telling my father and my friends and of course the whole school would know. And as selfish as it sounds, would I truly be able to carry the baby for nine months, go through labor and than hand that child over to complete strangers? I didn't think so.

Lastly, I shuddered, abortion. Just the thought sent me into a whole new bout of fresh tears. It would be the simplest way out of this situation and probably the best thing over all, but it killed me to even think about it.

I was broken out of my trance by the ringing of the phone next to my bed. For a minute I hoped that it was Matt, but then realized that he was probably too stubborn to call me. I hesitantly picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey Mimi! Its Tai."

" " "Oh hey Tai.

" I said wearily.

"Are you ok Mimi? You sound upset." Tai inquired.

"It's a long story." I said miserably.

"Ok, I'll be over in five minutes!" Tai said as he hung up the phone and not giving me a chance to say no.

"Oh great!" I said to myself as I sighed heavily. I got up and went to the bathroom to splash some cold water on my face and hopefully get rid of my puffy eyes.

Ever prompt, (believe it or not, Tai can be prompt, when he wants to be) Tai arrived at my house within five minutes after hanging up the phone with me. His bright cheerful face was replaced with a serious demeanor that i recognized as his 'soccer game' face.

I opened the door and stepped aside allowing Tai to come in, he surprised me when he stopped in front of me and folded me into his arms in a comforting and much needed embrace. I couldn't respond verbally to him and I ended up just breaking down into tears for the hundredth time that day.

Tai just continued to hold me making small "sh-ing" sounds trying to comfort me. After a few minutes Tai took a step back and looked at me with the most caring expression I had ever seen on his face. "I guess our date with the Gundam Wing boys is off tonight?" he said with a sad smile. I would have cracked a smile, and hell, I maybe could have laughed, but it was just too depressing a situation to even consider being happy.

Tai then lifted me off the ground, collecting me in his strong arms possessively as he brought me over to my couch, and sat down. He was being so supportive of me, by just being in the same room as me. That's what I found absolutely amazing about him.

"What happened Mimi?" he hushed, holding me tightly. His words hitting me like a bullet. But I was crying too rapidly to form sentences, or even mindless drivel for that matter.

Just then, Tai got up and left me sitting there. I was kind of hurt that he just got up and walked away. But then I heard the faucet from my kitchen sink running and the light clinking of glass against metal. When he returned, he held a glass of water; a deep concern embedded into his face. "What happened Mimi?" he repeated, holding it out to me.

"I'm pregnant!" I choked, crying up a fresh batch of new tears. I was so ashamed that I buried my face deep into a pillow that was lying nearby, wanting to literally just crawl under a rock and die slowly.

But my head shot up as I heard the familiar sound of shattering glass. Tai had dropped the cup, and within a second his arms were back around me, holding me even closer than before.

"And Matt wants nothing to do with me." I sobbed, digging my face into his chest. My voice barely over a whisper. And for what had to be the first time, heard Tai swear.

"That bastard!" he hissed venomously.

"Tai I'm so scared." I cried, praying that he could make things better. For some reason, Tai always seemed to know exactly what to say, at the right moment in time to make the bleakest of situations brighter.

"I'll take care of you Mimi." he vowed, lightly stroking my hair. "I'll help you in every and any way I can." his voice soft and assuring; comforting to the max. And I couldn't find the words to thank him. I was still stunned and hurt beyond belief.

But just then, Tai did something I didn't expect at all. At least not now, that's for sure. He smoothly snaked his arm around my waist, pulling me up so my head was on his shoulder. His fingers laid gently on my stomach, as he hugged me with his other arm. A warm feeling swept over me, as I shut my eyes, relaxing into his cozy body, my tears almost instantly stopping.

Hell, everything was going fine, right up until the moment he turned on the radio. The light rock station. A low, soothing melody flooded into the room, causing my eyes to feel heavy. But as soon as that song ended, a song I never wanted to hear again played. Here With Me. "Turn it off." I sobbed again, digging my face deeply into Tai's chest.

"I'm sorry." he muttered quickly, hitting the switch on my stereo. "I know when I'm sad music always helps." I looked up at him momentarily, smiling a little to reassure him he didn't have anything to be sorry for.

"God Tai." I muttered ashamedly. But he resumed his sh-ing as he touched my face with the tips of his fingers, gently pushing away the strands of my hair that were lying lifelessly on my cheeks.

For some odd reason, my whole body began to tingle as his fingers caressed my skin. The sensation was simply exhilarating. And something magical happened, as he pressed his lips to the top of my head, muttering something I didn't catch.

And he lowered his face, right up to my ear level, taunting me as his lips came closer and closer to me. "I swear I'll do whatever it takes to make you smile again Mimi. Absolutely anything." he whispered.

Hesitantly, Tai closed the minuscule gap between my throat and his mouth. His soft kisses felt too amazing to me right then. And when he stopped, I was almost tempted to beg him for more. And I guess I caught him off guard as I turned around, smiling at him lightly. His face flushing a beat red as I leaned over and planted a kiss right on his cheek, before settling back down into the comfortable position I was previously in, and snuggled as closely to him as I could get.

Surprisingly enough, I went to bed with sweet dreams. Mainly because I knew Tai would be there through thick and thin to help me out. He truly was one of the nicest and most compassionate people I knew.

But even I knew there was something else up with us. And it was a feeling I'd had long before I started seeing Matt, but I could never quite place my finger on it. That was, up until tonight anyway.



******************************************************************

"Oh my God! You're pregnant! Can I be the Godmother?" Sora giggled happily as I told her the news. My jaw almost hit the floor as I heard her response.

"Sora! This isn't the..." I began.

"Does Matt know he's going to be a father?" Sora swooned, lazily flopping onto the seat of the bus.

"He does know." I mouthed miserably. "And he left me."

"Mimi, I'm so sorry. I had no idea." she apologized, wrapping her arms around me, giving me a huge hug.

"But I'll be damned if he turns out to be a father! I want nothing to do with him anymore, and bringing a child of his blood into this world would be like a plague." I spat, breaking away from her and gazing out the window.

I saw the soccer team running around the field, their weekend practice. My eyes quickly scanned the area for Tai, and when I saw him, my heart skipped a beat. He looked so adorable just then.

"Mimi, does that mean..." Sora gulped nervously.

"I know it goes against all my morals, but I have to Sora. I can't raise a child. You know that as well as I do. So what other options do I have?" I said meekly, sighing deeply. "There's a clinic that I'm visiting right now to get an appointment. I was wondering if you could..."

"You know I'll go Mimi." she interrupted, placing her hand over her heart. "And to think I thought Matt was almost decent."

"You weren't the only one he fooled." I sighed again, looking back at Tai for just a moment as the bus took off. I secretly wished that he was coming with me too, but hey, you can't have everything you want.



******************************************************************



"Miss. Tachikawa please." the secretary at the desk spoke crisply. Sora and I both stood up. My best friend in the world taking my hand and literally guiding me through the monstrous building. I was expecting this hole in the wall clinic, not what I was witnessing now.

"Are you going to be okay?" she asked me, as I forced a small smile on my face and nodded lightly. To tell you the truth, my stomach was churning, doing flip flops at an unreasonable rate. I just wanted to throw up.

"In here please." a tall woman with a flowing white coat smiled. Her dark eyes twinkling as she matched it with an equally dazzling smile. Her light lavender hair was pulled up into a bun which stayed perfectly centered on her head.

Sora and I both stepped in at the exact same moment, and we gasped at the exact same time. The small room was no bigger than a closet, but still it was large enough to fit four people easy. The walls were pure white with a deep navy blue boarder. There was a small desk the entire width of the wall pushed into the far corner, with tons of tools on it. Some, were needles, others packages and there were some things that I didn't even know how to describe.

"Please sit." she beaconed, pointing to the table, covered in padding. I slipped my hand out of Sora's grasp, and jumped up. Sora sat down in the chair on the right side of me. "Hello Mimi, my name is Aria. I'm glad you decided to join us today. Now please, feel free to ask me any questions that are on your mind."

I really didn't think she was expecting all the questions I just poured out to her. Yet, she still answered all of them, unfaltering, with an air of dignity. She would give me scenarios to ponder, and she even asked a few questions of her own. All of which I replied too quickly.

"I hate men like that." she sighed. "And Mimi, believe me, I get people in here all the time, that have gone through what you have. Some a lot weaker than yourself. You're not alone in this world!"

"Then why do I feel like I am?" I sniffed, looking down at the jade marble floors. A firm hand was placed on my shoulders as I looked up into her eyes.

"Sora, could you please give us a minute alone. I have something to discuss with Mimi that's confidential." she asked, turning to her. Sora just nodded her head and walked out of the room without hesitation.

"What is it?" I questioned, as she turned away, shutting the door and firmly locking it. She removed her coat, and placed it on the hook that was dangling close to the door handle.

"Mimi, I know how you feel." she said earnestly. "When I was your age, I was dating the most amazing person in the entire world in my eyes. He made the sun and moon rise!" she smiled, reminiscing. "He loved me so much that it almost hurt. But things started to turn horribly wrong when we graduated high school. We went to different schools, which caused a lot of suspicion on his part. You see, I went to a co-ed one, while he opted for a private, single sex school."

"What happened?" I asked softly.

"He showed up at my door step, accusing me of sleeping around, as he so delicately put it. And when I denied it, he became enraged, and told me it was over between us. That night was the worst day of my life, because I ended up running off. I had no idea where I was going, and I was so heartbroken, that I didn't care. But lucky me, I ran into a professor from my school. We ended up talking the whole night about what had happened to me, and I considered him such a friend then."

She suddenly stopped as her voice cracked. I could tell that she hadn't said this to very many people, and by her telling me, I felt somewhat better than I was originally feeling.

"And he took advantage of that. I was at my most vulnerable stage in life, and he betrayed me by pretending to care. I felt so indebted to him, but the kind of indebted that you buy a card and a box of chocolates for. He raped me and I had no idea what to do. I mean, who would believe a melancholic teenage to a respected professor? And as if fate still wanted to torture me, I became pregnant and immediately sought an abortion. I was 18 Mimi, and from that moment on, I knew I wanted to help out people that were put in the same situation as me! I wanted to help them, just the way the doctor at the center I went to helped me!"

"I'm so sorry." I muttered, not really knowing what else to say. She had just poured out her darkest secret, and here I was, soaking it all in. My life suddenly seeming not so bad.

"But what your boyfriend did to you, was at least a hundred-times worse than what my teacher did to me. He played with your emotions, stringing you along just so he could brag about it to his friends, how he 'got some.' Men like that are pigs, and I'm sorry that such a nice girl like you has to go through this alone."

"I'm not alone though." I suddenly smiled, remembering Tai's promise. That warm feeling passing over me again. "I have two of the greatest people in the world taking care of me."

Suddenly, she smiled widely, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "I've seen that look before." she smiled. "Sora and a young gentleman?"

"Yeah, I guess you could call him a gentleman. He's been so concerned about me lately, and he's probably supported me beyond my wildest beliefs." I responded.

"You're a lucky girl Mimi. Guys like that only come once in a blue moon." she smiled. "But tell me, do your parents know about this?"

"Parent." I spat suddenly. "My mother left me at a very young age, now it's only my dad and me. And no, he doesn't know. I'm scared to tell him."

"That's understandable. But the longer you wait, the more the deceit will sting. And always remember. You have three options. You could keep the baby..."

"Out of the question." I said suddenly, as she just shook her head.

"What about adoption?" she asked, taking a seat where Sora was. "Social Services are very discrete. All you need to tell them is your name, no questions asked."

"I don't know about that. Carrying the baby will be a daily reminder of how naive and stupid I was. I don't know if I can do that." I told her honestly. "Right now, the only option that seems possible is abortion."

"It's a painful process Mimi. Emotionally and physically. After an abortion, your support system will have to be the best. And I'm serious. After mine, I felt like a murderer, and my best friend was the only person I would talk to. He helped me through the thick and the thin. But luckily for me, everything turned out okay in the end. I married him, and now we have two beautiful children. Three if you include my husband." she smiled widely.

"I'm glad things turned out for you. Hopefully they'll be the same for me." I sighed, jumping down. "Thank you for listening to me, and answering all the doubt that was lingering above my head."

"Mimi," she said suddenly. "I hate to sound like an after-school special, but do me a favor and just follow your heart. Whatever you heart tells you to do, just do it and don't look back."

"Thank's for the advice." I grinned lightly.

"After you think it over, give me a call. If you want to still go through with the abortion, we'll set up a date. You want to give it to adoption, I'll call my friend. You have so many options Mimi."

"I will." I promised. "And I'll tell my dad. When the time is right anyway." I muttered bleakly. Telling daddy about this was definitely the last thing I wanted to do.

"Goodbye." Aria smiled again before shutting the door behind her, grabbing her white coat again. Sora was waiting in the lobby for me, not saying a word. She just took my hand and lead me outside, back to the bus stop.

"Are you all right Mimi?" she asked after about half an hour. "Do you wanna hit the malls?"

I cracked a smile. Shopping could solve any problem known too man. "Yeah. I'd like that."

"Good! Cause GAP is having a huge sale! You should see the killer jeans they have! In flair and in carpenter!" Sora's eyes lit up as she started to list off all the new pants she would buy.

I laughed, shaking my head at how silly she could be at times. But as we entered the air-conditioned mall, all my problems seemed to just melt away. We practically bought out GAP, earning a large spot in the manager's heart.

"This had been so wicked!" I cheered, setting my bags down to give my sore arms a quick break. We were in the food court, ordering up our usual smoothie as we joked about the little things.

"That'll be 3.68 please." the girl at Baskin Robins smiled, handing me a pink colored liquid. Not only was pink fashionable, it was the tastiest flavor alive.

"I'll get that." someone behind me spoke, as a hand shot past my head, handing the cashier a bill. I smiled, shaking my head softly.

"You don't have to do that you know Tai." I said truthfully, looking back at his smiling face. I found it so odd that I never really noticed how spectacular his eyes were.

"I want to." he shrugged. "And besides, what better way can I convince you to come out with me and the gang tonight, than buying you a strawberry smoothie?" he joked as I laughed slightly.

"You could try asking me." I suggested flirtatiously, as he cocked his eyebrow, slightly amused at the little game.

"But what if you turn me down?" he said slowly, almost idiotically.

"What makes you so sure I would say no?" I laughed. But before he could answer me back, I placed my finger to his lips, and smirked widely. "I would love to Tai."

"That's great!" he cheered. "Now all I have to do is find a way to make the rest of the group get terribly sick and have to cancel... Hey, do you know is cyanide is good?" I laughed loudly, causing him to smile. I sighed deeply, staring at his face as his lips curved upward. He looked so innocent and honest as he said that.

"You are so weird." I teased, pushing at his shoulder lightly.

"I'll take that as a compliment." he stated knowingly, causing a fresh batch of giggles to irrupt from me.

"Take it as whatever you want."

"A compliment then." he said stubbornly.

"Fine!" I snapped playfully, hugging him tightly.

"What's this for?" he asked, not complaining as he hugged me close too. "It's not my birthday..."

"For just being an amazing friend." I sighed deeply, inhaling the sweet smells of his cologne. Ralph Lauren, nice...

"But you know what?" he stated suddenly. "I bought this movie, and I wanted to see it, but my date cancelled on me. It's about these four guys, I don't count Quatre, he's too much of a girl, and they have to go around fighting off this evil empire..."

"How could you not love Quatre!?" I laughed again. My cheeks were starting to pinch from smiling so much, but it was a good type of pain. I really didn't think I would be smiling all that much anymore.

"Easy." Tai joked, using my phrase against me. "He's a big wuss with huge eyes." I was almost hurt at his feelings toward the empathetic piolet, but it was silly, and all I could really do was laugh more. "So, how does tonight, my place, dinner included, sound? 6 too late for you?"

"That sounds amazing Tai." I smiled truthfully. "Should I bring anything?"

"Yes!" he almost exploded. "Food! Bring as much food as your hands can carry! My mom's been at these cooking with fungus seminars... dear lord... Kari and myself are starving, but we're cramming our faces with as much junk food as possible before sitting down."

"No wonder you've been a little a slow at practice!" I giggled, as he looked at me mock insulted.

"Oh damn! I knew these jeans made my butt look big! Curse you Stitches for selling low quality clothing at affordable prices!" he complained, in the gayest voice I had ever heard. I was almost tempted to say his butt looked great from where I was standing, but I silenced myself before the words even came out.

"I'll see if I can smuggle a pizza in." I winked. "But listen, I have got to get going, or else I'll miss my bus. I really have to sign up for driving lessons soon."

"Hey, if you want, I can drive you. Just got my, wheels." he said proudly, mocking himself as he nodded 'hip-ly'. I was beyond laughing now, as he had to guide me to a table before I completely collapsed on the ground, gasping for air.

"You're so much fun to be around." I muttered, gazing back at his handsome face. His tanned features gleamed under the lights, as his eyes sparkled.

"I'm glad you think that, because I have a lot of fun with you to." he almost whispered, as he gestured for me to follow him.

"A little help here!" I tittered, pointing to the bags acting as a shield to the chair they leaning against. Sora and Izzy were doing a pitiful job at watching them as they smooched up a storm. There was no way in hell Sora was going to let Izzy come up for air anytime soon, so I just grabbed my portion of the clothes and waved bye.

"It's a miracle that boy doesn't have asthma with all the air she sucks out of his lungs..." Tai grunted delicately as he took up a handful of bags. "Jesus Mimi, did you leave any clothes for the other people in this world?"

He had me cracking up the whole way to his car. Which I had to admit was a beauty. A dark forest green convertible, with CD player and stereo. The AC was blazing as he turned on the ignition. The cool streams of air hit my face comfortingly, a happy escape from the scorching heat of May.

"Hey, I didn't know you listened to Poe!" I exclaimed, as the CD began to play.

"Yeah, guilty pleasure. If you want to change it, I have a few others in the glove compartment." he beaconed, as he slowed down to hit the red light. My finger flicked under the handle, pulling lightly.

A 'few others' was an understatement as the collection of CD's spilled out onto my lap. I gasped at each of them, never in a million years expecting him to listen to some of these groups.

"My God Tai! I can't even find some of these bands! I had no idea you listened to them!" I blinked again as my hands came in contact with Bush CD. Radiohead, Wide Mouth Mason, Foo Fighters, Face To Face, Garbage! He had them all!

"It's been a bitch getting some of them, but it's been worth it. But I always though of you as a 'Pop' type of person. Not alternative." I rolled my eyes, placing a majority of them back in the compartment.

"Never!" I assured him. "You would have to catch me dead first!" my eyes fell back on his collection as I laughed again. "Yoko Ohno Tai?"

"First, she has a very powerful, independent message to send out, second, The Beetles were gonna break up anyway, and third, it's my mom's." he stated, shaking his head. "I'm not really into that kind of stuff."

"Hey, do you know who SR-71 are?" I asked, rather hopefully, turning to the side to look at him.

"Are you kidding me! I love that group! I have their CD in there somewhere." he pointed out, reaching over and fishing it out from the bottom of the pile. "I doubt this very much, but have you heard of a group called Sublime? They don't really sing anymore..."

"Get out! I have all their CD's! I even bough this movie track so I could get this one single!" I exploded, as my jaw almost hit the floor. "They sound almost like..."

"Nirvana! Oh man that group really rules, even if Kurt Cobain is dead. Courtney Love so popped his ass."

"Not!" I challenged. "She loved him!"

"Yeah but Nirvana always got the spotlight over Hole. They were always the second best group to the label." he said knowingly.

"So is that why you have the CD here?" I smirked, flaunting up the cover of one of them.

"Gotta hate what she did, gotta love that song Celebrity Skin! Oh lead me over! I'm where I wanna be! A walking study. In demonology! Hey! I'm so glad you could make it! Yeah, yeah, yeah now you're really naked! YEAH! There's so many ups and downs!" he began to serenade me. All off key I might add.

I put in the CD, singing along with him. Cars began to honk impatiently as the light turned green, and Tai slammed his foot into the gas, taking off. It was so funny listening to him attempt to sing, hell, as sexy as his voice was, he had zero talent whatsoever. He even did the instrumental parts, just to make me smile.

When he pulled up to my house, I almost wished I lived further from the mall. I was having a blast being with him, and by the time the car turned off, we had listened to at least ten songs from different artists. I was positive that nothing could pull me down from where I was.

"I'll see you at six okay?" Tai proclaimed, handing me the finger eleven CD. I thought I was going to have a heart attack as I spotted the marionette on the cover. Nothing shocked me about Tai anymore after that ride. I just knew he was this treasure chest. Every time you open it, you find something new and even more astonishing than the last.

"Perfect." I grinned maniacally. Grabbing my bags, I flew up my stairs and ripped through the house, immediately sorting through the mountain of clothes I had just bought.

"Why Mimi, I had no idea you decided to starts a clothing store in your room!" my father joked, spying the outfits I had. "Do you have a date with Matt tonight?"

At the mention of his name, I would have broken down crying, for I just smirked at him, shaking my head. "We broke up. You know Tai right? The soccer player?" I asked him. "Oh daddy, do you think I'd look better in this or in this?"

He sighed deeply, laughing wisely. "Well, the one on the right is very beautiful. It'd look great with your eyes. Now, the one on the left, well, if you showed me the other half of it..."

"Daddy!" I exploded, giggling as he winked. "You decide honey, cause if it all goes wrong, you'll end up blaming me, and then you'll hate me forever..."

"Never in a million, zillion years!" I winked. "And besides, it won't go wrong!"

"Fine. But I'm going out tonight, so I suggest you take your house key."

"Okay I will. Have fun!"

"You to." he smiled leaning over and kissing my head. As soon as he left, I literally tried on every outfit, modeling them off in front of the full-length mirror in my corner. None of them seemed to do it!

But why was I worrying about how I looked so much? I was just going over to his house to watch a movie! It wasn't as if it were a date or anything. Or was it my delirious mind hoping? I mentally groaned, throwing a sweater to the ground in frustration.

There has got to be a better way to do this! But I was being way too critical, the clothing I had bought were beautiful when I tried them on, hell, they were past amazing! So why is it now, they seemed too boring?

Six started to come closer and closer and I still hadn't decided on anything. I was beyond frustrated now, and gave up. My hair went a lot better than the outfit, and make up was light. I didn't want to give him the wrong impression. At 5:50, I panicked and grabbed a pair of leather pants and a halfback pink tank with swirls of other colors of pink and splashes of yellow.

At six on the dot Tai pulled up, and waited for me patiently as I made my way out the door. His eyes doubled when he saw me, and I blushed faintly, silently thanking I was still pretty far away from him.

"You look... you look..." he stuttered, trying to find the right words. Now it was his turn to blush, and I found he looked even more adorable when he was embarrassed.

But I saved him form having to speak more as I held out a bag of treats. "I couldn't get a pizza, but how do Twinkies and chocolate bars sound?"



"My God Tai! Your home is beautiful!" Within ten minutes we pulled into his driveway. His house was huge, to put it in lamest terms. Half the wall on one side was a huge window, allowing people to look into the beautiful interior.

As he opened the door, I gasped, admiring everything I saw. Marble floors cream-colored walls, paintings from various well-known artists covered the walls, and large plush sofas covered with huge over-stuffed pillows faced a wide screen TV all 50 inches if I was being modest. Huge Oriental and Turkish carpets in every room. It was incredible and elegant.

"My God Tai! You home is beautiful!"

"Yeah. My mom did everything. You should have seen her when we were trying to help, she started to scream and yell at my dad because he had bought white instead of eggshell white. Kari and I got a good kick out of it though. It was so funny!"

"Tai, is that you?" Kari asked, popping out her head, waving at me. "Hey hey!"

"Hi." I greeted, waving back. Quickly, Tai grabbed my hand and yanked me down a bunch of mocha colored carpet stairs. Kari acting as a decoy as his mother obviously passed by.

"Quick, dump the food here!" he motioned to a room. When he opened the door, I saw a rather handsome elder man, bearing the same eyes as Tai, shoving a Twix in his mouth. "Hey dad. We have reinforcements!"

"Bless your heart dear." he winked as Tai threw him something else to eat. I laughed at how absurd they were both being.

"Her cooking can't be that bad!" I tried to convince them. Kari had joined them and at once they all stopped what they were doing and looked at me as if I had a third eye.

"Listen to me. I've been married to her for 19 years. I can honestly say her cooking has gotten worse, and it's a miracle I haven't died of food poisoning by now!" Tai's dad exclaimed.

"She almost killed Miko by giving her some of last nights' 'fish'." Kari shuddered, stroking the cat that was in her arms. I laughed again. Safe to say, it wasn't only Tai who was friendly. The Kamiya family in general were nice, well, I hadn't met his mom yet, but if she raised a son like Tai how bad could she be?

"Dear lord it's time." Tai shivered, stepping up bravely. "If for some reason I don't make it through tonight, I want you to tell my math teacher that..."

"Tai! Stop being so paranoid!" I joked. "Come on, I'll help you set up for supper."

"You call it supper, we call it our possible last meal..." Kari muttered, allowing her cat to run off. I beamed suddenly, liking the bond that the family shared. I wished my family was something like this. Even just a little. Tai was so fortunate that he had a mother and a father. A sister is great, heck; I'd love to have siblings. Who else could you fight with for the most pointless things in the world?

As we made it up, Tai lead me to the kitchen where a woman was bent over, pulling something from the oven. "Hey mom. Reporting for set up duty." Tai stated mechanically.

She laughed as she spun around with a charred remainder of a chicken in a pan. As soon as our eyes locked, both of us almost gasped. All the color drained from my face. It was Aria.

As soon as her eyes left my face, her head snapped over to Tai. A blinding rage coursing through her eyes as she looked at her son. I thought she was going to blow a gasket! Oh man, she thought my boyfriend was Tai...

"No!" I suddenly shouted out, as she looked back at me. Her face calming as she understood instantly. A wave of relief passing over her as she set down the meal.

"What is it Mimi?" Tai looked down at me. He was almost smiling at me, with this 'I told you so' attitude to him, but he was also very concerned. I almost wanted to cry at how caring he was.

"Um, it's nothing really." I lied, casting a glance over at his mom. "I just forgot to take my house key, that's all."

"Oh, well that's no biggie." he smiled. "We have bigger problems to deal with right now." he whispered. "I don't think that's chicken in there!"

"I heard that mister!" Aria snapped jovially, as she hit her son's arm. "Hey Tai, you can get the dishes right? I need Mimi to come help me get the silverware."

"Sure mom." he said, immediately walking over to the cupboards, trying to hit the trey of food over with his hip.

"If that falls Tai, I'll still make you eat it." she threatened.

"Take on for the team son!" his dad screamed out hopefully.

"And you'll help him!" she sighed, yelling down to her spouse.

"Hey, at least the taste would improve!" Tai jested as she threw her apron at her.

She led me over into the living room, opening up a drawer. "Was it Tai?" she asked rather harshly, seeing if what she interpreted was the truth.

"God no! No never!" I almost shouted.

"Does he know then?" she asked more calm and peaceful.

"Yeah, he does." I said flatly, gently taking the forks and knives that she was handing me. "Believe me Ar... Mrs. Kamiya. I would never do anything like that to him. He's been so kind to me..." my voice trailed off.

"I know Mimi. And I trust you. I really do. I know what happened wasn't completely your fault. I just worry for him, you know, it's a mother thing."

"I guess." I shrugged as a loud clanging was heard.

"Oh damn mom! The... the... whatever you made fell! No Miko! Get away from it!" he hollered as a loud cheering was heard from the basement. Kari ran up, throwing her arms around him.

"Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you!" she repeated.

"Come on people, I'm not that bad! You're just over-exaggerating!" she laughed, throwing them all a dirty look.

"Aw too bad honey, looks like it'll be take out tonight!" Mr. Kamiya sighed, completely relieved as he picked up the phone. "Pizza sound okay?"

"Perfect." everyone agreed.



"Pass the vegetarian over here." Kari said as Tai handed her off a piece overflowing with vegetables. "Thanks."

"No problem." he swallowed, finishing off his fourth slice of cheese and pepperoni. "Well I'm stuffed."

"I should sure hope so!" his dad joked, biting a piece of all dressed. "Yeah so, as it turns out, the car was in the driveway the whole time!" he finished off the story he was telling.

Everyone burst out laughing. Now it was Tai's turn. "Well, at soccer practice today coach told me something."

"What is it dear?" Aria asked, coughing slightly as she took a sip of Pepsi.

"Well, this might seem a little in the future, but he said that there would be a few scouts at the next few games. After the season ends, they're running this indoor winter thing where the top coaches from around the world come to train. He said if I wanted, my name would go up on the list!"

"That's amazing Tai!" I cheered, hugging him. Kari smirked, coughing to conceal her giggled as a faint blush crept up on his face.

"It really is dear!" his mom smiled proudly. "And I take it you said yes."

"No duh!" he laughed. "It's gonna be so cool!"

"I'm proud of you son." his dad. "You know. I was quite the soccer player when I was your age!"

"And thank God you get your talent from me." Aria winked. "Have you ever seen your father play soccer Tai?"

"Do I want too now?" he asked uneasily.

"Shut up Aria." he glared good naturedly.

"Make me Aoi." she smirked, standing up to clear off the table. I stood up to help, but Aria waved me away. Tai wasted no time pulling me over to the living room to watch the movie.

"Insta-popcorn." he smiled, showing me to bag. "Mmm... artificial goodness." I laughed again.

"What are you waiting for? OZ isn't gonna destroy itself!"



******************************************************************



I laughed the whole way back to my place. "Dear lord what was up with Relena's hair? Has that girl ever heard of a hairdresser?!" Tai exclaimed.

"As if you should speak!" I giggled. "How do you get it to stay up like that?"

"A hope and a prayer." he smiled sweetly. "And crazy glue mixed into the gel." he winked.

"You're nuts." I snickered. "I really had a great time tonight Tai. Everything was almost magical."

"I know what you mean. My parents haven't had that much fun with one of my friends in a long time."

"I had fun with them too. They're so nice." I sighed dreamily. "But now you're gonna have to come over so I can repay you. A home-cooked meal this time!"

"You got yourself a date!" he smirked, then shook his head. "I mean, you can count on it."

"Great." I smiled, relieved. Before I walked over to my door, I leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Bye Tai. See you tomorrow."

"Yeah." he said softly, waiting until I got in before driving off. I shut the door behind me, sliding all the way to the floor. Tonight was ultimately the best night ever! I just wish my dad were here so I could tell him about it.





"So, how was your date last night?" Sora questioned, as we walked over to the chemistry lab. "Did you kiss him? Did he kiss you?" I laughed at how blunt my friend was being.

But since it was such a beautiful day, we decided to go by the outside instead of going through the building. "It was, unbelievable Sora. He was a perfect gentleman. And he had me cracked up the whole evening. And his parents are so nice! Even though his mom is the woman we met at the clinic..."

"Woah! Wait a minute here! You met his parents! Oh man! He has it bad for you!" she exclaimed, chuckling.

"He does not!" I spat, angry at her for getting my hopes up like that. There was no way he could even have tiny feelings for me. There was just no way.

"Please, next you'll be telling me he brought you a flower picked from your neighbor's garden!" she teased.

"He didn't." I sighed, shaking my head.

"Don't look now, but here comes Prince Charming! And he's accompanied by King Hot." she smiled, running over, throwing her arms around Izzy. I wanted to disagree with her on that. With Tai wearing a long sleeve blue shirt and black vest with his baggy cargo's he was both prince and king, hands down. Dear God he was hot.

"Hey beautiful." he smiled, giving me a hug of my own.

"Now what was that for? It's not my birthday..." I joked, mimicking him.

"Hey Tai, you wanna know what would be less obvious? Pinning a sign to your head saying 'I like Mimi Tachikawa'!" Izzy exclaimed, running off with Sora giggling like mad.

"Shut up Izzy!" he hissed, turning the brightest shade of pink ever. "Sorry about him. He gets like that when he doesn't take his pills!" he shouted out, allowing the other boy to hear.

"It's okay. I don't mind." I beamed, looking up into his lustrous eyes. His eyes were so deep that you could just drown in them, hoping you were never rescued.

"Hey, can I walk you to chem?" he asked rapidly, bracing himself for my answer.

"I would love that." I chirped, grabbing his hand. We began to run off to catch up with Izzy and Sora. We made it just in time, because the second we stepped into the class, the bell rang.

"Good morning class." Mr. Meutenouchi sighed depressingly. "Let's try and get through this day without blowing off anybody parts shall we?"



******************************************************************



"Hey Mimi." Sora whispered too after the class ended. "I didn't know drool was one of the ingredients we were supposed to add to the formula."

"What?" I smiled sheepishly. Tai opted to be my partner that day, and I had a bitch of a time focusing on the lecture when he was sitting so close to me, obviously paying attention.

"You so like him! Come on admit it! Cause with the way he was looking at you, he's obviously got a thing for you."

"Okay, so sue me, I do like him, but come on Sora! He's, he's... God, he's perfect! I swear, that's the only way I can describe him! I mean, since he started to hang out with me, I haven't thought about Matt once! And I don't even feel sad that we broke up!"

"Speaking of bastard ex-boyfriends..." Sora muttered, averting her gaze. I looked up, only to see Matt talking with Kyle and Rei Amano, the biggest slut in the school, without a doubt. Matt looked so bored; an uncaring expression knitted into his brow.

He looked up as well, catching my eye for a second. My heart accidentally skipping a beat. Dammit Mimi, don't do this to yourself! I could tell he was debating whether he should do something, and he immediately left the two alone to talk.

He began walking over to me, his hands shoved in the pockets of his jeans. But he stopped dead in his tracks as Tai ran up behind me, pulling me off the ground, twirling me around once. I laughed heartily as he placed me down, my hair falling back into place.

"Here." he grinned, handing me a small purple flower. Sora eyed me, shaking her head hopelessly.

"It's beautiful Tai." I smiled, taking it as he wrapped his arms around me a little tighter. I subconsciously snuggled back into his warm body, sighing deeply as I shut my eyes peacefully.

"Yet another bribe." he said painfully. "I need to ask you a favor."

"Go ahead." I smiled. As I looked back, I caught Matt glaring venomously at Tai, who seemed to be missing him completely.

"Well you see, my dad, God bless his soul, ticked off my mom this morning, and let's just say, we'll be begging her to make her fungus cookies for the next month."

"And." I giggled as Sora suddenly found out she was missing her math book. Funny how we didn't even have math today.

"Remember that dinner date we were supposed to have sometime. Well, could you make sometime tonight? I'll gladly buy groceries and whatever, I just can't go home tonight Mimi! I'm too young to die!" I burst out laughing, giving Tai a completely unreadable answer. "Why are you laughing?"

"Tai, you could say let's have the dinner right now, and I would be more than happy to drop school and go set up for it." I smiled seriously. "Please say you want it now. I have P.E."

"But then I'd miss you in that cute little gym uniform!" he pouted as I hit his arm lightly.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right. I would be depriving a lot of people by not wearing that almost see through shirt..."

"On second thought, why don't you start setting up right now."

"Whatever." I chuckled. "Let's go to gym. Mrs. Utena's letting us play cosom hockey today. That's probably the only sport I can play decently."

"Hockey? Don't you play that with a bat?" Tai pondered idiotically. I sighed, rolling my eyes.

It was a blast playing against Tai. He was so hopelessly pathetic at hockey that it wasn't even laughable. Apparently, all the grace he had on the soccer field stayed on the soccer field. Even I got past him a few times.

"You're cheating you know!" he told me knowingly at the face off.

"And how may I ask?" I giggled, blowing a piece of hair away from my face.

"How are you expecting anyone to stop you when you look that cute?"

"Oh it's simple really." I muttered smugly. The whistle went off, causing a mad dash for the puck or tennis ball in our case. In a second, a pair of strong arms wrapped around me, sending me sprawling on the floor.

"Go men! I got their weapon! Score now!" Tai yelled as his teammates raced past us, sending the ball into the net. "Yeah! Nice goal!" he cheered. I wasn't sure whether I should have been mad at him or if I should have clapped.

"Get off me you big lug!" I laughed. I was always laughing around him now, it was as if he made it his mission to never let me feel bad again ever.

"Actually, I'm very comfortable just the way I am." he smiled widely, causing me to blush softly.

"Kamiya!" the familiar shrill cry form Mrs. Utena boomed. "Play the game, already! Flirt afterward! Where it won't get in the middle of my class." she added in at the end.

Tai just smirked as he pushed himself off of me, extending a helpful hand up. One that I was glad to accept. "Brilliant plan there Einstein." I giggled.

"Hey what can I say." Tai said taking a small bow before me.

I laughed and playfully slapped his arm. "You sir are incorrigible!"

Tai looked at me cocking his head to one side, "Is that a good thing?"

I thought I was going to bust a gut at the absolutely adorable confusion on his face. "Yes, it is. Now come on, before the teacher freaks a brain."

******************************************************************

I couldn't believe the fuss I was making over dinner for Tai, my father had to work late and Tai had soccer practice after-school, so that left me to prepare dinner on my own. So I cheated a bit, so sue me, I had to allow time to prepare me!

I stopped by the stopped by the store with Sora on my way home and picked up marinated steaks and a cake, all that was left was to make a veggie and rice. Perfect! I hurried home and quickly started to make dinner. I turned up the radio to help, Rob Zombie came on with Living Dead Girl, a totally killer song. I rocked out while cooking and had things ready in no time with plenty of time left to spare to look great too.

I was glad that I had enough foresight for dinner because no sooner did I finish my primping did the doorbell ring. I bounded down the stairs two or three at a time taking a deep breath as I reached the door and opened expecting a very handsome Tai to be on the other side. My huge smile quickly faded as I was greeted with the face of a very angry Matt.

"Matt." I gasped

"We need to talk Mimi." Matt ground out, eyes almost piercing right through me.

I suppressed a shudder and took a deep breath trying to regain my composure. "I think you made yourself clear the last time we spoke Matt. We don't have anything left to say to one another." I said and started to shut the door on him.

Matt quickly shoved his foot in between the door and the frame and pushed it back open.

"So you go running right into Tai's arms?" he spat angrily. That was it! I was pissed and Matt had pushed the last button with me. I quickly closed the distance between us and slapped him as hard as I could across the face. Matt stood stunned before me with his mouth hanging open.

"What I do or don't do is no longer your concern Matt Ishida! You gave up the right the moment you turned your back on me. Now leave!" I spat maliciously.

Matt looked down for a moment shaking his head slowly. "You're right." he whispered "And I am so sorry." He looked up, his eyes filled with remorse and anguish. "I screwed up Mimi, I was scared and I'm sorry. We can work this out though, once you have the abortion it'll be like nothing happened."

I was stunned, I couldn't believe he would automatically assume that I would have an abortion. "What if I decided to keep it?" I asked measuring his reaction. His eyes widened and his mouth tried to form words, this certainly was not the response he was expecting. I shook my head, "I have no intention of keeping this baby Matt, I am simply too young to take on that kind of unbelievable responsibility and commitment. However, judging by how you reacted, you would not stand by me if I did make the decision to keep this child and with that I can see that you haven't changed one single bit. Go home Matt, we have nothing left to say to each other."

"Mimi, please." Matt pleaded

"I think you heard the lady, leave!" A voice from behind Matt said forcefully. Matt spun around on his heel to be face to face with Tai.

"Stay out of this you fuck!" Matt said roughly.

"Not on your life asshole." Tai shot back taking a step closer to Matt bringing them almost nose to nose.

Matt shoved Tai back, "Get the fuck out of my face!" Tai grabbed Matt's arm twisting Matt around and slamming him face first into the wall, holding his arm painfully behind his back.

"I am going to say this once to you Matt, leave Mimi alone, come near her again and I will make you regret it." Tai pulled Matt back and slammed him again into the wall. "You've hurt Mimi enough, no more, now leave!" With that Tai released Matt and took a couple of quick steps back.

Matt turned around a looked long and hard at Tai and then turned towards me and then left without another word.

The air was thick with uncertainty for both Tai and myself, I could tell he was thinking that I was angry with him and I was so overcome with appreciation for his intervention and support that I was speechless. Finally I reached out ending the discomfort for both of us and took his hand in mine smiling at him gently. Tai returned my smile and squeezed my hand.

"Come on." I beckoned him inside. Tai nodded and followed me back inside. I surprised him and myself by quickly turning and embracing him. Tai slowly returned the embrace wrapping his arms securely around my waist and holding me tight. "Thank you Tai, thank you for showing up when you did, for standing up for me, for everything, thank you." I said as I buried my face in his chest, breathing in his scent and feeling his warmth seep through me.

Tai leaned down and kissed my head softly. "I'll always be here for you Mimi, always." I smiled and pulled back so I could look into his dazzling chocolate brown eyes. I could have lost myself in them, my smile widened as I slowly extracted myself from the embrace and led Tai into the dining room.

"Where's your dad?" Tai said looking around the room as I showed him to his seat.

"He is working late tonight, won't be home until well after ten." I replied as I placed a Cokeā„¢ in front of him and started to go into the kitchen to bring out dinner.

"Hey can I help you?" Tai asked as he started to get up from his seat.

"No, no, sit down Tai, I have this covered."

I hurried back into the kitchen and started to load the tray with the cooked steak, glazed carrots and rice pilaf.

"My God Mimi, what smells so good?" Tai yelled from the other room.

"Dinner, you goof." I replied as I re-entered the dinning room balancing the tray carefully. I took the dishes one by one off the tray setting them before Tai, who was most obviously drooling.

"I am never going back home again!" He exclaimed as he eyed each of the dishes ravenously. I couldn't help but giggle at the expression that Tai held. Evidently fungus cooking was not high on his list of favorites, but then again I could sympathize with that.

I wasted no time in serving him dinner, eagerly awaiting praise that I knew was to come. Tai was not one to disappoint as he quickly began to shove the food in his mouth making all sorts of noises of approval and bliss.

"Oh!" Tai began, "God Mimi, this is..." he chewed some more and swallowed, "scrumptious." And he began to shovel the food again without another breath.

I giggled and blushed slightly and began to eat my own food, not with the same fervor as Tai, but ate just the same. After Tai finished his third helping he sat back placing his hand gingerly on his stomach. "My dad and Kari are going to be sooooo jealous when I tell them what I had for dinner tonight. That was so great Mimi, thank you."

"I'm glad you liked it Tai." I said as I ate up the compliments. "Come on let's go into the living room for a bit and then we can have dessert a little later."

"Dessert too? What did I do to deserve this?" Tai said giving me a sly smile and taking my hand in his as he helped me up from the table.

"For being you, Tai." I answered honestly, closing the distance between us until I could feel his breath caressing my face. Tai brought his hand up to my face running his thumb gently down my cheek and across my lips before leaning down and capturing my lips in a tentative kiss. Though the kiss was brief it was still breath taking.

"I'm sorry Mimi, I shouldn't have done that." Tai said pulling back from me.

"Please don't be sorry Tai, I'm not." I said looking at him hopefully. Praying that he really didn't mean that.

"Mimi, I just don't want to take advantage of this situation, you know? Matt really screwed you over and I am here because I care for you, more then what I can express in words, I don't want you to think that I am trying to take advantage of you."

Relief washed through me and I smiled at Tai's sentiment and sincerity. I once again claimed his lips trying to show him, not through words but with that kiss how I felt about him. I poured my soul into that kiss and slowly Tai began to relax and melted into the kiss eagerly. It felt as though we stood in that spot for hours, when in fact it was only probably a few minutes. When we finally did break for air, Tai had a calm dreamy expression, one I am sure that I mirrored perfectly.

"Umm.. Let's go into the living room." I suggested. Tai nodded and wrapped his arms around me as we walked into the next room. "Uh Tai?"

"Yeah Mimi."

"Well, you have to let go so I can sit down."

Tai laughed softly, his breath tickling my ear. "I never want to let you go Mimi. Besides we can work around this. See?" With that he sat down on the couch taking me with him so that I sat on his lap, his arms still wrapped securely around me. I smiled and maneuvered myself so that I could somewhat face him without breaking the closed circle of his arms.

I leaned down and planted a soft kiss on his lips and turned grabbing the remote control, turning to the television. We sat there for an hour, me on his lap and him embracing me, flipping through the channels and cracking jokes at some of the more lame programs on. All that time we cuddled and it was the warmest, safest feeling that I had ever had. To be in his arms, where no harm could come to me, where no hurt could penetrate his embrace. He stayed until eight when it was time for him to go home and for me to clean up and do my homework.

I did the dishes and prepared a plate of food for my father and left a note for him saying that his dinner was in the refrigerator. I headed off upstairs to my room to take on the daunting task of my homework, something most dreadful, but something that had to be done.

******************************************************************

The next morning as I was leaving my house to catch the bus to school I was pleasantly surprised to find Tai waiting for me by his car. "Thought I might offer the lady a ride?" Tai said as he opened the passenger door, bowing and making a sweeping gesture with his hand.

I giggled at the sight and thought dreamily how I could be so lucky as to find this perfect gentlemen and how I had been so utterly blinded before not to see what was right before me. How things would have been so different if I had been with Tai all along and had never been with Matt, I thought sadly.

Tai picking up on my dismal mood walked over to me talking my hand in his. "Mimi?" he asked carefully.

I smiled quickly quelling his worries. "I'm fine Tai, just tired." I yawned for effect, "up late last night finishing my homework.

Tai's expression lightened and he lead me over to his car. " Sorry about that Mimi, I shouldn't have stayed last night as long as I did. But dinner was really good and Kari and my dad were so jealous after I told them what I ate. I missed out on fungus casserole." Tai made a gagging expression and broke out in a hearty laughter. His warm laughter was contagious and soon I was laughing as well and my mood has changed and was now light and carefree once again, thanks to Tai. In so many ways, his friendship, his caring was healing my very soul.

We laughed all the way to school with Tai cracking one joke after another, keeping the stream of laughter constant and sincere. I think I surprised him when we got to school, I grabbed his hand as we were walking into the building. He slowed for a moment looking at me with warmth in his eyes and a soft smile and squeezed my hand, threading his fingers with mine and we continued on into the building and our classes.

My day was mundane to say the least and my only light in that day was Tai's constant presence and Sora's constant picking. It was as if I was a normal teenager with no worries except for "what should I wear on my next date," and "should I cut class to make it to the GAP's one day only sale."

******************************************************************

The week flew by like nothing with Tai by my side, it was Saturday morning and I was home waiting for my father to come home. We had started to sit down and talk when his beeper went off calling him off to work for a couple of hours. Now I sit here and wait for him to return, so that I can finally tell him the truth, finally tell him that I am pregnant and what I plan to do about it.

My appointment is already set for the following Saturday, I was scared but Tai's mom was going to be with me and so was Sora and Tai had already said he wanted to be there and would give me a ride home. Soon it would all be over and I could go back to being a normal teenager, the only other thing I had to do was to come clean with my father and tell what has been going on the last few weeks. I know he has suspected something, but he hasn't said anything to me.

I hear the front door open and steel myself for my father to come into the living room. I try to take a few deep breaths to help to calm my nerves, I am so scared.

"So my darling, what is so important?" My father says as he enters the room and sits down next to me on the couch. He studies my face for a moment and his slight smile disappears.

"What is it Mimi?" He asks me, concern lacing his voice.

"Dad." I whispered, trying to get my voice to work. I looked down for a moment, trying to remind myself that I had to do this. I looked back into my father's soft blue eyes, eyes that told me that no matter how angry he might be with me, he would always love me. I sighed.

"Dad, remember I told you that Matt and I broke up?" I began. He nodded his head, not speaking, maybe seeing how difficult that this was for me.

"I've made a really big mistake daddy." My eyes overfilled with tears as I continued to speak to him. "Matt and I got really close, I thought he loved me." I stopped for a minute to gauge his expression, which was filled with understanding and silent anger. "I slept with him daddy, I slept with him and I got pregnant. I'm so sorry daddy, I am so, so sorry!" I choked on my sobs and fell silent, not wanting to continue to speak and not wanting to look at my father knowing that his face would show his disappointment in me.

My father didn't say anything, we stayed silent for several very long minutes until finally he cleared his throat and placed his hand on my shoulder. "Mimi, oh Mimi, I am at such a loss as to what to say to you." I looked up and saw that my father had tears streaming down his face. He smiled at me reassuringly and pulled me into an embrace. "First of all, I want you to understand how much I love you. I know that it took a lot of courage today for you to sit down and tell me this and although I am disappointed with this situation, I feel that I am partly to blame for this."

I pushed back to look at my father's face. "What do you mean?" I asked, completely caught off guard by what he had said.

"Mimi, I'm your father and I do the best I can at raising you, but sometimes that isn't enough. I can see now how not having a mother has effected you and I'm sorry."

"Daddy, mom leaving has nothing to do with this. It was my choice and a bad one, but the responsibility lies only on my shoulders."

My father shook his head. "What about Matt? Have you told him?"

I frowned for a minute and answered honestly. "Yes, I told him. He basically told me it was my problem. Something I have to take care of myself."

"That son of a bitch!" my father growled standing up and walking over to the phone. "I am going to call that boy's father and have a few words with him, son of a bitch thins he will treat my daughter that way! He has another thing coming!" I jumped over and ran to him taking the phone away from his hands that were already busing dialing Matt's phone number.

"No daddy, please don't!" I pleaded. He looked at me bewildered. "Daddy, I broke up with him. I have ended it and I am moving on. Please. I just want to forget about Matt Ishida."

My father sighed heavily shaking his head. "What about the baby Mimi? That boy has to take some responsibility."

"I'm taking care of it daddy, I'm going to have an abortion and then I am going to finish school and go on to college and some day when I am older and ready I will get married and start a family. But not now, I am too young and so is Matt." My father nodded slowly processing my words carefully.

"Alright Mimi, I won't call his father, but if he calls here or comes by, I will give him such an earful he won't no weather he is coming or going."

I smiled, comforted by my father's protectiveness and unconditional love. "Thank you daddy."

My father pulled me into another embrace and squeezed me tightly. "I love you Mimi. My little girl is growing up, but my love for you will never change."







A/N~ I know that may be a somewhat odd place to end it, however this section was getting a bit too long. Again, if some of the topics contained with in this story are offensive to you, please don't read it. Thank you and please let digitally obsessed and myself know what you think about our fic.



~Maki~