Chapter Five
As the last of the four fast songs ended, Yamato turned to Mimi at the same time the disc jockey was introducing her and gave her a quick kiss.
"Good luck." He said, and gently pushed her in the direction of the elevated platform.
"I've got all the luck I need." She replied, winking and blowing him a kiss over her shoulder. He smiled a sad but proud smile as she walked up onto the stage and made an announcement about how happy she was to be here. He looked to Shahal to see how everything was going and she gave him a thumbs up just before Mimi began singing the song called The River.
He was struck by the beauty of the song when sung by her and before the end of the first chorus he was completely enraptured, which was why he was taken entirely by surprise when a finger tapped him shyly on the shoulder. He jumped and turned around with a smile to greet whoever was there, but the smile faltered and faded when he saw who it was.
*****
Sora watched as Yamato's bright smile fell and he regarded her as if she was an unwelcome stranger, she felt the sting of tears behind her eyes, but willed them to go away. Her childish impulses wouldn't get in the way of what she had to say. She drew in a deep breath to speak, hoping her voice wouldn't be shaky, and pitched it low to help against that threat.
"Jyou and Koushiro said you would be playing here" she started awkwardly, "But I see that it's Mimi on the stage." She looked into his eyes as a silent entreaty to speak but he remained silent and regarded her with that same cold, emotionless stare. She held the weight of his look for several moments before finally bursting out in a desperate rage. "Damn it Yamato, you're still the father of this baby!" she yelled so that Mimi stumbled on the last verse and the entire gym fell silent with a screech from the microphone and looked at them.
*****
Yamato suppressed the urge to kill someone and settled with clamping his hand firmly on Sora's upper arm so that she complained and tried to pull away. He said sternly between his teeth, suppressing his own rage that was growing like a fire, trying to burn it's way out and express itself in any way. "We need to talk." She stopped struggling and followed him willingly enough out the two doors and into the sidewalk by the street.
"Yamato-"
"What were you thinking!" he exploded, she opened her mouth to answer but he ran her over. "You think I want the world to know I knocked you up? To think that the only reason I was going to marry you was because you were pregnant? That…Argh!" He threw his hands up in the air and turned away from her to get her out of his line of sight lest he take his anger at his predicament out on her. He could almost see her struggling not to cry behind him, heard the pitiful sniffles and he felt his heart hang heavy in his chest, almost immediately regretting he'd yelled at her. But where, before the last several days, he would have turned around and said he was sorry and held her, now he just stood watching as the sun slowly sank into the ocean not far from the school, forcing himself to be indifferent to her. Finally, he heard her timid voice speak up from behind him.
"going to marry me, Yama-chan?" He wanted to snap at her not to call him that, thinking that now would be the perfect time. She left the opening, I probably wont get another opportunity like this, besides, she's attractive, and she'll have the gang to take care of her if she can't find herself a better lover than me, and surely her mother… Damn it! I'm just making excuses! Well, I might aswell tell her that I don't love her like that anymore atleast, she doesn't deserve to be lied to.
"Look Sora," He started "I've been thinking a lot this last week-"
"I think you've been doing more than thinking!" She lashed out at him angrily. Stunned by her sudden viciousness, he turned around and looked at her in confusion.
"What…?"
"So who was it Yamato, Jun? That eighteen-year-old blonde bitch down the hall? Or any other whore that showed up at your door with a bare stomach and a box of condoms?"
"I didn't… Not with…." He stopped and glared at her, why am I trying to explain myself to her, he was about to tell her as much when Taichi and Kisha came out. Taichi gave him a hostile look and Yamato didn't need to be a genius to know that it was meant to be a threat, surely he'd witnessed the scene they'd caused not less than ten minutes before.
"Come one Sora, Mimi wants to talk to you." Taichi said, giving Sora a tender smile and taking her hand, she cast a desperate glance at Yamato, as if hoping he would stop them and they could finish their exchange. He knew what she meant, he felt that if he let Taichi take her away, this conversation would never come up again. He opened his mouth to halt them as they walked back towards the gym, but some unexplained instinct stopped him and he watched Sora's eyes turn away from him in disappointment as she walked between Taichi and Kisha.
*****
Mimi stood in a dark, unnoticed corner of the gym where the heater was blowing warm air down on her from an overhead vent, hoping that nobody could see the terror that was eating at her and making her stomach sick. Your about to make the worst mistake of your life Mimi, she told her self and how do you feel? Oh yeah, just peachy
Finally, to her extreme discomfort, she saw Taichi come through the door and point Sora to her shadowed corner. Sora… oh Sora! My best friend, how I hate you. She thought sadly, watching Sora as she made her way towards her, a genuine smile dancing on her face when she spotted her, orange/red hair (turned purple from the neon) cut short and flared up in the back, brown eyes red from tears.
Mimi couldn't help but be envious, for it was obvious she was crying, but unlike herself, who got blotchy and ugly when she cried, Sora looked more beautiful than before. Almost like a saint. She stepped out of the shadows and walked into Sora's outstretched arms reluctantly, stiffly returning the hug.
"It's been so long…" Sora said in a trembling voice and Mimi felt tears come to her own eyes when she realized that if she did what she so wanted to do, she could possibly ruined her friends chance for true happiness. But by making her happy, I make myself miserable. God, she half prayed, why does this have to be so hard! Is there anyway we can both get what we want…? I didn't think so.
"Is something wrong Mimi?" Sora asked, truly concerned, as she pulled away from their embrace enough to see the tears coursing down her cheeks. She doesn't even suspect…?
"I'm fine, it's just… It's been so long."
*****
Sora watch as her friend wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. I wonder if there's something wrong? This isn't the Mimi I remember. She didn't miss how stiff she was in her arms either and gave her one last reassuring squeeze before releasing her completely. Mimi immediately took two steps away from her and inhaled to speak. She let her.
"Sora I… I'm really happy to hear about you and Yamato." Sora tried to keep the tears from resurfacing, struggling to force the knot back down in her throat, and appear calm to her friend.
"Yeah, well, things aren't going so well between us." She said, choking the words out despite her best efforts. She saw her flinch. Something is wrong!
"Mimi, are you okay?" Sora asked, letting a note of worry creep into her voice. She stiffened and took a step back, but her face -still in the pale blue light while the rest of her body disappeared into the shadows- remained calm and compassionate.
"What do you mean?" She asked, tilting her head to the side with a light laugh, "of course I'm okay" then she stopped and looked at her seriously. "Shouldn't I be asking you that? What kind of trouble are you two having?" For a moment, Sora thought she'd heard mockery in the question, as if it had been meant to hurt and had the wild thought that Mimi was her enemy and rival. She'd never been very good at reading people, but as the thought ran through her head, she swore she saw a sad hatred in her best friend's eyes. Best friend's eyes… Thinking that last part, she crushed the idea. Mimi's my best friend, why would she hate me?
"I think he's been having an affair with another woman and he wants to call off the wedding." Sora whispered, suddenly ashamed of admitting that she couldn't even keep her fiancé interested in her. Mimi laughed, though it sounded nervous and uncertain.
"Why would you say that?" she asked a little stiffly and once again the thought that Mimi was her rival crossed her mind and she had a moment of panic where all she wanted to do was run away and hide.
"Well… I uh… I'm not really sure where the thought came from, it was just that he seems distant now, like he doesn't care as much anymore and that's the only thing I can think of." Sora said lamely. Mimi flashed her a reassured smile.
"Sora, all guys have seconds thoughts before they get married, they think of it as the end of their freedom and wonder if it's worth it. In the end, most choose commitment over freedom cause they see that they can't live without that special person." Sora smiled back with a fondness she didn't feel at the moment.
"You're probably right, I guess I should talk to him again huh?" Mimi moved hesitantly out of the shadows and hugged her with a stiff confidence.
"That's the spirit girl, just let me soften him up a bit eh? Gently broach the subject of talking to you about his feelings cause you know, a marriage doesn't last long or end cleanly if the couple can't communicate." With a last smile over her shoulder, Mimi walked towards where Yamato was standing by the door, arms crossed and one heel propped against the wall, leaving Sora in the empty corner alone and wondering if she should allow Mimi to go over there with out an ear of her own in on the conversation.
*****
Yamato watched as Mimi walked slowly towards him, she'd been wearing a smile when she'd turned from Sora, but he could see the tears sparkling in her eyes and he wondered what they were talking about besides the obvious. She came up beside him and they watched couples dancing for a while before Yamato broke their uncomfortable silence.
"You go up again in a few minutes." He said uneasily, thinking that she must be mad at him for something since she wasn't talking and the tears were coursing down her face. She didn't answer and the silence lengthened until she sniffled and turned to him finally.
"Yamato, will you try to make her happy?" For a moment, the question didn't seem to make any sense to him until he looked into Mimi's eyes and realized that the future of his friendship with her and the group rested on the answer. He thought about it, about how much he loved Mimi and how much he cared for Sora, he didn't want to hurt either of them, but who ever he chose, he'd be hurting Mimi. Finally, he decided on the only one he could.
"I'll try." He whispered, feeling like crying himself.
"Talk to her," Mimi said, a fresh tear trailing down her face, "tell her that you were just scared about the wedding, don't tell her about us, just lie, whatever'll make her happy." Yamato nodded and then cupped her face in both hands and brushed the tears from her face with his thumbs. Conscious of Sora's eyes on them, he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and then released her, running a hand unnoticed through her short, pink streaked hair and then turned her towards the portable stage as the DJ motioned her back up. He gazed at her, as she stood in front of the microphone, her hair curled under to rest on her shoulders, eyes closed and sparkling blue eye shadow winking in the light. Her white spaghetti strap shirt glowed purple in the black lights placed all around the gym and her black pants were tight on her long, slender legs until they flared out at the bottom with blue flames twisting up to her knees. He tore his eyes away from Mimi to look at Sora with her plain button-up, long-sleeved blue blouse and gray skirt that went down to her just above her knees.
Sighing to himself, he walked across the room to where she was standing alone, her arms crossed over her chest as if she was cold though the room felt stiflingly hot to him. He stopped and stood a few feet from her, close enough to reach a hand out and touch her face but far enough away to avoid any accidental contact. They looked at each other for a while as Mimi stayed silent on stage and the room began to get impatient. Finally, as he'd wanted, Sora spoke up first.
"I'm sorry I accused you of sleeping around Yamato." She said, her soprano voice quivering. "I never should have said something that I didn't know anything about." They were both quite for a minute and then she poke again. "Please Yamato, I'm sorry." Tears came to her eyes and Yamato relaxed.
"It's okay Sora," he started "I shouldn't have been so cruel, I was just… just… I got cold feet I guess." He finished lamely for lack of a better excuse. Sora smiled then nodded before they both looked to Mimi, Sora reaching out and placing a small hand in his as Mimi finally started the song called The Dance, Yamato was feeling like he'd just made the worst mistake of his life as he thought back to how perfect being with Mimi had felt when they'd danced at the restaurant. Our last dance.
"Looking back, on the memory of-
The dance we shared, 'neath the stars above-
For a moment, all the world was right-
How could I have known, that you'd ever say goodbye"
"And now I'm glad I don't know-
The way it all would end, the way it all would go-
Our lives, are better left to chance, I could have missed the pain-
But I'd of had to miss the dance"
"Holding you, I held everything-
For a moment, wasn't I a queen-
But if I'd only known, how this queen would fall-
Hey who's to say, you know I might have changed it all"
"And now I'm glad I don't know-
The way it all would end, the way it all would go-
Our lives, are better left to chance, I could have missed the pain-
But I'd of had to miss the dance."
"Yes My life, is better left to chance-
I could have missed the pain-
But I'd of had to miss the dance"