Author's Notes: No people, I'm not dead. ^_^;;; I'm terribly sorry for the delay, but my life's been really busy and I haven't had that much time, you know? Yeah, I'm sure a lot of authors say that, but I'm totally serious. Um, towards the end of this chapter, the style might seem a little bit different or rushed, and I'm sorry about that too. I haven't worked on this fic in a while, and it seems a bit dead. I'm kind of in a hurry to finish it now. ._.;;; *sigh* Writer's block is definitely another reason for the delay. Again, I apologize to those of you who are now about ready to come after me with pitchforks because of my very long absence. ^__^;;;; I'll try really hard to work on the ending, and I'll work on making it a GOOD ending. Please be patient with me, mmkay? ^^ Enjoy chapter four!
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SORA:
I broke away from him reluctantly, wishing that this one moment could have gone on forever, but that was impossible. I knew I would never forget it though.
"Tai…" I breathed, and he leaned in to kiss me again. I started to kiss him back, but instead I pushed him back a little and laid a finger to his lips. "Once." I said with a small smile. He smiled back at me, and blushed cutely. I like it when he blushes like that. He looks so adorable.
"Sorry." He murmured, and I shook my head.
"It's… okay. Let's go back now. I don't want to get Mimi or Matt worried."
"Right."
We left the kitchen, both of us walking fairly close, but I was determined not to brush up against him in any way. I didn't want him to see how much this was all affecting me, especially at such a fast pace. Only yesterday I had been thinking about Matt, thinking about how happy I was… or at least I thought I was happy. I didn't know what to think now.
The sight that greeted me when we entered the living room made everything suddenly fly out the window.
There was Mimi sitting on Matt's lap, kissing him like there was no tomorrow. And there was Matt… Enjoying it! I couldn't believe my eyes. Then I glanced at Tai. He had one eyebrow raised and was looking just as confused and shocked as I was.
I cleared my throat loudly, folding my arms. Mimi's head shot up and she stared at me for a moment before scrambling out of my boyfriend's lap.
Matt looked at me, his mouth hanging open. He looked like a deer caught in headlights. My mouth twitched upwards at the thought, and I fought the urge to giggle. But no, I couldn't do that. It would make me look less intimidating.
"Well… Are you two done 'getting to know each other' all over again, or should we leave you alone again so you can finish?" I asked sarcastically, almost wanting to smile sadistically as they both just continued to stare at me.
But the sadist in me disappeared as the silence in the room grew almost unbearable. I sighed, shaking my head a few times. I waited for Matt's response, knowing exactly what he would say. He was just taking a little longer to let it out.
His mouth closed, then opened again, closed once more, and he prepared to speak.
One… two… three…
"Sora, I can explain everything. There's a good reason for this, I swear…"
I fought the urge to laugh again. For some reason this just seemed incredibly funny to me. It was fun watching him try to explain himself for cheating on me like that. And I had trusted him too. But then again, I had to admit that I felt a little guilty at the same time. After all, I had been in the kitchen kissing Tai only mere seconds ago.
"Um… I think I'd better get going. I promised I'd pick up Kari after this was done…" Tai said suddenly.
I blinked. He was leaving already? I suddenly felt the bottom drop out of my stomach.
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YAMATO:
Tai glanced at me one last time before leaving the room. I sat there, knowing that my face was bright red, and I was sweating buckets. I had never, ever, ever felt so humiliated in my whole life. There had been bad times, but this seemed to take the cake.
Even though I knew Tai and Mimi weren't together, I felt like I had betrayed Tai all over again. And then knowing that I had cheated on Sora, right in her own home… I felt like such a scumbag.
And yet, at the same time, I couldn't stop thinking about the kiss. I have to admit, it had been really nice. Was that normal? To feel bad for two timing your girlfriend, yet feeling utterly satisfied from your actions?
I must really be a scumbag then.
"Sora, I'm really sorry about this…" Mimi said quietly from beside me, and I nodded in agreement, even though I knew it was futile.
"I'm sure." Sora said, pursing her lips as she stared at me. I wanted to sink between the couch cushions. She eyed us both for a few more seconds before walking out of the room and down the hall. I wondered where she was going. I thought grimly about her coming back with a butcher knife to hack us both to pieces. The thought made me smile slightly, and I shook my head.
Sora was stern, but she wasn't crazy. At least… I hoped not.
When she came back a few seconds later, she had Tai with her. I sighed. She wasn't going to make this easy on me. I wondered if she knew the truth about Tai and Mimi's "relationship".
"Well? Are you going to explain yourselves?" Sora asked, folding her arms again and glaring at us both.
I wasn't sure what to say. I thought for a split second that if I moved fast enough, I could jump out of the window, run home, and never show my face in public again.
Of course that option was absurd, and there was no way I was going to jump from a five-story window.
…And yet, with Sora and Tai looking at me like that… It might have been a good idea anyway.
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TAICHI:
Matt looked scared. I mean seriously scared. I felt a sense of triumph as I watched his expression, because it was how I wanted him to feel. I wanted to watch him squirm under Sora's scrutiny, and I myself would just stand back and watch everything with irrepressible delight.
Sounds a little demented, doesn't it? Yeah, well… He deserves it.
Mimi just sort of stared at me, and I thought maybe she didn't even know what was going on. I wasn't sure myself, although I had a feeling that this situation would turn out okay in the end.
"Well, are you going to explain, or not?" Sora asked, narrowing her eyes.
"It was all my fault. I forced him into it." Mimi said softly. "We were talking, and it just sort of… happened."
"It just sort of happened?" Sora raised an eyebrow.
"I swear it, Sora. I'm so, so sorry." Mimi stood up, and hung her head. "I'll be leaving now."
"Um, yeah, I think I will too." Matt mumbled.
"Wait a sec."
Everyone turned to look at me, and I shrunk back slightly.
Come on, Tai… Work that crest of courage thing…
"You don't have to go, Matt… I mean… I can take Mimi home." I said slowly, pretending not to see the disheartened look on Sora's face.
"But Tai-" Mimi started. I ignored her.
"Yeah, let's go Mimi."
"But Tai…"
"Let's go Mimi. It'll be much easier, and I can get Kari along the way." I said, hoping I didn't sound too forceful. She looked at me, her expression bordering on anger, but she flipped her hair back and stepped proudly towards the door. I looked at Matt again. His eyes seemed glued to the floor. "Well, see you guys later."
I turned on my heel and followed Mimi out of the living room, willing myself not to look back. When we got outside, Mimi hopped into my car and slammed the door. I winced, not sure what to expect once we were alone on the road… But there was no way to avoid it. I got into the driver's seat and turned the car on. We were about half way down the street before I finally couldn't take the silence anymore.
"Mimi, I-"
"Tai, you are the biggest IDIOT in the world!"
I blinked. "What?" Mimi glared at me and folded her arms before turning to look out the window.
"You should have stayed with Sora, you dimwit!"
While that may have been true, I still felt the need to defend myself. "How was I supposed to know! It's not like I can read your mind!"
"Common sense, Tai. Why don't you try using it some time?!"
I blinked again. Did she just insult me? Yeah, I'm not exactly a rocket scientist Izzy or something, but I at least have SOME common sense. Just where did she get off…
"Well, what were you two doing in the kitchen? I noticed you were gone for a long time." Mimi's voice brought me out of my thoughts. I swallowed hard.
"We… talked." I said simply, hoping I didn't sound too nervous. It was quiet in the car for a moment, and I stopped at a traffic light. I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel, waiting for some kind of response. I wondered what she was thinking.
"You kissed her, didn't you?"
What the hell?
"What are you talking about?" I stammered. I looked at her and was surprised to see her grinning. Wasn't she mad at me just a few seconds ago?
"Oh come on, don't play dumb. It's written all over your face!" she exclaimed, giggling. I merely stared at her, forgetting to pay attention to the light that had just turned green. I nearly slammed my foot on the accelerator after hearing the angry honks of the cars behind me.
"Okay, fine! So I kissed her!"
"Oh my gosh, I can't believe it! That's so funny!"
"Funny?! What's so funny about it?!"
She just laughed at me. My eye began to twitch.
"Sorry, sorry. I just find it so amusing that you were kissing Sora, and I was- and Matt- and you-" she burst out laughing again, and I raised a hand to rub my temples in annoyance.
I was nearly ready to jump for joy when I finally pulled up to T.K.'s house and saw Kari running down the walkway, her ever-loyal boyfriend in tow. Kari opened the back door and peeked her head in.
"Hey Tai, T.K.'s coming over to study. I called mom already, and she said it was fine. Hope that's okay with you!" she bubbled, climbing in and motioning for T.K. to follow. Once everyone was situated, Mimi and T.K. exchanged jovial greetings, and then he and Kari began running their mouths at 60 miles an hour. I tuned them out. I couldn't wait to get them out of the car. Mimi just sat, still grinning like that cat who caught the canary, and I was completely confused.
As I drove, I also wondered how Sora and Matt were doing. I hoped she hadn't killed him or something… I was definitely going to have to call her later on.
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TBC… (Eventually… T_T)