Hiro's eyes snapped open at 3am one night, as he awoke in a cold sweat. It had been two weeks since the blip. Of course it was a major misunderstanding, but it didn't look good from Karmi's perspective. It even looked bad to Fred, Wasabi, Honey Lemon and Gogo who were just bystanders. Flashbacks of two weeks earlier to the day, at the very moment Karmi ran off, flickered through Hiro's mind.

He chased after her, all the way to the train station. Then she disappeared in a crowd as Hiro frantically searched for her, desperate to put things right. By the time he got through, a train had departed and all he could see was the train tracks. Hiro roared in anger and punched a lamppost. It bent slightly as he was still wearing his super suit. Everyone looked at him and wondered why the leader of Big Hero 6 was having a meltdown, but he couldn't care less what anyone thought right now. Hiro stayed for a while, but he knew Karmi wasn't coming back. He headed home and went straight to his room. He completely ignored Cass asking where Karmi was and slammed his door shut. He buried his head in his pillows and smacked his head into them.

Then once he'd calmed down and got some sort of control over his emotions, he tried calling her. He must have called 30 times and left a dozen voicemails over the last two weeks, but each and every one was ignored. Hiro hurled his phone across the room countless times, it was a wonder how it was still working. He did get some calls, however. All from the guys of course. They were concerned for their little brother. As was Baymax, who was constantly trying to help alleviate his pain, but kept being dismissed by an irritable Hiro. Everyone was concerned for him. No one more than Cass, who knocked on his door several times a day. All she could do was leave food for him at his door and hope he was okay. After some time, Fred came knocking, then Honey Lemon, then Gogo, then Wasabi, then everyone together. But it was no use. Hiro was utterly inconsolable. He wasn't opening his door for anyone. He only wanted to see one person. One pair of sweet hazelnut eyes.

Back in the present day, the Easter holidays had ended and it was time to go back to school. Hiro could not sleep. It was getting warmer as summer was approaching, but it wasn't the heat keeping him up. He tried to get back to sleep, tossing and turning side to side, but it was futile. He remained wide awake for most of the rest of the night, just thinking. It was becoming very dangerous for Hiro to be left alone with his thoughts lately. Depression was slowly creeping in like a grim plague. It was similar to how he felt when Tadashi died. Like then, he hadn't left his room properly for weeks, let alone go outside. Inevitably, that also meant he hadn't done any crime fighting for weeks either. Days passed and life went on as normal in the outside world. The only part of the outside world he was exposed to was the radio, that Cass always had on in the living room. Everyday news reports and music seeped through into his room. One day, "When She Loved Me" by Sarah McLachlan played and he just burst into tears. Some days, all he heard was static. Hiro's life was stuck on repeat, much like an out of tune radio. And it was like a constant re-run of a horror movie in his head. When things got really bad, he found looking at the photo Karmi got him for Valentine's day helped. It was a reminder of when things were good and gave him hope that one day they may reunite again.

Thankfully, he was starting to get sleepy again and managed to get another hour's sleep before his alarm woke him again. Except he didn't turn it off. He just let it ring on. He tried to get up for a second, but his body was bolted to his bed. Cass came knocking as she always did, trying to get Hiro up for school. He lied and said he wasn't feeling well. This trend continued for the whole week, until Hiro finally managed to find the strength to go back to his normal life the week after. Even then, he was extremely fragile and his schoolwork was taking a direct hit as a result of it. Granville wasn't too impressed, but showed some compassion under the circumstances and gave Hiro an extension to his deadlines.

Fast forward to June and Hiro was just starting to somewhat feel himself again. Karmi had since texted back after weeks of nothing and said she needed some time away from Hiro. That really hurt him, but he figured something was better than nothing. Yet he still needed to know where he stood. Was this an actual breakup forever? Or just a temporary break? He had no idea and not knowing killed him. One sweltering Friday night, he was lying in bed with his headphones in as his playlist cycled through his favourite songs. The current one was just hitting the chorus.

Sometimes, all I think about is you.

Late nights in the middle of June.

Heat waves been faking me out.

Can't make you happier now.

Usually I put -

The music came to an abrupt stop. His phone vibrated. Hiro rolled his eyes, thinking it was one of the guys calling him again. But then he looked at the name and his heart skipped a beat. His hands trembled as the realisation set in that she was calling. Hiro looked at it dubiously and almost missed the call entirely, as he found it hard to believe it was happening. He answered it just before it rang out. There was silence and breathing for a few seconds.

'H-Hiro? Can we talk?' Hiro leapt up from his bed and nearly dropped his phone.

'Of-of course!'

'Okay. So, firstly I would just like to apologise for ignoring your calls all this time and not giving you the chance to speak. I was hurt. Really hurt. Seeing you kiss Megan was just horrible…' Hiro quickly interjected.

'But she kissed me! And I pushed her away as soon as I could. Please, believe me!'

'I know,' said Karmi quietly.

'Wait, what? You know?'

'Yeah, I got Gogo to ask Megan about it and she admitted that she kissed you and you didn't have any part in it.'

'Oh, well that's great! So, you're not mad at me then?'

'No, not anymore.'

'Okay, so why didn't you talk to me earlier? We could have solved this together and got back to the way things were-'

'I told you. I was hurting. And then schoolwork started piling up. Then I started to have doubts about everything. About myself…'

'I mean, I understand our relationship wasn't exactly perfect with the distance and the superhero thing. But you are more than good enough for me, Karmi. And I will tell you that a hundred times over if I have to.'

'I know, Hiro. I know.'

'Okay… So, why are we having this conversation then? Huh? Do you still feel anything for me at all?'

'I. I can't answer that right now.'

'Okay, so what is this then? Goodbye?'

'No, no! It's not! I just had a lot of time to think and I realised that despite everything, I still want you in my life in some way shape or form. I miss you.' Hiro sighed.

'Well, I miss you too and I definitely want you in my life too. But what are you really saying here?'

'I'm saying… I'm saying that I want to be friends again at least.'

'Okay. I'm good with that. But what about everything we had? Are we just gonna pretend it never happened?'

'No. It happened and it was amazing. I just need time to figure myself out and start again, you know? I just don't want to get hurt again.'

'Alright, I understand. You know I'd never do anything to hurt you though, right?'

'I know, Hiro. It's not you hurting me I'm afraid of. I know it sounds cliche, but it's me that's the problem. I just don't know if I can allow myself to be vulnerable again, I guess.'

'Well, let's just take things slow then. Whether we're friends or boyfriend and girlfriend, I'm not giving up on you. Remember?'

'Thank you, Hiro. I think taking it slow would be good for now, yeah. I'd like that. If you're really willing to, that is?'

'Of course I am! Heck! I'm just happy to hear your voice again.'

'I'm happy to hear yours too. I have to go now, but I will phone again soon.'

'Okay, goodnight…'

Karmi hung up and then Hiro saw his music playlist pop up again. He took a massive sigh and ran his fingers through his hair. He really was not expecting that at all. He was happy to finally hear her voice again, especially as he was starting to think he never would again. Even though it wasn't quite exactly what he wanted to hear. Still better than nothing, he supposed. If anything, he was certain of one thing. He would sure as hell fight for her. And Karmi had a lot of her own battles to fight too it seemed. If Hiro could make her see how much he loved her, then maybe things would go back to the way they were before. All that time away from Karmi was hell for Hiro, but if there was one good effect from it, it confirmed something he had been confused about for months. Simply put, he was undeniably in love with her. It was a very alien feeling to him, but he just knew it in his heart. No question about it.

It was a long summer and Hiro spent the majority of it talking to Karmi and doing everything he could to rebuild their relationship. It would have been their 6 month anniversary now, had they stayed together. It was a slow process, but they gradually grew close to each other again. Phone calls turned into video calls and they got more and more frequent, until it was every night as it used to be. The best part about it was that nothing had to be forced. They just naturally gravitated back to each other, like they never stopped talking. One night, Karmi even accidentally flirted with Hiro, to his delight. He didn't probe it any further in fear he could push her away, but it was a good sign that she still liked him. Then as the summer holidays were ending, Hiro thought about taking a daring step forward. He had just made Karmi laugh and thought now was a good time to say it.

'Hey… so I know you want to take things slow, but I was wondering if maybe you might wanna meet up sometime? You know, just as friends.' Hiro didn't really want to say that last part, but felt he had to.

'Umm. Well, I mean I feel like we've definitely moved past everything now. So maybe, yeah. I do want to see you again. Life is just getting a little hectic, especially as school will be starting again soon.'

In truth, Karmi was just using that as an excuse to cover up the real reason behind her slight reluctance. She still felt a little insecure about herself and worried falling back in love with Hiro would end in her getting hurt again. Deep down, she wanted nothing more than to get back together with him, but her own demons were holding her back. What if another girl kissed him and she overreacted again? What if Hiro suddenly thought he could do better and found someone else? Or if not any of these things, what if the superhero thing became a problem again and she couldn't bear it? There were so many what ifs in her head right now, which were giving her the biggest dilemma of her life. It would have been an easy decision if she didn't want Hiro. But she really did want him. Bad. She wasn't going to tell him all of this though, of course. Admitting it would be embarrassing, she thought.

'Okay, well maybe is good enough for now. You know, I'm actually planning a party for my 16th in September and there's no one else I'd like to come more than you…'

'Oh, well I'll definitely think about it! I'm just sorry I can't say yes for sure.'

'That's totally fine. I just really hope you do come… cause I'm still really into you, you know.' Hiro instantly regretted saying that, thinking it would drive Karmi away. 'Sorry, I don't know why I just said that. Just struggling with the whole friends thing still.' Karmi smiled.

'It's okay. If that's how you feel, then you should say it. And to be honest, I kinda feel the same way. I never really stopped.' Hiro's face lit up like a Christmas tree, but he tried not to get overexcited.

'Well, that's nice to hear. The fact there's still something there says a lot, I think.'

'Yeah, it does.'

'Well, anyway. I should go now. I'll send the details of the party over to you. No pressure of course, but I really want to see you there. So please, don't make your decision too hastily.'

'Well, I can see it means a lot to you, Hiro. And maybe it is time we saw each other again.'

Hiro thanked her for understanding and then said goodnight. Two minutes later, Karmi received a message. She opened it to see a fancy well-made invitation. It read:

HIRO'S 16TH BIRTHDAY PARTY

DATE & TIME:
SATURDAY 9TH OF SEPTEMBER, 6PM

DRESS CODE:
SMART CASUAL

ADDRESS:
1 TITAN LANE, 94125

***DO NOT SHARE THIS ADDRESS WITH ANYONE***

Karmi read it with a puzzled expression. She wondered why it wasn't just at the Lucky Cat. What was this secret address all about? When she asked Hiro about it, all he said was: "You'll have to come and find out. There's something I want to show you." She already wanted to see Hiro again and knew how important it was to him that she attended, but this mystery location was really starting to intrigue her. She figured it was probably Big Hero 6 related, hence the secrecy and she felt happy that he trusted her with it, whatever it was. It really was down to her now. In her mind, she had already made her decision. It was just a matter of whether her heart agreed and if she was willing to take the plunge into the unknown for the sake of love…