Author's Notes: Thank you so much for all of your wonderful reviews ^_^. Thank you. I was about to take off the whole story because I had no new ideas for it, but I couldn't just leave you hanging. That would be so wrong, and I completely know how you all would feel. Well... probably not totally mad, because well... because people wouldn't die if I didn't continue this, but they would be even just the slightest bit upset. Okay.. probably not. I should be on with the story now ^_^. Enjoy!
Oh yeah, and to Taichi Kamiya: You're right ^_^. Sorry, my mistake. Matt *did* kiss Sora, and Sora and Tai *did* just kiss each other because... maybe they wanted to? Or was it because of the play? :::Evilly grins:::
ºvº
What she and Tai had done was extremely embarrassing, especially the part when Matt had walked through the door. Matt... Yamato Ishida. Her boyfriend. Whom she had kissed, but walked away from. She had kissed Tai twice, and she had never walked away from him. She her reason why, but it still seemed so surreal.
~*Flashback*~
"Eh ehm!"
Tai and Sora broke apart quickly to the forced coughing, close to them.
"Matt!" Sora said, quickly hiding any trace of guilt on her face. "Wow... this is exactly what I wanted, and it actually worked out perfectly!" she said, walking over to the confused tow head, in front of her.
"What...?" The two boys stood their ground completely oblivious to what Sora was trying to imply.
Sora smiled. "It's just like in the play! I opened the door up so that you would walk in, and find Tai... or 'Hayato' and I... 'Hitomi' together, and you... 'Akira' would get that same exact look that I was hoping you would get... because you're my boyfriend... and because it's the best for the play..."
"Oh," was all Matt could say. He was actually happy. He had believed her, so it was a win-win situation with the two of them.
Tai was just still. He had forced himself to look happy, but unfortunate for him, he had believed her, and was completely heart broken from what just happened. "Well... since the scene ends... we can just...uhh... do something else right?" Okay, let me rephrase what I said: It's a win-win-lose situation.
~*End of Flashback*~
What had she seen in his eyes? It couldn't have possibly been the look of jealousy. All Tai thought of her was a sister-like figure. Kind of like how he would think of Kari, but just sightly different because they were not related. If anything, she should have just seen a blank look from him, as if he didn't care, but she had not. What had she seen...? Could it have possibly been...?
ºvº
"I lied... I lied... I lied... I lied... Lied...Lied... LIED!!!" Sora chanted over and over again, as she walked alone on the snow-filled streets of Odaiba, to get to school.
"What were you saying Sor? Lied to who?"
Sora quickly turned around surprised. Tai was right behind her. "Oh! Um... nothing really. It's really not that important. You know just the basic white lies that everyone gives out every now and then," she said, as the two continued to walk.
"But... to who? I mean, who were you lying to?" he asked.
"T-T...o someone whom I happen to call... my... my mother! Yeah... my mom."
"Oh." He didn't believe her.
Sora just turned and smiled at him, then looked straight ahead again. 'Is this what uncomfortable silence feels like with... with people who... No... no!' Sora thought, turning completely red, as her stubborn thoughts became deeper.
"Hey... You okay Sor?" Tai asked, touching her arm lightly, to catch her attention.
Sora looked back at him a little too quickly, then moved her arm away just slightly, so he wouldn't notice that she was nervous of him touching her. "Ah... yeah. I'm fine. Don't worry about me."
"So... maybe for all the parts with Hayato kissing Hitomi, I switch with Matt, 'cause even after that whole... thing that you planned up, he still looked at me as if he was gonna kill me or something. He only trusts you... not me. I wonder why... I mean. It's not like I like you or anything," Tai said, fading his voice just a little when he said his last sentence.
"Yeah," Sora said. There was a tone in her voice that Tai had never heard from her before, he didn't know what it was. Maybe he should ask her? Yes, he should, he is her best friend after all. "Her Sor-" he began, but he was suddenly cut off, by another male voice from behind the two.
They turned around, only to encounter none other that Matt Ishida himself.
"I'll talk to you after school 'kay?" Tai said, as he began walking away.
"Tai! Wa-wait!" Sora called out, but he pretended not to be able to hear her from the distance. She knew of course that he could hear her perfectly well. 'So... he doesn't like me. What was I thinking from the beginning then? I couldn't possibly... It's only Tai.' she thought.
"Good," Matt said, seeing Tai's lonely figure disappear into the crowd of people on the sidewalk.
Sora shot him a disapproving look.
"I mean, I just wanted to talk to you. Alone. It's about... Well.. since you made all those arrangements for Tai's group to play in the rally, I was wondering if you could ask Mr. Onaka to switch my role with Tai's. I mean, you and I are together Sor. You always kissing Tai while we rehearse is just going to kill me. I can't stand watching my girlfriend kissing my fiend... er... friend. It hurts Sora. Especially since you're such a great actress, and you want everything to seem realistic, and you make yourself look like you're enjoying that kiss with him," Matt said.
'Do I really look that way...? I don't really mean to...' Sora thought. "I can't," she said. "I'm sorry Matt, but Mr. Onaka has his reasons for why he chose you to be that particular character, and why he chose Tai to be... what he chose him to be. I've already explained that your anger up on stage at the auditions reminded Mr. Onaka of Akira's anger. Well... we're here.. so... We'll talk later okay?" Sora said, walking away from Matt.
"Wait! Sora... No one's here..." Matt said, walking up to her again. "I remembered how you said that when you and I kissed, you wanted no audience?"
"Yeah..."
"Well... I wanted to make up that angry face that I had, when I saw you and Tai kissing... with this..." Matt said, pulling Sora close to him, and kissing her.
'Tai...'
ºvº
Mr. Onaka gathered all his actors, and actresses into the auditorium. He selected the people who were to be playing the scene that he wanted first, up on stage.
ºvº
Akira stormed away from the lake, to the Yamazaki residence. He was going to report the appalling sight that he had just witnessed. He couldn't - no he wouldn't have any of that. Especially with his fiancée and that forsaken bum.
"Your daughter... your... daughter..." Akira said, walking towards Keiko Yamazaki himself, roughly opening the door to his office.
"Hatakeda-sama!" shrieked Keiko Yamazaki's maid. She held her hand over her heart, from the shock that she just endured, as Akira stormed into the room.
The middle-aged man, working silently on his desk looked up, surprised at Akira's rude incoming as well. Hatakeda Akira was raised a better gentleman than that, but he decided to brush it aside for the moment, for what Akira had to say seemed extremely urgent, and important. "What is it Hatakeda-san?" he asked, with a pacified tone.
Akira straightened himself up. He just realized his rudeness, and would apologize for that in the future, but he just had to tell the man. Too bad he let his anger go ahead of him... "That damned daughter of yours... I caught her having a little rendezvous with that-that unworthy, nitrous as-" he began. Steam was practically coming out of the mans ears.
"Excuse me?" Keiko Yamazaki said, interrupting Akira as fast as he could. 'How dare he...' he thought.
"I found your daughter... MY fiancée, together... TOGETHER with that-that... gah!" Akira said, not being able to contain his anger anymore. He wanted to hit something, preferably that ass... but he wasn't there right now. He'd just have to hold his anger in a little while longer.
"What in the world do you mean? She's here. I never gave her the permission to step outside!" Yamazaki said, standing up.
"I'm sorry to report, Yamazaki-san, that if I see anymore of this behavior for her, I will not merge with your company, let alone marry the girl!" Akira threatened.
Yamazaki's eyes grew wide. Not merging with the company... no... He couldn't risk it. His company was going to become bankrupt soon, although Akira had no idea. The sooner he married his daughter, and merged the companies, the later Akira would find out. Yamazaki stormed out of his office, and headed straight for Hitomi's sleeping quarters. "HITOMI!!!" he yelled out, as he slid open her bedroom to find it empty.
ºvº
Hitomi stood up from her place in-between Hayato's arms. "What is it?" he asked. The peace was finally broken from that one movement.
"My... my... father," she said, walking towards her father's territory.
Hayato looked at her confused.
"Something's wrong. I have to go." With that, Hitomi tried to run, but was restrained by Hayato.
"No... Hitomi... I know what you father does to you when he's angry. I don't want you to go back. You'll only get hurt," Hayato said, taking Hitomi back into his arms.
"Hayato..." she said, he was pulling her into a trap to stay with him... but she had to go. She had to fight this, if only for today. "I'm sorry, but I can't." She escaped from his embrace, and walked away.
"Hitomi... Hitomi!" he called out to her, but she didn't turn back, and he couldn't make her.
ºvº
Matt stared angrily as Tai happily pulled Sora close to him with that embrace, on stage. He wanted to keep Tai away from her at all costs, but with the play, everything was just not going his way right now.
ºvº
"So are you up for the movies this Saturday?" Matt asked.
"Sure," Sora said, as the two walked side by side on the park path.
"Just the two of us okay? No one else," Matt said. There was something about the tone of his voice that made him sound possessive.
"Sure, who did you think I was going to bring?"
"Tai."
"Why?"
"You bring him everywhere. I could have sworn, if I were just another passerby, I would have thought you two were going out with each other, or at least had feelings for one another or something," Matt said, suddenly spilling out his thoughts. He didn't regret it, he wanted to tell her this so badly, now since he had the chance, and Tai wasn't there, he just spilled it.
Sora stopped and turned to Matt. "What are you saying then Matt? You don't trust me or something?" she asked, her voice sounding a little annoyed.
Now Matt regretted it. "No! I never meant it like that... It just that you two are always together, and I'm your boyfriend Sor," Matt said.
Sora flinched at the name that he had just called her. 'Sor' was Tai's way of calling her. Matt was right though, he was her boyfriend, so... did that mean that he could just call her that? No right...? It was Tai's and her 'thing', and only theirs alone.
Matt noticed Sora's slight movement. "Did I say something wrong?" he asked.
"Matt... You're right... but please. Please don't call me 'Sor'," she said. Anyways, she had always been forward with guys before, whether it was to get out of her way, or to stop pissing her off. Why couldn't she be forward with Matt about it? If she didn't like what he called her, she should discuss it with him.
"Tai calls you that... Why can't I?"
"It's nothing personal or anything but... It just feels weird. I mean... Yeah Tai calls me that. No one else. Not even my mom," she said.
"So, it's just something special shared between the two of you?" he asked. His voice was beginning to rise, and people around the park were beginning to look at them.
"Basically yes... but Matt.. don't take it personally!" Sora pleaded.
"How can I not? When we first started going out, you gave me the kind of attention that a girlfriend would give to their boyfriend, but ever since that last damn play ended, you've been sneaking off with Tai. You never look at me the way you used to. No... guess who you do that to? You stare at TAI that way Sora! Don't think I'm blind. I can see perfectly well. How do you feel about this guy huh? Huh? Sora? If you don't want to be with me anymore, you could have just said so!"
"Matt I-" Sora began, but a familiar voice cut her off.
"She doesn't have to explain anything to you Matt. If anything, you could have acted more responsible rather than causing a scene in the middle of the public, for everyone's sake! What the hell were you thinking?"
Sora looked over at the defender. Tai.
"Who asked you to join this conversation anyway?" Matt yelled.
"Shut up Matt! If anything, we should talk about this in some place more isolated," Tai said, a little to calmly for Matt's nerves to take. Matt wanted to beat the living daylights out of the boy, but he didn't want to be the one to start the fight.
"Sora. Say something about this! We were talking about this, just between the two of us. We have to work this out on our own!" Matt said, turning his attention back to the still surprised girl in between the two young men.
"Tai..." Matt looked over at her dumbstruck. Was she going to take Tai's side? "Matt's right." Whew... "It's just between the two of us... and we have to work this out... alone," Sora said.
"If I ever hear you yell at her ever again, I will make sure that you regret it... Yamato..." Tai said, before walking away. He looked so indescribably mad that Sora had sided with Matt, but he guessed that she was right. How she could stay with and inconsiderate jerk who just yelled at her, and embarrassed her in public, he didn't know. Maybe he should just leave the two alone for a couple of days.
ºvº
"Pick up the phone Tai!!!" Kari yelled over to her brother, who sat there, burning a hole on his homework with his eyes. He was trying so hard to concentrate, and just block out the phone rings from his mind. "Gah!!! Forget you!!!" said, picking up the phone angrily.
Tai looked up from his homework. Why did Kari have to pick it up?
"Yeah, Sora, he's here... Oh yeah, but he's taking a shower right now... Oh yeah, sorry about that, it took me a long time to find the chordless. I'll tell Tai that you called though. Okay... Yeah... I'll talk to you again. Bye Sora!" Kari said, as she put the phone back down. "You owe me big time big brother," she said, as she passed by his room's wide open door.
Tai sighed. He couldn't talk to her. Not until her and Matt had fixed up what was wrong. The last thing he wanted was to be kicked out of school for fighting, and yes he would fight. That is, he would fight, if he were still talking to Sora, and if Sora had told him anything bad that Matt had said or done to her.
ºvº
"If he doesn't want to talk to me over the phone, I might as well talk to him, and apologize in person..." Sora said to herself. She knew for a fact that Kari had been lying.
*_~
Sora tugged open Tai's bedroom window, and climbed in. 'In the bathroom talking a shower eh...?' Sora though, and she silently crept into the room. Tai wasn't there yet, but she would surprise him once he came in. She would tackle him, and torture him for making her call so many times, and making his sister lie to her, and think that it actually worked.
Just as the door opened, and closed again, Sora ran out of her hiding place, and jumped the figure in the dark. Just then, she felt bare skin at the top, and looked down at the person below her. Tai had taken a shower, and he had come into the room with just a towel around his waist. But... but... just a couple minutes ago...
"Sor! What the?!" Tai said, as he stared up at her. He could only see the shine in her eyes from the rising moonlight, because his lights were still off. To Sora's luck, he had not noticed her face, beet-red.
"I-I... I didn't really think that..." Sora said, and she stumbled over her words. She was getting a headrush, and the last thing she wanted to do was faint on Tai. Especially with him... half naked...? Naked... with just a towel? What was she thinking? That headrush was making her think this... yeah, it was just the head rush. She had no idea what she was thinking, she had no idea why she was tracing her finger along his arm, and over his lips, no... she defiantly had no idea.
Tai stayed quiet as he continued to stare at her. His face turned from confused to a look that Sora had never seen from him before. He grabbed her hand, and pulled her down, to kiss her. Sora didn't have time to react to that. In fact, the biggest part of her didn't want to do anything else, but kiss him back, so she just followed suit.
*_~
Sora woke up, to a bright sunny morning on familiar territory.... but it wasn't hers. The bed sheets... they looked like...
Tai walked into the room, and noticed her confused stare, so he decided to fill her in. "I called your mom last might and told her that you were staying over at Kari's room. I would have carried you all the way over there, but I couldn't let my mom find out that you came over to my room again. We had visitors over last night that's why."
Sora kept that confused looked plastered on her face. She quickly glanced down over her body under the blanket, and she moved slightly to feel if she was... if anything happened last night.
Tai blushed, as he figured out what Sora was doing, so he quickly continued. "You fainted, so I had to... um... loosen up your. Cough clothing," he said, obviously uncomfortable about the situation.
"Oh." So nothing else happened last night. 'Oh man that was the most akward position that Tai and I ever had. What was I feeling back then? Even I didn't understand it but I was... content... I was... h-happy...? Did I like that? Sora, hentai!' Sora thought.
Tai just stared at all the emotions rolling around her face, as she thought. 'What's she thinking...?' he wondered.
"Oh, here's some soup. I told my mom that I wanted to eat it in my room... she didn't believe me, 'cause I already ate my lunch-"
"Lunch?! What time is it?!" Sora asked, quickly jumping off the bed. Tai quickly turned around, blushing madly. Sora noticed the source of it. Like what Tai said... he had to loosen up her clothing. Her jeans were... unbuttoned and unzipped. (Oh man embarrassing!), her blouse was unbuttoned to her belly button... and she just suddenly realized that her bra was loose. 'Tai had to do this last night...?!' Sora thought, as she ran back to the bed. "Um..." This was another uncomfortable moment for the two of them.
"Twel-Twelve... thirty six..." Tai said, as he slowly turned back around when he heard Sora crawl back on the bed. It wasn't his fault. When Kari fainted, usually his mom would loosen up all her clothing, or change it to looser fitting clothes like her pajamas, but since it was Sora... Tai couldn't undress her... That would just be perverted, even though he would have a good explanation, so he just loosened up her clothing.
"Thanks..." Sora said, as her and Tai just stared at each other from across his room.
Tai shifted uncomfortably, then walked over to her, and handed her the soup bowl on his hands. Sora smiled gratefully at him, as she took it. Tai watched her eat, and Sora didn't seemed bothered by it. He sat down on his bed, at the base of her feet. "Why were you so surprised when I told you the time?" he asked.
"Movies... I have to go to the movies," Sora said.
Tai looked at her as if she were going crazy. Had to go to the movies? For as long as he knew Sora, she was never a movie fanatic... now she was going crazy because she had to go to the movies? What?
Sora read his face like a book, and explained to him. "Matt and I... we said that we were going to talk about it throughout the whole day... Saturday... which is today. I don't want him mad at me Tai.. but I have a feeling that he's going to be mad... seeing that I'm thirty-six minutes late! I have to go. Thanks for breakfast Tai..." she said.
Tai nodded, and took the bowl from her outstretched hands. He took one more second to just stare at her there, before he walked out of his room.
ºvº
"Yeah... we worked things out. Today was fun actually," Sora said on the other line.
"Really... That's good. Did he get mad or anything when you were late?" Tai asked.
"Just a little disappointed. I just had to explain to him the reason why-"
"You lied?"
"Yeah. Something about how my mom needed me at the flower shop. I couldn't tell him I was over your house for the whole night... Um... I have to tell you something Tai..." Sora said, lowering her voice down a notch.
"Hmm...?"
"To tell you the truth, I was losing my feelings for Matt. After today... well... After today, I think I've just regained them. Isn't that great?" Sora asked. Her voice sounded a little too happy. Was something wrong?
"Yeah Sor. Yeah, that's great..." Tai said, his voice was monotonous, and low.
ºvº
Hayato had been right when he said that her father was going to hurt her. She climbed out of her room, onto the roof of the mansion, and she held her head between both arms. Her father had shoved her, pulled her hair, slapped her hard... then almost threw her across the room, until her mother had calmed him down enough to make him stop hurting her physically. After that, he just continued hurling insults to her, like about her being just like those poor women on the streets who sold their bodies for money.
"I'm sorry about what your father did to you Hitomi... I don't understand what happened though..."
Hitomi turned to face Akira. She half-heartedly smiled at him, as he sat down next to her. He had left minutes before Sora came back home. Yamazaki-san had promised that he wouldn't tell Hitomi that Akira said something about what he saw down by the lake. "Someone... it's really not important Akira..." Hitmomi said quietly.
Akira let Hitomi lean her head on his shoulder. He didn't ask her anymore questions about it. One, because he already knew, and two, because he knew that Hayato wouldn't do that, and he wanted her to fall in love with himself, and only himself. He wasn't going to beat the pulp out of Hayato yet... only when Hitomi had fallen madly in love with him first, and forgot about that sewer rat.
ºvº
After spending quite a while on the rooftop, Akira led Hitomi back down to her room.
"You need a lot of sleep tonight, after all the retribution you had to go through today Hitomi," Akira said, as he placed his hand on her cheek.
Hitomi looked up to face him gratefully. "Thank you for just being here," she said.
"You're welc..." Akira said, fading his voice off, as he leaned down to kiss her.
When the two pulled away, Hitomi's eyes were round with terror. How could she do this to Hayato? No... she would just never tell him... but... Akira... Was she really beginning to have feelings for this man who she had seen all her life, but never felt a twinge of love for?
ºvº
Author's Notes: First things first. Notice that the two scenes are not exactly the same, but I try to imply just *almost* the same meaning to it. If you don't get what I mean, add it to your review, and I'll explain it on the next chapter. Hope you enjoyed. Um.. well... not the Sora/ Matt... Hitomi/ Akira part... but... hehe... the other parts... oops... I'm going to leave you now.
///Thinking to self: Was that part with her and Tai really *that* important? Oh well... with that, they've just grown closer now haven't they... hehehe...///
Please review, and tell me what you thought. ^_^. Author's Notes: "To love someone deeply gives you strength; being loved deeply, gives you courage." –Lao-Tzu