Gato: Aaaaaaaand, I return with a new chapter. Sorry that took forever and a day. I was moving out of residence and back home and I've been working, and dealing with romantic drama…I've been busy. So, anyhow, here's the new chapter, done as well as could be without a muse. Hope you enjoy.

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A throbbing pain in my head wakes me from deep slumber. I slowly open my eyes and sit up, but that only worsens the pounding headache and nausea. I lay back down, muttering about the pain.

I hear a toilet flush, and a couple seconds later, Mimi returns to the room. Hey, wait a second, this isn't my room. This isn't even my house. Where the hell…oh yeah. I told my mom I'd be staying at Joe's after Prom. That was definitely a good plan.

"You hung-over too?" Mimi asks, lowering herself onto the bed.

"Maybe just a little bit," I groan. I force my eyes to focus and glance around the room, wincing slightly at the bright light. Mimi sits above me on Joe's blue double bed. I'm on an air mattress (a comfy one, I must say) on the floor. I shift slightly and see the door to the bathroom. Hey, where's Tai?

"Do you think you can stand up?" Mimi questions.

"My brain hurts," I respond groggily.

Mimi giggles lightly. "Well, I know this won't sound appealing, but you're going to have to eat something."

"Oh God," I say as my stomach reaches the same level of pain as my head.

"Don't worry; Joe will take good care of us."

"How are you so coherent and awake?"

"A few reasons," Mimi says slowly. "One: I have a higher tolerance than you. Two: I ate more at dinner. Three: I didn't mix hard alcohol and beer. Four: I didn't drink as quickly as you did."

"Once again, oh God. I hate drinking; I'm never drinking again."

Mimi laughs softly. "Everyone says that at first. I can't believe how much you drank though. Cat was giving you glasses of water to help you sober up and you thought it was alcohol. What's the last thing you remember?"

I force myself to try and arrange the blurry event that was the after party.

"I remember being mad at Tai, and then dancing with him. I remember drinking a beer only because I couldn't taste it. And then I remember Cat giving me another glass of 'vodka'. I have no idea how we got here or anything after that."

Mimi nods slowly. "Why were you mad at Tai?"

"Where is he?" I reply, skirting her question.

"Well," she says carefully.

"Just tell me, Meems."

"You refused to sit next to him in the taxi from Cat's house. Then, you yelled at him and insisted that you would not sleep in the same room as him. He slept on the couch and Joe took him home about an hour ago."

"Are you serious?" I demand, sitting up too quickly for my own health. A terrible combination of pain assaults my body and I dash to the bathroom. I return to the bedroom after purging the minimal contents of my stomach.

"Definitely hung-over," Mimi says quietly.

"Thanks, because I needed a reminder," I reply sarcastically. "I think I should talk to Tai."

"Do you honestly think that's a good idea?" Mimi asks. "I don't think either of you are in a state to discuss relationship related issues. Why don't you tell me what's wrong?"

I sigh and slowly sink back onto my make—shift bed. I slowly lower my head to my knees in an attempt to stop the incessant throbbing.

"He didn't buy me an anniversary gift."

"What?" Mimi's voice hurts my head. I fend of the tears that I know will only worsen the migraine.

"He didn't buy me an anniversary gift," I repeat. "He didn't even have a reason for it. He just didn't buy one."

"Oh, sweetie."

Mimi gently embraces me, and I feel the need to cry disappear. Why should I be sad about Tai's stupidity? After all, I did promise myself quite sometime ago that I would not cry over a boy again.

"It'll be okay, Sora," Mimi soothes.

"Yes," I reply tightly, "everything will be okay one way or another."

Mimi pulls back and studies my face. "What do…"

"I'm back!" Joe announces. Mimi leaves her question unfinished as her boyfriend enters the room.

"Hey, Joe!" she calls.

"Hey. Good to see that the two of you are alive and well. I have some food and Advil waiting for you in the kitchen."

"Sounds like a lovely combination," I joke.

"How are you feeling, Sora?" Joe asks.

"I've definitely been better," I reply. "But I'll survive. Sorry if I was problematic yesterday."

"Don't worry about it, you weren't that bad. I think Mimi caused more problems," Joe replies.

"Hey!" Mimi cries, shoving him lightly. "I didn't cause any problems."

"Yeah, none that you remember," Joe retaliates with a laugh.

Mimi flushes lightly and cries, "I remember everything about last night, thank you very much."

"I wish I could say the same," I interject and the pair turns in my direction. They exchange a brief glance, then grin.

"Don't worry, you didn't do anything too bad last night," Joe says ambiguously.

"Oh that's so helpful," I respond and slowly get to my feet. "Okay, let's see about this food nonsense."

"Probably the best idea," Mimi says, helping me keep my balance.

"Come on, it's just in the kitchen. You guys can shower before you go home if you want. At the very least, you should wash your faces so you look less like clowns who just woke up."

"Charming!" Mimi exclaims indignantly.

"Yeah, you really know how to make a girl feel special, Joe."

"Hey, I was just kidding," he defends, holding his hands up as if to ward off attack. "You both look lovely."

"That's more like it," Mimi mutters, dropping into a kitchen chair.

"Agreed," I say, staring at the small helping of food. Just the smell is bringing the intense nausea back to the surface. Without a word, I run to the bathroom once again. Oh man, I am never drinking again.

…

An hour and two spoonfuls of food later, I stand under the soothing warmth of the shower. How did I let things spiral so far out of control? Why didn't Tai buy me a gift? What the hell is going on in our relationship? Could I possibly ask any more questions? I think so. I slowly turn off the shower and towel myself dry. As I gingerly get dressed, careful to not upset my headache, I hear Mimi's muffled voice. Joe's whispered reply attracts me attention. Fully dressed, I press my ear to the bathroom door.

"…so that's why she was angry," Joe murmurs.

"Has Tai mentioned anything that was bothering him about their relationship? I can't believe he didn't buy her a gift for no specific reason."

"He hasn't said anything," Joe mutters. "This is so strange."

"I know. I thought if anyone would last, it would be those two."

"Hey, they're not broken up yet!" Joe cries softly. Then, "You didn't believe we would make it?"

"Of course I did, just not in the same way. I keep waiting for me to do something stupid to screw this relationship up. But, I haven't yet, and I'm so happy."

"I feel the same way. I love you."

"I love you too, Joe."

The end of their conversation only encourages my relationship pain and my gag reflex. Once again, I empty me stomach of its minimal contents. I need to get out of this house. As much as I love Mimi and Joe, seeing a happy couple is something I need about as much as a drill to my left temple.

I slowly open the door and smile tersely.

"I think I'm going to head home," I announce.

"Are you sure, Sora?" Mimi asks.

"Yeah. I need sleep more than anything, and my mom won't be home until late tonight. Besides, I think the walk will do me some good."

"As long as you're sure," Joe says. "We can walk you home if you want."

"No, I'll be fine," I maintain. "I'm starting to feel better already."

Mimi pulls me into a tight hug. "I'll call you later, okay?"

"Thanks, Meems."

Joe embraces me softly. "If you need anything, you call me, okay?"

"Will do, Joe. Bye guys." I pick up my duffle bag and quickly leave Joe's house. Once outside, the sun and breeze help to ease the pain slightly and lift my sprits. All I need to do is take some distance from Tai and our relationship. I'll get some sleep, have some food, and think about this later. Just for the record, I am never drinking again.

…

I arrive home and collapse onto the couch. The one thing I am is thirsty; gotta love cotton-mouth. I slowly drag myself to the kitchen, and notice the incessant flash of the answering machine's light.

'You have three messages,' the mechanical voice announces while I pour myself some water.

'Sora, it's Tai,' the first message begins. I spit my water across the room. For the love of…why the hell is he calling?

'Sora, I know you're mad at me, but I need to talk to you. Call me when you get back from Joe's house.'

'Message received at 9:32 am,' the lady on the machine announces.

Please don't let the second message be from Tai. Please, please, please.

'Sora, it's Tai again.'

Shit.

'I guess you're still not home. Either that or you're ignoring my calls. Please don't do that. I want to talk to you. Please call me, Sora.'

'Message received at 10:56 am,' the annoying tinny voice cries.

If the next message is Tai again, I am going to scream. I want to turn off the machine, but I can't bring myself to move.

'Sora, it's me.'

Double shit.

'You have to be home by now. I know you're ignoring my calls. I miss you Sora; please talk to me. Call me. No, wait, you know what, I'm coming over. I'm going to come to your house. We'll talk then.'

'Message received at 11:37 am,' the arrogant, mechanical bitch announces.

I glance at the clock in terror. It's 11:40. Tai will be here any minute. Someone kill me, right now. I mean, I honestly wouldn't care if a meteor fell from space and landed directly on my house. Shit.

Someone knocks at the door and I consider ignoring them. It must be Tai. Who else would be knocking on my door this early in the morning? You know what, I will ignore the door. Hah, I guess I win.

"Sora, its Tai!" a disgustingly familiar male voice cries from the front hall. Damn it, I forgot to lock the door. I hate the world. I carefully put on my coldest, most aloof face, and wander out of the kitchen.

"Can I help you with something, Tai?"

"Oh good, you are here. We need to talk."

"The way, I see it, there isn't really much to talk about," I say honestly.

"Yes there is!" Tai cries. "We're in a fight, and we need to figure this out."

"Can we do this some other time? I'm incredibly busy," I lie. Wow, straight from honesty to blatant lies. Impressive.

"Busy?" Tai says incredulously. "What are you busy with?"

"Oh, you know," I say vaguely. If I wasn't so hung over, I would be able to think of something witty.

"No, I don't. Now, can you tell me why you yelled at me yesterday, and refused to sleep in the same room as me, and stuff?"

I stare at him in disbelief. "You actually need me to explain it to you?"

"Yes, otherwise I wouldn't have asked," he replies smartly. I fight the urge to slap him.

"Okay, Taichi, let's see shall we?"

His eyes widen when I say his name. I've never used his full name before – he realizes he's in trouble.

"The first and most obvious thing is that you didn't buy me an anniversary gift. You didn't even acknowledge the fact that it was our anniversary yesterday. And even if you forgot in the morning or something, you still had time before Prom to…"

"You said you didn't want a gift!" Tai interrupts.

First mistake: interrupting.

"Excuse me?" I say coolly.

"Well…I mean, the thing is…"

Second mistake: inability to back up his arguments.

"Please Tai, continue."

"See, when we were at the jewelry store and you saw that necklace, you said that you didn't like big gifts and stuff. I just figured that meant you didn't want me to buy you anything."

Third mistake: stupid assumptions.

"So you just decided that you could not only neglect to buy me a gift, but you could act like out anniversary didn't exist? And did you not notice the very blatant hints that I gave you about the earrings in the window?"

"I…uh, wasn't really paying attention."

Fourth mistake: I really don't think I have to spell that one out for all of you.

"Lovely, Taichi, lovely."

"Sora, come on! Are we going to be in a huge fight over something this trivial?"

"This isn't trivial!" I cry. "You never show ant kind of emotion toward me, not on Valentine's Day, not at Christmas, and not on our anniversaries. Oh, and kissing does not count as an emotion. I'm so tied of being the only one that gives anything in this relationship. It feels like you don't even want to be with me! It's not about the presents, Taichi. It's about the fact that I fell in love with you, and you take that for granted. You treat me like you would any other girl, but I should be more than that for you. Maybe I just expected too much from you, and if that is the case, I am sorry. But, I can't me in such a loveless stagnant relationship anymore."

"Sora, this is insane."

Fifth mistake: not owning up to previous mistakes and no apology.

"Are you sorry?"

"What?"

"Are you sorry, Taichi?"

"For what?"

"For everything I just explained to you!"

"I…I don't…know."

"Tai, I can't tutor you through a relationship anymore. It's just ridiculous. I'm sorry, but, good-bye Taichi."

"Sora,"

I quickly pull the door open. "Good-bye Taichi."

He leaves quickly and silently, but only after giving me one final, heartbreaking glance. I shut the door firmly and sag against the cool wood.

Well, at least one positive thing came of this: I'm going to go to Queens university, no more doubts or questions.

Suddenly, realization hits me as painfully as a sledgehammer. I just broke up with Tai Kamiya. Oh my God.

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Gato: Yes, I know it wasn't the happiest of chapters, but every romantic comedy story has its sad bits, right?

Irie: RIGHT!

Gato: Holy cracker barrels! You're alive again!

Irie: That's right, I've resurrected!

Gato: My God. No wonder I've been able to write so much in one sitting lately. How did you die?

Irie: Well, after you punished me…he appeared, and things went down hill from there.

Gato: He appeared? But how is that even possible.

Irie: Who knows, schmo! Forget about it though, time fore reviewer response.

TO digimon-Taiora: Oh yes, drunkenness is usually bad. Especially when being manipulated by me, mwahaha. Thanks for the review.

TO Steve-Racer: I'm glad that green is your favourite colour and you weren't too upset about Irie. Oh yes, silly drunk Tai. Don't worry though, things will work out…maybe. ;) Thanks for reviewing!

TO Mew Yukari: I agree entirely. Studying is possibly the most tedious activity created. Horrible, really. I'm glad that you like the story, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks for the kind review.

TO MegumiFire: Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long! Here's the next chapter!

Gato: And that's all for now, babies. I'm focusing all my efforts on this story, so I hope to have it done soon so that I can continue on to my others. People who read my other fics are starting to get a wee bit impatient. Teehee….whoops. I will update this story as soon as possible. It will only have about two more chapters.

Irie: Review please, or I will feed you to…him.