Author's Notes: ^_^ Wow, thank you so much for the reviews!!! You have no idea how much they mean to me! Thank you!!! Oh yeah... umm.. here in my fic, I'm going to leave it as it is in most American high schools, meaning that their first year in high school starts in ninth grade.



I won't bother you with anything more... but please enjoy!




~*~




My High School Love Life
Part 2

Up and Downs
(A/N: I didn't make the up singular because of a mistake. It's just the way I wanted it to be.)




~*~




I was sitting down on my porch bench alone at night one day, just looking over the whole town. I guess I stayed there up until sun rise, because I remember seeing the red-orange hue outlining the buildings. I remember thinking that it was beautiful. Beautiful. The word that I like to describe Sora as.




~*~




It was the end of summer... unfortunately. Although we all knew our dreaded school time would eventually come, I didn't think that it would arrive this soon. I loved those days just lounging around the town, playing horrible pranks on people whom we hated. Usually though, we would just sit around in front of the fan in my room. There was hardly any physical activity because of the heat. Now... those lazy days were over, and we had to go back to school. This time, we were no longer the clueless 'tykes' infesting the high school halls. We were now accepted within the 'older' crowd. They no longer picked on us, or humiliated us. The joys of sophomore years!




~*~




You have to understand that I was a crazy teen, and I guess you can say that I still am... but this isn't about me now... not yet at least. Where was I? Oh yeah... I was the loudest in class, I loved to disrupt my teachers... but they loved me anyway... It seems like they just love kids like that... hmm... weird. Anyways... now that you know that part of me... I will tell you about my first day of school.




~*~




There was a flash of massive brown hair, running through the school hallways. My massive brown hair. By the way, Sora was chasing me.



"Come back here you big dolt!" she yelled at me, laughing.



We were disrupting the people who were lining up to get their class schedules... but right then and there, I remembered feeling not a care in the world. I was having too much fun. Unfortunately, a teacher came up to us and told us to stop, but being the sly kid I was, I didn't just give in. "Why Ms. Inuki? I mean I know that there's a school rule forbidding us to run around the school hallways with any sharp object, but Sora and I don't even have our back packs on, and we're not holding anything considered dangerous to run with," I explained.



She looked at me, impressed. I was the type of kid who didn't usually follow the rules, so she was surprised that I even read the high school handbook, which I really didn't. It was just a lie I made up on the spot, form common sense. Turns out, I was right. There was a rule like that, since she implied it with the look on her face. So we were off the hook. Great. "Just be a little more quiet, and don't run too fast," she said, before smiling at both of us, and walking away.



Sora and I looked at each other, and gave fooling smiles. Then, as if we both were connected in the brain, we were both possessed to begin running at the exact same time. This made us stop, and catch our breath. That was practically impossible because we were just laughing way too hard.




~*~




That the the best time that I remember having with Sora was during the first months of sophomore year. The rest... Ehh... not too well... You see, Sora maybe a little bit of a tomboy. In fact, she would wrestle with me for hours at a time just to try and beat me. Haha... but like she could ever beat me. I was the king! But... that's beside the point. So she was a little bit of a tomboy. She even wore shorts and a huge t-shirt for swimming class, but then again, she was a girl, and girls... well... they have their needs. Sometimes, their needs deal with guys, as in boyfriends? You know?




~*~




She stood by her locker, laughing with her crystal clear, crimson eyes. As I walked towards her, I noticed my best guy buddy talking to her. I haven't seen him since school started so I was surprised. "Hey Matt!" I said, as we both did our little 'so-called manly' handshake, as Sora liked to call it.



"Hey man! How's it been? I haven't seen you in a while. Heard you got caught messing up on the first day of school," he said.



I shook my head slightly. "No... not really. You know I put up my old Kamiya charm on the 'teach then she let me off the hook," I answered.



"Slick."



I nodded, then I turned to Sora who just finished taking out her Algebra II book from her locker. She raised the book and tapped me slightly on the head. "You know Tai, if you didn't keep screwing up in eight grade math, you might just be in my class, unlike your geometry class now. I told you - and this I cannot express enough - study! Do your homework! Do something in class besides disrupting it, and asking me for help after. One day, you'll never, know. I might just leave you to do your own work."



I slightly glared at her. "You're evil."



"Oh yes..." she replied.



Matt laughed at this, as we all walked towards the lunchroom.




~*~




At that time, Matt and Sora were just friends. The type of friends that our group had... Like the type of friendship that I had with Mimi. Nothing was going on between them. In fact, one day, Sora told me that she had a crush on some rocker dude name Yishno. I'm like: "What kind of a name is Yishno? I can't even pronounce that!"




~*~




"So... have anything on your mind...? Anyone maybe...?" I asked, being the sly fox that I was.



Sora smiled at me, and rolled over on her stomach, grabbing a 'zine from my the top of my dresser to read.



I continued to stare at her, and this made her break down into fits of laughter.



"Okay, okay... yeah... Seesh Tai... There's just something about you that I can't lie to. It's weird," she began.



"Yeah..." I urged her on.



"His name is Yishno-"



"Are you sure that's how you say his name?" With this, she threw a pillow at me.



"Tai!"



"Okay okay... It sounds like food," I said, getting up. "I'm hungry."



I could almost feel Sora's playful glare, burning a hole through my back. I smiled, content with the way my life was even if her heart, at that moment, was not mine.




~*~




Now-a-days, during the night, I would lie down on my bed, staring at the ceiling wondering what would have happened back then if I just told her that I had feelings for her. I still think about in fact although I feel that if I've said it while we were younger, I would have already been through the rejection, and half my mind would forget about it, and just move it. It drives me crazy and every night, I dream of what it would be like to have had Sora Takenouchi as my girlfriend.




~*~




I walked down the perimeter of the high school's exterior walls. Just then, I overheard two familiar voices coming from the bench areas of the school. I slowed down my pace. I'm not very much of an eavesdropper but Sora was my friend and I had the right to know what was going on.



"...So I was just wondering if maybe we could just talk a bit sometime... you know... I mean my friends and I are going to the movies and I was just wondering if you would like to go with me to them. I would really enjoy your company there," I heard the familiar voice say.



"You seem so nervous Sora..." I heard the other, more deeper, voice say. I stepped a little ways closer so I could see the two standing to the left of an empty school bench. I saw Yishno lift Sora's chin up in order to see her eyes. "There's no need to be. We've known each other for a good while now..." he said trailing off for a moment.



I could tell Sora was holding her breath.



"Your eyes are truly the most amazing things I've ever seen..." he said, then he went back to the sentence that he wanted to continue on with. "I would have been a pleasure to be with Sora, but you see... Kira had already asked me out, and since girlfriends usually don't like seeing their boyfriends with other girls... Well you catch my drift?"



Sora let out a long, shaky breath. I wanted to just come out of my hiding place and hug her as long as she needed the comfort. I could tell she was devastated and embarrassed at the same time. "I see... I have to go now. I'm sorry I wasted you time. Your girlfriend truly wouldn't want that," she said before running away opposite the direction of her home.




~*~




Sora wasn't mad at him, although he knew that Kira was Sora's worst enemy. She was the captain of the cheer leading team, and she would do anything to get back at Sora. I knew that Yishno had an idea about this. If he truly meant all those things he said to Sora, then why did he bother even going out with the bitch? What was wrong with him. Sora certainly didn't blame him, but I did because he broke her heart.




~*~




I ran towards the park where I knew Sora was at. I sat down on this particular bench with this crying girl on it. "Hey..." I said, and I scooted myself down until I sat right next to her.



"I'm an idiot Tai," she said, as she sobbed, pressing her hands upon her face, refusing me from taking trying to look into her eyes.



"No, you're not. It's not your fault he did what he did. It was his decision. Besides that, there are plenty more guys out there better than Yishno could ever be. I mean seriously. Would you want to be with a guy whose name your best friend couldn't even pronounce? Forget about him, and although I know it's hard, we can certainly try right? I'll help you. You know I will."



She looked at me with a look of gratitude and something else. I couldn't tell what it was since that particular feeling was washed away with every other emotion she had at the moment so I decided to just brush it off.



"Come on, let's drink some tea and talk this through the old fashioned way," I smiled.



She smiled back at me, and with that, I knew that Sora would be alright.




~*~




The next few months, Sora and I didn't talk as much as we did during summer, but it was good enough. Since she now often had certain 'crushes' I went out with one girl to try my desperate attempt at her jealousy.




~*~




"I heard about Catherine," she said to me one day in the school halls.



I smiled at this, hoping to sense even the slightest bit of the green-eyed monster from her. "Yeah. I mean we've been friends for a wile then things just started to get serious," I said.



Anything? Anything Sora? None. "I see... So you two kiss yet?" she asked, as she playfully nudged me.



I lied to her, and said 'Yes', but before I could see her reaction to this, there was a loud commotion in the hallway. Turns out, someone had stolen Matt's P.E. clothes, and he was running through the hallways with a towel around his naked waist, trying to catch up to the culprit.




~*~




A couple weeks later, I found out that Sora and Matt began dating. Just when I broke up with Catherine, and was about to confess how I felt about her. This happened during this little gig that Matt had in this auditorium for a different school's dance. I would retell you of that story, but it's just too painful for my to say, so I'll leave it at that. This is why I've said that only the first months of sophomore year were my most enjoyable with my best friend.



I missed my chance. I wanted to try again... but how?




~*~




Author's Notes: I know that it's been a while since I last updated. I hope that you're not too mad. Besides, it's only been a couple days past a week. ^_^.. I hope that you've all enjoyed. It's a semi-longer chapter than my first one, but I'm trying not to make them too long. As I've said, this is just going to be a short sweet fic, so that's how I'll try and make it. Please review.