Note: I finally updated! Sorry for taking so long, I hope you guys didn't give up on me, haha. Anyway, Enjoy! Thanks for reviewing, and please keep doing so, I really appreciate it.

Another Note: The title for this chapter is from the song "High" by James Blunt. I really like his songs. Uh...seems like my divisions don't work anymore when I upload them. So I guess this chapter gets a brand new look? Not that I'm happy with it...

Amor Vincit Omnia

Chapter Twelve - Tomorrow Starts With You

Matt

"What the hell, man? You played like shit last night."

I rolled my eyes at my band mates. "Shut up." I growled.

"I'm serious. If you don't start getting your act together, we might have to replace you." They all looked at me seriously.

"Whatever." I mumbled as I started to tune my guitar. They were never serious with their threats, and they probably weren't serious now.

Well, at least I hoped they weren't.

"What's up with you lately, anyway?" One of them ventured to ask, "You seem out of it."

"If he weren't too busy chasing Sora all around town, maybe we'd actually make some money." Another retorted.

I stared at him, "I'm not chasing Sora around town."

"Whatever, man. You were literally chasing her out of Q Club last night. You'd think that you would get the message."

I socked him in the arm. "I suggest that you get back to your keyboard before you experience further injury." I said darkly.

"Dude, he doesn't know how to handle rejection."

"Shut up. I was not rejected." I glared at them, "So can we please stop discussing this issue?"

They all shrugged at me and turned away. I looked back down at my guitar and tried to concentrate on tuning it. First off, last night was weird. What Sora told me left me exhausted and drained. I don't even know why. It seemed as if I were the one responsible for screwing up her life, but I didn't even mean to.

I put down my guitar and sighed, then stood up. "I'm going out for some air." I told the group as I pushed open the door. I hurriedly walked down the street, sat down on a street curb, and inhaled slowly.

I felt guilty. I felt guilty about the way I acted with Sora. I'm not even sure why. I had no idea what was going on, but for some reason, I had a strong feeling of remorse, but I couldn't do anything to fix it. Maybe it was because of the way she looked last night. She looked so ashamed of herself, it looked as if whatever she did to the people around her was torturing her. I wanted to help her, I wanted to comfort her, but I something in the back of my mind was holding me back.

You're the one that caused this, don't try to fuck her over even more.

So I stopped myself from trying to interfere with her life. I withdrew from it as quietly and peacefully as I could. Besides, she basically made it pretty clear that she didn't want anything to do with me.

On the other hand... Mimi did. Where the hell did that come from? I've known Mimi for a long time, and she never gave me the impression that she was even remotely interested in me.

So, what I'm saying is, I'm not the guilty party.

So why did I feel like I was?

Mimi

"Mimi? Are you all right?" My mother's voice sounded through the other side of my bedroom door.

I slowly opened my eyes and squinted at the sunlight, which was shining through my window.

"Mimi...?" My mother's hesitant voice sounded again.

I yawned. "What?" I mumbled.

"It's noon already... are you feeling sick?"

"No, I'm fine, mother." I called back. I slowly sat up in bed and waited until I heard my mother's footsteps slowly retreating away.

I glanced at myself in the mirror, and was greeted with a swollen set of eyes and bags underneath them. Great.

I did have trouble sleeping last night. I just kept...thinking. Thinking about how I even got myself into the situation that I ended up in.

Sora. I don't think I can ever forgive her. I don't know why. I trusted her. She was my closest friend. Never in my mind did I ever think that she would betray me the way she did. Not only because she was secretly hooking up with Matt behind my back, but because she didn't even try to tell me how she felt about it.

That's the way she always was. She was always so...guarded. She hardly ever revealed her true feelings to me, and if she did, she was cautious about it. This was fine at first, but as the years went by, I became frustrated with it. Even after being her best friend for all those years, she still couldn't trust me enough to tell me what was really on her mind? I felt like our friendship was one-sided. I trusted her. But she didn't trust me.

Obviously, I did a lot of thinking.

I glanced sharply out the window again and picked up my phone. I kept thinking about Tai. How would he feel when he finds out about Sora and Matt? He would most likely be crushed. I glanced at his name in my phone book piteously, and pressed the dial button.

"Hello?" Tai's voice came on the other end.

"Hey, Tai. It's Mimi."

"Oh, uh...Hi Mimi."

Poor guy. I couldn't break the news to him on the phone. That would be too cruel. I didn't feel like going face to face with him though, I mean, please. I'm in the same boat as him.

"...Mimi?" Tai's voice interrupted my thoughts, and I quickly snapped back to reality.

"Oh, yeah. I...uh..." I trailed off. What was I going to say?

"What?" Tai sounded confused.

"You know what? I want you to meet me at the park down by the soccer field." I said quickly. I regretted those words the moment I said it.

"But I have–"

"Two o'clock." I snapped. I hung up the phone.

There goes my afternoon.

Tai

Damn Mimi. What the hell did she want know?

I quickly walked out the door and glanced at my watch. It was 1:50. I walked briskly towards the park where Mimi told me to meet her and sat down on the bench.

A few minutes later, I saw Mimi's figure in the distance. What was she planning? A double date, or something?

Mimi stopped in front of me, "Hey."

"Hi." I said. "Sit down."

She sat down beside me and stared ahead of her at some kids playing soccer.

I leaned back on the bench and shoved my hands in my pockets. What did she want?

"I'm sorry, Tai." She said abruptly.

I was surprised. Not with her sudden words, but by the words itself. "Sorry about what?"

"Just so you know, I feel the same way as you are about to," She continued solemnly, "and I am totally sympathetic. I'll be there for you if you need support or reassurance to your self esteem."

"Excuse me, Mimi. First, tell me what's wrong, and then we'll get to my self esteem."

"Okay..." She paused and took a deep breath. "Well..." She exhaled, "Last night, I caught Sora kissing Matt."

I leaned forward and studied the grass underneath my feet. I can't remember what my reaction was. Suddenly, I felt stiff and cold, and my mind went completely numb. I wasn't angry, but I wasn't sure if I was sad, either. I may have been both.

"Are you alright...Tai?" Mimi said softly.

"I'm fine." I looked up at the sky, and noticed a few overcasting clouds. Pretty soon it was going to rain.

"I'm sorry..." Mimi said again.

"Why are you sorry?" I looked at her suddenly, "It's not your fault, is it?"

"I don't know...I just feel really bad." She bit her lip self consciously and looked away from me.

"What about you? Don't you like Matt?"

"Yes...I guess I did. Or..." She stopped and crossed her arms across her chest.

"Or, what?"

"Or..." She bit her lip again, "I was attracted to him...I think? I don't know. I guess I never really paid attention to Matt until all these other girls did...And maybe... because other girls wanted him... I had to have him? I know that sounds really bitchy...but that's what I was thinking about last night... I never really knew Matt, you know? Sure...we were friends since grade school, and we hung out a lot, but I never really talked to him. He was just an unobtainable guy that I wanted." She sighed, "Basically, I'm a bitch."

"You're not a bitch." This revelation was shocking to me. I always thought Mimi was just a ditz, but what she was saying actually made her sound...thoughtful.

"So... are you okay?" Mimi said, tilting her head to one side.

"Yeah...I guess. I talked to Sora last night, and it looked like she was in a pretty rough shape."

"I'll bet." Mimi retorted.

I glanced at her quickly, "You're not mad at her?"

She shook her head gently, "No...just disappointed. I don't think our friendship will ever be the same...but I guess there was always this...friction in our relationship. We never really had a fight before, so this is our first one, and I guess I should say that we both saw it coming."

I nodded my head, still shocked with Mimi's words.

Mimi smiled at me gently, "How do you feel?"

I shrugged, "I guess I'm shocked, for the most part...but I'm not sure. I'm not angry. I just hope that Sora's happy."

Mimi glanced at me curiously, "Happy?"

"Yeah...I wish her the best. I just...I can't be mad at her." I chuckled and shook my head, "I can't forget her either. She's so amazing and sweet..." I became solemn, "but I guess it's not meant to be."

Mimi placed her hand on my shoulder sympathetically.

"I can't just automatically stop loving her." I explained, "I guess I'll just keep my feelings as they always were...hidden?" I laughed again, "They were hardly hidden, though."

"You can say that again." Mimi scoffed.

"Was I that obvious?"

"Please. The only thing you didn't do was throw yourself at her feet with a bouquet of roses and ask her to marry you."

I grinned at Mimi. "I guess I shouldn't have asked...But uh..." I cleared my throat, "How are you feeling?"

"Okay, I guess. I feel better." She smiled at me, "I guess...I just overreacted with my situation with Sora. I just... I don't know. I feel so confused." She sighed, "I know I acted like a bitch, but I couldn't help it. Even so, now I feel like I wrecked a friendship over a guy."

"You didn't mean to." I said reassuringly.

"But...I'm always the one that comes off as shallow. I don't want to be thought of as the bitchy girl with a high maintenance problem...well...I guess I am that. Sort of."

I burst out laughing.

"Hey." Mimi glared at me and punched me lightly in the arm. "What I'm trying to say is...I'm giving up with guys for a while."

"Shocking." I laughed.

She scrunched up her face at me, "Shut up. I'm tired of chasing guys. I want to try to do my own thing." She paused and glanced up ahead thoughtfully, "I might try to start learning how to cook...food."

"Cooking?" I guffawed, "You can't be serious!"

She glared at me, "What's wrong with that?"

"I just can't imagine you in an apron, that's all."

"Whatever." She rolled her eyes at me.

Sora

I stared at the stain on the carpet. I bent down and inspected it slowly. It was a faint pink.

So the stain wasn't completely removed.

I don't know why I never noticed it before. Usually, I would have noticed it immediately.

This time, I took me a week to notice.

I stood up, preparing myself to get a sponge and some bleach. I looked at the stain again, and recalled how it even got there, then I headed immediately to the broom closet and took out the needed supplies.

I knelt down on the floor, sponge in hand, and squinted my eyes at the carpet. Once I got rid of this, my life would be just as it was again: perfectly neat and clean.

Sort of.

At least my house would be clean.

Just as I was about to pour a generous amount of bleach all over the carpet, a sharp knock came at the door. I stood up quickly and dropped the sponge.

The knocking continued, and I stared at the door.

"Sora?" A muffled voice came from the other side.

I quickly walked to the door and opened it.

Outside stood Mimi.

I stared at her. I wasn't prepared to beg for her forgiveness again, I didn't even know what to say.

"Look, Sora." Mimi began, "I guess I'm here to say that...I'm not mad at you, and I overreacted. But, I don't appreciate the fact that you kept a secret from me and even went around behind my back."

"But, Mimi, I didn't mean to... I guess, before I knew it, everything was getting out of control and I didn't even know how I got there or how–"

"Sora." Mimi held up her hands, "It's ok. You can tell me some other time. Later. When this is all behind us, and we're friends again. I just wanted to let you know that I won't stay in the way of your happiness, and you and Matt can be together..."

"But, I still wouldn't because–"

"I never really liked Matt, anyway." Mimi said quickly, then she smiled at me, "I just want to tell you that so you won't be going crazy." She looked past me and at the sponge and bleach on the floor, "But I guess I was a little late." She laughed, "Anyway...I guess I'll talk to you...later." She shifted uncomfortably, "Bye." She walked quickly away before I could say anything further.

I stood in the doorway for a couple of minutes, my mind reeling. What was she saying? I couldn't quite interpret her words quickly. A part of me was relieved. A part of me was stubborn.

I didn't need her blessing. I could do whatever the hell I wanted.

But does this mean that we were on good terms again? I knew that our friendship would never be quite the same, with this...sort of like stain...in our relationship...but really, what relationship was perfect?

I glanced at the stain on the floor.

Why did I have to make my life so neat and perfect?

I quickly put the sponge and bleach away in the closet without even touching the stain on the carpet and walked out the door.

Just like the way he left a stain on my floor, he had left a stain in my life. I didn't want to remove it just yet.

TBC.

I'm glad I finally had a chance to update! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and please, please give me your feedback! I enjoy reading reviews, and they motivate me to update faster ;) haha. AND! Thenext chapter, Chapter 13, is DEFINITELY the last chapter. I really enjoyed writing this story, and I have had so much fun with it,but it's time for things to end. So, all your questions will be answered in the last chapter, and if you have anymore, please ask me! I'll reply or answer them in the next chapter. Thanks again.