A/n: Edit: 03rd April'21 – I removed the drabble set completely and merged some of the shorter chapters to make a much better first chapter. Even fixed the grammatical errors a bit. No change in plot or the scene, so you don't have to re-read it!

-x-

To Mimi, they were just acquaintances. They just happened to fall into a different world together and now they shared the same group of best friends. They didn't talk much and they barely saw each other without the presence of someone else. In fact, she was much closer and friendlier with his younger brother than she could ever be with him. She firmly believed that Yamato-kun was completely out of her reach. And her other friends never failed in reminding her of that distance.

Sora-chan and Hikari-chan were great company, but somehow Mimi was always unable to say no to her other elementary school friends when they invited her to sit with them or out on the weekends. They were discouraging and mostly demeaning but she always ended up obliging them. It had however, been easier to tell them about her feelings for Yamato-kun because chances of it leaking out to Taichi were pretty much non-existent. When she very reluctantly talked about her crush (as they labelled it) with them, they laughed and snickered and talked for hours about how it was obvious that someone like Mimi would go for looks over anything else. They told her about his cold personality and how the two of them were completely mismatched and also how someone as smart as Ishida would never go for a shallow girl like her. She smiled and nodded and took all of their words in and as they said their goodbyes outside the coffee shop, she wondered if this would be the last time she saw them.

She decided to walk home that day, lots of thoughts were clouding her mind and she felt that the fresh air could do her some good. On her way she passed the small music shop that offered free piano lessons to children, the same shop where she had first seen Yamato-kun. A smile covered her lips and a skip was added here and there to her steps. She remembered her very first lesson, she had been eight years old and had horribly banged at the keys, and the teacher had cringed and had very urgently asked her to vacate the chair for the next kid in line. Of course, Mimi had been very displeased with this reaction as she was used to being spoiled endlessly by her parents, but nevertheless she got off the stool and waited nearby to watch the person after her perform hoping inwardly that they would be as bad as her.

But he had proven her wrong. The minute Yamato-kun's fingers hit the piano keys, she fell in love.

She didn't want to sound dramatic or cheesy or anything, but his voice really was as smooth as silk. Every time he sang, she would close her eyes and instantly her mind would be filled with images of never ending fields decorated with a million flowers. She could almost smell the sweetness in the air, feel the sun's ray on her skin. That's what his voice and music did to her and she loved every moment of it.

His first concert had been heavily crowded, which was unexpected but at the same time it made everyone happy. The trademark wide grin never left Taichi's face, Sora-chan's laugh was full of warmth, Takeru-chan's eyes darted around excitedly, taking everything in. Jou-sempai smiled proudly and Kou-chan was ready with his video camera making sure not to miss any moment. That day had been one of the happiest days of her life and it had taken such intense amount of self-control from her side to stop herself from bursting into tears. Despite the large crowd and the loud cheers that make up every concert, she heard every single syllable that he sang into the mic as clear as the spring sky.

From that day onwards she realized that she could be content with just being his acquaintance. She could be content with just being his fan, supporting him from the background. Because to her, he was a level of brightness that blinded her wholly, one she could never reach.

Her resolve had been strong and mostly she was able to keep her feelings in check. She built up a façade in front of the others and never let her emotions slip, but sometimes she would feel this ache in her chest which would only go away after she cried silently into her pillow. Often on her way to school she would end up walking behind him or rather behind them. Taichi would always be on the left, a look of determination on his face as he argued his point passionately. Sora-chan on the right, smirking and laughing as she smartly countered and logically explained each one of Taichi's bizarre theories. And Yamato-kun would be in the middle with his earphones plugged in, stepping in as the referee when the arguments got too heated. There were times when Sora-chan noticed her trailing behind and then she would invite her to join them but it would never be the same. She realized, she would never fit in.

-x-

"Are you alright?"

The question caught her off-guard. She looked up from her book and eyed her best friend cautiously. Mimi wasn't used to Kou-chan being the one initiating the conversation. She would hang out in his room for hours and hours without actually speaking to him. He would type away at his laptop and she would flip through magazines or novels. It was an unexplainable type of comfort that they felt in each other's company. Over the years, Mimi had come to realize that Kou-chan was a really good listener. She would sit with him and babble continuously about dramas and anime, idols and novels, world peace and clothes, as he typed away at his laptop. In the beginning she thought, he never listened and since he never asked her to shut up, she never did. But once all eight of them were heading to Decks for lunch and suddenly he pointed out that a store nearby was selling limited Card Captor Sakura charms. Everyone had been a little surprised by his observation but Mimi had been ecstatic, she tackled him with a hug and dragged him with her to get matching charms for their cell phones despite his protests. After that she would spend a lot of time asking him questions and bugging him to talk more so that both of them stood at an equal level in this friendship. Though he barely ever started their conversations, he always did talk with her about anything and everything.

So it should've been obvious to her that he, of all people, would notice when she was feeling down. He hadn't looked away from his screen but she could tell he was waiting for her to answer.

"Of course, Kou-chan." She managed a toothy grin, hoping to convince him.

He looked up from his laptop and narrowed his eyes, "You're a terrible liar." He said flatly.

The grin turned into a small smile as she sighed, "There is no cure for heartache you see."

Koushiro opened his mouth to give a scientific argument but one look at her face and he decided against it, instead he questioned her again "Will I ever get the honour of knowing the identity of this prince that you're so madly in love with?" He readjusted his glasses, and Mimi could see a curious glint in his eyes.

She broke into a laugh and stuck her tongue out at him, her eyes brightened up a little as she replied, "Maybe."

"Don't you trust me Mimi? I swear I won't tell anyone." He tried his best not to sound desperate but his curiosity overruled his logical self. It was a well-known fact that Koushiro and Mimi were inevitably close, it was also a well-known fact that Mimi was incredibly pretty. At school, classmate over classmate would approach him and request him to introduce them to Mimi, the sole reason he got invited to goukons was so that he could bring Mimi along. But they never did attend any of those parties and neither did she agree to date any of the guys who confessed to her. Naturally, the butt-hurt boys used to get angry at him and often accused him of sabotaging them. There were several rumours around school that him and Mimi were dating, and even Hikari with all her innocence, had questioned them about it. Obviously their friends understood the nature of their relationship and the rumours didn't bother them at all. Taichi always used to shoo away the boys who approached Koushiro to get Mimi's number without batting an eyelid.

And in all of this, there was only one thing that the young genius didn't understand. Why was Mimi always turning down every single guy who asked her out? He bluntly asked her about it one morning and she smiled sadly and replied that she was already in love with someone else. It had been three months since then and Koushiro had still been unable to get a name out of her. He felt a little insulted, that despite their closeness, she had chosen to share this secret with her elementary school friends rather than him.

"Kou-chan, you should forget about it." She replied casually, her eyes went back to the book.

"I can't believe you told Saori, but won't tell me." He huffed.

"Speaking of Saori-chan, she thinks that your new glasses makes you look like a hunk. Apparently you're totally her type, she wanted your e-mail. Should I give it to her?" A sly smile played on her lips as she winked at him.

Koushiro couldn't help but flush, he wasn't used to receiving compliments from girls and hearing that a popular girl like Saori had asked for his contact made him feel a little embarrassed, "D-don't try to change the topic! We're talking about you!" He stuttered and adjusted his glasses, scowling at her evasion tactics.

"You're so cute Kou-chan! But I think you can do better than Saori-chan." She giggled.

"If you think I'm so good, why won't you tell me his name?" He countered, a little frustrated now.

She closed her book and stuffed it into her bagpack, without facing him she got up and started to leave. She opened the door and with her back still to him she muttered quietly, "Because you'll tell Taichi."

He sighed as the door closed and ran his hand through his hair, she didn't need to take his name to make him understand.

-x-

A/N: Goukon – Mixer parties where girls and guys interact with each other.