WARNING: None. :]
Disclaimer: I own nothing in this marvelous universe; it all belongs to Toei Animation, I believe.
Dedication: Flamingpurplebunnies. My real life friend. Says it all right there, really.
Reviewers: N/A
Author's Note: See chapter one or two, please.
Rating: T
Poll – Located above my profile. Please take!
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Yolei sighed unhappily as she glanced around the cafeteria. Davis hadn't been at school all day and she knew it was because of what happened last night. 'Oh god,' Yolei thought, 'Why did I have to go and do that?' Yolei spared a quick glance to Ken, who was still in line ordering his food. 'I've managed to not only hurt Davis and myself, but probably Ken as well. I'm such an idiot,' she thought angrily. She knew everything was going to change . . . between all three of them. It was only normal. Sure, they'd say it was okay and that it wasn't weird . . . but they all knew they'd be lying. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply.
"Hey . . . Yolei. What's up?" Ken questioned, hesitating as what to call Yolei.
Yolei smiled weakly at her . . . boyfriend . . . and gestured towards the table. "Nothing."
Ken took a seat on her right side, purposefully avoiding the seat where Davis always sat. Yolei felt an unabashed wave of gratitude sweep over her. Ken was so sweet.
"I wonder what's wrong with Davis," Ken said conversationally, though his tone still had a hint of worry for his friend.
Yolei's head snapped up. "Why? What's wrong with him?"
Ken backed away slightly and stared at her confusedly. "I don't know . . . that's why I'm asking."
Yolei calmed down and slumped back into her chair. "I know. Sorry, Ken. I'm just a little worked up right now."
Ken nodded at her, smiling softly, before glancing back at the table where the popular kids sat. "You know, I heard that TK Takashi and Kari Kamiya were being transferred into some of our classes."
"Why?" Yolei asked. Schedule changes were rare at her school.
Ken shrugged absently as he forked a green bean. "I don't know. Some conflicts with something. I'm sure Davis won't mind, anyway." He smiled widely and his dimples were clearly visible.
Yolei smiled at him, though it was a little strained. "I'm sure he will," she muttered softly.
They continued chatting for the rest of their lunch period, but they each began to throw more and more worried glances towards the door. The bell finally rang, signifying passing period. Both Ken and Yolei gathered their things and hurried to their next class. Though it was unlikely, both of them were hoping that they would see their burgundy-haired friend at their next shared class.
Ken sat down in the front of the class while Yolei had made her way to the back (this was one of their only classes were they weren't allowed to pick their seats). Ken played with his pencil restlessly as he watched the door intently.
Suddenly, the door swung open brashly and a strange, large looking girl walked in with gum in her mouth. Her hair was bright pink and around her shoulder was a bag that had buttons covering the entirety of it.
"Hey, what's up?" The apparent substitute asked absently, dropping her bag next to the ground with a loud thunk. She pushed away the lesson plans so she could sit on the desk. The students shared apprehensive glances, but timidly answered her question when it was clear she was waiting for an answer.
"Haha! The ceiling! That's hilarious, Smith!" She laughed loudly and leaned back on her palms. She opened her mouth to speak, "Look. I really don't know what I'm doing here. My dad is the one of the school board members and since I'm working on a degree in teaching, I was supposed to sub for you guys.
"But, I really don't want to. So let's just have fun. If anyone asked, we worked a lot, okay?" She waited until everyone nodded and smiled widely.
"Now, go enjoy yourselves."
Ken smiled slightly at the strange girl before locking eyes with Yolei. He slowly made his way over to her, but in the back of his mind, he was still confused. Where exactly was Davis, anyway?
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"Okay, boys and girls, for this project you will have to work in a group. And no, you cannot pick your groups. I have them right here," Miss Bell waved a stack of slightly crumpled paper in her left hand for emphasize. A collective groan erupted from the class.
Suddenly, the door swung open lazily and Matt Ishida strolled in nonchalantly, with his hands stuffed into his pockets. He tossed a crisp hall pass into the hands of Miss Bell and took his seat in the back of the room.
"Nice of you to join us, Mr. Ishida. As I was telling the rest of the students, we are starting a group project." She paused and glanced down at her papers. "First group: Nicole, Anna, Blake and Jeff. Wait to get with your group until I say so," she added on. Miss Bell continued calling groups and glared heartily at anyone who made so much of a sound. Miss Bell was a pretty easygoing teacher, but she didn't bode well with making fun of other people.
"Okay, last group! Kali, Matt, Emma, and John. Is that everybody?" Miss Bell glanced around the room, mentally tallying up the students.
Mimi raised her hand calmly. "You forgot me."
Miss Bell glanced down at her paper and looked disgruntled. "Oh, I'm sorry, Mimi. You can go pick a group to be with."
Mimi smiled at her luck and started making her way towards Beth (who was the only person she was really friends with in the class).
"Oops, wait. Here you are. Your name is right next to Kali's." Miss Bell smiled apologetically at Mimi's crestfallen face. Mimi walked apprehensively towards her group, ignoring the apologetic glances Beth was sending her as well as the cold smirk radiating from Matt Ishida.
"So," Miss Bell began, either unaware or ignoring Mimi's supreme discomfort, "Within the group, you will be assigned a partner of whom you will work closely with. The whole group will meet regularly in here, but you can always work on it after class, if need be."
Mimi's eyes widened and she glanced fearfully at Matt. "Please no, please no."
"For example, Kali, Emma, and John are partners. Which means Mimi and Matt are also working together. Understand? Nicole, you are partners with . . ." Miss Bell kept talking, but when Mimi heard the words "Mimi and Matt" in the same sentence, her head started to spin.
Mimi took a couple a deep, shaky breaths as she fall back softly into her seat. Unfortunately, her seat was gone and when she went to sit down, her head smacked painfully with the corner of the wall.
Mimi's sight became blurry and she absently took in the sound of deep, attractive laughter coming from her right. 'Matt . . .' she thought vaguely. His laughter spurred her into action and she tried unsuccessfully to get up so she could knock some sense into him. For some reason, her limbs were being increasingly difficult and she couldn't get up. 'Must have hit my head harder than I thought.'
"Mimi? Mimi? Meems?"
The voice of Beth drifted over her and she opened her heavy lids to find the face of her worried friend.
"Be," she began, but stopped when a wave of dizziness made the room spin again.
"Mimi! Hey, are you okay? I'm going to get the - oomph."
"Tachikawa?" Mimi once again opened her eyes and she would have gasped if she had been able to control her body better. Staring into her eyes were the blue, slightly worried ones of Matt Ishida.
Mimi stared at him blankly, before letting her eyes close shut and succumbing to darkness.
"Mimi? Honey, can you hear me?"
Mimi blearily opened her eyes and jumped slightly when she saw the pink, motherly face of the school nurse above her.
"Oh, sweetie, I'm so glad you're up. You had a lot of people worried, honey."
"Really?" Mimi managed, trying to smile up at the concerned woman.
The nurse nodded while going to her desk to retrieve something Mimi couldn't see. "Yes. Your friend, Beth, was just here a few minutes ago. I'm sure she'll be glad when I tell her you're okay. Matt Ishida was pretty worried as well."
"Ishida?" Mimi said, scrunching her eyes up at the bright light.
"Oh, yes. He carried you all the way here. I had to physically make him leave the room, in fact."
Mimi tried to shake her head, but stopped at the dull aching that it caused. "He's probably only worried 'cause he pulled my chair out," she said bitterly.
The nurse's eyes widened. "He pulled out your chair? Oh dear, I'll have to tell your teacher."
Mimi shook her head quickly, grimacing at the pain it caused. "Nah, it's okay. It's only a thought. I'm probably wrong, anyway."
The nurse stared at her for a few minutes, before accepting her words and nodding. "If you're sure . . ."
"I'm sure."
"Well, sweetie, I'm going to call your mother. You can rest here or go to your next class. It depends on how bad you feel. What do you think?"
"I'm fine," Mimi started, but then remembered her next class was with Matt. If what the nurse said was true . . . well, she wasn't ready to look him in the eye, just yet. "Actually, on second thought, I think I'll rest here for a little longer."
"Okay, hun. Have a good rest. I have to go check on a few other students, but call if you need anything, alright?"
Mimi nodded and let her head fall back on the plastic covered pillow. She let her eyes shift closed and started thinking about things. Namely, Matt Ishida.
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"That was awesome! Way to go!" Tai yelled excitedly, jumping out his seat and clapping enthusiastically.
The teacher smiled amusedly at the brunet. "Mr. Kamiya, please stay seated. I know Miss Takenouchi's book report was interesting, but I daresay it wasn't that interesting."
Tai rolled his eyes good-naturedly and plopped down into his seat. Sora glared at Tai as she made her way back to her desk. She sat down next to Tai and smiled widely, while hitting him in the back of the head. "You idiot! You're so embarrassing!"
"Get used to it," Izzy whispered, leaning across the isle from his own desk. Sora smiled at him. Her smiled slipped from her features as she turned to berate Tai.
"Thanks for embarrassing me, Tai. I hadn't even finished the book! I made up the second part," Sora said, rolling her eyes. Tai just grinned and put his arm around her. Sora blushed slightly, but didn't say anything.
"Hey, hey. It's not my fault it's cute when you blush and stumble over your words," Tai said winningly as he morphed his face into one of innocence.
"I do not stumble over my words, you jerk!" Sora said, punching him in the arm. Tai grimaced and rubbed the spot he punched him.
"Easy, Hercules."
Sora just rolled her eyes as a barely visible blush settled on her cheekbones. They sat through another twenty minutes of badly prepared book reports (along with the rare occurrence of some great ones) until it was Tai's turn.
"Tai, come up front. You aren't getting out of this again. Now come on, get a move on," the teacher said good-naturedly, smiling as he previous tan features turned slightly pale.
"Okay, okay," Tai said confidently, sliding out of his seat. He had a smile plastered on his face as he desperately racked his brain for the book he was doing a report on. He had meant to read it, really, but he had got sidetracked last night.
"My book report is on . . ." Tai trailed off and glanced at Izzy who was discreetly trying to get his attention.
"To Kill a Mockingbird," Izzy mouthed at Tai.
Tai nodded slightly and smiled gratefully at his friend.
"This book has many difficult plot lines that it is very hard to sum up in such a short amount of time," Tai babbled, trying to run the clock out. He paused for a minute and thought deeply. He had read this book in eighth grade, so he should remember some things from it.
"I think," he began timidly, still racking his brain, "that one of the main concepts of the books is one simple question: Are humans essentially good or essentially evil?"
Tai paused again, and he closed his eyes briefly. This was harder than he had thought. He opened his eyes and glanced quickly towards the teacher, who looked pleasantly surprised. He smiled widely and opened his mouth to speak.
"In fact, I think this book is a very good example of - "
The bell rang, cutting Tai off. Tai sighed with relief, visibly sagging. "Oh, thank God!"
"Tai," his teacher started warningly.
"I know, I know. I'll read the book and give you a good book report tomorrow. Deal?"
She sighed slightly, but nodded. "Fine. Just this once, though, Taichi."
"Sure thing," he replied hastily and smiled widely at the small teacher. She smiled warmly at him before gathering her things and heading to her next classroom.
"The odds of you being this lucky," Izzy began while walking up with Sora and Joe to him. He broke off and settled for just shaking his head in amazement at his messy haired friend's luck.
Joe's face crumpled in thought. "You actually did start talking about one of the main concepts of the book, though."
"I did?" Tai asked eagerly.
Joe nodded. "Yeah. One of them, at least."
"Thank God," Tai said slowly, "I was trying so hard to remember!"
Sora was glaring at Tai with her arms crossed. Tai's gaze finally landed on her and he stepped back slightly from the intensity of her glare.
"What's wrong with you, Takenouchi?"
Sora's lips drew together tightly. "You sounded better than me."
Tai, Izzy, and Joe all laughed loudly.
"Ahaha . . . I know! Priceless!" Tai exclaimed, slapping his knee theatrically.
Sora dropped her mad act and she pouted. "I bet I sounded like a total idiot," she complained.
Tai cocked his head to the side. "Well, not a total idiot."
Sora glared playfully at him while she smacked him lightly in the air. "Joe, Izzy, how did you put up with him all these years? I mean, he's so . . ."
She trialed off and looked around the classroom. "Where are they?"
Tai looked around, too. "I have no idea."
They laughed nervously at their obliviousness. Tai and Sora stood in an uncomfortable, strained silence for a few minutes before Sora nodded determinedly to herself.
"Hey, Tai," she began quietly.
"Yeah?" Tai prodded.
Sora blushed slightly, but looked Tai in the eyes. "Can I do something?"
Tai looked confused, but nodded. "Uhh . . . sure? You okay, Sora? You're acting kind of - oomph."
Sora pressed her lips solidly against his own and clenched her eyes shut as she felt his body stiffen. After a few seconds however, he relaxed and began to kiss back. Her eyes snapped open, before sliding shut again. She kept the kiss chaste and quick, but there was one thing that could be determined; Tai was a really great kisser. She smiled to herself.
Tai looked at her with a slightly dazed expression on his face and kept attempting to speak. His mouth would open and close rhythmically, but no sound came out, making him look very much like a fish. Sora didn't know if she should take that as a good sign or a bad sign. She bit her lip loosely.
"What . . . was that for?" He finally asked, looking at Sora with a shocked and pleased expression.
Sora shrugged uncomfortably, suddenly acutely aware that her cheeks were flaming. "I just . . . wanted to see what it was like. I'm sorry . . . ?" She offered weakly.
Tai stared at her again for a second before grinning goofily. "For what?"
"Kissing you?" She said, still apprehensive.
He bit his lip briefly before smiling brightly. "I guess you're going to have to apologize again."
"What," Sora began, but stopped short when she felt Tai's soft, smooth lips once again pressed against her own. He pulled away shortly and his face was as red as her hair.
"Sorry," she said, smiling widely.
He narrowed his eyes playfully. "You should be!"
His eyes softened and he extended his hand towards her. "Shall we?"
She grinned and resisted the urge to giggle. "We shall."
She took his hand in hers and smiled stupidly as he led her towards their next class. Sora was acutely aware that their platonic relationship just stepped over the reasonable line of friendship. And she was perfectly fine with that.
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(Later that evening)
"Oh my god. Honey, I can't b-believe it. H-how can it be t-true? I'm pregnant! W-what are we going to do?" A nice, mild looking woman gasped out between sobs. Her body shook and she tightened her grip on the man's shirt.
The man made comforting noises and gently stroked her hair. "Don't worry, sweetie. This isn't a bad thing. It's a wonderful thing. A miracle, even," the man hastened to assure the distressed woman. He rubbed his hands over her shoulders softly.
The woman's sobs started to lessen and she looked up into her companions eyes. "Y-you're right. It's is a miracle. B-but what are they going to think? You know how he feels about this. What is e-everyone going to think?" She hiccupped wetly, wiping her red eyes. "Ohh, what am I saying? It doesn't matter. We're having a baby!" The woman said happily and snuggled into the chest of the soon-to-be father.
"Y-you're what?" A new voice broke in.
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I really didn't like that.
Please review, regardless. Please be considerate, as well.