Thanks, you guys, for all the lovely reviews. I know that the last chapter was definitely not one of my best, but you still give me great reviews any ways. Thank you.

I'm sorry I've taken so long on this chapter; I've been getting test after test at school, and a lot of essays. But I finish school soon, so I can focus more on my fanfics.

I still hate that last chapter, by the way, and am still planning on rewriting it, once I am done with this story.

I just hope this Horrible-Writing-Plague doesn't stay with me for this one. I hope it hasn't. That would just suck, especially since I want to end this story on a high-note.

This may or may not be the final chapter. You can decide on it. Haha. Anyways, I'm in a current writer's block, so I'm not sure who well this one is going to be. I hope it's all right.

Anyways. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Never Say Goodbye

She sat behind the wheel of the car, one hand on the steering wheel, the other attached to a cellular phone currently glued to her ear. She was talking at a rapid speed, frustrating and ire coating her sugary sweet voice with a bitter layer, causing the speaker on the other end to cringe in fear each time she spoke.

"Hold on."

Placing the phone aside, she took a sharp turn and made sure everything was all right before picking back up the black phone.

"Okay, so tell me again, why is it that it's delayed?"

The man on the other end spoke to her, trying to keep a professional tone to his voice, despite the audible tremor in it.

"All because of one damn water bottle? Are you fucking kidding me?" She cursed loudly as she hit the brakes, slowing down just enough so that she was the same slow speed as the car in front of her. Which was about 35 miles an hour on a rural expressway that went up to 70 miles an hour.

"Fuck, this day is really not going that fucking great."

The man apologized profusely on the other end, which caused her to roll her eyes. "It's not your fault, it's the fault of those stupid overly secure Security Guys, and their need to confiscate anything and anyone who brings a fucking water bottle. And dumbasses who don't know how to go the speed limit." She honked her horn.

"Look, I'm switching. Get me Paul on the phone."

The man immediately put her on hold, and in mere seconds, the man she had requested was on the line. She honked her horn again, signaling to the speed limit sign they just passed. The minimum was 55 miles an hour.

"Look, Paul, I'm switching; I'm pissed off at the fucking security personnel who don't seem to know how to do their job right."

The man spoke to her briefly and curtly, taking her infuriated tone much better than the previous assistant.

"I don't care if it's their 'job' to confiscate all suspicious articles. A water bottle is not suspicious. It's a fucking water bottle!" She honked a third time. "Either get me on another one that leaves within the next hour and a half, or get me my private one, which I really didn't want to take 'cause it'll raise too much suspicion."

Cursing, she shifted her car over to look in the other lane; she was quite lucky that there were no cops in sight, as she was taking a back road. Noting that no oncoming cars were coming, she immediately changed into the opposite lane, sped up, and cut in front of the slow moving car.

Hearing the man blast his horn at her, she put her cell phone down before sticking her hand out of the window and flipping him off. Picking up the cell phone, she placed it to her ear once more, driving at a comfortable speed of minimum 80 miles.

"I don't care if it's out of it, fill it the fuck up. I want to leave within the next hour and a half, no, cut that, I have to leave within the next hour and a half. This is something really fucking important to me, and I can't be late. Got it?" She slowed down her speed at the sight of a cop car. "Good. I'll be there in about twenty minutes, okay? Good. See you then, bye."

Mimi Tachikawa sped up as she lost sight of the cop car, focusing solely on the road in front of her, maneuvering her red Enzo Ferrari around the bends and turns like a pro, trying her hardest to make it there as soon as possible.

Music blared from her stereo, but she was not listening to it; she was thinking about how everything had gone so perfect, up until now. Everything was set up, her stuff was on its way, the money spent on the perfect location, and all she needed was to get there. If only things could go as planned right now.

Nobody knew about her plan, absolutely no one, except for one person, and she planned on keeping it a secret, which is why she did not want to raise suspicion. She had done all of this on her own, with some help from Hugh, who was the one person who knew about her plans. He had been kind enough to keep her on board, but as a 'part-time' model, seeing as she could not always be there to take constant photo shoots.

A new job was set up for her, an amazing idea that she and Hugh had developed, and thought would be rather fun. Fortunately, the laws were fine with the job idea, and, having talked to those in charge and those she needed to speak with, everything was set up and ready for her to arrive.

If only she could get there on time.

A loud, abrupt knock sounded from the doorway, and Matt stood, making his way from the living room to the door, focusing his attention on who might be on the other side as opposed to the X Games, which were quite funny when Americanized.

Opening the door, he found a brown-eyed, brunet, who as currently standing beside another brunet, and a dark-haired, older male.

"Uh, Tai, Izzy, Jou … what are you guys doing here?"

Pushing his way in, Tai took off his shoes, before standing in front of Matt, followed by Jou and Izzy.

"Well, Matt, seeing as you've been down and out on the dating game for quite some time, Jou, Izzy, and I came up with a master plan to help you out. Or, at least, calm you down for some time."

Arching a brow, Matt fought the urge to swallow thickly at the sight of the mischievous looks in the threesome's eyes. Jou actually looked scary.

"And, uh, what is this 'master plan' that you have in mind?"

He was an idiot, at least, that what he thought about himself after asking the question, which just demanded for some cruel and unusual answer.

Tai moved forward, and the other two followed suit, pinning Matt against the wall without touching him. Fighting the urge to run, he nearly whimpered as Tai grabbed Matt's arm, and pulled him over to the couch, forcing him to sit down.

"Uh, look, Tai, I know you mean well and all, but, if your plan is to tie me up and do really, really disturbing things to me, please think about it. I mean, you're engaged, and Izzy and Jou have girlfriends. And I really don't swing that way, at all. Just, uh, be … gentle…?"

Laughter glinted in the men's eyes as they looked at one another.

"Matt, we are not here to sodomize you or anything like that." This was from Jou. "We're here to help you forget."

"And, uh, how are you planning on doing that?"

'Please, I don't want them near my crotch … or my ass.'

"First, we're going to talk. Three on one, and we," Izzy gestured to himself, Jou, and Tai, "are going to make sure that you're making the right decisions."

Tai went over and grabbed three kitchen chairs, and the three men sat down before the frightened, blond boy. Leaning forward, Tai grinned at his friend of several years, before glancing towards Jou on his left, and Izzy on his right.

"So, who wants to go first?"

Silence filled the room as the men looked at one another, the three of them trying to decide who should speak up first. Izzy fingered the hem of his shirt, while Jou constantly readjusted his glasses to a more comfortable position. However, it seemed as though no position was comfortable.

Tai placed his hand on his knee, before slipping, sending his elbow into Jou's side. Jou let out a yelp of surprise, and Tai grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry buddy."

Sighing, Jou took the sign and looked at Matt. "I'll go first."

Matt feigned surprise, knowing full well what Tai's 'slip' meant.

"Look, Matt, this is hard for me to say it, but, I suppose I have to. You need to either get over her, or go after her. You have to make up your mind about what to do. Seriously, right now, you look so pathetic it makes me look manly, and that's pretty pathetic." Matt scowled. "Look, Matt, I guess what I'm trying to say is, stop sitting around and acting all depressed. You were like this in the beginning, and, then, for a while you were all happy again. But, now you're sad. You're worse than a bipolar patient I saw last week, and she was pretty messed up with her mood swings.

"I will admit that it's hard to me to watch you hold her; I used to think I was in love with her, and she was my first ever crush. Before I met Ryoko, I still thought that Mimi and I were destined to be together. But I finally stopped myself and realized that we weren't meant to be together; she's meant for someone else, Matt. It's you. And I don't like seeing you sitting down, and doing nothing about it. She left Japan, so what? It's not like she died. She's still alive.

"What I'm trying to say is call her, e-mail her, something, let her know that you're there and you still love her. I don't know if she's willing to wait forever for that call, Matt. Forever is a really long time."

Matt arched a brow at the brunet, frowning slightly in Jou's direction as the watched boy blushed darkly before looking down at his lap. Never, not once in Matt's life, had he heard Jou speak such romantically passionate words before. Jou had always been pretty direct, down-to-earth and to the point, never dancing around it. Nor had he ever discussed love and such romantic ideals. But now, to Matt's face, he had come out and not only told Matt that him and Mimi were meant to be, but also that he had actually loved the girl.

Izzy and Tai glanced towards Jou; twin pained looks in their eyes as they remembered the days when Jou would follow the brown-haired beauty to the ends of the earth, just to proclaim his love for her.

Sighing heavily, Izzy turned to face Matt, determination aglow on his face. "Look, Matt, I know we haven't been friends for all that long, well, okay, we've known each other for quite some time, and this is the first time I've actually really wanted to tell you something, but held my tongue for my own reasons. But, now I realize that I really need to get this out. Matt, right now, you're being nothing short of a wimp. I agree with Jou, if we compared the two of you, you would make him look like a daredevil, and that's not a good thing."

Izzy turned to Jou. "Sorry Jou, but you said it first."

Jou shrugged. "Nah, it's all right."

"Matt, what do you think Mimi is doing out in America? Do you think she's sitting around all day, moping and whining, crying and complaining because you're an Ocean away from her? I doubt it. I'm willing to bet that she's trying her darn hardest to get back to her normal life, work, friends, and family. We know that you love her, Matt, and we know that she loves you, too, but you really need to get your act together. You need to do something, anything, to show that you have at least some sort of sign of life.

"You need to make up your mind as to what you want to do. Do you want to sit here and vegetate for forever, or do something proactive? And if you do want to be proactive, what is it do you think you'll do? Are you going to find someone else, or are you going to go after her? If you want my opinion, I agree with Jou, go after Mimi if you really love her, because I know that she loves you."

Tai grinned at his companions on either side of him. "Inspiring speeches, boys. Just tear-jerking." Izzy arched a brow while Jou found it difficult to fight the blush rising in his cheeks. "So, Matt, have they told you enough to convince you to get off your fat ass? Or do you need to hear my speech, too?" Tai shrugged. "Well, either way you're going to hear it, because I prepared it just for you."

Tai stood up, beginning the process of his habitual pacing that occurred every time he spoke aloud and passionately. Turning to Matt, his eyes blazed.

"Matt, I think you are officially one of the dumbest people alive." Irritation flickered through the boy's blue eyes, but he did not retaliate. He would let Tai say his speech, and then he would say what he wanted to say.

"What the hell makes you think that sitting on your ass, doing absolutely nothing is going to win her back? Okay, so you've gone on what, one date? And it was hell, from what I remember. You didn't even get to first base with her. You friggin' well kicked her out of your apartment! You know how lucky you are that she didn't go around telling lies about you? Or that she didn't try and fight back, because damn, those Spanish-Portuguese women are vicious! They go all crazy on you, get those accents, and talk so fucking fast you can't understand a word they say. Next thing you know, a frying pan is coming out of nowhere!"

Izzy 'inconspicuously' tapped Tai on the shins with his foot, silently reminding him to stay on the subject.

The standing brunet cleared his throat. "Anyways, what I mean to say is that you have gotten so pathetic that, oh, I don't know, just use Izzy's example, because there's nobody more pathetic to compare you to than Jou."

"Hey!"

"Sorry buddy."

"You guys are so mean to me."

Tai waved the comment aside. "What I'm trying to tell you is that right now, you're going nowhere except for backwards. You have to start to seriously think about things. Matt, tell me, when were you the happiest?" Matt went to speak before Tai cut him off. "Don't tell me; I already know the answer. It was when Mimi was here. You were happiest whenever you were around her; you smiled more, laughed more, and were just so much more content with life.

"Matt, when did you feel the most loved? By someone else, that is? So, can you answer that question for me? Because I'm pretty sure I can answer it for you. It was when you were with Mimi. It was so obvious; the two of you seemed to glow whenever you were with each other. It was pretty fucking obvious you loved each other.

"So, Matt, tell me, now, why would you do absolutely nothing to chase what makes you happy and feel loved? Why is it that you're just sitting on your ass, doing absolutely nothing, while she's out there, probably waiting for you?

"God damn it, Matt! Have you looked at yourself? You already know how pathetic you look, but do you realize how sad you look? How lonely you are? Or do you just try to hide from everyone, including yourself?

"I want you to do one thing, just one small thing, for me, and for yourself. I want you to stop moping around for at least five minutes, and try to do something, anything, that will make you happy, even if it means contacting Mimi! You have to stop making yourself so miserable because you're too scared to find out why she left.

"Really, think about it, she does have a life out in America, she was only here on vacation, but she fell in love with you. Even though she does love you, she can't just stay here and leave everything at home for everyone else to deal with. Have you ever thought about that? Have you ever considered the possibility that she might actually be packing up, getting all her stuff ready to move over here?

"I know you haven't; we haven't either. We just thought that she was some selfish bitch who didn't care about you, who didn't give a shit about whether you actually loved her or not. But, you know, when you really think about it, did she ever say "goodbye"? From what you told us, she said "I'll see you soon". I think that means something, don't you?

"Don't you know the saying, Matt? Never say goodbye, say see you later? I've heard of it, and it means that you guys will just end up meeting again before the end. She knows that, Matt, she knows that you guys are meant to be, and I bet she's trying her damned hardest to come out and stay with you for forever.

"Why aren't you trying?

"I want you to do something, right here, right now, and that's something that involves Mimi. I don't care how afraid you might be, how much you might not want to even just think about her, but you need to do this for yourself."

Tai waved around a piece of paper he pulled from his pocket, smirking slightly at the blond boy that arched a brow in confusion.

"You are going to call her. Right here, right now, with us standing right here as your witnesses. You are going to get off of your ass and do something somewhat productive. Who knows, it might even help you feel better."

He tossed the paper at Matt, watching as the boy caught it and stared at the cellular phone number scribbled on the white sheet. He saw pain fill the boy's eyes, fear clouding them, consuming the blue orbs as memories swept through him.

They haunted him, harmed him from the inside out, tearing him apart, but he knew, deep down, that he, Matt, would have to do something brave this year, and that would be calling the woman he loved and proclaiming his passionate admiration and love for her. Even if it meant getting hurt again.

He had already taken one sting; another couldn't make it that much worse, could it?

Tai, Izzy, and Jou exchanged glances, the trio worrying whether Matt would do it or not, all three wondering if he was going to do, what they thought was, the right thing.

He stood, his legs somewhat shaky as he used all physical strength and psychological strength to fight back the onslaught of memories that threatened to tear apart his mind.

"All right, I'll do it. It'll cost me a bit, but I'll do it."

He had made up his mind, he had come to the conclusion he feared to come to, and he was going to take the brunt of the blow, no matter how hard the blow would be. He knew that if she refused his proclamation, if she told him she didn't love him anymore, that he would feel beyond injured. But, while he was down for the count, he may as well take all the blows he could now. Better sooner than later, that was his occasional motto.

Grasping the paper tightly in his hand, he watched as the three boys came forward, each giving him 'manly' hugs of encouragement, Tai telling him how proud he was, before having the phone shoved into his free grasp.

Frowning, he arched a brow at the trio as they stood in front of him, impatiently tapping their feet or fidgeting with the nearest object, waiting for him to dial the number and make the call.

"Uh, do you have to stand right there?"

Tai nodded. "Of course, we want to make sure that you actually call her."

"Why can't I have some privacy? You're just making me nervous by gawking at me. It's uncomfortable." He visibly squirmed at the looks they gave him.

"Well, I concur with Tai. I want to just ensure that you actually make the phone call, instead of just dialing and hanging up." Jou smiled at the blond.

The confused look turned into a cranky scowl, and Matt tightened his grip on the phone. "Fine, then, I'll go find somewhere private where I can talk to her, alone."

Before the other men could say anything, the blond had already marched off, slammed the bedroom door shut, and locked it. The click was loud and audible, sharp and almost angry, making the men wince.

Glancing at one another, they grinned and ran towards the door, pressed up against it, fighting for space and the ability to hear whatever lay beyond the wooden object.

He had to move, he had to pace, to think, to do something, anything, so that he wouldn't be thinking about the stupid action he was about to do. Call her. What an idiotic thought. He knew, just knew, that she would refuse him and his love. She would tell him that it was over, that he should just fuck off for all eternity. He just knew it.

He didn't want to listen to that little, almost insignificant voice inside him that tried to scream for him to do it, to call her and do something that might alleviate the pain. No, the strong, powerful pessimistic voice he constantly obeyed was shouting at him, telling him that he could get nothing good out of calling her. That the only thing that would ensue would be pain and constant mental turmoil.

He was sick and tired of being in pain.

But that little voice grew louder, telling him to do it, to call her and make sure that she was all right. He truly and honestly did not want to, but she had probably been going through a rough patch. Her house had been robbed and nearly destroyed, after all.

But would she accept him and his love?

That was the question that constantly plagued his mind, consuming him until nothing other than that one thought filled his mind, tearing him apart as his mind fought for the search of the right answer.

The question was, was the answer in Mimi, or in someone else?

Sighing heavily, he stared down at the phone, and then glanced at the phone number that lay crumpled in his grip. He wanted to call her, to hear her soft, soothing, melodic voice once more, but he knew, deep down, that if he did call her, the only thing that would happen would be the increasing of his yearning for her touch and love.

Cursing himself, he violently jerked his body into a sitting position on his bed. As he touched the soft comforter, he recalled the way she felt with him under the sheets, the softness of her skin, the tenderness of her touch. The simple memories of brushing his skin against hers brought tears to his eyes. He loved her, really, truly, honestly did, and everything about her had always made him smile and laugh.

He knew that he used to act cold towards her, pretending that she didn't exist or was some pathetic excuse for a human being. But deep down, he hid his emotions for her; he had always enjoyed being in her company, laughing joyously, wanting to touch and hold her.

Oh how he ached to hold her in his arms, at least just for one last time.

Maybe Tai was right, maybe he should call her, let her know that he still believed they had a chance. So many times in his life, he had just given up on hope, given up on believing. Maybe, for once, he should let himself hope for the better.

He exhaled loudly as he looked from the paper to the phone, and, before he could stop himself, he began to dial the special code that lessened the bill for long-distance calls. Within seconds, he was pressing the numbers for her cellular phone and putting the phone to his ear.

She sat comfortably on her seat of her private jet, relaxing and basking in the glows of champagne, sushi, and just utter, absolute relaxation. She needed to relax, to focus on anything but what she would be doing in a few more hours.

She was tired; she had gotten up terribly early the morning of her flight so that she would arrive during the daytime. She hated touching down at night; there was so little time to do so much, and she needed a lot of time.

Her stomach twisted sharply at the thought, and she glanced towards the screen nearby telling her an estimation of how much time was left on the flight. Only a couple more hours, and she would be there. It was probably around noon there, but she didn't care if she missed lunch; she just didn't want to miss him.

Glancing towards her phone, she watched the numbers automatically change with the time change, moving from late at night to early afternoon in seconds.

She was quite glad that they had figured out how to stop the cellular airwaves from affecting planes; she needed the cell phone on 24/7 in case an emergency arose, or something came up from work. She also hating having a bunch of messages; it was just so much easier to answer the phone.

As she placed the phone back into her pocket, she buried her face in her hands, elbows on her knees, and took a deep breath. She was nervous. There, she admitted it. She was absolutely and utterly terrified at the thought of what she was about to do. There was this little voice that kept telling her it was stupid, that she could not change what had happened. But the louder, stronger voice told her not to give up just yet. She had always been an optimist, or at least tried to be, but when it involved her heart, she couldn't help being a touch pessimistic.

Trying to focus on anything other than her futuristic actions, she picked up her novel from her carry-on bag; opening it to the page she had stopped reading on. It was the latest Laurel K Hamilton book on the Anita Blake series; she was obsessed with that series.

She let the words take over her mind, focusing solely on the sentences and paragraphs formed by the letters and words. Those simple, descriptive formations managed to ease the tension accumulating in her body, but they did nothing to help the constant, heavy palpitations of her heart, or the ceaseless breathlessness that overtook her.

At the sudden feel of vibrations going through her leg, she jerked sharply, letting out a loud gasp, before cursing herself for being too tense. Rolling her eyes, quite glad that nobody had been watching, she pulled the cell phone out of her pocket and when to answer it.

He was pacing, walking back and forth across the carpeted floor so much that he feared to put a permanent groove on it. But he didn't care; he needed to do something to distract himself from the stupid action he was currently doing.

The phone rang loudly and sharply in his ear, the sound almost deafening. He knew that it normally did not sound so loud, but when he was tense, his senses seemed to be heightened.

"Hello?"

His heart stopped, breath leaving his body as he heard her voice. She hadn't changed; her voice was still as sweet and melodic as ever. He felt his throat constrict as he fought for words, sentences, the sheer ability to something, anything, intelligent or tender.

The memories had instantly attacked him, bringing him back to when she used to laugh happily, or when she would lie in his arms at night, singing softly when asked to. He had always loved her voice. She always had this melodic tilt that made every word she say sound like a beautiful song.

"Hello?"

This time he heard the irritation lacing her voice, and he remembered well those days when she would become irritated due to him. All because he had never had the guts to tell her he loved her, at least not until it was too late.

'Say something. Anything. Oh Kami, please don't let me screw this up.'

He wanted desperately to say that he loved her, to put his heart on the line just once more and confess his feelings to her. He begged and pleaded his mind to let him do it, to release his vocals chords and grant him the ability to say something witty and charming...

…to say that he wanted to be with her for forever.

"Hgn."

The sound was strange, rough, almost like some dying cat, and he immediately felt embarrassing blush creep up his cheeks to flood his face. Without waiting for a reply, he jerked the phone away from his ear and hung up.

He felt like that man from the movie 40-Year-Old-Virgin. He felt inadequate, pathetic, and utterly useless. He had wanted so much tell her everything in his heart, but all he managed to do was make from strange, throat noise.

Some days, he really hated himself. Sighing heavily, he threw himself back on the bed, covering his face with his hands. Why couldn't he do anything right anymore? Why was it that he always screwed up?

"Kami … please help me."

He had finally managed to convince Tai, Izzy, and Jou to leave the premises and promise to never come back for that day unless it was important. He needed time to reflect on just what he had done; he needed time to scold himself for being so stupid.

He flopped onto the couch, flipping on the television, and tried ever so hard to focus on the screen. But he couldn't, not when all he could hear in his mind was her voice.

Her voice was like a cocoon, like a warm blanket he just wanted to wrap himself in and snuggle for the rest of his life. It had always been as warm and smooth as her skin; always showing just what was on her mind, never making up lies.

He just wished that he had that ability. He wanted to be able to speak whenever he wanted, to gather enough courage to tell those around him just how he felt, instead of waiting for them to figure it out themselves. He was sick of everybody coming to him and telling him how he felt. He should have been able to tell them, to tell himself, what he was feeling, and just what he could do to solve the problem.

But he couldn't. He never did anything right.

Groaning loudly, he buried his face in his hands, fighting back the sudden onslaught of tears that threatened to break the dams in his eyes, threatening to leak and pour down his face. He couldn't cry. He wouldn't cry.

He absolutely refused.

But when he thought about her, when he thought about those brief, but memorable times they had spent together, he wanted to cry so hard he thought that he would never stop. Oh, how he missed her.

"Mimi," he choked, "please come back. I miss you."

There, he admitted it aloud. He admitted that the one thing he wanted in life was to have her come back to him and hold him in her arms.

But he knew, now, that it would never happen. He could not change the past, and he had tried, oh-so hard, to fix the future. But maybe they truly were not meant to be. Maybe they were supposed to find someone else to love, someone else to hold in their arms at night. Anyone other than each other.

Just as he was ready to give up, to let the dams break and allow his tears to flow freely down his cheeks, a loud ringing sound distracted him from his thoughts.

The doorbell.

It was probably Tai, returning to make sure that Matt was all right. Did he look all right?

Standing, he went over to the door, cursing his friends for being a touch too adamant, before swinging open the door, ready to curse them. He stopped in his tracks; mouth agape, gazing at what stood on the other side of the door. His breath left his body, his heart race, and his mind swirled with emotions, thoughts, and memories.

No, it couldn't be…

The person smiled.

"Hi Matt."

Bwahahaha, the END! Yes, it's the ending. I will be adding an Epilogue to tie up loose ends and everything, so that some of you are not confused. I really hope that all of you have enjoyed this fic.

Thank you all for you support, it makes me so happy to see that so many of you have enjoyed my writing. . I love you guys, hee hee.

Remember my review/post rule. Thanks to all of your support.

By the way, I have recently posted a new fic called "Leather and Lace", if you wish to read it, please do. I really want to focus on that one now; I think it's neat and different than most Mimato fics.

Thank you guys for all of your support. I promise it won't take me as long to writ e the Epilogue, it's not going to be too crazy long.

Ciao.