Matt watched her from a distance, anglicizing her jerky movements and her carefully placed smile while he leaned against the open door of her bedroom. He knew her; they were friends since the age of preteens. He knew her well and now she was pretending nothing had happen. Pretending that they just didn't make love.

Closing his eyes as he wondered how something so amazing could be so difficult. He asked her countless times if she was sure, she reassured him time after time. She drew him closer to her, she covered his mouth with sweet kisses and now she acted, as it was the biggest mistake of her life. Suddenly he became the biggest mistake.

She was talking to him but it was a nerves chatting that sounded incomplete. Sora went about picking items off her bedroom floor to throwing towels in the washer as she spoke to him. She never made eye contact and she kept out of arm length. At first, he paid attention; he wanted to let her know that he would listen to anything she had to say. That was before he realizes that she did not even know what she was talking about. Her mind was elsewhere and her eyes seem to battling thoughts.

"Sor…" He grabbed her arm as she walked too close to him.

"Matt," Sora reached up and touched his cheek. She took a deep breath and let her hand slid down to his neck and then dangled at her side. "I'm sorry." She shook her head, her short bounce locks slid around her face. "This isn't fair to you."

"I.."

"I don't know what I was thinking. Don't get me wrong. That…" She pointed to her bed, "What we did was unbelievable but I, well I should have thought about it a little longer."

"Sor.."

"Oh god. Please don't think it was your fault. I heard your words, I told you I was ready but that was before my mind cleared. I was too caught up in the kisses, the touching, and you. I was too caught up in your arms and I couldn't think clearly."

"Sora." Matt tried again.

"You were like this narcotic and I couldn't get enough of you." She finally raised her eyes to his face. "I love you, Matt. I loved you for a long time. I hated watching girls hook their arms around you while I stood by and I watched wounding when you were going to look my way. Now you are looking and now I'm not sure if I'm ready for that."

Matt frowned, he heard this before. He heard this from someone else…

"I mean before it was you. That was all I wanted was you. Now, well things changed. I have to think of my future and what I want to do with it. I'm not sure if being with you…being with you and Ryoko is the best thing for me at this time."

Matt slowly nodded his head.

"Please understand that I have this dream and college will take me away from you. This is a dream I can grantee, not some fantasy world I made up believing it would come true. We can't be certain that this could be forever. That what you and I just shared will be so thirty years from now."

"Nothing is forever, Sor. You have to close your eyes and take that chance." Matt reached out and stroked her chin.

"I can't. Not with my plans being so, close. I don't want it to collapse before me."

"Sure." Matt whispered. He watched the tears form in her eyes, her long lashes trying to keep them in the crimson pools.

"I need time to think." She slid her hand over his chest, smoothing his shirt from creases.

"That is very clear." Matt clenched his jaw.

"Please Matt."

"Don't Sora. I understand." Matt bent down and kissed her softly on the cheek and then, he walked away.

As he went to let himself out of her home, the door opened to reveal her parents. "Matt!" Toshiko was clearly surprised to see him standing in front of her.

Matt gave them both a quick nod. "Uh, hello Mr. Takenouchi, Mrs. Takenouchi."

"Matt." Mr. Takenouchi looked past the boy to see his daughter. "I'm surprise to see you here so late."

"You know Sora told us so much about your baby, but you haven't brought him over for us to see." Toshiko beamed. She was amazed how much all Sora's friends had grown over the years.

"I didn't want to bother you." Matt averted his eyes from Sora's father.

"Nonsense! I would love to see him. I cannot get over how much everyone grown up. Why it seemed just yesterday that you and Tai were fighting over the game controllers right on my sofa and now look at you. Your all grown up and have a child of your own."

"Don't give him too much credit. They still fight over the game system, just not here." Sora folder her arms giving Matt a teasing look.

Again, he was taken back how she pretended nothing had happen. Not the sex, not the "not ready" talk. It was as if he was merely…

"Just dropping her off." Matt said in a whisper.

"What was that?" Sora's dad looked over at Sora.

"I…There was a party we both had attended and I brought her home." Matt explained.

"Where is your kid?" Haruhiko voice harden. "I thought with having a child you would calm your ways."

Matt slid his tongue in the corner of his cheek and glared at Sora's father. "Well, you know how it is. Some people change their outlook while others will always judge."

"It's getting late and didn't you say Tk was having some trouble getting Ryoko asleep?" Sora walked between her father and friend, pulling Matt by the arm and leading him to the door.

"Don't." Mrs. Hissed at her husband as her eyes stilled on the backs of the young couple leaving the room. "Not one word. That was un-call for."

"I merely stated a fact." Haruhiko eyed his wife knowing that she was ready to prove him wrong. "No, you stated an opinion." His wife turned to face him. She titled her head and folder her arms as Sora had done previous. "If you stated a fact then you would had known that the boy's friend pulled a party together for him. If you stated a fact you would had realized that he has been keeping a low profile. What you stated was an angry over-protective judgement which that boy did not deserve." Toshiko watched her husband closely."He was lying. She was lying. Do you really think that he was merely dropping her off?"

"No I don't. But I do know Sora is eighteen and she has her right to make a life of her own."

"You know as well as I that guys like that only want one thing!"

"Yes your right because I married a guy like that." Mrs. Toshiko kept her eyes on her husband. "I know it was a long time ago but do try to remember. My parents weren't very happy with me when I brought you home."

"I…that was then." Haruhiko rubbed his chin. "Yes and this is now."

"I loved you then."

"What, you don't now?"

"That's not what I meant." Why did Toshiko always turn his words against him? She enjoy being right, Haruhilo thought to himself.

"I know, dear. I know. You have to remind yourself that we don't know that he doesn't love her and this time it may be different."

"And if it isn't, Sora gets her heart broken and we have to pick up the pieces." Mr. Takenouchi huffed.

"It's part of being a parent. Like the time you taught her to ride a bike. You knew she was going to fall but you had to let her so she would get back up again. Now isn't much different."

"Well then surely you remember how many times she did fall until she was able to balance correctly. How many skinned knees we had to mend and how many times we had to wipe away her tears."

"Yes, I didn't think she would ever learn how to ride a bike. But she did."

"This isn't about riding a bike this is about…"

"Love. I know." Mrs. Toshiko patted her husband on the arm and walked into the kitchen.

Mr. Haruhiko threw his hands in the air and walked in the opposite way.

"Mother?" Sora poked her head through the kitchen door.

"Sora," Toshiko gave her daughter a gentle smile.

"What is it dear?" Toshiko asked on seeing Sora's face. Sora shook her short red locks as she slipped into one of the kitchen's chair. She placed her chin on her arms. "Dad for starters."

"Pish. Don't worry about what he says or said."

"He insulted my friend!" Sora huffed.

"Yes and we discussed it." Toshiko turned her back in order to clean some of the dishes that lay in the sink.

"That's it?"

"What would you like me to do?" Toshiko hummed. She was getting tired of the father and daughter battle that her loved ones seemed to place her between. "Your father is your father. He believes that his job as your father is to protect you from all the bumps and bruises you will endure in your life. Right now, he feels the need to protect you from Matt."

"Because Matt had a baby?" Sora rolled her eyes.

"No. No not really. I think it's because he is capable of having a baby."

"What? That doesn't make sense. All of my friends are capable of having a baby. I'm capable of having a baby!"

Toshiko set aside the dishtowel and sat down beside her daughter. "Matt just helped him realize how much you grown, how much everyone has and now, he's afraid of loosing you.""To Matt?"

"Yes Matt or someone else. Your not his little tom girl anymore. He knows that and now he feels the need to protect you from every…" Toshiko shrugged her shoulders.

Sora rolled her eyes. "Well he doesn't have to worry about Matt!"

She glanced up at her mother who sat quietly besides her, waiting for more.

"I messed it up. Matt is a great person, he is good looking, dresses perfect and not gay. He has always been more mature then the other people always one-step of head of the male population. His voice is soooo amazing. Every girl wants him and tonight, I had my chance. He really is the best thing that has come my way and I told him I wasn't ready. I wasn't ready to date him, to be with him because of Ryoko, because of my future. I mean, I waited years for him to notice me and then when he does, I said no way. I told him I had plans for my future and he and Ryoko would get in the way. What kind of person am I?"

"I'll take a wild guess at a confused person." Toshiko placed her hand around her daughters. "You have every right to think ahead and to seek out your future."

"So I was right to tell him it's too late?" Sora sniffled.

"I didn't say that."

"Then I did mess up."

"I didn't say that either."

Sora gave a small laugh. "Then what are you saying because sitting here and hearing your words are making me even more confused."

"I'm telling you to look at your future and see what you want in it."

"That doesn't help. You are supposed to say that I did the right thing. That I was supposed to think of college first and if he is still here, it was meant to be. That is what any normal mother would say. You are supposed to tell me what you learned from your mistakes so I don't make the same!"

"Then we would be here for a long time." Toshiko gentle smile appeared once more. "But Sora, I caught on real quick and I made my choices and in the end, I didn't make the wrong mistakes. I am exactly where I want to be." She looked over her child's head, seeing her husband standing near the door. "I don't know where I'd be if I didn't marry your father, if I didn't have you for my daughter."

She pulled her gaze from her husband's dark eyes and stared down at her daughter's bright ones. "I do want what every normal mother wants for her daughter. I want you to be happy. There are many choices that you will face on your own and will have to make on your own. This is one of them. I can tell you that college will be there when your ready, Sora. I can not say that Matt will be and I can't really say that you have to give up college for Matt. Why not have them both?"