A/N: First off, I'd like to thank all those who have reviewed this story so far. It's only been a few days and I've received some really nice replies! I'm so excited to write this story! I have no idea how it's going to turn out and I really want to see how Yamato gets out of this as well. Enjoy!

And so...flash back to the present. Five nights ago I had this dream. Five nights ago, Tai gave me a bewildered look. Five nights ago, things became very awkward. And for the past five days, he's been avoiding me. I sighed aloud, sitting in my bedroom, drinking a cup of coffee.

We live in a cozy apartment, so it's obvious when he's avoiding me. He wakes up earlier than me to eat breakfast, leaves the apartment whenever I'm hanging around, and exits the area when I enter. It's really quite frightening. "And stupid," I say aloud to no one in particular. Did I mention that I didn't do too well on that midterm I had the following morning of the event? I take a walk into the living room, dragging my feet, utterly depressed.

Worst of all, all this extra time alone has given me more time alone to think, and I've come to realize that I have a major issue on my hands here. The stability in my life has been taken away, and I may not ever get it back. Why? Because...

"I'm in love with him," I say as I take another sip of my coffee. Passing the kitchen table where Tai left a note about going to school early, I sit on the couch in the living room and look around. What now? I need to fix this, I can't afford to lose him to something as stupid as a meaningless dream. This isn't just a meaningless dream...I sighed heavily. "Yeah, this is a dream telling me to wake up and smell the..." Hmm, seems I had finished my coffee awfully quick.

"Ahh this depression is bugging me," I said aloud, "Maybe I'll just go run a few errands I've been putting off for a week." I quickly showered, got dressed, and styled my hair, leaving the apartment and heading for the convenience store.

XXXXX

I forgot to mention, I'm a curious guy. When I see something that intrigues me, I simply must know more about it! As I was collecting the items I needed, a magazine caught my eye. Turning to look at it, it appeared to be a version of Playboy tailored to women! For some odd reason, I couldn't stop looking at it. Yes, the man on the cover was attractive, but...that wasn't quite it. Scratching my chin and staring at the magazine, I seemed to catch the attention of a few local shoppers.

"Look at that pervert, has he no shame!" I heard a woman say. I didn't really care; I had to know what was so interesting about this magazine! Why did it catch my eye so? Was it because the man was eating a hot dog? I cocked my head to the left when I felt an annoying presence. A child standing not more than two feet away from me was staring at the magazine as well. He couldn't have been more than eight. "You're also curious about this too huh? Yeah...there's just something about this magazine cover..." I said to him.

The mother of the child seeing her son, however, quickly grabbed him and pulled him along somewhere else, scolding him. I however, continued to stare for what seemed like...a very long time.

Eventually, I couldn't figure out what was so interesting about the magazine, so I put it in my basket of items to purchase. As I was at the counter paying for the items, guess who happened to walk in?

Tai, eating a hot dog entered the store, with a bit of ketchup on his nose. As soon as we saw each other, we both froze. Tai was looking at me, still chewing his hot dog, but otherwise standing perfectly still. I was holding the dirty magazine in my hand to hand to the cashier when I froze.

This is what I mean about things being awkward!

Tai's eyes shifted to what I was holding and I swear he nearly experienced a nosebleed. Tai coughed and looked away. I quickly let go of the magazine and attempted to explain myself.

"Uh...Oh hehe hi Tai! Ohh..uh, this magazine? This is just uh...it's uhh...it contains an article that I need to read for my management class today, yeah! I'm just getting it for that article, nothing else!" However, as I was attempting to explain, Tai just walked out of the store.

Sighing loudly, I finished purchasing my items and decided that I needed some comfort food. Walking along the street, I decided to enter a chocolate shop that, though I had often seen it, I never once entered it. And to my surprise, of all people for me to see, Mimi was there selling chocolate!

"NANI!!!!!" I couldn't help but exclaim at the sight! "Mimi, what on earth are you doing here? I thought you were in America!"

Mimi, greeting me with a glomp as I stood dumbfounded, replied with a loud, "HIII YAMATOOO! I'm here selling chocolate! My mother runs this little shop here, but she had a bit of an emergency and needed someone to run it for her. And when she called me and asked if I wanted to come to Nagoya, I jumped at the opportunity! I needed a reason to come check out the new shopping centre at Midland Square!"

Happy to see Mimi again, and stressed as ever, we sat down and caught up on everything. Needless to say, I told her everything about the situation with Tai and I.

"Hmm..." Mimi contemplated, "And you haven't tried talking to Tai about this huh?"

"I never get the chance to Meems! He's always avoiding me, and the atmosphere is so thick, I'm scared as hell to bring it up!" I replied.

Mimi played with the ends of her pink highlighted hair and looked deep in thought. "Hmm...OK! I have an idea! It's going to be a little crazy, but if you want things to work, this is the only way!"

Ten seconds passed. "And the only way is...?" I asked.

"Um. Wait, I forgot the idea I had in mind, it was so perfect too! Just on the tip of my tongue and..." Mimi continued to mutter to herself as I let out yet another sigh. "Mimi, what are you doing tonight?"

"Nothing really, why? You wanna do something?" Mimi asked.

"Let's go out drinking."

XXXXX

Mind you, I never drink. I just felt like acting stupid and getting my mind off things. I was currently walking home, looking forward to tonight. Looking at my watch, however, I realized I had only 30 minutes to get home, get ready for class, and be on time. I had an assignment due today that I had worked very hard on and completed early. There was no way I could be late, I would not suffer another poor grade!

Racing home, running as fast as I could, I regretted not working out as often as I should. My sides were already starting to hurt and a cramp was forming near my tummy. I finally made it to the apartment, shoved my keys in the door and threw my bag full of items on the kitchen counter. I ran straight to my room looking for my books and bag.

"Where is my assignment...crap, where did I put it!" I cried. Oh right, I was reading it over while in the washroom earlier! I ran into the washroom, throwing the door open.

"AHHHH!"

"EEEEK!" I screamed and slammed the door shut, backing the door. Tai...apparently went home earlier than I had and was just coming out of the tub. And yes, he just happened to be soaking wet, naked, and reaching for a towel when I entered.

The next few lines went something like this...

"Jeez Yamato! I'm in the bathroom!"

"I see that Tai!!! I HAVE EYES YOU KNOW!"

"WELL NEXT TIME USE SOME COMMON SENSE! ...great..now I'm living with a peeping Tom"

"You know, I'm right outside the door, I can hear everything you're saying!"

"So?!"

"SO? So what the hell is that supposed to mean, Tai!"

"Ever heard of knocking before entering a closed room?!"

"Well SORRY! I WAS JUST...Ugh! Just...fuck off and give me my damn paper!"

"...What did you say?"

"I said give me my damned assignment, it's in there Tai. Use your ears and eyes a little!"

"FINE, TAKE IT!!!"

After Tai scrambled around, the door opened roughly and my assignment was thrown out, sliding across the wooden floor. I quickly grabbed it and headed out the door.

XXXXX

Fresh tears sprung to my eyes as I waited for the taxi to come take me to school. "He hates me...he hates me...he hates me.." Did I really just swear at him? That's not like me...and all that yelling…"Oh God...he hates me for sure..." Yes, I do realize that I'm being a drama queen.

We fought a lot when we were younger, but now...now it's different. We've grown up a lot since then and honestly, I can't remember the last time we had an argument. Especially one as stupid as this. So what if I walked in on him in the washroom? I've seen him naked before, it's not that big of a deal. Well I guess...ever since that thing happened it is. But still! It's just so stupid. I wiped my eyes, suppressing the tears as a the taxi approached me.

XXXXX

After class, I just hung around campus for a bit and called Mimi up to head downtown to a dance club & bar. I really needed to relax tonight and just let loose. I'd fix this thing with Tai...but right now, I needed to relax a bit. The remainder of the week would be very busy.

I hope you all enjoyed this 2nd installment. Please R&R! I've already got a few ideas going through my head right now, but if any of you have any that you want to share, feel free to throw some out there!