Disclaimer: Don't own it. Never will.

A/N: Early update! Why? Because I am extremely bored. I don't really like the way this chapter came out. Meh…what can ya do…Maybe I'll go back and edit it or something soon.

Chapter Three: Recordkeeping with the Dramatic Girls

"How's that band going?"

I looked over at Tai, who was waiting for an answer. We were halfway to my place and had driven in silence the whole way. Something must have been going through his mind. I could feel the awkward tension filling the car.

Shrugging, I muttered, "I quit."

"Huh? Why?"

"Just wasn't interested," I didn't want to tell him the real reason. He seemed to believe me, anyway.

I heard him sigh as I watched out of the passenger window. "Yama…I wanna talk to you."

He was slowing down the car. I suddenly knew what he was thinking, and I just wished to be the hell out of that car. I didn't feel like listening to him lecture me about his younger sister, who I recently remembered was overprotected by her older brother.

"I saw Kari sitting with you and that pink-headed girl. Yuki Yano was even there. Why?"

"Um…" I shrugged again. "Why what?"

"Why was that Yuki kid there?"

This was unbelievable. I knew Tai all too well, and he was asking me why Kari was hanging around with Yuki. Knowing his reputation, I wasn't surprised that Tai didn't seem to like it.

I gave him a questioning look. "Because he's my friend?"

"Listen, Yama, I'm not really enjoying watching my sister cry over that fucker. I'm not really into her little friend, so why are they even hanging out with you guys?"

"Tai, it's their decision to sit with us or kiss me at parties, not mine! Why don't you talk to Kari about this, seeing as she actually has some saying in it? I mean, if they don't want to anymore, they don't have to."

He was getting angry. I suddenly remembered how furious he was at the party and got nervous. "I thought maybe you guys wouldn't let them bring in the drama shit they have. They're not like Sora and Mai--Kari and her friend fight all the time and make up all the time. It gets annoying, 'cause Kari's always upset about things she's doing, and she never even talks about it to her!"

"Why are you telling me this?" I snapped, getting frustrated myself.

" 'Cause by you and those druggies hanging around them, it makes Kari have to deal with more shit. Like her crush on Yuki is about to make me go the fuck after him."

I felt bad for Yuki, because honestly, Tai can pack a hell of a punch. I had the bruised nose to prove it. And how could Yuki help it if Kari and Mimi both had it in for him? I thought for a second that I should tell him, then my mind pleasantly reminded me of Yuki's past in taking advantage of girls. No wonder Tai was so mad.

"How did you know she likes him?"

"I know Kari."

He was so mad I thought his knuckles were going to burst from gripping the steering wheel so hard. I tried to calm him down by saying, "She seems kind of innocent to me. Why would she go for someone like Yuki?"

"Well…she's been different for a while. It's hard to explain, she just gets attached to people easily."

The conversation was hopeless. I couldn't get it through his head that I didn't have anything to do with the damn situation. How is it my fault that Kari likes Yuki and hangs out with Mimi?

We pulled into my driveway.

"Just…think about it," he told me.

"What's to think about?" I almost snapped, slamming the door. Being friends with that guy again? What the hell was I thinking!

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"Hey, Yamato," Noah greeted, joining me in the pizza line. I could have cheered.

"I have to talk to you," I sounded so demanding, it kind of scared me. Then, I suddenly felt like a little gossip girl, wanting to tell Noah about Tai and Kari and Yuki. I shrugged off the thought and blurted out, "Apparently, Kari likes Yuki."

Noah blinked before replying. "Um…what?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Who told you that?"

"She did yesterday. And Tai…chi told me later." After saying that, I really wanted to kill myself. Why would I even mention Tai around Noah? That was such a stupid move! I had a strong urge to band my head against the wall over and over again.

He looked around. "So…it's true?"

"And I guess she's in a fight with Mimi over it."

"What a lucky guy," Noah muttered dryly. I had to laugh at the sarcasm, then join it.

"Well," I stopped chuckling. "I've always wanted little girls after me, too."

Both of us shared a laugh, adding onto the joke. It made me feel better when we dropped the conversation. I felt like I was living in heaven when he didn't say anything about me talking to Tai the day before. I guess he knew I just didn't want to deal with it.

Only Yuki and Mai were at our table. I studied the area. "Where is everyone?"

"Dai had a test today, and Sora has tennis."

"When's the last time that guy took a damn quiz?" Noah asked, playfully shoving Yuki out of the seat. "Don't the teachers even realize it by now?"

No one said anything about Kari and Mimi, so I didn't either. I was beginning to wonder if Tai gave Kari a lecture about guys like Yuki. Wouldn't surprise me, anyway.

Apparently not, though. The two were sitting with Dai on Wednesday. I took a seat beside Kari.

Mimi had a cell phone opened, distracted by her texting. Dai and Kari looked bored.

"I can't believe he'd do that," Mimi muttered, shaking her head. She looked kind of mad, so I didn't say anything. But Dai didn't seem to get it.

"Didn't he just do the same thing?"

She glared at him. "No,"

"What's up?" I finally asked, eager to know what was happening. I had an idea, but I had to make sure.

"Mimi's boyfriend is cheating on her," Dai explained casually.

Suddenly, she looked at him furiously. If I was Dai, I would have ran. "He's not my boyfriend, and he isn't cheating on me. He just lied to me. No big deal."

I wondered if they were talking about Yuki. "Who's the 'lucky' guy?" I questioned Mimi specifically, not really itching on Dai getting his head ripped off. He was on the edge, and jumping wasn't going to get him off it.

"This guy Phil from the other school."

"Are you dating him?"

"Kind of,"

"She's just obsessed with him," Dai smirked. Yep, he definitely didn't get it.

Mimi quickly tied her hair in a ponytail and picked her cell phone back up. "There's this girl, Yolei, and she's so ugly. She thinks he likes her, and he felt bad, so he keeps going on dates with her. Or, so I thought."

"And, really, he's dating them both," Dai added.

What about Yuki? I wanted to ask, but kept my mouth shut. Kari wasn't saying anything, either.

"Wanna come to the bathroom with me, Kari?" Mimi asked, actually acknowledging that she was there. Kari shrugged and followed.

"Where's Yuki?" Dai complained, looking around.

I followed his gaze. "I dunno. Why?"

"I was supposed to stay in class for lunch and write the test I missed yesterday, so I wanna head over to his place. Man, he better be here, or I'm dead for sure. Was he in homeroom?"

"Yeah,"

Mai came over and stopped to talk. I was thankful. I had a thing or two to ask her.

"Were you with Yuki?" Dai desperately asked her.

"Yeah, why?"

He jumped up. "Where! Where is he!"

"Heading to his car, why?"

He didn't answer and bolted down the hallway. I think I heard him crash into something, but didn't pay much attention. I was more into the conversation I was hesitating to start with Mai.

"What were you like last year?"

She looked startled. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, last year, did you fight with your friends all the time or something? Like, get mad at them for stupid reasons?"

Mai seemed like she was about to laugh. "Yamato, all girls are like that."

I raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"Girls fight--it's what they do. Girls gossip…constantly. Girls spread rumours, no matter if they made it up or someone else did. They just find it fun to tell someone their boyfriend is kissing someone else or something. Everyone does it."

"You don't,"

She shrugged. "I'm different. I don't find enjoyment in making girls miserable. That's why you and Yuki love me."

I laughed.

"Why did you want to know?"

I could have told her about Mimi and Kari, about how confused the situation I wasn't even a part of was making me, but I didn't. I told her I was just curious.

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On Wednesday morning, Yuki took a seat beside me before homeroom started.

"Those girls are fuckin' crazy, man."

I knew just who he was talking about, but to keep my cool, I had to ask. "Who?"

"Mimi and Kari. People are sayin' me and Mimi are hooking up. I asked Mimi, and she said Kari started it. I asked Kari, even though I already knew it wasn't her, and she didn't do it."

"I thought you didn't care about rumours?"

He shrugged. "I don't. It's just fuckin' annoying they're getting me involved with stupid middle school shit."

I had to think about it. The two girls were only in grade ten, not much younger than us, but they were different than Sora and Mai. I couldn't imagine Sora going behind Mai's back and saying something, especially what Mimi was saying about Kari. It seemed dumb that they were bringing Yuki into this. I really didn't understand.

"Girls are messed," I told him, and he nodded in agreement. "You're not interested in them, right?"

Yuki placed on foot on his desk, the other leg crossing the other, then folded his hands behind his head. "I'm Yuki Yano," he explained. "Yuki Yano isn't interested in girls, girls are interested in him."

"Ah, Mr. Yano," the teacher called from her desk, "feet?"

He smoothly took them down. His cockiness was getting annoying. I remembered Tai telling me Kari was crying over Yuki.

Then, a thought occurred to me: It wasn't my problem. At all. Some girl fell for some guy. If Yuki wanted to play dumb about it, Tai would be thrilled to have a chat with him. Why the hell was I so worried about it?

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Well, I shouldn't have been worried. I didn't see a whole lot of Kari after that. Wednesday at lunch, Mimi came over with a huff and explained the whole story to us. I didn't believe a whole lot of it--it didn't seem like Kari would tell everyone Mimi gave that Phil guy head three times.

It was pretty obvious Mimi was fishing around for attention. I don't know why she thought she could still sit with us and that Kari just wasn't allowed. I'd rather have Kari sit in silence than have the blond bitch about everything.

The rest of the guys really didn't seem to notice. Maybe wearing low-cut shirts all the time can distract people from actually listening to you.

However…Monday at lunch, I did see a whole lot of Tai.

I was with only Noah, talking about some test we had that day, when Mimi came over wearing a pout. I didn't know if I could take another stupid complain of hers.

"I'm so mad right now," she warned, and I was thankful Dai wasn't there to make it worse.

"Why?" Noah and I asked at the same time.

She flipped open her cell phone, sitting on Noah's chair. "Apparently, Kari and Yuki had a date on Saturday night. Can you believe it?"

No way, I thought, leaning back. "Why does that bother you?"

" 'Cause I like Yuki," she replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"What about that Phil guy?" I reminded, getting yet again a little confused with her world. Then again, what the hell was Kari doing going out with someone like Yuki?

Noah looked at Mimi. "Who?"

"That's over…"

"Onto the next one, huh?" I heard someone behind me say.

Dai stood there smirking while Mimi looked like she wanted to rip him into pieces. I don't know why Dai was always like that--maybe he found Mimi's dramatic life funny. I should have, to tell you the truth.

Luckily, she decided to ignore him. "So, I'm gonna have a talk with Kari after school."

"Why?" I snapped. "She likes him, too, y'know."

I don't know why I stuck up for Kari like that. I was probably fed up with Mimi's attitude about ridiculous things.

"Why does everyone always take herside?!" she cried. "Why doesn't anyone see that she's actually worse than me?! People say she's so innocent when really, she's not! Why does no one see that?"

Dai shook his head. "Man, you're weird. No wonder Yuki doesn't like you,"

So, I couldn't blame her for shouting and storming down the hall. It was a dick thing to say on Dai's part. Noah just looked at Dai him with an irritated look. I did the same.

"Fuck off, Dai," Noah muttered, sounded a bit angry.

"What? She's annoying,"

"She's a girl," he explained. "They're always doing shit like that just to get each other mad."

I didn't argue, because now I actually believed it.

Yuki came over soon enough and pushed me out of my chair. "What's up?"

"Scoring little girls now?" Noah joked. I chuckled. Yuki's never gone out with a girl younger than him before. We all decided it would be the right time to tease him about it, seeing as he used to date frequently. This must have been his first one in months.

"Shut up," he snared.

"Can't find girls your age? All taken?" I added.

The whole cafeteria seemed to mute or something. I turned around and faced Tai, who was eyeing Yuki with anger. I'd seen that look many times, and from the outcome of them, I hurried over to Noah.

"Mind if we step outside, Yano?" Tai asked, crossing his arms across his chest.

My mind went blank. When I heard about Yuki and Kari's date, I didn't even think about what Tai thought of it.

Yuki seemed stunned. He was really known for a fighting find of guy. Now that I think of it, he must have been just talk. Pretty much everyone in the damn school new the soccer team's captain could put down just about anyone.

I wondered what was going through Yuki's mind when he answered, "All right."

Obviously, Noah, Dai, and I dashed behind them, eager to find out what they were going to do. A lot of people came with us, too.

Finally, they were in the football field.

"Know why you're here?" Tai challenged, turning around to look at him.

"I guess," Yuki replied in a moody tone.

"Listen, Yano," He stepped closer to him. "I don't want you touching my sister. I don't want you talking to her, going near her, calling her…I mean, I don't want you fucking looking at my sister. Is that clear enough for you?"

Yuki rolled his eyes. "I can't look at your sister? What do you expect me to do, close my eyes when I see her?"

"It'd be appreciated."

Too many people were in my way, but I knew that Yuki threw the first punch. I kept trying to shove people in front of me to see better. Everyone started to spread out when I heard, "Stop it! Both of you!"

Kari had come to Yuki's rescue.

One remained silent, most likely overwhelmed by joy. The other stared at his sister with furiousness. "What!" Tai cried. "Don't tell me what to do!"

"I'm telling Mom," someone near me said, imitating Kari's voice. I let a laugh go.

The fight was over. I had to find something else to do. So…what else was there to do then to follow Tai around?

"You okay?" I asked stupidly.

"Just great!" he burst out, opening his car door quickly. "Yuki's just gonna have another thing coming if I see him today at all. Why would Kari do that? She knew damn well not to tell me what happened if she thought I wouldn't get mad…"

I went to the passenger's side and hopped in, assuming Tai wouldn't care. "I'm sure nothing happened."

"Nothing?" he snapped. "You think asking for an easy lay is nothing?!"

"What!"

Okay, so Yuki was like that…but I didn't think he'd ever ask someone like Kari for sex. Couldn't he see how innocent she was? Couldn't he see she normally never went for a guy like him? Couldn't he see her brother was a complete psychopath?

"Was she drinking?"

Tai had calmed down a little bit before answering, "No. And thank God she came home early."

I was about to ask him if Yuki was drinking, then blamed myself for being so blind. When is Yuki not drinking? I came up with a little better question. "Hey, where are we going, anyway?"

"Away." he muttered.

"Are we coming back after lunch?"

"Nope."

"So…" I shrugged. "We're cutting class."

"I am,"

Well, I could cut class with a furious Tai, or go back to school with kids everywhere asking me, "What's up with Yagami?" and "Is he all right?" with me, dumbfounded, answering, "I don't know…"

"I guess I'll come,"

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A/N: I promise the next chapter will have less to do with Kari and Mimi, and it will be longer. Sorry for the shortness. And a great big thank you! goes out to my reviewers who make me smile ) …expect chapter four next Friday or so!