M&M Forever: Hi everyone. Yeah, as you can see, it's been almost a full year since I started this story. I hadn't really made up my mind until today, and before then it just didn't seem right to finish this up until Valentine's Day. Really, who wants to hear about a V-day story in July? Also, it dawned on me as I was typing this up that this is the 4th chapter, which also makes the fact that I was stumped on this chapter that much more ironic because I've always been either blessed or cursed by the number 4. Oh, and I would like to dedicate this final chapter to my best friend and own personal prince charming, Joshu, who is currently off at Officer Training camp to become an officer in the Marine Corp. Thank you, my love, for being my muse and inspiration, as well as believing in me and my ability to write again. And of course, a huge thank you to all of you, my faithful readers!

Well…so here it is, without any further ado, the last chapter of "The Worst Valentine's Day Ever." I promise. Just… don't kill me for what happens, ok? -runs away cringing-

Don't own Digimon, but the plot is mine... and I guess that Mark is mine too, though I've really come to hate that cheating son of a…..err… yeah... Feel free to take Mark and do whatever the heck you want to him: kick him where the sun doesn't shine, pair him with Jun or better yet, Michael, whatever. (Except pair him with Mimi, that is…)

Slowly, a pair of chocolate colored eyes peeled open, their owner weak and weary. Struggling with the effort to comprehend what she was seeing, it took a while for Mimi to realize that she was awake and lying in her bed. A million and one questions ran through her mind as she struggled to sit up. Was it really morning already? And why was she so tired if she'd just been asleep? Looking outside, she noticed that it was now quite dark out, perhaps even darker than it was in her room. A quick glance at her alarm clock to her right told her that the time was now 11:40pm. Wait, that wasn't right…wasn't she just at school? What was she doing in her bed here at home? Where had the time gone?

Her memories came flooding back like the tide, and she suddenly remembered the incident at school that had ruined everything. She scrambled to get out of bed but found herself so weak that she simply got caught up in her sheets and accidentally dove face-first into the carpet with a loud thud.

'Oww…' she thought to herself, reaching up to rub her sore nose. She could hear footsteps outside of her room and someone knocked on the door.

"Mimi, dear, are you awake?" she heard her mother call. "Are you feeling ok?"

"Yes mom, I'm fine," she responded, crawling back into bed as best she could just as the door opened. Mrs. Tachikawa stuck her head in the room, the light from the hallway spilling into her dark room.

"Are you sure you're alright dear? You were nearly unconscious when your boyfriend brought you home and we almost called for an ambulance. Your father and I were really worried about you! I'm so glad that your boyfriend is such a responsible guy and can be trusted to look out for you!"

Mimi stared at her mother in confusion. Mark? Mark had found her and brought her home? But… then the voice that she'd heard… how could he be so cruel towards her one minute but then save her life the next? It just didn't make any sense!

The bewilderment must have been present on her face, because Ms. Tachikawa seemed flustered. "I-I thought he was your boyfriend…" she said softly, but Mimi wanted a better answer than that.

"…What was his name? Was it Mark?" she hissed, nearly spitting as she said his name.

"No, his name wasn't Mark. It was… oh dear, I can't seem to remember. But he seemed so insistent on making sure you were ok that I told him it was alright for him to stay in here with you. And it looks like he has fallen asleep himself, the poor dear," she said, pointing to Mimi's left. Her eyes widening in fear, she slowly looked to where her mother was pointing. Sure enough, there was just enough light for Mimi to see that there was someone sitting in the large chair, which had been the resting place of several of her larger stuffed animals the night before.

"MOM!" Mimi cried in alarm, her face flushing a deep scarlet red in embarrassment. She scooted away from the silhouette of a sleeping figure in the chair next to her bed, creeped out to the extreme. She looked at him one last time before rounding on her mother as she stood in the doorway. "You let someone stay in my room while I was sleeping?!" she hissed quietly. "And you can't even remember their name?! What if he was just some random person who was stalking me and he had done something to me an-"

"I know he's not some random person, Mimi!" her mother exclaimed, trying to keep her voice low, as to not disturb their sleeping guest. "I'm pretty sure that he's one of the ones from that group of friends you hang out with, so I assumed it was okay… and he seemed so nice… and he's rather handsome too…you should go out with him, you two would make such a cute couple!"

"Mom!" Mimi exclaimed again, her face turning so red that she put a ripe tomato to shame. Sensing that perhaps that wasn't the right thing to say at that moment, Mrs. Tachikawa blushed slightly, muttered a soft "Sorry…" and ducked out of the line of sight, leaving the door open. Mimi could hear her footsteps as she walked down the staircase, and she sighed. Seriously, what had come over her mother? And what was she trying to do, suggesting that…

A soft, low-pitched groan interrupted her thoughts, and Mimi suddenly remembered that she wasn't alone. Still freaked out over the thought of having someone she possibly didn't know in her own room, she slowly reached for one of her heavier stuffed animals on her desk. She raised it up over her head, ready to bring it crashing down if she heard even the slightest hint noise that made her believe he was awake.

"Mimi?" a soft voice whispered from the shadows, and she swung down towards the sound with all her might.

"OWW!" came the shocked reply. Apparently her stalker hadn't been able to see that she had been armed… Mimi wrenched the stuffed animal away and hit him again and again. "Mimi, stop it! OWW! That hurts! … MIMI!"

A hand shot out and caught her wrist as it brought the toy towards him again. His grip was strong and did not wavier, even when she tried to wrench her arm free. Terrified, she opened her mouth to scream for her mother.

"MMMMMMMM!!!"

The other hand had shot out and covered her mouth just in time to prevent her to make a loud enough sound to alert her mother. Mimi squirmed as much as she could in her condition, trying her best to escape from her captor, but it was to no avail. She heard him shift his weight closer to her, and she opened her mouth just enough to take a small nip at his hand.

"OWW!" the voice cried again, this time sounding more angry than before. Still, he continued to lean forward until Mimi could feel his breath on her ear. She shivered. "Now Mimi…" he fumed, obviously furious at her. "I want you to turn on the light by your bed, the one that's to my right. And don't try to bite me again, do you hear?!"

Not knowing what else to do, she reached out with her left hand and found the chain to the floor lamp. She gave it a small tug, and suddenly light flooded the area, giving her a clear look at the person she had been attacking only moments before. Her eyes widened in surprise at the angry tide of the blue ocean that was nearly glaring at her.

"YMMMDMM?"

Matt sighed heavily, releasing both the grip on her wrist and over her mouth. He held his right hand under the light, examining the faint teeth marks on his palm.

"Seriously Mimi, first you attack me with a plushie, and then you go and bite me?" he whined, half serious, half teasing. "What the hell has gotten into you lately?"

"Sorry," she muttered, looking down at the stuffed animal she had brought down to rest in her lap. "I didn't know who was there and I got scared."

Matt sighed again and brought his hands to rest atop of hers gently. She tensed and nearly pulled her hands away, but after a moment the slight weight of his hands against hers calmed her and gave her a strange sense of peace. "I guess that's my fault." Matt muttered loud enough for her to hear. "I should have thought about that when I asked your mom if I could wait around and make sure you were okay. It's just… you… you really had me worried for a while…"

Mimi continued to stare at the pink bear in her hands, unable to look him in the eyes again. She could feel the heat rising in her face as she felt his eyes on her. Unsure of what to say, she made no reply, except to simply nod at his words.

"Mimi…" Matt began again. "About earlier… I…" He clammed up, unable to continue. If there was one thing that he could say about himself for certain, it was that he'd never really been very good at apologizing to anyone other than TK, and even that was sometimes a struggle. He cleared his throat to try again, but Mimi interrupted him.

"No Matt, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you. You were only trying to help me, and I should have seen that." Plucking up some courage, she raised her eyes to meet his. Blue, watery orbs met warm chocolate, and she was lost, swirling around helplessly as she looked for something unsaid, something she felt was lying just below the surface… It wasn't until Matt waved his hand in front of her face that Mimi was aware that he had been speaking.

"Mimi?" Matt asked, tilting his head to one side in confusion. He gently rapped his knuckles against her forehead. "Earth to Mimi? Are you alive in there?"

Mimi nodded, blushing slightly in embarrassment. "Sorry. I guess I sort of spaced out, didn't I. I was just lost in thought…"

"You were thinking? Wow, someone call the press, I think we have a miracle here!"

"That wasn't funny, Matt…" Mimi told him, scowling.

"S-sorry…" he stuttered slightly, bowing his head in shame. He didn't want to fight again like they had earlier.

"Now that is press worthy! I can just see the headlines tomorrow: Yamato Ishida actually apologizes!" Mimi countered, teasing him as well. Matt's head shot up to look at her.

"Mimi… did you just…make a joke?"

She pursed her lips. "So what if I did? It's not a big deal."

"It's just… I never knew you had a… um… well…"

"A sense of humor? Sorry to burst your bubble, but you're not the only one who can crack 'em."

Matt frowned, completely taken back by the sudden turn in events. How had he not realize that she had the same wit and humor that he did? What else did he not know about his friend, what else was she keeping a secret from him? And why had it taken her so long to let him see this side of her, why hadn't she responded to him all those times before?

She must have read his mind, because she responded, "But just because I can make jokes doesn't mean that I will… and that's the main difference between your humor and mine."

It was like a slap in the face for him, and he nearly stood up and walked out on her. But the more Matt thought about it, the more he could see where she was coming from. He hadn't exactly been the best about knowing when to stop teasing her, and it was obvious from their conversation after school that he had gone too far that time.

"Meems, I…I'm sorry about teasing you… I guess I just didn't realize just how much it bothered you…"

"...What did you say?"

"I… I said I'm sorry for teasing you, an-"

"No, no, before that…" she interrupted, a twinge of pink appearing below her eyes. "What did you call me?" Matt blushed, realizing what he said, and repeated the name. She smiled softly and nodded.

"Meems… I like it… will…will you call me that from now on?"

"Sure, if that's what you want," Matt said, trying to act cool, but inside his stomach was doing flips and his head was spinning.

"I'd love it…" she whispered, sending a shiver up his spine. Why was he so nervous? It was just Mimi. It wasn't like he had a crush on her or anything…

He froze, and the color drained out of his face. A crush? Did he have a crush on his friend Mimi? Was that what was going on? He'd never been one to pay close attention to his feelings, so he didn't quite know what to make of this one.

"Matt? Are you okay? You just got really pale all of a sudden?" Mimi asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry about it."

Mimi paused, unsure whether to pursue his claim or not. "Are you sure you're alright?" she pressed.

"Yes, I'm fine. Don't go worrying your pretty head about me, I'm not worth it."

"Yes, you are Matt! Please don't put yourself down like that! You are totally worth it! You're smart, funny, and very loyal. And to be completely honest, Matt, I think that's why I fell for you."

That last sentence hung in the air for nearly half a minute before the two of them realized what had just been said. Mimi froze, her eyes going wide as she realized what she had just admitted to him so casually. She was positively horrorstruck at her own daring, and she feared to see what Matt's reaction was going to be. She watched in panic as he stood quickly, stumbling over his own words.

"I… uh… just realized how late it was and that I didn't let my dad know where I was… yeah… I have to go… my dad's probably wondering where I am, and I don't want him to worry about me." Matt said nervously as he made his way away from her bedside and towards her bedroom door.

"MATT!"

He'd nearly reached the door when Mimi's pitiful cry of dismay reached his ears and he froze, unable to continue. Something about how she'd just said his name reached inside of his body and twisted his heart so much that he could barely stand to hear it, but he was terrified. Yes. He, Yamato "Matt" Ishida, was terrified out of his mind. Of what, he didn't rightly know, but something about what she had just confessed frightened him to the point where he no longer was sure he wanted to be there.

"Matt… please…" he heard her whimper. "Don't go… I…I need you to tell me… do you… do you like me, Yamato?"

He paused, unsure of what to tell her. Hell, he wasn't even sure of what to tell himself! He could hear the words bubbling up on instinct, and they were out before he could stop them.

"No. I don't like you."

His heart nearly shattered at what he heard next, the guilt becoming almost too much to bear. He would not turn around. He could not turn around. A small sniffle, a clearing of the throat, the choking back of a sob. Each little sound was like a death knell to his heart. But fear kept him from saying anything else as he walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

His ears were ringing as he walked down the staircase, and he almost didn't hear his name being called until he nearly walked right into the speaker himself.

"Uh…hello Mr. Tachikawa," Matt said nervously, but he was quickly swept up in a hug from Mimi's very grateful father.

"Oh, thank you, Yamato! Thank you so much for saving my little princess! You have no idea how much that means to me! My wife called me at work and told me the whole story, and I just had to come home and thank you myself before you took off for home."

"It was nothing sir. Just helping out a friend," he replied, trying to push away the nagging voice in the back of his head that was telling him how 'non-friend like' he had just acted moments before.

"Mimi really is something special, don't you think?" Keisuke asked him, still gushing about his daughter. Matt nodded, wanting to get out of the house as soon as he could. He bid Mr. Tachikawa a rather hasty good night and stepped outside into the cold night air. He made it as far as the sidewalk before his nagging conscience made him pause.

"Yeah, she really is…" Matt whispered to himself, looking up at Mimi's lit room. "I'm sorry Mimi… I…" he turned to walk away a second time, putting his hands in pockets. Something didn't feel right. Again he paused. He stood there for a few minutes in thought. Looking back up at Mimi's window, he suddenly realized what was wrong. He sighed, silently cursing his luck as he made his way back to the Tachikawa house. Taking in a deep breath to settle him, he knocked. He waited a few moments and was about to walk away when the door opened, revealing a surprised Keisuke.

"I'm sorry to bother you again, Mr. Tachikawa, but I sort of forgot something important…"

Meanwhile, Mimi was lying down in her bed, bawling her eyes out into her pink pillows. "This is the absolutely worst Valentine's Day ever!" she sobbed. Glancing up at her alarm clock, she saw that it was, in fact, now shortly after midnight. "Ok, so yesterday was the worst Valentine's Day ever!" she corrected herself harshly before continuing her bitter train of thought. "But that still doesn't change the fact that it was the worst day of my life!"

There was a soft knock at the door, and Mimi tried her best to quell her tears. "Come in," she managed to choke out somehow, her voice sounding raspy and shrill.

The door opened, but it was the last person Mimi wanted to see standing in her doorway at the moment. She opened her mouth to say something foul towards him, something that she knew he undoubtedly deserved, but he held up his hands, trying to show that he meant no harm. She hesitated, but decided not to say anything, not trusting her voice and not wanting to risk alerting her parents that something was wrong. They'd had enough to worry about within the last 24 hours, and Mimi didn't want to make them have to deal with her relationship issues as well.

"Please… just hear me out," he begged. She didn't say anything, and Matt became nervous that she was going to kick him out right then and there. But eventually she just simply nodded. He closed the door behind him again and made his way towards the end of her bed. Not even wanting to look at her when he said his piece, he sat down on the edge of her bed, his back towards her. Matt took a deep breath and began to speak.

"Look, Mimi… You had to notice that despite all of the girls almost throwing themselves at me, I'd never dated any of them. The reason I never did was… well, I was scared. I still am scared. I'm afraid I'm going to get my heart broken by someone who only wanted me for my looks and popularity." Mimi opened her mouth to protest, but Matt continued. "I know that you're not like that, and I know you going to argue with me over that. How I know that, I don't know, but I just do. And that scares me even more." Matt buried his head in his hands, unsure if he could say the next part without falling apart. "Mimi…I'm petrified. I know that I wasn't very nice in telling you what I did before I left… but I was wondering if you could possibly forgive me… That was the wrong way to say it, and I… I won't hold it against you if you hate me for it, but I just wanted to tell you… I'm sorry."

He could hear Mimi still sniffling behind him, and he grew more and more nervous as time went on and she didn't respond. He waited a bit, but soon he couldn't stand the silence any longer. Standing up, he quickly paced around the bed and sat in the chair he'd fallen asleep in next to her. He tried to look in her eyes, but she kept them downcast, unwilling into his bright blue bottomless pools.

"Mimi…" Matt pleaded with her, reaching out and lifting her chin to stare into her chocolate eyes, but she closed them in an attempt to hide her tears. A large tear rolled down her cheek, and he brushed it away with his thumb. Mimi sobbed at his gentle touch, sending more tears cascading down her already tear-streaked face. "Oh, Meems…" Matt whispered, his heart shattering a little more with every sob that wracked her body.

Mimi continued to weep, the sharp pain in her side contrasting severely with the gentle touch of his fingers on her face. There was so much pain, so much despair, that she didn't even know what to do anymore. She wished that he would just leave, leave her alone to suffer alone. Yet still, she didn't want him to leave her. The catch 22 of love finally overwhelmed her, and broke down completely, leaving Matt feeling completely and utterly helpless. Mimi opened her eyes and stared into his, hoping to find some ounce of comfort in him, even if he was the one causing the pain. She found none.

Matt, however, had a long look into her soul and saw just how much she had been hurt over the past 24 hours. First Mark, then him… He had feelings for her and yet he still had crushed her. He was no better than Mark, if not worse, he realized, and it was really because of him that his good friend was weeping… someone he loved deeply…

It was in that moment, of seeing Mimi's fighting and willful spirit destroyed, that Matt felt the fear leave him. It was a strange feeling, having nothing left holding him back, but he didn't let that stop him. There wasn't even a hint of hesitation in him as he wrapped the person he loved in a gentle, yet firm embrace.

The suddenness of his action that caused Mimi to freeze, unable to move. Her tears slowed, and Matt took this opportunity to gently kiss her remaining tears away as they fell.

"Matt… what are you do-" Mimi started to ask him, but he slid his lips over hers to quell her protests. At first she didn't know what to do, but after a few moments of realizing that she wasn't dreaming, she began to kiss back. Slowly at first, but then the kisses became more passionate and demanding until the two of them didn't have another breath in them to keep going.

"Mimi…" he panted, trying to catch his breath. "I don't like you. I love you. I think I have for a while now, but I… I've just been too scared to admit it."

"Really?" she breathed, struggling to regain her composure. "Me too… I think I was just dating other people to get my mind off the possibility of me loving you… but I didn't realize it until I was lying in the mud this… no, yesterday afternoon…" Matt slid his hands up to her shoulders and pressed his forehead against hers.

"Meems… I know Valentine's Day technically ended…" he glanced at her clock. "…almost 20 minutes ago, and there really isn't anything I can do about yesterday… but… will you be my Valentine and celebrate Valentine's Day with me today?"

Mimi smiled one of the brightest smiles Matt had ever seen.. "Of course. And it will be the Best Valentine's Day Ever."

M&M Forever: Well, that's it! I bet I had you all going there for a while, about how I was going to have Matt break her heart, even though he loved her... ;) Oh yeah, I can play evil when I want to. So... now that this is done, I expect LOTS of reviews, as well as candy and/or chocolate chip cookies. Just nothing with anise/black licorice, I'm allergic to it. And maybe you will see something in return... Hey, it's all in the spirit of Valentine's Day, right? -holds out hands expectantly like a little kid- Reviews please? I'll take reviews over candy and goodies any day!

Also, I'd like to thank people who told me about the typo's and the mistakes in prior chapters. Everything should be fixed now, but if you find something, please let me know. :) Thanks.