Author's Note: Okay, this is the last chapter of the serious. ALTHOUGH - I am thinking of writing an epilogue that basically just tells what became of each character. Yes, that means that this is also the last chapter of the "Everything Changes" series. The first story was basically supposed to be a love story between Tai and Matt, but I ended up liking the supporting characters so much that I wrote another story that focused on them more, as well as on more of Tai and Matt's relationship. Thank you for all of you who have kept up with these stories. I'm glad you all liked them. If you didn't like them, then you probably would have stopped reading by now and would never see these sentences that I am typing. Haha. So thanks again, you guys. I will try to write some more stories.

CHAPTER 14 - The Final Chapter

Tai stood there in disbelief that his father was at his dorm room. His father looked at him with an unreadable expression. "Hey Tai, can I come in for a second?"

Tai snapped out of his trace. "Oh…yes, of course. Come in." Tai moved aside and his father entered his dorm room. Tai shut the door behind him and went over to sit on his bed. Mr. Yagami sat on the chair to Tai's desk.

"You are probably wondering why I came here."

"Yes, I am." Tai was so nervous to see his father that he could barely put together words. As mad as he was at his father for not accepting his homosexuality, he still desired his father's love and acceptance.

Mr. Yagami looked down for a few seconds and then back at his son. "I know our relationship has been rocky this year, but I would like to leave all of that behind me. I came here to apologize for my actions after you came out to me, and to tell you that I want you to move back home for the summer once finals are over."

Tai froze. He could not believe what just came out of his father's mouth. "You want me to come back home?"

"Yes. Finals end next week and I thought you could come back home. That is…if you still want to."

Tai smiled. "I do want to. I've wanted to for a long time." His smile then faded. "But…I don't understand why you suddenly have changed your mind about everything. The last time I saw you was spring break, and you were so insistent on me not coming back home."

Tai's father looked uneasy. "Yes…I apologize for that again. I was just so shocked that my son was gay, that my reasoning became cloudy. I forgot that, at the end of the day, you are still my son. I shouldn't have been so closed-minded before, Tai. I truly regret that. Kari and your mother have been trying to get me to come around for months on the issue, and they finally have succeeded. It didn't bother them that you are gay and it shouldn't bother me either."

"Wow, I can't picture mom being so pushy with you. You kind of lay down the law at home."

Mr. Yagami smiled a little. "I know. I've changed Tai. I listen to your mother's input now and I've become a warmer person. You can ask Kari if you don't believe me. She has been giving me sensitivity training and everything. She is a natural-born teacher, let me tell you."

"Sensitivity training?"

Mr. Yagami chuckled. "Yes, sensitivity training. Kari did research on homosexuality, which she taught to me. She also had those boys who are always hanging out with her, Davis and Ken, come and talk to me about their relationship and realizing that they were gay. Then she had her boyfriend, TK, come over to tell Matt's struggles of coming to terms who we was. She even brought over Matt's dad, Mr. Ishida, to discuss having an openly gay son. I tell you, all of the Ishida family was involved in getting me to change my mind, especially Matt."

"Matt?"

"Yes, he is the one who initiated this whole new state of mind. That was a long time ago though. It was when you two were home for spring break. He told me I would lose you forever if I stayed so closed-minded. I was angry at him for voicing his opinion when it wasn't asked, but now I realize why he did it. I realize now that it was done out of love. He must care about you a lot."

"Well…actually, I broke up with Matt last month."

Mr. Yagami's cheery expression faded. "What? Your sister didn't say anything about that."

"I didn't tell her. I didn't want that many people to know. I just thought it was best that we take a break for awhile."

"Why, if you don't mind me asking? Matt has been your best friend since you two were boys. He is already like part of the family. If you are going to be with a boy, I would want it to be him."

Tai felt uncomfortable telling his father the reason for the break. He started fidgeting around and scratching his head. "Uh…well…I decided to take a break because…um…" Tai looked up at his father who looked concerned. He decided to just blurt it out. "Because he went to you behind my back. He knew that our problems were a sensitive area with me, and he just budded in the middle of things. He didn't even tell me that he went to you. I found out from one of our friends. I was upset that he meddled in my life and that he was keeping secrets from me. It all just erupted and I broke things off."

Mr. Yagami sat in silence for a couple seconds before responding to his son's long explanation. "Tai, listen to me. Matt did what he did out of shear concern for your well-being. Do you know anybody in the world, besides your family, who cares for you that much?"

Tai looked down at the floor. "No, I guess I don't."

"Matt loves you and you love him too, don't you?"

"Yes, I do love him. I love him more than I thought it was possible to love someone."

"Then you shouldn't be mad at him over this anymore. If he didn't come to our apartment that day and tell me off, who knows how things would have ended up. It may have been a hard process, but everything worked out in the end. My love for you has never been stronger than it is right now."

Tai looked at his dad and smiled. He stood up and approached his father. Mr. Yagami stood from the chair and hugged his son. The father and son embraced each other strongly. "Thanks, dad."

Veronica walked into the subway terminal with Izzy and Clair so the three of them could return to campus. The trial against Bryan ended less than an hour ago and Veronica was still a wreck over the judge's decision. Clair put her arm around her best friend and tried to comfort her. "I know things didn't end the way you wanted them to, V, but the judge made the best decision she could. There just wasn't enough evidence to convict Bryan. That jerk deserves to be punished for all that he has done, but you just have to think realistically. The judge can't punish Bryan without solid evidence of what he did."

Veronica nodded solemnly and Izzy tried to help out the situation. "Besides, karma will get him, I'm sure. You can't do that many bad things and expect to get away with them."

Veronica looked up at Izzy and glared. "With his karma, he should have been found guilty."

Izzy looked nervous at Veronica's sharp response. "Uh…well…I guess you're right, Veronica."

Clair looked at her husband with an expression that told him that he was not helping the situation. She turned back to Veronica. "Well, the number seven subway doesn't get here for another fifteen minutes, why don't we get some fast food at that stand over there. French fries always make you feel better."

Veronica nodded again. "Yeah, I guess that will be fine."

Clair smiled and walked to the fast food stand. Izzy looked at the very depressed Veronica and decided that it would best to give her some alone time for a couple minutes. Izzy followed Clair to the stand while Veronica stood by herself. She sighed and started walking around aimlessly to clear her head while Izzy and Clair waited in line. Tears started to form in her eyes as she replayed the judge's decision in her mind. She started walking towards a subway car that people were getting onto. She stopped herself before she got on, realizing that it was not the correct subway. Her mind was no longer present. The subway car sped of into the tunnel. She stood there alone. Tears started pouring down her face. She couldn't believe how much pain she went through within one school year. She stood at the edge of the subway tunnel and saw a subway approaching the station. She turned her head straight ahead and waited for the subway to get closer. She didn't care if it was her subway or not because she didn't intend to get on it. She moved closer to the edge. More tears streamed down her face as she realized that this would be her last couple seconds alive before she jumped in front of the subway. She positioned herself to jump as she heard the subway approach the station. She started to lunge forward but two sets of arms pulled her backwards, causing her to fall on her lose her balance and fall down onto the station's floor. Veronica watched the subway pull into the station and then looked up to see who prevented her from jumping. On her right was Izzy, and on her left was Clair. Tears were coming out of Clair's eyes as well and she was panting. "Veronica, what the hell were you about to do?"

"I…I…I wanted to jump."

Izzy shook his head and looked at her sternly. "Veronica, you would have killed yourself if you did that. I assume you knew that though."

Veronica looked down at her lap as Clair and Izzy squatted down to kneel beside her. "Yes, I did know that."

Clair continued to cry. "Then why would you do it, V? Are you that upset about the verdict that would end your whole life? What the hell kind of logic is that?"

"I…I don't know, okay? I wasn't thinking. I just wanted the pain to go away!" She broke her arms free of Izzy and Clair's grasps. "I just wanted to be over. Everyone thinks I'm a crazy slut anyway."

Izzy put his hand on Veronica's shoulder. "Nobody thinks you're crazy or a slut."

Veronica whipped her neck around to look at him. "Really? I seem to recall Bryan's lawyer getting me to talk about me being in therapy, and that instead of going to the police after the rape, I date Bryan instead. Everyone who saw the trial thinks I am some psycho girl who just made up the whole rape story to get back at her ex-boyfriend."

Clair wiped off her tears and tried her best to consol her best friend. "V, the judge probably thought you were telling the truth."

"And yet she let Bryan go free?"

"There was no evidence. What could she do? You can't send a man to prison without any evidence of his crime. That's unfair, even for scumbags like Bryan."

"Bryan gets to walk away without a care in the world and I'm trying to throw myself in front of a subway. Yeah, that really seems fair." Veronica rolled her eyes and looked back down at her lap. The three friends sat on the floor of the subway station for almost an hour. People walked around them and they didn't even notice. Izzy and Clair just wanted to be there for Veronica.

The next morning, Sora woke up in her dorm room alone. Veronica slept at Clair's apartment after her trial, so Gwen slept in Mimi's dorm. A strong sense of loneliness hit her as she realized that she was completely alone in her dorm. She had been inseparable with Gwen since they met at the beginning of the school year. Even after she told Gwen that she wasn't bisexual and didn't like her in a romantic way, the two had never fought like this. She got out of bed, got dressed, and went to go take a shower. She locked up her dorm and walked to the bathroom. Sora suddenly stopped in the middle of the hallway. She turned to her side to look at the bulletin board on the hallway wall. Posted on the board were the webcam pictures she had sent Joe where she was only wearing a bra and a short tennis skirt. She froze and stared at the pictures. She had taken them last month after Mimi had convinced her that Joe would cheat on her if she didn't boost she sex appeal. Sora looked around the hallway and didn't see anyone. She tore off all the pictures and went back to her dorm room. She ripped the pictures apart and threw them in her trash. She was panting strongly due to her anger. "I am going to destroy Mimi!"

A few hours later, Matt sat in his dorm room with Gwen, who was explaining the fallout with Sora she had the previous day. "I don't know, Matt, this fight seems different. Sora hates Mimi so much that I think she feels that I can pick either her or Mimi. I can't have both in my life."

"Sora hasn't found any evidence that Mimi is behind these pranks, has she?"

"No, she hasn't. I haven't even talked with Sora all day. I slept in Mimi's dorm and I'm borrowing some of her clothes." She tugged at them some. "They are very tight on me though. That girl is seriously skinny."

"Well, she was a successful model in New York."

"That's true. So, how are things with you and Tai?"

"I haven't really seen much of Tai today. He has been out wandering around deep in thought about something. I can tell when he has something on his mind. I don't know what though. He looks happier though, so maybe he found some resolution with his issues with his father."

"I hope so. I hate that his father was so homophobic when Tai came out. When I told my parents that I am bisexual, they didn't really care. They are very liberal."

"Yeah, my dad was pretty cool when I came out to him last year. He's a very open-minded guy though. I mean, he let my boyfriend move in with us. Not that many parents would be so quick to allow that sort of thing."

"That's for sure." Gwen stood up. "I think I am going to talk to Sora before it's too late." Matt said goodbye and wished her luck. Gwen left Matt's residence hall and went next-door to her own.

Tai walked through the park near campus trying to figure out what he should do about Matt. Matt had broken his trust, but he loved him more than anyone else in the world. He didn't regret his decision to go on a break, but he was considering ending the break. Even if he did decide to end it, he wondered what Matt would say and if Matt would even want him back after he broke his heart and then avoided speaking to him for a week. Maybe Matt just wanted to be friends now. He sighed and sat on a bench in the park. He looked down at the ground and started talking to himself. "What should I do?"

"You should stop talking to yourself, for one. And people think I'm the crazy one of our group of friends."

Tai looked up to see Veronica standing next to him, smiling. "Oh, hi Veronica. I didn't see you there. Listen, Izzy told me about the trial and I'm so sorry that asshole won."

Veronica took a seat next to Tai. "Yeah, me too. Trust me, I took the news really hard. You ask Izzy or Clair about that story."

"What happened?"

"Nothing much, I just tried to throw myself in front of a moving subway car." Tai looked at Veronica with fear and disbelief of what she had just said. Veronica looked back at him and then started laughing. "I know, it sounds so insane to say out loud. Clair made me sleep at her apartment and she watched me all night long to make sure I wouldn't try to harm myself. She is sleeping now. Izzy was even reluctant to let me go for a walk by myself. I told him I would be fine though. I just needed to go clear my head."

"Yes, I know that feeling very well. Are you sure you're okay? I mean, you did practically attempt suicide yesterday."

Veronica nodded. "I'm fine now, I promise. I'm okay enough to get by. I'm going to spend the summer attending weekly therapy and get myself together. I'm not going to let Bryan ruin my life."

Tai smiled at her. "Good, I'm glad." Tai's smile faded. "Listen, Veronica, I know we already made amends, but I want to tell you again how sorry I am about last semester when I tried to force you to have sex with me at Bryan's party. I was so drunk and upset about my secret feelings for Matt. I had no idea what the hell I was doing, and I feel somewhat responsible for you turning to Bryan a month or so later."

Veronica smiled at him sweetly. "Don't worry about it Tai. It is nobody's fault but Bryan's that I was raped. I learned that through therapy. Nobody was to blame but him. It wasn't my fault and it certainly wasn't yours. Besides, don't you have other maters of your own to worry about? The school year is about to end next week and you have to return home. Have you figured out your living arrangements yet?"

Tai looked at her with happiness in his eyes. "Yes, actually. I haven't told anybody this yet, but my father came to see me yesterday."

Veronica's eyes grew in size. "What? That's crazy. What did he come to say?"

"He apologized for how he handled things earlier this year and invited me to come back home."

"Tai, that's amazing! Are you going to move back in with your family?"

"Yes. I am so excited about it."

"Then why haven't you told anyone the good news?"

"I don't know. I've been putting it off, I guess. I mean, it was only yesterday that he came to see me, but I still have things to figure out."

"By things, would you happen to mean a certain blonde musician who happens to be your roommate?" Veronica raised her eyebrow.

Tai chuckled. "Yeah, that is what I meant all right. I am thinking about talking to him about ending the break we have been on."

"Oh my God!" Veronica hugged Tai. "Tai, that would be amazing. You totally should. I have never seen two people more meant for each other than you and Matt. You two are soul mates."

"I know. I still have thinking to do over it though."

"Well, don't waste too much time thinking. Time is of the essence you know. I sure learned that yesterday during my trial."

Tai smiled at her. "Thanks, Veronica. I'm glad I ran into you."

"I'm glad I ran into you too."

Meanwhile, Sora stormed down the hallway towards Mimi's dorm. She was furious at Mimi's latest attack. Not only were those pictures on the bulletin board of their hallway, but they were on every hallway in the building. She spent the morning tearing them down, sometimes with people looking at her and laughing. She ripped all of the pictures apart and threw the paper scraps away. Her entire day had been pure hell and now she was going to get payback. She thought about concocting an evil plan to get revenge, but she realized that she did not want to sink to Mimi's level. She was going to solve this feud the old-fashioned way. Sora arrived at Mimi's door and opened it without knocking. She found Mimi lying in bed fully dressed and reading a magazine. "Mimi! What the hell is wrong with you?"

Mimi sat down her magazine calmly. "What are you talking about, Sora?"

Sora stepped into Mimi's dorm and slammed the door shut behind her. "You know what I'm talking about, bitch! I'm talking about pictures of me on the bulletin boards of every floor. I'm talking about my clothes being stolen while I was in the shower. I'm talking about my phone number being written in bathroom stalls and I'm talking about books on loneliness being checked out in my name. That's what I'm fucking talking about!"

Mimi sighed and got off of her bed. "Sora, I don't know who is doing those things to you, but Gwen has told me how you are convinced it is me. I know we had a disagreement a couple weeks ago, but do you really think I would do those things to you?"

Sora stepped closer to Mimi. "Yes, I do. We both know you have pulled stunts like these in the past so don't act all innocent. You may have everyone else fooled, but not me. I know that you are behind everything."

"What would I have to gain by doing those things to you?"

"You don't have anything to gain. You're just doing them for your own entertainment and to prove that you are capable of taking me down. I know you well, Mimi. We've known each other since we are children. You are able to convey to people that you are a good girl, when in reality, you are the biggest bitch in Japan." Sora glared into Mimi's eyes.

Mimi glared back at her. "You can't prove I did anything, so there's no point in going around throwing a pity party to all of our friends. None of them believe you."

"I don't care about that anymore. I want to know how you even found those pictures."

Mimi smirked. "One of the perks of sleeping with your best friend is that I was in your dorm a lot when you weren't there. One day, while Gwen was taking a nap after we slept together, I got onto your computer and found the pictures. I figured you must have done something provocative after our talk last month. I saved them onto a flash drive and printed them off here in my dorm. It was just pure luck that everything worked out, really. I posted them on the bulletin boards in the middle of the night while Gwen was asleep. That girl really is one sound sleeper, let me tell you. She just sleeps through all of my evil schemes." Mimi started laughing.

Sora shook her head. "If Gwen only knew what a psychotic bitch you really are, she wouldn't even so much as talk to you anymore."

Mimi smiled. "Well, Gwen isn't usually talking when we are together. She is usually too busy moaning."

Sora slapped Mimi across the face. "Shut the fuck up! I hate you so much, Mimi. You have no idea how much I want to kill you. I'm not even a violent person, but you make me so furious!"

"Then kill me, Sora. Nobody is stopping you."

Something snapped in Sora's head after Mimi said that and she lunged at her former friend. She pushed Mimi as hard as she could, causing Mimi to lose her balance and fall on the floor. Sora got on top of her to hold Mimi down and started pulling her hair while Mimi screamed in pain. Mimi scratched Sora's thighs, which were holding her body down, with her long fingernails. Sora slapped her across the face again. "I'm going to prove to everyone, especially Gwen, what a conniving bitch you truly are!"

Mimi glared at her. "Oh please! Who are they going to believe? Sweet Mimi who vowed to stop being mean after the whole Veronica incident on crazy Sora who has been hysterical and paranoid for the past couple weeks? Nobody is going to believe that I did those things to you."

Sora opened her mouth to respond but she didn't get a chance to. Somebody else responded first. "I would believe Sora." Sora and Mimi turned their heads to see Gwen in the now-opened doorway. "I guess you two didn't hear me knock or open the door over your fighting. It didn't really matter much though. I heard almost the entire conversation through the door. You two talk loud when you're angry."

Mimi looked up innocently at her lover. "Gwen, I didn't-"

"Save it, Mimi. You made me turn my back on my best friend in the world. Sora was right. You have been after her this whole time, just like you were after Veronica in February. What the fuck is wrong with you? Who ruins people's lives just for the fun of it? I don't want anything more to do with you." She switched her gaze to her best friend. "Sora, I'm sorry I didn't believe you or see this coming. I don't know what to say."

Sora smiled. "Don't worry about it. At least you believe me now." She got off of Mimi and glared at her. She then looked back at her friend. "Let's get out of here and go shopping." She smiled at her best friend.

Gwen smiled back. "You got it." Sora and Gwen left the dorm room, leaving Mimi lying on the floor alone.

Tai stood outside of his dorm room gathering all the courage he had to speak to Matt. He took a deep breath and entered his dorm to find Matt studying at his desk. He shut the door behind him and walked closer to his roommate. "Uh…Matt?"

Matt turned around. "Oh, hey Tai. I was so deep in my reading that I didn't even hear you come in. What's up?"

"Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Matt looked concerned, but nodded. "Yeah, sure Tai." Matt turned his chair around to face Tai, who was sitting down on the edge of his bed.

"I'm sure you've noticed that I've been keeping to myself a lot the past couple days."

Matt nodded again. "Yeah, I could tell you had something on your mind. I assumed it was the situation with your father."

"It is. He came here yesterday to talk to me."

Matt looked shocked. "What? Why didn't you say anything to me last night? What did he say?"

Tai laughed quietly. "Calm down. You always get so spastic. The talk between us went well. He apologized for earlier this year and asked me to move back home."

"Oh my God, Tai! That's amazing! Did you agree to move back?"

"Yeah, I did."

"Tai, that's great." Matt got up and sat next to Tai. He gave Tai a short but meaningful hug. "What changed his mind?"

"A number of things. My mother and Kari were really on his case about practically disowning his son. Davis and Ken tried to educate him more about homosexuality. Even your dad and brother came to talk to him."

"My dad and TK? Wow."

"Yeah, he said you were the one who first made him start reevaluating his ideals."

"Me?"

Tai nodded. "Yes, you. He talked about you going to see him during spring break."

Matt looked uncomfortable. "Oh…yeah…that. Tai, I know we haven't talked about me doing that since we decided to take a break, but I realize now how out of line I was to that, and I shouldn't have hid it from you either. I'm really sorry."

Tai smiled. "Don't worry about it. It actually seemed to impact my father for the better, so I guess I should be thanking you. I just wish I had reacted calmer when I found out you did that." Matt nodded silently. "I doubt I would have broke things off between us if I had known that actions turned my father's views around. Because of you, my family is back together. I really owe you, Yama." Matt looked up into Tai's brown eyes. Tai smiled at Matt. "Yes, I realize that I just called you that. It wasn't an accident."

Matt continued to stare into Tai's eyes. "Tai…"

"I'm sorry about how I ended things and then avoided you. I didn't mean to hurt you. I just thought taking a break was the best course of action at the time. However…I don't think that anymore."

"Does this mean you want to get back together?"

Tai smiled. "If you will take me back, then yes, it does."

Matt smiled and leaned his face closer to Tai's. Tai leaned in too and the boys' lips touched each other for the first time in a month. Matt pulled back a couple centimeters so he could speak. "I love you so much, Tai."

"I love you too, Yama." Tai leaned back in and kissed Matt again. He had forgotten how sweet Matt's lips were. He put his arms around Matt, who did the same to Tai. The two boys sat on Tai's bed kissing, not caring about how much time was passing. All that mattered to them was that they were back together with each other.

A week later, everyone was finished with their final exams and preparing to go back home for the summer. They decided to all have dinner together the evening before they all departed. Everyone was invited, with the exception of Mimi, who fell out of touch with the group after everyone learned that she was behind the things done to Sora. They decided to eat at the restaurant that they celebrated Izzy and Clair's engagement at in November. Everyone was getting ready in their dorm rooms or apartments, except for Veronica who had been staying with Clair and Izzy for the past week. Gwen finished curling her hair and decided to go to the bathroom before her and Sora left together to go to the restaurant. She walked down the hall and saw the girl she had been taking strong measures to avoid all week. Mimi was unlocking her dorm room and turned around to see Gwen. "Oh…hi Gwen."

Gwen answered with no emotion. "Hello Mimi."

"Listen…can I talk to you for a second?"

"I'm a little busy. I am about to go have dinner with everyone before we all leave tomorrow morning. You would have been invited if you weren't so conniving and evil."

Mimi looked down for a second. "Okay, we'll I guess I'll just tell you anyway. I just got back from a meeting with the dean. You all will be happy to know that I'm leaving this university for good. I just filled out all the paperwork."

Gwen looked at her strangely. "It's too late to transfer to another college. Fall admissions stopped taking place months ago."

"I know that. I'm not transferring. I'm dropping out of college."

"You have been in college for one semester and you are already dropping out? Did losing all you're friends impact you that much?"

Mimi sighed. "It was a major component in my decision, yes, but it wasn't the main reason. I just don't think college is a good fit for me. It's not for everyone, you know. I decided to just save my parents the money and quit. I'm over eighteen, so they can't really do anything about my decision. I'm not coming back in the fall, and I'm not even staying around Japan for the summer. So there's some pleasant dinner conversation for you. None of you will encounter Mimi during your summer vacations."

Gwen started feeling a little sympathy for Mimi, despite everything she did. "Where are you going?"

"I'm moving back to New York. I'm going to start modeling again. I'm going to try to avoid the party scene this time, or I know my parents will force me into rehab like the threatened to do last year. I have a really good friend who models there as well, and I'm going to move in with her. That's where I belong. I don't belong here in college with the rest of you. I know that now." Mimi paused for a few seconds. "Well, I won't hold you up any longer. You have a dinner to go to. Say goodbye to everyone for me."

Gwen nodded. "Okay, I will. Bye, Mimi."

"Bye Gwen." Mimi stepped into her dorm and shut the door behind her, and Gwen continued to walk to the bathroom.

At the restaurant, everyone was joyful despite having to be separated from each other for the summer. Izzy and Clair would continue to live in their apartment and each had summer internships. Gwen was going back to her hometown, but promised to come visit Sora and the gang all the time. Veronica was going to her hometown to spend the summer in therapy, and everyone else all lived near each other in the same city. Izzy raised his glass to make a toast. Everyone at the circular table noticed and raised their glasses as well. "Here's to an amazing school year."

Clair clinked her glass against Izzy's lightly. "Cheers to that. I met and married the man of my dreams."

Izzy smiled at his wife and kissed her. He looked up to see everyone looking at him strangely. "Uh…why aren't you all toasting?"

Sora laughed quietly. "Izzy, I don't know if you noticed but this school year has been hell for all of us except for the two of you. You two met, fell in love, got engaged, moved in with each other, and got married. That's great for the two of you, but it hasn't exactly been a cakewalk for the rest of us."

Clair looked at Sora embarrassed. "I guess you're right. We didn't mean to make you all feel bad."

Sora smiled sweetly. "It's okay. Maybe we should change the toast though."

Izzy nodded. "Okay, how about this? Here's to overcoming this terrible school year." Everyone clicked their glasses together as a toast to Izzy's revised sentence. "Wow, I guess this has been a tough school year."

Matt nodded. "Yeah, it has. If you recall, I got gay-bashed last semester and then this boy next to me decided to call off our relationship for a month recently." Matt looked at Tai who was sitting next to him.

Tai smiled at Matt. "We got back together, didn't we?"

"Yes, I suppose so." Matt smiled and the two boys kissed sweetly.

"Besides, Yama, my school year was worse. I was a wreck coming to terms with being gay and then my father kicked me out once I finally felt comfortable enough to come out to him." Matt put his hand in Tai's for support.

Sora looked at the newly-reunited couple and then back over to Izzy. "Well, I guess it's my turn to reminisce about the school year. Let's see, my roommate made out with me even though I'm straight and my former best friend went crazy and tried to destroy my life. So yeah, it wasn't a good year for me either."

Gwen looked at Sora, who was sitting next to her, and laughed. "I still think you liked that kiss." She laughed and turned to Izzy. "Well, I was rejected by Sora, betrayed by my cousin, Bryan, cheated on by Rosemary, and lied to and manipulated by Mimi."

Izzy looked over at Veronica, who was seated next to Clair. "Well, I guess that just leaves you."

Veronica smiled. "I don't even have to say it. My year sucked more than all of yours' combined." Everyone looked at her silently until she laughed. Everyone joined her.

Clair patted her friend on the shoulder. "Yes, you definitely win the award for worst school year ever." The friends continued to laugh about the bad times over the now-over school year, as well as the good times. They knew that whether times were good or bad, that they would always have each other. Some things never change.

THE END