"Slow Burn"(def.): an attraction for someone that is not instant, but grows over time.

-x-

Chapter Twenty Two: Eyes on Fire

-x-

Take it slow, fanning the flames
Shuffling the cards in the game
And just in time, in the right place
Suddenly, I will play my ace

Monday morning at Tokyo U had brought with it not just the beginning of reading week, during which classes had officially ended and the end of the week marked the beginning of finals. But also came in at the heels of a gossip and scandal filled weekend. And as the rumor mill swirled and churned out the recent hot takes, there was one that seemed to rock the campus.

It wasn't the news that infamously on-again/off-again couple Taylor Fujiyama and Ryo Akiyama were suddenly on again now that the soccer star had rid himself of the Mimi sized chip on his shoulder.

It also wasn't the fact that Meiko M and Ken Ichijoji may or may not have been seen sneaking out of the Goen Inn—details pending.

On any other Monday, those would be enough for some entertaining conversation. Except for the particularly juicy piece of information that had come to court late Sunday afternoon. Involving a certain playboy and a devastatingly beautiful brunette.

Usually, Tai's hook ups were not noteworthy, considering the frequency and overall insignificance of them all. But this one weaved a web just too devious to ignore—it was where gossip turned to scandal.

Tai was best friends with Yamato, who everyone had basically equated to being Mimi's eventual boyfriend because it was obvious to just about everyone but the two involved that they were in love with each other. And then there was Sora, who despite all her protests, was forever linked to Tai as his one true love. Sora and Mimi, of course, were not only roommates but also best friends.

So, unbeknownst to Mimi, the circus had come to town and she was center stage.

The whispers and looks she got as she walked across campus to the library struck her as odd, but surely people were still reeling from her party, right? And at worse, Zoe might have told everyone about the scene between herself and Yamato but it wasn't the end of the world.

She saw a group of the girls sitting at a table, but the giggles and glares she got were frost enough to let her know that they had picked a side—clearly it was the blonde's. She had known girls to be fickle, yet it stung to be on the outside. Still, she didn't have much time to dwell on it, considering she was one bad grade away from getting a C in calculus and that was absolutely unacceptable.

Though it was much harder than she thought to ignore the pointed looks and not so subtle whispers being sent her way.

It wasn't long before Zoe came sauntering over to her, a triumphant smile spreading across her face as if she had just won the greatest award in the world.

"Well done, M." She rested a palm on the table, as she stood in front of the brunette.

Mimi removed an air bud from her ear, "Can I help you?" She tried to keep her greeting neutral, but it was frosty at best.

She figured what had the girls talking was her display of publc affection with a certain ex-musician, and given that Zoe was taken with him, she was hardly in the mood to exchange veiled jabs.

"I just came to congratulate you on your efficiency." She smirked, "I mean two in one night, gotta say, didn't really peg you as that type."

Mimi looked up from her book, "Okay, what the hell are you talking about?" She all but demanded the girl who was looming over her with feigned authority.

"Oh don't be so coy about it, Matt and Tai are really hot. There's nothing to be ashamed of, really." She said sweetly. "I mean, do I wonder about their friendship—sure, but a girl has needs, right?" She winked.

Mimi's mouth popped open, "Are you okay?" She narrowed her eyes, "Did you fall off the top of the pyramid one too many times and lose the few brain cells you had left? Because if you're implying what I think you are then you're either crazy or just completely stupid." She sneered.

Zoe looked offended for a moment, but it wasn't enough. "Look, it's not my fault you got caught, k?" She shrugged, "If you didn't want to be labeled a friendship wrecking slut, you really shouldn't have gotten with Matt and Tai in the same night. Or at least been a bit more inconspicuous about it."

Mimi stood up, nose to nose with the blonde. "You're vile and pathetic for this, you know that? Do you really think making up a stupid rumor about me and Tai of all people will get you what you want?" Her lip curled in malice. "News flash, moron! Matt doesn't want you, you were just there to pass the time so I think that makes you the slut." She leered, now seeing red and out for blood. It was not in her character to exchange lewd insults and make a public spectacle of herself, in fact there was a part of her that was absolutely mortified by this.

But the part of her that was raging, won out.

Who did this girl think she was to make up something so horrible, something so insidious that it threatened to upend the already delicately wound friendships they had cultivated.

Zoe glared at her, "Stop pretending like it didn't happen! Catherine saw Tai, leaving your freaking dorm room in the morning!" She raised her voice in octaves, the inhabitants of the quiet but packed library no longer straining themselves to listen into the conversation.

It clicked, then, the reason why everywhere she went there was someone looking at her as if there was a scarlet letter sewn onto her chest. "Oh my God! Are you people that perverse that the idea of a guy and girl just sleeping in the same room is so unfathomable?" She too raised her voice, now addressing the collective—everyone who had so blindly believed something so defamating she could have thrown up.

A laugh escaped the blonde, "Save your explanations for Ishida, sweetie. He needs them more than me." She waved a hand. "I'm sure he's going to need a lot of convincing to believe you didn't fuck his best friend."

Mimi felt her hands shaking as the words tumbled out of the blonde's mouth, suddenly it was as if her anger was too much to contain. She felt like she could strangle the girl in front of her with her bare hands.

"And if that doesn't work, I'm sure you could beg him. You know, nice on your knees—

The slap that came after echoed through the silent library.

Zoe held her cheek, her features etched in shock as she tried to process what just occurred. "The next time you want to say something like that to me, it'll be my fist in your face." Mimi brushed past her, bumping her shoulder on the way.

-x-

Tai had only just gotten out of his car when he saw a waifish figure heading in his direction. His eyes squinted against the sunshine as he realized it was Mimi and it was more than obvious that something was very, very wrong.

There was mascara smeared down her face and she was sobbing and her entire body was shaking as if she had just stepped out of a freezer.

"What...what the hell, Mi?" His eyes searched her for some kind of explanation as he put his hands on her shoulders.

"They did it, they finally got to me." She sobbed openly for the first time since leaving the library. "Spreading...such...lies. How could they." She said, each word separated by a hiccup or sob.

The adrenaline from her altercation with Zoe had worn off the second she had stepped foot onto the pavement and during the walk from there to the rec center all she did was cry.

Tai's brows scrunched, "What are you talking about?" He was genuinely confused.

Mimi shook her head, "Zoe and Catherine and all those stupid girls that have made it their goal to make my life miserable." She sucked in a shaky breath.

"Mimi, I'm sorry but I really don't follow." He tried to say as gently as possible.

"Did you tell Catherine we slept together?" She hiccuped, wishing she could have sounded angrier instead of just defeated.

His eyes widened, "Hell no." He responded immediately. "I would never do that."

"Then why? Why do they all think we slept together, God, Tai they think I…" She dropped her head into her hands, unable to finish her sentence.

How could she say out loud that half the school thought that she not only hooked up with Tai but also Matt, basically in the same night. And though the rumors were baseless, they were humiliating all the same.

Tai pulled a hand down his face, "I told her not to say anything." He angrily muttered under his breath.

"You knew?" Mimi seethed, eyes narrowed.

Tai dropped his hands from her shoulders, "No, no I didn't really know, Meems." He took a few steps back from her, sensing her body growing more and more tense.

"You either knew or you didn't, there's no "didn't really" option." She glared at him. "Which is it?"

"Cat saw us, well me, she saw me leaving your room and she tried to say that something happened but I was really clear with her, okay? I told her nothing happened right away and she, she said she wouldn't say anything!" He tried to explain.

Mimi's mouth dropped open. "How could you not tell me?" She demanded, fresh tears welling up in her hazel eyes. "God, Tai, these girls are freaking hyenas and I walked in like fresh meat. It was a freaking blood bath! " Her gaze was accusatory, as if this was somehow all his fault.

As if she wasn't the one who had initially asked him to stay.

It put him on the defensive, "I can't control what comes out of the TU rumor mill. What the hell was I supposed to do?" He threw his hands up.

"You were supposed to be my friend!" She retorted, a finger in her chest. "You should have told me!"

"I didn't think there was anything to tell! I saw Cat and I told her nothing happened and–

"They all hate me, Tai! You should have known that she would have never believed you." She stopped short of calling him self absorbed, but the truth was if Tai ever saw past his own ego these days he would have realized very quickly that this was not something that would have stayed hidden.

But Tai still remained determined to prove his point and his innocence, that none of this should be considered his fault. "Mimi, she still said she wouldn't say anything!" He reiterated.

"I know you were not naive enough to believe her, Tai. It's fucking Catherine, and she is in love with you. Of course the entire school knew by noon." She screamed out of frustration.

Why was it so hard for him to understand that all she had wanted from him was a heads up.

Tai's shoulders slumped, realizing there was nothing he could really say to get himself out of this.

"I just wish you could have sent me a text, at least I could have been expecting it." She softened a little at his silent admittance. "Because after what happened at the party with me and Ishida, Zoe would have been looking for any opportunity to try and get even. She found the perfect thing to latch on to." She wondered how they had gotten to this place, where in just a few short months all the things that had seemed so stable now felt so incredibly fragile.

At the mention of the blonde, Tai's eyes widened. Last he had seen of Ishida, he had been on his way to see Mimi and profess his feelings or as close to that as he could get. That had been yesterday evening. But judging by Mimi's appearance, it seemed like he might not have ever made it there…

"Have you seen him at all?" Tai hazarded to ask.

Mimi looked up, "Matt? No, not since the party. Why?" His suspicions had been confirmed.

And rather than adding salt to an already gaping wound, Tai refrained from mentioning what Matt had been going to do before everything went to hell.

Tai shook his head.

Mimi dreaded how this would effect her already convoluted relationship with the blonde, how they had yet to even discuss what had transpired at her birthday. If they ever were going to at all. And now, she would inevitably have to explain something so inherently embarrassing and uncomfortable. Because while Matt didn't keep up with the rumor mill, he didn't exactly live under a rock either.

There was no way this news wouldn't reach his ears.

At the thought of this, misery swelled inside her chest like a tsunami wave. And as it crashed down around her, she felt tears dropping from her eyelids once more.

Tai walked over, gently taking her into his arms. "I'm so sorry, Mi." He said softly, his voice gravelly and rough. "I'm going to fix this, okay? I promise." He put his chin atop her head.

Mimi pressed her cheek against his chest, "I don't think you can." She whispered.

The damage was done, all they could do now was deal with the fallout.

-x-

When Tai walked into the rec center locker room, a bunch of his teammates were still goofing off. Noticeably, crowded around Ryo Akiyama was most of the team. "Damn! How did we miss this!" One of them guffawed.

Tai pushed through, his glance falling on Ryo's phone. There in pixelated color was a video of Mimi slapping, physically slapping, a blonde girl right across the face.

It was Zoe.

Tai's mouth dropped open.

"Damn! I saw that in person and somehow it's even worse the second time around!" Davis pointed at the screen.

"Your girl's got quite a backhand, huh Kamiya?" Ryo smirked, though the underlying accusatory tone wasn't lost on him.

By now, he knew the guys all had found out about this stupid rumor and he was sure they believed it because why the hell wouldn't they? "She's not my girl, just my friend." He cleared his throat.

"Benefits included." Ryo nudged him. "I can't say I blame ya, T. Mimi is smoking, you know I tried to get in that." He clapped a hand on the brunette's shoulder.

Tai shrugged him off, but Ryo continued.

"So, aren't you gonna tell us how it was! Most of us have been wanting to know about her…"

Tai was used to this line of questioning from the guys, they loved regaling each other with detailed stories of the weekend's latest conquests. Usually, he would throw them a bone and laugh it off as locker room talk.

But as Ryo continued to egg him on, all he could see was Mimi's tear stricken face and the devastated, helpless look in her eyes. And how he had promised her that he would fix things.

So before he even knew what he was doing, he had grabbed Ryo by the collar of his shirt and instantly had him pinned against the wall, his forearm digging into the boy's throat. "Nothing fucking happened!" He barked into his face, punctuating each word.

He shook his shirt once, before letting him go.

As the rest of the guys jeered and boo'd at him, displays of such aggression was not exactly good for team morale, he walked out.

Ryo, who looked wildly confused, waved them down before jogging out of the locker room himself.

He caught up to Tai, "Yo, Kamiya." He called out to Tai's retreating figure.

Tai let out a long sigh, "What's up?" He asked coolly.

"What was that back there?"

Tai shook his head, "Just getting my point across." He answered.

"Okay, so maybe something happened, maybe nothing happened. What the hell does it really matter?"

Though he said with such indifference, Tai felt the weight of his words immensely. "Are you serious? Of course it fucking matters." He said, full of contempt.

"This isn't like you, T. We're boys, what's with all the hostility?"

Tai shook his head, "Are we? Boys, I mean." It was seldom that he was serious, but the look in his eye told Ryo that Tai was in no mood to joke.

"Yeah, we are. We're friends." He answered.

Tai let out a small laugh, "No, we're not. I'm your wingman and your party buddy and your teammate, but we're not friends." He said, as if he were just realizing it himself.

Ryo stared over at him, confused in stunned silence.

"Because if we were, if you knew me at all, you would know that I would never, even if I was in love with Mimi, do that to my best friend."

It wasn't who he was.

Before Ryo could say anything else, Tai walked back out of the Rec center doors.

-x-

When Tai returned to the scene of the alleged crime, there was no sign of Mimi. Instead, he was met by the sight of a confused but non judgmental Sora.

"Did it really happen?" She asked from the door frame.

He felt so incredibly exhausted and it was only four pm. He didn't have it in him to go through the entire story again.

"No." It was what he could manage.

Sora just nodded, opening the door for him to enter.

He hesitated, because the last time he had been here everything had gone wrong.

"It's okay, I don't think things can get much worse." She ushered him in.

Tai collapsed onto Sora's bed, "What the hell happened while I was gone?" She asked, sitting on the foot of the bed.

"She was wasted, Sor. I slept in your bed because she asked me to stay and I didn't want to leave her like that." He said honestly. "I left as soon as I woke up." Evidently, that wasn't soon enough. "But nothing happened."

Sora seemed pensive for a moment.

She put a hand on his knee. "I know you'd never do that to Matt." And that was it.

It was that simple.

She never said that he wouldn't do it at all or that he hadn't thought about it or even that he hadn't wanted to on some level. It's like she was acknowledging that the thought had probably crossed his mind, but that he had not acted on it for Matt's sake.

Because that's who he was.

Tai got up, "That's it?" He stared at her, almost in disbelief.

Sora gave him a small smile, "I know you, Tai. Beyond your big man on campus bravado and womanizing ways." She reminded him gently, that while most people knew of him and his reputation, she knew his character.

He pulled her in for a hug, "Thank you, Sor." And while he could say that she had no idea how badly he had needed to hear someone say that, he knew she probably did.

"For?" She laughed, breaking out of the stronghold he had on her with a couple of swats to his chest.

"Always having my back."

Sora knew he was, she always had.

She had only just been about to respond when there was another knock at the door. They exchanged confused glances, as Tai got up from the bed. "Are you expecting anyone?" He asked, dropping his voice.

Sora shook her head.

He went to go answer the door, though he really should have let Sora get it because on the other side was an already brooding and fuming Yamato Ishida.

He just sneered in Tai's general direction and shook his head, muttering, "Figures." Before going to turn back around.

"Seriously, dude?"

"You can't have the nerve to sound incredulous with me, Kamiya." Matt spat.

Sora got up, sensing that her intervention was going to be needed very shortly.

Tai felt the irritation flare in him, "Where the hell have you been, man?" He tried to remain calm.

"Not in bed with Mimi, I can tell you that much."

Sora let out a gasp and Tai resisted the urge to swing right then and there.

"Don't go there with me, Ishida." He warned.

"Go where? The fucking truth! Catherine saw you leaving here, you know it all makes sense, right? Why you wouldn't tell me where the hell you had been the night before even though I was pressing you." He was manic, so out of control of his emotions it made him angrier.

He hated feeling this way, it was one of the myriad of reasons he had never wanted to get involved with Mimi in the first place.

"He didn't do it, Matt. Come on." Sora tried to de-escalate, but it was futile.

"This has nothing to do with you, Sora." His eyes flashed towards her, "Stay the hell out of it." He barked.

Sora winced at his tone and intuitively put her hands around Tai's arm.

"Don't you ever fucking talk to her like that." Tai raised his voice, stepping forward only to be jerked back by Sora.

"Or what? What the hell are you going to do, Tai?" He goaded.

"Don't push me, Ishida."

Matt let out a harsh laugh, "I'm standing right here, we can settle this the old fashioned way. But the prize isn't going to be Mimi, I'm done with all that."

"Matt!" Sora said, appalled. "What the hell has gotten into you!" She yelled.

"Do you really think I would do that to you?" Tai spat. "You really think either of us would?"

He stopped the knee jerk response that would have made him say yes, as he took in the look of disappointment on his best friend's face, along with Sora's horrified expression. They were staring at him as if he was the one who was wrong in all this.

"Yes, Matt. Do you?" A small voice came from behind him.

He whirled around, now face to face with Mimi.

The things I almost told you

And suddenly it was the four of them again, the way it had been countless times before, except everything felt different. As if they were strangers and not best friends, capable of doing horrible things to each other.

She took in a deep breath, the mascara stains from earlier now all wiped away as were her tears. "Answer the question, it really is pretty simple. Do you actually believe either Tai or myself would do that…" And what he had to say next mattered more than anything she had overheard.

Even the fact that he had likened her to a trophy, an object. All of it, she would forgive, if she heard him say that he could never accept she would do that to him.

All the things I've thought about you

He looked conflicted, a small part of her was hoping he would take one look at her and realize that she was the same girl who had been waiting here for him all this time. That she could never hurt him that way, no matter what he'd done to her. And while he stared at her, his eyes softening for the meagerest of moments, he felt something inside him stir.

All the feelings he had been so carefully nurturing, the words he had strung together in his mind for what he would say to her the next time he saw her, rushing back to him. How she was so effortlessly beautiful, though he could tell she had been crying. And how, even now, as desolate and hopeless as she seemed, he felt his entire soul light up at just her presence.

And yet, he couldn't bring himself to speak, he could barely even look at her.

She nodded in recognition, "That's all I needed to hear." She brushed past him.

It takes all my strength to face you

"Is it true?" His voice cracked, stormy blue eyes boring holes into her back.

Mimi froze, "I can't believe you would even ask that." She said sadly.

"That isn't a no."

When you give me your attention

He didn't fully understand it himself, the reason he was being so cruel and cold. He could blame it on his nature, but it was more than that. On some level, he knew the reason he was so reactive was because he hated that he had let himself get to this place. That her effect on him was so profound that she was able to completely turn his entire world upside down.

"How can you even think I'd do something like that to you?" She was disappointed and she was devastated.

"You're not denying it." He said sharply.

Things get lost in translation

Mimi glanced over her shoulder. "I really shouldn't even have to, Matt." She stared at him, heartbroken.

Because after everything they had been through and all the times she had put herself out there for him and every time he left her out to dry, he still had the audacity to question her love and loyalty to him.

"If nothing happened, it really shouldn't be that hard to admit." He maintained, though he could see how it was taking a toll on her. Yet, her stubborn refusal to give him an answer just served his rhetoric. He wanted her to tell him in plain words that there was no truth to the rumor and she wouldn't give him that.

Again, tell you I don't love you at all

Mimi hid her face, fresh tears dropping from her eyes.

He resisted the urge to reach out to her, even just a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. It was a part of their dynamic that was so ingrained in him, that it felt like second nature. He had never liked seeing her cry.

Sora moved in front of Mimi and Tai, "I'm sorry, Matt. But I think you should go." She said softly.

Matt stared at the three of them, for the first time feeling like the one on the outside.

But I do love you…

He didn't say another word.

Tai followed after him, though he was sure if Ishida said one maligning thing he would knock him out cold.

"Stop, Ishida. Wait!" He called after him.

"I know that you don't actually think those rumors are true, I have to believe we're better friends than that." Tai scratched the back of his head, "Because if you don't take me at my word, then what the hell have the last ten years been for?"

Matt froze at the end of the hallway, fists balled up at his sides. He hated that Tai was right, deep down he really didn't believe his friends were capable of such betrayal. But he had been quick to believe, so quick to decide it was true and he needed to accept that on some level that it meant something. Maybe it meant he wasn't ready to be with Mimi but it might also mean how much he questioned his own loyalty and his own worth as a friend that he felt so disposable.

That the significance of their friendship and him as a person was so little that Tai would so flippantly decide to destroy both. As if he didn't know that Tai would have rather sabotaged his own happiness before he would forsake a bond that had seen the test of time.

He knew Tai the way he knew himself, in parts and pieces and wholly down to his soul. There was his impulsivity that superseded most of his qualities, especially self restraint, and in this situation it was something that gave Matt pause. He had never known Tai to look before he leaped and it was what had first drawn him towards the conclusion that this could have happened.

But what he couldn't ignore was the fact that Tai was unwaveringly, fiercely, loyal. And because of this, though he knew Tai was capable of just about most things when it involved a girl, the scale tipped in his favor.

They wouldn't do that, he felt it in his bones.

And if there was ever a time for assurances, it was now–as their friendship as they knew it hung in the balance.

But in true Yamato Ishida fashion, he said nothing at all.

He just walked away.

I don't wanna be a liar,
but I do it everyday
I don't wanna be so tired,
but I can't sleep anyway

Don't believe the things they tell you, they lie...

-x-

A/N: Hello lovely people. First off, I really hope you're all doing well, things in this world are absolutely nuts! I know this chapter is a little shorter than usual, but I really didn't want to add filler to beef it up, I'm trying to build towards resolution at this point so hopefully that comes across.

This update was pretty timely, all things considered so I hope you guys like it! Let me know what you think of the chapter!

The title and the beginning lyrics come from the song: Eyes on Fire by Blue Foundation

The end scene song is: Don't believe the things they tell you, they lie by Tegan and Sara

I actually went back and forth between the two, I was originally going to name the chapter after the tegan and sara song but it just felt too on the nose, but let me know if you would have preferred it!

On to the reviews!

Guest (1): Hello! Thank you for reading my story and thank you for the congratulations! It means a lot to me to be able to share big things in my life with you guys. I think this update was quicker than most people were expecting, hoping it lives up to the dramatic expectations everyone was hoping for! Thanks for reading and hope to hear from you soon

winstranger: Thank you so much! Haha, I really hadn't planned on a yamichi triangle of any sort, but it just sort of snuck it's way in there–i just can't help myself, can I lol! I always wonder why I end up writing Tai so much more likable than Matt even though my stories are centered around mimato, lmao. Hope this chapter didn't disappoint, looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it!

Isabel Nightray: I was so happy to see your review! I'm so used to your thorough long reviews, I was like omg this one is too short I need more feedback from her LOL. Hope you're doing well, it's always so nice hearing from you. Thank you for the congrats, it's def tough juggling everything. Haha, you always love Tai (I love him too), this was pretty Tai/Mimi heavy even though it was short. Ohhhhhh man, if you thought Zoe was a bitch before...Lmao. Hope you liked the chapter, tell me what you thought of the update! Take care

K-lionheart: HAHA, your response was too funny, I lol'd. Oh wow, I totally would not have known you changed your pen if you hadn't told me, how are you! I'm so happy to see your review, you've been reading since the beginning so I love hearing your thoughts on the chapter. The drama was definitely jam packed in the last chapter, I don't know if this one lived up to the hype but it was more to move towards some kind of resolution. Matt confronted Tai...kind of, hopefully the interaction was what you had in mind, or at least satisfying. In my head, this is the way I saw it going down especially given how non confrontation Matt is, I could just see him avoiding everything until he was absolutely rattled. Hope you liked the update, please do tell me how you liked this chapter!

MissImprobablePrincess: Thank you so much!

Haha, I feel like the consensus emotion for the last chapter was like wtfffffff. The Yamichi triangle was actually not what I had intended but it just ended up happening anyway LOL. Yes, you were right about Tai complicating everything by not being completely honest but it was more of an oversight than an implicit decision. LOL, Oh Matt. Let me know what you thought of the confrontation and how everything was handled. Hopefully it doesn't disappoint what you had in mind. Hope to hear from you soon!

Dattebayoo: Hello! Thank you for the hearty congratulations, I really appreciate it! I think I'll have to apologize in advance if this chapter also gets posted during a time you need to study! I'm sorry!
I have to say, the crests are actually such a huge underlying thing for me when I'm writing. Like it literally goes into almost every interaction they have because of how important those characteristics are to them. It's actually so crazy and refreshing that you picked that up. And everything you said was so spot on. Like completely on the nose with each other. From Sora and her loving nature but her struggle with opening up to new people. To Tai and his need to protect Mimi from guys when she's wasted. To Matt constantly questioning all the friendships in his life (as is evident even further in this chapter) as well as struggling with the kind of friend he thinks he should be and constantly feeling like he's falling short or failing. And yes, Mimi isn't exactly being the most sincere with herself at the moment because she's trying to conceal her real feelings in not only an attempt to coddle Matt but to stop herself from getting hurt again. Which, is definitely unlike her usual carefree, honest nature. I'm so sorry about what you went through at that time, but I'm glad you're out of it and things are better now :)
Haha, thank you so much for this review, I love long and insightful reviews like this one. You're actually exactly right with everything that you said, and it's so nice to know that the things that I was subtly putting in there were picked up and appreciated. Thank you so much for taking the time out to read my stuff and review it, I know you're super busy and you have so much to do so I really appreciate it. I hope to hear from you soon!

Angelic Moonlight: Hi! It's okay, happy to hear from you!
LOL, your reaction to Tai is funny. He's such a moron sometimes, like most guys. Omg, thank you for liking the drunken bathroom convos lmao, I feel like those moments with girlfriends are so priceless and real. Just like the whole "you're too good to be crying over a guy!" morale boosting conversations.
Lmaoooo, if you hated Zoe and Cat before...well, oops. Catherine will definitely get hers, one way or another. Girls like that are always bad news.
Thank you so much, I feel like the interactions between the four of them are my favorite to right. I'm sorry I made you hate Tai, hopefully he redeems himself and gets back in your good graces. He is definitely in the dog house right now.
Let me know what you thought of this chapter, can't wait to hear from you! Hope everything is well!

Guest(2): Thank you so much! It's so funny how everyone comes here wanting a mimato and leaves wanting it to be michi, makes me think I write for the wrong fandom LOL. Hope you enjoyed this latest update, let me know what you thought!

Guest (Jo): chapter one- Thank you for such kind words! I love new readers, I appreciate so much that you are invested in the story.

Guest (Jo): Wow! I'm actually impressed that you caught up with everything in one go! I always wondered how my story read in succession since I write in real time and I wonder how much each chapter flows into the next especially when I take long breaks.

Haha, i'm happy you liked the Ryo addition, a lot of people didn't like him for the simple fact that he was Matt's competition but I did really try to make him likable!

I'm also anti-sorato, but super pro Sora. I would never be able to relegate her as the other girl, she deserves so much better. LOL, your Zoe comment made me giggle, I don't think you'll like her much in this chapter either.

OMG, please let's not talk about quarantine, I've never been so over something in my life. I wish COVID would disappear. I too reminisce about my uni days and live vicariously through these characters. Matt is quintessentially himself, emotionally stunted and afraid of commitment. Super annoying, super on brand for most hot guys though LOL. It would have been so much easier if I had him walk up to Mi and ask her the deal but like where's the fun in that ;)

I know, Sora and Matt def could've been better friends to Mimi in that moment, but I'd like to think it wasn't intentional. Besides, we can trust Tai to be responsible once in a while...right?

I really loved your review, hopefully you find that while this chapter was a little shorter than usual, it was timely! I think a couple of months is pretty decent for my track record lol. I hope you liked it and I honestly can't wait to hear your thoughts on this chapter! Take care and stay safe!

Guest(3): Thank you! I really hope you like this chapter! Hope to hear from you soon.

As always, thank you for your kind replies and reviews! Please, please, please stay safe!