Although she looked wide awake on the outside, it was a different case in the inside. Her eye lids felt heavy with sleep and the sunlight coming through the car window and directly onto her face wasn't making her feel any better. Ever since she had gotten a phone call this morning, she had to visit couple of places to meet people so that they could decide on whom her legal guardian was going to be and such. Her mom had come with her as well and was sitting right next to her in the taxi that they were in. She looked happy with the smile that she wore on her face and it didn't look like the smile would fade away even if she were to be stuck in the snow without a place to go. She had been looking like that since last night when Mimi told her that she would go to Europe with her and leave her current home.

It had been decided this morning that the house would be put up for sale unless the person now responsible for the house would like to leave it as it is. It was too bad Mimi was too young to live by herself in the house or even be in control of it. It didn't matter to her though because a house was just a house. She didn't care what happens to it or about any of her dad's wealth. They all went to her since she was his only child but that didn't bring even crack of smile.

"Only two days..." In just two days, she would no longer be able to see her friends, go to school with them or even talk to them as frequently as she did now. The fees for the international calls weren't exactly the cheapest and she doubted her mom would be very pleased to find that she has to pay ten times more than she does right now for herself. "Yup. Definitely not."

"Did you say something?"

Mimi found her mom staring at her with a curious expression, her smile still on her face. It was almost... annoying. She was glad that her mom was happy but that didn't mean she couldn't be annoyed. "No. I was just thinking out loud."

Her mom put on a worried look and was about to reach over to feel Mimi's forehead before realizing that it probably wasn't needed. She could tell by just looking at her face that she was tired. "Did you get good enough sleep last night?"

"Yeah. I did," said Mimi although it was a lie. She had only been able to get a little over three hours of sleep because she had so many things on her mind. From thinking about her dad, her friends and Tai especially, she could not lie down for more than ten minutes without finding herself pacing around her room or just staring at the ceiling. She just could not help but wonder about what Tai had been trying to say before his mom and Kari interrupted him. He was about to tell her to not do something but what? She couldn't call to ask him because than he would know that she had been thinking about him. She didn't want him to get the wrong idea because that would only make them feel awkward.

"Hey, aren't those people your friends?"

Mimi leaned over toward the window on her mom's side as the taxi came to a stop at a traffic light. She was right. In a small café by the large window, she could see some of her friends. She couldn't tell exactly who was there but she wanted to go meet them.

"Would it be alright if I-"

"Sure," said Mimi's mom, already knowing what her daughter was going to say. It scared Mimi sometimes how her mom knew her very well but she had gotten used to it. "But remember that you have to be home by five."

"Five?" Mimi looked at her mom's watch. That was twenty minutes away which means that she only has ten minutes to talk to her friends or so since it would take her at least ten minutes to get home. But still, it was better than nothing.

Thanking her mom, Mimi got out of the car before the traffic light turned back to green and made her way toward the café after making sure that there were no cars. She had been very conscious about crossing streets after what had happened to her dad and she always made sure to look both ways, something that her dad had failed to do all because of her. Mimi shook her head at that thought and focused on what she was going to say to her friends. She had been wanting to talk to them because she hasn't told any of them that she was going to leave. As far as she knew, Tai was the only one that knew and knowing him, he probably didn't tell anyone so she could tell them.

Entering the relatively large café, Mimi went her way to the table by the window. She curved her lips upward for a smile and tried to look as happy as she could. However, her smile faltered slightly when she noticed that Tai was also there. Her heart started beating faster and before she knew it, she changed directions and headed for the exit. She felt nervous about seeing him and wanted to get away as far as possible. It was stupid, she knew but whatever her feelings were for him was scaring her. Too bad not everything went her way because one of her friends had spotted her and called her over.

Stupid Sora! Why did she have to see her?

Mimi put up another new smile and changed her directions once again. She looked at anywhere but Tai. Even though he was just a friend to her, from the way her heart had started beating just after one look at him...

Something hit her on full force and as she was being greeted by everyone, she decided to take her chance and glance over at Tai. He was looking at her and the moment their eyes connected, something tugged at her heart. She forced herself to look away from him as he did the same. She felt her face heat up and hoped no one would notice it. Everything was still a big bundle of confusion but she at least new something. She liked Tai and not just as friend.

"Have a sit!" said Sora, pulling up a chair. She noticed the tint of redness on her friend's cheeks but didn't say anything about it. Mimi had been looking at Tai when she... Sora's eyes widen and she turned to look at Tai on the other side of the table who seemed determined to look at anywhere else but Mimi. Was something going on between them? "I tried calling you this morning to ask if you wanted to come out with us but you didn't seem to be home."

"Oh, I had some things to do. Where did you guys go?"

"Nowhere particular," answered Yolie. "We just hung out and came here to get something to eat."

The conversation carried off after that and the sadness that had been dominant in her heart was soon replaced by the contentment that nothing else could replace. It felt nice to be with her friends and she was enjoying every second of it. Her friends really were important to her and the thought of not being able to see them again for a long time made her go into a state of unhappiness.

Sora noticed that Mimi seemed awfully quiet and became quickly worried. Even though Mimi might look okay on the outside, Sora knew that her friend was still suffering from her father's death and it worried her. "Is something the matter?"

"Actually..." Mimi was painfully aware of the time that was ticking like an explosive material, indicating her that she had to head home soon. She didn't have much time to tell her friends that she would be leaving for Europe so it was now or never. She had to tell everyone. "My mom's going back to wherever in Europe that she was staying at and she..." Everyone stopped talking in order to listen to what she had to say. They were all watching her now with interest, waiting for her to continue without realizing that they were making her nervous.

Mimi lost her courage to continue. Her friends were in a strange way like a family to her and it was hard to say good bye to them. They had been there for her whenever she needed them while her mom… Abandoned her?

Mimi frown at that thought but somewhere deep down, it made some sense. As soon as her mom had gotten a divorce with her dad, she left without a word and didn't bother to call her own daughter even once. She left Mimi to suffer alone while she was enjoying herself with her new life. If her dad had never died, her mom would have probably never asked her to go to Europe with her. She would have just left again.

"Never mind. Forget what I was saying. I'll see you guys later."

"But Mimi-" started Matt but she was already out the door. "She doesn't look too well. Maybe someone should follow her?"

Sora nodded as her gaze fell on Tai. "Tai, go after her and make sure she's okay."

"Me?" said Tai in surprise. It wasn't that he was complaining since he was also worried about Mimi but why would Sora pick him out of everyone else?

"You're the only Tai here, aren't you?"

"Mimi should be here soon, Hana." Mimi's mom motioned for her younger sister to have a sit on the sofa while she stuffed the house key in a drawer. After Tom's death, Mimi had given her an extra key to the house so she could visit any time she wanted. Besides, Mimi wasn't technically allowed to live alone in a house all by herself although that problem had been taken care of.

"There's something that I need to talk to you. It's about Mimi," said Hana, shifting a bit in her seat. She waited for her sister to sit down before continuing. She had come over to help Mimi pack but she also wanted to talk to her sister a bit. "Do you think it really is a good idea for Mimi to leave here? She's a high school student and having to adjust to a new school while trying to learn a new language might be a bit too hard on her. I could understand if she's little but she's not."

Mimi's mom understood what her sister was saying. She had also thought about it as well and was even concerned about it. It wouldn't be easy to learn a language that she never spoke before and there was no guarantee that she would be able to attend school as soon as she gets there. The process would take a while and she would at least have to know the basics of the language before attending. And than there's her friends. Mimi would not want to be separated from them.

"You know, the reason that you first left was because of Tom, right?" began Hana and she rolled her eyes when her sister looked at her with surprise. "Come on. I'm not stupid. Even though you never said anything to me, I knew you left because you couldn't bear to see Tom with another woman since you loved him very much. Any ways, why don't you just quit your job in Europe and move back here since he's... well... dead."

It was a simple question but Mimi's mom had never thought about it. If she just moved back here, things would be much easier for Mimi and she wouldn't have to go through the trouble of having to adjust to anything new.

"Why didn't I ever think of that?"

"Well, you were never the bright one in our family," said Hana and she was hit in her head with the sofa cushion.

She let her feet take her home while her mind was floating in her own little world. She wanted to laugh at how silly she had been for thinking that her mom had ever abandoned her. Her mom wasn't like that and she felt disappointed in herself for even thinking of such thing. Sure, she had been hurt when she found out that her mom had left all of a sudden but it wasn't like she hurt her on purpose.

A hand reached out and gently grabbed her arm, taking Mimi by surprised. She whirled around and placed a hand over her thumping heart. "You scared me! What are you doing here?"

"I called your name about five times," Tai said before letting her arm go. "Sorry I scared you. I was just worried about you."

There it was again. The feeling that she always got whenever she was with him.

"Are you still leaving? I mean, you didn't tell the others." He saw her give a simple, meekly nod. "Than I have something to tell you."

"I'm sorry but I really got to go home," said Mimi and started to walk away. She wanted to be alone right now.

"Wait! Mimi, I don't want you to go. To Europe I mean." Those words caused her to stop and before she knew it, she was pulled toward him so they were standing close to each other. Their eyes met and she found herself being drawn to them like those were the only things that she wanted to see. Her mind screamed at her legs to move but they were like a statue, unmoving and still. "I'm not saying that you shouldn't go. I'm just telling you how I feel and I don't want you to go. I want you to stay."

"Why? Why do you-"

"Because, I like you." There was no need to elucidate. Mimi understood what he meant and that was good enough for him.

This wasn't right. Or at least, it wasn't before when their parents were about to get married. It was okay now. It was okay to like or perhaps even love each other but even knowing that, Mimi pulled away from Tai. He could have stopped her or even followed but all he was able to do was to watch her disappear into the crowd.

Knowing that the door would be unlocked, Mimi opened it and went inside where it was warm and nice. She quickly took her shoes off and left it spawn messily, not caring that it had knocked her mom's shoe to the side. She just wanted to go to her room to either hate herself for pushing Tai away or to try and to forget about what he had told her. The latter didn't seem very likely though because she had actually liked hearing those words from him. However... in a way, Mimi thought that she had done a good thing by pushing him away. Who knows when she would able to come back once she gets on that plane to Europe in two day? She would only be hurting herself and Tai if she had responded positively to what Tai felt about her. With him constantly on her mind and wanting to see him at every moment that she gets... No. Things would not work out between them.

"I'm home," said Mimi to her mom and she greeted her aunt before heading for the stairs. They were looking at her oddly for being in such a hurry to her room but she guessed she would do the same if she was in their place.

"Wait. Please come here for a moment. I have something to tell you."

"I don't-" The look on her mom's face told her that she would want to hear whatever she had to say. It must be something important because her mom looked serious. "Alright."

Mimi took a seat next to her mom and focused her eyes on the coffee table. For the first time in weeks, she noticed how dusty its surface was.

"Mimi, you are going to stay here."

"What?" Hearing such thing while thinking about the dusty coffee table made her mom's words more important than they already were.

Hana couldn't help but chuckle at the look of bewilderment on her niece's face. "You are going to stay here with me while my sister goes back to Europe to quit her job and gather her things. She's going to come back here in couple of days and stay with you." There was no response or a different reaction from Mimi. It almost made Hana frown. "What's wrong? Aren't you happy?"

"I can stay here?" said Mimi almost to herself and before anyone knew it, she ran for the door. There was the sound of the door closing and the whole house went silent.

She first went to his apartment to see if he was there but she only met Kari who told her that her bother wasn't home yet. She didn't know where to go after that but she tried going to the café that her friends had been except all of them had left already. She was completely lost to where he could have gone to but she kept on walking and walking until she ended up in the soccer field.

Just as she thought, it was empty. The place looked cold but inviting in an odd so she decided to stay. She wanted to stay at the place where Tai had used to love spending his time on just to see how it would feel. She had never been interested in sports that much but she held a different view for soccer. It was the only sport that Mimi found bearable to watch and that was only because of Sora who used to drag her to the soccer games in their school. Sora used to love soccer before she started playing tennis so there really was no stopping her.

Mimi stopped by the goal area where she found a deserted soccer ball. It was old and tattered but seemed perfectly usable.

A small smile graced her lips and she decided to give it a kick. She wanted to see how badly she would do and just as she was about to kick it, someone sneaked up behind her. The person kicked the ball away to the side, causing Mimi to kick nothing but air.

"Hey, who-"

"If you want to kick the ball, you should be more quicker before your opponent steals it away from you."

So she finally found him. "I guess I did the right thing by coming here," said Mimi more to herself and she turned herself around to face Tai. "I've been looking for you."

"Oh really? Why would you-"

Mimi got on her tip topes and leaned forward, not knowing where she got her courage from. Their lips connected and at that exact moment, Tai understood. He understood her feelings and that he didn't have to say anything because she understood his as well. They wanted to be with each other and that was all that mattered.

"Tai," said Mimi once they parted. "I'm staying. I'm not going to go any where."

End.

After over a year, I'm glad I've finally been able to finish it. It felt strange writing about something that takes place in winter during the summer but it was fun any ways. Thank you so much for reading and I hope everyone enjoyed it!!!