Note: This is my first story ever. I am not too good at writing & because of how stressed I am about doing this there may be a fair share of typos in there, or sudden change in past/presence in storytelling, haha, I am so very sorry, I promise the *next chapter will (hopefully at least...) be better! ^^

*that is if you WANT a "next chapter" ... let me know! :)

3 months had passed, Yamato had started modeling again & it slowly consumed all his time. Yamato had told Mei they just didn't "fit" & that she "wasn't worth the effort" 1 month ago, after having been cold & unresponsive for a month before, leaving Mei in knots of stress & paranoia. His model work had taken over, supplying him with huge amounts of ego & he spent all his time with Megumi. Once he had broken it off with Mei, he & Megumi were seen kissing & holding hands only 1 day later, inseparable ever since. Mei had tried to walk up to him at school, only to have him make excuses & walk away. The texts she sent him either didn't get answered or got answered by a short & cold response. People all over the school were talking about how Yamato had left Mei for Megumi. They all said that they saw it coming, & that it was the only logical choice for Yamato, he should have never wasted his time with that shy freak Mei.

Mei felt the depression sink in as her fears were once again confirmed by the actions of those she let too close & opened up to. People betray you & hurt you in the end, no matter how long the bliss of "friendship & trust" manages to last each time, it always ends in pain. Why bother to sign up for that kind of pain by making friends? Friendships are overrated...

Sitting at her desk in the classroom, waiting for the class to start, Mei found herself watching Yamato next to Megumi, chatting & laughing. Mei hadn't talked to Yamato in 30 days now. Those 30 days of silence had given Mei more than enough time to try to close off her feelings for him, like she should have the moment he first talked to her. This was her fault after all, letting her feelings get the best of her, giving into that impossible ray of hope like an innocent child gives into the hope of magic. And just like the child grows to realize that magic does not exist in this world, she grew to realize that she was right all along, people do not last in your life. They push their way in, only to take everything they can get & then walk out, leaving you empty & wounded. That's what she felt like now, empty, as she stared at Yamato, her face emotionless, but if you looked closely at her eyes you could see the pain of all the memories she had shared with him, believing once, in the magic of lasting relationships.

Finally the teacher walked into the classroom, snapping Mei out of her thoughts & emotions. This was the final class of the day & Mei could not stay focused one bit. She stared silently out the window, watching the leaves on the trees sway a bit as the wind pushed them & the blue skies, oh, those blue skies with a single cloud floating alone across the sky. It reminded her of herself. Cloud that preferred to be alone, instead of getting mixed up with other clouds, only to end up as rain, crashing into the hard ground, having to work its way through the soil & earth until finally the sun evaporated it back up into the sky.

She felt the familiar sting in her eyes that you get just before the tears start to swell up & closed her eyes quickly. Pushing all thoughts away she got through the class by a miracle. As the bell rang, Mei got out as fast but discretely as possible. After her rejection by Yamato she had closed everyone off. If Yamato could leave her, so could the rest of her "friends" & she had decided to beat them to it by avoiding everyone she knew.

During the walk home, all the memories of her & Yamato walking home, laughing, his charming & irresistible smile, came back to her as vivid as they were when they happened. The tears started swelling up again & this time she didn't hold them back. She was alone, why should she?

As soon as she let it all go, & the tears came flooding down her face she heard distant footsteps.

"Mei!" she heard a familiar voice shout from behind her. Recognizing the voice immediately she felt stings deep in her chest & stomach, the tears were already on the move & once they start it is easier said than done to stop them. She considered running away like she had been doing this past month, but her whole body was weak from the emotions & crying. She wiped the running tears quickly & used the sleeve of her sweater to hide the new ones running down her cheeks. She turned around with an awkward & desperate smile on her face, in no way matching the pain that could be easily spotted in her eyes, to see Kai running towards her. As soon as he was close enough to see her face clearly he came to a quick stop, taking in the sight of Mei's eyes, swollen & teary, her face red. In a fraction of a second he took in the sight of Mei, & then took off again, that much faster, reaching Mei & grabbing her shoulders tightly, pulling her close to him. He looked into her eyes for a moment before hugging her tightly. Mei was so surprised at first, her muscles stiff & her eyes wide open, taking in what just happened. But after a month of not talking to anyone but Marshmallow, her cat, this familiar feeling of closeness felt so warm & welcoming that in her weak state she let herself ease in to it, closing her eyes as the tears ran in a quiet stream down her face & onto Kai's sweater.

They stayed like that for a while until Kai stood back & looked at her with a gentle understanding expression, an expression that said "I know you're in pain, I understand & its alright, I'm here"

Mei looked at his eyes dumbfounded, she had never been this close to Kai or seen Kai like this before. Kai then gently stroked the last tears off Mei's cheeks, making her flinch for a second. Looking down, Mei saw 2 stains on Kai's sweater after her teary eyes & immediately felt bad & awkward. Seeing her expression, Kai responded quickly.

"Hey, its alright." The sound of his voice startled Mei a bit, since they had been standing there quiet for so long. "Feeling any better?" he added in a caring tone. Mei nodded, the whole situation a bit too unreal for her brain to process all the information at the usual speed. Nodding was as much as she could handle for the time being.

His tight grip on her shoulders felt reassuring. Her mind had been racing for so long & somehow it felt like his tight grip was not only on her shoulders, but much deeper. Calming her, it gave her a peace of mind, as she could focus on his touch instead of her thoughts. But as she focused on his touch she felt a feeling she hadn't felt in a long time. She looked up to see Kai staring straight into her her eyes, their long friendship reflected in his deep blue eyes. How he had always been there by her side when things were rough, always ready to cheer her up when she was down & catch her when she fell. She felt herself heat up, emotions forming & tearing up inside of her. His eyes were like black holes, once you got too close, there was no way out.

Lost in his eyes, she hadn't noticed how much closer he had gotten until his lips touched hers, so lightly that you could barely feel it, but still enough to send electric currents throughout her body, tensing her up, overheating her entire body, causing her lungs to forget how to breathe for a moment. Her eyes widened, startled by his lips & the feelings they had caused, but before she could let her mind carefully analyze everything about it, he kissed her. It was a deep, affectionate & passionate kiss, filled with unsaid words & bottled up emotions. His hands now tight around her waist, her mind assured her that that this was right. This was how it should have been, always.

She felt like she could trust Kai, but at the same time, she felt so incredibly childish for thinking so. The longer she thought about it, the more she realized how stupid this whole situation was. She had just been burned, & now she was reaching back into the flame. Realizing what was happening she broke off the kiss, staring at Kai for a moment, telling herself to keep away from the fire. The burning fire that lures you in with warmth & light, but burns when you get closer. "Mei.." he started, but she knew that in her weak state she was in danger of jumping head first into the flame, so she did what seemed rational to her at the moment, she ran away.

Home in the safety of her room, her mind was a whirlpool of chaos.

What had just happened?

How could she have allowed it to happen?

& did she really just RUN AWAY AFTER KISSING KAI?!

She tried to push the thoughts away but they just kept coming back, stronger than ever. Marshmallow cuddled next to her feet as she sat on the floor next to her bed, holding her knees tight to her chest, she let her head drop with a deep sigh. A year ago her life was simple & plain. People were such a hassle. She stood up, grabbed a towel & went into the bathroom, all in quick motion, as if the thoughts would go away if she just moved fast enough. She started the shower & got in, letting the water pour over her. Soon her legs gave in & she sat on the floor under the shower as she felt the energy completely drained out of her.

After the shower she went to her bed & fell straight asleep.

When she woke up the morning after she felt well rested & ready to face the day, but as she slowly came to, the yesterday started coming back to her, & she could feel the stress grow & curl around her chest, creating a pressure like never before.

Could she face going to school after the way she left things with Kai?

Please let me know if you want me to continue, & if you would be so very kind, leave a review please! It would make my day! 3