A/N: So sorry for the late update!! But school's over so hopefully, if I have enough time, I'll update a lot more! But here's a pretty long chapter to make up for it. Hope you like it and leave a review!

I'm proud to say that I woke up the next morning with no headache, no muscle pains, and a normal level of confidence. Maybe because it was the fact that people in Odaiba were actually jealous of me, or maybe it was because I was shielding myself from all the insanity around me. Maybe it was both…I'm not really sure. But I'm most positive that talking with Kei last night after the party had helped me sleep soundly. Even though she had convinced me to go to Daisuke's party in the first place, she had also helped me recover from it.

I had told her about Taichi…and how we almost kissed. She nearly squealed in joy and misinterpreted everything. She thought I was going out with him now…yeah right.

I brought myself over to the bathroom with the ugly green uniform grasped loosely in my hands, and sighed as the warm water caressed my skin when I entered the shower. After getting dressed and heading downstairs with my backpack, I smiled at the smell of food. I couldn't believe that I went to bed without eating dinner last night.

I entered the kitchen and greeted my mother, who was making some eggs over the stove. She glanced at me and smiled at me with a curious look on her face. Damn, I knew what was coming: The infamous mother/daughter 'talk'. I needed to get out of here as quick as I could. Too bad I was starving.

I sighed and took a seat at the small, round dining table and quickly dug into my eggs as my mom placed them on the table. She sat across from me and watched intently. I glanced at the clock as I ate and thanked God that I had to leave in five minutes.

"So…parties on a Sunday night? That's new," she started, folding her hands under chin as she watched me. This could not get anymore uncomfortable.

"Yeah," I said bluntly, taking another spoonful of my eggs. She nodded her head and clicked her tongue.

"So, did you have fun?" she asked, pressing forward.

"Yes." I lied

"Did you make new friends?"

"Yup." Another lie.

"Did you meet any boys?" she asked while narrowing her eyes. I groaned a little.

"No, mom." Oh, I lied before. Now it could not get any more awkward.

"Well…did you drink?"

"Mom!" I snapped, my face looking at her questioningly, "You know I wouldn't."

She sighed and got up, walking over to the sink to do the dishes, not wanting to look me in the eyes.

"I know, Sora, but I'm just worried, alright? We've just gotten here…I don't want you to ruin everything for yourself. Just stay the good kid that you are. Besides, this is supposed to be ournew start," she explained, moving some brown hair out of her eyes. I narrowed my eyes and got up.

"No, mom, this is your new start," I retorted, picking up my bag and heading towards the door. How dare she make it sound as if I was the one who had problems. I shut the door behind me and sighed, running my fingers through my hair. What a great way to start off the day.

"Sora? Are you okay?"

I looked up and saw Koushiro's concerned face staring at me. I shook my head and smiled.

"Yeah, sorry, I was just having a talk with my mom and it didn't go so well," I stated, walking past him and towards the sidewalk. He quickly caught up with me and grinned.

"Ah, I hate parental talks," he laughed, trying to cheer me up. I smiled, nodding. But he really had no idea how bad my 'parental talks' were. There was an awkward silence as we walked towards Taichi's home, and I noticed how my stomach churned. Damn it, did we have to walk with him to school?

"So, are you alright, Sora? I mean, with everything that happened yesterday…with Ryota and all," he asked uncomfortably. I sighed and looked at the clear sky.

"I just really don't care anymore, Koushiro. Bad things happen, and sometimes the easiest way to deal with those things is to leave them in the past and move on," I explained, switching my backpack to my other shoulder. Too bad it's just so hard to leave everything in the past and move on.

"Hmm," Koushiro thought of what I said and smiled, "I disagree, Sora. I believe the best way to deal with you're troubles is to fix them and then move on."

I looked at him and thought about it for a second.

"But…but what if the problem is too hard to fix?" I questioned, kicking a stone on the sidewalk. I thought of my broken family, my old life back in Tokyo, and my father. He shrugged as we approached Taichi's house.

"Well, you'd never know unless you try, right?"

I sighed, and then looked up to see Taichi and Hikari leaving their house. Taichi's face looked unusually stern and Hikari seemed annoyed.

"Come on, Taichi! I really like him, okay? I wasn't just fooling around," Hikari whined, walking quickly up to her brother and clinging to his arm, but Taichi scoffed and pulled away, continuing to walk towards Koushiro and me.

Koushiro opened his mouth to greet Taichi as he approached him but Taichi just walked past him and Koushiro gave him a puzzled look. As he walked past me, I felt like I was sweating, but, then again…my paranoia is out of this world.

He continued to walk along the sidewalk towards the school while Koushiro and I looked at him with confusion. Hikari huffed as Koushiro tried to catch up with him. Hikari and I walked together, following them.

"He's angry because he found me and Takeru kissing yesterday," she replied, rolling her eyes. I chuckled and looked at the younger girl.

"Well if you were trying to keep it a secret, then you guys didn't do a great job. Even I saw you two going at it," I smirked, looking at her face turn a light shade of red.

"We didn't want to keep it a secret…actually he kissed me for the first time yesterday…" she explained. I smiled.

"And Taichi just overreacted?" I asked with curiosity. Hikari sighed with frustration and rubbed her eyes to get the sleep out of them.

"Well it was nearing the end of the party and he kind of saw us kissing pretty intensely in the corner…apparently everyone was telling him that we were 'making out' and he wanted to see for himself, even though Yamato had told him not to, according to Takeru," she expanded while making a face, "He's so protective! I love Taichi, I really do, but I hate when he treats me like a baby."

I laughed and patted her on the back.

"He's just looking out for you and being a good brother, that's all," I tried to console her. Hikari rolled her eyes and laughed.

"You know what I said to him that got him really angry? I told him that I wasn't like him…that I wasn't going to hook up with a ton of guys in the same month. He refused to talk to me after that," she replied with a slight chuckle, "He's just so stubborn and can't acknowledge the fact that he hurts a lot of girls doing what he does. So why does he have to scold me?!"

I thought about it for a second and agreed with Hikari. She had done nothing wrong. And by what I've experienced, Takeru is a great guy. Taichi shouldn't be worrying about Hikari, but instead, he should be worrying about himself.

"Honestly, Hikari, I agree with you," I told her with a smile. She grinned and sighed.

"At least someone agrees with me!" she yelled, cupping her hands around her mouth and forwarding her words towards Taichi and Koushiro, obviously trying to annoy Taichi. Taichi turned around and gave both me and Hikari a cold look. For some reason, we both started to laugh uncontrollably.

As we entered the school, I quickly broke away from that part of 'the family' and headed towards my locker. I sighed as I passed the same boring classrooms and the same boring people. I then froze slightly in my spot when I saw Yamato at his locker, conversing happily with his girlfriend. I cringed to myself and walked to my locker, ignoring them. I wasn't about to let this morning become even worse.

I tried to quickly shove my backpack into that damned little compartment as quickly as I could but I guess my locker had wanted me to suffer because it just wouldn't close when I tried to push it. I sighed with frustration and opened the door to my locker fully to stuff my backpack further in, and then closed it again. I carried the books for my first few periods and was ready to quickly walk to my homeroom. I groaned as I noticed that Taichi had also joined Mimi and Yamato.

Mimi was hitting Taichi in the arm, and when I heard Hikari's name, I knew Mimi was scolding him for being so harsh with her. Hikari must have already talked with Mimi about the whole situation and it made me a little upset. I had gotten pretty close with Hikari yesterday, and to know that she didn't even call me about this was a little depressing. But who was I kidding? I was the new girl and Mimi was actually one of Hikari's best friends.

"Feeling better today?"

I looked up into Yamato's clear blue eyes and stoic stare unexpectedly. He was leaning against his locker, standing next to his reprimanding girlfriend. I honestly didn't know why I found his eyes so mesmerizing…I had totally forgotten my aggravation with him.

"Yeah, a lot, actually…" I stated softly with a smile. Damn it…I knew I was horrible at holding grudges but this was just pathetic. He returned the smile, surprisingly, and walked over to me. I stood there frozen, kind of wanting to run away.

"Look…I'm sorry– I was going to come help you, yesterday, but you had already kneed the guy by the time I had decided to walk towards you two," he stated with a slight chuckle. He looked really awkward and it made me feel awkward. I noticed that Yamato wasn't used to apologizing very often because of his posture. The least I could do was accept his efforts, right?

"It's alright…I mean I shouldn't have blown up on you like I had," I paused to chuckle, "It wasn't like you were the one all over me."

I slapped myself mentally. I could not have said anything worse than that. He raised his eyebrow and I saw a smile slowly form near the corner of his mouth.

"Why do you get so embarrassed all the time? Just relax," he chuckled again, genuinely. I bit my lip and shrugged my shoulders, shifting the books in my arms.

"I don't know…I don't mean to, but…" I replied uncomfortably. He shook his head.

"No, it's…cute?" he questioned to himself with a slight grin. I blushed and it made him laugh. Watching Yamato Ishida laugh was the oddest, yet most wonderful thing I'd ever seen. You wouldn't expect to see such a conservative guy like him have fun…it was just weird. But that's stereotypical…because I was pretty conservative, too.

Mimi was done giving the, now, pouting Taichi a good earful about the whole 'Hikari and Takeru' situation. I saw her turn and give a frustrated look in Yamato's direction and I knew that now would be a good time to head towards homeroom. But when I saw her walk in the opposite direction, away from me and Yamato, I raised both my eyebrows.

Yamato followed my eyes and smirked.

"Does she really just hate me?" I asked naively. Yamato sighed and shook his head.

"I honestly don't know why she's acting the way she is towards you, but I know Mimi couldn't hate you," he explained with a smile, moving some blond hair out of his eyes while I rolled my eyes.

"You don't know that," I stated dryly, looking at my shoes. He paused for a second and I looked up, questioningly.

"Well, she's pretty incapable of hating anybody," he stated with a chuckle, again. He was giving me the strangest look. It seemed as if he wanted to say 'I honestly can't see why anyone could hate you'. He had to stop catching me off guard.

I then noticed that Taichi hadn't left with Mimi but was still in the same spot…now with Sayuri. Oh, so much for 'Sayuri means nothing to me'. She was giggling like a hyena and batting her lashes like she had something stuck in each eye. Okay, maybe I'm over-exaggerating but I really did not like that girl.

Yamato followed my gaze, again, and scoffed playfully.

"God, don't tell me you're another one…" he stated, straightening the books that he was holding on his right side. I looked back at Yamato and raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

He rolled his eyes at me and smirked.

"You do know how many girls Taichi goes after, don't you?" he asked me with a little tension in his voice. I sighed and gave Yamato a look.

"Look, I've gotten this speech from Koushiro and Hikari," I stated. He laughed to himself.

"Yeah, and we're all serious. Don't be like one of those stupid girls who actually believes that Taichi cares for her…because we don't want to see you get hurt by him. And I'm saying this as a friend of yours and of Taichi's," he stated, walking away, probably towards his homeroom. I stopped him before he walked any further. He quickly looked back.

"If you guys are Taichi's friends, then why are you all telling me all this?" I asked with curiosity. He smiled and turned more towards me.

"Because we all really like you."

I blushed and bit my lip as I looked at the floor. 'The Family' actually liked plain, boring me? I heard Yamato chuckle again and I looked up at him.

"By the way…it is cute," he stated softly, walking away. I sighed and walked towards my homeroom, as well. The bell finally rang and I knew I would have to hurry if I wanted to make it there early.

But the whole time that I walked to my homeroom, I couldn't shake the weird stare that Yamato had given me out of my mind…or the butterflies flapping in my stomach.

As I entered homeroom I noticed that the same seat that I had been sitting in these pass few days was still empty, so I quickly sat down before anyone could take it. I placed my books on the desk and leaned back into the chair. I looked over to my right and was surprised to see Takeru in homeroom early. He and Mimi were always running to make it here on time.

"You're here early," I stated lamely at the younger blonde, tucking some hair behind my ear. He looked over at me and grinned.

"Yeah…see I didn't want to run into Taichi this morning. I've been here for about a half hour, actually," he explained with a nervous chuckle. I couldn't help but laugh at the situation.

"You actually think Taichi would hurt you?" I asked, turning in my seat so I was facing him. He gave me a droopy-eyed look and sighed.

"Please, I know he'd kill me if he had the chance…You don't understand, Sora, I'm scared for my life!" He exclaimed, sitting up straighter in his seat and running his hand through his hair nervously. I noticed that he and Yamato both did that a lot.

"He's not going to kill you, Teeks, I had a good talk with him this morning."

I looked towards the door and saw Mimi walk in with her usual grace and ruffle Takeru's hair as she spoke. She took a seat and grinned at the boy, but when she looked at me, her smile fell slightly and she sat straight in her seat. I bit my lip and looked at the floor.

"You know Taichi, Mimi. He's not going to listen to anyone! There's no way I'm getting out of this school alive today," he explained, grabbing onto his desk and hyperventilating a little. I smiled at the younger boy. He was so cute.

Mimi laughed and shook her head.

"Well, then, Yamato will protect you. He is your older brother, after all," she reminded, tapping a pencil on her desk while smiling. Takeru scoffed and looked at me and Mimi.

"Yamato would just laugh. He thinks I'm crazy to have touched Hikari in the first place! You know what he told me last night?" he asked us. Mimi and I actually looked at each other with furrowed brows. When Mimi noticed that we both had no idea what Takeru was talking about, she smiled at me and then looked back at the younger boy, shaking her head. Wow…that was the first time Mimi Tachikawa had ever considered my presence. It made me feel a little better.

"He told me that I've brought this all on myself! That I should have thought about the 'consequences' before making out with Hikari," he clarified, rubbing his forehead with one hand. Mimi bit her lip, trying to hold in her laughter, and rubbed his back.

"Well, he's right! You know how protective Taichi is," she paused to chuckle at Takeru's wide eyes, "Don't worry, Takeru! As long as I'm around, I won't let him touch you."

"Mimi! I can't believe you're taking Yamato's side!" he exclaimed, his eyes widening even more. This caused Mimi to laugh and me to chuckle.

"Well he is my boyfriend, and even if he wasn't, I'd tell you the same thing, Takeru…wouldn't you?" she asked me. I looked at her surprisingly. Was she really talking to me? I blinked a few times and smiled.

"Well…I don't know Taichi that well so I can't really say," I answered honestly. She nodded, considering my point. Takeru groaned and placed his head on the desk as the bell rang, initiating homeroom. Mr. Takano started to take attendance but everyone continued to talk.

"I guess I'll just avoid Taichi and Hikari for today," Takeru stated bluntly. Mimi and I were quick to respond at the same time.

"Don't do that!"

"Yeah, Takeru, avoiding Hikari will only make her feel bad," I stated, grabbing my books and holding them to my chest. Mimi nodded in agreement and gave me a small smile.

I think she's on a roll! That's three times, now, that she's acknowledged me kindly. I don't know what has changed her opinion of me, but I'm sure glad that it's changed.

Takeru looked up and sighed, also agreeing with me.

The bell rang, again, and everyone started to get up and exit to their classes. Takeru quickly got up, said a quick goodbye to the both of us, and left homeroom as fast as he could. He probably didn't want to run into Taichi.

I followed his example and also headed towards the door but Mimi's voice stopped me. I turned back to see her biting her lip and looking at me intently.

"I've never really properly introduced myself," she explained with a strained chuckle, "I'm Mimi Tachikawa."

She brought her hand out so I could shake it and I raised my eyebrows surprisingly. Was this really happening? Was she actually trying to be nice to me?

I shook her hand and smiled, telling her my name, even though she already knew it. With that, she smiled at me, again, and left the room. I stood there for a second, in slight shock, but quickly snapped out of it and walked to calculus.

This day has, so far, been pretty dull and uneventful. But I'm not complaining, really. I'd rather have everything be mind-numbingly boring than have to go through drama and all that great stuff.

I walked to my locker and quickly opened it to change my books. I had gym next, and after Friday (bruising Mimi's nose with a volleyball), I'm not that excited about it.

"Hey, Sora, can I talk to you for a sec?"

I looked up at the sound of my name and froze in my spot when Ryota walked up to me, smiling and leaning against the lockers next to mine. I tried to ignore him and continued to grab the stuff I needed from my locker as I heard him sigh. Let's just say that I wasn't in the mood to talk to an ass right now; especially the same ass that was all over me at Daisuke's party.

"Look, this will only take a few seconds…please?" he asked softly. I noticed that his voice was a lot clearer than it was on Sunday…and that was because he wasn't completely wasted. I looked into his green eyes and closed my locker. He smiled and continued.

"I'm really sorry I was a jerk yesterday. I don't act like that at all," he explained slowly. I hugged my books close to me and bit my lip. He smiled and took a step closer and I quickly got a little anxious again.

"You know how it is…when the alcohol pretty much takes control over you and you somehow manage to do something stupid," he continued with a small smile. I wanted to smack him right then and there because drinking in the first place is completely stupid, so anything 'stupid' you do after you're drunk is not stupid…it's a consequence.

"Actually, I don't know how it is," I stated, taking a small step back and giving him a slight glare. He raised his eyebrows and scratched his head full of black hair.

"Look, what I mean is—I-I never wanted to hurt you. I'm really sorry," he stated, giving me a sensuous smile…it kind of freaked me out.

"It's okay," I quickly spoke, walking towards the gym as fast as I could. He called my name again and I turned back, looking at him questioningly.

"Do you want to hang out sometime? I'm not that bad, really. I can prove it to you," he stated with a smile, walking up to me and placing his hands in his pockets. I stood there in shock for the millionth time that day. Back in Tokyo, I never got asked out. I've never really been on a date! And, now, it's my third day of school and some guy wants to hang out with me…I didn't know what to say. I, actually, didn't like Ryota at all.

"I-I, um, that's okay. You don't have to prove anything to me," I rejected. He didn't give up though. I continued to walk to gym and he was right by my side.

"Well, let me take you out one day, anyway," he stated with a laugh. He was walking really close to me, and I'm not going to lie…it was really uncomfortable. This guy just wouldn't take a hint. Did he really think after Sunday that I might even consider him?

"It's really okay…" I replied, trying to smile as genuinely as I could. He sighed and bought his hand behind his head.

"Alright, then…I'll talk to you later," he responded, walking towards the boy's locker room where a group of guys were apparently waiting for him. They all asked him questions and looked in my direction. I saw him shake his head and walk into the locker room. Wow…I hope I never have to talk to him again.

I quickly walked into the girls' locker room and opened up my gym locker. I quickly changed into my gym uniform and headed back out into the gym. Hikari was waiting out there with Mimi and Miyako already and I was debating whether or not I should go hang out with them.

Before I could even make a decision, Hikari called my name and ran over to me.

"Sora," she whined, "You got to help me."

Mimi and Miyako slowly walked up to us and Mimi was shaking her head.

"Don't make her do it, Kari, Taichi's just being an idiot," Mimi explained while rolling her eyes. Miyako nodded and sighed. Hikari ignored their protests and continued talking.

"Taichi's not talking to any of us and he almost chased Takeru out of the school the period before this. He said he's not going to talk to anyone but you and I really need you to tell him to cut this out and leave Takeru alone," Hikari explained, giving me a defeated look with pleading eyes. I didn't quite understand why Taichi wouldn't talk to anyone in 'The Family' but he was willing to talk to me. I looked at all three of them and let out a shaky breath.

"I-I don't know, Hikari-"

"Please, Sora, he's being really immature and I don't want him scare Takeru anymore. It's not fair to Takeru," she pressed. I looked at all their faces and Mimi was shaking her head, her eyes telling me not to do it.

"Sora, all you have to do is tell him to stop harassing Takeru, that's all!" Hikari explained, pleading some more. I sighed.

"Alright, I'll do it… but I don't know why he'll only talk to me," I grumbled the last part under my breath. Hikari let out a sigh of relief and hugged me. I quickly looked at Mimi and she sighed, turning to look over at Taichi, who was sitting at the bleachers, arms crossed and eyes closed. He was being really stubborn, wasn't he? Yamato was sitting right next to him, trying to talk to him and knock some sense into him but Taichi wasn't budging.

I started walking over to the two boys while sneaking a look back in Hikari's direction. She was biting her lip and talking with Miyako and Mimi. Koushiro had joined the group of three girls and was getting filled in on the current situation by Miyako.

As I walked up to Yamato and Taichi, I first noticed Yamato's frustrated expression.

"Taichi, I swear to god, if you don't start talking to me, right now, I'm going to kick your ass. And I have every right to punch you in the face after what you did to Takeru last period," he explained to him with annoyance but Taichi remained in his stoic position. Yamato then noticed I was there and sighed.

I stood there awkwardly and waited for Yamato to say something but he didn't. He just looked at me and then ran a few fingers through his blond hair. I decided to speak first.

"I can take it from here if you want…" I trailed. It was still really awkward to talk to him after this morning. I didn't want him around while I 'talked' to Taichi. I just didn't want to do something embarrassing and have him around.

Yamato looked at me for a few seconds and stood up.

"He's being a real jackass right now, so watch out," he warned as he walked away coolly. I saw Taichi open his eyes for a split second to glare and closed them again. Once Yamato was gone, I knew this was going to be very awkward. I stood where I was, right next to Taichi's sitting body, and spoke.

"Um…you need to stop harassing Takeru because he's done nothing wrong. And neither has Hikari so just leave them alone, okay?" I explained as quickly as I could, fidgeting with my shirt. Taichi opened one eye to look at me and smiled.

"Make me."

I was thrown back by his response and looked at him with confusion.

"Um- w-what?"

"Make me." He reiterated, emphasizing each word. He opened both his eyes, stared at me with amusement, his signature smirk plastered onto his face. I glared at him slightly.

"This isn't funny, Taichi. Hikari's really upset and Takeru's scared out of his mind," I explained. Taichi motioned for me to sit down next to him and I reluctantly did. I then noticed how Hikari, Mimi, Miyako, Yamato, and Koushiro were staring at the two of us and it made me even more uncomfortable.

"See, you wouldn't be able to understand," he explained with a chuckle. I looked at him with furrowed brows and smiled.

"Try me," I stated, attempting to sound like him. He smirked and continued.

"I'm so protective of Hikari because she's my baby sister. Yamato doesn't have to worry about Takeru getting hurt because he's a guy," he explained, leaning back into the bleacher and looking at me with a smile. I rolled my eyes.

"Taichi, that's ridiculous-"

"Is it really? You know what happened to you yesterday, Sora? Well, I'm scared that could happen to Hikari," he explained while looking at the floor. I didn't like how he had to reference my dilemma from yesterday…but it did make sense.

"But this is Takeru. I don't think he could hurt anybody…and I've only known him for four days," I explained with a chuckle, "and you've known Takeru for years."

Taichi gave me a playful glare and chuckled.

"Well, he shouldn't have been all over Hikariyesterday at Daisuke's party. I just made him pay the consequences," he explained smugly, acting all proud. I raised an eyebrow and chuckled.

"What exactly did you do to him last period?"

Taichi took a second to glance it me and then grinned.

"Well, see, I saw him for the first time today, last period, and I was just trying to freak him out a little, you know, scare him. I walked up to him and said 'hi' but he looked at me with the widest eyes and started taking a few steps back. Of course, I followed him…and all I did was explain what would happen to him if he ever hurt Hikari. That's it," he explained nonchalantly. I narrowed my eyes, not buying it, but he just laughed at my expression.

"You're being really immature," I stated, getting up and starting to walk back to Hikari and everyone. He called my name and I turned around to look back at him.

"So…did you say yes to Ryota?" he asked me, bobbing his eyebrows. I blushed slightly and turned all the way around. Did he tell everyone that he was planning on asking me out?

"No, I-I didn't," I replied, tucking some of my hair behind my ear. Taichi chuckled and got up, walking over to me and placing his arm around his shoulders.

"Well I'd like to thank you, then" he stated, offering me a sexy grin. I blushed at the fact that we were so close to each other as we walked towards the rest of 'The Family'.

"Thank me for what?"

"Because you've rejected him, I've now made thirty bucks," he stated with an even wider grin, "Thanks a lot, Sor."

He ran towards Yamato and Koushiro to talk but they both started scolding him as soon as he opened his mouth.

I couldn't believe that jerk! He actually made a bet on whether or not I'd accept Ryota's date? What, did he think I wasn't brave enough to say 'yes' or something? Or maybe he thought that I was too shy to say yes...okay, I'm really being paranoid right now.

I noticed that Hikari quickly walked over to me and started questioning me but I wasn't paying much attention. I glanced at Taichi, again, and glared slightly. Maybe I actually wanted Taichi to be jealous of the fact that Ryota asked me out. I mean, Taichi did almost kiss me yesterday, right? So that meant that he wants to be more than friends…right? Ugh, why couldn't he be jealous?! Really, is it too much to ask?

"Sora? Hey, are you listening?"

I quickly looked into Hikari's eyes and shook my head.

"I'm sorry...what?" I asked, blushing slightly. I noticed Mimi, who was right next to Hikari, staring at me with an odd expression. Then she noticed that I was looking at Taichi and gave me a sly smile.

"What did he say? I mean, all of a sudden Taichi's in such a great mood and-"

"I didn't really say anything…I told him to leave Takeru alone and the next thing I knew we were just talking," I stated. Hikari raised her eyebrows while Miyako chuckled.

"Well, there's Taichi for you," Miyako stated, "Making a big scene and acting as if it were nothing."

"I told you. The only reason he did this was because he wanted to talk to Sora. He's just pulling Takeru's leg…I don't think he's that angry with him, at all. He might have been mad at first, but I think he's cooled off. He's just being the immature idiot that he's always been," Mimi stated quickly, moving some honey hair out of her face and walking over to Yamato. I watched her smack Taichi in the shoulder while she gave Yamato a quick peck on the lips.

"I can't believe him! God, he's so dumb," Hikari groaned. I remained silent for a while until I heard Miyako laugh.

"You know the only reason he wanted to talk to only you was because he knew Ryota was going to ask you out. He was just trying to flatter you, Sora, don't fall for it," Miyako explained rolling her eyes at the older boy. I scoffed lightly. Did everyone know Ryota was going to ask me out?!

"Please, what he did was not flattering," I stated with a glare in his direction again. Hikari laughed at that comment.

"I'll be sure to tell him that you said that. You know, Ryota and Taichi aren't used to having people reject them," she stated with a smile. I raised an eyebrow.

"It wasn't that hard…" I lied. It was actually really hard for me to say 'no' to Ryota cause I didn't want to hurt his feelings…even though that ass hurt mine yesterday.

"You amaze me," Miyako stated with a laugh and snort. That caused me to laugh and then, soon enough, Hikari. A few seconds later, the gym teachers blew their whistles and everyone organized into their sports.

Lunch rolled by rather quickly and since it was only my second day eating with 'The Family', I decided to take my time at my locker and walk into the cafeteria a few minutes late. Everyone was already gathered at the lunch table and, by the looks of it, everything seemed pretty normal. Takeru was sitting right next to Taichi but he still looked pretty uncomfortable. Taichi was probably trying to freak him out. Hikari sat right next to Takeru, of course, and luckily, the spot next to her was empty.

I walked over to the table and I was welcomed rather nicely. It wasn't awkward at all. I sat down next to Hikari and was relieved by the fact that Taichi was sitting at the other end of the table and in the same row as me. That meant that I didn't have to see him at all. The only thing that was making me a little nervous was the fact that Mimi was sitting right across from me and I still wasn't sure how she felt about me.

"Hey, do you want to hang out at my house after school today? Miyako and Mimi will be there, too," Hikari asked me as I pulled my sandwich out of my bag. I looked at her uncertainly.

"I don't know…I mean, I already have a lot of homework," I stated. I didn't really want to go because I knew that Miyako, Mimi, and Hikari were all really good friends and I hated being left out. Miyako looked at me and pouted.

"Come on, Sora! It'll be fun. We can do homework for a little while and then just hang out," she pressed. During all of gym, Miyako and I were talking. It was actually very easy to talk to Miyako and I had a lot of fun getting to know her.

I looked between Miyako and Hikari, not sure of what I wanted to do. Then I looked at Mimi, and when I saw her staring me straight in the eye, I was a little unnerved. Then she cracked a slight smile and took a bite from her apple.

"You should come for a little bit. I'm sure it's better than staying at home by yourself," she added with another smile. That left me in shock, yet again. I just didn't know why Mimi changed her attitude all of the sudden…but hey, I wasn't going to complain.

"Uh— alright I'll come by. I just have to let my mom know first so I'll drop by your house around…four thirty?" I asked, looking at Hikari. She beamed and answered me with an enthusiastic nod.

Yamato, who was sitting right next to Mimi, was picking at his food. I noticed that he was very quiet and didn't say anything…he actually looked a little upset. I was too shy to ask him what was wrong, especially since I didn't know him very well.

Mimi seemed to have noticed his mood, as well, and nudged at him from her seat. He glanced at her and smiled, but quickly looked back at his food.

"Hey, what's wrong?" she asked softly. Everyone else was in their own conversation and I, who had no one to talk to, just listened in on Mimi and Yamato. I tried to make it look like I was eating and thinking to myself.

"Nothing," he stated quickly, picking at his food even more. Mimi gave him a face and sighed, quickly getting up to throw her trash out. I watched her walk away and when I looked back at Yamato, he was staring right at me. It caught me off guard and it kind of made me feel uncomfortable so I looked away, picking at my own food.

I heard Hikari groan and I turned to look at her.

"Guys, I forgot my math textbook in my locker…I'll be right back," she stated, getting up and taking her garbage with her. She then grabbed Takeru's collar and got him to stand up. He moaned when he dropped his sandwich and looked at Hikari.

"Come on," she ordered, pulling him along with her. Takeru grabbed his books and let himself be dragged off by Hikari. He didn't, however, forget to gulp at the glare Taichi was giving the two of them.

"I'm watching you, Hikari!" he yelled at the two. Hikari waved him off and the both of them walked out into the hallway. Taichi grumbled and tapped his fingers on the table.

"Calm down, Taichi, you're being unreasonable," Koushiro stated calmly, taking a sip of his drink. Taichi glared and scoffed at the red-haired boy.

"I am not being unreasonable! I think you all need to get off my case," Taichi stated, grabbing his trash and throwing it out. Instead of coming back to 'The Family' table, he walked up to another table where all his soccer friends were sitting.

Koushiro sighed and looked at everyone that was left at the table.

"I really believe that he's bipolar, sometimes."

The whole table chuckled at the comment while Daisuke laughed out loud.

"Can I tell him that you said that?" Daisuke asked, grinning like a fool. Koushiro rolled his eyes and didn't answer the question.

Before I knew it, lunch was over so I quickly got up. Instinctively, I glanced in the direction Taichi was standing to see if he would come find me so we could walk to our next class together, like we did on Friday. Instead, he walked with his soccer buddies and was about to exit the cafeteria. I sighed and was also about to walk away, but when Taichi turned his head and looked in my direction, I blushed. He cracked a smile and gave me wink before leaving the cafeteria and heading towards Business/Accounting.

God, he is so bipolar.

A/N: I don't want to offend any bipolar people! Sora's just really sarcastic in my story, haha. Please don't take it offensively! Leave a review!