This is a challenge story from the forum, 'The Forest of Irrelevant Road Signs'. I'll be writing about two main characters with a prompt in mind. The two characters I got are Hikari and Michael (Mimi's friend from America), and the prompt is 'I didn't mean it that way'. Originally I planned to write a one-shot on this, but since I don't have much time to complete that in time I figure I'll turn this into a short multi-chapter story instead. Hikari will be a bit OOC, but it's purely for entertainment purpose.

Allow me to add that this fic is mostly humour-driven, which will include a lot of stereotypes about/against LGBT members. If you feel offended, my apology, but that is never my intention.

Plot: There's nothing more frightening to Yagami Hikari than possibly losing Takaishi Takeru, her boyfriend, to a gay guy.

Genre: Humour, Friendship, Romance

Starring (tentative): Hikari, Michael, Takeru, Mimi; Miyako, Taichi, Yamato, Koushiro

Pairings (tentative): Takari, Taito, Koumi

Prompt: I didn't mean it that way.

As usual, I recommend reading in ½ page size to get the feeling of reading a book.

'Drop the grumpy face, Hikari.'

Sixteen-year-old Yagami Hikari made a face at her best friend and folded her arms.

'I'm not grumpy,' she murmured. Miyako just had to roll her eyes.

'Says the one who's been sulking even before we entered the store.'

Hikari groaned and rubbed her temple, not willing to continue this conversation. She randomly picked up a dress nearby and pretended to be examining it in details, but from the corner of her eyes her full attention was on a certain blond standing a few feet away from her, talking enthusiastically to her pink-haired friend. The young adult had short, blond hair, and a rather well-built body that would make any teenage girl blush and drool. Not to mention, the Child of Light admitted, he was very good-looking. However, Hikari's menacing glare contained zero appreciation of those facts.

'What exactly is your problem with Michael?' Miyako asked, following the glance of the brown-haired girl. 'He's been nice ever since arriving from the United States, and he even agrees to come shopping with us when none of the other guys want to. That, may I add, includes your boyfriend as well.'

'That's exactly the problem,' Hikari hissed under her breath. She watched as Mimi's eyes glistered upon Michael's recommendation of a one-piece dress and spun around happily in front of the mirror. It was an elegant dress indeed, and it made Hikari slightly frustrated that a guy probably had better sense of fashion than she did. Michael, being the gentlemen he was, laughed good-naturedly at Mimi's childish behaviour and pointed at a hat that looked fitting with the dress on Mimi's body. Hikari's frown deepened.

'What does that mean?' Miyako cocked her head, not understanding why having a guy shopping with them seemed to be the problem. She couldn't figure out Hikari's grudge against the American blond, who was spending his summer vacation in Japan. All digidestined had welcomed him with open arms, but only Hikari seemed uneasy with his presence.

'This is a girl's outing, Miyako,' Hikari whispered as she walked away from the changing room area to avoid others eavesdropping on them, 'and I feel uncomfortable with him around us.'

Miyak intuitively sneered. 'Seriously, Hikari? What are you afraid of? That he'll peak on you while you're changing? Or he'll drool at the sight of your low-cut dress or bikini like Takeru does?'

The lavender-haired girl's light-hearted comment managed to draw a blush out of the face of the Child of Light. Images of Takeru bluntly staring at her, with an undeniably lustful expression, came to her mind, and while she was pleasantly flattered and enjoyed her boyfriend's attention, she was pretty certain Michael would not do the same.

'You do remember he's gay, right?'

'Of course I know,' Hikari snorted at Miyako's added comment, 'and that's the biggest problem.'

'Why would that be?' Now Miyako was confused. 'So…you're not scared of him peaking or staring. Then what?'

Hikari sighed in a resigned manner. She knew her reason of not liking Michael sounded foolish, and she wondered how her best friend would take it.

'It's about Takeru.'

It took some still seconds for those few words to register in Miyako's mind, but once she recovered, she did the only thing she could think of.

She raised her finger at Hikari and burst out laughing.

'It's not funny!' Hikari felt the urge to strangle her friend for making her feel so embarrassed at the moment. She could feel the heat on her cheeks rising rapidly, and she looked around to make sure they were not getting the attention of the entire store.

'You…you…' Miyako had to hold her stomach as she dropped to the floor. 'You're…you're jealous of Michael?'

The expression of Hikari biting her lips and her trembling fists silently replied her question.

'Just because he's gay doesn't mean he wants to get his hand in any boy's pants, my dear Hikari-chan,' Miyako hid her amused expression and spoke animatedly. 'Your brother is dating Yamato-san too, but I don't think Taichi-san lusts after Takeru-kun.'

'I didn't mean it that way!' Hikari sighed exasperatedly, wondering how to get her point straight. 'It's just…it's just that…' she waved her arms in the air in desperation, 'it's just that he enjoys spending time with Takeru, and Takeru enjoys his company too.'

'And you feel left out because of that?' Miyako sneered. 'Don't be silly, Hikari. Two guys hanging out is like the most common thing on earth, just like two girls going shopping together.'

'But Michael has been flirting with him, and Takeru doesn't seem to mind!' Hikari almost yelled, recalling moments when the American young adult hit on her boyfriend and made some suggested jokes while putting his arm around Takeru's shoulders (or worse, waist) and the playful expression on her boyfriend's face that made her pale. 'They do everything together now: playing basketball, watching basketball, talking about basketball, bowling and playing snooker with friends, just relaxing in the park...even after our shopping time, he'll be meeting up with Takeru and his friends to play basketball.'

'You can't blame Takeru-kun though,' Miyako stated plainly as she finally recovered from her outburst. 'Finally there's a guy who can talk basketball with him. So far the only digidestined who are into sports in our circle are all football fanatics: Taichi-san, Daisuke-kun, Ken-kun, and even Sora-san and Koushiro-san. Even you, dear Hikari-chan, are a football fan thanks to your older brother.'

'But…but…' Hikari tried to come up with a rebuttal, but deep down she knew that the lavender-haired girl was right.

'Let me get this straight.' Miyako raised a finger in the air 'You're mad because he gets to see Takeru-kun's naked body as he's taking a shower after a basketball game while you can't? You can always just ask, Hikari. I'm sure Takeru-kun won't mind your company in his shower.'

'Miyako!' In her mind, several images of Takeru's half-naked body – usually after a basketball game or after Daisuke accidentally (on many occasions) splashed juice on his shirt – entered her mind, and to Miyako her shy and flustered look was always a sight to see.

'You're so easy to tell,' Miyako chuckled. 'Trust me, they're just friends. If Takeru-kun didn't like you he wouldn't be dating you for almost two years now. Don't you forget that he's the most sought-after boy in school? He could have gone for anyone if he's not serious about you. Heck, don't you know that some members of his fan club are boys too?'

The enthusiastic cry from Mimi stopped them from keeping on the conversation. Reluctantly, Hikari walked back to where Mimi was standing, and had to hear her extol Michael's fashion sense cheerfully. Said boy, who just grinned at her words, waved as Hikari and Miyako came back.

Hikari didn't like his smile. All the while that Mimi was talking, she just kept staring at Michael fiercely, hoping to drill holes on his back with her powerful glare.

Michael did not seem to have noticed the sixteen-year-old's burning stare, however. His phone rang and he took it out to see he had received a message. A small smile crept across his face as he read it.

'I'm sorry but I have to go now. Takeru-kun just sent me a text message and said that his friends have already arrived at the basketball court, and he asked me to come now so we could start the game earlier.'

Miyako had to restrain Hikari from destroying every single dress hangers in the store as Michael walked away, while Mimi just bounced to the cashier happily to pay for the dress that Michael had helped her pick.

End of Chapter 1

There will likely be some Michael-Takeru moment in next chapter. Don't worry, the focus will still be on Hikari and Michael.

Reviews will be deeply appreciated! Until next time!