Let's Kick It Up

Chapter 1: The Problem

He could hear the crowd cheering in his head as he chased the ball up the soccer field; he could hear them chanting his name, over and over. Davis! Davis! Davis! Closer and closer, to the net he drew, glancing up in a split second to take aim before pulling his foot back to shoot. Suddenly the ball was gone and the burgundy-haired soccer-star was dragged from his fantasy as, instead, his foot met air: the crowds and cheers disappearing in an instant. His face found an automatic frown as he glanced around to see who had taken his ball.

A tall boy with wild brown hair stood before him, smirking, with one foot trapping the ball to the ground. Davis grinned, determined, as he immediately recognised the boy as Tai, the older brother of one of his best friends and self-proclaimed soccer legend. With the sun high in the sky and the grass dry underfoot (and with plenty of people around to watch) the ideal conditions for a great game were met...or they would have been if the older boy had had any intentions of playing.

Tai winked and casually kicked the ball back to Davis who received it expertly. "What's up, Tai?" Davis enquired. "It's not like you to pass up a game of soccer." Tai shrugged his shoulders.

"Sorry, Davis, I got places to be." With that said he turned and walked away into the city, leaving Davis to speculate. He kicked the ball in frustration, sending it through the air to land amongst a group of girls who screamed and ran as it entered their personal space. Davis laughed quietly to himself before shouting an apology towards them. He collected his ball and, holding it under his arm, he left.

Takeru sat on his best friend Kari's bed with his face in his hands. Why couldn't he get the words out? The brown haired girl sat cross-legged on the floor in front of him, waiting patiently like any good friend would. She seemed concerned but eager to listen and help if she could. Unfortunately, despite wanting her support, the blonde boy couldn't muster up the courage to talk. He felt useless – he'd been so sure he'd manage to tell her this time but, as usual, he had failed.

"It's all right if you don't wanna talk, TK," Kari said, looking up at him. "Just promise me that you're not in any trouble."

Takeru removed his head from his hands to look at the girl. She smiled reassuringly and Takeru couldn't help but attempt to return the gesture. "Thanks, Kari," he managed to mumble gratefully, "I'm in no trouble."

It's not a lie, he told himself, not really. It was a bit of a problem, yes, which would probably lead to a whole mountain of trouble sooner or later but, for the moment, Takeru Takaishi was in no trouble at all. There was the whole issue of having made out with one of his best friends – one of his male best friends – at the last camping trip they'd gone on...

Takeru, Kari, Tai, Davis, Yolei, Matt and Izzy had all gone camping the previous weekend. Everything had happened like any camping trip they'd had in the past: they'd pitched a few tents, built a fire, roasted marshmallows and told ghost stories – completely normal. However, when everyone had retired to their tents, Davis, Izzy and Takeru had remained seated before the dying fire.

The three talked about common interests for a while: video games, television, computers, girls etc., again, completely normal - nothing out of the ordinary...that was until Davis retired to their shared tent, leaving Takeru and Izzy to continue the conversation alone.

"...he's always liked her in that way," Takeru finished, talking about Davis's infatuation with Kari. "Not that I mind, I mean, I only see her as a friend anyway."

"Yes, I know what you mean," Izzy added. "At least he got over his jealousy of you. I can't even imagine you two fighting, any more."

"Yeah, we've all grown up a lot," Takeru said, chuckling. "So, uh, how's your love situation, anyway?"

Izzy blushed a deep red: he'd never been completely comfortable talking about this kind of thing, not to mention that it was something he'd never really had much experience with before. Not knowing what to say, he simply shrugged, deciding to change the subject: "Hey, it's freezing." He shivered and wrapped his arms around his body.

Takeru leaned over to his rucksack and pulled a large double-blanket from its depths. He beckoned Izzy over and threw the sheet over both of them. As they lay back on the grass, Izzy folded his arms behind his head and looked up at the black sky. There were so many stars but, for some reason, Takeru wasn't interested in them. He propped his head up on his hand and angled his body to face Izzy's.

"Hey Izzy," Takeru asked.

"Yeah?" the other boy replied, turning his head to glance at the blonde boy.

"Have you ever – uh – ever," he hesitated. "Do you know what it's like to, um...Can I kiss you?"

Izzy sat up immediately and looked at Takeru, his eyes wide with shock. Takeru's heart was racing, what was he thinking asking a dumb question like that? Izzy would think he was mad! The blonde boy shook his head. "It was a stupid idea," he said, "forget I said anything." He shook his head and allowed his body to flop backwards and he turned his gaze to the stars.

Izzy watched the blonde boy. His heart was racing. Takeru had just asked to kiss him. He was so unprepared that he'd nearly choked on his own breath upon hearing it. He let the thought roll around his head for a moment: he had never kissed another boy before. He'd never wanted to kiss another boy...until now. Curiosity took control of the red haired boy and soon his face was hovering, inches away from Takeru's.

The blonde boy smiled before closing the gap between their lips, kissing Izzy...

Takeru sat in Kari's bedroom, his heart pounding in his chest. He didn't even know why he wanted to tell the girl. Okay, he'd enjoyed the kiss with Izzy but it wasn't as if he was about to confess to be head-over-heels in love with the boy – he wasn't gay...well, not really. He did, however, feel the need to talk to someone about it, for the kiss had been on his mind, weighing him down like a two-tonne tangle of guilt and paranoia. He felt like he had to make a confession in order to get over it. Doing this, it seemed, was not as simple as he'd thought it would be.

"I'm sorry Kari," Takeru began, "I didn't mean to make you worried. I-"

He was interrupted by a loud knocking on the door before Kari's mother poked her head into the room. "Kari, you're little friend Davis is at the door, shall I tell him you're busy?"

Kari and Takeru exchanged a glance. "No, it's okay," Kari replied, "you can bring him in." Mrs Kamiya nodded once before vacating the room to soon be replaced by Davis – who appeared to be in a foul mood. He flung himself onto the bed behind Takeru who was perched on the edge. "Make yourself at home, Davis," Kari laughed, earning a grin from Davis and a smile from Takeru. It took so little for Kari to alter Davis's mood that Takeru was almost jealous.

"So what's up Davis?" Takeru asked, turning to face his goggle-headed friend.

"Everything!" Davis replied unenthusiastically. "I'm so bored and I'm apparently no fun to be around." He pouted and Takeru felt an unexpected flutter in his stomach. The blonde boy opened his mouth to speak but couldn't form the words nor could he take his eyes away from the slender form on the bed.

"What makes you say that, Davis?" Kari asked casually.

"Tai." The single word resulted in a sigh from the only girl in the room. She always knew she could count on her brother to make things difficult for her. She didn't even want to ask what he'd done this time since, knowing Davis, it was probably nothing anyway. "He didn't want to play soccer with me." Takeru laughed unexpectedly. For some reason he just found this hilarious. Kari caught the laughing bug too which soon spread to Davis as well.

Takeru leaned back, resting on Davis's legs as his giggle-fit died and he regained his ability to breath. He was suddenly aware of a hand on his shoulder. Davis was absent-mindedly running his fingers across Takeru's back. As soon as he realised he was doing it, he removed his hand and tucked it away, behind his head.

Takeru's eyes widened as he felt the familiar sensation of butterflies in his stomach and the penny dropped in his mind. There was suddenly a bigger problem in his life than the kiss he'd shared with Izzy...