"And no it's not a phase cause it happens all the time
Start over, check again, now tell me what you find"
Avalanche-Bring Me The Horizon
The sound of the car engine drowned out the sounds of his classmates passing by the car he was in. Parked outside of the school, he watched as his classmates merrily made their entrance into the school, unaware of the boy in that car with his mother. He felt out of place, not walking with his friends to his last year of school. He had walked to school every day since he moved there. But with the circumstances of the summer, he didn't question his mother's reasoning.
"TK, quit sulking," his mother said, placing a hand on her son's lap.
TK looked over from the window towards his mother and gave her a small, yet insecure smile. "Good advice, Mom," he joked, picking up some books from where set them on the floorboard.
Ms. Takaishi worried, hearing the fake confidence in her son's voice. "If you're not ready—"
"We talked about this, Mom," the teenager chided, a stern look plastered across his face. "The next step in recovery is getting back to my normal routine."
His mother removed her hand, placing her fingers gingerly on the steering wheel. "I know that, TK, it's just..."
Her mind wandered as she saw some boys she remembered from TK's basketball team walk passed the car and onto the school grounds. TK looked over at where his mother was staring and felt his body freeze up at the realization of his mother's worry.
"I'm not going to relapse, if that's what you're worried about," TK smiled, reaching for the car handle.
"Well, that's part of it," Ms. Takaishi sighed. Ever since her youngest son was released from rehab a few days before, a million concerns ran through her mind about what could happen next. "Just please, if you ever feel like you can't handle anything, call me? I'll come get you."
TK rolled his eyes playfully. He knew his mother worried, and that she had every right to worry, but he felt like she was going a little overboard. TK had problems that summer, but he knew he was getting better.
He opened the door, throwing one leg out when his mother stopped. "Wait," she stopped, reaching for a small container in the center console. "Have you taken your meds?"
TK groaned, trying to keep his distaste for the topic quiet from his mother. He reached over for the container and popped it open, before slipping a pill into his mouth and using his mother's coffee to down it.
Ms. Takaishi furrowed her brows. "Should you have taken that with caffeine?"
TK pursed his lips together. "I think I'll be fine," he answered, annoyed. "I took it, didn't I?"
His mother didn't answer. TK shut the door behind him and began walking towards the school grounds when he heard the window roll down and his mother's voice call his name.
"I'm not going to be home when you get home. I want you to go to your brother's after school," she informed, yelling from inside the car.
TK turned around and raised an eyebrow. "Don't you trust me to stay alone?"
His mother didn't respond. Her face looked hurt, but serious. That answered his question: she didn't trust him.
TK didn't bother to argue with her. He looked down at his watch, noting that he only had five minutes to get to class. He nodded, "okay, Mom," before walking up the school steps.
TK sat down by himself at lunch, not in the mood to eat, but knowing he had to get something in his system. He pulled a bag of strawberries his mother had packed and groaned. TK liked strawberries, but his mother had insisted on packing and making all of his food according to some research she found on the nutrition of recovering alcoholics. As many times as he told her that he could take care of himself in that aspect, she refused to budge.
Taking a bite of his first fruit, TK's eyes surveyed the school ground. The weather outside was hot, causing some students to stay inside, but TK never minded the heat. Being outside also had to added perk of being alone.
Since TK's arrival this morning, he had been seen by the school counselor twice, been pulled aside by a teacher who had "been down that road before," and various classmates that asked if he was okay. While he knew he should have been grateful for the concern and willingness to help, he couldn't stand the attention he was getting.
TK knew that coming back to school would pose this risk. Every faculty member was made aware of his condition, as protocol apparently stated. Since his collapse happened at a party, the word of what happen traveled fast. Everyone in his grade level and some below knew what was going on with the basketball player.
He hadn't seen any of the DigiDestined, though. Cody was a grade below him, not giving him much opportunity to run into the youngest member. Davis had been in one class with him, but TK was pulled out by the counselor before they had a chance to talk. Kari had been missing the whole day. TK hadn't seen her in the halls, in class, nor at that moment at lunch.
Finishing his one strawberry, he grabbed another before putting the rest back in his backpack. He wasn't terribly hungry and he could save it for a snack later at Matt's. His mind wandered to his brother. He was the only DigiDestined he had been able to meet up with since his accident. Even then, those meeting didn't give much of a clue as to what was going on with everyone else. Omitting one trip to the Digital World to explain to the Digimon what had happened, the group hadn't been together since TK's intervention.
TK sighed, leaning his head back against the shadowed wall of the school. It felt weird being by himself, despite how much he wished he was left alone since the beginning of his day. If it were last year, TK would be having lunch with Kari and Davis, or maybe some teammates. It seemed, however, that his teammates were avoiding him like he had the plague. None of them had made an effort to come talk to him, although a few had sent some letters to the center while he was away. Being alone in the middle of the day just wasn't something TK was used to.
TK's eyes darted to two girls walking passed him, giggling into each other as they passed. His eyes widened. Were they talking about him? He looked around at the rest of the yard, trying to find anyone that was looking at him to no avail. TK sighed, calming down.
"Stop thinking that," he whispered to himself, grabbing a strap on his backpack. "You're just paranoid."
TK stood up, throwing his bag on one shoulder. The effort to match his other shoulder was mute. The blonde made his way towards the door, needing to get out of the courtyard and go somewhere quiet. The library seemed like a good option. Maybe he could get some of his school work started.
The door swung open and TK strolled through, acting as casual as he could. He didn't want to attract any attention to himself, in case a teacher saw him and contacted the counselor again.
The chatter from the school cafeteria rang in his ears as he passed. TK peeked in, noticing his whole team sitting at their usual table. For a split second, it felt wrong, not being in there. He stopped in his tracks, turning around towards the door. He reached a hand out and quickly snatched it away. Shaking his head, he turned around again and walked towards the library. He knew he had to reintroduce himself into his normal routine, but today wasn't that day.
The library was almost vacant, save for the librarians and few over-achievers who started studying for university entrance exams. Finding a seat, TK plopped himself down, throwing his head on top of his backpack. Entrance exams were a thing he hadn't thought much about. In fact, he had completely forgotten about them, with everything else going on.
TK tried to push the girls from earlier and the exams out of his mind. It made his heart race and his head spin. He didn't need to be concerned by that. He hadn't known if the girls were talking about him. It was a conclusion he jumped to.
TK shook his head again and pulled out a history book. He flipped to the first chapter and put his finger underneath the first sentence. His eyes scanned the words as his finger moved, but he didn't retain anything.
"Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated in June 1914 in Sarajevo, Bosnia by a Serbian nationalist," he read aloud.
"Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated in June 1914 in Sarajevo, Bosnia by a Serbian nationalist."
"Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was—"
TK groaned shutting the book in front of him. His mind couldn't concentrate on the history of World War I. "I could use a drink," he mumbled, throwing his head back down on the table.
Head in his arms, his eyes widened, realizing what he just said. Thought of his drinking days last semester ran through his mind, and the back of his throat felt a familiar burn for a second.
TK's head shot up again, pushing those memories from his mind. "No," he whispered, opening the book back up. His hand reached over for his bag, pulling out a pen and a notebook. "No."
Laying the untouched notebook in front of him, TK ran his eyes over the beginning of the textbook again. "Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated in June 1914 in Sarajevo, Bosnia by a Serbian nationalist," he whispered, writing down bullet points from the statement.
TK continued reading and writing, making it through the first two pages before he stopped to evaluate his work. His handwriting was sloppy and barely legible. The clock on the wall said only three minutes had passed, meaning the blonde hadn't taken his time. TK tried to recall what he wrote, but couldn't remember anything passed the points on Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
TK sighed and pushed the book away from him on the table. He flipped over a clean page in the notebook and touched his pen to the paper. The ink took off as TK begin to write. He wasn't quite sure what he was writing, but half a page was filled in no time.
He remembered this trick from his therapy sessions. He loved writing, so the therapist suggested he write whenever he felt nervous or stressed or confused about what he felt. In that moment, TK had too many feeing to classify as one.
The bell rang, pulling TK out of his trance. He looked up and watched the other students pack up and head out. He reached over for his history book and shoved it in his backpack. He closed the notebook without reading what he had written. Throwing the bag over his shoulder, he walked from the library and out to his next class, trying to forget the weird lunch period he had just experienced.
The simmer of a pan rang through the apartment. TK sat at his brother's dining table, trying to recopy the hasty notes on World War I he had taken during lunch. His eyes darted back and forth from the notebook to the textbook, trying to decipher what exactly he had written.
"Hey, TK, come here," Matt called.
Grateful for a distraction, TK jumped up from his chair and strolled into the kitchen. Matt stood up the pan, pushing some ingredients with a wooden spoon. Noticing his brother's entry, Matt turned around and smiled at his brother. "Could you hand me the salt?" he asked, nodding his head to a cupboard on the opposite side of the kitchen. "It's in that cabinet."
TK nodded and did as he was asked. Standing on his tiptoes, he reached up and pulled down the grinder. He walked back over to his brother and handed him the salt. Matt thanked the younger boy and started the final preparations for their dinner.
TK jumped up on the counter next to the stove, sitting down with his legs dangling off the side. He watched as Matt finished sautéing peppers and small strips of chicken in the pan, adding some salt to season. TK watched silently, entranced by the cooking his brother was doing. He had always enjoyed watching Matt cook when he was younger. Back then, he thought of his older brother as some kind of superhero for being able to make food as good as his mother could.
But now that he was older, as he watched his brother reduce the heat to the pan, TK knew why Matt learned how to do all of that stuff when he was young. TK knew the divorce of their parents placed a burden on Matt when he chose to go with their dad, who was very rarely at home to make dinner for them himself. Matt had to learn quickly how to make a homemade meal instead of living off of takeout for the rest of his life.
The younger brother didn't like to bring that up, though. Their parents' divorce was still a tough subject for the brothers, despite how close they were. They had their ups and downs, their most recent being TK's addiction, but Matt was always a stable thing in his little brother's life. That's what the brothers needed: stability.
Matt looked over at his brother staring into the pan. He smirked, noticing where he was seated. "Get your butt of the counter. I prepare food there," he joked, removing the pan from the stove and walking it over to the two plates set out of the other countertop.
TK laughed and jumped down from the counter, following his brother to the plates. TK felt his mouth water as Matt plated their dinner. "Looks good, bro," TK commented, laughing. "A lot better than that diet Mom has me on."
Matt snorted, smirking at the statement. "Yeah, she gave me a few recipes from that website she looked up to make tonight, but I decided you needed actual food."
Matt handed TK the first plate and sent him to the dining room. He sighed, thinking about the lie he told. While this was a recipe he normally made, it was a variant of one of the recipes his mother had sent. While he wanted to be friendly with his little brother, he knew he couldn't get him off track this soon.
Matt finished plating his own dish and went to the dining table. TK sat across from him, having pushed his school work onto the floor beside the table. Matt rolled his eyes at the mess on the other side. "You're going to pick that up, right?" he joked.
TK took a bite of his chicken. "Sue me," he mumbled with his mouth half full.
Matt just shook his head and begin his own meal. The brothers ate in silence. This wasn't their first meal since TK was discharged, but it held a different feeling than the others. Matt knew why. It was because this was TK's first real day of integration back into the real world. He wanted to address it, but he was worried about how it went.
Matt knew TK still had a long way to go. A two-month stint in rehab wasn't going to solve his problems immediately. There were still consequences that he had to face socially. With most of his friendship he had made being based on partying and alcohol, Matt wondered how TK would do his final year of high school being a social outcast, not being able to go to the last parties, the celebrations, or anything where alcohol could be present.
Matt looked over at his brother, who had almost finished his meal. He was rolling a slice of pepper around on his plate with his fork before finally picking it up and eating it. Something was on his mind and Matt would have to drag it out.
"So how was your first day?" Matt asked, causing TK to look up shocked.
The shock wore away fast as he went back to playing with his food. "Oh, it was fine," he answered, looking down at his plate.
"Did you get to talk to any of your friends?"
TK pursed his lips, upset by the reality of his day. "Not really," he responded, the hurt coming from his voice. "I have a class with Davis, but we weren't able to talk. I never ran into Cody, not that I expected to. Kari was nowhere to be found. And my team was avoiding me hardcore."
Matt bit the inside of his lip, disappointed in the answer. "That sucks," he mumbled, stabbing at his food. He had hoped for an easier transition back for this brother.
TK looked up with a stupid grin on his face. "But now I know that the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria started World War I."
Matt pursed his lips and glared jokingly at his brother. Despite having no one familiar around him for his first day. Matt was glad that TK had found some humor in his day. That's how the brother's dynamic was: Matt brooded while TK joked. Since the beginning of this journey, both brothers had taken the roll of the brood of the family. Despite trying to keep in a laugh across from his brother, Matt was thankful that the dynamic between the two was back.
Something about his little brother's description of his day threw him off. "So no Kari, huh? Did you message her?"
TK nodded with a mouthful of food. "Twice," he mumbled between bites. Swallowing, he continued, confused, "I didn't get a reply all day. I haven't seen her in two months. You'd figure that she would be running to come see her best friend."
Matt furrowed his eyebrows in contemplation. "You'd figure," he agreed. It made no sense to him why she wouldn't try to get in touch with TK. The two had become inseparable after their second adventure to the Digital World.
"Come to think of it," TK interrupted, pointing his fork at his brother. "She never tried to keep in contact with me the whole time I was there. At least my teammates sent me a letter every now and then."
Matt continued to look back at the events of that summer, trying to piece together where he had lost connection with the younger DigiDestined. He hadn't heard much from any of the other DigiDestined, other than quick questioned about TK's state. The last time he had seen Kari was the day of the incident. After that, the occasional text was the only communication. Even so, Matt couldn't recall when the last message he got from Kari was.
"I mean, I know things were a little awkward between us before I left," TK continued, shrugging his shoulders as he continued his meal. "But I don't think it was awkward enough to stop talking to me. Don't you think, Matt?"
Matt shook his head, staring down at his plate. "No, not really," Matt answered. "Though there was definitely some tension there. Tai and I talked about it the next day."
TK bit his cheek and huffed. He nodded, thinking back on their last interaction. He remembered Kari seeming more distant than she ever had. She would barely make eye contact with him. She was tense and almost closed-off towards her best friend. TK was confused at the time, but he remembered brushing it off, knowing they would discuss what it was after he got back. But now, he didn't know when that talk was going to be.
"Have you talked to Tai recently?" TK asked, hoping maybe Tai would have given Matt some hints as to why Kari was AWOL on their first day.
Matt shook his head. "No, not recently," he answered, finishing off the last of his dinner. "Come to think of it, Tai's been pretty hidden lately as well."
The brothers sat thinking about their best friend's withdrawal from them. TK had some idea as to why Kari was avoiding him, but Matt's realization was new. He thought back on his last interactions with the older Kamiya, trying to remember how he had acted.
"The last time I was with Tai, he seemed fidgety. He couldn't stop moving," Matt recalled, standing up from the table. He reached over for TK's finished plate before continuing. "It was like he was trying to hide something from me."
TK followed Matt into the kitchen, watching as his brother loaded the dishwasher. He jumped back up on the counter, gripping onto the edges with a confused look on his face. "Weird," he sighed.
Matt added a dishwasher pack to the soap compartment and shut the door. The infrequent interactions between the DigiDestined wasn't an uncommon occurrence. As they all got older, it was harder to keep the group fully intact. Still, throughout all of the separating, the two sets of siblings always seemed to be around each other somehow. Matt wondered what the sudden distance was due to.
The older blonde shook his head from the thought. "It's probably nothing," he concluded, turning around to lean against the opposite counter. "We're probably just paranoid."
TK laughed at his brother's analysis. "If you say so. But you better snap out of that." TK pointed towards his chest with his thumb, a dumb grin on his face. "I'm the one on medication for paranoia. I'm the only one allowed to be paranoid around here."
Matt rolled his eyes and walked over to his brother. "Shut up," he laughed, messing up TK's hair. "And get your ass off of the counter. I make food there."
AN: Okay, I caved and wrote a sequel. I'm currently writing chapter three, but I'm also moving houses and getting ready to go back to college in three weeks, so updates will not be as frequent as they were with Comedown. I was very hesitant to publish this, because I am still concerned that my shipping of Takari will take over this story (because that's something that will have to be addressed later on in the plotline. Like legit, there's no way around it). I want to focus on the three main issues that will be important to this story and not just the one that it was originally supposed to be. Regardless, there will be an interesting storyline that anyone who enjoyed Comedown should enjoy as well.
