I can't face him…
Disclaimer: No…I do not own Digimon in any way…or Takato and Jeri would be spending even more time together…
Jeri Katou locked herself in her room, her face in a pillow. Her tears had long since dried up. As she lay there, she kept asking herself the same question…Why did he have to leave her?
Flashback (Four months ago…)
Jeri: "No! Please don't go Takato!" she cried as she held on to his arm desperately, trying to hold him back, to prevent him from leaving her.
He didn't even bother to look back at her, he yanked his arm from her grasp and walked off. As he stood at the door, he said, "I'm sorry Jeri…But it has to be this way…" And with those final words he left her crying her heart out as she collapsed on the floor with grief.
As Takato drove his car away from her house, his eyes were filled with red hot tears. He didn't want to leave her like that, it hurt her so much…But it was for the better, wasn't it?
End Flashback
The very thought of that day filled her heart with sorrow again. She would have burst into tears at the thought of this, but she had none left to cry with. She lay on the bed with an empty feeling in her heart. Many times before, her friends had come to comfort her, but their comforts fell on deaf ears as she could only focus on one person. Takato Matsuki. The only person who she bothered to listen to was Alice, her long time friend and girlfriend to Henry, another friend. She came over often with Henry, trying to get her to forget about Takato, but he was always there in her heart. The worst part of it was that he had moved away, away from her life altogether.
It was then when the doorbell rang. Jeri dragged herself out of bed and answered the door. It was Alice, clad in black as usual, and Henry, who had his arm around Alice's waist. She let them in and fell on an armchair.
"Jeri, you shouldn't keep yourself cooped up like this you know. It's not good for you." Came Alice's advice.
"Jeri, she right. Perhaps it's time for you to move on…"Henry continued.
Alice jabbed her elbow into his ribs to shut him up before he said something they would regret.
Jeri simply sat there silently and sadly, staring at the ground.
After a moment's silence or so, Alice got up and pulled Jeri to her feet. "I've made up my mind, I'm not going to let you just stay here."
And so, Alice and Henry dragged the willing Jeri to the seaside to watch the sunset although she wasn't in the least bothered about it. When she asked why the seaside, Alice just smiled and shook her head.
Jeri turned her eyes away from the sea and walked towards the pier. Henry and Alice, not wanting to spoil what was going to happen, followed her at a distance. Jeri stared sadly at the floor of the pier as she walked down it. She envied the way Henry and Alice were together, if only she and Takato could be like that again. Her stomach lurched as she thought of him for the umpteenth time. She turned around when she reached the end of the pier.
And found herself looking into guy with a pair of chocolate brown eyes.
It was him! His hair was still as messy as before but he no longer wore his googles anymore. He was smiling at her.
Why was he here? Did he know she would be coming here? Or was it a coincidence.
"Jeri…" he whispered as he smiled at her.
Fresh tears leaked from her eyes as she walked towards him.
He opened his arms, ready to give her warm embrace…
And then…
She slapped him.
She gave him a good hard slap across the face. He deserved that for deserting her like that.
From a distance, Henry and Alice both winced as they saw Jeri slap Takato hard. Maybe bringing them together again was a bad idea…
She dashed past him with her back facing him. She didn't get far before she felt a strong grip on her wrist, pulling her to face him.
She didn't want to face him, she couldn't bring herself to. It was because whenever she looked into his deep chocolate eyes, she would feel……All right.
"Jeri, please, hear me out…"pleaded Takato. "I know I was wrong. Please, look at me."
Jeri wasn't hearing him, she didn't want to, she was trying to focus only on one thought. Not to look at him. She kept thinking over and over again. Don't look at him. Don't look at him. Don't look at him.
Takato managed to pull her around to face him, she turned her head away and shut her eyes.
They stood there in silence for a few minutes. It wasn't long before she felt a sweet warm wind tickling her cheek. Slowly, she turned her head up. And saw Takato's face right in front of her.
"Jeri, please. I'm sorry." He whispered.
"Then why did you leave me?" she asked in a pained soft tone.
"Because you deserve better…" he told her after much deliberation.
Jeri opened her mouth to say something but Takato silenced her. "Please, hear me out. However, after I left you, I couldn't think straight, not with you on my mind all the time. Then, an old friend called and told me that you needed help…"
"Takato…I just want you silly…And you're the one who deserves me the most…" she whispered back.
"I realize that now…"came the reply.
Takato moved his face forward so that their faces were closer than ever now. She could feel his warm sweet breath on her face. She closed her eyes and leaned forward.
And they kissed. It started off gentle but became more passionate as sweet memories of the past were remembered.
They broke apart for air and embraced each other in a love filled hug. When they separated, Jeri whispered, "Don't ever leave me again, or I might die of heart brokenness."
"Don't worry, I won't."
With that, Takato slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her close. They turned to face Henry and Alice who were hugging each other. They broke apart and faced Takato and Jeri, with Henry's arm around Alice's waist and Alice's head resting on Henry's shoulder.
They smiled at each other and turned to face the setting sun…