By the time Matt, Gabumon, Agumon, and I get to Davis's, my elbow is throbbing. I've come down from my short-lived high and I'm extremely cranky. Matt is worse. Gabumon apparently found his secret stash of cigarettes in the basement and flushed them down the toilet while we were rolling the blunt. Matt is a border-line chain smoker. It will only take one more major stressor for him to become completely addicted. When he lost the battle of the bands in December, he binged on Doritos, cigarettes, and liquor for a week. Writing music helps him, but he still needs a drag every hour or so to be able to tolerate the daily bullshit we encounter.

I ring Davis's doorbell and am disgusted to hear Kari giggling. Davis shouts to her, though I can't discern his words. My worst fears are confirmed when Davis swings open the door with nothing but a pair of plaid boxers between me and his obvious hard-on. Despite his scrawny build, Davis is hung. One time I walked in on a Skype session between him and Kari and saw much more than I bargained for. Lucky bastard.

"Hey bros, what's up?" he says, grinning.

"Fuck it, nevermind," I growl. Maybe I'm not that desperate after all.

"Do you have any bud?" Matt asks while giving me a momentary glare.

Both Agumon and Gabumon grumble. We may have forgotten to tell them that we were going to Davis's to pick up.

"Oh, shut up," I snarl at the two of them. I turn my attention back to Davis. "Is my sister in there?"

The twinkle in Davis's eyes tells me more than I need to know. He smiles, nods, and invites the four of us inside. Gatomon is curled up on the top of the TV, while Veemon is sprawled across the couch. Neither of them are awake.

"Davis? Who's there?" Kari inquires from Davis's bedroom.

"Tai and Matt!" Davis hollers.

Gatomon opens an eye to inspect us and closes it upon seeing familar faces. Veemon snores loudly. Neither one really gets involved in their partners' lives. I wish Agumon were more like them sometimes.

After a minute, Kari stumbles out of Davis's room wearing his soccer jersey and a pair of boxers. She blushes and smoothes down her hair.

"Hey, Tai," she says, embarrassed.

"Hey, Kari," I reply, trying to ignore the fact that just minutes ago my baby sister was being fucked by my protege.

"What are you doing here?" she asks.

"Getting a gram," I answer her.

"What?" Davis says. "I don't have any, dudes."

"We asked you if you had any a minute ago. We thought that's why you let us in." Matt says impatiently.

"Sorry, man, I guess I was distracted. I just thought you wanted to spend time with me!" Davis replies, beaming. He winks at Kari, and I get an image of what he was distracted by. My little sister and I share the same brown hair and tan skin, but she gets far more attention than I ever did at her age. I have to admit that she's beautiful.

"Alright, well, I guess we'll head out then," I say, turning around to gather Agumon and Gabumon, who are sitting on the couch silently next to Veemon.

"Aw, come on, Tai, stay and drink with us!"

"Drink with you? It's only noon. And Kari, you shouldn't be drinking anyway. You're fifteen."

Kari looks at her feet, ashamed. It's hard for me to accept that she's developing the same bad habits I had at fifteen. I guess I can understand where Agumon's concern for me is coming from. I feel the same protectiveness over my sister. I'm a hypocrite, I know.

"It'll be fun!" Davis chimes, grabbing my elbow.

"Ah!" I cry as I jerk it away from him, cradling it against my body. I am not prepared for an afternoon with Davis. I'm not high, Agumon is upset with me, and I probably fractured my arm.

Oh well. Fuck it. I'm getting drunk.

Five shots of of Pink Lemonade Burnetts later (Davis's choice), I find that my mood has improved. Kari, wishing to avoid further awkwardness, returned home. Davis was begging her to stay, but her desire to maintain a good reputation took priority over his pleading. Thank God. I don't think I could have looked her in the eye if she stayed.

"Dude, I'm in love with your sister," Davis announces as he passes me the bottle. I take a swig and stare at him.

"Don't say that," I order before handing the bottle to Matt. He raises his hand, refusing. He's managed to find a guitar in Davis's father's room and cannot resist a good jam session. Matt is drawn to music the same way Davis and I are drawn to a soccer field.

"I'm seriously in love with Kari," Davis continues. I don't really have a problem with him. His enthusiasm transcends my own, and he is more impulsive than I ever was during my time in the digital world. I suppose I admire him. I just don't appreciate the potential he has to break Kari's heart.

"Davis, can I have more?" Veemon asks, nudging Davis with a shot glass. For whatever reason, Davis lets Veemon drink. The vodka has all the same effects on him that it does on Davis, although it renders Veemon unable to digivolve. None of us worry, considering it's been a few years since we've faced any kind of battle. I miss the thrill of fighting in the digital world. Sometimes I attribute my substance use to the fact that I simply have more time on my hands and need to fill my days with something. I tore my ACL last fall and haven't been able to play soccer since. I don't know what Davis's excuse is. I guess he's just wild.

Matt shakes his head as Davis refills Veemon's glass. As much as he loves tobacco, weed, and whiskey, he would never think of partaking in any of his habits with Gabumon. Not that Gabumon would accept his offers anyway.

"So you're absolutely sure you don't have any weed?" I ask Davis.

"Nah, bro. I do have some molly though."

Matt catches my eye and we both smile. Typical.

"We just need bud," Matt says.

"Well...I know where we can get some," Davis remarks. I perk up.

"Where?" I ask.

"The Digiworld. That's where Joe gets what he sells."

"Bullshit!"

"I swear."

I laugh. I should have known Joe wasn't kidding when he insisted his stuff was "out of this world".

"How does he get to the Digiworld without a D3?" I inquire.

"He uses Cody's."

Matt stops strumming.

"Cody's involved? He's just a kid!"

"Yeah, it's fucked up, but we're all just kids," Davis states.

He has a point. We're all just a bunch of fucked up kids who strayed from virtue after we no longer had to fight for our lives.

"So are we going or what?" I ask.

"Duh, dudes!" Davis shouts. As soon as he closes his mouth, Veemon falls to the floor and retches. The Burnetts tumbles out of his mouth and onto the carpet. He's had at least eight shots.

"I can't go, Davis," Veemon croaks.

"I'm not going either, Tai," Agumon says, inching away from the pile of vomit threatening to hit his feet.

"Neither am I, Matt," Gabumon adds while rubbing Veemon's back. "That is, unless you feel you would be in danger."

"We'll be fine," Matt reassures him. "Things have been pretty peaceful in the digital world lately

"So it's settled then. We're going?" I ask.

"Yes," says Matt.

"Hell yes," says Davis.

"Alright!" I yell. "Let's get digi-stoned!"