Matt struggled to open his eyes; none of the pathways in his head seemed to connect. His labored breathing echoed throughout his body. He finally worked his eyes open, the world outside was beyond fuzzy; he tried blinking to assist the adjustment. The clearer the images became, the more the light expanded the immense pressure in his head. He resigned to just closing his eyes and laying still for the time being.
'What happened last night?' he wondered to himself. He rubbed his head hoping he could relieve some of the pressure. Shielding his eyes he sluggishly began surveying his surroundings.' A stickered dresser and yellow walls, are those butterflies on the wall? Where the hell was he?'
It took quite a bit of effort to sit up, especially with the pink, flower plastered comforter further confusing him. He continued searching the room until he saw a picture standing on the bedside table near him. 'Oh, well that's a relief.' He relaxed a bit seeing the photo of Kari surrounded by the rest of the group.
The relaxation was short lived however, as he was reminded of the throbbing in his head. He also began to notice the weight of his limbs seemed to be greater than he had strength to move. 'I feel like I've said this before but, I really should stop drinking. Or just drinking so much.'
Tai and Sora were sitting at the kitchen counter laughing over a plate of pancakes and eggs as Matt stumbled into the living room.
"Morning beautiful." Tai laughed as Matt collapsed onto the couch.
"Please. - .Just shut up." Matt clenched his head with his eyes shut. The sound of Tai's laughter filled the room.
Matt opened his eyes to find Kari waiting with a glass of water and a bottle of Advil. "Take this, then come join us. There's plenty of food left."
"Thanks." Matt's stare lingered as she smiled and turned back to the kitchen, an observation that didn't escape a set of unassuming eyes at the counter.
They all continued eating once Matt took a seat next to Kari at the counter.
"So come on Matt, admit it. A night like last night was just what you needed to help you forget America." Tai boasted.
"Perhaps. Really, all it did was make me forget what happened last night."
Tai, Sora and Kari all shared a glance before breaking out in laughter while Matt continued eating his food seemingly unaware.
"So you don't remember anything last night?" Kari managed to ask between giggles.
"I remember a phone call and semi-veiled death threats, then being told food was for quitters for some reason. After that its all pretty blurry. And thanks for letting me use your bed, or, sorry for using your bed."
"It's alright, I wouldn't have offered if it bothered me." Kari smiled reassuringly.
"I'm sure you would have anyways, but thanks."
After breakfast Matt made himself comfortable and dozed off on the sofa, while Sora and Kari washed the dishes and Tai took a shower.
"Did you have a good time last night?" Sora asked handing Kari a dry plate.
"Absolutely, I haven't had that much fun in some time. I'm still surprised that Tai asked me to come with you guys." Kari put the plates away in the cupboard, then handed Sora the frying pan from the stove.
"He had to accept that you're growing up sooner or later." Sora laughed. "You really surprised me last night. You are quite the dancer." Sora nudged Kari with her elbow and smiled. "And with that dress you were wearing you had a few guys lined up." Kari froze for a moment as the blood rushed to her cheeks.
"And thanks for taking care of Matt; I swear we didn't ask you out to be a babysitter. I don't think we saw him getting that carried away."
"It's alright, it was good for him to blow off a little steam." Kari looked over in Matt's direction reassuringly.
"Hmmm, It was looking pretty steamy out there with the two of you." Sora said with a coy smile handing Kari the clean frying pan.
Kari cringed a bit at this, "Shhh, and I really don't know what you're talking about."
"Kari calm down, I saw you guys out there. It's not a big deal."
"I know it…isn't…besides you danced with him too." Kari tried to reason before refocusing on drying the pan as fast and as thoroughly as her arms would allow her.
"Yeah." Sora set the sponge down and shook her hands dry in the sink. "But there was a big difference between how we were dancing and how you guys were." A playful gaze fixated on the now bashful teen staring at the floor.
"I guess we both needed a night to blow off some steam." A hint of frustration could be found on Kari's face as she looked back up to Sora.
Sora abandoned her post at the sink and
"Well." Sora rested her arm comfortingly around Kari's shoulder. "If you need ever need to blow off steam again…You know you can always come to me."
"Actually." Sora wondered, "Do you have anything going on today?"
"I just have to call my academic advisor, but that should just take 20 minutes or so."
"Great! Well how about you give them a call while I give tweedle dumb over there a ride home. Then we can go all 'Girl Power' at the mall. Maybe see a movie."
"Well..." Kari hesitated.
"No wells, buts, or ifs. It'll be fun." Sora tried to put on her most convincing Mimi impersonation.
Mimi always had the power to convince Sora to do whatever she wanted. Now it was time for her to harness this power; and to use it for good, for once.
Sora's smile grew wider as she saw the wary look on Kari's face fade, and tried to contain the excitement as Kari exhaled in defeat. All these years Sora thought Mimi was taking advantage of her, turns out she was merely training her. 'Next time I see her….she's going down' Sora thought to herself as she made her way to the couch.
"Wake up you drunk." Sora yelled as she shook the unconscious Matt to no avail. "Come on, get up. Let's get you home." Matt groaned in frustration and tried to swat Sora's hand away.
Kari laughed to herself from the kitchen watching Sora struggle. She had always been a little jealous of how close Tai, Matt, and Sora had remained throughout the years. After watching the spectacle for a few minutes she finally decided to lend some assistance.
It took a minute but they were able to pry the slumbering Matt away from the couch, who, with a noise that could've been deciphered as a curse or thanks, slumped out the door to wait in Sora's car.
"Matt!"
Matt's eyes flickered open, lifting his head from the passenger window. In a daze he looked over to find Sora staring straight ahead with an annoyed look on her face.
"Would you please answer your phone?" Sora pleaded eyes still fixated on the road.
Matt pulled the ringing phone out of his pocket and stared at the screen for a moment before turning off the screen and flipping the mute switch. He rested his head back against the window and listened to the sound of the traffic around him.
Sora glanced over at her heartbroken friend, desperately wanted to reach out to him. She knew he would come to her when he was ready, but seeing him hurt was almost too much to bear sometimes.
They continued the car ride in silence.
So, I swore to myself I'd actually finish this story and there must be some kind of cosmic presence testing me, as my computer crashed. Also, because of that, this chapter is WILDLY different then what I had planned on pursuing but I couldn't bring myself to rewrite the 4k+ chapter on my phone. Oh the wonders of Notepad for the Iphone. Seeing as how it was written on my phone there is a good chance there are grammatical mistakes and typos, sorry. Also I should've mentioned ages I had in mind, 18 for Kari and 21 for the other three. Anyhow please leave comments as some of them are very inspirational and that will be badly needed to continue this on my phone.
