Thank you all for the hits and special thanks to lovlee for the review.

Here's chapter two! Enjoy.

Chapter Two

It's a beautiful day out. Real pretty-- bright sunlight, not a cloud in the sky and there's birds chirping.

I'm already dressed for school as I note this, trying to keep the same words from the burial from repeating over and over in my head like a broken record.

Matt's dead and I'll never see him again.

It's like a dull thud, those words. Each time my brain reminds me that Matt's gone forever that apathy I've been feeling since I found out he was dead.

I'm thinking about this when I walk out of my room and notice that dad hasn't left. He's sitting at the kitchen table reading a newspaper, and the fact that he's here and looking fatherly is enough to get me really confused... not to mention that mom hasn't kicked him out yet like I thought she would.

I sit down at an empty chair and dad lowers his paper and looks at me with those sharp blue eyes that he and Matt share. "Ah, Takeru," he sighs, giving me a hard look, "Your mother is in bed," he looks towards the kitchen, "I don't know how things work in this house, but you'll have to make your own breakfast."

He raises his newspaper again and I rest my forehead on the cool wood of the table.

Thanks, dad.

I keep resting my head for a few minutes of tense silence... mainly because my estranged father is sitting across from me like he belonged here and not in some big ass mansion he and my perfect older brother lived in while mom and I are stuck in this little apartment.

What an ass.

When I hear the familiar knocks on the door that I was sorta scared would never come, I get up and run towards the door, thanking God that he wasn't freaked out by the fact that there was a death in the family.

When I open the door there's Daisuke standing there, book bag slung on his back and his eyes staring at the floor.

"Hey," he greets, voice sounding strained.

"Hi," I replied, staring at him for a long time.

We stand there awkwardly until a hand lands on my shoulder, the nails digging into my skin. I winced. "Takeru," my father's angry voice comes from behind me, "What is that boy doing here?"

He keeps tightening his grip on my shoulder and tears spring to me eyes. I answer as fast as I can. "You don't even know him dad," I say quickly, gritting my teeth as his nails grind into my skin even harder.

"Like hell I don't," dad growls, "Both your mother and I agreed on the fact that this monster shouldn't be allowed to even walk the streets after what he did to your brother-,"

It hits me like a ton of bricks.

"D-dad this is Daisuke Motomiya! Not Tai!"

Dad's grip on my shoulder lessens, then his hand flits away. Daisuke, who has been staring at all this open mouthed, rebounds by giving my dad a weak grin and waving a little. "You can call me Davis, though," he says lamely, scratching at the back of his head awkwardly.

"Ah," I heard dad say, not even a hint of shame in his voice, "A pleasure, Davis... I'm Takeru's father..." he squints at Davis' face, "You look so much like that boy though..." he shrugs and retreats into the house.

Davis is staring at me and I'm staring at the ground, tears in my eyes and my shoulder throbbing like crazy. Finally, Davis acts.

He wraps one arm around me and with his other one grabs my own book bag, pulling me out the door and into the dingy hallway.

He gives me a long look, sighs, then pulls me into an awkward hug.

It's weird and awkward and we break apart seconds later, but it's the first hug I've gotten in a long time so it's kind of nice in a way.

I reach for my bag but Davis refuses and I just follow him. "Dude," he says when we get in the elevator, "Your dad's a nut case."

We both start laughing as the doors close. Davis was at the wake at this reception hall my dad rented out with his parents and his quiet, shy friend Ken, but we really didn't talk much since I'd hidden myself in a janitor's closet and he was too busy dealing with his sister Jun, who had this weird crush on my brother and therefore was crying so hard it looked like she was having a seizure...

But Davis was there. And not for Matt but for me, I knew that because he and Matt never got along well when they met. He called Matt a sissy pretty boy and Matt gave him this glare I usually saw him give Tai when he was really angry at him and they've never been able to be in the same room since.

So Davis had to be there for me and not Matt. He hated Matt and he's my best friend, the fact that he came to the funeral of a dead guy that he hates means that he really cares... or that Jun and his parents forced him to...

Davis pokes me in the side and tears me from my thoughts. "Hey T.K... do I really look like Tai so much?"

I guess he does. They have the same stature, kind of the same facial structure and their hair is both big and stuff although Tai's is brown and Davis' is kinda a little reddish and more under control and spiked... but not so much that if you looked at one of them up close you'd mistake one for the other.

"Kinda," I reply, running a hand through my hair, "But my dad's a dead beet anyway, I guess. I mean, Tai was practically over at his house everyday with Matt I guess and he can't tell him apart from you, even."

Davis doesn't reply and I look at him, confused. "What's wrong?" I ask.

"N-nothing..." Davis stutters, "It's just... weird to talk about him."

Okay, I'm even more confused now. "Who, Tai?"

Davis gives me this weird look. "No, T.K. Not Tai... I mean Matt."

"Oh," is all I say.

We stand there in awkward silence and I can't help but wish that the damn elevator was just be faster than a snail and get us down the three floors so that we can start walking to school...

School isn't much better than home.

Mainly because everyone here is also thinking about Matt and how he died, and they walk up to me in groups and cry and tell me how much of a good person Matt was and that if Matt's little brother ever needs anything, then all I need to do is ask, because they would do anything for Matt.

I try not to look too uncomfortable when this happens throughout the day, yet still thankful that Davis sticks to me through every one of these awkward meetings and gives the people hard looks that makes them leave faster.

The first half of classes went by fast. I dozed off through all of them and the teachers didn't snap at me or make me go to the principal's office. Instead they just give me these pitying, sad looks and send me off at the end of class with a few words about how great a student Matt had been when they had him as a student three years prior and that if I ever needed to talk I could always ask them.

I try not to scoff at their words-- they don't care. No one really does.

It's finally lunchtime and instead of eating like everyone else does, I simple put my head down on the glossy, weird-smelling surface of the table and close my eyes. Davis gave me a look and went to get his lunch and I'm alone... no one's bothering me... and it's almost nice.

Until I feel someone sit down beside me.

I look at the person with one eye and almost jump back in shock.

It's Sora. Matt's Sora. His girlfriend Sora.

I stare at her in disbelief and she gives me a hopeful, almost nervous grin. "Hi, Takeru," she says as if she's talking to a five year old, "Do you know who I am?"

Even a social retard like me knows who Sora is. I would know who she was even if she hadn't been my brother's girlfriend or had been his just plain friend since they were in grade school. Sora's the type of girl that's generically popular, so even if she didn't make out with brother in public I'd still know who she was.

That's a stupid question.

Sora laughs nervously. "Of course you know who I am," she says, answering her own question, "You've seen my at Matt's-," she stops, closes her eyes and lets a tear fall before opening them again and giving me a sad smile, "parties."

I nod and she smiles again.

God this is weird. Having an actual conversation with my dead brother's girlfriend for the first time ever...

"Why are you here?" I ask a little coldly.

Sora flinches a little and I can't help but feel a little guilty... just a little. "W-well..." she begins, clasping her hands in her lap and looking down at them sadly, "I saw you here all alone and well..." she lifted her gaze and I could see all the raw pain in her eyes. I looked away, all too aware that there was nothing like that in my own eyes when there should be... "Takeru..."

"T.K," I interrupt her.

"T.K," she amends, "Just know that... well, I'm here for you, okay? You're not alone in this, okay? I'm here and I know how it feels... and I want you to, um, come sit with my friends and I."

I give her this look. Not only is she telling someone who could care less about anything that she's there for him, buts she's inviting me, imperfect, weird Takeru, to sit with her and my brother's other, perfect friends. I don't get it. I don't get it at all.

"Why did he do it?" I blurt before I can stop myself.

Sora's eyes widen. "P-pardon...?" she asks, voice full of shock.

"Matt... Why did Matt kill himself?" she looks like I'd just slapped her face, "I mean, you're his girlfriend, right? You should know, I mean, he was always with you or Tai and I never really knew him so... why did Matt do it?"

She stares at me and I stare back patiently and then she starts crying and I look away. "I-I..." Sora says in between little sobs, "I... I d-don't k-know..." she replies, hugging herself with her long, pale arms.

Before I know it Mimi is there and so is Izzy and Davis is back holding a tray of food and looking at us all in confusion.

Mimi has her arm around Sora and is crying too, voice quivering. "Shh, hon," she murmurs gently, rocking Sora a little, "It's okay, it's okay..."

It's suddenly so hot and I don't want to be around all this so I run and I hear Sora call after me and Davis call my name but I keep running out of the cafeteria until I collide with something metal and hard and collapse... and then everything goes black.

My head hurts more than usual when I wake up on this real uncomfortable, hard ass thing masquerading as a bed. The room has this weird mix of medicine and stale vomit for a smell and my nose wrinkles after just breathing through my nose.

"Hey, sleeping beauty awakens," a voice says.

I open my eyes a little more and see a smiling Tai leaning over me.

I yelp and fall off the cot and Tai just stares and laughs a little, totally different from the way he was acting at the burial... not what I expected at all, considering his best friend died a few days ago... plus he's talking to me.

What the hell is with all of Matt's friends and their desire to talk to me today?

Before I know it Tai in on top of the cot now and he's staring down at me, face down on the stiff bed-thing. "You ran into some lockers and passed out," he informs me.

I sit up and rub my forehead, wincing when it throbs. "Oh..." I'm such a klutz most of the time it isn't funny.

"Yeah," Tai says, flipping over so that he's lying on his back now, "So the nurse had to go screw Coach Gibbons so I decided to poke in and see how cute little Teeks is doing."

I frown. Matt used to call me Teeks when I was like, eight and he would visit mom's house every weekend just to see me. Back then Matt would take me to the park and buy me ice cream and play tag with me. I was actually happy back then, before we drifted apart and I felt like shit compared to him so I couldn't even stand next to him without thinking of his perfection and my many flaws...

"You know," Tai says, breaking me out of my thoughts, "After the disturbing fact I have revealed to you-- that the nurse actually does screw Coach Gibbons everyday in the second floor men's bathroom at precisely this time, you don't seem, err... disturbed..."

I blink. "Why the heck are you telling me this?"

Tai looks at me suggestively. "Just in case you want to visit them while they're having some fun and have some fun of your own..."

My face twists in disgust and I glare at Tai angrily. "Ew!" I yell, "You're such a freaking pervert!"

I expect Tai to laugh or something-- instead, his face freezes, twists a little as he stares down at me, then he rolls off the cot and faces the door. "Glad you're okay," he says stiffly. Then he leaves. And I'm all alone in the medicine-stale vomit smelling room again.

And it's all my fault.

Man I'm an idiot...

A/N: Well, there you go. In case you're wondering why Tai justup and left T.K like that then you'll find out in the next chapter. :)

Please review. I do value them. :D