Author's Note: Hey guys, sorry for the looooong delay. A couple of months ago, I lost my iPhone and that's where I write most of my stories. I got a new phone, but it's pretty annoying trying to write my stuff on it. If that weren't madness, I decided to go back to school and I have 2 part-time jobs, so I'm one busy bee! I really want to get the new iPhone, but I might have to wait until December to upgrade, so keep your fingers crossed for the meantime! Hopefully, I can update my other stories (especially Odaiba Host Club!) soon. Thanks for your patience and hope you enjoy this chapter!
Here We Go 'Round Mulberry Street!
"TK?"
"Kari?!"
"Huh?"
"Kari! What are you doing here? You didn't even have the decency to email or call me! If I knew you were here, I'd make huge plans! Do you know how long it's been since I've seen you?!" Tai scolded.
"I'm sorry..."
"Uh, guys. Before you guys scare her even more, this is Claudia. She's in my sociology class," TK blushed.
"Claudia? Are you playing a trick on us? Because you're really bad at it. Really bad," Matt narrowed his eyes.
"Yes, my name is Claudia."
"Okay, hah hah! You fooled us! Now cut the crap, Kari," Tai shot her an unamused smirk.
"But I'm not Kari. See?" the girl rummaged through her purse and pulled out her driver's license.
"Anybody could come up with a fake license," Izzy shook his head in disapproval.
"Do you really think I would go through all of this trouble to lie to you? I don't even know you people," the girl said.
"Leave her alone! It's not Kari!"
"Sora?" everyone gasped.
"Are you seriously going along with this?" Joe asked.
"No. I just believe her. For one thing, her hair is a little darker than Kari's," Sora said.
"She could have easily dyed it," Mimi pointed out.
"Claudia's eyes are also darker," Sora said.
"Colored contacts," Mimi said.
"Then how about this? She doesn't sound like Kari," Sora said.
"Fake accent," Mimi scoffed.
"Unbelievable!" Sora huffed.
"Hold on! I got it! If you're not Kari, then does that mean you don't know where TK's secret spot is?" Matt flashed the girl a creepy smile.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," the girl looked confused.
"You know, the spot that turns him on when you touch it?" Matt winked.
"Matt!" TK blushed.
"You creeper! What sexual things have you and my sister been doing behind my back?!" Tai growled.
"Gah! Please don't hurt me! Matt's just being an idiot!" TK shrieked.
"I don't need to deal with this. I'm not Kari and that's the end of it," the girl huffed.
"I'm sorry about them. I'm really, really sorry. Like supercalifragilisticexpialidociously sorry," TK shook his head.
"I just came by to give this to you," the girl handed TK an envelope. "I saw you drop it in the quad a couple of weeks ago. I was going to give it to you earlier, but I couldn't seem to catch up with you until now."
"My rent money! Thank you so much!" TK gasped.
"You're welcome. I gotta go now; I'll see you in class," Claudia said.
"Wait!"
"Huh?" Claudia turned around.
"Why don't you stay for a little bit?" TK asked.
"I have to meet up with my friend soon, but I guess I can hang around for a while," Claudia shrugged.
"Here, you can sit in the booth," TK got up from his seat. He slid a chair over from the next table and sat down in it.
"Thanks," Claudia smiled.
"I'm so sorry, Claudia. It's that you look just like my little sister," Tai apologized.
"You totally do," Mimi said.
"Here, I'll prove it to you," Tai tapped at his phone and passed it to Claudia.
"I don't see it," Claudia squinted.
"Me neither," TK frowned.
"Are you blind?! You and Kari could be twins!" Mimi said.
"You guys are so sweet, but I wish I looked like her! She's beautiful," Claudia looked at the screen.
"But you do look like her," Matt said.
"If you say so," Claudia said.
"Hey, do you want a drink? It's on me," TK offered.
"Ooooh," Matt and Tai teased.
"What? It's the least I could do! Thanks to you, I won't be homeless for another month," TK blushed.
"It was nothing. If something like that ever happened to me-god forbid, I'd be happy to have someone return my money too. Whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them," Claudia said.
"Wise words to live by," Izzy nodded.
"How did you guys meet anyways?" Sora asked.
"We take sociology together," TK said.
"Are you majoring in sociology?" Joe asked.
"Actually, no. I'm a Deaf Studies major, so I figured that my sociology class would be a good filler elective. I think it's interesting to see the progress we've made in society, and the things we can change to make our world better," Claudia said.
"Someone's a humanitarian," Matt grinned.
"I try," Claudia smiled.
*ring ring ring*
"Oh shoot! I have to go meet up with my friend!" Claudia picked up her phone. "It was nice to meet you guys!"
"I guess I'll see you in class," TK softly said.
"Boo, that's no fun. Here," Claudia scribbled on a napkin. "You should stop by one day."
"Yeah," TK stupidly looked at the piece of paper.
"See ya around!" Claudia waved goodbye and left the bar. As soon as the coast was clear, Matt flicked TK in the head.
"Oooh, someone's got a little crush," Matt sneered.
"I do not," TK protested.
"Then why are you redder than Izzy's hair?" Mimi asked.
"Am I really that red?" TK put his hand on his cheek.
"Yeah. I think you have too much blood circulating in your face. That's not too good," Joe said.
"Maybe the reason my face is red is because you guys are so embarrassing," TK covered his face.
"How are we embarrassing?" Sora defensively asked.
"Seriously, why are you being so uptight? You're making Joe look like some sort of yoga guru," Matt said.
"Hey!" Joe whined.
"But it is true," Izzy sipped at his scotch.
"Dude, you have it in the bag!" Tai said.
"I do?" TK perked up.
"Hell yeah! Look, she wants you to stop by," Tai winked.
"But what if it's a trap? Maybe it's the address to an underground casino? Or maybe she plans to have a mugger meet me there, so he can kill me?" TK bit his fingernail.
"That's one vivid imagination," Izzy remarked.
"Come on, TK! The only person who would think of that would be Mimi, and that's because she watches too much movies," Tai said.
"But it could happen!" Mimi said.
"It is New York City. Anything's possible," TK said.
"He's right. I saw a group of hobos urinate neon piss on a wall. It was actually pretty cool graffiti. You don't see that in Boston," the bartender hovered over the booth.
"I'm sorry, but this is kind of a private conversation between us people at the table," Sora said.
"I don't care. I'm the bartender, so that means I can pitch into any conversation I want to," the bartender snapped.
"I don't think that's part of the job description...," Matt said.
"Yes it is! A bartender isn't merely the person behind the bar. We're a hell of a lot more than that! Us bartenders are not only mixologists, but we are also entertainers, advice givers, therapists, and temporary best friends. For all of the things we do for the community, us bartenders are very underappreciated. We're like the Mother Theresas of the bar scene, and what do we get? A couple of lousy pennies in the tip jar, which people seem to mistake for the 'Take a Penny, Leave a Penny' jar! I'm lucky if there are any pennies left by the end of the night!" the bartender ranted.
"Aw, that's really sad," Mimi frowned.
"We're sorry, jeez!" Matt said.
"You should be! Just remember, the ball is always in the bartender's court. If you guys are on my good side, you might just get special treatment," the bartender said.
"Good to know," Izzy gave a slight nod.
"Now kid, don't pay any mind to your friends. That girl's totally got the hots for you! No girl would leave a note behind for a guy they're not interested in, unless they write a fake address just to shake the guy off," the bartender assured TK.
"Great...it could be a fake address. Why didn't I think of that?" TK groaned.
"So what would you guys want?" the bartender whipped out her notepad.
"Nothing," everyone said.
"I'll have a Long Island Iced Tea," TK sighed.
"Someone's had a rough day," the bartender remarked.
"Thanks for coming with me, guys," TK said.
"No big. Safety in numbers, right?" Tai said.
"Also, if she ignores you, we're here with you so that you won't look like a desperate loser," Mimi said.
"Thank you, Mimi. That's what I meant by safety in numbers. I just didn't want to freak the kid out," Tai rolled his eyes.
"Alright, Mulberry Street...," Sora looked up from her map.
"Right there. That's the place," TK shook.
"Don't worry, little bro. It's nothing to be nervous about," Matt said.
"Easy for you to say...you can get any girl you want," TK said.
"Not true! Just show them the Rampu commercial," Izzy smirked.
"Hey! Shaddup, you ginger leprechaun!" Matt flicked Izzy in the head.
"Boys, can you behave for TK's sake? I swear, you guys still act like teenagers!" Sora hissed.
"I didn't even do anything. Matt started it," Izzy rubbed his temple.
"Nuh uh," Matt retorted.
"Yeah huh," Izzy said.
"Nuh uh."
"Yeah huh."
"Nuh uh!"
"Yeah-"
"Knock it off! Matt, I can see you pulling this crap off, but Izzy, I'm so so surprised by you! I never thought you would stoop down to this childish behavior," Sora shook her head.
"But Matt called me a ginger leprechaun!" Izzy exclaimed.
"I don't see what the big deal is. You're short and redheaded, hence that makes you a ginger leprechaun," Matt said.
"Do me a favor and pretend to be normal, okay? Here goes...," TK nervously opened the door.
"Hey, welcome to Il Pomodoro Fresco!" a stocky, young guy cheerfully said. He had a friendly demeanor and brown hair which was the same shade of his eyes.
"Thanks," Tai said.
"Pick a table! I'll be right back with some menus," the boy said.
"She's not here...," TK mumbled.
"Ah, the false move. I've given losers phone numbers to restaurants, so that when they call, they'll forget about me and cheer up with some food," Mimi said.
"Does that actually work?" Izzy made a face.
"Eh, who knows?" Mimi shrugged.
"Great, I can't believe she pulled a fast one over me. I knew it was too good to be true," TK groaned.
"Then we'll just order some pizza to take your mind off of the girl," Tai said.
"It's a good thing we came along. Sorry that you got rejected," Matt said.
"You got rejected?"
"Claudia?" TK instantly lit up. "You work here?"
"Yeah...kinda explains my apron," Claudia tugged the strap of her apron.
"Duh. Wow, I'm a dork," TK gave himself a facepalm.
"I didn't think you would even show up," Claudia said.
"What?" TK looked at her.
"You have no idea how you've made my day," Claudia smiled.
"I did?" TK blushed.
"Of course! It's been a pretty slow day, and it's good to a familiar face! Hold up! I want you guys to meet someone special. Pino!" Claudia called out.
"Coming!" the boy from earlier trudged his way over to the guys. "Hey, I see you know Claude."
"Everyone, this is Pino! We've known each other for such a long time, so we've grown up together. He's my best friend," Claudia rested her arm on Pino's shoulder.
"Yep, that's me," Pino chuckled.
"Pino, this is TK. He's in my sociology class," Claudia said. "And this is...everybody else."
"Nice," Izzy flatly said.
"I'm sorry. I'm just really bad at names, and I've only met you guys once before," Claudia sheepishly grinned.
"That's okay. I'm Tai, that's Sora, Izzy, Mimi, Joe, and Matt," Tai introduced everyone to Pino.
"Nice to meet you all! You seem like a colorful bunch," Pino smiled.
"Yep, that's us," Joe said.
"How do you two know each other?" TK blurted.
"Our families are pretty close, so me and Claude basically grew up together," Pino said.
"We've been best friends since as long as we could remember," Claudia giggled.
"Oh," TK pursed his lips.
"Aww, you two could make a cute couple," Mimi said. She glanced at TK, and grinned at his angry expression.
"We get that all the time...," Pino nervously said.
"We're like family, so the thought of us together is just weird," Claudia said.
"Yeah. We have a different type of love, right Claude?" Pino gave her a noogie and walked off.
"Ugh, I hate when he does that," Claudia flattened her messed up hair. "So, what can I get you guys?"
"What do you recommend?" TK asked.
"Personally, I like the buffalo chicken pizza, but a lot of people think it's too spicy. I don't know if you guys would be able to handle it," Claudia said.
"Wanna bet?" TK flashed her a smile. "We'll have two large pies."
"Okay, if you can handle it...just so you know, the buffalo chicken pizza is so spicy, that we make everyone sign waivers before we make the pies. This hasn't happened to me, but legend is that the spice has melted layers of tongue away," Claudia said.
"Wow," Sora's eyes widened.
"Oh," TK gulped.
"Nonononononono! I don't want to die!" Joe yelled.
"I was just kidding, but it was funny see the looks on your faces! Especially yours, TK. It's so cute how you're trying to look like a brave man, when you were actually freaking out on the inside," Claudia laughed.
"I was not," TK turned red.
"I'll be out with the pizzas," Claudia said.
"Awwww...," Mimi cooed.
"Mwah mwah mwah," Matt made out with his hand.
"Gross," Sora rolled her eyes.
"I shouldn't have done that," Matt held up his slobbery hand.
"Will you guys stop? You're embarrassing me," TK pulled his fedora down.
"Are you ashamed of us?" Matt said in a flamboyant voice.
"You can't deny it! There's love in the air," Mimi mockingly kissed TK on the cheek.
"Stop it. What if she saw that?" TK gasped.
"What if who saw what?" Claudia came up to the table.
"Nothing," TK guiltily said.
"Okay...if it's about me, I prefer you tell me to my face. I don't really like when people talk behind my back," Claudia raised an eyebrow.
"..." TK looked down at the table.
"We were talking about this. I was just licking my hand to gross everyone out. Do you have a hand wipe?" Matt asked.
"Uh," Claudia grimaced at the slimy hand. "There's a bathroom in the back."
"Okay, thanks," Matt said.
"Sorry...I don't know how me and him are related," TK shrugged.
"Brothers, right? I have two of them. I love them to death, but I wish they would stop scaring people away," Claudia shook her head.
"That's how I feel about these guys," TK jerked his thumb at everyone.
"Hey! I'm highly offended by that!" Tai pouted.
"You guys sure are interesting," Claudia said.
"Two buffalo chicken pies for party of 7! Dig in," Pino placed the pies on the table.
"Thanks," Izzy nodded.
"Mmm, delish!" Mimi stuffed her face.
"Don't talk with your mouth full," Sora nudged her.
"But it's so hot! I want it to cool down," Mimi said.
"Why don't you just let the pizza stay on the plate for a couple of minutes?" Izzy raised an eyebrow.
"Because I'm hungry...," Mimi fanned her mouth.
"Hey! You guys started eating without me?" Matt yelled.
"Since when are you important?" Tai smirked.
"I like it. It's a perfect balance of spice. It's hot, yet not to hot that it ruins the flavor," Joe critiqued.
"TK, how do you like it?" Claudia asked.
"Oh, right...," TK took his first bite of the pizza.
"TK?" Sora's eyes widened.
"You don't look too good," Joe frowned.
"HOT! I NEED WATER!" TK cried out. He grabbed a cup and drank out of it.
"No! That's only going to make it worse!" Claudia yelled.
"GAHHH! It burns!" TK screamed.
"Here," Pino ran up to the table with a glass of milk. "This should take care of it."
"Thanks," TK croaked.
"No problem. It happens occasionally," Claudia said.
"Except that you must have been the first person in months to get a spice attack. It's weird, especially when we made the sauce milder," Pino rubbed his chin.
"Are you okay?" Claudia asked.
"Yeah, just peachy," TK coughed.
"Gah! That was the most embarrassing moment of my life. She probably thinks I'm a huge loser," TK tugged at his hair.
"Come on, you weren't that bad," Tai put his arm around TK's shoulder.
"Yeah, but you weren't crying like a baby after eating the pizza," TK broke away from Tai. "Even Joe handled the pizza, and he can barely keep a sour patch kid in his mouth!"
"Hey!" Joe said.
"Really, TK? I know you really like this girl, but do you have to keep offending us?" Sora crossed her arms.
"Sorry, I'm just shaken up. And that Pino guy...," TK growled.
"Yeah, he's such a hottie!" Mimi sighed.
"I don't know why, but I can't stand that guy," TK said.
"What? He seemed pretty cool to me," Matt said.
"Did you guys see the way he talked to me? 'You're the first person in months that acted like a wimp'," TK said in a boorish voice.
"Come on, TK. He didn't say that," Sora said.
"He might as well have," TK crossed his arms.
"You need to stop taking things so personally. He wasn't trying to make fun of you," Matt said.
"Oh, so you like him better than me too?" TK snapped.
"Is it me, or does someone sound jealous?" Mimi smirked.
"Me? Jealous of that guy?" TK scoffed.
"Yeah...after all, you're starting to sound as irrational as Davis right now," Sora said.
"What are you talking about?" TK asked.
"Did it ever occur to you that Davis was jealous of you and Kari?" Mimi said.
"Jealous? Of me? Why?" TK looked confused.
"Because you and Kari were always together," Tai said.
"And the whole world knew that Davis had a huge crush on her," Izzy smirked.
"So it's pretty understandable why he might be a jerk to you," Matt said.
"Now that I think about it, sometimes he was such a dick...but me and Kari were just friends! It's not like we were going out!" TK protested.
"So, it didn't matter to him whether you two were a couple or not. Just the fact that you and Kari would spend every moment together was enough to get him mad. And now you're feeling the same way about Pino that Davis felt about you," Sora said.
"So Davis hated me?" TK looked hurt.
"Of course not! You guys had an awesome bromance. You can't fake that. Look, it's normal to feel jealous of your friend. As long as you don't let it affect your friendship, you're fine! Haven't you ever been jealous of Davis?" Tai asked.
"Who would be jealous of that guy? He was an idiot, he wore goggles on his head for no reason, he had ridiculously huge hair-wait a minute...," Matt stared at Tai.
"What are you looking at?" Tai snapped.
"You're the original Davis," Matt smirked.
"What?! I was nothing like-oh...," Tai paused.
"Come on, there's nothing wrong with being like Davis! He's a loyal friend, no matter what. Wouldn't you say that, TK?" Sora asked.
"Yeah, he always had my back," TK said.
"Also, he was a chick magnet. Who doesn't like the dark and handsome type?" Tai winked.
"That's true. He was pretty smooth with the ladies. I'm just some dorky kid who still trips on his own feet," TK sighed.
"Who knows? Maybe you and Pino could become good friends," Sora said.
"And maybe he could set you up with Claudia," Matt winked.
"Yeah. I guess you're right. I should give Pino a chance. After all, you guys like him, and Claudia likes him, so I should like him too. It's nothing to be worked up about, right?" TK said.
"No, not at all," Mimi half-heartily said.
"Mimi, are you okay?" Joe asked.
"I need to talk to you about something. I can't say it around everyone else," Mimi stopped walking. "Come by my apartment later?"
"Yeah, sure," Joe blushed.
"Mimi, Joe! Why are you so far behind us? Come on, you slowpokes!" Tai yelled.
"Okay," Mimi picked up her pace, with Joe following suit.