A/N: Thank you for the review, my two reviewers, haha! Hopefully more of you guys will read this one, teehee.

Disclaimer: Not miiiine!

Beating Hearts

Chapter Four

Anger is a short madness. -Quintus Horatius Flaccus Horace

Matt was trying to play his guitar. His fingers, usually nimble across the strings, were sluggish. He kept missing notes or getting them wrong. He even tried to play an old song rather than a new one; it was really old and he knew it like the back of his hand. But even that proved to be futile, because inside he still felt that cloud of anxiety that wasn't dissipating.

His anxiety grew to frustration, which rocketed into anger. Growling deeply, his hands clenched the neck of his guitar so tightly the knuckles were turning white. That deep, hidden vicious anger that hadn't grown in so long was starting to leak out of his body.

Not wanting to destroy his guitar by chucking it into the wall (a very soothing thought), Matt laid it on his bed with eerily calm fingers.

And then he whirled around, grabbed a school textbook, and threw it at the wall with such force it ricocheted back in his direction, leaving a sizable dent in the wall.

It was okay though, because his dad wasn't home to hear the explosive noise; nor had he come home in time to notice one of their plates was missing because Matt had to clean it up (he had broken it when the book had smashed into his desk, where a day old plate had been sitting).

And then he found himself walking out of his apartment, locking it up, and walking swiftly down the street to school.

Kari, unbeknownst to Matt's frustration, was taking her first steps out of her home as a free girl.

Her parents had both gotten the guts to head off to work that morning, and Kari was now toddling along the street, her backpack slung over one shoulder as she used the other side of her body to lean her weight on.

It was a strange experience, walking again. She almost felt like laughing, she hadn't seen her feet move in so long! School was going to be a different mess altogether. All those people? No space? She wouldn't be surprised if she had to go home halfway through the day.

But she wouldn't let that happen. She needed to get better before the dance, see TK, and find Matt…

Matt.

Of course, she only had to ask him to help her dance again. Yea. That was all…

Soon Kari found herself in the busy section of Tokyo. Well, one of them anyway. It was her usual path to school and she was almost too scared to cross the streets. There were so many people that she was afraid of being jostled over and not being able to get up…maybe people would laugh at her! Kari felt her face blushing as she just thought of it, standing stoically on the side of the road, refusing to budge.

"Kari?"

The words jolted her out of her angry state of reverence (was that even possible?). She spun around—rather slowly—to see Matt standing behind him, dressed in his school uniform. And yet he managed to make it just look that much cooler: rolled up sleeves, loosened tie, and untucked shirt…oh yes.

"Hey Matt," she squeaked, fighting to blink in his gaze. She finally managed it, her eyes averting to stare at the scattered pebbles on the cement beneath them.

Matt, still tense for reasons he didn't understand, resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "How is it, walking again?"

Kari gulped. His words were short and snappy; she knew that sound from the Digiworld days. Matt was in a bad mood. Oh great, and I just happened to catch him in one. His anger was pretty notorious in Kari's house. One of Tai's favorite things to talk about was how he and Matt constantly fought in "the good ol' days", whatever that meant.

"It's…okay," she squeaked. "A bit difficult," she added on for clarification. Matt only nodded, his face still scrunched up. Kari blinked, not knowing what to say. "Um…" Suddenly she wanted to cross the street. "I guess…I'll go…"

Matt looked up and nodded, trudging along beside her across the crosswalk. She was taking small, nervous steps and was trying desperately to think of a way to lose Matt before they reached the school. If he continued to walk with her it would just be weird!

After they crossed the street, she coughed. Matt's fists were dug into his pockets, and she could see by the way he walked he was irritated about something. "Uh…you don't have to—you know—feel like you have to make sure I don't fall or anything," Kari squawked out awkwardly. Matt looked up at her, his eyes clear for once.

"Huh?"

Kari's jaw dropped open, but she quickly had the sense to close it. Matt being…confused? How was that even possible?

"I just…said…" She hesitated. "I said…what's wrong?" Her voice was timid, as if she was afraid Matt would lash out and hit her or something.

"Wrong?" he tried to laugh, but Kari could hear it was strained. "Nothing, nothing." He lifted out one hand to pat her on the head absently. Kari blushed and ducked her head. Matt seemed a little surprised, but if he was any more he didn't show it. He hastily stuffed his hand back into his pocket. What was he supposed to say? He didn't even know what was making him grouchy, except for that it had something to do with his last visit to Tai and Kari's. It had all been a blur, visiting her with everyone else, but something after it had just left him feeling…strange. And he couldn't even explain it because he didn't know what it was himself.

Meanwhile, Kari was trying to gather the courage to ask Matt to teach her how to dance. She knew it wasn't a good time, but when was she going to see him again? Now that she wasn't sick, meeting with him would be less and less.

"Um…Matt…"

"Hmm?" he asked, trying desperately to calm down. Kari didn't deserve to face his anger. It wasn't pretty, and he knew it. He let out a deep breath.

"Would you…well…I need to…um…" Silence. "I haven't really finished…learning how to dance," she mumbled, the last part coming out squeakily.

Matt looked over at her, his gaze cool. Expressionless. Kari instantly took it to be a face that clearly said "No".

"Ah, I'm sorry!" she mumbled, blushing. "It's a stupid question, anyway." She wanted to kick at a pebble for effect or something, but was afraid if she ruined the pattern of walking her legs might collapse beneath her.

"When do you need the next lesson?" he asked nonchalantly, glancing down at her legs. "Probably when you can walk normally."

Kari frowned. "Well, I—" And then she stopped. Is he agreeing? Her heart started to speed up, and she had no clue why. "Um—yea. Soon. Probably." And then she let out a shrill, nervous giggle. She could have slapped herself for it. Thankfully, it lifted the corners of Matt's lips a little. It almost seemed like it hadn't happened, but Kari was sure of it. She hade made him smile, even in his weird raging mood.

"Well, then. We'll just have to find each other when that happens," he said tonelessly. Kari nodded silently.

As if I'd have trouble finding you, she thought, and then let out an inner gasp. What was she becoming? Some sort of freaky Matt fangirl? Maybe she shouldn't take the lessons after all…

But it was too late, because Matt's spirits were lifted just a little bit and Kari couldn't possibly take that away from him. So she started to hum a song instead, a song that helped keep her legs moving. Matt began to nod his head to the song, his inner musician obviously showing in his actions.

"Hey," he said suddenly, interrupting Kari's hums. "Isn't that one of the songs from your record we had to dance to?"

Kari blinked. Huh. "You're…right," she finally realized. And she giggled a little. "That's so weird!" And they both had a little chuckle over it, because both of them had remembered something so insignificant in their time spent together.

School was…tolerable, to say the least. Kari really was jostled around, and her books fell from her hands numerous times because her body was still slow with reacting these days. But there was always another student who would help her, and for that she was very grateful.

But she hated the way she felt. Still hot, still feverish. It was getting harder and harder to escape the crazy fits her sickness gave her. Kari would have much preferred to be sleeping that entire day. She couldn't focus, couldn't cool down. She was worried people would start avoiding her because she would be melting into a puddle of sweat. Thankfully that didn't happen and Kari was just paranoid. But still. She just wanted to go home.

"Kari?" A timid voice asked. She slowly turned her head in the hall to see…

"TK!" she cried, relieved to see such a great face. Her expression broke into a smile even though she still felt sick. "Thank goodness! I've been wanting to see you all day!"
TK's face turned a tinge of pink. "Really?" he asked shyly. "How come?"

Kari smiled. "Because I can walk!" She did a little twirl in the hallway, feeling a little woozy. But she smiled anyway. "Tada!"

TK clapped politely, grinning. "Well, I'm just glad you're out of bed." And he gave her a quick hug. Kari smiled and squeezed him back, feeling giddy.

What would I feel like if Matt hugged me…? NO. NO, STOP.

She shook her head, stepping away from TK. "So, how're you?" she asked vaguely instead.

"I'm better now that I've seen you," he told her, glancing at the clock on the wall. "Hey, do you want to meet up for lunch? The cafeteria is really crowded, and I know you're probably still kind of…not feeling well…" She saw the worry in his eyes, but there was also something else. Something else she didn't like, and saw in her parent's eyes everytime she got so little as a sore throat.

"Um…yes, of course," she agreed brightly. "At my locker?"

TK nodded and patted her shoulder as he walked past, down the hall to his next class. Kari stood still in the hall, blinking rapidly. TK wasn't…no. She was just worried. TK wouldn't be afraid of her, would he?

No. She laughed a little nervously, brushing the thought off. No, of course not.

Matt was outside, staring at his little home made lunch. Cooking had always been his forte, and last night he had made a lunch for himself and for TK to give him the next morning. He was such a protective older brother, even when they lived in separate houses. But Matt didn't trust their mom to give TK the nourishment he needed, so he was always up to the task of cooking.

He picked at his food thoughtfully, not even thinking about going inside. It was too hot in that school. Too clammy. He wasn't as angry as he had been that morning, but the strange frustration was still prickling at the back of his neck. He hated not knowing what was bothering him. It used to always be Tai. Tai, Tai, Tai. That was always easy, because he could just yell and scream and throw a few punches at the brat. But now he knew he couldn't exactly visit his best friend and punch him in the face without good reason. He sighed thoughtfully, clicking his chopsticks together and shovelling up some grains of rice from his box.

That was when he glanced up from his spot under the tree. From the front doors of the school you couldn't see him, because a giant stone pillar was in the way. But at the angle Matt was crouching in, he could see—and hear—everything people said at the front doors.

And TK was holding a door open for Kari.

And he handed her the lunch Matt had made for him.

Now, Matt didn't know why it irked him. It wasn't TK's food to give away, after all! If Kari was going to eat Matt's food, Matt wanted to be the one to give it to her. He wanted to hear her compliments. Blinking, Matt gulped down his rice, risking choking. What was he even thinking about?

I think I'm losing my mind, he thought sadly as he continued to watch TK and Kari.

"Where do you want to sit?" TK asked perkily. Matt was glad to see his brother wasn't so fretful and worrisome anymore, now that Kari was better. But…he knew he was happier because Kari was better. That didn't make the situation any better.

"Um…it's kind of hot out. How about in the shade?" she asked softly, hobbling along on her poor sickly body. Matt felt a frown puckering his lips; his food lay forgotten in his lap.

"How about that tree?" TK asked, and Matt saw him pointing his finger toward Matt. He almost choked again as they started to walk towards him. For some reason Matt did not want to talk to lovey-dovey TK and Kari. He always wanted to dunk his head in some ice-cold lake after seeing them. So he hastily slipped around to the back of the tree, where he now faced the forest bordering that side of the school. Only at the last second did he remember his lunch, and inched his hand along the large base of the trunk until he touched the box. Quick as a flash it was in his lap again, and he was trying desperately to breathe quietly. Now that he had gotten himself into such a stupid, awkward situation, he couldn't just leave. Not now. They would definitely wonder why in the world he had been eavesdropping…not that he was! No…why would he care, anyway? Their conversations were so boring.

And he was right. The two idly chit-chatted for a while, and Matt was hardly feeling the suspense. He could hear them fidgeting only a tree's width away. He was glad for the tree's thick width at that moment, because then they couldn't see any of he telltale blonde hair poking out.

"This is delicious!" Kari suddenly cried. "Did you make it?"

TK was silent and then let out a little chuckle. "Oh no, I can't cook. Matt likes to be a mother and cook us lunches for school. He gives them to me in the morning."

Matt felt his face burning red. A mother? He was just being a good older brother!

"Well, next time you see him…" Kari's sentence drifted, and Matt felt himself waiting with bated breath. Silently scolding himself, Matt started to breathe quietly again. "Tell him I said it was amazing."

Matt felt a small smile tugging at his lips.

"Of course," TK agreed, and then quickly steered the conversation in another pointless direction.

That was when the pigeon came.

Matt hadn't been expecting it. He was just getting comfortable because the two younger kids obviously had no clue he was right there, two steps away from them behind the same tree they were leaning against. But he hadn't calculated a crazed bird into his hiding place.

It had been pecking absently at the ground near Matt, until it spotted stray bits of rice from Matt's lunch scattered on the ground. It began to peck hungrily, and when the rice was gone it leaped onto the last supply: Matt's lap.

He almost let out a squawk like the bird's, but held it in as the bird looked up in his face. It cooed as it dug its feet around in his sweet, delicious food. It was horrible. It was terribly painful. Matt felt like some sort of monster was destroying his children. And the bird continued to peck the rice, making a clunking noise with its beak against the plastic of the dish. Matt froze, not even daring to breathe. The bird decided to flap its wings a few times for good measure; whacking Matt's face so hard he had to sneeze.

"Did you hear that?" Kari asked, her voice unnaturally alert. Matt held his breathe, glaring at the pigeon with every fibre of his being. It just continued to eat his food in a relaxed way, occasionally shuffling around in the dish.

"Hear what?" TK asked, his mouth full of food by the sounds of it.

"A…clunking noise. And a sneeze."

Matt silently cursed.

"Uh…nope."

"Oh. Okay!"

Stupid bird. Stupid, stupid bird. It didn't know what it was doing, flapping around aimlessly like the dumb creature it was. But Matt still couldn't help but hate it, because if he pushed it away it would just shriek and startle Kari enough into peeking around the tree, only to find Matt hidden in the shadows. How freaky would that be?

The bird was getting angry now. The rice was almost all gone and it had no interest in the other food Matt had worked so hard on. With an angry squeak it flew up around Matt's head, tugging at his hair. He flinched, cringing and gripping his head with his arms to try and protect his hair. What is WRONG with this bird? He mentally shouted, but of course he couldn't scare the animal away with his voice. He flinched again as the bird ripped at another strand of hair. His lunch box wiggled on his knees and then fell to the grass with a not-so-soft thud.

"Okay, I definitely heard something this time."

Matt bit his bottom lip, trying desperately to think of a reasonable story as to why he would be behind the tree.

Before he could think or react, he heard rustling. And then Kari's brown eyes peeked over the side of the tree. She saw a pigeon attacking Matt's head, hooting and cawing and screeching. Matt looked pale and absolutely sick. Kari frowned.

"Matt?" She asked, definitely shocked. Why was he sitting behind the tree?

He looked up through one eye, the other blinking shut in pain as the bird struck at his head yet again. "Oh, Kari!" he said, feigning surprise as he jumped up. He could finally make noise and shooed the bird away, calling it some things Kari would have preferred not to hear. When he turned around to face here again, his face was just like marble yet again. He no longer looked in pain or as if a pigeon had just been attacking him. He looked perfect, except for the slightly ruffled hair on his head.

"Matt?" TK asked, shocked and peering out from the other side of the tree. He stood up with a disapproving look on his face. "What are you doing back here?"

Matt glanced back at him, caught between the two. Quick, a story! A really good one, too! "Oh, you know me!" Matt blurted out before he could stop himself. "Friends to all the birds and bees!" What the hell? "I was helping this little bird out when it started to attack and it shoved me up against the tree. I had to run from that crazed thing!"

Kari giggled. Matt relaxed. It could make sense. But TK was still watching him warily. "Why is your lunch on the ground?"

Matt blinked and looked down at his overturned dish. "Oh, because…ah…it's a long story…" He blinked. Couldn't think of anything. When had this ever happened? Had Matt ever been speechless before in his entire life?

Kari stood up shakily. "Did you drop it when the bird was chasing you?" she asked, leaning against the tree for support. Matt whirled around to face her and saw the look in her eyes. She obviously didn't believe his pathetic lie, but was still adding to his story. Why would she be doing that? Didn't Kari disapprove of lies heartily?

"Uh—yea. Yes," he said again, wiping his face clean of the anxiety that had been flickering on it for a brief second earlier. "Sorry if I scared you two and your lovely little lunch," he added, pinching TK's cheek. His younger brother flinched away, blushing. Matt smirked.

Kari still stood against the tree, unblinking. Matt cast her a surreptitious glance but then looked quickly away. Why was she being so silent and…unsmiling? It was weird.

"Did you have enough to eat?" she finally asked in a worried voice. Matt blinked. "It seems like most of your lunch fell on the ground," she said. Matt nodded slowly.

"I ate enough," he told her shortly, suddenly feeling that frustrated prickling on the back of his neck.

"Okay," she agreed slowly, and a silence fell over them. TK watched, half-hidden by the tree still, as Matt and Kari blinked at each other. He coughed. Matt snapped his head around as if coming out of a trance.

"Anyway," he said, picking up the box his lunch had been in and snapping the lid shut on it, "I have to leave." He ruffled TK's hair. "Later Teeks. Bye, Kari."

"Bye," they said in unison, but Kari watched Matt for a long time after he had left the tree. She continued to wonder why he had been hiding behind the tree, but she decided not to think about it too much. Not yet.

"That was weird, huh?" TK asked suddenly, walking over to Kari. "Matt can be such a strange guy sometimes."

Kari giggled at TK's words. "I think it's fine," she whispered softly. TK gave her a worried gaze, but said nothing else as they sat down to finish their lunch. Matt's lunch.

"Dude, are you a zombie or what?" Tai asked, taking two quick steps to get in stride with Matt, who just walked faster. Tai frowned and hopped his way back to beside Matt, who was glowering at the sidewalk. "Come on, man! What's up?" He tugged at his arm, forcing him to slow down. Matt shrugged.

"I broke a plate this morning," he said randomly.

Tai blinked and shrugged as the two walked down the busy streets back to Tai's apartment. "Uh…okay."

"And I wanted to throw my guitar."

Tai nodded sagely, as if Matt's spurted out sentences made all the sense in the world. "Ah, I see," he began wisely, holding his hands together thoughtfully. "The grasshopper's wings are starting to extend."

Matt gave Tai a crazy look, but laughed anyway. "You're so weird, Tai."

Tai shrugged, glad that Matt was no longer as broody. "It runs in the family," he said instead of asking Matt about his craziness that morning. But of course his curiosity got the better of him.

"How come you wanted to throw your guitar?" he asked a few minutes later. Matt stiffened.

"I…don't know," he answered truthfully. "I was just really mad for some reason."

Tai frowned. "That's strange. Usually I make you mad."

Matt snorted. "That's what I thought too."

Silence.

"Video games will help," Tai promised, nodding firmly. "I'm a hundred percent sure!"

Matt rolled his eyes. "Well, how can I argue with that?"

"Exactly!" Tai said. "Now hurry up, I wanna beat you!" he jeered, running ahead. Matt puffed out air. Hadn't he been dragging his sleeve to slow him down only a few minutes ago?

When they finally got into the apartment, they heard the squeal of a chair being pushed back from the kitchen table.

Angrily.

"TAI!" shrieked a voice, and they both cringed. Angry Kari was never a good sign to a fun afternoon. "What do you THINK you're DOING, going into my ROOM and—" Kari cut off mid-rant as soon as she entered the main entrance of the apartment. Her eyes met with Matt's for an instant and then lowered hastily to the ground.

Matt blinked but shrugged it off. She was probably still fretting over the absurd tree incident. "What'd you do, Tai?" he asked, smirking his famous smirk.

"Nothing!" Tai blurted, glaring at Kari. "Can you stop bugging me everyday?"

Kari hesitated and then nodded. "Okay." She spun around and shuffled her way down the hall. There were a few moments of tense silence until the two boys heard the click of Kari shutting her bedroom door. And then Tai snorted.

"What just happened?" he asked, sliding off his shoes. "She just gave up. Like that!" He snapped his fingers for emphasis. "That never happens!"

Matt was setting his bag on the floor, his expression uneasy. "Uh…yea. Well, just seeing Kari angry is strange in itself."

Tai rolled his eyes. "Poor, innocent Matt. Thank goodness you don't live in this home." He dumped his bag haphazardly on the ground and headed to their living room. "You wouldn't be able to stand the real Kari!"

Matt frowned, following Tai into the familiar room. His friend pressed the button on the game console, flicking the TV on and tossing a controller to Matt. He was still standing, his lips puckered down.

"What's the real Kari like, then?" he asked, finally getting the hint to sit down. Tai was flopped crookedly across a sofa. At Matt's question he made a noise of agitation.

"Why do you care?" he asked, poking Matt's shoulder with his foot. Matt swatted it away. He knew he shouldn't have sat on the ground.

"I don't," he said coldly. "I just…" He lapsed into silence. "It seems weird. That's all."

"Yea, well, Kari's pretty weird herself." Tai pressed the start button and waited for it to load. "Her mood can change so fast. Sometimes you have no clue what she's thinking. She's actually really sneaky. It's strange. You think she's all happy and cupcakes and rainbows, but then she turns around and has some really serious blackmail against you that you know she's not afraid to use."

Matt turned around, smirking. Tai's eyes were glued to the game screen, not even realizing what he had said. "What, so Kari's got some blackmail on you?"

Tai blinked. "I—huh? What? No! NO!" he shouted again, shooting up into a stiffer position at Matt's words. "I'm serious! You can go ask her yourself! Nothing! Nope! Nada! Now shut up and play the stupid video game!"

Matt's supercilious smile only grew wider at Tai's desperateness, but he gave in and turned around although his mind wasn't really on the game.

"You think she's all happy and cupcakes and rainbows…"

Matt suddenly felt ashamed. He had thought that. He had always seen her as the sweet, innocent girl. And she probably was sweet, and she definitely was innocent, but not everyone can be one-dimensional like that. Matt knew, after all. He had always been classified as the cold jerk, and here he was, being totally uncold and unjerky.

"Matt? Maaaaatt?" Tai's foot was poking Matt's shoulder again. He slapped it away and Tai whined.

"STOP doing that!" Matt snapped, and the two played video games in icy silence for a while until Kari came out of her room and threw her pillow at Tai's face from across the room. That definitely cheered Matt up, and he began to laugh as Tai sputtered and ripped the pillow away from his head. Only when his eyes accidentally latched onto Kari's did he immediately stop laughing. Because Kari really did look mad.

"THAT'S for digging around in my room!" she snapped, her voice unlike Matt had ever heard it. He blinked. Did he even listen to that girl all the other times he had been over and Tai and Kari had gotten in arguments? He assumed he must have just zoned out or something…

"Kari, you're such a pest! I'm busy right now, if you couldn't tell." Tai pointed at the TV screen with his foot, flopping his head back on Kari's pillow. Kari frowned.

"Tai, give me back my pillow!"

"You gave it to me!"

"I threw it at you!"

"Same thing!"

"Give your sick sister her pillow back, Tai."

"Nope. Matt, I'm gonna kick your butt."

"Taiiii!"

"NOPE. Hurry up Matt, press 'A' already…"

Matt tugged the pillow out from underneath Tai's head before he could object. "I—uh—what? Matt! Give me back the pillow!" But Matt had already walked over to Kari and given her the pillow back. She was looked up at him almost warily, her hands holding the other side of the pillow. Matt quickly let go and turned around to face Tai.

"Why were you even in Kari's room?"

Tai's face flushed. "She always steals my stuff!"

"Like what, your half-chewed up pencils?"

"It's a nervous habit!"

Kari was still standing there, clutching her pillow tightly.

"Whatever Tai. I'll kick your butt at the stupid game now."

"Fine," grumbled Tai. "Kari, go away."

"Uh—um—thanks…"

Matt turned around at Kari's soft voice and blinked. She changed so fast! She had just been screaming at Tai a second ago, hadn't she? Matt shook his head. Obviously her personality changed. Duh.

"Whatever," he said airily, but he couldn't ignore the brief expression of hurt that flashed across Kari's face. After a hesitant pause, she whirled around on the spot and trotted back to her room on wobbly legs. And Matt couldn't help but feel, once again, that strange guilty feeling that he had never had to bother with before.

Until now.