Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or am associated with anyone who does.
Thanks to everyone who has favorited, followed and reviewed. Instant feedback is a real motivator. :) Hope you enjoy. It went on a bit longer than I wanted, but sometimes that's not in the writers control.
It was raining outside as T.K. buried himself under his blankets. Matt knocked on his door, after a few seconds of struggling he managed to turn the handle despite his hands being full. "Okay. Mom's not here to baby you, so I guess that's my job now." He set a cup of soup on T.K.'s nightstand, reaching out a glass of water in his other hand waiting for T.K. to gratefully take it.
"Go away." T.K. grumbled, not moving from his shelter.
"You only threw up once. Give me a break already." Matt sat the glass of water down next to the soup. "You gotta try and eat. It's already noon."
T.K. peered out of his comforter and glared at Matt. "Go away."
"You just stuffed yourself full of pizza two nights in a row. All that grease probably just didn't settle." He sighed giving T.K. a sympathetic smile. "Up!" he raised his hands in the air like he would raise the blankets up off of T.K. like magic.
"I'll get up in a minute. I still have to finish my homework before tomorrow anyway." He covered his face back up with his blanket.
"You and that homework." Matt looked at the floor where T.K. had left it all strewn about from the night before. Kneeling down he glanced at the textbooks. "I can help you finish if you'll come out of your cave." Matt piled the paperwork and books into his arms and carried them into the living room, unloading it all on the coffee table.
"Bring it back." T.K. hollered from under his covers.
"Come and get it." Matt lured.
"I'll just tell my teacher you ate my homework." T.K. rolled over in his bed, listening to the rain tap on the glass of his window.
"I don't think they'll take that as a legitimate excuse." Matt appeared back in his doorway.
T.K. sat up, tossing the blankets back, his mussed, wavy hair sticking up in awkward spots. "Homeroom is Mrs. Akawa. I'm sure she'll accept the excuse." There was a sly grin on his face—T.K. knew she was Matt's homeroom teacher when he was going to high school.
Matt's face dropped. "You think you're so smart."
T.K. inhaled deeply. Matt's unintentional distraction helped a lot. "I'm getting up. Coffee?" he grimaced at the soup Matt undoubtedly picked up from the convenience store.
Matt shrugged. "Whatever gets you out of bed." He turned and walked into the kitchen.
#
It was three hours later when T.K. finally closed his text books and shoved them across the floor toward his room. "Thank you!" he clasped his hands together and bowed lightly to Matt.
"Any time." Matt stood, stretching. "And look at the time. Want a ride?"
T.K. glanced up at Matt confused. "I'm not going anywhere—"
T.K. grimaced as Matt faced him with a mischievous grin. "Ken told me about Davis' game today."
"It's been raining." T.K. pointed to the window, just then noticing the glimmer of sunlight peeking through the parting clouds. His expression turned to an irritated disappointment.
Matt laughed. "Ken told me I wasn't allowed to let you make excuses."
"That's why you helped me do my homework?" T.K. gave Matt an exasperated glare. "I don't feel good. Let it go."
Matt looked at T.K. worriedly, contemplating giving up on forcing his brother to go. But the moment passed and Matt walked toward his room. "Go get dressed. I'll drive you down to the soccer field in a half hour."
"No." T.K. huffed, standing up he walked into his room, grabbing his textbooks as he did, closing the door behind him.
#
T.K. stared out the car window unamused. Listening to the radio he refused to talk to Matt who had almost physically dragged him from their apartment. "It'll be fun." Matt said, just loud enough for T.K. to hear over the music.
After a ten minute drive they pulled up to the soccer field where a decent sized crowd had formed. It was still overcast and a bit on the cold side, so everyone was dressed in warmer clothing. T.K. pulled his grey hood up and grabbed his phone from the middle console of the car. "I'm calling you when the game is almost over."
Matt smiled brightly at his irritated brother. "See you later."
T.K. stepped out onto the curb and watched Matt drive away with a proud grin on his face. T.K. had to laugh inside at his brother's attempt. Though it was less distracting to be forced to go and spend time with the friends that most likely resented him for his actions during the past year. Even if he justified his actions at the time, now it only felt like an excuse to run away from his pain.
T.K. had just reached the bottom of bleachers when he heard Ken call out his name. He saw him standing on the sidelines near where Davis and their school team were getting ready for the game to start. T.K. buried his hands inside his hoodie pockets and walked over to him.
"I was afraid Matt was going to give up." Ken gave T.K. a sly look.
T.K. frowned at Ken. "That's low, even for you."
"I knew it was the only way." Ken shrugged.
Davis waved at Ken and T.K. when he spotted them, but was called over to his coach before he could say anything.
T.K. looked out over the familiar field and smiled lightly. "It's funny."
Ken tilted his head. "What is?"
"How far we've come since that first game Davis played against you, all those years ago."
Ken closed his eyes, the days of his evil reign still stung when brought up. T.K. knew it, but right then his irritability allowed him not to care so much. "Everything has changed since then."
T.K. nodded, not looking up at Ken. "Yeah. Everything has changed."
#
Kari sat about halfway up in the bleachers toward the left hand side of the field. Yolie and Cody hadn't shown up yet and Ken was still down with Davis and the rest of the team. Placing her elbows on her knees she propped her head up with her palms, bored. Her pale yellow hoodie hid her blue tee shirt, feeling a chill she looked down at her black skinny jeans that were far too thin for the temperature. Her hair was up in a messy bun, lose strands hung down around her face, the moisture in the air causing them to curl ever so lightly.
Finally she looked down at the field, trying to spot Davis. He was lost in the group of players that began huddling around their coach. The game was about to start. Scanning across the sidelines Kari saw Ken standing at the bottom talking to someone. She narrowed her eyes at the hooded person, figuring Ken may have ran into one of his college friends. He was a bit taller than Ken. She started to glance away when the boy turned his head to Ken, revealing T.K.'s profile.
She stopped and stared at him for several minutes, watching his movements and gauging his body language as he spoke to Ken. She had been so focused on the situation surrounding him that she hadn't taken any time to really absorb the changes to his appearance. He was much taller than her now. His blond hair, which was poking out from behind the grey hood on his jacket, was longer and wavier than before. His face had matured a lot. She stared without conscience, knowing no one was around to catch her. She saw his expression darken as he said something to Ken and then turned away. She noted the sadness in his vibrant blue eyes.
Sitting up straight she nodded with determination and stood, making her way down the partially crowded bleachers. Stepping down behind T.K. she reached up and grabbed his shoulder, "Hey." She tried to greet him with a smile.
T.K. stiffened at the sound of her voice. Swallowing hard he turned, plastering what he could only assume was a fake looking smile on his face. "Hey." He greeted her their eyes only briefly making contact before he looked up at Ken.
Ken glanced at them both and then looked up at the bleachers. "Where are Yolie and Cody?"
Kari shrugged. "Not here yet."
Ken wrinkled his nose. "I expected Cody to bail, but not Yolie."
T.K. shifted away from Kari, putting his hands back in his pockets. "Hopefully nothing happened."
Kari looked at T.K. a valiant effort to be normal in her heart. "I'm sure they're alright."
Ken pulled out his phone, an annoyed look crossed over his expression. "I didn't feel my phone go off…" he raised an eyebrow in irritation and clicked on his screen, putting the phone up to his ear. "Hey, what happened?" T.K. and Kari watched Ken curiously, hearing Yolie's high pitched voice yelling over the phone in a rage. Ken even had to pull the phone away from his ear for a minute waiting for her to get done. "I didn't hear my phone go off. So does that mean you're not coming?"
T.K. couldn't help the smile that crossed his face as Ken rolled his eyes and pulled the phone away from his face, even further this time. He could clearly hear Yolie demanding him to get his ass over to her apartment and pick her and Cody up. "Something wrong with her car again?"
Ken nodded silently waiting for the yelling to subside. "I'm on my way. You better be at the door waiting for me." He hung up before the yelling could continue.
T.K. gave Ken a sly grin. "Trouble in paradise?"
"Haha." Ken glared at T.K. "I'll be right back. I apparently have to go pick them up because Yolie's car won't start."
Kari pulled her phone out of her back pocket and saw three texts from Yolie that she too hadn't noticed. "Oops." She laughed lightly. "Like twenty minutes ago?"
Ken sighed. "Save us seats I guess."
T.K. started to walk with Ken when he turned and gave him a knowing look. "You can stay and keep Kari company. Besides if none of us are here when the game starts Davis won't let us hear the end of it."
T.K. narrowed his eyes at Ken and shrugged, turning to Kari he smiled lightly. "You lead the way."
Kari nodded. Determination filling her with confidence. She could do this. "I was sitting up there." She pointed to the empty row toward the middle of the left side bleachers.
Ken waved and dashed off toward the parking lot and T.K. gestured for Kari to go first. He still wasn't feeling well, but he could put on an act for her sake.
Kari laughed lightly at Ken. "I don't understand why they aren't together."
T.K. shrugged as he followed her up the bleachers. "Circumstances."
Kari glanced back at him, seeing him looking off to the side away from her, his expression dark. She grimaced and faced forward taking a step up she missed the bench, the tip of her shoe catching, causing her to fall forward. Kari closed her eyes, readying for the impact as she flung her hands up to try and catch herself, seeing the bleachers coming at her face rapidly.
Hearing a loud clap against the flimsy steel of the bleachers she realized she had stopped falling. T.K.'s was standing beside her now, his arm around her waist and his other hand gripping her shoulder tightly.
"You okay?" he asked worriedly, helping her straighten.
She smiled, impressed with his reflexes. "Yeah." Her heart beat quickened. This was the first time they'd really touched since he'd left.
It took T.K. a few seconds to realize he still had his arms around her, his concern for her making him forget about the awkwardness—it almost felt like he could breathe easy again. But it quickly faded as he straightened, shifting away from her dropping his hands to his sides. "That was close." He smiled forcefully, not even caring if it looked fake.
She nodded, her smile fading as she saw him avert his gaze down toward the field. "Thank you."
They continued up a few more benches and sat down next to one another. The whistle was blown and each team formed a group around their coaches, signally the game was about to begin.
As the groups dispersed toward the field Davis glanced up at them, stopping he raised an eyebrow at T.K. and Kari, giving them a quizzical look. T.K. was confused at first and then he mouthed Ken's name and glanced around, shrugging his shoulders.
T.K. shrugged, not sure how to explain he'd had to go pick up Yolie and Cody. Davis wrinkled his nose and turned back to the field.
Kari, acting as normal as possible spoke up first. "He always whines that he doesn't play as good when we're not here to cheer him on."
T.K. chuckled lightly. "When you're not here you mean."
Kari shrugged. "He's not as bad as he used to be. I mean, he still likes me, but he doesn't ask me out anymore and he's not as boisterous about his feelings."
T.K. expression hardened. "Learning some tact, are we?" he spoke in a low whisper, but he knew Kari could still hear him. It didn't matter, right? She already knew how he felt, and she had already turned him down.
"T.K." she frowned lightly at him, her lips quivering. She knew he still had feelings for her, he said so himself, but she couldn't bring herself to just tell him how she truly felt. Not after everything she had done. Not after literally ignoring his messages for over a year.
T.K.'s eyes widened as he watched the game start, Davis was quick and took control right away. The game had only just started and Davis was already taking control of the field. After a few minutes he noted. "He's gotten a lot better."
Kari sighed inwardly, clasping her hands together in her lap to keep them from shaking. "Yeah. He's improved a lot over the last year. Those college scholarships were more of a motivation for him than any of us thought." She allowed the subject change.
"He's almost better than Tai." T.K. acknowledged.
Cody laughed from beside T.K., taking him off guard. "Let's not get too carried away."
"Oh, don't worry. I'd never tell him that." T.K. laughed. "His ego would probably implode."
Yolie nodded in agreement, plopping down next to Cody. "Please, we can't handle his ego as it is."
T.K. felt eased by their friendliness, but he wondered how they could act like they were. He knew they had to be mad and hurt.
Kari smiled at their friends. "You guys made it."
Yolie crossed her arms. "We would have been here a lot earlier if someone had of read their messages." She glanced at Ken as he sat down next to her. "If anyone had of read their messages." She sent a glare Kari's direction.
Kari smiled brightly. "Sorry!" she laughed.
T.K. inhaled deeply trying to keep himself calm—he hadn't heard that laugh in so long. That genuine laugh that filled him with so much warmth. He looked at her and stared for a moment, quickly averting his gaze as she glanced at him.
Ken sighed loudly. "Can we just watch the game?"
Cody looked at T.K. "I didn't know you were coming too."
T.K. smiled hesitantly. "Yeah, I wasn't sure I was coming until the last minute either." He shot a look Ken's direction but no one caught it as the first score was made and the crowd cheered.
#
The overcast sky gave everything a bleak look, but it didn't stop the crowd from cheering and hollering the whole time, bringing a bit of energy to the lackluster day. The game was close but Davis pulled off an impressive move at the very end, scoring the team the winning goal.
Davis was too bombarded by his teammates for any of them to get a congratulations in, but he saw them by the sidelines and gave them a thumbs up before being hauled away to his victory party.
Cody walked up next to T.K. as he began texting Matt for a ride home. "That was pretty good huh?" he smiled at T.K. warmly.
T.K. hesitated, the emails he'd read ringing in his mind. "Oh. Yeah. It was a good game. So, how have things been for you guys?"
Cody shrugged. "Oh you know, helping grandpa out with the dojo and school mostly."
Yolie gave T.K. a curious look, like she wanted to say something to him. He held his breath waiting for the lecture he deserved but she smiled and nodded at Cody. "I've been good. Working long night shifts at the convenience store and managing my college courses by day."
Kari smiled at him. "Same old, same old."
T.K. nodded, glancing at the vibrating phone in his hand, Matt's name popping up on the screen. "Hang on a sec." he turned away and took a few steps before answering. Hey."
"How'd it go?" Matt asked enthusiastically.
"They won." He shrugged even though Matt couldn't see him.
"So, here's the deal." Matt started. "I'm kind of in the middle of something right now. Can someone else give you a ride home?"
T.K. closed his eyes, fighting the anger rising inside his chest. "You suck."
"Hey now, I—" T.K. hung up on Matt, placing his phone in his pocket.
He turned back around to see Ken had joined the group and walked back over. "I gotta get going." He smiled at everyone.
Yolie frowned. "We're meeting Davis at his party thing. You should come."
"Nah. I really have to…" he trailed off at the look Kari gave him.
"Come on. We haven't seen you in forever." Her voice pleading.
Ken's words from the other night rang in his mind. "How are things ever going to get back to normal if you refuse to let them be normal?"
T.K. sighed. "Maybe for a little while then."
Kari smiled at him. "Great." She would do her best to act normal—was this normal? She didn't know anymore.
T.K. hated that he loved her smile so much. It made it hard to be around her, but it made it hard to stay away from her at the same time.
Well, sorry if that was too drawn out. It was fun to write though. I don't know if the chapters will continue to get longer or not. Maybe let me know if you prefer shorter or longer chapters.
As always, if you're interested in supporting my original work, you can check out my book series by googling The Silent Ballad Series.