Phantom of the Digiworld
Chapter 8 – The Rumor
It couldn't be true, it just couldn't be! T.K. was lost in his own world thinking to himself, unable to take his mind off the rumors that had been floating around school for the last few days. It's just not possible, he repeated over and over in his head. If Kari Kamiya, his best friend Kari Kamiya, was going on a date with Davis Motomiya, he would know. She would have told him. Davis would have told him. Yolei would have told him. Cody or Ken would have told him, assuming that they would even know as they went to other schools. Heck, even Tai would have told him!
"It just can't be true!" This time he accidently said it out loud, causing some people around him to give him funny looks, as he was sitting in the middle of his chemistry class. He, obviously, had not been paying attention. For the first half of the lecture all he had managed to do was memorize the back of Kari's head, while she sat at the desk in front of him, nodding along to the lesson.
She couldn't be going out with Davis. She didn't like Davis, at least not like that. She'd never liked him like that. Felt sorry for him, yes, was annoyed by him, yes, but she couldn't really like him. She couldn't really be attracted to him.
The girl sitting next to him was one of his classmates who had been startled by his outburst. Now, however, she just kept smiling and giggling as she continued to stare at him. What was her name again? T.K. knew her, she was playing Meg in the musical, but he couldn't remember her name, so just decided to think of her as "Meg" until he heard someone else say it. Whoever she was, T.K. wasn't sure if he should be annoyed because she hadn't taken her eyes off him, or if he should worry if she take her to the school nurse because her fake smile had started to wilt at its corners, making her look like she was in some kind of pain.
He had just talked to her the other day. Why couldn't he remember her name? They had been talking after the play rehearsal, right before one of his friends from the basketball team had told him the rumor about Kari and Davis. He couldn't remember any part of his conversation with "Meg."
Gosh darn it! Didn't Kari think he deserved to know something like this? They were best friends! At least they had been until he had gone and screwed it up…
Their teacher announced that they must pick partners now for the lab portion of the period, and T.K. realized "Meg" was going to try and be his partner. As soon as their teacher announced they could begin, T.K. practically jumped out of his chair and away from "Meg," hoping anyone in the world would be there to be his partner instead of her.
Thankfully, it was Yolei who managed to catch on to his act of desperation and asked him immediately to be his partner, to which he agreed, of course. Unfortunately, Kari who had turned around instinctively to ask T.K. was stuck with "Meg," but T.K. didn't feel sorry for her one bit.
What was he thinking? Of course he felt sorry for her. She clearly didn't get along well with "Meg." Just because Kari didn't want to confide in him anymore didn't mean they weren't still friends, did it?
Yolei grabbed his arm and marched him toward the lab bench they'd be using, giving him instructions as to how they would divide their procedure. After they'd gathered the materials they would need and began to set to work, he took advantage of the bustle around them to interrogate Yolei about the rumors.
"Is Kari going out with Davis?" he asked. He was going to attempt to be subtle, but decided on a direct approach instead.
Yolei made a disgusted face, indicating that she felt the same way he did about Kari and Davis as a couple. Then she rolled her eyes. "If they are, I haven't been told about it. She probably hasn't even heard the rumors, you know how she is."
He tried to control his irritation, but it was hard to do, especially when working with glassware. After breaking his second beaker Yolei stopped him and took over the rest of the work.
"You know, T.K., if you would just get over yourself and talk to Kari this probably wouldn't be happening."
He glared at her while pretending to be helping her. He should have known Kari would tell her what had happened between them. She glared right back at him.
"T.K., if these rumors are true then you have to talk to her! Maybe Kari sees something in Davis that we don't. She thinks he's changed!" She grabbed the front of T.K.'s shirt, practically lifting him off the ground. "You have to talk some sense into her!" She was almost yelling, attracting the attention of many students around them. Lucky for T.K., Kari and "Meg" were on the other side of the room so they hadn't heard Yolei's eruption.
T.K. blushed, his heart sinking. Yolei hadn't given him an answer to his first question, but she had done something else: she had acknowledged the possibility of the rumors being true.
"Yolei, what makes you think she'll listen to me? You're the one who's so upset by this, why don't you talk to her?"
Yolei released his shirt, sighing. "Don't pretend like you don't care about this! I know you better than that. Besides, it has to be you. You're the one who broke her heart."
T.K. gasped, broke her heart? That was the last thing he had meant to do. Is that what Kari told her or was Yolei exaggerating? What else had Kari told her?
Before he could ask anything more the bell rang, forcing all of the chemistry students to hustle towards the door, Yolei already moving far away from him in the crowd.
"Yolei! Come back here!" he shouted, but she was already hurrying down the hallway. It was the end of the school day and people were bustling everywhere to get out of the building.
He turned around to head back to his locker. As he turned, he recognized the back of Kari's head in front of him, also heading in his direction. Her head was tilted toward the ground, her shoulders slightly hunched forward. Even from behind T.K. could tell she was upset about something.
"Kari!" he couldn't help himself, if something was upsetting her he had to find out what it was and fix it.
She looked up as he caught up to her. "Hi T.K." she said not quite as cheerfully as usual. Her eyes looked a little red, almost as if she was holding back tears.
He almost asked her what was wrong, but was suddenly struck by the thought that maybe her distress had something to do with him. He decided then that maybe the busy hallway was not a place to discuss such matters. If she was still mad at him then they should probably go somewhere more private.
"Wanna walk home together today?" he asked her.
She smiled a little, "Sure, I just have to get my things."
He filled his school bag with books and met her at her locker, following the familiar typical routine he had followed before he had turned into such a jerk.
She looked a little better as he caught up to her and lead the way through the crowd and out the door. Once they had dispersed from the mass of students leaving, however, an awkward silence befell them.
"So…uhh…how about this weather?" he asked nervously. The snow was finally beginning to melt, which had turned the precipitation into an icy rain that made everything damp in the daytime and froze at night making the roads extremely hazardous.
Kari shrugged. "It's one step towards springtime, I guess."
"Yeah," T.K. agreed, "we're so lucky to have the digital world to escape to when it gets too cold here."
Kari nodded her agreement.
T.K. stopped, the rain splattering on top of his umbrella. "Kari, I have to ask: are you going on a date with Davis?"
She looked up at him and he almost detected a hint of sadness in her eyes. It was gone in a second as she smiled for the second time. "Yes. I guess I should've known Davis would tell the whole school."
T.K. felt as though all of the air in his lungs had evaporated. He looked down at the ground so Kari wouldn't see how hurt he was.
"Kari, look, I can't take this, you know, us not talking. I miss you," he confessed.
"I miss you too, T.K."
"It doesn't matter what's happening between you and Davis, I just want my best friend back. I can't bare you not talking to me."
The sadness was back in her eyes. "I want my best friend back too. So we agree not to let anything else come between us?"
"Mhmm." T.K. agreed, then stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her, which was somewhat awkward while holding an umbrella, but they managed.
When Kari placed her head on his shoulder his heart did a flip. Then he heard her sigh as she leaned closer to him. Reluctantly, T.K. ended the embrace, and walked with his free arm around her shoulder until they reached their parting point. She hugged him once more before heading toward her apartment.
Walking home, T.K. cursed himself over and over again. He was so stupid. He should've known better. What was he thinking when he said he just wanted to be her friend? That she would wait forever? That even after he rejected her she would never date anyone else? Of course someone else was going to ask her out, she's beautiful, and smart, and funny, and kind, and selfless, and perfect. Did it have to be Davis, though? What he would give to punch Davis in the face right then. Ugh! Why had he told her he was ok with her dating Davis?
Because you didn't want to hurt her again, his conscience told him. Because you want her to be happy, even if it means she has to be with Davis.
Stupid conscience. She's supposed to be with me! His thoughts would not give him rest. You let her go, his conscience repeated, now you have to live with it. Live with it! How was he supposed to live with her dating Davis? What if they kissed in front of him? He would lose it! He would kill Davis! Why did everything have to be so messy and complicated?
This is all his fault.
