YES! I'm alive! *ehem* Well, I guess apologies should be in order, since I haven't updated this fanfiction since June... Yeah... oops. For a while I lost motivation to write in any of my fanfics, and then school started, so I got caught up with homework and cross-country and such. But now, since I'm in my off-season, I suddenly rekindled an ambition to finish this, and hopefully Wherever You Will Go as well. My goal is to be able to work on fanfics during weekends, as I did this weekend (and managed to get 6 or 7 pages written! :D), and still be able to finish chapters at a reasonable pace.

So, anyway, this is the chapter where Rai teaches Calumon about dating, learns just how crazy Suzie is (and how many strange demands she makes), and figures out the fastest way to get a migraine? Aside from a faster update, what more could you possibly ask for?

Chapter 10: To Make The World Stop Spinning

"Takato! Takato!" I clutched his short sleeves in my hands, grasping them in my hands till they began to turn a white that matched the hue of my face. I felt the icy cold tears streaming down my boiling hot cheeks, stinging like the venom of a viper, acid eating through my skin. "Please, Takato, please! J-just open your eyes!"

—Torment. Torment. Torment.—

The world was flying all around me, there was a high-pitched ringing in my ears, yet my eyes were remained at a standstill upon my cousin. His face was twisted into a heart-stabbing expression, exhibiting all the pain that was filling his body. His hair was mangled and blood was flooding from his head down the side of his face. His right arm was bent back into an inhumanly position, the bone piercing through the thin layer of skin covering them. His body was trembling, his breathing shallow. His mouth was slightly agape and crimson oozed from the corners of his lips.

—Feel the agony! Bathe in the agony! Drown yourself in the agony!—

My chest throbbed and I felt like throwing up. I swallowed the rock stuck in my throat and gasped for breath. "Please…please…Open…open your eyes…" My legs were covered in his blood as I was knelt before him, begging him to just give me one sign of recognition, but that voice in my head screamed I couldn't change a thing even if I wanted to. I was useless…

—Search every corner of your being, you will never find the justification you're looking for. You're the one to blame; there's no avoiding it. You humans are all too similar. Selfishness brings the worst out and the ones getting hurt for it are those you love the most…—

My whole body was heating up like it was suddenly placed in a furnace, and I was soon crying and screaming till my throat was burning like fire. "You can't be gone! You just can't!" I shrieked, now shaking him violently as if that would drive the life back into him, going into denial of it all mixed with pure rage. The stages of grief. That's what this was.

—It's too late now. There's nothing you can do. Everything is out of your hands. But then again, you were rather insignificant from the very beginning. All you can possibly do is take the loss and walk away, like you always do. You always walk away from complications. Now isn't any different…—

I suddenly lost the ability to make any sound, all energy drained from me. Blinking the endless tears out of my eyes, my body fell limp and I rested my head against his chest. I could only cry noiselessly and listen. Listen to the silence that took the place of a beating heart…

My body lurched itself forward into an upward position, suddenly into full alertness and wide awake, my mind reeling. I had to gather my bearings, feel things under my fingertips to take in their reality. They eventually made their way up to my face. The skin directly under my stinging eyes was tender to the touch, and my whole face was wet with my own tears. Straining my fingers through my bangs, I could tell they were intensely mangled. But that was hardly my concern.

I looked at my hands and studied them hard. There was no blood splashed upon them, not that I was expecting there to be, but it just surprised me. The dream just seemed too real. Normally when I dreamt, there was some factor that made it totally fictional, like laws of physics being ignored or something, but this time, there was none.

And that's what scared me. There was full plausibility for it happening the exact same way in reality. I could face the same thing again. Takato could be ripped away from me in a mirroring way. It'd be like losing him again.

"Another nightmare, Rai?" When it came to this sort of thing, Salamon showed a bit of compassion and tried to understand as well as she could. This rare occasion was one of the main things that made me grateful that she was around and is constantly aware of everything that occurs in the household. Nothing goes unnoticed by my partner.

I looked at her with dull eyes, crossing my legs in slow motion. "Yeah. That same one…" I turned and glanced at the clock on the shelf. It was past nine-thirty. Takato would already be at school and in class, so I'd have to wait until after school to see him. "It seems to be getting worse, though..." Groaning, I bent over and picked the blanket up from the floor that I'd kicked off during the night to place it back onto the bed.

Salamon surprised me by jumping up upon my head, leaning her body down so she could look me right in the eyes. I didn't know about her, but I felt she was too close to my face for comfort. She didn't seem too bothered by it, as she gave me a determined face and stated in a confident tone, "Whatever's behind these nightmares, we can take 'em. Digimon and partner, just like in the show! There's nothing that we can't handle!"

I frowned, hardly enlightened by her little pep talk, and took her off from atop my head. I got to my feet and walked out of the room without a sound, leaving her behind to wonder. I needed some time to brood over all of my thoughts, so after quickly changing into jeans and a plain tee, I took the time to just wander around the neighborhood without real purpose.

Things seemed notably quieter now that the day had begun and everyone was where they needed to be. It was sort of strange to feel the peacefulness that I wasn't really used to in the time I was here in Japan. I had to feel a bit unnerved by it; it just didn't seem right to me. But despite that, I had to use the time I now had to walk around mindlessly and think about things that just needed some mental attention.

A main thing to catch my thoughts and grasp them was that nightmare. I couldn't understand it. Night after night, death after death, I just kept on losing hold on the ones that I cared for. It truly scared me, that single question that formed in my head made me become nauseated and light-headed beyond its usual bounds: Who is next?

I furrowed my brows as if it would keep my from that thought. But it had already entered. No. No. No. No… I pressed my fingertips hard against my skull and shook my head. The wind whipped my hair all around them as I began to vocalize, "No. No. No…" I need to know. Why does this keep happening? Why? Why? Why?

—Because it's more fun this way…—

My body suddenly became ice cold and my nerves split down the middle. I snapped into attention, looking about for anyone standing nearby, for something that could've read my thoughts through the expression on my face. "W-what?" I felt my eyes widen as the realization hit me that I was all alone. It was as if the wind had given the reply. I dared speak back to it for an answer, my alarm evident. "W-who are you?"

Silence.

My chest was tight with a fearful anticipation. I gulped whatever was clogging my throat and repeated again, louder, "Who are you?" In the noiselessness, I added, opening my mouth feeling like trudging up a hill with shoes of lead, "Tell me who you are!"

The cold breeze blew about me, around the curves of my figure, the sound of its hoarse whispering through the trees' long branches the only response I received. I knew for certain that voice wasn't just a figment of my imagination, despite how logical that seemed, given my constantly-increasing insanity. It was too real, too readily prepared for response, too out of my head to possibly be from inside it.

It was the voice that had spoken in my nightmare.

Some of its cold, raspy words echoed from within my memory, as clear and fresh as when I had first heard them, "…you were rather insignificant from the very beginning. All you can possibly do is take the loss and walk away, like you always do. You always walk away from complications. Now isn't any different…" My mouth opened into an o-shape as I repeated the words over and over in my mind. Why does it talk like it knows me? What are its intentions? Why is it trying to mess with me? Does all of this have to do with all of the Digimon's returning? Are they really needed for something, and this is that something?

My head was spinning with countless questions. I was beginning to confuse myself with all of the thoughts that filled it and made me wonder about everything that had been taking place ever since I had arrived in Japan. I was forced to contemplate the distinct possibility that had arisen that maybe it wasn't just all a coincidence, that this was all part of some distinct plan that some unknown force had concocted from behind the scenes. But maybe I am thinking about this too hard… I'm making this sound way too much like the show…

I proceeded, my thoughts still clouding me, to merely wander about Shinjuku vacantly. I had really nothing to do and with Salamon out of the temporary picture, the serenity of this part of Tokyo seemed to show itself a bit more openly, so I decided that hours of my day could be wasted getting some much-needed air. And when three-thirty had rolled around, I came to the decision that I'd meet up with Takato at his school to walk home with him.

I stood by the front gate of the school in waiting to see his figure appear amongst the other students eager to be out of school for not just the week, but also for the school year. It had been the last day. I could hear kids screaming 'T.G.I.F.' as my eyes scanned each of their faces. I felt my insides twist around into knots after time passed and I didn't see him anywhere. Seconds passed, minutes passed, the number of kids leaving the building dwindled down every moment I thought I had spotted him but had to correct myself.

He didn't have any club activities, I knew that for certain, as none of the other Tamers did, either. So then where is he? I fidgeted in my nervousness. Suddenly that dream started to take hold and made me question my reality. What if—

"Hey, Rai."

I was caught so off-guard that I almost tripped while standing still. "H-Henry!" I veered my pupils away, feeling flustered to say in the very least. "…Uh, hey." I felt my hands beginning to tremble. What do I say? "Takato!" My lips moved on their own, causing him to look at me in surprise from my sudden outburst. "Takato. Have you seen him?"

The bluenette's face turned into his normal, more composed expression as he gave his response, "No, I haven't. Normally we meet up when leaving our homerooms for the day, but I didn't see him at all after dismissal. Last time I saw him was in the hall during the lunch hour."

I frowned at his words. At least Henry had seen him today, but I still didn't feel that good about not seeing him leave school. "Oh."

It seemed like the silver-eyed Tamer was trying to figure out just what I was thinking about. He gazed at me in suspicion and inquired with his perpetually arousing voice, "You all right, Rai? You look rather unnerved about something."

I cussed at my open-book face for making it so freaking obvious that there was something on my mind and I shook my head, trying to fake a smile, but failing quite miserably. Usually, it would've gone over a bit better, but with him, I knew I was rather pathetic at any attempt I desired to make. "No, I'm okay. I just wasted a walk over here, that's all." It pleased me a little that my excuse actually made sense this time.

He didn't really seem to accept my reasoning, but nonetheless, smiled ever-so enchantingly as he offered, "Well, if you want company, I can walk home with you. That way you wouldn't have wasted a trip."

My heart stopped beating and I was on the edge of fainting right then and there. My mind was screaming 'Oh my God, yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!' I could've sworn that this boy was an angel sent by God Himself, and I honestly wanted nothing more than to walk on and on into forever with him, saying I still wasn't home yet, just to make the time last for eternity. But I didn't say any of this—I didn't dare say any of these things out loud—so instead, I gave a simple, how-the-frickin'-hell-am-I-so-composed-so-suddenly toned, "Sure."

At first, I'll admit, it was sorta awkward. I'd look at him, he'd noticed me looking, I'd thrust my head away so hard it cracked and hurt like heck, he'd give me a weird expression for it, and then it'd all repeat. It was a poor excuse for a cycle, it pained me a bit, but somehow I managed to enjoy myself up until the point we began to talk.

And I was kind of to blame for this conversation. "So, Henry, do you think your friends are weird?" Random, I know. But it fell out, knowing that he was pretty much the most level-headed out of anyone I had met in Japan so far, so the question just formed itself over time.

He seemed taken aback by this question, since it had been what broke the awkward silence between us and really wasn't the most normal of inquiries. "Uh, well…I can safely say that some of them have their…quirks." He probably made a good decision with using the word 'quirks', otherwise if any of them found out that he used any other word, he might have had some angry Tamers to deal with.

Now I felt strange for asking such an unusual question, as I suddenly made it person. I really shouldn't have; I was feeling really, really stupid at this particular moment. "Am I in this list of quirky people?"

He paused as if to give me a chance to suddenly correct myself and tell him not to answer, but against my better judgment, I stayed quiet and he replied, "…Under circumstance."

Like a flash of light, Kazu suddenly jumped out of a conveniently-located bush and with a "fierce war cry", knocked Henry and himself onto the ground with a full-body tackle. He then leapt to his feet proudly, taking up a superhero pose with his legs spread apart and his fists clenched and resting on his hips. "My dear Cupcake! I have just saved you from verbal offense! Now if I may escort you away—"I stopped him abruptly with a kick to the place where the sun doesn't shine. "Oh God, my PokeBalls!" And he keeled over.

Daggers jabbed him from my eyes. "PokeBalls?" He tried to ride it off and stand back up. This proved just how stupid he could really be. "This isn't Pokemon! This. Is. Digimon!" Another kick sent him down. And I wouldn't have been surprised if he'd never get up again. "Traitor!"

I whipped my head around as Henry was getting back up. I let out a final little 'hmph', because I really wasn't in the mood for Kazu's stalkeriness, and said, "Let's go, Henry."

I was pretty sure I scared that poor boy. Because he was on his feet and at my side in a second. It actually rather surprised me that he hadn't given a weak little 'Yes, ma'am' along with it. Not that I wanted that, it was just that he looked pretty disturbed by how I reacted to Kazu mauling him down like a high-speed bullet train.

And honestly, I disturbed myself a little too.

Leaving Kazu and that moment he had created behind us, we again sunk into another few minutes of an awkward silence. My last attempt at conversation had ended rather badly, so I was hoping that he'd be the one to start something this time. After all, I wasn't sure how fast of a recovery time Kazu had. But that should keep even him down for a while.

Still a few blocks from Takato's house, nothing had been said. I glanced over at Henry and in reaction, bit my lip. The wind was tousling his hair gently in a serene, rhythmic manner. The movement was almost hypnotizing; I could've watched it for longer than time could comprehend.

And I probably would've, had he not have turned and seen me staring so intently. And if he hadn't questioned an innocent, "What?", I probably wouldn't have struggled with all my words and made myself sound like ten kinds of a moron.

"Eh, uh…you know, uh, nothing." I suddenly recalled some of Mrs. Wong's words from when I visited their apartment for the first time, 'he knows he's good-looking', and wondered if that was really true. If it was true, he probably wouldn't have asked 'what?' Or most likely, he was too down-to-earth to realize he was as good-looking as his mom had said. I figured that was probably the case. "So, uh, Henry. I don't mean to butt into your business or anything, but what were you talking to Rika about at the Bon Festival when everyone was dancing?" I narrowed my eyes. God, I'm going back to a jealous moment I'd rather forget. Why? Just why?

He began to lightly smirk. "I was just giving her my opinion on something."

I blinked a few times, my returned jealousy momentarily fading for a chance to actually ask a level-headed-sounding question without completely losing my temper. And I was glad that it worked, that I didn't totally give anyway by my tone. "Whatdya mean by that?"

"She asked me if she gets noticed more with her hair up or down. She's—" He paused to look for the proper words, but I was already getting the picture. "—trying to…uh…"

Putting on a small smile as we got onto the block of which I was living, I fingered my opposite palm anxiously. "I get it. She wants selected attention." I can relate, I added mentally, my gaze dropping down to the sidewalk before us and then proceeding to move all around. "I think that's really sweet." My eyes set upon the blue sky and my smile grew wider as the breeze caressed my face.

"You…like that kind of thing?" He was the one asking questions this time, and it found it a little strange he was getting kind of into my person now. Does that mean he really wants to know things about me? No, probably just making conversation…

I felt my cheeks grow red. "I'm a…bit of a romantic, I guess. I'm not love-obsessed but I feel that feelings should be expressed for the most part." Ha, I should practice what I preach. Man, I'm making myself feel like such a helpless coward.

He pursed his lips and seemed to think about my response for a moment as we grew increasingly closer the door where I'd make my departure. "So do you believe in full honesty, even in moments of self-doubt?" he questioned after a long pause.

"I believe…" I stopped at the doorstep and turned back towards him, my hand grasping the knob. My voice was unusually low-key and unhurried. "…one should be open. If they feel something, then…" I involuntarily wet my lip with my tongue in a strangely slow motion, my gaze not leaving his metallic eyes. "…go for it."

My heart was pounding and the whole world was spinning around and around. Gentle melodies swirled in my head like in the movies and I felt my whole body heat up. It was a comforting warmth, like the kind of warmth that exuded from his bright eyes that seemed to make all around us fade away. I heard my breath escaping fast.

I pressed my back against the door, my muscles tightening and growing rigid, but yet at the same time, feeling loose and free. He closed the gap between us without my notice, leaving only mere inches from his chest to mine, and I tipped my face upward automatically to see his. I began to lift my arms up, as if my fingertips guided the rest of my body's motion. Time was flowing at half-pace, but the music in my ears moved at double, violin matching chords of my heart that was like a drum beating out and keeping time…

Bud-da-da…bud-da-da…bud-da-da…

THUD!

Suddenly I found myself on the ground, half in the house, half not, staring up at a confused Takato that decided now was a great time to realize that we were standing outside and open the door to see what was going on. Two things I knew for certain: He had perfect timing for things like these, and I had skill for deciding when it's proper to lean against a door.

"Uh, what are you doing?" he questioned, primarily to me as I merely laid there glaring daggers at him, hoping he'd somehow spontaneously combust if I leered hard enough. But so far, it wasn't really working that well.

My eyes narrowed. "Trying to kill you with my gaze. What's it look like?" I scoffed flatly, crossing my arms. If I wasn't feeling so at loss of energy, I probably would've tried to kill him physically. But I was lacking all of that motivation. All I could feel apt to do was get gradually back to my feet.

"Rai was waiting for you at the school gate, but you never showed, so I offered to walk back with her." At least Henry sounded composed with his response. Although, seeing his face, he seemed rather unfazed by the whole thing, like it was simply just as he had said. Two friends walking from school. That was it. Was that near-experience invisible to him? Was he somewhere else through that whole thing? Did I imagine how close he was, how the silence was so breath-taking, how the world was spinning off-axis?

Takato's face made me think that he didn't really see Henry's response correctly, either. He gave a plain, "Oh," and nothing more than that.

Henry gave a regular smile. "Well, I better get home. See you guys, later." He turned and began back down the walk after a short good-bye from Takato, leaving my eyes strictly following. I knew there was just something up with that guy, and the part that bothered me the most was that I couldn't figure it out what it was.

When he was out of sight, I shook my head and followed Takato into the house. I noiselessly closed the door behind me with both hands, running my fingers against the wood. Man, what was that? That couldn't have all been in my head, could it? I have been kind of out of it all day…"Hey, uh, Takato?" Everything came back to me in a suddenly flash, panging me in the chest like a pan crashing to the floor with a hard clang. "Why didn't I see you coming out of school?"

My cousin glanced at me for a second before flopping down on the couch to watch the already-on TV. That, I figured, was probably what he had been doing for a while now, noting the bag of open chips right next to his designated spot, crumbs dotting the cushion. His response came easily, "Oh, Miss Asaji sent me home, telling me to think about what I did. But I forgot what I did, so now I'm watching TV."

I felt my eyes narrow automatically. "Figures." But I had to find a little bit of relief in his typical response. He was here, he was himself, no harm done. My original expression faded, replaced by a slight smile as I began to head for the next room. My heart had finally slowed and I regained the majority of my self-control. "I'm just glad you're all right."

This statement caught him off-guard after a few seconds for it to set it took place and then he did a little double-take. "Wait, what do you mean—?"

Before he could finish his questioning, I had snatched up my sketchbook and had the door slamming behind me. Again I really had no destination, as my mind was clouded with self-appointed more important things.

Was that all really just my imagination, an illusion formed in my head caused by all of the stalkerish—no, I'm not a stalker. Boarder-challenged, maybe, but I am not a stalker—fantasies that all just ever-so uncontrollably enter my stupid, perverted brain? As I began down the walk, my feet slid across the concrete sluggishly, like cement blocks had fastened themselves to the soles of my tennis shoes.

"God, I'm so stupid!" I scolded myself, making the attempt to kick a stray pebble with the toe of my shoe, but missing and instead striking a steel pole more than conveniently-placed. I yelped out like a cat with its paw stuck in a mousetrap and for a second thought that I had broken my big toe.

I just proved my own point. Stupidity seems to enjoy my company today. Well, I don't enjoy its. I moaned in my discomfort and annoyance, and with a little less than no enthusiasm, walked until I had reached Shinjuku Park and sat down on the old stone steps.

Setting my sketchbook down on the step next to me, I pressed my face on my knees and sat there letting out a muffled, frustrated scream, as one would release into a pillow. But, I realized, I didn't lose my breath as quickly this way and I could go for much, much longer. And as it turned out, much, much louder.

"Hey-yoo!"

I stopped abruptly at another voice and looked up. I frowned and gave my response, "What are you doing here, you crazy fruitcake? I don't have anything to eat, if that's what you're looking for." My eyes narrowed, trying to figure out just why he, of all the places he could possibly be, was here.

"I can go wherever I want!" He beamed, his green eyes sparkling like great big emeralds, "This 'lil 'mon has no rules like you wacky humans do! You should try to be like me! Hit the town, Calumon-style!" At this remark, he did the jazz hands.

To say it bluntly, I was unimpressed. I held myself back from rolling my eyes from his statement, figuring "Calumon-style" wasn't one I would enjoy. "Sure…I'll be sure to…try it sometime." I scratched my eyebrow mindlessly, trying to pick apart his head with my gaze, seeing if I could put anything from within his skull together to make at least a little sense. Suddenly something came to me. "Hey, why are you here anyway? Like, in the human world? You don't have a Tamer or anything."

He brushed the question off like it was no big deal, plopping his bottom down on a step. "Oh, I don't know. But I do know that I'm super special awesome!" Way to quote Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged successfully. But don't start making claims that you're the main character; otherwise, Sal would have to have a word with you. He then questioned, surprising me, "Why are you here? Did you get kicked out of your town?"

Yeah, they kicked me outta France. "I'm just here to visit my family here in Japan and to get away from it all. Here I can just get some R&R and forget about everything." My words probably could've been picked a little better.

The reason being, he cocked his head slightly off to one side and frowned a little with his eyes wide. "Why? Aren't you happy?" His little body arranged in the manner it was, he made me think of a little stuffed animal.

Blinking in my confusion a few times, I retaliated with an unsure, "Yeah…Why would you ask that? Do you think I'm not?"

I didn't understand why now was the time he decided he wanted to be smart. It was too in the moment for logic like the time he had. "You wished for love. You gotta have a reason for that."

Wait, hold your tacos. How the heck did he even notice that? A little bit of nervousness crept up my throat and I almost choked on it like my own spit. "Well, that's 'cause… uh…you know…" I snatched up my sketchbook, opened to a new page, and began to draw, just to look away and remove the tension of the question without awkwardness.

He rose back up onto his tiny feet and put a finger to his cheek in inquiry. "All I know is humans make other humans act sort of funny and do silly stuff. I don't really get it, but you humans do a lot of stuff I don't get." Wow, talk about reiterating how much you don't understand. "Like this one time, I saw these two people try to swallow each other!" He proceeded to make his mouth in a circular shape, smooching out his lips over-drastically.

I could only stare at his attempted imitation. "…You're a strange 'lil fella. I'm pretty sure they were just kissing." When I paused, I noticed that he was only looking at me like I was speaking a totally different language. "It's a way humans show affection to one another. Nowadays, a guy and a girl who are dating kiss to show what they mean to each other."

His ears expanded as an excited smile stretched towards them. "Are dates involved with dating? Dates are yummy!" As always, he finds some dumb way to relate everything to his next meal. Although last time I checked, raw dates aren't the best food.

And now was when I had to start giving him the talk about relationships. Beautiful. "No, uh… dating is… the courtship between the couple where they go out and spend time together. In most cases, the guy tries to get to know the girl for a little bit and then he asks her out, but it can work with the girl asking the guy as well." Why? Why am I explaining this?

His next question came like a reflex. "So does that mean you're dating Kazu?"

And so did my response and as-a-matter-of-factly as it could possibly get. "No, that's called stalking, and that's a conversation for another time."

"Then who are you dating?" His face looked like that of an innocent little child, and so did his tone. One wouldn't suspect such evil to come from such a little, harmless-appearing Digimon. "Are you dating Henry?"

My face turned aglow in a bright red luminescence and I scrambled to seem distracted by my drawing to be taken too unnaturally surprised by the inquiry. The thought haunted me. What did we have? Am I just imagining mutual fondness between us? It must be all in my head, he doesn't even seem remotely interested, now that I think about it… "What? No! I wouldn't dream of it!" If I could have the option not to, I added silently.

His tone didn't change. It didn't accuse. It was all just too naïve-sounding to even appear like he understood half of what he was asking. "Then why do you draw him?" Yeah. He obviously didn't understand easily half of it.

Staring—no, more like ogling in what felt like horror—down at my sketchbook on my lap, upon my hand which was still in place where the line had momentarily ceased, and on that open page. It's not like I didn't realize my subject of art, it's just that whenever I tried to draw anything else, it just sort of changed. From the start to the finish, it'd always manage to morph itself into an entirely different piece than what I had intended. This led to so many drawings just taking up all the pages, sitting there waiting to be tossed into the garbage, yet still watching me with a gaze that somehow brought out my conscience and made me think I'd bet doing some big sin against God if I disposed them.

He's got the persistence of a little kid… I narrowed my eyes and tried to think of a good way to say what would possibly answer his question. "Well, that's be-because he, uh, never asked me out, so I'm…uh…resorting to a-a-a…secret kind of affection."

Somehow, he didn't miss a beat. "You said a girl could ask a boy out. Why don't you do that?" And that showed just how much he understood my cowardice that outmatched the cowardice of a million cowards. Wow, redundant much?

…But the perception of a detective… "Because…I don't want to." I crossed my arms over my chest, feeling rather defiant of my little retort.

Through it all he didn't lose that childlike tone that just wanted to know, not anything remotely doing with mockery; just pure curiosity. "Why? Are you scared of what he'll say?" He stopped to see my answer, but when I only stared at him, he smiled in that immature sort of way. "You're so silly! This is just like jumping into a pool of chocolate pudding. At first, you don't want to because you'll get all dirty, but once you're in, you get pudding!"

I felt my jaw literally drop at his comparison. "That's actually really insightful, Calumon. So you're saying that taking a risk has its cons, but after you take it, you see all of the pros and realize it was all worth it?"

He was the one to look confused now. "I don't know what you mean by any of that stuff; I was just trying to change the subject because you're boring me."

My entire buildup of enthusiasm deflated at that moment. Wow, the second I thought he was getting smarter, I just proved to myself I am getting dumber. "Oh."

Once he was started about food, it seemed to be hard to stop him. "And now talking about pudding made my tummy want snackie snacks! I'm gonna go find Jeri, 'cause you're too poor to buy anything—" I'm not skinny because I'm poor. It's called athleticism, and I think you could learn the meaning of it. "—Tell Salamon I'm brining creampuffs!"

He was gone in a flash, leaving me sort of confused what the point of that whole conversation was. Wait. Creampuffs? I found myself scowling and groaning for a not-so hidden reason. Sal…

When I had gotten back to the house, I instantly found the Digimon lingering in my mind scavenging in the cabinets just above the counter, digging around for the yummy-nummies that were shoved in the back so the curious eyes wouldn't stumble across them so quickly. She already had a fair-sized stack of boxes and packages of assorted treats on the counter and was by the minute, adding several to the pile.

I crossed my arms and looked at her rear end, the only part of her visible from my angle, starting my interrogation, "Sal, I was talking to Calumon earlier and he said some really interesting things. One of these things happened to be to tell you he was bringing creampuffs. Does that—" I was cut off.

She hopped down from the cabinet to the counter, narrowly avoiding the food she put there beforehand. Looking rather excited, she exclaimed, "Yes! That'll be perfect for tonight!" I stared at her, making her continue with my gaze. "I'm havin' a little shindig with my Digimon peeps tonight, so I told everyone to bring food! I was short of desserts, so now we'll have some creampuffs!"

I glared hard, preparing for the answer to my next question. "And where exactly is this 'shindig' gonna be?"

"Right here!" She gave me that puppy grin she was just so good at executing.

My hand automatically came up and palmed my face. "Ugh, Sal, you should've asked for permission first! Don't you think Uncle Takehiro and Aunt Mie would have a problem with holding a party without their consent?" I gave her a 'Duh!' kind of face, shaking my head. Even I didn't understand why I hadn't given up on her yet.

"Nope! Takehiro is cool; he'll understand!"

Wow. Way to assume. When all this is over, I'm sure I'm gonna be the one hearing about it from Aunt Mei. I looked over to the other side of the kitchen, seeing Guilmon sitting there, watching with a worried look on his dinosaur face. Even Guilmon's predicted the outcome of this… The apocalypse is soon to arrive, I know it… "Whatever, Salamon, as long as you don't blame me. And as long as you don't make it a drinking party."

Salamon waved her paw, making a 'pssht' noise with her lips. "No prob, Rai, nothing bad's gonna happen. I'm not an alcoholic!" She used that claim as her whole consolation, and it really didn't work. Sure, I'd never seen her drink, but I never ruled the possibility out.

Takato peeked into the doorway, a phone stuck on the side of his face. But he wasn't talking to the person on the line; it was to me. "Hey, Rai. Henry invited me over to watch a late night movie. He said you could come if you wanted."

A little alarm went off in my head and I felt my ears heating up a bright red. Luckily my composure retained and I was able to calmly ask, "What's the movie?"

He shrugged in response, giving me a look like I was stupid. "I don't know. I think it's something about this one dude that does something."

"Yeah, that narrows it down." I gave him an annoyed expression, my mouth a thin, flat line; he was getting pretty decent with stating the completely obvious. "But, sure, whatever. I'm in." In my head, I was having a party of my own. Omigosh, omigosh! Henry's house! Yay! Yay! Yay! Yaay! ... …Woah. That was kinda scary. Fangirlism is kinda starting to take root…

He chuckled to himself at my response. "Figured." Figured what, dorkus? Figured out how to get my fist in your face? He directed his next statement to the person on the phone, who I now figured to be Henry, as he went back to the other room. "Yeah, told ya. She's coming." …Jerk.

After this all went down, I turned back to Salamon, who had since went back to scavenging, whistling a little tune of which had an all too-familiar melody that had a title of Dirty Little Secret. Obsession had no bounds with this little Edward-Cullen-addicted-maniac. "Okay, since I'm not gonna be back 'til late tonight, I wanna see some self-control on your part, Sal. No alcohol, no drugs, no dirty dancing, no illegal immigrants, and especially no disturbing Aunt Mie." I waited for her to turn and look at me directly, tapping my foot anxiously. "Do you promise?"

"Is grinding considered a dirty dance? How about the dougie?" I stared at her and my partner gave me a skeptical look in response. "What, do you expect me to be able to predict the future? You have nothing to worry about, Rai, I got all of this covered!"

I sighed. "Yeah, and the fact that you know you're in charge is what makes me scared." I turned to Guilmon and said, "Just make sure nothing illegal gets in here. Please be the responsible one here, Guilmon, since I know that Sal won't."

With his awesome voice, he gave a stern nod and said, "Ay-ay!" Someone likes to talk like a pirate…

"All right." I really didn't think Guilmon knew how to tell if something was illegal or not, like if Terriermon got a connection to weed, he'd think it was grass or something, but I had to hope the house was gonna be left standing at the end of it all, since that was the only thing I could think of that just might survive. Aunt Mie's patience? Yeah, that was as good as gone. "Now, I'm gonna get ready to go to Henry's. Make sure—"

Salamon cut me off with a snide smirk and matching tone. "Ooh, you gonna go pretty yourself up for the sexy bluenette? Hoping he'll finally notice? Wishing he'll be the father of all of your beautiful children? Think he's annoyed with those girly eyes you make at him when you think he's not looking but really he can see you in his peripheral vision? Is your imagination getting the best of you, making you think that you're meant to be? Are you—?"

I was the one to interrupt this time, daggers jabbing at her. "Salamon. Shut. Up." And with that, I made my exit.

"Shiwai! Shiwai! Shiwai!" As soon as the door of the Wong's apartment swung open, I was greeted over-enthusiastically by the youngest of the family hugging my legs while still managing to jump up and down. She was a talented little person up until she noticed Takato standing next to me, making her stop, stare at him with her face scrunched up, and go with a little irritation, "Angwy Kid!"

My cousin didn't miss a single beat. He was ready for her this time. With a tone of voice that matched Suzie's in exact mood, he stared hard at her with his wine-colored eyes narrowed and responded, "Whiney Girl!"

She was taken aback by this, causing her to turn her head away from him defiantly. "Hmph! No, I am nawt whiney!" she protested. "Being angwy must be scwewing up yawr bwain!"

At this one, I had to laugh, even though still in the back of my mind, I was still unnerved as to what Salamon was going to do while we were here. Trying to imagine didn't really help cease this anxiety. Who am I kidding? We'll be lucky if there's a house to return to when that party's done… I felt my eyebrow twitch at the thought. "Hey, are we just gonna stand out in the hallway all night and watch the movie from out here?"

Suzie instantly perked up and grabbed my hand to lead me in. "Hendwy, Shiwai and Angwy Kid are hewr! Hendwy! Hendwy! Hendwy!"

Instead of Henry walking in like I expected, it was Jaarin, who was smiling brightly at us (and when I say us, I really mean Takato and only Takato). "Hey, Rai." She made eyes and her tone turned deeper. "Hey, Takato."

Wow, he really has his hands full with girl problems. He must really be a ladies' man or something.

"Hi….Jaarin." And again, like the first time I came here, my cousin did that little pause before her name to give me the notion that he had momentarily forgotten it. And this time, there turned out to be a pause after it too. "So…uh, where's Henry?" At least he didn't forget his best friend's name too.

The purple-haired girl waved her fingers daintily, like he should just forget he even asked that. What. A. Girl. "Oh, don't worry, he'll be right out." That really doesn't answer the question, I really hope you know. And I'm not worrying….Wait, should I be worried?

Takato really didn't seem to know how to respond. "Oh. Well. Uh…" I watched his eyes shuffle in every direction. "Okay, so…I'm gonna go see if Rika—" At the name of the redhead, Jaarin's face turned to a deathglare. "—wants to watch the movie too…so…" He darted out of the room.

Apparently Jaarin was a very determined girl so she followed him, calling to him, "Takato, our phone is very hard to use! Let me help you!" And so left me and Suzie alone. But Suzie was set on keeping me entertained. What a strange family…

"Shiwai! Wook at me! Wook at what I can do!" It took her a few attempts, but shakily, she managed to stand on her head. "Ta-daa!" I had to admit to myself, I couldn't do that even if I practiced. My center of balance was worse than Takato's, and that was really saying something.

"Hey, Rai." I turned to see the sexy bluenette himself walking into the room. My eyes locked onto his hair. It looked so shiney and his bangs were arranged messily on his forehead. I knew what this was. Henry with the wet look. Oh. My. Pretty boy.

I wiped my mouth, just in case there was drool collected there. He was wearing a black tee, which complimented his hair perfectly and brought out his pretty, pretty, pretty eyes. I couldn't what I was supposed to say in response. "Uh uh uh…. ¡Hola!" Wow, way to speak Spanish successfully…And way to get a weird look from him in return. …But dang does he look good when he looks at me like I'm absolutely crazy…

"Hendwy!" Suzie piped up frantically, still standing on her head, "The eawth is moving too qwickwy! Make it swow down! Pwease, Hendwy, I'm so dizzy!" Yeah, that's not weird.

In response to the request, her older brother narrowed his eyes and said in a flat voice, "Do I have to do The Look?" The what?

Suzie gave him her 'no duh' voice. "Silly Hendwy, The Wook is the most impowtant pawt! Do it, Hendwy, do it!" This, I immediately knew, I had to see. It sounded so stupid that it just might amuse me and totally make my night.

He groaned in annoyance, and I learned what The Look really was. He squeezed his eyes shut really tight and scrunched up his face, holding his breath and growing completely silent during this whole thing. And also during this whole thing, I was watching him with my eyes like discuses used in Track and Field.

He then suddenly gasped for breath and looked at Suzie. "Is that better?"

To say she sounded annoyed was an understatement; I thought she was gonna pop with irritation. Or at least lose her balance and topple over. "NO! It didn't do anyting! Shiwai, hewp Hendwy swow the eawth down!"

This caught me majorly off-guard, but still emotion still failed to be in my voice. "…What?" I glanced at Henry, who merely shrugged at me, and at that point, even though I could protest, it wouldn't work against his stubborn little sister. "…Fine."

It must've been strange to see a little girl standing on her head with a sour expression and two teenagers looking like they both ate one too many lemons. It kinda hurt to hold that face for a period of time, so I was working against pain itself to satisfy a little kid with the imagination of the most colorful story book in the library.

And apparently as all of this was going on, Takato had decided to enter. "Rika said she can't—" He stopped abruptly, which was probably the exact moment when he set eyes on us. "Uh…guys…What are you doing?"

His voice was like an At Ease command, because at that instant, breath and color of the face were strived for. Henry then gasped, "There! Now is that better, Suzie?" Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes…

She allowed herself to topple over and sitting on her bottom while looking at us, she grinned innocently. "Yes, Hendwy. Tank you, Shiwai! You did bettewr than Hendwy the fiwrst time! He gave himself a migwaine!"

I rubbed my head, looking at Henry from out of the corner of my eye and seeing he had his face in his hand. "Did he now?"

"Hey, Tomato, you were right. This dude does do something: Absolutely nothing," I grumbled in annoyance. In my mind, I didn't even care about how dull the movie was. I was too concerned about our current seating arrangement to even care. Somehow, by a chance that I had no hand in, I was stuck in the middle of the couch, Henry to my left, Takato to my right. The instant I realized just how close I was to the boy on my left, I had a little panic attack, Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap! How the heck did this manage to work out?

So, I had tried to fidget my way closer to Takato, because I was pretty sure I wouldn't survive the constant rising of my internal temperature if the distance—or the lack of distance—between Henry and I remained the whole night. But he had dang good eyes. Not only were they nicely-hued, they also could pick up movement like a hawk. I received a few good looks of confusion from him and I only could cheesily grin back at him in attempt to get past the awkwardness of trying to explain just what my situation was.

"Hey, don't blame me. I didn't make the movie," Takato retorted, oblivious to my mission of scooting gradually closer to him. "And as a matter of fact, this is a great masterpiece of a movie. I have a ton of people ready to back me up on that."

Ignoring his response, I came to realize that with the combination of a boring movie and my personal distraction, the wearing of sleep deprivation was starting to kind of take hold. I always was one of those people that would fall asleep during movies, and so, with the line, "Ugh, I gotta go. Grandma fell asleep on TK again," as the last recollection (ironic, no?), I was caught dozing more and more and more…

I'm sorry this chapter skips around so much; blame my chapter outline telling me to do it. And as for the end movie quote, it's from Digimon The Movie. Haven't seen it? You haven't lived. Go watch it now... well, after you decided if you wanna review or not (which would mean a lot to me! Pwease?).

Till next time! Love ya all!