Only Hope Chapter 11: Line in the Sand, a digimon fanfic

Sorry for the delay. By my sltandards, I've taken way too long to get the next chapter finished. But I hope it's worth the wait. Quite a few people who have followed this story are wondering when something's going to happen between T.K. and Sora. After reading this chapter, you may not have to wonder anymore. And I know they wouldn't be having stereotypical American food or using American money in Japan, but humor me. --Sacred Dust

CHAPTER ELEVEN: Line in the Sand

Sora sat cross-legged on her towel and looked out at the water. There was certainly enough activity going on there; Davis was splashing Yolei, she was swimming toward him with murder in her eyes, and Ken was holding the goggle-boy so he couldn't get away. Mimi was already sunbathing near the shore in the new swimsuit, white with red polka dots. Tai and Kari seemed to be playing a swimming-oriented version of tag. Cody, Izzy and Joe were simply treading water and talking about something or other.

But she wasn't really watching any of them.

After all, T.K. was there.

He was walking along the shore, taking pictures here and there with Joe's camera. As usual, he'd gotten his friend's permission first; Joe was liable to panic if anything in his bag turned up missing.

Sora had a book in her hands, but was really just looking over the top of it. A pretty sneaky tactic by her standards, but what else could she do? It was more than just simple curiosity now. The look the two of them exchanged a little while ago had convinced her.

She'd never seen that look in anyone's eyes before, not even the few boys she had dated. Tai had always looked at her in that same mischievous way he looked at almost everybody. Matt hadn't looked at her very much at all. And the boys in college mostly looked at her like she was on a menu or something.

But that look T.K. had shared with her felt so unfamiliar, so amazingly different…it was impossible to describe. And she suspected he had felt it, too. The strangest part was how natural it had all seemed, how easy it had been to get lost in his eyes…and how hard it was to stop looking at him now.

Click.

T.K. turned to the right and refocused the camera. Hey, look. Davis tackling both Ken and Yolei into the water.

Click.

He whirled around and zoomed out. Hey, look. A beautiful view of the rest of the beach.

Click.

Boy, was this fun. As long as he focused on anything but Sora, that is. Because he seriously wondered if he'd be able to resist taking a picture of her, and then another, and another, and another, which would no doubt lead to complaints from Joe when he eventually developed the film.

Still, he could glance at her just once, couldn't he? That wouldn't be a problem. Nothing wrong with it.

After a moment, he lowered the camera and looked around a little too quickly. There was Sora, sitting about thirty feet away from him, holding an open book in her hands.

…But she's not looking at the book. She's looking at me.

He felt his heartbeat quickening as he stared back at her. He attempted a casual smile, but it probably looked anything but casual.

She smiled back at him, in similar fashion.

After another long, extremely pleasant moment, he inconspicuously looked away. Out of the corner of his eye, he even saw her mimicking his action. He decided he'd better divert his attention completely, and looked for someplace else to point the camera.

Suddenly he noticed Davis, Yolei, and Cody coming out of the water in his direction. Without thinking, he snapped a picture of them too.

Click.

"Hey, T.F.!" Davis called to him, waving. "How about we get lunch or something?"

T.K. blinked. Lunch?

lunch (lunch) n. 1 A light meal, esp. the one between breakfast and dinner. 2 Food provided for a lunch.

"Oh! Uh…sure, why not? Sounds good to me." he answered smoothly as they walked up to him.

"Good, I'm starving. Ask Mimi what she wants, will you, Cody?"

The younger boy glanced up, surprised. "Huh? Oh…sure." He walked carefully over to where Mimi was sunbathing, trying not to stare at her bikini and failing miserably.

"How about you, Sora?" Davis called to her.

"Sounds good," she said. "Anything's fine."

"Gotcha."

Yolei stepped up, holding out her hand. "Will you donate to the Good Cause Foundation?"

"Are you talking about the lunch money, or your purse?" Davis muttered.

"The lunch money, idiot. And it's a handbag!"

"Same difference." He shrugged.

"Shut up!"

"Guys, guys," T.K. interrupted, holding his hands up in surrender. "We'll give you the money if you'll just stop flirting already."

"We're not flirting!" Davis yelled, turning bright red. Yolei made a face at him. Ken nervously looked away, digging a hole in the sand with his foot. Everyone else just stared.

"…Indeed." Izzy finally said. "Perhaps you two should sit around and…er, relax. We'll take care of the food."

He politely took a few dollars from most of the others, and headed off to the concession stands. The others watched him go in complete surprise. T.K. was the first one to follow him (after giving Joe his camera back), and Kari also set off in that direction, walking past Sora, who had somehow turned to face that general area.

"Enjoying the novel?" Kari asked.

"Huh? Oh! Yeah." Sora nodded casually. "It's a very intellectual read, actually."

Kari glanced over her shoulder as she continued walking. "And I guess holding it upside down just adds to the challenge?"

Sora quickly flipped the book right side up and stared after her, wondering whether the younger girl was just being funny or really had a problem.

"You know, you were the probably the last person I'd have expected to defuse that situation." T.K. was saying to Izzy as they walked up the beach, moving quickly because of the hot sand under their bare feet.

"In my opinion, someone had to," Izzy replied as he counted the money in his hand. "Davis seems more excitable than usual. Perhaps there's something bothering him."

"You think so?"

"Perhaps. Not that it's my business to speculate, of course." Izzy stepped methodically over the legs of a sunbathing blonde without even glancing at her, and T.K. had to chuckle at the sight. It was just so Izzy.

"Hey, guys. Need some help?" Kari caught up to them a moment later.

"We might. Thank you." Izzy replied.

Kari shrugged, continuing right past T.K. and falling into step next to Izzy. "So, you think Davis and Yolei were really flirting?"

He shrugged indifferently. "It's hard to say. In my experience, flirting and arguing are two different things."

"In your experience? You mean you've flirted before?"

T.K. stared at them. Where was she going with this?

Izzy scratched his head. "Well…not really. But I have argued."

"Well, then you probably wouldn't know whether it was any different from flirting, huh?"

"…Perhaps 'in my experience' weren't the right words." He glanced over at her. She giggled in response. "You've certainly grown, Kari."

"Well, it had to happen sometime." She said, returning the sidewise look.

A fraction of a smile appeared on his face. "I suppose that's true."

I don't believe it, T.K. thought. Kari is flirting with Izzy. Or her idea of flirting, anyway.

He looked up, just to make sure the sky wasn't falling, too. Nope…not yet.

They got in line at the main stand and squinted ahead at the menu. The beach had become even more popular for refusing to raise its food prices after quite a few years. Consequently, it was the only place they knew of where you could still get a decent hamburger or hot dog for a dollar, not to mention regular and large fries or soda for one twenty-five and two.

"Hmm…well, there are ten of us here, right?" T.K. asked Izzy.

"Yes. Given our respective appetites and the fact that none of us has eaten yet, I think eight hot dogs, eight hamburgers, six large fries, and ten regular drinks should do the trick." The computer genius promptly replied.

Kari's eyes were wide. "That's amazing, Izzy."

"Oh, not really."

Back on the other end of the beach, Sora put the book down and glanced up. The sun was high in the cerulean sky, without a cloud in sight. She had already applied plenty of lotion just before leaving her house. Now was as good a time as any, she decided.

For many reasons having to do with sunbathing, and absolutely none having to do with T.K., she casually removed her tank top and shorts and lay back on her towel, quickly donning a pair of shades to make it look legit. Yes, that should be fine.

This isn't like me, she thought. She never flirted with boys, especially not ones she was friends with. She was surprising herself, just as T.K. was surprising her, and she had the distinct feeling that might become a trend between them. If there was anything between them…but it was becoming more and more likely, no matter how weird that sounded to her. Just half an hour ago, they'd made the mistake of attempting small talk and promptly ended up staring into each other's eyes for a suspiciously long time. It hadn't felt like anything else Sora had ever experienced.

It was illogical to ignore this any more. She had to accept that something was going on between them. And, to her surprise, her curiosity was gradually overcoming her caution. She never could have seen herself going down this path, but no matter what, she wanted to find out where it was taking her.

They were back with the food in about twenty minutes. Kari held the two drink trays, while Izzy and T.K. each carried two stuffed paper bags.

"Hey, about time!" Davis yelled.

"He meant to say 'thank you'." Ken said, glancing at him.

"Thanks. Sorry." Davis added, returning the glance.

Weird, thought T.K. as the others crowded around and sat in a circle. It looked like everyone was there but Sora. He turned and saw her, still in that same spot, only now she was…

Sun…bathing…

Oh, man.

…Wearing the new bikini. That had to be it; her old suit was a one-piece. It was dark blue with light blue piping, although the colors were the last thing on T.K.'s mind. True, the suit was similar to Mimi's, but this was Sora, and…

She looks…amazing.

Maybe if he stared long enough, he'd come up with a better word—maybe lots of better words. But he probably couldn't get away with that.

"Hey, Sora!" He waved at her, managing to sound casual.

She sat up and took the shades off, walking over to join them. "Thanks. What'd you get?"

"Lots of stuff, it looks like," Davis answered, eyeing the four bags. "So, what are the rest of you going to have?"

"Give it a rest, Davis." Said Cody.

"So you're going back to New York in a few days, huh?" Kari was asking Mimi.

"Yep," she swallowed the first bite of her hot dog, her expression apologetic. "That's all we were planning on, anyway. I wish I could stay longer, but I've got a new job lined up."

"Oh, yeah? Where?" asked Tai, looking disappointed.

"Ellie's Beauty Salon," she replied. "It's on-the-job training for a cosmetology degree. They say that's the best way to learn."

"Ah, cosmetology," said Joe, raising his eyebrows. "A proud history of satisfied customers and poisoned, mutilated animal experiments."

Mimi frowned. "Joe, I'm trying to eat."

"So am I."

"It's not like cosmetics are that bad…"

He raised an eyebrow. "Ever do any research?"

She changed the subject. "Well, you're the one who still wants to be a doctor, Joe."

"No, no. I never said I wanted to—" Joe stopped, suddenly, and looked at her. "Mimi, you're changing the subject."

She winked at him and laughed. The others joined in.

Tai glanced briefly at his sister as he finished his first hamburger. As if Matt's phone call wasn't weighing heavily enough on his mind, he could sense that there was something strange going on with her, too. He wasn't even sure what had happened between her and T.K. last night, but he knew he should get around to asking.

Even now, Kari's eyes were darting back and forth from T.K. to someone else. Tai couldn't tell who the other person was; Izzy, Sora, and Mimi were all sitting fairly close together.

He frowned and concentrated on his soda. "So, Izzy…how are things in that strange computer world you live in?"

Izzy had to smile at that. "Better than the real world…but of course, that goes without saying."

"Hack into anyone else's computer lately?" Kari chimed in.

He shrugged. "No, I usually don't do things like that."

"I bet you could if you wanted to, though."

"…I suppose."

Sora raised an eyebrow. "You seem like the last person who'd be interested in illegal stuff, Kari."

"I was just curious." Kari looked away. A nasty remark about cradle robbery was on the tip of her tongue, and she bit it back, ashamed of herself. Sora wasn't that much older than him, after all. But still…why her?

I really need to ask her what's up, Tai decided.

They would have gotten back in the water sooner, but Joe continued to keep the conversation going aimlessly, insisting that they wait at least forty-five minutes after eating.

Oh, hell with it, Davis thought after twenty minutes of that, and stood up. "Hey, Joe. I'm just gonna…uh, get some sunscreen."

Joe nodded, and Davis strolled casually over to his towel…then dashed past it into the water, laughing.

"Davis!" Joe called after him, uselessly, and sighed. "Well, I'm glad the rest of you are more sensible than that."

Ken shifted uncomfortably on the sand, glancing vaguely in the direction of the water.

Joe gave him a hard look. "Going somewhere, Ken?"

"…Of course not." Ken replied, startled. "It's just, uh…I need to…bye!"

He jumped up and ran after Davis. Joe stared after him in shock.

"These things happen, Joe." Yolei patted him on the arm and followed the two boys.

"Yeah," Mimi agreed, with an apologetic look. "It's no big deal. And even if we do get cramps, you can always help us out, can't you? You genius doctor, you."

Joe blushed. "Well, I…I, uh…"

She was already gone.

Joe threw up his arms, defeated.

"Sounds good to me," Tai said loudly as the others began to get up. Before he followed suit, he turned and whispered to Joe. "Seriously, though. Tell your father the truth."

"What? But I…I don't know h—"

"Just tell him, Joe. You can't put it off for another year."

"…Yeah."

Tai stood up and jogged towards the water. Maybe it was just Matt's absence and Kari's stress, but he felt the need to fix Joe's confidence problem, too. They were supposed to be growing up around this age, but to do it properly, you had to outgrow your childhood and the issues that may have come with it…at least that was what the psychologist said on some new-age documentary Mimi insisted on watching last night.

At any rate, he hated to see some of his friends going through the same problems for so long.

"Meh…this is getting boring," a breathless Davis finally said.

Yolei, who had been trying to provoke him into chasing her again, pouted. "Yeah, right! You just knew I was going to catch you, that's all."

"I don't think so."

"Oh, yeah?!"

"Come on, Yolei. Even the life of the party needs a rest sometimes." Ken said, surfacing next to them. Davis seemed genuinely tired, and Yolei didn't think he was going to ambush her anytime soon. She shrugged, and tentatively swam away to look for Cody.

"Hey, Ken."

"Hey, Davis." Ken replied, trying not to sound awkward and failing. "The water's getting warmer."

Davis glared at him. "Don't look at me!"

Ken rolled his eyes. "I meant because of the sun."

"…Oh." Davis pretended to be focusing on something else. Ken just looked at him. He knew it was a bad idea, but he'd always liked watching Davis, long before yesterday's talk in the park. It wasn't something he really thought about when they first became friends. And even if he had thought about it, he probably would have decided it didn't mean anything.

But now…

"…Quit it." Davis finally said, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"What?"

"Staring at me."

Ken coughed, finally turning away. "…Sorry."

"You're right," Davis said, when he finally spoke again. "We should talk about this. Not here, but…I mean…"

"Tonight?"

"Yeah."

"That sounds all right."

"All right."

"…Okay."

They watched each other for another long moment. And, strangely, both of them started to laugh—at themselves, at their words, at their situation. It felt like forever before they stopped.

Sora closed her eyes and took in the warmth of the sun. It was a wonderful feeling, not like fire or central heating or anything else. Briefly, she wondered if their Digimon were appreciating this day on File Island as much as they were in Japan. After all, the Digital World was basically a copy of Earth composed of interactive data, so it had the same continents and similar weather.

As much as she enjoyed the heat on her face, she decided it was time to turn over. Briefly propping herself up on her hands, she easily shifted her athletic body and lay on her stomach, closing her eyes and losing herself in the sounds of perpetual splashing and the distant voices of her friends. It had been far too long since she'd spent a day at the beach. She drifted, letting the sun warm her back, until she felt something different. Or maybe it wasn't an actual feeling; more of an awareness that somebody was suddenly nearby, somebody important.

"Hey," T.K. said, sitting down carefully next to her as she opened her eyes. He looked like he'd just come out of the water, and had finally taken off the fisherman's hat. His hair looked a little darker and longer when it was wet; if he let it grow out much more, it would be longer than Matt's.

"Hey, T.K." she tried to keep her voice casual, but could already feel her heartbeat quickening. "Getting tired of Davis already?"

He chuckled; the sound was curiously different from the innocent giggling of eight years past. Of course it was deeper, more mature; but that wasn't all. It was more self-assured now. He knew exactly what was funny and why. During his childhood, laughter had been just another way to brush off the uncertainty and fear brought on by his parents' divorce, but now it actually meant something to him.

Still, she realized, there was something of that kid left in T.K. Despite everything he had gone through, part of him remained untouched by life's harsh realities. Maybe it was that part of him that justified his Crest of Hope back in the Digiworld.

"I was tired of Davis four years ago," T.K. joked. On the outside, he was a portrait of nonchalance, glancing around the beach, idly sifting the sand over his feet. But on the inside, he felt every bit as conscientious as she did.

Look at her face, T.K. Her face.

It was all he could do to make his eyes cooperate.

Sora looked up at him as he sat there, meeting his eyes. She knew she ought to be counting imaginary duckies and bunnies until he went away, but she was past that now. What would he say if he knew she'd had a dream about seeing him in her shower? Oh, no…not that again.

And, inevitably, she found the image creeping into her head once more. She wanted to jump up, run over to the water, and dunk her head in, but that might look pretty strange.

"So if you're tired of him," she said, hardly knowing what she was saying, "How come you're not tired of me yet?"

His eyes betrayed him for just a moment. He smiled again, surprised, but Sora knew she hadn't imagined it. He was nervous, too.

"Never happen," T.K. shook his head, his clear blue eyes still locked on hers. "I could never get tired of you."

"Why not?"

He breathed in, too slowly. "…I don't know."

…He knows, she thought.

"Sora," the boy said to her, "I like you."

She'd looked down at him, speechless, wondering how one kid could be so sweet.

"So, please—don't go away again," T.K. continued earnestly. "I don't like being away from you…"

All that time, why had he lived such a quiet life? Turning down parties, keeping the same friends he'd always had, doing so many of the same things he'd done four years ago? Had the Digiworld really hammered that much discipline, that much desire for routine into him…or was it something else, too?

What had he been waiting for?

"I don't like being away from you…"

"T.K.?" Sora prompted him.

Her voice was little more than a whisper, but he looked up immediately. "Yeah?"

But they didn't really need to say anything. Both of them knew exactly what was going on.

"Sora, can I…can I, uh—I mean…can we…"

She waited curiously as he stumbled over his words.

"Can we maybe…do something later?" he finally managed to say

Sora knew what he meant. "Sure, that'd be great. I…yeah."

"Can I ask you something?"

She nodded. He could ask her anything.

"Why did you walk away?"

The older girl frowned at him for a long moment, and was about to ask what he meant, when she remembered.

"You know, at the party. The den, the balcony…?" he trailed off, digging into the sand with his fingers.

"Yeah…that." She nodded, half-smiling. She had asked him, when they first talked on the phone in the middle of the night, not to let her forget about that. And he hadn't. T.K. always followed up. "Well…you probably know why."

He swallowed hard. "I think I do, but tell me anyway."

Finally, she pushed herself up to a sitting position beside him. "Well…I guess I was nervous or something."

"About me." It wasn't a question.

"Not in a bad way! It's just—"

"I know."

She shrugged her shoulders, an unconvincing gesture. "But, yeah…it was you."

T.K. felt butterflies racing through his stomach.

Sitting on her own towel, Kari watched them from across the beach. Sure, curiosity killed the cat and all, but she couldn't help it. It wasn't just the shattered preconception that she was supposed to end up with T.K., although that was painful enough. She just wasn't used to thinking of her friends as adults. But she was starting to realize they weren't kids anymore. They were people who could get jobs, and learn to drive, and make all their own decisions in the real world, not just the Digital World. They were people who could fall in love, and—

A strong arm fell across her shoulders, interrupting her thoughts. She turned abruptly, and there was Tai sitting right next to her. "Hey, kid."

It was strange; just like that, the anxiety lifted and things didn't feel so bad. Tai always seemed to have that effect on her, so much that she had to avoid him whenever she wanted to stay depressed. That was one of the reasons she hadn't come out of her room yesterday. But he'd snuck up on her this time.

Cheater.

"Hey, Tai." Kari said, trying to smile. Even with him, it wasn't so easy.

"Something is definitely going on with you," he said, raising his eyebrows, and continued talking before she could protest. "I can tell. I'm not totally dense. And you are going to tell me what it is."

She chuckled, lowering her eyes. "Or what?"

"Or you will be attacked by the Tickle Monster."

Kari laughed out loud, but moved cautiously away from him just in case. "Come on, Tai. We haven't done the Tickle Monster since I was a kid."

"Ha! The Tickle Monster will never die. Now fess up. Before it awakes and unleashes disaster upon both worlds." He crossed his arms expectantly.

She couldn't tell if he was half-serious or completely joking, but she didn't want to take any chances. "…It's hard to explain. I'm not even sure myself, you know?"

"Fine," he sighed, rolling his eyes. "You don't have to explain right this second. Just make sure you do it today."

"Or what?"

"I think you know what." Tai raised an eyebrow.

Kari stared at him, and moved even farther away.

"What?" he asked irritably. "I meant the Tickle Monster. Duhh."

"I know."

"Then why do you look like you're about to call the cops on me?"

She snickered at the thought. "I…I didn't mean to…I'm just…"

"Something's bothering you, I know. Something about T.K. Did he say anything last night?" Tai frowned, confused.

"No, nothing bad…I'll tell you later."

"Yeah, you will. If you know what's good for ya." Tai turned and walked back into the water. Seconds later, a wave of it splashed across the back of his head, partially soaking his mane of brown hair. He whirled around. Kari was sitting innocently on the sand, looking up at the sky.

"What was that?"

She blinked. "What was what?"

"I think you just splashed me."

"Who, me?"

He gave her a hard look, and then drew a deep line in the sand with his toe. "There. Don't cross that line."

"Okay, okay."

He turned away and returned to the lake.

An even bigger splash hit him in the back.

He turned around even faster, in time to catch Kari scrambling back across the line and sitting down again. He ran over before she could get away, scooped her up in his arms, and dumped her into the water. She came up, sputtering and laughing at the same time.

"I hope you learned your lesson." Tai said firmly.

She nodded sweetly, and splashed him again right in the face. "Oops."

Izzy and Cody stood by, watching their frenzied water war without expression.

"People are strange, aren't they?" Cody finally asked him.

Izzy nodded in agreement. "It seems to be their one consistency."

--END OF CHAPTER ELEVEN

Well, some things are definitely about to happen. What those things are, I'm not entirely sure, but I plan to find out. Before I go, a shout-out to Adam, Showstopper, Tai-for-you, IgStardust, TsubasaBeauty, unanimous, bonzotheman, and Mi Querida for your great reviews. And I hope the especially long wait didn't bother you too much. The next chapter should really be something, because we've got four potential scenes coming up—T.K. and Sora, Kari and Tai, Mimi and Matt, and possibly Ken and Davis. Man, it just keeps getting more complicated…but most relationships are, don't you think?