~THE GOOD LIFE: T.K.'S STORY, PART 2~
Joe stands nervously. "Oh, I know I shouldn't be here...Venus163's going to kill me..."
In a corner of the room, Tai gives him a thumbs up before leaving the room.
Joe groans. "Oh great. Well, I guess I'm stuck saying the introduction since Matt and Izzy are *still* getting chased by our respected authoress."
CRASH!!
Joe sweatdrops. "I think that was Venus163's frying pan. Well, I'm sure all you readers know that to understand a story, you have to read the stories in order. Here, it's Matt's, Mimi's, and now, T.K.'s..."
CRASH!!
(Off in a distance) "OW!"
Joe's sweatdrop gets even bigger. "Ooh, I think that was Matt. Anyhow, she owns only the plot, Jare, and Stacey. You should ask her for permission to use them, or else you can get on her bad side..."
(In a distance) GET BACK HERE! I'M NOT DONE YET!
Joe looks seriously unhappy. "...The rest and Digimon belong to..." Joe pushes up his glasses as he squints at the paper. "...I dunno, whoever owns Digimon.
"It's an alternate reality fic, everyone except T.K., Kari, and Stacey in high school, those exceptions in middle school.
"Her contest results are in Part 1 of this fic, you know, T.K.'s Story? The one where Matt and Izzy got in trouble..."
Joe's sweatdrop is now *huge*. "It's rated PG-13 for a depressing plot. It's good, I should know. I'm a pessimist, after all.
"She wants *lots* of reviews. Send them all to her E-Mail address: crescent87@hotmail.com ..."
Matt and Izzy run in. Matt has a huge bump on his head, and Izzy is rubbing his rear end.
Joe stares. "What happened to you?"
"She got me on the head," Matt says, pointing in the direction where they had come from.
"And she got me in the rump," Izzy adds, looking glum.
"Oh...Hey! Wait a second! If you guys are *here*, then where is..."
I DON'T BELIEVE THIS! FIRST MATT, THEN IZZY, AND NOW YOU, JOE! YOU ARE IN DEEP TROUBLE, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU...!!
Joe facefaults. "Spoke too soon."
"Welcome to the Fugitive Club," Izzy says downheartedly.
"We better start running again," Matt sighs.
(Venus163 enters.) YOU!!
All three boys: AAAHHH!
Joe is the last one out. "I *knew* that I shouldn't have said the introduction!"
(Venus163 follows them) YOU'RE GOING TO LEARN YOUR LESSON IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO!!
~THE GOOD LIFE: T.K.'S STORY, PART 2~
By Venus163
It smelled strongly of HER. T.K. had bought a bottle of her favorite perfume and sprayed some of it on the box and inside the closet. The rest he left in the bottle, putting it in the box.
Eagerly, he pulled out her picture. The best one of her he had, it was, a school portrait that Kari had hated, saying that it made her look childish. T.K., however, had taken it saying that she was lucky to look so young.
His eyes softened, his fingers wandering over her face, trying to memorize her features.
Suddenly, a teardrop fell on the picture. T.K., sniffling, put it back in the shrine, trying hard not to cry harder.
"T.K..."
Whirling around, he was relieved to see that it was only Mimi.
"All I ever wanted was to see her happy," he said cynically. "She's happy enough now, but when that Jare hurts her..." The cursed tears began again.
Mimi rushed over to him and knelt besides him. Engulfing him in a hug, she soothingly stroked his hair. "T.K., keep your chin up for a little longer. She'll come back to you, you'll see," she murmured.
"How can you be so sure?" T.K. snapped.
"Who else does she have to turn to?" asked a voice from the doorway.
T.K. gasped. "Matt! How did you..."
Matt walked in and knelt besides them. Putting his arms around both Mimi and T.K., he said softly, "I'm not a fool, T.K. I've known about your shrine for a year. Tai knows too."
T.K. paled. "Tai?"
"He approves," Matt said assuringly. "He'd rather see Kari with you than anyone." He cleared his throat. "T.K., Mimi's right. Kari WILL come back to you. Who else will she think of to turn to, who's always been there for her?"
"She hates me..." T.K. said miserably.
"She does not," Mimi said gently. "She's just a little mad with you, that's all. No one could hate you, T.K. You're so good to everyone..."
"Besides, didn't you say that you'd always wait for her?" Matt asked.
"But...but it's so hard..." he choked.
"Keep your chin up," whispered Mimi as the three of them hugged.
A sudden rapping on the door caused them to look up.
"Yo, what a cute picture," Tai smirked.
Mimi giggled. "What do you want, Tai?"
"The phone's ringing in your room, Matt."
"Who could be calling?" Matt thought aloud. Shrugging, he got up and went out of the room, closely followed by Tai.
T.K. bent down and picked up the box. Carefully putting it back in the closet, he took a deep breath.
"T.K..."
T.K. looked up to see Mimi holding out a hand. Smiling, he took it.
When they went to the sitting room, Joe and Izzy were there, Joe looking worried, Izzy absorbed in a book.
"My mom's going to kill me..." Joe whined.
"What's wrong?" Mimi asked.
"I-I took her car today! Without asking or telling her!" Joe blurted.
"Well..."
"Guess what, T.K.?" Matt walked into the room, a big grin threatening to split his face in half.
"What?" he asked.
"You know Cousin Stacey?"
"Cousin Stacey?"
"Yeah, your best friend. You two always hung out together."
"Of course I remember Stacey! What about her?"
"Okay, well, she's coming tomorrow. I'm sure you'll..."
"Let me guess...you want to hang around with Mimi so you're asking me to show her around, is that it?"
"Yeah."
"Well, alright."
Izzy, who was looking through a book from a stack of many, remarked, "Prodigious!
Matt made a gagging noise. "How can you spend so much money on books?"
"My family's rich..." Izzy began exasperatedly.
"No, I mean, reading too much isn't good for you..."
Mimi patted Izzy on the shoulder. "I think it's wonderful that Izzy reads a lot," she said softly. "He's our very own genius."
Izzy blushed. "Aw..."
"YOU should read more, Matt," Mimi said sternly. "I *never* see you reading."
"Who can read with such a pretty face around?" Matt asked.
They all laughed as Mimi blushed crimson.
"So, she got mad at you, huh?"
T.K. nodded sadly. "And she told me that she never wanted to see me again."
The blonde haired and blue eyed girl sitting across from him thoughtfully sipped her soda. "And you're absolutely positive that this Jed..."
"Jare," he corrected.
"...Jare is not good for her?"
"Positive."
Stacey drummed her fingers on the table. "What did Matt's girlfriend say to do?"
"Mimi? She said that I did the right thing, and I should just wait."
"What about Matt?"
"He agreed with her."
Stacey nodded. "They're right. You should listen to them."
"It's so hard," T.K. whispered.
"Well, let's see...why don't you shop for something for her? I mean, when she comes back to you, which I'm SURE she will. NO ONE could stay away from you for too long. Take me, for instance! I keep visiting because you're so cool to hang out with!"
T.K. grinned. "Do you remember the time we locked ourselves in the bathroom by mistake?"
Stacey snickered. "Do I? There was a dent in the door because we kept banging on it for hours."
"And we couldn't talk for days because we yelled ourselves hoarse!" T.K. added gleefully.
"Oh, what about when we demolished the tree house?" Both of them got up, chattering happily. Leaving the Food Court of the Mall, they walked and window shopped while reminincing.
By the time they reached a clothing shop, T.K. was carrying several of Stacey's bags. Both whispered and giggled quite a lot.
"Do you think that Mimi would help us convince Matt to cut his hair?" Stacey asked.
"Mimi? Well, of course!"
"I have GOT to meet this Mimi," Stacey said cheerfully. "She sounds just wonderful!!"
"Oh, she is! And she's going to be a part of the family, too..."
"Really?"
"Oh, yeah! She and Matt are engaged. No one's supposed to know yet, but you ARE part of the family..."
"I'm glad Matt has friends now," Stacey said airily, examining a skirt. "I felt quite sorry for him at times. He always stood alone at parties and reunions, did you notice? I mean, you hung around with me, and you had some friends..."
"Yeah. It was REALLY lucky he met Mimi. He-he tried to commit suicide," T.K. said darkly.
Stacey dropped the skirt. "What?"
"Well, only he, Mimi, and I know about it, and now you. He was really depressed at the time..."
"Still, that's no excuse," Stacey said, picking the skirt back up.
"Well, he hasn't tried it again..."
"Is that you, T.K.?"
T.K. spun around. Kari stood, smiling, with an arm linked through Jare's.
Ignoring the sudden tears in his eyes, he said smilingly, "Yeah, it's me."
"How have you been?" Kari asked nervously.
"Oh, fine." Clearing his throat, he said softly, "Kari, I'm sorry..."
"That's alright," she said cheerfully. "I forgive you. But you should REALLY apologize to Jare..."
T.K. stamped down his unwillingness. "Um, sorry, Jare..."
"Forgiven," Jare said in a fake happy voice, holding out his hand.
Choking down his disgust, T.K. took it and shook it.
"T.K., what do you think of this?" Stacey asked suddenly, holding out an orange sundress.
T.K. watched as she held it up to her. "It's great, Stace. You know very well that you'd look beautiful in anything."
Stacey rewarded him with a giant smile. "Tsk tsk, T.K.! You've become a flatterer!"
T.K. grinned. "Matt's influence."
"Since when has MATT been a flatterer?"
"Since he met Mimi." Then, he remembered Kari. "Um, Kari, this is Stacey Takaishi. Stacey, this is Hikari Kamiya..."
He met Stacey's gaze, and he could tell that She knew that Kari was the girl that had broken his heart.
Stacey turned and shook Kari's hand. "Hello, Hikari."
"Oh, Kari, please."
"Kari, then." Stacey looked up at Jare. "And this is...?"
"Um, he's Jare-" Kari began.
T.K. hurriedly tapped Stacey on the shoulder. "Are you done?"
"Almost. I want to get Mimi something, to welcome her into the family. From the little I saw of her today I have a good guess on her size, but I don't know her favorite color..."
"Pink," T.K. said automatically.
"Pink, huh?" Stacey looked around her. "Lots of pink. Well, when you're done here, come find me somewhere in here and we'll keep talking then."
"Alright. Keep that haircut idea," he warned.
Stacey winked at him. "I will."
T.K. turned back to Kari painfully. Stacey had given him a few precious moments of freedom from the hurt, but now he had to face it.
"Are you and Stacey...close?" Kari asked cautiously.
"Oh, Stacey? Yeah, we're close," T.K. answered. "We've known each other for like...forever."
"Oh." Kari looked nervous. "Um, I'll see you later, okay?"
"Okay." T.K. uncomfortably made his way through the racks of clothing until he managed to bump into Stacey.
"Are you alright?" she asked immediately. "You looked really pained."
"I'll be fine," he said lightly.
Stacey stopped for a moment. "Let's see...she's definitely pretty, and she seems to be very kind. But she's young, and naive..."
"What about Jare?" T.K. said quickly.
"Jare? He seemed so...I don't know...OILY somehow."
"Oily?" T.K. raised an eyebrow.
"Don't look at me like that. I don't know how to explain it, he just...seemed slick, and if a girl hung around him for too long, it would make her feel...I dunno, dirty...Don't look at me like that. I have no clue what I'm talking about."
"Well, I guess he DID seem slick...but still, OILY??"
"Shut up, T.K.," Stacey said good-naturedly. "It's a girl thing."
"A girl thing," he repeated, as if that explained things.
Stacey, seeing how confused he was, laid a hand on his shoulder and looked up at him. "She NEEDS to go through this," she said softly. "I know you don't want to see her get hurt, or be deceived like this, but she HAS to. Then, and only then, will she understand that some people aren't who they seem to be, but others..." She smiled at him. "...others are more than they seem. Much more."
T.K. blinked away his tears. "Oh Stacey..." Suddenly clothing was shoved in his face. "What?"
"Do you think Mimi would like this?" Stacey asked airily, waving the pink dress. "Come on, tell me! I need a second opinion!"
T.K. burst into laughter. "Stacey, Stacey, Stacey. What am I going to do with you?"
She looked at him angelically. "For starters, you can pay for all my purchases."
T.K. facefaulted. "Um..."
"Then, you can carry my bags, and...ooh, maybe you could even..."
~END OF THE GOOD LIFE: T.K.'S STORY, PART 2~
~TO BE CONTINUED...IN THE GOOD LIFE: T.K.'S STORY, PART 3~
Tai enters, sighing in relief. "Whew! For a moment there, I thought I couldn't say the conclusion!"
Grinning evilly, he says, "Matt, Izzy, and Joe have ganged up on Venus163 and locked her up...yes, you guessed it! Locked her up in the closet! Ssh, if you listen closely, you can hear her."
(Muffled) WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU, YOU'LL *ALL* BE SORRY! NOW, LET ME OUT OF HERE THIS SECOND!
BANG! BANG!
Tai grins. "See? And I think she'll be stuck there for a *very* long time. Now for the conclusion.
"Okay. You better review her story, or else!" Tai makes a fist. "Hey, I want to know what I could do better too! She's gotten nothing but good reviews, and she hopes to keep it that way, but if she's made a mistake, I'm sure she wants to know!" Tai looks innocent. "Besides, we can all rub it in on her! So send all your reviews and criticism to crescent87@hotmail.com
"Next issue. Venus163 hopes that you've enjoyed her story. If not, don't sue her!" Tai shrugs. "She's only 13. Still, I personally think it's pretty good for someone who's *only* 13.
"Third issue. Venus163 *hates* reading cliffhanger endings. I mean, sure, she has some, too, but she uploads one whole story at a time, so as not to keep her readers hanging. So, she'd appreciate all you people reading this to understand that she writes a whole story before uploading it.
"I think that's all." Tai scratches his head. "Yeah, it *is* all. And I'm not going to die, either, since Venus163 is locked up."
Joe enters. "Um, Tai?"
"What?"
"You're on her bad list."
"Oh."
"Oh, and uh, she's starting to break the door down."
"WHAT??"
Matt and Izzy run in.
Matt looks terrified. "Run for it! She's going to bust the door open any minute!"
Izzy racks his brain. "According to my calculations, the door will break open in approximately thirty minutes."
"THIRTY MINUTES?" Tai gasps. "We'd better run before we become mince meat!"
They all run out.
(In the background) LET ME OUT OF HERE! I'M GOING TO BE *VERY* ANGRY WHEN I GET OUT OF HERE!
-Venus163
Joe stands nervously. "Oh, I know I shouldn't be here...Venus163's going to kill me..."
In a corner of the room, Tai gives him a thumbs up before leaving the room.
Joe groans. "Oh great. Well, I guess I'm stuck saying the introduction since Matt and Izzy are *still* getting chased by our respected authoress."
CRASH!!
Joe sweatdrops. "I think that was Venus163's frying pan. Well, I'm sure all you readers know that to understand a story, you have to read the stories in order. Here, it's Matt's, Mimi's, and now, T.K.'s..."
CRASH!!
(Off in a distance) "OW!"
Joe's sweatdrop gets even bigger. "Ooh, I think that was Matt. Anyhow, she owns only the plot, Jare, and Stacey. You should ask her for permission to use them, or else you can get on her bad side..."
(In a distance) GET BACK HERE! I'M NOT DONE YET!
Joe looks seriously unhappy. "...The rest and Digimon belong to..." Joe pushes up his glasses as he squints at the paper. "...I dunno, whoever owns Digimon.
"It's an alternate reality fic, everyone except T.K., Kari, and Stacey in high school, those exceptions in middle school.
"Her contest results are in Part 1 of this fic, you know, T.K.'s Story? The one where Matt and Izzy got in trouble..."
Joe's sweatdrop is now *huge*. "It's rated PG-13 for a depressing plot. It's good, I should know. I'm a pessimist, after all.
"She wants *lots* of reviews. Send them all to her E-Mail address: crescent87@hotmail.com ..."
Matt and Izzy run in. Matt has a huge bump on his head, and Izzy is rubbing his rear end.
Joe stares. "What happened to you?"
"She got me on the head," Matt says, pointing in the direction where they had come from.
"And she got me in the rump," Izzy adds, looking glum.
"Oh...Hey! Wait a second! If you guys are *here*, then where is..."
I DON'T BELIEVE THIS! FIRST MATT, THEN IZZY, AND NOW YOU, JOE! YOU ARE IN DEEP TROUBLE, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU...!!
Joe facefaults. "Spoke too soon."
"Welcome to the Fugitive Club," Izzy says downheartedly.
"We better start running again," Matt sighs.
(Venus163 enters.) YOU!!
All three boys: AAAHHH!
Joe is the last one out. "I *knew* that I shouldn't have said the introduction!"
(Venus163 follows them) YOU'RE GOING TO LEARN YOUR LESSON IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO!!
~THE GOOD LIFE: T.K.'S STORY, PART 2~
By Venus163
It smelled strongly of HER. T.K. had bought a bottle of her favorite perfume and sprayed some of it on the box and inside the closet. The rest he left in the bottle, putting it in the box.
Eagerly, he pulled out her picture. The best one of her he had, it was, a school portrait that Kari had hated, saying that it made her look childish. T.K., however, had taken it saying that she was lucky to look so young.
His eyes softened, his fingers wandering over her face, trying to memorize her features.
Suddenly, a teardrop fell on the picture. T.K., sniffling, put it back in the shrine, trying hard not to cry harder.
"T.K..."
Whirling around, he was relieved to see that it was only Mimi.
"All I ever wanted was to see her happy," he said cynically. "She's happy enough now, but when that Jare hurts her..." The cursed tears began again.
Mimi rushed over to him and knelt besides him. Engulfing him in a hug, she soothingly stroked his hair. "T.K., keep your chin up for a little longer. She'll come back to you, you'll see," she murmured.
"How can you be so sure?" T.K. snapped.
"Who else does she have to turn to?" asked a voice from the doorway.
T.K. gasped. "Matt! How did you..."
Matt walked in and knelt besides them. Putting his arms around both Mimi and T.K., he said softly, "I'm not a fool, T.K. I've known about your shrine for a year. Tai knows too."
T.K. paled. "Tai?"
"He approves," Matt said assuringly. "He'd rather see Kari with you than anyone." He cleared his throat. "T.K., Mimi's right. Kari WILL come back to you. Who else will she think of to turn to, who's always been there for her?"
"She hates me..." T.K. said miserably.
"She does not," Mimi said gently. "She's just a little mad with you, that's all. No one could hate you, T.K. You're so good to everyone..."
"Besides, didn't you say that you'd always wait for her?" Matt asked.
"But...but it's so hard..." he choked.
"Keep your chin up," whispered Mimi as the three of them hugged.
A sudden rapping on the door caused them to look up.
"Yo, what a cute picture," Tai smirked.
Mimi giggled. "What do you want, Tai?"
"The phone's ringing in your room, Matt."
"Who could be calling?" Matt thought aloud. Shrugging, he got up and went out of the room, closely followed by Tai.
T.K. bent down and picked up the box. Carefully putting it back in the closet, he took a deep breath.
"T.K..."
T.K. looked up to see Mimi holding out a hand. Smiling, he took it.
When they went to the sitting room, Joe and Izzy were there, Joe looking worried, Izzy absorbed in a book.
"My mom's going to kill me..." Joe whined.
"What's wrong?" Mimi asked.
"I-I took her car today! Without asking or telling her!" Joe blurted.
"Well..."
"Guess what, T.K.?" Matt walked into the room, a big grin threatening to split his face in half.
"What?" he asked.
"You know Cousin Stacey?"
"Cousin Stacey?"
"Yeah, your best friend. You two always hung out together."
"Of course I remember Stacey! What about her?"
"Okay, well, she's coming tomorrow. I'm sure you'll..."
"Let me guess...you want to hang around with Mimi so you're asking me to show her around, is that it?"
"Yeah."
"Well, alright."
Izzy, who was looking through a book from a stack of many, remarked, "Prodigious!
Matt made a gagging noise. "How can you spend so much money on books?"
"My family's rich..." Izzy began exasperatedly.
"No, I mean, reading too much isn't good for you..."
Mimi patted Izzy on the shoulder. "I think it's wonderful that Izzy reads a lot," she said softly. "He's our very own genius."
Izzy blushed. "Aw..."
"YOU should read more, Matt," Mimi said sternly. "I *never* see you reading."
"Who can read with such a pretty face around?" Matt asked.
They all laughed as Mimi blushed crimson.
"So, she got mad at you, huh?"
T.K. nodded sadly. "And she told me that she never wanted to see me again."
The blonde haired and blue eyed girl sitting across from him thoughtfully sipped her soda. "And you're absolutely positive that this Jed..."
"Jare," he corrected.
"...Jare is not good for her?"
"Positive."
Stacey drummed her fingers on the table. "What did Matt's girlfriend say to do?"
"Mimi? She said that I did the right thing, and I should just wait."
"What about Matt?"
"He agreed with her."
Stacey nodded. "They're right. You should listen to them."
"It's so hard," T.K. whispered.
"Well, let's see...why don't you shop for something for her? I mean, when she comes back to you, which I'm SURE she will. NO ONE could stay away from you for too long. Take me, for instance! I keep visiting because you're so cool to hang out with!"
T.K. grinned. "Do you remember the time we locked ourselves in the bathroom by mistake?"
Stacey snickered. "Do I? There was a dent in the door because we kept banging on it for hours."
"And we couldn't talk for days because we yelled ourselves hoarse!" T.K. added gleefully.
"Oh, what about when we demolished the tree house?" Both of them got up, chattering happily. Leaving the Food Court of the Mall, they walked and window shopped while reminincing.
By the time they reached a clothing shop, T.K. was carrying several of Stacey's bags. Both whispered and giggled quite a lot.
"Do you think that Mimi would help us convince Matt to cut his hair?" Stacey asked.
"Mimi? Well, of course!"
"I have GOT to meet this Mimi," Stacey said cheerfully. "She sounds just wonderful!!"
"Oh, she is! And she's going to be a part of the family, too..."
"Really?"
"Oh, yeah! She and Matt are engaged. No one's supposed to know yet, but you ARE part of the family..."
"I'm glad Matt has friends now," Stacey said airily, examining a skirt. "I felt quite sorry for him at times. He always stood alone at parties and reunions, did you notice? I mean, you hung around with me, and you had some friends..."
"Yeah. It was REALLY lucky he met Mimi. He-he tried to commit suicide," T.K. said darkly.
Stacey dropped the skirt. "What?"
"Well, only he, Mimi, and I know about it, and now you. He was really depressed at the time..."
"Still, that's no excuse," Stacey said, picking the skirt back up.
"Well, he hasn't tried it again..."
"Is that you, T.K.?"
T.K. spun around. Kari stood, smiling, with an arm linked through Jare's.
Ignoring the sudden tears in his eyes, he said smilingly, "Yeah, it's me."
"How have you been?" Kari asked nervously.
"Oh, fine." Clearing his throat, he said softly, "Kari, I'm sorry..."
"That's alright," she said cheerfully. "I forgive you. But you should REALLY apologize to Jare..."
T.K. stamped down his unwillingness. "Um, sorry, Jare..."
"Forgiven," Jare said in a fake happy voice, holding out his hand.
Choking down his disgust, T.K. took it and shook it.
"T.K., what do you think of this?" Stacey asked suddenly, holding out an orange sundress.
T.K. watched as she held it up to her. "It's great, Stace. You know very well that you'd look beautiful in anything."
Stacey rewarded him with a giant smile. "Tsk tsk, T.K.! You've become a flatterer!"
T.K. grinned. "Matt's influence."
"Since when has MATT been a flatterer?"
"Since he met Mimi." Then, he remembered Kari. "Um, Kari, this is Stacey Takaishi. Stacey, this is Hikari Kamiya..."
He met Stacey's gaze, and he could tell that She knew that Kari was the girl that had broken his heart.
Stacey turned and shook Kari's hand. "Hello, Hikari."
"Oh, Kari, please."
"Kari, then." Stacey looked up at Jare. "And this is...?"
"Um, he's Jare-" Kari began.
T.K. hurriedly tapped Stacey on the shoulder. "Are you done?"
"Almost. I want to get Mimi something, to welcome her into the family. From the little I saw of her today I have a good guess on her size, but I don't know her favorite color..."
"Pink," T.K. said automatically.
"Pink, huh?" Stacey looked around her. "Lots of pink. Well, when you're done here, come find me somewhere in here and we'll keep talking then."
"Alright. Keep that haircut idea," he warned.
Stacey winked at him. "I will."
T.K. turned back to Kari painfully. Stacey had given him a few precious moments of freedom from the hurt, but now he had to face it.
"Are you and Stacey...close?" Kari asked cautiously.
"Oh, Stacey? Yeah, we're close," T.K. answered. "We've known each other for like...forever."
"Oh." Kari looked nervous. "Um, I'll see you later, okay?"
"Okay." T.K. uncomfortably made his way through the racks of clothing until he managed to bump into Stacey.
"Are you alright?" she asked immediately. "You looked really pained."
"I'll be fine," he said lightly.
Stacey stopped for a moment. "Let's see...she's definitely pretty, and she seems to be very kind. But she's young, and naive..."
"What about Jare?" T.K. said quickly.
"Jare? He seemed so...I don't know...OILY somehow."
"Oily?" T.K. raised an eyebrow.
"Don't look at me like that. I don't know how to explain it, he just...seemed slick, and if a girl hung around him for too long, it would make her feel...I dunno, dirty...Don't look at me like that. I have no clue what I'm talking about."
"Well, I guess he DID seem slick...but still, OILY??"
"Shut up, T.K.," Stacey said good-naturedly. "It's a girl thing."
"A girl thing," he repeated, as if that explained things.
Stacey, seeing how confused he was, laid a hand on his shoulder and looked up at him. "She NEEDS to go through this," she said softly. "I know you don't want to see her get hurt, or be deceived like this, but she HAS to. Then, and only then, will she understand that some people aren't who they seem to be, but others..." She smiled at him. "...others are more than they seem. Much more."
T.K. blinked away his tears. "Oh Stacey..." Suddenly clothing was shoved in his face. "What?"
"Do you think Mimi would like this?" Stacey asked airily, waving the pink dress. "Come on, tell me! I need a second opinion!"
T.K. burst into laughter. "Stacey, Stacey, Stacey. What am I going to do with you?"
She looked at him angelically. "For starters, you can pay for all my purchases."
T.K. facefaulted. "Um..."
"Then, you can carry my bags, and...ooh, maybe you could even..."
~END OF THE GOOD LIFE: T.K.'S STORY, PART 2~
~TO BE CONTINUED...IN THE GOOD LIFE: T.K.'S STORY, PART 3~
Tai enters, sighing in relief. "Whew! For a moment there, I thought I couldn't say the conclusion!"
Grinning evilly, he says, "Matt, Izzy, and Joe have ganged up on Venus163 and locked her up...yes, you guessed it! Locked her up in the closet! Ssh, if you listen closely, you can hear her."
(Muffled) WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU, YOU'LL *ALL* BE SORRY! NOW, LET ME OUT OF HERE THIS SECOND!
BANG! BANG!
Tai grins. "See? And I think she'll be stuck there for a *very* long time. Now for the conclusion.
"Okay. You better review her story, or else!" Tai makes a fist. "Hey, I want to know what I could do better too! She's gotten nothing but good reviews, and she hopes to keep it that way, but if she's made a mistake, I'm sure she wants to know!" Tai looks innocent. "Besides, we can all rub it in on her! So send all your reviews and criticism to crescent87@hotmail.com
"Next issue. Venus163 hopes that you've enjoyed her story. If not, don't sue her!" Tai shrugs. "She's only 13. Still, I personally think it's pretty good for someone who's *only* 13.
"Third issue. Venus163 *hates* reading cliffhanger endings. I mean, sure, she has some, too, but she uploads one whole story at a time, so as not to keep her readers hanging. So, she'd appreciate all you people reading this to understand that she writes a whole story before uploading it.
"I think that's all." Tai scratches his head. "Yeah, it *is* all. And I'm not going to die, either, since Venus163 is locked up."
Joe enters. "Um, Tai?"
"What?"
"You're on her bad list."
"Oh."
"Oh, and uh, she's starting to break the door down."
"WHAT??"
Matt and Izzy run in.
Matt looks terrified. "Run for it! She's going to bust the door open any minute!"
Izzy racks his brain. "According to my calculations, the door will break open in approximately thirty minutes."
"THIRTY MINUTES?" Tai gasps. "We'd better run before we become mince meat!"
They all run out.
(In the background) LET ME OUT OF HERE! I'M GOING TO BE *VERY* ANGRY WHEN I GET OUT OF HERE!
-Venus163