Love or Hate? (Part 2)
By Firenze
A/N: Hey, people! I got uppity after getting 14 reviews in one day...which really is nothing at all, especially compared to how I used to get 41+ reviews in a day in the Harry Potter section, but that's the most I've gotten lately...and I don't know, anything is reason for celebrating for me, before I have to go back to school. But for all my good cheer, that is not how this fic is. Note: this is pure soap-opera-ishness drama. So if you're looking for a happy ending to this whole story...I might write one...but this is meant to be more drama-ish than anything. I won't beg for any reviews ever again, but if a whole mess of you do review, I just might write that happy ending. *Wink* Anywho, you should REALLY read the first part to understand everything. But I understand if you don't want to, so I'll be nice and recap. (I was *really* in a good mood at this time, can you tell?)
Recap: Mimi moved back to Japan, and for her first birthday since then, she decided to have a girly slumber party and invited the girl 'Destineds. They had a really typical gossip-y night, and then the subject of Mimi and Sora's crushes came up. (There's Takari, Kenyako, and Jyoumi, by the way) But is this really a Taiora? Sora declares her HATE for Tai, which is preeeetty strong, and when asked why, she begins to tell a story. Starts off the first time Tai goes to her house. Her mom is mad at him for no reason, says she never wants him in their house again, and yells at Sora to stay away from him. But she doesn't. Then it goes to Sora getting ready for soccer camp. Her mom doesn't want her playing soccer anymore and gets angry. They argue, and when Mrs. Takenouchi refuses to drive her, Sora says she's getting a ride with Tai-- And her mom gets rrrreeeeeaaaallllll pissed. She says Sora should never love anything. Sora says she already loves soccer and she does love Tai, but she doesn't love flowers or her mother, then storms off.
P.S. Oh yeah, Sora's mom also calls Taichi 'the one'...but you never knew out what that meant. I assure you, it does not mean the Backstreet Boys' song, Thomas Anderson Neo from the Matrix, or *anything* dealing with sex. You find out in this part. Also in this part, there's a point which is my way of expressing my feelings towards my brother, but I'm not really angry. I kind of exaggerated it, but hey, this is fiction here. It just shows the influence big brothers or guy best friends have upon us girls. And if Sora's mom is one of your favorite characters (I don't know why she would be, I'm just saying), Tai insults her a lot in this. And if Tai is your favorite character (like me), he's a major jerk. If Sora is your favorite character...well, she's in this too, and cries some more. And if Matt if your favorite character, he does come into this story.
Disclaimer: Man, my hands are tired from typing that whole thing, so you better be grateful if you didn't read the first part. I'll keep this disclaimer relatively short. Digimon is not mine. See?
+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^
Sora walked down the hallways of the high school, heading for her locker. She heard Taichi's voice. Oh, that was right, she had to talk to him about their science project together. She hugged her books to her chest and hurried along down the corridor. Then she turned, but she heard a bit of conversation. It was Taichi's voice, obviously, and also, Yamato's. She didn't want to be rude and eavesdrop, but something had caught her attention, and she was interested.
"Are you finally going to ask her out today, Taichi?" Yamato asked.
*Who's he going to ask out?* Sora wondered. *Does Taichi love someone? Who does he love? Of course it can't be me... My love is obviously unrequited. Taichi probably loves some dense, but beautiful cheerleader girl. I'd never stand a chance.*
"I hope so... Every single time I chicken out! I've tried so many times...unsuccessfully. But I will ask her today, I swear. I loved her for so long... But what if she doesn't feel the same?"
"You do this every time!" Yamato said with a sigh. "We've gone over this time and time again, she HAS to love you back. For years you've known each other, right? Been best friends?"
*It can't be me they're talking about,* she thought, breathing heavily. *He'd never go for someone like me. I'm too much of a tomboy. The only girlish part of me is this skirt I'm forced to wear as uniform, and my tennis outfit. There's also the flower arranging part... So I'm not a total tomboy. But he can't love me. He's probably talking about some other girl best friend. Mimi, maybe? No, she's in New York...and he really doesn't like her. Who are they talking about?* She decided to listen more.
"I'm just...scared, Yamato."
"Aw, stop it, you wuss. There's nothing to asking a girl out. Especially when they're bound to return your love. There's no way she can't love you! Friends always fall for each other at one point or another, right?"
"True, but what if she's over me?"
"Stop, Taichi. Just shut up. Gather your COURAGE and ask her out. She'll LOVE you back."
"Yamato, you're a dork," Taichi said exasperatedly.
"Courage? Love? Come on, that's great comedy!" he protested.
Sora's eyes went wide. Was she hearing properly? Or was she just making herself hear things? *Courage? As in crests? Like Taichi's? And love? As in...me? No, this can't be, there must be some mistake!*
"You suck at jokes, all right? Give it up, it ruins your whole cool guy persona."
His voice was panicked. "Really? Maybe I should use more hair gel again..."
"Shut up. I'm freaking out here. My hands are actually shaking. I can't ask her out. As my best friend, you're supposed to reassure me."
"I've done everything I can!" he cried. "It's all up to you now. Just do it, okay? Promise me you'll ask her out."
"Okay...but I just love her so much, you know? What if she says no? Our friendship will be ruined forever. And I don't want that to happen. Because I love Sora more than anything in the world."
+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^
All the girls squealed, and Sora covered her ears with her hands.
"Taichi loved you?" Miyako asked elatedly.
"So did he ask you out?" Mimi asked. "Aw, Sora, did you say no?"
"Of course not," she said firmly. "He never asked me out."
"And you're sure he said SORA?" Miyako asked.
"Yes, I'm sure," she said impatiently. "I guess he chickened out again. So typical of him. He can jump into a stupid situation without thinking and come off brave, but when there's some sort of plan to it that requires time to think it over and true bravery, he can't do it. Crest of courage, my a--"
"Sora!" Hikari exclaimed. "You fail to realize that I am right here and you're speaking badly about my brother."
She sighed. "I'm sorry, Hikari, it's just -- well, I'll just continue on with my story."
+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^
"I swear to god, I'll do it today," Taichi whispered to himself. "There she is -- she's right there--"
Taichi was standing right outside the entrance to the tennis courts. Sora had just finished practice against Gwen, beating her, but for some reason not playing her best, and now she was finished. She slowly packed away her racket and all her other things, wiped the sweat off her forehead, and put her reddish brown hair into a ponytail.
"Bye, everyone!" she called, a little unenthusiastically. "See you next week." Then she slung her duffel bag over her shoulder and walked out the door. But she accidentally bumped into someone. "Oh, I'm so sorry -- Taichi!" she cried out in surprise and nearly fell over.
Luckily, he caught her. "Oh -- heh -- uhm, hey, Sora." He noticed that a blush was also on her face.
"What -- what are you doing here?" she asked shyly, steadying herself and pulling down her skirt.
"I kind of -- eh -- I kind of wanted to talk to you," he answered.
"Oh, sure," she agreed. "What about?"
"Well, I sorta have a whole speech planned out," he replied, looking at the palm of his hand. "Er, Sora, ever since I met you, I kind of felt kinda--"
"Taichi," she said, laughing. She took his wrist and put his hand down. Still holding it, she replied, "Don't say these cheese ball lines that Yamato obviously wrote for you. Speak from your heart, say what you really think."
He gulped like a fish out of water. "You -- you know?"
Sora's cheeks went pink again. "Well, a few weeks ago, I heard you talking to Yamato before school... And I'm really sorry, but I couldn't help eavesdropping, and--"
"So you already know what I'm going to say," he said. She nodded, embarrassed. "Well then, what's your answer?"
Her gaze went down to the ground; she noticed how their hands were still holding, and let go, then took a step back. "Um, Taichi, I don't know what to say... I've always loved you...but this is really a bad time..."
"Why?" he asked suddenly. "Did someone ask you first? Oh man, I'm an idiot! I've waited for so long, but I've been too shy to ask you out... I AM a wuss..." he groaned.
"You're not a wuss," she told him softly. "However, if you did ask sooner, I would have said yes... But the case is not that I have a boyfriend. It's something totally different."
"It's your mom, isn't it?" he asked, slightly suspicious, but she failed to notice.
Her head sank even lower down. "How did you know?" she asked softly.
"I just knew it," he said quietly, but as he kept on talking, his voice got louder, and his tone angrier. "I knew it would be because of your mom. She's trying to control you again. She forbid you to even be friends with me, because I'm 'the one,' whatever the hell that means. Now you're going to say no to me just because she doesn't want you to be around me? It's not what she thinks that matters, it's what you think. And you've never let her bossiness stop you from doing what you loved before."
"Bossiness?" she said in surprise, her eyes widening. "What are you talking about?"
"Your mom was always a control freak, Sora. She told you what you could and couldn't do, and frankly, I think that list of 'couldn't dos' was at least fifty times longer than the things she ever let you do, which included arranging flowers and playing tennis. She's trying to change you into a whole different person, more like herself, and she's trying to make you like things that'll seem more girly. Like soccer! She already stole that away from you!"
"Because I broke my leg!" she cried. "She was looking out for my safety, you know that!"
"Well if being safe means you can't do ANYTHING, I'd choose the risk of getting hurt over safety any day!"
"I'm not you!" she yelled. "And I don't have to be around you if you don't want to--"
"If YOU don't want to? It's your mom who's doing this! She's brainwashed you into thinking I'm the worst person on the planet! And you're starting to believe every single word she says. Look what's happening to our friendship because of her! I always thought we could just ignore her, not listen--"
"Defy her?" she interrupted angrily. "My mother knew what was best for me, and she did everything she could to make sure I made the right choice--"
"What was best for you? Sora, what you want is what's best for you. You decide how you live life, not her! She was trying to live her life through you!"
"She was making sure that I didn't make the same mistakes she did!" Sora argued.
Taichi was amazed. "Why are you sticking up for her? You were the one who always said she was trying to make herself feel better of her messed up life by making you do all the things she didn't. You're the one who said she set way too many rules and tried to take away everything you loved and replace it!"
"Well maybe she was right for doing so!" she shouted. "Because I always seemed to love all the wrong things!"
"Wrong things? Soccer is not wrong! Her trying to force you into liking other things just because SHE wants it is wrong!"
"The things I loved WERE wrong! They made me get hurt! Soccer gave me injuries, a broken heart when we lost a game--"
"Soccer was fun!" he yelled. "It's just a freaking sport! It's just a game that you play, and there's always the risk of getting hurt in any sport! What if the stupid tennis ball hit you in the face and bashed it in? Getting hurt is always a factor in whatever the hell you choose to do."
"Well, some things have a higher percentage of you getting injured. Soccer gets you more hurt than tennis. And one thing can hurt me the most, guaranteed."
"Oh yeah?" he asked menacingly. "What's that, Sora? Huh? Tell me."
"You," she whispered. Then she got more confident and her voice was stronger. "You're the one. The one who is going to make me fall in love with you, so much that I can't take it, and just then, you'll hurt me like no one else can. My mom knew that right from the start. We were such good friends, and I was so attached to you, and when I loved you so much and thought you did too, you would hurt me. Just like my dad hurt my mother--"
"I'm not your dad!" he yelled. "See, look, she's trying to make your life seem like hers! But I would never hurt you!"
"You're hurting me right now!" she contradicted. "Look at you, criticizing how my mother brought me up, just because you have the perfect family, perfect parents, perfect sister, perfect friends, perfect life, and perfect everything! Well, I'm not perfect and just because that doesn't live up to your standards doesn't mean you can go around saying how wrong my family is!"
"What the hell are you talking about?!" he raged. "Geez, Sora, what is with you? I just wanted to ask you out because I'm so in love with you that I can't even think straight when I'm around you!"
"That's right, you really aren't thinking straight. So stop saying how bad of a mother my mom was!"
He was so furious and not thinking clearly, that the tense of that last comment didn't affect him. "I love you, Sora, why does that make me a bad person?! Your mother totally convinced you that love is the worst thing in the world. Yet you were always caring and compassionate, and you got the crest of love. What ever happened to that Sora? Your mother changed you from the girl that you were--"
"No, YOU changed me!" she shouted. "Do you think that before I met you, that I ever gave a damn about Donkey Madness and Nintendo and RPGs and video games? Do you think I even knew how to use anything electronic and stop the VCR from flashing 12:00? Do you think I would know how to punch a perfect right hook or uppercut and give a boy a bloody nose or a black eye? Would I really read comic books and video game and sports magazines instead of fashion magazines? Do you really believe that I could even kick a soccer ball or play without using my hands? You think I just became interested in all kinds of sports all by myself? Without you, would I know what the difference was between a foul in baseball or basketball? If I had just played with other girls like myself, would I know anything about any of those things? No, instead of having tea parties with my stuffed animals and playing with Barbies and dressing up in my mom's clothes, I was trying to beat the last boss in Final Fantasy and playing with action figures and G.I. Joes and dressing up in soccer jerseys. If anyone influenced me and changed me, it's you! You made me change from a girl to a total tomboy!"
"You agreed to all those things! And you never were a 'real girl' in the first place! When I first met you, you were the one with your nose buried in a comic book, asking me if I knew what an X-Man was! You're the one who used to stupidly play around with acid and fire!" Sora flinched, but he didn't understand why. "Did you forget all that? Or did your mom pin the blame of your tomboyishness on me? Your mom said I was the one who would break your heart? What have I done so far to make you really cry? YOUR MOM is the one who always made you so angry or sad! And I was the one who would cheer you up afterwards!"
"NO! My mom never hurt me! She's the one who protected me--"
Taichi scoffed. "That isn't what happened. If you're trying to lie about the past just to make me look like the bad guy here, then I give up. If you really didn't want to go out with me, a simple 'no' would have worked. But no, you had to make me bring in how your mother made you afraid of ever loving anyone, and how your mother always stopped you from doing what you wanted. And then when I start repeating the exact same things you said about your mom, you get mad at me for being mean to her! It's your fault! And it's mostly all her fault! Don't blame me for any of this!"
"You're wrong!" Tears were pouring down her face. "It's not my mom's fault, she was always right about everything..."
"Look. See, she did brainwash you. I don't know what's the matter with you, Sora, but I know that you're definitely not the girl that I fell in love with."
"I am who I am right now!"
"Yeah," he agreed with a grimace, "and that person who you are is your mother."
"What's wrong with my mother?" She wiped her face with her sleeves and then crossed her arms. "Please, tell me every single little detail about what was wrong with my mother." And again, Taichi failed to realize how she had said 'was' instead of 'is.'
"Do you really want to hear what I think about your mother, Sora? The truth?" She nodded fiercely. "Okay, here it is: your mother is way too much of a control freak. And she thinks you're just some sort of puppet. She decides your life for you; she's the one living it, not you. And she keeps comparing your life to hers, even if it's entirely different. She's afraid of love, and she's taught you to fear it too. She says that I'm the one, just like your father, who would make you feel completely miserable and break your heart. She never bothered to mention all the good times they had together. Not every relationship works out, but you can't be sure it won't until you try. Your mother never gave you a chance to learn for yourself about anything, she just instantly decided that it was wrong. And she always had the right answers and things to do. She was convinced she was right, and then she could always force you to do it and give up whatever you really liked. Then she says that she's only looking out for what's the best for you, instead of seeing how what you love can be the best thing for you. She makes you think every single person is someone you should hate or fear, because they're going to hurt you. When in actuality, she's hurt you more than any other person ever has. Other people can be bad, but it's not her to choice to decide if they are or aren't. Because you can never know until you see how they really are. And since you were with your mom so much, you probably know what SHE really is."
"Oh yeah? What's that?" she asked furiously, the tears flooding.
"A terrible and downright poor excuse for a mother," he spat out.
Sora felt her non-stop hot tears streaming down her face. "I can't believe you just said all of that," she whispered.
His jaw was set. "It's the truth."
"I know my mother never liked you much, but you have no excuse to--" she started.
"She had no excuse to hate me from the start! Stop trying to defend her when she was obviously wrong!" he yelled impatiently.
"She was always right! She said that you would hurt me, you said you would never do that -- but look what you just did! You had to hurt me by insulting my mother! That is the most insensitive thing--"
"You brought all of this on!" he disagreed. "If you had just given me a simple answer to my question, a yes or a no, it wouldn't have had to go this far. Neither of us would have gotten this fired"--she cringed--"up over some little thing that you talk about all the time. Stop trying to do what your mother did and blame everyone else for your and her mistakes!"
"I don't want to hear this anymore! I'm sick and tired of hearing this fight. I'm tired of hearing you! I'm tired of seeing you, being around you, being hurt by you. Just leave me alone! I don't want to see you ever again!" With a sob, she put her face in her hands and ran off.
"Why are you doing this?" he shouted after her, his hands cupped around his mouth. "Why are you getting so touchy about your mother when you've known these things about her and said it yourself all along?!" Little did he know, he would get his answer soon later.
* * *
Yamato walked down the street, carrying his bass case. He had just finished a long and tiring rehearsal with his band. On his way home, he had to pass by the tennis courts, and while he was walking by, he noticed a big mop of brown hair, that obviously belonged to his best friend Taichi. So he walked over, wondering what he was doing there so late, when Sora's practice would have ended hours ago. As he got nearer, he heard sniffles and sobs. It was unusual to see Taichi crying, but when he did, he had a good reason to. Yamato wondered what that reason was.
"Taichi?" he asked cautiously, sitting down next to him on the steps and setting his case down.
With a sniffle, Taichi looked up, and his chocolate brown eyes met a pair of bright azure. "What?"
"What are you doing here? And crying, I might add?" he asked curiously. "I take it things didn't go well with Sora?"
"Worse than you'd think. She left me saying that she didn't want to ever see me again," he explained weakly.
His eyes went a little wider. "Why?"
Taichi shrugged. "I just said some things about her mom and she snapped--"
"What kind of things?" Yamato cut in quickly.
"I dunno, that her mom made her afraid of loving and trusting people, and that her mom was trying to live her life through her..."
"Holy crap, how could you say that?" he asked, shocked.
"Do you know something I don't?" he asked, raising an eyebrow, which was rather difficult with tears pouring out of his eyes.
"Don't tell me you didn't hear!" Yamato exclaimed.
"Hear what?"
"Sora's mom died this morning," he said solemnly.
"Oh shit!" Taichi yelled, pounding his fist against the cement steps, which really hurt. But nothing hurt him worse than how he realized he had hurt Sora. "What have I done?! How -- how -- how did she die?"
"A fire," Yamato said, at the same time as Taichi, who just realized it. He remembered how Sora twitched whenever he said the word 'fire,' and how she always spoke in past tense about her mother earlier that day.
"Dammit, Yamato, I'm the most insensitive jerk ever! No wonder Sora hates me!" He buried his head in his hands. "Ugh, why did I say all those mean things to her about her mother?!"
"Stop feeling sorry for yourself and feel sorry for how Sora feels after all that! Hurry up and apologize to her already!" he yelled, pushing him. Taichi stumbled off the steps and nearly slammed his face into the concrete. His bottom lip cut and started bleeding, but that was the least of his worries. "Go, go!" Yamato urged.
"I'll just tell her I had no idea about her mother," he panted to himself, running as fast as he possibly could, his legs all awkward and lopsided. He was running very strangely, but it was making him a lot faster of a runner than he had ever been. And that's all he cared about, getting there fast, not having to look like some graceful, Olympic runner. He was running out of air and energy fast, but he kept at it. After all, it was crucial that he apologize soon. "Sora, I'm sorry!"
+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^
Welps, there you go. That whole lame fight was why Sora hated Taichi. *Imitation of Shawn Wayans from "Scary Movie," which is the coolest movie in the world (j/k)* But wait! There's more! *Spit flies out* This fic is not over yet, believe you me. More things do happen to make her so fully hate him. And I'm not gonna beg for reviews...so I'll go now and finish part 3 ASAP! Later!
By Firenze
A/N: Hey, people! I got uppity after getting 14 reviews in one day...which really is nothing at all, especially compared to how I used to get 41+ reviews in a day in the Harry Potter section, but that's the most I've gotten lately...and I don't know, anything is reason for celebrating for me, before I have to go back to school. But for all my good cheer, that is not how this fic is. Note: this is pure soap-opera-ishness drama. So if you're looking for a happy ending to this whole story...I might write one...but this is meant to be more drama-ish than anything. I won't beg for any reviews ever again, but if a whole mess of you do review, I just might write that happy ending. *Wink* Anywho, you should REALLY read the first part to understand everything. But I understand if you don't want to, so I'll be nice and recap. (I was *really* in a good mood at this time, can you tell?)
Recap: Mimi moved back to Japan, and for her first birthday since then, she decided to have a girly slumber party and invited the girl 'Destineds. They had a really typical gossip-y night, and then the subject of Mimi and Sora's crushes came up. (There's Takari, Kenyako, and Jyoumi, by the way) But is this really a Taiora? Sora declares her HATE for Tai, which is preeeetty strong, and when asked why, she begins to tell a story. Starts off the first time Tai goes to her house. Her mom is mad at him for no reason, says she never wants him in their house again, and yells at Sora to stay away from him. But she doesn't. Then it goes to Sora getting ready for soccer camp. Her mom doesn't want her playing soccer anymore and gets angry. They argue, and when Mrs. Takenouchi refuses to drive her, Sora says she's getting a ride with Tai-- And her mom gets rrrreeeeeaaaallllll pissed. She says Sora should never love anything. Sora says she already loves soccer and she does love Tai, but she doesn't love flowers or her mother, then storms off.
P.S. Oh yeah, Sora's mom also calls Taichi 'the one'...but you never knew out what that meant. I assure you, it does not mean the Backstreet Boys' song, Thomas Anderson Neo from the Matrix, or *anything* dealing with sex. You find out in this part. Also in this part, there's a point which is my way of expressing my feelings towards my brother, but I'm not really angry. I kind of exaggerated it, but hey, this is fiction here. It just shows the influence big brothers or guy best friends have upon us girls. And if Sora's mom is one of your favorite characters (I don't know why she would be, I'm just saying), Tai insults her a lot in this. And if Tai is your favorite character (like me), he's a major jerk. If Sora is your favorite character...well, she's in this too, and cries some more. And if Matt if your favorite character, he does come into this story.
Disclaimer: Man, my hands are tired from typing that whole thing, so you better be grateful if you didn't read the first part. I'll keep this disclaimer relatively short. Digimon is not mine. See?
+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^
Sora walked down the hallways of the high school, heading for her locker. She heard Taichi's voice. Oh, that was right, she had to talk to him about their science project together. She hugged her books to her chest and hurried along down the corridor. Then she turned, but she heard a bit of conversation. It was Taichi's voice, obviously, and also, Yamato's. She didn't want to be rude and eavesdrop, but something had caught her attention, and she was interested.
"Are you finally going to ask her out today, Taichi?" Yamato asked.
*Who's he going to ask out?* Sora wondered. *Does Taichi love someone? Who does he love? Of course it can't be me... My love is obviously unrequited. Taichi probably loves some dense, but beautiful cheerleader girl. I'd never stand a chance.*
"I hope so... Every single time I chicken out! I've tried so many times...unsuccessfully. But I will ask her today, I swear. I loved her for so long... But what if she doesn't feel the same?"
"You do this every time!" Yamato said with a sigh. "We've gone over this time and time again, she HAS to love you back. For years you've known each other, right? Been best friends?"
*It can't be me they're talking about,* she thought, breathing heavily. *He'd never go for someone like me. I'm too much of a tomboy. The only girlish part of me is this skirt I'm forced to wear as uniform, and my tennis outfit. There's also the flower arranging part... So I'm not a total tomboy. But he can't love me. He's probably talking about some other girl best friend. Mimi, maybe? No, she's in New York...and he really doesn't like her. Who are they talking about?* She decided to listen more.
"I'm just...scared, Yamato."
"Aw, stop it, you wuss. There's nothing to asking a girl out. Especially when they're bound to return your love. There's no way she can't love you! Friends always fall for each other at one point or another, right?"
"True, but what if she's over me?"
"Stop, Taichi. Just shut up. Gather your COURAGE and ask her out. She'll LOVE you back."
"Yamato, you're a dork," Taichi said exasperatedly.
"Courage? Love? Come on, that's great comedy!" he protested.
Sora's eyes went wide. Was she hearing properly? Or was she just making herself hear things? *Courage? As in crests? Like Taichi's? And love? As in...me? No, this can't be, there must be some mistake!*
"You suck at jokes, all right? Give it up, it ruins your whole cool guy persona."
His voice was panicked. "Really? Maybe I should use more hair gel again..."
"Shut up. I'm freaking out here. My hands are actually shaking. I can't ask her out. As my best friend, you're supposed to reassure me."
"I've done everything I can!" he cried. "It's all up to you now. Just do it, okay? Promise me you'll ask her out."
"Okay...but I just love her so much, you know? What if she says no? Our friendship will be ruined forever. And I don't want that to happen. Because I love Sora more than anything in the world."
+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^
All the girls squealed, and Sora covered her ears with her hands.
"Taichi loved you?" Miyako asked elatedly.
"So did he ask you out?" Mimi asked. "Aw, Sora, did you say no?"
"Of course not," she said firmly. "He never asked me out."
"And you're sure he said SORA?" Miyako asked.
"Yes, I'm sure," she said impatiently. "I guess he chickened out again. So typical of him. He can jump into a stupid situation without thinking and come off brave, but when there's some sort of plan to it that requires time to think it over and true bravery, he can't do it. Crest of courage, my a--"
"Sora!" Hikari exclaimed. "You fail to realize that I am right here and you're speaking badly about my brother."
She sighed. "I'm sorry, Hikari, it's just -- well, I'll just continue on with my story."
+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^
"I swear to god, I'll do it today," Taichi whispered to himself. "There she is -- she's right there--"
Taichi was standing right outside the entrance to the tennis courts. Sora had just finished practice against Gwen, beating her, but for some reason not playing her best, and now she was finished. She slowly packed away her racket and all her other things, wiped the sweat off her forehead, and put her reddish brown hair into a ponytail.
"Bye, everyone!" she called, a little unenthusiastically. "See you next week." Then she slung her duffel bag over her shoulder and walked out the door. But she accidentally bumped into someone. "Oh, I'm so sorry -- Taichi!" she cried out in surprise and nearly fell over.
Luckily, he caught her. "Oh -- heh -- uhm, hey, Sora." He noticed that a blush was also on her face.
"What -- what are you doing here?" she asked shyly, steadying herself and pulling down her skirt.
"I kind of -- eh -- I kind of wanted to talk to you," he answered.
"Oh, sure," she agreed. "What about?"
"Well, I sorta have a whole speech planned out," he replied, looking at the palm of his hand. "Er, Sora, ever since I met you, I kind of felt kinda--"
"Taichi," she said, laughing. She took his wrist and put his hand down. Still holding it, she replied, "Don't say these cheese ball lines that Yamato obviously wrote for you. Speak from your heart, say what you really think."
He gulped like a fish out of water. "You -- you know?"
Sora's cheeks went pink again. "Well, a few weeks ago, I heard you talking to Yamato before school... And I'm really sorry, but I couldn't help eavesdropping, and--"
"So you already know what I'm going to say," he said. She nodded, embarrassed. "Well then, what's your answer?"
Her gaze went down to the ground; she noticed how their hands were still holding, and let go, then took a step back. "Um, Taichi, I don't know what to say... I've always loved you...but this is really a bad time..."
"Why?" he asked suddenly. "Did someone ask you first? Oh man, I'm an idiot! I've waited for so long, but I've been too shy to ask you out... I AM a wuss..." he groaned.
"You're not a wuss," she told him softly. "However, if you did ask sooner, I would have said yes... But the case is not that I have a boyfriend. It's something totally different."
"It's your mom, isn't it?" he asked, slightly suspicious, but she failed to notice.
Her head sank even lower down. "How did you know?" she asked softly.
"I just knew it," he said quietly, but as he kept on talking, his voice got louder, and his tone angrier. "I knew it would be because of your mom. She's trying to control you again. She forbid you to even be friends with me, because I'm 'the one,' whatever the hell that means. Now you're going to say no to me just because she doesn't want you to be around me? It's not what she thinks that matters, it's what you think. And you've never let her bossiness stop you from doing what you loved before."
"Bossiness?" she said in surprise, her eyes widening. "What are you talking about?"
"Your mom was always a control freak, Sora. She told you what you could and couldn't do, and frankly, I think that list of 'couldn't dos' was at least fifty times longer than the things she ever let you do, which included arranging flowers and playing tennis. She's trying to change you into a whole different person, more like herself, and she's trying to make you like things that'll seem more girly. Like soccer! She already stole that away from you!"
"Because I broke my leg!" she cried. "She was looking out for my safety, you know that!"
"Well if being safe means you can't do ANYTHING, I'd choose the risk of getting hurt over safety any day!"
"I'm not you!" she yelled. "And I don't have to be around you if you don't want to--"
"If YOU don't want to? It's your mom who's doing this! She's brainwashed you into thinking I'm the worst person on the planet! And you're starting to believe every single word she says. Look what's happening to our friendship because of her! I always thought we could just ignore her, not listen--"
"Defy her?" she interrupted angrily. "My mother knew what was best for me, and she did everything she could to make sure I made the right choice--"
"What was best for you? Sora, what you want is what's best for you. You decide how you live life, not her! She was trying to live her life through you!"
"She was making sure that I didn't make the same mistakes she did!" Sora argued.
Taichi was amazed. "Why are you sticking up for her? You were the one who always said she was trying to make herself feel better of her messed up life by making you do all the things she didn't. You're the one who said she set way too many rules and tried to take away everything you loved and replace it!"
"Well maybe she was right for doing so!" she shouted. "Because I always seemed to love all the wrong things!"
"Wrong things? Soccer is not wrong! Her trying to force you into liking other things just because SHE wants it is wrong!"
"The things I loved WERE wrong! They made me get hurt! Soccer gave me injuries, a broken heart when we lost a game--"
"Soccer was fun!" he yelled. "It's just a freaking sport! It's just a game that you play, and there's always the risk of getting hurt in any sport! What if the stupid tennis ball hit you in the face and bashed it in? Getting hurt is always a factor in whatever the hell you choose to do."
"Well, some things have a higher percentage of you getting injured. Soccer gets you more hurt than tennis. And one thing can hurt me the most, guaranteed."
"Oh yeah?" he asked menacingly. "What's that, Sora? Huh? Tell me."
"You," she whispered. Then she got more confident and her voice was stronger. "You're the one. The one who is going to make me fall in love with you, so much that I can't take it, and just then, you'll hurt me like no one else can. My mom knew that right from the start. We were such good friends, and I was so attached to you, and when I loved you so much and thought you did too, you would hurt me. Just like my dad hurt my mother--"
"I'm not your dad!" he yelled. "See, look, she's trying to make your life seem like hers! But I would never hurt you!"
"You're hurting me right now!" she contradicted. "Look at you, criticizing how my mother brought me up, just because you have the perfect family, perfect parents, perfect sister, perfect friends, perfect life, and perfect everything! Well, I'm not perfect and just because that doesn't live up to your standards doesn't mean you can go around saying how wrong my family is!"
"What the hell are you talking about?!" he raged. "Geez, Sora, what is with you? I just wanted to ask you out because I'm so in love with you that I can't even think straight when I'm around you!"
"That's right, you really aren't thinking straight. So stop saying how bad of a mother my mom was!"
He was so furious and not thinking clearly, that the tense of that last comment didn't affect him. "I love you, Sora, why does that make me a bad person?! Your mother totally convinced you that love is the worst thing in the world. Yet you were always caring and compassionate, and you got the crest of love. What ever happened to that Sora? Your mother changed you from the girl that you were--"
"No, YOU changed me!" she shouted. "Do you think that before I met you, that I ever gave a damn about Donkey Madness and Nintendo and RPGs and video games? Do you think I even knew how to use anything electronic and stop the VCR from flashing 12:00? Do you think I would know how to punch a perfect right hook or uppercut and give a boy a bloody nose or a black eye? Would I really read comic books and video game and sports magazines instead of fashion magazines? Do you really believe that I could even kick a soccer ball or play without using my hands? You think I just became interested in all kinds of sports all by myself? Without you, would I know what the difference was between a foul in baseball or basketball? If I had just played with other girls like myself, would I know anything about any of those things? No, instead of having tea parties with my stuffed animals and playing with Barbies and dressing up in my mom's clothes, I was trying to beat the last boss in Final Fantasy and playing with action figures and G.I. Joes and dressing up in soccer jerseys. If anyone influenced me and changed me, it's you! You made me change from a girl to a total tomboy!"
"You agreed to all those things! And you never were a 'real girl' in the first place! When I first met you, you were the one with your nose buried in a comic book, asking me if I knew what an X-Man was! You're the one who used to stupidly play around with acid and fire!" Sora flinched, but he didn't understand why. "Did you forget all that? Or did your mom pin the blame of your tomboyishness on me? Your mom said I was the one who would break your heart? What have I done so far to make you really cry? YOUR MOM is the one who always made you so angry or sad! And I was the one who would cheer you up afterwards!"
"NO! My mom never hurt me! She's the one who protected me--"
Taichi scoffed. "That isn't what happened. If you're trying to lie about the past just to make me look like the bad guy here, then I give up. If you really didn't want to go out with me, a simple 'no' would have worked. But no, you had to make me bring in how your mother made you afraid of ever loving anyone, and how your mother always stopped you from doing what you wanted. And then when I start repeating the exact same things you said about your mom, you get mad at me for being mean to her! It's your fault! And it's mostly all her fault! Don't blame me for any of this!"
"You're wrong!" Tears were pouring down her face. "It's not my mom's fault, she was always right about everything..."
"Look. See, she did brainwash you. I don't know what's the matter with you, Sora, but I know that you're definitely not the girl that I fell in love with."
"I am who I am right now!"
"Yeah," he agreed with a grimace, "and that person who you are is your mother."
"What's wrong with my mother?" She wiped her face with her sleeves and then crossed her arms. "Please, tell me every single little detail about what was wrong with my mother." And again, Taichi failed to realize how she had said 'was' instead of 'is.'
"Do you really want to hear what I think about your mother, Sora? The truth?" She nodded fiercely. "Okay, here it is: your mother is way too much of a control freak. And she thinks you're just some sort of puppet. She decides your life for you; she's the one living it, not you. And she keeps comparing your life to hers, even if it's entirely different. She's afraid of love, and she's taught you to fear it too. She says that I'm the one, just like your father, who would make you feel completely miserable and break your heart. She never bothered to mention all the good times they had together. Not every relationship works out, but you can't be sure it won't until you try. Your mother never gave you a chance to learn for yourself about anything, she just instantly decided that it was wrong. And she always had the right answers and things to do. She was convinced she was right, and then she could always force you to do it and give up whatever you really liked. Then she says that she's only looking out for what's the best for you, instead of seeing how what you love can be the best thing for you. She makes you think every single person is someone you should hate or fear, because they're going to hurt you. When in actuality, she's hurt you more than any other person ever has. Other people can be bad, but it's not her to choice to decide if they are or aren't. Because you can never know until you see how they really are. And since you were with your mom so much, you probably know what SHE really is."
"Oh yeah? What's that?" she asked furiously, the tears flooding.
"A terrible and downright poor excuse for a mother," he spat out.
Sora felt her non-stop hot tears streaming down her face. "I can't believe you just said all of that," she whispered.
His jaw was set. "It's the truth."
"I know my mother never liked you much, but you have no excuse to--" she started.
"She had no excuse to hate me from the start! Stop trying to defend her when she was obviously wrong!" he yelled impatiently.
"She was always right! She said that you would hurt me, you said you would never do that -- but look what you just did! You had to hurt me by insulting my mother! That is the most insensitive thing--"
"You brought all of this on!" he disagreed. "If you had just given me a simple answer to my question, a yes or a no, it wouldn't have had to go this far. Neither of us would have gotten this fired"--she cringed--"up over some little thing that you talk about all the time. Stop trying to do what your mother did and blame everyone else for your and her mistakes!"
"I don't want to hear this anymore! I'm sick and tired of hearing this fight. I'm tired of hearing you! I'm tired of seeing you, being around you, being hurt by you. Just leave me alone! I don't want to see you ever again!" With a sob, she put her face in her hands and ran off.
"Why are you doing this?" he shouted after her, his hands cupped around his mouth. "Why are you getting so touchy about your mother when you've known these things about her and said it yourself all along?!" Little did he know, he would get his answer soon later.
* * *
Yamato walked down the street, carrying his bass case. He had just finished a long and tiring rehearsal with his band. On his way home, he had to pass by the tennis courts, and while he was walking by, he noticed a big mop of brown hair, that obviously belonged to his best friend Taichi. So he walked over, wondering what he was doing there so late, when Sora's practice would have ended hours ago. As he got nearer, he heard sniffles and sobs. It was unusual to see Taichi crying, but when he did, he had a good reason to. Yamato wondered what that reason was.
"Taichi?" he asked cautiously, sitting down next to him on the steps and setting his case down.
With a sniffle, Taichi looked up, and his chocolate brown eyes met a pair of bright azure. "What?"
"What are you doing here? And crying, I might add?" he asked curiously. "I take it things didn't go well with Sora?"
"Worse than you'd think. She left me saying that she didn't want to ever see me again," he explained weakly.
His eyes went a little wider. "Why?"
Taichi shrugged. "I just said some things about her mom and she snapped--"
"What kind of things?" Yamato cut in quickly.
"I dunno, that her mom made her afraid of loving and trusting people, and that her mom was trying to live her life through her..."
"Holy crap, how could you say that?" he asked, shocked.
"Do you know something I don't?" he asked, raising an eyebrow, which was rather difficult with tears pouring out of his eyes.
"Don't tell me you didn't hear!" Yamato exclaimed.
"Hear what?"
"Sora's mom died this morning," he said solemnly.
"Oh shit!" Taichi yelled, pounding his fist against the cement steps, which really hurt. But nothing hurt him worse than how he realized he had hurt Sora. "What have I done?! How -- how -- how did she die?"
"A fire," Yamato said, at the same time as Taichi, who just realized it. He remembered how Sora twitched whenever he said the word 'fire,' and how she always spoke in past tense about her mother earlier that day.
"Dammit, Yamato, I'm the most insensitive jerk ever! No wonder Sora hates me!" He buried his head in his hands. "Ugh, why did I say all those mean things to her about her mother?!"
"Stop feeling sorry for yourself and feel sorry for how Sora feels after all that! Hurry up and apologize to her already!" he yelled, pushing him. Taichi stumbled off the steps and nearly slammed his face into the concrete. His bottom lip cut and started bleeding, but that was the least of his worries. "Go, go!" Yamato urged.
"I'll just tell her I had no idea about her mother," he panted to himself, running as fast as he possibly could, his legs all awkward and lopsided. He was running very strangely, but it was making him a lot faster of a runner than he had ever been. And that's all he cared about, getting there fast, not having to look like some graceful, Olympic runner. He was running out of air and energy fast, but he kept at it. After all, it was crucial that he apologize soon. "Sora, I'm sorry!"
+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^
Welps, there you go. That whole lame fight was why Sora hated Taichi. *Imitation of Shawn Wayans from "Scary Movie," which is the coolest movie in the world (j/k)* But wait! There's more! *Spit flies out* This fic is not over yet, believe you me. More things do happen to make her so fully hate him. And I'm not gonna beg for reviews...so I'll go now and finish part 3 ASAP! Later!
