Disclaimer: still don't own digimon

Disclaimer: still don't own digimon

Authors notes: I hope you like this chapter. I kept re-doing it. This chapter is short, while the other chapter was seven pages (I couldn't find a good place to end it) Oh! And I checked, I only said the word 'ya' twice in the last chapter…just sayin

Day by Day

The nine children sat inside of a restaurant. But unlike the one Ken had been in before, this one was dignified. Elegant. One of those places where you had to dress in tuxedos and ball gowns.

"It just had to be Katie's birthday" Danielle muttered. She put her chin in her hands.

"Hey, you made me go to Piccolo Pete's for your birthday" Katie replied smirking. Danielle stuck her tongue out at Katie.

"Very mature" Catherine joked. She looked at the menu. "So… what is there to order here? It's all in French"

"Didn't you guys pay attention to those lessons we took?" Janelle asked. "French is a fairly easy language to understand"

"Well, it's easier for you because you came from France" Catherine replied.

"I didn't talk much when I was three" Janelle glared.

"Then why do you have a French accent?" Catherine frowned back. Bryan sensing a fight, stepped in.

"Janelle, we just don't find French easy. So just lay off" Catherine grinned. "Same with you Catherine" Janelle and Catherine slumped down into their chairs. There was a moment of silence.

"Ken, you there?"

"What?" The black haired boy asked. "Oh. Ya" Everyone gave him a concerned look.

"You've been off in la-la land for a while" Danielle said. Her green eyes studied his expression.

"I'm fine. I've just been… looking" Ken turned back to his menu.

"Janelle, I really don't see how you can read this!" Gus frowned. He tilted his head to the side.

"Dude, you're holding it upside down" David laughed.

"Oh" Gus smiled and turned the menu right side up. "No. Still can't read it"

"We should have gone to Piccolo Pete's" Danielle sighed.

"Oh just order the clam chowder"

~*~*~*~*~

The teenagers walked out of the restaurant. Gray clouds covered the sky. The weather report (hosted by kids) had said it was going to rain. But they had been proven wrong. Well, at the moment they were wrong.

"I swear to God, the second I get home, this thing is coming off" Catherine indicated her black dress.

"Really?" David put his arm around her.

"Shutup" Catherine said. She playfully punched him in the arm. Then put her arm around his shoulder.

"Please" Ken heard Janelle mutter. They walked down the practically deserted walk, and turned. A line of beach houses lined the left side of a street. The right side was open to the beach. They said their good-byes, and walked inside their houses.

"Is Janelle always that…" Ken started as he closed the door.

"Rude?" He nodded. Catherine loudly exhaled and shrugged. "I guess"

"Well, when I first got here, I kind of heard you two talking. Her voice was so gentle" Ken rushed.

"Janelle… I don't know. She's one of my closest friends, and she really can be nice. But, I guess it's her nature to not let people get close to her. She was three when she was brought here. And it was from an orphanage. I really think she's afraid we'll desert her." Catherine confessed.

"Oh" there was a uncomfortable quietness.

"I'm starving" Catherine said ending it as she walked into the kitchen. Ken followed her.

"Why didn't you eat at the restaurant?" Ken asked.

"Because I didn't want to order some random thing, and it turns out to be cow brains" Ken smiled. Catherine opened a rose-bordered cabinet and scanned the shelves. She pulled out a hot dog bun. "Want one?"

"No thanks" Ken stuck his hands inside his pockets. His violet eyes watched as the tan girl pulled a hot dog out of the refrigerator, and put it into the microwave. She turned to look at him.

"What?" she asked. Ken realized he had been staring at her, so he directed his eyes at the ground. He heard her heels tap against the wooden floor, and her door close. He looked up to see an empty room. Ken, soon feeling uncomfortable, walked into his room and changed into his pajamas. The boy fell onto his bed and closed his eyes. He listened to noises around him. Crickets chirped, the waves crashed against the shore, a light rain began to fall. As the drops hit his window, another sound came. This time from the living room. It was fast music. Latin. Ken got up and walked to the entrance. He opened the door and found Catherine sitting on the sofa. Her head was looking up at the ceiling.

"That was Christina Milian with her newest song 'AM to PM,'" the radio said. It was a girl's voice. She sounded around the age of fifteen. "Now, we got a request for this song. And… oh, isn't this romantic. It came with a message. 'Dear Michael, I hope this song brings a message across. I miss you baby. Love Jessica B'. Isn't that sweet Ronny?" The girl's voice ended, and a boy's voice came. It sounded deep, as it if was coming from someone handsome.

"Ya… very…" He heard the girl sigh.

"You have really gotta get a girlfriend. Anyway, this is Nobody's Angel with 'I just can't help myself'" A slow rhythm started coming out of the speakers.

"This song's old" he said. Ken wasn't sure if he wanted Catherine to hear; but she did.

"How long have you been there" she asked. Ken shrugged. They were quiet for a few seconds. Catherine studied Ken's face. "Have you ever slow danced before?"

"Ya. Why?" Ken answered.

"Because I'm bored" Ken walked up to her.

"Want to dance?" She stood up. Ken put his arms around her waist and she put her arms around his neck. They slowly rocked back and forth. Neither of them had those kind of feelings towards each other. They just counted the other as a close friend. And, when you're bored… or troubled, a friend is always there to cheer you up.

~*~*~*~*~

Ken, Katie, Danielle, and Gus stood outside of an arcade. It looked to be around three O'clock.

"And tell me why we're here?" Katie asked.

"Because" David replied.

"Well that clears everything up" They walked inside. It looked like something you would find inside of a Vegas casino. There were arcade games of all kind, pool tables, and even a bar. But this, of course, served soda and stuff to eat.

"This is opening my pores. I swear if there aren't any cute guys here"

"Calm down. We're only here for a couple of minutes," David said interrupting Danielle. They walked across the crowded room and found the 'bar'

"Cathy" Ken yelled. The auburn haired girl turned. This always caught her attention.

"I told you not to call me that!" Catherine replied over the noise. She walked out from behind the bar. Her hair was pulled back into a French braid, while she wore a uniform. It was a white dress that stopped about 7 inches above the knee. You see, each child had to work three days a week. On Saturday, they would go to their work and collect their paycheck. If they missed even one day, they wouldn't get paid for the week. Catherine had explained that it was suppose to teach them 'responsibility'. Ken for some reason, was getting special treatment. He didn't have to work.

"When do you get off work?" Ken questioned. Catherine looked at her silver watch.

"Thirty minutes" She answered.

"Can't you get off early?" Katie whined.

"Believe me, I want to. It's so stuffy in here. But I can't go unless my boss says so" Catherine nodded her head towards a boy. Ken saw a boy with black hair was neatly placed onto his head. He was tall, and lanky. His light skin had only a few freckles on it. Danielle sighed and walked over to him. They watched as the freckled girl flirtatiously talk to the boy. After five minutes, she ran back.

"You can go" Danielle said in triumph. She grabbed Catherine's arm and started pulling her towards the door.

"That job must suck" Ken said to Catherine as they walked out of the crowd and into the fresh air.

"Well, I can talk to the guys more than these two"

"Hey, we talk to boys" Katie and Danielle said in unison.

"You only say six words. 'Would you like fries with that?'" Catherine teased. Danielle smiled, while Katie went onto her drama queen attitude.

"How dare you?" she asked.

"Because I dare?" Catherine answered as if deep in thought.

"Haha" The five kids walked down the damp boardwalk. Ken's flip-flops splashed in the puddles and sent shivers up and down his body.

"Where are we going?" he asked. Ken was getting tired of walking.

"We'll see what we pass" David said. Ken's violet eyes looked curiously at Catherine. She shrugged and continued closely following David. Ken smiled as he noticed how nobody acted as if he was special. The girls didn't swoon over him, boys didn't flash pictures and brag they talked to "Ken Itchijouji". And, quite frankly, Ken absolutely loved it.

As the teens passed a little empty shop, Ken couldn't help see a little light coming from under the boards. The light went out after a minute. Whispers started coming from behind him.

"Ken. What are you doing?" David asked.

"I saw a light coming from the ground" Ken replied. Each child exchanged worried glances.

"Come on Ken. We're going to the park" Ken soon felt Katie's hand pulling him towards the amusement park.

~*~*~*~*~

Warm blankets surrounded Ken. His blank hair covered his face. It was, once again, drenched with sweat. 'Where are these whispers coming from?' he wondered.

~

Ken's eyes flashed open and he looked around the dark room. He took a deep breath and sank deeper into his covers. As his eyes started to droop, a scratching sound started coming from his window. Behind his curtains something was there… waiting. He knew it. And this something wasn't a friend. And this was confirmed by the whisper. It was of a small child. Her voice was ghostly, quiet, it sounded deadly.

"Over here Ken. You know it's me. Let me in Ken." Just as the sentence ended, a tapping came from the door. But that tapping soon became a pounding.

"Let me in! Let me in!" the voice went from a deadly child, to a deep growl. The force started coming so strong that Ken was surprised the door hadn't been knocked down. Soon, the noise became unbearable. Ken stood up and started walking towards the door. He suddenly had a surge of courage flash through his body. Just as the boy was five feet away from the door, it stopped. The pounding, the violent whispers, and the courage disappeared. It was as if nothing was ever there.

~

"Ken?" a cold hand touched his face. Ken sat up and screamed. He looked to his side and saw an unsure face. "You ok?" Catherine asked as she kneeled onto the ground. Ken opened his mouth to say 'ya, I'm ok', but he couldn't lie.

"I just had a bad dream" he replied. Catherine looked seriously at him for a moment. Her eyes showed she knew it was more than just "a bad dream" but she just shrugged and said:

"Dreams are just dreams" she got off her knees and walked over to the door. She grabbed the handle, but before she left, she turned to Ken one last time. "We're going to the skate park in an hour" As the door closed, Ken shut his eyes trying to remember what the voice sounded like. But a scratching on the window soon interrupted his thoughts. Ken slowly slipped across the room and down the hall. He saw Catherine running a comb through her hair.

"Catherine" he urgently whispered.

"Hm?"

"There's something outside my window" She raised an eyebrow and walked to the front door. The brunette reached out for the knob, only to find Ken's hand pulling back her wrist. "What are you doing?!"

"I'm gonna see what's outside your window" she replied as if it was nothing.

"But-"

"Ken, I sincerely doubt a murderer would be out in broad daylight" Catherine said to him. Ken looked out the window. The sky was a light blue; no clouds loomed in the sky. 'Weather sure changes fast around here' Ken then heard the slam of a screen door. He saw Catherine walk onto the porch, and stop.

"What?" Ken asked. Catherine rolled her eyes and pulled Ken out on the porch. She pointed to the window. A thin tree branch had bent into a position that made it hit the frame. Ken inwardly kicked himself. "Opps"

"Don't get so worked up. As I said, dreams are only dreams" Catherine then walked back inside the house and resumed brushing her hair. The ebony haired child walked over to the branch and put it back to its rightful place. But that voice… there's something about it that lingered in Ken's mind. There was something unsettling about it.

~*~*~*~*~

What was that voice? Is Catherine correct that "Dreams are only dreams?" Where was the light coming from? Why was Ken brought to the Light Ocean? All these questions will be answered in the next chapter!