Rumpleteasza: (pacing in panic) Ok. Ok. It's alright. I can get through this. It's just a mind-over-matter thing. I can rise above it. I can smother it. No, there's nothing to smother, nothing's happening, I'm fine, I don't - I don't - I don't-

Koushiro: Are you trying to say-

Rumpleteasza: (cutting him off) No, I don't, I don't, It's not true, I don't-

Koushiro: That you actually-

Rumpleteasza: (putting her hands over her ears) NO, lalala, lalalala, la la, I can't hear you, I don't, nothing's happening, it isn't true-

Koushiro: That you actually...

Rumpleteasza: (singing loudly) LALALA LA LAA, I CAN'T HEAR YOU-

Koushiro: ... fancy a hobbit?

Rumpleteasa: I DO NOT FANCY FRODO IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM. I'll have you know he's HALF MY SIZE, the sheer mechanics are PREPOSTEROUS! I DO NOT FANCY A HOBBIT, I DONOTFANCYAHOBBIT IDONOTFANCYAHOBBIT IDON'TIDON'TIDON'T!

Koushiro: (shakes head) This is the final straw - it really is-

Rumpleteasza: Oh god, this isn't happening. It can't be. I am NEVER going to live this one down. DAMN YOU ELIJAH WOOD AND YOUR INEXPLICABLE ATTRACTIVENESS!

Koushiro: If you can reign your attraction for one minute, perhaps, you have some readers to attend to...?

Rumpleteasza: DAMN! Ok, sorry, sorry sorry sorry. I'm a mite flustered this evening. Um - where am I - oh yes! Penultimate chapter! At least, I think so. I hope so. I'm ready to start a few new projects, watch this space for them. Another humour story perhaps. Any suggestions?

This chapter is basically another dance-chapter, we get Matt's reaction to Jun among other things. It's kind of bitty, but everything will be tied up in the next chapter, don't worry. Then Girl Chat will FINALLY be finished and I can find something else to stress about.

Koushiro: Like fancying a hobbit?

Rumpleteasza: (hands over ears) LA LA LAAAA, LALALALA LA LAAAAA…


Chapter Sixteen – Expect The Unexpected

Daisuke lingered moodily by the refreshments table, picking idly at a plate of salt and vinegar crisps and feeling rebellious. He'd spent a while with the others, but although Sora's words still rung in his ears, he just didn't feel like being very sociable. What he really wanted was to forget about Kari, and it was difficult to do that when he was surrounded by her friends.

Sighing, he glanced out across the hall to the happy group of his dancing friends. There was Cody, overcoming his usual shyness and twirling Yolei around. There was Izzy and Mimi, Laughing uncontrollably as Joe tried to moonwalk but tripped over his feet. Matt must have been on his break because he was there too, helping Tai spin and dip Sora while she shrieked and giggled. And although he didn't look, he knew TK and Kari were slow-dancing just outside the circle.

They all looked so happy. They all looked as if they belonged.

Daisuke leaned back in defeat against the wall, looking up at the ceiling and running a hand through his spiky, rust-coloured hair. He didn't want to just stand there staring at a public display of affection. Jesus, was nothing sacred?

Pushing away from the wall, he was just about to get outside and into the fresh air when in the corner of his eye he caught sight of another solitary figure, standing alone in the shadows near the refreshment table.

He squinted. For a moment he thought his eyesight was failing – the figure was shadowy, hazy, with a blurred outline. But as he looked on, it became just as clear as everything else, melting into the background of students.

On sudden impulse, he turned away from the door and headed back to the table. The figure was still there, half in the shadow below the coloured spotlights trained on the dance floor. He squinted, approaching slowly. What was it about the figure that made it seem not quite there?

It was a girl. Not very remarkable, not especially pretty. She wore a dress very similar to Jun's, plain black and unadorned. She leant back against the table, surveying the hall with careless precision. People passed her, unseeing.

Daisuke felt himself walking towards her. For what reason, he wasn't sure. He had a sneaking suspicion that he was the only one to see her properly instead of the hazy blur he'd encountered at first. Reaching the table, he leaned back on it beside her and picked silently as the crisps. "You on your own too?"

"Depends what you mean by alone." Her voice was a low English accent. Not particularly outstanding, but the hustle and bustle around him seemed to fade out as she spoke. "We're surrounded by people, if that's what you mean."

"None of them are talking to you though, are they?" he pressed. He judged her to be a little shorter than Sora, Mimi, Yolei and Jun, with long dark hair and grey eyes, made dull by the flashing colours around her. The most ordinary girl you could think of. Her attention, although directed all over the room, seemed to rest on him.

"You are." Her voice jolted him out of his reverie.

"What? I'm what, sorry?" he said, shaking his head as if to clear it.

"Talking to me. You said no-one's talking to me, but you are. Does that mean you're nobody?"

It might have sounded rude, but somehow he thought that it wasn't so much an insult as a simple statement. It made him think for a minute.

"No," he said finally. "No, I'm definitely someone. I have lots of friends."

"Why aren't they with you?"

"I wanted a little time on my own."

She turned and grinned. The difference it made to her face was startling. For a moment, she seemed almost visible to the people milling past them – a couple turned to look at her curiously before passing. "Ah, but you're not on your own, are you? Unless you think I'm nobody."

He was about to protest when he saw her expression – she was joking. Smiling back, he offered his hand. "I'm Daisuke Motomiya."

She shook it. "Bit of a mouthful."

He laughed. "Just a bit. What's your name?"

"Whatever you want. You can call me Tea if you like."

He frowned, nose wrinkling. "Tea? As in the drink? Are you serious?"

"Like I said, whatever you want. I'm not picky when it comes to names."

If it was an odd thing to say, Daisuke didn't notice. He didn't notice, either, that he hadn't brooded over Kari for over five minutes and counting – quite a record.

He relaxed against the table and nibbled a sausage roll. "Why are you alone?"

"Why are you alone?"

He shrugged. "Some girl I like went of with another guy. I'm not all that bothered, really." And to his amazement, he found he was right. "Your turn."

She shrugged too. "No reason. Just waiting for someone to notice me."

"You came on your own?"

"You mean arrived? Yes, I suppose so."

He struggled with his reasoning, but it seemed to be slipping into comatose. Why did he need reasoning, anyway? "But – you don't go to this school. You don't, do you? Because I'd have noticed you before now. Wouldn't I?"

"I've been here, if that's what you mean. I'm not enrolled as a student." She pulled herself up to perch on the table in a sudden, fluid motion. "But I come here sometimes."

"Why? Do you know people here?"

"Yes."

"Who?"

She laughed. If laughs had colours, hers would be bright yellow. It seemed odd, in view of her dull appearance. "So many questions! I know you, don't I?"

"Yes, but we've only just met," he argued.

"Does that matter?"

"Yes! Well… maybe. I don't know." He frowned, trying to piece his thoughts together. "Does it?"

She picked up a sherbet-iced cake from the table and licked the topping off with relish. "Probably not. It's possible to know lots of people without them knowing you."

"Is it?"

"Yes."

They were silent for a moment. Tea ate her cake slowly, seeming to enjoy it thoroughly. Daisuke stood thinking. Then – "Where do you come from, then?" he asked, trying to gather together his rationality. It was difficult.

"Does it matter?"

"Just curious. Why do you always answer my questions with questions?"

"Do I?"

They laughed together. Daisuke's anxieties floated away without him even noticing. He got up. "I'm in the mood for dancing now. How about it?"

She hopped lightly off the table. "Why not? It's a lot better than standing by the refreshment table waiting for you to come by and cheer up."

Daisuke stopped, confused. "Waiting… what?"

"Waiting… what?" she mocked softly. "Come on. We'll be by this table all night if we don't get out there soon."

And she led him happily out into the crowd, where the people she passed by stepped out of her way and then stepped back, not noticing her and forgetting her instantly.


Slowly, fending off the odd fanatic fan, Matt made his way round the side of the hall, nearing the stage. He was in such a good mood he even stopped to sign a first-year girl's shirt in lipstick, something he would never normally take time to do. His confessions to Tai and Sora had lifted a huge weight off his shoulders.

"Matt?"

He swung round, hearing the voice behind him, as a vaguely familiar girl stepped out of the shadows near the stage. Not bad, he told himself, noting her flattering plain black dress and shiny rust-red hair. "Hi, wh-" his jaw dropped as the realisation hit him. "Jun?"

"Hi," she said pleasantly, smiling. "How are you?"

"I – um – well, I'm – I'm fine," he spluttered, dumbstruck. "You – er – you look very different… I'm guessing you went out with Sora and the others today, yeah?"

Jun laughed, a proper laugh, not the high-pitched giggle Matt had come to dread over the past year. "Yeah, it was great fun. Too bad I didn't get to know them properly sooner, they're really nice."

"Yeah, they are," Matt agreed, feeling slightly dazed, staring at her glassy, smoky eyes with their tiny eyeliner patterns. "Uh – Jun –"

"Well, I have to get back to my friends now," Jun cut him off airily, fingering a strand of her hair. "I just came by the tell you congratulations, your band's a pretty big success. You play very well."

"Um – thanks…" Her compliments were a lot nicer than her crawling, he noted.

"I might see you later if us girls get a taxi home with you boys." She started to walk away, her glossy hair slipping over her shoulders. "See ya."

"See ya," he replied instantly, gazing after her, his eyes as wide as saucers. He turned back to the stage in shock.

Did that just happen?


Kari sighed contentedly. She and the other girls had snuck away to witness Matt's reaction to the 'new Jun', and it had worked like a dream. Jun was now back with her own friends, and had been babbling excitedly and smiling like an idiot ever since. Of course, she mused, I doubt Matt will ever seriously consider her as a girlfriend, but I think she gave him a shock tonight. She was glad – if only for the amusement value. Why didn't I bring my camera…

"Kari?"

Kari swung round. "TK! You startled me."

He grinned his lopsided grin. "Sorry. How come you're hiding over here? Matt's doing the only slow song he knows, you don't wanna miss a rarity like that!" He looked down at her shyly. "Would you – would you like to dance with me?"

Kari felt her stomach do an odd flip, and the blood rush to her face. His eyes were so soft, so melting… but she'd known TK for years, and he'd often looked at her with eyes like that; so why should this time make her blush?

"I'd… I'd love to," she replied nervously. Nervous? Why should I be nervous?

TK's eyes lit up to a laughing blue. Taking her hand, he steered her back onto the dance floor. Gently, as if she were the most fragile thing in the world, he tentatively wound his arms around her and swayed slightly to the music.

Kari rested her head on his chest, breathing deeply, wondering why her heart was beating so fast.


"…So basically, all you need is a firewall. It's really very elementary, if a little hard to calculate," Izzy explained, his cheeks flushed animatedly as they always were when he talked about his greatest love – technology.

Yolei leaned forward, replying just as vividly. "But that's the problem – we thought the firewall would have it sussed, but a virus still got through to the lab computers. Perhaps if we altered the configuration, and then-"

"What are you doing?" asked a horrified voice behind them.

Yolei turned, her silky hair slipping over her shoulder. "Oh, Mimi!" she beamed. "Me and Izzy were just discussing the lab compu-"

Mimi held out her hand. "I heard what you were discussing! Computers? This is a dance!" She shook her head. "Honestly…"

"We're having a good time," Izzy protested. "That's what we came here for, isn't it?"

"I promise we'll come and dance for the last song, Mimi," Yolei placated her. "We were just trying to figure out how the virus got past our lab's firewall. I think we need more programs added," she suggested, turning back to Izzy. "Surely we can afford to invest in a detector?"

"It'll take a while to configure one that's compatible, but you're right, it's a wise thing to do," Izzy agreed. "What we need is a warning, then we'll have more time to sort out potential bugs before they cause too much damage."

Mimi put a hand on one hip, eying them both, a smile forming on her glossy lips. "You know, you two are a match made in heaven. You realise that, don't you?"

Izzy broke off and flushed scarlet. Yolei followed suit. Mimi breezed away, leaving both of them glancing shyly at each other and finding that neither could remember a single thing about virus firewalls.

Damn cupid Mimi, Izzy thought.

I wonder what the best way to mute a matchmaker is, wondered Yolei.


Rumpleteasza: Yes, I know, I know, I KNOW. Blatant and disgusting self- insertion. But I couldn't leave poor Daisuke on his own to fester, and I was at a TOTAL loss of what to do with him. When it comes to romance fics, let's be honest, everyone's off doing the dirty with everyone else, with the possible exception of Cody. And frankly, Daisuke/Cody pairings are beyond even ME to dream up. So that was my only option. Sorry if it made you want to print this off and ram it down my throat for mary-sue'ism. Many apologies.

Frodo: Next thing you know, you'll be writing self insertion LOTR fics. It's just beyond the bounds of good taste.

Rumpleteasza: What the- AARRGH! What the FREL are you doing here? Do you KNOW the danger you're in? I'm trying to detox myself of hobbits at the moment, IT DOESN'T HELP WHEN THE MOST ATTRACTIVE ONE APPEARS IN FRONT OF ME AND - AND - and - and... (glazed look)

Frodo: (backing away warily) Why are you looking at me like a ravenous ferret…?

Rumpleteasza: (blinks) Oh, you're so pretty...

Koushiro: (to Frodo) Run.

Frodo: What- why is she-

Koushiro: Run. Just run.

:-D xxxxxxxxxxxxx