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8:46 P.M.
Wednesday 16 May
Odaiba High - Gymnasium
Izzy
I broke away from the kiss that took my breath away, and opened my eyes to see a pleasantly surprised June looking back at me.
"Well, that was something," she said seductively, wrapping her arms around my neck and smiling.
"I'll say," I whispered back, and leaned in to hungrily kiss her lips once more.
I couldn't believe what I had just done. If you told me an hour ago, when I was dumped and lonely over at the refreshments table, that I would not be lonely for long, I would never believe it. But, here I was, on the middle of the dance floor, with June in my arms, swaying to the slow music emanating from the speakers, and now, I could believe it. I didn't much care now that my blind date never showed up tonight; after all, if the blind date Sora fixed up for me forked out, I would have never met June...June...
...did I even pick up her last name?
I still don't know what possessed me to just go and kiss her like that. Maybe it was the heat of the moment, there was just something romantic in the air that just made the kiss feel right. I saw her as we were dancing, her head resting a bit uncomfortably on my shoulder - oh, the trials of being painfully short! - and her lips just looked so inviting I simply had to kiss them. We didn't even notice when the music abruptly stopped, and I pretended that I didn't hear Davis run after a crying Yolei out of the gymnasium. It wasn't my problem tonight. Only this was on my mind.
"You kiss by the book," she breathed, as we parted from year another kiss and I retrieved my tongue from inside her mouth. I smiled, and blushed. What else could I do?
June brought up yet another quote from Shakespeare, and it made me feel uneasy. June and I both loved Shakespeare, but apart from that - and the fact that we were both stood up on Youth Day - we really didn't have much in common. She was the athletic type; I was a brain. She spends her time in the student council and dance committee, and the only way I served my community was by...well, saving the world. June's the kind of girl who would probably want to go to parties on Fridays nights, and I would never think of doing something like that; I have homework, after all.
What was I doing kissing this girl? I had never done something like this unless I knew the person very well - and I don't want to hear any jokes about Joe Kido! - and I have only known June for an hour. I don't even know her last name. Why was I going and kissing this girl that I hardly even know?
"Izzy, it's getting a little rowdy in here," June said, noting the angry couples shouting around us about the lost music. She pulled me closer to her and smiled at me seductively. "Is that somewhere we can go that's a little more...secluded?"
Hey, maybe I'll be going farther than just kissing this girl I hardly know.
My eyes widened. "Y-you mean..." I drifted off, letting June's sly smile and nodding head finish my thought for me. She was definitely looking for a place where we could be alone, to do only June knows what. I gulped. We were moving just way too fast! I had only met June an hour ago, and already, she was asking to be alone with me! I should stop this right now. I should tell her that she is a very nice girl, and this has nothing to do with her or her charming personality, but I'm just not ready to get too involved right now. A simple thanks, but no thanks.
Yeah, and then I can seal myself back up in my computer room, and never get a chance like this to be with a girl again. Not for years, anyway. And I'm not ready to wait that long to get laid.
I matched her seductive smile, and took her hand from my shoulder to quickly lead her off of the dance floor and towards the Northern exit, two heavy gymnasium doors that led to an auxiliary staircase to the second floor. I didn't really know where to go to be alone, but I took a guess Yolei didn't take this exit when she stormed out of here, and if there was one thing I didn't want tonight, I didn't want to run into a frantic Yolei Inoue with June on my arm.
June giggled as I pulled her through the doors into the empty stairwell, stopping only to give her a heated kiss on her lips. "Well, this is all pretty unexpected," she said. "I didn't expect you to be so..." she licked her lips and pulled me closer to her. I sucked in a big breath through my teeth as my body pressed against hers. She knew what she was doing to me. "...spontaneous."
With a wink and a tug on her wrist, I led her upstairs to the second floor corridor with great excitement. I knew where I wanted to take her new. "My dear June," I said seductively. "I'm just full of surprises."
June and I nearly ran through the second floor corridor, the excitement building up within both of us. I couldn't believe I was doing this! This definitely wasn't like me. But then again, being the old, computer nerd Izzy Izumi wasn't getting me the action I was going to get tonight!
When we finally reached the room I was taker her to, June scrunched her face up in confusion and disgust, as I simple stood there, smiling at my own ingenuity. "The computer room?" she said critically of my choice to be alone. "You expect us to do it in the computer room?"
I pitched her a wink as I opened the door - I love how Odaiba High's classrooms are kept unlocked - and ushered her in. "It's a surprise," I said, entering the room without turning on the light. We wouldn't be there for long, anyway.
Knowing my way around the computer room - hell, I'd been in there so many times I bet I could navigate it...well, in the dark - I sat myself down at a computer - one particular computer, actually - and turned it on, smiling as I heard the familiar Windows 2000 music chime. I accessed a program - a very special program only I and a select few others even knew existed - and hoped that my archaic Digivice would still work.
"Um, Izzy," June's voice behind me sounded annoyed. "When I said I wanted to somewhere secluded, I didn't mean to play computer games."
"Hold your horses, June," I said, typing furiously. I needed to get the program ready, but quickly enough so that June didn't get a sudden change of heart. I pressed the Enter key to load the program code, and turned around in the chair to face her. Taking her hand in both of my own, I said to her, "And trust me. You won't regret this." I raised my hand to touch her face, and she leaned in to my touch, her hot skin against my fingertips, and sighed, contented.
God, I've never had anyone do that with me in the same room.
Unhooking my Digivice from my belt with one hand, the other still in contact with June's face, I held the device up to the computer screen. I had a theory about the new status of the Digiworld since we had defeated Arukenimon and out DigiDestined services were no longer required: if our Digivices worked for the original DigiDestined even after three years and our last battle with Piedmon, then all of our Digivices should still work today. I hadn't told my theory to anyone yet, even Joe, who always loves my theories, or Ken, who would be more than eager to explore this theory with me, nor had I tested my theory myself. This would be the first time any of us had entered the Digiworld in three years. I just hoped I was wrong about the rule of "One person per Digivice..."
Smiling, I whispered, "Digiport open."
I wasn't disappointed.
With a flash of blue light, the room filled with energy, and the dusty old Digiport opened wide after so many years of inactivity. I held on fast to June's hand, feeling the shock and anxiety building up inside of her by the second. She probably thought the world was ending and swallowing us whole. She had never seen anything like this before; to me, it was second nature.
"It's okay," I said softly to her. She gasped slightly in fright, on hand hovering over her agape, startled mouth, trembling slightly, while the other gripped tightly around my fingers, refusing to let go. With a sincere smile, I pulled us closer to the computer screen, and led the girl into the Digital World.
It was twilight in the sky; the clouds burned with a purplish light, and the stars had just begun to rise. Great trees that would never be found in a horticulture book loomed all around us, and unique pink flowers reminiscent of Palmon's head sprang up to greet us at our feet. We were in a small clearing near the Forest of Irrelevant Road Signs (as Matt had so bluntly dubbed it) on File Island; I picked the location specifically for its unique beauty. I thought it was the best place for June to explore this new land...among other things.
I looked over at June, whose face looked like she was deciding whether to comment on the plant life or scream. Finally, she mustered up the courage to squeak out, "Izzy?" She gripped tighter on my hand, her other hand holding onto my arm. "Where are we?"
I looked convincingly into her eyes and smiled. "June," I said, trying to make this sound as extravagant as possible. "Welcome to the Digiworld."
8:47 P.M.
Wednesday 16 May
Odaiba High - Gymnasium
Tai
I held Sora close in my arms, slowly swaying to the slow music I could hear playing in the background. The way background. Because right now, as far as I was concerned, Sora was my world, and everything else was merely filler.
"This is so nice," Sora sighed, pulling herself in closer to me. Resting her head on my shoulder, I couldn't help but agree with her, tem times over. Being here, with her in my arms...it all just felt so right.
And yet, I knew that Sora didn't completely have me on her mind. T.K.'s confession of Matt's feelings for Sora still rang in my head from Monday afternoon, and Sora's concern for Matt on the night she was supposed to be on a date with me didn't sit well in my thoughts...or my stomach. I didn't want to believe it - there was nothing I wanted more than one of those fairy-tale endings with Sora, complete with fanfare and a chivalrous riding into the sunset. But all of the signs - T.K.'s slip of the tongue, Matt's coldness towards the two of us, and most of all, Sora's own actions in the past three days - pointed to a definite storm cloud near my sunset, and that storm cloud played in a rock band.
I just wished that I could have one peaceful moment with Sora tonight without thinking about Matt Ishida screwing it all up.
And then, Sora looked up at me, her warm chestnut eyes smiling and her lips so inviting...and I hoped that this would be my chance.
"You look so beautiful tonight," I whispered into her ear, reveling in the sweet smell of her shampoo. She smiled gently, her face brightening in an anxious blush. Any other girl would have returned with a sly attempt to flirt shamelessly with me, which would have really spoiled the mood for me - flirting is well and good when you're on a first date, but even I knew when to be serious. But Sora...she was so unsure when it came to flirting or romance, yet her smile just spoke volumes more than all of the pseudo-sexy lines I've ever heard.
I tilted her head up - her face looked so sweet, so angelic! - and I knew that I couldn't take it anymore. I had to kiss her, taste those lips I've ser my eyes on since I first saw her tonight. I knew I had said before I would wait until it was the right moment to kiss her, to make it special for the both of us...but this was the right time. This was the right place.
They say that a first kiss between young lovers on Youth Day guarantees eternal love to come. I didn't know if that was true, but I was sure willing to try it out.
I just hoped she didn't think of Matt Ishida when my lips pressed against hers.
It was better than I expected. Far better than anything I ever had before. Sora's lips were so soft, and when I pressed my lips against hers, I held her closer in surprise at how amazing one simple kiss could be. I felt my heart leap when Sora sighed and responded to my kiss; wasn't this a dream come true?
When we finally parted - for we would need air eventually - I smiled joyfully, my heart skipping from the kiss. I looked into Sora's eyes, and she had the same anxiousness as I had; her eyes shined with happiness, and her lips held a smile that could be likened to a child trying futily to hold in a secret. We simply stood there, smiling and giddy, and completely not knowing what to do with ourselves.
We didn't have to worry about that for long, however. Just after our lips parted, the slow music from Matt's band onstage abruptly stopped playing, and silence filled the room. The whole of the gym looked around in astonishment; why had the band stopped playing? It almost sounded like...
"Matt!" Sora looked out towards the stage to see a quickly retreating Matt storm off the stage, his cherished guitar discarded next to his fallen microphone. Murmurs raced through the crowd, wondering why the lead singer of the Teenage Wolves stormed off like that, right in the middle of a song.
Where the hell did he go?
