*^* Chapter 6- The Blame Game Part 2 *^*

Coming up to the Kamiya's apartment building, Davis adjusted his T-shirt, took a deep breath, cleared his throat, and reached for the buzzer. However, before he could press the button, he heard footsteps coming toward the door. Nervousness won out over common sense, and he ducked behind a bush to watch whoever was approaching make their approach.

"I've got to get out of here," Kari muttered as she hurried along, her schoolbooks under her arm. "If Tai gives me that 'you-are-a-naughty-little-girl-and-you-have-my-pity' look once more, I swear I'll throw the nearest mobile object at his head..."

She jogged past Davis without a glance at the hidden boy, proving exactly how distracted she was. A second later, Demiveemon poked his head out of Davis' backpack.

"Sho, Davish, whadda we do now?"

Davis grinned. "Elementary, my good Digimon. We improvise." With that, he stepped out of the bush, brushed a few leaves off of his shirt, and strolled casually down the sidewalk in the direction Kari had gone.

Ten blocks later, Kari disappeared up the steps of the public library. Davis followed her at a distance, Demiveemon still stowed away in his backpack.

"Huh...my plan started at a library, and it'll finish in one. Cool," Davis commented optimistically, and pushed the doors open.

The inside of the library was dimly lit and a bit chilly. Davis glanced around and spotted Kari making her way to the reference desk. He strolled over to the desk and began to surf through the computer across from hers, carefully avoiding noticing that Kari was even there. After a few minutes, he saw her reaching for a box of note cards kept on hand for jotting down book locations and stretched out for it as well. Their hands touched, and Kari looked up.

*Bingo...* Davis thought, surpressing a grin. *Just call me Doctor Smooth Love.*

"Davis! I didn't know you were here..." Kari exclaimed in surprise.

"Me neither," Davis said earnestly, then frowned. "Um, I mean, I didn't know *you* were here. Not...you know."

Kari almost smiled, but didn't quite have the heart. It was kind of cute the way he slipped up sometimes. "I know." She realized their hands were still touching, and blushed, taking her hand away quickly. "So...what are you doing at the library? I didn't think you were much of a reader."

"Oh, I just thought I'd browse around," Davis said off-handedly, shrugging. "I've got a project due next month in English, a portfolio on the Depression, and I wanted to get some materials." *Nice one!* he silently congratulated himself. He really did have a project due, and it was an airtight alibi if he'd ever heard one.

"Me too," Kari said, cheering up a little. "Want to look for some books together?"

"Would I?!" Davis said happily, and then paused and cleared his throat, trying to be smooth. "I mean, that sounds like fun...sure."

Kari did smile this time. After a little catalog surfing, they headed for the bookshelves with a list of books to look at. The afternoon stretched on, and soon it was five o'clock and the librarians were giving the half-hour closing time warning.

"This has been really fun," Kari said, smiling, as they carried their books to the counter. "We should do this again some time."

"Yeah, I had a good time, too," Davis agreed. "Here, let me get those," he added, taking the stack of books out of her hands and adding them to his own. Kari blushed again.

"Thank you. You know, I didn't expect anything good to come out of today, but...I'm glad I ran into you. After all of what happened with TK and all, I was miserable..." She sighed, and gave a rueful shake of her head. "Oh, look at me. I spoiled the mood completely."

Davis shook his head. "No, you didn't. It's okay..." He paused. *Okay, lover-boy, here's your chance! Tricky plan, don't let me down...* "Hey, about TK..."

"You don't have to get started on that," Kari said a little bitterly, turning away. "I know he's a jerk, I know he deserved it, I know that A.K. can't be half as pretty or nice as me...every girl in the school has been sympathizing with me all day, and so have a lot of the guys. I'm getting tired of it all." She sighed, looking at her hands, and then suddenly looked up at Davis. "You know what I'm afraid of?" she blurted.

"Not really...why don't you tell me?" Davis said, trying to be understanding and kind.

Opening her mouth, Kari paused, and then shook her head and began to walk toward the counter. "Never mind. You don't want to hear about it."

"Really, I do," Davis insisted, with a disarming smile for good measure. "Come on, go for it." *Keep being nice and sweet to her, and then as soon as you get the chance, pop the question...*

Kari nodded and walked over behind a bookshelf, wanting privacy. Once Davis joined her, she turned to face him, biting her lip nervously.

"I..." she started, and then swallowed, looking at the floor.

"You can tell me," Davis said, setting down the books so that he could put his hands on her shoulders. "Maybe if you say it, you'll feel better."

Kari nodded, steeling herself. "Well..." She took a deep breath, and then suddenly blurted, "Oh, Davis, it was all my fault!"

"What?" Davis said, quite stunned. How could she possibly think it was her fault?

"I overreacted, Davis, I was a horrible brat and I made him look like such a jerk and I yelled at him and hurt him and I didn't even give him a chance!" Kari wailed, and began to cry again.

Davis gathered her into his arms, rocking her gently and feeling lower than pond slime. *I don't deserve to get the chance to hug her...* he thought miserably. *How did this get so out of control?*

"Shh," he whispered, trying to calm her down. "It wasn't your fault, it wasn't your fault at all. Believe me, it wasn't. You did what anyone would do. It's okay, it's okay..."

Winding down, Kari sniffled, looking up at him with beautiful, teary brown eyes.

"Davis, do you think I'm a brat?" she whimpered.

Another pang of guilt shot through him. "Of course not," he said comfortingly, smiling at her. "I think you're just great."

A watery smile appeared on her face. "Really?"

"Really," Davis said firmly. He reached into his backpack, and Demiveemon handed him a handkerchief, which he handed to Kari. She thanked him, taking it and wiping her face dry.

*It's now or never,* Davis thought, looking at Kari standing right there in front of him. Yoshitada's voice echoed in his ears. *"All you have to do is go say a few choice words, and she's yours!"* But then the image of TK's stunned face flickered in his memory, and the tears on the face of the girl he cared about so much added to the conviction growing inside of his mind. Taking a deep breath, he cleared his throat, and Kari looked up.

"Hey, about the dance..." he began.

Kari blinked. "Mm-hmm?"

"Well..." *This is so hard!* "I...think that..."

"What is it, Davis?" Kari said, looking at him in confusion. Davis took his resolve in both hands...

"I think that you should go talk to TK before you decide not to go."

"What?" Kari said, stunned.

"You should talk to him," Davis continued, the words flowing freely now. "You know, hear him out? You really ought to get his side of the story. I bet it makes you both feel better, and it might fix things. That note could have been a mistake, or a practical joke, you know." He sighed, meeting her eyes with a serious gaze. "You two have something really special, and you shouldn't let something like that ruin your relationship." He smiled, and took her hand, giving it a squeeze. "Talk to him," he finished, putting a note of insistence into the words.

Kari stared at him. "But..." she said nervously. "But what if he doesn't want to?"

"Trust me, he will," Davis said firmly. "Like anyone could pass up a second chance with you..." His voice wavered, and he paused to get himself back under control. "And if he doesn't, then you're too good for him anyway...but I really think he's more mature than that."

A genuine smile spread across Kari's teary face. "All right," she said. "I will. I'll go over to his apartment right now, in fact." She started to walk away, and then paused and turned back to him. "And, Davis?"

"Yeah?" Davis said.

"Thank you," she whispered, and gave him a peck on the cheek. With a smile, she took her books off of the pile on the floor, and darted away to check them out.

Davis followed her with his eyes until she vanished through the doors, and then sighed, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Well, Demiveemon, I think you'd better call me a chimpanzee now," he said ruefully. The little Digimon popped up out of his backpack to frown at him.

"Why'd ya do that, Davish?" he asked, confused. "Ya had her ready to follow ya to the moon!"

"I know," the boy said. "I just couldn't do it, Veemon. She trusted me... Me! The guy who made this mess in the first place!" He shook his head. "I couldn't do another thing to hurt her. I care about her too much for that." With an ironic shrug, he leaned against the bookshelf. "I guess the trickiest plan can get messed up by a soft heart...or a soft head. I think I did the right thing, though, and it's really about time."

Smiling slightly, he blinked, and something on his cheek caught the light of the ceiling lamps.

"Davish?" Demiveemon said uncertainly, looking at his human companion. "I think your face ish leaking again..."

Davis shook his head, wiping his face on his sleeve. "Yeah...c'mon, Demiveemon, let's go get these books checked out. I've got a dance to get ready for."


*^* *^* *^* *^* *^*


Just a note...anyone who's a fan of mine might want to check my profile. Thankies! m_m