'Blood is Blood'
By Kaizer K-chan and FireDemon
Warnings: Suicide, Death, Angst, Drug-use, Yaoi (We can't resist) Mentions a lot of not nice stuff. This is a serious fic. TAITO, KENSUKE - It just snuck in. *sighs miserably* We were really looking forward to writing SORATO *gags*
This is chapter is dedicated to angel of peace, who gave us our first review. We noticed you like TAITO so bon appetit. This wasn't supposed to be a romance goddamnit. We'll get to the angst *soon* Very soon. *Glares at nonexistent angst*
Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or the song "Blood is Blood" by Nerina Pallot, but we suggest you listen to it. The storyline and all original characters belong to us, or the respective people they're based on. Please don't take them without permission.
For the real Ben, rest in peace man.
Chapter 3: Tinkerbell My Winged Friend, I Think We Got It Wrong
Tai walked through the gates and into the school, and was surprised to see everyone milling out the front. What had happened now? He braced for another tragedy as one of his friends came rushing up.
"Yo Tai, you just get here?"
"Yeah, what's going on?" Tai asked warily.
"Apparently last night someone broke into the school and put these up everywhere," He indicated to the various pieces of paper people were holding.
"What are they?" Tai asked.
"Dude, just go get one. They're everywhere. Apparently there's not a blank piece of paper left in the entire school."
Tai nodded his thanks and walked over to the pin up board the boy had indicated, and tore the letter off the board.
~~~
Matt opened his locker trying to ignore the students who were still talking excitedly about the reporter who'd end up being hospitalised after visiting the school. The reporters were now respecting students rights and staying off the grounds.
He stared at the folded piece of paper in his locker for a moment before carefully taking it out and unfolding it.
He stared at the letter for a few moments before he read through it. Somehow he knew it wasn't a joke. His eyes slipped down to the black spots on the photocopied paper and he remembered the creased letter Dan had pulled from his pocket. Now he knew the blood hadn't come from Dans jeans.
Bile rose in his throat and he spun on his heel, and ran for the nearest toilets. It was only after he'd finished throwing up and flushed the toilet that he looked around and realised where he was. He was in the A-Block Boys toilets. He let out a squeak and climbed onto the toilet seat, staring at the floor fearfully, just waiting for the blood to come seeping under the cubicle door.
He couldn't go out there, he didn't want to see Ben slumped against the wall, blood trickling down his arms, his eyes staring straight at Matt as though he was still telling Matt all her secrets. He stared at the floor, he mustn't get blood on his feet: his parent's would get angry.
He let out a small sob as he sunk down so he was sitting on the seat of the toilet, his arms wrapped around his knees as he let the tears stream down his face.
~~~
"Yo Takaishi, is it true?" One of the cheerleaders asked excitedly.
"Is what true?" T.K. asked cautiously. He'd heard the phrase more times then he could remember in the past two days.
"I just heard your brother tried to off himself in the A-Block boys toilet." She replied, blinking when T.K. stared at her in horrified shock, "Don't worry about it man. MJ didn't know about Ben either. I guess you guys really don't know your older siblings."
MJ stepped forward, "You bitch!" She hissed, "If Matt really did try to kill himself it's not T.K.'s fault he didn't know Matt felt like that!"
T.K. hastily stepped in between the two girls, "Calm down MJ. I'm sure it's just a rumour." He glared at the cheerleader.
"Let's go see if he's alright," Suggested Kari.
~~~
"Tai! You know that Ishida kid eh?" Bozzie yelled.
"Matt, yeah, I know him," Tai confirmed, wondering why anyone would talk to him about Matt. They hadn't talked properly in years.
"Right. He went into the A-Block toilets and nobody can get him out," He shuddered, "I don't know why he went in there in the first place. I wouldn't go in there if you paid me!"
"Thanks," Tai replied, already making a break for the boys toilets.
There was a crowd around the toilets, but nobody seemed to be making any moves to go in. He spotted Dan on the edge of the crowd, some girl, obviously his girlfriend, was hugging him reassuringly.
"Oy, Rack off. If you need to take a leak, take it elsewhere, and if you're just here to gawk, me and Mr. Trolley Pole have a couple of objections." Louie whipped the trolley pole out of her bag.
Luckily most people knew better then to incur Louies wrath, and the rest just followed the crowd, leaving Tai, Dan, and Dan's girlfriend alone with the angry girl and her trolley pole.
"What do you want Kamiya and you'd better make it good!" Louie threatened.
"Is... Someone told me Matt was in there..." Tai began.
"He could be."
"Is he okay?" Tai asked.
"What's it to you?" Louie snapped
"He's my best friend," Tai said automatically, even though they hadn't really even been friends in ages.
"You'd better not be making this up to get a look." She finally relented, "I need your help."
"Why?" Tai asked.
"I can't carry him out myself," She said quietly, "And Dan can't bring himself to go in after what he saw last time."
Tai pushed past her, and into the toilet, "Matt! Matt, are you okay?" He asked loudly.
There was no answer, but Louie pointed towards the locked cubicle.
Tai nodded, "Matt," He knocked on the door, "It's me, Tai. C'mon out. I'll protect you, I promise."
He heard a muffled sob, but the door didn't open.
He stepped back, then kicked it off its hinges. Matt sat huddled on the toilet seat, rocking back and forth, his hands over his ears.
Without a second thought Tai pulled the boy into a hug, "Matt, it's okay. It's me."
Matt looked up at him, "Tai?" He whispered weakly, sounding like a lost child.
"It's okay, it's me. I'm here. Now c'mon Matt, lets get out of here."
Tai felt the tremor that racked Matt's body, "I can't. I'll get blood on my feet, then Mum and Dad will be angry at me."
Tai tried to hide his confusion, there was no blood on the floor and Matts parents never got angry at him, he didn't really see them enough for that. "What blood?" He asked, addressing the easier question.
"It's on the floor. Please Tai, don't make me touch it."
Tai carefully picked the lighter blond up, "Okay Matt. I'll carry you out."
Matt buried his face in Tai's neck, "Don't make me look at it."
"Okay Matt," Tai repeated. Louie gave Tai a curious look. Tai shook his head and the three walked out of the bathroom together, Matt still carried gently in Tai's arms.
Louie reached out to gently ruffle Matts hair,
"Can Tai put you down now?" She asked. Matt clutched tighter at Tais neck and shook his head.
"It's okay," Tai murmured softly, "I'll take him home. If any of the teachers are curious you can tell them that."
She nodded, "Oh, by the way Matt, you dropped this," She offered him the letter.
Matt shook his head again; "I don't want it."
"Why not?" Louie asked, feeling vaguely hurt.
"It has blood on it," Matt whispered snuggling closer to Tai.
"How did you..." Louie trailed off, "Never mind."
Dan and his girl walked up; "We'll walk you to the gates." The girl said, "I'm walking Dan home anyway."
Dan smiled, "Thanks Dee."
The group walked to the front gates, ignoring all the strange stares that Tai holding Matt earned.
~~~
"Is Matt okay?" T.K. burst out as soon as he recognised the girl out the front of the toilets and her trolley pole.
"Oh yeah. He went home with that Tai Kamiya kid. They looked fairly cozy so I said I'd cover for them."
Kari blinked, "For real? That's so weird. It seems like only yesterday Tai was declaring he'd never talk to Matt again. Oh, that's right, it was yesterday," She grinned at T.K. "How they went from being best friends to that I'll never know."
T.K. grinned back, "So Matt's okay?" He affirmed.
"I'm not too sure. I think you should go see him when school gets out. As long as Tai stays with him he should be okay. What happened between those two anyway?"
Kari shrugged, "We're not sure. Tai said something about a party. Matt never really explained anything. They used to do everything together, but just before they started year 9 they suddenly stopped talking. It was way weird."
"Alright," Louie waved as she turned to leave then spun to look at T.K., "By the way T.K. I saw you on the news last night. I especially liked the part about the gay alien."
T.K. grinned back; "Sometimes I thought he really was one."
Louie burst out laughing, "Sometimes he did too."
~~~
"Hey girlfriend," Sammy chirped, plopping down into the seat beside Sora, "You won't believe what I just heard."
"What?" Sora asked curiously, it seemed like she'd heard over a hundred rumours just today.
"Well..." Sammy began, "You know that bitch Candy?"
Sora remembered her archenemy with distaste, "Yeah?"
"Apparently Mr. Gavini had to stop her from jumping out of the second story windows. She went totally nuts when she read that letter, started spouting off about some dead cousin of hers and a ruined birthday. What an utter twit! To bad she didn't jump!"
Sora forced a laugh, "Yeah, too bad."
"So what did you think of the letter? I think it's somebody's idea of a sick joke personally."
Sora shrugged, "I can't be bothered reading it."
"Der, get with the program Sora. You have to read it at least once. Just in case it's for real."
"What's so important about it?" Sora asked
"It's supposed to be Ben's suicide note. Somebody used up all the paper in the school photocopying it. I can't believe you haven't seen it, they were everywhere this morning."
"I was late," Sora explained, "Do you have a copy?"
"Nah, not on me, but check your locker. Everyone else had on in their lockers."
Sora was about to stand when another girl skidded to a halt in front of her, "Hey, you used to date Matt Ishida didn't you?"
Sora blinked, "I still do." She corrected.
"No shit?" The girl crowed, "This just keeps getting better and better. You know that soccer jock Tai Kamiya, he and Matt just had wild animal sex in the A-Block boys toilets, while that freak Louie Jones watched. Tai just carried him out of the school. 3 guesses at what they're doing right now!"
Sora froze, as the girl's words sunk in. Tai was supposed to be one of her friends, well, sort of. Some friend. She grabbed her cell phone out of her bag and quickly punched in Matts number. The phone rang a few times before it was answered by a breathless Tai.
"Hello, Ishida residence. This is Tai."
Sora's heart clenched, "Hello there Tai Ishida."
"Hey Sora," The boy said with a chuckle.
"What are you doing at Matt's place?" Her voice rose slightly in pitch.
"I was just putting Matt to bed. He's just fallen asleep. He's had a very tiring day, I'd rather not wake him again."
Sora felt her blood boil, "You know what Tai? Fuck you!"
Her two friends recoiled at the volume of her voice and all heads snapped towards her.
"I don't care if you are fucking stealing my boyfriend right out from underneath my nose but if your planning on fucking Matt at least tell me so I can dump him first. In fact fuck that. Tell Matt he's dumped, and I hope you both rot in hell you fags!"
Sora ignored Tai's muffled, "Wha?!?" and hit the end call button.
Every person in the school cafeteria was staring at her in shock, several people exited at a run to spread the news.
Sora glared at the silent room, "What?!"
Everyone quickly went back to their meals.
~~~
Ken cringed away from the extremely loud voice.
"Dria," He greeted, trying to pry the brunette's death-grip glomp from around his arm.
"Hi Ken," The girl giggled, "Who's your friend?" When Davis didn't answer in time she grinned, "Okay I'll just call you Ken's boyfriend."
Both boys went red.
"So cute! You're blushing. Maybe you can do me a favour and see Louie!"
"What? Why?" Davis asked, recovering from his blushing fit first.
"You mean you haven't heard?" The girls green eyes fixed on him, "Tai Kamiya and Matt Ishida had wild rampant animal comfort sex in the A-Block Boys toilets and Louie taped the whole thing. And now she's selling copies to the whole school. Sora Takenouchi got a hold of one and dumped Matt in front of the school cafeteria. Apparently she's decided to go lesbian. Do you think I have a chance?"
Ken spluttered, "I-I don't know!"
The girl shrugged, "Okay. Now go see Louie, and I want a copy of that video since I found you two out first."
Davis stared after the girl, "What the hell was she talking about?"
Ken blushed, "I have no idea."
~~~
"Hey you! You'll never believe it!" The girl crowed.
"What?" Izzy asked wearily.
"Tai and Matt Ishida have eloped. They're going to Los Vegas for their honeymoon and apparently Tai was the BRIDE," she squealed excitedly, "And Sora Takenouchi dumped them both in the school cafeteria and Mr Diddy rushed to her side to comfort her. I hear they're heading towards a secluded broom closet right now!"
Izzy blinked in shock, it wasn't often his old friends were the subject of rumours. "Ah, thanks... you."
The brunette grinned crookedly, her bright green eyes gleaming. "No problem, you."
She dashed off, the too short pleated skirt giving Izzy an eyeful.
"Wait!"
The girl spun, "Yeah?"
"Do you know where I can get a copy of the letter?"
"You mean you haven't read it yet?" She asked, "Go check your locker."
~~~
Tai hung up the phone, his ear ringing slightly from Sora's yelling. His best friend had just had a mental break down and now he was supposed to tell Matt that his girlfriend of almost a year had broken up with him.
Sora had obviously been misinformed, as soon as he and Matt explained everything she'd forgive Matt and he and Matt could go back to dating. No Sora and Matt could go back to dating.
He and Matt had broken up their friendship a long time ago. It suddenly occurred to him that he'd lied about being Matts best friend. He and Matt hadn't been best friends since Bib's party almost 3 years ago.
//Flashback//
"So who the hell is Bib?" Tai asked, linking his arm through Matts with a grin.
"No, that's B period, I period, B period. Stands for Boy In Bathroom. He couldn't remember his name when we met."
Tai gave Matt a horrified look, "We're going to a complete strangers party?"
"I was invited," Matt defended.
Their conversation was interrupted by a short black haired boy with an eyebrow ring.
"I know you! Tai Kamiya you bad boy, what are you doing here?"
Tai sighed, "Hi Ben."
"That's Good Friend Ben to you Good Friend Tai. And how are you two lovely ladies tonight?"
"We're guys," Tai pointed out glumly.
"Oh I know you are," He dismissed Tai, "What's your name gorgeous?" He asked fingering Matt's hair.
"Matt, " Matt replied gruffly.
"Oh wow, major mistake. It's a good thing I'm gay."
"You are?" Matt asked, giving Tai a sideways look.
Tai chorused along with the black haired 'gay'.
"Only, when I'm *really* happy." Ben grinned.
Tai rolled his eyes.
"I'm a gay alien, see?" He pointed to the two party hats covering his ears and held to his face by elastic.
Tai's attention wandered and he spotted a pair of breasts attached to a nice girl, and decided to go ask them... her to dance.
Matt turned to Ben, "So what now Good Friend Ben?"
"Would you like to get gay with me, Good Friend Matt?" Ben asked.
Matt shrugged, "Why not."
~
When Tai returned to where he'd last seen Matt and Ben he found them studiously gluing pink and blue sequins onto Ben's silver pipe. They appeared to be pulling them off someone's very skimpy shirt. Tai had a feeling he'd rather not know how they'd gotten possession of the shirt. The two were giggling each time they glued on a star.
"Are you okay Matt?"
Matt grinned, "I'm fine, I'm just very, very gay!"
"He's very gay Good Friend Tai," Ben added in a stage whisper.
"Matt?" Tai repeated, "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yes. I'm just gay. Oh and I'm in love with you."
Tai's mouth dropped open.
"You're supposed to say I love you too. Feel the gayness." He offered Tai his pipe.
Tai pushed it away, "Matt..." Tai repeated for the third time. Apparently this translated as I love you too, to Matt.
"I'm glad you feel the same way," He pounced on Tai, meshing their mouths together.
Ben nodded sagely, "My work here is done. I'm off to spread the gayness."
Tai was too busy taking off Matts shirt to notice Ben stumbling over the two of them as they rolled about on the floor.
//End Flashback//
Of course the next morning when Matt woke up he'd explained that he often said he didn't mean when he was stoned.
And that had been the end of their friendship.
Tai hated to admit it but he was gay even when he wasn't really happy.
~~~
Izzy pulled the letter out of his locker, he felt kind of stupid. He'd been avoiding the note all day, illogical, but he was all the same.
His black eyes scanned the words, pausing as a single sentence caught his attention. The paper dropped from his nerveless fingers as he repeated the line out loud,
"That's not normal..." He whispered.
His shoulders shook and he stumbled towards the boys locker rooms, tears still streaming down his face.
He turned on the water and slumped to the ground still fully clothed as the heated spray soaked him through.
The water sliding down his face mingled with his tears.
Crumpled on the bottom of the shower Izzy sobbed, the single line still running through his head, 'That's not normal.'
~~~
"Marcy?" MJ whispered, "It's me, MJ."
"Oh, Hey MJ." Marcy said with a forced smile, "What are you doing here?"
"Uh..." MJ thrust several leather-bound books at Marcy, "Marcy, Ben... wanted you to have these."
Marcy stared down at them, "But... these are his diaries...?"
"He left a will and he wants you to have these," MJ turned away, hiding the tears in her eyes.
"MJ, wait..." Marcy called out.
MJ turned back as the older girl hugged her, "I'm really, really sorry that I didn't see this coming."
MJ pulled back, "Do you think I'm a bad sister?"
"Of course not. Ben always said how much he loved you."
"The last words I said to him were 'I wish you'd just go away and leave me alone'." MJ looked up through her tears, "I didn't mean it. Marcy I swear I didn't mean it."
Marcy wanted to comfort her, to say that Ben knew it wasn't true, but what if he hadn't?
MJ swallowed, "Yeah," she said and turned away, Marcy's silence was more cutting then anything she could have said.
To Be Continued...
Authors Notes: Hmm, to begin with the Taito. We're not quite sure how or when this happened, like the Kensuke it just kind of snuck up on us. The Sorato got shot to hell, god I love gossip (Except when it's about me. Being asked 16 times in one day if I *really* had a threesome isn't my idea of a good time... but if it was anyone else *grins*)
Have any of you noticed that a lot of our original characters have 3 letter names. This isn't deliberate, we're just lazy.
We've started on the digidestined's problems (a little) Yes Matt hallucinating about blood-drenched floors *is* a problem.
And the flashbacks about Ben are supposed to show that the digidestined did know him, even if they weren't close.
The reason we didn't have one of the DD dying is because we wanted them to face their own problems, not get distracted by the death of a close friend (as you'll notice Ben's friends have been) again this is on purpose.
Forgive the humour, it's a self defense mechanism, both for us and the characters. It's their way of coping and our way of keeping ourselves sane.
Please Review!!!
By Kaizer K-chan and FireDemon
Warnings: Suicide, Death, Angst, Drug-use, Yaoi (We can't resist) Mentions a lot of not nice stuff. This is a serious fic. TAITO, KENSUKE - It just snuck in. *sighs miserably* We were really looking forward to writing SORATO *gags*
This is chapter is dedicated to angel of peace, who gave us our first review. We noticed you like TAITO so bon appetit. This wasn't supposed to be a romance goddamnit. We'll get to the angst *soon* Very soon. *Glares at nonexistent angst*
Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or the song "Blood is Blood" by Nerina Pallot, but we suggest you listen to it. The storyline and all original characters belong to us, or the respective people they're based on. Please don't take them without permission.
For the real Ben, rest in peace man.
Chapter 3: Tinkerbell My Winged Friend, I Think We Got It Wrong
Tai walked through the gates and into the school, and was surprised to see everyone milling out the front. What had happened now? He braced for another tragedy as one of his friends came rushing up.
"Yo Tai, you just get here?"
"Yeah, what's going on?" Tai asked warily.
"Apparently last night someone broke into the school and put these up everywhere," He indicated to the various pieces of paper people were holding.
"What are they?" Tai asked.
"Dude, just go get one. They're everywhere. Apparently there's not a blank piece of paper left in the entire school."
Tai nodded his thanks and walked over to the pin up board the boy had indicated, and tore the letter off the board.
~~~
Matt opened his locker trying to ignore the students who were still talking excitedly about the reporter who'd end up being hospitalised after visiting the school. The reporters were now respecting students rights and staying off the grounds.
He stared at the folded piece of paper in his locker for a moment before carefully taking it out and unfolding it.
He stared at the letter for a few moments before he read through it. Somehow he knew it wasn't a joke. His eyes slipped down to the black spots on the photocopied paper and he remembered the creased letter Dan had pulled from his pocket. Now he knew the blood hadn't come from Dans jeans.
Bile rose in his throat and he spun on his heel, and ran for the nearest toilets. It was only after he'd finished throwing up and flushed the toilet that he looked around and realised where he was. He was in the A-Block Boys toilets. He let out a squeak and climbed onto the toilet seat, staring at the floor fearfully, just waiting for the blood to come seeping under the cubicle door.
He couldn't go out there, he didn't want to see Ben slumped against the wall, blood trickling down his arms, his eyes staring straight at Matt as though he was still telling Matt all her secrets. He stared at the floor, he mustn't get blood on his feet: his parent's would get angry.
He let out a small sob as he sunk down so he was sitting on the seat of the toilet, his arms wrapped around his knees as he let the tears stream down his face.
~~~
"Yo Takaishi, is it true?" One of the cheerleaders asked excitedly.
"Is what true?" T.K. asked cautiously. He'd heard the phrase more times then he could remember in the past two days.
"I just heard your brother tried to off himself in the A-Block boys toilet." She replied, blinking when T.K. stared at her in horrified shock, "Don't worry about it man. MJ didn't know about Ben either. I guess you guys really don't know your older siblings."
MJ stepped forward, "You bitch!" She hissed, "If Matt really did try to kill himself it's not T.K.'s fault he didn't know Matt felt like that!"
T.K. hastily stepped in between the two girls, "Calm down MJ. I'm sure it's just a rumour." He glared at the cheerleader.
"Let's go see if he's alright," Suggested Kari.
~~~
"Tai! You know that Ishida kid eh?" Bozzie yelled.
"Matt, yeah, I know him," Tai confirmed, wondering why anyone would talk to him about Matt. They hadn't talked properly in years.
"Right. He went into the A-Block toilets and nobody can get him out," He shuddered, "I don't know why he went in there in the first place. I wouldn't go in there if you paid me!"
"Thanks," Tai replied, already making a break for the boys toilets.
There was a crowd around the toilets, but nobody seemed to be making any moves to go in. He spotted Dan on the edge of the crowd, some girl, obviously his girlfriend, was hugging him reassuringly.
"Oy, Rack off. If you need to take a leak, take it elsewhere, and if you're just here to gawk, me and Mr. Trolley Pole have a couple of objections." Louie whipped the trolley pole out of her bag.
Luckily most people knew better then to incur Louies wrath, and the rest just followed the crowd, leaving Tai, Dan, and Dan's girlfriend alone with the angry girl and her trolley pole.
"What do you want Kamiya and you'd better make it good!" Louie threatened.
"Is... Someone told me Matt was in there..." Tai began.
"He could be."
"Is he okay?" Tai asked.
"What's it to you?" Louie snapped
"He's my best friend," Tai said automatically, even though they hadn't really even been friends in ages.
"You'd better not be making this up to get a look." She finally relented, "I need your help."
"Why?" Tai asked.
"I can't carry him out myself," She said quietly, "And Dan can't bring himself to go in after what he saw last time."
Tai pushed past her, and into the toilet, "Matt! Matt, are you okay?" He asked loudly.
There was no answer, but Louie pointed towards the locked cubicle.
Tai nodded, "Matt," He knocked on the door, "It's me, Tai. C'mon out. I'll protect you, I promise."
He heard a muffled sob, but the door didn't open.
He stepped back, then kicked it off its hinges. Matt sat huddled on the toilet seat, rocking back and forth, his hands over his ears.
Without a second thought Tai pulled the boy into a hug, "Matt, it's okay. It's me."
Matt looked up at him, "Tai?" He whispered weakly, sounding like a lost child.
"It's okay, it's me. I'm here. Now c'mon Matt, lets get out of here."
Tai felt the tremor that racked Matt's body, "I can't. I'll get blood on my feet, then Mum and Dad will be angry at me."
Tai tried to hide his confusion, there was no blood on the floor and Matts parents never got angry at him, he didn't really see them enough for that. "What blood?" He asked, addressing the easier question.
"It's on the floor. Please Tai, don't make me touch it."
Tai carefully picked the lighter blond up, "Okay Matt. I'll carry you out."
Matt buried his face in Tai's neck, "Don't make me look at it."
"Okay Matt," Tai repeated. Louie gave Tai a curious look. Tai shook his head and the three walked out of the bathroom together, Matt still carried gently in Tai's arms.
Louie reached out to gently ruffle Matts hair,
"Can Tai put you down now?" She asked. Matt clutched tighter at Tais neck and shook his head.
"It's okay," Tai murmured softly, "I'll take him home. If any of the teachers are curious you can tell them that."
She nodded, "Oh, by the way Matt, you dropped this," She offered him the letter.
Matt shook his head again; "I don't want it."
"Why not?" Louie asked, feeling vaguely hurt.
"It has blood on it," Matt whispered snuggling closer to Tai.
"How did you..." Louie trailed off, "Never mind."
Dan and his girl walked up; "We'll walk you to the gates." The girl said, "I'm walking Dan home anyway."
Dan smiled, "Thanks Dee."
The group walked to the front gates, ignoring all the strange stares that Tai holding Matt earned.
~~~
"Is Matt okay?" T.K. burst out as soon as he recognised the girl out the front of the toilets and her trolley pole.
"Oh yeah. He went home with that Tai Kamiya kid. They looked fairly cozy so I said I'd cover for them."
Kari blinked, "For real? That's so weird. It seems like only yesterday Tai was declaring he'd never talk to Matt again. Oh, that's right, it was yesterday," She grinned at T.K. "How they went from being best friends to that I'll never know."
T.K. grinned back, "So Matt's okay?" He affirmed.
"I'm not too sure. I think you should go see him when school gets out. As long as Tai stays with him he should be okay. What happened between those two anyway?"
Kari shrugged, "We're not sure. Tai said something about a party. Matt never really explained anything. They used to do everything together, but just before they started year 9 they suddenly stopped talking. It was way weird."
"Alright," Louie waved as she turned to leave then spun to look at T.K., "By the way T.K. I saw you on the news last night. I especially liked the part about the gay alien."
T.K. grinned back; "Sometimes I thought he really was one."
Louie burst out laughing, "Sometimes he did too."
~~~
"Hey girlfriend," Sammy chirped, plopping down into the seat beside Sora, "You won't believe what I just heard."
"What?" Sora asked curiously, it seemed like she'd heard over a hundred rumours just today.
"Well..." Sammy began, "You know that bitch Candy?"
Sora remembered her archenemy with distaste, "Yeah?"
"Apparently Mr. Gavini had to stop her from jumping out of the second story windows. She went totally nuts when she read that letter, started spouting off about some dead cousin of hers and a ruined birthday. What an utter twit! To bad she didn't jump!"
Sora forced a laugh, "Yeah, too bad."
"So what did you think of the letter? I think it's somebody's idea of a sick joke personally."
Sora shrugged, "I can't be bothered reading it."
"Der, get with the program Sora. You have to read it at least once. Just in case it's for real."
"What's so important about it?" Sora asked
"It's supposed to be Ben's suicide note. Somebody used up all the paper in the school photocopying it. I can't believe you haven't seen it, they were everywhere this morning."
"I was late," Sora explained, "Do you have a copy?"
"Nah, not on me, but check your locker. Everyone else had on in their lockers."
Sora was about to stand when another girl skidded to a halt in front of her, "Hey, you used to date Matt Ishida didn't you?"
Sora blinked, "I still do." She corrected.
"No shit?" The girl crowed, "This just keeps getting better and better. You know that soccer jock Tai Kamiya, he and Matt just had wild animal sex in the A-Block boys toilets, while that freak Louie Jones watched. Tai just carried him out of the school. 3 guesses at what they're doing right now!"
Sora froze, as the girl's words sunk in. Tai was supposed to be one of her friends, well, sort of. Some friend. She grabbed her cell phone out of her bag and quickly punched in Matts number. The phone rang a few times before it was answered by a breathless Tai.
"Hello, Ishida residence. This is Tai."
Sora's heart clenched, "Hello there Tai Ishida."
"Hey Sora," The boy said with a chuckle.
"What are you doing at Matt's place?" Her voice rose slightly in pitch.
"I was just putting Matt to bed. He's just fallen asleep. He's had a very tiring day, I'd rather not wake him again."
Sora felt her blood boil, "You know what Tai? Fuck you!"
Her two friends recoiled at the volume of her voice and all heads snapped towards her.
"I don't care if you are fucking stealing my boyfriend right out from underneath my nose but if your planning on fucking Matt at least tell me so I can dump him first. In fact fuck that. Tell Matt he's dumped, and I hope you both rot in hell you fags!"
Sora ignored Tai's muffled, "Wha?!?" and hit the end call button.
Every person in the school cafeteria was staring at her in shock, several people exited at a run to spread the news.
Sora glared at the silent room, "What?!"
Everyone quickly went back to their meals.
~~~
Ken cringed away from the extremely loud voice.
"Dria," He greeted, trying to pry the brunette's death-grip glomp from around his arm.
"Hi Ken," The girl giggled, "Who's your friend?" When Davis didn't answer in time she grinned, "Okay I'll just call you Ken's boyfriend."
Both boys went red.
"So cute! You're blushing. Maybe you can do me a favour and see Louie!"
"What? Why?" Davis asked, recovering from his blushing fit first.
"You mean you haven't heard?" The girls green eyes fixed on him, "Tai Kamiya and Matt Ishida had wild rampant animal comfort sex in the A-Block Boys toilets and Louie taped the whole thing. And now she's selling copies to the whole school. Sora Takenouchi got a hold of one and dumped Matt in front of the school cafeteria. Apparently she's decided to go lesbian. Do you think I have a chance?"
Ken spluttered, "I-I don't know!"
The girl shrugged, "Okay. Now go see Louie, and I want a copy of that video since I found you two out first."
Davis stared after the girl, "What the hell was she talking about?"
Ken blushed, "I have no idea."
~~~
"Hey you! You'll never believe it!" The girl crowed.
"What?" Izzy asked wearily.
"Tai and Matt Ishida have eloped. They're going to Los Vegas for their honeymoon and apparently Tai was the BRIDE," she squealed excitedly, "And Sora Takenouchi dumped them both in the school cafeteria and Mr Diddy rushed to her side to comfort her. I hear they're heading towards a secluded broom closet right now!"
Izzy blinked in shock, it wasn't often his old friends were the subject of rumours. "Ah, thanks... you."
The brunette grinned crookedly, her bright green eyes gleaming. "No problem, you."
She dashed off, the too short pleated skirt giving Izzy an eyeful.
"Wait!"
The girl spun, "Yeah?"
"Do you know where I can get a copy of the letter?"
"You mean you haven't read it yet?" She asked, "Go check your locker."
~~~
Tai hung up the phone, his ear ringing slightly from Sora's yelling. His best friend had just had a mental break down and now he was supposed to tell Matt that his girlfriend of almost a year had broken up with him.
Sora had obviously been misinformed, as soon as he and Matt explained everything she'd forgive Matt and he and Matt could go back to dating. No Sora and Matt could go back to dating.
He and Matt had broken up their friendship a long time ago. It suddenly occurred to him that he'd lied about being Matts best friend. He and Matt hadn't been best friends since Bib's party almost 3 years ago.
//Flashback//
"So who the hell is Bib?" Tai asked, linking his arm through Matts with a grin.
"No, that's B period, I period, B period. Stands for Boy In Bathroom. He couldn't remember his name when we met."
Tai gave Matt a horrified look, "We're going to a complete strangers party?"
"I was invited," Matt defended.
Their conversation was interrupted by a short black haired boy with an eyebrow ring.
"I know you! Tai Kamiya you bad boy, what are you doing here?"
Tai sighed, "Hi Ben."
"That's Good Friend Ben to you Good Friend Tai. And how are you two lovely ladies tonight?"
"We're guys," Tai pointed out glumly.
"Oh I know you are," He dismissed Tai, "What's your name gorgeous?" He asked fingering Matt's hair.
"Matt, " Matt replied gruffly.
"Oh wow, major mistake. It's a good thing I'm gay."
"You are?" Matt asked, giving Tai a sideways look.
Tai chorused along with the black haired 'gay'.
"Only, when I'm *really* happy." Ben grinned.
Tai rolled his eyes.
"I'm a gay alien, see?" He pointed to the two party hats covering his ears and held to his face by elastic.
Tai's attention wandered and he spotted a pair of breasts attached to a nice girl, and decided to go ask them... her to dance.
Matt turned to Ben, "So what now Good Friend Ben?"
"Would you like to get gay with me, Good Friend Matt?" Ben asked.
Matt shrugged, "Why not."
~
When Tai returned to where he'd last seen Matt and Ben he found them studiously gluing pink and blue sequins onto Ben's silver pipe. They appeared to be pulling them off someone's very skimpy shirt. Tai had a feeling he'd rather not know how they'd gotten possession of the shirt. The two were giggling each time they glued on a star.
"Are you okay Matt?"
Matt grinned, "I'm fine, I'm just very, very gay!"
"He's very gay Good Friend Tai," Ben added in a stage whisper.
"Matt?" Tai repeated, "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yes. I'm just gay. Oh and I'm in love with you."
Tai's mouth dropped open.
"You're supposed to say I love you too. Feel the gayness." He offered Tai his pipe.
Tai pushed it away, "Matt..." Tai repeated for the third time. Apparently this translated as I love you too, to Matt.
"I'm glad you feel the same way," He pounced on Tai, meshing their mouths together.
Ben nodded sagely, "My work here is done. I'm off to spread the gayness."
Tai was too busy taking off Matts shirt to notice Ben stumbling over the two of them as they rolled about on the floor.
//End Flashback//
Of course the next morning when Matt woke up he'd explained that he often said he didn't mean when he was stoned.
And that had been the end of their friendship.
Tai hated to admit it but he was gay even when he wasn't really happy.
~~~
Izzy pulled the letter out of his locker, he felt kind of stupid. He'd been avoiding the note all day, illogical, but he was all the same.
His black eyes scanned the words, pausing as a single sentence caught his attention. The paper dropped from his nerveless fingers as he repeated the line out loud,
"That's not normal..." He whispered.
His shoulders shook and he stumbled towards the boys locker rooms, tears still streaming down his face.
He turned on the water and slumped to the ground still fully clothed as the heated spray soaked him through.
The water sliding down his face mingled with his tears.
Crumpled on the bottom of the shower Izzy sobbed, the single line still running through his head, 'That's not normal.'
~~~
"Marcy?" MJ whispered, "It's me, MJ."
"Oh, Hey MJ." Marcy said with a forced smile, "What are you doing here?"
"Uh..." MJ thrust several leather-bound books at Marcy, "Marcy, Ben... wanted you to have these."
Marcy stared down at them, "But... these are his diaries...?"
"He left a will and he wants you to have these," MJ turned away, hiding the tears in her eyes.
"MJ, wait..." Marcy called out.
MJ turned back as the older girl hugged her, "I'm really, really sorry that I didn't see this coming."
MJ pulled back, "Do you think I'm a bad sister?"
"Of course not. Ben always said how much he loved you."
"The last words I said to him were 'I wish you'd just go away and leave me alone'." MJ looked up through her tears, "I didn't mean it. Marcy I swear I didn't mean it."
Marcy wanted to comfort her, to say that Ben knew it wasn't true, but what if he hadn't?
MJ swallowed, "Yeah," she said and turned away, Marcy's silence was more cutting then anything she could have said.
To Be Continued...
Authors Notes: Hmm, to begin with the Taito. We're not quite sure how or when this happened, like the Kensuke it just kind of snuck up on us. The Sorato got shot to hell, god I love gossip (Except when it's about me. Being asked 16 times in one day if I *really* had a threesome isn't my idea of a good time... but if it was anyone else *grins*)
Have any of you noticed that a lot of our original characters have 3 letter names. This isn't deliberate, we're just lazy.
We've started on the digidestined's problems (a little) Yes Matt hallucinating about blood-drenched floors *is* a problem.
And the flashbacks about Ben are supposed to show that the digidestined did know him, even if they weren't close.
The reason we didn't have one of the DD dying is because we wanted them to face their own problems, not get distracted by the death of a close friend (as you'll notice Ben's friends have been) again this is on purpose.
Forgive the humour, it's a self defense mechanism, both for us and the characters. It's their way of coping and our way of keeping ourselves sane.
Please Review!!!