What was I thinking? God that version of chapter 4 sucked. Well, it doesn¡¯t really matter. Anyways, here¡¯s the new + improved chapter 4. (Watch out for language a little later on, from Tai.)

Yamato¡¯s point of view:

Toshiki¡¯s the person to go to for guidance. He¡¯s never given bad advice, and right now, I could use some help. So that¡¯s why I¡¯m standing here, knocking furiously on his door in the middle of the night. I just hope his fever hasn¡¯t affected his thinking.

¡°Do you have any idea what time it is?¡± Toshiki asked blearily, when the door finally opened.

¡°Around midnight,¡± I answered.

Toshiki shook his head and yawned. ¡°It¡¯s 1:49. Come back around noon, ok?¡± he said as he began to close the door.

¡°But what I have to say is really important! Please Toshiki, I need your help!¡±

Toshiki must¡¯ve heard the urgency in my voice, because after stifling a yawn, he motioned for me to come in.

¡°You do know that recovering patients need their rest?¡± he asked tiredly, as he sat down on the couch besides me.

¡°Yes, but I have this¡­Wait. Did you just say recovering patient?¡± I asked incredulously. ¡°That¡¯s great! Does that mean you can perform?¡±

Toshiki nodded sleepily. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m pretty much over my cold.¡± He sniffled. ¡°But the doctor said I shouldn¡¯t overdo it, so I can only play a few songs. Anyways, what¡¯s your problem?¡±

I took a couple of deep breaths before finally blurting out, ¡°I¡¯m in love with my best friend Taichi.¡±

Toshiki look at me, amused and slightly irritated. ¡°You woke me up at this unearthly hour just to tell me that? Yamato, I already knew that!¡±

¡°How¡­ How did you know?¡± I stammered.

¡°Your voice would always get softer when you talked about him,¡± he answered, in his usual quiet manner. ¡°And you¡¯d get this dreamy expression on your face.¡±

¡°That obvious?¡± I asked, embarrassed.

He shook his head. ¡°Not really, I just pay really close attention to things like that. Anyhow, continue.¡±

¡°Well tonight he kissed me. And it was such a great kiss. But he was smashed, so I pushed him away.¡±

Toshiki looked at me thoughtfully. ¡°Maybe I shouldn¡¯t be the one you¡¯re talking to right now,¡± he said softly.

¡°I know, but what if he tells me it was all a mistake? I don¡¯t want to hear that the best moment of my life was a stupid, drunken, mistake.¡±

¡°And what is he tells you he was using his ¡®intoxicated state¡¯ as an excuse to kiss you?¡±

I smiled. ¡°When did you become so optimistic?¡±

¡°This mood will fade in about 10 seconds, so I suggest that you get out of my house before I decide to kick your ass for waking me up this early.¡±

¡°Thanks for the advice; I¡¯m going to talk to Tai right now,¡± I said as I turned to leave.

¡°Yamato?¡±

¡°Yeah?¡±

¡°You might want to wait until a more reasonable hour. It is only 2:30 in the morning.¡±

Taichi¡¯s point of view:

Ding Dong the door bell rang cheerfully.

I opened one eye tentatively, and looked at my alarm clock. The red numbers 9:16- too early to be getting out of my nice, warm, comfortable, cozy bed; too early to be answering doors; too early to be doing anything on a Saturday morning. I sighed as I closed my eyes. Maybe, just maybe, if I tried hard enough I could go back to dreaming about kissing Yamato¡­

I fell out of bed with a startle, and wasn¡¯t because of the sudden knocking on my bedroom door.

Wait, it was a dream, wasn¡¯t it? It seemed so real, but don¡¯t all dreams seem real? My head was pounding, making it hard to think. I knew I shouldn¡¯t have had one of Suma¡¯s little tube-thingies. You think I would¡¯ve learned after trying his green-glowy-shit. Best to sleep off this killer hangover, and then try to sort out the hazy events of last night, I decided as I crawled back into bed.

There was a louder knocking at my door.

¡°Go away!¡± I groaned, as I pulled my covers over my head.

¡°Taichi, you have a guest!¡± my little sister, Hikari, yelled back.

¡°Well tell him to come back later! Around 3 o¡¯clock in the afternoon would be good!¡±

¡°It¡¯s Yamato,¡± she teased, in a tone that only little sisters can perfect.

For a second, I briefly considered telling him to go away too. But then again, how could I turn down the opportunity to see Yamato? I scrambled out of bed.

Yamato¡¯s point of view:

¡°I¡¯m sorry, but Tai¡¯s not much of a morning person,¡± Hikari apologized as she grabbed her coat from the coat rack. ¡°As you can see, our parents are out running errands. And I have to go meet Yolei at the library, so you and Tai have fun!¡± She smiled at me sweetly before walking out the door.

What did she mean by ¡°have fun?¡± I wondered. And her smile was way too sweet. Wait this was sweet, little, innocent Hikari- I was probably thinking too much into things.

Taichi smiled at me brilliantly, almost too brilliantly, when he finally emerged from his room. His wild hair was even wilder than usual; his boxers were hanging dangerously low on his hips¡­stay on task Yamato!

¡°I¡¯m sorry for waking you,¡± I apologized, noticing his sleep-tousled appearance.

¡°It¡¯s no problem,¡± he said as he absentmindedly ran his finger through his wild hair in a useless attempt to tame it.

¡°Toshiki can perform tomorrow,¡± I began.

¡°That¡¯s great! Wow, he sure got over the flu quickly!¡± Tai interjected.

¡°It turns out he had a cold. Anyways, he can perform tomorrow,¡± I resumed.

¡°That¡¯s good,¡± Tai said, as he smiled genuinely. ¡°I never got over my stage-fright you now.¡±

¡°You¡¯re not off the hook yet. Toshiki¡¯s still recovering, so he can only perform a few songs.¡±

¡°You came to my house at 9 o¡¯clock just to tell me that?¡± he asked, amused.

¡°Well, actually, I wanted to talk about something else too.¡± Tai¡¯s smile faded as I continued. ¡°I wanted to talk to you about last night.¡±

Taichi cleared his throat uncomfortably. ¡°What happened last night?¡±

¡°You kissed me,¡± I whispered, looking at the ground.

Taichi¡¯s point of view:

Oh shit! Oh fuck! It wasn¡¯t a dream! That sickening, deathly cold feeling that you get when you do something terribly wrong washed over me. You know, that feeling you get when you¡¯re about to see your life crumble into a little pile of dust right before your very eyes.

It was a good thing Yamato was looking at the ground; I don¡¯t think I could bear to see the disgust and contempt in his eyes. Come on Taichi, explain yourself!

¡°Um, yeah, about that. I¡­ I kiss everyone when I¡¯m drunk. I¡¯m sorry,¡± I said, well aware of the fact that I was rambling.

¡°It was a mistake, is that what you¡¯re saying?¡± he asked, unable to hide the hurt in his voice.

¡°No¡­ yes¡­ I don¡¯t know,¡± I said, my voice faltering.

¡°How could you?! How could you do that to me?¡± Yamato exploded.

¡°I said I¡¯m sorry,¡± I yelled back. It was a primal, almost instinctive response, stemming from our experiences together in the Digital World. ¡°I¡¯ll never kiss you again! Is that what you want?¡±

¡°No!¡± he shouted back.

¡°Then what do you want?¡±

¡°I want you to kiss me, and only me!¡±

Silence, as I looked at him in shock. Quietly, I walked over to him and softly, as soft as a flutter of a butterfly¡¯s wing, I planted a kiss on his forehead.