The Best Day Ever
"Tai! Wake up! You're going to be late if you don't hurry!"
"Mmph?" mumbled a confused Tai. Then it hit him. The party! Oh God, he thought, if I'm late again Matt will pulverize me!
He jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom to shower. Tai had promised Matt to help him set up for a surprise birthday party for his younger brother, TK. It was important to Matt because TK had been away on a trip on his last birthday, so Matt had gotten a part-time job so that he could buy him his birthday present. Matt was planning to buy TK a stereo system for his room, but on the day he got his last pay check he went to the stereo equipment place and someone had just bought the last kind that Matt wanted to buy! Matt was furious, so he called his manager to help him out. However, going off with his manager made him late to pick up TK from the airport. In the end Matt didn't end up buying TK an actual present at all; he just brought him along on his tour for a while and he met a bunch of famous people. TK was a little shy though - he doesn't like confrontation at all.
Even though TK said it was all right, he still looked disappointed, and Matt was extremely angry with himself. So this year, he had decided to outdo himself and throw TK the party of a lifetime, but with only his closest friends. He had hired a band, a caterer, everything, and Tai had said he would help. Matt being his best friend, he felt he had to, but even if he weren't his best friend he'd help out anyways. But if he were late, Matt would be furious with him.
"Kari! Have you seen my blue shorts?"
"They're on the couch, exactly where you left them last night so you wouldn't forget. Geez, Tai, you're so forgetful." Kari knew that Tai was only forgetful when he was in a hurry or nervous, but she couldn't help teasing him a little.
"Thanks. And shut up." Muttering under his breath, Tai ran out the door and towards Matt's apartment building.
When he arrived, Matt answered the doorbell to find a panting Tai leaning against his knees and catching his breath. "Good, you're here. C'mon, let's go before TK wakes up." Matt grabbed his jacket and walked out, closing the door quietly behind him.
"Did you find a band that TK would like?" Tai asked as they walked along the road toward the restaurant where Matt had reserved a party room for all of TK's best friends, which, thankfully, also happened to be Matt and Tai's best friends: the digidestined of Japan. They had had many adventures in the digital world, and even though they didn't know each other well at first, they had all become very close.
"Yah. I asked TK what he liked to listen to and, probably thinking I was just getting him a CD or something for his birthday, he told me 'Linkin Park, Blink 182, Sum 41, the sorts,' and so I used my connections to book Linkin Park for the afternoon. It'll cost a fortune, but it's worth it. Anyway, my manager said he would handle it." Matt is practically a rock star and has been for about a year. "I can't wait to see the look on TK's face when he sees them!"
Tai's eyes widened. "Whoa, you got Linkin Park? I love that band! This is gonna be so awesome. The party of the century!"
Matt grinned. He felt really great doing this for TK. When their parents got divorced, it was especially hard on him. He remembered the many times he had to stop him from running away and calm him down when he had crying fits. Of course, no one knew about these things. Matt had been the only one there for him. He was more than TK's big brother at those times. He was a friend. One that never went away. So he sure as hell wasn't going to bum out TK on his birthday this year. Not after what he had done the year before.
"There it is," Matt said, pointing across the busy street to their left.
"Holy shit, Matt." Tai was taken aback. It was the biggest and most expensive restaurants in town, maybe even in Japan! Whoa, is TK gonna be surprised, Tai thought. "Come on," said Matt, "we got work to do."
Matt lead him into the building and to a pair of doors near the back. They went through the doors, which revealed a private room about the size of a regular gymnasium, complete with a stage, whose curtains were momentarily drawn. At the other end was a long table, at which some kids were seated.
"Hey, Davis! Yolei, Sora! Great, you're here already. Let's get started."
"Where's Kari?" asked Davis. It was extremely obvious to everyone that he liked Kari, even though he knew that she liked TK. But Tai knew better; he had a conversation with Davis once and he told Tai that it was just the opposite: he liked TK. That was why he got angry whenever he and Kari were together, and the whole 'I love Kari' thing was just an act. Tai always played along, though, to make it easier on the guy. He was, after all, in quite a predicament.
"She's the one keeping TK busy until we're ready, remember?" said Tai.
Davis frowned. "Oh, yeah, right. Sorry, I forgot."
"Hey, Davis, don't look so down." Said Matt sympathetically. Tai smiled - Matt didn't know half of it! "She'll be here soon enough. Now the sooner we can have everything ready the better, because Linkin Park's manager is extremely impatient, so we can't be a minute late. Everything has to go exactly according to plan. Now Yolei," said Matt, taking charge, "you and Sora start blowing up the balloons, putting up the streamers, etcetera, etcetera.pretty much decorating this room and the stage with all that, ok?" Matt gestured to several shopping bags in the corner.
"Right," said Sora, getting up and following Yolei to the bags.
"Ok, now Davis, you go down to the kitchens and show them the menu that we made up yesterday. Tell them to have it ready for dinner at 6:00 tonight." Davis was nodding his head every time something that he had to do was said. "Then go and buy some tickets online for that new amusement park, one day pass for each of us, you know, the ones that buy you food and grounds admission and all that? I'll pay you back after the party.I promise!" said Matt, looking at the look on Davis's face. "Then can you go pick them up? Here, here's some money for the subway." Matt forked over some cash. "Try to be back by say, 12:00 or so, meet us at the corner shop. TK will be with us then, so we'll all go and I'll buy us lunch.
"Alright!" With the thought of a free lunch still in his mind, Davis bolted out the door.
"Ok, now Tai, you and I will go to HMV and find some sort of party music to play during dinner before the band arrives." Matt said, as they two of them walked out the door as well. "Then I'll call the band and we both call everyone to meet us at that corner shop."
"Why don't we do that on our way to HMV? That way maybe we'll have some time to relax for a few minutes.or change, considering I'm already working up a sweat. Hey, slow down, we've got plenty of time." Tai said, grabbing Matt's wrist.
Matt gave a small smile. "Sorry, I'm just kinda nervous that something will go wrong and TK will be all disappointed again." Matt looked away, obviously remembering the previous year. Tai remembered how upset Matt was on TK's last birthday. He had talked about how he must be the worst brother in the entire world and how he didn't deserve to have TK for a brother and how he had totally blown it.
"Relax, even if the band doesn't show up, at least there'll the roller coasters!" Tai's eyes lit up at the very thought. Matt laughed. "I guess," he said, now smiling.
* * * * * * * * *
Knock, knock, knock.
"I'm coming, I'm coming, keep your socks on." TK rolled out of bed and, rubbing his eyes, stumbled towards the door. Bleary eyed, he opened it, and when he saw who it was he was awake almost immediately.
"Hey, TK," said Kari, smiling.
"Kari! Hi. Come in," TK said, standing aside to let Kari inside.
"Oh, no thanks, I'm just here to remind you that you're supposed to meet me by the school later today," she said.
"Oh.yeah, right," TK said. "Yeah. I'll be there, don't worry."
"Alright then, bye! Sorry for waking you up."
"It's alright. Bye," he said.
Disappointed, he closed the door. She hadn't said anything. Nothing. Nobody had. No note from Matt on the kitchen table. No new messages. Has everyone forgotten that it was his 16th birthday? And he knew that Kari wasn't planning anything special for him either, they were going to the school to say hi to the digimon through the digi terminal before they met up with everyone to go to that new amusement park near Tokyo. Wonderful. Putting Linkin Park on the CD player, he listened to "I Wanna Run Away" furiously as he brushed his teeth.
* * * * * * * * *
Meanwhile, Yolei and Sora were putting up the finishing touches on the room, slightly out of breath from blowing balloons. Davis was on the subway back to Tokyo, tickets in his pocket, where he clutched them tightly, and Matt and Tai were heading towards the corner shop to have a drink before everyone else arrived.
"So what's up with you, Matt?" Tai asked. "I know we email each other and stuff, but I don't know what's going on with your life since you went on tour last year."
"Oh.um, like what do you want to know?" Matt said, slightly uncomfortable, as there was indeed something that had happened over the past six months.
"Did you meet any girls? And if so, any you would recommend?"
Matt hit Tai on the arm playfully and said, "Yeah, there were girls. A lot of girls. But all fans. Didn't actually meet any that I liked." This was true, but for a reason that Tai didn't know.yet. "Actually, there was this one person though."
"Tell me, tell me! C'mon Matt, I won't tell anyone."
"You gotta promise.seriously. And you also gotta promise not to freak out.TK is the only one who knows this so far."
"Ok." said Tai slightly confused.
"I do like someone.and I'm no telling you who! But there's no point in me pursuing it.he likes someone else." Matt paused, then looked at Tai, waiting to see if the point had sunk into his head yet.
"Oh c'mon Matt, tell me wh- oh!" Tai's eyes widened. It clicked.
"Yes, oh!" Matt said, smiling slightly.
"Why would you think I would freak out? I'm your best friend."
"I know, I know.but I guess you never really know with this kind of information." Matt laughed at the astonished look on Tai's angelic face. He can't know, he thought. He'll turn away from me forever, and then I won't even have him as a friend.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, sipping their iced teas. Then Tai broke the silence.
"It's ok, really," Tai said, looking at Matt's unsure face. "Actually, I was going to." Tai trailed off.
"What? Tai, I just told you something that I haven't even told my own parents yet. What is it?"
"Well." Tai looked extremely uncomfortable. "I was." he laughed nervously, ".just about.to say something along those lines sometime or other too." Tai blushed furiously.
"You too?" Matt was astonished that the object of his affection might be having similar feelings.
"Well, I'm not sure yet," Tai said hurriedly. "I just keep catching myself thinking things.that straight people don't usually think. But I still like Sora.at least sort of." Tai buried his face into his hands. "It's so confusing.I dunno what to think."
"Hey, it's ok," Matt said, slapping Tai's back. "You can accompany me to gay bars and scope out hot guys with me."
At first Tai thought Matt was serious, and said, "What? I dunno if." Then he saw the bemused grin on Matt's face and also grinned. "You jerk! I'll get you for that." and he got up and chased after Matt, who ran for his pride, both leaving their glasses forgotten on the table.
They calmed down after they saw Cody walking up to them. After a while, the entire gang arrived, including Mimi, Sora, Izzy, Joe, Yolei, Ken, and Davis, who ran up hurriedly holding up tickets. At last, Kari and TK came, hand-in-hand (it figures). TK felt much better now; he had talked his problems over with Patamon, his digimon partner, who had reassured him. Now he was smiling sheepishly as he walked up with Kari. Maybe she kissed him or something, Tai thought.
"Everybody here? Great! LET'S GO!" yelled Davis.
They ate lunch, and much to Davis's delight, Matt had bought him a giant ice cream sundae upon his request, saying "I don't know how you're gonna keep all that down when we're on the coasters, but if you can't, please, turn the direction opposite of me." Everyone laughed, even Davis, and they all headed off toward the subway.
* * * * * * * * * *
"Whoa, that was amazing!" TK exclaimed as the exited the amusement park. It had been fun, for everyone, even though Davis did end up puking up his ice cream after a quadruple-loop coaster. But hey, that's Davis for ya.
Matt especially had fun, because on one of the rides, Tai had gotten so freaked out as they went down a steep hill that he had practically jumped on Matt. He had done this before, and usually Matt just shoved him off, but this time he let him be, and decided to enjoy the moment. After all, sooner or later, Tai will figure out that he likes him and then their friendship will be over, so Matt decided to enjoy it while it lasted. Matt didn't know if Tai's head was actually clear enough to notice that he didn't shove him away as usual because he didn't mention it. But he was still in a considerably good mood.
Unknown to Matt, Tai was very well aware that Matt hadn't pushed him away. Even though he was surprised when he first thought of Matt possibly liking him, but then he thought about it and found out that he sort of liked him too. All that thinking in the three seconds it had taken to go down that hill. He just all of the sudden realized that he wanted to be with him. But whether he was right about Matt liking him or not, he wasn't going to say anything in case he ruins their friendship.
TK and Kari had snuck away once between rides, returning with Kari blushing and TK, again, grinning sheepishly and running his fingers through his hair before putting his hat back on. Davis had scowled and walked off alone for a while. He returned later and ignored Kari and TK for the remainder of the trip.
Everyone else had had fun too. With their spirits lightened, they chattered happily on the subway all the way back to the stop near the neighbourhood where they all lived. When they had arrived, Kari looked at Matt. It was time!
"C'mon TK, there's someone I want you to meet before we go home." Grabbing TK by the arm, he dragged him towards the restaurant where the decorated room was waiting for them. He took the long way there, because the others needed time to get there before he and TK did.
When they arrived at the restaurant, Matt led him inside and towards the back of the building. TK asked, "What are we doing here? This is one of the most expensive restaurants in tow-" He was cut short. Matt had opened the door to the room for TK to find all of his friends already seated, smiling at him. The room was beautifully decorated. TK was astonished.
"Happy birthday, lil' bro," Matt whispered into his ear. TK just looked at his brother for a minute, and then grabbed him in a fierce hug.
"Th-thanks," TK stuttered, obviously still shocked at how much his brother had done.
"Happy birthday!" everyone cried and Matt pulled TK to the table, where everyone started giving him presents (after he blew out his candles on his cake - which was shaped and looked like his own head). After opening and thanking everyone for their gifts, they all dug into the cake. Davis, who was happy again, commented on how cool it must be to eat your own face, which made TK snort in mid-bite, spraying the people closest to him with bits of yellow icing. Everyone laughed. After a while, Tai looked at Matt, who nodded. TK noticed this but remained silent. What else could they have possibly done?
Suddenly a voice came on to P.A. system. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen!" the voice boomed. Hold on a minute, thought TK, that voice sounded slightly familiar.
The voice continued to speak. "I'd just like to wish a very happy birthday to TK Ishida, who is turning 16 today, let's have a round of applause for him shall we?" Everyone clapped; TK even heard some clapping outside of the doors. There was a clicking sound, and now the voice seemed to be coming only from behind the curtain on the stage. TK saw pairs of feet moving around in the little gap between the floor and the bottom of the curtain. "TK, what's your favorite band?" the voice asked.
"Um.well, I like Blink 182 and Sum 41, but Linkin Park's the best, hands down," answered TK matter-of-factly to the mysterious voice. Who was that? He had definitely heard that voice somewhere before.
He turned to Matt, who grinned. Then Matt nodded back to the stage, silently telling TK to look. The curtains opened and revealed a bunch of guys, all of whom TK recognized only too well from the many posters on his walls. He dropped his fork with a clatter.
"No.freakin.way." he managed to choke out. And as the lead guitarist of Linkin Park struck a chord, a big, no, huge smile spread across TK's face. Matt almost let a tear fall to see his brother this happy for the first time in years.
"WAAAHHOOOOOOO!" whooped Tai, and they all got up, and began to dance and sing along with the band.
"I am a little bit of loneliness,
a little bit of disregard Handful of complaints but I can't help the fact That everyone can see these scars . . ."
They all got to meet the band members personally and got autographed Linkin Park CD's. By the end of the night, they were all exhausted, but still extremely hyper. TK was ecstatic. Right after everyone except Tai and Kari left, TK pulled his brother aside and gave him yet another bear hug. He had tears in his eyes.
"That was the best birthday I have ever had in my life," he told him. "Thank you so much for doing this. Though, you gotta admit, you really outdid yourself, Matt."
Matt laughed and hugged his brother again. "Anything for you, little brother," he whispered. "I love you so much, kiddo."
"I love you too, Matt," whispered TK.
"C'mon, we'd better get home," said Matt.
They walked back over to Tai and Kari. They walked home together; their apartment buildings are only across the street from each other.
When they got there, Matt said, "You guys go on ahead, I just want to tell Tai something. I'll be right up." "Alright," said TK, then he kissed Kari on the cheek and they went their separate ways.
"Tai.thanks so much for helping out with this entire thing. You should've seen TK's face . . . he was so happy . . ." Matt's eyes were rimmed with unshed tears. He blinked them back. "Thanks.thanks so much Tai."
"Hey, anytime pal," Tai said. Matt grabbed him into a hug, which surprised Tai at first but then settled into it, putting his arms around Matt's waist. The touch made Matt shiver. "I know how much TK means to you." Tai said.
"Hey Tai." Matt positioned his face so it was directly in front of Tai's, only a few inches away from his. "You know that guy I got a crush on?"
Tai smiled. "Me?" he asked.
Matt's eyes widened. "How did you know?"
Tai drew nearer to Matt until his mouth was only a few centimeters from Matt's ear.
"You didn't let go," he whispered. Then he turned back to Matt's face, gazing into his eyes like he had thought about doing so many times before. They were nose-to-nose now, staring at each other.
Matt didn't say anything. But actions speak louder than words. Slowly, he drew even nearer to Tai, and in an instant his lips landed softly on Tai's. He braced himself for an angry shove or a punch in the face, but instead he found a pair of lips as hungry as his own.
Tai couldn't believe that this was happening. Blocking out he world around them, he began to return the kiss with great ferocity. This was where he wanted to be. Right here, right now, with Matt. His hand traveled up Matt's spine and caressed the tender flesh at the curve of the blonde's neck. Matt moaned into Tai's mouth. All he knew, all he felt, was Tai's lips parting against his own and their tongues meeting for the first time, engaging in a heated conversation.
They each wanted the other more than anything else. Matt's lips left Tai's and traveled down to his neck, swirling his tongue over his soft skin. Tai, who was now running his hands all over Matt's chest under his shirt, let out a soft groan, inviting Matt to keep going. But as their breathing became frantic in their throats, Tai suddenly pulled away, looking around to see if anyone had seen their sudden outbreak.
"What's wrong?" asked Matt, with a look of true sincerity in his eyes.
"I'm sorry.I think I've fallen in love with you but.it just feels so.odd," mumbled Tai.
"That's exactly the same way that I feel," whispered Matt. "But please. don't go. I love you."
"Me too," said Tai. He paused. "We should go though. Kari and TK are probably getting worried.and I guess I better tell Kari about this." He looked at Matt.
"Yeah.you're right," he said. With one last, deep kiss, they parted, both immediately missing the other's warmth. "Does this mean I get to call you my boyfriend?" Matt asked hopefully.
Tai chuckled. "Yeah, I guess. Just not in public.yet." He smiled at Matt, who smiled back.
"Whatever you want. See you tomorrow," said Matt.
"Sweet dreams," whispered Tai with a smile, and they each went their separate ways.
And as they both lay in bed a few minutes later, they thought to themselves, "This, by far, has been the best day ever."
"Tai! Wake up! You're going to be late if you don't hurry!"
"Mmph?" mumbled a confused Tai. Then it hit him. The party! Oh God, he thought, if I'm late again Matt will pulverize me!
He jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom to shower. Tai had promised Matt to help him set up for a surprise birthday party for his younger brother, TK. It was important to Matt because TK had been away on a trip on his last birthday, so Matt had gotten a part-time job so that he could buy him his birthday present. Matt was planning to buy TK a stereo system for his room, but on the day he got his last pay check he went to the stereo equipment place and someone had just bought the last kind that Matt wanted to buy! Matt was furious, so he called his manager to help him out. However, going off with his manager made him late to pick up TK from the airport. In the end Matt didn't end up buying TK an actual present at all; he just brought him along on his tour for a while and he met a bunch of famous people. TK was a little shy though - he doesn't like confrontation at all.
Even though TK said it was all right, he still looked disappointed, and Matt was extremely angry with himself. So this year, he had decided to outdo himself and throw TK the party of a lifetime, but with only his closest friends. He had hired a band, a caterer, everything, and Tai had said he would help. Matt being his best friend, he felt he had to, but even if he weren't his best friend he'd help out anyways. But if he were late, Matt would be furious with him.
"Kari! Have you seen my blue shorts?"
"They're on the couch, exactly where you left them last night so you wouldn't forget. Geez, Tai, you're so forgetful." Kari knew that Tai was only forgetful when he was in a hurry or nervous, but she couldn't help teasing him a little.
"Thanks. And shut up." Muttering under his breath, Tai ran out the door and towards Matt's apartment building.
When he arrived, Matt answered the doorbell to find a panting Tai leaning against his knees and catching his breath. "Good, you're here. C'mon, let's go before TK wakes up." Matt grabbed his jacket and walked out, closing the door quietly behind him.
"Did you find a band that TK would like?" Tai asked as they walked along the road toward the restaurant where Matt had reserved a party room for all of TK's best friends, which, thankfully, also happened to be Matt and Tai's best friends: the digidestined of Japan. They had had many adventures in the digital world, and even though they didn't know each other well at first, they had all become very close.
"Yah. I asked TK what he liked to listen to and, probably thinking I was just getting him a CD or something for his birthday, he told me 'Linkin Park, Blink 182, Sum 41, the sorts,' and so I used my connections to book Linkin Park for the afternoon. It'll cost a fortune, but it's worth it. Anyway, my manager said he would handle it." Matt is practically a rock star and has been for about a year. "I can't wait to see the look on TK's face when he sees them!"
Tai's eyes widened. "Whoa, you got Linkin Park? I love that band! This is gonna be so awesome. The party of the century!"
Matt grinned. He felt really great doing this for TK. When their parents got divorced, it was especially hard on him. He remembered the many times he had to stop him from running away and calm him down when he had crying fits. Of course, no one knew about these things. Matt had been the only one there for him. He was more than TK's big brother at those times. He was a friend. One that never went away. So he sure as hell wasn't going to bum out TK on his birthday this year. Not after what he had done the year before.
"There it is," Matt said, pointing across the busy street to their left.
"Holy shit, Matt." Tai was taken aback. It was the biggest and most expensive restaurants in town, maybe even in Japan! Whoa, is TK gonna be surprised, Tai thought. "Come on," said Matt, "we got work to do."
Matt lead him into the building and to a pair of doors near the back. They went through the doors, which revealed a private room about the size of a regular gymnasium, complete with a stage, whose curtains were momentarily drawn. At the other end was a long table, at which some kids were seated.
"Hey, Davis! Yolei, Sora! Great, you're here already. Let's get started."
"Where's Kari?" asked Davis. It was extremely obvious to everyone that he liked Kari, even though he knew that she liked TK. But Tai knew better; he had a conversation with Davis once and he told Tai that it was just the opposite: he liked TK. That was why he got angry whenever he and Kari were together, and the whole 'I love Kari' thing was just an act. Tai always played along, though, to make it easier on the guy. He was, after all, in quite a predicament.
"She's the one keeping TK busy until we're ready, remember?" said Tai.
Davis frowned. "Oh, yeah, right. Sorry, I forgot."
"Hey, Davis, don't look so down." Said Matt sympathetically. Tai smiled - Matt didn't know half of it! "She'll be here soon enough. Now the sooner we can have everything ready the better, because Linkin Park's manager is extremely impatient, so we can't be a minute late. Everything has to go exactly according to plan. Now Yolei," said Matt, taking charge, "you and Sora start blowing up the balloons, putting up the streamers, etcetera, etcetera.pretty much decorating this room and the stage with all that, ok?" Matt gestured to several shopping bags in the corner.
"Right," said Sora, getting up and following Yolei to the bags.
"Ok, now Davis, you go down to the kitchens and show them the menu that we made up yesterday. Tell them to have it ready for dinner at 6:00 tonight." Davis was nodding his head every time something that he had to do was said. "Then go and buy some tickets online for that new amusement park, one day pass for each of us, you know, the ones that buy you food and grounds admission and all that? I'll pay you back after the party.I promise!" said Matt, looking at the look on Davis's face. "Then can you go pick them up? Here, here's some money for the subway." Matt forked over some cash. "Try to be back by say, 12:00 or so, meet us at the corner shop. TK will be with us then, so we'll all go and I'll buy us lunch.
"Alright!" With the thought of a free lunch still in his mind, Davis bolted out the door.
"Ok, now Tai, you and I will go to HMV and find some sort of party music to play during dinner before the band arrives." Matt said, as they two of them walked out the door as well. "Then I'll call the band and we both call everyone to meet us at that corner shop."
"Why don't we do that on our way to HMV? That way maybe we'll have some time to relax for a few minutes.or change, considering I'm already working up a sweat. Hey, slow down, we've got plenty of time." Tai said, grabbing Matt's wrist.
Matt gave a small smile. "Sorry, I'm just kinda nervous that something will go wrong and TK will be all disappointed again." Matt looked away, obviously remembering the previous year. Tai remembered how upset Matt was on TK's last birthday. He had talked about how he must be the worst brother in the entire world and how he didn't deserve to have TK for a brother and how he had totally blown it.
"Relax, even if the band doesn't show up, at least there'll the roller coasters!" Tai's eyes lit up at the very thought. Matt laughed. "I guess," he said, now smiling.
* * * * * * * * *
Knock, knock, knock.
"I'm coming, I'm coming, keep your socks on." TK rolled out of bed and, rubbing his eyes, stumbled towards the door. Bleary eyed, he opened it, and when he saw who it was he was awake almost immediately.
"Hey, TK," said Kari, smiling.
"Kari! Hi. Come in," TK said, standing aside to let Kari inside.
"Oh, no thanks, I'm just here to remind you that you're supposed to meet me by the school later today," she said.
"Oh.yeah, right," TK said. "Yeah. I'll be there, don't worry."
"Alright then, bye! Sorry for waking you up."
"It's alright. Bye," he said.
Disappointed, he closed the door. She hadn't said anything. Nothing. Nobody had. No note from Matt on the kitchen table. No new messages. Has everyone forgotten that it was his 16th birthday? And he knew that Kari wasn't planning anything special for him either, they were going to the school to say hi to the digimon through the digi terminal before they met up with everyone to go to that new amusement park near Tokyo. Wonderful. Putting Linkin Park on the CD player, he listened to "I Wanna Run Away" furiously as he brushed his teeth.
* * * * * * * * *
Meanwhile, Yolei and Sora were putting up the finishing touches on the room, slightly out of breath from blowing balloons. Davis was on the subway back to Tokyo, tickets in his pocket, where he clutched them tightly, and Matt and Tai were heading towards the corner shop to have a drink before everyone else arrived.
"So what's up with you, Matt?" Tai asked. "I know we email each other and stuff, but I don't know what's going on with your life since you went on tour last year."
"Oh.um, like what do you want to know?" Matt said, slightly uncomfortable, as there was indeed something that had happened over the past six months.
"Did you meet any girls? And if so, any you would recommend?"
Matt hit Tai on the arm playfully and said, "Yeah, there were girls. A lot of girls. But all fans. Didn't actually meet any that I liked." This was true, but for a reason that Tai didn't know.yet. "Actually, there was this one person though."
"Tell me, tell me! C'mon Matt, I won't tell anyone."
"You gotta promise.seriously. And you also gotta promise not to freak out.TK is the only one who knows this so far."
"Ok." said Tai slightly confused.
"I do like someone.and I'm no telling you who! But there's no point in me pursuing it.he likes someone else." Matt paused, then looked at Tai, waiting to see if the point had sunk into his head yet.
"Oh c'mon Matt, tell me wh- oh!" Tai's eyes widened. It clicked.
"Yes, oh!" Matt said, smiling slightly.
"Why would you think I would freak out? I'm your best friend."
"I know, I know.but I guess you never really know with this kind of information." Matt laughed at the astonished look on Tai's angelic face. He can't know, he thought. He'll turn away from me forever, and then I won't even have him as a friend.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, sipping their iced teas. Then Tai broke the silence.
"It's ok, really," Tai said, looking at Matt's unsure face. "Actually, I was going to." Tai trailed off.
"What? Tai, I just told you something that I haven't even told my own parents yet. What is it?"
"Well." Tai looked extremely uncomfortable. "I was." he laughed nervously, ".just about.to say something along those lines sometime or other too." Tai blushed furiously.
"You too?" Matt was astonished that the object of his affection might be having similar feelings.
"Well, I'm not sure yet," Tai said hurriedly. "I just keep catching myself thinking things.that straight people don't usually think. But I still like Sora.at least sort of." Tai buried his face into his hands. "It's so confusing.I dunno what to think."
"Hey, it's ok," Matt said, slapping Tai's back. "You can accompany me to gay bars and scope out hot guys with me."
At first Tai thought Matt was serious, and said, "What? I dunno if." Then he saw the bemused grin on Matt's face and also grinned. "You jerk! I'll get you for that." and he got up and chased after Matt, who ran for his pride, both leaving their glasses forgotten on the table.
They calmed down after they saw Cody walking up to them. After a while, the entire gang arrived, including Mimi, Sora, Izzy, Joe, Yolei, Ken, and Davis, who ran up hurriedly holding up tickets. At last, Kari and TK came, hand-in-hand (it figures). TK felt much better now; he had talked his problems over with Patamon, his digimon partner, who had reassured him. Now he was smiling sheepishly as he walked up with Kari. Maybe she kissed him or something, Tai thought.
"Everybody here? Great! LET'S GO!" yelled Davis.
They ate lunch, and much to Davis's delight, Matt had bought him a giant ice cream sundae upon his request, saying "I don't know how you're gonna keep all that down when we're on the coasters, but if you can't, please, turn the direction opposite of me." Everyone laughed, even Davis, and they all headed off toward the subway.
* * * * * * * * * *
"Whoa, that was amazing!" TK exclaimed as the exited the amusement park. It had been fun, for everyone, even though Davis did end up puking up his ice cream after a quadruple-loop coaster. But hey, that's Davis for ya.
Matt especially had fun, because on one of the rides, Tai had gotten so freaked out as they went down a steep hill that he had practically jumped on Matt. He had done this before, and usually Matt just shoved him off, but this time he let him be, and decided to enjoy the moment. After all, sooner or later, Tai will figure out that he likes him and then their friendship will be over, so Matt decided to enjoy it while it lasted. Matt didn't know if Tai's head was actually clear enough to notice that he didn't shove him away as usual because he didn't mention it. But he was still in a considerably good mood.
Unknown to Matt, Tai was very well aware that Matt hadn't pushed him away. Even though he was surprised when he first thought of Matt possibly liking him, but then he thought about it and found out that he sort of liked him too. All that thinking in the three seconds it had taken to go down that hill. He just all of the sudden realized that he wanted to be with him. But whether he was right about Matt liking him or not, he wasn't going to say anything in case he ruins their friendship.
TK and Kari had snuck away once between rides, returning with Kari blushing and TK, again, grinning sheepishly and running his fingers through his hair before putting his hat back on. Davis had scowled and walked off alone for a while. He returned later and ignored Kari and TK for the remainder of the trip.
Everyone else had had fun too. With their spirits lightened, they chattered happily on the subway all the way back to the stop near the neighbourhood where they all lived. When they had arrived, Kari looked at Matt. It was time!
"C'mon TK, there's someone I want you to meet before we go home." Grabbing TK by the arm, he dragged him towards the restaurant where the decorated room was waiting for them. He took the long way there, because the others needed time to get there before he and TK did.
When they arrived at the restaurant, Matt led him inside and towards the back of the building. TK asked, "What are we doing here? This is one of the most expensive restaurants in tow-" He was cut short. Matt had opened the door to the room for TK to find all of his friends already seated, smiling at him. The room was beautifully decorated. TK was astonished.
"Happy birthday, lil' bro," Matt whispered into his ear. TK just looked at his brother for a minute, and then grabbed him in a fierce hug.
"Th-thanks," TK stuttered, obviously still shocked at how much his brother had done.
"Happy birthday!" everyone cried and Matt pulled TK to the table, where everyone started giving him presents (after he blew out his candles on his cake - which was shaped and looked like his own head). After opening and thanking everyone for their gifts, they all dug into the cake. Davis, who was happy again, commented on how cool it must be to eat your own face, which made TK snort in mid-bite, spraying the people closest to him with bits of yellow icing. Everyone laughed. After a while, Tai looked at Matt, who nodded. TK noticed this but remained silent. What else could they have possibly done?
Suddenly a voice came on to P.A. system. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen!" the voice boomed. Hold on a minute, thought TK, that voice sounded slightly familiar.
The voice continued to speak. "I'd just like to wish a very happy birthday to TK Ishida, who is turning 16 today, let's have a round of applause for him shall we?" Everyone clapped; TK even heard some clapping outside of the doors. There was a clicking sound, and now the voice seemed to be coming only from behind the curtain on the stage. TK saw pairs of feet moving around in the little gap between the floor and the bottom of the curtain. "TK, what's your favorite band?" the voice asked.
"Um.well, I like Blink 182 and Sum 41, but Linkin Park's the best, hands down," answered TK matter-of-factly to the mysterious voice. Who was that? He had definitely heard that voice somewhere before.
He turned to Matt, who grinned. Then Matt nodded back to the stage, silently telling TK to look. The curtains opened and revealed a bunch of guys, all of whom TK recognized only too well from the many posters on his walls. He dropped his fork with a clatter.
"No.freakin.way." he managed to choke out. And as the lead guitarist of Linkin Park struck a chord, a big, no, huge smile spread across TK's face. Matt almost let a tear fall to see his brother this happy for the first time in years.
"WAAAHHOOOOOOO!" whooped Tai, and they all got up, and began to dance and sing along with the band.
"I am a little bit of loneliness,
a little bit of disregard Handful of complaints but I can't help the fact That everyone can see these scars . . ."
They all got to meet the band members personally and got autographed Linkin Park CD's. By the end of the night, they were all exhausted, but still extremely hyper. TK was ecstatic. Right after everyone except Tai and Kari left, TK pulled his brother aside and gave him yet another bear hug. He had tears in his eyes.
"That was the best birthday I have ever had in my life," he told him. "Thank you so much for doing this. Though, you gotta admit, you really outdid yourself, Matt."
Matt laughed and hugged his brother again. "Anything for you, little brother," he whispered. "I love you so much, kiddo."
"I love you too, Matt," whispered TK.
"C'mon, we'd better get home," said Matt.
They walked back over to Tai and Kari. They walked home together; their apartment buildings are only across the street from each other.
When they got there, Matt said, "You guys go on ahead, I just want to tell Tai something. I'll be right up." "Alright," said TK, then he kissed Kari on the cheek and they went their separate ways.
"Tai.thanks so much for helping out with this entire thing. You should've seen TK's face . . . he was so happy . . ." Matt's eyes were rimmed with unshed tears. He blinked them back. "Thanks.thanks so much Tai."
"Hey, anytime pal," Tai said. Matt grabbed him into a hug, which surprised Tai at first but then settled into it, putting his arms around Matt's waist. The touch made Matt shiver. "I know how much TK means to you." Tai said.
"Hey Tai." Matt positioned his face so it was directly in front of Tai's, only a few inches away from his. "You know that guy I got a crush on?"
Tai smiled. "Me?" he asked.
Matt's eyes widened. "How did you know?"
Tai drew nearer to Matt until his mouth was only a few centimeters from Matt's ear.
"You didn't let go," he whispered. Then he turned back to Matt's face, gazing into his eyes like he had thought about doing so many times before. They were nose-to-nose now, staring at each other.
Matt didn't say anything. But actions speak louder than words. Slowly, he drew even nearer to Tai, and in an instant his lips landed softly on Tai's. He braced himself for an angry shove or a punch in the face, but instead he found a pair of lips as hungry as his own.
Tai couldn't believe that this was happening. Blocking out he world around them, he began to return the kiss with great ferocity. This was where he wanted to be. Right here, right now, with Matt. His hand traveled up Matt's spine and caressed the tender flesh at the curve of the blonde's neck. Matt moaned into Tai's mouth. All he knew, all he felt, was Tai's lips parting against his own and their tongues meeting for the first time, engaging in a heated conversation.
They each wanted the other more than anything else. Matt's lips left Tai's and traveled down to his neck, swirling his tongue over his soft skin. Tai, who was now running his hands all over Matt's chest under his shirt, let out a soft groan, inviting Matt to keep going. But as their breathing became frantic in their throats, Tai suddenly pulled away, looking around to see if anyone had seen their sudden outbreak.
"What's wrong?" asked Matt, with a look of true sincerity in his eyes.
"I'm sorry.I think I've fallen in love with you but.it just feels so.odd," mumbled Tai.
"That's exactly the same way that I feel," whispered Matt. "But please. don't go. I love you."
"Me too," said Tai. He paused. "We should go though. Kari and TK are probably getting worried.and I guess I better tell Kari about this." He looked at Matt.
"Yeah.you're right," he said. With one last, deep kiss, they parted, both immediately missing the other's warmth. "Does this mean I get to call you my boyfriend?" Matt asked hopefully.
Tai chuckled. "Yeah, I guess. Just not in public.yet." He smiled at Matt, who smiled back.
"Whatever you want. See you tomorrow," said Matt.
"Sweet dreams," whispered Tai with a smile, and they each went their separate ways.
And as they both lay in bed a few minutes later, they thought to themselves, "This, by far, has been the best day ever."