Okay people!! I am finally finished with chapter five!! YAY for me! Sorry that this took so long…. I was working on running crew for my school play for the spring. It was a lot of fun, but I've finally gotten back to my story. Now that my apologies are over, please do continue with the chapter…. And don't forget to review, I hope this came out well!
Her Favorite Color- chapter 5
Different Shades of Pain
Life was usually very exciting for me. I'm a digidestined, so my life was always full of battles and attacks to keep me busy from anything that could easily bother me. Probably one of the reasons why I liked being a digidestined so much was just for the point that it kept my mind alert and occupied. But lucky for me, my senior year was completely empty of that excitement. I yearned to be able to fight again. I missed it, although I did not miss the terror that we all felt when we were worried that we might be defeated, because that always meant a terrible future for the two worlds that we learned to love, but I missed it all the same. I mostly missed being able to fight as a team. Our group was utterly destroyed when Taichi left, but even before that I could feel us all drifting apart.
Ever since our last battle with Malo-Myotismon, things just continued to change. We didn't have to be together our hang if we didn't want to, because there just wasn't anything to be bothered about. Our friendship stayed intact, it never did diminish until Tai left us, excuse me, until Tai left me. We never had any of those weird awkward moments were nothing was said because we didn't have anything to talk about, but the feeling that I was loosing them was still there. Maybe it was just me that felt this way… I don't really know, but it could have been a look at what our future was going to like. I miss the digidestined so much now. I know that none of this would have happened if I had kept my mind straight and understanding. And I'm sure that this wouldn't have happened if we knew what the consequences would be. It's too bad none of our Digimon had psychic powers to foresee the future.
******
I remember the feeling came over me as I was getting ready for Matt's show that Saturday. It was that strange sense that something was going to happen. I used to get it all the time when we were stranded in the Digiworld. The feeling always gave way to an attack or encounter by an evil Digimon, or maybe just a Digimon who woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Nevertheless, I had that feeling while attempting to pick out the right outfit for that night. I didn't know what to make of it at the moment. Did it mean that something bad was going to happen? But how could anything bad happen tonight? My mind responded back. I kept reminding myself that nothing out of the ordinary was going to take place. It was just another one of Matt's shows. I've been to plenty of them to know that you're the one that has to keep yourself out of trouble. It doesn't usually come looking for you. In spite of reassuring myself hundreds of times, I still thought of Matt's Christmas show the year before. I would have normally blushed at the thought of this, but the other feeling was still controlling me. An evil Tyranamon had attack the pavilion, and scared all of us. We didn't know how it got to the real world. And then we found out that our Digimon couldn't digivolve. What if another evil Digimon attacked, and we all had to fight another war again. Don't get me wrong. I did miss the digiworld, and although we could enter and leave from it quite easily, I never did. I was enjoying my rest from the Digital World. But I reminded myself that we knew that the world was at peace. But it wasn't like we always knew for a long time that something was wrong there, in fact, we never did.
I pushed those troubles beside. I didn't have the time to worry about them then. I was going to see Matt and his band perform with other bands from out town. I was going to have fun, and was going to try to enjoy my time with the other digidestined. Mimi was going to be there. Her school on America had already gotten out for the summer, and she wanted to spend as much time with us a possible, well, she wanted to spend as much time with Izzy as possible. All the same, I knew that with Mimi finally here, things would be a little different for us, and I would enjoy myself so much more than normal.
After a great deal of time wishing that Mimi was here with me now to pick out my outfit, I finally finished getting ready. I wore very little eye shadow that night. I wasn't going there to impress anybody, and it wasn't like I need to impress Matt. I hated myself for thinking this… but I don't think that Matt would notice anyway. I think that even if I had shown up to the show with a rival band T-shirt on, he still wouldn't have noticed. A good idea, I thought, I'll have to remember that for next time, just to test it out. This time, however, I just went with my black sneakers, a pair of jeans that I think I wore two days earlier, and a deep red shirt. I left the apartment ready for the night, but still having that feeling follow me out the door. It tagged along with me all evening, listened to my conversations, and finally showed itself to me when that time came.
******
The club was filled with people that I had never seen before. That wasn't the surprising part, though. It was the lack of Matt's usual screaming fans that shocked me the most. I did see quite o few of them, all the regulars, but the typical mass of teenyboppers didn't show that night. They probably couldn't get the tickets, or they were to scared to come to the club on a night like this one.
I never saw such a crowd before in my entire life. Well, not in real life. After giving up trying to look for Izzy, I knew that Mimi would be with him, I took a seat at one of the small tables near the bar that was stage right. It was about three to four feet high platform above the main "dance" floor, or in tonight's case, the main moshing floor. (A/N: If you've ever seen 10 things I hate about you, it looks like 'Club Skunk'~ I think that's what it's called~ except the bar and stage place are switched. You have to walk up steps to get to the bar, and down them to get to the dancing. I hope you know what I mean.) My table overlooked everything that was happening.
The stage area was mostly dark, with random lights with different gels randomly flashing on the band and on the people. The bar was lit with a yellow-reddish sort of hue. I remember what everything looked like that night. I became distracted and began looking around the place. It was a HUGE club. I reminded myself that this place was normally open to just boys and girls in high school or college, so that explained the reason for all the people I didn't know. There were five main parts of the club, the entrance chamber (don't ask me why it's called that, I have no clue), the main stage and dance floor, the bar area where I sat, the upper level (a.k.a. the junkyard), and the bathrooms. From the chamber, you could see everything…
It looked straight at the stage, and from the right side was a walkway that led you to the bar. On the left of the chamber, were the stairs that led to the junkyard. The upper level is usually where I spent most of my time. I would hangout by the handrails and watch Matt and his band perform from there. All three sides of the upper level were aligned with old couches, car seats (some leather and some cloth), and tires painted with different colors and patterns hung from the ceiling. There were un-uninformed spots of light of all different colors. It gave of a feeling of one of the best places to be in the entire world. That would have been the ideal place for me to look for Mimi, because I could see everything from up there, but I didn't think that it would really help.
There were probably about three hundred people in front of the stage, and many of them had different color hair. There was a lot pink hair, that's why I decided not to go looking for Mimi. I was hoping that we would just bump into each other. The stage was probably thirty feet wide with fifteen feet on both sides. The dance floor was just as wide, and was about forty feet from the stage to the stairs leading to the chamber. Wow…I just surprised myself. It's been five years, but I can still clearly see and remember the club as if I was there. I amaze myself.
The bathrooms really didn't take up that much space of the club, certainly not as much as the other four places, but it was still important. The walls were all white, but they weren't white anymore. The walls had names and writings all over them. Every wall in the bathroom was white, so even the toilet stalls have writing on them. People have written songs on the walls, some original work and some that were written by the bands that have performed, vented about boyfriends, and girlfriends, and given shout-outs to their friends and the band they came to see. I love the bathrooms just because every digidestined has drawn their crests' upon the walls. I would do anything to go back to that place and see it again, if it's even still there, and if it wasn't haunting me the ways it does.
I sat there by myself for a while not thinking about anything, except that terrible feeling that still loomed around me. Maybe somebody was going to get hurt tonight? Many possibilities ran through my mind, all seeming as impossible as the next. But I was finally broken from my thoughts when I noticed a pink head walking out of the pits and up the stairs to the bar.
"Mimi!"
Her hand tightly held onto a slightly flustered but ecstatic Izzy. Both of their cheeks were a light pink and they were breathing heavy.
"Omigawd! Sora!"
The couple sat down at the table with me and began talking energetically.
"I…have never…had so…much…fun…in…my entire life!" said Izzy breathlessly. I have to admit I was bewildered by Izzy's remark. I for one never saw him as the type or a person who would enjoy a mosh pit like that so much. But I was happy for him too. It was about time that he figured out that something other that typing and downloading things were fun. And I must say that I never thought Mimi would do something like that either. I guess seeing each other for the first time in almost a year made them very spontaneous.
"Have you every been in one of those things, Sora? They are such a natural high! We have to back in when Matt plays. When does his band go on anyway?" asked Mimi
"I'm pretty sure that they go on next." I replied, "but I don't really think I'm in the mood for that right now…" I looked back out into the crowd, like I was expecting to see something or somebody. I just stared blankly at the people, though. I wondered if I should tell them about Tai, and everything else. Maybe they knew some answers. But Izzy beat me to it.
"Penny for your thoughts Sora?"
"I dunno… I've just been really worried lately, about…"
"College?" Izzy questioned.
Is that the answer to everything these days?!"No…I dunno…I don't think I really want to talk about it. I'm just trying to figure out what's going on." Mimi looked at Izzy and they gave an understanding look. It looked like one of those glances that tells you they know exactly what you're talking about, but figure that you'll tell them on your own accord. Mimi's face changed into one that said that neither of them should bother me about it, but that we should just move on. She nodded her head, and like typical Mimi, made the best of the situation we were in, and lightly changed the subject.
"What are your plans for the summer, Sora? I'll be here the entire time. We should take some time out of schedule and go shopping together!"
Mimi was always such a kind person. I wonder why I ever drifted away from her…
******
Matt's band was playing, but I really didn't give him much attention. That was so unlike me at the time. One day I was completely obsessed with him, and the next, I just wanted to forget that he was my boyfriend, and live a different life. I blocked the music from my ears and my thoughts began to turn to Tai…
I still didn't know what was bothering him, and that started to bother me. I was in such a happy and energetic atmosphere, but I began to feel saddened by the thought of Tai's face that one day in the hallway. His eyes looked at me, asking me for help, but telling me that he knew I didn't know how, and that I probably never would. My mind was transfixed on the mere reflection on my once best friend.
Everything around me disappeared. The crowd seemed to melt and vanish through the cracks in the floor. Matt's band was no longer playing, they just stood there frozen, their mouths singing an eternal word, and their hands fixed in the one sudden movement for a note and beat that wouldn't be heard. The walls and tables became imaginary objects that could easily diminish without a seconds thought, and did. All that was real was my thought of Tai, that never let me go while it drifted around in my mind, like it was trying to find me even though it already did. Everything was gone, but really, everything that mattered still remained. And it was staring me right in the face.
"Hey, Sora! Yoo-hoo…anybody home?"
His eyes bore into mine and I felt like I was going to faint, and my mind sprang back into reality. His chocolate brown eyes pulled me apart and tried to find all my untold secrets and all my unspeakable lies. I stared back while realizing the true power that his eyes had on my body and all my soul.
"I'm…yeah, I'm fine. I just…never mind."
"Okay then. Fine I'll leave. I didn't realize that you wanted to be alone." He said with his crooked smile and sarcastically hurt voice.
"No. Stay."
I didn't really mean it to come out the way it sounded. I just wanted him to stay at the table with me. I felt like I really needed to talk to him. But it came out like he was the one thing that I needed, the only thing. The only person. And I guess, in a way that was right. But the way Tai looked back at me after the comment gave me the impression that he might be just a worried about me as I am about him.
"I mean…ummm…I didn't know that you were coming tonight." I told him, hoping that he may forget what he mat have seen in my eyes just then.
"I wasn't going to, but I sort of felt like I needed to."
"Why's that?"
"Oh, I don't know. Mimi's back, Kari and T.K wanted to come, and you know I wouldn't let them come together by themselves, it's the end of the year, could possibly be the last time I step into this place…"
"You can still come here during the summer, though, Tai. Can't you? That band you liked so much last time is coming again."
"Maybe."
He just looked at me after that. He gave me a little smile just to reassure me. I worked a bit, but Tai could never fool me easily. And I couldn't fool him. I never really appreciated him like I wish I had…
"Matt's definitely changed his music quite a bit, hasn't he?"
"Yeah…I guess so."
I didn't notice it until then, but Tai was right. Matt and his band were a lot more hardcore punk rock than I remembered. I looked at the crowd again, and found that more people had joined in with the moshing and jumping. I smiled slightly at the thought of Matt finally getting what he always wanted. I've known for a while that Matt and his band where getting tired of all their fans being a majority population of teenyboppers. Matt wanted to be like and respected for his music, and not his looks, and I respected him for that. But I did notice that I didn't react like I normally would for that either. I sighed and turned back to Tai who sat silent and motionless, except for his eyes, which continued to search through me. I smiled at him, showing him that I was grateful to have him with me. I think he understood.
"Sora, I just want t you to know that you have been the greatest friend I could ever ask for. You always amazed and surprised me with everything that you did. You taught me so many things, and…you'll always be special to me."
I couldn't help the tears from forming in my eyes.
"Oh, Tai. I'm so sorry for anything I've ever done, if I wasn't a good enough friend. You've always been special to me too…"
We locked eyes again. He was trying to tell me something, but I didn't know what it was. I think he may have been trying to hide it from me, too, so that I wouldn't worry anymore or something.
"Things will change Sora."
"I know."
He nodded at me, smiled, and told me that he needed to check on Kari and T.K., but that he would see me later. And with that, left me.
A few moments later, a new band came on. I heard the voice announce that he was only going to play one song, while the next band tried to find their lost guitar. Something was familiar about that voice…
I looked at the stage and found it occupied by only one person. He held a guitar in his hands and began to play the song. It was a simple guitar rhythm, but had one of the most touching sound I ever heard. I walked down the stairs and onto the floor. People had taken out lighters and cell phones that illuminated the crowd and showed there troubled teenage faces. This song was their escape route to a better world. Every person in the club turned and looked at the singer while he played the intro to his song, including me. The only difference between me and the other eight hundred people was that the singers chocolate brown eyes were looking straight into my crimson ones.
Tai began to sing. I'll never forget….
"We can wait for the wind to blow
Or give me a look so cold
It gives me chills and ends the summer war
My eyes roll around and over again
Falling down, dizzy with sunstroke
I'll be there
And I'll try to identify,
Try to look through the gray skies in your eyes
And pick up everything you left behind.
Cross your fingers and pray for winter,
I'll be there
Painting the town your favorite color
I guess I'll call or see you around, yeah
Guess I'll call or see you around
Guess I'll call or see you around, yeah
Guess I'll call or see you around
I'll call or see you around, yeah
I'll call or see you around
I'll call or see you around, yeah
Guess I'll call or see you around
Painting the town your favorite color…"
He walked off the stage, and disappeared into the shadows. That was the last time that I ever saw Tai. It was the first time that I found the truth about him. He loved me, and that's why he acted like he did. I had broken his heart. But I was to late for me now. If only I had known that I loved him back….
Wow! That's a lot of stuff isn't it? I didn't expect myself to put so much into one chapter, but here it is!! I hope that you liked it because I really enjoyed writing it. But now my shoulder really hurts… oh well. That song that Tai sang was "The Drama Summer" by The Starting Line, now you see why the story was originally called that…because I knew I was going to use that song, and I wasn't creative enough to think of my on, and even now I didn't really think of me own. Lol. Next chapter up soon!
~dorkiss