Disclaimer: Still don't own it. Um, I mention the O.C. in here too. And I don't own that. Though I wish I did.
This is the last "real" chapter. It's a little long and all in one part. It's also a little unrealistic that they had all gone this long without saying/doing anything about their problems, but it's my story and I don't make sense either. So it fits.
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Maybe 5 months later…
"It's about time…" Cody grumbled, sitting cross-legged on a stadium blanket.
"Chill, Cody," Kari said, still entwined in a seemingly never-ending embrace with Matt, "We all just needed some time to calm down. You wouldn't know anyways… you never even DO anything…"
Cody scowled and opened his mouth, ready to chew her out. But before he could, Mimi cut in, "But we're READY to argue now. And of course, you can mediate, Cody."
He beamed. "Let's start with Tai and Sora, what happened there?"
"We broke up, Cody. Over four months ago." Sora said irritably.
"Why?"
Tai groaned, "Do we really need to open these wounds again? I mean, we're already over it."
"Yes, we do."
He inhaled deeply, "Fine. Sora was annoying. So I slept with Mimi. Once. And then I felt terrible. And I stayed at Mimi's place for like, a week and she talked me through a whole lot of serious crap that was going on."
"He didn't call me!" Sora chimed in.
"Because I felt GUILTY!" Tai retorted.
"You should!"
Tai looked appalled, "You went and got a HOOKER! It couldn't have been that bad!" TK blushed.
Cody leapt to his feet, excited, "A hooker? Tell us about that, Sora!"
"God! Enough about this already," TK stood up also.
"No, actually I'd like to hear about this," Matt said, smirking, "Tell me, little bro, why WERE you selling yourself." Kari leaned back against his chest, giggling.
"Shut up, Matt!' TK fumed.
Bouncing Kari on his knee, Matt didn't even blink, "I think we have a right to know. Is the money really that good? Or are you just that perverted?"
"I swear, Matt," TK made a fist, "I'll… I'll…" All of a sudden, his face softened menacingly, "Hey, Kari," she looked up, "That day when you ran away from awful TK into the arms of his terrific brother, did you ever wonder - even for one second, what he was doing ALONE IN A DARK ALLEY?"
She looked confusedly from one brother to the other, "What?"
"TK, unless you want a serious ass kicking, I'd suggest you -"
"And Kari," TK continued, on a roll, "Does Matt seem to wipe his nose a lot? Do you think that's sinuses or something? And what about all that eating? Does he ever just seem really, really hungry… ya know, like out of nowhere? And is he ever really, really bouncy? Don't you ever wonder what's going on with your dear sweet Matt, Kari?"
Slowly, the pieces were beginning to fall into place. The others looked on, wide-eyed; transfixed as if it were an O.C. Season Finale. "Matt… you… you…"
"God!" He cried, "What the HELL is wrong with you, TK? Can't you just let anyone be HAPPY?"
TK's jaw fell open, "I had a crush on her for EIGHT YEARS. Do you have ANY idea how long that is? Practically half my LIFE. And we were going out for about seven DAYS when you went and…" he searched for a word, "you… HYPNOTIZED her or something!"
Yolei giggled, whispering into Ima's ear, "This is like Jerry Springer!" Surprisingly, Ima didn't care.
On the other hand, Cody looked very excited, "Kari, how do you feel about this?" "Leave her alone," Tai grumbled protectively.
"Shut up, Tai." Sora said, fixing the drama back onto herself, "You always DO that. You think that if you just shut your mouth and look all tough all the time, when you actually DO talk, it'll sound all meaningful. And it's always negative. What you say, I mean. You think it makes you sound so great or something. When you're not. You're just a phony and I HATE YOU, TAI! I HONESTLY HATE YOU!' She screamed this last bit, in all-out hysterics now.
"You know what, Sora?" Mimi said softly, "Did you ever think in that Little-Miss-Perfect head of yours that maybe - just maybe - Tai actually DOES have feelings of his own?"
Sora snorted, "He might… I wouldn't know. He never SAYS anything."
"You have to listen!" Mimi cried, "Did you know that Tai spent five days over at my place -"
"Oh yeah, Mimi, I know ALL about that."
Mimi looked cross, "No, Sora, you don't. He spent that time telling me everything. And I mean everything. Did you ever think, for one second, about how much crap Tai has had to put up with? I didn't think so. When he was over, he told me about you - and what a huge control freak you were, expecting him to be the cookie cutter perfect boyfriend; told me about Kari - how she was growing up so fast and he was pretty sure she had started stealing shit. Oh Kari, don't give me that look… you may think you're pretty sneaky, but by now, we've all figured it out." Pretty much everyone nodded.
"I…" Kari started.
"No," Mimi snapped, "This is about Tai."
Tai rolled his eyes, "I think we've heard enough."
"Hey! I've got a baby!" Yolei cried, feeling forgotten.
"It's creepy," Davis said, eager to change the subject, "That baby looks exactly like… well, you know." And it was true, at five months, Ima was making remarkably good development, taking after her super genius father both in physical and mental traits. She was already sitting on her own and also took after Ken with her clone-like black bob and intense purple eyes.
Kari turned to Yolei, also glad the subject was changed, "Did Ken… I mean… did he know?"
"Ummm… I don't think so!"
"Well," Izzy added, "There was the note,"
Davis rolled his eyes, "Don't be so mysterious about it; even I know the note. I can still remember when they read it on the six o' clock news," He said, launching into a dead-on impression of the giant-haired female news anchor, " 'World acclaimed soccer player, computer genius, and local boy, Ken Ichijouji, was found dead, presumably of his own doing Wednesday. Only a single word, typed, served as an explaination to those loved ones left behind. "No". What does all of this mean? Tune in at eleven to find out.' "
" 'No"?" Sora repeated.
"Yes." Izzy replied.
TK scratched his head, "It seems kinda obvious. I mean, Ken's a smart kid. Well, that's obvious. But I mean, he probably knew about Yolei - about… Ima. She woulda been about three months along when… it happened."
"Could you imagine?" Mimi mused.
Kari buried her head dramatically under Matt's arm, "That's terrible," she said dejectedly.
Cradling Ima in her arms, Yolei looked at TK dumbfounded, "You mean… I killed Ken?"
Mimi looked at her sympathetically, "It takes two to tango, honey."
"Blech," said Cody, trying not to imagine Yolei and Ken "tangoing".
"But still," persisted Yolei, " 'No'? It's not that great of a goodbye?"
Tai shrugged, "Probably just didn't wanna have a kid."
"Yeah," they all sighed in unison, unsure of what else to say.
Ever the awkward silence breaker, Davis stood up energetically, "So, anyone up for a game of -"
"No," said Matt.
"Then how about we -"
"No," TK cut him off.
Davis frowned, "Or I can -"
"NO!" cried Kari.
Still determined, Davis thought harder, "I know! We can…"
"No!" giggled Ima.
The sun was shining brightly, a few puffy white clouds drifted lazily around in the sky, the flowers were in full bloom. It was indeed a perfect day. Around the blanket, everyone's faces lit up with happy grins as they praised the baby on its first word. Looking around in horror, Yolei began to cry, somehow ending up as the only one to understand the irony the others had all failed to notice. The baby's first word had been the father's last.
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Haha, poor Yolei.
Well, that's it. Except for the epilogue, which I've sorta been thinking about but will probably change. It ends on such a DOWN note. I love it.
Expect the epilogue soon. Unless I forget.
This is the last "real" chapter. It's a little long and all in one part. It's also a little unrealistic that they had all gone this long without saying/doing anything about their problems, but it's my story and I don't make sense either. So it fits.
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Maybe 5 months later…
"It's about time…" Cody grumbled, sitting cross-legged on a stadium blanket.
"Chill, Cody," Kari said, still entwined in a seemingly never-ending embrace with Matt, "We all just needed some time to calm down. You wouldn't know anyways… you never even DO anything…"
Cody scowled and opened his mouth, ready to chew her out. But before he could, Mimi cut in, "But we're READY to argue now. And of course, you can mediate, Cody."
He beamed. "Let's start with Tai and Sora, what happened there?"
"We broke up, Cody. Over four months ago." Sora said irritably.
"Why?"
Tai groaned, "Do we really need to open these wounds again? I mean, we're already over it."
"Yes, we do."
He inhaled deeply, "Fine. Sora was annoying. So I slept with Mimi. Once. And then I felt terrible. And I stayed at Mimi's place for like, a week and she talked me through a whole lot of serious crap that was going on."
"He didn't call me!" Sora chimed in.
"Because I felt GUILTY!" Tai retorted.
"You should!"
Tai looked appalled, "You went and got a HOOKER! It couldn't have been that bad!" TK blushed.
Cody leapt to his feet, excited, "A hooker? Tell us about that, Sora!"
"God! Enough about this already," TK stood up also.
"No, actually I'd like to hear about this," Matt said, smirking, "Tell me, little bro, why WERE you selling yourself." Kari leaned back against his chest, giggling.
"Shut up, Matt!' TK fumed.
Bouncing Kari on his knee, Matt didn't even blink, "I think we have a right to know. Is the money really that good? Or are you just that perverted?"
"I swear, Matt," TK made a fist, "I'll… I'll…" All of a sudden, his face softened menacingly, "Hey, Kari," she looked up, "That day when you ran away from awful TK into the arms of his terrific brother, did you ever wonder - even for one second, what he was doing ALONE IN A DARK ALLEY?"
She looked confusedly from one brother to the other, "What?"
"TK, unless you want a serious ass kicking, I'd suggest you -"
"And Kari," TK continued, on a roll, "Does Matt seem to wipe his nose a lot? Do you think that's sinuses or something? And what about all that eating? Does he ever just seem really, really hungry… ya know, like out of nowhere? And is he ever really, really bouncy? Don't you ever wonder what's going on with your dear sweet Matt, Kari?"
Slowly, the pieces were beginning to fall into place. The others looked on, wide-eyed; transfixed as if it were an O.C. Season Finale. "Matt… you… you…"
"God!" He cried, "What the HELL is wrong with you, TK? Can't you just let anyone be HAPPY?"
TK's jaw fell open, "I had a crush on her for EIGHT YEARS. Do you have ANY idea how long that is? Practically half my LIFE. And we were going out for about seven DAYS when you went and…" he searched for a word, "you… HYPNOTIZED her or something!"
Yolei giggled, whispering into Ima's ear, "This is like Jerry Springer!" Surprisingly, Ima didn't care.
On the other hand, Cody looked very excited, "Kari, how do you feel about this?" "Leave her alone," Tai grumbled protectively.
"Shut up, Tai." Sora said, fixing the drama back onto herself, "You always DO that. You think that if you just shut your mouth and look all tough all the time, when you actually DO talk, it'll sound all meaningful. And it's always negative. What you say, I mean. You think it makes you sound so great or something. When you're not. You're just a phony and I HATE YOU, TAI! I HONESTLY HATE YOU!' She screamed this last bit, in all-out hysterics now.
"You know what, Sora?" Mimi said softly, "Did you ever think in that Little-Miss-Perfect head of yours that maybe - just maybe - Tai actually DOES have feelings of his own?"
Sora snorted, "He might… I wouldn't know. He never SAYS anything."
"You have to listen!" Mimi cried, "Did you know that Tai spent five days over at my place -"
"Oh yeah, Mimi, I know ALL about that."
Mimi looked cross, "No, Sora, you don't. He spent that time telling me everything. And I mean everything. Did you ever think, for one second, about how much crap Tai has had to put up with? I didn't think so. When he was over, he told me about you - and what a huge control freak you were, expecting him to be the cookie cutter perfect boyfriend; told me about Kari - how she was growing up so fast and he was pretty sure she had started stealing shit. Oh Kari, don't give me that look… you may think you're pretty sneaky, but by now, we've all figured it out." Pretty much everyone nodded.
"I…" Kari started.
"No," Mimi snapped, "This is about Tai."
Tai rolled his eyes, "I think we've heard enough."
"Hey! I've got a baby!" Yolei cried, feeling forgotten.
"It's creepy," Davis said, eager to change the subject, "That baby looks exactly like… well, you know." And it was true, at five months, Ima was making remarkably good development, taking after her super genius father both in physical and mental traits. She was already sitting on her own and also took after Ken with her clone-like black bob and intense purple eyes.
Kari turned to Yolei, also glad the subject was changed, "Did Ken… I mean… did he know?"
"Ummm… I don't think so!"
"Well," Izzy added, "There was the note,"
Davis rolled his eyes, "Don't be so mysterious about it; even I know the note. I can still remember when they read it on the six o' clock news," He said, launching into a dead-on impression of the giant-haired female news anchor, " 'World acclaimed soccer player, computer genius, and local boy, Ken Ichijouji, was found dead, presumably of his own doing Wednesday. Only a single word, typed, served as an explaination to those loved ones left behind. "No". What does all of this mean? Tune in at eleven to find out.' "
" 'No"?" Sora repeated.
"Yes." Izzy replied.
TK scratched his head, "It seems kinda obvious. I mean, Ken's a smart kid. Well, that's obvious. But I mean, he probably knew about Yolei - about… Ima. She woulda been about three months along when… it happened."
"Could you imagine?" Mimi mused.
Kari buried her head dramatically under Matt's arm, "That's terrible," she said dejectedly.
Cradling Ima in her arms, Yolei looked at TK dumbfounded, "You mean… I killed Ken?"
Mimi looked at her sympathetically, "It takes two to tango, honey."
"Blech," said Cody, trying not to imagine Yolei and Ken "tangoing".
"But still," persisted Yolei, " 'No'? It's not that great of a goodbye?"
Tai shrugged, "Probably just didn't wanna have a kid."
"Yeah," they all sighed in unison, unsure of what else to say.
Ever the awkward silence breaker, Davis stood up energetically, "So, anyone up for a game of -"
"No," said Matt.
"Then how about we -"
"No," TK cut him off.
Davis frowned, "Or I can -"
"NO!" cried Kari.
Still determined, Davis thought harder, "I know! We can…"
"No!" giggled Ima.
The sun was shining brightly, a few puffy white clouds drifted lazily around in the sky, the flowers were in full bloom. It was indeed a perfect day. Around the blanket, everyone's faces lit up with happy grins as they praised the baby on its first word. Looking around in horror, Yolei began to cry, somehow ending up as the only one to understand the irony the others had all failed to notice. The baby's first word had been the father's last.
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Haha, poor Yolei.
Well, that's it. Except for the epilogue, which I've sorta been thinking about but will probably change. It ends on such a DOWN note. I love it.
Expect the epilogue soon. Unless I forget.