Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon.
Lessons in Friendship
Chapter 8: Fine Lines
"Do you see now why I'm so upset?" Davis asked quietly, staring at his hands. "The whole time Domu and the others were making fun of me, T.K. just sat there and did nothing! He didn't even make an attempt to defend me. It was like he was agreeing with them. He could have said something, anything, but he didn't. Instead, he acted like were right."
Ken stared at him for a long moment, his dark eyebrows narrowing into a frown. "I don't believe it."
At these words, Davis's mouth fell open.
Has Ken totally lost his mind? Did he even listen at all?
"Excuse me? Haven't you heard a single word I've said? T.K. was acting like...like I really am worthless. He was agreeing with Domu!"
Ken smiled slightly, and much to Davis's annoyance, the former Emperor looked suddenly amused. "How do you know he was agreeing with Domu if he didn't even say anything?"
"He didn't have to say anything! You could just tell!"
Davis clenched his teeth together in frustration, refusing to look at his best friend.
Why does Ken always have to make everything so difficult?
"Listen, Ken...T.K. made it look like he was doing me a favour by being my friend. Domu and his stupid teammates didn't hesitate to point that out. From the way they were acting, you'd think I wasn't even good enough to scrape the gum off T.B's shoes!"
Ken put a comforting arm around him, and Davis fell silent, his determination to fight becoming less pronounced than what it had been when he'd been dragged over to the soccer field to have a chat with Matt. "I heard what you said, Davis, but it doesn't make any sense. You and I both know T.K. is not the type of person who would let someone bad mouth his friends."
"Well, then I guess T.K. doesn't consider me a friend anymore," Davis mumbled. He knew it was partly his own fault. He could have been a bit nicer to the blond when they'd first met, but in his opinion that was still no excuse for T.K. to have treated him like that.
"You don't believe that any more than I do," Ken said softly. His violet eyes were filled with sympathy, and Davis glanced away, unable to look at him. "There has to be a reason why T.K. would act like that."
"Nothing can excuse what he did," Davis muttered. "I know sometimes that other people think I'm a jerk, but I would never stand by and let people bad mouth my friends!"
"Listen, Davis, I know it looks bad, but I think you should give T.K. the benefit of the doubt."
In response to Ken's question, Davis shook his head and did not reply.
How am I supposed to face T.K. after that?
"This has really upset you, hasn't it?" Ken's said quietly, his expression becoming suddenly serious. Davis could not help but smile at the worry in his friend's eyes.
"Even though we fight a lot, I thought I could trust him..."
I still believed he cared, even when he would tease me...
Davis felt his throat close up, and staring at his hands again, he mumbled, "How could I have been so wrong?"
Ken gazed thoughtfully at the street for a moment, a sigh escaping his lips. "Davis...T.K. and Domu obviously spend quite a bit of time together, since they're both on the basketball team. Are they very good friends?"
Davis frowned, giving his raven-haired friend a suspicious look. Ken was up to something. He never asked questions like that unless he was trying to make you aware of something.
What is it he's trying to tell me this time?
"No, I don't think so," he said reluctantly. " I know they talk at lunch, but they don't hang out much outside of school."
"Has T.K. ever once listened to anything Domu had to say before?"
Davis gave his friend a look, and Ken smiled innocently at him in return. "Not that I know of. Why?"
Ken sat back and crossed his arms in satisfaction. "If T.K. has never listened to Domu before, why would he start now?"
"But...then why didn't T.K. say anything to defend me?" Davis asked, frowning in confusion. "He could of said something."
The former Emperor shook his head again, a troubled look on his pale face. "I don't know, Davis. If you really want to find out, then there's only one thing you can do."
Oh no. Why did I let Matt talk me into this!
"What might that be?"
Truth was, he knew very well what Ken was talking about, but that was no reason to try not to stall the inevitable.
"Talk to T.K. It's the only way you'll know for sure."
Davis sighed in defeat. "Alright, but don't blame me if another shouting match breaks out."
"Davis?"
"What?" He turned to look at Ken in confusion.
Ken smiled softly, and leaning close to whisper in his ear, the raven-haired Digidestined murmured, "It's okay to be upset once in a while. Running isn't a sign of weakness. The heart can only take so much, even one as strong as yours. Sometimes, walking away from it all and giving yourself some time to think is the right decision, even if you don't think it is at the time."
Davis felt his cheeks turn bright red in response, and he quickly covered his face with his hands, trying unsuccessfully to hide his embarrassment.
H-how did he know? I never told him that part!
Ken tried to pull his hands away to look at him, but Davis kept them tight against his face. His skin felt like it was on fire, something he most definitely found uncomfortable. "How did you know?"
It came out as a faint whisper, and Davis flinched at the meekness in his voice.
"I'm your best friend," Ken said simply. "I always know."
Davis hesitated before finally lifting his head, a pleading look on his face. "You won't tell anyone, will you?" This time his voice cracked, and he quickly covered his face again.
To his embarrassment, Ken started to laugh. "Not if you don't want me to."
Of course, I should have known. Ken would never betray my secrets.
Davis slowly looked up again, and somehow he managed a weak smile."So much for the Digiegg of Courage," he sighed. "I ran away, Ken. What does that say about me? Tai never would have run away."
Ken took hold of his arms so Davis had no choice but to look directly at him. "Davis, even Tai had problems when it came to summoning up the courage to do something that he didn't want to do, or was afraid to do. Remember when Sora was captured by Datamon? Tai wouldn't go through the firewall. It doesn't matter how courageous a person you are. You're still going to have doubts every once in a while. It's part of being human. Tai was able to look inside himself and find the strength to face his fears, but it took some deep soul searching. Running away from T.K. was not a cowardly move, it was a natural reaction."
"But being unable to confront him is," Davis said quietly.
"Then you know what you have to do. If you want to find your courage again, talking to T.K. is the best way. The only way to overcome your fears is to confront them."
"I knew there was a lesson in all of this!" Davis accused, glaring at his friend.
"Hey, I had to do it this way, otherwise you tend to ignore good advice!" the former Emperor teased.
Davis snorted and stood up. "Come on, let's get to the school. If I have to do this, then I might as well get it over with as soon as possible."
The two boys headed towards the school where they spotted Yolei, Kari, and Cody sitting under a large tree near the front entrance. Davis headed towards them, but before he could reach the group, he spotted something that made his steps falter. Striding down the front steps of the school entrance was T.K. He was dressed in his jeans, and his hair was freshly washed. It looked like basketball practice was over.
The moment of truth had finally come.
Well, here goes nothing.
Davis made to move towards T.K., but for some reason his feet refused to cooperate with him. For some reason they appeared to be rooted to the ground, as if he'd stepped on a giant wad of gum. It was then that he realized despite Ken's words, he felt more nervous than he had in a long time.
Have courage. Don't back down. That's not you and you know it.
"Well, Davis? What are you waiting for?" Ken's whispered softly in his ear.
Davis took a deep breath, and steeling himself for what was to come, he started towards the blond, certain that whatever happened he wouldn't run again.
