Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.
Thank you all for reviewing! It was so cool hearing your comments! I'm afraid I was very late with this chapter. Like always, I HAD to rewrite it... Gee I suck. Next chapter is not ready yet, so it'll take a lot of time. Please, be patient. Don't kill me!!! And sorry for all mistakes... I'm truly embarrassed. :hides:
KendoSakuyamon: I TOTALLY agree about Yamato!!! I'll try to keep this story interesting.
takuya: thanks! I'll update as soon as I can.
Azure Rose: I would so much like to have Yamaken here (don't tempt me!), but sorry!! :starry-eyed: Yamato... Ken... NO!! I mustn't! :cheers at the banner:
Ivgie Sole: Yay! I suprised you! I was being totally unoriginal with placing Yamato into the story and giving him one of the key parts... beh.
Melissa: You loved!!! :squeal: Yeah, you're right. Taichi has something to say in this story too! Just wait and see, he's in this chapter!
Dreamer: I hope this chapter will give some more clues! Read and enjoy!
The Angsty Gothic Angel: Thanks! I love the reviewers too!!
The Dance: Interlude 2
By Wormmonsoul
A soft purring woke Taichi up. He thought it was Miko, his cat. Half awake, he groped under his pillow for his mobile phone, found it and squinted at the glowing screen. Four in the morning. The purring came from the phone. Text from Yamato. That creepy bastard deserves a punch for calling at that time of the night.
Open the door, said the message.
Taichi rubbed his eyes and went to open the door.
Spring night was cold and it was pitch dark outside. Two dark shapes emerged from the stairway door.
"What took you so long?" said an unfamiliar voice. Taichi tried to see who was speaking. He was standing outside his apartment in the middle of the night in only his shorts with some strange guys, and this made him uneasy. The stranger dumped Yamato who appeared to be unconscious into his arms and they were gone, leaving the astonished boy with a heavy body.
Already wide awake Taichi dragged his friend into the apartment. Yamato kicked out and moaned. Carefully he lowered his friend on the floor and inspected him for signs of beating and blood. There weren't any. He wasn't dying of any wound. What had happened to him then? His clothes were dirty and reeked of cigarettes and sweat. The stench was so strong that Taichi had to clamp his hand over his mouth and nose.
He lightly slapped Yamato's cheek to bring him around. Blue eyes opened.
"What's happened? What did they do to you?" Taichi whispered.
Yamato gulped for air and turned to his side, panting and clutching his stomach.
"I'm gonna throw up!" he stammered, fighting the fits of nausea.
"Holy..."
Taichi quickly hauled him up and into the bathroom. He locked the door after them, hit the light switch (Yamato groaned and shut his eyes) and lowered the blond over the toilet seat.
Yamato vomited with gurgling coughing sounds. Taichi gagged on the smell. He made a huge effort to keep in check and think on what could have happened to his friend. Why was he out in the middle of the night with two suspicious guys? And in such a state?
Finally Yamato slumped to the floor on his side, pulled his knees up to his chest and covered his head with his hands. He was shivering all over.
"Yamato," Taichi called worriedly. He had no idea what to do.
"The light..." Yamato stuttered. "My head..."
"Are... are you drunk?" Taichi gulped. The stench in the bathroom was horrible. He got a towel wet and put it on Yamato's head. The blond clutched at it and moaned in relief.
Taichi didn't remember seeing the blond in worse shape. He was lying dead, his gorgeous hair sprawled in a greasy mane across the floor of the bathroom. It didn't look like Yamato was going to snap out of it and get up dusting his clothes in his usual cool manner. He wasn't even sure if Yamato knew where he was.
His parents must never find out about this. He had to clean up and hide the fact that Yamato turned up at night in this condition. Taichi flushed the toilet, kneeled by Yamato and started to pull his dirty boots off. The socks went straight into the garbage bin. Yamato's feet were red and swollen as if he had been running a marathon.
Taichi took off his jeans. It felt as if he was stripping a corpse. He shook the limp arms out of the sleeves of his jacket and tugged his sweaty T-shirt over his head without any cooperation from the blond.
The clothes were thrown into the washing machine. Taichi thought a little and added his beat boots to the pile.
He bent over the motionless blond.
"I'm gonna run you a bathroom, Yamato."
The blond jerked his head, okay.
Taichi went to fill the tub. His hands were shaking.
"Tai..." came a faint sigh from the floor. He turned. Yamato was looking at him. "Don't... tell. Not Dad... Takeru too..."
The words rolled in his mouth. He was dead tired and in pain. He couldn't move a limb.
"It's okay, Yamato. You can stay here. Don't worry," he reassured him. "Now, lemme help you up and down in the tub. Okay? I'll leave the door open a bit. I'm gonna be in the kitchen. I'll give you something to wear. The towel is here. Now, come on.."
Taichi hoisted the blond to his feet and half-carried him to the bath tub. Yamato was heavily breathing into his neck.
"I won..." he whispered into his ear. His voice was suddenly animated and happy. "I won, Taichi! I passed the Challenges. I'm in the Game!"
"What are you... talking about?!" Taichi lowered him in the tub, nearly falling into it along with his friend.
Yamato shuddered in the warm water and closed his eyes.
"Don't fall asleep!" Taichi warned. He turned the water off. "Get your underwear off."
Splashing sounds indicated that Yamato heard him and was alive enough to move. Taichi went out and went to the kitchen to make himself some coffee. His parents' bedroom was quiet, which was a sign that they did not hear anything from the bathroom. He opened the cupboard, took his mug, thought about how much noise in the kitchen he would make while preparing coffee, and put it back. But he needed some caffeine to deal with the situation. He froze in the middle of the kitchen, his head swimming with all things he needed to do. Finally, he shook off his confusion and got himself a Cola from the fridge.
Hikari came into the kitchen sleepily. She hugged her shoulders.
"Taichi-niisan? What are you doing here at this hour?" she muttered.
"Go back to sleep, 'kari," Taichi said absently, worried that he couldn't figure out what was wrong with Yamato. He was seeing him like this for the first time in his life.
"I heard voices," Hikari pointed to the bathroom. His little sister was always sharp at things.
"It's Yamato. I think he's drunk."
"Yamato?!"
For fifteen minutes there was no sound from the bathroom and Taichi hurried in. Like he thought, Yamato fell asleep in the tub.
Taichi woke him up, dried him with a towel and helped him into one of his pyjamas. Yamato stayed comatose, only rolled his head and moaned.
He had no choice. He picked him up and carried him in the bedroom. Hikari, wide-eyed, rushed to open the door and straightened the pillow and the blanket on the bed where he dumped Yamato.
The blond automatically curled in and was fast asleep.
"What's happened?" Hikari whispered.
"Dunno," Taichi whispered back. "Thanks for the help. Now go to back to bed and don't tell parents!"
Hikari reluctantly left.
It was almost five and he was supposed to be up for school at seven. Taichi switched off the light, climbed into bed and watched the sleeping blond.
Several minutes later Yamato began thrashing in the bed. He had a fever.
"Water..." he moaned.
Holding back panic, Taichi brought him a glass of water. Yamato greedily drank it. Then he suddenly grabbed Taichi's shoulder and tried to get up from the bed, panting.
"Yamato, calm down!"
"I... sick..."
He vomited the water he had drunk on the floor. Taichi in shock watched him cough and shudder.
"Tai... bathroom..." Yamato clutched his hand. Taichi led him, stumbling, back to the bathroom. Hikari ran after them. She understood everything in a flash.
"Make him drink water, Taichi!" she said.
"He'll be sick!"
"That's the point! It'll clean his stomach."
Taichi fetched a bottle of clear water and forced the blond to drink. Yamato went pale. He barfed and he couldn't stop. Taichi had to hold him back or he would dive down the lavatory. He shooed Hikari away to her bedroom so as to spare her all the disgusting things, and closed the door.
Spasms went through Yamato's body. Taichi brushed his blonde hair back and waited for another round of sickness.
"God, Yama, what's wrong with you?"
"It's.. pills," he gasped.
"Pills?!"
"Ecstasy... Crack... guess..."
Taichi made him drink more water. It looked like the sickness passed. Now the blond was shivering all over. He brought him back to the bed. Then he wiped the mess on the floor with a towel and threw it away. Putting one more blanket on top of the shivering boy, he got into bed and threw his arms around him.
"Shh.." he whispered. "Everything's fine."
"Th.. thanks..."
"Where did you get drugs?" Taichi asked.
"Everybody... took them," Yamato stuttered and cuddled closer to him. Taichi winced at the smell.
"Those guys too?" he asked icily.
"What... guys?"
"The ones who brought you here. I don't know them. Big guys, around 18 or 20. What were you doing with them?"
"D.. dah.. dancing..."
"Dancing? You were in a disco club? Yamato, your father must be searching the city with the police while you're having fun!" Taichi was growing angry at him by minute.
"N.. not fun..." Yamato said. Another spasm shook him. "It's important.. for the Game.. I won!" he coughed. "I feel shitty..."
"And you look it," Taichi said angrily.
"Where's my jacket?" Yamato said. "I.. I need a smoke, Tai."
"Just go to sleep!" Taichi nearly shouted. "What do you mean a smoke?! You're smoking?! Are you nuts? You're hardly 16, for hell's sake!"
"Tai..." Yamato whined. "Please..."
"Shut up and sleep, damn you!" Taichi hissed.
The blond hiccupped into the pillow. "D-don't shout.. " he said. "My head kills me... Please, Tai.. It kills me.."
Taichi was aware that Yamato was delirious and didn't realise what he was saying. A couple of times he wailed other names. He moaned that he hurt a lot.
Then he started to giggle.
"That fuckin' bastard said he loved me.. Can you fuckin' imagine it?! Hah hah aha!! FUCK him to hell!"
Taichi gulped and tried not to listen. He hoped that nobody outside of his room could hear him.
"Tai, but it was so good – dancing..," Yamato suddenly snapped awake. He giggled. "Was really nice.. But I don't remember. Who were those guys, Tai?"
"Shh, Yamato, it's alright... it's alright."
"No, really, Tai. Did they say if they fucked me? Hell.. I don't remember anything!" he giggled. Taichi stared at him in horror, wanted to say something but bit his lip and kept silent. "They probably did.. why should they help me get home anyway.. What did they look like, Tai?"
"I don't know," Taichi mouthed.
"Fucking wonderful.. Who could they fucking be?" Yamato muttered feverishly.
"Just go to sleep, Yama," Taichi said, his voice quivering. "You must have some sleep. I'm going to school and leave you here. Then I'll call your dad and say that you're alright. But you must stay here!"
"Yeah... school. Shit," the blond said. He sobbed. "Do you have aspirin? I've got a headache.."
Taichi got up. After this kind of shock he wouldn't be able to sleep anyway. He fed the pill to the blond. Then he put a towel with ice cubes on his forehead and tucked him under a blanket. He opened the window to let in some fresh air. It was already getting bright outside.
"Taichi.." Yamato looked at him with bloodshot eyes. "Thanks.. You're a great friend.. Thank you."
"You're drunk. Go to sleep." Taichi sat down by his side.
The teenager closed his eyes, rolled away and hid his face into the pillow. Taichi could only see the sharp curve of his shoulder and his tangled wet hair, as the shivers went through his body, and he tried to sink deeper into the sheets. He looked so helpless that a wave of despair rose up Taichi's throat, when he finally realised that he hadn't been able to protect his Yamato from all this. Yamato was his best friend, and he always wanted to keep him safe.
"Yamato.. what's wrong with you?" he whispered helplessly. "You gave up music. You disappear for whole nights. Your dad's worried. Everyone's worried. And now this..."
"I swear... it won't happen again... I'll be good. Taichi," he sobbed. "It hurts so much.."
"It's okay. I know. Sleep now."
"I promise..." Yamato closed his eyes.
The brown-haired boy pulled his knees up and putting his chin on his knees, watched the blond. His mind constantly turned over this last hour – over what Yamato had said, and his condition and the horrible unspoken things behind it all. The world was crushing in his eyes.
Yamato gradually fell asleep.
Three weeks later Taichi's phone woke him in the middle of the night again. Everything was the same with one small difference. When he opened the door Yamato was standing by himself and there was a coy smile on his face.
"Can I crush at your place tonight, Tai?" he asked.
"Sure.. what happened?"
"I was... dancing. I won..."
Yamato, grinning, made a step and fell into Taichi's arms, unconscious.
Until this night he had no idea how to help somebody when they were ill. Very soon Taichi could name all medicine in the house and in the nearest pharmacy, what it helped for and when to take it. He knew everything about drugs and overdose because he had to nurse his friend who was dancing whole night away.
And it did not stop for two more years.
tsuzuku...