Chapter 20: Many Partings
"So, it's all over now." Melissa said leaning back in the couch back behind the stage, "Right?"
After Richard had gotten out of the digital world the gates had cleared up allowing them to go home. Ken had returned to Japan and Izzy to Maine while the others, under Jack's suggestion, had gone to Los Angeles and arrived just in time to catch the last concert of The Wolves' American tour. What had followed was a long lecture about not running off on your brother and not leaving him any idea where you had gone with scattered hints that eloping wasn't an acceptable idea.
And then TK and Kari had had their say about what had gone on in the last few weeks this time punctuated by a pink haired ditz's comments of 'how cute' and her blue haired boyfriend's comments on some of the risks they had taken. There were a few things they had left out of the story however; according to what they said both TK and Kari were still virgins. Whether it counted when that happened in the digital world no one knew, and they weren't likely to find out.
"Yeah, it's over." Kari replied as she leaned back as well. "It had better be. I'm looking forward to a normal end to my summer.
"Hey." the short singer from the warm up band said as she took a seat on the edge of the couch, Kari and Melissa gave her a quick wave. The Wolves were playing now so the other band was free for the rest of the evening. "I can't wait until this is over." She admitted, "I feel like I haven't slept in my own bed in a year."
"That's probably because you haven't." the long haired rhythm guitarist said while on his way out.
The singer opened her mouth to say something back but stopped when the door closed. "Asshole." she said to herself. She looked back up and saw Kari and Melissa again, "Sorry, I'm Stephanie but my friends call me Shorty."
Kari nodded, "I'm Kari."
"I'm Melissa but my friends call me, um, Melissa." Melissa said with a laugh.
"Nice to meet you." Shorty said. "So, what have you been doing with Jack all summer?" she asked.
"Doing with Jack?" Melissa asked with an eyebrow raised, "He's been following us around like a sad little puppy." Kari shook her head sadly; Melissa did as much following as Jack did.
"You've got it bad." Shorty commented giving Kari a quick joking wink.
"I do not." Melissa said, from her angle she hadn't caught the wink.
"Oh you don't do you?" Kari asked joining in giving the girl a hard time. "Then how come you always seem to end up alone with him?" Melissa gave Kari a glare.
"There's nothing wrong with it." Shorty said. "Everyone wants Jack at some point, there's no reason to be ashamed."
"I'm not ashamed of anything." Melissa growled, "I can't stand Jack."
"And what was with that kiss this morning?" Kari asked, "It certainly didn't seem like you couldn't stand him then."
"Oooohh, kissing each other-" she didn't get any farther; Melissa got up and stormed off.
"I think we went a bit too far." Kari said.
Shorty shrugged, "She'll get over it. Besides it wasn't that we went too far it's that we got too deep."
"Too deep?" Kari asked
"When I started teasing her I didn't honestly know she liked Jack." Shorty explained. "She really does have a thing for him and she panicked when we started bringing up things she couldn't deny."
"That sounds pretty accurate." Kari said, "How did you get so good at this?"
"I've known Jack for a pretty long time." Shorty admitted, "Both definitions. That's the same way I acted back in the day."
"Uh huh." Kari said resting with a sigh. "What's the difference between like and love?" she asked suddenly.
"Spit or swallow." Shorty replied, she sounded completely serious.
"If we, um, haven't done that yet?" Kari asked her cheeks a little pink.
"Get on it as fast as you can." Shorty told her. A second later she laughed, "I was just kidding." she said. "Love is," she paused, "well it's hard to describe. It's like when your with the person everything seems right, and when they're not there it feels like there's something missing. I can't really say anymore; when it's love, somehow you just know."
"That all sounds right," Kari said, "but I don't feel like I can really trust myself."
"Stop it." Shorty said, "Trust yourself, you'll never steer you wrong."
Kari nodded, "Thanks."
"No problem." Shorty said as she stood up. "Now I have to go, there's a pothead guitarist in the bus that needs to be reminded who he can make jokes about." the two laughed a little as she left.
"So how are things going between you and Mimi?" TK asked Joe.
Joe looked at TK in thought, on odd contemplative look on his face. Without a word he pulled something small out of his pocket and tossed it to TK.
TK looked down to see what he had caught; it was a gold ring with a good sized diamond on top. "You're thinking of proposing?" he asked.
"Already did." Joe said his voice revealing nothing.
"And she turned you down." TK said sadly looking at the ring, he had no idea how Joe had managed to afford it.
"No, she accepted." Joe said. TK looked up at him confused. "She said she didn't want the ring, told me to return it and get my money back."
"This is the same Mimi I know from back home right?" TK inquired.
Joe chuckled, "Yes it's the same Mimi from before. Problem is I can't return the ring."
"Why not, did you steal it or something?" TK asked.
"No nothing like that." Joe assured him. "But you do realize that I can't just walk back into the store and return it, right?"
"Why not?" TK asked.
"It would look like she said no." Joe said as it was obvious.
"So, you're afraid of what people will think?" TK asked.
"You just don't get it." Joe said shaking his head. "Now I have a deal for you."
"A deal?" TK asked, "What, do you want me to return it for you?"
"No not like that." Joe said. "Here's the deal: I can't keep it, Mimi won't take it, and I can't return it. So I'm passing it off to you."
TK blinked as the words sunk in. "Me?" he squeaked, "Why me?"
"Take a look around." Joe suggested, "You're the most likely to use it."
"W, where did you get that idea?" TK asked.
"I looked at you and Kari." Joe said. "Just save it for when you need it."
"Um, yeah sure." TK said, "Thanks Joe."
Both their heads whipped around as Melissa stormed past them angrily. "What's up her ass?" Joe asked.
TK shrugged, "Where's Jack?" he asked.
"That way." Joe said pointing to where Melissa had gone, "Oh, I get it now."
Kari ran up to the two of them, "Have you guys seen Melissa?" she asked, "Me and one of Jack's friends were teasing her and I wanted to apologize."
"Okay, come on." TK said heading the way Melissa had gone. "With any luck we'll find her before she kills someone." seeing the look on Kari's face he immediately added, "I was just joking."
Melissa was leaning back against a wall in front of the stage. How could they even think the she had a thing for Jack? She couldn't even stand to be in the same room as him for very long.
There were a group of guys and girls her age standing across from her. "Hey, Willis, take a look at that girl." one of them said, "Bet even you can't get her."
Willis was an okay looking guy with spiky blonde hair, "Don't make bets you can't win Steve." Willis said, "There's no girl I can't get." he boasted. Willis detached himself from his group and walked over to Melissa; his group slowly inched after him, "Hey there, my name's Willis." he said, "How's the night treating you?"
Melissa was, to say the least, not in the mood for some guy that thought he was hot stuff. "Like a load of shit." she told him, "Really sorry 'Little Willy' but you just don't have what I'm looking for, if you get my meaning." With that she walked off back to where she had been earlier.
Willis blinked in surprise, that wasn't something that happened everyday. "Looks like you just got shot down Little Willy." Steve commented. Those girls and guys that had understood what Melissa was referring to sniggered a little causing Willis to blush.
TK and Kari were still looking for Melissa, but to no avail. "This is getting us nowhere," Kari commented, "We haven't seen Melissa, or Jack, or even anyone else we know."
"I know." TK said, "Do you think we should give up?"
Before Kari could answer their attention was grabbed by a brown haired goggled boy running towards them yelling her name loudly. Just as he had nearly reached them an arm shot out of the crowd and caught the boy in the neck knocking him to the ground, once he hit it a kick to the head knocked him out of it.
TK and Kari looked up to see the owner of the arm, Jack. "That wasn't really necessary," TK said, "he's a friend, sort of."
Jack shrugged, "Sorry," he offered, "but after the last guy who was that obsessed with her I didn't want to take a chance."
Kari laughed a little, "You two pick him up; we should take him backstage so no one steps on him." TK and Jack complied with her order, picking up Davis' unconscious body and dragging it back towards the stage.
A tall man standing by the door in an old black trench coat, with long pure white hair, and jet black eyes had been watching the two American digidestined intently. "They really don't seem to be doing that badly Lopmon." he commented to a small rabbit like digimon by his legs.
"They don't seem all that different either." Lopmon replied.
A man in a worn brown robe with short spiky brown hair suddenly appeared beside them, neither the tall man nor the digimon showed any surprise. "Hello Lucas, I thought I'd find you here." he said.
"Nice to see you too Obi-wan." Lucas said. "What brings you to my world today?"
"My name is Benjamin." Benjamin said, "And I'm here to check up on a few loose ends."
"To the tiger maybe, but to us you'll always be Obi-wan." Lucas said. "They weren't supposed to get involved were they?" he asked, "This was supposed to be another one of my jobs."
"They're all supposed to be your jobs Lucas, that's why you were allowed to remember. You're the one we call in to troubleshoot." Benjamin said. "So now that they met again what's going to happen?" he wondered aloud.
"Not what Baihumon wants to happen." Lucas told him.
"Good." Benjamin whispered. A second later Benjamin simply vanished, a moment after that Lucas and Lopmon left through the door. Lucas looked up at the sky and smiled when he saw a two tailed comet streak by.
"Hey," Jack said leaning back against a wall Melissa was standing by, "what's up?"
"Nothing that concerns you Jack." Melissa said.
"I'm honored," Jack said with a mock bow, "you used my name."
"Don't ruin it by being an ass." Melissa said, "I'm really not in the mood."
Jack sighed, "I guess I'm not either." he admitted. "So this is the end of it all huh?"
"Yeah," Melissa said, "this is the end. You, Kari, TK, me; we're all going to go our separate ways and probably never see each other again."
Jack shook his head, "No, you won't see us, but we'll see you. You're getting to that age where your parents are going to want you to tag along to every little thing they do."
"That's too bad." Melissa said sarcastically, "I'm not going to college anywhere near Chicago. They can't ignore me my whole life and then expect me to be waiting around to help them when they decide they want me."
"Good," Jack said, "don't let them push you around. Don't be bitter though, if you get bitter you'll grow up to be the same as they are."
"I'm not bitter," Melissa said, "just disappointed." She sighed again and leaned back against the wall, "Why are we like this?" she asked.
"Like what?" Jack asked.
"How come we always argue, but then there are times like these when we have a real, civil, meaningful conversation?"
Jack shrugged, "Sometimes the people that understand you best are the ones that hate you. Then again I doubt that we really hate each other."
"What was up with that kiss, in the desert?" Melissa asked.
Jack looked down at his feet, "I don't know," he admitted, "it just felt right."
"I guess it did feel kind of right." Melissa admitted, "I'm going to miss you after we go our separate ways, life just won't be the same without someone like you to argue with. It's too bad we'll never meet up again"
"I'll miss you too." Jack said. "But we're going to meet up again, I can feel it."
"Whatever," Melissa said giving Jack a sudden hug, "see you some other time Argumentative Bastard."
"Later, Contrary Wench." Jack said returning the hug. "Hey," he said pointing out the window, "you don't see one of those too often." He was pointing out the window at a two tailed comet.
"Bullshit," Melissa told him, "I've seen one every two years since I was fourteen."
"I can remember those." Jack told her. "I don't remember any before them though."
"I don't either," Melissa said, "but I guess they had to start coming around sometime."
"Yeah, I guess." Jack said looking back out the window.
A nineteen year old on the outskirts of San Francisco watched a two tailed comet streak by from the top of his car. "That was cool." he said to the girl beside him.
"What was cool?" she asked.
"The comet." he said pointing at the sky.
"Carlos, there was no comet." she said. "Did you get smacked in the head with a soccer ball again?"
"Yeah, probably." Carlos said turning back towards the sky. Despite what he had said he knew he had seen a comet.
A glass of cold water to the face brought Davis back almost immediately. "What are you doing here Davis?" Kari asked the goggle head angrily.
"What am I doing here, what is he doing here?" Davis shot back gesturing towards TK. "I came over here to keep him away from you."
"I don't need you to watch over me Davis." Kari told him. "I'm a big girl; I can take care of myself."
"That doesn't explain why he's here." Davis said still gesturing towards TK.
"We made up." Kari said. "We're back together now."
"But, but, but I love you." Davis stammered.
Kari sighed, "I don't know how many times I've had to say this Davis, but I don't love you back. You're just good friend."
"Fine," Davis said, "I'm going home. And if you ever hurt her I swear you'll be sorry." Davis said shoving a finger in TK's face before stalking off.
"Don't worry," TK said to Davis' back while fingering the ring in his pocket, "I won't."
"Sorry about him." Kari said, "I should have realized he would never give up on me."
"It's not your fault." TK said, "I should have known that Yolei and Cody couldn't keep quiet about me being here for long and that he'd overreact and run in to save you." He smiled a little, "You know, when you talk about Davis never giving up on you, you make him sound a lot like me."
"God forbid that you start to act like him." Kari laughed hugging TK. "So what are we going to do when the summer ends?" she asked.
"I don't know." TK admitted, "Maybe we can be like Tai and Sora and visit each other in the summer, or I could transfer to college in America, or maybe you could even come back to Japan. One thing's for sure though, I don't want this to end here; I won't stop loving you just because we're on opposite sides of the world."
"I don't want it to end either." Kari said holding him tighter, "We'll find some way to make this work."
"Yeah," TK breathed, "we'll find a way. Love will find a way."