Chelsey rubbed her eyes, trying to get rid of the tears that were starting to form. The nerve of him! "Ignore him, Chels. He didn't even look at your crest." Chelsey looked up at the 12 year old. She felt encouraged by his words. She was grateful having him around. At that moment, her stomach growled. She blushed, but Joe just smiled kindly. "You hungry?" he asked, although he knew the answer. The 5 year old at his feet nodded. "Right now, I'd settle for a nice peanut butter sandwich." Joe gave a little chuckle as he stood up and picked her up. "Sorry, we're fresh out of peanut butter sandwichs. All we have are berries and leaves and grass." Chelsey frowned. "Now berries I can handle, even if I don't like them, but leaves and grass? Count me out."

They headed towards the others, who seemed to have gone out to get berries and things while Chelsey told her stories. And it was about this time that she remembered that there was one more story she needed to tell Joe and Gomamon. But before she could state this, they were already grabbing some berries. The Digidestind gathered around the fire. Chelsey sat between Joe and Sora, and for good reason. She was planning on avoiding Tai for a while, but she would not be able to put that plan into action. "Got any more stories up your sleeve, Chels?" The little girl turned to the source and found Tai looking directly at her. Having blown her chance to ignore him, she just frowned at him. "Well, do you?" Tai asked again,and Chelsey detected a small harsh note in his voice. Now all the Digidestind were looking directly at her. This made her uncomfortable and she shrank back, the way a shadow would in the presense of light.

"Leave her alone, Tai." "I was just asking, Joe. Next time, I'd like to hear it. She's got a really big imagination." "She isn't making it up, Tai." "How do you know, Joe? She doesn't even have a Digimon! How do you explain that?" "You didn't even bother looking at her crest!" An arguement broke out. Chelsey looked from Joe and Tai, then back to Joe. This was her fault. They were fighting over her, or at least that's how she saw it. Either way, she was involved.. She stood up, and began to move away nervously. However, when she turned to retreat into the shadows and disappear, a pair of hands grabbed her. "You shouldn't wander off, Chels." It was Sora. "But they're fighting, and it's my fault..." "It's not, and if you want it to stop, I'll have them stop. Just please stay right here." Placing her back on the ground, Sora moved towards Tai and Joe. Tai was still yelling at points, but Joe had gone back to just speaking in the 5 year old's defense.

"Stop it, both of you." Tai and Joe both looked at Sora. "You're scaring her." Sora continued, pointing towards the five year old. Tai frowned. "Whatever." He shrugged his shoulders, and didn't say another word for the rest of the night. His silence was errie to Chelsey. She was so busy watching him, she didn't hear a word Joe or Sora said. They were talking about Tai, she knew, but she blocked their conversation out. She sat a few feet away from them. Flanking her on the right was Gomamon, and one the left, Biyomon. She figured Joe and Sora had asked their Digimon to keep her company while they talked. They gazed up at the starry sky, deep in thought. The two Digimon hadn't seen her so sad, so both decided to try and raise her spirits. "Hey, Chels." the girl looked up. "Why did one Shellmon take the other Shellmon's lunch?" "Because it was shellfish." she replied absent-mindedly. "You're good." "Thanks, but I know what you're trying to do..."

The Digimon both looked at her. "You're trying to cheer me up, aren't you?" Both Digimon exchanged a glance, then nodded. That's when Chelsey did something they didn't quite expect. She wrapped her arms around both of them and pulled them into a hug. "I thank you." she said softly, releasing the two Digimon from her grip. Her gaze drifted back to the sky, as if she were searching for something, but at last, she looked away from the sky and turned her attention to Joe and Sora. They too, were just sitting there, looking up to the sky. No one said anything, not even the Digimon. The silence was eerie. Finally, someone stifled a yawn. "Okay, time to turn in everyone. Good night." "Good night." everyone else said. Chelsey, however, remained up. She pondered about what to do. She couldn't convince the others she spoke the truth about being a Digidestind. She couldn't prove to them anything. After all, her Digimon was no where close by, and she doubted Tai or the others would even bother looking at her Digivice or crest. She was lucky that Joe and Sora believed her. She sighed, unsure about what she was gonna do.

"Time for bed." She heard Joe say. She grumbled under her breath. She didn't want to go to sleep at the moment.

"But I don't want to." She crossed her arms, and glared at Joe. He crossed his arms as well.

"No buts. I'm responsible for you and I say you go to bed now."

Chelsey sighed in defeat. She let Joe push her into her back gently, and watched as he laid down next to her. "Goodnight, Chelsey."

"Night, Joe." She muttered.

To be continued.

So sorry. I've had major writer's block. I'm trying okay. Thank you. Please R&R.

Mini-Marianne