Love Just Is
By Christine Lennoire
Chapter One: "Love is More"
Kari grasped the finished work to her chest. Then she held it up in triumph. "It's finished!" she cried out, joyfully. "It's finally finished!" she smiled, running across the room to her brother. "I did it!" she shouted in his ear, happily. He jumped in his seat, dropping his algebra book on the floor.
"Kari!" He shouted, obviously frustrated. "Can't you see I'm trying to finish my homework?" he said, hopping off the chair to pick up the scattered papers. Kari bent down to help him. She smiled. He never was very organized. "Now, what were you saying?" he smirked.
"I finally finished my essay!" she smiled. "You know, the one Mrs. Yasuhiko gave us last week? Well, it's going to be entered in a contest! And I finally finished writing it! I just need to type it up and print it out." She smiled innocently. He rolled his eyes. It wasn't hard to tell what she wanted.
"And you wanted to use dad's computer?" he sighed. He was the only one who knew his father's computer password. He was the only one who was allowed to use it. "You know you're not supposed to use dad's stuff. Especially his computer and printer! You know he'll holler at us both!"
"But I have no other choice! Everyone else printed theirs out on Friday before the end of school! But I wasn't ready! I have to have mine ready by first period tomorrow and there is no other way! Please, Tai!?" she begged. He winced. Her eyes could convince anyone to do what she wanted them to.
"Fine! Just don't look at me like that ever again!" he scolded. But even as he said it, he laughed. "Just be careful! You could mess up dad's mess!" he said. Everyone knew that Tai's dad hated it when his mess of books and papers got messed with.
"You should be more worried about me! Dad's 'mess' could crush me and all you'd care about would be dad's stupid pile of books and papers!" she sniffed. "Thanks! You make me feel 'so' special!" She said, sarcastically. Tai laughed.
"Whatever. Just be warned. "Izzy learned that the hard way!" he said. "That and he learned not to eat mom's cooking!" he laughed. A lot had happened that day. But let's just say their father wasn't too happy to come home and find his 'mess' all over the floor, discarded carelessly.
"Got it!" she shouted, disappearing into the computer room. She sat down in her dad's chair and wheeled it over to the desk. She pushed the books out of her way just enough so that she had enough room to work. She sat down her paper and booted up the computer.
The screen flashed and came on. "Bingo!" she cheered. "Now, let's get down to business. She waited patiently for it to boot up. Then, she opened the notepad document program. She formatted it, using double spacing, putting the title and her name in bold. She typed the title and her name in all caps.
ALL LOVE CAN BE, BY KARI KAMIYA
She smiled. It was perfect. Everything from the title to the last word had been planned long and hard. It had taken her the whole week to finish it. No one else put half as much effort into as she had. It just had to win! She started typing up the text, paragraph by paragraph.
Love. Love is the great mystery of life. It means so much, to truly love someone. To love means to devote everything to them. It means to give and give to them without ever asking for something in return. It means taking risks. And you need to trust, love, and respect each other. Love is so hard to decipher.
But love is deeper than you might think. You must think it over immensely before you even think about saying those words. Love is a lifelong commitment that you must be ready for. You must be prepared to give your all to the person you choose. And they must be just as willing.
I, myself, know that no relationship can live just on that. There are certain qualities that you should look for; that I would look for before pursuing a relationship with someone. Trust, loyalty, empathy, reliability, love, and sincerity. Those kinds of qualities should be there, for a relationship to prosper.
You need to be able to trust your lover at all times. You need to know that they take you seriously and will do what you say without questioning you or your reasoning. You need to know that they will not play around and that they can be trusted to do what is right.
And you should also be very aware of where their loyalties lie. Loyalty can be a very important factor in a relationship. You most know that they will stay by your side and that they will stick by you through thick and thin. If they won't stay by you, than who will?
They must also know empathy. If they can relate to you and your feelings, you will understand each other. And their feelings and the bond you share will grow. Being empathetic is a good sign. They will love you and will start to understand you, purely because they can understand how you feel.
They must be reliable. You need to know that you can count on them to do something they say they will do. They must be able to take care of situations the right way and follow their heart. Most of all, you need the feeling that you can count on them to do something you can't.
And you would hope that they are sincere. Sincerity means that they will be kind to you. It means that they will never be cruel or treat you in an unkind way. If they love you, they wouldn't do that. They must also be kind. Being sincere means that they care enough to do what is right.
And most importantly, there must be love. You need to be able to devote yourself to them. But love is more. Love is wanting to never let go. Love is wanting to hold on to them and love them forever, with no limitations. Limitations keep love grounded. But if it's true, there are no words to describe all love can be...
"That's it!" she said, triumphantly, turning on the printer. "Now, all that's left to do is print it out!" she smiled. She pressed the button and the paper started to print. She waited for it, patiently as it fed through the printer. "Good!" She ran back out to Tai, who was just finishing up his algebra.
"So? Did you get it?" Tai asked, putting his book into his backpack. "I hope you put everything back." He warned. She rolled her eyes and smacked him upside the head, playfully. "Hey, I'm serious!" he laughed.
"Everything is just fine!" she replied. "Aren't you even curious? Don't you want to read it?" she said, pretending to be mad. He smiled, playing with her hair again. She pulled away. She stuck her tongue out at him, making them both crack up laughing.
"Sure. Let me see this. I'll bet it's a winner!" he laughed. He read over it slowly and carefully. She had told him about it when she first got it. He knew she'd live up to the challenge, but he never imagined something like this! "It's... amazing!" he smiled. "That's my little sister for you!" he laughed. "Perfect."
"Stop it!" she blushed. "Do you really think I could win? I'm going up against so many other people!" Tai didn't appear to be listening, however. He was smirking. He read over it again. "What? Is there something wrong?" she frowned.
"If you ask me, it reminds me of a certain blonde boy I know." He teased. "Are you sure you aren't trying to charm a certain boy your age? Maybe that's the prize you're looking for!" he laughed. She turned a deep shade of red.
"Stop that! Is it that obvious?" everyone thought her and Tk were perfect together. He was everything she was looking for, and yet, they were just friends. They were really close, but there was nothing there. Not yet, at least. Kari had imagined it once or twice, but it never happened in the real world!
"Definitely!" he smirked. "So, you like him? Is it serious?" he asked. This was it. Tai was finally living up to his role as the big brother in the family. He was going to give her his own version of 'the talk'. "Do we have to talk about it?" he said, imitating mom. Kari laughed.
"No, Tai." She sighed. "It's not serious or anything, but he makes me feel special. I don't know if it's love or not." She frowned. "He's not the first person I've gotten close to and both times it made me wonder about what was really there. I can't say that it's serious, but the potentials there." She smiled, dreamily.
"Don't fix it if it ain't broken!" Tai said, stealing the age-old line. Kari laughed. He always knew just how to lighten the mood and make her feel better. She smiled and hugged him. "Don't mention it. Really, don't!" he said seriously. "You owe me." He smiled mischievously.
"How did I know?" She laughed. "You are a trip, Tai!" she smiled. "But thanks. I do owe you." She said. Suddenly, the moment went very serious, very fast. Tai shook his head and shrugged.
"Don't mention it. That's just what us brothers do. That and we make sure our younger siblings get to bed on time!" he laughed. "Mom said to start the dishwasher before you go to bed!" he shouted after her. She went into the kitchen.
"No, she told you to do that!" she laughed. "Who cares?" she shrugged. She put the dirty dishes in and started it up. "I guess you're right. I should get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be one long day! I have to read my essay in front of the whole class!" she squealed.
"You'll do fine, as long as you rest up." He said. "I have faith in you!" he cheered her one. "Goodnight." He whispered. She smiled, hugging him and kissing him on the cheek. He pretended to look disgusted. "Don't go getting all emotional on me!" he cried.
She laughed. "I know you don't like it, but I appreciate it." She smirked. "Night!" She put her paper in her backpack and went upstairs. Tai was left to his own thoughts for a second. He frowned.
"I just hope you know what you're doing." He said. "Love hurts." He said, thinking about his own love life. He had put his heart on the line to tell Sora how he felt. But that's not the worst part. She liked Matt! That was the part that hurt most. "Good thing that's over!" he said. He and Sora were friends again. It was almost like nothing happened.
"Crap!" he groaned. "I still have biology homework!" he growled. "Ugh! Forget that!" he laughed. "I'll do it in the morning!" he yawned. He knew he wouldn't actually do it in the morning, but it made him feel better to say it. He knew he would sleep in anyway.
He went up to his bedroom, passing Kari's bedroom door on the way. He smiled in at her. She was so nice. He didn't want to see her hurt. He sighed and closed the door behind him. Then, he went to his own bedroom and closed the door.
"Thank you, Tai." She smiled, half asleep. She had seen him come in to check on her. "See you in the morning." Then, she turned on her side and curled up into a ball. Gatomon had fallen asleep at her feet. She smiled down at her Digimon. Then, she went to bed, and she was filled with peaceful dreams.
By Christine Lennoire
Chapter One: "Love is More"
Kari grasped the finished work to her chest. Then she held it up in triumph. "It's finished!" she cried out, joyfully. "It's finally finished!" she smiled, running across the room to her brother. "I did it!" she shouted in his ear, happily. He jumped in his seat, dropping his algebra book on the floor.
"Kari!" He shouted, obviously frustrated. "Can't you see I'm trying to finish my homework?" he said, hopping off the chair to pick up the scattered papers. Kari bent down to help him. She smiled. He never was very organized. "Now, what were you saying?" he smirked.
"I finally finished my essay!" she smiled. "You know, the one Mrs. Yasuhiko gave us last week? Well, it's going to be entered in a contest! And I finally finished writing it! I just need to type it up and print it out." She smiled innocently. He rolled his eyes. It wasn't hard to tell what she wanted.
"And you wanted to use dad's computer?" he sighed. He was the only one who knew his father's computer password. He was the only one who was allowed to use it. "You know you're not supposed to use dad's stuff. Especially his computer and printer! You know he'll holler at us both!"
"But I have no other choice! Everyone else printed theirs out on Friday before the end of school! But I wasn't ready! I have to have mine ready by first period tomorrow and there is no other way! Please, Tai!?" she begged. He winced. Her eyes could convince anyone to do what she wanted them to.
"Fine! Just don't look at me like that ever again!" he scolded. But even as he said it, he laughed. "Just be careful! You could mess up dad's mess!" he said. Everyone knew that Tai's dad hated it when his mess of books and papers got messed with.
"You should be more worried about me! Dad's 'mess' could crush me and all you'd care about would be dad's stupid pile of books and papers!" she sniffed. "Thanks! You make me feel 'so' special!" She said, sarcastically. Tai laughed.
"Whatever. Just be warned. "Izzy learned that the hard way!" he said. "That and he learned not to eat mom's cooking!" he laughed. A lot had happened that day. But let's just say their father wasn't too happy to come home and find his 'mess' all over the floor, discarded carelessly.
"Got it!" she shouted, disappearing into the computer room. She sat down in her dad's chair and wheeled it over to the desk. She pushed the books out of her way just enough so that she had enough room to work. She sat down her paper and booted up the computer.
The screen flashed and came on. "Bingo!" she cheered. "Now, let's get down to business. She waited patiently for it to boot up. Then, she opened the notepad document program. She formatted it, using double spacing, putting the title and her name in bold. She typed the title and her name in all caps.
ALL LOVE CAN BE, BY KARI KAMIYA
She smiled. It was perfect. Everything from the title to the last word had been planned long and hard. It had taken her the whole week to finish it. No one else put half as much effort into as she had. It just had to win! She started typing up the text, paragraph by paragraph.
Love. Love is the great mystery of life. It means so much, to truly love someone. To love means to devote everything to them. It means to give and give to them without ever asking for something in return. It means taking risks. And you need to trust, love, and respect each other. Love is so hard to decipher.
But love is deeper than you might think. You must think it over immensely before you even think about saying those words. Love is a lifelong commitment that you must be ready for. You must be prepared to give your all to the person you choose. And they must be just as willing.
I, myself, know that no relationship can live just on that. There are certain qualities that you should look for; that I would look for before pursuing a relationship with someone. Trust, loyalty, empathy, reliability, love, and sincerity. Those kinds of qualities should be there, for a relationship to prosper.
You need to be able to trust your lover at all times. You need to know that they take you seriously and will do what you say without questioning you or your reasoning. You need to know that they will not play around and that they can be trusted to do what is right.
And you should also be very aware of where their loyalties lie. Loyalty can be a very important factor in a relationship. You most know that they will stay by your side and that they will stick by you through thick and thin. If they won't stay by you, than who will?
They must also know empathy. If they can relate to you and your feelings, you will understand each other. And their feelings and the bond you share will grow. Being empathetic is a good sign. They will love you and will start to understand you, purely because they can understand how you feel.
They must be reliable. You need to know that you can count on them to do something they say they will do. They must be able to take care of situations the right way and follow their heart. Most of all, you need the feeling that you can count on them to do something you can't.
And you would hope that they are sincere. Sincerity means that they will be kind to you. It means that they will never be cruel or treat you in an unkind way. If they love you, they wouldn't do that. They must also be kind. Being sincere means that they care enough to do what is right.
And most importantly, there must be love. You need to be able to devote yourself to them. But love is more. Love is wanting to never let go. Love is wanting to hold on to them and love them forever, with no limitations. Limitations keep love grounded. But if it's true, there are no words to describe all love can be...
"That's it!" she said, triumphantly, turning on the printer. "Now, all that's left to do is print it out!" she smiled. She pressed the button and the paper started to print. She waited for it, patiently as it fed through the printer. "Good!" She ran back out to Tai, who was just finishing up his algebra.
"So? Did you get it?" Tai asked, putting his book into his backpack. "I hope you put everything back." He warned. She rolled her eyes and smacked him upside the head, playfully. "Hey, I'm serious!" he laughed.
"Everything is just fine!" she replied. "Aren't you even curious? Don't you want to read it?" she said, pretending to be mad. He smiled, playing with her hair again. She pulled away. She stuck her tongue out at him, making them both crack up laughing.
"Sure. Let me see this. I'll bet it's a winner!" he laughed. He read over it slowly and carefully. She had told him about it when she first got it. He knew she'd live up to the challenge, but he never imagined something like this! "It's... amazing!" he smiled. "That's my little sister for you!" he laughed. "Perfect."
"Stop it!" she blushed. "Do you really think I could win? I'm going up against so many other people!" Tai didn't appear to be listening, however. He was smirking. He read over it again. "What? Is there something wrong?" she frowned.
"If you ask me, it reminds me of a certain blonde boy I know." He teased. "Are you sure you aren't trying to charm a certain boy your age? Maybe that's the prize you're looking for!" he laughed. She turned a deep shade of red.
"Stop that! Is it that obvious?" everyone thought her and Tk were perfect together. He was everything she was looking for, and yet, they were just friends. They were really close, but there was nothing there. Not yet, at least. Kari had imagined it once or twice, but it never happened in the real world!
"Definitely!" he smirked. "So, you like him? Is it serious?" he asked. This was it. Tai was finally living up to his role as the big brother in the family. He was going to give her his own version of 'the talk'. "Do we have to talk about it?" he said, imitating mom. Kari laughed.
"No, Tai." She sighed. "It's not serious or anything, but he makes me feel special. I don't know if it's love or not." She frowned. "He's not the first person I've gotten close to and both times it made me wonder about what was really there. I can't say that it's serious, but the potentials there." She smiled, dreamily.
"Don't fix it if it ain't broken!" Tai said, stealing the age-old line. Kari laughed. He always knew just how to lighten the mood and make her feel better. She smiled and hugged him. "Don't mention it. Really, don't!" he said seriously. "You owe me." He smiled mischievously.
"How did I know?" She laughed. "You are a trip, Tai!" she smiled. "But thanks. I do owe you." She said. Suddenly, the moment went very serious, very fast. Tai shook his head and shrugged.
"Don't mention it. That's just what us brothers do. That and we make sure our younger siblings get to bed on time!" he laughed. "Mom said to start the dishwasher before you go to bed!" he shouted after her. She went into the kitchen.
"No, she told you to do that!" she laughed. "Who cares?" she shrugged. She put the dirty dishes in and started it up. "I guess you're right. I should get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be one long day! I have to read my essay in front of the whole class!" she squealed.
"You'll do fine, as long as you rest up." He said. "I have faith in you!" he cheered her one. "Goodnight." He whispered. She smiled, hugging him and kissing him on the cheek. He pretended to look disgusted. "Don't go getting all emotional on me!" he cried.
She laughed. "I know you don't like it, but I appreciate it." She smirked. "Night!" She put her paper in her backpack and went upstairs. Tai was left to his own thoughts for a second. He frowned.
"I just hope you know what you're doing." He said. "Love hurts." He said, thinking about his own love life. He had put his heart on the line to tell Sora how he felt. But that's not the worst part. She liked Matt! That was the part that hurt most. "Good thing that's over!" he said. He and Sora were friends again. It was almost like nothing happened.
"Crap!" he groaned. "I still have biology homework!" he growled. "Ugh! Forget that!" he laughed. "I'll do it in the morning!" he yawned. He knew he wouldn't actually do it in the morning, but it made him feel better to say it. He knew he would sleep in anyway.
He went up to his bedroom, passing Kari's bedroom door on the way. He smiled in at her. She was so nice. He didn't want to see her hurt. He sighed and closed the door behind him. Then, he went to his own bedroom and closed the door.
"Thank you, Tai." She smiled, half asleep. She had seen him come in to check on her. "See you in the morning." Then, she turned on her side and curled up into a ball. Gatomon had fallen asleep at her feet. She smiled down at her Digimon. Then, she went to bed, and she was filled with peaceful dreams.