Love Just Is

By Christine Lennoire

Chapter 12: The Things We Do for Love

After the awkward walk to school, the kids finally made it. The girls' insults had clearly hit Davis in a bad way, and Tk still looked bummed. Kari stayed by Davis, reminding him that she wasn't going anywhere. At first he had just ignored her attempts, but by the time the bell rang for them to sit down, he told her he was fine now and thanked her.

Kari smiled, happy to see that he was being reasonable again. Suddenly, another girl walked in the room. "Class… this is our new student. Would you like to introduce yourself to your new classmates?" Their teacher asked. She smiled and nodded.

"Hi. My name… is Courtney Gaeto." Kari looked at her again. Could it be that this Courtney was the same one from the Ski resort? No, it HAD to be. Tk looked up at her. His eyes showed an immense joy and wonderment. Kari was glad. She didn't like seeing Tk so unhappy. But, why exactly did she come here? Was her family with her? She hated to think that Trish might be somewhere in the town, too.

"You see… I used to have a job, working for my family. But, they got really mad at me when I didn't want to do something they asked me to, and so they kicked me out. Then, I took my money and my things and came here."

"Well, it's wonderful to have you, Courtney. I'll be your teacher, Mrs. Higurashi. Now, you may find a seat anywhere there is an empty desk. Any desk except for the third from the left in the front row, I mean. He's absent today." Courtney nodded and happily took the seat next to Tk. This was the first time he got a chance to look at her up close. This wasn't a fluke… it was real."

The school day went slow, as expected, but afterwards, they all met outside, by the doors. Tai was coming to pick them up so they could get their things from the house before going home. Most of them had called their parents already about it except for Davis and of course Courtney. Tk was the first to speak. He had seemed to come right back out of his depression again as soon as he realized that she was going to be at their school.

"So where are you staying? Your parents really kicked you out. I'm sorry." Courtney laughed and shook her head.

"No, please don't apologize. I'm very happy to be away from them now. You know I never liked what I did." She said. "I'm paying a small rent to share a house with a nice old lady. I do her cleaning for her and in return, she gives me a place to sleep and good food."

"That's great!" Kari said.

"Yeah. It's good to have you back. For a moment, we thought Tk might sulk forever!" Davis said, nudging him. Tk chuckled. It seemed funny now that he knew she was here.

"I guess I was being a little weird." Everyone stared at him. His head had been down the entire morning. Tk was making it seem way less intense than it was. But, Courtney looked like she could tell. She was smiling like crazy. "Well… maybe a lot weird." He said, smiling. All the others nodded in agreement when he changed his story this time. "I missed you."

"I missed you too. I… I didn't want to live so far away. I wanted to be here with you, and so I just did it. Hell with the consequences." She said.

"That's it! You tell 'em!" Tai said, pulling up along the road. "Welcome back. I guess you'll be staying then? Let's all… jump in the car and we can go back to my house and talk about it there. It's kinda warm out today." He said, wiping his forehead.

"Or maybe we just got used to all the snow up there." Tk said, grinning as they climbed in. Kari and Davis both agreed. They felt it too. "So, is my brother at your house too?"

"Uh huh… Sora too." He said, reluctant to call her Matt's girlfriend yet.

"Alright, then! Let's go…" Kari said. The rest of the car ride, Courtney and Tk were planning their first date. Davis apologized to Kari about becoming so cold after the incident with the girls from school. Kari brushed it off and told him that she wouldn't trade him in for anybody else in the world. That was followed closely by a hug and kiss.

"Okay! We're here!" Tai said.

"See?" Kari said out loud, looking around at all her friends. "I told you it would get better!" Not even a whole day had passed, and everything seemed back in place. Nothing loved had been lost, and they were all together again. 'It's perfect…' She thought.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you that if you do that, you'll jinx yourself?" Her brother asked, ruffling her hair. Tai could be sweet at times, while being pessimistic, too.

"Yeah, but… it wasn't anybody important." She said, grinning. "Just the kids at school, and I think I've already expressed how I feel about their advice." Kari stuck her nose in the air.

"Well, I know I'm glad, anyway." Davis said hugging her, as the group went inside together.

Dear Diary

Hey, it's me, Kari, again. I know it's a little soon to be writing again, but… Courtney's back, and I can't help expressing how happy I am. Everyone's happy again and Davis stopped letting Maiko's words hurt him. I TOLD him I didn't value her opinion anyway. I've also heard a saying about opinions… but I won't say that here. But, I just wanted to let you know, everything is okay. Courtney came back because she loves Tk… the things some of us do for love… I knew everything would get better… I'm just so happy.

There ya go! Another chapter. I was inspired. Thank you Nyrocat. You're kind words and idea inspired me to bring back my old character. I wanted to, but I didn't know if anyone would want her to. Well… this story just keeps evolving all the time. I'm so happy to keep writing it. Thanks to all my reviewers. There are too many of them to mention individually, but I would if I could, because you're all so GREAT! Just… keep reviewing. It makes me one happy author!

Christine Lennoire