Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

A/N: I'm sorry this chapter's kind of lame, but I needed a bridge into what happens next. The next chapter will be better, I promise. Sora's POV will be coming up soon again, and there will probably be more of Matt. Oh and it's next week that I might not get to this story. Sorry about that! Please review!

My Best Friend's Girlfriend

Chapter 12: Making Decisions

Izzy Izumi

Izzy sat down on his bed, next to Matt, and they both turned to gaze at Joe who was staring back at them with his mouth hanging open.

After leaving school that afternoon, he, along with Matt, had pulled Joe out of class to tell the other boy what had happened.

At first Matt had not wanted to tell Joe, but Izzy had managed to convince his blond friend that it was necessary. After all, Matt needed all the help he could get.

Besides, Matt really does want Joe's help. He's just too afraid to admit it!

The three of them had spent most of the afternoon wandering the streets of Odaiba, and they had finally ended up coming to his house. Luckily his parents weren't home, and they had the place to themselves.

Now if only I could convince Matt to talk to Tai.

Unfortunately it did not look like he was going to be able to pull that idea off any time soon.

"Matt," Joe said quietly, staring directly into the blond's eyes. "I know it looks bad, but I really think you should give Tai a chance to explain his actions. We've known him for years now, and he has never done something like this before. There must be a reason for his sudden change in attitude."

"I told you, I didn't do anything to him!" Matt snapped, his blue eyes flashing with anger. "There are no excuses for the way that he has been treating me!"

Izzy sighed and put a gentle arm around his blond friend's shoulders. He could feel Matt trembling next to him, and that was not a good sign. The blond seemed to be on the verge of losing control over his emotions, and Izzy had no idea what to do about it.

Matt's very secretive when it comes to showing his feelings. If I don't find a way to calm him down soon, then he's never going to forgive Tai for making him feel so vulnerable.

"Matt," Joe said quietly. "Tai's behaviour might not have anything to do with you. Maybe he's just under a lot of stress right now. I'm not saying that I agree with what he's been doing, but people do stupid things when they don't know how to deal with their feelings."

"Sound familiar?" Izzy asked, giving his blond friend a small smile.

Matt blushed and quickly stared down at his hands, looking embarrassed.

Joe got up from the chair that he had been sitting in and came over to stand in front of Matt. The two stared at each other for a moment, and Joe gave the blond a sympathetic smile. "It sounds like Tai's upset about something, and he has been taking his frustrations out on you without even realizing it. I'm sure that Tai would feel very bad about the way that he has been treating you, if he knew the kind of effect his actions were having on your friendship. Tai would never do anything to hurt you intentionally, Matt. I'm sure that he would feel horrible if he knew that he was making you so upset."

Izzy stared at Joe in surprise and found himself nodding in agreement. What the other boy had said made sense. He was just shocked that he had not thought of it first.

Maybe Joe's right. If he is, then that means that the rest of us have been worrying over nothing.

"That doesn't make any sense!" Matt shouted, interrupting his thoughts. "Tai would tell me if there was something bothering him! We never keep secrets from each other!"

Joe sat down on Matt's other side and placed a hand on the blond's shoulder. "Maybe he isn't ready to tell you yet."

"No," Matt whispered, slowly shaking his head. "I know that whatever is bugging him has something to do with me. I can feel it."

"I'm sorry, Matt, but I just can't believe that Tai would ever be that cruel," Joe said softly.

The reason Joe had looked so shocked earlier was because Matt had mentioned to the other boy that he was planning on not confronting Tai about what had happened earlier that morning.

Obviously Joe did not think that that was a very good idea, and Izzy had to agree. Unfortunately it did not look as if Joe was having any more success in changing Matt's mind than he had had.

"I know you're trying to make me feel better, but it's not going to work," Matt said quietly. "And if you think that I'm going to change my mind about confronting Tai, forget it!"

"Then what are you going to do?" Joe asked.

"I'm not going to avoid him, if that's what you're worried about," Matt replied, his eyes growing hard. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to go out of my way to be friendly either."

"I don't understand," Izzy said, feeling confused. "Don't you want to know what's going on with Tai?"

"Of course I do," Matt said, looking annoyed.

"But-"

"There are other ways of finding out without actually asking him. I doubt he would tell me even if I did confront him, but you know what they say. The truth always comes out, and I intend to have a front row seat when it does."

"What about Mimi and the others?" Joe asked, staring hard at Matt's face.

Matt's deep blue eyes filled with sudden sadness, and he stared quietly at the floor.

Izzy's heart filled with concern for his friend.

He looks so lost. I wish there was something that we could do to help him, but I'm afraid that would only end up making things worse.

Mimi and the others had tried to interfere, and that had ended in disaster. He was not about to make the same mistake.

"Matt?" Joe asked, placing a hand on the blond's shoulder.

Matt smiled sadly at him and shrugged. "Only time will tell."

Tai Kamiya

"Kari, what am I going to do?" he asked quietly, leaning back against his pillows with a sigh.

Kari smiled sadly and shook her head. "I don't know, Tai. I wish I could give you an easy answer, but I can't."

"I was afraid you were going to say that!" he mumbled.

She studied his face for a moment and placed a hand on his arm. "Tai? Can I ask you something?"

He hesitated and finally nodded.

"Obviously you've felt this way about Sora for quite a while now, and I think it's pretty safe to say that you have been doing your best to keep your feelings hidden from her. Why?"

"Matt," he whispered, avoiding his sister's eyes. "I could never hurt him like that."

"You really care about Matt, don't you?" Kari asked, giving him a gentle smile. "That's why you haven't told him about your feelings for Sora."

"More than I could ever put into words," he said softly. "I know it doesn't always seem like it, but he's an amazing best friend. Everything is different when we're alone. He doesn't act at all like he does when he's around strangers."

"I know what you mean," Kari replied. "He always seems much more relaxed and friendly when he's with you. You have such an amazing affect on him, Tai. I've noticed that he smiles a lot more often when he's around you."

"I'm glad," he murmured, smiling softly.

Kari smiled back at him and put a hand on his arm. "Matt has definitely become a better person since he started hanging around all of us Digidestined, and he's not afraid to trust us. That's why he acts so different around us, but you seem to make him that much more adventurous when it comes to showing his feelings."

He put his face in his hands and sighed. "Kari, I'm such a jerk."

"No, you're not," she said softly. "You're human. It's only natural that Matt's and Sora's relationship would have this kind of an effect on you. They are two of the most important people in the world to you. You love them both, and unfortunately you can't express your feelings for Sora because that could potentially ruin your friendship with Matt. It could also make things awkward with Sora. It must be killing you to have to keep all those feelings hidden inside."

"It doesn't matter," he mumbled. "Sora will never see me as anything other than a friend, and there's no way I can face rejection from her. This way I can still dream. You're right. If she knew how I felt about her, it would only make things awkward between us."

"What would you do if Sora did have feelings for you that could one day develop into something more than just friendship?" Kari asked, watching him closely.

"I still wouldn't tell her how I feel," he whispered. "Can you imagine how Matt would react to that? No, I'd have to keep my feelings a secret. I'd hurt myself first before I would ever hurt Matt."

"What if Matt and Sora broke up?"

"I would make sure that it was okay with Matt first before telling Sora how I feel," he replied.

"And you say you're a jerk!" Kari murmured, smiling slightly. "Listen, Tai. I think you should talk to Matt about all of this."

His mouth fell open, and he stared at her in shock. "Kari, have you gone completely crazy?"

She must be joking! Telling Matt is the best way to ruin our friendship! I thought she was trying to help me!

His sister raised her eyebrows and gave him a long look. "Tai, I know you think that Matt will freak out on you if he finds out about your feelings for Sora, but I really don't think that he will. I'm sure he'll be shocked, but I don't think he'll be angry at you. You can't help how you feel. You might be surprised by his reaction."

"Yeah, you're definitely crazy!" he muttered. "If I tell Matt, then Sora will probably find out, too. I definitely don't want that to happen!"

"Matt would never tell Sora any of your secrets," Kari said reasonably. "Even if Sora did find out, it wouldn't be the end of the world. I'm sure she would be very understanding about the whole thing."

"No way! Have you forgotten about the fact that Sora will start to act really weird around me if she finds out how I feel?"

"I haven't forgotten," Kari said quietly. "That's a possibility, but I think you'll be able to sort things out with her. I'm sure you guys can come to some sort of understanding."

"Okay, now you're just being a little too optimistic!"

Kari swatted his arm and rolled her eyes. "Trust me, Tai. If you continue to push Matt away, then you are going to lose him anyway, no matter what happens with Sora."

She's right. I hadn't thought of that.

He made a face at her and nodded. "I'll talk to him, but only because I want to know if he's mad at me. I'm not going to mention anything about Sora. I'm just not ready for that conversation yet. I probably never will be."

"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you," she replied.

He was not looking forward to meeting up with Matt, but he was not about to lose his best friend either.

I can't tell Matt about my feelings, at least not until I find out how he feels about me. He's not going to be too happy about the fact that I lied to him. He probably won't even give me a chance to say anything, even if I wanted to!

"I can't believe you figured out what was wrong with me so easily. You're good, you know that?" he said, shaking his head in amusement.

She laughed and gave him a warm hug. "Hey, Tai?" she murmured. "Why Sora?"

He looked at her and gave her a sad smile. "Do you really need to ask me that?"

I've never met another girl like her before. How am I suppose to just forget about her when she means so much to me?

"Sora's going to want to know what's wrong tomorrow," Kari said quietly, getting to her feet.

"I know," he mumbled, letting his eyes fall closed. He was definitely not looking forward to that conversation. Somehow he was going to have to find a way to stop Sora from finding out about why he was really upset.

"Think about what I said, okay?" Kari murmured, looking very serious.

He nodded and let out a sigh. "I will. Thanks."

"I better get back to the kitchen before T.K. starts to get suspicious. I hope everything works out tomorrow."

"Me, too," he murmured, watching his sister leave the room. "Me, too."