Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.
A/N: Sorry about the long wait, and I hope that this chapter is better than the last one!
My Best Friend's Girlfriend
Chapter 13: Friend or Foe?
Tai Kamiya
Tai slowly stepped through the front doors of his high school and glanced nervously around the hallway. It was crowded with students, but fortunately Matt was nowhere to be seen.
That's a relief. I know I have to face him eventually, but hopefully that won't be until later in the day.
He was more than a little anxious to meet up with his best friend, but that was going to have to wait until he had a chance to get his emotions under control. He needed a little time to prepare himself for the fight that was sure to take place between them.
The same goes for the rest of my friends. I'm not exactly anxious to meet up with them either! Sora, Joe, and Izzy are bound to have tons of questions they want to ask me, and I'm not ready to answer them just yet. Besides, I don't want them hanging around when I meet up with Matt. That will just make things even more awkward.
He had spent a lot of time thinking about what Kari had said to him the day before, and he was still not ready to tell Matt about his feelings for Sora.
But I'm not ready to give up on our friendship either.
Somehow he was going to have to keep his pain hidden because he had realized something very important. It did not matter that Matt had hurt him. The blond was still his best friend, and nothing was ever going to change that.
It doesn't matter what he does to me. I'll always care about him.
He headed down the hallway towards his locker and let out a gasp when he suddenly spotted Matt. He tried to hide behind a group of students, who stood next to a water fountain, but unfortunately Matt had already seen him. The blond was sitting on one of the staircases that led to the second floor. He had a pen in one hand and a pad of paper in the other hand. It looked like he was writing a song.
Tai let out a sigh of defeat. Although Matt had not looked directly at him, he had seen his friend's blue gaze shift in his direction. It was too much to hope that Matt had failed to notice him.
Why do I have a horrible feeling that my day's just going to get worse?
It looked like he was going to have to face Matt sooner than he had wanted to.
He stepped out of the crowd, feeling nervous, and slowly approached his best friend with an air of caution.
"Hey, Matt," he mumbled, coming to a stop in front of the blond.
"Hey," Matt replied, without looking at him.
Tai's mouth fell open, and he stared at his best friend in shock. This was not the reaction that he had been expecting.
He hesitated and finally sat down next to the blond. His heart was pounding like crazy, and he was starting to feel very uneasy.
Why isn't he freaking out on me?
"Are you writing a song?" he asked, leaning over his friend's shoulder to look.
Matt nodded, and Tai frowned. His friend still would not look at him. The blond's face was very pale, and Matt's normally sparkling blue gaze seemed lifeless.
It's because of me. I don't care what Kari says. I am a jerk!
"Where are the others?" he asked, in an effort to make conversation.
Matt shrugged and turned to stare at the students who were walking past them in the hallway.
Okay, so he's definitely not in the mood for a conversation, but he's not flipping out on me either. What's going on here? What am I going to do? How am I suppose to get back on his good side again?
"Um...hey, Matt? Did you want to come over to my apartment this afternoon?" he asked, without thinking.
Matt slowly turned to look at him, and he mentally kicked himself.
Why did I just ask him that? If he comes over to my apartment, everything will be ruined. The more time I spend alone with him, the more chances we have of ruining what's left of our friendship. Besides, asking him over to my apartment now defeats the purpose of me hiding from him yesterday!
Still, he could not help feeling bad about refusing to go to Matt's apartment earlier, and he wanted to make it up to his friend.
There was a sudden flash of emotion in Matt's deep blue eyes, but it disappeared so fast that Tai was left wondering if he had really seen it after all.
"Yes," Matt said quietly, staring at his feet.
Tai felt his heart stop. "Excuse me?" he blurted out, his eyes growing wide with astonishment.
He did not just agree to come to my apartment, did he? This is crazy! He's suppose to hate me!
Something was definitely not right between them, and it was making him feel uneasy.
"Are you sure?" he asked.
The blond raised an eyebrow, and Tai blushed at his own stupidity.
"Of course," Matt replied, looking indifferent. "Why wouldn't I be?"
Tai glanced suspiciously at his best friend, and Matt stared calmly back at him.
I wonder what he's thinking about. It's so hard to tell sometimes.
As usual, Matt's blue gaze was completely void of expression.
What kind of a game is he playing?
Tai frowned and stared at his shoes.
Matt's acting really weird today. Is he mad at me, or not?
"Um...okay," he said slowly, reaching out and placing a hand on his friend's arm. "I'll meet you at my locker after school, alright?"
Matt flinched at his touch and quickly pulled away from him. "I guess," the blond mumbled, avoiding his eyes.
He felt a sharp stab of pain in his heart, and he quickly pulled his hand away from his best friend.
Matt has never reacted like that to me before. Why would he start now?
He and his best friend had fought a lot when they were younger, but even then the blond had never treated him as if he had the plague.
And that was before we were friends!
Matt must have sensed what he was thinking because the blond suddenly leaned against his shoulder, and he felt the warmth of his friend's skin soaking through his shirt.
Their eyes met, and Matt's deep blue gaze filled with a sudden spark of emotion.
"Tai..." the blond said softly, placing a trembling hand on his arm. He looked like he wanted to say more, but a sudden voice interrupted them.
"Tai! Matt!"
Tai jerked his head up, and his heart skipped a beat. Sora was heading straight towards them.
Sora Takenouchi
Sora hurried down the hallway, glancing anxiously around for Matt. She had tried calling him yesterday, but her boyfriend had refused to pick up the phone.
Is he avoiding me or something?
She frowned and let out a sigh.
Tomo must have told him about Mimi.
She had wanted to go with Mimi to Tai's house yesterday, but unfortunately she had had tennis practice that afternoon. She had tried calling Mimi yesterday, as well, to find out what had happened, but even Mimi had not bothered to pick up her phone.
What's going on? Why doesn't anyone want to talk to me? Is Mimi avoiding me, too?
If someone did not tell her what had happened between Tai and Matt yesterday, she was going to freak out.
I can't believe that Matt skipped class yesterday. Was he at Tai's apartment all that time? He couldn't have been!
There was no way that Matt would want to hang out with Tai after what Tai had done to him.
Did Mimi make it to Tai's apartment before Matt? What happened there yesterday? I don't understand. Why would Mimi be avoiding me? She knows that I want to help Tai, too.
She quickly turned the corner, feeling extremely hurt, and she let out a gasp at the image in front of her. She stumbled to a halt and clapped a hand over her mouth in shock. Matt and Tai were sitting at the bottom of a staircase with their heads bent close together. They were talking quietly to each other, but unfortunately she was still too far away from them to be able to hear what they were saying.
They look so serious. Well, at least they're not fighting. I guess that's a good sign.
Both boys were sitting close together, and they made quite a spectacular sight. Every single girl that walked by took notice of the two boys and glanced in their direction. Since Matt was so fair and Tai was so dark, they complemented one another perfectly. The two of them were complete opposites, not only in the way that they looked, but in the way that they acted, as well. For some reason they seemed to fit together, despite the fact that they were so different.
It's like they were meant to be best friends.
Both boys were so absorbed in their conversation that neither one of them even noticed the looks that the female population of the school were giving them.
Matt suddenly jerked away from Tai, and the former Digidestined leader's face filled with a look that could only be described as pure hurt.
Oh no. I better get over there before they start to fight and end up causing as huge scene.
"Tai! Matt!" she called out, waving a hand to get their attention.
Both boys jerked up in surprise, and Tai's face turned bright red. "Hey, Sora," he mumbled, pulling away from Matt and staring at his feet.
She glanced at her boyfriend, who refused to look at her, and frowned.
I've got to find some way to distract him, at least until the bell rings. That way they won't have a chance to start screaming at each other.
"Hey, Matt," she said softly, leaning over to kiss his cheek. "Are we still going to the movies tonight?"
I can't believe I almost forgot about our date!
There had been so much going on lately that it had completely slipped her mind. At least it gave her something to keep Matt's attention on her instead of Tai.
If they think that I'm going to stand by and let them ruin their friendship, they can forget it!
"Actually, I don't really feel like going tonight," Matt mumbled, avoiding her eyes. "Maybe some other time."
Sora's mouth fell open, and she stared at her boyfriend in shock. Matt was trying to get out of going on a date with her! There was only one explanation. Matt knew that she had failed to tell him about Tai.
How did he find out about the fact that I knew about Tai in the first place? He must have guessed.
She had definitely hurt him, and now he did not want to be anywhere near her. She had expected him to be angry with her, but she had not expected this.
Even Tai was staring at Matt in shock.
"Matt," Tai said slowly, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.
Matt suddenly stood up and started to back away from them. "I have to go," the blond mumbled, avoiding their eyes.
Sora opened her mouth to say something, but Matt quickly hurried down the corridor away from them and disappeared from sight.
Sora bit her lip and felt her eyes fill with sudden tears.
"Sora?"
She felt Tai's warm hand on her shoulder and slowly turned to look at him.
"Are you okay?" he asked, his deep brown eyes filling with concern.
She wrapped an arm around his waist and hid her face against his shoulder. "No," she whispered softly, her voice trembling.
Tai gave her a warm hug, and she rubbed the tears from her eyes. It looked like Tai was not the only person that Matt was mad at.