Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.
My Best Friend's Girlfriend
A/N: This probably should have been part of the last chapter, but once again I've screwed this one up. I hope you don't hate it too much. It didn't work out the way it should have. Anyway, please review!
Chapter 20: Revelations
Matt Ishida
"What exactly is that suppose to mean?" Matt asked, frowning suspiciously at his best friend.
Tai's face turned pink, and the former leader quickly lowered his eyes to the carpet. Obviously he had not meant to say those words out loud.
"Well?" Matt demanded. His sapphire eyes narrowed into a frown, and he glared at the former leader who was sitting across from him.
How could Mimi possibly end up hurting me, and how does Sora fit into all of this? I already forgave Mimi for hiding things from me earlier. None of this makes any sense. Why would she have apologized if she knew she was just going to end up hurting me again? Did she know her new secret was going to upset me, or did she only realize that when she was talking to Tai?
"Matt, you would never do anything to hurt Mimi, would you?" Tai asked, avoiding his eyes.
Matt's mouth fell open, and he stared at his best friend in shock. "Have you gone completely insane?" he managed to choke out. "Mimi's one of my best friends! I would never do anything to hurt her! Why would you even ask me something like that?"
"You really care about Mimi, right?" Tai asked, avoiding the question.
"Of course I do!" Matt felt his face heat up, and he quickly turned away from his best friend. Tai was right. He did care about Mimi, but he was starting to wonder if he cared about her just a little more than he should.
"Good," Tai said softly. "That'll make things a lot easier for all of us."
Matt crossed his arms and glared at the former leader. "Is she hiding things from me again? She promised me she wouldn't do that unless she had a good reason," he said stiffly. "I know she must have told you that."
"Trust me, Matt. She has a very good reason for keeping her feelings a secret from you and everyone else. She didn't mention anything about a promise she made to you, but that doesn't mean I don't understand what's going on. Don't worry. Mimi's definitely not breaking that promise she made to you, and I know you know that. The only thing she's trying to do is keep a lot of people from getting hurt."
"You're right." Matt let out a sigh and gave his friend a dirty look. "I take it you're not going to tell me what she's upset about?"
Tai smiled slightly and shook his head. "Not a chance."
No surprise there. I can understand why he won't talk to me about Mimi, but why won't he talk about himself?
"Matt, what's wrong?" Tai asked quietly. "I know you probably want to kill me right about now, but I can tell I'm not the only thing bugging you today."
"I'm worried about Mimi," he said softly. "Do you think she's going to be okay?"
Tai's mouth fell open, and the former leader let out a gasp of surprise.
"What's wrong?" Matt asked, staring at his best friend in confusion. Why is he looking at me like that?
"Matt, is there something you want to tell me?" Tai asked quietly, watching him closely.
Matt blushed and quickly lowered his eyes to the floor. "No," he mumbled. "Can we please get back to what we were talking about before?"
"You mean Sora?" Tai mumbled, avoiding his eyes.
Matt frowned and shook his head. "No. I mean you! Tai, you've been a real jerk to me, and I can't bring myself to forgive you until I know why. Even then, I might not be able to forgive you."
He doesn't know about my feelings for Mimi. He can't. If he did, he would have said something. Wait! I don't have feelings for Mimi...do I?
"Actually, I think you're less likely to forgive me if I do tell you the truth, Matt. Mimi's secret isn't the only one that could end up hurting you and Sora."
Matt gazed into Tai's dark brown eyes for a moment and sighed softly. "I still don't understand," he murmured. "Why do you keep bringing Sora into this? She knows you lied to me, but that's about all she knows."
Tai's face turned red, and the former leader stared at his hands.
"Tai?" he whispered, gently placing his hand on the former leader's arm.
"You're really lucky to have Sora," Tai said softly, his eyes sparkling with sudden emotion."Don't throw away your relationship with her. She cares about you a lot, and I know you feel the same way about her. I wish..."
"What?" Matt tightened his hold on Tai's arm and felt his heart rate speed up. The former leader was definitely trying to tell him something, but he was still having trouble figuring out exactly what it was Tai wanted him to know.
"Nothing," Tai mumbled, blushing furiously.
Matt studied his best friend's face for a moment and gasped when he realized Tai's eyes were filled with sadness. The former leader looked like he wanted to say more, but he chose to remain silent and stared at his hands instead.
"Tai? Do you think Sora will even want to talk to me after the way I acted this morning?"
"Yes," Tai replied, his voice flat. "If you swallow your pride and give her a chance to apologize, everything will work out between the two of you."
Matt blinked, and his mouth fell open in surprise. "You're really worried about her, aren't you?"
"Of course I am," Tai mumbled.
The former leader slowly looked up, and Matt found himself gazing directly into his best friend's dark eyes. They stared at each other for a minute, and Matt suddenly realized something that made his heart stop. Mimi had mentioned to him that deep down inside he probably already knew what was wrong with Tai. Now he understood what she had been trying to say. The look on Tai's face said it all. The former leader did care about Sora. In fact, Tai cared about Sora a lot.
Tai and Sora have been good friends for a long time, and I always thought it was because they shared the same interests. They never have to work at trying to understand each other. It just happens naturally for them. How could I not have seen it before?
It was almost as if a light bulb had clicked on over his head, and the truth about what was really going on with Tai left him feeling completely stunned. The former leader had tried more than once to tell him the truth, and every single time he had failed to listen.
I'm so stupid! He wanted me to understand, but instead of trying my best to find out what was wrong with him, I did everything I could to ignore what was happening between us. He was afraid to tell me how he really felt, and he ended up taking his frustrations out on me because I was acting as if his feelings meant nothing to me. He had expected me to understand what was wrong with him right from the beginning, and I didn't.
Tai had tried to hurt him, but the former leader had also been trying to protect him, and that was something he could not ignore. His best friend had caused him a lot of pain, but that was nothing compared to the pain he was causing Tai every minute of every day. The former leader had been telling the truth after all.
Matt felt a sudden strong urge to cry. His best friend, Tai Kamiya, had fallen in love with Sora Takenouchi, and that was the reason why their friendship was falling to pieces.
Tai Kamiya
"Matt, what's wrong?" Tai asked, staring at his best friend in confusion. "Why aren't you saying anything?"
Matt's face was extremely pale, and his sapphire eyes were wide with shock. He looked like he was ready to empty his stomache.
Why is he acting so weird all of a sudden? He was fine a minute ago. I haven't done anything to upset him again, have I?
"Matt-"
"Tai," Matt whispered, his face a mask of astonishment. "Tai, I..."
Tai reached out to place a comforting hand on Matt's shoulder and gasped when the blond's arms went around his waist. Matt hugged him tightly, and he froze, his mouth dropping open in surprise. "Matt-"
"I have to go," Matt mumbled, pulling back and scrambling to his feet.
"Wait! Where are you going?" Tai reached out to grab his friend's arm, but Matt quickly backed away from him and started towards the living room door.
"Matt, come back!" he shouted, leaping to his feet.
Matt slowly turned to look at him, and the expression on the blond's face brought tears to his eyes. He had been friends with Matt for quite a while, and not once had he ever seen his best friend look so helpless before.
"Tai, you're my best friend, and you always will be," Matt whispered, his sapphire eyes burning with emotion. "I'm not going to let anything come between us. I promise."
Tai watched his friend leave the room and swallowed hard.
No way. He can't know. He can't! I never said a word about my feelings for Sora!
He slowly sank to the floor and covered his face with his hands. There was no doubt about it. Matt knew, and now things were never going to be the same between them ever again.
Matt's words suddenly came back to him, and his eyes widened in shock.
I'm not going to let anything come between us. I promise.
Tai wrapped his arms around himself and managed a shaky smile. Matt really did understand him. Maybe their friendship was not so hopeless after all.