Litanya: Hey guys, I'm sorry that it has taken so long for me to write. Some of the flashback (only during the flashback though- not before it) in this chapter is based on personal experience (I've always wanted to say that!) and so feel free to make fun of it (I do all of the time). Anyway, I don't own Digimon and yeah, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

The Island Holiday

Chapter 5: Third Wheels

He sighed as he tried to make himself comfortable on the couch. He loved the couch- it usually was very easy to sleep on- but ever since he had agreed to "date" Catherine it hadn't been easy to sleep. He tried to blame the couch for it, but he knew that it was just his conscience that was bothering him.

'Why do I feel like dating Catherine is wrong? She knows and accepts the fact that I am not in love with her, and it was her choice. I'm not lying to her. So why can't I sleep?' he opened his eyes and stared at the red light that the television emitted constantly. He had already suffered two nights without sleep since he had gotten back together with Catherine, and it had only been several cups of strong coffee that had kept him awake throughout the day. It hadn't been this bad when Catherine had first asked him out. Yes, she had asked him. He knew that everyone thought that he had asked her, but he hadn't been bothered telling them the truth. After all, he knew that they wanted him to get a girlfriend who they could all approve of. And they all liked Catherine. But he hadn't been very happy about accepting it. In fact, he hadn't even realised that she was asking him out on a date until it was too late to say no. How was he supposed to know that 'do you want to go out with me somewhere on the weekend?' was an invitation for a date? And then there had been the date itself…

Flashback

"Hey, sorry I'm late, my thingy that I had today ran half an hour late," she just shrugged and greeted him with a smile.

"It's okay. At least you messaged me and told me that you were going to be late. Anyway… as for today I was hoping that we could see a movie and then maybe we could go to this concert that I heard about at a local bar. Is that okay with you?" he didn't really know what to say. He would feel bad if he said no right out- he wasn't all that comfortable with the idea of a date at that moment because he still cared for Sora- but he really couldn't stay out late. He had an early soccer match the next morning and his parents had given him a curfew. Normally he would have ignored the curfew, but due to the situation he was glad that his parents had decided to set one.

"Yeah, the movie sounds good. But I don't know about the concert… my parents have set me a curfew and if the concert is hard to get to… but the movie definitely sounds good," she looked a little disappointed, but she began to lead the way to the movie theater.

"It's okay. If we can't get to the concert then we should get something to eat or take a walk or something. Hey, look at that artwork over there, isn't it cool?" they walked to the theater, chatting casually. Tai found himself grinning and talking as he usually did with friends and he was glad that he was able to act naturally. The conversations were usually quite short and never really seemed to have substance. He knew that it was a petty thing, but he hated conversations like this. He knew that they barely knew each other and so they were using the conversations to find out more, but really… did it matter if the streets were busy or that they could have caught a bus to the movies? They arrived at the theater and were going up the escalator when Catherine asked him something that he didn't know how to answer.

"Are you free next Saturday? It's one of my friends' birthdays and there's going to be a big party. Do you want to come with me?" he agreed without thinking about it. After all, he was supposed to be dating her, and so he had to act like it. But he wished that he was out with Sora instead.

"Yeah, I think I can come. I have a 10pm curfew, but I will be able to come for the early part of it I think," they arrived at the movie theater and after choosing the movie that came on first, they went in to watch it. It was an action movie, which usually he would have liked, but it also had a few sex scenes in it. And as he was on his first ever date… it just didn't appeal to him. Also, the violence was very graphic and although he generally liked action films, this one started so slowly that he was bored of it before it had even properly begun. Halfway through the movie Catherine grabbed his hand and started to play with it. She didn't seem to be concentrating on the movie, but Tai kept his eyes on the screen. He was quietly panicking. What was he supposed to do? He tried to act naturally- as though he was just watching a movie- but he knew that she was disappointed somehow. He had done something wrong. He knew that he should have acted more interested in her, but he was really uncomfortable. He had only agreed to the date once he had figured that it was a date because he wanted to see if he could get over Sora. So far it wasn't working.

"Did you enjoy the movie?" Catherine asked as they exited the theater, "I thought that it was pretty good. What do you think?" He was so busy almost-panicking over the fact that she still clung to his hand that he almost missed the question. When had he gotten so nervous, so uncomfortable? He had never had many problems before with girls- he was always comfortable with people- until now. Maybe it was just because he was scared that he would hurt her or something, because he was still getting over the fact that Sora wasn't in love with him.

"I don't know… the ending was so unrealistic. He killed all of those people for no reason and yet he gets to go home and eat dinner with a family which perfectly understands this? I think that was a bit too unrealistic," he saw her smile drop a little and he knew that she was disappointed with his reaction, "But other than that it was a great movie." Her smile returned. It was such a complicated balance. He loved to tell the truth- he tried to tell it all of the time- but he hated hurting people more and so he was forced to lie. And he just wasn't comfortable with that.

"Hey, why don't we go for a walk through the park now? I mean, you have to be home soon and we should probably give the concert a miss," he looked at his watch and wished that it was time for him to leave. Catherine was good company, but only when she was acting like a friend, not a girlfriend. But he had dug this hole and now he was stuck. They wandered into the park and at a quiet spot next to a pond Catherine stopped. Before he knew what was going on, she wrapped her arms around his waist and put her head on his shoulder. He froze. He could handle holding hands with her. He could handle talking to her and seeing a movie with her. But he couldn't handle a hug. It was stupid. He hugged girls all of the time- Sora, Mimi and Kari were all girls after all. Catherine was looking at him with an expression which quite frankly scared him. He felt as though she was the hunter and he was the prey. They stayed like that for a few seconds before he pulled away quickly.

"I'm sorry…" her face crumpled- he was sure that it did. He felt that he had to explain, but he wasn't happy about it, "It's just that I've never had a girlfriend before and whilst I have had many female friends… this is a bit different." She nodded as though she understood.

"You've never had a girlfriend before? Well, okay, I understand. Let's walk some more," they continued on along the path, talking about mundane things such as whether or not pushing the lights at the traffic lights would make them change faster. Catherine stopped them a couple of times along the way to hug him, but the result was always the same. He tried to get over his discomfort, but he couldn't. Sora's face kept on flashing at him whenever they stopped walking. Finally he muttered that he had to get home and they began walking to Tai's apartment building. Catherine pulled him to stop when they were halfway there.

"What's up?" he asked her, seeing that she had yet another strange expression on her face. She pulled him into yet another hug, but he sensed that she wanted something more this time. He tried not to stiffen, but he knew that he failed.

"Can I kiss you?" he couldn't really say no to such a direct question, could he? The possibility did cross his mind, but he felt that he had disappointed her enough already.

"Sure," he smiled. The kiss lasted only a few seconds and it was really… not bad, but it just didn't help him feel comfortable at all. To him, the date had been a disaster, but for some reason he knew that she wasn't going to give up on him. And he didn't know how to feel about that. He was glad to get home.

End of Flashback

Their dates had gotten better as time went on, and he had become more comfortable around her, but still it hadn't been ideal. And then she had broken up with him. He had been relieved, but at the same time he had been sad. He had grown to love her in a way- not as much as he loved Sora, but he had loved her. Now he had a second chance with her, but he just could not get used to it. And he was sure that Sora felt uncomfortable around them, which was only making his guilt worse. He sighed and sat up, deciding to forget about sleep. He pulled out a torch and pulled a book out from under the couch. It was a soccer book that outlined the finer points of the game, but even though he was reading it, he had no idea what it was saying.

"Tai are you awake?" he jumped and dropped the book as Sora's voice disrupted his disarrayed thoughts.

"Uh… yeah I am. I can't sleep for some reason. Why are you still awake?" there was a soft rustle as Sora moved and then in a few seconds she appeared, shuffling towards the couch. He moved over so she could join him on the couch. Her short hair was slightly tousled, but she looked wide awake.

"I can't believe we leave here in two days' time… it feels as though we have barely done anything," she avoided his question and hoped that she sounded as though she was answering it. She hadn't been able to sleep because she was confused. Why was she so jealous whenever she saw Tai with Catherine? She supposed that it was because she missed her own boyfriend, but sometimes, like when she was trying to sleep, she had a niggling feeling that she was wrong. She felt left-out. That wasn't the entire problem either, but this was supposed to be her holiday with Tai and yet she felt as though she was just the third wheel. Of course she was happy that they had gotten back together- although she didn't really know how Tai felt about it- but it had been rather sudden. Sure, they had been flirting with each other, but she had only been gone for five minutes and they were together. It irritated her.

"It has been an eventful holiday in some ways, and a quiet one in others. But we've been to the Louvre and we have seen the Eiffel Tower and we've been to that fair and we've seen the Seine and we have done a lot of things," he pointed out. He was right of course, but she didn't want to admit it. They had done a lot of things, but most of the time Catherine had been there too. She sighed quietly to herself. She had to learn to share her best friend. She had never met any of Tai's other girlfriends and so she had never really had to 'share' him before.

"You're having a lot of good luck this past week, aren't you? Firstly you get to come to Paris, and now you get your girlfriend back. I'm really happy that this holiday is turning out this way," she wanted to know how he felt. He had been acting strangely before the holiday, and he had been acting the same during this holiday. She wanted to know why. Now, in the middle of the night, was her chance to talk with him.

"Yeah, I suppose that it has been pretty good," was it her imagination or did he sound unenthusiastic about the situation? It must have been her imagination. He and Catherine looked happy together. They were happy together. She couldn't let some petty jealousy cloud the truth.

"What do you think of Paris? Do you like it here? Remember, you could end up living here," okay, it definitely wasn't her imagination this time. He stiffened. Then again, it had been because she had hinted that he might have to make a commitment and guys were not always happy with making commitments. She was a fool.

"Paris is a beautiful city. Odaiba is better however. Paris is a bit crowded for my liking," she frowned. She didn't know how to interpret that. Was he considering moving to the city? Of course not. Not for a while at least. He wouldn't abandon her, would he?

"Just promise me that you will always stay in contact with me and tell me if you are going to leave, okay?" he seemed a little surprised at that, but he nodded. She was glad that the torch he held was aimed more at him than at her. She could read his expressions well, but he would have difficulty reading hers.

"I promise that I will tell you if I am going to leave you in any way, shape or form. Why are you so nervous about it all of a sudden?"

"It just occurred to me that she lives in Paris, that's all. And I know that before this holiday you and I were drifting apart and yeah… I just don't want anything to happen to our friendship. So make sure that you tell me," this was it. Her big gamble. She just hoped that they could talk about what was happening now.

"I will tell you, but what do you mean when you say that we were drifting apart before this holiday?" she knew that he knew what she meant. He just didn't want to admit that their friendship wasn't as strong as it had been.

"We haven't talked properly for ages. I know that we have seen each other practically every day, but you seem to be a little distant. Is something wrong? I mean… we used to talk to each other all of the time about anything and yet now we never really talk about anything serious. Do you know why?" he looked a little uncomfortable. He definitely knew. But why was he so hesitant to tell her? Did he dislike her that much? Or did he just not trust her anymore?

"I guess… well, both you and Matt are my best friends and so I guess it is just a little weird that the two of you are dating. I mean, it's good and all but I guess sometimes… sometimes I feel a little left out if you know what I mean and so I don't talk to you as much now. I have had to make some new close friends and so I guess I talk to them now," she hadn't expected him to be so honest about it. Little did she know that he was only telling her half of the problem. He sighed and looked at the ground, avoiding her eyes. He didn't want her to know that he was keeping things from her.

"I never thought about that," she said softly, "I forgot that you might have reason to feel so left out. I am so sorry… I never meant to leave you out of anything!" She felt so horrible. How could she have done that to him? She recalled a few times during their last year of high school when she and Matt hadn't even bothered to meet Tai at lunch because they had wanted to be alone. They had practically abandoned him once a week and yet he had remained their close friend. And here she was complaining because she felt that Catherine and Tai were leaving her out. She had no right to complain. She could not believe that she had acted like that so unconsciously and had forced him to have to find other friends. She knew had known that she had left him out a little, but she didn't realise the extent to which she had pushed him away.

"Hey, it's not your fault! Besides, I would never have met some of my friends if it hadn't happened. You and Matt make a great couple and I would feel horrible if I intruded on you guys all of the time. But I haven't been having long discussions with you because I know that the time you and Matt have together is precious and short, and I have other people who I can talk to. However, you and Matt are my best friends and nothing is going to change that, okay?" she nodded and he smiled. Then he yawned. The nights without sleep were catching up to him quickly now. He felt as though he could fall asleep with his eyes open. Sora must have caught his mood because she gave him a quick hug before standing.

"I promise that I will never leave you out ever again. Now we had better get some sleep. We have to be up early tomorrow and you look tired enough as it is," he had fallen asleep before she had finished speaking. She muttered something under her breath about his sleeping habits before she crept over to him and removed the torch from his hand. Then she decided that she should get some sleep herself. After all, they only had one full day left to be in Paris before they had to go home.

Matt drummed his fingers on the table-top as he waited for his close friend Izzy Izumi to order their drinks. Matt had finally finished closing his record deal and he had decided to go out for coffee with his young genius friend to celebrate. His mind wandered to his girlfriend and his best friend. Sora had called him every day to tell him what was going on in Paris. According to Sora, Tai had gotten back together with that French girl- Catherine. He had asked Kari earlier that day if it was true, but all Kari had said was that it was. She hadn't elaborated on anything else. He had asked her if Tai loved Sora, but she wouldn't say anything else except for saying that of course Tai loved her- she was his best friend after all. It was very frustrating for Matt. He wanted to know what was going on. He wanted to know if he was hurting his best friend. He wouldn't stop dating Sora because of this, but he needed to talk to Tai. He needed to know if Tai was all okay with everything.

"Uh… Matt? Are you okay?" Izzy had returned to their table, holding two take-away cups of chi tea. The blonde had been so lost in thought that he hadn't even noticed. Izzy set one of the cups in front of him before taking the other seat at the table.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. I… do you think that Tai has feelings for Sora?" the genius across from him looked a little confused. It was a weird expression to see- Izzy barely ever got confused.

"You mean you didn't know? We all thought that you and Tai had discussed the whole situation. We were just too scared to bring it up in case you didn't know about it. Of course Tai has feelings for Sora- or at least he had feelings for her before you started dating her. He seems to have gotten over her- Catherine seemed to divert his attention from Sora- but he definitely had feelings for her at one point," Matt was stunned. Was he the only one who hadn't consciously known? If Izzy had noticed then it had to have been obvious- Izzy wasn't overly observant of people's feelings after all- and if Izzy knew, Joe and Mimi probably knew too. It seemed as though he and Sora were the only ones who hadn't known.

"I only found out the other day when T.K accidentally told me. Does this make me a horrible friend?"

"Of course not. Tai didn't want you to know about it, and Joe, Mimi and I only talked about it among ourselves. He was acting a little strangely at times, that was all. But Catherine brought him out of it. I saw Kari today and she told me that Tai and Catherine are a couple again. Isn't that cool?" when Matt didn't respond, Izzy sighed and leaned forward a little, "Look, Tai wasn't all that obvious about it. He really tried to keep it a secret, especially when he was around you and Sora. Besides, you had your own feelings to figure out, and that can't have been easy." Matt shook his head a little and took a sip of his drink.

"Ah, it doesn't matter. I'll talk to him when he gets back and it'll all get sorted out. Did you know that Tai speaks French? That was how he managed to ask Catherine out in the first place," the conversation turned to more general topics, but Matt didn't forget what he had said that he would do. He did mean to talk to Tai, and he would. When Tai got back, they needed to have a long, long chat…

To be continued…

Litanya: I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. I know that it seems to be a bit whiny… well, to me it did, but the rest of the fic is better, I promise! Well… maybe not the next chapter, but the chapter after that. You see… I actually never planned the holiday part of the fic until now so… yeah. Anyway, please review and I hope to see you all next chapter!