Promise on the Pier
A koukari fanfic
Chapter 2
Izzy did not hear the tiptoes on the pier for they blended together with the tapping of the keyboard keys in the night air, both creating one sound together. Kari quietly approached the boy, careful so she wouldn't get caught. Once fully behind him, she crouched down to his level and took a deep breath.
"Hiya, Izzy!" she screamed from behind him. He jumped abruptly, almost dropping his laptop into the lake. Nature followed suit as the fish underneath them scurried off and the birds above frantically flapped away from her voice.
"Hey! Would you keep it down? Do you want to wake up the entire wilderness?" Izzy said as he regained his position after juggling his prized possession.
"Relax, silly; it's just me!" Kari giggled. She craned herself over Izzy's hunched body so her upside down face was inches from his. "No need to be a Mr. Grumpy Gills."
"Mr. Grumpy Gi... you know what, never mind," he muttered, avoiding her gaze as he checked for any scratches on his laptop. "What brings you over here?"
She stood back up straight and walked to the left side of him. "You promised me that we would do this every trip, every night, every summer, remember?" Kari's eyes beamed at the seated boy as she stood next to him. Every year the group got together for this reunion camping trip, and the two always found themselves back on this pier.
Izzy exhaled, "Oh that's right..."
"If you're busy, I could just leave..." Kari whispered, turning her feet to leave.
"No, wait!" Before he knew what he was doing, he whipped his arm around and caught her hand. She turned her eyes to meet his, causing the blood to rush to his cheeks. What are you doing? He thought to himself as his genius brain went blank. "Uh... uh... stay, Kari... I appreciate your company..."
Kari chuckled at his embarrassed face and grabbed his hand that was still on hers. "Really?" She asked, her face lit up from his plea.
His face was as red as the hair on his head, turning it away from hers. His stomach started fluttering inside when he realized that they're hands were still interlocked. Why are you feeling like this? his brain continuously asked as he mustered, "Yeah..."
She tightened her grip on his hand and teasingly exclaimed, "Prodigious." Kari promptly took her rightful seat to the left of the boy. She looked at the space between them, noticing that every year it seems to get smaller. Either they are growing or the pier was shrinking...
Izzy scoffed at her comment and started to type on his computer, but this time, slower than usual. He was getting better at communicating with her. Some nights, he would not even bring his laptop. Kari was hoping that tonight would be one of those nights, but luck was not on her side.
She enjoyed his company. It was nice to get away from all the noise back home. She moved her eyes down the water below, staring at her clear reflection. "The lake sure looks peaceful tonight," she said to her reflection, hoping that it would reach the busy boy's ears.
"Mhmm," he hummed as he stopping typing for a second to look out.
"Nature sure is beautiful up north..."
"Mhmm... wait, what are you doing?!" Izzy yelled. He saw Kari untying her shoes and delicately taking off her socks.
"I'm going to dip my toes in the water," she shushed him as she cautiously placed one foot in after the other.
"I don't think that's sanitary..." he stuttered, watching her calm reaction of the chill hitting her skin.
"Relax, it's not like we're going to go swimming..." she laughed. "Wow, this water feels amazing. It's so relaxing... you should try it, Izzy," Kari closed her brown eyes and took a deep breathe.
"No thanks. I feel perfectly safe with my sneakers on," Izzy argued, crossing his arms.
Kari placed her hands together in a begging position and looked at him with her big brown eyes. "Pleeeeeease?"
He looked at her and rolled his eyes. "Fine," he huffed as he clumsily untied his shoes and peeled off his socks. Placing his laptop carefully down to the side, he held his breath and solicitously stuck his feet into the cold lake.
He looked over at Kari, whose eyes were still closed as she took another deep breath. "I feel like this air is cleaning my lungs," she breathed.
He sighed, remembering that she doesn't have the best pair of lungs. "Yeah, there's a significant decrease of pollution due to the amount of trees. It makes it less of a struggle to breathe." He moved his feet steadily with the water, creating ripples with every move.
Yeah, struggle... she thought to herself, opening her eyes and looking out at the tree lines. She remembered something Izzy said the first night they were here...
I feel like it's an inner struggle I have to conquer myself.
"And how's that 'inner struggle' going? Have you conquered it yet?" Kari tilted her head toward him in curiosity, deciding now was the best time to ask.
The rhythmic movement of his feet abruptly stopped and Izzy stared at his reflection below. Visions of that dreadful night replayed in his head like a broken record player. His breathing slowed as his pale lips dried up. He felt like he jumped in the deep end of the lake and forgot how to swim. No matter how much he tried, he could not move.
"Izzy... Izzy... IZZY!" Kari yelled at him and shook a hand in front of his face to snap him out of it. His reaction terrified her. "Are you ok?"
He shook his head and ran his fingers swiftly though his frizzy hair, "Yeah, it's nothing..."
"I doesn't seem like just 'nothing,'" she glanced up at him.
"It's fine..."
"Izzy, what's wrong?"
He looked down at Kari's concerned face, remembering what she said the first night they were here...
You don't have to always keep it inside. You know you could always talk to me.
Izzy inhaled deeply and thought long and hard for what he was going to say next. "Well... you know how I can't sleep at night...?"
"Yeah?"
"Well... um... when I was very young, before I met any of the group... I dealt with this... predicament... by myself."
"Not being able to sleep?"
"Correct..." he froze, not exactly knowing how to word the next part. "I never even told my... parents... so...uh... so when I was really little, I went downstairs to get a glass of warm milk to help with this problem... but when I approached the kitchen door, I overheard them talking..."
A sting hit the back of his eyes, but he dare not let the tears fall, especially in front of Kari. "I overheard them talking about... my adoption..."
Kari's eyes widened and she brought a hand to her mouth, "You're..."
"Yeah..." he stopped her before she could finish. "I'm adopted."
Water filled Kari's glassy eyes and her expression changed from concerned to comforting. "I'm sorry, Izzy. I had no idea..."
"It's alright. My parents confronted me about it a while ago, during our first Digital World adventure, but it never seems to leave my mind," Izzy whispered softly and looked down at his hands.
"Does anyone else know?" She asked him. Surely, she wasn't the only one from the digidestined to know... right?
He let out a sorrowful sigh and looked out onto the lake. "No, it's just you, Kari... Since the first day you joined us, I feel like you are the only one I can talk to."
She placed a hand on his and looked up at the distraught boy. "I know it must be very hard on you, especially on days like today, but I hope you know that your parents love you as their own..."
"Yeah, I know..." he managed to choke out and looked down her gratefully. "Thank you."
"I'll always be here for you, Izzy. Of you ever need to talk about anything. Anything. Just let me know," she gently squeezed his hand and gave a little smile.
He inhaled a long, unsettling breath and let it out. He gathered up all his nerves to say what what on his mind. "I have a difficult time opening up to people, but for some reason, I never really had a hard time opening up to you," Izzy admitted to the girl sitting next to him.
The pair of faces froze as their eyes interlocked with one another. Izzy was definitely sure that Kari could hear his heart racing. Time seemed to stop as the two drew closer to each other. They shared the same anxious breath and it was til then that Kari moved her head to Izzy's shoulder.
Flustered by their mysterious magnetic pull, Kari thought it would be best if she ended their conversation for the night. "Goodnight, Izzy."
He let out an unknowingly held breath and replied, "Goodnight, Kari."
Izzy's heart dropped to his stomach as he looked at the sleeping girl on his shoulder. The moonlight brushed against her face, making her seem like an angel. As he was mesmerized by her natural beauty, realization hit him. Am I... in love...?
