A/N: First of all, my apologies it took so long, but between exams and personal issues with life it was hard to find the time. Two months? Not cool, but could have been longer. Secondly. I hate this chapter, I absolutely hate it. It took a lot out of me trying to get it up now, it was really hanging over me, so I just had to get it out. Which means it isn't of fantastic quality. I just hope SOMEONE likes it.
Chapter Four: Rescue Me
Everybody's happy being themselves until it means being something different, something no one else likes.
A bitter chill cut through the stagnant atmosphere, as the two boys stood frozen against each other. In the background the silence was broken by Hiraku's whistling as he sauntered down the dull corridor.
"Yamato-" Taichi started, squirming between the blonde and the cold wall. Yamato broke his grip on the brunette and tersely shrugged away.
"Don't bother," He muttered, adjusting his clothes and hair in an attempt to make himself look more presentable.
"Yama-" Taichi persisted, reaching his arm towards Yamato.
"I said don't" He spat harshly, missing the gesture of Taichi's outstretched arm, which dropped at the tone in the other boy's voice. Yamato finished straightening out his hair and clothes and paced from the room; leaving Taichi slumped against the wall. He ran a hand through his messy brown hair and sighed, completely confused and shaken by what had just happened. Where on earth did this leave them now? No doubt Hiraku would keep to his word and tell the whole school, but Taichi and Yamato weren't ready for anyone else to know. No, they were no where near ready. Could they lie their way out of it? And what would that mean for them and their relationship?
After another five minutes of deep thought, Taichi sighed once more and stood up, shaking himself off. He trudged back to his History lesson and slumped into his chair. Yamato was nowhere to be seen, and his bag was gone from his desk.
"It seems your meeting with the Principal was sufficient," Mr. Iyadomi commented, "Did he finally sort you two out?"
"What?" Taichi glared. Teacher and pupils alike stared in disbelief, so used to the popular soccer player being friendly and polite to everyone.
"The Principal, Yagami. I presume you did go to see him. Seems like he sorted you both out considering Ishida came back in here mouthing off before collecting his belongings and storming out, and now you stumble in with that look on your face,"
Taichi ignored the comment, scowling down at the desk, lost in his own world of questions, playing over the last fifteen minutes again and again in his mind.
"Was he really that bad?" Sora whispered across the table. A grunt was all she received in response.
She sighed and let her gaze rest on his face a moment as he glared down at the table. It must have been bad if he's acting like this, she decided. It took a hell of a lot to anger Taichi Yagami, a hell of a lot indeed.
Oh, and Taichi was angry, if not fuming. He was angry at himself for being so careless. He was angry at Yamato for forcing himself on him before checking no one else was around, he was angry at Mr. Iyadomi for being such a pain in the ass and of course he was fuming with Hiraku mainly for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Soon enough the lesson ended and the class rushed out, glad to have another day over with. Taichi, however, trudged his way down the corridor; so angry, so worried, so confused. He barely noticed the looks he got from some of Hiraku's classmates as they passed him by.
He slowly made his way down the busy streets that joined his home and the school. Part of him didn't want to get home. As long as he was somewhere that wasn't his, he could pretend that his problems weren't his. But the streets were too familiar as he walked them every day and the other part of him just wanted to get home so he could lie in bed or watch TV and hide from his problems. Of course there was also that typical part of Taichi that just wanted to face the problem head on, but something - probably fear - made him ignore that.
So he trudged on home. The heated streets made him feel no better and once he reached his apartment building, he discovered, much to his distaste, that the elevators weren't working. He paced up the stairs two at a time. His body was fuelled with anger and adrenaline. Upon reaching his apartment, he reached into the pocket he normally kept his keys in only to find they weren't there. His face flushed in irritation. He thumped the apartment door before swinging his schoolbag from his shoulders. He could only pray he'd left them in there.
"This really isn't your day, is it Yagami?" He seethed through gritted teeth as he knelt over his school bag.
It was another five minutes before he found the keys lying at the bottom of his bag. He threw open the door and strode in before it slammed shut behind him. Directly in his path of vision and all shining and bright, the fridge immediately caught his attention. He stepped over and pulled it open, gagging at the smell of one of his mother's leftover Beef Stroganoff Smoothies. His eyes scanned the shelves for something more edible before they settled on a plate of pizza. He pulled it out and sat down at the table, deciding that no matter what the problem, food was most definitely the temporary answer.
He enjoyed savouring his cold pizza in silence. Had his mother been there she'd be telling him not to eat it all because it wouldn't be long until tea. Did she not realise his stomach was bottomless? Had Hikari been there, she'd probably have wanted some for herself, or sensed he was angry and not shut up until he told her what was wrong. Had Yamato been there he'd be rolling his eyes and raising his perfect eyebrows at how exactly Taichi could eat pizza cold; surely it was meant to be eaten hot, or at least warm.
Ugh, Yamato. Just like that his problem came back to him. He glowered down at the pizza, silently cursing it for reminding him, and pushed the plate away. It was silly to be angry at a pizza, he knew that, but he had to direct his anger at something. At least the pizza had calmed him slightly though, perhaps even enough to listen to that rational part of his brain.
He stood up out of his chair and was about to flounce to his bedroom when the cordless phone on the kitchen counter caught his eye. He stared at it for several seconds, wondering whether or not he should call Yamato. There was no way the musician would call him, and they certainly needed to talk.
With a large sigh, he eventually picked up the phone and jabbed in Yamato's cell phone number and waited for it to ring. It did so exactly three times before going through to voicemail.
"Bastard," Taichi practically snarled. Yamato had hung up on him. Anger fuelled in a new direction, he grabbed a pen and piece of paper, scribbling a brief note to his mother and sister.
'Going out. Don't know how long I'll be'
He stuck it on the kitchen counter before adding 'save me some tea' then left it, without his usual smiley face at the bottom. He grabbed a hoody from the pile of clothes waiting to be ironed in the living room and pulled it on before rushing out of the front door and racing down the stairs, almost knocking over a poor old woman and her shopping on the way.
Making sure his hood was up, he made his way to Yamato's via back-roads and alleyways. At the pace he was walking it wasn't long before he was standing in front of Yamato's house. He stared at the peeling paint on the door, hesitant. He breathed in once, deeply, pulling his courage together. He didn't know why he was so nervous about facing Yamato, but something told him it wasn't going to be easy. He knocked at the door steadily and waited for an answer as he shifted his weight from foot to foot.
After a few minutes the door was finally opened to reveal a bedraggled looking blonde. The vaguely expectant expression on his face turned to a sullen frown when he saw it was Taichi at the door.
"We need to talk," Taichi declared but was barely half way through his sentence when Yamato slammed the door shut in his face.
"Yamato, you idiot!" Taichi yelled, thumping at the door, "Open this door now!" he thumped again, "Yamato Ishida!" And again, "Open it or I'll stand here kicking and screaming all night!" And again.
"Just fuck off Taichi," Yamato called through the door, calmly yet bitterly.
It proved only to ground on Taichi's last nerve and beyond anger he thumped the door one last time, feeling completely beaten by the day's events.
"Come on Yama," he whined, "We really need to sort this out,"
Silence.
Taichi slumped against the door in surrender, waiting through four minutes of silence before standing up and traipsing home, feeling completely defeated.
---
"Hey Tai!" Hikari smiled at her brother as he plodded through the front door.
"Hi," He smiled at his sister weakly before making his way to his bedroom. Lazily, he threw himself onto the bed and buried himself in the sheets before realising they smelt much too beautiful, much too like Yamato. He snorted out in an attempt to rid his head of the smell and stood up slowly, gazing at his bed before leaving and heading for the lounge. He flounced down on the sofa and turned on the TV. He flicked through the channels looking for something interesting to watch before he noticed his sister hovering in the doorway.
"What?" He questioned, irate, not taking his eyes from the TV.
"Taichi, are you alright?" She asked softly.
"Sure, why wouldn't I be?" He grunted.
"Well you're hardly acting like the cheerful big brother I know and love. Plus where was the usual smiley face on your note?"
Of course with the foul mood Taichi was in she merely received a grunt in response.
"Okay… is it school? No, wait, Yamato. It's Yamato, right?"
"Hikari, shut up,"
"It is Yamato then. Come on Tai, what's happened?" She probed gently.
"Hikari, it doesn't matter," Taichi ground his teeth and kept his frown on the figures on the TV screen.
"Fine. I'll just phone Yamato and find out what's going on," She smiled ever so slightly slyly to herself.
"Whatever, you don't even have his number, I'm not that stupid,"
"Oh, I beg to differ. Don't you remember 'Kaaariiiii, can I borrow your phone to text Yammaaaa? I'm all outta credit'" She mimicked Taichi, meaning it merely as bribery for him to explain what had happened, "You saved the number, remember?"
"Right, whatever. Go on, try ringing him. He won't even pick up,"
"Fine. I give up. I'm going to go find out what's for tea. See if I can persuade mum to get a takeaway," She left the doorway slightly disheartened.
Glad to get his little sister off his back, Taichi stretched out and sank further into the sofa with a soft yawn. He stayed that way for a long time - chopping and changing between the channels, trying to take his mind from his ordinary life and high school issues.
It wasn't until at least an hour after he'd been pestered by Hikari, did Taichi get up and prowl into the kitchen, summoned by the warm, spicy smell of an Indian takeaway. His mother and sister were already seated at the table. There was a plate of hot food in front of the seat usually reserved for Taichi. He plodded over and slid into it, his mind not training in on the conversation he'd walked into.
He began eating his meal slowly and in silence - a rarity for Taichi Yagami. The rest of the night passed in much the same manner, Taichi trudged around the house in the way a lost ghost might. He gazed half-heartedly at the TV, flicking between the channels, he lazily attempted his math homework and flitted around the kitchen, picking at snack food.
As he left the lounge for the third time in an hour, Hikari turned to her mother.
"So what do you think is wrong with him then?" The girl questioned.
"Who knows?" Her mother replied, rolling her eyes, "School troubles? Yamato troubles? Girl troubles? PMS?"
Hikari stared at her mother with an eyebrow cocked. PMS? She did realise that Taichi was in fact her son didn't she?
"Hey, all I'm saying is you never can know with him," Mae laughed softy, reading her daughter's expression perfectly, "Besides, he'll sort it out himself or come to us eventually, you know what he's like,"
Hikari rolled her eyes and turned back to the TV as Taichi came back in with yet another packet of crisps. He sunk down into the sofa and continued his half hearted viewing of the TV, though his mind was elsewhere. Precisely where? On what on earth was going to happen the next day, on how he'd react, how Yamato would react. There was no way he could know though, at least not until he let it just happen.
---
Whoever said that things always seemed better in the morning was either a liar or very, very misguided. Taichi, usually the first one up and dressed, lacked the energy to even think about making breakfast. The quilt around him provided too much comfort to leave his bed, and his eyes were content with being half open and gazing at the ceiling. His mind, on the other hand, provided him with no comfort or contentment whatsoever. It wasn't just the overall anxiety about what could happen at school that was bringing him down, it was the conflict inside him that was eating away at his energy. Part of him wanting to stay home from home and hide from it all, part of him wanting to lie his way out of it, part of him wanting to beat the shit out of Hiraku, part of him wanting never to see Yamato Ishida again, part of him wanting nothing more than to be with the blonde and part of him wondering what the hell the rest of him was worrying about. But none of that mattered, it looked like he just had to face it and take it step by step. It wasn't like he could hide in bed all day anyway, not now that his sister was hammering away at the door in an attempt to get him up.
"Taiiii! Come on Taichi! I need to use the shower and you know you get mad if I use it before you!! Come on! Wake up!" Hikari yelled outside the troubled boy's door. "Okay, three seconds and I'm coming in. Three… Two… One… You'd better be decent!"
The door swung open. The bright light from the hallway glared into Taichi's half lidded eyes making him squeeze them tight shut. Hikari walked over to the bed and pulled back the quilt, exposing Taichi's body - clad only in a pair of jeans - to the warm stagnant summer air.
"Leave me be," the boy groaned.
"Oh what is wrong with you Taichi?" Hikari half laughed as she grabbed one of the spare pillows and attacked her brother with it. "Come on up, you've already missed soccer practise,"
Taichi gave in, rolled over and sat up groggily, tugging the pillow away from his sister.
"Alright, okay, I'm up," He grunted, flipping Hikari with the pillow before throwing it back down on the bed.
"Good, now get in the shower. I'll make your breakfast. Mum said she'd give us both a lift to our schools,"
---
45 minutes later, Taichi bounced through the school gates, his energy regained and problems pushed almost to the back of his mind by the Friday morning rush. Lessons were yet to start and kids were running around everywhere and sitting with their friends gossiping, enjoying the summer Sun. It was a typical Friday morning and just seemed like normal school to Taichi. He even hoped maybe that maybe that meant Hiraku had told no one. That was until he noticed that more people were looking at him than usual. Gossip couldn't get around that fast, could it? He shrugged it off, hanging his head and studying the floor intently as he absent-mindedly fiddled with his bag-strap and headed for the benches where he and his friends often hung out. When he got there, after a walk that seemed to take longer than usual, he found his friends in a tight circle discussing something extremely intently.
"Guys, why don't we just ask him ourselves? Here he is," Kuuya said, instilling a rapid hush on the group as eight faces turned to stare at Taichi expectantly. He looked each of them over in turn, quickly noting who was there - Kuuya, obviously, Daisuke and two of the other boys from the soccer team, Sora, Koushiro, Aimi and another of her cheer-leading friends. That meant that Hiraku wasn't around, though Taichi wasn't sure whether or not that was a good thing. Mimi wasn't there though that came as no surprise; it could take that girl ages to get ready for school even with the uniform in place. Jyou wasn't there either, but Taichi decided he was probably off swotting up on something.
"What's going on guys?" Taichi asked nervously.
"Is it true Taichi?" Koushiro questioned carefully.
"Er… is what true?" Taichi laughed uneasily, deciding that, under the pressure of so many faces watching him, that playing dumb was the best way to go about it, "Seriously guys. What's going on?"
"Tai… are you… gay?" Daisuke blurted out.
"What?" The brunette scoffed forcefully, "No way. What on earth would give you that idea?"
Daisuke looked at his feet and Kuuya shifted apprehensively before explaining, "You missed soccer practise this morning so Coach postponed it until tonight. In the mean time Hiraku kinda told us that, well, to quote him directly 'Yagami's as gay as the day is long'" Daisuke and the other two boys on the team supported him with reassuring nods.
"Hiraku? Oh, come on guys! Everyone knows he's after my captain position. Look I'm not gay okay?! I mean do I really look gay to you?" Taichi lied and surprisingly the others seemed to believe him. He had to hand it to himself, he was a fantastic actor.
"I guess," Kuuya replied.
"So what else did he say? Did he say who I'm allegedly gay with?" The brunette wanted as much information as possible before saying anything else.
"Nope," Daisuke said, "We didn't really have time to ask anything, he cleared off then, said he had things to do,"
"Weird," Taichi frowned, but the sound was lost under the ringing of the school bell, signalling first period was about to begin.
The morning passed as a blur and Taichi noticed a difference in the way some people treated him. Instead of shooting him friendly smiles or asking how he was, some people went out of their way to avoid contact whereas others would look straight through him. Another thing he noticed was that Yamato didn't turn up to their math lesson.
Lunch soon came and he met up with Daisuke by the lockers before heading into the lunch hall. The room seemed to still as the two boys walked in and numerous pairs of eyes were fixed on Taichi as he bought his lunch and sat with his friends.
"Hey look guys, it's fag of the hour," Hiraku laughed slyly.
"Hiraku, leave him be. You know the rumours aren't true right?" Mimi defended her friend to her new boyfriend.
"Mimi, you realise he's pretty much the one who started them, right?" Kuuya pointed out.
Taichi looked around, realising most ears and eyes in the lunch hall were fixed on them.
"Guys, can we not do this here-?" He started but Hiraku cut across him.
"The thing is it's not a rumour. I saw it with my own eyes!"
"Saw what Hiraku?" Sora questioned.
"Him!" Hiraku shouted, exasperated, pointing at Taichi, "Making out with another guy!"
"Hiraku, why would you, like, make up these lies?" Mimi scowled at her boyfriend.
"But they're not lies! I saw him! With Yamato Ishida no less!"
At this, more than half the mouths in the room dropped open in shock and there was a pause before anyone spoke again.
"Well Taichi? Aren't you gonna tell them it's true?" Hiraku taunted.
"I'm not gay Hiraku, and I don't understand why you're so intent on lying. People, do I really look gay to you?!" His voice was raised in frustration, "I'm not bloody gay! Least of all with that Ishida scruff!"
"Taichi, stop lying you fag," Hiraku growled, anger matching Taichi's.
"I'm not. I'm not gay. How could I be gay when I like a girl?" The lies kept rolling off his tongue as the lunch hall sat in anticipation.
"Who, Tai?" Daisuke finally asked.
Taichi groaned and turned to Sora, "Sora, I know this isn't the greatest time to tell you, but I like you. Can we, erm, go out sometime?" He asked bleakly.
She stared at him thoughtfully for a moment before answering. "Of course," She muttered, forcing a smile on her gentle features, "Now how about we get out of here?" she suggested and stood up. Taichi followed suit and they left the hall.
"I can't believe you'd lie about stuff like that Hiraku," Mimi repeated after watching the two leave, "Especially about Taichi, he's one of my like, best friends!"
"But I'm not lying," Hiraku insisted.
"I don't believe you. And even if it's the truth, you don't spread it around the whole school like that!"
"People have the right to know!"
"Whatever! Taichi has a right to privacy and stuff. I mean, god, you're an ass, and if you're going to treat my friends like that, we're over,"
"What?!"
"We're over," Mimi stated before storming off, her cheerleader friends in tow.
-
Meanwhile, Sora and Taichi strolled down the empty corridor away from the busy lunch hall in silence, until Taichi broke it.
"So… um… when d'ya wanna… go out?" He asked nervously, not thinking straight. It seemed he was going to hurt Sora now, all to stop the school finding out about the real him.
"Tai, you can stop now," she said in that overly empathetic tone of hers.
"Stop? Stop what?"
"Oh, come on," She dragged him into the nearest empty classroom, flicking on the lights and shutting the door behind them.
"I know you don't like me Taichi," She lifted herself to sit on a desk.
"Sora-" Taichi tilted his head to the side and took a step towards her.
"Tai, it's okay. I don't feel that way about you anymore. The point is, what Hiraku said is true isn't it?"
"NO!" Taichi dejected.
"Well, maybe not the part about Yamato Ishida, but you are gay, aren't you?"
Taichi sighed in defeat, sitting down in the nearest chair and running a hand through his messy hair.
"How'd you know?" he questioned, voice cracked into barely a whisper.
"An educated guess. When you think about it, it's kind of obvious - the way you turn off when other guys talk about girls and sex, the way you could have the pick of any of the girls in school and you never show the slightest interest, and what about Saturday - your face when Daisuke was talking about the gay guy in Placebo. Plus don't think I didn't notice your subtle flirting with the guy in McDonald's either,"
Red smothered Taichi's cheeks as he took an intent interest in the table before him.
"It's okay Tai, it doesn't matter to me. I can't speak for anyone else though. If you want to keep denying it to them all that's fine and I'll play along, but I really think you ought to just tell the truth, and knowing you, you will, even if you mope and lie about it for a few days first,"
"Fine, you're right, I'm gay. But I'm not telling them. Ever. They can't know okay? Sora, people don't like people like me," Taichi silently recalled Yamato's experiences.
"Okay," Sora said with a fairly false upbeat smile, "The part about Yamato Ishida's not true though, right? Not that I'd care if it was…"
"No, its not. I seriously don't know where Hiraku got that from," he lied. Being gay was bad enough, but being gay and dating the school's rebel exile? He couldn't be sure if even Sora would accept that, and he had a duty to protect Yamato's privacy.
-
Ten minutes later the group had rejoined at their benches, all minus Hiraku. The topic of Taichi's sexuality had been carefully stepped around for the past few minutes, but it still seemed to be plaguing Daisuke's mind.
"So… Tai? You're really not like - or never have - been, like, doing Ishida?" Daisuke questioned, and on queue everyone around stopped their conversations and listened in. Taichi failed to notice Yamato stumbling past at that precise moment, but Yamato didn't fail to notice Taichi's reply.
"No Dais. I'm bloody straight. Straight, straight, straight. And even if I was gay, do you really think I'd go anywhere near that Yamato fag?"
Yamato stopped and stared at Taichi, mouth open slightly, brow furrowed in disgust, hurt scarring his eyes for just a second before anger took over. Without saying a word he spun on his heel and strutted off.
"What's up with him?" Kuuya frowned after the blonde.
"Huh?" Taichi still failed to notice Yamato's presence.
"Ishida. He heard all that and didn't even deny being a 'fag'. Hey, maybe he actually is," Kuuya mused.
"Eh, who knows?" Taichi shrugged it off, straight act smoothly in place, but he couldn't ignore the twisting in his stomach. Why hadn't Yamato retorted? Had it actually hurt him?
--
Yamato stumbled into the school building toward his locker. He'd spent the morning at home in bed, not being bothered to get up. Eventually though, he'd become too irritated with his mind and how it kept arguing with itself over the whole situation. He decided that the only way he'd survive what was left of the school year was to show up and try and prove himself straight. It had been rotten luck he'd heard Taichi's comment on the way in, though he wasn't really surprised. There was a part of him that, until he'd overheard Taichi's comment, had thought - no hoped - that Tai would be different to Kai, that he'd actually stand up for their relationship.
"Guess it's true that no one's willing to be themselves anymore, no one wants to stand up for what they believe in," The blonde muttered to himself as he pulled some books from his locker.
-
By last period, much of the school seemed to have heard and accepted Taichi's heterosexuality, though some still looked at him with puzzled expressions as if trying to decide whether he really could be homosexual.
Yamato, on the other hand, had no such luck. It was slowly getting around the school that he was in fact 'the gay one', many saying he had the hair to prove it. Whereas with Taichi, who was so well liked, respected and popular that no one had really said or done anything about his sexuality, people weren't so discreet about Yamato. Trudging down the corridors to his locker, he could hear people's whispers as he walked past. He ignored most of the comments, hanging his head, trying to come up with a way to regain his hetero rebel status. As he neared his locker, a group of boys his age were approaching; naturally, he made a point of not making eye contact.
"Fucking fag," one of the boys snarled as he walked past, purposely bumping into Yamato's shoulder. Stress fuelled to anger, Yamato dropped his books and grabbed the boy by the arm, dragging him back and spinning him around to face him. With his free hand, Yamato made a fist, pulling it back then bringing it crashing down into the other boy's face. The boy's hands automatically clasped around his nose and he fell to the floor as blood trickled from his face. The boy's friends did nothing but stare. Yamato shot them a scowl before picking up his books and walking to his locker. He shoved the books in and strutted off.
---
Taichi, as usual, was first to the changing rooms before soccer practise and was changed and out on the field before everyone else.
"What happened to you this morning Yagami?" Their Coach questioned.
"Ah, sorry about that Coach, I kinda overslept," Taichi apologised with a sheepish grin.
"Right, well don't let it happen again," Coach scorned playfully as the other boys ran out onto the field, "Okay boys, as you know we've got a match a week today, I want a warm up then split into two teams for practise!"
Twenty minutes later, the boys were lost in an intense game. Taichi, naturally captain of one team, was fuelling all of his stress and anger into the game, really making it matter. Hiraku had typically elected himself as captain of the second team.
"Taichi!" Daisuke yelled as he dribbled the ball up the field towards the elder boy. As he neared him, Daisuke skilfully kicked the ball in a smooth pass to Taichi, who equally skilfully caught it and dribbled it further up field towards the goal. Two boys from the other team were trailing him and as he got nearer the goal, Hiraku went in for the tackle.
Maybe Hiraku tackled a little harder than usual, maybe he muttered 'lying fag' just loud enough for Taichi to hear or maybe Taichi had been fuelling slightly too much stress and anger into the game. Maybe - and most likely - it was a combination of all three, but before anyone knew what was happening, Taichi and Hiraku were rolling around on the floor, locked in a wild flurry of punches.
The rest of the boys halted playing, eyes fixed on the fight before them, jaws slightly open, until the piercing screech of the Coach's whistle sliced through the silence.
"Boys! Get up!" He barked, "Guys, break them up!
The team's trance broke and Daisuke and Kuuya rushed in to pull them off each other.
"Guys, come on, calm down," Kuuya ordered as Hiraku struggled in his arms.
"You're an idiot," Taichi growled at Hiraku, calmly standing next to Daisuke in the spot he'd been pulled up in. Due to channelling his anger into the brief, violent scuffle, it had now vaguely subsided.
"At least I'm not a lying fag!" Hiraku spat as his struggle in Kuuya's arms ceased.
"Change the record, everybody knows you're the liar," Taichi retaliated.
Hiraku groaned and rolled his eyes, "It wasn't really that surprising to find you're gay. But a liar? Never had you pinned down that low Yagami. Or should I say 'I'm-a-gay'?"
"Bet you've been thinking tha-"
"Alright boys, this practise is over. Go get changed, go home and have a nice weekend. Taichi, Hiraku, a word?" Coach demanded.
The team headed into the changing room exchanging subdued mumbles. A grumpy Taichi, a pissed off Hiraku and a fed up and confused coach were all that was left on the field.
"What on earth has gotten into you two? You're acting like animals!"
Both boys leapt to their own heated explanations before Coach silenced them.
"Ah! Boys! Shut up. I really don't want to hear it! All I want to know is whether you two can work it out and play as a team in next week's match! This is an important game and you two are pretty much my best players. I'm not going to have to find replacements for you, am I?"
"No sir," The boys mumbled, gazes on the ground, put in place by their Coach.
"Good, now shake hands,"
Reluctantly the boys turned to each other. Hiraku met Taichi's outstretched hand with a begrudging handshake. Neither boy looked up, both refusing to meet the other's eyes.
"Well it's a start at least," Coach muttered, "Alright boys, in and change. I'll see you after school on Monday,"
"See ya Coach," The boys raced into the changing room and hurriedly got changed.
"Wanna do something tonight Tai?" Daisuke suggested as they changed, "Catch a movie? Go to the arcade?"
"I dunno Dais, I don't really feel like going out tonight,"
"Okay well we can chill at yours then. Watch movies, play games, and you can feed me," Daisuke replied with a wicked grin.
"Fine, but I warn you, I may not be the best company,"
Daisuke couldn't help but notice it sounded like more of a threat or a promise than a warning.
"Come on, I can cheer you up with cheesy jokes, takeaway food and bad movies," Daisuke bargained in an attempt to make Taichi smile as they finished changing and headed out of the building.
"Sounds good I guess," Taichi replied less than half-heartedly.
"I know, obviously, it was my plan after all!" Daisuke laughed, then, knowing the older boy couldn't resist a challenge, added, "Plus I'll race you there and I bet you can't beat me," and with that he leapt off, racing down the path and out of the school gates.
The challenge flashed in Taichi's eyes. He tightened the straps on his school bag, pushed his fringe out of his eyes and was off, shortly not even half a metre behind his mahogany haired friend.
"You wish Motomiya!" He laughed.
It took the boys no more than five minutes to reach Taichi's apartment at the pace they were running. Taichi technically won the race, slamming into his front door just milliseconds before Daisuke.
"Told you… I'd… win," Taichi grinned between pants, leaning against the wall. The race wasn't much but it had certainly heightened his spirits slightly.
"Oh, I let you," Daisuke blatantly lied as he joined Taichi panting against the wall in an attempt to regain his breath.
"Sure," Taichi cocked an eyebrow at Daisuke as his front door was pulled open.
"What's going on out here?" Mae asked, treading into the hall, "Taichi, you're home. Oh and hey Daisuke," she greeted the boys.
The boys greeted her concurrently after regaining their breath, then followed her into the apartment.
"Oh God, what happened to you Taichi?" Mae gasped, getting a look at Taichi's face properly in the kitchen light. A bruise was forming under his right eye and his cheeks were streaked with mud. There was a small amount of dried blood under one of his nostrils.
"Soccer," Taichi answered dismissively.
Mae frowned at her son slightly, knowing that something else was going on. She let it go, for now, "Well you'd better get cleaned up; your sister is having friends round to work on some science project,"
"Okay, I'll go shower. Dais, entertain yourself with the TV,"
"Shall do!" Daisuke chirped as Taichi made his way up the hall and into the bathroom. He was about to meander into the living room when Mae stopped him.
"Can I have a word?" She asked gently, offering him a seat at the kitchen table which he cautiously took, "It's about Taichi," She explained, sitting herself opposite him, "Is he being bullied? It's just the mood he was in last night and this morning… Then the bruise and the blood on his face this afternoon…"
"No! Of course not! It's just, Hiraku, you know the one on our soccer team? He started a rumour Taichi was gay with the school's loner, which no one believes mind you, and Tai and Hiraku had a bit of a vicious tackle over it in practise this afternoon," Daisuke explained, "As for his mood last night, I don't have a clue, maybe hormones?"
"Wait, someone started a rumour he's gay? Why?" Mae caught on quickly.
"Hiraku's just jealous of Taichi's popularity and thinks he'd make a better soccer captain. He claimed he saw Tai and Yamato Ishida kissing in a toilet, which is totally not true by the way,"
"Right, okay," Mae considered, "Thanks Daisuke, you can go now,"
---
"Right, what are we watching?" Taichi flipped himself down on the sofa next to Daisuke after he'd finished in the shower.
"Nothing, there's nothing on," Daisuke flicked through the channels aimlessly, then dropped the remote on the sofa between them, "Taiiii…. go get your DVDs,"
"Daaaiiiiiiiss…. Do it yourself," Taichi mimicked Daisuke's tone.
Daisuke shot Taichi an unappreciative frown before getting up to go to Taichi's room. Just as he left the room the doorbell rang.
"Well I guess you can get the door then," Daisuke laughed and poked his tongue out at Taichi.
"Nah, my mum will get it," Taichi smiled.
"Taichi! Come and get the door, I'm in the middle of cooking!" Taichi's smile was interrupted by Mae calling him from the kitchen.
"Oh really?" Daisuke said smugly, and then bounced off in the direction of Taichi's room.
"Whatever," Taichi got up lazily from the couch and strode into the kitchen.
"It's probably Hikari's classmates, tell them she's in her room," Mae mumbled, pulling something out of the oven as Taichi unlocked the door.
As he pulled the door open, Taichi's mouth dropped in shock.
"Er, hi, is Hikari in? I'm here to work on the science project," the blonde at the door asked cautiously.
"Erm, yeah, yeah come on through," Taichi snapped his mouth shut, regaining his senses. His little sister's friend looked extremely similar to Yamato. Though his hair was shorter and less well tamed and his eyes were a shade darker, the boys had the same bone structure and the same stance.
"Thanks, I'm Takeru by the way," The younger blonde offered his hand for Taichi to shake. Taichi took it cautiously then called up the hall to his sister.
"Hikari! Your friend's here!"
"Coming!" She called from her room, then came practically skipping down the hall, "Oh, hey T.K.," She greeted the blonde with a slight hug, "When are the others getting here?"
"Not too sure, shouldn't be long, I think Miyako's uncle is giving them a lift over or something,"
"Okay cool," Hikari smiled, "Mom, this is Takeru by the way," She grabbed the boy's arm and dragged him over to her mother, "He's pretty new to the school,"
"Hey Takeru, I'm Mae," Mae greeted the young boy as she stirred something in a pan on the stove.
"Please, call me T.K.," He replied with a smile.
"K, come on T.K., we can watch TV until the others arrive," Hikari smiled, heading towards the living room.
"Nuh uh, me and Dais are watching the TV at the moment," Taichi argued sullenly, then headed down the hall.
Hikari frowned after her brother, "Ignore him, he's been in a foul mood since last night. We can join them,"
Ten minutes later, the four were sat in front of the TV. The three youngest of the group were enjoying each other's company, Daisuke and Hikari already got on well and he enjoyed meeting new people, especially people as friendly as Takeru. Taichi, on the other hand, had been sent back into his musing by the fact that Takeru looked so much like Yamato, and so he was staring at the TV as Daisuke's DVD of choice played on.
It wasn't long, however, before the rest of Hikari's friends arrived and they disappeared into her room to work on the science project.
"That T.K. kid's nice," Daisuke commented over the noise of the film.
"If you say so," Taichi grumbled.
"You're not back in that mood again, are you?" Daisuke moaned, "Come on Taichi, they're only rumours and hardly anyone even believes them anymore. I don't get it, normally you wouldn't act like this,"
Taichi shrugged.
"Right if you don't cheer up I may have to go to extremes," Daisuke scowled good-naturedly at Taichi.
"Whatever,"
"You bum. I'm gonna call people, make them come over,"
"Not too many though, and ask my mum first," Taichi muttered in response, very little of his attention focused on what he and Daisuke were saying.
-
It wasn't long before several of Taichi's friends were squeezed into his living room, namely Kuuya, Koushiro, Jyou, Sora, Mimi and of course Daisuke.
"Dais, didn't I say not too many people?" Taichi frowned sullenly.
"Yeah well I phoned Kuuya and Sora, but Koush and Jyou were at Kuuya's and Mimi was at Sora's, besides, your mum didn't mind,"
"Right, whatever, um, do you guys mind if I just go have a little lie down? I'm knackered after soccer practice," Taichi groaned, leaving the room before giving anyone any time to respond. He stumbled to his room and lay down on his bed. Things seemed worse now, mainly because seeing someone who looked so much like Yamato had spiralled his thoughts into a new direction. He gazed up at his bedroom ceiling and couldn't help but notice the poster on the wall, the one that covered their names. Carefully, he sat up and pulled the poster down. He gazed at the writing on the wall, 'Yamato and Taichi forever', glancing at the date he realised it had been written just a week ago. Forever isn't meant to last for just a week.
As he lay back down, everything started to make sense to him. He wasn't meant to do this to Yamato, he wasn't meant to lie about it. And come to think about it, hadn't it been Taichi himself that hadn't always really minded the thought of coming out properly? It was just the way it had happened that had thrown him. How could he do that to Yamato? After all he'd been through with Kai! He'd only been acting this way for just over 24 hours, but in that time he'd been a complete asshole. He'd lied to his friends, he'd abandoned his love and left him to deal with this bombshell alone and he'd even risked hurting Sora. He thought back over the past few months, all the beautiful time he'd spent with Yamato, along with all the lies he'd told his friends. It had to stop. Yamato was one of the most important things in Taichi's life, and he wanted to be able to share that with his friends. His friends would accept it, surely they would, otherwise they weren't very good friends. And as for the rest of the school, well, they didn't matter as long as Taichi had his friends and his Yamato. He couldn't believe how much he'd risked their relationship over the past 24 hours. He loved Yamato and he knew Yamato loved him, no matter how little he showed it.
His thoughts were shortly interrupted by a knock at his bedroom door.
"Who is it?" Taichi asked.
"It's Koushiro. Can I come in?"
"Sure," Taichi mumbled.
The door opened slightly, letting in the light from the hallway. Koushiro cautiously stepped in and shut the door behind him, plunging the room back into semi-darkness, the only light coming from the setting sun that was peeking in behind Taichi's closed curtains.
"I just came to see if you're okay, so, are you?" Koushiro questioned, perching himself on the edge of Taichi's bed.
"Mmhmm," Taichi sighed, then sat up fairly abruptly, causing the poster in his lap to crinkle.
"What's with the poster?" Koushiro enquired, confused.
"It's true y'know," Taichi ignored Koushiro's question, and went straight in to tell Koushiro the truth, longing to get the weight off his chest.
"What is Taichi?"
"The whole thing Hiraku 'made up'. I am gay, and I am with Ishida," Taichi spoke cautiously, afraid of saying the words out loud.
Koushiro sat back slightly in shock, and there was a silence that settled between them for just a few minutes before the red-head spoke again.
"I thought it might be. The way you've been acting suggested that you weren't just upset over the rumours, that there was something bigger,"
"Do you mind?" Taichi questioned.
"No Taichi. You're my friend. As long as you're happy I don't mind what you do. I can't say I'm pleased about the lying, but I can understand why you did,"
"Koushiro, I've really messed up though. I mean, I totally abandoned Yamato today. He's going to hate me after what he's been through before," Taichi sighed.
"You love him though, don't you?"
Taichi nodded.
"And he loves you?"
"I think so,"
"Then you can't let this get between you. If you love each other you should be together. People shouldn't lie about their feelings, Taichi. It only ends up hurting them You know what I think you should do? Phone him right now. Apologise. Tell him you love him and you're sorry," Koushiro's every word was full of persuasive intelligence, enough so that Taichi jumped off the bed and headed for the door, ready to grab the phone.
He stepped back in surprise when he opened the door and found Mimi standing in the hallway.
"Koush? How about taking your own advice this time, okay?" He smiled back at Koushiro as Mimi stepped into the room, then ran to the kitchen to phone Yamato.
"So it's true then?" Mimi wondered, closing Taichi's bedroom door behind her.
Koushiro nodded.
"What you said to him, Koushiro, that was really wise. Your words were beautiful," Mimi edged herself down onto the bed next to the red-head.
"You think?"
"They made so much sense," She whispered, her fingers gently tracing along his hand, "And I think there's something you should know,"
"Mimi, I really-"
"I like you Koushiro, I really do," her eyelids fluttered and her cheeks turned pink.
"Really? But-" Koushiro blushed as furiously red as his hair.
"Shh," she soothed, then leant in and gently kissed his soft lips. The kiss was beautifully reciprocated, tongues gently touching each other, exploring mouths for the first time.
"Is that enough proof for you?" Mimi smiled, pulling back slightly.
-
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Taichi hurriedly punched Yamato's number into the telephone. It rang twice before the blonde answered.
"Hello?"
"Yamato! It's Taichi, listen, we need to talk-"
"No Taichi, we don't, you said all you needed to say today. Why would you be interested in a fag like me?" Yamato snapped.
"But Yamato-"
"No 'but's Taichi," The blonde growled, "To think I actually hoped you'd be different,"
"I am, Yamato! I love you! And I'm sorry! I love you so much!" Taichi insisted, but realised that since the third word of the first sentence, Yamato had hung up, and he'd been declaring his love to the annoying dialling tone.
As an overall off topic note, I've made a profile on myspace solely for ficpres and fanfic authors and I'm doing like featured author sections. If you're interested in being on it with a link to your work let me know in a personal message not a review and I'll read some of your stuff and put you up. I'll be sending messages to the people I already want to put up about it when I get the time. I won't put the link to the page here, but ask me if you want it.
Anyway, as I said, I despise this chapter, so all feedback will determine whether or not the story is continued. If it is, I promise the next update should be sooner, I'm exam free now!
-- Even Gods Dream, 2007