Chapter 8 – An End to the Evening
Disclaimer-- Digimon belongs to somebody else.
A/N: I was gripped suddenly a few days ago to finish (or to continue, at any rate) this fic from a couple of years ago. Rereading it, I was kind of mortified with the kinds of mistakes & typos I made before, so I went back and tried to change/fix/improve as much as I could.
And then it seemed awfully cruel to cut off the story at the main conflict, so here's the next installment. We'll see how it goes.
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Sora –
I flung myself out of the gym, where everyone was probably having a laugh at my idiocy. How could I let myself fall for a guy who would rather have a wallet full of cash than, I don't know, be decent? Furious with myself, I ran out into the parking lot and down the street. I was halfway to my house when Mimi caught up with me.
"Sor? Are you okay?"
Of course I wasn't okay! But Mimi didn't know what was going on, I guessed, so I tried not to lash out at her. I could only let out a wispy gasp. We were silent until we were back at my house. I sat on the doorstep.
"C'mon, Sor, tell me what's wrong."
"I'm so sorry, Mimi, I've ruined your night too. You shouldn't have come." I wanted to explain, I wanted her sympathy, but I couldn't find the words or even a starting place to tell her what was going on in my head.
"Of course not, Sora. Please, tell me what's going on. Did Matt do something?"
A long pause, and finally I spoke. "He—it was a joke! A bet. He got money for taking me out tonight. He actually likes some blonde named Cecilia."
Mimi was surprised; she clearly had not expected something like this. "What?? Matt wouldn't do that! Who told you that? There must be a mistake."
"This freshman named Mike. He told me when we were dancing tonight. But Matt admitted it! He said it himself." I was losing control; tears started welling up in my eyes.
"Are you sure, hon?" She patted me on the back. "I can't believe it."
I was getting tired of this. The tears were streaming now, and I really didn't want to get angry with Mimi. "Yeah, me either," I said. "Listen, Mimi. You really don't have to do this. I kinda want to be alone for a while, get my thoughts straight. Just go back and say goodnight to Izzy and have a good evening."
She looked at me, and I was afraid for a moment that she was too sweet a person to leave me alone. But she understood, surprisingly, and said, "Okay, Sora. I'll call you first thing tomorrow, okay? Or if you want to talk before then, you know my number." She smiled reassuringly and turned to go back.
I didn't want to watch her walk away so I turned my key in the lock and went inside.
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Omniscient Narrator—
Back at the dance, Matt sat silently at the table with a soda in hand. He stared blankly at the space in front of him, not knowing what to think. Tai was next to him, and both of them were rather bewildered. Mimi had gone chasing after Sora; maybe she'd come back and have some enlightenment for them.
Hadn't the evening gone pretty well? Matt wondered. Why was Sora mad at him for bringing her flowers? Was it because of the blonde? He sighed. What had he done? He hoped this was some kind of joke.
Tai, who had remained in silent support until now, said, "Don't worry, mate. I'm sure it'll be fine. Mimi will sort it out."
Matt didn't want to say anything. He thought he might be sick. Was it because of the blonde? he wondered again. He winced as he remembered the squealing. He should have just stolen some flowers from the school grounds or something. Sora was so upset, and he wasn't even quite sure why.
Seated next to him, Tai shook his head. "Girls," he said. "They're tricky." He tried to be sympathetic, but Cinderella was still on his mind. How could he have not gotten her name? What if he never saw her again? His insides churned at the very thought. He got up. "Hey, I'm going to go get some more snacks. Be right back."
Tai walked around the gym, where quite a few couples were still enjoying the light of the dance floor. He combed the tables on the perimeter of the gym, trying to find Cinderella. Where had she gone? He was wondering if she had already left, when someone tapped him on the shoulder from behind.
"Cinderella!" he exclaimed, turning around. "Er—I mean, I don't seem to have quite caught your name?" Oh, he was such an idiot.
"That's a shame," she laughed. "But I guess Cinderella works."
Her comment made him relax for a moment, and he joined in with her laughter. So they would remain anonymous, he guessed.
"D'you—d'you want to dance again?" he ventured. "It's almost over, but there are probably still a couple of songs left."
She shook her head. "I have to go; it's a long ride home."
Something clicked in his mind, and he took a stab at his hunch. "You don't go to this school, do you?" His heart fell when she shook her head.
"No, I was a guest. My date bailed last minute but I decided to come check it out anyway. Y'know. I had a dress and everything."
"Right." He was at a loss for words. "So, see you around?"
She smiled. "Maybe not," she answered. Tai chuckled ruefully, and when he looked up she was gone.
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Mimi-
I made it back to the school in no time. Not only did I have to say goodnight to Izzy like Sora said, but I hoped I could catch Matt and Tai in time to try to clear up the situation.
Izzy, standing just outside the gym in the warm early-summer night, looked like he was waiting for me.
"Hey," he said softly as he saw me approaching. "I thought you'd come back. Is Sora okay?"
I didn't know how to answer. "It's a complete mess," I finally said. "I don't know where to begin. I'm so sorry I left you here."
"No way," Izzy replied. "You're helping a friend. You gonna go back inside?"
"Yeah."
"Anything I can do to help?"
I smiled, but shook my head. "It's okay, I've got it. You just go home and study for your computer science final on Monday."
"Okay." He started towards the school entrance.
"Izzy?" I whispered after him.
He turned. "Yeah?"
"I had a good time tonight."
"Me too." A pause. "Good night, Mimi."
"See you?"
He took a step towards me and gave me an assuring squeeze on the hand. "Definitely."
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Omniscient Narrator-
Matt turned the situation over and over again in his head. He could find no other fault he committed that night other than dancing with Cecilia. Somehow, though, he had a hard time imagining Sora getting upset over a small thing like that. After all, he had fan-girls all over him 24/7, surely she was used to it? It's not as if he had liked Cecilia, anyway, and he'd danced with her only to get flowers for Sora. He was purely at a loss for ideas. Hopefully Mimi would be back soon and they could get this straightened out.
Meanwhile, across the room, the freshman named Mike sat at a similar table, thoughtfully sipping at his Coke (A/N: Also have no ownership rights over this). He was a little bit disgruntled, having been turned down once again by the fair-haired Cecilia.
He had seen—actually, everybody had seen—Sora stomping out of the gym. Was it because of what he'd said? Surely she didn't really believe it, right? It had only been a little vengeful joke, a last-ditch effort, and he'd expected Matt to deny it straightaway.
He had half a mind to go up to Matt Ishida and tell him what he'd said, but on the other hand, Matt looked pretty intimidating, and Mike didn't mind too much if Matt and Sora split up. Not that he really liked her, of course. It had just been a little crush, but he'd been slightly crestfallen at the rejection. Anyway, he decided, it probably wasn't his fault anyway. Probably Matt had done something stupid all by himself.
Just then, a flash of yellow on the other side of the gym caught his attention. Cecilia flipped her hair as she approached the table where Matt was sitting. Matt looked irritated.
"Hey, Matt," she said, affecting a coy tone. "Where'd your date go?"
"Gone," Matt exhaled blankly. He stood up to leave. "And if you'll excuse me, I think I'll be going now too."
He saw Mimi coming in through the doors and thought he'd better go and ask her what was going on. Just then, two stringy arms caught him around his neck and he was pulled into a tight hug by Cecilia, who planted a big, wet kiss right on his lips.
Mimi, who stood frozen in the doorway, shot him a fleeting, cold look before turning around and walking straight out of the gym.
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TO BE CONTINUED...
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A/N: Hopefully it wasn't a disappointment (and hopefully also no atrocious typos). Please review.
Leaving now to get HARRY POTTER ANDTHE DEATHLYHALLOWS! ( Don't you love how I'm too excited for proper spacing?) I can't wait:)