Disclaimer: I don't own the Digimon characters, but I do own Noah and Yuki. And Mai. And Starla.

Chapter Five: Changing With The Emotions

"Heard you got lucky, Yuki!" I heard someone say as I walked into homeroom.

Yuki shrugged in a cocky way. "What can I say?" He smiled. "The ladies just can't keep their hands off me. I'm like a magnet or something!"

I had to roll my eyes. "Who's the 'lucky' girl?"

"That girl you left at the party. You remember her, huh?"

"Yuki!" I snapped. "She's fifteen!"

He shrugged again.

"You knew it was first her time, didn't you?" I felt my anger raise. "Do you know what that means? She's going to be obsessed with you! And you're just going to break that poor girl's heart. Y'know, Yuki, you're really pissing me--"

"Jesus, Ishida," His mood was starting to die down. "She was pretty good for her 'first time' if you ask me. If you don't want her to get hurt so bad, why the hell did you leave her?"

"Because she was trying to sleep with me,"

He smiled again and shook his head. "Why didn't you, man? I mean, didn't you see how fine she was?"

"Yeah, she's good-looking, so that means I have to take advantage of her?"

"All right, Ishida, what the fuck is the matter with you? You get Mimi drunk and don't even do anything with her! You've been such a damn girl lately!"

"A girl?" I crossed my arms on my chest. "Since when have I been such a girl?"

"Since you've been hanging out with Yagami. Does the soccer captain have some affect on you or something?"

The thought of Friday night came into my mind. A sick feeling appeared in my stomach, then the memory of sitting around the whole weekend and wondering how much I really did drink followed. I was getting really scared of myself.

Yuki continued, "It's not like you haven't fucked a virgin or anything."

I knew just what he meant; Sora's first time was with me, but after we broke up, I heard too many different stories about her. Yuki was basically saying that it was all my fault.

"At least I was dating her, and at least she was sober." was my defence.

The bell rang, startling me. I glared at him and picked up my books. "See you at lunch."

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"Hey, Yama!"

I didn't have to turn around to know it was Tai. I mean, who else called me 'Yama'? and even though I was happy to see him, I still felt awkward and…uncomfortable. But it could be nice to have some company while I was waiting for the pizza line to at least move.

"Hi," was all I said.

"What's up?"

"Uh…nothing."

I couldn't even look at him. I felt ashamed or something. My mind debated furiously. Maybe Mimi had wound me up too much, not to mention the liquor I was chugging. Yeah, I thought, maybe that's what happened.

"Kari went on a date Saturday."

"Really?" I asked. "With who?"

He shrugged. "Some guy who goes to the other high school. I swear, if he tries anything with my little sister, I'll fucking kill him." I could sense Tai's anger, and it was making me feel even more uncomfortable.

"I'd hate to be him," I quietly commented.

"So should he."

I noticed Mai walk by. I waved at her, but she was too busy smiling at Tai to notice me.

"Hey," Tai greeted.

When she was gone, I asked, "You know Mai?"

He nodded. "Yeah," he said, as if I should have known already. "She's the girl I went out with on Friday."

I blinked. I shook my head to shake the thought away, then blinked again. Tai…and Mai. Mai and…Tai?! On a date? Dating? Hooking up? Getting together? I really couldn't see it. Personally, I thought they would look horrible together.

"How was that?"

"Fine. Man, she's cute, huh?"

I laughed. "Careful with her, Tai. She's really good friends with Yuki and them."

"You mean your friends?"

"Oh…" I nodded. "I guess you can put it that way. I don't know, Yuki's pissing me off. He thinks he's in charge of everyone's lives or something when the truth is, he's having problems dealing with his own shit. You know what he did?" I was in a gossip mood. "You know Kari's friend Mimi?"

"Oh God, what did she do now?"

"No, no, no, nothing like that. I took her to a party on Friday and I guess she's cheap when it comes to liquor. We were in some bedroom and she was all over me. When you called my cell, I just ran out of Dai's house as fast as I could."

"Good."

I sighed. "Yuki slept with her once I left."

Tai shook his head. "No way. Yuki is such an asshole sometimes. Is he aware she's just a little girl?"

"That doesn't matter to Yuki Yano. And he was supposed to stay with Sora . His date of the night."

"Sora ? Do you still talk to her?"

Well, I guess I had forgotten that Sora used to hang out with Tai a lot, too, right before me and her started dating. My mind started putting pieces together. Maybe Tai and I drifted off for a reason.

"Uh…yeah, sometimes,"

"Wait--does she like Yuki Yano or something?"

I nodded sadly. "Guess so."

"I wish Sora didn't change. She used to be such an awesome person, do you remember that? What even happened?"

Yep, Tai had definitely hated me for a reason. He must have been after Sora before I flew in and ruined her life. I wondered if he knew I messed her up.

"So, where were you all weekend?"

"Around."

"Oh shit, I've got a soccer meeting," He checked his watch. "Seeya later, Yama."

I stood by myself for a few minutes, amazed that the line had actually moved for a few seconds. Then I realized I didn't even think about what happened Friday night. How could I have possibly forgotten a crisis like that for even thirty seconds?

Mai walked by again and actually noticed me. She was wearing her bright smile.

"Hi, Yamato!"

"Hey, Mai," I looked around and whistled. "How was that date?"

She looked surprised. "Oh. Um…I think it went well."

"Soccer captain, huh?"

"Yep."

Mai was in too much of a lovey-dovey world. I wasn't too happy, so I decided to break it for two reasons: one, I hate being around happy people when I'm upset, and two, I made sure she knew about the Mimi situation. I couldn't help it--someone else had to be mad at him, too.

"What?!" she shrieked. "Didn't he take Sora to Dai's party on Friday night, though?"

"Well, he did, then ditched her for the blond upstairs."

Mai was taking deep breaths by this point. "They had sex…on Friday?!"

I nodded casually. "I was supposed to be Mimi's date, but whatever floats Yuki's boat works for me."

"Okay, stop talking. Why would Mimi go along with it? He a good-looking guy and all, but, I mean, he's Yuki. How would--"

"She was drinking a little. I think it was her first time, too."

Mai started making me nervous. She was glaring at nothing in particular with her teeth clenched. "We…" she said slowly, "are going upstairs…and finding him."

I remained standing, asking, "What?" while she began walking. She turned around and rolled her eyes.

"Come on!" she cried, grabbing my hand.

I couldn't believe she had made me lose my spot in line. But I followed her anyway, knowing how scary Mai can get when she's mad. Maybe I'm an asshole, but she had the right to know. Out of all of us, she was the only one Yuki would really listen to. When she had something to say, she'd say it.

"Yuki Yano!" she called once he was in sight, letting go of my hand. I made sure to continue following her.

He turned around and smiled. "Hey, what's up?"

"I can't believe you!" she shouted, catching Noah's attention and fading Yuki's smile. "Do you know how much shit you caused this school and do you know how damn cocky you are about it? How dare you take advantage of a little girl like that! Sora likes you, Yuki! She likes you a lot. She's already upset enough that so many other girls are after you, why would you go and do that?!"

We were all silent. It took a lot of energy for me to resist laughing. It looked like Noah was going through a similar situation.

"Mimi was coming on to me," Yuki calmly replied. "Have you ever thought maybe I actually like Mimi? I mean, too bad for Sora if I don't like her--shit happens."

Mai laughed. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't notice it could be possible for you to actually like one girl."

"I'm serious!" he snapped. "I was planning on asking her out this week!"

"Is she that good in bed?"

Without waiting for a reply, Mai stomped off. Noah started clapping with fake amazement, though I have to admit, Yuki really deserved it.

I started to walk away before Yuki asked, "Where're you going?"

"Pizza line…why?"

"No, no, no, you're staying right here. We need to have a talk."

Suddenly, both of them were staring at me. I was really starting to feel uncomfortable--it was like having a staring-contest with a hundred different people at once. What did they want? Were they that pissed off at me?

"What's up?" I asked.

"It's an intervention," Noah explained, looked around nervously. "We're kinda worried about you, man."

Yuki nodded. "I want us to be okay, Ishida. Why're you being so…"

"Different?" Noah finished.

"Different…? I'm not being 'different'."

"A month ago if Mimi asked you to go upstairs, you would've ran. Now you feel too bad?" Yuki shook his head. "You haven't been down for parties lately, you're feeling all girly on us, you're getting Mai to tell us off…" He pushed my shoulders down, forcing me to sit across from Noah.

Now, I'm not a dumb person. Draw half of a picture for me and I'll catch on. I was being different. A few weeks ago if Mimi greeted me at a party, I'd only hope she'd want to sleep with me. I did change, but it's wasn't for worse…it was for better.

Maybe it was because Tai was always complaining about being an older brother, making sure Kari wouldn't get hurt by any stupid boys. I guess he got me to understand his view on younger girls, so I had the "innocent" vibe from all of the younger girls.

"A month ago was a month ago," I replied dully, not letting what they were saying get through to me.

I stood up and stared at them blankly. I was in no mood to be around them, so I decided to head back to the pizza line without saying a word. They were pissing me off so bad, I was convinced that the next person who came up to me would be punched.

"Oh, Yama, I forgot to mention…"

Well, I thought, I can't punch Tai…

"Tai?"

"Yeah,"

I sighed. "I'm sorry I dated Sora. I knew you were after her, I just…was selfish last year." Something inside of me just burned for me to say that. It sure made me feel better, though.

Tai let out a laugh. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, where'd this come from?"

"Well, I just…whatever."

"You think that's why we stopped being friends?"

I shrugged. "Um…I guess."

"Yama, you wanna know what really happened?…You started hanging out with Yuki Yano and that Noah guy too much, and I hate their fucking guts, so I just stopped hanging out with you once you turned as cocky as Yuki. I mean, when you dated Sora, I didn't really care. If you dated her in grade eight or something, I'd probably kill you."

"Oh." I caught myself smiling. "What did you forget to tell me?"

"Mai has a friend that we think would be perfect for you. We should all go out sometime, you know?"

"Like a double-date?"

He shook his head and laugh. "Well, whatever you wanna call it."

A sick feeling developed in my stomach, but I pushed it away. "Is she cute?" I found myself asking, even though I didn't really care.

"Sure is. I'll probably give you a call or whatever."

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Tai drove us to the movies and met them there. I wasn't really nervous, just kind of anxious. It was the first night of Spring Break and I hadn't talked to Yuki, Noah, and Dai in over a week, even though I was aware Yuki and Mimi were hanging out a lot. I pretended like I paid no attention, but really, it was weird seeing them together so much. Being out with Tai was a nice way to not think about it.

"You know what?" Tai asked out of the blue.

"Huh?"

"Kari's on her third date with one specific guy tonight. You know what that means?"

I shrugged, getting prepared for a "Kari shouldn't be allowed to date" speech. "What?"

"It's almost official."

"Good for Kari." I paused. "But I guess you're not too thrilled about it, huh? Well, have you met this guy yet?"

He shook his head. "I don't even know his name."

We arrived at the movies, and I was thankful. Tai didn't really complain about anything to Mai, even though I did all the time. We climbed out of the car and greeted the two girls. My date should have been perfect for me. I didn't know her name, but her nickname was Starla. She had long blond hair with a short tank top that you could pretty much see through. Yeah…she should have been perfect.

But as far as I was concerned, she was a slut.

"So you must be Yamato," she greeted, growing an approving smile.

Yeah, I'm attractive, I know, I stubbornly thought. "And you're Starla," I replied, not really returning the smile. She didn't seem to notice.

"What's the movie, ladies?" Tai asked, rubbing his hands together.

We ended up seeing some scary movie about this guy going crazy over a number. Twenty-four or twenty-three, maybe. I thought it was kind of stupid, but Starla was really clenching onto my arm big time. I looked over at Tai to ask him if we could leave, but he was a little preoccupied with stuffing his tongue down Mai's throat. I almost puked at the sight.

"I am so scared," Starla suddenly whispered to me, tugging my arm harder.

"It isn't real," I kind of snapped.

She suddenly kissed me. It was kind of weird, and it didn't feel right. It was like kissing someone you had known since you were two years old or something. It wasn't long before I broke it, and I realized Tai and Mai were finally done.

"Do you even like this?" I asked him.

He shook his head. "Not really. I haven't been paying much attention."

I stared at his eyes. They were a chocolate-brown, the kind you could stare at forever and just not think about anything else. The kind that you could just get lost in.

Immediately after those thoughts, I looked away.

"Let's get out of here," I demanded, grabbing my jacket.

A few minutes later we were outside of the movie-house, discussing our favourite parts. I didn't really care much about the conversation. It wasn't really a movie I'd see twice.

"I didn't really get it," Starla commented, sounding stupider than ever. I suddenly remembered Mimi sitting with us at lunch, complaining about everything, pretending to be so stupid. I thought she was so hot, so amazingly gorgeous. Now I just thought Starla was using a dumb way to get attention.

Like when Starla "accidentally" dropped her cell phone and picked it up. You could really see a good view, but instead of inhaling every second of it, I rolled my eyes. I wasn't really acting like my usual self.

My eyes wandered to Tai's stomach. I had never really noticed, but he had a great build. His arms were pretty good, too. I wondered how he looked like without a shirt on.

And my jeans got tighter.

And I grabbed Starla and kissed her again.

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I had to get out of there.

The way I would look at Tai was too much. The way I looked at Starla was even worse; I looked at her like she was some slut that really thought I would sleep with her any second. Girls like that were so…self-centred.

No! You're not supposed to think that! my mind screamed at me. You're supposed to think she's an easy chick that you could totally score!

And no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't think about her like I used to think about Mimi. Starla would always be the girl that wore the skanky clothes and made out with me on the first date. Definitely not the way Yuki would see her. Not the way Noah would see her. Hell, not the way any guy would see her. The way…a girl would see her…

My mind went blank. I couldn't think those things. I couldn't think about how built Tai was that night, how stupid Starla looked, how jealous I was of Mai, how gay I was being. Literally.

I felt a weird vibration in my jeans' pocket. I quickly realized it was my cell phone.

"Hello?"

"I'm coming to pick you up," Tai's voice said.

Panic filled my entire brain. "Uh…weren't we just hanging out?"

"Yama, Kari was in a car accident. I'm going to see her, and I'm gonna need someone to come with me. Can I come get you now?"

"Yeah, yeah…is she okay?"

Before we could get further into the conversation, a beep came into my ear. The other line was ringing. What great timing. "Hold on," I pestered, then switched over. "Hello?" There was impatience in my voice.

"Yamato, I want you to come meet me at the hospital."

It was my dad. I raised an eyebrow. "Huh? Why?"

"Takeru was in a car accident."

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A/N: Okay…I have a rule that my chapters have to be at least three-thousand words. This one came to a little over the minimum whereas most come to way over. Sorry for the short chapter! I thought it would be longer, and sorry for the long update! I now have a full plotline and sections written, such as the ending. Expect the next update around a week or so!