Yes, yes. I know. It's been quite a long delay. Four months, to be more specific. I apologize for that. I hope I still have readers who are still interested in the story, because I know I'm interested in finishing it. Things just been so hectic here at home (personal things). But I'm getting myself back together, so thank you for the support! I'll try to add a pinch of humor into this to steady out the drama. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

I Love You, BF!

By iJutsu

Chapter 5

"Oww, my heeaad…"

Kari shakily sat up and opened her eyes. As the blurry vision sharpened back to normal, she looked around. She was in a room—a rather bright, yellow room. Kari blinked in confusion as she continued to browse around the room. Seconds passed, and the room started to become more recognizable to her. Shifting herself into a more comfortable position, she spotted a purple haired girl face down on the bed she was sitting upon. "Yolei? What am I doing in Yolei's room…?" Kari thought, confusingly. She softly shook Yolei's head to awaken her. And to her surprise, she was instantly awakened. Yolei quickly sat up and stared wide-eyed at the brunette before her. Before Kari was able to even open her mouth to speak, Yolei leaped towards her and tightly wrapped her arms around her.

"Kari! You're okay!" she yelped in glee, "It's about time you wake up!"

"I…I was asleep?" Kari asked in a raspy voice, rubbing her head in slight pain, "Ugh, my head hurts."

"Yup! It's almost 3 AM!" Yolei exclaimed as she let go, "Well, it's understandable that your head hurts. Apparently you just knocked out while you were at the beach! By the way, thanks for ditching me at the fair! Anyways! You've been knocked out since TK brought you over! It was the cutest thing. He carried you with such a serious, concerned face and..."

Kari's eyes widened in puzzlement, suddenly remembering her best friend as if it's been years she last heard his name, "TK?"

Kari couldn't remember a thing. The beach? Knocking out? It was all a blur to her. She groaned and leaned her back against the bed frame. Kari tightly closed her eyes, hoping it will help her remember what happened before she ended up in Yolei's room. Letting out a sigh in defeat, she opened her eyes and looked towards Yolei desperately.

"What happened?" Kari asked, almost pleadingly.

"I don't know for sure," Yolei said, tapping her chin, "Last time I saw you were when you ran away from the security. And the last time I saw TK was when I told him to run after you after YOU ran away. You were dressed as Hello Kitty, remember? What the hell was that, Kari? I mean, seriously. You have explaining to do. And I mean, a LOT of explaining to do."

Yolei's rapid speech was making her even more confused. She thought harder back to the time of the carnival. She remembered running away from TK when he was about to hand the rose to Amber (or so it seemed). Remembering that, she started to recall the moments in the tent, where she stole the Hello Kitty costume to stay hidden from TK. Things started to become clearer to her. She then remembered running away from the cops after she was revealed for stealing the costume, and then somehow ending up at the beach. Kari felt a strange feeling in the bottom of her stomach. "The beach," she thought, a bit solemnly, "I was at the beach…"

"With TK…" Kari whispered, finishing her thoughts out load.

"Pardon?" Yolei asked.

Kari's eyes then shot open, and she turned to her purple headed friend in shock, "I was at the beach with TK! W-Where is…when did he…w-what just…!"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down! You were at the beach with TK? When? After you ran away?"

"Yes," Kari stated, still thinking hard, "I remember talking to him about my day. Then, I apologized for avoiding him ever since the kiss. Then…" Kari's face started to redden harshly, "Oh my God."

Kari's face turned even redder from, what Yolei assumed was, embarrassment. Slowly, her face was panic stricken. She groaned loudly and grabbed the pillow and slammed it on top of her face. Yolei, impatient for her to continue what she was going to say, tried to grab the pillow away from Kari's face but Kari wouldn't let go.

"Kari! What the hell!" Yolei grunted, trying to snatch away the pillow, "Tell me what happened next! Why are you acting like that! Did he kiss you again?"

"No, no, no!" Kari whined, refusing to give up the tug-of-war, "Yolei, oh my God, what did I just do? My life is ruined! I messed up everythiiiing!"

"Well I wouldn't know until you tell me!" she almost yelled, as she sharply snatched away the pillow and finally releasing it from Kari's grip. She then hit Kari with the pillow repeatedly, "Now tell me!"

Kari was more embarrassed than regretful with what she told TK. And it showed. Kari, still laying down looking like a steamed tomato, fixed her eyes onto the ceiling. She was trying to find a way to tell Yolei without being more pathetic that she already was. She let out a shaky breath as she remembered the moment. She had finally confessed her love to her best friend after so many years, but yet, she feels embarrassed. Shameful, even. "He probably thinks I'm crazy," Kari thought, sadly, "Probably thinks I'm a fool…"

"How am I going to face him?" Kari whispered, again finishing her thoughts aloud. This irked Yolei.

"I swear to all things good and evil, Kari!" she yelled, now grabbing her arm and yanking her back and forth, "If you don't tell me now, I am going to cut your throat and…!"

"I told him I love him, okay?" Kari yelled back, face as red as ever, "I told TK that I love him and...and now everything is ruined…and…!"

"Yippee! OH MAH GAH, FINALLY! No way!" Yolei yelped, now pulling her into yet another tight embrace, "It's about freaking time! Okay. Okay. I'll calm down. But tell me every single detail! Every. Single. Detail!"

Kari let out a semi-annoyed sigh and hugged her knees while tracing the flower prints on Yolei's bed. Even thinking about the slightest detail of the event was making her shiver. Somehow she went from the carnival, to the beach, to the confession, and now to the wrath of her purple haired friend. Kari then squinted in thought, just now realizing that she does not yet know the real story of how she got here. She decided to use that as an advantage to avoid telling her the story. Besides, in fairness, Kari did have the right to know what happened to her.

"Wait," Kari said sharply, seeing her friend's face drop, "You tell me every single detail of how I got here! You tell me now, or I won't tell you the story. And that's that!"

"Ugh, Kari, you're so childish!" Yolei grunted, plopping herself on the bed next to her, "Okay, okay. Listen carefully, because I'm only going to say this once."

She took a deep breath before speaking again, "I went looking for you after you ran away. But I didn't find you anywhere, so I just went home. Because like, I didn't want to be at the carnival alone! Anyways! I was home for a few hours until TK just randomly showed up at the doorstep with YOU in his arms! You! Like a beautiful princess! Except, well, you were passed out with drool sliding down your mouth. Okay, then I was all like 'what the heck, TK!' and he's all polite and says 'I'm oh so sorry for coming in so suddenly, Yolei, but my dear Kari is sick and needs a place to rest and her home is locked.' And then I was all like 'what happened to her?' And then he was like 'I'll tell you next time. I got to go blah blah blah Please take care of her yada yada yada. And then he placed you on my bed and left. Aaand that's how you got here. Now YOU spill!"

Kari's facial expression was crossed between stunned and flattered. Of course she knew parts of Yolei's story were a bit exaggerated, but it was nonetheless flattering. She remembered nothing after confessing her love to him. Unfortunate memories of her running away from him and encountering him at the beach were the only things that got to her. Her blushed deepened as she took in the story. "He must have gone through so much trouble," Kari thought in guilt, "Having to carry me all the way here. Ugh, Kari, what's the matter with you?" She admitted that she understood why she fainted. Whenever there's way too much in her head, her mind seems to always win over her consciousness. She sensed Yolei's impatience, for her brows were twitching. She sighed; now it was her turn to tell her side of the story. Pushing her hair behind her ear and avoiding straight eye contact, she stared sadly towards Yolei.

"You told me that everything that happened between TK and I was a sign, and that it was about time I told him how I feel," Kari started slowly, "But now that I did, why do I feel so…so…"

"Pathetic? Sad? Nervous? As if the weight is still on your shoulders?" Yolei said simply, staring at her nails before flashing her caring smile, "Kari, it's normal to feel that way! Especially in your situation. I mean, TK didn't even give you an answer. Since you passed out and all. So it's like…kind of expected that you don't feel happy yet since you don't know TK's reaction. Whether it was shocked or happy—which I bet it would have been if somebody didn't faint!"

Kari sighed, again being defeated by Yolei. Yolei let out a sigh to imitate her.

"Kari, come on, why are you so down? You already know that TK is still in love with you. Head over heels in love with you! So why are you worried?"

"You don't know tha…!"

"UGH! Do not even start with that again, Kari. I really do not feel like repeating what I've been telling you for years! TK loves you. He doesn't like any of those girls he dated. He only dated them to try to move on from you because you rejected him. But now that you told him you loved him, everything is A-OK! All you need to do now is confront him about it!"

Kari grabbed the pillow and pushed it against her face in frustration.

"How am I going to face him now?" Kari muffled, "This is so embarrassing…"

"Tsk, tsk Kari. What would you do without me, I swear," Yolei said with a grin as she stood up to stretch, "Lucky for you, Mama Yolei has a perfect idea! Because, well, knowing you, you're just going to end up staying home and waiting for him to talk to you. So, listen closely…"

Kari immediately sat up in fear when she heard the word 'idea' escape from Yolei's lips, "What idea? No more ideas! No, no, no! Yolei, you better not have done anything!"

"Calm down, Kari," Yolei said with a pout, "You can just sit back and relax. I got everything all under control already. It's all done and over with, so your whining and complaining isn't going to do anything anymore! And nope, I'm NOT going to tell you!"

Kari's eyes widened in even more fear. "What did you do?"

Yolei just winked and started walking out of her room, "C'mon, get some more rest! A big day awaits you tomorrow. Good night, Kari! I looooove you!"

With that, she just closed the door and left the room. Kari yelled out her name to come back several times, but then gave up. She wasn't going to come back, and she most definitely wasn't going to open her bedroom door. Kari slowly laid back down and stared blankly. Now her mind was more messed up than ever. Butterflies arose and fluttered wildly in her stomach, thinking about TK and how he may react when he sees her again. She embraced herself, almost taking in TK's scent that rubbed off on her when she laid in his arms. A smile crept onto her face once she remembered his smile, his gentle touch, his goofy laugh, and the sweet look he gives her every time they see each other. The fluttering became worse as she thought about what could possibly be Yolei's idea to reunite her and TK. Her blank stare soon became a glare. Huffing out in frustration, she figured sleeping it off would be best. She grabbed her pillow, pushed it against her face, and before she knew it, fell asleep.

The next morning in the Takaishi residence,

"Seems like Sleepy Beauty forgot to sleep."

TK lifted his head up from the dining table and looked dully up at his elder brother, who was snickering down at him while holding a pan of eggs in his hands. TK glared, and sluggishly rested his head on his hand that tried to stay steady on the table. He let out a lazy huff as Matt slid some eggs onto TK's plate.

"Not funny," TK almost yawned, "I couldn't sleep at all last night."

"I'd ask why, but I bet I already know," Matt laughed as he sat down in front of his brother, "Guessing it starts with a K and ends with an A-R-I?"

TK looked down and started poking the eggs sadly, "Yeah, man. I'm really worried about her. I wasn't able to contact her last night after I dropped her off at Yolei's. Well, she probably was sleeping to recover from passing out and…"

"Whoa, Kari passed out?" Matt spat out in shock, "How?"

"Long story," TK sighed, feeling the guilt seeping back into him, "She has a fragile metabolism, but I'm sure she'll be fine. But I feel at fault for this, Matt. Everything was my fault. I should have never dated other girls after I asked her out. I should have never given up on her. I should have…ugh. I don't even know anymore."

Matt swallowed his food before speaking, "I'll agree with you on that one, no offense. But trust me, I know what you mean. I've experienced a similar situation. So I don't blame you for thinking it's your fault. I'm just surprised it's taking this long."

TK looked up at his brother questionably, "What do you mean?"

"You fell in love with Kari ever since you both we're like, what, seven? If anything, I thought you two would have ended up together by middle school. Especially since you guys are best friends, I thought it would be much easier for you both to get together."

"It's actually not that easy, Matt," TK groaned, pushing his plate aside and standing up sluggishly, "Being her best friend is actually the problem! We already built up so much! There's just so much to risk!"

"Then risk it."

TK stared dully at Matt's blunt response, "Pardon?"

"Risk it," Matt said, cutting up his eggs into smaller pieces, "If Kari's really worth the risk, then do it. Risk it all for her. What's the worst that can happen? There's no way she would stop being your best friend, TK. So risk it. The worst she can do is laugh in your face."

TK looked at Matt in deep thought, and sighed hopelessly before speaking, "I did it before, and she rejected me."

Matt placed his fork down in slight annoyance before standing up to pat his little brother on his shoulder, "Listen, bro. Seriously. Stop being in denial. You already know that girl is in love with you. You love her, she loves you. You're not scared of asking her out again, you're scared of her reaction. So, man up, get cleaned up, and ask her out! I mean, didn't you read her diary? You should know."

"You're right," TK sighed, but suddenly his eyes shot open in shock and embarrassment, "W-wait! How do you know about Kari's diary?"

"Dude, I saw it on the floor. You have the curiosity of cat; of course you read it."

TK ruffled his already-messy hair and let out a frustrated huff. He totally forgot about the diary. He even forgot that he actually read the thing and he has to return it. Knowing TK, he wouldn't try to be slick and try to sneak it back into Kari's room. The guilt would kill him and he'd eventually end up telling her anyways, so he figured he'd save himself the trouble and just straight out confess. But how to do it was what was killing him. He excused himself and walked back into his room to think. Everything Matt told him was right. He was scared of her reaction. In fact, he was terrified to be rejected again. Scratch that, he was scared to hurt her and once again place her in the pain that was expressed in the diary. TK leaned against the wall and closed his eyes, as if it was going to help relax him. The relaxation soon came to an end when his phone received a text message and started beeping. Lazily, TK made his way to his desk and grabbed is phone. He nearly dropped it once he read the message:

WHERE R U? KARI LEFT ALREADY! UR 5 MINS LATE! :[ - Yolei

"Crap, I'm late!" TK said as he grabbed his jacket and ran out of his room.

Not wanting to face Yolei's wrath, he quickly left his apartment and made his way to Yolei's place. Matt looked out the window and saw him running and almost spat out his eggs in laughter. He let out a chuckle and shook his head, "Good luck, little bro." Within what seemed like two seconds, he finally made it to Yolei's residence, only to see her already standing outside waiting. He approached her and leaned against the brick wall to catch his breath. Yolei heard him, and turned around. Although, the moment she did, her body seemed to have froze and her face suddenly turned red. TK, still panting, stared at her confusingly. Yolei pressed her lips hard together, as if trying to prevent a smile. Yolei couldn't hold it anymore—instantly, she suddenly burst into laughter. TK just blinked and stared oddly at the jittering purple-head. Yolei then started gasping for breath, as if her laughter was killing her. TK leaned off the wall and tried to touch her, but she took a step back whenever he did and STILL continued to crack up. TK twitched.

"What's wrong with you?" TK asked stupidly.

Yolei, covering her mouth as if it was going to help prevent her annoying laughter, just pointed at him below his stomach. Raising a brow in confusion, he looked down and then almost gagged in embarrassment.

He was wearing only is boxers.

His heart-covered boxers.

His face's color soon matched Yolei's as he rapidly removed his jacket and wrapped it around his waist. He glared at Yolei and gave a sharp look towards her door, motioning to her to let him in. Yolei just continued to laugh. She quickly opened the door to her home so he can enter. Yolei closed the door behind her, went to dad's room to grab some gym shorts, came back, and finally found the energy to speak.

"Why?" Yolei snickered out, 'why' being the only word she can let out.

"Y-you rushed me over here!" TK scoffed, quickly pulling up the gym shorts.

"Muahaha, that's right, listen to your master," Yolei said evilly, "But really, TK. It only takes you 5 seconds to put on pants. Anyways! Stay here! I'll be right back. I got to get the props."

"..Props?" TK thought in slight panic. Knowing Yolei, she would probably go all out in the crazy meter. He heard her footsteps approach him from behind. He turned around, and twitched. She did go all out. Way too out. In her arms was a bear outfit—the exact outfit that Kari wore to help him ask out a girl back during sophomore year. He stared at the outfit, and then back at Yolei with a bewildered expression. Yolei just smirked, holding it out to him. TK stared hard at the outfit again, and then suddenly his eyes turned wide. He took a step in denial, and held his hands in front of him as defense.

"Oh no…"

Yolei's smirk grew.

"Oh YES."

TBC

I know it was a quite a boring chapter after months of delay, but I don't want the story to be rushed. I will try to do quicker updates (depending on the R&R's I get to keep me hyped up to write it). As for new readers to this story, I really hope you enjoyed it. Thank you everyone for the support, and stay tuned for the next chapter! Much love !

R&R!