No discrimination

Chapter 2!: Further and Great Adventures in Pud-Ding

By: Everfire & fogdragon23

Warnings for this chapter: Davis and pudding. All earlier warning still in play.

"Ow." I cry in hopes of gaining much needed sympathy. People who live in this building are all very cold and heartless people, and much too concerned with the well being of inanimate objects...like doors.

I look up at the door in question, currently being held by an old woman. She is talking and when she says p's and s's she spits a little bit. I think she may be mad at me. This is silly of course as it really is her fault the door didn't open. I mean, god, what kind of person has a door that only opens one way.

Matt comes in looking even madder than when I threw up in TK's hat. That was sooo funny I mean I didn't tell him so he tried to put it on...it was great. I love pizza, but only going down. Anyway so Matt looks really mad-like now. He's turning all purply-red like the color of one of Kari's dresses.

The old woman starts accusing Matt of not taking care of us well enough when his parents aren't home. That gets me all mad 'cause Matt didn't really do anything and she's just being really rude. I start trying to help Matt but then he picks up one of the door shards and I start writing a will in my head. I want to make sure that my soccer ball gets buried with me and that TK never touches Kari even though I'm dead. I'll haunt him. Yeah...leap on him in his sleep whenever he dares to dream about Kari. I'll reach out and grab...huh?

"But the door should'a opened. I mean I did push on it hard. I mean I couldn't have really hit it any harder." I defend.

"Shut up. Just shut up, Davis. We're going to have you pay this off with chores. You're going to-," at this point I realize that Matt can talk with his teeth clenched really well. It makes me wonder if he can talk with his mouth full too. I open my mouth to ask him, but then I see that he's still talking. So I decide to let him finish. Not all people are as rude as that old lady. "Every single day. You can remember that?" Matt finishes looking satisfied.

I have no idea what he just said but it's probably not that important. "Yep." I agree readily cause I figure the guy needs a break. He looks like a zit ready to pop.

He doesn't look satisfied. I'm not sure why. Would I lie to him? I haven't really before. There was that one time when I told him I was a girl. That was playing though. Or that one time when I said the dog ate my homework before I did it. I really just threw it away. Oh my god. I didn't tell you that. I told him I didn't like Kari. That's true though...I don't. Yeah.

Matt looked at me; then sighed. He shooed me with his hands. Then I was being bade farewell by my dear brother who had always wanted to keep me under his close watch.

"Don't worry about me, I will find the princess who has been stolen by the evil Ten Killers and the magical Pud-Ding. Have faith in me and I will not fail." I left him with tears sparkling in my eyes from our heartfelt farewell. He stood there looking mildly horrified.

Matt's face burned with shame as Davis rushed out the door. "...?"

"Do you understand what that kid ever talks about," asked the old lady with her hands akimbo.

"No, and I don't want to try," commented Matt pathetically. He chucked the door shard to the side. "I really didn't expect him to use the door for target practice."

"Well, if he wants to remodel something tell him to use the backdoor."

Matt glanced back at the ruined door and its new face then looked to the ceiling, "I hope he doesn't try another stunt like this, I really do. That kid is eating up more and more of my cigarette money."

Page Break

"Davis sure is taking awhile to get here," complained Yolei aloud.

"He looked like he had a rough tumble into the front door," answered TK thoughtfully.

"You think he's still there," Kari asked with a little more concern.

"Alas the mighty have fallen and I am the only prince left," said TK with a sly smile.

"Shut up, TK!" shouted the other two.

"Alright, alright but in his memory we shall search out the whereabouts of Pud-Ding," added TK heroically.

"Yeah," agreed Yolei, "but you're the one paying."

"Wait...why me?" he asked.

"Because you are the one with the money, right?" hinted Yolei.

"...what?"

"Well," started Kari, "I don't have any money and...you said that you were the only prince..." TK watched in horror as puppy-eyes slowly formed themselves from her features.

"I-well...eh-heh...fine but I'm only doing it for Princess Kari," he concluded.

"You can't do that! That's discrimination! PRINCESS DISCRIMINATION!," cried Yolei at the top of her lungs.

Page Break

Davis rushed careening around the corners of buildings in obvious haste. Luckily he KNEW their destination, as he was an avid Pud-Ding fan. His favorite flavor was green. After working up quite a sweat he entered the cool shop on 57th street and stared in every direction, intensely. The shop keeper, Cody's grandpa, smiled and offered something in a squeezable pouch.

"Umm...Have you seen my...I mean umm have you seen Kari and TK?"

"Do you like prune juice?" He wondered aloud, "I hear it's really good for you."

"Umm...yeah...I mean no...I mean Kari. She's like this tall," He made wide gestures with his hands, "and really pretty. Well TK is like well he's this tall." He made a gesture that proved TK to be taller than him, "He wears an ugly hat. Like a bucket one. I guess if you take it off he's not soooo bad. He's got this hair that's like gold-ish and pretty, but not in a girly way. It's really soft, too. What you really notice though is his eyes cause he doesn't cover them up ever and...they're just so...blue. Like Matts eyes are blue too but his are like electric blue. TK's are softer and calmer. Their kinda like..." Davis's eyes started to glaze as he searched for the right word.

"Keeps you regular." The old man interrupted.

"What?" Davis said snapping back to attention.

"The juice...haven't you been listening?" He nodded his head in an affirmative way. "Kids today."

"Oh yeah, Yolei was with them too." Davis added half-heartedly.

"Yolei likes my fresh prune juice."

"You know her? Did you see her today?"

He paused for a second then replied, "Yes."

"And?"

"I saw her."

"Where did they go? I'm looking for them."Davis yelled frantically.

"Who?" The man toned cocking his head.

Davis took a deep breath, "TK, Yolei, and Kari."

"Oh them. Yeah I saw them. Came in here and bought some pudding. All sorts of flavors."

Davis nodded, "So where are they now?"

The man paused, "Don't know haven't seen them for...weeks now..."

"What?" Davis shook his head, "They must have bought something today. Today." He repeated slowly.

"I didn't see um today. We have a nice sale on prune juice though."

"What? No, I don't want prune juice" Davis said struggling to keep his temper in check.

The man smiled, "Keeps you regular, you know."

"I'm sure it does. I don't want to be regular though I want to find my friends." He turned to leave.

As he was walking down the road he spotted Cody and called out, "HEY!"

"Hello, Davis. I haven't seen you for awhile. How are you?" After a pause, "You look troubled."

"Have you seen TK?" He panted.

"Isn't he down at the park with Kari and Yolei?" Cody mused.

"Did you see them?" Davis let hope shine onto his face again.

"Yes, they were having a picnic."

"A picnic!" Davis scoffed looking incredulous.

"Why are you looking for them?"

"Well I was...you know what nevermind, can I borrow you're bike?"

Cody looked down to the handle-bars he was clutching and back to Davis apparently at an impasse. "I need to get to my grandfather's store, no one is working right now." He began.

"I was just there and your grandfather was just fine and giving advice I don't ask for from my doctor."

A confused look covered Cody's face "What do you mean, Davis?"

"Look all I gotta say is I'm gonna really be mad if they ate all the green." At this Davis 'borrowed' Cody's bike by prying the smaller boy's fingers from the metal bars.

Staring as his bike disappeared over a nearby hill, Cody frowned a tiny frown, "Green?" He muttered to himself as he began his trek, on foot, to work.

"A-HA!" Davis shouted when he came into view of the 'picnic', leaping from the bike and letting it fall to the ground in a harsh crash and the sound of paint being chipped away.

Yolei looked up and smiled, swirling her spoon in her pudding cup. "Hey, Davis. Took you long enough."

"Yolei, you have no idea. First an old woman spit on me, then I ran to an old man who kept telling me about 'sales' on juice."

TK asked, "Was that Cody's grandpa's store?"

"Yeah. Why?" Davis replied.

"Wow, Davis you must have bad luck." Kari started, "You just missed us."

"Well, I tried to ask the guy where you went but...he's so stubborn. It was always health advice coming from that guy. He should'a been a doctor if he cares so much." Davis's voice turned petulant.

"Oh come on, Davis, it can't have been that bad." TK cooed.

"It could, too." He murmured.

"You really should have bought some of his prune juice," Yolei began grinning, "It's yummy and it keeps you regular."

Davis just shook his head in disbelief, "No one, I repeat, no one should concern themselves with whether or not other people are regular."

"Well, Davis, did you get anything?" Kari said smiling cutely.

He turned to look at her, "No, I was too busy looking for you guys."

"You do have bad luck Davis," Yolei smirked, "Kari is eating the last one."

"Is that true Kari?" He pleaded.

She blushed, "Well, we weren't sure if you were coming and well...yeah."

"No." Davis visibly paled. "After all that..."

"I thought you wanted to be the hero...some job you did..." Yolei stated brashly.

Davis sat down, pulling his knees up to his chest. "All I wanted was...pudding." He tried not to cry. He wouldn't cry in front of them...not over something so stupid, but somehow he felt like he lost something. He didn't cry but his eyes did water at such an inconvenient time.

"Oh, Davis, it was only pudding." Kari soothed.

Yolei snorted, "Don't encourage him."

"Don't be so mean to him either." Kari said standing up and walking over to 'talk' to her about manners and Davis.

"Davis," TK whispered.

Davis refused to look up.

"A prince never fails to deliver."

Confused, Davis looked up at TK's words to find a spoon of pudding waiting by his mouth. Without warning it charged in between his gasp-opened lips.

"You" Davis began voice muffled by the pudding and spoon. He removed it and then continued, "You saved me some pudding?"

"Yeah." TK grinned.

"Why?"

"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, Davis."

Davis shook his head, trying to rid himself of some of the confusion, "What does this have to do with horses?"

TK laughed gently. Then an idea struck Davis. He leaned in and kissed TK on the cheek. Both of them blushed quickly and looked away from the other. TK checked to be sure that the girls hadn't seen, but they both seemed to be fighting.

"Why did you do that?" TK snarled under his breath causing Davis to gasp and bite his lip.

"Because," when he heard his voice crack he started again, "Because a princess never fails to deliver."