A/N: Took me forever. This is mostly a… hm, I dunno. It's a different sort of chapter. I think I'm going to end this soon. The next chapter is definitely the end of the 'why won't TK just get over it?!' arc, lmao.

Disclaimer: no more of this.

Beating Hearts

Chapter 17

The healthy, the strong individual, is the one who asks for help when he needs it. Whether he has an abscess on his knee or in his soul. – Rona Barrett

TK was out on a walk. Bored, as it sometimes happened. It wasn't as if his life had ended or anything. No, Kari's "leaving" him hadn't destroyed him for life. Thank God. He was sort of peaceful at the moment, taking in all the apartments, the giggling children walking down the street. All the people with their own lives, who had a past.

TK had one too, he realized. And it wasn't just all about Kari.

It was good to know that. Finally.

Matt was bored, too, but he was lying on his bed, flicking through channels on his small TV every few intervals. Nothing good was on. Absolutely nothing. He didn't feel like playing bass. Didn't feel like cleaning his room (which he should do, really, it was disgusting). Didn't feel like doing anything.

Ever since Kari had emerged from TK's room looking more hopeful, Matt had felt uneasy. It didn't seem right, for things to work out so perfectly. He knew TK had a soft spot for Kari, obviously he did. He loved her. But wouldn't that have made it all worse?

Matt sat there, idly chewing his thumbnail as he thought about the situation. He had been doing that a lot, lately. Kari seemed so much more different thinking that TK had forgiven her completely, that all was well. But it wasn't. Matt hadn't talked to TK in weeks. Matt hadn't heard Kari say TK had talked to her yet. It had been days since her visit to him.

"Matt? I'm home," came his father's gruff voice from the kitchen.

"YEA," Matt yelled back in recognition. He listened thoughtfully as his father trudged around the kitchen; opened the fridge door; shuffled off to his room and shut the door with a soft click. This was how it always went.

With all the happiness that Kari was feeling, Matt just felt increasingly worse, more paranoid. Tai hadn't spoken to him. Mimi seemed strangely out of the picture as well. Everyone was quiet, although he had supposedly been "accepted" by all of them. It didn't make sense. He didn't like it. And meanwhile, Kari was oblivious. Of course. That just made it all harder, and wasn't that what the world liked to do to him?

The phone's shrill ringing took him by surprise. Matt threw a book off his bed to find the phone lying underneath, nestled in his blanket. He knew his father wouldn't even bother answering it, so Matt picked it up without any thought. Without checking the caller ID. Stupid. Stupid.

"Hello?" he asked tiredly. A silence. Was it a prank caller? He hated that. "Hello?" he asked again in more of a rude tone.

"I need to talk to Dad," came a sharp voice from the other end. Matt froze. Who knew strange little TK would ever be able to scare him like this? All his life TK had just been the funny little brother to tease. Now he was something completely different.

"Well, luckily," Matt began, fumbling, trying to make conversation and wondering why the hell he was bothering at the same time, "he just walked in the door. I'll grab him." Pause. Silence. "Okay?"

"Fine." TK's reply was abrupt. Matt bit his bottom lip, holding in a huge sigh. But this was getting ridiculous.

"Teeks—"

"Don't even try to fix this over the phone. I need to talk. To Dad," he finished in a tighter voice. Matt bristled.

"TK, as much as you might try to forget it, I'm still your brother—"

"Just drop it, okay? Give me Dad."

"Kari thinks you've forgiven her," Matt spat suddenly. He had decided to try and hide the Kari card, not to pull it out until things got serious, but Matt had forgotten to add his temper into the equation. "She went to your room and you guys had a heart-to-heart or whatever and now you just forgive her?" He snorted. "I doubt it. Highly."

"Don't," TK hissed, but Matt kept going.

"Like, what? You just collapse like that for? So easily? No. I don't think so. She might believe you but Kari is innocent and trustworthy and thinks the best of everybody, but I know you far better than she does. I know that you do, in fact, hold a serious grudge. So don't you dare try to lie to me about it, TK," Matt lectured, all in a relatively calm voice. He was proud of himself. A little. "Just tell me the truth. Do you really forgive her, or not?"

A heavy silence was his reply. He could hear breathing on the other end, so he knew TK hadn't hung up. But this was even worse than a screeched reply. "Of course I lied," TK told him stiffly. "I'll say anything to make Kari happy. Okay?"

Matt didn't understand. "I don't get it," he replied flatly.

"God, just forget it, okay? Let me talk to Dad."

"Why?"

"Because!" TK finally yelled, his first shout in the tense conversation. "Could you quit bugging me? Just forget it, I'll call later when you're not home!" And with that the phone was slammed down, and the line went dead.

Matt had finally gotten the answer he wanted. TK had lied. He liked Kari too much to tell the truth, or what? Matt stared at the phone in his hand, still holding that long, dead tone.

And then he wondered if Tai had done the same thing to him, and thought maybe nothing had been fixed after all.

Three days later Kari was standing in the hall when she saw TK at the other end, talking to some student as he slid books into his bag. She froze when she saw him. Okay, okay, it was okay. So what if he hadn't called her? She hadn't called him either. So what if he hadn't acknowledged her in school yet? That was okay. It would take time, obviously. Time, and effort, she decided. Things would work out. That's what she had been telling herself so far, and it seemed to be working.

Carefully she began to walk over, books hugged tightly to her chest. Where was Matt when she needed serious moral support? He had also been MIA the last few days, meeting up with her for a few minutes before and after classes. Giving her light, casual kisses as good-byes. She liked it too much to let it go. That's why she had to fix things.

"Hey TK!" she greeted suddenly from behind him. The boy she didn't know stared at her in a weird way, and it took TK a moment to turn around.

"Hey Kari," he replied with a little smile. Kari felt a shiver run down her spine. She shifted her position, not liking the frosty reception she'd received. Keep trying! She ordered herself.

"H—How're you?" she asked feebly. Stupid question to ask. God, she hated feeling so conceited.

"Good, I guess." He shrugged. "You?"

Every answer to that question seemed inappropriate. "Um—fine, thanks," she finally mumbled before changing topics. "What do you have right now?" She glanced up at his face: closed off. Oh.

"Nothing important. He closed the locker door rather loudly. "I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Um, oh, okay," Kari murmured, but when she finally got the courage to look at him again he was gone.

"Argh!" Kari muttered, stomping her foot rather childishly. "Stupid!"

"No you're not," whispered a voice from behind her. Kari jumped and turned to see Matt standing there with his messenger bag slung casually over his shoulder. "Aren't you the genius?"

"Um, right," she replied with a little giggle. For some reason, she didn't want to mention her encounter with TK. "Genius. That's me!"

"Hey," Matt said a second later, "wanna come over today?"

Kari's heart jumped in her chest, and she took a deep breath to steady it. "After school?"

Matt smirked. "When else for you?"

Kari smiled weakly. "Right, right. Okay. Okay." She smiled at him, excitement building up inside of her. Could she ever get tired of Matt? Get tired of knowing that he felt the same way about her? She didn't think so. "Sounds great!" And her enthusiasm was sincere. Mat caught that and grinned at her.

"Hey, so, how's Tai been acting?" he asked casually as the two began to walk slowly through the hallway traffic.

Kari shrugged. "The usual. Playing soccer, being mean, being gross. Why? Has he said anything mean to you? I thought you guys made up?" She tried to keep the anxiety out of her voice, but it didn't seem to work. Matt hesitated and then shook his head.

"No, nothing's up. He just… hasn't talked to me. That's all."

"Maybe you could call him or something," Kari advised, "or—there he is right now!" Matt jumped at her words, but it was too late to come up with an excuse to leave because he was right in front of them. The three had stopped, jamming the halls.

"Uh, hey," Matt greeted with a little choking noise. Tai stared at him funnily.

"You okay, dude?" he asked. "Kari, can't you even take care of him properly?" Tai joked, slapping Matt on the back a few times as if to dislodge whatever invisible thing was choking him.

Kari seemed just as taken aback by Tai's playful mood around the two of them. Together. "Uh, I guess not. Hehe…" She felt strange. Why was her brother acting like this? "You okay, Tai?"

"Peachy, friends, just peachy." He patted both of them on the shoulder, a small grin on his face. "Calm down! I can tell you're both super tense. I'm not about to attack either of you, all right? I'm cool with it!"

Matt's expression was strange. "Are you really? Because TK—" He stopped short, a horrified expression taking over his face. He turned to face Kari, his mouth opening to say something, but she beat him to it, her heart dropping.

"I thought—TK just told me—he was okay with it," she whispered.

Matt stared at her. Tai stared at Matt. "Dude, what the hell did you do?" His tone was no longer joking. Matt's eyes shot back to Tai. He didn't want Tai to hate him. No way.

"Kari… TK… I think he's still mad." Tai seemed to relax a bit, knowing that Matt hadn't cheated on Kari or something stupid.

Kari's shoulders dropped. "Oh." She tried to keep her mouth from wobbling, a sure sign she was about to cry. "Right. Of course."

Tai stared at her. "You okay, Kari?"

"Yea. I'm fine." She shrugged her shoulders. "Not much else I can do."

Tai pursed his lips and looked over at Matt. Matt knew that look in his eyes. "Kari… why don't you head off to class?" He held both her shoulders, forgetting about Tai for the moment. He leaned in closer to her. "We'll fix it, okay? I promise." His voice was so soft Kari could barely hear him, but she did. Nodding feebly, she toddled off to class, lost in her thoughts.

Matt turned back to Tai, seeing the strange expression on Tai's face. "What?" he asked warily. Tai let a little smile grace his face.

"I'm just glad… I mean, I thought you guys might only be…" He shrugged, smiled. "Just good to know."

Matt sighed. "Know what, Tai?" It was easy to fall back into this personality around his best friend. He knew he had been stupid to doubt Tai. If he were angry, he would say he was still angry. Tai was completely different than TK. And Matt was completely glad for it.

"Nothing, nothing," Tai said, but then his face grew serious. "I don't like that TK is causing Kari to freak out so much."

Matt only now realized the hall was empty; the bell had rung. But the two boys didn't move. "What, you're saying we should talk to him or something?" Matt smiled wryly. "Nice try, Tai. He won't even look at me. Last time he did—I basically forced him to—he said that…" Matt's brow creased in frustration. "He said he's lied to Kari, told her he forgave her, just so she wouldn't be nervous about it. But isn't that just as bad?"

Tai shrugged, frowning as well. "I dunno, man. TK seems like a complex guy."

"Unlike us?" Matt asked jokingly.

"Unlike me," Tai clarified. "I'm pretty easy to understand."

"Sometimes," grunted Matt, but Tai ignored him.

"I think we should try to talk to him."

"Kari'll get mad at us," Matt advised him, but he would probably follow Tai into doing anything stupid right now, if it kept his friend on his side. True, it was an uncomfortable situation, but you know. "She won't like it that we tried to intrude. She thinks it's between her and TK."

"What?!" Tai looked shocked. "You're obviously a part of it." Matt could hear the hint of resentment in his voice.

"I know, I know." Matt sighed. Maybe it was time he spoke to his brother seriously… without getting punched.

"And I'll be your moral support."

"Yea. Moral support." Matt had to smile. "Whatever you say." Even through all the anxiety, Matt could truthfully say it was good to have his best friend back, and to know he wasn't lying to him like TK seemed prone to do.

Matt was waiting for Kari outside of the school when Tai scampered up to him. "I saw TK coming behind him." He looked straight in Matt's eyes. "Think it's a good time?"

Matt shifted uneasily. "Well, Kari's on her way…"

"It'll be quick. I'll just show him that he's being a stupid idiot, and we'll move right along with our lives!"

Matt sighed. "TK's a bit more stubborn."

"Oh, shut up, you agreed to this," Tai told him sternly, and Matt was just about to agree that yes, he had, when TK's body walked quickly past them.

"Wha—hey! TK!" Tai cried, and the boy froze in his tracks. Turned around.

"Yes?" he asked politely. Matt surveyed his brother with cool eyes. TK hadn't noticed him yet, but when his gaze fell on his brother his smile dropped.

"How're you, Teeks?" Tai asked, using the old pet name. Maybe to make him feel comfortable. Or maybe Tai just didn't think about those things. He stepped closer to TK, and Matt followed meekly behind. Who knew he would be acting like one day? He tried to stand taller.

"I'm fine."

"Oh good. Funny," Tai replied with a smile, but it fell flat at his last word, "my sister isn't in the same position." His tone was serious now, and Matt remembered that this was the Tai he never wanted to get on the wrong side of.

TK's eyes slid over to Matt. "She should be fine."

"Don't you get it, TK?" Matt finally yelled, his last thread of patience snapping in an instant. "You are worrying her! You always will be! I'm getting so sick of it!"

"Then do something about it," TK replied softly, and that was when Tai took two steps closer so he was right in front of TK.

"We are, Teeks. I'm Kari's brother. I care about her a lot. Maybe more than the two of you idiots combined," Tai said loudly. Quickly he turned to Matt. "No offence."

Matt shrugged. "Well, it's a little bit offensi—"

"Just listen, TK," Tai said, turning back around. "I suppose you thought you were being all noble and crap when you forgave Kari but not really or whatever it was you did, but either you do or you don't. I don't want you lying to my sister—either of you, just to clarify."

"I didn't!" Matt cried, shocked.

"Okay, good, just checking." Tai still hadn't looked away from TK. TK looked a little uncomfortable, and Matt wished he wasn't so confused with the situation or he'd be stepping in too.

"Either way, TK, I want you and Kari to talk."

"No," TK said flatly. "I'll be nice to her. That should be enough."

"It won't be," Tai told him through gritted teeth.

"What I did was fine! She was happy! But stupid Matt over here went and blabbed, didn't he?" TK yelled suddenly.

"Hey!" Matt snapped angrily. "I don't lie to my girlfriend, thanks!"

"Oh, your girlfriend?" TK's face cooled to ice. "That's nice."

"Yea, I didn't know that was the status," Tai agreed, but in a much nicer tone. Matt shrugged.

"Well, it is. I think."

"Okay. Right. Anyway." Tai turned back to TK. "Basically, this is our warning. I don't want to hate you, TK. I love you. You're a great kid, you always have been. You stuck with all of us through lots of stuff, and you were always the perfect friend for Kari. Yes, she's made a different choice in matters of—er—relationships, but isn't her constant anxiety over you proof enough that she still cares about you? TK, she can't just forget you. She can't just pretend you don't exist. You still mean a lot to her." Tai was so solemn that Matt felt out of place. When had his friend ever acted like this? Been so… he didn't know… emotional? "Got it?"

TK stared at him. His face was unreadable. "… Yea. I got it."

Tai smiled. "Good." And he slapped TK maybe a little too hard on the back. "I like it when we men talk. We understand each other, you know?"

Matt watched TK carefully. "… TK," he began hopefully. Had Tai opened his eyes?

"What're you doing?!" cried a voice from behind them, so sudden and so high-pitched all three boys jumped. Several students still standing idly around glanced nervously in their direction.

"Oh, crap," Matt and Tai muttered at the same time. TK let out a small wave.

"Hey, Kari…"

She stared at all three of them, appalled. Matt knew she was smart. In a second she would have it figured out. And she did.

"Are you discussing me without myself being present?" she asked in a purely shocked voice, no anger. Yet. She felt a strange nervous feeling plucking at her organs. Since when did Tai and Matt team up for her? "I can handle it myself, you guys!" she told them angrily, striding up.

"Perhaps, not," Tai told her smugly, patting TK's shoulder several times. "We just had a manly man-to-man talk .We understand each other now." Kari saw the flat—somewhat painful—expression on TK's face and knew they didn't understand each other at all. Tai was just being stupid.

"Tai!" she said, shocked. "You know I hate it when you do this sort of stuff!" She turned to Matt. "And I have no idea what you were thinking—"

"I told him you'd be mad!" Matt cried in defence, holding both hands up innocently. "But you know… I just… we just—" He shrugged helplessly. Kari understood. She knew that Tai had just forgiven Matt; Matt wanted to keep their friendship, blah blah. But that didn't give them a right to try and solve her problems for her!

"Tai, what are you even doing here? Out of everyone you should be the last one here!" she shouted, the strange anger in her only ever seeming to show up when Tai was around.

"Hey!" he yelled with a pouting expression. He crossed his arms. "I'm Matt's moral support."

"He didn't say much," TK muttered, and his voice was the last thing Kari needed to hear. She stepped up to him, hands on her hips, frustrated, angry, wishing things could just be normal and that she didn't have to fight so hard just to be happy!

"You don't think I'm not sick of you either?" she muttered. TK looked shocked, eyes wide. "Yea, that's right, Matt told me about what you said to him. Yes, I get that you lied to me. Yes, I get that you thought you were 'helping' me or something." Kari shrugged. "I'm still confused by it. I'm still hurt. And yes, I get that I screwed up and you have a right to be angry with me. But don't you dare lie to me," she hissed, feeling powerful and scared all at the same time. Why was she doing this? What would he say?

"Okay?" she yelled finally, stepping back to face all three of them. "You guys know me. You should, anyway." She felt her shoulders fall suddenly; all of her angry gusto was gone so quickly, so fast. "Just… don't do this sort of stuff, okay? As hard as it is for you guys to get it, I can handle myself." She stalked past them. Matt hesitated as she walked by.

"So… are you still coming over?" he asked, trying to be quiet but knowing that Tai and TK heard anyway.

Kari was appalled. "No!" she told him loudly. "Not till you realize how ridiculous you were all being!" And then she walked away, leaving her sudden lecture burning in the boys' ears.

"That was sudden," Tai muttered. "Geez. Not fair my little sister gets to yell at me."

"We are being stupid," Matt conceded, feeling horrible. They had been acting sort of like they were her heroes. Maybe that sort of stuff only happened in the Digiworld.

"That's right. You guys are jerks." TK smiled stiffly.

"She yelled at you too," Tai accused quietly. TK's smile grew wider, and Matt knew he was just trying to hide his anger.

"I just don't understand her," he said through the grin, but after he spoke his smile turned into a frown. "I really… don't."

It was the calmest Matt had seen TK since… well… forever. He wanted to hug him. To pat him on the back. To agree with him. For them to share some sort of bonding moment. But instead he just shrugged.

"… Yea," he finally muttered, digging his hands into his pockets and feeling more like a stranger than ever around his brother.

There was a light knock on Kari's door. She was sitting at her desk, busily scribbling down her chemistry homework. "Mm," she grunted non-commitedly, knowing it was most likely her mom or dad asking how her day was, or Tai coming in to confront her on her freak out. But honestly! They had been acting like… like complete strangers. Yes, it was nice to see Tai and Matt taking the same side, but for some reason it had bothered her more than it had been pleasant to see.

The door squeaked open. "… Kari?"

She sighed heavily. She had been half-expecting that voice, but didn't want to hear it all the same. "Can't you just give me at least two hours of quiet fuming?" she asked, but it was almost impossible to stay angry with Matt. She looked up to see him standing awkwardly in the doorway, half-in, half-out. His eyes darted around the room anxiously. "Well, come in if you're going to talk to me," she ordered. He nodded and stepped inside, closing the door softly behind him.

"Your parents are home," he whispered conspiratorially, like they were in some sort of secret spy base or something.

"Yes, Matt, they live here too." Kari shrugged and turned back to try and finish the reaction that was half-written in her notebook, but she noticed her hand was trembling. She set her pencil firmly down on the paper before spinning her chair around to face Matt, who had taken a seat precariously on the very edge of her bed.

"What's wrong?" she asked suddenly, unable to keep the haughty façade on for much longer. He looked too scared.

"Uh, nothing," he mumbled, fumbling with his fingers. He looked down at the floor before looking up at her. She couldn't help but notice how perfectly windswept his hair always seemed to look. "Um, okay, really, I want to… apologize."

Kari leaned forward, keeping her face smooth. "I'm listening," she replied politely. Matt gave her a funny look before continuing in his odd, quiet voice.

"I was just… I dunno, glad to have Tai finally back with me. You know? And I thought maybe if Tai was with me, TK would finally talk to me, and things might get solved… or better… I don't get it." He ran a hand through his hair, still looking at the ground. "And I thought we could talk to him before you came—you know, just a quiet little chat, but it sort of… took too long."

Kari sighed into the silence, fiddling with a stray piece of her hair. She'd tied it up in a little ponytail earlier when she had started her homework, but it was starting to slowly come loose. "You already know I was mad."

"… Yea."

"I mean, you could've at least told me." She stared at him, at his avoiding eyes. "Then we could've gone in as a—a team, or something."

Matt blinked. Looked up at her. "What?" he asked sluggishly.

Kari let a little smile flutter across her lips. She took one step to sit on the bed beside Matt, taking one of his hands and inspecting it quietly while she spoke. "I think the times of me trying to handle TK on my own are long past." His fingertips were callused… probably from guitar. "I would've liked to be there with you guys, you know. I mean, I want to fix things as much as you guys—if not more—but I'm so tired of trying to deal with him alone." She leaned her head against his shoulder, closing her eyes briefly. "I think I'm just… tired."

"You're not feeling sick, are you?" Matt asked in a slightly panicked voice. Kari smiled.

"I don't think so. A few more headaches than normal, but that's to be expected from over thinking."

Matt's fingers finally wrapped around Kari's hand. "So you're not gonna kill me?"

She giggled. "If I was, you'd know by now." Kari snuggled closer. "It's time you know: Kari admits defeat. She wants help. She can't do this on her own. Happy?" It was hard to say it, but at the same time it flowed out so easily. Difficult to admit she wanted help, but such a relief to finally understand that this wasn't just her problem.

"As long as you are," Matt murmured, and wrapped an arm around her to give her a light hug.

"I think I am." Kari nodded, eyes still closed, just listening to Matt's close breathing, knowing that things at the moment were nice. That was all she needed. A nice moment.

And in an instant it was ruined by Tai smashing the door open, breathing heavily, looking exhausted, but not at all bothered by Matt and Kari's embrace. All the same she sat up straight, disentangling herself from him. "Tai?" the two of them asked at the same time.

He gave them one word, a nervous look in his eyes. "Trouble." His eyes turned to Matt. "I think it's about time you had your turn."