Too Young

Chapter the Third

She had fought it valiantly. Used everything available to her to prevent it from happening. She spent hours doing the homework for the week she missed school. She looked over her notes for every subject three times. She watched several of those immensely dull discovery channel specials. (One was on the history of cement.) She even cleaned the living room and kitchen which needed a good scrubbing very badly.

But, despite all her efforts, Monday morning could not be held back.

Hikari tried to ignore it. She pretended that her alarm didn't go off. Unfortunately, she had to get up. Whether she wanted to or not, she had to go to school. She had to start acting like everything was back to normal.

She didn't know how to go back to being her old self. She felt like a completely different person. But she couldn't be a different person. Not if she wanted to keep her secret safe.

Hikari only had one class with Takeru and Daisuke in the morning. Normally the three of them sat in the front left corner. Often they were chastised for passing notes or whispering quietly to each other. She didn't know what she could say to them, what to write in a note and pass along. Luckily there was a test in that class and Hikari was able to sneak off to the back of the room.

The moment of truth didn't come until lunch. Hikari walked apprehensively towards the table they always shared. She had spent the morning talking herself up, preparing herself. Miyako, Takeru, and Daisuke were already sitting. Hikari stopped just short of the table, not knowing what to do.

"So has your PMS bitch-fest finally ended?" Miyako asked as she slid over to let Hikari sit.

Hikari smiled apologetically. She didn't want to be reminded of her approaching monthly problem. It was due to come within the next day or so and she was not looking forward to it. "Uh, yes. I'm sorry about…about my bitch-fest."

"I wouldn't say you were bitchy," Takeru interjected from the opposite side of the table, "just antisocial."

"What was up with you?" Miyako asked.

Hikari sat with her mouth open, unable to speak. What could she say to explain her behavior?

"Come on guys, it's Hikari's business. If she doesn't want to talk about it to us, then she doesn't have to."

Everyone looked at Daisuke. It was unusually sensitive of him to tell others not to pry. He was the nosiest person practically ever. Hikari could have kissed him she was so grateful. "I just had some…stuff going on. I needed some time alone to work it out." There. She had answered. Sort of.

"Is everything okay?" Miyako asked. "I mean, have you taken care of your 'stuff'?"

Hikari nodded. "I really am sorry though. I didn't handle myself so well."

Takeru couldn't help but agree. "Skipping school for a week probably wasn't the smartest decision you've ever made."

And that was that. All three of them had forgiven Hikari and though they wanted to, they weren't going to ask what had happened. Now she only had to figure out how to get herself to stop focusing on it.

"Who are you texting?" Daisuke asked Miyako, watching her stick her hands in her purse every few minutes so that no teacher could see her using her cell phone.

"Ken."

"Oh, I should have known. How is your boything? I haven't seen him in a few weeks."

"He's been acting funny. I don't know what's up with him, but the past couple weeks we've barely hung out. He won't let me come over." Miyako glanced over to Hikari with sudden intensity. "Is your weirdness related to his weirdness? Have you two fallen for each other and keeping it from me? Have you been running off to be with him? Oh imagine it!" she cried dramatically, arms in the air, "my best friend and my boy…thing."

"No," Hikari said simply.

Takeru and Daisuke were looking at Miyako with confusion on their faces. She sighed. "Iori was right; I really am not funny."

"Don't worry about it, that's why you have me," Daisuke explained.

"Oh, that reminds me! I have great news. I spoke to Mimi over the weekend. She's going to study abroad for a year. She's coming here!"

"That's great, Miya, but how does my being available to provide humor for your enjoyment make you remember to tell us that?"

"It didn't," Miyako answered with a smile. "I always try to block you out when I expect something stupid to come out of your mouth. Mimi was just what came into my mind at the time. But let me tell you the best part. She's staying with me!"

Hikari half-listened as Daisuke and Miyako argued over the comment Miya had made. She could feel Takeru's eyes on her, forcing her to focus on the packaged silverware she had grabbed for the lunch she wasn't going to eat.

Still, Mimi spending a year here was exciting news. Hikari wasn't totally incapable of positive feelings. She decided to be brave and look up at Takeru, finding his bright blue eyes fixed on her.

"I'm sure Sora will be thrilled," Hikari said, unable to come up with anything else to say.

Takeru nodded. "Yamato too. I remember when he had the biggest crush on her. It was around the time we got back from the Digital World. I used to tease him about it."

It was a small one, but for a second Hikari had a feeling that maybe she could get on with her life after all. Takeru was always good at smoothing out tense moments.

Lunch went by at a fairly reasonable rate. Hikari mostly observed the conversation without participating in it. At the end of the period Miyako and Hikari headed off together to class. Miyako was incredibly skilled at carrying on a conversation without any input from a second party. She told Hikari all about Ken's strange behavior and what she thought it could be from.

It was more difficult to concentrate in class than with her friends. She tried, really she did, but she would look around and wonder if she was really fooling anyone. Could they see that she wasn't the same person that had sat in that very seat only two weeks ago?

Hikari felt sick. She felt as though her heart was jumping into her throat. She leaned back in her chair and breathed deeply. Closing her eyes tightly she forced the thoughts in her head out of her attention. It was irrational—and very counterproductive to her attempts at normalcy—to wonder what sort of perceptive capabilities her classmates possessed.

Luckily, the rest of the day passed without anything of interest occurring. Hikari spent most of her time staring blankly at the front board, taking very few notes and retaining absolutely none of the information.

She found Takeru waiting next to her locker after she finished her final class. "Hey, Hikari, can I walk you home?"

A small smile managed to make its way on Hikari's lips. She opened her locker and blindly grabbed for her books. She didn't remember what classes had book assignments and she had no desire to open her agenda to check. After a few seconds of pointless deliberation she grabbed the two books on top.

Hikari turned to Takeru to say she was ready, but she was distracted by several loud voices. Takeru, who was leaning lazily against the locker next to Hikari's, tilted his head back to see what was going on.

It was Daisuke and the rest of the football team. One was using Daisuke's shoulders to push himself off the ground and land in front of the maroon haired boy. It seemed they were making fun of him, the way they were swarming around him and laughing.

"Did you call your mommy and tell her that you went potty all by yourself today?"

"Oh, won't she be so proud? Little Daisuke is such a big boy!"

"Screw you guys. You're all assholes. I don't know why I put up with you." Daisuke shrugged off one of the guy's arms off his shoulder and went to open his locker.

"What's going on?" Takeru asked.

One of the guys, a short, black haired junior that Hikari did not know the name of turned and smiled at them maliciously. "We're just having some fun at Daisuke's expense."

Hikari heard a few choice words being muttered under Daisuke's breath.

"You see, we like to get together and let loose every once and a while," the junior continued.

"But Daisuke got looser than he could handle," added a second.

"It was the damn rum. Tastes too good," a third added in.

"Daisuke couldn't hold his liquor, but like an intoxicated idiot, he chose to go home."

"He threw up all over the kitchen floor."

"And now Mommy won't let Daisuke do anything. It's school, practice, and straight home." The junior gave Daisuke a pat on the back as he walked by. "It would be wrong if we didn't grill him for it."

"Whatever," Daisuke growled. "Don't you think I've suffered enough? She came into my room the next morning banging two pots together. And I can't do anything for the rest of the month. Lay off."

Hikari gave Daisuke a sympathetic half smile. She wasn't sure that she approved of him drinking, but she felt bad nonetheless.

"Come on, Hikari," Takeru said, putting a hand on her back as he moved forward. "See you tomorrow Daisuke."

"Yeah, see you."

"By Dai," Hikari added over her shoulder.

Feeling bad for Daisuke was enough to distract her all the way home. She and Takeru almost had a normal conversation while walking to her apartment. Between discussing Daisuke and being caught up on what she missed the previous week, she was able to feel a little like her old self for a while.

When Hikari was back in the apartment all she wanted to do was take a long shower. She set her bag and coat in her room and headed towards the bathroom. The door was closed. "Taichi?" she said, knocking.

The door opened abruptly. It wasn't Taichi. Yamato was standing with his hand on the doorknob. There was a towel wrapped around his waist. There were little drops of water spread across his chest and stomach, and water dripping from his hair.

Hikari had no idea Yamato had the kind of body she was seeing now. His abs were clearly divided into six sections. She saw for the first time that his body was very toned. Not that the state of Yamato's torso had ever crossed her mind, it still did surprise her that she had been unaware of it.

She looked up at Yamato feeling very awkward. He was standing calmly, smirking at her. "Why are you in my shower?" she questioned.

"Well, it all comes down to the fact that your brother is an idiot. I gave him a ride home today and his way of repaying my kindness was to spray shaving cream in my hair."

Hikari couldn't keep eye contact. She was too embarrassed. "Oh," was all she could think of to say. "I'm just going to go back to my room, then." She quickly took a step towards her room. There was too much boy there for her to handle, given the circumstances.

"Hey Hikari," Yamato said before she could get away, "you don't have to feel bad about checking me out."

Hikari scoffed and glared at him. "Oh, please; get over yourself."

The satisfied smirk was still on Yamato's face, even as she stalked off to her room and out of sight.

Sora heaved a heavy sigh. She was lying on her stomach on her bed, looking at an old photo album. She had put it together a couple of summers ago. Sora and Yamato was written carefully in marker on the front.

The front ones were from before they were teenagers, when she still wore that ridiculous helmet hat. The majority were taken with other members of their group in the photos as well. Slowly they shifted to them with family members, as Yamato had started going with Sora to all her family's gatherings. Further into the album, the pictures were mostly of just the two of them, smiling happily at the camera. Many were of the two of them kissing or hugging, or of her wrapped up in his arms.

There was a knock on the door.

Sora bolted up and stuffed the album under her pillow. "Come in."

Yamato's frame became clear as he slowly opened the door.

"I didn't think you'd come," she said, clearly very happy.

"Yeah, well, you said this was important," he answered.

"Come sit down."

Yamato hesitated, crossed his arms, and hesitated some more before taking a seat at the edge of the bed. "Well, go ahead then."

Sora bit her lip as she tried to concentrate her thoughts. There was so much she wanted to say, to make him understand. "I…miss you," she whispered.

Yamato snorted. "That's probably something you should have considered a little earlier."

"I didn't mean for it to happen!" Sora said, raising her voice. "It's just you were gone for three weeks and Ryouki and I were hanging out and one day he kissed me. I wanted to tell you! To talk to you; I wanted to figure out—."

"Which of us you wanted to be with?"

She had no words to respond to that. Truth was she wanted to be with both of them. She liked them both for different reasons. Yamato was so cool and smart and thoughtful. But Ryouki was so daring and spontaneous and dangerous.

"How long was it after you first kissed until you slept together? I was only gone for three weeks, like you said, so it couldn't have been for that long."

Yamato's words were like daggers. She didn't want to answer that. "I…we…it happened a few days later. I went to talk to him about the kiss. I told him I was going to tell you and that I didn't think we should hang out until I'd straightened things out with you."

Forcing down the words that wanted to come out, Yamato instead rubbed his hands roughly against his face. "I don't know what to tell you Sora. I don't forgive you for what you did. I'm not going to try just to make you feel better about yourself."

"Yamato, please…"

"Damn it Sora! Three years! We were together for three years and you cheated on me when I went to visit my grandparents for three weeks. I loved you! I would have done anything for you! I would have let you go if Ryouki would make you happier!" His face grew hot as he spoke and each statement came out a little louder, though he felt his words were barely whispered.

"Yamato," she said, inching closer to him, "I never wanted to hurt you. I loved you too. I still do."

She leaned in and before Yamato knew what was happening, he could taste her chapstick. She pressed her lips firmly against his, like she used to when they were together.

Yamato didn't know how long it took him to break away. It was only a few seconds, but the argument that took place in his head seemed to go on much longer. There was a part of him that still wanted to be with her, that wanted their kiss to go on forever. Another part of his processed the fact that Sora was cheating on the guy she had cheated on him with.

But his better judgment did prevail, and as he broke away he jumped to his feet. "What are you doing?" he demanded.

Sora looked half shocked as she looked up at him. "I don't know…I'm sorry. I shouldn't have—,"

Yamato shook his head and turned away from her. As he walked to the door he could feel himself shaking. He wasn't sure exactly what he was feeling but he knew it was overwhelming him.

The door slammed shut while Sora sat on her bed, wondering what she had just done.