Summary: It's TK and Kari's senior year in high school and they take a surprise Thanksgiving trip to America where things get super complicated. It doesn't look good for TK and Kari's relationship when Kari decides to move back to America and have nothing to do with TK. Can their relationship survive the test of time or will Kari's stubbornness keep them apart forever?

Hard to Love You
'Say Something'
(don't own A Great Big World either)

TK walked up the stairs to Kari's apartment. They flew back to Japan a day early and he wanted to talk to her before they went back to school the next day. He would have taken the elevator up to the fourth floor of her apartment but he needed some extra time to think about what he wanted to say to her. When he got to her door, he paced in circles gathering up the courage to knock on the door. TK literally jumped when the door suddenly opened.

"Oh TK! Thank God you're here!" Karen exclaimed and pulled him into the apartment. TK could see Kari's suitcases, still packed and sitting in the corner of their dining room. He looked around the apartment looking for Kari but didn't see her.

"I'm so glad you're here!" Karen said, "I think there is something wrong with Kari!"

"What's wrong?" TK asked deeply concerned.

"I don't know! Ever since she got home last night, she hasn't left her room. I can't get her to come out and eat. All she does is cry and I can't get her to tell me what's wrong!" Karen explained, "but now that you're here, maybe you can get her to come out."

"I'll see what I can do," TK replied and walked towards her room.

"Did something happen while you guys were in America?" Karen asked curiously.

"No," lied TK. He was shocked Kari hadn't told her mom what happened yet. Slowly, TK walked towards Kari's room and knocked on the door. When she didn't answer, TK knocked again but she still wouldn't open the door. "Kari. It's me, TK! Please open the door. We are worried about you!"

A few seconds later Kari opened the door. She was in sweatpants and an over-sized sweatshirt. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she wasn't wearing any make up. TK couldn't help but notice she still looked beautiful, even without any make up on. Kari walked back to her bed and crawled back under the covers. She continued to watch her favorite movie, Tangled, as if TK wasn't even there. Gatomon, who was laying on the bed beside her, got up and left to respect their privacy.

"Kari, can we talk about the trip?" TK asked. Kari paused the movie and turned towards TK. "I'm so incredibly sorry for hurting you. I hope you know I would never want to intentionally hit you, ever. I love you Kari, more than you'll ever know. And I really hope you and I can get through this together."

TK walked towards Kari and kneeled down in front of her, reaching for her hands, he held them within his. "I don't like this tension between us and I just want things to go back to normal. If I could go back in time and change all of this, I would, in a heartbeat. Please Kari, please forgive me?" TK stopped and waited for her to reply. "Please say something, anything?"

"You don't know how incredibly painful this is for me." Kari finally replied. It was the first time she had spoken to him directly since the airport incident. "I'm so scared TK. I'm scared of you. Every time I see your face, I get this horrible slow motion flashback from when you hit me. And I hate it and I hate you. I hate you for starting that stupid fight in the first place! And I'm so confused right now. My head just keeps spinning and I just don't know what to do."

"Kari, I'm so sorry" TK apologized for the millionth time. He sat down beside her on her bed but she scooted away from him.

"I think its best if we break up," said Kari quietly, she couldn't bare to look at his face.

"What?!" He exclaimed. TK was shocked. "Kari, no! We can work through this. Don't give up on us so easily!"

"I'm so sorry TK, but I don't think I can right now," replied Kari.

"I love you Kari! There is no one else I'd rather be with! You're the only person I truly love! You're the only person I want to be with! Please Kari, don't do this!" TK begged.

"I'm so sorry TK, I really am," said Kari sadly, almost breaking into tears. "I think you should go."

TK sat on her bed a few seconds longer, starring into her fearful and tearful eyes. He got up and walked towards the door. He looked back at her one last time, hoping she'd change her mind but she didn't. Karen waited outside the door, but TK couldn't even look her in the eyes as he walked by. He left their apartment and walked aimlessly back home. TK rushed into his room and laid down on his bed to think.

He had a million things going through his mind. From the corner of his eye, TK could see the little black box sitting on his night stand. TK turned onto his side and reached for the box. Slowly, he opened it up to see the pink, heart-shaped diamond engagement ring he had bought for Kari. It was Kari's dream engagement ring that she had told him about two years ago. TK quickly closed the box and threw it against the wall. He turned onto his other side and began to cry.

Kari woke up the next day and felt relieved. She didn't want to break up with TK but now she was certain it was the right thing to do. She walked to school alone. Although she knew it was going to be a tough break up, Kari wanted their break up to go as smoothly and pain free as possible. Kari wanted their break up to be quiet and undramatic and she had a strong feeling that TK would want the same thing. She figured if she avoided TK, it would help the break up process.

By lunchtime, Kari had heard every rumor of their break up. She didn't know how the entire school knew when she had only broken up with TK fifteen hours earlier. As she walked over to an empty lunch table, she couldn't help but over hear Jessica Garcia spreading another nasty rumor about her and TK.

"Well I heard Kari slept with one of the drivers and TK walked in on them!" Jessica told her entourage of snobby, popular girls. "That's why TK dumped her!"

Kari was sick of all the rumors and had enough of them. She slammed her lunch tray on Jessica's table and let her, and the entire school, have it.

"I am so sick of all the rumors!" Kari yelled as loud as she could. The cafeteria immediately quieted down. "No, I did not sleep with any drivers! I did not hook up with any famous celebrity! TK did not cheat on me with a trophy girl! I speak for both of us when I say we are sick of all the rumors! I do not know how they all got started but we would appreciate it if you would all stop spreading them!"

Kari let out a loud groan and stormed out of the cafeteria just as TK walked in. He was confused as he saw everyone starring at him. When TK finished walking through the lunch line, Jessica begged him to sit by her.

"Oh TK, I'm so sorry to hear about your break up," said Jessica sympathetically. "If there is anything, anything I can do, just let me know. Ok?"

"Umm...Ok?" TK replied, confused by her suddenly nice behavior towards him.

"Would you like to go to a movie with me?" Jessica asked, "you know, to get your mind off of things?"

Normally, TK would have immediately said no. But now, things were different. All he could think about was Kari and how he wanted to do was stop thinking about her. He hadn't given up on her but he was starting to lose hope. "Yeah, that sounds great."

Kari had never felt so alone. TK was her best friend and they had done almost everything together. Now she did everything she could to avoid him. Davis, Jake and Cody were some of her closest friends, but yet she still couldn't talk to them either. Kari had many friends but felt like she didn't have any other close friends in school. She tried talking to Gatomon, but Gatomon just couldn't relate to her. Kari wished Yolie and Ken were still in high school. She knew Yolie would be here, helping her through this tough time.

Each day that passed, Kari grew tired of all the extra attention and sympathy. Guys were constantly trying to talk to her, cheer her up and sometimes asked her out. All she wanted to was to be left alone. She decided to quit cheerleading and handed the captain position over to Jessica. Kari also quit every extracurricular activity she was involved in. All Kari wanted to do was hide under the covers in her nice, warm bed.

As months passed by, Kari heard all the rumors about TK and Jessica. It hurt her to see him move on so quickly, however she would never answer her phone when he called or reply to any of his text messages. TK occasionally bought her flowers but she would just throw them away. She didn't know why she still loved him but yet she still hated him so much. When her grandmother passed away in the middle of January, TK came to the funeral to support her. As much as she really wanted his support, she didn't want him there at all.

When Nascar started again in February, TK would text her to come over and watch the race with him but she never did. She hated Nascar now too. She truly believed Nascar ruined her life. If she would have never gotten involved in Nascar, she would have never met Brian, she wouldn't have gone to America for Thanksgiving, and her and TK would still be happily together. Kari avoided all contact with her driver friends. She got a new e-mail address and a new phone number just so they would leave her alone. Some how, they always managed to get back in contact with her.

As graduation neared, Kari finally figured out what she wanted to do with her life after high school. She decided to move back to Charlotte and go to college to be a teacher. Kari wanted to get out of Japan as soon as possible. She wanted nothing to do with her old life. She wanted to start over, which meant leaving her friends, her family, and her past behind her.

"Woohoo! I can't believe I am officially and finally done with high school!" Davis exclaimed as he walked with his diploma in hand from Odiaba High School. He walked with TK, Jake, Ken, Yolie and Cody to Yolie's family convenience store where there were going to have a little graduation celebration.

"This is summer is going to be the best summer ever!" Jake replied, taking off his cap and itching to get out of his black robe.

"You guys are going to love college! It is ten times better than high school!" Yolie said to the graduates.

"TK, cheer up!" Ken said as he saw TK's gloomy face, "you just graduated."

"I'm sorry guys." TK apologized, "I'm just out of it I guess."

"He caught Jessica cheating on him last night with another guy," Jake whispered to Davis, Ken, Yolie and Cody.

"Oh TK, I'm so sorry!" Yolie gave him a sympathetic hug.

"Thanks Yolie," said TK and gave her a fake smile.

"Hey, is that Kari?" Yolie asked, looking over TK's shoulder.

The small group all looked behind to see Kari walking behind them. She had already changed out her cap and gown and was now wearing a bright pink sundress. She was preoccupied with her hair to notice where she was walking or who she was unintentionally following.

"Kari!" Yolie exclaimed and ran towards her, "I looked all over the gym for you! Congrats on graduating!"

"Oh," Kari replied shocked by Yolie's sudden bear hug. "Thanks Yolie."

Yolie led her towards the boys that waited for them to catch up. Yolie knew TK and Kari had broken up but was just as clueless as everyone else as to why they had. Kari immediately starting to feel uncomfortable standing only a few feet from TK.

"So Kari, where are you going to college?" Ken asked her curiously.

"The University of North Carolina," Kari calming answered.

"In America?" Jake and Davis both exclaimed, just as shocked as everyone else. Kari had kept her college plans a secret and hadn't told anyone other than her immediate family.

"Yeah. I'm going to major in elementary education," explained Kari.

"But why America?" Cody asked, "why don't you just stay here in Japan?"

"I guess I really don't know," Kari answered.

"Well, when are you leaving?" Davis asked curiously.

"Next month," answered Kari, trying her best to stay calm.

"But college doesn't start until August," replied Jake.

"Yeah, I know," said Kari. "But I gotta go. Mom and Dad are having a small party for my graduation and I'm running late. See ya." They stood there as they watched Kari walk away from them. For some of them, it would be the last time they would see Kari Kamiya before she moved.

"We were suppose to go to college together," TK mumbled to himself, trying to keep the tears out of his eyes.

"It's like she's running away from her problems," said Cody.

"Ugh...That girl is so stubborn! She's almost as bullheaded as Davis!" Yolie complained, "she needs to face her problems instead of running away from them."