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
'What I Want'
(don't own Daughtry either)
TK hailed the first taxi he saw and rushed over to Kari's hotel. Only celebrities and extremely rich people stayed at the Hilton. TK didn't know many tourists who stayed there just to stay there. When the taximeter reached fifty dollars, TK told the cab driver to pull over. He paid the man and ran the rest of the way to the hotel. When he got to Kari's hotel, he waited outside before he went in. TK didn't want to enter the hotel tired and sweaty from running ten city blocks. When TK's heart rate and breathing steadied, he casually walked into the hotel and up to the front desk.
"Can you please tell me which hotel room Kari Kamiya is staying in?" TK politely asked.
"I am sorry sir. We cannot give that information out," the man behind the desk explained.
"I am her fiancé," TK lied.
"You're Brian Vickers?" The desk clerk asked in disbelief, "ca ca ca can I have an autograph?"
"Yeah sure," TK casually replied and the desk clerk frantically searched for a blank piece of paper for him to sign. When the clerk found one, TK casually signed it as if he had done this a million times before.
"Thank you sir! Your fiancée is in suite number 1024, on the top floor," the desk clerk informed him.
"Thank you," said TK and started walking over to the elevator.
"No, thank you!" The desk clerk called out but TK was already in the elevator.
TK was greeted by the elevator operator standing in the corner. He kindly told the elevator operator he was going to the top floor and the middle aged man in uniform pressed the button for him. It was the longest elevator ride TK had ever been on. The gold plated doors opened when they reached the top floor. TK started looking for suite 1024 but he didn't have to look hard. He could hear someone loudly crying down the hallway and TK followed the loud sobs until he reached suite 1024. TK pressed his ear to her door. He could hear Kari talking to someone inside.
Kari had dialed Brian's number for the third time since she got back to the hotel. It was early morning in America and she figured Brian was still probably sleeping on his flight here. It was the third voicemail she had left him.
"Oh Brian, it was horrible! Sora tricked me into going to this stupid thing and all I wanna do is go home! I knew I should have stayed home with ya! I hope ya get here soon. I really need to talk to ya and I really miss ya!" Kari cried into her phone. She was crying so hard, Brian probably wouldn't be able to understand a word she was saying. "Please, just get here as soon as possible!"
Kari ended the call and cried some more in the darkness of her hotel suite. She was full of different emotions. She was extremely upset with Sora for tricking her into coming to the stupid all school reunion. She was pissed at TK for grabbing her like he did and for trying to kiss her. And she was upset with herself for the way she acted towards the digidestin too.
As she laid on her bed, she randomly looked over at the door and saw the hallway light coming from the small gap underneath was blocked. Was Brian here already? She suddenly became excited when she heard a knock on the door. Kari dried her tears and rushed over to open the door only be disappointed and upset all over again.
"Hey Kari," TK greeted her. He could see she had been crying.
"How did ya know I was staying here?" Kari angrily asked him, "are ya stalking me?"
"No, no, no! Sora told me you were staying here!" TK explained to her. He gazed down at her hand to see the giant diamond ring glisten in the dim hallway light. He couldn't believe he didn't notice it at the reunion. It made the engagement ring he intended to give Kari ten years ago look pathetic and cheap, although he knew it wasn't cheap at all.
"So what do ya want?" Kari asked as she crossed her arms. TK could even see the anger in her eyes. "Ya want to try to drunkenly kiss me again?"
"No. I'm here to apologize for the way I acted. It was unacceptable and I am sorry," he said sincerely. "I know I was drunk but I really meant it when I said I loved you."
"And I really meant it when I said I don't love ya," replied Kari. "I think ya should go."
"No Kari! Can we please talk about this?" TK begged her.
"I don't wanna talk about this." Kari sternly said as she began to close the door but TK quickly stuck his foot between the door and the door frame before she could close it.
"Kari, can't we just talk like two mature adults?" TK asked as he pushed the door open again.
"No! Now leave!" Kari yelled back at him and pointed towards the elevator. Two hotel security guards patrolling the floor could hear the yelling. They quickly rushed to Kari's suite to see if she was alright.
"Is everything ok here?" The shorter, younger security guard asked Kari.
"No, this man won't leave me alone!" Kari angrily told the security guards.
"No, no, no, I know her! We went to high school together and dated for three years!" TK quickly explained to the security guards.
"Sure you did. Lets go buster," the taller, older security guard said as they began to escort TK out of the hotel.
TK looked back at Kari to see her sad and embarrassed face. She wouldn't even look at him as the guards took him away. He could tell she was about to start crying again. TK knew she didn't mean anything she had just said to him. When the security guards escorted him out of the hotel, they passed by the front desk. The desk clerk was surprised to see him being escorted out of the building. Suspiciously, the desk clerk quickly googled the famous Nascar driver on the internet only to find out he had been conned by the blond hair, blue eyed man.
Kari woke up the next morning to her phone ringing. She was excited when she saw it was Brian on the caller ID.
"Brian!" Kari exclaimed, "thank God you called! Please tell me you're almost here!"
"I miss ya too!" Brian chuckled.
"I'm sorry baby! I miss ya and love ya too," said Kari.
"It sounds like ya had a bad time last night?" Brian asked. He finally had a chance to listen to her frantic voicemails. He couldn't understand her much but knew she had an awful time. He kind of, sort of felt bad for pushing her to go to this reunion now.
"It was horrible Brian." Kari replied, "please tell me you're almost here. I need ya right now!"
"I'm sorry babe. We had a bad race last night and the team wants to spend all week testing and preparing for the Chase. We can't run like we did tonight in the Chase. So I'm afraid I can't come spend the rest of the week with you in Japan," explained Brian as Kari began to cry. "Please don't cry babe! You know if I could be there, I'd be there in a heartbeat."
"Then I'm coming home!" Kari exclaimed.
"No Kari. I honestly think ya need a break from all this wedding planning. Ya need to relax with old family and friends," said Brian.
"I just wanna be with ya," Kari cried into the phone. "I just wanna go home!'
"You will be, in a few days." Brian said as he started to yawn. "It's pretty late here babe, I'll call ya later ok?"
"Ok," and Kari sadly and hung up.
Kari cried on her bed as she realized she would have to suffer five more days in Japan. She cried herself to sleep only to be awaken to someone pounding on her door. She cautiously got out of bed, afraid TK had snuck back into the hotel. Kari looked through the peep hole on the door to see Sora standing outside her door.
"Kari!" Sora yelled.
"Go away!" Kari angrily yelled back.
Sora, wanting to respect Kari's wishes, walked away and Kari walked back to her bed. She looked at the clock on the nightstand and saw it was almost noon. Kari ordered room service and turned the TV on to watch the ESPN re-play of the Nascar race like she always did in high school. Kari really loved Nascar back in high school but was never dedicated enough to wake up at one in the morning to watch the live broadcasts of the Nascar race. As Kari ate lunch, she watched Brian struggle during the race. He finished the race not one, but two laps down. The car just never handled. Brian couldn't turn in the corner and couldn't stay on the bottom of the race track. He ended up finishing twenty-fourth in the race.
After the race, Kari slept until her stomach woke her up a few hours later. She ordered room service again and filled the hot tub in her suite with hot water. Kari soaked in the tub for several hours before she got out and went to bed again. The next morning, she was rudely awaken by someone pulling the blankets off her bed.
"Wake up! I'm not gonna let ya hide in your amazing hotel room and wallow in your own self pity!" Sora said as opened the curtains to let the bright sunshine in.
"How'd ya get in my room?" Kari angrily asked her sister-in-law.
"I asked for a key. I had to make sure ya were still alive," Sora explained as she began to set out Kari's clothes for the day.
"Ok, I'm alive! Now ya can go!" Kari said and tried to hide under the pillows.
"I don't think so," replied Sora. "Cause we are gonna go shopping!"
"Shopping?" Kari asked suspiciously. She was having a hard time trusting Sora in anything she was saying these days.
"Yeah, cause I mean, hello! We are staying in one of the fashion capitols of the world! We have to do a little shopping before we go home!" Sora explained.
Kari reluctantly got dressed and got in the limo with Sora to go shopping. They went to every designer clothing store in Tokyo. Kari was loving the benefits of being a Nascar driver's fiancee. She could never afford all these kinds of clothes when she use to live here as a teenager.
"Kari, I'm really sorry for tricking ya into coming here," Sora apologized as she stood next Kari looking at a clothing rack of designer dresses.
Kari ignored her sister-in-law as she continued to browse through the rack of designer dresses.
"I just wanted ya to see all your old friends again before the wedding. I wanted ya to remember your past and to remember where ya came from." Sora explained, "I love America, I love Tai, and I love my job but sometimes I really miss Japan and everyone here. Sometimes, I wish I had never taken those tickets Tai gave me after I graduated high school and just stayed in Japan, even if that meant not being able to marry my true love."
"Ya would give up everything just to live in Japan again?" Kari asked shocked by Sora words.
"Yeah, I would. But I know how much Nascar means to Tai and I want to make him happy. Unless a Nascar series started here in Japan, I would never make Tai move back to Japan," replied Sora.
Kari thought back to the days she use to live in the Japan. They were some of the happiest days of her life. Now she lived in America and was happy, just not quite as happy as she was when she lived in Japan. Maybe Sora was on to something?
"Sometimes, I wish I had never taken those Nascar tickets and dragged TK with me to America," said Kari."That trip ruined my life."
"Ya know, your life can't be ruined too badly if you're marrying a rich and famous Nascar driver," Sora stated. Just as she said that, she realized a hidden feeling behind Kari's words. Did Kari still love TK?
"I know," replied Kari. "But sometimes, I don't know what I want in life."