Here we are for the second chapter. This is where it takes a completely different direction from my first version.

I wasn't sure if I wanted to base this in current time or back in the 90s, so I'm thinking just back in the 90s, so they have flip phones and slower computers. Because of this time period, I wanted to let it sink in just how "forbidden" a homosexual relationship could be back then.

Coincidence

Chapter Two: Chopped Carrot Fingernails

Walking to school on a super cold morning was the least of Taichi's worries. The night before he lost all of his courage, and he was doomed to forcing himself to be sociable. That just wasn't him; he was a social king! Now? He felt so lost, so belittled and worried. What were people going to think if they found out? How would they find out? What if they found out?! It was too much to bear.

He sat up so late, his mind ready to burst with this realization, and now he was groggier than he ever could be. He was so slow with getting ready that Hikari called him a sibling slur before heading out to school alone. His mother asked if he was ill, but with only a touch of his forehead, she deemed him fit to leave the house. That was his last hope…

So much filled his heart—worry mostly, confusion, anger, love, guilt… He wanted it to just go away, but at the same time he didn't. He flung his backpack over his shoulder as he made his way out of his apartment building. He had to get over it, but he didn't know where to start. He had to push it out of his mind, but how? He was so engrossed with the sickness inside his soul that he almost didn't notice a certain redhead boy standing on the sidewalk.

Taichi froze and backed up as soon as he caught sight of Koushiro, who was standing with his backpack on his shoulders with his back turned to him. Taichi peered at him from the corner and debated on whether to go that way. Wait? Was he down to ignoring and avoiding his friend? It felt like the right thing to do, but he didn't want to do that. What was he supposed to do?!

Koushiro turned his head and looked in his direction, but Taichi hid behind the corner just in time. He felt low, so very…low. He waited a while before peeking again to see Koushiro with his back turned again. His heart sank; was Koushiro waiting for him? Surly not!

He glanced at his watch; he only had ten minutes to make it to school before the first bell rang. If he didn't make a move, he wasn't going to have enough time to get his books for his first class. Panic welled inside him as he looked around for another route. He couldn't face his friend, not yet. He sprinted down an alley, carefully enough not to slip. He ran all the way to school, but because of the longer route there, he was late.

In his first class, he couldn't concentrate on what his teacher was talking about at the blackboard. He mostly wondered how long Koushiro waited for him before heading out alone. He couldn't bear to think of what his friend might have thought when he never walked by. He felt sick and all the guiltier.

When the bell chimed, he left his class and made it to his locker where he would exchange his textbook for another. Sadly, he knew that he would have Literature with Koushiro next. Thankfully they didn't sit right next to each other in that class, so at least he wasn't going to be forced to speak to him. He had to really concentrate and force himself to seem like he was paying attention to avoid Koushiro the best way he could. With a deep breath, he knew that he could do this.

"You must have been very late this morning," Koushiro's voice said from out of nowhere.

Taichi slammed his locker shut to see the shorter boy standing next to him. He almost yelped in pure terror, but he did his best to keep it in check. His luck really went down the drain since the evening before.

Koushiro had that curious expression again; it was adorable. "I waited for you for nearly twenty minutes, but you never showed up. Kari said that you were being slow when she passed by me."

Taichi forced out a laugh, but his face showed only agony, "yeah! Yeah, I uh…" What could he say? What could he… Then he thought of something. He abruptly coughed into his sleeve until his face was red. He lifted his face and frowned miserably, "I'm not feeling so hot today."

Koushiro was a bright boy, but for some reason he actually believed him. "Do you feel that bad? You should've stayed home, Tai. You know that most colds develop into something serious because they aren't taken care of?"

Taichi faked another cough into his sleeve, "no, no, I mean, I think I'm okay for now, but yeah, really tiring. I'm exhausted."

Koushiro stepped closer and looked into his eyes, making the older boy flinch rather uncomfortably. He lifted his slender hand up to brush his fingers against Taichi's forehead before pressing his palm there. He then put his other hand on his own head, "you feel a little warm."

Taichi's entire face boiled, and even he could feel his raging blush. He jerked back and hugged his book to his chest, "I should see the nurse then!"

"Are you dizzy? Do you need me to go with you?" Koushiro asked in concern as he reached for him.

The bell for the next class chimed.

Taichi walked around his friend, "no thanks! There's the bell. You better get to class. If the teach asks where I went, let him know, okay? Thanks!"

Koushiro blinked blankly as he watched the older boy run off past many students in the hall. He wondered why Taichi was acting so jumpy. He wondered if he did something, but usually when he thought he was at fault, he was corrected. After Taichi telling him so many times that he wasn't to blame or not being weird, Koushiro didn't feel that he was any longer.

He looked at his hand—the one that touched Taichi's head. As he walked to class and sat down, he wondered how he could help his friend feel better. He felt a bit awful that Taichi caught a cold after being out in the chilly night air. He decided that he needed to do something nice for him, but he had to figure out what.

Taichi didn't come to class, so Koushiro assumed he was sent home. It made him worry a little, but it was only a cold if not nothing. He made sure to swing by Taichi's locker just to make sure, but he didn't see him. The next class he had was with Taichi, too, but he didn't come for that one, either. By the end of third hour, he was convinced that his friend must have had a fever.

As always Koushiro stayed after school to meet with the computer club, but he wasn't really into it. The club was more or less just a bunch of students in a computer lab typing away, not speaking. There was a girl named Miyako, who liked to ask him questions, but she seemed rather independent that day.

Afterwards he left school alone and walked home alone like he usually did when he wasn't with Taichi. Was it sad that he didn't have any friends to hang out with except for Taichi? The previous evening, he did tell the older boy that he was his top friend, but he neglected to add that he was kind of his only human friend close enough to actually be around.

He arrived home, greeted his mother, and went to his room to do his homework. She offered him a snack, but he denied due to the fact he just wasn't hungry. He didn't really care to do anything after he quickly finished all of his assignments. He felt a bit guilty that he didn't gather all of Taichi's homework from his classes to help him out; that would have been nice if he would have thought about it.

He lied on his bed for nearly an hour when he had nothing else to do. He couldn't shake the state of disposition his friend was in that morning. Taichi was never so on edge, and it sort of started the evening before. Thankfully his parents got him a cell phone on his last birthday, which served as a private chat for him and his friend. He only used his phone for that purpose and calling his parents.

He flipped open his phone and sent a message to the older boy: Did you go to the doctor? He didn't know what else to start off with.

It was nearly ten minutes before he got a text back from Taichi: No.

Koushiro frowned as he rolled over to lie on his stomach. He texted again: Are you okay? He was asking not only for his health but his state of mind. He never got such a short text in such a lengthy amount of time waiting.

Taichi texted back promptly this time: Yes.

Koushiro felt a bit sick himself. He felt like a bother, even though many times before Taichi would tell him he wasn't. He hesitantly texted back: Alright. I don't want to disturb you if you're resting. Contact me later.

There was no response for another ten minutes. Twenty minutes passed. Thirty minutes, then forty minutes ticked away. Soon it was an hour of nothing but Koushiro opening and closing his phone, checking for a new message, maybe something that would give him some reassurance. He didn't understand; Taichi always said the last word, always had a conversation with him at least.

After that Koushiro agonized over it.

Dinner with his parents was like a bombardment of questions about if he felt well, because apparently he showed his anxiety when he didn't mean to make them worry. He didn't feel like eating or having special dessert his mom created. He didn't want to talk to his parents or watch television with them. He washed his face, but he didn't like what he saw in the mirror. He slowly became quite angry with himself.

What did he do wrong? Was it really something he did, or was Taichi going through something totally unrelated? But it was just one day of this weird behavior. He had to hold off on worrying until it really became an issue.

He was exhausted, but he didn't really sleep. He tossed and turned, upset about everything. To think he was so unexplainably happy when Taichi visited him the night before. He went over all they said in his mind, but he couldn't find a reason for Taichi bolting out like he did.

The next morning Koushiro felt a bit groggy from the sleepless night. He didn't wait for Taichi like the day before, because he told himself that his friend might be home with a cold or just needed some space. Whatever the reason, Koushiro was willing to push all of his anxiety away and go to school with a positive attitude. If Taichi was there, they could talk. If they talked, he would give him no reason to think he was offended or upset. Everything was fine.

But everything wasn't fine.

First of all, Koushiro happily greeted Taichi at his locker. The older boy clearly got there before him and wasn't as sick as he thought. Though, Taichi didn't really look himself. He wasn't as jumpy, but he still held a bit of uneasiness. "Feeling better?" Koushiro asked with a forced smile.

Taichi's eyes avoided him, and his voice was small, not confident at all. "Yeah, I'm okay," he said as he picked his book out of his locker and shut it. "Gotta get to class," he added before turning away and walking quickly into the river of students rushing to their rooms.

Koushiro frowned, wishing that they had the same first hour. Something was wrong.

During second hour, Koushiro didn't meet him at his locker and instead went straight to class and sat down. He felt like an undercover PI as he watched how Taichi walked into the room and sat down lethargically. He casually watched him to see if he was perky with anyone else, and he actually was…

One of their classmates, a boy walked towards Taichi and held up his hand, "Yagami, missed ya yesterday."

Taichi lifted his hand and gave the boy a high-five and actually smiled at him, "thought I was sick. I'm good now, though."

The boy walked to his desk and sat down.

A girl sitting in front of Taichi whirled around and spoke to him about borrowing a pencil, and he seemed to talk to her with a smile, too.

Koushiro felt a bit sick. Why couldn't he get a smile? Was it that Taichi was showing them fake smiles and respected Koushiro too much to be fake towards him?

Class went by so slow, and neither friend could concentrate. When the bell chimed to let them leave, Koushiro noticed that Taichi made conversation with another classmate and actually walked with them to their lockers. Feeling left out, the younger boy made his way to his own locker and exchanged his books.

The morning was rather awkward.

When they were finally dismissed for lunch, Koushiro approached Taichi again in the hallway, but the older boy acted like he didn't see him and hurried along with Yamato, who had very few classes with them as he was stuck in mostly remedial subjects. Sora was with him and talked to Taichi, too.

Koushiro ate in the computer lab alone.

He didn't try to talk to Taichi again, and in return, he wasn't spoken to.

He walked home alone again. He greeted his mom and went straight to bed.

The next morning he woke early to get his homework done before leaving for school. His mother asked him to take a muffin with him since he didn't have much time to eat, but he ended up throwing it out on his way there.

Taichi was at school with no visible ailments. He seemed solemn but put on a smile for the others. Koushiro not only didn't want to be the first one to approach, he almost didn't think about it the entire day. He felt a bit nostalgic, because it was the way he used to be before returning from the Digital World. Before that, he didn't socialize at all.

Was it that Taichi was bored of him already? Well…after years, was he bored? It made him sick to think about what he might have done to be a bother and drive his friend away, but it was only the third day of being ignored. It wasn't like it was a week or anything.

He ate alone in the computer lab again, but this time, someone entered with a high-pitched voice. "Izzy! Hey!" It was Mimi; he didn't see her much since he skipped a couple of grades. She had a half-wrapped sandwich in one hand and a cola in the other. She walked up to the table he sat and smiled, "nerd! You even eat in here, huh?"

He forced a grin, "oh yeah, I guess."

She set her drink on the table before pulling a chair up and sitting with him. She flipped her soft brown hair over her shoulder and took a bite of her sandwich. Her bright eyes glanced around casually as she ate.

He hesitantly picked at his bento and tried not to eye her, "so…you never eat in here…"

"I'm hiding away," she huffed. "I'm getting hassled by the girls about this guy named Hiro. I don't want to go to the party with him Friday, but they just insist I date him. I wanted some peace and quiet."

"I see," he mumbled, still not really eating. He wasn't hungry.

She glanced at his barely touched food, "are you going to eat your carrots?"

He looked at his rice and chopped vegetables, "uh no… Do you want them?"

"Gimme!" she piped excitedly as she picked one out of his bento with her perfectly manicured fingernails. She crunched down on it and chewed in a dainty way.

He accidentally frowned as he recalled how Taichi would swap food with him with they ate.

Mimi noticed his expression, and she wasn't one to keep silent, "what? Did you want the carrots after all?"

His dark eyes cut to her concerned expression, "no, you can have them. I don't mind. I'm not really hungry."

She hummed, taking another. "You look sort of angry about something."

He was a little appalled that she would assume such. He was careful never to show his anger, let alone allow himself to be angry. "I'm not angry at all."

She shrugged, looking at the carrot, "the Izzy I know would be chatting on about Digimon or something. Like, seriously, I was a little worried you were going to drone on like you usually do when I saw you in here."

He frowned, feeling a bit awkward, "I'm just tired."

"You can tell your sweet Mimi about it," she said, leaning towards him. Her bright eyes bored into his as she waited. She was almost shallow but still a very kind and courteous girl. She held the crest of Purity for a reason, and no matter how much of a hotshot she acted like, she really did care about her friends, especially the Digidestined.

"I just feel sort of like I'm uh…lonely?" he told her hesitantly.

Her lips parted to grin widely, "is that all?! I can help you!"

His gut churned as he wondered what she was about to do to him. All he could guess was that she was going to invite him to a girly day out with her giggling friends.

"Come to Toshi's party with me Friday!" she said happily. "I think Matt and Sora were going to go, too. We can meet there, and you can hang with me and my gal pals!"

Koushiro looked away, "I'm not really a party type-"

She giggled, "whatever, everyone likes a party. You'll have fun. Say you'll go!"

"I don't think so," he mumbled.

She reached out and grabbed the tie of his uniform, dropping her carrot in the process, "you're going!"

His eyes grew wide as he looked at her nervously, "but I-"

She tugged his tie, "Izzy!"

"Okay," he squeaked.

She grinned again and let him go, "great!" She forgot all about the carrot and continued to eat her sandwich. "You probably don't know where Toshi lives, so I'll either come by your place Friday or maybe you could get Tai to walk there with you. He's on Tai's futbol team, so he should know."

Koushiro felt like telling her that going anywhere with Taichi would be a no-go, but he kept his mouth shut. He hoped that by some miracle the girl would forget all about it by Friday, but something told him he was very wrong.

The day withered into evening, and Koushiro found himself alone in his room again. He waited for a text from his dear friend, but he didn't get anything. His phone was as lonely as he was. He became drowsy very early in the night, but he never felt sleepy enough to pass out. He stared at his phone for hours, wondering if he was too obsessed.

He texted a message: Did I do something wrong? He debated on whether or not to send it for a long time, but he finally let it go.

The wait was about three minutes. Taichi answered: no, of course not. Don't think that.

Koushiro bit his lip and texted again: I thought maybe I had.

Taichi answered promptly again: no.

The younger waited for more, but there was no more. He didn't know if his friend was even being truthful. Maybe he was too nice to tell him that he was a burden as a friend. He didn't text him again, and at around five, he dozed off just in time to wake up for school about two hours later.

The remaining days of the week crawled by, and nothing changed between them. Koushiro was hopeful that after their texts Taichi would speak to him, but he was wrong to think that.

Nothing happened.

Koushiro was alone.

Because of the new Digimon Tri posters and art, I have to assume that everyone goes to the same high school (Hikari and Takeru going to the same middle school, too). I'll know for sure after watching the new movie this weekend, and any changes will be made.

If there are any typos or anything you want to point out, let me know!

Thanks for reading so far~