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Puzzle Pieces
[Chapter 3]
curiosity sometimes just connects the dots in different ways
*.*.*.*
"Can they be any louder?" Sora cried from the floor. She flopped over onto her back and stretched out in exasperation, knocking into a few of her textbooks in the process. "Don't they know some people need to study on a Thursday night?"
"Maybe it's a sign that we shouldn't be studying in the first place," Taichi grumbled as his neighbor's bass thudded through the thin walls.
"You're the one who invited me over to study!"
"Yeah, but it doesn't make it any more enjoyable. I forgot reading is just as boring when you're around."
"You're impossible you know that?" she giggled, chucking a pen at his chest.
Koushiro sat nearby sporting large headphones placed securely over his ears. His head perked up at the pen's sudden movement, but just as quickly, he hunched back over and resumed clacking away at his yellow device, uninterested.
Sora lay frustrated as the muffled music shuffled into a popular dance tune she vaguely recognized.
"Taichi, do something!"
Closing the book in his lap, Taichi propped up his legs onto the ottoman. His fingers interlaced behind his head and he frowned down at her. "What do you expect me to do, crash their party?"
She shot up from her previous position on the floor. "Oh, would you please? I'd love you forever!"
"Come again?"
"Just go over there and see if they can turn the music down."
"Sora," Taichi scoffed. "I'm not gonna go over there and try to tell a bunch of drunk people to tone it down." He leaned back and closed his eyes. "Maybe I should just go down there and join them instead. I don't think I can cram anything else in my brain tonight."
"Taichiiiii," Sora pleaded. She knew he hated it when she whined, but desperate times called for desperate measures. "Pretty please? We have finals next week!" she pouted, batting her eyelashes in vain as he kept his eyes firmly shut.
Cheers and screams suddenly reverberated through the shared panel of the living room and he opened his eyes just in time to see her scowling at him.
Taichi let out a low growl.
"Fine, you win, you big baby. But you owe me one."
"Put it on my tab," she smirked victoriously.
Taichi rose from his seat and forcibly trudged to the front door. Grabbing a jacket on the way out, he paused before making his exit. "If I don't come back within the next five minutes, I definitely ditched you and stayed at the party."
Sora had to stifle her laughter as the door shut behind him. With nothing else to do, she rose from the floor and headed for the kitchen in search of a distraction. Making herself at home, she rummaged through the pantry and called out into the living room, "Want anything to eat, Koushiro?"
Silence.
She poked her head in the living room. Oh yeah, the headphones.
"Koushiro!"
No response.
"KOUSHIRO!"
Eyes wide, Koushiro peeled off his headphones and looked inquisitively at her. "Sorry, did you say something?"
"Want anything to eat or drink while I'm up?" she repeated, making her way back into the kitchen. Sifting through the shelves, she settled on her favorite chips that the boys always seemed to have stocked.
"I'll pass, I had a large dinner. Thanks, though!"
Sauntering back in the living room, she plopped herself into Taichi's recently vacated seat.
"Where did Taichi go, anyway?" Koushiro asked, glancing up from his computer.
"He went next door to take care of that," she explained, referring to the pulsating rhythms emanating from the nearby apartment.
"Ahhh, good call. You'd think they'd be a little more courteous with finals coming up so soon."
"Right? Also, speaking of finals week, I saw your online birthday invitation! And I also saw that Taichi got his way and invited almost the entire school," she grinned impishly.
"It does seem to be that way," Koushiro chuckled. "I have no idea how we're going to fit all of the guests into this cramped space."
"I'm sure you and Taichi will work your magic," she assured, fishing out her phone from her back pocket. "Have you checked how many people are coming? You, me, Taichi, Mimi," she listed, scrolling through all of the acceptances. "Jyou, Hikari, Takeru... wow, this'll be just like old times!"
For a fraction of a moment, Sora thought she saw Koushiro's face cloud over.
"Yeah, just like old times!" he exclaimed, a little too brightly for Sora's taste.
"Mhmm," she hummed, letting his odd behavior slide. "Anyway, Mimi and I were talking about how this is going to be our first time partying with the younger kids. Isn't that crazy to think about? Although apparently Miyako has some wild stories, so I guess they're not as mild-mannered as we all thought they were," she giggled.
"Yeah, everyone all together," Koushiro mumbled distantly, fiddling with the cord of his headphones.
"Okay, weirdo, what's up with you?"
He snapped up at her words, a deer caught in the headlights.
"Nothing's wrong! You're right, it'll definitely be interesting to see how they behave under the influence of alcohol."
Sora was glad that Koushiro at least had the decency to look a little guilty.
"Koushiro…"
"I just – I just forgot I wanted to tell you something."
Sora frowned in confusion as Koushiro let out a puff of air before continuing on.
"So I was talking to Takeru the other day and–"
"Your knight in shining armor has arrived!"
Taichi barreled into the apartment with a wide grin plastered on his face, interrupting the pair's exchange. "You guys didn't forget about me, right?"
"Actually, we kind of did," Sora said, shooting Koushiro a sideways glance.
"Rude," Taichi pouted. "Anyway, if you guys would be so kind to notice, the racket next-door has decreased considerably, thanks to yours truly. Also, guess what else this handsome devil scored?" he smirked as he threw a small scrap of paper in Sora's direction. She picked up the discarded item, read its contents, and looked up at Taichi, mouth agape.
"Is this a phone number?" she snorted in disbelief.
"From a female?"
"What? Yes, Koushiro, from a female. Ugh, you're the worst."
"Oh my god, Taichi," Sora laughed shamelessly. "I can't believe someone wrote their number down on a piece of paper for you! What decade are we in, the 80's?"
"Jealousy doesn't look good on you, sweetheart."
Koushiro snickered, not even bothering to hide his amusement. With an eye roll, she handed the number back to the brunette. "So when's the wedding?"
Seizing the paper from her, Taichi made his way into the kitchen and carelessly tossed it in the trash bin. "No wedding, sadly, she's not my type," was his reply. Grabbing two beers from the fridge, he moseyed back into the living room and lowered himself onto the couch next to Sora.
"Why, what didn't you like about her?" she asked curiously, accepting the proffered beverage.
"There wasn't anything in particular," he chuckled, "I just have high standards." Waggling his eyebrows, he waved over himself suggestively. "Not just anyone gets to ride this stallion."
"And that's my cue," Koushiro deadpanned as he shoved his headphones on, immersing himself back into his work.
"You're so gross," she scolded, smacking Taichi lightly on his upper arm. "Why do you always have to be so vulgar? You're going to miss out on a lot of nice girls if you keep glossing over them like that."
"Aww, Sora, you know I'm not like that," he said with a surprising amount of sincerity. Holding her gaze, he added, "I'm paying attention plenty."
She had a sneaking suspicion there was more to his statement than he was letting on, but he had already switched gears before she could prompt him further. With a swig of his beer, Taichi picked back up his books and groaned, "Well, I guess we'd better get back to it then, huh?"
Nodding her head, she reluctantly followed suit. Grabbing her own discarded textbooks, she snuck a peek at him out of the corner of her eye, his earlier response gnawing at her.
What did he mean by that?
*.*.*.*
