Hello! I'm back with a new chapter. Thank you so much for all of the reviews for the previous chapter. It meant a lot to have your feedback! I finally got back into the groove of things and have inspiration for where this story is headed.

Please note: I don't own Digimon.

Chapter 5 – An Emergence of the Shadows

Sora instantly noticed Matt's unknown whereabouts at their meeting that took place. It had been a couple of days since they all last saw each other, but she didn't think he would skip out on this. Especially after the last conversation they all had. Shrugging to herself, she decided it would be best not to think about it too much.

"There's not much substantial evidence…," Izzy started. "But we believe the Shadow King has already made his first move."

With that statement, everyone turned towards Izzy. He certainly made a big accusation, that's for sure.

"It's with Matt," the clicking of his keyboard didn't distract her from the matter at hand. What about him?

Continuing, Izzy stopped typing to explain. "Matt acted rather impulsively the other day, and we think the Shadow King might attribute to it."

Sora narrowed her eyes, digesting what Izzy had just said. Matt wasn't one to act before thinking, but blaming the Shadow King for his actions was kind of extreme.

"What did he do?" Tai asked. Sora made sure to pay close attention to what Izzy said next.

"I don't really want to talk about it, but the point is that he did some stuff that was out of character."

"Define out of character," T.K. piped up. Sora silently agreed with him. Izzy wasn't the best judge of these things when it came down to it. T.K. knew Matt better than anyone else, so he would probably be the best person to ask about this.

Sora saw Izzy's eyes dart towards Mimi for a second, which was strange. She observed Izzy's eyes shifting until they landed on hers. Intrigued, she beckoned for him to tell them. They weren't going to get anything done with subtlety after all.

Sighing the genius, fell back into his seat. "He tried to beat me up."

"You're kidding," Tai started to laugh a bit, which caused everyone else to chuckle a little as well.

"It isn't funny!" Izzy protested. "It actually hurt. I had a black eye a couple of days ago, but yeah…."

"It's true," Mimi's voice could be heard throughout the room. She backed him up, and Sora was surprised at this. "I was walking down the street towards home when I saw the altercation."

"It's not like him to do this, though," T.K.'s voice was laced with concern. "He might act like he doesn't give a crap about anyone else, but he's not like this to just go and try to punch the lights out of somebody."

"That's what I'm saying," Izzy grumbled, running his hands through his hair. "I didn't accuse him directly of being an ass."

"Izzy," Davis warned. The sarcasm was being brought to the front, and Sora giggled at the prospect that Davis really wasn't having any of it.

"So what's this about the Shadow King then?" Kari inquired. Mimi answered that question.

"We believe the Shadow King took control of Matt's emotions—his anger and hatred—and started controlling him somehow with it. Matt wouldn't just do this out of the blue. There had to have been some reason for it. And since Izzy and Matt hadn't spoken before he tried to beat him up, there really wasn't any practical reason for Matt to do it…unless something else was controlling him. It sounds crazy, but it's the only explanation that comes to mind."

"It ties up with what Giselle was saying that's for sure," Izzy agreed with her, continuing to type on his computer.

"How can you be so sure? There's no evidence." Joe asked. Sora wanted proof that the Shadow King was controlling Matt. Maybe he was just being an ass like he usually was.

"There was a red/yellow hue tint in his eyes. It flashed for a bit before he looked like he returned to normal," Izzy replied. Sora scoffed. That doesn't really count as evidence, but what did she know? They didn't have much to go off of anyway.

"I still find that hard to believe," Joe commented on the situation. He wasn't wrong. It was a bit of a stretch to say that the Shadow King took over Matt's body, but then again, the debate over whether Matt himself would really do something like that was up for contention. They could go for hours speculating whether or not Matt did it out of his own conscience.

"If you think I'm wrong, then that's your problem," Izzy replied, leaning his back into the chair. Izzy's confidence about his intelligence and his conclusions was one thing that never really bothered Sora. In fact, if anything, it gave her some comfort in knowing that someone knew the problem and how to attack it.

"Fine, then," Tai stood up from his hunched position on the wall. "Say it's true. How the heck do we even go about fighting that?"

"Get through to Matt," Mimi replied, causing everyone to turn their attention to her. For a second, Sora thought she was looking straight at her when she said that. Like the mission to do so was all on her. It wasn't like she knew Matt at all anymore to begin with. "We have to make him see that the Shadow King is using his emotions against him to strike us all down."

Izzy countered back, "If the Shadow King is manipulating him, it won't be as easy to take him down with just small talk." Sora could see that he didn't approve of the emotional appeal Mimi was going for.

It seemed like Mimi thought the exact same thing when she retorted, "Well, all problems in the world can't be solved with science, Koushiro."

The use of Izzy's full first name surprised her. No one had called him that since…well, she couldn't even remember the last time he had been called by that.

Izzy's eyebrows shot up in his forehead. "Oh yeah?" A challenging tone could be heard through his voice. "It's not a logical approach to the situation. Feelings aren't the answer to this whole thing, that's not how you save the world."

"And you can't save the world with just strategy after strategy," the point Mimi brought up is a point that she's been advocating ever since they were little kids. It somewhat comforted Sora to know that deep down inside, Mimi really hadn't changed from the pacifist, emotional girl that they had all met years ago.

"We're a team, remember? We can't just leave Matt behind and fight him and hope for the best when it all culminates into one final battle. We have to get through to him, to get him back on our side, to remind him of the team we once were. And that's something you can't accomplish with logic, Izzy. It's not possible that way."

"You're letting your feelings cloud your head, Mimi."

She scoffed and crossed her arms, glaring at the genius. "And I can't believe, that after all this time, you're still letting your head mess with the way that you feel."

Tai stepped up in between them, trying to prevent another fight. "Okay, then. Look, we can't solve anything by doing whatever this is," he gestured in between the two and looked around the room. "Maybe it is the Shadow King. Maybe it was just Matt being an ass because he just doesn't like Izzy. Who knows? What we do know is that, unfortunately, Mimi's right in this case. If we want Matt back, we have to try to talk to him."

Sora was impressed with Tai's diplomatic skills. Usually, he'd be the one in the fight or riling it up instead of halting it.

Silence filled the room. T.K. spoke up. "I guess I'll try."

"I don't know if you'll get through to him," Mimi replied, locking eyes with T.K. Izzy, who was sitting up in his chair decided to slump back again in defeat. Tai cleared his throat.

"Okay, so then Mimi, can you talk to him and try to see what's going on here?"

Mimi shook her head, uncrossing her arms and placing her hands on the surface of Izzy's desk. "That's not my job. I can't do it."

"Why not?" Tai was surprised at her response. Sora was too, and she cautiously looked over at Mimi, who unsurprisingly, looked back at her. Damn it. Somehow, she knew this was coming.

"Because I could never really understand Matt. I could never get through to him fully. Do I know him? Yeah, sure. I know a heck of a lot about him and some stuff about how his mind works. But why? That's something I've never been able to figure out. Sora, it's your turn. And I should've stepped out of the way and let it be your turn a long time ago."

Sora's breath caught in her throat. She noticed everyone's attention turn towards her. There was a part of her that didn't really understand what Mimi was talking about, and yet, there was a different part that perfectly understood what she was saying.

No. She can't. She was engaged, and it wasn't like there was still any lingering feelings for him to begin with. She looked towards Tai, trying to catch his eye, but once she did, he instantly turned away, eyes staring at the floor.

"I'm…not exactly sure what's happening here." Leaning forward in his chair again, Izzy crossed his arms on the desk. "But, if people think you can get through to Matt, Sora, then by all means, do it."

Even though Izzy wasn't exactly the subtlest person around, his statement surprised her. Did he really not know how exactly she was involved in this? She thought he knew everything, but his prompting suggested otherwise.

Her lack of a response must've been for longer than she anticipated when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She shook her head from the trance she just had. Tai's hand had never felt heavier on her shoulder than it did in that moment. He smiled and she saw just a hint of hurt and regret in his eyes. "You should do it, Sor. For the good of the team."

His hand dropped down back to his sides, and he walked towards the door of the office, opened it, and left, never looking back in the process. Feeling stifled, she too, also made her way towards the door. A part of her felt the need to lock it after closing it, wishing that she could just leave the past behind and everything in it.

"Hey, wait up!" Her heels clicked against the concrete, in an attempt to catch him before their next meeting.

He didn't seem to slow down, and she rolled her eyes. "Tai, seriously, turn around!"

Finally seeming to get the message, he slowed his pace, allowing her to catch up with him. He sighed in exasperation, raising an eyebrow. "What do you want, Mimi?"

She was taken aback at the lack of friendliness he had. "I just…I just wanted to say thank you, for you know…taking my side in the whole Matt thing. It was nice of you to do."

"Yeah, well…it can't all be logic that'll do it, can it?"

Mimi nodded her head. Tai sighed. "I didn't do it to just back you up. I only did it because we would've been standing there listening to you two argue for a long time if I hadn't done that. And because we do need to talk to Matt. Izzy just doesn't want to see that there can't be a way to do it without discussing emotions and stuff."

"I know," Mimi replied, nodding her head. And she truly did know. She just wanted him to know that it was still nice of him to step in, regardless of what his intentions were. She knew that she wasn't exactly his favorite person in the world either because of what she did to his two best friends. But if anything, she figured her relationship with Tai could be an easy one to patch up. But listening to how receptive he was during this conversation, she was beginning to think it wouldn't be that easy.

"Okay," he replied, and she knew he was going to walk away if she didn't say something else.

"I know you hate me. And that's okay, I'm fine with that. But the least you could do is pretend to get along with me, Matt, and everyone else for the time being."

She thought she saw his eyes soften a bit from her comment. Gathering up the courage to say something that he needed to hear, she spoke again.

"I'm sorry things didn't work out with you and Sora."

That got his attention if anything. As she anticipated, he deflected, his eyes looking anywhere but her. "I don't know what you're talking about."

She didn't want to say anything else about it. It wasn't her place anyway. "I know you know. And I just wanted to say that it sucks she doesn't feel the same way. And it sucks that you still think about her in that way. Unless…." A realization dawned on her. "Unless you never told her how you feel."

His jaw clenched and his fist tightened into a ball. "It's none of your business."

"You're right," she crossed her arms. "It isn't. And it sure isn't my business to get involved with my ex-best friend's love life. But when you butted in years ago in my business, well, I'm just returning the favor."

"He's my best friend, Mimi. How could I not get involved?"

"He was mine too, you know. It wasn't any of your business to begin with."

"Yeah, he was also yours, until you screwed it up," his eyes narrowed. She sighed in frustration. This wouldn't get them anywhere. "If you never told her how you felt, then that's on you. Remember that."

She started to walk away when she heard, "She's engaged now, you know."

Stopping, she turned back to look at him. There was a significant amount of pain in his eyes that she could somewhat relate to, but because of her own problems. Her next sentence was a whisper, even though she didn't mean it to be, "I'm sorry, Tai."

He shook his head, running his hands through the bushy head of hair of his that hadn't changed. "I'm not surprised. She's great, and someone was supposed to snatch her up sometime."

"Well," Mimi interrupted him from wallowing in his own self-pity. "If it's any consolation, I think it would've been great if you two had given it a shot."

It truly would've been. She wasn't lying about that. In fact, when they were kids, she always thought that the two of them would end up together. That was one of the reasons why she couldn't see Matt and Sora together back in high school, and why she felt entitled to getting Matt romantically.

She wanted to suggest that maybe he still had a chance, and that maybe it wasn't too late to tell her. But they both knew that would be a false statement, containing of empty promises and dwindling hope. The only way that would turn out to be true was if she wasn't fully invested in and in love with her current fiancé and didn't still harbor feelings for…well, Matt. Which she didn't even know because she hadn't talked to Sora in such a long time.

It didn't matter anyway. If that was the case, Tai would still get the short end of the stick. She didn't know how to console him; it was just best for him to move on. But if he hadn't moved on since high school, she wasn't sure how he could now.

Deciding that it was best that she leave it at that, she started walking away again. His next statement made her heart jump into her throat. "It's not because of you that he's like this, you know."

She could either keep walking and pretend like she didn't hear anything, or turn around and talk about it. The prospect of Izzy being over her was something that she knew was a thing – how could it not be, but yet, it still hurt to hear that somehow.

Speaking carefully and her voice at no higher than a whisper, she could feel her hands somewhat trembling at her sides. "What does that mean?"

"The way you hurt him back then….the unrequited love he had for you, well he's moved past that. He's over it. You're not the one at fault anymore. If anything it's been awhile since he's forgiven you."

She was still speechless. A part of her believed it was too good to be true. She knew that Tai saw she couldn't really say anything in response, so he continued his explanation.

"It's hard to believe. I even have a hard time believing it. But it's not you."

"Well," she started slowly. "If it's not because of me, why is he still so distant?"

"It's a deflecting mechanism. The ass behavior he's exhibiting—it's just to prevent himself from getting hurt again. But you're not the reason why."

She waited for him to continue, intrigued as to the story behind it.

"Emma Davinson. His girlfriend throughout college. British, intelligent, and to top it all off she was really beautiful too. They dated for awhile…I'm not sure for how long. Three, almost four years maybe? Anyway, she's the reason."

Mimi was suddenly confused. "Why are you telling me this?"

He shrugged. "It's not really any of your business. I just didn't want you to blame yourself for longer than you needed to. Out of everybody, you're really the only one who keeps blaming yourself. I guess I wanted you to know that you're not the center of his world anymore; you haven't been for a long time. He was doing great without you."

She couldn't say that what he said didn't hurt. But he certainly looked like he was doing well for himself. It definitely seemed like he was fine without her. "So, they broke up and he's brokenhearted."

"In the smallest sentence, yeah. I mean I wouldn't use the word brokenhearted. He is Izzy in the first place. Long story short, it got so serious that he was even planning on proposing to her." She must've had a look of shock on her face because he chuckled a bit. "Yeah, I know. Koushiro Izumi, getting down on one knee and wanting to live the rest of his life with someone? It was hard to believe."

No kidding. He was the last person she would imagine that would consider something like that. Especially at such a young age. She remembered the time when they were stuck together in the Digital World and he wouldn't pay attention to anything except his laptop.

"But he planned to. I helped him buy the ring and plan it and everything."

"Wow," was the word that could only sum up what she was thinking at the moment.

"The night he was going to propose…she broke it off, saying that she was in love with somebody else—a good friend of the both of them. And…that was it."

"What—what do you mean that was it?"

"Well, afterwards, he threw himself into his work. I wanted to cheer him up, so I set him up on a date one night, and took him out to the bar another…it started a slew of dates."

"And…," she was almost afraid to ask. "One night stands?"

"I don't know about that actually. He wouldn't really give me any details on how any of his dates went. I imagine he might have had a few, but it seemed like he wasn't totally comfortable with womanizing around in that way, so I don't think he continued down that far every time he went out on a date with a girl."

He sighed, shrugging his shoulders. "Which leads us to today, he doesn't really take any dates seriously, and none of his "new" relationships really last more than a week if even. It's always a new girl each time, or cancellations here and there because of work."

She was still confused as to why he'd tell her all this though. "So all he does is work and date and blow them off?"

"Yeah, pretty much. If he feels like it's getting serious, he'll cut it off immediately. Even if it's only been a couple of dates in. My guess is he just doesn't want to feel that way again. He doesn't want to get rejected again. It sucks, I know it all too well – even if I never told Sora how I feel."

She instantly felt worse—she knew it wasn't her fault, but she was one of the girls who practically did the same thing to him. For him to put his heart and emotions on the line meant a big deal, she knew that now. If he gave you his undivided attention, that alone meant a lot. Someone breaking his heart again didn't seem right. He didn't deserve any of it. "And did Emma happen…was she the girl he dated after what happened between him and me? Or was there a couple of women in between?"

Tai shook his head, confirming her suspicions. "She was pretty much right after the whole ordeal between you and him went down."

"Why are you telling me this, Tai? To make me feel worse enough as it is?"

"Actually, no," he replied. "The way he's shutting himself off is worrying his everybody, including his parents. He's built this ice wall around him, and his emotions are hardened more than ever before. I'm even getting concerned. None of us can talk to him or help him. Somebody needs to bring him back. I think that you're the only one who could get through to him. You've always had a talent of doing so, and maybe this time's not any different."

"I think it would be good for you if you talked to him."

She thought it would be T.K. to come up and talk to her. She was expecting Mimi. She anticipated Tai. But never did she think that Joe would try and talk her into it.

"Joe." Sora couldn't think of anything else to say.

"I thought I would give it a shot."

She chuckled to herself. Good, old, reliable Joe. Out of all of the boys, he was the one that actually looked more mature. He was the one who actually looked like an adult. His eyes seemed like they had wisdom well beyond all of their years. His appearance still had the image of a young adult, but he was definitely the most mature of them all.

His blue hair was cropped short and he still wore his glasses—not that it was a bad thing, he looked like he knew a lot more than the rest of them after all. Tai had always looked so forlorn and distraught nowadays. When she first saw Matt after awhile, he still looked like a petulant child, filled with anger and rage and unable to let things go. Izzy, though he tried acting mature about everything, needed to grow up emotionally, and that could be seen in his appearance and facial expressions.

But Joe had grown up more than the rest of them had. It was like he finally let go of all that stress from school and work and had just renovated himself into a new man. She smiled a bit to herself. He would always be their senpai, their reliable leader.

"And what did you think the outcome would be?"

"A push in the right direction," he smiled, pushing his glasses back up on his nose.

She chose not to respond, instead gazing at her reflection through the lake.

"Sora," he started, and she wondered whether he would actually lecture her on the matter or not. "I'm here to help in whatever way I can."

Confused, she watched him as he sat on the bench next to her. He continued, "I don't want to know what happened. It's none of my business. But what my business does concern is the outcome of this fight with the Shadow King. Which is why I'm here to ask you to do this. No matter what happened between you two, Sora, I know that you know in your heart you have to do this."

She let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "I don't understand why I have to be the one to do it. There's T.K., there's Mimi…."

He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't get it either. To be honest, somewhere inside, you probably know why you have to do it. If not, you can always talk to them and ask."

Crossing her arms, she shook her head in response.

"Look. I don't really understand what went on, even when Yolei went on a fact finding mission to figure it out and told us what she found."

"Yolei should mind her own business," was the response she decided to say because it was true. Yolei didn't have any right going to everyone to try and piece the puzzle together. It wasn't something that she was supposed to do.

Joe sighed, pushing his glasses back up on his nose. "All I know is that you were hurt in the process. Izzy was too. And Matt and Mimi are apparently the perpetrators of the events. But maybe, just maybe, they got hurt in the process too. Sure, most of it was their fault, but I hope you stopped and asked if their feelings got hurt as well."

Some guilt came crawling to her. A part of her knew that everyone was hurt somehow, she just didn't want to believe that they were too. No matter which way she could spin it, she knows that the end of their friendship hurt Mimi as well. She knows that Matt was also hurt in the process, but after all this time, she still didn't know why.

"It's easy to say to do it if you're looking from the outside," she told him. The breeze swayed gently, her hair swaying in the wind a bit.

"True," Joe conceded. "But the person who wields the crest of love would then tell me that the best thing to do would be to suck it up."

That elicited a laugh out of her. He was right.

"And…," he continued, "there's no reason not to sort this out. You guys are adults after all."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Joe shook his head at her, trying to get her to concede.

She sighed in defeat. "Joe, you wouldn't happen to know how to repair a broken friendship after all these years?"

After a pause, she heard his response. "Talking is a good place to start."

"And what if we don't think talking would help?"

"Talking always helps. Well, it depends if both parties are receptive to the conversation."

After all this time, she still found herself worrying about everyone else. Sure, Matt and Mimi caused her a lot of hurt. But Mimi was apologetic for everything she'd done. And she seemed sincere. Maybe it was time to leave the past behind and forge a new future.

If Izzy was right (which he always was no matter how much anybody contested it), Matt was in trouble. If the Shadow King seems to feed on rage and anger, it was no wonder why Matt was affected by it first. What she was confused about, was why he was so angry all the time. He was the one who got what he wanted all those years ago. He was the source of all her anger at times. He didn't have a reason to be angry. He shouldn't be hating on Izzy, as Izzy never did anything to him. And just thinking about that, of Matt's petulant and rude behavior toward others, made her blood boil. It wasn't right for him to do so. He's the one who broke her heart, not the other way around.

And with that, she knew exactly what to do. And it wasn't to have a heart-to-heart with him. No. It was to finally get out all the anger she's been feeling towards him all these years. It was finally time to let him know her thoughts and how she's felt about all of this.

If he wouldn't listen to reason, then she would just have to take an unreasonable approach.

Kari watched as T.K. and came through Davis's apartment door with his girlfriend. Her eyes widened as she saw her. Kimiko? From high school? She couldn't fathom why T.K. would want to be with her, as Kimiko wasn't the nicest person in high school.

"T.K., thanks for coming, man!" Davis's voice could be heard throughout his apartment.

"No prob! Thanks for the invite! You remember Kimiko, right?"

"Of course! How are you doing, Kimiko? Does it feel good to be back in Japan?"

The girl laughed wholeheartedly, and Kari was taken aback by how nice she sounded. Kimiko was one of those girls in high school that would laugh at others for not having a good fashion sense for example, and Kari couldn't understand how T.K. could be with her.

"It feels great, Davis. Nice to see you again!"

It was Davis's idea to have this get together in the first place. He figured if they were all supposed to work together to save the world, that it would be best to get reacquainted with each other. Of course, the get together was only intended for the new Digidestined, as inviting the old Digidestined to come along probably wouldn't have been the best idea. Kari wasn't initially opposed to the idea, but seeing Kimiko now made her feel irritated with the whole situation.

She was also aware of Yolei being pretty observant, and the glances Yolei would send her way. Tai had told her earlier about Yolei's escapade to understand what was going on, which in her point of view, she had no business of knowing. Even though she knew that Yolei was just being a concerned friend, and that she already knew about the events that had transpired between her and T.K., it still was none of her business.

For some reason, the irritation and anger inside of her was growing. And she didn't know why.

"Kari!" Her head snapped up to find Davis grinning at her. He pointed to Kimiko. "You remember Kimiko right?"

She felt her fists curl up and her teeth clench together. "Um, yes. Hi Kimiko."

She noticed T.K.'s eyebrows inch up at her tone. But what does he know? He doesn't know who she is anymore. If T.K. can date someone like Kimiko, then she doesn't know who he is anymore. He's not her T.K. anymore.

"Kari, hi," Kimiko started speaking in her (perfected fake) voice, if Kari said so herself. "How are you doing?"

Although it seemed like Kimiko was genuine, Kari was still skeptical. Kimiko always wanted T.K. throughout high school, and now she had him. Before, it was never a contest because T.K. was so enamored with her in high school. Now, the roles were reversed and Kari felt herself standing on the other side of what could have been.

T.K. was the one who was in love with her. He was the one who wanted to be with her. So why the heck was he settling with Kimiko of all people?

"Fine. I'm doing fine. How about you?"

She didn't know if it was just her, but she could've sworn that Kimiko was smirking, as to signal victory while she replied, "I'm doing great, Kari. It's nice to see you again too."

"You know what?" Kari felt herself speaking up. She didn't mean to say these next couple words, but she didn't know what was coming over her. "It really isn't nice to see you, Kimiko. Are you still the bitch you've always been?"

With that comment, everyone in the room stopped, as Kari had said it louder than a normal speaking voice. Kimiko looked taken aback, and for some reason, Kari was satisfied with what had just happened. She didn't want to apologize, nor did she think she had something to apologize for.

T.K. butted in, his face contorting into an expression of anger. "Kari, what the heck is wrong with you? What did Kimiko ever do to you?"

And for some reason, all Kari wanted to do was throw Kimiko under the bus. Instead of backing down, she felt like fighting. "Geez, T.K. All you do is talk and talk about Kimiko. What about the rest of us, huh? What about me?!"

"What do you mean, what about you?" The hurt in T.K.'s eyes were evident, but she couldn't stop. There was a part of her that wanted to, but the other part just wanted to keep on going. The latter won.

"You've loved me! It's always been me! And now, suddenly, you change your mind to Kimiko when it's convenient?"

"You still have feelings for Kari?" Kimiko stepped in, accusing T.K. He swiveled his head towards her.

"No, I don't."

"Then, what the heck is she talking about?"

"Nothing."

"It doesn't seem like nothing. I'm sorry, but I'm not going to stand here and be accused by her of anything," Kimiko grabbed her coat. She turned to Davis. "I'm sorry for leaving, Davis. It would've been a lovely party."

"Kimiko, wait!" T.K. called out to her. Kari could feel him glaring at her, but instead of feeling ashamed, she glared back at him. He shook his head and ran out after Kimiko.

"Kari, please." She heard Yolei pleading to her. "What's gotten into you?"

She looked around the room. Everyone was either giving her disapproving looks or analyzing her with concern. Davis was the only one that stood out. He was staring intensely at her, as if he was trying to figure something out. A look of realization gleamed in his eyes. At the same time, a piercing, throbbing pain could be felt in her head.

She held her head and closed her eyes for a minute. Shaking it off, she decided to leave the so-called party they were having. It wasn't worth staying. She could hear calls of 'Kari', asking her to stay. The last thing she heard before the door slammed behind her was something that should have been of interest to her. Instead, she couldn't bear the pain in her head anymore and decided to think nothing of it. She could hear Davis's voice echo through her mind.

"Damn it. I hate it when Izzy's right."

I hope you all enjoyed this episode! It was rough to plan how to write it, but it's here now. Please let me know what you think in a review or a PM - it's always appreciated. :) Thank you so much for reading!