General Challenge - A Twisted Love Story : QueenGatomon

This is my response for the General Challenge from Amna that I whipped up from the depths of creativeness. I'm not sure yet if I'm going to post it on FF.net... I'll have to decide that later... Anyways, this one does not have any dislogue, so let that be a warning. It is dialogue-free - more thoughts and stuff instead.

Title: A Twisted Love Story
Pairings: Takari, DaiTaKari(friendship)
Summary: Davis is taken by the Dark Ocean but his friends don't know. Will he be saved?
Quotes to include: "I can't tell the others they'll think I'm weak"



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Davis fidgeted, impatient for the boring history lecture to end. He had promised himself he wouldn’t skip class today again, but it looked like that self-made promise was about to be broken. His selfish addiction was getting the better of him once more, and he wished it wasn’t like this. He wanted to tell the others - he really did, but what would they think of him after that? The words almost bubbled up from his throat to expose him (in the middle of the classroom no less), but he kept repeating as a mantra in his head, I can’t tell the others, they’ll think I’m weak.

Davis snapped out of it as someone shoved into him roughly, causing the load of papers and notebooks in his arms to tumble to the floor of the hallway. How’d I get here? He asked himself. This had been occurring more and more lately – spacing out and ending up someplace completely different than where he remembered being. It was infuriating, as Ken would say. Ken… Davis huffed, annoyed with his best friend. This was partially his fault. If he hadn’t gone on for hours and hours about his new girlfriend, then Davis wouldn’t be so confused and upset.

It had started with the looks that they’d throw at each other from time to time. Longing and lust would take over, and their heads would automatically turn to the other in wanting. Eventually, the tension snapped, and Ken asked her out. Yolei and Ken were from then on, an official item.

And he wouldn’t shut up about it.

Day after day, Davis had to hear about how much in love they were, and how much Ken wished he could marry her.

He sounded like a fangirl.

Davis had grown tired and exasperated with all this talk of love. And then it happened. TK and Kari got together, completing the circle of life, or some bullshit like that. Now Davis was getting it from all angles – at home, with his crazy love-stuck sister (not to mention his parents, seeing as how they had just gotten back from their second honeymoon), at school with all his friends making googly-eyes at each other, and whenever he went out. At the mall there were couples holding hands and shopping; at the theatre… well, Davis had a hard time paying attention to the movie when there were people making out two seats ahead of him.

It was infuriating beyond belief. Didn’t anyone care about his feelings anymore? Apparently not, was the answer. Nowadays, Davis only had one place to go to escape his thoughts and feelings. It was a place he had heard about, but never gone to before. It had taken him by surprise when he had gotten sucked into it a few weeks ago, but since then he had been going there, day after day, skipping out on school, shirking responsibilities, and avoiding those who cared about him just to venture into his sacred place. He went there to think – that was all. He didn’t run around, screaming at invisible people in rage, or sulk quietly in depression. He stared at the ocean’s waves, which never ceased, and occasionally threw smooth rocks at it, just to see the ripples break the continuous, repetitive cycle of water crashing down on the beach.

He went to the Dark Ocean, and he liked it there.

The black and white scenery did not hurt his eyes. There was no one else there to pester him with their lovey-dovey ways. And most importantly, it was a refuge calm enough to let him ponder.

Davis pondered many things during his time spent sitting on the gravelly sand of the beach, but it all came back to one thing: What was love?

For this, Davis feared he’d never find an answer. He did not believe love was what he saw with his eyes, or what he heard verbally from his friends. It wasn’t invisible – it was all around him, every single day. So, then – what exactly was it? Davis had even managed to yank out a dictionary from the confines of his closet. That hadn’t been very helpful at all. He held affection for many people, but he knew he didn’t love them; he just didn’t want to see them get hurt or anything. It was so frustrating and bewildering, not knowing the solution to a perplexing problem. This wasn’t math – Davis didn’t have the option of looking in the back of the textbook to take a peek at the answers, or glance over at someone else’s paper to cheat off of them. This was the real deal, and he had to figure it out for himself.

He just didn’t know how, and he so desperately wanted to.

A sigh escaped his lips as he collapsed onto the familiar sand of the Dark Ocean’s beach. His backpack hit the ground beside him, and he kicked off his shoes to join it. Another relaxing day at the beach, he said, amused. The gentle waves lapped at his toes, making them cold and blue. But Davis didn’t mind. It was nice having a part of him totally numb and unfeeling. It was the opposite of what his mind was being.

His thoughts consumed him like a spreading wildfire – they were the only thing he was able to think of, understand and react to. The exact same question that had plagues his thoughts for so long continued to roam about, leaving a trail of half-ass theories in its wake.

Was love something given to you? Or did it just appear? Did you have to earn it for yourself, or could it be bestowed upon someone without knowing? Did it last forever, or was it a temporary kind of deal?

Davis’s D-Terminal alerted him to a new message from Ken.

Davis, you wouldn’t believe how incredible Yolei looks in a dress!! I swear she looks like a goddess!

He smiled half-heartedly at Ken’s lack of manliness. Despite the fact that Ken was being a whipped version of his former self, Davis couldn't help but admire Yolei's strength. It took guts to reduce a guy to this intense level of suck-up-ness. Davis could only hope being in love didn't always require being trained like a poodle (AKA Ken, former Digimon Emporer) to obey their master's every whim (AKA Yolei's mood swings). If so, Davis didn't want ANY part of it. Ever.

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Lemme know what you think!!!

Holy shitmonkies...
This is probably one of the most amazing things ever.
POST IT ON FF.net!!!

is it going to be multichaptered or just this. Great job btw!

I think it's just going to be this... hmm - gonna have to think on that one.

And I will go post it - thanks!!!

Okay, so, here's the second chapter... It's not very long, but I'm gonna let that slide for now. I did decide to make it multi-chaptered (duh) so I hope it works out okay... I'm also going to fix up the end of the last chapter to coincide with what I posted on FF.net. Hope you like it!!

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Davis’s semi-cheerful mood did not last long. His short reunion with Ken had been, at the very least, annoying and time-consuming. His friend had ordered some coffee extravaganza concoction, and half of it was whip cream. Who paid that much for whip cream? Pretty rich boys, was the obvious answer there. Davis’s attention had been diverted throughout the brief meeting by the foamy moustache glued to the top of Ken’s upper lip – just another thing for Davis to be jealous of; Ken had a moustache, and yet his infuriating self refused to produce more than a couple of scraggly hairs every now and then. That particular effect didn’t go over so well with the ladies.

Now at home, tossing a baseball in the air and catching it as gravity pulled it back down, Davis tried to ignore the giggles coming from his sister’s room. The high-pitched laughter eventually forced him to reach under his bed to (somehow) find a long-forgotten pair of earmuffs. They were pink, and relatively fluffy, but he didn’t care anymore – what was one more torture in the life of a moody teenager?

He wasn’t sure where Veemon was… not that he was in the disposition to receive company. Veemon had mentioned something about a vacation to the Digital World a few days ago… Davis shrugged mentally, not having the energy to do it physically. It was all the same to him nowadays. Hours and minutes blurred together like a watered-down painting, or a movie being fast-forwarded. He never knew what would pop up next, but he knew it would rush by just as fast as everything else. Nothing stayed the same, even for a second; the world around him was always changing, morphing into something strange and… weird. One moment they were innocent kids trying to save the world, and the next, they were older, more mature (in some cases) and bringing up words like “love” and “destiny”. The only destiny Davis recognised was that of his food – it would all end up in his belly, one way or another.

He sighed, getting up off his never-made bed, dodging the piles of garbage, and exited his room, already a destination in mind. Not realising that he had forgotten to take off his latest accessory, the full-blown laughter coming from his parents, sister and sister’s boyfriend did not make much sense… until he figured it out.

The wretched earmuffs were now in the trash bin.

I can’t do anything right today, can I? He asked himself angrily. Davis kicked the loose stones and pebbles that littered the sidewalk beneath his feet, and he watched in satisfaction as they rolled and bumped over cracks in the cement, until their short journey ended metres from where it began. His trek down to the beach was slow – he felt like taking his sweet time – and the fresh air blew the stink off of him. Not literally, of course (he did shower every once in a while, obviously) but it cleared his head, and his sinuses. They had been feeling a bit stuffy and clogged as of late.

Just as he turned the corner, his shoes landing on the soft sand and he thought he was home-free, a bothersome voice cut into his happy thoughts.

“Hey, Davis!!” TK called out excitedly. For once, Davis wished that kid wasn’t so joyful all the time. It irked him.

“What are you doing here?” the blond questioned, puzzled.

“Not much. Just taking a morning stroll.” Davis replied, flashing his teeth in a fake smile (the kind he used on picture day).

“Uh, Davis? It’s practically night.” TK pointed out.

“So it is.” Davis mused, as if pleased by this fact. “Well, then, best be off! See you around, hat-boy!”

TK stood there, baffled by this unusual behaviour in his friend. By the time he formed a reasonable question to ask, Davis was long gone, and revelling in the solace of his own private beach that provided the only company he needed at the moment – none.


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And... third chapter. A little bit later than I hoped to post it on here, but I got busy... sleeping

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“Davis?” Veemon asked gently, knowing his friend didn’t like being woken up from his afternoon naps.

“Whatcha want?” Davis slurred back at him, snuggling further down into the cozy comfort of his bed.

“You want some pizza? Kari and TK are here to visit.” Veemon’s soft tone almost lulled Davis back into a slumber, but he wiggled his toes to at least keep some part of him awake.

He could smell the bacon and mushrooms smothered in cheese, all baked on the crunchiest, warmest dough he could dream up coming from the kitchen. It wasn’t unusual to have a few of his friends randomly pop by these days—they were concerned about him. His failing appearances and sour mood hadn’t gone unnoticed for long, just as he had suspected from the beginning. Davis knew that eventually someone would start to get suspicious, and subsequently voice said worries to another, who would discuss it with someone else, and so on. Lately, they had stopped doing it behind his back to try and grab his attention, but Davis ignored it like usual and continued about his quotidian business.

“I guess.” he mumbled, dreading the interrogation ahead.

Sliding out of the covers without disturbing their position and yawned as he trampled across his bedroom to the kitchen. Once there, he collapsed on a chair at the table, and took the slice of pizza Kari was offering him. It burned his tongue slightly, but he took it all in stride and kept chewing. The nervous looks on his friends’ faces informed the sleepy boy that they hadn’t just come to check up on him this time—they intended to take action.

“Davis…” TK began hesitantly.

Davis looked up briefly, but continued engulfing the food in his eager mouth.

TK looked at Kari for reassurance and she gave him a look that convinced TK to blurt out whatever it was he was trying to hold in.

“Davis… we’re worried about you.” TK was genuinely distressed at this point, which was the only thing preventing Davis from rolling his eyes. “You never hang out with us anymore, and we barely see you at all. Whenever we do, you’re, well… moody and depressed. It’s not just us. We had to restrain Ken from coming over here himself, and Yolei is beside herself with worry. Cody has been sullen and closed off, too.”

Davis hadn’t realized how much his bad temper had been influencing everyone else. He frowned, disturbed by this news. It was possible that TK was exaggerating all of this, trying to get a reaction out of him, but if they honestly cared about him, their behavior did make some sense.

TK carried on with his heart-to-heart rant. “You’re like the glue keeping us together Davis, and without you there, we’re falling apart.” Davis shot him a look as if to say ‘Are you serious?’ and TK amended quickly, “I know that sounds lame, but it’s the best metaphor I could come up with. You’re always the one rallying us together, and keeping our spirits up, even when things get bad.”

Davis doubted that, and Kari saw the look of disbelief on his face.

“It’s true, you know.” she argued. “If you hadn’t been part of the team from the beginning, and if you weren’t you, then Ken would probably still be the Digimon Emperor, and we’d have all given up. You may not think that’s true, but at this point, no one knows what you’re thinking. You’ve withdrawn from the group, and we’ve tried lots of times to get you back, but you just won’t co-operate with us, Davis, and it’s tearing us apart.”

Kari’s eyes moistened and she took a shuddering breath to steady herself.

“I don’t know what to do anymore, Davis. To be honest, I’ve just about given up. We’ll always be here for you, you know that, but until you sort out whatever it is that’s bothering you, I don’t think we can do anymore.”

She stood, suddenly wanting to leave this place, and get away from the choking despair she felt. Kari swooped down and tenderly placed a kiss on Davis’s forehead before elegantly walking out of the apartment, tears in her eyes.

Davis sighed and laid his head down on the table, feeling the cold material press against his cheek. TK clapped him on the back once before following his girlfriend. Davis was left alone, more than ever now, and he wasn’t so sure he liked it as much as he used to. Kari’s grief and sorrow had struck him deep, causing him to feel something other than confusion and rage for the first time in weeks.

Veemon hopped up onto the table in front of Davis’s head, and he sat there, not saying anything or fidgeting like normal. To Davis, Veemon’s presence was a far-away spec in the bleary horizon. Is this what it meant to love? Not wanting to see others get hurt?

His friends were hurt by his attitude, and now that they had abandoned him, he was wishing for their smiles and laughter to fill up his life again. He tried imagining one of them dead for a moment—seeing them all peaceful in their casket, unmoving and frozen. He tried envisioning the afterwards part, where he’d have to try and get over their death and move on with his life. As each of his friends’ dead faces roamed his mind, he couldn’t do it. He could not picture a life without them. Tears pricked the back of his eyes and he swallowed thickly. Would they be sad if he died? He’d like to think so, but who knew? Maybe now he had blown his chance at that. He was friendless, save for Veemon. There was that right?

He tried to convince himself that that would be enough, but his inner-self was not persuaded. He was alone in this world, without a solid wall of friendship to lean on in desperate times. Davis recalled Kari’s cheerless words and he felt a pang in his heart. Until he figured this whole thing out, he didn’t even have comrades to rely on for support; he had pushed away the very thing that could have aided him in his daunting quest for the answer he searched for.

Whoa, these three chapters were amazing. I love it when people explore Davis's darker, depressive side.

Crap, I must have gotten a sudden case of amnesia or something, because it appears as though I forgot to update EVERYTHING here... fourth chapter, people.

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Davis sipped at his coffee, staring blankly at the television that was advertising some new hair product that was supposed to get rid of all the frizz and damage one possessed in a single week. Perhaps once upon a time, Davis would have eagerly pressed his face against the screen, whining and begging for that particular hair product, saying that he needed it, and such. Now those kinds of things didn’t register in his mind at all. It was like an old-fashioned game of ping-pong, where the ball would slowly travel from one side of the screen to the other, bouncing off those walls, never getting through.

He was curled up in a blanket that he didn’t remember putting on, and it was pouring outside, the freezing cold rain sloshing against the pavement stories below, and splashing on the glass windows that adorned the apartment building. It was just after midday—a very sluggish time in the eyes of Davis. This was the time of day during the summer where your parents wouldn’t let you go outside because it was too hot out, so you were stuck waiting impatiently inside until the sun was low enough that you could go back outdoors and run around, playing.

On this day, however, Davis had another idea.

So what if it was pouring out? Wasn't he allowed to have some fun every once in a while? He was his own man - he didn't answer to anyone but himself. With that mindset, he abandoned the sofa, and headed towards his freedom.

His raincoat lay forgotten on the hooks by the front door as he stepped into the fresh air, sporting a tiny smile on his face. A soccer ball was tucked beneath his arm and he let his feet take him to the nearest soccer field, slick with water.

His shoes squeaked, and his socks were wet, but that didn’t matter to him. He was feeling slightly nostalgic, and in accordance, he began kicking the ball up and down the field.

The feeling of his lungs burning with need of oxygen made him smile even more, so he went faster, picking up the pace. Davis started to pant, and his leg muscles shouted their fury at him for going so long without exercise, but he just kept grinning, as though the pain would set him free.

And it did.

For a while, on that rainy day, Davis felt like his old self again. He felt like he had friends he could count on to support him through whatever he faced, and that everything was back to being so simple. If people could sprout wings, Davis would have been flying. He laughed even as the rain came down harder and as he slipped and landed on his bum in the mud. He cried from laughter when lightening illuminated the sky, and thunder boomed in his ears. His sides began to hurt from all his laughing as he scored a goal in the empty net and cheered loud enough to drown out an entire crowd.

Davis felt free.


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Davis felt like shit.

He lay curled up again, only this time he was surrounded by tissues, and he had tea instead of coffee. Snot tended to dribble from his nose disgustingly and he could barely feel it—his only indication was the strange look Veemon would gave him every once in a while. That was when he knew there was snot dripping an oozing from his nostrils.

It figured he’d get a cold from going outside in the rain. His horoscope for that day should have been: Stay inside. You are likely to develop a nasty cold if you even think about opening those front doors. Also, make sure that you have some other kind of tea than that crap up in your cupboard that’s been sitting there since the age of the dinosaurs.

Seriously, what was in this tea? Davis might not have been able to taste much, due to his clogged nose, but he could tell that something wasn’t right about this beverage. He’d have to ask his sister when she got home… whenever that was going to be.

His mom had fretted about him when he walked in, sneezing and soaking wet, and her concern hadn’t been unfounded. Within half an hour, his head felt like an over-sized watermelon and he could no longer breathe through his nose. Thankfully, Davis had remembered to breathe through his mouth to avoid re-enacting that one time when he had put a clothespin over his nose… and forgot that he had a mouth in which to use instead.

After consuming some of that awful medicine, Buckley’s, Davis passed out on his bed, snuggling into the covers, searching for some warmth. He came in and out, seeing blurred figures, hearing hazy voices. His brain pounded in time with his heartbeat and he sniffled from time to time pitifully.

In all honesty, his life sucked at the moment.

He could think of worse circumstances, such as falling off a rooftop, and splattering his guts all over the pavement, but as far as sicknesses went, this topped the charts at number one. He couldn’t remember ever feeling so… sleepy and congested. The only comfort he had was the knowledge that colds pass and they mercifully are relatively short-term. He could count his blessings, could he not?

Finally, after a long day of emotional turmoil and sickness abound, Davis drifted off into a world where his blessings could be counted on more than one hand.


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Next one should be up shortly.

And by shortly, I mean now.

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“You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are grey…” Davis sang off-tune as he launched smooth rocks against the waves of the Dark Ocean and watched them skip across the surface.

He abruptly sneezed during the middle of the verse and then sniffled pitifully, wishing his cold would just go away once and for all. He swore to himself that one day he would invent a cure for the common cold, and be rich and make lots of money, and have a hot girlfriend who never complained when he left the toilet seat lid up, like his bothersome sister.

Davis chuckled at his imaginary world and went back to skipping rocks. He was feeling more peaceful now, after the soccer-field incident. Aside from the runny nose and pounding headache, he felt like… he wasn’t sure exactly what he felt like, but it sure as hell was a lot better than what he had been feeling a week ago. There was a tiny spring in his step that hadn’t been there for such a long time, and he even smiled at Veemon on occasion. Things were definitely looking up, and for once, he had hope that one day he could join his friends and be himself.

Back home, after his day of self-induced fun, Davis grabbed a tea bag from the cupboards, thankful that his mother had gone shopping over the weekend and had bought some decent tea that helped him in his sickly condition, as opposed to making him wonder what kind of poison he was inadvertently putting in his system.

Just as he settled down on the couch, ready to watch some television for the rest of the afternoon, the front door burst open and Veemon came charging in, out of breath. He dragged himself across the room until he was flopped down on the hardwood floor in front of Davis.

“Do I even want to know?” Davis asked, peering down at his exerted friend.

“Coming… rip… eyeballs… DEAD!!!!” Veemon managed to spit out incoherently.

“I’m sorry… I didn’t quite catch that last part.”

“I said…” Veemon wheezed, “Ken is coming, and if he finds out that I warned you, he’s going to rip out my eyeballs…”

“Then what was that about the dead part?” Davis asked, his eyebrow raised slightly.

“Oh… I saw a dead squirrel on the way here.”

“… Right. Well then, I’d better clean up a bit, and you’d better hide before he sees you, and unleashes all the wrath of Ken Ichijoji: Boy Genius.”

“… You’re not mad and angry and upset that Ken is butting into your personal business?” Veemon questioned tentatively, watching Davis clear off the coffee table and put away old wrappers.

“No, of course not. Why, should I be?”

“No, no… it’s perfectly fine with me. I’ll just go hide in your closet.”

“Oh, yeah, there’s some leftover pizza in there if you want it.” Davis informed his friend.

Veemon rushed off to get his share of the potentially-rotten food moldering away in the recesses of Davis’s packed closet.

Davis sat down on the couch, resting his feet on the comfy cushions, and he waited for Ken to show up.

It didn’t take long.

Ken banged on the door, demanding that Davis let him in.

Davis felt like saying, “Not by the hairs on my chin-y-chin-chin!” but he refrained from doing so by sheer willpower.

“It’s open!” he declared instead, sipping at his steaming beverage.

Ken came charging in, ready to give Davis a piece of his mind. He stormed over to the couch, where he expected to find his friend sprawled out, and half-dead with self-loathing; alternatively, he found Davis drinking tea and… smiling?

“What’s going on?” Ken inquired, moving through the apartment to get a better look at Davis.

“What do you mean, Ken? I’m not doing anything.”

“What I mean is… Why are you behaving like a normal person? You’re sitting on the couch, and you’re not even slouched over, and your hair looks semi-brushed… TK and Kari told me you were nothing but a dead-beat and that I’d be foolish to hope for anything more than that.”

Davis scowled at this bit of information.

“What made you change?” Ken asked suddenly, wanting to know the reason for the drastic behavior change.

“Various reasons.” Davis replied vaguely. “This and that… you know, just stuff.”

“That’s not very definitive.” Ken notified Davis annoyingly.

“I know that, Kenny, but I can’t really explain it right now. I may have changed from the pathetic loser I was a couple weeks ago, but trust me; he’s not leaving anytime soon. I still have to figure all this out.” Davis waved his hands around, gesturing to nothing in particular.

“What is all this?”

“I wish I knew,” Davis answered back morosely, “but unfortunately, I don’t, so you’re just going to have to suffer with not knowing the answer to that question for a bit, m’kay?”

Ken huffed and shoved some stale pretzels from a bowl on the coffee table into his mouth. He didn’t like not knowing the answer to a question, and Davis knew that. He knew that very well.

“So when do you think you’ll come hang out with us again? We miss you.”

Davis was tempted, but the hesitation was clear on his face.

“Just once,” Ken pleaded, “and if you really don’t want to be there, then you can go, honest. But it’s just not the same without you, Davis, and the cracks are really starting to show.”

Davis chewed his lip as he contemplated this new proposal. He missed his friends—that was true enough, and it appeared as though they yearned for his company once again… He squirmed with this new sense of guilt. Ken was willing to just let him go if he didn’t feel like staying around, which in itself was nothing short of a miracle. Ken was rather persistent at getting whatever he wanted (say, for example, if he wanted to completely take over and obliterate an entire world, he would undoubtedly find some way of doing it).

“Do you remember,” Ken said unexpectedly, “when you kept bugging me to be friends with you guys after the Digimon Emperor thing?” Davis nodded. “I feel like our roles are reversed now, you know? I never thought about it from your perspective before, and I realize now how hard it is to convince someone to do something they believe they really don’t want to. I know you, Davis, and I know that you want to come hang out with us, but something’s stopping you and I doubt even you know what that is.”

Davis fidgeted with the bottom of his shirt, not wanting to admit the truth that Ken’s words were filled with. He did know what was stopping him from going—it was the burden of his secret, burning a hole in his chest with its intensity. How was he supposed to be expected to just tell Ken that he went to the Dark Ocean everyday? It was a sticky situation.

“I want to come with you guys, you know that too, Ken… but… it’s hard to explain. I just feel like I need more time to myself for now.”

There—half the truth anyways, so he wasn’t really lying, right?

Ken sighed, and stood up. “Alright, it’s your decision, so I’ll let you do what you want… but if you change your mind, Cody’s got a kendo tournament this weekend, and you’re welcome to come along.”

Without another word, Ken retrieved his shoes from the front door and left, quietly closing the door behind him.

Davis collapsed on the couch, now faced with a difficult choice. To go or not to go—that was the question.

“What are you going to do, Davis?” Veemon asked softly, coming over to where his friend was laying.

“I don’t know, Veemon. I really don’t know.”


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All updated for now... lemme know what you think XD

The sixth chapter... it's rather short, but it's up... so SMILE.

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“Operation: Sneak Into Kendo Tournament” was underway. Davis was putting on the final touches of his disguise—a fake moustache, of course—and Veemon was crawling into his knapsack to avoid discovery.

After much serious deliberating, Davis had come to the conclusion that he needed to go to this Kendo Tournament, if only to reassure himself that he could be within a ten-foot range of his buddies, and not chicken out. Therefore, to insure that he remained at the event long enough before wimping out, Davis had reckoned it to be absolutely compulsory to mask himself so as not to be identified. Decked out in sweat pants and an over-large hoodie, Davis exited his house and ventured across the city to the arena where the Tournament was taking place. His moustache kept getting buffeted by the sudden gusts of intense wind, but he braved through it for the sake of The Short One.

Because that was his real reason for going. No matter how much he didn’t want to admit it, Cody had always been there for him, and he deserved a hell of a lot better than what Davis had been putting out. It was only fair that he make an appearance to this event to cheer on Cody, and make sure Cody knew he appreciated all he had done for Davis. This, obviously, was not going to be done face-to-face, but rather in the form of a bouquet of flowers and a note. Manly flowers, that is. Ones that had thorns and were wilting, but still looked strong.

He bought roses.

Red ones, to be exact.

They were the thorniest he could find, and looked wild. He could only hope Cody would appreciate the effort he went through to steal the money from his parents to buy these manly flowers, and the decision-making process he had been forced to endure in order to select the perfect bunch of manly flowers.

Walking down the road, Veemon secured in his backpack, roses in hand, Davis entered the arena cautiously, prepared for any sign of his buddies. A quick scan revealed that they hadn’t shown up yet, and he made his way to the back of the stands, where he set up camp. There from his vantage point, he had an excellent view of everything going on, and a peek in the direction of the doors let him see whoever came through. Soon enough, he spotted them, huddled together like the happy family they were.

And they were holding hands.

Ken and Yolei looked happier than ever with each other. Kari and TK… well, they always looked happy, so no surprise there. Davis suddenly felt bad for Cody, having to put up with two happy couples on a day-to-day basis… all alone. He now understood why Ken said even Cody was missing him. No doubt the little guy had his hands full trying not to feel like a fifth wheel. That sentiment, flowing through him at that exact moment, compelled Davis to want to call Ken after all this was done and over with to plan a day when they could all go grab some ice cream or something. He could hang back with Cody and make fun of the other four and their lovey-dovey ways. It would be a good time, he imagined.

Yolei had to go and ruin everything, though. Davis watched in silent horror as she deftly pointed to the top of the stands, right where Davis was trying to conceal himself, and she dragged Ken with her, all the way to the top, Kari and TK trailing along behind. They sat directly in front of him, and Yolei’s hair even skimmed over his knees as she whipped her head around, telling Kari and TK to hurry it up.

He couldn’t breathe in fear of alerting them to his presence. His fingers stilled in their incessant tapping, and even Veemon, hidden away, had the sense to stop jerking around and sit still. His lungs demanded some form of air, but he ignored their whining and continued to play statue for as long as possible. There was dried-up gum stuck to the bleachers—maybe Yolei would refuse to sit anywhere near the top once she saw that.

No such luck.

Not only did she remain oblivious to the existence of the used and discarded chewing gum, she sat right next to it. Almost on top of it. Davis shifted in his seat for the first time in the past few minutes, trying not to chuckle or slap himself. If it had been anyone besides Yolei in that situation, he would have burst out laughing. But it was Yolei, and Davis was chivalrous enough to want to tap her on the shoulder and notify her of the old candy she was nearly in contact with.

Which he obviously couldn’t do in this situation, as that would involve coming in contact with those he was avoiding…

What a dilemma.

As it turned out, that wasn’t necessary, because Kari, being the kind soul she was, thought it appropriate to get to know anyone within a five-foot range of her.

“Hi there!” she said to a stunned Davis happily. “What’s your name? Are you here to see someone in particular? We’re here to see a friend of ours. I bet he’s going to do so great.”

She stared at him expectantly, and Davis gulped, unsure of what to do in his untimely predicament.

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Haha, the power of cliffhangers XD