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The Cave	By : Himitsu_no_Tokumei Category: Digimon > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 2022 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon, nor do I make any profit off of this work of fiction.

Chapter List
- 5
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Chapter 5: The Next Day
            Rolling out of bed, Matt could not help but dread first period. Twice the previous day ha had cut Tai off before he had the chance to talk. Now he had a class sitting right next to the guy with a teacher that rambled worse than the brunette. He wouldn’t even realize the school was burning down around him until his book caught on fire. If Tai wanted to corner him, that would be the first possible time.
            Having a quick breakfast of toast (he would normally have a more elaborate meal), the blonde rushed out the door early, hoping to avoid Tai at the junction they’d always meet up at. Running past the intersection and on to school, he didn’t see the sad look on his best friend’s face. Tai had left early so Matt couldn’t slip by (Matt normally arrived first) and he could talk to his best friend. But, judging by the musician’s attitude, he didn’t want to talk about it.
            “Izzy!” Matt yelled, catching the redhead as he arrived at the gate.
            “Hey Matt,” Izzy called back. “Good to see you’re doing batter. You are doing better, right?”
            “Yeah,” the blonde answered. “Nothing a good day’s rest couldn’t beat,” he said, stopping next to the other male. “Do you know if I missed anything other than this?” Matt waved the paper TK had given him. TK got it from Kari, who got it from Tai.
            “A bit of math, but nothing difficult,” the computer geek replied. “You’ll have to do the make up work for art and cooking, most likely. (A/N: Izzy does not have cooking with Matt, but knows the teacher. Cooking is seventh period, Tai has gym, Izzy has computers.) Tai has more classes with you than I do.”
            The blonde nodded as they resumed movement. Between Tai and Izzy, he only had one class without someone to ask. But speaking to Tai would be awkward. “Omf!” Matt really should have been paying attention to where he was going. “Oh, sorr-” he cut off as he realized it was Tai he had ran into. At some point, the brunette had passed by him. Standing rigid, dead silent, Matt could only think one thing. What so you say to a person you blew up at because you kissed him?
            “It’s okay,” Tai said, his characteristic grin on his face. He seemed to have completely forgetting the whole problem in the first place, and Matt could not stop the small sting in his chest. He found he did not want Tai to forget that kiss. A part of him, a very small, insignificant part of him, had hoped Tai would push him to confess. Yes, Tai did like to avoid problems like fighting with friends (thought that is pretty hard with Matt), but he was also an extremely nosy person. For him to let this matter drop… Was he alright?
            “Tai, was that assignment the only thing I missed yesterday?” the blonde asked, both boys heading to his locker.
            “Yeah,” the brunette replied, resituating his bag on his shoulder.
            “Okay,” Matt said, silence falling in his word’s wake. Closing the locker, he went to class, Tai following slightly behind him. “The homework from Thursday is due today, right?” he asked, trying to lessen the heavy silence.
            “Yeah,” Tia replied, then paled.
            “You forgot to do it, didn’t you?” his friend asked, chuckling slightly.
            “Ah, be quiet,” the soccer player teased, Matt’s tactic successfully working, for now.
            “Be nice and you can copy mine,” Matt whispered as they entered the classroom and sat down. Tai quickly duplicated the answers, giving the paper back before class started and opening his sketchbook. As usual, Matt turned in both his and Tai’s work (would that boy even know where the turn in basket was?). Upon returning to his seat, the musician realized Tai was still buried in his sketchbook. “What are you drawing?” he asked, hoping to break the awkward silence that had once again fallen over them.
            “I’m not sure yet. I drew you last night, though,” the brunette replied, not even thinking of how strange that sounded. He also didn’t realize the solemn tone in it.
            Fighting against the flush in his cheeks, he somehow managed to steadily say, “What’d you do something so girly for? Great, soon I’m going to have a hoard of fan boys, too, if my best friend has already fallen for me.” The second part was said in mock-humility with a side of jokingness.
            Tai, even though he knew Matt was kidding, could not help but blush. “It’s nothing like that” he replied indignantly. “I just like to draw, and you’re my best friend so it’s only natural. It shows I care!”
            At least he’s not mad, Matt thought, grinning. There was still an uncomfortable tension between them, a connotation that neither of them wanted to be the first to speak. Several nervous glances fell on the pair. Normally, not even Matt could shut up the soccer star. Now, though, both seemed to be completely disregarding the other’s existence. Matt’s ‘make Tai laugh and get back to normal’ plan had utterly failed, leaving them in the same predicament they had been in a few minutes before.
            Tai was the first out of the classroom when the bell rang, leaving a very hurt Matt behind. For not the first time, the blonde wondered, Why the hell did I have to kiss him? Lazily stacking his books, he was about to leave when something caught his eye. “Tai’s sketchbook?” he inquired. The black book rested on his best friend’s desk, the words ‘Do not touch!’ scribbled in apparent Tai handwriting. Yep, definitely Tai’s sketchbook. He must have accidentally forgotten it. Guess I can get it back to him third period. Picking up the slim item, he gently sat it on his texts and headed in the opposite direction Tai had gone, their second periods being on opposite sides of the building.
            He kept his will up pretty long, considering his curiosity. The sketchpad was not his, so he had no right to look through it, but it was his best friend’s, so he had every right to. Besides, Tai said he had drawn Matt, and the musician wanted to see it. About fifteen minutes into class, he could no longer help it. Algebra II be damned (not that he wasn’t great at math anyway), he wanted to know!
            Flipping to the first page, Matt was truly shocked. It was just a rough sketch, but even from the back one could tell it was him. He was sitting in a chair, elbow on the window sill, facing the wind that lightly ruffled his hair and the curtains. The detail showed every wrinkle in clothing and curtains and sheets, for his bed was just to the right of the chair. Yes, one could even tell it was his room.
            Wow, Tai, he thought, careful not to touch, and thus smudge, the pencil sketch. Since when could you draw so well? And from memory, too! He was about to close the pad when one last aspect of the picture drew his attention. Nestled in the lower left corner was a name and a set of numbers. Taichi Kamiya was written in the boy’s slanted signature(1); the number set below it read: 9/13/XX(2).
            Matt’s breath caught in his breath. Those numbers could only mean one thing, a date. September thirteenth? his mind reeled. That’s a month ago. This can’t be the picture he was talking about. Why would he draw me? Okay spaz, calm down. He said he drew me because it showed he cared about me. Maybe that’s all it is. He was bored, so he drew his best friend. Let’s test this theory ad look at the rest...

            Where is it!? Tai’s mind screamed, becoming frantic as the bell rang. Please tell me Matt doesn’t have it! No, hope Matt has it and just hasn’t looked through it. That would be better than one of the gossip girls getting a hold of it and writing an article about how I’m obsessed with my best friend. Oh please don’t have him look through it! Tai was out the door (with the rest of his belongings firmly in his arms) with that thought resounding in his mind.
            It took all Matt’s self control to not blush. The entire thing was filled with pictures of him. Not just one or two, but the twenty-three pages that were used were sketches of him. He may be Tai’s closest friend, but to dedicate a whole sketchbook to another boy, even if that boy was his best friend… Matt couldn’t ask. His mind was already made up. He’d give the pad back, try not to blush, and deny opening it if Tai asked. “No need to look at crappy drawings” or some other excuse. That was another thing that got to him. How did Tai draw so well?
            Flopping into his seat, the brunette placed his head in his hands. Matt was never supposed to look at that, ever(3)! And now he probably has it in his grasp and... I don’t even want to think about it! Tai let out a noise somewhere between a whimper and a groan, sinking into his desk even more.
            The blonde slowly walked through the threshold, not even looking at his friend as he tossed the book nearly on his bowed head. “You left that in first period,” he calmly articulated while taking his seat (again next to Tai) gracefully, trying to act normal. He still wouldn’t look at Tai.
            The teen jumped at the loud smack! of paper on wood, blinking at the item of his worry a couple seconds before quickly scooping it up and hugging it tightly to his chest. “Thanks,” he lovingly cooed.
            “Try not to forget stuff, it’s a pin to have to carry it around for a period,” Matt replied, chancing a glance at the other male. Seeing the soccer player’s reaction, and knowing what was in it, the musician could not contain the flush in his cheeks and snapped his head forward. It wasn’t that he was attention, but that the euphoric look on Tai’s face was too cute. Cute enough to kis—No! Stop thinking like that! You are starting to sound like a lovesick school girl, he scolded, mentally growling at the small part of his mind asking smugly, Just starting?
            Biting his lower lip nervously, Tai gently sat down his sketchpad. “So… how was second period?” he asked normally. Hard to believe his mind had already passed out from an overload of emotion, mostly worry and embarrassment.
            “Boring and easy, as usual,” Matt responded, equally casual. He’s trying to hint if I looked in his sketchbook, the blonde realized. “What’s it that you got in that anyway?” he asked. “Let me see so I can comment on how much you need to improve.” He grinned, referring to the time Tai really did suck at drawing. Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t seen the obnoxious brunette’s drawings in years.
            Tai huffed at the insult, puffing his cheeks and chest. The musician in the seat next to him could barely contain his chuckle. “Well, I’ll show you!” he indignantly puffed, crazily flipping through the sketchbook. Slamming the open pad on his friend’s desk, the soccer player crossed his arms over is chest and arrogantly sat back a bit, intently watching the other boy’s facial expression.
            Matt stared at a younger version of himself. He had already determined in second period (because of the date at the bottom) this was the one Tai had told him about. Still, Tai’s skills and memory amazed him into forgetting to act surprised, his mind focused on the thought, Tai must have watched mea lot to remember all this stuff. The other male’s glare wavered, reminding the blonde how he should be reacting. “Wow… You’ve gotten better…” he breathed out, hoping he sounded authentic enough to fool the scatter brained gogglehead to his right.
            He’s not surprised! He looked through it! said gogglehead’s recently revived mind panicked. “Thanks…” he muttered, snatching it back and looking away.
            Crap! He suspects something! “You must have a girl you’d like to draw, though,” he said in desperation.
            A small sting waltzed through his chest at the word ‘girl.’ “Yeah, I guess,” he said, faking his characteristic grin as he looked back at his friend.
            Smooth, Sherlock, Matt berated himself as his heart drop. He couldn’t bring himself to ask who. It was bad enough already without himself using whoever the lucky girl (he suspected Sora) was as a comparison. Not to mention that if it was Sora he would not be able to help but feel guilty around her, knowing he caused his crush’s unhappiness.
            An uncomfortable silence fell over the music room as the class’ normal source of entertainment kept unnaturally silent.

            Matt glanced around the huge common room, looking for Tai. The two hadn’t spoken since third period, too busy thinking and getting no where (not that Tai ever got anywhere when thinking), but the blonde doubted Tai would go so far as to go elsewhere just to avoid him, especially since they always sat with the rest of their friends. After several minutes and no sign of the bushy-haired athlete, Matt started to fidget. Tai was never late to lunch. Tai was never late when food was involved. Maybe something happened to him. Or maybe, the girl he liked wasn’t Sora and she was spending time with his Ta—best friend. Yeah, best friend, the musician’s mind sadly mused. The only thing Tai is to me is a best friend and unrequited crush. Besides, I have Sora now. He had hoped going out with Sora would get him over his obsession with Tai, but he could not stop the horrible retch in his gut when the girl took Tai’s seat at the lunch table. Still, he could not bring himself to tell her to move to his other side.
            Tai had gone to the lunch room just long enough to grab his lunch, then made his way outside before anyone could drag him over to Matt. He did not want to see Matt and Sora get closer and closer. Petty though he knew it was, he was extremely jealous of the girl. He pulled out his sketchbook, hoping to find something, or someone, else to focus his mind on. Trying to draw someone other than Matt, though, proved useless. No matter who he tried to make the figure into, it continued to transform into the blonde, and he finally gave up and finished it. Closing the pad, he looked back towards the lunch room. “Matt belongs to Sora,” he told himself. “I have to give up on him, and find someone else. Mimi, maybe?” For some reason, he didn’t sound convincing.
            The thing more disappointing than Sora’s theft of Tai’s seat was the gogglehead’s non-appearance, and Matt’s sigh did not go unnoticed. Concerned, Sora watched the blonde cautiously, not wanting the male, or any of the others, to realize what she was doing. Whether it was female intuition or because she held the Crest of Love(4), she guessed there were more emotions towards the missing teen than Matt was letting on.
            The bell rang as Matt was throwing his trash away. Quickly grabbing his book bag, the musician waved a hasty goodbye and rushed off. For once, he made it to sixth period before Tai, and entertained the idea of waiting and pairing up with him usual for ‘sketch day.’ Guiltily, he did not want to be near Tai. Seeing Izzy enter, he walked over to him. “Izzy, mind pairing with me today?” the blonde asked.
            The computer wiz raised an inquisitive eyebrow. “Don’t you normally team up with Tai?” he asked.
            “Yeah, but…” Matt started, unable or unwilling to come up with an excuse for his behavior.
            The redhead watched Tai enter the classroom, glancing back and forth between him and the singer, before quickly turning away. “Yeah, I’ll team up with you,” he said, eyes still following Tai.
            Not physically reacting did not mean he did not emotionally react. He could not deny they were avoiding each other, so he approached Mimi. “Hey, wanna pair up with me, Mimi?” he grinned.
            “Okay!” the pink-haired female shouted in her overly-loud bordering-on-obnoxious voice.
            Matt cringed, also catching onto the fact they were breaking apart, and realizing he was the cause of it. In trying to salvage his friendship, he knew he would eventually destroy it. And it was too late to reverse the damage or rate of decline. He could only sit back and watch his best friend drift away.
            Smiling, Tai said, “You know, I like how well you can express yourself, Mimi. You’re so open. It’s refreshing.”
            Izzy noticed Matt cringe again. With the bell ringing, the redhead snapped his fingers in Matt’s face. “Matt, let’s find a shady spot,” he said. “Before they’re all taken.”
            The teens shuffled outside, Tai and Mimi taking the spot he and Matt normally took, while said blonde and Izzy took a seat under the shade of a tree a few meters away. Tai noticed Matt had sat with his back to him. Whether intentional or not, he didn’t know. Diverting his attention back to his own partner he opened his sketchpad to draw. Yeah, I can draw Mimi instead of Matt, he told himself.
            “Wow Tai!” came the enthusiastic yell, drawing the entire class’ attention (except Matt, who was purposely ignoring them, and yes, Izzy noticed, too). “Where did you learn to draw like that?! That’s so good!”
            A blush crept onto Tai’s cheeks. Guess what, he was drawing Matt again. “Uhmmm… Th-thanks? I-I sort of taught myself… You’re… making everyone stare… Can you keep your voice down a little?” he suggested, embarrassed by the class’ reaction and hurt by Matt’s. He wasn’t even sure what he had done to piss Matt off.
            “Oh, sorry!” Mimi chimed quieter, but no less enthusiastic.
            “Okay, what happened between you two?” Izzy asked his blonde partner, who was too into what he was drawing.
            “Nothing,” he whispered unconvincingly.
            “You’re lying. Everyone knows you and Tai are always partners, even after you’ve been fighting. So, something happened,” Izzy stated, laying down his pencil and crossing his arms.
            “It’s okay. I’m just not used to people being loud and nice at the same time, or at all, really,” Tai grinned to Mimi, none the wiser to Matt and Izzy’s conversation.
            Said blonde, despite trying to ignore his crush, tuned into every word and winced again. “I-it’s my problem… I-I’m trying to deal with it…” Matt whispered even quieter. Realization dawned on the intelligent teen’s face. It was a possibility. He didn’t have enough evidence to prove it, though, and decided to just drop it. Needing to change the subject, Izzy tipped the distracted musician’s sketchpad.
            “Oh my god, Matt,” he yelled suddenly, everyone turning to look at that pair now. “You really suck at drawing!”
            “Hey!” the male huffed back, obviously embarrassed Izzy had just yelled that.
            “I didn’t know you could make bears into stick figures,” the redhead continued.
            “That’s not a bear, it’s a horse!” Matt indignantly retorted.
            Tai blinked and looked to his best friend. Hearing Matt’s hilarious reply, he could no longer hold in his laughter. The blonde grew angry at Tai’s obviously-it’s-Tai-laughing laugh, and attacked the paper again. Why did he have to laugh like that? Matt had never insisted on seeing Tai’s drawings because he didn’t want Tai to see his. He had musical talent, not artistic talent. Now Tai knew, though. Well, he knew Tai’s too, butthatwasn’tthepoint! The brunette had just calmed down when Izzy had to speak up again. “Matt, your ‘horse’ is looking more like a stick figure rhinoceros, now,” he commented, chuckling.
            “Shut up!” Matt snapped. “That’s its mane!”
            Snickering, he returned to drawing his best friend. I really need to find someone else to draw, the brunette thought. Except Sora. I don’t even want to think about her! She took Matt. And Matt... That bastard stole my first kiss! And then he acts like it’s nothing and goes for Sora! Why did he play with my feelings like that?
            Matt peered at the paper on Izzy’s laptop and sighed. “Hey Izzy,” he said, obtaining the male’s attention. “Can you teach me?” he asked pointing to the paper. He would have asked Tai, but… Shouldn’t it feel awkward to be near the friend who you think of kissing, holding, and possibly going farther with? The going farther with was a ‘once (if) we get into a relationship and are together awhile’ thing, but he had still thought about it.
            “I can help you with that,” he replied.
            “You’re really good at drawing Matt,” Mimi said, smiling sweetly.
            “Well, it could be because I rarely hang out with anyone else,” Tai stated. “Maybe I should hang out with you more…” This could be your chance to get over Matt, the soccer player mentally said.
            “Are you asking me out, Taichi Kamiya?” the pink-haired girl asked.
            Matt held his breath, an action Izzy was too busy instructing to see. “Possibly,” the athlete confirmed. “Embarrassing as it is to say, I’ve never gone out with anyone. I could use some experience. It’d be nice knowing someone cared about me other than in a friendly or sibling way.”
            “Hmm,” Mimi hummed, thinking it over. “Alright! I could help you out,” she replied, smiling. The blonde a few meters away felt his breath painfully leave his chest. “But only for a couple weeks, okay? This is just experience. I already have a crush on someone. But, at least you won’t feel weird with your first girlfriend.”
            “Thanks, Mimi,” Tai quietly cheered, hugging the girl. A taste rose in the back of his throat, a feeling saying, “This isn’t right.” “I kind of feel like I’m using you, though.”
            “Don’t worry,” the girl smiled, enthusiastically punching the air. “I am always glad to help a friend.”
            Matt did not feel very ‘friendly’ towards Mimi at that moment. She was stealing his Tai! Wait! What the hell are you thinking, Matt? Quit being possessive over something that is not yours! Not wanting to explode at the girl who no deserve his enmity ( he’s supposed to be the Child of Friendship), he stood suddenly. “I need to go to the nurse,” he said, gathering his supplies and promptly leaving. Mimi has done nothing wrong. It’s your fault, Matt. You should never have kissed Tai.
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The Cave