Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Angel ❯ One-Shot

Angelgirl

By the-girl-with-green-hair

Chapter One

It all started a few months ago when a new girl arrived at my school. She was the intrigue in student interest. No one had ever heard of this girl before, me included. As I walked around the school I heard the same word mentioned over and over. `Angel'. I was confused and I did not know what they were talking about. What angel? At lunchtime I found out from my best friend Kari Kamiya.

"Hi TK," came the greeting from my friend as I sat down to a cafeteria lunch.

"Hey Kari," I replied.

"Have you heard?" she asked bluntly.

"Heard what?" I queried.

"Don't play dumb. The new girl," Kari shot back. I grinned.

"Yeah, so what?" I laughed and had a bite of rubbery jello.

"Well, she's strange and her name is Angel," Kari informed me.

"Oh," I said serious again, "That's why everyone keeps mentioning that word."

"Well duh TA," a male voice answered me. Davis Motomiya sat down at our table.

"Hi Davis," Kari greeted him with a pleasant voice.

"Hey," I muttered.

"So, we're talking about the Angel chick huh?" Davis asked, shoving a forkful of baked beans into his mouth.

"Yeah we were," I said, stressing the word `we' and indicating myself and Kari.

"Okay, so TE here is completely oblivious that the chick's name is Angel. And Kari… well Kari knows all so that's pointless," Davis babbled.

"Davis!" Kari interrupted him.

"Yes Kari?" he asked sweetly. I flinched. Davis was flirting again. I rolled my eyes.

"Davis," she repeated, "TK and I are busy, discussing other things so if you'd be a good friend and leave, I'll call you tonight." Davis practically drooled on the floor. I rolled my eyes again.

"Sure thing Kari, anything for you," he left to sit with some of his soccer buddies.

"Score one for Kari," I laughed and Kari smiled at me.

"So where were we?" she asked.

"Angel," I stated.

"Oh yeah. She's really kooky. You should see what she's wearing! This morning she gave everyone in her homeroom a love-heart shaped cookie!" Kari exclaimed. I started to reply when the girl herself entered the lunchroom. Silence fell and everyone stared at her.

"That's her?" I whispered to Kari.

"Yep," Kari replied. I looked at the girl. She was wearing a long floral print skirt and a bright red blouse with yellow frills. I raised an eyebrow.

"That's something you don't see every day,' I commented. She walked over to Davis's table and pulled a flute out of her bag. The whole room watched in awe as she serenaded a boy I didn't even know.

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday Andrew Kamona, happy birthday to you!"

I watched as Andrew's face went bright red. Davis punched Andrew's arm and the whole table laughed. Angel walked off to an empty table on the other side of the room and sat down. Half the room went back to their usual chatter, while the other half watched cautiously in case Angel decided to sing to them as well. I absentmindedly watched as she pulled out a brown paper bag and get an apple out. I turned back to Kari.

"That made good lunchtime viewing," I grinned at her. Kari chuckled.

"Told you she was weird," Kari commented.

"Hmm… did you see the look on Andrew's face?" I asked.

"He looked like a tomato!" Kari exclaimed.

"Davis and the rest of his friends loved it," I said, "Andrew's probably gonna get it all week now."

"Knowing Davis, he'll draw it out for a month," Kari agreed. Then the bell went and we headed to class.

Chapter Two

The next day at lunchtime, we all waited for Angel to make her move. One of the head cheerleaders, Maxine Leishman, seemed to dislike Angel more than anyone else. Kari and I sat at our usual table and Davis sat at his soccer table because Kari had promised she would go out on a date with him if he didn't sit with us at lunch for a month. I think we got the better side of the deal.

"Thank goodness you agreed go on a date with Davis," I said casually.

"Yeah… wait a minute… why did you say that?" Kari asked me suspiciously.

"Oh, well we don't have to put up with him sitting here for a month. It's a good thing," I replied airily. Kari looked at me strangely and shook her head.

"Whatever. You're not the one that has a date with him," she sighed. I laughed.

"I'd come with you if I could but I have homework," I edged my way out. Kari slapped my arm playfully.

"You wouldn't come even if I paid you," she said knowing exactly what I was thinking.

"How do you know these things?" I asked mockingly. Just then Angel entered the cafeteria.

"Uh oh," Kari murmured. We watched as Angel walked over to a girl in a lower grade. Once again the room fell silent. Angel pulled out her flute and played `Happy Birthday' once again. I watched her hypnotised until she'd finished. My eyes followed her across the room to the table she'd sat at the day before. This time there was someone waiting for her. Lori Winnaleah. Lori's a shy girl that I rarely see. I was amazed that I even knew her name.

"Why would Lori sit with someone like Angel?" Kari's voice broke through my thoughts. I shrugged. Angel looked up at that moment and she looked me squarely in the eyes. I blushed for being caught staring. Kari frowned.

"Earth to TK? Come in TK!" Kari barked in my ear and waved her hand in front of my face.

"Sorry Kari," I blushed harder.

"So how do I get out of this date with Davis?" she asked, biting into her sandwich. I looked at her blankly. Then I was saved by the bell and we headed off to class.

When we got to class, there was a bit of an uproar. Someone had left a bunch of flowers on everyone's desk.

"I bet I know who did this," I heard Maxine say menacingly.

"You thinking who I'm thinking?" one of Maxine's friends said.

"Angel," Maxine finished. I walked over to my desk and picked up my flowers. I had a bunch of sunflowers and daisies. It was tied up with a red ribbon. I sniffed the flowers and sneezed. Maxine looked over my way.

"HEY! TK has a different bunch of flowers!" she cried out. I looked at the other flowers. Sure enough, Maxine was right. Everyone else had wildflowers and ferns. Only I had sunflowers and daisies. I blushed as everyone looked at me. Then I felt something jab my hand. I dropped the flowers in shock. I picked them back up again and looked to see what had jabbed me. There was a little card tied onto the ribbon. I opened it. It read: I LOVE YOU in bright red letters and had a love heart drawn around the outside. I blushed and felt pleased.

"TK!" Maxine called out to me. I looked up.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"What does the card say?" she asked. My head went into overdrive.

"Ah… it just says have a nice day," I lied, blinking.

Chapter Three

That afternoon as I walked home, I thought about Angel and her note. What did she mean? I hadn't even talked to her before. Did she really love me? Or did she just say that cause I was nice? But how would she know I was nice? I groaned. Someone behind me called out.

"Yo! TK!" I turned around to see Tai and my brother Matt walking together from the high school.

"Hey guys," I smiled.

"What's up bro?" Matt asked me.

"Not much," I replied.

"I heard there's a new girl at your school," Tai said. I blushed. Tai and Matt shared a look.

"Is there something we don't know?" Matt asked.

"No, of course not," I lied, still blushing.

"You're a horrible liar TK," Tai chuckled. I nodded.

"So, what do you know?" Matt inquired.

"Not much," I replied, "Her name's Angel and she's in my grade. That's about it." Tai nudged Matt.

"I think you're still not telling us something," he winked. I rolled my eyes.

"Whatever you reckon," I walked away from them. I heard them laughing behind me.

As I walked along, I spotted Angel a bit ahead of me. I ran to catch up.

"Hey," I said. She looked at me. She had the most beautiful green eyes I'd ever seen. They were large and soulful.

"Hi TK," she said, her voice like honey. I shivered.

"You're welcome," she said. I looked at her in confusion. "The note."

"Oh, thanks for the note," I said, feeling stupid. I blushed again. If I kept this up, I go down in the history books as the first human tomato.

"No problem," she smiled at me. She had a mega-watt smile. I grinned back idiotically.

"So, how come you gave me sunflowers and daisies instead of wildflowers?" I asked casually, trying to regain control of the conversation.

"Because they're your favourites," she said simply. I thought about it and she was right.

"How did you know that?" I asked.

"I know everything," she laughed. A beautiful laugh. It was magical. Her red hair floated around her like a halo as she spun around in circles laughing.

"Oh you do hey?" I joked. She stopped and smiled at me again. My heart skipped a beat.

"Yes I do TK," she said seriously. I changed the subject.

"So, Angel's a pretty interesting name," I commented.

"It is?" Angel asked.

"Yeah, you're the only Angel I know," I replied. I realised how that sounded and blushed.

"Thanks," she said and started skipping ahead of me. I jogged to keep up.

"Do you know why your parents picked the name Angel?" I puffed, out of breath.

"Oh, they didn't pick it. I did," she told me. I must have looked puzzled because she laughed at me.

"I picked my own name because the old one had worn out. Like a shirt would or your shoes. I was also Rainbow and Sunshine and when I was five I was Pretty Horse," she said.

"Pretty Horse?" I giggled. She smiled.

"Of course. I really liked horses," she laughed as well. I realised that we were standing outside my apartment block.

"I live here," I said. "I better go." Angel suddenly pulled me forward and hugged me and then she skipped off down the road. I stood there dazed.

"What just happened?" I said aloud.

Chapter Four

When I got to school the next morning, Angel was waiting for me. I grinned at her as I put my books in my locker.

"Hi TK," she greeted me with that killer smile. I took in what she was wearing. She was wearing a bright pink silk kimono.

"Nice clothes," I said, feeling giddy. When you were around Angel, you just had to smile.

"Thanks TK," she reached over and kissed my cheek. I felt my face fire up. Just then Maxine walked past. She gave Angel a dirty look, but Angel seemed oblivious and kept up a steady stream of chatter. I watched as Maxine walked away. The fact that I was friendly with Angel was going to be spread around the school. For some reason I felt embarrassed to be there. Then Kari arrived.

"Good morning TK… Angel," she looked at Angel weirdly and frowned.

"Hey Kari," I answered. Angel chose that moment to leave.

"Bye TK," she waved wildly at me as she walked down the hall. I waved back, keeping my hand low. I turned to Kari.

"What happened to you yesterday afternoon?" she demanded.

"Huh?" I said blankly.

"You were supposed to join Yolei, Davis, Cody, Ken, Tai and I in the Digiworld after you dropped your books home," she reminded me. I jumped as I remembered.

"Gee Kari, I'm sorry," I apologised. "I just got talking to Angel and I forgot all about it." Kari looked pissed off.

"Well, you have more important things to do than talk to her," Kari said haughtily and waltzed off. I raised my eyebrow and wondered what was eating her.

When I arrived at homeroom, everyone turned and looked at me. I cringed. Maxine pointed towards my desk. I followed her finger. On my desk sat a very large heart made out of cardboard. The text was big enough to read from were I was standing. In large black letters read: ANGEL LOVES TK. My eyes widened. Someone on the other side of the classroom started laughing. The teacher entered the room then and looked around to see what the fuss was about. She looked at me.

"Mr. Takaishi, please remove that from my classroom," she frowned down at me. I rushed over and grabbed the heart.

"Sorry Ms. Weeragua," I mumbled as I rushed from the classroom. I heard snickers as I disappeared down the hall.

I arrived at my locker and quickly opened it. Rose petals fell out and onto the floor. I groaned. Angel again. I folded the heart up the best I could and stuffed it up the back of my locker. Then I kneeled down and started to pick up the petals. That's when I heard someone laughing. I looked left and saw a pair of grey sneakers.

"Poor TK," the voice, male, said mockingly. I looked up and saw the school bully looking at me.

"Why aren't you in class?" I asked gruffly. I tried to find a way out.

"I should be asking you that," he replied.

"I had to do something," I answered, not looking at his face.

"Well, so do I," he laughed. "I have to go to the office for throwing rocks into the swimming pool." I nodded and tried to brush past him. He stopped me.

"How's your little girlfriend?" he asked cockily.

"What girlfriend?" I asked nervously.

"That Angel freak," he held his arm in front of me.

"She's not my girlfriend," I answered.

"Sure and I'm Santa," he shot back. I looked around. Why weren't there any teachers in the halls during class?

"Well Santa, for Christmas I want you to leave me alone," I joked and moved past him and ran down the hall, back to my class.

Chapter Five

As soon as I re-entered the classroom, all eyes were on me except for Kari's. She sat there staring straight ahead at the board. Ms. Weeragua was droning on about some rubbish and scribbling on the board. She turned around.

"Nice of you to rejoin us Mr. Takaishi," she said sternly and watched as I took a seat at my desk. I ignored her and glanced over at Kari. She sat there motionless. Then someone passed me a note. It had no name on the front, so I opened it and read it. It said: TK is a loser just like his girlfriend Angel.

I looked around to see who'd sent it, but everyone was staring intently at their work. I opened my desk and sighed. There were more rose petals in there. I fished around and pulled out another note. I crumpled it up, not bothering to read it. Finally, the bell went and I got out of the class. I rushed to catch up with Kari. The other girls surrounded her.

"Go away TK," one of the girls said, blocking my path.

"I want to talk to Kari," I pleaded. The group turned in unison.

"Talk," another girl barked.

"It's kinda personal, so if you don't mind-" I started to say. The first girl interrupted me.

"Whatever you have to say, you can say it to all of us," she said pointedly. I looked at Kari, but she refused to look me in the eye.

"Yeah," the second girl agreed. The others nodded in agreement.

"Kari," I said softly. The others blocked her view of me.

"Say what you have to say and leave," the second girl warned. I felt furious.

"MOVE!" I shouted, startling all of them, Kari included. The first girl motioned for the others to move and they all walked off leaving Kari standing there.

"TK, just leave me alone," she said quietly. I stood there and watched her walk off. Angel came around the corner.

"TK!" she said excitedly and rushed over. I frowned.

"What's the matter?" she asked, her voice full of concern. I looked at her. Her kimono swished along the floor as she followed me to the lunchroom.

"Nothing," I muttered.

"Nothing isn't the answer," Angel stopped me. I stared at the floor. She took my hand and we walked into the lunchroom. Everyone stopped and stared. I glanced over at Kari. She wasn't sitting at our table. She was sitting with Maxine and the two girls from before.

"Come on," I murmured to Angel and pulled her over to my usual table. The whole room watched us sit down.

"What about Lori?" Angel asked and pointed over to her friend. I looked over at Lori's table and saw that there was more people sitting there than yesterday. I noticed the pattern. Everyone… almost everyone was falling for Angel's kooky charm.

"Okay," we got up and walked over to the table.

"Hi Lori!" Angel said with her usual energy. I nodded in Lori's direction. Angel pulled me over and I was seated next to her and Lori on my other side. Angel snuggled up close to me while keeping up a constant stream over babble.

"Isn't TK so cute?" she gushed to all the girls and boys at the table. I felt my face go red. People I didn't even know looked at me with interest.

"I guess so," one girl spoke up. I suddenly became interested in my lumpy mashed potato.

"Yeah," another girl added.

"Don't you just love him?" she crowed. My peas took on a new life as I pretended I wasn't there.

"I wouldn't go that far," the first girl said. I sighed with relief. I felt Angel's large eyes burning into my neck. I peered up from my peas.

"TK?" Angel asked.

"Hmm…" I mumbled.

"Want to go sit outside?" she asked. I nodded. Anything to get away from all these people.

"Bye everyone," Angel said cheerily and pulled me out the door. We walked a fair bit away from the cafeteria. I sighed with relief.

"Do you believe in magic TK?" Angel suddenly said.

"Yeah…" I said.

"You're lying," Angel laughed.

"Yeah," I said. I watched in amazement as she closed her eyes and four butterflies landed in her hair.

"Wow," I said. I felt my heart flutter as Angel looked at me with those intense eyes.

"Can I kiss you?" I whispered, my heart pounding.

"Pardon?" she asked, not paying attention.

"Never mind," I replied. Then to my surprise and delight, she leaned over and kissed me full on the lips. I went into hyper drive. It was the best kiss I'd ever had. Not that I'd had any. Just one from Kari when we thought we were going to be killed by a Monochromon. This was different, magic. I did believe.

Chapter Six

When I got home, Matt was waiting for me. I grinned stupidly at him.

"Hey little bro," he said. I grinned stupidly at him.

"I need to talk to you," he informed me. I grinned stupidly at him.

"It's about Kari," he warned. I grinned stupidly at him.

"STOP SMILING AT ME!" he cried. My grin faded.

"Sorry," I apologised. I let him in and I went to my room. I threw my bag onto my bed and came back out into the living room.

"Okay," Matt started. "What did you do to Kari?" My eyes widened in shock.

"I didn't do anything!" I exclaimed. I sat down on the couch.

"Well Tai came up to me today and said Kari was upset because you did something," Matt explained.

"I swear, I didn't do anything to Kari," I said. "She's the one giving me the silent treatment." Matt took that in and nodded.

"Interesting… oh well. Who knows? Women, what do you expect?" he laughed to himself. I started grinning again as I remembered the kiss.

"What are you grinning at little bro?" Matt inquired. I blushed a little bit.

"Matt, I think I'm in love," I grinned harder. Matt's jaw dropped open.

"So that's it! You told Kari you loved her and she went wacko… figures," he started mumbling to himself.

"Whoa, hold the thought train Matt," I jumped in. "I never said it was Kari!" Matt looked surprised.

"Ohhhh…" he murmured. "So who's the girl?" I smiled widely.

"Her name's Angel and she's really nice. I've never met anyone so nice," I started drifting into my own world.

"Angel hey?" he said. "Wait a minute, isn't that the new girl you told me and Tai about?"

"Yeah…" I said coyly. Matt punched my arm.

"Go little bro!" he grinned as well. We sat there for a second.

"That explains Kari then," Matt confirmed. I furrowed my brow.

"Huh?" I asked dumbly.

"She's jealous," Matt stated. I raised my eyebrow.

"She is?" I asked.

"Oh boy," Matt sighed and slapped his forehead. "I thought Tai was the dense one."

"Sorry Matt," I frowned. "I know what you mean." Matt smirked.

"You are in love!" he exclaimed. I blushed again.

"Are you staying for dinner? Mom's making Macaroni and Cheese," I hinted. Mac and Cheese is Matt's favourite dish.

"Nah, I have to cook for Dad," Matt smiled. "As long as he gets home this time. Otherwise I'll make him get his own dinner."

After Matt had left, I sat watching TV and waiting for Mom. Just then the phone rang. I ran over and answered it. It was Angel.

"Hi TK!" she yelled happily in my ear. I held the phone back a bit.

"You don't need to yell Angel," I said, a smile in my voice.

"Sorry," she replied just as loud as before.

"Want to do something with me this weekend?" I asked. I pictured her smiling.

"Sure! I know somewhere special we can go," she said, excited.

"Cool, wanna meet me at my apartment in the morning? About 8:30?" I inquired.

"Good. Don't sleep in," she laughed into my ear. When I hung up, my ear still tingled.

Chapter Seven

I was in a real good mood the next morning when I woke up. Angel… We were going to her special place. I bounced out of bed. Humming, I made my bed and quickly jumped in the shower. The water was freezing, but I didn't notice. I was warm inside. I cheerily went out into the kitchen and made a bowl of cereal with yoghurt. I don't like milk, it makes the cereal soggy. I crunched nosily and said a happy good morning to Mom when she wandered into the kitchen ten minutes later. She looked at me strangely.

"You're in a excellent mood this morning," she said, as she made a cup of coffee.

"Yep," I washed my bowl and spoon. I walked over to her and kissed her cheek and left the kitchen with her watching me with surprise.

"Okay TK, what did you do?" she called out behind me. I laughed. I grabbed my jacket and my green hat and walked out the door.

"BYE MOM!" I called and walked to the elevator.

I waited for Angel outside in the garden. I enjoyed the crisp air as it blew across my face. Angel arrived a short time later. She ran over and hugged me. Then she handed me a sunflower. I had no idea where she got them from because it wasn't sunflower season. But I didn't really care either.

"Hey Angel," I put my arm across her shoulders. She smiled at me. It warmed me.

"So where are we going?" I asked.

"You'll see when we get there," she replied mysteriously. I looked at what she was wearing today. Cowboy boots, a long green floral sundress with green stockings, a bright yellow jacket that went to the back of her knees and a large cowboy hat that reminded me of Mimi. I let her direct me out of town and into a deserted part of the next town that I didn't know existed. We walked up to a large Japanese shrine.

"Here?" I asked, baffled.

"Yes, I come here to think and meditate," Angel answered.

"Oh," I said. I followed her inside the front door. It was like walking into a different world. Protected from the harshness of the outside world, the monument had a fascinating feel to it. You could feel the happiness radiating from the walls.

"Come with me," Angel motioned me forward. I tailed her into a room at the back of the monument. A passer-by wouldn't have noticed the door from the roadside. We entered the room. My jaw dropped open. The room was filled with butterflies! They flew around Angel like an aura.

"These are my friends," Angel informed me. A couple of the butterflies landed on my shoulders. I looked at them with delight.

"Wow, this is incredible Angel," I said. She smiled widely and more butterflies came into view. Silks hung from the rafters and large tropical plants grew in bunches. They stretched their large branches up towards the skylights in the ceiling.

"TK, take your shoes off," Angel said. I looked at her, confused, but I took my shoes off anyway.

"Now walk," she instructed. I moved forward and stepped onto the softest grass I'd ever felt. I wiggled my toes. I felt speechless. I gazed around in wonder.

"How did you find this place?" I asked, sitting down and allowing some of the butterflies to use my legs as a perch.

"I didn't find it. It found me," she laughed merrily. I smiled at her. She crawled over to me, disturbing some of the butterflies.

"This is so cool," I said as she leaned against me.

"Kiss me," she murmured. I obeyed and leant down. She kissed me full on the lips and my heart skipped a beat. I kissed back, melting into her.

We lay there for a while and then I looked at my watch.

"The time!" I cried, startling the butterflies. I jumped up.

"I have to go," I said, heading to the door. Angel got up and followed me. We walked out and she carefully locked the door. As we headed to the entrance, I looked back and to my surprise the door was gone!

"Angel! The door…" I said. She winked at me.

When I got home, Mom and Yolei were waiting for me. Yolei had her `I'm-pissed-off-at-you-cause-you-forgot-something-and-you-better-have-a-goo d-explantion' look on her face. Mom frowned at me.

"Yolei tells me that while you were gallivanting around the town, you had an assignment to do," Mom said sternly. I recognised our code words for when we went to the Digiworld.

"I'm sorry Mom, I completely forgot," I directed the last part at Yolei.

"Can I talk to you in your room TK?" Yolei asked quietly. I nodded and we went into my room.

"Sorry Yolei, I really did forget all about it," I apologised.

"Well sorry doesn't cut it mister," Yolei snapped. "This is the second time you've blown us off for that Angel girl!" I flinched.

"Really, I am sorry Yolei. Is Kari mad?" I asked cautiously.

"Of course she's mad!" Yolei yelled.

"Keep your voice down," I pleaded.

"We're all mad at you TK… except for Davis," she continued. "He kept babbling on about how great it was to have Kari all to himself." I rolled my eyes.

"That'd be right," I muttered.

"Tai was really ticked off the first time, but he said Matt explained it to him and this time he was more understanding," Yolei told me, more calmer now. I raised my eyebrow. So Matt had told Tai hmm…

"Did Tai tell you why?" I asked worried.

"No," she said bluntly.

"Good," I mumbled to myself rather than Yolei.

"Look TK, if you're going to keep acting this way, you shouldn't bother coming to the Digiworld anymore," she said. With that, she walked out leaving me to ponder what was going to happen next.

Chapter Eight

When I arrived at school, Angel came running up to me. My eyes widened at what she was wearing. She had on a sleeveless shirt, a pair of army pants and a pair of stilettos. She reminded me of one of those books where you can turn the pages and make the people wear all sorts of crazy outfits.

"Hi Angel," I said.

"Hey TK," she laughed loudly. I cringed and looked around to see if anyone had heard her laughing like that. Maxine was watching from the water fountain. I groaned.

"Let's get moving," I mumbled.

"Ok," Angel said, not noticing my tone. When we walked down the hall, I noticed it. Nobody was looking. At all. I mean, you know when you walk past people they usually glance your way for a spilt second? Well I was getting nothing. Not one person we walked past looked my way. I suppose I should feel lucky that all eyes weren't on Angel and me, but I felt like I was missing something. Angel seemed oblivious as usual. She kept yakking in my ear as we walked to my locker and then to hers.

Later at lunch, I went over to Davis's table.

"Hey Davis," I said. He quickly looked at me and then looked away.

"Oh, hi TK," he mumbled. I raised an eyebrow. He'd actually called me TK for once.

"Do you notice something strange going on?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" he asked, trying to appear as though he was talking to someone else.

"Well, everyone doesn't seem to see me," I admitted.

"Oh… so you know?" Davis murmured.

"Know what?" I inquired. Davis sighed.

"There is something happening TK," he confessed. "Nobody likes Angel and her antics anymore, so Maxine and Kari and some others have started a rally for everyone to ignore her." I was stunned.

"What?! Why?" I cried a little too loudly. Davis balked.

"Angel hasn't done anything to hurt anybody!" I exclaimed.

"Go away TK," a voice said coldly. I turned around to see who it was. It was Kari.

"Kari!" I looked at Davis. He shrugged. Kari sat down next to Davis and put her arms around him and kissed him! Right in front of me! I was shocked. Was this the same girl who was trying to get out of a date with him last week?!

"Fine," I said roughly and turned on my heel. As I strode off I heard giggling behind me. I didn't look back.

I ran outside to Kari's and my special place. I sat there for a while trying not to cry. I hadn't felt the need to cry this bad since I was little and Demidevimon told me Matt wasn't going to come back for me. I sighed heavily. What was I going to do?

When I got home that afternoon, I rang up Tai for his advice. I would normally ring Matt, but I thought Tai might have a better suggestion. The phone answered on the second ring, I hoped it wasn't Kari.

"Hello? Kamiya residence," a female voice said. Tai's mom. I sighed with relief.

"Can I speak to Tai please?" I asked. I heard rustling and then Tai's mom yelling for him to come answer the phone.

"Hello?" Tai asked.

"Hi Tai, it's TK," I said timidly.

"Oh, hi TK," he replied cheerily. I sighed again, at least Tai wasn't mad at me too.

"I need your help," I said.

"Sure. What's the problem? Angel being mean to you or something?" he joked. I quickly explained to him what had been happening for the past couple of days and about Kari and Davis.

"What?!" Tai asked, startled.

"Yeah, only last week she was trying to get out of a date she'd made with him," I told him. I reminded him of my problem.

"Yeah. Well there's only one thing I can tell you TK, and it's not good news," Tai said grimly.

"Tell me," I said softly. I tensed up.

"Well it comes down to this. You either have the affections of Angel or of Kari," he told me. I frowned.

"But how do I choose?" I asked.

"I can't help you there TK. It's all up to you."

Chapter Nine

That night I tossed and turned thinking about what Tai had said about my problem. I had the weirdest dream…

I was getting married to Angel. She had on a bright pink and purple striped dress. I was wearing orange jeans and an untucked formal shirt with a cow print tie. We skipped down the aisle to a song I'd never heard before. That's when I noticed that there was no one there. Not a single person in the church. Except for a priest. When we got to the alter, we waiting for the priest to start talking. But he didn't say anything. That's because he didn't have a face. I turned to Angel and she didn't have a face. I slowly reached up and touched my head, but I didn't have a face either! I tried to scream but no sound came from me. I ran out the church and fell onto the lawn. Davis and Kari stood next to each other holding hands. They had faces. They laughed as I ran my hands across the front of my head. Kari let go of Davis's hand and walked over to me. She gave me her hand and I let her pull me up. She kissed me where my lips would be and my face magically returned. I turned back for Angel. She walked towards me and… beeped?

"BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!"

I rolled over and slammed my hand over my alarm clock. The beeping stopped. I got up and got ready for school.

When I arrived at school, everyone acted the same as the day before. Angel was waiting at my locker.

"Good morning TK," she smiled.

"Hi," I muttered.

"Want to make some sunflower hats with me in Art this afternoon?" she giggled shrilly.

I cringed.

"No," I said. She looked surprised.

"Well, how about after school we go to the monument and play with the butterflies?" she tried again.

"Why can't you be normal?!" I cried, my nerves shattered. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes.

"I'm not normal?" she asked quietly.

"No, you're not," I answered just as quiet.

"Oh," she said and walked away. I watched her disappear into the crowd.

The next day, I couldn't find Angel. I hoped I hadn't upset her too much. A strange girl walked up to me in recess. She had on the outfit of the moment. A short black miniskirt, pale blue twin set and fishnet stockings.

"Hey TK," she said.

"And you might be?" I asked. I looked at her closer.

"I'm Emma," she said. Then it hit me. The large, green eyes; the smile. It was Angel!

"Angel," I said.

"Angel doesn't exist anymore," Emma said bitterly.

"Huh?" I questioned.

"She wasn't normal, so she left," Emma replied.

"Oh," I said. I watched as she walked off towards the girls' toilets.

When she came back, her eyes were coated in pale blue eye shadow and she had the latest glitter lipstick on.

"So, boyfriend. What shall we do now as a normal couple?" she asked, batting her eyelashes.

"We go to lunch," I smiled, feeling better for the first time in three days.

Chapter Ten

I watched with pleasure as everyone's mouths dropped open. Emma swanned into the lunchroom. In the line she only ordered a fruit salad and a tub of yoghurt. I got my usual. All eyes were on us as we walked to our table and sat down. Lori got up from where she had been sitting and came sat next to us. Then another girl got up and sat at our table.

"Hey people," Emma greeted everyone as a group. There were now six of us at the table. I felt proud. I looked over to Kari's table. Maxine was on her feet and her mouth was open in an expression of horror. I laughed. Kari sat there stirring her yoghurt.

"So, what has everyone been up to?" I asked, starting a long conversation.

When lunch had finished, Emma and I were the last ones to leave. I definitely felt better. But Tai's words of wisdom still niggled at the back of my mind. Would Kari ever talk to me again?

That afternoon we had double Maths. I sat there drawing pictures of Patamon in my book while the teacher droned on about square roots and irregular triangles. Emma sat next to me on the right. I glanced to see what she was doing. She had out a different book to her Maths one. She was taking notes:

TK likes normal. TK likes Emma, not Angel. TK has the cutest smile. TK loves Emma.

I felt a twinge of guilt. She'd changed for me.

"Mr. Takaishi, will you answer the question?" Mr. Neshkoro said loudly.

I jumped and looked up. I heard someone giggle.

"Uh… can you repeat the question for me Mr. Neshkoro?" I asked timorously.

More giggles.

"Seeing that you seem to be hard of hearing Mr. Takaishi I will repeat the question for your benefit and for the others that may have missed it in this class," Mr. Neshkoro smirked at me. "What is 32 - 17 squared?"

I looked around nervously. I had no idea what he was talking about. Everyone looked at me expectantly. Now they look at me, the one time I want to be invisible.

"I don't know sir," I murmured.

"What was that? I didn't quite catch that," Mr. Neshkoro said, visibly enjoying watching me squirm.

"I said I don't know," I said a little louder.

"You don't know? How can you not know when I have just spent 20 minutes of this class explaining it to you," Mr. Neshkoro raised an eyebrow.

"I guess… I wasn't paying attention," I squeaked.

"Oh really? Then what exactly have you been doing for this entire lesson?" Mr. Neshkoro inquired.

"I…uh…ah…oh…" I stuttered.

"No, don't tell me now, you can tell me this afternoon after school. It seems fair to tell me then seeing you now have detention," Mr. Neshkoro barked.

I wished that right then a big hole would open up under me and suck me into it and make me disappear. The class laughed except for Kari and Angel.

When Mr. Neshkoro turned back to the blackboard I sighed with relief.

Chapter Eleven

After school had finished, Angel waited for me while I told Mr. Neshkoro what I had been doing in class. I was so glad when I got out of there I didn't even realize Angel was standing there.

"TK," she said.

I jumped in surprise and turned around.

"Angel!" I exclaimed, stating the obvious.

"You mean Emma," she said sullenly.

"Sorry," I apologized.

"Wanna go see a movie?" she asked.

I was about to agree when I remembered that Yolei had rung me up that morning to personally remind me of the fact that we were going to the Digital world that afternoon.

"Sorry Emma, I can't," I said.

Her face fell. I felt guilty.

"Maybe we can go tomorrow?" I asked.

She recovered and smiled her mega-watt smile.

"Okay! Sounds good, I'll meet you at the Cineplex at 9:30am," she told me.

"Okay," I agreed and ran off.

I ran all the way to Kari's apartment, which was where we were leaving to the Digital world from. When I arrived I pounded on the front door. Tai answered it.

"Hi Tai," I said, breathing hard, "Have they gone yet?"

"Nope, we were just feeding the Digimon a snack and my girlfriend Naoki is still here. I'm trying to make her go and make sure she doesn't see the guys eating. It would be too hard to explain to her," Tai explained.

"Oh," I replied.

I followed him inside. Naoki was sitting on the couch. Wow, I thought. Tai sure knows how to pick them.

"Hi," I said.

"Hey," she smiled at me.

"Okay, umm… I have to help TK with his homework so you'd better go Naoki. This'll be pretty boring," Tai said in a rush.

Naoki laughed.

"Don't worry, I understand. Guy stuff," Naoki stood up. "I know when I'm not needed."

Tai walked her to the door. I politely went into the kitchen, but I could still hear them.

"I'll see you later okay?" Tai murmured.

"Mmm…" Naoki mumbled.

I heard them kissing and tried unsuccessfully to block out the sound. Just then Ken and Cody came out into the kitchen. Tai and Naoki jumped apart.

"Ehh…" Tai grinned and put his hand behind his head.

"Bye," Naoki smirked at Tai and walked out closing the door behind her.

Tai sighed with relief. His face hardened and he got that glint in his eye that he gets when he means business.

"Come out guys!" he hollered.

Davis, Yolei, Kari, Gatomon, Demiveemon, Patamon, Wormon, Hawkmon and Armadillomon walked out into the living room. Yolei strode up to me.

"So you showed up. I guess late is better than not at all," she said looking at me seriously.

I nodded and laughed nervously.

"So, what dangers are we up against today?" Davis asked, trying to look macho.

I rolled my eyes and noticed that Kari was doing the same. I caught her eye. She looked away in an instant.

"Not much, but Tentomon told Izzy and me that a Monochromon was disturbing the Koromon village," Tai informed us.

Monochromon! I flashed back to what happened with Kari and me.

FLASHBACK

Kari and I were trapped between a building and a very large and angry Monochromon. It charged towards us and we thought we were goners. I turned to Kari.

"Kari, if we don't get out of this alive I want to tell you one thing," I said.

Kari looked at me confused.

"Kari, I want you to know I love you," I admitted.

As the Monochromon bore down on us, we shared a quick, clumsy kiss. But we didn't get killed. Tai and Matt had Greymon and Garurumon attack the Monochromon and it didn't get anywhere near us.

END FLASHBACK

Chapter Twelve

The next morning I got up slowly. I felt weird, as if things were different somehow. I stumbled into the bathroom and had a shower. The water was warm, but I felt chilled. Walking into the kitchen I felt a sense of dread. My mother and a strange lady were sitting at the kitchen table.

"Mom, what's going on?" I asked cautiously.

My mother looked up.

"Oh, TK. I'm glad you're awake. Something terrible has happened," she said dismally.

I felt my heart skip a beat. The strange lady spoke up.

"Angel's gone missing," she cried and tears of anguish fell down her cheeks.

So this is Angel's mother, I thought.

"Do you have any idea where she might be?" my mom queried.

I racked my brain, finding it hard to concentrate. Then it came to me.

"The temple," I stated. Angel's and my mothers shared a look of confusion.

"She's in the butterfly room," I told them. The two women stood up from my kitchen table.

"Let's go to this temple," Angel's mom said decisively and she ushered my mother and me out the front door.

When we arrived at the temple, Angel's mother looked around at it in awe.

"Angel spoke of this place. Why didn't I think of it before?" she said to no one in particular.

"The door to the butterfly room is up the back of the shrine," I said and we all walked up to the rear of the temple.

I kneeled down and brushed the wall hangings out of the way. The door was there, but when I tried to open it, the door was locked.

"She's here," I said matter-of-factly. "The door's locked, from the inside."

Angel's mother ran up to the door and pounded on it.

"ANGEL! ANGEL! IT'S YOUR MOTHER! OPEN THE DOOR!" she yelled.

We listened for a noise inside the room, but none came. My mother tried her luck, knocking softer than Angel's mom.

"Angel? Are you in there? It's TK's mom. TK's here and so is your mother. We're all worried about you. Please come out," my mom begged.

Still there was nothing.

"TK, you try," my mom urged me. I walked up to the door.

"Angel?" I asked. "Emma?"

We all held our breath as the door clicked and opened slightly. Angel beckoned me to come in. I quickly ran in before either my mom or Angel's could follow. I heard Angel's mother scream at us and my mother trying to reassure her that I was in here to get Angel out. I turned to Angel.

"Are you okay?" I inquired.

Angel didn't answer but she glanced upwards. I followed her gaze. All the butterflies were gone and so were the silks and the grass. The room looked plain and ordinary.

"Where'd all the butterflies go?" I whispered, afraid that too much noise would shatter the room.

"They left with Angel. All the magic's gone," Angel sobbed, breaking down as she spoke. She sank down onto the bare, wooden floor.

I sat down beside her and held her as she cried.

Chapter Thirteen

On Monday, Angel didn't come to school. I walked around, carrying a hollow feeling inside. Emma wasn't the girl I fell in love with, Angel was. Things were started to get back to normal. People were looking at me again, but now I didn't want it. I wanted them to leave me alone. Even Davis was being nicer to me than usual.

"Hi TS," Davis greeted me. I sighed.

"Hi Davis," I said, trying to get past him.

"Do you want to sit with me and Kari at lunch?" he asked, stepping in front of me.

"No thanks Davis, I'm gonna sit with Lori," I said, jumping to the other side and walking past him. He followed me.

"But TA, you have to. Kari keeps talking about you and it's driving me nuts," Davis continued.

That caught my attention. I stopped suddenly and Davis bumped into me.

"Kari keeps talking about me?" I asked, making sure I wasn't hearing things.

"Yeah, it's really annoying. Even Andrew commented on it after she left for class last Friday," Davis frowned. "TK this, TK that… bleah!"

I rolled my eyes and smiled for the first time that day.

"Tell you what Davis, I'll sit with you and Kari if Lori can sit with us too," I bargained.

"Deal," Davis said and ran off leaving me standing there.

I walked off to my next class.

At lunch I located Lori and told her about my `deal' with Davis. When we walked over to the table, Kari stopped talking and stared at her salad.

"Finally TJ," Davis said, pushing his goggles up because they were slipping.

Kari stole a quick look at me and I caught her eye. She blushed slightly and looked back down at her salad. Davis and Lori started a conversation, which struck me as weird. Lori wasn't the kind of person Davis was normally friends with, but they seemed to hit it off straight away. Kari finally talked to me.

"TK, can we talk outside," she whispered. I nodded.

We stood up from the table and walked off. Lori and Davis didn't notice us leave. Outside the school, Kari and I walked to the place we once admitted that we cared about each other. We sat down on the bench and didn't say anything for a few uncomfortable seconds. Then we both spoke at once.

"I'm sor-" Kari started.

"Don't thi-" I interrupted.

We stopped and laughed at each other. It eased the tension in the air a little.

"You go first," I said. Kari nodded.

"What I was going to say was, I'm sorry for being mean to you these last couple of weeks. I admit that I was jealous of Emma at first, but it's okay now. I miss your friendship," Kari confessed.

"I missed you too," I revealed.

"What were going to say?" Kari asked.

"I think you said for me," I grinned. I leaned over to her and hugged her.

She returned the hug, not wanting to let me go. I didn't want to let her go either. I'd felt kinda lost without Kari. Suddenly I looked up… and saw Angel! She looked upset and ran away before I could call out to her. Kari finally released her hold on me. She noticed the strained look on my face.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing," I lied. I could tell Kari didn't believe me, but she didn't say anything.

We got up and went back inside the building.

Chapter Fourteen

After school, I swung by Angel's place. I hadn't been there before, but Angel had told me her address. I wanted to find her and explain what she had seen in the schoolyard. I came to a small bungalow on the outskirts of Odaiba. It seemed rather normal compared to Angel and her weird ways. Then again, Angel was supposedly normal now. I knocked on the front door and was greeted by Angel's mother.

"Hello TK," her mother said.

"Is Angel here?" I asked.

"Emma is in her room," her mother replied, correcting my slip-up. "Go on up."

I entered the house, which was even more normal than the outside. I walked up the stairs and looked for Angel's room. One of the doors was open and I could hear music playing, so I guessed that that room was Angel's. I knocked lightly on the door.

"Enter," came the reply.

"Hi Emma," I said. Angel was lying on her bed, a CD player on her left, blaring some music I didn't recognise.

"Oh it's you TK," Angel said in a snobby voice. I flinched.

"I came to tell you what you didn't see this afternoon," I began. Angel didn't move or say anything so I guessed she was waiting for me to speak.

"Kari was just apologising for being mean to us. She wants to be our friend again. That's all," I concluded.

"Kari doesn't want to be my friend," Angel said. I raised my eyebrow.

"What gives you that idea?" I asked.

"She just wants to be friends with you because she's in love with you. I'm a threat to her, because I took you away from her. That's why," Angel stated the truth. She swung her legs up and sat on the side of the bed.

"No, she does want to be friends," I twisted the truth. Sure Kari wanted to be friends… with me.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're a horrible liar?" Angel smirked. I sighed.

"You love her too don't you?" Angel remarked, suddenly serious again.

"As a friend," I said.

"No, more than that. I can see it, when she looks at you and when you look at her. You looked at me that way once. Just once, in the butterfly room. What did I do wrong? You wanted normal, I did normal. Now you want Angel again. What do you want TK?" Angel finished with a sentence and it took me by surprise.

"I… don't know anymore," I disclosed.

Angel looked close to tears.

"This it TK. You can't keep it up anymore. You have to choose. It's either me or Kari," Angel's voice shuddered as though she found it hard to speak.

"I can't do it," I said, my voice cracking.

"I'll make it easier for you TK," Angel said, "if you can say `I love you' to me, you'll know I'm the one you really want. If you can't say it, then it's Kari."

My heart pounded. I felt so confused. I didn't know what to say. I knew Angel could see the pain in my eyes, because she refused to meet my gaze.

"Angel, don't make me do this," I said, not bothering to call her Emma.

"All you have to say is `I love you' and all of this will be over," Angel reconfirmed her words.

The room began to spin and I had to sit down on the bed. My head pounded along with my heart now and I felt ill.

"You know it, why do I have to say it?" I cried.

Angel burst into tears and suddenly I knew. I got up and ran from the room, leaving Angel behind.

Chapter Fifteen

Angel didn't come to school again the next day and this time it was my fault. The students that walked past me seemed to sense my pain and didn't look at me directly, but I heard whispers as I shuffled past. Kari and Davis were waiting at my locker when I got there.

"Hi TO," Davis did his usual thing of not saying my nickname correctly.

"Davis," Kari frowned at him. Davis laughed nervously.

"Hi you guys," I replied.

They moved to the side as I opened my locker and got out my mornings books. Some of Angel's rose petals were still sitting on the top shelf. I brushed them off and watched them as they silently fell to the floor. Kari and Davis shared a look.

"Is something wrong TK?" Kari asked warily.

"Not anymore," I said, trying to smile.

I felt guilty. I slammed my locker door shut and walked down the hall. Kari and Davis trailed me to our first lesson.

During the third lesson for that day, one of the ladies from the office came to our classroom. Everyone stopped talking and watched her as she entered the room. She walked up to the teacher, Ms. Cerik, and handed her a pink slip. The class gave a collective gasp. We all knew what a pink slip meant.

"Please not me," I heard someone to my left whisper.

Ms. Cerik looked up… at me.

"Mr. Takaishi, please collect your things, you are required in the office," she said sternly.

Kari gave me a confused look, but I knew what it was for. Angel.

The class watched as I slowly packed my books into my green backpack. I followed the staff lady to the principal's office.

Angel's mother and what I guessed was her father were seated in chairs opposite the principal's desk.

"Ah, Takeru. Thank you for joining us," the principal said, using my full name instead of my nickname.

"Something's happened to Angel hasn't it?" I asked gloomily.

Angel's mother promptly burst into tears. Angel's father patted his wife's shoulder. The principal cringed.

"Yes, something has happened to Angel," the principal confirmed.

"What?! TELL ME!" I cried, impatient.

The principal looked stunned at my outburst. She sighed and pointed to the only empty chair in the room.

"You'd better sit down TK," the principal said.

I took her advice and sank down into the plush, high-backed red chair. The principal looked grim.

"I don't really want to be the one to tell you this Takeru," the principal sighed. "Last night, Angel committed suicide. She slit her wrists."

My world shattered into a million tiny pieces.

"She's dead?" I squeaked, unable to make my voice work properly.

Angel's mother let out a sharp cry. I regretted my choice in words.

"This is a most unfortunate incident to happen, Angel had a bright future ahead of her," the principal continued. "We need to know what happened Takeru. Do you know why she did it?"

I was still grasping the idea that Angel was dead. I couldn't believe it. It was all my fault. I emitted a strangled cry and got up. I couldn't stay in this room with these people anymore. I ran from the room.

Chapter Sixteen

It only took a day for the news to spread around the school. I didn't go for a couple days, feigning illness so my mother would let me stay home. I think she knew the truth though, but she didn't mention it and neither did I. Finally on Friday, I went back. I had to talk to Kari. I found her outside the cafeteria during lunch period.

"Kari," I called softly.

She turned around. I noticed that she had been crying a bit.

"Oh TK," she sniffed and ran over to me.

I held her in my arms; both of us overcome with grief. We stood together for a while, then I pulled away.

"Kari, we need to talk," I said gently.

She nodded in agreement and we went outside. We sat at one of the picnic tables near the cafeteria.

"This has something to do with Angel doesn't it?" she asked, already knowing the truth.

"Yes, it does. You see Kari, it was my fault she killed herself," I said, the words tasting bitter in my mouth.

"You don't know that," Kari argued.

"Yes I do. It's because of what happened on Monday," I divulged.

"What happened on Monday?" Kari asked.

"Angel saw you and I hugging after our talk. I didn't think she would get so affected by it. We're only friends," I started.

"Yeah, only friends," Kari repeated, her voice tipped with hurt.

"Anyway, she ran off. So I went to her house in the afternoon. She gave me an ultimatum. I had choose you or her. It was too hard," I continued.

"So, what happened then?" Kari sounded eager to find out whom I'd chosen.

"Well, in the end I chose you Kari," I finished.

Kari looked shocked. She started to cry again. I raised my eyebrows in worry.

"Did I do something wrong?" I asked cautiously.

Kari looked up at me. She was smiling.

"No, you did every right," she said and threw her arms around me.

I felt a bit better, but the guilty feeling was still there. Something was still out of place. I had done what Angel had expected me to. Still there was something left, unfinished.

Kari took me by surprise and kissed me. Our first real kiss. It was different to the one we'd shared before. It was better. Better even than Angel's kisses.

"Kari," I murmured.

She glanced up.

"I love you Kari Kamiya," I said.

Kari looked as shocked as I felt.

"I love you too TK," she smiled and we kissed again.

Kari broke the kiss off first, giggling.

"What am I gonna tell Davis?" she laughed. I laughed too.

"You didn't really love him did you?" I asked, solemnly. Kari stopped laughing.

"No way!" she shrieked in fake horror. "He can't kiss. I felt like I was kissing a fish."

We laughed again.

"Let's go inside," I said.

We got up from the table and walked inside the building. The air felt different and my heart felt lighter. But the truth remained. Angel was gone.

THE END