Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Hidden Knowledge ❯ Confrontation ( Chapter 5 )

I don't own Digimon, stfu plz.

 

Hidden Knowledge

 

Chapter 5 - Confrontation

 

It had been 5 days since Izzy was practically thrown out of his own apartment by his parents.

 

5 days.

 

5 days and no answer from his parents at all. No phone calls, no visit, no letter, nothing.

 

It wasn't like they didn't know where he was, because he had left them a note on the refrigerator where he would be staying. And it wasn't like they didn't know how to reach him. Like every other child, Izzy had his own cell phone, and his parents knew the number by heart. Plus the fact that he had called them several times with no answer.

 

Izzy was clearly depressed by this, going into spontaneous bouts of soft crying several times a day. Luckily he always had Tai, Joe, and Tentomon there with him.

 

He had once again begun to submerse himself in his PiBook laptop computer, trying to drown out his horrific experience. He tried not to think about how his parents were completely ignoring him or how he wanted to cut his arms more than anything now.

 

Izzy cut his arms because he felt bad. He felt really, deeply, indescribably bad. He felt that he needed to be severely punished for falling in love with another boy against his will. And now he felt that he needed to be punished for disappointing and angering his parents so much.

 

And here he was again. Sobbing because he felt the urge, the absolute overwhelming need to punish himself again, to tear open his flesh in a painful manner, to watch the murky blood tinged with self-hatred pour out and spill to the floor.

 

But all he could do was cry helplessly into Tai's chest.

 

He couldn't even begin to describe how he felt to anyone, and even if he could, he wasn't sure he could stop blubbering long enough to talk. He was almost positive that no one else on Earth had ever felt like this.

 

Ever.

 

He had begun going back to school, everyone questioning where he had been. He simply told them he had been sick, of course without mentioning any details, and he let them know that he was okay now, plastering that fake smile onto his face.

 

Except that he wasn't okay.

 

He tried to hold out during school and was succeeding so far, but once he got back to Joe's apartment he broke down all over again.

 

So here he sat. Tai rocked him gently back and forth, hushing him softly to no avail as he bawled in emotional pain, drowning out everything else.

 

5 days.

 

5 whole, long days.

 

Why are they ignoring me?! They said they loved me!

 

They said…

 

They…

 

He bit his lip in a desperate attempt to muffle his sobs of pure agony.

 

Ensuing his emotional break down, his cries became softer, more delicate. His yelps weren't being ripped forcefully from the back of his throat anymore and his crucial grip on Tai's shirt melted into loose fists. Tai lifted Izzy's head up by his chin and lovingly brushed his lips over the other boy's.

 

Izzy kissed back in a gentle manner, his eyes fluttering closed and his eyelashes still soaked with tears.

 

Tai broke away from the kiss and continued to hold onto the boy, Izzy barely making the tiniest sobs as he dug his forehead into Tai's chest again.

 

He knew what had to be done.

 

*****

 

Izzy stood outside of his apartment, facing the door. He stood there in silence for a while, looking serious.

 

Tai held onto Izzy's hand, feeling it tremble lightly like a fragile leaf.

 

Joe and Tentomon sat in the patio chairs in front of Izzy's apartment without making a sound.

 

With a quiet inhale of cool air, Izzy pushed the key into the door knob and opened the door.

 

Tai and Izzy walked inside cautiously, standing in the little hallway, the door behind them still open.

 

Joe stood up from his chair behind them. “Tentomon and I will be waiting in the car. You know where to find us.”

 

Izzy didn't say anything as they took off down the steps and out of the apartment complex.

 

The two boys walked in and shut the door behind them. Izzy locked it from the inside.

 

It looked different to him somehow. Everything in the apartment was the same, but there was this mysterious air about it that made him feel uncomfortable. Maybe it was the way the late afternoon light hit the window and spilled into the room, or maybe it was the fact that it was so unbearably quiet. No Tentomon to greet him, no warm cheery atmosphere…

 

Tai felt it, too. As soon as he had walked in, he felt like he smacked into an invisible wall of tension. The air almost crackled with uneasiness. Not even the sharpest sword could cut through it.

 

And yet somehow, they walked inside and were standing in the thick of it.

 

“C'mon,” Tai said, still holding Izzy's hand and leading him over to the sofa. He was really worried. Izzy looked pale and weak through the serious look he held on his face.

 

Tai sat next to him and studied his face, finding Izzy's eyes starting to fill with tears.

 

“It's okay,” he whispered, gliding his hand over Izzy's back. He grasped his arm and pulled the auburn haired boy into an embrace.

 

Izzy's eyes squeezed shut, a few tears being born on his eyelashes only to live on his cheek and die on Tai's shirt.

 

It wasn't much later after that when the front door opened and in spilled a tired looking Masami Izumi. He seemed to not notice the boys until a few seconds later. He froze in his tracks and felt his body go numb.

 

There was his son, very slightly shivering in the arms of another boy.

 

In Tai's arms.

 

Then he realized that Tai was looking back at him, a worried expression blended on the boy's face with hurt.

 

Izzy didn't even turn his head. He was well aware of his father's presence, but he couldn't bring himself to look at him.

 

A sudden, sharp sob broke the absolute silence of them room, almost echoing off of tension.

 

Tai immediately turned his attention to Izzy, who apparently couldn't hold back his sorrow any longer, and hugged the younger boy tightly against his body. Izzy's broken cries washed through his dad to his very soul.

 

What have we done…?

 

Mr. Izumi was just about to walk over to the couch when the door opened and in came his wife.

 

“Masami what are you -“

 

She, too, froze and faced the truth that she had hurt her son deeply, completely forgetting her question.

 

Izzy's sobs became slightly louder then, Tai struggling to hush him.

 

“Izzy, it's okay,” he said softly to the upset, shaking boy.

 

“No it's not!” he shouted back in retort. “My parents! They HATE me! THEY HATE ME!” he choked out between sobs.

 

His parents almost stumbled backwards from the emotional blow.

 

Mrs. Izumi took a step forward and stretched out her arm, as if she could reach her son from across the room.

 

“Izzy…” she said desperately, her voice barely audible over her son's shrieking sobs that were filled with sadness. Her face looked shocked more than anything, with just a sprinkle of guilt and worry.

 

Her husband sighed to himself and walked over to the two figures huddled together on the couch. He kneeled down next to Izzy and placed his strong hand gently on his back.

 

Izzy pulled away from Tai's body slowly and turned to face his father, sniffling back violent sobs, trying to make the tears stop flowing and failing miserably.

 

“You… think we hate you?” he asked in concern. Izzy looked away over at a section of the carpet, his face emotionless and tear-stained.

 

“Izzy, we don't hate you,” his mother said from the other side of the room. She clutched the fabric of her dress over her chest with one hand, the other one placed loosely at her side.

 

His eyes screwed shut tightly, jerking his head back to Tai's chest. “I don't believe you!” he shouted back in anger, causing his father to rip his hand away in astonishment. “If you don't hate me, then why haven't you called?! Why haven't you answered my phone calls?! Why haven't you DONE ANYTHING?!”

 

Mr. Izumi sighed in disappointment. Izzy's mother stepped lightly over to a lone chair in the room.

 

“Izzy, sweetie, we were just trying to figure out a way to talk to you…” she said hesitantly. “We were just really shocked and unprepared when you told us that you're…” She left the sentence unfinished.

 

“Is that why you told me to go away and slapped me?!” he shot back, his voice cracking from crying too much.

 

Mr. Izumi almost fell backwards from pure shock, then shot up and immediately thundered over to his wife. “You did WHAT?!”

 

She rose to meet him, trying to look tough even though she was shorter. “I was UPSET, Masami! I wasn't THINKING!”

 

Mr. Izumi groaned out loud in frustration a little too dramatically, then waved a hand to his wife to forget the argument between themselves and turned back toward his son.

 

“Look, Izzy, I'm sorry for walking out on you like that. I guess I was hoping for you to settle down with a girl…” he trailed off.

 

Izzy's mom maneuvered around her husband and sat on the couch next to her son, his back facing her.

 

“I'm really sorry…” she said sincerely, turning her gaze from Izzy's back down to her knees. She grabbed the fabric of her dress near her knees and squeezed her hands into fists, her knuckles turning white. “I guess I was expecting that, too. I really don't care if you are… uh… you know…” she swallowed, a little embarrassed, “…gay.”

 

“I don't care, either,” his dad chimed in. “We really do love you, more than anything else. We were just upset.”

 

Izzy pulled away from Tai's harsh grasp slightly and turned just enough to face his parents. He blinked briskly, forcing back hot tears. “Really?” he asked quietly.

 

His parents nodded in unison.

 

Izzy turned to face them fully now, unable to hold back the tears any longer. “Mom, dad!” he cried out happily, lunging forward to embrace his mom. She held him tightly, his dad smiling and kneeling down again to ruffle his short auburn locks.

 

Tai grinned and Izzy finally let go of his mother. Mr. Izumi pointed a finger at the two boys, waving it back and forth, alternating pointing at each of them.

 

“So… are you two…?”

 

Izzy's eyes grew wide and felt his face get excruciatingly hot. He glanced away in embarrassment. He could hear Tai cough nervously behind him.

 

Mr. Izumi pulled his hand away and tucked it behind his head, closing his eyes and laughing nervously. His wife continued to smile and seemed unfazed as she reached out and touched Izzy's arm lightly with her fingertips.

 

“I am glad you are with someone so wonderful,” she grinned.

 

Izzy looked back at her, his flush fading slightly.

 

“Me too.”