Disclaimer: Do not own Digimon. Do not own 'Do You Want To Know a Secret?'
Do You Want To Know a Secret?
"It's VALENTINE'S DAAAAY! WOOHOOO!" Mimi cheered that morning, with her hands in the air.
"Mimi, cool it okay?" Sora said in a low voice as passers-by stared and pointed.
"What? I mean, duh, people should be happy! You'll get chocolates and flowers and presents and oowwhh I LOVE VALENTINE'S DAAYY!"
The girls (Sora, Mimi, Hikari, and Miyako, that is to say) were on their way to Kopi-Kopi Café, where they were supposed to meet their dates. Sora was, of course, going out with Yamatowhile the hyper Miyako was going out with Ken. No one knew who Mimi's date would be – she always received letters from new crushes, and she would be more than glad to date them one by one. This time, she was going out with a guy called Peter.
Hikari had received fan mails under her desk since the first February, and tons of e-mails from crushes asking her to be their date for the fourteenth day of that month. But she politely turned down their requests.
Weird though, the request that she'd been waiting for never came. And here she was, still waiting...
"Hi guys!" Mimi greeted cheerfully as they got to the café at last. Taichi, Yamato, Takeru, Ken and Daisuke were already there. "Sorry we're late!"
"Girls," Taichi groaned, shaking his head. "What do you guys do? What took you so long?"
"Well, Taichi," snapped Mimi, "for your information, us girls need to dress up nicely and put make ups on because if we don't, none of you boys would want to spend a second with us!"
"She's right, you know," said Takeru jokingly at his senior. "They're just like us – ya know, when we're all sweaty and tired from our games of basketball and soccer, they wouldn't go out with us!"
Hikari couldn't resist a snort of laughter. She knew that her best friend only said that because it actually happened to him once: the two of them were supposed to go and buy books one Saturday morning, but Takeru woke up early and decided to practice his basketball skills. When Hikari came at 9 p.m. (as they had promised), Takeru was already sweaty and was very exhausted. In the end, he fell asleep in the bookstore while browsing for some books (he was standing, with a book in his hands and his head bowed down, as if reading the book, but was actually asleep). Hikari said she would never hang out with him anymore if he did that again.
"Oh. There he is! There's Peter," said Mimi gleefully as a black sports car halted in front of the café. She left after saying goodbye.
"Umm, sorry guys, but Ken and I have plans of our own," Miyako said as her blue haired boyfriend joined her. The two waved goodbye and left.
"Us, too," said Yamato, taking Sora by the hand.
"Good luck with your plan, niisan!" said Takeru, winking.
"Yeah, and good luck with yours, Takeru," said Yamato, just before leaving the café. Hikari sat next to Takeru.
"What plans?" she asked curiously. The blonde's grin widened as he placed his elbows onto the table and his chin against his hands.
"Hmm…well, nothing," he said.
"Oh, and I suppose you expect me to believe that?"
"Yeah," he replied, still grinning.
"Oh fine, keep your secrets then," said Hikari. She turned to Taichi and Daisuke. "And what're you guys doing here?"
"Hmm? Well, Hika, in case you haven't noticed, us three have no dates," said Taichi. "Jyou, Koushiro and Iori are off somewhere – they're study freaks so there's no way I'm joining them!"
"And you?" Daisuke asked.
"W-well, actually I was just following the girls," said Hikari. "And, yeah, I don't have any dates, too."
"Welcome to the club," said Takeru, smiling his nicest smile. Hikari felt weird – the Takeru Takaishi not having dates? That was strange, all right. Just the day before, two girls followed them on their way back home, and when Takeru had had enough, he asked them what they wanted. One of the girls (who as actually in the Cheerleading Team along with Hikari) asked Takeru if he had had any dates yet. Takeru replied that he didn't want any dates, and waving his hand, he said, "goodbye".
The four of them ordered drinks and snacks, and talked about things for about twenty minutes. Weird though, Taichi kept glancing at his watch, and out the glass door of the café.
When finally a girl with black hair and cool T-shirt entered, Taichi sprang to his feet. Hikari recognised the girl as one of Taichi's classmates.
"Sorry guys, but I must go now! My date's here!" he said happily.
"B-but you said—you said—"
"Sorry I lied Daisuke!" said Taichi. "Looks like I won the bet Hika – I want my reports done by tonight, thank you!"
"You guys had a bet?" Takeru repeated eagerly, as Hikari smacked her forehead, saying, "Stupid me! Where did he get a date?"
"Yeah…we had a bet: if he manages to get a date, I'll do his Chemistry reports," said Hikari bitterly as she watched her older brother exit the café. "You know how pathetic he is with girls – but then! When and how did he get a date?"
"Taichi…lied?" Daisuke said. "He has a date, too?"
"Well, cheer up, Daisuke—"
"I feel pathetic. I'm going home," said Daisuke at last. Waving weakly, he said, "Bye guys…" And he left.
"So! Just the two of us, huh?" Takeru said before sipping his cold beverage. Hikari gave a nod as she found her throat too tight to speak (and she didn't know why, really). They sat there, with silence in between them for a while. Soon, Takeru took out his MP3 Player and began to listen to his songs. Takeru's blue orbs were observing the environment while he sipped his drink in a cute manner – it was as if watching a child drinking his orange juice while waiting for his mother to get ice cream for him.
Hikari watched as couples in love come and go. Some of them just came together, but some others came in a group of six (three couples, all seemed to be close friends). She just wished the Chosen Children could go out together – Sora with Yamato, Taichi with his new girl, Ken with Miyako, and Takeru with…
She could sense that her face was turning red, so she quickly forced herself to not think of that subject.
Suddenly, Takeru's cell phone rang. However, the messy haired boy did not seem to hear it.
"Takeru, it's your phone," Hikari said. But the he continued to hum. "Takeru...!"
Still humming.
She sighed, before leaning forward across the table to take off the earphones stuck into his ears.
"Huh? Wha—oh, my phone – sorry, s'cuse me—hello?"
Hikari observed as her best friend spoke with his mother on the other line. How she wished he would ask her to be his date…… How she wished they could stop being 'best friends' and start being something more…a couple…
Takeru scratched his head handsomely as his mother said something, and replied, "Y-yeah, I was with niisan but he's gone out with his date – uhm – no, Hikari's here."
His blue eyes met her brown ones.
"Uh–huh. Uh – no. No – mum! Oh, c'mon, I did my laundry yesterday already!" moaned the boy. Hikari started to giggle, and Takeru scowled at her. She knew that Takeru hated laundry days. "Besides, I thought Laundry Days are on Tuesdays? What! That's not fair!"
After a lot of moaning and complaints, Takeru finally agreed to go home (as his mother had changed their Laundry Day from Tuesdays to Wednesdays).
"Sorry, Hika, but I have to go," he said, looking very down. "…I hate laundry days…"
"Yeah, you've mentioned that before," said Hikari. "C'mon, I'll pay. The treat's on me." After paying, they got out of the Kopi-Kopi Café.
"So, where are you going after this?" Takeru asked.
"Duh, back home – where else?" she said. "I have Taichi's reports to finish…" They began to walk slowly back home.
"No dates, eh?" he asked. "Surprising, Yagami, very surprising…"
"Well same goes to you, Mr. I-Hate-Laundry-Days," she said. "Tell me, why did you refuse when Ukita asked you to be her date? I mean, she's nice and beautiful and all…"
"Yeah, so?" Takeru asked. "Just because she's pretty, it doesn't mean I would date her… Ya know, actually I hate buying chocolates."
"You're so unromantic," she shot.
"Thanks."
"It doesn't cost much! Just buy the cheapest chocolate and give it to her while saying nice words and I'm positively sure that she'll fall for it!" Hikari pointed out as they took a left turn.
Takeru groaned. "Nah. I hate it when they just go, 'oh, are those for me? Why, they're lovely!' I mean, of course the chocolate's for you, dolt, otherwise I wouldn't have bought it in the first place — oh hey! It's Orange Range's 'Chest', wanna listen?" he said, changing the topic almost at once.
Hikari shook her head. "No, thank you. That song makes my head spin!"
"Owh, you just don't have the desire for music!" said Takeru. Being Yamato's little brother, Takeru was deeply interested in music as well. He had once sung one of Yamato's songs, and he hit all the notes perfectly without any mistakes. "Listen to the beat – the bass – the perfect lyrics — c'mon, Hika!" he said, taking off one earphone and waving it in front of her.
"No, thank you!" she repeated, pushing his hand away.
"Owh, please?" he said.
"No."
"Pretty please with all the cherries on top? Oh – and chocolate sprinkles too!" Takeru begged, making her laugh.
"Takeru!" she said, still laughing, and tried to push him away as he pressed one earphone against her ear (and the song was going through a chorus of 'Chesto! Chesto, Chesto!')
"What about one of the Beatles'?" Hikari said. "Their songs are nice," she said. Takeru had a weird personality – he loved a lot of rock bands and such, but at the same time, he listened to old songs as well, like the Beatles' songs. Hikari discovered that he would turn to softer songs whenever he needed ideas for something, or simply for a moment of peace. He had introduced her to the band a few years back, and the first Beatles song she heard was 'Here Comes the Sun'.
"Ooh! Speaking of the Beatles, there's something I have to tell ya," said Takeru as they finally arrived at the apartment building.
"What?"
"There's a song I'd like you to hear, but it's not in my MP3 player right now," he said. "Are you online at eight tonight?"
"Yeah," she said.
"Great! I'll send it to you tonight!" said the other, his face glowing with excitement. But pretty soon, his face suddenly became serious, as he seemed to have remembered something important. They halted in front of her apartment door. "And…Hikari…"
"Hmm?"
She waited for Takeru to speak, but he didn't.
"What? What izzit?" she pressed on.
"I hope you'll like this song," he said. "Because…"
"…Yes?"
"Because I…"
A pause.
"Takeru, spit it out!" said Hikari, smiling. But the other didn't smile. He was serious about this.
"…I wanna tell you a secret…"
A secret? Now this is weird. What secret? It was so unlike him to keep secrets, because he would surely tell an hour or less after he got a hold of a secret – so yeah, he wasn't good at keeping secrets. But then…what secret was he going to tell…?
"What secret?" she asked nervously, looking at his serious blue eyes. He suddenly stepped closer.
"…Closer," he said in a low voice, signalling her to move closer with his finger. Her face felt hot, her hands were sweaty. Takeru's face was so damn serious and she couldn't read his expression! He was so unfathomable at the moment and — and — he was…so…close…
Hikari could hear her heartbeat going faster and louder. She couldn't think straight.
"Lemme whisper in your ears," he said. Hikari swore that her face was as red as the reddest tomato on earth.
"…O-okay," she said, barely than a whisper. The taller one leaned down to her ear. His soft breath tickled her neck...
"Do you want to know a secret?" said Takeru in a whisper. She nodded briskly, her voice too scared to come out. She was rooted at the spot, and didn't dare to move. And then Takeru spoke, with such a soft voice, "…Then, please be online tonight at eight…" He straightened up.
And then — chu. He kissed her quickly on the right cheek!
"There, I'll tell you the rest of it tonight! See yah!"
And he ran off, laughing.
She stood there, face red, mouth hung open, as she touched the place where Takeru had kissed her. She didn't expect that at all!
"Sorry, Hika, but I promise I'll tell you tonight!" he called, waving at her before disappearing.
She was sure she saw shades of pink on Takeru's face just now.
--X--
Writing Taichi's reports seemed harder than before. She could read and write what she was supposed to read and write, but her mind kept replaying the scene where Takeru tried to whisper something to her, and how he had quickly kissed her. Kissed her!
"Okay Hikari, just don't expect too much from him…"
Once, Takeru held her hand all the way to school and back home. When she asked why (and it cost her a great deal of courage just to do this, mind you) he did that, he said because she looked pretty that day. But later, Miyako told her that there was a senior girl who asked Takeru to be her boyfriend and he said no. In order to stop that senior girl from wooing him, he had to act as if he already had a girlfriend.
She really thought he had the same feeling towards her as well.
And it was all just a joke! She should've known better. Takeru was a cheerful guy, what was she expecting from him?
Her eyes travelled to the clock on the wall. It was fifteen minutes to eight, so why not switch on the computer now? She did that, and to kill some time, she decided to check Koushiro's website. There was nothing new there, but she kept on clicking on the same page over and over again, and did not even realise what she was doing.
"What secret is he gonna tell?" she wondered alone (as she finally left Koushiro's page alone and logged on to her Yahoo Messenger). Most of her girlfriends were online, but 'Keeper of Hope' was still offline at the moment. She decided to 'disturb' Miyako.
Hika-Hika: Hey, Miyako. How's da date?
Purple Hawk Girl: Oh it was +o+
Hika-Hika: Man, I'm jealous!
Purple Hawk Girl: Ahem, ahem, how wuz yours?
Hika-Hika: I didn't have a date, re—mem—ber?
Purple Hawk Girl: Whadaya mean? You were with Takeru, rite?
Hika-Hika: Yeah, I was, but we were juz talking and we went back home soon after. Thatz all, honest!
Keeper of Hope is now online.
Hika-Hika: Oh, sorry Miya. Takeru's online now and he's givin me a new Beatles song.
Purple Hawk Girl: Okay, no probs! Say hello to your boyfriend for me ya!
Hika-Hika: Watever.
She hesitated for a while before chatting with Takeru. She suddenly had this very shy feeling towards him. She felt nervous. What if she said something stupid? Or something nonsense?
But then, Takeru was the one who started to chat with her.
Keeper of Hope: Ellow, Hikari.
Hika-Hika: Eh-Oh (the Teletubies style! XD)
Keeper of Hope: So how's Taichi's report coming?
Hika-Hika: I'm tryin my best to write like a 6 year old!
Keeper of Hope: U're mean.
Hika-Hika: Ooh, thanx!
Keeper of Hope: Nway, d'you want dat Beatles song I told you earlier?
Hika-Hika: Sure.
Keeper of Hope: Kay, juz hold on a sec
Hikari waited patiently. What song was it? Why did he want her to listen to it so much? And what secret was he trying to tell her that morning? What it important? Or was it unpleasant? She didn't know…
Keeper of Hope: Ah, here it iz!
Keeper of Hope is sending you one file: DO YOU WANT TO KNOW A SECRET.mp3 accept decline
Weird. The song title was 'Do You Want To Know a Secret?' It was making her more curious. She quickly clicked the 'accept' button and drummed her fingers patiently while the song is being sent to her.
Hika-Hika: Takeru, wat kinda song is this?Keeper of Hope: A good one! XD
Hika-Hika: C'mon, seriously!
Keeper of Hope: Owh, one of the Beatles' most creative songs ever – in my opinion, dat is…
Hika-Hika: Uh-huh. Watever.
The sending process was painfully slow.
"C'mon, c'mon…faster," she said alone, her fingers still drumming on the table.
Keeper of Hope: Hey, Hikari?
Hika-Hika: Yeah?
Keeper of Hope: U might…uh…feel different towards me after lis'ning to dis. Ya know, in fact I think we're not gonna be the same again after dis song.
Keeper of Hope has sent you one file: DO YOU WANT TO KNOW A SECRET.mp3 open
Keeper of Hope: The lyric of the song says it all. Uh…dun hate me plz.
Hika-Hika: Hate u? Y should I?
Keeper of Hope is now offline.
"What!" she said, leaning closer to the PC. Offline! Fine, she would face it alone then! With trembling fingers, and with a lot of butterflies in her stomach, she clicked 'open'. She waited while the loading process took place…
And…
You'll never know how much I really love you,
You'll never know how much I really care…
Listen,
Do you want to know a secret?
Do you promise not to tell?
Wow, oh, oh…
Closer,
Let me whisper in you ear
Say the words you've longed to hear:
I'm in love with you,
Oh, oh...oh...
Listen,
Do you want to know a secret?
Do you promise not to tell?
Wow, oh, oh…
Closer,
Doo-da-doo
Let me whisper in your ear
Say the words you've longed to hear:
I'm in love with you
Oh, oh...oh…
I've known this secret for a week or two,
No body knows,
Just we two
Listen,
Do you want to know a secret?
Do you promise not to tell?
Wow, oh, oh…
Closer,
Let me whisper in your ear
Say the words you've longed to hear:
I'm in love with you…
Wow, ooh, ooh…
Wow, ooh, ooh…
Keeper of Hope: Hika? U OK?
Hika-Hika: o,0I thought U were offline!
Keeper of Hope: Well, no I'm not. Juz invisible
A pause.
Keeper of Hope: …So……?
Hika-Hika: Okay, I promise not to tell anyone. :)
Keeper of hope: Just we two, kay?Hikari smiled.
Hika-Hika: Okay!
Keeper of Hope: Oh, BTW, happy Valentine's day!
ENDArisa Aihara is now offline.