Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or any of it's characters. I don't own the song Out Of Order by Duncan Sheik, nor do I have permission to use it in this story.
(Hopefully Saban, Toei, and Duncan either don't care, or won't ever see this fic...)
"So where is Sora again?" Mimi asked.
"Um..." Matt hesitated, "She wasn't feeling too good, so she decided to stay home."
"Oh, that's too bad," Mimi said with a small pout, "and I'm only going to be here for two more days."
The Digidestined had decided to go to the movies as a group to celebrate Mimi's brief return home. It had been almost a year since the whole group had been together since Mimi had moved to the US. However, they were still one person short.
Matt shrugged and turned his attention back to the window of the subway car they were in. "Yeah, I know Mimi, I tried to tell her that, but..."
Joe shot a questioning look towards Matt, who just shook his head. "Well, I'm sure she'll feel better," the blue-haired teen said after clearing his throat. "In fact, how about you and I go over to her house after the movie?" Joe continued, speaking to the pink-haired girl by his side. He quickly looked over at Matt to see him respond with a quick nod.
"Oh, that would be great," Mimi said.
"How 'bout we all drop by to cheer her up?" Yolei asked suddenly.
"Yeah," Tai agreed, "if Sora's sick, I'm sure she'll want some company."
"Uh, I can't," Matt objected.
"Why not?" Davis asked. "I think you'd be the first person she'd want to see."
"Uh, well, I just need to get started on my thesis paper, that's all," Matt answered.
"But that paper isn't due for a month," Tai said.
"I know," Matt said, "I just want to get started early so I won't have to scramble at the last minute."
"Well, okay," Yolei said, "but I guess the rest of us can go see her."
"Yeah," Matt agreed, "you guys go ahead."
Joe threw the blonde a sideways glance but he just turned away. When they had reached the movie theater, and bought the tickets, they started to line up at the concession stand.
"Actually, Matt and I can get the food, you guys just go in and get us some good seats," Joe announced.
"Oh, how sweet! Joe you are such a gentleman," Mimi said as she gave him a quick hug. He blushed slightly, then looked over at Matt. Matt shot back a quizzical look, but shrugged at his suggestion.
"Thanks guys," the rest of the Destined said as they gave the two boys their orders and went off to find some seats.
"So what's actually going on with Sora?" Joe inquired.
"Ugh," Matt groaned and rolled his eyes. "It's stupid. We had another fight."
"Wow, you guys have been fighting a lot more than usual," Joe observed. "And I don't know if you realize it Matt, but you've been acting way different since you and Sora started seeing each other exclusively."
I hear what you're sayin'I may seem out of order
Nothin's quite the same now
As it ever was before her
"I mean, I know it's not really my business," he continued, cocking his head to the side, "but you're both my friends..."
And your looking at meWith one of those sideways glances
"...and I don't want to see either one of you get hurt. It just seems that you've put a lot into this relationship. What happens if it doesn't work out?"
You say I'm giving up too muchAnd takin' too many chances
Matt nodded slowly. He understood what Joe was trying to say. In fact, if anyone else had been giving him this lecture, he would have taken offense. But he knew Joe was just concerned. However, he knew his relationship with Sora better than anyone else. "It's okay, Joe," Matt replied. "It was just a little spat. Nothing big. A couple of fights here and there is normal, isn't that what they say?"
But I won't believe you now"Yeah, that's normal, but," Joe paused to let out a sigh, "Matt, I really don't think you guys have that much in common."
"So," the blonde said dismissively. "It's not like you and Mimi have that much in common, but you guys are soul mates. You said it yourself."
"That's true," Joe admitted, "but do you think she's your soul mate?"
I've gotta check this outMatt looked down in thought. "I don't know, but I want to find out," he said finally.
Matt noticed the skeptical look on his friend's face and added, "It's okay man. I know what you're trying to say, but me and Sora, we're fine. Really. C'mon, let's go watch the movie."
Joe nodded in defeat, and helped Matt carry the orders into the theater. He could tell by the look in Matt's eyes that it was no use talking to him anymore.
And nothin' you can sayWill convince me otherwise
You're just trying to be a friend
I know the message is well meant
But none of it does compare to her eyes
"Ishida, Matt..."
When Matt heard his name called, he nearly let out a whoop. Instead, however, he walked over to Prof. Hiro, the Faculty Advisor, and shook his hand. He received his diploma, then shook hands with Mr. Issa, the University Chancellor. He quickly looked out into the crowd to see all his friends and family, sitting in the sixth row, with the exception of Sora and Tai, who were in his graduating class, and Izzy, who was taking care of some important business at Cape Canaveral. Matt bowed once to the officers of the college, then once to the crowd, and made his way over to where all the other graduates whose names had already been called sat, and waited. He could pay no attention to the other names being announced, he could only think about all that he'd been through to see this day. He looked up at the cloudless sky and thought about his friends, his family, and his experiences in the Digital World. He wondered had all of it been necessary for him to see this moment. His thoughts were broken when he heard,
"Kamiya, Taichi..."
Matt instinctively let out a small "yeah!" as if his friend were winning an academy award. To his relief, the applause was loud enough to cover his blunder. He watched Tai make his way across the stage, receive his diploma, bow, and make his way to the next empty purple chair. Matt snickered to himself, remembering how Tai kept saying he was going to walk in Bermuda shorts and a T-shirt. More random names continued to be called until,
"Motimiya, Jun..."
Matt watched her grace the stage with her presence. Jun had changed a lot. Or maybe he had. He had realized she wasn't the groupie he thought she was all those years ago. In fact, she had a lot of qualities he admired. She was bold, assertive, intelligent, even fun. He was happy for her that she had found someone. He just hoped that he and Sora could be as happy as she was now. After hearing about a million "m's" and "n's", Matt wondered if they would ever get to "t".
"Takai, Yagumi..."
Matt rolled his eyes impatiently. Would they ever get to-
"Takenouchi, Sora..."
Matt watched Sora walk out onto the stage, seemingly oblivious to the massive crowd that was watching her every move. Suddenly, a big smile appeared on her face as she made eye contact with a certain person. Matt felt a slight twinge of jealousy when he looked over to see that the certain person was Tai. 'Why did she look for him?' he thought. 'No Matt, you're overreacting, it was just a coincidence, that's all.' Sora took her diploma and bowed to the crowd and made her way down to the chairs below. The rest of the ceremony was a blur. Matt barely even remembered flipping his tassel or throwing his cap into the air.
When he finally made his way over to Sora, the first words out of his mouth were, "You didn't see me?"
"No," she said. "I looked for you, but I only saw Tai and Jun."
Matt nodded. 'See, you were overreacting. She didn't look for Tai, she looked for you,' he thought. "So we really did it," he said.
"I know, Matt," she responded, smiling. "It's unreal. I thought high school was big, but this...this is huge."
Matt nodded again. "Do you know what this means?" he asked.
"How could I forget?" she replied.
"So, are you ready to go?" he asked her.
"Yeah," Sora said, "just let me go hug Mom and Dad."
Matt nodded as he walked off to get his car. After shaking a few of his classmates' hands and dodging a lengthy conversation with one of his old professors, he made his way to the parking lot.
"Hey man, congratulations."
Matt turned to see Joe Kido. "Oh, hey man, thanks."
"Where are you going in such a hurry?" Joe asked. "Everybody wants to congratulate you. And if you leave now, you'll miss the party."
"Oh," Matt said. "Um, well, I'll be back. I just have to do something first."
"What?" Joe asked.
"Um, well, promise me that you won't tell anybody, okay? It's supposed to be a surprise."
"Okay," Joe said.
"Sora and I, we're gonna get married."
"What? You mean like elope or something?"
Just go easy on me"Yeah, we decided this a long time ago, like back when we were still sophomores. We promised that we would get married the day we graduated, no matter what."
"Why? I mean you guys are still young. It's not like you need to rush."
I'm feeling out of order"Well, It's not like we're that young anymore," Matt explained, "besides, I think she's getting tired of taking it slow. If I wait too long, I might lose her."
"But Matt, Mimi and I haven't tied the knot yet. Neither have Tai and Jun, we all decided we'd wait till we had the money to pay for our own places. You and Sora both still live with your parents."
"But I do make enough to pay for my own place," Matt pointed out.
"That's true, but if you get married, you'll be paying for not only yourself and your student loans, but Sora and hers too."
"Well, if I have to, I can always get another job," Matt said.
"But you're already working two jobs as it is," Joe cried.
I'm beaten and I'm woundedLike I never was before her
"I know," Matt replied with a sigh.
And I know you're talkin' sense"But we really want to do this," he continued.
But I can't forget about her"Matt, what good is it if you end up working yourself to death? I'm know Sora wouldn't want that."
You say I'm good as deadIf I keep it up much longer
"I know what you're trying to say man, and I appreciate it. My Dad said the same thing. That we're too young. He even said that's why he and my Mom broke up, 'cause they got married too young. But Sora and I are different, we won't let that happen."
But I won't believe you now"Let me ask you a question," Matt started, "if you were me, and Sora was Mimi, what would you do?"
I've got to check this outAnd nothin' you can say
Will convince me otherwise
Joe couldn't answer.
You're just trying to be a friendI know the message is well meant
Suddenly, Sora came running up. "Okay Matt, I'm ready. Oh hi Joe," she said.
"Great," Matt said, smiling. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked her, looking her in the eyes.
But none of it does compare to her eyes"Of course," she said.
"Okay," he replied. He turned to face Joe who wore a telling look.
It may seem unwiseYou may be right
But I don't mind
I just can't mind
"Thanks man, for everything, but..." Matt turned to look at Sora, who was buckling herself into the passenger side of the car, "...I really love her."
It may seem unwiseYou may be right
With that, Matt opened the door of the car and got in. Joe watched as he cranked it up and pulled out of the parking lot. He hoped for both his friend's sakes that he was wrong, but somehow, he knew that wasn't the truth.
But I don't mindI just can't mind
Author's Note: Well, I don't have too much to say. The song I used is called Out Of Order, and it's by Duncan Sheik, if you didn't already catch that. I got the inspiration for this fic while listening to the song when I was sick. Hey, I'm a poet, and I didn't even know it. ^_^;; Also, since I'm not really a Sorato fan, this might be the only Sorato I'll ever write. R&R please. Like always, don't have to say much, just let me know it you like it or not. Although if you have any constructive criticism, that's good too.