Author's Note: Well, as everyone is starting to lose hope in Taiora, the best thing I can do is still support it! I will NOT give into Sorato. It never happened, and I don't think it ever will. If it does, who cares. I'll still be a Taiora fan, but here's another fic for y'all fans! Just to keep high spirits, oki? Enjoy it!
Stand By Me
Why is my world falling apart like this?
Sora asked herself one day. The topic just popped up, and she never tried to shake it once. She was sitting at a café. She had a cappuccino in her hand. Frothy, yet warm, not even close to the way she felt inside. She felt cold and dark, while staring outside into the cold streets of Odaiba. Why does this have to happen to me? …oh please, Sora. I bet this happens to a lot of people who all of a sudden start falling for their…closest friend. She sighed and took another sip of her drink. Although she tried to hide it, she had been thinking about Tai a lot. She wasn't really sure yet. Was it just an obsession or was it truly love this time?"Hi."
Sora looked up, almost choking with fear, because she thought Tai would come up to her and talk to her. But instead, it was Mimi. Sora smiled, looking back at the table, "Hi."
"So, what's going on?" Mimi asked, cheerfully.
Sora looked at Mimi, depressed. "…as if you haven't heard."
"I haven't." Mimi lied. "I mean…Sora…you could just come out and say it to him, you know."
"No, I can't." Sora sighed. "How easy do you think it is to walk up to him and say, 'Tai, I love you.' Then run away in embarrassment?"
"…very…easy." Mimi smiled. "It's just like telling someone how much you hate them."
Sora stared at Mimi. "…you're making this way too hard…"
Mimi smiled. "That's okay. You've been through worse."
"…tell me about your life." Sora interrupted. "So I can get my mind off of Tai."
"Well…" Mimi sighed. "I…don't…know. What should I say?"
"Tell me who you like." Sora said.
"Well, okay." Mimi sighed. "…you promise you won't say anything about anyone to them."
"I promise." Sora sighed. "Just get it over with so I can get back to my sulking."
Mimi giggled. "Matt."
"What about him?" Sora asked. "…oh. …well, you must be pretty happy. Does he like you too?"
"I'm not sure." Mimi sighed. "And it would just crush me to see him with another girl…"
"You must feel as empty as me." Sora smiled. "…at least I'm not the only one who feels lousy."
******
"Hey Tai. Hey Matt." Izzy walked into Matt's apartment. "I brought my laptop with me."
"…oh great." Matt sighed.
"What? Are we gonna play computer games now?" Tai asked. "Hey Izz. What did you want to tell us?"
"Well," Izzy quickly plugged in his laptop, and typed up a few commands. "I bought this matchmaker set the other day."
"Why?"
"Because you guys said I needed to loosen up." Izzy complained. "So, I'm gonna match up each of you guys with one of the girls."
"Okay." Matt sighed.
"So…who wants to go first?" Izzy asked.
"Why don't you try yourself?" Tai asked.
"…no." Izzy mumbled. "I could be heartbroken."
"So could I." Tai shrugged. "But who really cares. Try it."
"Fine." Izzy typed a few commands. "Koushiro +…Mimi =…" Izzy paused. "…65.7%."
"That's good right?" Matt asked.
"Yeah." Izzy continued. "This couple is not as recommended as others. Even though one individual might show feelings for the next, the other will unlikely return them." Izzy sweat-dropped. "I'm scared now."
"Don't be." Tai sighed. "Let's try Matt next."
"What?" Matt gasped. "Why me?"
"Because," Tai smirked. "We never get to see you heartbroken that often."
"Okay." Izzy sighed. " Yamato + -"
"Mimi."
"Okay. Yamato + Mimi =…82%."
"Now that is good, right?" Matt asked.
"Definitely." Izzy nodded. "It says, This couple is almost likely to happen. Although, one individual might really admire the next, the problem is that the other individual doesn't take relationships seriously." He looked up ."Hmm, sounds like you."
"Yeah, whatever." Matt chuckled. "Hey, try me with Sora next."
"Okay." Izzy sighed. "See, I told you I could loosen up."
"We meant to leave the laptop at home." Tai nodded. "So what is it?"
"…89%." Izzy smirked. "It says, This couple would succeed at least for a month, no longer, though, because of an individual's career."
"…hell, that does sound like you." Tai smirked.
"It's just a laptop, what does it know?" Matt scoffed. "We didn't try Tai yet."
"So?" Tai said. "That doesn't mean we have to."
"It'll be fun." Izzy nodded. "Let's see. Taichi + Sora = …99%…" He grinned. "That's cool."
"It's just a computer." Tai said, walking into the kitchen. "What does it know?"
"No way, the program says that's one of the highest scores." Izzy said. "It says, This couple is very certain to succeed in life because of the strong bond between the two…."
"It's still just a computer." Tai sighed.
"No, you're getting angry, aren't you?" Matt said.
"I am not." Tai snapped. "…well…whatever."
"After all, isn't it just a computer?" Izzy asked.
"…yeah, you're right." Tai smiled. "So…who else are we gonna match up?"
"…who could we match up?" Izzy asked.
"…Joe." Matt grinned.
Tai sighed. "You guys enjoy yourself. I'm gonna go now. See ya." He grabbed his stuff and walked out of the apartment.
*******
Tai walked down the street for the rest of that afternoon, not quite knowing what he was feeling. Even though Izzy said it was just a computer, it feels pretty real to me. Not bothering to look where he was going, he bumped into someone.
"Huh- oh sorry." Both of them said at the same time.
"Tai?"
"Sora?"
"Uh," Sora stuttered. "So where are…you going?"
"I'm just going for a walk." Tai said. "Why? Where are you going?"
"…I'm going to the…" Sora sighed. "…the café." What am I talking about? I just came from the café!
"Okay. I'll talk to you later." Tai smiled. "Bye."
"Sure. Bye." Sora replied, walking in the other direction.
Tai watched her leave then shook his head. "She seemed in a hurry to get to the café." He stared around him. "…although it was in the other direction. Oh well."
***
"Hi Sora." Mimi arrived at her door that evening.
"Hi Mimi." Sora sighed. "What are you doing here?" She asked, letting Mimi in.
"I came to see you, because I heard you bumped into Tai earlier." Mimi said.
"How did you know?" Sora asked.
"I get my news." Mimi scoffed. "Anyhow…what did you say to him?"
"I said, Hi Tai. I love you. Good bye." Sora smiled, sarcastically.
"Oh really!" Mimi beamed. "How did it go?"
"Mimi, please." Sora sighed. "Of course, I didn't say anything." She sat down in the chair opposite Mimi. "I can't. I don't know if I can…it's just that…what if he doesn't like me the same way?"
"Then you'll be forever crushed." Mimi smiled. "But don't worry. There's always Matt…or Joe…or Izzy…"
"But I don't want to be with anyone else." Sora sighed. "This is so confusing."
"You're telling me." Mimi giggled. "This is really interesting too. So, what are you gonna do?"
"…what do you want me to do?" Sora asked.
"Ask him out, and tell him." Mimi nodded.
"No." Sora replied, quickly. "I mean…I can't."
'I'm really tired of hearing that!" Mimi said. "Why? Why can't you?"
"I already told you." Sora stated. "What if he doesn't like me the same way? What if he just wants to be friends?"
"Then be friends."
"Yeah, but even if, every time we talk to each other, there will always be that one moment of silence because of what I asked him." Sora said. "Tai, do you love me? If he doesn't say anything, then I'll know I should've died a long, long time ago."
Mimi sighed. "Sora, there will be a lot of other guys."
"I don't care." Sora sighed. "I won't love them as much as I love Tai."
Mimi sighed again. "You just need a little rest. You'll get over it all soon." She got up. "I'll talk to you later." She walked out the door. "Bye."
******
"Hey Tai!" Izzy beamed on the phone the next day. "Guess what?"
"What?" Tai asked.
"We matched up Joe the other day, and it seemed the best person he'd fit in with--other than Kari," He added. "Is…Sora! Isn't that hilarious?"
"…no. Should it be?"
"Well, sort of. They are nothing alike!" Izzy laughed. "Hilarious, huh?"
"…no." Tai sighed. "What was the percentage?"
"…29." Izzy replied.
"Compared to…?"
"28." Izzy said. "That was the one with Mimi. But one extra is the biggest improvement!"
"Right." Tai smirked.
"So, where are you going?" Izzy asked.
"Nowhere, I'm just sitting here." Tai said.
"…okay. Cool." Izzy smiled. "By the way, thanks! This "loosening up" business is really working for me! Bye."
"Yeah." Tai hung up. After setting the phone down, it rang again. Tai checked the caller ID. "…it's a payphone." He picked it up and sighed, "Hey."
"Hey Tai. It's me, Matt."
"Oh."
"Okay, well…" Matt sighed. "You're still freaked out over that whole 99% being the highest score thing, huh?"
"None of your business." Tai said.
"Right, I knew it." Matt nodded. "Anyway, I just finished talking to Sora."
"…so?"
"So-…" Matt stuttered. "So anyhow. I had the second highest score compared to you, with Sora, ya know."
"Yeah, so what?" Tai asked.
"Well, I was just wondering, and I wanted to ask you this first, well…would you be okay if I went out with Sora?" He asked.
Tai sighed, and was speechless for a few seconds. He really didn't know what to say, and he should've been okay with it, but he wasn't. Something inside of him made him want to almost kill Matt for thinking about it, but he didn't. Him, and Sora were just friends, that's all.
"Tai, you're still there, right?" Matt asked.
"Yeah." Tai replied, dully.
"So what do you think?"
"And you had to tell me this?" Tai asked.
"Well, yeah." Matt replied. "It's almost like dating within a family. Sora and you seem to have a brother and sister relationship, and so it's almost like asking for….approval, I guess."
"…yeah." Tai replied. "…go ahead. It's not like…I really care or anything."
"Yeah, thanks." Matt nodded. "Gotta go. Bye."
Tai hung up, and for a minute felt empty. But it wasn't really like he lost anything. More like he lost a piece of his heart.
******
Sora hung up her phone soon after and gasped, "Oh my god." She ran to her mirror and stared at herself. "…this…can't be happening." She sighed. "I can't tell Mimi, she'll freak." She collapsed on her bed. Her mind had thoughts running through them. And her emotions were playing evil tricks on her…she didn't really like Matt, and was not about to lose her whole obsession with Tai for it. "…Matt said he had asked Tai for…approval or something-- and Tai agreed to that?" She got up. "I can't believe him! …I wouldn't blame him. He doesn't really know for the past few weeks all I've been thinking about was him…" She sighed again. "…I really don't know what to do right now…" She walked over to her phone and picked it up. She dialed Mimi's number, while thinking. I don't know what to tell her, but I know I have to tell her something. But…just to say that Matt asked me out would make her cry…I can't-
"Hello?" Mimi asked.
"Hi." Sora replied. "Uh, Mimi…you're not gonna be going anywhere, right?"
"Right." Mimi nodded. "Why? What's the big rush?"
"Well." Sora stammered. "Y-You just better sit down before I tell you this, okay?" She sighed, remembering what Mimi had said…. Mimi sighed. "And it would just crush me to see him with another girl…"…that thought lingered in Sora's mind for awhile.
"Okay, I'm sitting, now what?" Mimi asked.
"Well…" Sora sighed. "You know how you never wanted to see Matt with another girl…ever, until you were with him?"
"Yeah." Mimi said, starting to become sort of afraid. "Why?"
"Well…you wouldn't believe this, but-" Sora paused. "…he just asked me out."
********
That's the end of part 1, kay? ^_^ Please review and tell me how you liked it!