Crush Confusion
By Firenze

At a big party for one of the most popular girls in school, everyone was having a great time. Friends were talking, blaring music was playing, lots of people were dancing, and some guys were only there for the snacks, but it was still the biggest bash of the year. But one girl was sitting by herself on a plastic chair, looking rather uncomfortable. She was watching two teenage boys having an interesting conversation. The girl seemed urging herself to do something, and when the boys' talk sort of faded away, she made up her mind.

"Tai, can I talk to you?" Sora asked nervously, twisting her fingers in her lap. "Alone. It's kind of important."

"Well, sure. I'll catch up to you later, Matt," Tai said, confused.

"Yeah, sure." Matt winked and then left the two of them alone. "I have to...ummm...get ready for the gig we're going to play."

"What's this about, Sora?" he asked, sitting down next to her in a plastic lawn chair. "What's so important?"

"Well," she said nervously. "I don't know how to say this... It's kind of this way. For a really long time, I've known--"

"Stop. You don't have to say another word."

"But, Tai--"

"No, it's okay. I totally understand, Sora. You don't even have to say it. I feel the same way too," Tai said, looking nervous himself.

"You do? Really?" she asked, brightening. "I have to go tell Mimi...she's going to be so happy!"

"So can we go out sometime?" he asked.

"Sure, a movie sounds perfect!" Sora said, running off. She found Mimi at the punch table, where a guy was hitting on her. "Mimi, Mimi, guess what?" she asked, positively bubbling.

"What is it?" Mimi asked, happy for the distraction.

"Well, I told Tai. Actually, I didn't even have to tell him. He already knew!"

"I told you! I was right all along!" she said, hopping up and down with glee.

"I'm sorry I didn't believe you!"

Mimi smiled. "So what did he say?"

"He said that he totally understood. He feels exactly the same way! He even wants to go out to a movie!" Sora squealed, suddenly sounding like a boy-crazed, typical, teenage girl.

"Oh, wow!!!" Mimi said happily. "I can't believe it! A movie! That should be so much fun!"

"I know!" she agreed. "It depends on the movie, though..."

"If it's romantic, then it's definitely a snuggling movie. Dramas are good, because it's really mushy and it's interesting to see a boy cry. It shouldn't be a chick flick, or else he'll be bored. But scary movies are the best. When it gets to a scary part, the guy slides his arm around to hold you close. Or of course, he can always just pretend to yawn. Then there's the whole argument with the armrest, which is actually really romantic, and then you can reach for popcorn at the same time... Movies are so perfect for dates!"

"Isn't it great?"

"Of course!" Mimi cried. "It's the most wonderful, perfect thing ever!"

"Well, Mimi, go talk to him then! Please? Come on, just do it! You can find out the time and place and all those little details!" Sora said.

"Okay then," she agreed, walking over to Tai.

"Hey, Mimi," Tai said. "Did Sora tell you?"

"Yeah! I'm so excited! I just can't wait!"

He scratched his head. "Ummm...why?"

"Why? It's customary for girls to be excited about dates," she said. "Oh yeah, what movie is it going to be, what day, what time, and all that other stuff?"

"I dunno," Tai said with a shrug, glancing over at Sora, who was pouring herself a cup of punch. "I was thinking somewhere along the lines of 'The Exorcist'."

"I heard that movie is really scary!" Mimi said.

"Yeah, it is. Is that a problem or something?" he asked, giving her a funny look.

"No, of course not! So, when?"

He thought for a while. "Next Saturday at seven, I guess? I think they're showing it then."

Mimi paused too. She glanced at Sora, who gave a thumbs up. "Well, I guess... Oh, wait, seven o'clock! There's that play Sora and I were going to go to. Maybe it could be a matinee instead?"

"Whatever works," Tai said, shrugging again. "Noon?"

"Perfect!" Mimi said. "Sounds great!"

"Yeah, I'm excited too," he said. "Tell Sora that."

"Of course she'd want to know!" she said with a vigorous nod. "Oh, this should be so much fun!"

"Yeah, The Exorcist looks so awesome!"

"I'm not really one for scary movies," Mimi said.

"Oh...that's interesting," Tai replied slowly.

"Yeah, well..." She looked into his eyes for a few seconds. "Well, it's still perfect anyway!" She gave him a big hug.

"Uh, yeah...I'm glad you're so enthusiastic," he said, looking incredibly baffled, when she finally drew away.

"I can't wait to see you there!" Mimi squealed.

Tai raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"The date, silly!"

"Yeah, I know about the date," he said impatiently. "I set it, after all. But why are you going to be there?"

"What kind of question is that?" she asked in disbelief.

"What do you mean, 'what kind of question is that'? Are you tagging along too?" He looked really surprised.

"Tagging along? Of course, you asked me on this date, didn't you?"

Tai jumped. "You?! No, I asked Sora!"

"SORA?!!!" Mimi asked, looking amazed.

"What?" Sora walked over, taking a sip from her cup. "Is something wrong?"

"You didn't tell him?!" Mimi shrieked. "How could you not tell him?!"

"He said he understood!" Sora cried, looking at Tai. "Didn't you?"

"I thought I understood! But why didn't you mention that Mimi's going on the date with us?"

"Us?" Sora asked in surprise. "But I asked you for Mimi!"

"MIMI?!!!" Tai asked, looking horrified. "Why would I go out with Mimi?!"

Mimi burst into tears. "How could you be so mean? That isn't funny, Taichi Kamiya, pretending to want to go out on a date with me!"

"But I don't want to go on a date with you! I never did! I thought I was going with Sora!"

"Why would you think that?!" Sora asked him.

Tai thought it was perfectly obvious. "Because you said you had something important to talk about! That's normally when you tell a person YOUR feelings, isn't it?"

"I told you that YOU should have told him, Mimi!" Sora yelled to her friend.

"Let me get this straight," Tai saod, running a hand through his mop of hair impatiently. "Mimi, you asked Sora to tell me about how you felt about me, right?"

"Right," she said, tears and mascara running down her cheeks.

"So that's what was so important?" he asked Sora.

"Yes! I was going to say, 'for a long time, I've known someone who's deeply in love with you, and she asked me to tell you for her because she was too shy'!" Sora cried. "Now let me get THIS straight. You thought I was talking about myself? That's why you agreed? Is that why you set up the date? You wanted to go with me?"

Tai nodded. "Sora, I've been in love with you since the third grade. I thought you would have noticed at least by the time at the Digiworld!"

"I thought you were acting in a 'just friends' manner," she said. "I assumed you could never like me because we've been friends for too long. We were past the zone."

He stared into her ruby eyes. "What zone? True love lasts, Sora. I just wished you returned it."

She broke their eye contact, clasped her hands behind her back, looked at the grass beneath their feet, and mumbled something inaudible.

"What?" Tai and Mimi both asked,

Sora cleared her throat. "I said, 'I do'. I've liked you since SECOND grade, Tai. When we were in the Digiworld, I sort of gave up on hope, because I thought you wanted us to stay just friends. I was too much of a tomboy, and I expected you'd go for Mimi. So I decided to help her get you, even though I was still in love with you."

"Sora, why didn't you tell me?" Mimi asked, wiping her eyes with a silk handkerchief. "I would have understood."

"No you wouldn't, Mimi, admit it. You still want Tai for yourself." She turned back to Tai. "How are we going to solve this?"

"Solve what?" he asked, lifting her chin up. "Sora, I love you, you love me, and it's been that way for about...8 years now. What's holding us back now? Uncertainty sure isn't."

"Guilty," Mimi said, raising a hand and stepping forward. "I still love you, Tai."

"Well, I'm really sorry, Mimi. Because Sora is the only person I'll ever love." He looked over at Sora, who was smiling faintly at him, and he returned it. "If it'll make you feel better, I know for a fact Matt likes you."

Matt came over, hearing his name mentioned. "Man, you TOLD her! That was a secret!"

"I love Tai, Matt," Mimi explained.

"But he loves Sora," he said, glancing at Tai, who nodded.

"I love Tai," Sora added.

"So if they're supposed to be together..." Matt paused for a while. "Will you go out with me, Mimi?

"Oh, Matt..." she breathed. Hesitating to think about it a bit more, she came up with an answer. "I've made up my mind."

"And?" he asked, eagerly.

Mimi walked right up to him, looking him right in the eye, and said --

"Of course not, you idiot! I just said I was in love with Tai!" Then she ran off, the tears returning to her eyes.

"Ouch?" Matt said. "Not only did she turn me down, for my best friend, by the way, she called me an idiot. Very comforting. Mimi really knows how to let a guy down easily."

"I'd never let you down, Matt!" They heard a voice shriek.

Matt glanced over his shoulder nervously. "Eh...it's Jun. I gotta run! I'll see you two later!" He started to sprint off, and suddenly he stopped. "I get to be the best man, right?"

"Matt, we're in tenth grade!" Tai reminded him.

"Oh, yeah, right. Uh oh!" This time he was gone for good.

"Well, that was...ummm...interesting," Sora said with a chuckle.

"So is it a yes to that movie?" he asked her with a grin.

"Of course," she said happily. Tai leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips, a kiss they had dreamed about and wished for since they were in elementary school. A kiss full of the love they felt for each other.

Izzy, who had actually come to the party, snapped a picture with his digital camera and decided he could use it on his anti-Michi, Sorato, Taito, and Mira site.

Mimi stared at them, still tearful. "I'm not going to let you win, Sora Takenouchi," she said determinedly. "I'm going to get Tai Kamiya once and for all!"

TO BE CONTINUED...

A/N: NOT! I'm not going to continue this. This was just a short little break because I felt like writing something about Mimi. You don't actually believe I'm going to let Mimi win? Michi, ick! As for her turning Matt down, I just felt like doing that for fun. I have an epilogue after this, read to find what happens. Don't worry, I'll get to "Rest, Relaxation, and Romance," again. This fic just popped up in my head, so excuse me if it's bad. And does anyone have a better title? When I don't know what to name a fic, I always use alliteration, did you realize that? (Examples: Dream Date [HP fic], Midnight Mystery, Rest, Relaxation, and Romance, Crush Confusion...)

Disclaimer: The Digimon crew is mine! I wish. Maybe someday if I become super-rich, I'll buy it off Saban, Toei, and all those other things. Yeah right. Well, you know they're not mine and never will be, so if you try to sue me, you'll just look like a big fat idiot in court (especially since my wallet is about as full as the space between Davis' ears). Aaaah...shuddup, will ya?

An interesting note: I was almost debating if I should make this a Michi, so as to find out the names and e-mails of Michi fans who reviewed, and flame them to a black crisp for actually believing in, supporting, and liking such a horrible couple. I was also going to be a lot nicer to Mimi and Matt at first, but the I thought, what the heck?, and tried something new. I hate Mimi anyway, and now Yamato fans can egg my house.

Epilogue: Mimi tried various plots to steal Tai away from Sora, but none ever worked. Because of that, she landed her own TV show (on Cartoon Network), and became a famous cartoon character commonly associated with the great Wile E. Coyote, Sylvester, and Elmer Fudd. (The show was shortly canceled after she watched an episode, attempted the same stupid plot, and ended up killing herself, because she's about as intelligent as a soap dish [actually, eve less]). Matt didn't stop his endless pursuit of her until her demise, when he unexpectedly propsed to Jun. Tai and Sora married after they graduated (their best man was Izzy, because Matt was sent to a mental institution) and lived happily ever after. Izzy's website became the most popular on the net, and afterwards, he went on to develop two candies. You might have heard of them: Smarties and Nerds. And so ends the very interestingly stupid tale of two lovers, an ditzy girl just in the way, the wacko who loved that ditz, the fanatic who loved that wacko, and a character who was only mentioned in one sentence.

THE VERY SCREWED UP END
(Sorry, I got very high while writing these afterwords)