"Mimi, I said no," Sora said as she tried to get away from the girl in front of her. But Mimi was persistent.

"Sora, just try them. I for one think they will look fabulous on you," Mimi told Sora as she held out a pair of bright pink boots.

"No."

"But-"

"NO!"

Mimi pursed her lips together in annoyance and frowned.

"Fine!" she huffed and continued searching for more clothes on the rack. Sora sighed and unwillingly followed her. They had been at it for hours and yet Mimi had still to show that she was getting tired. Sora was just about ready to collapse on the floor and she hadn't even been doing much. Mimi was the one who had checked every centimeter of each store, just to make sure she Haydn't missed a thing. She was the one who had gotten into a fight with an old lady, arguing over who had seen the pink and brown striped jacket first. She was the one who had made the uncivil remark about said lady's choice of hairstyle. And so, she had been the one to be dragged out of the store by Sora before her heated discussion with her newfound enemy could turn into something much worse as the lady had gone for her purse. But nonetheless, Mimi resisted.

Ten minutes later and Mimi emerged from the racks of clothing, crestfallen.

"Nothing here," she sighed and Sora found it hard to keep a smile from forming on her face.

"That's too bad," she tried to say in a wistful voice, but failed terribly, "I guess we might as well leave now."

Mimi's sudden large grin had hers faltering.

"No! Don't worry Sora, the mall won't close in another 3 hours! Besides we've barely had time to get you clothes," Mimi said in a bright voice.

Sora's mouth dropped open and she stared at her incredulously.

"What?" Mimi asked innocently.

Sora began to doubt whether her friend was blind and could not see the dozens of bags she was carrying around and practically chained to.

"Mimi, we've bought practically half the mall already!" she said.

Her bubbly friend just laughed.

"What we've bought would only be a quarter silly," she said, as though that settled the matter, and made to go on to the next shop.

"Mimi, I'm too tired, can't we come back another day?" Sora pleaded, trying to grab a hold of her before she disappeared through the mass of shoppers once more.

Mimi sighed and turned back to look at Sora. "You're right Sora, we should leave," she said in a small voice, "I don't think I'll find anything anyway..."

Sora raised her eyebrows in surprise at the sudden change of tone in Mimi's voice. It was filled with sadness, and Sora could see tears forming in her eyes. The mall must be more important to her than she had previously thought. The red head was perplexed.

"What exactly are you looking for Mimi?" Sora asked gently, afraid the brunette would unleash her tears.

"Well," Mimi sighed once again, her eyes cast downwards, "I wanted to find something pretty to wear for-- for Matt's concert tomorrow," she told her.

Sora's surprise was visible on her face, but it was soon replaced by a smile and a slight twinkle in her eyes.

"Well, then," Sora said, gathering the bags filled with clothes around her, "Lets go find you an outfit!"

Mimi looked up and her eyes locked with Sora's hopefully.

"Really? You don't mind?"

Sora just shook her head and smiled.

Mimi jumped up and she turned back into her bright self again, as though the change had never even happened.

"Great! Well, first we can go to that shop over there, and then maybe we could try-- Ooh! Sora look at that one over there! It's covered in pink! There has got to be something for me there! Ugh, look at that woman entering it! Those scarfs should be banned! I mean honestly, I don't think she sees what the rest of us do, because I wouldn't be caught dead wearing that..."

As Mimi's happy rambling continued and her arms pointed in different directions towards the shops, Sora trailed behind her, shaking her head slightly and smiling at her shopaholic friend.

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An hour and a half later, Sora found herself opening the door to her apartment. She was in such a hurry, she didn't bother taking her shoes off or placing the bags in her room. She dumped them all unceremoniously in the hall and rushed to the telephone, hoping to see Tai's number blinking at her from the screen. Her face fell when she saw no new messages had been left and noone had called. Where was Tai? Why hadn't he called? Sora's mind raced with millions of possibilities as to why Tai had suddenly disappeared. What if he had been in an accident? Sora's eyes widened at the prospect.
Oh god, what if he's hurt, what if he was mugged or attacked by someone?
It wasn't like Tai to not only forget to meet her after school, but to not call excusing himself either. She stood there, dreading the possibilities of what could have happened to her best friend, and becoming more and more nervous at each passing minute.
She reached for the receiver and dialed Tai's home. At the fourth ring, she heard the voice of Kari, Tai's younger sister, on the other line.

"Hello?"

"Kari! It's Sora, is Tai around?"

"Hey Sora, Hang on a minute I'll just go check."

She could hear the phone been placed down and faint footsteps walking away. A minute later, Kari had come back and spoke again.

"Sorry Sora, he's not here. That's strange though..."

"Do you know where he is?" Sora asked anxiously.

"No, why? Is something wrong?"

"What? Oh no, everything's fine, I just wanted to talk to him... Well, tell him to call me when he gets there, okay?

"Sure, no problem:"

"Thanks Kari, Bye:"

"Bye."

Sora hung up and walked to her room, phone still clutched in her hand. She lay down on her bed, staring at the ceiling, lost in her thoughts.

I hope Tai's okay... was the last thing that crossed her mind before her eyes closed and she fell asleep.

-------------------------------------------------

Kari was watching television when Tai got home, a sulky look on his face.

She looked up from the TV and yelled in the direction of the kitchen, "Mum! Tai's home!".
Tai's mother popped her head out of the kitchen door and saw Tai.

"Hi honey, dinner will be ready in a while," she told him.

Tai tried smiling, but on his face appeared something resembling more a grimace than a smile.
His mother Haydn't seen though, she had stuck her head back in the kitchen to continue with her cooking. Kari however, was staring at her brother worriedly.

"Are you okay Tai?" she asked him concerned.

He looked over at her and just nodded.

"I'm fine. I'll be in my room," he said and headed down the hall to his room, but Kari's voice stopped him.

"Sora called, she said to call her back once you got here," Kari informed him.

Tai, his back facing Kari, glared at the wall opposite him.

Probably wants to tell me all about how she and Matt spent the afternoon together...

He continued walking, ignoring what Kari had said, but his sister spoke once more.

"Aren't you going to call her?" she asked him with a frown on her face.

Tai waved a dismissive hand over at her.

"Some other time," was his response, before he shut the door to his room with a thud.

Kari's frowned deepened. What was up with Tai? Something wasn't right. He wasn't acting himself at all...
But her train of thought was interrupted when her mother called for her to set the table.

-------------------------------------------------------

"I like you Mimi. I've liked you for a while and well, I think you're very pretty and..."

Matt looked at his reflection in the mirror.

"No, that's not any good," he mumbled, as he passed a hand over his blonde hair nervously.

He had been practicing for half an hour, trying to figure out what he was gong to tell Mimi that afternoon during the concert. He had decided to follow Sora's advice and tell Mimi what he felt. Of course, it was easier said than done, because during that half an hour, Matt had become nervous and sweat was breaking out on his forehead. If that was what happened when he talked to himself, he dreaded to think of what would occur when he confronted Mimi.

"It's okay, I can do this, come on Matt," he urged himself and started practicing all over again.

T.K, who was passing Matt's room at that moment stopped outside his door when he heard "I really like your hair."

His face showed surprise and horror. He knew Matt had a bit of an obsession with his hair, but wasn't this taking it too far? He opened the door slightly and peeked through the open gap. He saw Matt talking to himself in the mirror, but breathed a sigh of relief when he realised Matt was pretending to talk to someone else, and not complementing his own hair and eyes.
T.K watched amused for a while, watching Matt become nervous as he confessed his love for Mimi. The blonde boy wouldn't have imagined his older brother having a crush on Mimi, but he was even more surprised that he was planning on actually telling her. It was ridiculous really, how telling a girl he had spent months living with in the Digital World that he liked her made Matt so nervous, and yet, he was perfectly capable of singing and performing in front of hundreds of strangers.

T.K closed the door again and shook his head, chuckling slightly. He headed back to his room, hoping Matt didn't make an idiot of himself the next time he planned on seeing Mimi.

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When Mimi and Sora showed up at Matt's concert, wearing their brand new clothing, they were amazed at how many people had come. While they knew Matt's band, The Teenage Wolves, had received a lot of positive attention, they Haydn't realised it had been such a hit. When they entered, the place was filled with mostly with teenagers, and the noise was deafening. Mimi, sporting a brand new white and pink dress she had fallen in love with the minute she saw it, was looking around at everyone, as though looking for someone. Sora was imitating Mimi, although searching for a completely different person. They walked around and met fellow friends and classmates, occasionally stopping to chat with them. When they spotted Izzy, Joe, Kari, Davis, Yolei, Cody, T.K, they made their way towards them to have a seat next to them.

Lights suddenly started flashing everywhere, and everyone started cheering and whistling as Matt and his band made their way on stage. He flashed them all a smile, and the girls screams increased even more. Mimi glared at them all before turning her attention back to the stage.

An hour and a half later, Matt ended the last song.

"Thanks guys, you've all been a great audience!" He said on the microphone and the cheering exploded once again. Exclamations of love were heard and various times 'Matt Marry Me!' and 'Matt call me, my phone number is...' were shouted in all directions. Matt just laughed as he and his band went off stage. Everyone started filing out of their seats, talking excitedly about what a great concert it had been. Sora and Mimi heard two girls chatting animately as they passed them, discussing what was the best way to get make Matt fall in love with them.
Sora laughed, but Mimi glared at the two girls and scoffed.

"As if he'd like you," she muttered darkly, "Not with that t-shirt you're wearing..."

Sora tried to hide her smile.

They went in search of Matt, after having said goodbye to the others and reassured T.K that they would tell Matt that he was going out with Kari and therefore would not be home in a while. They found him poking his head out of the backstage curtains and looking around.
He saw them and broke into a smile.

"Hi guys," he said, "Are there a lot of people still here?"

Sora shook her head.

"No, all the obsessed fan-girls have left," she told him.

He smiled and stepped out from behind the curtain to join them, his guitar slung over his shoulder.

"Good, I didn't really want to face them..." he said.

"It was a great concert Matt," Mimi told him, however it was only Sora who noticed the faint pink blush that appeared on his cheeks.

"Thanks," he said in what he hoped was a casual voice.

They made their way to the front doors to go outside, but Mimi notice a small stand where they sold drinks.

"Can you wait for me? I'm so thirsty, I'm gonna buy a drink okay?" Mimi told them and headed to the stand. She stood in line and waited patiently.

"So," Sora said innocently as they waited for Mimi to get back, "Mimi really enjoyed the concert you know."

Matt felt his face burn.

"She did? Well, that's-- that's good," he said, avoiding Sora's eye.

"It is isn't it?" said Sora happily, "Well at least for you it is," she added.

Matt turned to face her and glared.

"Sora..." he warned.

"I know, I know," she sighed, "No getting involved."

"That's right," Matt said, "But uh, I was er, thinking about, you know, telling her..."

The rest of his words were drowned by Sora's squeal.

"Really?" she exclaimed happily with a huge grin, "Matt that's great!"

She hugged him impulsively and Matt's smile grew as he hugged her back.

"Yeah," he said happily, "The only problem is I think I'm too scared..."

"Oh, come on Matt! For goodness sake you've faced evil and dangerous creatures who tried to kill you multiple times, and you can't even tell Mimi you like her?" Sora teased.

"Yeah," Matt smiled shyly, "You're right."

Sora nodded.

"I am."

"I can do this!" Matt's confidence started building, "I've faced much worst things in the past! This should be easy compared to all that! It is easy!"

Sora nodded and smiled.

Matt returned her smile with one of his own.

"Thanks Sora," he said .

Sora laughed. "Anytime."

They both turned around to see if Mimi was done buying her drink, but stood in surprise when there was no Mimi to be found. Only Jun Motomiya stood in line at the drink stand.

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Author's Notes:

Firstly, I forgot to put a disclaimer in so, this is for all those who have even considered thinking I own Digimon. I don't. : )
Glad we got that settled.

Secondly, thank you so much to those who reviewed! It made me so happy to know that at least some people enjoy my story, you guys rock! I can't thank you enough, really.

Thirdly, I am so sorry. I truly am! I'm a horrible person for not updating sooner, but I hope you can all find it in your hearts to forgive me. (Hope you all had great holidays by the way! And Happy New Year!)
I'll try with all my might to write the next chapter soon, so it isn't a whole month before I update again. That said, I don't actually know how I'm going to end this story, although I have a slight idea.
Any ideas are welcome, of course. : )

And finally, tell me what you thought! Did it completely suck, or did it keep you entertained? Reviews are highly appreciated, but please, I'd rather not have any that consist of 'Omg, this was such total crap, I wish you'd just die so you could stop writing...'
I haven't actually had any like that, and I'd like to keep it that way, but if you find that you seriously can't help yourselves and absolutely HAVE to because it's a matter or life and death, can you at least reason why it was so crap?

Thanks for reading!