Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. And I don't own the members of Yamato's band, that honor belongs to the Empress of the Eclipse.

            Thank you for all the kind reviews- I feel so loved! Keep sending me your awesome comments!

            Sorry about taking so long to update. Violin recital, holiday shopping, mid-terms…arg, I've been majorly busy.

Yamato's point of view:

Taichi grins as he strums the last measure of the song with confidence. His beautiful eyes- his sparkling, dancing, recklessly laughing eyes- are shinning with happiness as he triumphantly plays the final chord.

 A picture is worth a thousand words, but the memory of Chi at practice tonight is worth millions. For the past few nights, he's blown me away with his sheer energy and talent. There's something incredibly intense about this situation, so intense that it's easy to forget to breathe. But then again, it's always like that when I'm around him.

"Was I any good?" he asks softly, his eyes desperately begging for approval, the confidence he had a moment ago completely gone. He sounds so vulnerable, like a child; all I want to do is to take him into my arms and whisper comforting words into his ear.

"Like I've been saying for the last three days- you kicked ass!" Akemi exclaimed as he skillfully twirled his drumsticks in his right hand.

             "Sweet," Itsu said.

            Here was the chance to say tell him how talented he was, how much I loved him. But instead I heard my voice, reasonable, authoritative, and slightly distant, "You were good but…."

            What was I thinking of- a perfect family, the type you see in TV commercials for a wholesome product like Campbell's chicken noodle soup; an irresistible personality that draws people to him like honey draws bees; amazing looks (warm chocolate eyes, wild auburn hair, a tan body chiseled from years of soccer). Tell me his perfect life doesn't make you sick with envy. So for once in his life, Tai is unsure of himself, and it's about his musical talent, something I consider my domain. Why should I let him add "awesome singer and guitar player" to his mile-long list of attributes?

And although he looked slightly hurt, still, he was thankful. That's another thing about Taichi; it's really hard to even be properly jealous of him because he's such a nice person. Nice and funny and talented and friendly and charming and all that other stuff that he is. Needless to say, I felt like shit.

"I think that's the closest thing to a compliment he's ever said," Gendo said light-heartedly, while glaring in my direction. "You'll bring down the house on Saturday!"

 "I'm still feeling pretty apprehensive," he admits quietly, looking at the ground.

            "You didn't look nervous when you were playing."

            Taichi doesn't reply- he just continues to stare at the ground.

"Really Chi, I can't understand how you can be so self-assured one minute, and desperately need assurance another."

"Will you come to my soccer game tomorrow night?" he asks quietly, swiftly changing the subject. His copper eyes lock with mine. "I want you guys to be there. I think you'll bring us luck." He pauses briefly before adding. "Not that I need luck with my mad skill." 

            I opened my mouth to remind me that we have band practice tonight, and that there were only two more days until our big show, but something stops me. I've always felt he was self-assured (sometimes to the point of cockiness), but he never looks more confident than at the moment he begins to play soccer. You could just tell, by looking at him, that soccer was his element, his passion, his love. He was completely flawless when he played, so perfect, and I just couldn't take that away from him.

            I put on a smile. "I'll be there."

            Taichi is good at soccer; there's no denying his ability and talent. But today, he raised the standard of greatness. He made the otherwise consistent players look like they didn't even belong on the field.

But that's Tai for you- a supernova. He shines so brightly, and with such intensity, that the other stars fade into the background. But the star that burns brightest burns fastest. And I constantly worry when he's going to burn out.

            Time is running out, but it doesn't matter, Tai's team is winning 5-0. There's enough time for one last play. Taichi has the ball, and prepares to kick the shot.

He once explained to me, that when his focus is good, time slows for him. He has time to make choices; time to size up the position of the goalie; time to determine the trajectory of the ball… and right now, he has the time to look up and scan quickly through the crowd.

I can feel my breathing speed up, my pulse racing as his eyes slide over the cheerleaders, Akemi, Itsu, Gendo…and come to rest on me. His eyes light up and he smiles lopsidedly. Then he turns his attention back to the game. There's a solid thud as his foot connects with the ball. He smiles victoriously because he knows, as soon as he kicked it, it's in.

The ball soared neatly above the goalie's head.

The crowd lets out a massive cheer and everyone starts clapping. As the crowd calmed down and people slowly began to leave, Daisuke turned to me.

 "Come on, we'd better get going too or we'll be late for 5th Quarter. It's at Mimi's house tonight."

"5th Quarter?" I repeated.

"Yeah." He looked at me incredulously. "Don't tell me you don't know what 5th Quarter is."

"Of course I know what it is," I snapped. "I just wasn't planning on attending."

"And why not?"

I heaved a sigh. I was popular in the sense everyone knew who I was; but I wasn't actually friends with any of the people in Taichi's crowd. (And by Tai's crowd, I meant the crème de la crème - the beautiful, curvy girls with dimples, hair that shone in the sunlight, and annoyingly high-pitched and perky voices; and the handsome, athletic, jocks with 6-pack abs, and brilliant, suave smiles.) I got friendly waves or simple greetings in the hall, but those where just polite formalities. So even though Tai would invite me to the exclusive after parties, I always made up an excuse not to go.

"We'll we're going tonight," Daisuke says stubbornly. "Tai wants you there."

"How can you be sure?"

"I'm his protégé!" he exclaims proudly. "We have a bond."

"The bond of the goggle-heads."

Daisuke glared at me briefly before smiling mischievously. Oh God….

You have no idea how much alike Tai and Dai are until you see their puppy-dog eyes.