*Okay. . . .I don't think there's going to be too much of a problem with this fic being read, so I think I'm going to post the next couple parts.*

Standing Alone

The Second Publishing

Matt woke up the next morning to the sounds of breakfast cooking in the kitchen. He inhaled, taking in the scent of bacon and pancakes. He sat up in his bed and stretched, reaching his arms to the sky. The door opened, and TK poked his head in quietly, his blue eyes not as lively as they were the previous day. Matt caught sight of him and immediately felt remorse for hurting his only brother.

"Hey Matt, breakfast's on." TK said, turning and leaving before Matt could utter a word in reply. Matt stood up and walked out into the kitchen where his mother was serving pancakes and TK was drinking his juice. Ms. Takaishi smiled warmly at Matt, who stared at her blankly. He was still angry at her for abandoning him all those years back. Ms. Takaishi's smile faded as she sat at the table, eating her breakfast in silence. Matt practically inhaled his food, tasting the sweet syrup and salty bacon and feeling like he hadn't eaten in months.

"Hungry?" TK joked, motioning to Matt's already empty plate. Matt looked down in shock, surprised he ate so quickly. Ms. Takaishi pushed some more food toward her oldest son, who scooped more onto his plate, scarfing it down just as fast.

"Matt, I think you should get ready for school. Your uniform is here on the chair." Ms. Takaishi instructed, pointing to a stack of folded clothing. Matt looked at the clothes, then at his mother with icy eyes.

"I have to wear a uniform? You have to be joking. I'm not putting on some stupid outfit so I can look like an idiot." Matt snapped, his voice dark. Ms. Takaishi stood up and looked down at her son. She'd had enough of his anger toward her.

"Yamato Ishida, you will go take a shower and put that uniform on. And you will wear it with pride to your new school. TK will take you, and you will go to all your classes and not complain one bit about it!" Ms. Takaishi said, her voice rising. She stared down at Matt, who glared up at her defiantly for a moment, then got out of his chair, grabbed the uniform, and slammed his bedroom door. Ms. Takaishi slumped down in her chair and put her hand on her forehead.

"This is going to be a hard couple of weeks." She murmured as TK got up and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Give him time. He's got a lot of anger in him." TK soothed. His mother nodded and got up to go to her room and prepare for work.

"Stupid uniform. . . I don't see why I have to go to some preppy school anyway. I did fine in the school I used to go to. Now I just don't have any friends or anything. I wonder what they're doing right now." Matt said to himself as he let the hot water from the shower splash on his face, calming him slightly. After his shower, Matt put the uniform on and groaned in agony. He was wearing khaki pants, a white dress shirt, and a green jacket. A green tie was tied around his neck, making him feel like an old man heading to work.

'Maybe they give us the ties to hang ourselves when we get to school.' Matt thought as he spiked his hair into his usual messy style. He grabbed his backpack and headed out the door, TK following behind him hastily. Together the two brothers walked down the street, catching glances from people as they walked past. TK looked behind him at a couple of girls who had commented about them, then turned to Matt.

"They think it's strange, you know." TK said, adjusting his green jacket nervously. Matt looked down at him and raised his eyebrows, indicating that he had no idea what TK was saying.

"We look very much alike, especially when we're dressed alike." TK added. Matt glanced down at his brother and realized that he was right, they did look almost identical to each other, except TK was a little younger looking.

"I guess." Matt stated simply as he followed TK into a very large building with ivy on the walls. Inside was a huge hall of lockers, and kids all dressed alike walking around talking loudly before classes started. Matt went to the locker his schedule told him was his and fiddled with the combination. It wasn't working, and Matt was getting madder every second.

'Put me in some stupid suit, drag me to this. . . .this social club of a school, and then give me a locker that won't open. This is a great way to start the day.' Matt thought to himself. Suddenly a hand hit his locker hard, and it opened easily. Matt looked over at a petite young girl with chestnut hair and big brown eyes. Instantly he became lost in her pretty face.

"I had that locker last year. It helps if you hit it in the middle. Then it opens easily." She said, winking at Matt as she walked away. Matt leaned his head out and watched her walk away. She was wearing the same thing as Matt, except she wore a short green pleated skirt instead of pants, and her jacket was shorter than his.

"Wow. . . " Matt said. His mood lifted from a moment before, and he walked down the hall a little lighter than when he first came in. As he proceeded to his first class, Matt noticed a lot of people, mostly girls, staring at him with glassy eyes.

'Freaky people. . . ' Matt thought as he walked into his first class and took a seat in the back corner, away from everyone else in the class. He looked around and noticed that a lot of the students were very proper, sitting up straight and waiting patiently for class to begin. He noticed some girls looking at him disdainfully, and he slouched more, making them turn their noses at him and look away. He straightened up immediately as the same girl who had opened his locker walked in, and made her way to the seat in front of him.

"Well hello again. You have to be new, because that's my seat." She said, a flare of attitude surrounding her as she crossed her legs and leaned her back against the wall of the room. Matt was floored; this girl was definitely not like the prissy girls that inhabited this school.

"My name's Matt Ishida. What's yours?" Matt asked quietly as the teacher walked in and organized her things on her desk. The girl turned around and met Matt's blue eyes with confidence. For a moment she stared into them, but regained her composure and smirked.

"Mimi Tachikawa. Good to meet you." Mimi said back before turning her attention to the teacher, who was looking sternly toward the two of them.

'Wow. . . .' Matt thought as he busily took some notes from the overhead projector.

Later in the day, around lunchtime, Matt walked out into the courtyard of the school and found a large oak tree off from everyone else. Satisfied no one would bother him, Matt took his lunch and sat down. He was eating and thinking about his bad day when a young couple approached him with their lunches. They sat down, staring at Matt with friendly eyes.

"You must be new. This is our place." The brown haired boy said, looking at the redheaded girl beside him, and then at Matt. Matt sighed loudly and gathered his things. Was every inch of this school marked territory?! He stopped suddenly as a pair of feet appeared at his chemistry book. He followed the feet to a pair of creamy legs, and stood up to see Mimi Tachikawa looking at him with an amused face.

"You're stalking me, aren't you?" she joked, making Matt smile for the first time that day.

"I was just leaving, actually." Matt said darkly, his mood immediately changing back to its normal demeanor.

"Why not stay? You have no one else to eat with. This is Tai Kamiya and his girlfriend Sora Takenouchi." Mimi said, sitting down beside the couple and patting a place beside her for Matt to join them. Matt obliged and sat down with the trio, listening to them talk about teachers and rumors going around the school.

"And then I heard about this guy that is here now, I don't think I've seen him yet. Anyway, I heard he was taken away from his dad because he was an ass, and now he goes to this school. I heard he was hot too." Sora said, earning a glare from Tai. Matt glared at Sora and Mimi, then Tai.

"Yea, I've heard of this person too. His name is Matt, and he is SO happy to be all dressed up like a moron and go to some school with a bunch of snotty brats who can't keep their noses out of other people's business." Matt snarled, getting his things and standing to leave. Mimi stood, ready to stop him, when TK walked over to the group with a girl his age with brown hair like Tai's.

"Matt! You found everyone, this is great! This is Kari, Tai's little sister." TK said cheerily, motioning to Kari, who smiled warmly. Matt's gaze didn't change, he just took his things and walked away, leaving TK and Kari confused. Mimi shook her head and chased after Matt.

"Hey! Stop right there!" Mimi called to Matt, who walked at a pretty fast pace toward the other end of the building, where there were no people. Matt turned around, his eyes burning with anger.

"What in the hell do you want? You want to make fun of me? My family is not all pretty and perfect like yours? Well screw you, I don't want to hear it." Matt said bitterly, turning and walking on down the sidewalk. Mimi ran in front of him and stopped him in his tracks, a very angry look on her face.

"Do you know anything about me? HUH?" Mimi shouted, surprising Matt a little. He shook his head, guilt beginning to well up inside him. Mimi nodded and continued, her voice cracking every so often.

"My mother and father divorced before they even knew I existed! I have never ever even seen my dad! I know you've been hurt, but at least you know who your family is. TK is your brother, it is very obvious. Why would you shut him out like that? Did he abandon you? I doubt it." Mimi said, her brown eyes welling up with tears. Matt turned away, not being able to look at the forlorn girl in front of him. Mimi touched his hand and turned his face to hers.

"Let me be your friend. And give Sora and Tai a chance. They're not always like that. Not at all. Come back to the tree and try and make some friends, because when it comes down to it, they're really good friends. I promise." Mimi said, squeezing Matt's hand lightly. Matt looked at Mimi and felt his anger and bitterness subside for the moment. He followed her back to the tree, where Tai, Sora, TK and Kari were still sitting.

"Matt. . . .I'm sorry I said anything. I shouldn't have been talking about something I know nothing about. Forgive me?" Sora said, her rusty eyes sincere. Matt nodded and sat down with his brother after introducing himself to Kari.

*Okay, my hands are tired from typing and stuff, so I am stopping for right now. Sorry if it's a bad time or it's short!*