"Home" is any four walls that enclose the right person.
-Helen Rowland
Matt sat lethargically in his Advanced Algebra class, trying hard to follow along with what Mr. DeBeaumont was saying about using i in an equation. However, not only did Matt not care, he had already learned about this before in his previous school. Why bother re-learning it all? Instead, he focused on the world outside of the lesson. It was almost Christmas time and there still wasn't a sign of it snowing anytime soon.
'Which is a major bummer. We always had snow right about the beginning of December back home.' Matt thought dejectedly. A small sigh escaped his lips at the mere thought of home. Home was somewhere he was not looking forward to returning to this soon. He had only been gone for two months and now it was almost time for the holidays. After tomorrow, everyone else would be returning home to their families.
"I don't want to go…" he whispered. He reached out to the window and slowly placed his fingers upon it, tracing away the frost that had set there. His fingers swept up and down the pane of glass, creating indecipherable symbols that blended together almost naturally. While each symbol was something different and individual, it fit right in with the rest, as if it shared a common background. The common background that was smothering each and every one of them, the common background of-
"Mr. Ishida, would you care to explain to me and the rest of your classmates just what we are talking about?" Mr. DeBeaumont suddenly asked, his face hovering over the blond boy. DeBeaumont stood at about 6'1" with a mess of brown hair on top. All the same however, he wasn't very intimidating. In fact he spent more time goofing off with his students than being a teacher. But unfortunately, he still had to teach, just like today.
"Um…i?" Matt said cautiously, not daring to meet Mr. DeBeaumont's blue-green eyes.
"What about i?" Mr. DeBeaumont pressed further.
"Uh…something?" Matt shrugged. Tai glanced over to Matt and noticed how petrified he looked, even though there really was no reason for him to be petrified. It's not like he could get in trouble. They were in a boarding school for crying out loud! How would you be able to have detention in a boarding school; or be expelled, or any of that other stuff that happens at a normal school? Well, technically that stuff could happen, but with Tai being Tai, he figured that he was the only one smart enough to realize the truth. And since he was Tai, he decided to rescue his best friend from the evil wrath of the DeBeaumont Monster.
"Mr. DeBeaumont, sir, I really can't say that I blame Yamato here," Tai cut into their conversation, hopping out of his seat to look Mr. DeBeaumont in the eye.
"And why do you say that, Yagami?" Mr. DeBeaumont took his gaze off of Matt, now glancing at the exuberant brunette who stood next to him.
"Well, you see Grant, math sucks. Why would we need to learn it each and every year? We learned all of the math we would ever need to know by the end of the fourth grade. Can't we learn something more…I don't know, useful?" Tai casually perched himself on top of Matt's desk.
"Well what do you suggest? And I prefer you call me Mr. DeBeaumont," Grant DeBeaumont pointed out, leaning his back against Tai's vacant desk with crossed arms.
"What about Cryptozoology? I know that's something that interests you," Tai replied smoothly, slowly stretching out on Matt's desk. Matt's eyes widened at this new sight, trying to concentrate on what Tai's ploy was and not how much warmer it had gotten in the room suddenly.
"While you're correct Yagami, it's not something we need to be discussing here. I was hired at this school to teach you Algebra, not discuss what I would rather be doing with my life," Grant shot back, eyebrow arching up at this sudden change of conversation.
"If that's what you would really like to be doing, why are you teaching us?" Tai pressed his luck further.
"Yagami!" the young French-Portuguese teacher yelled, suddenly loosing his grip. The entire class burst into laughter, knowing that this was Tai's aim from the beginning. Grant blinked slightly and shook his head, realizing that he had once again fallen for the famous Yagami Ploy # 146: distract the teacher to get out of learning the lesson.
'Seems he also used Yagami Ploy # 174: pester the teacher enough until he explodes for classroom humor.' He thought to himself grimly. Nevertheless, he did find it rather amusing. Tai wasn't a bad kid by any means, just a little…rambunctious. Just shortly after Grant's lash-out, the bell sounded off, signaling the end of the class.
"Class dismissed." He waved them off wearily. All of the boys piled out of the classroom, thankful that math was their last lesson of the day. Grant dragged himself over to his desk and flopped down into his relaxing chair, rubbing his eyes tiredly.
"God I need a vacation," he sighed and dropped his head onto the table.
The boys had an hour in between the end of class and dinner being served. This gave them time do to other activities, such as wander around the campus, do homework, or in Matt and Tai's case, go up to their room and goof off. Currently, both boys were relaxing on their respected beds, listening to one of Matt's CDs.
"So what did you say this band was called?" Tai asked the blond boy, eyes not leaving the screen of the laptop computer in front of him. He was lying on his stomach in a rather comfortable position, with his arms stretched out far enough to reach the keys on the computer and his ankles crossed over each other up in the air.
"Simple Plan. Not the best, but I still like them," Matt replied to his comrade. The American was resting on his back with his slender arms tucked behind his head of blond locks and his legs straight out before him, staring up at the ceiling of their room.
"Oh. They're good. I haven't really heard anything like this," Tai commented, scrolling through his list of e-mails.
"Yeah, they're one of my new favorite bands. This is the kind of music that's popular in America right now. That and the rock stuff."
"Rock stuff?" A chocolate eyebrow rose up in question as two muddy eyes blinked at him.
"Yeah, you know. Stuff like Linkin Park, 3 Days Grace, Nirvana, that kind of stuff. That's the music that will never die."
"You really like your music don't you?" The brunet turned back to the glowing screen, an amused smile crossing his features.
"Well yeah, it's something I'm actually good at."
"You play music?"
"…isn't that what I just said?"
"Well, sort of, but I mean, I wasn't sure if you meant you sang or played something or what you meant. Gosh, Matt, quit confusing me!"
The blond chuckled and shook his head, rolling his eyes good-naturedly. "You are such a dork."
"Thanks. So what do you play?" Tai changed the subject back to Matt, who in turn rose up from his bed. He made his way over to the closet at the other end of the room, opening it up slowly to prevent from having all of Tai's junk fall out onto the floor. He had already had the "pleasure" of that experience once, and once was more then enough. He poked his head inside the hole in the wall and reached with one arm, gently probing around. A muffled "Aha!" was heard as the pale boy backed out of the closet, clutching a glimmering electric guitar in his hand. Tai once again turned his head towards Matt and nodded, not really taking in what was before him. He quickly did a double-take and sat up, eyes widening at the sight of the black beauty before him.
"Where did that come from?" Tai breathed out, jumping off of his bed to examine the guitar even further. The black electric music box was a light-weight piece of equipment with blue flame designs flowing over it, perfectly matching the blue of Matt's eyes. The guitar itself fit nicely in the blond's arms.
'His slim, yet strong, muscular arms…' Tai thought to himself. He jerked himself out of those thoughts and tried to regain focus on what Matt was saying, not how...
'Soft his lips look when he speaks…argh! Easy, killer. Do not give yourself away!' Tai scolded himself, straining even more to push certain thoughts such as those into the back corner of his mind.
"It's been in there since the first day I moved in, dude," Matt replied, twirling the guitar around in his hands. "Brought it over with me from America. I mean, there was no way I was going to leave my baby all alone in a different country. I rely on her too much," he said fondly, softly strumming the strings as he eased himself back onto the bed. Tai dropped himself onto his own, staring at Matt in disbelief.
"Your baby?" he asked, vaguely toying with the possibility that Matt had lost his mind.
"Yes, my baby. Can't a guy have some possession?"
"Yeah sure, but it's usually for a car or a girl, not a guitar!"
"Well, I haven't got a car, seeing as how my father doesn't trust me enough, not to mention the fact that I'm too young to have a license, and I haven't got a girl because I just haven't found one yet."
"Why not?" Tai questioned. Matt paused briefly, still running a few fingers over the strings of his guitar. "Matt?" The blue-eyed teen looked up, a small look of puzzlement on his porcelain-like features.
"I-I really don't know. There just hasn't been one that I've been strongly attracted to. Sure, there's a lot of girls that I think are pretty damn hot, but they're all missing something." Tai opened his mouth to speak again but Matt glared at him. "Don't you dare ask me what because I don't know that either."
This caused Tai to shut his mouth in a heartbeat. The room was suddenly filled with the silence. Each boy was lost in their own thoughts, not making any eye contact with the other. Tai continued to watch the blond boy, while said boy was concentrating entirely on his guitar, being careful to avoid the piercing look his friend gave him. They remained that way for a good eight minutes when they were spontaneously interrupted by the human blur known as Daisuke.
"Guys!" he shouted and launched himself right on top of Tai, causing the older boy to topple over onto the floor and Matt to drop his guitar in surprise.
"Daisuke, don't do that!" both teens yelled at the younger boy, who in turn gave them a sheepish grin.
"Sorry about that. I'm just so excited!" he explained as he began pulling Tai up onto his bed by the arm.
"Why?" Matt asked, checking his guitar for any damage.
"Because we're going home for Christmas!" Daisuke all but squealed as he started bouncing up and down on Tai's bed. Matt arched an elegant eyebrow and Tai rolled his eyes.
"Have I ever mentioned that my brother has A.D.H.D?" Tai asked dryly, poking Daisuke in the side as he continued bouncing.
"No, but he has." Matt smirked at the 12-year-old who ended up jumping from Tai's bed onto Matt's. The mahogany-haired boy sat in front of him with a smile plastered on his face that Matt couldn't help but return.
"So what are you doing for Christmas, Matt?" Daisuke asked, blinking at the other boy with his curious cinnamon-brown eyes.
"In all honesty, I don't know."
"Don't you want to go back to your family?" Daisuke pressed on further, staring intently into the boy's deep blue eyes.
"Nope."
"Why not?"
"Daisuke, if you met my family, you wouldn't want to go back either," the blond mumbled under his breath, looking away from the younger boy.
"That bad, huh?" Tai cut in before Daisuke could reply. Matt gave him a mere shrug and continued to avoid the brothers' gazes. Tai switched his focus onto Daisuke and locked his eyes with his own. Daisuke glanced over at Matt quickly and then back to Tai, frowning at him. Tai simply nodded and looked away from Daisuke, clapping his hands together to bring back his brother and best friend's attention.
"I just had the most brilliant idea ever!" he exclaimed, jumping off of his bed and joining the other two on Matt's.
"This means that it's going to either be very embarrassing or really suck," Daisuke translated, rapidly dodging the fist Tai threw at him. Matt shook his head at the squabbling siblings and focused back onto Tai.
"I think I trust you enough to at least hear what you have planned," he informed the brunet, patiently waiting to hear what he had come up with. Tai ignored Daisuke's feeble attempts to poke him and turned back to Matt with a wide smile.
'Um…on second thought, maybe I shouldn't trust it.' Matt shuddered slightly. He saw a delirious glint in Tai's eyes and shuddered again.
'Definitely shouldn't trust him.' he reinforced the thought
"Well, Mattie boy, I'm thinking that you should come home with us," Tai said brazenly, draping one arm lazily over Matt's shoulders. Matt looked down at the arm and then back at Tai. He gave his brain enough time to contemplate what Tai had just said to him, just to make sure that there was no mistake. Tai stared at him intently, eyes not blinking as he awaited the other's response.
"Are you serious?" Matt breathed out after a short pause, blue eyes trailing upwards to meet Tai's brown ones.
"Dead," Tai replied, offering a small smile that shone with sincerity.
"But what would your parents say about it? Wouldn't they be a bit miffed that I just pop up out of nowhere?"
"Of course not, Mom and Dad don't mind at all; they love kids," Daisuke quickly stated, excitement starting to build up again.
"Correction, Mom loves kids. Michael's never home enough to notice he has kids of his own," Tai said pointedly to Daisuke.
"Still, he wouldn't care if Matt came home with us," Daisuke continued to argue.
"Only because he wouldn't know he was there!"
"Are you trying to say that my father is unobservant?"
"I'm saying your father is an asshole!"
"I already know that!" Daisuke yelled at the top of his lungs in Tai's face, both brothers nose to nose with each other.
"Uh guys? Can we get back to talking about me here?" Matt interrupted them, placing one hand on Tai's face and the other on Daisuke's, pushing the two boys away from each other.
"Oh, yeah sure. Anyway, you should come with us. Mom would love you instantly, and I'm pretty sure Kari would like you too," Tai continued, swatting Matt's hand away from him.
"Hikari likes everybody," Daisuke added in. Tai glared at his carbon-copy and then smiled back to Matt.
"In fact, I demand that you come with us," he proclaimed. Matt raised an eyebrow and smirked.
"You demand, huh?"
"Yep!"
"Oh boy," Matt sighed with a roll of his eyes but grinned happily. He wouldn't have to go back! He could go home with Tai for the holidays. No having to face Clarice, no having to see his father with that wretched woman, and no leaving Tai. There was no way Matt would have been happy being without Tai for two weeks. After all, Tai was the first real friend that he had had in quite a while.
'I'd forgotten what it feels like to be wanted.' An amused smirk crossed his lips. 'And it feels rather nice.'
"Oh whoa, what about your dad?" Tai's voice appeared into his bubble of thought.
"What do you mean what about my dad? What does he have to do with any of this?"
"Well, we can't just kidnap you or something. Shouldn't you…oh, I don't know, call him and let him know where you're going first?"
"I don't see why he would even care really. Besides, I doubt he's expecting me to come home."
"Still, you should let him know," Tai insisted, getting off of the bed and retrieving the cordless phone that was next to the couch. "Now, you are going to call him and tell him where you're going, understand?" he stated sternly to the American boy as he thrusted the black phone into his hands. Matt stared blankly at the phone in his right hand, debating whether he should take Tai's advice or follow his own judgment. He carefully set the phone down in a spot on the bed where neither Daisuke nor he would squish it. He uncrossed his legs and climbed off of the bed, pulling Daisuke along.
"Maybe later, Tai. Right now I think it's about time we had some dinner. What do you think?" he suggested casually, already heading for the door.
"Food sounds good to me," Daisuke chirped, pace speeding up to match Matt's stride.
"Food always sounds good to you, Dais," Tai mumbled and reluctantly followed the other two towards the door. He paused just as he reached it, stopping in place. He swallowed and shook his head to clear his jumbled thoughts.
"Dai, you go ahead. Matt and I will catch up." He waved his brother onward while at the same time bringing Matt back into the room. Daisuke gave him a quizzical look but followed the orders given to him, disappearing down the flight of stairs. Tai shut the door once more and stood in front of it, blocking Matt's only way to escape. Matt stood before him once more, waiting for Tai to make the first move. Tai continued to hold his ground, only staring at the blond as intently as the blond was staring at him.
'This is ridiculous.' Matt was quickly becoming rather irritated with Tai's antics.
"Look, can't you just start talking like a normal person instead of staring at me forever? It's really getting old," Matt sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. Tai crossed his arms as well, tugging at his collar to loosen his black tie.
"I know what you're doing," he finally spoke, eyes rising once again to meet Matt's.
"Oh? Well that's great. So can we get going now, I'm kind of hungry." Matt attempted to walk towards the door, but Tai's stare kept him in place.
"You can't avoid him forever, you know. You'll have to talk to him sometime," Tai told him nonchalantly, but still firm enough to let Matt know he was serious.
'He seems to have a talent for that.' Matt sighed.
"Yeah, okay, so maybe you're right; doesn't mean it has to be sometime soon," Matt shot back.
"What are you so afraid of?" Tai questioned him, leaning his back against the door.
"I'm not afraid of anything."
"Yeah, sure. That's why you're avoiding your own father. I think you're afraid of him," Tai said tauntingly, knowing very well that it would get to the other boy easily.
"I am not afraid of my father," Matt all but growled at the brunet.
"Oh really? Prove it. Prove that you're not afraid of your father and call him," Tai challenged him. Matt narrowed his eyebrows and swiftly nodded.
"Fine. I will," he agreed haughtily, sticking out his tongue as well.
"Hey, keep that in your mouth unless you plan on using it, all right?" Matt rolled his eyes at Tai's simple, and yet slightly perverted analogy and headed for the door one more time.
"Wait, aren't you going to call him?" the brown-eyed boy asked, confused by his friend's actions now.
"Yes, after dinner." With that final conclusion, Yamato shoved Taichi aside and threw himself through the doorway, racing down to the dining hall.
"What a wuss," Tai snorted and closed the door, following in the other teen's footsteps.
"Seriously, who do they hire to work in the kitchens? I want one!" Daisuke exclaimed, placing a toothpick into his mouth.
"I'll have to agree with Dais, the food is excellent! I haven't been fed this good since I was at least 12," Matt added in, leaning back in his chair.
"…they are feeding you at home right?" Tai asked cautiously, flashing the boy a concerned look.
"Oh yeah, of course. My dad's not that cruel. I'm just saying that my stepmother can't cook if her pitiful life depended on it," Matt replied, smirking at the idea of Clarice having to make a bowl of chocolate pudding or be thrown into a tank of sharks.
'Oh the wonderful things that could come from that.' he thought dreamily, closing his eyes peacefully. That is, until Daisuke started speaking once more.
"Hey Tai, did Red leave?" he asked his brother as he downed the rest of his milk.
"Just yesterday, but it couldn't have been sooner."
"You seem like you're in pretty decent condition for putting up such a fight," Daisuke snickered. Matt decided to come out of his fantasy world and looked at the two Japanese boys.
"Who's Red?" he asked.
"She-Devil," Daisuke mumbled.
"Sora," Tai gave him a better name.
"Ah, Leech-Girl. Got it. How did you manage to survive with her practically glued to your arm?" he questioned his best friend who merely shrugged.
"It was hard, believe me, especially during the moments she was spying on me in the locker room showers," he said nonchalantly, waiting for a certain reaction.
"Gross!" Daisuke and Matt yelled in pure disgust, shuddering at the thought. Tai on the other hand burst into a fit of giggles, pleased that he got the reaction he wanted.
"Oh boy, that was great. You two are so gullible it's just great," Tai laughed, placing his head on the table in hopes of calming down. Daisuke frowned and stuck out his tongue, leaving Matt to do the same. However, a more brilliant plan came to mind.
"Um, Tai? She's right there and she looks ready to pounce," he said in the most serious tone he could muster
"Ah! Hide me!" Tai squeaked and dove under the table, crawling over towards Matt's legs. Daisuke howled with laughter while Matt attempted to shake Tai off of his leg.
"Tai, she's not really coming. Now get off of my leg!" Matt yelled, banging his foot against the table in hopes of breaking free of Tai's tight grip.
"No! Don't let her find me! I don't wanna go!" Tai exclaimed. Matt shook his head and pulled Tai up by the arm so that he was sitting on the bench next to him, banging his head on the way up.
"Ow!"
"Now look. See? No Leech-Girl." Matt showed him, gesturing to the entire area of boys. Just boys. Tai calmed down and slowly turned towards Matt, who in return gave him a cheeky grin.
"Who's gullible now?" he mocked the brunet.
"Hmm…truthfully? Still you," Tai retorted. Matt growled and shoved Tai lightly, but still hard enough that he managed to knock him off of the bench flat on his back.
"Again, ow. Shouldn't we go call your dad?" he reminded Matt from his place on the floor, drawing the statement out of nowhere.
"Right. Fine, let's get this over with," Matt replied dreadfully. The duo got up and headed out of the dining hall and towards the flight of stairs.
"Wait for me!" Daisuke exclaimed, shooting out of the dining hall after his friends. He crashed right into Matt's back and fell backward, landing in a position similar to the previous one Tai had been in.
"It's scary how much you two are alike," Matt commented, opening the door to the room. The darker boys trailed after him, sitting on Tai's bed while Matt sat on his own with the phone in hand. His fingers lingered over the dial pad as he bit on his bottom lip, working out what he was going to say.
"Dude, just go with the flow," Tai advised him, almost as though he could read Matt's thoughts. And maybe he could. There were many things about Taichi Yagami that Matt could not find an explanation for. Not a logical one at any rate. There was something different about that boy, something that Matt hadn't been able to put his finger on yet. Okay so sure he was a schizophrenic. Big whoop. That may have something to do with his personality, but...it was almost like…
"Matt, just dial damnit!" Daisuke said brashly, shaking Matt out of his other thoughts. Nodding determinedly, Matt pressed the on button of the phone and dialed the familiar number.
"Hello?"
"Dad?"
"Yamato, is that you?"
"Duh, who else would call you Dad? Unless you and Clarice shacked up while I was gone and didn't bother to tell me."
"Yamato, don't start."
"Sorry."
"So, how's school?"
"It's fine."
"That's good. When are you coming home for Christmas?"
"Yeah, about that…um, I was kind of wondering if I could stay here."
"Oh and what would you do there? Stay at the school by yourself?"
"No Dad, I'd go home with my friends. They already offered to let me stay with them through the holidays."
"You have friends now?"
"Yes, believe it or not, and they both want me to go home with them for the break."
"You know I would rather that you come home."
"I don't care."
"Yamato…"
"Dad, why can't you just let me do what makes me happy?"
"Yamato, I would just like to see you again. Christmas is about family after all."
"Yeah, some family. I really want to go home to a family where the 'mother' is the biggest bitch on the planet and the father doesn't do anything about it. Gee, let me go pack my bags right now."
"Yamato, stop. You know I can't control what Clarice says or does and-"
"That is the biggest pile of bullshit I've ever heard! You know damn well that you could try to stop her!"
"Yamato, don't be difficult."
"You know what Dad? I really don't care what decision you want. I'm staying in Japan, I'm going home with my friends, and I'm not coming home because it's my choice, not yours!"
"You're going to have to come home for the summer."
"Screw the summer! I'll find some way to stay here if I have to!"
"Yamato, what's gotten into you? I think you've gotten worse."
"Goodbye Dad."
"Yamato, don't you dare hang up this phone. Yamato…Yamato!"
Matt angrily shut the phone off and threw it onto his bed harshly. He grabbed the nearest pillow on his bed and screamed as loud as he possibly could.
"It went that well huh?" Tai asked lightly, walking over towards the blond cautiously.
"That stupid asshole! Who does he think he is? Trying to make rules and planning my life and making my choices for me!" Matt shouted in rage, flinging the pillow across the room. Daisuke quickly leapt up and caught it before he broke anything.
"Hate to break it to you dude, but that's usually what parents do," Tai explained, sitting on the bed next to Matt. The American boy was shaking with rage as Tai pulled him into his lap before he could hurt himself, or Tai for that matter.
"Ha, some parent. Swear he was better off single," Matt growled. Daisuke watched the older pair carefully, analyzing them closely.
"Um…I think I'll leave now. I'll see you guys tomorrow," he said quietly, bowing to both of them before fleeing the room. Matt blinked in surprise and sighed again for the umpth-teen time that night.
"Great, now I freaked Dais out," he said in a low voice.
"He'll be fine. Besides, you should see him when you steal one of his video games. Ten times as bad as what you just did," Tai said in attempt to lighten the mood. Matt didn't respond and continued to look at the far wall. Tai took a deep breath and dove right in head-first.
"What happened?"
"He doesn't want me staying here. He wanted me to come home," Matt replied softly as all of the rage left him at a rapid pace.
"Why didn't you?" Tai prodded on, gently petting Matt's soft spiky hair.
"Because I don't want to deal with my stepmother."
"Is she really that bad, Matt? Maybe just give her a chance?"
"Just like the chance you gave Michael?" Matt shot back.
"Hey now, that's different."
"No it's not. It's exactly the same thing and you know it!"
"Hey, I gave Michael his chance. Kari and I both did. He just didn't want to take it."
"And I gave Clarice hers! The woman makes me..."
"What?"
"She just…makes me feel so intimidated, acting like I don't matter. She hates me is what it is. She wants Dad for his money, I know it. He's too blind to realize it though. It's just because he really-"
"Misses your mom," the mud-eyed boy finished for him. Matt turned around to face Tai, surprised at the understanding the other held.
"Exactly."
"I guess I don't blame you then, for not wanting to go home. I mean, who would want to go somewhere where you're not wanted?" Tai asked rhetorically, still stroking Matt's hair. Matt nodded slowly and allowed his eyes to droop a little bit.
"Can I ask you something, Tai?" he questioned, trying to stay awake long enough to ask the burning question.
"Sure."
"How is it that you always understand me?" Tai's hand stopped moving, pausing to think of an answer to satisfy his friend. But how could he answer something that he himself didn't even know the answer to? It wasn't that hard to understand what Matt was saying or how he was feeling. It just came naturally to the Japanese boy.
"You know what? I'm not sure. I just…can. I don't know how or why, but I can."
"Oh. Well, I'm glad that you can. I've never had someone like you in my life before that can make me feel…" Matt slurred out just before he drifted into a peaceful slumber, too drained to finish his thought. Tai smiled at his companion, getting off of his bed so that he could rest comfortably. He threw a blanket over the sleeping form and stroked his hair once more.
"I'm glad that you feel loved again, Yama. You deserve it," he whispered. He turned around and walked to his own bed, not bothering to do much other then take off his tie. He crawled under his covers and shut off the lamp, letting thenight claim him slowly.
'C'mon. Only two more minutes.' Tai thought urgently, staring up at the clock above to doorway. Yes, only two more minutes until they were free to go home for the holidays. Two and a half weeks out of school and back with his mother and sister. And now his best friend was joining the party too. Yes, life was just about perfect.
"And that concludes today's lesson," Mr. Akiyamo stated, closing the textbook in front of him. The final bell sounded off and all of the boys shot out of the classroom.
Correction, life was perfect.
Taichi and Daisuke shot out of Akiyamo's class and down the hall to the Art Room. They stood outside of the door and waited for the third member of their little group to show up. Ten minutes later, Matt strutted out of the classroom, knowing that his friends wanted him to rush.
"Matt, come on! Our cab's gonna be here in three hours!" Tai exclaimed, grabbing onto his arm. Yanking Matt along behind him and with Daisuke hot on his heels, Tai ran all the way down the hall, to the left, and up the stairs to their bedroom.
"Dais, go and pack okay? Matt and I need to pack up here," Tai told his younger half-brother. The boy nodded obediently and bounced out of the room and down the hall to his own. Tai flung open the closet doors, allowing all of his junk to fall to the ground.
"Aw man," Matt groaned, looking at the big mess before him.
"Hey chill out, Matt. Most of this crap is going home with me anyway," Tai said easily and proceeded to shove all of his soccer stuff into a duffel bag. Matt muttered under his breath and took out his own suitcase from under his bed.
"So did you call your mom and let her know I was coming with you?" he asked as he started neatly packing his clothes into his bag.
"Nope."
"Dude! Why not?"
"Dude! Why bother? I already told you, my mother won't care," Tai said, balancing three pairs of jeans, a deflated soccer ball, and his laptop in the middle of his junk-zone.
"I know that's what you said, but I would feel more comfortable if she knew ahead of time."
"Man, you are so formal. Of course, this coming from the guy who called his father a stupid asshole for acting like a parent."
"Oh just shut up and call her," Matt instructed him. Tai shook his head and walked away from his junk, reaching for the cordless phone. He easily dialed the home number and went back to packing.
"Hey Hika, it's me. Yeah, we're packing up right now. Cab should be here in about two hours. Listen, where's Mom? Okay, thanks," Tai paused in his talking and threw some more garbage into his duffel bag.
"Hi, Mom. Yeah we're both fine. Uh-huh. Yes. Yes. Yes. Hey, I have something to tell you. I kind of invited a friend of mine to come home with me and Dais. Yeah, for the whole break. He lives in America and we both figured it was kind of dumb for him to go back for two weeks and then come back here. Yes his father knows. Uh-huh. I knew you wouldn't but he insisted that you know before he just randomly showed up. Oh she is? For how long? Yeah. And then another? A guy? What? You let her invite a guy home? Yes. Okay, I promise. Yes. Okay, we'll see you in a couple of hours. Uh-huh, love you too. Bye." Tai hung up the phone and threw it back on the couch.
"Well?"
"I told you she wouldn't mind. Besides, sounds like my sister's friend Megumi is over at the house for a few days too. And then she's having another friend come over after Christmas for the rest of break. Her 'boyfriend' is what it sounds like," Tai said in a bored tone.
"Oh, all right. That's good, I guess."
"Yes it's good. My mom's really excited to meet you."
"Good, I want to meet her too."
"You'll like her. Trust me." Tai winked and walked back over to his closet, pulling off his jacket and white collared shirt. Matt turned around to ask him a question but that was thrown out the window when he caught a glimpse of Tai.
'Okay Matt, calm down. Whatever you do, don'tthink about the shower incident.' he scolded himself. Tai didn't appear to notice Matt staring at him and slipped on a light blue T-shirt, much to Matt's disappointment.
'Wait, disappointment? Why would I care?' the blond thought to himself once more. However, the shirt humored him. On it was that starfish from Spongebob Squarepants, what's his name?
'Oh yeah, Patrick.' He was sitting there with a board on his head with a nail in it. A hammer was in his hand and under the picture was the word, 'Bored.' Matt shook his head and looked away to look for something new to wear. However, curiosity got the best of him and he turned around again, only this time to be greeted with the sight of Tai wearing only his boxers.
"Nice boxers, Tai," Matt snorted. Tai turned around and stuck his tongue out a bit.
"I happen to like Spongebob okay?" he defended himself. He still looked rather funny standing there in a pair of yellow boxers with the face of a sponge cartoon character on his rear.
"Sure, whatever," Matt replied, slipping off his own shirt and jacket.
"Wow, you sure don't show those muscles off often do you?" Tai whistled teasingly.
"Oh shove it," Matt replied, slipping on his black Ataris T-shirt.
"Where and how hard?"
"Perv," Matt declared. Tai grinned widely and pulled on a pair of dark blue jeans, working on tying his left shoe onto his foot. Matt slipped into his own pair of black cargo jeans and changed into his black sneakers.
"Hmm, interesting," Tai said from behind him. Matt turned and faced him.
"What?"
"Those jeans outline your ass perfectly." Tai smirked. As a result, Matt threw Tai's right shoe at him.
One hour later, all three boys were standing outside of the school building with their bags in hand, waiting for the cab to pick them up to take them back to the actual city of Odaiba.
"Hey Dais, I forgot to tell you. Megumi's at the house," Tai said to the younger boy.
"No way! Megumi's so cool! She can actually keep up with my video gaming skills! How long will she be around?" Daisuke beamed at the mere idea of Megumi being there.
"I think Mom said until Christmas Eve."
"Great!" The yellow cab pulled up into the driveway and stopped before the group, ending their conversation. They all loaded their gear into the trunk of the car and hopped into the backseat, preparing themselves for the hour and a half trip home. The cab started up again and pulled out of the driveway, heading for the main roads. It happened to be that Tai was sitting in the middle of the two other boys. Daisuke was already sucked in by his Gameboy Color, zapping little aliens on the screen. Tai turned to his left and looked at Matt who was staring out the window. Tai carefully nudged him in the ribs, causing two blue orbs to fixate on him.
"Is what you said last night true?" Tai asked.
"About what?" Matt turned to face Tai completely.
"That you've never had anyone like me in your life before. Is that true?"
"For the most part."
"Meaning?"
"There used to be one person a lot like you. But then she moved."
"She?"
"Remember my friend Mimi I told you about?"
"Yes."
"Her. Meems was so much like you. You both understood me for no real reason at all, and it all just clicked. You two were the best friends I've ever had in my life."
"What happened to her?"
"She moved away when we were eight. I don't know where to or anything, just that she's gone."
"I'm sorry, Matt."
"Ah, don't be. Maybe I'll see her again one day," Matt replied, looking back out the window again.
"Maybe. You never know. Anything is possible in this crazy world," Tai said cheerfully. Matt nodded and ended the conversation. Tai looked away from the blond next to him and sighed.
'At least I know I'm helping him somehow.' He reached down between his feet and pulled his Discman out of his bag and put his headphones on, drowning himself in the sounds of Matt's Simple Plan CD for the rest of the ride.
The cab pulled up into the Yagami-Motomiya driveway. Tai opened his eyes and poked Matt in the side.
"Yama, wake up. We're here," he whispered into his ear. Matt's eyes slowly fluttered open, gazing into Tai's own. He sat up a little more and yawned, rubbing his eyes a bit.
"Wow, already?" he asked. Tai nodded and opened the door, crawling out of the cab. Matt soon followed and the two boys went back to the trunk by Daisuke, who had jumped out as soon as the car stopped moving. While the two brothers were busy unpacking, Matt stared at the house in awe.
"Tai, you never told me your house was so…huge!" he breathed out, taking in the beauty of the Victorian-styled home.
'Funny. I never imagined they would make Victorian-styled homes in Japan.' He studied the irony of the situation.
"Nah, it's not that big," Tai replied, hoisting Matt's suitcase out of the trunk and onto the ground next to the blonde.
"How many stories?"
"Um, three. Four if you count the basement."
"Jeeze! It's a freakin' mansion!" Matt yelped. Daisuke nodded and shut the trunk.
"Isn't it great?" he said, grin growing wider by the minute.
"Hell yeah," Matt replied.
"C'mon, guys, grab your stuff and let's go," Tai commanded, grabbing his duffel bag from the ground. Each boy picked up their belongings and walked to the front door. Tai was the only one with a free hand, so he turned the knob and pushed the door open.
"Mom? We're home!" he announced, allowing his stuff to drop in the front hall. Matt's eyes began to wander around the house. The inside was more impressive than the outside. So many fancy paintings and ornaments hung from the walls and the ceilings were high with a few sky-lights. To the left of the front hall was a staircase, which Matt assumed led up to the second floor. To the right was the living room which held many kinds of chairs and a few couches as well. Matt's eye tour was cut short however as Mrs. Yagami walked into the front hall.
"Hello boys!" she greeted her children. Daisuke threw himself at his mother while Tai walked at a calmer pace, allowing her to hug him briefly. "It's nice to have you two home," she told them, letting go of Daisuke. Her gaze landed on Matt and she smiled.
"And who might you be?" she questioned, giving him the full once-over.
"That's Matt, my friend I told you about," Tai explained.
"Pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Motomiya. Er, Yagami. Um…which do you go by?" he asked her, feeling rather confused. The woman laughed and smiled at him kindly.
"Call me Ami if that's easier for you. All of the kids' friends do," Ami informed him.
'She seems nice enough.' Matt decided. Her mid-back length light brown hair was held back in a ponytail and her crimson-amber eyes shone with youth. She was dressed down in a pair of jeans and a loose T-shirt.
'Yep, definitely like her.' Matt confirmed.
"Well boys, why don't you take all of your stuff upstairs? Matt honey, you can sleep in the guest room right across from the boys' room," Ami offered.
"Thanks, Ami," Matt replied, grabbing his stuff from off of the floor. Tai and Daisuke picked up their own stuff as well and all three of them headed for the stairs.
"Well, look who decided to show up," a new voice joined the conversation. A young female voice, to be exact. Matt turned his head towards the top of the staircase. Leaning on the railing was a young girl, possibly no older then 13. Her not-quite shoulder-length light brown hair hung around her face with a few strands pulled back into two pink clips. She held the same eyes that Ami had and a rather cute face. She was wearing a blue and grey sweatshirt that read Odaiba T-Wolves on the front and a cheerleading skirt.
"Yes, your worst nightmares," Tai said jokingly.
"Oh, whatever shall I do?" she moaned in a mocking manner just before she ran down the stairs, jumping right into Tai's waiting arms.
"How've you been kid?" he greeted her, giving her a warm hug.
"Really good. It's been lonely without you two around though, as always" she replied. She turned to Daisuke and smiled again. "What? Too good to say hello?" she snorted, quirking up an eyebrow.
"Possibly," Daisuke replied and wrapped his arms around her neck.
"There, that's better." She grinned. She then turned to Matt and blinked in surprise. "Who the hell are you?" she asked before she could stop herself, rather shocked that a third person was standing there.
"Hikari, be nice," Ami warned her.
"Kari, this is Matt. He's my roommate at school and my best friend," Tai explained. Kari gave Matt an embarrassed grin and waved.
"Oh, sorry…didn't mean to offend you or anything," she said nervously.
"Nah, it's cool kid. Don't sweat it." Matt grinned back. Kari's face shone brighter and she nodded. She turned towards the stairs and opened her mouth.
"Megumi! Come down here!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. Matt, Tai, and Daisuke all winced at the volume. Another girl came bouncing down the stairs at this point, wearing the same outfit Kari was. Her long strawberry-blonde hair was pulled back into a high ponytail and her honey brown eyes were wide with innocence.
'Wait, I know those eyes.' Matt backtracked.
"Hey Megumi," Tai greeted the other girl, also grabbing her into a hug.
"Tai, you're going to squish me!" Megumi squealed with laughter, briefly returning the hug. She turned to Daisuke and smiled brightly. "Hey Dai."
"Megumi, great to see you! You and me, Gran Turismo 3 match later," he said in return. Megumi rolled her eyes but agreed to the challenge. She turned to Matt lastly and stared at him.
"Don't think I've seen you before…" she stated slowly, crossing her arms over her chest
'I know that voice too…but it can't be…can it?' His thoughts were becoming a mash of everything, all unreadable and hard to follow. But he was sure of it this time.
'She's definitely gotten older…prettier too. But she's still recognizable. Doubt she remembers me though…oh hell, it's worth a shot'
"Mimi," he said softly, staring deep into the brown eyes.
"Dude, that's Megumi." Tai replied.
"No, I'm telling you, it's Mimi." Matt kept his ground, waiting for some sort of reaction from said girl.
"Matt, are you sure you're okay?" Daisuke asked him.
"I'm fine! I'm telling you, that's my Mimi! I'm sure of it!" he spoke desperately. Megumi slowly uncrossed her arms and got a good look at the boy before her. She nodded once and smiled slowly, saying the words he had been hoping to hear.
"Good to see you again, Yamato Ishida."
So yeah, this is edited for the most part.
Thanks to: Digininga, Redrum, Sillie, LadyK Na-No-Da, Lil Gold Fishie, Arashi Doragon, Phunky Phish, Jedi Takeru, Sen-Tay, shadow-seraph, happy cat, Melissa-O, Raku Ozzarian princess, Tsuki no Lomelinde, Kayanna, neo, Aero-Grrl, Kelset, Sakura Fae, Mrs. Passionate, Heaven's Angel Chick, kat5, Mira Black, Splash-Yaoiluv, Burning Angemon, Siyengo, tenshi208, Plotbunny, Inuyasha-Luv-Kagome, Fifth-Year-Ronin, LittleDarkOne, Squrlie Jack, and BlueAzul13. You guys rock and such, thanks for reviewing.