A/N: Hey guys! Sorry it took longer that I had anticipated to post up this chapter. I'm a junior in highschool, and I know some of you will be all like 'that's not a problem' but we have this yearlong project called the 'American Artist' and it's SUPER HUGE! if I don't pass this, i'm going to have to retake my second semester of English 11!! AH! But yea, i've been looking up possible Artists to use and all. So now, hopefully, I can finish my other homework and get working to finish this mini-chapter story soon! Here's chapter 2!

Disclaimer: I Do NOT own Digimon, or anything else...other than the English Movie, sadly.

Sora ran down the main street of the Odaiba district, she was running late! She had taken too long getting ready, that she miscalculated the time she took. She huffed as she ran, the Starbucks café was only another block away, she could make it. Looking at her watch once more, it read 6:37am, she was supposed to meet with Tai at 6:15 like they usually do, and for once, it was her that was running late. Of course, she could get lucky and get there before Tai, but it would be a 50/50 chance.

"I can't believe I was stupid enough to not look at the time earlier today. I said I wasn't going to be late! What if he thought I wasn't going to show up?" Sora said between pants, worriedly.

She uncomfortably squirmed at the corner of the block while waiting for the signal to turn to 'walk.' Sora wasn't usually impatient, but when her present for her 21st birthday was waiting for her in the Starbucks café, as well as Tai, she had every right to be impatient. It felt like an eternity waiting in the midst of the crisp morning air for the light to switch, but when it finally did, Sora decided to make a sprint for the café.

Just hang on for a few more seconds Tai, I'm almost there! She thought to herself, keeping her eyes on the café door and what waited for her inside.

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Tai sat down in one of the high 2-seater tables in the Starbucks café. There were 2 freshly made drinks in front of him. One was his, a caramel espresso macchiato and the other was Sora's, peppermint mocha twist. It was always tradition that whoever got there first would order their drinks that day; and Tai was surprised himself that he was the first to get there. He was sitting patiently, holding his espresso between his palms.

What's taking her so long? Tai thought looking at his watch.

Sora was already running a bit later than usual and Tai was starting to wonder if she even remembered that they were supposed to meet in the café today. There were so many thoughts running through his head of what might have happened to Sora. They ranged from sleeping late, to forgetting, to getting injured—he prayed it wasn't that one—and finally, she found someone else to hang out with today.

"I don't have much time today, I still have to get to the concert hall and set up. I guess waiting for another 5 minutes won't hurt." Tai said to himself in the nearly empty café—save for the workers and a few customers running late for work.

Tai's eyes immediately drifted to the right pocket of his sweater. It had been a bit chilly at 6am when he got out of bed, so Tai decided to put on a light sweater to keep himself from getting too cold, and it was a convenient spot to put Sora's birthday present instead of carrying it around. The small box was wrapped in a colorful wrapper by Tai to the best of his ability. He even put a small stickable bow on top and wrote 'To Sora, From Tai' on it as well. Tai had really wanted to give Sora her birthday present to her now, so he decided to wait a little longer for her.

After 10 minutes of waiting for Sora, Tai looked at his watch, it read nearly 6:45am, and he needed to head back home to get ready to head over to the concert hall at 7:45am. It would take him nearly an hour to get everything packed, so he decided to start heading home.

I'll just tell the cashier to tell Sora I had to run. Tai thought sadly, frowning at the idea.

Tai had gotten out of his seat and was heading towards the font register to hand the cashier Sora's drink to tell her to give it to the girl with the auburn hair when she got there. Then at the corner of his peripheral vision, he thought he saw something zoom by the window of the café. Turning around, he witnessed Sora rushing into the store and running up to him with her hand on her chest, trying to steady her breathing from running too much.

"I'm sorry I'm late Tai!" Sora blurted out between breaths.

Tai's face turned from a sad frown to a giant smile, he was able to give her the present now after all! "It's okay Sora! You're here!"

Tai quickly placed the 2 cups on the register desk and ran up to Sora, giving her a giant hug while lifting her off the ground and spinning her around.

"Tai!" Sora said surprised, but laughing at her friend's childish antics. "What are you doing!?"

"Happy birthday Sora! You're finally 21 today!" He said putting her down and grinning like a chesire cat.

The next few minutes, Sora kept apologizing to Tai for being too late, which he automatically forgave her, saying that it was okay as long as she was able to get there, then he was fine with getting to the concert hall a bit later than the others. His reasoning was that it was her birthday and he wanted to spend some time with her before the concert. The 2 friends had left the café with their drinks in their hands, enjoying the warmth it sent down their throats as they walked through the cold streets of Odaiba morning.

"You didn't have to get me this drink Tai." Sora said taking a sip of her mocha.

"I didn't have to, but I wanted to, besides, think of it as something for your birthday." He said to her, also drinking his espresso.

"Speaking of my birthday, I thought you were supposed to give me a present today!" Sora said remembering the purpose of their meeting at starbucks.

"That's what I was forgetting!" Tai said slapping his forehead, trying to pretend he forgot her present.

"Are you serious Tai? You didn't bring me my present? Please tell me you're joking." Sora said sounding a bit down.

Tai peeked at her through his peripheral vision and smiled. "Just kidding! Of course I have it, how can I forget your present?"

Tai stopped in the middle of the sidewalk to take out the small present that was inside his jacket pocket. Sora took the box with curiosity and analyzed the wrapping of the present. It wasn't the neatest wrap there was, and she was able to tell that Tai had tried his best to make it look decent. Slowly opening the wrapping, she took out the small velvet case that she had a pretty good guestimate what was inside, and the fact that it was expensive.

"Tai, you shouldn't ha—." Sora began saying, but her voice was caught between her throat as she opened it and saw the sparkling necklace and pendant on the velvet folds.

It was a small heart shaped pendant that had the diameter of 1 inch. At a closer inspection, Sora gasped again as she realized it was the shape of her crest, the crest of Love. The pendant sported a deep pink sapphire gem that was costumed cut. The necklace chain was silver and it complimented the gem color.

"I wanted to give you something special for your birthday." Tai said softly, enough only for Sora to hear.

"It's gorgeous Tai. I love it, thank you." She said back to him. Sora was about to get teary eyed when she noticed there was an empty space next to the pendant, telling her that something was missing from the box.

"Tai?" She asked him.

"What is it Sora?" He asked looking at her.

"What's this?" She said pointing at the empty space.

Seeing what Sora was pointing at, a small blush crept up on Tai's face, but he hid it from her by standing behind Sora.

"Uh, w-well." He started, unsure of what to say to her. "Actually Sora, I was planning on giving you the second part of your present at the concert later today."

"Oh, there's a second part?" She eyed him suspiciously.

Tai was about to speak again, when he decided to not say anything. Truth be told, he did have a second part to her birthday present, one that he had decided to give at the concert today. But he wasn't sure if he would be able to tell her without giving anything away. Tai had wanted to keep the second part a secret from Sora until he gave it to her, but she noticed the missing piece to the box, and the answer just slipped out of his lips. It wasn't until Sora fully turned around and faced him with her 'you better tell me what's going on' look that he gave in to telling her without fully revealing to her what it was.

"Alright, you got me. I had a part 2 to your present okay?" Tai said raising his hands up as if he had been caught guilty.

"You got me something else?" She finally said after a long pause.

"Well, yea, but I wasn't going to give it to you until the concert! It was supposed to be a surprise!" Tai said scratching the back of his head, a habit which he developed doing while he was nervous.

"Well, why not give it to me now?" she said closing the box so that the present wouldn't fall out.

Tai hesitated to say something but then decided to go against it, "I can't."

"Why not?" Sora asked furrowing her eyebrows.

"Trust me Sor; it's not the right time. I promise you'll see it at the concert." He said crossing his heart, showing to Sora he wasn't lying.

"Alright, I'll wait." She said smiling at him and began walking towards the corner again.

Damn, I almost told her what it was going to be. I really need to learn to keep things cool under pressure. Tai said to himself as he stood there watching Sora walking off. Normally, Tai was a good liar, how else was he able to narrowly dodge getting detentions almost everyday just because he was late to school. He always had some good excuse which the teachers would buy, however, when it dealt with Sora's 'you better tell me' glare, Tai wasn't able to stay calm and get his lies to seem believable.

Just don't say anymore and she won't suspect a thing. He assured himself before running after Sora.

"So Sora how did you like my present?" Tai said to her when he caught up to Sora.

Sora took out the small box again and opened it. Just like before, her eyes glittered looking at the small pendant. "It's beautiful; I still can't believe you got me this. It looks expensive."

"Don't worry about it Sora, it's your birthday and you deserve something special. Why don't you try it on?" Tai said to her.

Sora slowly took the chain from the velvet folds of the case and placed the empty box in her pockets. She unhooked the lock and attempted to put on the necklace blind. It wasn't until Tai saved her from nearly dropping the necklace and locking it up for her that she was able to put it on.

"How does it look?" She asked, turning around to give Tai a chance to see it.

"All I can say is that I chose the right present for you! It makes you look like starlight Sora." Tai said surprised at how well it suited the redhead.

"Y-you think so?" Sora said blushing a bit.

The 2 had gotten to the corner and were now waiting for the signal to switch to 'walk'. Sora took this small wait as an opportunity to lean against the traffic pole to rest. Bending her neck to take the best view she had of the pendant, she picked it up with her hands and examined the jewel. Tai said I looked like starlight, that's so sweet, maybe I can tell him now. She thought to herself, blushing even more.

Tai smiled at Sora, glad that he was able to get her a present that she loved so much. That thought led to the second part of his present for her. Maybe I can tell her how I feel about her now. He thought.

There was a moment of quietness for the 2 friends as they contemplated what to do in their minds; it was brought to an end when they both spoke at the same time.

"Tai."

"Sora."

They quickly shut their lips and averted their gazes away from each other, embarrassed that they had spoken over each other. Again, another wave of silence fell on the atmosphere. Sora had gone on and found her shoes to be very interesting, while Tai had decided there was something in the clear sky above them. Again, they tried to break the silence.

"I have something to tell you." They both said in unison, looking at each other as if life depended on it.

"Oh, um, w-why don't you go first?" Tai said scratching the back of his head and turning his gaze to the pole behind Sora.

"N-no, that's okay Tai, y-you can go, it wasn't that important anyways." She said back to him.

"R-right, not that important." He mumbled.

Should I tell her that I love her? Tai thought to himself. What if she says no? That what'll happen? It took Tai ever ounce of strength he had to flush those negative thoughts away from his mind. He and Sora had been friends for a long time; surely something like this wouldn't change anything, and what if she did like him back? That's a good thing. C'mon Taichi! You're the friggin' bearer of the Crest of Courage! You can do this!

"Sora?" Tai started, a small blush once again creeping up his cheeks.

"Yea Tai?" she said looking up at him.

"W-what I was going to say was…" Tai walked up to close the small distance between them so he was able to place his arms on either side of her shoulders.

The proximity of Tai to Sora caused the redhead's face to heat up. Tai had a firm grip on her shoulders and the look on his face showed that he was determined to say what he needed to say; and from the look of it, it was something serious. She was also able to make out the faint blush that Tai was trying to suppress.

Maybe he's going to tell me something? Maybe he likes me? Sora thought hopeful that he was going to confess. Grant it wasn't the most romantic of places or times, but so long as she knew if he did like her or not, she was okay with it.

"What I was going to say was that I..." Tai said once again, this time getting further in the sentence.

"Yes?" Sora whispered her blush more obvious.

Tai examined Sora's face thoroughly, there was a hint of something in her eyes, was it hope? What was she hoping for? Maybe it was something else. His eyes left her face and saw the small pendant he gave her.

"What I was going to say was that I am really glad you liked your gift." He blurted out suddenly, also letting go of Sora's shoulders. I can't do this; I'm not ready to face her if she says no.

"Oh." Sora's face fell slightly when she heard what Tai said. She was hoping he would tell her he's been in love with her, like she was with him.

"Yea, well, I looked really hard for a long time and it would have been a waste if you didn't like it." He said sheepishly, followed by a nervous chuckle.

"Yea, a waste." She said looking around and spotting the switched 'walk' light. "W-we should go cross before it changes." She pointed out.

Tai agreed quickly and the 2 crossed the street in silence, a rare awkward silence spanning the entire walk with them. The 2 remained quiet until they reached the street where they had to part ways. For a while, they just stood there, facing each other to say goodbye, but not looking at each other directly.

"Well, see you at the concert Sora, happy birthday." Tai finally said, breaking the silence.

He unsurely closed the little gap between them to give Sora a hug.

"Thanks Tai, I can't wait to hear the band." She replied softly, returning his hug.

The 2 parted ways and walked to their respective apartments, where their roommates were waiting for them.

Okay! So that was the 2nd chapter. I hope it was okay, there might be a few grammatical errors, i'm trying to be as literate as i can be...considering my brother is somewhat my editor and stuff like that. I thought that ending was a bit skeptical, some stuff might have been mis-interpreted than what was in my head. I apologize for that.
I will try to update as soon as I can, between juggling my other story, school life, as well as drawing stuff for my deviantart and stories. Hit that review button please!