A/N: Hello! If you've read this story before then you might be confused why it went from 5 chapters to 1—well, it's because I've taken over Tachikawa IVIimi's account and with her permission, resumed her stories. Chic Like Me is one of my favorites and I decided to clean the chapters a little and do some revising :) I hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Digimon series nor it's containing characters.
Matt's fingers drummed against the cardboard box he held as he pushed the door open with his back. A chiming bell prompted the attention of two women who stood behind the front counter.
"Hi, how may I help you today?" The younger one asked pleasantly.
"I have this box of clothing that I'd like to donate," Matt answered while avoiding eye contact. He pushed the box towards her on the table and prepared to exit quickly.
The woman opened the box and pulled out a pink skirt. "These are all fairly new, did your sister not want them anymore?"
"Oh, no, ma'am, I don't have a sister."
"Oh, I'm sorry. Your girlfriend?"
"These belonged to me," as soon as the words left his mouth, Matt wished he had gone with the sister story. The woman stood with her mouth hanging open, dropping the skirt immediately.
"Boy, do you mean to tell us that you wear girls clothes?" the more elderly woman spoke up and furrowed her brows when she stared him down.
Matt held up his hands and frantically shook his head, "No! I mean—I did wear these, but it's not what you're thinking!" Matt frowned and looked at them defensively when he saw their inquiring faces. "Look, I would really rather not talk about it… besides, you wouldn't believe me if I told you."
The elderly woman grunted, "Tell us and we'll see."
Turning his eyes towards the ground, Matt began slowly, "Okay, but before I begin, you should know…my life was never this complicated; I had my close friends, my music, school was school, and girls liked me. My life was simple, easy. But then this girl just had to interfere with her girly emotions and crying and getting inside your head with their stupid talking and perfect hair and—" he noticed his hands clenching and cleared his throat. "I'm sorry… let me start over. The story's not just about me, it all started when my best friend royally screwed up with this girl…"
Taichi slid his notebooks under his right arm and bent down to peer at his reflection for one final review, the corner of his mouth easily turned up to form a smile of approval. He fumbled with his already tousled brown hair and walked across the hallway, closing a locker door with his free arm.
"I was still taking my book out, you know," a boy announced slowly, shooting a glare at Taichi's direction before pulling the locker open again. The boy's blue eyes shifted from his friend and over to the piece of paper that Taichi dangled in front of his face. He barely gave the paper a thorough gander before responding.
"No. No more, Taichi."
"I've got a good feeling about this one though! Just take a look at it, Matt! Pleaseeee?" Taichi coaxed.
"You always have a good feeling and it always ends up wasting my time. Forget it, Taichi, I'm too busy with band rehearsals."
Leaning in closer, Taichi began reading the paper out loud and enthusiastically. "The winning film chosen will receive a large cash reward and two premiere tickets to preview Bayview amusement park!"
Matt eyebrows peaked in interest, "Bayview? That's not set to open until next summer…"
"And we could be the first two people to see it! And with the money we get, you could put toward your new guitar!" Taichi clenched his fists and his eyes got considerably wider with excitement. "Matt, listen to me—my camera and talents, your leadership and ingenuity—"
"Ingenuity? Really?" Matt held up his hand and laughed. "Did you just use the word ingenuity?"
"Shut up. I go to class, I used that correctly."
"Taichi, every time I agree to do one of these film competitions you always find some way to twist my ideas around, make it terrible, and then we end up losing anyway."
"Okay, okay, I understand. But just promise that you'll consider it," Taichi knew that Matt would agree, eventually; the key ingredient to ever convincing Matt Ishida to do anything is to present it as a challenge, and Taichi just had to figure out a way to do that.
"Hi!" Taichi turned around and mirrored the sweet smile of his girlfriend, Sora Takenouchi. She held up a textbook. "You forgot this at my house last night."
"What would I do without you?" Taichi leaned in and kissed her.
Sora giggled and tilted her head, "Good morning, Matt! I'm really looking forward to listening to your band play, it's been a while."
Matt nodded and before he could respond Taichi spoke up, "Yeah, Matt's written a new song that the band hasn't even heard yet!"
"That's great, we can't wait to hear it!"
The muscles in Matt's face tightened and he looked at Sora, "We?"
Biting her lip, Sora winced as she carefully chose her words, "I may or may not have invited Tachikawa to come along—oh, don't pout, Matt! I don't understand why the two of you just can't get along."
"Sora, she's a juvenile underclassman."
Taichi chuckled, "She's only a year younger. You just need to actually talk to her, she's pretty cool."
"Ha!" Matt said with a huff.
"I don't understand, you like girls, you're around girls all the time!" Sora stated.
"Of course I like girls. I like it when they're cute, or actually tell a funny joke, or when they listen to my band. Tachikawa doesn't meet all three qualifications plus she's cold, we can't be friends, sorry."
Sora shook her head, "I'm going to have to disagree but I won't force you two. But Mimi was happy that I invited her."
"After you bribed her with a shopping spree?" he spat the words out.
"We're going shopping?" The three friends turned their heads to see a pair of brown eyes batting their eyelashes. Mimi stood with her books tucked between her arms and chest and she smiled towards Taichi and Sora's direction. "Well?"
Sora smiled, "No, Mimi, we were just talking about how excited Matt was that the three of us are watching his band's rehearsal tomorrow!"
"Oh, that." When she turned her head to wave to a student passing by, Matt immediately glared at Sora and Taichi, shrugging with irritation. When Taichi motioned for Matt to be cordial, he groaned.
"Good morning, Mimi," he dragged out. Mimi's eyes glazed over him and a controlled smile flashed across her face before she strolled over to her own locker, which happened to be a few yards from his. It's either a nod or a smile of acknowledgement, but seldom an exchange of words with Mimi Tachikawa. The very few occasions that Matt could recall Mimi acting tolerant of him is when they would be in a group outing with their respective best friends, Taichi and Sora. This is how their group dynamic has always been since they all met, although Mimi would probably never remember, or even admit, that her and Matt were friends for longer.
Matt rolled his eyes and waved to Taichi and Sora, giving Mimi one last glance. Too bad she's actually pretty, he would think then shake his head.
Sora turned to Taichi, "So are we still playing tennis later? Coach says I need to practice my backhand," she said while sweeping his hair to the side.
Taichi countered by shaking his hair loose, "Ah, um, would you care if you asked someone else to play? It's just that, tennis isn't really my kind of sport…besides Jyou just got the new role playing video game!" Sora scrunched her face.
"Well, I would really prefer if you came with me," she said and adjusted the collar on his shirt. "Besides, tennis is more active than just sitting around playing games. And you can come with me to look at paint swatches for my room afterwards. I'm sure Jyou will understand."
Pressing his lips together to force a smile, Taichi replied, "Sure. Sounds like fun." Sora smiled and grabbed his hand. She started to lean in towards his face when her eyes fell on what he held with his other hand, and without hesitation she flicked his hand away.
"Taichi Yagami, that better not be I think it is," she crossed her arms. When her accusation was met with a sheepish grin Sora threw her arms and started walking away, grumbling. "I try to be a great girlfriend; I cook for him, I watch every soccer game, I let him choose the music in the car—and then he keeps doing this!"
Taichi jogged at her side, "What was that you were saying?" Sora shook her head and kept her eyes forward. Taichi beamed, "Well, I'm not sure if you heard me but I was trying to tell you about this film competition? I'm just waiting to hear back from Matt and it should work this time!"
"This time, Taichi? What about last month when you missed my tennis tournament because you had to finish editing your film, or when I sprained my ankle because you and Yamato made me run across a skateboard park?" Sora fumed.
"You have to admit that the scene looked great though!" Taichi grinned then quickly shielded his face when he saw the look on his girlfriend's face. "Why can't you ever support me? You know how much important these are to me…"
Sora sighed, "I did, Taichi… and you know I support all of your dreams wholeheartedly, but this is the third one this month and I just miss you. I'm tired of being ignored for weeks when all you can do or think or talk about are these competitions. I don't see you for days because you're so busy filming with Ishida, and when you finally resurface you're still not really here."
Frowning, Taichi grunted, "I can't help that, Sora! You play your tennis; you know what it means to put dedication into something. And wow, if you're so sick of watching me do something that I love then you should have just told me from the beginning!"
"I did tell you, Taichi! But you never listen," Sora had stopped and was facing him now. "You know that the stuff that matters to you will matter to me, too. I just want to feel like I'm higher on the list every now and then."
Her boyfriend took her left hand and laid it on his cheek, smiling and looking into her eyes, "Sora, you do matter! And it shouldn't even be a question that you're my top priority," Sora returned his smile. "And to make you feel special, I've already got a character for you to play in the film—it's a horror—" a stinging sensation overwhelmed the side of his head where Sora had smacked him, before she proceeded to stomp away. Taichi grimaced, "What did I do now?!"
Mimi dropped her science textbooks down onto the black lab table and looked to the table on her left. "Miki, hi!" she smiled widely at the girl that greeted her. "Is everyone still meeting to study for English today?"
Before Mimi could begin a casual conversation with her friend, her jaw stiffened when a boy strolled between their tables and greeted Miki. Mimi cleared her throat and busied herself with making her notebook and pencils perpendicular until Matt had walked past her table and when she could no longer see him in her peripheral. She couldn't figure out why she had suddenly tensed up; Matt had already said his greeting once, he wouldn't have cared to start a conversation with her again. Mimi was relieved when Sora came and sat down beside her.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Mimi asked when she noted the look on Sora's face.
"Mimi, you're my best friend," Sora started and quickly glanced towards Taichi as he joined Matt in the back of the room. "You would tell me if I was being stupid, won't you? Am I just fooling myself by being with Taichi?"
"What do you mean? You don't like him anymore?"
Sora shook her head, "No, of course I do, I love him! I mean, I know that sometimes I'm a little uptight and give him commands like a dog… but at least a dog pays attention once in a while."
"You're actually on time for class," Matt commented as Taichi sat himself down, wearing a grumpy look on his face. "What's bothering you?" He asked and then followed Taichi eyes on Sora.
"Chicks are so confusing. They're all happy and excited at first and then, like a switch, they suddenly turn on you!"
Mimi raised a finger at Sora, "Did you know that dogs and men actually exhibit similar behavioral patterns? Think about it; they both get annoyed when you take their food away, they start whimpering when you say 'no,' they both scratch themselves in front of company and—"
"Girls pick on every little thing guys do," Matt shook his head. "That's why I stay a single man. Don't tell me you showed Sora the flyer?"
Taichi nodded, "Why shouldn't I have? I told her she could be a main character this time!"
Sora stared blankly at Mimi, "I've had my feet run over by skateboards, locked inside a coffin, been tied to a tree that actually had termites, dressed up as a ghost, an old lady, an old man—who does that to their girlfriend?!"
"At least you've got someone who really loves you," Mimi said.
Matt raised a brow, "You're kidding me, right? No one really falls in love in high school, Taichi. If a girl's nice and cute, you take her out on a few dates, call yourself her boyfriend, but don't think you're in love. You've got to remember that none of that stuff lasts. Girls get too emotional over everything until it crumbles from the weight of their emotions and overanalyzing."
Taichi frowned, "Matt, you're wrong. Not every girl is like that. And you're wrong about my relationship with Sora."
"Oh yeah? Sora's a great person, there's no doubt about that. But all you two ever do is fight; it's a vicious cycle of who's done what to make the other angry. Explain that."
"That's not true," Taichi defended and then paused. "Sora knows how much I care about her—"
"If he does, he has a lousy way of showing it," Sora crossed her arms. "Did you know that him and Matt have joined another one of those movie competitions again? We haven't gone on a date or spent any real quality time together in months. Sometimes I feel like Taichi has forgotten what we mean to each other."
"Oh, Sora," Mimi frowned and pulled her friend into a hug.
"Tell me again why I'm still with him."
Taichi crossed his arms and leaned back, still keeping his eyes on Sora, "Sometimes I wonder why we're still together? I love Sora, I love her forever, but she's never happy with anything I do. All I ever seem to do right is annoy her, so why stay with me?"
Mimi smiled, "Because you love him!"
Sora sighed and rolled her eyes, "That might not be enough for us, Mimi… I don't know, I'm going to have to give him an ultimatum or else—"
"It's over, everyone. Put your phones and chatter away and take out your tongs and scalpels," the teacher announced and pulled out a large jar from underneath the desk. Mimi gagged and covered her eyes.
