Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.
A/N: This is a warning to you all. This series will be dark and kind of OOC.
Broken
The girls stared when he walked into the school. They whispered and drooled over him. A couple even asked for autographs. He refused.
Apparently his fame hadn't been isolated to Japan.
Tai and Sora walked beside him, dutifully. Although to be painfully honest neither one could stand him, they had promised to stick together on the first day of this damn American school.
Tera and Aaron walked in front of them. They were joining the three for sophomore year. Taylor walked beside Tera, timidly glancing at the other students lining the hallway, never falling more the five inches away from Tera. What else could you expect from a nerdy freshman?
The bell rang and the six separated, searching for their classes. "Matt!" He glanced back and saw Tai walking towards him. The brown haired boy had finally pulled himself from Sora. "Come on, man. Wait up." Matt waited for Tai to catch up. "Jeez, Matt, with how fast you're walking you'd think you were excited about class."
"I just don't want to be late," Matt shrugged.
Their first class was in an ugly colored portable that sat all the way behind the sports fields. Odds were the school was trying to hide them. The remedial classes were not something a school shows with dignity.
Matt took a seat in a rickety tan desk with 'Tupac Lives' and '1986 Seniors Rule' carved into the top. Tai sat down in front of him in a desk that squeaked so much it attracted more then a few stares. He turned bright red and Matt just laughed.
Tai and Matt had most of their basic (math, history, english, and sciences) classes together. They were all very basic classes, filled with things 8th graders and freshmen were learning. But Matt was not here for the same reason as Tai. He was here for missing so many days of school because of his band and not bothering to make them up. Tai was here for just being himself; stupid. Tai was a dense young man, for being the ex-leader.
"Good morning class. I'm Mrs. Torez and welcome to the first day of school…"
Matt stood in the lunch line holding a plastic blue tray. Sora and Tai stood in front of him, talking quietly. They had waiting in a long-ass long for the last fifteen minutes. All the time he spent debating to himself whether he should sit with them and the rest of life's rejects.
Absently he picked up something and plopped it on his tray, not completely sure what he was getting. Whatever the lumpy thing was, it looked interesting enough. He paid for it and walked behind Tai and Sora to where Tera, Taylor, and Aaron were sitting. A few others who Matt assumed to be their friends joined them. The three sat down and Tera made introductions.
"Matt, Sora, Tai, this is Alex, Eric, and Nicole." She said pointing to a red head boy, purple haired boy and a brown haired girl. "Alex, Eric, Nicole, this is Matt, Sora, and Tai. They're staying at the boarding house with us."
"You're those kids," the purple haired guy with tall spikes started. Eric. "The ones who saved the world."
"You've got the wrong folks," Tai shook his head.
"No, you are. I remember because I sent some e-mails during the battles a while back," Nicole spoke up.
"Who?" Alex asked looking between Eric and Nicole.
"Guys, if they say they're not then they're not," Aaron interrupted.
"Whatever," Eric shrugged. He pushed down on his black sunglasses and eyed them suspiciously.
Tai smiled nervously as Sora silently ate her lunch. Matt pretended like he didn't know what they were talking about and picked at his food. Suddenly, it didn't look so interesting now that he had to eat it.
"What did I get?" He asked aloud.
"The school's version of hot dogs," Aaron joked. "Uh, I think that's…I don't know. Why'd you get it?"
Matt shrugged. He picked it up and tossed it into the trashcan. "That's fine I wasn't hungry for this damn American food anyway." He stood up and walked away from the table, pulling his blue messenger bag on.
"Matt, where are you going?" Tai called.
"Nowhere." He walked out of the noisy cafeteria and onto the lawn of the school. He walked back out to the portables beyond the soccer field. He could just wait there and avoid all human interaction. Which was better then having that Nicole girl stare at him or trying to convince Eric that he wasn't some sort of super hero.
He saw some smoke rising behind the portable. Curiously, he stepped behind the portable and saw a black clad boy smoking a cigarette. He took a long drag. The kid looked up at him and blew the smoke in his face. "Hey pretty boy," he smiled a yellow-toothed grin at Matt. "Gonna tattle on me?"
Matt gave him a bored look. "Nah. I was going to ask if you have an extra cigarette."
"Yeah." He reached into the inside of his vest and pulled out a long white cigarette. "Here." Matt put it in his mouth and allowed the guy to lit it up.
Matt took a long drag and savored the flavor in his mouth and the smoke in his lungs. "Thanks, I ran out a week ago and don't know where to get more."
"New to the area?" The guy asked.
"Yeah. Exchange student."
The guy put the cigarette in his mouth and stuck out his hand. "I'm Trevor," he mumbled.
"Matt."
"So where are you from? China?"
"Japan."
"Hmm, long way from here." Trevor blew out smoke.
"Yep."
The bell behind them rang and Trevor stomped out his cigarette. "Nice talking to ya! Join me tomorrow. I'll set you up with a pack of yer own. Later!"
"Seeya," Matt called. He took another puff and examined the cigarette. There was still a lot left.
Maybe he wouldn't go to class.
"MATT!"
With an irritated sigh Matt threw down the magazine he was reading and rolled off his bed. He walked out of his room and to the top of the stairs. Elijah sat at the bottom of the stairs. "What?"
"I just called to inform you that you don't have to come straight home tomorrow. You're coming with me and Aaron."
"And where are you going? And what does any of it have to do with me?"
"It has nothing to do with you. We're going to this restaurant. Every few months they have this huge teen dance night. Aaron and I set up the sound system."
"Why can't I just stay here with the others? Why do I have to go?" Matt asked.
"No one else is going to be home," Elijah explained. "Tera's got a doctors appointment, Natalie's taking her, Sora's doing some stuff at school, and Tai's got a job interview."
"What about Taylor?"
Elijah laughed. "You think I'm going to leave you alone with Taylor? There's no way in hell!"
"Then why can't I stay by myself?" Matt suggested.
"Rules are rules, Matt. No one is allowed to stay by themselves. Once you prove you're trustworthy, you can ask Gennai. But until then, Gennai says you can go with us or he can hire a tutor for you."
"Fine. I'll go," he snapped.
"Yeah, besides, going to a tutor would mean you'd have to go to class," Elijah taunted.
Matt stomped off to his room in a huff. Just because he chose to ditch the first day of school, Gennai grounded him. He had to come straight home after school for a week. He slammed the door to his room and walked back to his bed. He glanced over at TK who had been sitting at the desk working on his homework. Now the younger boy just had his head resting on his textbook.
"You alright, TK?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." He lifted his head. "Just tired. P.E. wiped me out today."
"Lay down," Matt suggested.
"Can't. I got a lot of homework."
"Fine." Matt left it at that. He really didn't want to fight with TK.
"And we're getting there how?" Matt asked as he followed Aaron and Taylor through the halls of the school.
"Bus," Aaron replied.
"Yay," Matt cheered cynically.
"At what point in your life did you realize you weren't a very nice person?" Aaron asked, briefly looking over his shoulder.
Before Matt could snap back Elijah wheeled over to them. "Ready to go?" Aaron nodded. "Hey Matt, glad to see you could join us. You look so happy."
"Can we just go?" Matt rolled his eyes. "The sooner we get back the better."
"Let's go." Elijah led the way out the school doors.
They walked/wheeled down the hot sidewalk that wrapped around the school and to the bus stop. It was crammed with kids all waiting for the city bus. Matt spotted Trevor among them. He walked over to him. "Hey dude."
Trevor, dressed in his usual black jeans, black shirt, and denim vest, grinned at him. "Hey man. What'cha doin' waitin' for the bus? I thought 'cha ride with the rest of those losers."
"I do. Usually. But our rides got some place to be and unfortunately I'm stuck riding with them." He pointed at Aaron, Elijah, and Taylor.
"Mr. Popular, Wheels, and Odd Ball. How'd you get stuck ridin' with them in the first place?" He lit a cigarette. "Not that I care," he added.
"Boarding house."
Trevor nodded. "Want a puff?"
"Nah, can't let them see me smoke. They'll put me on the patch or something drastic."
"That sucks." Trevor glanced around. He turned his dark eyes back to Matt and said in a low voice, "So what else do you do?"
"Huh?"
"Drugs. What kind do you do? I could probably hook you up with whatever you want or need."
Matt held up his hands. "None. Drugs aren't my thing."
"You like a good buzz?"
"Every now and again," Matt shrugged.
"Then I got yer back." He unzipped his backpack and pulled out a blue sports drink bottle. "Take a swig."
Matt took the bottle and examined it. He glanced at Trevor suspiciously before unscrewing the top and taking a drink. The stuff tasted toxic and filled his nose with a nauseating smell. He swallowed, coughing and choking, trying to force it down his throat. His gag reflex kicked in and half of the stuff came back up onto the grass behind the bus stop. He wiped the remaining liquid off his chin. "What the hell is that stuff? It tasted like liquefied cigarette butts and dish soap!"
"And when have you tasted liquefied cigarette butts with dish soap? It's my own brew, dude. Give a nice buzz faster with less alcohol in your system," Trevor grinned.
"But its still beer?"
"Yep. But don't turn it down quite yet. Wait a minute."
"Fine," Matt shrugged. It's not like he had a choice, the bus hadn't arrived yet. Suddenly Matt felt light headed and felt himself start to fall back. Trevor caught his arm, chuckling. "Wow, that was fast. This is a little nice."
"And there's plenty more where it came from. But it'll cost ya."
"What?"
"This shit ain't cheap. I got a lot of orders, I have to make some sort of profit," Trevor explained.
"How much?"
The bus chose that time to show up. The 20 or so kids climbed onto the bus and put in their money or showed their passes and took a seat. Aaron, Taylor, and Eli sat at the front. Matt walked passed them and went to the back where Trevor was leaning against the window.
Matt took a seat, laughing at the disgusting quality of the seats. "Dude, yer wasted. Is this the first drink you've ever had?" Trevor laughed.
"No. I've drank a few times before," Matt shrugged feeling his intelligence leave him completely.
"What? Snuck a sip from yer old man?" Trevor asked.
"No!" His father was dead sober. Hadn't touched any alcohol in eight years. Not since his mom left. "I was in a band. Our drummer brought it to gigs."
"How touching." Trevor started coughing and took a drink from the blue bottle. "Anyway. Back to the subject at hand. This stuff is fifteen bucks a bottle. That's 20 ounces."
"Fifteen bucks?!"
"Shut up! Just keep it down and keep yer cool. Don't start wiggin' on me!"
"Wiggin'?"
"Don't freak on me, dude! Listen, you want a better deal? I'm a bargainer. Here's what I can do. For every OTHER bottle I will throw in a free pack of smokes," Trevor offered.
Matt thought about the offer. Pretty sweet deal. And it was a nice buzz. Just think what would happen if he hadn't spit most of it out. Now, how would he get the money?"
"Okay, it'll take a day or two for me to get the money, but it's a deal."
"Great. Believe me, it'll be a great rush. I can get you an advancement, but you have to pay me back with interest."
"No, I'll bring you the money."
The bus stopped and Aaron and Taylor stood up. "This is my stop, I guess."
"Here have another sip." Matt took the container and took a long drink. He handed it back before getting up and jumped out the doors just as they were about to close.
Eli, Aaron, and Taylor stared at him. "Hello. Here," Aaron tossed Matt's his blue messenger bag. "You forgot this at the bus stop."
"Thanks. I forgot about it," Matt thanked him.
"Obviously," Elijah replied. He turned away and began wheeling away from them. The rest followed obediently. They stopped in front of a large building with Viva written in big letters across the front.
"This is the place?" Matt asked.
"Yeah. It's really cool. It takes them a few days to get everything set up. The people who run it don't mind closing their doors for that time. So we'll be coming here for a few days," Aaron explained.
"You don't have to come that whole time though," Elijah interrupted.
They approached the doors and he knocked. An older Mexican man appeared. "Hola Elijah," his accent made it obvious he wasn't a Tucson native. "Hola Aaron."
"Hola Mr. Chirano," Aaron replied with the perfect Spanish accent to his words. (A/N: Pronounced Chee-ron-o. Roll the R.) "We're here to set up the sound system."
"Okay. Who are your friends?" He asked looking at Matt and Taylor.
"This is Matt, he's staying at the house with us," Aaron introduced.
"Nice to meet you Matt," Mr. Chirano shook his hand.
"Nice to meet you too," Matt nodded politely.
"And this girl you've already met." Aaron pulled Taylor to stand beside him. "This is Taylor, remember?"
"This isn't Taylor! She's too tall. Muy bonito!" Taylor blushed under the attention.
"Say thank you, Taylor," Elijah whispered to her.
"It's alright. If the little one doesn't talk then don't make her speak on my account," Mr. Chirano excused. "Come on in. My boys are bringing in the equipment now."
"Yes sir."
They filed in and walked through the waiting area of the restaurant. They passed into a huge room where chairs and tables were pushed back leaving a large space in the middle. A stage was set up on the other side of the room.
"They have live bands?" Matt asked Aaron.
"Yeah, usually locals, unless they can score someone good," Aaron replied.
Two tall Mexican boys came in through a side door carrying a big black block. They set it down by the stage. They glanced over at group, looking relatively annoyed. "Hola Aaron. Todavía jugando con tu amigos de gringo," one of the boys asked.
"Shut up," Aaron snapped.
The guys just laughed. They looked to Mr. Chirano. "The stuff is all out of the back room, grandpa," one said, the other boy, not Sam.
"Good. Then we can leave Aaron, Eli, and their friends to set it up," Mr. Chirano suggested. The three began to walk out the door the boys had come through.
"What did that guy say?" Matt asked.
"You don't want to know," Aaron replied.
"Why?!" Matt yelled.
Aaron laughed. "Why don't you and Taylor go work on your homework at the bar," Elijah ordered Matt. "Its off that way." He pointed back through the waiting area. "Taylor can show you where."
Matt shrugged and followed Taylor out of the room. They walked through the waiting room and through another door. They sat down at a bar, just like Elijah instructed.
Matt stared at his blank notebook page with 'What does politics mean to me?' written across the top. His mind really didn't care about politics. He crossed out the title and wrote 'how am I going to get twenty bucks?' He let an aggravated sigh and Taylor looked up at him.
"What?" He snapped. She continued to stare. "Boo!" She looked back down at her homework. He chuckled to himself. He still felt pretty good after the stuff Trevor gave him.
"Matt, Taylor." The two looked up and saw Aaron and Elijah in the doorway. "Aaron and I have to run to the hardware store down the road. We'll be back in fifteen minutes. Mr. Chirano is at his home, out back. We'll bring back something for you to eat." Elijah turned his chair away and stopped he looked back. "Oh, and Matt."
"Yeah?" Matt asked.
"Behave." With that said Elijah wheeled away and Aaron followed laughing.
"Me? Why me?" Matt asked aloud to no one. Taylor held a small smile on her face. "Your younger then me, why not you?" She laughed, which was just as silent as she was. "What are you laughing at, Harpo?"
She looked back down at her homework. With a snort of annoyance he looked down at his own page and began to doodle. A few minutes later he saw Taylor get off the bar stool she was sitting on and walked out of the room. His eyes followed her before looking back down at his doodle filled page.
A few minutes later music filled the air. Matt looked up and realized it was coming from the room with the stage. He got up off the stool, closed his notebook, and walked through the waiting room. He peeked into the large dance room and stared in surprise.
Taylor sat on the stage, microphone in hand, singing along to the music. He crossed his arms and leaned against the frame of the door as he listened to her.
"You found hope, you found faith. Found how fast she could take it away. Found true love, but lost your heart. Now you don't know who you are," she sang. He smiled. She sang beautiful. "She made it easy, made it free. Made you hurt till you couldn't see. Sometimes it stops, sometimes it flows. But baby, that is how love goes." For a kid who doesn't talk she sure was good. "You will fly and you will crawl. God knows even angels fall. No such thing as you've lost it all. God knows even angels fall."
To be honest, Matt hated the song. Well, this was the first time he had heard it, but it wasn't his kind of music. But the way she sang it, indescribable. Compared to her a chorus of angels sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard.
"It's a secret no one tells. One day its heaven, one day its hell. And it's no fairy tale, take it from me. That's the way it's supposed to be. You will fly and you will crawl. God knows even angels fall. No such thing as you've lost it all. God knows even angels fall." She had her eyes closed as she concentrated on the music. "You laugh, you cry, no on knows why. But oh, the thrill of it all. You're on the ride. You might as well, open your eyes. You will fly and you will crawl. God knows even angels fall. No such thing as you've lost it all. God knows even angels fall."
The song ended and Matt clapped. With a jump Taylor looked up at him, dropping the microphone.
"That was good, I-"
Before he could finish the sentence she jumped up and ran past him nearly knocking him over. She ran for the door, right past Aaron and Eli who had just returned carrying white paper bags. She knocked Aaron to the floor. "Taylor?" He yelled. He jumped off the floor and ran after her.
Eli looked up at Matt, dropping the bags, and grabbed the front of his shirt. "What did you do to her?"
Matt wrestled away from him. "I didn't do anything to her! She just ran off."
"Sure." With a sigh he looked out the door and his eyes searched the street. "I have to work on the system. Keep an eye out for them. And this time, leave Taylor alone."
"I didn't do anything to her," Matt repeated. But Eli was already wheeling himself out of the room.
Matt stared up at the bottom of TK's bunk. It was three in the morning and he couldn't sleep. Earlier he had sent TK to bed with a fever, the kid was probably getting sick. The flu or something, it was probably nothing.
Matt was bored. He just could not get to sleep. It seemed impossible. He wasn't the only one. Down the hall he could hear Tera and Kari talking.
With a sigh he got up. He reached under his bed and pulled a bulky black case. He slipped it over his shoulder and walked out of the dark room. He bounded down the stairs and slipped into the kitchen. The stainless steal kitchen glittered in the moonlight that seeped through the windows. He stepped through, trying to muffle the squeak of his shoes.
He jumped at the sound of clattering from above. He looked up and saw the bulky case smacking against pots and pans that hung above the island in the middle of the kitchen. He froze, listening for the sounds of people in the house waking up. Nothing but silence filled the air. With a sigh of relief he continued to the back door.
He slipped out into the cool night, shutting the door as softly as possible. He didn't want anybody to know he was out; odds were they'd have a cow. He especially didn't want anyone to know what he was doing.
The great part about this place was that no one technically had a backyard. Nothing fenced in. There was just acres of open land set out in front of him. Something she could use, just to get away from people.
After walking for a bit he glanced back. The dark house was out of sight, hidden by trees. He set down the black case and seated himself in the grass, leaning against a large tree. The chitchats clicked overhead. But they were easy to ignore and forget about.
He opened the black case and pulled out a blue note book. He tossed it aside. He really should burn that thing. Or at least just throw it away. He wouldn't need it EVER again. Next he pulled out his guitar. His mom had sent it to him through the mail after he had deliberately left it in Japan. He really didn't want it; music was no longer a part of his life. But it felt good to have it back in his hands.
He strummed the guitar, tuning it as he went. It was badly out of tune. He played with the strings, experimenting with a tune. He had learned a lot of different songs since he had come to America. He had borrowed CDs from everyone in the house, experimenting with different sounds. They were all different. Elijah had hard alternative music that did nothing for Matt except hurt his ears. Natalie liked Christian rock, a little too preachy for him. Tera liked rock, something he could relate too, but she also liked alternative like her brother. Taylor liked pop, nerdy boy bands jumping around a stage. They were pathetic; they couldn't even play their own instruments. And Aaron liked rap and R&B. Not too bad.
He finally decided on a tune and began playing. He hummed to himself, bouncing his head and closing his eyes. His foot tapped along to the beat as he sank into the music.
He stopped playing at the sound of footsteps. His eyes open and he saw Taylor hiding behind a tree with her head slightly poking out. "I can see you, Taylor." She stepped out, shyly pushing a blond strand of hair out of her face. "What are you doing out here? Isn't it past your bed time?" She gave a shrug and sat down. "Listen, kid, I came out here to be by myself. So scram!"
She shook her head. Taking hold of his hand she forced it open and placed a folded sheet of paper in it. He took it and unfolded it. "Thank you," he read. He looked up at her, eyebrow raised. "For what?" She just stared at him. "I don't even know why I try talking to you. You don't talk."
She ignored him and ran her hand over his guitar, lightly touching the strings. It made a small sound and she quickly pulled away as if it had snapped at her. "You like it?" She nodded. "Would you like me to play?" She smiled and nodded.
He started to play again. He watched her. Her eyes were dead set on the guitar and they flickered with every move of his hand. "You like music?" He asked. She nodded. "You sing well." She put her head down. "What? Embarrassed I heard you sing?" She nodded. "So I'm guessing I can't hear you again." He eyes widened and she shook her head. "Too bad. I liked it."
He continued to play in silence. Not that he expected much noise. She didn't talk and he wasn't the biggest talker in the world. In fact, it just annoyed him when people talked a lot. Maybe that's why Mimi and Yolie really annoyed him.
"Can I hear you sing?" A small whispering voice asked. Her face looked worried and her blue eyes shone with a nervous uncertainty.
"So, you can talk," he said with a small smirk. She bit her lip and hung her head. "Listen. I'll make you a deal. You sing for me," she shook her head again. "And I'll let you hear me."
"I don't know," she replied, her voice just as soft as before.
"Well, not today. Tomorrow. Its too late for you to be up," he mocked her. He put away his guitar and pushed himself off the grass. He started to walk away, pulling the case strap on his shoulder.
There was a tap on his shoulder. He looked down and saw Taylor offering his blue notebook to him. He ripped it from her hands. "How you get that?" She pointed back to where they had been sitting. He threw it in that direction. "Leave it." He turned his back to her and began to walk away again. "Good night Harpo."
I finally got it done! This was the hardest chapter yet; I swear I can't write Matt. It is so hard!!! But I got it done and it was not fun at all… I hope it was good. And now its time for Mr. Translator to come and talked to all you Spanish impaired.
Viva- Long live
Muy bonito- Very beautiful
Todavía jugando con tu amigos de gringo- Still playing with your white friends
Gringo- It's a mean version of white boy (slang)
Anyway please review!