D/C: I don't own Digimon.

Hello! Wow, it's been ages since I last wrote a Digimon fic; it feels good to finally get back to those characters! Hehe, well, anyway, I'll stop being a blabbermouth now and let you get on with the story, okay? Happy Reading!

SWITCH

Chapter 1:

'And he gets around his opponent, and he dribbles, and he shoots!...aahh...'

Grinning, Matt jumped and caught the ball as it rebounded off the rim of the basket, and then, with one swift movement, he jumped back again and slipped the ball in through the basket. His friend, Tai was looking absolutely livid by the time Matt had caught the ball again and threw it at him.

Tai caught the ball. 'How come I've only managed to score ten points while you've managed to score at least forty, eh?' he demanded. 'Admit it, you've been cheating!'

Matt rolled his eyes. 'Tai, mate, you can't cheat in basketball; it's not even remotely possible...this is called talent,' he drawled. He switched to a defense position. 'Now, come on, let's have one last go at the ball before we get out of here.'

Tai raised an eyebrow as he dribbled the ball between his legs. 'One last go?' he repeated. 'Why? Afraid that my luck might change and I'll win the game?'

'No,' Matt replied, and before Tai could react, he had stolen the ball from him and was making his way to the basket. Tai had barely caught up with him when he scored. As he bent down to fetch the ball, all the time cursing his luck, Matt pointed up at the sky. 'But it looks like it's going to pour.'

Sure enough, the sky was thick with dark clouds. As they looked up at it, a bolt of lightning flashed across it, followed by a low rumble. They quickly pulled on their sweaters, hoisted their backpacks over their shoulders and hurried out of the basketball court. They had barely made it through the exit when fat raindrops started pelting them. It was only a few moments before it had started to pour. Matt and Tai ran for it. It certainly didn't help that the basketball court was inside the park, and the park's gate was still far away.

'Dammit! There was nothing about rain in the weather forecast!' Tai protested, pulling the hood of his sweater over his head. He had to shout to make himself heard over the din. Around them, lamps flickered ominously and lightning flashed above them, and Tai felt himself shuddering, and it wasn't just because of the cold. 'Don't they always warn against being out in the open when there's lightning at work?'

Matt smiled nervously, and pushed his wet hair out of his eyes. 'That's it, Tai...always look on the bright side,' he said sarcastically.

But when another bolt of lightning flashed across the sky and lit the whole place up, they both started running as fast as their feet could carry them. Matt wore out after a few moments, which was bound to happen considering they had been playing basketball for almost two hours. He leaned against a lamppost as he tried to recollect his breath. Tai slowed down and looked back at him. His eyes widened.

'Matt, you idiot!' he snapped. 'What the hell do you think you're doing?'

Matt scowled at him. 'Shut up,' he shot up. 'I'm resting; that's what I'm doing.'

Tai marched back towards them. 'You're leaning against a lamppost, you dope! That's what you're doing!' he told him. He tugged at his arm. 'Don't you know that that's one of the most dangerous things to do while there's lightning around? You could get...!'

But he never got to complete his sentence as a bolt of lightning hit the lamppost. It had all happened in an instance; one second Tai had been tugging at Matt's arm, the second they were both being electrocuted out of their skin. It ended as quickly as it started, and they both slumped down to the ground. Tai lay flat on his stomach, while Matt stayed up on all fours. Their eyes were wide with shock, being more surprised at being alive than being hit by a bolt of lightning. They were ashen-faced and their clothes had gotten battered, but they were still alive. They looked at each other, as if to confirm that...and they stared.

'Shit,' they both said in unison.

-

Matt and Tai stood side by side on the pavement, their thumbs held out as they waited for a cab. Their faces were totally expressionless, even though they kept stealing glances at each other every now and then.

'M-Matt?' Tai said uncertainly. He was feeling completely numb; he couldn't even feel the rain on him.

The brunette standing next to him looked back with terrified eyes. 'Y-yes, Tai?' he stammered. They were both silent for a few moments. 'Dammit! This can't be happening! We can't have switched! Give me my damn body back!'

Tai glared at him. 'You think I want to be stuck in your body?' he shot back. He pushed his blond hair away from his face. 'And may I remind you that we're only stuck in this situation because your highness decided that he wants to rest by some bloody lamppost? It's you're fault we've been switched! Now fix this!'

'Fix this?' Matt said incredulously. 'You think I want to be hit by a bolt of lightning a second time? No, thank you!'

'So, what are we supposed to do?' Tai demanded, his voice rising. 'Stay like this forever? I should think not!'

'Well, same here! But unless you've got some genius plan which will get us back in our bodies, I think that's what going to happen!' Matt exploded. He pushed Tai's brown locks away from his face. 'Dammit! How can you even stand your hair?'

'That's it!' Tai snapped. He jabbed a finger in Matt's chest. 'Apologize! You have no right to make fun of my hair! You know it's my most prized possession!'

'Whatever,' Matt said irritably. 'If we stay like this, I'm getting you a haircut.'

Tai's eyes widened in shock. 'A haircut?' he repeated. 'Oh, no, you won't! You're not laying one finger on my hair, do you understand that?'

A car honked next to them and they both jumped. They looked around to see a yellow cab standing next to them. The driver peered out at them through the passenger window. 'Hey, kids, I don't mean to interrupt your lovers' quarrel, but could you please get in?' he drawled. 'I haven't got all day, y'know.'

They both stared at him.

'Lovers?' Matt repeated, his face turning a delicate shade of red. 'What the hell are you talking about?'

Tai, now in Matt's body, had fairer skin, and his face showed the deep shade of crimson he had become. 'We're not lovers!' he said, laughing. He thumped Matt on the back. 'We're actually...arguing about a girl, yeah!'

He nudged Matt in the side, and he nodded vigorously. 'Yeah, what he said,' he said to driver. He offered him a charming smile, but he was rather uncertain about whether it looked charming on Tai's face. 'Sorry to keep you waiting, sir.'

They both climbed into the car, and after the few moments in which they told the driver the place they were headed, they had both lapsed into silence. Neither of them dared to look at the other. Matt was afraid to look around and see his own body sitting next to him, and Tai was terrified of the idea that Matt's soul was inhibiting his body. When they had both found out what had happened to them, they had thought for sure that the shock had jumbled up their brain cells and that they were having some kind of hallucination, but after a while, they realized that this was real, and that they had really exchanged bodies. They didn't know how that happened, but it certainly didn't make the situation any more appealing.

The driver dropped them off at Matt's place, and they both headed quietly into the building. They took the lift to the seventh floor and headed towards the apartment door. Matt reached into his pocket for the keys, but couldn't find them anywhere. Then he paused as he remembered that the keys were in his jeans' pocket, and not Tai's.

He glanced at Tai. 'Mate, give me the keys,' he murmured. Tai looked startled for a moment, and then comprehension dawned on his face. He started to reach inside the pockets. 'The left pocket, please.'

Tai fetched the keys out of the pocket and handed them to Matt, who in turn unlocked the door. They both stepped inside. They were both still dripping wet and were already making a puddle of water at the door.

'We'd better go change,' Matt muttered. 'We're making a total mess. My dad...oops, I meant your dad will kill you.'

Tai glared at him. 'Matt, it's not funny, alright?' he snapped. 'Our situation is nothing to be joked about! This is serious!'

'I know it's serious, you idiot!' Matt shot back. 'So, will you please stop jumping down my throat every time I say something? Jeez!'

'Boys?' Mr. Ishida peered out at them through the kitchen door, and they both froze in their tracks. He stepped out of the kitchen, full in a pink apron, and frowned at them; they both had to resist the urge to laugh. 'I thought I heard you arguing...is something wrong?'

'What? Oh, no, everything's fine, dad,' Matt said quickly. 'Nothing important. Don't worry about it!'

Mr. Ishida nodded slowly. 'Well, that's great, Taichi, but why are you calling me dad?' he asked, confused, and they both froze again. Mr. Ishida chuckled. 'I hope you're not thinking of having me adopt you, because handling two kids is just about enough from me.'

Matt smiled nervously. 'Uh...yeah,' he said. 'Sorry about that, Mr. Ishida!'

'Okay, good...now, for Christ's sake, go change! You're dripping all over the floor!' Mr. Ishida told them, looking over at their muddy clothes and at the puddle of water forming. 'Now, go! Bathroom, now! Sheesh, and I just mopped the whole house!'

They both hurried to the bathroom, glad for a reason to get out of Mr. Ishida's sight. Matt went in first, and Tai slouched around in his room till the latter finished. He glanced around at the unmade queen-sized bed, the posters which covered the walls, the fan letters scattered everywhere, the school bag which was stashed in a corner, the desk on which lay a laptop which Matt only ever used to answer to his emails...and he felt a slight shudder run up his spine as he realized that this may become his life later on, and this his room. Matt came in a few moments later wrapped in a bathrobe. He fetched some clothes out of the closet and pulled them on. Tai watched silently as his friend tried to pull a comb through his brown hair, and almost laughed at his feeble attempts.

'Crap!' Matt grumbled, throwing the comb to the floor in frustration. 'How do you deal with this thing?'

'Let me do for you...it's my hair, after all,' Tai offered. 'Where do you keep the hair gel?'

He fetched the hair gel. Matt sat down on a chair and Tai set about fixing his hair. Neither of them said a word to each other. When Tai was done, he set the comb and the gel on the desk and glanced back at Matt, who was still sitting on the chair. Tai had to admit that it was pretty freaky to see his own body sitting in front of him.

'Matt,' he said quietly. 'We're in trouble, aren't we?'

Matt met his gaze. 'Are you kidding me? We're in deep shit!' he cried out. 'I've had to take a shower in your body, dammit!'

-

A/N: There! I'm done! How was that for my first chapter? Pretty cool, innit? I particularly liked the last line! (laughs) Mind you, I wrote this while it was raining outside; it was pretty freaky! Especially since there were lots of lightning at work then! Well, anyway, if you did like the story, then would you be a dear and review? It's my brithday today, so be nice! Ooh, and wait for my next chappie!

- S. N. B.