Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon.

This is an AU story, so the Digimon will not be mentioned aside from them being a popular television program. I was tempted to leave them in the story, but I decided against it at the last moment. The digidestined are still friends and know each other through school events and summer camps in this tale. This story focuses on the challenges of high school romance and the impending future. Change is the only constant thing in life, and this story will examine how some of our favorite characters fail and succeed in their efforts to handle said change.

Before we begin, I wanted to mention that the big examination for Japanese students (aka SAT/ACT for American readers) is typically held on a weekend in mid-January. The graduation ceremony is not held until March. The test is a once a year event so getting a low score forces most students to study for another year and try again next year.

Also, I wanted to say that this story was partially inspired by the novel 'Rainbow Road' by Alex Sanchez. It isn't a very long book, but I really enjoyed it.

All of the trouble started in late January…

It had been a rainy Wednesday, fitting for both the mixed emotions and the start of something new. The regular group had assembled inside a café downtown and tried hard to forget the cold rain beating on the windows. Hikari and Mimi had captured Sora, the newest café employee, for an unscheduled break and were quietly congratulating her on how well she had done on her high school exit exam. In fact, almost all the group members had been silently relishing their exam scores.

An unmistakable grin was plastered on Sora's face as she modestly thanked the girls for their compliments. Koushiro was actually ignoring the laptop sitting beside him on the table in favor of having an actual conversation with Iori and Miyako. I wasn't sure what the discussion was about, but I could hear a few technological words every now and then. Even Jou appeared to be letting his mind take a small break from his constant streak of worry. Then again, he was still writing feverishly on his notepad so it wasn't a huge leap for Jou-kind.

The plan had always been to take the test and go out to celebrate at some restaurant none of us could actually afford. On the first day of the new year, the upper classmen had gathered at the front of the school and made an official pact to try their hardest on the big test. As the months went by we kept good on the pact and studied hard, as well as dreamed about the future reward. And it had remained the plan, until Taichi had been given the devastating news.

"Hey." The brunet in question entered the café and seemed to notice the distrustful silence sweeping over the group.

"Hi, Tai..."

I couldn't help but wrinkle my nose as Taichi sat down beside me. He was coated in an odor that smelled suspiciously like sweat. After the disappointing news, everyone had attempted to offer Taichi some type of verbal comfort. It wasn't the boy's style, though. When faced with a dilemma, Taichi had never been the type to sit and stew over the options or possible future implications of a big event. He relied on a more physical approach that usually consisted of running around the soccer field till he was too tired to do anything besides collapse on the grass. I had been considerate enough to usher the group away so he could perform his sports ritual, but he hadn't been considerate enough to take a shower before re-joining us at the local hang out.

"Want a coffee?" Takeru looked up from the chocolate drink he had shared with Hikari and seemed to be the only one aware that the stiff silence was worse than fake chattering.

"I'll just share Yama-"

"Not after last time." I slid the container out of his reach and watched him try to pull a cute face, "If anything you owe me half a lunch from every day of the past school year."

"I thought we weren't talking about schoo-Ow!" Daisuke came out of his sugar coma long enough to sour the conversation and earn a swift jab in the ribs from Miyako. "What was that for?"

The glasses on her face slid down to give her an eerie look as she tried to nonchalantly motion towards Taichi. I had never been an expert in body language, but it seemed to me that a nonchalant stare was something made up by people who didn't understand facial cues. Although Miyako meant well, her bright brown eyes rolled rather obviously towards and away from the man of the hour. It wasn't lost on Taichi, by any means, and a frown settled over his face before he tried to set the group straight.

"I don't care if you guys talk about your scores. So, mine was a record low? It doesn't matter."

It didn't take a mind reader to tell that it did, in fact, matter a lot to Taichi. I had been beside him since we were kids and knew in my very soul that he wasn't dumb. Taichi was hardheaded, stubborn, and forgot to think before running into danger, but he was not unintelligent. It wasn't his fault that he froze on the big test. Tons of students across Japan couldn't handle the stress of that particular test. But for Taichi, it didn't seem to matter that he wasn't alone in his predicament. Losing his confidence on the test seemed to have affected him to his very core. It was like he had lost any confidence in the fact he possessed even an ounce of courage in his body.

"We didn't want to hurt your feelings." Sora tried to ease the situation by offering him a free beverage.

"Guys, I'm fine. I'll just re-take the test next year. Besides don't we have an evening of expensive food ahead of us? I don't know about you, but I am ready to eat the stuff that is good enough to earn a 3000 yen price tag."

A small laugh broke the group's silence and the others seemed comforted by Taichi's robust comments. Sora offered him a half-hug before rushing off to finish her shift behind the counter. Miyako, Hikari, and an overwhelmed looking Iori left the room to accompany Mimi on her shopping adventure. Apparently, she had absolutely nothing to wear, in her multiple, multiple closets, which would be appropriate for tonight's dinner. Daisuke, having been thoroughly energized by his sugary drink and chocolate cookie, taunted a tired looking Ken and Takeru till they agreed to accompany him to the gym. When Takeru locked eyes with me I couldn't fight the urge to mouth, 'Go easy on sir sugar'. When it came to basketball, my baby brother was definetly the most talented in the trio. I hadn't noticed Koushiro and Jou get up from the table, but I spotted them holding the door open for the girls before rushing off into the cold weather. A smile worked its way on my face as I watched Hikari offer her big brother a tight hug before running out the door after the others. It was the first time since the news drop that a real smile had spread over his tanned cheeks.

"So," I ventured the question that had burned in the back of my mind when we were finally left alone at the table, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine." The charade persisted as he took a long sip of his drink. The liquid burned his tongue and he set the cup on the table so hard that half of the contents sloshed over the side. "Besides, you did great. We should be celebrating."

I mopped up the spill with a napkin from the table dispenser and tried to decide if I should play along with this charade. Taichi wouldn't respond well if he were pushed, but I didn't feel right ignoring the subject. Besides, how was I supposed to submerge myself in celebrating my success when the person I cared about was hurting? Whoever made the test had managed to put in questions that I had studied pretty hard during the cram sessions at Sora's house. It wasn't like I had done anything to earn great acclaim so why bother making a big deal out of it? The important thing was making sure Taichi was-

"Is that your foot?" I whispered under my breath as a sly smirk came over his face.

"Maybe."

I could feel his sneaker casually rubbing my ankle under the table. The movement wasn't grand enough to draw the attention of the other patrons, but it was grand enough to pull my focus away from the issue at hand. The idea that Taichi wasn't above using physical means to escape the conversation, he had to know I wanted to have, wasn't too far-fetched. Our first kiss and first make out session had been products of his desire to stop my talking and move on to more pleasurable endeavors. Unlike me, the brunet didn't feel the need to analyze everything in his life before jumping into the water. Sora had once told me that it was that very fact that proved we worked as a couple. I kept him grounded and he kept me on my toes. If it was such a perfect ideal, why did I feel so bad trying to drag Taichi down from his blissful charade?

"We still have a few hours before we have to meet the others," He mumbled the comment and shifted slightly in his seat so our thighs could touch. Even in this odd emotional state, Taichi remained steadfast on giving off a perfectly straight appearance. Which he proved, by making a show of reaching past me for a sugar packet. If anyone had looked, which they weren't, it would have looked like I was just being unhelpful to my friend instead of a silent attempt to convince me to run away with him.

We had made a pact a while back to hold off on anything past making out until the test was over. For someone like Taichi, it had been cruel and unusual torture. We weren't a couple that thrived on public displays of affection, since it wasn't the smartest idea in most parts of town, so those small moments hidden in my apartment meant quite a bit to both of us. It wasn't like I had kicked him out of my life completely. There was only so many times I could try to talk him out of a lustful rage, though, so we had taken up studying in his apartment or any other public place. Our own personal plan had been to continue a private celebration after the dinner party. After everything that had happened, I wasn't sure if that was still the plan. As far as Taichi, and his constantly roaming foot, were concerned the plan seemed to be set in stone. In the pit of my stomach I felt a little odd feeding his denial with a private moment, but it had been such a long time since I had gotten a chance to hold him in my arms. There would always be tomorrow to talk about these things, right?

"Only if you shower first." I sipped my drink and noted the flavor had been lost due to the cooling temperature.

"It rained all the way here. Doesn't that count?" He pouted. Apparently, he had expected a more immediate yes to his request.

"Shower or wait till after dinner, choice is yours Tai." I laughed at his groan and couldn't help but feel the earlier tension begin to lighten. There was no point in figuring things out now. We could have a lovely dinner with friends and spend the night in each others arms. The rest of the future could wait for now.

"What's that?"

I blinked when Taichi's voice spoke up a little louder. He was pointing at a piece of paper sticking out of my pants pocket and seemed pretty interested in what it was. "It's nothing."

"Which means it is definitely something, in Yama-ese."

"Yama-ese?" An eyebrow raised out of habit as he nodded his head happily. "You created a language?"

"Oh no, you are the creator." He smiled at me and placed a hand on the base of my seat not covered by my backside. "It hasn't been recognized as an official language, but we are working on that."

"We?" He had my full attention by this point, which unfortunately left my guard down.

"Woah. Isn't this that school you told me about?"

As my brain snapped back into place, I realized Taichi had taken full advantage of the moment and stolen the paper from my pocket. He wasn't exactly the slipperiest thief in the world, but he could be quite conniving when the situation called for it. It seemed this situation had called for it in his opinion. My hand reached out to grab the paper from his tan one, but he avoided my attempt and tilted his body so I was staring at his back. Didn't he realize that I had been willing to play into his forget school for the day charade?

"It's just an academy in Hokkaido." I tried and failed to take it back once again. "There isn't anything special about the school."

"Yamato, you have talked about this place since the first day of senior high. I remember because you were always looking up Hokusai Katsushika University on my computer. My mom always asked why the browser history was full of HKU. "

"Alright, fine. It is an application to a school. But it doesn't matter I was just going to throw it away. "

Taichi peeled off the sticky note on the wrinkled application and waved it in front of my face, "Throw it away? It looks like Aono-sensei really thinks you could make it."

The Hokusai University had been on my radar for a rather long time. It was situated in the northern most part of Hokkaido; Wakkanai, to be exact. The town wasn't notoriously big, but it housed the most magnificent art college in Japan. I had never expected to go into any kind of higher education, but after my music teacher had showed me how many of my idols had gone to this university I was sold. The rest of my band mates had already been planning on going to different schools once we graduated. Back then, applying had seemed like a perfectly reasonable thing to do. Of course, that was back before I realized Taichi was going to be stuck in Odaiba for another year at the least. Not to mention the fact the school had some of the strictest application processes of any school. Even if my test grades were good enough, I still had to give them a performance sample of both acting and singing skills. Why try when the odds of getting in were so low?

"You are going to do it right?"

Taichi's face held a new light of bizarre optimism. Unlike his usual childish grin, this one seemed strangely more adult. As if he were disappointed I hadn't jumped on the opportunity, but was willing to give me a chance to change my answer. The parental look wasn't helping the mood of the situation, but the brunet was like a dog with a bone when he got stuck on something. The only thing I could do was try and use his own tactics against him.

"You know," I smiled at him as seductively as I could in the café, "If we are going to do anything we should probably head out now."

"Will you look into the school? And take Aono-sensei's offer to write you a letter of recommendation?" He was remaining out-of-characterly steadfast.

"I'll see what I can do okay?" I leaned in and let my leg cross over the other. The tip of my shoe rubbed his knee and I could see the determination being chased from his face by a new, more animalistic emotion.

"Deal." He set the paper on the table and excused himself to the bathroom before we started the long walk to my place.

A sigh of relief escaped my mouth as I folded the application into a neat square and tossed it into the trashcan beside the door. I still wasn't sure how this afternoon had started with me trying to comfort Taichi about his school issues and ended with him trying to sell me on the joys of university. It didn't feel quite right being offered a chance, as small as the chance may be, to move ahead when Taichi was still struggling behind me. If I was any type of boyfriend, wasn't I supposed to help him here?

The blue sticky note on the application caught my eye and sprouted a small seed of disappointment in my heart. If I was being honest with myself, I wanted to go to that school. I had worked hard on the test to earn a grade good enough for the prestigious school and I had received a score more than high enough to meet the requirements. Everything had seemed like it was going in the right direction, until the bottom fell out. It didn't matter, though. At least, I kept trying to dig up reasons to prove that statement. I wanted to be with Taichi and he was here. I had no guarantee that I would get in to the school. There were plenty of other schools closer that I could get into with my test grade alone. So I wouldn't be studying music with the people who had trained my idols? I could make it without that school. And that was exactly what I was planning on repeating in my mind till every fiber of my being believed the message.

"Alright," Taichi stepped outside of the café to join me on the sidewalk, before pausing and looking back towards the café. "Actually, could you wait just a second? I forgot to tell Sora something."

"Sure." I leaned against the wall and kept repeating my new mantra.

"Okay," Tai reemerged quickly with his hands forcefully stuffed into his pockets. The behavior was odd, even for Taichi, but I wasn't going to question him. For all I knew, he could have felt the January air was a little colder than I did and needed to protect his bare hands.

"What was it you said to Sora?" I asked casually as we started the walk to my home.

"Just wanted to make sure she had the right time for the dinner party."

Something was off, but I wasn't sure what just yet, "But, Sora is the one who made the reservation. You know she has the correct time."

"Maybe I forgot the time, okay?" He laughed the statement off, but it did little to ease my suspicions.

End of chapter 1! : ) The chapter titles for this story are all going to be song titles from the 30s through 70s music. The idea came to me after talking to another fanfiction author, Kal-El Fornia. If you get a chance check out his stories. You will not be disappointed. : )

As for the next chapter, we will get to see more of the trouble mentioned in the first line. If you're the readers I think you are, then you will have ideas already brewing in your minds. (Anyone catch the Dr. Seuss reference there? Lol.)