I watch him play his video-game without saying a word. He seems so happy, relaxed and it doesn't hurt me to sit here, on his couch, watching him for just a little while longer. The fierce clicking as he mashes the buttons on his PS2 controller are barely audible over the loud bangs and screams emanating from the game. I'm pretty sure that he's winning.
There is a chocolate bar laying untouched on the coffee table in front of me. Somehow, it doesn't look too appetizing. Maybe the many years of my constant consumption of that delightful drug have finally taken their toll. I don't know.
The room is suddenly quiet. I look up, only to notice that Matt has turned off the PS2 and is now wrapping a cord around the controller that he had been using. He seems to be engulfed in the process. I feel like saying something; complaining about something.
"I'm not backing out, y'know. So learn to deal with it."
I stare at Matt, startled by his sudden retort. "What?"
He stands and advances toward me. I look up at him as he stops in front of me. His blue are just visible behind those orange-tinted goggles. I can tell he is serious.
"The plan. Kidnapping Takada. I'm gonna be with you 'till the end."
"Don't say that." I order him. "You make it sound like we'll die."
Matt is silent for a moment. He sits down on the couch next to me. He doesn't speak. Nor do I. What kind of things are you supposed to say in a situation like this? That everything will be okay? That everything will go as planned? That we'll make it out alive? Only fairy-tales ended with "happily ever after"…..
…..didn't they?
Finally Matt looks at me. He takes my leather-clad hands in his own. I know that there is pain behind that strong façade. I know he must know that there is pain in my heart as well, but we are both too proud to admit it.
"Everything will be okay." He tells me softly. "I promise."