Hello my dears. Thanks for waiting. I'm glad that you're back to read this newer chapter and if you're new, thanks for checking out my story. I present to you, the next chapter!
Voila~!
So as a brief recap of the last chapter: Matthew is invited to go to Gilbert's party and is so nervous; he wants to hole up in his room for a while. In that time he falls asleep.
Darkness started to ebb away and his dream slowly faded. His body and mind were becoming conscious of the bed, the sheets and the stuffed bear jammed under his side.
"…Mattie…" A voice called softly. "Mattie…" It got louder as a hand pressed into his shoulder and rocked him awake. "Come on, Mattie…it's already noon…get up. Francis told me to wake you up. He told me you were going to a party…come on…" His brother sounded like he was about to start whining. Matthew hated when people whined, so he turned over and pulled himself awake.
"Alright…I'm up…" He groaned as he squinted one eye and rubbed his palm into the other.
"Cool. Come down stairs when you want breakfast or lunch. I made grilled cheese sandwiches." Alfred turned on his heel and left, leaving the door ajar. Matthew groaned again and turned over to press his face into the pillows. Sure he was awake, but that never meant he wanted to get out of bed.
He pointed his feet and stretched his legs, curling his toes and cracking stiff joints. He arms reached above him and fingers curled around the headboard as he breathed deeply, blood circulating much easier throughout his body. When he relaxed again, exhaling as he did so, warm trails of tingling tendrils curled along his spine and down his thighs. He dragged himself away from the warm sheets and checked his phone.
One missed call from Antonio. One voicemail.
Good morning! I would say that in Spanish, but you don't strike me as a Spanish speaker. Anyway, I'm going to have to pick you up half an hour later than planned. I have to fill in and complete the last half hour of someone's shift at work. They had some appointment or something. Anyway, be ready by three thirty! I'll text you when I'm outside. Adios!
Matthew plugged his phone into the charger and shuffled around his room getting dressed. Before he walked out, he looked over himself in the mirror. He was dressed in a red hoodie with ripped skinny jeans. Checking his phone he noticed he had three hours to do what he wanted. He decided he would take a walk after he ate.
.
.
Downstairs in the kitchen, Alfred hummed as he shoveled grilled cheese sandwiches in his mouth. Matthew rolled his eyes as he ate his sandwich standing at the counter. It was pretty good. The Munster cheese was melted perfectly on the buttered bread and the tomatoes were just ripe. The orange juice, freshly squeezed, was almost perfection on his taste buds.
After he finished, he placed his dishes in the sink. Alfred said, for once, that he would wash them. Matthew grabbed his keys and phone before he sunk his feet into his shoes and walked outside.
There was a slight gloomy cloud cover, but Matthew liked it like that. At least he wouldn't sweat his ass off and the sun wouldn't blind him or burn his face through the lenses of his glasses.
He walked around the neighborhood, admiring the neat houses and nicely trimmed yards before he ventured further, into the outskirts of downtown. The streets were loitered with people shopping, looking to eat, and chatting. Some smart people carried their umbrellas, just in case at any moment it would rain. Others, like Matthew, left them at home. Deeper in the maze of buildings and streets, the crowd grew a little heavier.
He eyed a Kava Bar and fumbled in his pockets. He had left his wallet at home, but luckily he had thought to stuff his debit card in his back pocket. What a great way to spend the next few hours; sitting in a Kava Bar relaxing.
The place was small and dark inside. All kinds of tables were set up here and there; a chess table, some glass box filled with wood and vines, wrapped in neon lights, a tree stump. The chairs were random too. Matthew felt like he had walked into a dark version of Wonderland, or a rainforest. Relaxing music played from an unknown source and he studied the bar. It was framed by a large tree-like statue. He would have believes the tree to be real if he hadn't know that he was inside of a building. The top of the tree branched out across the ceiling and only thin streams of green light peaked through the fake wood and leaves. The walls were painted in all kinds of nature designs; trees, Egyptian eyes, swirls of blues and purples, a naked woman, flowers, mushrooms; it was hypnotizing.
The bartender approached him and he ordered one Kava drink. Paying for it, he took the coconut cup with one hand and grabbed the small plate with pine apple on it. He took the table in the far back and settled comfortably in the plush chair. His table was an overly, large jar splattered on the inside with soft glowing neon paint. There was only one couple in the front. They were seated at the chess table.
He downed the bitter drink in one swig, before placing a slice of pineapple on his tongue and settling back. Closing his eyes he waited for the tingle of the herb on his tongue. The music sounded like chimes bowling softly in the wind. The chimes were relaxing and they carried him away from the daily worries that usually plagued his mind. He drifted into a meditation state.
.
.
After meditating for about an hour, Matthew started to feel the slight tingle of his taste buds. He opened his eyes and brought his mind back to the real world, where he sat in the now empty Kava Bar. The bartender had gone in the back for something.
He glanced to his side and picked up a book that was on the short book shelf next to his table.
The Slave Species of God.
Matthew suppressed an eye roll and placed the book back, before picking up a large sketchpad from an adjacent table. He shifted through some of the pictures and stopped at a rather pretty one.
It was a profile pen-sketch of a woman with nineteen-twenty's hair and long, dark lashes that brushed her flushed cheeks. Her eyes were closed and a small beauty mark was carefully drawn high up on her cheekbone. He lips were small, but full and the gracefully curved, slender column of her neck was wrapped in a detailed tattoo of a Chinese dragon's, lizard-like body. His head seemed to have become smoke and rolled off her skin into a beautiful display of 3D artistic ability. A stream of fire burst from his open fangs, and ignited the corner of the page. The artist had drawn the page torn and burning away. It was the perfect illusion of the bottom corner curling away and the page underneath bearing a smeared pile of ash and burn streaks.
Matthew smiled.
Whoever had drawn this had a pure unadulterated talent and sense of striking imagination. In the corner of the image, by the fading line of the graceful collarbone, there was a gentle signature. The name, he couldn't read, but at least he knew it started with a 'G'.
He turned the next page and chucked at the child-like drawing of a unicorn. Beneath the picture, the artist had written a little note in large, spidery scrawl.
Hi! My name is Vincent! I really love the little missy who just drew the picture before me. She's smiling right now trying to read this. She's the best artist in the world and one day I hope she becomes famous. For now though, enjoy my unicorn before you go ogle her picture if you haven't already. Cheers!
Matthew smiled again. How cute. He thought. It wasn't often that love was displayed in such a private, yet public manner.
He returned the sketchbook and sat back enjoying his remaining hour by nibbling on pineapple and thinking about what he was going to do at the party. It's not like there was much for him to day at the party anyway. He had only been to one other high school party, and there he had been ignored the entire time. He kept to the corner of the room standing there awkwardly wondering why he ever came in the first place. The person who had been supposed to bring him home even forgot he was there and left without him. He wound up walking all the way home in the bitter, biting cold of mid-winter. He never talked to the kid again.
When it was nearing the time for him to leave, he stood up and walked out, silently thanking the bartender with a clever nod. The cloud cover had pushed away and the sun was shining bright. Matthew sighed and pulled his hoodie over his head, slinging it over one shoulder. His white tank top was cool and loose as he walked home.
.
.
He got home just as Antonio's Jeep was rolling in the driveway, so he walked up to the driver's window and tapped on it. Antonio rolled down the window, smiling brightly.
"Hola amigo!" He greeted. "You ready?"
Matthew cringed at his overly joyful mood. "Yea…"He said softly. He was never a hard spoken person. "I have to go get something. I'll be right out." He went inside and grabbed his wallet before walking to his brother's room.
Alfred laid belly-down on the bed with a game controller in his hand. He had big headphones on his ears as he played the "Silent Hill" game. He whimpered and whispered something to Tony, his plushy toy alien. Matthew rolled his eyes. Al was such a baby when it came to scary movies and games.
Matthew cleared his throat and Al looked up, before shifting the headphones off of an ear.
"What's up Matt?" He asked, almost cheerfully, ignoring the fact that he didn't pause the game and some creepy woman-zombie was walking up to him in a white dress.
"I just wanted you to know that I'm heading out now. I won't be back until late, so don't wait for me with dinner."
"Cool! Have fun!" Alfred beamed before returning to the game as Matthew stepped out of the room and hurried outside as he pulled on his hoodie again. Antonio sat in the idling Jeep, waiting for him. Matthew hopped in the passenger side and Antonio pulled out of the driveway and drove down the street.
Matthew was quiet on the car ride there, but inside he was very jittery with excitement as butterflies fluttered in his stomach nervously.
Whooo! Another chapter is up and done! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I really enjoyed writing about the Kava Bar. There's one where I live and it is just like I described in the story. :D It's a really cool place to go and have some Kava and then relax. :)
As for that sketch, there is a sketchbook in the Kava Bar near me. There is an actual drawing of that picture in the book. :) And it was drawn by none other than me! :P The only thing that I made up was the part of the drawing where it looks like the fire is burning the page. I just put that in there because it sounded cool. xD As for the picture after that, that is also in the sketchbook. A very close friend of mine did draw a unicorn and did write something along those lines. (The names and initials are purely fake though. I'm sure you can understand why.)
Anyway, enough chatting~! I hope that you liked this enough to want to review. Let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions leave a review. :)