Author's Note: Thank you everyone, for such kind words! This collection is non-linear; they are stories that stand on their own. I hope you enjoy them as much as the first one! For this one, I got the inspiration from Taylor Swift's song, "You are in Love". I think this perfectly fits Sora, especially when she's at that stage of realizing her feelings. I'll always feel strongly for Taichi as the best person that could have loved her, but that is entirely my opinion. Hehe. Enjoy!
Sidenotes
Transition
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Their friendship was always at time's generous side; just enough of years and shared experiences to gain trust and affection. They ate where they usually ate after school; talked, ranted of some inferior players' incompetence and praised the strengths of their superiors. He'd break in some jokes, followed by her varying demure-to-loud laughter. But nowadays the silence they shared together had only just grown and lengthened; words came shortened, unspoken.
The quietude sent a gently earthquake in her stomach. Sora watched him mindlessly pick up fry per fry, brashly dipping it on his personally concocted mayo-and-tomato sauce. He then slurps loudly from his soda, brushes his palm across his lips to clean up the mess. If she witnessed this weeks ago, she'd roll her eyes, secretly disagreeing of his gestures. Taichi was always brash, careless, reckless; messy, bushy-haired, tanned skin. They had shared several bottles of water, share each other's food that they deemed novelty, brushed each other with sweaty arms and dirty hands. She got him all right from his monsters to his passions, but now all she could notice was his unusually attractive smile despite the laundry list of things Taichi did which always set her off to ratatatata. Now, his natural and little gentlemanly gestures do not go unnoticed and unappreciated.
He tells her they should go home. So they stand up from their seats, head for the exit, then walk side by side. She was never one to wear rose-tinted glasses – but it was as if she was seeing him for the first time. It was not the same. She reckoned that perhaps these illusions just had something to do with her eyes being naturally red.
Taichi, however, tried to keep things normal as the estranged feeling had been lingering for some days now. He steals a glance to his right, somehow liking how she stood amidst the neon-lit night. There were several occasions in which she reminded him of fire – from ruby red eyes, her ginger hair, her yellow-warm skin, to her random outbursts of anger and affection.
In these recent nights spent walking together, she was strangely livelier – better even, as she seemed to refrain throwing her unjust tantrums at him. Tonight, she was truly set aflame.
There was nothing much that went on with Sora, as far as he knew her the past eight-or-nine years. Sora was his childhood friend; best friend; teacher; comrade; his right-hand. She's always ready to take him out of some sort of mischief he was in to; and stuck with him faithfully despite his clumsiness. Though there were times he resented her being all motherly to him, he knew she only cared.
Taichi could enlist the many things she is to him, but times were changing, and so were they. And the more they grew, the more he misunderstood her. At times he had to let her know every now and then, that he was trying, but even so, she never left his side, despite the walking time bomb she was. Taichi sighed, put his hands beneath the pocket of his shorts; confused why he was spending an unusual amount of time talking in his head. After all, he was never an overthinker.
He glanced at her again, marveling how pretty she looked despite mud and sweat on her face. She looked at him, discovering that they shared the same wonder through his glassy russet eyes.
"Taichi, your face is all dirty,"
He smirked. "Speak for yourself, Sora."
Maybe time will let them know what this all meant.
