For a moment, Sora let it all happen. She let the boy put his lips to hers and kiss her, share a breath with her. She had imagined it for so long, and it was everything she thought it would be. His lips were warm and inviting, and his hands natural fit against the small of her back. He pulled her close and she was taken over by the scent of his skin. He smelled as if the wind had constantly blown through his hair, with the addition of a slight amount of cologne.
After about two seconds, Sora opened her eyes. She was so close to Taichi's face, but she was able to focus clearly on it. His eyes were shut, and he looked happy with a sense of accomplishment on his face. However, Sora's stomach dropped. She went to pull away, and right as she began to, both of the teenagers heard a door open and Taichi pulled away as well.
They jumped as far away as they could from each other on the couch and attempted to look like they were reading homework in the half-second they were given before someone entered the room. Hikari came through the door across the room and looked awkwardly at the two for a moment. Of course, she had seen them separate, and even if she hadn't, the looks on their faces would have given it all away.
To break the awkward silence, Taichi spoke up. "Where are you going?" he asked, noticing the bag in her hand and the nice clothes she had put on.
Hikari looked from her brother to Sora, who sat awkwardly on the couch next to him, pretending to thumb through some pages from a notebook. She thought for a moment about whether to lie or not, but decided it would do no good.
"I'm going to Takeru's." she said, feeling Sora's eyes suddenly jolt up from her notebook to stare at her. She dared not look back, so she stared at a part of the wall just above Taichi's shoulders.
Sora stopped thumbing through the notebook and all was silent. Hikari rubbed one hand in her other one and tried to quickly figure out whether to say something else or to just leave. Thankfully, her brother saved her.
"Well, have fun.." he said, a bit confused himself. "Don't be back too late." He knew Takeru and Hikari hadn't hung out in weeks, and he wondered what had spurred them to get together suddenly. Whatever the reason, he knew this was his chance, and he couldn't let it go.
Hikari left the room in a hurry and Taichi turned back to Sora, who was now staring blankly at the papers in her hand. She wasn't reading them, merely staring through the words and into the whiteness behind them.
"Are you alright?" Taichi asked, scooting closer to her once again.
Sora's stomach dropped again, and she tried to keep to herself as much as possible. She made sure her knee were touching and her arms rested nicely in her lap, as to not give Taichi any incentive to touch her or kiss her or anything.
"I'm fine." She responded quietly, still lost in her own thoughts. She couldn't concentrate on talking to Taichi, she could only think of Hikari and Takeru together and how uncomfortable it made her. She wondered whether Hikari had called him, or whether he had called her, and she really hoped it wasn't Takeru who instigated their meeting. However, deep down, something told her it was. Once again, Takeru's face when he saw her hugging Taichi in school shot to the front of her mind. He looked so hurt, so disappointed. He looked as if he had lost something he was really looking forward to, as if he was in disbelief of something he knew would probably happen. However, what bothered Sora most was that Takeru was upset over something that shouldn't be happening.
That was it. It hit Sora like a brick to the face. Where she was, what she was doing, none of it should be happening. She was not some prize to be won. She realized now that what had made her uncomfortable before was the look of accomplishment on Taichi's face. He had almost lost her, and he hated losing. Takeru had posed a challenge to him, and he had won. Sora bit her lip and turned to the boy.
"Taichi," she began slowly, realizing she was about to lose what she had been wanting for so long, "I-I need to go."
Sora could almost hear the boy's heart pumping in his chest as he searched for a response. "Are-are you sure?" He answered as if he knew that Sora was making a giant decision. He answered as if he was asking Sora whether she was really picking someone else over him.
Sora was nervous, she knew that, but there was little doubt in her mind. She loved Taichi, but something about what was happening just wasn't right. She didn't know whether it was Takeru, or whether her and Taichi were really only meant to be friends. However, she knew she needed to get out before her and Taichi's relationship was hurt anymore.
"Yeah," she responded, standing up. "I need to."
Taichi didn't answer. He merely stared at her as she stood, trying to read behind her eyes. He wanted to say something to get her to stay, but he knew he no longer had control of the situation. He lost that long ago.
X
Takeru laid in his bed, still scrolling through his phone. He clicked on the recent calls button and looked at Hikari's name. He still wasn't sure whether it was the right decision to call her, but he knew he needed to get back on track. He was so stupid for thinking what he had with Sora was real. She was so much older. She was his brother's age, for goodness sake! How could he have thought he could be with a girl so deserving of someone older, someone better, someone like Taichi? He was silly for kissing her. He was silly for letting her kiss back, when he knew she couldn't have wanted to do that.
The boy closed his phone and tossed it down on his bed. He thought about changing his clothes or showering really quick before Hikari arrived, but he decided he didn't need to or want to. He didn't want to dress up for her. It was lucky that he decided not to busy himself anyways; a few minutes later, his doorbell rang.
Takeru walked towards the door, his heart beating hard in his chest. With each step came a new thought about what could possibly happen once he let her in. However, the boy couldn't think about that now. He just knew he needed to set things straight. The boy grabbed the doorknob and turned it slowly, opening the door.
Hikari stood outside, and it was obvious she had tried to look her best. She wore a pair of new jeans, and a light pink shirt that fit nicely against her body. In her hair, she wore a matching pink barrette to keep her bang back off her face. The way her hair fell made her cheek bones look amazing, and the way her hair was pushed back gave Takeru a full view of her neck and shoulders. The boy drew in a deep breath. He knew he had just dug himself in deep.
Takeru invited her in and he got her a drink. He fumbled a bit handing it to her, and the girl laughed. She thought it was cute, but Takeru cursed himself for looking so foolish. He didn't know what he wanted to happen, but for some reason, the thought of Hikari finding something cute about him made him anxious.
"So, what have you been up to recently?" Hikari asked after they were all settled in front of the television. Takeru had turned something on, but it was clear that Hikari didn't want to pay attention to it.
The boy fought hard to make himself not blush. "Nothing, really." He lied through his teeth. "I've just been busy with school stuff."
"Oh." Hikari said, glancing down into her drink. She watched the liquid swirl around as she tilted her glass back and forth. Their conversation grew quiet after that. Takeru was sure Hikari knew he hadn't really just been up to school work, but in the moment, he didn't really care. Everything felt forced to him. All he wanted to do was go to bed or be by himself, and he realized asking Hikari over was something he just wanted to be over with. It wasn't that he didn't want to be around her, he just really didn't want to be around anybody.
After a few minutes of glancing back and forth at Hikari's disappointed face though, Takeru decided this wasn't fair to the girl. He had invited her over and then proceeded to treat her like he didn't want her there. He turned to her and smiled. "So, I have some old movies, and I know how much you like those. Do you want to watch one?"
Hikari lit up. "Sure!"
The boy smiled once again as he walked into his room. The moment he walked in, though, it disappeared off his face. It was going to take a lot of energy to force himself to be happy. But, it would be worth it, he knew. He just had to get used to it. After all, him and Hikari together was what was supposed to happen. It was what everyone wanted to happen.
Takeru grabbed a movie from his shelf and turned to go, but a blinking light caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. He had a missed call on his cell phone. Wearily, the boy walked over to it and picked it up. On the screen, it read: One missed call: Sora Takenouchi.
The boy sighed and clicked 'okay', expecting to be brought back to the home screen. However, instead of that, another alert came up, telling him he had a new text message. Quickly, so he wouldn't keep Hikari waiting, he opened it and read it.
'Takeru, I need to talk to you. Call me back when you get the chance. -Sora.'
The boy bit his lip and ran his thumb across the keypad. Even if he wanted to call the girl, he couldn't. Hikari was waiting for him. Besides, whatever Sora was going to say, he knew it would just be something to make him feel better, and he didn't want her to feel pity for him or anything. That would be embarrassing. No, he needed to let her know he was fine with her being with Taichi. He had moved on too. At least, he was trying to.
Movie in hand, the boy left the room. However, as he walked out, he couldn't help but recall the way Sora's lips felt on his.
-surflilu
