Part 2
Tai slowly regained consciousness, and the first thing he heard was banging on the front door.
"Who is it?" he yelled picking himself up gingerly, hoping he wouldn't get any bruises again.
"Sora. Can I come in?"
"Uh, yeah, hang on a minute." He unlocked the door and let it swing open already disappearing down the hallway. "I'll be back in a second. I spilled something on this shirt."
Sora couldn't help grinning. Tai was always making a mess.
"So where's Matt?" she asked him when she spotted his hair pocking out of a shirt as he tried to pull it on. She didn't really care, but she wouldn't mind knowing for how long he would be gone. Or rather, leaning how long she had alone with Tai.
"I kicked him out," Tai said bitterly. Sora didn't notice any of the pain in Tai's voice, or the suppositious shine to his eyes. She was too busy trying to not look as excited as she felt.
"Oh really," she said as neutrally as possible. "Do you know where he's going to go?"
"Don't know, don't care. Why are you here Sora? You didn't come to question me about Matt did you?"
"Of course not Tai, I was just curious." More like overjoyed she thought to herself. And relieved, she had almost been on the verge of believing those stupid rumors that her Tai-kun and Matt had been an item. Of course she had always hotly debated the issue, but it didn't even matter anymore so she turned her attention back to Tai.
"What have you been up to lately?" Tai asked her, feeling annoyed. He kind of felt bad about that, because normally he loved to have his best friend around. He just wanted to be alone.
"Not much, though Mimi's been trying to get me to double with her the past few weekends. Like go to the movies or something, but I never have anyone to go with," she said pointedly. She crossed her fingers when Tai looked away, hoping he would catch what she had meant.
"That's too bad, but it's surprising. You're such a pretty girl, and so fun to be with, I'm surprised no ones come and swept you away and taken you to some far off place to get married."
Sora blushed and looked up at Tai through her eyelashes. She couldn't believe it. He sounded like he was going to, oh she had been waiting for this so long. As her chest tightened in excitement Tai was feeling his stomach fall. What was he doing? He knew it was wrong.
Even with that knowledge one thing stood out, obscuring his judgment. This would hurt Matt, if nothing else it would bruise his ego, and it would help Tai to forget about him.
"In fact, I've been scared that it's going to happen any day, and I don't want it to Sora." He swallowed thickly, oh he was going to end up regretting this, his mind wailed. "Please say it wont, say you'll go out with me."
"Of course I will Tai, oh you don't know how long I've been waiting for you to say that for so long. I love you Tai."
"I love you too Sora," he said the words seeming to stick in his mouth. Why was he lying to her, he was being a selfish idiot. Sora leant forward and kissed him, but he was so distracted by the pain in his head he didn't respond at all.
Sora was to excited to even notice and would have deepened the kiss herself but she had to leave. She had really only stopped by to say hello.
"I have to go, but I'll call you tonight," she promised standing up. "Bye!"
"Later," he muttered not getting up. He was in shock, he couldn't believe what he had just done. After a minute he got up off the couch and went to the bathroom, digging through the medicine cabinet.
Tai swore under his breath as he slammed it shut. Where was the aspirin? He hadn't though he had used it all, but then again he could barley think straight with his headache.
He suddenly remember that the last time he had gotten a headache Matt had gotten him the aspirin, which meant it was sitting on the windowsill in the kitchen.
He frowned at the bottle of aspirin as he opened it. Sure, he could tell himself that Matt hadn't really cared, but when he thought of how Matt had taken care of him the last time he had gotten sick he knew it wasn't true.
Well whatever love had been between them was gone now, no use crying over it. Tai scowled angrily, he was already crying.
They had been going out for such a long time, but coming out could jeopardize everything.
Tai knew he sounded shallow, but he also knew that his work would fire him upon finding out he was gay. Sure, it wasn't the best paying job in the world, and it had really weird hours, but he actually liked working there and was on the verge of a promotion.
He had even tucked away a nice sum of money. He had planned on using it for Matt's birthday, but that seemed pointless now.
He sighed and went to lie on his bed, trying to ignore the scent to Matt's opened cologne bottle and the even stronger scent of orange juice. If he had the energy he would have moved the soaked shirt to somewhere other then the bedroom floor, but he was already having problems keeping his eyes open.
@~&~
Matt knocked on the apartment door and waited impatiently for it to open. Minutes later the door swung open and TK looked at him with surprised eyes.
"M-matt!" he exclaimed and Matt couldn't help but wonder if his little brother had some girl in the apartment. He looked just like he had that one time when Kari had been in his bedroom and his mom had been out of town.
"Hey bro."
"Are you ok Matt?" TK asked getting over his surprise and realizing that his brother certainly did not look even remotely ok.
"Yeah, I'm cool. But homeless, Tai kicked me out," he said with a shrug, like it was some off hand comment. TK could see in his brother's eyes that it wasn't.
"Did you guys have another fight?" TK asked. "Did he hit you or something?"
"No." TK stared at his brother for a few minutes, trying to figure out why he looked so hurt if he hadn't been hit. Seconds later realization shot into his head.
"Come in Matt, you can stay here as long as you like," TK said grabbing his older brother's arm and dragging him into the apartment.
"Shouldn't you ask Kari?" Matt suggested trying to maintain his balance.
"She wont mind," TK said and nearly threw his brother at the couch.
"Are you sure?" Matt asked raising his eyebrows. "Where is she anyhow?"
"She went to keep console Yolie," Joe said emerging from the small kitchen. "See you later Matt."
"Bye."
"Yolie was dumped and it's a girl's weekend or something like that," TK elaborated shrugging his shoulders, not understanding the mysteries of women and not really wanting to.
"Oh."
"So what happened?"
"Nothing much. We got into a fight and he kicked me out," Matt said knowing if he went into detail he would start crying. He had been fighting tears since he had left the apartment building he had used to live in.
"What was the argument about?" TK prodded.
"Nothing really, we were just getting on each others nerves," Matt lied. He realized that if he really wanted to he could just come out right then, tell TK, regardless of what Tai wanted.
There wasn't even a real reason for Matt to stay in the closet any longer, he hated it and Tai was the only reason he had stayed in.
"You know you can tell me anything, right?" TK asked. He wished that Matt wouldn't lie to him anymore. "You can trust me."
"I know TK, and thanks."
"Where's your stuff?" TK asked, suddenly realizing Matt had come empty handed.
"I'm going to get some of it while Tai's at work."
"Why?"
"He doesn't want to see me at all so I'm supposed to go while he's not home."
TK was about to ask when Tai was working next when someone started pounding on the door. TK ran to it, wondering who could be so anxious to be let in and discovered Sora standing on his doorstep.
"Where's Kari?" she demanded trying to peer past her shoulder. "I have some news for her!"
"She's not here Sora, she went over to Yolie's. I can tell her if you want."
"I just wanted to let her know that she was wrong, he is in love with me. He asked me out this afternoon," she yelled in triumph. "And you know what else? He kicked out that good for nothing bro-" she stared at TK when he cut her off.
"Shut up Sora, go and do your mindless gloating elsewhere." He slammed the door in her face as her draw just about hit the floor. TK hardly ever talked to anybody in that tone of voice.
She puffed out her breath and flounced down the hall, determined to find Kari.
TK hurried back to the living room, where Matt had obviously heard everything Sora had said and was biting the insides of his cheeks.
"Matt," he sighed as he saw the tears glistening in the corner of his eyes and changed what he was about to say. "I'm sure Kari won't mind if I sleep in her room, so feel free to use mine."
Matt knew TK was offering him privacy, so he could cry in peace and was touched.
"Thank you," he said, his voice thick because of the knot in his throat. He stood and was shocked when TK hugged him, but returned the embrace and went to TK's room.
Tai slowly regained consciousness, and the first thing he heard was banging on the front door.
"Who is it?" he yelled picking himself up gingerly, hoping he wouldn't get any bruises again.
"Sora. Can I come in?"
"Uh, yeah, hang on a minute." He unlocked the door and let it swing open already disappearing down the hallway. "I'll be back in a second. I spilled something on this shirt."
Sora couldn't help grinning. Tai was always making a mess.
"So where's Matt?" she asked him when she spotted his hair pocking out of a shirt as he tried to pull it on. She didn't really care, but she wouldn't mind knowing for how long he would be gone. Or rather, leaning how long she had alone with Tai.
"I kicked him out," Tai said bitterly. Sora didn't notice any of the pain in Tai's voice, or the suppositious shine to his eyes. She was too busy trying to not look as excited as she felt.
"Oh really," she said as neutrally as possible. "Do you know where he's going to go?"
"Don't know, don't care. Why are you here Sora? You didn't come to question me about Matt did you?"
"Of course not Tai, I was just curious." More like overjoyed she thought to herself. And relieved, she had almost been on the verge of believing those stupid rumors that her Tai-kun and Matt had been an item. Of course she had always hotly debated the issue, but it didn't even matter anymore so she turned her attention back to Tai.
"What have you been up to lately?" Tai asked her, feeling annoyed. He kind of felt bad about that, because normally he loved to have his best friend around. He just wanted to be alone.
"Not much, though Mimi's been trying to get me to double with her the past few weekends. Like go to the movies or something, but I never have anyone to go with," she said pointedly. She crossed her fingers when Tai looked away, hoping he would catch what she had meant.
"That's too bad, but it's surprising. You're such a pretty girl, and so fun to be with, I'm surprised no ones come and swept you away and taken you to some far off place to get married."
Sora blushed and looked up at Tai through her eyelashes. She couldn't believe it. He sounded like he was going to, oh she had been waiting for this so long. As her chest tightened in excitement Tai was feeling his stomach fall. What was he doing? He knew it was wrong.
Even with that knowledge one thing stood out, obscuring his judgment. This would hurt Matt, if nothing else it would bruise his ego, and it would help Tai to forget about him.
"In fact, I've been scared that it's going to happen any day, and I don't want it to Sora." He swallowed thickly, oh he was going to end up regretting this, his mind wailed. "Please say it wont, say you'll go out with me."
"Of course I will Tai, oh you don't know how long I've been waiting for you to say that for so long. I love you Tai."
"I love you too Sora," he said the words seeming to stick in his mouth. Why was he lying to her, he was being a selfish idiot. Sora leant forward and kissed him, but he was so distracted by the pain in his head he didn't respond at all.
Sora was to excited to even notice and would have deepened the kiss herself but she had to leave. She had really only stopped by to say hello.
"I have to go, but I'll call you tonight," she promised standing up. "Bye!"
"Later," he muttered not getting up. He was in shock, he couldn't believe what he had just done. After a minute he got up off the couch and went to the bathroom, digging through the medicine cabinet.
Tai swore under his breath as he slammed it shut. Where was the aspirin? He hadn't though he had used it all, but then again he could barley think straight with his headache.
He suddenly remember that the last time he had gotten a headache Matt had gotten him the aspirin, which meant it was sitting on the windowsill in the kitchen.
He frowned at the bottle of aspirin as he opened it. Sure, he could tell himself that Matt hadn't really cared, but when he thought of how Matt had taken care of him the last time he had gotten sick he knew it wasn't true.
Well whatever love had been between them was gone now, no use crying over it. Tai scowled angrily, he was already crying.
They had been going out for such a long time, but coming out could jeopardize everything.
Tai knew he sounded shallow, but he also knew that his work would fire him upon finding out he was gay. Sure, it wasn't the best paying job in the world, and it had really weird hours, but he actually liked working there and was on the verge of a promotion.
He had even tucked away a nice sum of money. He had planned on using it for Matt's birthday, but that seemed pointless now.
He sighed and went to lie on his bed, trying to ignore the scent to Matt's opened cologne bottle and the even stronger scent of orange juice. If he had the energy he would have moved the soaked shirt to somewhere other then the bedroom floor, but he was already having problems keeping his eyes open.
@~&~
Matt knocked on the apartment door and waited impatiently for it to open. Minutes later the door swung open and TK looked at him with surprised eyes.
"M-matt!" he exclaimed and Matt couldn't help but wonder if his little brother had some girl in the apartment. He looked just like he had that one time when Kari had been in his bedroom and his mom had been out of town.
"Hey bro."
"Are you ok Matt?" TK asked getting over his surprise and realizing that his brother certainly did not look even remotely ok.
"Yeah, I'm cool. But homeless, Tai kicked me out," he said with a shrug, like it was some off hand comment. TK could see in his brother's eyes that it wasn't.
"Did you guys have another fight?" TK asked. "Did he hit you or something?"
"No." TK stared at his brother for a few minutes, trying to figure out why he looked so hurt if he hadn't been hit. Seconds later realization shot into his head.
"Come in Matt, you can stay here as long as you like," TK said grabbing his older brother's arm and dragging him into the apartment.
"Shouldn't you ask Kari?" Matt suggested trying to maintain his balance.
"She wont mind," TK said and nearly threw his brother at the couch.
"Are you sure?" Matt asked raising his eyebrows. "Where is she anyhow?"
"She went to keep console Yolie," Joe said emerging from the small kitchen. "See you later Matt."
"Bye."
"Yolie was dumped and it's a girl's weekend or something like that," TK elaborated shrugging his shoulders, not understanding the mysteries of women and not really wanting to.
"Oh."
"So what happened?"
"Nothing much. We got into a fight and he kicked me out," Matt said knowing if he went into detail he would start crying. He had been fighting tears since he had left the apartment building he had used to live in.
"What was the argument about?" TK prodded.
"Nothing really, we were just getting on each others nerves," Matt lied. He realized that if he really wanted to he could just come out right then, tell TK, regardless of what Tai wanted.
There wasn't even a real reason for Matt to stay in the closet any longer, he hated it and Tai was the only reason he had stayed in.
"You know you can tell me anything, right?" TK asked. He wished that Matt wouldn't lie to him anymore. "You can trust me."
"I know TK, and thanks."
"Where's your stuff?" TK asked, suddenly realizing Matt had come empty handed.
"I'm going to get some of it while Tai's at work."
"Why?"
"He doesn't want to see me at all so I'm supposed to go while he's not home."
TK was about to ask when Tai was working next when someone started pounding on the door. TK ran to it, wondering who could be so anxious to be let in and discovered Sora standing on his doorstep.
"Where's Kari?" she demanded trying to peer past her shoulder. "I have some news for her!"
"She's not here Sora, she went over to Yolie's. I can tell her if you want."
"I just wanted to let her know that she was wrong, he is in love with me. He asked me out this afternoon," she yelled in triumph. "And you know what else? He kicked out that good for nothing bro-" she stared at TK when he cut her off.
"Shut up Sora, go and do your mindless gloating elsewhere." He slammed the door in her face as her draw just about hit the floor. TK hardly ever talked to anybody in that tone of voice.
She puffed out her breath and flounced down the hall, determined to find Kari.
TK hurried back to the living room, where Matt had obviously heard everything Sora had said and was biting the insides of his cheeks.
"Matt," he sighed as he saw the tears glistening in the corner of his eyes and changed what he was about to say. "I'm sure Kari won't mind if I sleep in her room, so feel free to use mine."
Matt knew TK was offering him privacy, so he could cry in peace and was touched.
"Thank you," he said, his voice thick because of the knot in his throat. He stood and was shocked when TK hugged him, but returned the embrace and went to TK's room.