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Fly Away From Here
Chapter 3
"Yamato? What are you doing out here?"
He whipped his head around at the
sound of his name, surprised that anyone knew him, afraid that it would
be the occupant of the apartment he'd been staring at. His fears were confirmed
when he turned to see Yagami Taichi and Izumi Koushiro standing in the
street a few feet away from him.
"Eh - uh - I - Hi, guys!" Yamato
stammered, placing a hand on the back of his neck and hoping they would
think his face was red because of the cold air and not because he was embarrassed
at being 'caught'.
Taichi laughed, and Yamato felt his
body temperature rise a few degrees. "Did you take a wrong turn or something,
man? You looked totally lost a second ago!" Taichi spoke quickly, glancing
sideways at his shorter friend with an unreadable look on his face. Yama's
heart skipped a beat as an unrational fear gripped him. Are those two
- ?
"I was just - walking home. No big
deal," the blond said out loud, forcing his voice to sound bored, distant,
cool. Not wanting to let on that his insides were fluttering with
the wings of a hundred butterflies, he stretched his lips in a phony smile.
"You must be freezing," Koushiro
commented, pointing his chin at Yamato's school outfit. Both non-blonds
were wearing warm coats, Taichi's with two ridiculous yellow footprints
on the back.
Yamato shrugged. "I don't feel it."
He surpressed a shiver as a frigid breeze stole its way down his back.
"Koushiro and I were just going to
get something to eat. Why don't you come with us?" Taichi asked. He cocked
his head to one side. "That is, if you didn't plan on standing in front
of my building all night long." Yama sucked in his breath and looked hard
at his friend's face, searching for any hint of mockery or anger. Taichi
wore an indecipherable expression.
"Thanks, but no thanks, guys. I'm
not really hungry." His stomach betrayed him then, though, growling loudly
enough that all three could hear it.
Taichi laughed outright. Koushiro
had the deceny to ignore it and simply asked him if he was sure. Yamato
nodded shyly, turning crimson, and walked with his friends the couple of
blocks to the restaurant.
Nothing else was said on the sidewalks.
In fact, once they were inside the restaurant proper, nothing much was
said then, either. Yamato was thankful for that, because he didn't have
to answer the questions he sensed burning behind Taichi's eyes.
"What were you doing outside my
apartment? Do you do that a lot? Why didn't you want to eat with us?" Damn,
I really need my head examined. How long did I think I could keep on watching
his bedroom window without being caught?
Yamato was afraid that he looked guilty, and kept stealing glances at Tai
out of the corner of his eye.
Suddenly he became aware that Taichi
was staring back at him, questionly. Yamato shuffled his feet nervously
and broke the eye contact. Surprisingly, he felt the brunnet's body lean
against him and his breath tickle his ear.
"Yama? Are you okay?" he asked. The
blond blinked a few times and turned to look at his slightly shorter companion.
The way he whispered my name was so beautiful. He felt goosebumps
rising on his arms and something else stirring below his waist. And Taichi
was still looking at him, still leaning in so close, still talking.
". . . guitar? Yamato? Hello! Do
you want to leave your guitar with the host or not?" He had started to
sound mildly annoyed.
"What? Oh, sure, I guess so," the
blond replied, pulling the case off his back and leaning it against the
wall near the host.
"You may seat yourselves," the man
said curtly, walking away briskly. Yamato heard what he whispered to himself
about teenagers and drugs, though, and his cheeks turned red once again.
"I don't know about you guys, but
I'm already not feeling very inclined to leave a tip," Koushiro said, causing
Taichi to chuckle and slap him on the back as they walked towards a window
booth. Yamato trailed slowly behind. A sudden thought struck him, and he
reached into his pockets. His hands encountered exactly what he was afraid
of: nothing. He had no money.
Taichi and Koushiro had already sat
down on opposite sides of the booth. Yama hesitated. Where should I
sit? By Koushiro, so I don't seem suspicious? Or Taichi, so I don't have
to drown in his stupid beautiful brown eyes? Indecision plagued him
and he stood still until those same stupid beautiful brown eyes looked
up and met his. 'They're so deep. Does he know how much I want him?'
"Yamato, are you going to eat standing
up?" he asked, smiling warmly. Koushiro was nervously playing with the
edge of his napkin, looking out the window at the dark street beyond.
"I - uh - don't think I can eat with
you guys tonight," Yamato explained, putting his hands up in the air. "I'm
broke!" He offered a small smile and turned to go. Problem solved. I
won't have to worry where to sit, because I won't be doing any sitting
with him tonight. His heart refused to stop its irregular beating though,
and each beat set off a twinge of pain in his temple.
"Yama, man, wait a minute! I can
cover you for tonight!" Taichi called loudly. Several of the people in
the restaurant glared. "You can pay me back when you get another gig, okay?"
The blond turned his head, his cheeks burning.
"Yeah, I guess that'll work." What
am I doing? I should've said NO! I can't do this! I can't sit that close
to him and keep myself under control! Yama, you fool!
"I've gotta use the bathroom. Tell
the waiter I'll have a large regular pop if he comes by, okay, Koushiro?"
Taichi said, sliding out of the booth. He brushed past Yamato, their shoulders
touching, and grabbed him by the arm. "You're coming with me, man," he
whispered, dragging the stunned blond towards the back of the restaurant.
Yama's heart started beating so fast
he feared he'd suffer a coronary at the tender age of sixteen.
* * *
Leelee: I love cliffhangers. Can
you tell? ^__^ I also love reviews!
