Love's Destiny: Part One
Chapter 2: Consternation and Conflagration
Friday the following week
Matt shifted the weight of his olive book bag to the other shoulder as he stood outside the near-empty school. It moved with reluctance, insistently clinging to the sweat-soaked spot on his polo shirt where the lazy afternoon heat had felt victory. Though teachers and students alike scurried to submit to the lust of a spring sun-kissed weekend, he hung back, holding onto to shimmer of hope that Sora was still inside, maybe discussing something with a teacher.
He felt bad for neglecting her the past weekend, and she obviously also hadn't been happy with it; maybe he should skip practice tonight and take her somewhere fancy to catch up on their relationship. He could afford expensive restaurants, but not losing Sora. 'Just a few more seconds.' he thought to himself, glancing at his digital watch.
But patience yielded little save the appearance of the tired janitor. "Home with ya, kid," he muttered, eager to terminate his tasks. Matt complied, following the exhaust fumes of a retreating mustard-hued bus.
'Left alone five days in a row-is Sora avoiding me?' He frowned, missing the security of knowing that she would bend to his will and bend within his arms. She had been almost resistant during their single class together, reluctant afterwards to give him the insurance kiss he needed. But it was never enough. He yearned for her constantly, needing the reassurance of consistency and submission that his life had lacked for so long.
Lately, though, he was scared by his need for power over her. It had always been a demanding relationship, but it was becoming harder to remember that he was not her personal dictator. It had been a mistake, that bruise, yet.Matt felt the sudden urge to spill his soul to someone as he turned his footsteps towards home.
*{}*
Tai arrived home from soccer practice rumpled and disheveled. A shin guard hung loosely askew below his knee, and as he discarded it, the wall telephone rang. He tiptoed gingerly towards it, in an attempt to lessen the trail of mud clumps that suddenly dropped after being attached to his cleats for two hours.
"Hello?" he spoke into the receiver. He scooted into a chair and began untying his laces; this would be a long conversation.
*{}*
"Tai?" Matt's voice was anxious and pleading, unable to hide the distinctive tremors. "I'm in trouble, and I need your help."
"Just relax," came the soothing reply. "Tell me all about it and we'll work something out." Matt could feel some of the stress leave just from hearing that calm voice. Tai was such a peaceful figure; no one else could have taken charge yet kept control in their digiworld years that now seemed to be part of an innocent and distant past.
"You're good to talk to; did anyone ever tell you that? Why aren't you ever around so we can do stuff together?"
"Anytime; I just know that you tend to keep yourself busy with your band. Now, what do you need to get off your back?"
Matt took a deep breath, and then let it out audibly. "It's Sora," he began tentatively. "I don't know, I mean I think that I might be.injuring her." Suddenly he was talking fast. "I would never hurt her, you know that Tai, I love her too much to ever hurt her, but sometimes I come so close because I just need her so much, and I'm like a darn dictator with her, just to assure myself that she must love me because she listens, and-"
Tai cut him off gently. "Slow down, buddy; I'm not a machine!"
Matt took another breath. "She's been avoiding me. And I'm scared that she doesn't love me, that she'd leave me. I couldn't take that! You abandoned me for soccer, and she's all I've got. I can't let go of her, and I don't know why, but I'm just holding on too tightly for our own good."
"Matt. We're all here for you when you need us. I'm your best friend, and you can talk to me like this anytime. I always have time for you, for everyone. Don't be scared that we'll desert you or anything, because it won't ever happen. Now, I'll talk to Sora to get both sides of the story, and I'll figure something out. Okay?"
"Okay." He paused. "Who da man?"
"You da man!" they shouted in unison, and hung up, having never quite outgrown that childhood routine initiated so long ago. Matt heaved a sigh of relief. It felt so good to get some of the weight off his shoulders.
But quenching respite was fleeting. He cringed as that singeing surge of guilt once again washed over him in blazing waves. The smoldering feelings pent up inside always managed to escape; their fiery destructions left heaps of ashes, crumbled, charred, and smoky. And they covered Sora from head to toe in blackened soot.
*{}*
Tai ran a hand through his unruly brown mop. How had he gotten himself involved in this mess? He sighed knowingly-he could never turn down his friends in good times or bad. But this was getting almost out of hand. He grabbed a cereal bar from the pantry and collapsed back into the wooden chair after straightening the gingham cushion. Who does the advisor turn to for help?
"Think rationally, Tai," he told himself aloud. He'd managed to hold onto his wits for fifteen years, and in worse situations. But this was something entirely new, almost like the contents of the Dear Abby letters his mother read before discarding the comics page for the rest of the family to jump upon. Nonetheless, Matt trusted him to see Matt and Sora through this, and he would not fail to try, hopefully would not fail at all.
"Sora must not have done anything about what happened last weekend with the movies," he reasoned. "She must be dodging Matt because she's ashamed-and it's all my fault! I should never have gone along with that foolhardy, harebrained scheme of hers. I didn't act responsibly, and I should have.o, to heck with this whole thing!"
"But wait," whispered a tiny tinny voice in the back of his mind. "You enjoyed every minute of that night. Break them up, and you could have Sora all to yourself, have reality ooze from the dreams you've always wished would come true."
Preposterous! Tai shook his head violently, appalled at the vicious thought. "Never could I betray by friends," he muttered determinedly. "I've come way too close to that already because of carelessness. They can work this out." He would stain to put all his strength into resolving this issue and reuniting the confused couple. Sure, he loved Sora more deeply, more fully, truly, and purely than anyone, even he himself, could ever guess, but his life was one of constant sacrifice; another would only fulfill the expected routine.
"I have to talk to Sora tonight," he decided. "The matter needs close attention and quick action." And so Tai plunged himself into the problem, hoping to remove the wedge driven between his two closest and dearest friends that, contrary to self-held beliefs, was not his fault. But little did he know, little does anyone know until it's too late, that the triangular flame of passion will not cease its treacherous blaze until someone is burnt.
Chapter 2: Consternation and Conflagration
Friday the following week
Matt shifted the weight of his olive book bag to the other shoulder as he stood outside the near-empty school. It moved with reluctance, insistently clinging to the sweat-soaked spot on his polo shirt where the lazy afternoon heat had felt victory. Though teachers and students alike scurried to submit to the lust of a spring sun-kissed weekend, he hung back, holding onto to shimmer of hope that Sora was still inside, maybe discussing something with a teacher.
He felt bad for neglecting her the past weekend, and she obviously also hadn't been happy with it; maybe he should skip practice tonight and take her somewhere fancy to catch up on their relationship. He could afford expensive restaurants, but not losing Sora. 'Just a few more seconds.' he thought to himself, glancing at his digital watch.
But patience yielded little save the appearance of the tired janitor. "Home with ya, kid," he muttered, eager to terminate his tasks. Matt complied, following the exhaust fumes of a retreating mustard-hued bus.
'Left alone five days in a row-is Sora avoiding me?' He frowned, missing the security of knowing that she would bend to his will and bend within his arms. She had been almost resistant during their single class together, reluctant afterwards to give him the insurance kiss he needed. But it was never enough. He yearned for her constantly, needing the reassurance of consistency and submission that his life had lacked for so long.
Lately, though, he was scared by his need for power over her. It had always been a demanding relationship, but it was becoming harder to remember that he was not her personal dictator. It had been a mistake, that bruise, yet.Matt felt the sudden urge to spill his soul to someone as he turned his footsteps towards home.
*{}*
Tai arrived home from soccer practice rumpled and disheveled. A shin guard hung loosely askew below his knee, and as he discarded it, the wall telephone rang. He tiptoed gingerly towards it, in an attempt to lessen the trail of mud clumps that suddenly dropped after being attached to his cleats for two hours.
"Hello?" he spoke into the receiver. He scooted into a chair and began untying his laces; this would be a long conversation.
*{}*
"Tai?" Matt's voice was anxious and pleading, unable to hide the distinctive tremors. "I'm in trouble, and I need your help."
"Just relax," came the soothing reply. "Tell me all about it and we'll work something out." Matt could feel some of the stress leave just from hearing that calm voice. Tai was such a peaceful figure; no one else could have taken charge yet kept control in their digiworld years that now seemed to be part of an innocent and distant past.
"You're good to talk to; did anyone ever tell you that? Why aren't you ever around so we can do stuff together?"
"Anytime; I just know that you tend to keep yourself busy with your band. Now, what do you need to get off your back?"
Matt took a deep breath, and then let it out audibly. "It's Sora," he began tentatively. "I don't know, I mean I think that I might be.injuring her." Suddenly he was talking fast. "I would never hurt her, you know that Tai, I love her too much to ever hurt her, but sometimes I come so close because I just need her so much, and I'm like a darn dictator with her, just to assure myself that she must love me because she listens, and-"
Tai cut him off gently. "Slow down, buddy; I'm not a machine!"
Matt took another breath. "She's been avoiding me. And I'm scared that she doesn't love me, that she'd leave me. I couldn't take that! You abandoned me for soccer, and she's all I've got. I can't let go of her, and I don't know why, but I'm just holding on too tightly for our own good."
"Matt. We're all here for you when you need us. I'm your best friend, and you can talk to me like this anytime. I always have time for you, for everyone. Don't be scared that we'll desert you or anything, because it won't ever happen. Now, I'll talk to Sora to get both sides of the story, and I'll figure something out. Okay?"
"Okay." He paused. "Who da man?"
"You da man!" they shouted in unison, and hung up, having never quite outgrown that childhood routine initiated so long ago. Matt heaved a sigh of relief. It felt so good to get some of the weight off his shoulders.
But quenching respite was fleeting. He cringed as that singeing surge of guilt once again washed over him in blazing waves. The smoldering feelings pent up inside always managed to escape; their fiery destructions left heaps of ashes, crumbled, charred, and smoky. And they covered Sora from head to toe in blackened soot.
*{}*
Tai ran a hand through his unruly brown mop. How had he gotten himself involved in this mess? He sighed knowingly-he could never turn down his friends in good times or bad. But this was getting almost out of hand. He grabbed a cereal bar from the pantry and collapsed back into the wooden chair after straightening the gingham cushion. Who does the advisor turn to for help?
"Think rationally, Tai," he told himself aloud. He'd managed to hold onto his wits for fifteen years, and in worse situations. But this was something entirely new, almost like the contents of the Dear Abby letters his mother read before discarding the comics page for the rest of the family to jump upon. Nonetheless, Matt trusted him to see Matt and Sora through this, and he would not fail to try, hopefully would not fail at all.
"Sora must not have done anything about what happened last weekend with the movies," he reasoned. "She must be dodging Matt because she's ashamed-and it's all my fault! I should never have gone along with that foolhardy, harebrained scheme of hers. I didn't act responsibly, and I should have.o, to heck with this whole thing!"
"But wait," whispered a tiny tinny voice in the back of his mind. "You enjoyed every minute of that night. Break them up, and you could have Sora all to yourself, have reality ooze from the dreams you've always wished would come true."
Preposterous! Tai shook his head violently, appalled at the vicious thought. "Never could I betray by friends," he muttered determinedly. "I've come way too close to that already because of carelessness. They can work this out." He would stain to put all his strength into resolving this issue and reuniting the confused couple. Sure, he loved Sora more deeply, more fully, truly, and purely than anyone, even he himself, could ever guess, but his life was one of constant sacrifice; another would only fulfill the expected routine.
"I have to talk to Sora tonight," he decided. "The matter needs close attention and quick action." And so Tai plunged himself into the problem, hoping to remove the wedge driven between his two closest and dearest friends that, contrary to self-held beliefs, was not his fault. But little did he know, little does anyone know until it's too late, that the triangular flame of passion will not cease its treacherous blaze until someone is burnt.