Note: Thanks for the reviews! So here's the next chapter! The title for this chapter, "Lack of Color", is the title for a song by Death Cab for Cutie.

Amor Vincit Omnia

Love Conquers Everything

Chapter Eight – Lack of Color

A.K.A. The Date

……………………………………

Matt

……………………………………

"Ok, I've got some good news." I announced to my band mates (Note: Should I really give them names? Let me know. Wonder what their real names are… if they have any.) at rehearsals on Tuesday.

"Is it important? Because good news to you is having twenty dollars in your pocket."

I glared at them, and sat down, tuning my guitar, "Yeah. It is important."

"Well, what is it?" They all sat up expectantly, staring at me.

"I GOT US A PERMANENT GIG!" I shouted happily, "Oh, and I do have a twenty on me, too!"

"DUDE! THAT'S AWESOME!" Band members congratulated each other, and cheered.

"Yup." I grinned at them, "Aren't I the best?"

"When's the gig?"

"Um, it's on Tuesday, but we don't start until next week."

There was silence, and they all stared at me ominously. I stared back at them nervously… what the hell did I do now?

"…Good news…right?" I chuckled uncertainly.

"Um…sure…" One of them said, "But…Tuesday?"

"What's wrong with Tuesday?"

"Well, for one thing, it's one of the most ignored days of the week." (Note: Reminds me of a pizza commercial.)

"Tuesday is not ignored! I do stuff on Tuesdays! Oh, and you got that from a pizza commercial!" I accused, although I wasn't sure what I did on Tuesdays…

"And, there's no one at the clubs on Tuesdays except for alcoholics and burnouts. How are we gonna get any exposure!"

"Oh." I began to tune my guitar again, thinking. "Well, at least we got a job that pays us money! Hey, I mean, one of those alcoholics might be a record exec who might be interested!"

They shrugged, "Whatever."

"Good." I grinned at them. "Oh, and we'll need a ride to the gig."

"Whaddya mean? We have the van."

I laughed nervously. "About that… well um… last night… it was raining, and uh…"

"Excuse me?"

"Well. It died."

"WHAT THE FUCK!" They shouted, "Whose van do you think that is? YOU DIDN'T EVEN CHIP IN TO PAY FOR IT!"

"I'm your manager!" Was all I could say as an excuse.

True. I didn't really pay for it because…I didn't have the money. Although, I did pay for the gas a couple of times… that counted…right?

"Well, now I think you owe us some money for the repairs." Band members said gravely.

"Um…I don't have any money on me right now…" I said innocently, patting my pockets.

"Didn't you just say you had a twenty earlier?"

I flushed, "I need that twenty bucks! I have to eat sometime."

"Well, we're thinking that you're gonna have to starve for a week, because the twenty is for the van."

"No way!" I really did need that money, though. It was supposed to be for my date with Sora. Tonight.

"Hand it over!" They inched towards me, "Or else!"

"That's not fair!" I protested, "It's three against one!"

"Well, one's the winning side, and the other's the losing side. Guess who's the loser."

I glared at them, "Is this any way to treat your manager?"

"Dude, you're taking the role too seriously, you broke the van, plus you got us a crappy gig. Some manager."

I shrugged, "I do what I can." I paused, "For the people…I…love." I looked up at them innocently, "Because… I love you guys. You're like… my brothers."

He snorted, "Cut the crap, Ishida. Give us the money."

I sighed, "Look, I really need this money, ok? It's a matter between life and death." Besides, with no money, where was I going to take Sora? To the park?

"Then I think you're going to die pretty soon. Not our problem. Just hand it over."

"God dammit." I pulled out the twenty, "There, you happy?"

"Much. Thank you."

I put down my guitar and sighed. Now what? I glanced at the clock, 4:30pm. The date was in two hours. How was I going to get money? Dad just gave me thattwenty this morning for groceries. But, I figured that I could just use it for tonight. I mean, who needs groceries?

I contemplated my dilemma. The only reason I asked Sora on the date was because…well, I couldn't get her out of my head. There was something about her that drew me in, something that made me want to be near her. The date was an excuse to be with her. Oh, and to piss her off. That was fun.

……………………………………

Sora

……………………………………

"God." I muttered, sitting down on my bed, "It's almost six-thirty."

Mimi, who was sitting on the floor painting her nails (On top of a newspaper, may I add), looked at me mildly interested, "What's going on at six-thirty?"

I shrugged. God. I hated lying to her. Even worse, I hated keeping the fact that I was going out on a date with Matt from her. I seriously did consider telling her, but something held me back, something told me it was better this way… better that she didn't knew. Besides… He meant nothing to me. Just friends.

"Well…" Mimi blew at her hand disinterestedly, "I have to go, anyway. My mom wants the whole family to have dinner together. Please, right?" She got up, and walked to the door, "I'll see you later, Sora."

"Bye." I said, looking at the newspaper and open bottle of nail polish on the floor. I clicked my tongue and got up, screwing the top back on the bottle and folding the newspaper. When I was done, I walked casually over to my closet.

I scanned through it, looking at my clothes. I didn't care what I wore, right? I mean, why did Matt want to go on a date with me anyway? He could've asked for money. Seems to me that he always needs it. Maybe he only did it to piss me off and ruin my night.

I quickly grabbed a shirt and pair of jeans, throwing my closet door closed before I could change my mind. I didn't care…right?

I muttered to myself, as I hurriedly brushed my hair. I glanced at the clock again, 6:45. Maybe he forgot. Hopefully, he did.

Just as this thought came to me, the doorbell rang. I walked out of my room and to the front door, pulling it open.

"You're late." I said coldly.

Matt stood there, his hands in his pockets, grinning at me sheepishly. "Sorry." He said, still smiling, "I had to walk over here."

"Well, whatever." I said, stepping out of the door way and closing the door behind me, "You should've started earlier."

"I didn't realize how tiring walking would be."

"Shoulda called a cab."

"Well, I didn't have any money for it."

I glared at him, "Whatever. Where are we going?"

He blushed at looked away from me, "It's uh… a secret."

I frowned at him, "I don't like surprises."

"Of course you don't. You like everything planned out, things laid out perfectly in front of you so you'll know exactly what to expect."

"I do not," I said coolly, "Plan things out."

He grinned at me, "Denial is not always the easiest road to take." He said, then, taking my hand, he led me down the stairs, "Let's go."

……………………………………

"Tell me again," I said dryly, "Why we are sitting on the floor of your apartment?"

"Shhh." He shushed me, furrowing his eyebrows, "I'm trying to think."

I sighed, annoyed, and looked at the cards in my hand. Here we were, sitting on the floor of Matt's disgusting apartment playing "Go-Fish". Some date.

"Do you have any"—Matt glanced at his cards again—"3's?"

"Go fish." I said lamely, and Matt groaned, taking a card from the deck.

I was getting a little hungry, and my stomach growled. I looked at the clock again, sighing. "Do you have anything to eat in here?" I asked, putting down my deck of cards and getting up.

"Maybe you could find something in the refrigerator." He said, looking up at me.

I walked into the kitchen and pulled the refrigerator door open, peering inside.

All I saw, as far as I could tell, were nothing but old Chinese take out boxes… and those were empty.

I groaned, and closed the door, walking back to where Matt sat. "I'm going home."

"What?" He said, putting down his cards, "But you can't leave yet! It's only 8:00!"

"I can't stand," I picked up my purse, "playing cards for two hours on a dirty floor."

"Well… we could do something else?" He said, walking over to the couch and picking up the remote, "how about some TV?"

"No." I said, "I'm hungry." I wanted to find an excuse to go home, "And there's no food in your fridge."

"We could go out to eat?" He said hopefully.

"Do you have money?"

"Not exactly."

"Well, I'm not paying for you."

"I could watch you eat." He smiled at me, "It might be fun."

"Whatever." I muttered, walking over to the door, "C'mon."

"Wait." He walked over to me, "You're not seriously just going to let me watch you eat?"

"Idiot." I said, "We're going out to eat. Together."

"So you're going to buy me something?" He smiled at me, "I always knew you were a softie, Takenouchi."

"Shut up." I said fiercely.

"You're so sweet." He said sarcastically.

"I guess you are too, then." I shot back, "I mean, wow, so nice of you to force me to go out on a date with you, then, you starve me to death while playing 'Go Fish' for two hours!"

He laughed, "Ok, ok. It's not my fault, anyway. I didn't have any money. I needed to repair the van!"

I narrowed my eyes at him, "Get a job."

"I already got one! You're looking at the lead singer of The Wolves that will be playing on Tuesday nights at 'Q' Club!"

"So where's your paycheck?"

"Um… I don't have one yet. We start next week."

"Well, that's not going to help us now is it?" I said coldly.

"No." He said, grinning, "I guess not."

"Good. At least you understand that much." I began to walk, and he followed me, and then fell into a step beside me.

"So… where to?"

I wasn't really sure, since I didn't have a lot of money on me at the moment. I looked into my purse and quickly counted the money that was folded neatly in my wallet. I only had about ten dollars.

"I don't know." I said.

I didn't like fast food, and I tried to avoid it at all times, but right now, it seemed like the only option for obtaining a decent meal for both of us.

"How does a burger sound?" Matt mused, as if reading my thoughts, "One that's loaded with grease and animal fat. You know, like dripping with it! Sounds pretty tasty."

"After you made it sound so appealing?" I said, "No thanks."

"So what are we going to eat? Salad?" A look of disdain came across his face, "I'd rather take the animal fat."

I looked at him, and saw that he wasn't kidding. "Whatever." I said, "We're going to the grocery store."

"What're we going there for?" He looked at me blankly, "You need some milk or something?"

"No, you idiot," I quickened my pace, "We're going to go buy some food that we can cook. It's cheaper that way."

"So you are a softie."

"Keep it up and I might change my mind about feeding you."

"What's wrong with being soft?"

"Because I am not soft." I retorted.

"I think you are."

"How?"

"You cleaned up my room."

"Because it was so disgusting." I countered.

"You let me into your house yesterday when it was raining."

"I couldn't just let you stand out there! But now that I think about it, I should've left you out there to die. Makes my life easier."

"You agreed to go out on this date with me!"

"You forced me to!"

"You could've said 'no', but you agreed!"

"I don't like going back on promises." I said flatly.

"And now"—he grinned at me—"you're going to cook me dinner. Face it, Sora, you're sweet."

I ignored him, and looked ahead. To my relief, we had reached the grocery store; I quickly grabbed a shopping basket and walked inside.

"So what're going to buy?" He asked, following me down the aisle.

"Stop asking me questions." I looked at him, annoyed.

"I'm thinking Twinkies." He said, grabbing a box of them and placing them in the basket.

I snatched the box out of the basket and placed it on the shelf, "No." I said.

"Ok then…" he grabbed some chips, and threw it in.

I rolled my eyes, and took it out, "Do you want to eat or not?"

"Well I do, but you keep throwing my food selections out!" As he was saying this, he became distracted at some toys. He grabbed a plastic water gun and placed it into the basket, "This might be fun."

"What the hell," I said violently, grabbing the toy gun, "do you need this piece of crap for!" I threw it back onto the shelf.

He shrugged, "So what are we getting?"

"Bread." I said simply, "And a few other condiments."

"You're making me a sandwich?"

"What else do you want! Is this really the time for you to be picky?"

He shrugged again, "I was just making sure."

"Good." I said, grabbing a bag of wheat bread.

"Ugh." He said, grabbing the bread and putting it back on the shelf.

I turned slowly to face him, "What's is wrong with the bread?" I said slowly, trying to keep my anger from rising.

"I hate wheat bread." He shuddered, "Get a different kind, please?"

"You hate it?" I asked, confused, "What, you mean, you can't eat it?"

He nodded, "I can't even think about it."

"You're telling me," I said, taking some white bread and putting it in the basket, "You can eat old Chinese food that has mold growing on it, but you can't eat wheat bread?"

"What can I say? I've had a traumatizing experience with it."

"I don't even want to ask." I rolled my eyes.

"How about some cookies?" He asked, hopefully, putting it in the basket.

"No. Honestly, you're like a little kid!" God, it was like shopping with a toddler. He was always distracted, running off, and placing unneeded items in the cart.

"C'mon, Sora! How're going to eat a sandwich if you don't have cookies?"

"For one thing, you don't eat sandwiches with cookies, and another, I don't have enough money!" I was trying to ration enough money to even afford the sandwich supplies, and here he was asking for COOKIES.

"Huh." He said, looking at a jar of mayonnaise, "Do you use this for sandwiches, too?"

"Apparently." I said, taking it from him, and putting it back on the shelf, "I hate mayonnaise."

"Why? What's wrong with it?"

"It's disgusting."

"Well, I want it on my sandwich."

"Well, then I guess we better get some WHEAT BREAD to go with it."

"Ok, ok. You win." Matt laughed, and walked to the deli section. He picked up a packet and looked at it, "How about ham?" He called to me.

……………………………………

Matt

……………………………………

I sat there in the kitchen, watching Sora make sandwiches. We had decided on peanut butter and jelly. That way, everyone could get what they wanted because we couldn't afford any cheese.

"Need help with anything?" I chirped up eagerly.

"No." She said flatly.

"C'mon, you must need some help."

"I don't."

"Sora…" I said warningly, "It's not healthy to do everything yourself."

"Well, I'm doing it myself."

I took the peanut butter away from her, "Here, let me spread the peanut butter!"

She took it away from me, "I can do it myself."

I took it back, "Now, now, Sora. You just go back to the jelly."

"I don't need your help, Matt."

"I think you do."

"Just give me the peanut butter." She reached for it, but I held it over my head, and since I was taller than her, she couldn't reach it.

"You're an asshole." She said, still trying to reach for it. She gave up and went back to the jelly.

"You don't mean that." I opened the jar of peanut butter and spread it onto the bread.

"I think I do." She shot back.

Just then, the phone rang. I walked over to it and picked it up, "Yes?" I answered.

"Matt? Is that you?" My dad's voice came on the other end.

"Who else would it be?" I said flatly.

"Just checking up on you." He said, "And to make sure that you paid the electric bill with the money I gave you this morning."

"Huh?"

"The money was due today, so I gave it to you to pay it!" (Note: Like father, like son.)

"Um…" I tried to think back. I didn't remember money for the electric bill; I only remembered money for groceries. Wait.

"You mean the twenty you gave me this morning?" I asked meekly.

"Yeah." He said, "So did you pay it?"

"I forgot."

He groaned, "Well, they're probably going to turn it off soon, so be prepared."

"Um…okay." I said, looking at the lights above me nervously.

I clicked off the phone and walked to the table where we usually put the bills. I picked up an enveloped marked Hiroaki Ishida and took out the electric bill. It read that indeed the money was due… yesterday. If we didn't pay it by then… the lights would go out today.

I quickly stuffed it back into the envelope and prayed that it wouldn't go out.

"What's wrong?" Sora called from the kitchen.

I froze, then slowly turned around, "Nothing." I said, walking into the kitchen again, "Just my dad."

"Oh." She said, "Well, I'm done with the sandwiches."

"Hey!" I protested, "I thought I called the peanut butter!"

"Sorry." She smirked, "You got distracted."

She walked over to the kitchen table and sat down, placing the pile of sandwiches in the middle of the table. I walked over to her and sat down across from her, grabbing a sandwich.

"My." I said, taking a bite, "Isn't this romantic."

"Shut it."

"Nothing more amorous than PB and J don't you think?" I smiled at her, and she rolled her eyes.

"Could you just—"

Suddenly, it was dark. All the lights just clicked off, and I looked around, confused for a moment.

"Oh no." I groaned.

"What." Sora said, staring at me through the darkness, "Just happened?"

TO BE CONTINUED.

Wow. Stuck in darkness. How interesting that will be. I had a lot of fun writing this chapter! I spent a few hours trying to decide where Sora and Matt would go on their date, and I decided that they would go… NOWHERE. Except the grocery store… Anyway, sorry no Mimi and Tai for this chapter! They'll be back, hopefully. I get the feeling that they're only supporting characters now. How sad.