Thank you to all who are taking the time to read this and reviewers for the feedback!
Paradigm Shift
Chapter 3: Rain Check
A familiar headache indicated that he had awoken, though he hoped by keeping his eyes shut, it would seem like he was still sleeping. His throbbing temples disproved the theory, and he grumpily turned to bury his face into his pillow in discontent. He instantly shot up, taken aback by the offending stench that came from it.
Groaning groggily, he lifted his eyes, though the slow tempo in which he did it was unnecessary. His dark, opaque curtains kept the sun's rays out where they belonged, so he didn't need to adjust to a dramatic change of light. He looked down at his clothes to see they were the same ones from the night before, then lifted his shirt and sniffed it, almost gagging as he smelled the same rancid reek of a bar.
His hangover told him to go back to sleep, but he knew he was in desperate need of a shower. He groaned again as he rolled himself out of bed, the couple metres to the door feeling more like a trek up a steep mountain with his headache that threatened to split his brain in two.
"Are you awake?" he heard Tai ask the moment he opened the door.
He grunted back in confirmation, which Tai probably couldn't hear from wherever he was. It sounded like he was in the kitchen.
As he turned the hallway to go to the bathroom, Tai appeared with a mug in hand, sombre expression in place. "You're such an ass."
Matt ignored him, reaching for his mug instead.
"Screw you," Tai hissed, pulling it back. "This is mine. Go make your own."
"Why are you yelling at me first thing in the morning?" he muttered, his head throbbing too much for him to make an actual effort to sound annoyed.
"It's almost noon. It's not morning," Tai corrected, glaring at him. "Do you remember what you did last night?"
Matt drew his focus from the Tai's hand to his face, glowering at him. "I remember telling you that I didn't want to go out, but you forced me anyway."
He frowned, then handed the mug to Matt. "I can't take you anywhere."
He didn't respond, scowling instead at the brown, transparent liquid in his hands. "I want coffee."
"Well, you got tea."
"I don't want tea. I want coffee."
"Then make some damn coffee, you ungrateful prat."
Ignoring Tai, he closed his eyes as he took a drink, instantly feeling refreshed though he would never admit it aloud.
"You told some girl I sleep with a lot of women and hit on your mum," Tai informed him when Matt didn't make an attempt to expand on the conversation.
Matt lifted an eyebrow. Now that he thought about it, he remembered some girl Tai had picked out at the bar in two seconds, who he had not gone home with. He was probably upset about that last bit.
"So what?" he muttered, taking another sip of tea. "It's not like I lied. Don't blame me just because you couldn't get her by the end of the night."
"I didn't want her," Tai corrected in exasperation. "I picked her out for you!"
"Whatever. You probably only picked her because you weren't interested yourself, you selfish bastard."
"She was hot!"
"She was okay."
Tai rolled his eyes, letting it go because he knew it was a lost cause. "And stop telling people I hit on your mum. That never happened, and it makes me sound like a sick pervert."
Matt grunted. Okay, it was an exaggeration, but Tai did try to flatter her as much as he could whenever he saw her, and it made him uncomfortable.
"Speaking of mums though, you called Megumi's last night."
He felt the colour drain from his face at his flatmate's words. "You're lying."
"You know what? I wish I were, but that really is how much of a hot mess you were last night." Tai took something from his pocket and gave it to him. His mobile. "You called her sister too."
He wanted to jump out the nearest window as that memory came back to him. He had all of Megumi's immediate family members' numbers, but he wasn't on terms with any of them where he could ring them whenever he wanted. He certainly wasn't on terms where he could drunk dial them.
Tai shrugged, predictably showing no sympathy in what was possibly the most mortifying event that had ever happened to him. "I wouldn't worry too much about it. I turned it off before you could say anything to her mum, and you told me her sister didn't answer."
He could remember that Megumi's sister hadn't answered his call. He could also remember leaving her an inappropriately long voicemail. Though he couldn't remember the specifics of what he had said, he could guess the humiliating gist.
"I hate myself."
"I hate you too."
"Did I throw up?"
"No, actually. For once, you didn't."
"That's good," he muttered, though he felt like he would have to any moment. He took another gulp of tea. "Sorry for ruining your night."
"It's fine. I shouldn't have taken you out in the first place." Tai sighed, leaning back into the wall. "Who knows? Maybe this will be another thing we look back to in the future and laugh about. You know, like your 20th birthday."
"Yeah, I still don't laugh about that."
Tai chuckled dryly. He was the only person who found humour in that night because he couldn't remember any part of it. "Well, anyway, I tried to delete all their numbers, but I couldn't figure out your password. Make sure you delete them yourself so you don't do anything stupid next time."
"I will," he told him, though he knew he probably wouldn't. He added, "I'll make it up to you for last night."
He saw a devilish flicker appear in Tai's eyes and instantly regretted saying it.
"You will?" Tai provoked, taking out his own mobile. "Well then, I have Sora's number."
Who?
"Who?"
Tai showed visible annoyance at his short-term memory. "That girl we met at the bar last night. Ring her and ask her out."
"No."
Not wanting to hear any more but knowing he would if he stayed, he walked past Tai towards the bathroom door.
"Matt, come on!" Tai urged, following him like some sort of parasite. "There are billions of girls out there waiting for you to reel them in, but you have to actually go out and make an effort for that to happen!"
"I'm going to shower," he said, opening the door to let his friend know it was the end of the discussion.
"Why can't you just ring her?" Tai continued, standing at the threshold of the bathroom, refusing to give in. "It's not like I'm asking you to marry each other. Besides, even you have to admit she was way hotter than Meg."
Tai jumped back a little as Matt shut the door aggressively in his face, but he didn't let that hinder him. The thing about Matt was that he never agreed to anything right away. One had to be relentless with him.
"You're wasting your time crying over her!" Tai yelled through the door. Matt didn't answer, so he tried knocking. "Oy, did you hear me? I said you're wasting your time—"
"Do we have paracetamol?" Matt interrupted testily.
"Stop changing the subject!" Tai hissed back. He hated when Matt did this, which was every time he didn't feel like talking, which was all the time.
"I have a headache! Do we have any damn paracetamol?"
"Then stop drinking so much, dumbass!"
Matt responded by slamming his fist against the door.
He was taken a little aback by the sudden sound but sighed in defeat. "Fine, I'll check. You're such an arse."
Matt didn't respond to that either, turning on the shower water instead.
He decided he would try to convince Matt later, when he was in a better mood and hadn't just woken up with a hangover.
He walked back to the kitchen, going into the cupboards to look for Matt's request. He had taken it quite often in the past week for his morning hangover, his afternoon migraine, and his nightly drunkenness. So much so that when Tai finally found the bottle amidst a clutter of other drugs, he saw it was empty. Slightly annoyed that Matt had put an empty bottle back in the cabinet, he tossed it in the bin and decided to head to the pharmacy for another. He didn't want to be on the other side of Matt's mood when he told him that there wasn't any paracetamol left.
He went into his room to grab his wallet from last night's trousers, tucking it into his pyjama pocket before heading out the door. It was another beautiful, crisp autumn day, but Matt would probably not go outside today either.
He walked to the convenience store just across the street from his flat. They knew him here, as well as Matt, because they frequented it so often. Even if the prices at the store were significantly higher than at the market several blocks down, the two would buy from here simply because of its close proximity. This was the sort of laziness that drove his mother mad.
He smirked when he saw his favourite cashier through the window. Her name was Rie, a shy and slightly awkward uni student who had worked here since her schooling days. He couldn't call her pretty, but he thought she was cute. She barely reached his chest in height yet still managed to look lanky. Her long, pale blonde hair was always pulled up into a high ponytail, amber eyes always hidden behind glasses, face always pink when she talked to anyone. With her quiet, mousy voice and timid, innocent personality, he saw her as a little sister figure.
Not that she reciprocated that. She had had a thing for him for years, made obvious by her actions but never acted upon due to her shyness. He'd entertain that part of her sometimes. He would say a few nice words or occasionally lift a box for her, and she would give him a discount. Matt and Megumi judged him for it, saying he was leading her on, but he didn't think so. It was a fair trade, and Rie had to be aware that the two of them would never happen.
"Good afternoon, Rie," he greeted pleasantly. "You're looking lovely as usual."
"Hi Tai," she said shyly, the usual shade of pink rising to her cheeks.
He would usually engage in some friendly conversation and small talk with her, but today he left like going in and out. Instead, he only waved his fingers at her before walking around the small family store in search for Matt's paracetamol. Once he obtained it, he distractedly went over to the refrigerated section, looking at the beer, contemplating. Matt had annoyingly emptied every alcoholic beverage in their flat, save a few bottles Tai had managed to hide, so he wondered if he should even buy more. It'd be gone before he'd get to it. He supposed he could hide it in his room, but he hated warm beer…
"Pre-gaming early?"
The voice sounded both familiar and unfamiliar to him, and he turned to see the girl from the bar the night before. She was smirking that cheeky smirk of hers at him, arms folded across her chest, and his own expression changed to mimic hers. He had to admit he had not given too much credit on her appearance the night before. Not that he hadn't thought she looked hot. She definitely had, but the thing about bars was that the dim lights made everyone look better. They always tricked him.
The harsh lighting of broad daylight was less forgiving, but he thought she looked just as stunning as he remembered her. It wasn't that she was dressed particularly smartly, as she only wore a thin t-shirt and casual jeans. Her face appeared to be free of makeup, but he could never tell with such things anyway. What intrigued him was that she was a tanned redhead. He had never seen one before, and, despite her approachable demeanour, it made her exotic to him.
He didn't get Matt. From the unbiased opinion of a professional women-appreciator, as opposed to the biased opinion of a lifelong Megumi-appreciator, he thought this girl blew his ex-girlfriend out of the water.
"You're stalking me," he said with a small grin.
She smiled back but didn't say anything, swooping beneath him to pick up some cases of beer.
"Pre-gaming early?" he teased, helping her as she pulled out case after case.
"My friend seems to think we should throw a welcome back party for being gone for a week," she explained with a laugh, standing up after she pulled out all six cases of an expensive Belgian beer. "They only have six left…"
He eyed the pile on the floor. "There's a liquor store a couple blocks away." Then, in case she would label him an alcoholic, he added, "I live near here."
She laughed at his hurried excuse. "You don't have to explain yourself, but I think I already went to that one. For some reason, my non-beer drinking friend has specified I buy every single case of this stuff in the district."
He lifted an eyebrow. "Sounds like a wild party."
"Well, that's my friend for you," she said with a slight shrug of her shoulders. "Big parties aren't really my thing, but I promised her that I'd help her throw it. And since I have a car, I'm in charge of picking up supplies that she can't carry, which is pretty much everything. She's kind of a princess."
"Sounds like my flatmate," he joked. He held up the pill bottle in his hand. "This is for his hangover."
Her face fell slightly, looking genuinely concerned. "The poor thing. Is he feeling better?"
"He'll be fine," Tai said, waving his hand. "He's just being dramatic. Anyway, let me help you with these. You aren't going to carry all of these out of here, are you?"
"I brought my car, but are you sure?" she asked, gesturing at his bandaged hand.
He held it up and flexed it to show her it wasn't actually injured. The only reason he still had it wrapped up was to avoid infection—and admittedly for a little bit of pity from certain female co-workers. "This is nothing. Don't worry about it."
She still looked hesitant but didn't protest when he picked up four of the cases. When she bent down to pick up the remaining two, he used the crucial moment to examine her backside. He liked what he saw, but he quickly diverted his gaze when she stood back up, not wanting her to catch him.
When they walked up to the register, Rie smiled at him as she began to ring up the beer.
"Thank you for helping me. You didn't have to do it."
She truly did look thankful, almost hesitantly so as she looked at him. He waved that off too.
"Hey, you helped me out yesterday too, remember? Believe me, I was one second away from killing my mate before you showed up."
She laughed. "Well, he did say some interesting things about you when you were gone."
I bet, Tai thought sarcastically.
"Are you sure you two are friends?" she teased, as she handed Rie her credit card. "He didn't seem that fond of you."
"I'm not that fond of him either," Tai joked. He looked at Rie as she gave her her receipt. "Rie, tell her that Matt and I are friends."
Her cheeks turned pinker, nodding timidly. "Yes."
"Told you so," he said, turning his attention away from Rie once more. "Anyway, you said your car is outside, right? Let me just pay for this really quickly, and I'll help you."
Rie shook her hands shyly as he took his wallet from his back pocket. "No, take it. It's on me."
"You're the best, Rie," he accepted, pocketing the bottle and leaning down to pick up four of the six beer cases. They were heavy, but he showed no strain on his face. "I'll see you later, okay?"
As he was about to follow his new redheaded acquaintance out the door, he heard Rie clear her throat.
"Erm."
He look back to her with a sweet expression that hid his faint annoyance at her decision to talk to him after he had picked up four heavy cases of beer.
"My friends and I are going to a keg party tonight," Rie said quietly, not looking at him in the eye. "If you aren't busy, maybe you could drop by? You can invite Matt and Megumi too."
He smiled politely at her. He was a little surprised that she even knew what a keg party was, but it was of no interest to him. Keg parties had been fun when he was in uni, but there were a million other things he'd rather do than go to a party full of girls who were probably too young to drink anyway.
Even if there weren't, it would take him a lifetime and a half to drag Matt to it.
"I'm so sorry," he said, pulling his best apologetic face. "Matt and I have family coming over tonight. Rain check?"
She turned redder as she laughed awkwardly. "Sure! Yeah! No problem!"
He felt sorry for her. This was the first time she had ever made an attempt to hang out with him, and he didn't want her to feel like he was rejecting her. "We'll definitely go to the next one. Just let one of us know, okay?"
Rie nodded so fiercely in agreement that her long ponytail whipped him in the face. She gasped in horror, but he laughed it off, telling her not to worry about it, not wanting to embarrass her more than she probably already was. She continued to repeat how sorry she was, preventing him from leaving as he kept having to assure her that it wasn't a big deal. He had to practically dash out the door between him telling her it was all right and her going into her hundredth apology, and he was met with that same cheeky grin.
"She seems nice."
Tai nodded, choosing to act oblivious to the implication. "Matt and I live across the street. We've known her for years."
She led him to her car, a small, burgundy-coloured saloon parked on the side of the street. She twisted her key into the boot and struggled to lift up the door with an arm as she balanced two cases between her leg and car bumper.
"I didn't mean to listen to your conversation, but Megumi is…?"
"My girlfriend," he finished easily, reaching over her to open the door for her. He saw there was already a rather large amount of beer and liquor littered in it.
"Oh, I see…"
He laughed as he pulled back, allowing her to put her cases in first. "Disappointed?"
"Hardly," she said dryly, placing her two cases inside. "Disappointed at this Megumi girl for her taste in men maybe."
"Ouch." He pretended to look like his feelings had been hurt. "Well, it was a joke. Megumi is Matt's ex, so pretty much the farthest thing from my girlfriend."
"Oh no. The one he was sad about?"
He nodded. "Yeah. She used to come here with us a lot."
She mirrored his gesture, perhaps subconsciously. "And do you really have family coming in, or was that just an excuse not to go?"
He chuckled, not offended by the accusation. "It's really true."
She stepped back to give him room to put his cases inside. "I bet it is."
"You don't believe me."
He kept his eye contact on her as he too set down the cases he had been carrying. She was smirking down at him. "Your friend made it very clear that you're a liar last night."
He laughed to cover up the fact that he still wanted to punch Matt in the face for that. Closing the door for her, he simply said, "He was drunk."
Her smirk firmly still in place, she looked at him teasingly, arms crossed. "So you mean you don't lie to hook up with women?"
"I do not," he answered firmly.
"Uh-huh, so you're saying everything you said to me yesterday was true?"
"Ah… I didn't say that." He held up a finger. "But, in my defence, I wasn't trying to hook up with you."
She laughed. "All right then. Fair enough. If that's the case, no hard feelings, what did you lie about?"
He tried to think about what he told her, figuring there was no harm in revealing a few white lies. "Well, for one thing, Matt's family's not from Kyoto. His dad grew up in Shimane and his mum's from France, but he and I are both from Tokyo."
She raised an eyebrow. "Wow, France."
"You like?" Tai asked hopefully.
She didn't answer him. "What else?"
"Let's see…" He rolled his eyes slightly as he thought of another. "I don't actually have anything positive to say about Matt's music. It sounds more like noise than anything else, and it drives me up a wall."
"That's not very nice."
"Believe me, you'd hate it too if you've lived with him for as long as I have."
"You can never have too much good music," she mused.
He chuckled, amused because it was something he could imagine Matt saying to him.
"It's a shame, you know," he said, shaking his head. "You're perfect for him."
She shrugged playfully, grinning. "Sorry, I don't really like blonds."
He laughed, imagining the look on Matt's face if she had said that directly to him. He loved his hair.
"Well then," she challenged, "Is there anything you said to me last night that was actually true?"
"Of course," he said, not missing a beat. "I really do think Kyoto Sanga sucks. They're rubbish and should stay in the J2 League where they belong."
She shook her head disappointingly. "I knew I didn't like you."
"Well, for not liking me, you sure do like talking to me." She gave a wry smile but didn't comment, so he asked, "Any other questions, or are you done interrogating me?"
"Just one more," she said, leaning against her car. "What's my name?"
He laughed loudly, not having expected that. "Wow, you might as well just straight-up tell me you think I'm the scum of the earth. I'm so offended I don't even know what to do," he joked.
Another smirk crept on her face, looking satisfied that she had cornered him. "You don't remember it, do you?"
"I do."
"Then what is it?"
"What do I get if I get it right?"
"You're stalling."
"Do I at least get an apology?"
"I'll think about it."
He laughed. "Well, it's hard to argue with negotiations like that, Sora." She looked surprised that he had gotten it right. "Because I'm nice and don't like to put people on the spot, I'll tell you again that my name is Tai. Now, apology, please."
She feigned disappointment. "I thought I had you there."
He moved his fingers in a beckoning motion, not willing to let it go. "Come on, I'm waiting."
She laughed, giving in. "Fine, I'm sorry. I was wrong."
"You're forgiven. So, Sora,"—he emphasised her name jokingly—"if you're done trying to prove that I'm an appalling human being, I have a question of my own. You came back after you got so angry with me about trying to hook you up with Matt. How come?"
"I thought I needed a ride," she said with a shrug. She laughed when he nodded knowingly, then explained, "It was a shady thing you did, but you know what? I realised you were just trying to help your friend out. Besides, if a girl is stupid enough to fall for your antics, maybe she deserves being tricked like that."
He chuckled, nodding slowly as he had half expected her to admit she had liked him. "Noted. Well, for what it's worth, I'm sorry."
"Apology accepted." She stood up straight, twirling her car keys between her fingers. "Anyway, I should go. I need to help my friend decorate her place for tonight."
"Yeah, go ahead," he agreed. "It was nice running into you again."
She looked up at him, looking almost hesitant. "You know, you should come by her party tonight."
He winced, already knowing that his legitimate excuse sounded like a made-up one. "I can't. I really do have family visiting, and if I know them, they're not going to want to go out."
As expected, she didn't look like she believed him. "Do you really, or are you trying to let me down easily?"
"I swear," he said, holding up a palm. "Rain check?"
She smirked as she opened the front door to her car. "You give a lot of those, but all right. Just make sure you actually follow through and answer me next time."
It took him a second to register that she was talking about the text she had sent him the night before. He had never responded to it.
"Sorry," he apologised, walking towards her as she sat down in the driver's seat. "I fell asleep right after I read it." She smirked, not believing that either. He grinned back. "That, and I don't like watching matches where the winner is so obvious from the beginning."
She didn't appear bothered that he had insulted her team again, continuing to smile at him. "I'll see you around, Tai."
She closed the door to her car, and he watched as she drove off, waving a hand in the air. He lowered it once she could no longer see him, then turned his heel to walk back to his flat across the street.
Huh, what were the odds of running into her again?
It was a shame Matt hadn't come along. He would have loved to see that.
He had almost made it home, stepping off the lift to his level when he heard the door beside his open. Out came Urara, his neighbour that he swore stalked him. She would always come out whenever he returned home. She used to do the same for Matt too, until she found out he had a girlfriend.
"Good morning," she greeted him in her high-pitched voice. He eyed her gear and nearly raised an eyebrow. For the first time since he met her, he saw that she was wearing workout clothes and trainers, looking ready to go on a run. Even her usually-immaculately styled hair was tied up in a high ponytail. When he had first met her, she had been blonde, but she had recently dyed her hair black, saying she wanted to put forth a more mature image. He didn't think it made her look more mature, just that she had black hair. On her hand was a lead, and a little white dog soon dashed out the door, joining them outside.
"Hey there, Princess," he said, leaning down to pet the fiercely barking dog. He used to hate the little shit, but once he got used to the incessant barking, he was okay with her. He picked her up, letting her lick his face in excitement. He turned back to Urara, scratching the dog's stomach as he spoke. "Going on a run?"
She nodded, sighing. "I'm trying to lose two kilos by the end of the year."
"You? No way."
She giggled and playfully hit his arm. Urara was too easy to flatter, but it helped that she was always fishing for compliments. She would reward him with gifts she would buy with her parents' money. Matt and Megumi thought he was a douche for doing this, but he thought she was just as bad. After all, she probably only liked them because she wanted to brag to her friends about knowing two older guys.
"So what are you and Matt doing tonight? Do you guys want to hang out?"
She was also persistent. He couldn't think of a single week that had gone by without her asking them to hang out, and he couldn't think of a single time in which he hadn't made a bogus excuse.
He set the dog back down when it got a little too eager. "Actually, Matt's a little sick today, so I'm going to have to decline."
"Oh no," she said worriedly, putting a hand to his arm. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
"Nah, he just needs to rest. Anyway, I should go. I have to give him his drugs." He held up the pill bottle quickly, stuffing it back in his pocket before she could tell that it was only paracetamol. "Have fun running."
"Oh, wait! Really quickly, have you asked your firm yet whether they're interested in me?"
A couple weeks back, Urara had asked him to help her get an interview at his company. He had told her he would try, but the reality was that he would never damage his credibility by doing that. Urara was suited more to be a professional socialite than a professional businesswoman.
"Yes, I did," he lied, pulling his best apologetic face. "Unfortunately, my boss said I wasn't allowed to do referrals, but you should try applying online."
She looked disappointed, pouting a little as she nodded her head slowly. "Ah, well, thanks anyway. You're such a sweetheart, Tai."
He nodded back as he headed towards the direction of his front door. "Of course, anytime."
"I'll get it," Matt announced sarcastically when Tai didn't come out of his room. Annoyed by his flatmate's laziness, he wiped his hands on a towel and went to the front door, opening it to reveal his little brother, TK, and his wife, Kari. TK was holding a large ceramic dish, probably something Kari had prepared. Kari, on the other hand, carried a card box and a bottle of wine.
"Hello!" Kari greeted cheerily, giving him a hug as he took her belongings from her.
He heard the sound of a door opening from inside the flat.
"Is that my baby sister I hear?"
Matt rolled his eyes as Tai finally came out of his room, a big, stupid grin on his face. For some reason, he liked to think Kari was still eight years old. He leaned to give his sister a hug before giving TK a stern look. "TK."
His little brother, used to this, smiled in return. "Hey guys."
Tai was in fact a massive fan of TK. He just refused to show it in case TK ever got the idea to mistreat his sister. He liked to say it kept TK in line. Matt liked to say Tai was an idiot.
"What happened to your hand?" Kari asked Tai immediately, reaching out to grab it. "Why do you have a bandage around it?"
"It's just a few cuts. No big deal," he said dismissively, ushering her in. "Aw, Kar, why did you bring food? I told you to only bring yourself!"
"Don't be silly. We only bought a cake from this cute bakery. Oh, and we made an aubergine casserole." Kari gestured to the dish TK was holding.
"And by that she means she made it. I watched," TK corrected.
"That's not true," she said, putting a hand to TK's cheek and rubbing it affectionately. "You helped."
"Yeah, yeah, that's enough of that," Tai said sharply, stepping between the two to take the casserole from TK's hands. "I'll set the table!"
"I already set the table," Matt growled. He had called Tai to do it fifteen minutes ago, but he had ignored him.
"Right," Tai waved off. "What'd you make for dinner?"
"Mentaiko pasta."
Tai groaned loudly. "I wanted meat."
"Then you should have cooked," Matt shot back.
"I'm sure it'll be delicious, Tai," Kari soothed in her teacher voice, used to mediating between the two of them. "I'm just going to wash my hands really quickly, and then I can help with whatever still needs to be done."
"Take your time, take your time," Tai repeated as she left. "I'll put the casserole on the table."
"Take these too," Matt told him bossily as he held out the cake and wine. He didn't feel bad, considering this was the only helpful thing Tai had done so far. Tai glared at him but took them without a word.
They suddenly heard a loud gasp coming from the bathroom.
"Oh yeah, the mirror's broken!" Tai hollered belatedly.
Kari peeked out of the bathroom with wide eyes. "What happened?"
"Matt's a lousy drunk," Tai explained simply before disappearing into the dining room.
Alone with his brother, TK looked over to Matt knowingly, quietly stating, "I'm sorry about Megumi."
Matt shrugged it off, feeling he had to at least play it cool in front of his brother. He didn't care if Tai saw him as a mess, but he didn't want his brother to think the break up was affecting him as much as it was.
One thing he noticed was that TK did not say the infuriating "you'll find someone better" lie everyone else had said to him.
TK probably understood him better. He was very much like him in that he and Kari had only ever been with each other. They had even started dating at an earlier age than he and Megumi had. If they were to ever break up—and Matt seriously doubted they ever would—he knew TK wouldn't want to hear those words either.
There was one major difference between him and TK, however. After graduating uni and finding jobs in their respective careers, TK had asked Kari to marry him.
As a result of watching his parents' relationship and his family deteriorate due to marriage, Matt never wanted it for himself. It had been the one tremendous rift in his relationship with Megumi, as she had refused to understand him.
In hindsight, he wondered if he letting go of his hatred and doubt in it could have helped sway her to stay, though it was too late to do anything about it now.
He turned to his brother, smiling a little to make it look like he was fine. "Come on, let's go help Tai before he breaks something."
This was probably the first time in a week that Matt had eaten at the dining table. Nowadays, he preferred to eat in the sitting room with the telly on to distract him. Tai got off work later than he did, so he was usually home alone for an hour before Tai showed up. He used this time to make dinner. Sometimes, if he felt nice, he'd make enough food for him too. Tai was actually a fairly decent cook. He just had an affinity for being lazy and a paycheque that allowed him to eat out daily.
Dinner went well. The mentaiko pasta was good, as was Kari's casserole. So was the wine, but he noticed that he was the only person who had finished his glass. Tai, who didn't like wine, had barely drunk his, TK had only had about half his glass, and Kari had yet to touch hers. It felt unfitting to drink more when nobody else was—not to mention his recent track record with alcohol hadn't been ideal—so even though he could really use another, he decided to limit himself to one.
"Oh, Tai," Kari said suddenly as they were eating the cake she and TK had bought. "Mum wanted me to tell you that you're getting older."
Tai rolled his eyes, sarcastically muttering, "Tell Mum thank you for the helpful reminder. I had forgotten that people age."
Kari shrugged. "She just asked me to tell you. She says you're ignoring her calls."
"That's because she rings me in the middle of work, and then I forget about it by the time I get off. Besides, now I know it wasn't important, because she was only ringing me to tell me that people get older."
"I just think you're hurting her feelings."
Tai leaned back in his seat in defeat. "Fine, fine. I'll ring her tomorrow." He sat up again. "Anyway, enough about Mum. This was a good idea, Kar. We should do these family get-togethers more often."
She beamed at him, then glanced at TK, who nodded once.
"Actually, we have something to tell you guys," Kari said as TK slipped his hand over hers.
Matt held a breath. The atmosphere was strange, and he felt like he already knew what was coming.
"I'm pregnant!"
Matt exhaled, while Tai's jaw dropped.
"You're pregnant?!"
Kari nodded giddily at her brother, while TK flinched. "It's twelve weeks now! We wanted to tell you guys sooner, but I didn't want to jinx it. We've already told our parents, and they're over the moon!"
"You're pregnant?!" Tai repeated loudly, not having listened to a word his sister had just said. "Was it planned?!"
The excitement in Kari's face faded.
"Yes, actually, it was," she said with a disheartened frown. "I thought you would be happy."
"Congratulations!" Matt spoke up as enthusiastically as he could. "Of course we're happy for you two, aren't we, Tai?"
He had said the last part warningly. Tai downed the rest of his wine, then stood up, nodding dazedly.
"Yeah, congratulations," Tai managed to say before he took Kari's untouched wine glass and poured the contents down his throat too. "TK, come here."
For a split second, he was worried for his little brother, but Tai merely patted him on his back, congratulating him numbly. He then sat down, looking out of it.
"Tell us everything," Matt said, knowing it was enough of a starter to get them to talk. He kept his smile in place as TK and Kari started to discuss their future plans with them. Since Tai was obviously making no effort, he felt he had to.
Still, this was not how he had envisioned it. TK was his younger brother, and he couldn't help but think that as the older sibling, he should have been the first to give his parents grandchildren.
He was supposed to be ecstatic for his brother—and he was—but he also found himself comparing. While TK was happily married with a baby on the way, he was recently dumped with no future in sight.
Tai, having drunk his third glass of wine, finally spoke up. "TK, if you don't make her as comfortable as possible in the next six months, I'll kill you."
Matt shot him an annoyed look. TK, having been with Kari for the last eleven years, had grown used to having his life threatened on a regular basis. Tai never really acted on it, except for the time when he wanted to have a drink with TK man-to-man, claiming it was for bonding purposes. It was a disaster from the start as it was between Tai, a person whose liver surprised Matt for continuing to function and TK, a person who rarely drank. His brother spent the night hugging the toilet, and Kari made Tai promise never to do anything like that again.
"Don't worry about TK, Tai. I'm sure he'll be perfect," Kari assured, beaming at her husband. TK smiled back at her, risking a kiss to her temple in front of her madman of a brother.
Matt felt an odd sort of jealousy towards TK that he had never felt before. Perhaps it was because he was now single, but he almost felt disappointment to see his brother so happy. He wondered if that made him a bad person. At the very least, he knew he was being incredibly selfish, as this was not the time where he should be thinking about himself.
Matt, taking a note from Tai's book, poured himself more wine. He emptied the bottle, filling his glass nearly to the rim. Tai immediately left the room and brought out whisky Matt didn't know he had.
For the next hour, they congratulated TK and Kari and took turns touching her flat stomach. They asked them questions he thought he wouldn't be asking his little brother for years. Was someone going to take time off to take care of the baby? Did they want a boy or girl? Had they thought of names? Did they want more?
It was surreal. He could still remember TK crying because of monsters underneath his bed, sobbing that the nightlight had no effect in scaring them away. That little kid was going to be a father.
Tai seemed to harbour similar feelings, as he was definitely not contributing as much to the conversation as Matt was, and he was supposed to be the talkative one.
When Kari yawned, Tai diagnosed it as pregnancy fatigue and demanded TK to put her to bed at once. As the two got ready to leave, Tai promised that he would make his assistant ship them every pregnancy and parenting book known to man on Monday.
Tai had a habit of using his assistant to do menial tasks that had nothing whatsoever to do with her duties at the firm, like the time he had made her stand in line for nine hours to buy a newly-released videogame that he had anticipated would sell out by the time he got off work. His excuse was that he was able to focus more on business matters knowing certain personal issues were being taken care of.
"I'm going to kill TK," Tai said blankly once they were gone. "I can't believe he impregnated my sister." He sat back down on the couch and drank straight from his bottle of whisky, like they had when they were uni students and had no clean cups to use. He held the bottle out to Matt. "Want some?"
Then again, he didn't care either. He snatched the bottle from Tai's grasp and poured the liquor into his mouth, then lit a cigarette now that his brother had gone.
"You could have made it less obvious that you weren't happy about it, you know," Matt scolded, settling himself into the adjacent chair. "Your sister was really excited."
"I mean, I am happy for her… I am. I just…" Tai took another swig from the bottle, drinking it like it was water. It always surprised Matt how easily Tai could hold his drink. "I can't believe they're so settled."
He nodded in agreement.
"And look at us!" Tai continued, using the bottle to point at Matt and then at himself.
Even though Tai had worded it that way, he knew what he was trying to say. They had reached that age where they no longer felt like they belonged in the young adult category, even if they were. All around them, friends were settling down, getting married and having children, becoming the adults that they didn't think they'd have to be for a while. To have their younger siblings reach that same sort of path, at least for Matt, came as a swift reality check.
"Aren't you the one who likes being a bachelor?"
"Yeah, but not when my baby sister is having your dumbass brother's child!"
He let the insult slide, half because he knew Tai didn't really mean it, half because he was beginning to feel the alcohol.
"Maybe I should settle down soon."
Matt rolled his eyes. Quarter-Life Crisis Tai struck again. He went through these every once in a while, usually after a few drinks. It would last until the next morning, when Tai would brush it off as crazy talk.
"Shut up," Matt shot down immediately.
"I'm serious."
He rolled his eyes again. "Fine. Go settle down, and tomorrow morning when you regret it, don't complain to me."
Tai looked annoyed. "I could do it, you know. Just because I wasn't with the same girl for a million years doesn't mean I'm not as capable."
"Yes, it does. You'll go crazy in a month, like you always do."
"Hey!" Tai barked defensively. "That's not true!"
He didn't even bother to refute him. Tai was such an idiot. He always denied that he slept around, even though that was precisely what he did. Tai liked to justify himself a lot, and Matt knew better than to argue with his wrong opinion, especially when he had alcohol in his system.
Tai downed the rest of his whisky, then stumbled up, looking depressed. "All right. I'm going to bed early."
"What about the dishes?" Matt asked irritably. They had made an agreement that Matt would cook tonight if it meant Tai would clean up afterwards.
"I'll do them tomorrow," he muttered, already shuffling to his room.
Matt looked at the direction of the kitchen, debating with himself whether he should do them himself. People often assumed that Tai was the messier of the two, but they were wrong. Tai was more unorganised than he was, but having lived with just his dad for the first eighteen years of his life, the dirty dishes were going to bother Tai before they bothered him. Concluding that he was too lazy, he too headed to his room to call it a night.
He remembered once when he was in primary school, his teacher gave him an assignment to write down how he envisioned his future. As he sat at his desk at home, forced to do homework instead of playing outside with his friends, he quickly wrote that he wanted to be a famous footballer. He drew a stick figure kicking a football into a goal, and then he went outside to play.
His sister, who he had shared a room with at the time, always wanted to be just like him, so she decided she wanted to do the same assignment out of her own free will. While he had spent a grand total of five minutes on his actual homework he would be graded on, Kari spent the majority of her afternoon planning her future. She had showed it to their mother, and their parents had had a good laugh about it. It had been organized to the age. She would go to uni after school, then become a teacher. She was going to get married and have two children, the first a boy and the second a girl, just like her own family.
If that had been the definitive schedule of her life, she was pretty spot-on. That's the way Kari was. She knew what she wanted and pursued it, always succeeding. He had used to think he was the same, but he paled in comparison to her. Her self-assigned paper was much more detailed than his own, yet she had so far kept right on track with every point. She had only been eight when she wrote it, yet she was following that life plan to a tee. His only had one vision, and being a professional footballer definitely hadn't worked out.
He was happy for her. He was extraordinarily proud of his baby sister's achievements, and even though a part of him still saw a child when he looked at her, he knew she would make a great mother. He also knew TK would make a great father since he already was an ideal husband. He remembered when Kari first told her family that she had a boyfriend. She had been thirteen, and he had been completely against it. It wasn't so much that he didn't trust her as much as it was that he didn't trust guys in general. He was sixteen at the time, well at the age when hormones had started to kick in. He knew what he and his friends did during their weekends, and the thought of some guy manipulating his sister drove him insane. His parents had told him to stop being dramatic, telling him in private later that she was very young and in a phase she would soon grow out of.
Fast-forward eleven years.
Their parents were probably ecstatic, especially their mother. As his mum once told him in half seriousness, Kari was their only hope since it was obvious he would never give them grandchildren. While he understood her intentions, his mother went a little overboard with the constant reminders that he was always single. She hated it, and she even went so far as to sending him passive-aggressive emails to his work address. So-and-so's doctor son just got engaged to a lawyer. She ran into his old classmate's mother the other day, and she had found his old acquaintance he hadn't talked to in over a decade was now expecting his first child; wasn't that lovely? The unscientific online article detailing the direct effect of a loving wife and a happy future. Every time she sent him one of those, he would remind her that the IT guy could see his work emails if he wanted to. It would do little to stop her from sending another.
He could already imagine the party his mother would inevitably throw in celebration of Kari's pregnancy. Half the time, his relatives and parents' friends would congratulate Kari. The other half would be spent prodding him with questions of his own future. He was the firstborn son. He carried the family name. When was he going to settle down?
It wasn't his fault he loved being single. He had lived with Matt since they were eighteen and saw what a serious girlfriend did to a person. Matt liked to be bored at home. He didn't mind having to step out of a party to talk to his girlfriend—a party he would have to tell his girlfriend he was going to beforehand. He had to update her constantly with details of where he was, and if his mobile died, he would have to borrow Tai's, just in case. He had to wait on her, had to always get her permission, had to always get her approval, had to always think of her wellbeing on top of his own.
Perhaps Matt could live like that, but he just wasn't that kind of person. He hated having any part of him, however small, be bound to somebody else. His freedom and independence were two areas he valued too much.
But still. He was twenty-seven. He couldn't consider himself old, but he wasn't that young either.
Whatever this feeling was, he hated it. He didn't think it was loneliness, but he wanted company.
Eyes still on the ceiling, he stretched his arm to feel around for his mobile. His fingers acted on their own, scrolling down his contact list to a familiar name.
Sonoka Umeki.
She was the sister of Matt's friend. He had met her at a party, where she had decided approximately five seconds into meeting him she was in love with him. He almost couldn't stand her, but it didn't stop him from ringing her whenever he struck out elsewhere. He and Matt had made a verbal agreement. Matt wouldn't tell his friend that he was stringing along his sister, as long as Tai didn't complain about how crazy she was afterwards.
A part of him knew he was a jerk to her, but it wasn't his fault. She was the one who kept coming to him, and if she would rather see him once every few months instead of never, he wasn't going to deny her of that.
He was about to invite her over when he saw the name directly underneath hers.
Sora, no last name. The girl from the bar and convenience store.
He was about to add her to his "Don't Answer" group in his mobile as he did with all the other random numbers he had, but then he decided he had no reason to do so. Even though he did not know her very well, he had to admit that she had left a positive impression. For one thing, she had probably been a little too nice to him last night when he had tried to trick her, but she also hadn't minded talking to him today either. She could have easily pretended not to see him, but she struck up a cordial conversation. He liked that. She seemed like a cool girl, and she had given him obvious signs that she was interested in him, despite her suspicions about his character.
She probably wouldn't be nearly as easy as Sonoka, but his finger brushed past Sonoka's name to hers anyway.
'Having fun at your party?'
He waited five minutes in silence for an answer, but it never came. He suddenly regretted his message, thinking he should have written something wittier.
Slightly disappointed, he scrolled to Sonoka's number again and began typing.
'I can't stop thinking about you. Come over.'
She had to know it was so obviously untrue, but it would be enough for her anyway.
Indeed, within seconds, she had messaged him back, confirming that she would be over soon.
Somewhat content, he tossed his mobile on his bed and closed his eyes. He'd take a small nap before her arrival.
His mobile beeped again, and he checked it, expecting it to be Sonoka asking if he needed anything.
'It's fun, but I'm worried it's starting to get a little out of hand. How's your family?'
It was Sora. He rolled over to his side to reposition himself, his mood uplifted.
He wrote a reply, then stared at the screen until she responded too. This went on back and forth for a few minutes, she making him laugh with updates about how her friend's friends were slowly destroying the flat. It was strange. He barely knew her, but he found a level of comfort above a person he had met this time yesterday, even if it was only through text.
'You should have come.'
He smiled subconsciously as he read it.
'I know. I regret it. Invite me to the next one.'
She took longer to respond this time. It wasn't that he was counting the minutes, but it'd be a lie to say he didn't start getting a little unnerved when she didn't reply right away.
'Come now. Your family's gone, right?'
He was about to accept her offer, but he groaned as he remembered Sonoka. As little as she meant to him, it was beyond his moral measures to turn her home when she was already on her way.
Not wanting Sora to think he was sketchy, he lied.
'I can't. Flatmate.' After he pressed send, he quickly wrote another. 'Maybe we can do something next weekend instead?'
She took even longer to respond this time, and he felt quite anxious to open her message when it finally came. He almost anticipated rejection.
'What do you have in mind?'
He was slightly relieved before he realised that it felt a little lame to ask her out via text. Instead of typing an answer, he opted to call her instead.
She answered within a couple rings, but all he could hear was loud music and people yelling in the background.
Right. He had forgotten that she was at a party.
"I can call you back!" he said loudly into his mobile.
"What?!" he heard Matt yell back from across the hall.
"Not you!"
Sora was saying something to him, but he couldn't decipher what it was through the loudness of the party. He was only able to make out a "Wait!", so he did. Soon, he heard a closing door, followed by silence.
"Sorry," she said apologetically. "I'm outside now."
He sat up in his bed, shaking his head though she couldn't see it. "No, it was my mistake. Sounds like your party's a hit."
"All I can think about is how long it's going to take to clean it up tomorrow, and it isn't even my flat," she said with a laugh. "Anyway, what did you need to say that warranted a ring?"
He chuckled. "I just didn't want to be the guy who asks you out over text."
A pause.
"You're asking me out?"
Her tone sounded curious more than anything else, but he felt anxiety and panic set in. "Unless you have a boyfriend or something."
The thought hadn't even crossed his mind. He was almost positive that she didn't, considering how much she had flirted with him the night before, but it wasn't like it was an absolute certainty.
"You aren't asking me out for your friend, are you?" she asked suspiciously.
"Er, no," he said, confused. "I meant with me."
"Oh…"
She dragged out the word, which was never a good sign.
"Unless you want to go out with him, because he'd love to," Tai lied, knowing Matt would only murder him for signing him up on a date.
"No, it's not that. I just… Last night… I wasn't sure… You were trying so hard… And—Actually, never mind. I don't know what I'm trying to say. Sorry, I'd love to."
"Great!" he agreed, trying to turn a blind eye to her awkward stuttering. "How's next Saturday?"
Another pause. He was beginning to sense a theme.
"Saturday's fine with me," she answered finally, "but can I count on you? You seem flaky."
A little taken aback by her bold statement, he joked, "You know, you're really good at insulting people. I've not known you for more than 24 hours, yet you've already managed to label me as a lying, sketchy, flaky bloke."
She laughed with him. "It's not my fault. That's how you've come across since I met you."
"I guess that's the kind of guy you go for then," he countered, "since you are agreeing to go out with me and all."
She didn't answer verbally, but he could imagine her smiling on the other line.
"Anyway, I guess I'll just have to change your opinion of me on Saturday, because you've got me all wrong."
"You can try," she quipped.
He heard the doorbell ring, signifying that Sonoka had come. What timing she had, he thought sarcastically.
"Is that for you?!" he heard Matt yell from his room.
And since when the hell was Matt so damn loud?
He quickly got off his bed, hoping Sora hadn't heard either the doorbell or Matt's voice. "Hey, er, I have to go. Matt just got back, so I have to let him in." He hoped she didn't see the obvious flaw in that statement, given that it was doubtful Matt didn't have his own copy of the house keys. "I'll call you later with details, okay?"
She didn't question him. "All right. I'll talk to you then."
"Good night. Have fun at your party!"
He hurriedly hung up right in time for Sonoka's call.
Irked by her impatience, he answered it with a frown.
"I'm outside," she said, in case her annoying use of the doorbell at midnight hadn't already alerted him.
"I heard. I'll be right there."
He tossed his mobile on his bed before leaving his room. As he turned on the hallway light, the door to Matt's room opened slightly, and his flatmate stuck his head out. "Who is that?"
"Sonoka," he answered matter-of-factly.
Matt rolled his eyes and closed his door without a verbal comment, though the condemning look he gave him said plenty. While he and Megumi judged him for Rie and Urara, they judged him for Sonoka most of all. Even he had to admit it was judgment well deserved, though it did little to stop him.
He turned on the light to the sitting room too before answering the door to reveal Sonoka, looking as happy to see him as she always did. It was weird because he always forgot what she looked like when he tried to picture her in his mind, yet she always looked the same when he saw her again. She had a pretty face, but it was an unremarkable sort of pretty. It wasn't the kind of beauty that stood out in a crowd, so perhaps a better way to put it was that she was not unattractive.
Everything about her was grey and boring, right down to her appearance. Her light brown hair had an ashy tinge, as did her blue-grey eyes. She was of an average height, maybe shorter, and her body went straight down. One time when he had been in a particularly foul mood, he had told her in jest that he couldn't tell the difference between her front and back. As she always did, she took the insult. It would make him feel bad, but he supposed he got over it quickly because he would still continue to say things like that to her.
Even now, she was dressed in light grey jeans and a dark grey jumper that hid her figure. He was not the kind of person who noticed fashion or clothes, but for some reason he was always able to see how plainly Sonoka dressed. Nothing about her was memorable. She was just ordinary, one of a million others that could easily be drowned in a sea of conformity.
"Long time no see," he greeted her, leaning down to give her a kiss on the cheek.
"Two months now, right?" She looked around his flat as he closed the door for her and lowered her voice. "Is Matt here? People are saying he and his girlfriend broke up."
"He's asleep," he said, choosing not to delve into Matt's personal life with her. "Do you want anything to drink?"
She obliged and followed him into the kitchen, where he went into the pantry to dig around for the bottle of wine he had hidden there from Matt. He wasn't really a wine person, but he always kept one around for guests. He took out two wineglasses and poured, letting her choose which of the two she wanted.
"Cheers," he said, tipping his glass to her.
She giggled and clinked her glass against his, then gasped. "What happened to your hand?"
"A little accident," he said, brushing it off for the third time that day. It was different with Sonoka though. He knew he could use it to his advantage with her.
She furrowed her brows, setting her glass down so she could take his hand in both of hers. "Does it hurt?"
It was times like this when she looked so concerned for his wellbeing that made him uneasy, knowing that he would never reciprocate that same level of concern. One time, he had made her take care of him when he was ill because he liked the porridge and tea she made. She ended up catching his bug, and he only sent her a short text to wish her well. Even he had to admit that had been a little much.
"Kind of," he lied. "I just have it on because I don't want to touch anything with an open wound." He gestured towards his sink, piled high with dishes from dinner. "That's why I haven't done those yet."
She looked at him piteously. "You poor thing. Here, let me help you with them."
This was the offer he had been expecting, and it was precisely due to this side of her character that turned him off from her so much. She was too easy. She gave him everything he wanted.
He took her by the waist, pulling her to him. "No way. I couldn't ask that of you."
"Tai, I insist. You're hurt."
He pretended to argue a little bit more before giving in like there was nothing he could do about it. He thanked her with a peck to her lips, and she rolled her sleeves up before turning the water on to the sink.
"You're the best," he told her, wrapping his arms around her from behind as she started to wash a plate.
At first she didn't say anything, but then he saw the corners of her lips curve into a small, defeated smile. "Is this why you called me? Because you had dirty dishes?"
This was something Sonoka did often. She would question him, but telling her what she wanted to hear was more than enough to satisfy her.
He trailed kisses down her neck and shoulder. "Of course not, babe. I called you because I missed you."
"If you missed me, then why haven't you kept in touch?"
"I've been busy."
She glanced at him, catching his eye. "You're always busy."
He pressed his lips against her ear. "I can't help it. I'll make it up to you."
She nodded understandingly, then went back to what he had said to her earlier. "I've missed you too." She turned her head to the side, reaching upwards to give him a kiss. He barely kissed back, not wanting to distract her until she was done with his chore. When she turned her attention back to the dishes, she started talking to him again. "If you want to make it up to me, let's go to the cinema tomorrow."
He automatically made up an excuse. "I can't. I have to go to Odaiba tomorrow to see Kari. Rain check?"
While she didn't look at him, he saw another disappointed smile rise on her face. "Another one of your infamous rain checks that never have a follow-up date."
"Come on, don't be like that," he pleaded, kissing back up her shoulder and neck. "I want to go, honest. You can come with me to Odaiba if you want and help me move some furniture."
She didn't respond to his joke, silent as she finished washing his remaining dishes, even drying them for him and putting them away in their designated cupboards.
"Do you like me?" she asked finally, staring at him fixedly. "I'm asking you because I can't tell."
"I wouldn't hang out with you if I hated you," he answered vaguely.
"Then why don't I ever get to be with you?"
"You get to be with me now," he pointed out.
She looked saddened by his answers, but she accepted them as she drank her wine.
He knew he could have been nicer to her, but by never being too nice, it let him believe that he was doing her a favour. In spite of the things he said to lure her, he hoped that through his actions she could tell that he didn't really like her.
He knew the better thing to do was cut her off, but he couldn't help it. As much of a jerk as it made him, he liked having this sort of convenient backup.
He asked her if she wanted another when she finished her wine, and she declined. He took the glass from her hand, setting it by his before he leaned down to kiss her once more. She didn't fight him, letting him do as he pleased, helping him at times until she eventually allowed him to lead her in the direction of his bedroom to do what he had invited her for. Occasionally, he would tell her how beautiful she was or how much he had missed her, just so she wouldn't feel so used, but by the end, he turned his back to her, wanting to make it easier for her to leave in the morning.
Easy. It was just too easy.