Demon Days
Matt flinched under the heavy silence in his room. He watched his dad inspect the mess with TK curiously and annoyingly watching the situation from afar. Gulping, Matt cleared his throat.
"Tell me again..." Grimacing, Mr. Ishida closed his eyes and sighed. "How did it break?" He slowly turned around with a shard of glass in his hand and several others beneath him; jingling as he moved.
Matt shrugged his shoulders. "I told you...I was playing around with my chair when I lost my balance and hit the door." He mumbled, looking down.
"What are you, five years old?" From the doorway, TK mocked, receiving a bitter glare from Matt. Mr. Ishida slowly nodded.
"Right." He let the glass shard fall and began walking out of the room. "Clean it up while I look for a repair man. If we're lucky it'll get done by Monday."
"Monday?!" Matt chocked. "But its Saturday! You seriously don't expect me to sleep without a patio door. What if some maniac prowls in?"
"Relax Matt, it's only two days. If you feel that uncomfortable you can sleep with T.K or in the living room." Mr. Ishida smirked. "I'll even let you bunk with me."
Matt grunted and narrowed his eyes. "Dad." He sternly stated.
The smirk on his dad's face faceted; he couldn't recall the last time Matt addressed him as such, not even by his first name. It was always 'Dude' or 'Hey man.' Immensely fazed by the title but trying hard to conceal his excitement, Mr. Ishida cleared his throat and chuckled.
"Ok, I think I know someone who can fix it by six. A friend of mine from the station; does it all the time."
"He has nothing to do on a Saturday so he fixes broken glass?" Matt retorted.
"Of course, lot's of kids your age play on chairs and break things." Mr. Ishida shot back with a mischievous glare that made Matt blush.
"Oh...good." Matt looked away and slowly flopped down on his knees. "Thanks." He called out while his dad and TK stepped out.
Carefully mounting the shards in one place, Matt looked to his side where a baseball hid under his bed. Reaching under, he took it out and bounced it on his hand. TK must have packed it in the wrong box. Looking at it and then looking at the now broken door, Matt sighed and cursed. Maybe the ball might have been a better story to tell.
--
It was nearly four in the afternoon when TK grew tired of television and decided to read. Not a minute had passed since he laid down on the couch when he heard the front door open. Putting the comic book down he sat up. "Matt?" He walked to door. "Where are you going?"
Looking over his shoulder, Matt scrounged his face. "Dad and that guy are taking over my room, I'm going for a walk."
TK sympathetically smiled. "Mind if I tag along?"
Inwardly grunting, Matt apologetically sighed. "Actually, yeah I kinda do." TK frowned, taken back he nodded.
"That's cool, I'll just stay here."
"Nothing personal TK, I just want to be alone for a while." Matt quickly expressed and TK knowingly smirked.
"I understand." He sat back down. "Be careful, ok?"
Matt smiled. "I will." He responded while putting on a black jacket and pulling it by the hems to secure it in place. He turned the knob and smoothed his way out.
Inhaling, he looked to his left at Sora's apartment door. A metallic taste touched his tongue; he sourly looked away and headed the opposite direction towards the elevator where he pressed on the ground floor button. After seconds of mindless pondering in that cubicle, Matt eagerly stepped out and looked around.
Where to go?
He hadn't had time to explore the city; the only two places he knew his way around were his apartment complex and school. But Odaiba Park wasn't too far; he remembered passing it on his way to and from school. About two blocks away or so. No problem, he convinced himself and began walking.
Tucking his hands into his pocket he shivered and pulled in his neck inward like a turtle. He hadn't realized how chili it was. The streets were busy as always but Matt blended in. Turning left on an intersection he spotted the park in front of him. He smiled and walked faster. It was unusually quiet and calm; Odaiba must not have that many children, Matt joked. He continued to walk toward the playground where a pair of swings caught his eye.
He sighed and carefully sat down on one of them, lazily pushing himself in silence. Closing his eyes he could recall the bitterness in Sora's voice.
I'm such a jerk...
He mentally scolded himself and suddenly lifted his head. Two pairs of footsteps neared his way; along with feminine voices that sounded all too familiar. Standing up, he nervously climbed the jungle gym next to the swings and crawled his way into a red tube facing the swings but that was too high for anyone to see inside.
Silently crawling to the edge, Matt peered below and spotted Sora sitting on the swing he had been swaying on. He quickly backed up and carefully looked again. Mimi now occupied the adjacent swing. They swayed in random circles and he could see the red retinas in Sora's eyes; she had been crying.
"So you're not going to tell me what's wrong?" Mimi peered forward, trying to get a good look at Sora's face.
Sora simply looked away and frowned. "I already told you no Mimi." Mimi whimpered. "At least no now." Sora responded, more sweetly cheering Mimi up at the same time.
"So what's up with you and Matt?" Mimi fiddle with her hair and sighed at the drop of his name. Sora baffled and retorted.
"What's up with you and Matt?"
"What do you mean?"
"Come on Mimi; I see the way you look at him."
Mimi blushed while Matt remained obscured; feeling his stomach churn.
"It's nothing Sora. It's just that it's been a long time since Odaiba has had some fresh meat. I can look but I can't touch, right?" Mimi explained and Sora nodded.
"I guess, but be careful. Izzy really loves you."
"I know, I love him too."
Meanwhile, Matt gagged; he was disliking Mimi more and more. Suddenly he felt the urge to wrap himself in a blanket; imagining the feeling he had must be the same feeling girls get when dirty old guys stare and drool over them. Shivers ran down his spine but he continued to listen.
"You haven't answered my question." Mimi began.
Sora huffed. "Nothing's going on."
"Then why did Tai tell me and Izzy to stop talking to him?"
Sora frowned and stopped swinging. "He did? When?"
"A little while ago, before you called me. I was at Izzy's place when he told us."
"Did he call or go over."
Mimi scrounged her face. "He came over."
"Don't tell me you and Iz where about to." Sora gawked and Mimi sadly nodded.
"And he ruined it." She spat. Sora shook her head and chuckled.
"Wow." She whistled. "This is so weird."
"What is?"
"This! Never in my life would I have imagined us talking about...sex. And not just sex...sex with one of our childhood friends! It's a little awkward if you ask me."
"Oh Sora. It's not that bad! We've all grown up."
"I guess..."
"You know..." Mimi mischievously smiled. Matt still peered under; afraid of what she might say next. "We're all waiting for you and Tai to hook up."
Sora rolled her eyes. "I know he likes me."
"Like is an understatement! That guy is full blown in love; obsessed even."
"Alright drama queen."
Mimi smirked. "You know what I mean."
"Yeah...I just feel so pressured to be with him."
Mimi suddenly stopped swinging and lowered her voice. "You don't like him?" She asked, as if it were the most incredulous thing in the world.
Sora sheepishly sighed. "I don't know...I thought I did because everyone always jokes about us secretly loving each other."
"Although with Tai it's not a secret." Added Mimi and Sora nodded.
"Right...but I'm not sure anymore. Ever since..." Sora hushed up and dragged her sentence. "I don't know." She mumbled and Mimi's eyes grew wider than an owls while Matt grinned like a joker.
"Ever since??"
Sora gulped and sped up, swinging higher and harder. Within the tube, Matt ushered back, if she held the momentum, she'd be able to see him spying on them.
"Sora!" Mimi whined.
"Yeah?" Sora faked, trying shrug her off.
Mimi huffed and sternly pulled on one of Sora's chains as she passed by. Both girl swayed in a flimsy as Sora's high speed clashed with Mimi's barely moving one.
"Mimi!" Cried Sora, trying to control herself from hitting Mimi and falling off.
Mimi jumped off and held Sora down. "Who is it?"
"What?"
"Its Matt isn't it?"
Something in Matt's stomach fluttered; like he had swallowed a frog and it was doing back flips inside him. Sora cringed.
"Hello no." She announced, determined to convince Mimi and maybe even herself. Narrowing her eyes, Mimi folded her arms.
"Then who is it?"
"No one!" Sora exclaimed. "Forget I said that...I do like Tai; I've always liked him. Happy?!" She stood up and walked around. Mimi smiled and squealed.
"Oh Sora! You guys are perfect for each other."
Sora sighed. "Yeah..."
Matt gulped and put his head down. The once chirpy frog inside him now felt like a oversized poisonous toad, decaying him from inside out. Mimi's childish shrills were not in the distance, he was gone. Lowering his eye lids, he hoped he'd wake up and everything was just a dream.
--
"Hey kid, wake up."
Matt shivered and curled up; it was colder than he remembered.
"Are you ok?"
His lids were hesitant to open and his eyes rolled back every time he tried to do so. He could feel something touching him, something bright shinning on him.
"Wake up."
"Wah...?" He murmured and opened his eyes. A park ranger held a light a little too close to his face. "What happened?" He quickly looked around; it was dark. The ranger helped him get out of the tube.
"That's what I want to know. How long have you been in there for? Have you been drinking? Taken any drugs?"
Matt shook his head. "Whoa man, calm down."
"Answer the questions."
"Ok." Matt groaned and rubbed his eyes. "I'm not sure how long I've been in there but it was definitely daylight when I got here." He stretched and dusted himself. "No on the drinking and drugs."
The ranger snickered; he hated being taken lightly. "Were you waiting for someone? Do you have a place to stay?"
"Ok." Matt sighed. "I just wanted to take a walk and decided to take a rest here; I guess I must have dozed off. Can I go now?"
The ranger gave him a stern look but nodded none the less. "Alright, you can go."
"Thank you." Matt sarcastically mumbled and ran off before he changed his mind. Looking over his shoulder, he grunted. That interaction was way longer than it should have been. But it was done and over with, so he'd better hurry home.
He ran back to his apartment and stopped in front of his house. Looking at Sora's door he felt a twinge of pain. He nodded, remembering what had happened. He turned the key and gave it jingle, the way Sora had taught him. Stepping in, he quietly walked down the hall and went straight to his bedroom.
"Where were you?" Mr. Ishida called from the couch, still watching the television.
"At the park."
"At this time?"
Matt rolled his eyes and looked at the clock on the wall. "It's only eight."
Mr. Ishida shook his head. "That doesn't make a difference. Its dangerous out there, warn me the next time you plan to run off."
By now Matt had took it upon himself to walk away, carelessly dismissing his dad's words. Mr. Ishida knew very well that Matt was almost gone but still held his voice.
"And that clock is wrong, it's 9:53!" He called out.
Matt flinched and closed his bedroom door behind him. The clock on his night stand read the same. "Great."
Walking to his desk, he took off his sweater and kicked off his shoes. The patio door was neatly placed, as if nothing had ever happened.
"Cool." He spoke and frowned at a noise coming from his bathroom.
A ruffle, followed but the click of a light switch. TK appeared from around the corner.
"Oh, you're back." He walked towards Matt who clutched his chest, about to have a heart attack.
"You scared the hell out of me. What were you doing?"
TK smiled. "I like to go through your things while you're gone." He chuckled and left.
Matt baffled. "What?" He looked around.
Shrugging, he changed and jumped on his bed. "Goodnight." He mumbled to no one.
--
10:13 AM was the first thing Matt read as his eyes opened. Rolling around in his bed he grunted.
"This has to be the longest weekend ever!" He buried his head in his pillow when he heard knocking from his door.
"Matt?" It was his dad.
"Yeah?"
"You ok?"
"Fine!"
"Want any breakfast?"
Matt bit his lip and looked around. "No thanks."
There was a silent pause and then his dad spoke again. "Are you sure?"
"Ok." Matt gave in; he could almost see the smile on his dad's face.
"Eggs, bacon and toast coming right up!" He muffled and left.
Matt got up and ran his fingers through his hair. Testing the new door, he slid it sideways and stepped out into the patio. Without turning around, he spotted a figure through the corner of his eye. Stepping halfway back into his room, he peered out. Sora carelessly sat on the rail with her head down making him want to rush over and catch her.
A large gust of wind caused her to left her head. Her hair was tousled and matted. Her eyes were puffed and there was a mark on her lip that Matt was sure wasn't there before. A clean cut on the corner of her mouth, adorned with a small bruised lump. Beneath them, the tires of a car screeched. Sora looked downward and spit as it drove off. Matt didn't have to look to know who it was.
"Ss...Sora." Matt breathed out.
Sora slowly turned around without an expression on her face. Matt drew closer.
"Are you alright?"
They were interrupted by a small eraser that landed behind Sora.
"Psst! Sora! Is he gone?" It was Tai.
Sora dully responded without taking her eyes off Matt. "Yeah."
"Great, I'll be up there in a few minutes." Called out Tai.
Trying to keep it cool, Matt spoke slowly, as if Sora were a child and he didn't want to frighten her. "I'm sorry..." He stopped when her door opened and out came Tai.
He walked to her and took her hand, helping her off the rail. He didn't even bother to acknowledge Matt. They walked in a closed the door. Matt sighed and walked into his room.
"FUCK!" He shouted. "Fuck you Sora! Fuck you Tai!" He growled and noticed his dad peering through the door.
Mr. Ishida bashfully informed. "Breakfast is ready."
Matt huffed. "Great." He sweetly replied and walked out toward the kitchen.
Aghast, Mr. Ishida followed suit, almost afraid of his own son.
--
As he flipped through the channels, Matt could feel TK's eyes on him. Trying his best to ignore him, though it was getting harder by the minute, he laid down on the couch.
"You know." TK finally spoke out. "You were way out of line with Sora."
Matt stopped surfing and sat up. "What?"
"You shouldn't have interfered between her and Tai."
"Ok first of all, there was nothing to interfere in; they're not together and second, how the hell do you know about this?"
TK flopped down on the opposite couch. "Kari told me everything."
"Of course." Matt rolled his eyes. "What does she know anyway?"
"Everything." TK replied in a 'as a matter of fact' tone. "She, Tai and Sora are really close."
"Yeah, well what did she say?"
"Well." TK crossed his arms. "She said that you're getting too involved in Sora's affairs."
"What affairs?"
"You know, the thing with her step dad and Tai."
"Ok, what else."
"She said you should let Tai and Sora be together...something about 'they're meant to be' or whatever."
Matt rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He replied and continued changing channels.
"Hey." TK called but Matt didn't turn. "If you really like her then go for it."
Matt stopped and looked at his brother. TK shrugged, got up and walked to his room. Matt watched him leave and smiled.