You are my Sun Chapter 3.
Title: You are my Sun Chapter 3. Aquamarine
Author:thekeyholder (Brigi)
Pairing: Belldom
Rating: PG/13
Summary: Matt and Dom are still in school. At first, they are not in good terms but things will evolve. *wink*
Feedback: gives me power to continue. I would like you to be honest and tell me everything you like or don’t like about my story. :) Improvements are always welcomed!
Warnings: None in this chapter.
Disclaimers: As you probably know, I don’t own Muse but original aspects belong to me.
Author's note: I would like to thank you for your comments! I'm sorry I'm late with this chapter, lots of things going on nowadays. But it's longer than usual. ;)
This chapter is dedicated to my lovely beta, miss_ariake, whose (coincidentally)lucky gemstone is aquamarine.
This beautiful sig was created by one of my good friends. Thanks, Rena!
You are my Sun
Chapter 3. Aquamarine
“What next? Look in my eyes.
If not you, then who will pity me?
You can’t be, you are not worse,
You are better than the others!” (Pilinszky János)
As Dom walked to his house deep in thought, he hadn’t even noticed when he arrived. An even bigger surprise was that not a single light was on. It seemed that no one was at home and once again, he was hit by a feeling of loneliness. After he headed into the house, Dom found a little note in the kitchen:
“Sorry, honey, your dad and I had to go to an important business dinner. I prepared some lasagne for you. Bon appétit!”
He grimaced at the note in disappointment; in the last two years his parents left him to his own devices far too much. Thankfully, he had his older sister, Athena. It wasn’t a coincidence that his sister was named after the Greek goddess of wisdom; in her 19 years, she proved to be more mature and knowledgeable than most of the people Dom had ever known. He didn’t love her for being a genius at Mathematics though, but because she was a genius in understanding the human soul. With just a glance, she could tell if her brother was being tortured by demons of fear or insecurity.
“I must call Athena after I eat,” he thought to himself.
After having eaten a sumptuous supper, Dom locked himself in his room, needing time to digest the events of the day. He was still being tormented by his guilty conscience from earlier; being such an egotistical fool, he could only think about himself. Without his friends at his side, his ‘reputation’ had been at risk sitting in it that corner; he was too good to be sat there…
“Bullshit!” Dom collapsed onto his bed, punching the pillow. Sitting at the back, he finally had the chance to see his supposed friends for what they are. Are they really friends? They only hang out with me because they want the juicy gossip, the dirty secrets; waiting for me to talk about the other popular kids so they can run to them and snitch on me, pathetic arse-lickers!”
Dom rolled over, picking up the phone and dialled Athena’s number. After a few rings, he heard the soft voice of his sister.
“Hi, Dommy!”
“How did you know it’s me?”
“Telepathy, my dear! I thought about you and a few moments later the phone rang. I hope you’re alright? What are our folks doing?”
“They are having a business dinner now.” Dom spoke in a dry voice, but talking with his sister had calmed him down, so he continued in a kinder voice. “Enough about me; how are things with you? Are you enjoying the university; what is Oxford like?
“Oh, everything is so lovely! My roommate is a jolly, sweet girl and we have a lot of fun… what’s wrong with you though? You sound sad, my dear. Dommy, you know you can trust me, tell me what’s eating you?” Trust Athena to notice, Dom sighed. I do trust her; she’s probably the only person I can.
“Well... I have got a problem…” He hesitated before crying out. “I’m such an awful person, Athena!”
“Aww, don’t say that, it’s not true. Tell me, what did you do?”
“I acted like a complete moron to the kindest person I’ve ever known. They moved our seats at school, and I didn’t like where they put me so… I started to spread lies about the person next to me. What’s worse though, he pretended like nothing happened; in fact, he even helped me out in lessons!”
Athena smiled empathetically as she imagined Dom’s haggard face. “Well, the most important thing to do now is to apologise for what you did. You know it was wrong, so you should now ask for…?”
“Matthew” added Dominic.
“Ask for Matthew’s forgiveness and make it up to him somehow. He seems willing to be a friend; I think you should return the offer to him. And I mean like truly being his friend.”
“Who would want to be the friend of such an awful person?!”
“Excuse me, I thought I was your friend!” giggled Athena sweetly. “Believe me, if Matthew was still kind after you did that to him then he is an exceptional person. He will certainly appreciate your gesture.”
“Thanks, sis. You are too good to me; have I told you already that you are my favourite person in the world? I’d be crazy if it weren’t for your help! I owe you so much for all your support…”
“Oh, no need for that! I can feel your love, dear. Take care of you and don’t forget my advice!”
“I won’t. And thanks for listening to me. Kisses! Bye bye!”
Feeling better about himself, Dom went to his tape collection and picked out a classical one which always calmed him down. As he lay on his bed, he pictured Matt’s face. His heart sank… he had to apologise on Monday. After how much of a dick he‘d been, Matt was still kind to him. He didn’t deserve it, not even a bit. Dom was certain that Matt knew about what he had done, because his sister almost punched him and his classmates. Fortunately, Chris was there to hold her back, but Dom couldn’t forget how angry she looked; those icy blue eyes that resembled her brother’s so much. What if Matt wasn’t so accepting and he was to look at Dom like that? A chill came over him; he couldn’t bear it…
As Dom fell asleep, he smiled with the soothing thought that, come Monday, he had a plan which would hopefully work.
*****
“Waking up early on a Monday morning should be banned…” Especially if it was raining like that; Matt grumbled as he got out of his bed and sleepily looked out the window. Everything looked dull and grey in the dim light and Matt was convinced that it was going to be a painfully boring day at school. He just wanted to stay under the warm blanket… so comfy and tempting, but he had to get ready.
A melancholy atmosphere was hovering over the classroom which Matt noticed after trying to sneak in. Strangely enough, Dom was already there, proudly sitting there with a huge smile on his face; a colourful face amongst the otherwise comatose students. Before Matt sat down, Dom made sure that he was the one who greeted first:
“Good morning, Matt.”
“Morning, Dom. How come you’re already here? It’s a bit early for you…” He asked him like it was a natural question whilst trying to hide his curiosity. Why was Dom here so early?
“Umm, yeah, I couldn’t sleep!” Dom chuckled back, hoping Matt wouldn’t pick up the fact he was lying; his mind still occupied with the embarrassing experience he had a few minutes ago.
Dom had been repeating in his head how he was going to apologise to Matt when he bumped into a tall and well-built student. At first, he didn’t look at the person’s face, muttering a quiet apology and intending to go on, but the figure gripped his right arm tightly.
“What the…?” Dom finally locked eyes with the other person, a face he recognised immediately. “Chris, hey man, what’s your problem?”
“You know it very well. Did your parents teach you to spread lies about your classmates, huh? Come on, answer me!”
“No, dude, let me go.” Dom’s face flushed, he was already feeling bad enough, having Chris lecture him wasn’t helping.
“If you don’t come round with Matt I’ll…” Dom shook Chris’ grip off, looking away from his cold glare.
“Just stop it! I’ve already planned to apologise today... anyway, you only care because you want Linda to like you more. You’ll go to her and be all ‘Look at me, I’m such a big hero, I’m the coolest, the smartest, I’m the…’”
“Okay, okay, I get it… I won’t say anything to Linda but, I want to hear from her that you kept your promise.” Chris stuttered before approaching Dom, whispering slightly, “It’s… good that you’ve decided to do that.” He looked genuinely appreciative of Dom. They both looked into each other’s eyes and smiled, shaking hands. An angry voice interrupted them:
“You!” Linda pointed her finger at Dom as she stomped towards him. “You dirty little liar!”
“Linda, chill! It’s cool, we’ve sorted things out, don’t worry.” Chris smiled as he wrapped his arms around her. “Come on, I’ll tell you about it later. Bye Dom, have a nice day!” With a wink, the pair disappeared.
“Dom, are you listening to me?” Matt’s quiet voice woke him up from his recollection.
“Sorry… I was…thinking, miles away. What did you ask?”
“What’s our first lesson?”
“French” While Matt’s face paled a bit, Dom was happy. He loved this language and he almost spoke it fluently. He was by far the best in the class; in fact, this was the only subject at which Dom beat Matt. Shortly after the bell rang, an elegant, old-fashioned lady entered the classroom.
“Bonjour” she sang cheerfully.
“Bonjour, Mademoiselle Lesigne!”
“Ouvrez vos livres à la page 50. Vous avez une tâche de parler. ”
(Open your books at page 50. You’ve got a speaking task.)
“Le thème est la musique, donc il doit être facile pour vous. Bon chance!“
(The topic is music, so it’ll be easy for you. Good luck!)
Matt frowned; he always loved the charm and grace of the French language, but could never get his head round the pronunciation. Speaking English was hard enough as it is; if he makes a mistake now though, Dom would probably laugh at him.
Dom turned to face him and asked politely. “Do you want to start this conversation?” Matt shook his head violently, fear already set in his head.
“Okay... let’s see, vous aimez la musique? Quelle est votre opinion à ce sujet?”
(Do you like Music? What’s your opinion on it?)
Dom closed his eyes as he was wording his answer.
“J’aime beaucoup la musique, rock en particulier. Je voudrais être un musicien populaire et je voudrais aimer divertir des centaines de personnes avec ma création.”
(I love music, especially rock. I would like to be a successful musician and I’d love to entertain hundreds of people with my creation.)
Matt watched with awe as Dom spoke. As he was talking about his dreams, Matt couldn’t help but notice how his eyes widened; they were an incredible colour… an interesting mixture of green and grey, like an uncut aquamarine. Matt’s mind was like an encyclopaedia; everything that he ever had read about this mysterious gem flashed across his mind.
Aquamarine is considered to be the stone of courage. Its soothing energy diminishes stress and creates harmony. Sailors used it to protect themselves from drowning. It was often believed that this beautiful stone outfaces the forces of darkness and wins the auspices of the light entities.
Matt smiled fondly as he thought about the description; he was happy that he found the connection between the two. Maybe the owner of the aquamarine eyes would make his life brighter? Dispel the darkness of all the problems he was surrounded by?
“Et tu?” Dom asked curiously, blushing as he noticed that Matt had been staring at him.
“Oh, what was the question? My opinion about music?” He scratched his head, trying to come up with an elaborate answer to show off to Dom.
“La musique est un besoin pour moi…umm, gosh… je joue mon piano tous les jours.
(Music is a need for me, I play my piano every day.)
“You play piano too? I play the drums all the time!”
“Really, that’s awesome! Err…” The teacher glanced over and Matt coughed slightly.”I meant…vraiment? C’est… impressionnant!” Matt looked back in the book , keeping an eye on the teacher.
”Le question suivante est : Quel est votre groupe préféré?”
(The next question is: What is your favourite band?)
“La question.” Dom corrected him, trying to return the favour after the last lesson when Matt helped him out. Matt blushed and muttered a quiet “Pardon”, trying to pretend it didn’t happen.
“Mon groupe préféré est Queen.” Dom’s face lit up when he heard this.
“Really? They’re my favourites too!”
They both welcomed the relieving ringing of the bells signalling for break-time; but both for different reasons. Matt didn’t have to struggle any longer with expressing his thoughts in a foreign language while Dom could start to put into practice his sister’s advice. He was quite sure now that they had other things in common as well. As the rest of the class tucked into their sandwiches, Dom took out a lunch box out his bag and he looked trustingly at its content.
“Matt, would you like to try one? It’s an orange muffin, they’re… they’re quite good.” He offered the sweet cake to Matt. Why did his voice to quiver?
Matt blessed the day when he’d decided to grow his hair. It saved him in situations like this; hiding his surprised face and his red cheeks. Although he kind of wanted it, he politely refused the offer; Dom kept praising the delicacies and Matt couldn’t resist their beautiful golden colour. He gingerly picked one and bit into the soft cake. Dom watched eagerly, Matt’s agreeable “Mmmh” expressions giving him great satisfaction.
“You’re right, these muffins are heavenly! Tell your mom that she’s very talented!”
“Well, to be honest… I baked them…but I’m glad that you like them.” Dom blushed as he lowered his eyes; Matt was taken aback.
“Wow! That’s awesome. I can barely do an omelette. Fancy that, Monsieur Chef Dominic Howard!” They both laughed at Matt’s exaggerated French accent. Suddenly, Linda jumped out of nowhere, catching them both off guard.
“Ahh, you two having fun?” Linda asked playfully. “I’ve got some good news, Matt; I’m going to be one of the editors of the school’s newspaper!”
The boys congratulated her and Linda left the class, blissfully convinced that her brother had gained the respect he’d wanted.
Useful links:
Aquamarine pic
Aquamarine pic 2
*****
Matt literally flew home; the wings of delight carried his feather-like body easily. When you’re happy, the weight of the world doesn’t seem to pull you down. The joy and happiness of his thoughts were contrasted by the soft and pleasant sunrays which caressed sweetly against his face. Storms and bad weather were gone and so was the viciousness of Dom.
Matt’s grandmother spotted her grandson from the kitchen window. She was pleasantly surprised to see that Matthew was all smiles under his yellow umbrella; for an unknown reason, he had looked troubled and cheerless the previous week. She tried to get Linda to tell her more, but she only stammered something about Matt falling out with his classmate.
As Matt ran in the house, he greeted his grandmother with an affectionate kiss on her right cheek.
“Hello, granny! Mmm, something smells great! What are you cooking?”
“Thank you, my dear. I thought about trying a new recipe I read in the newspaper: stuffed mushrooms with cheese sauce. It’s ready in a few minutes.”
“Sounds good!” Matt hugged his grandmother and headed to the dining room to start spreading the table.
‘Meals are always a good occasion to draw my grandson out…’ thought the elderly lady. “You had a good day, dear? What happened at school?”
“Oh, yes! I was pleasantly surprised today, you know, that guy I told you about, Dominic?”
“Didn’t he upset you last week?” his grandma asked curiously.
“Yes, but he probably realized he made a mistake. He was like a changed person today; he showed me attention and he even baked some muffins. I suppose; all these gestures were meant to just win my forgiveness...” Matt muttered, finishing his train of thought.
“People are capable of change” His grandmother sighed nostalgically and went in the living room. When she returned, she was holding the framed portrait of her deceased husband. Matt really loved his grandpa Gerard, but he didn’t like to be reminded that he was no longer with them. Although he passed away almost 5 years ago, his grandmother still often cried when she mentioned him and Matt felt powerless to help, incapable of comforting his granny.
“Have I ever told you the story of our love?” Matt shook his head, watching as his grandmother sat down in her chair, eyes already welling with tears;
“You won’t believe it but your grandpa and I hated each other when we met. We were at the same school, same class… and one day, our form teacher made us share the same desk too! Oh, I was livid! We would quarrel every single day…” she smiled briefly, “but just when we finished school, Gerard asked me to be his wife!”
“Aww, really?” Matt had never heard this before; it was a true pearl of a story. He seated himself next to his grandmother and embraced her shoulder; both reflecting on the treasured memories of the past.
Interestingly, it seemed that Matt took after his grandmother in his look. They both had the same eyes, that crystal blue, only that his grandmother’s long eyelashes cast a shadow, thus making her eyes a touch darker. Matt once had remarked that he and his grandmother were living in a mutually beneficial relationship, each one needing the other half; he gained stability, calmness and a shelter from the constant brawling of his parents, while his grandma got the company she so desperately desired to bear off the dark ghost of solitude.
Author:thekeyholder (Brigi)
Pairing: Belldom
Rating: PG/13
Summary: Matt and Dom are still in school. At first, they are not in good terms but things will evolve. *wink*
Feedback: gives me power to continue. I would like you to be honest and tell me everything you like or don’t like about my story. :) Improvements are always welcomed!
Warnings: None in this chapter.
Disclaimers: As you probably know, I don’t own Muse but original aspects belong to me.
Author's note: I would like to thank you for your comments! I'm sorry I'm late with this chapter, lots of things going on nowadays. But it's longer than usual. ;)
This chapter is dedicated to my lovely beta, miss_ariake, whose (coincidentally)lucky gemstone is aquamarine.
This beautiful sig was created by one of my good friends. Thanks, Rena!
You are my Sun
Chapter 3. Aquamarine
“What next? Look in my eyes.
If not you, then who will pity me?
You can’t be, you are not worse,
You are better than the others!” (Pilinszky János)
As Dom walked to his house deep in thought, he hadn’t even noticed when he arrived. An even bigger surprise was that not a single light was on. It seemed that no one was at home and once again, he was hit by a feeling of loneliness. After he headed into the house, Dom found a little note in the kitchen:
“Sorry, honey, your dad and I had to go to an important business dinner. I prepared some lasagne for you. Bon appétit!”
He grimaced at the note in disappointment; in the last two years his parents left him to his own devices far too much. Thankfully, he had his older sister, Athena. It wasn’t a coincidence that his sister was named after the Greek goddess of wisdom; in her 19 years, she proved to be more mature and knowledgeable than most of the people Dom had ever known. He didn’t love her for being a genius at Mathematics though, but because she was a genius in understanding the human soul. With just a glance, she could tell if her brother was being tortured by demons of fear or insecurity.
“I must call Athena after I eat,” he thought to himself.
After having eaten a sumptuous supper, Dom locked himself in his room, needing time to digest the events of the day. He was still being tormented by his guilty conscience from earlier; being such an egotistical fool, he could only think about himself. Without his friends at his side, his ‘reputation’ had been at risk sitting in it that corner; he was too good to be sat there…
“Bullshit!” Dom collapsed onto his bed, punching the pillow. Sitting at the back, he finally had the chance to see his supposed friends for what they are. Are they really friends? They only hang out with me because they want the juicy gossip, the dirty secrets; waiting for me to talk about the other popular kids so they can run to them and snitch on me, pathetic arse-lickers!”
Dom rolled over, picking up the phone and dialled Athena’s number. After a few rings, he heard the soft voice of his sister.
“Hi, Dommy!”
“How did you know it’s me?”
“Telepathy, my dear! I thought about you and a few moments later the phone rang. I hope you’re alright? What are our folks doing?”
“They are having a business dinner now.” Dom spoke in a dry voice, but talking with his sister had calmed him down, so he continued in a kinder voice. “Enough about me; how are things with you? Are you enjoying the university; what is Oxford like?
“Oh, everything is so lovely! My roommate is a jolly, sweet girl and we have a lot of fun… what’s wrong with you though? You sound sad, my dear. Dommy, you know you can trust me, tell me what’s eating you?” Trust Athena to notice, Dom sighed. I do trust her; she’s probably the only person I can.
“Well... I have got a problem…” He hesitated before crying out. “I’m such an awful person, Athena!”
“Aww, don’t say that, it’s not true. Tell me, what did you do?”
“I acted like a complete moron to the kindest person I’ve ever known. They moved our seats at school, and I didn’t like where they put me so… I started to spread lies about the person next to me. What’s worse though, he pretended like nothing happened; in fact, he even helped me out in lessons!”
Athena smiled empathetically as she imagined Dom’s haggard face. “Well, the most important thing to do now is to apologise for what you did. You know it was wrong, so you should now ask for…?”
“Matthew” added Dominic.
“Ask for Matthew’s forgiveness and make it up to him somehow. He seems willing to be a friend; I think you should return the offer to him. And I mean like truly being his friend.”
“Who would want to be the friend of such an awful person?!”
“Excuse me, I thought I was your friend!” giggled Athena sweetly. “Believe me, if Matthew was still kind after you did that to him then he is an exceptional person. He will certainly appreciate your gesture.”
“Thanks, sis. You are too good to me; have I told you already that you are my favourite person in the world? I’d be crazy if it weren’t for your help! I owe you so much for all your support…”
“Oh, no need for that! I can feel your love, dear. Take care of you and don’t forget my advice!”
“I won’t. And thanks for listening to me. Kisses! Bye bye!”
Feeling better about himself, Dom went to his tape collection and picked out a classical one which always calmed him down. As he lay on his bed, he pictured Matt’s face. His heart sank… he had to apologise on Monday. After how much of a dick he‘d been, Matt was still kind to him. He didn’t deserve it, not even a bit. Dom was certain that Matt knew about what he had done, because his sister almost punched him and his classmates. Fortunately, Chris was there to hold her back, but Dom couldn’t forget how angry she looked; those icy blue eyes that resembled her brother’s so much. What if Matt wasn’t so accepting and he was to look at Dom like that? A chill came over him; he couldn’t bear it…
As Dom fell asleep, he smiled with the soothing thought that, come Monday, he had a plan which would hopefully work.
*****
“Waking up early on a Monday morning should be banned…” Especially if it was raining like that; Matt grumbled as he got out of his bed and sleepily looked out the window. Everything looked dull and grey in the dim light and Matt was convinced that it was going to be a painfully boring day at school. He just wanted to stay under the warm blanket… so comfy and tempting, but he had to get ready.
A melancholy atmosphere was hovering over the classroom which Matt noticed after trying to sneak in. Strangely enough, Dom was already there, proudly sitting there with a huge smile on his face; a colourful face amongst the otherwise comatose students. Before Matt sat down, Dom made sure that he was the one who greeted first:
“Good morning, Matt.”
“Morning, Dom. How come you’re already here? It’s a bit early for you…” He asked him like it was a natural question whilst trying to hide his curiosity. Why was Dom here so early?
“Umm, yeah, I couldn’t sleep!” Dom chuckled back, hoping Matt wouldn’t pick up the fact he was lying; his mind still occupied with the embarrassing experience he had a few minutes ago.
Dom had been repeating in his head how he was going to apologise to Matt when he bumped into a tall and well-built student. At first, he didn’t look at the person’s face, muttering a quiet apology and intending to go on, but the figure gripped his right arm tightly.
“What the…?” Dom finally locked eyes with the other person, a face he recognised immediately. “Chris, hey man, what’s your problem?”
“You know it very well. Did your parents teach you to spread lies about your classmates, huh? Come on, answer me!”
“No, dude, let me go.” Dom’s face flushed, he was already feeling bad enough, having Chris lecture him wasn’t helping.
“If you don’t come round with Matt I’ll…” Dom shook Chris’ grip off, looking away from his cold glare.
“Just stop it! I’ve already planned to apologise today... anyway, you only care because you want Linda to like you more. You’ll go to her and be all ‘Look at me, I’m such a big hero, I’m the coolest, the smartest, I’m the…’”
“Okay, okay, I get it… I won’t say anything to Linda but, I want to hear from her that you kept your promise.” Chris stuttered before approaching Dom, whispering slightly, “It’s… good that you’ve decided to do that.” He looked genuinely appreciative of Dom. They both looked into each other’s eyes and smiled, shaking hands. An angry voice interrupted them:
“You!” Linda pointed her finger at Dom as she stomped towards him. “You dirty little liar!”
“Linda, chill! It’s cool, we’ve sorted things out, don’t worry.” Chris smiled as he wrapped his arms around her. “Come on, I’ll tell you about it later. Bye Dom, have a nice day!” With a wink, the pair disappeared.
“Dom, are you listening to me?” Matt’s quiet voice woke him up from his recollection.
“Sorry… I was…thinking, miles away. What did you ask?”
“What’s our first lesson?”
“French” While Matt’s face paled a bit, Dom was happy. He loved this language and he almost spoke it fluently. He was by far the best in the class; in fact, this was the only subject at which Dom beat Matt. Shortly after the bell rang, an elegant, old-fashioned lady entered the classroom.
“Bonjour” she sang cheerfully.
“Bonjour, Mademoiselle Lesigne!”
“Ouvrez vos livres à la page 50. Vous avez une tâche de parler. ”
(Open your books at page 50. You’ve got a speaking task.)
“Le thème est la musique, donc il doit être facile pour vous. Bon chance!“
(The topic is music, so it’ll be easy for you. Good luck!)
Matt frowned; he always loved the charm and grace of the French language, but could never get his head round the pronunciation. Speaking English was hard enough as it is; if he makes a mistake now though, Dom would probably laugh at him.
Dom turned to face him and asked politely. “Do you want to start this conversation?” Matt shook his head violently, fear already set in his head.
“Okay... let’s see, vous aimez la musique? Quelle est votre opinion à ce sujet?”
(Do you like Music? What’s your opinion on it?)
Dom closed his eyes as he was wording his answer.
“J’aime beaucoup la musique, rock en particulier. Je voudrais être un musicien populaire et je voudrais aimer divertir des centaines de personnes avec ma création.”
(I love music, especially rock. I would like to be a successful musician and I’d love to entertain hundreds of people with my creation.)
Matt watched with awe as Dom spoke. As he was talking about his dreams, Matt couldn’t help but notice how his eyes widened; they were an incredible colour… an interesting mixture of green and grey, like an uncut aquamarine. Matt’s mind was like an encyclopaedia; everything that he ever had read about this mysterious gem flashed across his mind.
Aquamarine is considered to be the stone of courage. Its soothing energy diminishes stress and creates harmony. Sailors used it to protect themselves from drowning. It was often believed that this beautiful stone outfaces the forces of darkness and wins the auspices of the light entities.
Matt smiled fondly as he thought about the description; he was happy that he found the connection between the two. Maybe the owner of the aquamarine eyes would make his life brighter? Dispel the darkness of all the problems he was surrounded by?
“Et tu?” Dom asked curiously, blushing as he noticed that Matt had been staring at him.
“Oh, what was the question? My opinion about music?” He scratched his head, trying to come up with an elaborate answer to show off to Dom.
“La musique est un besoin pour moi…umm, gosh… je joue mon piano tous les jours.
(Music is a need for me, I play my piano every day.)
“You play piano too? I play the drums all the time!”
“Really, that’s awesome! Err…” The teacher glanced over and Matt coughed slightly.”I meant…vraiment? C’est… impressionnant!” Matt looked back in the book , keeping an eye on the teacher.
”Le question suivante est : Quel est votre groupe préféré?”
(The next question is: What is your favourite band?)
“La question.” Dom corrected him, trying to return the favour after the last lesson when Matt helped him out. Matt blushed and muttered a quiet “Pardon”, trying to pretend it didn’t happen.
“Mon groupe préféré est Queen.” Dom’s face lit up when he heard this.
“Really? They’re my favourites too!”
They both welcomed the relieving ringing of the bells signalling for break-time; but both for different reasons. Matt didn’t have to struggle any longer with expressing his thoughts in a foreign language while Dom could start to put into practice his sister’s advice. He was quite sure now that they had other things in common as well. As the rest of the class tucked into their sandwiches, Dom took out a lunch box out his bag and he looked trustingly at its content.
“Matt, would you like to try one? It’s an orange muffin, they’re… they’re quite good.” He offered the sweet cake to Matt. Why did his voice to quiver?
Matt blessed the day when he’d decided to grow his hair. It saved him in situations like this; hiding his surprised face and his red cheeks. Although he kind of wanted it, he politely refused the offer; Dom kept praising the delicacies and Matt couldn’t resist their beautiful golden colour. He gingerly picked one and bit into the soft cake. Dom watched eagerly, Matt’s agreeable “Mmmh” expressions giving him great satisfaction.
“You’re right, these muffins are heavenly! Tell your mom that she’s very talented!”
“Well, to be honest… I baked them…but I’m glad that you like them.” Dom blushed as he lowered his eyes; Matt was taken aback.
“Wow! That’s awesome. I can barely do an omelette. Fancy that, Monsieur Chef Dominic Howard!” They both laughed at Matt’s exaggerated French accent. Suddenly, Linda jumped out of nowhere, catching them both off guard.
“Ahh, you two having fun?” Linda asked playfully. “I’ve got some good news, Matt; I’m going to be one of the editors of the school’s newspaper!”
The boys congratulated her and Linda left the class, blissfully convinced that her brother had gained the respect he’d wanted.
Useful links:
Aquamarine pic
Aquamarine pic 2
*****
Matt literally flew home; the wings of delight carried his feather-like body easily. When you’re happy, the weight of the world doesn’t seem to pull you down. The joy and happiness of his thoughts were contrasted by the soft and pleasant sunrays which caressed sweetly against his face. Storms and bad weather were gone and so was the viciousness of Dom.
Matt’s grandmother spotted her grandson from the kitchen window. She was pleasantly surprised to see that Matthew was all smiles under his yellow umbrella; for an unknown reason, he had looked troubled and cheerless the previous week. She tried to get Linda to tell her more, but she only stammered something about Matt falling out with his classmate.
As Matt ran in the house, he greeted his grandmother with an affectionate kiss on her right cheek.
“Hello, granny! Mmm, something smells great! What are you cooking?”
“Thank you, my dear. I thought about trying a new recipe I read in the newspaper: stuffed mushrooms with cheese sauce. It’s ready in a few minutes.”
“Sounds good!” Matt hugged his grandmother and headed to the dining room to start spreading the table.
‘Meals are always a good occasion to draw my grandson out…’ thought the elderly lady. “You had a good day, dear? What happened at school?”
“Oh, yes! I was pleasantly surprised today, you know, that guy I told you about, Dominic?”
“Didn’t he upset you last week?” his grandma asked curiously.
“Yes, but he probably realized he made a mistake. He was like a changed person today; he showed me attention and he even baked some muffins. I suppose; all these gestures were meant to just win my forgiveness...” Matt muttered, finishing his train of thought.
“People are capable of change” His grandmother sighed nostalgically and went in the living room. When she returned, she was holding the framed portrait of her deceased husband. Matt really loved his grandpa Gerard, but he didn’t like to be reminded that he was no longer with them. Although he passed away almost 5 years ago, his grandmother still often cried when she mentioned him and Matt felt powerless to help, incapable of comforting his granny.
“Have I ever told you the story of our love?” Matt shook his head, watching as his grandmother sat down in her chair, eyes already welling with tears;
“You won’t believe it but your grandpa and I hated each other when we met. We were at the same school, same class… and one day, our form teacher made us share the same desk too! Oh, I was livid! We would quarrel every single day…” she smiled briefly, “but just when we finished school, Gerard asked me to be his wife!”
“Aww, really?” Matt had never heard this before; it was a true pearl of a story. He seated himself next to his grandmother and embraced her shoulder; both reflecting on the treasured memories of the past.
Interestingly, it seemed that Matt took after his grandmother in his look. They both had the same eyes, that crystal blue, only that his grandmother’s long eyelashes cast a shadow, thus making her eyes a touch darker. Matt once had remarked that he and his grandmother were living in a mutually beneficial relationship, each one needing the other half; he gained stability, calmness and a shelter from the constant brawling of his parents, while his grandma got the company she so desperately desired to bear off the dark ghost of solitude.