Twisted Fate - 1. Chapter 1 Sunset

Chapter 1 SUNSET

The sunset is so beautiful. Yet... it seems so sad at the same time.

I was sitting on a cliff facing the sea, and looking at the mountains of the nearby island. It was probably a little after six o'clock, and the sun will be gone at any moment to hide behind the faraway Western mountains. But right now, its rays reflect a brilliant golden-yellow over the sea and sky, bringing sharper contrast on the clouds overhead, and on the ground.

On the eastern mountains, the darkness looks more menacing than usual. I assumed it was because of the weather.

I never thought it marked the end of my life as I knew it.

"Hey, Akira!"

Somebody called out from behind me. I turned around and saw Jason approaching me. He's been my friend throughout high school. I guess everyone thought of him as my best friend, since he's the only who one stuck with me despite my tendency to avoid people. I looked back at the sunset.

"Enjoying the sunset?" he asked merrily.

"Mm-hmm," I replied.

"Not so chatty today, are we?" That was an understatement. He knows very well I rarely participate in idle talk. Or any talk, for that matter.

He sat beside me and went on. "The weatherman says we're gonna get one hell of a storm starting tonight. I guess it's a good idea to admire the sun while we have it."

I looked him over. He's tall, even when he's sitting down. His wavy, blond hair is dancing in the breeze, his cool, blue eyes scanning the sea. Sitting here beside me, he looked simply stunning. I hear (and you hear a lot when you move around like a ghost) that a lot of girls in school have a crush on him. Funny how he seem to ignore their advances.

"Jason," a group of giggling girls approached him once after soccer practice.

"There's a nice movie coming out this weekend. We're going out to watch it. Wanna hang out with us?" one of the girls asked hopefully.

"Um, yeah, that's cool," Jason replied, apparently uninterested.

Yet, the girl's eyes went so wide I thought her eyeballs are going to fall off. "Great!" she squeaked, then went back to join her giggling friends.

Of course, that weekend, Jason didn't join them. I don't know what excuse he made that time, but one I heard earned him concern instead when he said he broke his left leg during soccer practice. Unashamed, he appeared in class Monday morning with no scratch whatsover, and no one badgered him on what a lame liar he is.

Except for me, that is. To which his usual reply is a grin or a "Damn, you caught me."

He never seemed particularly bothered if I, or anyone else for that matter, point out his lies. Although I admit it pleases me that he'll sometimes lie his way out of similar invitations and then hang out with me.

More than pleased. I was attracted to him since I saw him when I joined their high school, and we ended up in the same class. Although I gave up on my fantasies long ago. No one so particularly good-looking can possibly fall for me, especially in a co-ed school.

Yet, one more thing made me wonder...

---

"Hey, new boy!"

It was friday, the last day of my first week in their high school. A few of the school bullies had been on my tail the whole week. I guess they were offended the way I climbed over the class list as one of the best students. I easily evaded them during the week. This time was different.

There's some stupid school event in the gym, and everyone's required to attend until it's finished. Which happened to be right after dark. Which meant less jeep and bus for me. I can't make a quick escape like I usually do. Approximately 16 more minutes before the next bus passes by. Unless a jeepney hurrying home does. It'll be a miracle, but even more so if it has space for one more passenger.

They guffawed as they approached me.

"You break our heart, new boy." The largest of them said. "We've been dying to meet the new star this whole week, but you've been avoiding us."

"You know, we're very popular in school too," another one jumped in. "We thought you'd also be dying to meet us."

I inched away from them. I looked around nervously. Nobody else was around. It doesn't look good for me.

"Hey, why do you look so... pale?" the large boy said, and grabbed a fistful of my collar. "I didn't think you were this pale, you know?"

"Maybe it's the light," one genius suggested and laughed at his own joke.

"Maybe," he replied. Then he leaned close to my face. "What do you say we add a little color on you, new boy?"

CRAACK!!

I didn't even see him charging for a punch like they do in movies. The next thing I know I was on the ground, and my tormentors are laughing so loud I could have sworn the whole town could have heard them. I felt something warm running down my nose. I tried to wipe it off, and that's when I found out it was blood. Almost at the same time, I felt the sharp pain on my face, I guess right at the area where the large boy's knuckles connected.

"There you go," the large one approached me again. "Now you have some more color on you."

He grabbed a fistful of my hair and pulled me up with it. He looked at my hair like he dropped his last meal on it. "You know, I never did like black hair."

"Yeah, me too," another one chimed in.

"Shut up, moron. You have black hair," he retorted. He looked back at me. "Although, yours look too damn neat. And I really, really, really hate neat hair, you know? They make mine look bad."

His hair would look bad even if there's no neat hair nearby. But saying it out loud would have doubled my death sentence.

"Hey, Fatso, your hair would look bad even if there's no neat one around."

The large boy then quickly let go of me and I dropped back on the ground.

"Hey! Uh, Jason. Hi. Um, what're you doin' out here? I mean, it's kinda late to be out, right?"

He was stammering. I didn't think someone can make that large boy stammer.

"Yeah, I thought so too. That's why I'm wondering why you guys are out here. Anything you want to share?"

"Uh, no no. Nothing. We're just, um, hanging out with the new boy. You know? He doesn't look like he has any friends and, like, he could use some. Right?"

"I guess he does," I heard footsteps getting closer. Lighter than the others, more even. Balanced. "But what makes you think you're good enough?"

That line surprised me. I wiped the blood off my face and peeked at the savior.

It was Jason. The "campus crush," and my own secret crush. He was tall. Wavy blond hair. Quite lean, but still almost skinny. No way this boy can beat the large one alone. And with a troupe? He won't be a campus crush for a few days after, if not weeks.

Yet, the large boy was stammering.

He finally found his voice. "Well, uh, you never know. Right?"

"Oh, I know." The boy, Jason, stood in front of me in a protective stance, facing the large boy's group. "Scram."

They ran away. Just like that.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked me. I tried responding, but my vision is getting blurry, and my thoughts are scrambled. I tried standing up. And fell back down.

"Whoa! Hey, careful! I guess they did a number on you."

He pulled me up and supported me as we walked to a nearby bench near the bus stop. I sat down, and felt like lying down on the bench the whole night, and just stared at his face the whole time.

---

"What?"

I shook out my thoughts and found Jason smiling at me. I figured I'd been staring at him all this time.

The sun's almost gone, just peeking out from the tallest mountain. Darkness is starting to swallow the sea.

I composed myself then asked something that was bothering me for some time now, "Jason, why don't you have a girlfriend?"

His response was of surprise, or shock, I couldn't really tell. It's the first time I've seen him in that expression. I guess he didn't expect that kind of question from me.

He looked down and away from me. "I thought you knew why," he whispered sadly.

It was my turn to be shocked. No way a guy this good looking can possibly be...

But I quickly composed myself. I looked back to the sea. "I only have a theory."

"You always do," he whispered back. From the corner of my eyes, I saw him starting to smile.

I inhaled deeply before going on. "Of course it's still just a theory... until it is proven."

Jason smiled, sensing the game. "And how do we prove it?"

I stood up. The sun finally lost its battle with darkness. I started walking down back to town, and I heard Jason standing up and following me.

We walked a few kilometers in silence until we reached my place.

I started to go inside our gate, when Jason pulled my hand.

"Wait! Won't you tell me about your theory?"

He can be so easy sometimes, I thought. I turned to face him and he waited expectantly for my response. I maintained a brave, calm face, but I was all excited underneath the mask. Besides, my theory could still be wrong, and I don't want to humiliate myself.

"I'll tell you some other time."

Suddenly, he pulled me to his chest, wrapped his arms around and hugged me tight. He leaned his head close to my ear and whispered, "Alright, you win. I'm crazy about you."