Controversy (Synacky)

eighteen

*Matt's POV*

"Wow, your house is pretty cool." I said, walking in as Brian opened the door for me.

"Thanks. Want to get started, then?" He asked.

"Sure, lets go to your room." I suggested.

Brian nodded and lead the way up the stairs, opening the door and walking in, sitting on the bed.

"So, what do you want to start on first?" He asked.

"Um," I said nervously, scratching the back of my neck, "Anything, really. I need all the help I can get." I said, feeling embarrassed.

"Sure," he said unfazed, "Ok, so, how about we start with some basic algebra?" He said and I nodded my head.

--

For the next three hours, Brian tutored me and I was finally starting to understand the endless abyss I call maths.

It was hard, of course, but Brian was a good tutor.

"Is there something on your mind, Bri?" I asked as he was zoning out.

"No, um. I just had the weirdest dream the other night where Zacky asked me to marry him. I don't know, it's stupid." He sighed, "I'll go make some food." He said and walked out the room before I could protest.

He walked back in a couple of minutes later, "I put the food in the oven, remind me in about half an hour to take it out, ok?" 

"Sure... I think I'm done with studying. Thank you, you've been such a good help." I said and gave him a quick hug.

"No problem. Do you wanna watch a film?" He asked.

"Yeah sure," I asked as Zacky walked into the room.

"Hey Bri, Matt." He said, walking over to give Brian a kiss.

"We're about to watch a movie, want to join?" I asked and he nodded.

"What're we watching?" Zacky asked.

"Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." Brian said as he switched the lights off.

Then the movie started...

--

*Zacky's POV*

When the movie finally finished, the room was suprisingly hot.

"Bri, can you please turn the heating off?" I asked, feeling sweaty and not very pleasent.

"It hasn't been turned on, though..." He paused.

"Shit!" He shouted, opened the door and ran downstairs.

"What?"  I asked under my breath, and Matt's eyes widened in realisation.

"Oh my god, he left the food in the oven!" Matt barked and we immediately ran downstairs.

We were greeted with a huge, blistering fire. The flames were all over the kitchen, the smoke smothering the ceiling, and Brian was standing there, staring at the fire as it grew bigger at an alarming rate.

"Brian!" I shouted, but his eyes were fixed on the blistering flames.

"Brian! For god's sake, do you want to die? We have to go!" I screamed in dispair, tugging on his arm and dragging him out of the kitchen to the front door, Matt following behind.

We were coughing harshly as the fumes invaded our lungs, contaminating the air we struggled to breathe.

Matt quickly unlocked the front door, ushering us all outside and he quickly called for the Fire Department.

I sat Brian down on the floor, cradling him in my arms.

He was in shock.

I quickly checked him for any injuries, breathing a sigh of relief when I found none, and I ripped off my coat and wrapped it around him, keeping him warm.

"Are you oka?" I asked sincerely and he nodded weakly, standing up ever-so-carefully.y

The Fire Department showed up a couple of minutes later, and they checked us over to make sure we were okay, while the Fire Fighters worked to put out the flames that engulfed the house.

Brian stared at the house, saying nothing until the flames were gone and the Fire Brigade had fled the scene.

After the fire died out, Brian approached the smouldering remains of his house. His expression was troubled, as if at any moment he would either explode into ecstasy or crumple into despair—and one was certainly more likely than the other. The house he had known his whole life, which held all of the memories and the intolerable pain from his childhood, was reduced to embers beneath his feet. For the first time since Michelle left, he felt like he was gone.

I touched his shoulder lightly. “It's over now,” I whispered. “You don't have to be scared.”

He stared for a moment longer, as the violent mountain winds whipped the dirt and ash across his face. I noticed for the first time that he had grown pale and emaciated in the time since we had first met. I barely saw any trace of the passionate beauty that I had so lusted over the first time we met. The decades of shame showed like a biography written across his face, in the bags under his eyes and the lines on his forehead. The pout he’d always worn, which I had initially found so arresting, had now burned itself into his mouth, and I could only pity him for all his suffering and loss.

Soil was building up in his hair, turning the dark, chocolate brown into a greyish black to match his eyes. He didn’t blink. “How does a person live without fear?” He said without asking, without wanting an answer.

The sun-baked corn crackled under the breeze, and off in the field a stalk broke, amplifying its deafening crack between the cliffs and mountains, echoing the terrible sound as it receded into the valley, leaving them alone among the dust.

"The reason I was crying at the park that day, was because I had nobody, My friends, left me. But then you found me, and I could never feel more happiness then I do now. Even though all of, this, " I said, gesturing to the remains of the house, "has happened, this just shows that we can make it through anything. I love you, Brian." I said hopefully.

"I love you too, Zee." He whispered, and we embraced each other for the next few minutes, cherishing this life we had found with each other.

And there was no other way I could be this happy.

All I needed, was Brian.

--

Fin.

Thank you for reading!

I am aware this is terrible, but I only wrote it in a short space of time and I just needed to get this idea out of my head so I can carry on writing properly on my other accounts.

See you soon, hopefully!

Love, 

Felicity .x