Description: An excerpt from 'Crystal Lake, Silver Tears' Created: 2/14/07 Form: 1st person Synopsis: Friendship evolves into something more. Register and log in to see more of this piece and many other of my works.
The first thing I'd have to do was milk the cows, so I grabbed two buckets and made my way out of the house.
But to my surprise, I wasn't alone on the farm! Just as I pushed the screen door open with my hip, I noticed a tall, well-toned man sitting on the porch steps. He was wearing cutoff shorts and a button-up plaid shirt, but the unusually long red hair pulled into a ponytail was a dead giveaway of who he was. ".. Oro? What are you doing here?" I asked, surprised to see my nineteen year old friend so early in the morning.
Oro quickly looked over his shoulder, running a finger over his freckled nose with a wide, friendly grin. Obviously he was in a great mood, and the barefoot neighbor quickly stood up. "Hey, 'kuma!" 'Kuma being my full name, Akuma, of course. I thought it was kind of a silly nickname but, then again, Oro was a pretty silly guy. "I heard your parents were away for the weekend, so I thought this'd be a good chance to do it for real this time! Don't tell me you forgot.." he said.
"Um, I can't, yet," I replied nervously. "My folks are away, but uh.. They didn't.. Exactly give me the official ownership to the family farm just yet." As I spoke I could feel the heat forming on my tanned cheeks in shame. Unable to look my friend in the eye I looked off to the side, mentally preparing myself for an onslaught of teasing. When we were younger, we had agreed that once we had become owners of our family's farms, we'd have a wrestling match once a week, and loser would have to do the chores for the other.
Oro gave me a perplexed look, "No foolin'?" he asked, "Dang, you're eighteen years old now, an' your folks still ain't seeing you as an adult, huh? Well that ain't nothin', that just means we can still practice, right? For th' real thing, so c'mon!" Oro grabbed my wrist before I could protest, and before I knew it I was being dragged off to the back toward the lake.
Once we reached lakeside and took a few steps into the water, Oro proceeded to unbutton his shirt and roll-up his sleeves, while I simply unhooked the buckles of my overalls, the metal buckles making a brief chime upon colliding. Because of my rather large build, the clothing stayed in place around my hips, which was more than I could say for Oro. He looked skinnier than ever, there was a bit of formation around his abs, not nearly as well defined as my own, and his pectorals weren't all that impressive either, not to mention his shorts were practically hanging off of his slender hips- However, his girlish figure wouldn't fool me since, unlike me, Oro didn't rely on brute strength, but rather his speed and cunning our matches. But I had a plan to get the advantage from the get-go this week.
"Ready?" I asked, raising my hand in the air as a gesture of challenge. The challenge of the 'Test of Strength'.
Oro's red brows raised and as he glanced to my tan hand, a frown of uncertainty formed on his glossed lips. To my surprise that frown became a confident grin and he raised his hand in return. His pale and slender fingers linked with my broader, and then our opposite hands met in the same manner. His grip tightened slightly and he confirmed, "Yeah."
The match started, a fierce grunt escaped my lips as we launched our bodies forward. Our chests collided, and arms extended outward like wings, and Oro surprised me once more by refusing to be overpowered by me quickly, even as his arms and legs trembled under the pressure. "Heh, not bad," I praised, but I knew he wouldn't be able to hold up for much longer. In an attempt to gain more leverage and raised my height a touch by standing on my tiptoes and used my three-inch taller height to my advantage. With a wild grin my forehead pressed against his as he finally started to give in, his back arching as he was forced to lean back.
I could feel his hot breath wash over my lower face as each strained groan passed his lips. His heartbeat was already racing, I could feel the powerful thumps resonating through his chest and onto my own. It was clear to me, at this point, that victory would be mine, no matter how hard he fought back; I had him right where I wanted. My advantage was simply too large for him to handle, and it would only be a matter of time before I would have him flat on his back, or begging for mercy.. Or both.
We continued to grunt and struggle for what seemed like an eternity, though. The pain in his lower back had to be great, I had no clue what was keeping Oro from giving in to my power. But I wasn't frustrated, no, I was starting to feel excitement, this was the first time I had seen such resolved from my friend. "Just give up, you're mine, now, and you know it!" I barked to him tauntingly, throwing my weight against his chest and forcing him to take a step back, deeper into the water to prove my point.
Oro could only whimper in response, his body grinded against my own with what could only be interpreted as desperate resistance, the usual sign that he was coming close to the last of his strength. Suddenly his head slipped to the side and I felt a sharp pain shoot through my shoulders as.. What was that, was that his teeth? His jaws sank into my bronze skin, and I let out a roar of pain. I was so shocked that the last of his strength overwhelmed me completely. I staggered back, slipped and crashed into the water, my partner's form staying atop, yet he refused to release the grip of his jaws.
Had he completely lost it? "Oro!! Quit it! That hurts, THAT HURTS, DAMMIT!" I roared, but my yells seemed to have fallen upon deaf ears. I released my grasp but he would not. I squirmed under his slender form, bucking my hips upward furiously to try to toss him off of my forms, but each of my movements proved to be more futile than the last. I started to panic as I felt his teeth starting to break the skin. "OROOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" I finally shrieked at the top of my lungs. It would seem he did hear me, I felt his bite weaken and then draw away from my neck. I felt my cheeks redden, burning in anger, "Oro, what the hell is wrong with.." Wait.
Something was wrong, indeed, but not in the way I had expected. ".. You?" I had been expecting some sort of crazed, ferocious expression on my Oro's face but instead I saw a frightened, trembling friend. Tears rolled down hiss cheeks, random locks of wet, red hair plastered to his face that he refused to brush away.
"I- I'm.. I'm sorry.. 'Kuma, I'm sorry, I was frightened, I dunno what came over me.. I'm so sorry.." Oro groaned, pushing himself up to his hands and knees. He proceeded to babble more words, but I couldn't understand what he was saying between his choked breaths and mumbles. I could only stare at him in shock. In eighteen years that we had known each other, I had never ever seen Oro weep.. Heck, I had never seen him look so.. Vulnerable.
I didn't know what to do, I was quickly finding myself as lost as he appeared to be.. A moment ago I was furious, but that fury had gradually dissolved into sympathy and I wanted nothing more than to comfort Oro..
Log created on 18:43:34 04/01/2009 by Yurika, and last modified on 19:23:22 04/01/2009.