He Changed My Life

Chapter 24

~Sarkis' POV~

We were walking home, heading through a relatively secluded area of the park. All during school today, Matt and Dan were acting like their normal selves, with subtle differences in their overall moods. I'm pretty sure they were sort of holding hands during English class, as our desks were grouped at the back and nobody would see it. But, despite that and a few odd glances and smiles, they acted fairly normal. Yet now when we got here, among the brisk autumn wind and colourful trees, they changed their tunes. Dan now had a bit more of a bounce to his step, leaning his head on Matt's shoulder and nuzzling his neck as he held Matt's hand. Matt was grinning wide, his tail wagging happily behind him as he interlocked his fingers with Dan's. They looked so happy.

"I'm glad they finally went for it," Maia said quietly to me.

"Yup," I replied quietly.

"Did you see this coming, by the way? Matt and Dan?"

"Not really," I smiled, "But, if it makes them happy, it's cool."

"Oh, it'll make them both happy, look at them!"

"I know, I know..." My smile slowly faded, "I do still worry about this though... I understand why Matt was so unsure."

"...And why's that?"

"Because... it's real and it scares him."

"...What do you mean?"

"I mean, what he feels for Dan is real to him - which is a good thing, of course - but... he's scared because... well, you know..."

"Oh... Oh, right..."

I sighed, looking at the back of Matt's head, "...Now more than ever do I have to find a fix for his condition, before something bad happens. That weird burst that day was lucky, very lucky. He managed to fix it himself that time, but the next time might not be so lucky. Dan was there, and if he's there next time, I don't want to imagine what Matt would be like if Dan got hurt in any way... I have to fix this, soon... he's suffered enough."

Maia took my hand, squeezing it gently, "Don't you dare shoulder this by yourself. You can ask for help, Sarkis."

"I know, Maia... Tezlus is supposedly working on it, but I don't think he'll have a solution anytime soon."

"Then talk to him when Matt isn't there, find out what more you can do," Maia nudged me, "But think about that later. Let's let them enjoy themselves a bit first - and, besides, we can't let them be more adorable than us!"

I laughed a little, "It's not a competition."

"It is now!" Dan answered, grinning back at us.

"Hmm? What?" Matt asked.

"We're competing for who's the most adorable, me and you or Sarkis and Maia!" Dan replied.

Matt rolled his eyes, turning and smiling at me, "Oh really?"

"Yup!" Dan suddenly jumped up and hugged Matt, even going so far as to wrap his legs around Matt's waist. Matt stumbled, but caught his balance, Dan nuzzling his neck and saying, "But they're gonna loooose~"

Matt was blushing a little as Maia and I laughed, but he was smiling. I dunno how Dan heard us - maybe foxes have better hearing than wolves do, I dunno - but the way he looked at me when he opened his eyes, I caught the concern in his expression. He hid it from Matt though, as Matt was carrying him and he was resting his head on Matt's shoulder. The concern in his expression vanished once Matt began talking more about school, and he pretended to scold Matt for changing the subject.