Cursed Love

Early morning sun rising to the sky, sunlight seeping through the curtains. The intense aroma of freshly brewed coffee wafting throughout the home. The serenity of the morning silence abruptly shattered as the tiny alarm clock blares to life, followed by irritated groans erupting from the sleeping male besides it. A hand emerges from the heap of tangled blankets on a mission to revive the blessed sound of silence. The frantic wines of the alarm continue on, forcing the tired male from his peaceful slumber. Fumbling around, searching the nightstand for his glasses, Yuto pries his eyes open, silently glaring at the source of his awakening, before letting his mouth fly open at the sight of the red angry numbers on the screen. 8:45. Bolting out of bed, Yuto sprints to the bathroom, slamming the door behind him before commencing his daily routine. Teeth, check. Hair, check. Clothes... Clothes. When was the last time he did laundry? Fantastic. Groaning, he exits the bathroom in search of any semi-clean clothes he may have.

After rummaging through his dirty laundry for over 10 minutes and frantically shoveling spoonfuls of cereal into his face, he rushes out the door, backpack, and keys in hand. Just as he opens the car door, a buzzing goes off in his back pocket. Swiftly retrieving the cell phone, he answers, "Yes Mom?"

Only half listening to her response, he proceeds to fling his backpack into the passenger seat, hop into the car and starts the engine. After a few low groans, it rumbles to life, speeding down the bumpy road.
"Of course, Mom."
"...Yes, Mom."
"Yes, yes, I understand." Yuto responds impatiently, "I have been living like this for quite a while, have you forgotten? Or is there something else you have to reveal to me?" He bits back bitterly.
Silence fills his ears and he immediately regrets his words. However, in a hurry to get to school, he hangs up. He'll have to apologize later, he reminds himself.
After sloppily parking and stumbling out of the car, he manages to sprint to class, arriving mere moments before the bell. Any other day he would be worried about looking like an idiot in front of his crush, but today, he was told, was a very important lecture in class. Sitting at his desk, he silently catches his breath and begins taking out the necessary supplies for class. His English textbook, notebook, pencils, and his sketchbook. Said sketchbook had always been his most prized possession. He'd draw anything and everything: trees, birds, portraits of his favorite artists, etc, but his favorite subject to sketch was his crush, Noboru. He was among the best players on the soccer team, and one of the kindest guys you'll ever meet. As he came back from his slight daydream, he realized, to his horror, that he'd been staring straight at the said male with significant heart eyes. Panicked, he turned away as the crimson red flushed his face at the sight of Noboru staring right back. Just as he began silently begging for death, the bell rung, indicating the beginning of the class period.
An hour and a lot of nonsense rambling later, the lunch bell rung, releasing the swarm of students from their prisons. Yuto, being the loner he seemed, stayed behind, devouring his lunch in the solitude of the empty classroom. As he sat there eating, he recalled those words he had uttered earlier to his mother. He hadn't meant for it to come out like that and he deeply regretted it. Making a mental note to visit her later, his thoughts went to that dark corner of his mind where he hated his mother for having cursed him like that. He loved her, she was his mother, after all, however, there always was that part of himself deep down that despised her for what she'd done.

3 years ago -
It was a nice afternoon with just Yuto and his mom playing board games in the comfort of their small home. Yuto had been wanting to ask something for quite a long time and he felt this was the perfect opportunity. He grasped the dice, "Mom, can I ask you something?" he questions as he releases the dice.
5 black dots on the top of the dice.
"Sure, honey. Go ahead." She smiles up at him while rolling for her turn.
4 black dots.
"I know that you've told me it's not important," he begins cautiously, "B-but I think I'm old enough now to know the truth? What really happened to dad?" He timidly asks while grabbing the dice and rolling.
3 black dots.
"Sweetie, I thought we'd discussed this already." She begins, seeming already done with the topic, "All that you need to know was he was a great man who loved you very much. The rest isn't important." With it being her turn, she rolls.
2 dots.
"Please don't entertain the subject, just know that he can't be here for... reasons." She responds almost despondently with little spirit remaining. Another roll.
1 dot.
"Mom, stop beating around the bush. Just tell me what happened or where he is. I'm not five, I can handle the truth!" He suddenly blurted out.
"Please don't be so dramatic, Yuto. You don't even remember him, so why do you have any interest in him?" she fires back exasperated.
"He's dead, isn't he? That's why you always get so upset when I ask because he's dead!" Yuto angrily yells at his mother who, in return, sits back silently.
After a few moments of silence, she speaks up, "Honestly," she begins, "I would much rather he be dead, but I'm tired of us going around in circles like this. Your father, he was a witch. We were happily married for a while. However, not long after you were born, he caught me cheating on him. He was furious and decided to punish me and any children of mine, to never be able to be with one's true love. If we were to fall in love and try anything physical with that person, we would cease to exist." She concluded with tears escaping her eyes, before quickly wiping them away and composing herself quickly.
Yuto took a beat to absorb all of what he was suddenly being told before finally asking, "So, then he just.. Left?"
"He found someone else and left us here to rot. That is our curse, to be damned to never find happiness with the ones we love."

The shrill sound of the bell blaring through his ears brings him back to reality. "Ugh," He groans as he packs up his unfinished lunch, "Back to class."

After school -
Walking the few blocks that separate Noborus' house from his own, Yuto makes his way over, mentally preparing himself for what he planned to do, sorting through his thoughts on the way. To his horror, he is met with the most unfortunate sight. The soccer team. Freezing in his tracks, he contemplates turning around and going home, before the option is out of his grasp as the athletes catch sight of him. It's not every day you see the school nerd standing in front of the most popular athlete's doorstep. "Well, what brings ya' here, Yuto?"
"Oh, uhm," gathering up his courage, Yuto responds, "I'm here to talk to Noboru, is he in?"
"Oh, yeah." One of the boys steps forward, grinning mischievously, "He's around back, in the garage, I'll show you there."
He latches onto Yuto's wrist, directing him around the back of the house. Opening the garage door, he steps into the dark room, dragging Yuto along and launching him forth onto a chair.
"Why don't you have a seat here, while I fetch him for you." He smirks while quickly calling in the other boys to restrain him. "Let me go! What are you doing?!" Yuto screams out.
"Sorry Yuto, I don't mean to break your little bubble, but I just can't stand Noboru being all heart eyes about you all the time. So, what I'm going to do is show you your place by giving you a little fist bump to the gut for every time I've gagged at you two."
First blow.
Crippling over in pain, Yuto dares ask, "So I assume you're gay then? How ironic, considering you're always the one making all the homophobic jokes. Or are you just afraid of yourself, and need the humor to make up for your self-esteem?"
A harder blow to the ribs.
"That's really none of your business, kid." The said male replies through gritted teeth.
A blow to the face.
Keeping a steady rhythm, he proceeds to scatter punches over Yuto's frail frame.
"Hey! What the hell is going on here?!" a deep voice questions from the entrance of the garage.
"Noboru, we're just teaching this loser a lesson." Snickers the assault, "Don't worry, we'll be done in a minute."
"Hold on, what the hell dude?!" Noboru exclaims at the sight of Yuto's limp body littered with bloody bruises. He rushes forward and commands the other athletes to let go. Carrying Yuto's unconscious body bridal-style, he demands an answer from the players for their actions and orders them away before taking Yuto inside and carrying him up to his room. As he lies him down on his bed, he sits beside him. The urge to cry climbs up his throat, choking him up, as he sheds long needed tears.
Awakening to the sound of muffled cries coming from next to him, Yuto slowly takes in his surroundings, only to recall the events from earlier and jump up from the bed. Surprised, Noboru grabs a hold of Yuto, to steady him.
"Noboru? Oh my gosh! I am so sorry, I don't know where I am or why I'm here I just woke up and-" he rambles on and on before Noboru chuckles and cuts him off. "Yuto! It's alright, I brought you here after I found the guys assaulting you. By the way, I'm really sorry about all that, I don't know what happened or why they did that."
"Yeah, I get it. It wasn't your fault... I'll get going now, I've been here long enough." Yuto sighs heading to the door.
"Wait! Yuto." Noboru calls out, concern etched on his face, "Why were you here in the first place?" He asks, curiosity evident in his deep voice.
"I-" Yuto pauses and turns to face him, recalling the original reason he'd been there. Gathering his courage he spoke out, "I was here to confess my feelings for you. I'm sorry for causing all this trouble over this little confession." He squeaks out before turning to walk away before stopping as he feels a hand around his wrist. "Is that really true? Is that what you were here for?" He asks in a serious tone, making Yuto squirm, adding a simple nod.
Just as Yuto was preparing to defend himself and leave, he hears a deep laugh emitting from Noboru. "Yuto, I thought you knew already, I've been told I'm not very good at hiding things." Noboru laughs.
"Knew what exactly?" The said male questions. "Yuto, I like you too. I've liked you since I met you." Noboru explains happily. "Can I?" He asks cryptically. Yuto, confused, just nods. The other male, taking that as permission, leans in fast to connect their lips into a passionate kiss, not knowing the fatal consequences of his actions.
As Yuto realizes the situation, he takes a second inside himself to contemplate his options. He had the option of staying and making the most of his last moments together with his newfound lover, or he could run and try to find a way to save himself. As he thought things over, time slowed, giving him the chance to look over all his life. He saw the vivid image of his mom and him playing board games, having a nice afternoon drinking tea together, going to amusement parks, laughing while playing video games, watching movies on the sofa, etc. That's when he realized. All of his best memories were with her. Only her. The woman he despised yet loved so dearly, his mother. The woman who had made the mistake of ruining her love for a one night stand. Was his heart piecing together a puzzle he could not see? When it finally clicked, he understood the one fact he had been ignoring this entire time. His mom had given up on love. His mother, the woman who had ruined his life, and cursed him to this damned eternity of emotionless misery. He would not follow that same path, he refused to make the same mistake. Making up his mind, he did what he'd always dreamed of. He kissed back. He reveled in the one blissful moment that he knew would end in sorrow, but that he refused to avoid. That one simple action, that lone moment, meant so much more than what met the eye. As the passion-filled moment came to an end, the boys pulled apart. Not a second later, Yuto crumbles to the floor, with a panicked Noboru at his side. Looking down at Yuto, Noboru notices Yuto's body rapidly fading away, as if he were just a hologram, dying down. As he realizes the situation, tears erupt from his eyes. Knowing full well what his fate was to be, Yuto lays a hand on Noboru's cheek before uttering a phrase he knew would end it all. "I love you, Noboru." He whispered as the remainder of his body fades into nothingness, leaving behind a guilt-stricken Noboru crying a silent, "I love you more, Yuto." as he grasps thin air, where his lover once existed.