//------------------------------// // Chapter 16 // Story: Blaze of My Heart // by BlueSun52 //------------------------------// It was a late Saturday morning. Blaze slept in his bed peacefully after a long week of school and after the events of the cheerleading contest. Not to mention the late night gaming he did with Nova as the two played Halo together. Blaze’s eyes slowly opened and yawned before getting up. He stretches for a moment and looked at the time. The time was around ten o’clock in the morning and the sun shined brightly high up. Seeing that it was his Saturday, Blaze laid back and turned on his tv and Xbox. He simply laid there as he scrolled through Netflix to watch. Blaze’s door creaked opened before Sunset peaked inside and smiled. She came into the room and sat next to him. “Good morning, Honey!” She greeted. “Did you stay up and played some games like every Friday night?” “What can I say, it’s pretty much tradition at this point,” Blaze joked. “So how’s sis doing since dad found out about her dating Altair?” “Oh where do I even start?” Sunset said. “She’s in her room right now panicking that he’ll make her break it off with Altair. Which was something your Dad mention he would do.” “Are you going to let him?” “No, I put an end to the idea but he’s still angry about this,” Sunset explained. She rubbed her forehead. “Man, your Dad is blasting off so much thoughts that it’s killing my head. I had to turn off my telepathy magic to stop the headaches.” “Oh man, dad’s ticked off about it this much?” Blaze asked. “How come he didn’t say much about me and Jazz while we dated for a bit?” “He sounded like a hypocrite,” Sunset blunted. “He said that it’s natural for boys to date girls your age but when it came to Sunday, it quickly turned around. I swear that man acts like his mother more than he admits.” “Heh, yeah. Grandma can be a hoot when she visits,” Blaze said. “But you know, maybe Dad just needs to get use to the idea. Remember when he had to come terms with Star Wars The Last Jedi?” “God, that was the longest two months of my life,” Sunset commented. “Anyways, you want some brunch today?” “I would like that,” Blaze replied. “The usual double bacon cheeseburger?” Sunset nods and kissed Blaze’s forehead. She walked out and left him be and headed down stairs. Blaze let out a content sigh putting his arms behind his head and watching tv. As he was relaxing, he heard his cell phone ring. He looked over to it and picked it up. “Hello?” “G-Good m-morning, Blaze,” Iris greeted. “Oh good morning, Iris,” Blaze greeted. “How are you doing?” “I-I’m d-doing g-good,” Iris replied. “I-I w-wanted t-t-to a-ask i-if y-you would l-like to h-hang out w-with m-me?” “Oh sure, I would like to do that,” Blaze said. “I was kinda wondering when you wanted to do that for a while.” “I-I-I j-just n-needed t-t-time t-t-to m-myself,” Iris explained. “A-Anyways, I-I’ll m-meet you a-at S-Sugarcube C-Corners n-near l-lunch t-t-time.” “Alright, see ya there in a bit,” Blaze said. He hung up before he stretched. He got out of bed and changed into his clothes. Blaze walks out of his room and went downstairs towards the kitchen. When he went in, he saw that most of his family were in the kitchen. His dad sat at the table drinking his orange juice and his mother cooking up brunch. His sister however was absent from the table. “Where’s Sunday? She’s usually the first one here at the table for brunch,” Blaze said. “That’s a good question, Blaze. Where is our daughter, Soul?”  Sunset asked passive aggressively. “Our daughter, who we love very much and wouldn’t want to break her poor little heart if she could never be with her true love again.” Soul looked irritated. “And that she seems to be in a similar situation that we once were years ago,” Sunset pointed out. “I think that we should go talk to her together. You know hash out the details, see how far their relationship had gone and most importantly, further our bond with our daughter so that we can make an amazing example for not just her but for so many-” “Honey,” Soul interrupted. “I know that we’ve been married over the years. I know that we did some wacky stuff together to avoid my mother’s ever watchful eyes. I know that I can be an incredibly hypocritical person when it comes to raising my children. But I also know when you are distracting from the fact that Sunday is sneaking out of her room right now to see her boyfriend!” Sunset blinks and fidgets with her fingers. “Eeeeh, what makes you say that?” she asked. “Because I can see her climbing down from a ladder right out the door window!” Soul replied and pointed. Sunset looked behind her. She saw a ladder right outside the sliding door. Sunday climbs down on the ladder before she looked back at her family and froze up. The tension rose as Soul stared at his Sunday while she sweats profoundly. Sunday let out a yelp before jumping off and ran. “SUNDAY!” Soul shouted. He got up before he ran outside and chased after his daughter. Blaze and Sunset heard screams and yells. They went up towards the front of the house and saw Soul chasing Sunday mostly around the front yard. They both shake their heads before going back to the kitchen and ate their brunch together. As they ate, Sunset looked up at Blaze. “So Sweetie, what do you have planned today?” she asked. “I’ve notice that you have some clothes on since you normally just wear your pjs all weekend long.” “Iris invited me to hang out with her so I’m gonna meet up with her at Sugarcube Corners,” Blaze replied. “Which I’m glad to hear because I was starting to get worried about her.” “I’m glad to hear that you would be hanging out with her today. She’s such a sweet girl,” Sunset commented. “Not to mention she would make an excellent girlfriend for-” “MOM!” Sunset giggled. They heard the door open and Soul had Sunday over his shoulder. Sunday pouted as Soul sets her down at the table and sat down next to her. “Sunday, you are still on super groundation right now,” Soul said. “.... What?” “It means you’re grounded for a long while,” Soul explained. “And I expect you to be on your best behavior.” “But I’m a fourteen year old girl!” Sunday pointed out. “This is my behavior!” “.... She’s not wrong there, Honey,” Sunset said. “And I think this is a good opportunity for you two to simply talk this out and agree like adults.” “Sunset, I am the adult here,” Soul said. “Sunday is a fourteen year old girl here like she said. So we’re doing this one way or another.” “That’s not fair!” Sunday said. “Life is never fair!” Soul retorted. Sunset’s eye twitched as she saw her husband and daughter bickering at each other. She took a deep breath before looking over to Blaze. “I think now would be a good time for you to head out,” she said. “Cause this might take all day to sort out.” “Riiiiiiight,” Blaze said. He got up from his seat and went off. Blaze let out a sigh and went into the garage before pulling off some covers. Underneath it was a motor scooter that he used a few times. At most times, he would leave it in the garage since his mother would drive him and his sister everyday to school. And a couple of his friends had their own rides so he would ride with them at times. But since he believed Iris didn’t have much of a ride, he had to take up the scooter for transportation. After setting up everything, Blaze drove off and went towards Sugarcube Corners. Time went by as Blaze drove and it was soon getting near noon when he reached the sweets cafe. He parks close to the entrance and headed inside. He looked around for Iris until he saw her sitting at a booth by herself. “Hey Iris, I hope I didn’t make you wait long,” Blaze said. He went over to the booth and sat down across from Iris. Iris looked up and smiled. “N-No, i-i-it’s o-okay,” she said. “I-I j-just g-got here s-shortly m-myself.” “Oh alright, cool,” Blaze said. “So what was it that you wanted to do? I felt like you had some plans or something with me.” “W-Well…. N-Not r-really,” Iris admitted. “I-I j-just w-wanted t-t-to s-simply h-hang out w-with y-you, Blaze.” “I see, that’s pretty cool,” Blaze said. “Sure, we can hang out. I’m sure we can think of some things together.” “C-Cool!” Iris chimed. “I-If y-you w-want, w-we c-can t-t-talk a-about ourselves. I-I d-don’t t-t-think w-we r-really k-know a-about e-each o-other.” “That’s true, we have been for a few months since school started and never really had a chance to talk,” Blaze said. “I’ll guess I’ll start us off. Despite how big a fan my dad is of Star Wars, I’m actually a fan of Star Trek. My mom got me into the series when I was younger. We would watch the series together whenever they came on and we’d go to the movies together.” “O-Oh, t-t-that s-sounded s-sweet,” Iris commented. “H-How d-does y-your d-dad f-feel?” “Eh, he got over after about a year,” Blaze said. “The struggle was real for him.” Iris giggled. “T-T-That’s f-funny t-t-to h-hear,” she commented. “A-Alright, m-my t-t-turn t-t-to s-say s-something. Hmmm…. I-I l-like t-t-to c-collect h-hoodies f-for m-myself! I-I l-like w-wearing them a-alot.” “I seem to notice that about you,” Blaze said. “You always seem to have on a hoodie just about every day.” Iris smiled and nods. “Hmmm, I guess another thing about me is that I’m a gamer though a causal at times,” Blaze said. “I play with Nova, Star and Altair online at times. Though Star has been teaching Eve how to play games lately.” “R-Really?” Iris asked. “I-Is s-she a-any g-good?” “Nooooooo,” Blaze spoke bluntly. “She has a long way to go.” Iris and Blaze both laughed lightly for a moment. When the laughter died down, Iris looked up at Blaze with a smile. She reached out and held his hand. The action caught him by surprise and he looked up at her with a slight blush. “Iris?” “I-I k-kinda a-also i-invited y-you over b-because….” Iris hesitated. She showed that she was remembering some painful moments of recent events. Blaze was about to say something until she continued. “I-I w-wnated t-t-to s-say t-thank y-you w-when y-you s-stood u-up f-for m-me a-at the d-dance.” Blaze gave her a earnest expression and nods. “It was nothing, Iris,” he said. “It was simple to do. I know what it’s like to be in a situation like that.” “Y-You m-mean w-with J-Jazz?” Iris asked. Blaze nods. “Besides with the way you looked and everything, I would have thought a bunch of guys would have tried helping you up,” he commented. “Guess chivalry really is dead now.” Iris blushed and clutched her chest. “W-What?” she asked nervously. Blaze realized what he said and felt embarrassed. He scratched the back of his head before he let out a sigh. “A-Alright, I’ll admit it,” he said. “You were…. Beautiful to look at it.” Iris’s blush brighten as she looked away for a moment. She felt her heart beat rapidly and took a deep breath. She looked up at Blaze as she twirls her fingers around in her hair. “Y-You r-really t-t-think t-t-that?” she asked. “W-Well yeah, obviously,” Blaze said. “When you wear an outfit like that, it’s kinda hard to not think a girl would look that amazing.” “.... H-How a-about n-now?” Iris asked and tilts her head. “N-Now?.... I-I still think you look really…. Nice,” Blaze admitted. “B-But before you get any ideas let me make it clear. I’m just being honest and I think you really are an attractive girl with a lot of positive traits that any guy would go for.” “W-Would a g-guy l-like y-you b-be i-interested i-in m-me, Blaze?” Iris asked. Her moment of shyness went away as it was replaced with curiosity. Blaze blushed being caught off guard by Iris’s question. “W-Well maybe,” he replied. “I’m not that sure to be honest. I’m keeping myself off the market right now. I mostly want to focus on my school work and plans for the future. Whatever that maybe.” “O-Oh a-alright,” Iris said. “W-What k-kind of p-plans d-do y-you h-have?” “Nothing really concrete. I just sometimes wonder what my life would be like after I graduate high school,” Blaze said. “I might go into the same business with my dad. But I’m not really that sure about it.” “I-I s-see. I-I’m s-sure y-you’ll f-find w-what y-you a-are m-meant t-t-to d-do,” Iris said. “S-Say, y-you w-want t-t-to d-do s-some j-jogging?” “Jogging? But aren’t you in a hoodie?” Blaze asked. “T-This o-one i-is a a-athletic h-hoodie!” Iris replied. “W-We c-can d-do t-t-that a-after w-we e-eat h-here.” “Hmm…. Sure, why not?” Blaze replied. “I’m sure that’ll be a good idea. We might find a couple of things to do while we’re out jogging.” “A-Awesome!” Iris chimed. “Y-You w-want t-t-to e-eat a-anything h-here?” “Naw, I already ate recently so I’ll be alright,” Blaze replied. “But you can get something if you want.” Iris smiled. After ordering and eating some sweets for herself, Iris took Blaze towards the park as they jogged through some of the trails. Iris jogged with her hoodie still zip up. Behind Blaze had a hard time keeping up as they had jogged for a while and it was getting to him. He pants and sweats heavily as he tried to keep up with her. ‘How the hell is she able to keep jogging like that in this heat!?’ Blaze thought. ‘..... Probably the same one that can lift pretty much anything easily yet is light as a feather…. I still question that fact.’ Iris looked back before she slowed down and went beside Blaze. “A-Are y-you a-alright?” she asked. “W-Want t-t-to s-stop f-for a m-moment?” “Y-Yeah…. J-Just need to c-catch my breath,” Blaze said wearly. The two stop by a bench. Blaze drops on the bench on his back panting heavily and looks up at the sky exhausted. Iris giggled before she sat down by his side patting on his chest. “I-It’s o-okay, n-not e-everyone i-isn’t t-t-that i-into j-jogging,” Iris said. “B-But t-thank y-you f-for c-coming with m-me s-still.” “No…. Problem….. I think I’m gonna have a heart attack,” Blaze said. He looked up at Iris for a moment. He couldn’t help but feel warm and happy seeing Iris looking back at him with her infectious smile. For a moment, he blushed as he remember seeing her in the dress she wore during the Fall Formal. His heart quicken and shakes his head before sitting up. “Ooh, I think I’m more tired than I thought…. Hey Iris?” “Y-Yes, Blaze?” “Did you… Ever danced with anyone at the dance?” Blaze asked. “You know before all that… Mess happened?” Iris looks at the ground for a moment. She let out a sigh before looking back at Blaze with a sadden expression and shook her head. “I-I m-mostly j-just s-spent t-t-time w-with o-our f-friends,” she replied. “Oh, I see…. I’m sorry about that.” “I-It’s o-okay.” Iris said. “B-But I-I g-guess i-it w-was a-alright. I-I w-wasn’t m-much i-into i-it a-anyway.” “Yeah, I know what you mean,” Blaze said. “But anyways let’s get back to what’s going on now. Anything interesting pop up for you?” “W-Well…. S-Something d-did c-come t-t-to m-my f-family’s a-attention lately,” Iris replied. “A-A f-friend o-of m-my p-parents s-said s-she c-could b-be a-able t-t-to h-help w-with m-my s-stutter p-problems.” “Wait really?” Blaze asked. “But I thought it was because it was a brain damage problem?” “Y-Yes, i-it’s t-t-true b-but s-she t-thinks s-she c-can b-be a-able t-t-to h-help,” Iris said. “I-It’s s-some k-kind o-of t-therapy s-session t-t-that’ll h-help m-make m-me s-speak b-better.” “I see, so it wouldn’t be a surgical deal?” Blaze asked. “It’ll be more like training your brain to correct itself through a more natural means?” Iris nods. She looks down for a moment before looking up at Blaze with a slight blush. “Blaze, w-would y-you l-like t-t-to c-come t-t-to t-them p-please?” she asked “I-I w-would l-like i-it i-if y-you w-would c-come.” Blaze looks at Iris as he thought about her offer. He smiled slightly before and gave her a nod. “Sure, I would be honored to be there for you,” he replied. “When would they be exactly?” “T-They’ll s-start a-an h-hour a-after s-school,” Iris explained. “I-I’ll s-send y-you t-the a-adress o-on y-your p-phone.” “Alright, sounds good,” Blaze said. “I promise to be there for the first session.” Iris smiled happily and hugged Blaze warmly. Blaze got caught off guard by Iris but smiled anyway. He pats her back while laid back and enjoyed the moment with one of his close friends. However for Blaze and Iris, they were unaware that Jade was running on the path with her normally fabulous jogging outfit on. Along with her was Nova as he jogged along with her. The two started jogging together at the park every since they started to date together and at times would cause them to passionately make out near the bushes and further away from the trails if they became too carried away. Just as she was about to get close to the two, she skid to a stop and grabbed Nova. They ducked over by a tree after seeing Iris and Blaze together on the bench. “Woah! What’s wrong?” Nova asked. “Are we stopping again for another session already?” “No, not that! Look over there!” Jade pointed for Nova. “That’s Blaze and Iris and…. They’re cuddling up together.” Nova looked over from their hiding spot and saw Blaze and Iris. His eyes widen and scratched his head. “Wait a minute, I thought he had a thing for Eve…. Or my sister, I can never tell with him at times,” he said. “No, no, Eve told me that they’re just friends,” Jade said. “Even though I have my doubts and I can see right through her. But this just opens up all my suspections!” “So…. Now what?” Nova asked. “Do we just walk up to them and ask what’s going on with those two?” “Nova, we will do no such thing!” Jade said. “This is their moment and I refuse to intrude into another couple’s moment.” “But you did that all the time before we started dating!” Nova pointed. “You even have a hotline for couple’s to ask you questions!” “That is another matter entirely!” Jade retorted. “They come to me, I do not come to them.” Nova rolled his eyes. “Anyways I must tell Star about this!” “What just happened to not invading other couple’s business!?” Jade scoff. “You clearly are not listening to me!” she accused. “I have no time to repeat myself, I must call Star right now and I’ll explain after we get back to my place.” She pulled out her phone and started to call Star. As she walked off, Nova only looked at Jade’s back and shook his head. “Sometimes I wonder why I’m dating her,” he said. His eyes lowered down slightly on Jade’s back and smirked. “Oh yeah, that’s part of the reason.” Blaze looked at the time. “We still got a while if you want to keep hanging out,” he said. “If you want, we could go see whatever movies you want.” “I-I w-would l-like t-that!” Iris said. “W-We c-can g-get t-there w-with m-my b-bike.” “We can get there faster with my motor scooter,” Blaze said. “I-I d-don’t t-think i-it’ll b-be f-faster t-than m-my r-ride,” Iris said. “A-After a-all I-I p-put i-it t-t-together m-myself.” “..... Wait, what are we talking about?” Iris took Blaze back over to Sugarcube Corners and she pointed at her ride. Blaze’s eyes widen when he saw that his scooter parked next to a motorcycle. His jaw drop when he saw that on the side it said, “Property of Iris.” Iris giggled and closed Blaze’s jaw before getting on it. She revved it and handed Blaze a spare helmet. “Y-You…. Have a motorcycle?” Blaze asked. “When did this happen?” “Mmmmh, a-about a-a y-year a-ago,” Iris replied. “I-I a-always w-wanted t-t-to h-have o-one s-so m-my m-mother g-got m-me a-all t-the p-parts I-I n-need t-t-to p-put o-one t-t-together.” “Okay…. That is badass right there,” Blaze commented. “I didn’t take it that you’re a mechanic. You must be really good at fixing up a lot of things.” “M-Mostly v-vehicles b-but s-still t-thank y-you,” Iris said and smiled. Blaze takes the helmet and puts it over his head. He climbed on back as his arms wrapped around Iris’s waist. Iris blushed slightly with Blaze being this close to her. She took a deep breath before having the motorcycle pull out of the parking lot and driving off. As they drove off, Blaze felt the wind go against him even when he was riding behind Iris. Though she didn’t provide much cover do to her shortness. He looked towards their surroundings and zip by them in a blurr. His heart pumped faster than usual because of a bit of fear in it. Yet he felt also excited riding with Iris on her bike. But as they rode, he thought about it for a moment. Was it the bike that was making him excited or was it the fact he was riding it with Iris. Just as he could come up with any conclusion, Blaze saw that they were at the movie theater. Iris parked the bike and got off. He took off his helmet before getting off and walking along with Iris. The two went up to a counter and ordered their tickets after deciding together on what to watch. Iris saw the food counter when they went inside and looked at Blaze. “W-Would y-you l-like s-some p-popcorn?” Iris offered. “I-I c-can p-pay f-for i-it i-if y-you w-want.” “If you’re offering, sure why not,” Blaze said. “Just don’t add any butter to it. Not a big fan the kind of butter they have here.” Iris nods happily before she walks up to the food counter. After sometime, they went inside a theater and sat down as the movie had started. It was a little crowded with other people around them making Iris feel nervous. Blaze saw that she was getting anxious and placed a hand on her giving her a small smile. Iris smiled back at Blaze before watching the movie with him. The movie they were watching was a romantic comedy as Iris loved watching them. She would laughed at some scenes and felt her heart flutter at the romantic parts. As she watched them, her eyes suddenly wide at one particular part of it. It was a scene where a girl that was jealous of the main protagonist and drop paint all over them. Shocked by the scene, Blaze looked over to Iris for a moment seeing her becoming uncomfortable. Just as he was about to ask if she would want to leave, he saw that she suddenly looked at the movie with a curious expression. He raised a brow and looked back at the screen. He tilted his head when he saw the protagonist’s boyfriend come over to her and covered her with his jacket. The two watched on as they saw the scene becoming romantic once more. They carefully listen on the conversation between the two characters. “Are you alright? You aren’t hurt are you?” “N-No, I’m alright…. Thank you for doing that for me. But why did you do that?” “Heh, isn’t it obvious? It’s because you’re my closest friend and I love you.” Iris’s heart fluttered for a moment. Her mind raced looking back at the Fall Formal and all that had happened there. Her cheeks burned as one particular part of that dance made her realize something. Why she wanted to go there despite not being much into the idea. It wasn’t just because she was doing it for her friends. She did it for him. She did it for Blaze. ‘Oh my god,’ Iris thought. ‘I have a crush on Blaze!’ Iris slowly looked up at Blaze as she saw him looking back at her. She found herself shaking a bit and her heart pumping rapidly. Her face blushed bright red as she stared back at her newly discovered crush. ‘Oh god, oh god, oh god!’ she thought nervously. ‘He’s looking back at me! What do I do!?’ “Iris, are you alright?” Blaze asked. “I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I!” Iris tried to speak but found herself repeating almost nonstop. She shook her head and slapped herself in the back of the head. “OW! I-I have to go home!” Iris jumped out of her seat and ran off. This caused a scene as everyone looked at Iris run out of the room. They then shifted their attention at Blaze who was caught off guard and was confused. He looked at everyone and scratched his head. “I…. Really don’t know what just happened,” Blaze said.