Family Bonds

[Harri-chan]

"I'll deal with it tomorrow, okay? Could you please only call me this evening if it's an emergency, Amanda", he said with a sigh. "I will. See you tomorrow", he said, hanging up the call with the personal assistant, and slid the phone back into his pocket with a shake of his head. Finishing up in the stall, he came back out and washed his hands at the sink, taking a moment to study himself in the mirror. Matt wasn't a fan of the overly formal look, and the smart jacket and trousers was the casual t-shirt and sneakers was as good as it got. Slipping the guy in the suit a ten dollar bill, he headed back out into the restaurant.

[muffinstud]

Matt re-enters the restaurant, and finds his table... only to find the seat where Charlene once sat occupied by a man. Not just any man either, this one is wearing a white suit coat and matching pants, white shoes, a black shirt and a pink tie. His hair is short but wavy, and he has this cocky grin on his face. Despite the wide shoulders on the suit coat, he looks rather slender. "Well well well, Mr. Young. I've heard many things about you, most of them good. Please, sit. I'd like to discuss a matter of business with you." He gestures to Matt's chair across from him.

[Harri-chan]

Matt did a double take when he saw another guy sitting at the table he thought he'd been sharing with Charlene. He scanned the restaurant, but couldn't see any sign of his beautiful girlfriend. Slowly, he moved towards the table... a look of surprise washing over his face when the other guy addressed him.

"Where's Charlene?", he asked with a frown as he pulled out the chair and took the seat across from this man in the white suit. Agitated, he looked around for her again, and then went to pull the phone from his pocket, his thumb swiping back and forth to bring up the contacts and scroll to her name.

"I don't know how you know me, but I'm in the middle of dinner with my girlfriend... ".

[muffinstud]

Matt finds Charlene's contact easily enough, but his phone shuts off just before he can dial her. "Now now, Mr. Young. If it's one thing I find rude, it's interrupting someone during an important conversation." The man frowns. "As for Charlene, she went home. No doubt she's crying her eyes out. All she wanted from you was your time and attention. Yet, apparently, that is just too much for you to give." He shakes his head slowly. "For shame. She really loves you."

[Harri-chan]

Matt looked at the phone in horror as the screen went dark. He prodded at it a couple of times, and then held down the button, only for the other guy's words to grab his attention.

"I don't have to explain myself to you, or provide any reassurances over my relationship. Just who the heck are you? You work with her or something?", he asked, tossing the phone down in frustration as it failed to come back on.

"I love her too. As for what she wants... she's confused right now. She's just listening to the women in that office too much".

[muffinstud]

The man shakes his head. "Charlene is anything but confused. She's had these feelings long before she took that job. She had them as soon as she met you." The man leans back in his chair and folds his arms. "As for who I am, my name is Mr. Bond." His eyes go flat. "And no, my first name isn't James. It's Vernon." He clears his throat. "My job isn't with your girlfriend, it's to be a beacon of truth in a world full of lies. And as such, I feel it's best to tell you the next bit as bluntly as possible." He leans forward and looks Matt straight in the eye.

"I'm Charlene's lover. I've been dating her behind your back, and I intend to marry her within the month."

[Harri-chan]

"Vernon? What kind of a name is that?", asked Matt, his nose wrinkled as he lifted the bottle and took a sip of beer, only for it to spurt back out across the table when the guy in the white suit.

"You're lying... ", he said, his brown eyes narrowed as he stared across the table at the other guy. "Charlene wouldn't do that. We've been friends since we were in school. You don't even know her, do you?", he said, and rose to his feet so he could look down at him.

[muffinstud]

Between Vernon and mat is a small wall of amber droplets. The beer... was just hanging in mid-air. Vernon makes a gesture and the droplets all quickly zip back into the beer bottle." I know that her favorite song is "I'll Stand By You" by the Pretenders, she has a mole under her right shoulder blade, she thinks Rowan Atkinson is hilarious but has a hard time understanding other British humor, and she curls her toes whenever she gets especially excited." The man in the white suit continues to stare at Matt, raising only an eyebrow at him.

[Harri-chan]

Matt stared at the droplets of beer as they hung, static in the air. He started to reach towards them when they leapt back in the bottle. Blinking a couple of times, Matt lifted a hand to rub at his eyes as Vernon began listing facts about Charlene. He was starting to look a little pale, and tugged at the collar of his t-shirt, glancing back and forth between the beer bottle and this other guy.

"Have you... drugged me or something? What's going on?", he asked, sounding rather stunned.

[muffinstud]

"No, Matt. I haven't drugged you. I prefer not to do those kinds of parlor tricks in public, but do you have any idea how hard it is to wash beer out of a white suit? It's ghastly." Vernon shakes his head. "No Matt, you have complete control over your faculties. However, you have wasted the greatest gift I have ever seen presented to a man... the unconditional love of a woman beautiful within and without. You continue to lie to yourself and to her as you pull farther away from the woman you love. Yes, I can see that you still love her." He shakes his head. "It is not the kind of love she needs. Nor is it the kind of love you are capable of giving. You can do so much better, Matt."

[Harri-chan]

Matt was struggling to make sense of what he'd just seen, and Vernon's statement about cleaning beer out of his white suit just seemed to confirm he hadn't imagined it. Giving the other guy a bewildered look, he listened in silence for a moment or two.

"Can you even hear yourself? What a load of nonsense... ", he muttered, and grabbing the malfunctioning phone, he started trying to turn it back on as he walked away from the table and Vernon, and headed towards the restaurant's exit, feeling the sudden need for fresh air at the very least.

[muffinstud]

The phone still shows no signs of life, even though it had a nearly full battery. Matt heads out of the restaurant into the cool night air... to find the man in the white suit standing outside next to the door. "You're being rude again, Matt." He makes a small gesture, beckoning him closer, and Matt finds his feet taking him over towards Vernon. "I wasn't finished. Charlene and I made an agreement. I could marry her only if I could find a way to keep you in her life, as close to her heart as you are now." He smirks and starts walking into the parking lot... Matt's legs moving him along behind him of their own accord. "I think I've found a fitting solution for everyone."

[Harri-chan]

Matt took a deep breath, and ventured a couple of steps forward, eyes raised to the star-filled sky, when he heard Vernon's voice again, and turned suddenly to find him right there. His mouth opened, but before he could speak, the other guy had cut him off and was talking again. When he felt himself stumble forward, a frightened look came over his face, and he looked into Vernon's eyes as the guy continued talking about Charlene.

"What... the hell is happening?", he gasped as he found himself following Vernon through the parking lot, despite having no desire to do so! He tried to bring himself to a halt, but his feet kept going, one foot in front of the other, bringing a startled cry from Matt's lips.

[muffinstud]

"I'm taking you home, Matt." The man continues walking... and suddenly, he and Matt aren't in the parking lot any longer. Instead, they are walking up the driveway to a quaint house surrounded by trees. By the sound of the crickets in the air, this had to be outside of the suburbs. That's at least... 2 hours away! "Welcome, I hope you like it here. There's plenty of room out back, no fences. Just grass and trees. It's the perfect environment to raise a family, don't you think?" He opens the door, Matt's legs leading him into a homey living room with no television set, only a fireplace.

[Harri-chan]

Matt still hadn't got his head around the fact he was no longer in control of his legs, when he got another huge shock of finding they were no longer in the parking lot, or even in the city herself. Vernon could hear him gasp from behind, and his wide eyes took in the impressive surroundings, even though he was in no frame of mind to truly appreciate them.

He tried to grab onto the frame of the doorway as his legs took him up the steps of the porch, and right through into the living room, but his fingers slipped along the surface of the wood, and he stumbled right into the middle of the cosy looking living room.

"This... isn't real... ".