And We Will Watch

Matt took a long drag on his joint and laid his head against the back of the leather chair that he had collapsed in, examining the cracks on the ceiling absently. He slowly let the smoke out from his mouth and it traced patterns in the air, mirroring the cracks above. "The whole world is going to hell, man."

Brushing a couple of stray dust colored strands of hair away from his eyes, Chris looked out the window into the downpour the obscured the street outside. "Yup, the whole world and us with it." He sighed deeply and pushed himself away from the dreary damp grey world and turned towards Matt. "What are we going to do about it?"

Another curl of smoke escaped Matt's lips and dissipated into the ether. "Nothing. Nothing at all. We're going to sit here, watching it burn." He closed his eyes and imagined his past slowly burning, the elementary school where his teacher beat him for asking questions he couldn't answer, the church that scorned him for questioning the reality of God, the girlfriend who cheated on him with the football team and then dumped him because he "thought too much." All burned to a cinder and became ashes, falling white as snow.

"We can't just watch it burn." Chris flopped down onto the matching leather couch across from Matt. "We have to do something. People will die." He turned and watched Matt blow smoke rings towards the great chandelier that hung far above them, adding a mystical and ancient sort of grace to the room that was long forgotten.

"So? Let them. What concern is it of ours?" Matt opened his eyes and looked at Chris laying on the couch and staring back at him, his gaunt frame seeming like and accusing skeleton in the dim light. "Look, you go brood or whatever you do when the world starts burning, I'm going to watch and light my joint on its ashes."

Sighing, Chris looked up at the ceiling and grimaced. "I don't get you, man. You're possibly the smartest person I know, yet you just don't give a shit. All you do is get baked and live off your inheritance. You could have made a difference. A real difference, man."

"What's the point?" Matt reached over and put out the butt of his joint in the crystal ashtray on the endtable next to him. "The world is going to hell anyway. Any difference that I make won't matter in a week, a month, a year, or whenever it finally happens."

Chris sat up and looked Matt in the eyes. Despite how relaxed his body looked, there was no hiding the passion, anger, and flashing brilliance that lit up Matt's eyes. His body may be calm and relaxed, but his soul was in a fury, lashing out against a world that he hated. He wasn't just passively waiting for the world to burn, he was anticipating it with glee; he was depending on it. "But you could have made a difference, could have stopped it from happening. I know you know it; I can see it in your eyes. You're just selfish, thinking only of yourself."

The rain was getting heavier and a few bolts of lightning struck in the distance, setting off a low rumble of thunder. Matt looked away from Chris and out the window, staring off into space, frowning, but quiet. Chris stood up and walked to the door, turning back as he opened it to leave. "Whatever, I'm done with you. I don't need this. Have fun getting baked, asshole."