Stariceling Prompt:
Come on Max, you can do this. All you have to do is go up to him, ask him, and be done with it. I mean, sure there's that 62% chance that he might reject you and make things terribly awkward, but that other 38 is looking pretty promising! Okay, it actually wasn't all that promising. But I had spent too many months pining for him to just back out now.
I give myself a pat on my cheek to get me motivated. It doesn't work, but I'm already ten minutes late for training and 38% or not, there's no way I'm risking being yelled at by Kai again. I try sneaking out the bathroom quickly, but when my socks slide against the wood and I almost end up smacking into the wall I figure walking is just as good.
There's maybe about five steps between me and the backdoor when Kai's voice has got me freezing up.
"You're late." He doesn't sound mad, but lately he never really seems to.
"I was uh," I turn around to face him and I take my time. I'm hoping that by the time I'm fully turned to him he's too annoyed to question me, but I know from experience that it won't happen. "in the bathroom."
"For ten minutes?" And, yeah, I don't know how to respond to that without further embarrassing myself. He rolls his eyes at the silence, but he must understand that I won't be talking anymore because he continues. "You owe me ten laps around the house." I try not to be too eager when I nod and slip into my shoes before jogging away, though it must not work because I just barely catch him roll his eyes.
He watches me the entire time, and it's such a distraction that it's only on my last lap that I notice Tyson dry-heaving in the corner.
"Oh my god." I think about getting Kai to help, and I'm actually opening my mouth to call him when Tyson stops gagging long enough to send me a pleading look, as if he knows what I'm about to do.
"Maxie, please don't," he says, and drops onto his back and curls into a ball. I kneel down next to him before I really know what I'm doing.
"Tyson, what happened?" I hook my hands under his arms, just enough to force him onto his side. He gives me a slight nod, and I know it's because he's thankful that he's no longer eating dirt.
"Too many laps," he wheezes out, but it sounds so broken that I barely understand.
"Well, how many did you run?"
"20." And, wow, okay thats a big number.
"Why?"
"He was late." I'm not someone who startles easily, but I react just as bad as the next guy when someone starts breathing down my neck. I turn slowly enough to give Kai time to remove himself from my side, but he's still standing just as close when I face him. And I'm no mind reader but even I know that the smirk on his face has nothing to do with Tyson wheezing on the floor.
"So was Max!" There's a part of me that hears Tyson and a part that chooses to ignore it in favor of staring at Kai.
"I like Max more," he says so seriously that I don't know if he's really telling the truth any more.
"I know that! You like everyone more than me." The best thing about Tyson is that he knows how to put things behind him. He can brush off a rude comment and he can forgive someone easier than anyone I know. It's a trait that even Kai appreciates. So when Tyson gets in front of Kai like he has no idea what the words personal space are, I'm more than a little surprised. "What is your problem?"
After a minute when everything is still quiet I think that maybe Kai just won't answer, because it's definitely something he would do.
"You." There's a fire in Tyson's eyes that wasn't there before; the same fire that he gets when he's being challenged.
"You're just jealous because you can never beat me."
"Um..." I step between them slowly. "Why don't you two relax before you do something stupid."
"Are you sure I can't beat you?" I only get Tyson to step back three times before he's stepping back up again.
"I know you can't." Kai reaches into his pocket and pulls out Dranzer. The light distracts me for a minute, because it hits Dranzer's talisman at just the right angle to leave it glowing.
"Prove it." He doesn't sound like he did earlier; his voice is harder now. Tyson pushes me aside, and I let him, because Kai's looking for a fight and Tyson's giving it to him. They make it to the dish surprisingly fast for two people arguing with each other and they launch their blades even faster.
The familiar whirs of the blades catch everyone's attention. Kenny's got his laptop open, Hilary's silently cheering them on, and Rei's just watching. But the battle is different, because Dranzer is slamming back into Dragoon, but he's not being aggressive. It was nothing but a game of chase and Tyson was playing right along. It was amazing how similar they were. Hilary had said it once; something about how they were really the same. I didn't get it, because two people who argued that much couldn't possibly be alike. But they were good together; Tyson could challenge Kai in ways that I never could.
It's Dranzer's roar that brings me back. He's stretching up out of his talisman and spreading his wings in a way that makes me think Dranzer is more concerned with protecting Kai than protecting himself. I look away when someone grabs onto my shoulder, and I'm not all that surprised when I see Hilary smiling at me.
"It's incredible, right Max?" She stops looking at me so expectantly when I nod, but she doesn't let up with the conversation. "They really are something special." Hilary's not looking at me anymore; instead she observes the way Dragoon swipes at Dranzer, and just barely catches one of Dranzer's feathers between his claws.
"Yeah, they definitely are."
People are whooping behind us, so I use Hilary's moment of distraction to actually look around. There's a lot more people than I would have expected their battle to attract, and a little part of me worries about how we're going to get all of them out when it's over.
"Oh my god, he's looking at us!" I laugh when I hear the girl behind me squeal. It's still weird for me to see how people react around us- like we're famous.
My curiosity gets the better of me when I finally realize what she says, and I slowly find myself looking back to the battle. I don't expect it, which is probably why I end up choking on air when I see Kai watching me. He turns away from me before I even get to finish convincing myself that it wasn't really me he was watching, but the numerous fans that just happen to be taking up the space behind me.
Hilary elbows me in the gut- and if I'm honest I had forgotten that she was actually there- but only grins slyly when I raise an eyebrow in question. I miss it when Dranzer and Dragoon miraculously manage to knock each other out of the dish at the same time. As soon as both beyblades are in their respective owners' hands, it's like the unspoken rule to stay at least ten feet away from both Kai and Tyson is broken. I somehow end up being pushed to the very back of the crowd when everyone starts moving, but I do look up just in time to see Rei shaking hands with Kai and smiling in a way I haven't seen him smile before. Hilary's jumping on Tyson and he's smiling too, but he and Kai are looking at each other instead.
I stop trying to fight my way back to the front of the crowd when I see them. They're ignoring the fans that are flocking around them to get their attention.
"Max," someone claps me on the back. "Let's go up to the front." I recognize Kenny's voice immediately. I'm a little surprised by how close he's standing; it makes more sense, though, when he ends up being pushed by someone in the crowd.
The hand I place on his arm steadies him enough that he can stand on his own, but even when he can I don't let him go.
"Come one, Chief." I don't expect him to actually be able to get us any closer. There are still fans filling up every area of available space when I hear Hilary curiously ask,
"Where's Max?" Tyson doesn't even bother answering, he's too busy trying to answer the fans' questions to hear her. I almost smile, accept Kai does hear her and he's already checking every face in the crowd. Even with about seventy people all cramped together I know what my blonde hair won't do anything to help me blend in. The irrational part of me, the part that's flooding with panic, tells me to run before Kai sees me. His eyes are getting closer to where the Chief and I are standing. I carefully pull my wrist out of Kenny's grip and wait for the force of everyone's pushes to separate us. Kenny looks shaken for about half a second before he gets swept away and I can't see him.
I nudge my way through everyone in my way, leaning to the left because there's a dude on the other side who looks like he's just about ready to start body-checking people. There's literally ten steps between the door to the dojo and me when someone yells,
"Wait, isn't that Max Tate?" I don't have many fans, none that aren't girls; girls that happen to like pinching my cheeks and telling me how incredibly adorable I am. There's not enough time for me to hide before someone's cold fingers are squeezing every part of my face. "Well, aren't you just adorable." I cringe at the word and either she doesn't notice or she ignores it. "You almost look like you're trying to escape." I bat her hands away from me, turning back to where the rest of my team is standing. It takes me approximately 2.5 milliseconds to find Kai's eyes, stop breathing, and have a mini panic attack all at once.
There's a voice in my head that calls me a coward when I hide behind the girl in front of me.
"Aww, you are so cute." As a natural reaction I look back at her, which means looking away from Kai. I mentally smack myself at the mistake, but when I look back and he's not standing by Rei anymore, the mini panic attack that I'm trying to keep under control becomes uncontrollable. The girl at my side isn't watching me anymore, so I clumsily run to the dojo. I fumble with the knob, probably because nothing in my head seems to be working right, before I finally get it open.
When I end up huddling in the darkest corner of the kitchen, I try to convince myself that I'm not really hiding and that maybe Kai didn't even notice me. Of course though, right when I'm pulling out a chair and sitting down at the table is when the door gets kicked open.
I think about jumping under the table to avoid the person there, but I figure that if I get caught it would only make for a more awkward situation. I'm not looking up, but I can clearly see the chair across from me being pulled out.
"Why were you late?" The questions vague, and when I look up Kai's staring at me expectantly.
"What?" He sighs and rolls his eyes, like it's obvious.
"To practice earlier. You were late. Why?"
"I told you," I huff, trying not to sound too much like I'm whining. "I was in the bathroom." He scoffs.
"For ten minutes, Max?" I lean back, because he sounds almost like he's getting angry.
"Y-Yeah." The embarrassment from earlier comes back. The only thing different is that this time Kai isn't letting up.
"But you weren't using it, obviously, so what were you doing?" I scrape my nails against my scalp. It's meant to clear my head and help me think of a better excuse, instead I end up blurting out the first thing that comes to mind.
"I was thinking." Kai raises his eyebrow, but he doesn't decide to ask me anything else. The silence between us hasn't quite reached awkward yet. It isn't exactly comfortable either, but it's not awkward. I thrum my fingers against the table, a nervous habit I picked up back when I was fourteen. With all the talk about what I was doing in the bathroom I remember exactly what I had been planning on doing today.
"What now?" Kai's looking at my fingers like the tapping annoys him, so I stop.
"I don't know what you mean." The look he gives me makes me nervous, and I start again.
"Do you need something?"
"I don't know do I?"
"You looked like you wanted to ask me something."
"Did I?"
"Stop avoiding the question Max."
"Who's Max?"
"Oh my god." He rubs his temples and glares at me like I've just given him the biggest migraine in his life. "Spit it out before I leave." I don't say anything, but he waits for five seconds in silence before he pushes the chair out and moves to stand.
"No, okay," My fingers twitch, ready to grab his wrist. "I'll talk." Kai slowly eases himself into his seat. He looks smug, like he just won some sort of battle. "I was going to ask if you um, you know," I start tapping on the table again. "Wanted to go hang out somewhere with me." I watch as his eyebrow slowly rises. "I mean, just as two guys, enjoying each other's company and... talking about um things?" I feel like kicking myself after that, because things. Really?
The only thing that makes the situation worse is the smirk that Kai's not even trying to hide.
"Calling it a 'date' is easier."
"Oh." I sound breathy, almost like I ran the same amount of laps that Tyson did this morning. He leans back in his seat, trying to get more comfortable.
"When?" The confusion I'm feeling must show on my face because he continues. "When are we going to hang out as, you know, just two guys enjoying each other's company and talking about things?" It vaguely occurs to me that he, Kai Hiwatari, is joking.
"How about right now? There's this place a couple of blocks from here that makes some amazing tea." He shakes his head a little and he almost looks confused.
"You don't like tea." I try not to blush when he mentions it, but when I do anyway I duck my head.
"No, but you do." Kai's looking at me strangely, like I said I wanted to quit the team. "Besides, they make coffee too, so..." The silence isn't like before because it's worse. It's not comfortable or awkward, it's just a little terrifying. I'm close to opening my mouth and taking everything back when he smirks and stands up.
"Fine, but you're getting decaf."
-BREAK!-
I'm playing with the little sugar packets that were in the container at our table when I blurt it out.
"So how long have you liked me?" Kai doesn't look up from where he's staring out the window that we're sitting next to.
"A while." I scratch my nose, coughing lightly.
"How long is a while?" He laughs through his nose, and I can see him smiling a little.
"A long time, Max." I frown, but he doesn't see me because he still hasn't looked up.
"So it wasn't even 38%?" Kai's head snaps up, and his eyebrows are doing that thing that they do when he's judging someone.
"What?" I don't answer him. Instead I let my head drop into my hands and laugh, because the whole situation seems so unreal. It isn't long before the barista comes over and gently places our orders down on the table in front of us. Kai blows on his tea before he brings it to his lips while I mirror him with my coffee. I hum when I take my first few sips, because it taste fantastic and I can already feel the energy buzzing through me. I open my eyes, from where they closed sometime during the third sip, to find Kai watching me.
"That's not decaf, is it?" He looks serious, but even I can see just how amusing he finds this. I smile, not bothering to set my cup down.
"Nope."
Hope You Enjoyed Reading It As Much As I Enjoyed Writing It!