Disclaimer: Don't own anything, dudes.
Red
The first time he sees her in the colour red was probably the first time he actually saw saw her in all the years he's known her. He realises how long and thin her legs are in the short red pants she had on as it was unbearably hot and he finds himself watching her as she walks ahead, arguing with Tyson about something. He watches her for the rest of the day, noticing that she's much taller than he originally thought and that she seems much more older than the girl he met all those years ago, whose nickname was "The Wicked Witch of the eighth grade". Later, as they all decide to go home, she turns to him.
"You're coming on Friday, right?" She asks, smiling with her hands on her hips. He stares at her hands for a moment. They're bony and small looking and their perched on her bony hips that are just poking out between the bottom of her shirt and the beginning of the red shorts. He looks back up at her face.
"Sure" He says before saying good bye to everyone and going home where he spends hours lying down on his bed, staring at the ceiling thinking about the red shorts.
/
Friday comes too slow for Kai. He spends the three days beforehand thinking about Hilary, Hilary's legs in those red shorts, Hilary's ass in those red shorts and wondering if she'd wear anything red. Tala appeared on his doorstep the day beforehand, causing Kai to stare at Tala's bright red hair which momentarily distracted him from thinking about Hilary in all things red. He doesn't even understand why it's being playing on his mind. He doesn't even really like the colour red. He looked down at what he was wearing. Black, black and more black. It doesn't make sense. Why Hilary? Why those red shorts?
"You look like you're about to have a panic attack"
Kai snapped his head towards Tala. They were walking to Tyson's. Turns out all they're old beyblading friends are meeting up and having a get-together. Just another excuse for certain people to get drunk, fuck and then pretend it never happened. "No" Tala was one of those people. He had a weakness for a certain pink-haired Chinese girl who happened to be best friends with Hilary.
"You look like you aren't sleeping anymore"
"I have been, you just need your eyes checked" He snaps at Tala who takes the snappiness as a hint to shut up until they get to Tyson's. It seems like all their old allies are there. He spots a flash of pink-hair and Tala disappears from his side. Typical, Kai rolls his eyes. It looks like he might be the only responsible one as he spots Max and Tyson doing what looks like Tequila shots with Kenny staring on in shock.
"Jack Daniels, right?"
Kai whirls around, his throat going dry. When did her hair get so long? Is the first thing that comes into his mind as he stares at the long braid that hangs over her right shoulder. Then he notices the tight, short red dress that makes his blood rush towards... Kai froze. Unsexy thoughts... Tyson naked... Tyson's grandfather naked but nothing works.
"Straight, right?" She asks, her eyebrows narrowing slightly as she inched closer.
Kai's eyes flicker to the glasses in her hands. "Yes" He says as he takes one out of her hand, taking a larger sip than necessary. "Since when do you drink the same thing?" He asks as he looks around Tyson's living room. Everyone seems to be intoxicated.
Hilary smiles as she raises the glass to her lips slowly. "Always, you just haven't noticed."
Kai takes another sip. The dress is vibrant against her pale skin. The dress does nothing to hide the fact she's incredibly tiny and fragile looking. Doesn't she eat enough? Kai wonders when the last time she ate in front of him and he can't put a date to an image that wasn't when she was 13 years old. "Hn" He says as he downs the rest of his drink.
Hilary taps the rim of her glass. "I'm surprised you came. I know you like being alone." She says, her lips twitching like she wants to say more. "I'm glad though, that you came."
Kai nods as he sneaks another look at the red dress. He grips the glass tighter as he suppress the urge to slam her against the wall and ground his hips into hers just like he does in the fantasies he's been having. "It's no problem." He says through gritted teeth.
"You want another?" She asks, plucking his glass from his hand, their skin brushing slightly, sending goosebumps up his arms. She's freezing cold despite being a warm summer's night. He nods and she turns around, walking towards the kitchen. As she does, he stares at her retreating behind, noting how good it looks in the dress.
/
He avoids her for a month before he answers his door and there she is, her long hair billowing in the wind behind her.
"It's good to know you're alive." She says bitterly as she pushes past him.
Kai closes the door and turns around. She's pulling off the wet black coat, revealing a long-sleeved black shirt and a... red skirt. Is she trying to kill him? It barely covers the tops of her legs, which are bare except for the ankle boots she has on her feet. He breathes out loudly. "What do you want?" He asks harshly. There's been a reason why he's avoided her for all this time.
"To make sure you are okay!" She says, her voice is the same pitch and tone as the one she uses to get up Tyson. "A month! A whole month and I was worried!" She stares at him, her arms crossed against her chest.
He doesn't back down from her angry stare. "You were worried? What about the others?"
Hilary snorted. "They said it's a typical thing for you to do and that you will be okay but I know you as well and I know as well and I know it means you're damn not okay." Her usually pale cheeks are flushed.
Kai's gaze flickered to the skirt before returning upwards. "I'm fine." He says in almost a whisper, looking back down at the floor.
"You and I both know that isn't true, Kai." He hears her footsteps coming towards him. "You can tell me what's wrong, you know that."
Kai looks up. She doesn't look eighteen anymore. She looks like she did when they were stuck on that stupid god damn island five years ago. Scared, lost and innocent. His head twitches slightly as he feels her grab his hands with her freezing cold ones. "Don't you know that you have the coldest hands?" He asks.
She laughs, breaking the tension, her hands gripping his tighter. "You're not the first person to tell me that." She says, letting go and walking back over to get her coat, pulling it on and walking back over to the front door. "You can't fool me, Hiwatari." She says as she leaves.
Kai stands still for a few moments. Why did she have to come over? Why did she have to come over in something in the colour red? Kai closes his eyes and breathes in. He can still smell her perfume which only makes him more frustrated. He looks down at his coffee table, leaning down, grabbing the edges and pushing it over.
/
Kai feels like bashing his head against something hard the next time he sees her. They're all out to dinner plus Rei's old friends and for some odd reason, Tala though Kai has a sneaking suspicion why. She's seated across the table from him, wearing a black dress that shows an ample amount of cleavage, her hair tossed behind her shoulders, leaving her pointy collarbones and the front of her neck open but that's not what's driving him mad. It's the dark red lipstick on her lips. When she smiles at him, it's like she knows that the colour red on her is driving him mad. His hands shake slightly as he downs several whiskeys in a row in order to maintain some kind of control. He feels her watching him and he stares down the table at Tala instead but after five minutes he can't stand to be seated across from her without wanting to grab her by the back of the neck and pull her onto the table and fuck her senseless in front of all his friends. He needs air. "I'll be right back." He says, though nobody pays any attention to him as Tala stands at the same time and proceeds to announce he's going to marry Mariah. Kai walks outside where it's quiet and dark and rather chilly as fall is upon them in a matter of days. He leans against the brick wall, closing his eyes.
"Did you know?"
Fuck. "Know...?"
"About Mariah and Tala..."
Kai opens one eye. She's standing a few feet away. At least this dress isn't as tight or short as the last one. "I had a feeling..." He says. He knows she didn't know and that she's hurt Mariah didn't tell her and the last thing he wanted was Mariah having a go at him for telling Hilary that he was smart enough to work it all out.
"It's just so weird. I thought she'd end up with Rei."
Kai opens both eyes. She looks more sad than angry. "Looks like you'll be stuck wearing an ugly pink bridesmaid dress for their wedding."
Hilary snorts. "Not even." He watches her as she moves closer, shaking in the chilly air. "I would never let her do that to me."
Kai smirked. "Good luck with that." He says, pushing off the wall. "If she has a temper now, imagine the wedding bride coming out of her."
Hilary smiles but doesn't laugh. "Why have you been so weird with me?" She asks her voice soft and sad. He hasn't heard her ever sound this sad and it makes him uneasy. "Did I do something?"
Kai stared down at her big brown eyes. No, it's me is what he wants to say. It's all my fault because I can't control myself, he thinks. He shakes his head slowly. "No." He whispers as he watches her move closer and closer to him.
"Then what is it?" She asks as she's right there. He can feel her shaking.
Kai can't bring himself to answer her. Her left hand lifts and strokes his cheek. Her cold hand burns his warm cheek. He grabs her by the shoulders, turns them around and pushes her into the wall. She stares at him, her eyes wide with shock. He doesn't know what's come over him except it's probably two months of pent up frustration. His right hand lifts off her shoulder, up to her jaw line, tracing down the side of her neck, down those bony collarbone, down her ample cleavage. His finger burns from her cold skin. How can she be so cold? He leaned in, inhaling her scent as his lips grazed just beneath her ear. He felt her breathing freeze as he bit and sucked down her neck, her arms gripping hers as he gripped her waist. Oh god she was so tiny. She moaned softly as he bit a little harder just above her collarbone.
"Oh god" She muttered as he grinded against her as he bit just above the spot from before. "Kai, please"
He pulled away from her, shaking. He stared at her. Flushed, rosy cheeks, eyes wide, pressed up against the wall, those lips... He had to leave before he lost even more control. "I..." What was he going to say? Her eyes looked like she was about to cry. Oh god. He walked back towards the restaurant.
"Kai!" He heard her scream behind him but he kept walking.
/
Months go by and she doesn't check up on him after a month this time. Or two. Or four. Or six. He doesn't even hear from her when he turns nineteen. Six months of self loathing for leaving her that night against the wall. Tala doesn't dare to bring her up but it's clear he's heard what's happened from Mariah thought Kai's lips are sealed shut from saying anything. The past six months are blur of whiskey, random girls and blankness. What brings him out of his drunken haze is Mariah at her insistent pressure to sober up because she doesn't want her family more angry at her for the fact her future husband's best man doesn't go through the whole ceremony looking like he's about to puke or pass out or both. Mariah had looked him in the eyes, the last time he had seen her and told him that maybe it's time he stops feeling sorry for himself. He had stared at her for a moment before looking away, ashamed. It was the first time Mariah had mentioned anything but the up-coming wedding and he knew what she really meant. Give up. Give up on Hilary and anything he felt towards her. He sighed as he pushed open the wedding store door open. He froze as he watched Mariah's face contort as she gripped a cell phone next to her ear.
"Mother! It's my wedding!" She screeched into the phone. "Don't you understand that you can't meddle anymore?" Mariah pulled the phone away from her ear, throwing it onto the couch behind her. She breathed out, straightening her dress before she noticed Kai. "You're early." She says.
Kai frowns. "So?" He asks, walking over to her. He gives her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Your mother annoying you again?"
Mariah laughed, scaring Kai a bit as it was probably the evilest laugh he had ever hurt. "Don't be surprised if you don't see my mother at the wedding." She said. She turned around to the attendant. "Kai's here for his fitting." She said. Kai shrugged off his coat and spends the next 35 minutes being pin and prodded by the attendant who spends too much time staring at his face than rather watching what she's meant to be doing. "Wow." Mariah says after a moment. "There was a reason why you were known as the heartthrob amongst us teenage girls."
Kai stares at himself in the mirror. He feels like rolling his eyes at Mariah's comment but something makes him wonder if Hilary thought he was one back then. Five minutes later, he's free of the suit and pins and pulls on his coat.
"The engagement dinner is on the Friday, and you are coming alone right? Because I'm not changing it, Kai."
Kai nods. "Yes"
"Good, because I'm sick off all those... girls I've heard you..." Mariah sighs and stops. She looks like she wants to say something and Mariah isn't usually shy of telling someone what she thinks. Kai narrows his eyes. Do it, he thinks. Tell me that I was an idiot. Her eyes go to the door as he hears the street traffic noise as it opens. Mariah's eyes flicker in panic.
Kai feels his stomach burn. He knows the reason behind Mariah's panicked eyes and she's standing right behind him. He leans down and quickly kisses Mariah's cheek. "I'll... see you." He says softly before turning around. She's standing there, in that black coat and red jeans. Hilary stared at him, her face pale, cheeks a bright red from the cold harsh wind of February. He leaves as fast as he can.
/
He manages to go through engagement dinner fine, weeks later. He spots her several times, surrounded by Tyson and Max and the others as if they're protecting her. He wonders if they know or whether or not she's kept it from them. Her hair is pulled into a bun, leaving her entire neck exposed, her collarbones seem to be sticking out even more as if she hasn't been eating properly but what makes him grip his glass in frustration is the fact she's wearing a strapless, figure hugging to her knees, bright red dress that stands vibrantly against her pale skin. He remembers his promise to Mariah about not being drunk for the wedding tomorrow and it takes a lot to not go back to his hotel room with a bottle of anything and drink himself into a stupor. But now he's sitting at the hotel bar at 1 am in the morning, nursing the same drink he ordered an hour ago.
"Care for company?" He shrugs and Tyson sits next to him and orders an imported beer. After a few minutes of silence between them, Tyson breaks it. "For someone who says they don't want any help, your actions sure do scream it."
Kai turns his head to Tyson who is scratching at the label of his beer bottle. "What?"
Tyson laughs before lifting his head to look Kai in the eyes. "You're about as obvious as a pink elephant."
Kai swallows. "You have no idea what you're talking about."
"You know, I do and you might be older and much more smarter but you're blinded by your weird control issues and..." Tyson shakes his head. "What you did... it... she didn't tell us." Tyson takes a sip of his beer and swallows. Kai doesn't think he's ever seen Tyson's face so serious before. "It was obvious something happened and you stopped coming over and she started being quite and depressed."
Kai looks down at the half empty glass of vodka. "I..."
"Why do you think all of a sudden you just noticed her?" Tyson asks, causing Kai to frown. "You think one day she started doing things differently? Or that she had spent years trying to raise anything out of you and then one day it's a pair of red shorts?"
Kai downs the rest of the vodka, burning the back of his throat sightly. Tyson is pressing too much. "It's nothing."
Tyson finishes his beer, slamming the bottle down. "She's a fool for ever being in love with you but you're the bigger fool for not going after what you want." Tyson stands up. "I thought... You either tell her how you feel or you let her go. You're only going to keep hurting her."
/
Kai doesn't sleep much. Tyson's words are imprinted in the back of his mind, playing over and over again until he destroys one of his hotel chairs in a fit of rage. Max had knocked on his door, saying that he was told to ask him to go make sure Mariah wasn't having a nervous breakdown and to make sure she hadn't killed her mother yet. He stared at the metal elevator doors as he rode two floors up. Tyson was right, not that he would ever tell him to his face but he was right. He needed to do the right thing. The elevator doors dinged open and he walked down the hallway to Mariah's room. He knocked on the door and he heard someone curse and then the door swung open.
"What the fuck are you doing here?"
Kai recoiled from the anger in her voice. "Max told me to come make sure that Mariah wasn't murdering anyone..." He said, his eyes leaving her angry face to her open dressing gown. Red, everything was red. Red bra, red panties, red garter belt that had black stockings hooked to it. Kai's throat had gone dry.
Hilary stares at him, her eyebrows frowning in confusion. "Max told you what? Mariah's room is on the other side of the elevator!" She went to slam the door in his face but Kai slammed his hand against it.
"We need to talk."
She snorts, her hands crossing against her chest. "Really? You think after all this time; it's wise for us to talk."
Kai moved closer, Hilary stepped backwards as he kept moving more into the room until the door swung closed behind him. "You don't understand how much I just want too... fuck you right now." He says before he realises what he actually has said. That wasn't according to plan.
Hilary's mouth drops open. "Is that meant to make me feel better?" Her voice is loud and echoes throughout the hotel room.
"That's... not what I meant to say."
"Damn fucking right it wasn't. You don't get to say things like that to me." She says. "Not after..."
Kai licks his lips. He wants her more than ever. He watches as her eyes tear up. "I'm sorry."
The tears fall down her cheek. "You're six months too late." She says, wiping her face free of more tears. She begins to sob and he bits his lip. What is he meant to say now?
"I'm sorry" He repeats, his hand reaching out to wipe the tear that's about to fall off her chin. He rests his hand there. "Proshu proshsheniya"
Hilary laughs bitterly as her hand reaches up to grip the one that's stroking her cheek. "One of the things I like about you is the way you sound when you speak Russian..." She looks up at him and the look in her eyes reminds him of the time he avoided her for a month and she came over. Scared, lost and so very innocent. His hand leaves her cheek and reaches around the back of her head, pulling her into him.
"I'm not good with... explaining how I feel." He says as he drops his head onto her shoulder.
"I know" She says softly.
"So, I'm trying to say..."
"I know" She says again. "Ya Vas lublyu..."
Kai smiles into her shoulder as he holds her tighter. "Who taught you to speak Russian, now?" He asks.