Left out in the Cold
Kai couldn't help but feel he was alone, even when he was in the company of others. He watched from the corner of the room as the Bladebreakers sat around the television against the front wall of the room. They were laughing loudly as they played cards, the television in front of them spouting the scores of some sport that was playing on the screen. His gaze meandered to the window; large flurries of white were falling from the sky. It had been like that for a while now, if it continued to snow like this, Kai wouldn't be surprised if the power went out.
"Hey Kai! Why don't ya come play a 'round with us?" yelled an over enthusiastic Max. Kai's gaze shot to the group. He stiffened when he caught them all looking toward him. Shaking his head tersely, Kai huddled closer to the wall, closing his eyes. 'One… Two… Three…' Kai counted silently to himself, waiting for the inevitable response.
"Awww! Why not?" whined an annoying Takao.
His eyes opening into little more than slits Kai said evenly, but with just a touch of anger, "I said no, Takao."
Quickly backing off, Takao grumbled just loud enough for Kai to hear, "Jeez… No reason to be such a jerk about it."
The others around him shushed him loudly, as if they were afraid of pushing Kai across some hard line.
As the Bladebreakers went back to their game, one thought flitted across Kai's mind, 'Why do I always say no?' He didn't understand, he was supposed to be fearless, but here he was too afraid to join his teammates in a simple game of cards. Chuckling silently to himself he thought, 'If Grandfather could see me now… I wonder what he would think of me being afraid a little game. I bet he'd say it's my fault, even though he knows it's not like I started that way.'
He watched the group as the night progressed. Rei had gotten up to make them tea and bring a plate of snacks in, Max had left to grab them some board games, Kyouji went to the kitchen to call his folks and tell them he wouldn't be coming home, and Takao had made a mad dash to his room to find them movies they could watch before the power went out.
The Bladebreakers had stayed up late into the night, playing multiple board games together, watching several movies with the snacks shared between them. Slowly, they all began to fall asleep, with Max was the last to drift off, after coming down from his sugar high. In their sleep, the group of teens came to be closely packed together, keeping each other warm as they slept.
Shortly after Max had fallen asleep, the power went out, plunging Kai into complete darkness. The room quickly turned frigid, the heat having gone out with the lights. Hugging himself in an effort to keep warm, Kai listened to the snow patter against the windows. When his eyes began to flutter closed, Kai looked to his team. They were snuggled close together, each content, as warmth seemed to radiate off them.
Sleep ensnaring him, Kai's last thought was, 'I always end up left out in the cold, don't I?'
Thank you for reading! I really hoped you liked it, please review, it'd be very much appreciated!
EDITED: 6/23/16