(A/N): I haven't posted anything in a long while! Well, at least it feels like it to me! :P Well anyways, this is a short one-shot. And I kind of wrote it over a couple of days, trying to get over my massive case of writer's block. So don't kill me if it isn't that good! X) Okay, just to let you guys know, before you start reading, it's a short glimpse into what I think the relationship between Tyson and Hilary would be, and it's from Tyson's point of view. So again, it might not be that good! LOL anyways, I'd appreciate some feedback, just to give me a little indication of what I could do better/what I did alright. Now, to the actual writing part! I ramble too much...

Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade.

Cooties

The excited voice of a navy-haired teen echoed through the desolate halls of the dojo that Sunday morning. An old man with salt-and-pepper hair swiftly grabbed a kendo stick and crept to the entrance of the boy's room.

"Yo, little man, where's the fire?" He cried out, flailing the kendo stick in front of him wildly. His grandson simply stopped his yelling to quirk an eyebrow at his grandfather sceptically. The latter raised his own eyebrows at the child upon seeing no intruder, no fire. "What's with the yelling, T-man?"

The boy pointed to the window, a certain sparkle in his eyes. "It snowed overnight!"

Both grandson and grandfather shifted their russet eyes to the window. Overnight, a fresh blanket of fallen snow had graced the frigid earth of Bakuten. The sun, peeping out of the clouds, shone down on the pure snow, reflecting subtle colours in all directions. Within seconds, sky opened up yet again and more white snow began to fall upon the ground, dancing slowly in the winter wind. The capped teen immediately sprang into action, piling on a heavy winter jacket and a scarf.

"I'll be back before lunch, Gramps," He yelled out to the dazed man, bounding out the door and into the winter wonderland.

The young male scuffled to the rolling hills behind the dojo, toboggan in tow. As he climbed up the mountain of snow, a splash of colour caught his eye. It was a girl, perched atop the hill, accenting the picture-perfect landscape with vibrant colour. Her face, laced with the faint hint of pink, was tilted towards the skies above her. The drifting snowflakes became entangled in her chestnut curls, her long lashes. As she stood, her gaze concentrated on the mesmerising twirl of the flakes of white, he was mesmerized by something entirely different.

He kind of wanted to know her.

"What?"

Her ruby eyes were slightly covered by the stray locks of her auburn hair, but I could still see her quirk an eyebrow as she looked at me with a puzzled expression on her face. I just continued to stare at her, trying to figure out my next move. I didn't want to tell her that I had been thinking back to when I first saw her – that'd be just plain cheesy. And I'm the farthest thing from that. So I said what any other guy would've said at that moment.

"You have something on your face…"

Okay, so maybe other guys wouldn't say that. I'm such an idiot.

I bit my lip as she flushed a deep crimson colour, her hands flying up to her face. As she made deliberate clawing motions at her cheeks, her forehead, and her nose, I immediately felt a pang of guilt. I didn't mean to make her feel insecure. After all, she should be the farthest thing from that. She was beautiful.

I frowned, noticing the somewhat crazed expression in her eyes as she tried to remove the imaginary dirt on her face. "I'll get it," I told her as I extended one of my hands towards her, letting my thumb brush the surface of her soft skin briefly. I let it linger there for a moment before pulling back. "There. All gone!"

I saw her turn just a shade darker than the colour of my trademark red jacket and I threw her a smug grin. She returned it by placing her hands on her hips and giving me a cold glare.

"God, Tyson, sometimes you can be such a jerk."

"Oh really?" It was my turn to raise my eyebrows. "That's not what you said last week. As I recall, you were pretty smitten with me," I smirked at the brunette as she proceeded to stare daggers at me.

"Things change. People change." She flicked her hair haughtily as she closed those stunning scarlet orbs. As much as I enjoyed getting under her skin, I hated when she got mad. And the thought of me being the subject of those emotions made me feel uneasy. It was a weird weakness of mine.

"Heh, come on, Hil," I backtracked a little sheepishly, running a hand through my navy hair. "I didn't mean to do that…"

"You don't even know what you did wrong, do you?"

"Not a clue."

She sighed, but I could see the corners of her lips curl slightly upwards. I knew she was going to give in eventually, I just had to wait it out. Maybe turn on the Granger charm.

I tugged one of her slender hands towards me, intertwining my fingers with hers. I took my free hand and used it to tilt her face upwards, so that her eyes were deadlocked on mine. She seemed to stop breathing as she gazed at me with a somewhat dazed expression. At that moment, I knew I had her. But strangely enough, I couldn't act on it. I only managed to choke out one, single stupid expression.

"Ha. Works every time."

Damn it. Why couldn't I say the right thing for once?

Upon hearing my words, she pushed me away, breaking the connection between our hands and our eyes. She stomped away from me, leaving me to stand in the middle of the winter pathway alone. Obviously, she was in a huff. I had known her for so long that I knew each of the tell-tale signs. First there was the trembling. Then came the clenched fists. And finally, the muttering. I looked ahead of me now, and laughed to myself when I saw her grumbling under her breath. Swearing, no doubt.

I jogged up to where she was and put a hand around her, one that she effectively shrugged off.

"It was a joke?" I tried to explain, but I knew it was a lost cause. I was the Titanic and my big mouth was the iceberg that hit it.

"Dimwit," she mumbled, and for once I agreed with her.

I mean, what sort of guy offended their girlfriend twice in less than a minute?

Albeit, both of us were used to the fights. It was pretty much second nature to start bickering with each other. Hell, it even felt weird not to. It always used to be that way, though. Ever since we became friends about ten years ago. So I decided I'd try saying something new this time…as much as it killed me and my supposedly super-inflated ego. Which isn't that inflated, mind you. I'm just being truthful.

"I'm…sorry…?" I croaked softly, not even sure if I was saying it right to begin with. It was quiet, but it was enough to make Hilary stop dead in her tracks.

"What," She asked me, with a sly smile on her face, "did you just say?"

Damn it, she's not going to make me say it again, is she? Apparently, because she placed one of her hands by her ear, gesturing to make me say it louder. Girls suck. What happened to cooties again?

"I said I'm sorry," I grunted in a clearly irritated manner.

I was not a happy camper, but Hilary was. She kept a silly grin on her face, keeping her ruby orbs on mine, her gaze stealthily studying me as I tried to regain some of the dignity I lost. I don't think it was working…

"Did the Tyson Granger just apologize to me first?"

"Hey!" My only response was to call out to her in a whiney voice. That only made her start laughing. As she doubled over, tears streaking down her cheeks, I proceeded to defend myself. "I say sorry all the time."

"Pfft, whatever Tys," She snorted, still crumpled in a heap from laughing so hard. "You practically never say sorry. Because you have an ego the size of an elephant."

I pouted. I sure as hell did not have an ego. Much.

She gave me a soft smile and walked over to me, placing one hand on my cheek. I felt a jolt of electricity wash over me as she placed her other hand on my shoulder and tugged me closer. Suddenly, her lips were merely inches from mine, and I had to take a deep breath in order to steady myself. Before she closed the ever-so-small gap between us, she whispered one last thing.

"But it's kind of why I love you,"

Huh. So that's what happened to cooties. I've got to say, I'm starting to like them a lot more.

(A/N): Haha, cooties! I don't know why I thought of that, but yeah. Anyways, review if you'd like. Otherwise, have an awesome semester people! Will be writing more in the near future :D