The Ladies Man- Chapter 9

A/N: Not proof-read. Not edited. I did bother to spell check! :D


Kai was pissed when Sandy burst into Alexa's room in tears, just as him and the brunette were ready for round two. He was even more pissed when he found out Tyson had been the root of this disturbance. And the cherry on the cake? Both he and Tala were missing when Kai stomped out to the front of the house.

All of this was what Kai explained, with well chosen words, once Tala and himself got back to the party. The drive home was relatively silent, aside from Kai's huffing and looking out the window.

That is except for when Tala glanced at Tyson in the rearview mirror, gestured to Kai with his head, rolled his eyes, and mouthed "women" sarcastically, which made Tyson laugh… Silently, of course.

Tyson did make it home safely though, and fell asleep instantly upon hitting the bed.

He woke to his phone ringing loudly, his obnoxious ringtone cutting through his pleasant dreamless sleep like a boning knife.

Tyson slapped the phone somewhat violently, and despite the assault, the phone continued to ring. Tyson flipped the electronic open, mumbling something along the lines of "hello".

"Tyson! Are you still asleep?" Max's cheerful voice sounded from the other end of the line.

"Max… Maxie? Hey bud…" Tyson sat up slowly with a yawn, regretting sleeping in jeans.

"What's up man? How was the party?" Max asked good-naturedly.

"Oh…" Tyson paused, the haze of sleep wearing off instantly and memories came flooding back, "It was… Interesting." Tyson said reluctantly.

"Oh? How so?" Max asked quickly, genuinely curious.

"Uhhh, just was! Haha!" Tyson laughed fakely for his friend, "How's Hil?" Tyson asked, though he already knew she'd be especially pissed at him.

"She's good… Still really mad…" Max said with a sigh, "I don't know why you have to hang out with Kai so much to 'get laid'. I mean, wouldn't it just be easier to find a girl, date her, fall in love, and then do it? I don't see the rush." Max said, his innocence apparent but undeniably charming.

"Maxie, have you ever kissed a girl, made out with her, and…" Tyson bit his lip insecurely, "Then not wanted to do it?"

"Uhh… No. Hilary's my first girlfriend, you know that." Max said awkwardly, Tyson felt bad for making him feel like he had less experience.

"Yeah. Right. Well, never mind." Tyson said. "I should go, dude, Gramps is making me train extra hard today because I've been spending so much time avoiding my chores. See ya!" Tyson said and hung up, flopping back down onto his bed with a sigh. His phone buzzed shortly after, indicating a text message.

He flipped it open. He had one new message, and it was from Tala, Tyson raised an eyebrow and yawned again, opening the message.

'Hey Tyson! Wanna hang out today?' it read and Tyson narrowed his eyes at the digital words… Why would Tala want to hang out suddenly? Well, there was only one way to find out.

'Yeah, dude, when and where?' He typed, sent, and closed the phone. It buzzed a few seconds later.

'I can pick you up in 30 minutes?'

'Ok.' Tyson replied and rolled out of his bed and headed for a shower.


"So, what you're saying is you think that Ming Ming's hair isn't really turquoise?" Tyson laughed, looking at his friend with an amused grin.

"I'm saying that color just doesn't come naturally." Tala replied, punching his younger friend in the shoulder.

"Well, it's unlikely, but look at Kai's hair. Also a weird color. And either way, there's no way to prove it." Tyson said.

"Well, you could see if the carpet matches the drapes." Tala replied.

"Hah! I doubt Ming Ming would ever sleep with either of us. I bet Kai could do it, though." Tyson said back, grinning at the mention of his teacher.

"I bet Kai could too. Then again, Kai wouldn't tell us just to keep us guessing." Tala laughed.

"That's very true." Tyson replied. The two teens were sitting on a bench in a park in the middle of the city. It wasn't a big park, but it had lots of children and adults alike. It was a sunny day, though not too warm, and the pair had been chatting and wandering aimlessly for a few hours.

A comfortable silence passed between the two, who both watched the people passively. It had been fun, and Tyson really liked Tala. He was a cool guy. In some ways, he was a bit like Kai, and in others he was the complete opposite.

No matter what though, Tyson's thoughts always ended up including Kai. He had to bite his tongue from mentioning Kai constantly, as it felt natural to talk about the older teen. Tyson was as confused as he was blissfully ignorant. It was becoming more apparent every time Kai's name slipped from his mouth unintentionally, something Tala didn't forget to take note of.

"Tala, how did you know you were bisexual?" Tyson blurted out all of a sudden, mentally smacking himself once he realized what he'd said… And how boorish it had sounded coming from him. Tala was quiet for a long moment.

"I knew you were gonna ask about that." Tala said, his voice tight with a grin, "Well, I've always liked girls. I had a few girlfriends in high school, nothing serious, but always really enjoyed them. But then, occasionally, I began to notice guys too."

"Notice?" Tyson asked, his brows furrowed as he stared at the ground intently.

"The same way I'd look at girls, I looked at some guys. It wasn't too long after that I made out with a friend of mine and that was that. I knew I was bisexual. Not a huge deal, there was no parade after, but no one really seemed to care anyways so it was fine." Tala explained with a shrug, Tyson looked at him with innocent eyes, appreciating the fact that Tala would be honest with him.

"I see." Tyson replied simply, gulping loudly and breathing even louder.

"Well, I got work in an hour so I better get you home, kid." Tala said, standing up and stretching his arms above his head.

"Yeah, ok." Tyson said and mimicked his older friend.

He was confused, that was for sure, but at least he wasn't alone. And, since Tala and Kai were such good friends, perhaps Kai wouldn't mind if Tyson were gay or bisexual or whatever?


Monday mornings were the bane of Tyson's existence. This Monday morning especially, since all his friends were pissed at him… Quite possibly including Kai. Then again, Tala had said Kai wouldn't be mad for long (Considering the fact that the boy could get laid whenever he wanted and "one cock block won't kill him, and he knows it!", according to Tala). Still, Tyson had to drag himself all the way to school.

He walked into the cafeteria feeling glum, saw his friends at their normal table, and began walking towards it. They left a seat for him today, maybe that was a good sign?

Tyson flopped down into the open seat, which was on the end and next to Max, across from Kenny. The group stopped talking and looked at him like he was supposed to say something.

"Hey guys?" Tyson asked with a grin.

"Hey Tyson!" Max said with a hearty grin. The rest of the group began to chat, without really greeting him. Tyson was OK with that, he was being let back into the circle and he was glad for it.

He sat quietly, knowing he would say something stupid and would piss Hilary off again, until he spotted Kai walk into the cafeteria and look around briefly. Kai's gaze settled on Tyson and the younger saw Kai's lips curl up just slightly into a smirk.

Oh shit.

Tyson felt his nerves flare when Kai sauntered over to the table. Apparently Hilary also noticed the senior walking towards them and gave Tyson the most heated glare he'd ever received.

"Hello, Tyson." Kai purred, approaching the table from the side opposite of Tyson.

"H-hey, Kai." Tyson said, admiring the black wife beater Kai wore and the small bulges of muscle under it.

"My dear friend Sandy wants to talk to you." Kai said politely. Tyson sucked in a breath too quickly and ended up choking on his own saliva, causing Max to hit him on the back a few times.

"…Ok." Tyson said reluctantly, getting up from the table and chewing on his lower lip incessantly as he very slowly followed Kai out of the cafeteria, but not before waving to Max pathetically.

"So you think Sandy is fat?" Kai asked, slowing his walk so Tyson could catch up. The two were walking down an almost deserted hall.

"No… I just choked." Tyson said, looking up at Kai and studying his attractive features. Kai really was stunning… At least to Tyson, then again, all the girls thought so too.

"Well, it's alright." Kai mumbled, his walking speed unconsciously speeding up.

"Really?" Tyson asked excitedly, smiling at Kai as he tried to keep pace with the taller teen.

Kai replied with a shrug.

"I'm still sorry for… Uhh… cock blocking you." Tyson said, the words feeling awkward coming from his mouth. Tala sure said it better.

Kai stopped walking immediately and closed his eyes, bringing a hand to his temple and rubbing as it Tyson gave him some sort of migraine… Perhaps that was the wrong thing to say?

"You've talked to Tala." Kai stated simply.

"Well, yes." Tyson admitted, staring at Kai who just looked up to glare at him.

"Just… Never say that again, ok?" Kai asked, though it really wasn't a question.

"Sure Kai, of course. Never again." Tyson said with a frantic nod. "So are we going to see Sandy?" Tyson asked, tilting his head to the left unconsciously.

"No. That was an excuse." Kai said, his voice deep and husky.

"An excuse for what?" Tyson wondered aloud.

"To get you away from those imbeciles, of course." Kai replied with a smirk. "Now get to class." Kai said and turned and walked away briskly. Tyson then realized he was going to be late… quite late, for his first class.


Lunch rolled around quickly enough, and Tyson sat with his old friends, who finally chatted casually with him. Kai was nowhere to be seen, however Tyson's brain couldn't stop thinking about the older teen… And about how badly he wished he could see him.

Tyson thought endlessly about how insane it was that one day he looked up to Kai because he thought he was cool, and now he looked up to Kai because he liked him.

Tyson liked him.


Tyson's phone buzzed in the middle of math, his last class of the day. Even though he, technically, wasn't supposed to have the device in class, he answered it anyways. Tyson was never one for technicalities anyways. It was a text message, from Tala of all people.

'Hey! Wanna hang out later?' It read, and Tyson thought for a second…

'Yeah, sure!' Tyson replied and pressed the send button. He'd have to tell Gramps he was skipping drills today, which the old man would surely gripe about, but this seemed like a lot less work.

The phone buzzed again.

'Alright, I'll pick you up at like 5.' It read.

'Ok. See you then.' Tyson replied and sent. The bell for the end of class rang at just the right moment and Tyson closed the phone and shoved it in his pocket. He picked up his things and rushed out of the classroom, conveniently forgetting his homework.

He walked out of the building and saw Max and Hilary waiting up for him, which made him smile. His two best friends really couldn't be mad at him for long… However, Hilary still didn't look happy.

"Hey Max! Hey Hil!" Tyson said and gave each of them a bear hug.

"Hey Tyson… How was school?" Max asked, an arm around his girlfriend.

"You mean since lunch? Haha, it was good. Nothing interesting. How about you? And Hil?" Tyson asked, looking at his two friends curiously.

"Nothing new." Hilary said, Max just nodded. "We should be going though, got lots of studying to do." Hilary said and gave Tyson a small grin before her and her boyfriend walked away with a wave.

Tyson smiled. He was glad to have his friends back.

He walked towards home, and his heart raced as he turned the corner towards Kai's spot. And, like clockwork, the older teen was there, cigarette pressed between his lips.

Tyson approached Kai with a grin. The older teen just glared at him, not an unusual greeting.

"Hey Kai!" Tyson said, he felt his chest flutter as the older teen looked at him steadily for a few seconds before taking a drag of his cigarette and letting the smoke roll out of his mouth lazily.

Things sure changed quickly, because suddenly Tyson was frozen as he looked up at the taller male's face.

"Hello Tyson." Kai said with a smirk, "Come to bother me yet again, have you?" Kai asked in the most playful voice Kai Hiwatari was capable of. Tyson just nodded, too shaken and nervous to respond otherwise. Everything changed for him, but things were no different to Kai… It was disappointing, on some level, because Tyson had had one of the biggest revelations of his life, which very well included Kai, but the other was oblivious. Then again, Tyson would die if Kai knew. Well, unless Kai killed him first.

"Well, do you want to come over and do my math homework again?" Kai asked smoothly, watching Tyson with a calculated stare.

"Yeah, sure." Tyson said softly, not meeting Kai's crimson eyes. The older took off at a brisk walk, which Tyson hurried to catch up with. Tyson grabbed his phone and called the dojo, telling Gramps he wouldn't be home until later.

"T-dog, don't forget your roots, homie! See you on the flip side, dude." Gramps said.


A/N: I'm totally not happy with this chapter, but I promised you more! Well, this story is so funny because it takes my head all over the place. I have so many directions I want to go that sometimes I can't bring myself to choose one… I mean, Tala was initially going to be a very minor character, but now I've decided I want him to be very involved. Oh, and yes, he is very OOC and I know it… Eh, what I'm playing up here is the fact that I think Tala is a very noble character and really a gentleman, perhaps very loyal as well. When writing fan fiction (As I'm sure you all know) you kind of have to play-up character traits and I'm just being very selective with Tala's :P

6 reviews in less than 12 hours? You guys honor me. I write for you, my loves

Poppies in July: Thank you for the review, I'm glad you like the twist! It wasn't in the original plan but… I like the way Tala is working into the story.

Tempest-storm: No, thank YOU for the review. It means a lot, after all these months. I'll keep going so you will have to wonder no more!

Kiray Himawari: I like Tala lots too. It'll have to be a surprise for what he does next… But, it shouldn't be too shocking.

Map (Formerly Box): I LOVE YOU TOO. I MISSED YOU. Your reviews make my life. Seriously. They're so long and rambley and adorable. Your theories interest me :P We'll just have to wait and see what happens next, no? AND YOU CAN PM ME ANYTIME! I get lazy sometimes. I got spurred to continue by an anonymous review I got on 8/22… So get my lazy ass in gear anytime you want! *e-glomp* Oh, and that was a Karate Kid reference. Because I'm sooo cool hahaha xD

1chucha2: I'll continue to update, no worries!