Standard Disclaimer Applies

Word Count: Approx. 30,578 (this part, approx. 2,381)

Rants: So, I totally did not get out of bed until almost noon. Then I played Sims 2. That's why this wasn't updated. As for this part? Um, Rei and Kai's first kiss? Also, where I realized I really shouldn't write romance. At all. I'm too anti-gushy, lovey-dovey stuff to write Romance of any kind. So it's not a very Squee! Worthy scene. I do apologize.

Reviews inspire me to remember to update faster! :D See you guys on Memorial Day.


"Aw, come on Spencer," Rei said consolingly, rubbing his hand up and down Spencer's arm from where they were hiding in the boy's bathroom, Rei sitting on a sink, Spencer leaning to the one next to him.

"I mean, if you even knew how mean he really is!" Spencer spat out, "You know I'm not allowed to wear the colour orange anymore?" He turned to Rei, on the verge of tears. "Two years ago, my parents bought me this really nice orange jacket for Christmas, but I had to pretend I didn't like it. It was so sad." He wiped his eyes, grunting in frustration.

"That's nothing we can't handle," Rei offered.

"That's not even the worst part of it!" Spencer snapped. "You know he's still cheating on Kai? Every Thursday she hooks up with Byran Kuznetsov in the alcove behind the auditorium." Rei's eyes narrowed in frustration. That slut! "And I never told anybody, because I'm such a good friend!"

- - -

For nearly a month of Thursdays they tried everything in their power to get Kai into the Alcove behind the Auditorium to no avail. They tried every little thing they could think of, from posting signs that soccer practice had been moved there, to having Max steal Rei's bag with Kai chasing after him.

Something always went wrong though, and Tala and Bryan had plenty of time to escape.

"I think it's time we move onto the next step," Michael said one night, tossing his baseball between his hands, glancing at the kiddie magnets still on his fridge.

"I think you might be right," Max agreed.

"But Tala is cheating on Kai!" Rei cried out indignity. "Kai has a right to know!"

"We're trying to help him figure it out," Michael scoffed, "He's just too stupid."

Rei glared at Michael, but the baseball player simply rolled his eyes. "Next step?"

"The Kälteen bars look like they're kicking in," Max added hopefully, and Michael nodded his head. "Good."

Rei folded his arms, leaning against the wall glaring at nothing in general. He didn't want to move on. He wanted to help Kai. But, Max and Michael had a point. They'd just have to get back to that step.

- - -

Tala's legs were draped across Kai's lap as he ate a Kälteen bar. One of his hands moved up to play with Kai's hair, pausing when he reached Kai's ear, running a thumb over the piercing and Kai paused in doing his Calculus homework to give Tala a wary 'I'm-not-in-the-mood' look. Rei smirked triumphantly, taking a bite out of his spicy chicken sandwich.

"I don't think these things work," Tala said after a moment, tossing the rest of his Kälteen bar onto the table.

"What do you mean?" Rei asked, glancing up.

"I still weigh 112," Tala replied, scooting closer to Kai, to wrap his arms around him.

Rei clenched his hands into fists on his lap again, before answering. "That's because the protein builds muscle-"

"And muscle weighs more than fat," Spencer said, looking at Rei who nodded his head.

"Whatever, it's making me break out," Tala pouted, pressing his cheek against Kai's shoulder.

Kai glanced at Tala, brushing his lips against the redhead's forehead. "You look fine." He said.

Tala smiled, nuzzling Kai with his cheek. "I wuv you," he said adorably, and Kai replied with a soft, "hn."

"I'm going to go buy a coke," Rei said, standing up suddenly grabbing his bag. "See you in Calculus, Kai."

"Yeah, bye," Kai replied, returning his attention to the textbook spread out before him.

- - -

"Tala's not even really that good looking, if you really look at him," Rei said, standing in front of the mirror in his bedroom, brushing his hair. "Especially now that he's getting fat."

Michael, who'd been laying on Rei's bed, caught the baseball he'd thrown up at the ceiling and sat up. He put a hand on his stomach, and then glanced over at Rei. Both of them were still much thicker around the waist than Tala himself was, so Michael wasn't entirely sure what Rei was talking about Tala being fat.

"I don't know," Michael said after a moment, "His ass has gotten bigger."

Rei turned to look at Michael, sizing him up. After a moment, he shrugged. "If you're into that kind of thing."

"Ha ha," Michael snorted, "If you're just going to complain about Tala, than I think I'll go hang out with Max at his mom's place."

Rei was crushed. "I'm sorry. I'll stop." He must have really been driving Michael crazy if the baseball player would rather go hang out with Max at his mom's – the dean of the tenth grade, their dean's- house.

Michael shrugged, then pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket, handing it off to Rei. "Here. On the 28th I'm playing at a charity fund raiser. I get to pitch in the stupid little baseball game. Take a night off from your double life. I want you to be there."

Rei accepted the paper, grinning. "Okay, I'll be there."

- - -

"Hey, guys, sorry I'm late again," Mr. Granger said as he opened the door to the classroom. "Max, did you take attendance for me?"

Max nodded, and handed Mr. Granger an attendance slip. "Two absences, and Michael was late."

"Traitor," Michael snorted, attempting to trip Max as the blonde was on the way back to his seat.

"Thanks, Max," Mr. Granger said, going to his seat.

"Today we are announcing the nominees for Spring Fling King and Queen," A voice over the loud speaker said. "For Spring Fling King we have Tala Ivanov-"

Michael rolled his eyes, and Max made a face, causing Rei to laugh silently.

"-Johnny McGregor-"

"How did he make it?" Michael asked, frowning.

Max shrugged. "I hear he's good in bed."

Michael and Rei gave Max a surprised look, and he just shrugged again.

"-Spencer Sergei-"

"I'm going to say 'Ew'," Michael said, shuddering a bit.

"Oh, don't be such a jerk," Max tut-tut'ed.

"-Michael Parker-"

"MAX!" Michael snapped, turning around and lashing at the blonde with full force.

"Knock it off, Michael," Mr. Granger warned.

"-and Rei Kon."

Rei paused, having been attempting to pry Michael's hands from around Max's neck.

"Max, you weren't supposed to put me in as well," Rei said, frowning. "This could ruin everything."

Max shook his head, no. "It wasn't me."

"You mean-?" Rei asked, confused at first, until realization sunk in. "They really voted for me?" He asked, smiling happily. He really was popular, and it wasn't just because he hung out with Tala and the Demolition Boys.

Michael let go of Max, only to mirror Rei's face, to Max's amusement and Rei's embarrassment.

"God, I hate you," Rei said, flushing as he swiped at Michael.

- - -

Just because Rei wasn't getting 'A's' in Calculus anymore didn't mean he wasn't good at math. Week by week with his quizzes, he missed enough problems to seem horrible, but still be passing. He had to remember not to get the same score every week though, and not to have a pattern. The highest he'd allowed himself to score since he started dumbing himself down was a '73', to the disappointment of his grandparents.

"Alright, pass your quizzes forward," Mr. Granger said, standing up and moving about the classroom once more.

Sighing heavily, Rei passed his paper forward with everyone else's.

"How'd you do?" Kai asked, turning to glance at Rei.

Rei shrugged. "Not that great," he lied, rubbing his temples gently. "I think I'm going to have to get a tutor."

"I'll help you," Kai said, his red eyes meeting Rei's own amber ones, "If you ever want to get together after school, or something."

"Do you think Tala would mind?" Rei asked, cocking his head to the side.

"No, you guys are friends, right?" Kai said, then paused, thinking this over for a second. "Well, maybe we just won't tell him."

- - -

Rei was sitting on the bleachers outside of the school building, watching Kai play soccer with some other boys. He recognized Johnny McGregor, and Tyson Granger, neither of which Kai actually seemed to get along with that well. Glancing at his watch for the fifth time in three minutes, Rei sighed heavily. He couldn't wait for Soccer Practice to get over, so he could go home with Kai. And study.

"Hey, sorry, that took so long," Kai said, brushing his bangs from his face as he walked over to the bleachers.

"What?" Rei blinked, flushing slightly, "Oh, no. It's fine. I had time to catch up on my reading for English." he lied, grabbing his bag, hopping off of the bleachers.

"Come on, my car's this way," Kai said, smiling.

- - -

"Do you miss living in China?" Kai asked, as he unlocked the front door to his flat, gesturing for Rei to follow. The building wasn't what Rei had imagined at all. Kai was living by himself in a one room flat. It wasn't clean, but it wasn't messy either - it just looked lived in. A red bird sat chirping in the corner, in a large cage. "Hey, Dranzer," he said softly, going over to feed it, after dropping his bag onto a couch.

"I guess, I don't know," Rei said, shrugging, "I really miss my parents. And my friends. But I guess I never realized how small and lonely it was there."

Placing his bag next to Kai's, Rei walked over to look at the bird more carefully, standing behind Kai, one hand touching his elbow gently. Kai startled, before craning his neck to look at Rei better.

"She won't hurt you," He said, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"What kind of bird is she?" Rei asked.

"A macaw," Kai answered, "My mother bought Dranzer for me before she passed away."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Rei said, and Kai shrugged his shoulders.

"Don't worry about it," He said, brushing past Rei to go to the table. "Now, Calculus."

- - -

"What did you get for this one?" Rei asked, leaning towards Kai to get a better look at his paper. Oh god, he could smell the fabric softener he used, and his shampoo, and a hint of something else.

"Well, the first time I did it, I got zero..." Kai said, his voice trailing off. "But I checked it, and I got a one. I missed a negative sign."

"Oh, same here," Rei said, smiling flirtatiously, leaning even closer to Kai. Kai blinked in confusion, tensing up slightly. "You're far too nice..." He said, before he pressed his lips against the senior's.

They sat there, kissing for a moment, Kai trying to process what the hell was going on, Rei simply enjoying it. However the bliss was short lived, because Kai shoved him away.

"I can't do this," he said, standing up suddenly. "It's not fair to Tala. Come on, I'll take you home."

"Why do you like him?" Rei cried out, feeling spited.

"Listen," Kai snapped, "I know Tala can be really mean but--"

"Then why do you like him?" Rei repeated, standing up as well.

"Why do you?" Kai shot back.

"But--" Rei started, thrown off guard.

"He's just really insecure," Kai said, defending Tala. "I mean, there's good and bad in everybody. Tala's just more up front about it--"

"But-!" Rei paused, when Kai shushed him again. "NO! Kai, Tala's cheating on you with Brian Kuznetsov!"

Kai paled at the mention of his best friend's name along with his boyfriend's. "What?" He asked darkly, scaring Rei.

"They-they hook up every Thursday in the Alcove behind the Auditorium while you're at Soccer Practice!" Rei choked out, backing away from Kai.

"I really think it's time you leave," Kai muttered, shutting their math books and gathering Rei's stuff for him.

- - -

Tala was curled up on his bed, sobbing pathetically with Ian, Spencer and Rei surrounding him, consoling him, but none of them braved coming into more than a five foot radius of him, because of Wolborg, standing over him and snarling in a distressed rage.

"Did he say why?" Ian asked, shifting nervously from foot to foot.

Tala shook his head, then said. "Someone told him about Bryan Kuznetsov." He said, wiping away his tears in frustration.

"Who?" Spencer asked.

"He – he said it was some guy on the baseball team," Tala whimpered, nestling deeper into this mounds of pillows and blankets.

Out of the corner of his eye, Rei noticed Ian and Spencer share a relieved look.

"I gave him everything," Tala continued to whimper, "I was half a virgin when I met him!"

Half a virgin? Rei thought, but decided it was probably better not to ask.

"Want to do something fun?" Ian offered, "We can go to Taco Bell."

"I can't go to Taco Bell!" Tala shrieked at Ian, "I'm on a carb-protein diet! God, you're so stupid, Ian!"

Tala rolled out of his bed, and stormed out of the room, Wolborg following behind him faithfully. After a moment's hesitation, Spencer decided to follow as well.

"Tala, wait," He called, "Talk to me."

Rei watched the tall blonde leave, before glancing back over at Ian. Pity swelled in his heart, and Rei couldn't help but to comfort him. The smaller male had never showed much emotions before, but he looked on the verge of a mental breakdown now.

"You're not stupid, Ian," Rei said softly, walking over to him.

"No, I am actually," Ian muttered. "I'm failing almost everything."

Rei shook his head. "There must be something you're good at."

Ian smiled weakly. "I know a lot about guns." He said, glancing at Rei. "There isn't a gun out there I can't get a perfect marksmanship on."

Rei's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Wow. Not many people can say that."

Ian shook his head, "Nope. My dad was in the military. He taught me everything he knew."

"Cool," Rei said, "Hey, see, that's something!"

Ian flashed Rei a brilliant smile, and Rei smiled back.

- - -

"Sweet!" Max cheered, falling off of Michael's bed because he was laughing so hard.

Michael chuckled as well, swiping the magnets that spelled out 'OLDER BOYFRIEND' off of the fridge, and back into the bag. "Just when I was beginning to give up hope."


TBC