From up here the city lights burn like a thousand miles of fire...

Dirty Little Secret

Chapter Ten

While Mr. and Mrs. MaCaffery conversed about their day during dinner, Tala stared at his sister. She didn't notice. She was too busy picking out the green peppers from her fried rice. Yes, she definitely knew something. She had known it all along, probably, and she didn't even tell him.

That's what angered him the most, the fact that she didn't even say a word about the whole situation to him. What was her problem? Was she retarded? Yes, maybe! He was furious.

He reserved the right to know about his best friend. And Evian took away that right.

Didn't she?

Tala watched as she smiled at her parents, moved away from the table, placed her plate in the sink and went upstairs.

Oh, he just wanted to kill her. He finished his dinner quickly and headed upstairs as well. Without asking for permission, he barged into his sister's room. She looked extremely startled. He was so angry, he didn't notice the pack of cigarettes and the lighter she quickly hid under her pillow.

"Why didn't you tell me about Marshal?" He demanded angrily.

She looked at him like he had ten heads, "Excuse me? Wait, no, get out of my room! Knock first! What if I was changing? What if you saw me in my bra! Oh my god, Tala! Get out!"

"No!" He slammed her door shut, making her jump slightly. Evian wanted to push him out of her room, but he was angry, and no, that didn't scare her, not one bit, but she was curious. Sure, everyone gets pissed once in a while, but Tala was a bit different. He never got this pissed, plus, she didn't even know why he was mad at her. So she wanted to know, hence, she let him stay.

"What do you want?" She crossed her arms and watched him. He stood a few feet away from her bed.

"What did Marshal tell you?"

She made a face at his sudden indictment. What the hell was he talking about? "Excuse me?"

"Don't fuck with me!"

"I'm not! I don't even know what Marshal was supposed to tell me or whatever! Marshal is your friend and he's your problem. If you have an issue with him, then don't drag me into it. I don't even talk to Marshal. I don't think I even know him except for his name and where he lives."

"He has a team, did you know that? He actually has a fucking beyblading team, and he's going to enter the fucking tournament. He left for New York last night, did he tell you that? Did he!"

"No, god. I'm still lost; I have no idea what you're talking about, Christ."

"He has a team. He never told me about it. Why?"

Evian shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know, maybe he doesn't like you?"

"Evian!"

"What?"

"He acted so normal! All the way to Wednesday, and he didn't tell me anything! He wasn't at school today because he left for New York! Why wouldn't my own best friend tell me that? But he'd tell you, wouldn't he?"

"No. I told you, we don't even talk. He didn't say anything to me. I can understand your shit pissed, but don't take it out on me, seriously. Like, if Miriam or Evelyn did something like that, I'd kill those bitches, I really would, but I wouldn't just show up in your room and like, start screaming in your face."

There was a moment of silence as the redhead registered the things his sister had just said. She was right. But still, he was angry, and he needed someone to be angry at, and like always, Evian was the most vulnerable person to get mad at. She was just so defenseless and it was so easy to get mad at her.

"You should probably go to bed; you have to get up early in the morning tomorrow and be with your team. It's your big day tomorrow," She sounded smart. That was scary. She made sense. That was even more frightening. "If you win tomorrow, you'll get to be in the tournament and have Marshal kiss your ass."

God, she sounded so mature that it scared Tala. Nonetheless, that last line was what Tala really needed to hear. Oh he was going to make Marshal kiss his ass, alright! He was going to win that thing tomorrow! Without another word, the redhead left Evian's room.

And as soon as the coast was clear, Evian sighed in relief. That was too close. She pulled out the two items from under her pillow. By midnight, everyone else had gone to bed. Evian lay in her bed wide awake.

If Tala and his team won tomorrow, they'd be leaving…

…for good.

She felt a single tear roll down her cheeks. She wiped them with her covers.

That's what had been bugging her, the fact that Tala was going to leave, and she wouldn't have anyone else to talk to.

x x x

Evian stirred in her sleep. There was too much noise coming from downstairs, too many voices. She made a noise of frustration. She was extremely sleepy. Was it already 7:30? Was it already time to get up and get prepared for school? She tossed around and looked at the digital clock.

It was five in the morning! Holy Jesus! Who in their right mind would be up so early? And then it hit her. Her brother and his team were going to some competition today, and if they won, they'd be able to enter the world tournament. She sat up in bed and ran her hand through her hair. She rolled out of bed and headed towards the bathroom and proceeded with her regular morning routine.

She felt like wearing a skirt and a nice top today, but it was winter, so it wouldn't make sense to dress so nicely. She'd freeze to death. So she pulled on a pair of jeans and a baby pink full sleeve that was slightly off the shoulders, revealing the straps of the green tank top she had underneath.

She tied her hair into a side ponytail and fixed up her side bangs. Next she applied violet coloured eyeliner around her eyes – violet went nicely with her green eyes. She adorned her eyelashes with a thick coat of black mascara. She fastened a thin silver chain around her neck with a heart locket hanging from it. She looked at herself in the mirror and grinned in satisfaction.

As she made her way to the kitchen, she heard a number of voices. They were all talking at once. Three of those voices she recognized: her mom, her dad, and her brother. The others sounded familiar…to a certain extent, but she couldn't put her finger to it.

She entered the kitchen, and as soon as she did, the voices came to a halt.

Her brain came to a halt. Her brother's entire team was at her house! So they had woken her up so early. They were all eating breakfast, everyone eating something different. Hilary and Mariah were having milk and cereal. Kai and Ray were having blueberry pancakes – and that literally made Evian's mouth water. But what made Evian drool even more was Enrique. Anyways, Tala was having the usual peanut butter and banana sandwich. What was wrong with that guy? It was like he had a fetish with peanut butter and bananas.

She was being hypocritical again. She had a fetish with blueberry pancakes.

"You're up so early, honey," Mrs. MaCaffery said.

"I couldn't sleep." She grabbed an extra chair and sat down beside Enrique. He smiled at her warmly and asked her what she wanted for breakfast. Once she replied, he served her a plate of blueberry pancakes and a glass of chocolate milk.

Tala was unusually quiet however. He was still pissed at Marshal. Evian understood. She didn't know why Marshal would keep such a thing a secret from Tala, his best friend. Marshal and Tala had been friends since elementary school. If Marshal had problems, Tala would be the first person to know, and vice versa.

So, the whole thing about Marshal not informing Tala about a team he was already in was rather shocking. Evian knew Tala wasn't hurt. He never was. Being sad or gloomy was never something that applied to the redhead. She knew exactly how he was feeling: enraged. She knew he just wanted to tear his ex best friend apart – literally.

Breakfast finished by six in the morning. Apparently the team was supposed to leave by seven and arrive at their destination at eight in the morning, sharp, or else the other team competing against them would win by default.

"If Tala wins today, is he going to leave?" Evian looked at her mother. Her brother and his team, along with Mr. MaCaffery, were all in the living room. Evian stayed in the kitchen and helped her mother clean up.

"Leave? For the tournament? Yup! And we'll be seeing him and his team on TV!" Mrs. MaCaffery seemed excited.

"But doesn't that mean he won't be home for Christmas? And dad too."

"Well, that's something we'll have to be prepared for, right honey? And we can celebrate Christmas on our own! I can invite Aunt Thora and Uncle Damien, and we can have a nice dinner together."

Somehow, having dinner with her aunt and uncle just didn't cut it. She didn't care about Christmas. She didn't care about anything else. She just wanted her brother to lose today and stay home so she would have someone she can go and bitch to every time she was pissed or had a problem.

Mr. MaCaffery had rented a van so the entire team could fit in. There was five minutes until seven. Everyone was already in the van, except Tala and Mr. MaCaffery. He was gathering a few last minute items, such as notes, a camera, and the like. Tala was just sort of waiting around, not doing anything really. His sister was on the couch, drinking her second glass of chocolate milk and watching The Magic School Bus on television.

"Evian?"

"Yeah?" She asked, turning down the volume on the television. She turned to the redhead.

"I'm sorry, about yesterday." He looked apologetic. He looked sorry. He was sorry.

"It's okay."

"I was just, you know, really mad. It just doesn't make sense. I don't get why Marshal would 'forget' to tell me something like that. Apparently he had a team three months ago, and they've been training really hard. He's in New York, with his team, competing for a spot in the tournament. I hope he gets it and I hope my teams get a spot too. Then I can really kick his ass."

Evian chuckled, "Good luck for today."

"Thanks," He beamed.

"Tala? Son? Let's go!" Mr. MaCaffery grinned as he showed up in the living room. Tala got up from his seat. He glanced over at the blonde.

"Don't be late for school." And with that, he left with his father.

x x x

Instead of eating her lunch like she was supposed to, Evian played around with the sandwich. She wasn't hungry. And no one was here to force her to eat. Evelyn and Miriam had engaged themselves into a conversation Evian wasn't listening to.

Evian was too busy…praying. She didn't want her brother and his team to win today's competition. If he didn't win, he'd be home. If he won, he'd have to leave and only god knows when he'd come back. She didn't want to see her brother on television. She wanted to see him in real life and talk about things that bugged her.

Some of the things at least.

She just needed someone to talk to.

She stood up suddenly.

"Where are you going?" Evelyn questioned the blonde.

"Washroom. I'll be back." Evian left the cafeteria and headed out for smokers' corner. She needed one badly. She needed one to get rid her of frustration. She lit up the cigarette with the pink lighter. There were two other students here, one she recognized from her English class, and the other one two grades lower than her. No one talked. No one said a word. Everyone minded their own business.

Evian didn't return to the cafeteria. She didn't feel like talking to Evelyn and Miriam. She didn't feel like being in school. She just wanted to…

Run down the streets and just scream. She exhaled out loudly. She looked at her watch. Lunch was over twenty minutes ago. She couldn't just go back to class. So she skipped parenting and she skipped calculus. She walked home, taking the short cut. It was fairly empty.

It was a long path – but it was still a short cut – with trees on either side of the path. The trees were leafless, covered in snow. The ground she walked on was covered in slush.

Apart from her footsteps, she heard a second pair. She turned around. There was a man, not too far behind. He was tall and he was dressed in black. He had a mask over his face – a clown mask. She could see wisps of orange hair here and there, however. Her heart skipped a beat. What the fuck?

She was nervous, but she turned right around and continued walking, but a little faster this time. Why would someone conceal their face with a mask unless they meant dirty business? She stuffed her hands in her jacket pocket and fiddled with her house keys. Keys could be a good weapon…

She could hear the man behind her pick up his pace. She tried to walk faster. Once she heard the splish splash of the slush very fast from behind her, she knew he was running. She turned around and sure enough, she was right. She started running as well.

This was like a nightmare materializing. She didn't want to be kidnapped! She wanted to live! She did not want to be raped! She did not want to die!

But before she could run any further and save herself, the maniac that was chasing her tackled her to the ground.

Doom was on its way…

11111111111111111111111111111111111111111

Feeling Ground – Jared was the first guy that died, you know, the guy that got his ankle and armpit snipped off. Omfg. I don't even want to think about it. Yeah, my cousins are the reason why it took a while for me to update. God! I hate them! Lol. Thanks for the review!

Elves-Ate-My-Ramen – I adore your reviews! No, I'm not just saying that because you asked me, lol. And here's the next chapter! But it was a cliff, I know.

Crying Sorceress – Yeah, I was being a bit pushy about the reviews, but I won't lie and I'll admit that I do like the fact that I get a lot of reviews (I sound arrogant here…blah…). And about Evian's character there, yup, there's a lot people don't know about her yet. Ha ha.

cUt-TilL-aLl-ThE-bLoOd-SeAp... – Religiously? Lol, are you serious? I feel like God. Lol. I probably shouldn't say that.

And thanks to the following reviewers as well:

Wreckless Spirit

Simply Sakura

Majirdiu

AnimeGirl329 (Girl! Update your stories! WTF!)

Lamanth

NightPredator