Betrayal
Disclaimer: Are Tala, Bryan, Brooklyn, Mystel, Kevin, Ozuma, Joseph, Kane, Jim (Soon I'll put up a story for him...I have it written in a book somewhere), Max, Johnny, Enrique, Oliver, Michael, Claude, Miguel and Zeo the main characters of Beyblade? Are the guys actually gay? Has Hilary and Tyson died yet? No? Then I don't own beyblade.
Warnings: Yaoi! BryXTala
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Chapter 10 –
(Ray's POV)
I hesitantly keep myself hidden behind the wall, keeping out of sight from the two Russian's in the room. It's wrong, I know, to eavesdrop on your hosts, but I can't help it. Like Tala, I want to know what Bryan was up to all day, as well. I mean, he was gone for so long! It's…I worry about him. He used to be my enemy, but now he's like a close friend. I can see why Tala, Ian and Spencer like him so much; although his attitude is rough, he knows how to have fun, as well.
I listen as I hear a bit of rustling, no doubt Bryan moving to toss his dirty clothing into his hamper. For a blind person, he sure knows where everything is! Then I hear Tala. "So?" I can tell he's trying to pry the information from the older Russian.
I listen as a thump, knowing Bryan had finally put his clothing in the hamper. I hear him sigh heavily. "Spence and Ian were helping me learn how to beyblade again…" says in a passive tone. I blink, surprised. "And I don't care what you say, I want to 'blade again…it's my life. It's all I got…" The sad tone in his voice makes me want to go and comfort him, but I hold back, not wanting either to know I am listening in on their conversation. I can't help but wonder what Tala is going to do with that bit of information.
"I…" Tala stops, probably not knowing what he can even do that won't spark Bryan's temper…or his sadness. I know that I would try to 'blade again…and I am certain that I am not going to try to stop him. It seems that Tala is thinking the same thing. "Bryan, I'm not going to get angry. I'm only pissed 'cause you didn't tell me where you were going and got me worried outta my mind!" There's annoyance in his voice, but even a bit of relief. He must be happy that Bryan told him without much struggle. I'm glad they didn't get in a fight…they're so close!
I catch the sound of Bryan sighing in acceptance, a relieved sound mixing into the indifferent noise. "Thanks, Tal. That really makes me glad you're my best friend…" he whispers softly. I listen to the almost silent footsteps, only made audible thanks to me listening for it and my own exceptional hearing, leading to Tala's bed. I hear a rustling and then Tala's startled yelp. Some rustling later, I hear the blankets move slightly. "You should keep your hair down more often…it looks better…" Bryan murmurs, an utterly content tone escaping his lips. I hear Tala's soft gasp, starting to make me wonder what had happened. "G'night, Tal…" Bryan murmurs under his breath, weariness evadable in his soft voice.
"Goodnight, Bryan…" Tala murmurs back softly.
Ten minutes later, I dare to venture in. A soft smile claims my lips. I look on fondly at the two Russians, curled up on Tala's bed sound asleep. Knowing that it is because of Bryan's nightmares, I don't even question it. It is just…cute. Tala's arm is wrapped around Bryan's shoulder, pulling him close while Bryan is resting his head on Tala's own shoulder. A soft, peaceful expression is on both of their faces. "Cute…" I whisper under my breath, grabbing a pair of clothing and quickly changing into it, now only clad in a white t-shirt and white pajama pants.
Crawling into bed, I think back to what I heard. 'So Bryan's learning to 'blade again…' I muse silently, grinning and snuggling into the pillow of the bed. 'This was Kai's bed…I can smell his faint scent even through the new bedding…' I note, breathing in deeply. 'Smells nice…'
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(Bryan's POV)
I yawn softly, moving closer to the warmth. Remembering last night, I blush slightly, listening to make sure Tala is asleep. I then listen and hear Ray's soft breathing. I remember hearing him outside the room yesterday. 'Little eavesdropper!' I snigger in my mind. Curling up against the warmth of my fiery tempered friend, I sigh. Clicking the button on my watch, I listen; 10:57am. I know that I should be getting up and readying myself for another tough day of training…but I don't feel like leaving Tala's warmth! God, it's comfy! Maybe I'll just stay here 'til he wakes up. It's a Saturday, anyway!
I simply lie there, half dozing and half awake. An hour later, Tala rouses. I can just tell that he smiles at me, yawning loudly. "Hey, Bry…comfy?" he teases with a dozy tone. I simply push him, getting up and rubbing the sleep from my eyes even though I can't even see. I shake my head slightly, feeling the lavender locks land on my forehead and sticks there. I feel a careful hand brush against my face, pushing my hair away from my face. My eyes are open so he must be looking at them. He seems to be doing that a lot lately.
"What's so interesting about my eyes except for the fact that they're not working?" I question dryly, my un-bandaged eyes shaping into one of my death-to-all-that-it-touched glares. I turn forcefully away from him, feeling his hand slide against my face. I can hear a gasp of shock. "I don't want people trying to read my emotions through my eyes. My emotions are my own and I want them to stay that way…" I murmur, easily catching his intention in the soft gesture. "Okay, Tal?" I whisper softly. I turn back to him, my darkened eyes shut so they're out of his sight.
Tala settles his hand on my shoulder, squeezing slightly. "Yeah, alright. It's just…you've been so distant lately. It's bothering me. You've always been distant, but now you seem to be locking yourself up in your mind and only you have that damned key!" he tells me, exasperation sneaking into his voice. The hand is removed. "As much as you hate it, I am worried about you. You're my best friend, Bry…" he mumbles softly; barely even audible to my own improved hearing.
"S'alright…" I inform him; stalking off to the drawers I had claimed my own. Going through the clothing, using memory and touch, I select a pair of black jeans, a dark maroon t-shirt and a loose black jacket. "I am cowering inside, I suppose…" I admit softly, grabbing a clean pair of black boxers and a pair of pitch black socks. Black is one of the key elements in my style. "I don't know what to make of what has been going on, y'know?" Unaware of exactly why, I tell him what he wants to know. It's all the truth. "I'll be fine. And I am sorry that you're getting worried about it. I'm just trying to make sense of it myself first…" I turn to face where he is standing and smile reassuringly.
I can hear Tala sigh slightly. "Well, if you keep that smile on your face I will be even more worried about you. If so, I'd be wondering what the hell took yer place…" he retorts, chuckling at my heavy sigh. While walking past him, I place my hand on the side of his head and push suddenly, making him almost fall right over. "Annoying…" he mutters softly. I can feel the half-hearted glare hit me.
"So sue me…" I come back with, grinning smugly. I duck when I feel something coming toward me at a fast pace, feeling the soft material graze my messy hair slightly. "Don't throw pillows at me…" I mockingly scold, hurrying into the bathroom and shutting the door just as a soft 'thud' makes me aware that the red-head chucked another pillow at me. Too bad he was a teensy bit slow. "You're slower than Ian, Tal!" I tease, catching the sound of Ian and Tala's mutual 'hey'.
I snigger as I strip down, running my fingers through messy lavender hair. I quickly turn the water on; checking the temperature to make sure it is slightly warm but not hot before sliding into the shower stall. I quickly and easefully wash my pale skin, blinder than a bat. Using scent, I quickly select the bottle that had absolutely no scent. I run the shampoo through my hair, careful to rub it through every lock. I wash it out, letting the water drip down my body to keep me warm. I do the same with the conditioner. I then turn the temperature of the water up a bit, simply basking in the feeling of the liquid running over my pale, scarred skin.
"Hurry up in there, Bryan!" Ian cries, banging on the door roughly.
Growling softly, I turn the water off. More banging comes from the closed door. "Keep yer pants on!" I shout out, desperately hoping that he doesn't decide to be a smartass and not listen to my advice. I quickly dry off and pull on the dark clothing; careful to make sure the tags are in the back. Tala had laughed so hard when I had first gotten out of the hospital; my t-shirt had been backwards. I open the door quickly when I finish up, sniggering as Ian falls onto the ground, pants still on.
"Took ya long enough!" he complains loudly, pushing himself up off of the tiled floor. "And I really have to go so GET OUT!" I don't even need to be told once to do that. I slip out of the bathroom and downstairs, deciding I am a bit hungry.
"Hey!" I blink, catching the voice of Ray. He must really like cooking. And I mean REALLY like it! He gently grabs y arm, forcefully dragging me to the table. "I'm going to make sure you eat! Tala told me about your training…" he explains good-naturedly. I blink again, knowing that Tala would tell the one who would be the most worried about it. "You need strength, ok?"
"Yeah…I am hungry anyway…" I dead-pan, feeling the tiger-like boy stiffen in embarrassment. "But don't worry, I won't tease you…much…" I mumble, grinning. I can catch the slight shiver go through Ray's body at the thought of my teasing. I believe he has dealt with Tala and Ian's already. "Maybe."
After a good lunch, Ray knows how to cook, I am dragged outside to train; more lie I dragged Spencer out! Tala and Ian came with, Ray showing up an hour into it with some snacks for later. He really knows what to do. Then again, he does deal with the most childish team in the league! I don't exactly like the face that Tala, Ian and Ray are watching me screw up like I am. Spencer is ok, he's helping me improve.
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(Tala's POV)
I smile slightly, watching as Spencer holds back to help Bryan learn the basics while being sightless. Bryan knows what to do from the experiments Boris had done on him that had made him blind temporarily, but he needs time to remember the feeling.
"Come on, Falborg…" I catch the slight whisper barely, watching him launch almost perfectly into the training dish. His gloved hands clutch the launcher tightly as he mentally told the falcon blade to go where he wants to.
'Gloved hands…' I mentally note, frowning. Now that I think about it, I haven't seen Bryan without the gloves and black armbands for a long time. Actually, since the Blade Breakers had beaten us. Sometimes the fingerless 'blader gloves were off, but never were those armbands I had given him when I was 11 and he was 12. My eyes narrow and I stomp up, grabbing his right arm swiftly. His eyes widen before shutting tightly. I can hear Ray question Ian softly and hear Ian's confused grunt. Spencer is completely silent.
My hands pull the gloves off, quickly removing the armbands, as well. I hold his hand so it is palm up, revealing the pale wrist. Five long scars covered his wrist, healed roughly. "When and why?" I question, my voice hard and ordering. I look up to his closed eyes; he is turning away from my rigid gaze.
"I…" he whispers softly, attempting to wrench his arm from my grip but failing. "After the tournament before Boris left. After I took my punishment and most of yours, as well…" he murmurs softly. His voice is almost silent. "It made me feel better, as stupid as it sounds. I stopped when Boris ran…" Bryan mumbles. His eyes are open and showing the pain in their dark, hidden depths.
I start at hearing his words. He took most of my punishment? I thought Boris was going lightly on me! "I…I…" I let go of his arm, resting my hands on his shoulders and falling to my knees. I let my head fall against his chest as I sob out 'why?' over and over again. He kneels in front of me, whispering that he's sorry. He gently runs his fingers through my hair; it is down, for once. I just cry into his shoulder, thinking about how much pain he had to have gone through. "I never even knew…"
"Nobody but Spence did…I made sure. He dound me when I did it the second last time; he bandaged my wrists properly. He didn't say anything, but I know his silence hurt more than anything he could have said. He and I shared a room then, and he only found out on the fourth time. Don't beat yourself up over it, please?" His soft words eased my pain a bit, reminding me how tough it is to figure something out when he doesn't want it found out. I just rest in his arms, letting tears run down my face. What kind of leader, no…friend, wouldn't know about him cutting? I was only worried about winning and getting revenge on Boris. Bryan, Spencer and Ian didn't even want to have anything, if it was catching him or him in general, to do with Boris. I wonder how much I had hurt them…
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And now on that angst-y moment, I'll finish the chapter. Sorry for making all this crud happen to Bryan; he is my favorite character so bad WILL happen to him. It's, like, the rule I am forced to follow!