Kai stayed in his room and slept. He didn't want to wake up and face everyone again just yet, and when he did finally get out of bed and go down to the kitchen it was around lunch time the next day. Kai entered the kitchen to the smell of somebody cooking, and instantly knew it was Ray. No one else in the house could cook very well after all. They were always going out to get fast food to eat.
The kitchen was filled with pots and pans cooking different things. Ray was behind them all moving between the pots to stir something and between the pans to make sure something wasn't burning. Tala was sitting on a stool at the counter watching in amazement. Kai couldn't tell if it was amazement at how Ray was cooking or at the fact that they actually had all these cooking instruments. No one really went into the cupboards for anything besides cups and plates.
Tala and Ray were talking about something while Ray had his back turned to Tala concentrating on what he was doing. Kai only caught a little bit of the conversation before he came in, and it sounded like they were just talking about Ray's cooking skills and how the kitchen was never used. Kai walked over to Tala and took a seat beside him at the counter, Tala looked at him grinning. "You seem happier," Kai said, putting his head down. He heard Ray drop something like a spoon or spatula, and Kai looked over at him noticing he'd gone a little stiff. But he stayed quiet and with his back turned.
"I am a little happier. Mostly because Ray's cooking us something though," Tala told him. "Sorry for not going back to see you at all, I just went to bed after I talked to Ray, and then when I woke up it smelt good down here so I came to see what was going on." Kai raised an eyebrow at him, and he gave him a look that said they'd talk later.
"So where are the other two?" Kai asked, lifting his head slightly to look around for any trace of Spencer or Ian.
"They went out to see if they could talk Bryan into coming back," Tala told him, fidgeting nervously with his fingers on top of the counter.
"I'm sure he'd come back eventually even without them going after him. He likes telling you how horrible I am, when I'm around, too much to stay away for long," he told him, giving him a weak smile. Tala laughed, and Kai looked over at Ray.
"What are you making Ray?" he asked trying to make at least a little conversation, making Ray drop something again. He wanted to see what kind of attitude he had towards him now that Tala had talked to him. Plus he couldn't stand not talking to Ray when they were in the same room.
"I'm just cooking what I usually do for the Bladebreakers," he told him, still not turning around to look at him.
"Hn," Kai answered, earning a hit in the back of the head by Tala. Kai gave him a glare, and stood up to leave the room.
"Sometimes I wonder if he even likes what I make, or he just eats it to be polite," he heard Ray say as he turned the corner. Kai let out a sigh.
Tala stormed into Kai's room, after looking for him everywhere else in the house first, and slammed the door shut behind him. Kai just looked over at him from where he was laying on his bed thinking. "I think Bryan was right all those times he called you a horrible person," he said angrily, walking to the bed and standing over him.
"That's great, maybe now that you two finally agree Bryan will see he has a chance with you and won't be so miserable all the time," Kai told him a little sarcastically. Tala hit him on the arm. "What's with you and hitting me all of a sudden?" he asked, annoyed now.
"I finally got Ray to think he has a chance with you and you're screwing it up. He's going to think I lied to him again," Tala told him, sitting down on the edge of the bed.
"How am I screwing it up?" he asked, sounding mildly interested.
"You asked him what he was making and then acted like you didn't care for the answer," he told him.
"I'm like that to everyone," Kai reminded him.
"Not to me," Tala reminded him.
"Hn," he replied.
"Don't you dare start this again!" Tala yelled, glaring intensely at him. "I don't like it when you reply like that, and neither does anyone else! You need to stop!"
"What if I can't?" Kai asked, his tone going bored.
"Then at least don't answer Ray like that!" he told him angrily, giving him another hit.
"You still haven't told me what exactly you talked to him about," he told him trying to change the topic, and it worked. Tala's expression turned happier and he grinned at Kai.
"I went and talked to him about Bryan and told him the truth about everything again, with Spencer and Ian there too, and he started to feel really bad about everything that happened and how he was acting towards you. So he made Spencer and Ian go out and find Bryan today, and promised them that meal he's making when they got back. He wanted to talk about you and me more after that and I told him we were just really close, best friends. He didn't believe it though, so I told him if he wanted I'd be that close to him too. He didn't really seem to want that, but he said he believed me after that. Then we talked about him for a bit, but you can ask him about that stuff yourself if you want to know. Anyways, he did tell me that he'd probably have been a very depressed person for a long time if I hadn't gone and set things straight," Tala told Kai this pretty quickly and excitedly, without taking many breaths. It would have been hard for Kai to understand if he wasn't use to it. "So I don't know if he's waiting for some opportunity to tell you he does like you, or if he's waiting for you to tell him because he's still not sure if I was telling the truth," he concluded, taking a deep breath. Kai stared at him for a few seconds before saying anything.
"So I guess it would be better if I talked him, and soon?" Kai asked a little hesitantly. "Where'd he sleep last night anyways?" Tala smirked a little.
"Why, You going to get him in his sleep? Because if you're planning on doing that I don't think it's a very good idea," he told him. Kai glared at him slightly, and he laughed. "He was staying in Bryan's room last night, but if he comes back he'll need a new place to sleep," he told him, giving him a wink. Kai turned a very light pink. He knew what Tala was implying, and it wasn't like he and Ray hadn't slept in the same bed before. Now it just seemed like it might be a little awkward after everything that happened. "Either that, or I can give him my room. We'll make him jealous by me sleeping with you," Tala told him. Kai shook his head. He didn't want jealousy getting Ray mad again.
"I'll figure something out," Kai told him.
Kai and Tala made their way down stairs together and back into the kitchen. Ray finished cooking and was now putting the food into their separate dishes. When Tala saw this he left Kai's side and went quickly over to Ray, offering to help. Kai didn't know if he should offer to help too or not, so he just chose to sit down and watch. Tala looked back at Kai a few seconds later, giving him a slight glare giving Kai a sinking feeling, and then turned back to talk to Ray about something that was too quiet for Kai to hear.
When Tala and Ray were done plating the food it was still just the three of them in the house. Tala was now staring at the door, and after five minutes he let out a sigh and helped Ray wrap up Spencer, Ian, and Bryan's food. Then they took their plates of food and headed past Kai towards the table. "Are you coming?" Tala asked Kai as he past. Kai let out a little sigh, reached across the counter for his plate, and then headed over to the table.
They sat there eating in silence for a few minutes. Kai sat at the end of the table away from where Tala and Ray were sitting together. He was really starting to get annoyed with the new friendship that had been born between them. They were fighting with each other only a few days before, and now they were acting like they were close friends. It didn't make any sense to Kai. He didn't get how they could be fighting one minute, and then the next minute act like it never happened just because Tala had fainted.
Kai was staring blankly at his food now, playing with it with his fork, and leaning his head against his free hand. There was the sound of a chair scrapping loudly and he jumped a little, looking up. Ray was now standing, picking his plate up. Then he looked over at Kai. "If you really don't like it that much you don't have to force yourself to eat it, someone else will. You can go out and get fast food," he said, turning his back to Kai and walking over to the kitchen.
"He doesn't even like fast food Ray," Tala told him giving him a frown, standing up and bringing his plate over to the kitchen too.
"Well he's a really picky eater than," Ray told him like he was just brushing it off.
"No I'm not," Kai said loud enough for the other two to hear. Ray glanced over at him.
"So you just don't like fast food or my cooking? Anything else is good for you?" he asked a little bitterly.
"I never once said I didn't like your cooking," Kai told him without looking at him. He was looking at the food on his plate, starting to eat now.
"He just has trouble expressing his feelings about things," Tala told Ray, making sure Kai could hear. But Kai ignored him and kept eating.
It was an hour later before the front door opened and Spencer, and Ian came in with Bryan in front of them. Tala, Ray, and Kai were sitting in the living room watching TV at this time. Kai was sitting alone on one of the single seats, Tala was sprawled out on the couch, and Ray was sitting cross legged on the floor. When Bryan walked into the house and saw this he instantly turned around and headed back towards the door, but Spencer and Ian stopped him. "You said they were gone," he growled at them.
"We had to say something to get you back here," Ian told him. "We told you, Tala didn't mean it when he said to get off the team and leave the house. You just pushed him a little too far."
"To hell he didn't mean it!" Bryan yelled. "He's wanted me off this team ever since we left the Abby and he got to start being with Kai more!"
"No he hasn't," Spencer told him. Bryan didn't say anything to this, he just glared.
"I made you guys something to eat, if you're hungry," Ray said loudly to break up the silence and change the subject.
"Thanks," Spencer said.
"Come on Bryan let's go eat some real food!" Ian said excitedly, running past him into the kitchen. Bryan turned and glared at the three boys in the living room before fallowing Ian with Spencer right behind him.
"He really hates me," Tala said quietly turning so his forehead was resting on his arms, hiding the fact that tears were coming out of his eyes.