AOD83: O' La, people! 0.o Thanks for the reviews guys! Just a few things before we go on.
- I'm sorry if you sent me a PM or I reviewed your fic and part of it was missing off. For some reason fanfiction dot net is giving me a hard time and is going haywire on me! So I'm sooo sorry if my PM's or reviews seem... weird.
-Lil message for Spirit of Innocence. 0.o Ya, it was me who sent you that PM. My sister was logged in at the time and I didn't realize so I just went straight ahead and wrote the message. Sorry if you got confused!
-Next chapter after this one will be delayed. I've already contacted FF about my PM and review problem I'm having but they don't seem to be doing anything about it... so I'll have to find out what the problem is first. :)
Fern: Haven't done the disclaimer in a while either. Just to make it perfectly clear, AOD83 does not own Beyblade at all! So if any of you people thought she did, YOU THOUGHT WRONG!
AOD83/OUCH/ You hurt my feelings!
Kai: Urgh.. Review. Please.
Dance Like No One's Watching
Chapter 12- Emo Kai?
The blonde teen dumped the pile of heavy boxes and bags straight onto the carpet, letting out a long sigh to go with it. He rubbed his two hands together, finally loving the feeling of being apart from the what it seemed like 10 tons of boxes. He looked up at his enthusiastic team mates, who were all staring at him like he had something on his face.
"What's in the bags?" Kai asked suspiciously. Max wandered his fluorescent eyes over to Ray and Kenny who were stood knowingly behind Kai. Max chattered his teeth together, waiting for Ray and Kenny to give him direction on what he should say. Amusingly enough, Ray and Kenny ran their finger across their necks. Max gulped. They were saying, pretty much tell Kai what was in the bags, and you're in for it.
Max held back his sudden fiery urge to turn around and run out of the room. Fern cracked a smile as she stood nervously rubbing her foot against the top of her other leg. She nodded slowly at Max and pointed her finger at herself, only hoping Max would understand.
The blue-eyed kid quickly half-smiled at Fern, understanding perfectly what she meant. Max gazed up at the very puzzled Kai. "It's all Fern's stuff. We went out to her apartment to get her things... didn't she tell you?" He squeaked, trying to make it sound realistic.
Kai raised his eyebrow slightly with disappointment- for a second there he thought it might of been something more exciting. "Yeah, she did."
Fern's sigh released steadily without her even knowing it. Relieved nothing was revealed, Fern quickly rushed in front of Kai and stood next to Max where the boxes lied. "Don't be mad. I know it seems like a lot of stuff. But I'm just a girl."
"Whatever..." Kai sighed lightly, stepping away from the luminous spot of sunlight which sparked in that main spot in the room. Everyone watched, still with their fists crunched up as Kai walked into the next bedroom.
As he disappeared through the curtains, they all lost grip of their hands, finally relaxing. Max stared at the pile of boxes and plastic bags on the floor, sending them glares despite feeling stupid he was angry at a pile of lifeless bags. But they almost cost him Kai finding out about a lot of things.
Ray sighed, breaking the quick silence. "Alright guys, that was a close one!"
Max turned to Fern. "Now come the questions. How did both you and Kai manage to get stuck the the bathroom? You were lucky it opened easily from the outside!"
"I was the first to get trapped inside. Then Kai opened it with ease... only we weren't quick enough to keep it open I guess." Fern explained, gazing around at each blader, even Tyson who was still sleeping in bed.
"Max, you should of hid the presents before I let them out," Ray said softly, looking at the boxes laid on the floor.
"Yeah, sorry bud. I was a bit excited. I really wanted to see Kai and Fern in there together. So I just threw them anywhere. But hey, it's okay now, right? We've got everything!" Max chirped.
Fern smirked cheekily, bending down and examining the boxes. She sat on her bottom, pulling one of the boxes on to her lap with glee in her eyes. She ripped open the top of it, pulling the cardboard flaps off the box, separating them completely. Wasting no time, Fern excitedly lunged into the box, tearing out the items inside of it one by one.
"Excellent! You've brought everything!" Fern pulled out a pair of pale pink bunny slippers and rested them carefully beside her. Gazing inside the box, she recognized the other things in there too. Her clothes were folded up neatly, along with her own personal shampoo and hairbrush. Fern placed her belongings back into her box, one by one.
"I think that's everything. We bumped into the guy who owns the block of apartments," Ray explained, watching the happy girl rummage through the rest of the boxes. She didn't seem like she was listening to him, but he decided to continue on anyway. "At first he thought we were breaking into your apartment, but we explained to him we were fetching your stuff. Thankfully he believed us. You are staying with us until we all go back home, right? That's what he was convinced into. So he gave back your money."
Fern looked up at Ray, suddenly loosing interest in her boxes of items. "Oh? I didn't think I'd get it back. He seemed so tight when I met him."
The masculine feline rummaged through his pocket, taking out a pile of green dollar bill notes and sitting them on his hand. "Is this right? 50 dollars?"
Fern smiled joyfully. "Yes!" She sprang up happily from the floor and bounced over to Ray. He nervously felt his legs weaken as she came flying towards him. Max and Kenny amusingly watched on as Fern thanked Ray and took the money out from his hand.
"So, how much do you want?" Asked Fern. Her serious face made the Bladebreakers worried- they couldn't take money off her! To Ray, that would be called Taking-money-from-a-poor-girl which just wouldn't be right. Max and Kenny were quite surprised too.
Ray closed his eyes, and shook his head while holding out his hand in a 'stop' sign. "No no no. You don't have to do that."
"I insist! I'm one more mouth to feed if I'm staying here, right? And you've been so good to me," Fern took a 20 dollar bill and held it out to Ray. "C'mon. This should just about pay for me, plus the expenses for Kai's party. It wouldn't be fair."
Max and Kenny ran beside Ray, joined in with the shaking of heads. "That's kind of you, Fern. But no. We mustn't," Kenny smiled, watching Fern's serious face turn into a slight grin.
"Hmmm... I have more money, don't worry about that! Come on, at least let me thank you in some way!" Fern threw back her hair with her other hand, then placed it on her hip gently.
Max shook his head. "Heehee, Fern, you're so nice. We can't take it, though! Money doesn't really show much thanks, does it? I'll tell you what! Just promise me ONE thing!" Empathizing the word 'ONE', Max squeezed his eyes shut happily, immediately flinging them open again to see Fern had lowered her hand.
"What?" Asked Fern curiously.
"Promise me you'll be our friends forever!"
What? What type of promise was that? After giving Fern free Beyblade lessons, tips, taking her in, caring for her, always being there for her when she needed them and he gave her a promise like that? To her, it was a matter of life and death. 'Promise' didn't quite cover it. She'd stay friends with them anyway as long as she lived. Over the past few days, she had learnt to respect and be grateful for the friends she had. This was one promise she wasn't going to ever break.
"Haha, of course!" Fern sang, throwing her arms around Kenny and Max's shoulder, pulling them both together wildly. Ray was stuck in the middle unfortunately for him, as Kenny and Max's head squashed up against his only while Fern's grip became tighter. It was a lot easier hugging them all at once than hugging them each at a time.
"Errrrhhh..." Ray let out a soft muffled scream, struggling to hug her back due to the very tight hug.
"Arghhh!" Max and Kenny cried a little kid-ish moan as Fern continued to squeeze harder. Finally letting go of the grip, Fern stood back and examined each of the bladers who were rubbing their necks and enjoying the sudden release of air. Fern just giggled at the three of them.
"Okay..." Ray smiled shakily. "We've each bought Kai a little something." Max glanced over at the seating area, indicating they should all sit down to talk about this. Each blader followed Max as he jumped over the back of the sofa, landing directly onto his back. Ray sat with Fern on the settee which directly faced the TV, leaving Kenny to sit opposite Max.
Max, Kenny and Fern gazed at Ray, waiting for him to continue on. Realizing they were waiting for him, Ray crossed his legs to get comfortable while he explained to Fern what he wanted her to do.
"Tyson hasn't got Kai a present. I know the two don't get on..." Ray began, as Max rolled his eyes at the raven-haired teen's words. "...But he needs to get Kai something." Ray lowered his voice into a squeaky mode, being careful to how loud he spoke so Kai wouldn't hear from in the next room. The continuous faint snoring of Tyson could be heard from the background. It didn't disturb them, but after a while it was starting to get on Fern's nerves. She had been stuck inside of the hotel for hours having to listen to him snore his brains out. Hopefully the light would finally wake him up, but as she listened to Ray talk, she had a feeling what he had in store for her involved Tyson; and not sleeping, either.
"Uh-huh..." Fern said, quite interested in what Ray was trying to say.
Ray continued. "And he's no good at picking presents. At all."
"Ahhh. I see where this is going," Fern boasted all of a sudden, immediately after Ray had finished speaking.
Ray nodded and smiled at Fern, hoping she'd approve. "Right. Great. And just make sure Tyson doesn't buy Kai something we have already bought him."
Fern blinked blankly at Ray, confused. Ray pulled Fern a skeptical look, unsure as to why she looked so puzzled. Max smiled all of a sudden, catching on as to why she was confused.
"How can she make sure Tyson buys something we haven't bought? She hasn't even seen our gifts yet!" Max chirped, quickly launching off the settee and pouncing on the plastic bags which were sprawled out across the carpet floor. Ray and Fern peeked over the edge of the settee, seeing Max rummage through the bags. The blonde brought out 3 items.
"So what have you got him?" Asked Fern curiously. Max smiled and jumped back on to his separate sofa, sprawling out the gifts across the surface of the settee. He held up a small plastic see-through box. Inside, was a circle of blue facepaint, along with a brown brush to go with it.
"This is what I've got him! He never goes out-side without this stuff on, so I guess it was a good idea," Max sang happily, passing the facepaints over to Ray so he could let Fern take a look. She held the blue facepaints close to her face, examining the item carefully.
Max picked up the next present, holding it firmly in his palms. Kenny let out a soft squeal. "This is what I bought him!" Kenny waved to his present happily.
In the teen's hands, was a small dark blue radio. However, it wasn't just any ordinary radio. It was it the shape of a beyblade! The bit-chip, attack ring, weight disk and blade base were all there, nicely painted on with a smooth deep sapphire blue. The shape itself was rounded, almost exactly like the real thing, except a much bigger version. The light reflected off the gorgeous-smelling paint, creating a blue shadow behind it. The control buttons were spread diagonally around the radio, along with a small aerial sticking up on top. However, just by looking at it each one of them knew it would be way to small to use if they were going to have an inside disco.
"I got it from the Gadget shop. It was new in, although very rare," Kenny began. Fern smiled in amazement as Max passed her the beaming object. Kenny watched her examine it closely.
"It's gorgeous!" Fern chirped, showing off her teeth while tugging her mouth into a wide grin.
"Yeah, isn't it?" Kenny smiled smugly.
"Hey..." Fern placed the radio down onto the sofa surface next to her, while looking up around at all of the boys. "Speaking of radios... did you manage to get the one from my apartment? It should of been resting on the sideboard."
Ray smiled. "Yeah, we got it. But keep your voice down, he's only in there remember?" Reminded Ray, stage whispering as he gazed continuously at the curtain which led into the next room, making sure Kai didn't suddenly fly in.
Fern nodded. "Sure vamps!" She smiled sweetly at Ray. The feline pulled Fern a skeptical look.
"Vamps?" Ray asked, raising both his eyebrows. No one had ever called him that before. She sure had odd nicknames...
"Well, yeah. You have the teeth for it!" Chirped Fern.
There was a quick unwanted silence between them. Ray was still watching on skeptically, while Kenny and Max were trying to fight their sudden urge to laugh at Ray and his new 'nickname.'
"Ummm... so, what about you Ray? What have you got Kai?" Asked Fern nervously.
"Ah," Ray's face brightened up a little. "Show her, Maxie!"
Max smiled cunningly, picking up a median-sized dark orange bag. It just rested in his palms nicely. The soft sewed material was pretty visible, but Fern guessed it just added to the effect of it.
Fern suddenly smirked to herself. Kai wouldn't carry a bag around with him! But by the look on Ray's cheeky face, there must be a little something more to it than that. "What is it?" Asked Fern firmly.
"It's a bag," Ray began.
"No shit Sherlock!" Fern interrupted sarcastically.
"Hey! Let me finish!" Laughed Ray, amused slightly by her impatience. "This was also from the Gadget shop. It's to keep all of you beyblade bits and pieces inside. Cool, huh? But this color, represents..."
"...A phoenix?"
"Exactly. There was one for each mythical creature, along with a poem to describe each one." Ray took the bag from Max's hand, and opened one of the pouches which surrounded the outside of the bag. He pulled out an attached piece of material with purple writing sewed on to it. Fern leant over Ray's shoulder, and rested her elbow on his shoulder.
Ray began to read off the tag.
Beautiful, glorious and sacrificing self for renewal,
you build a pyre and set yourself ablaze. For the
sake of self. Red bird of Fire you come forth through
your ashes a new bird shedding the old self which no
longer is needful. You embrace your new strength and
fly to the heights of the sky to the city of the sun and
give the ashes unto the alter of the sun god for your
immortality. Embrace yourself for you are a child of
the sun and will live eternal through birth, death, and
renewal! The spirit never dies!
"That's catchy," Commented Max.
"I think it's a great present!" Smiled Fern. Ray smiled back at her, now noticing the strange glow in her eyes. A tint of red and gold shone in her eyes, around her green orb which surrounded her pupil.
Fern stared back at Ray, seeing he was in some sort of trance where he just had to stare at her. "What? Something on my face?"
"OH! No! Sorry, I mean... nothing!" Ray blushed a faint shade of pink, and quickly looked away from her.
"Anyway..." Kenny began, feeling a little awkward. "How about you head off Fern? We have training this evening."
"Sure!" Fern chirped, jumping up from the sofa. "I'll get Kai something too."
"Are you sure?" Asked Ray, not convinced.
"Yeah! Totally! Of course I am. I think I know what I'm going to get him already. But I got one question, first. Is Kai emo?"
"...0o What? Emo?" Ray boasted, swinging around on the sofa to face Fern.
"Yeah, you know. Emo. Different from goths in many ways. They-"
"-I know what one is! But ummm... why..?"
"'Cos I have a great idea for a gift! Anyway, it doesn't matter. He seems pretty emo to me."
"Who seems pretty Emo?" A very familiar voice screeched.
Startled, they all swung around and found themselves facing Tyson, who was now wide-awake and jolted up in bed. "SHHHHHHHHHHH!" Fern cried, zipping her finger over her lips.
"What? Why?" Asked Tyson firmly, still not lowering his voice. For some reason, he didn't seem to hear himself talking in such a loud, booming voice. Fern ran over to his bed, bouncing on to it and diving onto Tyson. She glued her palm to him mouth, letting out angry growls with annoyance.
"Keep your goddamn voice down!" Fern snarled quietly, while being slightly kicked in the stomach by Tyson as he struggled to get out of her grip. An advantage of attacking helpless boys in the morning was, that they didn't have enough energy to fight back.
Max giggled as the sight of Fern and Tyson battling together on the bed. Fern was laid over him, only giving him enough space to breathe. Disadvantage for Kai.
"Listen up, boy!" Fern said jokily, but still kept her straight face to show she was being serious. "Keep your voice down! Get up, we're going shopping!" Fern let go of Tyson. She sat up on to her knees, smirking at the sight of him looking scared stiff. His face was so pale, he was as white a ghost.
"Huh!" Moaned Tyson, sitting up into an upright position. "You could of just asked me normally! But anyway, why?"
"Well," Fern began, grabbing hold of Tyson's hand. All of a sudden she pulled him towards her, making him fly right off the side of the bed, back-side first.
"OW! Uh.. I mean, ow.." Tyson whispered sending threat glares at Fern.
Max shrugged. "Meh. At least he's up now!"
"Anyway, I'll explain to you on the way! Just grab some money, kay?" Fern smiled. Tyson's face was now starting to fill up with color again. He stood up steadily, showing off his blue PJ's.
"Ummm... guys..." Tyson's face suddenly dropped. His face crinkled up and he twiddled his thumbs like he'd been a naughty toddler.
'What's he done now?' Fern sighed.
"...Ummm... you know me..."
Max raised his eyebrow. "C'mon, bud? What is it?"
Tyson gulped hard. "...Can I have breakfast first?"
Everyone sweatdropped. "ARGHHHHH!"
Half an hour later...
"AHAHAHAHAHA! KAI? EMO! YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING, FERN!" Tyson roared, skipping with a steady pace down the broad, luminous street. The slushy roads and pavements were slowly drying up due to the large firey orb in the sky, stealing the snow from the ground and drying up all possible chilly air. Many busy people trailed past, the loud batter of screaming, excitement and laughter filled the cold NYC air. Best of all, they all felt so lucky to be staying in their favourite part of New York. New York, Manhattan, one of the most beautiful and exciting places in the world. The statue of liberty was stood lonely at Liberty Island in the mouth of Hudson River in the New York harbour, to welcome all wanderers, travellers, and of course Americans back to their home.
The glowing clean sky watched over the city, as the sun gave off a comforting glow which set upon every single person in Manhattan. Fern felt glad she didn't wear her coat, the sun was doing a fine job at keeping her warm.
Various people stared at the hysterical Tyson as he stompped down the street, tears rolling down his face as he held tightly onto Fern. Unstable to even stand up properly, Tyson collapsed into Fern's arms.
"Urgh!" Fern sighed lightly "Tyson, shush! People are looking at us!"
"Aha.. Oh come on Fern! it was funny!" Tyson giggled, finally pulling himself back into a walking pace. "Anyway, I don't want to get Kai anything! Waste of money if you ask me!" Tyson said, mumbling the last bit so Fern wouldn't hear. Sadly, she did.
"Hey! He's your team mate!" Fern stammered slightly, as a group of people separated Tyson and Fern from each other. Sliding in between them, Fern managed to stroll through and meet with Tyson again.
"Damn, this place is packed!" Tyson pointed out.
"Well, it is New York, Tyson! Come on, there's bound to be some cool stuff in the Gadget shop!"
"No way! Not the Gadget shop! You won't find emo stuff there!" Teased Tyson.
"Christ, you never get bored of the same joke do you? Fine, I'll let you choose a store! But don't get Kai anything.. well you know.. which he wouldn't real appeal to or bond with."
"Heh. Bond with? You afraid I was gonna get him a doll or something?"
Tyson's eyes suddenly glowed.
Fern rolled her eyes. 'Joy. He's got an idea. Oh wait. NO-!'
"Tyson! No! Absolutely no dolls!" Fern cried.
"Awww. It was worth a try. I'd love to see Kai's face."
"Yeah, and you'll have no face left after he's finished with you!"
"Umm anyway... how about Religious Sex?"
"EXCUSE ME?" Fern almost jumped out of skin. Those words just didn't seem right. They scared her. Nervously staring at Tyson in the eyes, she was puzzled to see him gazing back with a serious, yet confused look on his face.
"Religious Sex... you said I could choose the store we go to right? It's a gothic store." Tyson explained, still walking along-side the very startled fire-head.
"Oh.. OH! Heh.. I knew that!" Fern gasped, rubbing her hand against her sweaty forehead. She had never felt her heart race so fast. She thought it was going to jump out of her mouth! 'What in the world.. who would call a shop that! Seriously! Oh boy...'
"Okay!" Tyson yawned.
After an hour of scurrying around the city trying to find this certain shop while the constant moaning of Tyson saying he was hungry really getting to Fern's head, the two finally found the shop. Bright purple and pink dresses were stood looking out at people through the window glass. Fern loved them; they looked so silky smooth, compete with stitched black crosses and tassels handing off the ends and thin, tight straps that would lean over the shoulders. Even Tyson had found something he liked. A long, black trench coat was hung up in the window, pure leather which would be tied with strings and a large black buckle belt. The two excited teens rested their hands against the glass, drooling over the clothes. On the floor there was even small ornament skulls and necklaces, so this place didn't sell just clothes!
Tyson and Fern looked at each other and grinned, and rushed towards the complete black door. They were beat to opening the door, as it began to open from the inside.
Fern raised her eyebrow, as two very attractive looking girls stepped out of the raven-colored door, looking very 'bling'.
Fern looked across at Tyson, who was staring wide-eyed at the two dressed-up girls. Fern raised an eyebrow at the almost-drooling teen. 'Why is he staring so hard?'
"Oh no..." Tyson cried. Fern could see she wasn't going to get Tyson's attention even if she stood in front of him. What was so interesting about these girls? Fern looked back up at the girls. She could tell now they weren't women. They were both about the same age as herself, if not, younger.
Fern examined the girls' shocked faces, as they both stared openly at Tyson.
"Uhhh..." Fern broke the silence. "Do you like, know each other?"
Tyson's POV
Brown hair, ruby eyes... slightly changed outfits and looks...
Pink hair, yellow eyes... dressed like a witch. Good Lord.
End POV
Tyson blinked his eyes repeatedly like it was some sort of dream. But it wasn't. Oh no. It was real, alright.
"HILARY! MARIAH!" Tyson cried, grabbing both girl's wrists and quickly pulling them aside out of the way of the door.
"Hey? It's you!" The brown-haired spunky looking girl cried.
Fern followed the crowd, standing next to the very happy Tyson with her arms crossed. She looked quite angry. "Can someone Pul-easeee tell me what's going on here?"
"Oh yeah- Fern, meet Hilary Tatibana and Mariah! Hilary, Mariah, this is my good friend, Fern... Umm... " Tyson stuttered. That's right! He didn't even know Fern's surname! Oh, he looked such a fool right now. Fern bowed her head slowly, a little embarrassed. He descried her as 'a good friend' and he didn't even know her surname? She only blamed herself though. She should of told them sooner. She didn't even know their surnames...
'No, wait. Kai told me his. Hiwati? No that wasn't it.. Hitawi? No... Hiwatari! That's it!'
Fern's face suddenly bounced and brightened up after remembering Kai's surname. Tyson looked over at her like she was weird.
"Hey, Fern. Pretty name!" Mariah smiled.
Fern simply nodded. She would have never of thought Tyson would be friends with goths. Mariah was wearing a dark pink top, the ends trailing slightly over her stomach which seemed to flare out. She wore red and black bangles on each arm, which matched the color of her red and black striped flared jeans. Very hip.
Hilary gave Fern a slight nod and wave. Hilary's dress sense seemed to appeal to Fern more. She wore black trousers, which were held together with a brown belt which was covered in crosses and skulls. She wore purple combat boots which were tied very quickly and rushed. Her top was purple, pink and black striped long ways with pink tassels hanging off the ends of her top.
By the look on Tyson's face, it would almost seem like he hadn't seen them like this either.
"Question!" Tyson cheered lively. "Why are you dressed like that?"
'So that proves it then.' Fern smirked to herself. Tyson must be knew to all this fashion stuff. And it seemed like he'd known these girls for a while, too.
Hilary smirked. "We're testing! The fashion in New York is great! So far we've been skaters, sporty-girls, emos and even grannies!"
Tyson raised an eyebrow. "Grannies?"
Fern's slight giggle made all heads turn to her. "Hehe. I like your style!"
"Thanks!" Beamed Mariah. Tyson's face looked somewhat disgusted; the girls could see he didn't like that style, not one bit. Especially on them, anyway.
"Hmph! So I guess you girls are gonna be goths now, huh?" Tyson murmured.
"No way! As I said before, we're T-E-S-T-I-N-G! We're just trying out all these different fashions!" Hilary smirked.
"Uh-huh..." Tyson moaned. Finally snapping out of his staring phase, there was a question which he was surprised he didn't ask first. What were these two even doing here? Since when did these become best friends? If Mariah saw Ray, she'd no doubt kill him. Ray had left the White Tigers again just to join in with this American tournament. Although Ray assured The Bladebreakers the White Tigers were happy about it, Tyson didn't think so. Known Mariah, she would of been totally against the idea. And what about Hilary? Wasn't she supposed to be still at school?
"Umm... not to sound too bold, but what are you doing here?" Asked Tyson, rubbing the back of his head.
Hilary smiled. She was hoping he'd ask that. "I'm glad you asked! We've come to watch your final battle!"
"What?" Argued Tyson. Was she serious?
Mariah raised an eyebrow. "Sure, why not? Myself and The White Tigers wanted to support Ray. Hilary had managed to get out of school too, so we said she could come along with us."
Fern stood in the background and observed the chattering of the three teens. It seemed Tyson didn't think much of them... or so far, anyway.
"But.. but.. Oh what the hell! I LOVE YOU GUYS!" Tyson beamed, bouncing onto the two girls.
"Hey!" Hilary and Mariah called. "Watch the black nail-varnish!" Tyson ignored the girl's plea, and embraced them both in to a tight hug.
Fern stood back and was smiling like mad. 'How cute.'
"Alright, get off now!" Screamed Mariah. And with that, Tyson let go of a very breathless pair of girls.
"For a second there, I thought you were angry at us!" Hilary said.
"No way! I was just surprised!" Tyson smiled.
"Hmmm.. I'm got an idea!" Fern smirked. Tyson, Hilary and Mariah all gazed at Fern who was stood smugly, embracing her elbows together cunningly. "You girls know Kai, right?"
Hilary nodded. "How could I.. Umm I mean we, forget!" Hilary stuttered, flushing slightly as her slight slip of the tongue. Fern's eyes widened a little.
'How could I.. Umm I mean we, forget?' Fern repeated back Hilary's interesting words. Was there something between Hilary and Kai? 'Wait.. what does it matter..?'
Fern fought back her sudden urge to walk away and leave. "Urgh.." Fern rubbed his forehead. What did it matter? But hearing those words stuck to her like fly paper. They could just mean nothing. 'Of course they mean nothing!'
"Err... Fern?" Fern quickly glanced up to see a very concerned looking Tyson staring at her. "You were saying?"
"Oh yeah! Well, it's Kai's birthday on Monday..." Fern began.
"Haha, we know. That's partly why... we came back. We wanted to wish him a happy birthday and stuff!" Smirked Hilary while rubbing her dark black eyeshadow on her eyelid.
Tyson knew where this was going. And he thought it was a great idea. After all, how long had it been since they had a proper party together? Even with the White Tigers there, it would be interesting. Very interesting... But instead of interrupting this time, Tyson was just going to let Fern finish.
"We're holding a surprise party for him! I think you two should come, too!" Fern beamed. She looked at Mariah's surprised face. "You should bring your team, too!"
Suddenly, there was a silence. Mariah and Hilary thought is was fairly odd at first. Who was this Fern exactly? Tyson had never mentioned her before, that's for sure. But the thought of having a party created a playful emotion inside their hearts. It would be nice to get together again.
"SURE!" Hilary smiled happily. "Haha!" She let out a girlish giggle and jumped up in to air with excitement, throwing her fist up with her.
Tyson and Fern smiled. "Great!" They both yelled together.
"Mariah?" Hilary turned to her feline of a friend. Fern noticed two small fangs peek out from under her top lip. She smiled suddenly. 'Maybe she's related to Ray in some way? From what I know, I'd say she was a Neko-Jin. Wow, I've just realized! Ray must be one too!'
"Why not!" Mariah purred, now joining the rest of the guy and gals and tightened a heavy grin on her face.
"Alright! Gimme five!" Tyson yelled, shooting his arm up into the air. Mariah and Hilary leant forward and slapped his hand back, with another 'Alright!' To go with it.
"Fern? C'mon!" Tyson grinned cheekily, holding his hand up high for Fern to give him a high-five. Fern reached her arm up high and collided it with Tyson's, slapping it as hard as she could on purpose.
"E..Excelle..tt..." Tyson stuttered, attempting to keep a straight face. Fern almost giggled when she saw Tyson rub his palm gently from the slap. She even noticed Hilary and Mariah were giggling a little, too.
"But remember! It's secret! So don't tell Kai! Come around on the evening, okay? I've got it all planned out! First we'll watch a movie, play with silly string, watch more movies, eat, dance, eat, dance, watch a bit more of a movie, go out to the arcades and go see the lights in the Times Square, come back, eat, go out again-"
"Tyson!" Laughed Fern. "You really have got it all planned out, huh? We won't fit all that in to one night!"
Mariah giggled. "Maybe we should save going out on the town for another night, kay? We could all go out together! Wouldn't it be great!"
"One problem. Kai. I mean you're off training now, right? What's the chance he'll give you more time off?" Asked Hilary. Fern and Tyson sighed. She was right. There was no chance they'd get a good night out with Kai. Besides, a night out meant forgetting all of your worries. And that suited Fern pretty well...
"Don't worry!" Fern beamed suddenly. "Leave it to me!"
Hilary raised an eyebrow. "You sure?"
Fern's eyes lit up. "Oh yes. Don't worry about it!"
Hilary's POV
It's nice to see Tyson is getting girlfriends and stuff... but I'm not sure about this one.
Tyson's grandpa would probably approve of her, 'cos she seems bubbly like him...
Her eyes... they are strange. Like I could start in to them for hours, and get lost in the color.
There's something different about this one.
End POV
"Whatever, guys. We'll let you two love birds do whatever you were doing. I'll let my team know I saw you, okay? Byeee!" Mariah sang happily, slowly trailing off as Hilary gave each blader a quick wave goodbye, then ran off to catch of with Mariah.
Tyson and Fern watched the two girls run off into the city, probably for more 'Fashion Testing'. Tyson turned to Fern and raised an eyebrow at her.
"Love birds?" He asked quite enthusiastically. Fern rolled her eyes and grabbed Tyson's wrist.
"Never mind that! We still have to get Kai a pressie!" Squeaked Fern, dragging Tyson into the Gothic Shop they were supposed to of been in ages ago until Mariah and Hilary showed up.
Meanwhile, Ray, Max and Kenny were tidying up the bags of items for Kai's birthday party. Max carefully slipped the bags under Tyson and Kenny's double bed. He shifted the messy quilt over to the other side of the bed as he shoved the bags underneath as carefully as he could. Standing back, the bags were pretty noticeable. And since there was a big, fat chunky radio inside of one, it meant room might just be a problem.
Max held the bags again, about to pull them out. He felt a slight tug at his arm. "Wait!" Ray said, slowly letting go of his arm. "Don't take them out. We can hide them by covering them with the duvet."
Standing up straight again, Max let Ray pull the bed sheets across the bed and tidy it up a little. The sides of the duvet were just about long enough to cover the bags. Ray stood up and stepped back, sliding his hands together like he'd just finished a dirty job.
"Perfect!" Max smiled.
"Do you think Kai is emo?" Asked Kenny out of the blue.
Ray raised an eyebrow. "No, Chief. I don't label, man."
"Huh? I'm sure Fern was just kidding," Suggested Kenny due to Ray's serious expression.
"Oh I know that. Just I don't label," Explained Ray.
Kenny shrugged. "Okay then."
Back into the Religious Sex Gothic store...
"Fernnnnnnnnnn can we go yet? You've been in here for five minutes already! I'm bored-" Tyson groaned, holding his now rumbling stomach. "-And hungry!"
"Just wait, Tyson!" Fern pleaded, squeezing past a group of people. The store made Tyson feel somewhat depressed. Dark purple walls, deep, rich red curtains, full with chunky cross chains, mysterious dark, but beautiful clothing. There was stacks of shelves which contained ornaments of skulls, dragons and keyrings.
Tyson sighed, and followed Fern towards a small stack of shelves where no body was stood. She didn't really know where she was going, she was just trying to find a place to look where there were no people stood around. It was pretty packed, and surprisingly not everyone in the shop wore black eyeliner. There were people dressed just pretty casually; T-shirts, Coats, bottoms. It was great seeing so many people interested in this type of stuff; and although Tyson didn't mind some of the merchandise in store himself, he was very bored, and hungry. Shopping wasn't really his thing.
Fern took interest in one particular shelf stacked with goods. There was beautiful open boxes, with something different inside of each one. Fern scrolled around, checking out each box. Rings, necklaces... 'Na. Kai won't like this stuff. But damn, they are bloody gorgeous!'
"Nice.." Tyson whispered, now joining Fern.
"I know! Gorgeous, aren't they?" Smiled Fern.
The excited red-headed glanced up and down the shelf. There was lots of unusual things... but they were all pretty normal, really. Rings were sold all over the place.
'Hmmmm...'
A small, rich, blue velvet box caught Fern's eye. It was in the shape of a rectangle, but it had curved edges and a circular lid. It seemed to sparkle, and stand out from all the other boxes. It was open like the rest, and had a dark red cushion popped into it. A gorgeous sparkle of light repeatedly flickered. She couldn't quite make out what was sat on the cushion, but no doubt, it was beautiful if it was this shiny. And the light seemed to take a shine to it. A red shadow crept onto the shelf, reflecting off the mystery object inside the box.
Tyson caught Fern's wandering eye and watched her slowly walk up to the box at the other end of the shelf. Fern's eyes flashed with glee as she stared at the beauty that lived inside the box.
A luminous, mystical, red metal fire phoenix stole the spotlight, resting on the mini cushion as it awaited it's new owner. The feathers were solid; although they still looked as magical and rare as the real thing. Every single detail was on there, from the beak, the eyes, the claws. It stood out among the dark room, as the shine illumed perfectly. Attached to the bird, was a thick, silver ring which had small clip on the end of it. It seemed like it would have to be attached to something, like a belt.
Fern smiled with delight. She had found the perfect gift.
