I'm sorry for this! I had to update but didn't know what to update with! I'm having serious writer's block! I'm hoping I can pick up again soon. Anyway, please enjoy it if you can!

Discliamer: I don't own Beyblade

The Sleepover

Hilary timidly rung the doorbell to Garnet's house and smiled shyly at her mother who answered. She was directed to a very pink looking room where Garnet and Mariah were already lying on the floor, laughing about something. Garnet rolled over onto her back as Hilary walked into the room and smiled up at her.

"Hey," She greeted. "You can dump your bag on the bed if you want. We were just talking about Raymond when you came in. You've not missed much."

"Right," Hilary replied and slipped off her backpack and sleeping bag and placed them on the bed beside what she assumed was Mariah's things. She then sat crossed legged on the floor between the two other girls. "So, um, what are we dong tonight?"

Garnet waved her hand in the air. "The usual. Talk about guys, clothes, guys, make up, guys."

"We talk about guys a lot," Mariah said with a smile.

"And probably we'll fit a few movies in, too." Garnet added. "And eat a lot of food that's gonna clog up our arteries and give us heart attacks." She rolled onto her stomach and propped her chin up with her hands. "So, anyway, Mariah dear, just what were you about to tell me about you and Ray?"

Mariah looked at Hilary warily before speaking. She was unsure about wither to talk about her and Ray's relationship with some one who was really practically a stranger.

"Well…" Garnet leaned in eagerly. "I think we're doing it tomorrow night."

Garnet squealed and clapped her hands. "Really? Wow."

Mariah merely nodded and gave her the look that said it was time to change the subject. Garnet smiled knowingly and allowed her too. She understood that she probably just wasn't comfortable talking about this in front of Hilary and she really couldn't be blamed for that: Hilary's not a close friend.

"So you and Kai, Hils?" The beauty turned her attention to the brunette. "What's going on with you two?" Her ocean blue eyes bore into Hilary's crimson.

"Um, not much." Hilary admitted. "We hardly see each other and we've not actually been out on an actual date date."

Garnet frowned. "Honestly?" She rolled her eyes. "Uh. Men."

"I know." Mariah readily agreed. "I mean, do you know how long it took for Ray to finally ask me out." She paused for a millisecond. "In fact, Ray didn't even ask me out! Tala had to do it!" Her voice was full of an almost gentle outrage. She loved him, really. Then her facial expression changed to a sly one and she glanced at Garnet through the corner of her amber eyes. "Speaking of Tala, what's going on with you two? Apart from that whole Ryan incident, you guys have been inseparable."

Her frown deepened. "I don't know. I don't know if I'm ready to have another relationship just now. I mean, I know me and him," She spat the word out as if it was poison, "were never really in an actual relationship but he's kinda affected me deeper than I thought he did." She sighed. "I want to have something with Tala, I do, but I need some time."

Mariah nodded her understanding. "I'm sure he'll wait."

"Damn right he will!" She smirked and tossed her hair. "I'm completely worth waiting for."

"Get over yourself," Mariah said and tossed a pillow at her head. She turned to Hilary. "Have you ever met some one who's so in love with herself?" Hilary made a non committed murmur. "Forget Tala. You should just date yourself!"

"I would if I could."

The three girls burst into a fit of laughter until Garnet's mom came up into the room with a tray of pizza, garlic bread and chocolate. Under her arm she carried a bottle of coke with she displayed in front of the girls. They all chimed a thank you as she left and shut the door firmly behind her.

Garnet took a bite of pizza and drummed her fingernails on the tray. "What can we talk about now?" They were silent for a few seconds. "Hey, Hilary? How'd you do in your exams?"

"I got two B's and the rest A's."

"Well done," She congratulated her. "What subjects did you take?"

"Math, English, Biology, Physics, Geography, Computing Studies, Art and Design and French."

Garnet grimaced. "Physics? That's, like, the most boring subject ever. So what do you wanna do when you leave school?"

Hilary bit her lip as she though about this. "I'm not sure. I think I'd like to do something like child psychology or something. How about you guys?"

"I'm gonna be a singer. Like my mom was." Garnet said with a confident smile.

Hilary's eyes widened. "Really? That's so cool."

"Mmhmm," Mariah agreed. "Compared to us mere mortals who want ordinary jobs."

Garnet said nothing more but continued to chew on her pizza slice slowly. The other two girls did the same. After a few more minutes of a not awkward but not comfortable silence Mariah decided to end it.

"Why don't we put on a movie?" She suggested. "I brought 'Ghost'."

"That movie makes me cry so hard," Garnet said and held a hand to her heart. "It's so romantic! What movie did you bring, Hilary?"

"'Saw'."

"Not so sure about that one. I really wanna watch 'Moulin Rouge' but I've left it over at Voltaire's house." She glowered as she said his name.

"Kai's grandfather?" Hilary asked wringing her brows in confusion. "Why are they there?"

"We left things over at Kai's since we use to go there tons of times and, like, crash." Mariah explained. "I've actually got a few things myself that have gone missing."

"I know!" Garnet said outraged. "I mean, he should have like waited until all out stuff was back before moving out." Mariah and Hilary looked at each other and blinked to which Garnet laughed falsely and rubbed the back of her head. "I was kidding."

"You didn't sound like you were," Hilary heard Mariah mutter.

Hilary could sense there was some annoyance in Mariah's tone which Garnet either didn't notice or chose to ignore: from what she gathered of Garnet both could be just as possible. She felt suddenly uncomfortable with the two girls. There was obviously some tension between them that was never fully resolved although were 'best friends'. It was strange. Then again, she could see where Mariah was coming from. Garnet could be unreasonably selfish: a brat. That much had been certain from day one. The latter girl was also noticeably protective of Kai which she had to admit was a little odd. Some one protecting Kai? It was hard to believe that he needed anyone to lean on.

Mariah and Garnet were now chattering with each other as if they had been doing so all night. Hilary stared at them both in disbelief. Could Garnet not tell that two seconds ago Mariah had looked as though she absolutely despised her? She suddenly remembered why it was she didn't have that many girlfriends. It was the fakeness. If guys had a problem with some one they'd let them know about it. With girl's they just kept their feelings caged up inside of them until it in a desperate struggle for freedom, they escape in a ferocious battle of words.

"I think it's a good idea to watch the movies in order: scary, funny, happy." Garnet interrupted her thoughts. "All agreed?"

Hilary nodded and Mariah voiced her approvals.

"Great," Garnet said while sliding the DVD into the player and the menu popped up on her massive LCD TV. "Let the movie fest begin!"

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Kai showed no acknowledgement that praise was being given to him - a result of his attainment on his exams- on a silver platter. Instead, he looked out of the hotel window with a distant and bored expression on his face. It made Rosanne frown. What was she doing wrong?

"Kai?" Alexander demanded in a harsh tone. "It's rude to be so complacent when you're being complimented."

She inwardly flinched at his tone. She'd warned him so many times that he needed to be careful about what he says to Kai: too gentle or too strict and he may refuse to see them again. He was perfectly capable of it and she had this resounding feeling that he was only agreeing to play family with them out of the goodness of his heart. He didn't need them anymore than he needed Voltaire, or so he thought.

Her crimson eyes bore into him as he sighed deeply and faced his father's criticism. Although he pretended to show a sorrowful look of appreciation it was blindingly obvious to her it was all in pretence. Blaming Kai himself, she knew, was not only pointless but also unfair. The upbringing Kai had wasn't one that exposed him to praise when it was most deserved. Of course he would find it hard to accept it when given freely without anything wanted in return. At least from adults. It made sense when she thought about.

Rosanne thought it was best to give him his gift now as an act of contrition. She handed him an envelope. He thanked her and opened it, pulling out a hundred and fifty dollars worth of notes.

He looked up at her and issued single thanks. She could sense that he felt more thankful than what he showed and smiled in reply. Inside, however, she didn't feel like smiling. There was an undeniable guilt deep in her that flared up whenever she offered something to Kai. It was always as if she was hoping to be reconciled for her sins against him. For example, when she had given him a row after he'd been expelled from his school she had felt obliged, no, necessary to return his phone and cover all future expenses related to it as a form of reconciliation. Surely he must see what she was doing? She suddenly understood how easy it was to spoil a child.

"Matt's not here?" It was more a statement than a question and it was the first conversation Kai had offered to them all night.

His mother smiled. "He's out with his little friend again. He's definitely taken a shine to him." She felt relieved that Kai was showing at least a little interest in being here.

"Have you met him yet?" Kai asked.

"No…not yet." She smiled in a motherly fashion. "I think he's a little nervous about introducing him to us. He won't even tell us his name!"

"That's odd." Kai stated.

Rosanne though it best not to argue for she knew, from many experiences, that it was indeed odd behaviour from any child. Matt, she also knew, was not just any child though.

"…Hilary?"

Alexander asked a question to bring Rosanne from her thoughts with great interest. She hadn't heard much about Kai's new girlfriend, although she had assumed that she was pretty. She would have to be to date Kai. That was about all she knew and even of that she wasn't entirely certain.

Her son's eyes seemed to soften at the very mention of her name, though he didn't say much about her.

"Why don't you ask her over for dinner?" She suggested and looked to Alexander who nodded his approval. "We'd be more than happy to take her out one evening."

"I guess I can ask her…" Kai said in a way that wouldn't commit him to anything.

"You do that Kai and get back to us, okay?"

"Hn."

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"Oh my God," Hilary said and wiped a tear from her eye. "That movie is so sad."

"Yeah," Garnet agreed. "I cry every time I see that movie."

Mariah said nothing but dabbed her tear stricken face with a handkerchief she'd gotten from Garnet earlier. She then looked at the clock on her phone. "Geez, it's only one o'clock."

"Seriously?" Garnet asked in surprise. "What can we do now?"

"More movies?" Hilary suggested.

Mariah looked at her and smirked. "I have an idea. Why don't we give you a haircut?"

"Oh my God!" Garnet cried. "You're a genius!"

Hilary fingered her hair nervously and protectively. "I don't know…"

"Aw come on, Hilary. Don't be such a baby." Mariah said irritably.

Despite her gut feeling, she gave in and let herself be walked to Garnet's en suite. Garnet pulled out a towel from her cupboard and Hilary kneeled on top of it: chewing her lip as if she was there was a famine. Next, she pulled out a pair of scissors and handed them to Mariah who shook her head.

"Don't be stupid." She said. "You have to wet her hair first."

Garnet slapped her forehead as if she couldn't believe she'd forgotten and then directed Hilary to the bathtub and held her head over it as Mariah poured cups of water over it until it was completely dripping. She was once again made to kneel on the towel as Mariah combed it into place and then her heart almost tore in two as she heard the snip of the scissors as it cut through a strand of her hair.

"Guys are you sure about this?" Hilary couldn't help keeping the panic from her voice as it went a couple of decibels higher.

"Of course," Mariah answered. "And besides, Kai will love it."

The pinkette's face was knotted in complete concentration as she snipped and cut off sections of the chocolate coloured hair and let it fall onto the towel. Garnet watched in fascination as little by little Hilary's hair got shorted and shorter. A while later, Mariah smiled in completion.

Hilary was once again led by the two other girls and was made to kneel in front of Garnet's hug full length mirror. Garnet then began to dry her hair with a hair dryer and, as her hair began to take shape, she liked what she saw. Her face had completely changed. Her once girlish bangs had been revamped into a more mature style: although there were still bangs.

"Wow," Garnet gushed. "You look so hot!"

Hilary nodded her approval.

"I can't wait to show the guys tomorrow." Mariah said as she inspected every inch of her subjects head.

"We're seeing the guys tomorrow?" Hilary enquired.

"Yeah. My parents are going out and I asked Ray, Tala and Kai to come over. Max is going out with his dad and Tyson's doing something with Kenny." Garnet informed her while letting out a huge yawn that exposed each one of her pearly teeth. "Are you girls ready to sleep?"

Without waiting for an answer, she fetched her pyjamas and changed into them. Hilary felt a flush of embarrassment as she watched Garnet get almost nude in front of her. She also felt embarrassed as she realised she was expected to do the same. She turned her back to them and quickly changed, hoping that she wasn't being watched.

"Prudish much?" Garnet asked her with an amused look on her face. "We're all girls here."

"I'm sorry. I'm not used to it."

Mariah smiled. "Don't worry. Garnet's just a bee-atch who doesn't care who she shows her body off to."

She looked at Garnet as she waited for some sort of snappy retort but she had fallen fast asleep on her bed already. Mariah sniggered and rolled her eyes before crawling into her sleeping bag. Hilary copied and before long they had all been taken into a deep slumber.

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