Disclaimer: I do not own beyblades.
A/N I dedicate this Chapter and story to an old friend who has recently come into my life again through the most unexpected means. I have missed you.
Last time-
Jamie walked the short distance home, when she rounded the corner she spotted Miguel leaving the Hiwatari household. "Oi wait up." Jamie jogged to catch up with Miguel, she needed someone to talk to about all this and with Miguel being a foreign body he may have the perspective she needed to make sense of everything that was going on in her head.
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'With these hands
I give you my heart
And crown it with my love'
(The story of a very special ring)
Chapter 20
For the first time in Jamie's life she didn't sleep at all. Laying away in her bed her mind was filled with thoughts of Kai and Tala. She shouldn't have let Tala kiss her but what else could she do? She couldn't deny him, god the way things were going she would have ended up having sex with him and that was a scary
thought. She just wasn't ready for that factor of any relationship to enter her life, she just wasn't ready and now she had gone and gotten herself into a right mess. It looked like either way she was going to lose one of her best friends. Tala had said the he couldn't be friends with her if she stayed with Kai but then she didn't want to break up with Kai now that she realised that she loved him, maybe before but now there was, well something else. Damn it she needed someone to talk to. Climbing out of bed Jamie crossed the hall to Miguel's room. Knocking sever times Jamie waited for a response but there wasn't one, she hadn't really expected one, what kind of normal person would be awake at this time of night? She was just about to go back to her room to wait for morning to slowly drag its weary feet around when the door opened and a devastatingly tired Miguel peered out at her through the gloom of the unlit hall.
"Jamie?" Miguel's hair was tasselled, his chest was bare and a pair of low slung boxer shorts clung to his hips. Any female would think him drop dead sexy but Jamie had become immune to his looks over the past few
days, she had put her drooling down to missing Kai and now that he was next door again Miguel, the poor bugger had lost all his appeal.
Jamie gave him a nervous smile, standing before him in her singlet top and boxer shorts she felt very venerable, wether it be from the lack of clothing or what she wanted to talk about she wasn't too sure. "Can I talk to you please?" Miguel looked down at Jamie with her hair in two piggy tale plats, if it was any other girl who had come knocking at his door in the middle of the night he would have taken his as a 'come on' but this was Jamie and he knew better.
"Does it have to be now? It's two in the morning!" Miguel shifted to lean against the doorframe. Jamie took a step back shifting uneasily, she should have thought that Miguel wouldn't want to be woken up in the middle of the night with her problems. "It's okay I'll just." Jamie gestured back towards her room. "It can wait until morning."
"Why aren't you asleep like the rest of us?" he could see that she wanted to leave and was rethinking what she was doing. "I couldn't sleep, I was at Tala's earlier and well never mind." Jamie took another step towards her room.
"No Jamie, tell me about it." There was a flash before Miguel's bedroom light flicked or showering part of the hall in warm welcoming light. Miguel stepped back from the door to let Jamie into the room.
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Tala was going nuts. It was two on the morning and he was still awake, he could smell Jamie on his sheets and on his pillows, the soft sweet, flowery smell had him in a state. Why couldn't he be in love with someone he could have? Why did it have to be her? His exish best friend who happened to be dating his other best friend, god if they were related it would be perfect for Jerry Springer. That thought made Tala feel sick, maybe he should just change his sheets and be done with it but somehow he couldn't do it. Tala felt really bad about earlier, not the kissing Jamie part but the part where he made her choose between himself and Kai. She had promised never to lose him ever again but how far would she really take that promise?
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All the years the we've cared, all the things that we've shared
Birthday cakes, bad mistakes, stolen bikes, open mics
Sweet hearts, broken hearts, punch your arm and no harm
Now these things start to fade to a very different shade
So don't look back, you wont find me here
I've moved on to another year
Don't pick me when we play choose, cause that's one way you're going to lose
You belong, you belong, you belong to someone else
You belong, you belong to someone else, not me
Don't look back and expect to see a vision of you next to me
It's sad to say you're no longer mine, you walked away and left me behind
You belong, you belong, you belong to someone else
You belong, you belong to someone else, not me
You belong, you belong to someone else, not me! RFR
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"He did what?" Miguel was wide awake now after hearing Jamie's story. "What can I do?" Jamie was sitting curled up at the end of the bed.
"You're not going to break up with Kai are you?" Miguel couldn't believe how dramatic and chaotic Jamie's live was. "NO! Well I don't know, what can I do?" he couldn't believe she was actually considering dumping Kai, the two were perfect for each other anyone could see that they were made for one another.
"How about I have a talk to Tala for you? Someone needs to make this guy see sense. Did you know Chris likes him?" The last part was added as a kind of after thought, he wasn't going to mention it but why not? It wouldn't hurt.
"I don't know, he might take offence to someone else coming into the situation and since when did Chris even know Tala?" Miguel picked up on the slightly defensive tone in Jamie's voice, almost as if she was jealous, did she realise?
"Well if you need me to anything you know where to find me, though I will have to go home soon I can't really have any more time off school." Even if Jamie didn't approve Miguel had decided he was going to have a word or two with Tala and maybe even Kai. Jamie would never tell Kai what was going on with Tala out of loyalty but maybe he could help.
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Jamie didn't want today to exist, the last thing she wanted to do was go to school where she would have to see Tala, that in itself wasn't all that bad but he would want an answer and then she had to sort out everything that was going on, the easiest way would be to break up with Kai but she didn't want to do that, she really liked Kai but Jamie didn't want to lose Tala at the same time.
Jamie sat at her desk beside Kai in form class. "Jamjam are you okay?" Kai was drawing lazy circles at the base of her neck as he leaned back in his chair. Jamie sighed and leaned back against Kai's hand.
"No. I'm not friends with Tala anymore, we kind of had a fight but we didn't if that makes any sense to you." She was mumbling and looking down at her desk but Kai still caught what she had said. The teacher came into the room to mark the attendance so Kai could question her further at the moment. But he had an idea. Standing he addressed the teacher. "Miss, Jamie and I have go, family emergency." Kai stood, pulling a bewildered looking Jamie with him. Before the teacher had time comprehend what was going on Kai had grabbed their bags and was dragging Jamie out the door.
As they walked down the hall towards the front entrance they received confused looks from late students as they hurried in the other direction. When they were outside Kai took Jamie to a picnic table. Sitting down beside her Kai addressed the topic at hand. "When you say you aren't friends with Tala anymore and that you had a kind of fight what do you mean?" Jamie hadn't bothered to question Kai when he dragged her out of class, there really wasn't much point she knew what coming anyway. She has always felt that she could tell Kai anything and everything but something she wished she couldn't. This was going to cause trouble.
"Well you know when I went home on Friday night after I told you that I… well anyway I went to see Tala instead of going home cause I wanted to know what was bothering him." It hurt Kai that Jamie hadn't finished saying that she loved him but he knew she did, still it would have been nice to hear it again. Jamie continues on a shaky breath. "Well he said that he couldn't be friends with me if I continued to go out with you and I've thought it through and I chose you, Tala has always been kind of a second best friend if you know what I mean you have always been there and you've never put restrictions on our friendship and lately it's all Tala has been doing. I don't think I could ever leave you." Kai pulled Jamie onto his lap and kissed her, it wasn't overly passionate but it held all the love he felt for the girl in his arms, she had said that she was never going to leave him and he felt the same way. "I love you Jamie." Kai kissed her again.
"I love you too." Jamie gave him a wide warm smile. "Come on we better go before we get caught by someone." Kai picked Jamie up bridal style before he spun her around then set her down on the ground. Grabbing their bags he took her hand. "So where should we go today?"
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Chris felt a soft smile tug across her face as she watched on of her best friends play with Jason. For the past two days Miguel had been trying to convince her to go home with him but Chris wasn't so sure, she liked the independence and freedom she now had, she and Jason could do what they wanted when ever they wanted Chris had eve started scouting around for a place of her own to live it would be nice having her own home. She was meant to be making lunch for them all but she often found herself getting distracted around Miguel over the past few days but she didn't really want to dwell on that scary though too much.
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Tala was feeling slightly nervous, well actually if felt like there was a herd of buffalo tap dancing in his stomach. He already knew the outcome of his conversation with Jamie, he hadn't seen her all day and that in itself spoke volumes to his neurotic mind. Not that Tala considered himself neurotic, you can't be neurotic about something you already know about can you? Through his own stupidity he had lost Jamie and now there was nothing he could do to get her back, he had pushed just that little bit too far. He was alone.
Without even realising what he had done Tala had distanced himself from his two best friends and had driven a wedge between the three of them. Jamie had broken her promise and Kai wouldn't care. The only thing Kai really cared about was Jamie and his family and he still had them so he was sitting pretty right now.
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Kai and Jamie had spent their day off pleasantly enough, they say a movie, went for a walk, had lunch then went to the beach for the afternoon but the whole time heavy thoughts had been weighing on Kai's mind. If Jamie was no longer friends with Tala where did that leave him? Tala was one of his friends too, family even. Was he expected to drop Tala as well or could he continue to be friends with him? Though there was the fact that his best friend had blackmailed his girlfriend who happened to be a best friend of both of them, he had forgiven Tala for a lot over the years but had he gone over the edge? For the past few months Tala had been floating in the sheltered harbour of Kai's patients but now he was out in the open sea, no, this couldn't be forgiven. The first time he had let it slip but now he was fucked! Anger suddenly rushed through him, boy had Tala crossed the line this time.
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Miguel looked at Tala and shock his head, in his eyes Tala was pathetic. Jamie wasn't someone to be competed over, she deserved the respect and support of her friends, that being said however Miguel wouldn't have minded competing for Jamie's affections. Even if it would prove to be a pointless exercise. Miguel had confronted Tala on his way home from school, well that had been his plan but Tala had driven to school that day just like he did every other so instead the two stood on Tala's front lawn on either side of their cars.
"What do you want?" Tala really wasn't in the mood to have some guy he didn't know stick it to him.
"Now Tala that's no way to talk to anyone, do you even know who I am?" Miguel folded his arms across his chest, resting his hip against the front panel of his rental car and fixed Tala with an even gaze.
"No and I don't even care." That was a big lie, Tala was dieing to know who this guy was and how he fitted into every ones life except his own. The guy knew Chris but that didn't matter at all. Some how he was connected to Jamie and she seemed to care about him so that fact put heed to his question or dismissal he wasn't sure which way he wanted to take this yet. Miguel on the other hand had a different idea, he had come here with something to say and he was going to say it.
"Why are you putting so much pressure on Jamie? The girl had a mental breakdown a few weeks ago and now you're making her go through on of the toughest choices of her life when what she need is your friendship, care and patients." Miguel waited for his answer.
"What would you know about it, you don't even know her!" this guy was really getting on Tala's nerved. Now dare a complete stranger judge him and his relationship with Jamie?
"Actually Jamie is my step niece so I have invested interest in her well being." Miguel watched the expression change on Tala's face from anger to blankness to confusion to shock.
"Right, so just because you are related to Jamie you can tell me how to treat her? I would never do anything to hurt Jamie so you don't have to worry about anything. You can leave now." Tala dismissed him.
"Anyone has the right to pull you up when you a treating another human being like a piece of shit." I'm surprised Kai and Chris haven't pulled you up on it yet." There was no way Miguel was going to let this manipulative bugger dismiss him.
"I love Jamie and now she doesn't want anything to do with me. Are you happy now? Now piss off." Tala turned and stormed into his house, slamming the door so hard that the glass panel beside the door rattled.
Miguel laughed. You go Jamie!
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Jamie sat happily on Kai's sofa infront on the TV in Kai's room, slowly eating her way through her favourite sweet. A bowl of ice-cream coated in cream and that chocolate topping that goes hard when it gets cold. Normally, given any other circumstances Kai wouldn't let Jamie eat this crap after the sweets she had had through the day but it had been a tough day for her so he figured it wouldn't hurt, besides he would make her walk to school tomorrow.
Leaning against Kai she had let out a happy sigh, right now life was perfect, she had made the correct decision even though it was going to hurt like hell not having Tala in her life. Kai pressed a kiss to her temple. "I love you Jamie." She just smiled.
--------Post Script--------
A letter found it's way into Tala's possession.
Tala,
I know that this is hurting you just as much as it is hurting me but it was your choice, this all rests on your shoulders. Maybe one day we will be able to have a conversation or pass each other in the hall and I won't feel like a part of me is being torn out of my body but then again maybe not. You still mean the world to me Tala and you always will, but you're right, we can't be friends.
You have been such a large part of my life that it now feels empty but what is done is done.
Good luck with your life.
Love Jamie.
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Well that's all for this one folks, I may do a sequel but at the moment there are no plans for that. I have another couple of fics in the works but I might take a little break for a while and gather my thoughts before I sully forth with those ones, I think I need a break, this has kind of become a chore for me when it's meant to be a bit of fun and a break from the stress of life. I'll keep everyone posted about what is going on from my bebo page, which is the homepage on my ff profile.
Thank you to everyone who reviewed and offered their support and input I really appreciate it. Please put the effort in one more time.
Infinite x's and o's
The Perfect Oasis.