Finally! I finally did it! I wrote this damn chapter. There's probably a whole bunch of mistakes but right now I don't care.
I meant to update sooner but I drew a blank when it came to this chapter so it took some time to get into it.
And do you know what should be an abbreviation? Should'nt've. Bloody computer tells me it's wrong but I use it all the time! "Embrace the contraction".
Disclaimer: So two blondes walk into a bar and tell me I don't own Beyblade…you know, I don't think I like this joke very much.
It had been quite a surprise for the boys when they had come back that night. What had been strange to begin with was Mariah had fallen asleep on the couch with the TV still on. She never did this and it annoyed her to no end when any of the boys did it. Then there was the slobbering mass of fur that was lying on top of her.
Being the White Tigers it was safe to assume that they had an aversion to dogs in general and were none too happy to find one looking rather at home in their hotel room.
"Isn't that Bryan's dog?" Kevin asked, keeping a safe distance from the beast. The thing was big enough to eat him.
"Yeah, it is" Lee confirmed. "Why is it here?"
"I'd like to know why she's so dressed up for the dog" Ray said.
"She had a date didn't she?" asked Lee. They were slowly becoming more confused. The only way for all their questions was to wake her up.
"You wake her up" Kevin said nudging Lee forward, not wanting to go near the dog.
"No way in hell. That things mouth is huge!" he yelped. "Gary, you do it".
"Hmm" Gary hummed, lumbering around the couch and squatting down in front of Mariah. He reached out a hand to shake Mariah awake but stopped midway when he heard a quiet growling.
Unfortunately they had woken and startled the dog.
"Uh oh" Kevin winced, slowly backing away from the couch. "Calm down, um, what's your name? It's like a title of some sort…"
"Kevin, could you think just that little bit faster?" Ray yelped as the dog thudded to the floor and barked loudly, giving Ray a good view of his large canines.
"Uh, um, Sergent? Duke?" Kevin tried.
"His name is the Captain," yawned Mariah. "What are you lot making so much noise for?"
"We were trying to wake you up when the dog got all angry at us" Lee explained.
"Angry? The Captain?" Mariah said looking down at her fuzzy friend. "I know you guys don't like dogs but there's no need to say mean things about him" she frowned at them before baby talking the Captain and patting his head.
"Fine, don't believe us. But why is it here? Didn't you have a date?" Kevin demanded.
"It didn't work out" Mariah replied in an offhand manner. "I'm just watching the Captain for Bryan. He'll probably come and pick him up in the morning"
The boys gave each other a look that concerned her.
"Guys, what's wrong?" she asked, her eyebrows knitting together in worry. A knock on the stopped her from getting an answer. Kevin went to answer it. As soon as he answered it the Captain tore across the room, flattening the small boy in his haste.
"Bryan!" Mariah said as she walked over to the door. "What are you doing here? I thought you would pick him up in the morning"
"Technically it is" he told her. Darting her eyes towards the digital clock above the television confirmed that it was indeed the morning. 4:19 in the morning to be exact. She would have to tell the boys off for not coming home earlier.
"Thanks for watching him. Was a big help" he said. She frowned at him. Something was wrong. She didn't like the way he was acting. The moment the door had opened he had crouched down to pat the Captain, keeping his head down, leaning heavily on the doorframe.
"Is something…" Mariah began
"I better get back. Early day tomorrow" Bryan said quickly. She heard him suck in a steadying breath before standing, still keeping his head down, and walking away with the Captain in tow.
Mariah closed the door slowly and turned towards the four boys huddled in front of the television.
"What do you know?" she demanded. They all looked at each other as if trying to silently decide who would speak. Ray gave in first.
"On the way up here we stopped off in the lobby and there was all this smashed up furniture being taken away. The hotel was trying to keep it quiet but was kinda failing. Everyone there told us it came from the Blitzkrieg boys room…" Ray trailed off. He didn't really need to go on. She already knew where this was going.
There had been a fight. Thinking back to the previous day she figured that Kai had been at the centre of it.
The four boys looked at her, waiting for her reaction.
"I…We should get to bed, it's late" Mariah said slowly, walking over to pick up Bryan's jacket which she had been using as a makeshift blanket before heading to her room.
"That's not good" Kevin peeped.
Tossing beneath the sheets once more, Mariah came to the conclusion that she wasn't going to fall asleep anytime soon. She turned her head and looked at the small pile of clothes sitting on a chair across the room.
Creeping out of her bed, she padded softly over to the clothes, scooped them up in her arms and crept out of the hotel room.
She stepped out into the hallway, closing the door behind her as gently as possible. Across the hall and slightly to the left was the door to the Blitzkrieg boys room. She stood in front of it, staring blankly for a few moments. A large crack marred the doors surface. Her hand traced it, careful for splinters.
She hadn't really believed the boys when they told her about the furniture. She was just across the hall. She would've heard something.
But now that she thought about it, it was possible she hadn't. She'd fallen asleep with the T.V on, which would've blocked out a lot of noise, not to mention she wasn't the lightest of sleepers.
Mariah looked down at the clothes in her hand. She couldn't even be sure if they were still staying in this room. If not it would be silly to leave the clothes just lying in the hallway.
She raised her hand to knock on the door. Millimetres from its surface her hand froze. Instead, Mariah leaned forward pressing her ear to the door. Filtering out the noise around her, the hum of ventilation, the grinding of the elevator down the hall, someone walking around practically loudly upstairs, Mariah focused on any sound coming from behind the door.
Nothing. The thought of how strange she must look, standing in her pj's listening intently to a broken door vaguely crossed her mind. At this point in time she decided that she didn't give a damn. Mariah was dragged from her thoughts by a sound on the other side of the door. Footsteps, coming unnervingly closer. Suddenly her heart jumped into her throat. It was like she was having an allergic reaction. Her throat clammed up, her body shook and face went red and puffy. Ditching the clothes, she thanked whoever cared to listen that her hotel door was only one panicked leap away.
A week had passed since the tournament matches had been announced and the hotel was buzzing with excitement. The first of the matches were on today and fans had been circling the hotel for hours.
Most of the competitors we're glad to entertain the fans (most meaning Tyson and glad meaning forcing other teams fans to watch him). The Blitzkrieg boys on the other hand had been less enthused, favouring the 'if I ignore you completely then you aren't there' technique. Rather self-explanatory.
Slipping on his jacket, Bryan inhaled the sweet perfume that still lingered on it. He should've washed it once Mariah returned it but he had found himself slightly addicted to the smell. Tala had called him a perv when he found out about it, which got him a boot to the head. He had to admit that it was a little strange, but then again he wasn't exactly normal and frankly this paled in comparison to other things he'd done.
"I'm going out" Bryan yelled as he left. He didn't really need to, the broken door made a complete racket when it moved so you could always tell when someone was coming in or out.
The whole team had been going out of their way to avoid being together in the apartment. The little 'incident' from the previous week was still being felt and had taken a toll on all of them. He was still rather stiff and several cracked ribs made breathing uncomfortable. It got to him sometimes, but the faint scent of perfume on his jacket always seemed to seep into his subconscious and calm him.
At least he had his jacket the others weren't so lucky. Kai was a wreck, then again when wasn't he? Tala was probably doing the best, though the tick he had developed didn't go unnoticed. Personally Bryan was the most worried about Spencer. He had always had certain attachment issues, sticking to a member of the team like glue, but over the past week Bryan had barely seen him.
Sauntering down the hallway Bryan took a sip of his coffee. He'd managed to steal Tala's when he wasn't looking. Jamming the elevator button, he smirked slightly as he heard a loud shout coming from the hotel room. Tala must've noticed.
The elevator doors pinged open. Automatically stepping in, it wasn't until the doors closed and he looked up from his coffee that Bryan realized what he'd stepped into.
Tyson stopped complaining to Max, Ozuma quickly covered Mariam's mouth with his hand before she could let loose a smart remark and Rick was running the risk of having an aneurism he was glaring so hard.
"I told you we should've taken the stairs, but noooo," Mariam hissed at Ozuma after using her superior height to remove his hand. Ozuma sent a nervous look between the two larger boys before leaping up to slap his hand back over her mouth, muffling the rest of her words.
"Take note, I'm actually going to be the good guy and leave" Bryan said as he jabbed the button for the next floor.
"You just don't want to spill your coffee" Mariam sneered. Ozuma stood on his toes in a desperate attempt to silence her.
"Well…Yeah, that too," Bryan replied stepping backwards out of the elevator. "But lets not allow that to overshadow the undeniable goodness of my didn't get many action."
The doors slid shut before Mariam could get another word in.
Taking his own sweet time, Bryan ambled down the stairs practising his 'grumpy face' as Tala liked to call it. He hoped it would deter any fans or reporters (Bryan hadn't believed Spencer when he told him that he, Bryan the psycho Russian guy, actually had fans).
Not wanting to be held up by the crowds, he was going to be late as it was, Bryan went out the back of the hotel and jumped over one of the rear fences. It was a more direct route to the stadium anyway. The tournament was being held only a couple of blocks away from the hotel so the players didn't have to worry about getting there.
The closer Bryan came to the stadium, the thicker the crowd became. Mindless chatter filled his ears and bright cardboard signs declaring their love to various bladers were waved about around him. The atmosphere was suffocating and only worsened upon entering the stadium.
With a flash of his all-access Level 12 security pass he was led into the endless grey hallways that lay beneath the stadium (he pondered what level 12 meant, did it mean he could get soda from the vending machine for free?). The hallways curved gently with the shape of the stadium. The halls and various rooms, mainly locker, meeting and work rooms, filled in the space beneath the hundreds of seats. Bryan could even faintly hear the thunder of the spectators' feet on the ceilings high above.
After four wrong turns, almost making a security guard cry whilst asking for directions and discovering that Level 12 did indeed get you free soda, Bryan finally found his way into the main stadium.
The sheer volume of noise was enough to knock him back a step. Screaming fans were crammed into the seats, clapping and cheering. He had come out at the isle at the very top of the stadium behind the very last row of seats (which were full of binocular wearing fans).
Far down below a beybattle was coming to an end. Cheers erupted from the crowd, mingling with a few moans of disappointment. The next match was quickly set up and Bryan grinned to himself as the bladers took their marks.
Mariah was bouncing slightly, eager for the match to begin. He hoped her eagerness wouldn't be her undoing, though she was much more experienced than her opponent so her losing was unlikely.
The match was almost painful to watch. Mariah was practically a blur. She zipped in and around her opponent, nicking him at the sides and throwing him off balance. Her opponent did fight back, even managing to get a couple of hits in, but was ultimately driven out of the beydish.
Bryan let himself smile openly as her win was announced. He heard a door creak open behind him.
"I thought I told you to stay away from her," hissed a voice behind him.
"Yes but you failed to specify how far and how long" Bryan tossed over his shoulder.
"Don't piss around with me" the boy yelled.
"Look Reese…" Bryan began.
"Rick!" he yelled back. Several people in the seats below them turned around in surprise.
"Whatever, Mr Poofypants. In case you haven't noticed, I don't care much for you. So what makes you think I'm going to listen to your little orders?" Bryan sneered.
Rick growled in frustration. Snatching the coffee mug, that had up until that point been clutched forgotten in Bryan's hand, Rick thew it out into the seats below.
"That ain't good. I think you hit someone," Bryan murmured. They were attracting quite a bit of attention at this point.
"Just stay the hell away from her. You're crazy. You and all your little buddies. Crazy. All of you should put in padded cells," Rick spat at him.
"Now how would Max feel if he heard you talking like that about one of his former team mates? I don't think he'd appreciate you calling Kai crazy. Don't get me wrong, he's a nut, but we try to ignore that little detail," Bryan quipped back.
Rick advanced towards him, balling his fists tightly.
"You're going to regret-" Rick began; however, he was cut off by a mug flying through the air and into his face. Rick clutched his face in pain. He stumbled and tripped over the mug, which had surprisingly stayed intact throughout the entire ordeal.
"Alright, you all saw what happened didn't you? I didn't touch him. You saw right?" Bryan asked the small groups of spectators, last thing he needed was to be accused of assault. With a few nods of confirmation was all he needed.
"Nice talking to you" Bryan said smoothly, feeling a slight hint of joy at seeing the other boy in pain. Bending down to pick up the cup, he then left Rick to moan in pain.
With no particular destination, Bryan let himself get lost in the stadium halls.
Tiring of his wandering, Bryan slumped down a wall to rest.
The muffled sound of the crowds echoed through the halls. Much closer there was the slapping of shoes against the floor. Closing his eyes, he listened as the footsteps gradually became closer until they stopped right beside him.
"I ran into Rick"
"Oh? That's nice. You've been running around just to tell me that?" Bryan asked. He opened his eyes to look up at the girl beside him.
"He was really angry. He's saying you punched him " she asked, slumping down beside him.
"He would say that wouldn't he," Bryan sighed running a hand through his short hair. "I didn't, just so you know. I even have witnesses."
"I don't need witnesses," she said. "He got hit in the face with a mug"
"You saw?" he asked.
"I was sitting next to the guy who threw it" she giggled. Bryan smirked. "Dunga was pretty pissed. He doesn't take kindly to being hit in the head"
"Well then, Miriam, you will have to thank him for me. If he hadn't thrown that mug, Randle's little story might be true" Bryan sighed.
"Yeah," Mariam grimaced. "He's getting a little, I dunno, possessive, obsessive, clingy, territorial, overbearing, other such things"
"Heh. And he accuses me of being crazy"
Mariam grinned at him. "Her match was really good. I hope I get a chance to fight her," she said lightly.
"Yeah. Her match went really well. Though she would've been in trouble if it had been a drawn out match. Her opponent was built for endurance, her on the other hand, not so much," he rambled.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Weren't you right up the very top? How'd you see that?" Mariam squawked.
"Tala wasn't the only one who got improvements," Bryan said tapping underneath his eye. "Got these suped up. Probably would've ended up like Tala if things had kept on the way they were."
Out the corner of his eye he could see her squinting at his face. She had sharp eyes that would no doubt pick up on the faint pale lines that marked his face. Despite the horrendous surgery they performed on children, the Biovault surgeons truly were artists who hardly left a mark on their 'patients'. There were several pale lines leading away from his eyes and more along his temple and hairline.
"So you've got super sight?" she asked.
"At the moment, yeah" Bryan sighed. Though the surgeons could cut and stitch with the best of them, but it never left his mind that he was an experiment. What he really worried about was wether they were doing as good a job on his insides.
"At the moment?" she pried again.
"Fluctuates. Can vary from supervision to being blind. Been pretty good lately. I'm lucky. You don't even want to know what happened to the kids they first tested the surgery on" he said stonily.
"Sorry. Didn't mean to pry. Hell, I'm surprised I got this much outta you" Mariam said.
"Well, I've changed- we've all changed. You couldn't expect us to stay the way we were forever" he sighed.
"Well what about the other week? That doesn't exactly scream 'change' to me," she said twisting a lock of hair between her fingers.
"Yeah, that," Bryan winced. "That was…a set back. A rather large set back."
A silence settled over the two.
"You're not going to ask about it? There's a surprise" Bryan prodded.
"I don't think I'm the one you should, or want, be talking to about that," Mariam said slowly. Bryan sighed and ran his hands through his hair, causing it to stick out at odd angles.
"Ever thought of being a therapist? Or a bartender? Either or" Bryan smirked.
"Bartending is a prospect in my future," she smirked back. "Go. Get back the pink girl and talk to her about all your crappy childhood. You have no idea how many people think the two of you should be together"
"My love life is that interesting?" he asked.
"It's more of a lack of anything else to talk about" she smiled.
Bryan lifted himself from the floor with a grunt and fiddling with the mug in his hands.
"Thanks" he said, not looking at her.
"Hah! Don't thank me. I just got the juiciest gossip out of you. I should be the one doing the thanking" Mariam laughed, lifting herself from the floor as well.
"Just, uh, leave the temporary blindness but out of the gossip. Spin the supervision thing to your hearts content though. Maybe throw in heat vision, x-ray if you feel like it" Bryan said, beginning to walk away whilst waving a hand over his shoulder by way of goodbye.
"How 'bout I say you shoot laser beams from your eyes? That'd be cool" the blue haired girl joked.
"Yeah. Laser beams. Another reason for people to avoid eye contact with me" Bryan said as he rounded the corner.
Now that he had some motivation it was about time he did something. For starters he was going to find out what it took to break one of the hotel mugs.
Please R&R. Constructive critisism is welcome. Flames, not so much.