"You look like you're in pain."

Kai grimaced. "I am."

Ray laughed, looking around at the multitude of people in Kai's extensive drawing-room – converted into one large room with minimal furniture, flashing lights, a DJ and a bar – and shook his head. Kai had barely moved from the bar since the party had started over an hour ago, and it hadn't taken Ray long to find him. "How'd Tala talk you into doing this?"

"I don't mind the party, Ray, I mind the people."

"You're saying that because Anastasia isn't here yet," teased Ray. Kai scowled at him, and he laughed again. "Why didn't you just pick her up? That's what you do every day."

"Her room-mate can drive," said Kai, a little sullen. "And I don't do it all the time."

"You'd spend every second with her if you could."

"You looking to get punched, Kon?"

"Hey, at least I don't talk about your relationship to every magazine that calls."

Kai rolled his eyes. "Tala did it on purpose."

"You should just tell her," Ray downed his glass in one and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "You'll feel better, trust me."

"So long-distance doesn't make you go crazy?" asked Kai pointedly.

Ray's face fell slightly, but he still looked cheerful. "You make it work if it's worth it," he said simply. And then he smirked. "Tala invited her."

"And she doesn't have a full-time job so she actually came."

"You don't want to date Anastasia because of the long-distance or because you won't get to see her all the time?"

"They're the same thing," Kai motioned to the bartender for another drink and gave Ray a look. "I've seen the way she is, Ray. She can't do long-distance, even if I can."

Ray accepted the drink Kai offered him and looked thoughtful. "You shouldn't be making decisions for Anastasia, Kai, I don't think she'd like that."

"She doesn't know any better," said Kai dismissively.

"Nah, man, I think she knows you pretty well," Ray was looking towards the door now, and he was smirking. "She's here."

Kai followed his gaze immediately. Anastasia was standing by the door, and in any normal circumstance, and if she was someone else, Kai wouldn't have wasted any time in going up to her. Strands of her dark hair were pulled away from her face, a style he particularly liked because it made her eyes stand out, and he knew that was the case now even from far away. She was wearing heels again, with straps that went halfway up her half and stopped a few inches below her knee, barely brushing the hem of her dress. She wasn't wearing a lot of makeup, she hardly ever did, but it was her dress that caught his eye. The forest green material clung to every curve like it was made for her, and Kai felt his mouth go dry when she flipped her hair over her shoulder, the movement showcasing the back of her dress. Other than two diagonally crossing straps, there was nothing there.

Ray snorted. "Stop drooling. Have you seen who she's been talking to for the last five minutes?"

Kai blinked and snapped out of his daze, focusing on who was standing next to her. immediately, his eyes narrowed. "What the hell?"

!

"I can't believe you scored me an invite to Tala Ivanov's birthday," said Alice in a hushed voice. "Do you think the rest of the BladeBreakers will be here? You know, other than Kai?"

"I hope so," muttered Anastasia to herself. Giving Alice another smile, she picked up a plastic cup from the table near the door and downed it in one. And then winced. "Wow, Hilary wasn't kidding."

"Someone's waving at you!" Alice whisper-yelled. Anastasia gave her friend a look and picked up another cup, turned back and trying to see who Alice had seen. The party was in full swing by now, an hour into the time Tala had stated in his text. Anastasia had decided to be late deliberately, knowing that it would be easier to blend in and bid her time until she was ready to face Kai. It wasn't that she was nervous: it was just that she couldn't remember the last time she had tried so hard to win someone over. It had never been this difficult. But of course, Kai had to be difficult.

It hadn't surprised Anastasia that he had been annoyed when she had texted him and told him she would arrive on her own. What had surprised her that he had called her to tell her off on it.

"Why do you have to make everything so difficult?" he had demanded.

Anastasia had practically scratched her head in confusion. "What are you talking about? The party's at your house, do you really want to come and go twice just to get me?"

"I told you, I –"

"I just told Tala I'm coming with Alice, she has a car!" Anastasia had talked over him. "What's your deal, didn't you get enough sleep?"

Kai had grumbled something unintelligible and had hung up on her, which had left Anastasia utterly confused and slightly annoyed. Of course, he had sent her a picture of Tala stocking up the bar a few hours later, a devilish smirk on his face and at least four bottles of Vodka in his arms. It didn't take a genius to figure out all the alcohol that would be provided would be expensive. Kai had the money, she knew that, and she knew his message was a peace offering. It was as close to an apology as she'd ever get with Kai, and she'd learned to accept that.

What she couldn't accept, however, was the smirking redhead making his way towards them. It wasn't Tala, but Anastasia knew who it was immediately. She rolled her eyes. "Hello, Johnny."

"Anastasia Nikol," he practically purred, pulling her in for a hug and a kiss that she dodged expertly. She had dealt with Johnny McGregor before, and no matter how many times she made it clear she wasn't interested, he didn't seem to understand. They ran into each other at tournaments all the time, and he had tried more than once to hire her as a personal technician, but until Mr. Dickinson had approached her for Kai, Anastasia had always refused to work for a single beyblader, preferring to work for a whole team. But Johnny was a good beyblader, one of the best she'd seen, so she let him attempt to woo her because it was hilarious to watch.

"Watch your hands," she said, her tone light, but she made a point to dig her nails into his arm as she pried it away from her waist.

Johnny merely smirked. "What, afraid your boyfriend won't like it?" he waggled his eyebrows suggestively. "You know I've beaten him before."

"There is no boyfriend, I don't need to be committed to want your hands off me," Anastasia said in a bored voice. Alice had run away at some point, and Anastasia raked her eyes through the crowd to locate her friend. "But if you're talking about Kai, I seem to remember that you two are tied right now."

Johnny's smile slid off his face and he scowled. "Beginner's luck."

"He's not a beginner," Anastasia tried not to laugh at his growing annoyance, and couldn't resist teasing him a bit more. "He's very, very experienced, I can assure you."

Johnny narrowed his eyes and took a step closer to her, grabbing her arm as he did so. Anastasia didn't even flinch. "You always said you'd never work for just anyone," he growled. "What made you change your mind about him?"

Anastasia yanked her arm out of his grip, and he let her. He hadn't even held her that hard: Johnny may look tough, and he liked to intimidate, but she knew he'd never hurt her. He was too old-fashioned for that. Besides, Robert would probably kill him; she was glad she had stayed on good terms with at least one of the Majestics. "I did it as a favour to Mr. Dickinson, and then stuck around because I wanted to," she side-stepped him, and spotted a familiar figure coming towards her. The expression on his face made her slightly wary. "Speaking of which."

Johnny turned around and followed her gaze, his scowl deepening. "Kai," he greeted, his tone icy. "Nice to see you."

"Johnny," Kai didn't even try to be polite. His eyes lingered on Anastasia, and then went back to Johnny. "How are you?" Anastasia was sure she wasn't imagining the edge in his voice.

She rolled her eyes. "Back off, boys. You can have a pissing contest later. Johnny, go get a drink and tell Robert I'm looking for him," when Johnny didn't look at her, his eyes still fixed on Kai, she stepped on his foot. He yelped. "Go. Now."

Grumbling, Johnny walked away, and Anastasia turned to face Kai, hands on her hips. She was ready to scold him for trying to be her knight in shining armour and remind him that she didn't need protection, but her words died on her lips. He was looking at her, and damn it felt good. It helped that he looked absolutely delicious, in a black button-down that she was sure was silk, and acid-wash jeans. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, giving her a nice eyeful of toned, muscular arms. She wasn't imagining the way his eyes lingered on her body either, even as he tried to refocus on her face. She quirked an eyebrow. "See something you like?"

"I always do," replied Kai. Anastasia blinked, completely thrown off by his reply, and he smirked in response. "What?" he asked, innocently.

Anastasia shook her head and tried to smile, but she could feel her cheeks burn and her pulse was racing. Maybe the pretty dress and alcohol combination had been a bad idea…

"I like the dress," was she imagining it, or was he suddenly standing much closer to her than he had been a few seconds ago? She practically jumped out of her skin when she felt his hand touch her back, the contact making her skin burn. "Is it new?"

How was his tone so casual right now? Anastasia felt dizzy, and fixed her eyes on the buttons of his shirt, trying not to let his scent overpower her. She cleared her throat and finally, when she had collected herself, looked up to meet his gaze. What she saw made her smile, slowly, slyly. Oh, he could pretend that this was a casual conversation, he could even sound like they were talking about the weather, but his expression told a completely different story. Kai's eyes were normally cold and uninterested, and even when he was being nice to her he normally avoided looking at her. Now, however, he looked like he was trying very hard not to kiss her. Anastasia wasn't an idiot. She knew desire when she saw it. Maybe Hilary had been right after all.

"Oh, this old thing?" she asked innocently. "I don't even remember."

Kai hummed in response. Anastasia barely heard him. His eyes were hypnotic, drawing her in much more and much sooner than she had planned. A part of her wanted to throw caution to the wind and yank him forwards by the collar of his shirt and kiss him senseless, but another part of her was hesitant. Just because he found her attractive didn't mean he liked her in that way. She couldn't take that risk… could she?

Anastasia didn't get to decide. At that moment, Tala spotted them and began to approach, and Anastasia caught his eye from over Kai's shoulder. It took him a few seconds to spot the way they were standing, but when he did he began to back away, a grin on his face. But Kai had noticed her looking away, and he turned to see him as well. Anastasia glared at Tala and gestured for him to come forwards now, which he did. Anastasia was ready to kill him, but a familiar head of purple hair was following him, and that made her smile. "Robert!"

Anastasia could feel Kai's raised eyebrows as he took a step back from her. But she also noticed that, while his hand did move from her back, he didn't let her go completely. She knew why when she saw that Johnny was trailing behind them, and his eyes were fixed on the way they were standing. Kai was holding her waist now, almost casually, but Kai never did anything casually. The possessiveness annoyed her, but not enough to ask him to stop. Instead, Anastasia acted like she hadn't noticed and kept smiling.

"I had a feeling I'd find you here," smiling, Robert Jürgens offered her his hand, even as Anastasia rolled her eyes and gave him a hug. He politely touched her waist lightly, and then dropped his hands. "I apologize for Johnny, once again. He knows he's got no chance, it just takes him a while to remember it."

Johnny grumbled and folded his arms across his chest, his scowl darkening at the smile Anastasia was giving Robert. Tala chuckled and turned to Kai, talking to him quietly She ignored them all and focused on Robert's polite smile. "I didn't know you'd all be here," she confessed. "Is Oliver here too? And Enrique?"

"You don't have to be friends with Tala to get invited to one of these," shrugged Robert. "We thought we should at least experience one of his parties. They're around here somewhere, they'll be pleased to see you again."

"I'm dying to see them again, it's been so long," said Anastasia. Kai's hand was still on her waist, she could feel his touch burning her skin even through the fabric of her dress. It was getting very hard to ignore him. "When did you guys get here? You should have called me!"

"I confess I didn't now you'd be here until Johnny picked up a magazine at the airport," admitted Robert. Anastasia saw his eyes flicker between her and Kai, and the obvious closeness displayed there. He politely didn't ask any questions, because he was Robert and he had the manners of another century, but Johnny didn't.

"Yeah, we saw that article. Are you two dating or not?" he asked bluntly. Anastasia didn't dare to look at Kai, but she felt his grip on her waist tighten.

She sighed, knowing where his line of questioning was going. "It doesn't matter, because the answer is still no, Johnny."

Tala cut off his conversation when he heard her speak and turned to look at the other redhead, raising an eyebrow. "Really, McGregor? Does she need to kick you in the balls before you get that she isn't interested?"

"Tala," warned Anastasia. She knew Johnny's temper. Getting rejected by her was one thing, but he wouldn't take kindly to someone else embarrassing him.

And she was right. Johnny took a step forward until he was practically in Tala's face, sneering. "What're you going to do about it, Ivanov? You want her? Didn't know you and Hiwatari were that close, but I'm not surprised."

Tala's face was thunderous, and he lunged at Johnny, but Anastasia grabbed his arm, using all her strength to hold him back. She wasn't nearly strong enough to succeed, but Tala clearly didn't want to hurt her by pulling away roughly, so he allowed her to hold him back. Before Johnny could retaliate, Robert cut in. "Johnny, shut up," he looked at Anastasia apologetically and grabbed his friend's shoulder. "You've had too much to drink, as usual. Apologize to Anastasia."

Johnny scoffed. "Yeah, right. I'm going."

He turned and walked away, and Anastasia breathed a sigh of relief. Robert apologized and promised he'd be back soon as he followed his team-mate, no doubt to make sure he didn't do anything stupid.

Anastasia waited until they were out of sight, and then turned to Tala and smacked his chest. "You don't get to start fights at your own party!" she scolded. "What were you going to do, punch him?"

"Break his jaw, probably," grumbled Tala. "How d'you know him anyway? And what the hell did you do, hypnotize the guy or something?"

"He's been trying to hire me for years, you idiot, he only flirts with me because he thinks that's the way to do it," Anastasia rolled her eyes. "I can handle him, I've been saying no since we first met. He's probably just annoyed because I'm working for Kai now."

"Speaking of Kai," Tala narrowed his eyes and looked around. "Where the hell did he go? Why did I have to defend your honour when he should have been doing it?"

"What do you mean where…" Anastasia trailed off when she realized that Tala was right – Kai was gone. She frowned. He had definitely been standing next to her when Johnny and Robert had arrived. Had he left before he had heard Johnny say those things? She hoped he had. "He probably just –" a loud crash interrupted her, and her eyes widened slightly when she heard the tell-tale sounds of a fight coming from the next room. A few people looked around in confusion, but no one paid it much attention. From across the room, Anastasia saw Ray suddenly get up from next to a pink-haired girl and head towards a door next to the bar, quickly followed by Tyson and Oliver, another one of the Majestics. She saw a girl in a red dress follow them, and realized it was probably Hilary, whom she hadn't seen yet. Anastasia grabbed Tala's arm before he could follow. "Kai wouldn't do something stupid, right?" she asked, a desperate tinge to her voice.

Tala gave her an unintelligible look. "For you? He would."