Happy Valentine's day everyone! This story marks the first of my
Valentine's day fics. It is an alternate version of lasts years 'Blood
Valentine' only. . . without a psychotic Kai, and all the death. This time,
it's more focused on Rei's and Mariah's relationship to begin with, and
explores what love really is . . sounds deep, doesn't it? Well, I dunno.
Make your own opinions, but please leave a review with them. Thanks a ton
guys, chocolate for all! =p
XxXxXxXxXx
//This world This world is cold But you You don't have to go//
"Expect more snow tomorrow. Folks, it looks almost certain that we'll be getting more snow tomorrow than we're used to, so be ready." The weatherman dutifully reads his report to the people over the TV, over the radio. "Wear warm clothes as the high is going to be three degrees, with the wind chill bringing it down to well below zero."
The TV is turned off, the radio turned down to almost nothingness. A blanket of quiet settles around everything, softly. A girl, clothed in a white tank top and pink sweatpants, matching her pink hair, which is pulled back into a low ponytail. She looks around sadly. She can feel it. She can always feel it, even when he's not around.
She tries so hard, she tries as hard as she can, but it doesn't seem to be working. He goes out with her, any day, any time, anywhere. But, unlike her, he just doesn't always seem into it. She knows that deep down, he must like another. It's not her. He has a more, mutual attraction to her because she's pretty and smart.
She brushes her hair that has fallen loose behind her ear, and sighs. All around her, even though she's alone, she can feel other people. Other people in their relationships that just work out so well and they're so in love and it's not her and him. They are good friends, that's all.
The TV is black; it mocks her. Black, the colour of the death, black roses, bad relationships. She knows tomorrow is Valentine's Day, and so many people will be out having fun. She and him have plans, but it's not romantic; they're just going to go out to eat, that's all. Everyone else today is probably buying boxes of chocolates, roses, stuff like that. Stuff for the people they care about. She cares about him. He cares about her. But there is no returning love from him.
Sadly, she goes to put on her coat. It doesn't matter to her in the end, even if he does like someone else, as long as she can be with him. In the end, it might kill her, but she's going to do it anyway. She just loves him, and that's all there is to it. Love is nothing something she can just push away, no matter how hard she tries.
She's going to go the store and get a box of chocolates for him, maybe a rose. Anything to try to let him know that she'd like more than a great friendship. She doubts it'll work, but in her mind, it's not as if she has any other choices. How could something that should be so right – two childhood friends becoming more – work out so wrong?
It's hard for her to say whether or not she can tell who he really likes. He's actually fairly quiet about emotions besides crushes. Like that crush he had on a movie star for awhile. But he's older now, mature. He hides what he likes, but is still very outgoing and friendly. She opens the door to the street and decides to walk to the store. It is only a few blocks away, and besides, it's not that cold yet. Her green eyes have just a touch of sadness in them as she watches happy couples walk down store aisles together.
//You're feeling sad, you're feeling lonely, and no one seems to care//
Pushing her sadness away, she goes to the counter to pay for the box of chocolates and gets ready to go back outside. Her mind is millions of miles elsewhere, thinking so hard about him, not paying attention to anything else.
Her mind is so else where that when they come out in front of her, she doesn't realize to bother to be scared. It is only when they tie a gag around her mouth tightly and then she doesn't even have time to scream.
XxXxXxXxXx
He sits at home, quietly. "Bringing it well below zero," he hears come from the TV, and he clicks off the cheerful weatherman's face, staring at his reflection in the TV. Brown eyes stare back at him. He sighs. There's something just not right now. He doesn't know what it is. He knows that he's going to be staying up again tonight. Sleep eludes him so often.
It has to do with her. She is so nice to him. He feels for her deeply. He doesn't know why it keeps him up at night. He thinks he loves her. He thinks that maybe she doesn't, and that is why he can't sleep. But tomorrow is going to be Valentine's day, and he hopes that spending time with her will help him. He stares at nothing, and sighs.
Slowly he gathers up the energy to get up and turn on the TV again, changing to a random channel. He watches pointless new for half an hour before a breaking news report is broadcast.
The reports seem to positively buzz with the excitement of this new report.
"Reports have come in about a kidnapping occurring just fifteen minutes ago," one of the reporters breathlessly informed everyone. With long curly blonde hair, it was almost hard for him to take her seriously. But he listened anyway. "The person kidnapped has yet to be identified, but eyewitnesses tell us that the girl, about age 16 or 17, had long pink hair and was wearing pink sweatpants with a pink coat."
His breath catches in his throat for a moment. The person they described sounds exactly like . . .
"Name unconfirmed so far, but the name 'Mariah' has come up," the reporter continues.
His breath doesn't just catch in his throat this time. He has to stare openmouthed at the TV for what feels like a full five minutes before he can breathe again.
"Unfortunately, those are all the details we have at the moment, but as this kidnapping seems to be rather erratically planned, the police are already on it. Speculation is that some old Beyblading fans might be a bit upset with Mariah's disappearance from the sport. We will have more details in a short while."
He stares at the TV, in shock. Almost in awe that something like this can really happen. Can it? It appears that it is right now, and he doesn't know what to do. Slowly, he gets up and goes to the telephone. He dials a number that he knows by heart, and calls his friend. Kai. He's been friends with Kai since they were on the same Beyblading team. Kai doesn't ever say much, but he's just always there. Silent, but comforting. And right now, he needs someone to talk to.
"Hello?" Kai picks up on the second ring. Always on top of things.
"Kai?"
"Rei?" Kai says, recognizing the voice on the other end.
"Yeah, it's me," Rei says softly. "Can you come over?"
"What's the problem?" Kai replies, although his tone indicates he'll be right over.
"Just come over, please," Rei says, and then hangs up.
He sits back down in front of the TV. He has nothing better to do then sit and watch the news until something new comes on.
//Your mother's gone and your father hits you It's pain you cannot bear//
Kai hurries over as fast as he can, knowing that when Rei is so emotionless like this, it is not a good thing at all. He knocks on the door and has to wait a long minute before Rei comes to the door and opens it slowly, looking lost and dazed.
"What's wrong?" Kai asks again.
Rei says nothing, but leads him to the TV, where the blonde reporter is back on the screen. She still looks breathlessly excited, but even less so now. "Police have already been able to do a lot of tracking! We have on the scene reporters now there, so let's switch to them. Tyson?"
Kai and Rei are only slightly surprised to see their friend on TV. They've been keeping in touch with him, and know of his job as an on-scene reporter. Both Tyson and Max are in the reporting careers, and convinced Kenny to be too; he works on getting information for them. He may yet become a CIA agent.
"Hi guys, we're here at the old alleys. We're investigating a kidnapping of on Mariah, former beyblader for the White Tigers. We're not sure what the motives behind this kidnapping is, but we already have the police talking to the kidnappers."
The screen flashes to a picture of the police talking to a few guys. Nothing is quite understandable. But it is obvious that these guys aren't right in the head, or drunk, because they're turning around and waving and smiling occasionally.
"Where's Mariah?" Rei whispers.
"We've got permission to go inside," Tyson is saying when they look back up at the TV. There is a tiny building that they go into. Inside the building it is dark and grey. There are no windows, but a tiny bit of sun streams in from cracks in the walls. There is a backpack with food, old food, and clothes scattered around the floor. In the far corner of the room is a cot.
It's quite obvious that someone is on the cot, and Tyson goes up to the cot. The person on the cot, is, of course, Mariah. She is lying face down, partially covered with a ratty blanket. Her sweatpants look a bit torn from her obvious struggling to get free (the guys outside are pretty badly bruised as well), and her hair is out of its ponytail, spreading across her back.
"We have found Mariah," Tyson confirms.
"Yes. . ." Rei says. "Please let her be ok." He looks at the screen, begging it to let her be ok. Kai says nothing.
"Mariah? Can you get up?" Tyson asks, going over to her.
"Is she asleep?" comes another voice from one of the other reporters.
Tyson looks carefully at the form of the young women. "It's hard to tell."
"Check her for wounds on the front," suggests the other reporter.
"She might be unconscious, just, right?" Rei says, not to Kai, but to himself. Kai doesn't know what to say. The body looks very still to him, even for an unconscious person.
Tyson goes right up to Mariah and places both his hands on her shoulders, and then turns her over carefully, in case she had been hurt. Instantly, he turns away, and almost throws up.
The cameras cannot be turned off in time; the image is broadcast to every TV, to be stuck in everyone's mind for days to come.
Mariah's throat has been slashed, her hair has covered up the blood, but now it easily seen. Her throat was cut so deep you can see inside it, and blood is still dripping out, onto the already dried blood. She has been stabbed in the front so many times her shirtfront is dyed red. Her face has been cut too, across her cheeks, her lips, her nose. Her eyes are wide open and scared.
"Oh my God!" whispers one of the reporters. The camera is instantly shifted back to another reporter, the flawless blonde.
"Thank you for that report, Tyson," she chokes out. Her face is white, sheet white. "The police will deal with these people as soon as possib-"
She gets cut off, by Tyson's voice. "Can we get back here again, for a moment, Lily?"
The blonde, Lily, nods, not that she can really do much else now. She gives the ok, and they switch back to on the scene. They are outside the building again. Mariah is nowhere to be seen.
"Rei, are you ok?" Kai asks immediately.
Rei can't speak. His eyes are wide, shocked. His stomach turns, and his lunch cannot stay down; he throws up on the floor.
"Rei," Kai says, pulling Rei's hair back. "I'll get you some water."
Kai turns to get up, but Tyson's voice stops him.
"REI!" says Tyson on the screen. "I'm sorry we showed you that! Please forgive us! We're sorry for you!"
Rei has tears in his eyes now, and so does Kai. The reporters switch back to Lily, but not before Tyson's voice is heard again, "We're there for you! Talk to Kai!"
Kai took the remote and clicked off the TV. Once again, the blank, black screen mocks love.
"I'm getting you some water," Kai repeats, and goes into the kitchen, getting a blue glass out and fills it with water. He goes back to where Rei is sitting, staring at the screen. "Here."
Rei takes the glass and forces himself to take a sip. The glass slips from his fingers; his hands shake so badly. It falls to the ground and shatters into large, deep blue shards.
He is shaking all over now, and Kai can't think of anything to do but to hold Rei in a tight embrace. Rei shivers and tries to relax into Kai's arms, but he can't.
"It's ok, Rei, it's ok," Kai says softly. He is lying. Mariah is dead, that's not ok. But what can he say? What can he do?
//But we all bleed the same way as you do And we all have the same things to go through//
"Why wasn't I there for her?" Rei finally says, shaking and with tears all down his face. "I should have been with her, should have done something . . ."
"Rei," Kai says softly, still holding him as though he'll never let go. "Listen to me. What could you have done to stop that?"
"I don't know," Rei admits quietly, but his eyes still look pained, like it was all his fault. Thousands of thoughts fly through his mind, so fast he can't possibly comprehend them all, but they hurt. It feels like it's his fault.
"It's gonna be hard for a bit," Kai says finally, "But it can get better."
//Hold on if you feel like letting go Hold on it gets better than you know//
"If you let it," Kai adds, "It can get better."
"But I wasn't there," Rei says. "I wasn't there."
"What do you want to do about that then?" Kai asks. "They have the people who did it, and those people will be punished."
"It won't bring her back. I want her back," Rei says, almost as if he is ashamed of himself for saying that, but he doesn't know why.
"You can't bring people back to life," Kai states the obvious. "She's gone from this world."
"I can meet her in the next," Rei replies, almost too happily.
Kai stiffens for a fraction of a second when Rei suggests that. "Rei, life is supposed to be just like that."
"Mariah wasn't supposed to die like that," Rei says, blinking back tears again. "She wasn't supposed to die alone, after being stabbed and cut at like that."
//Your days You say they're way too long//
"And how are you supposed to die then, Rei?"
"I don't know," Rei admits, but he looks defiant, "But if I die, I'll be with her." He pauses, and says almost too softly, "Forever. For eternity."
"Forever is . . . well, forever," Kai says, "And Rei, don't you think she'd like it better if you lived out your life before going to her, so you guys will have things to talk about forever than if you just killed yourself now?"
"She'd understand; I want to be with her." Rei says determinedly.
"Romance is only that," Kai says cryptically, and Rei pulls away from Kai. Kai's eyes flicker with pain and hurt as Rei pushes him away.
"What do you mean by that?" Rei asks, almost coldly.
"It's romantic for you to want to kill yourself for her, but can't you show love in other, better ways?" Kai replies.
The word love seems to stun Rei for a moment.
//And your nights You can't sleep at all//
All those nights he stayed up wondering whether or not she loved him. Now he'll never be able to find out, he realizes, unless he does die. What if he kills himself, he wonders, and finds out she didn't love him? Then what will he do for eternity? But at the same time, he wonders about what he feels for her. He wants to be with her right now so bad. Is this love?
Is love something that holds two people together so strongly they can't be apart, or is love something that connects two people together so strongly that even when they're away from each other, they can feel the other person and always be content?
Which one is it, or is it both?
//Hold on//
Right now it hurts being away from her, hurts so bad, that he feels that he could end his life, and even if he stabbed his heart, it wouldn't hurt as much. But he tries, tries hard, to imagine just for a moment, what it would be like if he doesn't end his life now. He will miss her everyday for so long, is it even worth it?
As if he can read Rei's mind, Kai says, "Are you strong enough Rei? Are you strong enough to live by yourself, or will you need someone to lean on?"
"Are you saying that I need to lean on Mariah so badly that that's why I'd kill myself?" Rei accuses. Kai holds back the pain he is feeling. He knows Rei is not exactly himself right now; that he is going through a turmoil of emotions no one should ever have to go through.
"I'm saying now, here, if you have someone to lean on, will that save your life?"
"Save my life? I couldn't save Mariah's, who'd want to save mine?"
"I would."
//And you're not sure what you're waiting for, but you don't want to no more//
Rei pauses, as looks at Kai. No emotions are on Rei's face, but on Kai's face. . . Rei can see sadness, pain, and . . . warmth. He realizes that Kai isn't joking, or just saying this to keep him alive. It's the honest truth.
//And you're not sure what you're looking for, but you don't want to no more//
"God, Kai," Rei chokes out finally. "She wasn't supposed to die like that, please let me fix it and die to be with her. Don't make this so hard on me!"
"If you truly love her," Kai says, reluctantly but firmly, "Then shouldn't it be easy enough that nothing I do or say can make it hard?"
Rei's eyes open wide. He's back to where he started. If he loves Mariah, which path would prove it? Death or . . . living? Dying because he loves her so much it hurts. It hurts to be away from her. He can feel it. The tightening of his chest; the blurring of his vision as tears cloud his eyes. Living, because he loves her so much, he knows that she loves him back and that –
But then it hits him.
"I don't know if she loves me or not!" Rei shouts. "I don't know! She is so nice to me, but sometimes I wonder if it's just like we're really good friends. I like her so much in return, but I can't say I love her if I don't know how she feels."
"And so what do you want?" Kai asks, not sure even himself what he wants the answer to be.
"I want answers," cries out Rei, "I want to know."
"You can't get answers from a dead person," Kai says. He and Rei are both standing, staring at each other. The TV stares at them blankly; it cannot provide answers anymore than the sofa they were sitting on, or the floor they are standing on. "Nothing here can give you answers."
"Yes, something can," Rei says softly. He bends down to the ground and picks up a long, cobalt blue shard of glass from the cup he had dropped earlier. "Death can."
"Will it give you the answers you want?" Kai challenges, picking up his own shard of glass.
Rei looks at Kai, eyes suddenly wide open again. "Kai, what are you doing?"
//But we all bleed the same way as you do And we all have the same things to go through//
"Maybe I'm looking to have my own questions answered," Kai says. "If your theory goes right, shouldn't this answer them?" Without waiting for Rei to reply, he jabs the shard of glass into his arm. When he pulls it out, blood flows freely. "And maybe this will answer them too," He almost growls, trying to ignore the pain that shoots up his arm as he jabs himself again. He can't think about it, or it'll hurt too much, and then he won't be able to help Rei.
"Kai, stop it!" Rei shouts out, "Please, please, stop it!"
Kai glares at Rei now though. "I'm just doing what you suggested. Do you want to know why?" He pauses, holding the shard over his arm for a minute, looking straight at Rei. "Do you want to know why?" he repeats.
Rei almost shies back, startled by the intensity of Kai's glare. But then he stands up straight and looks right back at Kai. "Why? Why are you doing this? Why are you listening to what I say like this?"
"Because you said it," Kai says simply.
"Kai, don't!" Rei cries as Kai is about to stab his arm again. The blood is still flowing freely down his arm. The cuts themselves are not long, but they are deep.
"Why not?"
"Please, please, don't."
"So it's ok for you to, but not me?"
"You have no reason to die! I have every reason!"
"That gives me a reason then, too," Kai says.
//Hold on if you feel like letting go Hold on it gets better than you know//
Rei has tears running down his face again. He doesn't know how he can possibly cry this much, but apparently he can. "What reason does it give you? What reason? There is no reason! There is none at all." He trails off, looking pleadingly at Kai. "Please, there is none."
"Rei, you are the reason," Kai says, "If you die, then by all your theories, I die too. If dying means proving that you love someone . . ." Now Kai trails off, but Rei gets it.
"Oh, Kai, no, please, no . . ." Rei mutters.
"No what?" Kai throws the bloody glass shard on the floor and turns. "I'm going get bandages."
"You trust me not to kill myself now?" Rei asks, wondering what Kai is up to.
"No, I trust though, that you'll think of what will happen if you kill yourself before you do it. And I trust that what you're realize will have you make the right decision. And I trust that enough to let you make whatever decision you want." His back is to Rei, and he is glad, because now tears are running down his face too. He stalks off to the bathroom to wrap up his wounds, leaving Rei in the room, alone.
//Don't stop looking, you're one step closer//
"Now if I die," Rei says out loud, "Kai will kill himself too. I don't want people dying. Over me. It's not right. Mariah, why? Why? I was happy with you, I would have even been happy being just friends with you if that's what you wanted. I don't even know what you thought now. Did you think I loved you or not? Did you love me or not?
"And even now, I don't know what you'd want me to do. I don't know if you'd want me to be with you, or stay here. I don't know if you're scared where you are, I don't know how you felt about death. I don't know so many things, will killing myself really give me all the answers? If I'm dead, I can know whatever I want, but do I want to know it?"
He sits down on the floor, and looks up at the ceiling, his eyes clear of tears. "Do I love you enough that I want to be with you? Do I love you enough I can be without you and wait . . . or . . . do I just like you enough that I can wait to see you again? If I truly loved you, would I be dead by now? It confuses me so much, love. I don't know. I just don't know."
//Don't stop searching, it's not over//
Rei lies on the ground and hugs his knees to his chest. "I just don't know," he repeats, sadly, to himself. "Why does Kai do this to me? How does he do it to me is probably the better question."
He can see the blood on the ground where Kai was standing. There is a lot of blood on the floor. He hopes that Kai will be alright, but he just does not have the energy to get up right now. He's shakes violently again.
//Hold on//
Suddenly warm hands wrap around his body, and Rei feels himself being pulled up, into a comforting hug. He looks behind him and sees Kai's face. Kai's arm is covered in bandages that are already stained red, but Rei isn't worried for the moment. He relaxes into the hug this time.
"I knew you would make the right decision," says Kai, as he hugs Rei tightly.
"What is the right decision?" replies Rei, "I'm not quite sure anymore."
"The right decision is. . . whatever you choose. Because I believe that you know the right decision. I believe you knew it all along." Kai says.
"I don't know though," Rei says, but now he is calm. "I want to know what love is." He pauses. "I want to know if what I feel for Mariah is love, or friendship . . ." He looks at Kai. "Do you know what love is? What kind connection is it? How do you know you're in love?"
Kai looks straight ahead, at nothingness. He, too, is calm. "I don't know . . ." He says slowly.
//What are you looking for?//
"There are so many different ways to look at it. Some people believe in soul mates, and that when you meet your soul mate, you'll know and you'll feel a connection. But no one can explain the connection. These people believe that no matter where your soul mate is, you can feel them, and it gives you comfort. Those people would say that if Mariah is your soul mate, you would still feel her, even now."
Rei opens his mouth to speak, but Kai continus on, gently pressing a finger to Rei's lips to have him be quiet.
"Other people will say that love is a feeling so deep that you when you're not around the person you love, you feel pain and hurt, because you can't be with them. Those people would say that you should have killed yourself."
"So since I didn't . . . "Rei says slowly, "Does that mean Mariah is my soul mate, or that I think I have a different soul mate?"
"That, Rei," Kai replies, "Is only something you can answer."
//What are you waiting for?//
"I don't know. . . "Rei says even slower. "It's just that . . . I don't . . . she and I . . . we were so . . . "
"You did love her, didn't you?" Kai says, his heart falling, his eyes clouding with pain, but he doesn't sound remorseful. Whatever Rei picks is what he picks.
"I . . . "
"Whatever you say Rei, just let it be what you truly feel. You don't have to lie to me about anything, ever," Kai says, looking Rei straight in the eyes. It hurts him so much to even think that maybe, just maybe, Rei does love Mariah, but he has to trust his instincts.
//Do you know what you're doing to me? Go ahead . . . What are you waiting for?//
"Mariah has always been my friend, since I was a little kid. We did all sorts of things together; we grew up together. Almost all our time was spent with each other," Rei says softly.
Kai almost flinches. He can tell were this is going. But he doesn't want Rei to know how he feels. This has to be Rei's choice, or he'll never heal. Kai looks down at his arm. The blood has started flowing again; the bandages are becoming bright red again instead of the deep dark red of dried blood. It hurts, but not as much as his heart is starting to hurt.
"She and Lee. . . they were always around. . . and . . . I think . . ." He trails off, not sure how to put his thoughts into words. He wants to explain to Kai that he thinks he was just really good friends with Mariah, and he thinks that they had thought maybe it would go further, but they were only like brother and sister.
Kai doesn't know what to expect, but he expects the worse when Rei opens his mouth again. "Mariah and I are more like brother and sister than anything else," He finally says, and Kai almost immediately feels like crying with happiness.
"Honestly?" Kai replies, not wanting to get his hopes up.
"Honestly," Rei confirms. "I guess we figured that, we were childhood friends, so why not go out? It seemed like the perfect set-up. And so we both tried so hard to make it work out. And look were we ended up. She's dead Kai, she's dead. And gone. And I'll never be able to tell her I'm sorry for it all. I never got to . . . I didn't . . ."
//Hold on if you feel like letting go Hold on it gets better than you know//
Kai can tell Rei is getting worked up again; Rei turns around and sits facing Kai. "Why didn't I tell her? Why was I so stupid?"
"How are you stupid?" Kai asks immediately. "You guys both thought it would work out, so you were only doing what you thought was best."
"But . . . I shouldn't have done this to her . . . she's dead now, and . . ."
"Rei, please don't start again, it's ok, it's ok," Kai says softly, trying to calm Rei down.
"But it's not ok, why did I do this?"
"It's not your fault."
"But it is, it's all my fault, she'll never find her soul mate now and –"
Kai gently cuts Rei off. "Rei, you believe in soul mates?"
"Yeah, I do, but what's that gotta do with anything? I mean, Kai, I did this to her and –"
Once again, Kai cuts Rei off. "What do you believe about soul mates? Do you believe that soul mates will always end up together?"
"Well, yes, but . . ." Rei trails off, and then picks up again, "I mean. . . in life, they can meet each other, but what about death?"
"Why couldn't they meet in death? If they're truly soul mates, won't they be drawn to each other?"
"But, I . . . how will she . . . ?" Rei looks so sad now; it hurts Kai to look at his eyes.
//Don't stop looking, you're one step closer//
"Ask yourself. Don't you believe that after death soul mates find each other?" Kai asks.
". . . yes, they do," Rei answers.
"There you are then." Kai smiles. "Rei, Mariah is gonna do fine in her afterlife, I'm sure."
Rei pauses for a moment, and then smiles back at Kai, "I think you're right." But then he frowns again. "But . . . I still feel . . . like there's something I could have done."
//Don't stop searching, it's not over//
"There's nothing you could have done," Kai tells Rei. "Please be ok?"
Rei stares off into space for a moment, and sighs. Why does life have to be like this? He could almost laugh. Tomorrow it would have been a supposedly perfect day, but what ended up happening today was anything less than perfect. Rei didn't want something this big, Mariah dying, just to show that they didn't love each other, but it happened, and now what can he do about it?
He just knows that Mariah would want him to go on with his life now, he's sure of it. It's almost like a weight has been lifted from his chest when he realizes this. And he knows that Mariah doesn't blame him now.
//Hold on if you feel like letting go Hold on it gets better than you know//
"Rei?" Kai asks, looking at Rei.
"Yeah?"
"What are you thinking?"
Rei pauses for a long moment.
"I'm thinking that . . . I miss Mariah a ton right now, and it hurts . . . "He looks at Kai and smiles. "But thanks so much for . . . coming over and stuff so suddenly this afternoon and . . ."
He pauses again and blushes slightly. "I don't want to . . . sound . . . I dunno. . . like I don't care about Mariah anymore, because she still is like my sister . . . but is because of that . . . I feel that I can say this . . ."
"Say what?"
"Kai. . . will you be my valentine?"
Kai just smiled, and leaned towards Rei, so they could share their first kiss.
//Hold on//
Oh geez, that got sappy! I was so trying for a depressing type piece, but I guess my love of Valentine's day will not let me do that. So it ended up with sap. Lots of sap. I hope you guys still liked it ^^;;
XxXxXxXxXx
//This world This world is cold But you You don't have to go//
"Expect more snow tomorrow. Folks, it looks almost certain that we'll be getting more snow tomorrow than we're used to, so be ready." The weatherman dutifully reads his report to the people over the TV, over the radio. "Wear warm clothes as the high is going to be three degrees, with the wind chill bringing it down to well below zero."
The TV is turned off, the radio turned down to almost nothingness. A blanket of quiet settles around everything, softly. A girl, clothed in a white tank top and pink sweatpants, matching her pink hair, which is pulled back into a low ponytail. She looks around sadly. She can feel it. She can always feel it, even when he's not around.
She tries so hard, she tries as hard as she can, but it doesn't seem to be working. He goes out with her, any day, any time, anywhere. But, unlike her, he just doesn't always seem into it. She knows that deep down, he must like another. It's not her. He has a more, mutual attraction to her because she's pretty and smart.
She brushes her hair that has fallen loose behind her ear, and sighs. All around her, even though she's alone, she can feel other people. Other people in their relationships that just work out so well and they're so in love and it's not her and him. They are good friends, that's all.
The TV is black; it mocks her. Black, the colour of the death, black roses, bad relationships. She knows tomorrow is Valentine's Day, and so many people will be out having fun. She and him have plans, but it's not romantic; they're just going to go out to eat, that's all. Everyone else today is probably buying boxes of chocolates, roses, stuff like that. Stuff for the people they care about. She cares about him. He cares about her. But there is no returning love from him.
Sadly, she goes to put on her coat. It doesn't matter to her in the end, even if he does like someone else, as long as she can be with him. In the end, it might kill her, but she's going to do it anyway. She just loves him, and that's all there is to it. Love is nothing something she can just push away, no matter how hard she tries.
She's going to go the store and get a box of chocolates for him, maybe a rose. Anything to try to let him know that she'd like more than a great friendship. She doubts it'll work, but in her mind, it's not as if she has any other choices. How could something that should be so right – two childhood friends becoming more – work out so wrong?
It's hard for her to say whether or not she can tell who he really likes. He's actually fairly quiet about emotions besides crushes. Like that crush he had on a movie star for awhile. But he's older now, mature. He hides what he likes, but is still very outgoing and friendly. She opens the door to the street and decides to walk to the store. It is only a few blocks away, and besides, it's not that cold yet. Her green eyes have just a touch of sadness in them as she watches happy couples walk down store aisles together.
//You're feeling sad, you're feeling lonely, and no one seems to care//
Pushing her sadness away, she goes to the counter to pay for the box of chocolates and gets ready to go back outside. Her mind is millions of miles elsewhere, thinking so hard about him, not paying attention to anything else.
Her mind is so else where that when they come out in front of her, she doesn't realize to bother to be scared. It is only when they tie a gag around her mouth tightly and then she doesn't even have time to scream.
XxXxXxXxXx
He sits at home, quietly. "Bringing it well below zero," he hears come from the TV, and he clicks off the cheerful weatherman's face, staring at his reflection in the TV. Brown eyes stare back at him. He sighs. There's something just not right now. He doesn't know what it is. He knows that he's going to be staying up again tonight. Sleep eludes him so often.
It has to do with her. She is so nice to him. He feels for her deeply. He doesn't know why it keeps him up at night. He thinks he loves her. He thinks that maybe she doesn't, and that is why he can't sleep. But tomorrow is going to be Valentine's day, and he hopes that spending time with her will help him. He stares at nothing, and sighs.
Slowly he gathers up the energy to get up and turn on the TV again, changing to a random channel. He watches pointless new for half an hour before a breaking news report is broadcast.
The reports seem to positively buzz with the excitement of this new report.
"Reports have come in about a kidnapping occurring just fifteen minutes ago," one of the reporters breathlessly informed everyone. With long curly blonde hair, it was almost hard for him to take her seriously. But he listened anyway. "The person kidnapped has yet to be identified, but eyewitnesses tell us that the girl, about age 16 or 17, had long pink hair and was wearing pink sweatpants with a pink coat."
His breath catches in his throat for a moment. The person they described sounds exactly like . . .
"Name unconfirmed so far, but the name 'Mariah' has come up," the reporter continues.
His breath doesn't just catch in his throat this time. He has to stare openmouthed at the TV for what feels like a full five minutes before he can breathe again.
"Unfortunately, those are all the details we have at the moment, but as this kidnapping seems to be rather erratically planned, the police are already on it. Speculation is that some old Beyblading fans might be a bit upset with Mariah's disappearance from the sport. We will have more details in a short while."
He stares at the TV, in shock. Almost in awe that something like this can really happen. Can it? It appears that it is right now, and he doesn't know what to do. Slowly, he gets up and goes to the telephone. He dials a number that he knows by heart, and calls his friend. Kai. He's been friends with Kai since they were on the same Beyblading team. Kai doesn't ever say much, but he's just always there. Silent, but comforting. And right now, he needs someone to talk to.
"Hello?" Kai picks up on the second ring. Always on top of things.
"Kai?"
"Rei?" Kai says, recognizing the voice on the other end.
"Yeah, it's me," Rei says softly. "Can you come over?"
"What's the problem?" Kai replies, although his tone indicates he'll be right over.
"Just come over, please," Rei says, and then hangs up.
He sits back down in front of the TV. He has nothing better to do then sit and watch the news until something new comes on.
//Your mother's gone and your father hits you It's pain you cannot bear//
Kai hurries over as fast as he can, knowing that when Rei is so emotionless like this, it is not a good thing at all. He knocks on the door and has to wait a long minute before Rei comes to the door and opens it slowly, looking lost and dazed.
"What's wrong?" Kai asks again.
Rei says nothing, but leads him to the TV, where the blonde reporter is back on the screen. She still looks breathlessly excited, but even less so now. "Police have already been able to do a lot of tracking! We have on the scene reporters now there, so let's switch to them. Tyson?"
Kai and Rei are only slightly surprised to see their friend on TV. They've been keeping in touch with him, and know of his job as an on-scene reporter. Both Tyson and Max are in the reporting careers, and convinced Kenny to be too; he works on getting information for them. He may yet become a CIA agent.
"Hi guys, we're here at the old alleys. We're investigating a kidnapping of on Mariah, former beyblader for the White Tigers. We're not sure what the motives behind this kidnapping is, but we already have the police talking to the kidnappers."
The screen flashes to a picture of the police talking to a few guys. Nothing is quite understandable. But it is obvious that these guys aren't right in the head, or drunk, because they're turning around and waving and smiling occasionally.
"Where's Mariah?" Rei whispers.
"We've got permission to go inside," Tyson is saying when they look back up at the TV. There is a tiny building that they go into. Inside the building it is dark and grey. There are no windows, but a tiny bit of sun streams in from cracks in the walls. There is a backpack with food, old food, and clothes scattered around the floor. In the far corner of the room is a cot.
It's quite obvious that someone is on the cot, and Tyson goes up to the cot. The person on the cot, is, of course, Mariah. She is lying face down, partially covered with a ratty blanket. Her sweatpants look a bit torn from her obvious struggling to get free (the guys outside are pretty badly bruised as well), and her hair is out of its ponytail, spreading across her back.
"We have found Mariah," Tyson confirms.
"Yes. . ." Rei says. "Please let her be ok." He looks at the screen, begging it to let her be ok. Kai says nothing.
"Mariah? Can you get up?" Tyson asks, going over to her.
"Is she asleep?" comes another voice from one of the other reporters.
Tyson looks carefully at the form of the young women. "It's hard to tell."
"Check her for wounds on the front," suggests the other reporter.
"She might be unconscious, just, right?" Rei says, not to Kai, but to himself. Kai doesn't know what to say. The body looks very still to him, even for an unconscious person.
Tyson goes right up to Mariah and places both his hands on her shoulders, and then turns her over carefully, in case she had been hurt. Instantly, he turns away, and almost throws up.
The cameras cannot be turned off in time; the image is broadcast to every TV, to be stuck in everyone's mind for days to come.
Mariah's throat has been slashed, her hair has covered up the blood, but now it easily seen. Her throat was cut so deep you can see inside it, and blood is still dripping out, onto the already dried blood. She has been stabbed in the front so many times her shirtfront is dyed red. Her face has been cut too, across her cheeks, her lips, her nose. Her eyes are wide open and scared.
"Oh my God!" whispers one of the reporters. The camera is instantly shifted back to another reporter, the flawless blonde.
"Thank you for that report, Tyson," she chokes out. Her face is white, sheet white. "The police will deal with these people as soon as possib-"
She gets cut off, by Tyson's voice. "Can we get back here again, for a moment, Lily?"
The blonde, Lily, nods, not that she can really do much else now. She gives the ok, and they switch back to on the scene. They are outside the building again. Mariah is nowhere to be seen.
"Rei, are you ok?" Kai asks immediately.
Rei can't speak. His eyes are wide, shocked. His stomach turns, and his lunch cannot stay down; he throws up on the floor.
"Rei," Kai says, pulling Rei's hair back. "I'll get you some water."
Kai turns to get up, but Tyson's voice stops him.
"REI!" says Tyson on the screen. "I'm sorry we showed you that! Please forgive us! We're sorry for you!"
Rei has tears in his eyes now, and so does Kai. The reporters switch back to Lily, but not before Tyson's voice is heard again, "We're there for you! Talk to Kai!"
Kai took the remote and clicked off the TV. Once again, the blank, black screen mocks love.
"I'm getting you some water," Kai repeats, and goes into the kitchen, getting a blue glass out and fills it with water. He goes back to where Rei is sitting, staring at the screen. "Here."
Rei takes the glass and forces himself to take a sip. The glass slips from his fingers; his hands shake so badly. It falls to the ground and shatters into large, deep blue shards.
He is shaking all over now, and Kai can't think of anything to do but to hold Rei in a tight embrace. Rei shivers and tries to relax into Kai's arms, but he can't.
"It's ok, Rei, it's ok," Kai says softly. He is lying. Mariah is dead, that's not ok. But what can he say? What can he do?
//But we all bleed the same way as you do And we all have the same things to go through//
"Why wasn't I there for her?" Rei finally says, shaking and with tears all down his face. "I should have been with her, should have done something . . ."
"Rei," Kai says softly, still holding him as though he'll never let go. "Listen to me. What could you have done to stop that?"
"I don't know," Rei admits quietly, but his eyes still look pained, like it was all his fault. Thousands of thoughts fly through his mind, so fast he can't possibly comprehend them all, but they hurt. It feels like it's his fault.
"It's gonna be hard for a bit," Kai says finally, "But it can get better."
//Hold on if you feel like letting go Hold on it gets better than you know//
"If you let it," Kai adds, "It can get better."
"But I wasn't there," Rei says. "I wasn't there."
"What do you want to do about that then?" Kai asks. "They have the people who did it, and those people will be punished."
"It won't bring her back. I want her back," Rei says, almost as if he is ashamed of himself for saying that, but he doesn't know why.
"You can't bring people back to life," Kai states the obvious. "She's gone from this world."
"I can meet her in the next," Rei replies, almost too happily.
Kai stiffens for a fraction of a second when Rei suggests that. "Rei, life is supposed to be just like that."
"Mariah wasn't supposed to die like that," Rei says, blinking back tears again. "She wasn't supposed to die alone, after being stabbed and cut at like that."
//Your days You say they're way too long//
"And how are you supposed to die then, Rei?"
"I don't know," Rei admits, but he looks defiant, "But if I die, I'll be with her." He pauses, and says almost too softly, "Forever. For eternity."
"Forever is . . . well, forever," Kai says, "And Rei, don't you think she'd like it better if you lived out your life before going to her, so you guys will have things to talk about forever than if you just killed yourself now?"
"She'd understand; I want to be with her." Rei says determinedly.
"Romance is only that," Kai says cryptically, and Rei pulls away from Kai. Kai's eyes flicker with pain and hurt as Rei pushes him away.
"What do you mean by that?" Rei asks, almost coldly.
"It's romantic for you to want to kill yourself for her, but can't you show love in other, better ways?" Kai replies.
The word love seems to stun Rei for a moment.
//And your nights You can't sleep at all//
All those nights he stayed up wondering whether or not she loved him. Now he'll never be able to find out, he realizes, unless he does die. What if he kills himself, he wonders, and finds out she didn't love him? Then what will he do for eternity? But at the same time, he wonders about what he feels for her. He wants to be with her right now so bad. Is this love?
Is love something that holds two people together so strongly they can't be apart, or is love something that connects two people together so strongly that even when they're away from each other, they can feel the other person and always be content?
Which one is it, or is it both?
//Hold on//
Right now it hurts being away from her, hurts so bad, that he feels that he could end his life, and even if he stabbed his heart, it wouldn't hurt as much. But he tries, tries hard, to imagine just for a moment, what it would be like if he doesn't end his life now. He will miss her everyday for so long, is it even worth it?
As if he can read Rei's mind, Kai says, "Are you strong enough Rei? Are you strong enough to live by yourself, or will you need someone to lean on?"
"Are you saying that I need to lean on Mariah so badly that that's why I'd kill myself?" Rei accuses. Kai holds back the pain he is feeling. He knows Rei is not exactly himself right now; that he is going through a turmoil of emotions no one should ever have to go through.
"I'm saying now, here, if you have someone to lean on, will that save your life?"
"Save my life? I couldn't save Mariah's, who'd want to save mine?"
"I would."
//And you're not sure what you're waiting for, but you don't want to no more//
Rei pauses, as looks at Kai. No emotions are on Rei's face, but on Kai's face. . . Rei can see sadness, pain, and . . . warmth. He realizes that Kai isn't joking, or just saying this to keep him alive. It's the honest truth.
//And you're not sure what you're looking for, but you don't want to no more//
"God, Kai," Rei chokes out finally. "She wasn't supposed to die like that, please let me fix it and die to be with her. Don't make this so hard on me!"
"If you truly love her," Kai says, reluctantly but firmly, "Then shouldn't it be easy enough that nothing I do or say can make it hard?"
Rei's eyes open wide. He's back to where he started. If he loves Mariah, which path would prove it? Death or . . . living? Dying because he loves her so much it hurts. It hurts to be away from her. He can feel it. The tightening of his chest; the blurring of his vision as tears cloud his eyes. Living, because he loves her so much, he knows that she loves him back and that –
But then it hits him.
"I don't know if she loves me or not!" Rei shouts. "I don't know! She is so nice to me, but sometimes I wonder if it's just like we're really good friends. I like her so much in return, but I can't say I love her if I don't know how she feels."
"And so what do you want?" Kai asks, not sure even himself what he wants the answer to be.
"I want answers," cries out Rei, "I want to know."
"You can't get answers from a dead person," Kai says. He and Rei are both standing, staring at each other. The TV stares at them blankly; it cannot provide answers anymore than the sofa they were sitting on, or the floor they are standing on. "Nothing here can give you answers."
"Yes, something can," Rei says softly. He bends down to the ground and picks up a long, cobalt blue shard of glass from the cup he had dropped earlier. "Death can."
"Will it give you the answers you want?" Kai challenges, picking up his own shard of glass.
Rei looks at Kai, eyes suddenly wide open again. "Kai, what are you doing?"
//But we all bleed the same way as you do And we all have the same things to go through//
"Maybe I'm looking to have my own questions answered," Kai says. "If your theory goes right, shouldn't this answer them?" Without waiting for Rei to reply, he jabs the shard of glass into his arm. When he pulls it out, blood flows freely. "And maybe this will answer them too," He almost growls, trying to ignore the pain that shoots up his arm as he jabs himself again. He can't think about it, or it'll hurt too much, and then he won't be able to help Rei.
"Kai, stop it!" Rei shouts out, "Please, please, stop it!"
Kai glares at Rei now though. "I'm just doing what you suggested. Do you want to know why?" He pauses, holding the shard over his arm for a minute, looking straight at Rei. "Do you want to know why?" he repeats.
Rei almost shies back, startled by the intensity of Kai's glare. But then he stands up straight and looks right back at Kai. "Why? Why are you doing this? Why are you listening to what I say like this?"
"Because you said it," Kai says simply.
"Kai, don't!" Rei cries as Kai is about to stab his arm again. The blood is still flowing freely down his arm. The cuts themselves are not long, but they are deep.
"Why not?"
"Please, please, don't."
"So it's ok for you to, but not me?"
"You have no reason to die! I have every reason!"
"That gives me a reason then, too," Kai says.
//Hold on if you feel like letting go Hold on it gets better than you know//
Rei has tears running down his face again. He doesn't know how he can possibly cry this much, but apparently he can. "What reason does it give you? What reason? There is no reason! There is none at all." He trails off, looking pleadingly at Kai. "Please, there is none."
"Rei, you are the reason," Kai says, "If you die, then by all your theories, I die too. If dying means proving that you love someone . . ." Now Kai trails off, but Rei gets it.
"Oh, Kai, no, please, no . . ." Rei mutters.
"No what?" Kai throws the bloody glass shard on the floor and turns. "I'm going get bandages."
"You trust me not to kill myself now?" Rei asks, wondering what Kai is up to.
"No, I trust though, that you'll think of what will happen if you kill yourself before you do it. And I trust that what you're realize will have you make the right decision. And I trust that enough to let you make whatever decision you want." His back is to Rei, and he is glad, because now tears are running down his face too. He stalks off to the bathroom to wrap up his wounds, leaving Rei in the room, alone.
//Don't stop looking, you're one step closer//
"Now if I die," Rei says out loud, "Kai will kill himself too. I don't want people dying. Over me. It's not right. Mariah, why? Why? I was happy with you, I would have even been happy being just friends with you if that's what you wanted. I don't even know what you thought now. Did you think I loved you or not? Did you love me or not?
"And even now, I don't know what you'd want me to do. I don't know if you'd want me to be with you, or stay here. I don't know if you're scared where you are, I don't know how you felt about death. I don't know so many things, will killing myself really give me all the answers? If I'm dead, I can know whatever I want, but do I want to know it?"
He sits down on the floor, and looks up at the ceiling, his eyes clear of tears. "Do I love you enough that I want to be with you? Do I love you enough I can be without you and wait . . . or . . . do I just like you enough that I can wait to see you again? If I truly loved you, would I be dead by now? It confuses me so much, love. I don't know. I just don't know."
//Don't stop searching, it's not over//
Rei lies on the ground and hugs his knees to his chest. "I just don't know," he repeats, sadly, to himself. "Why does Kai do this to me? How does he do it to me is probably the better question."
He can see the blood on the ground where Kai was standing. There is a lot of blood on the floor. He hopes that Kai will be alright, but he just does not have the energy to get up right now. He's shakes violently again.
//Hold on//
Suddenly warm hands wrap around his body, and Rei feels himself being pulled up, into a comforting hug. He looks behind him and sees Kai's face. Kai's arm is covered in bandages that are already stained red, but Rei isn't worried for the moment. He relaxes into the hug this time.
"I knew you would make the right decision," says Kai, as he hugs Rei tightly.
"What is the right decision?" replies Rei, "I'm not quite sure anymore."
"The right decision is. . . whatever you choose. Because I believe that you know the right decision. I believe you knew it all along." Kai says.
"I don't know though," Rei says, but now he is calm. "I want to know what love is." He pauses. "I want to know if what I feel for Mariah is love, or friendship . . ." He looks at Kai. "Do you know what love is? What kind connection is it? How do you know you're in love?"
Kai looks straight ahead, at nothingness. He, too, is calm. "I don't know . . ." He says slowly.
//What are you looking for?//
"There are so many different ways to look at it. Some people believe in soul mates, and that when you meet your soul mate, you'll know and you'll feel a connection. But no one can explain the connection. These people believe that no matter where your soul mate is, you can feel them, and it gives you comfort. Those people would say that if Mariah is your soul mate, you would still feel her, even now."
Rei opens his mouth to speak, but Kai continus on, gently pressing a finger to Rei's lips to have him be quiet.
"Other people will say that love is a feeling so deep that you when you're not around the person you love, you feel pain and hurt, because you can't be with them. Those people would say that you should have killed yourself."
"So since I didn't . . . "Rei says slowly, "Does that mean Mariah is my soul mate, or that I think I have a different soul mate?"
"That, Rei," Kai replies, "Is only something you can answer."
//What are you waiting for?//
"I don't know. . . "Rei says even slower. "It's just that . . . I don't . . . she and I . . . we were so . . . "
"You did love her, didn't you?" Kai says, his heart falling, his eyes clouding with pain, but he doesn't sound remorseful. Whatever Rei picks is what he picks.
"I . . . "
"Whatever you say Rei, just let it be what you truly feel. You don't have to lie to me about anything, ever," Kai says, looking Rei straight in the eyes. It hurts him so much to even think that maybe, just maybe, Rei does love Mariah, but he has to trust his instincts.
//Do you know what you're doing to me? Go ahead . . . What are you waiting for?//
"Mariah has always been my friend, since I was a little kid. We did all sorts of things together; we grew up together. Almost all our time was spent with each other," Rei says softly.
Kai almost flinches. He can tell were this is going. But he doesn't want Rei to know how he feels. This has to be Rei's choice, or he'll never heal. Kai looks down at his arm. The blood has started flowing again; the bandages are becoming bright red again instead of the deep dark red of dried blood. It hurts, but not as much as his heart is starting to hurt.
"She and Lee. . . they were always around. . . and . . . I think . . ." He trails off, not sure how to put his thoughts into words. He wants to explain to Kai that he thinks he was just really good friends with Mariah, and he thinks that they had thought maybe it would go further, but they were only like brother and sister.
Kai doesn't know what to expect, but he expects the worse when Rei opens his mouth again. "Mariah and I are more like brother and sister than anything else," He finally says, and Kai almost immediately feels like crying with happiness.
"Honestly?" Kai replies, not wanting to get his hopes up.
"Honestly," Rei confirms. "I guess we figured that, we were childhood friends, so why not go out? It seemed like the perfect set-up. And so we both tried so hard to make it work out. And look were we ended up. She's dead Kai, she's dead. And gone. And I'll never be able to tell her I'm sorry for it all. I never got to . . . I didn't . . ."
//Hold on if you feel like letting go Hold on it gets better than you know//
Kai can tell Rei is getting worked up again; Rei turns around and sits facing Kai. "Why didn't I tell her? Why was I so stupid?"
"How are you stupid?" Kai asks immediately. "You guys both thought it would work out, so you were only doing what you thought was best."
"But . . . I shouldn't have done this to her . . . she's dead now, and . . ."
"Rei, please don't start again, it's ok, it's ok," Kai says softly, trying to calm Rei down.
"But it's not ok, why did I do this?"
"It's not your fault."
"But it is, it's all my fault, she'll never find her soul mate now and –"
Kai gently cuts Rei off. "Rei, you believe in soul mates?"
"Yeah, I do, but what's that gotta do with anything? I mean, Kai, I did this to her and –"
Once again, Kai cuts Rei off. "What do you believe about soul mates? Do you believe that soul mates will always end up together?"
"Well, yes, but . . ." Rei trails off, and then picks up again, "I mean. . . in life, they can meet each other, but what about death?"
"Why couldn't they meet in death? If they're truly soul mates, won't they be drawn to each other?"
"But, I . . . how will she . . . ?" Rei looks so sad now; it hurts Kai to look at his eyes.
//Don't stop looking, you're one step closer//
"Ask yourself. Don't you believe that after death soul mates find each other?" Kai asks.
". . . yes, they do," Rei answers.
"There you are then." Kai smiles. "Rei, Mariah is gonna do fine in her afterlife, I'm sure."
Rei pauses for a moment, and then smiles back at Kai, "I think you're right." But then he frowns again. "But . . . I still feel . . . like there's something I could have done."
//Don't stop searching, it's not over//
"There's nothing you could have done," Kai tells Rei. "Please be ok?"
Rei stares off into space for a moment, and sighs. Why does life have to be like this? He could almost laugh. Tomorrow it would have been a supposedly perfect day, but what ended up happening today was anything less than perfect. Rei didn't want something this big, Mariah dying, just to show that they didn't love each other, but it happened, and now what can he do about it?
He just knows that Mariah would want him to go on with his life now, he's sure of it. It's almost like a weight has been lifted from his chest when he realizes this. And he knows that Mariah doesn't blame him now.
//Hold on if you feel like letting go Hold on it gets better than you know//
"Rei?" Kai asks, looking at Rei.
"Yeah?"
"What are you thinking?"
Rei pauses for a long moment.
"I'm thinking that . . . I miss Mariah a ton right now, and it hurts . . . "He looks at Kai and smiles. "But thanks so much for . . . coming over and stuff so suddenly this afternoon and . . ."
He pauses again and blushes slightly. "I don't want to . . . sound . . . I dunno. . . like I don't care about Mariah anymore, because she still is like my sister . . . but is because of that . . . I feel that I can say this . . ."
"Say what?"
"Kai. . . will you be my valentine?"
Kai just smiled, and leaned towards Rei, so they could share their first kiss.
//Hold on//
Oh geez, that got sappy! I was so trying for a depressing type piece, but I guess my love of Valentine's day will not let me do that. So it ended up with sap. Lots of sap. I hope you guys still liked it ^^;;