Ugh. This story is moving along way too slowly for my tastes. But I just can't seem to sneak in a TalaKai moment anywhere. I've gone through scenarios over and over in my mind, but all seem too whimsical to actually work.

So, please, bear with me.

CHAPTER TEN - - - - - - - - - -

Exhibit A: The sparker. A very simple device. You squeeze the handle, and a bit of metal rubs against a piece of flint to create a spark. Fairly harmless, and very easy to use.

Exhibit B: The natural gas nozzle. Hook it up to something or other, and flammable gas will flow through the hose. Harmless if used correctly and carefully.

Exhibit C: The Bunsen burner. Easily controlled, as long as one keeps a level head. A simple twist of the wrist can turn a small, orange flare into a blazing white-hot fire. Flammable gas travels through the mechanism's barrel to drift into the air above. Said gas is then set aflame by the sparker's, well, spark.

Now, Takao Kinomiya and Max Mizuhara may not be as retarded as some would think them to be; their common sense is just a little flawed. And so what most chemistry students found deathly easy (namely, lighting their Bunsen burner), the couple somehow managed to turn into a huge, fiery mess.

That is how Bakuten High, on Wednesday, third period, right before lunch, found itself missing a science lab.

It wasn't a great, scorching conflagration, but the little incident was obviously dangerous enough for chemistry class to be cancelled for the rest of the day. Since Kai had chemistry fourth period and a spare the next, he now had two hours to wander around aimlessly with nothing to do.

Take a few steps forward, and several more back...

- - - - - - - - - -

Tala eyed the clock. Was it just him, or was the minute hand not moving at all? A glance around the library where he was spending his fourth period spare told him that yes, it was just him. His friends were too occupied with various assignments and projects that Tala himself had either completed or couldn't rally the presence of mind to give a damn for to care how much time was left in class. Which, incidentally, was about forty more minutes.

Restless, the redhead pushed back his chair and stalked towards the door. A walk would do him good.

- - - - - - - - - -

A figure leaned casually against the wall, arms folded and head lowered. The corridor was empty, and the only sounds were the muffled snippets of lectures that managed to slip past the classroom doors. Perfect.

Kai lowered his right arm to remove his mp3 player from his bag, clipped the headphones onto his ears, and pressed play. And then he was lost to the music.

So lost, in fact, that he didn't hear the approaching footsteps.

- - - - - - - - - -

'Why am I here? I don't have any classes anywhere near this hallway. Hey, wouldn't it be funny if I got lost? Yeah, then I could wander around Bakuten for all eternity as a hobo with my shopping cart of dooooooom... Right, too much coffee.'

Tala ambled through the hall almost drunkenly, the after-effects of caffeine catching up to him and evident in his rambling, disjointed thoughts. 'Aw, get a grip on yourself, Ivanov. You're going to bump into someb—'

"AH! HOLY FLYING CHEESE DOODLES!"

(The exclamation was not very loud, but its context demands capitals, so there ya go.)

There were a few muffled curses and a thud. And then Tala found himself peering down rather stupidly into two dazed crimson orbs. 'Oh, God.'

Fully aware of the lithe, perfect body beneath him and the effects it was having on his mind, Tala tried to push himself off of the downed Hiwatari, but only managed to collapse onto the dual-haired boy further. Said younger teen was fighting to keep the flush off his pale cheeks, as he had just realized that he had unconsciously wrapped his arms about the redhead's waist. Not trusting himself to speak coherently, Kai cleared his throat in what he hoped was an impatient manner.

Taking the hint, Tala threw his weight to the side in an attempt to maneuver his body off of the other youth's. However, his arm slipped and in the space of two seconds, the lips of Tala Ivanov and Kai Hiwatari met in an unintentional kiss. The electrical jolt the contact sparked swept through them both, and panic and surprise completed in three seconds what previous struggles had not.

Watching the other warily from his position on the opposite side of the hall, Kai decided now was a good time to leave. "I'll—I'll see you at practice."

Leaving Tala to watch the adorable red blush that rose on the bluenette's face right before the garnet-eyed junior turned and walked away with all the dignity he could muster.

- - - - - - - - - -

Something had happened. Something big. To most, the change in Tala's demeanor would be imperceptible. Ivan, however, was not like most people, and knew his best friend very, very well.

There was just something... different about Tala right now. Something about how the fingers on his left hand twitched and fidgeted even as he read out the items for today's soccer practice to the assembled players. Something about how he would quickly glance to the right whenever he thought nobody was looking.

Ivan shot Bryan a slightly befuddled look. The lavender-haired senior had known Tala the longest and was particularly perceptive when it came to the redhead. True to form, the taller boy was eying the team captain curiously. Sensing Ivan's unspoken question, Bryan met the indigo-haired youth's eyes and subtly inclined his head in the direction Tala kept glancing in, towards Kai Hiwatari: the new kid seemed to be lost in thought.

The short teen felt his irises widen in shock when he realized what Bryan was implying.

'No. Way. Tala and Kai are together?'

As if reading his friend's thoughts, Bryan slowly shook his head, and mouthed the words, "They should be, though."

'Ah. So he wants to play matchmaker, does he?'

A maniacal cackle threatened to erupt from both boys' throats.

- - - - - - - - - -

"So, who are you going to pick? You know, to replace me after the...?" Bryan allowed his voice to trail off. No point in aggravating Tala with memories of the literally painful accident; not when the redhead needed to be set up with a certain bluenette.

Crystalline eyes were fixed on the field, where most of the team was engaged in a friendly scrimmage. No answer was given in response to the query: the crimson-haired teenager didn't even acknowledge his friend's presence. Bryan only rolled his eyes. Shifting his weight onto his left leg, the pale-eyed youth maneuvered himself so that his injured right ankle didn't get in the way when he moved to sit on the bench.

Finally, the redhead spoke. "We can't use any of the returning players as right forward, they're too familiar with the last year's positions. So that leaves the new offenders. Parker's got talent, and so does Kinomiya. Giordano I'd prefer to leave as a sub, or a midfielder."

Bryan didn't miss the omission. Snickering inwardly, he affected an innocent air. "And what about, whatsisname, Hiwatari? You've got to admit, he's fast."

Stiffening slightly at the reference to Kai, Tala replied automatically. "He's fast, but he doesn't have the skills or experience. He'll need somebody to teach those to him if we want to move him up."

"So... why don't we get somebody to teach him?"

"This isn't a Big Brother program, Falcon. We're not mentors, or teachers."

"No, but we're coaches."

"...Point."

His inner voice crowing loudly in victory, Bryan pressed onwards. "Kinomiya's too much of a rookie in the sense of commitment, and Parker's too occupied with keeping the fans entertained. Hiwatari's our best bet. I say we get somebody to train him to be our next right forward and have him play that position."

Sighing, Tala shook his head wearily. "It's a shame your jaw wasn't injured in the fall. Fine. But whom can we get to train Ka—Hiwatari?"

"How about the person he'll be playing with? You."

Bryan almost did a Snoopy dance on the spot. The colour of Tala's face was clashing horribly with his hair; it was obvious that the redhead (now red-face) had something going for Kai Hiwatari, hidden and small as it was. Settling for an innocuous rubbing of his hands together 'for warmth', Bryan grinned. "Is there a problem?"

Glaring half-heartedly, Tala shook his head 'no', and turned back to watch the scrimmage. What else could he have done? If he had said 'yes', and refused to train Kai, Bryan would have teased him for days on end about having a 'crush', which he most certainly did not. Crush? Pft. As if.

Just because Kai was gorgeous, athletic, popular, beautiful, mysterious, good-looking... 'I wonder if he's a good kisser?'

There was a miniature implosion inside Tala's head as his brain had a meltdown.

- - - - - - - - - -

To be Continued

Next chapter: another 'diary' entry, though Kai is loath to call it that.

Thank ye all for all your wonderful reviews. I never thought I'd get more than a 100, this being my first fic and all. I love y'all to pieces.

The Midnight Shadows: Love your name. *grins* Eum... Request a story? Sure. My ability to formulate plots is nil, so a challenge and/or suggestion would be whole-heartedly appreciated. I might not be able to write it properly, but I'll try.

Aiko5: Eeeh... Yeah. In my opinion, there's no such thing as 'love at first sight'. It takes a while to accustom yourself to the new emotions you feel, and it takes even longer to act on them. So that's why Tala and Kai are acting the way they are.

To the Terry Pratchett Fans: You guys rock.