Temptations DeniedBy: Zadien
Rated: R
Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade. I only own Amber Marie Benson and Ruin Mulryan. Shahero Kaeto belongs to Coors and Miyami Kinomiya belongs to Unlucky-Star and Aspin Grant belongs to Animerle and Arista Belyaevbelongs to ArcadaAvalon and Sonia Martini belongs to SpitfireSae
Chapter Three: Running Away
"Who are these people you promised, Taly-baba?"
Tala grinned and tapped a finger to his nose. Amber had been probing him since they'd left the lecture theatre almost 6 hours ago and still he hadn't given in. Now they sat quite comfortable in the quiet corner of the Friars Rest. He was stretched out on the couch, while she was curled up into his side, her head resting on his shoulder as her ochre eyes skimmed the diners. In an hour or so the lights would dim and a live band would be introduced. The rest of the gang were out dancing on the floor. Kai and Miyami were sleeping off their jet lag, or they had been when he'd called over to be met with a very disgruntled Miyami, though she had admitted to being pleased to see him.
The Friars Rest had been renovated over the summer. It had been widened to incorporate a dancing area on a balcony and a large stage, as well as the eatery which was just inside the arch way. The proprietors had really known what they were doing, he mused. They still catered to the average diner but there was now entertainment for all the students who hung out here because there wasn't much else to go to unless you wanted to catch the ten minute train ride into Jade Valley. It was the best of both worlds.
He glanced down as Amber nestled further into him. He caught a few people looking at him, their eyes told him that they thought he and Amber made a cute couple and the idea made him smirk. Him and Amber as a couple. The idea was just wrong. She was like his baby sister and he'd do anything to keep her friendship, he'd never jeopardize it. He'd learnt his lesson with Ruin. Speaking of the Goth, she was avoiding him. It was obvious to anyone. She was off on the other side of the room talking to Lee Tong, one of her closest male friends in the college. Sometimes her gaze would wander over to him but all he would be able to read in her gaze was her absolute hatred to him. It hurt.
Amber shifted and looked up at her male companion. His gaze was far off and he looked troubled. Feeling for him, she placed a hand on his cheek and drew his gaze down to hers. Smiling reassuringly she kissed his forehead in a sisterly manner before resting her forehead against his and laughing.
"C'mon Taly-Baba, lets go shake our booties."
He rolled his eyes but relented and let her pull him to his feet to lead him out to the dance floor. He wondered idly if she noticed the looks she drew like he noticed. She probably didn't. Amber never saw herself the way others did. She looked at personality over looks even when it came to herself. She didn't think she was pretty and that bugged him. What was to bet that there was a boy behind all these insecurities of hers? If he ever met the sorry bastard that had hurt her then he would severely show him what happened to those that upset his Benny-chan.
He winked at a dark haired girl who was dancing with Johnny. Every so often the Scottish boy would lean down to hear what the petite woman was saying and then he'd laugh. The woman was another of their gang. A girl by the name of Shahero Kaeto, another friend of Ambers'. She had shoulder length black hair streaked with silver and cobalt blue eyes which had a cynical glint to them. She was Asian like Mimi and it could be seen in her pale skin and the slant to her eyes, and her size was also a give away. She was often like Amber only more volatile which was why he enjoyed her company. She preferred to use her fists to talk and she hated to be held back from a fight, even if it was to be saved from herself.
He caught sight of the tattoos she had when the strobe light filtered over her. A black rose with falling petals on her shoulder blade and a ring of thorns around the upper part of her right arm which looked as though they'd pierced the skin. Amber had taken one look at it and wanted one herself. It was all he could do to persuade her not too, but then Amber went through with the piercing of her lower lip much to his chagrin and Shahero's delight. What was it with the women who were closest to him having the need to pierce and decorate themselves? Ruin had a tattoo of a black spider on her upper thigh and a Celtic ring around her upper right arm much like Shahero's'.
She too was an avid hater of skirts and lover of skateboards, which was unlike Amber because the Irish girl preferred her rollerblades, which reminded him of his friend Arista Belyaev, Mimi's cousin who he'd been friends with back in Russia but she'd moved to America ages ago. He kept in contact with her via email a couple of times a year, like e-cards for birthdays and Christmas and just general newsletters. But he hadn't seen her in ages. He kind of missed her, she had the most interesting mind and pranks were always fun to carry out with Arista.
He glanced down as Amber clapped her hands with delight and beamed at Shahero who smiled back. He frowned and was about to comment when a few bars cut through his hearing and he understood what she was so happy about. 'INME'. It was a band Amber had been hyped up about all last year, some guys from England and she was an avid fan of them, though none of them knew who they were but the songs grew on you. It was the same kind of music as 'Lost Prophets' another band Amber had heard of first and got them into so they were huge fans by the time the second album came round.
I don't know how to fit inside,
All you do is try and leave me behind,
I don't know what to do,
something's killing me,
And I don't know how to turn you on,
All you do is try and lead me on,
I don't know what to do,
Something here is telling me to kill you,
Amber began to sing the lyrics and he could hear her Celtic voice working with the gravelly voice of the band.
It's all gone wrong, It's all gone wrong,
It's falling perfect fumes,
It's all gone wrong, It's all gone wrong,
It's broken,
Johnny too was singing, he could hear his voice as well, and Shahero. Tala shook his head. He didn't sing, didn't like it much and preferred to listen to the lyrics rather than sing them.
I don't know how to leave this life,
All I have is maybe suicide,
I don't know what to do,
Something's killing me,
I don't know how to reach the top,
All you do is try to scrape me off,
I don't know what to do,
something here is telling me to kill you,
His turquoise eyes roamed over the students dancing and made out Ruin who was watching from the side lines. Ruin. He sighed watching her. He would really have to make things up with her, but for the moment he'd concentrate on his other friends. Ruin wasn't that important right?
It's all gone wrong, It's all gone wrong,
It's falling perfect fumes,
It's all gone wrong, It's all gone wrong,
It's broken,
Amber and Shahero switched partners and bounced about the floor as though they were high which none of them were. Apart from high on life. It made both guys laugh at how much energy they had when neither could wake up in the mornings. They seriously came alive at night.
Never meant to hurt you, hurt you,
Never meant to hurt you, hurt,
It's all gone wrong, It's all gone wrong,
It's falling perfect fumes,
It's all gone wrong, It's all gone wrong,
It's broken, It's all gone wrong, It's all gone wrong,
It's falling perfect fumes,
It's all gone wrong, It's all gone wrong,
And I can't lose such a life
From the balcony a pair of light auburn eyes watched the dark haired girls dancing, one in particular and when the song ended and she moved away from the bright red head, he followed her from above. She walked off the dance floor and down the small corridor too the bathrooms. He followed her at an easy pace, goose bumps rolling over his pale skin when he reached the cool corridor with the white walls and sea blue stencils of waves and swirls. He shivered slightly. It was a lot warmer in the crush of people, even standing above them it was warmer, but he figured things would heat up very soon as soon as he caught up to the dark haired girl.
He rounded the corner and was forced up against the wall. He smirked as he looked down into dark sapphire blue eyes. He raked his gaze down her petite form and the smirk deepened to reach his eyes filling them with a dark knowledge because he knew what was about to happen.
Shahero grinned up at Hitoshi Kinomiya. She'd felt him watching her when she'd been dancing and had caught his reflection in the mirrored walls. She'd known that when she left her friends, he'd follow just like he'd been doing for the past couple of months. She smirked. Everyone thought that the pair of them hated each other, but it was all an act. It had been a mistake at first, just the pair of them getting caught up in the moment, but then after one night of blissful, mind numbing sex they'd agreed that it was too good to be a one time thing. So the relationship made up of no strings attached sex began with the cardinal rule, they were free to see other people but if they needed the other then the other would make him/her self available. The arrangement worked perfectly for both of them.
I know you look like your innocent baby
I know you tell all your friends that you hate me
But every weekend you're at it like crazy
You and me.
She chuckled as the lyrics from the song echoed down the corridor. It suited the pair of them to a T. She ran her gaze down the man before her. Hitoshi Kinomiya, third year law student, and regular pain in the ass with his complete and utter arrogance. But that didn't detract from his undeniable hotness. His hair was stone blue and fell down past his shoulders, tied back, with spiked bangs that fell into intense light auburn eyes which seared her with his gaze. His face was chiseled and darkly male, gorgeous. And his strength was evident under her fingers as they moved over his chest feeling the subtle muscles ripple and tense under his black shirt. His arms were locked round her tiny waist holding her close to him but not crushing her. She leaned up on her tip toes to tug on his lower lip and was pleased to see his gaze darken.
"You know stalking is in an illegal offence in most states." she told him.
"Mm-hmm. So is engaging in a sexual act in a public place, doesn't stop you."
She chuckled and pulled his mouth down to hers, melting instantly when his taste flooded her senses. She welcomed the probing of his tongue as he tried to explore every corner of her mouth. She moaned softly and strained against him desperate to feel him against her. He groaned pulling her closer, slipping his hands under her top to feel her skin against his which sent a tingling sensation up his arms, making goose bumps roll over his skin but this time it had nothing to do with the cold. Her hands slid into his hair and pulled out the tie so it fell around his shoulders so that she could play with it.
She pulled away breathless and looked round. "Maybe we should move this somewhere with a little more privacy."
He smirked and let her walk away from him watching the sway of her subtle hips as she did. He waited a few minutes before he chased after her. He entered the small room she'd gone into and flicked the lock behind him and in that moment she was plastered against him, her mouth feeding of his, as he eagerly pulled her closer. His hands ran down her top and slid under and up to fondle her breast while the other hand slid around to the small of her back to keep her close.
He broke the kiss to cruise his lips along her jaw line and smirked at her sharp intake of breath before she released it on a soft moan. Her head leaned back against the wall as her eyes rolled back in her head. The burning sensation of Hitoshi's fingers touching her bare skin was enough to have her head spinning. Her heart was racing and she was losing all her senses as her vision blurred when he made his way down her neck, nipping, biting, sucking and licking alternately at selected spots down the column of her throat. He bit her collar bone hard enough to mark the skin but not break it. She gasped and her head stretched back as her own hands claimed his body as hers for the night as she ran her fingers over his chest and wash board stomach. Her breathing became labored and her eyes fluttered closed as his touches caused her skin to heat up.
He moved back to her lips and plundered her warm mouth. Her senses clouded and her body melted at the desperate force of the kiss which had her mind reeling. Her knees buckled and she was sure she would have crumbled to the floor if it wasn't for Hitoshi lifting her off the ground keeping his hands on her firm butt. Her legs wrapped round him instinctively and her hands moved lower making him groan as she ground her hips against his.
He couldn't get enough of her taste, and every part of her tasted different and made him crave her more and more. She was a flavor that he was fastly becoming addicted to and when he couldn't taste her he suffered from withdrawal. He knew that his feelings towards her were changing, but he wasn't going to risk her leaving him by confessing his feelings to he. But he feared being around her, being so steeped in her that the words tumbled out against his will.
He groaned as she parted from him and butterfly kissed her way down his throat, to the crevice between his collar bone and shoulder. She lapped at the skin there, enjoying the sounds she drew from him with each time she altered what she was doing. She could feel his arousal pressed against her and her fingers moved lower to the button of his jeans...
Her cell sang through the small cramped room and he cursed as he dropped her unceremoniously on her butt. Her head whipped up to glower at him, even as she pulled her cell phone out of her back pocket. Frustrated she shoved her hair out of her face and punched the answer button aggressively, as Hitoshi paced a little away from her muttering under his breath. She ignored him and concentrated on slowing her breathing.
"Hey did the toilet swallow you or something?"
Amber's voice came through loud enough for Hitohsi to hear her. He inwardly cursed the petite Irish girl. He could almost swear she knew what was going on. It was usually her that interrupted his brief moments with his woman. She got Shahero more times than he did, she could at least have the courtesy to wait until they were finished. He sighed heavily, raking his hand through his hair before deciding to tie it up knowing that Shahero wasn't going to stay much longer. It annoyed him that he wanted her to stay with him, that he wanted her to choose him over her friends. It was supposed to be no strings sex, just for them to use each other if they needed to but that wasn't enough for him anymore. He couldn't stand watching other guys being around her or touching her even if they were her friends. There was no such thing as a platonic friendship, especially when it concerned a girl who looked like Shahero. He wanted to claim her as his, to show all those guys that she belonged to him and no one else. No one else was good enough for her.
"...Yeah sure I'll be out in a sec or so. Ok?" her voice cut through his thoughts as she finished up her call to her over concerned and might he point out, very annoying friend.
"I'll see you later." he muttered heading for the door.
"Hey." he paused to look at her and she smiled at him and he felt like melting. "We'll finish this some other time, ok?"
"Yeah sure."
She frowned but said nothing. She knew there was something bothering him, but they weren't going out, hell they weren't even friends so it was none of her business. She smiled and watched him shake his head before he walked out of the closet while she set about fixing her top to make sure that she didn't look as though she'd just been ravaged by an incredibly hot guy. Exhaling loudly she followed him out and took a quick look round to make sure she hadn't been seen then she walked down the corridor to find her friends.
"Tyson it doesn't work that way!" Amber tried desperately to explain to her friend but he was stubbornly refusing to listen to her. She rolled her eyes.
Tyson ignored the petite Irish girl and continued to drink his drink how he liked it. "Where's Shahero?"
She shrugged. "No clue. Oh yay it's your brother."
He chuckled at the lack of enthusiasm that dripped from those words. He lifted his gaze to take in his brother who was sitting by the bar. He leaned in closer to whisper something into a familiar brunettes' ear causing her to laugh. Tyson's eyes narrowed. "What does he have that I don't?" he demanded as the brunette moved closer to his older brother.
"A cavity in his chest." Amber muttered.
"A six pack." Shahero added as she slid into the booth beside them causing Tyson to check his waist and Amber to laugh. Her sapphire blue eyes twinkled as she watched Tyson, but they dimmed considerably as her gaze latched on to Hitoshi who was now stroking the back of the Brunettes' neck. She growled, grateful for the loud music which drowned it out. He'd just been with her and now he was moving in on some brunette?! And right in front of her too. Her features darkened. Then they visibly relaxed as he tossed a look over to their table and his gaze locked with hers making a slight smirk play on his lips as he moved closer to the brunette. Oh so that was the game he was playing, well two could play it.
"Come on Tyson."
Tyson tore his gaze from his abdomen to look at the dark haired Asian girl standing over him. "Huh? Where are we going?"
"You and me are going to dance."
"Uh... ok sure. But don't stand on my toes, I have delicate feet."
"Cut the wise man act and let's go. See ya Ams."
Amber watched them leave puzzled. "Um... okie bye."
She slouched in her chair and looked around. She was on her own. Tala was dancing with some girl, she didn't know her name. Johnny was... well he disappeared a while ago and she didn't know where to. Sonia hadn't come out. Her friend Aspin Grant was out with her boyfriend Kane Suzoru. Ruin was at the bar talking to her friend Robert Jurgen who did Law. Robert and Amber had a sort of animosity, though she didn't know why but they tended to stay out of each others way. Oliver was dancing with Max as they usually tended to do. No real reason for it, just that no one else wanted to dance so they danced with each other. Enrique was with his girlfriend Midge. Bethan and Michael were slow dancing. The rest hadn't turned up.
Stirring her drink with her straw, she allowed her gaze and mind to wander. She'd accepted Tala's invitation for a night out because it meant she wouldn't have to think about Kai and so far she'd been successful in not thinking about him. Until now. He was always at the back of her mind, even before she'd laid eyes on him. She blamed him for stupid things like her insecurities. If someone asked her why she was the way she was, she blamed it on the bad break up she had when she was sixteen. It was stupid and childish to blame him for everything, but she didn't care. He had caused a lot of her insecurities. Scott had just built on them. She wasn't going to let another man do that to her. She wasn't going to be hurt like that again. It was foolish, but that was the way she felt. She'd been hurt too much and she didn't think it could be fixed easily. It wasn't as though she could wave a wand and have all the pain and fears go away. It didn't work like that. She needed time to heal and that was part of the reason she came to America, but now that plan was bust and it was Kai's fault.
He was determined to never let her forget him, he was determined to destroy her. Did he hate her that much? She had never given him cause to hate her. Sure she'd been mean when he'd first came, but she'd intended to go on holiday with her friends but those plans had to be cancelled when he had arrived. She'd been furious and so she'd taken it out on him, but she'd apologized. In fact she'd been nice to him and in love with him.
She sighed wistfully. He'd been her first love. What a stupid fool she was falling for some one like him. She deserved what she got, she supposed. Falling for a player was always stupid.
She raised a brow as she caught sight of Shahero and Tyson dancing. If you could even call it that. It was more like a mating dance than anything. She could see that both of them were just messing, but there was just something to the way Shahero was dancing with him that made her uneasy. Then her gaze fell on Hitoshi who was glaring at them. Now that was interesting, was Hitoshi jealous of his brother? She supposed there was plenty of reason for it. Shahero was gorgeous and had a lot of guys after her; including stalkers and weirdoes who serenaded her at 6 in the fucking morning. Of course that guy had ended up with a bucket of frigid water over his head courtesy of Aspin and Shahero, while she'd sat back and filmed it all. He was just lucky Ruin wasn't sleeping in their apartment at the time; she'd probably have shot him.
She leaned back in the booth and rested her head on her folded arms only reopening her eyes when she felt someone watching her. She looked up and through the crowd. Her gaze met with the heated gaze of Kai Hiwatari as he made his way towards her. Her mouth dried and she had to swallow painfully. Lifting her drink she sipped it and wetted her mouth. What was he doing? she wondered anxiously as his gaze raked down her. He obviously seemed to like what he was seeing because he smiled appraisingly. She responded with an icy look. She wasn't a piece of meat for him to admire when he felt like it.
She sighed relieved when she caught sight of Johnny and Miyami making their way through the crowd behind him. At least she'd have back up if he joined her.
"Hey Sae."
She rolled her eyes at Johnny. "Hey Brave Heart." She caught the low growl and laughed. "Aw poor you, lay off with the nick name and I'll stop calling you ridiculous Scotland references."
He nodded and dropped into the seat opposite her, motioning for Miyami to take one herself. "Hey Amber."
"Hey." Amber greeted the silver haired girl with a warm smile, ignoring the tall man who was watching her with interest.
Miyami frowned at the way Kai was looking at the Irish teen. He never showed much of an interest in girls, sure he was a player he just never was interested in them as a person. But there was something in the way he was looking at her that made her frown. Was there something between Kai and Amber? After all he had been in Ireland at one stage but the chance of him being in the same place as the girl he was staring at, was next to nothing. Right?
"Kai this is Tyson and Johnnys' friend Amber, Amber this is my friend and flat mate Kai."
"Yeah we've met." Kai told her, repeating the same phrase from earlier that morning, and remembering her response Amber smirked.
Johnny cast her a curious look. "Uh... yeah seemingly he's Tala's friend."
"You know Tala?" Miyami wondered interested.
"Know him? The two of them are practically inseparable." Johnny jumped in.
Miyami glanced up at Kai. "Gee Kiki, seems Tala's replaced you."
Kai smirked as he languidly ran his gaze down his ex. She looked better than this morning. If that was possible. She wore a cotton top with the word 'Hot' in flaming letters across the slightest swell of her chest. The top ended just above her midriff so when she leaned back, the top inched up to bare a tantalizing piece of golden flesh which looked as smooth as satin. He moved his gaze from it and the desire to just run his fingers over that stretch of skin lessened. Instead he briefly looked at what she was covering her legs with, a pair of tight jeans which showed the subtle slope of her hips and the slender shape of her legs. She looked casual; yet still looked dressed up. So in other words what she wore suited where she was. Her hair was in it's usual pony tail which hung down her back and she wore no make up that he could see.
He averted his gaze to her mouth. A familiar habit of his. He'd always enjoyed watching her talk and he got plenty of opportunities, the girl hardly shut up even when she wasn't being spoken to she'd make a comment either to someone else or herself. But he liked the way her mouth moved, the way her lips curled on various words depending on her tone. And how her face would become animated when she was passionate about something or when she was with her friends. That was why they had been so good together. He hadn't had felt the need to talk unless he had something to say and he never portrayed emotions, so he could sit there content and watch her babble away about something.
She glanced over to him and her gaze collided with his and he read the annoyance in her eyes though she kept her face relatively neutral. But he didn't miss how her face completely brightened when Tala walked up and dropped into the chair beside her. A glowing green kernel of jealousy rose just under his heart making his expression darken.
"So you finished making Ruin jealous?" she asked.
Tala smirked lazily. "Me making the ice queen jealous? I don't think so."
Both Amber and Johnny shook their heads at him and then both looked up as Shahero slid into the booth, both breathless from dancing. Shahero looked round the table at the new members.
"Um... hi." she said turning to Miyami.
"Oh Shahero this is my cousin Miyami Kinomiya, and that's Kai Hiwatari."
"Nice to meet y'all."
Amber nudged Shahero. "What was with you and Tyson on the dance floor?"
"What do you mean?"
"The innocent act doesn't fool me."
"I have no idea what you're talking about. Me and Tyson were just having fun."
"Well you succeeded in making Hitoshi jealous."
Shahero looked at her sharply; casting a glance around to make sure no one had heard her Irish friend. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Amber shrugged. "Nothing, I just noticed him staring at you and he looked kind of jealous."
"Oh did he? Well serves him right flirting with another girl in front of Tyson."
Miyami looked from one girl to the other. She had heard the conversation reasonably well since she wasn't paying attention to the boys talk about something or other and her interest had been peaked when she heard them mention Hitoshi. Couldn't be too many Hitoshi's in Bakuten.
"You guys talking about Hitoshi Kinomiya?"
Amber nodded puzzled, then brightened. "Right you're his cousin. Tell me is he as annoying to family members as he is to the rest of the world?"
Miyami nodded. "If I could kill him, I would. The guy thinks he's so much better than everyone else. And he's a horrible cousin. He once fed me a shovel full of sand."
Amber muffled her chuckles behind a hand. "Oh that's horrible."
"Yep that's why I call him a horrible cousin."
Shahero smirked and sought out the afore mentioned man in the crowd. He was sitting at a table with the brunette and some of her friends and he looked bored out of his mind. "Yeah he sounds like one anyway."
"Who are you talking about?" Johnny butted into the conversation sliding closer to Miyami, who looked at him bemused, but didn't move away.
"My cousin Hitoshi."
"What ever they have suggested don't listen to them." Tala advised earning a curious look from both Miyami and Kai. "Amber and Shahero regularly decide to ambush people, what do you two call it?"
Amber's hands shot up. "Hey leave me out of this, they're not my ideas. It's Heros' doing, I just tag along and if I happen to hit someone it's an added bonus."
"Not for the person who you hit."
"Oh quit your whining, Shahero hits way harder than I do, besides I mainly just hold them down."
"Unless it's your revenge plot." Shahero countered. "Then again, thinking about it, you don't generally count beating people up in your revenge plots. They're usually a lot more vicious."
"Like the itching powder one." Johnny remembered with a chuckle. "Poor Harvey couldn't lecture he was so busy scratching hid hands and face."
"Shouldn't have given me a D then." Amber defended herself.
Shahero snickered. "I wish I'd seen his face."
Amber grinned. "So do I, it would have been so funny."
"Remind me to never get on your bad side." Miyami stated.
"Nah, I like you too much to use itching powder on you. You'd have to do something really terrible to deserve the itching powder treatment." she flicked her gaze to Kai and she smirked as his burning gaze studied her. "But the next time I go on a rampage, you can come with, right Hero?"
"Right, the more the merrier." her gaze slid to Hitoshi who happened to look up at the same time. She flicked the tip of her tongue over her lower lip before turning back to her friends, but not before she noted how his eyes darkened.
"Oh, Johnny come on."
Johnny jerked his head up to look at his Irish friend. "What?"
"The stage is free and we have to sing, it's like tradition!" she stated with jerking gestures of her hands.
Johnny groaned. "I don't wanna."
"Don't be an ass. Come on, please. You know I can't go up there on my own."
"I'll go up with you." Shahero offered.
"Me too." Miyami added.
"Wow I'm beginning to like you a lot."
"Unfortunately I don't swing that way, I like my red heads too much."
Ambers' shoulders slumped as she mock sighed depressed. "I don't think I can take the heart ache." she wailed tragically causing the others to snicker.
"I'll go up with you."
Her ochre eyes pinned Kai and she struggled to think of something as his eyes bore through her. "Ah no, it's ok. It's um... no you don't have to."
He grinned at her enjoying how he flustered her. He knew she was trying to keep her cool and not let her friends know how much him being there bothered her, but he knew her. After all this time, he could still read her and he was fed up being ignored by her. She may have pretended to not know him, but he was damned if he was going to let her continue in that way. Besides, making Amber annoyed was always fun. She was undeniably attractive when she was pissed at him.
"We'll need a drummer Ams, and Kai is one hell of a drummer." Miyami pointed out reasonably, her suspicions were correct it seemed; there was something between her and him.
"Oh so this is the drummer you promised me." Johnny stated turned to Tala who winced, having not told Kai to deal yet.
Amber froze and looked from Kai to Tala. "What?"
"Oh Johnny needs a drummer Kai, and since you can drum I was thinking you could..."
"Whose in the band?"
"Me, Sonia, Ruin, Ams, Shahero sometimes."
"I have things to do which correspond with the gigs."
Johnny nodded at Shahero. "Yeah, yeah." he turned back to Kai. "So that's basically it. Me on guitar and lead vocals, Sonia on guitar, Ruin on bass and Ams on backing vocals."
Kai let his gaze roam to Amber who was watching him with wide eyes. "Sure."
She winced visibly as the others welcomed him to the band. 'Fuck', she thought silently screaming the word in her mind. 'Fucking asshole. Why?!'
"Hey wait I thought Sonia said she'd be quitting the band." Shahero announced thoughtfully.
Amber cringed and hissed as Johnny exploded. "What?!" he rounded on Amber. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Well..." she laughed nervously. "It...ah...oh crudder cakes."
She winced as Shahero punched her arm. "That's my word."
"We have this fight far too often. Okies here's the deal, your words are my words; my words are your words. Got it?"
The dark haired Asian girl shrugged boredly. "What ever."
"Could you two have this fight later. Is Sonia quitting or not?"
"Yes." Amber barked annoyed at his abrupt tone.
"Why?"
"Her duties to the track team, as student council member, her studies and her soccer team. Which reminds me, you playing this year Shahero?"
Her friend shrugged again. "I dunno, I was thinking of seeing how the hockey team fairs up. If they're are more girls this time, then I'll join."
"I'll join."
"Miyami you are definitely earning brownie points here."
"I was kicked out of Brownies' or whatever their equivalent was."
"What did you do?"
"I liked the badges better on my school bag and I revamped the uniform."
Amber laughed. "I quit before they could throw me out, I pulled another girls hair and she hated me ever since." They all started as Johnny growled. "Johnny calm down."
"Calm down?! I'm out of a guitarist and all you can think of is brownies and sports."
Amber rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue. "Keep your knickers on."
"I can play the guitar."
Johnny looked at Miyami as if she was a gift from God. "You can?"
"Well yeah."
"Great you can double as a keyboardist and a guitarist."
"Does she get a say in this?" Shahero wondered
"Shut up."
"Well I wanna sing now." they watched as Amber got to her feet and headed to the stage. "Oh and Kai, don't bother coming up. Tyson can drum for me."
Kai watched her go with a slight growl as the others headed up with her. The only ones left were him and Tala.
"What's the deal with you and Amber? I've never seen her so openly hostile to someone."
"That wasn't her being openly hostile, that was her being subtle."
"Really?"
"None of your other friends noticed that."
"None of them know Benny like I do, we clicked when we first met. Can't really imagine a life without her now. She's too important to me."
Kai sighed. He'd felt that way when he'd met her and gotten to know her. But he'd had a life without her and it hadn't been that great but he'd survived and he'd forgotten about her. But there had to be a reason he'd met her all over again. Had to be. He would have smiled at that. He wasn't a man to believe in destiny but he wanted her. Just looking at her had his gut clenching with need. Maybe what he needed from her was closure.
"Hey everyone hope you're enjoying tonight."
They looked up as Johnny's voice came over through the speakers. The students who recognized them cheered while everyone stopped what they were doing to see what was going on.
"Thank you. I'm Johnny and I'll be your lead guitarist tonight. Ladies feel free to throw your underwear onto the stage if you wish. On my left we have the delectable Miyami on bass, and the volatile Shahero on guitar and little Amber on vocals."
"I ain't little." she pouted stubbornly making the crowd laugh.
"Whatever you think. And our little drummer boy is Tyson. Don't put your hand near his mouth, because he might eat it." again more laughter. It was clear Johnny was in his element on the stage. "Ams has chosen the first song. Don't ask me why. It's called Running Away."
He lifted the acoustic guitar and started to play the first bars as Amber stepped up to the mic and her voice drifted out.
"I don't want you to give it all up/ And leave your own life collecting dust/ And I don't want you to feel sorry for me/ You never gave us a chance to be." her eyes instinctively sought Kai out in the crowd. This song was the one she'd played to herself so many times when he'd left. She felt it summed up their relationship perfectly.
Tyson and the others cut in with their own instruments to give the song more force.
"And I don't need you to be by my side/ To tell me that everything's alright/ I just wanted you to tell me the truth/ You know I'd do that for you"
Shahero strummed her guitar to life to quicken the tempo for the chorus.
"So why are you running away?/Why are you running away?/Cause I did enough to show you that I/Was willing to give and sacrifice/And I was the one who was lifting you up/ When you thought your life had had enough-"
Johnny lifted his mouth to mic to accompany Amber's own, their voices melding together from months of practice.
"And when I get close, you turn away/There's nothing that I can do or say/So now I need you to tell me the truth/You know I'd do that for you."
Tala watched the emotions pour over Amber's face and out through her voice and her eyes never moved from their table. What the hell was going on? he wondered.
"So why are you running away?/ Why are you running away?/ Is it me, is it you/ Nothing that I can do/ To make you change your mind."
She sighed and lifted the mic from it's stand and moved forward on the stage, her eyes solely on Kais'
"Is it me, is it you/ Nothing that I can do/ Is it a waste of time?/ Is it me, is it you/ Nothing that I can do/ To make you change your mind Ohh-hooo!
He looked away unable to hold her gaze. It hurt, he knew he'd hurt her. He hadn't meant to, it had been for her own good. Their own good. But still... this song hit a little close to home.
"So why are you running away?/ Why are you running away?"
She left the others to sing the chorus as she continued with her own part of the song.
"... What is it I've got to say... (So why are you running away?) ... To make you admit you're afraid... (Why are you running away?)"
The music died down to rapturous applause. Amber turned away so they couldn't see the tears that filled her eyes. Stepping down of the stage, she ignored the calls for another song and instead fled out into the night. This time it was she who was running away.
Well there ya go after such a long wait I give you chapter three. I hope you liked it. Sorry about the long wait. But I've been working on my other fics. Here's a preview of Smells like Team Spirit:
"Oh crap."
Johnny and Miyami regarded her curiously. "What?"
Amber giggled nervously and clasped her hands together as she watched the tall Russian make his way towards her slowly and deliberately. "Spence is going to kill me?"
Miyami tilted her head to the side. "Why?"
"Because I drew a smiley face on the collar of his shirt in bright luminous pink and never told him."
Johnny choked on his drink and nodded gratefully when Miyami slapped his back for him. When he recovered he looked at the dark haired girl. "Pink?"
"What? It looked pretty at the time." she smiled but the smile was weak and soon disappeared as her expression darkened. "Besides, I walked around with a library stamp -which said 'property of the library', on my leg for a whole day because of him and Ian."
Shahero grinned. "Actually that was my idea."
"Bad idea to tell her that Sen, she'll have you wearing a pink smiley face next time your back is turned." Ozuma warned as his cousin nodded her head eagerly.
The dark haired Asian girl shrugged and turned back to her meal, pushing the leftovers round on the plate.
"AMBER!"
"Hi Spencer."
"Don't 'hi Spencer' me. Do I or do I not have a pink smiley face on my shirt?"
"Well it's not really smiling because you moved, so it's more a confused face."
Exasperated Spencer stared at her, then glowered at Johnny and Ozuma who were snickering quietly at him. "What?!"
"You have pink hair." Miyami informed him sweetly.
"What?"
Amber covered her face and attempted to smother her giggles at her doomed future.
"Amber do I have pink hair?"
"Well I had to make sure the pen worked so..." she trailed off to giggles as he began to frantically check for strands of pink while the ones at the other table who'd noticed the pink but decided not to tell him, laughed at him.
If you want to know what happened to cause Amber to draw a pink smiley face then you have to read people. Please, 'Smells like Team Spirit' is a good fic, it has lots of rivalry and ice hockey. And it's funny.