Yo, people! Sorry for the long wait! I had a good idea for this fic and I
was concentrating on writing it down, before I forget the good parts.
Hey 0bss3ssi0n, I just found out that we're around the same age from your profile! I think that's sweet. I love your story, Dearest! It has the same name as my favourite song too...lol.
Chapter Twenty-Three – Realizations Just Make You More Confused
"Ray, can you not grip my shoulder so tight?" Zarine asked, wincing slightly.
Ray was surprised, he must have tightened his grip on her shoulder without noticing. "Sorry," he apologized.
"It's okay," she said, smiling at him. Her smile lit up her whole face. Suddenly, she wrapped her arms around Ray's neck, stood on her tiptoes, and kissed him on the cheek. (I hope I didn't disappoint you too much...) "Thanks, I haven't heard that from anyone say that, and mean it, for a while now. Actually, you're the first guy to say it and mean it, except for my relatives, and Jeff, but he's like my twin, so I guess you can say he's family."
Ray smiled at that, and slowly wrapped his arms around Zarine's waist, and the small girl blushed, she hadn't expected him to do that. Her heart began to pound...
[Get a grip on yourself] Zarine scolded herself. [He's just a guy.] (Don't kill me people for saying that Ray's JUST a guy!)
They stood like that and just stared at each other. Zarine tried not to get lost in Ray's dark eyes (they are dark in V-force, if you didn't know), but it was impossible.
[Why would he choose me, out of all the girls that he can get? He's good- looking, sweet, nice, and caring, anyone would want him.] she thought. [I know I'd want someone like him. What was I thinking???? I don't want him!] (Tsk, tsk, denial...)
A cool wind picked up, and Zarine began to shiver.
Ray noticed and said, "Let's go back in now. You're cold."
He led Zarine to the sliding door with one of his arms still around her. He tried to slide the door open, but it wouldn't budge an inch. He tried harder, but the door was as stubborn as ever.
"What's wrong with this stupid door?" Ray said, really frustrated.
"Did you lock it by accident when you came out?" Zarine asked.
"No, I'm positive I didn't," he answered, frowning as he instantly replayed the scene in his mind.
"Maybe it's jammed shut?" she suggested.
"Yeah, maybe. I guess we're stuck out here until someone comes and get us out of here," Ray sighed, sitting down on the ground against the wall.
"Yep," she said, sitting down beside him.
They sat in silence, then...
"So did Jordan do anything to you while you were captured?" Then he added, with a hint of anger in his voice, "Besides whipping you half to death?
"No," Zarine lied. She didn't want to tell him partly because she was embarrassed by what happened, and partly because she didn't want Ray to take his hatred to a whole new level.
"Okay, just making sure you aren't hiding more injuries," he said. He looked at her, and asked curiously, "Have you had lots of boyfriends before?"
Zarine was a little startled by his question. [Where did that come from? Why in the world would I have had lots of boyfriends?] she wondered.
"Uh, no, why would you ask that?" Zarine asked, bewildered.
"I just thought since so many guys fall in love with you at first sight, you might have gone out with a lot of them," Ray answered.
"What does having a lot of guys falling in love with you and going out with a lot of guys have to do with anything? I'm not a player, you know! I don't go out with just anyone," she said, a little offended by his judgment.
"Then who do you go out with?" he asked. He really had to know.
"A guy that cares about me, someone I can have fun with, etc." she said, shrugging. "What did you expect?"
"I was just wondering," he said.
Zarine yawned, she was really tired, and getting really cold.
"If you're tired, just go to sleep," Ray said.
"I doubt that I can. I'm so cold," Zarine said, rubbing her arms vainly, trying to get warm.
"Here, take my jacket," Ray offered, and put it on her shoulders.
"Wouldn't you be cold though?" she asked worriedly.
"You need it more than me. Just take it," he said firmly.
"Thanks," she said. She closed her eyes, and fell asleep instantly. Her head fell onto Ray's shoulder.
Ray looked at the sleeping girl, and decided to go sleep too. His head fell on top of Zarine's as he fell asleep.
In the middle of the night, Zarine woke up with a jolt of pain in her back. Oblivious to the fact that Ray's head was on top of hers, she moved her head off Ray's shoulder quickly, and ended up bumping Ray on the cheekbone. Ray woke up, and rubbed his cheek.
"Sorry!" Zarine apologized quickly. "Did I hurt you?"
"No, I'll live," Ray answered, still rubbing his cheek.
Zarine impulsively put her hand on his cheek. Ray looked at her in surprise. She blushed, and moved her hand away.
"Why did you wake up like that?' Ray asked.
"My back," Zarine answered. "It's just aching. I don't think I can sleep with it like that though."
"I know what to do," Ray said, as he thought of an idea. He spread his leg apart, scooped Zarine up easily, and put her in between his legs.
"Now what?" Zarine demanded. She was not amused with what he had just done.
"Now, you lean back on me. Then I can cover the both of us with my jacket, and get warm," he replied.
"I told you that you'd be cold without your jacket," she scolded, like it was all his fault. She leaned back, so she lying against his chest.
"And let you freeze out here?" he asked, covering him and Zarine with the jacket.
"No, I didn't say that. I just didn't want you to catch a cold," she said defensively.
"Glad to know you care. Now go to sleep," he prompted. She wriggled around until she was comfortable. Ray's arm encircled Zarine's waist in an embrace. She turned around and gave him an unfriendly stare.
"What?" Ray asked innocently. "You're using me as a pillow, so I'm using you as a teddy bear."
Zarine laughed. "Fine, you win," she gave in, "Use me as your teddy bear, but don't throw me around in the middle of the night."
The next morning, the rays from the sun woke Zarine up. She rubbed her eyes and found Ray's arm still tight around her. She looked at him, and saw that he was still asleep. "Great, now what am I supposed to do?" she grumbled to herself.
Zarine heard a chuckle, and looked at Ray again. He was just pretending to be asleep!
"Ray! Release me!" Zarine said, trying to get loose.
"Why did you decide to sleep out there?" Tyson asked. The others were in the room, looking out at them.
Zarine and Ray both jumped up. "We got stuck out here," Zarine explained.
"How? Your door's unlocked," Max said.
"We couldn't get it to open. We think it's jammed or something," Ray said.
"Okay, what are we going to do? We've only got half an hour to get to the stadium before our match!" Tyson said.
"No way!" Zarine yelped. She didn't want to be disqualified.
"Just break through with your blades," Kai said, in a bored tone. "I'll pay for it."
"Okay, stand back, people," Tyson warned. "Go, Dragoon!"
Tyson's blade smashed the glass of the door easily. Zarine and Ray carefully stepped over the pieces of glass and into the room.
"Let's go!" Max said, excited.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Zarine's POV
Max was skipping, and laughing with Tyson. I think they had too much sugar...As we walked to the stadium, I thought about last night. It was really sweet of Ray to give me his jacket...Why does he protect me so much? He does so much for me, but I have nothing to give in return...so why would he keep on protecting me even though he knows he might not get anything?
'Because that's what you do when you love someone,' her bit-beast's voice rang softly in her head.
'Why would he love me, of all the people?' Zarine wondered.
'Ask him.'
'I can't do that!' I exclaimed.
'Why not?'
'Because...I dunno,'
'You're just scared.'
'Am not! Why would I be scared?'
'Whatever you say, but deep inside, you know what I'm talking about.'
"Zarine!" Kenny called.
"Oh, sorry! Did you say something?" I asked.
"Well, you were just staring into space for a while, so I was getting kind of worried. Is there anything wrong?" he asked?
"No," I replied, not wanting to tell him. I like him well enough, but when it comes to problems with guys, I prefer to get help from a girl.
We won our match easily, advancing to the next round. We only need to get past three more rounds to get into the semi-finals. The Saint Shields got past their round too.
"Hey!" Mariam said, as she spotted us. She came over to us.
"Hi, Mariam!" Max said happily.
I smiled, they are so perfect for each other.
"So how's your back?" Mariam asked me, tearing her eyes off Max to look at me.
"Oh, it's better," I answered.
"Good," she said vaguely, and turned her eyes back onto Max again. She brushed some hair out of his eyes. "Ozuma said that we'll drop by sometime today," she said, and walked back to her team.
"See ya!" Max called after Mariam.
Dizzi said amusedly, "Looks like our Maxie is growing up, wouldn't you say?"
Ray, who just came back with drinks for all of us, said, smiling, "Ya, definitely. Who knew he'd get a girlfriend so soon?"
"Ray, I wouldn't be talking if I were you," the blonde hair boy retorted, blushing. "The way that you were holding Zarine in your arms last night to sleep definitely makes me wonder if you guys are a couple!"
I hadn't expected him to say that, I chocked on my pop. "Max! Nothing's going on between us, we're just friends!"
"Whatever you say," he said in a skeptical tone.
I sighed and rolled my eyes. What is my life getting into?
"Let's have lunch and then train for a little while," Kai spoke from behind.
"That's a great idea!" Tyson said, really excited.
"Tyson, you think any plans involving eating is great," I remarked. I was still getting used to Tyson's big appetite.
We walked out of the stadium and into the sunlight. "At least, I'm not anorexic!" Tyson said.
"Tyson!" I was really offended by that comment. "Just because I'm small doesn't mean I'm anorexic! Mariam was right. Your mouth will get you into a lot of trouble one day."
"Nothing that I can't get out of," he said, grinning at me. "I was just kidding."
"You better watch what you make fun of, Mister," I said, waving a finger warningly in front of him. "Because I just might make you train ten times as hard as the others if you make me angry."
Tyson was wise enough to shut his mouth then.
My eyes locked onto Ray, who was walking in front of me. I looked at his hair. How on earth did he style his hair like that? Out of all the guys I've met, his and Kai's are the best ones I've seen. Then my gaze moved onto his arms. I smiled as I remembered how close he held me to him last night...
"SO ARE WE THERE YET?" Tyson's loud voice cut across my thoughts.
"Hold your horses! We're almost there!" Kai snapped, leading the way to wherever we're going. I couldn't care less, I wasn't hungry anyways.
So what was I thinking before Tyson interrupted? Oh ya, I was thinking about how Ray was holding me last night. What the...Why was I thinking about THAT? I should be thinking about how to train these guys! I banished all thoughts about Ray out of my head.
During lunch, I ordered chocolate chip pancakes with vanilla ice cream. The guys stared at me.
"What's your problem?" I asked, noticing their stares as the waitress put my pancakes down.
"Aren't pancakes for breakfast?" Max asked.
I shrugged, it really didn't matter to me. "Whatever, I don't care. It's good!"
My gaze kept on turning onto Ray. It was so frustrating! What the hell was wrong with me anyways! It's not like I'm in love with him or anything!
'Are you sure about that?' Xeora asked inside my head.
'No,' I admitted. I'm not sure about that anymore. 'So am I?'
Xeora laughed, 'That, my dear, is for you to figure out. If you can't, then no one else can, and certainly not me.'
I looked at Ray more confused than ever, about my feelings for him. He looked at me, those dark eyes of his burned into mine. "Can I have some of that" he asked.
"Yeah, sure!" I managed to say. My heart began pounding. I took a deep breath. It's clear now. I must be falling for him! But as that answer came to me, a thousand more questions arose into my head.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ I hoped you liked it...
Hey 0bss3ssi0n, I just found out that we're around the same age from your profile! I think that's sweet. I love your story, Dearest! It has the same name as my favourite song too...lol.
Chapter Twenty-Three – Realizations Just Make You More Confused
"Ray, can you not grip my shoulder so tight?" Zarine asked, wincing slightly.
Ray was surprised, he must have tightened his grip on her shoulder without noticing. "Sorry," he apologized.
"It's okay," she said, smiling at him. Her smile lit up her whole face. Suddenly, she wrapped her arms around Ray's neck, stood on her tiptoes, and kissed him on the cheek. (I hope I didn't disappoint you too much...) "Thanks, I haven't heard that from anyone say that, and mean it, for a while now. Actually, you're the first guy to say it and mean it, except for my relatives, and Jeff, but he's like my twin, so I guess you can say he's family."
Ray smiled at that, and slowly wrapped his arms around Zarine's waist, and the small girl blushed, she hadn't expected him to do that. Her heart began to pound...
[Get a grip on yourself] Zarine scolded herself. [He's just a guy.] (Don't kill me people for saying that Ray's JUST a guy!)
They stood like that and just stared at each other. Zarine tried not to get lost in Ray's dark eyes (they are dark in V-force, if you didn't know), but it was impossible.
[Why would he choose me, out of all the girls that he can get? He's good- looking, sweet, nice, and caring, anyone would want him.] she thought. [I know I'd want someone like him. What was I thinking???? I don't want him!] (Tsk, tsk, denial...)
A cool wind picked up, and Zarine began to shiver.
Ray noticed and said, "Let's go back in now. You're cold."
He led Zarine to the sliding door with one of his arms still around her. He tried to slide the door open, but it wouldn't budge an inch. He tried harder, but the door was as stubborn as ever.
"What's wrong with this stupid door?" Ray said, really frustrated.
"Did you lock it by accident when you came out?" Zarine asked.
"No, I'm positive I didn't," he answered, frowning as he instantly replayed the scene in his mind.
"Maybe it's jammed shut?" she suggested.
"Yeah, maybe. I guess we're stuck out here until someone comes and get us out of here," Ray sighed, sitting down on the ground against the wall.
"Yep," she said, sitting down beside him.
They sat in silence, then...
"So did Jordan do anything to you while you were captured?" Then he added, with a hint of anger in his voice, "Besides whipping you half to death?
"No," Zarine lied. She didn't want to tell him partly because she was embarrassed by what happened, and partly because she didn't want Ray to take his hatred to a whole new level.
"Okay, just making sure you aren't hiding more injuries," he said. He looked at her, and asked curiously, "Have you had lots of boyfriends before?"
Zarine was a little startled by his question. [Where did that come from? Why in the world would I have had lots of boyfriends?] she wondered.
"Uh, no, why would you ask that?" Zarine asked, bewildered.
"I just thought since so many guys fall in love with you at first sight, you might have gone out with a lot of them," Ray answered.
"What does having a lot of guys falling in love with you and going out with a lot of guys have to do with anything? I'm not a player, you know! I don't go out with just anyone," she said, a little offended by his judgment.
"Then who do you go out with?" he asked. He really had to know.
"A guy that cares about me, someone I can have fun with, etc." she said, shrugging. "What did you expect?"
"I was just wondering," he said.
Zarine yawned, she was really tired, and getting really cold.
"If you're tired, just go to sleep," Ray said.
"I doubt that I can. I'm so cold," Zarine said, rubbing her arms vainly, trying to get warm.
"Here, take my jacket," Ray offered, and put it on her shoulders.
"Wouldn't you be cold though?" she asked worriedly.
"You need it more than me. Just take it," he said firmly.
"Thanks," she said. She closed her eyes, and fell asleep instantly. Her head fell onto Ray's shoulder.
Ray looked at the sleeping girl, and decided to go sleep too. His head fell on top of Zarine's as he fell asleep.
In the middle of the night, Zarine woke up with a jolt of pain in her back. Oblivious to the fact that Ray's head was on top of hers, she moved her head off Ray's shoulder quickly, and ended up bumping Ray on the cheekbone. Ray woke up, and rubbed his cheek.
"Sorry!" Zarine apologized quickly. "Did I hurt you?"
"No, I'll live," Ray answered, still rubbing his cheek.
Zarine impulsively put her hand on his cheek. Ray looked at her in surprise. She blushed, and moved her hand away.
"Why did you wake up like that?' Ray asked.
"My back," Zarine answered. "It's just aching. I don't think I can sleep with it like that though."
"I know what to do," Ray said, as he thought of an idea. He spread his leg apart, scooped Zarine up easily, and put her in between his legs.
"Now what?" Zarine demanded. She was not amused with what he had just done.
"Now, you lean back on me. Then I can cover the both of us with my jacket, and get warm," he replied.
"I told you that you'd be cold without your jacket," she scolded, like it was all his fault. She leaned back, so she lying against his chest.
"And let you freeze out here?" he asked, covering him and Zarine with the jacket.
"No, I didn't say that. I just didn't want you to catch a cold," she said defensively.
"Glad to know you care. Now go to sleep," he prompted. She wriggled around until she was comfortable. Ray's arm encircled Zarine's waist in an embrace. She turned around and gave him an unfriendly stare.
"What?" Ray asked innocently. "You're using me as a pillow, so I'm using you as a teddy bear."
Zarine laughed. "Fine, you win," she gave in, "Use me as your teddy bear, but don't throw me around in the middle of the night."
The next morning, the rays from the sun woke Zarine up. She rubbed her eyes and found Ray's arm still tight around her. She looked at him, and saw that he was still asleep. "Great, now what am I supposed to do?" she grumbled to herself.
Zarine heard a chuckle, and looked at Ray again. He was just pretending to be asleep!
"Ray! Release me!" Zarine said, trying to get loose.
"Why did you decide to sleep out there?" Tyson asked. The others were in the room, looking out at them.
Zarine and Ray both jumped up. "We got stuck out here," Zarine explained.
"How? Your door's unlocked," Max said.
"We couldn't get it to open. We think it's jammed or something," Ray said.
"Okay, what are we going to do? We've only got half an hour to get to the stadium before our match!" Tyson said.
"No way!" Zarine yelped. She didn't want to be disqualified.
"Just break through with your blades," Kai said, in a bored tone. "I'll pay for it."
"Okay, stand back, people," Tyson warned. "Go, Dragoon!"
Tyson's blade smashed the glass of the door easily. Zarine and Ray carefully stepped over the pieces of glass and into the room.
"Let's go!" Max said, excited.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Zarine's POV
Max was skipping, and laughing with Tyson. I think they had too much sugar...As we walked to the stadium, I thought about last night. It was really sweet of Ray to give me his jacket...Why does he protect me so much? He does so much for me, but I have nothing to give in return...so why would he keep on protecting me even though he knows he might not get anything?
'Because that's what you do when you love someone,' her bit-beast's voice rang softly in her head.
'Why would he love me, of all the people?' Zarine wondered.
'Ask him.'
'I can't do that!' I exclaimed.
'Why not?'
'Because...I dunno,'
'You're just scared.'
'Am not! Why would I be scared?'
'Whatever you say, but deep inside, you know what I'm talking about.'
"Zarine!" Kenny called.
"Oh, sorry! Did you say something?" I asked.
"Well, you were just staring into space for a while, so I was getting kind of worried. Is there anything wrong?" he asked?
"No," I replied, not wanting to tell him. I like him well enough, but when it comes to problems with guys, I prefer to get help from a girl.
We won our match easily, advancing to the next round. We only need to get past three more rounds to get into the semi-finals. The Saint Shields got past their round too.
"Hey!" Mariam said, as she spotted us. She came over to us.
"Hi, Mariam!" Max said happily.
I smiled, they are so perfect for each other.
"So how's your back?" Mariam asked me, tearing her eyes off Max to look at me.
"Oh, it's better," I answered.
"Good," she said vaguely, and turned her eyes back onto Max again. She brushed some hair out of his eyes. "Ozuma said that we'll drop by sometime today," she said, and walked back to her team.
"See ya!" Max called after Mariam.
Dizzi said amusedly, "Looks like our Maxie is growing up, wouldn't you say?"
Ray, who just came back with drinks for all of us, said, smiling, "Ya, definitely. Who knew he'd get a girlfriend so soon?"
"Ray, I wouldn't be talking if I were you," the blonde hair boy retorted, blushing. "The way that you were holding Zarine in your arms last night to sleep definitely makes me wonder if you guys are a couple!"
I hadn't expected him to say that, I chocked on my pop. "Max! Nothing's going on between us, we're just friends!"
"Whatever you say," he said in a skeptical tone.
I sighed and rolled my eyes. What is my life getting into?
"Let's have lunch and then train for a little while," Kai spoke from behind.
"That's a great idea!" Tyson said, really excited.
"Tyson, you think any plans involving eating is great," I remarked. I was still getting used to Tyson's big appetite.
We walked out of the stadium and into the sunlight. "At least, I'm not anorexic!" Tyson said.
"Tyson!" I was really offended by that comment. "Just because I'm small doesn't mean I'm anorexic! Mariam was right. Your mouth will get you into a lot of trouble one day."
"Nothing that I can't get out of," he said, grinning at me. "I was just kidding."
"You better watch what you make fun of, Mister," I said, waving a finger warningly in front of him. "Because I just might make you train ten times as hard as the others if you make me angry."
Tyson was wise enough to shut his mouth then.
My eyes locked onto Ray, who was walking in front of me. I looked at his hair. How on earth did he style his hair like that? Out of all the guys I've met, his and Kai's are the best ones I've seen. Then my gaze moved onto his arms. I smiled as I remembered how close he held me to him last night...
"SO ARE WE THERE YET?" Tyson's loud voice cut across my thoughts.
"Hold your horses! We're almost there!" Kai snapped, leading the way to wherever we're going. I couldn't care less, I wasn't hungry anyways.
So what was I thinking before Tyson interrupted? Oh ya, I was thinking about how Ray was holding me last night. What the...Why was I thinking about THAT? I should be thinking about how to train these guys! I banished all thoughts about Ray out of my head.
During lunch, I ordered chocolate chip pancakes with vanilla ice cream. The guys stared at me.
"What's your problem?" I asked, noticing their stares as the waitress put my pancakes down.
"Aren't pancakes for breakfast?" Max asked.
I shrugged, it really didn't matter to me. "Whatever, I don't care. It's good!"
My gaze kept on turning onto Ray. It was so frustrating! What the hell was wrong with me anyways! It's not like I'm in love with him or anything!
'Are you sure about that?' Xeora asked inside my head.
'No,' I admitted. I'm not sure about that anymore. 'So am I?'
Xeora laughed, 'That, my dear, is for you to figure out. If you can't, then no one else can, and certainly not me.'
I looked at Ray more confused than ever, about my feelings for him. He looked at me, those dark eyes of his burned into mine. "Can I have some of that" he asked.
"Yeah, sure!" I managed to say. My heart began pounding. I took a deep breath. It's clear now. I must be falling for him! But as that answer came to me, a thousand more questions arose into my head.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ I hoped you liked it...