Title: Long Time No See
By: Moonlit Sea
Disclaimer: Do not own Beyblade or any of its characters (except for Sam, Kate & Ben).
*-Thoughts-*
Chapter 9 - I'll Protect You.
When Kai returned later that night he could hear the others talking.
"Sounds to me like he's becoming more like his father." He heard Tyson say.
"But is that a good thing?" Kenny asked.
"Not when he treats his sister like that it's not." Max said.
"And who's to say it'll stop at her, for all we know he does it to Sam." Ray said.
"Who are you talking about?" Kai asked walking in.
Everyone looked at each other wondering whether or not Kai should know.
"Well?"
"Promise not to get mad or anything." Dizzi said.
Kai looked surprised for a moment. What could be so bad that he'd have to promise not to get angry? He then nodded in response.
"Ben." Max answered.
"Ben?" Kai repeated.
"Your son." Tyson said stressing the word 'your'.
Kai looked a little embarrassed that he still didn't know his own children's names.
"What about him?"
"Let's just say he's becoming more like his father everyday." Ray says.
"What's going on?" a sleepy female voice asked.
Everyone turned to see a sleepy looking Kate standing in the doorway.
"Sorry did we wake you?" Max asks apologetically.
Before Kate can reply Kai notices that she is holding a yellow rose.
"Where'd you get that?" he asks.
"Huh?" she looks at the rose in her hand then back at everyone. "Ray gave it to me." She says with a smile "Don't you think it's pretty. I have lots more too."
Kai could feel his anger growing what was Ray doing giving his daughter roses?
"It's real nice Kate." Tyson said.
"Come on its time you went back to bed." Ray said walking over to her.
"Awww can't I stay up just a little longer?" Kate pleaded.
"And have Sam kill me tomorrow? I don't think so." He jokes as he walked Kate back to her bed.
Kai sighed as he watched the interaction between Ray and Kate. Ray was acting more like a father than he was and in a way that sadden him.
"You okay Kai?" Kenny asks.
"Fine."
"You sure? You look a little…" Max began.
"Upset." Tyson finished.
Kai didn't answer but just looked out the window, everyone could see that he wanted to be left alone and decided to leave all except Tyson.
"It's Ray isn't it." He says.
Kai turns round and sees Tyson on his own.
"You still here?" He said his tone suggesting he wanted Tyson to leave.
"I know you still like her Kai so there's no point in trying to hide it." Thinking back to what Max had told him.
"If I was trying to hide my feelings for Sam Tyson you wouldn't be here. You'd have gone with the others."
Tyson was about to retaliate when the phone rang.
"You better go get that." Kai says with a slight smile.
Tyson gives Kai an annoyed looked before going to pick up the phone. Unknown to Tyson, Kai decided to follow him and was listening to the conversation.
"Hello?" he says in a half annoyed tone.
"Sam? You okay?" Tyson suddenly asks worriedly.
Then a couple of minutes later Kai heard Tyson say
"Max and I will be right over."
Tyson had just turned round to go and find Max when Kai appeared out of nowhere making him nearly jump five foot in the air.
"Kai would you stop doing that!" he complained then noticed the seriousness on Kai's face. "What's wrong?"
"I'm coming with you."
"Kai I don't think…"
"If Sam's in trouble there's no way I'm staying here." Kai says determinedly.
"Okay okay let me go find Max and we'll get going." Tyson said. He was in no mood to argue for once.
After Tyson found Max they all headed over to Sam's. On the way there Kai kept wondering what happened and why it would get Tyson to say he'd be right over with Max. When they got there Max rang the doorbell and they heard a voice ask "W-who is it?" it took them a while to figure out that it was Sam's voice but it was hard to tell as it had a shaky undertone to it.
"Sam, it's us." Tyson said.
Slowly the door opened and Sam popped her out, she looked a little pale.
"Come in."
"Where's Ben?" Max asks as they all make there way to the living room.
"He's asleep in his room." Sam answers.
"You look a little shaky. Perhaps you should sit down."
"Ray wanted to come too but someone had to stay and look after Kate." Tyson explains.
Sam didn't say anything but just gave a nod of her head as she sat down on the sofa. Max and Tyson sat either side of her while Kai stood besides Max.
"You sure you're okay? From what Tyson tells me you've had quite a scare." Max says sympathetically.
Kai couldn't help but feel a little pang of jealousy at both Tyson and Max's kindness towards Sam.
"You shouldn't stay alone tonight." Not realising what he was saying until he said it.
Max, Sam and Tyson all looked at Kai in amazement. Sam hadn't even noticed Kai was there until he spoke.
"Kai's right Sam." Tyson said, "One of us should stay just in case something else happens."
"Right." Max agreed.
"I'll stay." Kai says, surprising everyone including himself.
He then cursed himself inwardly for saying it. *-Am I trying to torture myself.-* he though rhetorically.
"Uh…okay." Sam says. She was still in shock that Kai came up with the idea let alone volunteering to stay.
"We'll come back in the morning and see how things are okay." Max said.
Sam gave a nod followed by a little smile.
"Thanks guys."
"No problem." Tyson says. "We're just glad you're all right."
"With friends like you how can I not be." She joked a little.
The three of them got up and headed towards the door before Sam opened it Max said
"He still loves you, you know."
"Huh?" Max's statement had caught Sam totally off guard.
"Kai."
"Oh… right."
Although Sam's voice sounded plain and mediocre Tyson and Max saw a twinkle in her eyes just before she turned to open the door. They smiled at each other.
"Well night guys. Thanks again for coming."
"See you in the morning Sam." Tyson says walking out.
After closing the door Sam sighs and goes to back to check on Kai. She finds him still standing in the same place as before and walks up to him.
"Kai?"
No reply, she waves a hand in front of his face, which gets his attention. He turns and looks straight into Sam's eyes. They stay like that for a few minutes before Sam turns a little pink and looks away. Kai was just about to pull her face gently back towards him when…
"I guess I better show you to the spare room." She said walking away.
Kai sighed he knew this was a bad idea so why did he suggest it? He followed Sam to the spare bedroom, which had a crimson red theme to it.
"This used to be Ben's room… that was until he complained it was too small." Sam explained as she drew the curtains. "Sorry about the colour I didn't see much point in changing it as I never thought it'd be used as a spare room. I…uh hope you'll be comfortable." Trying to shake off the nervousness she was feeling.
"I'll be fine."
Sam couldn't help but give a smile at Kai's answer. *-Same old Kai.-* she thought and turned to leave. She stopped just before going out the door and said
"Kai…"
He turned to face her only to find she had her back to him.
"…Thanks." And walked off.
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Back at Tyson's
"How's Sam?" Ray asked as Tyson and Max come back from Sam's.
"Fine." Tyson answers.
"Though a little shaken." Max adds.
"At least she's okay." Ray says with relief.
"We said we'd drop by in the morning." Tyson said a yawn.
"How's Kate doing?" Max asks.
Ray sighs.
"She's okay. Although she thinks her father hates her because she kinda stuck up for me in her argument with Ben."
Tyson shook his head.
"I'm beginning to think this reunion thing was a bad idea."
"Don't be silly Tyson even if we had this reunion a year or two later things would still be the same." Max said trying to reassure his friend.
"Actually I don't mean to a downer or anything but she was thinking of moving away." Ray says.
"Gee thanks Ray… now I feel even worse."
"Hey if you want to blame anyone Tyson it should be me." Max said a little annoyed that he was blaming everything on himself.
"Huh? Why you Maxie?" Tyson asks a little confused.
"If I hadn't told you that I was coming you wouldn't have got the idea in the first place."
"Don't forget that it was me who brought Sam here. Everything was going well until I did that." Ray adds.
"Looks like we're all to blame." Max says.
Tyson smiles.
"Thanks guys."
"Hey what are friends for." Ray smiles "Now lets get some sleep."
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Sam looked at the clock it said three thirty am, she wondered why or what had woken her. She looked over to her balcony to see it was raining heavily then a flash of lightning streaked across the sky, and she thought she saw something on her balcony. *-I'm probably just seeing things.-* she thought *-but perhaps I'd better check at the next lightning flash… just in case.-* she sat up and waited for the next flash of lightning and when it came she saw that there was someone standing on her balcony and they pointed at her. Sam was so terrified that she hadn't realised that she let out a small scream, which brought Kai running in.
"Sam what's wrong?" he asks turning the light on.
Sam doesn't answer she was petrified at what she had just seen. She sat shaking in her bed looking at the balcony. This only made Kai even more worried he walked over, sat in front of her and put a hand on her shoulder which made her jump and look at him. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out so instead she gave Kai a puzzled look hoping he would understand.
"You screamed." He said answering the look.
At which point Sam looked back at the balcony, there was nothing there could she have been imagining it? Kai could see Sam looking at the balcony and that she was trying to work something out he was about to look himself when he heard "Mum? You okay?" Ben then walks in. He is little shocked at what he sees but then smiles.
"Yay! You two made up." He cries as he runs over to the bed, clambers over it and hugs Sam's back. "Kate will be so happy." He adds.
Kai looked from Sam to Ben and back to Sam again, she hadn't even acknowledged that Ben was in the room she was still looking at the balcony. Ben on the other hand didn't seem to care that Sam wasn't saying anything and was happily hugging her his face happily resting on her back.
When Ben finally looks at Kai he sees that he is looking a little worry.
"What's wrong?" he finally asks.
Kai didn't know how to answer should he tell him the truth and destroy all his hope or should he just lie and say that everything was okay? Ben looked so happy when he thought that Kai and Sam were back together, how Kai wished that were so but he couldn't make that assumption not without knowing how Sam felt and if the last couple of days were any indication then she didn't like him like that anymore.
"You should be in bed." Kai says remembering how Ray handled Kate.
Ben smiles and nods then after giving Sam one last hug returns to his room closing the door behind him.
Kai was a little surprised that Ben actually listened to him. He sighs and looks back at Sam only find that she was no longer there he looked around the room and saw her standing at the balcony door he walks over to her.
"You okay?" he asks.
Sam shrugs.
"What happened? Why did you scream?"
She looks at him for a second before looking back at the balcony and opening the doors walking out into the rain.
"Are you crazy?" Kai says as he pulls Sam back in from the pelting rain.
Just as he closes the doors Sam says
"Adam!" her annoyance was clear.