OH MY GOD!!!!!!!! Is this for real?! Am I really back?! Of course I am! I would never abandon you readers!
So sorry that it took me sooooo long to update. Of course there was the problem that I was moving, then getting settled in, then going to a new school, having tons of hard homework, and a slight writer's block. But other than that, I gave in every minute of my time to writing this chapter just for you..... so enough with me and read it!!!!!!!
I most definitely do not own Beyblade.....wish I did though....
Chapter 14: An Unforgettable Night
"What the hell is this?" Celia questioned when she saw a notice taped on the door of her room. Kai and her were about to head out to breakfast before Celia stopped. She took off the notice and saw the BBA insignia on the back of the envelope. With Kai looking over her shoulder, Celia opened the envelope and noticed it was some sort of formal invite. "I don't believe this!" Celia moaned after reading the contents. "Well, looks like no training today," she said facing Kai. He just rolled his eyes in annoyance of the letter. Both of them headed out to the dining hall and waited for the others to come. They didn't have to wait long. A few minutes later, the whole group came in and sat down at the table with their captains.
"Good morning everyone," Karen said cheerfully. Everyone except for Kai and Celia responded back to her. Ray noticed that the two captains were acting differently than usual.
"Kai, Celia, is something the matter?" Ray questioned with slight concern. Everyone turned toward them at the question with curiosity on their faces.
"The extra training is cancelled for today," Kai stated unemotionally. Everyone widened their eyes at the statement, wondering what could be wrong. They thought Kai and Celia would have wanted to train seeing as the finals were the next day.
"What do you mean Kai? Wouldn't it be good for us to train before the final match?" Tyson questioned, raising a couple of eyebrows.
"We would have trained today but something came up," Celia explained. "All team have been invited to go to a ball but it's mandatory for team captains and it's mandatory formal wear," she finished explaining.
"So the reason training is cancelled..." Sophie trailed off, looking at her teammates with a smile.
"...is because we have to go shopping!" Karen exclaimed with excitement. She and Mariah glowed with happiness while everyone else shook their heads is disbelief.
"This is gonna be a long day," Celia groaned.
"Come on you guys! You mean to tell me that none of these dresses interests you at all?!" Mariah complained to the four girls in disbelief.
"They just don't seem to catch our eye," Karen explained, looking through a rack of dresses. The other three girls agreed and Mariah just sighed.
"Mariah, do you plan on getting that gown?" Celia asked, glancing at the white dress in the pink haired girl's arms. Mariah followed her gaze and smiled brightly.
"Of course! I love this dress!" Mariah exclaimed.
"Alright then. Let's pay for it and get out of here," Celia said, making her way toward the register. The others followed her lead and Mariah placed the dress on the counter. The clerk rang up the dress and Celia handed her what looked like a credit card. The clerk carefully wrapped the dress in a box and placed it in a bag, handing it to Mariah. With a simple "Thank you" they left the shop and went to the shop next door where the boys were being fitted into their tuxedos. They noticed that Kai and Ray were already done and the others were finishing up.
"How's it going?" Celia asked Ray who was standing nearby.
"Everything's fine except for the question of who's going to pay for all of this," Ray said with a sheepish look.
"Don't worry about it. I"ll take care of it," Celia assured with a small smile. Kai heard what she said and wondered how she would be able to pay for anything. Tuxedos and gowns weren't exactly cheap. He narrowed his eyes and decided to ask her later.
"Hey girls! Have you all picked out a dress yet?" Tyson asked with a bright smile on his face.
"Not really. We wanted to look around some more. Since you guys are done, I guess it's okay if you just take a walk around the city. That is if it's okay with Celia and Kai," Karen suggested. The boys just looked at eh two captains and smiled when they saw them nod in agreement.
"The ball starts at eight tonight. Be ready to go by then," Kai stated. Everyone nodded in understanding. A clerk approached them with five boxes.
"Is this all you guys need?" Celia questioned, looking at the boys. All of them nodded and Celia just handed the clerk her credit card. Each of the boys took their labeled box and waited for Celia to pay for their tuxedos. After she was done they all left the shop. After saying their farewells, the girls made way to another shop while the guys went elsewhere. Celia was behind the others, taking the time to see the sights. They were then passing by a jewelry shop when something caught her eye. She looked into the window and saw the prettiest necklace she had ever seen. It wasn't extravagant but was simple and yet beautiful.
It had a silver circular charm the size of a nickel. In the center were five sapphire studs that took the shape of a star and was around a single diamond stud that was in the very center. On both sides were small wings etched onto it and a simple silver chain to complete it. She had a look of longing on her face but shook her head to quickly rid the thought of actually buying it. She made her way back toward the others but unknown to her someone was watching her the whole time. He looked into the window at the very spot where she just stood and didn't need to think about which one she was looking at. He quickly went inside the jewelry shop and moments later the jeweler took the necklace away from the window display and placed it in a box for the young man.
"Man! What's taking the girls so long?!" Tyson whined to the other guys. He along with the others were already dressed, ready to go. Tyson himself was in his dark gray tuxedo with a white shirt, black vest, bow tie and shoes. He got rid of his red and blue cap for this one night and instead tied a black bandana on his head.
"Relax Tyson. You know how girls are. Don't worry, we'll make it in time," Max reassured, sitting in his smoke gray tuxedo. He too had a white shirt underneath with a slightly darker smoke gray vest, and black tie and shoes.
"Yeah Tyson, Celia won't make us late," Ray said who was in his white tuxedo. In opposition to the others, he had on a black shirt on with a white vest and tie but had black shoes. Kenny nodded in agreement and was somewhat uncomfortable in his light gray tux. He had on a white shirt with a black vest, tie and shoes, just like Max and Tyson. Kai was leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets of his black tux. Instead of a white shirt, he opted for a silver grayish color that didn't need a tie and a black vest and shoes. Also, he had a silver grayish handkerchief in his jacket pocket. As always, he appeared the calmest out of the group but truth he wanted the girls to hurry up so the night could be over with.
"That's right I wouldn't," a voice called out from the staircase. The boys' attention was turned toward the five girls at the top of the staircase. Four out of the five boys had a dazed expression on their faces. Kai remained the same on the outside but on the inside, he was as dazed as the others. All of the girls just smiled at their expressions. Celia was dressed in a simple silver gown with only a left strap and silver strapped shoes. She had two silver clips that pulled up some of her hair and the rest was down with loose strands framing her face. With white-eye liner and silver eye shadow and lip-gloss while simple small silver loops graced her ears along with a silver chain bracelet, she was all set to go.
"You boys should snap out of it before you freeze up like that," Karen mused, wearing her strapless baby blue dress. Her hair was pulled back halfway with white ribbons in her hair with the occasional curl and curled strands framing her face. Her make up was the same as her leader except being baby blue. She also had a teardrop necklace and earrings that matched with it. Julie stood next to her, a smile on her face. She was wearing a lavender dress with a thick right strap and a spaghetti strap on the left. Her hair was pulled up into a French twist, wisps of hair framing her face. With lavender make up and an orchid color choker with a star charm on it and small chandelier earrings, she was a sight to behold. Sophie also had an amused expression on her face. She was wearing her baby pink dress that had straps that was slightly off the shoulder. Her short hair was left down and parted off to the left side and had two small berets holding the left side of her back. She had on a chandelier necklace and studded earrings with white and baby pink make up.
"Yeah and besides, we're gonna be late if we late you just stand there and gawk at us," Mariah replied with a smirk. She was in a white spaghetti strap dress, her hair done up in its usual ponytail but had white streaks in it and held up with a white ribbon. She made her way toward Ray and grabbed his hand in hers and led the way toward their awaiting limo. Everyone followed the couple, Kai and Celia bringing up the rear. They didn't have the wait long and arrived at their destination. Kai got out first and shocked everyone inside, especially Celia when he offered his hand to help her out. She accepted his hand with a shy smile and got out with his help. They went inside the two-story room, which was a dining hall. They were guided to their table and all sat down. Soon a waitress took their orders and began chatting about the finals that were going to happen the next day.
"You know, after dinner we're gonna have to go up stairs," Sophie informed to the group.
"What for?" Max questioned with a puzzled look on his face.
"Yeah. What's upstairs?" Tyson asked after he swallowed his mouth full of food.
"Upstairs is the ballroom where we can mingle around with the other teams," Kenny explained briefly. "Not only that but the captains are gonna have to do a little ballroom dancing," Kenny added on.
"Ballroom dancing? Good thing it's only for captains though, but I doubt Kai would be able to take the first three steps," Tyson joked with a smile. Kai quirked an eyebrow at what he said. He wasn't bothered by Tyson's comment because he would prove him wrong when it was time.
"Hmm...I don't know Tyson. Something tells me that Kai is more than capable of handling ballroom dancing," Ray remarked then looked toward the said captain. Kai just sat back and shut himself away from the group. Dinner went by smoothly and soon it was time to go upstairs. Kai once again offered his hand to Celia which she shyly accepted and wrapped her arm around his. Everyone except Ray and Julie looked on with surprise and wonder while the two said just smiled knowingly.
"I wonder what that's about?" Tyson whispered to Karen who also had her arm wrapped around his. Karen just smiled knowingly and looked toward Julie and Sophie with happiness in her eyes. The two girls had the same expression on their faces.
"Don't worry about it right now Tyson. All will be revealed in due time," Karen responded and gave him a light peck on his cheek which caused him to blush. They all followed after their captains upstairs to the large and elegantly decorated ballroom. There were several crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and the floor reflected the lights coming from them. There was a small orchestra currently playing music near the back of the room. On both sides of the room, tables were set up to serve refreshments. Beyond the tables were large open curtain glass doors that led to the balconies, two doors on each side.
"Hello everyone and welcome," a voice said in a microphone. Everyone's attention turned toward the voice and found none other than Mr. Dickenson himself. Silence filled the room waiting to hear what the chairman had to say. "Thank you to all the teams who participated in this first ever DuoBlade Tournament. You all have made outstanding performances and I was more than satisfied at all the stunning battles. And I congratulate the two teams who have made it this far, the Trinity and Demolition Boys and the Sacred Stars and the Bladebreakers."
At that, everyone applauded the success of the two pair teams. Celia looked around the room and met with familiar dark green eyes that were smiling and shined with happiness. She smiled back and proceeded to look around when she was suddenly me with a pair of turquoise eyes. Her smile faltered and masked her emotions. They stared at each other for a while until Celia was yanked away by Mariah to go to the drink table.
"Come on Celia, I'm bored," Mariah said, dragging the said girl with her the whole way.
"Hey! You're not the only one believe me but I'm the one that has to pay attention!" Celia protested against the pink haired girl. Mariah just rolled her eyes a bit and kept on advancing to the beverage table while keeping a strong hold of Celia. The female captain stopped her futile attempts of yanking her arm free and just allowed Mariah to drag her away while trying to listen to Mr. Dickenson.
"As most of you have found out, there will be a little, friendly ballroom dancing between the captains to show no hard feelings. So, will all captains please come toward the front while everyone else please clear out of the way," Mr. Dickenson announced, looking at the bladers move.
"Hey Mariah, I've got to---" Celia was cut off when someone grabbed her other arm. She slightly tensed when she saw a pale hand. Her eyes trailed up the arm and relaxed when she saw the two tone blue haired captain grasping her and gently pulling on her arm.
"Come on. We've gotta go," Kai said with reluctance laced in his voice. It was obvious he didn't want to do this but captains had to do it to show 'no hard feelings.' He also didn't want to leave Celia for fear of a repeat of what happened a couple of weeks ago. He would just have to keep a sharp eye on her. When they finally reached the front, they waited until everyone cleared away and took their positions.
"Hope you know how to dance," Celia stated with a small smile.
"Hmph! Only to prove Tyson wrong," Kai replied back with a slight smirk. Her smile grew wider as he took her left hand in his right and placed his left on her hip while her right rested on his shoulder. As the music began to play, all of the couples began to dance. Most eyes were on Kai and Celia, surprised to actually see the stoic Bladebreaker captain dancing rather well with his partner. They never broke eye contact and just glided across the dance floor with graceful, liquid-like movements.
"Well Tyson, there you have it. Now pay the man!" Max said with a wide smile. Tyson just grumbled and fished out a twenty dollar bill from his pocket. Max smiled in triumph, putting the money into his pocket.
"When did you guys make a bet?" Karen asked with a raised eyebrow. Both boys just had a sheepish look on their faces. Ray shook his head, amusement on his face. They continued to watch all of the couples dance.
Kai and Celia seemed to be in a world of their own as they continued to dance. Their world didn't last long when they had to switch partners. Kai was a bit reluctant but gave her hand a slight squeeze before letting her go. Celia was a bit reluctant as well and didn't take her eyes off him until someone took hold of her hand and placed his hand on her hip. She jerked her gaze away to turn to her new dance partner and relaxed seeing that it was actually Jamie rather than the re haired Demolition Boy.
"How are you holding up?" Jamie joked with a smile. Celia just rolled her eyes and he had to restrain from laughing out loud. The continued on and pretty soon had to part ways. Jamie released her with a smile and wink and soon had someone else in his arms. No sooner was she swept away as well. She turned to her new partner and her eyes widened. There in front of her was the very person she hoped not to meet with, the red haired captain of the Demolition Boys.
"Good evening, my star maiden," Tala greeted huskily. "I'm happy to have the opportunity to dance with you."
"Believe me, that happiness is only one-sided," Celia responded, hate flaming in her eyes. Tala smirked in amusement, which angered her even more. Silence fell between them as they continued to dance.
Kai on the other hand was having trouble keeping track of Celia. His current dance partner was the Trinity's leader herself, Sidra. She made it painfully obvious that she wanted him, given the fact that she was the one who gave him the small present at the banquet in the beginning. Plus she was constantly trying to close the distance between them, which was pretty far apart. When he was able to get a glance of Celia, he let a low growl escape his throat that startled Sidra. He seethed in anger at seeing the Demolition boy dancing with her with a predatory look on his face. Luckily they were heading toward him so he could see every move that the red head would make. At the final switch, everyone went back to their original partner.
When Kai took hold of Celia once again, he noticed that she seemed tense. He showed worry in his eyes for a brief second and pulled her closer to him, trying to get her to relax. She smiled gratefully and relaxed so she wouldn't worry him anymore. Not long after, the music stopped and so did all the dancing captains. Soon the teams all applauded the captains on a great performance.
"Wonderful! Absolutely splendid! Now all of you have fun and remember that the finals are tomorrow to determine the DuoBlade Tournament Champions," Mr. Dickenson finalized and left the stage. Music began to play again and some people started to dance while others mingled around the refreshment tables.
"Celia we need to talk," Karen said as she and the other girls approached the two captains. All of them had anxious looks on their faces and grabbed her hand and quickly took her away.
"Hey! Wait!" Celia exclaimed in protest. She looked over to Kai with a 'Help me' expression on her face but all he did was smirk and shrug his shoulders. She sighed dejectedly and just allowed the girls to drag her away. When they finally stopped, they all turned to look at her with expectant looks on their faces. "What?" Celia questioned after they didn't say anything for a while.
"You know what. How was it?" Mariah asked, patience wearing thin. The others looked on and waited for her answer. Celia just sighed, knowing that she would not be released until she answered their questions.
"Honestly," Celia began, masking her emotions. Then she broke out into a small smile. "It was amazing," she finished with a faraway look in her eyes. The girls squealed in excitement at hearing her answer.
"Who was a better dancer?" Sophie asked, curious to know. The others quieted to listen to her answer. An eyebrow was raised, looking at all of their faces.
"Why should I tell you? That's none of your business," Celia responded with a hint of annoyance laced in her voice.
"Oh come on Celia! You can tell us," Karen pleaded, urging her captain to answer. Celia turned her back to them and looked over her shoulder at them.
"If you must know, it was a certain two tone blue haired captain who was the best," Celia said and walked away, leaving the girls with wide smiles on their faces.
Celia smiled despite of herself. She wasn't lying to them when she said that the blue haired captain was the best. She walked out onto one of the balconies that was unoccupied and went up to the ledge and leaned on it, looking up at the crescent moon that shown in the midnight blue sky. She knew that she shouldn't be there alone but she couldn't help herself. She needed fresh air and time to think. Unknown to her, someone was watching her, hidden in the shadows.
Kai stayed back, hiding in the shadows best he could, not wanting Celia to spot him. When she had gotten dragged away by the girls, he had followed but stayed out of sight and listened in. He was a little surprised at what they questioned her and was further surprised with her responses. He was especially surprised with her departing comment and soon followed after her. He was currently just watching her, not wanting to disturb her moment of peace.
"Kai I know you're there. You can come out now," Celia said, shocking the said boy. She hadn't even turned around and she knew of his presence. He came out of the shadows and walked up to her, leaning on the ledge next to her.
"How did you know?" Kai asked, curious to know her answer.
"Esdraloon told me. Dranzer gave you away," Celia replied and looked at him with a smirk. Kai growled in annoyance and her smile grew. "Do you need something?"
"No. I thought you would have learned your lesson by now to not be alone," Kai responded, not giving away any emotion. Celia went back to looking at the night sky and relaxed a bit.
"I know but I have Esdraloon with me this time. She won't let it happen a third time," Celia assured. "Plus I know that you're always watching out for me," she finished with a small smile. They were silent as they just stood in each other's company. After a few moments, Celia sighed and stood up straight. "Guess we better be getting inside. Don't want the others to worry about us," she said and turned to leave when a hand grabbed her wrist. She stopped and turned to look at Kai with a questioning glance. He didn't say anything. Then he reached inside his jacket and pulled out a black velvet box. Celia turned to him fully with a confused expression on her face when he handed her the box. She glanced at him for a second before opening the box. Her eyes widened in shock at seeing the very necklace she saw earlier on in the day. Still with a questioning, confused expression on her face, she asked, "How? And why?"
Kai didn't answer at first but responded, "Because." It wasn't really a sufficient answer for her but she knew he wouldn't say anything else. He took the necklace out of the box and unclasped it, stepping closer to her. She moved her hair out of the way as put the necklace on her and let it fall back in place when he finished. However, he didn't move away from her, but gently cupped her face in his hands, tilting it upward. Ebony black clashed with crimson as they stared at each other, not knowing they were moving closer to each other. Their breaths mingled as their lips were barely an inch apart.
Kai hesitated, not knowing if she wanted this. Celia noticed that Kai didn't move any further as if not sure to move in or not. She made the decision for him and moved in for the kiss. He was surprised at first but soon responded to the gently sweet kiss. His arms moved to wrap around her waist as her arms wrapped around his neck. His grip around her tightened, bringing her even closer to him.
After a few moments, their lungs protested for air and they pulled away, resting their foreheads against each other's. Both were panting heavily with their eyes shut trying to savor the short moment. Kai gripped her even tighter as if she were a dream and would disappear if he let go. They opened their eyes and just stared at each other before Celia rested her head against him, her face at the nape of his neck. He in return gently laid his cheek on top her head. They stayed like that for a few more moments before they reluctantly let go of each other.
"We better get back before something bad happens," Celia said in a soft wistful voice. Kai nodded and together went back inside. Somehow along the way, Celia's hand made it's way to Kai's and they laced their fingers together, giving each other a small smile.
Well hope you liked it. If you readers wanted something with a bit fluff in it.......that was it. Sorry if Kai seems a bit OOC but it's only with her....hehe....
The next chapter is going to be the final one for this story......so if you want a sequel......send in those reviews!!!!!!
Thanks to all and happy reading!
later, Kurai hoshi