Hey again guys! Thanks for reviewing, replies are at the bottom, as usual. In this chapter, see Max talk to Kai, and Kai become freshly jealous. Enjoy!…

CHAPTER 3

The strong smell of freshly roasted coffee floats in the air around me. A sharp pain sears through my head and another through my chest. I am lying on my side on a soft flat surface. A bed. My eyes flutter open when I hear voices nearby.

"Is he awake?" one of the voices asks. I can tell that it is a male by the deep tone of the words spoken.

Another voice, also male, replies, "He's opening his eyes. Are you okay Kai?"

Wearily, I try to bring myself to a sitting position, but my arms are weak and sore. I manage to lift myself up a few centimetres before my tired limbs give way, and I collapse back down. Someone suggests propping me up with pillows. Strong, yet shaky hands take my arms and slowly pull me up. I blink sleepily, and glance upwards. There he is. Rei. He stands over me, with his hands gripping my arms firmly. A smile wills to etch its way onto my face, but all my muscles ache, so the happy response loses its fight.

I feel the pillows that have been placed behind me and I lean back, sinking into the soft cushions. I roll my eyes to the left, and see three men crouching beside me, clutching mugs of steaming liquid. Tyson, Kenny and Max. Rei lets go of my arms and walks around the bed to join them. I have never in my life been happier to see these four people.

Despite my aching body, and the dryness of my mouth, I manage to mumble, "Thanks."

The searing pain in my head and chest returns. I have no idea what is going on, so I force the words of question from my mouth, "Hey, guys, what happened?"

My four friends exchange looks, and I sit silently as they mentally decide who will tell me. In the end, it's Max who gets the task. The other three leave the room, closing the door quietly behind them. As Max drags a chair over to the side of my bed, I find myself wondering why it had to be him. I feel so awkward and uncomfortable around him these days. I never know what to say without letting something slip about my feelings for Rei.

"Are you OK there pal?" Max's concerned voice is all it takes to activate the wave of jealousy that rushes through me. I don't give an answer, and instead just ask again, "What happened?"

A quiet sigh escapes Max's lips. When he closes his eyes and rubs his temples for a moment, I know that whatever happened is worse than I thought. As I wait expectantly, Max slowly nods his head, and opens his eyes.

Before he can speak, I force another question from my dried mouth, "Max? Where are we?"

The boy smiles softly, "My house. This is the spare bedroom." He pauses to allow for me to take in his words. Then he continues his explanation, "You've only been here a few hours. We brought you back from the hospital a while ago, and my place was the closest."

The hospital? I try to focus my brain on this new information. My eyes grow wide as vague memories of the previous hours fill my mind. Fleeting images of a club, and Rei, and yet another cocktail glass swim endlessly in my pool of thoughts. I groan loudly, which must surprise Max, because he jumps in his seat, then lets out a small laugh.

With all the scrambled memories floating around in my head, I manage to blurt out, "Hospital? Max, what–"

"Don't fret, I'll tell you everything," Max reaches out his hand and places his palm against my cheek. His touch is like ice against my flushed skin. "Shh, okay. What time is it now?… 4 o'clock?" he searches the room for a clock, "Yeah, that's about right… Well, that would make it about six hours ago now that we were at the club. You remember a club, don't you?"

I reply in the affirmative with a small grunt. Max carries on with his story, "Well, I know I didn't see much of you while we were there… none of us really did. But something must really have been bothering you, 'cause when we found you, you were so far past drunk that we were scared for your health. Seriously man, never do that to us again. You had us all worried sick, especially Rei. You know how he gets…"

I shake my head, trying to clear my mind and take in all that Max was saying. I was drunk? Past drunk? They were worried… Rei was worried. What did I do? Don't I have any self-control? I could have killed myself! Then it comes back to me. All of it, vivid, like it's only just taking place. I see myself on a couch, I see Rei...... I see Max.

Now I understand everything.

REVIEWS

Okay, I know it was short, don't shoot me. I'll update again in about 3 days, don't you worry. If anyone likes Lord of the Rings, me and my sister have a few fics up, including some poems, which it'd be cool if you guys R&R'ed. Apart from that, here's the replies to your reviews from chapter 2!

Neko-Jenn: Trying to make Kai jealous… well, maybe not so much. There's only two more chapters to go, so you don't have long to wait to find out everything. Thanks for reviewing, and by the way, I love your penname!

Mya Ino: It never occurred to me that I even slightly liked Max/Rei until I put them together in this, it's kinda cute really… but Kai/Rei will always be the best pairing! Glad you like it so much, thanks for your review, and I hope you keep on reading.

Kawaii Neko-jin Lover: Oh yes. He is very jealous.

xCryptorchildx: Thankyou! Gracefully written? Hmm… cool! If it's good, I'll definitely try to keep it up! :P

lil phoenix kd: Interesting indeed. I feel sorry for kai, and I'm the one writing it. How sad. Keep readin'!

hyperness: That does indeed sound familiar. But even if you're absolutely sure of what you think is gonna happen in the ending, you don't know HOW it's gonna happen. So nyah! :P It was fun writing chapter 2, but the next one is my fave, so keep a look out for it up soon.

blackartofchaos: Well, I've updated, so here you go! Jealous Kai is fun to write.

Hope you liked this chapter, and I'll see all of you guys soon!