I'm glad you guys are enjoying this! It's such a pleasure to write. :D Okay, here's the disclaimer for the rest of the fic. I never remember to add these things. XD I don't own Beyblade and I'm not making any money off of this. I don't own Finding Nemo, either. Or Clay Aiken. O.O Last Song by Gackt also isn't mine. Oh yeah, and there's a bit of Rei/Mariah in this fic. Yay.

Chapter Six

The lights of the taxicab bounced off of the buildings prominently in the darkness as it came to a stop at Kai's word. He paid the driver and quietly got out, making his way up the steps of the recording studio while instinctively glancing around for any late-night media stalkers that might be hanging nearby. Finding none, he unlocked the door with as little sound as possible, hoping to make it inside without anyone noticing to grill him about his day.

He cracked the door open and relaxed a bit when nothing happened. Before he could open it all the way, however, someone did the job for him and he found himself face to face with his peevish manager. Michael's cyan-colored eyes seemed to shoot sparks as he glared at him with all the intensity of the sun. Kai recovered his composure quickly and wondered how mad Michael would get if he shot him a winning smile.

"Well, hello there, Kai. How nice of you to finally show up," Michael ground out, moving aside to let the young singer in. Kai shrugged lightly and spotted Tala lounging around in a pair of silk pajamas, flipping through a magazine.

"How was your day with Tyson?" the redhead asked with a wink. Before Kai could answer, Michael interrupted.

"So, his name is Tyson, huh?" he pressed.

"I already told you his name was Tyson on the phone earlier," Kai pointed out. Michael frowned fiercely and Kai wisely shut up. His manager went on.

"Where were you all day?"

"We went to the carnival. Hey, Tala, look. I won a snow globe." Kai pulled out his prize and tossed it to his friend. Tala shook it up and watched the white flecks dance inside the glass sphere, his lavender eyes reflecting on the glossy surface.

"I won it at the booth where you try to knock down those glass bottles," he explained. Tala seemed to approve. Michael looked ready to rip someone's throat out.

"You weren't there all day," he stated. Kai shook his head.

"No, Tyson invited me to his house afterwards. We watched a movie and I tasted his baking."

"You what? You didn't even know this guy, yet you waltzed into his house, watched a movie with him and ate something that he cooked! It could have been poisoned!"

"I do know him. We met after the concert yesterday—he was one of the backstage visitors. You remember the one that crashed into me? The one that got lost with that girl."

"That doesn't count as knowing someone! You met him once."

"What movie did you watch?" Tala asked, setting the snow globe down on the table beside the couch.

"Finding Nemo."

"What? You guys are a pair of losers," Tala scoffed. "Who wants to watch an hour and a half about a bunch of fish? Be a man, Kai."

Kai looked offended. "I like Nemo."

"I bet you like Clay Aiken, too."

"The man can sing."

"Guys? Can we get back to the more important matters at hand?" Michael asked, annoyed. Kai huffed and crossed his arms.

"I'm fine, Michael. Nothing happened. I promise I won't run off when I'm supposed to be at an important photo shoot again."

"How about I won't run off ever again?"

"Erm…"

"What did he bake?" Tala asked distractedly, turning the magazine upside-down and squinting at one of the pages.

"Cookies. Chocolate chip."

"Ooh. Nice."

"What else did you eat?" Michael demanded. "I'm telling Spencer to give you a double workout tomorrow morning."

"I'm probably gonna need it. Let's see…" Kai began ticking off with his fingers. "At the carnival we had candied apples and ice cream… and I can't remember if we ate cotton candy or not, but anyway, at his place I had those chocolate chip cookies, and while we talked we had nachos and cheese dip… and during the movie we ate popcorn. Oh, and before all that, we went out for breakfast. Bacon, eggs, toast, you know, a normal breakfast."

Michael ground his teeth together. "I'm assuming you didn't give a flying flip as to how many calories all that was."

"Oh. No," Kai said, the thought just now occurring to him. Michael heaved a sigh, dragging a hand down his face.

"Kai, Kai, Kai. What am I going to do with you?" he muttered to no one in particular. "You're so talented, but so…"

"Stupid?" Tala supplied. Kai swore and threw a couch pillow at him. Michael began ignoring them when Tala chucked his magazine at Kai's head, and just as Kai was threatening to shove his snow globe down his friend's throat, Emily walked in. She pushed her glasses up and gave them a look.

"Can you two act your age?" she asked, amusement lacing her voice. "Nice to see you back, Kai. Did you have a good day?"

"Uh-huh." He pushed Tala back onto the couch and gave him a triumphant smirk. "I'm going to bed."

"Goodnight." She smiled as he disappeared down the hallway with Tala trailing at his heels, then looked at Michael. "Why do you always look so stressed out?"

"Kai is stressful," he said, massaging his temples. She rolled her eyes.

"Right."

"He is. I worry about his safety. You know he just went off and spent the day with a guy he doesn't even know? Think of what could have happened."

"Oh, please. Tala told me about that kid. His name is Tyson, right? Yeah. I did a little check on him earlier. He's a couple months younger than Kai, he's going to graduate from high school soon, he doesn't have a record, and his bills go to his grandfather. Sounds to me like he's a totally harmless guy."

"That's what he wants you to think."

"Oh. My. God. You are so paranoid. You should be happy that Kai got out and made a friend! Well… maybe next time you should tell him not to run off like that, but still. Kai seemed really happy."

"He's always happy when he's breaking the rules. Who isn't? He went out and stuffed himself like a pig, too. He'll be paying for that one later." Michael scowled.

"He's nineteen. What do you expect?"

"I expected the rebellious stage to be over by nineteen."

"He's not being rebellious, he's being human," Emily stated softly. Michael looked at her for a moment, then seemed to deflate.

"I know. You're kind of right."

"Kind of?" She arched an eyebrow.

"Okay, you are right. I just want what's best for him, you know?"

"What's best for him is for you to try to make sure he's leading the most normal life possible, despite his fame. And I'd say you've been doing a pretty good job," she said with an encouraging smile. "As far as I know, Kai doesn't hate you and that's always a good thing."

Michael chucked lightly and Emily took her glasses off and rubbed her eyes. After a moment, she yawned and gave him a rueful look.

"Sorry, but I think it's time for me to get home," she said. "We'll have to put this little chat on hold."

"Yeah, that's okay. Um… thanks, Emily."

"No problem. I'll always be here to knock some sense into you when you start pulling one of your possessed manager numbers." She grinned at him. Michael rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

"'Night."

"Goodnight, Michael."

"I think it looks good right here," Tala said with satisfaction in his voice, positioning the snow globe on the table beside Kai's bed. Kai was intently reading a slightly crumpled piece of notebook paper, and he looked up briefly from his position atop of his fluffy comforter.

"Uh-huh."

"Okay, what the hell. Stop friggin' ignoring me."

Kai looked up again. "I'm not."

"Let me see this," Tala said impatiently, snatching the paper away. He scanned it for a moment and Kai watched his face carefully.

"'Falling sadness transforms into pure white snow,'" he read aloud, skipping down the lines. "'I never want you to change… please hold me tight just once more.'"

"It's nice, huh?"

"Nice enough to know that you didn't write it." Tala smiled sweetly at Kai's dirty look.

"Tyson wrote it."

"That kid wrote this? Huh. Weird."

"He's good."

"Maybe you should get him to write your songs for you," Tala suggested in mock brightness. Kai gave him a sarcastic smile, pulling the paper away and folding it up before tossing it next to the alarm clock that he never used. He shifted and pulled the sheets up, leaning back lazily against the headboard of his bed.

"So, what did you do all day?" Kai asked, absently tugging at a lock of his bangs. Tala sniffed.

"All my energy went into avoiding Michael while you were prancing around like a stupid pony with your new friend," he said irritably.

"Are you jealous?" The barest hint of a smirk graced Kai's lips.

"Jealous? Over you?" Tala sputtered. "What is there to be jealous over? You're… you're Kai! I wouldn't even think about dating you!"

"I never said anything about dating," Kai said with a contemplative glare, then demanded, "And why wouldn't you date me?"

"Because you're a dimwitted drama queen."

Kai glowered at him.

"Okay, okay. Sorry. It's because… I don't know, I've known you for a long time. I can't see myself making out with you or like… throwing you in bed and… you know. Actually, I can't really picture anyone throwing you in bed…"

"Why not?"

"I don't know."

Kai frowned again. "What's wrong with me?"

With a devilish smirk, Tala immediately jumped on his vulnerability. "What's wrong with me?" he mimicked. "You sound like an insecure high school girl."

"Go to hell," Kai muttered moodily.

"You want me to leave so you can sulk in peace?"

Kai crossed his arms, a slight pout on his lips. "Why can't you see me in a relationship?"

"Uh…" Tala studied the ceiling for a minute as he thought. "Well, you're just… okay. Let's see. Do you prefer top or bottom?"

"How should I know?"

Tala let out a long, exaggerated sigh. "You are hopeless."

"I've never placed myself in that situation before," Kai said delicately.

"Just say it this way—you've never had sex before."

Kai glared at him before slipping down under the covers, making a point of turning so that he wasn't facing his friend. "Goodnight."

"There's no shame in being a virgin," Tala said positively. "Where you lack in sex drive, you make up for in looks and talent, anyway."

Kai sat up. "I'll have you know that I have a very powerful sex drive," he said hotly, jabbing a finger in his face. Tala stood and headed for the door.

"Whatever," he called out, turning off the lights. Kai scowled fiercely at the darkness before lying back down. After a few moments of fuming, he relaxed and let his mind wander back to his day spent with the chipper Tyson. He had been at such ease with him and more than once, he'd completely forgotten about his fame and felt just like the next guy, which was saying a lot. Kai wasn't distracted easily, but there was something about Tyson that just made him want more.

"Thank you, thank you! I promise, he'll be there this time. There was just a slight problem with his schedule, but that's all fixed now. Thank you again," Michael said genuinely before snapping his phone shut, a grin spreading across his face. "We got it, Emily!"

"Ah, perfect," she said, giving him a warm smile. "See? I told you you could talk your way into these things. They want Kai—that means we have them at our mercy."

"What a nice way to put it." Michael leaned back in his chair and stretched as Mariah walked in, all glitz and glamour and holding a tube of lipstick. She tossed her long hair over her shoulder and placed a hand on her hips.

"Well?"

"The photo shoot's been rescheduled." Michael gave her thumbs up as she smiled.

"Wonderful! And I thought those outfits I'd picked out for Kai were going to have to go to waste since he pulled that disappearing act yesterday. Speaking of which, where is he?" She glanced around and Michael smirked in response.

"He's with Spencer. Special workout this morning." He took a look at his watch. "It's almost eight. He should be done right about…"

As if on cue, Kai stormed in with a vicious scowl on his face, contorting his good looks. He rested his glare on Michael, his chest heaving with exertion.

"You! You told Spencer to drag me out of bed at five o'clock in the morning for a four-hour session, didn't you?" he accused, pointing an angry finger at his manager. Michael shrugged lightly.

"You needed to burn off those calories from yesterday."

"He nearly killed me!"

"Oh, stop it." Michael waved a hand in dismissal. Spencer came in with a grin, slapping Kai heartily on the back. Kai, weak from his workout, nearly lost his balance and fell on his face.

"Don't you feel refreshed?" the burly blonde asked. "There's nothing like starting the day with exercise."

"No, I actually feel quite the opposite," Kai snapped.

"You people," Mariah said scrupulously, going to stand beside the young singer. "Do you get your kicks out of torturing this boy? Five in the morning! He needs his rest or else he'll get bags under his eyes." She reached up and began fussing with his bangs. Kai crossed his arms in a huff, giving them a you-should-listen-to-her look. Michael snorted.

"Right. Then maybe you shouldn't stay up all night talking to Tala," he retorted. Kai threw him a resentful glower.

"I quit," he muttered.

"Like I don't hear that fifty times a day." Michael turned around in his chair and glanced at the door leading to the lobby just as Rei sauntered in, followed by Oliver and Enrique.

"Hey, Kai, what's up?" the raven-haired drummer greeted whilst giving Mariah a suggestive wink. She grinned in mock timidity.

"Your singer just quit the band," Michael announced. Rei raised his eyebrows.

"Again?"

"Don't sound so upset," Kai said sarcastically.

"Oh, Rei's just happy because he got to spend the entire day with Mariah yesterday," Oliver stated, reaching up and gracefully adjusting his black beret at a jaunty angle. It had a large, fluffy blue feather stuck on one side. The young Frenchman looked Kai up and down, a small frown forming on his face.

"You look like you've just been through the worst of hells," he observed.

"I have." Kai pushed his damp bangs out of his eyes and announced primly, "I'm going to take a shower."

"Have fun. Don't take too long and don't drop your phone in the toilet again!" Michael called out to his retreating back. Emily stifled a laugh and cleared her throat.

"On today's agenda," she began, lightly adjusting her glasses. "We have a short practice session and later on in the afternoon, you guys are going to pick up where you left off recording for our next CD."

"I say we take the day off again," Rei suggested.

"Not a bad idea," Mariah agreed, her eyes twinkling. Michael gave the pair a look of disgust.

"No. We're behind enough as it is."

"Well, we were here yesterday," Rei stated.

"And I'm grateful to you for that, but without Kai, you guys are kind of stuck."

"Huh. Way to make us feel needed," Oliver said sourly, crossing his arms. Enrique patted his arm soothingly as Rei shrugged, turning his attention back to Mariah.

"Hilary, please! I gotta vent this energy or else I'll explode or something!" Tyson pleaded to his friend, who was currently sitting with her legs crossed on his couch, flipping through a magazine she had picked up from his table. "I've been holding it in all day!"

"This is garbage," she stated distastefully. "It's all Kai stuff."

Tyson momentarily stopped his whining and spoke like a normal human. "Well, yeah. He's on the cover. Why do you think I got it?"

She rolled her eyes, heaving a sigh. "You are obsessed with him."

"I know! And he's so great," Tyson said dreamily, flopping down on the couch next to her. "Please, please, please can I rant about my day with him?"

After a heavy pause, she conceded. Tyson had been begging her to listen to him all day, and now that it was late in the evening, she decided that maybe she should give him a chance. "Fine. Go ahead. I have nothing better to do at the moment than hear what you two freaks did all day."

"Yay! Okay, it was so amazing. He is seriously, like, the coolest guy on the planet. You were totally wrong about him. He's not stuck-up or conceited or mean or anything. He was so nice to me and he even wore my hat!" Tyson pulled his ever-present baseball cap off and caressed it against his cheek. "His hair smells so good…"

"My God. My best friend has gone mental over a rock star. Why couldn't you have picked say, someone who doesn't have his face plastered on everything?"

"But, Hil, he's completely different from the stereotypical rock star. He's nice. I mean, he can whine a lot, I guess, but I think it's so cool that he thinks I'm special enough to complain to!"

Hilary gave him an incredulous look. "Are you listening to yourself?"

Tyson didn't seem to hear her, and launched into a lengthy but interesting account of his day with Kai, starting with sneaking to the photo shoot and ending with Kai leaving his house.

"He's a Nemo fan?" Hilary asked, arching a fine brow.

"Yeah!"

"And an obvious pig, too. How many times did you guys stop to eat?"

Tyson frowned at her. "Don't insult his eating habits. He doesn't get to eat normal food regularly, so he says. But, oh my God! He liked my cookies. The ones that I made myself."

"Your cooking is really good. I could have told you that."

"But coming from a dead sexy rock star! Can you believe it?"

"Tyson, you really have to bring it down a couple hundred notches. Chill out."

"Don't spoil my fun. That's a day that I'm never gonna forget."

Hilary made a disgusted noise, rolling her eyes. Tyson really did get too hyped up over certain things, but that was one trait that she loved about her friend. Things were never boring when Tyson was around, even if he was currently gushing over someone whom, in her opinion, was extremely overrated.

"Oh, did I tell you? He read a poem that I wrote… I left it sitting on the table over there." A small blush came to his cheeks as he recalled the memory. "He really liked it. He also told me to stop bashing my own work, but that's beside the point. He said I had talent!"

"You do have talent," Hilary pointed out.

"Yeah, thanks, but come on. He writes his own lyrics and stuff… and he's famous. Do you realize how monumental it is that he said that I had talent?"

"Uh-huh," she droned. "Since Kai's word is right up there with God's."

Tyson snickered slightly. "I didn't say that… but he comes pretty damn close."

"Tyson! That's it, he's taken over your mind. Get out."

"Get out? This is my house!"

"I don't care. I'm kicking you out unless you stop being weird."

"I'm not being weird!"

"Okay, stop being obsessed."

Tyson leaned back with a dopey smile on his face, closing his eyes and sighing contentedly. "I'm gonna tell my grandkids all about this one day. I can't help it, Hil, I'm still kind of in shock that I actually got to meet him and stuff. He was actually in my house. You think he'll remember me later on?"

"Maybe, but really, Tyson. He's a rock star. A famous person. Let's be realistic, now. You might never get the chance to speak to him again."

"Yeah, I know," Tyson said. "But it was fun while it lasted… and I can still buy all his stuff!"

Hilary smiled at her friend, taking on a sarcastic tone. "Yes, Tyson. You can still buy all his stuff and be a hardcore fan of his. I'll find some way to survive."

"I knew you'd understand." Tyson puckered his lips and blew her an exaggerated kiss. She stood up and stretched, covering her mouth as she yawned.

"It's late. I'm heading out now."

"Oh, okay." Tyson stood as well and followed her to the door. Hilary opened it and pushed the screen door out of her way, taking a deep breath of the fresh night air.

"See you later, lover boy."

"You're just jealous because Kai didn't spend the day with you." Tyson grinned at her. Hilary snorted and trotted down the steps to her car. Tyson bid her goodnight before closing the door, walking back to the living room to clean up the mess they'd made on the table. He picked up an empty bag of potato chips and stuffed it full with the smaller plastic wrappings lying around, then balanced their cups in the other hand as he made his way to the kitchen. He dumped the bag in the trash and placed the glasses in the sink, deciding to clean the place properly tomorrow morning, after a good night's sleep.

He went to go turn off the lights in the living room when the doorbell rang. He paused and went to answer it, thinking it was Hilary coming back to pick up something she'd left by accident. He pulled the door open and was about to greet her loudly when he saw who it was.

Kai.

Tyson gaped for a moment, fearful that his heart might stop. Shocked would have been an understatement. He quickly composed himself and opened the screen door, hoping his voice didn't sound squeaky and excited. Ohmigod what is he doing here? Kai's at my door!

"Kai, what's up?" he asked casually, realizing that he wouldn't be surprised if Kai heard his heart hammering in his chest. Tyson gazed at his face that was free of any makeup or jewelry, and found him even more enticing than usual. The young singer smiled at him faintly.

"Hey, Tyson."

"Hi!" He smiled brightly. There was a short pause before Tyson asked, "Would you like to come in?"

"Uh… I can't." Kai gestured with his eyes at the waiting taxicab at the end of Tyson's driveway. "I just wanted to ask you something."

"Oh, okay. Well, shoot," Tyson said, looking into Kai's wine-colored depths. He was sure that, despite Kai's confident demeanor, there was an underlying timidity in his words. Kai cleared his throat, and at his next words, Tyson was shocked that his heart hadn't stopped functioning for real.

"Are you busy tomorrow night?"

"Holyfreakin'shit," Tyson murmured under his breath. Kai blinked and Tyson nearly jumped for joy as he caught a flash of disappointment run across his face.

"If you are, I could just… go," Kai said uncertainly, not quite sure what to make of Tyson's response.

"No! I mean… you don't have to go. I'm not busy," Tyson said hastily. The last thing he wanted to do was screw up his one chance to spend more time with Kai.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

Kai paused again, then seemed to relax. "Well, in that case, would you possibly be able to join me for dinner tomorrow night?"

"I… I'd love to," Tyson managed to say, his mind working overtime. "You'd really… want me to have dinner with you?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Kai asked, looking a little confused. Tyson was about to dismiss it as stupidity, but felt compelled to inquire further.

"Well… I kind of thought that famous people only hung out with… other famous people," he said sheepishly, then felt his insides melt when he watched Kai's lips form a small "o."

"Maybe they do, I don't know. I'll ask Michael if I'm breaking some kind of famous people rule or something." Kai shrugged. Tyson laughed lightly.

"I hope you aren't. Did you get in a lot of trouble for yesterday?"

"Ah…" Kai decided to push the four-hour workout out of his mind. "Not really."

"That's good." Tyson took a deep breath as Kai glanced back at the waiting taxi. I can't believe this. I absolutely cannot believe this. I need to call Hilary!

"I should get going now, but before I forget…" Kai pulled a small scrap of paper from his pocket and held it out to Tyson. "If there's a problem, just call me."

Tyson took the paper from him, his tanned fingers brushing against Kai's pale ones. "This is your…"

"Cell number. The one that only a few people have. You should be able to reach me anytime with that. Michael will probably be mad that I'm giving it out so freely, but I trust you, Tyson."

Tyson's heart skipped a beat. It's been one day and he already trusts me. Oh my God, YAY! But I'm glad it's me he's giving it to… someone like him probably shouldn't trust people so easily.

"I'm honored. Thanks, Kai. I promise, it's safe with me." Tyson gave him a genuine smile. Kai looked happy as he turned to go, trotting lightly down the steps and to the open door of the cab. He gave Tyson a little wave after he got in and closed the door when Tyson waved back.

"Thank you!" he called out, not sure if Kai was even able to hear him. He found himself grinning from ear to ear as he watched the cab pull away and disappear down the street. His hand still clutched the slip of paper with Kai's number written on it. Taking a deep breath, Tyson went inside and closed the door, resolving not to scream out at the walls as he had done the previous night. He needed someone to talk to.

Picking up the phone in the kitchen, he dialed a familiar number and counted two rings before a female voice answered.

"Hello?"

"Hilary!" he shrieked. "You'll never guess who was just at my door!"

To Be Continued

Thank you for reading. :D Please leave a review and tell me what you thought! I know Kai's terribly OOC… Tala, too. Uh… yeah. Excuse that.