Chapter Thirty-One – If I Can't Have You
Shea gasped as she looked at Jewels. She hadn't expected one of the girls from the group to pop up. Ray looked as astonished as she was with his mouth hanging open.
Jewels smirked at the mildly surprised expression on Kai's face, knowing that she had probably caught him completely off guard. "So do you still want to continue yelling your bullshit? I suggest that you stop to save your mental...and physical state," she drawled.
The blonde was shocked even more by what Jewels was saying. "Excuse me, are you calling me a liar?" she demanded, hoping to save her face.
Jewels slapped her across the face. "Your whole existence is a just a sorry excuse for me," she told her calmly.
"You..." Shea was shaking with fury, she couldn't even finish her sentence.
"Get out of here," Kai barked at her. "Or do you want me to set Jewels loose on you?"
"You do know how sharp my nails are, right? If I accidentally ruin your face, I'm really sorry," Jewels told her.
Shea looked at the legendary 'Wonder Couple' with fear. She had heard awful stories about Kai and Jewels. Deciding that she valued her life more than her pride, she took off and the crowd booed her all the way.
Jewels burst out laughing. "Haha!! I haven't had that much satisfaction for a long time! That was great, partner!"
"Not too bad yourself," Kai responded, wondering why she was there. She was supposed to be in England for four more days!
She cast a look at him and Ray. "I suppose you're wondering why I'm here," she said. She couldn't help but smirk smugly. "I got bored of England so I decided to come back here." She shrugged. "I was never a great person on family vacation."
"I should've seen this one coming," Kai muttered to himself.
They started walking along the street. People shuffled out of the way for them when they saw Kai and Jewels. Apparently, they had also heard horror stories about the two of them.
"So what's the deal here? Why was that lump of worthless dirt shrieking her head off back there?" she asked curiously.
The guys didn't answer her. She peered at them, trying to figure out the situation here by their facial expressions. Ray looked sad, and angry...and Kai looked...troubled. It was the only word that Jewels could think of. It must be something big, she thought. Kai never look like this.
"Spill it," she ordered impatiently. "Everyone probably knows, so why shouldn't I know?"
Kai sighed. "Zarine broke up with Ray."
"What?!" she exclaimed. Turning her violet eyes on Ray, she demanded, "What did you do this time?"
The black haired boy snapped. "I didn't do anything! This isn't my fault, you know! Stop thinking that everything that makes Zarine upset is what I do! She...forget it!" He shook his head. "It was my fault."
"First of all, what happened?" asked Jewels.
"Shea kissed me and Zarine saw us," he answered shortly. "I'm going home."
"Grouchy old bear," she muttered under her breath.
"Oh, you're just in time for dinner," the chef said when Zarine and Kai walked in.
The petite girl smiled, "Ooo, great! I'm starving." She walked to her place at the table and saw something that wasn't supposed to be there beside her plate.
Frowning slightly, she picked up the rose garland from the table.
Someone took it out of her hands gently. She turned her eyes onto the person behind her. It was Ray.
Ray felt butterflies in his stomach as his dark eyes met her puzzled light green ones. "Uh...I made this for you. I hope you'll like it," he said awkwardly before putting it on her head gently.
Zarine caught sight of his hand and the numerous cuts and scratches on them. Swiftly, she grabbed his hand and demanded, "What the hell are these?" She ran her fingers over a particularly deep cut that ran from his ring finger to a centimeter above his wrist. His palm was tingling from her light and careful touch. It was all he could do to not shiver.
"Look at this! It's still bleeding!' she said, glaring at him accusingly as if it was his fault that blood still oozed out of his wound.
"You are coming with me!" she ordered.
He followed her out of the dining room without a word. She led him to a bathroom and got out some first aid stuff. Ray watched her frown and she looked really attentive as she was cleaning the cuts.
"So how did you get them?' she asked finally.
He answered, "It was from the thorns of the roses. I had to get them off from the stem. I didn't want them to hurt you."
She paused and looked at him. "You shouldn't have. I mean, all these cuts for a rose garland for me? It's not worth it."
"It is. I would do anything for you," he told her. Her eyes wavered for a moment and slowly changed to a soft blue. Turning her attention back onto her job, she searched for some bandages.
He protested, "Zarine! It's not that bad! I don't need..."
"Shut up! If you want to get your cut infected, I can have it arranged!" she snapped. She didn't like the fact that Ray got hurt because of her. Oh no, not at all. She wrapped his hand carefully to prevent hurting him more.
He touched the strands of hair that escaped from the back of her ear. "This is why I love you so much, you always care."
Zarine stayed quiet. She didn't know what to say. Quickly, she put everything away. "We should go back now. Kai is probably getting impatient."
Ray turned off the light in the bathroom before closing the door. "Zarine...will you let me explain...please?" he asked hopefully. She had seemed genuinely upset that he cut himself.
She nodded gravely. "Not now...we have dinner."
The meal was a quiet affair. "Did you know that Jewels is back?" Kai asked Zarine quite happily.
"Really?" she exclaimed. "Why didn't she come? What is she doing here? Wasn't she supposed to be in England?" She glanced up from her pork to look at him.
"She said she got bored of it," he answered.
She laughed. "We should have thought of it."
Kai could barely keep from smiling. He was so glad that Jewels came back. What the hell? He thought. Why am I so happy? He had missed her and thought about her a lot while she was gone, but...what was it about her that made him so much more comfortable around her than with other people?
I should go see Jewels after dinner, Zarine decided, forgetting about the conversation that she was going to have with Ray.
As soon as she had shoved the last bit of mashed potatoes into her mouth, she jumped up and told Kai and Ray, "I'm going to see Jewels!"
The Chinese boy stared after her with disappointment. He should have known better. She didn't want to talk to him at all. She probably hated him already and he didn't blame her.
Next day...
Ray sat down on the couch and drank his water slowly. It was refreshing after two hours of hard work. He wondered if Zarine will like what he was doing for her. He sighed, even after the rose garland, she had been reluctant to talk to him. He hoped that when he surprises her with this, she'll be more willing to talk. The radio was on in the background and slowly the song that was playing registered in his mind. He began to listen to it intently.
If I can't
Have you
Then baby I don't wanna be
With no one else
If I can't have you
Then baby I would rather be
By myself
She's the meaning my beauty
Her spirit and her style consumes me
From the very first time I saw her
She captured me within her power
All it took was just one look look
Before I knew it I was hooked
Put my loving to the test test
And now I must confess
If I can't
Have you
Then baby I don't wanna be
With no one else
If I can't have you
Then baby I would rather be
By myself
Woman I would die without you
I love everything about you
You are my very existence
And I say this with persistence
All it took was just one look look
Before I knew it I was hooked
Put my loving to the test test
And now I must confess
If I can't
Have you
Then baby I don't wanna be
With no one else
If I can't have you
Then baby I would rather be
By myself
"That was If I Can't Have You by Rupee, from Randy to his love, Mindy," the DJ announced. "Next is This Love by Maroon 5."
Hilary and Tyson peeked in on Ray. "He looks so miserable, poor guy," the navy haired boy said.
"Well of course! Didn't you hear the lyrics to the song? He's thinking about Zarine!" the brunette said.
Kai's cell phone started ringing unexpectedly. Ray took one look at the caller ID and ignored the call. "I'll get it," Hilary said, hurrying to get the phone from the table. She pressed the button to answer it
"Hello?" she said into the phone.
"Hilary, are you guys free yet? I'm really bored," Zarine said on the other end.
"Hold on. I'll ask the others," Hilary told Zarine, walking outside where everyone was drinking lemonade.
"Guys, Zarine says that she's bored. Do you just want to call it a day and finish this tomorrow?" Hilary suggested.
"Yes!!" Tyson answered. "I'm so hungry..."
Zarine heard his comment on the other end and giggled. Typical Tyson, she thought.
Everyone agreed that they should stop working. Kai gestured for the brunette to head him the phone. She passed it to him and he said, "We'll all come back, don't go anywhere."
"Okie dokie. I'll be waiting for your return breathlessly," she said cheerfully before hanging up.
An hour later, the whole gang was in Kai's super classy limo. "Turn on the radio please, Thomas," Zarine requested politely. The butler was driving them since Kai didn't have a driver. He didn't need one.
"What on earth are you doing?" Mariam asked Max and Tyson, who were eating gummy bears very methodically.
"We're trying to eat all the gummy bears' heads off first," Max explained, already sounding a little hyper. "After we ate all of their heads, we'll eat the body."
"I've never tried that, let me have some too!" the silver haired girl said, reaching for the container.
Tyson took it out of her reach. "No, it's Max's and my project."
"Why can't I help?" she asked, pouting a little.
"Because," he answered.
"Because what?" she questioned, getting a little annoyed
"Because because," replied Tyson loftily, enjoying the effect of his comment on her.
"Because because what?" she demanded.
And so it went on, until Jewels said, "Stop it!"
Tyson and Zarine stopped bickering at once. Ray watched Zarine send a glare at Tyson. She had weaved pink flowers into her hair, and made Ray wonder if that was the reason that her hair always smelled like flowers.
"Oh no!" Kenny exclaimed with dismay.
His friends all turned to look at him. "The World Championships had been cancelled this year!" Kenny told them.
"WHAT?! The BBA can't do this to us!!" Tyson yelled.
"How did you know?" Kai asked sharply.
"I just got an email from Mr. Dickenson. He apologized and said that he was very regretful that this has to happen," Kenny responded.
"Arrgh!" Tyson said angrily, shoving a handful of candy into his mouth.
"There's always next year," Hilary tried to comfort him. "It'll give you more time to practice."
"I don't care about practicing! I want to compete and win!" he snapped.
He looked at Zarine when he heard her singing softly along with the radio, "Better I should know, so don't come round here, and tell me I told you so..."
"Why are you singing?" he demanded.
Zarine shrugged. "I just felt like it. Don't you feel urges to do something that you love every now and then?"
Then, If I Can't Have You by Rupee came on. "Turn it off!" Ray said.
"Why?" Jewels questioned.
"I hate this song," he replied shortly.
"But it sounds so good," Zarine said, and Ray stopped protesting immediately. But it should be noted that his face looked like a thunder cloud while the song was on.
"Here's your stop," the butler said, before getting out and opening the door for them.
They thanked him before walking to the crowded entrance of the mini-golf course.
"I FORGOT MY CANDY IN THE CAR!!" Max yelped.
"Max, surely you can live without it," his girlfriend sighed.
"Yeah, Maxie, we can always get some more here!" Tyson told him.
They paid for the tickets, and entered the golf course. There were people of all ages, and they saw a three year old little boy trying to hit a golf ball with a tiny club.
"Let's go over there," Hilary said, pointing to the other side of the course. "This area is for little kids."
After they had completed half the course, they went to the concession to have a break. (Ha, that reminded me of KitKat. Have a KitKat, have a break!!) They stood behind a huge line of people, waiting for their turn to get food.
"Kai," Zarine said, pulling on his sleeve.
"What?" Kai responded.
"Can I have some ice cream?" she asked. She pointed at a stall taking up the room of five stalls. "Over there? They have over 100 flavors..."
He handed her some money. Zarine bounced away, excited to have ice cream.
"ME TOO!" Jewels said quickly, and held out her hand. Kai sighed and took out his wallet again. Jewels ran after Zarine when she got money from Kai.
"You would think that they would die without it," remarked Hilary, speaking Kai's thought out loud. He, too, wondered why Zarine and the twins liked ice cream so much. It was certainly not that great to him
Fifteen minutes later, Jewels and Zarine came back with a big ice cream cone in each of their hands.
"Strawberry sorbet," Zarine announced proudly. "It's so good."
Jewels looked at the pile of food in front of Tyson with undisguised disgust. "I don't think I want my ice cream anymore...Kai, finish it."
"No," he answered.
"Come on! Moose track is an awesome flavor!" Zarine told him. "You'll love it!"
Kai eyed the chocolate on it. "Too much chocolate," he stated flatly.
"I'll stick it to your nose," Jewels threatened, trying to get him to eat it. She looked around at the little toddlers trotting around with their parents. "I bet these kids would love to meet Pinocchio..."
Kai snatched the ice cream cone out of her hands and began to eat it while the others snickered. He had to admit, if grudgingly, that the ice cream wasn't half bad.
"Kai is Pinocchio! Kai is Pinocchio!" Max said in a singsong voice, giggling madly.
"Max, eat some fries instead of that Freezie," Mariam told him.
"Yes, honey," he agreed, making her blush.
The sun was shining, and all of them, except Ray, were relaxed. Zarine sighed happily and curled in her chair. "This is so comfy," she commented, before closing her eyes and enjoyed the sun's warmth. She opened them again when she felt someone staring at her. Ray looked at her with longing, and confusion. Why wasn't she feeling as miserable as he was? Why was she so happy and cheerful? Didn't she miss him like he missed her? He felt bad when he realized that he wanted Zarine to feel miserable. Because if she was depressed, it would mean that she needed him. At the moment, she didn't look like she needed him at all.
They went home after another two hours there. By that time, the sun had already set and the moon was rising. "I can't believe we got kicked out!" Hilary grumbled. "That was embarrassing."
"I didn't mean to brain that elf statue with the golf ball and I certainly did not mean for that golf ball to shoot out of the elf's crutch and land in the mayor's drink!" Max defended.
"It was funny seeing the mayor's face turn purple by his wine though," Tyson remarked, laughing.
"It's not funny!" the brunette snapped.
Tyson stopped laughing, but it was obvious that he was on the verge of exploding. "I'm hungry," he whined when his stomach growled.
"Pizza?" Kenny suggested. "We can go to Mr. Benny's, it's just across the street."
"Great idea!" Tyson cheered, running across the road. He didn't watch out for cars before crossing, and almost got hit by a car. The driver honked at him and cursed loudly.
"Tyson, you could've gotten killed!" Hilary screeched at Tyson once everyone was on the other side of the street.
"I'm still healthy and alive, so there!" he snapped at her. Mariam opened the door to the pizza place.
They sat down at a big, round table. "Waiter! I want three large pizzas, one pepperoni, one chess and one Hawaiian!" Tyson said loudly. "Don't keep me waiting!"
Jewels whacked him on the head. "Don't mind him," she said to the teenage boy who was walking over.
Kai scowled as he saw the waiter's eyes glint when he looked at Jewels. The blonde guy asked, "What would you like?" While they were scanning through the menu, the boy's eyes never left the red head as he checked her up and down.
"Chicken wings," Zarine said.
"Large pepperoni pizza," Hilary ordered.
"I want bread sticks," Jewels told him.
"And two large pizzas, cheese and deluxe," Kai added finally.
"Don't forget our Coke!" Max told him.
During the course of the dinner, the waiter kept on trying to flirt with Jewels. However, Jewels paid him little attention, so he tried more direct methods. "Babe, give me your phone number and maybe we can hang out together sometime," he said, sidling up to her.
Kai snapped. All through the meal, he had to put up with that sleeze ball saying things that he wanted to say to her, but never would. "Leave her alone," he barked.
"Kai, I will deal with this," Jewels said sharply. She stood up, and kicked the blonde in the balls. The boy started hopping around, clutching his you-know-what. "If you want more encouragement, you can always come back for more," she said.
Zarine winced as she looked at the pitiful figure. "Wasn't that a bit too harsh?"
"They'll never leave you alone unless you make it crystal clear," Jewels replied, sitting back down to eat her pizza as if nothing had happened.
When Ray heard Jewels' answer, he thought, I sure hope Zarine wouldn't do that to me.
After dinner, Jewels yawned. "I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted."
"Me too," Mariam agreed, rubbing her eyes. "Let's all go home and meet again tomorrow.
And so, they all left for home. "I'm going for a walk," Ray told Zarine and Kai before walking away.
He walked around for a long time. He couldn't explain what he was feeling. He was just so lost and depressed. He sighed deeply and wished that the petite girl would suddenly appear and try to comfort him or something. When he spotted a group of guys around his age drinking, he walked over to them.
"You guys got some extra cans to spare?" he asked.
"That depends on what you're willing to pay for it," one of them said, peering at him with bloodshot eyes.
Ray handed him some money, and someone passed him several cans. He strolled along, just drinking, hoping to forget the pain in him.
Zarine looked blankly at the page that she was supposed to be reading. She couldn't stop thinking about Ray. She knew she had to talk to him sooner or later, but she was too timid to do it.
Suddenly, there was a huge CRASH, scaring the wits out of her. Quickly, the silver haired girl ran to the site of commotion and found Ray standing tipsily, looking around blearily. A vase was shattered on the ground, and the stand that was under it had fallen. "Ray! You okay?" she asked with concern, walking up to him.
When the smell of alcohol reached her nose, she gasped, "Please don't tell me that you've been drinking!"
"Why do you care?" he demanded, roughly pushing her aside.
She cried, "No, Ray! Why? Why were you drinking?" Tears began leaking out of her eyes. It was all because of her that this was happening!
"Zarine, it's none of your business," he told her coldly.
He left her and went to the bathroom. He filled up the sink and dunked his head into it. Spotting his face in the mirror, he saw that his eyes were red and puffy from the beer and crying over Zarine. God, he loved her so. There he goes, thinking about her again.
He crawled into bed, feeling thoroughly miserable. After a few minutes, he heard
someone coming in and set something down on the table. Someone climbed into the
bed, and hugged him tight. "I'm so sorry," he heard Zarine say. "I was such an idiot!"
"Don't say that," he said. "You aren't an idiot to me." He sat up and turned his table light on, and saw the tear streaks on her face.
"Yes I am! If I was only brave enough to talk to you, you wouldn't have been drinking," she said, also sitting up. "Here, I got some hot chocolate for you." She handed a white cup to him.
"I'm really sorry," Zarine apologized again. "I...I hadn't been talking to you because I was scared."
"Hm...why?" he questioned curiously. "You can tell me anything. But first, I'm going to tell you what really happened that day, alright?"
She nodded. Ray took a deep breath before starting, "That day, I was really going with the others to get something for your birthday. On the way, we met Shea, and she insisted on dragging me away, saying that there was something important that I had to know. So I followed her. She did say that it wasn't going to take very long, and I thought, What's the harm? I wished I never did." Zarine took his hand and squeezed it reassuringly. He sounded so sad, and angry with himself. "She started saying how much she liked me and how we should be together, even though you and I were together. I turned her down because I want to be with you.
'Well, I suppose we can still be friends,' she said.
I nodded.
'Can I have a hug? You know, we are friends,' she pleaded.
She wrapped her arms around me, and she just started kissing me! I swear, Zarine! I was in so much shock, I was frozen there. I wish I did push her away," he concluded.
"Ray, I love you," she told him simply. "And I believe you. I didn't really have any doubts...not after I talked to Xeora that night."
He pulled her in a bone crashing bear hug. "I'm so glad!" he whispered into her hair.
"Ray, can you not hold me so tight?" she asked breathlessly. "I'm having trouble getting oxygen here."
"Oops," Ray said sheepishly. "Sorry, I'm just so happy."
"Me too," she said, smiling brightly at him. Her eyes were soft blue once again as she gazed at him.
Question #1: What do you think Zarine is feeling when her eyes are soft blue? No choices...have to guess. It's not that hard!
Question #2: Which part was your favourite?
Whew! This was LONG! I have 14.5 pages! Hurray! I wanted to put more in, but...it can wait until next chapter...I love this one. So eventful...I liked how Jewels threatened Kai with the ice cream cone the best...
