Disclaimer Freezy and I own nothing but our OCs. Beyblade© Takao Aoki
Thanks to you reviewers! Here's the update.
Getting up again – Chapter 3
Lena heard her own breath reverberating in her lungs. They had been running laps around the gym after a short warm-up. She and Ice kept pace well, somewhere near the front of the pack of running teens.
The whistle's high-pitched chirp echoed in the gym.
Ms. Weir beckoned the teens over quickly and stopped them. "Today we're getting started on volleyball. Pick your teams and choose a court to play in. the nets are set up, play against whomever you wish. Go!" She blew the shrill whistle and the kids all darted to each other.
Ice and Lena stood there apathetically. They looked around for someone else to be on their team. The first sight they came to was Kai, Tala and Bryan standing in a group of three.
Ms. Weir approached the girls. "If you guys cant find a team, I'll have to find someone for you to be paired with…" She looked around, spotting the boys. "Well, looks like you guys are the only ones left. Team by default, get to court 3."
She gestured to a court opposite a team of girls and walked over and blew her whistle. "You guys learned the rules yesterday. Today I'll see how you play. Get to it, people." A shrill echo…
"Does she have to keep doing that?" Ice grumbled as they got to the court. Lena chuckled breathily.
They realized whom they'd be playing with and moaned. This would be a joyride all right…
They took the two positions closer to the net, as the boys hung around the back.
Bryan whistled lowly and appreciatively. "Boys, this will be a sight to remember." Kai grunted in response, and Tala rolled his eyes.
Ice glared into space. "Pigs…" she whispered to Lena.
Bryan, who had served the ball, had 'accidentally' hit Lena's ass instead. She was furious. She turned around to see him smiling innocently. "My bad…" He grinned like a seven year old.
She shoved the ball back at him, hitting him just above the groin. "Just shut it and play right, Bryan." She rolled her eyes and turned to the net.
They got the game started. She boys sniggered every time the girls dove for the ball. It must have been quite a sight for them to laugh that much. The five girls on the opposing team weren't bothered as much as Lena and Ice because, coincidentally, they were the school flirts.
Ice, Lena and the boys won the game. Apparently the flirts couldn't play volleyball as well as they could flirt and show off their breasts.
They got changed and were headed to their next class when an arm snaked around each of their shoulders. Bryan slowed to the girls' pace as he walked between them.
"Ladies, aren't you missing something?"
"What would that be, Bryan?"
"Why, your arm-candy of course!" He wore a face that looked mock offended.
Lena rolled her eyes. "Don't you mean you're too pathetic to get your own, so you use us as an excuse?"
They sped up, out of his grasp and kept walking. They walked through the doors to the main hallway of the school, known as the mall. As they turned around the corner, talking animatedly, They bumped into a certain blue-haired teen.
Lena looked up at his tall stature. Her, standing at only 5'3", compared to his 6'1". She gulped.
"Ss-sorry," She muttered, casting her gaze downward.
Ice was furious. "Don't be sorry to this fowl creature! He's the one who picks on seven year-olds. He should be apologizing to you!" Ice was still only an inch taller than Lena, but she was blunt and self-spoken. She always spoke her mind, no matter what. Lena only did that every once in a while.
They walked around the group of boys while Kai stood, silent. After a moments pauser he chased after them and grabbed Lena's wrist.
"It wasn't me, okay? I was just giving him back his books some little bullies took from him. I have more dignity than to do that to a kid."
His hand removed itself from her wrist, and by the time she turned, he was gone.
She shook her head and continued walking like before, but not without a quick glance behind to make sure he was really gone.
'Cause he was sure as hell still standing in her head, haunting her thoughts.
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Ice sighed. Her best friend had been quiet all afternoon, since bumping into Kai. She scowled. Kai… The lousy jerk. She thought with distaste.
She glanced at Lena, who appeared to still be walking around in a fog. She glowered at nothing in particular.
"Look, he's just a dumb jerk who picks on little kids okay? Don't pay any attention to him." She snapped.
"But it wasn't him." Lena said quietly.
Ice stood, confused. "What do you mean it wasn't him?"
"He came and told me after I bumped into him. He was giving Dusty back his books. Kai isn't to blame…"
"And you believe him?"
Lena merely nodded. She knew Ice wanted to give her the 'You're too trusting' speech and the 'People are liars' one to go along with it. "Don't lecture me, Ice. It just… feels like I can trust him."
Ice scoffed. "Fine! What do I know about trust anyway, huh?" She looked angrily at her friend.
Lena automatically felt horrible for what she'd implied. "Ice, that's not what I meant—"
"Whatever… just forget it. It doesn't matter anyway."
"But it does matter, Icy! You're my best friend. I care about you, and what you think!"
"Fine. Lets ask Dustin then." Ice walked into their house and held the door opened for Lena. "Well?"
Lena entered slowly. She dropped her book bag in the hallway and removed her shoes.
"Dusty?" She called. Ice followed her as they walked through the house. They hear the T.V on in the game room. Dustin was playing video games again. They heard his call. "I'm in here!"
Lena walked into the game room with a grin…that slowly disappeared. Not only did she see Dustin sitting, playing video games, but Kai sat, playing with him while Tala sat on the other bean bag chair against the wall.
"Look who came to see me!" Dusty grinned.
"Yeah, I see that Dusty, How do you know him?" She asked tactfully.
"Oh, He made the bullies go away again today, so I asked him to come play video games with me and meet you!"
Tala chuckled. Dustin pointed at him "He was so cool! He made Johnny wet his pants, and he ran home crying!"
Lena glanced from Dustin, to Kai, Tala, Ice and then Tala again. She sighed, and laughed politely.
"Well buddy, it sounds like you had an exciting day. Want to go have your bath? Ice can help you, then when you get out I'll have supper ready, okay?"
Kai sat in the bean bag chair bashfully. He wasn't used to sitting on the ground, while looking up at the people talking to him. He was relieved when Lena and Ice knelt to Dustin's height.
"Yeah, yeah!" Dustin nodded and zoomed out of the room, into the bathroom.
He came back after a moment. "What are you cooking for supper Lenny?"
"Well, what do you want for supper?"
His face lit up. "I want pizza!" He grinned and ran back into the bathroom, dragging Ice with him.
Lena faced the two boys, sitting in her game room. "Would you guys like to stay for supper?"
Kai thought of him and Tala going back to his place to get his grandfathers' maids to cook him something stuffy or stupid. He thought of the possibility of pizza, here with Ice, Lena and Tala. He glanced at Tala for approval and nodded when he received it.
"That'd be great," He agreed.
Ice walked into the kitchen to find Lena putting the homemade pizzas in the oven. She hugged Lena.
"I'm sorry about earlier. I over-reacted. I'm sure he's not as much of a jerk as Bryan." They smirked.
"Yeah, Bryan certainly is a jerk, isn't he?"
Ice laughed, and she heard laughter from behind her. She turned to see Tala. "Yeah, he can be a jerk sometimes. He has a good side though. Almost everyone does."
Ice snorted. "Almost. Not quite everyone." She stalked over to one of the stools around the island in the centre of the kitchen and sat, quietly.
"What?" Tala questioned, "Bad experiences with the opposite sex?"
She sighed, "You could say that. My father is of the opposite sex."
"Was." Lena said quietly.
Ice glared at the counter.
"Is he some kind of grade-A asshole or something?" He asked, not really understanding the importance of 'was.'.
"He's not an asshole. He's dead." She told him bluntly. He stood in shock. "He was just an asshole before he died. Never home, always lying, cheating on my mom… though she didn't know it."
Tala nodded slowly. "I'm really sorry Ice… I didn't know."
"'Cause if you did it really would have mattered, huh?"
"Yes, it would. I'm not low enough to bring that up if I know about it."
Ice sat in silence. Lena was uncomfortable. Tala sighed.
"Anyone want a drink?" Lena piped up, eager to break the silence.
She received stares. Laughing slightly, she cleared her throat and fell silent.
The beeper sounding that the pizza was done went off. Lena turned off the heat and removes her pizzas from the oven.
Kai and Dustin walked in, Dustin was grinning like a little Cheshire cat.
"Pizza!" He said, catching a glimpse of the pizzas that had been removed from the oven.
Lena smiled at his eagerness and served up the pizza.
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After the movie they headed upstairs and heard the screen door open.
Ice froze, hearing her mom's laughter, as well as Lena's mom's. She pulled the boys quickly up the rest of the stairs and towards the back door.
"You guys need to go," She told them, "and fast."
They looked at her, confused. "But our shoes…" Tala started, finishing lamely.
Kai's eyes narrowed. "Why? Are we not allowed to be here or something?"
Lena rushed in, carrying the boys' sneakers. "Here." She said, looking panicked. "You guys.. please, we'll explain tomorrow."
"What's this?" Lena and Ice turned around to face their mothers, who were grinning madly.
Lena's mom – clearly drunk, – spoke up, "Oooh… You spent the afternoon with the boys." She giggled madly. "And now you're trying to sneak them out? Why girls, whatever could you have been doing?"
The two drunk mom's stood there rather lamely, giggling like school girls. They were barefooted and carrying their heels.
Lena and Ice were mortified. Ice was growing angry, and Lena's cheeks were burning with a slowly growing red tinge.
She turned around to face the guys and opened her mouth to start talking.
"Bah, don't worry Alexis! You either, missy. They can stay as long as they please!" She flashed a grin.
Ice's eyes were close, her brow furrowed. Lena could tell she was trying not to be ashamed of her mother, acting as she was. Lena was embarrassed terribly.
Her mother added, "And you may do what you please as long as it please you! Just don't go getting pregnant sweetie!" She pinched Lena's cheek affectionately. Her mother was a cheap drunk. She could smell the alcohol on her breath, and knew that she'd had more than a few.
Her eyes filled with tears as she opened the door to the guys. Her gaze met the floor. The words 'leave now. Please…' came from her mouth, but she didn't recognize them. She was humiliated and shamed. In front of Tala and Kai, no less.
The boys left silently and Lena raced to her room. She flung herself onto the bed and picked up Skye, her calico cat.
Skye sat in her arms sleepily, having been awoken from a deep snooze.
Lena wept. Her crush on Kai had materialized and now she had to suffer through it. There's no way he'd be interested in even speaking to her now.
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Josephine and Kema sat, losing their drunken stupor and getting more and more sober by the second as Ice yelled at them.
She addressed Josephine, Lena's mom. "How could you have said that right to Lena?" She turned again to Kema, her own mother. "I'm so ashamed of both of you. Honestly! You're supposed to be the adults here. We aren't supposed to be the ones raising you. It's the other way around. So I think you guys should start acting like it."
She suddenly felt very much like a parent lecturing her child. She looked at the clock. 11:30. She'd been lecturing them for a half hour. Various tangents had brought her from yelling at them about tonight, to some other nights, and back to tonight again. She looked down the hallway from the kitchen to her bedroom door. She just hoped Lena would be alright at school tomorrow.
Facing Kai and Tala would be more than a challenge. It would almost be a trial. This was how it was on a daily basis. How would Tala and Kai judge them? How could they deal with it if they believed them un-worthy? She knew of Lena's crush on Kai. And… had to admit. Tala was a contender. Or at least he was until their mothers got home.
She approached the door of her room and sighed.
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The bell rang to signal that their first period class was over. Ice and Lena walked out of the class tentatively and bumped into Kai's gang.
Kai simply turned and froze.
Lena swallowed. Here it comes...
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AH! I'm so Evil! Clifffie-dances- Now all you have to do is click the purple 'submit review' button, and we're all set XD. Please review! And Freezy will update.