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"You made it!" a face popped into view as soon as they entered the lobby of the hotel. The old man pulled Tyson into a tight, excuse me, really tight hug, so that his eyes nearly bulged out of his head.

"Y-y-yiees, Mr. Di-i-i-ckennnson," he managed to gasp.

"I thought you were lost," Mr. Dickenson said, letting him go.

"We were, Mr. Dickenson," Max said, skipping the part about the battle and the girls. He pointed to Cree. "She brought us here.

"Ah, yes, Cree," the old man nodded at her. "I see you have also been pulled to this part of the world. The Championships, I believe."

"Yeah, I can't wait," Cree said excitedly.

"You will stay where?"

"I haven't decided yet."

"Good. You can, as you youngsters like to say, bump with us."

"It's crash, Mr. D," Ray corrected.

"Of course, of course, mash. We had an extra room. You can have that. It's number 134."

"Thanks, Mr. Dickenson."

He turned and left the lobby. Ray shook his head after him. "Now he's getting deaf, too?"

"When does your operation begin, Cree?" Tyson whispered.

"Shut up."

"You can't do it. Admit it now and I'll reduce the humiliation you'll face."

"I will make him blush. I am not giving up."

Cree spent the night trying to figure out how to do it. She didn't even know him. How would she do it?

The gang increased to six members overnight. The next day was spent registering for the Championships. It was true. The Spindles were entering. Dizzy really annoyed everyone, saying how they were going to be stomped and how the match would be a total shutout. All through the day Cree observed Kai very closely. In fact, every time he turned or looked around he would find Cree standing near him. By midday he grew excessively tired of her and began snapping at her to quit following him around.

Cree wasn't about to give in that easy. She stayed away, but Max and Ray caught her staring at him very often. She really was a terrible spy. Who knows what those two thought.

That night, Cree had a very good night's sleep. She knew all she had to know. Tyson had pestered her throughout the day, and she had been very worried. It wasn't the twenty bucks; it was the fact that she would lose the bet that bothered her. But now… She knew Kai wasn't very comfortable around girls. Hah! That was what would be used to her advantage. She also knew it was true. He does not laugh. Or blush. He did smile on very rare occasions, but no laugh. Cree lay on her bed and went through a series of flashbacks.

Tyson tripped over a rock and fell forward, arms flailing, into a giant cake two bakers were carrying. After a loud crash, Tyson was sitting with chocolate cake all over and on top of him, looking like a complete clown. Everyone, including the bakers, burst out laughing, but Kai just glared. Cree noticed.

The boys were shoving each other around when Tyson bumped into Cree. She immediately cornered him and pushed him into a fountain. He came out with a fish in his mouth. He spit it out and made a face which was a real sight to see. All the spectators laughed, except Kai. He just smirked.

The gang was having ice-cream when suddenly a cute blonde girl whom none of them had ever seen before came up. She smiled at Kai. "Hi. I'm Cathy. I've got two tickets to the movie tonight. Would you like to come?"

Kai stared at her with an eyebrow raised, then said, "No."

"Oh, come on." Cathy pressed. "You know you want to."

Cree flushed. She felt a pang of jealously deep inside her. Fortunately no one noticed.

"No, I don't."

Cree laughed, "You'll have to do better than that."

Cathy turned and stomped away. Max, Ray, Kenny and Tyson all snorted and laughed. They teased Kai enough to make him blush thoroughly, but shut up when he gave them a single glare.

Cree's POV

It was as if thousands of butterflies had entered my stomach and were fluttering around in there. It began as soon as I went through the last flashback. I remembered this one incident very well. Every detail was hanging in my mind. The weirdest thing was that… well… I flushed. And also, I had felt a tingle, strong tingle, of something which felt like jealousy. But why? Why would I be jealous? I'd felt the same thing, although very faint this time, when I was remembering this incident. I dug my nails into the pillow.

Well, another thing's for sure. The gang's scared of Kai. I couldn't understand why. He didn't seem like a bad guy. Sure, he was moody, and he did throw a tantrum at times, but he was cool. He was just the strong silent type. Plus, he was very cute.

Ugh, did I just think that! Kai is not cute, well, maybe a little. But definitely not very. Anyway, the bet was on at full focus, and the plan will come into action tomorrow. But I kinda feel bad about using him. NO I DON'T.

YES YOU DO.

NO I DON'T!

You like him.

NOOO! YES!

"SHUTTUP!"

"OK… BUT YOU DO"

"Maybe a little"

"CHECKMATE"

End of Cree's POV as well as the second chapter! Reviews to be sent to all three authors.