Disclaimer: I do not own the Beyblade…despite my wishing… P
I'm calling him 'Rei', not 'Ray' because in the other chapters, I called him 'Rei', and I'm too lazy to change things now… (Because nobody told me that I called him Rei not Ray) all right then?
Kai folded his arms. "What's so great about Tala anyways?"
"Huh? I dunno…" she shrugged. Lie…make something up. "Lots of things."
Kai surveyed her eyes for a moment. "You're lying."
"Huh?" Mariam asked, tiling back.
"What do you mean, I'm lying?" Mariam demanded, putting her hands on her hips.
Kai smirked. "I mean, that you really don't think that Tala's so great." He said, looking down at her, "You're too afraid to love somebody again, aren't you?"
Mariam stared up at him, her jade orbs quivering. How…how did he know that? Maybe he went through the same thing before… Wait…this was Kai. Kai Hiwatari. And Kai Hiwatari didn't do love…didn't we go over this already? Ugh…
Mariam looked back up at him, her glare harder this time. She shoved him out of the way, moving past him.
Kai watched her leave. She must've taken it in the wrong way…Way to go, Kai…you're so brilliant. Why'd you have to fall for a girl who hates your guts, out of anyone else in the world? He sighed.
"Well, aren't you gonna follow her?"
Kai whipped around, seeing Tyson and Hilary smiling at him, holding the squid. "What are you talking about?"
Hilary shrugged. "I dunno…you seem to spend a lot of time with her. Aren't you gonna follow her like you always do?"
Kai grunted lightly, turning away again, "Fine, I'll follow her. Just to prove you wrong…" he said, walking off.
Tyson looked at Hilary. "Actually, wouldn't that be proving you right?"
"Meh," she shrugged again, "let him be…" she said.
The pair went back in the kitchen to finish up with the squid that Tyson had prepared for breakfast.
Mariam stood at the bridge, looking over the edge. "Stupid Kai…doesn't he know that everything isn't a joke?" she grunted hotly, "Has to make a joke out of everything, doesn't he?" she stared at the horizon, letting the winds play with her hair to a weird beat.
She sighed, brushing her left bangs behind her ear, only to have the wind beat them out of place again. "What a moron…"
And she thought Kai was the one who takes everything so seriously. Shows how much she knew about a person, huh? Especially Kai.
Still…
Kai found her talking to herself at the bridge. If he answered one of her questions, then she'd think he was stalking her, wouldn't she? Why was he doing this? Was he so stupid? Silently, he went over beside her.
Mariam was closing her eyes, muttering more things for the Russian blader to suffer. Why did her head hurt? She hung her head.
"I'm so stupid…"
She sighed, shaking her head. Kai, beside her, raised an amused brow at her, smirking. If he did this, then his mind and his heart might be at rest. He inched closer.
Damn! That stupid slate-haired Russian was still in her head. Why wouldn't he get out? What was wrong with her? What was wrong with him? Why was he always sticking around her?
To help her?
That was a load of shit and she knew it. It was something more…like when he took her into that corner to talk about Dranzer and ended up almost kissing her, were it not for Max. Now, to thank Max, or to hit him? That was the question Mariam faced.
Kai rested his arms on the rail of the bridge. What was she thinking? Kai wanted to see Tala in this situation, so he could laugh later. But no…it was him. Did this girl have a last name? Who knew? Poor Joseph then…
"How come anything I do is never good enough?" she asked herself. Kai could try to understand what she was talking about, but he knew that females were quite confusing characters. Again, he inched closer, without her notice.
"Kai…" She said his name, making Kai look at her again. For a second there, Kai actually thought that Mariam knew he was there. Then he realized that her eyes were closed, possibly in boredom. Yep, females; confusing characters…
"Hmm?" he answered, making her open her eyes. The first thing she noticed was how close he was to her. She would've screamed, but…
Quickly, Kai leaned into her, capturing her lips in one swift kiss that ended as quickly as it had started.
Mariam's eyes were open wide, staring at him.
Kai just stared at her, then uttered something softly in Russian and walked away, refusing to look at her again.
"Kai?" she asked again, watching him go. Why did he do that?
Kai kept walking, pulling out his cell phone. Maybe he could talk to Tala again.
"Don't even think about it."
Kai looked over and saw none other than Tala standing there.
"If you're thinking about calling me to talk about that, you're dead wrong." Tala said firmly, glaring.
"You…saw that?" Kai asked, biting his lip. Crap. Tala had what he needed to blackmail Kai for life!
Tala let a smirk grace his lips, and then nodded sinisterly. "Yeah," the redhead replied, resisting the urge to coo at Kai and pinch at his cheeks, like what a grandmother would do to her young grandchild. It was very hard to resist when Kai was in a situation like this.
"Tala, you bastard." Kai cursed, wanting to kill the redhead right there. And he wanted to talk to Tala a few seconds ago, why?
"Yeah you're right…" Tala sighed, looking at his shoes, "I'll make more fun of you when you make out with her."
Kai just glared. "What makes you think that that will be happening?"
"I have this feeling." Tala said knowingly. Kai avoided his eyes, "You like her?"
Kai rolled his dark crimson orbs, "No, Tala, I just kissed her for fun…" he said dully.
"Aw, that's no fun." Tala grumbled, pouting slightly.
"You're a retard." Kai retorted.
Tala smirked, "One question though."
"What?" the slate-haired boy sighed, with a bit of anger and annoyance present in his voice.
Tala kept his face straight, "Why did you tell her that you were sorry?"
"Oh…you heard that?"
Tala sighed, "No, Kai, I just asked that for the heck of it…" he said just as dully as Kai did before, "Of course I heard it! Even she heard it, but I doubt she understood it."
"I told her sorry, because I hurt her."
"With a kiss?" Tala asked, confused, "You didn't even kiss her that hard, man."
"No, moron…" Kai glared, "you…wouldn't understand anyways."
Tala tilted his head to the side. "So…are you saying that you know her better than she knows herself?"
"That's what I've been saying this whole time, but she doesn't believe me." Kai said, staring over Tala's shoulder to see her again.
Tala noticed and turned to see what Kai was looking at, then looked at the emotions present in Kai's eyes.
Mariam was staring at Kai talking to…the redheaded kid. Was that supposed to be Tala? If he was, Mariam was right; he was cute…
Mariam almost slapped herself for thinking that. Okay, she admitted it; he was cute, but that didn't mean that she had to like him. She had just realized she liked Kai. Did Kai kiss her out of pity? Or to get her to stop hurting because of Ozuma and Max? Did they bet Kai to do that? Was it a dare?
Did they know about…her? Or to impress his little friend, Tala?
That was most likely the case. Unlike Hilary and some of the other girls, Mariam was hard to open up to the world because of insecurities. Kai possibly did that to show that he was the only one to be able to break a difficult target. It was hard to get on her good side, and everyone knew that; she hated everyone but Joseph...so it would seem. And with Kai being Kai, he knew fully well that he could have anyone in the world if he wanted, except Mariam. Maybe he was just doing that to prove to Tala that he could break through anyone's heart.
So, was she supposed to be upset with Kai? And what was that thing he said to her in Russian? It could be anything! Like 'you're a bitch' or 'go to hell' or 'I hate you'….
Kai blinked. "What do you mean?"
Tala sighed. "Want me to run through this again?" Kai nodded. "Fine…you guys hate each other's guts, right? And…"
"Actually…" Kai cut in, "she hates mine. I don't exactly hate hers."
"Whatever." Tala sighed, rolling his eyes, "so why'd she let you kiss her if she hates your guts?"
Kai just looked at him, as if he were stating the obvious, "It was a surprise attack thing…she didn't know."
"How cute…" the redhead Russian said dryly.
Mariam didn't know what she was supposed to do now… She liked Kai…and Kai kissed her. Her best guess was that he knew and it was out of pity. Why was she getting so worked up over this? Did she really care about what Kai thought of her?
Of course she did.
She knew she liked him, but she'd never say it aloud, especially not to him.
This wasn't like him. Of course it was out of pity! Mariam shook her head.
That was stupid…
She couldn't act like this.
And here she was…
She'd have to settle this thing with Kai, one way or another…
Kai sighed at Tala. He turned around and went back to Mariam. She looked confused.
"Mariam…I have to tell you something." Kai said confidently.
Mariam blinked in confusion, "Are you gonna waste my time?"
"No." Kai retorted, "All right, remember when I said I'd help you?"
"Yeah, you wouldn't let me forget." Mariam sighed, blowing a loose strand out of her eyes.
"Well, it turns out…that I only said that because…I told Ozuma to break up with you. Well, more like convinced him to." And manipulated him to…
Mariam felt herself in shock and she could've sworn that she felt herself turning paler. It…it was all his fault. All the lies, traps, and pain that she made others feel, as well as herself...it was all Kai's fault. How could she fall in love with someone who did all that to her?
She repeated a line over in her head, Don't hit him, don't hit him, don't hit him…
She brought her hand in for a quick slap across his cheek, then turned on her heel and walked away. Her stomach hurt, like it was burning. Because she hurt Kai? Or because Kai hurt her?
"Hey, Mariam?" a person she passed by asked.
"Huh?" she brushed a few strands from her eyes, "Max…"
He nodded. "Yeah…that's me. What is it?"
Mariam shook her head. "I dunno…"
"You look paler…" Max noted, studying her face. True, she was paler and there were noticeable beads of sweat on her forehead. Something happened.
"Oh…I guess I am." Mariam shrugged, sighing a bit, "Did you want something from me or do you just expect me to stand here all day, staring?"
Max backed off a bit, "Sorry, it's just that…you looked like you needed some help."
Help?
That was the last thing she needed. How could she trust people again when the only person she wanted to trust hurt her?
It wasn't right. None of this was. Kai hurt her, and he knew it. Maybe he kissed her to take his guilt away.
Mariam turned away, "Just go away, Max…" she muttered, bringing her fingers to her temple. He couldn't see her like this, not now, not in her state of vulnerability. Kai had hurt her enough; she didn't need Max rubbing it in or getting her to trust again.
Kai had done it before. When she couldn't trust anymore, Kai came along and somehow…got her to trust again. He was the only one she did trust, he just never knew it. Did Max really have to make her feel like that all over again?
Max leaned over to see her face, so he could use his azure eyes to see into her jade ones, "What…happened, Mariam?"
Again, she turned away, "Nothing that concerns you, Max. So just run along back to Tyson and Kenny," she said firmly. Well, that's how it was. Kai…he had all the time in the world, so he could've spent as much time with her as he wanted, but Max…he always had practices with Tyson and Kenny. He couldn't get her to open up. Not like Kai did…
Mariam's emerald green eyes were in shock when she felt a pair of strong, firm arms wrap around her small waist from behind. She looked down, seeing the pair of red gloves on the pale hands, and she already knew it was Max's doing. His left hand tightly clamped over his right wrist, in a lock that ensured that she couldn't get out. Why was he doing this?
"Mariam…" Max began in a firm tone, as if to get her to tell him everything, "you'll feel better…if you talk about it."
Well, she certainly had no choice in the matter, did she? It was either talk, or remain in Max's firm grip for eternity (exaggerating…) .
Mariam shook her head. Max chuckled lightly at the hair in her ponytail brushing at his skin. She shuddered at his breath at her skin, "You wouldn't understand…"
The blond lay his chin on her shoulder, making Mariam flinch. But he tightened his grip again, to prevent her from getting away, "Try me." He demanded, but in a gentle way.
Once again, Mariam shook her head, "I…don't think so, Max."
Why was Max so confident in doing this? When Max had a crush on her, he didn't refer to it often; he would shy away, stutter or blush in front of her. Great…Max was probably drunk and she was gonna get raped. That was just wonderful…
Then Mariam realized; why wasn't she fighting back?
Again, she tried to get out.
"Mariam…please." Max begged lightly.
Mariam shook her head furiously, clamping her eyes tight. "Kai…" she muttered in a pleading tone. Luckily for her, Max didn't hear that.
Why are you expecting Kai to help you? Her mind asked her, He hurt you, remember? Her eyes fell open.
Mariam sighed. She knew that. But he seemed to be the closest to her, despite their feuding.
Well, technically, Max was the closest to her, but she meant emotionally, not physically.
She struggled again. Maybe this was one of those 'hidden strengths' things that she heard about…'cause she couldn't get out of Max's grip, "Max…I um…have to go see Joseph about something." She made up.
Max chuckled at her, "Well, Joseph can wait."
She gulped; nothing was working.
Once again, Max used his arms to push against her stomach, making her lean on him, "Y'know…" Max began, "I don't really like being so serious."
Mariam placed her hands on his wrists, trying to pry herself out of his grip, "Well, I do."
Max chuckled softly again, "Well, it doesn't suit me. It suits you fine, though."
Mariam sighed, jerking her head back, letting it fall on Max's shoulder, "Why'd you change, then?"
"Hey, it's a crime to change who you are if you feel it's right? If something happens to make you change, wouldn't you do it to make yourself feel better?" the blond asked.
She shrugged, "I suppose…"
"Exactly." The American grinned.
"So what happened to make you change?" Mariam asked, closing her eyes gently.
"Heh…" he smirked, "I should ask you the same question." He asked in return, trying to avoid her question.
Mariam cracked an eye open, "Whatdya mean?"
Max held her possessively, "You're always hanging around with Kai…I would've thought you'd be bugging Dunga all day."
"Well, who would you rather hang around with? Kai or Dunga?" Mariam retorted, opening both eyes fully.
The American chuckled again, "I see your point. No offense to Dunga, of course."
"Dunga wouldn't mind anyways…" Mariam murmured.
Max smiled, then noticed something, looking back down at her, "Are you playing Kai?"
"What?" she asked, lifting her head off him. She sounded more offended than curious.
He rolled his shoulders, "Well, it's just that…since you were kicked off the Saint Shields and you guys were after our blades. Dunga was after Kai's… I was just thinking, that Dunga might've sent you to hang around with Kai, to get close to him…then steal his blade."
"Huh?" Mariam stared at him for a while, "No…nothing like that. Besides, I could get Kai's blade whenever I want."
"I never said you couldn't." Max smirked, "Then are you protecting him?"
"Like how?" Mariam inquired.
Max shrugged. "Since you're not in the Saint Shields anymore, you could want revenge…so you hang around Kai to make sure that Dunga doesn't take Dranzer."
Mariam folded her arms, "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard."
"You mean Dunga's been saying smarter things?" Max asked playfully.
Mariam just grunted softly, then she wondered; before, there was a wind that was playing with her hair, blowing it around. Now, she only felt a slight breeze, but looking around, the trees were still being blown with the intensity as she had seen just a few minutes ago.
Max was blocking the wind from getting to her…
Mariam turned her head around to see him, "Why are you doing this for me?"
Max smiled again, warmly, and kept his possessive hold on her, "I like you."
Mariam bit on her lip tentatively. For some reason, that came as some sort of surprise to her. Sure, she knew that he liked her, but he never told her before. But…those words…made her feel better. The burning pain in her stomach died down.
Was this the part where she was supposed to say that she liked him too? Was she supposed to kiss his cheek or something? Or just kiss him? Was she supposed to be nice to him now? Because that's what Ozuma did to her.
But why did Mariam feel the need to compare whoever approached her (or tried to approach her) to Ozuma? She couldn't miss him. They had just gotten used to being 'friends' again. And most of the people Mariam hung around were guys. She didn't exactly have a female friend, guide, confidant, or whatever to talk to.
Mariam then remembered the Team Psychic people that Joseph mentioned before. There was that one girl…Salima. She, like Mariam, was forced to hang around guys, and rarely any females her age.
Perfect!
Mariam was about to head off to find Salima, but she remembered that she was still in Max's grip.
"…and you probably already knew that I liked you, but it's just that…I never got the chance to tell you." Max said. Was he rambling while she was thinking?
Mariam nodded, "I know, Max…" she said with a light smile, "I…I...I..."
Max looked down at her. What was she saying?
Mariam turned herself around, with Max loosening his grip enough for her to. She was now face to face with Max. He stared down at her, his sapphire eyes begging with her own olive ones. He was looming over her, his breath caressing her skin.
Max nodded, telling her to continue.
"I…think you're pretty cool." Mariam breathed out, "You…made me see what I did wrong. And you proved yourself a pretty good friend."
(A/N: Okay, who thought she was gonna say that she liked him?)
Max nodded numbly; his eyes were already closed and he was leaning in to her. Mariam raised a confused brow; she figured that he didn't hear the last part about him being her friend. His main focus was getting close enough to press his lips over hers…to kiss her.
"Tyson!" Hilary scolded, slapping Tyson's hand.
"What? I'm hungry!"
"Well," Hilary began, moving the plate away from the blue-haired boy, "you have to wait until everyone's here." She walked back to the kitchen.
Tyson grumbled something under his breath, then put his feet up on the table, "C'mon, it's only Max and Kai missing. Kai wouldn't care anyways. Max…I'm not sure about."
Rei sighed, landing his chin in his palm, his elbow pushing against the table, "That really depends, Tyson…" he said monotonously.
Two fists landed on the table. Hilary came out in time to utter out an "ooh?" in wonder.
"I'm hungry!" Tyson yelled, banging his fists again, his feet back on the ground.
"You're always hungry, Tyson." The Chinese blader said flatly.
"I know…" Tyson replied, "that's my point."
Rei looked over at the brunette. "Do I really have to be here?"
"If you leave, then I'll never get to be able to eat." The midnight blue-haired boy folded his arms over his chest and pouted childishly, leaning back on his chair.
Hilary just shook her head, taking a seat between Kenny, who was intently working on his laptop and Tyson, who was grumbling for more food.
"Can I at least eat Mariam's dish, then? Y'know she's not coming back anyways." Tyson huffed.
"And why not?" Hilary asked, sounding slightly offended as she remembered her and Mariam's little feud earlier.
"Didn't you see Kai and her this morning?' Tyson asked, looking at the brunette, "It's Kai…of course she's not coming back."
Rei nodded. "That's true. But Kai's not so bad…" he said, standing up for the Russian.
"Mariam's been with him basically all of the time." The Japanese blader said emphatically.
"Ooh, that is bad," the neko-jin frowned, "also not very safe…"
Hilary rolled her chocolate eyes, "Yes, yes, we know."
Tyson and Rei exchanged looks, then looked at her.
"You're just jealous that Kai likes Mariam." Tyson said, grinning.
A fist landed on his head.
"Itai!" Tyson exclaimed, "what was that for?" he asked, rubbing his head and looking at Hilary.
Hilary smiled dominantly, "For being an idiot."
"Just because you don't like it, doesn't make it any less true." Tyson mumbled, in hopes that Hilary didn't hear that.
Rei smirked at Hilary; Tyson had her there. And Hilary was too stubborn to admit defeat.
Hilary folded her arms, "Whatever, Tyson."
Rei shook his head, then stood up. "I'm going outside. I need some fresh air."
Hilary immediately looked at Tyson.
"What? I didn't do anything!" the World Champion said in his defense.
Rei smirked, shaking his head at their childish antics.
The Chinese blader stored his hands in his pockets, standing on the steps of the dojo. He saw a figure moving towards him.
He took a fighting stance.
The figure emerged, "Whoa, calm down, Rei… I'm not here to hurt you, you know that."
Rei looked at the figure. "Salima?"
The redheaded girl nodded shyly.
"Why're you here?" Rei demanded.
Salima held up her cell phone, then tossed it to Rei. "I got a message to meet… Mariam here."
Rei looked at the text message, then back at the dark-eyed girl. "Well, Mariam's not here right now. She left with Kai in the morning…Hilary says." He gave her back her phone, which she stored back in her pocket.
"Oh." Salima nodded, "Can I stay here until she comes back?"
Rei nodded in return, "Sure." He took a seat on the dojo steps. She followed his example.
"So…is Kai going out with Mariam now?" Salima asked curiously.
Rei looked at her gently, "Nope…at least not yet."
"I don't trust that voice…" Salima noted, smirking, "sounds like you're gonna set them up."
"Oh, so you can read minds now, Salima?" Rei asked, "Too much time with Team Psychic." He said, stressing 'psychic', hinting to the fact that she 'read his mind'.
Salima smirked, shaking her head at him. Rei smiled at her.
Max was almost there. Mariam didn't know what to do. Maybe...she could give Max a chance. He wouldn't hurt her...would he? Really, all she wanted was to finally feel safe. She didn't care who with, as long as she felt safe with someone...who wouldn't leave her alone again. Ozuma had seemed like the right person at the time, but Kai had to go and ruin that.
But Max was about to kiss her! Déjà vu all over again… Like with Kai back at the alley thing… and Max stopped him. Would anyone stop Max?
"Max!"
Mariam blinked. That answered that question...
There! 13 pages and 3900+ words! Is it getting better now?
Who called Salima, and who stopped Max from kissing Mariam? (Yeah, and the person who stopped Max is not Kai...in case that was one of the first guesses)
Told ya that Maxie would be a big part in this chapter. And yes, I realize that they're getting worked up about nothing, but I had to do something.
And there; you got some Max/Mariam in there. Kai's not gonna be too happy about that…
Salima/Rei is kinda cute now… reminds me of Sakura/Syaoran from CCS in a way.
Well, please review now!