I got one review so that's nice so I'm gonna keep this going. The songs here are "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey and "Dancing Through Life" from Wicked. I don't own them. Freaking wish I did though. I have raised the story's rating for a later chapter, if anybody noticed.
Chapter Four
Carly stood before her mirror brushing her rusty hair. She yawned widely and hummed along with the song blasting from her radio. "Working hard to get my fill. Everybody wants a thrill. Payin' anything to roll the dice, just one more time. Some will win. Some will lose. Some were born to sing the blues. Oh, the movie never ends; it goes on and on and on and on." There was a knock at her door. It was Clay. Once she opened the door, he turned red and pulled his hat down over his eyes.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"I won't look at you 'till yer decent," he replied shutting his eyes tightly.
"Wha-? I am decent," she said impatiently.
"Not if I can see down your cleavage you're not," his voice cracked in the middle of his sentence.
"Ugh, you're impossible. Your daddy drilled chivalry into your brain," She whipped off the camisole she'd been wearing. Clay raised his eyes for a second. She was digging through on of her bags with only a black bra on. Clay swallowed hard and closed his eyes again. She's just yer friend. She's just yer friend. She's just yer friend. He thought pushing down his hormones. He's just your friend. He's just your friend. He's just your friend. Carly thought on the other side of the room as she pulled on a dark blue shirt. "Okay, let's go," she brushed past him at started walking down the hall. Clay watched her walk. Her hips swayed. Her shoulders swayed. The long crimson ponytail hanging down her back swayed. Her whole body swayed hypnotically. She stopped and turned. "You coming?" she asked.
"Oh," he snapped back to consciousness, "Yeah," he walked quickly up to her and she started moving again. He followed slowly behind. Carly suddenly stopped and he collided with her. Unfortunately, she'd stopped at the top of a staircase. Both teens fell head over heels down the steps and landed at the bottom. Clay had landed on top of Carly who had a strand of her hair in her mouth. "Pffft," she spat out her hair. "You gonna get off of me?" she wheezed. Clay blushed and began to push himself up. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow," he heard her whisper, and he'd been pushing his whole weight down on her chest.
"Sorry," he said lifting his hands and he fell on top of her again. She grunted.
"Just let me do it," she pushed her hands put lifting him just enough for her to slip out from under him. She got up and offered him her hand. "You always did have two left feet," she said laughing as she opened the door, and she once again, randomly started singing, "The trouble with schools is they always try to teach the wrong lesson. Believe me; I've been kicked out of enough of them to know. They want you to become less callow, less shallow. But I say, 'Why invite stress in?' Stop studying strife and learn to live the unexamined life. Dancing through life, skimming the surface, gliding where turf is smooth. Life's more painless for the brainless. Why think too hard? When it's so soothing, dancing through life no need to though it, when you can sluff it off as I do. Nothing matters, but knowing nothing matters. It's just life, so keep dancing through," They came to the Jade Dragon fountain in front of the grand hall. "Dancing through life, swaying and sweeping and always keeping cool. Life is fraught less, when you're thoughtless. Those who don't try, never look foolish, dancing through life, mindless and careless, make sure you wear less trouble in rife," She came up to the open doors of the hall and stopped, "Woes are fleeting, blows are glancing when you're dancing through life!" She belted out loudly. All the talking in the hall stopped and everyone looked at Clay and Carly. She found the table where all their friends were sitting and took a cushion. Eventually, the talking started up again.
"What was that?" Clay asked sitting beside her.
"I love making an entrance," she mumbled with a mouthful of rice. Clay rolled his eyes and looked at the occupants of the table around him. Rai was eating and glaring at Steve, who was being stared at by Kimiko, but Steve took no notice of the Japanese girl swooning over him, he was blushing furiously and chatting with Tori, who was only half listening for she was staring at Raimundo. It's a love square. Clay thought with a smile. Nisha and Omi were talking beside him about Nisha's powers or lack there of.
"So you are invulnerable?" Omi asked.
"Yes," Nisha nodded, "Why should one have great power and strength when one can't be hurt? It is most evil,"
"You mean it's wicked, honey," Carly prompted. "You're not on the Heylin side, are you?" She leaned over Clay and gave Nisha a fake surprised look.
"That is crazy," the Indian girl declared, "Why would I be? You are out of you head!"
"Okay, jeez, just meant it as a joke," Carly backed off.
"Hey you!" a shout came from across the room. There was a girl in a pink tank top trudging at them with a few other similarly dressed girls in tow. "What are you doing there?" She asked when she got to them crossing her arms across her chest.
"Eating, something you obviously don't do," Carly retorted looking at the girl's sticklike figure, "And who wants to know?" She put down her bowl and stood up towering a foot above all the girls.
"The Supreme Dragon of Clouds," She declared pushing Carly roughly in the chest.
"Well, Supreme Dragon of Clouds," she said in a high pitched mocking tone, "This is my temple and I will sit where I damn well please. So move it missies!"
"But I want this table," She shrieked stomping her foot.
"Listen, you ain't the Queen of the World," Carly snapped pushing the blonde girl back in the chest harder, "So deal with not gettin' whatcha want. This is my table, or I should say our table," She turned her head, "Anyone wanna back me up here?" She whispered. "Clay? I'd look a whole lot better here with a little muscle behind me," Clay shook his head. "Rai?" she asked pleadingly. He shrugged and stood by her.
"What's goin' on?" Scotty came up.
"Stand with me," Carly said grabbing her arm. Over a minute, the other people at the table stood; Tori, Steve, Kimiko, Nisha and Omi, until only Clay remanded on the floor. Carly took a half step back and grabbed Clay's hand. "You don't have to fight, I swear, just stand," Clay got up and with seven others standing behind her, she spoke to the Dragon of Clouds again, "Go find another table, Prissy. This one's taken," As a response, the girl picked up a bowl of rice and dumped it over Carly's head, much to Raimundo's amusement. Carly flopped back into her seat and started shaking the rice out of her hair, "It's just like high school; I have something in my hair and everyone acts like they're five years old,"
"Look," Omi said excitedly, "I drew a doggie!" He held up a piece of paper he'd gotten from nowhere, it had a dog on it.
"Except Omi," Carly finished, "Who acts like he's three,"
"Oh, Carly," Scotty said reaching into her bag, "I almost forgot, I got you that Newsies hat you wanted from New York" she said bringing out a black cap and handing it to her. Carly squealed with delight and took the hat. She whipped her hair out of the ponytail and placed the cap just so on her head so it covered one of her glowing amber eyes. She threw her arms around Scotty's neck.
"Thanks sooooo much!" She squealed.
"So," Rai said to Tori, "What are we supposed to do all day? The masters are having their conference,"
"We get to do whatever we want," Tori answered with gleaming eyes, "This is like a vacation. We're free,"
"Really?" Kimiko asked intrigued.
"Mm hm," Scotty said nodding and taking a cream colored cap similar to Carly's out of her bag. "We get a few days of rest and relaxation at our wonderful sanctuary,"
"Yes," Nisha agreed, "Let us show you the strings,"
"The ropes," the other four dragons corrected.
"Your road chat is the sewers," she said.
"Our street talk is the pits?" Steve asked.
"Very much so,"
"Okay," Carly closed the conversation, "I'm gonna go get some jeans on and I'll meet y'all later 'kay?" She got up and started walking out. One by one everybody left.
"C'mon Steve," Kimiko said making a move, "Why don't you show me around?"
"Oh," he said a little surprised, "I was gunna take a walk with Tori. Isn't that right?" he turned to her.
"Well, I wanted to show Raimundo around the temple," she edged close to him.
"No thanks," he growled.
"Oh, okay," she took Steve's arm, "Let's go," They walked out of the hall. Kimiko followed soon after with a lachrymose air about her. Once they were gone Rai turned to Clay.
"How do I tell her?" he asked, "She's crazy about that Steve guy but he doesn't even see her. How unfair is that?"
"You gotta tell her outright. Who knows? Maybe she feels the same,"
"No I can't do that. She doesn't like me like I like her. Not like you and Carly though,"
"What?" Clay leaned over and looked at Rai.
"Nothing, I'm just saying you and Carly are perfect together while Kim and me just aren't meant to be."
"Perfect together? You sayin' I like her? I don't like her," he looked away. His heart was pounding in his ears. He felt his face growing red.
"Clay, it's so obvious. You get all nervous and clumsy like around her. You'd have to be deaf and blind not to notice. You've gone past just liking her, you're flat out hat over spurs in love with that chick," Rai crossed his arms triumphantly. In a flash, Clay seized the front of Rai's shirt and pulled him across the table.
"If you tell a soul," he growled, "I'll make sure you'll never be able to tell anyone anything ever again. It just so happens, I do love her, but I can't tell her 'cause it'll wreck our friendship. Carly doesn't deserve to be called a babe or a chick or a dame or any of your other little names for girls. No girl deserves one of your little nicknames. Girls are worth more than that," He dropped Rai who dusted himself off and muttered, "Jeez, didn't know you were such a feminist," "What was that?" Clay asked.
"Nothing," Rai said sliding off the table and getting up, "I'm gonna go for a walk," Rai strode out leaving Clay sitting alone at the empty table in the empty hall. After a little wandering around, Rai found Carly sitting by a blue green lake under the shade of a tree humming to herself. "Hey Carly, can I ask you a question?" Rai asked sitting beside her.
"You just did," She said with a smile.
"I mean another one,"
"Shoot," she leaned up against the tree and closed her eyes.
"Well, it goes like this. I have a friend and he likes other friend of mine. And he wants to tell her but she's chasing after another friend of mine, and that friend doesn't like the friend that my friend likes. And my friend knows it. So my friend wants to tell the friend he likes how he feels about her but he doesn't think she likes him back…what should my friend do?" He finished with his arms wrapped around his knees.
"Well, I think you need to tell Kimiko how you feel right out because Steve certainly doesn't like her. Oh, and I'd keep my eye out for Tori, she's taken a liking to you,"
"What?" He stared at her relaxed face completely dumbstruck.
"Oh please, those 'I have a friend' stories are so fake, plus it's written all over your face," She picked up a stone and skipped it across the glassy lake surface.
"Then, can I ask you something else?" Rai asked. Clay may not want me to tell her but I'm gonna. He thought. Carly nodded. "Okay, I have another friend, and he loves another friend of mine. But he won't tell her 'because he thinks she won't be his friend anymore if he tells her," Carly sat for a few minutes in silence, a slightly puzzled look on her face. She was trying to piece together the real life equivalents of the "two friends". After a couple of minutes, a name softly passed her lips.
"Clay…" She turned to Raimundo, "Is it Clay?" He nodded. "He…loves me?" She asked; he nodded. She brought her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them. "That's real nice," she whispered with a little smile on her lips. Around the corner from the tree and the lake, Clay stood listening to them. That little sneak! He thought. He told her, oh she's gunna think I'm such a dope…
"Do you love him too?" Rai poked the question cautiously at her.
"Yeah," Carly said softly with a dreamy look in her eyes, "Yeah I do,"
"Well, I'm gonna go for a walk," Rai said getting up. He'd seen Clay standing around the corner. "See ya later Carly," he began walking to Clay, "It's okay," he whispered. The Texan looked like he was about to strangle the smaller boy. "She's crazy about you too. All you gotta do now is go talk to her," He pushed Clay out from behind the wall and gave him a grin and a big thumbs up. The large blonde boy walked down the small hill to where Carly was sitting still staring off into space. He cleared his throat loudly and she jumped.
"Hi Clay," she said nervously, "You wanna sit with me?" Clay sat close by her and she edged away a little bit.
"That's a right purdy lake," Clay said trying to make small talk.
"Yeah, this is one of my favorite places in the whole temple," Without warning, Clay grabbed Carly's shoulder wheeled her to face him and kissed her square on the lips. She put her arms around his neck. After a minute the need for air became too great. The two teens separated gasping for breath. Carly put her head on his shoulder. "I love you Clay Bailey," she whispered.
"I love you too Carly Shale," he said putting his arm around her waist.
And it stops…there. Did everyone like it? Yes, I'm getting to the RaiXKim. I just moved so, sorry about the wait. My house pwns! http/ That's a picture of it, copy and paste. Review, review, review!
And remember,
McMuffinDragon is watching you!