Do you believe in anything? Anything magical?
Safe, In Your Arms
Chapter 13: A Second Chance
It was the next day, January the 14th, a Saturday.
"Ray Kon, how dare you!" Forrest exclaimed as she gave him a welcoming hug. "How dare you not call me when you arrived at airport!"
"I had a ride and everything… so how's everything?" the Chinese boy asked, winking.
"What? Everything's fine," Forrest replied clueless. "Hey Mariah and Aurora!"
Two girls appeared, one with pink hair and the other with dark brown hair.
"Forrest, hey! I need to highlight your hair again, it's all faded!" Mariah exclaimed. It was true; the blue highlights were almost all faded. Aurora just gave a polite nod.
"Come on in," Forrest said, putting a fake smile on her face again.
"We won't be staying here this time, we caused you guys too much trouble. Mariah offered us her place," Ray said as he stepped in the room.
"Oh well, we don't mind," Forrest said. She winced at the thought of 'we', it sounded like Kai and she were married.
"So?" Ray asked pocking an eyebrow.
"What?"
"How were the tryouts?"
"Oh, right. 'Twas fine," she mumbled before she called Kai.
"Kai!" Ray exclaimed as he saw the Russian boy. Kai smirked slightly and they exchanged some kind of hand shake. "She's in?"
Kai eyed Forrest for a second and nodded.
"Where's Max?" Ray asked as the five of them made their way to the lounge.
"He's not here, why?" Forrest asked as she sat down in a comfortable couch.
"He's not at Tyson's," Mariah replied for him.
"You guys went there before you came here? Gee, that's nice," Forrest said, sticking her tongue out.
A small conversation started about their trip to China, and in return, Forrest enlightened them about the recent events. And during the whole time, Aurora stayed silent; her hand was in her pocket, fingering the rough edges of an object. Forrest gave several discreet glances to the dark-brown haired girl's direction, she frowned.
"Aurora?" she asked, timidly.
"Yes?"
"Are you okay? You're awfully quiet, quieter than usual," Forrest said with a tiny bit of concern.
"Nothing," the Chinese girl replied, "just dizzy."
Forrest shrugged to herself as she turned back to the conversation but she let her eyes linger on the Chinese's girl's pockets then both pairs of eyes met. A shiver ran down Forrest's spine, Aurora's eyes were a cold grey. She felt like déjà vu all over. Her eyes landed on the floor, her brain was cloudy and she was confused. She rubbed her forehead and tried to remember where she's seen those eyes. But she couldn't remember. So she lifted her head back again, pretending that nothing happened. She stole a glance towards the Chinese girl, her eyes were back to usual, the yellow-green eyes.
I think that I lost too much blood yesterday, Forrest thought as she saw a suspicious look on Aurora's perfect face.
"Hey, Forrest, you okay?" Mariah asked as she saw the girl zoning out.
"Oh yeah. A bit tired," Forrest mumbled, rubbing her forehead again. And grinning stupidly.
"You know, we are the ones who just took an airplane ride, not you!" Ray chuckled.
"Still kind of weak from that injury from the tryouts, nothing big," she replied, smiling slightly.
"Was he tough, your opponent?" Mariah asked out of curiosity.
"He was a jerk, he told us that he was going to start a new team," Forrest said calmly.
"A beyblading team?" Aurora asked, her head shot up in surprise.
"Since when do you beyblade, Aurora?" Mariah asked. "You told us that you wouldn't join the White Tigers, we would have been happy to take you if you were good, no offense."
"None taken," Aurora replied. "What's his name?"
"Something Kata," Kai replied, frowning.
"Thanks," the Chinese girl mumbled.
Forrest turned back to her conversation with Ray and Mariah but her mind lingered on Aurora. She felt like she's seen those grey eyes before but she couldn't remember where, or when.
"Right, so meet us at Tyson's today, about 4 o'clock," Ray said as he stood up. "We'll go. We need to take care of some few things."
"Tyson's? For what?" Forrest asked.
"Tactics for the tournament, we always go to Tyson's. His dojo is quite the place to practice," he replied.
"Hn."
James led the Chinese newcomers to the door and Forrest waved goodbye to them before the doors were shut.
"Forrest," the Russian boy started. "We need to talk."
She paused in her position and shut her eyes. Oh no, shit, she thought.
"What about?" she asked, her voice a little shaky.
"Your strength and your weaknesses." Forrest felt herself relax a little bit, she thought that Kai wanted to converse about another subject, a more intimate one.
"I know, I know. I did poorly against that Kata guy, I shouldn't let my guard down, don't underestimate people, think of more strategies, keep up my strength, exercise and everything else but give me a break. I have one more week before the relays, let me swim, all right?" she rambled as she stepped to the staircase and walked to her room without looking at Kai or waiting for him to reply back.
Kai pocked an eyebrow and shrugged. At least she still rambles, he thought as he went to the study room.
"Forrest, are you listening to me?"
"Huh?"
She jerked her head up instantly and looked at the speaker, it was Kai. They were at Tyson's speaking of the tournament and their opponents. Kenny had taken the time to pull out files from the competing teams.
"You have to listen or else you're out of the team," he stated harshly. "I can call that Kata guy right away."
"Right, really sorry," she said, blushing.
"Did you say Kata?" Kenny asked. "There's a team under his name. Actually, a quite new team. They just updated."
"No way! That guy who beat Forrest?" Tyson said, looking over Kenny's shoulders. Forrest shot him a glare.
"Pierce Kata, one quarter British blood. It goes on… Bitbeast name is Slasours, main attack is slash, well we've sure seen that. He's captain of the team called Slayers. Next person, Kazu Kiitoroshi, main attacks shadow curse, that's the guy who controls fear, it seems like he also controls the darkness. Next is Satomi Greenfield—"
"Bitbeast is Galopsus. Elements thunder and earth, main attacks thunder outrage and earthquake," Forrest recited by heart. "Starlet learned those moves from her, I met her and we became good friends. She taught me many tactics."
"Right, you can enlighten us on her strategies, least the ones that you know," Ray said. "Go on, Tyson."
"Right, Aurora—"
There was a short moment of silence and Ray almost choked.
"What!" Ray exclaimed, his eyes widened in surprise. "No way, she's…"
"She asked about the team yesterday," Forrest muttered under her breath. "That must be why."
Tension was in the air and Ray felt very uncomfortable. How can she…? he asked himself, confused.
"Then I'm not going," the Chinese boy said simply.
"Not going?" Kenny asked. "You're not participating?"
"Yes," he replied like it was nothing.
"Ray Kon!" Forrest said. "You can't back away! You guys already have me to cope with and now with you gone, we're going to lose this."
"I have to," he mumbled.
"Why?" this time it was Kai speaking.
"She made me promise in China. She made me promise her that I would never be her enemy in anything. I didn't know what it meant, maybe she saw it coming all along," he said, sighing. "And besides, we have you now. And this isn't the biggest tournament; it's only a small private one."
Forrest couldn't believe what was happening. Ray Kon, one of the top ten beybladers in the world was backing away from a tournament because of a stupid promise. Maybe he likes her so much, she thought. I can't believe this. She wasn't the only one furious at him; Max gave a glare, which was rare because Max never glared. Tyson clenched his fists silently and he started shaking his leg nervously. Kai was speechless.
"Maybe we can ask Tala again," Tyson said, almost stuttering.
"We can't. I registered the team yesterday. Ray will just not play which means that Forrest, Max, and you Tyson," Kai said, looking at each person respectively, "will be playing in the first rounds. I will join in the later rounds."
"That means that I'm not blading in the final round," Forrest said, sighing. Kai frowned.
"Yes, you are still new and weak compared to us," he stated the truth.
Forrest nodded slowly in return and stayed silent.
"So we covered every team, I think that it's time for physical training," Kenny said as he closed his laptop to Dizzy's protests.
"Tyson and Max, you two battle. Ray, you can rest for the moment since you're not participating or you can judge the battle. Forrest, come with me," Kai said as he stood up swiftly. Forrest didn't want to talk to him, but she still obeyed. "You need to practice your endurance."
"I don't see why I should practice and not Starlet," she complained.
"Because your bitbeast is connected to you, if you have high endurance, he does too," he stated as-matter-of-factly. Forrest rolled her eyes; she hated it when others were right, it made her look like a fool.
But then again, I am a fool, ain't I? Why did I join this? It's a thirst for fame, I guess. It comes with the family, she thought as she followed Kai outside of the room and into the backyard.
"I want you to hang on that tree branch with your legs," he said.
"What?"
"Upside down, like a bat."
"What the f—"
"Don't question me," he warned. "I'm still your captain." Forrest quickly nodded and made herself to the tree; she climbed it with difficulty and sighed as she arrived at the branch. She gulped, what if I fall on my head? she asked herself. I would be so embarrassed.
"I'll fall," she mumbled, blushing. "And I don't see the point of this anyway."
"It's endurance, it's the most simple test."
"No, it's not endurance, it's just me feeling all the blood in my body flowing towards my brain. Not comfortable, may I add," she said, sitting on the branch.
"Exactly."
She didn't see the point of this task but she obeyed anyway, it wasn't going to kill her and Kai's expression looked threatening. She hooked her legs to the branch, and slightly leaned down. Her arms caught the branch and slowly released it as she swung upside down, her legs supporting her whole body against gravity. Immediately, she felt dizzy, the blood was flowing towards her brain.
"And are you just going to watch me?" Forrest asked. "I would rather watch you get tortured too."
"I'm the captain."
A minute passed and Forrest felt her head swell with a weird feeling. Her arms caught the branch and slowly started to make her way to a normal position.
"No," the Russian boy said. "Not long enough. You really have poor endurance."
"But…" her voice trailed off. The slate haired boy's face was marked with impatience. She gave a quick sigh and felt the blood overflowing in her head again.
"Kai?" she broke the silence after another minute or so, hoping to start a conversation..
"What?" he replied in annoyance.
"Felicia was rather happy, at the practice, does it have to do with you?"
"Hn."
"What happened?"
"We both decided on something, which you don't need to know."
"What?"
He scowled at her. "Mind your own business."
Forrest blinked to herself and gave a pitiful look to him, finally understanding what he meant.
"I bet the girls swarmed you yesterday," she said in a mocking voice. "Who is it now?"
"No one."
"Kai, are we still friends?" she blurted out suddenly.
It was simple question but it brought so many other complicated questions to his mind. Are we? he asked himself. We barely talk anymore, everything just seemed to fade away.
"Kai…" she mumbled. "I know that this is the wrong time but…," she gulped, "I think I've taken a pretty… big liking in you. I'm not sure how serious but..."
Her voice was so quiet like the whispering of the wind, he wasn't exactly sure of what he heard. On her face was the most genuine smile she ever gave anyone. Just a crush…
"But I don't want that to stop anything, and definitely not our already evanescing friendship."
"I… I'm not looking for a relationship from now on," his voice was sincere and that was enough for Forrest. He didn't look at her. He was afraid to see her cry but she didn't. No tears were shed that day.
She just kept smiling, there, hanging upside down from a tree, letting the wind blow her loose hair.
"Do you believe in soul-mates, Forrest?" he asked, casually.
"No, and neither in love at first sight," she replied with her eyes closed.
The leaves rustled and Forrest could hear Max and Tyson commenting on each other's moves. She grinned unconsciously. At least he's still the same person, the same person whom I fell in love with. But she would never tell him that. She would never tell him. Besides, she wasn't sure about it herself.
"My brain is getting too hazy," Forrest said as she reached for the branch after a while. This time, Kai didn't order her to go back.
"12 minutes and 31 seconds," he said, looking at a stopwatch.
"Not bad, heh?" she asked, grinning.
"Not bad," he agreed.
Forrest stepped into a warm room; it was decorated with a big couch and computer desk. She wasn't sure where she was but Kai had ordered her to go there, he told her that it was extremely important to register herself in the BBA files or else she wouldn't be able to beyblade in the tournaments.
"Miss Forrest, I presume," said an old man who she did not recognize.
"Forrest Fan, yes, sir," she replied politely.
"You're the new teammate," he stated.
"I'm only replacing Ray. I'm a temporary teammate."
The elderly man nodded with acknowledgement and gestured Forrest to sit down on the couch.
"You might know me. People call me Mr. Dickenson," he said. She nodded; she heard his name very often. "Well, I wish you much luck in this tournament, do your best."
"Of course, sir," she said, smiling. She wasn't sure herself if it was a fake smile or a true one, this Mr. Dickenson made her feel very welcomed. "I'll do my best."
"I believe that this is your first time being part of a Beyblade team," he said. She nodded. "I need to help you create a profile. Kenny cannot access these files from his computer, but I can. I have just enough time now to assist you through a part of this. My secretary will help you do the rest of it."
"Arigatou," she replied. "Really, thank you."
The old man gestured Forrest to come over to his desk. Mr. Dickenson typed some commands into the computer and a screen popped up. Username, Password:, it said. Forrest immediately turned her head to let the old man type in his information.
"Your legal name is Laura Fan, I believe."
"Yes, sir."
"Age?"
"15."
"Ethnicity?"
"I was born in the U.S.," she replied.
"Bitbeast name, stats and main attacks?"
"Starlet. Attack, 3 stars, defense 1 star, speed 2 stars and endurance … Well I'm not sure about endurance, maybe 1 or 2," she replied, remembering her trainings on endurance with Kai.
"Alright, let's put 1 just in case," the old man replied, typing in the stats.
"Main attacks are… fire tornado, thunder outrage, and frozen tornado."
"Many elements?" the man asked rhetorically. "Do you have any questions before I leave you with my secretary? I need to attend to a rather important meeting soon."
"I'm fine, thanks again, Mr. Dickenson," Forrest replied sincerely.
The old man gave a nod and called his secretary on the intercom. Almost instantly, a young lady around the age of 25 stepped in the room. She was dressed formally and her hair was tied up in a half-ponytail.
"Help Miss Forrest Fan with her BBA profile," the elderly man said as he took his hat and put it on his bald head. "Sayonara."
The secretary continued with the interrogation and Forrest replied to the questions.
"Alright now you can type up your own profile, if you want. Make it realistic," the young lady said with a wink. Forrest giggled slightly.
She sat in the chair, relaxing against the leather material and stared at the screen, the cursor blinking every second or so.
Laura Fan, preferably called Forrest Fan is a 15 years old girl from Salt Lake City, USA.
She paused and thought for a few seconds. By then, the secretary already left her alone in the big and spacious room.
Her first Beyblading team is the Bladebreakers, she is very humble and mentions that she was surprised that she made the team.
No, no, she thought. That sounds sappy.
She pressed backspace for a few seconds and rewrote the sentence.
The Bladebreakers is the first team that she'd been part of. She is very glad to be on the team. Forrest Fan is the weakest player on the team, but she has some tricks up her sleeves. She is a temporary player replacing whoever is unavailable on the team.
Her mother died several years ago, and her father is a—
He's a … cross that off, she thought as she remembered her conversation with him several weeks ago.
Her mother died several years ago, so Forrest is in Japan to visit her Japanese relatives. She currently resides with her fellow Russian teammate: Kai Hiwatari. She trains very hard to improve herself in beyblading and in swimming.
Forrest believes in karma and second chances.
And then she clicked on "Finish". She reread her profile and pocked an eyebrow. That last sentence really doesn't go with the profile, does it? She asked herself, but it was too late. She needed a username and password to correct the profile, she sighed. Too bad, she thought as she stood up and walked outside of the door. No one's going to read it anyway.
"I'm done," she told the secretary. The lady smiled back and nodded.
"You may go." Forrest nodded curtly and walked away from the BBA office.
She searched for her cell phone in her pockets and called James to pick her up. After ten minutes of waiting, a black car appeared and Forrest smiled. She opened the door and stepped into the front passenger seat.
"Thanks," she told him.
"My pleasure, miss."
"So where am I going?"
"To Master Kai's friend's house; Tyson Granger's."
Forrest nodded silently and the rest of the car trip was silent. Her eyes were closed and she looked as if she was meditating.
James stepped on the breaks and Forrest felt herself jerk forward but the seatbelt tied her down to the seat. She untied the belt and opened the door herself. After she waved goodbye to James, she made her way through the small but comfortable garden in front of Tyson's house. She rang the doorbell and heard loud footsteps—which sounded more like stomps—heading towards her.
"Forrest! What took you so long?" Max Tate asked, chuckling as he opened the door.
"Glad to see that you're having fun," Forrest replied indifferently.
"Not exactly," Max whispered, scared that Kai would hear him.
Forrest couldn't help but to chuckle at this.
"Ray's still not here like usual?" Forrest asked casually as she stepped into the entrance. Max nodded. "He's really devoted to her, heh?"
Max didn't need to reply to her question; Forrest already knew the answer.
Well, she thought. Back to endurance training.
It was late, the disco lights seemed blurry to her eyes. Everything was a blur. She gave a great yawn and sighed. She was watching Chloe finish her solo dance before she could step on stage with Shayna. It was a Sunday night; the date was January the 15th, actually it was the 16th because it was three in the morning already. Forrest's swimming race was the week after and the Beyblade tournament was a month after.
The crowd included several customers here and there around the fancy room; the Bladebreakers and the owner of the TV, Tala Valkov himself were there too. She never noticed him watching performances but then again, it was particularly dull that day. Not many people were there even though it was a Sunday. The day was in the middle of nowhere, winter vacation had ended a week ago and no holidays were in sight.
They had already sung many songs, most of them were in other languages than Japanese because the TV became known as the "Foreigner's Club". Forrest could agree to the nickname because out of all the people who were watching the performances, only Ray, Tyson and Kai looked Asian.
Actually Kai doesn't look Asian, Forrest thought.
Special bands were often invited to perform in the club, but Forrest didn't know any of them. They sang in different languages, there were German bands, some from the Bahamas, some who sang African folk songs mixed with Jazz and many more. The most awkward moment was when she had to learn the lyrics to a Portuguese song; she had no clue what it meant or how to pronounce the words. She doubted that Shayna or Chloe knew how to speak Portuguese either so the three of them just mumbled through the song.
Chloe and several other dancers finally finished their dance solo so both Forrest and Shayna stepped into the spotlight. The band wasn't there that night so they sang with a recording.
"Debussie," Shayna said into the microphone. Immediately after, the music started playing.
I've been looking through these eyes
Of black and white for far too long
And now these deepen colors seem so shocking
Will my life be long enoughTo see the things I want to see?
I believe this world is just too big for me
Every cloud that passes by is another cloud I'll never see
Maybe I just try to hard to understand all of these thing
This time it's just a blink of an eyeA glimpse into the world we were never meant to see
So don't hang on to anything at all
And all the things we have
And all the people we have known
Will fade away so quickly
Into the deep
And memories of love
Will be the only warmth we have in the end
This time, the two sang together through the whole song in unison. Applaud was heard at the end and the two bowed. Shayna stepped backstage to let Forrest do a requested song.
The fast beatings of drum were heard and the song started.
Seems like just yesterday
You were a part of me
Her eyes were fixed on a two-toned haired boy. But she didn't even notice. She was trying too hard to memorize the lyrics of the song. She just tried to do her job well.
Here I am, once again
I'm torn into pieces
Can't deny it, can't pretend
Just thought you were the one
Swallow me then spit me outFor hating you, I blame myself
Seeing you it kills me now
No, I don't cry on the outside
Anymore...
But you won't get to see the tears I cryBehind these hazel eyes
At the end, Kai looked back at her and noticed that Forrest's eyes were almost expressionless, her eyes just showed tiredness, and then he noticed the bags under her eyes. The performer bowed and let Shayna sing her solo.
Shayna sang a slow Japanese song, which Forrest did not recognize, but it sounded sad and emotional. Forrest noticed that the girl's eyes were fixed on the crowd, more specifically at the table where the Bladebreakers sat. Before leaving the stage completely, she looked in that direction too and noticed Tala staring at Shayna. Forrest grinned slightly.
Well I definitely won't let my mood ruin those two, she thought. In fact since she told Kai about her feelings for him, she hasn't been feeling very well because they didn't talk anymore, they didn't' talk at all. It seemed like somehow they always found a way to avoid each other in and out of school. Forrest couldn't help but to admit that she was deceived by that. She thought that at least their friendship could become better, but she was wrong in the end. But it's okay because I'll return to America anyway. I don't belong here. The decision had been made several days ago, when she was alone in her room and thinking. All that she thought was worth staying for disappeared. The club became rather boring, they sang songs that she did not like often and Kai, as her house-mate, just ignored her. Life turned so dull and depressing.
Forrest stared at her tired-looking face in the mirror and sighed. She saw Shayna enter so she turned her head around.
"Can I take the night off?" Forrest asked. "If you guys don't mind." She looked at Shayna and Chloe, who sat several feet away from her.
"It's okay, there's no one here anyway. We can just put the dance songs on," Chloe said while brushing her hair. Shayna just nodded and put her earphones on.
Forrest changed back to her normal clothing which consisted of a medium fitting thick jacket on top of a T-shirt and denims. She roughly wrapped her scarf around her neck and lower parts of her cheeks and made her way to the VIP room.
Forrest walked in and searched for Kai. Slowly, she walked up to him and patted his shoulder.
"Do you want to go back?" she asked, whispering.
The disco lights started shimmering and many people stepped onto the dance floor.
"What?" Kai asked as the music started.
"Do you want to go back?" she repeated, louder.
"Hn," he muttered as he stood up and shoved some money to the table for the waiters. He then pretended that Forrest wasn't there and made his way to the exit. It was only when he arrived at the cold and silent streets that he waited for her to catch up with him.
The two house-mates waited in silence for James to arrive in his black car. Forrest stole several glances towards the Russian boy and found him staring into the streets in her direction. She blushed slightly and turned away.
"Kai?" she called.
"Mhmmm…"
"Could you…" her voice trailed off. "Give me another chance?" Her voice sounded squeaky.
"A chance?"
"To be your friend again," she replied, smiling as she turned around to face him. But his glance was cold.
It was dark outside but he could see that her eyes were filled with hope and he felt pity towards her. I won't shatter those hopes then, he thought as he gave a sigh and nodded. She deserves a second chance. It was to his surprise that Forrest gave him a hug. He felt warmer because he was only wearing a thin sweater while she wore a thick jacket. One of his arms crept to her back and patted her every two seconds or so. She was like a little child who needed protection.
Forrest sighed quietly and for the first time in her life, she felt like she was safe from all the miseries of the world around her.
"I feel so safe in your arms," she whispered softly.
Kai wasn't sure if she had said something because it sounded like the whispers of the wind.
She felt a wind sweep across them and she pulled away from him.
"Thanks."
He nodded with sympathy.
You changed, Kai, his mind told him. He merely chuckled.
For the better, he told himself. Friendship is invaluable but love is still more precious. And she… told me that she fell for me. That's almost love, right?
Author's Notes: Debussie by DaphneLovesDerby and Behind These Hazel Eyes by KellyClarkson.
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