Warning: I tried to make the opening sound as anti-mushy as I could, but what do you think? Also, the opening of this chapter may appear confusing at first, but it'll all unwind later. Trust me.
"Long time!" Came the remark as the door was shut behind them.
"Yes, it has," Kai raised from his seating position, an awed expression on his face.
"I always wondered how you escaped," Tala began. "You do know, after they got to Spencer, they killed him."
Kai nodded sadly.
"I guess we never accounted for the extra security, but then, knowing Russia we should have known"
There was a small silence.
"That's why I'm gonna try again,"
Tala looked up at Kai's serious expression, dumbfounded.
"You can't be serious," He remarked.
"Never more," There was a familiar twinkle of determination in his eye.
"But…
"I tried to come back for you – all of you" Kai grasped hold of Tala's hands, drawing them closer. "I've missed you so much Tal'"
Tala flinched.
"You were never there, Kai," He took a step back and withdrew his hands.
Kai stared in confusion.
"But you said you'd wait for me…
"And you never came," Was the interruption. "I've…moved on."
"What do you mean?" Kai gulped, his throat becoming dry.
"I mean that…
But before he could finish his sentence, the door opened and in walked another familiar face. He stared at Kai, through his arctic coloured eyes.
"Bryan?"
The lavender haired character, nodded in response.
"Kai."
It was so good to be meeting up with his long-term friends again, especially after Spencer's unfortunate death. Bryan and Kai were almost like the same person – cool and reserved, which made them rather close companions. Ian had to be around somewhere and though he was juvenile, he was still a valuable asset to their friendship. Then there was Tala, the love of his life, but it was then that he saw the uncomfortable expression on Tala's face that he realised.
"I thought I wouldn't see you again, so I…
Kai's eyes narrowed, first at Bryan and then at Tala.
"You know what?" He turned his back on the duo. "Piss off!"
Tala swallowed hard, while Bryan remained vacant.
"Kai, I…"
"Save it!" Kai interrupted.
Bryan grimaced, as he was not one to take to kindly to being disregarded so directly. Nonetheless, for the sake of Tala, he forced his conflicts aside and exited the room.
"I'm sorry," Tala added, but there came no response and with that, he followed Bryan's example.
When he was left alone, Kai let down his guard and kicked at the chest of draws. The objects on top of it juddered and a bottle of deodorant toppled onto the floor. He then slumped onto his bed and stared up at the wooden surface that supported the bunk above him.
He cursed inwardly. He cursed Tala. He cursed Bryan and then he cursed himself.
Back in Russia, when they had been arrested, they had formed an escape plan, where only Kai had broken out. He'd made a promise to Tala that he'd return for him and he had broken his promise. If only he'd tried to penetrate the defences, then maybe he'd still have Tala's love. But it had been too late when he'd gone to try again, Spencer had been executed and Tala and the others had been shipped off to Europe, where they knew Kai would try to find them. Then he had been caught himself.
When Tala had walked through that door however, he'd seen a glimmer of hope and now it had been shattered. The years they had spent together, the months in lust and love had suddenly all been forgotten.
You were never there, Kai.
Those words rang in his mind and caused him to curse himself even more. It was all his fault for not being there, and because of that, Tala had turned to Bryan. He guessed they'd always been a hint of subtle jealousy from Bryan's part, but Kai hadn't expected Bryan to act on it. Then again, maybe it had been Tala's influence that had brought the arctic character out of his shell. Kai grimaced again and thumped the mattress beneath him. He had no idea how he'd be able to handle seeing them together because he knew he couldn't avoid them. He'd have to find ways to keep himself occupied or he was liable to fall into a pit of decadence otherwise.
---------------------------------------
Rei stretched as he stepped out of his dorm that evening for dinner, before seeing Lee stationed against the banister, looking over, deep in thought. He placed a hand on his shoulder, causing Lee to turn and acknowledge his best friend.
"You've been thinking a lot lately," Rei said.
"Can you tell?"
"Always!"
Lee smiled.
"That bad, huh?"
Rei withdrew his hand and joined his friend, resting on the banister himself.
"You're not still thinking about them again," Rei asked, jerking his head in the direction of Tala's dorm.
"Well, now that they've got Kai, it's gonna be a lot harder to keep things underwraps," Lee replied. "You have to admit though, things ran a lot more smoothly before they came along."
"True! But Kai's just one person," Rei added. "There's been so many rumours spread about him that you dunno who to believe."
"Yeah, and Kevin's been doing the spreading,"
Rei gulped subtly.
"Speak of the devil…" Rei looked up and followed Lee's example as he scrutinised something interesting downstairs. He saw Lee smirk and soon discovered that the target was none other than Kevin himself, who'd just stepped out of a dorm, following the Rastafarian. He looked up at them briefly, a wary look in his eye, before he hurried off
"I get the sinking suspicion that he's up to something,"
Rei gulped again, looking away discreetly.
"You wouldn't happen to know anything?"
"Err…not that I know of," Rei lied. "But now that you mention it, he has been acting a little suspicious lately"
Lee nodded, surveying the halls beneath him, while Rei looked away awkwardly. Both Lee and Kevin were his friends, making it all the more difficult to decide what was best. It was true. Kevin was up to no good, but Lee had been trying to enforce good regulations in the prison ever since he'd arrived. A lot of people looked up to him because of it, while others, more recently did not; Tala, Bryan and Ian being at the brunt of it.
There had always been bad blood between Tala and Lee. Both stood at opposite ends of justice, both trying to establish a form of respect, but neither would back down. Things had especially gotten worse, when Kevin had befriended them. Now Lee not only disliked Kevin for it, but it had raised his reverence of them even more.
Lee pushed himself off the banister.
"I'll see you in the dinner hall, Rei," He added distantly, before disappearing downstairs.
Rei sighed. Kevin was definitely in for it now, but the youngster was smart and would probably avoid Lee by seeking refuge with Ian, as the two had become quite close.
Rei smiled inwardly. He guessed he would have gotten in with them too, had it not been for a previous disagreement he'd had with Bryan a couple of weeks before. But it didn't matter now. He had made his place.
Taking one final look down from the stockades, he glanced at the hordes of people as they began thinning out towards the dining hall. It was then that he noticed a certain someone step out of Tyson's dorm. The person stretched as garnet eyes glared at curious golden ones briefly, before departure.
It's Lee and Rei versus Tala and Bryan, but has a tiny connection been made already?