Second chapter! Thanks a bundle to my first reviewer, Hippochick! I was so touched!
I don't own Beyblade. Enjoy!
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Tala Valkov was the hottest guy at Bakuten, rivalled only by the silent and elusive Kai. He was what every girl dreamed for. He was tall and lean, the star player on both the track and soccer teams. His skin was envied by the most famous models, it being smooth and the colour of crisp blank paper. His hair was the colour of freshly spilt blood and styled like two wings, with two tantalizingly hanging strands in front of his face. The bridge of his nose was straight, and his fingers long and deft. But his best feature was possibly his eyes. They were large, yet slanted; a gorgeous, icy blue-turquoise colour. Often he'd look at you with them half-lidded, the blue colour barely discernable through long, thick, swooping lashes.
But he wasn't all beauty and no brains! Although he had an air of carelessness about school, he still brought home straight A's. Just looking at him sent shivers down your spine; he practically dripped with intelligence and cunning.
Tala was the son of the famous scientist, Nikita Valkov. This made him very wealthy. But Tala despised his father, and all his accomplishments were done for his mother.
He wasn't without his bad points, Tala. He was mean, and he bullied the weak in his school. He was a playboy, loving the thrill of the hunt.
Tala Valkov was not nice.
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" H-here is your coffee, sir." A nervous freshman with trembling fingers handed Tala a latte. Tala reached for it, but before he had grasped the paper cup properly, the high-strung freshman let go. Creamy, tan liquid splattered all over Tala's new clothes.
Tala instantly leapt up. " You idiot! Do you know what this outfit cost? I'm sending you the bill, you klutz!" He bellowed at the poor, terrified deliverer.
" I'm s-sorry!" The freshman visibly trembled with fear, bowing over and over.
" Sorry doesn't cut it! Out of my sight, now!" Tala shouted again. The freshman let out a frightened squeak and scurried away, like a mouse.
" God." Tala groaned, massaging his temples as he sunk back into the soft coffeehouse chair. Luckily, it had been only him and his friends there, and the owner, Mrs. Dubois, was in the back.
" It wasn't his fault." Kai said quietly.
" What?" Tala looked at his best friend in disbelief.
" Kai's right, Tal. You had the kid scared half to death." Ian commented.
" What?" The idea was so absurd to Tala that he just had to ask again.
" You're so violent." Bryan growled, sipping his vodka-spiked mocha.
" Look who's talking!" Tala scoffed, leaning back in his chair.
" Bryan's right. You're like a bomb; the slightest action sets you off." Spencer looked away as he spoke.
" What-what is this? Gang up on Tala day?" Tala got up again and began to pace.
" You're so much like your father nowadays." Kai spoke almost offhandedly.
" WHAT!" Tala, in one fluid motion, whirled around and pressed Kai against his seat, the redhead's hands firmly wrapped around slate-haired boy's neck.
Kai regarded him calmly, almost as if Tala were an annoying fly. Tala sighed and let go, dropping back into his own chair. "I - I'm sorry. It's just that…I don't know." The fair-skinned Russian supported his head with his fingertips, looking as if he'd aged ten years.
" It's okay." Kai showed one of his rare smiles, reaching over to firmly grasp Tala's shoulder.
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Tala bent over and sniffed his bouquet of magnolias, snowdrops and baby's breath. He breathed in the flowery sweet scent and smiled softly. Then he quietly unlocked his house door, hiding the flowers behind his back.
" Mother?" Tala called softly into the front lobby.
After a few seconds, a petite woman appeared at the top of the grand staircase.
" Tala! Oh, Yuri, dahling!" The woman had a light musical voice, accented by a slight Russian lilt. She was dressed in a simple cream dress and her pale blond hair fell to her waist.
Tala embraced his mother, handing her the flowers. " These are for you."
" Oh Yuri, Dey are beautiful." Anika Valkov smiled lovingly at her son, who was actually a head taller than herself.
Tala brushed the two blond strands that hung in front of her face, so much like his own, out of her clear blue eyes.
" Come, I've prepared dinner." Anika smiled again, grabbing hold of her son's hand. " Come!"
Tala shook his head, grinning at his mother's childish behaviour. Suddenly, a thought struck him. " Mother, is he here?"
" No, he's working late." Anika laughed, although Tala could detect a hidden fear in her eyes. He reached over and firmly clasped both his mother's hands in his own.
" Don't worry." He whispered fiercely. Anika just laughed again, masking her anxiety.
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Tala walked briskly down the stairs, holding onto the sewing kit his mother had asked him to get. When he reached the bottom he called out. " Mother! I have your-You!" Tala's icy eyes blazed with anger. Anika was cornered by a tall redheaded man in the curve of the stairway wall.
" Ah, my son. Come, welcome your father." The man turned around slowly and spread his arms, a slow smirk forming on his handsome features.
" Get away from her!" Tala snarled, needing only a few bounding steps before he was in front of his mother.
" Leave us, boy. Don't meddle in adult affairs. Go play…Lego or something." Nikita Valkov waved Tala away.
Tala's blood boiled. Before he knew what he was doing, his father was wheeling back with a spilt lip. Seconds after he felt an impact and then something trickling from his scalp.
" Nobody touches me." Nikita roared, wiping the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. Tala was still in shock. His father had hit him over the head with an antique stone vase. The teen gazed in a sort of unbelieving manner at the shards of stone all around him. The vase had…shattered? Carefully, Tala reached up and touched his forehead. When he pulled his hand away, a dark liquid stained his fingertips.
" You…hit me." Tala spoke in a dazed voice.
" It was a small blow." Nikita looked uncomfortable.
" I'm…bleeding." Tala was still in shock. Suddenly, he seemed to snap out of his confusion and his eyes narrowed. " You. Hit. Me." Tala repeated, hands clenched tightly.
Fury blazed in Tala's eyes and he had an almost tangible aura of hate. He lunged for Nikita, grabbing hold of his father's wrist and sharply twisting it. It gave Tala a strange satisfaction when he heard the bone snap. Nikita gasped in pain.
" I'll be back, my dear son. Don't worry." Nikita hissed through his teeth, pulling roughly away from Tala and stalking to the front door, slamming it as he left.
" Yuri." He felt his mother's hand on his forearm.
" I - I need some fresh air." Tala's voice was hoarse from the horror of what he did. He then abruptly walked out, head dizzy in all that had happened.
Tala lost track of where he was headed and frankly, he didn't really care. He just needed to get away, away from everything. Coming to a stop in a small park, Tala felt the blood rush to his head. The adrenaline-delayed effects of the blow were finally kicking in. He let out a small moan before he collapsed, completely and utterly alone.
The stars twinkled on, just as if it were any other night in Bakuten.
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