DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Beyblades…only my OCs and the plot.
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Chapter 8: Driving, Apologizing, Partying?
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"Pull over! Pull over!" Bryan ordered calmly.
"Alright, alright," Amara snapped back. She pulled the '67 Mustang over to the side of the road.
"Slowly. Down shift." Bryan cringed as the gears made a horrible grinding sound.
Amara jammed the car into park and turned off the engine leaving the keys in the ignition. She stared straight ahead not looking at her brother.
"You want to tell me what's wrong?" he asked.
"Nothing," Amara shrugged. "I'm fine."
"I'm doubting that one, Ams," Bryan said. He shifted in his seat so his back was leaning against the car door. Amara still refused to look at him so he continued to talk to her profile. "You've been asking me since I got home to teach you how to drive standard and now I finally have a day off where Leanne isn't talking wedding with me, and you aren't even trying to learn properly."
"Sorry, Bry," Amara said honestly. "I guess I'm just tired."
"That's a lame excuse. You've had three days to recover from New Years."
"Whatever," Amara huffed clearly not enjoying the conversation.
"You haven't been yourself since the Hiwatari's party. You've been ignoring Jules's phone calls and you've been snippy with everyone. That is not nothing."
"I must be PMSing," Amara answered looking out her window.
" Fair enough but that doesn't explain why you've been ignoring your best friend."
"The problem between me and Jules is between me and Jules. And I will deal with that when I feel like it. I don't need your opinion on that." Amara snapped back. She turned to glare at her brother.
"Get out!" Bryan commanded his voice stern.
"What?" Amara's mouth fell open.
"Get out of the car," he repeated slowly. His face was still. There was not making out whether or not he was joking. Bryan leaned over and unbuckled Amara's seatbelt and then his own.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Amara whined. "Just because I won't tell you my problems you're kicking me out?"
"I'm not kicking you out out," Bryan replied. "I'm kicking you out of the drivers seat."
"Oh," Amara said a little relieved and embarrassed.
After that Amara willingly switched seats and let her brother drive. They drove in silence. Amara stared out her window and watched the scenery roll by.
Bryan was right. Everything he had said was right. Amara had been short tempered, especially with her mom. Jules had been trying to get a hold of Amara as well but she either didn't pick up the phone or told her mom to take a message. Amara was feeling a little betrayed after the party.
The car stopped. Amara focused her attention on her surroundings. They weren't home. The house in front of them was Jules's. Bryan had driven her right to the last place she wanted to be.
"Okay, now I really do want you to get out," Bryan said.
"You obviously missed mother's lecture on not meddling in other people's business," Amara breathed sounding an awful lot like a growl.
"Yeah, I must have missed that one," he smirked back. "Now get out."
"You're mean."
"I'm being helpful, for all our sakes." Bryan leaned over and unbuckled her seatbelt for the second time that day.
Amara just glared at him. Once she was out of the car she stood at the base of the Hamilton's driveway and watched the blue mustang until it turned the corner out of sight. Amara breathed in and then let the air whoosh back out. She could just walk away but she knew she needed to work things out with her friend. If she could become friends with Kai Hiwatari again she could fix the mess she made with Jules.
Amara inched up the to the door and rang the bell. Out of habit she rang it rapidly twice. It was Amara and Jules's way of knowing who it was at the door.
Jules opened the door wide enough to stick her head out. She stared at Amara looking less than pleased.
"Hi," Amara offered with a small smile.
"'Bout time you got your butt over here to apologize," she replied.
"Me!" Amara gasped. "Me apologize…what about you?"
"I've been trying to get a hold of you haven't I," Jules snapped back. She opened the door wider. Her hands were now on her hips.
"Yeah…well…I didn't feel like talking," Amara shot back lamely.
"Well maybe I don't feel like talking to you now," Jules replied.
"Fine! It was Bryan's idea for me to come talk to you anyway," Amara turned to storm down the driveway dramatically.
"Bryan made you come here? Why does he care?"
"Apparently my attitude has been…well bad…since the party," Amara answered her temper dwindling a little. "He attributed that to me not returning your phone calls and brought me here."
"Oh," Jules said. "Well you better come inside then."
"Come inside?"
"We're not going to talk this out in the driveway," Jules smiled. "People will be listening. Rich people have no lives."
Amara couldn't help but smile. She followed Jules into the house.
0 0 0
"Well, if it isn't my two favorite people." Johnny beamed draping his arms over Amara and Jules' shoulders as they walked down the hall. "Aren't you guys just thrilled to be back in this fine learning establishment?"
"Thrilled isn't the word I would use to describe it," Amara frowned.
The first day back to school is never fun. It meant back to the grade grind and for the first three weeks they would be prepping for end of semester exams. Not really anyone's idea of real fun.
"Come on Ams, its not that bad," Jules said. Amara gave her a look as if she was insane. "We get to see each other everyday again and it's just review right now."
"And we get a few days off during exam week," Johnny added.
"I know. Its just Bryan went back to California again." Johnny and Jules nodded their understanding. "He won't be back till June which is only two weeks before the wedding."
"Oh, yeah they're getting married. Guess that means you and Kai will be family," Johnny teased. Amara shot him a warning glare. "Who knows maybe you and Kai will follow suit."
"Die!" Amara hollered jumping onto Johnny's back.
"Jules! Help!" Johnny begged. He was trying to hold Amara off and keep her from falling at the same time.
"You asked for it," Jules replied stepping back so she wouldn't get hit as Johnny spun around with Amara on his back. "I am not getting involved. Besides I'm in a skirt."
"Wouldn't want to mess with the outfit," Amara smirked. She was clearly enjoying herself. "Now giddy up you!" Johnny and Amara bounded down the hallway leaving Jules standing all alone.
Jules just smiled to herself and turned to her locker. Those two were such children sometimes.
"Hey Jules." A cheery voice said. Jules turned around to meet its owner.
A petite pink haired girl stood in front of her.
"Oh hey Mariah," Jules said with a smile. "How's it going?"
"Good." Mariah's smile was perfect. Jules found her eyes drawn to her white straight teeth. Mariah seemed to have the perfect 'movie star' smile. "I just wanted to thank you again for tutoring me."
"No problem," Jules replied. "Glad I could help."
"I wanted to invite you to this party a friend of mine is having." She offered Jules a bright yellow piece of paper. "I've never really seen you at any of the parties before and being our grad year and everything…" She seemed to trail off not knowing how to finish her thought without sounding snotty.
Mariah Ling and Jules were not in the same 'circle' as Amara would say. When Jules had first taken the tutoring job she was worried that her so called social status would be a problem Mariah turned out to be nice.
"Yeah, thanks." Jules said quickly. "I'll see what I can do."
"Cool," Mariah beamed. "Catch ya later."
"Bye." Jules looked down at the paper in her hand.
"What's that?" Amara and Johnny were suddenly back at her side.
"Were you just talking to Mariah Ling?" Amara demanded curiously.
"Yeah so? Is it a bad thing that she talked to me?" Jules shot back.
"No," Amara replied. "It's just that she's…"
"Popular." Jules and Johnny said in unison. Amara chuckled. She was a bit of a broken record.
"We've heard it before Ams," Johnny said pulling both girls to him again. Amara stuck her tongue out at him.
"I tutored her last semester," Jules explained. "She was just inviting me to a party."
"A party?" Amara snatched the paper away. She quickly skimmed over it. "You're not going to this. Are you?"
Jules shrugged. "I don't know. I thought it would be kind of cool." She ignored the evil look Amara was casting her way. "We've never gone. How can it hurt just once?"
"It's just going to be a bunch of the popular kids getting drunk," Amara said. "Didn't get enough of that at Kai's place?"
"Ams, stop being such a stick in the mud," Johnny interjected. "You're starting to sound like my mother."
"Just being the voice of reason," Amara huffed.
"You don't have to go," Johnny said. "Jules and I can go without you."
"I don't think so bud. It's either all or nothing."
"We'll just make an appearance then," Jules offered. "Long enough to say hi to Mariah and be seen. How's that?"
"Fine," Amara agreed slowly. "It could be fun."
"That's our girl," Jules hugged her. "You'll see. It will be a fun new experience for you."
"You really do need to be more social, Amara," Johnny said seriously. "How else do you expect to find a good mate in life." He smiled at Amara's typical glare.
"Oh, shut it," Amara rolled her eyes.
0 0 0
"What's got you all mopey?" Meredith asked Amara when she came to work on Friday night.
Amara put her tray down and started to prepare the drinks for her table. "I'm not mopey."
"Hun, you've been walking around like a zombie the last two shifts," Meredith pointed out. "Something's up." A cheeky smile graced the older girl's lips. "Boy problems by chance."
"You wish," Amara, groaned trying to hold back a smile. "The lack there of might be more of an issue but I really could care less about that."
"Well maybe we need to find you a boy."
"Customers await," Amara smiled lifting her full tray. She left the back to the safety of the dinning room.
"This isn't a dead topic yet," Meredith shot back at Amara's retreating figure.
Amara walked carefully trying her best not to tip the full tray of drinks. She was glad to have the distraction of work before the party. A part of her was hoping that she would be asked to stay longer so she could bail but something told her she wasn't going to get out of it that easily. Jules was picking her up and they were going to go straight there.
After putting the appropriate drink in front of the right customer, Amara took out her pen and pad to jot down orders. The place was pretty dead for a Friday night but Amara had her hands full with a large group of twenty somethings. The lack of customers meant a shorter shift. Amara finished taking the orders and turned to go back to the kitchen. She looked up just in time to see Kai and two of his friends walk in the door.
Kai was looking straight at Amara. A small smile graced his lips. He was probably laughing at Amara's deer in the headlight's expression. Amara quickly ducked into the back. If Meredith had seen Kai staring at Amara, she would never hear the end of it.
Amara glanced up at the clock as she placed her order. There was still two hours left of her shift. Kai could easily be there the whole time. "Just what I needed." Amara growled under her breath.
"You have a thing for that tall blue haired guy." Meredith was back in the kitchen. "I knew it. He's always here."
"Don't you have hostessing to do," Amara said trying to brush it off.
"Fine, be that way if you want," she replied. Amara was a little stunned that Meredith gave up so easily. Meredith turned to head back out to her podium. "Oh, by the way, he's sitting in your section."
0 0 0
"Come on Jules," Amara mumbled to herself. She looked down at her watch. Her shift had ended fifteen minutes ago. She could no longer feel her fingers.
"Well if it isn't little Smurf." Amara cringed. She turned to see Kai walking towards her.
"I thought you left already," came Amara's cold reply.
"I didn't see your car outside thought you might want a lift home," Kai said stopping so he was standing beside her. She refused to look at him. Instead she kept her attention on the entrance to the parking lot.
"I've got a ride, thanks."
"Does Smurf have a date?" Kai teased poking Amara in the side. He unfortunately knew exactly where her ticklish spot was.
"Bugger off," Amara snapped moving away about ten feet. She kept her gaze on the road.
"Aw come on, Amara. I thought we were going to be friends."
"Fine, if you must know my friend is picking me up and we're going to a party. I don't really want to go but she does so I'm being supportive," Amara rambled.
"Party eh? What kind of party?" Kai asked nonchalantly moving closer to where Amara was now standing.
"I don't know, Jules got the invite from Mariah Ling."
"Mariah Ling." Kai seemed a little taken aback by the name. "You know, you should probably stick with your gut and not go to the party. I know how much you hate popular people, especially drunk popular people. It's just a waste of your Friday night."
Amara eyed him curiously. Kai concerned about how she spent her night. Something wasn't right.
"Oh really," Amara said still skeptical. "Actually I think I do want to go." Kai opened his mouth to say something. "And there's Jules." Kai turned to see a white Sunfire pull into the parking lot.
"Amara, don't go to the party." Amara turned to face him. He was serious. What was up with him? Amara stared at him for a second debating whether or not to take his warning to heart. A honk of a horn disrupted her thoughts and Amara got into the car.
"What did he want?" Jules asked once Amara was in the car.
"Nothing." Amara stared at Kai through the tinted window. He was so serious. Maybe he was being serious. Amara shook her head. "Let's get to this party."
"Alright!" Jules beamed.
They sped out of the parking lot. Amara tried her best to resist the urge to look in the mirror. She wasn't about to start listening to Kai Hiwatari now.
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I already know you're all going to kill me for not revealing the kiss…I'm sorry you're gonna have to wait it just didn't work out in this chapter…maybe the next one but no guarantees. Sorry bout that…please review…no flames please. Thanks guys ;)
Miss Wright
THANKS TO THE REVIEWERS!
Rampant Chaos: Okay that has got to be the longest freaking review I have EVER gotten…thanks lol lol. I'm glad you like my narrative style…thanks. Sorry I cut the chapter off so abruptly but you should know by now that that's what I like to do…I'm a little evil that way. The cleans up well thing isn't an insult. I think it kinda works with anyone. People have their everyday style and then you can dress them up and they can look amazing. That was kinda the point…glad you picked up on it lol. I'm glad you like Kai's personality…some people would think he's a little out of character but like you said its kinda fun to read the different sides of the characters…makes them a little more real. We're not all the same mood everyday right. The peer pressure is going to be a bit of a theme actually…nice to know someone picked up on that. One of the main issues is going to be peer pressure and teen drinking and stuff. I am so flattered that Amara is one of your fav OCs…that's quite the compliment. Thanks for the awesome review.
-Dark Phoenix Angel Nami-: I hope you're not too disappointed that I'm keeping you in suspense but I promise you will know who kissed her…soon. Thanks for the review.
Tikytikytavvi101: Thanks for the review.
evilive: Yeah I'm such a meanie…I'm a cliffie person in case you didn't already know that. Lol. Thanks for the review.
Torri-Chiobie: LIPS LIPS YEP LIPS! SOME GUY'S LIPS! Yeah I didn't reveal it yet…so sorry…thanks for the review though…it was so cute. I loved it.
Moonshine4352: Thanks for the review.
fire spirit of hell: You're gonna have to wait to find out if you're right but that's a very popular guess lol lol. Thanks for the review.
Aggs: Glad you liked the chapter. I will keep writing. Thanks for the review.
Truble: Glad you hear you're gonna update too…I love your stories they're awesome. I want to tell you who kissed her but you're gonna have to wait just like everyone else LOL. Thanks for the review.
konfizkate91: Thanks for the review. Yeah it seems like the chapters for this story are longer than my others…weird. Well Mya Greene and Kai aren't really boyfriend and girlfriend…they're just a supposed couple. Thanks for the review.
Sakura Silvy: Kai is a cutie isn't he lol. Thanks for the review.
Moonlight Kitten: Thanks for the review…sorry I didn't answer your question about the kiss…everybody's gotta wait lol.
Wind Archer: thanks for the review.
Scarlet Witch: Thanks for the review. And you already know I have an lj so no point in answering that question really but whatever. lol lol
Blackdranzergurl: You know what it means when you get kissed on new years right? Well if you don't then you might want to ask someone LOL. Thanks for the review.
xInfernal: Thanks for the review.
Shadow-goddess99: Thanks for the review
guess: Thanks for the review…dude!
Guess: Yeah see ya is pretty unlikely lol. Thanks for the review…sorry for the cliffhangers.
ali: Thanks for the review.
LEM: I liked the ending of that chappie too…think its my fav cliffie. You and your cousin eh? Is it a guy cousin? LOL. Kai and Amara's friendship is still a little sketchy though lol. Thanks for the review.
lilactouch: Thanks!
THANKS AGAIN GUYS! REVIEW AGAIN!
