Jaheira1000: Sorry it took so long guys! I was in a bit of a car accident on Friday, and my back is killing me. On the up-side, it gave me a lot of time to work on my fics while I was hurt. Oh well, on with the fic!
DISCLAIMER: It's not mine! sobs
CHAPTER FOUR: DENIAL
The other bladers were making their way through alleys when suddenly Dizzy piped up, "Guys, I think there's a problem. Kia seems to be moving much faster. If I didn't know any better I would say she's being chased." Ray paled quite suddenly, "Of course!" Everybody stared at him. "We have to remember guys, that Kia is not a guy anymore. She can't just take off by herself. What she did now was the equivalent of Mariah running off into a dark alley. Chances are, she didn't think of it like that and got herself into trouble. She's still not used to the fact that she's a girl now." As he watched his words sink in, Ray noticed the others turn equally pale. They started running…
Kia looked behind her and cursed silently. That jerk was still on her tail. Taking a sharp turn quickly she sprinted down an alley, only to find herself at a dead end. 'Time to find out just how flexible I really am.' She thought, eyeing the steel bars that ran from her end of the brick wall until the other. Thanking heaven that her skirt was fashioned like shorts, she took a run-up and kicked of the wall grabbing onto the first pipe. She just managed to reach it. Looking down she realised that she would have to hurry. Swinging her legs, she gained momentum before releasing the bar and catching hold of the next one. If she got out of this alive, she would have to try out for the gymnastics team, she thought grimly. As she reached the last bar she felt her grip slipping. At least she was over the wall, but, looking down, she saw it was a very long drop…
The three blading teams were racing along according to Dizzy's instructions. As they came to the last turn, they were amazed to see Kia swinging from bar to bar with a grim look on her face. Ray, who was right in front, felt his eyes widen in horror as he saw her lose her grip. She was slipping! Rushing forward, he left the others in his dust…
Feeling her fingers slipping, Kia tried to get a firmer grip on the pole, but only succeeded in slipping further. She thought she heard somebody call her name in the distance. Before she could look to see who it was, she lost her grip completely. Kia felt herself fall… then suddenly. "Oof." Blinking a few times, she tried to take stock of what had just happened. She looked up to find Ray smiling at her. "Gotcha!" He cried triumphantly. "Wha…" To say that she was confused was an understatement. Ray explained, "We followed you after you left the café, when we found you, we saw that you were falling and…um…" he broke off the explanation going slightly red. Kia realised for the first time that Ray was holding her tightly in his arms. Mariah took pity on him and finished his sentence, "Ray caught you just before you hit the ground. Kia looked at Ray in surprise and thanked him quietly. He put her down, and she was surprised to find that she didn't want him to. 'What am I thinking?' Kia scolded herself. Folding her arms, she once more assumed her mask of indifference. This didn't surprise anybody. Kia hated being seen as weak, but she was gonna have to live with it since she wasn't a guy anymore. She would have to learn to accept her new way of life.
Ray was still blushing even after putting Kia down. He had enjoyed holding her just a little too much. Sighing, he tuned back into the conversation…
Kia was wondering what had happened to the loser chasing her when, with a earth shattering howl, he came flying over the wall to land in the middle of a very disgruntled mob of bladers. Giving a chocked exclamation, she ran to hide behind Ray. She did NOT feel like going through THAT again. Blushing furiously, Ray asked, "Um, Kia? What are you doing?" Kia looked up at him with puppy dog eyes, "That's the guy that was chasing me. Do you think I try gymnastics over the streets for fun or something?" Looking from Kia to the intruder, Ray started feeling murderous. How dare that tramp try and attack HIS Kia! Wait a minute… his Kia? Where had that come from? 'Oh great work Ray, are you falling for your chick turned captain now. Have some pride man!' He told himself with a grimace. 'Well, she IS a chick now, so technically it's ok. That DOES make it ok doesn't it?' He argued with himself. 'Stop trying to talk yourself into it man. It's not as if she'll ever like YOU that way. She's still thinking of herself as a guy for goodness sake!' Sighing, Ray gave up the mental battle. He would just have to cross that bridge IF he got to it. Jeez, this type of thing could really mess with a guys head. After this furious inner battle, he decided to blame his murderous impulses on the fact that the guy had attacked an innocent girl. Stepping forward, he and the others 'persuaded' the jerk, to leave them and all other innocents alone in future.
Jaheira1000: This chapter was basically to establish the relationship between Ray and Kia.
Kia: Have mercy on her and review please, cause she was in a lot of pain while doing this chapter!
Jaheira1000: Being a girl made you so sweet!
Kia: Huffs while blushing