Chapter 15: Are we there yet?
"You created a monster." Max belly flops onto the couch next to me and buries his face into the cushion.
"What now?" I inquire calmly. He pushes himself up on his elbows to look at me.
"Tyson," he states annoyed. "He just stares at me now. ALL THE TIME! I don't even know why? Did you tell him to keep doing it?"
"Well that's interesting. I swear it wasn't me." I laugh. "Have you asked him why?"
"No!" He flops back down with a heavy sigh before rolling over. "It wouldn't be so bad if that was ALL he did. But he's also NOTICING things." He pushes himself up so that his head is almost resting on my leg. "This morning he told me I had pretty eyes. Like. Does he even know what he's saying?" I glance down at him from the corner of my eye, watching his scan their way over the ceiling fan.
"Isn't that a good thing? He's paying attention to you… And, he sounds like a lovesick teenager. That seems like something special to me." I tease. He throws his arms up in frustration.
"No! It's terrible! I want things to go back to normal. I can't even enter a room with him without feeling self-conscious." He crosses his arms in a pout and glares at me. "What is that anyway?" His gaze becomes softer as his interest is taken by the object in my hands. I meet his eyes and show it to him.
"A puzzle box," I explain.
"It looks really complicated," he says as he takes it from me briefly.
"It is," I nod in agreement. He hands it back and lets out another heavy sigh.
"So. What do I do? You have to fix it before I go crazy!" He covers his face with his hands. I shrug.
"I'd take it up with Tyson." He doesn't really like this answer and goes into a dark brood. I glance over at him again and the guilt that wasn't there yesterday finally washes over me. And then I really DO want to fix it. I frown a little and drop the puzzle box to my lap in defeat. "Well at least you're speaking to me. After all that I didn't expect you to forgive me." He looks up at me with a half-smile.
"I actually need to ask you a favor." I return his look with curiosity. His eyes take on that little devious flare they sometimes get when he's scheming something and my stomach starts to turn in nervousness. "Go on the trip with Kai."
"How did you…?"
"Kai told me." He looks down at his hands. Kai talked to Max? About me? Why? "When we were discussing everything. He was encouraging me about my loss." Loss? "It was silly really. Did you know that I wasn't even eligible to run?" Oh that loss… "Because I'm a first year. They made an exception because of my name and publicity status." Oh! I think I made progress with this thing! "In a way, I am actually happy that I lost. It would have been unfair." Nevermind, I think I just made it worse. Did that piece just get tighter?
"That's very humble of you…" I input my side of the conversation. Not quite ignoring him but not quite paying attention either. I had vaguely known the conditions of running for the student council but when he had mentioned running, I had just assumed I was wrong. Not that his loss wasn't something that deserved my support, it was, he just seemed to be taking it so well and I didn't want to make him feel bad or dwell more than he probably already had. Friends have to show consideration, ya know?
"Yeah well…I'll earn it. I had a feeling from the beginning that it would end this way but my VP was so pushy and positive that I couldn't resist." He smirks in a fond way and even with my distraction I don't miss the slight glimmer in his eye as he reminisces.
"Are you cheating already?" I laugh playfully. He blushes and rolls over in a defensive way so that I can't see his face anymore.
"There would have to BE something for it to be cheating. Besides, it's not like that anyway!" he grumbles.
"If you say so…" I pretend to go back to the box.
"Hey!" Tyson clamors in before he can retort, dropping himself down into Kai's chair with a huff. Max sits up and exchanges a look with me, before we both look over towards Tyson. We don't say anything, expecting that the other boy will elaborate on his own. At first, he doesn't notice, going on with being distracted by his own actions and trying to find something to focus on. I turn back to Max and he gives me a lost expression before shaking his head helplessly. I decide to ignore the outburst and continue where we had left off before he'd entered.
"Anyway, what does all that have to do with the trip?" I ask, bringing Max's attention back to me before he could start fidgeting. I could already see that he was struggling to stop himself and the blush hadn't really faded from my teasing him before.
"Well, a… It's just that…" he tries to gather his thoughts.
"I'm sick of this!" Tyson finally bursts, fuming. We both look over at him again as he grabs a pillow and throws it to the floor.
"I'm sorry?" I reply, a little unsure if the rage is directed at us or something else. He growls and fixates a glare on me and I start to think it really IS us. What did I do now?
"It's them! They tell me this and that and then Hiro tells me this and that and then they still won't let me go!" he cries out forcefully.
"Go? You wanted to go?" He must be referring to the trip with Kai. Why would he be complaining about that to us? Normally he would harass Kai directly about it… Unless he thought we could change something or comfort him. Knowing that I had been invited would probably make it worse. Is that why he exploded when we were talking about it?
I don't! I just want them to ask! If I am doing a good job, I should be praised and not punished. They keep telling me I need more training. I need more training? How? Kai hasn't worked there much longer and HE'S not still training. HE'S travelling. Why am I not travelling?!" I stare blankly at him for a minute, then slowly put the puzzle box down on the table so I can give Tyson my full attention.
"Maybe you should prove to them that you don't need the training," Max interjects in a musing sort of way.
"Yeah, tell them to leave you alone for a while and then determine if you need more training." I add as a little push.
"How do I do that?" Tyson leans forward in interest, as if to soak up all the suggestions we have in eagerness.
"Seriously?" I look at him incredulously. "If you think you don't need training, then show them by doing a good job at whatever you are supposed to be doing."
"Yeah, Tys. You just have to do what you're supposed to!" Max throws in excitedly.
"Oh. Well yeah but… What's a good job?" I face plant into my hands and Max snorts.
"I don't know. Do what Kai does?" I reply absently with a small wave of dismissal. It was taking most of my energy not to tell him he was an idiot. Maybe if I called Hilary later she could do it for me. Days like this are when I miss her tell-it-like-it-is attitude.
"What Kai does?" He seems to consider it. "I guess I could try…" He considers it some more and I take up the puzzle again, having thought the issue to be resolved. "But then…" A pause. "He's so boring!" He collapses back in the chair in defeat and I roll my eyes in that 'you're hopeless' kind of way.
"Then, do whatever you want." I laugh. I try to go back to ignoring him and Max stays silent as well, but I can feel Tyson's eyes studying me and I start to wonder if this is how Max has been feeling since yesterday. It was kind of uncomfortable but not something I wanted to call attention to enough to tell him that it annoyed me.
"Well… What would YOU do, Ray?" he suddenly spits out in the most innocent and childish voice I think Tyson has ever used. It's the kind of statement that makes you heart melts and break at the same time and it throws me off guard for a minute. I take in a small breath and meet his eyes again.
"I…" I hesitate, considering the question for what it really means and how answering it could encourage and help Tyson at the same time. "I would find what I was good at, and make it better." He quiets and looks away. I watch him a moment longer and even exchange another look with Max about whether or not I should elaborate or maybe ask if Tyson is okay. But then Tyson suddenly stands up and leaves without a word and we watch him go before looking at each other again helplessly. "Did he really just…leave?" I question as if asking would change the answer. Max nods and gives me the most confused look he can manage. Taken back by the action enough that I feel drained, I decide to take a break from my task and do something else. I tell Max I am I leaving for a bit before dropping off the puzzle box in my drawer in the room and getting dressed to go outside.
I take a deep breath to savor the feeling of freedom and let go of my rampant thoughts.
Maybe this is why Kai goes on his walks so much…
Before I can step off the stoop, a black car (a fancy one…with tinted windows), pulls up in front of me. My hearts skips a beat in anticipation, my thoughts instantly thinking that it was much more suited to Kai and that he'd bought a car just to spite me, but before I can even finish such a thought, it takes off.
Weird.
Maybe we got new neighbors? I shake it off and go on with my walk. A good 20 minutes later, I realize that it's back and seems to have been following me. I spin around to confront it but it drives off again.
Okay, still weird.
So, what do my instincts tell me? I hide and wait.
Sure enough, it comes back, slowly stalking its way down the road allegedly stalking my whereabouts but unable to find me.
Hmn. Not very smart, I'd say. That car is certainly too flashy NOT to be noticed. Did they really think they could get away with tailing me like that? Were they actually trying to be covert? If I had to take a guess at who would be meddlesome enough to follow me around (in a flashy car)…Kai's father? From what I knew, it sounded preposterous. I'd only just met the man and he'd been pretty gosh darn clear about his feelings towards me and more than likely, my relationship with his son. So why now? Did my presence at the gravesite stir him into some kind of retaliation? He hadn't wanted to make a scene at the cemetery out of respect for the place, but out here, there was no unspoken rules like that. Had I crossed some un-crossable line by showing up in a place where he thought was sacred? I could understand why but…it hadn't been my idea.
Or had it? I HAD been pushing Kai pretty hard for…anything. Kai never talked about anything personal so I didn't quite know what to expect from a direct confrontation with his father…alone. But before convincing myself that it was instead some creepy fangirl that wanted to kidnap me, I figured I would have to deal with it eventually if I was going to stay by Kai's side.
So, I do what any normal person would do, I burst out of the bushes with heavy enthusiasm and startle the predator behind the wheel who, in turn, jolts into a sharp turn that bumps the sidewalk and halts the car. Curses immediately erupt from its direction as the door opens and a man (NOT Kai's father) gets out to inspect the wheel for damage. I watch him in slight bewilderment as he sees that there's nothing wrong at all and forces himself to calm down and approach me with composure.
"Mr. Kon," a polite greeting replaces the string of profanities and I'm only half surprised that he knows my name. To be tailing me, he had to have at least known what he was looking for. At least I would hope so. Unless he was some kind of pedophile and I just happened to walk out of my house at the wrong time…and I'm an adult…on most days. My suspicion that he was still associated with Kai's father did not escape me and my defensive instincts remained intact.
"Sorry I can't return the formality." I cross my arms defiantly. "Who are you?" I don't even bother to keep the condescension out of my tone.
"Oh. My apologies. My name is Richard Hart. I work for Ren Hiwatari." Ah, so I WAS right. Go me. "Mr. Hiwatari has requested some information." Small victory aside, I didn't like where this was going…
"If MR. Hiwatari wants to know something, he can ask me himself," I counter, spinning on my heel to depart with flare. The relaxing mood of my walk now ruined, all I wanted was to be back in my apartment where I could at least brood without feeling under attack.
"If you value the young master, you'll cooperate." The words halt me and despite every fiber of my being yelling at me that this is some kind of twisted trap, I purse my lips and turn back.
"Kai wouldn't appreci…"
"Do you always let the young master control you?" He interrupts before I can finish. And doesn't stop the jab by adding, "Like a pet?" I bristle, hoping it isn't visible to him. My wills wanes. Nobody called me anyone's 'pet'. I take a threatening step towards him.
"You sure know how to charm a guy," I manage to keep my head. "Just tell him he'll have to come see me himself."
The passenger side window rolls down and Kai's father clicks his tongue at me in mock approval.
"I should have known you'd put up some resistance. Anyone who can handle my son has got to have some endurance. But I never would have thought him to go for someone so dense." Okay, there might be someone out there who manages to be more spiteful than Kai. It came out sounding like it should have been a good thing and something in his tone and the way his eyes trailed up my body made me feel sickeningly dirty but the follow-up of malintent was definitely there. I could see a family reunion consisting of cold stares and low-blow insults not ending soon enough. Although Kai seemed to hold his tongue much better these days…
"I'll take that as a compliment." I throw my nose in the air as if to show him his words won't hurt me.
"It wasn't meant as one, but no matter." He waves it off. "Will you agree to come with me now that we've discussed this face-to-face?"
"No."
"Hn." Annoyance.
"You haven't given me a good reason to." I explain even though I hadn't been prompted to. "Why the shuffle and dive anyway? If you wanted to talk to me, why did you run?" Hands move to my hips like a mom waiting to hear the story behind the unexplained mess.
"I wasn't sure it was you." Likely story…NOT! The hands drop. "I have to admit, I was curious." He eyes me over again but with mock boredom and tilts his head the way Kai does when he wants to pretend he doesn't really care. Ugh, too many similarities. It makes me feel even MORE dirty that I am comparing the two of them. "It's not like anyone could make Kai CHOOSE to be rebellious and throw everything away. I was expecting someone more…captivating." A smirk. I wince.
"Can we just get this over with?" I grumble, that need to leave becoming more and more insistent.
"Okay." He nods in agreement. "I'll make it simple since you seem to be in a hurry and I have more pressing matters of my own… How much?"
"How much?" I don't understand.
"How much money do you want to break my son's heart?" My blood runs cold under his glare and the forcefulness of his words.
Why did I wake up today?
…
The confrontation with Kai's father was a lot more draining than I could ever have anticipated. I had expected a short exchange of words consisting of insults, accusations, and possibly a spiteful remark about how I was ruining Kai's life, but I had on no level suspected I would be offered money to disappear. Had he really expected me to accept? Where would I even go? I couldn't go back to China. Tyson and Max were both here too…and what's more important…did he really think he could BUY ME?
Ugh. Dirty. Filthy. Scoundrel. How was Kai even related to that guy? Kai was ruthless but he would never offer anyone money to get what he wanted. Kai rarely even talked about money. We had known Kai for YEARS before we even know his family was rich. We'd never been to his house, we'd never heard about his family company, we didn't even know he went to private school!
And what did he think I was?
Ugh. I may never get this nasty taste out of my mouth. Or be able to scrub myself hard enough to feel clean again. Thank whatever higher being I believe in today that I hadn't gotten in that car.
I let out a distasteful groan as I stalk up the steps to the door and go inside. Shaking my coat and scarf free, I wander into the open foyer into the living room and catch Tyson and Max out of the corner of my eye. I turn to utter a short greeting so I can be on my way to the shower, when I notice that Tyson has something in his hands. I freeze, the agitation of the previous encounter only making me more easily agitated now.
"Where did you get that?" I glare at Tyson as I take a few steps into the room.
"Ray!" Max greets, sitting up at the sound of my voice and looking over. Tyson however, doesn't. Which makes me a little annoyed. "How was…"
"I said, where did you get that?" I repeat louder, quieting Max in the process. He swallows visibly but has no idea what the problem is. He glances at Tyson, as if to warn him but like before, Tyson is concentrated on something else.
"Kai's room. Why? Is it yours?" He rolls Kai's puzzle box over in his hands still trying to figure it out. "It's interesting… Where did you…?" He looks up, his eyes meeting my glare and finally realizing what kind of situation he is in. If he had Kai's puzzle box that meant that he had gone into Kai's room. Not only that but that he had gone into my desk (well technically Kai's but it's the same concept). Which, basically threw out my assumption earlier that Tyson wasn't rude enough to rummage through our personal things or even to enter our room without one of us present. Clearly, that wasn't the case. I guess Kai was right to lock his drawer. Tyson better hope to God he hadn't touched Kai's journal… I bite my tongue and walk over to him, shooting out my hand demandingly. He stares at me innocently a moment before slowly handing it over like a hurt puppy. "Sorry…" he replies guiltily. I take back my hand forcefully and turn away.
Before I can leave the room, Max stops me.
"Wait!" As he jumps up, the pile of magazines he had been leafing through scatter onto the floor. He pays the mess no mind as he continues. "We were waiting for you to come back. We're going to decorate!"
I clutch the box tighter but don't let my anger show on my face. Instead I turn back and smile.
"Sure! I'll be right back…"
"Sweet! We'll go get the boxes!" He scrambles to pick up the magazines and Tyson jumps up to help.
"Don't forget your sneakers!" he calls after me as I exit.
I don't ask… My shower just couldn't come soon enough.
A/N: I know, I know. It's short. And took too long to come out. And went off on another twisted tangent. And probably has some minor grammatical errors. Haha welcome to my brain!
Thanks for the reviews! I appreciate such active interest even though I am lacking on deadlines… I hope you all are at least enjoying life! I love you all.