Chapter 20: Just the Two of Us

"So…" I stand across from Tyson, who is seated at the kitchen table with his arms crossed defensively, looking away from the paper I'd un-crumpled and laid out in front of him.

"I don't know what you want me to say… I thought I was being reasonable," he pouts. I place my hands on the table and lean over it, reading upside down the words he'd so willfully produced as demands right off the paper.

"No noise after 10pm?" I question skeptically. "Do these 'rules' apply to you as well?" He responds by looking down. I continue. "No 'relations' in any room but your own? Let's see here…" I take the paper and scan read it, raising my voice a notch for effect when I find what I am looking for. "'That includes the tv room, the kitchen, the gym, the back porch, the study, and MOST ESPECIALLY the hallway.' Hmn. Okay." I snort. I pause as I skim my way down the rest of the list. "Oh wait, wait. This one is my favorite. 'Don't leave your underwear laying around in the bathroom.'" I put the paper back on the table and smirk when he turns the tiniest bit of red. "You DO realize you have your own bathroom, correct? The only underwear on the bathroom floor should be yours." I laugh as I slide the paper back over to him. "And be most assured, WE don't step foot in there unless we think your life is in danger and we HAVE to. We CERTAINLY aren't throwing our underwear in there for no darn good reason. Did you give one of these to Max too? I mean you do SHARE a bathroom now…"

Stopping to think about it, maybe Tyson was too shy to just ask outright. I could just picture it… He'd march into Max's room with full intent to yell and demand but would get that innocent, confused look in response and then the stuttering would start…followed by the blush…the hat removal and replacement…the raised eyebrows and avoidance of eye contact… Then it would all just cascade downhill from there. Words would get lost, subjects would get changed, and they'd be nowhere closer to any resolution. He'd eventually spout out whatever random thought he had managed to come up with as a reason for being there, followed by a reason to leave and his hasty departure. Max would be left in thoughts of what had just happened and no closure would be reached at all.

Oh Tyson… Maybe I could teach you a little self-confidence…

Ha.

Yeah, you're right. It's more likely that those roles would be reversed and Max would be the one left stuttering and blushing while Tyson apologized for being insensitive and smoothed it over with some blurted, spur-of-the-moment promise that he'd done nothing wrong and could leave his underwear anywhere he wanted and it was not an issue after all. I guess writing it down instead of saying it out loud had its own charm and way of resolving things and avoiding others. Especially when dealing with Kai who would just take whatever you suggested and intimidate you into changing your mind to whatever HE wanted it to be. A list wouldn't change much about that but I give Tyson props for attempting it. Especially since I had been left to deal with it instead of Kai, as Kai had decided he was beneath such things.

Hmm, I wonder what level that puts me on... I seem to find myself in this position more often than not these days. Maybe I deserve it? Should I deserve it?

Tyson throws his hands down to grab the list from the table belligerently before standing up.

"Okay, okay, so that one was a little out there. Maybe I did grab at a few straws to be dramatic." He walks over to the trash can, crumples the paper back up and tosses it out. "I was just TRYing to make things how they USED to be before. Sometimes it's…I dunno, weird?"

Shaking my self-absorbed thoughts aside, I sigh.

"Was 'weird' the best word you could think of? I'd be offended but I'm too amused to care at this moment. And I thought we were pretty hospitable for someone who showed up without a word or notice and just…MOVED IN not expecting ANY responsibility in the matter. Then proceeded to MOVE IN someone ELSE, ALSO uninvited, all while saying it was only TEMPORARY because it was just until you could get settled on your own. Just how long is 'temporary' anyway? And how many more 'temporary' guests should we expect before we find out?" He huffs and spins around to face me, his face flushed with annoyance instead of embarrassment this time.

"Al-riiiight, just forget it. I'll apologize. Does that make it better?" he tosses my way, no longer wanting to defend himself. "Hearing you say it all out loud makes it just sound dumb. I thought it was a good idea at the time. I wanted to… Ugh, I don't even know. I'll tell you later when I figure it out." He goes quiet for a moment before making a quick jump towards the door. "I'm gonna go change." He announces before running away.

I smile and slip my phone out of my pocket.

'2/3 in one day feels like winning. Soon you'll be hiring me as your crisis manager.' I type on the screen before hitting the send button. Somewhere in the past few days I had mastered the modern day act of 'texting' and found it more effective at getting a response when a few words of acknowledgement were all I needed to lift my spirits. Surprisingly, I hardly ever wait long for a reply.

'Who knew that all I had to do was leave?' I roll my eyes but don't lose my smile as I put the phone away and go on about my business as usual. Things seemed to be getting back to normal on their own and I didn't want to stop myself from feeling relieved about it. I hadn't considered my relationships with other people when I had decided that Kai was worth walking away from them. Not thinking about them for a whole year had made them seem less important somehow. But now?

Now somehow it was different.

Just the short time being back together had made me realize that they were just as important as everything else was. They were a part of my life that I needed too. And Tyson didn't know it, but he was the only reason I'm not curled up in a corner somewhere, listening to emo music and wishing the days would go by faster. I mean, there's still plenty of time to do that later after all…

As the weekend started, I realized that taking care of Tyson was like taking care of a child. Even when you think you know how to spare a little time for yourself to stop and breath for a moment, he manages to wheedle his way into your airspace. Feed him and he's good for a while but then his hunger is filled and no longer his main concern so he turns to you for some sort of entertainment instead. And what does one do when one needs to entertain a child?

Ignore him and let him wander around aimlessly until he finds something that sparks his interest enough to leave you alone until he gets bored again. Or (more than likely) finds something he needs your participation in to entertain himself so he bugs you until you get annoyed enough to comply, even if it is albeit reluctantly.

"Tell everyone your biggest fear." I pause before giving Tyson a perturbed look. "Seriously? I'm not afraid of anything. This is stupid." Tyson grins and nudges me.

"That's not how you play, Ray. You have to do what it says or you have to do anything I want!" he laughs. I roll my eyes.

"Fine, fine." I take a deep breath and let it out as a sigh. "Sharks. They terrify me." I relay in a flat, uninterested tone. "Happy?"

"Hmmm…" he furrows his eyebrows and quirks his lip in thought. "Somehow I don't believe you but since this is your first loss, I'll let it slide." He proceeds to set up the Jenga tower again and it starts all over. And I have to say, these types of games are much better with a group larger than 2 people, especially if one of those people tends to be less lucky than the other and always ends up on the losing side. I start to think I'll end up with another dumb question to answer when he hasn't had to feel that awkward moment of 'what kind of question is that?' but as he jimmies the next block out of the stack, I let out a sigh of relief as he flips it over to read it. "'Do you talk in your sleep?' Hm. How would I know?" He tosses the block down with a huff causing the tower to crumble down with the impact. "You're right. This is no fun. What else can we play?" He crawls across the floor to the closet where he had dug this game out of. A closet that I had no idea even existed in the first place and was relatively unexplored since I had moved in. I didn't even know we had games. I was pretty sure they weren't Kai's. I wonder if someone had left them from before he had moved in. It did make me slightly curious. Especially since I had never given that closet a second glance…or even a first one. I was almost convinced that Tyson had put it in while I had been out shopping for dinner.

"Maybe we could make up our own game? Or maybe we could…"

"I've got it!" he exclaims, pulling another box out of the closet.

This process starts our night of opening up game boxes and mulling over directions just to decide they are either 'too boring' or 'too complicated'. This, of course, is followed by tossing them aside and digging another one out. After the fourth or fifth box, I decide to sneak out while Tyson's nose is buried in the closet. I manage to take two steps down the hallway before…

"Ray! Hey!" A loud clatter sounds, followed by something rolling and then Tyson is right behind me. "Where are you going?" I half smile.

"The bathroom?" I offer hoping it sounds believable.

"Yeah, you're probably right. Board games aren't very entertaining. Maybe that's why they call them BORED games." He punches me playfully. I fake laugh to humor him. Then I feel a little bad for ditching him. It wasn't like there was anything more exciting to do elsewhere. God knows how crazy I had been trying to find things to occupy myself with during my days alone. At least with the two of us we could be bored together.

"Hey, how about we do something we both know we enjoy?" I suggest and his eyes light up in interest. So of course we end up in the gym where he commences in the kicking of my ass for 5 out of 9 beybattles; 2 of my wins being overshadowed by how close they could have been draws, 1 of them ACTUALLY being a draw. Hey, gimme a break, I have been a slacker for a good part of 2 years… It was still worth it though. To remember what it felt like to battle again. Sometimes you don't realize you miss something until you show up to a reunion.

"Gosh, I'm starving." Tyson collapses onto the floor near where I have seated myself to collect my energy.

"Hey, Tys… How often do you get to battle while you are working? I mean, do you still get to participate?" He props himself up on an elbow and tilts his head.

"Yeah, I mean, everyone wants a shot at the champ! Sometimes you just gotta give the fans what they want! Since they may never fight a real champ like me." He grins broadly as he congratulates himself internally. I can almost hear the crowds cheering from inside his head. He snaps out of his daydream to set a serious look on me though. "Why do you ask? You wanna try it?!" He sits up eagerly, anticipating the union with excitement. "I'm sure they would LOVE to see TWO champions battle. I mean, some of the kids now are super talented but we all know there isn't as much uproar as when WE were hitting the stage. I'd love to battle Kai one more time for real." His mind starts to wander again and I can't help the tiny twinge of jealousy at the sentiment. I decide to push it aside and change the subject, finally feeling like we were in a good enough place to venture out on the limb I had been waiting to reach for.

"Can I ask you something personal without you getting weird about it?" He turns his attention back to me and gives me a look that asks what kind of silly thoughts could I possibly be thinking about now, and I laugh without him even asking me the words out loud. I shake my head and stand up. "Nevermind. I'll go start dinner..." Before he can protest my departure his stomach growls and he relents.

"Good idea! I'll set the table!" He jumps up and runs out of the room first.

I wondered if there would ever be a time where I wasn't jealous over those little things. I mean, there really was no sane reason to be. After Tyson had come clean and Kai had opened up a fraction, there was little room for the invasion of discomfort and doubt to sweep through again. Why make more problems than there are? Just because Tyson's eyes sparkle ever so slightly when he thinks about his old battles with Kai doesn't mean there's any reason to think it's more than just simple admiration and respect. I mean, my eyes sparkled the same way about Tyson in the past. That doesn't make him a potential threat to my relationship with Kai now. If Tyson has shown me anything since he'd popped up in our private life, it's that their relationship is that of perfect rivals. Sometimes he seemed to pick fights with Kai just to see how he'd react. It's more about who'll win, not the fight itself. He may even have taken the defensive for me just to see if he could push Kai in a way that would provoke him to fight back. The list. The ultimatums. The intervention. They started to seem like little jabs to bring Kai's fighting spirit back into THEIR relationship and nothing to do with me at all. Gah! Am I really jumping into Tyson's crazy head right now and actually making sense out of it?! Who am I? Get out of there!

I am way more curious about how to approach the subject of Max without Tyson withdrawing back into an exasperated mess of nerves and embarrassment…as fun as that would be to witness… I'm not sure if Tyson is mature enough to realize that Max's affections for him have changed. He's always such a carefree, oblivious, goofball that I can't even imagine any such thoughts have ever crossed his mind. But sometimes all it takes is a suggestion. I had tried to get him to think in that direction but as you all know, it had many adverse effects and not many positive ones. I couldn't help but think these few weeks alone with Tyson were the best opportunity to get him thinking in the right direction. I had managed to make him conscious of Max, but it wasn't quite enough…

Needless to say, a plan was required. Preferably, one that I couldn't mess up this time.

Too bad things never quite work out the easy way around here.

After a long day of endless games and mindless chattering about old times, we exhaustedly decided that a quiet movie night in the living room was in order. I settled into the couch while Tyson rummaged for something good to watch and before I knew it, I was out like a light. I don't know for how long or whether Tyson had found whatever it was he was looking for on TV, but the next thing I knew I was being awakened with a start by the sudden pressure and warmth of something trapping me.

"Um, Tyson?" I blink confused when I find that Tyson had somehow crawled his way over me and was now blocking me in with his body hovering just shy of contact. I can feel the heat radiating off of him and the stickiness it carried through the air between us. Every muscle in my body instantly tenses when I am awake enough to realize what is happening as I become afraid to move, to risk coming in contact with him in his current state. He is uncomfortably close and I feel like any movement on my part would make the tiny space he'd left between us non-existent, and I wasn't ready to know what the result of that would be. At least not before he explained himself. For all I knew he was just playing a joke on me and I was falling right into it. This is what I get for teasing him earlier, right?

"I feel weird." He responds, closing his eyes slowly and swallowing dryly.

"O…kay…" I can't help but try to slip away without touching him but I am not being granted that freedom and it only makes me squirm internally since I can't act on my strongest impulse to just get out. "That doesn't explain why you're…here." There was something strange about him and it wasn't just the way he was acting. His face is flushed, he is sweating an unusual amount, and his breath is a bit ragged, almost like he'd just run 12 miles and was about to collapse from exhaustion. As if to confirm that theory, his arms seem to weaken and his shoulders drop close enough for his hair to fall over his shoulder and tickle my nose. I try not to let it show that it bothers me but my muscles tense even more and I feel them start to ache from the strain I am putting on myself to stay still.

"Why do you. Smell like Max?" Smell? Like Max? What th… Wai..! Ahh! Okay, I'm done.

I don't finish my thoughts because Tyson has leaned down to lick my neck which prompted me to flinch, clamp my eyes closed, and knee him hard enough to make him fall backwards off the couch from the sudden impact and pain. I had been tolerating the awkward situation and his odd behavior because I didn't want to hurt my friend and he was clearly not in control of his thoughts enough to know what he was doing, but that had crossed a line.

"What's wrong with you?!" I burst, my feelings no longer sympathetic of his condition and my thoughts racing with how many ways THAT action could be misinterpreted. None. I can think of none. What WAS that?!

He groans and curls up in a ball on the floor. His breathing gets heavier and the flush only seems to deepen in color as he tries to collect himself by rolling over.

I curl up in my own ball, pushing myself as far away from him on the couch that I can, wedging myself in the corner and wrapping my arms around my legs in a defensive way after rubbing at my neck fervently to make the icky feeling go away. I had never been worried about Tyson before. Not in this way. He was too immature to even have those thoughts, let alone act them out. I mean, we had this conversation just a few hours ago, right? But here we were now, and I feel…VIOLATED. I can't even think of a way to make myself feel less…less…victimized.

"I don't know. It's hot. And I can't…think…" He shakes his head and tries to push himself up to sitting but he seems frail and not strong enough to carry the movement out. My apprehension comes back as the initial shock fades back to concern and I drop to the floor next to him. Temporarily forgetting my uneasiness out of pure worry, I place one hand to his forehead and a finger from the other to his neck. After a minute I withdraw to look at the rest of him for any other abnormal signs or injuries.

"Are you sick? You're burning up…and your heart is racing like crazy. Maybe I should take you to the hospital." Not finding anything broken or bleeding, I start to stand to find my phone so I can call a taxi but Tyson stops me by grabbing my wrist.

"Don't go. I just…" he breathes out heavily. "Feel strange…" He struggles to find the words he wants to say. "To touch…" he brushes his fingers up my arm and I shiver, that feeling of violation creeping its way across my skin again and leaving goosebumps. But my fears don't get any farther than that because shortly after, Tyson slumps over and seems to pass out. I immediately run into the other room to call the taxi. I didn't know what was going on but whatever it was, he needed help. Now.

Panic gets me through the phone call and to the freezer for an ice pack that I wrap up in a towel. Then, a sick feeling washes over me as I think about how I will have to carry him to the cab, meaning I would have to… I shake the thoughts from my head and take a deep breath. If he tried anything else crazy I would just have to endure it long enough to get him to the hospital and checked out. He wasn't himself. Something was making him act this way and there wasn't any time to dwell on it. His safety was my only priority.

Once he was secured at the hospital and in the hands of much more professional help, sleeping, and stable, I slinked my way back home to pass out almost as soon as my head hit the pillows. Dead to the world. Finally free on my worry and…whatever THAT was. Just deep, dark, happiness…

And then there was ringing. And ringing. Why is there so much ringing here?

"Hello?" I drone out sleepily, finding the source of the ringing and making it stop.

"Why weren't you answering?" I shoot up to a sitting position at the tone. It was enough to wake me up much more effectively than any alarm clock ever would have.

"Kai?" Not really a question worth asking. I know its Kai. Who else would it be? Who else would take that tone with me over a few missed calls? Who else? I mentally kick myself and as if to confirm my racing thoughts, he doesn't answer; his silence demanding the answer instead. "Tyson…" I stop. How much should I really tell him? I know keeping secrets was probably the worst thing I could do after everything we had just been through but… What COULD I tell him? He was already angry. How much worse would it be if he knew the truth right now? I get goosebumps just remembering. "Tyson's in the hospital." I leave it at that. Simple. To the point. No gray areas…

"What?" I can just imagine him pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "What happened? Do I even want to know?" His tone lightens but not by much.

"I'm sorry," I say instead of an explanation. He sighs.

"Okay." He accepts my apology and doesn't press further.

"You don't have to worry…" I go on, more out of guilt for lying than because he needed an answer. "I…handled it. He's going to be fine."

"Are YOU okay?" The question surprises me. The tone and feel of doing something wrong dissipate and my body finally relaxes.

"Yeah. I'm just tired." I breathe out in relief.

"Get some sleep. I'll call you tomorrow." Now he sounded almost gentle, which makes me smile. Even despite my previous trepidation, he was showing his concern for me and not asking too many questions to make me feel worse. It displayed a level of trust that I felt I hadn't quite earned back yet. But it made me feel safer. Which was much better than any other direction I had expected this conversation to go running off in.

"Thanks." I'm not as worried at the click of the phone cutting off as I usually am when Kai hangs up without a word of good-bye. I drop the phone to the floor and float back down to the bed, burying my face in my pillow and letting out a big sigh. I'm not even three minutes into my sleep before I'm jumping back up again at the sound of my phone. I fumble to find it and lift it to my ear. "Already?" I blurt out without thinking.

"What happened to Tyson?!" Max. I panic.

"Oh, uh, he's fine. Really." I scramble to find words.

"The hospital?! Come on!" he huffs and my guilt returns.

"Can you just…trust me?" I cringe at my own words. He growls in frustration, not sensing my distress at all.

"Fine. Just…convince me."

"He's fine. They said he'd be home by tomorrow." I start to yawn.

"Today, tomorrow or tomorrow, tomorrow? Kai said he called you yesterday…" I almost bite my tongue as I clamp my mouth shut and my eyes dart to the nearest clock.

"Ooohh." I pale. I must have misjudged my three minute nap because it was almost 2pm already and Tyson was supposed to be released by 1pm. "I have to go." I end the call and jump up off the bed, immediately pulling on whatever clothes I can find. My phone instantly starts ringing again and I answer it while hopping out the bedroom door while pulling on my socks.

"Ray, it's a MOBILE phone." Max laughs at his own joke and I roll my eyes unamused. "Take me with you!"

"I'd love to but it's about to die and I'm real…" it cuts off "…ly late." I shake it off before throwing the phone towards the couch on my way past, grabbing my coat and rushing out the door.

AN: hellooooo! It's been like a year already? Forgive me. LIFE HAPPENED. T.T I didn't think anyone was even still expecting me to update at this point but then I got a favorite and was like "omg, I totally forgot about that?!" And then I spiraled. I also apologize for the darker content of this chapter. I tried super hard to keep this story light and fluffy and not TOO too dramatic but…I can't do it. I swear this is the worst it will get though and that it has a purpose! I actually had this and the next chapter already written before I magically disappeared into adulthood but they needed some heavy editing and got pushed aside. But here's the first one! I appreciate anyone who's still out there, AND all the favorites. My dream of being a real writer one day doesn't seem so dreamy when I see that even after a year people still manage to find and read my stuff…AND like it. Haha, you'll never know just how much that means to me. And now I sound like a sappy drunk person who isn't even drunk. Anyways! I love you all!