A.N. Thank you VampiricRosia for your review!

Summary: Tyson needs help planning Kenny's birthday, so of course he asks Hilary for help.

Kenny's Birthday Plans

Hilary walked down the corridor on her way to her afterschool club when a door slid open to her right and she was yanked into a small, dark closet. She stifled a scream and uncurled her fist because, though it was dark, she knew exactly who would pull such a stupid stunt.

"Tyson Granger, what are you playing at?"

There was fumbling, then a curse, and suddenly light blinded her. She cringed and recovered enough to glower at the boy who was sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.

"Heh, sorry about that Hilary."

She glanced around the janitor's closet and shook her head. He was going to start rumours with his rash actions and she would have to put up with the snickers and the sly looks while Tyson remained oblivious to it all. Delightful.

"What are you doing?"

"I needed privacy." She continued to wait for a satisfying answer, which came after he sighed loudly and dropped his backside onto an upturned bucket. "Well, I needed to find somewhere that we could talk where Kenny won't find us."

Leaning back against the shelves, trying to find a comfortable spot, Hilary ran a hand over her hair. "We're hiding from Kenny now?"

"Just for this conversation. It's his birthday soon and I want to do something big for it, well not too big because Kenny gets shy about things but just to show him we appreciate him, you know? He does all this amazing stuff for us during tournaments and most of the time I kind of get caught up in the moment and forget to thank him, so I just want to show him that we do notice."

Smiling softly, Hilary nodded. "I think that's a very nice idea, Tyson. But why do you need me?"

A frown puckered his brow. "Well I'm hardly going to ask Daichi for help. He can do some errands, sure, but if I want this to be successful, I'm going to need your help."

"Okay, well what did you plan to do?"

He pursed his lips and steepled his fingers before them, resting his elbows on his knees. "We need a venue but if we host it at his home, he'll notice something is happening. If I could guarantee he wouldn't show up at the dojo, we could hold it there."

"So you're thinking a party?"

"Just a small one, a private one with some friends from school and the team, of course, I've emailed Kai and Rei, and both say they'll come and Rei says that Kevin and Mariah want to come too. And I said to Max and he's definitely going to back by then."

She nodded. Max was away on an impromptu trip with his parents to celebrate his father's birthday. "That's great. Everyone will be here."

"Yeah, so I need help planning a venue where we can have a small party and Kenny won't feel overwhelmed, you know? And Hitoshi says he wants to come."

"Oh. Okay." Hilary wasn't sure what to make of Hitoshi anymore. He was Tyson's older brother and he'd been quite a coach but his actions during the BEGA tournament made her wary of him. Despite his claims of helping Tyson, he had put them all in a lot of jeopardy and Tyson's win was the only reason the outcome had been less severe. She couldn't imagine Kai being too comfortable in the older man's presence. She certainly didn't want to explain to a manager why she was digging a beyblade out of the wall.

"So when is Kenny's birthday?"

Tyson's smile faltered and turned a little toothy, a clear indication she wasn't going to like his answer.

"Next week."

"Tyson! How are you going to organise a birthday party with such short notice?"

"We just need a cake and everyone's already invited and coming."

"We need a venue too. One that's beyblade friendly." And honestly, she couldn't imagine many places in town being too eager to host a birthday party for the best friend of World Champion, not without it turning into a circus. "We need this to be private. Otherwise you'll be mugged by fans and Kenny needs to be centre of attention here."

Tyson nodded, getting to his feet with a stretch that lifted the edge of his shirt - exposing a sliver of tanned, firm skin; Hilary averted her gaze. "You're right. See this is why I came to you. You think about the details. I just see the big picture."

Ignoring the flush heating her skin, she clasped her hands and began to think. "Well, maybe we could tell Kenny that the Dojo is out of bounds for the next week? Could your grandpa have a competition coming up or bugs?"

"Bugs?"

"Sure. Say you have an infestation of bugs and need to get the place fumigated. It probably could do with a good airing out. Did you even wash that pile of socks from last week?"

Tyson scratched his cheek thoughtfully. "I think so. No, I definitely did. Max and I were playing karate kid... " He trailed off and ducked his head.

Every time she thought that he was changing, maturing, he did something to remind her that he was still Tyson underneath. That was comforting. "Okay, so we'll use the Dojo as a venue and for this week, if we're meeting up for practice or just in general, we find some place else. Like the river, or the park, or even my apartment, if you promise not to launch any of your blades inside."

"Promise."

"Good. What about food? I imagine his parents will want to contribute that." Tyson nodded. She'd compose a list just in case. "What about presents? And music?"

"Oh!" He dug out his phone and passed it to her.

Taking it, she unlocked it, and scanned the message on screen: Hi Tyson! Great to hear from you. Of course I've got some stuff for such a loyal fan. I'll sign it immediately and express post it to you. Wish Kenny a happy Birthday from me. Lots of hugs and kisses, Ming-Ming. xxxx oooo xxxx oooo

"Did she really need to put that many x's and o's?"

"Heh, she's kind of a nice kid. I know Kenny's a big fan so I thought I'd see if she had some stuff for him."

Touched, she returned his phone. "That's a really nice idea Tyson, and yes, it's kind of Ming-Ming too. I guess everyone's changed now."

"Yeah." He studied her a long moment, until her skin began to buzz and her heart rate accelerated, then he cleared his throat. "Well, I also got a voucher for that computer shop that Kenny likes so much."

She blinked. That was really organised. "Wow, Tyson, you don't need me at all."

"Of course I do." The words were quick and snapped out, almost as if she'd insulted him when she was trying to give him a compliment.

Scowling, she folded her arms and shifted her back against the shelves digging into her spine. "Hmm, I don't know what I should get him. He always seems to have more than enough beyblade parts and I don't know much about them to get him any. I'm sure Max's got him a voucher for the hobby shop, so there goes that idea."

"I noticed that his tool box is looking a little worn. If you want, I could go with you to the hobby shop and help you pick out a new one for him. He'll not notice until everything spills out because he's too busy spending money on fixing up our blades."

Hilary rolled her eyes. Tyson always inferred that Kenny spent his own money on parts, but the reality was that they all put money into the kitty for parts; Kenny was the one who went to shop and bought them.

"You don't have to take me, I'm sure the person in the shop can help or you could ask Kai at the weekend, it's -"

Silly boy, didn't he know she'd rather spend time with him. "I'd really like it if you helped me pick out a new box for him, Tyson."

"Yeah. I mean sure. We could go now, unless you have archery practice?" He looked so adorably awkward, hands shoved deep into the pockets of his school trousers, sleeves rolled up and hair shoved flat under his backwards cap, biting on his lower lip as if half expecting her to say no.

"I have time now."

His smile was like sunshine, warming her from the inside out, and he motioned for her to lead the way out of the closet. Ducking her head out, she peered up and down the corridor, shivering as she felt him behind her, as he turned out the light. His breath ghosted over her ear as he peeked and then they slipped out into the corridor, lit up by the evening sunlight spearing through the trees.

Bumping shoulders, they walked down the corridor as Tyson eagerly told her the tale of how he fell asleep in European History class, laughing loudly when she groaned his name and punched his arm.

Yeah, there really was no one else she'd rather spend time with.

A.N. Hope you enjoyed and rememberreviews are important. They feed our writer souls.