Chapter 2

The First Victim A.K.A Max

A moment of silence passed while Max continued to study the girl while she smiled proudly. Giving up Max sat down on the couch for patients and looked at the girl warily. "So where do we start?"

Smiling the girl picked up the note pad Ms. Han had been writing on before and sat in the counselor's chair. "It doesn't matter where you start. Just tell me whatever's on your mind."

If I did that you might kill me, Max thought to himself. I still don't trust this girl, but it's not like anything bad will happen if I tell her a bit about myself. "I like to Beyblade, but I guess that's kind of obvious isn't it?" Receiving a nod from the girl Max continued to list off things about himself. "My mom lives in America while my dad and I live here in Japan, I like putting mustard on my food, Tyson is my best friend, and I can speak English and Japanese."

The girl nodded and seemed to take notes. Keeping her voice monotone the girl asked a question. "What's it like having your parents separated? Does it make you angry? Are you content? Do feel depressed about it?"

Max blinked in shock. No one had ever asked him that before, and he never really thought about it. He might act upset when he thought about his parents not living together, but he had never registered in his head what he was feeling. "I know there are times when it makes me sad and I'll get angry, but I've grown so used to it it's very rare now. At least I think it is. I never really noticed."

Nodding the girl wrote on the notepad again. "It sounds like you're unsure about how you feel."

"I never really thought about how I felt about my parents situation before. You caught me off guard with your question," Max said defensively. It was true. He felt what he felt and that was it. He never labeled his feelings before.

"Okay then let's do this." The girl smiled reassuringly at the blonde when she saw Max frown at her. "Now remember I can't force you to do something so this is all up to you. Between now and your next counseling session try to take note of how you feel about the things going on around you. Who knows, you might notice something you never have before."

Max's mouth hung open agape. He could have sworn the girl was going to say something stupid, but what she just said was actually … semi-intelligent. "That doesn't sound so bad."

Chuckling at the boy's reaction to her advice the girl asked another question. "Now tell me about you relationships with your friends. You said Tyson was your best friend right?"

"Yep! Tyson's the best friend I could ever have!" Max said giving the girl one of his biggest smiles. "I don't know what I'd do without him."

"Do you love him, and when I say love I mean beyond the love of friends or brotherly love," the girl asked seriously but if you looked closely you could see an evil glint in her eyes.

"What!" Max's cheeks became ten shades of red, and he hid his face between his hands. "No! No. He's like my brother. It'd be like…" Max shivered at the thought.

"You sure it would be that bad?"

Max's embarrassed form stopped moving as he contemplated the girl's question. "Maybe it wouldn't be that bad," Max paused as his thoughts drifted a bit, "but I don't feel attracted to him."

The girl frowned at the blonde's answer, but a second later her lips formed a devious smile. Oh yes, things were about to get interesting. "So you're open to guy on guy relationships?" The new blush on Max's face was all the girl needed to know what the answer was. "So tell me Max, would you happen to have a crush on a certain boy?"

"Ummm," Max started. He really didn't know what to say. If he answered yes then the girl would want to know who was his crush, but if he answered no then she would probably do something worse. It's not like she can do anything to me so I shouldn't be afraid, but I can't stop this sinking feeling in my stomach. "No?"

It was more of a question than a statement and the girl did a mental victory dance. If Max was unsure then she could manipulate him easier. "No? Are you sure? Kai, Rei, Miguel, Tala, Brooklyn, Oliver, and all the other guys you've meet are pretty attractive, and let's not forget that you see Kai and Rei almost everyday. It wouldn't be surprising if you fell for one of them."

Images of all the male Beybladers he had met filled Max's mind and he had to admit a lot of them looked very attractive. Shaking his head in an attempt to clear his mind Max laughed nervously. "Sorry, but Kai isn't the nicest guy, so it's kind of hard to see someone falling in love with him, let alone me, and Rei's in love with Mariah."

"Your reason for why you wouldn't be in love with Kai is understandable, but your excuse for Rei is pathetic," the girl stated, causing Max to fall out of his seat in shock from her bluntness. "Did Rei ever tell you he loves Mariah?"

Still on the floor Max shook his head. "But he doesn't have to say it. It's clear he loves Mariah."

Growling the girl tried to get control of her temper. It wouldn't bold well if she got angry. It'd also give Max more of a reason to not believe she was his counselor. "Do you know who many people think you and Tyson are a couple, Max?" Seeing the blonde shake his head no she told him. "Thousands, and just a moment ago you were telling me that you two were like brothers. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

Getting off the floor and taking his seat back on the couch Max nodded his head. "You're saying that just because someone thinks two other people are a couple it doesn't mean they are."

"Correct," The girl said pleased that the boy understood right away. "Now I have one more question for you. What does who Rei being in love with have to do with who you're in love with?"

The question stumped Max. Who Rei was in love with didn't affect who he was in love with so why did he use Rei being in love with Mariah as an excuse. "I don't know. It was just the first thing that came to mind. I could never be with Rei because he loved someone else."

"Are you aware that people use excuses to suppress their feelings?" the girl asked Max, and slowly the blonde nodded his head. "Max, I think you might have feelings for Rei, but you've been using the excuse of Rei loving Mariah so you could suppress your feelings."

"But why would I do that?" Max asked. It never occured to him that he could have a crush on Rei. He never felt anything before for the neko-jin, but maybe that was because he had been holding back his feelings, but why?

"Fear of rejection," The girl stated confidently. "You've grown up in a society where a man loving another man in a more than friendly way is taboo. So while your feelings were still developing you saw Rei and Mariah and saw how well they got along, and subconsciously you used this to will yourself into stop liking him in a more than friendly way, because deep down you thought that if he knew, or anyone else for that matter, they'd hate you."

Max could only sit there in shock. Could it all be true? Could he really love Rei? But what if he had been right about Rei loving Mariah? What would he do then? What would his friends do if they found out? What was he going to do?

"It looks like we're out of time," the girl said as she gazed up at the clock, a frown etched on her face. She really wanted to make sure the blonde wasn't too messed up after what she said, but it looked like time was against her. Oh well, at least she was going to get a new victim any second now. I wonder who it will be? What ways should I use to torture them?

"Oh," Max looked sadly at the clock. Why'd his time have to run out just when he was having a break through. "Well, Mr. D said he'd arrange the next appointment for us so I guess that means I can just leave." Getting up from the couch Max opened the door and took a step out of the room, but paused in the doorway. Turning his head he smiled at his counselor. "Thanks for the advice Ms. Han. Bye."

Smiling back the girl waved the blonde off. "Your welcome. See ya."

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.

Akira: (stares in shock)

Mimi: Aki-chan?

Akira: My OC is so good at manipulating people that I started to believe everything she said.

Mimi: That wouldn't happen if you actually controlled your OC's.

Akira: I'd like to see you do better.