AN: Fairly short chapter, but very very very suspenseful. I hope you guys like it! I quite enjoy it myself =D
Major plot device starts in this chapter.
****PLEASE READ THIS NOTE*****
Warning: Ok you guys, this chapter starts this fic on a very…dark path. This fic WILL deal with darker issues like sex, so be prepared. Please don't complain to me. I like where this fic is going so far.
Oh and for all you who asked if this is a Bryan/Liika fic.. man you guys, READ the first authors note! It's a Kai/Liika/Bryan…there will be aspects of both pairings. I haven't decided the final pairing yet. But don't worry Kai fans…he's not done yet =D
Liika was in a particularly spiteful mood the next morning, and her cheerful mood clearly displayed the fact. She had risen fairly early—ten o'clock—and by 10:30 had recruited Mariah's help to storm her neighbor's basement and annoy the hell out of the sewer rats that dwelled there. After all, alls fair in love and war right?
"Do you know how pissed they're going to be?" Mariah giggled, following her blue haired friend up the pathway to her ex-boyfriends house.
Liika threw an evil grin over her shoulder and winked. "Exactly."
Mariah laughed again, shaking her head. "So why exactly are we doing this? I could have slept in today!"
"It's really quite simple Mari. Revenge. We're getting them back for all those times that they annoyed us, or made fun of us or whatever else they might have done in the past."
"I should have known you'd be one to hold grudges for eighteen years...letting them pile up."
"Har."
They reached the top of the stairs on Tala's front porch and Liika quickly opened the door, letting herself and Mariah in. No one locked the door in the small town, there was no need to.
Mariah quirked an eyebrow, closing the door softly behind her. "Are you sure this is ok? I mean we're just walking into his house!" She whispered, following Liika down the hall towards the staircase in the kitchen.
Liika waved her head dismissively. "His parents aren't home, besides, they know me and adore you. They'd let us in anyway." She replied confidently.
The two girls quickly crossed the kitchen and opened the door to the basement. They didn't turn the light on, for fear of alerting their prey of their arrival. However, this led to the inevitable tripping and almost death of one of them.
Yet somehow both of them managed to make it to the bottom with out further incident and with out announcing their presence prematurely. No, they had to make sure the timing was right so that they could best exact their revenge. Though, Mariah wasn't really sure what she was getting revenge for, she was in because it sounded fun. It was not every day she got to get under Tala's skin, which she was about to do. The site that greeted them upon entering the chaotic rec. room was enough to send both Liika and Mariah into hysteric fits of giggles.
It was as if a nuclear bomb went off. Bodies were strewn everywhere, slumped on the floor, half leaned over the back of the couch, half laying on said couch. Alcohol containers littered the coffee table and floor as well as chip bags, candy wrappers and clothing. It was a disaster.
Liika snickered, her turquoise eyes searching the room for the prone form of her boyfriend, finding him on the floor sitting with his legs stretched out under the coffee table and his head resting on the surface. A cordless phone gripped in one hand.
So that was why he didn't call her back. Figured.
"Nadine is going to kill Tala if she sees this mess!" Mariah hissed between giggles, her golden eyes falling on the red heads back. He was probably the only one in a decent sleeping place as he had stretched out on the couch.
Liika grinned. "She probably wont find out. If I know Tala, he'll have it spotless by tonight when she gets back. He's done it before, as you must know."
The pink haired girl nodded, smiling. Oh yes, she knew. She hadn't been his girlfriend for two years and learn nothing of his wild ways. Tala was very skilled at throwing undiscovered parties in his basement. Just as he was skilled at some how finding alcohol to bring to said parties. "So, how are we going to wake the sleeping beauties?" She asked, surveying the five corpse-like figures that littered various places in the room.
The evil grin was back and Liika pointed at the large stereo system that graced one of the corners in the basement. "What's the one thing drunk people hate the most the next morning?"
"Noise...and then light."
"Bingo." Liika grinned, chuckling maliciously. "You get the lights, I'll get the music and our revenge will be had."
Mariah grinned back. "Remind me never to cross you."
"Good plan!"
They took their places, Mariah by the light switch and Liika by the stereo. Liika had chosen the loudest, hardest CD she could find in the player—Linkin Park—and selected the hardest song on it. Hitting pause, she signaled to Mariah who gave her the thumbs up. "Time to wakey wakey…" She sing songed and pushed the play button.
Simultaneously Mariah flicked the light switch, bathing the room in harsh white light. This combined with the now ear drum breaking rock that was now blasting from the surround sound speakers, cause every single boy in the room to shoot to their feet screaming and clutching their heads. Kai knocked over the table, Tala rolled off the couch on top of him, while Ian just fell off the back of the couch. Johnny and Michael were safe from any falling bodies or crashing furniture.
Liika and Mariah meanwhile laughed until their sides hurt, tears streaming down their faces. It was a truly hilarious sight, their mission was accomplished.
Apparently none of the five had noticed their presence as all were groping blindly to find some way to turn off the offending sound and cut the offending light.
"What the hell Valkov?? Turn that fucking shit off!" Kai yelled over the music, squinting at his best friend.
"I didn't turn it on!" Tala yelled back, clutching his head in agony.
Suddenly all was quiet, and the room dark. "No, but I did."
Five sets of eyes snapped blearily towards the stereo where a smug and highly amused looked Liika stood, her arms crossed over her chest. "Rise and shine gentlemen!" She chirped, earning a loud giggle from Mariah across the room.
It was silent as all five boys stared at the blue haired girl in complete shock. Tala was the first to recover, his glazed eyes narrowing. "You just signed your death warrant bitch." He growled, staggering forward. "I don't care what you say Kai, I'm going to murder her in cold blood."
"I'll help you." Kai grit out, glaring daggers at his girlfriend.
Liika merely grinned. "And that would be my cue. ExitàStage left!" With that she darted away, narrowly missing the two boys that crashed to the ground where she had been standing. "Run Mari run! It's every woman for herself now!" She screeched, ducking a slow Johnny and tearing up the stairs after an already running Mariah.
"Have a nice day boys!" Mariah yelled back down, as she slammed the door behind Liika.
Tala clenched his teeth, collapsing onto the floor, his head submerged in dizzy stars. "I don't care how hot she is…as soon as this hang over is gone I'm going to throttle her until she passes out." He groaned, running a hand down his face.
"As long as you save my witch for me…I don't care what you do with Low." Kai grumbled back, sprawled out beside him.
"I always knew there was a reason you called her a witch."
"And where the hell were you?" Liika demanded hotly upon first sight of her best friend standing in front of his locker first thing Monday morning.
"Huh?" Enrique replied intelligently, blinking his wide blue eyes. "What are you talking about?"
Liika scowled flatly. "You were supposed to pick me up. I had to call Kai and beg him to," she answered, clearly put out.
Enrique actually had the grace to look ashamed. "I'm sorry, really I am!" He apologized, giving her large puppy dog eyes. "But Riley needed a ride! Her brother's sick and wouldn't answer when she knocked and she had to come early!"
The blue haired girl huffed, weighing his excuse. It was a good one. She had seen Bryan only two days before and he sure looked sick to her. A small frown filled her eyes. She hoped he was ok. "Grm, fine. Valid excuse. Did Riley say what was wrong with Bryan, beyond that he's sick?" She asked, leaning against the locker beside Enrique's.
The blond shook his head, turning back to his locker. "No, she couldn't even get him to answer this morning, so she just assumed he was sick. He's been sick a lot lately. She asked him last night when he got home from work if he'd drive her this morning, or if she could borrow his Jeep, and he said he'd drive her, but then wouldn't get up." He answered.
Liika bit her bottom lip, now extremely worried. "I saw him on Saturday, he did look sick to me."
Enrique shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe he is. Bryan's not really one to tell anyone if he's not feeling well." He wasn't going to mention that Bryan had been that way all summer.
"True." Liika sighed, trying to put the matter out of her mind. "Maybe he just didn't want to get up early, he'll be in homeroom anyway. Let's go, the bell just went."
But he wasn't in homeroom, in fact he wasn't in any of his classes that day. Liika had him in three out of four of her blocks and was now extremely worried, though she tried not to let it show. Kai didn't like Bryan, and would make a big deal about her worrying over him. Kai was so jealous sometimes.
So after school, and after the two hour Beyblade practice—which Bryan also missed—Liika set out, avoiding Kai once more, which brought suspicious looks and flares of temper, to the Wakeman house, determined to find out just what the hell was going on with her friend. It wasn't like Bryan to avoid school. Even if he didn't like it he always went. Even sick. And that was what worried her.
The Wakeman's lived about three blocks on the other side of the school from Liika, closer to the downtown core. Because she didn't really want any one to know where she was going—lest they tell Kai—she took off walking, walking quickly so that she could get there before dark.
She reached the large blue house just as the sun was setting. The sky was darkened and had streaks of pink, orange and yellow running over it and, on any other day, Liika would have noticed the beauty of it all, but anxiousness distracted her. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was really wrong with her friend. She was determined to find out what that something was.
Knocking on the door, Liika waited for a response and wasn't disappointed when the door opened moments later to reveal Kelly Wakeman, in her tall, pale haired glory. Liika had always liked Riley and Bryan's mother.
"Is Bryan home?" She asked politely, smiling up at the older woman.
Mrs. Wakeman smiled fondly and nodded. "Yes, I think he's up in his room. He wasn't feeling well today." She said, a frown tugging her lips. "He hasn't been feeling well for quite a while actually."
Liika's worried frown mirrored Mrs. Wakeman's. "Really? So it's not just this weekend? When I saw him on Saturday he didn't look so good."
"Like I said, he hasn't looked very good for a couple of months. His health started to take a downward slide in July. I'm worried about him, but he wont answer me. He doesn't come down for family dinner anymore, he wont talk to his sister beyond a grunt, and now he's missing school. He's lost weight and I don't think he's sleeping." Kelly explained, her frown becoming deeper. "Actually I'm glad you're here. If any one can talk to him it's you. He's always liked you."
Liika blushed, looking away. Damn, did everyone know of Bryan's infatuation with her? Why was she always the last one to clue in to things like this? Part of her felt horrible for the whole Bryan situation. She didn't really figure out that he genuinely liked her until after she was already in love with Kai. And then there was the part of her heart that rebelled against that.
…The part of her heart that told her that she could have been happy with Bryan.
"Bryan's a good friend of mine, and I'm worried about him too. I'll try to see what's going on." Liika replied, smiling.
There was a sort of disappointed glint to Mrs. Wakeman's eyes as she stepped aside to let Liika in. "You're a good girl. Bryan could use someone like you in his life."
Liika cringed as she stepped past the older woman. Why was it that guys' mothers always said things like that?? Now she felt even guiltier. "Thanks. I'll go up now."
"Ok, good luck!"
The blue haired girl sighed, trudging up the stairs. She knew Bryan probably wouldn't be all that keen on visitors, especially if he was sick. He was irritable at the best of times, but even more so when he was not feeling a hundred percent. Bryan was, if anything, predictable.
Reaching the last door at the end of the hallway, Liika took a deep breath before raising her hand and knocking soundly on the door. "Bryan? Bryan, it's Liika, can you open the door?" She called, waiting for him to answer. She had to call quite loudly because he had obnoxious goth rock blaring so loud she doubted he could hear her anyway.
She wasn't at all surprised really, when he didn't answer. Rolling her eyes, Liika began to get quite irritated with the whole situation. If you're sick shouldn't you be in bed, resting quietly? Her eyes narrowed. She was going to find out!
Liika huffed after pounding on the door and calling out a few more times. This was getting ridiculous! Reaching out she grasped the door handle and turned it, praying that he, by some chance of brain slippage, had not locked the door.
She almost fell over in surprise when the door swung inwards, signifying that he hadn't locked it. Her eyebrows shot up. He always locked his door! Something was wrong. The anxious feelings that fluttered in her chest grew worse. How could he forget something so fundamental as locking his door? Pushing the door open she prepared for the worst.
And worst it was. The room was lit only by a single beside lamp, which was turned on, sending a small amount of yellow light splashing across his messy bed. The drapes were drawn over his balcony door, darkening the room further. Clothing, papers, books and CDs were scattered everywhere on the floor and on his dresser, bedside table and desk. His computer wasn't even turned on; in fact it was shoved off to the very side of his desk, the monitor actually lying on the floor. His walls were covered with posters, mostly of grunge rock bands or fantasy birds of prey or dragons. All of them were dark, making the gloomy atmosphere even more depressing and shady.
A picture on the wall just above his desk caught her eye and Liika tread carefully towards it, trying to avoid stepping on anything on her way, which was incredibly difficult. Reaching out, Liika ran her finger over the frame that held the picture.
It was a picture of her. Taken at a photo shoot right after they won the National Championship. Her hair was down and was styled so that it framed her face. Stylish baby pink eye shadow and black eyeliner outlined her eyes and her lips were painted with a sparkly lip-gloss. She was sitting on a backwards chair and was resting her chin in her hands while smiling brightly at the camera.
Liika wondered where he had gotten it, she wasn't aware they were giving prints out, or even selling them for that matter. If they were, she wanted one of the team pictures, however, she hadn't been able to get one, which made her question how he gotten it. Sighing, she shrugged. It wasn't a big deal.
At least he didn't have a shrine to her, like Riley said he did. She should have known that Bryan's twin was exaggerating things. One picture hardly constituted a shrine. Stupid Riley.
Just when Liika was about to turn around and check the balcony to see if Bryan was outside, she looked down, her eyes landing on a plastic freezer bag filled with chunks of a white crystalline substance. Her eyebrows immediately furrowed over her eyes and one of her hands came up to run over the surface of the bag.
What the hell was it?
Her fingers slipped under the bag and lifted it from the desks surface. She turned it over in her hands, studying it closely. A sense of dread washed over her as she slowly recognized the contents of the bag.
Oh God…"What the fuck? What are you doing here? How did you get in?!" Bryan's overly angry voice cut through her intent study. Liika remained silent.
Bryan almost had a heart attack when he walked in from having a smoke and found someone standing in his room. And not just anyone. Her.
His first, and strongest reaction was anger. A hot burning fury that was now as common as the depression that swept over him all the time. How dare she just enter his room with out asking? And how did she get in? He locked his door! He knew he did!
However, when she didn't move or respond to his angry demands the fury melted into alarm. Liika was rarely quiet about anything, and when she was quiet something was very wrong.
He noticed then that she was standing by his desk, staring down at something in her hands. Putting two and two together dread settled in the pit of his stomach. He knew in that moment that his life was about to end.
Finally, after minutes of silence, Liika inhaled sharply. Slowly she turned to face him, her glassy, tear filled eyes locking with his.
In that instant the world crashed down around Bryan.
"Bryan…" She whimpered in a scared, lost tone, "This is crack cocaine."