Author's Note: This chapter was written relatively quickly and is considerably longer than the last few updates. Alas, we are nearing the end of this story. Next update shall be the epilogue and I'll finally be able to put this story behind me! Pretty excited for that and to be able to move onto some new things without feeling guilty.
If the epilogue gets finished within December, I'll definitely upload it within the month.
Would like to thank Tensa-Zangetsu102, DayDreaming0f_y0u, EmeralDragon23, Shiningheart of ThunderClan, FallenTenshiXO, Sony89, ayushi, Kenrai, Indigo Oblivion, imma-pink-buble, ToraHimeSama, MePo, and peachesbunny for the reviews! As always, greatly appreciated and constantly mind blown!
Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade.
Chapter Fourteen: Life Jackets And Promises
Hilary braced for the arrival of one of her parents when she heard relatively excited hushed tones nearby. Since her issues with various family members, people had decided to leave her alone at the table in the back corner of the yard to sulk into her arms. When would this night end?
"You have something of mine."
The sound of the voice caused Hilary to immediately tense before peeking out from the security of her arms. Her breath caught in her throat as her gaze met the ever unimpressed eyes of Tyson. The boy still looked angry standing rigidly by her table, a gaping distance still evident between them.
"What...?" Hilary's voice squeaked.
He sighed in response showing weathered annoyance in his actions. "My hat. I want it back."
"Oh," Hilary realized, "Right." The brunette had completely forgotten about that detail and she slowly lifted herself out of her seat. "I'll go get it for you..."
"I'm going with you," he stated matter-of-factly, quickly scanning the yard. Tyson couldn't see any faces of people he recognized, but all were sure to avoid his gaze. "I don't want to run into your Father."
Hilary nodded knowingly as she took the lead toward her house. Although Tyson wasn't yelling, his overall feelings of betrayal still made their way through his words. Everything was to the point and distant. His eyes were also heavy with emotions. She desperately wanted to reach out to him, but didn't want to cause another scene where her family could pick apart his actions.
Her wobbling in heels wasn't getting any better and she could feel Tyson's eyes just burning their way into the back of her head when they made it to the house. She opened the door for both of them, Tyson walking into the house silently, before she took the lead once again.
The house was relatively empty, only a few people lounging about to stay away from the growing bug population outside. The pair shuffled past some guests, both with the single goal of retrieving the hat. The silence was gnawing at Hilary's brain, but she didn't dare break it.
Both teens tackled the stairs on their own. Hilary clung to the rail as her feet carefully climbed each step. Tyson casually jumped up the steps, hands in pockets without even glancing in the brunette's direction. Once on top of the stairs, the walk to Hilary's room was more of the same.
The sounds of their footsteps seemed empty to Hilary. They were usually accompanied by laughter or meaningless arguments, possibly the occasional stupid conversation. She looked over to Tyson as they walked down the hallway, approaching her room, only to see a stony expression.
She sighed flipping the light switch on in her room. As she made her way to her dresser, she noted that Tyson had decided to remain in the doorway. Hilary opened the drawer and saw the boy's hat exactly where she had hid it, safe and sound.
"You lied about that too?" Tyson was leaning against the doorframe with his side. He frowned at the topic, watching Hilary hold his hat rather carefully in her hands. "You said you put it in your desk."
"I... Oh."
Tyson merely sighed at the response.
Hilary looked down at his hat, not even sure why she had lied about it in the first place. She moved forward to give Tyson his desired possession before she stopped herself, instead deciding to hold onto the hat for longer.
"Yes?" Tyson gave her a funny look.
"Maybe... maybe I just wanted to have a reason for you to come back," Hilary said meekly. She gripped the hat tightly, not wanting to let go. "I am really sorry, Tyson."
Tyson turned his head the other way, looking down the hallway to avoid eye contact. Instead he held out his hand in a notion for his hat to be returned. Hilary bit her lip momentarily; she then reluctantly gave the boy his prized possession.
"Thanks," he muttered getting off the doorframe. Without another word, he started down the hall once again so he could leave.
Hilary, knowing this in the pit of her stomach, rushed as quickly as possible after him. He paid her no attention as he wandered down the length of the hallway and descended the stairs. It was only when he arrived at the door that he came to a halt, letting the brunette catch up to him.
"Uh...," Tyson was at a loss of what to say, his attention slowly diverting back to Hilary.
The teenage girl wanted to roll her eyes at the scene in front of them; one of her cousins and, presumably, her date were caught in an oblivious make-out session at the front door. Because of this, Tyson did not have an easy exit from the house and the boy couldn't quite grab the pair's attention to get them to move out of the way.
"It would probably be easier to just leave through the backyard," Hilary offered helpfully. She would rather have Tyson stay and work things out, but he was never good for staying still when he was very upset.
Tyson let out a small growl of annoyance, once again following the brunette through her house. Every minute he was here made his brain feel like it needed to explode. Following Hilary out the back door, he let it swing behind him as he immediately looked for his new exit.
"You aren't supposed to be here!" Hilary sighed loudly, her body first to turn to the owner of the angry voice. Her Grandpa, face pinched together in disgust, was limping toward them at an impressive pace. Tyson also turned to look at the old man just in time for the cane to make contact with his upper left arm.
Hilary gaped at what had just unfolded. "Grandpa!"
"Seriously?" Tyson quirked an eyebrow at the old man skeptically. He glanced at his arm in confusion before beckoning Hilary's Grandpa, "And you call me scrawny?"
"See! This is what I'm talking about," Thomas scoffed at the navy haired boy. Hilary stepped between them, putting her hands on her Grandpa and gently pushing him on his way. The old man tried to ignore her, waving his cane at Tyson. "So disrespectful! This is where you're getting that mouth of yours. You shouldn't be treating your family like this because of some little boy. Sticking up for him – it's ridiculous! Wait until your Father hears he's back..."
"Great, thanks," Hilary murmured to herself, the older man surely on his way to find her Father. She then began to walk back to the table in the back corner of the yard in a desire to welcome its emptiness and bury her head once again in her arms.
"Wait... sticking up for me?"
Hilary jumped at Tyson's voice. She had assumed he had left during her Grandpa's tirade and was surprised to find him standing behind her. She shuffled her feet in the grass carefully.
"Of course... you haven't done a single thing wrong," Hilary explained softly. She bit the inside of her cheek in thought and then decided to sigh. "You have every right to be mad at me. I was selfish. I didn't even think of how this would affect you at all... I'm so sorry."
Tyson leaned against a nearby table, his gaze turned downward to the grass. "I don't get why you did it."
Hilary took a deep breath. "It's not a good reason. My Dad's family is just so... distant. Whenever they see me they just expect things to be different. They always ask me about boyfriends, but this time... it just felt like they were making fun of me."
Tyson nodded absently, quite determined to avoid all forms of contact with the girl. "To me... that doesn't explain why you couldn't just tell me."
"I was scared you might be mad or you'd make fun of me," she told him honestly, hating how he wouldn't even look at her.
"I would've given you a hard time," the boy admitted, playing with the rim of his hat for a distraction. Tyson then looked up at her, his eyes coursing with various emotions. "I still would've been here though... I would've been the best boyfriend possible. I just... I thought we were friends..."
Past tense. Hilary could feel her lip quaking.
"Do you know how they had vows...?" Tyson asked, his attention now back to his hat. "I think friendship has similar vows, but nobody says them out loud." Hilary nodded slowly, allowing him to continue without interruption. "It's like when the guys left me," Tyson's voice became raw at the topic, "I felt alone. Betrayed. This time... it was everyone."
"Tyson..."
"You were there for me when I needed it...," Tyson stated, eyes peeking upward to catch her gaze. "Why didn't you think I'd be there for you?"
Hilary couldn't stop herself, her lip was in full tremble and she just latched onto Tyson with her arms wound around his neck. Tyson tensed in surprise as Hilary buried her chin into his shoulder. "I didn't mean to make you feel this way... I know how hurt you were when they left," she sobbed, "I was only thinking about myself... I'm sorry..."
"Whoa," Tyson said putting his hands on her arms and pushing her away slightly. He looked into her eyes uneasily. "You know I don't do well with crying."
She let go of him reluctantly and wiped at her teary face. "You're my best friend and I hurt you so badly without even trying... I deserve everything..."
"Hey, calm down. I don't want you to cry, I'm sorry."
"You don't have to apologize for anything; this whole night is because of me." Hilary pouted as she continued to rub at her face. "I probably look like a mess..."
Tyson sighed, stopping her hands from touching her face with his own. He then continued to hold onto her hands so that they were in front of both of them. "I know you felt pushed to do the things you said... I get it. I want you to trust me. I want you to know that if you need someone I'll be the first person there."
"I know that... it's just..."
"You still think of me as that jerk back in eighth grade?" he guessed. She shook her head quickly in disagreement. "I know I wasn't the nicest to you... and, I guess, I sometimes still act that way."
Hilary frowned, "I pushed you a lot..."
"And I deserved it. Maybe I deserve some of what I got now," Tyson looked down at his hands clasping hers thoughtfully. "I'm sorry about how I acted earlier. I just... I didn't think you would ever lie to me, at least not about something as big as this."
"It got out of control pretty fast... And watching you leave so upset... I'm really sorry," she tucked her chin down ashamed, "I can't believe I was so selfish."
Tyson let go of one of her hands briefly to lift up her chin as he pulled a small smile. "I'm sure you'll find a way to make it up to me."
"If any stories get to the press, they'll have to deal with me personally," Hilary smiled back softly. "Believe me, with the dirt I know about my family, they suddenly won't seem like such a good source."
The navy haired boy gave a breathy laugh. "Good. Now no more crying... please." With that he let his thumb brush against her cheek, wiping away some stray tears.
"I'll try." Hilary blushed at the contact.
"Oh, Kai wanted me to ask you something," Tyson remembered, his hand casually going back to grasp her own without much thought. "I guess I'm kind of curious too. Why exactly did you say my name?"
"I... I haven't really thought about it," Hilary told him. "I mean... as soon as I said it I kind of regretted it, especially after the wedding was brought up..."
"So... my name just sort of popped up first?" To Hilary, Tyson sounded a bit disappointed. "I guess that makes sense, I mean the other guys are good choices. I'm just kind of the joke."
"The joke?" Hilary repeated, "You shouldn't think that Tyson, you're a great guy. Any girl would be lucky to have you."
"Sure," he shrugged, "But if Kai were here instead, wouldn't it be better?"
"Kai?"
"Don't you wish you said his name instead of mine?" Tyson asked curiously. As the turn in conversation continued, the brunette swore she could hear a tinge of sadness in his voice. "Your family would've been impressed with him. You two get along, like you said... he likes you better. He's the complete opposite of me really."
"I think things happen for a reason," Hilary attempted to console whatever she thought was bothering him. "It's not like I sat there weighing your pros and cons... I think my brain just went with who it thought sounded good. I mean, if you think about it, we're pretty realistic. Our arguments kind of play into a long term relationship."
Tyson's ears perked at her response as a grin began to take form on his lips. "Good?" he asked with sudden interest, "You think we're good together?"
"I also said realistic," Hilary reminded in an attempt not to blush.
"Yeah, I heard you. But that's what everyone else thinks," Tyson smirked. He tapped at his head with his index finger. "I'm way more interested by your brain thinking we're good together."
"Will you stop saying it like that." Without even thinking, Hilary slapped him in the shoulder fairly hard. "Oh... sorry. Probably a little too soon for that."
"Nah, I'm used to it." Tyson rubbed his arm where she had hit him. "Besides, you hit harder than your Grandpa. Maybe you should start training him?"
She smiled. "Maybe."
"We're so good together."
"I am never going to hear the end of this, am I?" Hilary groaned, rolling her eyes.
"It's not so bad, is it?" Tyson cocked his head to the side in wonder, a smile still gracing his lips. It relieved Hilary to see him as his usual quirky self and she shook her head. It should've been like this the whole night. "I think we should make a promise."
"Okay," the brunette agreed, "About what?"
"From now on... let's be really open and honest about things," Tyson said somewhat shyly, temporarily losing eye contact. "I think tonight we both came too close to wrecking... what we have. I don't want to lose you."
"I don't want to lose you either, Tyson."
"Good," he added with a smirk, making Hilary push him playfully. "I think we should hug on it then... no tears this time."
"No tears." Hilary wrapped her arms around his neck again as his own arms made their way around her middle. She was slightly caught off guard by how tightly he held her, but it very quickly made her feel forgiven and loved by the boy.
"Hilary!"
The brunette sighed again as she broke away from the embrace. Both teens straightened up and turned to see a very angry Mr. Tatibana walking toward them. "Oh boy...," Tyson muttered scratching his head and looking every way except for at the approaching Father.
"What is he doing back here?" Mr. Tatibana demanded, the question directed at his daughter.
Hilary opened her mouth to answer when Tyson stepped in. "I forgot my hat, sir."
"We could've mailed it to you."
"Right," Tyson replied uneasily, "Sir, I... well, there's something I got to tell you." The teenage boy removed himself from the table he had been resting against to pull Mr. Tatibana aside slightly. "There's been a misunderstanding."
Hilary gulped and Mr. Tatibana merely stared. It was only moments before the whole story would be out in the open for her family to ridicule, but at least she had Tyson back.
"I didn't know that Hilary had told you we were dating," Tyson continued, sending the brunette a glance. "In fact, I thought we were here as friends."
"Go on...," Mr. Tatibana said in confusion.
"It's not that there's anything wrong with your daughter, I mean... look at her. She's beautiful." Hilary's face flushed at the comment and only got worse when her Dad once again looked her way. "Gorgeous really. I just... we haven't really discussed bringing our relationship public yet, given the press."
Hilary's head jerked in Tyson's direction in confusion, the action causing him to smile. Mr. Tatibana frowned, "Is there a point to this?"
"I know I caused some problems tonight and I'm really sorry. I was just trying to act like you'd expect a male friend would act... and I screwed up pretty good," Tyson shuffled his feet in the grass. "Hilary told me about how she accidentally let you guys in on the secret and how she was afraid to tell me because of the press. I hope you know that I really care about your daughter."
Mr. Tatibana ran his hand through his hair looking at his daughter and then back to the party. "I can't deal with this right now with the wedding and everything. You're going to have to leave."
"I totally understand," Tyson nodded, "Actually I tried to leave earlier, but there were some people blocking the front door with... uh... their lip action...?"
"Great...," Mr. Tatibana sighed.
"I'll show him out Dad," Hilary offered, "If you want to take care of that?"
Mr. Tatibana gave a reluctant nod before walking away in the direction of the house. "Nice to meet you, sir!" Tyson called after him, but he had no response. The navy haired boy looked to Hilary with a slight smile, "You know, I don't think he thinks we're good together."
Hilary rolled her eyes, "Come on."
Taking her lead, Tyson trailed somewhat behind the brunette as they walked around the outside of her house. Unlatching the wooden gate, both teens were once again able to successfully leave the wedding. Hilary stared at Tyson curiously now basked in the darkness between her and her neighbour's houses.
"What?" he asked feeling her gaze.
"You just lied to my Dad."
"Yeah...," Tyson acknowledged, giving her an amused look. "Like I said, if I had known, I would've gone along with everything. Hopefully that takes some of the blame off of you."
"Tyson... thank you."
"No problem." He shrugged looking down at his shoes. Hilary noticed that his hat was still in one of his hands and she smiled. Taking it out of his grasp, catching his attention instantly, she placed it carefully on his head just how he liked it.
"There," she said with finality once she finished adjusting it. "Now you can leave just how you came."
Tyson smiled as he looked toward the road he had stormed away on earlier. "Let's go then."
"What?" Hilary frowned, "I can't leave, the wedding is at my house."
"So?" Tyson retorted gesturing for the girl to come along with him. "What are you going to do here? Get yelled at? Ignored? Come on, you can always say you were here the whole time if someone asks."
"Well... I don't really want to be here..."
"It's settled then!" He grabbed her carefully by the wrist and started walking away from the house, making Hilary follow with a sigh. Tyson faced her with a grin as they continued out of her yard. "I think it's time you took those heels off, they're not really the Hilary I know anyway."
