A/N: CHAPTER SEVEN Whoo! I'm on a roll. REVISED 12/31/06

Chapter Seven:An Evening with Kai Hiwatari.

It was another Friday, the day of Chelsea and Max's date. It was barely five o'clock and the house was in complete chaos. Whether it was Ray giving Max some last minute pointers or Chelsea searching for her makeup bag in the mess that was her room, the house never had a quiet moment.

"Okay, what have we learned today?" Ray asked Max. They were in the kitchen, Max was sitting at the table, and Ray was across form him.

"Uh…Don't talk about…candy?" The blonde said with great difficulty.

"Good start. Now what else do you remember?"

Max furrowed his brow. "Act cool and remember to breathe?"

Ray nodded. "Now for the final lesson: the good night kiss."

His friend's eyes grew to the size of saucers. "W-what! I have to kiss her? B-b-but I…and she…and-" Max was stuttering profusely.

"Max, you've gotta slow down. Yes, you have to kiss her." Ray pinched the bridge of his nose, irritated.

"I don't even know how!"

"Look, you like her a lot. So it shouldn't be hard!" He clapped his friend on the back. "You're gonna be fine, Max. Trust me."

Max nodded slowly, but he wasn't sure he could.

-----

"I can't believe you said yes!" Kitty said in disbelief. The four girls were in Chelsea's room, prepping her for her evening out. She was busy throwing things out of her suitcase and closet, trying to find something perfect to wear. Ally and Starr were sitting on Ally's bed, and Kitty was lying down on Chelsea's.

"Well I did!" She snapped, sticking her tongue out. "Max is really nice! Sure he's a little…awkward."

"Very awkward." Starr interrupted, rolling over onto her stomach. "I think you guys make a cute couple anyways."

"Thanks, I think." Chelsea replied.

"Well, then it's just us three girls tonight!" Kitty smiled sitting between Ally and Starr. "We'll have tons of fun while Chels is with Max!"

"Sorry Kitty, I'm busy tonight. Ray asked me for a favor." Starr said, patting her friend's shoulder.

The other girl's face fell. "Well then Ally I can hang out!"

"No can do, Kitty." Ally replied, fishing something out of her pocket. "I'm going to the Cheese Festival with Tyson and Kenny!" She pulled out a pamphlet with the words 'TENTH ANNUAL CHEESE CONVENTION.' typed in bold black print. "They asked me ages ago, don't you remember?"

Kitty rolled her eyes. Why did she ignore Ally when she was saying something important? "Fine! Shows what friends you are!" She shouted, throwing her hands in the air. She got up to leave the room.

"Actually, Kai is still going to be here." Chelsea chimed in, stopping Kitty in her tracks. She had her full attention now. "I think he's sick or something. So you guys would have the house to yourselves."

Starr smirked. "Well, isn't that convenient? You two can spend some 'quality time together'!"

Kitty looked over her shoulder and sent the coldest death glare to her supposed best friend. It didn't do anything except make Starr grin even wider. "You're mad, aren't you?"

The tall girl turned to face her friends angrily, clenching her fists. "I'm. Not. Mad." She growled through gritted teeth.

"You are! Look!" Ally giggled, pointing at her face. She got up and started hopping around, chanting. "Kitty's got a boyfriend! Kitty's got a boyfriend!"

It wasn't long before the other two joined in. After a while the three had danced themselves out and had collapsed onto the bed, laughing. By that time Kitty was twitching with fury. "Shut up!" She yelled, before slamming the door shut.

'Some friends I have…' She thought scornfully, making a left to go to her room. Once she got in, she flung herself on the bed and closed her eyes tightly. "What could be worse than spending the whole night with Kai Hiwatari!" She grumbled, resting her head on a pillow.

"Uh, I can think of a few things." The pillow replied. Kitty leapt up from her position. She squinted at the pillow she was lying on, and poked it. "What do you think you're doing?!"

Kitty gasped, bolting upright. It was worse than a talking pillow! It was Kai, lying down on her bed! "Kai? What are you doing in my room?"

"Hey, that's my line." He muttered, sitting up in his bed. "Look around, this isn't your room!"

Kitty rolled her eyes. "Yeah right, like I wouldn't know my own-" She stopped mid sentence, looking around. Crap. It was Kai's room, her room was on the right of the hall!

Kai happened to be the only one in the house with his own room, and a comfy bed, the lucky bastard! It was nowhere near as messy as hers, but it did seem less…cheerful. Maybe it was because Kai slept there. "Oh…" She said, lips forming a circle.

"So I guess you're all beauty, no brains, huh Kitty?" He smirked. His voice sounded tired and croaky.

"Shut up! It was an honest mistake!" She defended, smacking his arm. 'How did he manage to fit in a compliment with an insult?'

Kai winced. "Don't beat up the sick person!" He hissed, swatting her hand away.

"I thought Satan never got sick?" She shot back, putting her hands on her hips.

"Everyone has an off day…" He coughed, lying back down on the bed. Kitty noted that he looked worn out, his skin was paler than usual. Despite being sick, he managed to look decent. Okay, more than decent, he was damn near gorgeous.

Kitty tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear, trying to suppress her smile. 'Don't smile! He'll suck you in with his evil Kai powers!' She thought, her face flushing as she tried to avoid his gaze. 'Think of something un-sexy! Uh…math! Computers! Tyson!' pretty soon she calmed down enough t look him in the eye.

"I'll be leaving now." Kitty announced, scooting off the bed.

"What's the rush?" The blue haired captain called out, reaching for her arm

"I might get whatever you've got," She explained, opening the door. "and I don't think I'd enjoy getting a rabies shot."

Kai grimaced, opening his mouth to retort, but she was out of the room by then.

-----

It was time for Max and Chelsea to depart on their date, and the whole house had come down to see the couple out. Well, the whole house to the exception of Kai. The sun was setting and the heat from the day wasn't as bad.

"Have fun!" Starr smiled, waving at the two. "Don't do anything I wouldn't!"

"Thanks Starr!" Chelsea replied, getting into the passenger seat of the green Lexus.

Ray was busy on the driver's side with Max. "Don't sweat it Max, my plan will work out fine."

"Wait what plan?" Max asked, but Ray had already pushed him inside and shut the door.

"Bye!"

Max stared at his friend for a moment, but started the car anyway. He had no idea just what Ray was up to, but figured it was better not to ask. What he didn't know wouldn't hurt him. He backed up the car and drove up the road, out of sight.

Almost immediately after they left, Ray and Starr hopped into the second car and started the engine.

"Where are you two going?" Kitty asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"This is my master plan!" Ray said, gesturing to the car.

"You're going to spy on them, aren't you?"

Starr nodded. "Have fun with your lover boy!" She called, waving her arm out the window. She was lucky Ray was already out of the driveway; otherwise Kitty would have murdered her.

Just as Ray and Starr were gone, a large yellow bus appeared in their place. Kitty assumed that it was Ally, Tyson and Kenny's ride to the convention.

As Ally passed by her, Kitty grabbed her arm. "Please, please take me with you!" She begged. "I don't think I could stand being around Kai for the whole night!"

"Sorry, we only have three tickets. Besides, you should have thought of this before!" The redhead shook her hand free. "Too bad you'll be missing the 'History of Cheddar' exhibit!"

Kitty winced, "Yeah, my loss."

"Don't worry, Kitty!" Kenny called from the bus, "We'll get you a souvenir!"

In a minute the bus closed its door and drove off. Kitty closed the door behind her, and leaned against it. She was doomed to spend the whole evening with Kai. Oh God, how could this night get any worse?

-----

Max pulled into a nearby town for their date. The first stop was at the movie theater to see Pirates of the Caribbean 2. He parked the car in the parking lot. As soon as he got out of his door, he rushed over to Chelsea's side to help open hers.

"Hey, did you notice that one of the other cars in the parking lot looked a lot like our other car at the house?" Chelsea asked, taking his hand in hers.

Max shook his head, but this did suspiciously seem like something Ray would do. Maybe had something to do with his 'plan'? He decided to put it out of his mind and focus on what was happening. He opened the door, and led her inside.

As the two were lining up for tickets, Max noticed some guy waving at him. The man looked oddly like Ray. Max's eyes widened, it WAS Ray! What the hell was he doing here?

"Psst! Max!" Ray hissed, motioning for him to come over.

"Uh, Chels! Could you buy my ticket for me? I've gotta, err, do something." Max asked, handing her his money and walking off.

"Sure, I guess." She said, staring at him oddly.

Max walked over to where Ray was, but he couldn't find him. "Ray?" He hissed.

Suddenly a pair of hands pulled him into the men's room. Whoever pulled him in also threw him down on the floor. "Ow!" he cried.

"Sorry I had to get rough, Max." Ray apologized, helping him up. "I'm just here to help you out."

-----

Meanwhile, at the Cheese Festival, Tyson, Ally and Kenny had just arrived, and were just getting off of the bus. The whole convention was huge, with rides and games and different stalls selling cheese themed souvenirs. Even the seats on the Ferris wheel were shaped like cheese wedges!

Tyson sighed. "I must be in heaven…"

"You and me both, Tyson." Ally said dreamily. She looked to her left. "Hey, where's the Chief?"

Tyson and Ally looked around for the short boy. They finally spotted him stealing free samples from some teenage kid in an apron.

"Hey!" The boy cried, pulling the tray from Kenny. "Only one sample per person! Ouch! Stop biting me!"

Okay….Apparently Kenny liked cheese. A lot. The two watched the scene in horror, and looked at each other. They decided it was best to act like they never met him.

-------

Kitty had gotten bored of hiding from Kai in her room, so she decided to try her luck downstairs in the living room. To her relief, it was empty and safe to watch television. She plopped down on the couch and turned it on, looking for something good to watch.

It was only a few minutes before Kai came down to see what she was doing. "Hey there, what are you up to?" He asked, sitting next to her. He was wearing a thick sweatshirt with the hood over his head. It was August! Kitty tugged at her shirt, feeling warm just looking at him.

"Well, I was trying to watch TV, but there's nothing good on." She muttered, moving as far away as the couch would allow.

"Good, so you won't mind if I did this." Kai replied, snatching the remote.

"Hey! Kai!" She whined, hitting his arm lightly.

"No." He said, switching the channel.

Kitty groaned, knowing better than to argue. Instead she simply crossed her arms over her chest and glared daggers at Kai.

He didn't seem to notice her scathing look, or so she thought. "You know if you keep on looking at me like that, your face will stay that way." He said as calmly as he could, not taking his eyes off of the screen.

"Oh, so is that why you look like that?" She snapped, resting her chin on her hand idly.

Kai grimaced, switching off the TV. "Look, we all know you hate me, but do you have to be a total bitch all the time?" He snarled. For the first time, she could tell he was pissed off at her.

Kitty was a bit startled at his outburst, and looked away, sort of embarrassed. "I guess you bring it out of me."

He shook his head, turning the TV back on. "Yeah, I guess I do."

-----

Chelsea and Max had taken their seats, making it just in time to see the last few previews. Max had the popcorn in his lap, and put a handful in his mouth. He looked around nervously to see if he could find Ray. Thankfully, he was two rows behind him sitting next to some blonde woman. Max looked closely at her. The blonde was Starr!

Max smiled, so that's the other reason why the 'Love Master' was here.

"Who are you looking at?" Chelsea asked, turning her head.

"Nobody!" He cried, blocking her view with his hand. "I just thought I saw something!"

Chelsea looked at him strangely, but fortunately the movie had started and took her mind off of the subject.

A few minutes in to the movie Max felt something small hit his head. He ignored it, but he felt more hitting his head. He looked at his shoulder, and saw several pieces of popcorn on it. Max turned his attention to Ray, who was mouthing something to him.

"Put your arm around her!" He hissed under her breath.

Max followed his directions and slowly put his arm around her shoulder pulling her closer to him. Chelsea gladly moved nearer. Max turned to Ray again and stuck his thumb up.

Ray smiled to himself. His plan was working out well. Looking over at Starr, he realized he didn't even need to bring her along for backup. Oh well, the more the merrier.

-----

Tyson and Ally were having a blast. They played a few games, ate some cheese, and were now riding on the giant cheese Ferris wheel. The wheel had come to a stop, and the couple was stuck at the top. The sky was a clear black dotted with a few stars. On the ground it was brighter, with all the lights set up for the festival. The tops of the tents and stands were all they could see from the wheel. In short, it was a perfect night.

Tyson looked over at Ally, who was staring down at the people. He noticed how pretty she actually was and wondered how he didn't notice before. She looked up at him, and he nearly jumped out of his seat.

"Are you okay?" She asked, staring at him.

Luckily for Tyson, a loud shriek was heard from somewhere in the festival. The wheel began to move, the two leapt off at the bottom and raced to find out what was happening. They didn't have to look for long.

They saw a huge group of people in a circle watching two people fighting. As Tyson and Ally got closer they realized that one of the people was Kenny, and the other was a man in a giant cheese outfit.

"Kenny!" Tyson yelled, pushing through the crowd to help his friend out.

He didn't hear him, and kept on assaulting the costumed man. Someone had called the police, and an officer was right in the middle of the two, trying to break them up.

"Hey, kid! Stop beating up Mozzarella Man!" He shouted, trying to pry Kenny from him.

Tyson rolled his eyes and walked up to the officer, hoping to help him out. Ally watched from the sidelines, just in case something was going to happen. The instant that Tyson stepped in…something did.

-----

Kitty's eyes fluttered open, and she looked around the room. Somewhere between the different shows she had dozed off. She stretched up and yawned, her eyes falling on Kai. She realized she wasn't the only one who had fallen asleep.

His breathing was slow and even, and his eyes were shut tight. He also had a small smile across his lips. She crept up closer to him until her face was a few inches away. Kitty peered at him curiously.

"Just what are you dreaming about, Kai?" She whispered, brushing his blue bangs away from his forehead.

"Not you, if that's what you're thinking." He murmured, opening his eyes.

Kitty jumped up in surprise, falling off of the couch. "That was not cool, you bastard!"

Kai cracked up laughing, "It's your own fault." He stuck out his hand "You were the one staring at me."

She swatted his hand away and got up herself. "I wasn't staring."

"Yeah you were." He smirked, sitting upright. "You like me, don't you?"

Her face turned a deep red, as she made a gagging noise. "Why would I like you?"

"You tell me."

For once Kitty didn't have a witty comeback to Kai's remark. Instead she pursed her lips tightly and muttered something under her breath.

"What was that? No? Are you saying me that you aren't drawn to me at all?"

"Oh please. Don't get so bigheaded. Besides if anything, you're the one that's attracted to me!"

Kai snorted, leaning back into the couch. "Now who's the bigheaded one?"

"You are! Stop trying to make it seem like it's just me!" Kitty was fuming. She bent over him and poked him in the chest. "I don't know what your problem is! You kiss me the first day here, and you never pass up a chance to annoy me! You are one of the craziest-"

Kitty was silenced when Kai placed his hand on either side of her face and brought her face down to his. He wrapped his other arm around her, and pulled her into his lap. At first she protested, trying to pull away from his grip, but she soon quieted down. This time, instead of fighting, she deepened the kiss and slipped her tongue into his mouth. However, the instant she did that, Kai broke away.

"You talk too much." He smirked, taking his free hand and running it through her hair gently. "We're going to have to fix that."

She looked up at him, tilting her head to the side. Was this really the jerk she met barely a few weeks ago? Kai had always been attractive…but he always got on her nerves. What caused the sudden change?

'Agh! This is NOT the time to be thinking!' Her mind screamed. She put a hand on the back of his neck and pulled his head towards hers, ready for another round.

-----

After the movies had finished, Max and Chelsea walked over to a nearby park. Starr had decided that they were fine by themselves and persuaded Ray to head home.

They were walking hand in hand through the park, admiring the view. Max was getting more anxious with every step. When Ray and Starr were there it was easier to be around Chelsea, but now they were alone. He didn't have anyone to give him advice or stop him from saying something stupid.

Max's thoughts were interrupted when Chelsea stopped short next to him. She sat down on a bench and gestured for him to sit next to her.

"I really had a fun time tonight." She smiled, entwining her fingers with his.

"So did I."

With the soft lamplight and the starry night sky in the background, it was definitely the perfect scene. Max knew what was coming up, and he completely forgot Ray's little lesson. He put his arm around her shoulder, and drew her towards him. She stared into his eyes, and inched her face closer…and closer….until…

"Ah, uh, bathroom break!" Max yelled, jumping up and running towards the nearest restaurant.

Chelsea was left alone on the bench, wearing a shocked expression. 'What the hell?'

-----

Starr and Ray pulled into the driveway at about ten o'clock. They were talking as they strolled into the house. Starr stopped short in the middle of her sentence.

"Something isn't right…It's too quiet in here…" She whispered, looking around the room.

"I know…What if they've killed each other?" He hissed in reference to Kai and Kitty.

"Oh God! We'd better check every room!"

The two ran upstairs, flinging open every door and inspecting every room.

"Did you find anything?" Starr called from the bathroom.

"Something in Tyson's room. It could be either blood…or ketchup."

Starr and Ray met in the hallway, and they still hadn't found the others. Where else could they check?

"The living room!" They shouted in unison, racing down the steps.

They stopped in their tracks when they discovered Kai and Kitty, their eyes wide as saucers. She was on his lap with her back to them, and it looked like they were kissing, and quite passionately at that. What were they doing making out on the couch?

"Well…At least they're not dead." Ray muttered. His voice drew Kai's attention, and he immediately pushed Kitty off his lap.

"Ow! Kai!" She yelled from the floor. "What was that for?"

She followed his gaze to the doorway, and saw Ray and Starr standing there, grinning.

"Uh…Hi?"

Starr shook her head, turning to Ray. "I knew I should have been here for some supervision."

Thankfully for Kai and Kitty, the doorbell rang. They rushed off to answer it, pushing past the two at the door. Kitty flung open the door to reveal Ally and a disheveled Tyson holding up an even scruffier looking Kenny.

"You three look like you got run over by a bus." Kitty commented, helping them inside into the dining room where they could sit down. "What the hell happened?"

"He," Tyson spat, dropping Kenny onto a chair. "got us kicked out!"

"You three got kicked out…of a cheese convention?" Kai said slowly, letting the words sink in.

Tyson nodded, as the doorbell rang again. "God, doesn't anyone use their keys anymore?" he complained, standing up to answer it. However, as he got to the entrance, Ray was opening it.

"Hey Chels! How was the-" Ray started, as a very angry looking Chelsea passed him, running towards the stairs without answering him. A very miserable Max followed her in. "Max what's going on?"

Max's angry glare spoke for itself as he stomped up the stairs.

Starr was standing in the hallway, watching the whole scene. As soon as Max had left, she walked up to Ray and smacked the back of his head. "What did you do?"

-------

A/N: Whew! That chapter took days to write! Sorry it took a little long; my computer's been a letdown. So review, review, review!