Well, this is where the Ray/Max really kicks off! It's shorter than the others, I think, so I apologise for that in advance. Hope you all enjoy it!
Disclaimer: Don't own Beyblade series I, II or III, or any merchandise. Sue and I'll come after you with my trusty copy of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and whack you over the head with it! I have experimented on my brothers! It hurts!
The weeks went by pretty quickly. It took me nearly a month to realise that I was replaying that moment in the classroom over and over again, along with the earlier one in the PE office, and it took Ray's careful nudging along the right paths before I realised the truth.
I had a crush on the teacher.
Not to mention the sudden blossoming of feelings for Ray. Which, judging by the looks I sometimes caught out of the corner of my eye, were mutual. God, why was life always so confusing?
Two months after he'd first slammed the door open, Mr Hiwatari decided to do, what, for most teachers, was considered akin to suicide. Have a PD lesson. No one really knew what to expect…
"All right, you load of twats!" he snapped, glaring around the room as per usual. "I know what you're all thinking. PD's a waste of time, right? Wrong. Now then, I'm gonna ask you some questions and I expect a truthful answer, although feel free to lie if you think you need to." Dead silence. Ray swivelled round in his seat and raised an eyebrow. I shrugged. "How many of you smoke, or have tried it before?"
Every hand went up, mine included. "Who likes it?" My hand went down, along with another blond, called Jim, and another boy named Kane. I had tried one of Ray's cigarettes once and had nearly thrown up, vowing never to try it again. "Who does it to relax?" Most of the hands stayed up. "Who does it because it's cool?" Ray put his hand down. I saw Sir's eyes flick to him. "Who's gone on to something stronger?" Ray put his hand back up again, along with Ozuma, Bryan, Mystel and Tala. Ray and Ozuma smoked cannabis, Bryan did just about everything, no one knew what Mystel did, and everyone had heard the rumours about Tala. "Right. Next question, and this one, you are allowed to lie."
He smirked. "Who's still a virgin? And that includes gay virgins." Slowly, blushing a fiery shade of red, Jim put his hand up. "Don't laugh!" Sir ordered, quelling the first few jeers. "Well done for telling the truth, Jim. Who lost it at eighteen?" Mystel put his hand up. "Seventeen?" As the ages went down, I saw Ray's eyes widen. He'd realised what he teacher was up to. If Ray said the true age that he had lost his virginity… "Fifteen." I put my hand up distractedly, willing Ray to look at me. His gaze was fixed on the floor. "Fourteen. Thirteen. Twelve. Eleven." I saw Ray tense. Bryan, as well, was twitching uneasily. Eleven was the absolute minimum age that they could have lost it and still be halfway "acceptable" Slowly, defeated, they both put their hands up. Sir's eyes narrowed. We all watched, wondering what was coming next. We soon found out.
"Everyone take off their jumpers and roll up their sleeves." Bemused, most people obeyed. I hesitated for a second, then shrugged. Everyone knew about me anyway. Baring my scars defiantly, I looked to see who hadn't. Ray and Tala were both sitting dead still, staring fixedly at the floor. "You two as well." Sir's voice had gotten a little colder. Swearing in a long, angry stream, Tala yanked off his jumper and threw it at the teacher, who caught it one-handed. "Roll up the sleeves, Tala." Five seconds later, the rumours were confirmed. I saw Sir's mouth curl upwards in a satisfied smirk. "Ray?" I bit my lip as the two people featuring in my fantasies squared off.
"No." Ray's voice was soft. "I'm not doing it."
"Why not?" Sir asked smoothly. Ray's eyes blazed
"Because I don't fucking want to! Shit, I need a fag!" He shoved his chair back, pushing it over, and strode out of the room. I got up and ran after him, wondering why Sir was just letting me go.
"Ray? Are you all right?" I asked softly, stopping a few steps behind him, the sickly-sweet smell of cannabis filling my nostrils. Ray nodded stiffly, taking a long drag from his joint. I waited for a few minutes before it became apparent that he wasn't going to say anything. Sadly, I turned away and wandered out the school gates, unable to face the classroom now.
Two hours of aimless wandering later, I decided to go down the riverside and see if I could find him there. That was where he normally went when he was upset, after all.
My heart sank as I saw the empty bottles and cans lying scattered on the ground. He was standing unsteadily upright, swigging the last few drops from a can. I went timidly over to him and touched his arm lightly.
"Ray? You okay?" I asked softly, knowing that he always had a hard time with alcohol, especially when he mixed it with cannabis.
"Max? That you?" I nodded, slipping a supporting arm round his waist. "I feel dizzy…" he moaned, clutching at his head.
"Ssh, it's okay." I soothed, lowering him to the ground. He promptly tried to get up again, his eyes wild and out of focus, panic thrumming through every line of his tense body. I pulled him until he had his back to a tree and could sit upright without my help. "It's okay, Ray. You're going to be fine. Ssh, now, calm down…deep breaths, that's it…" I ran my hand gently down his cheek, whispering softly to him. Calmer now, he reached out and touched my cheek clumsily in return. He leaned in and hugged me, shivering slightly. I stroked his head comfortingly, rocking backwards and forwards. His head began to move upwards. He brushed his lips against mine, then moved away slightly. Our eyes met, and suddenly, friendship moved up a level. He took my head in his hands and pressed me closer to him, his lips infinitely sweet. The kiss deepened and he pushed gently against me, encouraging me to lie down. I did so, running my fingers through his long, silky hair. His hands slipped under my T-shirt, stroking my chest. I pulled away from the kiss for a second.
"You okay?" I signed.
"No." he muttered, trying to kiss me again. I held him off.
"No, Ray. Not here, and not while you're like this."
"Like what?" he slurred angrily.
"Drunk, stoned and upset." I returned, my eyes flashing with temper. Ray's face crumpled.
"Don't you want to?" he mumbled. I embraced him tightly.
"Yes." I murmured. "More than anything. But I want it to be special, yeah? When we're both in a good mood and preferably in a nice warm bedroom."
"God, you're so sybaritic." he complained. I grinned and sat up.
"Do you wanna come back to mine?" I signed. He shrugged.
"'Kay." His face brightened. "Can we do it there?" I laughed despite myself.
"Maybe once you've sobered up a bit." He pouted childishly. "Come on, you nympho. Let's go home." I helped him to his feet and we walked back to my house.
"Hey, Dad? Can Ray come over for a bit?" I yelled.
"Do you really need an answer?"
"No." I replied, laughing as I guided the unsteady Ray up the stairs. I could feel him starting to panic again, and found myself wondering just how much weed he had smoked before I found him. "Come on Ray, just a little bit further. Everything's gonna be fine."
We collapsed on my bed in a tangle of limbs. Ray was moving around restlessly, too wired to stay still and too drunk to move very far.
"Ray, calm down." I soothed, kissing him softly on the forehead. "Stop panicking. You're safe, okay? Take some deep breaths, yeah?" He nodded, trembling, and enfolded me in a tight embrace.
"I-I'm scared, Max…" he mumbled, his eyes glassy. I detangled myself from his embrace and manoeuvred him under the covers, pulling them up to his chin. Lying down next to him, I stroked his cheek, watching in satisfaction as he quietened.
"Sleep, Ray. You'll feel much better when you wake up, promise." He mumbled something indistinctly and closed his eyes, relaxing into the mattress.
Drifting in a half-doze, I was brought back to reality when he slipped his hand into mine. Opening my eyes, I grinned and squeezed his hand in response. He smiled lazily, his eyes only half-open.
"'Lo, Max…" he murmured sleepily.
"Hey, Ray." I manoeuvred myself until I was sitting on the bed, looking down at him. "You feeling any better?"
"Bit… How long've I been asleep for?" He sat up shakily.
"'Bout three hours, give or take a few minutes." He nodded again, staring off into the distance. "Ray? Are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm fine." he said immediately. I sighed.
"Okay, Ray, okay." A flicker of sadness flashed over his face for a moment and he cradled his presumably pounding head in one hand. I took a step that I knew would probably lead to one of our rare, vicious arguments. "Ray? What didn't you want Sir to see?" I asked softly. His eyes blazed with anger for a second, and I shrank away, already signing hasty apologies. All of a sudden, all the fight seeped out of him. His movements suddenly clumsy, he pulled off his jumper and T-shirt in one yank.
Any thoughts of words dried in my throat as I looked at the abundant scars covering his upper body, wrists and groin. Some of them looked dangerously deep. I opened my mouth and not even a croak emerged.
"Him or you?" I signed, my hands trembling so badly that he had to squint to work out what I was saying. Once he had, he smiled thinly.
"A bit of both. Mainly him." I stared at him, my mouth working uselessly. "Don't get so upset, Maxie. I deal with it." Tears suddenly welled up in my eyes as I reflected on how far my beloved friend's self-esteem had fallen. I stood up and walked a few steps away so that he wouldn't see me dissolve into ugly, noisy sobs.
"Why?" I signed helplessly. "Why are you doing this to yourself? Didn't you tell me that it's just a way of crying for help? How…How could you…" I trailed off, my hands shaking too much for any kind of coherent movement. I felt him stand up and embrace me from behind.
"I'm so sorry, Max." he mumbled into my neck. "You know what it's like, don't you? Knowing that everything's gone out of control? It…it's like, the only thing left I have any control over…You know what I'm on about, don't you…you understand…" He was sobbing now, tears soaking my hair and T-shirt. I swivelled round and hugged him so tightly that at first I couldn't breathe.
"Yes…I understand…I just wish…" I trailed off. Wishes had no place in the harsh reality that was Ray's life. "Oh, God, Ray…what's happened to us?" I signed, sinking down onto my bed and wiping my wet face.
"Life's happened to us." he replied bitterly, pulling me into a fierce kiss. He held me as I tried to pull away. "Please, Maxie…please…just make it all go away for a bit." he pleaded, his tears wet against my cheeks. Giving in, I let him pull me against him, felt arousal rear a reluctant head inside me.
Upset or not, Ray was an expert on all things sexual.
I was considering putting lemon in here, but I'm seriously paranoid about my dad reading my stories - does anybody know how to password-protect a USB drive (memory stick)? Anyway, so next chapter's no swearing I'm afraid. Thank you so much to my wonderful reviewers, and to everyone who's reading this! (why aren't you reviewing?)
I'm going to do what I've never done before. I want four or five, preferably five, reviews before I update. (gulps at the audacity) Please review! Please!