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The sound of Kai's phone ringing cuts through the awkward silence that settles above the dojo. The sharp noise is a welcome break from the tension for others as they excuse themselves from the room while Julia stays in the middle unmoving and eyes downcast, leaving only Kai, Miguel and Spencer in the room with her. The others linger outside, wanting to hear what the phone call is about, but not wanting to be blatantly obvious about it.
Hey, they do have some respect in this matter.
Taking a step back from Miguel, Kai plunges his hand into his pocket and pulls out his phone and flips it open. "Hello?" he asks with a sense of concern when he recognizes the number to be that of his apartment.
"Kai?" comes Bryan's voice through the phone, trying to smother his panic and concern with a monotone voice, but Kai can sense his unease immediately.
"Did you find Raul?" Kai asks as he moves back towards Miguel, positioning the phone so that the blonde can hear as well. The sound of the missing teen's name causes Spencer and Julia to snap their attention towards the pair.
"You better get your ass over here," Bryan tells him and Kai has the image of the silver haired teen pacing circles in his apartment while he holds the cordless phone in one as the other rakes through his hair while trying not to panic. "He's sick."
"What?" Kai says in surprise as he shares a look with Miguel before turning back to the phone, both of them feeling extreme concern now. "What's wrong?"
"He has a fever and won't stop shivering," Bryan explains.
Kai immediately pulls away from Miguel and presses the phone tightly to his ear as he leaves the room, looking for his jacket and car keys. He pushes pass the large group of teens lingering just outside the room, ignoring them completely. "Is he out of his wet clothes and in bed?" he asks.
"Yes, we've got him somewhere warm," Bryan says, sounding exasperated.
"How's his breathing?" Kai keeps firing off questions, wanting to know the exact condition of his soon-to-be patient. "Is he breathing ok?"
"Ah…" Bryan trails off and Kai can hear him call out to Tala how Raul is doing. "Labored," he tells him after a moment.
Kai mutters under his breath for a moment. He is about to ask yet another question when he hears Bryan draw in a sharp breath. "We don't know what to do when someone's sick, ok?! Just get your ass over here!" he then hangs up on him.
Kai pulls the phone from his ear to stare at it for a moment, blinking slowly, not sure whether he should be annoyed that Bryan hung up on him, or concerned that he did.
"Kai?" Miguel's voice pulls Kai from his thoughts and back to the task at hand. Miguel places his hands on Kai's shoulders and forces him to turn around and face him. He stares into Kai's eyes, noticing concern in those ruby depths, concern that is shimmering in his eyes as well.
"They found Raul," Kai tells him, his tone quite loud as he knows bladers from all over the globe are trying to listen in. "He's at my place and he has a fever. Tala and Bryan are hopeless when it comes to looking after someone when they're sick, so I'm heading over."
"I'll come too," Miguel says as he grabs his jacket as well and slips it on. "You take care of Raul. I'll make sure that Tala and Bryan don't do anything stupid."
The corner of Kai's lips twitches into a smile and he nods. He turns to leave but he hears the sound of an unusually timid female voice stop him in his tracks. He turns around to find Julia, looking sad and sorry for herself, a few feet away.
"I…" she murmurs, sounding like she wants to come along as well but loses her nerve.
Kai simply points at Julia, giving her a no-nonsense look. "You, stay here. Raul's in no condition to speak with you right now. And I doubt Tala will be in the mood either."
Julia nods numbly and submissively takes a step back, her hands moving in front of her as she nervously wrings at her fingers. She chews on her bottom lip for a moment before swallowing thickly. "Is he ok?"
"He would have been great if he didn't run out into the rain," Kai mutters as he puts on his jacket. He suddenly gets a nudge from Miguel and he turns around to give his boyfriend a look of confusion. "What?"
"Maybe you should ease up a little," Miguel suggests softly as he motions his head towards the dual haired woman. "I think she's had enough guilt for now."
Kai glances over Miguel's shoulder and sighs to himself when he notices that Julia is on the verge of crying. He sighs again and runs a hand through his hair. "Look," he says to her. "Raul just fainted from emotional stress, ok? Once he gets some rest, I'm sure he'll be fine. You…you can talk to him then."
Julia slowly lifts her head up to stare at Kai for a moment, tears pooling at the corners of her eyes as she nods her head slowly. "Ok," she whispers before turning around and walking away.
Kai watches her leave and sighs again, mildly wondering to himself whether he was too harsh on the girl, but thinking back with what has happened and the pain Raul has been through, he can happily justify his annoyance towards her.
Miguel suddenly wraps an arm around Kai's shoulder and pulls him to his side. "I think you got through to her," he says as he kisses his temple.
"Good," Kai replies as he leans against Miguel before pulling away. He looks into Miguel face, seriousness in his own. "Let's go. We shouldn't leave Raul with a panicking Tala and Bryan a moment longer."
Miguel nods as he takes a step back. "Right."
"Are you coming, Spencer?" Kai asks just before he and Miguel dashes through the door.
The bulky blonde thinks for a moment before shaking his head, knowing that with a concerned Tala and a mothering Kai staying in one apartment, he'll just get in the way. "I'll stay here and make sure this lot doesn't get into any more trouble," he says.
Kai nods, finding that answer satisfying, as he now doesn't have to worry about what this lot will get up to while he's away. "Call me if they get out of hand," he orders before disappearing out the door, Miguel immediately by his side.
Spencer watches them leave and turns his attention to the group of bladers that are trying to listen in on the unfolding drama. He rolls his eyes as some of them turn away, whistling innocently.
"I suggest we scrape the game Truth or Dare and try something else, hm?" he tells the group, smirking slightly when they all nod their heads vigorously.
"I suppose we could do without revealing more secret relationships," Rick says as he leans up against a wall, his arms over his chest and a smirk on his lips when he stares at a certain pair of blondes.
Enrique blushes softly while Max simply smiles at the taller American. "Technically, Enrique and I wasn't oust during the game," he points out as he wraps his arms around Enrique's waist and rests his chin on his shoulder. "Kai did, so we shouldn't be included in that sentence."
"Whatever," Rick says as others around him sniggers and he rolls his eyes. "I just think we don't have to witness yet another secret and taboo relationship being revealed in an awkward manner, ok?" he mutters and turns to his teammate, the tall and docile basketball player. "Right?"
But Eddy reminds silent, his profile tense and his eyes staring a hole in the floor. He suddenly bristles and snaps his head up to glare at Rick. "Bite me, Rick," he hisses at him before turning on his heel and stalking away.
Everyone watches him leave, expressions of blatant shock on their faces, Rick's being the most prominent.
"Eddy?" Michael whispers, concern in his voice but his eyes narrow in thought. He stays silent for a moment before he too bristles and turns to poke Rick in the chest, sending him an accusing look. "You're such a jackass!"
Rick reels back in surprise, his silver eyes blinking rapidly in confusion. "What did I do?" he asks as he rubs his chest.
Michael simply huffs and folds his arms over his chest, continuing to give Rick a very sour look. "I want you to apologize to him."
"Not until I find out what I did wrong," Rick retorts, his brow knotting in annoyance.
"You'll find out when you apologize," Michael tells him sharply. He turn moves forward and grabs Rick by the ear, twisting it a little and proceeds to drag Rick away while muttering under his breath.
"Ow!" Rick practically bellows as Michael drags him out of sight. "Let go of me you nutcase!"
Max blinks at the slight, confusing shimmering in his eyes as he continues to hold Enrique against him. "What was that about?" he whispers.
As Spencer watches the group in front of him, his eyebrow arches towards his hairline. This mob certainly has its shares of drama and chaos. No wonder Kai hates to leave them alone like this when they're all together in one place.
"Spencer?"
Spencer's smirk turns into a warm smile when he recognizes the accented and precise voice of certain special someone. He turns around to find Robert lingering in the doorway of one of the spare bedrooms, waiting patiently and politely so he doesn't interrupt the blonde.
"Are you busy?" he asks, smiling softly when Spencer shakes his head and walks over to him.
When Spencer reaches him, he places his hand on the small of his back and guides him to move inside the room where he shuts the door behind him. He then turns around and grabs Robert by the upper arms, startling the nobleman by pulling him into his chest and crushing their lips together in a passionate kiss. However, surprise soon gives way to pleasure as he sinks into Spencer's arms as they wrap around his body and participates in the kiss as much as he is able.
"I've missed you," Robert whispers, panting softly from the kiss. He and Spencer have been seperated for over a month now, and while Robert has tried to keep himself busy with work, it's not easy. He's been looking forward to this bladers reunion for a long time now. And by the force of Spencer's kiss, he's been longing for him just as long.
Spencer smiles and rests his cheek on top of the royal purple hair. "Me too," he replies as he continues to hold Robert close.
"I hear that Raul isn't fairing so well," Robert says as he pulls back a little to look into Spencer's eyes. "Do you know what's ailing him?"
"Emotional stress, apparently," Spencer replies with a sigh as he presses his forehead against Robert's. "When Kai get there, he'll be in good hands. It's Tala I'm worried about. I wonder how he's coping with all of this."
--
Tala kneels on the floor by the side of the bed, his hands tugging up a thick blanket to place over the shivering form on the large double bed. As soon as Tala got Raul into Kai's apartment, he immediately peeled off his wet clothes and placed him into a spare pair of Kai's pajamas before placing him in bed.
And not once did Raul stir; the only source of life are his constant shivers and whimpers of pain and discomfort. It's heartbreaking to see him like this and Tala is on the verge of tearing his hair out.
He doesn't know what to do. He's afraid that he might do something to cause his gentle lover further pain. But he can't just sit here and watch him suffer.
Dammit, where the hell is Kai? What's taking him so long?
"Tala…?"
Tala immediately snaps out of his thoughts and turns his attention back to the bed. His breath hitches in his throat when he spies a pair of forest green eyes peering up at him though heavy lashes. "I'm here," he whispers as he leans over the bed and kisses his forehead gently, feeling intense relief at seeing him awake.
Raul sends Tala a sleepy smile and moves to take one of his hands in his. "I'm glad," he whispers before breaking out into a coughing fit. The fit lasts for a few seconds before they die down and Raul lies on the bed, breathing heavily.
"My chest hurts," he whimpers before his head rolls to the side and seems to fall asleep again.
"Raul?"
X3 Relationships coming out everywhere! What's wrong with Eddy? Will Raul be ok? Has Julia actually seen the light? Are there any more relationship hidden away? All those questions and more will be revealed…sometime soon, I hope.
Please review.