A big, big thank you to AmTheLion, Hibisha and GabZ for reviewing on the previous chapters, and all the others who favourited/followed this story as well. I love you guys, and this story is written for all those who've shown me support so far! It means a lot to me!

And yeah, Tala's turning into a stalker... I'm torn over defending him for the story and blasting him for doing something that goes against my morals... I hope he isn't too stalker-y, he's not actually going to call Kai and pester him like a real stalker... Uhm. Does he come as very stalker-y?

Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade. Actually, I think I'll stop posting this thing at the beginning of each chapter, it's getting tedious, and everyone knows I don't own anything anyway.

I think you don't need any warnings this far into the story as well, yes? On to the action! Hya!

When the Stars Cease to Shine

First Contact

Tala had been walking on cloud nine ever since he got Kai's number. Well, not his number exactly, but his PA's. But he'd take any little bit he got, that's a desperate Tala for you.

Vitali dropped him off after they had dinner at one of Tala's favourite fast food joints, laughing and commenting on seriously random things, just like the old days. He could only be happy that Vitali didn't resent him after their failed relationship. He really did care for the brunet, and would have hated to make both of them feel awkward around each other.

Well, he had Kai's number now, all thanks to his sweetheart of an ex-boyfriend, and nothing could bring him down.

Vitty's warnings still echoed in his ears though, and he promised to himself that he would be extremely careful with his dealing with the PA, it was his golden chance and he would not fuck it up, by the mercy of the gods.

But the Gods did not have any mercy, at least not for the redhead, it would seem.

He waited till it was nine in the morning to make the call, sitting in his car in his office's parking lot. The minute the call was answered, he said in his calmest and most businesslike voice, "May I speak to Kai Hiwatari, please?"

The line disconnected without so much as a peep from the other side.

Tala looked at his phone with an expression of shock, which quickly turned to fury, and then to acute frustration characterised by his trying to smother himself to death on the passenger side seat as he pounded his hands on the same, very childishly.

"Didn't go over well?" He heard a concerned voice ask, a very familiar voice, and looked up to see Vitali looking down at him with understanding in his eyes.

"Nooooooooooo!" he wailed, opening the door and moving fast to bury his face in the other man's stomach, his arms going around him in a vice like grip. "They cut the line! They didn't even ask who I was! They just cut the cal the minute I said I wanted to talk to Kai! They're so meeeeeean!"

Vitali rolled his eyes heavenward as he pet the distraught redhead. "There, there... You made a rookie mistake, Tal... Why did you directly ask to talk to Kai? You should know that people state their purpose and ask to set up an appointment if they want to talk to any celebrity!"

Tala looked up with his wibbly-wobbly eyes of a kicked puppy again, but Vitali quickly closed his eyes, turned away and blocked his ears with his palms before he could be assaulted by the manipulation devices from the pits of hell. "No. No way, Tala. You know I was totally against this from the beginning, and I'm most definitely not going to call Hiwatari's office and talk in your stead, no matter how hard you beg me to!"

Tala scrambled to take the other's hands away from his ears, hoping an ungodly amount of whining would make Vitali give in, if only to get him to shut up.

Tala was very accommodating when he was desperate.

In the middle of their impromptu not-exactly-wrestling match, Tala's phone rang.

Tala was diving into the car for his phone before the tall brunet could even blink, scrambling under the seats where he'd dropped in it his hissy fit.

There was a tense silence filled with nothing but the loud and slightly addictive beat of the Bollywood song that was Tala's ringtone, and Tala's barely audible curses. Finally, the song stopped and Tala's voice was heard. "Ye- ahem- Yes?"

The man standing outside the car bit back a laugh at the unnaturally high squeak that had been Tala's voice when he answered the phone. He reached into the car and plucked the phone from the redhead, putting it on speaker mode as he snickered soundlessly at Tala's glare.

"Hello?" the voice on the line said, and Tala's eyes widened comically and he flapped around a bit, only calming down when his friend whacked him on the head.

"Hello, is anyone on the line?" The voice said again, and Tala grinned like the moron he was, as he said,

"Yes, I'm on the line."

There was a nervous sounding inhale before the voice hesitantly asked, "Tala?"

Tala at this point had to use every last ounce of his will power to not just explode and blast off into the sky like a fire cracker. "Kai!"

Vitali looked dumbfounded, as Tala did his victory dance as best as he could from his odd position; half on the car seat and half off.

"Thank god," The voice, now successfully identified as Kai said. "I thought it was a wrong number."

"How did you get this number?" Tala asked, feeling incredibly giddy. Did Kai get his number from his secretary? Did he demand to know who called, hoping against hope that it was Tala? Did he threaten to fire her for not giving it to him?

"I found you on facebook." Kai said simply. "Do you realise that your phone number is up there for the whole world to see? That is a fiasco waiting to happen."

Tala and Vitali just stared at the phone, too shocked for words, before the taller man pulled away and practically ran to the other side of the lot, howling with laughter as he collapsed into his car and waited for the guffaws to subside, hoping the model didn't hear anything.

Tala, on the other hand, was stock-still as he digested that information. All his hard work, ruined! All his bragging-rights, ruined! His amazing plotline to their budding romance, ruined!

And that bloody Vitali was laughing his ass off across the garage! Laughing at him!

But what did it say, that the great heartthrob-supermodel-most-beautiful-being-on-Earth Kai Hiwatari actually went looking for him? The search was almost not a search at all, but the thought that Kai took such an initiative made his heart pitter-patter and his insides melt into goo.

Tala had never been so pissed off yet so pleased at the same time.

"Tala?" Kai said, his tone wondering and a little nervous.

"Oh, sorry, I got distracted for a bit there. What were you saying?"

There was a moment before Kai said, "You're the first person ever to say that to me."

"What, no one's ever apologised for getting distracted before?" When Tala thought about it, it sounded dumb, because hello, who would get distracted when the Great Kai Hiwatari was speaking to them?

"No, it's never happened to me before." The other said, sounding a little lost in thought. "Anyway, I thought about what you told me that day, about friendship. And I was wondering, if you might like to meet up with me sometime? Maybe a movie, or a coffee, or anything else friends do?"

Tala stared straight ahead, not comprehending the words for a moment.

Kai panicked. "I mean, I understand if you're too busy and you don't have the time, I'm sorry for being too presumptuous, I-"

"Of course I'd love to meet up! Stop apologizing already. I was just pinching myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming or something lame like that. As if I'd be too busy for a friend." Tala hoped his pleased smile came across through his words.

"O-okay, then!" and Tala could almost see the hesitant smile on the younger man's face. "Um, where do you want to meet up? I don't really know any normal places, I've only been to the expensive 5-start type cafes, and only for meetings regarding work, so I think it's better if you choose the venue."

Tala hummed thoughtfully, not surprised in the least. He knew Kai's words may have sounded uppity, but actually they only showed his relative innocence, or rather, his ignorance about anything that had to do with 'normal' people. If the tabloids were right, the young star had lived a very sheltered and spoiled life, he was a rich kid right to the bone, minus the bratty attitude most of them seemed to have. "How about I send you the address via text message to this number? This is your number, right?"

"No, this is my office number. I didn't use my personal number in case it wasn't you I'd connected to. Can you write it down now if I told you?"

"Uh-huh, just give me a sec-" Tala mumbled as he frantically hunted in his glove compartment for a pen and a piece of paper. "Okay, tell me."

Kai recited his phone number, before asking "You won't give my number to anyone, right?"

Tala made an effort to sound offended. "How could you even ask that? I'd never reveal your number, even under the threat of death."

Kai scoffed. "Don't tempt fate, Tala. I wouldn't be surprised if someone decided to hack into your phone just to get my number. God knows how many numbers and accounts I've had to switch no thanks to those stupid hackers who have no sense of respect for another person's privacy."

Tala chuckled nervously. "Aha ha ha. Yeah, aren't hackers just disgusting?"

"Glad we share the same sentiments. So will Saturday afternoon be good for you? I'm not free anytime before that, and my next break only comes next Wednesday, and I'd rather talk to you sooner than that."

Kai's words triggered a warm and fuzzy feeling in the pit of Tala's stomach. "Sure. I'll be free on Saturday. I'll send you the address in a few minutes, 'kay?"

"Ok. It was nice talking to you. Bye, Tala."

"Bye."

Tala disconnected the line, and clutched the phone to his chest, stifling the urge to scream his joy to the world. He settled for bouncing over to where Vitty was still sitting in his car, and threw himself at the other man. "I'm going on a date with Kai!"

"Good for you, now could you please stop strangling me? Thanks." Vitali rolled his eyes as Tala pulled away and proceeded to perform his Super Special Ultra Hip Victory Dance.

Which was not really all that hip and was not so much a dance than a weird series of spastic movements, but Vitali didn't have the heart to tell that to the ecstatic redhead when he was feeling so hyped-up.

"We're meeting on Saturday! Isn't that amazing!" The redhead practically screamed into the taller man's face, his azure eyes blazing.

"You have work on Saturday." He frowned.

"Well, I'm just going to have to fall at boss's feet and beg her to give me the day off, then!" And the redhead turned and pranced away, leaving Vitali to lock both their cars, completely missing the concerned look cast his way.

**********continues...

I see Tala as being a very carefree and rather kooky personality who enjoys living his life and having fun and being dramatic. It seems a little over the top and OOC as AmTheLion pointed out, but, I can't seem to change it. We'll see how his personality evolves as the story progresses and he becomes closer to Kai, and you've already seen a bit of Kai's personality in this chapter and the ones before.

Aanyways, I hope I'm not boring you guys, and remember, I love you all!

Thank you for reading!