I'm so sorry for the wait, I lost all inspiration for this only a few days after posting it, and this is my rather pathetic efforts to get the fic back up and running again. I mean, my damn profile is about this length!
Read on!
Ray put the phone down.
"Who were you talking to?" Kai inquired curiously.
"School. I'm taking a day off."
"Oh. Why?" Ray stopped and looked into Kai's beautiful wine-red eyes for a few seconds, then shook his head and sighed.
"Because I daren't leave you on your own." Kai scowled.
"Why?" he demanded again. Ray stood up and began to walk away. Panic consumed Kai and he got up and hurried over to Ray, hugging him as a lonely child would. "Don't go!" he begged. Ray smiled gently.
"That's why. You've had a hard few days, Kai, and now you just want me around, don't you?" Feeling as if he ought to be ashamed of that, Kai nodded sheepishly and looked away. "It's okay, Kai." Ray soothed. "I want to be around you." Kai smiled, a small, timid expression.
The doorbell rang. Ray got up and went to answer it, wondering who it was and all too aware of Kai following him around like a lost puppy.
"Oh, hey Tyson!" Tyson grinned.
"Hi! Heard you're skipping school?" Ray shrugged. "Kai?"
"Yeah... So, why aren't you at school?"
"Excluded for a week." Tyson said cheerfully. Ray gasped. "What? It's not like I care. Oh, hi Kai!" He waved to the older boy, who was peering nervously over Ray's shoulder. Kai mumbled something indistinctly and buried his face in Ray's neck shyly. Tyson looked at Ray, puzzled.
"I'll tell you later, okay? Want to come in?" Tyson nodded eagerly.
"Please! Gramps has said that I'm not allowed back in the house 'til I apologise for beating up those idiots, and as that's not gonna happen any time soon..." He shrugged and trailed off.
"Oh, God, Tyson, I'm so sorry, it's all my fault-"
"Yeah, yeah, don't beat yourself up over it!" Tyson said easily. "Doesn't matter. Max and Kev say hi, by the way." Ray moved back and let him into the flat.
"Cool. Tell them I said hi back."
"Will do."
"You want anything to drink?" Ray asked. Tyson nodded. "Yeah, please. You got any Coke?"
"Plenty. What about you, Kai?" He felt the head on his shoulder move in the affirmative. "Okay, two Cokes, and I think I'll have a lemonade..." He went into the kitchen, swearing as he accidentally trod on Kai's foot. "Damn! Sorry, Kai!"
"It's okay," came the soft response. Ray busied himself with making the drinks, quelling the frustrated sigh that wanted to come out.
Ray handed Tyson his drink and sat down. Kai instantly sat down next to him and curled up in a ball after downing his drink in one greedy gulp.
"So, Kai, what's up with you?" Tyson asked suddenly. Kai gave a startled yelp and stared at Tyson with a confused expression.
"Um…nothing…" he answered cautiously. He rested his head on Ray's shoulder. "Ray? Is there something up with me?"
"I'll explain, okay?" Kai nodded, satisfied. Ray always made everything better.
Ray looked across at Tyson, and allowed himself to sigh at last. "It's just Kai," he muttered, shrugging. "He's fine normally, your average seventeen year-old, then he gets upset and you get the scared seven year-old that wants reassuring all the time. Only when he's really upset, though."
"What upset him?" Ray rolled his eyes.
"You want a list? First, like I said, his grandfather wrote to him, then his medication got changed, then I scared the living daylights out of him with yesterday's little fiasco. Frankly, I'm proud he's only reacting now." He coloured under Tyson's incredulous gaze. "What?" Tyson shook his head in awed disbelief.
"I don't know how you cope, pal,"
"Yeah," Ray looked distractedly at Kai and unconsciously drew him closer, producing a muttered protest. "Neither do I."
"How long have you been together again?"
"We've known each other for four years. I don't actually know when we were "together" as such, it's kind of hard to work out…" Ray trailed off, shaking his head in puzzlement. "It just kind of…evolved." Tyson nodded, trying to look like he understood. "What are you doing for GCSE again?" Ray asked, changing the subject with no small amount of relief.
"Um…" Tyson scratched his head and frowned. "I can never remember…um, PE, Resistant Materials, Geography, ICT…um…um…damn…"
"French?"
"Get lost! No frickin' way!"
"History?"
"Ditto. Never."
"Drama?" Ray chuckled at the mere thought. Tyson gave him a friendly-ish glare. "Okay, okay…Graphics?" Tyson's face lit up.
"Yeah! That's it!" He grinned happily and drained the remainder of his Coke. "You?"
"Drama, French, History, Business Studies and PE." Ray recited. Tyson blinked.
"Wow. Coursework." he said eventually. Ray groaned. "Don't remind me." he moaned theatrically. Tyson grinned again. "It's your funeral, mate!"
"Shut up!" Ray muttered, all too aware of Kai suddenly tensing up at the word "funeral." Tyson shrugged unapologetically.
"Hey, Kai?" Kai looked at Tyson enquiringly. "Are you any good at maths?"
"Yeah," Kai answered, his face lighting up.
"Good. Wanna do my maths homework?" Ray groaned. Tyson and Kai grinned at each other in a conspirital kind of way.
"Sure." Kai got off the sofa and went over to where Tyson was digging in his bag without so much as a backwards glance at Ray.
Ray blinked. Okay, that was...unexpected. Gave him some free time, though. Getting up, he went to get a book that he had been meaning to start for a while. He sat down on his bed and opened the book. His eyes scanned the first few pages restlessly, then he gave up and leaned back comfortably on the bed.
There had been an awkwardness growing between Kai and him for a while now, and it hadn't helped that Kai's reaction was to blame himself for everything. They had been arguing too much recently: yesterday was the first time in nearly two weeks that he had got closer to the older teen than an apologetic hug. It seemed like every comment either of them made came back to Kai's mental state.
He sighed and stared blankly at the wall. It was the time of year…always a fraught time for the older teen. Always had been, right from the start…
"Want my phone number, Kai?" he asked the older boy. Kai shrugged.
"Okay, if you want," he mumbled.
"No Kai, I'm asking your opinion. Do you or not?" Kai looked straight at him and blinked rapidly, his signal for total incomprehension. Ray sighed. Grabbing Kai's wrist, he pulled his hand up, then forced it open and placed the scrap of paper that he had written on inside Kai's tentative grip. Clearly frightened by the violent movements, Kai was staring to the side and trembling slightly. Ray loosened his grip, then froze, feeling ridges under his fingers, under the tight material of the long-sleeved T-shirt. Slowly, nervously, he began to roll up Kai's sleeve.
"No!" Before Ray knew what was happening, Kai was on the other side of the room, his crimson eyes flaming with anger. "Don't touch me!" the boy hissed, his teeth bared in a grotesque parody of a smile. Ray stared fearfully, taken completely by surprise. Kai appeared to regain his composure, his face taking on a closed-off, unapproachable expression. "Sorry, Ray," He tried to smile, but it twisted, and what came out was a nasty smirk. "I'm so sorry." As Ray watched, speechless, Kai turned and walked away.
A few days later:
"Hello?"
"Ray?"
"Kai? Hi, how are you?"
"I-I'm okay, thanks." A long pause followed.
"Why did you phone, anyway?"
"Dunno. Lonely, maybe." A strained laugh came across the phone-line. Ray laughed back.
"Cool. You wanna meet up somewhere, then?" An even longer pause followed.
"I don't know...I'd have to ask..." Suddenly, a new voice came into the conversation.
"Who are you talking to, boy?"
"N-No-one, grandfather..." There was a loud thump, and Ray could catch only snatches of the following conversation.
"Stupid...worthless...what...tell you...good-for-nothing..." Suddenly, the phone was picked up again, and heavy, unsteady breathing could be heard.
"Sorry, Ray...I c-can't talk to you any more..."
"What the- Kai! Kai?" The phone bleeped at him, mockingly, it seemed. Ray shuddered, feeling cold suddenly. Something felt very wrong about that. Why had Kai been told off for simply talking to him?
Running his hands through his hair in frustration, Ray got up and went to get his Drama coursework, passing Tyson - lazily flicking through television channels - and Kai - head bent, apparently thoroughly enjoying himself with Tyson's homework.
You never seem happy with me nowadays, he thought resentfully.
Well? Should I continue this, or just delete it? I'm getting ideas for it back slowly, but it depends whether all you lot are still intrested! Please review and let me know!
