Thirty-One
"Oh no!"
I jumped up from the chair and ran into the kitchen. I saw a small stream of gray smoke billowing out of the oven. Remembering to grab an oven mitt, I yanked the door down only to start choking on the smoke. I waved my hand in front of my face to clear my lungs of the smoke and reached into the warm oven.
I grasped the end of the pan and pulled it out, dropping it onto the stovetop. I waved at the surface of the now charred substance and frowned. What was supposed to look like a cake now looked like a large, burnt, hockey puck.
"Ugh, even Tyson won't eat this," I sigh and shake my head. Why was it so hard for me to make desserts? Why couldn't I focus? I just wanted to make something for the boys when they got out of the hospital but, of course, it didn't work out the way I wanted it to.
"Whoa, what's that supposed to be?" Julia's amused voice reached my ears. I turned away from the stove while placing my hands on my hips to glare at her. The smirk on her lipstick painted lipsgot bigger as soon as she saw my glare. "A hockey puck?"
"Do you want me to throw it at you and find out?" I shot back.
"Now girls, now's not the time for arguing," Mathilda stepped in. Always the peacemaker. I grumbled under my breath as I took a look at the girls clothing. It suddenly hit me that they were all dressed more casual than usual. Emily was even wearing a nicer shirt and not one of her tennis shirts. She looked at the stove and made a face but quickly hid it with one of her kind smiles. "Um, what were you trying to make?"
"A cake," I replied, glaring at the still smoking burnt piece of crap. "With Ray and Max and Daichi and Kenny at the hospital with Tyson, Tala, and Kai I figured I'd take the time to make them a cake to cheer them up. Well, cheer Tala and Kai up more than Tyson. They're the ones stuck with him. Tyson sees it as a vacation."
"Which they deserve, they've all worked so hard," Mariah said while pushing a strand of her hot pink hair behind her ear. I grunted at her statement. What was I, chopped liver? I did help, though, admittedly I knew I didn't do nearly as much work as they did. Her golden eyes shifted over to me and she flushed, quickly adding me at the end of her previous statement.
I let out a very loud sigh. I was getting tired of this routine. Ever since I told them all why I was here two days ago they've been walking on eggshells around me. As if I were going to call Boris down here and attack them if they said anything wrong. "Are you going somewhere?" I finally asked. The sudden grins on their faces instantly made me suspicious. Then it clicked in my head. "Oh no…" I groaned.
"Crys, come on! This is your one chance to getting dressed up to the nines!" Hilary gushed, moving to my side and grabbing my arm. "This is like our Prom!"
I wrinkled my nose. "What's a Prom?" I asked.
She groaned and threw her arms into the air. Well, excuse me for not having a proper education! "Prom is this really big dance that is held in high schools around the world. It's a rite of passage for girls. It turns us into women. It's our night! Well, so's our wedding, but still."
"I just don't see what the big deal about this whole thing is," I replied, scratching behind my ear. "I'm probably not even going to go."
"You're not going to ask anyone?" Mariah gasped. I'm surprised that she didn't suck all of the oxygenout of the room with that intake of breath.
"No, I don't plan on it because I don't plan on going," I replied.
"What?!" They cried out in unison. Their screams were so loud that I had to clutch my chest to make sure my heart was still there.
"You have to go!" Mathilda insisted. "You…you helped them defeat BEGA. You're practically a Bladebreaker yourself."
"Look, I don't want to waste a night of my life wearing a dress that I'm going to wear once talking to people I don't care about or won't remember and dance to horrible Top 40 music," I said and shrugged. "Tell me one good thing about going."
"You can beyblade if you're not in the mood to dance and you can get to know new bladers and learn new blading styles from them that you wouldn't learn if you don't go," Hilary replied with a devilish smirk sitting on her lips. Of course she'd go at it at that angle. It was a secret that I went into beyblading at a learning level. I bladed not only so I could make my parents and my village proud but so I could learn new tricks and about the cultures that the world had to offer.
"We can go shopping and you can get a dress and if you decide you don't want to go that's fine. We just want you to come with us," Mathilda said enthusiastically.
I sighed. "You're not going to leave me alone until I go are you?" I asked.
"Nope, so get your shoes on, girlie!" Julia replied.
"Well, it's that, and Grandpa is afraid you're going to burn his house while trying to do something nice for Tyson," Hilary admitted. At my shocked look she quickly added, "He thanks you for your good intentions, though."
"Hmmph, well if he's so concerned I'll let you cook for them and see how he likes it," I grumbled and then cackled at the glare that Hilary shot my way.
Now, there were two good reasons that I didn't want to go dress shopping with the other girls. The first being that I can't stand dresses. Or skirts. Or anything girly, really. I didn't like how dresses and skirts prevented you from being able to run or dance or anything normal that one can do in pants or shorts. And you can't breathe. All just so you can look good for about three hours? No thank you.
The second reason was from lack of privacy. As soon as the BEGA Tournament finished Tyson's dojo had been surrounded by news reports and magazine journalists just so they could get information on me. I could hardly get out of the place to get the newspaper in the morning for them. Things got even worse when, for some reason, I appeared on the front page of the beyblading section of the newspaper. Since then I've been stared at, whispered about, and pointed at to the point I was perfectly content with the idea of bending their fingers back until it broke.
"Crys, stop being such a Negative Nancy and come pick out a dress," Julia ordered from a rack of long pastel colored dresses. "Look, even Emily's getting into it," she added, jerking her thumb in the tennis star's direction where she and Mathilda were looking at dresses with a gauze-like bottom.
"But they're all so…ugly," I replied with a wrinkled nose. "And so…form fitting. Do they have to be so freakin' tight?" I looked at the dresses in rainbow colors with disgust. Bows, sequins, glitter, straps, taffeta, and flower print stared back at me with each and every turn of my head.
"It's to show off our figures, silly," Mariah said as she stepped out of the dressing room in a 'ta-da!' fashion. She spun around on the spot, the bottom of her dress flaring, and then struck a pose. "Well, what do you guys think?" She asked.
While Julia and Hilary whistled and cheered their praises while Mathilda, Emily, and I remained silent, noticing what assets Mariah was flaunting in her dress that the three of us couldn't pull off. Her dress was hot pink (of course) with one strap going over the left shoulder, decorated in what looked like little flowers. It stopped at about knees and had random sparkles in it that caught the light. She turned around to show us the back. The strap moved over her left shoulder and one part branched off to move under her arm and connect to one side of the dress while another strap ran across her shoulder blades and wrapped around to the side of her dress, leaving a large diamond on her back to expose her skin.
I could feel my lips twitching but they couldn't decide if they wanted to make a face of disgust or to frown. Not at Mariah and not at the dress but at Mariah in the dress. It was then I realized I wanted to frown and make a face of disgust at what I was feeling for seeing her in the dress, not at her. The feeling was…weird. It easily took me over and made me want to punch something. I didn't get that feeling a lot but it made me ill.
"Are you trying to set the place on fire?" Hilary joked as Mariah admired herself in the mirror.
"Or someone's loins," Julia cracked. Mariah swatted at Julia's arm and then smoothed down the fabric.
"You think he'll like it?" She asked quietly. None of us had to know which 'he' she was referring to.
"I think his jaw'll drop to the floor," Julia replied with a wink. "So, are you going to wait for Ray to ask you to the Ball or are you going to ask him?" She demanded crossing her arms over her chest.
Mariah bit her lip. "I don't know," she said softly. "What if he says no?"
"He'll have to answer to me if he says no," Julia replied confidently. "And I'm sure he won't say no. If he did, he'd regret it after he sees you in this dress hanging off of someone else's arm." She paused and added, "Besides, he's a boy. He probably won't know that you want him to ask you so you might as well do it yourself."
"So who're you asking, then?" I asked Julia while slouching in my chair. In the corner of my eye I could see one of the workers hovering around a rack of dresses near us, keeping her eyes on us. "Your brother?" I ventured.
"Ha ha, no," Julia replied with a roll of her eyes. "I don't need to go with anyone."
"And what makes you so special?"
"Come on, who'd be able to handle me?" She asked with a lift of her eyebrow. I nodded. She had a point. She was very loud and opinionated and she'd need to go with someone who was the same way.
"Lee," I stated, snapping my fingers. "You're both hot-headed and stubborn, you could go with him."
"Or you could considering you're already betrothed," Julia shot back.
I stuck my tongue out at her. "Point taken."
We turned our attention to Emily who had come out of the dressing room in a green dress that reminded me of a tennis dress but more fancy. Mathilda came out next in a pastel purple dress with extra fabric attached to the back that reminded me of wings. Simple and cute was perfect on her.
"Okay, three down, two more to go," Julia said while clasping her hands together.
"Wait, what about you?" I asked.
"I have a dress waiting for me. Romero's making us a custom dress and suit that has some Spanish flair," Julia replied with a wave of her hand. "Now, you two," she pointed at Hilary and me, "Need to get your butts in that dressing room."
"Hilary, who are you going to ask? Tyson or Kai?" Mariah asked as she stepped back into the dressing room and closed the door behind her so the only thing that was visible is her feet.
Hilary let out a very long sigh. "I don't know, I feel like if I asked either of them they'd laugh at me," she replied, twisting the fabric of one dress that was in her hands.
"Kai wouldn't laugh at you," I told her. I paused and added as a sort of afterthought, "Out loud, at least."
"Crys!" The other girls scolded me.
"What?" I asked, widening my eyes. "Besides, I don't think Tyson'd laugh. He'd probably be in shock that someone took the time to ask him to a dance of any form. Tell me when the last time—or the first time for that matter—that he had a date."
"Um, never," Hilary replied, pausing a beat.
"Exactly. He'd go if you asked him—assuming no one asks you first," I stated.
"You're stalling," Julia pointed out, getting close to my face. "The faster you find a dress the faster you'll get out of here." Before I could even prepare myself she grabbed me by my upper arm and dragged me over to a mirror. Instinctively I crossed my arms over my chest. I felt…safer having my arms crossed. So I could deflect anything that was thrown my way. "I think you'll look good in a strapless dress," Julia said while tapping her chin. "You and Hilary."
"You're not going to wear your hair like that, are you?" Mariah asked, stepping up behind me.
"What's wrong with it?" I automatically bristled. I took a look at my high ponytail in the mirror and how the black part of my hair and the blue part mixed together.
"You wear your hair up all the time, do something special with it—wear it down," she replied. Before I could move she grabbed at the scrunchie that sat in my hair and pulled it until my hair fell down and out of its ponytail.
"Wow," Mathilda whistled. "You have long hair."
"It's a custom in the village to not cut your hair," Mariah explained. "It's like a symbol of someone's journey in life."
"Hmm, I don't think a bright dress will go with that hair," Julia said. "Mariah, Emily, go look for something dark. Mathilda, go search for some heels. I'll take care of the makeup."
I blanched.
The boys' head turned as soon as I slid open the door of the hospital room and trudged in, sliding it shut behind me. Max, Ray, Daichi, and Kenny were playing cards. Tyson's arm was frozen, holding the remote up to the TV. Kai was still looking at the ceiling (was he dead or something?) and Tala wasn't in his bed.
"Where's…?" I asked, pointing at Tala's empty bed.
"He's getting checked out by some doctors," Kenny replied.
"What happened to your face?" Tyson blurted out, pointing at me.
"Yeah, you look like you get hit with a wet oil painting," Daichi added, grinning. I made a face, highly unamused by his antics. He always had to try and one up Tyson no matter what the situation was.
I reached my hand up to my face and felt around until I noticed that my eyelashes were unusually thick. Oh. "Its makeup," I replied, rubbing furiously at my eye to get the black stuff off. Ray grabbed a few tissues by Kai's bed and handed them to me. I nodded my thanks and then wiped the rest of the makeup off. I made a face while crumpling the tissues in my fist and sighed. "I've been at the mall with the girls for hours. I was starting to go crazy."
"Starting?" Tyson asked.
"Watch it, Ty, I could slip a few of my cookies into your dessert one day," I threatened him. He frowned and actually looked horrified at the thought. "Anyway, I got a call that Mr. Dickenson wanted me here. Said it was important. Whichever one of you lied to get me here saved my butt, I owe you."
"We didn't call Mr. Dickenson, he must have good timing, though," Tyson replied. "So you got a dress?" A goofy grin spread across his face. "Model it for us."
"Yeah, no," I replied, moving to sit on the end of his bed. "None of you are ever going to see me in that thing."
"Crys, you can't show up to the ball in the nude," Ray said slowly as if he were speaking to a little kid.
"That'd be a head-turner," Kai commented. I faltered slightly. I wasn't used to Kai actually joking. Apparently neither was the others for they turned to look at him as well. He lowered his head and I saw a hint of a smirk on his lips.
"Ha ha, you're so funny," I laughed sarcastically. I rolled my eyes and leaned back against the wall, resting my palms on my stomach. "No, I mean I haven't decided if I want to go yet or not?"
"Ah, can't find a date?" Daichi asked.
"What in the world does me not having a date yet have anything to do with me not wanting to go, Monkey Boy?" I growled through clenched teeth. Usually I was good with kids but Daichi knew where my buttons were and he always knew how to push them.
He shrugged. "I don't know, it's some girl thing."
"If you haven't noticed I'm not exactly the girliest girl on the planet," I commented.
"Oh don't worry, we accept you for who you are anyway," Ray said in a patronizing tone as he patted my knee. I stuck my tongue out at him. Of all the retorts and comebacks I had stored in my brain I stick my tongue out at him. Ray was apparently effecting my brain and not in a good way.
"Have you guys asked anyone yet?" I asked them. I got a chorus of 'no's. "Take it from me, don't wait too long if you're going to ask someone. They're going to start wondering what's wrong with them that a boy hasn't asked yet and they'll pull themselves down into a depression that could've easily been avoided."
"Who can we ask?" Max finally spoke up before grinning as he put a card down.
"The usual suspects, I suppose," I said with a shrug. "Oh, but Mathilda's going with Miguel so don't ask her. And Emily might go with Michael but don't quote me on that. But you have, like, five days."
"No pressure," Max joked.
"Oh, you wish," I replied with a little laugh.
Just then there was a knock on the door and Mr. Dickenson came into the room with a large smile on his face. Well, as large as one could see from underneath his large beard. We all greeted him happily for he was the only one who gave us news about what was going on in the 'blading world that we couldn't find out from newspapers and magazines.
"Hey Mr. Dickenson, what brings you here at this time of night?" Tyson asked eagerly. "Any news on a new tournament?"
"We just had one, Ty, relax a bit first," Max laughed. "You'd 'blade yourself into oblivion if given the chance."
"Can we let him have that chance?" Kai asked.
Tyson threw his pillow at Kai. It bounced harmlessly off of his chest and fell onto his lap. Kai blinked and his eyebrow crinkled ever so slightly to show the annoyance that had to be beneath the surface.
"Why is it that you wanted me to come, Mr. Dickenson?" I asked. "Not that I'm not happy you called. You got me out of the worst torture of my life."
Mr. Dickenson chuckled, "Well, I'm glad to be of help. I've brought you here because I've been discussing something with the boys and—well, I'll have them tell you about it."
My eyebrows crinkled at his tone and I immediately tensed, waiting for what they were going to say. I couldn't figure it out, no matter how hard I looked at the knowing looks in their eyes. It bugged the crap out of me, them knowing something that I didn't. It was like being in a room with people that were talking about you and wanted you to know they were talking about you but not what they were saying.
Tyson started to bounce excitedly where he was sitting. "The guys and I were talking about what had happened in the past couple of weeks—with the BEGA tournament and everything— and how you managed to help us out of a few tight spots and you felt comfortable around us to tell us about your mission of sorts and—" Tyson rambled.
"What Tyson is trying to say, in a less eloquent way, is that you've proven yourself to be a very strong, level-headed, and passionate about beyblading," Kenny said while lifting a finger into the air. "This is a very good combination to be found in a beyblader and we feel that a 'blader such as yourself would be best to have as an ally. So, we would like to extend an invitation to you to join the Bladebreakers team."
I blinked. Once. Twice. Three times. My brain didn't want to seem to process the information. I've only been here, what, a few months and they're asking me to join their team? I've hardly done anything worthwhile to even be considered on the team. Well, sure, I did help with the whole heavy metal system thing and help beat BEGA but…still.
"I'm sorry, I don't think I understood you, Kenny, with those big words you like to toss around," I said while waving my hand in a dismissing way. "Did you just say you guys want me on your team?"
"Yes," Max, Ray, and Tyson all replied in unison.
"But…why?" I asked slowly.
"Like Chief just said: you're strong, you're level-headed, and you obviously love beyblading. Not to mention you trusted us enough to tell us about your past and you helped us out when you didn't have to," Max replied, counting off his fingers. "You bring something to the team that none of us have."
"Why are you asking me and not…" I paused when I looked in Daichi's direction and then made a face. "Actually, that kind of makes sense."
"Hey!" Daichi cried out in protest.
"I can't help but notice you're not exactly enthused," Ray pointed out.
"Well, I mean, you're asking me to be a part of a Championship team that blades in tournaments. I don't like tournaments." I shook my head and let out a sigh. Rubbing my sweaty palms against my knees I licked my lips, thinking of a good way to explain myself. Finally I dropped my eyes from the ceiling and continued my explanation. "I don't like the idea that...just because a 'blader might be having an off day, they lose the chance of being a champion. Kust because they made a small mistake. Yes, others can be really good but skill and power doesn't always mean they're better than their opponent."
"You have a valid point, but it's also a very good learning experience and I think, being on our team, you'd go far. And it's not like it's a binding contract. Even though I'm a Bladebreaker I'm a White Tiger as well. Just like Max is an All Star and Kai's a Blitzkrieg Boy."
"Besides, it's really saying something when Tyson wants a girl on the team," Max added with a laugh. "He was dead set against Hilary when she first helped us out."
"She was being so bossy!" Tyson cried out, throwing her arms into the air. "She knew nothing about the sport, still doesn't most of them time—not like you, Crys."
"You're doing an amazing job at convincing me, Ty," I said calmly, although I attached an eyeroll to my statement to signify that I was being sarcastic. The comment obviously flew right over his head for he beamed.
"Well, if it'll convince you to join, even Kai wants you on the team," Max said with that sweet smile of his.
I wanted to start laughing at that comment. Surely it couldn't be true. He's the one who wanted me to leave when he first came back. There was no way he wanted me to be on the team with them. But when I looked over at him I locked eyes with him and his lips turned up ever so slightly in the corners. So slightly I was sure that I was imagining it.
Holy crap, is Kai actually smiling!?
I sighed. "Well, okay, if you guys are sure," I replied.
"Don't sound so excited," Ray teased.
"Well, I'm not going to jump for joy. I'm not that excited I'm going to be stuck with you boys for the rest of my 'blading life. I can only take so much testosterone at one time," I said with a little smirk. "How does Hilary survive?"
"By yelling," Tyson filled in for me.
"Tyson, just ask her to the Ball already," I said and lightly punched his knee.
He pressed his lips together and tried to make a look of annoyance but it was off put by the blush that crept up his cheeks.
A/N: Here's the next one, I hope you all liked it. Please tell me what you thought about them asking her to be on the team. I've read many stories where OCs were automatically forced onto the team and, while I had this idea for a while, I wanted it to stand out and I thought it would be more realistic if she proved her worth to be on the team instead of being forced on it for the rules or they were related to a member or something.
The next chapter and (maybe) the one after that will deal with the Ball in it's entirety—getting the tuxes/dresses, reservations, the press conference, the ball itself, and, of course, the drama that would come along with it.
Big thanks to Jupsi for her reviews and pointing out times where I should go back and clear up grammar and spelling mistakes. I hope you're enjoying the story as well.
~C.M.