Chapter five has arrived! I tried to get this one up faster than the last chapter...but that didn't work so well for me.
Disclaimer: I think we have established by now that I do not own Beyblade. So therefore I cannot be sued. This is the last time I'm gonna say this... XD
Not much else I need to say so I hope you ENJOY!
When Mrs. McGregor came home at lunchtime, she went directly upstairs to check on her son.
Needless to say she was very worried about him. He was always withdrawn with her and her husband, and Robert hadn't told her anything about how Johnny was treating him.
She had noticed that Johnny had fresh nail-marks on his arms when she'd checked on him lately. Also, she knew that he was having these nightmares more often than usual. She figured it must be because of what had happened to Lauren—she'd been the last therapist to try and help Johnny.
Kristen knew that her son couldn't help these scratches, but that didn't stop her from worrying about it. She didn't like the thought of him getting hurt, by any means.
The woman knocked on the door to her son's room and, receiving no answer, entered.
The young Scotsman was curled into a tight ball on his bed and facing away from her. She went to the edge of his bed to be sure that he was asleep. He was. Or at least he seemed to be. Lately, he had begun to fake it when she was there so that he wouldn't be forced to talk.
Kristen brushed some hair out of her son's face and noticed that he had a fever again.
She sighed as she sat down on the bed and then gathered the boy into her arms. She hugged Johnny close whilst hoping he would be alright. He'd gone through a lot—too much for most children his age to handle...not that he had handled it very well though.
She was still frustrated with his behavior. It had become increasingly worse as the time went by, and he refused any help from anybody who offered it.
Mrs. McGregor pinned her son's reluctance to talk about things on trust issues. But she still wished that he wouldn't push people away. Pretty soon, no one would want to go near him, save for her and her husband—but he wouldn't let them near him, so they really couldn't do much good.
The Scottish woman sighed yet again and kissed Johnny's warm forehead softly. She then stood up and placed him gently back on the bed before walking back toward the door.
With a glance back at her son, she turned the lights off and exited the room, closing the door behind her.
Kristen McGregor paused for a bit, and then walked to the room next door. She wondered if Robert was there...
She knocked on the door, gently at first then slightly harder.
She didn't know this, but her knocking had woken a very startled German. He sat up quickly and looked around. Once he recovered, the eight-year-old got off the bed and answered the door.
"Yes?" he said, polite as ever.
"Can I come in and talk with you for a minute?"
Robert blinked at the woman with mild surprise before stepping aside to let her in.
"Thank you." Kristen said, striding over and sitting down on the bed.
The boy looked at her with confusion as he closed the door.
Mrs. McGregor patted the bed next to her, signaling Robert to come and sit beside her. The German came over and climbed onto his bed, his hands folded in his lap.
For maybe the hundredth time, the Scotswoman regarded the red-eyed boy with curiosity. He was awfully proper and polite—his parents had raised him well.
At this moment, Robert was looking around, pleasantly ignoring the fact that the woman was staring at him.
Eventually she noticed her fault and turned away awkwardly, not sure how to start a conversation after this.
"What did you want to talk to me about?" the Jurgen heir provided.
Kristen was thankful for this. "Well, first off, how are you?" she was still uncertain how to get to the main questions that she wanted answered the most.
"I'm good...a bit tired lately though. I'm not sure why."
"I suppose you've been kept up late...thinking." she sighed, suddenly tired herself. "I know I have."
Robert glance up at her and saw that she was staring off into space. The German shifted his position—uncomfortable with the silence.
Kristen saw this out of the corner of her eye and realized with embarrassment how often she spaced out around this boy. She quickly pulled herself out of her reverie.
"Has Johnny been treating you okay?"
The purple haired boy crossed his arms loosely and a small frown appeared on his face.
The woman couldn't help but think how adorable he looked right now.
"He's been...alright." Robert said somewhat cautiously.
Mrs. McGregor could see that the boy was thinking. "How so?" she asked him.
"Well, I'm sure you know how he acts by now. He's okay with me I guess, but he won't tell me much." came the answer as he turned his face up toward the woman.
Kristen continued to watch him, "What has he told you so far?"
Robert looked away and kicked his feet a few times before replying, "Just...about how all those psychiatrists you asked to help left. And I found out he has nightmares, but I don't know what they're about yet. That's all he's told me." For whatever reason, he hadn't told her that he knew about Johnny's scratches.
"Did he tell you what happened to the last one or...?" she let the question hang in the air.
The German boy shook his head. "No, but I'm sure his will eventually."
The Scotswoman took a deep breath—this was the question she was most worried about, "Has he...hurt you yet?" It had to be asked.
Robert shifted slightly and sighed. "Well he did throw things at me to get me out of his room earlier...but none of them hit me."
"I'm so sorry about that!" Kristen apologized immediately for her son's actions, "He's just going through a really tough time right now and I didn't know how best to help him—I still don't. All the others have...left him and he won't talk to Don and I! I had really hoped you would be able to help, but I understand if you want to go home now. I'm really sorry!" She apologized once more.
The boy shook his head. "It's alright Mrs. McGregor." He thought she was over exaggerating things just a little. But he guessed this was because of all the nights she'd spent worrying instead of sleeping and how many times she'd seen her son given up on.
It was also partly due to the sense of helplessness she felt because of not being able to help Johnny herself.
"He hasn't done anything serious. And he didn't do anything that made me want to leave without helping. That's what I was asked to do." He said to try and ease her mind.
The Scotswoman looked at Robert (he was still looking away from her). The German was stubborn and honorable—just like his parents. Of course he wouldn't leave until he'd done what he came to do. She knew that nothing Johnny did or said—however horrible—could not persuade Robert to go.
Robert turned and looked back at her, having also noticed that she often spaced out or stared at him.
Kristen knew he'd want to get out of here at times, but the sense of commitment in the boy wouldn't let him.
"Okay, just let me know if he ever actually does hurt you." Kristen looked directly into his ruby eyes as she said this.
Robert nodded, not breaking the eye contact.
Mrs. McGregor saw the determination in his eyes and for the first time since the 'accident' felt secure. She knew then—although she didn't know how she knew—that her son would be fine. It would take time, but she knew that even if she tried to force him, Robert would not leave like the others had. She found it funny that a child had more sense of responsibility than an adult.
Johnny finally had someone worth trusting.
Now if only he would trust him...she thought glumly. Her son was not likely to trust anyone again so soon.
Robert blinked at her again before looking away towards the clock. "You should be getting back to work..." he reminded her.
"Yes," the woman stood and walked back to the door. "And Robert," she turned slightly so she was facing the boy, hand still on the doorknob.
"Yes?" Robert was still seated on the bed. He kicked his legs some more (because, as you can imagine, after his nap he was perfectly energized).
"Thank you."
The Jurgen heir's legs stopped kicking and he got an adorable look of confusion on his face. "You're welcome Mrs. McGregor...but I didn't really do anything."
"You're helping. You've stuck around and I have a feeling that you'll stay here until Johnny's alright. That's much more than I can say for the others." the Scotswoman answered him. "So thank you."
The look of confusion was replaced by a small smile. (AN: Which in my opinion is just as adorable) "You're welcome Mrs. McGregor."
Kristen had a small smile of her own at this before she left the room and got in her car to go back to work. She was in much higher spirits now.
Meanwhile, Johnny was alone in his own room. He was lying on his bed—still curled in a tight ball.
He was not asleep, as you've probably guessed. Curled in a ball and clutching something to his chest. Johnny shook with silent sobs.
The 'something' he was holding was the only thing left that reminded him of the accident—except for the picture of Tyler that he'd thrown against the wall some time ago. The glass had shattered and he'd actually kept the photo buried deep in his dresser drawer.
But this something was different. It seemed to offer more comfort than the picture. It was his beyblade with his bitbeast Salamulyon.
The blade containing the beast had been given to him the night before the 'accident' and he'd been practicing with Tyler just before—
Johnny slammed the breaks on that train of thought right there. He would not make himself cry harder. Someone might hear.
But did he want someone to hear?
No. He didn't need anyone else...even though sometimes he wished he had a best friend again. He had Salamulyon and anyway, no one could ever replace Tyler. There was also nobody he could trust enough to be a friend.
Everyone but his bitbeast had deserted him. He could tell his parents were worried and frustrated and that they were on the verge of giving up on him themselves. And Robert probably wouldn't stay much longer...
Johnny let out another sob and clutched Salamulyon a little tighter.
He wanted to trust the other boy, it would make everything so much easier. But he couldn't. There was no way of knowing if Robert would stay very long...odds were he wouldn't.
Johnny had made the mistake of trusting Lauren—she'd been here before Robert. The Scotsman had told her everything, fully trusting her and believing that she would help him. But in the end, he'd proved too much for her to handle and she'd—
The boy stopped himself yet again and swallowed in an attempt to slow his crying and keep himself quiet.
He wanted so badly for someone to comfort him. His mother, his father, even Robert—anyone really so long as they cared. But no matter how hard he tried, he just ended up pushing everyone away.
He really couldn't blame them for leaving him alone at times. It was his own fault and he was even frustrated himself with these constant outbursts.
Unfortunately, his own frustration didn't help matters any.
Johnny curled himself up even tighter and held Salamulyon still closer as he cried harder. He made it a point to still keep himself quiet though.
Why can't he just agree with himself? It made him feel insane—fighting with himself like that. Bringing up the pros and cons of trusting and not trusting. Somehow not trusting always won though.
Oh how he hated life right now!
That night at the dinner table, the mood was very different.
Kristen McGregor was in a much better mood now having much confidence that Johnny would, eventually, be fine.
She had of course called her husband and told him about her conversation with Robert and how she'd seen the determination in his eyes.
Don on the other hand, wasn't as sure about this whole thing as his wife. But he was willing to believe that Robert would at least stay the longest out of everyone they'd gotten to help.
Part of the reason Don doubted that Johnny would ever be totally fine was because of what had happened when he had taken his son dinner only a few moments ago (for Johnny refused to leave his room for whatever reason). When he'd gotten there, Mr. McGregor had noticed no improvement whatsoever. In fact, he'd noticed that his son had been crying.
When the man had returned downstairs, he'd opted not to tell his wife this. She was so happy now and he didn't want to ruin the mood.
Robert was with them and he too looked better. He wasn't as tired as he normally was and he was quite comfortable in the McGregor's mansion/castle by now.
All in all, dinner that night was a slightly more enjoyable than usual. Well, as enjoyable as it can be with one member missing due to the fact that he hadn't come out of his room since the 'accident'.
Later, when it was time to turn in for the night, the mood was still light.
Robert had already gone to bed and Mr. and Mrs. McGregor were headed for their own bedroom now.
It was peaceful in the house at night and the two had heard no noise from either of the boys' rooms when they passed.
The McGregors reached their own room and entered. This was is when Don chose to tell his wife that he'd noticed Johnny had been crying earlier.
She shook her head, "The poor thing. He's probably extremely confused about his feelings...and everything that's happened." The woman sighed. "I get so worried about him."
"I know, I do too." her husband came over and wrapped his arms around her. "But it's like you said, Robert should have him straightened out soon enough."
There you go! Another chapter goes by and still the 'accident' has not been revealed. Actually, nothing much really happened in this chapter...ah well, I'm taking it slow alright? XD
You either hate me now, or are congratulating me on my ability to create extreme expense.
Whichever it is, review please!!
The next update might not be for a while because I kinda need to get more writing done before I can post some more...just hang in there and be patient with me alright?