Witch-Bitch
Disclaimer: Only the strangers herein are mine.
1st Warning: this is complete AU.
Author's 1st Note: I am using the first Beyblade Kai for this story (first series), not G-Force or Evolution, although I may use outfits, emotions and other things from my glimpses of the other series.
Author's 2nd Note: for the stories sake, I have made Kai, Rei, Mariah, Becky, Louise, Tessa and Ricky (the last 4 are MINE) all seniors. Any other characters that eventually show up in the story, I will let you know their age and grade pertaining to the storyline.
Acknowledgements: I thank the following for their help, even though they may never come across this: Fierce-A Shrine to Kai Hiwatari, at fiercekai()cjb()net (pretend that the brackets are dots), for helping me with the odds & ends of Kai; Spirit, for giving me these gifts & allowing me to share them.
Chapter 6: Owning Up
Her POV
Homeroom was a bore as usual. The diminutive Mrs Gideon was seated behind her desk and taking register quietly, ticking off the heads that she could see. In this small space of time I would usually be checking my homework or at least catching up on my reading. The rest of the gang would be doing somewhat the same: Rei would be checking Louise's math homework while she checked his history notes, and Tessa would be listening to her walkman. Today was a little different: Rei was on edge, his claw-ring tapping on the desk surface; Louise was hurrying her English poetry work that we had had a week to finish; and Tessa was busy staring out of the window. I was busy lying on my arms, staring at them from a horizontal point of view. Even I was out of it, and I didn't particularly want to acknowledge why.
"Attention please, class. I'd like to introduce a new transfer student, all the way from New Zealand. Ricky, would you please come in?" my homeroom teacher asked to the open door. My head snapped up from my folded arms. He's here, now! My thoughts shrieked out at me. And then he walked in, his stride long and relaxed, taking his time just like I remembered.
Even though it was only his first day, he had already taken measures to make the uniform his own. The white school shirt was un-tucked and unbuttoned over a white sweatshirt, and its sleeves were rolled right up to his shoulders. He had a leather string tied round his neck, the knot showing at the base of his neck. His spiky sun-bleached black hair stood up, complimenting the darker colour of his natural tan. His blue eyes sparkled with the depth of the ocean that he loved to challenge. He walked to Mrs Gideon's desk and stood there with one arm behind his back, eying the class, waiting patiently for her to finish his introductions. I felt a slight shiver go up my spine: the only other empty desks were the one to my right and the one way in the back with Kai and his gang.
"Go ahead Ricky," she said to him. He cleared his throat, his one hand reaching to brush at his hair.
"As you heard, my name's Ricky. The full name's Ricky Ozanne. My family used to live here about three years ago but then my dad got transferred. We got transferred back this year." He cleared his throat again and Mrs Gideon nodded.
"Take a seat, young man. The bell will be going soon but you can socialize and get used to the new faces in the last minutes." Ricky visibly relaxed when she said this, but he was still tense at the silence permeating the room. His eyes caught mine and a smile spread over his entire face. While strolling to my desk, the hand that had been behind his back withdrew from hiding and revealed, held gently entwined in his fingers, a white chrysanthemum. He reached my desk and looked down at me, holding the flower out to me. I unfolded myself from the confines of the desk and hugged him tightly; he bear-hugged me back, lifting me up from the floor. He put me back down but I still held fast onto him. He bent his ear to my lips.
"You do realise that you've screwed yourself for the rest of the year by doing that?" I whispered. He chuckled softly. "Yeah, I do. And it feels good," he whispered back.
"Becky," Mrs Gideon called. Startled out of our embrace, I jumped back, hitting the back of my legs into the desk edge. Snickers from the back of the class reached my ears and I felt myself turning red. "Becky," she repeated, "since you and this young man seem to know each-other; I will assign you to be his escort for today and next week. Now please take your seats," she said to the background noise of cat-calls and whistles from the class. Why did she have to use THAT word? I groaned to myself as Ricky and I sat down. He handed me the flower and I took it tenderly. I held it for a second before I realised that Louise was staring at me pointedly out of the corner of my eye. I felt my cheeks burn.
"Guys, this is Ricky, an old friend from eighth grade. Ricky, the Goth in the corner is Louise; the spaced-out one on my left is Tessa; and the guy behind me is Rei," I stated as I pointed to each. Louise grinned darkly; Tessa gave a short wave; Rei held out his hand in greeting. Ricky shook it energetically.
"So you're the bunch that's taken over Becky since I've been gone?" he asked. Tessa snorted.
"Without us, Becky would have been a gon-," Louise tried to answer but Rei shoved her hard in the ribs with his elbow. Ricky's one eyebrow crooked up quizzically. It was then that the bell went and my classmates swarmed as one out of the door.
His POV
My hands clenched into fists as I watched the two of them walk of the classroom, protected like a pack by the other three. It didn't look right, the way they were acting. I pulled myself from my angered thoughts and walked out behind them, left alone by the rest of the group. I trailed after them a safe distance: I had English first period so I could be as late as I wanted to be. I had to watch those two; part of the job was to make sure she was never happy. But I didn't want to do it anymore. I pushed against the middle of my brow with the heel of my palm, trying to stifle the headache that was beginning to pound in my skull. God, won't this confusion just stop? I thought tiredly. I adjusted the strap of my satchel as it dug into my shoulder, trying to distract myself from the gnawing feeling in my chest.
Don't they look cosy? A little voice in my head said snidely. Shut the fuck up! I screamed back. My eyes closed of their own violation. Breathe, you need to breathe, a soft, gentle feminine voice whispered. My eyes snapped open, shock filling my system. I looked around me, my head snapping back and forth. My lips trembled.
"Mom?" I whispered, my voice cracking as I said that single syllable. There was nothing but empty air filled with the noise of the student body. I choked back what I thought was emotion, straightening up. It's just stress, nothing else; it wasn't mom. I looked around to see if Becky had disappeared yet, saw that I had lost her. I couldn't help but be relieved. There was nothing I wanted more to do than not be in the damn school anymore. And as I made my way to my car, that's what I did. No one was around as I revved the engine of the Porsche and raced out of the school parking lot.
I thought where I could go. I had my usual things in the boot: my board, my clothes… I spun the wheel, screeching to the right, causing havoc as brakes applied to tar, hands to car hooters. I raced to the mansion, sending up thanks that grandfather was on business out of town. It was just my luck that the servants were off too. I grabbed my things out of the backseat and boot and burst into the house, running to my room where I dumped everything on the floor. I ripped off my clothes, searching and finding my bike leathers, pulling them on. I grabbed a smaller backpack and my helmet as I ran back downstairs, through the house into the garage. Any thoughts running through my head at that time were just a jumble, racing along with the energy coursing through my body. I waited for the doors to open before gunning the engine, revving the gas, feeling the pressure build in the metal body. Out of this hellhole.
Nothing registered as I rode to the deserted stretch of road leading off from the main road. This led to the makeshift bikeyard that past generations had built from abandoned vehicles and old engineering parts, covered with cement and dirt. No one lived anywhere near here, and the town ignored it. I brought myself to a standstill, just sensing the engine purring underneath me, looking over the track. There were no easy hills or obstacles. It was designed for the extremist: that's why it had been named 'The Devil's Sandbox'. My hands clenched the handlebars, the leather grinding against my palm. I let go.
Her POV
Where's Kai? I looked around my fifth period gym class, searching for his familiar build. He had been missing since homeroom, and I was worried about him. I stopped myself short. Worried? Worried! And I couldn't deny it. Yes, I was worried. Ever since this morning, ever since that Friday, he's been on my mind. I feel nervous, disquiet in the pit of my stomach. I couldn't really understand it, but maybe I was beginning, a little too late, to see the real Kai.
"Miss Kristine, do you want to be benched or do you want a failing grade?" the gym teacher barked. I jumped in fright at the intrusion into my thoughts. Louise was waving her arms frantically behind him, hopping up and down for a turn. I rolled my eyes, but replied that my time was up. I walked over to the bench as Louise rushed past me, her small frame energized: I could feel the prickling of excitement bouncing off of her as Ricky tossed her the basketball. I sat on the empty bench, the seat still warm from Louise's small body. I felt dizzy, leaning forward to place my elbows on my knees and my head in my hands, my hair falling out of my ponytail and shrouding my drained face. I felt a soft thump beside me through the wooden bench. Rei exhaled loudly, then leant forward too, elbows on knees, hands clasped in front of him. I felt him looking down at me, his eyes drilling into my skull, or was that my headache?
"You don't want to talk about it?" he asked softly. I peered at him from behind my hair and eyes. His eyes were full of concern, nothing more, and nothing less than everything else that he had done for me in the past. I turned away, feeling my mouth open but no sound coming out. I felt my headache getting worse, pounding now solidly between my eyes.
"I saw you this morning. Is it just me, or is there something more going on?" my eyes opened wide with shock; thankfully he couldn't see them. "Kai isn't being his usual self. Becky, you know you want to talk to me, so why don't you?" he asked me gently. The final bell sounded, reverberating through the walls and my head, jolting me into sudden action. My gym teacher whistled our leave and I made to rush off to the showers but Rei grabbed my arm before I could even get farther than the bench. He squeezed, not unkindly. Louise, Tessa and Ricky passed by us, Louise pushing a stuttering Ricky away from me. The noise died out and entered into the hallways, leaving us in an echoing chamber of quiet.
"I'm taking you home. Meet me out here in fifteen minutes, okay?" with that, he left towards the boys' locker room. I shuffled towards the showers, somehow managing it quickly, without the stares of the other girls rushing out to dates and freedom. In a space of sixty seconds, I was the only one left. I stripped, thanking silently my luck. Leaving only my watch, I stepped in and the hot water drenched my skin and hair. I stood there letting it prickle my skin. My eyes were closed as my confusion bubbled up inside my head, my hands.
Whose eyes am I behind?
I don't recognise anything that I see
Whose skin is this design?
I don't want this to be the way that you see me
My fists hit the tiles with a solid pain, throbbing in my muscles, shooting up to my shoulders and rushing down to tingle into my fingers. My breathes came out ragged and loud at the sudden adrenaline, the white tiles before me shaded in red. I closed my eyes again and soaped off, hurriedly getting out and drying off. I pulled on my clothes, buckling my belt and buttoning my white shirt. As I pulled down the long sleeves, my eyes caught on my inner arms, the crook of my elbow. The light glittered off the pales lines threading horizontally in the vulnerable flesh. My headache turned into a full migraine as my eyes abruptly filled with tears. My legs turned rubbery, and then failed, crashing me to the floor. I curled up into a ball, sobbing silently into my arms, the bench hard against the small of my back. I just cried, each wave of turmoil just refreshing the supply of liquid salt. I was completely oblivious to the outside until someone pulled me into their arms, holding me tightly as I cried into their chest, my head under their chin. I felt Rei's braid tickle the back of my neck as he rubbed my back. I couldn't stop crying…
His POV
I kept trying to phone Becky on her mobile but all I could get was an irritating recorded message. My temper flared up as I shoved it back into my jacket. I don't know what was going on with that bitch, but if she wouldn't let me at least leave a message, I wasn't even going to bother. I glared at nothing as dark clouds began to gather above me. Nobody had bothered to come the Devil's Sandbox, forecasts had been blaring over any radio that we were in for a killer thunderstorm this weekend. I couldn't give a fuck less. Leaning on the handlebars, I stared up at the sky. I felt the brief lull end as the first drops splattered across my cheeks. I shut my eyes tightly then pulled on my helmet. The engine started and I rode out of the abandoned compound into the gloomy afternoon. I drove slowly along the quiet streets, my mind going over today. My picking up Becky, the barrette, Rei's promise, Ricky's entrance… my teeth grind angrily at that one.
I find myself back at the mansion. I stared at the garage door, oblivious to the rain sliding down the front of my helmet, then got off, flicking the card through the security slot on my right. I wheeled the bike through the opening garage door, pushing the button for it to begin closing. The darkness swallowed me physically as I parked my bike in its corner, but my mind already felt suffocated with it. What the hell's gone wrong with me? I thought as I walked to my room. I pulled my jacket off and dumped it on top of the stuff I had shaken off earlier. I dropped onto my bed, suddenly tired. The red light of my answering machine was blinking irritatingly at me and I almost slammed my fist on top of the 'play' button before I gained control again. It had two messages. The first was from grandfather.
"I have been called out to an international conference in Moscow for the next two months. Due to your decline in your academic performance, you will not remain at the mansion for the duration of my absence. I have arranged with an associate of mine for you to stay with him and his family for that time. Expenses have been arranged. He expects you tonight, so he will fetch you at seven. Henry Kristine broaches no nonsense, Kai. I expect your actions to reflect well on me." With that last curt remark, the message ended. Without even giving my mind time to de-numb, the second message began playing. An unfamiliar female voice began speaking. Only one sentence was said.
"You've done it again."
To be continued…
Song Used: 'Ordinary' – Train
PerennialOutlander: you ever noticed that when you really need to do something, you find yourself sparking about other things? It's a sad, sad habit. Rei would agree with me, but he's kinda snoozing on my bed. Talk about a 'motivator'!
Rei: zzzzzz…
PerennialOutlander: so, it seems I am out of my self-imposed break. I hope you like the fact that there has been a mini-climax: you're probably thinking, "It's finally going somewhere!" Yeah… you know, we all hope that…
Rei: zzzzzz…must have cookies…zzzzzz…
Last Comment
I'd just like people to know that the use of numerous songs in this story does not mean that it is a song fic. I use these particular songs to give you, the reader, clues into what these people feel like at that particular moment, and to also give clues as to where the story is going.
GB