Disclaimer: The only claim I have over the song ['Story of my life' by One Direction] is that it is one of my all-time favorites. I don't own it.

Chapter 12

KAI'S POV

"sir please listen -"

I slammed the door in her face. Today was the day of the inauguration when we would get to participate in an opening ceremony and then go to the ball. From morning everyone in the Abbey has been giving me suspicious looks. They wouldn't say a word, but I knew exactly what they were thinking 'Will he have a change of heart when he sees his old team?' This was without counting the blitzkriegs. My teammates had their questions. Spencer and Ian seemed to have chosen to ignore this, Tala didn't talk to me, and Bryan? That idiot was smirking at the thought of me having to deal with all the drama. As for me, I simply didn't care. The blade breakers were just a mistake that I made. It has been struck off, and I'm moving forward with my story.

Still, there was this nagging headache that simply wouldn't go away, no matter which pill I took. This situation was familiar, and thinking of what had happened last time in that lonely slum just added to my headache. That maid's squeals on how unkept my hair was, weren't helping. That's why I kicked her out before I lost control.

That brings me to the present. The entire team had been taken from the Abbey to the stadium, and we were being groomed by people appointed by Boris. It was darkly humorous how Boris was so concerned about hiding the scars that he gave his pupils. Either way, that woman had marinated me with so many products and given me a suit that I would never wear if I had a choice. I glanced at the clock. 10 minutes left before we had to report backstage. I grumpily pulled on my coat and glanced at the mirror. That stylist hadn't done much, but the suit made me look tame. I tore my eyes away from that depressing reflection and massaged my temples. This headache was killing me.

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"YAHOOOOO MY FRIENDS! THE DAY HAS FINALLY COME! LET THE CHEERS GET LOUDER FOR OUR BLADERS WHO WILL BE COMPETING FOR THE TITLE OF WORLD CHAMPIONS! THIS IS ME AJ Topper along with Brad Best. Let the FUN BEGIN!"

Does that guy get paid extra for every eardrum he breaks? And why do people applaud and shout whenever he asks them to? I will never understand these people...

"Boys" All 5 of us turned around to face Boris, and I just stared while the others saluted the director. Boris's eyes gleamed when he saw me, but he addressed Tala first. "As team captain, I place the responsibility of our victory on you Ivanov. Make me proud" then he casually waved his hands to where Ian and I were standing, and added, "Make sure every member cooperates. Should I mention what will happen if we lose?" This was a rhetorical question, but we all knew the answer. "Good. I have to go take my seat and supervise this event. Do not disappoint me."

After his departure, there was a thick tension in the air, but it snapped off when we heard Aj announce, "Make way for the BLADE BREAKERS"

The light fell on four boys. I felt my blood throb when my eyes landed on a boy who was waving his hands at his fans. My archnemesis. I'm coming for you, Tyson.

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Tyson's POV

I waved and waved until my hands were aching. It was hard to believe that we had so many fans. I looked around and saw that my friends were enjoying the attention, just like me. All of this was just too good, But I was finding it hard to completely cherish the moment. Where was Kai? Our team captain was pushing me to my limit... Had something happened to him? I shook those thoughts out of my head. It's Mr. Mysterious that we are talking about. He could be purposefully late to make a dramatic entry. A new scarf maybe? the mental image of Kai jumping from the terrace and landing beside us with his scarf fluttering like a cape made me laugh. I was dragged back to reality by another shrill yell from AJ.

"...THE ONE AND ONLY DEMOLITION BOYS"

The metallic door slid open, and Tala walked out, accompanied by the rest of the team. there was another roar from the crowds, most of the people were jumping with excitement and registering their support for their homeland team.

Once everyone was out, AJ started reading the names of each member and introducing them [ though no one needed it]. But the anchor came to a standstill just after Tala's intro. He dumbly stared at the paper, and when the crowd began complaining, He called out.

"K-ka-ai.. KAI HIWATARI!"

The air was sucked out of my lungs. The only sound I could hear was my heartbeat, and then it mingled with the steady sound of footsteps. A perfect synch. Within moments Kai appeared there in flesh. He walked towards the blitzkriegs and stood by their side. He looked up, and our eyes met. there was a moment's silence and then... "KAIIIIIII"

I shouted and ran towards the Traitor, totally ignoring the three pairs of hands which were trying to restrain me. I just wanted to punch that perfect face, Ask him whether we were just toys to him, but before I could tackle him, I was rudely pushed by Tala. "Where do you think you are going, Granger?"

I hit his arm but that just made him throw me to the right. I got up and rushed back, but in between the crowd's murmur and chatter, Kai's clear voice cut like a dagger. "Leave him, Ivanov. We don't have time for him and his lot of losers."

Those words bore into my heart.

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Kai's POV

The water lukewarm water was falling on me, and I enjoyed the way it slowly dripped down. There was barely enough time left to redress for the ball, But the opening ceremony had been exhausting, and I thought a shower would refreshen me and help subside the headache. Meeting Tyson had been an inconvenience, But the prospect of destroying my rival's blade soon lifted my spirits. Once I got dressed, [I had made sure to remove all the attachments that the stylist did on me] I locked up my room and prepared to leave. I was in no mood for going somewhere that noisy, But this was inevitable. Then I remembered the real reason why I hadn't run away after the opening. My mood swung from grumpy to eager. All those memories of the flirty talks, day-long teases, and messed-up emotions came back to me. Now, it was my turn to play. I locked my room and left with a silent promise to make Tala's evening torturous.

I was escorted by a guard [and a heartbroken stylist] to the venue. At the foot of the stairs to the auditorium, I met up with Zia. She looked brilliant, clad in a plain black satin gown with random gold splashes on it. Now I could see clearly why Spencer wanted her so badly. She wasn't stereotypically beautiful. She still had acne marks on some parts of her face and her short black hair was as unruly as ever. Her hands were rough and blistered from working in various part-time jobs in the darker side of the city. But there was this aura around her, a sort of lively charm that made her warm light coco skin glow. Despite being attractive, I couldn't see anything other than a friend in her.

"Let's do this," she said, and both of us walked into the room, holding hands.

Tala was there right by the door like he was expecting someone. I stopped when I saw him. Tonight he was all Dark blue and silver. I forced myself to look away, but it was too late. He saw me and his face lit up. But all light vanished when he saw Zia, who still had her hands around mine. Tala didn't say a word after that. But Spencer was a different story.

"What do you think you are doing?" The question was aimed at both of us, But Zia took it personally. "Doing what people usually do in dances. You should get out of the abbey more often" Spencer shot me a look, which made me glad [for the first time] that I was sharing a room with Tala and not him and Bryan. Speaking of the devil, Bryan was lingering in the shadows [not exaggerating] and scaring every kid that went to his 'territory.' He was smirking a lot, so I decided that I didn't want to know what he was doing...

The other teams were mingling with each other, but we kept our distance. The last thing I wanted was to see Max, Ray, or Tyson again. I would have no trouble shutting their mouths, But I had other more important tasks to do. My eyes landed on my target. Tala. He was trying to swat a bunch of girls who had come to ask him out, or in better words, They were just intruding on his 'brood' time. I walked up to him. The moment he saw me arrive, he turned towards one of the girls and said, "Yes. We can dance after dinner. Wait next to the drinks counter." To our great relief, she was too excited and left immediately to spread the news.

Tala turned to address me. "Kai, stop f-"

"Boris wants us to report back before 11;30. Better have dinner now." Spencer and Zia came towards us. Both of them were pretending like the other didn't exist, and Zia wasted no time in dragging me off to the table.

Who knew eating together would be so fun? No, I still hate get-together dinners. But tonight, I was seated in a very tactical position, between Zia and Tala. I made sure to lightly brush my shoulders against his while taking my seat. Tala flinched at the unexpected contact, so I 'accidentally' kept my hand on his thigh will bending to Take my handkerchief, which again, 'accidentally' fell. I suppressed a laugh when I came up. Tala's expression was just tragic. Throughout the wait time, I kept doing things that made my intentions clear to Tala. No wonder Tala loved to do such things... There was a bizarre feeling of fulfillment in seeing him like this. I leaned across him to take a glass, but was taken by surprise when I heard his low, raspy, hungry voice whisper in my ear, "So you love playing dirty don't you? Just wait" That serious tone of the sentence was enough to erupt goosebumps all over me. But I went back to eating like nothing had happened. Except, I ate my food in the most erotic way I could think of. Midway between the meal, Tala excused himself. "Boris asked me to check something out," he said. But he went in the direction of the restroom. I innocently looked at the awkward people at the table. I was trying to stop myself from making a victory face, But failed when I saw Bryans's grossed-out face. Mission accomplished.

After that, I and Zia found a less crowded part and danced for what seemed like forever. This was my first [not counting the classes Voltaire made me attend, because I had to be 'elegant'] but Zia seemed no better. Finally, when our hips started aching, we went to a secluded terrace. I was exhausted, but Zia was smiling like crazy. "hn?" I demanded.

"Nothing. It's just that this is the most fun I have had in ages. I never imagined that dancing with a friend would be more fun than all the boring dates I've had"

"Uh, hm" I was too busy looking at the stars.

Then.

I felt shell-shocked when I sensed her peck my cheek. So much that I pushed her. "Not very nice of you" she complained, and then came back to stand beside me. I was mad, but I knew that there were no feelings involved in that kiss. It was maybe her way of showing happiness, but that wasn't what was troubling me now. I'm sure that at the exact moment she touched me, I had seen a blur of bright red out of the corner of my eye.

I abandoned all other thoughts and went back to the main room. "Where's Tala," I asked Ian.

"He rented a room just above this floor. Actually, We did. Tala got ass-drunk and now he needs to rest. 608. enter at your own risk." I saw that racy smile at the end, but I didn't have time for it now. I went into the room and opened it with the key Ian gave me.

Tala was lying on the soft white mattress... like he was sleeping. His expensive coat, tie, and accessories lay discarded on the floor, and his shirt was slightly unbuttoned. I felt furious at him. How could he be so careless and leave his body so vulnerable? Hasn't he learned a thing yet? The only explanation for this was that he trusted his teammates... But that made no sense. He never trusts anyone else...

Then I saw him mumbling in his sleep. I could still hear soft music coming from the ballroom, but now the classic violins had been replaced by actual songs. I noticed that Tala was singing along, but in this drunken state, the lyrics were cracking and random. I strained my ears to hear the actual song.

'And I'll be gone, gone tonight

The fire beneath my feet is burnin' bright

The way that I've been holdin' on so tight

With nothin' in between

The story of my life, I take her home

I drive all night to keep her warm

And time is frozen (the story of, the story of)

The story of my life, I give her hope

I spend her love until she's broke inside...'

The song was beautiful, and somehow Tala trying to synch it with his drunken murmur looked cute. But my heart snapped open when I heard him sing a single line. No cracks, and a perfect tune.

"...And I've been waiting for this time to come around

But, baby, runnin' after you is like chasin' the clouds..."

And just like that, a single tear rolled down his closed eyes.

That's all for today. Thank you for reading. :)