A/N: I changed the ending of the last chapter. I rewrote it. Made some changes. Ummm, you dont have to reread it. You wont miss anything. But if you want to you can. It's a better scene. Hmmm.
I Hate You
He got kissed.
He got kissed.
Tyson's speed walking through the hallways of the hotel in his bathrobe. Patrons shooting him strange looks as he walks past them. One of them even shouts, "The sauna's that way, lad!"
He makes several frantic rounds till he eventually winds up in the lush garden. In front of a merry fountain. Clutching at his robe to keep his nether regions from flashing some poor guest.
He sits and breathes hard. Unable to calm his hammering heart.
He got kissed.
And he liked it.
And he'd wanted it.
He doesn't know what to make of himself anymore.
Tyson rakes his hair back from his forehead. They're wet from sweat and water. His head's spinning.
He braces his hands on his knees. One leg jiggling in panic.
Breathe, he tells himself. Breathe.
His licks his lips and his mouth tastes of Kai.
Oh god
He's in so much fucking trouble.
He'd kissed Kai back.
They'd both liked it.
He can still feel him against his thigh. Warm. And hard.
Tyson looks around at the two-storeyed buildings bracketing the garden. The lights on the board, the lights in the windows.
He takes a big gulp of air and buries his head between his knees. Eyes pressed against his hands.
Breathe
Steadily
His Kendo training kicks in.
His foot relaxes on the pavement.
Breathing deescalating.
Shoulders unhunching.
Tyson sits up with a deep inhale. His eyes open slowly.
He's okay
He's okay
Water gurgles in the fountain peacefully. He watches it flow for a minute.
It was just a kiss.
But it could have turned into something more.
His heart skips a beat when he thinks of it.
He shakes his head. Emily.
He recalls his first kiss with Emily. On their third date. Sweet and full of love. With blushing cheeks and soft giggles.
The first time they had sex. Awkward and fumbling, but still full of love. And talking. There was a lot of talking.
All of his moments with her had been sweet and tender.
With Mariah, things had been slightly different. Being the spontaneous and carefree spirit that she was, she had kissed him first. While they were on one of their many study dates.
His relationship with her had been a lot more mature. Slightly more physical than his last. But even the heaviest moments with her hadn't felt like this.
Kai's touch had scorched his skin.
No one had kissed him like that before. No one. With such passion and desire. Like he was something to be coveted.
He bunches the robe between his legs. He'd gotten hard. But he's calmed down now.
He probably shouldn't have run. That was kind of juvenile.
He should go talk to him.
That's the smart thing to do. The decent thing to do. You don't kiss someone and then run. It puts them in a weird situation.
Tyson stands up, careful with the flaps of the material as he heads back to the room.
The door is closed when he gets there.
He hovers a moment, gathering his strength, and then opens it.
Kai's sitting on the bed, his hair wet and hanging in front of his forehead. He seems to have taken a shower although he's still in the same clothes.
Tyson enters the room quietly, wary of him.
He shuts the door softly behind him and stays near it, with his back to the dark wood.
Kai turns his head to look at him. His face is hard to read.
Tyson presses his lips together. Not knowing what to say.
The silence between them is suffocating.
The date was so much fun and exciting. He'd enjoyed it. He wants to tell him he had a good time. Thank him for it. But the words don't come.
I'm sorry I ran. I'm sorry I-
Kai rises wordlessly.
He tosses something on the bed before walking towards him. Or towards the door.
When his hand closes over the knob, Tyson steps aside to let him pass.
"You can have the room all to yourself," he says, opening the door. His gaze guarded.
Tyson opens his mouth to stop him.
"Goodnight" The door shuts.
He's gone.
Gone
Leaving the room to him. With a bed too big for just one person.
His lips turn down.
That's it. It's over.
His eyes stare at the empty space in front of him, wide, glistening.
Good riddance, thinks Tyson, his shoulders against the wall.
Good riddance.
Kai drops him off outside the dorm while everyone is still asleep. The sun barely peeking over the horizon. The call of the first birds breaking the quiet.
The silence in the car on the drive back to campus had been more pronounced. He climbs out of the vehicle and closes the door. Turning away from Kai and walking to the building without saying bye.
He hears the sound of the car driving away when he reaches the front steps.
Tyson sighs, thinking again: Good riddance.
Saturday is dull. It rains without stopping. He lazes around the dorm, drinking coffee and doing his homework.
Max tries to make him talk about his date, but Tyson simply shrugs and tells him he didn't enjoy it. It was bland and he didn't smile once throughout the evening.
Max bombards him with question after question. He answers them all, with the shortest and the most watered down replies.
He lets his friend have the chocolates Kai had given him.
In the afternoon, he naps, from two to six.
Michael drags him to the gym at seven. He tries to lift a weight, but soon gives up when he realizes his body is too lax and lethargic after having slept for hours.
Hilary studies with him from eight to nine.
They watch a movie later.
When it's time for bed again, he becomes restless. Tossing and turning irritatedly on the mattress.
He stays up till three, simply staring at the ceiling.
Sunday is much the same. He wakes at eleven. Half the day already gone. Then it's drink coffee. Study. Discuss shower issue and protest. Avoid Max.
Trash the rest of the chocolates (which Michael later finds and cries over).
Nap. Go to gym and return still cool.
Take shower. Shower breaks in the middle (Fuck life!) He washes the remaining soap off his body in the bathroom on the ground floor.
The rain patters on the windows ceaselessly.
Hilary FaceTimes him. They watch another movie sharing the screen.
He lies in bed with the smell of cigarettes in his nose. On his tongue. Till three a.m.
Monday morning, he goes to campus early.
For arranging the protest.
"Dude, you look like death," comments Eddie when they meet up in the quadrangle.
"You okay?" asks Michael.
"Yeah," replies Tyson. "I'm fine. I'm great." He shrugs with the placards in hand.
Kai hasn't texted or called since Friday. Life is back to normal. Life is great.
Things start going wrong when only a handful of students show up for the protest.
They gather outside the main office in a small group. Like baby birds ready to be picked off by vultures.
They scream and shout with everything they have despite being small in number.
No one bats an eyelash.
Even the students who live in the same dorm had turned their backs on them. Forever disunited. Unwilling to cooperate. The freshmen weren't scared of second years and the second years outside of Tyson and Michael's social circles were comfortable with being complacent. Fearing the management. Not having the nerve to fight against them.
It's a massacre.
A complete failure.
They get chased off the steps by campus security. Kiki ends up throwing a tantrum about his stinky underwear and armpits, biting a man in uniform, and gets dragged away by Lee. He gets suspended for five days by Dr. Valkov.
The protest had begun at 09:05 after a brief moment of panic when they realized more than half the people hadn't bothered to join. Went on for about fifteen minutes of utter chaos. By 09:25 they have thrown in the towels, and are sitting bruised and seething on the stone border around a large tree.
Life is so great.
Tyson munches on baby carrots, still under the shelter of the tree in the courtyard, during lunch break.
Michael lounges a few feet away, scrolling on Instagram, his back resting against the bark. He's laughing and talking with Eddie. Totally chill and over the events of today morning.
The baby carrots are from Hilary. She is heavily into them these days.
She's on Twitter. Emily next to her. They're both reading some post intently.
Tyson stares at a bush.
He has a meet coming up soon. He's been slacking on training. Coach will probably be on his ass again.
He twirls a carrot absentmindedly. When it falls, it falls into his open mouth.
"Oh!" yelps Hilary. "I guess he's moved on already!"
Tyson chews. Contemplating a leaf.
"Who?" asks Emily.
"Rebecca Saeko's debutante ball is tonight and guess who her escort is?"
There's a lull. "Who the fuck is Rebecca and what's a debutante ball? I've never heard of such a thing."
"It's an elite society thing. A debutante ball is like a girl's coming of age ceremony," Hilary explains. "Historically, these balls were held to introduce girls who were of marriageable age into high society, but these days, it's like an event to mark a girl's eighteenth birthday or the beginning of her career where they get a great opportunity to network and make influential connections with the society's elite. They make donations to charity, wear beautiful gowns and waltz around the room. They also have escorts chosen by themselves or by their parents. Whom they get to kiss at the end of the ball," she says, loudly whispering the last bit.
It hasn't rained since today morning, but the sky is overcast. Tyson's gaze roams over the grounds.
"Rebecca Saeko is the great Turkish-Japanese designer Gerard Bonucelli Saeko's only daughter. It's her eighteenth birthday today."
"Kai's her escort?"
"Saeko family has deep ties with the Hiwataris. Word is her parents asked his, and they're making him go, but she seems excited as hell and he must be too. Have you seen her?"
"Wait, isn't he, I don't know, dating someone right now? There was that rumour going around last week about some girl he had to chase after."
"Their date was last Friday. I'm guessing he's bored already."
Tyson grabs his bag, getting up.
"Where are you going?" asks Hilary.
He shakes his head, walking away.
"What's up with him?"
"I don't know. He's been like that since the weekend. It's probably the broken showers."
"These boys need to bathe. What the fuck is wrong with Tala?"
Seven thirty in the evening, Tyson's completing his notes, one cheek mushed on a palm.
There's ruckus outside the room. Boys arguing about who should shower next. He had taken one in the morning. At six. But the place was almost full even then.
His phone is right beside his books. Screen black.
He turns a page of his textbook. Reading the paragraph at the top.
He cannot really concentrate and it's not all his dormmates fault. His mind keeps wandering to sports cars and silver watches.
To satiny lips and starched collars.
When he reads the same line again for the fifteenth time he snaps the book shut. Flopping back in his chair.
His phone lights up on the desk. A new text.
Tyson eyes it for a moment.
He snatches up the device. Kai.
His heart jolts.
He takes a breath. Opens the text.
07:45 Don't Answer: We're short a rose boy. And a girl.
07:45 Don't Answer: Come to the ball. [Address attached]
Tyson smiles against his will. A tiny smile. His dry lips hurting.
07:46 to Don't Answer: Why would I come?
07:46 Don't Answer: I'll fix the showers
Tyson gasps softly. Of course this fucker is in the Student Union, he almost forgot about that.
His thumbs hover over the keypad, ready to say no. The boys are shouting outside the door. He can hear poor Michael and Rei.
Should he go?
Another text arrives.
07:48 Bestie: OMG I got invited to the ball! Tyson, go with me, please!
Tyson frowns.
07:48 to Bestie: Who invited you?
07:48 Bestie: Julia!# Go with me! I'll buy you strawberry cakes and milkshakes for a week! Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaseeeeeeeee
He sighs, raising his eyes to the windows. It's dark out. And dry. He doesn't have a good enough excuse. And Kai said he'll solve the shower issue.
07:48 to Bestie: Fine [tired emoji]
07:49 Bestie: [screaming]
Tyson rolls his eyes, smirking.
07:49 to Don't Answer: What does a rose boy do?
07:50 Don't Answer: Give a flower to your girl and dance with her for two minutes. It's not that hard, Granger.
07:50 to Don't Answer: You better fix the showers
Seen, it shows beneath his last text.
Tyson waits. Nothing.
He locks his phone and stands to go dress. A tux should do.
He's ironing out the creases in his suit jacket when the door slams open. It bounces off the wall with a thunder crack.
"Dude!" He turns. "You almost broke the-" Michael's screaming in the doorway. The guys behind him in the hall elated, bumping chests and hugging each other like they successfully landed a rocket at Mars.
"The Union agreed to fix the showers!" shouts Michael. "No fine! No charges!" He's jumping.
Tyson's jaw drops in surprise. A delighted grin taking over his features. The iron box hovering in the air.
"You look handsome," Hilary compliments, arranging the locks on his forehead. He has to stoop for her to reach him. "There!" She drops off the tips of her toes to stand properly on her feet again, clapping the sides of his upper arms. "Perfect!"
Tyson adjusts the bow tie on his neck as they cross the bridge toward the Saeko mansion. It's the suit he was originally planning to wear to the masquerade ball. Guess he was destined to don it for this one.
The ball is an elite event as Hilary mentioned, with heavy fanfare and high profile celebrities in attendance.
He keeps his eyes on the floor. Not planning on chitchat or sticking around for long.
Tyson and Hilary reach the main hall right on time.
Some girl they don't know push and prod them into their places. Tyson with all the men lining the entrance of the hall, a rose in each of their hand and Hilary with the girls waiting to make their debuts alongside Saeko's offspring beyond the arched doorway with red curtains framing it.
The guests are already in the hall. Anticipating the debutantes.
There's some last minute fuss. Tyson's at the end of the line, farthest from the doorway, but he catches the sight of Julia speaking to Hilary.
Kai enters the hall. The short girl who seems to be in charge of getting everyone to their places rushes to his side as he strides down the carpet.
"Are they here?" he asks as soon as she falls into step.
"Yes, they're here. You stand at the end," she directs, "at the end. On the left."
Tyson drops his eyes as Kai takes his spot on the other side of the carpet, directly across him.
The girl disappears behind the curtains.
"Ladies and Gentlemen," the presentation begins, a cool woman's voice floating over the hall.
Tyson raises his gaze.
Kai's eyes are on him.
He grips the rose in his fist.
Kai has a bouquet in his. He glances away, to his right, shifting the flowers behind his back.
The first debutante makes her entrance, taking a bow, and flaring the skirt of her gown. Cameras go off blindingly. Right, he forgot there was a pool of them right beside him.
She struts down the red carpet, toward her escort. The guy at the very front. He gives her the rose, places a kiss on the back of her hand and takes her arm. They pose for a picture, then he leads her towards the guests.
So that's what he has to do.
He squares his shoulders.
The rest of the girls follow, one by one.
When it's time for Hilary, he and Kai are the only ones left in the line up.
She grins as she crosses the doorway. The cream princess gown looks good on her. She does a light curtsy, the cameras flash. Tyson smiles when her eyes meet his.
She accepts the rose from him, and nearly loses her composure when he leans down to kiss her hand. Having a hard time keeping the laughter inside of herself.
Tyson bumps his nose against her knuckles, making her whisper, "clumsy idiot".
He straightens, asks for her arm and poses for the pictures.
They take the least time in front of the cameras. The journalists don't care. Impatient to see the chief guest.
The duo turn to take a look, joining the other guests waiting with bated breath for Saeko's daughter.
When Rebecca Bonucelli finally makes her grand entrance, almost everyone in the crowd gasps.
Tyson's one of the exceptions. But Hilary is not. Her gloved fingers flying up to her mouth.
The girl is breathtaking in her gown, butterflies are released behind her as she graces the carpet. They flutter around her floor-length glittering magnificence of a dress, adding to the razzle and dazzle.
Her Turkish descend is obvious in the eagle slant of her eyes.
Tyson's gaze flies to Kai, who has a faint aristocratic smile on his face, holding out the bouquet as she nears him.
He turns away, tugging Hilary with him, into the sea of celebrities and wealthy folks.
"What are you doing?" she protests, "I want to see! That's why I came in the first place!"
"If you cause a scene, they'll judge you," says Tyson, warning her of the people around them.
"They don't know me."
"I don't think you want to be seen as uncivilized either so stop fighting me," he hisses.
Hilary glares daggers at him. "Wait till we get back to campus. I'm going to bite your head off!"
Tyson sighs.
Kai poses with Rebecca for pictures. They take forever.
The opening dance with the eighteen debutantes in the middle of the hall is awkward. It's the longest two minutes of his life.
When they're done, Tyson excuses himself and flees toward the table full of refreshments.
Kai has to waltz with Rebecca for much longer, and her eyes twinkle under the chandeliers as he entertains her during the long dance.
Tyson eats cubic watermelons on picks, tie off, top button undone. Filling his cheeks with the fruit as he eyes them.
Twenty more minutes of this clownery and he's out.
He's had enough.
He will give Kai a piece of his mind before he leaves though.
Tyson lifts a drink off of a passing tray and takes huge gulps. It looks green and tastes sweet and sour. It's probably alcoholic but he doesn't care.
He licks his lips, scanning the room. The rest of the guests have joined the dance floor. Julia's with Sergei. Bryan's with some girl he doesn't know. He spots Tala talking to Hilary.
Wait, what?
He backtracks quickly.
Why are those two within a five metre radius of each other?
Tyson sets the drink on the table.
Tala leers, his facial features moving animatedly as he says something not too pleasant to Hilary, who gapes. Her jaw nearly touches the floor before she opens the glove at her wrist and slaps his face to the southern hemisphere with her palm.
"What the fuck?" Tyson gawkes.
Red blooms across Tala's pale cheek.
He blinks stars out of his eyes as Hilary gets within kissing distance of him. To whisper something nasty in his ear.
Tala touches a hand to his jaw, slowly turning to look at her.
Hilary scoffs, whipping around on her heel. Her hair striking him across the face again.
Bryan bursts out laughing when he sees his friend.
Julia looks embarrassed of them.
Kai is oblivious to what's happening along the edges of the room. He's at the center of all the attention, beside Rebecca.
Tyson widens his eyes at her in a what-the-fuck-just-happened gesture as she crosses the floor towards him.
"Oh you saw that? He deserved it," is all she says when she halts at the table, picking up his drink.
"What was that about?" Tyson prods.
"Mm mm" Hilary shakes her head, not wanting to share. "That didn't happen."
He stares at her. "Okay" He narrows his eyes.
Fifteen minutes later, Kai breaks out of the circle of elites and leaves the hall, exiting through an archway.
Tyson follows him.
When he casts the beaded curtain aside he sees Kai in a mostly empty hallway, leaning next to a crystalline pillar with light reflecting off of its cut edges.
He puts the phone away when he catches sight of Tyson.
"Stop" he says when he reaches the pillar.
"Stop what?"
"What you're doing. Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about. You manipulated me into coming here."
"How did I manipulate you?"
"You said you'd fix the showers if I came to the ball. You used Hilary to get to me. That's manipulation."
Kai folds his arms. "The showers would have been fixed whether or not you attended the ball, Tyson. I made that call before you left your dorm. You had enough time to change your mind. And Julia invited Hilary. Not me."
Tyson pauses. Staring at a button on Kai's jacket.
"You wouldn't have taken it back if I hadn't come here?" he asks.
"No" Kai clenches his jaw.
Tyson scoffs. "Because you suddenly care about your fellow students?" That's fucking bullshit.
"Whether you believe it or not, I'm in the union for a reason. I saw the protest. The entire student body and the management turned their backs on you. Would you rather I did the same?"
He's playing with him. He's seen him do this many times before. But with other people. It's hard not to get confused when he's the one getting tricked. "So you want me to what? Thank you?"
Kai shakes his head. "You don't have to do anything. You didn't even have to come here. I asked you for a favour. You could have said no." Tyson looks away. "But you didn't. You didn't because you are jealous and you don't want me to kiss Saeko."
Tyson barks a laugh. Unbelievable. The fucking audacity. "I don't care who you kiss or what you kiss. That's none of my business."
"Really?" Kai challenges, shifting his weight. "Didn't look like it when you were glaring across the hall at Rebecca's head."
He stills. Slightly colouring. He denies it with a shake of his head. "That's not true. I wasn't glaring at anyone."
Kai doesn't believe him. He tilts his head, a haughty set to his jaw.
"I want you to leave me alone," pleads Tyson. "You said you would after the date."
"I said I would if you asked me. You didn't ask me anything after the date, Tyson. In fact, you barely talked to me."
"Because I-" Tyson takes a breath, rubbing a hand over his mouth and chin. As though he's sweating. But he's not. "I'm asking you now." He meets Kai's gaze. "Leave me alone. Stop calling me and texting me. Go back to how things were before."
"Before what?"
"Before we met."
Tyson presses his lips together.
Kai's silent for a beat. He can't read him.
The soft piano music reaches them in the hallway.
He watches his throat bob up and down once.
"Okay" says Kai. Tyson's heart thuds. "Look me in the eye and tell me you don't like me. I'll walk away."
Tyson's chocolate brown gaze lifts to his fiery dark one.
"Say it and I'm gone," he swears.
He stares. The crimson flecks appear almost gold in the lights reflecting off the pillar. He can see the ripples in his hazel irises. They're beautiful.
Tyson's heart beats erratically. As if he's about to jump off a cliff.
He'll go away. Out of his life. Forever.
He opens his mouth. In some ways, he can still feel his kiss. The way his lips had felt against his. How he'd made him shiver.
Kai waits.
A sigh leaves him.
"I don't like you," he says, the words tumbling down his tongue sounding foreign, meaningless. His eyes widen in slight fear when he realizes he's said it.
Kai stares at his eyes. One then the other.
A beat passes.
He does as he said he would. He leaves. Brushing past his shoulder.
He's gone. Gone.
Tyson's heart beats loudly in his ears. Frozen numb.
He chases after him.
The house is built on a river. It has bridges crossing across streams leading to acres of gardens.
Kai is storming across one.
Tyson nearly trips on his way down the stairs to the bridge.
"You can't be mad at me!" he shouts as soon as he reaches the arch over the water.
Kai stops. Turning.
He's angry.
"You don't have the right to be mad at me when you're the one who is messing with my head! You are heartless, and selfish, and arrogant. You want me to date you when you manipulate me and make me doubt myself. I don't like you! I've never met anyone like you! I hate you!" Tyson breathes hard, his throat ringing from screaming too loud.
He falters on the bridge. Feeling better after shouting at him. His eyes wet.
Kai grits his teeth. Fuming silently. "Is that all?" he asks, his voice rough.
He's turning away.
"No" says Tyson quickly. He has more. A lot more.
A breeze blows past him, cooling his face and ruffling his air. He inhales it. His nerves calming. He takes a step back. Blinking at him.
Kai stands on the bridge, waiting, the flaps of his long black coat lightly shifting around his knees.
Tyson licks his lips. His fingers floundering by his sides as he looks at him.
He takes a step. This time forward. One more. Then he runs, towards Kai, his feet carrying him across the stones on their own.
When he reaches him, he takes his face in his hands, hesitating for a brief moment, before drawing his head down and kissing him.
The overwhelming feelings he'd been repressing crash into him like a wave.
He tastes sweet. His lips soft. Tyson tilts his chin. His hands in his hair.
It feels good to let go. To stop fighting and trying to swim up against a downward current. To let the tide wash over him and pull him under for once.
Kai draws away to look at him. Tyson smiles. His palms quivering on the sides of his jaw. He returns it. Eyes roving all over his face.
Kai pulls him close. Tugging him back in to kiss him properly.
Tyson locks his arms around his neck as Kai's hand comes to cradle the back of his head.
His feet leave the ground.
A few metres away, and a few floors up, a Hilary who had wandered out to a balcony to catch a signal, freezes in place at the sight, her phone slipping out of her grasp.
