Kenny stared at the picture of the brunette in front of him, conversing on a vid-phone with an ex-traveling partner; Hilary Tachibana. She couldn't join them in Cuba, as she was with a fractured leg, for having chased a certain hotheaded, flamboyant Beyblader.
"So. . . you're saying it happened again?" She looked just a little bit disgusted at the thought of it.
"Well, actually, it was - um, ah - Max. He was so adamant to pour mustard on everyone's medianoche, it created a tussle between Tyson and Max. One thing turned to another, and a little mustard spewed on Kai's face." Kenny shivered, "We never heard the end of it…"
"Oh man, and I missed it!" Hilary sniffed. "I really wanted to see how Kai manhandled Tyson. You should have got it on video Kenny!"
"I was gonna but I was piled under Rai and Daichi." Kenny exhaled, "Luckily Viviana brought all of us some delish that was the best Cuban food I ever had!" Kenny concluded with a beam.
"Viviana huh?" Hilary frowned, "So…what's she like…?"
Kenny swore Hilary's tone had just dropped a few notches.
"It's not what you think. She pretty much knows her way around Havana and that's why we all rely on her. She's a natural that we have scouted her in Cuba and Tyson thinks she can make it big if she trains under BBA. Plus, she's also filling in for you by assisting us with our diet and exercise schedule!"
"Yeah, well you tell the chica that once I bounce back, there's gonna be a few changes in her role!" Hilary seethed, burning red.
"Yeah, I know. But I don't think there's much to worry about Hilary. She's working well under Tyson's tutelage; she's been keeping Tyson busy. They are totally inseparable!"
"Wait…what do you mean inseparable?"
"She's always pestering him to train her more, show her few techniques. She frequently questions him about Bit-Beasts. She brings him her cooked food, scolds him if he grinds on his training too much, forces him to rest and occasionally they go out for long walks here in the evenings!" Kenny delightfully explain totally oblivious to Hilary's demonic face slowly making her way to her face. Had Dizzi had any hands, Kenny would have been smacked.
"Long walks?! Kenny, I am getting a bad feeling about this wench! And how long? And where? And does he bring her back?"
"Too subtle, sister…" Dizzi teased.
"Hey, it's nothing like that, Hilary. She thinks a walk will refresh them after all that training."
It was quiet for a few seconds too long after that. Hilary didn't know what to say that wouldn't come off as possessive. Tyson hadn't talked to her in a week and she was growing more and more upset, aggravated, and disheartened.
"Where is he?"
"He's not trying to avoid you, Hilary. It's just that he's so busy with Viviana, whenever I squeak you called, he's always away for one or the other thing."
"This girl is a witch, Kenny! She's obviously pulled some dark magic on Tyson!" Hilary bit her collar.
"Hilary, he's her coach. If he thinks spending more time with her is the way she'll improve, then I can't interject. What should I do? Strap him to a chair, tell him you're on the line, and force him to speak?"
". . . I'd do it for you. . ." Hilary gave an edgy shrug of the shoulders.
"I - I have no doubt that you would, really, but you and I aren't the same person. Therefore, I can't be held liable for making the same choices as you."
"Unfortunately."
"Maybe so, but then who's going to be the one arrested for aggravated assault, or kidnapping?"
"Toućhe." Hilary nodded.
There was a sudden knock on the door behind Kenny and both participants of the call jumped. Neither had been expecting that, and neither one really wanted to deal with an interruption at this point.
"Kenny, it's me." Tyson called. How perfect was that? Kenny turned eagerly to Hilary and gestured at her to make a decision. It was a good a time as any to tell the boy off for ignoring her for so long. But Hilary shook her head. She suddenly wasn't in the mood.
It had nothing to do with the fact that this proved even more so just how much Tyson was avoiding her. . . She just. . . figured she could save it all for later.
"Fine; I'll put you on hold-" Kenny was already turning around as his arm roved across the top row of keys. A moment later, everything was black.
Hilary breathed deep and flopped into the pillow. She was suddenly left alone with nothing to do until Tyson was done with Kenny. All of a sudden, she heard something.
"Alright, Tyson. Come on in."
Wait; hadn't that call been muted? Hilary blinked, confused, before leaping to her feet and towards the vid-phone monitor. She heard the creak of a door muffling its way through the speaker phone and she automatically tried to block out the fact that she was eavesdropping.
"Where had you been all day?"
"You don't have any idea how overbearing Viv's folks are. Had I not been such a glutton, I would have exploded as they kept piling my plate on. Well Anyway…I just. . . had something to say."
Hilary's mind blanked for just a moment before coming back full blast. Maybe if she could hear them. . .
"What about?" Kenny.
. . . Then they could hear her, too! She opened up her mouth to say something - anything - to get their attention, but the thought died in her throat at Tyson's next words.
"It's about Hilary."
There was a moment of silence in which Hilary knew Kenny had been taking an awkward glance at the monitor on his side, thinking about how the girl Tyson wanted to talk about had been right there. . . but he didn't know she still was.
She knew it was wrong, that it was immoral and invasive, but she had to know. What could Tyson need to say about her now when he hadn't wanted to talk with her for so long. . . ?
". . . What about Hilary?"
"Well, I mean, I have been worried about her ever since I got here. She isn't here because of me, and now she's missing on all the fun. I have been trying to call her every now and then, but whenever I pull out my phone, Viv snatches it and runs away."
"That bitch!" Hilary seethed, as she clandestinely listened to their conversation.
"Oh, heh. Such a child at heart. But she's not here, Tyson. Maybe you can shoot her a call now!" Kenny suggested with a wide grin.
Taking a seat on the bed, Tyson sighed with slumped shoulders, "I don't know if that's such a good idea, Chief. I mean…I'm the reason Hils ain't here. She's got a broken leg now because of me, and I don't know how to face her. I don't call her because I don't wanna her to be sour grapes. She is missing a lot of fun stuff here."
There was a few seconds of quiet in which Hilary imagined Kenny shaking his head. "It's also 'cause the last time I did, I felt really. . . bad."
"Bad? Like how?" Kenny asked while Hilary fumed. Had Tyson just insinuated that she made him sick?
"I dunno, it was just uncomfortable, really. It was like I ate some bad pizza, but I never threw up." Hilary gagged. Had Tyson just compared her to a stomach virus?
The nerve of it all. Was she really making him sick? Sick enough so that he ran away at the thought of talking to her on the phone? What had she become to him now? First, an acquaintance; then, a friend; and now. . . had she been reduced to nothing more than a food-borne illness?
"I got a lot of guilt stored up in here, Chief…" Tyson tapped his own chest. "I kinda promised to myself that I won't let anything happen to my buddies ever since those guys snatched you up, but things didn't go as planned. Even though unintentionally, I did jeopardize Hil's life, but she still clung on to us. And now look, she's bed ridden only coz I didn't listen to her…if she got hurt again, I don't know what I'll do with myself" Tyson solemnly sulked.
Now she didn't know what to think. She never thought Tyson was feeling that way…
"I don't know what's coming over me, Chief. But ever since I last saw Hil at the hospital, I have been feeling very differently about her. Like something funny in my stomach…"
"What do you mean? What happens to you more specifically?" Kenny was asking questions. Good. That meant they might get to the bottom of this thing. Maybe then she and Tyson would be able to talk again.
"My stomach feels cold, for starters. I feel nauseated and my throat clenches so I can't really breathe well, and I can't talk. And my heart starts beating so fast it hurts. I feel like I won't be able to stand. That's just how it's been for awhile now. I don't get it, Kenny; I never used to be allergic to her. Why now? I mean, she's Hilary! My best friend!"
"No offense, Tyson, but it sounds like your best friend is poisoning you." Kenny joked. At first, Hilary was insulted, but she couldn't help thinking over what Tyson had been saying.
A pained stomach, nausea, hard to swallow, and a heart that just wouldn't beat normally. . . The fact that these symptoms sounded so familiar left a bad taste in her mouth. And at the same time, she felt like all of her wildest dreams may have had a chance at coming true.
"Poisoning me? Don't be ridiculous, Chief…I have had those nauseating feelings about her before, like just her face would make me gag…"
Hilary felt herself glower. She would totally understand how Tyson felt! And after she hit him over the head for his poor choice of words, she'd even worry about him! A little, though; not to the degree that anyone would begin to think suspiciously about any "feelings" she might have for him. Yeah, best friends were called best friends for a reason. And the reason was so that they would always be what they were and nothing else. Feelings didn't change, they weren't supposed to. So she shouldn't be so happy that it seemed they were, anyway, disregarding the realistic views of any social life. But she was.
"…but now, after all these years, it doesn't. It feels different. Sorry, I really aint able to articulate it, ya know. Have you ever felt like this before?"
"Okay, look at it this way, Tyson; what do you feel now? I mean, about avoiding Hilary?"
"Guys shouldn't talk about their feelings anymore than necessary, Ken," By the sound of the sigh Tyson made ten seconds later, Hilary assumed that Kenny had been glaring at him, edging him along, "but I guess, if I had to feel anything, it would be guilt. And fear. And maybe some weird. . . hollow. . . something I just don't get. I've never felt it before this."
"Okay, okay. . . so much for not talking about your feelings. . ." Dizzi muttered.
The only reason Hilary heard it was because she was virtually present in the room, and she still had to strain her ears. Something told her Tyson hadn't heard a thing. "Well, not that I'm going anywhere with this now but how do you feel about Hilary?"
"Hilary? Hah! Hah, hah; c'mon Kenny, what are you expecting me to say? She's my best friend! She's been that for years! She's a good person, we like the same stuff, she always puts up a good fight, she's someone to talk to and someone I trust, she gives me a level head most of the time - but she's always had words of advice or comfort when I really need them. She's brave, and takes responsibility, so I respect her and we share a lot of the same dreams. . . Oh, but her cooking sucks."
Hilary blinked. If Tyson had thought that about her all this time, how come he'd never said anything to her face? Other than the quip about her kitchen skills, the comment had been full of things she'd hoped to hear from Tyson for years. In fact, though she was a little disappointed that the only time he could say all these things was when she wasn't around, she flushed a bit at the thought that he actually seemed to feel the way he did.
"Alright, time to narrow it down. What about Kai, Ray, Max, Daichi or I? We all have those qualities don't we?"
"Well, you guys are my posse! Daichi and you are creative but hardly a challenge! Max is my bro, and Ray's got a sympathetic ear I can fill, but Kai, he's way to obsessed by himself to appreciate me the way he could."
"Wait, I am not a challenge?" Kenny barked blankly. Hilary was sure there were a few crickets chirping in the background. A moment later, one of her two friends cleared their throat - (she wasn't sure who) - and Kenny continued speaking. "Right, so you're saying that Hilary is. . . hm. . . preferable to us, in general? That you like her qualities best?" Another few uncomfortable seconds later, he continued. "It's okay, Tyson. I won't be insulted or anything."
"Uh, okay, I guess. . . but I dunno. I mean, Hiro and Gramps came first, but after that. . . yeah, I guess she would be. Why? There's nothing weird about that, right?"
"Well, look at it this way; you appreciate a girl you've been friends with for only a few years, more than most other girls you may have known your entire life. Sounds pretty weird to me. But only if you look at it head-on. Tyson, you say you get sick when you're around her, but it sounds like an anxiety attack to me, and your anxious only when you talk to Hilary. That's why you stopped, right? I'm just gonna be completely honest and come out with it; I think you like Hilary. I think you're attracted to her. I think you've reached your hormonal peak and your mind has made the decision that Hilary is the girl you wanna hold, throw down on the couch, make out with-"
"-Agh! Stop talking!" Tyson suddenly shouted and Hilary, as red in the face as she imagined him to be right now, mentally saw him with his hands over his ears. "Kenny, I'm not you and Hilary isn't a pretty girl!"
Hilary's head snapped back up at that comment. What a blow to the ego. Surprisingly, somehow, Tyson felt the same as her.
"I - I mean. . . she isn't one of. . . your. . . pretty girls. Uh. . . but she's. . . pretty, I guess. Ah, yeah. . . uh, definitely. Maybe. A little bit." She couldn't even begin to guess the look on his face as he said this.
"Okay, that settles it. Tyson, you're into Hilary. You should call her and tell her so she knows it. I can almost guarantee it'll make all your symptoms disappear if you do. Then again, it might not be till after the first date. . . but whatever. You'll feel better, she'll feel better, and the world will be a better place."
"O - okay, but don't you think I should plan it out more? And I'm nervous so can't you give me some advice on how to-"
"-Nope, sorry, I've got nothin'." Kenny said in one rushed breath. "Okay, see ya later, Tyson." There was some rustling and Hilary distinctly heard the shutting of a door crippled with Tyson's continued yelps for help on the matter and Kenny's refusals. A couple seconds later, Kenny returned to her range of hearing, still murmuring about it. "Tyson; I'll never get 'him. . . I'm getting too old for. . . this. . ." His voice tapered off as if he'd just discovered something. "Oh. . . crap." He sighed; the next thing Hilary knew, she was staring at him again.
"So, you heard everything, huh? Well, I guess I should say it - be expecting a phone call. At least now we both know what's been happening, right?"
"Uh, you mean how Tyson has finally caught up with the rest of his age group? Sure. . ." Hilary replied. She was still in shock. Biting sarcasm helped with that.
"You know you're looking forward to the time he tells you how he feels. I know I've been waiting for the conclusion to this whole thing for years. Though I still don't get what I'm so obsessed over. . ." He finished in a mutter.
"I. . . dunno. I never thought it'd actually happen. Did it actually happen, Kenny? Did Tyson just agree that he liked me? I. . . dunno what to think. I dunno what to do. What should I do, Kenny? What?!" Hilary said in a tone that was suddenly sharp with a level of anxiety of her own.
"I mean, c'mon; obsessed? I just happen to have an attraction to beautiful things - beautiful women. How wrong is that?"
"'Cause I just can't think straight now and I never even imagined that it could happen and - thanks a lot, Kenny, this is your fault!"
"But obsessed is a bit of an extravagant term for it, isn't it? I could think of a ton of different ones that would make just as much sense, let alone apply more."
"If you hadn't made him talk about his manly feelings and stuff then I wouldn't be here in this situation! So thanks! Oh. . . but, I guess, without you, I would have never gotten a result, and Tyson would forever be an overly-developed preteen with a gravely dangerous interest in Beyblades, so. . ."
"I mean, geez, 'fetish' sounds better than obsession right about now! I know I said I wouldn't be insulted but he went a bit far with that one, didn't he?"
". . . thank you."
"But, anyway. . . Wait, what?" Kenny blinked and his mouth opened wide, fish-like. "What'd you just thank me for?"
But Hilary had gone silent, and a weird smile suddenly blossomed on her face.
"Kenny. . . I have an incoming call. I'm gonna have to go. I'll call you back later."
"Huh, but. . . what'd you thank me for! Tell me, Hilary, 'cause I may never experience the after-effects of being congratulated on dating advice again!"
"Sorry, I can't talk anymore for now. . . I think I'm gonna be spending the rest of the night letting Tyson sweat it out since I'm gonna be exploiting his guilt. . . before I let him in on the truth." She winked and hung up.
Kenny continued to stare for another five minutes before snapping out of it and slamming the receiver down before going to look up a thesaurus' definition and synonyms to the word, 'obsession.'