Of Boys and Blades
Part Two
Chapter 18
xXx
Tyson
xXx
I shifted uncomfortably for what must've been the thousandth time that night. I'd been in and out of sleep for hours and the night just refused to end. My relationship with Kai was playing on repeat in my head, my every interaction with him being reviewed like scenes from a movie. The first time I'd kissed him, when he kissed me, that night Wyatt died and I'd awoken to find him in my bedroom, and on and on it went. I just couldn't turn it off. That last night he'd given me a blow job. He'd never done that before. I thought things were okay between us. I thought he really liked me. Did I do something wrong?
He'd left me to join the Blitzkrieg Boys. Why? Why, why, why?! And I was going to see him and his stupid face at the tournament. I didn't know if I could handle it.
"Tyson, you need to get some sleep," Hiro told me.
Like I didn't know that! I stared up at the tiny slit of the dark sky I could see through the mostly closed curtains of our hotel room. Our room had two full beds and a pullout couch. I was sharing the bed closest to the window with Hiro, and Kenny and Daichi were crammed in the other. We'd given Hilary the pullout to herself. The room was small as New York rooms go, and I felt absolutely suffocated.
"Tyson?"
"Yeah, I know I need to get some sleep. It's not like I'm not trying."
"You're really rattled about Kai, aren't you?" he asked gently.
"Nah. I'm thrilled he totally betrayed me and went back to those Abbey freaks."
"Abbey freaks?"
I sighed, shifting again. "It's a long story. I shouldn't have said that. They're not freaks, and if they are it's not their fault."
"What are you talking about?"
I sat up. "I'm going to walk around the hotel a bit. Clear my head. Maybe I can get some sleep that way."
"You want me to come with you?"
"No."
"Alright. Just don't leave the hotel, okay."
"I won't." I was wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants. I slipped on my sneakers and grabbed my key card. I don't know what I was looking for. A familiar face? A particular boy? I don't know. I just needed to get some of this energy out. I went to the gym and worked out for a bit. Treadmill, elliptical, then some weights. Kai was never far from my thoughts. I was still awake when the lobby coffee shop opened, sweaty and fatigued.
I hated coffee. "Do you have any tea?" I asked. I hadn't brought my wallet so I had them charge it to the room. Hopefully Mr. Dickenson. wouldn't mind. American tea was so weird. I was attempting to drink it when Hiro plopped down in the seat across from me.
"You never came back."
I shrugged.
"Today's a big day. You really need to get some rest."
"Can we just not talk about it for once?" I asked, annoyed. Did he always have to be a coach?
"Sure." He went and ordered himself a coffee.
"You've been to New York before, right?" I asked after he'd gotten his drink. "You sent me a little Statue of Liberty three years ago."
He smiled. "I'm surprised you remember that."
"The souvenirs you sent me were the only contact I had with you for four years. Yeah, I remember what you sent me and when."
He bristled at that.
Was I allowed to be bitter? Or was that too un-Tyson?
"Who's the girl who left her marks all over your neck? Is she someone special?"
Really? He was going to bring that up now? "No. No one special." I stood, tired of him trying to make small talk with me. "Come on. We have a championship to get ready for."
The morning was hectic, with five people sharing a room and one bathroom, including a girl who liked to take really long showers. Hiro left early to attend the BBA morning meeting that all the coaches or captains were required to be at. The rest of us struggled, but we managed to make it to the BBA stadium on time.
The adrenaline kept me from feeling the exhaustion. DJ Jazzman introduced us and the other teams, making a completely unfunny joke about Kai switching teams. Kai. I couldn't help glaring at him. I couldn't believe he was really there. I was starting to think that last night between us had never happened, that it was all just a product of my imagination. But there he was, only thirty feet from me. He didn't look at me. Not once.
Can't look at me, Kai? Can't look at the boy whose heart you broke into a million pieces? Can't look at the boy who called you a friend?
"Tyson, are you ok?" I heard Kenny ask.
The generator announced the first lineup. Us versus White Tiger X.
"No! It's not fair!" Hilary exclaimed.
"We can't do anything about it," Kenny told her. "Tyson will face Rei first."
So this is it? All my old friends want to take me down?
As Jazzman made the announcements, Kai and the rest of the Blitzkrieg Boys exited the stadium.
That just pissed me off even more. Fueled by my anger, I chased after him. I couldn't think straight.
"Tyson, no!" Kenny tried to stop me.
I saw them in the hall. "Hey, bigshot! Kai! Too cool to watch the other teams play, huh? Well, you're nothing but a lousy quitter and you'll probably ditch your new team when you're done with them!"
"Now why would he ever quit a team like the Blitzkrieg Boys?" Tala taunted. Cocky bastard!
"Yeah, we're a team that actually knows what it's doing, kid," Spencer added.
"I didn't hear that!"
"Kai's one of us now, so go off and get yourself a new teammate," Bryan told me. "Now get out of here."
"No! Not until Kai quits acting like such a coward. You can't look at the so-called friend you dumped like old garbage?" I paused. "What in the world did I do to make you ditch me?" I asked in a voice that was way more pitiful than I wanted it to be. "Hey! I deserve an answer, Kai!"
He finally turned around, those gorgeous violet eyes finding mine. I don't know what I was searching for in them, but I wasn't finding it. He was perfectly cold. I couldn't read him at all. "Tyson, don't take it personally, but I came to win and I can't do that with you. Seriously, do you really think your pathetic little team stands a chance at all? I do have my reputation to consider, you know."
What. The. Hell? Was this the fucking Twilight Zone? What was happening? "Hey! Watch what you say! Don't diss my team! You can't criticize when you were never loyal in the first place! Ah, forget it! We don't need you. I've had enough of your snotty comments and way you take off when I'm in the middle of speak—"
He turned and started walking, his scarf flowing behind him. Why did he have to be so effortlessly cool? "Hey! Come back here, Kai! I'm not done talking to you yet!" I went to run after him but Spencer blocked me.
"Chill out, little dude." He seemed to think this was hilarious.
Tala was equally amused. "Yeah. If you consider yourself a blader, why don't you just settle your matters with a battle?"
"Let me go!"
"You better calm down, kid. Don't exert yourself before naptime," Tala taunted.
Spencer let go of me and they walked away, laughing.
"See ya around, Tyson," Tala called back.
"Not so fast! I've got one more thing to say to you, Kai! Prepare yourself for the match of the century, cause I'm going to make sure it all comes down to you and me!" I'll show you what my team can do.
My body was shaking, my hands trembling. I was angry. So angry. I didn't know I could get this angry. It hadn't been real until just now. I wanted to make him hurt. I wanted to rip out his heart and pulverize it with a sledgehammer like he had mine. How dare he treat me like this, like nothing! How could I think I was in love with that asshole?
I peeked out into the arena and saw my team was gone. They must've gone back to our meeting room. I headed there, my mind still on Kai. I paused at the door, I could hear them talking about me.
"If I had to guess what White Tiger X would do, my gut instinct tells me they'll put Rei in as first blader, which means the only logical option we have is to match him up with Tyson," Kenny's voice came through the door.
"I don't know, Chief," I heard Hiro say. "What if Tyson makes it personal and loses sight of the real goal? How can we keep control of the match then? This is Tyson we're talking about guys."
Every word just pissed me off more. I chewed my cheek to keep my composure.
"He's right," Hilary agreed. "That guy has been known to get a little emotional, at the best of times. I'll go and ask Tyson what he thinks. He should get a say in this."
The door opened.
"Tyson, you startled me."
Ignoring her, I announced. "I'm blading first in the next match."
"Tyson," Kenny called me. "Blading order's a team decision."
"Not this time," I said, shutting the door. "I want to deal with Rei so I can get to Kai." I laughed to myself. It kept me from crying. "So many double crossing friends, so little time. Sorry, Hiro, I know you're the coach and all, but I've got to do this thing." Sorry, not sorry.
It was time for the match to start. I'd never felt this nervous before a match. Or so alone. For the last two years, I'd had Kai, Rei, and Max all by my side, cheering me on, but now they all just wanted my title. What kind of friends were they, anyway?
I was announced as the first blader and White Tiger X had the gall to send fucking Lee! I wanted Rei! This was just the cherry on top of the shitty day I was having. "This is a joke!" I screamed at Lee. "Listen, you better march back to that bench, Lee. I'm not interested in blading anyone but your smarty pants teammate."
I looked at my ex-friend. "Are you afraid of something, Rei! So you think you can make me look like some sort of chump? I'll show you who the real chump is."
Without thinking, I ran to Jazzman. "Hey! Give me the mike!" I yelled, snatching it out of his hand. I made the announcement loud and clear. "Rei! If you're still too chicken to face me, I got a deal for you! I'll take on the both of you at the same time!"
I could hear the stadium go nuts but I drowned it out. All I could see was Rei.
"Tyson, quit showing off and let's get this match started!" Lee called to me.
"Not until Rei comes out here and shows himself!"
After a few minutes of debate Mr. Dickenson ruled in my favor. Daichi ran out to join me. I knew we could take them. I just knew it. I was stronger than Lee, and I was pretty sure I was stronger than Rei. We could make this happen.
It quickly became apparent that Daichi and I sucked at teamwork. Rei had the advantage of having grown up with Lee, Daichi and I had only been blading together a few weeks. We ended up arguing and battling each other instead. We basically handed the win to them on a silver platter.
"I lost?" I hadn't felt this in a long time. "I don't believe this is happening to me," I said to myself.
"Believe it, Tyson," Rei told me. "I don't know what happened to you. You won't do anything but lose with that new attitude."
"My new attitude? You're the one who ditched me and deserted the team that was like a family to each and every one of us!"
Rei looked angry. "Oh, yeah? Well, you should know I left the Bladebreakers to prove something to myself. You know why? To see if I was good enough to challenge you. This is not how I thought it would be to face you, Tyson"
I couldn't make myself say anything back and Rei walked away. Everything just seems to go in slow motion. We got out of the arena. I stormed down the hallway, slamming my fist into the wall to take out my frustrations.
"Please relax," Hilary came to my aid.
"Daichi messed me up. If it weren't for him, I would've kicked."
"What do you mean, I messed up?" Daichi's voice came at me. "You messed up, you world chump! You were trying to win it all by yourself, but this is my team, too!"
"What was going through your head, Tyson?" Hilary asked.
Kenny could tell I was about to lose my shit. "Whoah, let's all just calm down here."
Daichi and I went on to scream at each other.
Kenny and Hillary continued to try to calm me down. I wasn't hearing it. Any of it. Everything was Daichi's fault. He shouldn't be here. Max, Rei, and Kai should be the ones here right now. I pointed at him. "We'll never win the championships with Daichi as my partner. I'm better off beyblading alone."
"Take that back!" Daichi yelled at me.
"I can't believe you said that," Hilary told me. "You chose Daichi to be a member of this team." I could see Daichi getting more pissed by the moment. "Now apologize," she said through clenched teeth.
Fine, I'll give her what she wanted. "I'm sorry you ruined the match for both of us, Daichi. I'm sorry I ever chose you to be on my team."
"Tyson," Kenny started. "That's just not fair. Daichi—"
"Daichi! Daichi!" I screamed. "I'm the world champion!"
I could hear Lee laughing as White Tiger X made their way down the hall.
Fuck, I couldn't deal with this right now. I just couldn't. I felt more humiliated than I ever had in my life. Everything was just too much. I tried to avoid looking at them but I ended up making eye contact with Rei. I just couldn't take this. Stop looking at me that way! I let out a frustrated groan. "It's not my fault!" I yelled as I ran out of the corridor. I took off out of the arena. Hiro would be mad, but I didn't care. I just had to get out of there.
This was too much! This was all too much. The pressure, the expectations, Kai, Hiro, my traitor friends. I couldn't take anymore of this.
I wandered around New York for hours. I really didn't want to go back to the hotel. I got so lost I didn't know how to find my way back anyway. I ended up in the harbor, looking out at Liberty Island. My stomach growled, reminding me how I hadn't eaten a damn thing all day. I was exhausted. I watched the moon's reflection on the water. It reminded me of that night at Kai's. I wanted to hate him so much.
"I thought I'd find you here," I heard my brothers voice behind me.
I turned to look at him. Hiro was really wearing on my nerves today.
"Are you finished crying over your defeat, Tyson?"
"What do you mean? I'm not crying!" I yelled.
"You can't deal with the fact you lost that match."
I really wished he would shut up. Why couldn't he for once just be my brother? "It wasn't my fault! That amateur Daichi made us lose that battle! He got in my way!"
"Blaming it on Daichi?"
"It was his fault. He wouldn't do what I told him to do!"
"If that's what you want to believe?"
"It's the truth! That little Daichi doesn't know what he's doing! With him on the team, we're only going to lose! Starting tomorrow, I'm fighting on my own!"
Hiro laughed at me.
"I don't get you. What's so funny?"
"I'm sorry, Tyson. I can't help it. It's funny. You'll do anything to keep from admitting one simple fact, you lost that match because you're weak."
"You're calling me weak? I am the world champ!"
Hiro taunted me into a battle. He came at me with two blades and he came out the winner. "That's it, Tyson. I beat you."
"That doesn't count! That wasn't a real game."
"What? More excuses? Aren't you getting tired of that?"
I guess he had a point. I bent down to pick up Dragoon. What the hell was happening to me!
"You made a mistake, Tyson. Admit it."
"I can't make mistakes. I am the world champion." When I looked up he was gone. "Hiro. I need you," I admitted pitifully. I noticed him walking away out of the corner of my eye. Just like he always did. Why would I expect anything else? I could feel tears in my eyes.
Eventually I found my way back to the hotel after stopping four times to ask directions. I ignored the slew of "Where have you been?" and "Are you all right?" and headed straight for the bathroom.
I turned the shower on for the noise.
I fell back against the door, sliding to the floor, and finally I let the tears fall. This was the worst fucking day of my life. I lost to Rei, I humiliated myself on international TV, and Kai... I don't know. I just didn't know.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket.
Kai please come back. I'll do whatever you want. Please. Just don't leave me. I love you.
I hit send and immediately regretted it. I sounded so fucking desperate. But I was, wasn't I?
UNABLE TO DELIVER MESSAGE
What the fuck? "What do you mean 'unable to deliver message?'" I threw the phone against the wall.
A moment later I picked it back up and just called him.
"The number you are trying to reach is not in service. Please hang up and try again. The number—" The recording kept going.
I felt numb. He'd really cut me out of his life alright, hadn't he?
xXx
AN: *Liberty Island I believe was still pretty hard to get on in 2003 following, you know, the twin towers in 2001. When I went to New York City in 2008 you had to book months in advance to get on the actual island. There's no way in hell Tyson would've been able to just end up on Liberty Island by himself in the middle of the night. So I'm going to say he's at the New York Harbor. Water reminds him of Kai.
*So this was supposed to be in the last chapter but the Tyson part got really long so I split it into two. I pulled a lot of show dialogue but I thought it was important. Tyson really hits rock bottom here. I feel bad for him.
