The Ball - Part One
Kai carts Tyson to the debate hall with him on Friday, the morning of the masquerade ball. Tyson had never been so delighted to watch Kai verbally dress someone down so brutally and viciously he could have stripped paint from the walls. At one point, Tyson even cursed out loud ("holy fuck!"), out of pure awe, costing Kai's team a few points and himself an extra hour of slavery that day. He was tasked with the job of jotting down the main points of the arguments raised by the opposing team and highlighting certain words and phrases being used. Kai found weaknesses in their analysis with the aid of his notes and used them to skin the members of the other team alive.
When they finally walk out of the debate hall, joyous and victorious, Tyson almost turns to compliment Kai. Almost forgets who he's smiling at. Almost forgets he'd filmed Hilary naked without her permission. He catches himself just in time though. He wipes the enamored look off his face. Kai strides away without a word when his phone rings, leaving Tyson outside.
He sighs.
At lunch, he sits at a big table with his friends, picking the lettuce out of his burger. Veggies blah. Who likes veggies?
"We were having so much fun, man," Eddie's telling them sorrowfully, "Like so much fucking fun. I thought we were gonna fuck. She even got down on her knees to suck my dick! Then at the last moment-"
Michael sputters.
"The last fucking moment! I have my dick out and everything. I'm not kidding!"
Rick opens his coke can with an audible hiss, chortling.
Tyson stows a fry in his mouth, smirking.
"The last fucking moment," Eddie rakes his hair back in frustration, "She goes, 'I have a boyfriend. I'm sorry.' and leaves! She fucking leaves!"
The boys die with laughter around him.
"Un-fucking-believable"
"And what, you just put your dick back inside?" Rick asks.
"Yeah. What else could I do? Suck it myself?"
"You could've jacked off, man. You didn't have to walk into my room at two o'clock sporting a huge boner."
"Your room?" Eddie asks pissed off.
"His dick entered the room before the rest of him did, I swear!"
Tyson almost chokes on his burger. Michael shoves Rick. Eddie burps and grabs his soda. "Girls, man. They drive me crazy."
"You always go for the unavailable ones."
"She was available till she told me she had a boyfriend."
Michael changes the subject, asking Tyson, "How's Hilary these days?"
"Great. Listening to Olivia Rodrigo on repeat but peachy otherwise." He's chewing on his burger when he recalls he hasn't told them about the pregnancy scare yet.
"Mm, guys, I almost forgot to tell you." They look up at him simultaneously. "Hil took a pregnancy test last week."
"Why?" Mike's eyes go wide as saucers.
He almost laughs when he thinks back to how terrified they were for a few moments. "Because she thought she was pregnant with Kai's child."
Tyson has a smile on his face, but it disappears when he hears an enraged "what?" from behind him. Someone hauls him out of the bench by his collar, heaving him backwards. Tyson struggles to escape from his hold.
"Dude, stop!"
The entire cafeteria grows quiet around them as Kai wrenches him to his feet, and begins dragging him away by his shirt. "Fucking stop!" Tyson rips his crazy strong grip off of him.
Tala and Bryan are with Kai, staring from a few feet away.
Tyson adjusts his shirt, it had ridden up his back. He meets Kai's gaze. They're aflame. Kai grabs his hand this time, dragging him out of the cafeteria despite his protests.
He nearly trips twice along the way.
Tala and Bryan follow them, concerned.
Kai throws Tyson against the wall as soon as they're in the hallway. "What the fuck were you talking about?" he asks him angrily.
"What?"
Kai steps close. Their chests almost touch. "What were you talking about?" he asks again slowly, in a more controlled voice.
Tyson doesn't know how to react. He feels indignant. Betrayed. By the way he'd dragged him out of the cafeteria in front of the whole campus. "Hilary took a test because she was scared she was pregnant with your child," he says, his voice trembling slightly. "You dumb fuck."
He sees his nostrils flare. The news shocking him. He's getting angrier. What the fuck?
"It was your fault the condom broke!" he argues, pushing at his chest.
Kai rubs a finger across his nose, looking down for a moment. "She didn't take the pill?" he asks, looking up again.
"What?"
A short burst of laughter escapes Kai. Tyson can practically see the rage radiating off of his frame. "She promised me she'd take the morning after pill," he explains, looking like he wants set everyone on fire. "She lied."
Tyson blanches. His heart knocking against his ribs.
"For fuck's sake," Tala curses behind him.
Kai steps back. "Bring your friend. Wherever she is, go get her."
"Kai, the test was negative," Tyson tries to reason with him. "You don't have to call her. Why do you want to talk to her?"
He's running his hands through his hair in exasperation. "You don't get to ask questions. You're here to obey. Go."
Tyson stares at him. Dumbstruck. What happened to the pseudo nice guy from today morning? From the entirety of last week? He took a complete one eighty in the span of a few seconds. Tyson purses his mouth.
Then spins on his heel to find Hilary.
They're waiting in the lounge, Kai pacing with his hands on his hips. Tala and Bryan sprawled on the couches talking to him in hushed tones.
He turns on them as soon as Tyson and Hilary enter the space. The look on his face is so terrifying, Tyson bodily tries to shield Hilary from him.
"Out of my way, Granger," he orders.
Tyson opens his mouth to argue. Kai glares.
He steps aside, leaving Hilary completely unprotected from the oncoming storm.
Her face is already drained of colour, yet somehow she manages to appear even paler when Kai comes close, towering above her.
Tyson's foot jerks forward in response, but he stops himself. Not wanting to make the situation worse.
"You didn't take the pill when you told me you would. Why?" The interrogation begins.
Hilary starts shaking.
"Why did you lie to me, Hilary?" He says her name with clenched teeth, with contempt and derision.
"I-" she starts.
"I even texted you in the morning to remind you in case you forgot. And you-" he brings his phone out, unlocking it to show her the messages, "You replied 'right away'. But you didn't take it. Why?" He lowers his phone.
She stays silent, tears flowing down her face.
"Why?" he bellows all of a sudden and Tyson steps in.
"Kai, I ca-"
"Stay out of this, Granger!" he warns him, eyes flashing. Tyson halts.
Say something, Hilary, he begs her in his head. Don't leave him hanging.
"If you don't open your mouth right now, he will pay for it," Kai points at Tyson.
The threat works. Hilary starts speaking, albeit in the softest and weakest voice he'd ever heard her use. "My date was on the day-"
"Your what?" Kai has to stoop down to hear her.
"My period-" she hiccups, wringing her hands under her chin. "I was going to get m-my period that day so I thought it won't- won't be necessary."
A deadly silence falls between them. Kai straightens. Slowly. Lips pressed together.
Tala, who is on his feet now, turns away, cursing. "Fucking hell" He covers his eyes, lips pulled in a disbelieving smile. He says something to Bryan in Russian, who is staring at the scene, with an incredulous expression, a finger atop his upper lip. He shakes his head in response.
Tyson doesn't know what to do. Hilary is staring at Kai.
Kai stares at her.
After a long time he asks very quietly, "Do you realize what could have happened?"
Tala takes a seat again, still muttering things in shock.
"Do you realize that you could have ruined multiple people's lives? Yours, mine, our families'?!" his volume rises once more, anger replacing horror.
Hilary resumes crying. The tears streaming down her cheeks without stopping.
"Where was your brain, Hilary? That's not how reproduction works!" He walks away with a frustrated exhale, pacing a few steps to the tall windows overlooking the garden outside.
Tala talks to him from the couch, in their native tongue. Sounding like he was attempting to reason with him.
Kai rubs his nape, and Tyson thinks it's over, but then he comes back, striding towards Hilary again. Tyson almost gets in his way. "Do you realize what could have happened?" he asks her, looming close to her face.
Hilary nods.
"The seriousness of the situation?"
She nods again. Fervently.
"It's not something to laugh about. I hope for your sake, that you don't repeat this again," he tells her. "Do you understand?"
She bobs her head, hiccupping twice in the process.
"But someone's got to pay," Kai says next. Tyson's heart screeches to a halt. "So you learn your lesson well."
"Kai-" Tyson tries to interject.
He doesn't respond to him, but he speaks to Hilary. "He will" he says, his fingers directed toward Tyson, who stiffens. "Since you two are attached at the hip." He stands up tall again, searching for something in his pockets, seemingly done berating her.
The bell rings.
Tala and Bryan rise to their feet. "It's time for classes, Kai," reminds the former.
Hilary backs away, face half-hidden in her handkerchief, shaking and hiccupping.
Tyson wants to go to her and comfort her, but Kai walks toward him. He prepares himself for the worst, but he's still not ready for what comes out of his mouth. "The masquerade ball, Granger. I want it moved to my place."
Tyson's mouth falls open. "What?" Kai hands him a phone and a credit card. "I- It's tonight. It's at seven!"
"I know," he says with a humourless smile. He starts heading out of the lounge with the Blitzkriegs. "Make it happen."
Tyson stumbles, almost drops the things he was given. He has barely processed the information. "It's already noon!" he complains, but no one hears. They're already gone. Hilary hiccups.
"I'm sorry" she says to him, completely distraught, her handkerchief soaked.
Tyson looks up at the ceiling.
What the fuck is he going to do?
Kai had given him his phone. He had multiple phones that Tyson had seen him swapping between like he was some expert juggler. One for personal use, one for work (his illegal work that Tyson hasn't figured out yet) and one for other purposes.
The other purposes phone is in his hands at the moment. Tyson scrolls through the contacts and sees doors opening in front of him. His great burden being made easier. Less heavier.
'Catering', 'Planning', 'Decoration', 'Emergency Lifts', and many more numbers are saved in the phone. The Blitzkriegs hosted a ton of parties every year and they were all mostly put together at a moment's notice. This is how. There's an emergency events handler saved at the very top.
Tyson sighs with relief as he dials them, loitering outside the main block, skipping all of his classes for the day in favour of shifting the ball to Kai's house.
They pick up and he gives them the venue and the details. They cuss him out and tell him to convey their heartfelt sentiments to Kai. Tyson tells them he'd be sure to do so.
He's not free of responsibility though. They give him a shit ton of tasks to do. He flits between different shops and Kai's house like he's XLR8. The event management team reaches the venue at 02:15 p.m. and tells him this is the last fucking time that they do this for Kai.
Romero, their head coordinator gives him another list of props to buy. "It has to be more extravagant than Truman Capote's Black and White ball!"
"What about money?" Tyson asks Kai over the phone.
"There's no budget," he says on the speaker. "Use the card as you wish."
Tyson gawks. Outraged. Romero claps ecstatically. "Yes!" he cries in his high pitched voice before whirling towards his staff and rattling off orders. They scatter through the giant main hall, switching on all the lights, bringing in massive ladders and huge curtains. There are five to six large trucks parked outside loaded with stuff for the ball.
Tyson stands near the stairs, dialing Boris next. "Hi!" he says when the events coordinator at their university picks up. "I'm calling to inform you that the masquerade ball has been moved to Kai's house."
"Why?!" He has to strain his ears to hear the man over the loud screeches of chairs and tables being set up, holes being drilled and general ruckus in the background. "Under whose orders? Who are you?"
"I'm Tyson Granger," he's shouting into the mic. "Kai Hiwatari told me to move the venue."
"What?" Boris barks. "Tell him to give me a call!"
"He's in class!"
"Tell him to call as soon as possible!"
"Okay!" Tyson chirps, then hangs up. "Urgh"
"Hi" Someone taps him on the shoulder. He turns. It's a young woman with bright blue eyes clad in a monochromatic uniform. "Are you the host of this party?"
"Uh fafd- no," Tyson stammers. "I mean yes. Not really- Uh...I'm organizing for someone else."
"Oh okay," she smiles. "Well, do you know if the rooms upstairs should be set up too or will the ground floor be enough?"
"No, you can't go upstairs! The party will be held down here, yes." He smiles sheepishly.
"Thank you!" She grins and walks off.
He stares after her for a minute, watching her as she winds her way around tables and cardboard boxes brimming with props.
His date! He recalls all of a sudden. Shit. He will be late. He needs to inform Mariam. Tyson types on his phone as he heads towards the front door, on his way to buy the list of items he'd been asked.
14:30 to Mariam: I will be late today. Don't wait for me. I'll meet you at the ball.
14:30 to Mariam: Sorry. Something came up.
He places an order at a printing business for flyers and asks Boris to inform the student body about the change in venue.
Tyson's hands are filled with bags and boxes containing items ranging from flowers to plates to table cloths. He pays off the driver who had driven him back to Kai's place juggling the bags in his arms.
His friends join him as soon as they are done with their classes. The Americans along with Max and Rei help him set the tables around the area designated as the dance floor while the girls collect the flyers and paste them around campus. The boys bitch about Kai as they work side by side Romero and his team. Tyson downs a whole litre of water in one go when they're done with the house.
Chandeliers twinkle above his head by 17:45. Tyson strides across a lush maroon carpet as the finishing touches to the venue are added around him. Kai texts him, informing him to pick up his mask from Armando Fennivic's shop and bring it to Julia's penthouse.
Armando Fennivic? Who the fuck is that?
Tyson googles. Armando tailors for high profile celebrities and has a boutique that is a half hour from their university.
The fuck?!
He nearly hurls the phone across the room. He's incredibly tired. Tyson sighs emphatically, looking around the house. It's oh so beautiful. Ten times prettier and more lavish than the original ball's venue would have been.
"What's wrong?" Mike asks him as his other friends leave to get dressed.
Tyson runs a hand through his hair. "I need to borrow your bike."
"Okay" Mike stares at him concerned. Squeezes his shoulder. "Anything else you need?"
"No" Tyson shakes his head.
"Chin up, buddy. Don't look so grim. You have a date tonight!" Mike tries to lift his spirits.
Tyson gives him a smile even though he doesn't feel as excited anymore.
He grabs a chicken wrap from McDonald's on his way to Fennivic's since he couldn't finish his lunch and hasn't eaten since.
At 18:20 he exits the elevator leading to Julia's penthouse, carrying a thin rectangular box encased in gold in one hand and a bouquet in the other. The flowers are for Kai's date.
Julia's waiting in the entrance hallway, clad in a shimmering floor-length red gown with a sweetheart neck line. She's so beautiful the weight of exhaustion lifts from his shoulders. She smiles and the one he returns to her is real.
"Kai's in the bedroom on the right." She takes the bouquet from him, and walks into the house. The other Blitzkriegs are present in the living room. Sitting dolled up in suits and on their phones. They don't even acknowledge his presence as he navigates around the space. There's a hallway leading out of the living room to his left, an open kitchen and a closed door on his right. That's probably the bedroom.
Tyson knocks on the door, shifting the box in his arm.
A blonde head pokes out. "You're Tyson?" the unfamiliar woman asks.
"Yes" He nods.
"Come in" She opens the door wider for him to enter. Tyson's immediately greeted with the scent of aftershave, brand new clothes, and woody cologne.
The room's a mess. There's clothing and plastic wrappings on the bed, the floor, the nightstand. There's another woman in the room as well, a stylist, standing with her back to him before a chair, where Kai's sitting in front of a mirror.
Tyson doesn't see his face. Only catches the side of his shoulder, covered in a black jacket.
"Everything going well, Granger?" his cool voice asks.
"Yep" Tyson says to his back.
The assistant takes the box from his hands and opens it. A translucent paper comes into view. She lifts it to reveal the yellow silk beneath. Tyson cannot take the smell of the room. He senses a headache arriving.
The woman moves the cloth out of the way. Tyson's lips part in awe. The mask is golden, shaped to fit across a man's eyes and one side of his cheek. The holes for the eyes are curved like a lion's. The prim nose aristocratic. It glints in the light.
Kai's one lucky fucking bastard to be able to wear that.
"It is beautiful, Hye," the assistant breathes appreciatively to the stylist.
The woman who had been working diligent on Kai this whole time turns to take a look at the mask, a long-tailed comb in hand.
Kai's head comes into view. Tyson looks up. Catches the sight of him in the mirror.
And his heart stops. For the briefest moment. It picks up again quickly, though it shouldn't have stopped at all in the first place.
He's handsome. There's no watering it down. It's a fact. He's sitting in the chair like some kind of king, in a tailor-cut charcoal black suit, top buttons open, hair slicked to perfection.
All of his fine features appear sharp. The strong jaw, the eagle eyes, the high nose and cheekbones.
He looks regal.
Tyson's having a hard time breathing. He glances away. Kai goes back to his phone.
The stylist tells him to raise his chin, bringing Fennivic's flawless creation toward his head.
He sits up tall.
His eyes find Tyson's in the mirror as Hye lowers the mask over his face.
There's a moment.
Tyson sighs when Kai stands up and the stylist pulls the flaps of his jacket close. They add a golden sash as a final touch.
"Now you look like a nobleman," Hye tells him, pinning a ribbon to his breast pocket.
It's only when Tyson sees the suit in all its glory that he realizes his piece appears bland as fuck in comparison. Shit, he wasn't aware people were dressing up like this. He isn't even dressed yet. He checks the time.
Oh man.
He hopes he doesn't become too late.
The assistant opens the door and everyone streams out of the room.
"Wow! Wow!" Julia's voice rises as soon as they're in the hall. "Kai, you look marvelous!"
Kai slips his phone into his pocket, smirking. "Where are the others?"
Tala wolf whistles. Bryan clicks photos. Tyson moves aside, towards the kitchen, not wanting to be in the frame.
"They're ready!" Julia bounds back into the opposite hallway and ushers everyone out. "Girls! That's enough, come on. We have to eat!"
Hye hands Kai a watch and he puts it on as the assistant pushes a velvet covered box into Tyson's arms. "What is this?"
"Brooches" she says before heading back inside the room with Hye.
Kai walks up to him. Ah fuck. Tyson wants to run.
"Where's Wyatt?" he asks everyone else in the hall, opening the box Tyson's holding.
"On his way!"
"He was supposed to be here ten minutes ago."
Tyson's trying not to look at him. Trying not to inhale the air around him.
The Blitzkriegs' dates pour into the hall, in bright and elegant gowns. They are all girls Tyson does not know.
"Where's the food?" Julia's asking, striding into the kitchen to make a call from the landline, her dress giving her a hard time maneuvering around the house.
The box is full of elaborate, intricate brooches that match Kai's suit. He takes a long time to make a decision. They're all dazzling in their own way.
Tyson shifts the box in his arms. His gaze lifts to Kai.
"It's almost seven, Hiwatari!" Julia shouts at him, slamming the receiver back into the holder.
"It will be here!" He curses, drawing his phone out. "For fuck's sake."
Tala's date twirls in front of him. "Oh my god, you are smoking hot!" he crows, spread out on the couch. "Smokin'!"
Bryan ogles his girl shamelessly as she adjusts her hemline, causing her cleavage to show.
Kai talks on the phone, scolding someone on the line. "We ordered the food fifteen minutes ago!"
Ian and Sergei take shots on the counter, making sure they're nicely buzzed before the ball begins.
They hand one out to everyone else in the room as well. Tyson declines his. Kai accepts his, but doesn't drink. He hangs up, throws his shot back and comes toward the brooches to resume vascillating. "Choose one for me," he murmurs to Tyson.
"Uh" He licks his lips. Shrugs. "They all look good. How about this one?" he points to a small pin with a delicate chain and an elaborate carving.
Kai shakes his head. "Too flimsy. No."
"Hmph" Tyson huffs lightly. "How about..?"
The elevator dings. It's the food.
"Fucking finally" Kai mutters, leaving him there to pay the bill. Julia accepts the bags from the delivery boy and hauls it toward the table beside the kitchen.
"Alright, boys! Time to eat!" Tala calls, grabbing dishes and cutlery. "And girls. Girls too. You guys especially..."
The Blitzkriegs and their dates sit down around the large table, unboxing and unwrapping. Julia rings her man. Kai returns to Tyson's side.
The elevator dings again.
A short brunette boy steps out.
"Wyatt! You look like a little boy!" Kai shouts, suddenly joyous. The boy rolls his eyes, striding inside.
"Come 'ere" he calls with a grin, opening his arms.
Wyatt and Kai embrace.
"You look like a king!" the boy says, stepping back.
"That is the idea," Kai says, turning back to the brooches.
"Oh! This one would be perfect!" Wyatt chooses one immediately. Tyson wonders who he is as Kai picks up the brooch, in the shape of a circle with a lion inside, and pins it to his suit pocket.
"Wyatt, go join them at the table," Kai tells him. The boy skips toward the others as they eat and sits down. Hm. He seems like a relative. Kai's unusually warm towards the boy and his affection seems almost fatherly. Interesting.
The elevator dings once more.
It's Kristina. "Oh my god!" she gasps as soon as she enters. "Baby!" she runs up to him, in a floor-length, off-shoulder golden gown. "I cannot believe you're my date." Kristina places her hands on either side of his jaw and presses her gloss-lined lips to his.
Tyson glances at the table.
"Mm" she hums, pulling away. "So handsome" She touches his hair.
Kai's lips curve in a small smile.
"Kristina, come join us!" Julia beckons.
He gives her a nudge in their direction. She saunters toward them.
"Kai, aren't you eating?"
"I'm not hungry," he replies.
"Tyson?"
"He already ate," Kai answers for him, surprising him. "Please, I can smell the chicken from here," he says when Tyson looks at him. He clamps his mouth shut.
"Where are you going?" asks Julia.
"Drac's downstairs," Kai drawls, expression grim as he pockets his phone and begins walking away.
A collective groan rises from the table. "Why's he here?" Tyson hears Tala hiss. Julia shrugs.
"Don't take off the mask," the stylist warns, coming out of the room with all her bags, her assistant in tow.
"I'll be back in five," Kai steps into the elevator. The doors close.