Disclaimer: I do NOT own Beyblade or any of its characters. I also do NOT own MSN Messenger (kinda oblivious…). But I DO own Laynie, her bitbeast and all of my other OC's. Toni Hikari LaVelle and her bitbeast belong to Bed 'N' Breakfast.
Prologue- "David, I can't take this any longer. Look at her. Just look at her." Josephine said with shaking voice as she watched her younger sister through the panorama window.
David followed his girlfriend's gaze and let it fell onto the sad features of Laynie. She sat on the bridge near the water, gazing out at the sea with a trailing look. David felt his heart ache and sighed.
- "I don't know what to do!" Josephine continued. "All I know is that something has happened but I can't get it out of her."
- "Have you tried talking to her? Maybe she just needs a push in the right direction?" David suggested and frowned.
Josephine shook her head. "I've tried. And all she does is giving me a faint smile, saying that everything is fine. But I know it's not. I mean, look at her…" Josephine felt miserable and failed as a sister, and tears started to rise in her blue eyes. Watching someone she cared so much for being this unhappy was tearing her apart.
David put an arm around her and held her close. "Listen here, Jo! You haven't done anything wrong. If Laynie wanna tell you, she will. But right now, I think she wants to be left alone." He said and kissed Josephine on her cheek.
- "But she's never gonna!" Josephine exclaimed.
- "She will." David seemed to be convinced though. "And she will tell when she's ready. Right now, we'll leave her alone and let her deal with whatever it might be." He added in a persuading tone.
Josephine opened her mouth to say something back, but David stopped her effectively with a kiss.
[I hope you're right… Don't know how much longer I can watch her sink deeper and deeper… Maybe Toni can give us some answers when she comes back…]
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Laynie squeezed her legs tight to her body. The wind made her hair whirl up in her face and she closed her eyes. The salt air was refreshing and maybe, she could start dealing with "the problem."
- "Kai, are you breaking up with me?"
- "If I'm not wanted, why should I stay? It's over, and it was your choice…"
A lonely tear rolled down her cheek and fell onto the bridge. It was no longer the two of them. Now, it was Laynie and it was Kai.
[Not a we.] Laynie thought and more tears fell. He broke up and she didn't even know what she had done wrong. All she knew was that she was lost now.
Where she once had thought she had found a home, something safe to return to, there was only empty promises and broken dreams left.
Laynie remembered one moment particularly clearly. The dance on the balcony, the night when BBA had held their big celebration party. The night Kai made a promise. A promise he broke.
- "Will you leave me?" She had whispered.
Kai held her closer. "Never."
[Can't imagine how I could have believed him.] Laynie started to wipe away the tears from her cheeks. All the sadness and confusion she had felt for a month now slowly turned into anger…
Promises… What a joke.
Why didn't he tell her WHY he broke up?
[Where are the answers, Kai? All you left was questions and confusion. And I hate you for that.]
Wait a second? Did she just think HATE him? Laynie was surprised. All these tears she had spilled over him. All the hours of loneliness. And now she hated him?
- "I hate him." She spoke out loud. "I hate him."
And it felt good. Hatred and anger was so much easier to carry than sadness. First of all and most important, it didn't hurt any longer.
[Is it wrong of me for hating him?] Laynie thought.
Of course she couldn't hate him for not loving her the same way she loved him. But she could hate him for not telling her why.
And hell if she wasn't gonna.
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Kai slowly walked upstairs. The stairs felt like they never was gonna end and walking this slow only made it worse. Actually, everything felt worse for the moment.
[I guess friendship makes loneliness less fun…] He thought as he finally reached his door.
Mr. Dickenson had rented a big apartment for him. More than enough for a lonely sixteen years old boy. He guessed Mr. Dickenson had counted on that Laynie was gonna be there too… Too bad he screwed up.
- "Well done Kai…" He muttered and resisted the urge of slamming the door shut. He had tried that once, but just 30 seconds later a woman in the early thirties had showed up asking him for some silence. And Kai was tired of arguing.
[Everything feels so worthless when you don't have someone you wanna make happy. Someone like Laynie.]
God, did he miss her or what? Without Laynie, even the damn minutes felt like an eternity. You could probably say that Kai's whole world had slowed down to slow motion mode, just waiting for something or someone to start it up again.
Of course he had been beyblading. Mr. Dickenson had arranged so a room could be used as a beystadium with a bowl and spotlights for perfect light. And training worked well. It was a good way of keeping his minds on different things than a certain emerald-eyed girl. At least for a moment.
It was like she was haunting him. She lingered on his mind day as night, Monday as Friday, wake as sleep. He could see her face, sometimes smiling sometimes looking sad.
But oh, was it familiar? He knew every spot in her face, from the light-pink lips to the emerald-eyes, sparkling with life. He knew every line in her hand.
Kai wondered if she ever gave him even half of the time he gave her, thinking and longing for her. Probably not.
She was probably out with some other guy right now. A girl like Laynie couldn't stay single too long…
Deep down, Kai knew that he had had his chance. But he couldn't help but hope. What if Laynie had forgiven him by now? Maybe she had forgot all of those nasty things he said to her?
Kai wished he could pick up the phone, dial her number, and tell her exactly what he felt. He wanted it so bad, but something held him back.
And Kai knew perfectly well what it was.
Pride.
Even now, when he wanted her back more than ever, he couldn't admit to her. He had been wrong. So wrong.
Wrong about everything. He knew that all he had to do was call her and tell how sorry he was. Too bad it picking up the phone seemed to be impossible…
Kai scowled. The summer had just started and he was already going crazy without her. How the hell would he cope with the whole summer then? Two months of loneliness…
Of course he could meet Tyson and Toni whenever he felt for it but he wasn't that desperate. Yet.
He sighed and flopped down onto his bed. He knew that Laynie, David and Josephine were staying in David's family's summerhouse in Croatia. Toni had chose to spend three weeks together with Tyson, Max and Kenny in Bakuten.
Kai knew that Bakuten only was half an hour's car trip from his apartment. But, again, something held him back and this time it wasn't pride.
Ok, maybe a little bit of pride but most of all, he felt ashamed of facing them after treating Laynie in such a bad way. It was not often Kai felt shame, but he was sure of one thing. He couldn't care less if the feeling stayed away.
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Mariah rubbed the sleep from her eyes. For one second, she wondered where she was. Then she felt an arm around her waist, holding her close and she smiled.
Ray.
She gazed at her sleeping boyfriend and a warm feeling of happiness filled her. He looked so sweet, sleeping next to her with his hair in a mess and a calm look on his face. Steady, regular breathings.
She loved him so.
As Mariah thought these words, an ache in her heart interrupted the happiness. It was so unfair that she, Mariah, could be so happy when Laynie was so sad. Mariah knew Laynie was almost heartbroken since Kai's strange behavior from their chats on MSN and by phone.
Almost at the same time Laynie arrived to David's house in Croatia, Mariah had demanded their number from Mr. Dickenson and called immediately. It had taken some time, but soon Mariah had pulled the whole story out of Laynie. Laynie had been reluctant in the beginning but Mariah kept pushing her and all of Laynie's invisible walls for protecting had faded and she accepted what Maria could give her. Friendship and understanding.
But Mariah understood that what she said only made sense for the moment. The pain Laynie felt was hidden deep down in her heart and no one but Kai himself would probably soothe it…
It was hard for Mariah just to watch her friend sink deeper and deeper into herself, cutting herself out completely.
[I wonder if bringing her to China would help? We could beyblade and maybe I might be able to cheer here up a little. Who knows? Maybe she'll even find a new boyfriend?] Mariah smirked and quickly nudged Ray to make him wake up.
He opened his eyes slowly and she saw him stare at the ceiling before turning his head towards her. A smile spread over his lips as he sat up and planted a kiss on her cheek.
Mariah smiled brightly back at him. This way of waking up was not bad at all.
- "Morning Ray." She said.
- "Morning 'Mia'" He replied and glanced at the clock. 9.53 am.
- "Ray…?" Mariah began and looked at Ray, waiting for a reply.
Ray gazed into her eyes as he took in the seriousness in her voice.
[What is going on? This sounds serious…] He thought and frowned.
- "Uh-huh." Ray said and watched Mariah bit her bottom lip like she hesitated a lot.
Suddenly, a scary thought hit Ray. She wasn't breaking up was she?
Without noticing, an almost scared expression settled on his face. Mariah who was just about to say something stopped.
- "What is it Ray?" She said with worried voice. "You look terrified… Or something."
Ray realized how he must look and smiled. "It's nothing, tell me what you was thinking of!"
- "Ok, you know Laynie is kinda sad right now…"
- "Kinda sad? I would say she's heartbroken." Ray interrupted.
Mariah nodded. "Yeah, maybe. But maybe she would feel better if we invited her to China for some time with us? I don't know how you feel, but I miss her a lot and it would be great to see her again. Maybe she misses us too and…"
Ray laughed. She always talked that much when she was nervous. "Quit it 'Mia'!" He said and covered her mouth with his hand. "Of course she can come. I miss her too and yes, it would be great if she came."
- "So? Let's send an email then!" Mariah exclaimed as she jumped out of the bed.
- "Do that, meanwhile I'll make us some breakfast…"
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Laynie sighed as she turned on her computer. She doubted that someone would be online this early but anyway… She felt a little lonely and longed for some company.
She clicked on MSN Messenger's icon and waited for the system to log her in. Laynie liked the internet. It was a good way of keeping in touch with everyone and talking on MSN was so much easier than talking in the "real" world.
A box saying You've one unread email popped up and she clicked on it.
[Probably some annoying spam…] She thought and waited for the page to load.
But it wasn't. Laynie smirked when she saw whom it was from. It was from Mariah.
Ni hao Laynie!
Ray and me wondered if you wanna visit us here in China. It would be great to see you again, we misses you a lot! Please, give me a call or reply this mail!
Hugs, Mariah
Laynie smiled even broader. Visiting Mariah and Ray might be a good way to keep her thoughts on different things than Kai. She clicked on reply and started typing an answer.
Hi Mia!
Thanks, I'd love to come! Just tell me a date and time, I'll be there!
Love, Laynie
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Josephine had gladly paid for Laynie's flight ticket. So two days later, Laynie was squeezed in a tight hug by Mariah.
- "It's so great to see you again, Laynie!" She exclaimed and smiled.
- "Nice to see you two too!" Laynie replied and smiled back. It felt so good to see them again. Maybe Kai had let her down, but this time she was back around friends. Friends that loved and cared for her. Where she was meant to be.
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There ya go then! Prologue finished and now it's time to move on to the first chapter.
Please, leave me a review and if you can think of anything you want this sequel to contain, please tell me! I can't promise it'll be included, but I'd love you forever if you made some suggestions!
Hugs, Emma a.k.a dragon-eyes22