i fEaR i'M hIGh plS hALp mE :)))))))))))))

Shu's POV

Cheers from everywhere filled the air. The crowd roared with excitement at the District Tournament Winner. Flashes of multiple cameras could be heard. The fan's and Nariko's squealing reaching the highest level. The big, bright lights overhead beamed even brighter, almost blinding me. But nonetheless, I lifted my right hand up and pushed my silvery hair out of my eyes, revealing the scar inflicted on me. 

The screams reached a peak. I searched the crowd with my eyes until they landed upon a red-headed giant. Xander Shakadera. A slight smile grace my lips as I nodded in his direction. I wouldn't have been able to win this battle without him healing my shoulder. Even though it was completely painless throughout the last battle, the familiar painful twinge was returning. 

And then there was my opponent. Valt Aoi. The wonderboy who was known for being the ultimate underdog, tackling and defeating his well-known opponents. There was a moment I didn't think I would have won this. But miraculously, I did, even with my sore shoulder. 

The blunette was slowly picking Valtryek up from the stadium, retrieving it to it's pocket. He glanced up, and even though he had lost, his face was shimmering with awe and happiness as his lips broke into a huge smile. However, his eyes told a different story. No matter how happy he was, losing always came with disappointment, knowing that you could've done better. The brown hues showed a faint sign of sadness and disappointment as he walked towards the victor of this battle. Me. 

I opened my mouth to talk, but the commentator, Hanami, cut in.

'And the second-time big man, Shu Kurenai!' Hanami beamed, his loud voice echoing throughout the hall. 'And words you would like to say, champ?'

'Thank you,' I replied smoothly, smiling and looking directly at the audience. 'My opponent put up a great fight. It meant a lot to face my friend in the finals.'

A sheepish chuckle slipped out of Valt's mouth as he flushed and looked away. I meant every single word of it. Valt's grown so much since he's met Honcho and the others. Seemed like he hadn't overcome stage fright, though. I couldn't help but smile as he stammered through his speech, completely overwhelmed with the amount of attention he was getting from the audience. 

But he was still happy. 

(yeah, i didn't know how to end this part smoothly, so it's kinda shit.) 

------------------------- 

Our laughter echoed throughout the empty river sidewalk of the city of Beigoma. It seemed like the finals had occurred ages ago, yet it was only three hours. Now it was five o'clock, and the sun was setting fast, but not before painting a beautiful image. 

Clouds were dappled with pinks and yellows, stretching across the sky. A bright ray of light streamed towards Earth, making everything instantly warmer. A warm breeze had picked up, wafting through the summer air. The water glimmered brightly, making me want to dive right in. 

'Seriously, Shu, you're so good a beyblading,' Valt smiled as he praised me. 'You deserved to win the District Tournament.'

'Thank you Valt,' I grinned back. 

'Anyways, Nika asked me something,' said Valt. When I raised an eyebrow he added, 'And no, it isn't for an autograph. She just wants to watch In Real Earth Life with you. She mentioned you had watched the first episode.'

'Nariko practically forced me to,' I replied, putting emphasize in the word forced. I didn't want it to seem like I was falling in love with the TV Show. 'But yeah, I did.'

'The third episode is coming out, tomorrow,' explained Valt. 'Do you think you can come over and watch it with Nika? It would mean the world to her, and she still thinks the shoulder accident was kinda her fault.'

'It wasn't,' I insisted, shrugging it off. 'And besides, I'm better than ever. Sure, I'll watch it with her. It's better than with Nariko.'

'You were talking about me?' A sugar-coated voice interjected. A pink-haired girl pushed in between us, shoving Valt to one side, before smiling like it was no big deal. There was a hungry sort of gleam in her silver eyes as the took in my overall appearance. 'Well, say something! Were you talking about me?'

'Yes I was, you would know that since you stalk me 24/7,' I glared at her, talking through gritted teeth. 'If you must know, we were just having a harmless little conversation about IREL and how we watched it.'

'Okay,' Nariko said, eyeing my suspiciously. 'Does that mean we're going to watch the third episode together?'

I mentally thanked Nika for inviting me. 'No, I'm actually been invited to watch it with Valt's sister.'

'That idiot has a sister?' Nariko asked, surprised. She seemed oblivious that Valt was right behind her, trembling with rage. 'A sister? Well, no way are you going to watch it with her.'

My lips curled downwards as the tone Nariko described Nika, as if Nika was last week's garbage she had stepped on. 'No need to be jealous of a six year old.'

'I supposed it would be okay,' Nariko rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. 'But just this once, okay then? Bye bye Shu Senpai~'

She reached up and grabbed my cheek, planting her lips on my jawline before turning on her heel and skipping off, completely giddy. Which made me want to vomit. 

'That was completely weird,' Valt said in a disgusted tone. 'Who is jealous of a six year old?'

'Only a maniac like Nariko,' I agreed. 'Good thing there's only one of her.'

Valt turned back to me. 'So you'll swing by tomorrow? The episodes go for about thirty minutes.'

'Sure,' I nodded. 'It's not like I don't have any homework.'

'It's a deal.'

---------------------

'Shu!'

Nika's voice squealed as she launched herself around my middle before I had even entered her room. A small smile graced my lips. Unlike with Nariko, I welcomed this.

'You came just in time! There's only three minutes left until it premiers!' chirped Nika, grabbing my hand and leading me into her bedroom. 

Her bedroom was bigger than Valt's, but then again she shared it with Toko on the upper floor, towards the back. Opposite from the door, there was two twin beds pushed against the wall, only a wooden table between them. Stuffed animals and plushies lined their beds, each one neatly placed. A shelf filled with books and more toys was hung on either side of the room. A big window on the back wall allowed rays of sunshine to shine through, lighting up the cozy room. Multiple pencils and paper were scattered across another shelf, just below the TV. Nika happily bounced onto the pink bed towards the right, where the TV was hung across, lying down with her head tilting up towards the board. She gestured me to do the same, so I took off my shoes and lied down on the bed with her.

'Hey has anyone seen my-' Toko began, walking into the room just as the screen flashed.

'Shh, Toko! It's started!' Nika whispered-yelled at her twin, who rolled his eyes and plonked down on his bed, ignoring us while reading his manga.

'Previously on In Real Earth Life,' the narrator's voice began as the screen showed the replay from last episode. (y/n) and this slender, beautiful Asian girl were talking in the locker room. 'The social with Amare College is fast approaching. Chanel and many other Elites already have dates to the social.' The screen changed, showing a clip of brunette with a  red streak falling down. The girls in the corridor, especially the Asian girl, probably Chanel, began taunting her. Somehow Chanel convinced (y/n) to join in, but (y/n) was too oblivious to see this was a trick. 'But a new problem has begun arising.' The screen flashed to a classroom scene, where (y/n) was engaged in a conversation with the brunette, who was missing the scarlet highlight. 'Hannah warns (y/n) about Chanel, and (y/n) is left puzzled about her friend.' The scene changed again. Chanel, (y/n) and about three other girls were outside the school, even though the sun was still high and they were meant to be in class. 'Chanel has convinced (y/n) to join her skipping class, heading towards Petunia Mall instead, where a couple of Amare boys are waiting for them. (y/n) may be puzzled about the Hannah thing, but right now she has bigger problems. Who will she take to the social?'

The theme song began blaring, and the replay finished. A few characters were shown in the intro, including Chanel, this blonde with brown eyes, and this other blonde with blue eyes. Hannah, the girl who had tripped, was also shown as well as this boy from Amare College with specially-edited eyes to make him look extra dreamy and charming. An unknown, strange feeling bubbled in my chest, but I couldn't place what it was, or why it was here. 

'Are you okay, Shu?' Nika asked. I realized I had been gripping onto the pillow so hard, my knuckles turned white. I let go, and tried to smile convincingly. 

'I'm fine.'

'Okay, because it's starting,' trilled Nika. 

----------------------

To be honest, I was a little bored at the start of the episode. I was tempted to whip my phone out and go on social media to check out opponents, but I didn't want to be rude to Nika. Valt had left me to go practice with Rantaro and the others at the BeyClub, so I couldn't sneak to his room. 

I tried my best to concentrate on the screen. Up until now, everything had been completely boring and cliché. (y/n) and a bunch of Elites took the tram to go down to Petunia Mall. (y/n) made a mistake and embarrassed herself. At Petunia, Jack, the guy in the intro, began talking to (y/n) and entrancing her with his eyes. Soon enough, (y/n) was in a giddy mood.

'And why wouldn't I give my date compliments?' Jack was saying. (y/n) tensed up and froze, as if she couldn't believe her wish was coming true. A smile was tugging at her lips. The weird sensation in my chest began to bubble more rapidly. 'I-I mean, if you want to be my date for the social...'

'Yes,' said (y/n) breathlessly. A huge smile broke her face as she hugged Jack. Her face contorted into a look of sheer happiness as Jack lifted her up and the sea wind whipped her hair so she looked unnatural. The weird sensation was reaching boiling point now. It was like a monster inside me I couldn't contain fro much longer. I swallowed nervously.

'Uh, Nika, sorry I just remembered, I gotta fly,' I explained, already grabbing my bag and slipping my shoes. 

'Oh, okay,' Nika replied. 'It's nearly finished anyway. Come here next time?'

'Sure, sure,' I said hurriedly, waving before dashing out of the door. 'Bye Chiharu!'

'Oh, bye Shu!' Chiharu's voice chirped from behind me, but I didn't look back. I kept on speed-walking until I reached my apartment. I leant against the white concrete, panting as I gazed out into the endless sky of blue, empty except of one lonely cloud floating through, just like the thought in my empty mind.

What was that feeling? 

-------------------------------

What do you think the feeling was? 

And how do you like Jack so far? 

REMEMBER...VOTE...COMMENT...SHARE!!!!!!

Word count: 1928