Hilary likes Tyson. Max knows Hilary likes Tyson. Hilary wants Tyson at her side, but she can't build up the courage to speak to him about it. Will Max know the right words to give her the courage?

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Hilary wasn't sure how she should take the next step in her relationship with Tyson. He was a champion beyblader, and she was nothing more but a cheerleader without the flashy outfit. There was no way in hell he'd ever see more than a friend. Besides, beyblading was his number one love. If she was ever to be with him, she'd have to be with being the second most important thing in his life.

"Thinking about Tyson again?" Max asked, sitting down next to Hilary on the bench.

Hilary's eyes narrowed. "What makes you think that?"

Max laughed. "Oh come on, Hilary. It's so obvious you like him."

Hilary's cheeks turned a faint red. She hadn't realized her admiration for Tyson was that obvious. Did he feel the same about her? His behaviour towards her suggested he accepted her as one of the boys, but not as relationship material. "So what if I do? He'll never see me that way anyway. Beyblading is his true love; he'd marry the sport if he could."

The blond shook his head. "I know Tyson loves beyblading, but he views his friends in the same light, Hilary. You should talk to him about it."

The girl snorted. "Talk to Tyson about feelings?" She wanted to laugh out loud at the ridiculousness of it all. "He wouldn't take me seriously. It's Tyson after all."

"You should, Hilary. Get it out of your system. Would you prefer to sit and admire him from afar or would you rather be by his side?" Max reasoned. He turned his head towards Tyson's direction. The champion was currently engaged in a food fight with Daichi while Rei and Kai merely watched. "What are you so afraid of?" he asked, noticing the hesitance in her eyes. "Are you worried people will look down on you because you're with a beyblader and you're not one yourself?"

Hilary sighed. "What if he doesn't feel the same way? I'm not a beyblader; I'll never understand the love for the game the way he does." She glanced down at her hands resting on her lap.

"That doesn't matter. Tyson knows you're not a beyblader and that doesn't bother him. You're his friend – you're our friend, and you are important to the team." Max patted her on the shoulder giving her a sincere smile. "You two might fight a lot – but you both have a short fuse."

"Thanks for the observation, Max."

He grinned. "But honestly, you should talk to him. Don't keep it buried inside or you might regret one day when Tyson walks down the aisle with another girl," he said, turning his gaze back to Hilary. "Take a chance. You're a strong girl, Hilary. Don't let this beat you." He gave her another comforting pat then stood up and walked away to join the boys.

The thought of Tyson being with another girl made her feel sick in the stomach. She didn't want to be that girl sitting in the seats thinking, 'that could've been me'. Steeling her jaws together, she stood up from her seat and made her way over to Tyson taking in a mouthful of air.

"Daichi! Give me back my sushi roll!" Tyson snapped, trying hard to pull the roll away from Daichi's grasp.

"I don't see your name on it!" Daichi retorted.

"Yeah? Well... I don't see your name on it either!"

Hilary tapped Tyson on the back, but the champion didn't even notice. There was only one way to catch his attention. She took in a deep mouthful of air then shouted, "TYSON!" That grabbed his attention.

Tyson spun around. "What do you want?"

She felt her own temper flare, but she caught Max in the corner of her eye. "I just want to talk to you... alone."

"But my sushi roll..."

"Your sushi roll can wait." She grabbed his arm and dragged him away ignoring his protests. Once they were out of sight, Hilary released her grip on his arm.

"So, what do you want, Hil? Can't this wait until later?"

Again, she felt her temper flare. Why must he always be so impatient? But she managed to bite back an angry retort. "Tyson... I want to tell you something..."

His expression relaxed and he looked at her with a newfound curiosity. "Did you kill Ming Ming?"

She had to smile at that. "That's a little extreme don't you think? But I did throw Kenny's CD's out the window."

Tyson chuckled. "So, what did you want to tell me anyway?"

Could she tell him the truth? Looking at him now she wasn't so sure. He was in a happy mood – a little too happy for her liking. In this mode, he never took a single word seriously. That's what scared her. What if he laughed at her? She'd never be able to stand in the same room as him again. "Have you... ever..." Come on Hilary, don't chicken out now. You can always joke about it afterwards if it doesn't work out, she scolded herself. "...Have you ever thought about... being in a relationship?"

The amusement in Tyson's eyes disappeared quickly, much like a person blowing out a flame on a candle. "I... uh..." He fidgeted, suddenly seeming interested in the ground. "It's... not something I think about often... I mean, I don't think about it at all," he corrected.

The sudden change in Tyson's behaviour was amusing. This was a side she had never seen of him. "So... you've thought about it, have you? Got anyone in mind?" she taunted. Mocking Tyson made her feel more confident in her own feelings.

He jerked his head up. "I better go and check on that sushi roll."

"That sushi roll is in Daichi's stomach. Look at me, Tyson."

He did. "Why do you want to know anyway? I didn't know you were so interested in my love life."

"You have a love life?"

His eyes narrowed. "I could have a love life! I'm the champion beyblader! What girl doesn't want me?" he boasted.

"I don't see a queue of girls behind you, Tyson. You must be daydreaming again."

"No," he replied snidely, "I don't want those girls."

Hilary's eyebrows lifted. "Oh? What girl do you want then?" she asked, trying hard to not show any signs of jealousy or interest. He didn't reply. He was busy staring at an empty space behind her. She needed to prompt him. "Is it... Mariam?"

"No! She's with Johnny anyway."

"Matilda? I hear the guys think she's sweet."

Tyson shook his head. "I don't like sweet things unless it's candy."

Hilary stroked her chin, thinking of another female blader. "Hmm... what about... Emily?"

A visible shudder ran down Tyson's spine. "Ew, no way. How boring. She'd rather talk about maths than blade. Besides, she's got a thing for Michael anyway."

"Then who could it possibly be?"

Tyson growled. "Enough with the games already, Hil! If you want to know it's you."

"What?"

"You heard me. I know it may not seem like it, but you are special. I never got the chance to say anything, but I had to focus on blading." He gazed down at the ground. "I know I never paid much attention to you... heck, I wasn't exactly the nicest guy to you either... but I guess I felt that arguing with you would make me dislike you." He titled his chin back up. "But it didn't work."

Tyson's shock confession caught her by surprise. Her brain refused to function normally so she simply nodded instead of speaking words. It was good enough to know he felt the same way about her as she did of him. She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek, then drew back just as quickly. Tyson looked at her for a brief moment, then pulled her into a tight embrace kissing her on the lips. Hilary felt as if she was on cloud nine - it was a shame the moment didn't last long. Daichi's ear splitting yells echoed throughout the house.

"Guess we should check up on Daichi."

"Hope he hasn't eaten all the food."

Tyson and Hilary walked back to rejoin the feast. Max caught her eye and winked, while Rei just smiled. Even Daichi showed his appreciation by giving Tyson a thumbs up. As for Kai? He simply smirked. "It's about time you two got together." He then turned to face Rei. "You owe me a few dollars, Rei."

Rei muttered, then handed Kai a few crumpled notes.

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This story was originally uploaded back in 2011.