Denial

Innocent Feeling

"So you think that Ashtem has a wittle wittle crush on you?" Violet Eye asked from his table, fixing some kid's Beyblade. They were both in some room in the back of the Snake Pit, presumably one of those rooms for kids to hang out at. And suddenly, his tone shifted to an unimpressed one. "Why am I not surprised?" 

Boa was at another table, sitting across from Norman and enjoying his lunch. He was chewing on a sandwich before saying, "Ashtem has favorites, which isn't very surprising at all. We all know the Masked Bladers are Ashtem's favorites. Gold Eye's case isn't very surprising at all."

Norman gave a scoff. "Ashtem doesn't like every Masked Blader. He hates having to support Azure Eye's dogs. Make it worse when Azure Eye doesn't even pay him back." actually, it happens to be a lot more complicated than he said. And if any of them owned any dogs, they'd understand the costs of raising them. Yikes.

"Maybe that's why he likes you. Maybe he wants someone dumb enough to follow his every order. Get this: Hey, Gold Eye, please use your own money to buy Azure Eye some dog food. And oh yeah, please clean the dog kennels," Violet Eye said the last parts in a fake deep voice, his head bobbing to one side and another. 

"Hey, just so you know, I don't even have a job. And I am definitely not dumb," Norman glared at him.

 Violet Eye just laughed. "Dumb? I think we're all equally dumb for coming here all because of a spinning top. Pfft. But if you really are dumb, why would Ashtem care about you? That's like some very strange taste in guys; some rich Beyblade-loving man liking an idiotic guy with no job."

"Watch what you say."

"Yeah, good advice. I will."

Boa placed his sandwich down and moved it aside. "Geez. Lunchtime is supposed to be the best time in the Snake Pit. But hearing you two talk make me want lunchtime to end. We should talk about something productive."

"And what is productive?" Norman glanced over at Boa. Gods, why must this kid sound like a teacher all of the sudden?

"Beyblade. The entire point of the Snake Pit. Let's talk about that or else Ashtem will magically come in, and take us away."

Violet Eye handed the Beyblade back to one kid, watching him scurry away and showing his friends the Bey. And then looking back at them, the Masked Blader said, "Beyblade? This is my room, and we can talk about anything we want. Lunchtime is when we can feel... normal. Like, we're actually people and not the mindless Bladers we turned into." 

Seriously, normal? Especially in a place that isn't supposed to be underestimated? If Norman was as evil as Silver Eye, he would turn these to in to Ashtem. Especially for trying to soften things up. 

And especially when Norman's world had been flipped upside down. 

"Um, normal?" he looked at Violet Eye, with one brow raised. "Somehow, I don't seem to be following. This place is just the oddest place on Earth."

Violet Eye sighed. "No, I'm not talking about the Snake Pit. I'm talking about us. We can feel normal and remember who we actually are. Think of life outside this place! Do we want to get married? Do we want a job? Heck, all that stuff in my room." 

To think that Masked Bladers like Violet Eye is normal... eh, Norman could think less of them. Most of them proved to be either useless or annoying, and didn't seem to be worth a lick. If anything, Norman thinks the children are probably more interesting than them. 

Wait a moment.

Is that how Ashtem thinks? Thinking that children are very adorable and fun to mess around with?