Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Absolutely Awful ❯ Fifth and Final Mistake ( Chapter 5 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

AN: Well, this is the final chapter, and just in time, to. I knew that it wouldn’t be ready in time unless I started it forever ago, which I did, and now look! I made a deadline! Blue Eyes, Black Dragon Fiction Group RULES #1!

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The television blaring in the room directly below mine was the only thing I could hear above the rhythmic thumping of my head against my bedroom floor, in a half-hearted attempt to clear my head and focus. The only thing that I gained from this pathetic display of helplessness, besides a dirty forehead, was the realization that I was going to have to live out the rest of my days from the very place that I was now expertly hiding within.

Underneath my bed.

It wouldn’t be so bad, I thought to myself. Plenty of room... Then, after a few more moments of thought, I curled up in an even tighter ball than I had been in before, and I felt fresh tears coming up from deep inside. I would eventually be found out, I knew it, and they would take me from my hiding place, and then....I shuddered at my next thought.

Seto Kaiba might find me. And I could never allow that to happen. I had finally decided that, in order to make Seto happy, I would have to make absolutely sure that he never had to look at the sight of me ever again. It was the least I could do, but I really had to come through for him this time. No more mistakes, no more accidents, no more hurt feelings. For Seto, at least. My feelings would have to step aside, especially since there wasn’t any hope of them being fulfilled anytime soon, at least not in this lifetime, anyway. And in reality, there was no one but my own self to blame for that, so I was alright with it. If I could help Seto by never hurting him again, then I would have done all that I could for him, and that was what I had always truly wanted, ever since the start of all this....

The head pounding resumed. I couldn’t even help it, I had never before demolished anything this terribly before, and I felt like I was the worst person in the entire world. I had done something that had been previously unheard of, even theoretically, and the very thought would have been ridiculed by any and all who ever heard it. Yet, it was entirely possible, because apparently I alone possessed the evil force that could actually hurt Seto Kaiba’s feelings. How incredibly bizarre, to say the very least. Never in my thoughts, daydreams, fantasies, or reality had I ever come across the image of a Seto with that barely discernable but perfectly captured look of being utterly crestfallen. Why would I bother with picturing something as unlikely as that? It was like imagining Seto following me to my house for something other than a fight, or something similar and almost hilariously out of place such as that. Yeah, Seto hated my guts, in a big way.... pound, pound, pound, pound...

The voices from the television below my room suddenly stopped talking in mid-sentence, and I heard a strange and unfamiliar silence that rarely occupied my home begin to pull at my wandering attention. Reluctantly taking notice of the outside world at last, I pressed my ear into the floorboards beneath me and waited, listening to the curious silence that grew more intrusive with every passing second. It was broken moments later by a forceful rapping at the front door. Cringing in fear, I desperately hoped it wasn’t one of my friends come to cheer me up. Well, whoever it was, someone else would answer it. I couldn’t bring myself to even pull my lifeless body out from my hiding place, let alone allow someone try to convince me that there was a chance I might survive this ordeal. I didn’t even think I wanted to survive it, at least not right then. I knew, deep down, that I was being completely ridiculous, but the events of earlier were still fresh in my mind and my emotions were still running over. I sat in the silence and waited for something to happen, not even knowing what it was that I wanted any longer.

I rolled over so that I lay on my side facing away from my bedroom door, scooting forward until there were only inches between my face and the wall. Wallowing in overly emphasized misery suited my tastes for the time being, and there really wasn’t anything else I even remotely felt like doing, other than thinking about Seto...

Approaching footsteps brought me out of my daze less than a minute later, each one more pronounced than the last, until the last and the loudest came to full stop just feet from where I lay, from the other side of my bedroom door. Closing my eyes in a last-ditch effort to remain invisible, I didn’t give any sign that I heard the knocking that soon followed. There was no noise at all after that, as the both of us waited in anticipation for some signal from the other. Whoever it was, I didn’t want to see them and hoped that they would get the message from my lack of acknowledgment. However, there are those certain people who simply refuse to be ignored.

The door swung open almost resentfully, and I heard someone enter the room and shut the door quietly behind them, standing still and most likely surveying the area for my whereabouts. I held my breath and froze every muscle that I had, doubting that anyone other than me would consider “underneath the bed” to be a likely choice. Waiting, and then waiting still, I eventually had to resort to breathing very softly as the seconds passed and no other motion had been made by the intruder. I began to seriously consider who the hell was in my room, and knew enough to be positive that I was truly somewhere inside. The only person who had seen me as I came in from school was my father. This sort of silent investigation was just like him, come to think of it...he was probably wondering why I hadn’t made a beeline for the kitchen and proceeded to eat us out of house and home, as was expected of me. Relaxing my tense form at this conclusion, I decided to put his mind at rest so that I could get back to my private and miserable party.

“I’m under the bed....and no, I’m not coming out for dinner. I’m not hungry.”

At that last confession I heard a light exhale that sounded like contained laughter, and I frowned in response. This was exactly why I was down here in the first place. No one was ever going to understand how awful my life was going to be from now on, and worst of all, it was all my fault. And clearly, it wasn’t any use to try to tell anyone with out expecting to get ridiculed. Somehow, it felt as if that hidden amusement at my expense was the very last misfortune stacked carelessly on top of an already precarious pile, and the building heartache that I had kept restrained was unleashed at once, as it all fell to pieces inside me. I instantly burst into a fit of tears. In between my ragged sobs I harshly spoke out, wanting nothing else than to be completely alone.

“Go away! You’re going to laugh at me, anyway, so just leave me alone! I just had the absolute worst day ever, and it’s all my own damn fault. I shouldn’t have tried to hide it from him....but it doesn’t matter anymore. I messed up everything...I chased him away and ruined my entire life...all in one day.” Saying the words out loud made my feelings seem all the more devastating, and I gave in to the tears that refused to relent. I didn’t even care if he was still listening, or if he had already gone by now. I had stopped listening long ago, and just lay there, crying quietly.

A weight settled on the mattress just above me, and I realized that I was not yet alone, as I had began to assume. I rolled my body over so I could at least see his feet, wanting to be sure that he was gone as soon as I could chase him out. God, I though I was so efficient at chasing men away, why didn’t it work when I really wanted it to? When I had completely turned over, however, the sight that I met and the answering voice that accompanied it nearly stopped my heart in that instant. There was only one person in Domino City with a pair of boots like those...

“Hmph. Well, I never thought I’d say this, but I have to agree with you, Wheeler. This is all your fault.”

My father had never been in here. But there was no way that Seto Kaiba could be in my bedroom. No way at all. The blood in my veins felt as if it was icing over, and I was nearly dizzy with equal amounts of confusion and horror. Still refusing to believe, I slid my body across the floor until I reached the edge of the bed above, and I carefully stuck my head out in the open and looked up. Seto Kaiba loomed ominously. Swallowing nervously, I slowly withdrew my head from view and returned to the safety underneath him, wondering just how far a sprint it was to the window across the room. I don’t think I’ve ever been so terrified in my life, before or after that moment.

“You do realize that I know where you are hiding, don’t you?”

I didn’t answer him. I couldn’t think of an answer that wouldn’t make me sound like a complete idiot, although it wasn’t as if I had to hide that fact from Seto. He knew better than anyone just how idiotic I could be. But what was he doing here? My fear took hold of me suddenly, what if he had come to take his revenge? He knew that I had seen his accidental exposure of emotions that seemed almost human, and now that I had seen what he had worked so hard to conceal...would I be allowed to live? It was like witnessing a murder, and now I had the only evidence against him. Thinking rapidly, I decided to beg for mercy.

“Please...I didn’t see anything...” I panicked, trying to think of what I could say next. But before I could open my mouth, Seto beat me to it and spoke first.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Oh, he was already angry, I could hear it in his voice. I wanted to cry all over again, I felt so awful about what I’d said to him earlier. I realized that I couldn’t think of a single reason why he shouldn’t get to do or say what he wanted to me. He deserved much more, but I knew that there wasn’t a whole lot I had to offer to someone like Seto Kaiba.

“Kaiba, I know that I said some really awful things to you, and...I am so sorry. Please, just forget I ever said or did anything. My intention was never to hurt you.” I held my breath, waiting to see if my apology would have any effect on his final verdict.

“What was your intention...if you don’t mind my asking?”

I didn’t answer him immediately. I considered lying for a moment, but then decided that the very least that I could do for him was to explain myself and hope that he would take pity on me.

“I wanted to...to ask you if....ifyouwouldbemyvalntine.” I said it, and as I did the reality of it struck me and I blushed in the darkness, causing my words to stumble blindly into one another until the last part of the sentence was nearly inaudible and mumbled so low that it was incomprehensible to all but myself.

“What was that, Wheeler?” His impatient tone forced my voice into a fearfully compliant volume, and I said it again, louder and with just a bit more confidence than the last attempt.

“I was going to ask you to be my valentine.” I waited patiently for the outburst to follow, but it never came. I expect too much from Seto Kaiba sometimes, and I think the rest of the world does as well.

“Well, that’s about all the information I’ll be needing from you. Thank you, Wheeler, you’ve been most helpful.”

He stood up from his seat on my bed and without any hesitation strode purposefully out the door. In complete shock at the unexpected retreat, I sat up so quickly that my head connected with the bedframe inches above me. Letting out a small cry in annoyance but too distracted to care further, I pulled myself out from my safehaven and stood up, staring at the door that he had just shut behind him in a strangely neutral manner. Did any of this actually happen? I began to doubt the reliability of my sanity, and absentmindedly I rubbed the top of my head that I had injured in my haste. A few flakes of heart shaped confetti fell from above me, no doubt caught in my hair as I was rolling around under my bed for the last few hours. I smiled, and thought about all the terrible things that had happened to me in the last few days, which I had foreseen from the very beginning. I knew that this plan wasn’t supposed to work. Seto was never supposed to accept me or my advances. I had done it for myself, to put my mind and my heart and rest. Perhaps now I could finally sleep in the nights to come, when Seto was long gone and so was I, both of us going in our own directions after the year had ended. I had done all that I could.

Turning back to face my room, I came face to face with an unexpected future. Seto had left something behind on the bed, for me to find. I froze where I was in disbelief, it looked to be a letter, and something else that I couldn’t see. Immediately I stepped closer and sat down where he had been seated not more than a minute or so earlier. So this was why he rushed out so quickly...

It wasn’t much, just a single white rose and a letter. And upon finishing the letter, I immediately dropped it and took off running. I ran as quickly as I ever have before, and to this day I haven’t ever again had a single reason to run as fast as I did then. And as I ran, all of those awful accidents and embarrassing failures were forgotten, in my haste to catch up with my hard earned and well deserved moment of victory.
Oh, yeah. I had him won before I even began.









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