Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ High School Love ❯ High School Love chapter three ( Chapter 3 )

HIGH SCHOOL LOVE

 

CHAPTER 3

 

 

 

 

More than one head was turned that evening when Yami and Yugi walked through the common room towards the gym. Tea spared them one glance and turned away, disgust burning in her eyes. She still couldn't believe that her plans had backfired so spectacularly. All her hopes and dreams had come crashing in ruin around her ears today after Yugi had made it so obvious that he wanted nothing more to do with her following her sneaky attempts to drive a wedge between Yami and himself.

 

Where on earth had she gone wrong? she wondered, as she watched the couple walk through the common room, her heart still sore over her failure to win Yugi for her own. Should she have acted sooner? Or maybe she should have not been so obvious in her plans. They had seemed so good at the time, though! It just wasn't fair that Yami's backstabbing friends - with whom she had formerly been on good terms - should have turned on her like that and blown her cover.

 

She growled. Her hands were now tied. What she had done to try and drive a wedge between Yugi and Yami constituted a very bad breach of manners, and the principal had warned her to be on her best behaviour from now on. One more slip up, and she was going to be kissing the rest of her schooling goodbye.

 

The fact that her reputation was as good as ruined soured her mood even further. It didn't help when future boyfriends discovered her to be a lying, sneaking, underhanded little tart who paid people to drive two boys apart who wanted nothing more than to be friends, and maybe something more down the track. She was positive Yami's friends had spread the news of her disgrace as soon as she was hauled in front of the principal after leaving Yami's dorm room earlier in the day.

 

Now it was all over. No one, not even the boys who had previously been interested in her, wanted anything to do with her. Even her erstwhile best friend, Serenity Wheeler, whom she and Mai had used in a final attempt to stop Yami from following through with his plans on making Yugi his boyfriend, had refused to talk to her after she had come out of the principal's office. Either she had learned the real reason for Tea's behaviour, or her brother, Joey, had told her what her former best friend had done. Either way, Serenity wasn't even so much as acknowledging her existence. Only Mai Valentine, it seemed, was the only one who wanted anything to do with her, but it was a very lonely prospect she was facing. She blamed Yami and Yugi. They were the reason she was an outcast, and she wished for nothing but misery for the pair. It was the least they deserved for all the pain they had caused her.

 

 

 

 

Yami, it seemed, had wanted to take his gay porn star image to even greater heights tonight. In place of the blue school pants, he wore tight-fitting black leather pants that accentuated every muscle in his legs, and left very little to the imagination. He also wore more wristbands, buckles, and bracelets than normal, so much so that he almost jingled with every step he took. His black boots were laden with even more buckles than usual, and he even wore a neck belt to complete the ensemble. To turn heads even further, Yugi, walking at his side, was arrayed in the same attire; tight-fitting black leather pants and sleeveless black shirt, together with the same amount of bracelets, wristbands, buckles, and the neck belt. His black boots were the same as Yami's and had the same amount of buckles. He was blushing a little at finding himself in such attire, but the same air of lazy sexuality Yami exuded was also coming off him tonight, and he was wearing his new attire like he was born to it. Every girl present looked at the pair like they wanted to eat them with a spoon, but there was just one tiny problem; their hands were clasped tightly together, fingers interlaced. Bad news; these two were a couple, or at the very least, dates for the dance. They were off-limits.

 

Yugi had been somewhat surprised when Yami had taken his hand as soon as they entered the common room, but he had soon ceased to worry about what other people would think of this display, and he walked happily next to his date, enjoying not only the attention they were receiving, but the feel of Yami's strong fingers intertwined with his own small ones. He was feeling more protected and safe than ever before, and he was growing more and more convinced that he had done the right thing in seeking Yami out that afternoon. Of course, the invisible line between friendship and love had not yet been crossed, but for Yugi and Yami, it didn't really matter. It was enough for them that they had cleared up the misunderstandings between them, and that was all that mattered to them. They would talk about taking the next step when the time was right. For now, they were content with being friends, and maybe something more later on down the track. Only time would tell.

 

Outside, the night air was warm and balmy, and Yugi inhaled deeply, his eyes closing in pure rapture, his face a picture of delight as the faint salt breeze from the nearby harbour twined lazily around them both in a gentle caress. Mingled with the salt was the faint scent of sakura trees in full blossom, and the intermingling of scents was simply breathtaking. A full moon was rising over the harbour, turning the water silver, while faint stars pricked the deepening blue of the night sky overhead.

 

“I take it you don't get outside too often,” Yami guessed, watching his date with a small smile. The younger teen came back to himself and laughed.

 

“I'm usually so busy running from one class to another that it's a wonder I can get outside at all,” he said, as they resumed their walk towards the senior gymnasium. “And living so far away in a big city like Tokyo, it's small wonder there are any places left to be outdoors and enjoy nature at all.”

 

Yami was surprised. He'd had no idea Yugi wasn't from Domino. “How far away is Tokyo?” he wanted to know.

 

“It's a four-hour train ride,” Yugi explained. “I live with my grandfather in a small game shop in the middle of town. We sell puzzles, card games, board games, you name it, we sell it.”

 

“What about your parents?” Yami asked, before mentally kicking himself. Really, he ought to know better than that. “Curiosity killed the cat,” his sister was liable to say on more than one occasion, and Yami was tempted to believe that the old phrase had been coined with him in mind. He was certain of it.

 

Yugi, it seemed, didn't mind the somewhat probing question at all. “They died when I was little,” he said simply, his cherubic face losing some of its happy glow as they reached the gym. “They were coming home from a business conference in the States when their plane went down right near the main island of Japan due to engine failure. Everyone on board died.” He spoke briskly, but there was a note of sorrow in his voice, and Yami rubbed his thumb over the back of his smaller date's hand in an attempt to comfort him. He was about to say something when he heard voices hailing him from across the yard.

 

“Yami! Yo, Earth to Yami! You in there somewhere?”

 

He turned, managing as open a smile as he could. Yugi's loss had affected him more than he realized, he was surprised to discover. “Tristan, Duke,” he said, as the two seniors came up to him. “This is Yugi Moto. These are my friends, Tristan Taylor and Duke Devlin,” he told his date.

 

Yugi smiled and shook hands with the two seniors. “It's very nice to meet you,” he said.

 

Tristan smiled back and gave him a high-five, much to the junior's surprise and delight. “We heard all about that slut Tea and her friends, and what they tried to do to you,” he said. “We're gonna make sure you're looked after, pal. You've got some real friends behind you this time.”

 

Green-eyed, black-haired Duke gave Yugi a high-five as well. “It's good to see that you and Yami have sorted your problems out,” he said. “We weren't sure if you two were ever going to clear up that misunderstanding.”

 

“We have, and thank you for your help,” Yugi said sincerely. “It was very nice of you to look out for someone you don't even know.”

 

“That's what friends are for,” Duke told him. “We look out for each other and we watch each other's backs. What happens to the one affects us all, and we stick together and help a friend out when they're in need.”

 

Yugi beamed from ear to ear. Yami smiled as he looked on. “Where's Joey?” he asked.

 

“Comin'!” a familiar voice hollered, and, sure enough, the blond came tearing up to them at that moment, as if the mention of his name had been a summons. “Did I hear someone usin' my name in vain?” he joked, about to give Yami a headlock when his eyes fell on Yugi. “Hey, is dis da shrimp who got run inta da ground by Tea and co?” he said.

 

“The same one,” Yami said dryly. “Joey wanted to give Tea and her friends a hiding they wouldn't forget,” he said in an aside to Yugi, but stopped, puzzled, when he saw that the younger teen was looking at Joey with a mixture of surprise, disbelief, and a deep, deep joy that went beyond all possible bounds. Looking at Joey, Yami saw that he was looking at Yugi with the same mix of emotions.

 

“Joey?” Yugi finally got out, his voice choked with a billion and one emotions. “Joey, is that really you?”

 

The blond actually looked ready to cry. “Da one an' only,” he said in a shaking voice. “Yug, I can' believe it's really you, after all dis time.”

 

Laughing and crying at the same time, Yugi threw himself into Joey's arms and hugged him tightly. “I thought I was never going to see you again,” he managed to choke out. “I had no idea you were at this school!”

 

“Neit'er did I,” Joey said, returning the younger teen's hug. “Why didn't ya eva try an' look me up, huh, buddy? Ya musta seen me dozens of times, and t'hought ta yourself dat I looked familiar.”

 

“I just didn't know,” Yugi said. “Your parents and my grandpa never got on, remember? Your mom never told us where you were going, `cause she didn't like us.” He started crying in earnest. “I just knew that she was going to separate us, and we'd never see each other again.”

 

“Yug.” That one word expressed a world of heartfelt emotion as Joey pulled the younger teen closer, rubbing his back soothingly. There was no need for further words, but Yami, Tristan and Duke no longer looked at their two friends like they'd gone mad.

 

“No wonder Joey was such a quivering mess when we first met him,” Tristan said. “He was missing Yugi like crazy! That's enough to turn anyone into a pile of jelly.”

 

“How come he never mentioned him to us?” Duke wondered.

 

“Too many memories and too much pain,” Yami said. “Come on. We'll leave them to it. Something tells me they're going to be a little while.”

 

Tristan snorted with laughter as the three friends made their way into the gym. “Not worried you're going to lose your date to Joey's charms?” he teased.

 

Yami's face broke into a grin. “Why would I ever be worried?” he joked back. “I trust Joey. He knows better than to muscle in on someone else's territory. And besides, it also gives them a chance to catch up after what? Three years, it must have been now.”

 

“Well, there's another miracle,” Duke joked. “And I didn't even have anything to do with it this time.” This provoked laughter as they made their way to the punch table, in full view of the door so Joey and Yugi could see them when they came in.

 

 

 

 

“Joey?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Promise me something, okay?”

 

“Anyt'in' ya want, pal.”

 

“Promise me we won't ever lose touch again. I don't want to go through another three years of pain like I did ever since you left.”

 

Joey rubbed the back of Yugi's neck in a familiar soothing fashion. “I promise ya on my word a' honour. Not'in's ever gonna come b'tween us again.”

 

“Good.” Yugi gave his friend one last fierce hug before pulling away. “Let's go join the party,” he said, smiling up at the blond with such happiness that he could've sworn the sun had come back again, even though it was growing steadily darker, with the moon shining brightly in the sky. His own smile was just as big, and he draped an arm around his smaller friend's shoulders as they made their way into the gym.

 

“I swear you two look like Siamese twins,” Duke said, watching as the two friends came to join him, Tristan and Yami at the punch table. Already the dance was well underway, and there was a subtle air of barely restrained sexuality on the dance floor. The strobe lights and shadowed corners provided plenty of cover for many couples, and if there was ever a ripe atmosphere for making out in relative anonymity, this was it.

 

Joey merely grinned at his friend, and Yami looked on with happiness to see Yugi reunited with his oldest and closest friend. The junior caught his eye, and made as if to pull away from Joey, obviously worried about appearances, but Yami shook his head ever so slightly, and Yugi relaxed, laughing when Tristan, caught up in the spirit of the moment, starting teasing his two friends. Joey retaliated with some crass insults that had Yugi in stitches, and Yami shook his head. “Those two are never going to learn,” he said to Duke.

 

“They'll fight at the drop of a hat,” the green-eyed senior remarked, shaking his head. “Give `em an inch and they'll take a mile. I have never known two people to fight like this over nothing as Joey Wheeler and Tristan Taylor.”

 

Yami had a very good idea as to why this was the case, but he said nothing. There was enough mush - as Tristan would oh-so-delicately put it - as it was without adding any more. He didn't mind. He was more than happy to let Joey and Yugi enjoy their reunion to the fullest extent possible. It was the least he could do for his date after the hell they had been forced to endure with Tea earlier today.

 

Speaking of her, she had been given a right drubbing, he had found out from his sister. The brunette had come to within an inch of being suspended, and only the intervention of Mai Valentine had prevented that. Yami's lip curled in disgust at the thought of that tart standing up for someone who had so obviously tried to come between Yugi and him. The junior had said that Tea had been after him for the longest time, but Yami suspected that she would have settled for either had she succeeded in breaking them up before they had a chance to get together. And she would have tried to break them up again if it wasn't for the threat of suspension.

 

Yami permitted himself a small smile of victory. His sister had guaranteed him a real chance with his crush, and he was going to make sure he took that chance. He wasn't going to rush things - matters were still too delicate for him and Yugi to be anything more than friends right now - but he wasn't going to waste an opportunity when it was presented to him.

 

 

 

 

Yugi was having a good time. He wasn't dancing or anything like that, but he was having a good time. Just standing at the punch table, talking and laughing with Yami and his friends was enough to constitute a good time in his book. Plus, he had Joey standing next to him, an arm draped comfortably over his shoulders, chatting away with other seniors, his arm a constant and pleasant reminder that his smaller friend was foremost in his attentions, even if it wasn't conscious attention. And Yami was only a few feet away, talking with still more seniors, all of whom promised swift revenge on Tea and Mai for what they had tried to do to break him and Yugi up. The smaller teen was immensely gratified that Yami's - and now his - close-knit circle of friends weren't the only ones to be looking out for their interests. It certainly did a lot to bolster his self-esteem.

 

“You're real lucky, pal,” Joey said at one point, following his friend's gaze to his doppelganger. “Yami might not look it, but he's got a heart a' gold under dat gay porn star exterior.”

 

Yugi burst out laughing. “You noticed it too?” he asked.

 

“How could I not?” the blond answered, feigning indignant hurt. “A' course I noticed. Yami's got gay porn star written all ova him.” Then he turned serious. “Whateva happens in da future, you can be sure he's always gonna be dere for ya. He's got a real carin' heart.”

 

“I know,” Yugi said, smiling. Then his face fell. “You're not… I mean… what do you think… I'm gay… are you going to sort of… well… cut me loose now that you know I like guys better than girls?” God it hurt to get those words out. He hadn't minded defending his gayness to Tea earlier today, but this was his best friend. They had grown up as children, and had been there for each other through thick and thin. Certainly Joey had never once admitted like or dislike for homosexuality, and even though he was very fair minded when it came to those sorts of things, Yugi feared the blond's reaction over learning that his oldest and dearest friend was gay.

 

As it turned out, he needn't have worried when Joey gave him a small hug. “Stop frettin',” he told the younger teen. “It's not a crime bein' gay. I'm gonna treat ya da same as I always have; as my best buddy in da whole world. Not'in's ever gonna change dat, okay?”

 

The spiky-haired teen smiled again. “Thanks,” he said. “I really needed to hear that.” Tears filled his eyes again. “You've got no idea how much I've missed you. It was like a hole in the heart. Nothing could fill it, and I was so scared that I'd lost you forever. I could never understand why your mom and my grandpa didn't get along, and it broke my heart in pieces to see you go without any explanation as to why. If your mom hadn't let grandpa talk her into letting you say goodbye to me, I'd have thought you abandoned me, or something like that, that you were sick of this little kid tagging along after you wherever you went and holding you back.”

 

“Dat's da last t'ing on eart' I felt,” Joey exclaimed, eyes going wide in shock and hurt. “Yugi, you're my best friend in da whole world! What's it gonna take ta get dat t'rough your t'ick skull? I neva once t'ought a' ya as a pain; you were like a brot'er ta me, and you still are. I was dere for ya t'rough t'ick an' t'in, an' I neva once letcha down, no matter what mom tried ta do or say ta stop us frum seein' each ot'er.” He knelt down so he could look Yugi in the eye. “Listen ta me. You come a very close second afta Serenity in my heart. Ya always have, an' ya always will. I neva told ya dat before, `cause I neva had much cause ta, but dang it, ya gotta right ta know.”

 

Yugi's eyes widened in their own turn, and he smiled weakly. “You really mean that?” he asked tremulously.

 

“I wouldn't a' said it if I didn't mean it,” Joey told him. “Dere's only a hairsbreadth's difference between you and Serenity. Bot' a' ya mean da whole world ta me, an' ta lose eit'er one a' ya would be ta lose a part a' me. When we left dat day, I just wanted to curl up in a ball an' die from da pain. It was tearin' me in two, and I neva t'ought I'd ever get t'rough it. Every day we were apart was one day too many, an' I lost track a' how many nights I cried myself ta sleep for missin' ya.”

 

“I'll bet I cried twice as much as you did,” Yugi said with a faint smile.

 

Joey laughed shakily, tears glinting in his eyes. “Ya always did outdo me when it came ta a lot a' stuff,” he joked, smiling through his tears. A stray tear escaped and made its way down his cheek, and Yugi gently wiped it away. A sudden thought occurred to him, though, and he looked at Joey consideringly.

 

“That's not the same Serenity who goes to this school?” he asked, half-fearful of the answer.

 

“Yup,” Joey answered, looking at his friend with a puzzled look in his honey eyes. “Why?”

 

Yugi sighed. “I was hoping it wasn't the same one,” he said morosely. “You know what Tea and Mai tried to do, don't you?”

 

“I was ready ta bang bot' dere heads toget'a,” Joey said angrily. “Even t'ough Yami didn't actually tell me who was on da receivin' end a' dere crap, I saw red. Anyone who hurts someone close ta Yami deserves a real drubbin' in my book. So what's Serenity gotta do wit' dis?”

 

Yugi related in brief detail what he had seen that morning, and Joey's face darkened. “Damn dat Mai,” he snarled. “Dat slut's ready ta use my own sista ta cause ya pain.”

 

“Then… then she wasn't trying to take Yami away from me?” Yugi ventured in a small voice.

 

Joey gave him another hug. “Not on a dime, pal,” he said reassuringly. “I hafta reintroduce da two a' ya. Serenity's da kindest, sweetest person on da planet. She'd neva go outta her way ta hurt someone da way ya just described. Mai was poisonin' her, getting her ta do her dirty work for her.”

 

Yugi could have cried from relief. “I'm glad to hear that,” he said. “You have no idea how happy that makes me.”

 

“Good.” Joey gave his friend a final squeeze before standing. “Now enough a' dat mushy stuff, buddy a' mine. It's time ta start da party for real. Whaddya say?”

 

Yugi grinned. This was just like old times. “I'm in,” he said, laughing when the blond gave a whoop of joy, causing more than one head to turn. The younger teen certainly didn't mind. Now at long last he was finally going to get a chance to dance with Yami, just as he had been dreaming of ever since the older teen had asked him to the dance earlier that afternoon.

 

Yami, Tristan and Duke came over to them at that moment. “I take it from your somewhat exuberant outburst that you're ready to do something more constructive wit your time, and not spend it trying to entice my date away from me?” the spiky-haired senior wanted to know, speaking with a completely straight face. It was somewhat ruined by the gleam of amusement in his crimson eyes, however.

 

Joey howled with laughter. “Man oh man, you're a riot, Yami,” he said, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes. “Here ya go.” He took Yugi's hand and placed it in the older teen's. “I hereby relinquish care a' him ta ya.” His eyes became serious. “Just do me one fava, okay?”

 

Yami nodded.

 

“Take good care a' him,” Joey said, speaking for the two spiky-haired doppelgangers' ears alone. “Yug's got a real carin' heart, an' he don't need it broken. He's been t'rough too much shit ta handle anyt'in' more.”

 

“I swear to you that Yugi will be in very good hands,” Yami promised. “You have divine permission kill me in any manner you see fit if I should perchance dare to commit the felony of breaking my word.” His humour broke the heavy mood, and Yugi was the first to start laughing, followed closely by Joey, and then Yami. Tristan and Duke, who hadn't heard that exchange, smiled nevertheless, enjoying the camaraderie between their three friends.

 

Then this second, happier spell was broken when Yugi tugged at Yami's hand. “You promised to teach me to dance,” he said, leading his smiling date away. “I hope you live up to your word.”

 

“You're in the hands of a master now,” Yami promised with a wink, and Yugi giggled as they made their way onto the dance floor, soon to be swallowed up by other couples.

 

“Well,” Duke said, rubbing his hands together with an air of satisfaction, “that is what I call a job very well done indeed.”

 

“You said it,” Tristan said, clapping his friend on the shoulder. “I'm glad it sorted itself out.”

 

“Me too,” Joey agreed.

 

“Me three,” Duke added, and they shared a moment of laughter.

 

 

 

 

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