Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Pools of Glass ❯ King of the World ( Chapter 4 )

Here is chappie 4… hope you like!

F_D_C2003: Yeah, pretty angsty huh? O well, there will be no more of that! At least I hope…

Fallen Angel17901: Thanks, hope you enjoy this chapter.

King of the World
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

9.30AM…

"Hey Jou! Look at my test result!" Yugi flurried on over to Jou who was slouched behind a desk in his English classroom.

Jou snatched the paper off Yugi and took a look. 130/137. "Nice goin' Yug'."

"What did you get, Jou-kun?" Yugi asked.

Jou looked down at his paper which miserably said 58/137. "Well, I failed again; put it that way."

The class settled as the teacher began to write up the day's lesson on the board. Jou looked across at Anzu and Ryou who were busy writing, and Honda who was desperately trying to see past the teacher at what she was writing up. Jou couldn't help but ponder about what happened with Bell last night. He didn't expect her to be at school today. If she wasn't he might pop over to her house on the way home to see how she was doing.

As everyone was working silently, the door creaked open and everyone immediately looked up. Jou nearly shot into orbit when he saw Bell standing in the doorway. She looked around the room timidly and went up to the teacher and quietly discussed something with her. The teacher pointed to the back where there was a free space behind Jou, so Bell went and took it.

"What are you doing in here?" Jou whispered as he spun around in his seat. "This is like one of the dumbest English classes in the school!"

Bell sighed. "Remember how I got into trouble with my essay paper for English?" Jounouchi nodded. "Well, they decided to put me down a class because of it."

Jou reeled. "Really?! But that's not fair!"

She shrugged. "I didn't have a say in it."

"Mr. Jounouchi, would you kindly tell us all what you are discussing with Miss. Ramika down there?" The teacher glowered at the two jabbering teens at the back of the classroom.

"Is it any of your business?" Jou snapped at the teacher.

"You dare backchat me, Mr. Jounouchi?"

Jou turned around and rolled his eyes at the idiotic young female teacher that he hated most. Quite a lot of students had fancied her at some point in time though, including Honda. Even some bisexual girls in the school had mentioned how hot she was.

Lunchtime came and Bell and Jounouchi were walking down the corridor to the cafeteria to meet up with the rest. Jounouchi groaned as he saw a cluster of girls standing up ahead. They were all Shizuka's friends, and she was standing with them. Jou tried to avoid them at all costs, but since the majority of them had a tremendous crush on him, it was hard not to.

Jou tried to walk coolly past them with Bell, making out like he hadn't seen them, but it was too late. A blonde girl with ruby-red eyes and a red silky ribbon in her hair noticed him walking past and jerked out to him.

"Hi Jounouchi-sama! You look great today!" She cried, flashing him a brilliant smile that could only come from a flirty fourteen-year-old girl.

He tried to resist the urge to roll his eyes and groan but he had to stop and talk, or his sister would get upset. "Hi, Suki."

"Hey big brother, guess what!" Shizuka said as she pushed through the small crowd of girls and advanced on her brother.

"What is it sis?" Jou heard the other girls in the background sigh as he spoke. Bell remained quiet as she stood out in the middle of the hallway, watching.

"We're entering the school's lip-sync! Isn't that right girls?" Shizuka asked as she flicked her auburn hair over her shoulder.

A series of `yeah!' and `yup!' and `that's right!'s were heard. Jou merely raised an eyebrow. His sister was such a prep at school. She reeled in the younger boys like hotcakes, Honda being one of them - and he was a senior.

A girl with curly pink hair that looked incredibly like cotton candy pushed in front of Shizuka to speak to Jou. "Who's your friend, Jou?" She asked in a mocking tone.

Jou looked over his shoulder, surprised to see Bell still standing there. "Oh, that's my friend Bell. We're actually off to have lunch now, so I'll talk to you later okay sis?"

"Okay Kat, see you!"

"Bye Jou!" Suki shouted.

The cotton candy haired girl shouted; "See you later Jou-sama!"

"See ya Jounouchi!"

"Bye Jounouchi-kun!"

"I take those girls have a thing for you, Jou?" Bell asked quietly.

Jou merely rolled his eyes. He shrugged it off. "Who cares `bout `em? They're my sister's age… sick." He shuddered.

Bell smiled a little. "I was never like them when I was their age. I never went near the boys."

"How come?" Jou asked curiously. When he was younger, he was one of the horniest boys in school - and still is, so to say.

Bell's large doe brown eyes lured to the floor. "My mother is very strict… besides, the boys used to tease me a lot. For what reasons I will never know, but I tried to avoid them most of the time."

"Well the guys in my group are all good! They won't tease ya or nuthin'. And if they do, they'd just be jokin' around."

They reached the cafeteria. Sitting around a large round table was the usual gang. But sitting with them was someone with raven black hair and a red and black band around his head. He turned around and startled Bell slightly with his huge green eyes. She hadn't seen him before, neither had Jou.

"About time you guys showed up." Honda greeted.

"Yeah… who is this?" Jou asked, taking a seat. Bell sat down next to him and crossed her legs.

"I'm Otogi Ryuuji." The black haired boy replied.

"He's a transfer student." Anzu said, somewhat excitedly.

"Right… where you from?" Jou asked.

"Down south… Takamatsu."

"That's a way to come." Jou said, stretching back in his chair.

He shrugged, his bangs flopping about around his face. He pushed them back. "I like it here. It's not so crowded."

Over the lunchtime period, Jou was questioning this Otogi boy about practically everything. The others looked a little embarrassed that he was asking so much, but Otogi seemed confident enough to reply to even the hardest questions that Jou asked. At the end of the conversation, the group had learnt that he was from a wealthy family, and that he had his own gaming company called `Dungeon Dice Monsters'.

"Perhaps we could come over for a game of Dungeon Dice Monsters one day, Otogi!" Yugi suggested.

Otogi nodded. "Perhaps you could. How about tomorrow night?"

"That would be great!" Anzu cried.

Bell looked sideways at Jou. "Jou… um…" She whispered.

"Yeah I know." Jou replied. "Uh, listen guys, me and Bell are going out tomorrow night… so we probably won't be able to make it."

Anzu looked at him like he had three eyeballs. "You are?"

"Where are you guys going?" Yugi asked.

"We thought we'd catch a movie or somethin'." Jounouchi replied. "Isn't that right Bell?" Bell nodded timidly.

"Well that's great you guys!" Honda said, giving Jou a sly wink.

"Yeah, we could always play Dungeon Dice Monsters on Saturday." Ryou piped up.

Jou scratched the back of his head. "Whatever suits Otogi I guess?"

Otogi shrugged. "Saturday is probably better for me anyway."

"Well it's settled then! Saturday it is guys." Anzu said cheerfully.

Friday 7.55PM…

Dammit, I'm gonna be late! I can't be late for Bell's first date… can't be late, can't be late, can't be late! Jou thought as he hurriedly applied some sensual cologne to his cheeks and ran a comb through his hair. He decided on wearing a pair of black jeans and a white singlet, since it was a warm night. He put on his necklace and bracelets, put his wallet in his pocket and dashed for the door out onto the street to his old T-Bird convertible (which he picked up from the wreckers yard for about 3000 yen).

On the way driving up Bell's street, he quickly jumped out and picked a couple of flowers out of a nearby garden, and arranged them to look almost presentable. He pulled up outside her house and rang the doorbell. A brunette woman answered.

"Hello, you must be Jounouchi. I'm Ava, Bell's mother." She said softly.

"Nice to meet ya, Ava. Is Bell nearly ready?"

"Almost. She hasn't come out of her room all night; I think she's quite excited. Please come in and sit down."

Jounouchi followed Ava through to a small dining room. He sat down on the couch and watched as Ava disappeared up the stairwell. He guessed she was going to see if Bell was ready to come down yet.

He wandered the room with his eyes at the pictures around the walls. He noticed a picture of a Bell standing next to a man who Jou presumed was her father. I wonder where he was now… Bell soon arrived downstairs, taking Jou a little by surprise.

"Wow…" Jou breathed as he stood up. "You look great!"

Bell was wearing her contacts with some dark brown eyeliner, making her eyes stand out even more than they did already. She wore a white lace top which was unbuttoned just enough to tease, and she wore a pair of wide-flared navy jeans. Her hair was down and in barrel curls around her shoulders. Slung over her left shoulder was a small black leather bag.

"Hello Jounouchi."

Jou couldn't help but blush as he stepped closer to her. "I picked these for ya…" He handed her the violets and roses which he clumsily picked on his way.

Bell smiled. "They're beautiful… thanks Jou."

Jou crossed his arms. "Well, shall we get going then? Our movie starts at nine."

"Alright." Ava said, setting her hands on her hips. "I want you home by midnight at the very latest, Bella."

Bell nodded. "Yes Mom, goodbye."

Bell and Jou walked down the garden path back to the car. Jou asked, "Why'd your Ma call you Bella?"

"Oh… it's my full name. I hate it though."

"I think it's pretty…" Jou said, smiling. He opened the passenger's side door for Bell and she hopped in. Jou went to his side and started up the car.

"You picked these flowers out of Mrs. McKnight's garden, didn't you Jou?"

Jou went rigid. "Err… how'd you know that?" He answered sheepishly.

Bell held the flowers under her nose and then looked up to Jou and grinned. "Because the flowers still have the roots and dirt on them."

Jou paled. Darn it Jou, you couldn't have made a good impression at least once in your life could you've?! The one time when it really mattered too!

"Uhhh… I hope you like Keanu Reeves… we're going to see the Matrix Revolutions…" Jou said quietly.

Bell sat up quickly, making Jou swerve on the road a little. "Really?! I've been waiting to see that movie… perhaps all my life!" Bell cried extravagantly.

"You do?" Jou said, cheering up.

"Yeah! I think Keanu Reeves is a great actor…"

Jou was glad that someone agreed with him. Honda completely detested Keanu Reeves - saying he was a fake in all of his movies because they were usually just special effects. His idol was Jackie Chan - the king of Martial Arts. Bakura and Ryou were more so into horror movies, well more Bakura than Ryou; Malik and Marik liked westerns and mystery movies, Yugi and Yami were into Sci-Fi and Anzu was into Romantic Comedies.

Jou and Bell reached the drive-in cinema. They got the tickets and some popcorn first and then drove to their parking space. Thankfully it was a warm, clear night, so they could watch the movie with the top down. Jou turned the car off and turned to face Bell.

"I forgot to get some candy… I might go back to get some. Do you want anything while I'm there?" He asked.

Bell shook her head. "I'm fine with what I've got." She replied, smiling. "I'll wait here."

"Alright. I won't be long then." He jumped out of the car and began to trudge back to the box office area.

Jou walked across the driveway of the box office to the candy-bar and almost got run down by a long green car, similar to his own, except it wasn't a soft-top. "Hey! What gives? Little punk?!" Jou shrieked, throwing a fist up into the air.

"Sorry Jounouchi… didn't see you coming." A head poked out the drivers' side window in the darkness.

"Huh? Otogi…? What are you doin' here?" Jou asked, putting his hands in his pockets, walking up to greet him. He looked even more shocked to see who else was in the car too.

"Hey Jou!"

"Anzu? Honda?"

"Hey dude." Honda said. "We all thought we'd go to see the Matrix Revolutions tonight. Are you here with Bell?"

Jou scratched the back of his head, and then frowned, knowing that Honda despised Keanu Reeves and all the Matrix movies. "You guys aint here to spy on me… are ya?"

"Of course not Jou! We wouldn't do that!" Anzu laughed.

I'd love to believe you on that one… Jou thought, with a sneaking suspicion. "Oh well, Bell and I are down the back lot. I'm just heading back to the candy-bar to get us some more food."

Otogi nodded. "Alright, see you down there Jounouchi."

Jou returned to the car, only to find the movie already started. He furrowed his brow to see Otogi parked right up next to them. All three were stuffing their faces with popcorn and coke. Bell's eyes were glued to the screen as she gingerly popped small pieces of popcorn into her mouth. She didn't even notice Jou return to the car, she was so caught up in the movie.

After the movie had finished it was about eleven thirty, and the sky was an inky black. Otogi and the others had already headed off. Jou decided to take Bell to one of his favourite places to show her the view over Domino. It was a place where only he and Shizuka knew about.

Jou began to drive up the foot of the hill. "I want you to keep your eyes closed until I say so, alright Bell?" Jou said while grinning.

"Alright Jou." Bell giggled, holding her hands over her eyes.

Jou grinned and changed down a gear to get up the hill faster. Finally he reached the top, and pushed the hair out of his eyes which had caught up in his eyelashes due to the wind rushing through his hair.

"Alright, keep them closed! Don't you dare open `em!" Jou laughed as he got out and went to the passenger's side to let Bell hop out.

Jou led Bell out of the car and onto the grassy hilltop, walking behind her with his hands covering her eyes. "Okay… you can look now." Jou said, taking his hands off of her eyes.

"Oh Jou… it's so beautiful!" Bell whispered as she looked out across the city made of glittering yellow lights against the sheer black and inky purple darkness.

Jou smiled and stood beside her. "Me and my sister used to come up here a lot when we were kids… for picnics and things. It was our secret spot."

"You should keep it secret too, Jou." Bell replied.

"Yeah, I will, too." Jou said as he went and hopped on his car bonnet and lay back, leaning against the windscreen. Bell leant against the side of the car, shivering a little bit.

"Are you gettin' cold?" Jou asked.

Bell nodded. "Just a little. I suppose I should have bought a jacket with me."

"Don't sweat it." Jou said. "Here, put this on." He got up from the bonnet of the car and put his leather jacket over Bell's shoulders.

"Thanks… you know Jou, you've really given me inspiration." Bell said, smiling up at him.

Jou reeled in surprise slightly. "Really? How have I done that?" He asked, puzzled.

"Well… I dunno, I guess you've taught me how to stand up for myself a little bit more. For example with Kaiba. You've given me a chance to open up a little bit. I haven't really had friends before…"

Jou seemed speechless - nobody had ever said that he had inspired them before. It made him feel great, nonetheless. The only other girl who had complimented him seriously before was Anzu, when she told him how well he did in his duel against Yugi in Duelist Kingdom. The other mindless fourteen year olds at Domino High didn't count for diddly-squat.

"Really?" Jou managed to choke after an awkward few silent minutes.

"Mm hm." Bell replied nodding.

"That really means a lot to me, Bell. Thanks." Jou said, giving her a hug. Bell sighed contentedly and rested her head against Jou's chest.

"You know, you've done some wonders for me too, Bell." Jou said, resting his chin on the top of her head.

"How's that?"

"Well… the first day I met you, I actually broke up with my former girlfriend on that day. You've made me forget her so fast… she seems like nothing but an ancient memory now." Jou said.

"I'm glad you've overcome her, Jou."

"Yeah… me too."

A short while later, Jou began to drive back down the hill toward suburban Domino. He pulled up outside Bell's place down the wide avenue which she lived down and turned the car off.

"Would you like to come in for a drink or something?" Bell asked.

"Are you sure Ava wouldn't mind?"

Bell shook her head. "She'll be fast asleep."

"Ah, I suppose I could come in for a while then." Jou turned the headlights off on his car and locked the door, following Bell up to the house.

Bell walked into the kitchen. "Hot chocolate, Jou?"

Jou nodded, still gazing at the photo frames on the top of the cabinet. "Sure."

Bell quickly made up two cups of hot chocolate and joined him. "I suppose you're wondering who that is, right?" She said.

"I'm guessing it's you and your Pa… am I right?"

Bell heaved a sigh and hugged her cup of hot chocolate close to her. "True, it is my father, but that isn't me in the photo."

"But… that girl looks exactly like you! Just a little younger… it must be you!" Jou said, in a loud whisper.

Bell shook her head. "The girl you see in that photo is my twin sister, Allodia. That's our father - he's in the Navy at the moment… he's coming home next year though." She said, smiling before taking a sip of her drink. "I miss him."

"I'll bet… but I never knew you had a twin sister."

Bell's gaze cast toward the ground, away from the picture of the smiling girl reflecting her. "Allodia died two years ago in a boating accident with my father. It was a nice day, but I got struck down with the flu so Mom stayed home with me for the day, and Allodia went out on the boat with my father. To this day we still don't know how it happened… but she drowned. The FBI searched the boat and found evidence that somebody else besides her and my father had been on the boat."

Jou winced. "Geeze… that musta been rough. I'm sorry. I got separated for a long time from Shizuka when I was little too."

Bell looked up and smiled at him. "At least you're back together with her now."

Jou smiled briefly and finished off his hot chocolate. "Yeah… I'm really sorry for your loss Bell. But you know I'll be there for ya as long as I can, right?"

"I know, Jou. And I value you for that."

Jou blushed, and before he could get too carried away he decided to head home. "Well, it's getting a bit late, I should probably get going."

Jou walked to the door, followed by Bell. "Thanks for the night out Jou, I really enjoyed myself." Bell said, smiling warmly. For once Jou didn't pick up any nervous or frightened vibes in her expression. Jou shifted his feet a little. Bell pulled her cardigan around her tighter.

"Are you alright Jou?"

"Hehe, yeah." He said a little nervously. "It's just… the last time I was standing at the doorway of a girl's house it ended a little differently than this."

Bell tilted her head slightly. "Are you suggesting something?"

"Suggesting what?" Jou asked rigidly, feeling his body become flushed.

"That you kiss me before you leave?" Bell coaxed, smiling brilliantly at him.

Jou grinned. "I'd like that." He took a step closer and pushed his nervousness to one side. Gently cupping her face in his hands he brought his own face close to hers. "Have you done this before?" He whispered.

She shook her head. "But I want it to be with you, Jou." She whispered back. Jou smiled, and smirked to himself, knowing that he had now officially stolen Kaiba's one and only chance at getting a girl.

Slowly he advanced on her and placed his lips carefully over hers and closed his eyes. Her pushed back her hair and deepened the kiss, parting her lips and greedily exploring the depths of her mouth, savouring the honeyed taste of her. She responded by reflecting his motions, brushing her tongue along the row of fine white teeth. Jou whimpered into her and pulled her closer, twining his arms around her neck and burying his hands in her hair. Her hands gradually snaked up his back and rubbed in warm circles.

Once satisfied, they both pulled back. Bell was surprised to see Jou so red - she thought he'd be the master at these sorts of things. She too felt rather hot though; it was probably the most exciting moment of her life.

"Well… um, that was…" Jou stammered.

"Nice." Bell finished.

"I agree." Jou said, taking a deep breath in and letting it out again.

"Well… I'll see you Monday then?"

"Yeah, you bet." Jou said, coming back to reality again.

"Okay, thanks for tonight Jou. Goodnight now."

Jou pouted. "Don't I get a goodnight kiss?" He asked cheekily.

Bell crossed her arms. "You just did."

"Still…" He stepped up again and pecked her on the lips, making her giggle.

"Okay I mean it this time, Jou." Bell said, grinning.

"Yeah, me too. Goodnight Bell." He hugged her tightly before skipping off down the steps back to his car.

Jou drove home that night feeling better than he ever had before. Mai was a thing of the past now for him, and she sure wasn't to return either. Jou put on the radio and buzzed to the music all the way home.

"WHOOOO HOOOO!" He shouted, simply out of glee, the wind streaming through his hair as he did so. "I'M THE KING OF THE WORLD!!!"

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