Chapter 1.)
I walked past him on the way to my table- no, I swear- it wasn't because I wanted to see him again or anything! Oh who am I kidding…?
My name is Malika Ishtar. And I am head over heels in love. But if you tell him, I swear you'll wake up as a spirit. (I will go through with that promise.)
It first started in the third grade, when we first became friends. Before anyone's hormones had awakened. Back when love was a joke. We hung out so much that even teachers began to notice. The councilor recommended that I make more friends than just him- my beloved Ryou. Me, being the dumbass that I was, believed that Ryou was all I needed.
Of course, hormones ruin everything. When the girls first became sluts, they immediately latched onto Ryou.
FML
So sixth grade, I began sitting alone. Ryou was gorgeous and popular. (Yes, men can be gorgeous. Haven't you seen the Avengers?) And I was just me. Even now, they are still in god-damned love with him. He's probably fucked them all. I can see it in the smug little glances his slut girlfriends send me. As if telling me, I got him first. Jealously is a thing I am used to. Because many of them still remember that time before hormones.
And so now… I am a tenth grader- still fifteen, still a virgin, kiss-less, and boyfriend-less. (Never had a boyfriend either. So virginity all the way.) In two days, the school is hosting their yearly homecoming dance. And I have a feeling this will be the second high school dance in a row that I stand just outside the dance floor, singing to the songs playing and destroying my voice box. Totally worth the weird stares.
Sometimes, I see Ryou look over my way. I wonder if he finds me attractive. I don't mean to brag, but I look a lot better than more than half of the vaguely humanoid creatures that are in his fanclub. This year, instead of throwing on a shirt, skirt and mismatching socks- like I did last year- I actually had my sister, Ishizu help me. I went shopping with her, and bought a red based dress with a black sequined sash that falls under the bust. Over the bottom part of the dress is a see-through black cloth. It totally makes me look like a sexy vampiress! I wonder if he likes that look on a woman…
"Licky Licky! What's up?" The only people in the school who actually tolerate my presence may be as annoying as fangirls. Said annoying group of sophomores sat down at my table with me. The one who had spoken before was Katsuya Jonouchi. (He had this strange idea that since Malika without the 'a's and 'm' was 'lik,' it was okay to call me Licky Licky. I gave up trying to figure out his logic ages ago.) Before Jonouchi sat, he came up behind me and gave me a headlock. 'It shows our friendship,' he replied when once when I asked him why he continually did that. His other friends rolled their eyes and sat down. The group consisted of Anzu Mazaki- the only sophomore girl who hung out with me. She was accompanied by her childhood friend, Yuugi and his cousin Yami. Sitting on either side of a red-headed freshman- Jonouchi's sister who had tagged along today- were the two fluff heads, Hiroto Honda and Ryuji Otogi.
Jonouchi near hissed at the two carnies and sat down next to his sister. I believe her name is Shizuka Kawaii.
Anzu smiled at me as she seated herself in the seat right next to mine. "Are you going to the dance on Saturday?" she questioned. I nodded. "Great! I got asked by the best guy ever!"
I leaned forwards, intrigued. "Oh really? Whom. Or what?" She gave me a little glare before putting her finger to her lips in a 'silence' gesture and winking.
"You'll find out at the dance." We both laughed and talked in between eating. (If what I was doing could be considered eating. It was more shoveling everything into my mouth like a squirrel.) Out of the blue, Anzu asked if I had a date. I almost choked on my french-fried potatoes. Blushing, I shook my head. I grinned sheepishly as Anzu pursed her lips. She leaned over and whispered something to Yuugi, on her right. The only thought that crossed my mind as I saw the evil glances those two shared was that I had better find a date soon. If I didn't, I was sure that they would do something about it. That thought scared me quite a bit.
My last two periods were History and Spanish, in that order. These were the only two periods that I didn't have with anyone from my lunch-group. Spanish wasn't too bad because while no one from my group was there, no fangirls were there either (Thank you, Ra). History however was a killer. As I approached the History classroom, the knot in my stomach kept trying itself and becoming larger. I was relieved to see Akefia sitting in the last row. I took my seat beside him and he nodded to show that he had noticed me.
He was the only thing that made this class bearable. All around town, he was known as a bad boy; according to some rumours, he had killed a man. Either way, he never really attended school, and it was only when he did that the bullying stopped. Fangirls would still send me glares from all sides, but it was better. I used to always get bullied in History because a great deal of the fangirls were in the class. Every single day this happened until, to my relief, and the fangirls' surprise, Akefia stepped in and told them to quit it. Though not necessarily in those exact words. The creatures blabbed to the teacher, Mr. Crawford (He was highly feminine, and behind his back, most of the students mocked his sexuality), but even the teachers were too afraid to stand up against Akefia.
After school, I found Akefia sitting on a wall outside the school. Probably waiting for his two friends to be finished with the principal's lecture about defacing property. (They weren't friends per se, one of them was his "partner in crimes" and the other was just a poor fool blackmailed into being their indentured servant.)
"Hey!" I said, in warning. He looked down, surprised.
"Oh, hey, Malika." I pulled myself up to sit next to him. "So why are you here? You get caught putting those scorpions in Evangeline's locker?" (Last week, he had helped me get back at one of the fangirls. Good times~)
I shrugged. "Nah, actually the bus just drove off without me, and my sister can't pick me up until five." I paused as he chuckled a little. "What about you?"
"I'm waiting for my girlfriend to finish powdering her nose in the bathroom."
"What bathroom? All they have in the school are rusted porcelain thrones inside large, drippy caves!" He actually laughed at that. I pride myself on wit. "Wait a second. You have a girlfriend?" I asked, realizing what else he had said.
"No!" he half choked out, laughing.
"Do you have a date for Homecoming?" I asked, hoping that he wouldn't get pissed at me for prying too far.
"Does it look like I would have a date for a dance?" he responded with a question, appraising me with his gray-violet eyes.
"Not… really…" I mumbled.
"You have your answer." He turned away.
"Were you planning on going?" I questioned again.
"Of course. People are going to bring a ton of stuff for me to snatch." He grabbed for the soda in his bag, cracked it open and started chugging it.
Feeling evil, I commented innocently (and half seriously), "I hope you're talking about material possessions, and not clothing items."
He cracked up, and clutched his nose as the carbonated drink went up, and I saw some shoot out his nose. This caused me to laugh as well, and clutch my sides.
I decided to go out on a limb, still scared about what Yuugi and Anzu had planned, and ask Akefia yet another thing. "So… um, would you take me to the dance?" Time froze, and he whipped his head around to face me. It took all my willpower not to flinch away from his piercing gaze.
Finally, he looked away; glancing around us to make sure no one was in hearing range. "Alright, but I don't wear tuxes. And don't worry; I won't take your panties." I had the strangest feeling that this was going to be a running joke between us for the next couple years…
"Wait seriously?"
"Which part? The tux or me taking you to the dance? Or perhaps the panties?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Um… the…" I gestured frantically in my sudden absence of speech.
He chuckled a little, ruffling my hair, actually rather in the way that my brother would. "Let's just say that you are the least annoying girl in the school. And it will keep the more annoying girls away. I've been asked out by fangirls at least eight times today." I giggled at the way his eye twitched as he said this. "Plus, you're actually pretty cute," he said, winking.
He had jumped down and walked to a car with his allies, who had walked out of the school in the seconds previous, before I had fully wrapped my mind around what his last statement was. Did he just compliment me?
I have to admit, I did feel a little guilty. As I said, Akefia and my friends were the only ones who would talk to me without jeering. As a second reason, I was hoping that if I went to the dance with another guy, I could determine if Ryou liked me or not.
I wasn't going to asked Jonouchi or anyone else because if I dumped them for Ryou after, I don't think that any of the group would want to be friends with me anymore.
That basically left only Akefia. (And to be honest, I was shocked that he had agreed to take me.) Now that the nerves that had consumed me while asking Akefia had diminished considerably, I was actually starting to get excited.
The next morning, I was woken up by a strange pressure on my face. I opened an eye to find a wallop of fur in my eyes. I cried out, pushing the giant cat off my face. 'A long-haired Persian,' my brother had called it, on one of the rare occasions that he was home. Right now he was off fighting in a war, so my sister and I had the house to ourselves.
The cat that somehow managed to get in our house, even when we locked the doors and windows began rubbing itself over the jeans I had worn to bed.
Sighing, I lay back down. When I was younger, I used to have an extreme love for cats; this one was no exception.
Young and clever me decided to call him Houdini after about the fifth strange break in we had from said cat.
I reached back and stroked the fur on the cat's head, before getting up (cat still awkwardly following), and going to get something from the kitchen. Only to find that our refrigerator had disappeared. Not that I was surprised; this seemed to happen a lot.
Our 'fridge was honestly multi-dimensional. Once, when it had returned after one of its random disappearances, I swear I found a drink labeled 'Super Power Growth Juice.' Of course, this went into Google, and apparently it was from a series of cartoon novels by Dav Pilkey.
A non-existent comic. I wanted to keep it to drink and see if I got super powers too, but my sister threw it away after mumbling something about toxic waste. But anyway, I began walking past the place where our 'fridge had previously been in the adjoining kitchen where my sister was sitting, reading the newspaper.
She squinted up at me. "Shouldn't you be in school?"
"I already told you; they're not having school today because of parent-teacher conferences." (Secretly, I believe they have them right before Homecoming in order to give parents reasons to keep their kids from attending.) The teachers were aware of 'that Malika girl's' family problems, though.
I don't have parents, so my sister basically became my mother after our parents' deaths. (I wouldn't dare say this out loud, but I think she's becoming as senile as them.) Ishizu met with the teachers last week, so I don't have to worry about it today.
"Malika, wait right here," she said standing up and leaving down the hallway leading to our room.
"Uh okay…" I sat down in one of the kitchen chairs. Houdini jumped up on a second chair, and spring-boarded onto the table. I began stroking his fur absently-mindedly. While I was scratching under his chin, I felt something like a pendant hanging there against the fur. Pushing the fur aside, I saw a medallion with a strange symbol on it. 'Okay, that wasn't there before.'
I wanted to investigate the pendant more, but I pushed it aside as my sister came walking back, wearing her shopping-clothes, and carrying my coat. (I swear, she has an outfit for everything.)
"Let's go," Ishizu said, handing me the coat.
I raised an eyebrow. "Go where?"
"Just come with me," she replied, deliberately not answering my question.
"But I already have plan-" she glared at me "- yes big sister…" If I was lucky, Ishizu wouldn't make me do too many things, and if I was really lucky, I could possibly go to that spa day Anzu had invited me to on Tuesday.
Cars always make me tired for some reason, and so I fell asleep on the ride to the mall. Upon arriving, Ishizu rudely woke me up.
"Where are we going?"
She glanced back and actually smiled at me. Those kinds of smiles from her were rare, now-a-days. "You've been wanting a lap-top lately haven't you?" I actually went speechless. "The teachers say you're doing great in school, and your report card has you pegged as a straight A+ student."
I teared up and actually squee'd as we went to the electronics store to get a laptop computer for me.
At home, I put the computer under a floorboard that came out- you can never be too careful- and convinced Ishizu to drive me to the spa to hang out with Anzu. She pouted when I told her that I had a date. (Any question to who he was, was carefully adverted…) Afterwards, Mrs. Mazaki drove me home.
After the spa, I was extremely tired, and went to bed at six- the time I reached home. The next day, I woke up at just after one in the afternoon. When I finally decided to get up, I immediately went over to my new laptop (I still can't get used to that) and started up the internet. A couple years back, we used to have a computer, but it exploded. Yea, we didn't see that one coming. But now, immediately after starting up Safari, I opened up my email, only to find that I had over 1,000 messages from my internet friends. (Who are almost as nerdy as me.) I did my best to type them all back, explaining that our computer had exploded. Following that, I opened a new tab and logged into Deviantart. It feels so good to type again. Except, I don't remember all the advertisements. I clicked on one that looked interesting: Crystal Saga.
And I played that until just before seven. (A/N: Honestly, that game is so addicting, that it's not even funny ._.)
The doorbell rang once. Then again. And again. I heard the door open and my sister talking to someone. I wonder who. Hopefully not a Jehovah's Witness… I looked out the window behind me, only to become shocked as I saw that it was dark. Consulting the clock, only proved to me that it was 6:47. AND I WAS GOING TO BE LATE FOR THE DANCE!
I literally jumped into action, snatching my dress and tossing it on. I closed the lid of the laptop to set it on standby and put it back under the board before jumping up. I was just about to make a grab for the doorknob when someone knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" I asked, my fingers brushing the knob.
"It's Jack Frost, now get out here!" I chuckled at Akefia's sarcasm before opening the door.
Only to find him standing there in a suit. "I thought you said you weren't wearing the tux," I scoffed.
He had stood completely still for a moment, his mouth ajar for some reason, but shook himself and replied, "I blame my mother."
I laughed, and he smiled a bit too… Before hauling me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes (A/N: That's actually surprisingly painful) and carrying me downstairs.
"Bye, Ishizu," I said, waving weakly as Akefia carried me out the door. She looked at little shocked, but waved back. Once Akefia had put me down outside, I realized that I never told him where I lived. "How did you know where I live?" I questioned.
"I know everything!" he bragged.
"Only a fool claims to know everything," I countered. He chuckled again.
Upon reaching the school, I all but squeezed Akefia's hand to death (as he mentioned several times), trying to feed off of his certainty through his hand.
… He was a really good hand holder…
Akefia made the most dramatic entrance by opening the doors so hard that they slammed into the walls on either side.
Every head slowly turned our way. And I stopped breathing in the horrifying realization that I didn't have any make-up on besides my mascara, and I was holding Akefia's hand.
Oh shit…
I started uncontrollably blushing, and tried to hide my face as I let Akefia drag me into the gymnasium the dance was being held in.
Anzu and the rest of the gang rushed up to me, and she, Shizuka, and Jonouchi's date, Mai Kujaku, started squeeing about how cute we looked together- Akefia and I, that is.
"I'm not cute," Akefia said, a strange expression on his face.
"Sure you are!" I grinned. He did something that looked very odd on his face. "Are you pouting?!"
"No!" he vehemently denied.
"You are!" I accused, feeling the sudden urge to cackle manically.
Akefia continued doing his self-proclaimed not-pout. "I'm going for food. Do you want anything?"
I felt a sudden craving coming on. "If they have wing-dings, can I have some?"
"Wing… dings?" He looked confused.
"Like, fried chicken, except it's the drumsticks," I tried to explain.
"Uh… huh…" He stood up, and took his leave, although I was pretty sure he was still confused about the whole wing-ding thing.
"Wow, hun! He totally digs you," Mai exclaimed.
"Eh?"
"Have you not noticed that he acts a ton different with you than everyone else?" Mai asked, exasperatedly.
"Well, he said that I was one of the less annoying people in the school," I replied, scratching my cheek.
Anzu sighed and whispered to Mai, "She's really rather oblivious."
"I am not!" I protested. "He never-" And then I remembered the other day when he told me that I was kind of pretty. I let my head fall forwards onto the table and slowly shook it.
Mai pushed my head up and laughed at the expression I had.
"Are you going to tell me that you dig me too? My whole life has been a lie so you might as well."
I was about to lay my head back on the table when a plate was suddenly placed in front of me. "What do you know, they have wing-dings!" he said, smugly.
"Yay!" I cheered.
"Oh nice; wing-dings!" Jonouchi tried to make away with one of the wings, but I hissed at him and told him to go find his own. "Fine, geez!" he said, in mock hurt before going off to find some food for himself, Mai trailing after him. The rest of the group sat down around the table, and we began talking about nothing. And yet everything at the same time.
Throughout the night, I kept giving Akefia glances out of the corner of my eye, trying to determine if Mai had had been correct. I don't know, but I just couldn't see it. Mentally groaning, I wondered if Anzu had been right with the oblivious comment earlier.
Around eight, when everyone had eaten enough to feed the whole population of Greenland, Mai and Anzu pulled their friends and me onto the dance floor. And I pulled Akefia along.
He looked confused for most of the songs, but during the songs with a specific dance, like the Cupid Shuffle, Cha Cha Slide, or my personal favourite, the Cotton-Eyed Joe, he quickly caught on. Really, he wasn't a half-bad dancer.
Meanwhile… Jonouchi and Honda were doing the Jellyfish…
"Malika, you look like a crazy person!" Anzu commented on my dancing, shortly into our insanity.
"I am a crazy person!" I laughed back.
By 8:45, we had been dancing for about an hour, and I was starting to get tired. I told them that, and then left for some water. While I was sitting, I heard a few songs I knew come on. When Call Me Maybe came on, I walked over to my friends and watched them. Honestly, their interpretive dances were hilarious.
By the end of that song, it was past nine o' clock, and I was about ready to dance again…
When a slow song came on. DAMMIT! Oh wait; this year I have a date. I felt someone tap my shoulder, and was actually rather shocked when I found Akefia there. I would've been sure that he would've grabbed me and dragged me down to the dance floor, like he had at my house.
Aww he really is cute~
And for the first time in my life, I took part in a slow dance. (I don't understand why they're called dances though, they're more like awkward swaying.) I rested my head on his chest (I am short enough to do that) and I don't mind admitting that he was amazingly warm. And leaning against him felt really, really nice.
The song was almost closing when I felt Akefia's hand brush my cheek. I looked up in question. He started leaning closer, and his fingers brushed the nape of my neck as he brought our lips closer together. And then they connected.
No, wait! I'm supposed to love Ryou! That's why I'm with Akefia. I can't be falling in love with him!
My brain was telling me to stop, but my body wouldn't listen. Oh Ra, what is this feeling…?
"Get a room, you two!" Jonouchi said, laughing. I blushed and laughed with him. I think I even heard Akefia laugh…
Or maybe that was just my imagination.
Half an hour later, they started serving deserts, and Jonouchi forced us all to come with him as he indulged his pig-like tendencies.
Like I should be talking, though. Anzu and the rest of the girls didn't eat much, and neither did the guys. (Staring at each other makes enough eye candy to satiate their hunger?) Jonouchi and I, however piled our plate with at least one of everything. (Honestly, I can't even help myself at this point…)
After watching the two pigs (Jonouchi and I) eat almost all of the food, the rest of the gang got bored and left to go dancing. (Also, I figured out Anzu's mysterious date was. It had been Yami the whole time.)
Akefia got a call from his bro- partner in crime that is- and needed to step out to take it, and that left the pigs alone.
I was considering getting seconds, but I started to feel kind of weird.
"I think someone spiked the deserts," Jonouchi muttered through his teeth. He sounded far away for some reason.
"I'm never eating school food again," my voice sounded strange to me.
My vision started to get kind of fuzzy and the last thing I could remember was someone putting their arm around me.
Something didn't feel right… I shook off my disorientation and saw Ryou's arm wrapped around my waist.
I got tingles in my stomach. I went from being a virgin to being a slut. Why do I feel this way around both Akefia and Ryou?
Ryou pulled me up and led me outside. Wait, I have to wait for Akefia… I thought, but I couldn't seem to make my mouth move. I started freaking out, getting raving mad at myself. Why the hell couldn't I move?!
Akefia. Out of the corner of my vision, I saw him. He walked closer and I could see him yelling at Ryou, but I couldn't understand what he was saying. Not over the buzz in my own mind.
Akefia…
Wow, what a crazy dream. I dreamt that I went to the school dance with a bad-boy, fell I love with him, kissed him, and got felt up by Ryou.
I tried to get up, only to realize that I couldn't. Looking down, I saw a tanned arm wrapped around my waist. Okay, what the frig happened last night and why don't I remember it?
Awkwardly craning my neck to peer behind me, I had a miniature heart attack.
Holy shit, last night wasn't a dream.
After trying- and failing- to get out of Akefia's grasp, I ended up laying back down and falling back asleep. After all, he was very warm.
I awoke a second time to movement next to me. Still half asleep, I fumbled blindly for the heat the was leaving. And pulled it back. And almost fell asleep…
I had another miniature heart attack as I realized what I had done.
"Oh gods, I am soooo sorry!" I cried, leaping back and almost falling off the bed.
He snickered and stood up, cracking his back. "Just for the record, you look terrible, Malika."
"Hey!" I said, indignantly. Akefia smirked and walked over to me and smooshed some clothes against my face. "Hey!" I cried again.
"They're clean, I swear. I would assume you don't want to keep your dress on, so just put these on." At my confused look, he pointed to a door. "That's the bathroom, so just go."
"I'm not a dog…" I groaned. He raised an eyebrow as if doubting me. "Ugh." I crossed my arms over the clothes and set off for the bathroom.
When I turned on the light, I found Akefia to be completely correct: I did look like crap!
I washed the running mascara from my face, and also flattened down my hair- which at this point was sticking almost straight up, completely curled. I don't even know how that happened… My hair is straight!
I changed into the clothes Akefia had given me: a shirt with purple horizontal stripes, and some black skinny jeans. I found it kind of weird that they were women's clothes. And exactly my size.
'He knows where I live, he knows my clothing size… does he know my bra size too?!' I wondered, blushing. In the mirror, as I was cleaning my dripping mascara off, I thought I saw Houdini. I held my breath as I spun around. I wasn't sure whether it would've been more scary if he was there but I got this really eerie prickling sensation in my spine as I found myself staring at nothing.
I peered through the drawers until I found a hair-band to pull my hair back with. (Take that bed head!) With that done, I literally ran out of the bathroom, threw my dress on a chair in Akefia's room, jumped down the stairs and skidded into the kitchen. Where I almost collided with Akefia.
"Oh, Malika, your timing is perfect." He took some food out of the refrigerator. "Do you want anything?"
I guess I'm insane, because he didn't seem to notice that there had been an escape-artist cat in his house…
CZR: Two stories in two days~ Honestly I feel like giggling manically right now…
Bakura: Good job…
Akefia: Haha! I am in this story! *Dances a bit*
CZR: Yep. So, this story is basically my shits and giggles pass-time. And if you expect other chapters to be this long, then you'll be sorely disappointed.
Yuugi: CZR doesn't own Yugioh or any of these characters!
Bakura: … Aren't you going to say what you own…?
CZR: I wasn't going to do that this time… BUT I DO OWN-
Bakura/Akefia: *Keeping CZR from talking*