Hey everyone! I just want to wish you all a Happy New Year. I came up with a new story called Mannequin. Hope you all like it. Any reviews or comments are welcome. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Bakugan or its characters. I only own the plot and any original characters.

Mannequin

Chapter 1: Wasted Wife

Shun knew something was off the moment he pulled up to his drive way. All the lights in his house were off; usually they would be on. His wife would turned on all the lights she could. Shun knew perfectly well that she was afraid of the dark. She thought that in the darkness, anyone could attack your vulnerable spots. He grabbed his suitcase from the backseat, turned the car off, climbed out the car, and closed the door behind him. The sound of jingling keys made noises in his pockets. Shun reached for his keys to unlock the door. After he entered the house, he called his wife's name a few times.

"Alice...? Alice...?" he called over and over, but there was no response. The only sound he heard was his voice echoing. He grabbed the phone book and looked for Alice's phone number. It was a shame that he didn't know his wife's number. After he found it, he dialed the number. It rung a few times until someone picked it up.

"Hello?" said a male voice from the other side. Shun knew that voice, and rage filled his insides. He was with his wife.

"Where's my wife?" Shun asked angrily into the phone. The guy noticed the tone in Shun's voice. After a few seconds of background voices talking, someone else spoke into the phone.

"Hey, Shun." A female replied with a happy and bubbly voice.

"Julie, where's Alice?" Shun asked again, trying his best to calm his self.

"She's right here. Don't worry, we'll be at your house in five minutes."

Shun hung up the phone, took his jacket off, and sat down on the couch. He waited until he saw lights flashing through the window panels and got up. He opened the door and walked outside. It was Julie's car, and Klaus was with them. Alice sat in the backseat, drunk and tired. Shun saw Klaus trying to pick Alice up, and Shun rushed to her and picked her up himself. He carried her bridal style back home and closed the door behind. Shun slowly dropped her in the couch, knowing she would wake up soon.

Alice fluttered her eyes open, feeling weak and light-headed. She tried to get up, but fell back down. The walls looked blurry. They seemed different from the ones at where she was, and when she looked around, Alice noticed that she was back home with her husband. She wondered where Shun was and looked around until her eyes found him. He leaned against the wall with his arm crossed. She turned around quickly, trying to invade his piercing gaze.

"Is this some kind of rebellion?" Shun asked, breaking the tension.

"No." Alice simply said. She kept her eyes focused on the ground below.

"I see that you didn't waste time getting wasted with him." Shun answered, rage burning through his veins with the thought of Klaus touching his wife, kissing her while Alice enjoyed every second of it.

"Julie invited me, Shun. I didn't know Klaus was invited too."

"Lair, you think I'm stupid? You knew Klaus was going to be there."

"Think what you want to think, Shun. Like I care." She responded, standing up from the couch.

"Alice, listen to me for once. You'll never get rid of me." he warned, walking pass her.

Alice felt a bit dizzy and reached for Shun's arm without success. She slowly fell down, everything around spin in circles. "Shun..." She called in a soft whisper.

Shun turned around after he heard his name being called. He saw his wife laying on the cold floor underneath his feet. "Alice...Alice...?" he yelled, trying to wake up the young woman. He held no feelings for her, yet he was there making sure she was okay. Shun picked her up and placed down her down on the couch. He ran to the bathroom to find cloth and rubbing alcohol in the bathroom cabinet. After a few seconds, she regained consciousness.

"I'm calling a doctor." Shun announced, reaching for the phone.

"No, don't." Alice insisted, closing her eyes again. She was never one to get drunk because the alcohol in her system made her feel dizzy and weak.

"Alice, you're sick."

"I'm better. Don't worry about me." Alice got up and walked upstairs. Shun didn't respond and simply walked to the bedroom pass her. Alice entered the shower, needing to feel the warm water hit her flesh. It felt nice under all the stress. Alice was trying to escape reality for once in her life. She had married Shun a year ago, and he treated her the same way ever since: cold.

Just like the first day, they laid down on the bed. Shun stared at the ceiling, and heard the water running, assuming his wife must be showering. Shun tried so many times to go up to his wife and love her, but it was impossible for him to open up his feelings. He always pushed her away and hurt her. At nights, she would always cry, and he'd hear her sobbing. He'd listen carefully, pretending to be asleep.

Alice grabbed her pink towel and slowly dried herself. She wiped the stream from the mirror and stared at her own reflection. Her chocolate-brown eyes, all puffy and red. She wiped the little tears that trailed off her eyes.

How can you live a life where someone else is pulling the strings, where you were just a Mannequin?

Any comments and reviews are welcome. :)