Here it is, a new story that's actually not a one shot. (Yes, I am actually going to push myself for chapters, apocalypse will be on your right)

It came faster than expected, seeing as I really have nothing else to do but lay in bed with my laptop. But for anyone who actually reads FWTD, I was almost about ready to start my laptop up last night and write the (ninth chapter? Wow I'm losing count) next chapter 'cuz I couldn't sleep.

So here's another YGO story. After I posted Proclaiming Pride I thought I'd focus more on friendship humor similar to PP. Y'know, go read it again if you don't know what I mean.

And for those of you who read Kaiba of Delight, don't be expecting another of that species too soon until I become more advanced (and much, much more confident) in my writing works, but if you read my profile, I do have something in the storeroom. :O

So I'll shut up with the A/N now, because I'd like to finish this chapter today. Without further aideu, the story:

(But for the bajillionth time, I still don't own YGO)


"Joey? C'mon Joey its not that bad. Joey? Joey if you could stop tripping on air it'd be helpful. Joey?! Joey dude, I'm talking to you," I grumbled, punching him in the shoulder. Joey shrugged it off and continued to mumble profanities about science class, Mrs. Kaper, the classmates of the science class, China, communism, rising fuel prices, and such and such like that. He could be such a tard sometimes.

He looked like some troll plowing through the hallways and I let myself fall a few steps back (maybe like 50? I lost count) to give him some space. His shoulders were hunched foward and his arms seemed locked to his sides. His hair was usually frizzy, but never so much "Look-At-Me-The-Lighting-Strike-Survivor". I could tell he was aiming atleast to get someone like Bakura as a project partner, or that new girl Tamera who seemed to get higher than B average. Instead, that fickle mess of red hair paired us up together on a science project, not forgetting to hiss a "Make it good" at us as we started to sprint out the door. I wasn't entirely bummed that Joey and I were paired, I mean c'mon, we're best buds.

But Joey had this thing for, let's say, goofing off.

And slacking.

And eating.

And sleeping.

And not paying attention.

And Playboys (because apparently Mai's chest just isn't. good. enough).

I'm not a school wiz, but I can atleast say with pride that I score better than Joey's D- average. Mine's like a C+ I think. It's atleast better than his. So it's easy to say I'll be doing the entire thing without Joey contributing anything but some kind of food-related stain to whatever we hand in.

Or he'll probably make me hand it in too. Bastard.

The troll was out of site when I looked up, but I knew he's probably too angry to eat right now and walked right past his locker. No one in their right mind would eat cafeteria food, and Joey knew the importance of bringing lunch or starve. Our lockers were adjacent, so when I saw it pristine and untouched, I knew he was too infuriated to eat.

And that means you better step the hell aside if you see him. I could only imagine what would happen to Kaiba. I casually opened my locker, grabbed a brown paper bag and my books for the next three classes, and let the door close with a satisfying bang before I snapped the lock closed and made my way to the cafeteria. No rich man in sight, just how I liked it.

I swung the door open with my foot to see the students bustling about, and my circle of friends chatting it up, save a blonde-haired heap face down on the table. I hope he didn't run into Kaiba. Though Joey was scary when in rage, I don't think he could stand up to Kaiba of all people. I made my way through the crowd before dropping my stuff next to Joey's head, covered by his arms. No response, so I just sat down next to him, leaving him ample space on each side of him. We had lost him, and we knew better than to disturb.

"He hasn't said a thing since he sat down, do you know what's up?" Yugi asked, concern etched into his tiny face. "Yeah," I casually replied, "The dope's just pissed 'cuz he didn't get a brainiac as a science project to do it for him. Now I get to do it," I explained, taking an angry bite out of my sandwich. Joey still didn't say anything.

"'Ello guys, what's up?" a British voice suddenly spoke. Apparently a certain snowy-haired chap didn't value his life, because he plopped right down next to Joey with a quick "Scoot ova chap!" Joey surprisingly obeyed, sliding his arms (and his head) over along with his body. Bakura gently poked his head numerous times, before Téa mouthed a warning. Bakura withdrew his hand and let it pop a chicken nugget into his mouth from his school tray.

School tray.

Poor boy, so stupid. So, so stupid.

"So, I take it Joey must be upset over the science project partners, amIright?" Bakura asked, desperate to break the heavy silence. Yugi swallowed a bite of his tuna melt (or whatever that was) before answering, "Is it just for your teacher or do you know if its a chain thing? Ms. Farioman didn't give us a project." Téa nodded in confirmation. "Who did you get as a partner Bakura?"

Bakura rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "That new girl Tamera," he mumbled, his face turning pink. I guess brainiacs have a thing for their species. "Hm?" Téa asked, leaning foward to catch the phrase again. Bakura looked hesitant to answer.

"HE GOT PAIRED WITH TAMERA OKAY?!" Joey suddenly screeched, his head facing the table, fingers bent looking like he was ready to gauge someone's eyes out, and black bags had magically appeared under his eyes. He wasn't as loud as the buzz of the cafeteria , but loud enough so the nearby tables stared before continuing to eat their lunches. "Joey could you, like, not cause a scene please? And chill out, looks like you got hit by a train," Duke chided, throwing a potato chip at Joey's head. Joey grumbled in return, and ate the chip.

I wasn't fond of Duke, mainly because he was fond of Serenity. But Yugi liked him and Téa thought he was okay, and Bakura just went along and nodded when we had our vote count. Majority rules. I got stuck with my rival in love and Joey began to mumble something about dog costumes.

But whatever.

His head returned to its normal sulking position on the table, and he remained still for the rest of the period. I had to do my project with this guy?

I could tell it was going to be a long-ass week.


I only saw Joey in Social Studies after the whole lunch thing, and the rest of the time he was in different classes than me. He was probably sulking. But he usually never payed attention in class so I'm sure the teachers saw no difference. They probably just thought he was sleepy.

"Yugi, phone me if you find Troll, okay? I wanna get the project over and done with as soon as possible," I explained. Yugi nodded and walked off with Téa, Bakura, and Duke. Probably to the shop. I had chores, so unfortunately I couldn't tag along. I ambled through the school's lot to where my bike was standing, slightly slanted. That's when I felt a forceful grip on my face and arm.

I struggled the best I could, but my attacker surprisingly held strength. Though I had been attacked numerous times before and had been in many fights (You don't get away clean when friends with Yugi and Joey) but that didn't mean I wasn't about to pee my pants. My heart felt like it had stopped. Was I gonna get raped? I hope not, unless the rapist coincidentally happened to be female. And hot. And tall, but she had to be shortner than me.

And named Serenity Wheeler. But let's hope I get to see her after this. I felt myself being dragged through the parking lot, my shoes making weird noises on the pavement. I couldn't really see with the hand over my face, but there probably wasn't much to see because no one was screaming for help and no teacher was making some kind of battle noise to save me.

In other words, I was most likely royally screwed. But when my feet hit the dirt behind the lot, it all clicked.

I was shoved behind a dumpster and held down forcefully in the dirt.

"Don't. Scream," he hissed. I was released and the minute I was my head whipped around.

"JOEY! YOU DON'T DO THAT TO PEOPLE IN PARKING LOTS ESPECIALLY IN PUBLIC AND ON SCHOOL GROUNDS!" I screamed. He clasped his hand over my mouth again, muffling my profanities. Once satisfied that no one was coming, he released my face. I spat away the taste of his hand (God knows where that's been) before settling myself against the chainlink fence. I automatically knew it was Joey when he began to drag me here, we always came here when we had to talk about something serious.

Joey seemed like his normal self, minus the black stuff under his eyes. But he appeared normal, he even had a toothy smile. He took a moiste toilette and scrubbed the black off. "I snatched Serenity's eyeliner, that stuff has really come in handy," he explained. "Joey, what happened to you?" I asked. He dropped the blackened wipe in the dumpster before re-checking the area.

"I had to pretend to be a pissed off for not getting someone smart as my partner. No 'affence Tristan, but I really had to make sure everyone thought I was mad," he began. I looked at him like he was retarded, so basically I just looked at him. "So you're excited for me to do the entire project for you?" I asked, but I never expected the answer to be so different than what I thought it to be.

"Nope, infact I already did parts of the project during class," he flashed pieces of crisp, unwrinkled, looseleaf with writing that, for once, was legible.

What's this? Joey? Being smart? The world might as well crash around my feet right now.

Unacceptable. Impossible. This was not Joey Wheeler, yet everything about him seemd normal beside the paper in his hands. I looked up at the sky, y'know, to see if it would fall or not. Nothing.

So I did what only a normal friend of Joey Wheeler would do: I stood up, cleaed my throat, approached him,

and slapped him.

"WHAT DID YOU DO WITH JOEYY?!"

Joey rubbed his cheek for a second but suddenly looked serious. "Tristan, I ain't kiddin'! I already have parts of the project done and I have the experiment-thing part all set up," he told me. "Uh huh," I mumbled. I could only imagine the experiment either being "How-Well-Does-My-Gym-Teacher-React-With-Radiation" or "Guess-Which-Food-Isn't-Flammable". Instead Joey showed me a piece of paper with a sloppy diagram on it.

"Our stake out begins at 8:35 p.m. You will report to my house at 8:00 for all preparations. Wear black."

I carefully studied the diagram, unsure of his intentions.

"I never knew you were such a stalker, Joey."

"Oh chillax Trist'. What's Téa gonna do?"


Good? Bad? Okay? Spicy? Salty? Lemme know! Reviews make the story get longer quicker!

But lemme clear something up. What might happen is that I might not be able to update for a while. Because my parents are divorced and my Dad transport boats (know those big 22-wheel trucks with boats on the back? He drives one) I don't get to see him much and if he gets a call for a short trip then I get to go with him. We'll be on the road for a bit and Wi Fi costs money at Truck Stops so I can't make any promises I'll be online to update. (Unless I can tag onto another nearby connection. Heh heh)

I'll try to post on my profile when I'm on the road before I leave. If I don't, try reviewing. I usually always give a reply (mostly, sometimes e-mails are deleted before I hit the URL because I don't pay attention) and if nothing comes up then assume I'm on the trip.

Peace, and review!

-AGHD