Chapter 1: Talk of Tomorrow (When it Begins Sound Rushes in and Drowns Everything)

The success of a friend is a hard thing to accept if the condition of their success is that they will be leaving, most likely for good.

The mobile phone on Joey's bed began to ring. He had only managed to slot one leg into his jeans when he answered, having thrown himself in and out of the shower at breakneck speed. Hair still dripping, he answered the call, ramming his foot into the other leg as fast as possible.

"Hey, yeah, I'm sorry, I'm on my way, the alarm didn't go off-"

"Joey, it's me!"

"Oh, hey, Téa, how's it going?" Joey relaxed. He plopped onto the bed and rubbed his head with the towel.

"What was that about?" said Téa. "Joey, are you late for work again?"

"Yeah, but it's no big deal. I'll just get moaned at," Joey said. "What's up? You sound excited."

"Oh, yes! You won't believe it! I got the reply!"

Joey, who had been rooting in his bag for some deodorant sat up, frowning.

"You got the… You got the reply? From the school?"

"Yes!" Téa shrieked. "I'm in Joe, I got in!"

Joey jumped up in excitement. "Oh, Hell yes!" he bellowed. "I knew you could do it! Didn't I tell ya?"

"Joey, I'm so excited!" She adopted a smooth tone and read out, "'London City School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance'! I'm going to London, can you even believe it?"

"Wow," Joey held a hand to his forehead. "Téa I'm so happy for you. Good job."

"Thanks, Joey! Why don't we meet after work and we can talk about it?"

"Oh, shit, work!" Joey grabbed his shirt. "Gotta go, T, I'll catch up with you later."

"Have a good day, Joe."

She hung up. Joey tossed the phone back and forth in his hand for a moment, digesting the good news. Téa was finally getting her dream. For the longest time she had longed more than anything to jet off to another country and study dance there.

London. That was a long jet away. A whole ocean. A whole lot of land. Joey barely had time to ruminate on this thought before the phone rang again and this time it actually was his boss demanding to know where he was.

That evening, after being made to stay to clean the diner for an extra hour to make up for his lost minutes that morning, Joey shouldered his bag and left out the back to find Téa waiting against his bike. The moment she saw him, she pulled him into a delighted hug that very nearly snapped his spine.

"Woah, hey there, sister, don't stand too close, I'm pretty sure I stink." Joey hoisted her off the ground and spun her about. She slapped his arm good-naturedly to put her down. "Back to mine for a bit?"

Téa caught the spare helmet Joey chucked to her. "Sure, then let's go eat?"

"Yeah, so long as it ain't here."

"I can't stop thinking about it, Joe!" she bellowed through the helmet as they sped down the streets of Domino. The bike had once belonged to their friend Tristan and was noisy as it was smelly, but Joey had fallen in love with it, and like anything to do with Joey, Téa had grown used to it. "My parents are completely sick of hearing about it!"

Joey laughed but said nothing. All throughout the day, serving trays of burgers and snapping plastic lids onto cups of cola, he could hear the word 'London' in almost everything. He had brought the city up in conversation with customers. He asked if it was a safe place at night, what the time difference was from Domino, how much were flights out? Most people knew very little about it and just wanted to eat, but some kept up polite conversation. They assured him it was a nice enough place if you knew it. Definitely worth a visit.

At some point in the day he had experienced an unnerving flashback. Great dunes of sand; a group of people stood before an Ancient Egyptian altar, and a duel between soul-brothers that had led to the loss of their closest friend. Letting Atem go had been hard on them all.

And then again six months before, Yugi had left with his acclaimed title of King of Games to be the face of duelling around the word. To inspire and coach countless young people with dreams of their own. Even two years on from the last big tournament in Domino, duelling was still considered a major sport. Yugi was on television often. The remaining members of the old gang missed the both of them greatly.

Joey let Téa into his apartment and tossed the keys onto the kitchen counter. The place was too small for a table. It was one room; the kitchen and living-room combined, with a small bedroom housing a double bed that took up most of the floor. Joey changed whilst Téa poured herself some tea and turned on the television.

From the bedroom, Joey heard her flicking through channels until she rested, of course, on the Game channel. There was a special about the legendary God Cards that had disappeared some two years ago. Yugi was not being featured.

Joey said nothing about Yugi or the Pharaoh Atem to Téa. Their names rarely came up in conversation anymore.

Joey pulled a shirt over his head and took a moment to swipe the dust off an old photograph. It had been taken just before the Battle City tournament outside Yugi's grandfather's Game shop and now rested on his small chest of drawers. Joey stood near the back with his arm around his buddy Tristan on one side, and Téa on the other. Tristan looked rather uncomfortable with most of Joey's weight on him. With a flirty wink at the camera was Mai Valentine on Téa's other side, and smiling between them stood little Yugi, clutching the artefact that had once contained his dear friend: the spirit of the Pharaoh Atem. The King who finished the Shadow Games.

Joey set the photo down once more. That must have been at least three years ago. A lot can change in such a short space of time.

"You ready to go?" Joey said as he left the bedroom. Téa motioned for him to wait whilst she finished her tea. Joey perched on the edge of the sofa and watched the program for a while. The three God cards, the most powerful and dangerous cards in the game of Duel Monsters, flashed up on the screen.

"Jeez, that seems like forever ago, right?" he said. "I wonder if they'll ever find out what happened to them. The real ones I mean."

"Hardly," scoffed Téa. "I hope they don't anyway. That would be bad."

"I guess so. But ain't it weird knowing we're the only ones who'll ever know where they really are?" Joey said. He turned back to the TV. "Didn't Kaiba have a real thing for them?"

"Kaiba? I haven't thought about him in months."

"How is that even possible?" Joey was incredulous. "The guy's everywhere! We passed a billboard with his face all over it as we were coming here!"

"I didn't notice, Joey, I'm a little distracted right now."

"Oh, right. London."

"Right. London." Téa grinned and wiggled her feet. "Oh, Joey, isn't it just the most exciting thing!"

Joey rubbed his stubble and said nothing. Téa finished her tea in the quiet.

Téa had decided to give Tristan a call too to let him know the exciting news. He pulled up in his brand new bike with a passenger behind him. When he saw Joey, he crushed him in a mighty bear hug after giving Téa her customary congratulations and a kiss on the cheek. Serenity tugged off the helmet and hugged her brother much more gently. Joey's sister was spending an awful lot of time with Tristan lately and Joey wasn't too sure if he approved.

"You're riding with me, little sis," he said with a very pointed look at Tristan. Serenity made to protest but decided a fight was better avoided. She shrugged and climbed onto the back of the bike behind her brother. Before she pulled the helmet on, she said,

"You can't stop me from dating him, you know."

Joey watched Téa clamber up behind Tristan on his new bike and shuddered.

"You could do way better than him, Serenity," Joey began but Serenity smacked his arm.

"He's your best friend, Joey, you can't say things like that!" She slotted the helmet over her head and tucked her hair inside. "Try to just be happy for me, alright?"

Joey revved up the bike. The roar made Serenity jump and she grabbed her brother's back. He rocketed out of the driveway and down the road, leaving Tristan trailing in his wake.

They decided, since they were celebrating Téa's success, to make the dinner a proper affair. They headed to, as Joey put it, 'a real restaurant' and sat in a quiet corner with glasses full of wine and starter plates. Joey could very rarely afford anything this fancy, but he was making an exception for Téa's sake. She chatted happily through dinner about London: her plans; what extensive reading she had been doing on the culture of the country. It all sounded so glamorous she said. She couldn't wait to leave.

Somewhere after the third or fourth glass of wine, they all began to get rather loud. Téa's excited babbling did not cease, and Serenity and Tristan began telling bad jokes. Joey stirred his rich chocolate cake around its plate, no longer interested in eating. Serenity and Tristan were now very close. Téa's eyes had drifted to the ceiling, beyond which was the vast, darkening sky which in a few short months would take her away indefinitely.

Joey shot to his feet, almost upsetting his nearly-empty glass.

"I need some air," he slurred gruffly.

Outside he leaned against the brick wall of the restaurant and lit up. He hoped none of the others would follow, as a no-smoking lecture was not something he felt he needed. With the cool summer night air on his face, his head began to clear a little. He took a long, uninterrupted drag and attempted to soothe his nerves.

A low level of cloud and smog hung over, obscuring the stars. Joey blew a thin plume of smoke at it that trailed away silently into the air. He was calm again, but nothing had changed. Téa was still going away. He was to lose a third friend. He didn't understand. Why couldn't he just be happy for her? She deserved this, to get her dream. She worked hard for it.

Across the street was a huge billboard. Joey had a perfect view from his spot in the ginnel next to the restaurant. Peeling paper plastered wall-to-wall without pause. A new product from Kaiba Corporation: a new advanced duelling system, similar in design to the ones they wore in the old photograph from their Battle City days. The new ones appeared slimmer, with better fit and a chrome finish. Joey had been awarded a free prototype testing at a showing a short time ago, being runner up in several tournaments. It had been much more comfortable on his arm than previous instalments and he had been reluctant to return it. Kaiba Corp still remained number one in Duel Monsters technology.

Joey's ruminating was interrupted by the sound of someone joining him from the restaurant. It was Téa. Joey hastily tossed the lit cigarette to the ground and crushed it underfoot.

"Hey, Joe. You okay out here?" Téa came to stand by him, tugging her coat around her against the cool night air.

"Yeah, no worries. Just thinking." Joey scratched the back of his head. "About these new Duel Disks Kaiba's shunting out."

"They look pretty swanky, huh?" Téa said. "Look, Joe, I think you and I need to talk about something."

"We do?"

Téa nodded and folded her arms. She braced herself on the ground with her legs apart and Joey felt the impending lecture incoming. Might as well have finished the cigarette, he thought.

"Joe, I think you need to lay off Tristan and Serenity."

"What?" Joey was caught by surprise. "What about them?"

"You need to grow up a bit, Joe," Téa continued. "That's why you left when we were eating, right? They're gonna be together and there's nothing you, or anyone, can do about it, okay? You have to let them make their own choices. I know you looked after your sister for so long but she's an adult now, Joey, not a little kid anymore."

Joey frowned and chewed on his bottom lip. What Téa said made sense but it wasn't that that was bothering him so much that evening. He sighed and rubbed a hand through his hair, leaning back against the wall.

"I know," he said, "I get that."

"You do?"

"Yeah. I mean, Tristan's a moron but at the end of the day I'd trust the guy with my life." Joey's eyes fell on the billboard with that beautiful chrome design. "I know he'd take care of her. That's not the problem."

"Then what is?"

Joey paused, hesitant to bring it up. No good could come of talking about it, yet here was Téa, one hand on hip, demanding answers. Maybe now was a good a time as any.

"Just… everything's moving too fast, you know? Like," he paused again; took a breath. "Like when Yugi left for those tournaments, or when the Pharaoh left all that time ago. It's all suddenly changing so fast and now you're leaving too."

"I thought you were okay with that." Téa spoke quietly. She refused to meet Joey's eye, staring at the concrete instead. "You definitely seemed okay at the time."

"I was, T, I was happy for you, but now things are moving so fast and-"

"I thought I should have keep quiet! I felt like such an idiot!" Téa hiccoughed into her hand. Joey was perplexed. "Especially after your speech about how everything he taught us would be with us forever! I thought how stupid I was for being the weak one and missing him!"

It finally dawned on Joey why Téa was so upset. He recalled her blurting out as their friend slipped silently into the light. His last look back as she shouted about how unfair it all was: to lose such a friend so fast. Joey felt as though he had been punched in the gut. He flushed with guilt.

"No, you said exactly what we were all thinking!" He took her shoulders in his hands and she tried to pull away, hiding her face. "I'm sorry, T, you're right, you were right, it ain't fair to lose a… to go through that. And I'm just gonna miss you, that's all. I'm gonna really miss you."

Téa wiped her eyes on her sleeves and finally looked up. Joey grinned at her blotchy red face. "Okay?" he said. She laughed at him.

"I'm not going to be gone forever, Joe," she said. "You made me think a lot after you said… what you said. It's always stayed with me and it's going to give me the strength to move on. I just wish that I could find the words to do the same for you this time."

"Nah, T," said Joey, pulling her into a tight hug. "you say just the right shit every day. Besides," he added, pushing her back and grinning again. "You know me, I'm set in my ways. Ain't nothing here that'll make me change."

Just then a long, white limousine cruised past the restaurant. It passed the enormous billboard. It came towards Joey and Téa embracing in the alleyway. For a brief moment it almost moved in slow-motion. A hundred city lights shimmered across the tinted windows and shivered over the polished white paint. Joey's gut stirred with a twist of recognition as his eyes fell on the figure rendered beautifully in metal: a custom-designed Blue-Eyes White Dragon, on the hood.

And for just a tiny moment Joey got the impression he was being watched.

(Credits:

Alt. chapter title is a line from 2am by Thee More Shallows)

I've been sitting on this story for four years, at least.

Four years is a long time to have a story inside you. It's been written, rewritten, uploaded, torn down, and re-uploaded.

But now I think I'm finally ready to share it for real.

If you are interested in sending me a beta/proof reading of this chapter or requesting to proofread any other chapter in the future (or the story as a whole) please let me know. I'd be very happy to hear your thoughts!

Reviews are appreciated. Favourite and follow to keep updated.