Maybe I should stay focus on my other story. But right now I've got writer's block for it and I've had the idea for this storyfor a few weeks now, I justhad to type it down. I hope you'll like it!
This story will have shonen-ai. Nothing graphic, but if you really don't like it, don't read it.
Oh, and I don't own.
Ryou's Pov:
Note to self: never leave my artworks unattended on the desk when Marik's around.
I love to draw and paint. My latest sketch was that of an angel lying lazily on a cloud, a small smile on his lips as he gazed down towards the world below him, bangs falling gracefully over his eyes. Ihad started paintingit out, and even though it wasn't finished yet, I was quite proud of it.
But I have this habit of keeping my artworks a secret until they're complete, and my best friend knew I didn't like someone peeking at my unfinished drawings. That's probably the reason he would still do it I guess…
"Hey Ryou, tell me again why you're not sure of getting acceptedin that art school?" I didn't like the humour in his voice, the kind that told me he had just done something forbidden and was proud of it. I was right about that. When I looked up from the kitchen counter, I saw him leaning casually against the doorframe… with my drawing in his hands.
"Marik! I thought I told you not to go in there!" He just smirked at my whine.
"That's the reason I did go there… You know I love it when you're all frustrated!" I pouted as he gave me an innocent smile before looking back at my drawing.
"You know… that angel does sound familiar…" I couldn't help rolling my eyes at the look of mock concentration he was bearing. Of course he was familiar. I don't know many tanned people with shoulder length messy blond hair and deep lavender eyes.
"Oh, yeah, that… I got inspired by my best friend's good looks…" He grinned at the comment while putting the art on the table.
"Geese, lucky guy, not only is he your best friend but he also gets the privilege of being your muse!" That's Marik alright… Pretend I'm talking about someone else when he knows all too wellI'm talking about him. Don't roll your eyes, Ryou, don't, you know that's what he wants.
"Whatever, stop flattering me and help me clean this mess, we've got afternoon classes and if we don't hurry we'll run late."
Oh no… His smirk just grew… if ever that was possible. That is so not a good sign…
"Don't worry, Ryou, you know I'd feel bad if I left a black mark in your oh-so-perfect always-on-time record! We'll be in old Rickster's class before the second bell!"
Oh why didn't I like the sound of that?
"No! No, no, no, no, no! No way, not now, not ever!"
"Aw, come on Ryou, it's not that bad!"
"I'm serious, Marik, there is no way I'm riding that… that thing!"
"Ryou, it's just a motorcycle…"
"Well that's the point!"
Someone help me please. Marik is standing beside his red motorcycle, his smirk still plastered on his face, one helmet already safely secured on his head, the spare one in his hands. He seriously expects me to accept riding with him? Sorry, Marik, but you just officially cracked!
"Ryou, are you saying you don't trust me?" Here comes pathetic look of disappointment… Don't look him directly in the eyes, don't, don't, don't…
"I never said that! Of course I trust you!" True I trust him… It's his driving skills I don't trust, the guy's a reckless driver when it comes to motorcycling! "Marik, I don't want to ride that thing…I value my life, you know!"
Marik sighed as he straddled his vehicle, a mock sorry look on his face. I could tell he was pretending because his eyes kept sparkling with mischief. Gods, what is he up to this time?
"It's okay, I understand. It's not that important anyways. After all, if you're willing to sprint all the way to school, you'll only be…" He trailed off as he checked his watch. "… around ten to fifteen minutes late for maths!" I couldn't help it. I bit my lips, a sign I was starting to hesitate. We had the worst math teacher possible, he's always so strict. He can be really mean and he doesn't tolerate lateness, so it's easy to guess I don't want to arrive late while he's teaching.
My ponderings were interrupted as something was pushed into my hands. Marik had given me the spare helmet. I looked up at him, only to see a reassuring smile.
"Don't worry, Ryou, I'll make sure you'll get on time, alive and in one piece! Now, hop on!" I sighed while fastening the straps under my chin, settling myself behind him. Once he was sure I was in a comfortable position, he turned slightly to send me a grin, before starting the engine. Already half regretting my decision, I quickly slipped my arms around his waist, wonderingwhether I should have decided to face old Rickster instead. Marik reared his motorcycle slightly, causing me to tighten my grip around him as he started to pick up some speed.
"You see, it wasn't that bad, was it? You're alive, unhurt, and you still have five minutes to spare!" I glared up at him, or rather I tried to. Everyone knows I can't glare correctly; it always looks like a half pout or something along those lines. That's probably the reason why he's laughing at me right now.
We didn't get involved in any accidents, and it's true I'm unhurt. But he did some really dangerous driving, barely missing a car or two, and I nearly fainted at that dead turn he did to prevent us from hitting a wall at full speed. Okay, so I might be exaggerating a little…
Once Marik had finished laughing his head off, he strolled over to my side to offer me some support, as I was currently trying to keep myself steady on my feet. Needless to say, I gladly accepted his help.
Marik's Pov:
Ryou's so easy to annoy, you can't resist trying to get him frustrated. Besides, he's so cute when he pouts!
He just needs to loosen up a bit, I mean, he's always worrying over something, like that art college for instance. I swear I haven't seen anyone as gifted as he is, it's like drawing is his hands own purpose to life! You just can't help but stare in awe at his paintings, that's why I just had to get a peek at his next one. I know, pretty lame excuse, but still, you'd do the same thing if you had the opportunity. But I'm getting off topic right now. The problem with Ryou is he doesn't believe in himself enough. He actually thinks he won't be accepted at Domino's Renowned Art College!
As he leaned slightly over me, letting me support his weight while he recovered, I couldn't help but smile. I actually managed to make him ride with me. Not only did I get to have him on my motorcycle with his arms around me, I also won a bet against Joey. The blond actually thought he'd be the first one to give Ryou a lift. And I know Ryou enjoyed the trip deep down inside, he just doesn't know it.
"Come on, Ry, let's get to old Rickster's class before he decides we're late." His head snapped up from its previous resting place, which so happened to be my shoulder. His eyes trailed over towards the gigantic clock on the building. Nice going, Marik…
"Oh my god, we've barely got a minute left to get to the other side of the building!"
Like I said, the kid stresses too much. I swear one day he'll die out of a heart attack!
Much to Ryou's relief, we managed to arrive right on time, settling ourselves as the bell rang down the corridors. Old Rickster came in a mere second later, his stern glare already scanning the room. I nearly snickered out loud when I saw his eyes linger over to where Duke and Tristan were seated. Both were trying to give him an innocent look, which ended out to be quite comical since neither could actually do it. Ryou elbowed me to prevent me from laughing too loudly. I quickly turned my snickers into a coughing fit while the old man glared my way. He then pulled out a bunch of copies from his bag.
"Since everyone is here… well, most of you at least…" As he said that he glared once again our way, only this time it was directed towards Joey's empty desk in front of Ryou. "I'll be able to hand out last week's disastrous test. Allow me to remind you, exams are coming up fast, and most of you aren't ready, so I suggest you all wake up and start working if you want to pass this class!"
Oh joy, we all failed the test… again. That's not really a surprise, no one has ever managed to get full marks with that teacher, except Seto Kaiba, but that's not much of a surprise either, I mean, we're talking about Kaiba, teenage CEO of KaibaCorp, computer genius, etc, etc… You get the picture! Besides, Rickster has this weird paranoia, you have to write down the answers exactly the way he wants you to, or it'll be bye-bye to at least half a point per question.
He started handing our papers, leaving Joey's on his empty desk. The guy lives at the other side of town, and I know he forgot his lunch money today, so he had to sprint home, grab some food, and run straight back to school. He could have taken the bus, but the schedules didn't help, he'd be even more late than he already wasif he waited for them. Good thing he's kind of the athletic type, though he's bound to be exhausted by the time he gets here.
Speaking of Joey, he should be arriving right about… now!
Bingo, there goes the door banging open, in typical Joey style, with said teenager flopping down on his seat in front of Ryou. Old Rickster quirked an eyebrow towards the tall blond, who was, like I had expected, exhausted from his run. He had closed his eyes while catching his breath, his bangs dripping sweat down his flushed face. I poked him slightly on the shoulder, causing him to half open an eye at me. I motioned towards the old man, who was standing with his arms crossed, as if waiting for something…
"Oh, yeah… forgot about him…" Joey growled as he straitened up a bit. "Just tell me where, when and how long already, I'm not in a mood to find a goddamned excuse, since I'll still end up in detention anyway!" Ouch, someone's pissed off today… I glanced over at Rickster, who didn't look happy about the blonde's reply.
"For your cheek, Katsuya Jounouchi, as well as your usual lateness, you will serve three hours detentions, one hour after class today, two tomorrow. You will wait at the teacher's office until I find you a spare room." Joey growled slightly as he dropped his head back down his desk, barely glancing at the low mark he had gotten on his test. Ryou and I both received ours at the same time. I was below average, as usual. Ryou, however, had managed to get an acceptable mark, but according to the writings left by our oh-so-wonderful teacher, "he wasn't good enough". I sent him an encouraging smile.
"You see, it's not all that bad! You managed average with Old Rickster, something few of us can manage. In fact, I think Anzu and Seto are the only ones besides youwho did actually manage."
There you go, I made him blush again. At least he smiled at my compliment. Little Ryou, always so kind and sensitive. Which reminds me…
I tore of a piece of paper and scribbled quickly on it, before crumpling it and tossing it over at Joey's desk while the old man wasn't looking. Joey gave a slight exasperated sigh as he lazily picked the ball of paper up and unfolded it while Ryou gave me a questioning look. I just grinned sheepishly back.
A sudden exclamation from in front of us drew everyone's attention on Joey, who had just banged the back of his chair against Ryou's desk in surprise. Upon seeing Rickster's sharp glare, Joey muttered an apology, saying something along the lines of "I bit my tongue." After being threatened with another three hours detention, and once the old man was once again addressing the rest of the class, Joey turned round to face me.
"No way… You're kidding me, right?" he asked in a low voice.
I just smirked back at him as his gaze went from me to Ryou and back again. He stopped though when he heard Old Rickster walking to the front of the class, turning back on his seat in case he got caught again. Guess he doesn't want to risk a fourth hour ofdetention after all.
Ryou glanced over at me, with his eyebrow lifted questioningly. "What was that about?"
I grinned as I leant back on my chair. "Nothing much, lil' angel, nothing much…"
For some reason I think he didn't believe me.
Ryou's POV:
As we left the classroom, I was still wondering what it was that Marik had written to Joey to cause him to react that way. And why did he glance over at me?
I found out seconds later when said blond appeared in front of me.
"Tell me Ryou, you didn't ride on Marik's bike, did you?"
Oh… so that was what they were talking about…
"I did… and I don't feel like doing it again…"
Joey just growled as he turned towards Marik. "That is sooo not fair… I would have won if my bike wasn't on repairs right now!"
Marik smirked as he held out his hand. "A bet's a bet, Joey, so pay up!"
I blinked as I watched the tall blond fishing ten bucks from his pocket, handing it over to my best friend.
"Hold on a sec… Did you guys just bet on me?"
All I got in reply was smug looks…
Apparently luck wasn't on my side today. Our science teacher kept us in so we could clean the classroom, since one of our classmates accidentally spilled some chemical product on her. Too bad it wasn't acid… By the time she let us out, my bus was long gone.
It was only a matter of seconds before a happy Marik came over to me, offering me my second motorcycle ride of the day.
For some reason, I'm pretty surehe speeded up just to annoy me.
Once we stopped in front of my house, I cautiously stepped off his pride and joy, steadying myself. I think I'm starting to get accustomed to the feeling though. Heck, the ride actually felt more enjoyable than the first one! I'm getting insane…
I handed him back the spare helmet. "Thanks Marik."
He smiled back. "Hey, no worries man. It gets dark faster these days, and I wasn't going to leave my best friend walk all the way home with all those jackasses hanging round the streets!"
I rolled my eyes. "Marik, I can take care of myself! I've lived alone for years now! See ya tomorrow!"
He turned his engine back on. Just as he was about to speed away, he turned back to face me. "I'll pick you up tomorrow morning! See ya!" Before I could even protest, he was off. I growled under my breath as I turned back towards my house.
As I reached the doorway though, my hands started shaking. Something was wrong. I had the sudden urge to turn back and call Marik, to run off after him. I fumbled with my keys as I put them in the keyhole. Cold sweat started falling down my brow. What was wrong with me? What was this feeling? It was as if something bad was about to happen…
The door swung open easily, allowing me passage into my home. Biting my lip, I took a cautious step inside. The place seemed darker. No, it felt darker. Unconsciously my hand slipped inside my pocket where my cell phone was. My finger lingered on the button I knew was speed-dial one, which held Marik's number. The feeling I had increased as I took another step. I started to panic. It occurred to me that I could just leave the house and run to Marik's home. After all it was only a few blocks away… Yeah, that's it… Run to Marik's… Get myself out of here…
Before I could do anything though, the door behind me was suddenly slammed shut. Run Ryou! But I couldn't move as an arm was slung around my waist, pinning one of my arms to the side as I was pulled against someone's chest. I would have screamed, too, but my cry was muffled by a hand pressed firmly against my mouth. Warm breath hit my neck as whoever my captor was leaned forward until his lips were close to my ear. My eyes widened as a voice I knew all too well whispered… a voice I hoped never to hear again…
"Hello, Ryou… Long time no see…" A chuckle followed his words, causing me to shiver. Unconsciously, I pressed the button on the cell phone I still held…
Marik's POV:
As I pulled up in front of my house, I couldn't help but chuckling at what Ryou said about taking care of himself. I knew he could, but with that yami of his... I shool my head at that. I didn't want to think about that, it brought too many painful memories. They're all gone, andI'm thankful for that!He can't control him anymore...
I growled as I felt my cell vibrate in my shirt pocket. Good thing I had reached my house. I quickly turned the engine of my motorcycle off before pulling my helmet off. As I checked the name on my cell's screen, I was surprised to see Ryou written on it. Shrugging, I flipped it open and brought it to my ear.
Any suggestions, tips, and others are welcome! Feel free to flame if you don't like it, but in that case tell me why you don't like…Thanks for reading!