Hello! This is my very first fanfic! *dances* I'm not quite sure where this is going to go, but hopefully it will end up some place that both you and I can live with. Knowing myself, there will be romance somewhere. It's what I do :)
But you don't want to listen to me, you want fanfiction! Read on, but don't forget to tell me what you think at the end. Thanks! ^^
Chapter One – In Which Atem Reads a Mind
Atem finished lugging the last piece of his luggage up the five flights of stairs that led to his dorm room. The fifth floor of the South Southwest residence at Domino University was second only to the sixth floor in height. As he sat out of breath on his rather high bed, Atem pitied the students who had to carry all of their belongings up an additional level. Then again, most of them had parents helping them. A strong Father to lift the mini fridge; a loving Mother to remind you that they'll be there for you if something happens. He sighed.
Atem knew little about his father and even less about his mother, both having passed on years before. He had lived with his Aunt Lily since he could remember, and she was the one who had driven him here today. Unfortunately, her bad back had prevented her from doing any strenuous lifting, and so Atem had been left to carry his heavy suitcases and boxes up the stairs. His tri-coloured hair even appeared to be feeling it; its usually bounce gone. It seemed as if his breath would never return.
"Oh, come now, Atem. It couldn't have been that bad," Aunt Lily said, handing her charge a bottle of water. She sported a cheeky smile on her wrinkling face.
"Oh, yes...it could...have," Atem replied between gulps of water.
"What did you pack, rocks?"
"Ha ha, very funny. No, books more like it. I never realized they could be so heavy."
"I only wish I could've helped, but my doctor will kill me if I'm not careful. I'm sorry, Atem."
"No need to be, Lily, I understand." Atem crunched his now empty water bottle and tossed it into the provided recycling bin.
"Well then, I'd best be off. Let you get settled and everything." Aunt Lily's eyes welled up as she gestured for a hug from her nephew.
"Lily, you don't need to get so emotional," Atem got up from his bed and accepted his Aunt's hug. "I'm just a phone call away."
"Oh, I know," she answered, ending their embrace by pushing Atem back a little, keeping her hands on his shoulders. "I'm just gonna miss you so much!" Her tears threatened to leak out.
"I'm gonna miss you too, Lily," Before her emotions could become infectious, Atem pulled his Aunt back for a final farewell hug and kiss on the cheek.
With one last wave and blown kiss, Lily left Atem alone in his new room. He got to work almost immediately, unpacking boxes and storing said now-empty boxes underneath his bed. The storage space would have to make up for the fact that his feet didn't touch the ground when he sat on it.
When he had finally unpacked all of his things, Atem lay down on his bed and let his mind wander. University would surely prove to be an adventure, that he was sure of. Different class layouts, new friends, questionable food; he had heard it from all of his teachers, his aunt, even the old game shop owner (he had stressed the questionable food). Right now, Atem didn't want to worry about any of that. He swam through his whirlpool of thoughts to arrive at the tranquil shore called sleep, even if it was only six o'clock.
However something had swum through the water after him. Atem tried to ignore it, but it kept popping out in front of him: the sound of someone crying. Figuring it was some parent sad that their kid was leaving, Atem grabbed his pillow and placed it over his ears. But it didn't help; the sound wasn't coming from an adjoining room. It seemed to reverberate inside his head.
"Why...?" This word interrupted the crying for a moment. "Why does this always happen? Wherever I go..."
The sobbing resumed and Atem now sat straight up, hands on the edge of his bed supporting him. Why can I hear this, that's what I'd like to know. His left hand rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"I'd also like to know why I can hear you." The crying had ceased and now a voice spoke inside Atem's head. This is too weird, now I have ESP?
"You and me both." The voice was less emotional now; Atem could tell it belonged to a boy. "How much did you hear, anyway?"
Just the sobbing. And apparently something happens to you wherever you go? Atem felt he was going to hear about it, whether he wanted to or not.
"Wherever I go, no matter what I do, someone thinks it's fun to beat up the short kid with funny hair..." Atem might as well get to know the person who could read his mind...and whose mind he could read. He could read someone's mind. This would take time getting used to.
"And they always have to cart me halfway to nowhere to do it! I don't even know where I am. I figured it'd be at least a week until someone thought I'd make a good punching bag. I would have had a chance to learn the layout of campus, but they never rest do they?" He sighed. "I don't suppose you could direct me to the North Northeast residence?"
You're asking me directions? Are you not even freaked out by the fact that we can read one another's minds? At all?
"No." Not even a moment's hesitation. After a few seconds of silence, Atem spoke...or rather, thought.
Well, I can't very well give you directions if I don't know where you are. And I don't know how much help I'll be, since I just got here myself. Atem waited for an answer. And waited. He sat in total quiet for at least five minutes. A sharp knock on the door brought him back to reality.
"Atem?" a confident female voice questioned. "I'm Mai, your RA. We're having a floor wide meeting in the lounge in a few minutes to get to know each other."
"O-okay. I'll be there." Atem didn't like the waver in his voice. Barely audible, Mai said, "You'd better..." as she went to the next door. Atem put his head in his hands.
Why did I have to get a female residence assistant? This does not bode well.
Atem's aversion to woman traced back to grade nine, when every girl suddenly found him the most interesting person in the world. They followed him around aimlessly, one having even walked into the washroom after him. It continued every day throughout all four years of his high school career. For some reason they just won't leave me alone. I really don't understand why. Atem sighed. I really hope the girls here have other things to attend to, besides me.
Atem's thoughts returned to the boy who could read his mind. Why hadn't he answered him? He was beginning to wonder if he hadn't dreamt the whole thing up.
"What did Lily put in that water she gave me?"
Rubbing his face, Atem stood up and made his way to the fifth floor lounge. An assortment of boys and girls were sitting on the burgundy couches chatting, mostly about how uncomfortable the couches were. Atem decided to simply lean against the wall and try the couches out another time. And then it started.
First it was only one girl, and then it was two. Soon every pair of female eyes was glued to him, taking in his spiked yellow bangs and similarly styled red-tipped black hair. His arms folded across a black tank top, his leather-clad legs crossed at the ankles. His violet eyes staring at the floor, avoiding eye contact of any kind. When the boys notice all of the girls looking at me, they tend to look too. Probably wondering what I've got that they don't. Atem sighed.
Then he wished he hadn't. All of the girls gasped simultaneously. Their eyes are probably doing that animé-sparkling thing. Atem decided to sneak a peek at his admirers. But instead of meeting the gaze of infatuated females, he saw everyone's eyes turned towards the hallway he had come from. There stood a newcomer with long, white hair in blue jeans and a striped blue and white t-shirt. His brown eyes showed that he was all too familiar with this scene. The boy sat down on the couch that hugged the wall space next to Atem. The boy sighed. The girls stopped breathing. Then the boy smiled up at Atem and spoke:
"It appears I've relieved you of the female attention," his British accent filled the girls' lungs instead of oxygen.
Atem laughed. "Who should I make the cheque out to?"
"Ryou Bakura. May I ask whom I'm working for?"
"Atem. But if you're caught, you don't know me."
"I think the cat's already out of the bag, Atem," Bakura paused, then whispered, "That girl's writing everything down in her notebook."
Sure enough, when Atem looked over, a girl with straight, short-ish, brown hair was scribbling madly into a furry, yellow notebook. Her pen lit up when it met the paper.
"Looks like we're going to be on someone's blog tonight, Ryou."
"Please, all my friends call me Bakura," Bakura smiled. Atem nodded his understanding.
Suddenly, the room became swathed in the scent of a floral perfume. The new, overpowering smell came from the purple-clad woman who had just walked in. Her long, blonde hair curled at the ends, framing her face. Her perfectly mascaraed eyes surveyed the room, taking note (most likely) of all the breast ogling boys. Fake, was where Atem's mind jumped first. Eventually, the boys regained their composure and it was then that the woman spoke:
"Hello, everyone. I'm the RA for the fifth floor of the South Southwest residence, Mai Kujaku. If nobody's missing, I'm going to go over the rules."
Atem sighed internally. This was going to be a long meeting.
Is mascaraed even a word?