Love is Actually Spelled D-R-A-M-A

Okay! This is my first EVER fanfic, so take it easy on me. Some things you might wanna know: (1) In this fic, Seto and the gang are all 18 and seniors, except for Tea and Serenity, who are 17 (Tea skipped a grade and Serenity's a junior). (2) Joey and Serenity have a pretty complicated backstory which will be explained more in the fic…well, I hope. If not, in one of the later chapters I'll just tell you. But basically, their grandpa on their mom's side owns a HUGE, multi-million dollar company (much like a certain edgy, blue-eyed brunette we all know) and her daughter is Joey's and Serenity's mom. And for certain reasons that will hopefully be revealed in the fic, Joey and Serenity actually have to live with their abusive, alcoholic dad. (3) Yes, this IS an Seto x Serenity fic. (4) I am actually okay with flames, so if you flame me I won't go all "OMG, F**K YOU" and cuss you out into the next century……because I am a beginner writer so if someone just hates my story and wants to flame me, that's cool since they're being honest. Yeah…….I'm done now. On with the story!!! OH one more thing, REVIEWS ARE APPRECIATED. I shall give you each a ginormous milkshake if you review. Hypothetically at least…..

"And I was like, 'Dude, two things. A, I did NOT stand you up last night, I never AGREED to going out with you. B, if you want a date, why don't you go look under a rock? Maybe you'll be accepted there'. Seriously, what is up with that? That guy has some nerve, confronting ME when I didn't even do anything wrong. And he tried to KISS me too! GAH it's just so disgusting, right, Serenity? Serenity? Are you listening?" Tea reaches over and lightly slaps Serenity's arm. Immediately, her eyes unglazed.

"Oh, Tea, I'm sorry. I was totally zoning out" Serenity apologized

"No dip". Tea rolled her eyes. "Well whatever. It wasn't that important anyways. So what's up? Are you feeling alright?"

Serenity sighed and looked away. 'Well, Tea, let's see. I have two new bruises on my arm that I so cleverly covered up with my jacket because my dad showed up at home last night while Joey was on a date with Mai. Joey comes home, witnesses him beating me, and starts fighting Dad. In the end, they're both beat up and Dad leaves, probably to go find some prostitute to screw. And yet, you and your carefree, happy, hakuna matata self is complaining about something frivolous like a perv who tried to kiss you. Grrrrrrrr'. But Serenity knew she could never say that. Tea knew nothing about her life at home. Heck, no one did, not even her mom. Only her and Joey. Besides, she did love Tea to death, and would never say something so hurtful to her closest friend.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a lil tired"

"Well, lucky for you hon. Because after lunch, we have AP Global history. Or, in other words, naptime. We can sit at the back of the room and you catch up on your sleep. I'll cover for you". Tea grinned. Her happy-go-lucky aura began to seep into Serenity as well, and she couldn't help but smile back at the brunette. "Thanks Tea, you're the absolute best".


Seto Kaiba leaned back and sighed. 'Dammit, why the heck am I even at this school? I cannot believe I have to finish high school in order to become the legal guardian of Mokuba. It's like some sort of cosmic conspiracy to see how long I can last with a bunch of mindless buffoons before I crack. Which inhuman deity have I upset to deserve this torture?'

He turned and looked out the window of the empty room. All the other high schoolers were at lunch. He could see Yugi and his cheer squad outside, probably laughing at some juvenile joke. Either that or mocking the look of confusion on the mutt's face. Oh, how Seto hated Joey. Their "rivalry" has been going on so long now, he could barely remember what the dog had done initially to earn his disgust. Maybe it was the fact that he was Yugi's best friend. Maybe it was how he behaved like a caveman, or that irritating accent of his. 'Nevertheless, I do appreciate the mutt for one thing – he proves himself to be a never-ending source of entertainment for me'. Time and time again, Seto would make one little offensive remark and the puppy would fly into a murderous rage, and the only thing that kept him from attacking Seto was his friends holding him back. This amused Seto to no end, and did improve his outlook on school, even if it's by a little bit.

Returning his attention to the group of idiots outside the window, he noticed the two females of the group sitting off to the side, and holding their own conversation. 'Hn, probably discussing which nail color looks best against their skin' he thought sarcastically. Aside from Joey, the two others of the group who annoyed him as well would be Tea and Serenity. They are girls, and could be hanging out with other girls, but no. Instead, they prefer being friends with those lowlifes. He shook his head disapprovingly. 'Simply shows a lack of judgment and a lack of brain cells'. Also, all the Tea girl seemed to do was preach about friendship and love, while the mutt's sister was some shy, pathetic, loser. 'Well, they are siblings. I guess they both share that annoying personality'.

The sharp ringing of the bell jerked Seto out of his contemplating. 'Well, time for my daily nap in Global History'.


Mr. Kaoru Hokaru was standing in front of a door. "Now, Kaoru, you're just teaching a bunch of teenagers Global History. It's not rocket science" he muttered to himself, as a vain attempt to quell the butterflies in his stomach

'You're barely out of high school yourself, idiot! These kids will view you as a joke!' his conscience screamed at him.

"Urghhhh shut UP". Straightening up, Kaoru shook away any stray thoughts of failure and replaced them with confidence. 'Now, my name is Kaoru Hokaru. I've skipped three grades, finished high school, and am now pursuing a career in teaching. This is me, and this is my life'. Although the words sounded uplifting, the feeling of dread remained in the bottom of his stomach. 'Well, no matter. I will still have to enter this room, and I will still have to teach this class. There is no way out or this.' With that, Kaoru gathered up his courage and opened the door.


The whole class just stared. The females because at the front of the room, behind a desk stood a young man who's stunning looks fell second only to Seto Kaiba. They all mentally assessed the teacher, and all came up with the same thing – glossy black hair, penetrating amber eyes, tall, long legs and arm, and slender, but no without any muscle. Every single girl in the classroom immediately swooned over the dashing man, except for Serenity and Tea, since Serenity was asleep and Tea was too concerned for her friend.

The males, on the other hand were less than enthusiastic. All of them realized that in terms of looks, they had lost to this newcomer, and as a bonus lost the interest of all the girls. The only two who were unaffected were Seto, because he couldn't care less about some random teacher, and Yugi, who had never tried to woo the girls in his grade.

The room was silent for a minute, with the students observing the teacher and the teacher observing the students.

Finally, Kaoru spoke.

"Hello, I am Hokaru-sama, or Mr. Hokaru. You can call me by either, I really couldn't care less. I am new to the school, and actually, to teaching in general. So before we dive into the world of AP Global History, I would like to take the time to introduce ourselves. So how about we go along the rows and say our name, age, and hobbies? Oh, and could someone wake up that girl in the back? If she finds me boring later on, she can go back to sleep, I really don't mind"

Tea flushed for her friend, who was pleasantly oblivious to the embarrassment she was enduring. She shook a drowsy Serenity awake, and hurriedly explained to her what the class was doing.

Right now, it was Yugi's turn.

"Uhm, my name is Yugi Mouto, I am 18 years old, and my hobbies include playing Duel Monsters, being with my friends, and studying ancient Egypt." He quickly sat back down, and the tips of his ears turned red. The poor boy hated being the center of attention.

"Interesting, I share a love of Egypt as well. It's like that country has an air of mystery about it, and they are so many ancient puzzles that need to be solved. I believe we will get along very well, Mr. Mouto." Yugi smiled softly, pleased that he had found a fellow Egypt-lover who felt the same about the mysteries and puzzles revolving around Egypt.

"So, uhm, yeah. M'name's Joey Wheeler, I'm 18, and I like eating. Oh, and playing Duel Monsters. That's pretty fun. Oh, and I like hanging with my friends and my lil sister. They're pretty cool, too. Yeah, that's it." Joey sat back down, and gave a wolfish grin to Tristan and Yugi.

'Apparently it's a good thing to be illiterate. I bet you could count the number of brain cells in the mutt's head on one hand' Seto thought smugly to himself, and he couldn't help but smirk towards Joey's general direction.

"Yeah, I'm Tristan. I am 18, and I like teasing Joey, fighting with Joey, irritating Joey, and stealing Joey's food. I also like riding my motorcycle and hanging out with my other friends." Tristan sat down, and then immediately stood back up again. "By the way Joey's madly in love with Mai Valentine" he coughed, and then returned to his seat. He earned himself a vicious glare from Joey and an unspoken promise to beat him up after school.

Ever the peacekeepers, Tea and Serenity shot a dirty look towards Joey and Tristan, who were too busy virtually quarrelling to notice the glares. Finally, Yugi nudged Joey and nodded at the two girls. They looked sheepishly at eachother, and internally decided to finish off their arguing some other time, preferably when their out of Tea and Serenity's range.

Seto scoffed at the gang, and sent a snide look their way before standing up himself. "My name is Seto Kaiba, 18 years old. I am more intelligent then you are, and there is nothing that you can teach me in this class that I won't already know. My hobbies include running my powerful, influential, and multi-billion dollar company that can make it so you will never find another job in Japan if you tick me off." He sent a cold, superior stare around the room, before sitting back down and nonchalantly gazing out the window.

"What a vain jerk. He might need surgery to remove that stick that's stuffed up his butt." Joey muttered to Yugi, who merely shook his head. Yugi was a strong believer in "everybody's a good person on the inside." In fact, "Why Can't We Be Friends" is practically his theme song.


Yes, I know. That's a horrible place to stop. But I'm really excited to finally post something. So yeah. I'll probably post the next chapter right after I post this one. Ben Ben out!