AN: I feel so mainstream now, writing about a 'Joey-death-caused-by-abuse' story XP Anyway, the song this is based off of is 'Alyssa Lies' by Jason Michael Caroll. I made an amv for it a while back, but now decided to write this short story about it. Enjoy~?

Mokuba's POV

It started off normal; the day, like any other. School was finally over and everyone rushed out to the playground, waiting for their parents. Unlike all the other kids, my big brother would come to pick me up, but what made everyone jealous was the limo he arrived in. However, Seto's always busy so he never picked me up on time; which I thought was okay since I got to play longer. Although, that one day was strange, and I had to keep in what I found out for longer than I would've liked.

By this time, most of the parents had came and went, while I was left alone on the swingset. At least that's what I thought. Suddenly, I heard someone sit on the swing next to mine. When I looked up, I was surprised to see it was Joey Wheeler. Seto never really liked him, but overtime I thought he was kinda cool and fun - his goofy smile would remind me of Seto's when we were younger. But that day he wasn't smiling. I noticed he was bruised and had scary cuts all over like he had been beaten very badly.

"Joey, what happened to you?" I asked, cringing at the sight of his marks. He eyed me slowly before shaking his head.

"Its..nothin'. Don't worry 'bout me, kiddo," he muttered, attempting to force a faint smile. I wanted him to know I was concerned since it was obvious he really needed help!

"Clearly you're not," I said with a frown. I was beginning to wonder how he even got in here, but an examining what was over his shoulder, I saw he had a pillow and blanket laid out underneath a nearby tree. He must've been there for a while without being detected.

Joey sighed and scanned the area until his eyes rested on me again. "If I tell...you can't tell Kaiba. You can't tell anyone," he said reluctantly. I nodded. He seemed desperate, like all he needed to do was atleast get whatever happened to him off of his chest and never speak of it after. He beckoned for me to come closer, and I leaned in.

"This is what happened..."

Seto's POV

It was just the other day that my little brother saw the Mutt on the playground at school between the tires and the swings. I came to pick him up late as usual after finishing a large amount of paperwork to find that Mokuba was the only one left. When he got in the limo, I noticed he had tear-filled eyes. He told me, "Seto, Joey's a liar." I rolled my eyes and looked out the window.

"That doesn't surprise me the Mutt would do something like that," I mumbled. He started crying, and at first I sort of brushed it off. Personally, him sobbing struck me as odd; all he did was claim that Joseph Wheeler lied to him about something. But then again, I didn't see what he saw - I didn't hear the story he heard.

It didn't take us long to get home, but when we were back in the mansion, he was still sniffling. It pained me a little to see Mokie so upset, so I decided to try getting him to talk. I wasn't ready when I said, "You can tell me."

He stared at me directly in the eyes and said, "You may not know it, but Joey lies to the classroom; Joey lies everyday at school. Joey lies to the teachers..as he tries to cover every bruise!"

I raised a brow and looked at him bewildered. What on Earth was he rambling about? "What does he lie about exactly?" I asked.

"You're telling me you've never seen his bruises or marks?" he yelled. I gestured for him to lower his voice as I tried to recall a time he looked banged up. It then came to me whenever I overheard Yugi or anyone from the 'Friendship Circle' how he got a scar, he'd try to impress them and act tough by saying something like 'I beat up some thug who tried to jump me!' I knew half the time he wouldn't be able to win fights against people he claimed he did, but was Mokuba's trying to say that those didn't come from fights?

"Where does he get them from?" I inquired. That's when my little brother actually clung to me and began to sob into my suit.

"His dad!.." came the muffled reply. I bit my lip. It was a known fact his father was a wreckless gambler and heavy drinker, but would he honestly go as far as to abuse his own son? The thought never even crossed my mind.

~x~

My little brother laid his head down that night to go to sleep, but as I left the room upon tucking him in, I heard him praying, "God bless my big brother for all the hardwork he does, and God bless my friend, Joey, I know he needs you bad."

I anxiously made my way to my own room and shut the door behind me. After the statement Mokuba made that day, everything had been uncomfortable. Was the Mutt really that stupid not to tell anyone he was getting abused? If so, why would Mokuba be the only person he told? The entire situation haunted my mind. I too knew what it was like to have a parent problem - being orphaned and then having to be fathered by someone like Gozaburo, but I was never physically abused.

That night, I had the worst night of sleep in years; half of it, I couldn't even sleep - I was too busy worrying about Joey. I never considered him a friend or anything, but somehow for some reason, I knew that if something horrible were to happen to him, I'd care. If I could get him to a safer environment, then Mokuba nor I would have to be concerned, and we could all move on with our lives.

I got up that morning knowing exactly what it was I had to do. Monday, and I brought Mokuba to my school with me. I told him to wait in the limo while I went inside. However, when I made it to homeroom and saw nearly half the class hovering over an empty desk, that's when I heard the news...

I spun around in the doorway to find Mokuba had followed me in. He glanced over to the other students before gazing up at me and wearily questioning, "Why does everybody look so sad?" The lump in my throat grew bigger with every question that he asked.

Then I felt the tears run down my face, and I told him, "Joey won't be at school today."

I brought my little brother back outside where I sat him on a bench and continued, "Remember the pray you said last night?" Mokuba nodded hesitantly, his lip quivering.

"Well, it was answered. Joey's in a safer place now," I croaked. "Because he doesn't lie in the classroom...he doesn't lie anymore at school..Joey lies with Jesus since there's nothing anyone would do!"

Tears filled my eyes when my little brother asked me, "Why did Joey lie?"

"..."

"Seto, tell me why...!"

"."

"...did Joey lie?"