A/n: My other stories are to be updated soon. If you like Anzu/Seto aka Tea/Seto, you should check them out. If not, read on!
Secrets Always Come Out
Jounouchi is an ordinary boy. Mai Kujaku, 17, had a secret power of a genie. Secrets always come out especially when she tells him. Summary sucks, but the story is really good. Jounouchi x Mai.
Chapter One
The girl stood on the outskirts of Domino City.
I hope they will accept me…
The class bell rang: brrrring! "Students, please settle down. There is a new girl in school. Let's give her a Domino High School Hi!"
"Hi!" chirped the ten thousand students on cue in a roar. (This was an assembly time).
The new girl stood, looking alone. Her hands were clasped on front of her and she was looking at the floor in shyness. So her hair, the color of cornsilk, fell in long curls about her heart-shaped face. Long black lashes hid her eyes, thick and curled. She wore the traditional Domino High uniform of girls, but there was no doubt to anyone in that gym that she was different.
"Whoa," whispered all the males. She was beautiful. Breathtaking.
"Would you like to tell us something about yourself, my dear?" said the assistant principal, peering over her glasses.
Mai kept silent.
"I wish you would tell us something about yourself," said the assistant principal.
Mai took a deep breath and began. "My name is Mai Kujaku. I'm from the States." More buzzing. "And—" she hesitated. "I have…a problem. So please don't anyone take my rudeness for being rude." Her eyes swept the room, a clear violet.
"Wonder what she means by that?" said Jounouchi Katsuya, who, along with everyone else in the room, was swept away by the new girl's presence. Was she cold, or something? The principal called for order.
"Settle down! Jounouchi Katsuya, you will have a chance to ask the new girl yourself after the assembly," the principal called out. "Now, where does the time go…? Okay, dismissed!"
The students fell into conversation and started filing out, talking in a sea of blue and pink. Jounouchi noticed that the new girl had disappeared into the shadows, near the wall drapery. "Hey!" he said.
When he got there, there was no one there. "Hey, Jou, who are you looking for?" said a cheerful Honda, coming up to him with a pack of friends. "I get one guess…the new girl!"
Guffaws all around from the pack of boys. "Aw, stuff it," he said, putting up his bookbag a little higher and sauntering out.
They caught up with him: "That new girl is really something, don't you think?"
"She's weird."
"Maybe it meant that she was rude?"
The topic took them all the way to the next morning, when there was whispers and chatter all around as the new girl stepped in.
Kujaku Mai found her new locker and set her purse in with ease. Another day, another new locker. Her family had moved a lot, so she never had anyone the time to be friends with. Even her family didn't know her little secret.
She was a genie.
But she could never tell.
If it got out, then she would be used.
She put her head against the metal of the locker door, blonde curls on white. It was so long ago. She kept her "bottle" in a safe place. If found, the bottle could be used for her doom, for it was a genie's bottle.
"Hey!" she heard the call from behind.
She didn't look up, or even acknowledge their presence. It was so easy, so darn easy to make enemies than friends. If need be, she would use her powers to drive them away. She didn't like to, since it was a dead giveaway and would lead to awkward questions.
Out of the corner of her eye she was a group of jocks, big, muscled, buff, and tall guys striding towards her with confidence.
Puh-lease…
One of them grabbed her face. "Hey, you wanna go out?"
She could smell cigarettes on his breath. She recoiled from his firm grasp on her chin.
"Leave me alone."
"Oh, come on don't be like that…"
"Hey! Leave her alone!"
She glanced up just as the jock turned, releasing her in surprise. A slender, medium height boy. She looked away from the newcomer, at the floor. Everyone watched.
"Oh, Jounouchi." The jock smirked, beefy hands on his thick hips. His arms were as thick as two pythons. "Whatcha gonna do?"
"I'm going to rearrange—" Jounouchi shouted.
"Fighting, Jounouchi?" said an official. "Detention!"
Seeing the fight was stopped, the crowd began to disperse themselves. Mai noticed that many were looking at her, and talking behind her back behind their hands. She slipped away unnoticed as soon as she could.
It had been a long time since anyone ever stood up for her. She had been pawed at her other school before, and she cursed herself. She fought back angry tears.
The novelty of her newcoming wore off. During that time, she spoke little, and kept to herself. She was so stupid. She had thought that agreeing to be a genie would better her life, amusing herself instead waiting for other people to do it. It had, at first. Now, she wished it would go away.
Well, no, not really.
She wished for others would away.
"Hey! New girl!"
She turned and saw that it was the blonde boy from last week, the one that had saved her. Her face turned like a mask.
"Don't ignore me. Come on, I saved your life."
She hesitated.
"I had to risk detention for you." He smiled.
She almost smiled back—he had that sort of contagious smile. "So," she said coolly," you think that I owe you something? Let me tell you—I didn't ask to be saved."
She pointed her finger at him, and he had on a look of taken aback.
"I didn't say you did."
She hugged her books protectively to her chest.
"Good," she said finally.
"Come on," he said, gesturing towards the lunch room. It was lunch break.
"Well…" she said reluctantly. "All right."
She let him lead her to a table pack with students, feeling both happy and sad. Uncertainly she took a look around.
A friendly-looking table of students.
"What are you all gawking at?" Mai said, when they didn't say anything, just smiled and smiled.
Their smiles disappeared; they coughed, and hastily bent over their lunches. Sounds of eating happened.
"What's with that?" Jounouchi said, as Mai took her seat.
"I don't like being stared at as much as the next person," she muttered, unpacking her lunch from her lunchbag. Embarrassed, the table ate as quickly as they could, slurping and smacking. Except for Jounouchi, who was staring at her. Mai waited until every last piece of her lunch was neatly on the table: delicious looking candy bars, finger sandwiches, pastries. Then she added defensively, "How would YOU like to be stared at?
She gave him a pointed look, while her fingers sought her food on the table. He had a nice, plain looking face, not too ugly, not too pretty, but in between. Dark eyes, long blonde hair swinging in the milk chocolaty studs. Kind of like hers, only with brown eyes and darker blonde hair.
When he didn't say anything, didn't move, she smiled a little. "You can stop staring at me now."
Honda, who was at the table, snorted. Her attention was diverted at the choking sound.
She smiled smugly, and bit into a pastry. All around, she saw people looking at her with curiosity.
That was dangerous, she knew. If they knew the truth…
"Oh, I get it!" Jounouchi said suddenly, making her thoughts stop. "What you said before. At the assembly. It's all an act, isn't it?"
"Maybe," she said coyly as she took a sip out of her straw, looking sidelong at him. She smiled at him, a beguiling smile. When she wanted to, she could turn on the charm.
Honda cleared his throat. "I think she was just trying to be mysterious, dude." He looked over. "Isn't that true?"
She shrugged.
"Well, I think you're pretty…mysterious already," Jounouchi said honestly as the bell rang, signaling classtime. "And I'm going to figure it out. Oh, shoot! Was that the bell? Already?" He didn't even eat, he was too busy staring at her. Honda smirked.
"Yep," Mai said, getting up and pushing in her chair. What he had said was disturbing. She didn't want anyone to "figure out the mystery."
"I wish you would let me walk you to your class." He said it before she could react, taken unawares.
"Okay," she replied, her mouth in a thin, suspicious line.
Whenever a person who talks to her makes a wish, she had to follow it, as along as it pertains to her or had something to do with her.
Mai said little, as he talked animatedly with her. She listened to some though. Mostly he talked about the school, where things were, like the bathroom and such. She had already known but still, it was nice to be told. He talked so much that he didn't even notice people gaping at them with their mouths open.
She put her hand up to her mouth and giggled. Honestly, you would think that no two people ever walked down a hallway at school before.
Because she was happy, or at least feeling happy, she turned to him outside her next class and said, "I guess that I do owe you something for saving me. Even though you didn't save my life. Per se."
"I guess," he said, as people rushed by. He had to get to class soon, or he would be given another detention. "I was just joking. About the life thing, I mean," he cleared his throat nervously. She was standing pretty close, and she was even more beautiful closer. Especially the way that she was staring at him. Not with gratitude, but a truly bewitching smile, faint and curved her lips. Her expression was relaxed, her eyes half-open and smiling.
"Anyway, thank you." She kissed him on the cheek. He was surely dreaming. No one saw, since they were all in their classrooms again; no one would ever believe him. It didn't matter. At least, not then.
It was an impulsive thing, she knew. The kiss was.. She didn't do it to everybody. But there was something about him…that brought out hope. Instead of wondering why, she finished cheek-kissing and chuckled softly. He looked ready to float. She turned slightly to his ear:
"You've been kissed." She took a deep breath and braced herself—her deepest, darkest secret: "By a genie." She added, very softly. She knew that she was safe, for who would ever believe it, of him?
And she knew by instinct that he could be trusted not to use her for his own good.
A/N: So! You like? Review please! Be gentle. (grins) Will update.