She really should be very happy.
She's got a wonderful boyfriend, quite the catch, really. He's devilishly charming, handsome too. All the girls adore him; she'd lucky to have caught his eye. He's always opening the door for her, pulling out her chair, holding her hand, lavishing admiring attention on her. He drops compliments like the sky drops rain. He sends flowers for no reason at all. If only she could be quite sure that she was the only girl who received his flowers.
She's got an absolutely wonderful brother, who's always looking out for her. He'd go to the ends of the earth for her, and she'd do the same. He introduced her to all his friends, and they're great too. She used to be all alone, spending her life inside the stark white walls of hospitals. Now she's got role models to look up to, protectors to take care of her, and girlfriends to giggle, gossip, and chat with. That was how she met Duke, too. And Tristan.
She thought maybe when she first met Tristan that he was interested in her. He'd flirt with her, try to impress her, get possessive of her attention. Tristan's not bad looking, but he wasn't exactly the Prince Charming she was looking for. And he was her brother's best friend; how weird was that? She let him know she just saw him as a friend.
And now, when she sees him, he smiles and asks how she's been. He tells her about the latest crazy thing Joey did, and she counters with a memory from her childhood, and they both laugh until it hurts. He offers her a soda and a bowl of popcorn, and she accepts. He asks if she wants to play video games with him, and she tries her hand at Halo2. She wants to know what the difference between the weapons is, and he launches into a five minute lecture on rifles and their different types. Whenever he gets too full of himself, she reminds of the time he told her he taught Joey everything he knew about dueling, or when Noah turned him into a monkey. And then she'll go and say she had fun. He'll wave and tell her it was great to see her again, but he's got a date with Melody and he's got to run. And he smiles, for all the world like she was his little sister, not Joey's.
She's got a great boyfriend. He treats her like a lady, like a princess, like an angel dropped down from heaven. He's witty and charming and more stylish than she is. He always takes her to the nicest places, and he always picks up the check.
She really should be very happy.
But sometimes, when she and Duke are walking down the street, they'll pass the Muto game shop, and they drop in to say hi to Yugi, Joey, Tea…and Tristan. He'll smile as she walks in, but when their eyes met, he has this look in his eye, and she has to turn away. And, she wonders, just for a moment, what she threw away.