Hello everyone! This is my first fanfic ever so I hope you like it!

Disclaimer: Do I own yugioh? If I won the lottery maybe, but I haven't so damn...

Chapter 1

The Encounter

"Joey! Are you done?!" I yelled as I began to run down the hallway of our two bedroom apartment. Being in a rush to get to school I notice that Joey was still in his pajama pants with his ruffled hair. I stare at him with a look that I only give whenever I was annoyed. The first month of school hadn't passed yet and Joey was already taking the day off.

"Why aren't you dressed yet?" I asked as he continues his way from his room to our small kitchen. Following behind him, I notice something strange about his demeanor. He wasn't as high spirited as he usually is, and if I hadn't noticed correctly, it seemed like he was crying.

But what could make him cry? I had never seen Joey like this ever before, well except during Battle City when Marik had trapped Mai in the shadow realm, but that was years ago. It wasn't until we were in the kitchen, with Joey sticking his head in the fridge, that the answer had struck me.

Mai.

Almost every day I would wake up to Mai's cooking, and the fresh aroma of coffee that she usually made before heading off to work. Even though she had an apartment for herself, she was always here after she got off from work. It had never bothered me that she was literally living with us, since most of her stuff was in our apartment. In fact I enjoyed her company, living in a small apartment with an older brother and having to talk about girl stuff wasn't something I enjoyed doing much. Mai was like an older sister to me and I loved her for making Joey happy.

They have been dating ever since our mother had allowed me to stay with Joey. Their relationship was something that came out of a fairy tale; something that you don't come upon ever so often. The happy couple had always done everything together so it was rare to see one without the other.

At times the gang and I would envy the happy couple, jealous that they found true happiness with one another, something that we couldn't find. (Even though we knew Tea and Yugi had something for one another, but that was another story.) But we supported them, even with the age gap, Mai being two years older than Joey. Of course neither of them were bothered by the age difference, at one point Mai had told me that the younger they are, the better they were in bed. I, of course, turn scarlet red after her comment on Joey.

But today was different. It was now that I realized that I hadn't woken up to the fresh aroma of coffee. Instead I was awaken by the annoying sound of my alarm clock, which usually went off after I was up.

Something had happened, and it didn't seem good. Joey finally took his head out of the fridge with a piece of cold pizza in his mouth. I looked over at him again, pleading with my eyes for him to tell me what was wrong, but nothing came out. Instead he just looked back down again, shook his head and walked right back into his room.

I knew it wasn't my business to interfere, but I had to find out what had happened. Sighing, I grabbed my bag that was placed on the sofa, walked towards the door, though before I left I glanced once more to where Joey had walked off. Feeling his sadness, I sighed once more and walked out of the apartment.

The weather outside was surprisingly pleasant for mid-September. Sakura trees, during this time of year radiantly showered the environment, making my walk to school much more pleasant. But I couldn't think of myself at this moment, Joey needed my help more than ever, if he wanted it or not. Grabbing my phone from my bag, I dialed the one number I memorized by heart.

Placing the phone by my ear, I wait for an answer on the other line. As it began to ring, I continue my way to school hoping for an answer. It rang four times before someone answered.

"Hello," said a weary voice on the other end.

"Mai, are you okay?" I asked as I noticed the tiredness of her voice. This wasn't like Mai, she was always up and ready during this time, something wasn't adding up with both Joey and her.

"Oh hey Ren, I didn't notice it was you hun." she answered back. "Why are you calling me this early in the day?"

"Mai, you're always up and ready during this time. What's wrong? Why are you and Joey out of it this morning; what happened?" I asked getting a bit concerned.

There was a long silence on the other end until I heard a muffle followed by a sob. Mai was crying, this was very unusual. Continuing my walk, I notice a familiar black limo drive by heading towards Domino University, the same school I was attending. If I had noticed clearly, I would have seen the window roll down as a pair of blue eyes gazed at my direction. But of course I didn't, instead I waited for Mai to cease crying. It took her a while to regain her composer, but when she finally did I asked her again what had happened.

"Ren, I'm sorry, I just… can't take it anymore." She replied, still getting nowhere to figuring out what was wrong.

"Mai, you have to explain better than that. I know this must be hard on you, but I want to help. You and Joey mean so much to me I don't like seeing both of you hurt." I explained. "You're like the older sister I never had, please let me help."

There was a long pause after I had finished. I turned the corner, realizing I had about a ten minute walk until I reached the university. I would wait if it took longer than the ten minutes though; family always came first in my book.

Hearing a sigh on the other end I knew I had made some progress.

"You're not going to give up are you hun," Mai replied with a small laugh, sensing it was more of a statement than a question.

I smiled, happy that I had got her to laugh. "You know me Mai, I'm not a quitter. If anything I'd probably skip classes today to figure this out in person, but I have a calculus test I can't get out of so help me out here, please." I pleaded.

She gave out a big sigh, while I mentally patted my back knowing my pleas worked, Nice work Ren.

"Ren, Joey and I broke up." Was all she said. I stopped walking, not believing what I had just heard. How could this have happened? Mai was lying, that was the only perfectly good explanation I had, because it couldn't have happened, right? They were meant to be together, after hearing all those stories about Joey and Mai from Duelist Kingdom, I knew that those two were destined. I had just saw them two nights ago laughing and playing around like they always do, enjoying their time. What could have happened in one single night that could have led to this? I didn't want to believe it, it made no sense. And the more I thought about it, the more I was giving myself a headache.

"Ren, Serenity, are you still there?" She asked with a worried tone. Of course I wasn't there, well physically yes, but mentally, I had to get back to her on that.

I still couldn't believe it, why had this have to happen? Life was so great that nothing could ruin it, not even him. A pang of sadness filled me, remembering past memories that I had locked away. Looking back I realized that life wasn't as perfect as I thought it could be, as naïve as I was, I knew fairy tales didn't exist, in dreams maybe, but not reality.

"Ren, you're scaring me, please answer me," Again she tried to gain my attention, but it didn't work. I was too consumed with sadness that I couldn't answer her.

Frustrated with the situation, I wanted to scream with the top of my lungs, but I knew I couldn't do that on a busy street without getting stares or even worse assumptions that I was crazy, so instead I continued to walk to school.

Sighing I was finally able to answer her, "Sorry Mai, you just caught me off guard, I wasn't expecting that."

"I know, and I'm sorry Serenity. How about I explain what happened when you get out from class, how does that sound?" She offered.

"Yeah that sounds like a good idea, I'll be over around one okay." I replied with a sigh.

"Okay hun, I'll see you later then. I have to go and catch up on some sleep Ren, but just come in if I don't answer the door. You know where the extra key is at. See you later hun." And with that the line on the other end broke.

"Bye Mai," I whispered as I put my phone back in my bag.

I kept walking to school looking at the floor, thinking about what just had occurred. None of it made sense to me at all, it was nerve-racking, maddening even. Again I ask myself, how could have this happened? Knowing my curiosity was going to get the best of me, I push the subject aside and focus on the walk ahead of me.

I could see the campus clearly now as I made my way onto the street it was located. Sighing in frustration, I peer down on my shoes as I consider just skipping my test and running back to Mai's. Of course if Joey found out I would defiantly get an ear-full that would last until he finally calmed down. Then, of course, he would call mom and the cycle would repeat itself until I learn from my mistake. Sighing at the mention of mom, I mentally pull my hair from the trouble that she and Joey have caused me.

Growing up almost blind, I had found solitude in drawing and painting. But when mentioning to my mother about wanting to become an artist and going to art school, she yelled at me for thinking such atrocities, arguing that being an artist would get me nowhere and to never speak of it again. Of course she had already planned out my career, not once ever considering if it was something I wanted to do.

When mentioning to Joey about how mom was being unfair – thinking that he would take my side – he shocked me by taking her side. Stating it would be good for me to become something I didn't dream for, not in those exact words, but meant it to that extent. Knowing in the back of my head that he had only agreed with her so that I would be kept busy and not bother with my social life, in his case dating.

Always the protective brother that he was and still is, he would go to extreme extents to keep me "innocent". At first I wasn't bothered by it, knowing that he was doing it out of the goodness of his heart, and it made me feel better knowing that Tristen or Duke couldn't pull off anything without angering him. Then it got to the point where he overdid himself. Just the mere mention of me wanting to date set him off, yelling at whoever was near him. It angered me that I had no control over my life as both Joey and my mother had some control over it.

But that still didn't stop me. I was in a relationship, to a man I regretfully wish I had never met. The irony of it all was that love blinded me from reality. Everything seem so perfect, I was in my own fairy tale that no one knew, not even Joey. But all good things usually come to an end, and that end happened about six months into the relationship. I was heart-broken, but to him it seemed like nothing had happened, like I never happened. So I graduated high school accepting my fate.

Which now led to me attend Domino University, majoring in Business. What both Joey and my mother didn't know was that I was taking extra art courses on the side, taking just enough to earn me a minor by the end of the year.

Sighing, I made the last turn in which would lead me onto the campus. Noticing that I was still staring at the ground, specifically my shoes, I lift my head only to be knocked over by someone else, forcing us both to fall in unison.

"Oww," I squirm rubbing my now sore behind as I try to keep myself from glaring at the idiot who wasn't looking. Gazing up I finally see who the idiot was though it wasn't who I was expecting. Instead of the flustered freshman that I expected I would have bumped into, my eyes where gazing upon the most handsome man I had ever seen.

My eyes wandered to his beautifully sculpted face, his thin lips that captivated me along with his perfectly shaped nose and his creamy chocolate hair. Though what allured me the most was his oceanic blue eyes. I was mesmerized at how one man could look this good. If it wasn't for the smile on his face I could have easily mistaken him for someone familiar who I would not force myself to be reminded of; they looked so much alike.

Still smiling, he got up from the ground and offered me his hand, allowing me to see the rest of his figure. Of course I wasn't disappointed one bit. A guy with a face like his would also have a body to match it, his medium size built relaxing within the contours of his still wrinkle-free black business suit.

Feeling the already burning sensation along my cheeks I took his hand realizing how soft they were and finally getting up. Still blushing, I dust off the small rocks and dirt that appeared on my clothes. It took me a while though, when I finished my gaze returned back to his face.

He was gazing back at me in wonder and this made my cheeks redder. He chuckled at the obvious reddening of my face, still gazing at me, captivated almost.

Though before he could introduce himself, the one man I dreaded to hear or even see, ruined my encounter with this handsome look-alike.

"What do we have here," Oh God no…

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