Chapter 1: Misunderstanding

He wanted to be known as 'fantastic'. He wanted people to look at him and automatically recognize him. He wanted to be strong and powerful, control people with his words instead of his hands. But, he wasn't going to be any of that. Joey Wheeler knew all of that already as his weak body was flung into a brick wall. He was covered in cuts and bruises, blood dripping from places he wasn't conscious of and legs shaking not with fear, but from exhaustion. His school uniform was ruined, but at the moment adrenaline prevented him from caring. He stood in front of his old gang leader and two of his goons.

"Just what da hell do ya' want from me?" Joey hoarsely said holding his stomach because breathing hurt. The boss, Gait, looks down at him as he smiles and laughs evilly.

"Wheela'. Baby. That's business. We've been lookin' for ya' since you left, you know, without a real explanation." He explains his New York accent showing through so well that it was almost fake. Gait cracks his knuckles and motions the other two to move forward. "Ya' see, no one runs from Gait's gang." And as they all get ready to swing a leg at him, a police siren goes off not too far away. The thugs froze as they heard them, and with a click of the tongue, Gait and his boys ditched the broken blond. "We'll be back, baby."

Alone and hurt, Joey sunk down to his knees. The last time he'd been beaten up Yugi was there to save the day, but today Yugi had missed school because of a cold. Joey had just gotten out of class and was going to take a shortcut to the game shop and check up on his tiny friend, but those goons-

He winced in pain has he got up and leaned against the wall. "Well, shit," he cursed himself staggering through the back of the school, continuing his route, "life really likes ta' kick my ass." He laughed at himself for thinking about being anything great, then laughed again because now he was thinking like a certain ass whole.

...

Seto Kaiba stood in front of the Kame Game shop. "Mokuba, hurry up..." He whispered to himself putting his fingers in between his eyes. He was still in his school uniform because Mokuba (along with that new driver, Ali-something) had come to pick him up and they decided to take a detour to this particular came shop to get some kind of video game. Kaiba was never a pushover, except when it came to his baby brother, so when Mokuba insisted that they come to this game shop he instantly gave in.

Several minutes passed and Seto was now leaning against the limo, arms crossed and one leg a little further back than the other one. His head was faced toward the sky and his eyes were closed, he had no interest in admiring something so unattainable. The sky was huge. Endless. Untouchable. No matter how far you reached, it was always one step further. Seto liked to have things that could grasp and control. He was the type of person who needed those sorts of things, but never wanted to be one. Touchable. The very thought of someone having control over him made him shiver.

Cough.

Seto's train of thought was interrupted by the sound of faint coughs. Instinctively, he looked around to see who he had to move away from in order to avoid getting sick. Rounding the corner was Joey, gasping for breath, suddenly unable to breathe. He fell to his knees and his gasps became louder. Seto only took a step toward him observing the situation and deciding whether he needed help or maybe just to catch his breath. He counted three seconds and decided that he actually did need help.

"Wheeler. Are you okay?" Seto asked, his voice monotonous. Approaching closer he saw the blond boy was badly beaten, and Seto internally winced. 'This is serious' was the only thought Seto could produce before his body acted on its own. In one motion, he scooped up Joey and carried him to his limo, laying him on the long seat. Quickly, Seto withdrew and rounded the limo to open the trunk. He lifted a flap of vinyl that had been velcroed to hide a secret compartment. From the compartment he pulled out a small silver suit case, opened it's latches and reviled three small containers of adrenaline. Taking one out and putting the rest back, he walked back over to Joey.

He needed to get to his neck, but the hood of the limo was a bit too low for him to just bend over the other. So, Seto climbed in on top of the gasping boy (making sure not to touch him anymore than he needed to), opened the container and reviled a small needle and plunged it in to Joey's neck. While a low 'shhhh' sound, the vile emptied into Joey's system, calming him down as his gasps became less frequent. Seto watched the boy underneath him, his brain slowing down as the situation became less threatening. He took out the needle and put it on the vehicle floor and the next second, Joey's eyes shoot open and he took a giant breath.

Joey looked around, his chocolate eyes quickly glancing from side to side and his hands tightly gripped ... Something. He looked up, partly confused and partly terrified. This. What? What's this? Both of them in a provocative position; Seto's body only inches above his own, one knee in between his two thighs, lying on his back with a hand near his side and another by his head.

"R-RAPE! RAAAAAPE!" Joey screamed as loud as he could, trying to shove the other off of him. In the sudden movement, Seto rose up too fast and hitting his head on the roof. He ducks down and curses in pain, but he misjudged the distance of the space between his nemesis and the roof, so his face touched Joey's chest. Joey let out an ear splitting scream as he reached for the door nearest his head, frantically shook the handle and flung the door open.