What first attracted him to her wasn't her looks, or her grace, or even her skills. No, they were both too young to be immediately thinking about those sorts of things. But that was just it – what first attracted him was her age. Bonz didn't often see duelists his age at big tournaments like these – the younger ones tended to be teenagers.

He found out her name was Rebecca Hawkins, and she was from America, just like Keith.

So he decided to watch her duel, see what she was made of. Turned out, she was pretty damn amazing, with such a thorough technique. But that wasn't the second part of the attraction. The second part had been her monsters. Not something he'd expect such a cute little girl to have. They were grotesque, they were intimidating, they almost reminded him of his own monsters.

She won the duel, but that wasn't the third part of the attraction. The third part happened a little later, when he went up to her. He could be a bully when needed, he could stand up for himself, and he wasn't afraid of anyone bigger than him. But this was different. He had no intention of harming her, and that… scared him.

Bonz kept his eyes on his feet as he shyly congratulated her on the duel. Rebecca gave him a light smile, and a less than humble thank you. Tucking her teddy bear tightly under her arms, she winked at him, and ran off.

And that was it.

For the first time in his life, he had a crush. And that scared him. Bullies were easy, he had dealt with bullies all his life. Not to mention, after you were finished with them, the goal was to never encounter them again. Now what was he supposed to do?

Would he see her again? Could he see her again? What would become of his feelings if they never met again? Hell, what would happen if they did meet again? What if she didn't like him – what if she was just humoring his compliment because it boosted her ego?

Or what if…

What if…

What if she liked him back? Could they hang out? Could she be part of the gang? Did girls even like gangs? What do girls like, exactly?

All these questions spun through his brain, giving him a headache. He walked around, looking for a place to sit. He managed to find one, and a soda someone left behind. He took a sip and thought over his feelings again.

Maybe he overacted – she was just a girl, after all. And it was just a crush. It wouldn't be so bad to never see her again. But still… he wanted to let her know how he felt.

Just… in case.

The tournament wasn't in a particularly huge location – it was mostly the arena and a few concession stands. So it didn't take him long to spot her again in the crowd.

Abandoning the already abandoned drink, he shoved his hands into his pockets and ran towards her. He didn't even look her in the eyes when he handed it to her.

"What is this?" She asked.

"It's 'Call of the Haunted'… I used it to win my first duel… I thought maybe… maybe a duelist of your caliber could put better use to it…"

She looked at him, and gave him a genuinely warm smile. "Keep it, ok? I appreciate it, but I have my own technique. And I'd feel kinda bad for taking a card like that from you…"

"Oh… ok."

"Well…" she clutched to her teddy bear tighter, staring down at her feet awkwardly. "Good-bye!"

And then she was gone.

"Good-bye…" he whispered to himself.

But he wasn't sad, or scared anymore. He was just proud that he had gone up to her.

…

Credit for the image goes to HelenaLevi, who this fic is dedicated to