disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh

"Hiss"

Teenagers. Noise. Food. Talking, talking, more talking. Backpacks, tote bags. Trading cards.

Each detail, each piece of the scene unfolding around her began to separate until it was no longer a whole, but parts drifting away from one another. She withdrew from the world around her by degrees, pulling further and further back until reality itself narrowed to a dim light flickering at the end of a very long tunnel. The cafeteria noises and the chatter of her friends gradually dropped to a distant rumble on the outskirts of her awareness.

It was a skill Tea Gardner had cultivated in childhood, when she was prone to periods of daydreaming so intense that the real world often seemed miles beyond the reach of her tiny fingers. Now a high-school junior, she turned her thoughts inward yet again, moving through the fertile Eden that was her waking dreamscape. This time, though, it wasn't merely to luxuriate in the kaleidoscopic twists and turns of some inner fantasy concocted for her entertainment.

This time she had an idea.

It was more of a plan, really. A scheme, a ruse, a Mind Crush of epic proportions. It was like a strong liquor she had once stolen a sip of at the age of twelve: Cool as ice, yet capable of a delicious burn that filled her body with an almost scandalous warmth.

It's also never going to happen, she told herself emphatically, as she had many times before.

The idea had been lying in wait like a serpent in the tall grass of Tea's mind, patient in the knowledge that its prey could not elude it forever. She had been putting up a good fight for the better part of two months now. She dodged and parried with a swiftness a professional fencer would have coveted. She engaged the serpent in circular arguments designed to make them both too weary to continue fighting. And, despite her secret ambivalence towards religion, she even found herself praying to God for the strength to not give in.

Still, as the serpent knew, she couldn't run forever. It was only a matter of time before ...

"Tea."

The sound of her name being spoken, though probably at a reasonable volume, seemed to resonate like a clap of thunder in the echo chamber of her mind. Her body gave a violent lurch as though attached to a cord being yanked. And all at once she was back in the Domino High cafeteria. She blinked a few times to get her bearings and promptly realized that everyone at the table was staring at her.

Her eyes darted from face to face. "Sorry, what?" she said, unsure who had spoken, who she was addressing.

"I was asking if you still wanted to come over after school?" Yugi Mohto said, his sandwich poised a few inches from his mouth and a look of deep concern on his face.

"Oh. Yeah. Yeah, I'll be there," she said with what she hoped was a reassuring smile.

"Damn, Tea, it's like you were on another planet for a moment there," Joey Wheeler said with a grin.

She managed a chuckle that sounded curiously hollow to her own ears, but fortunately the moment passed and the conversation turned back to card games. She offered a few token comments here and there, but mostly retreated back into herself, though not deeply enough to draw attention to herself again.

Pathetic.

Tea closed her eyes and rubbed her right temple. Not again ...

Yes, again. Make him yours. Then break his will.

A barely suppressed shudder overtook her body. You're not supposed to be here, she silently replied, stoically sipping from her milk carton.

C'mon, crooned the serpent, heedless of her dismissal, it'll be easy. You've seen the way he looks at you ...

"Hey, I'll see you guys later, ok?" Tea said, slinging her bag over her shoulder as she slid out of her seat. She made for the doors, weaving through the labyrinth of lunch tables, all the while trying not to scream in response to the voice in her head.

I'm not doing it.

After what he DID? Like hell you aren't! You were ready to kill him for his twunt-faced insolence.

It wasn't even that bad. I mean, compared to the way he usually acts -

BULLSHIT, roared the serpent. Make him yours ...

No -

Then break. His. Will.

And just like that, the serpent was gone, slithering back into the recesses of her mind with one final sullen hiss: Bastard has it coming.

Tea entered the library and noted with relief that it was relatively empty. She headed for one of the private tables in the back.

And found the aforementioned bastard sitting in her usual seat.

He lifted his head at her faltering approach, a trick of the sunlight filtering through the enormous windows giving his thick brown hair the illusion of an entirely inappropriate halo. He fixed her with a stare that called to mind an aloof aristocrat, then looked her over as though she were a filthy peasant who had come uninvited into his throne room. An ugly smirk which didn't detract from his icy good looks the way it should have stretched across his face, his "twunt-faced insolence" once again in full effect as he lowered the book in his hand.

"Are you lost, Gardner?" he sneered. "This is a library, after all. There aren't very many pictures books here."

A chill took hold of her then, blooming diamond-hard in her stomach and snaking outward to the tips of her fingers and toes. A steel rod replaced her spine as she assumed the rigid stance of a West Point cadet. She felt her face go slack, taking on the blank, impassive look of a stranger who bodes neither good nor ill will to another.

Encased in this icy shell was fire. Molten fury roiled through her, beating against its wintry cage, struggling to get out and make the bastard pay. It sparked and smoked. It boiled. It hissed.

I am calm.

Oh, I got your fucking picture book right here.

I am okay.

Open it up. See what's inside.

I can handle this.

I fucking dare you, Kaiba-boy ...

Soooooo ... tell me what you think! Be honest, now, that's the only way I'll be able to learn. Also: I'm genuinely open to suggestions for future chapters. I have sort of a rough idea of where this is going, but some input could really help flesh it all out.