"And this time stay down you dumb idiot! You're no son of mine!"

Yeah…that's my pop. Stupid alcoholic. After him and my mom got divorced he claimed me and my mom got my sister…I miss her so much. I go to school and pretend to be happy around Yugi, Honda, and Anzu but I go home and all he does is beat me. I sometimes wonder if life is worth all this pain…and then I remember one person…one face that keeps me hanging on for one more day…

"Jonouchi! Yo Jou! You awake man?"

"Huh? Wha…?" It was Yugi.

"You seem really out of it today…are you ok?" he asked so innocently.

"Yeah I'm alright…same as always." I replied. Yugi had no clue about my home life…I kept the scars and marks hidden carefully under my clothes.

"After school you wanna go grab some pizza?" he asked.

"Thanks but no thanks Yuug. I gotta get home."

"Ok…maybe tomorrow then?"

"Maybe."

"Ok, bye Jou!" he yelled as he ran to catch up with Honda and Anzu. I decided to hang around the school for a while so I sat under one of the cherry blossom trees that decorated the school's campus. They were in full bloom this time of year. I looked around carefully; checking to make sure nobody was around before I reached in my shirt to my necklace. I had put a picture in it back…a long time ago at least….I can't really remember when. I opened it up to see those glaring sapphire blue eyes against those brown locks.

"Kaiba…" I whispered only loud enough to where I could hear. I clutched onto my necklace for dear life. Truth be told…I'm bisexual…not like my friends know…I can't bear to tell them. What if they abandon me? My dad found out one night when I was taking a shower. I had taken my necklace off and laid it on top of a poem I had written about Seto Kaiba. Needless to say, in his drunken state he went through my stuff and read it…he soon confronted me about it and I told him the truth. He nearly beat me to death that night. I don't understand why he can't accept me for who I am! And that's the main reason he beats me still.

I felt a small tear run down my left cheek. "Kaiba…I love you…please love me back!" I said still in a choked whisper. I don't know why of all people it had to be the most stuck up, snobby, mean, rude, arrogant jerk at this school…but for some reason I have been silently admiring him from afar since freshman year. This was my junior year. Just then I heard footsteps approaching so I tried to regain my composure the best I could.

"Jonouchi." That's all he ever said to me…usually.

"Kaiba" I felt my heart start to pound in my chest. Then he stared at me for what seemed to feel like forever. His sapphire eyes burning with a grace I could only ever hope to have. He had everything…cars, butlers, a corporation, and all the money he wanted, yet in his eyes there was an emptiness which seemed to resemble loneliness.

"Well, what do you want?" I asked sort of harshly.

"What makes you think I want something from you?" he replied coldly.

"You came over to me, so I guessed you wanted something from me. So spill it. What do you want from me?" I said, not knowing his intentions. He seemed to fidget a little when he heard my remark. Wait a second…was that a blush I saw just now? Is he actually blushing…for ME?

"I require your assistance this weekend. I'm having a gala to announce a new product from my corporation and I need someone to clean the pool area so I can get everything set up."

"And why do you need my help? I thought you had people to do that for you." I remarked.

"In normal situations I would, but seeing as they are serving food and preparing the products for shipment, I need and extra hand. I'll pay you."

"Pay? How much?" I questioned.

"How's 200 for the cleanup and maybe more depending on your performance."

"You got a deal man!" I quickly agreed, not knowing that he had ulterior motives hidden under that offer.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning at 9:00 sharp. Do NOT be late by even a second. Also I will have you a uniform to wear. Seeing as you can't be seen wearing THAT, especially in this weather…" he trailed off at the end.

"Uh…you got it Kaiba. 9:00 sharp. I'll be there."

"You'd better be." He said before walking away, silver briefcase in hand. As he left I blushed crazily…I'm gonna be working for KAIBA!? This is a dream come true! I'll finally be close to the man I love! As I walked home, I smiled and wondered what the next day had in store for me.