Hello everyone. This is my first attempt at a fanfic, and this story is dedicated to my friend, Kitty-Guardian_Dorothy. One of her characters is featured in here, and the story wouldn't be possible without her good graces. Now this is a yaoi fanfic, but I just want to let everyone know it's my first and last attempt at one. I hope you enjoy it and review if you'd like, but I do not demand it. Remember, this story is mine, but the ideas and characters are NOT.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Yu-Gi-Oh. Yu-Gi-Oh is owned by Kazuki Takahashi.

A Cruel Twist

Prologue- And So It Begins…

"RISE AND SHINE," shouted a man in his son's quiet bedroom.

"Auughh… five more minutes, Dad," grumbled Joey Wheeler as he covered his face with his pillow, wishing the comforting darkness to come back.

"No way. You're not going to be later for school again," his father said. "Now get up and take a shower."

Joey stole a glance at the digital clock on the nightstand next to his bed. "Dang it, Dad! It's not even seven yet! School doesn't start 'til eight."

"Hence the words: 'You're not going to be late for school again.' Now get your lazy butt out of that bed, or will I need to drag you out again?"

"Fine. I'm up, I'm up," Joey yawned as he swung his feet to the ground. He extended his arm above his head and stretched, trying to work the sleep cricks out of his back. Getting off the bed, Joey made his way across his room to the closet, stumbling over clothes, shoes, and trading cards littered about the floor.

"OUCH!" Joey yelped as the big toe on his right foot made contact with a sharp obstacle in his path. Failing to turn on the light, Joey got down on all fours to try and locate the object in the dark. He moved his hand around on the floor, finally landing on his target. Rising to his feet, Joey realized it was his duel disk.

Joey smiled, recalling everything he went through with his faithful gadget: dueling Roba, a strange kid claiming to have ESP, who just wanted to take care of his brothers; battling Mako the Fisherman and earning his last two locator cards needed to enter the Battle City Finals; being forced to duel against his very best friend Yugi while under the control of Marik; outwitting the Big Five, who wanted revenge against Kaiba and bodies to return to the real world. All the way up to his duel with Yami Marik, the duel disk pulled through for him to the very end.

'Well, all that craziness is behind me, Yugi's the King of Games, and life can finally get back to normal.' Joey sighed and placed his duel disk gently on the small table near his closet. 'Well, enough daydreaming. I gotta get in the shower before I'm late for school again and Pop blows a fuse.'


"AWW MAN! I can't be late… I can't be late…" chanted Joey as he rushed to his classroom before the bell rang.

His morning went all wrong. First, he had to take a cold shower because his father was cruel and used up all the hot water. "Sorry, son. You snooze, you lose," his dad chuckled before leaving for work. Then, Joey realized that his school clothes weren't dry because he didn't unload the washing machine the night before. 'Man I gotta cut down on the video games,' Joey thought to himself as he impatiently waited for his clothes. Finally getting out of the house, Joey rushed to catch the school bus before it pulled off- he didn't make it. 'There goes my lunch money,' thought Joey as he waited for the city bus.

"Move, feet, MOVE!" Joey shouted as he rushed to his first class.

"Just a few more feet…"

RRRRIIIINNNGGGG!!!

"NOOOO!" Joey yelled, rushing through the door as the bell fell to a hush.

"You're late Mr. Wheeler… again," said Joey's teacher, a slight grimace on her pretty face.

"I'm sorry, Miss. Please forgive me." Joey clasped his hands and bowed, hoping that she wouldn't punish him.

"What am I going to do with you, Joey?" She sighed and turned back to the problem she was writing on the board.

'Please don't punish me… please don't punish me… please-'

"As punishment…"- 'Dang it'- "I want you to come work this math problem I put on the board. Seeing as you were late, I'm pretty sure it was because you were studying. Now let's see how much your hard studying has paid off." Joey reluctantly walked to the board. The class snickered, some giggles escaping.

'Great… looks like it's going to be a LONG day.'


A/N: Please do not be discouraged by the opening of this story. Most of my stories will start off slow, but pick up as the story progresses. A lot of things happen in the first chapter, so if you continue reading, I'm pretty sure you will be pleased. Thank you and HAPPY READING!