Disclaimers
: Much to my dismay, I do not own or claim to have created any of the characters from Yu-Gi-Oh! Please don't sue me for composing this story…I have a certain weakness for bishounen, and I couldn't resist writing about them. -^_^- This piece of literature contains, fluff, angst, violence, rape, and major abuse to Yugi and Bakura. Joey also suffers from severe psychological damage, too. If you aren't up to reading about adult-oriented situations, I advise you to find another fan fiction to peruse. With that in mind, I do hope you enjoy my story. Please don't be shy about submitting reviews to me…constructive criticism is most appreciated, not vile insults. Domo arigato! -^.^-Chapter One: Anxiety's Dreams
"Oh…YEAH!!" exclaimed Joey, jumping up from his position on the couch. "Yes, yes, YES!"
It had been seven hours since he had switched sitting locations. The blonde's muscles were sore from lack of exercise, but he didn't seem to mind it much. Not even a temporary bout of blurred vision (due to having his face only a foot or so away from the television screen) phased him. Bouncing around the living room, the energetic teenager proceeded to do a victory dance.
"I'm bad, I know it, uh-huh, yeah-huh!" he chanted continuously, his body jerking back and forth in funny little sporadic movements.
"Can't you find another place in this house to trip over stuff in?" came a voice from the left side of the room.
Pausing in his freestyle actions, the blond glanced over his shoulder. There, standing in the kitchen doorway, was the most distressed Tea he had ever witnessed. Lines of anxiety creased the poor girl's brow as she clenched a bundle of papers in her hand. A pencil stuck haphazardly out of her brown tresses, mangled within its dark depths. Adding to her tousled appearance, a few post-it notes were randomly placed on various parts of her clothes. Usually the one known for being the most spirited out of all his best friends, the cheerleader's present state of disarray came as a surprise to him. Seeing that she wasn't in the mood to be teased, Joey decided to try to sort out what was wrong. The worst thing that could happen would be her smacking him for prying into her private thoughts.
"Hey, what's up, babe?" asked Joey, cracking a lop-sided grin.
"Not much, nothing at all." replied the brown-headed adolescent coolly, crossing her arms over her chest.
Broadening his smirk to a smile, the lively teenager stretched his arms over his head. Sighing in relief, he said, "Ah, that's good to hear. I couldn't tell what you were thinking with that lovely glare of yours when you came in here. Actually, I thought you were going to yell at me or something." confessed the blonde, closing his eyes as his head slowly tilted backwards. "I mean, I'm glad everything's goin' great for ya."
Slapping her forehead in frustration, Tea grumbled through clenched teeth, "Yeah, everything's just fine."
Picking up on the agitated tone his friend had produced, Joey opened one of his eyes. Taking in her irritated stance with a dark umber orb, he cocked his head to the side. "You sure you're okay, Tea?" inquired the puzzled adolescent.
"What do you think?" the cheerleader shot back.
"I think you're mad about something and you won't tell me what." answered Joey while letting his arms flop back to his sides.
Unable to stand the blonde's ignorance any longer, Tea yelled, "It's you, you dweeb! It was you in the first place! Don't you get it yet?!"
Startled by the emotional response directed at him, the teenager stepped backwards. "Me? But you said that you were fine--"
"That only lasted until you had to sing your stupid catch-phrases!" Tea complained, cutting off Joey's sentence. "Now my concentration is broken, and it's all thanks to you!"
"They're not 'catch-phrases,' they're--well--uh, they're--"
An eyebrow perched above one of her analytical sky-blue eyes told him that she wasn't about to engage in an argument. Switching his weight to his other foot, the blond decided to drop the subject.
"Well?" said the brown-haired girl, impatient in getting an explanation out of him.
"Well, they're just some encouraging words I say every now and then to keep myself motivated." responded the adolescent, a hint of a grin returning to his mouth. "That's all, nothing to get all worked up about."
"Is that so?" questioned the cheerleader in mock disbelief.
"Yep. It's all good." smiled Joey good-naturedly.
"Then why do you resemble a puppy dog who can't find it's way to the bathroom while you recite your little 'motivational' speeches?"
"Hey! That's not funny, Tea! Those were some of my best moves!" retorted the blond, hating to be called the same four-legged animal that Kaiba accused him of being.
"If that's what you call dancing, then you should stop skipping class and ask our teacher for some extra help on the weekends." snorted the brown-haired teenager in annoyance. "That's the kind of dancing a terminally ill dog would do."
"You've hit a new low today, babe." declared the blond, taking the callous remark in stride. "But I know you're upset at more than just me barkin' out some silly string of lingo."
"And how did you arrive at such an obscure conclusion?" inquired the cheerleader, regarding her friend with a penetrating sapphire-eyed gaze.
" 'Cuz ya always make a face when other things are on your mind."
Narrowing her eyes at him, Tea inquired, "A face? What kind of face?"
"Um, it's sorta like this." Joey answered, screwing his features up into a wrinkled mass of flesh. "Y'know, like a monkey's face."
"Oooh, Joey, you sure know how to bring out the worst in me!" accused the brown-haired girl, crinkling her nose.
"Yeah, well, when you're doing whatever you're doing with your nose, you don't look like a monkey anymore."
Blinking a few times, the cheerleader asked, "What do I look like now?"
Smirking with cruel intentions, the blond replied, "A gorilla."
"Gah, you deranged baka!" spat the brown-haired girl in disgust. Picking up a pillow on a nearby chair, she threw it at her mouthy friend.
"Aaah! What was that for?" complained Joey, the smile still remaining on his visage.
"In case you didn't know, 'You look like a monkey' isn't a compliment, Joey Wheeler!" giggled Tea, sending another fluffy projectile his way. "I wouldn't plan on using that as a pick-up line on anyone!"
"Man, everyone's a critic!" said the blond, waving her off while dodging another hurled pillow. "Chicks are just too hard to please sometimes. If ya ask me, they should be thankin' me for talkin' to them!"
"Oh, I'm so gonna get you for that, you narcissist!" the cheerleader announced in her most confident and determined tone.
Gathering up an armful of satiny weapons, the brown-haired girl flung them at her ally with as much strength as she could muster. Joey tried to block the oncoming assault by ducking behind the sofa, but some of them managed to thump different spots on him. Pulling some of the fallen cushions into his grasp, the blond prepared himself to give an attack of his own.
"I hope ya already wrote your will, Tea, 'cuz you're goin' down!" cried the animated adolescent, racing toward her with frightening speed.
"Oh, no you don't!" the brown-haired girl yelled, scrambling to retrieve a pillow for defense. "You're mine!"
Nearly colliding into each other, the two comrades became engaged in a one-on-one grudge match. Both were relentless in their attacks, mercilessly hitting one another with a barrage of soft material. Eventually they found themselves down on the carpet, their throats erupting in what seemed to be like endless laughter. It was times like these that they valued the most, memories that would be cherished and treasured forever.
When they were finally capable of catching their breath, Joey whispered into Tea's ear, "Y'know what?"
Smirking slightly, his comrade whispered back. "What?"
"You're smiling."
Giggling a tad, the brown-haired girl nodded her assent. "I suppose I am."
"You know what else?"
"There's more?"
"Yeah-huh. The fact that you owe me some thanks for it."
Scrunching up her face, the cheerleader refused to admit that he made her feel better. "You're pushing your luck there."
"Aw, c'mon now, tell me I did a good job." coaxed the blond, brushing some stray strands of brown hair out of his friend's visage.
Peering up at him with brilliant azure eyes, Tea sighed in defeat. "Joey, I--I want to thank-you for helping to bring me up again. I couldn't have done it without you today."
"Don't mention it." smiled the happy-go-lucky teenager. Bounding up from the floor, he offered his hand to her. "You know I'll always catch you when ya fall."
Glancing at his outstretched limb, the cheerleader beamed a smile at him before receiving it. "I know. That's what's so cool about you and Yugi and Bakura: the three of you will always stand by me no matter what."
Taking a moment to absorb her sincere appreciation for him, Joey realized she was neglecting to mention one of his friend's names. "Aren't ya forgettin' someone?"
"Who might that be?" she inquired, seeming to be genuinely perplexed.
"Tristen. What about Tristen?"
After the name registered in her mind, the adolescent shrugged. "Ahhh…that one. I dunno about him."
"What do ya mean by that? You seemed to be havin' a fine time this morning during breakfast--"
"Yeah, well that was before I tried to teach him trigonometry." mumbled Tea, fiddling with the pencil twined in her hair
"Trig? You tried teachin' him Trig?" grinned Joey, suppressing the overwhelming urge to bust out in absolute laughter. "What were you thinking tryin' to teach him that junk?"
"Well, he asked for my help to begin with." the brown-haired girl explained, concentrating on getting her writing utensil out of her tresses. "Tomorrow we have our final exam before we break for the Christmas holidays, so--"
"The final's tomorrow?!" interrupted the blond, his eyes as wide as some of the round cushions they had a pillow fight with.
"Uh-huh." replied the cheerleader bobbing her head up and down. "We've known that for three weeks already. Anyways, I agreed to show him some concepts, but he--"
"Damnit!" cursed Joey, clasping his head with his hands. "Damn, damn damn! I completely forgot about the exam! What'm I gonna do, Tea? I can't afford to fail anymore tests, and this'll be my only chance to bring up my average!"
Instead of being annoyed with his constant interruptions, Tea gave him a warm smile. "Don't worry about it. There's worse things in life than what kind of grade you make on some cheap, standardized test."
"Yeah, like getting booted outta the class I'm in now and bein' shoved in a room full of math retards." grumbled the blond, hanging his head dejectedly between his shoulders.
"Aren't you one of those 'math retards?' " asked the cheerleader, a tiny smirk reappearing on her lips.
"So? I know I am, but that doesn't mean I want the rest of the school to know!" griped Joey, massaging his temples. "If word gets out about me bein' too dumb to pass the class, you know what that means!"
"That Kaiba would have been right when he summed you up to be 'a scared little Chihuahua who has to constantly copy off of Yugi's papers to get a decent score?' "
Glaring at his friend darkly, the blond responded, "You didn't have to put it so--so--"
"Honestly?" offered Tea, re-crossing her arms in front of her body.
"Bingo." admitted Joey, shoving his hands in his pockets.
"It's like I said previously, Joey: you don't have to answer to anybody--"
"But my reputation's on the line!" complained the blond, worry marks etching themselves into his features.
"But you still have the rest of the day to prepare for the final, don't you?" countered Tea, tilting her head to the side.
"What good does that do me if I'm stupid in the subject?" questioned the blond as he became more depressed. "I'll just be wasting my time."
"Then that's where I come in at." smiled the brown-haired girl, draping an arm around her friend's shoulders. "How about it? I could use some more study time myself, and you need the extra practice, so--"
"So you'd really teach me how to do all that stuff?" asked Joey excitedly, a glimmer of hope returning to his dark umber eyes.
"Of course." Tea agreed, her grin widening at the sight of his boyish enthusiasm. "You helped me already, and I think it's time for me to return the favor."
Incapable of restraining himself any further, the blond threw his arms around his comrade's neck. The force of his friendly gesture nearly made her topple backwards, but she stood her ground. When she sensed she could keep her balance without falling down, the cheerleader embraced him as well.
"Don't be too pleased with me right now," warned the brown-haired teenager, tousling his honey blond locks. "I'm not gonna go easy on you, you know."
"I don't care, do whatever you'd like!" exclaimed Joey, happy that Kaiba wasn't going to be able to call him a dog for long. "Oh, boy this is so great…I'm gonna be a math genius!"
"Uh, Joey, don't get too ambitious on me." advised Tea, struggling out of his suffocating grip. "Just because I'm teaching you doesn't necessarily mean that your going to be able to learn about nine weeks of mathematics in one day."
"Sure it does! You've got the highest average in our class, and you never make below a 95 on any of your tests!"
"That may be true, but I really don't have the best grade in our class…Yugi does." corrected the cheerleader, hoping that Joey would let up in the pressure of his hug.
As soon as she had mentioned their other best friend, the blond let go of the brown-haired teenager. He had only seen him once this morning, and that was for a few fleeting moments. Before he could even say good-bye, the benevolent king of games had collected his belongings and rushed out of their dwelling. A new concern began to take residence in the corners of his mind, a kind of nauseating sensation that something wasn't quite right with their comrade…
Yearning to appease the unsettling feeling he had, Joey asked, "Tea, have you seen Yug yet?"
"Not since I made breakfast." Tea replied, rubbing her aching arms with her fingertips.
"Not at all?" pressed the blond, his uneasiness growing.
"Nope. I only saw him for a few seconds today…he seemed to be in a hurry."
"You totally sure about that?" interrogated Joey, his levels of stress mounting.
"Yes, Joey…I'm sure I haven't seen him since he left." confirmed the cheerleader, removing the colored post-it notes from her attire. "Why are you grilling me all of a sudden?"
"Huh? Oh, I was just wondering what he's up to now." replied the blond, concealing his true reasons for his abrupt questions. "No harm in that, right?"
A soft smile illuminated her lightly-colored cheeks. No matter how hard her ally attempted to cover up his emotions, the way his eyes glistened when someone even mentioned Yugi gave him away every time. There was no mistaking the wealth of feelings he had for the renowned duelist, for he seemed positively radiant in his friend's presence.
/That's because the two of them are practically brothers./
thought Tea, reflecting on the many memories of Joey and Yugi together. /When they're by each other's sides there's nothing that they can't achieve. It's so sweet the way he gets all worked up over Yugi, fretting about him whenever he's not here with us. Friends like that are impossible to separate./Tenderly placing her hand on the blonde's shoulder, the cheerleader sought to relieve his nervousness. "Don't worry about him. You know he's perfectly capable of taking care of himself."
/But he's so small and defenseless in appearance!/
Joey's mind argued against Tea's reassurance. /He may be great at card playing, but he's not much for brute strength. What if some sadistic maniac tries to put the moves on him? I'm not gonna be there to protect him, and the psychopath'll have his way with my Yug!/Just as he had let the phrase slip out of his thoughts, the blond shook his head. Even though he wished with all of his heart that the beautiful boy would ask him out, he knew that would never happen. He just wanted to be given a chance to court Yugi once--just once, that's all. That's all he ever wanted: for his best friend to look his way and share a special smile with him, maybe even a peck on the cheek later on. Nothing too advanced, and nothing that would risk putting their overall relationship in jeopardy. Ever since the two became friends, they had developed an unbroken bond that would withstand the test of time.
/Why can't we continue to work on that connection? Would that be so wrong?/
wondered Joey, his disposition growing wistful. /Maybe I'm just screwed in the head or something. Maybe I'm just not a worthwhile enough guy to get a commitment out of. I'm not the most wonderful catch in the world, but I've got feelings, too…shouldn't that count for something? Devotion, loyalty, honesty…I'd give all that to him and then some. Why can't I do that? Why can't I love him and be loved, too?/