Darkness, complete and utter black. There was nothing around as far as the eye could see. It was all black.

I could not catch my breath, I could not find it in me to calm, I was a mess, I was disgusting. Covered head to toe in sweat.

I had been running for hours, trying hard as I could to find where all of this came to an end. I had chosen the wrong direction.

There was no end, none that could be reached, none that could be seen.

Had I even moved from my original space? There was no indicator for that.

I found myself being thrust downward into a spiral of confusion.

How had I ended up here?

How could I leave?

What happened to the lights?

Where was I?

All these questions would be answered soon enough.

All these questions would meet their end.

I stood still in the darkness, listened, there was not a sound other than a faint voice, one calling out to me.

It belonged to a man, that much was clear.

He called my name, voice soft and sweet.

The allure of his tone a risky temptation.

I couldn't remember the last time someone had used my given name without spite in their tone.

This voice calling out to me, it was familiar.

It was strong.

Even.

Soothing.

I knew this voice.

I knew who it belonged to.

I knew.

I couldn't stand the thought of him saying my name so sweetly.

I couldn't stand to think that he'd call out to me like that.

That wasn't the man I knew.

That wasn't the Kaiba who I had grown accustomed to.

That couldn't have been him.

I gripped at my ears.

Tried to shut him out.

He wouldn't call out my name like that.

He was cruel, he hated me, he wanted me dead, he wasn't one to switch opinions so easily.

"Shut up!"

I'd yell into the void before me.

"Just shut up!"

The voice would halt.

Silence would take over.

Then...

Laughter.

Laughter mischievous.

A loud cackling

A groaning, cracking sound.

The black would crumble.

Hues of yellow and white would pour through the cracks.

It was revealed that I had stopped just short of the closest wall.

The end of this blackness.

His laughter ceased.

A hand held tight to my wrist.

A whisper in my ear.

"Don't go."

A plea.

A hope for something that I could not stop.

I was leaving.

Slowly fading out of this world.

An action that I could not stop.

Yet this reality did not stop his pleas.

Nothing could have.

"I love you."

He'd mutter inches away from my ear.

"Don't leave me here."

I remembered this dance.

This was something that happened often.

Moments, mere moments and nothing more.

Spent with him.

In this dream.

Happiness.

Each moment spent with him.

Fleeting.

Peaceful.

Serene.

Perfect.

Love filled my lungs.

I did not want to leave any longer.

I wanted to stay with him.

An evaporating hand over a blackened one.

I was vanishing, quickly.

"I love you back."

I'd say.

I meant it.

I meant every syllable.

Each letter spoken with a purpose.

Each letter filled with heart.

Each letter meant so much.

Yet they would fall on deafened ears.

"Don't leave me."

He'd repeat.

As though he was on loop.

Lips would press to my neck.

"Don't leave me."

"Don't leave me."

"Don't."

A tear.

Travelled no further than out of the eye.

It was taken by the light.

I was being taken by the light.

He was being left in the darkness.

What was I to do? What was I to do?

How could I stop this?

How could I remain here forever?

I held onto him.

My grip desperate.

Tears came.

Never left the eye.

I could hear him sobbing.

He didn't want to let go.

He never did.

He didn't like being left alone here.

I didn't like leaving him here.

Tucked away in the darkness that protected my pride.

He needed to be drawn into the light.

I wasn't ready for that yet.

I wasn't willing to admit it.

I wasn't willing to tell myself.

"I love Kaiba Seto."

I gripped at him.

Now that I had said it, now that I had admitted to it, he would no longer be trapped here.

He would remain on my mind all hours of the day.

He would haunt me.

He would take over my mind.

The last of the black crumbled.

His figure vanished.

He left me.

For the first time.

I had been the one left behind.

Tears fell.

One by one.

One after another.

I loved him.

I wanted him near me.

He was gone.

I woke with a start.

I was in class.

All eyes were on me.

The teacher stared down with an incredulous gaze.

Had I been talking in my sleep?

It seemed to be so.

Kaiba wouldn't even look at me.

Laughter broke out.

Rancorous.

Spiteful.

They laughed not in good humour, but to mock me.

They found my infatuation to be a joke.

One worthy of their jests.

I stood from my chair.

I knew what was going on.

I ran from the classroom.