Welcome to Just Breathe. (Sorry if the title is lame.) It's been a few years since I wrote Second Chance for Romance. I wasn't sure if I'd ever start another fanfic, but as you can see—Here I am! Ta-da!
Warning: If you don't like yaoi then turn back now because this is a yaoi fanfic for Yugioh. Also the mature warning is because of Joey's habits and because in yaoi…"stuff" happens between guys, ya know? Also, there's swearing. You've been warned!
Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Yugioh in any way, shape, or form. I just write based on characters and the setting.
It was a regular day like any other. Yugi and his friends all met on the front steps of their high school. It was their usual meeting spot in the morning. They greeted each other with a 'good morning' and walked inside together to visit their lockers and get ready for school. Usually before school, they would talk of dueling or current events that were interesting. Sometimes Tea would try to curb the conversation towards boys, magazines, or something she was interested in otherwise. However, Tristan would always turn the conversation to street fighting and how he had wiped out a group of ten or more men without getting a scratch. (Even though he would occasionally show up to school with a black eye or a few bruises and lumps.) Joey might add to the conversation as well, but as of late he didn't really have much to say. He would usually just follow Tristan's lead.
"The bell is going to ring." Yugi interrupted the conversation to point out. Everyone agreed and went their separate ways, promising to see each other later at lunch. Joey watched his friends leave before bolting for the bathroom. He hated being late for class, but he had to take care of business first.
The bell rang and class began. Joey heard the bell and ran for his class as fast as he could. He arrived at the door and burst into his math class. The room grew quiet and the old man's eyes turned on him. The math teacher was a fifty-eight year-old man who discouraged tardiness. This made Joey rotten in his eyes.
"You're late. Again." The old man gave him a stern look and cocked his glasses up onto the bridge of his nose.
"Yeah, sorry." Joey apologized and hurried to his seat.
The old man grumbled in annoyance as he marked Joey tardy once again.
Joey sat down and opened his backpack. He dug around in it for his spiral notebook. The notebook was red and looked ratty and worn out. Flyaway pages hung loosely from between its pages. Joey never was a very organized type of person. He opened the book and started looking for a blank page.
"Mr. Wheeler!"
Joey looked up quickly and saw the teacher glaring at him. "Uh, yeah?"
"Are you even listening to me? What is the answer to this equation here?" The old man pointed to the board at a problem he had just written.
Joey looked at it with uncertainty. He wasn't much of a math person either.
One hand rose in the crowd.
"Yes, Mr. Kaiba." The teacher called.
"Ninety-two." The deep voice answered.
"Correct." The teacher smiled at Kaiba and continued the lesson.
Seto Kaiba…a wealthy young man that lived for his gaming company and his little brother, Mokuba. He was intelligent, good-looking, and very popular. It seemed that no one was comparable to the youth. Joey always hated him for calling him names and for his tall ego, but he also admired and envied him for all he had compared to what Joey had. His life seemed so much better.
They had shared this same class and one other for a little over half a year. Kaiba sat to the right in the front of the row. He always read a book during this class because it was probably quite boring for such a smart boy.
The bell finally rang and math class ended. Joey watched Kaiba put away his book and silently leave. Joey sighed. "Look at that jerk, actin' like he knows everything…" He was simply jealous. It seemed so easy for Kaiba.
Joey picked up his things and hurried out of class. He stopped by his locker to get out his English textbook. He never used the thing, but if he didn't have it with him he would only get grief for it from his teacher. He stopped to stare at his reflection in a small mirror that hung on his locker door. He didn't appear happy or content anymore.
"Gotta think positive, right? Yugi always says stuff like that."
The one-minute bell range. Joey cursed and slammed his locker shut. He ran for class like a bat out of hell.
Noon rolled in slowly, and thankfully, that meant lunch. Joey was always ecstatic about lunch. It was his favorite part of the day. He met up with Tristan, Yugi and Tea outside in the courtyard at the tables there. They always ate together, and dueled occasionally if timed allowed it.
Every day without fail Kaiba would pass by their table and shoot Joey a quick glance and then roll his eyes. Of course, who wouldn't stare at Joey when it came to his eating habits?
"Look at Kaiba, walkin' like he owns the damn place." Joey growled.
Kaiba stopped and looked back at him. "A mutt should only bark when given the order." He retorted.
"Dammit! Stop callin' me mutt!" Joey stood and slammed his fists down on the table.
"Down boy." Kaiba said in a nasty tone and sat down at his usual table.
"You smug son of a bitch." Joey growled.
Kaiba rolled his eyes and started into his lunch. Joey got up and walked away fuming. He walked back into the school and stomped down the hallway. He stepped into the men's restroom and locked himself up in a stall. He got down on his knees in front of the toilet and stared down into it. He was so frustrated and upset. "I gotta." He told himself and forced his finger down his throat. He choked a few times before retching up everything he had just ingested.
Well, now you know Joey's dirty little secret. In the next chapter you'll find out some more! But you'll have to wait (at least a day XD this is fun to work on.) Cliché? Probably, but everyone's got issues. Catch ya later!
