The thing I hated most about mornings was waiting for the bathroom to open up. Someone was always in it when I needed it. Mai was either washing her hair and shaving, or Ryou was lathering every inch of his body with soap and checking for facial hair that would never grow. Whatever they were doing, it took forever. It was to the point that by the time it was my turn to use it, I only had time to brush my teeth before I had to leave for school. Not even when I got up early did I get in there first. It just wasn't fair.

"Oh my Ra, Ryou!" I banged on the door with my fist, watching as my multiple bracelets jumped with the movement. "I don't care if you're naked, open the door!"

"I think some dude just grabbed my junk, whoa!"

…and he was singing. Great. That meant that he was purposely ignoring me and wasn't planning on letting me in. He picked up that trick years ago from Mai who always drowns out what we're saying by singing really loudly. Bitch. Just kidding, she was just really annoying.

"It doesn't matter where, I don't care if people stare, cause I feel like dancing tonight!"

I started kicking the door with my foot. "I swear I'll dump all your Sam Cooke records into the ocean if you don't let me in!" Kick. "And your tea!" Kick. "And your lucky red vans!" Kick. "And your autographed poster of - "

My foot swung forward just as the door opened, causing it to hit Ryou in the shin. He sucked in air through his teeth and gave me a weak glare behind his messy white bangs. I noticed that he was already dressed and his hair was dry, which made me wonder what the hell he was doing in there that whole time.

"Sheesh, can't a guy put on lotion without being bothered?" He smiled cheekily, ruffling my already messed up hair. "It's all yours."

I smacked his hand away and swept passed him, giving him an irritated look before I shut the door. As usual, there wasn't a lot of time for me to properly get ready, so I quickly splashed water on my face and brushed my teeth, then hit the light off and left. It was so simple that I really just couldn't understand why my siblings had such a hard time doing it in a short amount of time.

After grabbing my bag from my room, I hurried down the stairs to where I could smell some food being burnt. Mai was probably cooking. She'd always start cooking something then get distracted and leave it to cook for too long. One time she started a fire, but Ryou was quick to put it out with some baking soda. Since then, me and him tried to make the more complicated meals ourselves and just let her get out the drinks.

"Let me guess," I said as I walked into the kitchen. "It's going to be another cereal day, huh?"

Mai spun around on her heels, causing her curly blonde hair to wrap around her neck. She was already dressed for work and had on one of our most feminine cooking aprons. Purple and white seemed to be her color theme for the day.

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Toast, actually. It's just about done."

Ryou, who was sitting on the counter, grinned at me knowingly.

"I think it was done a little while ago…" I told her, not even bothering to hide my amusement. "Can't you smell it burning?"

Her violet eyes widened dramatically, and she hurried over to the toaster to see for herself. I didn't even need to see her face to know that she was blushing. The way she fiddled with the dial gave it away. She was practically a tomato by the time the blackened toast popped up.

"Hey, Ryou, we got any fruit loops left?" I asked.

He opened the drawer that was by his feet. "Yep. I'll get the bowls out."

Mai sighed loudly, obviously frustrated. "You know," I said to her. "I think they say burnt toast is good this time of year."

She threw her apron at my face.

The only bad thing about having a sister who works, and a brother who attends a magnet school, is that they each need a car to get there. So I had to ride from our house to my school on my skateboard. By the way, my skateboard's name is Alexander Dragon. I just felt like it needed to be called something other than just 'skateboard.' Besides, Alexander Dragon didn't look like other skateboards. Instead of the normal black color, he was purple with green wheels, and he was a lot slimmer and smaller. Yeah, he was pretty rad looking.

Once I got to the gate that surrounded Domino High, I put Alexander Dragon into my backpack and went inside. I was thankful that I had decided to wear a long sleeved shirt today because it was freezing in the building. It usually was, but there were some days when it was sweltering hot. I usually had to fan myself with a folder when that happened.

Most people just glanced at me as I walked by, but there was some who sent me a quick wave. I just smiled back and hurried through the halls until I got to my locker. It was covered in black wrapping paper and stars because the pep club decided to decorate all the halls for some reason. Each grade got a unique design on their lockers. I thought the ones we had were pretty boring. I just didn't get what it was supposed to signify.

Shrugging it off, I put my books and Alexander Dragon away, then took out my own copy of The Catcher in the Rye. I had already read it more than three times, but I just couldn't get over the way the main character repeated a lot of the same lines. Like, his catchphrases, or whatever. It was just amusing.

I only got through half a chapter before the warning bell rang. People started swarming through the halls, so I got off the floor and headed to my first class of the day. AP Literature. It really wasn't that bad of a class. Today people were just going to be reciting the lines from Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew with their partners in front of the class, without looking at their books. I chose to do a monologue for mine, and I recited it last week, so I didn't have to worry about memorizing my lines before class began.

The dialogues went by pretty quickly, and before I knew it, class was over. It was funny to hear everyone whisper about how nervous they were, and how they couldn't believe they forgot a line or two. I couldn't help but feel smug because I didn't forget any of my lines.

So the day went on like that. I went from class to class until it was finally time for first lunch, which I always had. I felt bad for the people who had second lunch because they basically just got the scraps from our lunch. Oh well.

I bought two slices of pizza, some fries, and a soda. Healthy, right? I took my food and sat with a group of girls who used to wave me over to come sit with them at the beginning of freshmen year. Even now, as juniors, they happily save a chair for me every day. I don't know why, really. It's not like we were friends or anything. Though they did often try to get me to talk with them. Like right now, for example.

"Hey Yugi," the girl with long brown hair, Sakame, greeted. She gave me a mischievous look, then stole one of my fries. "How was your weekend?"

Don't pout. Don't pout. It was just one fry for Pete's sake! "Pretty good," I told her. "How was yours?"

So then her and all the other girls started discussing what they did, and told all the funny things that happened to them. Sometimes I listened to what they were saying, and sometimes I just zoned out. I had a pretty bad habit of day dreaming out of the blue. Especially if someone was talking to me for a long time.

"I don't know if I should cut my hair or not," one of the girls said. It took a lot of effort on my part for me to remember most of their names. "What do you think, Yugi? Would I look cute with short hair, or should I just let it grow longer?"

I stopped picking at the cheese on my pizza and looked at her. She had dark red hair, a fair face, and brown eyes. Yeah, she was pretty, but if I were to go for her then she would need to change her gender. Girls just never appealed to me. I liked boys. Especially ones with strong looking arms. I don't know, call me a weirdo, but strong looking arms were just an attractive feature that I liked.

"I think about here," I pointed to the space just above my shoulder, "would make you look more mature. Maybe with some bangs too," I added as an afterthought.

She looked satisfied with my answer, so I went back to picking all the cheese off my pizza. I couldn't stand too much cheese. It took way too long to chew, so I just took it off.

The rest of lunch went by semi-quickly. The girls all waved me goodbye when the bell rang, and I threw my food away, with the exception of my soda. I had pre calculus next and my teacher wouldn't mind if I drank it in there. Well, more like she wouldn't notice me drinking it. Sneaky Yugi.

On my way to class I nearly got run over by a hyperactive girl named Mana. She was always bouncing around, chattering to people. She never spoke to me, but we came across each other in the hall a lot. She would just give me this super huge grin and act as though she knew something I didn't. It was pretty weird, but I just smiled softly back at her.

It wasn't until three classes later that I could finally go home. I didn't even have to ride Alexander Dragon back because Ryou always picked me up after school. He got out of his last class twenty minutes before mine, so he always had enough time to drive over. Unless traffic was bad, then I'd have to sit around in the halls for a while, but that wouldn't be the case for today.

Humming contently to myself, I packed my homework and Alexander Dragon into my bag, then headed out the front doors. Some freshman was sliding down the stairway rails and nearly fell off. It reminded me of the time Ryou and I were sliding down the railways at one of Mai's volleyball games, and I lost my balance and landed on my head. I blacked out, and Ryou didn't even notice that I fell until I came back around and told him. So I was pretty sure that I would never slide down rails again.

Looking around, I spotted Ryou's car parked by a tree. I ran over and jumped into the passengers side, not surprised that he was listening to some pop punk band. He turned it down to a tolerable volume.

"Hey cutie pie, how was your day?" He asked in a really feminine voice, making me laugh.

"Well, I did drugs, ditched third period and smoked instead, then gurgled some vodka at lunch."

It was funny because I had never done any of these things. I thought drugs were stupid. Smoking just ended up killing you, so that was stupid too. Alcohol tasted disgusting. Plus, I think it's sad that people have to get drunk to have fun. I could have fun just by destroying Bowser and his castle. No need to give myself a killer headache and possibly injure or kill myself.

Ryou laughed. "Good. That's exactly what I expected of you." His eyes flickered to something outside of my window. He shifted a little, his teasing mood suddenly gone.

"What are you looking at?" I asked, trying to see what had his interest. He never bothered to look at something for too long if it wasn't important.

"That guy, over there," he pointed. "Do you know him?"

I followed his finger with my eyes and came across the sight of two familiar faces. One of them was that Mana girl. The real hyper chick with brown hair and blue eyes. She was tugging on her friends arm and looking at our car in a pretty obvious manner. Her friend, the other familiar face, was a guy in my grade named Yami.

He was a real good looking guy who I'd often hear people talking about in the halls. He wasn't popular, per say, but he definitely stole a few girls hearts with his looks. He had crazy ebony colored hair that was tinted at the ends in magenta. Then he had some blonde bangs going through the ebony and some that framed his face. Yami had unusual garnet colored eyes that were sharp, yet slanted. He looked to be about the same height as me, surprisingly, but I hadn't stood close enough to him to tell.

"Yeah, I know who he is, why?"

"It's just," Ryou tapped his fingers against the steering wheel. "Every day I see him standing in that very spot, and he'll kind of just stare at the ground. But then he starts looking at the school doors a few minutes before you usually come out."

I glanced back out the window to where Yami was and noticed how he glanced in our cars direction, then quickly looked back to Mana. It was like his neck was on repeat. Car. Mana. Car. Oooh the sky! Now back to Mana. Wait, now the car!

"Then you come out and he watches you until you get in the car. He'll look away for a few seconds before looking back here. Coincidence? I think not!"

"Oh," I shrugged. "Maybe he just thinks we have a cool car, or something."

Ryou snorted and slugged me playfully on the shoulder. "The hell he does! Why would he be interested in this piece of junk? The back window is cracked, that one door doesn't close all the way, and there's a dent the size of Mai's boobs in it!"

"Maybe he's thinking, 'man I wish I could trash my car like that.'"

"Who in their bloody right minds would want to damage their car?" Ryou exclaimed.

"I don't know, I mean, there's people who like to set things on fire. He could be some special case who feels the need to wreck automobiles."

"Well then, remind me to never go near him with my future Ferrari."

Right. Like Ryou could ever afford a car like that.

"No, but seriously, I do know why he does that," I said.

Ryou's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Mhmm," I nodded. "It's cause he likes me."

I wish I had a camera to take a picture of his expression. He looked like a stunned hamster or something. Priceless.

"What? Are you serious?"

"For real."

He grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me. "How do you know? You've got to tell me! Oh boy, wait till I tell Mai! She's going to have a cow!"

"Ow, you're hurting my neck!" I whined.

He instantly let go and looked and me with his big chocolate eyes. I was always surprised how he could be a little hell spawn one second, and a freaking angel the next. He would make a really good manipulator.

"Hurry and tell me so we can go home! I've been holding my pee all day and I'm about to burst!"

"Well go ahead and start driving, you idiot! I can just tell you on the way home."

"Oh, right," He grinned sheepishly and pulled out of the parking lot. "Now tell big brother Ryou all about the crush that guy has on you."

"When you say it like that it makes me not want to tell you."

"Just do it!" Ryou slapped the wheel impatiently.

"Okay, gees," I rested my elbow on the car door, trying to recall my memories of him. "I've caught him staring at me a few times, and he always looks away and blushes as bright as a firetruck." Ryou laughed and nudged my shoulder. "And sometimes in the mornings, when I'm reading a book by my locker, I'll see him stop a few lockers away from me, and he looks like he's going to say something, but then he blushes and runs into the bathroom. So I just figured he either has a crush on me, or he's extremely awkward."

"This is so exciting!" Ryou smiled. "It sounds like he keeps losing the nerve to say something to you."

"I guess so," I laughed. I couldn't see why anyone would have to think twice about talking to me. I was never mean to anyone, and always acknowledged someone when they talked to me. I was never in the middle of drama, nor was I the one causing it. I just kept to myself for the most part. Shouldn't I be the nervous one who's scared to talk to people? It's not like I had a lot of practice being actively social with anyone other then my siblings.

"I guess it's not too surprising though." Ryou glanced at me. "I mean, no one really knows anything about you. It's not like he can just go up to you and expect to have a successful conversation. For all he knows, you might bite his head off just for saying hi."

"So what? Are you suggesting that I should be the one to talk to him?" I asked, not totally displeased with the idea. It just bugged me that I came off as unapproachable to Yami. I considered myself a nice guy. I'll admit, I'm a little weird, but still nice!

"Shit! We may have to pull off the road, I don't know if I can hold it!" Ryou looked at me pleadingly. My gosh his eyes could look so innocent! So that's where I picked it up from…

"By all means, go ahead," I rolled my eyes. "It's not like we're just a few blocks away from our house, or anything." Sarcasm was my friend.

Ryou ignored my tone and pulled off into the grass. He jumped out of the car and ran behind some bushes. I flipped through the different stations while I waited, still thinking about what Ryou said. What kind of person did Yami see me as? And wait, why did I care what he thought of me? I never cared about peoples opinions of me. So why…

"Whew!" Ryou jumped back in the car. "Sorry I took so long! This bird was watching me and it was making me nervous."

"It probably thought you were holding a hotdog," I grinned.

Ryou turned to push me, but I flung myself away from him. "Don't touch me, don't touch me! You haven't washed your hands yet!" I squealed.

He raised his eyebrow and rummaged around in his pocket before pulling out a small bottle of hand sanitizer. Right. Sometimes I forgot how much of a germ freak he was.

A/N - It feels good to be starting another story! I swear, my updates will not be as slow as last time. I've been in a really good creative writing mood lately, so I'm hoping it's going to last for a while.

If you liked this chapter then please give me some feedback in the review section. I'd love to know your opinions on it, whether they be good or bad. I really like criticism because it helps me improve my writing.

The song that Ryou was singing in the bathroom is called: I Feel Like Dancing by All Time Low