A/N: :huge sigh: I'm having trouble working on Polarity and Fragments of Heaven. They're just WAY too thought provoking. So I'm taking a break from them and yaoi to write this…which admittedly isn't very good. And before you start whinging away, THIS IS BASED OFF THE DUB (episode 71 to be exact). So don't even tell me "BUT THAT NEVER HAPPENED IN THE JAPANESE!!11!! D:" I KNOW. SHUT UP. I'm just so tired of things not coming out the way I want them to…and I just wanted to experiment some more. So PLEASE. If you're going to give con crit, then don't be STUPID about it. That is all.

Disclaimer: I do not own GX. Or 4Kids. Hell, I wish I did. I would make some very, er…interesting changes, shall we say?

Jaden stared down at his PDA, completely baffled. Blinking his large chocolate eyes, he pressed the button to replay the message, still confused and uncertain about it. The screen went black momentarily, before Alexis' face appeared, her eyes darkened by a serious frown, despite her seemingly harmless words.

"Jaden, I want you to meet me at three o' clock at the Planetarium. Bring your deck and be ready to duel. Don't be late."

The screen went black again, leaving him with her voice echoing through his head. Still confused, he put his PDA back in his pocket and slowly walked down the stairs, before sitting on the edge to think. Even though he had received the message the night before, it still made little sense to him. Why did Alexis have to send a message to get him to duel? Why couldn't she have just asked him for a pick-up duel? Was it some formal occasion? Of course, he was up to the challenge. When did he turn down a duel? But this…this seemed different. She seemed more aloof than usual. She seemed more stressed and frustrated too.

"Hm…Wonder what she means," Jaden mumbled to himself, rubbing his nose as he felt another sneeze coming on, "Oh, no, not a-ah..." He sneezed, then sniffed and wiped his face with his sleeve. "I knew I shouldn't have put all that cologne on. I'm getting a reaction to it."

Normally, he would not care so much but this time…Well, this time was different, just like the duel. He thought he had it figured out. He did not really want to talk to anyone about it yet because he felt as though this were something he would like to keep to himself for once. Just this once…he wanted to think of such a duel as being special and exclusive. Sometimes, things were nicer kept to oneself. Not to mention…

"I wonder why she took so long to ask me out," He murmured aloud, blinking, completely overlooking the possibility that she might not be asking him out, "It was obvious enough she liked me from the start."

He sat there for a moment, smiling. He could not help but feel somewhat proud of it. After all, not every guy in the school got to have such an exclusive duel with Alexis Rhodes! Not to mention to have her challenge them to it! Well, it would make a nice follow up duel to the one they had had before at the girls' dorm. Perhaps this time, she would be even more prepared and the duel would be all the more intense. And even though he thought that it would be nice to go meet her as soon as possible…that just was not his style. He wanted to give her as much time as possible to prepare. That, and…he kind of forgot about it when Hassleberry and Syrus sat down next to him.

"Hey, guys!" He greeted, grinning widely, "What's up?"

"We could ask the same of you," Hassleberry teased, jabbing Jaden's arm.

"Yeah, what have you been up to?" Syrus asked, smiling a little, "Why have you been acting so strange?"

Jaden laughed, waving it off. "Oh, not much…And strange?" He looked puzzled. "How have I been acting strange?"

"Well, usually you tell us when something big is going to happen, Sarge," Hassleberry pointed out, "And usually you have a lot to say. But today you've been kind of quiet."

Shrugging, Jaden remarked, "Maybe I just don't have anything to say."

"But that's not really like you," Syrus told him, his voice laced with concern, "Is something wrong?"

"Nah, don't worry," Jaden assured them, grinning, "Nothing's wrong. I've just had a lot on my mind."

"Since when did that happen?" Hassleberry teased again, grinning.

Jaden could not help but laugh. "Ok, Ok, you got me. Look, it's nothing that's wrong. It's just something that…I've been kind of confused about and I've just been trying to figure out."

"Ooohhh," Hassleberry and Syrus drew the syllable out, as the realization dawned on them.

Tilting his head a bit to one side, Jaden looked at them in confusion. "What? What's the problem?"

"Not our problem," Hassleberry replied, "Your problem…"

"It's a girl problem, isn't it?" Syrus asked, his grin growing wider by the second, "After all, what else would cause you so much confusion? Did Alexis finally profess her 'love' for you?"

Jaden's face turned slightly pinkish in embarrassment. "No…And I don't know what you're talking about…"

"By the look on your face…you've got a pretty good idea," Hassleberry insisted.

Nodding, Syrus added, "You should tell us! We could help you. I was wondering anyway when you were going to tell us about your date with her…Why didn't you?"

In response, Jaden blinked. "Date? Who said it was a date?"

"You did, to yourself," Hassleberry reminded him.

"Oh…" Jaden laughed a little, "Guess you got me there."

"It does seem pretty romantic," Syrus sighed heavily, then batted imaginary eyelashes, imitating a girl's expression, "I mean, you and Alexis…dueling under the stars…It's the perfect date…Surely it would be the right time to confess your feelings for each other."

Jaden sneezed again before responding. "I wouldn't go that far. You guys can cut it out now…It's not that serious or anything."

"True," Hassleberry agreed, "It's not like you are getting married to her…"

"Well, at one point I thought he was," Syrus suddenly interjected, frowning a bit.

"What, are you jealous?" Hassleberry teased, poking Syrus' cheek.

"No!" Syrus insisted, swatting the other's hand away.

"Wait…what?" Jaden watched them, a puzzled frown furrowing his brow, "What are we talking about?"

"The time that you dueled Harrington for her hand in marriage," Syrus replied simply.

"Huh? Oh, no, I dueled him to be her fiancé." Jaden corrected, smiling.

"Uh…Jaden?"

"Yeah?"
"That's the same thing…"

There was a long pause. Then: "Oh."
And that put a damper on their conversation for awhile. The three of them lapsed into silence as they sat, looking down at the floor. Jaden had to admit, he felt pretty uncomfortable with the information that Syrus had revealed to him. Alexis must have felt pretty weird about it too, especially before she realized he had not known what was going on. Oh, well. At least she had understood and forgotten about it. Still…the thought made him feel really weird…and he was not sure if it was in a good way either. Actually, he was sure. It made him feel kind of trapped.

Syrus glanced at the expression on his face. Worried, he patted Jaden on the back and tried to assure him. "It's Ok, Jay. You didn't mean anything by it. Don't worry about it. That was a long time ago and it means nothing now."

"I guess you're right," Jaden sighed, smiling again, "I shouldn't be feeling so bad about it. But I can't help but feel a little…ehhh…" He cringed visibly. "I mean, she's awesome and I like her but not that much!"
"We understand," Hassleberry told him, patting him on the back as well, "Just don't think about it anymore." Then, leaning over and whispering in Syrus' ear, "Maybe you shouldn't have told him that…"

"I probably shouldn't have," Syrus muttered, glancing nervously over at Jaden, who had by then forgotten about the whole matter.

"Oh, well, at least he seems happy again…"

Just as Syrus was opening his mouth to ask Jaden when he was supposed to be meeting Alexis, a group of White Dorm students surrounded the trio. Jaden glanced at them, confused. Why were they looking at him like that? He had gotten plenty of scrutiny the year before, true, and he was not bothered by it but…it just made no sense to him how come people that had once admired him were viewing him as scum. In fact, their entire attitude had grown more arrogant and exclusive than usual. It was almost like an Obelisk welcome all over again.

"You're late," One of the boys in white sneered at him.

"Late? What is it now?" Jaden sighed, rubbing the back of his hair and looking concerned.

"Yeah, you've been late by over an hour." Alexis stepped to the front of the circle, her arms crossed over her chest and a large scowl on her face. "I thought I made clear when you were to meet me."
"Oh…really? Oops…I guess…time just got away from me." Jaden laughed good-naturedly, as confident as ever.

"I should have known," Syrus sighed, "That's the way he'll always be…"

Alexis looked less than amused. She planted a hand on her hip and scowled. "Come on, Jaden." She almost even spat his name.

Syrus and Hassleberry glanced at each other. "He's in trouble, isn't he?" Syrus whispered.

Hassleberry shrugged. "I don't know a lot about this type of thing but it kind of looks like he is…"

Wordlessly, Jaden stood and followed Alexis. He glanced over his shoulder at his friends, who cringed a little and waved slightly. They would have let him have his fun but…something about this situation just did not feel like they had thought. Jaden did not seem exactly safe…

"Um, I'm not getting a good feeling about this," Hassleberry whispered, "Maybe we should go with him."

"I don't know…" Syrus murmured, "It is his business…" Glancing over at Alexis and her entourage, he quickly changed his mind. "On second thought, maybe we should go. This doesn't look so good."
Even though it was rude, they felt too awkward to ask, so they just followed. Jaden cast them a strange glance, but refrained from saying anything. He was not so sure what was going on, either, with all these other people around and all. He could not figure out why Alexis would want them around if they were going to have an exclusive duel. It sort of bothered him. Being the bold one he was, he thought he should perhaps bring it up.

"Um, hey…Lex? I'm not exactly very keen on the whole dating thing but…isn't it usually just two people? We've got like, what, ten? I mean, are you nervous or something? Because you really don't have to be…It's not that big of a deal or anything. And you don't have to worry about me anyway. I'm not going to kidnap you or anything. You've known me longer than that. I wouldn't hurt you." He laughed sheepishly, running a hand through his shaggy brown hair, "Ok, maybe I did mess up and maybe you did think that I was going to stand you up but…I didn't mean it like that…Sorry."

Alexis opened her mouth, then shut it, as thought taking this information in. Shaking her head, she muttered, "I'm not nervous. And what makes you think—"
"Oh, that's good to know," Jaden interrupted before she could finish her sentence, "But really, I'd like to keep this…uh…just between us because it's kind of awkward, you know?"

"Jaden…" She frowned and stopped in her tracks, trying to explain to him that it was not a date. "I didn't ask you to come duel so we could—"

"Sorry, but, could we, I don't know, let it just be us? I mean, it's cool that you guys want to come and hang out but maybe some other time…" Jaden interrupted again, looking at the others around them.

Alexis cupped her face in a hand, taking a deep breath. "If I tell the others to go away will you stop interrupting me and let me talk?"
"Sure," Jaden replied, looking surprised, "I was interrupting you? Oh…sorry…"

Groaning, she turned to her entourage and waved them off. They left quickly at her command. She then turned towards Hassleberry and Syrus, who grinned weakly at her. Jaden glanced over at them as well, mouthing an apology. However, they understood and scampered away. If Jaden needed help, he would ask for it. After all, he could take care of himself. And he seemed to know what he was doing…Or maybe not.

Leaning against the wall, Alexis glowered at Jaden, her arms crossed over her chest, signaling that she did not want him to get any closer. "Ok, Jaden, obviously, you're confused. First of all, I did not ask you out on a 'date.' I do not care for such things, and I certainly do not want to go out with you. Secondly, it's not me that you're dueling. I just came to fetch you."

Jaden blinked, unsure of how to react to this. "Oh…Oops…" His face turned a little red, but he laughed all the same. "Oh, wow, talk about misunderstandings! Well, it's no big deal…"

Despite his words, though, he was disappointed. He had wanted to duel her. Perhaps they still could…Not only that, he kind of had liked the idea of going on a date with her, provided that it was the type of date that he had thought. He was not into really 'romance', but dueling was a way that would make a 'date' more comfortable and enjoyable for him. And, since last year, most certainly, he had matured, even if it was by only a little.

Offering Alexis a small, friendly smile, Jaden asked, "Well, even if it was a misunderstanding, do you think you would still like a duel with me?" He pointed to himself, his smile widening.

Alexis was aghast, to say the least. The very nerve of him. She clenched her fists and opened her mouth to turn him down. But…looking into those hopeful brown puppy dog eyes…she found herself almost unable to do it. And what would it hurt to duel him? "Well, I guess that—"

Quickly, she stopped herself. What had she been about to do? That was not what she had been instructed. She had been specifically told that someone else would be his opponent. At this point, she was not to mess in this affair. And if she did…she risked her new position in the Society. She could not agree to duel him, no matter how much she wanted to. He was a worthy opponent, true, but…they could not be friends anymore. And Jaden was after a friendly duel…or perhaps even more. She was not sure. Looking suspicious, she started to back away.

"Look, I don't have time. I have duties to fulfill, and someone is waiting on us to show up. If we don't get there—"

"Aw, what's the harm in a quick duel?" Jaden protested, stepping a little closer and looking excited, "It won't hurt anyone."
"No thanks." She backed away a little more as he invaded her personal space unknowingly. She found herself up against the metal railing of the walkway, which she gripped tightly.

Glancing nervously over the edge of the walkway, at the floor which was far below them, she swallowed hard and looked back at Jaden. The brunet still looked like an overeager puppy. He had not given up, and was still pressing for a duel with her. Why he was so persistent, she did not know. Other than perhaps he had really been looking forward to it and was disappointed that he would not be dueling her. On one hand, it flattered her to think that he admired her dueling skills so much. On the other hand, it worried her that he might be trying to cause her to fall out with Sartorius. She had to remember; if she was not careful, then she could be disowned by the Society.

"Jaden, leave me alone about it. I don't want to duel and that's final!" She snapped, her grip on the railing tightening. She leaned back against it a little.

"Ok…" He finally relented, backing off a little.

She breathed a sigh of relief and started to release the railing, shaking a little. For some reason, this made her very nervous. Was it because so much was on the line? Was it because she was under so much stress? And yet she continued to hide it on the outside, putting up the same reserved front she always had. But truth be told, she was very shaken up. And she did not know why.

Stepping away from the railing, she stumbled a little and tripped. Jaden quickly reached out to steady her. Face burning in embarrassment, she swatted his hands away, a little too hard. He seemed taken aback, and rubbed the red mark on his hand.

"Sorry…"

She did not feel the need to apologize nor did she feel the need to accept his apology. Instead, she turned her back on him. He was quiet for a moment, then placed a hand on her shoulder. She flinched at the contact, shooting him an icy glare.

"What do you want?" She did her best to sound intimidating, so he would back off.

Looking a little sad, Jaden replied softly, the concern evident in his voice and on his face, "Well, you're acting really…cold, Lex. It's kind of bothering me. I mean, I can see what the problem is but…I didn't expect you to fall for that. And I didn't expect you to treat me like this either. I'm your friend. I care about you. Please, don't push me away like this. I never meant any harm. I just wanted to help you."

Staring into his dark eyes, she found it difficult to tell him off again. Sighing, she hung her head a bit, averting her eyes, and trying to ignore the pleading look he was giving her. She was not sure how to react or what to tell him, so she chose to say nothing.

Jaden placed his other hand on her other shoulder, forcing her to turn completely towards him. She continued to look away, unable to meet his gaze. The fleeting thought passed through her mind that if it had been at any other time, she would have liked to have gone out with him. She would have liked to have spent an afternoon dueling him. But…things had changed. She had other duties; not like she had not had any before. She had always had her priorities. Dueling had always come before any sort of misplaced feelings. But…she also had had a soft spot for the brunet since she had first met him. Granted, she knew it was nothing more than immature puppy love but…still…

There was a long moment of unbearable silence. She continued to stare off to the side, deep in thought. However, the warm weight of his hands on her shoulders was one thing that she was unable to ignore. It was almost as though she was completely immersed in her thoughts, and that was the only thing from the real world that she was aware of. The feeling of being touched was not foreign to her but…she did not like it. She did not like how it brought feeling back to her numbed mind. It felt…unpleasant in some ways. And yet, in others, she actually felt better about it. It meant that someone cared about her. Even if it was Jaden. And these thoughts were part of the reason it was so uncomfortable. It was so…sinful. What would Sartorius have thought?

His distant voice brought her slowly back to reality. She grimly forced her eyes back to his. "Hey, are you Ok? Lex? Lex?" He gave her a gentle shake, trying to snap her out of her daze.

"I would be a lot better if you'd unhand me," She grumbled. Though this time, she was unable to push his hands away.

Looking all the more concerned, Jaden gripped her shoulders a little tighter. "Really, what's wrong? Come on, you can talk to me. I'm getting worried. I mean, you don't want to duel me, you're not acting like yourself…you're giving so much up. And for what? What's worth giving that much up?"

Deep inside, she felt almost like screaming. But her feelings were completely bottled up. She could only stare at him coldly in response.

Feeling all the more worried, Jaden led her back out the door, and sat her down, before flopping down next to her. He was quiet for a moment—much to Alexis' relief—as he gave her a chance to tell him what was wrong first. However, she offered no information on her own. She was too numb inside; even she did not know what was wrong.

"Lex…" Jaden laid his hand back on her shoulder. She really wished he would stop doing that. "You've been really off since you lost to Chazz. I never thought you would be the type to get involved in all this. You just seemed too independent. Can't you see that it's doing you no good? It's only hurting you. You should leave…It's not good for you. You're not yourself. You won't even duel me. Come on, snap out of it!"

"This is the way things were meant to be!" Alexis argued, "It's destiny! So why don't you mind your own business and leave me alone?!"

"Because you're one of my closest friends and I can't let you get hurt!" Jaden replied, leaning closer into her face, "What do I have to do to get you to listen? What can I do if you won't duel me?"

"Give up," Alexis grumbled, sidling away from him.

"No can do. I don't give up. You know that." His hand slipped down her arm to her elbow, as though he were trying to pull her back to her feet. Though, he made no move, only held her arm and looked worried. "Lex, please. It really bothers me to see you like this. You're…hurting…"

"That's ridiculous," She insisted, "I am not hurting. I'm perfectly fine. In fact, I'm better than I was before. Can't you see that?"

"We're going nowhere," Jaden sighed, "We could really settle this with a duel right now. So why do you have to keep running? You have nothing to fear. You have nothing to worry about. I won't let anything bad happen. You can trust me."

"But I can't!" She insisted, then thought to herself, You're the enemy.

He seemed to understand what she was thinking, and of course, was less than pleased about it. Sighing, he stood up and paced around for a moment. She watched him with wary eyes, uncertain about what his next move would be. Though…deep inside she really did feel an ache, a longing. She wanted to take him up on his offer. She was afraid of what she had become. It was there, she just could not quite tap into it. It was just…existent in the back of her mind. She did not want things to turn out like this. She did not want to be treating him badly. After all, he did have a few valid points. And he was her friend…Or he had been. His intentions were kind, and sweet. He meant no harm. But…she reminded herself that the road to hell was paved with good intentions. She had to do this…She had to gain respect and power as a duelist. She had to be revered. She had to be someone. And if she gave into Jaden Yuki, then she was throwing away any and all chances of furthering herself in life, in dueling. She would be…submitting to him. She had to live for herself, no matter how much the people she loved pleaded with her.

Insecurity boiled under the surface. She bit her lip slightly, unaware of the fact that he was crouching down in front of her again. He knew that she was struggling with herself. Perhaps if he helped her shed some light on the matter…

After all, she really was not helping herself. She really was not living for herself. She was fulfilling the wishes of others. She was submitting to another's power. No, she was not independent. She was not the Alexis he knew. So what could he do to help? How could he make her see things for the way they really were? Hopefully, he could coax her to change her mind. But what in the world could he do if he could not duel his way out of it? He would have to use wit, he supposed…Or at least help her relax and feel comfortable with him. If he earned her trust, he could perhaps tap into the old Alexis.

He thought for a second, then decided the best way to show her might be through this 'date.' If he could get her to lighten up and have a little bit of fun, if he reminded her what friendship was like, then perhaps she would realize that this commitment to the Society was not really worth it. If he could just get through to her feelings for him…

No, he was not as foolish as people thought he was. He was not stupid at all. Clueless was more like it. Contrary to popular belief, he really was perceptive. He had figured out that she had feelings for him. Actually, it was more or less because he was over-confident but that was not the point. He did know about them, he just chose to ignore them. And he could tell what was going on ultimately as far as the Society was concerned too. Just a bit of observation of the other Society members, mainly Chazz, as well as her fall and reformed behavior had shed light on the matter. He could figure the rest out. And he was not going to let her go down the same path as Chazz. He might not have been able to do anything about that, but if he could get through to Alexis…

Both Chazz and Alexis were very close to him. He cared about them both dearly. But Chazz was out of his range for the time being. It had been too long; he was too far inculcated with the doctrine of the Society. Alexis…he still might have time to save. Besides, whether he liked to admit it or not, he had a soft spot for her as well. He really did care about her, in a way that was slightly different than that of his other friends. He had always ignored it and waved it off because it meant nothing to him. Friendship was all he needed. But it did not hurt him, and he did not deny it; he just was largely unaware of what the feeling was exactly. Granted, it was nothing serious. A small crush at the most, mere admiration at the least. Most likely, it was nothing but admiration. It had been her strength of spirit and refined dueling skills that had impressed him so much. He had liked her the way she was before. If only he could get her to see that. Maybe nothing would come of it, but if he could at least get her to start to realize her error, then that and her friendship would be all he needed.

"Hey, Lex…I know you really don't want to talk to me, and I know that you don't want to 'go out' with me. But…would you try to put those feelings aside and just come take a walk with me? Would you just spend the afternoon with me?" He offered her a warm smile, and his hand. "Come on. I'm not going to bite."

She stared at his extended hand momentarily, before stammering, "B-But…what about the duel and your opponent?"

He smiled wryly, "Well, normally I would go ahead and do it. And don't get me wrong. I really want to duel. You don't know how much!" He paused to laugh softly, "But…I think I have something I need to take care of first. But if you could contact my opponent and tell him to hold on, then I'd really appreciate that."

"You're always one to make everyone wait for you!" She scolded, "He's already been waiting for over an hour. You can't just call it off like this!"

"I'm not calling it off," He insisted, scratching his head a little and glancing up at the ceiling, looking thoughtful, "We're just postponing it, Ok?" He grinned and looked back down at her again. "Know what I mean?"
"Jaden Yuki, the very nerve of you. If I didn't know better why I would—"

"No." He put a finger to her lips, shushing her, "I know it's rude. I know he's waited a long time for me. And I really am anticipating this. But…when one of my friends is in trouble, I'll gladly put them above my own wants. Ok? So let's just go hang out for a little bit. It doesn't even have to be the entire afternoon. I just want you to relax and have some quiet time to think about your decision and talk things out with me."

"Why do I need to consult you?!" She demanded to know, gritting her teeth in anger, her amber eyes flashing dangerously, "You can't tell me what to do. It's my choice and it's the right one. You just can't see that. You never could because you're just too rash and naïve!"

"Ouch," He said, though he continued to smile, even if it did falter a little, "There's no need to talk like that. Relax. Now, come on."

"Absolutely not."

"Please?" He held out his hand a little farther to her, giving her the cutest look he could muster.

Annoyed, Alexis finally straightened up. "Fine. If it will get you to stop pestering me." She might have been speaking harshly, as though he were only annoying her, but it really was just an excuse. That was the only way she would allow herself this privilege.

Following him out the door, she pulled out her PDA and sent a quick message to Chazz. Then, before he could respond to it, she turned the device off and put it back in her pocket. She walked silently next to Jaden for several minutes, her arms crossed tightly, almost as though she were even hugging herself. A scowl was plastered on her face; she was doing everything in her power to seem inhospitable and unapproachable. It might have worked for just anyone. But it did not faze Jaden.

In fact, it did the opposite. He felt a little sorry for her. It was not really her fault. She was more or less a victim. Because he wanted to show her support, he innocently reached out. She failed to take notice of the action; she was too busy concentrating on what sort of signal she sent out. After all, she did not want him to think that she wanted this. Of course, she should have known better. He did not really care whether or not she would accept his gesture. He hardly even thought about it. Instead, he just did what he felt was right for the time.

She made the mistake of dropping her arms to her sides. Even if it was just for a moment, it was all the time Jaden needed. Ever so clueless, he slipped his warm hand into hers, loosely at first. He tightened his grasp after a brief second, then smiled. She whipped her head in his direction, her eyes wide, her expression horrified. And she had thought he could not have gotten any ruder.

"Jaden!" She was too surprised to say anything else. But her eyes admonished him severely.

"What? You're not pulling away…" He pointed out, blinking.

This shook her from her daze. She tried to pull her hand away, since he had mentioned it, but he would not allow her. He kept a firm hold, telling her that he was not going to let her get away that easily. How she would have loved to have knocked the seemingly innocent look right off his face. Though, at the same time…

Quickly, she shook it from her mind. She was not supposed to like him anymore. At all. Point blank. But she could not help but feel fond towards him, and admire him for his boldness. But that did not mean that she should hold his hand. She was not even sure what he meant by it. For all she knew, he could just mean it as friends, sort of like a small child would. Then again, Jaden had exhibited some sort of interest in her, at least for that day. Why, that day out of all the others in the world? Why had he chosen the absolute worst time to make even the smallest move? She would not have minded quite so much had it been earlier. Then too, she would have rejected him all the same. Wouldn't she have? Suddenly, she was not so certain.

They walked in silence for awhile, slowly. Despite the inner struggle and confusion on both parts, they continued to hold hands, even when they reached Jaden's favorite spot by the cliff. Then they just sat down in the cool grass and stared out over the horizon, neither of them speaking or looking at each other. Even then, they continued to hold hands, and sat a little close. But that was the extent to which either of them would allow it to go.

Jaden would not go any farther because he was not comfortable with it; they were just friends and that was all they would ever be. Both of them had bigger dreams and goals to accomplish. They could not concern themselves with some silly teenage 'romance.' After all, it was only light affection.

Alexis would not let it go any farther because she was not interested in having a boyfriend. Yes, she liked Jaden a lot. But she did not like him enough to put her studies and her dueling goals on the back burner. They both cared more about dueling than anything else in the world. And neither of them were old enough nor knew enough about the matter. They were not ready. They were not mature enough. And most of all, they did not care. Perhaps this would suffice, for the time being, even if that was all that it would ever be. At the very least it was comforting and pleasant, and it did provide them a bit of an escape from reality. She strangely felt more at peace just from his gentle touch. Maybe she had just needed reassurance all along.

Feeling sleepy, she rested her head on his shoulder and sighed, closing her eyes. He glanced down at her, and supposed that this meant she was fully relaxed. A small smiled played on his lips as he watched her. Maybe he had done her some good. She did not seem as far of a lost cause as Chazz did.

"You know," He said, breaking the silence, and causing her to start a little, "I think that it's great that you are so involved in dueling and everything. But sometimes you have to live for yourself, you know?"

She opened her eyes partially to glance up at him. She frowned, but did not say or do anything, so he continued.

"I don't think you'll get very far or accomplish your goals if someone else tells you everything to do down to the smallest detail and makes you work for them like a puppet. Just a thought." He knew he had to word his thoughts carefully, so she would not take such serious offense that she would refuse to listen.

"It is just a thought," She muttered, averting her gaze, "Sometimes you have to do things you don't necessarily understand in order to get what you want. I'm not doing this only for some sort of spiritual gratification, I'll tell you that."

"Do you really see a long-term benefit in it?" He asked, truly puzzled.

Nodding, she told him, "Sartorius will look out for us. He'll make sure that we reach our full potential. He's already done a lot for me, even though I joined not that long ago. In fact, he has already elevated me to a high status, and promised that he will make me great. That's why I can't have you trash-talking him. Because you don't understand."

"But if he has to make you great then that doesn't really make you great," Jaden pointed out, "And you kind of have to take things for what they really are instead of what they seem to be."
She cast him a skeptical look. "Since when did you become so 'wise?'"

He laughed nervously. "It's called common sense."

"Well, it's not the kind that will help me. Look, I'm willing to spend a little bit of time with you this afternoon. Don't push it. You don't know what you're talking about, and I've already made my choice." She told him, edging away from him.

"No, it wasn't your choice! Don't you remember?" He protested, distress evident in his eyes.

"I remember what happened clearly, Jaden Yuki, so don't try to 'fool' me into believing false memories." She snapped, irritated, "You know what? If you're going to be like this, then I'll just see you later."
"But—"

"You can go back to the Planetarium and have your duel, but I'm going back to my dorm." She rose to her feet, tearing her hand from Jaden's.

He tried to reach out and grab her, but she slipped through his fingers, literally. Without another word, she disappeared through the trees, despite his protests and pleas not to go. He sat back and looked up at the sky, disappointed.

"So, my first 'date' and she walks out on me, huh?" Jaden sighed heavily, lying back in the grass with his arms behind his head. "What did I expect? Oh well. It's not that important anyway…"

It was not the fact that she had walked away that bothered him so much as the fact that she had rejected him and his friendship. Why would she put all that they had been through aside for some stranger? Why would she trust this man she barely knew with her future? No, that was not the Alexis he knew. That was not the Alexis he admired.

Lifting his hand and looking at it, he recalled her soft, gentle touch. There was a bit of the old Alexis in that touch. There was still hope because she was still in there. If only he could get her to see that. It was then that he made him his mind to get her out of the Society at all cost. He would try in any and every way possible to rid her of it. If only he knew what would work to bring her out of that daze. Perhaps it would eventually come to him. For the time being, he just got to his feet, and began walking towards the Planetarium, and towards his duel. At least he could have that much. He would forget about it for awhile. But that did not mean he was going to give up. Dueling this opponent was obviously important, so he had to push the problem of Alexis aside. But he would return to it.

Though, things might not be the same between them after this whole thing blew over. Jaden figured they could just forget about it and move on yet…at the same time, he almost did not want to. Maybe when this ordeal was over and she was herself again, they could talk, and he would be able to tell her that he did have small feelings for her. That was all he wanted. He just wanted to get it off his chest. It did not mean that they had to be together in any sort of way. All it meant was that he wanted to be honest with her. Maybe, if he was lucky, she would put her pride aside and perhaps even admit her feelings too. Then they could forget about it and move on with their lives.

He walked off to his duel, feeling light-hearted again, completely forgetting about it in his curiosity over who his opponent would be coupled with excitement. Even though he did have somewhat of an idea of what he wanted and what was important to him, he did not have a very realistic idea of how Alexis would react. He was not good with this sort of thing, after all. Yet he still had confidence in it. It had always aided him before but this time…he just might make things awkward between them since he did not know what he was doing. Only time would tell. And only when Jaden would tell…if he even remembered to do so. He could be very forgetful, after all, especially since he had better things to think about, and he had yet to fully mature. Yes, it might be a very long time indeed…

A/N: Oh crap. That was pointless. Sucky sucky ending for a sucky sucky drabble. Um, yeah needs moar closure but that's all I could think of. DX Man I need to put a damper on these impulse writings. I really hate how the tone changes…sorta. Might revise it later. Ehh…if you review (which I seriously doubt) I would appreciate if it would not be a copy/paste review…Umm yeah. Cuz I worked for like three or four days on this…for hours each day…Yeah I'm moar of a valentineshipper but I just wanted to try my hand at this. And yes, I tried my hardest to make them IC but I think if I didn't do so well on Alexis' behalf…since she should be harsher being in the Society and all. But since it was near the beginning and she seemed less, er, cold then I thought it would be Ok but I don't know. And, man, I wish I could use icons from deviantart. Because the one I would use for this fic would be EPIC PHAIL. Lol.