Rae stood next to her friends as she watched the fantastical setting around Jaden and his opponent fade. As the new student's lifepoints dropped to zero, he sank to the ground in defeat.

"Even though he didn't win, he did pretty well considering that he put his deck together just this morning," Syrus said.

Alexis nodded in agreement. "Yeah, especially since he's a freshman and it's his first day ever here."

Chazz scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "He was alright, but I could've done better with those cards."

Rae hardly heard her friends' comments, as she was too busy examining the new student. In appearance, he was unlike anyone else she had ever seen. With long silver hair and beautiful blue eyes, even she, who was usually unimpressed by appearances, had to admit to herself that he was attractive. After a moment, she snapped herself out of her thoughts and said, "Yeah, he's good. Does anyone know who he is?" She looked at her friends questioningly, but they just shook their heads.

"All he said is that Jaden could call him AP," Syrus said with a shrug.

The four of them stood on a cliff overlooking the area where the duel had taken place, as they watched Jaden offer advice to his defeated opponent. After a moment, the silver-haired boy left Jaden and walked up the steps towards them.

He gave a small smile and inclined his head politely when he noticed the group standing there.

"You did a good job in that duel, new guy," Alexis said kindly before he could walk off. "Jaden's tough to beat."

"Thank you," the mystery student said, his polite smile still in place. Without another word, he walked away from them, the light glinting off of his immaculate grey suit.

Once he was a little ways away, Rae broke the silence that had fallen over them. "Ya know, if this is his first day here, he probably doesn't know his way around very well," she said, thinking out loud. "I'm gonna go see if he needs any help. See you guys later!" Rae said as she walked off quickly to catch up with the mystery student.

It was only after she was gone that Syrus and the others realized that the "freshman" Jaden had just dueled was actually world champion duelist Aster Phoenix.

"Hey, wait up!" Rae called when she got closer to her target. The new student stopped and turned around, looking at her. He looked somewhat surprised to see her following him, but he waited for her to catch up nonetheless.

"You're new here, right?" she asked as she walked up beside him, even though she already knew the answer.

He nodded. "Yep, it's my first day here."

"Well then, let me be the first to say welcome to Duel Academy!" she said cheerfully. "My name's Rae. And you are?" She stuck out her right hand for him to shake.

The blue-eyed boy just stared at her outstretched hand for a moment, as if trying to make a decision. He eventually decided to take the risk of being recognized and give her his real name. He brought his eyes up to meet hers and smiled. "I'm Aster. Nice to meet you, Rae." He took her outstretched hand in his, but instead of shaking it, he lifted her hand up to his lips and gently kissed the back of it.

Rae blushed slightly at his formal manner and brought her hand back down to her side. She wasn't used to having guys act so gentlemanly around her.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Aster said in a concerned voice when he noticed her blush. "Did I do something wrong?"

Rae just shook her head and smiled at him again. "No, you're fine. You just surprised me, is all." He nodded in response.

"So, Aster," she continued quickly, eager to move the conversation along, "do you know your way around Duel Academy yet?"

He laughed a little as he looked around at his new home. "I'm afraid not," he said, scratching the back of his head. "This place is a lot bigger than I expected."

"Well then, would you like me to show you around campus?" she offered.

"Sure, that sounds good." he said.

"Okay then," she said. "Off we go!"

Rae first led Aster through the different classrooms, issuing warnings about the teachers as they walked from one room to the next. "This is where Dr. Crowler teaches," she said none too cheerfully. "He was just a teacher last year, but apparently he's the chancellor now, too." Rae said. "He gives lots of homework, just a fair warning."

Aster politely listened to all she had to say, only occasionally breaking in with a question. After about thirty minutes, they had been through all of the classrooms, and Aster knew all about Duel Academy's bizarre teachers.

"I think that's all the classrooms," Rae said, leading Aster back towards the front of the building. "Now I'll show you where your dorm is." She stopped suddenly and turned to look back at him, as if trying to figure something out. She furrowed her eyebrows slightly in confusion.

"Which dorm are you in, anyways? I can't tell because of that fancy pants suit you have on," she teased.

Aster laughed lightly at her comment as he looked down at his suit for a moment. He looked back up at her before answering. "I think the man who checked me in said something about me being in the blue dorm."

"Cool, that means you're an Obelisk like me." Rae said as she smiled at him. "Our dorms are the nicest. C'mon, I'll show you the way."

On the way, Rae briefly explained the three-dorm system to Aster, and before too long they had arrived at their destination. "Okay, the boys' dorms are over here and the girls' dorms are over there." She pointed out the two separate buildings. "There's a nice pool out that way, and over there's where we can eat dinner."

"Wow," Aster said, impressed. He was used to living in luxury due to his celebrity status (which Rae seemed oblivious to), but had not expected a boarding school to have such nice amenities. "This place is pretty cool."

Rae nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it's really nice. Do you want to go get some dinner? It's almost nine o'clock, so it's getting kind of late."

"Yeah, sure," Aster responded, happy to go along with whatever Rae wanted to do. He had quickly grown to like this girl, and although she seemed really nice, he still didn't want to tell her who he really was, out of fear that she would treat him differently because of his fame. It seemed like he could never get close to people anymore, because he had to lie to them to even be treated like a normal person.

Aster pushed his pessimistic thoughts out of his mind as he followed Rae into the building, only to find that there was no one there. He sighed in disappointment, thinking they had missed the cutoff time and wouldn't get to eat, but Rae just kept walking towards the kitchen like this was normal.

"Uh, Rae, haven't they already stopped serving dinner?" he asked, confused.

She nodded over her shoulder at him. "Yeah, they stop serving at eight, but it's no big deal. The chefs don't mind me coming in here and cooking later on, so I can make us something."

Aster hurriedly followed her through the door to the kitchen to keep from getting left behind. "Why do they let you come in here after hours? That doesn't sound like something they'd let just anybody do."

Rae stopped in front of a counter and stood up on her toes to open the cabinet above it. "No, I'm the only one who can do it, but it's because I help them out with the cooking most nights." Rae closed the cabinet and walked over to a large refrigerator.

"Oh, I see." Aster said as he watched her moving around the kitchen. "You must be a pretty good cook if you can help the people who cook at this dorm, huh?"

She smiled slightly at his compliment and shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not half bad." She paused for a moment, then continued speaking without looking up at him. "My dream is to become a pro duelist, but if that doesn't work out, I think I'd like to be a chef."

"That's cool," Aster said. He now felt especially bad for keeping who he was a secret from her, but knew he had to if he wanted to be treated normally at Duel Academy.

Rae just nodded as she opened yet another cabinet. "So, is chicken and pasta okay with you?" she asked, changing the subject completely.

Aster smiled. "Sure, that sounds great. Anything I can do to help you with it?"

Rae raised her finger to her lips pensively for a moment. "If you can chop vegetables, that'd be great," she said. She pulled out a cutting board, a large chef's knife, an onion, and some peppers. "Can I trust you to handle this?" she asked jokingly as she handed the knife over to him.

Aster nodded as he took it from her, laughing. "I think I can handle it," he responded in the same playful tone.

"Awesome. I'm gonna go try to find the spices I need and start everything cooking."

After Rae had gotten out her pots, pans, and ingredients, it wasn't long before the meal was done. They prepared two plates of food and sat down across from each other at one of the tables in the dining hall.

"Wow, this smells really good," Aster said as he looked down at his steaming plate of food.

"Thanks," Rae said with a smile. "I hope it tastes good, too."

Aster nodded. "I'm sure it will."

Rae watched almost nervously as Aster scooped some pasta up on his fork and took his first bite of food. She didn't know why exactly, but for whatever reason she wanted to impress this guy.

Her fears disappeared when she saw the pleasantly surprised look on Aster's face. "This is amazing! You're a great cook!" he said as he took another bite of food.

"I'm glad you like it," Rae said, unable to keep the wide smile off of her face as she went to take a bite as well.

Aster continued with his praise. "I mean, I've eaten at fancy restaurants all over the world, but this is some of the best stuff I've ever had!"

Rae blushed as he continued to compliment her. "Thanks, Aster," she said. She was silent for a minute as his comment sank in, then she asked, "When did you travel around the world? That sounds pretty exciting."

Aster paused in eating for a moment, realizing that his cover was blown. He considered trying to make up a lie, but eventually decided to just tell Rae the truth about himself, even though he thought he would come to regret it later.

"Well, actually," he began slowly as she looked at him curiously, "I'm a pro duelist, so I've traveled the world to be in lots of different championships. My last name is Phoenix."

Rae looked at him carefully after he said this. "Now that you say it, you do look kind of familiar." She paused as his name sunk in. "Wait, you're Aster Phoenix? You're like the number one duelist in the World League!" she said, looking at him with something akin to awe. "I can't believe I didn't realize who you were before!"

Aster laughed a bit at her last comment, even as he got a sinking feeling in his stomach. He already felt like she was seeing him as a completely different person. "Trust me, that's no problem at all. Having people treat you like a celebrity kind of gets old after a while, so it's nice to be treated like a normal person for once. I specifically tried to keep from revealing who I was so I could fit in here at Duel Academy better."

Rae nodded at him, a kind look on her face. "I understand. I know I just kind of freaked out when I found out who you were, but I can promise I won't treat you any differently because you're famous." Rae told him honestly. "Reputations don't mean much to me, because I prefer to make my own judgements about people. I won't tell anyone else who you are if you don't want me to, though."

Aster smiled at her, feeling relieved that she was able to look past his fame and see him as a normal person. "That'd be great, actually. If everyone else would be as chill about it as you then I wouldn't care, but I think a lot of people would want to be friends with me and act differently towards me just because I'm famous, you know?"

Rae nodded. "No worries, your secret's safe with me."

They went back to eating their meal, Aster saying every now and then how good the food was, and then the two of them washed up the dishes and left the dining hall.

"We should probably be getting you to your new room about now," Rae said as they walked outside. "Do you know what room number you have?"

"Uh, yeah, I think so," Aster said as he reached into his pocket. After a few moments of searching, he pulled out a small slip of paper. "Here it is! It says I'm in room 194."

Rae nodded and began walking in the direction of the Obelisk Blue boys' dorm. "By the way," she said offhandedly as they came up to the building, "Girls aren't actually allowed to go into the boys' dorm, but Crowler always goes to sleep early, so he won't catch us."

Aster nodded in response, glad that he wouldn't have to go hunt for his new room in the huge building on his own. They walked through a fancy parlour, up some stairs, and down a hall until they came up to room 194. Aster pulled a key he'd recieved earlier in the day out of his pocket and, after a few seconds, they were in.

"Dang, this is nice," Aster said as he looked around the luxuriously furnished room. From the huge bed to the polished chest of drawers to the silk curtains, the room was definitely impressive. "This is way nicer than most of the hotels I've stayed in."

Rae nodded. "Yep, and you get it all to yourself. In the Slifer dorms, they have like three people in every room."

Rae pointed out where Aster's suitcases had been delivered on the other side of the bed and showed him a couple of neat things about the room, like how to call maid service if he ever needed it. Then she glanced at her watch and said, "Well, it's getting kind of late and I should probably head back to my own dorm, so I guess I'll see you around."

As Rae turned to leave, Aster said, "Wait! Don't leave yet." He reached out and grabbed her hand in his to stop her.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, a bit surprised by his action.

He shook his head. "No, but if you don't mind, I'd like you to stay a little longer and we can just talk. So I can get to know you better." Aster's gorgeous blue eyes met hers, and she knew there was really no way she could refuse the invitation.

She smiled at him and nodded. "Sure, I'm not sleepy yet, so I can hang here a while."

"Cool!" Aster said with a smile as he led her to sit down beside him on the huge bed. "So, what's your favorite color?"

For a long time, Aster and Rae stayed up talking about random topics, asking each other questions, and sharing stories. As the hours passed quickly, the two new friends began to realize that they actually had quite a bit in common. Rae grew very fond of Aster, loving his sense of humor and charming attitude. He continued to like her more and more as well, because she was genuinely kind, and she saw and liked him for who he really was, rather than only seeing him as the celebrity others saw on the posters.

After a while, one of them finally thought to glance over at the digital clock next to the bed. "Oh my gosh," Aster said in surprise. "It's two o' clock."

Rae glanced at her watch to make sure the clock's time was correct. "Wow, you're right," she said, equally surprised. "How did that happen?"

Aster shook his head, giving her a small smile as he did so. "I dunno. I guess time flies when you're having fun."

Rae nodded and reluctantly stood up from the bed, stretching. She didn't want to leave Aster, but felt that she would be overstaying her welcome if she stayed in his dorm room past 2 AM. "Well, I suppose I really should be getting back to my dorm room now." She turned to face Aster and smiled. "It's been great getting to know you, though. Thanks for letting me stay here so long. I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" she asked hopefully.

"Yeah, that sounds good," he said. As she turned to leave, he stopped her once again. "Oh, there's one more thing before you go..."

Before Rae had a chance to object, Aster had gently pulled her back down onto the bed and into his lap. A bright blush soon appeared on her cheeks. "Um, Aster?" she asked uncertainly, searching his eyes for any indication of what he was planning to do.

Ignoring her questioning tone, he picked up one of her hands and interlaced his fingers with hers. He looked her in the eyes with a serious expression. "Rae, I just wanted to thank you for treating me like an actual human being, and not basing your opinion of me on my fame. It's literally been years since I've had a real conversation with another person; I can't say enough how nice it's been to talk with you these past few hours." he said honestly.

She smiled back at him understandingly, though she was still blushing a little because of how close they were. She gave his hand a quick squeeze. "No problem, Aster. You're a great guy, and I'm glad I could help."

He nodded in response to her statement, his expression remaining serious. "There's one last thing I wanted to tell you, if that's okay."

"Sure, Aster," she said, wondering what else he wanted to say.

He sighed and looked deeply into her eyes again. She couldn't help but notice, for the hundredth time that night, how beautiful his eyes were. "Rae, this might sound strange, because I know we haven't known each other for very long, but I feel like I'm already falling for you. I like you a lot." he said, mostly succeeding in keeping the nerves out of his voice. He looked at her expectantly, as if waiting for a response.

Rae's blush grew more intense, and she sounded much more nervous than him when she answered. "I-I like you too, Aster." she responded, surprised that someone like him, who could have any girl he wanted, would choose her.

He let out a sigh of relief, then smiled reassuringly at her. "Good to know." He was quiet for a moment then, as if weighing the pros and cons of an idea in his mind.

"This may seem rushed," he said after a while in a nervous voice, "so I won't be angry if you say no, but would it be alright if I kissed you?"

If it was even possible, Rae's blush deepened even more. When she shyly nodded her consent, Aster put his hand under her chin and raised her face up close to his, then leaned forward and placed his lips on hers.

The kiss was gentle and soft as Aster's lips moved against her own. He pulled back slowly after only a moment, as if he was afraid to linger too long and give the wrong impression.

Aster smiled at Rae after he pulled away, his face now slightly red as well. She returned his smile, and he pulled her into a hug with her head against his chest. "Thank you," he whispered to her. "You've made me very happy." She melted into his warm embrace as a smile played on her lips. "No problem."

After a few minutes, Rae reluctantly removed herself from Aster's arms and quickly kissed him on the cheek. She then got up and walked towards the door, knowing she needed to get back to her own room. She stopped with her hand on the doorknob and turned back to look at him. "So, I'll see you tomorrow then?"

He nodded at her with a smile. "Definitely."

"Okay then," she said, smiling back, as she opened the door. "Goodnight, Aster."

"Goodnight, Rae."

And as she walked back to her own dorm with a smile on her face, she already knew that her dreams that night would be filled with Aster Phoenix.