Okay.. let's see… eventual Tristan/Duke… they're so cute!!!

Diabla ~ I thought you hated Tristan ~

His hair annoys me. I won't pretend otherwise… but watching him try to win Serenity was so cute!

~ Oh… very well then. Continue. ~

I just love my muse! She's so kind to me… well, I don't own them. If I did, Seto would wear a lot less clothing…

~ See, that I would like to see. ~

Okay… moving on… hmm.. maybe I should give this story a name

~ It's too easy… ~

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The Art of Seduction

Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.

I watched them talk with jealousy. It wasn't fair; just when I figured out what I really wanted… Serenity looked up and caught me staring at them. She waved happily while Tristan turned to glare at me. No, you idiot. I wanted to say. All he saw when he looked at me was someone else competing for Serenity's attention. This unfortunately, was not what I wanted.

"Whatcha lookin' at?" The question startled me, and whirled to find Joey looking at me suspiciously.

"Um… nothing." Good going, Devlin. I'm sure he doesn't think THAT was a lie.

"Are you lookin' at my sister?" Oh great, he was going into defensive, older brother mode.

"Of course not!" The minute I said the words I regretted them. Maybe that was because it was clear he didn't believe me at all. Or maybe it's because you're worried he did believe you… This was not the right time for me to develop a cynical subconscious.  Because if he did… there's not much else you could be looking at. Nope, it seemed the cynicism was here to stay. Not like I didn't have enough problems to worry about.

He narrowed his eyes as though deciding if he should believe me.  "If you say so…" I managed a feeble grin, not up to normal Duke Devlin standards, but maybe if I was lucky, he wouldn't really notice. Of course, if I was lucky, he wouldn't see any reason to finish his sentence. Do you feel lucky? I sighed inwardly; of course he would finish the sentence.

"So, what are you doing then?" Um... come on Devlin, think of a lie…

"Waiting." Oh. My. God. Is that your answer? I mean, that was beyond terrible. I winced and tried to add something to it. "Um, I'm waiting for… Tristan. I have to ask him something. No, tell him something." With each additional word, Joey looked more and more like he didn't believe me. But that might be a good thing, I mean, if he didn't believe me then he might think I was lying to avoid his anger.

"If you say so." He shrugged and walked past me, into the classroom. I kept my position, leaning against my locker, watching jealously as Serenity and Tristan laughed over some inside joke. It was funny to think that a few weeks ago, I would have been jealous of Tristan, and I would definitely be doing something to make Serenity notice me instead, but now… Now, you've given new meaning to the word 'coward'.

And the voice wasn't making it any easier.  As I watched Tristan laughed, the feeling of jealousy grew. I was sure I could make him laugh just like that, if I could manage to talk to him. It didn't help that I had this stupid crush on him, and blushed if anyone said his name. Or that he thought of me as a rival. I smiled slightly as I thought of what I would say to him if I could… From there, my thoughts entered into a daydream…

"Duke? Duke?!"  I snapped out of my thoughts with a guilty blush. Serenity was looking at me with concern. "Are you okay?" Behind her, I could see Tristan glaring at me. Well, it's always nice to know your crush doesn't care about you at all.

"Ya, I'm fine, Serenity. I was just… daydreaming." I could feel the blush darkening, and Tristan's suspicious expression didn't help at all. Sure I knew he didn't think I was daydreaming about him, but it was still embarrassing.

"Class is starting soon. Are you coming inside?" I nodded and followed her. I passed through the doorway at almost the same time as Tristan. Our hands brushed casually, and I felt my heart speed up. He, of course, didn't notice at all. As soon as I was inside, I was immediately surrounded by my cheerleaders. They droned on excitedly about something or the other, but I wasn't paying attention. I kept finding my gaze drawn to the other side of the room where Tristan sat on a desk, laughing at something Joey said. I think you're hitting the point of obsession. Well, I wasn't obsessed. Not my fault he laughs loudly.

Our teacher came in and I sat down, fixing my attention ahead of me. Maybe I could pretend he wasn't there if I focused on the lesson. Sure, then no one would notice you staring. Paying attention in class wouldn't be that hard, and I didn't stare.

It turns out paying attention was 'that hard'. As she droned on about something involving equations, I found I kept turning to catch quick glances of Tristan. Yep, this ranks quite nicely as an obsession. A note landed on my desk and I looked down at it surprised.

'Hey Duke, need some help? – Ryou' I looked up to find him watching me thoughtfully. I shook my head, indicating I had no idea what he was talking about, and he nodded his head to where Serenity sat, next to Tristan who was passing her a note. He glanced around to catch me staring at him and glared. Wow, this relationship's really starting on a high note. I turned my head sharply, to end up with another note smacking me between the eyes.

'I mean with your crush' I felt my stomach lurch, did Ryou know how I felt about Tristan? Sure, or maybe, like everyone else, he thinks you're interested in, hm, I dunno, the girl you've been flirting with for the past two weeks. Oh. So maybe he didn't know. Looking at his note again, I wondered if maybe he could give me some relationship advice. I scribbled something down and handed it back to him.

As the teacher's eyes flipped to us, I flashed my most charming smile and pretended to take notes. When she turned away, another note hit me in the side of the head. Damn, Ryou had good aim.

'Meet me at lunch' I was having second thoughts. What could Ryou actually help me with? Oh well, at least I could pretend he helped. And then what? Try and convince yourself you don't think Tristan is the sexiest thing you've ever come across? Well, even if Ryou didn't help, I still had this charming little voice that seemed perfectly willing to destroy whatever self-assurance I had.

My other morning classes went by pretty quickly. I don't know what the lessons were; I spent my time fantasizing about Tristan, whipped cream, and chocolate sauce. Of course, I think I alarmed my teachers with my stupid grin and occasional sighs. So, maybe I was a little infatuated with him.

I could still remember standing beside Serenity, glaring as she and Tristan shared some inside jock, and suddenly thinking of how cute he looked when he was laughing. From there, it seemed like he haunted my every thought, and my usually dreamless nights had become filled with dreams that made even me blush. I glanced over at him as he sat staring in earnest at what was on the board. He looked so cute when he was concentrating. He bit his lower lip slightly, and I found myself imagining what it would be like to have him nibbling on my lip like that, as his tongue…

I sat up straight, looking around in surprise. The class was empty; the bell rang and I was too caught up in my thoughts to notice. I sighed and stood up; homework was written on the board, but I was too stressed to copy it down. It was lunch, and that meant I was going to have to talk to Ryou. I wished I could think of some way to get out of it, but… Maybe you shouldn't have written 'sounds good' then. Great, even the voice agreed that this was my own fault.

I walked into the cafeteria without my usual strut. Somehow, there just didn't seem to be a point. I spotted Ryou as he waved to me, and grabbing some food, slid into the seat across from him.

"Hi." Did that sound too unhappy? I really didn't want him to know I would rather not be doing this.

"Hey, Duke. Are you okay?" Sure... if you were willing to overlook the fact that I was obsessing over the one person who hated me.

"Um… sure. About your note?"

"Oh, yes. I just wanted to see if I could help you at all with your crush."

"Oh." Well, as long as I was here, it couldn't hurt. And maybe if I did talk to him, I could get an idea. "Well, it's just, whenever I look at them, my mind goes blank…" Well, not blank. It just gets filled with thoughts that you don't want to share. "… and I can't think of anything to say. I just, wish there was some easy way I could let them know how I felt."

"You mean Serenity?" Ryou asked gingerly. "I didn't think it would be…"

"No!" I yelped. Immediately I wished I hadn't. Ryou now looked at me with a peculiar expression. "I mean, it's not her." From his face, I could tell he didn't believe me.

"Are you sure? Because I couldn't help noticing you staring at her earlier." Oh, this was wonderful. Now, if I wanted him to help me I'd have to explain myself. And what a thrilling conversation that would be. No Ryou, I wasn't staring at HER, I was staring at the GUY in love with her.

"I wasn't looking at her." Fuck, maybe I shouldn't have snapped at him like that. Now he just looks hurt. "Sorry, Ryou, I'm just a little tense." Oh good, at least he's nodding. Maybe he'll pretend he believes me.

"So, what's wrong, Duke? You've never had a problem talking to…" he paused, and I winced slightly. If he said Serenity, I was going to give up. "Um… you've never had a problem talking to a girl you like." Well, luckily this one isn't a girl… So now I have to pretend Tristan's a girl… or just ignore that, and assume he isn't fully ignorant.

"Well, ya… but this person's different." Uh oh, he's looking at me suspiciously again. Maybe person was a little too general for his liking.

"Oh, okay. Well, if you act like yourself, I'm sure whoever it is will…" Ryou kept talking, but I couldn't hear him. My attention had turned to the cafeteria door, where Tristan had just entered with Yugi, Tea, and Serenity, laughing at something Tea said. He was scratching the back of his head, in an adorable way that showed how much he was thinking about it.

I felt Ryou's eyes on me, but I couldn't tear mine off Tristan. The way he laughed, his eyes sparkling, his head back, mouth open… almost like he was crying out in pleasure. Here, my thoughts took a sexual turn, and I found myself imagining just what Tristan would be like as a lover… Did you forget Ryou is here? Shit. I could feel a blush spreading across my cheeks as I turned my attention back to Ryou. He was watching me with a knowing smirk. Good, now you can forget about convincing him you AREN'T interesting in Serenity.

"So, tell me a little more about this mystery crush." His grin widened as he watched my blush spread. How long was he going to draw this out?

"Um… beautiful eyes, the cutest laugh, great body, how whenever they're around I feel like the whole world is melting away… and even when they aren't around, as you saw." I added embarrassed, stopping myself sinking into another daydream.

'Okay," Ryou responded, "you can tell me how you feel. So when are you going to tell Tristan?" I felt my cheeks burn and my heart skip a beat as he said my infatuation's name.

"How… how..." I couldn't even finish as Ryou giggled in delight. I was clutching the edge of the table, feeling that if I let go, I would fall out of my chair.

"You've been staring in that direction all morning, and if you don't like Serenity, then it just made sense that "the person" is someone she's been around." Ryou snickered, clearly thrilled with himself. "Well, what are you going to do?" he demanded.

"Um… I don't know. I can't even talk to him. I was hoping you could help." This was embarrassing. I had to ask for help on how to talk to someone. I waited for Ryou to laugh, keeping my eyes fixed on my plate.

"You're going to have to seduce him." Now I really needed to hold onto the table. I jerked my head up to look at Ryou in shock, getting dizzy from the movement.

"What?"

"You're. Going. To. Have. To. Seduce. Him." He repeated slowly like I was a baby. "But first, you're going to have to convince him you don't want Serenity."

"What? Why?" I cringed as I shrieked. Very suave. It's no wonder girls like you.

"Because, until you do, he's not going to trust you. And if he's suspicious of you, you're going to have a really hard time seducing him." I blushed again as Ryou used the word seduce. Somehow I didn't think Tristan would understand. I stared at Ryou as he jumped up. "I'll talk to you after school, okay?" I nodded blankly as he ran off.

Sure, I could seduce Tristan. I mean, if I could have a flock of girls cooing over me, it shouldn't be a problem, right?

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Okay, I realize that was lacking in punch… but I'm getting there.

~ It would help if she could write without the embarrassed giggle ~

*glares* I'm working on it. Please Review!!

~ But don't flame her. The smell of burning hair, combined with her wailing about the hair… it's too much for me to handle. ~

No one told you to bring the match near my head. But she's right. As much as I love watching things burn… I'd prefer if those things weren't me.