Hello all! Well, my first fic The Getaway was a moderate success, and the feedback encouraged me to write a new one! I'm pretty excited about it, and I hope you all enjoy it! If you read my last one, you will know I update rather quickly and regularly, so please feed me reviews! The first chapter is always semi-short, but they will get progressively longer-promise! ^.^

-Mystie

Chapter 1:

If one thing was certain, it was that Yugi Motou simply had the worst luck in Domino.

Yugi sighed bringing the hood of his raincoat tightly to his head. The rain gushed down onto the slick streets of Domino heavily, and thunder intermittently rumbled and startled Yugi to his core. He was sore and slightly bruised—the biggest bully in school seemed to take great pleasure in tormenting the smaller pacifist any chance he got. Today was no exception. As soon as he stepped off school grounds to head home from an exhausting day of school, Ushio had snuck up behind him, snatched him off the ground, and begun his onslaught of teasing, mocking, hitting, and kicking.

Well, at least he could walk home.

Besides his afterschool beating, he had suffered through one of the worst days of school to date. He had forgotten his algebra homework at home, failed an exam, tripped and dropped his lunch in the cafeteria in front of everyone, and narrowly avoided detention for dozing off in class. His grandfather certainly would not be impressed when he found out about his grades. Yugi sighed. Now, to top it all off, it had started raining—not drizzling, but pouring—and he was still quite far from his home. Yugi held his head down, partially to keep the rain from his face and partially because he was just so miserable. He knew the path home with his eyes closed, so he just let his feet guide him and let his mind wander gloomily.

So consumed in his unhappy thoughts, he did not see the figure walking towards him until the two crashed into each other and he fell clumsily to the pavement. The other individual tripped backwards and dropped his umbrella, but immediately caught himself, regaining his balance. Yugi let out a small cry as he hit the ground and his hood flew off and the rain began to soak his hair. That fall certainly didn't feel good, seeing as he was already a bit banged up. Yugi looked up at the stranger, who was staring back a bit amusedly.

"Are you alright?" he asked, his voice smooth and deep. He advanced closer and offered Yugi a hand. "I apologize for the collision. I seemed to have my head in the clouds there."

Yugi shook his head, a bit dazed. This young man looked oddly similar to him. They had the same hair, save for a few lightning bolt-like streaks and the same complexion. He even had on the same school uniform. Other than that, however, they were entirely different. He was taller with broader shoulders and taut muscles beneath his now soaked clothing. His jaw was more angular and he exuded confidence and poise. Perhaps the most striking features were his piercing red eyes. They were almost glowing. Yugi looked down to the ground and ignored the hand, getting to his feet awkwardly himself.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that," he muttered, pulling his hood back up. "I wasn't really paying attention either." He glanced back up at those eyes that were glued to him. "Well, guess I better be going…" He began to walk past the man. The game shop was in view now. He instinctively wanted to run home. This guy made the hairs on his neck stand, and all his senses told him to get away. However, the stranger gently grabbed his elbow before he could run off, holding him still. Yugi's heart skipped a beat. This was usually how his torture with Ushio began.

"I'm sorry, didn't mean to startle you," he said with a dazzling smile. "It's just that…I see that we attend the same school, but it seems I don't know your name." He released Yugi, who adjusted his backpack more tightly on his back nervously. "My name is Yami."

"I-I'm Yugi," Yugi mumbled. "I really should be getting home…"

"Of course, Yugi," Yami said, putting a somewhat sensual emphasis on Yugi's name. "Hopefully I'll see you around."

Yugi took that as his opportunity to head home, and he began to walk-run to the shop. When he got to the door, he risked a glance back towards the stranger, expecting him to be staring back. Surprisingly, he was gone. Yugi shook his head again and unlocked the front door and hurried inside.

After dinner and homework (and explaining to his grandpa that algebra simply was not his strongest subject), Yugi found himself lying lazily on his bed staring at the ceiling, arms folded behind his head. He made sure his door was locked, since he was now shirtless, and the swelling bruises on his chest and back were glowing red and pink. His grandfather didn't need to know about his torment at school at the hands of bullies. He would be outraged and only make it worse. For now, Yugi managed to keep his beatings a secret, and if he had it his way, it would stay that way until he graduated.

He could not help when his mind kept drifting back to the stranger he had met but a few short hours ago. No, not stranger—Yami. Their school was big and all, but Yugi couldn't believe that he had never seen the mysterious Yami around before. He certainly would have remembered those eyes if he had seen them before today. He suspected that Yami was a year or so ahead of himself, and that's why they had never crossed paths. Yami had seemed strangely…attracted to Yugi. Okay, maybe attracted was a bit too strong of an assumption; but he certainly seemed to be captivated.

Maybe he's never seen a four-foot tall sophomore before, he thought.

He had to admit that he was fascinated as well—perhaps not fascinated, but oddly curious. No one ever seemed to give him the time of day, let alone take the time to learn his name in the pouring rain. Yugi inwardly smiled. It felt…nice to have someone take genuine interest in him. Yet, Yugi's smile was gone as quickly as it had appeared. Yami was just being personable. Even if he saw him again, he would probably not even remember him. Besides, Yugi wasn't so sure he even wanted to see the creepy-eyed teen again.

But still…at least the day had not been a total letdown. Yugi let that thought cloud his mind before deciding to turn in early, flipping the table lamp off and situating his tender body beneath the covers. He was asleep soon after his head hit the pillow, unaware of two blazing red eyes watching him slumber from the window.