Typical Problem

Chapter 1: Friends For How Long Now?


Disclaimer: Nope.. not yet.

Author's Note: Started this story about seven years ago, and now I'm finishing it. Voila :D


Emerald green eyes watched, half - hooded, as one of the young women in his chemistry class took notes at the table in front of him, navy blue hair pulled back in to a loose ponytail. Folding his hands underneath his chin, Ryou continued to stare, a faint and lazy smile plastered to his lips. His daydreaming was cut short, though, when an elbow pressed sharply into his ribcage. Making a small noise of discomfort, the white - haired male sat up from his slouched forward position and picked up the pen he had dropped earlier, looking over to his right.

"Ouch, what was that for, Bakura?" He whispered a bit angrily.

Dark mahogany eyes met his, an amused smirk etched across the elder male's face. He was dressed the same as every other male in Domino High School; royal blue slacks and a matching coat, the edges white. The collar was pulled up high on his friend's jacket though, making him stand out from everyone else. Not that his demonically spiked white hair helped with that either.

"You might actually want to pay attention, Romeo, this shit's going to be on the test next week."

Ryou made an annoyed face at the name, glancing up to the board, where their teacher was reviewing chemical bonding, and then down to his notes. He noticed that he had barely written anything, the words ending in a few messy scribbles, before fading off into a long line. Looking up again, he caught himself being drawn to look at the girl in front of him, before giving his head a small shake, shifting his gaze back towards Bakura.

"Since when do you care about studying?"

"Since when did you become so pathetic and obsess silently over some broad you've never even talked to?"

The younger male could feel himself beginning to darken in color, a feeling of relief sweeping over him when he heard the bell signal from the intercom. Quickly gathering his loose papers and filing them into a single pile within his notebook, Ryou placed them in his briefcase, snapping the locks shut and completely ignoring his best friend's last question.

He could hear Bakura laughing behind him as they made their way out into the crowded hallway and shook his head again. Couldn't he see that he didn't want to talk about this? Walking faster and weaving through the bodies of his peers, Ryou made his way down the stairs and into another hallway, finally reaching his locker. Twisting the combination in, the thin blue door was suddenly slammed shut as soon as he had gotten it open, a tall male leaning against it, dark brown briefcase at his side.

"You shouldn't run from me, Ryou. I know where you sleep at night."

Ryou rolled his eyes and pushed Bakura away as he let out a laugh, opening the locker again.

Bakura leaned back against the lockers next to the younger, looking down at him, "Ryou, how long we been friends?"

"A long time."

The elder scoffed, ending with another laugh, "Che, yeah, a long - ass time."

Ryou closed his locker, turning and walking away, "What's your point."

Bakura narrowed his eyes slightly in annoyance, pushing away from the wall and slinging his case over one shoulder, opposite hand digging into his pants pocket. Catching up to the briskly walking teen, he replied, "My point, dear Ryou, is that you can't hide shit from me; I know you too well."

Keeping his eyes forward, Ryou made his way towards the front doors, "Again, what's your point."

As they stepped out onto the stone staircase, Bakura held up a hand as a visor, shielding the sun from his eyes and stopping to look around for a moment. He watched as Ryou continued on without him, trotting down the steps and starting off down the sidewalk. Soon following, Bakura strayed a few steps behind his life - long friend, pushing his hand back into his pocket and shifting his briefcase over his shoulder as his wrist began to ache faintly.

"We may as well have shared the same womb and been twins; it's like I know how you think... you know, one of those mental link things." He called, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"But we didn't and we're not, so we don't."

Bakura let out a chuckle, quickening his pace enough to catch up with the white - haired boy, throwing his arm around the shorter males' neck, "Yeah, you're right... or else I wouldn't be able to do this."

Leaning in, he fully licked the others cheek before pulling away completely and laughing as he jogged away.

Ryou pouted softly, rubbing his wet cheek with the back of his hand and watching as Bakura made his way down towards town. Both of his cheeks were gaining color and he knew it, but shrugged it off as a normal reaction to anyone getting so close. Shaking his head once more, the pale boy picked up his pace to a trot and then a run, attempting to catch up with Bakura.


Slowing down to a halt, Ryou doubled over with his hands on his knees, panting to try and regain his breath. He had run the entire way in to town, only now catching up with his best friend, because he had stopped to wait for him against a lamp post. Finally straightening himself, the younger boy looked up into the playful eyes of mahogany, another pout on his face.

"You didn't have to make me run so fast, you know. Why didn't you just walk with me?"

Bakura laughed, ruffling the shorter boy's white hair, which made him cringe and tilt his head away. The elder then gripped the soft locks, pushing Ryou's head back to look up at him again.

"For one… I didn't make you do anything." He raised a silver brow, "You followed me. And I ran because it was faster. Besides…" Bakura lowered his head down so that his nose was nearly pressed against the others, "…you look so hot when you're all sweaty and out of breath."

Ryou flushed darkly at his friend's words, his soft green eyes widening in surprise and then narrowing in annoyance. Feeling the heat on his cheeks, he pushed the elder away with an irritated noise, making sure his bangs covered his beet – red face as he readjusted his grip on the handle of his briefcase, walking past him.

Bakura brought his laughter down to deep chuckles, watching as Ryou continued down the sidewalk, his brisk pace emitting the mood the elder knew so very well.

He liked to call it: Ryou's PMS Pout.

Shaking his head, the spiky – haired male started after him, a smirk on his lips. He didn't know where Ryou planned on going so quickly… they did share an apartment, after all.

He had offered to take Ryou in for the next few months when his father had said that he had a business trip somewhere off in America and didn't want his son staying in a full house alone. The younger was all too grateful to hear that he would have a place to stay on such short notice, happy that he could give Bakura the company as well. Ever since his parents had died, even Bakura knew that something inside of him had changed.

As he brushed past the people on the sidewalk, Bakura turned the corner of a small shop in time to see his smaller friend making his way up the front steps. Picking up his pace, Bakura trotted up the stairs a few moments later and into the front doors. He caught a glimpse of white locks before they disappeared into the elevator down the hall. Running forward, he called out, "Hey!", but the doors closed in his face. Scowling, Bakura slammed his case against the metal, before jogging back down the hall and opening the door to the stairs. Taking them two at a time, the pale boy grumbled to himself, his patience for his roommate wearing a bit thin. Sometimes, he wished he hadn't picked the fourth floor.


Ryou frowned and leaned back against the guard railing behind him. Today had certainly been… well, interesting.

It had started out as normal as it ever could: him nearly being late because of Bakura's consistent dawdling and lack of organization.

He swore that boy would loose his mind if it wasn't already trapped within his thick head.

By the time they had finally gotten to school, he had to practically run to his first class and had just barely made it on time. By the time lunch had rolled around, he had taken his food (that he had had the common sense to make and pack the night before) and sat against one of the many trees within the courtyard. He had watched as more people filed out in to the yard, many in pairs or groups, hands full of their lunches, searching for Bakura.

He remembered looking down for a moment to rummage though his bag, pulling out a sandwich. Glancing back up to scan the courtyard again, his eyes met crystal blue, his heartbeat speeding up slightly.

"Good afternoon, Touya." He remembered saying.

She had smiled at him.

"Good morning Ryou…" Touya's soft voice suddenly trailed off in Ryou's ears, green eyes slipping past the girl's uniformed side and connecting with dark mahogany.

Bakura was standing a few yards away, a look on his face that Ryou couldn't quite place. Was that… anger?

Hurt?

…Jealousy?

He had never seen his best friend jealous before.

"Ryou? Ryou, are you listening?"

Snapping his gaze back up, the pale boy watched as Touya slipped a loose strand of dark blue hair behind her ear, eyes concerned.

"I'm sorry, I -" He had started, but was interrupted.

"Ryou isn't available right now."

Both teenagers turned to look at the one who had spoken, finding Bakura to be watching Touya with a glare.

"But -"

"Not. Available."

Touya had nodded and left to rejoin the group of girls that were waiting for her across the yard.

He remembered that Bakura hadn't met his eyes very often and had barely made any conversation after that.

Ryou sighed, tipping his head back to rest against the elevator wall. He looked up at the numbers across the top of the closed door. Only on level three. This thing was so slow… but, at least it gave him time to think…

And then there had been that little episode during chemistry…

He couldn't remember doing anything wrong. Looking wasn't illegal, was it? Yeah, he liked Touya… who wouldn't? She was smart and pretty and… well; she had a nice personality as well.

Shaking his head, Ryou glanced back up at the numbers, watching it finally flash to four. Feeling the elevator come to a stop and hearing the faint ding that indicated the doors were opening, he stepped forward, shifting his briefcase to his other hand.

Sometimes he just didn't understand the way Bakura worked…

Lifting his head as the double doors slid apart, they revealed the very boy he had just been thinking about. The smirk on his face told him that the other male had something going on in his mind.

"Hello, Ryou." Bakura greeted, stepping forward into the elevator and placing his case down in the line of the doorway.

The younger suddenly found himself off of his feet and in the corner, looking up in time to see his friend press the B button, followed by the Emergency Door Close.

"See ya, Ryou." He watched as the elder picked up his school briefcase and started down the hallway. Scrambling to his feet, he shouted, "Hey! Hey!" both of his hands coming to rest against the now closed doors.

Sometime.. he really didn't understand the way Bakura worked..


I have the next chapter ready to go, so hopefully enough reviews will magically appear. I need to know if these suck or not D: