Hey! I meant to have this up sooner, but my WiFi is a jerk. New chapter, yay! Thank you to everyone who reviewed (or favorited or followed) last chapter, especially Guest, winged sapphire wolf, Ryou Bakura13, and Starrymoon04. Glad y'all are enjoying this. Without further ado then, I present to you, Chapter Two!

Do not own Yugioh :)


Atem sat next to Ryou and across from Mariku at their lunch table. Bakura sat on Ryou's other side. They were chatting aimlessly when they heard Jou enter the cafeteria, with Yuugi coming in behind him a moment later. Jou sat down a seat away from Mariku. Atem grinned happily when Yuugi sat down next to him. "Hey," Atem greeted.

"Hey," Yuugi returned. "How's your first day going so far?"

"Good, though I wish we could have shared more classes," Atem answered as more people came over to their table. One was a tall brunette with icy blue eyes who sat down next to Jou, who Ryou referred to as Seto. Another was a cheerful girl who sat down next to Yuugi, who was introduced as Anzu. The last ones over were a green eyed, black haired boy, and a tan brown haired boy. They introduced themselves as Otogi and Honda, respectively.

"Wow," Atem said. "You have a lot of friends, Yuugi!"

Yuugi blushed. "I really don't. Well, not intentionally. I knew Ryou, Anzu, Jou, and Honda. Their friends just became mine."

"Because you're just so easy to get along with, Yuugi!" Jou laughed. "You pretty much befriended Atem within minutes."

Seto rolled his eyes. "Unlike you. I don't know how any of us can tolerate you."

Jou scowled at the remark and looked ready with a retort, when Yuugi interrupted. "Guys! Come on, we have a new person here. Can you just please try to get along?" Seeing the looks they were giving each other, Yuugi sighed. "One week. Try to get along until Friday, at least, and then you can be back at each other's throats." Jou humphed, while Seto just turned away.

Atem watched the exchange with interest. "Do you guys have fights within your, um, group often?"

Honda nodded his head grimly. "Yeah, actually. But it's because half of us are in relationships with each other. Or want to be," he said, directing the last comment at Otogi, who looked back at him innocently.

"Who's dating who, then?" Atem asked curiously. "Ryou and Bakura, I know. And Mariku's dating someone named Marik?"

Yuugi nodded. "Right. That's pretty much it at the moment, though. Otogi and Honda go on and off."

"What about you, Anzu?" Atem asked the girl. "Surely you've caught someone's eye."

Anzu grinned shyly. "Not yet. I couldn't really date anyone else in this group anyway. Besides, there are seriously no cute girls who go here!"

"Exactly," Mariku smirked.

Anzu laughed. "But there is this one teacher, who I actually really like."

"Ms. Kujaku," half the group piped up, making Anzu blush. Jou smirked. "This girl's had a crush on Kujaku since freshmen year. She's thrilled to be a junior, because now she can finally be in her class."

"She's not that much older than us," Anzu pointed out. "Plus I've seen other male teachers flirt with her, and she hardly notices them. Even when she does, she doesn't care."

Jou sighed. "Lost cause, if you ask me."

"But no one did," Seto mumbled. Jou heard and clenched his teeth, but didn't reply.

"Speaking of crushes," Yuugi began nervously, "you guys will never guess who I got to paint with in art class today." He gave Jou a look, asking him not to tell. Jou just smirked.

"Who, Yuugi?" Ryou asked, amused. He could see the excitement in Yuugi's eyes and felt happy for his friend. He had a guess as to who it might be, though, especially since Yuugi mentioned the word "crush."

Yuugi grinned. "Yami. The teacher paired us up, and we actually talked!"

"Way to go, Yuugi!" Honda cheered. "Finally! What'd you two talk about? Did he ask you out?"

Yuugi giggled. "Nothing so dramatic. We actually just talked about trees. But still, we talked! And he seemed really interested in the conversation."

Atem frowned. He was glad Yuugi was happy of course, but... Yuugi was getting worked up and excited when Atem figured Yami had already forgotten about their conversation. Besides, he always appeared so stuck up. And hadn't Yami already dated a lot of people? It didn't seem like he'd really care about who he got in a relationship with. Atem had just met Yuugi, but he already liked him; he didn't want Yuugi to be a thing for Yami, forgotten about the next moment.

The rest of the group had been delighted when they heard. While they were caught up in their conversation, a person suddenly came up behind Mariku. He was tan, with the same shade of sandy blonde hair that Mariku had, but less extreme. He wrapped his arms around Mariku's neck and placed his head on his shoulder.

"Marik!" Yuugi greeted. "I thought you were sick?"

"I am!" Marik took his seat between Mariku and Jou, coughing convincingly. "I'm so very sick." He collapsed onto Mariku's lap dramatically, making Mariku roll his eyes while everyone else laughed. Sitting up, Marik looked around at everyone, quickly noticing Atem. "Hi," he said. "Who are you? Are you new here?"

"Yeah," Atem answered. "I actually just moved here this weekend. Today is my first day here. My name's Atemu, but everyone calls me Atem."

"I'm Marik. Where did you move here from?" Marik asked, curious.

"Egypt," Atem answered. Marik lit up.

"Hey, that's where I'm from! Me and Mariku, actually. That's cool. So, what do you like to do? You know, for fun."

Atem smiled. "I really like games, of all kinds. Board games, video games, but I love card games." This earned a few smirks as some people saw what was coming next.

Yuugi grinned and said, "Have you ever played the game Duel Monsters? It's a card game, my favorite." Atem shook his head and Yuugi pouted playfully. "Then I'm going to have to show you it later, when you come over."

Bakura whistled. "Already got a date with the new guy, Yuugi? Damn, kid, you work fast." Ryou smacked his boyfriend's arm. Yuugi blushed and ducked his head while Atem just laughed.

"It's not a date," Atem explained, amusement still in his eyes. "We just have to work on a project together for history."

"So what, do you two have a study date then a play date?" Mariku teased. Marik rolled his eyes.

Yuugi stuttered, his face on fire. "G-guys! I'm sure you're offending Atem."

"Why would I be offended?" Atem asked. "I certainly wouldn't think you'd make a bad date. In fact - "

Before Atem could finish, Jou burst out laughing. "Oh, Yuugi! Y-your face!" Even Seto smirked as Jou chuckled again. "Priceless."

Yuugi, though still flustered, smiled at Atem. "Thanks. That was nice of you to say."

Atem blinked. Yuugi thought he was just being nice? He bit back something he was about to say and just smiled and nodded to Yuugi. No wonder Yuugi wasn't in a relationship; he didn't realize anyone else would want to be with him. He just mistook attempts at flirting for friendship. Though judging by the looks some of the others were giving him, his advances hadn't gone unnoticed by them.

A bell sounded, pulling Atem away from his thoughts and reminding him that his day was only half over. He groaned and stood up. After some asking around, he discovered that his next class would be with Anzu and Seto. He shared his last class of the day just with Yuugi. Atem said goodbye to the other members of the group, going his way with Anzu and Seto.

Ryou watched them go, and turned to Yuugi. "Do you like him?" Ryou asked abruptly.

Yuugi's eyes widened. "What? Where did that come from? Um, shouldn't we be getting on to class?"

"We can just talk on the way," Marik suggested, coming up next to them. The three took off, walking slowly as Yuugi considered the question.

"He's a cool guy," Yuugi finally said. "I think he'll be a really great friend, because he seems nice. He gets along with everybody. He's just a likeable person. So, to answer your question, yes, I do like him."

Ryou and Marik frowned at each other. NOT what they'd meant to ask, but neither wanted to bluntly ask him. Besides, Atem hadn't even been here a day. There would be plenty of opportunities to ask the rest of the week.


Yami walked out of the lunch room, onward to his next class. Yuugi had seemed really happy during lunch, Yami thought. Of course, he couldn't accurately judge considering he couldn't hear a word any of them said.

The teacher, Miss Mai Kujaku, was standing outside the door, watching her students as they came in. She was likely the youngest teacher, just out of college and only a little older than the seniors. She had bright purple eyes with long, curly blonde hair, and she wasn't exactly flat-chested either. She greeted Yami, who nodded back.

Yami entered the classroom, and was surprised to find that he was one of the first people in. He shrugged and took his seat, sitting back and waiting for the tardy bell to ring. He talked with a few of the other kids, most of whom he didn't know but seemed to know him.

More kids began streaming in, and the ones surrounding Yami took their seats. A breathless girl and a tall boy entered hurriedly, with someone trailing behind them. As they took their seats, Yami saw that it was Atem. Miss Kujaku entered the room last, closing the door behind her right as the bell rang. Everyone who wasn't already sitting dove into their seats.

Yami sat up as the teacher called Atem to the front of the room to introduce himself. He did so, and Miss Kujaku scanned the room, looking for a place to sit him. She sighed when she saw there were no empty desks. "Okay, we're going to have to pull up a seat next to someone's desk for today. Would anyone mind sharing for a while? Better yet, do any of you know Atem?"

Yami, though tempted to put his hand up, sat still while a girl closer to the front of the room volunteered. He recognized her as Anzu, and he saw the girl blush slightly when Miss Kujaku's gaze fell on here with a smile. "Thank you, Anzu! Okay, I'll grab a chair."

Miss Kujaku did just that, and Atem sat, leaning lightly on the desk. She returned to the front of the room and grinned happily. "October's almost over, and you all know what that means. The Autumn festival will be held Thursday night. The principal informed me that this year, I could choose a class to help me with decorations. What do you guys think?"

The entire class lit up. Everyone buzzed happily at the idea of just making props instead of having to do work for almost a whole week. They thanked their teacher for the time off.

"Awesome," Miss Kujaku said. "Alright then, I think we should get started right away. We'll be splitting up into groups. One will handle the making of posters, advertising, and handing out tickets, and one will be for the actual making of streamers, decorations, and any props. Another will be for mapping out what it will look like and setting up tables, chairs, etc. So, group one is advertising. Group two is design. Group three is set up. Don't worry, there will be kids from other classes to help us. We will be working primarily in class, but any day after school that you're free, it would be helpful if you could stay after. Questions?"

"Do we have to participate?" Yami immediately spoke up. Honestly, he didn't particularly mind. He was just curious.

The teacher smiled sweetly. "Of course not. So long as you're fine with doing everybody's work, that is."

Students giggled quietly as Yami raised an eyebrow. "Just making sure the option was there."

"Moving on," the blonde said. Turning her attention back to the rest of the class, she continued, "Take a moment to decide what group you would prefer to be in, then I'll split you all up. You can get acquainted with the other members of your group and get a little work done before you can finally get on to your next class."

Most people quickly spoke with their friends, debating the pros and cons that accompanied each group. Atem looked at Anzu. "Any idea what you want to do?"

The girl shrugged and shook her head. "I'm not sure. Maybe the advertising...but then I think I might also really like to design things. Atem, which one are you going to do?"

Atem frowned. "I don't know. I could do set up, just so I wouldn't be in such a crowded group. I doubt many people will choose that. And you're very friendly with people; maybe you should do the advertising one so you can sell the tickets."

"Maybe," Anzu said. A few people had already chosen, so she headed up to the teacher's desk to tell Miss Kujaku her decision. Atem stayed in his seat, still considering. Eventually he just shrugged and stood, deciding to be in the set up group. He wouldn't have too much work until later in the week, and he doubted very many people would be in it.

Yami was one of the last people to go up. People were already trying to get their groups rounded up. He grinned at the teacher. "Can I go ahead and get started on everyone's work?"

Miss Kujaku snickered. "Oh, of course. Which group, Yami?"

The boy pouted playfully. "If I have to choose...I'll just be in the least crowded one. I'll do whatever, really."

She nodded. "Okay, you can either be in advertising or set up. Both have an equal number of people. That number is six, by the way. Everyone wanted to be in the design group. Whichever one you don't pick, I'm probably going to be helping out in."

"I'll do set up, then," Yami said. "I don't really want to advertise."

Miss Kujaku nodded at his decision. "Then there's not much for you to do at the moment. Just get to know who else will be in your group. I know Seto will be."

Yami moved away and saw Seto talking with Atem. Did that mean... Yami walked up to the pair. "Which group are you two in?" he asked.

Seto turned to him. "We're both in the third. You?"

"Same," Yami said, nodding his head to Atem. "Yami Aisuru. You're Atemu, right?"

"Atem," the other boy corrected. "Hi there."

Whatever Yami was about to say next was drowned out as the bell rang and everyone streamed out, eagerly trying to get to their final class and finally out of school.

"Remember," Miss Kujaku called, "stay afterwords if you can! We'll be meeting up in the gymnasium, be there from three to five if possible."

"That's actually where I'm heading next," Atem told Seto. "Could you show me where it is?"

Seto shook his head. "Sorry. My next class is on the whole other side of the school. You could try asking Anzu."

"I could show you," Yami offered.

Atem blinked. He'd forgotten Yami was even there. Yami...Yuugi's crush! Maybe Atem could figure out why Yuugi liked Yami and not him, considering their similarities. He nodded warily. "Sure, thanks."

The two exited the classroom, accompanied by many whispers. "I bet he likes the new kid!" "But he hasn't dated anyone in ages!" "Is the new kid even gay?" "They'd be so cute together!"

Yami sighed and ignored the whispers, but Atem couldn't help but listen out of one ear. He shuddered when he heard some of them. "So," Yami began, snapping Atem back. "Do you like it here so far?"

"Yeah," Atem answered. "I've already met a lot of cool people. Most of the teachers seem pretty nice, too."

Yami nodded and they walked in silence for some time. After a while, Atem broke it. "I heard you were from Egypt. Did you like it there?"

Yami was surprised. Not very many people knew that, or at least bothered to remember. "Who told you that?"

"Jounouchi," Atem answered.

Yami nodded, recognizing the name. "I don't remember much about Egypt though," he said. "We moved away when I was very young. My mother didn't like living there and didn't want her son growing up there, but my dad didn't want to move. So I moved here with my mom." Yami mentally slapped himself. Why was he saying all this? He barely told anyone this story anymore.

"Oh," Atem said. Yami was being surprisingly open, he thought. He felt he owed him the same. "My mom died when I was really little. My dad just passed recently, right before we were supposed to move here."

"I'm sorry," Yami said. Atem wasn't half bad, he thought. If he didn't like Yuugi...Yami shook his head as they arrived at the gym. "Bye then," he said. "See you tomorrow, I guess."

"Yeah," Atem said. "Tomorrow." Yami left as Atem entered the gym. Maybe the guy wasn't a total jerk. He looked around and quickly spotted Yuugi in a group of kids. He hurried over, grinning. "Hey," he greeted, tapping his arm.

Yuugi turned and smiled. "Hey! You're in luck. We don't have to do much this week; we'll be moving everything around to get ready for this year's Halloween-Autumn Celebration."

Atem cocked his head. "Is a thing for Halloween or autumn?"

Yuugi giggled. "Both, I guess. It was originally an autumn thing, but it was held so close to Halloween that some kids dressed up. So technically it's a thing for fall, but a lot of the students don't act like it."

"Will you be dressing up?" Atem asked.

Yuugi shrugged. "I didn't last year, but I know Jou, Anzu, Marik, and Mariku are planning on it. I think it would be really cute if Ryou and Bakura did. Jou wants me to dress up, but I have no idea what I could be."

"I think you'd pull off anything," Atem told him.

Yuugi grinned and blushed slightly. "Thanks. I think you should dress up, too! It'll be really fun."

"Maybe," Atem laughed.

The gym teacher suddenly called everybody over. They worked on moving things into corners and pushed the bleachers in a little bit. They got a break right before it was time to leave. Atem took a seat next to Yuugi, who was leaning against the wall. They sat together for a while before Yuugi asked, "Did you enjoy your first day here?"

"Very much," Atem said. "I'm glad I got to share so many classes with you, as well. That made it even better."

Yuugi smiled. "That's good, and thanks. I'm glad we had a lot of the same classes too. Especially History. I doubt I'd be able to work on that project alone."

"No problem. So, do I just walk home with you?" Atem said.

"That'll work," Yuugi replied. "Just so you know, though, I live in a game shop with my grandfather."

"Really?" Atem said. "Do you just not live with your parents, or..."

"My dad is always traveling," he answered. "I don't really get to see him. My mom was in a car accident."

"I'm sorry, Yuugi," Atem said softly.

"It's alright. I like living with my grandpa." Yuugi smiled. "I just wanted to give you a heads up on the fact."

"Thank you for telling me. I've lost people as well. And you said you live in a game shop? That seems cool."

"Yeah." Yuugi grinned happily. "We have a lot of Duel Monsters cards I can show you. I think you'll enjoy it."

"I'm sure I will," Atem said. "Though I have to warn you, I'm very good at games."

"Is that right?" Yuugi raised an eyebrow. "I have to warn you, I've never lost a game."

"Is that a challenge?" At Yuugi's chuckle, Atem said, "You are so on."

The bell rang and the pair exited the building. They saw Jou and Seto standing outside. "Freedom!" Jou whooped. Seto sighed. Yuugi waved as they walked past. Seto nodded and Jou waved back.

Atem smiled at the awkward pair they made. Once they were out of earshot, he said to Yuugi, "Don't they hate each other?"

Yuugi laughed. "Their's is more of a love-hate relationship." Atem nodded, not really understanding. They walked the rest of the way to the game shop in silence, enjoying the other's company.

Is it still good? If you noticed any typos or anything (I felt a bit rushed to get this up) point 'em out. And what do you guys want Atem and Yuugi's costumes to be? Should Yami dress up? If so, what as? Questions, I need opinions!

And Guest! Hey friend, you're back! :D Seriously though, this would be a lot more efficient if you got an account on here. It's free, and it would be easier to talk that way.

Well, till next time, friends! Bye, and have a good day.