Yay chapter 2! Thanks so much for the reviews! You guys are awesome =)
I decided to change the title because Bleeding Passion just wasn't fitting for me. I had originally wanted to go with Bleeding Love but didn't want people to think it was a song fic, cuz song fics bug me. But I decided, screw it! I'm going to use it, anyway. So yeah, new title.
Disclaimer: I still don't own Yugioh. If only it were owned by all the puzzleshippers... that would be amazing...
6 Months Later
It was the last day of school for the students at Domino High, and the first day of actual sun all year. It had been an unusually cold and cloudy winter and to celebrate the good weather, almost all of the kids were outside for lunch.
One group in particular had settled under the giant oak tree, and this group consisted of Yugi, Anzu, Honda, Seto, Malik, Marik, Bakura, Ryou, and Jou. Jou had left a gap between himself and Yugi for Yami, who was running late because of a biology test.
The group was talking, laughing, and generally just having a good time; all except Yugi, who was content to stare at the ground and pick at the grass. He wanted Yami to be here, but at the same time, dreaded the public displays of affection that would surely transpire between the two lovebirds he would be sitting next to. The past six months had been hard; Yami and Jou seemed to spend almost every day together, and the time he did get alone with Yami was spent contimplating where Jou might like to go on their next date, or something of the like. Yami seemed really happy being with Jou, and Yugi hated the fact that he hated seeing Yami happy with him. He couldn't help imagining what it would be like to be the object of Yami's affection; to be the one he held hands with, snuggled with, passionately kissed in public...
Yugi sighed and tried to distract himself from these thoughts. Looking around the group, he saw Bakura and Ryou frantically making out on the grass, and Marik with his arms wrapped around Malik, no doubt whispering sweet nothings in his ear. When the yamis came back from the afterlife and were granted their own bodies, the other two had immediately jumped on the chance to ask out their hikaris, and were both now happy couples. Even Anzu and Honda had a thing going on, even though they didn't want to admit it. That just left Yugi and Seto, and Yugi was pretty sure Seto was just too busy running his own business to have a love interest. So Yugi was alone again, and felt out of place in the group.
Sighing again, he returned to picking at the grass and wondering when Yami would show up, not sure if he wanted him to or not.
After missing half of lunch, Yami was finally free. He had taken longer than usual on the test today; Jou had come over last night, and needless to say, not much studying was done. But Yami wasn't one to leave answers blank so he had sat there struggling to come up with at least something to put as an answer.
As he walked outside, he had to blink a few times to adjust to the bright sunlight. When he could see, he spotted the gang under the oak tree, and headed in that direction.
When he got there, he took his spot between Jou and Yugi, and was immediately embraced by Jou's arms. Whenever he and Jou were together, Jou liked to keep some kind of contact with Yami, almost to show everyone else that he was his. Yami didn't mind; since he and Jou had started going out, the rabid fan girls had finally stopped pointlessly trying to get him to fall in love with them, especially after getting death glares from Jou anytime they tried to flirt.
As he leaned his head on Jou's shoulder, he was hit by a wave of sadness through the mind link, which was immediately cut off. Curious, Yami looked over to Yugi, who had his knees up to his chin and was staring at his shoes. Yami noticed that he was still wearing his long sleeved shirt that he had been wearing all year, despite the heat.
//Aibou, why are you wearing that ridiculous shirt? It's hot out!//
Yugi flinched at the sound of Yami's voice. /I didn't know it was going to be hot today, Yami.../
//Well, I could lend you my gym shirt if you want. I think you'll feel better in something short sleeved.//
/No thanks, I'm fine. It's not even that hot out.../ Yami found this comment strange; he was practically dying of heat in the shade, and he was wearing a short-sleeved shirt! But he didn't press, and tried to turn his attention back to the group.
As the period wore on, however, Yami couldn't help but steal glances at Yugi every few seconds. You see, Yami had been in love with his light for a long time; sharing a body and mind with someone will do that to you. When Jou had asked him out, Yami had said yes, but only because he hadn't wanted to hurt Jou. As he got to know Jou better, he did end up developing a small crush, but it was nothing compared to how he felt about Yugi. He spent most of his time hoping that one day he would just wake up, and be completely in love with Jou, so things would work out and he could stop pretending, but it never happened. The more time he spent with Jou, the more he realized that he really wanted to be with Yugi, but he didn't dare tell him how he felt. His innocent little hikari would never feel the same towards him. 'Sure he probably feels very strongly for me, maybe even love, but in a strictly brotherly sense only. I guess I'll just stick to admiring from afar...'
As Yami continued to star at Yugi, wondering why he had been so unhappy lately, he was oblivious to Jou exchanging glances with a certain CEO...
A round of laughter rang through the group, apparently from a joke someone had told, shaking Yami from his thought. Even Yugi smiled, practically making Yami melt. Yugi's smile was the most beautiful thing in the world to Yami, and he missed seeing it everyday like he use to. For a while now, Yugi had been sad and distant most of the time, but anytime Yami brought it up, he just changed the subject. It hurt him to see his light like this, but he didn't know what to do.
"So guys," Anzu spoke up, getting everyone's attention. "Since it's the last day of school, and the weather is absolutely perfect, how about we go to the beach afterwards?"
A general murmur of agreement was heard from everyone except Yugi, who had resumed picking the grass.
"Yugi? What do you think?" Anzu asked.
"Sure. Sounds great." Anzu narrowed her eyes, seeming to finally notice Yugi's lack of enthusiasm for the idea, the weather, and life in general. This wasn't like him; he was usually the one suggesting trips to the beach, and commenting on the good weather.
"Yugi, are you ok?"
"Of course I'm ok! Why do people keep asking me that?" Yugi snapped, becoming annoyed by the constant questioning he had been receiving lately. When he realized the entire group was staring at him, shocked by his outburst, he went back to staring at the ground.
When the bell sounded, everyone got up to go back inside, but Yami lagged behind with Yugi.
"Hey, if you don't want to go to the beach, I can tell the others you weren't feeling well." Yami suggested, hoping to make Yugi feel at least a little better.
"It's fine, Yami, I said I would go... You better hurry up before Jou starts to wonder where you are."
Yami gave him a sympathetic look before running to catch up with Jou.
"So what was up with Yugi today at lunch?" Jou asked as he and Yami walked into the locker room to change for gym class.
"I don't know... he's been like this for around six months now, I think... at first I thought it might of been because of the weather; you know, people can get depressed when the sun doesn't come out. But I'm really starting to worry about him..."
"I'm sure he's fine... It's probably just a phase he's going through." Jou shrugged, nonchalantly, as they got changed deliberately slow, so the locker room would clear out.
"I don't know... he won't tell me what's wrong, no matter how often I ask." Yami pulled on his gym shirt and turned to Jou as the last of the other people left for class.
Jou grabbed Yami's wrists and pinned him against the lockers, as he started sucking on his neck. "Let's see if I can't get Yugi off your mind for awhile..."
"Jou..." Yami moaned, not hating what the other was doing, "I'm really worried about him..."
But before he could continue, Jou captured his lips in a kiss. Jou licked his bottom lip, asking for entrance, and Yami obliged. As their tongues battled for dominance, all thought and concern for Yugi slowly slipped from his mind.
As Yugi crossed the hall from his history class into the boys' bathroom, he pulled out a small shard of glass that he had picked on from a broken bottle on the way to school. Nobody had noticed; Yami had been a few feet ahead, holding hands with Jou, talking about something Yugi didn't care about.
Going into a stall, Yugi locked the door. Sitting down, he rolled up his sleeves to reveal his arms; long scars criss-crossed almost every inch of both of them. Some scars were old and barely visible, some were newer, and some were from the other day, band-aids still covering them.
Yugi didn't dare bring a blade to school for fear of being caught and expelled. Instead, he had gotten very good at finding other objects to use; a pair of scissors, a particularly sharp rock, anything he could find.
Picking up the shard of glass, he searched for a part of his arms that didn't have any fresh cuts on it, settling on an area with only several old scars.
Leaning over the toilet, Yugi slashed across his arm. As he bled into the water, a wave of relief flowed through him with the pain. All the events of the day, having to watch Yami and Jou, sweltering in the sun in his shirt, being interrogated about his mood, none of it matter at the moment. For several minutes, Yugi was truly happy.
When the bleeding started to subside, Yugi stood up and bunched up some toilet paper to hold against his arm. Coming out of the stall, Yugi grabbed the first aid kit that was on top of the paper tower dispenser in every bathroom. Fumbling to open it with one hand, he grabbed a few band-aids to completely cover the cut.
When he was done bandaging his arm, Yugi returned the first aid kit, and, feeling remorse for what he had done, threw the shard of glass in the trash. He hated himself for being this weak, for having to resort to cutting just to feel better, even if it was only for a short time.
As he pulled up his sleeves and walked out of the bathroom, Yugi promised himself, for what seemed like the millionth time, that that was the last time he was going to cut, not believing the promise he had just made for a second.
Well that was quite an angsty chapter... but still good, I hope =) Just so everyone knows, my college classes just started, so I'll probably only be updating every few days when I can, so be patient. It would be much longer if I still had to write the chapters lol. But anyway, I want to know what you thought of the chapter! Be nice and send me lots of nice reviews, and I'll try to update as soon as I can!