/apologizes

This chapter is over thousand words shorter than the first. I dunno how that happened, really. :/

But I do have Ch. 3 written and done, so you know what to do if you want it?

First things first; read this one.

Warnings: Language, mentions of self-harm

Disclaimer: I don't own, live with it since I do too.

Pairing(s): Deathshipping (Yami Marik x Ryou Bakura)

Rating: T

Summary: Ryou's best friend Mariku left him alone two years ago, and Ryou is quite broken about it. Can psychotic friends playing matchmaker and an unwilling, innocent drug-dealer change this?

-POV change-

/Flashback/

Emphasize on a word/text message

-Malik's POV-

"Do you want to go home?" I finally get around to asking Ryou after twenty minutes or so. I really don't mind ditching the day, and my white-haired friend looks like he could seriously use it.

He once said that he's as pale as a ghost, but right now it would be an understatement, save the red and puffy eyes.

He really was crying, I can see it clearly by now.

He nods and smiles weakly. "Thanks, Malik."

Ryou's home is quite close to mine, so the bus trip is almost the same. I can be there to keep him company.

Ryou attempts to get up, and I stuff my hands in my pockets to tell him that I'm not helping my friend to get on his feet.

How could I? If I grabbed his hand to pull him up, it would hurt him. Ra-damned cuts... I wish he could stop. And he wishes this too. But things are never quite that easy, are they?

He finally scrambles up, and I wait for him to lead the way.

-Ryou's POV-

Malik's really a lifesaver. He can just look at me and he understands. Like Mariku used to.

I attempt a pathetic smile for him. "Thanks, Malik."

He really doesn't mind ditching at all, I'm aware of this too. But this still means a lot to me.

I move to get a better position for getting on my feet. Malik looks disappointed and puts his hands in his pocket.

Why can't he just-?

Oh. Cuts. He knows it would only hurt me if he tried to help.

I'm disappointed too. I wish I could just stop, but it's really not that easy. It's like a drug something. Not that I know, though...

Once I finally get up, I start walking towards the bus stop. Hopefully there's no teachers around so we won't get caught...

I think I might have just accidentally jinxed it.

"Bakura-kun, ummm..." our math teacher stares at Malik in an attempt to remember his name. "Ishtar-kun?" he probably remembered Mariku and tried that way, but at least he got it right.

We both nod.

"What are you doing here?" he scowls. This is pretty much his usual expression, really.

"Kaiba-sensei, we..." I start.

"Ryou-sempai is sick." Malik cuts my sentence quickly, handing Kaiba-san a green permission slip. "And his father swore to kill me if I didn't take care of him."

And Kaiba-san lets us go. Seems like Malik's an even better liar than I thought before.

"Where did you even get that slip?" I ask him once we're sitting in the bus.

He grins. "Stole it earlier today, filled it while waiting for you to get up. I figured it might be useful."

I can't help but chuckle. Sometimes Malik just manages to plan things ahead like this.

We get in the bus. He doesn't say anything else, seemingly content with doing something with his phone, and I'm quiet too, allowing my mind to drift back to the past.

/Flashback/

I saw him staring at me. Every day. Of course I would notice something like this.

But it was a game. It was fun, to run away and see how he reacts.

That day, he did everything differently.

He grabbed my wrist firmly to prevent my escape, the same way he did today. Only I wasn't a cutter back then...

"Are you an angel?" he asked with innocence only a little child could use.

I shook my head. "Nope."

He seemed to doubt this, his big eyes narrowing slightly. "Are you sure?"

I nodded, pretty much sure. "Yes."

His face seemed to lighten, and a smile found its way to his lips. "Then we can be friends, right?"

I don't really see how me being an angel would've prevented our friendship, but I returned the smile and nodded again. "I would like that! I'm Ryou Bakura. Bakura Ryou. But Ryou is my first name."

"Ishtar Mariku, Mariku Ishtar. Call me Mariku." he nodded to himself.

I was six and he was seven. Has it really been ten years already?

And Mariku would be there for me. When I fell from a tree, he caught me. When I got a fever, he would visit me and chat. When I struggled in history, he helped me study.

He was my best friend.

And I only realized that he was more than that two years ago...

/End of flashback/

"Ryou! Come on, we're here!" Malik pokes my side, causing me to whine slightly.

"Huh?" Oh, right. We're in the bus. I follow Malik outside.

"But this is my home!" I suddenly realize. Because it's true.

"Yea, got a problem with that?" Malik asks, sounding totally unconcerned by this.

Do I? Yes I do. How is Malik planning to get home?

Plus the detail I really don't want to think about: I was going to cut my wrists and hope to kill myself as soon as I was here. So I nod. "Yes."

Malik looks frustrated and puts his hands on his thighs. "Well too bad, 'cause I'm staying. No way I'd leave you alone to cut yourself."

I flinch at the last two words, and this doesn't go unnoticed by him. "Hit a nerve, did I not?" he smirks at my obvious discomfort. Yeah, he's mean to me again. That's Malik for you. Fucking mood swings... I'm almost certain it runs in their blood.

I don't reply, walking inside my apartment with him following me.

"I'm home!" I announce after opening the door. Of course there's nobody to greet me inside, since mother and sister are dead and father's in Egypt for work. (Again.)

But it's habit. For a moment I can pretend that there's actually someone for me.

Malik hugs me from behind. "Don't cry, Ryou." he murmurs in my ear softly. More mood swings, yay...

This causes me to automatically raise my hand to my cheek. Weird, I really am crying. I hadn't even noticed.

"Yeah... So, what do you want to do?" I mutter, trying to wipe the tears off.

He seems to think about this. "Anything... What do you want to do?"

Cut myself and die... "How about watching a movie? I think I have popcorn somewhere around here, too..."

I put the popcorn in the microwave and set the timer for 4 minutes. Then I scowl at the machine and redo the timer, setting it at 3 minutes and 33 seconds instead. It's really stupid, actually. Mariku likes the number three.

And I like small details. Like redoing a timer of the microwave for him, writing his name on the pages of my math notebook (every page, yes. If he ever sees that, I'll move to Canary Islands) or treasuring the notes we passed during classes years ago.

I left Malik to pick a movie. I really regret the action when I return with the popcorn.

"What's that?" I ask as he stares at the menu screen intently.

"Twilight." he muses.

Suddenly I feel the strangest urge to facepalm, but since I'm holding the popcorn bowl and two cokes, I'm satisfied with doing it mentally.

"Twilight? That's so old and... Twilight." I repeat in horror. I got it from Anzu-sempai for my birthday, and I haven't touched the DVD since. "Why in the world?"

He turns to look at me with a pouting face. "Edward is hot." he states matter-of-factly.

I manage to put the popcorn and Cokes on the living room table before starting to laugh uncontrollably. I never thought Malik would be an Edward-fangirl... Err, fanboy is more like it.

-Malik's POV-

My eyes shine as I hear Ryou laugh. The whole Twilight-show was definitely worth it if such a small act makes Ryou that happy (So maybe Edward is hot, but that movie ruined vampires).

Then a high-pitched beep is heard from my cell phone.

I stare at my phone blankly. I actually got a text message for once.

Ryou tries to see my phone over my shoulder. "Who is it, who is it?"

I shrug. "Mariku."

Ryou stares at me with an unreadable expression. "Really...?"

Maybe I should just read the text message aloud for him. I clear my throat before starting.

"Hi. You okay? What about Ryou?
-Mariku
PS. Bakura gave me your #. Did you know he had it memorized?"

I blush slightly at the last part. I have Bakura's number memorized already
too...

Ryou looks at me curiously for this.

"So, are you okay?" I ask him to take the attention off the blush on my tan cheeks.

He seems to think about this, and then smiles -fake. "Yes. Unless you really want to watch Twilight."

"Or we could watch Avatar?" I try, smiling while typing my response.

Message sent

To: Big bro
Fine. Tell Bakura I said hi.

But he shakes his head. "Hell no, I don't want to hear you go on and on about how hot the Na'vi are... The original Scream?"

I agree, chuckling slightly. "At least I'm a straight gay, unlike some..."

Ryou raises his eyebrows. "A straight gay? That's a new one."

"I mean that I've never claimed to be straight." I reply while he puts the DVD inside the flat machine.

Ryou laughs again. "I think you did just now!"

I shake my head. "How about yourself? Lost count long ago?"

My pale friend sits next to me, a blush visible on his cheeks before he looks away.

-Ryou's POV-

No way I would tell Malik that I haven't actually lost count and that the number is at twenty-one... That's just embarrassing.

The movie starts playing. Nothing either of us hasn't seen before, so we're chatting.

"So, how was your first day at Domino high school?" I ask him conversationally, taking some popcorn.

He laughs. "The first three classes were okay. The lunch was pretty cool, I talked with Bakura... And then we left."

I blink, and he takes a more serious tone. "Bakura was worried about Mariku who is worried about you. Probably even more after the episode today." he stares at me, I believe this is because he thinks I might have another mental breakdown. "Care to enlighten me?" he doesn't wait for my answer. "What happened?"

I stare at the screen, not really caring about the fact that someone's just getting killed. "Mariku... He... Followed me and..." I point at my wrist and take a shuddery breath in a weak attempt to stay calm "Hurt. And I felt ashamed and cursed him..." my voice breaks once at word 'hurt' and again at 'cursed'.

Malik hugs me. "It's okay, you don't need to say any more."

I nod.

"...Bakura has your number memorized..." I mutter quietly after some time.

"Yeah. I have his too." I believe Malik is grinning tenderly here, but I still have tears in my eyes, so I can't actually tell.

I smile sadly. "You would make a great couple... You're so lucky..."

Malik chuckles, probably just to lighten the mood. "Yeah, he'd be my fifth boyfriend."

Moments like this make me doubt Malik's innocence, and I pull away from him to see his face. "Are you even a virgin?" I blurt out without actually thinking about what I'm saying. I blame this on the tears and still being slightly on the edge.

He seems amused by this, probably trying to think of the connection between his words and mine. "Nope, I got raped at the age of eleven."

"I-I'm sorry I ever even brought th-that up!" I stammer and bring my knees up to my chest in regret. That's awful. He was practically still a little kid back then...

"It's okay. Sure that hurt and stuff, but it's in the past." he assures me and shrugs as I look at him. "Moving on... Do I get to ask you a penalty question for this?"

I nod even though I'm certain he'll ask about Mariku now.

But no question comes after all. Malik is doing something with his phone, and he seems really concentrated on it.

Silence. What is my Egyptian friend thinking about? I want to know!

After five more minutes, it's getting ridiculous. And I can't bring myself to concentrate on the movie, either. Sucks.

An annoying beep cuts the silence suddenly. I shoot Malik a question look.

He's staring at the phone with an unreadable expression.

"It's Bakura... Mariku's in a hospital."

-Malik's POV-

Ryou's reaction to this is quick and really amusing. He starts coughing harshly, apparently because he swallowed too much of his coke all too fast.

"W-w-what?" he manages to shutter after a moment of coughing.

I almost start laughing, he is so pathetic and definitely uncomfortable.

It's not my fault, really, but I like to see people get hurt and suffer in many ways, this being one of my favorites.

Seems like just mentioning Mariku gets a different emotional reaction from Ryou... That's fun, since apparently I can both make him happy and hurt him just by mentioning my big brother. Useful.

"Just-" I put emphasize on the word. "-kidding. It really is Bakura, though. He's asking if I want to go out tonight." I try to fight a stupid grin that's stubbornly trying to take over my face.

Ryou squeals, and then scowls right afterwards. "That wasn't nice, I was really worried for a minute!"

I nod. "I know, I know. But you like him and I bet he likes you too! What the hell is the problem with you?"

Ryou's eyes get all glossy on my last sentence. Uh-oh, this might not be good. Or maybe it might, I'm not sure. After all, isn't talking about your problems usually a good thing? And crying?

Good, because I think he might be aiming for both.

Yeah, inorite. Malik gets some twisted amusement from being mean to Ryou. xP

And nope, that was no filler. That was partly confusement for readers and a base for chapter three, which /spoilers/ is mostly in Mariku and Bakura's POV and introduces two new people. /as in not OCs, of course

Review to see it? /pathetic