Dlbn: Hey everyone, and welcome back!

Nbld: Thank you to SailorDeathMoon and OmniSilver for reviewing! Pocky for you both! (Hands out pocky)

SailorDeathMoon: Aw thank you! That means a lot! Glad you enjoyed!

OmniSilver: The title is one of my favorite parts of this fic, actually ^^ Glad you enjoyed!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own any characters or things from the YuGiOh franchise! They all belong to Kazuki Takahashi. I make NO money off of the writing of this here fic.

Lunch was perhaps the most traumatizing period in the day. Sure, Ryou and I were able to sit and talk and not care who heard. But it was also the time for the bullies to go after whomever, so cliché, I know. It was also the time for Bakura and his gang to roam the halls and causing hell. There were always monitors rushing around to respond to what Bakura and the other two were doing or a fire drill because one of them hadn't completely snuffed out a cigarette in the men's room. Ishizu and Odion shied away from Ryou and me during lunch; the complete opposite of the way they were at home. At home, Odion would practically be up my ass, no pun intended, and Ishizu would be bitching at us for leaving a mess. Then father would come home and we'd all shut up until he passed out in his room from a combination of a long day and one-two-many beers. I didn't mind when he came home and passed out. It was when he'd call me or Odion to the bar to pick him up. I hated it down there. Drunken assholes would always grab at me, either my arms or my ass, and I'd have to laugh it off instead of knocking them out with their own almost empty bottle of choice. When Odion went, it wasn't a big deal. The nights when I had to go were horrible.

"My father said we might go on vacation to the old lake house again over spring break." Ryou spoke in between sips of his home-brought sandwich. "Wanna go with us if we do?"

"Sure." I shrugged one shoulder.

He knew I'd go anyway. It was a good chance to get away from my embarrassing, dysfunctional family, and instead spend too much time with Ryou's embarrassing, dysfunctional family. Plus, we were the only friends we had. We stuck together through everything. From Ryou's mom passing shortly after I moved to town, to my father losing his job last year and having to go to a minimum wage job this year to avoid the poorhouse.

Ryou grinned. "I knew you would. I don't even know why I ask anymore. I should just tell you that you're going."

"Hey, mind if we sit here?" A chipper voice asked from my left.

I looked over to find Yugi Moto and his too-close-to-only-be-siblings older brother Atem. Yugi's best friends-Joey Wheeler, Tristain Taylor, and Tea Gardner-followed behind like loyal puppies. Joey's little sister, Serenity, was friends with my sister and her crew, but we didn't really interact. The other tables must have been full for them to ask to sit.

"Sure, go ahead." Ryou answered before I could, smiling at them.

"Thanks." They spoke as a unit and sat to our left, taking up the rest of the table.

"You're insane, you know that, Marik?" Joey wondered. His accent distinguished him as a foreigner as well; I believe he's from the United States. However, he'd been here since he was in second grade and didn't have to deal with other's ignorance any more. "Standing up to Bakura like that."

"Hey, someone has to." I told him. "Besides, I don't think he'll do anything to me."

"He's done crazy stuff to people before." Tristan informed. "Rumor has it; he put some guy in the hospital for attempting to against him."

"Really?" Ryou whispered, shocked.

My best friend he was, but he was a naïve little thing at times.

"Just a rumor, Ryou." I told him. "You can't believe everything you hear."

"Marik-kun is right!" Tea grinned. "I also heard that Bakura was…well…"

"What?" I wondered, as Ryou and I leaned close to hear her.

"Well…" She looked around before shielding her hand from the other side of the table. "Gay." She whispered.

"What?" I wondered, hoping to Ra that my intrigue wasn't showing. "Really?"

I had always hoped that he was, but knew that he probably wasn't. I had to be a bit of a realist about these things, considering I was ignoring the reality of my dangerous crush.

"I thought you can't always believe what you hear?" Atem wondered, chuckling. "You seem interested in this one."

"It's one I haven't heard before is all." I said, sitting back. "Don't look too far into it."

When he was sure the others weren't looking, Ryou shot me a wink. I glared at him.

"I don't think he is." Yugi said softly. "I just…can't see it."

"You may not be able to envision it, but that doesn't mean that it's not possible." Atem winked at his brother.

Yugi flushed crimson, and I was sure there was something between the two of them.

"I guess…" The younger Moto brother muttered. "But still…"

"I could see it." Ryou nodded. "I mean, it explains the acting out stuff."

"What do you mean?" Tristan asked.

I prayed to Isis this time that my best friend had enough of a brain to keep my crush secret. It was bad enough my siblings knew, let alone these four.

"Well, if he's in denial of it, which I would be sure he would be if he is gay, then he's acting out in order to avoid having to deal with it." Ryou shrugged. "Simple psychology."

"Eh?" Joey wondered, scratching at his bangs. "I don't get it."

"Idiot." Tristan said, slapping him on the back of his head.

"Hey!"

"What Ryou means is that he's acting out and causing trouble, because being I trouble is a distraction. And not wanting to face his sexuality, he needs a distraction as often as possible." I was used to translating Ryou's sometimes airheaded or over the top talk.

He was smart, alright, but that didn't mean that people were his forte. They weren't mind either, but I at least knew how to converse with them. I did have friends back in Egypt. They all just…forgot about me after I left…Some friends.

"Oh, I gotcha." Joey nodded once.

"You're an idiot, Wheeler." Kaiba commented as he passed.

"What did you say, Rich Boy?" Joey sneered.

"You heard me." Kaiba continued on his way, ignoring Joey's shouts of protest as Tristan and Atem tried to hold him back.

Tea put her head in her hands and shook her head. Yugi muttered something inaudible to Joey, trying to calm him down. Ryou chuckled at the obnoxious display of Joey's attitude, but I found it rather annoying. He should just grow up. Kaiba was only trying to get a reaction.

"Sorry." Mokuba Kaiba, Kaiba's little brother, muttered as he passed, chasing after his brother. Their half brother, Noah, chased after him as well. The younger Kaiba brothers didn't like him much, but he was the first born of their father, and they were just adoptees.

"They better be careful or people are going to start thinking they're making a conga line." A voice I loved hearing spoke from behind me.

I looked up to see Bakura and his two idiots standing next to the table. Bakura was taking a bite out of a red apple, juices dripping down his chin. I longed to lean over and lick it off, but I couldn't do that. Not with my crush being so secret and…well…that being so inappropriate in a school setting. My heart skipped a beat.

"Um…do you need something, Bakura…?" I wondered, twisting a piece of my flaxen hair between my fingers out of habit.

"Yeah. You and me. Talk. Hall. Now."

"I prefer intelligent conversations." I informed. "Speak in full sentences." Despite my words, I stood up to join him anyway.

Ryou grabbed my school uniform sleeve. "Marik…" He started to warn me.

I looked across the cafeteria towards Ishizu, who was glaring at me and shaking her head. I spotted Odion, but he wasn't paying attention to what the school's rock-bottom-bad and loners were doing together. Great, I'd hear an earful from her if I went with him. And from Ryou too, because he liked to jump on the 'scold Marik's poor decision making' bandwagon with my siblings.

"It's fine." I smiled innocently at Ryou. "You and I both know I can handle myself."

That made Thief and Yami laugh for a minute. Bakura turned to his goons. "You two stay here. I can handle this myself."

"Whatever you say, Bakura." Yami shrugged.

I thought it was eerie that he looked very similar to me, albeit with a different hairstyle and a psychotic streak the length of the Great Wall. But my siblings, and father when he was sober in the beginning, assured me that there was no relation.

Thief shrugged. Come to think of it, he bared strange resemblance to Bakura, as did Ryou, but there was no relation between the three of them either. It was strange. Thief had a jagged scar through his left eye, though he would never explain it, and skin the same tone as mine. That made it easy to distinguish between him and Bakura. Bakura had no scars and was pale. His hair was a bit wilder then Ryou's, but that was where the differences ended. Other then Bakura always wearing that trench coat of his.

"Are you in a walking coma or something?" Bakura snapped his fingers in my face. "Let's go before we run out of time."

"Okay, okay." I agreed, trailing after him.

I couldn't help but notice the slight sway of his hips as he walked. Though he was a jackass and an obvious trouble maker, buy the Gods of Egypt, he was hot. I followed him, almost blindly, into the hall and down to the gym.

"Why are we going this far down?" I wondered.

"Just wanted to talk where no one can bother us." He shoved his hands in his uniform pants. "Is there a problem?"

"No, just wondering." I spoke quickly.

He huffed. "You had a lot more gall in study hall then you do now. No friend to show off to?"

I pouted. "I could ask you the same thing." My little pout quickly faded into a complete frown when he turned to face me.

"Shut up." He ordered. "I don't need my friends constantly."

"Then why are you always with them?"

"More people, more mischief." He shrugged one shoulder, and I swore I was seeing a shyer, gentler side to him. It was masked quickly though by one of his signature scowls. "It's simple math. Something I've been told you're very familiar with."

"…Did you pull me out of lunch and out of hearing range to ask me for math help or something?" I wondered. Maybe he'd heard that our teacher had asked me to tutor after school.

"No!" He answered too quickly, face flushed.

As quickly as the twinge of color appeared on his cheeks, it was gone.

"So…what is it then…?" I wondered.

Hr gave me his typical smirk and beckoned me a little closer. Warily, I took a few steps to lessen the distance between himself and I.

"Yes, Bakura?" I wondered, hoping I wasn't blushing at being so close.

"Did you know, Marik…?" He asked, leaning close enough to my ear to nibble at it.

"Did I know what?"

"That pissing me off is a very bad idea?"

"Huh?"

Before I had time to contemplate his words, I felt his fist go straight into my gut. I doubled over, letting out an 'oomph' of protest. Once he removed his fist from my stomach, I crossed my arms over it and hugged myself. I didn't fall to my knees, though, because it would put me in perfect kick-in-the-face distance. Bakura huffed.

"You made an idiot out of me in there." Bakura walked behind me and knocked me over with one kick of his left foot.

I fell to the floor with a thud and spread my body out a little. What the fuck was this guy's problem? So I embarrassed him, big deal! He did it to me all the time.

"Are you serious?" I wheezed, looking up at his neutral, schooled features.

He shrugged indifferently. "Yea, I am. Big deal. What are you going to do about it?" He scoffed at me. "It's not like anyone's going to come and help you."

Finally, I realized why he wanted to go so far away. There were no gym classes at this time, so there would be no one to hear us. I should've listened to Ryou's warning. But, once again, love blinded me into thinking that there was no way Bakura would hurt me. Stupid heart, making my brain think stupid shit. I groaned at my stupidity. I felt Bakura's foot rest lightly on my side and looked at him.

"What? You're going to beat the shit out of me now or something?"

"Well, I've got to rough you up a bit. Don't want people thinking I'm going soft." He sighed quietly. "It's such a shame I have to do this. I actually admire you, Marik…"

"Admire me?" I wheezed.

He nudged me to the side with his toe before putting his foot on my knee.

"Perhaps it's not the right word…" He trailed. "But yes, in a way."

"W-Why?" I wondered. Why would the school's self appointed top bad boy admire sweet little straight edge me?

"You have balls." He said. "Guts. Not many people would take me head on like you do."

I suppressed a giggle at how erotic it sounded. Bakura seemed to notice because he gave me a disgusted look. "With you? Yeah right." He rolled his eyes.

With that, he placed his foot firmly on my stomach and pressed. Hard. I sucked in air as he moved his foot and let me breathe again. I turned into a basic fetal position to protect myself. At least he'd had the decency to step on my stomach and not smash my balls to pieces.

"I wasn't assuming." I huffed, the words coming out strangled. "It just didn't sound right."

His face fell for a moment before his signature scowl picked up. "You're probably heard the rumors going around, hm? Assume they're right like everyone else does?" Instead of kicking me again, he punched a locker. A loud metallic clang resounded through the hall. "Great. How in the world are people supposed to fear me if they think I'm so weak and self-conscious that I'd have to hide something like that? And why does my sexuality matter, anyway?!"

"You've…I've never seen you with a girl."

He scowled down at me, before kneeling at my side. "What girl would want to come near my anyway?" He asked.

I wasn't sure if I was supposed to answer that one, so I wisely didn't. He reached down and ran his finger through my blonde hair, eliciting a moan from me. I bit it back as he retracted his hand.

"I've always wondered…about you, though…"

"Me…?"

"Are you?" He grabbed my chin and forced me to look up at him.

When I didn't respond, he responded to my silence by slapping me and letting me go. My head fell and cracked on the tile. I saw dots swirling through my vision. Great, just what I needed. Poor vision and/or a concussion for the rest of the day. And all because I took a stand against the apparently prideful and vain Bakura? Shit.

"Am I what?" I asked him.

"Gay, moron." He sneered.

"If I was, I hardly see how it's your business." I said. "Same as it's not my business what you prefer to screw."

He flushed, but it faded quickly again. How was he able to do that? "I suppose it's not my business. But it would…satisfy my curiosity."

"Yami seems to be convinced that I am."

I remembered, and sneered at the thought of, Yami calling me 'Fruitcake' earlier. Just another name to add to the myriad of things he called me. I remembered 'cream puff', 'chibi', and 'lollipop' amongst a few others.

"So's Thief. What's your point?"

Did everyone think I was? Not that I wasn't or anything, but still. I didn't think people cared enough to actually wonder or talk about me of all people…

"Have no point, I guess…" I didn't want to tell him the real reasoning

Sure, Marik, so if you ever end up with him, you can build your relationship on a lie. Very nice. Sometimes my conscious came up to yell at me at the worst opportune times.

Bakura grabbed me by the upper arm and hauled me to my feet. I cried in protest a little as he lifted me, his fingernails digging into the tanned flesh and leaving marks. I pulled away from him and he slammed an elbow into my back. I fell forward a little, but I kept my balance. I slapped his retreating arm away with my arm. When he went to grab my other arm, I swung down and landed a slight punch right into his gut. He grunted and pushed me back, making me skid on the tile. My sneakers squeaked as I tried to prevent myself from falling. One minute he was being sweet and slightly tender, the next he was resuming his beating the shit out of me? Was the guy I was in love with a psychopath or something? I knew he was, but part of my mind didn't want to believe it. That was the part that would get me into trouble in the future.

I was snapped from my thoughts by a cold-clock in the jaw.

"You pick the worst times to fade out of life, Marik." Bakura chuckled. "Come on, stand up and fight me like a man. Or…whatever you are."

I sneered and went to punch him, but he caught my fist and sucker punched me in the stomach. When I doubled over, he chuckled and came closer to grab me. I saw his feet approach and rammed my head into his stomach, slamming him into the lockers behind me. He grabbed both of my shoulders and pushed me away. He gave a swift kick to my knees and made me fall to them. Before I could move to hit him again, he slammed his elbow into my back and knocked me down. I tried to get up, but he stepped on my back with one foot and kept me plastered to the ground. I didn't bother trying to throw him off. He was too heavy. Instead, I kicked up, hoping to catch him between the legs and make him back off, but I missed and kicked him in the ass instead. He wobbled a bit, but kept his balance. He leaned down and grabbed both of my arms, holding them behind my back. My shoulders twisted painfully, and I swear I heard something pop.

"Don't underestimate me, Marik." Bakura whispered a warning into my ear, his hot breath tickling it and making me shudder. "I'm a tough little bastard." His tongue flicked against the outer shell of my ear and made me freeze.

Holding my arms back with one hand, he grabbed a fistful of my hair and slammed my forehead into the tile. I rolled over in pain as he got off of me. He wiped his hands on his uniform shirt and pulled a napkin from his pocket. He dropped it on me.

"Clean up, Champ." He laughed.

I listened to him walk away as I warily stood up. I checked my head for blood. Finding nothing, I wiped off the thin sheen of sweat on my face and started back to the cafeteria. The doors snapped open and Bakura briskly walked out, followed by his loyal puppy dogs. I watched them leave down the hall before making my way to the cafeteria.

When I joined Ryou and the others again at the table, Ryou clasped his hands over his mouth and gasped.

"What happened?" My friend asked me. "Did he hurt you?"

I sat down. "We…got in a fight…" A very one-sided one.

"Oh, Marik, I told you to be careful! Your mouth is going to get you into trouble one day!"

Little did I know how right he was.