A/N: Many thanks to all who reviewed! It's very helpful. I'll try to make this chapter longer, but how to make it stand out... I'll figure something out. Without further ado, the next chapter!

~Marik's POV

It's a new day, I thought as I began my trek to the torture chamber that is my school. Maybe I'll figure out how to talk to him without stammering. Why do I stammer? Oh Ra it annoys me so much. I actually do have a stammer. I can't speak without repeating myself over and over and over. It really makes me sound more nervous than I am, which is a lot. If I don't stammer, I say um or uh in place of it. I wish I could just talk like a normal person.

These thought plague my mind as the school building comes into view. I could just turn around and not go, but something pulls me towards the place. Okay not something, someone, who I am desperate to see.

Well speak of the devil; there he is. Bakura. His name alone gives me butterflies. However, I want more than just his name, so I decide to talk to him. Waving my arm I jog over to him.

"H-hello B-Bakura!" I call.

"Hey" he replies casually. "You're Marik, right?"

"Y-ya that's m-me" I stutter.

"Do you normally stutter like that? Or are you just happy to see me?" Bakura said with a smirk.

It's a little bit of both actually. "W-well ya I-I do st-stammer a-a lot" I manage to reply.

"But are you happy to see me?" he repeated, still smirking.

I can't say no, can I? I'm the one who ran over to him, so of course I should be happy, but that smirk makes it seem like he's flirting with me. Is he flirting with me? I hope he's flirting.

"Y-ya I g-guess I am." I finally decide to say.

"Good"

~Bakura's POV~

So you stammer. That's an interesting fact, Marik. I wonder what else I don't know about you. How can I find out? My curiosity gets the better of me, so I ask:

"Marik would you like to do something after school with me?" His eyes widen and a grin spreads across his tan face.

"Y-yes I'd love t-to!" He says.

"Well then." I say, resting a hand on his shoulder, "Meet me back here after school, and you can follow me."

"O-ok!" the boy is practically brimming with happiness when he accepts my invitation.

"I'll see you then," I begin to walk away, but I turn at the last second. "or sooner. Say, math class?"

"Y-ya! I'll s-s-see you!" his smile broadens, if that's possible. I decide I should leave it at that, and turn to walk away.

~Marik's POV~

Did he just ask me out? Oh, I hope he just asked me out! I'm glowing with joy as I proceed to the classroom, though I doubt I'll be able to pay any attention. With thoughts of Bakura on my mind, I'm completely oblivious to my surroundings. This, well let's just say, is not to my advantage.

"Oh! S-sorry!" I apologize to the girl I tripped over. She stands from the sitting position I unintentionally forced her into.

"No problem." She replies with a small grunt. I go forth on my path, leaving the girl behind.

What if he likes me? Oh, I hope he likes me! He wouldn't have asked me out if he doesn't. He asked me out! Yay!

While my brain was occupied with these thoughts, it failed to guide my feet, which, in turn, passed my first class completely, making me late. I tried to cover for this by sneaking in quietly, but to no avail. Nothing evades Mrs. Wrenn's eagle eye.

"Mr. Ishtar! Come to my class on time, or not at all." She snapped.

"V-very s-sorry ." I manage an awkward smile as I sit down next to my friend Sidney.

"Hey" she whispers, "what kept you?"

"T-totally zoned out on m-m-my way h-here" I reply, equally quiet.

"Was he on your mind," she wiggled her eyebrow suggestively.

"I-I d-don't kn-know w-w-what y-you're t-talking a-about," Oh no! I'm stammering more! She'll know she's getting to me.

"Marik, why are you stammering more?" her red eyes glint. She knows.

"Ms. Brox!" a shrill voice says from the front of the classroom.

"Yes, ?" Sidney snaps to attention.

"Do you enjoy detention? You seem determined to get there." She says.

"No, " this girl is the master of keeping a straight face under pressure. When she is put on the spot, it's more like a spotlight. To my friend, any attention, good or bad, is an opportunity to show her skill.

"Well good." The teacher turns back to her board.

"H-how do y-you do th-that?" I whisper.

"Practice," she replied simply. I have much to learn. Speaking of learning, I should pay attention, but then, a picture of Bakura appears in my mind's eye, and all hope of doing so is lost.

~Bakura's POV~

I've always been a curious person. People tease me about it, saying I'm like a cat. The way my hair naturally sticks up at odd angles doesn't help that impression either. My close friends tell me I purr when I'm happy, but that might just be them teasing me. I think I would know if I purr.

My curious nature turns my thoughts to the tan boy, who seems to have taken a liking to me. Marik, that's his name. I want to know more about him. I can't help it! Ever since he followed me , I couldn't seem to get him off my mind. I still can't. I've learned that he has a stammer, which interests me. No one is born with a stammer, so something must have caused it. Now what could possibly have caused it in him?

"Bakura?" I hear, though it seems distant. "Bakuuuura?" There it is again. "YO! BAKURA!"

That finally snaps me out of my trance.

"What?" I say.

"I asked you a question." My teacher says irritably.

"Um, could you repeat it?" I respond, embarrassed.

"Ugh... as I said before, what is the 7th element in the periodic table?" This must be a pop quiz. I know this stuff. I'm sure I do. Do I?

"That would be Nitrogen, sir," apparently I do know. Thank goodness.

"Thank you, Bakura." He goes back to his lecture, which is now about Nitrogen. How bloody dull. Hence, I return to the world of my own thoughts. Which are currently about him.

A/N: And thus concludes the second installment of Until You Love Me. I hope you enjoyed, and remember to review!