This hasn't been updated for a while b/c I've had some unexpected turn arounds that I'm not going to bore you with now. Anyway, some people might get pissed at me for making 'Tem seem like an arrogant bitch-ass in this chapter since he's a popular character, however is not my personal favorite, he's a 'sorry' for you. I'm only making him seem like a ... what I called him earlier, but it's just fun for me to make fun of him ... he makes it so easy! giggles Anyway, sorry if it seemed as if I was picking on him in this chapter. Oh, also, some phrases may not make sence (if you don't live in my mind) so if you need explaining, ask me what something means and I'll try to explain it. Sometimes I forget no one thinks like me and the things I say don't make sense.

---

For the next week and a half, Atem did everything he could think of to try and get Yugi to open up about whom he was seeing, but Yugi remained as secret as ever. While Yugi was at school, Atem would go around the boy's room, looking for whatever would give him a clue about this mystery person. Some times, he made a big mess. The older tried to clean it up before Yugi got home, but he was not very good at it. Yugi became very angry that Atem was invading his privacy. After that, Atem finally gave up looking for clues. The only other option would be through e-mail, but Yugi's computer was protected by a password so there was no way he could open that. However, that did not mean he was going to give up. Atem narrowed it down to someone at school or someone he worked with since Yugi hardly ever went out nowadays. Right now, Yugi was trying to read some of Raven's Gate, but Atem kept interrupting him.

"Who is it?" Yugi rolled his eyes and groaned loudly.

"For the fiftieth time, I'm not telling you!"

"Why not?!" Atem seemed to be begging more then anything.

"Because it's none of your bee's wax." Yugi simply said before he got up and went to go read his book in the privacy of his bedroom. Atem practically pulled his hair out of his head due to frustration. He hated that there was something going on in Yugi's life that he was not a part of. And Yugi knew it; he knew that it was driving the former Pharaoh nuts by keeping everything about Alana a secret. However, Alana did not seem to have a problem with it. She asked about his friends a few times now and then, but other then that, she let the subject drop. Yugi and Alana talked a lot on the phone. Yugi often did not give out his home phone number, and certainly did not want to give it to Alana. Yes, Yugi was finally happy and he was not going to let that 'passé' ruin it.

The next morning, Atem and Solomon were downstairs while Yugi had locked himself in the bathroom after his shower. Neither knew what the youngest house member was up to. Yugi looked at himself in the mirror. The more he looked, the more he saw Atem in himself.

"Yuck …" He said to his reflection. Turning out to be like Atem, physically, verbally, or mentally, was not something he wanted at all. Sure, the spikes in Atem's hair were a deep red while Yugi's were more of a deep purple, and Atem did have more blond streaks, but still, the fact remained that the two were too much alike; if Yugi wanted to become his own person, then he would have to have his own hair style. That was why he bought the styling supplies that he had bought a few days ago. Since the dance, he had been debating on whether or not to change his look. After seeing his reflection that day, he decided that it was time for a change.

---

Downstairs, Atem was making scrambled eggs for breakfast and Solomon sat at the table, reading the newspaper.

"Solomon?"

"Yes?"

"How much butter are you supposed to put in the pan before you start to cook?" A little concerned about that statement, the oldest house member got up and went to the stove. Apparently, Atem could not use the metric system just yet; there was so much butter that it was overflowing from the pan.

"Hmm … well, I know for a fact that you're not supposed to douse the pan before cooking."

"… So … did I do it wrong?" Sending the Pharaoh to sit down at the table, Solomon decided to take over the cooking of breakfast. Atem pouted, picking up the newspaper to check the weather. The sound of footsteps could be heard coming from the stairs.

"Hey, guys." Yugi said. Both of his house mates had yet to look at him.

"Hello, Yugi." Atem said, still looking at the paper. Solomon had the pan in his hand as he began to turn around.

"Good morning Yu --- ahh!" In his shock, the old man dropped the pan and butter spilled all over the floor.

"What's wr--- OH MY GOD!!!!!" Atem screamed, a little louder the Solomon yelled. Both stared at Yugi, who had his hair gelled back. The once-spikes were now laying flat and his bangs lay on top of them and they were all purely straight, but the single small bang between his eyes stayed where it was, it was just straight instead of jagged.

"What?" The smallest one asked as if nothing was out of the ordinary. (If anyone has seen the way I draw Yugi with his hair pulled back, that's what I'm talking about.) Solomon was still in shock, but Atem seemed to get over his pretty quickly. He slowly crept up to his smaller counter part.

"Yugi … what happened--- no, who destroyed you?!" He accusingly asked, seeming a little offended. Yugi glared.

"What, you don't like it?"

"Of course I don't! You look ridiculous! Why would you do this to yourself?!" Yugi was beyond offended now. Luckily, Atem's opinion meant squat to him. The youngest house member shrugged.

"Well, I like it; I just thought it was time for a change." Yugi replied before he casually walked over to the refrigerator to get a glass of orange juice, being careful not to step in the spilled butter. Atem was at a loss for words. He was beginning to make stuttering sounds.

"I --- you ---," he looked to Solomon for help, "help me out here!" Yugi looked toward his grandfather, whom had not spoken a word since Yugi's entrance. Solomon cleared his throat.

"Well, I think it looks absolutely marvelous."

"See, even your grandfather thinks--- WHAT?!" Solomon smiled and stood next to Yugi, placing an arm around the boy's shoulders.

"Yes, it's a nice change and it seems to suit you quite nicely, Yugi." Said junior smiled and hugged his grandfather.

"Thanks, Grandpa! Glad at least someone approves." Yugi glared at Atem while saying that last sentence. Atem could not say anything else; obviously, this was a losing battle for him; something he was not used to.

"This is not natural! There is no way I'm letting you leave this house looking like that! You go upstairs right now and wash that crap out of your hair, Young Man!" Yugi scoffed and looked at Atem with a face that said 'like I'm really going to listen to you'. Atem glared at his lighter half, thinking it would have as strong of an effect against Yugi as it once had, but the junior just smirked at his dumbfounded dark and slowly walked up to him.

"You know, 'Tem, first of all, you are not my father so I don't have to listen to you," Atem opened his mouth to say something, but Yugi continued on, "and two, your opinion means nothing to me; I did this for one person and it wasn't for you." Purposely shoving into his roommate's side, Yugi moved past him and out the door. Still a little shocked, Atem looked at Solomon as if he had the answer to this problem.

"Are you going to let him be seen in public like that?!" Solomon exhaled loudly. It seemed that, like Yugi, he too had had quite enough of hearing Atem's constant whining.

"Oh, get over it, Atem! He's a sixteen-year-old boy and it's his hair, so he can do what he wants with it." Without another word, the oldest house member left Atem to gather up what had just happened.

---

On his way to school, Yugi thought about the reaction his former guardian had given him. Yugi had said that Atem's response did not bother him, and he truly wanted to believe that, but somewhere deep down, he did feel a bit of pain in his heart. Luckily, he was able to dismiss it quickly as he entered the school grounds. Heads automatically turned and gasps were heard when others had caught sight of the new look that Yugi Moto had created for himself.

"Is that Yugi?"

"He looks so hot!"

"I love his new style!"

"He can really pull it off!" The high school junior smiled as he heard all these comments and more. Some were whispered to other students and some were said out loud to him as he passed. Either way, he was getting positive feedback, so he figured he made the right choice. Turning a corner, he saw Joey, Tristan and Tea talking to each other.

"Oh, crap!" He whispered to himself and tried to speed-walk in the opposite direction so he was not seen, but unfortunately, he was not so lucky.

"Hey, Yugi!" He heard Joey call.

"Double crap …" He whispered again. The smallest junior could hear their footsteps coming closer to him. Finally, he felt that harsh slap on his back that Joey thought was only playful. The impact caused Yugi to topple over a few steps, his back stinging a bit.

"Whoa, check out the new do!" The loud-mouth blond exclaimed, loudly. Tristan was taken back a bit he could only utter one word.

" … Whoa …" As Tea caught up, she gasped.

"Yugi … what did you do to your beautiful hair?" Yugi glared.

"It was time for a change, so I changed it." The bell rang and Yugi began to walk over to his locker. He assumed that the other three would drop the subject and go to their own lockers, but they followed him instead.

"But … why did you change it?" Tea asked. Yugi slammed his locker door shut.

"Because I wanted to."

"What does 'Tem think about this?" Tristan asked.

"Who cares?" Yugi replied, rather rudely. All three stopped in their tracks. At feeling the tension that had just been created, Yugi turned to look at them. "What?" Joey was the one to speak up.

"You mean you don't care what your own dark thinks?" Yugi chuckled.

"No."

"But … he's still a part of you …" Tea mentioned. Yugi rolled his eyes.

"Thank you for pointing out the obvious, but I really don't care what 'His-Royal-Pain-in-My-Ass' thinks right now, and frankly, I don't care what anyone thinks. I like this new style, and if I want to keep it, then I will." The three friends were speechless for a few seconds before Tea spoke again.

"But … your hair has always been your trademark"--- Yugi quickly cut her off.

"No, that was Atem's trademark; I didn't have one. Now, enough about my hair; if you'll all excuse me, I'm going to be late for psychology class." Without another word, Yugi walked down the hall and turned a corner. Tristan scoffed.

"Dang, he's really starting to get on my last one."

"I hear that, pal!" Joey replied. Tea just sighed and shook her head.

"Come on, you guys; let's just go to class."

---

Finally, sixth hour had arrived, Yugi's favorite time of the day. By this time, he would normally be running air runs, but there was really nothing for him to deliver today. In the first fifteen minutes of the period, he had already sorted through brochures that advertised the PSATs, the SATs, the ACTs and the FAFSA. Now Yugi had fifty minutes to do whatever it was that he wanted. He sat at one of the large, thick oak tables that were in the lower half of the library, also known as the advisement center, and took out his notebook. Yugi loved to draw; mostly, he loved to draw mythological creatures. Everything from the loving elves of Norse mythology to the evil Bunyip if Australia. He was in the middle of sketching a howling werewolf at the moment. This was the hour that he loved so much. He would be sad to see it leave come summer.

After relaxing in sixth hour, then suffering through study hall for seventh hour, the day finally came to an end. He, along with Joey, Tristan and Tea were waiting outside the school for Atem to pull up in the car. The other three tried to include Yugi in their conversation, but he put his earplugs into his ears and listened to his iPod instead. Finally, Atem arrived. Yugi always sat in front while the others sat in back. Atem greeted all of them and began to drive back to the game shop.

"So, what did ya wanna do tonight, 'Tem?" Joey asked. Atem shrugged.

"I'm tired of doing the same old thing, I wanna do something different as long as it gets me out of that game shop, I've been there all day and I swear I'm going to lose my mind." The other three all laughed along with Atem while Yugi only rolled his eyes. 'Or what's left of it …' He thought to himself.

The others continued to talk as Yugi began to stare out of the windshield as if he were in a trance. In reality, he was debating on whether or not to ask Alana to be his girlfriend. 'What if I ask her and she laughs at me?' He thought sadly. 'Or worse, what if she agrees and then I freak out at the last minute?'

"That sounds great, what do you think, Yugi?" Tristan said. At hearing his name, Yugi shook his head a little bit to bring himself back to reality.

"Uh … what?"

"We just asked ya if you'd like to go hang with us tonight. We're not really sure where we're goin', but it's gonna be a blast!" Joey said with a lot of enthusiasm in his voice.

"Sorry, but I've got plans." The three in the back all looked at him.

"With who? We're all here." Tea said. Yugi rolled his eyes once again. (He seems to do that a lot, doesn't he?)

"Well I'm sorry that I have friends outside the five of us."

"Yugi, that's enough!" Atem snapped. Yugi glared at Atem, a little pissed that he was still giving the younger orders.

"Geez, sorry, Yug'; we just wanna know who you're hangin' with."

"You don't need to know about her." Realizing what he had just said, Yugi cursed himself mentally. Atem's eyes widened, almost to the point where they were going to burst out of his skull.

"'HER'?!" He asked, sounding very angry. He still could not face the fact that Yugi was dating someone that he did not know. Seeing the Pharaoh's temper rise, Yugi smirked and decided to push more buttons.

"Yeah, we're going out tonight; you know, somewhere you won't be." Atem's temper continued to rise, and as it did, he continued to press the gas petal harder and harder. Mentally, the younger roommate was laughing. Yugi was getting more and more kicks out of pissing Atem off the more it happened. The others though, it was not as much fun. Joey looked at him with a smirk on his face and nudged the smaller junior in the arm.

"So, Yug's got a girlfriend, huh? When do we get to meet this mystery chick?" Yugi placed his hand to his chin.

"How about … the Thursday after never. I'll call you the day before to remind you." He replied sarcastically before putting his earphones back in. Both Tristan and Joey groaned.

"Aww, c'mon, man! Why won't you let us meet her?"

"Because she doesn't run with your kind of crowd." Both blond and brunette looked at each other with a 'what is he talking about' look on their faces.

"What do ya mean 'our kind of crowd'?" Joey asked, sounding a little offended. Yugi groaned under his breath. He really wished these two would just drop the subject.

"I just mean that I don't think she's someone who you guys would really like and vise versa, okay?" The way Yugi stated that sentence gave Joey and Tristan the sense that they were not going to get anymore information out of him. But that did not mean that Atem was going to give up on him.

"And just who do you think is going to be driving you on this 'date' of yours?" He asked with a bit of an attitude in his voice. At hearing the word 'date', Joey and Tristan glanced at each other with smirks and teased Yugi again, which caused the youngest to blush.

"Oooww!" They said. This was stupid; he felt like he was still in sixth grade and everyone was teasing him because the new girl gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Shut up! It's not a date!" 'At least not one that you need to know about …' He thought to himself once again.

"Yugi's got a girlfriend! Yugi's got a girlfriend!" The two sang in a teasing manner. Yugi sighed.

"Idiots." He then turned his attention back to Atem. "And as for your question, Grandpa will be taking me, so you don't have to worry about it; just drop me off at home and then he'll take me in the station wagon." Tea turned up her nose.

"You really want your girlfriend to see your grandpa's ugly old station wagon?" Yugi groaned out loud this time.

"She's not my girlfriend!" 'Yet ...' He thought to himself. "Besides, she doesn't care what kind of car I have; she's not one of those girls." Atem scoffed loudly, making sure that everyone knew his opinion.

"How do you know? She may not be the person she pretends to be around you." Since they were already in the driveway, Yugi unbuckled his seatbelt and rose himself up a bit from the seat.

"DON'T SAY THAT ABOUT HER! YOU DON'T KNOW HER LIKE I DO! SO KEEP YOUR FUCKED UP OPINIONS TO YOURSELF!!!!!" Yugi got out of the car and slammed the door shut. The three remaining occupants of the vehicle were all in shock by Yugi's outburst. There was a thick, awkward silence amongst them.

"… So … movie then?" Joey asked. The rest of them all agreed and then drove off.

---

Getting inside the game shop, Yugi slammed that door as well and groaned loudly against it. He hated the way his, now former, friends were speaking of Alana. Atem's last statement kept flowing through his mind: 'How do you know? She may not be the person she pretends to be around you.' Yugi shook his head. Atem was full of shit; he did not know what he was talking about … and most of the time, he really did not.

"Yugi? Is that You?" Yugi took a deep breath to calm himself down.

"Yeah, Grandpa; it's me." Solomon stepped out from the kitchen with a plate and towel in his hand.

"Welcome home; what time did you want to go to the mall?" Yugi set his bag on the floor.

"I don't know; I'll go call her now." He went up the stairs to his room and did not come out for another forty-five minutes.\

---

After those forty-five minutes, Yugi came down wearing a casual outfit; a white denim shirt with tan cargo pants that were a little baggy on him. "I'm ready, Grandpa." Solomon began coughing and waving his hand in the air.

"What's that horrible smell?!" He began to sniff around until he came to Yugi. The old man turned away and held his nose. "Good lord, it's you!"

"What, you think too much cologne?"

"Perhaps a tad … what did you use?"

"I was all out of Axe, so I broke into Atem's room and used his Royal Copenhagen; you know that stuff that he thinks smells so good … I was desperate!" (That's the expensive crap that my dad likes.) Solomon continued to wave his arm through the air.

"How much of that junk did you put on?!"

"Practically the whole bottle … do you think it's too much?" Solomon did not let go of his nose.

"I think that if she doesn't faint from the shock of your new look, the smell will definitely set her off." He said playfully.

"Hey!" Solomon chuckled and went to get his keys.

---

They reached Alana's house and Yugi was a little nervous. Half because he was planning to pop the question and half because the scent of the cologne did not go down at all. Swallowing the lump in his throat, the purple-eyed teenager rang the doorbell. Once again, it was answered by Antonio.

"Uh … hi, remember me? I'm"---

"ALLY! YUGI'S HERE AND HE STINKS!" The little boy yelled, running back into the house. Yugi slapped his face with his hand.

"Well. That just didn't work in my favor …" It was not long before Alana appeared at the door, yelling something to her parents in Spanish.

"Sorry I'm late, Yugi; I had a small fight with my mom." Yugi let out a nervous chuckle.

"No big …" The two began walking to the car. "I'm surprised you're not holding your nose … I'm even more surprised that you didn't wanna stay home after what Antonio said." Alana laughed and leaned into Yugi, inhaling deeply.

"I don't mind. What is it?" Yugi blushed; this was not what he expected.

"Uh … R-Royal Copenhagen." Alana smiled and inhaled again.

"I think you smell divine." Yugi smiled, his nervousness melting away.

---

Solomon drove both teens to the local mall and gave Yugi a few twenties. "I'll be back at nine o'clock right here." Both teens nodded and waved as Solomon drove off. Alana tucked her hair behind her ear out of nervousness. She wore a purple blouse with a jean skirt and open-toe shoes. She carried a small clothed purse on her right shoulder. She was so beautiful in Yugi's eyes.

"So … what do you want to do first?" Yugi opened his mouth to say something, but his stomach beat him to the punch. Alana laughed, causing Yugi to blush. "I guess we head to the food court first." Yugi nodded in agreement. On the way to the food court, both Alana and Yugi talked about their school lives and what subjects they hated most. "You're an office aide? Wow, you must really hate it." Yugi shook his head.

"No, I love it. It's actually really relaxing. I'm an office aide for Mrs. Davis, she's the secretary for the guidance councilors, and she's like a mother to me. She always has a lunch for me; she tells me what to do, and always wants to know what I'm up to." Alana smiled.

"Wow, I guess that's kinda cool." Finally, they reached the food court. There were so many decisions to choose from. Normally, Yugi would have chosen something with hamburgers, but he wanted something different for a change.

"You know, I think I'm gonna get some 'Charlie's Stakery'. They have the best subs I've ever tasted." Yugi announced. He looked to Alana to see her licking her lips.

"That sounds good; I think I'll do the same." Both walked over to that counter and ordered the food that they wanted. As they ate, they talked about what kinds of foods that they liked. Alana mentioned that she had had enough Mexican food in her life that she would die happy if she never saw even a taco ever again. Yugi had a good laugh at that statement. Alana laughed when soda almost came out of Yugi's nose, who had started to laugh at her laughing at him.

---

After they left the food court, they went to a few stores that both of them liked. They went to the book store, a gaming store, bought some ice cream, threw some pennies in the fountain and went to a few clothing stores, which Alana dragged her date to. Both were having a very good time until the most annoying voice, in Yugi's mind, called his name.

"Yugi!" Yugi cringed at hearing his roommate's voice.

"Oh shit …!"

---

End of Chapter