Her Sweetness: Ooh baby. I just got done running in my first Cross Country meet. Man, I feel really pumped! And since I am so pumped, I decided you all disserve another chapter. Enjoy.


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Chapter Three


The fact that I'm a well-known pessimist has nothing to do with me.

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The whole thing was horrible. The Descent, the seating arrangements, the incident with the popcorn—everything. I'd blame Ryou's judgment but most of the things that happened had in fact been my fault. If I wasn't such a spaz, it wouldn't have been so bad. But I'm getting ahead of myself. I'll start from when we first walked into the theater.

The previews had already started and we were walking in a line. Actually it wasn't very crowded and so we were able to sit where we wanted and ended up in really good seats. We'd already gone to get snacks and I really thought Marik had gotten too much. He got the extra large tub of popcorn, four large Pepsis, lots of assorted candies and these sour candies called Sour Bombs. Marik doesn't even like sour things.

We were about to sit down and Ryou grabbed Bakura's arm and sat him on the end, much to his chagrin. He either wanted to be next to the popcorn or Marik which were both right next to me. Ryou smiled at me and I sighed but it went unnoticed, as it often does. Marik handed me the Sour Bombs and told me to pass them to Bakura. I did and, in a few minutes, found out why they were purchased. Bakura put one in his mouth, got it all wet and nasty and then spit it out, landing it into someone's hair!

I gasped and Marik laughed to which he got a lot of nasty looks as the movie had already begun. Ryou quietly reprimanded Bakura but he didn't pay my friend any mind and continued to launch the things onto random people. Although no one really noticed, I thought it was a terrible thing to do and shuddered to think about what would happen when the people left the theater and were laughed at when others pointed out their misfortune.

I sympathize with them because that could've very well been happening to me at that very second. I felt around in my hair and found nothing.

Marik leaned over and nudged me. "Want to try?" he asked, holding one to me.

Blushing, I took it and looked from him to the Sour Bomb and then to Ryou who was too busy with Bakura to notice me. I nodded. "Alright," I said timidly and put it in my mouth.

The thing was terrible! So nasty! I cringed and could hear Marik chuckle at my side. Out of the one eye that was open I saw him grinning. A few more seconds of juicing it up and then I fired. Blindly.

"Ow! My eye!" someone yelled. I looked up and saw a man who had been walking to his seat in front of us. He had both hands up to his eye and was shouting obscenities. He'd dropped his soda.

My hands flew up to my mouth. "I-I'm so sorry…" I whispered but I doubt he heard over Marik and Bakura's roaring laughter. Ryou looked at me, shocked. I dry-sobbed, "Ryou…"

He sighed and put his hand on my back, rubbing soothing circles as I told him I didn't mean to do it. Everyone in the theater must've hated us so much—we were so loud. But Marik and Bakura didn't seem to care that they were receiving death glares. Marik quieted down before Bakura did and he was still grinning when he put a hand on my shoulder and whispered, "That was freaking amazing! You really nailed him, Malik!"

I managed a smile though it was broken and bewildered.

Bakura agreed. "Do it again!"

Ryou elbowed him and that was his sign to shut up.

Luckily for everyone else in the audience, we were quiet for a while. Except my screams of terror. Those were pretty loud. There were so many terrifying things! When that… that thing appeared behind the girl in the camera, I almost died. I yelped and grabbed onto Marik's sleeve. I froze and let go slowly. Marik didn't seem to mind too much though, he was into the movie by then.

Ryou, while still watching the screen, put his hand over mine and I laced our fingers together so that I could squeeze him instead of yelling. Didn't work too well though. I screamed and crushed his hand. Eventually he put my hand on the armrest and told me to grip that.

About three quarters through the film, Ryou fell asleep. It seemed he didn't favor the movie much. Bakura was too excited to notice Ryou's head on his shoulder. I looked over at Marik and he seemed into it as well. I wondered briefly if I could fake sleeping and put my head on his shoulder. But I quickly discarded that idea. If any part of me was going to be touching any part of Marik, I wanted to have my eyes open so I could enjoy it.

So, with my eyes open and my head being held up by only me, I continued to watch the movie with mild interest. Honestly, it was just a bunch of blood and scariness. I didn't like it that much and no matter what I held onto, I was loud in my expression of my fear. Still looking at the screen, I reached over into Marik's lap to get a handful of popcorn. But what I got a handful of was something entirely different and I suddenly heard Marik gasp.

I looked over and screamed, jerking my hand away from where I had been grasping his crotch.

He smirked, tilting his head. "Wow, Malik, I didn't know these kinds of movies got you hot."

"N-No! That's not… that's not it! I… W-Where'd the popcorn go?" I shouted and everyone shushed me. This was terrible. Marik's smirk didn't waver but he shifted his eyes back to the screen and pointed between his feet where the tub of popcorn rested. I didn't want it anymore.

I looked down at my hand and was disappointed. I wondered then if Ryou had ever grabbed anyone's crotch before. If he had, it was never mine. Maybe Bakura's. I would have to ask him that and made a mental note of it.

The movie ended and I left gladly. We left our trash like most people did but Bakura didn't have to kick the popcorn all over the floor and spill the sodas.

"Hey," he said, "they get paid so we gotta make them work for their money. Their job's too easy."

Sometimes Bakura's logic makes me wonder.

No one really felt like going home when we stepped out into the daylight again and so Ryou suggested we go across the street to the café there. It hadn't snowed that day but a good four inches were left over from the night before. We waded through it and when we entered the warm coffee shop the snow from our boots and shoes melted onto the welcome mat inside. It was already wet and I figured the other customers must've done the same thing.

Ryou told Bakura to go up to the counter and order. He said no but then Marik told him to stop being a baby and went up to order it himself. Bakura rolled his eyes and followed. Ryou and I went off to find an empty table and found one in the back corner by the frost-covered window.

"So how did you like that movie?" he said. "I didn't think it was too interesting."

"I noticed. You fell asleep."

He shrugged. "To be honest, I knew it wasn't going to be that good."

"Why'd we go see it, then?" I tried to keep my frustration out of my voice. If he didn't want to go see and I didn't want to go see it then why did we go see it?

"Because." Ryou wagged his pointer finger at me as he often does when I'm being stupid. "It was a scary movie. And you're prone to scaring. So having you sit next to Marik was a great way to bring you two closer together."

"W-What in the world makes you think that?"

"I saw it on a movie."

Once again I was amazed at Ryou but this time for a completely different reason. This is Ryou. He should know better! I managed to choke out, "Movie?"

He sighed. "Well I thought maybe it'd work. You make me so desperate sometimes, Malik. It would be so much easier if you just told Marik how you feel. Just say it. Can you say it for me?"

"Oh, Ryou."

"Come on," he persisted. "Pretend I'm Marik, alright? And you're Malik."

I blinked.

"Please?" Ryou asked, scooting his chair closer to me. "Malik?" He gave me his big eyes. Oh man.

"Alright," I said finally. I paused and looked at him shrewdly. "I love you."

"Oh my."

Both Ryou and I looked up to see Marik and Bakura grinning down at us, each of them with two drinks in their hands. Bakura was chuckling as he gave Ryou his coffee and sat his own in front of him. "Finally, a confession. You know, I've been waiting for this. You two going to go steady now?" he asked Ryou.

I growled at him but it went unnoticed as Marik sat my mocha latté down in front of me. I shook my head at them. "It's not like that."

Marik nodded and then looked across the table at Ryou. "Hey, did Malik here tell you about his new hobby?"

Ryou tilted his head. "No, he didn't."

I gasped. "Wait a second—"

"Before we left to meet up with you guys, he came into my room to peep while I wasn't dressed."

"That's not how it was at all!" I shouted but no one paid attention and Ryou looked like he couldn't get much happier. He was giggling madly and then squeezed my hand under the table. Bakura was in hysterics and, once again, we received death glares from other people for our noisiness.

Marik turned his attention back to miserable me. "You don't have to be embarrassed about it. You're just one of millions. You should see Bakura drooling when we shower together."

Bakura rolled his eyes. "You wish."

… Excuse me? What? S-Showering together? I suddenly felt dizzy. All these disturbing and somewhat mouth-watering images were assaulting my mind, coming at me from every direction. My eyes must've been dinner plates because everyone looked at me. My face was hot and I think it was visual because Bakura began to smirk at me.

"Eh heh. Hey, Malik's thinking of things he shouldn't."

Ryou elbowed Bakura in the ribs and caused him to fall out of his chair. Marik was too busy laughing to notice my almost dead aura. I probably looked like a sad clown. Ryou looked at me with those same eyes you'd give a burn victim.

"We have to go to the bathroom," Ryou said suddenly and took me by the hand.

Marik blinked. "Are you his bladder? What the hell?"

Ryou gave him a soft glare and we went to the back of the restaurant and into the men's room. It was a small, dingy room with only one toilet but that didn't seem to matter because neither of us really had to go.

I looked at Ryou carefully. "They take showers together?"

"Well yes but—"

"How come you didn't tell me, Ryou?"

"Because I knew you'd freak out about it. It's really no big deal, they don't do anything."

"No big deal?" I squeaked. "You and I don't even take showers together! It's no wonder they don't say hi or bye to each other, they do all their greetings in the buff! In hot water! It's a very big deal, Ryou! … And hey, just how did you know this? Where do they take their showers, at your house?"

He shrugged. "Sometimes, but I know for a fact that they do at your house too."

"They must do it while I'm asleep 'cause I don't remember—Oh my Ra!"

"What now?"

"They do it while I'm asleep!" I clasped my hands together in front of my mouth, my eyes bulging. "They take showers, in hot water, at night!"

"Malik!" Ryou snapped and grabbed my hands, pulling them down. He looked into my eyes and shook me by the shoulders which I'm not really used to him doing. "They only do it to get clean! That, and it saves water!"

"Since when do our yamis care about leaving water for the fishes?" I muttered and received a frown for it.

His voice softened. "If it makes you feel any better, we can take a shower together."

There was a pause. I looked away, towards the bathroom door and sighed heavily. "Ryou… do you think that Bakura and Marik are… you know…" I blushed. I couldn't say it.

Ryou smiled. "No way. I mean, not directly anyway. And the last time they did that phone thing was like, what, nine months ago? I know because I can see the calls made on the phone bill and no phone-sex lines were called!"

I guess that was supposed to make me feel better but it didn't. I thought again of Marik and Bakura in the shower together and washing each other's backs. I shivered violently. Unfair.

Little did I know that I'd said "Unfair," aloud and Ryou hugged me, laughing. "Maybe if you ask, Marik will take a bath with you."

I didn't even dignify that with a reply.

"Aw, c'mon. It's not so hard. I took a bath with Bakura before. It was fun! He washed my back." Ryou winked.

Great. Just add to my shame.


To be continued…


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