Chapter four is here! Joy!

I was shaken awake. Yugi kept calling to me,

"Hey, Marik, you dick! Don't make me late!"

I rose off the air mattress and stared him in the eye.

"What are you going to do, break my kneecaps with a socket wrench?"

His eyes widened as he held up a socket wrench covered in flaky red paint.

"It's like you're psychic or something!"

"That would be my sister. Do you always keep a frigging socket wrench lying around?"

"Yeah, it works better than a switchblade knife or anything like that."

"Is it reserved for kneecaps only, or do you use it to crack skulls?"

"Well, since you asked…"

"Don't answer that."

He sighed and put the wrench in his backpack.

"So, where are you going to go tonight?"

"I guess I could always go to the streets again."

"Now, why the hell would you do that?"

"Because I can't stay here, you know. I have to keep moving."

"I know this bridge that's pretty safe. It's like a town under there…."

"Can you show me after school?"

"Sure. Just be sure to visit me, okay? I think you're a funny guy, and, well…"

"You don't…"

"…Like you? Aw, hell no. Just need a friend."

I nodded. The school was about as far away as Yugi had said it was. I trudged into the building with dread of running into Bakura filling my stomach with bile.

We sat down in homeroom. Bakura was in front of me, Yugi behind me, and Joey behind him. To the right of Joey sat the puppy killer, and that's all the people I could recognize.

Bakura turned around as soon as class started.

"You better not tell anybody about what I told you."

"I wouldn't dream of it, Fluffy."

"I know you're totally gay. You aren't good at hiding it, you know."

I changed the subject.

"Why do you hate Yugi?"

"Yugi? I don't hate anybody named Yugi. Why?"

"A friend of mine claims you beat him up because you knew he was…"

I shut myself up before the rest slipped out, but Bakura got the rest out of me.

"Because he was what?"

"Because he's a little like you."

"That's dumb. The last time I beat a guy up, it was that filthy whore."

"Was his name Yami?"

"Yeah, what's it to you?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

I made a mental note to ask Yugi about what Yami looked like. Bakura closed in on me, and his face was just a few inches from mine. I grew nervous. He noticed this and got closer.

"You sure you're straight? Because the face you're making says no."

"I am not gay."

"I never said you were gay. I just said you weren't straight."

"Yeah, trust me; we're on opposite frigging ends of the scale, binky boy."

He snorted.

"But I'm not straight, stupid."

I'll admit to you that he was indeed correct to assume I was gay. I suppose one could describe me as… flamboyant. But this was 1992, dammit. If you were gay in 1992, your best bet was to keep it hidden, because people gave you shit for it. Kill-you-and-keep-your-body-in-a-freezer shit. Shit my own father would give me if I were to tell anybody, because he would find out, and so I didn't tell anybody, because as far as they were concerned, I was straight. No terrible inhumane murder for me, no frigging thank you.

"I'm not into men, period."

He snorted.

"You dress like that and you expect me to believe – "

"Maybe it's to get girls."

"I doubt it."

I was about to make a comeback when the bell rang and I had to go to Geometry. I sat down, not recalling a bit of the work I had done yesterday. I noticed the puppy killer was sitting next to me, but something about him was off. His eyes looked even blanker and deader than before. Then I noticed why.

His pupils were dilated. He was frigging tripping!

The girl behind me poked me. It was the girl from the bus.

"Hey, fag. Joey wants to know if you'll go out with him."

When I didn't turn around, she handed me a scrap of paper and I flipped her off behind my back. I wished I could see her face, but then I'd have to wash my eyes out again.

I opened the scrap of paper. You see that kid with the brown hair, blue eyes? Shake your head if his pupils are all big, okay? I shook my head.

The teacher paused her lecture with a sigh. I looked back to see Joey raising his hand.

"Yes, Mister Wheeler?"

"Can I take a piss?"

"Not in my classroom. Go, and don't take long."

Joey got up and speed-walked past the junkie, leaving a piece of paper on his desk. The teacher hadn't noticed, but apparently the junkie did, because he looked down and opened it. His hand jerked up.

"You too, Kaiba?"

The junkie just nodded.

"Very well. Just go before class next time."

The junkie stumbled out of the room, but the teacher was pretty stupid, so she didn't notice anything strange. I raised my hand, and the teacher groaned.

"Just. Go."

I nodded and followed the junkie down the hallway, careful not to make any noise. He abruptly stopped walking, causing me to almost bump into him.

"I know somebody's following me. I may be high off my ass on acid, but I'm not a moron. Turn around and go back and I won't try to look at your face."

I disguised my voice the best I could (which wasn't good, I admit) and then I replied to his threat.

"My father's got a bit of a problem with the L himself."

"Your dad should start dating mine; it sounds like they have a hell of a lot in common."

"That would make me your brother, and believe me, the siblings I already have are frigging plenty."

"You don't know the half of it."

I didn't know whether to laugh or get offended, so I did neither.

"You gonna keep walking?"

He didn't respond; he just took a few steps forward and continued to walk, so I followed him. We ended up in the bathroom, where Joey was leaning against the tiled walls and staring at the parallel walls.

"I'm here, mutt."

"I told you not ta trip in class. Since ya can't seem ta avoid the stuff, I figure I'd keep ya outta class."

"Wheeler, an average LSD trip lasts hours. You can't stop me from getting high in class, or even in general, anyways. You know I need it."

"You don't need it."

"I do need it, you stupid dog! It's the only thing keeping me afloat here, can't you try to understand that much? I know it's confusing for your tiny canine brain –"

"Sticks and stones, Moneybags."

"You're an idiot. Just let me have my acid! It's not like it should matter to you anyways!"

"Kaiba, you're addicted to the shit."

"I am not on heroin! My hair is simply green! Shut up!"

Joey noticed me.

"Marik! What the hell are you doing here?"

"Marik? Is that what the voices' name is? I let him follow me!"

"Nyeh?"

"I followed him."

He sighed. Yugi said he was a dickweed, but Joey didn't seem like a genuine asshole.

"This is Kaiba. He's got some 'special' problems, and he has a supply of blotters and booze at home. It ain't a pleasant mix."

"What do you mean, 'special'?"

"Well, for starters, he's a schizo…meaning he shouldn't be on acid, period. Not only does his family not let him get meds, but he's in love with himself."

"Shut up, Wheeler! You don't know why my hair is green! Leave me alone!"

"And because he's 'special', he always has a bad trip."

"MY HAIR IS GREEN, YOU MUTT!"

"Sure, Kaiba. Your hair is green. It's so green. Greener than the lunch they serve at this school. Happy?"

Kaiba started shaking.

"NO! YOU'RE A LIAR! YOU KNOW IT'S YOUR ENTIRE FAULT! YOU SHOULD HAVE STAYED IN THE DOGHOUSE!"

In seconds, everybody's favorite addict was on the floor, limbs thrashing in all directions while he made several 'attractive' faces. Joey grabbed both of his legs while Kaiba kept struggling and screamed incoherently. I caught words and names in between the long, bloodcurdling screeches of agony that the junkie I had just met was emitting. It was pretty frigging disturbing, especially with the words he kept using. The two things he said the most were give him back and go away.

"That tears it, we're cutting class. Marik, can you get Yugi? He's in 420 this period."

"Ironic name."

"Yeah Marik, it's hilarious. Now go and get him!"

I slammed the door as I left the bathrooms. I looked at the door to the closest classroom, which was thankfully empty. It read 369 on the door. I walked down the hall a bit, and the next classroom door was labeled 370, meaning I was headed in the right direction. I broke into a sprint, which was uncomfortable with the tight jeans I was wearing. It was like almost being castrated every two frigging minutes. I slowed down when I heard two voices coming from the next turn in the hallway.

The first one was unfamiliar, kind of deep and gruff. He sounded like had water up his nose, too.

"Come on, why not? You know you want to."

The second voice was more familiar.

"Get closer and I shatter your kneecaps!"

A footstep and then a cry of pain rang out. But it wasn't Yugi's.

"What the hell? You brought a socket wrench to school?"

"Well, I can't really bring anything else to protect myself, so yes, I did!"

I walked around the corner to be faced with two Yugis. Except one was taller, and also he was holding his busted kneecaps while curled in fetal position against a locker while the short one held a familiar socket wrench. I took a wild guess and figured that the one with the socket wrench was Yugi.

"Marik? What the hell are you doing here?"

"One word: Kaiba."

"Lemme guess; acid. Or did he do meth again?"

Meth? Holy Ra, this school is more fucked up than I thought.

"Acid."

At first he looked relieved, but then he sighed at the face I was making.

"Trust me, you don't want to see him on anything harder than LSD. It's not just scary, it's downright terrifying and sometimes makes me want to give him a hug. Nobody and I mean nobody ever feels empathy for him in any other situation. It's serious shit. Where is he?"

"Bathroom near 369. Joey's with him."

"Alright, let's go rescue Seto Kaiba."

We probably broke the record for fastest sprint through a hallway that day.

And chapter 4 is over. Hooray.