Disclaimer: Do I really have to say I don't own this?
***********
Ryou laid very still on the top bunk light had only begun to creep in the window
so he knew it was around 5. Lilly had been awake for nearly a hour. He thought she would
go back to bed after she let her dog out but when she had returned to her room there was
a squabble inside and now she was in the kitchen. He smelled coffee, and could hear
something frying, but didn't dare to go down to see what she was cooking.
"Ryou, are you a wake?" he heard Bakura ask from the bed under his.
"Yeah, Yami."
"Why don't you go see why on earth that girl is up already?"
"Okay." Ryou climbed down but stopped before he got to his bedroom door. He
heard someone else down there now. "You hear that?"
"Yeah, sounds like the hired hand, boy. She'll be outside soon now." Bakura
said rolling over. Ryou shook his head and left the room doing as his dark half had told
him. Once he reached the bottom of the stairs the dog was there growling at him.
"Gretz come here. Hush Girl." Lilly called to the dog but it didn't back down. Matt
came around the corner and grabbed the dogs collar.
"Shut up moron you're gonna get the whole house up." he scolded the dog
before looking up to see what her problem had been."Oh. Morning Ryou,......Right?" Matt
drug the dog away and Ryou came off the stairs.
"Yeah. Uh Why are you two up so early?" he asked feeling like an idiot.
"Feed day." Lilly said shortly before cursing at the frying pan that had just popped
grease and burnt her hand.
"Means, we're up cause no one else will go get the feed, and we have to get all
our chores done too. But we're up around this time everyday any who. Ya wanna eat or
ya can go back to bed?" Matt explained. Lilly put Gretchen, the German Shepard outside
when she went back to growl at Ryou.
"I'll eat. Can't get back to sleep anyway." he decided. Lilly shot Matt a look like
he'd just invited her worst nightmare to eat with them.
"Pull ya up a chair then kid. Plates and glasses are in the cabinet over your right
shoulder." Lilly said.
"Don' worry 'bout it. I'll get you a spot set you go get dressed." Matt said
reminding Ryou of one of the rules he'd been told to follow 'must be dressed before
coming down stairs in the morning'. Ryou shuffled back up stairs to get dressed.
******
Lilly was ready to kill Matt. They had just been talking about the two city boys
and he went and invited him to eat breakfast with them, then to come along. She
grumbled as she locked Gretchen in the back stall of the first barn. Lilly knew that this boy
wasn't going to like the fact that she was about to steal her brothers truck to go get feed
in. Their grandparents had given it to him for his 16th birthday, she had gotten a
hand-me-down which wasn't big enough to pick up all the feed, and had tendencies to
break down.
Borrow with out asking but full intent of returning.
She reminded herself not being comfortable with stealing. She pressed the key
into her palm. She saw Matt and Ryou talking at the top of the hill hovering around the
truck. She figured Matt was explaining something else to the kid. He seemed to be pretty
smart, but was clueless about what she considered everyday things. Reaching the truck
she unlocked it and handed Matt the keys. He always drove because he refused to let her
drive him anywhere.
"All aboard." Matt called needlessly because all three were already in the truck.
He grinned insanely as he revved the engine and peeled out of the drive.
"You don't drive much do you?" Ryou asked. Lilly fought off a smirk at the fact
that he was a green color as they took to the twisting back roads.
"The roads are built around the crick, and peoples property lines. Nuttin' is a
straight line. More like zig zags and swerves 'till ya get into town."she said for the first
time in years enjoying the neck break speed Matt used knowing there was no one around
this early.
"You gonna be okay kid? You look a bit green?" Matt asked looking over to see
why Lilly had handed out obvious information.
"Yeah, but can you slow down?" Ryou choked out.
By the time they reached the feed store in the middle of town the sun was
completely up. It was nearly 8 once Lilly threw the last bag in the bed. She gave the truck
a pat as if it were a dog who'd just done a trick.
"Thank ya kids. If you need anything yall got my number." Mr. Jones, the old
man that owned the feed store called from the door.
"Yes, sir. Your on speed dial. See ya next month." Lilly said as she joined Matt
and Ryou in the cab.
*******
Bakura figured he was better off than Ryou, Matt and Lilly hadn't missed a
chance the night before to bicker. He sat alone at the kitchen table hugging his cup of
coffee he had never had the stuff but the black-ish brown liquid was perfect on this
particular morning. Justin and his mother were arguing in the living room something about
a stolen truck, and the other girl had yet to be seen. From the way Lilly and Matt had
talked about her she was a mess all the time. But neither would tell Ryou what her true
problem was though he gathered it had something to do with a trail ride gone horribly
wrong. As he finished off his third cup of coffee the said girl entered the room. She was
dressed in all black the only color to the out fit was red letters on the shirt spelling out
"Troubled", she had stringing black hair with two single white strands hanging down to
frame her face, black lipstick, and dramatic eye liner.
"Hello new comer. I'm Serena. Which one are you? Wait let me guess your
Bakura." she asked sliding down in the chair across from his.
"Yes, how did you know?"
"I saw you both, last night. You're the bigger one." she said simply."So where is
everyone?"
"Your mother said that Matt, Lilly, and Ryou went to pick up feed."
"Shoot. That means they took Bubba's truck with out me."
"That's what they did? Ryou would never....." Bakura entertained the thought for
a few minutes. Serena nearly fell out of her chair when the argument in the other room
entered the kitchen.
"I've.....uh...I got to go see you at dinner." the thin girl said before taking off up
the stairs to her room. Bakura decided not to stick around as Mrs. Halse began to throw
out punishments. He wandered outside looking for something to do.
**********
Ryou chewed mercilessly at his bottom lip as the truck turned the last corner
and the small house came into view. As soon as they pulled into the drive Bakura
appeared out of no where jumping up and down on one foot. Lilly swung out of the cab of
the truck before it had completely stopped.
"Hi! There's a funny looking animal down there." Bakura said nodding down the
hill behind the barn.
"What did it look like?" Matt asked waving at Justin who had stormed out of the
house.
"It was grey-ish and had a bare tail." Bakura said switching to his left foot and
continuing to hop.
"Opossum." Lilly said before disappearing into the nearest barn.
"What she off about?" Ryou asked leaning against the truck as he steadied
himself. He had never been car sick before but Matt had made the truck jerk around so
much his breakfast had threatened to come up several times.
"Uh.. We've had several chickens come up missing. More often than not that
means we have some vermin around." Matt supplied. Lilly appeared out of the barn and
didn't so much as glance over to the group of boys before taking off down the hill a rifle
rested on her shoulder.
"MATTHEW! We need to talk but first where did my baby sister just go?" all three
turned around to see an angry Justin. Ryou gnawed at his lip again drawing blood this
time. He sucked the metallic deep red liquid into his mouth.
"Don't worry 'bout Lils she'll be fine. Here's your keys we won't do it again and
yes I know you'll discuss a pay cut with your father." Matt said. Ryou began to follow his
other half as Bakura began down the hill. Matt quickly had both of them by the shoulders.
"No, don't go down there at the moment." Before Matt could finish his explanation a rifle
shot was heard, then a victorious laugh from Lilly.
"She got the little devil. See? See? Do you see that thing Ry?" Bakura asked
now bouncing on two feet.
"Yes, Yami we see." Ryou said looking around the barn to see Lilly coming up.
Over her left shoulder the rifle rested and in her right hand she held the tail of the
opossum.
"Little sister don't miss when she aims her gun." she said in a sing song voice
as she tossed the dead animal at Justin's feet and entered the barn to put the rifle back.
"See, Jus told ya she'd be fine. Always is. As dependable as us takin' da truck
next time." Matt grinned.
"Bakura, what have you been doing?" Ryou asked his 'older brother'.
"Mrs. Halse....No she said to call her Karen or Mrs.H, but she gave me coffee. I
had 3 cups. I feel like a could run circle around all of Egypt." Ryou sighed at the moronic
idea of drinking 3 cups of coffee the first time he ever tasted it.
"Look Big Brother, I only take the truck on feed day, I always return it safe and
sound, and you never miss anything important. So don't act as if this is really a problem
and if it is you can pick up the feed next time." Ryou noted that Lilly was acting like
Mokuba as she pulled the pure innocent look that only younger siblings can make work.
"I promise Big Bother, we won't hurt your truck." she tried once again this time
succeeding in making her brother melt.
"Fine but only once a month." Justin caved.
"Great. Now I need that in writing." Lilly pulled a folded piece of paper out of her
pocket with a pen and handed it to her brother. "Sign on the dotted line. Don't worry it only
says that you intrust you truck to Matt and me on the third Saturday of every month." Lilly
said as she forced the pen in her brothers hand.
Mokuba wouldn't try that, but he defiantly has competition for the most crafty
younger sibling contest.
The rest of the morning and well into the afternoon Ryou spent watching his
dark half. Matt and Lilly had put him to work helping them with the feed bags and taking
care of the animals. No one seemed surprised by Justin being gone all day, Serena
staying in her room, nor Mrs. Halse staying on the computer playing solitaire. Matt and
Lilly didn't fight as much as the day before though neither missed a chance to call the
other a name. Dinner that night was especially quiet. Matt had gone home for dinner,
Justin hadn't return, Mr. Halse was working late, and Serena had refused to leave her
room.
S/N: There will be no update on this story for a while. I have testing coming up and Mom and Dad are cramming the school work. I won't have time to type anything but reports for at least a month everything is over in May, then I have 4-H stuff to get done. I'll do my best to pull something together but no promises. *beats head on wall* Besides I can't come up with a way to write down all the thought for the next chapter.
***********
Ryou laid very still on the top bunk light had only begun to creep in the window
so he knew it was around 5. Lilly had been awake for nearly a hour. He thought she would
go back to bed after she let her dog out but when she had returned to her room there was
a squabble inside and now she was in the kitchen. He smelled coffee, and could hear
something frying, but didn't dare to go down to see what she was cooking.
"Ryou, are you a wake?" he heard Bakura ask from the bed under his.
"Yeah, Yami."
"Why don't you go see why on earth that girl is up already?"
"Okay." Ryou climbed down but stopped before he got to his bedroom door. He
heard someone else down there now. "You hear that?"
"Yeah, sounds like the hired hand, boy. She'll be outside soon now." Bakura
said rolling over. Ryou shook his head and left the room doing as his dark half had told
him. Once he reached the bottom of the stairs the dog was there growling at him.
"Gretz come here. Hush Girl." Lilly called to the dog but it didn't back down. Matt
came around the corner and grabbed the dogs collar.
"Shut up moron you're gonna get the whole house up." he scolded the dog
before looking up to see what her problem had been."Oh. Morning Ryou,......Right?" Matt
drug the dog away and Ryou came off the stairs.
"Yeah. Uh Why are you two up so early?" he asked feeling like an idiot.
"Feed day." Lilly said shortly before cursing at the frying pan that had just popped
grease and burnt her hand.
"Means, we're up cause no one else will go get the feed, and we have to get all
our chores done too. But we're up around this time everyday any who. Ya wanna eat or
ya can go back to bed?" Matt explained. Lilly put Gretchen, the German Shepard outside
when she went back to growl at Ryou.
"I'll eat. Can't get back to sleep anyway." he decided. Lilly shot Matt a look like
he'd just invited her worst nightmare to eat with them.
"Pull ya up a chair then kid. Plates and glasses are in the cabinet over your right
shoulder." Lilly said.
"Don' worry 'bout it. I'll get you a spot set you go get dressed." Matt said
reminding Ryou of one of the rules he'd been told to follow 'must be dressed before
coming down stairs in the morning'. Ryou shuffled back up stairs to get dressed.
******
Lilly was ready to kill Matt. They had just been talking about the two city boys
and he went and invited him to eat breakfast with them, then to come along. She
grumbled as she locked Gretchen in the back stall of the first barn. Lilly knew that this boy
wasn't going to like the fact that she was about to steal her brothers truck to go get feed
in. Their grandparents had given it to him for his 16th birthday, she had gotten a
hand-me-down which wasn't big enough to pick up all the feed, and had tendencies to
break down.
Borrow with out asking but full intent of returning.
She reminded herself not being comfortable with stealing. She pressed the key
into her palm. She saw Matt and Ryou talking at the top of the hill hovering around the
truck. She figured Matt was explaining something else to the kid. He seemed to be pretty
smart, but was clueless about what she considered everyday things. Reaching the truck
she unlocked it and handed Matt the keys. He always drove because he refused to let her
drive him anywhere.
"All aboard." Matt called needlessly because all three were already in the truck.
He grinned insanely as he revved the engine and peeled out of the drive.
"You don't drive much do you?" Ryou asked. Lilly fought off a smirk at the fact
that he was a green color as they took to the twisting back roads.
"The roads are built around the crick, and peoples property lines. Nuttin' is a
straight line. More like zig zags and swerves 'till ya get into town."she said for the first
time in years enjoying the neck break speed Matt used knowing there was no one around
this early.
"You gonna be okay kid? You look a bit green?" Matt asked looking over to see
why Lilly had handed out obvious information.
"Yeah, but can you slow down?" Ryou choked out.
By the time they reached the feed store in the middle of town the sun was
completely up. It was nearly 8 once Lilly threw the last bag in the bed. She gave the truck
a pat as if it were a dog who'd just done a trick.
"Thank ya kids. If you need anything yall got my number." Mr. Jones, the old
man that owned the feed store called from the door.
"Yes, sir. Your on speed dial. See ya next month." Lilly said as she joined Matt
and Ryou in the cab.
*******
Bakura figured he was better off than Ryou, Matt and Lilly hadn't missed a
chance the night before to bicker. He sat alone at the kitchen table hugging his cup of
coffee he had never had the stuff but the black-ish brown liquid was perfect on this
particular morning. Justin and his mother were arguing in the living room something about
a stolen truck, and the other girl had yet to be seen. From the way Lilly and Matt had
talked about her she was a mess all the time. But neither would tell Ryou what her true
problem was though he gathered it had something to do with a trail ride gone horribly
wrong. As he finished off his third cup of coffee the said girl entered the room. She was
dressed in all black the only color to the out fit was red letters on the shirt spelling out
"Troubled", she had stringing black hair with two single white strands hanging down to
frame her face, black lipstick, and dramatic eye liner.
"Hello new comer. I'm Serena. Which one are you? Wait let me guess your
Bakura." she asked sliding down in the chair across from his.
"Yes, how did you know?"
"I saw you both, last night. You're the bigger one." she said simply."So where is
everyone?"
"Your mother said that Matt, Lilly, and Ryou went to pick up feed."
"Shoot. That means they took Bubba's truck with out me."
"That's what they did? Ryou would never....." Bakura entertained the thought for
a few minutes. Serena nearly fell out of her chair when the argument in the other room
entered the kitchen.
"I've.....uh...I got to go see you at dinner." the thin girl said before taking off up
the stairs to her room. Bakura decided not to stick around as Mrs. Halse began to throw
out punishments. He wandered outside looking for something to do.
**********
Ryou chewed mercilessly at his bottom lip as the truck turned the last corner
and the small house came into view. As soon as they pulled into the drive Bakura
appeared out of no where jumping up and down on one foot. Lilly swung out of the cab of
the truck before it had completely stopped.
"Hi! There's a funny looking animal down there." Bakura said nodding down the
hill behind the barn.
"What did it look like?" Matt asked waving at Justin who had stormed out of the
house.
"It was grey-ish and had a bare tail." Bakura said switching to his left foot and
continuing to hop.
"Opossum." Lilly said before disappearing into the nearest barn.
"What she off about?" Ryou asked leaning against the truck as he steadied
himself. He had never been car sick before but Matt had made the truck jerk around so
much his breakfast had threatened to come up several times.
"Uh.. We've had several chickens come up missing. More often than not that
means we have some vermin around." Matt supplied. Lilly appeared out of the barn and
didn't so much as glance over to the group of boys before taking off down the hill a rifle
rested on her shoulder.
"MATTHEW! We need to talk but first where did my baby sister just go?" all three
turned around to see an angry Justin. Ryou gnawed at his lip again drawing blood this
time. He sucked the metallic deep red liquid into his mouth.
"Don't worry 'bout Lils she'll be fine. Here's your keys we won't do it again and
yes I know you'll discuss a pay cut with your father." Matt said. Ryou began to follow his
other half as Bakura began down the hill. Matt quickly had both of them by the shoulders.
"No, don't go down there at the moment." Before Matt could finish his explanation a rifle
shot was heard, then a victorious laugh from Lilly.
"She got the little devil. See? See? Do you see that thing Ry?" Bakura asked
now bouncing on two feet.
"Yes, Yami we see." Ryou said looking around the barn to see Lilly coming up.
Over her left shoulder the rifle rested and in her right hand she held the tail of the
opossum.
"Little sister don't miss when she aims her gun." she said in a sing song voice
as she tossed the dead animal at Justin's feet and entered the barn to put the rifle back.
"See, Jus told ya she'd be fine. Always is. As dependable as us takin' da truck
next time." Matt grinned.
"Bakura, what have you been doing?" Ryou asked his 'older brother'.
"Mrs. Halse....No she said to call her Karen or Mrs.H, but she gave me coffee. I
had 3 cups. I feel like a could run circle around all of Egypt." Ryou sighed at the moronic
idea of drinking 3 cups of coffee the first time he ever tasted it.
"Look Big Brother, I only take the truck on feed day, I always return it safe and
sound, and you never miss anything important. So don't act as if this is really a problem
and if it is you can pick up the feed next time." Ryou noted that Lilly was acting like
Mokuba as she pulled the pure innocent look that only younger siblings can make work.
"I promise Big Bother, we won't hurt your truck." she tried once again this time
succeeding in making her brother melt.
"Fine but only once a month." Justin caved.
"Great. Now I need that in writing." Lilly pulled a folded piece of paper out of her
pocket with a pen and handed it to her brother. "Sign on the dotted line. Don't worry it only
says that you intrust you truck to Matt and me on the third Saturday of every month." Lilly
said as she forced the pen in her brothers hand.
Mokuba wouldn't try that, but he defiantly has competition for the most crafty
younger sibling contest.
The rest of the morning and well into the afternoon Ryou spent watching his
dark half. Matt and Lilly had put him to work helping them with the feed bags and taking
care of the animals. No one seemed surprised by Justin being gone all day, Serena
staying in her room, nor Mrs. Halse staying on the computer playing solitaire. Matt and
Lilly didn't fight as much as the day before though neither missed a chance to call the
other a name. Dinner that night was especially quiet. Matt had gone home for dinner,
Justin hadn't return, Mr. Halse was working late, and Serena had refused to leave her
room.
S/N: There will be no update on this story for a while. I have testing coming up and Mom and Dad are cramming the school work. I won't have time to type anything but reports for at least a month everything is over in May, then I have 4-H stuff to get done. I'll do my best to pull something together but no promises. *beats head on wall* Besides I can't come up with a way to write down all the thought for the next chapter.