Chapter 4:
A/N: I'm sooo so so so so sorry for the slow update!TT_TT I hope there'll be still some of you who read the story though...
Enjoy reading.
Characters © Kazuki Takahashi
He knew that it wasn't right to ditch them like that. But sometimes they're so... so overly protecting and caring – it made him sick. He wasn't used to such a nice and lovely treatment. How should a person like him react to this? He'd grown up in the hard and rough part of the city – a streetfighter like him or rather like the one he used to be, wasn't capable of open up and trust people that easily.
He was and still is a very sceptical and suspicious person. There's no way he'd stop thinking like a fighter, no matter how hard he tried – there are some rules he learned on the street and still followed. The importants one always circulates through his mind everytime he looked at random people:
Analyse your opponent.
The moves: How is he moving? He's reaching out towards you; will this hand hit you in the face or does he just want to shake hands?
Language: Can you trust his words? What's his real intention? Or is he only telling lies?
Facial expression: Your opponent seems very happy or confident. By looking in his eyes you can see his real emotions – you can see his sadness, anger or his fear.
'They say, the eyes are the mirror to the soul.'
As much as Joey fascinated this proverb it also scared him. It was easy for him to see into the souls of most of the people, but does that mean they also could see his?
He didn't want that to happen – no one should ever look into the depth of his soul... that's why he builded up this wall; wore this mask. He needed to hide his truth emotions and lock away his thoughts or else it would be used against him. At least that's what he believed in.
"Joey?"
He snapped out of his thoughts just to see Yugi and the rest of the gang reaching his desk.
"Uhm, listen. We want to apologize for our behaviour earlier..."
He looked up at his friends. They all wore a warm smile and gave him again that concern look. But they also had something else in their eyes, something he couldn't made out at that very moment...
'Gaah!' The blond mentally screamed at himself as he realized what he was doing.
'Now stop it already! They're your friends, there's no need to analyse them further as you did already!' He took a deep breath. 'Now com'on. You have to show 'em that there's no reason to look so concern.'
With that last thought he forced the best smile on his face he could at the moment.
"Nah it's okay. My reaction earlier was stupid, sorry Tea. ...I just stood up with the wrong leg I guess." He grinned wide at them and hoped they would believe his lie – and it worked.
"Ah okay. But still, we're sorry, Joey. We're glad that you're back now."
They did it again. Why did they apologize to him? It's not like he deserves it! For that matter he should apologize to them, after all he reacted not correct. They were just worrying about him...
And then again ...it's just another thing that annoys him about his friends. They apologize for almost everything, even though there's nothing they should be sorry about! And even if there is, most of the time it's his fault so why do always they use that term? He didn't like to be handled with kid gloves. He opened his mouth to answer him, but before he could make a single word their art teacher Mrs. Janno, also known as 'the bird of paradise', practically bursted into the room. She wore a multicoloured dress with every colour you could think of and around her neck hung a necklace with strangly looking feathers.
"Let's get started class! I can't wait to see your new works this year! So chop-chop! Go to your seats, I'll explain you your task.", she clapped her hands in a childish way and looked way too eager into the round. Too bad no one seemed to share her good mood.
As everything was settled everyone started with their picture. Well more or less. Most of them were chatting, while others played with their mobilephone. There were a few exceptions who at least tried to start something. The task itself was stupid and you could hardly think of a good idea.
" 'Look inside of you and draw what you see.' Tch. What is she thinking? I mean, 'What colour has your soul?' ?" Tristan groaned in frustration. That's the dumbest thing he heard for a long time. But what did he expected from that woman walking around like a big blur of colour?
"I don't get it either." Duke as well as Yami stared down at their empty sheets of paper.
Tea tried to lighten the mood and get them to work, but she wasn't so convinced of the topic herself. "Just try it, guys. Close your eyes-" and so she did and took a deep breath, "and try to see your soul."
"...you do realize how ridiculous that sounded, don't you?" Yami was far away from understanding the meaning of that all. Probably Mrs. Janno didn't knew that herself. When he closes his eyes he couldn't see. It's that simple.
"I know! But at least I tried!"
"Well..if we can't actually see the colour of our soul, why don't we think of what it would look like?"
"Yugi, you don't really believe that our souls have some colour or something like that, do you?"
Tristan began to worry about the mental health of the small boy.
"I know it's not very convincing, but how do you know that they havn't one? Did you ever saw a soul? No you didn't."
"No of course not, but still... the task is just stupid!"
"Get over it, big boy. We'll figure something out. Just draw something." Duke said and smirked.
On the other side of the room a certain multimillionaire had simliar thoughts.
'Tch. What a waste of time. Why do I even bother to come to something useless as art?'
And faster than Mrs. Janno could look he took out his laptop and started to work on his latest contract. He would never admit it, but he knew all too well why he bothered coming here.
His blue eyes glanced over to the mutt, who sat all by himself a little bit further away from the kindergarten also known as Yugi and Co.
As clumsy as the second rate duellist seemed, Kaiba had to admit that Joey was indeed very skilled when it comes to drawing. Not that he would say that out loud, but the blond was very talented. There's no denial – Kaiba simply enjoyed watching him work on a new picture. When he reaches out for the right colours without giving a second thought. He just knows to which part of the motive they belong. The art lessons are always one of those few events where you can see a Joey Wheeler actually be very concentraded and absolutely occupied by his work. Kaiba kind of – dare he to think – liked that part of Joey. For a short time he seems so very different to his childish friends.
More serious, someone who knows what he's doing and surprisingly drawing with a patience he didn't knew the blond actually could muster.
But not today.
What the CEO saw wasn't the mutt at all. His brown eyes stared at his empty sheet of paper. It didn't look like he even recognized it at all. That was the first time Kaiba saw him sitting aimless before a new task. Normally he already should have been starting to draw another wonderful piece of art as soon as Mrs. Janno told them what to do. But just like he proved this morning, this wasn't a normal day. This wasn't the normal Joey Wheeler.
Or was he?
Kaiba blinked at that point and suddenly became unsure about the few facts he knew about Joey.
He only knew him from school. He laughes very often and in Kaibas opinion too loud. He's unnerving when he fools around with the kindergarten and his silly attitude not only pisses him off, but also reminds him everytime of a dog. He often saw it. That "smile", if you could call it so at all.
It looks so faked that it makes the CEO sick. No one noticed, but he sees it everytime, that the blond desperately hides his emotions behind that expression.
When he's angry at those friends of him. - He smiles.
When he gets interrupted by something meaningless even though he really wanted to tell the others something important. - He smiles.
When Tristan steels something from his lunch even though he's hungry as hell. - He smiles.
'Why does he do that all the time? Why not just tell those morons what's bothering him? He lies constantly right in their faces. Tch. When we argue he finally shows some real emotions.'
Wait. What was he thinking? Joeys real emotions only slipping through when they fight...?
That's right. He saw a change in those amber eyes when they looked at him enraged.
He saw the anger, passion, even a little bit happyness and he saw it. The fire of his soul.
Since he figured out how to get those emotions out of him, Kaiba took every opportunity to rile him up. To see the fire burning. It gave him the certainty that Joey wasn't lying to him.
Yes. That was it, that's the real Joey Wheeler and not that pitiful bundle sitting right in front of him.
'Why do I even care?' Slowly he's getting headaches from thinking too much about the mutt. 'I have better things to do anyway than wasting my time with that nuisance of a barker.'
With that he continued working on his contract he needs this evening for a business meeting.
Joey didn't know what to do. He was afraid of letting his hands get the better of him and work on their own like they usually did when he got white paper. But his mind wouldn't allow it. They should draw the colour of their soul and how it looks like... he didn't knew how it looks like, he could only feel it. And if he would truly paint what he feels... he couldn't do that. He wouldn't do that.
Joey looked down on his desk. The paper was white and taintless. Pure. If he would draw his soul, it would get dirty. It would loose all it's beauty and pureness. He didn't wanted that to happen. Not here. Not now. He's not alone, he didn't feel safe here. Everyone could clearly see what his hands are doing.
"Oh? What's wrong, Wheeler? I'm surprised you didn't started yet." Mrs. Jannos shrill voice interruped his gloomy thoughts. She was staring in his tired eyes waiting for an answer.
As she didn't receive one, she continued. "I would have never guessed that of all people my best art student has problems with the task. Okay let me help you."
"I refuse."
"What?" Mrs. Janno was slightly taken aback from the harsh tone of her blond student.
"I said, I refuse. I don't want your help. I just couldn't think of a good motive yet, that's all."
When there's one thing that made him angry, besides Kaiba, than it's when someone wants to tell him what he should paint.
"O-okay... I'll come to you later again to see how far you got."
So a very confused bird of paradise made her way away from him and went to a student who needs her help.
The rest of the day was strange for everyone around Joey. He didn't talked much, ignored almost everyone and perhaps the strangest thing that happened that day: He didn't ate.
Joey Wheeler and not eating? Hell surely froze over! At least that's what Yugi and Co. thought when he told them in lunchbreak that he isn't hungry.
At the end of the schoolday he made his way home alone.
I can't believe that it took me almost a year to update. oÒ I hope the chapter is okay after that long time. And I'm sorry if there are any spelling mistakes.:'D
