A/N: I'm back in the game now! I have a new laptop, so now I can use my keys instead of copying and pasting letters. I apologize for the (long,long) wait. I'll do my best not to let happen again. Hopefully you guys are still with me.
Curtains!
Chapter 7 - Distractions
Friday morning
Anzu pulled the make shift ice pack from her jaw, whistling in relief now that the burning sensation was gone. She made to drop the ice-filled towel, but a hand reached around her and gently took the thing from her. "You have to keep this on your face, or the swelling won't go down."
Ryuji pressed the cold towel back to her face. Anzu's attitude sparked, and she bit down on her tongue to prevent her from saying anything. It would be rude, considering he was only trying to help her, as he had for the past two days. She wasn't ungrateful; she just wanted Ryuji to give her some space.
The bed shifted, and he moved closer behind her, resting his arm on her bare shoulder. His free hand found its way into her hair, massaging her scalp. Sighing, Anzu relaxed and leaned back into his chest.
It's funny. She never found herself this comfortable with Akio, and he was her boyfriend. She was always on edge with him, desperate to keep him in good spirits so they wouldn't resort to fighting. With Ryuji, she worried none about mood swings or temper tantrums. He was always his best around her, even when she upset him.
"Zu-zu?"
Ah. That ridiculous nickname again. "Hm?"
He hesistated. "When are you leaving?"
She smiled, even though he couldn't see it. "I'm not sure. Whenever you let me go, I suppose."
Instead of laughing at her flirty joke, Ryuji pulled his hand from her hair and propped her up. "We need to talk."
Uh oh. Anzu replaced his hand on the towel and turned to face him. His green eyes were all business now. "About?"
"Us. You. Akio."
Anzu frowned. "Ryuji, we can't have one day without you bringing this up?"
His eyes darkened. "Well I can't help it if the girl I like continues to throw herself at a guy who hurts her."
She turned her head away. "That's none of your business."
"It is when you show up at my door covered in blood and bruises!" He sighed. "Have you looked in the mirror since you've been here? This is the worse time yet, and you know it."
He was right. She did know. Although most of the bruising and swelling had gone down, she was still in no condition to return home. Her lip had been busted and was not completely healed. The skin on her jaw was purplish and was just beginning to return to it's normal color.
"Why do you keep going back to him?"
Anzu started. The question caught her off guard. "He's my boyfriend," she answered stupidly.
Ryuji's eyes narrowed. "That can easily be fixed."
This whole conversation was beginning to wear on her patience. "I love him Ryuji! Why can't you see that?"
"No, you don't."
"How can you tell me how I feel?"
"Because," his tone changed dangerously. "If you did, you wouldn't come running to me everytime he hurt you. I'm the one taking care of you, something he should be doing. We kiss, we touch..." He paused. "I wouldn't be that person you trust to help you when things go wrong with him. Hell, Anzu, you're not even happy with him. So don't sit here and tell me you love him."
Again, she had no response. What could she say? He was right. She always found herself in his arms when things weren't looking up. She had Katsuya, Seto, and Yami, maybe even Miho, to run to for support, but she chose him. Always him. He provided the comfort she couldn't get from her male friends, and what Akio didn't give her. He was safe, loving, and everything else she was looking for.
Anzu wasn't stupid; she was well aware that what Akio did to her was wrong. But she didn't want to leave him. She couldn't. Akio depended on her for love and support, a helping hand. He needed help with problems no one else could understand, and he'd chosen her. She wasn't going to back of it now. "Listen, Ryuji, he's-"
He cut her off with a kiss. It was nothing extraordianary, just a light peck on her lips, but it did things to her.
Ryuji pulled back and smiled weakly at her. "Real boyfriends don't treat their girlfriends like this." He paused. "Let me show you everything he isn't."
She was startled for the second time in no more than thirty minutes. Ryuji's eyes roamed her body, and she flushed. She suddenly felt naked. Although they slept in the same bed before, he had never seen her so indecent. Anzu made sure to keep covered when she stayed the night with him. However, he'd given her the empty room last night, and she slept as freely as she did at home. She changed into one of his shirts, it being so big that it slipped off her left shoulder. She removed her bra, sleeping was more comfortable that way, and opted with no bottoms. The only material covering her legs was the comforter on the bed. Concious of what he could see, Anzu reached for the blanket to cover herself. Ryuji, seeing what she was doing, caught her wrist and pushed her on her back.
His grin turned michiveous as he hovered over her. "Ryuji-"
"Just shut up sometimes."
Xx
Jounouchi had a habit of talking to strangers, especially if they were cute and not too difficult to get into his little blue book.
This was not one of those times.
This stranger wasn't a stranger really. The first time he'd seen the guy was at school. However, his friends were a bit faster than him, causing him to lose out on this one.
"Kile right? You're Bakura's friend."
The shorter boy frowned a bit at the mention of the senior's name, but cleared his face of any emotion. "That's right. And you're Jounouchi, Kaiba's boyfriend."
Jounouchi blanched. "No. Not at all."
Kile looked surprised. "Really? It looked like something was going on to me..."
"If you haven't heard by now, I don't do relationships."
"That, or you're just afraid."
Jounouchi frowned. Kile was pretty nosy despite being somewhat a stranger to him. No one went around saying things like that, except creeps and..."Did Se-Kaiba send you?"
Much to his annoyance, Kile looked amused. Jounouchi didn't understand what was so funny. "A guy can't stroll through the park without having a motive, huh?"
"Answer the question," Jounouchi growled.
He was pissed. How dare Kaiba send someone out to do his dirty work for him. No kiss-ass was going to come after him and think they'd get away with it. If Kaiba wants to know anything, he would have to approach Jounouchi himself. There will be none of that sending representatives shit.
Kile rolled his eyes, obviously not impressed with Jounouchi's menace. "No, your play thing did not send me. I came here on my own free will. But since you brought him up, let's talk." He motioned to a near by bench. "Have a seat."
Jounouchi watched the boy stalk to the benches, no doubt expecting him to follow. Being as stubborn as he was, Jounouchi refused at first. What could Kile have to speak to him about, especially if it was about Kaiba? The boy probably didn't know a thing about them except for the talk in the hallway. Still, something about Kile had him curious. He was unusually confident about having a conversation he didn't know a thing about.
Kile smiled. "Are you going to stare all day?"
Jounouchi huffed in response and walked to the bench, falling into the spot next to Kile. "Alright. What do you want?"
Kile ran a hand over his curls. Jounouchi couldn't help but notice how shiny they were. "I want to help you."
"How?"
"For one, your issues with Kaiba."
The juniors eyes widened. "How-wha-?"
Kile dismissed his noise with a slight wave. "The crushes and one night stand? Yeah, I know all about that. And even though you've completely fucked up because of your ridiculous morals, I'm going to do what I can to help you. Got it?"
"No. I don't." He cowered a bit when Kile glowered at him, but continued on. "I dont know how you know any of that - if Bakura told you, let him know I'm kicking his ass - but it's none of your damn business. I can handle Kaiba on my own."
An annoying smirk made its way onto Kile's face. "Like you have been the past week?"
This fucker.
He continued. "Pretending you have things under control is not helping your situation. It's clear you have no idea how to go about getting Kaiba to talk to you, and any plan you're sure to come up with will fail."
People questioning his intelligence pissed him off more than Kaiba. Jounouchi grabbed Kile by the collar and flipped him off the bench. His back hit the ground with a loud thud, and Jounouchi held him in place with his arms. "You have a lot of balls for someone who just got here. I'm not someone to mess with."
Something in Kile's eyes flashed, and Jounouchi found himself on the receiving end of a chokehold. Kile was now standing, holding Jounouchi up by the neck. "I'm not someone to mess with either. I'm not one of your friends; put your hands on me again and I won't be so leniant."
Kile released him. Jounouchi found his footing and looked at Kile warily. He was glad no one was paying attention. This boy, smaller than him by a lot, had easily bitched him. Jounouchi found it unnerving, as he was the one to do the bitching. He made a note to himself to compliment Kaiba on his choice of undercover spies.
"Alright Kile; what do you want?"
The change on the boy's face was stellar; his blazing frown turned into a cheerful smile. It would have been hard to believe the boy was capable of violence had Jounouchi not seen it himself. "Glad your seeing it my way. Things will be much easier now."
The warning bells in Jounouchi's head went off. "What things?"
Xx
Kile frowned as he watched Bakura and Jounouchi roll around on the floor. He supposed it was his fault, considering he informed neither boy of his plans for today. Needless to say, the reactions he got when the two of them walked through Bakura's front door startled him, making him remember why he needed to think his plans out more thoroughly.
The first thing the two had seen when entering the house was a half-naked Bakura. The senior was clad only his boxers, a large blanket trailing after him. The large bag of chips he'd been holding met with Kile's face.
"What the hell?! You weren't supposed to be back until later! Now I'm all exposed and shit."
Kile rolled his eyes. "Like you ever really care. Are you ready?"
Bakura sighed. "Yeah, yeah."
Jounouchi snickered. "You and your boyfriend are so cute." His tone was mocking.
The senior sneered. "Boyfriend?"
Jounouchi grinned, waving him off. "It's alright, Kile already told me. If you want to keep it a secret, I understand. I won't say a word."
"He what?"
Kile shrunk a little under the look Bakura was giving him. He silently wished for Jounouchui to shut up. "Yeah, I was a little surprised too. I didn't expect you to give up on Ryou so easily."
Bakura blanched. "I don't know what this idiot told you, but we are certainly not together."
Weirdly enough, hearing Bakura say that acually made Kile's breath hitch. It was one thing when they were alone and Bakura would deflect his advances. It was another hearing him say it to another. Kile dropped his head, unsure of what was going on with him.
Jounouchi, being the observant person he is, scolded Bakura. "Look what you just did! I understand if you don't want anyone to know yet, but you can't just reject him to his face!"
Instead of responding, Bakura dropped his blanket and lept at his friend, resulting in the tangled mess they were in now. Kile allowed the two to bang each others heads in the ground five minutes more before he intervened. They had work to do. Kile stepped over to them and grabbed Jounouchi by the back of his shirt, tugging him off. Jounouchi stood up quickly, obviously remembering what happened earlier. While it amused Kile, he had to remember that this kid could easily beat him to a pulp. This strong act was only something he was using to get his way.
Bakura rolled onto his back, glaring at him. "You're always ruining something."
Kile rolled his eyes. "We have work to do."
Bakura nodded and stood, heading for the dining area. Kile and Jounouchi followed. They took seats on either side of the dining table, Kile next to Bakura, Jounochi directly in front of them. Already on the table was a small stack of paper and a pencil, which Bakura instructed Jounouchi to grab. The boy slid a piece of paper over to himself, fiddling with the recently sharpened pencil in his other hand. His eyes were gleaming with curiosity. "What's all this for?"
Bakure frowned. "Isn't it obvious? You're going to write a letter."
Jounouchi blinked. "To?"
"Kaiba."
Jounouchi placed the pencil on the table. Kile noticed his eyes were guarded now. "I don't think this is a good idea. I wouldn't even know what to say."
"I figured." Jounouchi's defeated look turned into a glare. Bakura ignored it, opening his bag of chips.
Kile coughed, attempting to smooth over Bakura's ridiculing comment. The boy could be so damn mean when he wanted to. "Letter writing is never easy."
His explanation seemed to have saved him. Jounouchi's face relaxed. "I couldn't just go to the company myself? Or shoot him an email?"
Bakura crunched loudly a chip. "You wouldn't even make it on company grounds. Kaiba doesn't like you. And don't you think Kaiba gets enough emails already? What makes you think you won't delete yours too?"
Jounouchi's face turned red; he was embarressed by the obvious answer. Kile almost wanted to smack Bakura for handling the situation like this, but he didn't want to get involved too much. Is Bakura wanted his help, he needed to earn it. d
Jounouchi picked up the pencil and started a sentence on the first piece of paper. Kile watched eagerly, surprised that the boy didn't have any questions or request any advice. However, when Jounouchi had dotted a period on his third sentence, he dropped the pencil again. "I don't know what I'm doing."
So much for that. Kile sighed. Bakura through a chip at his eye. "You looked like you were creating a letter to me."
The blonde picked up the paper and cleared his throat. "Dear Kaiba, I'm sorry about what's happened over the past few weeks. I don't want you to think you were a one night stand. We were more like friends with benefits, something I thought we were both okay with."
Bakura barked with laughter, bits of chewed chip landing on the table and Jounouchi's paper. Kile rubbed his forehead, removing the bits of spittle that had made it up there. "That's freaking horrible dude."
Kile couldn't handle it anymore. He punched Bakura in the shoulder. The bully jerked to he left, not hurt, but not expecting Kile to have the audacity to act touch him. The two traded looks before Bakura rolled his eyes. "How do you really feel about Kaiba? And none of that shallow shit."
"I like him, but I don't think it's going to work."
His tone caught Kile's full attention. Even Bakura had stopped snacking momentarily. Jounouchi continued. "Since I met Kaiba, I knew he was always better than me. I was surprised when we became friends and all that, especially when it was obvious the only reason I started talking to him was to add him to my list of scores. I don't know when it turned into a crush, probably the day my dad left me on my own. Kaiba looked after me then, making sure I always had enough. He even made it so I wouldn't get caught living without an adult. He's always been my best friend.
"Now I don't even know what's going on. It started over the summer. Kaiba admitted that he felt something for me, and was interested in pursuing it. I was surprised; not only was one of the richest guys in the world my friend, someone who is beneath him in everything, but he liked me. He wanted me. I turned him down."
Kile frowned. "But you returned his feeings?"
Jounouchi smiled. It was a bitter smile. "I couldn't see myself getting into a real relationship. I was a wanted guy, and I wanted everything that came with it. Relationships wouldn't work with me. I thought it was settled then, but things were different between us. I always had to watch myself with Kaiba; my feelings go off the charts when it comes to him. My little crush was born off his friendship. I figured I still wanted to get him into bed despite him being my best friend. So when it happened that night of the Christmas party, I didn't stop. And now we're here."
Jounouchi dropped his head onto the table. "I messed up big time."
Bakura picked up the paper and grimanced. "That's what usually happens when you fuck your best friend."
Kile looked back. "Bakura!" Jounouchi didn't need that right now."
The senior shrugged. "It's true. Sugar coating it won't help anything." He focused back on Jounouchi. "What's up with you and relationships? It has something to do with that father of yours, doesn't it?"
Jounouchi didn't bother picking his head off the table. "Everyone I was ever close to left me behind. Once you guys are graduated and gone, you will too."
"So you're scared."
He lifted his head up then, anger clouding his features. "I'm not scared of anything."
Bakura snorted. "So what do you call it?" He didn't allow Jounouchui to answer. "If you're serious about this, skip making a scene and write the damn letter. Just write what you told us and you'll be okay."
Surprisingly, Bakura's no nonsense tone worked. Jounouchi picked up the pencil and started on a fresh piece of paper without another word. Kile and Bakura stayed silent, watching the boy write. Soon, Bakura became bored and announced that he was going to his room to do take a short nap. Kile barely registered what the boy had said.
The bitter feeling from earlier was back. He wasn't sure, but he thought he was feeling the pang of rejection. Could cupids even feel that? They were never rejected. But still, for what? Bakura had made it known from the time they met that he had eyes for no one except the freshman. This annoyed Kile for reasons he hadn't known then, but now he was sure he harbored some feelings for Bakura. It was quite shocking, considering the other hosts he'd taken to bed were forgotten easily. They were nothing but pleasure things to him, a way of payment, while he helped them out with whatever was going on in their love lives. This was the first time one had ever receivced real emotion from him before.
"Kile, is this a good start?"
Jounouchi slid the paper across the table. He looked nervous, hoping he'd done right. Kile smiled and picked up the paper. He didn't have time to be in his feelings right now. He had to focus on his real reason for being here.
Xx
Again, I apologize for this taking so long guys.
Review are love. =D
