Disclaimer: None of this belongs to me.

Serenity sat in the corner of her apartment, hands clenching her hair in tight fists, and her eyes squeezed shut. This could not be happening. This was something that happened to other people, people in movies or on cheesy sitcoms, but not to real people.

"Come on!" Murphy had begged a few hours ago, "I'm just going to have a few people over, really, just thirty minutes and they'll be gone. It won't be like last time, I swear."

Apparently to the brunette a few people meant about thirty of her closest friends, and all of their closest friends. Thirty minutes? Serenity scowled. Yeah, right. Three hours later and the "small get together" (she should have known not to allow anything titled as so) had transformed to a living hell for Serenity.

"Hey, we're out of beer!" A dark-haired boy bellowed to Serenity.

Serenity felt her shoulders tense even tighter than they had been. There was no way she'd be their booze donkey. "Did you hear me? I said-"

Ignoring the obnoxious boy, Serenity stood up, and, after almost tripping over a fallen lamp, retreated to her bedroom. "Don't even think about it!" She growled to a giddy couple, one of which was reaching for her room's doorknob. The brunette slammed the door behind her, locked it, and flopped down on her bed. This was not fair. She remembered Kaiba saying that he was getting a free babysitter out of Serenity, had she known this was what he meant…

The girl bolted upright when she heard the doorknob start to rattle. A few seconds later someone was pounding on the door, and they were showing no sign of stopping. Finally, Serenity flung the door open, only to find Murphy herself at the doorway. "You are so dead!" She hissed at her, but Murphy seemed to not hear her as she stumbled passed. "Oh my God," Serenity laughed bitterly, "You're hammered. Again. Of course, just my luck."

"Am not!" Murphy snapped, and then had to catch herself on the dresser as she almost fell to the ground on a pair of jeans she'd left on the floor the previous day. "Fuck." She muttered, rubbing her forearm.

"Murphy! How am I supposed to handle this? I don't know any of these people! I can't get them to leave!"

"Leave? Why would they leave?" Murphy frowned as she dug through a drawer in her bedside table.

"Because, Kaiba said-"

"Fuck Kaiba!" Murphy snapped, "But not literally, because that would be...well, let's just not talk about that right now. The point is, who cares what he says? He's not here, is he?"

Serenity rubbed her temples with her fingers. "Murph, come on…" She was over this night and many like it she had already suffered though.

"What? He may be able to control you like a puppet, but not me!" Without another word she staggered out of their shared room, taking with her a large bottle of something Serenity couldn't identify that she'd kept stored in one of her drawers, and slammed the door behind her. "You have got to be kidding me." Serenity sighed. She should have stayed with Joey, as her brother had suggested she should when they'd met up for lunch earlier that week.

She's on her own . Serenity thought bitterly. She locked the door to the bedroom once more and sat down cross-legged on her silky duvet cover. If Murphy wanted to get stoned that was her decision, but Serenity wouldn't be the one to clean the puke off the walls in the morning. The girl flipped to her stomach and pulled her pillow over her head. She could still hear the peals of unfamiliar laughter from the other room. Every now and the doorknob would rattle, but Serenity would ignore it.

It wasn't until the clock flashed two-thirty did the noise start to die down. Serenity took a deep breath. She knew it was time to venture into the living room, but the damage that lay beyond the safe walls of her bedroom was not something she was sure she was ready to face yet. After a few more minutes of stalling Serenity pulled open the door feeling her stomach drop as she did so. Beer cans were strewn about the floor, the couch was flipped over, as were the chairs. Cabinets and drawers were flung open, and the floor lamp lay shattered on the floor. "Murphy?" Serenity walked around the counter to the kitchen "Murphy?" She called again. No response. "Great." She muttered. The place was a wreck, and her roommate was missing. Not to mention the refrigerator was now completely empty.

Serenity stared blankly at the room around her. With a sigh of defeat she pulled one of the chairs upright, then the next. She gathered all of the stray cans and empty bottles then threw them into one of the black trash bags she'd found under the sink. She knew she shouldn't have to do this, but knew she couldn't dwell on it. I'll just talk to Murphy about it later, she'll understand. It won't happen again.

Serenity, however, still couldn't help feeling uneasy. Every night with Murphy grew louder and more out of control. Murphy had taken to disappearing at random intervals, not just at night, but during the day as well, even during work, leaving no explanation.

What surprised Serenity the most though, was how Kaiba ignored it. Had Serenity, or any other employee, attempted to do so they would have been yelled at for a half hour straight then promptly fired. It made no since to Serenity, but she knew better than to question it.

It wasn't until the sun was just barely staring to peak through the sky did the girl finally stumble through the doorway looking disoriented, with back makeup smudged under her eyes, which were slightly puffy. She didn't even acknowledge Serenity as she passed, but even if she had, Serenity knew her speech would have most likely been too slurred to comprehend. Serenity shook her head. Her friend had just had a rough day. Soon she'd be back to normal.

*********

"Coffee. Now."

Serenity didn't bother answering, she knew before she would have time to say anything the line would be dead. She pushed herself out of her chair and walked to the coffee machine. It was weird, how adjusted she now was. Winter was finally starting to come to an end. The temperature was rising ever so slightly as the days went by.

Things were different than they had been when she'd first started at Kaiba Corp. The feeling of dread no longer filled her stomach when she was called into the CEO's office. The anxiousness of being there had worn off, replacing it a null, grey atmosphere, despite the increasingly blue skies. Serenity definitely felt no comfort from the building. It had become even worse since Murphy had, to use Samuel's words, fallen off the deep end. She hadn't bothered to show up to work in the last month in a half, and it had been long since Serenity had seen her at the apartment. There were always the occasional street sightings where one of them would see her in the arms of one boy or another, but never for long before they would vanish into an ally way or a shady-looking shop.

Placing the mug of coffee on the corner of her boss's desk, in the same place she did everyday, she couldn't help but let her eyes dart to the clock. "Mr. Kaiba-?"

"Go."

Relived, Serenity hurried out of his office and to the elevator. Going home was without a doubt the best part of the day. Today, however, she turned the opposite direction after she walked out the large revolving doors of Kaiba Corp., as she was on her way, for the first time in what seemed like forever, to Stacey's penthouse, where she'd be helping organize the latest charity ball her friends had taken charge of. The first one she'd attended had been the previous year, and had been amazing. The idea of another made Serenity's bleak day slightly better.

"Thank God!" Stacey sighed as soon as Serenity had stepped foot into the blonde's bedroom where her and Bex sat, surrounded by small black binders and stacks of paper, "I thought you'd never get here."

"Sorry, I-"

But Stacey was in her planning mode and cut Serenity off, handing her a packet of papers and saying, " Check over the guest list and make sure we didn't forget anyone, okay?"

Serenity nodded and took the papers, her eyes already scanning the list. Most of the names she recognized as students who went to school with them, but there were others that caught her eye. "Kaiba?" Serenity groaned, "You've got to be kidding me!"

"Please," Bex scowled at Serenity, "Kaiba's on every list. Shouldn't you know that by now? The boy practically owns the city."

"Less talking more looking!" Stacey snapped at Serenity, who rolled her eyes but resumed scanning the paper before her.

"What about the one kid from Chemistry? Doug or something?" Serenity offered handing the list back.

"I knew I forgot someone!" Stacey cried, slapping her forehead. She quickly snatched the list from Serenity's hand and scribbled the boy's name in red ink onto the paper.

"I'll have to have my mom check over it too," Stacey decided, "You know how parents are with that sort of thing."

Actually, Serenity had no idea, but she nodded in agreement anyway.

"Who are you bringing anyway?" Stacey asked, flipping through one of the black binders.

"What?" Serenity asked with a frown. "Oh, right. A date." To be honest Serenity hadn't thought that far yet. "I'm not sure."

"What about that one boy?" Stacey asked, copying a phone number into her planner.

"Samuel? I don't know…" The truth was the relationship had sort of fizzled out. After Murphy had withdrawn from their lives, the after-work meet ups had slowed to a stop, and Serenity hardly saw any of the four S's anymore.

"Take Leo," Bex said flatly, "He doesn't have a date either." She seemed in a worse mood than usual, thumbing through papers, a small frown on her full lips, but Serenity knew better than to say anything about it.

"Good idea." She nodded.

After another hour or so of going over details and trying to pick out the perfect invitations, the girls finally called it quits. Stacey had invited both girls to stay over, an invitation Serenity had gladly accepted. She was tired of coming home to an empty flat every night.

"It's official, by the way," Bex told Serenity in the same flat tone she'd used earlier, "I talked to Leo. He's taking you."

"Oh, thanks-" But Bex had disappeared into the bathroom before Serenity could so much as finish her sentence. Serenity shrugged her shoulders. Bex had always been a bit moody.

Serenity pulled on her pajamas and crawled under the covers. If only she had tomorrow off, she thought sadly, but decided not to let it get her down. If there wasn't time tomorrow, she'd go dress shopping Sunday. Serenity smiled slightly. It'd been a long time since she'd done something so stress relieving, and she was definitely looking forward to it.

********

Work was hard. There was no way around it. With Murphy absent, Serenity had twice the load she used to, and it was growing harder and harder to complete everything. Plus, she really did miss her friend. It'd had been nice having someone to complain about Kaiba and goof off with.

Serenity tried to push the worried thoughts of her friend out of her mind as she alphabetized the files in the cabinet.

"Wheeler." A cool voice said behind her, causing a shiver to rush up her spine. Kaiba sneaking up on her was the one thing she couldn't seem to get used to.

"Yes?" She stood up and fixed the collar of her shirt, her eyes purposely set away from the boy in front of her. She knew that tone, and that nothing good came of it.

"Do you even realize how far behind you are?" He growled.

"I-"

"If you think you can do absolutely nothing all day and get away with it you are sorely mistaken." That was not fair, and he knew it. Serenity had already realized he was just taken his stress out on her as he used to do to Murphy. Before Serenity had time to make the point that her work was doubled, Kaiba continued, "I feel you won't be able to progress in this company until you learn that."

Serenity frowned. Kaiba knew she had no attention of ever moving up in Kaiba Corp. Finally, she allowed her eyes to meet his. He was angry, she could tell, but when was he not, what scared her was the hint of smugness in his eyes.

"You won't be receiving any pay for today, and I want you here tomorrow, all of tomorrow."

"That's not fair!" Serenity cried, but Kaiba only smirked. "I need the money for today! You don't understand, there's Stacey's party and I have to get a dress for it, and-" Serenity stopped. There was know changing his mind, and from the look on his face her outburst had only fueled him even more. "Fine." She grumbled. "Whatever." Serenity wouldn't bother trying to argue with him. Being CEO made him always able to win those.

The next day, Serenity, her quarter-length sleeved v-neck black, in a form of silent protest, stood in front of her desk at six in the morning. Every inch of her body was yearning to take a mad dash for the elevator, but she stayed put. As it turns out, it wasn't just Serenity who got Sundays off, as the entire building was empty save for her and Kaiba.

"You really come here every day of the week?" Serenity asked as he brushed past her.

Kaiba turned to her and said nothing, but raised an eyebrow as if to say, "Of course I'm here everyday."

"Suck to be you." She muttered seating herself behind her desk.

After a few hours she had successfully finished all the work she'd needed to do, plus a few extra things that would clear her up for next week. Serenity tapped her fingers impatiently on the desk before her. It was only ten, and already she had nothing to do.

Another few minutes later and Serenity was convinced the clock was wrong. It could not only be ten o' seven. Impossible!

"Hey, Kaiba?" She pushed open the door to find him on his computer, as per usual.

"What?" He snapped.

"When you say I have to be here all day…"

"I mean," He said impatiently, "That you will be here until I leave."

Serenity furrowed her eyebrows slightly. "How long do you usually stay for?" She asked.

Kaiba smirked.

"No!" Serenity whined. She knew what that meant. If she left here before eleven that night she'd be considered lucky. "What am I supposed to do until then?"

"You could always try doing your job." Kaiba replied stiffly.

"I already have, thank you very much. I finished everything about half an hour ago."

Kaiba nodded once. Was this approval? Serenity decided to test her luck, "So, does that mean I can go home?"

"No." It was worth a shot. "You want something to do? Go get me more coffee. Now."

Serenity rolled here eyes but complied. "You better watch yourself Kaiba, I think you're at a serious risk for caffeine addiction." She warned his as she reentered the boy's office.

"Ha. Ha." He replied, his words dripping with sarcasm.

Serenity sat in the small black chair, her knees to her chin. She watched Kaiba work, something that would have been boring, but today fascinated her. Not the work itself, but the way in which Kaiba carried it out, completely flawless. She hadn't seen him mistype once, or trip over a word when he spoke on the phone, Serenity couldn't help but notice all the erasers on his pencils were completely whole. He'd never needed to use them before. And as she watched him in his cool demeanor, not rude, but still letting you know he was in charge, she couldn't help but feel a bit jealous. She would never be able to compose herself that way, to be so…perfect.

"You're staring is really annoying, in case that was your goal." Kaiba said finally, breaking their long span of silence. Serenity felt herself blush and she turned away.

""I wasn't staring." She mumbled, knowing it was just a waste of words. He hadn't sent her away though, and Serenity was grateful for that. Spending the next few hours alone would not be something Serenity would look forward to. She stood up and walked to the glass wall, and peered out. On the ground below the building, Serenity could just barely make out a dark headed figure, and instantly Serenity knew whom it was. She watched as Murphy stood outside of the building, as if trying to decide whether or not to enter. But after a few minutes, she turned away, hailed a taxi and just like that, was gone. Serenity was vaguely aware of Kaiba behind her. It wasn't until she felt him move back to his desk did she retreat to her chair. She didn't know what to say, so Serenity chose to keep her mouth shut. It was obvious they had both seen the same thing. Once, she noticed, did Kaiba's eyes flick towards the window, but after that he remained focused. Serenity sighed slightly and settled deeper into her chair. She wondered how Kaiba could keep his head so easily when everything around him was always such chaos. Serenity had half of what he did and sometimes felt like hoping on a train and taking off. It was just another part of him Serenity felt she'd never really understand, and for the time being, decided she was okay with that.

A/N Thanks for reading! And I'm sorry that took so long. Normal excuses apply. Anyway, the real romance stuff will start happening soon (I know, it's taking forever, and I've probably said that ten times) I just feel like I need to make certain things about certain characters known beforehand, and that's taking a little while, so I apologize for that. But anyway, please review! Please! Thanks again for reading! Oh, and please review!

~Average Prevailer~