Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh.
"Talk"
'Thoughts'
Flashback/ Dream
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Tea glanced curiously along the hallway to spot someone... anyone but was surprised and disappointed to see no one. She could swear she had heard footsteps outside her bedroom. She had woken up by the sound of her room door closing. She had assumed that it was Serenity and had quickly gotten up to spot the girl but was disappointed to find an empty hallway. She thought she was imagining things and had gone back to bed to try to sleep some more but after thirty minutes of tossing and turning, she had abandoned the idea and gotten up. She had heard footsteps outside the bathroom when she had been washing her face but again found no one in the hallway when she had come out. And just now when she was getting ready in the bedroom, she had heard footsteps stop right outside the door but no one knocked or came in. This was suspicious and creepy. She wondered if Seto was playing some kind of trick on her, or if it was one of the girls.
She found Norah and Eiza sitting in the living room. She politely greeted them and walked into the kitchen, not surprised when she got no response from them. After a silent breakfast, she went to the living room.
"Where are you going?" Norah asked her as she passed them. She paused to stare at her.
"Nowhere in particular. Why?"
"No reason." Norah replied. Tea regarded her for a few moments. Was she the one Tea had heard walking outside her bedroom? Was this an attempt by the girls to keep an eye on her? She sighed and slumped on the couch.
"I think I'm going to stay here for a while." She declared. The other two shared a glance and began speaking in hushed tones, ignoring her. Tea rolled her eyes and watched them, hoping to annoy them in some way. After twenty minutes of silence, Cathy entered the living room. She exchanged a smile with Norah who got up and left. Now Cathy took a seat in the living room and began studying her nails. Serenity was the next one to enter the picture but she ignored Tea and went to sit with Cathy. Eiza joined them and they began talking. Their blatantly rude attitude annoyed Tea. She wanted to speak but paused when she saw Jacqueline approach. She shot Tea a dirty look before turning to the other girls.
"Is it my turn yet?" She asked.
"Not yet." Eiza replied. "Norah has ten more minutes left." This piqued Tea's interest.
"What's going on?" She asked.
"We decided to spend some time with Kaiba one on one. We are taking turns." Cathy informed her.
"When is my turn?" Tea asked.
"You weren't there when we decided on the plan so we didn't give you a time." Eiza replied with a nasty smile.
"Do you really need more time with him after all that you have done with him?" Jacqueline asked. Tea glared at her.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"You spend the most alone time with him even though you claim to dislike him. Since Mokuba is your friend, you get away with it. We came up with this plan to even out the scale so we can finally have some time with him too." Eiza said.
"Besides, you know him better than us, don't you?" Jacqueline mocked. "So you don't need time with him to get to know him. Let us ignorant ones be blessed with real knowledge." Cathy let out a snicker. Even Serenity hid a smile behind her hands. Tea glared at them in anger.
"Don't spend too much time with him or he will see you for the insecure vipers you are." She said.
"You bitch." Jacqueline spat. Just then, Norah came into the living room along with Rhea. Jacqueline glared at Tea one last time before marching off angrily. She briefly spoke with Norah and then was off. The two newcomers sat in the living room and began talking. Rhea was the loudest of them all, proclaiming loudly about the beautiful dress she had chosen for the date and what she planned on doing. Tea tuned her out and reached for the TV remote. To her surprise, it turned on. She had assumed it was only for communication with Mokuba. Absently, she began channel surfing, ignoring the other girls.
"Gardner, you didn't grace me with your presence." Seto's voice caused her to turn from the TV and stare at the questioning billionaire. She shrugged her shoulders.
"I knew you would come find me sooner or later. Your day doesn't pass without seeing me." She finished with a smirk. He chuckled and took a seat on the same couch as her on the other end.
"True, but not for the reasons you think." He said. Tea was about to speak but Rhea spoke loudly.
"It's time for lunch, isn't it? Let's go to the kitchen and eat." The other girls immediately agreed, glancing at Seto expectantly to join them. He reluctantly got up.
"You are not coming?" He asked Tea who was still sitting.
"I just had breakfast." She informed him with a cheeky smile.
"I hate you." He said. "Mokuba has me waking up at nine in the morning, every morning."
"At least you have a harem of girls to make you breakfast." Tea said, motioning to the group of girls who were glaring at her for holding him up. He smirked in response.
"I wouldn't call them a harem."
"Groupies?" She supplied and he chuckled again.
"Close." He smirked.
"Your groupies are about to tear me limb from limb for keeping you from them so go join them and save me." He glanced at the annoyed bunch and sighed in agitation before moving away from Tea. While he went with them, Tea contemplated leaving the living room but then decided against it. Seto would find her. He seemed to be in the mood to annoy her so he would definitely come find her. It was better that they have their exchange in front of the other girls. This would satisfy them and maybe keep her and Seto from doing something that could be interpreted as inappropriate. She was still channel surfing when Seto came out holding a plate with food. Tea noticed that the other girls followed him, unwilling to leave him alone with her. She smirked inwardly.
Seto took a seat besides her again while the other girls spread themselves around the living room. Tea ignored everyone and kept her eyes on the TV.
"You should try this. It's not bad." Seto said. Tea turned to face him and eyed his food.
"Did you make it?" She inquired. He smirked and shook his head.
"This was offered to me by Norah." Tea raised an eyebrow and glanced at the beaming girl.
"If nothing else, at least you're getting some good food out of this competition." She said so only Seto could hear. He chuckled at her response.
"Go back." He suddenly said to her, his eyes on the TV. "Go back to the business channel. I want to check something." She obliged and watched various numbers appear on the screen. At the bottom, news headlines flashed every few seconds.
"Ooh, Ziegfried penned a deal with a major US tech company." She read a headline. Besides her, Seto scoffed loudly.
"Looks like someone is still sore over the past." She said with a teasing smile. He grunted.
"Hardly."
"So you have no issues with him?" She pressed.
"I'm in business with his company. Does that answer your question?" He replied.
"Not really." She said. "He told me you don't attend the meetings whereas he is there personally every time."
"When did he tell you that?" He inquired with a frown.
"When we went out to dinner after my show." She answered cheekily. "He was the definition of a gentleman." His frown deepened.
"Hate to break it to you but you are not his type." Tea laughed lightly.
"I know. He told me exactly who is his type." His eyes widened ever so slightly. "We had a very open and frank discussion." Tea said, enjoying Seto's expression. "Is that why you stopped going to the meetings because he told me that initially you attended them. Don't want to mix business with pleasure?"
"I don't like to be harassed where I work, nor do I like unwanted attention." He stated.
"You don't like unwanted attention? Then what is all this?" She asked teasingly.
"An excuse for me to properly torture Mokuba for all the shenanigans he has pulled over the years." He replied plainly. She laughed again.
"Your brother is a rascal. I can't believe he changed so much. I met Leon when I met Ziegfried and I have to tell you, Leon is such a sweetheart compared to your brother. He brought me flowers, was extremely nice and shy, and blushed every time he spoke to me." Tea said, recalling the dinner date with the two brothers.
"I'm sure the nice and shy boy had a sock with your name on it at his home." He sneered.
"Oh shut up. You're disgusting." She said, taking a cushion from behind her and throwing it at him. He effortlessly deflected it with a flick of his wrist. "He really is a nice and sweet boy, unlike your brother. And when I get out of this house, I'm going after Mokuba."
"No you are not." He declared. "His ass is mine first. When I'm through with him, you can have him, provided there is anything left for you to torture."
"No fair." She pouted. "You will have him for years but I only have a few more weeks. I get him first. Besides, I called it first."
"Called it first? What are you, still a child?" He mocked. She stuck her tongue out childishly in response.
"You will be quite satisfied with what I will do to him. I guarantee it will be much better than what your inferior mind can come up with so you are better leaving off the revenge thing to me." He said.
"Of course. Who knows revenge better than you?" She teased. "But don't underestimate me. I am craftier than you think." He rolled his eyes in disbelief, annoying and challenging her.
"You want proof?" She asked and he smirked. "Fine. Remember that time in our junior year when your locker was filled with smelly water balloons and when you opened it, they fell on the floor, soaking your legs?" He frowned recalling the incident. Joey and Tristan had been howling with laughter, like the animals they were, as he walked out of school, his legs and shoes making wet squelching sounds.
"You thought it was my two friends who did it to you?" He nodded. Of course it was them. They were the only ones stupid enough to mess with him.
"Well, it wasn't all their doing." She confessed. "They came up with the idea but the original plan was to use plain tap water for the balloons. The day before the prank, you were being very mean to my friend and that angered me. So I offered to help out. I suggested the use of the dirty smelly water and even supplied it. The alley behind Burger World had a sewer pipe with a leak. We collected the water from there to fill the balloons." His eyes widened.
"It was you who did that?" He said in outrage. She nodded proudly. "That water was the foulest smelling thing I have ever smelled, and I had the misfortune of being in the sewers of the Duelist Kingdom island."
"You deserved it for what you said to my friend." She replied stubbornly. It was true. He had been particularly nasty to Yugi.
"I had a meeting that very same day." He spat angrily. "But after your prank, I was unsuitable for living habitation." Tea began laughing softly at his words. "I showered four five times to get the smell off but it clung to me as if it had been absorbed into the skin. In the end, I had to cancel the meeting and sit in the tub with my legs soaking in scented water." Tea was laughing loudly now, holding her sides, picturing the events as he was describing them.
"Not to mention that I had to throw away the pants. No amount of washing got the smell out but instead stank my washer and the entire laundry room."
"Stop, please stop." Tea begged, nearly falling off the couch from laughing so hard.
"And you're telling me you were responsible for all that?" He said, throwing the cushion she had thrown at him not too long ago. But unlike him, she didn't dodge it or deflect it. It hit her side but she barely noticed or felt it, still laughing loudly.
"I suppose that's why you defended the two idiots when I was about to kick their asses the next day."
"Yes." She managed to say. "You were so angry and were taking it out on them. I felt bad because it was partially my fault and I knew the guys would never tell you that."
"It was entirely your fault." He told her, glaring at her. "You ruined my clothes, my day, and my meeting."
"Come on Kaiba, it was a long time ago and I'm sorry. I didn't know you had a meeting. I would have moved the prank to another day if I had known that." She said.
"How generous of you." He replied sarcastically.
"The bottom line is that I got you good. I can be very creative when it comes to pranks and you will definitely benefit from my help in your revenge on Mokuba." She offered. He grudgingly admitted it and nodded.
"I'll keep it in mind if I need something as juvenile as pranks." She rolled her eyes at him.
"I don't even know why you want to hurt him. He is doing this to help you. Besides, none of this would have happened if you had maintained a relationship. I even thought you had found someone good for you." She said. This piqued the interest of the other girls who had watched their previous exchange with irritation, anger, and envy.
"What?" Seto said in surprise. "Who are you talking about?"
"Ishizu." She replied. An incredulous look appeared on his face.
"What the hell are you talking about? Were you drunk when you came up with that theory?"
"I wasn't drunk." She said with indignation. "I'll admit I was a little tipsy but we formed that conclusion after multiple eye witness accounts."
"We?" He demanded. "Who is 'we'? What eye witness accounts, and what do you mean you were tipsy?"
"Me and the usual gang. When you allowed us extras on board and assigned us rooms, I got a room all to myself. There was a bottle of fruit spritzer in my fridge. The guys were all crashing in there because it was the best room and we decided to celebrate the moment." She replied, referring to Battle City Tournament when her, Duke, and Tristan had been allowed on board the blimp even though they weren't qualified duelists.
"By getting drunk?" He said with narrowed eyes.
"I told you I wasn't drunk. There wasn't enough to get any of us drunk. We all drank a little bit and we maybe got a bit tipsy." She maintained.
"You all got drunk on my property. You engaged in underage drinking right under my nose." He said in disbelief mixed with anger.
"Relax. It's not like we did anything bad. We all wanted to be in good health for the next day." She assured him.
"You all got drunk on my property and then came up with stupid theories about me." He accused.
"We weren't drunk." She snapped. "And the theory wasn't stupid. I told you it was based on actual eye witness accounts. We all saw you with her multiple times. It was always just you and her, talking in corners. And as soon as you guys spotted someone else, you separated and walked away, probably because you didn't want anyone else to know."
"You are ridiculous." He said and continued. "There was nothing between us. She was just trying to convince me to help your boyfriend."
"He was not my boyfriend." Tea said. "And Mokuba told me you went to see her personally when she came to Domino. Not only that, whenever we talked to her, she was very confident that you would do as she said you would. How do you explain that?"
"I went to see her to get Obelisk." He clarified. "And she was confident because she believed in the same idiotic nonsense your boyfriend believed in."
"I told you he wasn't my boyfriend." She glared at him.
"Did he know that because he was always so eager to play the hero, be your knight in shinning armor?" Seto mocked.
"Of course he knew. We talked about it and we knew it wasn't practical." Tea replied in a low voice. "He wasn't like you. He was here on borrowed time and we knew that sooner or later, he would have to leave." Seto opened his mouth to speak but Tea beat him to it, eager to get the focus off her. "And I'm still not fully convinced that there was nothing between you and her. Weren't you attracted to her at all?" He sighed in exasperation and replied.
"No Gardner. I wasn't."
"But she was your type." Tea said. "She was tall, beautiful, and exotic. She was intelligent, driven, serious, and ...", she struggled to find the right word, "mature."
"You mean boring." He said with a smirk.
"Like I said, your type." She said without missing a beat.
"What makes you think that is my type?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Isn't it though?" She said thoughtfully. "Or at least that is what you project. You always go for things that are unique and one of a kind. I think that you would want a woman who is like that too, one who is strong as well as beautiful, who can match your success as well as intelligence."
"And you believe Ishizu fits the description." He stated plainly and she nodded.
"And she has blue eyes." She said cheekily, winking at him.
"So do you." He pointed out. She blinked in surprise, evaluating his words in silence.
"Yes, but that is only one thing. Ishizu has a lot more in common with you." She finally said.
"I disagree." He said. "I'm sure people who know you describe you as a beautiful, strong, and intelligent person. And according to you and Mokuba, you are a successful ballerina." Tea stuttered to formulate a response.
"But we are too different." She reasoned.
"Opposites attract." He said, enjoying her bewildered and cornered expression.
"She will be perfect for you then because her entire career and existence is based on her belief in the idiotic nonsense you hate." She said.
"Why the sudden interest in setting me up with Ishizu?" He asked with a smirk.
"I'm just saying that you need to carefully assess your options to make a good decision. I'm listing all your options."
"You certainly have opened my eyes to previously unconsidered options." He said, eyeing her suggestively. She shifted uncomfortably under his gaze and got up.
"Where are you going?" He asked, watching her slightly flushed face.
"I have to get something from my room. I'll see you later." She said and hurried out of the living room. Seto watched her leave with a pleasant expression.
"Who is this Ishizu?" Rhea asked with interest and slight jealousy. Seto turned to her, as if just noticing the other girls.
"No one you need to be concerned with." He replied, also getting up to leave the room. What an interesting lunch this had turned out to be, courtesy of Tea Gardner.
Seto and Rhea returned from their dinner date quite early in the evening. As Seto had expected, every other girl was in the living room. This had been the case when he had gone out with Cathy too. The others had probably waited by the door in anticipation of their return. Tea had been the only one missing and she was missing this time as well.
"You're back early." Jacqueline commented with barely concealed glee.
"How was the dinner?" Eiza asked, her eyes moving between him and Rhea.
"It was fun and amazing. We both had a wonderful time." Rhea replied, radiating joy but Seto knew she was lying through her teeth. The date had been boring and tedious, just like the date with Cathy. They had nothing interesting to talk about. Rhea had tried a few different topics but he had shown no interest in any of them, remaining closed and distant. He knew a number of reasons were to blame for the failure of the date but the primary reason was him, his unwillingness and negative attitude. Rhea's clingy attitude had annoyed him even further.
Worst of all, he couldn't stop thinking about Tea throughout the entire evening. As he had sat in front of Rhea, listening to her go one about some random topic, his mind had been focused on Tea, and their conversation from the afternoon. He knew Tea should have been the one sitting across from him, not Rhea. She had actually confronted Elaine on the issue and defended the children. Rhea had just taken the opportunity to personally attack Elaine. Seto wanted to pick Tea as the winner but had changed his mind. He knew that the other girls disliked Tea because of her relationship with Mokuba and her previous association with him. Had he selected her for the date, the animosity towards her would have increased tenfold. Not only that, but their belief that something fishy was going on between him and Tea would have solidified. No, it was safer to not give Tea an advantage.
But there was another, more secret reason why he hadn't chosen Tea as the winner. He already knew what the prize for the win was, and he wasn't ready for a dinner date with Tea. No doubt it would have been a lot more interesting than the date with Rhea, but interesting in what way, he didn't know. History was proof that around her, he wasn't his rational, in-control self. She brought out a side of him he strived to subjugate and subdue. He always surprised himself with how he reacted around her, so taking her out in public was definitely not an option, at least not until he mastered his emotions around her. Rhea was definitely the safer, albeit boring, choice.
"I'll leave you here then. Enjoy the rest of your evening." Seto said and was about to leave when Norah's voice stopped him.
"It's still relatively early in the evening. Why don't you join us?
"Yes. We can talk or watch a movie." Cathy said in an excited tone. Seto wanted to refuse. He wanted to spend the rest of the night according to his wishes which included finding Tea and annoying the hell out of her.
"There is a really good movie on in a few minutes. We can all watch that." Jacqueline said.
"Sure, why not." Rhea said, shooting Seto a smile. He sighed in resignation, knowing that refusal was not going to look good for him.
"Awesome. I'll get popcorn." Eiza said.
"Let's join them." Rhea said to him and moved to the living room. He was somewhat annoyed that Rhea was acting like she was speaking for the both of them but he ignored the little voice in his head telling him to put her in her place and instead joined the other girls. Rhea was apparently waiting for him by a love seat. Suppressing a groan of irritation, he went to her and sat beside her. She beamed in triumph.
"Where is Gardner?" He questioned the group. No one answered for a few moments and the girls glanced at each other, as if willing someone else to speak. Finally, Jacqueline spoke.
"She must be in her room, sleeping or something." She said carelessly. Seto frowned, knowing that Tea must have left to escape the hostile environment the other girls created for her.
"Someone should get her so she can join us." He said. Again, silence. No one moved.
"Wheeler, go get Gardner." He snapped, annoyed with their behaviour. Serenity sprung into action, either to please him or to escape his glare, he wasn't sure but didn't care. By the time Eiza came with the popcorn, Tea and Serenity joined them. Tea raised an eyebrow at him, but her smile told him exactly what she was thinking. He shrugged his shoulders in response and her smile widened. She took a seat on a couch besides Jacqueline who got up and sat on a different couch.
"You can have more legroom since we made you leave your bed." Jacqueline said with a charming smile but Seto saw it for what it was, a blatant snub. Tea, for her part, was amused and placed her feet on the couch, making herself comfortable.
"What movie are we watching?" She asked.
"Song of the heart." Cathy replied. "It's a romantic movie based on a book." Seto groaned inwardly at that. A romantic movie. Great, he was in for some cheap sap fest. He wondered if he could sleep with his eyes open, like Mokuba did during the KC board of directors meetings.
"Buckle up and pay attention Kaiba, this should be an educational experience for you." Tea teased him with a wink. Despite himself, he smirked and turned to the movie. Let's see how 'educational' this movie was.
As he had expected, the movie was a collection of all the clichés that ever existed, cramped in an uninspired and unoriginal movie. The main character was a female who was unlucky in love. She was meant to be a sweet, kind, and caring person but Seto saw her as weak, gullible, and annoying. Throughout the movie, she went through a few boyfriends, each a different stereotype associated with males, and was hurt and heartbroken every time. And after every heartbreak, she found comfort and strength in the arms of her oldest friend who just happened to be a single male and just happened to be in love with her. But because of her view of him as her friend, she interpreted all his gestures as friendly and nothing more. Seto thought that it was definite proof that the girl was stupid. She clearly couldn't differentiate between a genuine gesture of love and a fake attempt, and was deserving of all the shit that happened to her.
Eventually the male friend grew tired of comforting her and receiving nothing in return so he left. His departure was followed by lots of crying and reminiscing by the female lead, and the realization that she needed him more than she had imagined. The departed male also began dating and suffered from the same issues as his female friend. Seto knew it was meant to show that the male loved the female too dearly to begin dating anyone else seriously but to him, it appeared as if the writer had given up and decided to use the same material used for the female's love life.
As his love life or more appropriately, the attempts at having a love life, suffered, the departed male began missing the female. Seto frowned at the male character. In his eyes, the male lead was indecisive, weak, and too emotional, a poor representation of how a man should be. It wasn't long before the weak male succumbed to his emotions and flew back to the girl and was at her door in the middle of the night, only to find that she had moved and no one knew where. Apparently, the memories of the times they had shared as friends were too much for her to bear so she had left. Seto watched with disgust as the male character broke down in tears at the door, crying about his lost love. This was followed by a quest by him to find her.
It took him all of seven days to find her. Seto wanted to bash his head against something solid, preferably the TV so that he wouldn't have to watch the movie. That was a better way to kill his brain cells than watching this movie. Seto was a master of technology. If he wanted to find something, he could use Kaiba Corp. satellites. He could hack into military databases and use their satellites. Hell, he could use any surveillance technology he wanted, no matter where in the world it was, and locate something. But even he admitted that finding a person was difficult. Even with all the resources in the world at his disposal, he would need more than one week to find a person. Yet this love-stricken male had found her in seven days even though she had moved to a different country, with nothing more than his desire to be with her. Oh the power of love, he scoffed. How utterly ridiculous.
Seto rolled his eyes as the couple was reunited and said cheesy lines to each other. Besides him, Rhea sighed and dabbed at her eyes, wiping the tear that had escaped. Seto shot her an incredulous look. She was moved by this garbage? Seriously? He glanced around the room and found every girl in a similar emotional state, except Tea. Tea had a exasperated look on her face and was rolling her eyes at the screen. At least she was sane.
The movie finished and the all girls sighed.
"What an awesome movie." Cathy said, her voice a bit hoarse from her silent crying.
"So romantic." Serenity agreed.
"She was lucky to have someone who would go to any lengths for her." Jacqueline sighed dreamily.
"It's so romantic to have someone who would perform grand gestures for you." Norah said.
"A gesture doesn't have to be grand to be romantic." Tea said. "It's usually the small things that show how much a person cares."
"Speaking from experience?" Eiza asked unkindly. Tea ignored her tone.
"Yes." She replied. She immediately had the attention of every person in the room, including Seto. "Something as small and simple as your partner giving you a piggy-back ride home when you are tired, or cleaning the snow off your car in the morning so you don't have to freeze in the cold and do it, or recording your favorite TV show when you are running late, or re-heating your food when you take longer than expected on the phone, or just listening to you as you lie in his arms, venting about your day, can all be considered romantic and caring." These were all very specific gestures, Seto noticed. She must be describing what she had experienced. The question was, from whom?
"Are you talking about Ethan?" Serenity asked curiously. Tea nodded with a small smile.
"Who is Ethan?" Cathy asked.
"Her boyfriend." Serenity replied. The other girls gasped.
"You have a boyfriend and you are here?" Rhea said with disgust. Tea glared at her and replied.
"He's not my boyfriend anymore. We broke up more than eight months ago."
"I didn't know that." Serenity said. Tea shrugged her shoulders carelessly.
"So this Ethan guy did all that for you?" Eiza asked and Tea nodded.
"Yes. That and more. I was with him for a year and during the entire year, we never did anything over the top or grand. It was always little things to show how much we cared for each other." Tea said with a soft smile.
"You loved him." Norah pointed out. Tea was silent for a few moments.
"Yes I did." She finally said.
"So why did you break up?" Cathy asked.
"He was a ballet dancer like me, but he was two years my senior." Tea said. "He was with the same ballet company as me. When I signed my three year contract, he was in his last contract year. When his contract ended, he was offered an amazing position in Germany so he left."
"Just like that?" Serenity said. "From what I remember, you guys were very happy together. Why didn't he stay?"
"I told him to leave." Tea confessed. "It was an amazing opportunity and I didn't want to keep him from it. He was a great dancer and he had the potential to be successful. And in ballet, opportunities like that are few and far in between. I knew I would never be able to live with myself if I kept him from it."
"And you didn't try long distance?" Cathy inquired. Tea shook her head.
"It wasn't practical because of our schedules and the financial constraint. We could only visit each other twice a year at most."
"So you broke up?" Norah asked.
"Yes." Tea replied. "We knew how stressful long distance relationships could be. That along with the stressful life as a ballet dancer was not a good combination. We didn't want our beautiful relationship to be marred by the attempt at long distance when we both knew it wouldn't work. In the end, it was better for us to end our relationship on a beautiful note as friends." Her confession was followed by silence.
"Do you still talk to him?" Serenity asked. Tea smiled slightly.
"I used to in the beginning. We would email and call each other regularly. But things have calmed down considerably since he got a girlfriend."
"What?" Cathy said loudly, and then blushed in embarrassment at her outburst. Tea chuckled in amusement.
"He told me about her over a month ago. She's a sweet girl and I'm happy for him." Tea said. "And if the movie we just watched is to be believed, then I'm due for love in the near future." She finished with a wink. Cathy stared wide-eyed between her and Seto, thinking that Tea was referring to him. Her words had made the other girls uncomfortable and she knew they all assumed she was talking about Seto. She knew this was the end of her time with them.
"I'm off to bed. Thanks for inviting me to the movie." She said, getting up. Seto got up as well.
"I'm going to head to my room too." He said and began walking with Tea. He ignored the stares of the other girls. After how they had treated Tea, he felt like torturing them a bit and walking Tea to her room was perfect.
"You don't actually believe the garbage the movie showed, do you?" He asked. She laughed lightly and turned to him.
"Not all of it."
"Really?" He raised an eyebrow in question. "Which parts are to be taken as truth? I'm only asking because it was supposed to be educational for me and I'm a bit confused." She smirked at his words.
"You should have learnt how to treat a girl." She said.
"I like my way better." He replied.
"Then you are doomed to forever remain single." She told him.
"If it means I will keep my life from turning into the disaster we just saw, then it's fine with me."
"It wasn't all bad." She said. "Like I said, some of it was true."
"I ask again, which part was true because to me, it was all too far-fetched and unrealistic."
"Her realization that she loved him wasn't unrealistic. It happens all the time between friends. You know someone for years and never see them how they see you. It takes just one event, one moment to open your eyes and change your perspective, and suddenly you see the person in a different light." She said with a smile.
"And you actually believe that?" He asked plainly, studying her face. She nodded.
"It's true." She said and stood outside her room.
"I don't believe that." He proclaimed.
"Perhaps one day you will experience it and will believe me." She smiled. "Good night." With that, she entered her room and closed the door. Seto stood there for a few seconds, thinking about what she had said. He heard footsteps and knew the other girls were coming. Before they could catch him and engage him in another activity, he hurried to his room, Tea's words still ringing in his head.
Confessions:
Cathy: "I can't believe Tea had a boyfriend until recently. From the way she was talking about him, she still loves him. She is probably on the show to use Kaiba. If he picks her, then she has a rich boyfriend. If not, then she at least got her ex-boyfriend jealous. She is so devious."
Jacqueline: "I am not surprised with Tea's secret. She is in love with someone else but is still on this show. I have come to expect the absolute worst from her. She has no morals or standards. Hopefully Kaiba sees that too and realizes that she is only using him."
Eiza: "I'm really starting to hate Tea. She always finds a way to get Kaiba's attention. Today was supposed to be for us. We should have had all his attention but she brought up some old story and diverted his attention. And then using some random girl from their past to pitch herself forward as his perfect match? That was low, even for her. She disgusts me."
Norah: "Tea and Kaiba have a lot of history and that sucks for the rest of us. Based on what we heard today, it doesn't sound like they were good friends but still, they have a history and they can talk about it. Tea is sneakily using that to keep Kaiba's attention. And what was up with the coded talk of being on his property? What was she referring to? I asked Serenity but as usual, she was completely useless. She said she had no idea what Tea was talking about. But I don't believe that. Serenity was fidgety when she said that. I think she is lying. She knows but she is refusing to tell us. She is hiding information about Tea, I know that, but I am starting to wonder if she is hiding information about herself too."
Rhea: I can't believe that bitch. She ruined a perfect day for me. Kaiba and I had a nice date. He was so attentive. He listened to me and paid attention to every word I said. Usually, guys complain about girls talking too much but Kaiba didn't say a word. That's proof that he likes me. But Tea had to ruin the night by showing up and bringing up a story about an ex-boyfriend. What was she trying to do? Did she think Kaiba would get jealous? She is so pathetic."
Serenity: "We never got a chance to ask Rhea how her date went with Kaiba but I can guess. It was bad. It must have been because they came back so early. Cathy's date wasn't so great either even though she won't admit it. I thought it was only me since my carnival date was a disaster. I chose bumper cars as our date game but he kept driving in a circle away from me. I was never within two feet of his car. I am sure the other girls are in the same situation. Kaiba is not paying any attention to us. He is focused on Tea. Initially, I thought it was good because they antagonized each other and I assumed it would make Kaiba dislike her. But that doesn't seem to be the case anymore. But I hope that her relationship with Ethan does the trick. Tea is so obviously still in love with him. Kaiba must have seen that today and hopefully, he will eliminate her at the next opportunity."
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Thanks for reading the story. I hope you have enjoyed it so far.
Next chapter will include an appearance by an old friend, and will also have an elimination challenge :)