a/n: Oh my god I am so sorry I haven't posted guys! I've been writing about seven different original books and I've been in a play, doing karate, getting a job, mental problems… And then of course there's homework. I'll try to do better, I promise!

Alex sighed as she closed her locker that afternoon. Though she hadn't seen Elsie at all since lunch, the prep had been the only thing on her mind. She didn't like the fact that Elsie Bridges just happened to be the one Bakura had liked the year before. Was it coincidence? Alex couldn't convince herself that it was. But she was convinced not to let anyone onto the fact that she was nervous about it, especially not Bakura. She had to appear like she was so sure of her relationship with him that nothing could come between them. She had to be strong about it. That was the only way she'd be able to hold onto him.

Though, she began to feel much better when Bakura put his arm around her as they walked down the corridor towards the doors of the school. She wrapped her arm around his waist and grinned at him, getting one of his warm smiles in return. By the time they were descending the steps of Domino High her spirits had lifted considerably. But that was short lived because once they started walking home they heard a girl calling their names. And the voice didn't belong to Tea.

Alex scowled as she and Bakura turned around to see Elsie coming towards them. "Is she going to be following us everywhere now?" she hissed. "What did you get us into?"

"Be nice, Alex," Bakura muttered back before addressing Elsie. "What is it?"

The blonde stopped a few feet away from them and didn't speak for a minute. When she did, it was to her hands. "Um… well, see… I have a lot of English homework and, like, that's my worst subject. See, we usually went over to Brittany's, because she's so good at it, but I obviously can't do that… and… and I was hoping that maybe you'd help me?" she said, looking up at them. When she noticed the death glare Alex was giving her she quickly added, "But if you don't, I'll understand. You didn't have to even let me sit with you at lunch. You're really putting yourselves out for me and I shouldn't be asking this of you. I'll just go." She began to back up, but Bakura stopped her. He managed to remove his arm from Alex and get far enough away from her before she could hurt him.

"Elsie, you're not asking too much. Alex and I were going to study anyway, so if you want, you can come over and join us," he said. He tried not to think of how much trouble he was in now with Alex as he looked at Elsie, whose eyes had widened in happiness.

"Really? You'd let me?" she asked, breathing in relief. When Bakura nodded, she lit up like a light bulb and threw her arms around his neck. "You're, like, the best person in the world! I can't believe you'd do this for me! Thank you so much!"

Bakura blushed a vibrant shade of red as Elsie hugged him. Unsure of what to do, he sort of just put his hands lightly on her waist, waiting for her to let go. He couldn't imagine how infuriated Alex must be and how much she was going to scream once she got him alone.

"Yes… um… well…" he stammered as Elsie let go, still beaming. He glanced at Alex out of the corner of his eye and felt like a rock had been dropped into his stomach. He could practically see steam coming out of her ears as she glared furiously at him. The only thing that would have made her appearance scarier would have been if her eyes had been red. Thanks a lot, Elsie, you've really done it this time, Bakura thought, forcing the color to drain from his face.

Elsie must have noticed his blush because she giggled and apologized. "Oh, sorry. I won't do that again. Sorry Alex," she said, noticing the way Alex was staring at her.

"Sure, no problem," Alex replied dangerously, her eyes boring into Elsie's. She must have been satisfied with the nervous look she got out of the prep because she turned around, grabbing Bakura's sleeve, and started walking down the street again.

Elsie walked around the other side of Bakura, smiling happily despite Alex's foul mood. "So, after we study what do you want to do?" she asked.

"Bakura and I were planning on going to a movie," Alex said, leaning around him to glare at her.

"Oh, that sounds great!" Elsie said cheerfully. "What movie is it?"

"No, I mean…" Alex started, but Bakura wrapped his arm around her neck and covered her mouth. She licked his palm, but this time he didn't let go.

"We're not sure. We usually just go to the theater and see whatever's playing that looks interesting," he said, finally releasing Alex's mouth and dropping his hand to her shoulder.

"Oh, okay. I just hope it's not a horror. I don't like horrors," Elsie said, shuddering. "I saw one Stephen what's his name's film and I had nightmares the rest of the week."

Alex stared at her. "You don't like horror movies? Are you sick or something? And Stephen King is the best horror writer on the planet; they just screw up his movies. I swear Graveyard Shift was a terrible movie. But I'll bet it was a much better book. And don't get me started on The Shining. Talk about screwing up a movie! Stephen King should have sued!" she said, getting into the rambling mood.

"…Oh… um…" Elsie said, but silenced when Bakura put a hand up.

"Just let her go," he muttered. "You get used to it after a while."

Alex didn't notice what Bakura said as she continued to spout about The Shining. "I mean, what were they thinking making Danny talk to his finger? Give me a break! He looked like he was insane!"

She continued talking about various Stephen King movies the producers had butchered until they reached Bakura's house. When she realized Elsie was still with them, her bad mood came back. But Bakura wouldn't let her say anything about it as the trio climbed the steps to his room. He wound up playing professor, helping Alex with her math and Elsie with her English.

Bakura went back and forth between Elsie and Alex's homework and barely had time for his own. Elsie caught on to things far faster than Alex did, that was for sure. He didn't know how many times he had to explain the same problems to her repeatedly. The thought had crossed his mind, however, that she was deliberately not getting some things to keep his attention on her. He didn't mind, though. He'd never had a girl like him enough to be jealous of someone else because of him.

Nearly two hours had passed before Elsie closed her textbook and sighed. "Done, finally," she said. "How about you two?"

Alex grumbled something inaudible and Bakura laughed at the confused look on Elsie's face. "Let me translate," he said. "She says she's almost done."

"Oh…" Elsie said, giving Alex a strange look. Luckily, she didn't notice. "Well, are you finished?" she asked, looking at Bakura.

"Oh, yeah. I'm pretty good at this stuff," he said, indicating the math book in front of him.

Elsie laughed. "You'd have to be to be able to teach it so well."

Bakura smiled and didn't notice Alex glance up and scowl. "Thanks," he said, gathering his books and dropping them into his backpack.

"I'm done," Alex announced and scooped her books into her bag as well.

"Great! Now we can go to the movies!" Elsie said happily.

"Sure," Bakura said, getting up and kicking his backpack under the bed.

Alex noticed and grinned. "Copycat," she said, poking him lightly in the arm.

"Yeah, I learned from the best," he replied, grinning back. He put his forefinger under her chin and pulled her in for a quick kiss. Elsie didn't seem to mind it because she was just as bouncy and cheerful afterwards and that satisfied Alex to the point where she stopped giving the prep death glares every time she spoke.

A little while later, the trio was standing outside the theater, trying to decide what to see from the posters. Alex wanted desperately to watch White Noise, but Elsie wouldn't hear of it. She wanted to see Spanglish, which Alex dismissed immediately. Bakura finally made them agree on Meet The Fockers after a lot of arguing.

When they were picking seats, Alex made sure she sat between Bakura and Elsie. She felt a little better when he put his arm around her, and she rested her head on his shoulder.

It turned out that the movie was hilarious and even Alex liked it. By the time it ended, Elsie had tears in her eyes from laughing so hard. When they left the theater it was dark out and after a little discussion, they decided to grab dinner at Victoria's. That was Alex and Bakura's favorite restaurant and they went there rather often. So, the three of them walked down the street, talking about the movie.

"And when Straisand was showing around the photo album… that was so hilarious!" Elsie was saying. Both she and Bakura laughed.

"Yeah, I…" Alex started, but Elsie was talking again and Bakura had his focus completely on her. She tried a few more times to get back into the conversation, but each time she went unnoticed. What the…? she thought, giving an exasperated sigh. Hey, Bakura, I still exist you know.

But they didn't acknowledge the fact that she was there until they got to Victoria's and the hostess said, "Party of three?" Alex answered and only then did she feel like she had become visible again to Bakura. Then, just to get back at him, she specifically asked for a table her friend, Samantha, had.

"Of course," the hostess said, smiling and leading the way to a table in the corner.

"Alex! Why Sam?" Bakura asked, giving her a distressed look. "She's always looking at me like I'm a disgusting bug or something!"

Alex scowled and said, "I have to have someone to talk to while you chat with Elsie, don't I?"

"What?" Bakura asked, giving her a confused look. But he didn't get an answer because at that moment Sam came by.

"Alex! Haven't seen ya' for a bit, what's new?" she said, hi-fiving Alex over Bakura's head. He ducked, knowing the waitress would probably be perfectly happy to hit him in the head.

"Eh, not much. The normal shit, you know how it is," Alex replied with a shrug.

Sam gave an ironic laugh. "I hear ya'. I just found out my boyfriend's been screwing this blonde bimbo in Lit."

"What a bastard!" Alex exclaimed, her eyes widening. "You don't need him anyway. You're way too good for him."

"Yeah, that's what I keep telling myself."

Bakura and Elsie exchanged nervous looks as Alex and Sam completely ignored them. Ever since he and Alex had started dating she'd never left him out of a conversation intentionally before. He always managed to get some sort of word in, but now it seemed she was doing it deliberately. He supposed it was payback for bringing Elsie along.

Then Sam noticed Elsie. Her expression changed to one of disgust as though her costumer was something on the bottom of her shoe. "Who are you?" she asked.

"Um… I'm Elsie…" she replied, feeling self conscious and for good reason. Bakura couldn't help noticing the smirk Alex was wearing and he felt a stab of annoyance. She was doing all of this deliberately when Elsie hadn't done anything but be miserable.

"That it?" Sam asked.

"W-what? Um… Elsie Bridges…" she stammered, her cheeks growing pink.

"You don't look like the type Alex hangs with. What are you doing here?" Sam asked, leaning on the table and eyeing Elsie. Alex had to bite her tongue in order to stifle a laugh.

"Well, I'm a friend of Bakura's," Elsie snapped, regaining her composure in a second.

Alex's expression darkened and she glared across the table at Elsie. How dare she say she's a friend of Bakura's! she thought.

"Bakura's?" Sam asked, her eyebrows rising. She looked at Alex. "Hey, can I see you for a minute?"

Alex nodded and slid her chair out. She stood and left with the waitress without a word to Bakura, leaving him looking after her in surprise. He suddenly felt very annoyed with Alex. He couldn't believe she was letting Sam harp on Elsie like that. And now Sam was probably suggesting that he was dating her behind Alex's back. Alex wouldn't be the only one yelling the next time they got a chance to talk.

Alex and Sam made their way to the restrooms, their dark attire earning them a few looks. When they made sure they were alone in the bathroom, Sam turned to her friend.

"Al, I think I owe it to ya' as a friend to let you know that you should watch your back with this Elsie chick. She's bad news. She looks just like the slut Eric was going with on the side. No offense, but this chick has everything going for her. She has a huge chest, a skinny waist, and she's blonde. Guys don't care what kind of brains a blonde has because they can pull off the 'I'm so ditzy, but on me it's so cute' thing. I know you don't want to lose Bakura, though I'm not sure why, but you'd better watch him like a hawk when Elsie's around. Because you bet your ass on the fact that if you don't he'll fall like a rock for her," Sam said, her face very serious.

Alex stared at her, suddenly feeling unsure of her and Bakura's relationship again. "Yeah, I know," she said finally.

"Just be careful, Alex. That's all I'm saying," Sam said.

"I am."

"All right, let's go back out. Keep him in check, Al," she said as they left the restroom.

Alex nodded, her spirits in the dirt. She knew Sam meant the best, but her friend sure hadn't helped her much. The last thing she needed was more reason to suspect Bakura. She had been doing fine on her own. Guilt was beginning to hit her hard for doubting his loyalty so much, but there was always the gnawing voice in the back of her head saying, It's Elsie Bridges… she couldn't do anything honest if her popularity depended on it… Alex didn't know what to do and she didn't say anything as she sat back down next to Bakura.

"So, do you know what you want to drink?" Sam asked, her pen hovering above her notepad.

"Yeah, coke," Alex said automatically.

Sam turned her gaze on Bakura and he lost his voice for a moment. "Um… sprite…" he stammered nervously. But if he had thought the way she looked at him had been cold, she would have turned Elsie to ice.

"You?" she asked, her voice monotone.

But now Elsie wasn't fazed by her coolness. "Water," she said, glancing at the menu. She looked up at Bakura and said, "I don't drink soda, it's so unhealthy."

Sam and Alex rolled their eyes exasperatedly. Sam muttered something under her breath that sounded distinctly like, "Whatever bitch," before she left.

a/n: Erm… not much to say except that I'll try to get the next chapter up soon. Don't forget to review!