HD: and finally I bring you chapter 8

COH: HD feels really bad that she didn't update sooner but she was low on inspiration.

Bea: just shut up and stop making excuses, HD is lazy.

Cole: she gets it from you.

Bea: shut up!

Alvar: no own!

Chapter 8: Tainted Sweetness

For Ryou, school was becoming one of those things he wished he could avoid. When the alarm clock went off and he rolled over the only thought he could master was a groan.

Malik was crawling out of bed, tripping and fallen onto his face.

"Stupid friggen!" Malik cursed, getting up and heading to the bathroom.

Ryou got up and changed into the uniform and brushed his hair out. Malik came back and changed, adding kohl and tying his hair back.

"Come on Ry." He grabbed the younger boy's hand and dragged him downstairs.

Yugi was there and looking nervous. Beside him was Joey who was half way through his breakfast. Ryou took a seat beside Yugi and started eating.

From his place at the table Ryou could see Isis in the kitchen talking on the phone. She was keeping her voice low so they weren't able to hear her, Ryou debated on asking Joey to see what she was saying but decided against it.

Whatever and whoever she was taking to was her business.

Yu-Gi-Oh!

By lunch time Ryou had decided he was going through with his plan. With nerves running through he told Malik he needed to go to his locker after Maths and slipped away to find Ryuu Emi.

It didn't take long to find Emi. She was with a much older guy in an abandon hallway. He wasn't from their school, dressed in bike clothing with his arms covered in tattoos.

He had her pushed against a wall and Ryou felt unsettled to disturb them. Emi caught sight of him and pushed the guy away and smoothed her ruffled skirt.

The guy seemed unaffected about being pushed away and pulled out a cigarette, lighting up and blowing a stream of smoke into the air.

"Ryou, what can I do for you?" Emi asked.

"Um…I wanted to talk to you but you seem busy…" Ryou trailed off and cast a look to the guy.

"No problem, I'm not busy now." She turned on the guy. "You know where the door is."

He walked off down the hall, throwing the butt of the smoke into a trash can.

"So what do you need?" Emi asked, getting to the point.

"Well…"

Yu-Gi-Oh!

Once lunch had ended Joey made his way to cooking. Ryou hadn't returned until a minute before the bell rung. He had seemed a little jumpy and anxious but wouldn't say anything.

Joey was shaken from his musing when he reached the classroom. He reached out for the doorknob but a pale hand closed around the cols metal.

"Hey…" Joey's voice trailed off as his honey eyes locked with icy-blue.

The tall brunette turned away and opened the door, entering before him.

"Rude much?" Joey growled.

The guy was being talked up by a bouncy brunette girl with big blue eyes. Joey's curiosity took over him and his ears pricked.

"So Seto, are you going to go to the opening soccer game?" The girl asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"No Anzu, I'm not." Seto growled. "And it's Kaiba."

"Is Yami?" Joey growled at the name.

"I don't know." Joey noted the strain in Kaiba's voice.

"Well we're going to have a huge party after. I would love for you and Yami to come!"

"Sorry I'm busy." Kaiba growled.

"Oh what a shame, I'm going." Joey had to just stop himself from gagging.

"Hmm." Kaiba moved away from the over flirty girl.

"OK everyone. We are making fried ice-cream, instruction sheets are being passed out, don't burn anything." The teacher's eyes landed on Anzu who was obvious to the pointed stare.

Joey took a sheet and went to get the needed ingredients. As he neared the cupboard someone pushed against him, in reflex he shoved back making the person stumble to the side.

"Watch it, mutt!" Snapped the guy Joey had run into.

Joey looked up and the words stuck in his throat. It was Kaiba. He had a sneer stuck on his face and Joey felt his heart race he felt light and almost dizzy but he pushed it aside and frowned.

"You ran into me, jerk." Joey barked.

Kaiba had the look of an annoyed lion watching his prey do a tango before him.

"Kaiba, Wheeler, is something wrong?" The teacher was breathing down their necks in a split second and Joey swallowed hard.

"No." Joey shook his head quickly, letting his blonde hair fall over his eyes in a golden wave.

"Good, get back to your seats then." She barked, watching them gather what they needed and head back to their seats.

Yu-Gi-Oh!

Yugi fought off the dizzy feeling of nervousness as he sat beside Malik, his eyes darting to the back of Yami's head.

They were seated in the theatre room and listening to their teacher's speech about the up coming performance to be held at the end of the term.

Malik wasn't listening; his eyes were fixed on the book in his lap, 'Romeo and Juliet'. Yugi was too nervous to pay attention. He almost yelled with relief when the bell rung, signalling end of class.

He and Malik headed for English to meet up with Joey and Ryou.

"Yugi, wait up." Yugi felt his stomach drop and quickened his pace.

Malik grabbed his arm and pulled him along ahead, darting between students and eventually loosing Yami and ending up outside English.

"Yug, Mal." Ryou was by their side, looking as nervous as he had after lunch.

"How was art?" Yugi asked, adjusting his bag.

"OK, I still can't think of anything to draw for the competition." Ryou murmured making Yugi lean in to hear him.

Joey arrived shortly, looking annoyed. "What's wrong?" Malik asked.

"Stupid Kaiba, he's a jerk." Joey growled.

"OK." Malik muttered.

In English they finished another chapter of 'Romeo and Juliet' and then headed out for home.

"I need to get something." Ryou muttered, searching through his bag.

"OK, um…Yugi you go with Ryou and we'll meet you out the front." Malik instructed.

Yugi and Ryou headed off to his locker. As they rounded the corner Yugi 'eeped' and grabbed Ryou's arm pulling him back around.

"What is it?" Ryou asked.

"Yami." Yugi looked nervous and Ryou smiled in sympathy.

"Yug, you need to find a way to fight back."

"What do you mean?" Yugi asked.

Ryou smiled. "Let me show you." He grabbed Yugi's arm and pulled him around another corner to where Bakura, Marik and the group of girls were standing around Bakura's locker.

There should be nothing unusual about this, except there were two policemen and a whole crowed of students.

"Mr Ryuu, we have had a tip off and need to search your locker for drugs." One of the officers, an elderly man coming into his forties, stood before the annoyed and extremely pissed.

"I don't have any drugs." He argued back, spitting the words. "Just fuck off."

The other officer, a young woman in her early twenties with blonde curls, stepped forwards and made an advancing move. "Open your locker."

Bakura, growling out curses, wrenched his locker open. "See nothing…" The words died on his lips.

Sitting on a maths text book was a bong, a pink bong, to make matters worse written on the side in permanent ink was 'RB'.

"Ryuu Bakura, you are under arrest for possession of drugs." The older policeman pulled out a set of cuffs and cuffed him. The other transferred the bong into a plastic bag.

As they led him away the crowed stepped aside, except Emi who stood in front of her brother, smirking.

"You wrench!" Bakura growled. "You did this?"

"Think again big brother." She grinned, nodding over his shoulder.

Bakura whipped around to see Ryou and Yugi leaning against the wall.

"Banku Ryou?" He asked, unbelieving that a small naïve new student was capable of such an act.

"Aww your learning." Emi mimicked, moving out of the way to let him by.

"You did that?" Yugi gasped as the officers left with the Egyptian.

Ryou blushed. "It was mostly Emi's idea."

Yugi and Ryou burst out laughing as they made their way back out of the school. Not knowing that Malik and Joey had just watched the whole scene.

"We've tainted them." Joey muttered.

"Yep." Malik nodded.

-TBC-

HD: And there it is chapter 8! I put some Seto Kaiba in there!

Bea: wow, Ryou isn't innocent.

COH: we would like to thank everyone who reviewed!

Alvar: thanks to anonymous reviewers:

Dark Toy: Sir yes sir! Sorry for delay, Sir! Umm…do I have to do 20? Oh and Sir, please review, sir!

S2teennovelist: Thanks for the review! I loved the name of last chapter. Bakura is kind of a jerk so it was like a thing for him to slip drugs around, you know, makes some fun. Mai was only passing on what she heard, LOL. I love Yugi, although Yami wasn't think innocent thoughts, LOL. Malik and Joey are a little over protective, LOL. Marik is kind of a stalker…I love Malik and to me he's really into reading and stuff, in the episodes it says he used to read a lot in Egypt…I think…haven't seen it since last year…hmm…everything will work out…eventually…LOL…please R&R thanks

COH: and of course thanks to the signed reviewers!

HD: please be kind and review!

Bea: or not.

REVIEW PLEASE

HappyDevil, COH, Cole, Alvar and Bea!