|| Til Death Do We Part ||

|| Reflection ||

JAGartist: Well, I'm still alive and posting this just in time for the New Year.

Diane/Mana: That's great!

Atem: About time.

JAGartist: But after this-

Mana: You people know the disclaimer!

Diane: Now read!

JAGartist: Oh boy…

Atem: ?

Atem stared up towards the ceiling, his hands lying folded behind his head. Yugi and their friends had been in the main house when he got home, but rather than join them in their games (they were occupied with a new card game), he instead decided to just go to bed early. Of course, the encounter with Sasha prevented him peaceful sleep, so he had occupied his time just looking up towards the ceiling, hoping that he'd fall asleep after staring at it long enough.

That was three hours ago. He remembered someone coming into the room sometime after he got back, but when he tried to eat the pizza they left, his stomach protested. Now it lied cold and forgotten on his desk.

It was Sasha's statement that kept him awake. Despite her rejection of the idea, he knew she knew. She knew who he was. She knew what he did. And the thought sent chills down the man's spine. At the same time, as he was thinking about it, there was something very familiar about her, and it wasn't a pleasant feeling.

He pushed Sasha's words from his mind and turned his thoughts towards Mana's outburst. He knew from the short time he had known her that she wasn't afraid to say what was on her mind (either than or she was a big blabber mouth), yet he was surprised to see her lose her temper so easily. Based on her reaction though, it was obvious Sasha was Mana's stepmother, and Mana didn't appear to get along with the older woman at all.

They're both too stubborn for their own good, Atem thought. He huffed in annoyance. Hmm! Women.

The first thing Mana did when she got inside the apartment was run to her room, slammed the door behind her, and screamed into a pillow to vent out the anger she possessed. She kept at it until her throat became dry and scratch and was unable to continue. She took several deep breaths as she continued to control her anger. She usually didn't get so upset easily, but when it came to Sasha, she lost it. Mana blushed.

"I can't believe I let Diane see me like that… again."She sighed as he fell backwards onto her bed, her arms lying over the pillow on her stomach. "Andthen there's Atem... I can't believe that I-" She gasped and sat up with a start.

"Wait! Why do I care what Atem thinks!"

You do care. You're worried he'll think differently of you. Her conscience answered.

"It's not like he likes me anyway!"

But you like him, don't you.

"Why would I like someone like him? He's insensitive, boring, and… and… and he's a jerk!"

But he's also kind at times, always has something to say, and listens whenever you speak. And don't forget he saved you once, and you were merely strangers then.

"He never even tells me about his life at home."

You haven't either. He didn't know about you and Sasha's relationship. He doesn't know of the one you and Dad have.

Mana closed her eyes and huffed as she fell back against her pillow. Her head was telling her she didn't care for Atem, yet her heart said otherwise. It was true he possessed a lot of bad qualities, even keeping his past a secret from her even after been asked about it. Not that she was any better. Even so, she couldn't tell him much of anything from her own past, considering she knew practically nothing about it anymore. She was a stranger to her own life.

A knock at Atem's door snapped him from his thoughts, and he turned his head just as the door opened and Yugi stuck his head in. His twin's eyes caught sight of the uneaten pizza before turning back towards him.

"Hey, Atem? You awake?"

"Yeah." Atem sat up. "What is it?"

"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to go to Martha's café tomorrow. Since it's the break and you found Martha's restaurant, we figured we'd check it out," the man answered.

Atem thought about it for a moment. He could say no, and let his friends go on their own; that way, he wouldn't have to see Mana, or deal with Diana (who had bugged him until he had dropped her off about Sasha's statement). On the other hand, he didn't want to seem like a weak person considering how freaked out he had gotten in front of her. And considering he had nothing better to do…

"I'm in," Atem finally answered, pasting a smile on Yugi's face.

"Great! Let's head there about ten or so."

Atem couldn't help but smile; when Yugi was happy, he was happy. It may have had something to do with them being twins, but who could say for sure. Well, he was a lot of things he was scared off, but he couldn't afford to make his brother or their friends worried about him, not when they were finally starting to recover.

Mana flipped onto her stomach, coming face to face with a photo on her nightstand. The woman in the picture would appear to be Mana, but brown eyes looked back towards Mana's teal. Mana sighed. "What should I do?"

She sat up and hugged her pillow. "I think Sasha wants to take your place, and that's why she's so bossy and pushy all the time. Why did Dad marry her anyway? And then there's that Atem." She huffed. "First, he acts like a jerk. Then he's suddenly all nice. Not only that, but he's always acting like he's hiding something." She snorted. "I just don't understand him at all. What should I do, huh?"

As expected, she got no answer. The woman before her just continued to smile, forever stuck in the moment. The girl shook her head.

"Well, guess I'll just have to just go with the flow." For the first time that night, she giggled. "I'll figure him out eventually, and I'll find a way to deal with her later." With that, she pushed herself off the bed. A good bath was all she needed to clear her head of her troubles, even for a little while.

Hey, guys. I've got some bad news. First off, I have writer's block for this story, but I think it's only a minor case. I know where I want to go, but I don't know how to get there. Second, my writing style has changed drastically since starting this story (since starting this chapter, actually), so I'm feeling a disconnection to the story. With that in mind, I'm sorry to stay that I will be discontinuing this story until further notice.

On the other note, if you guys have any ideas for this story, I'd gladly appreciate it. Perhaps one of them will be that bridge between where I am and where I want to take this story. And again I'm sorry for the late update, and I'm sorry for the discontinuation.