Ryou opened his eyes on the surprisingly sunny Thursday morning, feeling extremely refreshed thanks to the amazingly goodnights sleep he had had. Because he had to rest his leg, he was forced to stay in his bed for the remainder of the day, leaving him a lot of time to think. And think he did, but not just about anything, he thought about one subject in particular – Melvin Ishtar.
He had decided that the best way to find out exactly how the Egyptian felt about him was to actually confess his feelings towards him. He had thought it through so thoroughly that he had become determined to march straight up to Melvin, look into those deep purple eyes, and express his love.
Unfortunately, that was not the case now.
Now he was worried that if he followed through with his plan, he would be making a mistake. If Melvin were to reject him he would not only be upset, but it would wreck the friendship they had managed to build up, and that was the last thing Ryou wanted to happen.
As these thoughts plagued his mind, he acquired a sick feeling in his stomach. He couldn't just ruin everything between them, and then there was the thought of Marik. He didn't want Marik to leave him as a friend because he had admitted his affections towards his brother.
But on the other hand, there was the possibility that Melvin wouldn't reject him. That Melvin actually held feelings towards him, and that they could perhaps become a couple…
A smile graced his features at the thought. It seemed so farfetched, but he couldn't really rule the possibility out - he always tried to be optimistic. It was his positive attitude that had driven him into making the decision to confess, he had somehow managed to rid himself of all negative thoughts so that he could focus on the good things that could happen. But it seemed that with a refreshed mind thanks to a goodnights sleep, he couldn't stop every thought he had managed to keep out from flooding back in. It made him feel physically sick with nerves as he thought about walking up to the Egyptian and explaining how he felt. Now he didn't know what to do.
Should he risk it? Or should he wait for a miracle that quite possibly would never come? He didn't have a clue.
He did however decide not to linger on it anymore for the time being. He carefully swung his legs over the edge of his bed, making sure to put less pressure of his wounded ankle as he stood up. Slowly, he limped over to his brother's bed to wake him up.
"'Kura, time to wake up," he said, tapping Bakura's shoulders as he did so. His brother gave a soft grunt before opening his eyes.
"Why are you out of bed?" he asked instantly.
"We need to go down for breakfast…" Ryou replied, confused.
"Yes I know that, but shouldn't you be resting your leg?" Bakura raised an eyebrow at his brother.
"I'm not going to miss a day just because of a small inconvenience."
"I'm not going to argue you with you, just don't start whining if you're in pain," Bakura said as he started to get up from his bed.
"Don't worry, I won't," Ryou said with a smile as he hobbled towards the bathroom to get ready.
"Shouldn't you be resting your leg?" Melvin asked the same question that Bakura had as soon as Ryou and Bakura sat down for breakfast.
"I'll be okay, it doesn't hurt that much anymore," he said with a reassuring smile, "do you know what we're doing today?"
"Yeah, we're going to the lighthouse," Marik answered.
"Oh…" Ryou said, looking at Bakura with big, sad eyes.
"It's alright Ry'," Bakura said whilst patting his brothers back, "you don't have to come if you're not up for it."
"N-no…I should go. I can't hide from it for the rest of my life."
"But you don't have to face it today."
"No, I-I want to."
The Egyptians watched the Brits in confusion, why was Ryou so bothered by lighthouses?
Seemingly noticing the curiosity, Bakura spoke, "Don't bother asking, it's going to be hard enough for him today without having to answer questions."
"Bakura, it's okay, they can know if they want…I don't mind."
"No, do you remember what happened the last time you tried to speak about it?" he questioned his brother.
"Y-yes, but that was ages ago! I'm sure it won't bother me as much now…"
Bakura sighed at his brother's stubbornness, "Ryou the mere mention of a lighthouse affected you, how do you think re-living that moment is going to make you feel?"
Tears began to well in Ryou's eyes as he remembered that tragic day, "I suppose you're right 'Kura," as he said this, he saw the looks of disappointment on their faces, "I'll tell you eventually just…not today."
Marik nodded in understanding, he too knew what it felt like to have painful memories, "It's okay Ryou, tell us when you want to."
Melvin however still look concerned but he didn't voice it. He didn't want to pressure Ryou into talking about it, but he promised himself he would find out soon.
Once they had finished eating, they made their way to the coach that would take them to the lighthouse.
During the whole ride, Ryou was greeted with torturing images from the past, but he still didn't regret his choice to come. He needed to be strong about this and face it – it was the only way he could get over it.
The coach pulled up in front of Whitby Harbour. In front of them was a long, concrete slab walkway with a fence surrounding it to keep the passing public safe from falling over the edge. At the end of the walkway was the lighthouse.
They spent a couple of hours walking around the harbour – though there wasn't much to see.
After circling around for the fifth time, they decided to go into the lighthouse. Ryou was forced to stay behind because of his ankle - it'd be too dangerous for him to attempt the stairs with him being slightly unstable.
"You guys have fun! Take a picture from the top for me!" he called out towards them, not in the slightest bit bothered about having to stay behind. He knew if he actually went into the lighthouse he would have a breakdown. The memories of that day still haunted him…
He didn't want to think about them now, so he let his mind wander on to a much more enjoyable topic.
As he found himself a small bench facing the lighthouse, his mind brought him back to one thought in particular: to tell Melvin, or to not tell Melvin.
He wanted to let him know so badly, but he was afraid. Afraid of being rejected; afraid of feeling unwanted; afraid of losing two of his closest friends. But he couldn't carry on not knowing, it was driving him crazy! He had to sort it out before he lost his sanity.
The smartest thing for him to do would be to admit his feelings and get it over and done with. That's what his heart wanted, but his head was a different matter.
His mind kept telling him to wait, but what was he waiting for? Would Melvin magically start liking him one day and confess to him? It seemed unlikely. So it was either he could make the first move and hope for the best, or do absolutely nothing at all.
He was going to do it.
He smiled to himself; he was really going to do it.
"HEY CREAMPUFF," Melvin shouted from atop the lighthouse, making Ryou jump a little, "SAY CHEESE!" he noticed the camera in the Egyptians hand and smiled.
God, he was really going to do this.
He was going to tell Melvin everything.
But how should he do it? Should he be blunt and just walk up to him, admitting his feelings? Or should he build up to it?
The churn of nerves in his stomach told him to build up to it – he didn't think he could do it straight away.
But what should he say? How is someone supposed approach a situation like this? He'd never done anything like this before!
He looked up, but Melvin was no longer visible – they were coming down.
Ryou started shaking; the butterflies in his stomach were making him feel sick. He needed to get Melvin on his own, but how could he do that? If Bakura saw him drag Melvin away he'd become suspicious. Why was this so complicated?
He saw them approaching and his heart raced, he let out a shaky breath as he ran a hand through his hair and stood up.
"You alright Ry'? You look pale," Bakura said, looking worriedly at his brother.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine!" Ryou said quickly, not convincing his brother, "I-I just need to...go for a walk! I'll meet you at the BnB." He started to walk off when Bakura caught his arm.
"You sure you're okay?"
"Yes, I just need to clear my head." It wasn't a lie, he really did need to clear his head, but it wasn't for the reason Bakura thought it was.
"Okay, just be careful." He released Ryou's arm, and the smaller Brit started to walk away.
"Why did you let him go? Something's clearly bothering him!" Marik yelled at Bakura.
"He's upset about something that happened when we were children; he needs to clear his head. I knew he shouldn't have come here."
But Bakura was wrong, it wasn't that traumatic day that made Ryou leave, it was his nerves. He needed to plan out exactly what he was going to say to Melvin and how he was going to say it.
He continued to walk quickly down the street, not paying much attention to where he was going. When he figured he was a far enough distance away, he leant his back against a wall. He didn't have much time, if he was gone for too long they'd get suspicious.
He wanted to tell him as soon as possible, preferably today. The only time he would be able to get Melvin on his own would be before dinner – they're allowed an hours free time to get ready. He could pretend to be going into his room to borrow something, and confess then. Marik wouldn't be a problem; he always spends most of his time in the bathroom.
Now he knew when he was going to do it, but how should he do it? Should he memorise exactly what he was going to say, or live in the heat of the moment? He couldn't think of what to say, so he supposed the latter would have to do. It couldn't be too hard, right?
He stood upright, he should really go back to the Bed and Breakfast, it was starting to get dark and he didn't really know how far away he was.
As he started to walk, a low, evil sounding laugh emitted behind him, stopping him in his tracks. Slowly, he tried to turn around, but a hand blocked his vision. He felt another arm snake around his waist, walking him backwards.
Too scared to scream, he allowed his body to be moved. He was frozen in terror, but his situation didn't sink in properly.
Suddenly they stopped walking, and it hit him with full force. He was in danger.
As soon the hands were released from his body, he attempted to run, vaguely aware that he was in an alley, and had absolutely no clue where he was.
His ankle decided to choose that time to hurt like hell, causing him to crash down violently to the ground. His head banged against the ground, and he felt a small line of blood trickle its way down his face.
"Silly little Ryou," his capturer purred, "did you think you could escape that easily?" he was pulled roughly upwards by his collar, and slammed against a wall. His head jerked backwards, smacking into the concrete. A sharp pain shot through his skull, making his vision black out for a second. He closed his eyes in terror, but all that resulted in was being slammed against the wall again. "Look at me when I'm talking to you!" his attacker growled. Slowly, Ryou opened his eyes, his vision was slightly blurred, but he could vaguely make out the outline of whoever was in front of him, and then it clicked. The voice that struck terror in his heart, the outline of the man big enough to throw another person around as if they were a rag doll, the person who held a grudge against not only him, but his brother – there was only one person this could be.
His attacker smirked as the realisation dawned on Ryou's face.
"U-Ushio?"
A/N: I'm so mean to Ryou in this fic!
Will anybody come to save our little creampuff, or will he be beaten to a pulp by Ushio?
Find out next time!
Reviews are appreciated as always :3