Just a random shout out, but thank you to Angeldrkfire for being the 200th reviewer!

Lisa: And thanks times a million to everyone else for reviewing too. This story wouldn't have gone far without y'all! Literally, it wouldn't have gone that far…

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! Just my own characters!

Chapter Twenty-Four:

"Morning, Yugi!" A cheerful voice rang out above all of the other chattering teens.

Said name looked up from the floor and smiled at his new friend as he entered his English class ten minutes before the final bell rung. More than half of the room was filled with students as they continued their latest news to their friends. In the middle of the room, Eilene waved him over to her in an excited way.

Picking up his pace just a little, the young foreign teenager made his way to his seat and had only enough time to place his belongings on his desk before Eilene asked, "Are you still up for later today?" She leaned over the isle a bit so she could hear above the loud voices.

Sitting down, Yugi looked over at her, a bit confused. "Up for what?" His mind was still a bit unorganized from the events that took place over the weekend so he couldn't remember anything that happened last week.

Eilene rolled her eyes and said, "Go sightseeing! Remember me, Lucy, and Richard were going to take you to Austin to look around during our off periods?" She paused, frowning a bit as she thought, "Actually, we can leave during lunch since we all have C-lunch. We can eat on the way there or find a restaurant to eat at." She smiled at him, her green eyes shinning with excitement.

"Oh right," Yugi nodded, partly remembering the conversation he had with the other two on Thursday.

Apparently, that wasn't the reaction Eilene had been hoping for. "Unless, you don't want to go." She said, trying to hide the disappointment that was trying to make itself known.

Quickly shaking his head, he responded, "No no, I want to go." He said, trying to loosen up and not force the enthusiasm into his voice. Just because he didn't have a great weekend, didn't mean he needed to act different. In order to find out why his father had brought him and his mother here, he needed to act normal and like nothing was going on at home. "Sorry, I just had a boring weekend and it seems my mind is elsewhere." He smiled to show that he meant it.

He continued on, "I kind of forgot about today but since you reminded me, yup, I'm up for it." He sat down at his seat and turned to face her. Luckily, no one in the room was running up to him to take a picture with him or get an autograph. He could relax for now in this class and continue on with their conversation without being interrupted.

"Are you sure?" Eilene asked, not wanting to force him into going.

"Yup."

She nodded, looking a little more convinced. "If you're sure."

Now it was Yugi's turn to roll his eyes, "Of course I'm sure. I wouldn't agree if I didn't want to go." And that did the trick; she nodded her head and resumed the expression from when he first entered the room. "So, where all were you wanting to go?"

"I have a few thoughts in mind." She answered him, and sat normal in her chair again as she pulled out a spiral from her backpack. As she turned to a certain page, she continued to talk, "I know for a fact that we have to go to a toy store because Lucy's sister is having her birthday soon. Lucy needed to buy her something… Is there a particular place you wanted to go too?"

Yugi shook his head.

She nodded and reached the page she had been searching for. On it had a lot of writing with some things circled and some things crossed out. Before the bell rung, Eilene started to share some of the places that she thought up so Yugi would get an idea.

XxxxX

"Yay! Road trip!" Lucy squealed as the four of them piled into Eilene's jeep. She took the front seat as the two boys took the back.

Richard rolled his eyes, "It's only an hour away, Lucy. You can't really call that a road trip."

Lucy turned around in her seat as Eilene started the car and started to leave the place behind. She gave him a playful glare as she said, "We're going on a road, right?" Richard rolled his eyes once more and turned to Yugi with one of those sarcastic looks on his face. But he nodded his head to answer. "Then it's a road trip."

Yugi smiled. "But doesn't a road trip usually consist of a couple of hours?" He chuckled upon seeing Lucy's shocked face that he was taking Richards side and not hers.

"H-how could you, Yugi?" She asked, faking a good impression of disbelief. She grabbed her shirt where underneath it would be her heart and did a dramatic breath that caught up in her throat. "How could you take his side and not mine?"

Eilene snorted and glanced at her best friend, "After seeing that, I can tell why Yugi took Richard's side." She took her eyes away from her friend and looked ahead on the road. Then, glanced in the review mirror and smiled at the two boys.

Lucy gaped at the driver as a slender eyebrow shot up, "And whose side are you on?" She crossed her arms against her chest and waited for an answer.

"My own," she replied. She smiled at her friend.

Yugi couldn't help but enjoy the conversation as he looked out the window. The longer he hung around these three, the more he desperately needed to get back home to where his own friends were. Being around these three made him feel happy, but at the same time sad. Both group of friends were too similar. The only thing he could think on how they were not besides there being more girls, is that no one could pull off a Joey move whether he talk about something totally random or his stomach. Little did Yugi know, he actually missed that particular blond and his stomach.

He bit his cheek, trying not to let himself feel to down about it. He should try and relax and have fun. This was sort of a once in a life time opportunity and he was dwelling on the negative and not the positive. He should at least try and enjoy himself for however long he was going to be here, right? No one was going to be happy if they heard he was living with the past and only thinking on bad thoughts. But, how could he think on happy ones? It made feel a bit guilty. Should he be happy? No doubt Atem and Grandpa and Joey and everyone else was worried about him. If he felt happy, it would feel like he wanted to be here and -

"Yugi, what're you thinking about?" A soft voice interrupted the teen from his thoughts.

Yugi turned his gaze away from the scenery as it flew by to the person sitting one seat away from his own. His amethyst orbs met the dark ones that hid behind a curtain of brown hair, otherwise known as Richard. Yugi frowned and then shrugged, "Nothing important, why?" He asked, looking curiously towards the other male in the car. The two girls in the front seat were talking about the school's dance coming up soon. The Prom, which caused Yugi's heart to ache. They were so engrossed in their conversation, they completely forgot about the two in the back seat. Quickly, he tuned them out and only concentrated on his companion.

Richard shrugged his shoulders and leaned forward in the seat to where his backpack laid on the floor. He zipped it opened and started to rummage around, looking for something in particular. "You looked like you were in deep thought, was all." He found what he was looking for and pulled out a drawing book and a pencil and a big, white eraser.

"Oh," Was all Yugi said, not knowing what else to say to that. He watched his friend lean back into the seat and opened the pad of paper to a certain drawing. Last week, Yugi had found out Richard was an artist and could draw any and everything. He drew people to anime characters, to animals to buildings. He had a real talent. As of now, he was drawing people. He had just started a new drawing today during math when he got bored, so no one knew what he was drawing. When he or Eilene or Lucy asked, he would just shrug and said, "You'll see" and leave it at that. Right now, There were four circles and bodies attached to them, so Yugi figured Richard was drawing people.

"Anything you wanted to talk about?" Richard asked, not glancing up from his drawing as he started on his picture.

"Uh, not really," Yugi said a little too quickly. He didn't want to pour out his thoughts to him, even though they were friends. They had only known each other for a few days. If it had been a year or more, or in fact Joey, he would had spilled his thoughts and probably more.

Richard looked up, a curious look on his face though it was barely there, but he didn't pressure on. Instead, there was another expression, one more visible; amusement. "I meant to help pass the time. I knew you were thinking about something important since you had a glazed look in your eye, but I didn't mean about that. Was there anything you'd like to talk about, other than the Prom?" He jerked his head in the girls direction where they were discussing dresses.

Yugi sheepishly grinned, "Oh, I knew that." He said as a cover up. He then shook his head, "I have no idea what to talk about."

And just at that moment, Lucy had heard him and her eyes lit up as she turned around in her seat, "Ooh, are you going to be going to the prom?"

"Prom?"

She nodded her head in excitement, "Mmhm. You know, the big senior dance?"

"He just got here, Lucy," Eilene said, even though she was also curious. She made a lane change on the highway and speed up to pass someone before changing lanes to go back into the one she was just in.

"You never know," Lucy turned her head and shot back at her friend. Then she looked back to the boys and rephrased her question, "Alright, so did you have plans back in Japan? I remember you said something about having a girlfriend." She winked at him.

Slightly growing red in the cheeks, Yugi said, "Uh, y-yeah, I do have plans."

"Do?" Richard questioned, noticing the tense of the word. He looked back down at his drawing, which he was now slightly shielding away from peeping eyes.

Yugi nodded, "I'm hoping to get back to Japan before we have our prom. I promised Tea I'd take her." And he kept his promises.

"Tea?" Lucy raised an eyebrow. "Ooh, that's a pretty name. Do you have a picture of her on you by any chance?" She asked.

Yugi softly smiled as he pulled his wallet from his back pocket and opened it up. He produced a picture of him and his girl friend holding hands as they sat on the couch at his home. He handed it to Lucy who eagerly took it and examined it just as Eilene asked:

"When is that prom exactly?" She glanced in the mirror at her friend.

"June fifteenth." He answered.

She frowned, "That's quite a while away. When were you supposed to graduate?"

"The last day of school, which is the last day of June." He answered, (A/n making this up to fit my story) "We're a bit different about school than you guys are."

Without looking up from the picture, Lucy asked, "She's really pretty. You two make a cute couple." She looked up and smiled, meaning it. Yugi nodded his thanks and she quickly showed Eilene the picture before looking at it once more.

There were so many questions popping up in Eilene's mind, but she didn't know where to begin. Luckily, Richard asked one of the hundreds of questions she had, bringing her down to nine hundred and ninety-nine."So, are you going to be graduating here or there?" He paused in his drawing and glanced up for an answer.

Yugi didn't even hesitate on the answer as he blurted out, "There. I can't stand not graduating without my friends and brother. I will be back there before graduation and prom or die trying." Inside, he knew that was true. His father couldn't stop him from going back, even if he had put a gun to his head. He would still leave.

Richard looked back down, satisfied with the answer. The teen was determined to get back. As he started to draw, something nagged at the back of his mind, but he couldn't quite put a finger on it.

"Aw, so does that mean you're going to be leaving us?" Lucy asked, looking up from the picture she was studying. She jutted out her lip in a pout.

Looking sorry, Yugi nodded. "To be honest, I didn't want to come here, but I was forced to move. I promised my friend's I'd be back in time for graduation. And since I promised my girlfriend, I have to be there in time for prom too." Not wanted to say anything else on the topic they were currently on, he changed the subject, asking them, "So, when is you guys' prom?"

Boy did he just start a conversation that lasted the whole rest of the car ride to Austin. Beginning with their prom starting in one month, to being dragged along as a friend, to talking about dresses. Oh fun.

XxxxX

For nearly two hours, the four friends walked around Austin and went into almost every single store. Before they started their adventure, they ate at a hamburger joint called Top Notch to gain energy for all of their walking. Now, after almost two hours, they were about to hit the exhaustion point, though none of them would admit it. They were teens with a 'lot of energy'.

"One last shop before we head back to the car," Eilene said and the other three agreed. In everyone's hands, were shopping bags. Most of them belonged to her and Lucy and being gentlemen, Yugi and Richard offered to carry some of them. Only four out of all of the bags belonged to the boys. In most of the bags were clothes and a few fun items. She noticed that Yugi had bought a bag for school and a few clothing items like black skinny jeans and a few shirts.

"Hey, let's stop here," Lucy said, pointing to a shop they were just about to pass. Everyone stopped and peered at the small shop. From the window, you could make out all of the toys and board games and more toys. "I still need to buy something for my sister or she'll kill me." She rolled her eyes and walked to the door and through, since the door was propped open.

The other three walked in after her into the cool air conditioning store. Even though it wasn't hot outside, just a nice Spring day, it still felt nice against their hot skin from all of the walking. Inside, the store was packed with all kinds of different toys ranging from stuffed animals to dolls to rocking horses to plastic type toys. There were only a few people in the shop as they browsed through the store.

As Richard and Eilene went their separate ways, Yugi walked around, enjoying the store. It made him think of when he was a little kid and how he loved to travel around in toy stores. Sometimes, as a treat, Grandpa would take him to the local toy store and for at least an hour, they would stay there as he looked at every single item stocked. Once or twice, grandpa had to literally pick Yugi up and drag him out of the store so the employees could close the shop up for the night.

Smiling at the memories, Yugi walked along the isle that contained stuffed animals. There were so many different kinds that you could make a zoo if you wanted. As he walked along, one particular stuffed animal caught Yugi's eye and he stopped to look at it. As he looked at it, a small smile started to tug at the corners of his mouth as he picked the animal up and examined it.

"Ooh, I am so going to buy this," he said and held onto the toy for later purchase as he continued his walk around the store. In his mind, he was picturing the moment when he'd give the present to the person it was intended for and couldn't help but grin like an idiot. Now, he couldn't wait to get back to his real home.

XxxxX

"Where the hell have you been?" Chokichi demanded the minute his son walked right through the door, an hour after his curfew. His arms were crossed at his chest and he stood in the middle of the living room, pausing from his pacing. Miyuki was near the couches in the background. She had been biting her nail in nervousment for the last hour and let out a sigh of relief to see her son alive and well. She grew curious in the few bags in his hands.

Yugi slipped his shoes off once the door was closed behind him and met his father's angry face. "I was out with some friends." He said as calmly as he could manage. He walked onto the carpet, intended to go to his room to drop his new things in his room.

"An hour after your curfew?" Choikchi said, moving to stop his son from leaving the room.

The teenager took a step back to look his father in the face. Fear welled up inside him but he continued to keep his face ridden of any fear it might show. "I wasn't paying attention to the time. And besides, we were in Austin and it takes an hour to get from there to here. By the time I realized what time it was, we were already on our way here and that was about an hour ago." Which was all true, but he didn't care at the time so he didn't mention it to his friends.

The man of the house face hardened into a deep scowl as he stretched his arm out and punched his child square in the jaw. "I don't give a damn if you noticed what time it was or not. I told you you were to be home at a certain time or there would be consequences to pay."

Given that little information, Yugi straightened up, resisting the urge to rub his aching jaw and looked around to where his mom stayed, standing. His eyes widened when he noticed a look of pain in her eyes and knew Chokichi had hit her because of his stupid move.

"For now on, you will come home straight after school." Chokichi said in an angry voice, causing Yugi to look back at him. "I don't give a damn if your new 'friends' want to take you to go sightseeing or whatever the hell you did today. You will come straight home, is that clear?"

Yugi remained quiet, glaring at the person who he was supposed to call father.

There was another punch, this time ending up in the stomach. A whooshing sound escaped the teenager as Yugi doubled over from the blow. Chokichi said in a now, icy tone, "Is. That. Clear?" His teeth were clenched and his words came out short and with a sense of command.

Breathing out a quiet 'yes', Yugi tired to regain the breath he had lost as he remained hunched over.

Satisfied with the answer, Chokichi turned to his wife and glared at her, "The same applies to you too; be home right after work. If you want to go somewhere, either call me or wait until I get home. Is that clear?"

"Yes," Miyuki answered, her voice full of impatience as she quickly made it to her son's side. She didn't even watch her husband leave the room as she whispered to her baby, "Are you alright?" Without waiting for an answer, she added, "Let's get you to your room." She grabbed the bags from her son's hand and helped her son walked to his room.

"I really... don't like him..." Yugi said through gritted teeth.

Miyuki chuckled without a sense of amusement in her voice. "Neither do I, sweetie. Neither do I."

XxxxX

Until next time y'all! :)

Kind of another filler, but I hope it wasn't that bad. Well, have a merry Christmas and a happy holidays. You won't be seeing me until after winter break is over. Reason is on my profile, if you can really call it a reason. :p See you guys soon!