Hope you enjoy my newest AtemxMana story! This will be slightly quicker paced than my typical stories, but hopefully you'll still like it! Let's start from the beginning, shall we?
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A large building with a clock in the middle sits before two individuals who gaze up at it with wonder. Students wearing uniforms and heavy coats walk into the building carrying their book bags, chattering about random topics that high schoolers typically talk about. Homework, dating, the latest drama and the like.
A cold breeze causes the brown haired spiky teenager to bury her nose into her pink scarf and shutter. A rosy hue appears on her melanin cheeks and she shuts her eyes, putting her hands into the pockets of her light blue coat. A taller teen that stands beside her appears unfazed by the cold wind. His straight brown hair that reaches just past his shoulders blows through the soft yet harshly cold wind.
"We're gonna stick out like sore thumbs starting our final term at a new school," the girl says, glancing over at the male.
"Unfortunately those were the cards that were dealt to us," he says, returning her gaze. "We just have to make the best of it."
"Surprised they're even letting us do this so late in the game."
"Maybe they felt for us and made an exception," he assumes, thinking of the circumstances that brought them here. "We should be grateful. And we're quite fortunate that everything transferred over nicely."
She brings her hands out of her pockets along with her phone, turning on the camera and centering the frame so that it gets the perfect shot of the school and the students walking toward it. After putting her phone away, she stares down at her hands. They are stiff and she can practically see the color draining from them. "It should be a crime to have to attend school in such cold weather."
"Perhaps we should go inside instead of standing out in the cold."
The girl nods in agreement and they both walk in to begin their first day.
Walking down a busy hall, a tri-colored, spiky haired teen makes his way to his locker. His yellow book bag drapes off one of his shoulders and his purple eyes are focused, paying no mind to the people that stop and stare, making comments about him. Though he is dressed like everyone else, wearing a navy blue blazer, white dress shirt and navy blue dress pants, he is quite the force to be reckoned with.
"I can't believe he's still attending school like a normal person," a boy comments.
"Yeah, you'd think he'd start off early and make a career out of dueling already. He's already won three tournaments in a row," another says. "But I guess he's determined to finish high school at least."
"Yeah, unlike his cousin Kaiba. That guy's rolling in dough."
He stops at his locker, throwing his bag in and gathering the supplies needed for his first class. Behind him, girls look dreamy eyed and gush over him. It isn't just his looks, those narrowed, amethyst eyes, that deep voice or that brown skin that has got them practically drooling. It's also the way he carries himself. He is calm, confident and his presence alone commands the room even though he keeps to himself most times.
Closing the locker, he turns to leave for class, but stops just short of narrowly bumping into someone. The other individual fumbles slightly to keep his books from falling before sighing with relief. "My apologies," the brown haired teen says, giving a slight bow.
"It's not a problem at all," the spiky haired one says. He then raises an eyebrow. "I've never seen you here before."
"Yes, this is my first day here. My sister and I…" he trails off, looking for her within the crowded halls. "…wherever she is. Hopefully she gets to class okay."
"I see. Well I hope you have a great first day."
"Thank you…uh…"
"Atem," he replies.
"Pleasure to meet you, Atem," he gives a warm smile. "My name is Mahad."
"Nice to meet you as well."
After finally reaching his classroom, Atem sits down at his desk which is located toward the back of the classroom near the window. His fellow classmates converse with each other before the start of class while he opts to stare out the window. Minutes go by and he is brought out of his daydream when he hears quick and loud footsteps coming in his direction. His eyes scroll over to see a brown haired girl rushing in, tripping over her own feet but managing to regain her balance as she slams her books on the desk in front of him.
He watches her breathe a sigh of relief, presumably due to the fact that class starts in two minutes and she made it right on time. Once again it is someone that he has never seen here before. Has she been attending Domino this whole time and this is the first time he's seen her? It is quite a large school, but usually he can recognize a face. He highly doubts that more new people have started this late in the school year.
Plopping down in her chair, she leans her head all the way until her aquamarine eyes land on the amethyst ones behind her, viewing him upside down. She notes how unique his hair is—mostly black with crimson tips and blonde bangs. She can't help but stare at what she deems to be a work of art and he stares right back, noticing that she doesn't gaze at him like most girls. Her eyes are full of wonder and curiosity.
She presses both sets of thumbs and index fingers together, forming a 'frame' as if taking a picture. Her photography brain never seems to shut off, even in moments like this. But he doesn't seem bothered, staring at her with interest.
"HEY!" a harsh voice yells, startling the brown haired girl out of her seat and she falls to the floor with a thud. Letting out a light groan and rubbing her butt, she looks up to the source of the voice. A girl with brown eyes and her black hair in two buns glares down at her with her arms folded.
"Oh hey!" Mana greets back with a nervous chuckle.
"You're in my seat. Move."
Mana springs up to her feet, gathering her things. "Oh, sorry about that." She scans the room for another empty desk and finds one directly behind Atem just as the bell rings.
"Alright, settle down class," the male teacher with dark rimmed glasses says, standing in front of the black chalkboard. "We have a new student that I would like to introduce."
Taking that as her cue, Mana stands up and gives a slight wave. "Hi, I'm Mana!" she says enthusiastically, earning her a few giggles.
The teachers pushes up the glasses on his face and sighs. "Very formal of you," he says sarcastically. The girl with two buns in her head side eyes her before whispering over to her group of friends.
Noticing the girls gossiping, Mana sinks into her seat. 'This is going so well.'
"Don't let them get to you," a girl sitting next to her says. Mana reluctantly looks over from the side of her eyes, only to be met with a smiling face and a girl with shoulder length brown hair. "I'm Téa."
Mana gives a slight smile. "Nice to meet you Téa."
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With a loud growl from her stomach, Mana drags her feet with a groan as she heads to her locker. She opens the red metal door, searching through her bag for the lunch she thought she brought with her. But after coming to the end of the bag with no food in sight, she drops her head.
"Okay, no biggie," she sighs. "Just get something from the vending machine." She turns around, only to be met by a group of three girls surrounding her, including the one from earlier. At first she is put on alert by their sudden appearance, but they smile at her which puts her a bit at ease.
"I think we got off on the wrong foot. My name is Vivian," the girl introduces, her voice sounding much sweeter than before.
"Yeah, I agree," Mana replies, putting her hand behind her head. "My name is—"
"Mana. Yeah I know, you don't have to remind me." There is an awkward silence and Mana glances at the vending machine that sits at a short distance from their location.
"Cool, so I'm gonna go and—"
"I know you're new here Mana, but I'd just like to warn you to stay away from Atem."
Mana tilts her head. "Huh? Who's that?"
"Don't play dumb," Vivian says, her voice returning back to that harsh tone that she formerly 'introduced' herself with earlier. Mana searches her memory banks to see if she has ever come across an 'Atem.' The only other person she has interacted with besides the girls in front of her is a teen with spiky hair.
"Oh…"
"Ring a bell finally?"
"But why?"
Vivian glances at her two friends who are taller in comparison to her petite form. They approach Mana, lifting her up by her arms, shoving her into the locker and slamming the door. Mana grunts as her back hits the inside and she rubs her head before seeing a pair of angry eyes peering at her through the three vents in the door.
"Don't ask so many questions," Vivian says.
"But I sit directly behind him! Technically I can't stay away from him," Mana points out. So much for a fresh start, she thinks to herself. Clearly Vivian and her crew aren't trying to be her friend.
"Consider this your early warning."
"You're not making any sense!" Mana exclaims as they walk away, leaving her in the locker. "Geez…what was that all about? So weird…" She places her hand on the door and gives it a light push, but of course it won't open. She closes her eyes and sighs. Good thing this is their final term and she won't have to see any of these people again. She doesn't have huge expectations in terms of any relationships or friendships forming for such a short period of time.
Her stomach growls again and she groans.
"But I'm still hungry," she whines.
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Stepping outside into the cold, Mana shoves her hands into her coat pocket in an attempt to keep her hands warm. That's two things she's forgotten today. Her gloves and her lunch. Fortunately, her first day is over, though a lot of it was spent in the locker until a janitor set her free toward the end of the day. She barely made an attempt to get out on her own, seeing the locker as an opportunity to get away and gather her thoughts.
She won't let this incident ruin her final term as a senior in high school. However, she vows to stay away from this Atem guy, not wanting anymore unnecessary confrontations.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," she hears Mahad say from behind her. She turns around, expecting for her brother to be alone, but instead a spiky haired teen is walking beside him and her face drops. "Atem was nice enough to show me around the school. Had a bit of trouble getting around all day today. But I assume you faired off better than I."
"Uh…" Her eye begins to twitch as she looks at the man that was practically the cause of her being thrown in the locker, though directly, it wasn't his fault.
"Atem, this is my twin sister, Mana," Mahad introduces.
"Yes, we've somewhat met. She's in my class," Atem replies, looking at the girl in front of him. "Though I didn't know you two were related, let alone twins." Mahad nods. "I have a twin brother, but he isn't here due to being under the weather. And like the two of you, our classes are both separate as well."
Mahad's eyes widen with surprise. "Oh really? What are the odds?"
As they converse amongst themselves, Mana happens to catch sight of Vivian and her gang who are behind the two boys leaning against the school building. Vivian's angry gaze is directly on Mana and Mana raises an eyebrow, until it hits her that she is standing directly in front of Atem. The distance between her and Atem is probably sending Vivian into a frenzy for whatever reason.
"Great…" she mutters.
"We're going to the ramen shop around the corner," Mahad starts, looking back at her sister who seems distracted. "Did you want to come?"
Mana looks up in thought, tapping her finger on her chin. Take the risk and accompany them to get food and potentially face whatever Vivian and her goons have in store? Or just go home? After much thought, she looks back down with a smile. She certainly can't say no to food, especially when she hasn't eaten since this morning. Even if she does try to walk home, she might pass out from starvation. The answer seems very clear.
"Sure!"
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The Next Day—
Grunt. Shove. SLAM.
Mana finds herself in the same predicament as yesterday, only this time, it has happened early in the morning. Trying to avoid the conflict and Vivian's reign of terror, Mana decided to try and get there early. Her brother didn't protest one bit, seeing it as a moment to get more acquainted with the school and wanting to check out the library.
With her arms folded, Mana takes a deep breath. The hallway is practically empty with an occasional student walking through the hall every now and then.
'Okay, so I'm off to a really good start,' she says sarcastically in her head, even making herself giggle a bit. 'But seriously, what's her deal?' Using as much force as possible, she kicks open the locker door, startling a nearby student as she walks out of the enclosed space. She looks over to see Téa standing there with her eyebrow raised.
Téa looks from the lockers and back to Mana, pointing in the direction that Mana just came from. "Did you just…?"
"Yup."
"Vivian and her posse?"
"How'd you figure?"
"I've seen her do it to other girls that dare get too close or speak to Atem," Téa says walking up to her.
"But I could've sworn I've seen you briefly speak to him."
"I have a boyfriend so she doesn't really deem me as a threat."
Mana tilts her head before dimming her eyes, realizing what she's getting at. "So they're dating."
"Dated," Téa corrects. "Not anymore." Mana throws her hands in the air with her eyes wide and in disbelief while Téa laughs.
"So she's throwing people in lockers and who knows where else over an ex?" Mana asks and Téa only nods. "Well this ends here. She got me twice, but she won't be getting me the third time!"
"What are you gonna do?" Téa asks, slightly amused and very intrigued at the same time. No one has ever stood up to Vivian and her gang before, but maybe Mana will be the one to change all of that.
"Nothing!" Mana proclaims and Téa drops to the ground, not expecting that response at all. Mana grins. "At least nothing out of the ordinary. I shall go about day as normal, but I won't be heeding her little 'warning' anymore. I've never let anyone bully me in the past and I won't start now."
Téa slowly gets to her feet, holding her head and chuckling nervously. "Well whatever you decide to do, just be careful. Vivian can be extremely petty."
"I'll be fine. Trust me."
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First chapter done! Hope you guys will enjoy this new story! Let me know what you think so far!