"Yugi?" She cried, thinking her eyes must be deceiving her. She had been in a situation like this before…

"Téa, it's alright." He said soothingly, his hand gingerly reaching out to her before she yanked him forward, pulling him to a bone-crushing hug. He gave out a yelp.

"Yugi…" She cried, squeezing him tightly. Fat globs of tears were trailing down her face and it blurred her vision. She heard movement and then reluctantly let go of Yugi to rub her eyes and see Tristan behind. "Tristan!" She yelled, jumping off the bed.

"Woah, easy there Téa!" There was Joey and Bakura following close behind. Yugi motioned to grab Téa, but Téa was ok. She just couldn't stop the tears from falling. She shakingly walked halfway over to Tristan as he met her and she wrapped her arms around his torso.

"Tristan." She wept.

Tristan lovingly patted hear head. "Hey there, Téa." She sniffed and let go and kissed him on the cheek.

She was sure everyone's eyes widened at her action's, but she didn't care. "Joey!" She exclaimed, and on cue, Joey enveloped her, as she fit into his arms. She leaned up to kiss him on the cheek too.

"What are the kisses for?" Joey asked teasingly.

"They're because I love you, silly!" Téa grinned and Joey blinked, but then smiled. "Your turn, Bakura!" She sang, as she turned to kiss Bakura on the cheek, who of course, turned pink at the gesture. She brought the white-haired boy to a hug.

She sighed, finally returning to the bed to plop herself on as everyone else starred at her. This time, she wasn't going to let anyone keep secrets from her.

"So." Téa began. "Can someone fill me in?"

Apparently, she'd been in car accident. It wasn't too horrible, she sprained her wrist, and twisted her ankle, but otherwise she'd been fine. She'd simply been a knocked out for a few days. But, she wasn't sure what was going on… again. It seemed as if she was awake in the fake reality her mind had so called "fabricated" when she was in a coma. The dates and her last actions aligned. But anything could be real.

Had she fabricated the part about her friends being dead? She wondered what Atem thought about their friends being alive. She suddenly felt very lonely without him next to her. Then she suddenly realized, if her friends had been alive the whole time... then what about Atem? Was he still alive? What about the relationship they shared?

Oh God. What had been real and what hadn't been real?

She was hesitant to ask; she didn't want them to confirm her worst thoughts, but she needed to know. "Where… where's Atem?" She bit her lips and everyone's eyes flickered.

Yugi spoke up first, his eyes solemn. "He's in the afterlife, Téa. Do… you remember any of it?"

Téa felt like she'd been stabbed. A sharp pain hit her chest and then spilled into her stomach. She took a deep breath. To have him, to lose him, to have him fully, and then lose him again. Of course, it was too good to be true. She couldn't have Atem and her friends.

Had it only been a dream? A figment of her imagination? It felt too real, so good, so consuming. Their love couldn't have been fake. She could still feel Atem's lips pressed against hers, his arms deeply woven around her waist, the smell of his cologne against her nose when she nuzzled against him. It couldn't have been a lie.

"Oh." She replied, and she started crying again, covering her hands with her face. Joey patted her shoulder. "I'm sorry. I knew that." She sobbed. "It's just that when I woke up, I don't know…" She tried to explain. "Maybe I was dreaming… or I couldn't remember right away… I don't know. It's all so confusing." The sobs became too much to control, and Téa tried to stop when Joey hugged her, but she couldn't. It couldn't have been a lie. Their love had been real, it had to be. It was intoxicating, consuming, enralling, hopeful, and wonderful.

It just couldn't.

Poor Téa. She was just coming to grips with the fact that her friends were dead and she was in a what seems a different timeline, and now it starts all over again. But now she's lost the love of her life, which is different than before. What does this mean for her and Atem? What does this mean for her and Yugi? Yugi and her never got the chance to get to that level, but with Atem it became so much more. It became a real partnership/relationship with hopes, dreams, and plans together *hearts breaking*.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!
~Startistica