Tea Gardener sat on her bedroom floor, cerulean eyes trailing to the box that lay before her. The room temperature would make practically anyone shiver but she showed no signs of concern for that. All light had faded from the room and there was an eerie silence, meaning that her parents weren't home. The delicate teenager lifted a hand to wipe the tears that had begun to cascade down her cheeks, leaving small trails to mark their territory.

"I shouldn't be crying," She quietly reprimanded herself, opening the small black box that lay in front of her. Its contents consisted of a few items. The first one that she pulled out was a picture of the old quartet of friends; Yugi, Joey, Tristan, and herself. A small smile graced her lips as Tea studied each person in the photograph. She remembered the day that they'd taken the picture like it was yesterday, the memory was still fresh in her mind. "Stop holding onto the past."

Setting the picture down, the teenager picked up the next object in the small box, a picture of herself in a uniform. Studying it closer, she recognized the uniform. The same uniform that she had worn when she was working at the restaurant to earn money; even though she wasn't quite of age yet. "Past again.. Snap out of it."

Tea reached out to take the next item but stopped in mid-reach, other thoughts engulfing her mind. "They've all moved on, why can't I? Sure, we talk, but it's not the same." Drawing her hand back to rest in her lap with the other, she sighed. "We're not the same. So why can't I move on like they have? I'm not like them."

Her insecurities began to eat at her, though she wouldn't admit it to anyone but herself. This ritual had been going on for some time now, each time she'd get through fewer and fewer of the items before the pain was too much to handle. Tea was too good of an actor to give away her dark secret, therefore no one knew. In her opinion, no one needed to know. As long as it didn't affect others, it was fine.

The phone began to ring, tearing Tea away from her trance-like state. Sighing softly, she jumped to her feet and picked up the cordless phone that sat on her bed stand. "G-Gardener residence. Hello?" The teenager cringed, noticing her stutter. She hadn't given herself enough time to recover.

"Tea?" A worried male voice asked. "Is something wrong? What happened? You can tell me. I won't tell anyone else if you don't want me to."

This caused a small smile to reappear on the girl's lips. "I'm fine, Yugi," She cringed again, noting she had been lying more than usual lately. "Is there something you wanted?"

"Oh, right!" The boy's voice grew excited, apparently not noticing the lack of excitement in his friend's voice. "I was wondering if you could come over. Joey and Tristan will be here too! And Yami, of course!"

Tea paused, thinking over her possibilities. She couldn't go to his house; not yet. Surely someone would notice her lack of spirit. Then again, if she turned down the offer, he would know something was troubling her. Holding back a sigh, the teenager replied. "Sure, I'm on my way now."

"Great," Came the cheery answer. "See you then!"

She hung up silently, slinging a thin jacket over her shoulder before leaving the safety of her darkened room.