Moon Shadow: Endless Myth is in France. Yup. She just took off and went to
France during sixth bell. But whatever. I'm just as good a writer without
her.Ha. Endless Myth, COME BACK! I have no one else to talk to! Well, guys,
don't worry, I brought in a special guest writer. Let's give a hand for.SUN
STAR!
Sun Star: I have no idea what's going on.
Moon Shadow: No no no, you're just supposed to sit here and watch me type.
Sun Star: Would it help if I knew what Yu-Gi-Oh is?
Moon Shadow: I doubt it.
Sun Star: Can I read a book?
"He was a Sk8er boi, she said see ya later boi, he wasn't good enough for her. She had a pretty face, but her head was up in space, she needed to come back down to earth."
-Sk8er Boi, Avril Lavigne
*** Chapter Seven ***
Joey walked into the apartment, nearly tripping over Yugi's cat, cursing at it under his breath. He slammed the door and stalked over to the phone out of habit, listening to the messages.
*Beep* Hey Wheeler, it's Tristan, sorry I can't make it to visit you guys this summer-
*Beep* Hi, Yugi, this is Marie. Call me, okay? I just wanted to talk to you and-
*Beep* Yo, Joey, Yug- It's Lee-I'm not coming today, okay? I'm going downtown with Matt and them in Sara's van-
*Beep * Joseph? This is you mother. You've been avoiding me, Joseph-your sister says you haven't contacted her in weeks, but you're spending an unhealthy amount of time with Lebecca, and I just wanted to make sure that-
Joey pressed the delete button and picked up the phone, dialing his mother's number, groaning.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Ma."
"Joseph? Is that you?"
"Yeah."
"Where have you been, you haven't spoken to me in weeks, dear!"
"I've been busy, Ma."
"Oh, you-How's Yugi?"
"He's fine."
"Is he still seeing, um, I can't think of her name-"
"Marie? Yeah." "Oh really? It's been a long time."
"Yeah, two years."
"My. And how are you, dear? Are you seeing anyone?"
"No."
"Joseph-"
"I date, Ma."
"You should." His mother paused. "Oh, I was talking to your sister the other day."
"Oh?"
"Yes. She said that Lebecca is spending a lot of time with you. And when I talked to Lee, all she would talk about was some boy-Mark, or Melvin- something like that."
"His name is Matt, Ma."
"Yes, Matt-she certainly talks about him a lot. Do you know about that?"
"They're just friends, Ma."
"Well, I just-" In the distance, Joey could hear the kitchen timer on his mother's side of the phone start to ring. "-Oh, Joseph, I have to get that. I'll talk to you some other time, all right, dear?"
"Fine, Ma."
"Bye, dear."
"Take care, Ma." He hung up. He rested his forehead on the wall and closed his eyes.
"You lie, Joey." It was Yugi.
"Huh?" Joey said, facing his friend. "Come again?"
"We both know you haven't had a date in about four years."
"Yeah, well, I can't tell her that."
"Ha."
"Hey, I'm still waiting for someone, Yug."
"She's not coming back, Joey."
"Never know."
"No. She's not coming back."
"Maybe she will." Joey sighed and leaned against the counter, reaching for the newspaper.
Yami?
Yes?
He's never going to give up on her.
He has to, Yugi.
You know where she is.
Yes.
Why can't you tell him?
You know I can't tell you that.
He-he loves her, Yami.
I can tell.
So screw all these precautions! Just tell him where Mai is.
I can't. Yami answered, and hid himself behind a mental wall of solitude inside his puzzle.
Matt, Ben and Tim were sitting on the low stone side of the fountain in the middle of the park. The sun was shining high in the sky. It was a Friday afternoon, there were two more weeks of school and the national Duel Monster's competition was over and done with for the year, Ben still holding his title.
"Hey Ben."
"Yeah?"
"You going to the Duelist Kingdom when it reopens?"
"No."
"You got an invitation, didn't you?"
"Yes. I ripped it up and fed it to the dog."
"Seriously?"
"No. But that's what I would've done. But my dad brought in the mail that day, and he thinks it's a 'wonderful opportunity' for me." Ben glanced at Tim out of the corner of his eye. "He also said that it'll be good to get away from you guys for the summer."
"Jesus. What is this, summer camp? He'll probably be disappointed to know that I got invited, too."
"Lord, it'll break his heart. Are you going?"
"I don't know."
"Don't." Matt spoke up. "If you go, then Ben will go, and Sara will go to be with Ben, and Lee will find some way to sneak in-you know she will-and then I'll be the only one left, and what am I supposed to do all summer?"
"You could go to be with Lee, if she does find a way to get in." Tim said, elbowing Matt in the stomach. Matt shoved him back and shook his head.
"Nope. The only problem I have with the Duelist Kingdom is that it involves, like, playing the actual game. Which I really wouldn't be opposed to if it didn't confuse the hell out of me."
"A little bitter, are we, Matt?"
"Shut up, Lear. Speaking of Lee, where is she? I thought she was coming here right after school."
"She was. Oh, wait, she said she had to talk to someone or something beforehand. I dunno, I really wasn't paying attention."
"Oh."
"Yeah."
There was silence as the three boys sat and waited for Lee. Finally Tim blinked and stood up, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. "Lets go."
"Where are we going?" Ben asked sensibly, as Matt shoved his history book into his backpack. "I thought we were waiting for Sara and Lee."
"We were. But they're waiting at the street corner for us in Sara's car."
"How did you-oh." They started walking down to the corner. It was two months since Lee and Tim had started talking mind to mind, but even though they were used to it now, Ben and Matt were still having some trouble adjusting to it. Sara took it in stride, though.
The three friends piled into the car, Lee slid over and Sara turned up the radio. They drove off down the road towards the bay. Pulling off onto a hidden road, they drove down a bumpy road and finally got out of the car at a rickety wooden dock with muddy water lapping at its sides. Lee hopped out of the car and stretched out, her arms above her head. She turned to Ben.
"Hey Ben-duel me?"
"Oh c'mon-" he protested.
"You have to get some practice in, dude-else you'll get to nationals this summer and totally have lost your touch."
"I wish!" he said, put pulled his deck out and began to shuffle. Lee sat down cross-legged on the dock and set her deck down besides her. Tim sat down next to her, and Matt lay on his back, staring at the sky. Sara sat with her legs dangling, her toes just barely brushing the edge of the water.
"Let's go." Ben said, and drew five cards. "You go first."
"Cool." Lee studied her cards. "Ok, I got it-I'll play Dark Witch in attack mode, with Horn of Light-2500 attack. And this face down."
Ben ran the hand that wasn't holding the cards through his hair. "I play a card face down and one monster in face down in defense mode."
Lee stuck out her tongue at him. " You're boring."
"Okay. Your move."
"Thank you. WingWeaver, in attack mode, equipped with the Malevolent Nuzzler. And This," she said, holding up a card. "Shadow of Eyes."
Ben rolled his eyes and flipped his face down monster up. "I'm screwed." He said. "Labyrinth Wall. An attack of zip."
"Yeah." Lee said. "So I'll attack it with WingWeaver-attack 3450 because of Malevolent Nuzzler-and do that much damage. But don't calculate your loss yet," She said. "Because I'll also attack your life points with the Dark Witch."
Matt looked up, then back up at the sky. "That doesn't sound to good."
"It's not." Ben said.
"Oh. Hey, maybe I have a natural talent for this."
"You can have mine." Ben said. "I activate Waboku."
"So you've got one turn. Don't waste it."
"I'll switch Labyrinth Wall back to defense mode and summon the Red-Eyes Black Dragon, and play Eternal Rest."
"What does that do?"
"Destroys all monsters with equip cards. That would be both of your cards. Kiss them good-bye."
"Not this time. I'll activate Mystical Space Typhoon and save my monsters."
"Good. I'll just play Raigeki and destroy them all anyway."
"I hate you."
"I know. And now I'll attack your life points directly. Can we stop now?"
"Wimp."
"I'm just bored!"
"You give up to easily, Caraway."
"Not when he's playing me." Tim spoke up. "When he's playing me, he's ruthless."
"Yeah, but that's because the games don't last long enough for me to get to bored." Ben yawned, and changed the subject. "Do you guys wanna come over or something tonight? My dad's not here-he went on a business trip."
"Um, I can't." Lee said quietly, brushing her hair out of her eyes. "Sorry."
"Why? What's up?" Tim said questioningly.
"I sort of have a date."
Matt sat up. Sara turned around, and Ben looked up at Lee. Tim raised his eyebrow.
"Oh? Do tell."
"What's to tell?" Lee asked uncomfortably, snapping the clasp on her purse shut.
"There's a lot to tell. Like, who, for example."
"Oh, that." Lee glanced over at Matt. He was sitting quietly, staring at the ground, listening intently to everything she was saying. "Dan Macio."
Matt looked up and stared at her. She didn't look like she was joking, but with Lee you could never tell.
"What?" Tim said, coughing. "Could you repeat that? I'm not sure I caught that the first time.
"Dan. He goes to NHS. He's a senior, I think. Isn't he, Ben?" Lee asked. Ben nodded. "He's a senior, alright. But why are you dating Dan Macio? Isn't he like, the world's biggest jerk?"
"Yeah." Tim put in. "He is. He's also the guy who was beating the crap out of her earlier this year. Remember?" he asked, glaring at Lee. Ben tapped him on the shoulder and nodded towards Matt, who was staring at the apparently fascinating patch of air above Lee's head.
"I remember." Lee said. "But we had lunch together today and he apologized and said he would make it up to me by taking me out to dinner tonight."
"Oh." Tim said. There was an awkward silence. Then. "So how did this come about?"
"You know what?" Lee said, "I just remembered this gargantuan Math assignment that I need to get finished. I had better go work on, it okay?"
Everyone stared at her. Then Tim said, "Yeah, why don't you do that. Come on, I'll drive you home." He took hold of her arm and pulled her away from the dock, leaving everyone staring after them. When they were out of hearing distance of the dock, Lee jerked away from Tim and faced him.
"That was subtle," she hissed. "We all came in Sara's car."
"Which is how you were going to leave to finish your 'math assignment', right?"
"What are you saying?"
"Lee-it's a Friday afternoon in the last two weeks of school. You don't have any math to do!"
"You don't know that."
"I'm in your math class!"
"What do you want, Tim?"
"I want to know what you're doing!"
"How is it your business?"
"Lee, for the last two months you've gone out of your way to avoid Dan Macio! Now you're dating him. What's wrong with this picture?"
"So? What's your point?"
Tim stared hard at her. Then he closed his eyes and sent his mind out to hers, entering her mind. But before he could get far, he hit a mental wall and was flung back. He pushed forward, and he could sense Lee struggling to keep him out. They stood there, staring into the other's eyes, each trying to outdo the other. Then Lee gave one huge shove and closed off her mind.
"Don't you dare try to read my mind, Tim Lear!"
"Oh, so now you're blocking me out?"
"Yeah, I am! We agreed that we wouldn't do that-try to force our way in. We agreed on that two months ago!"
"What are you hiding?"
"Stay out of my mind." She whispered. He put his hand on her shoulder.
"You can't hide, Lee."
"I'm not hiding anything!"
"What about Matt?"
"What about him?"
"You know he likes you."
"Yes."
"And I know that you like him."
"You don't know anything." She spat. "Maybe he's not good enough for me." She finished loftily.
He gaped at her. Then, before she could move, he slapped her hard across the face. "What the hell is your problem?" he hissed at her, his eyes flashing.
"I don't have a problem!" She answered. "Maybe you should just stay out of my head!"
They stared at each other. Then they heard a person approaching them, and turned to see Matt standing there questioningly. "What's going on?" He asked. " Lee-I thought you were going home."
"I was. But I decided-"
"Yeah, she is." Tim cut in. "Hey Lee, why don't you call Dan-Maybe he could give you a ride."
"Maybe I will." She said, glaring at him. "
"Matt-let's go." Tim said, and started to walk away, but Matt stayed behind to wait for Lee.
"I just brought it up because we're all leaving-it's starting to rain." Matt said softly. It was-the sky was darkening and the drops were starting to fall. It was long, quiet drive home. Tim and Lee weren't speaking, and wouldn't even look at each other. Sara dropped Lee off, then Tim, and only then did Matt say anything.
"I can't believe it." He said. Ben turned around.
"Hey man, don't beat yourself up. It's not your fault that Lee has bad judgement."
"No." Sara said. "Listen to him, Matt. He's right, you know. Lee may have made a stupid choice, but it's not like anyone can stop her."
"I could've. I could've if I'd tried."
"Matt-"
"She's going to get hurt! You know she is! Dan-he's-Lee- God, I can't believe I didn't say anything to her!" They pulled up in front of his house, and he opened the door to get out. "And-never mind. Bye." He ran towards the door, dodging between raindrops.
Ben turned to Sara and sighed. "He's right, you know."
"I know."
"I want to know what Lee thinks she's doing with Dan. Matt should have said something to her. She listens to him."
"She usually listens to Tim," Sara said, pulling off Matt's street. "I don't know why she's acting like this."
"She's going to get hurt." Ben said, shaking his head. "You know Maddie Lear? She was dating Dan for a while."
"I didn't know that." Sara said, spinning the steering wheel. "Seriously?"
"Yeah. Tim was so mad at him. Dan's a nice enough guy until he gets drunk. But Maddie dumped him after a week, and Dan and Tim have been enemies ever since."
"I had never heard that."
"Yeah, well." Ben leaned his head on the window and sighed again when Sara stopped in front of his house. "Look who's home." He said, gesturing at his father's truck in the driveway.
"I thought you said he wasn't going to be home."
"I did. I guess I was wrong,"
"Do you wanna come over for a while?"
"No, it's fine." Ben kissed her on the cheek and got out of the car, waving at her before going into his house. Sara smiled, but the smile faded as she drove down the slippery wet road.
"And god forbid that Lebecca should get hurt." She muttered sarcastically. She pulled her cell phone out of her purse and dialed the familiar number.
"Sara, you idiot! Get me Mr. Pegasus!" she said when the person picked up. "Peter? Yes. Dan's doing his part. I know. Okay. I'll be right over. Yes. No. Oh, okay. Bye." She hung up and sped away down the road.
Lee picked up the phone and dialed Tim's number with trembling fingers. She got the answering machine.
*Beep* You've reached the Lear household-If you'd like to leave a message for (deep breath) Ryan, Cindy, Maddie, Jon, Tim, Christa, Jack, Hope, or for some bizarre reason, Lizzie-Beth, then please do so at the tone. We'll call you back as soon as the phone is not in use by one of the said people. Thank you! *Beep*
"Tim, this is Lee. If you're there, please pick up." She waited, but no one answered. "I'm going to assume that you don't want to talk to me. Tim, I really need to talk to you. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it! Please call me." She hung up and buried her head in her arms on her desk, her body shaking with sobs.
Tim sat listening to Lee leave her message and didn't pick up the phone. He could hear her voice choked with tears, but he walked away, trying to ignore the emotions inside his head that he knew weren't his.
Joey Wheeler cradled his one-year old niece in his arms. His friend Yugi Motou leaned over his shoulder to see her.
"She's wonderful, Joey. She's going to be beautiful when she's older."
"Hey, she's pretty cute already!" Joey held her up. "Hey Tristan! Get a load of this! I'm an uncle."
"Tha's great, Joey." Tristan said, coming over and taking Lebecca away from Joey. "Funny though. She doesn't look a thing like Serenity."
"Nope." Joey said cheerfully.
"She actually looks more like you."
"That had better be a compliment, Tris."
"Eh. She's cute, though."
"I'll say." Joey responded, reaching over to take her back. "Lee-Ah, no." The baby had plucked a Duel Monsters card off the table and was studying it intently. "Lea, sweet, put it down." The girl looked at the card a moment longer before waving it above her head and throwing it across the room.
"Eee!" she cried happily, and threw her arms around his neck. " 'Oey!" She proclaimed. Joey looked over at Yugi. "Whataya say, Yug? She got potential as a duelist?"
"Oh, definitely." Yugi, said, grinning. Then his smile faded. "But she's a girl, Joey."
"Oh yeah, forgot about that for a while." He looked down and then up again. "Old Mai's getting into trouble again." He managed a weak smile.
"Get over it, Wheeler," Tristan said, slapping his friend on the back.
"Hey, I ain't got anything to get over!" Joey said defensively. "That was along time ago!"
"Sure. Hey, I gotta go. I'll catch you guys later, okay?"
"Okay."
"Bye, Tris."
"And I'll definitely see you soon." Tristan said to the baby, letting her hold onto his finger for a second. "You don't let Joey be mean to you, you hear?"
"Eee!"
Moon Shadow: Hmmm. Tired. But today is a SNOW DAY! YES! No school for me, hee hee hee!
Sun Star: Me neither. Get over it.
Moon Shadow: People, please review!
Sun Star: I am so confused. I think I'll go hide underneath my bed now.
Moon Shadow: *Holding Sun Star back* Hopefully Endless Myth will be back by chapter eight. But you never know. Maybe she'll just stay in France forever. *Flinches* And then Sunni will be my co-author for the rest of this story. *Glances at Sun Star* Not that that's a BAD thing.
Sun Star: That had better be a compliment, Lil' Shadow.
Sun Star: I have no idea what's going on.
Moon Shadow: No no no, you're just supposed to sit here and watch me type.
Sun Star: Would it help if I knew what Yu-Gi-Oh is?
Moon Shadow: I doubt it.
Sun Star: Can I read a book?
"He was a Sk8er boi, she said see ya later boi, he wasn't good enough for her. She had a pretty face, but her head was up in space, she needed to come back down to earth."
-Sk8er Boi, Avril Lavigne
*** Chapter Seven ***
Joey walked into the apartment, nearly tripping over Yugi's cat, cursing at it under his breath. He slammed the door and stalked over to the phone out of habit, listening to the messages.
*Beep* Hey Wheeler, it's Tristan, sorry I can't make it to visit you guys this summer-
*Beep* Hi, Yugi, this is Marie. Call me, okay? I just wanted to talk to you and-
*Beep* Yo, Joey, Yug- It's Lee-I'm not coming today, okay? I'm going downtown with Matt and them in Sara's van-
*Beep * Joseph? This is you mother. You've been avoiding me, Joseph-your sister says you haven't contacted her in weeks, but you're spending an unhealthy amount of time with Lebecca, and I just wanted to make sure that-
Joey pressed the delete button and picked up the phone, dialing his mother's number, groaning.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Ma."
"Joseph? Is that you?"
"Yeah."
"Where have you been, you haven't spoken to me in weeks, dear!"
"I've been busy, Ma."
"Oh, you-How's Yugi?"
"He's fine."
"Is he still seeing, um, I can't think of her name-"
"Marie? Yeah." "Oh really? It's been a long time."
"Yeah, two years."
"My. And how are you, dear? Are you seeing anyone?"
"No."
"Joseph-"
"I date, Ma."
"You should." His mother paused. "Oh, I was talking to your sister the other day."
"Oh?"
"Yes. She said that Lebecca is spending a lot of time with you. And when I talked to Lee, all she would talk about was some boy-Mark, or Melvin- something like that."
"His name is Matt, Ma."
"Yes, Matt-she certainly talks about him a lot. Do you know about that?"
"They're just friends, Ma."
"Well, I just-" In the distance, Joey could hear the kitchen timer on his mother's side of the phone start to ring. "-Oh, Joseph, I have to get that. I'll talk to you some other time, all right, dear?"
"Fine, Ma."
"Bye, dear."
"Take care, Ma." He hung up. He rested his forehead on the wall and closed his eyes.
"You lie, Joey." It was Yugi.
"Huh?" Joey said, facing his friend. "Come again?"
"We both know you haven't had a date in about four years."
"Yeah, well, I can't tell her that."
"Ha."
"Hey, I'm still waiting for someone, Yug."
"She's not coming back, Joey."
"Never know."
"No. She's not coming back."
"Maybe she will." Joey sighed and leaned against the counter, reaching for the newspaper.
Yami?
Yes?
He's never going to give up on her.
He has to, Yugi.
You know where she is.
Yes.
Why can't you tell him?
You know I can't tell you that.
He-he loves her, Yami.
I can tell.
So screw all these precautions! Just tell him where Mai is.
I can't. Yami answered, and hid himself behind a mental wall of solitude inside his puzzle.
Matt, Ben and Tim were sitting on the low stone side of the fountain in the middle of the park. The sun was shining high in the sky. It was a Friday afternoon, there were two more weeks of school and the national Duel Monster's competition was over and done with for the year, Ben still holding his title.
"Hey Ben."
"Yeah?"
"You going to the Duelist Kingdom when it reopens?"
"No."
"You got an invitation, didn't you?"
"Yes. I ripped it up and fed it to the dog."
"Seriously?"
"No. But that's what I would've done. But my dad brought in the mail that day, and he thinks it's a 'wonderful opportunity' for me." Ben glanced at Tim out of the corner of his eye. "He also said that it'll be good to get away from you guys for the summer."
"Jesus. What is this, summer camp? He'll probably be disappointed to know that I got invited, too."
"Lord, it'll break his heart. Are you going?"
"I don't know."
"Don't." Matt spoke up. "If you go, then Ben will go, and Sara will go to be with Ben, and Lee will find some way to sneak in-you know she will-and then I'll be the only one left, and what am I supposed to do all summer?"
"You could go to be with Lee, if she does find a way to get in." Tim said, elbowing Matt in the stomach. Matt shoved him back and shook his head.
"Nope. The only problem I have with the Duelist Kingdom is that it involves, like, playing the actual game. Which I really wouldn't be opposed to if it didn't confuse the hell out of me."
"A little bitter, are we, Matt?"
"Shut up, Lear. Speaking of Lee, where is she? I thought she was coming here right after school."
"She was. Oh, wait, she said she had to talk to someone or something beforehand. I dunno, I really wasn't paying attention."
"Oh."
"Yeah."
There was silence as the three boys sat and waited for Lee. Finally Tim blinked and stood up, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. "Lets go."
"Where are we going?" Ben asked sensibly, as Matt shoved his history book into his backpack. "I thought we were waiting for Sara and Lee."
"We were. But they're waiting at the street corner for us in Sara's car."
"How did you-oh." They started walking down to the corner. It was two months since Lee and Tim had started talking mind to mind, but even though they were used to it now, Ben and Matt were still having some trouble adjusting to it. Sara took it in stride, though.
The three friends piled into the car, Lee slid over and Sara turned up the radio. They drove off down the road towards the bay. Pulling off onto a hidden road, they drove down a bumpy road and finally got out of the car at a rickety wooden dock with muddy water lapping at its sides. Lee hopped out of the car and stretched out, her arms above her head. She turned to Ben.
"Hey Ben-duel me?"
"Oh c'mon-" he protested.
"You have to get some practice in, dude-else you'll get to nationals this summer and totally have lost your touch."
"I wish!" he said, put pulled his deck out and began to shuffle. Lee sat down cross-legged on the dock and set her deck down besides her. Tim sat down next to her, and Matt lay on his back, staring at the sky. Sara sat with her legs dangling, her toes just barely brushing the edge of the water.
"Let's go." Ben said, and drew five cards. "You go first."
"Cool." Lee studied her cards. "Ok, I got it-I'll play Dark Witch in attack mode, with Horn of Light-2500 attack. And this face down."
Ben ran the hand that wasn't holding the cards through his hair. "I play a card face down and one monster in face down in defense mode."
Lee stuck out her tongue at him. " You're boring."
"Okay. Your move."
"Thank you. WingWeaver, in attack mode, equipped with the Malevolent Nuzzler. And This," she said, holding up a card. "Shadow of Eyes."
Ben rolled his eyes and flipped his face down monster up. "I'm screwed." He said. "Labyrinth Wall. An attack of zip."
"Yeah." Lee said. "So I'll attack it with WingWeaver-attack 3450 because of Malevolent Nuzzler-and do that much damage. But don't calculate your loss yet," She said. "Because I'll also attack your life points with the Dark Witch."
Matt looked up, then back up at the sky. "That doesn't sound to good."
"It's not." Ben said.
"Oh. Hey, maybe I have a natural talent for this."
"You can have mine." Ben said. "I activate Waboku."
"So you've got one turn. Don't waste it."
"I'll switch Labyrinth Wall back to defense mode and summon the Red-Eyes Black Dragon, and play Eternal Rest."
"What does that do?"
"Destroys all monsters with equip cards. That would be both of your cards. Kiss them good-bye."
"Not this time. I'll activate Mystical Space Typhoon and save my monsters."
"Good. I'll just play Raigeki and destroy them all anyway."
"I hate you."
"I know. And now I'll attack your life points directly. Can we stop now?"
"Wimp."
"I'm just bored!"
"You give up to easily, Caraway."
"Not when he's playing me." Tim spoke up. "When he's playing me, he's ruthless."
"Yeah, but that's because the games don't last long enough for me to get to bored." Ben yawned, and changed the subject. "Do you guys wanna come over or something tonight? My dad's not here-he went on a business trip."
"Um, I can't." Lee said quietly, brushing her hair out of her eyes. "Sorry."
"Why? What's up?" Tim said questioningly.
"I sort of have a date."
Matt sat up. Sara turned around, and Ben looked up at Lee. Tim raised his eyebrow.
"Oh? Do tell."
"What's to tell?" Lee asked uncomfortably, snapping the clasp on her purse shut.
"There's a lot to tell. Like, who, for example."
"Oh, that." Lee glanced over at Matt. He was sitting quietly, staring at the ground, listening intently to everything she was saying. "Dan Macio."
Matt looked up and stared at her. She didn't look like she was joking, but with Lee you could never tell.
"What?" Tim said, coughing. "Could you repeat that? I'm not sure I caught that the first time.
"Dan. He goes to NHS. He's a senior, I think. Isn't he, Ben?" Lee asked. Ben nodded. "He's a senior, alright. But why are you dating Dan Macio? Isn't he like, the world's biggest jerk?"
"Yeah." Tim put in. "He is. He's also the guy who was beating the crap out of her earlier this year. Remember?" he asked, glaring at Lee. Ben tapped him on the shoulder and nodded towards Matt, who was staring at the apparently fascinating patch of air above Lee's head.
"I remember." Lee said. "But we had lunch together today and he apologized and said he would make it up to me by taking me out to dinner tonight."
"Oh." Tim said. There was an awkward silence. Then. "So how did this come about?"
"You know what?" Lee said, "I just remembered this gargantuan Math assignment that I need to get finished. I had better go work on, it okay?"
Everyone stared at her. Then Tim said, "Yeah, why don't you do that. Come on, I'll drive you home." He took hold of her arm and pulled her away from the dock, leaving everyone staring after them. When they were out of hearing distance of the dock, Lee jerked away from Tim and faced him.
"That was subtle," she hissed. "We all came in Sara's car."
"Which is how you were going to leave to finish your 'math assignment', right?"
"What are you saying?"
"Lee-it's a Friday afternoon in the last two weeks of school. You don't have any math to do!"
"You don't know that."
"I'm in your math class!"
"What do you want, Tim?"
"I want to know what you're doing!"
"How is it your business?"
"Lee, for the last two months you've gone out of your way to avoid Dan Macio! Now you're dating him. What's wrong with this picture?"
"So? What's your point?"
Tim stared hard at her. Then he closed his eyes and sent his mind out to hers, entering her mind. But before he could get far, he hit a mental wall and was flung back. He pushed forward, and he could sense Lee struggling to keep him out. They stood there, staring into the other's eyes, each trying to outdo the other. Then Lee gave one huge shove and closed off her mind.
"Don't you dare try to read my mind, Tim Lear!"
"Oh, so now you're blocking me out?"
"Yeah, I am! We agreed that we wouldn't do that-try to force our way in. We agreed on that two months ago!"
"What are you hiding?"
"Stay out of my mind." She whispered. He put his hand on her shoulder.
"You can't hide, Lee."
"I'm not hiding anything!"
"What about Matt?"
"What about him?"
"You know he likes you."
"Yes."
"And I know that you like him."
"You don't know anything." She spat. "Maybe he's not good enough for me." She finished loftily.
He gaped at her. Then, before she could move, he slapped her hard across the face. "What the hell is your problem?" he hissed at her, his eyes flashing.
"I don't have a problem!" She answered. "Maybe you should just stay out of my head!"
They stared at each other. Then they heard a person approaching them, and turned to see Matt standing there questioningly. "What's going on?" He asked. " Lee-I thought you were going home."
"I was. But I decided-"
"Yeah, she is." Tim cut in. "Hey Lee, why don't you call Dan-Maybe he could give you a ride."
"Maybe I will." She said, glaring at him. "
"Matt-let's go." Tim said, and started to walk away, but Matt stayed behind to wait for Lee.
"I just brought it up because we're all leaving-it's starting to rain." Matt said softly. It was-the sky was darkening and the drops were starting to fall. It was long, quiet drive home. Tim and Lee weren't speaking, and wouldn't even look at each other. Sara dropped Lee off, then Tim, and only then did Matt say anything.
"I can't believe it." He said. Ben turned around.
"Hey man, don't beat yourself up. It's not your fault that Lee has bad judgement."
"No." Sara said. "Listen to him, Matt. He's right, you know. Lee may have made a stupid choice, but it's not like anyone can stop her."
"I could've. I could've if I'd tried."
"Matt-"
"She's going to get hurt! You know she is! Dan-he's-Lee- God, I can't believe I didn't say anything to her!" They pulled up in front of his house, and he opened the door to get out. "And-never mind. Bye." He ran towards the door, dodging between raindrops.
Ben turned to Sara and sighed. "He's right, you know."
"I know."
"I want to know what Lee thinks she's doing with Dan. Matt should have said something to her. She listens to him."
"She usually listens to Tim," Sara said, pulling off Matt's street. "I don't know why she's acting like this."
"She's going to get hurt." Ben said, shaking his head. "You know Maddie Lear? She was dating Dan for a while."
"I didn't know that." Sara said, spinning the steering wheel. "Seriously?"
"Yeah. Tim was so mad at him. Dan's a nice enough guy until he gets drunk. But Maddie dumped him after a week, and Dan and Tim have been enemies ever since."
"I had never heard that."
"Yeah, well." Ben leaned his head on the window and sighed again when Sara stopped in front of his house. "Look who's home." He said, gesturing at his father's truck in the driveway.
"I thought you said he wasn't going to be home."
"I did. I guess I was wrong,"
"Do you wanna come over for a while?"
"No, it's fine." Ben kissed her on the cheek and got out of the car, waving at her before going into his house. Sara smiled, but the smile faded as she drove down the slippery wet road.
"And god forbid that Lebecca should get hurt." She muttered sarcastically. She pulled her cell phone out of her purse and dialed the familiar number.
"Sara, you idiot! Get me Mr. Pegasus!" she said when the person picked up. "Peter? Yes. Dan's doing his part. I know. Okay. I'll be right over. Yes. No. Oh, okay. Bye." She hung up and sped away down the road.
Lee picked up the phone and dialed Tim's number with trembling fingers. She got the answering machine.
*Beep* You've reached the Lear household-If you'd like to leave a message for (deep breath) Ryan, Cindy, Maddie, Jon, Tim, Christa, Jack, Hope, or for some bizarre reason, Lizzie-Beth, then please do so at the tone. We'll call you back as soon as the phone is not in use by one of the said people. Thank you! *Beep*
"Tim, this is Lee. If you're there, please pick up." She waited, but no one answered. "I'm going to assume that you don't want to talk to me. Tim, I really need to talk to you. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it! Please call me." She hung up and buried her head in her arms on her desk, her body shaking with sobs.
Tim sat listening to Lee leave her message and didn't pick up the phone. He could hear her voice choked with tears, but he walked away, trying to ignore the emotions inside his head that he knew weren't his.
Joey Wheeler cradled his one-year old niece in his arms. His friend Yugi Motou leaned over his shoulder to see her.
"She's wonderful, Joey. She's going to be beautiful when she's older."
"Hey, she's pretty cute already!" Joey held her up. "Hey Tristan! Get a load of this! I'm an uncle."
"Tha's great, Joey." Tristan said, coming over and taking Lebecca away from Joey. "Funny though. She doesn't look a thing like Serenity."
"Nope." Joey said cheerfully.
"She actually looks more like you."
"That had better be a compliment, Tris."
"Eh. She's cute, though."
"I'll say." Joey responded, reaching over to take her back. "Lee-Ah, no." The baby had plucked a Duel Monsters card off the table and was studying it intently. "Lea, sweet, put it down." The girl looked at the card a moment longer before waving it above her head and throwing it across the room.
"Eee!" she cried happily, and threw her arms around his neck. " 'Oey!" She proclaimed. Joey looked over at Yugi. "Whataya say, Yug? She got potential as a duelist?"
"Oh, definitely." Yugi, said, grinning. Then his smile faded. "But she's a girl, Joey."
"Oh yeah, forgot about that for a while." He looked down and then up again. "Old Mai's getting into trouble again." He managed a weak smile.
"Get over it, Wheeler," Tristan said, slapping his friend on the back.
"Hey, I ain't got anything to get over!" Joey said defensively. "That was along time ago!"
"Sure. Hey, I gotta go. I'll catch you guys later, okay?"
"Okay."
"Bye, Tris."
"And I'll definitely see you soon." Tristan said to the baby, letting her hold onto his finger for a second. "You don't let Joey be mean to you, you hear?"
"Eee!"
Moon Shadow: Hmmm. Tired. But today is a SNOW DAY! YES! No school for me, hee hee hee!
Sun Star: Me neither. Get over it.
Moon Shadow: People, please review!
Sun Star: I am so confused. I think I'll go hide underneath my bed now.
Moon Shadow: *Holding Sun Star back* Hopefully Endless Myth will be back by chapter eight. But you never know. Maybe she'll just stay in France forever. *Flinches* And then Sunni will be my co-author for the rest of this story. *Glances at Sun Star* Not that that's a BAD thing.
Sun Star: That had better be a compliment, Lil' Shadow.