Chapter 5: Tèa's Return

Yugi and Alex were both playing duel monsters yet again in the card shop, and Alex actually had the lead.  "You mean that I might actually be able to defeat the all mighty Yugi Muto?"

"You're not using Amunet, are you?"

"Of course not, one of little faith.  We agreed no help from our entities, so no entities," Alex looked thoughtfully at her cards.

"I can't believe that Amunet and Yami used to know one another.  Much less were a couple.  I can't escape that they did something that they're not telling us."

"Really?  Amunet told me just about everything," She looked up at Yugi who gave her a confused look, "It's a girl talk thing.  But I know what you mean; it's very weird that they would find each other through us. And what Amunet told me about running into Joey and Mai, threw me for a loop," she threw up her finger like she just discovered a great invention, "And that card ends my turn," she lays a trap card face down and waited for Yugi to start his turn.

"Alright.  Let's see- Hey!  What the?"  Alex looked up from her hand and saw another girl behind Yugi covering his eyes.  She had a little shorter then shoulder length hair, and shining blue eyes.  She looked over at Alex and winked at her.  Alex had no idea what to do, she kind of wanted to be a little friendlier to the girl, but she couldn't fight a ball of flame in the pit of her stomach that she wanted to fling at the girl.  "Guess who . . ." the girl said out loud is a singsong voice.

"Tèa!" Yugi swung around and hugged the girl behind him.  "Oh my gosh, you're back!"  He started to swing the girl around in circles, nearly overwhelmed with excitement.  He seemed really happy to see her.

Alex sat in shock as her eyes filled with both pain and jealousy.  Her whole heart seemed just to fall right out of her body, never to be seen from again.  Tristin came through the front doors of the shop and came up behind Alex, "Hey, Tèa's back . . ." he looked down at Alex, 'Uh oh.'

"Who is she, Tristin?  Please tell me she is a distant cousin or something of Yugi's."

Tristin rubbed the back of his head and started to look uncomfortable, "Well, not exactly.  She is one of the group's former members."

"Former?" Alex asked never looking away from Yugi and Tèa talking excitedly.  "She moved over the summer, apparently she's back for a vacation or something."

"How close to Yugi is she?"

"I . . . I . . ."

"Just tell me Tristin," Alex looked down at the card playing field.  Tristin kneeled down by Alex, "Do you really want to know?"  Alex squinted, closed her eyes tightly and took the hint.  She gathered her cards off the playing field and put them in her bag, "Um, tell Yugi that I wasn't feeling too good and went home."  Tristin looked at her sympathetically. "Can you do that for me, Tristin?" she looked up at him with a smile on her face, but a glossy finish over her eyes, usually a tell-tale sign of tears to come.

"Sure, you can count on me Alex."

"Thanks," Alex tapped on Neit's head to wake her up and walked out the door with the cat not too far behind.  On the other side of the door, she almost ran into Joey and Mai as they came in.  "Oh, sorry you two . . ." Alex could hear her voice start to crack, so she started to pick up speed and ran down the road.  "What's her problem?" Joey asked.  Mai looked inside and saw Yugi and Tèa talking with big smiles on their faces.  "I think that she has just figured out another way you could get hurt in this world."

"Wha-" Joey looked in finally, "Oh."

***

Alex ran hard and long all the way past her home, 'I can't go there.  Not now.  Last thing I need is someone yelling in my face for crying.'  She ran back toward the school, but took a detour through the playground where she encountered the three blonds.  No one was there this time, just her, Neit and the silent winds blowing the swings gently back an forth.  Alex slowed down and walked around the surrounding areas.  She looked up on the jungle gym and noticed that at the top there was a sheet of wood covering the top.  "Come on, Neit."

Alex started to climb to the top and finally reached it.  Neit jumped up and made herself comfortable on Alex's bag.  Alex dangled her legs over the side of the bars and looked down at the ground.  Her vision began to blur as she thought, 'Friends don't greet each other like that.  Old flames do.'  Alex started to cough out sob as she tried to hold them back.  She finally gave up and let her face fall into her hands as she let the tears over flow.

'I've lost him.'

'He wasn't yours to lose, Alex.'

'I just thought . ..'

'Like it or not, Alex.  It is his decision, not yours.'

'It hurts so much, Amunet.  I've never felt hurt like this.'

'I know it hurts, but you can't help it right now.  All you can do is let out your frustration.'

Alex turned on her side and slid her legs from over the side and cried into her arms.

***

"Tèa, I can't believe you're back!" Yugi gave her another hug, "It's been a while."

"Yeah, we started to miss your smart alec remarks," Joey came up to her and gave her a hug.  Tristin gave her a smile and also gave his hug.  "I'm not into the hugging thing, but I'm glad to see you back," Mai gave her a handshake and walked back over to Joey.

"It's great to see all of you again, it's been a while."

Yugi smiled then remembered, "Oh!  Tèa, I wanted you to meet our new friend . . . Alex?"  He looked over at the card playing field, but there was no one on the other side.  Alex's cards were also off the field, "Guys, where's Alex?"

"She went home, Yugi," Tristin stepped up to him, "She didn't feel so good."

"Alex?" Tèa piped up, "Is that the new girl that you guys have been telling me about in your letters?"  Yugi just stood in shock and concern, "Yeah, that's her alright."  He looked at Tristin who gave him a serious look, and started to walk toward the door.

"Yugi, where are you going?" Tèa caught him by the arm.

"I got to go find Alex.  I think that I may have to talk with her."

"But I just got back.  I thought that we might have a drink or something together.  Your friend could wait for an hour or so."  Yugi looked back at her, "Tèa, you don't understand. . . Alex is out there all alone, you don't know what may happen to her."

"Tristin said she went home.  I think that she will be fine," the others in the room begin to back out the front door as not to disturb them.

"You still don't understand, she isn't one to just go home."  Tèa looked at him in the eyes and let his sleeve go, "You care for her, don't you Yugi?"

"Of course I do, she's my friend, Tèa."

"No, I mean that . . ." Tèa hugged herself as she looked away from Yugi, "You care for her more then a friend.  You like her . . ."  Yugi paused for a minute and thought to himself.  "It' because she has a millennium piece isn't it?"

"How did you know that she had a millennium piece?" He looked back at her.

"Joey told me in one of his letters," Tèa looked back at him, "Think about it Yugi, you shouldn't just like someone because of what they have.  I mean, look at what we have . . . together," he took his hand and he looked at the hands together, and then slowly looked at her face.  Tèa looked at him then leaned forward toward him.  She kissed him on the lips and held his face in her hands.  "Together we . . ." Yugi raised his finger to her lips to stop her.  "Give me your hand Tèa," he held out his other hand.

"Why?"

"Just give me your hand," she nodded her head and gave him one of her hands.  He turned her hand over so it was palm up and kissed it in the middle.  "Yugi, what are you doing?"  Yugi didn't answer, he just closed the hand he kissed with one of his hands and placed Tèa's closed hand above her heart.  "I'm giving you back your kiss, Tèa.  It's not meant for me."

"What do you mean?  Of course it was meant for you, I gave it to you."

"But what we have together . . . it is special, but it's only friendship.  Nothing more," Yugi turned away from her and stared out the window.

"Yugi . . . what are you saying?  All that time we spent together meant nothing to you?"  Yugi didn't move or turn around, "That time was precious, but I only saw you as a friend, Tèa.  And I always will."

"But you will look at another girl with a millennium piece with full blown love?" she was almost yelling at him.

"I don't like her because she has a millennium piece!" he turned around yelling at her.

She backed away slightly, "So you do like her."

Yugi put his head back down in realization, "She is more then a millennium carrier, Tèa.  She is a friend, a duelist, a good heart, and the way she smiles . . . it gives me a felling like nothing I've ever felt before."

"So you would risk me to be with her?"

"We didn't have anything Tèa!  What is there to risk?"

"Our friendship, if nothing else!  I'm only here for a few hours, Yugi . . . after that, I don't think I'm coming back.  I wanted to spend that time with you," she looked at him seriously and pointed to the door, "If you walk out that door.  I won't be here again . . . ever.  As a friend or as anything more . . . I won't come back."  Yugi walked over to Tèa and hugged her.  She wrapped her arms around him, "Yugi . . ."

He put his head on her shoulder and whispered in her ear, "Goodbye Tèa."  He let her go and walked out the door, leaving a stunned Tèa in the middle of the room.  He turned the corner to find the rest of the group waiting, "Do you guys know where she headed?"

"She headed in that direction," Mai pointed towards the school.  "Thanks Mai," he started running down the street as fast as he could go.

Joey and the others looked back in the window, "Guys, Yugi could handle it now, but we have another friend to comfort."  They looked in to find Tèa sitting down on the couch with her face in her hands crying her eyes out.

***

Yugi ran through the bushes, stopping in front of Alex's window, hoping that maybe she might have actually gone home.  But no such luck her light was off, and she was out.  He turned away from her window and kept running down toward the school.  He then stopped and something kept pulling him in the direction of the playground.  He looked at the school thinking that she might have ran that way, but in the end he followed the pulling sensation and followed it.

He fought his way through the dense branches and bushes underneath his feet.  Entangling him, snaring him making his mission even more difficult.  He finally made it through and walked into the playground.  It was empty.  He was about to turn and leave, until he heard a soft meow by his feet.  Yugi kneeled down by the cat and petted her, "Neit, where is Alex?"

"I knew it was you," Alex slung her feet over the side of the jungle gym, "Neit never lets anyone else touch her."

Yugi looked up at her, with a relived face, "There you are.  I was worried that you might have gotten hurt.  Why did you run off?"

"Why do you think?" Alex stepped over on one of the lower bars and hopped off the gym, with her bag on her back.  She walked over and looked at Yugi in the eyes.  "Why do you think I left that touching scene?"

"What are you talking about?"

"That whole touching scene with your old flame, at least that is the impression I got from that warm greeting you gave her," she patted Neit on the head to avert her eyes from Yugi's.

"Tèa was a close friend of mine, yes."

"But not an old flame?  Yugi, friends don't greet each other like that!  Old flames and even sweethearts, but not friends!"

"Alex-"

"No!  Don't give me any, 'she's just my friend' crap, because I won't take it."

'Alex, he is trying to explain.  Let him.'

'Amunet, I know you're trying to help, but please keep out of this.'

'Just let him explain!'

"But she is just my friend!"

"Really, she means nothing more?"

"Why are you yelling at me?  I'm trying to explain!"

"You really want to know, Yugi?  The truth is that I really did have a friend . . . a long time ago.  Then that friendship turned into a relationship.  And an 'old friend' came back from god knows where and he went back to her.  Left me all alone to fend for myself.  When I first suspected something, I just brushed it off like I was hallucinating, I felt like I could trust him with my heart.  But then I couldn't live with that pain that still burned in the back of my mind.  I went up to him and first thing that came out of his mouth when I confronted him about it was 'She's just a friend.'  Yeah, a really close friend, one that makes out with you when you're just around the corner.  So don't give me any of that crap!"

"But she is just my friend, Alex."

"You know . . . I really . . ."

"Alex . . . Please."

"You just totally left me out on a limb, Yugi.  At one point we're playing duel monsters and the next, you're swinging her through the air.  I just don't know what to think . . . It feels like I totally lost grip of reality again . . . and my grip on friends."  Yugi looked up from the ground.  Neit pawed on Alex's leg and Alex could hear Amunet calling out for her not to do what she was about to spit out.  "Then what do you want me to say, Alex?"

"I don't want you to say anything Yugi.  . ."

'Alex, don't say it.  You don't want it to end like this!'

"I want you to step out of my life," Alex could feel Amunet's presence start to heavy as Amunet lowered her head in defeat.

Yugi looked at her shocked, but then turned around and walked back toward the shop, "If that's what you really want, Alex.  So be it."  She watched him as he walked away, and she could have sworn that she heard sniffs as he faded into the brush.  Neit started to walk after Yugi, but stopped after she realized that Alex meant not to follow.  The cat meowed after Yugi as if telling him to come back, she knew that this could be resolved some how.

Alex's brain, still stuck on anger kept telling her that she did the right thing, but her heart . . . Her heart kept telling her to call out to him, to call him back.  Tell him she meant none of those things.  But her Pride and stubbornness got the better of her and she just watched him walk away, out of her life.

Silent tears slid down her face as she stood watching the spot where he disappeared fifteen minutes before.  'What have I done?  What did I say?' she covered her mouth with her hand, when it finally hit her that she told the guy that she actually loved to get out of her life for good.  She started to break down, and ran home to her window.