((Okay, for all of you confused people out there. I'm gonna give a little
summary of what happened, but it may possibly make more sense once you read
a little bit of this chapters.. But ANYway, I'll give you a summary just in
case.
Last chapter: Tea was surprised to see Kaiba there in the glade at night. They had a very small conversation of just sort of idle chitchat. Afterwards it skips right into where Seto is walking away from the grave that he just dug and put Mokuba in. Who is now dead. Then he chucked the shovel through a window and used that to get into the mansion instead of a door. The floor of his mansion has turned into a swamp, which he ended up sinking down into presumably dead. After that he was in a dark tunnel and flashes from the past were just sort of humming around him until he came to a crossway. One direction was essentially heaven, the other hell, and the last an unknown. Kaiba went down the unknown since he heard the song Tea had been singing earlier coming from it. Down that hallway he in fact found Tea, and was about to go up to her when he fell down a hole in the floor that he couldn't see since it was dark. After that, he woke up inside a coffin, which he dug himself out of, and was now in a sort of Land of the Dead, should we say. There he found his mom, his dad, and Mokuba and was catching up with them on how things were going. The subject of Tea was brought up and Seto explained how he was planning on marrying her (even if he really wasn't, it's just the way dreams work on things not being the way they really are.) After that his parents told him he wasn't supposed to be dead yet and that he should go back to life. Seto of course was unhappy about this, since he wanted to stay with his reunited family. The zombie people attacked him and started eating him. He tried to pull one of the zombie's in front of him as a sort of shield, and in fact that particular zombie was Mokuba. Seto let him go and then Mokuba was all possessed and turned on Kaiba saying that "Good things come to those who wait." The lovely line that I keep bringing up in this fic. And then Mokuba attacked Seto like all the other zombies were.
Eheh, well. That was sort of long, but I hope it helped some . Anyway, here's the next chap for ya.))
"Mokuba, No!" Seto shot up in his bed with his eyes wide open. Looking around he checked where he was before flinging the covers off and walking out onto the balcony.
Another perfect night, the same dream again.
He ran a finger down the side of his face and shook his head. He hated that dream, just hated it, and of course that was the one that kept coming back to haunt him.
Turning from the balcony again he walked inside and sat on the edge of his bed clutching at his stomach as a sickly feeling took over him and the ending scenes flickered across his brainwaves. Leaning forward he took a couple deep breaths as he stared at the floor and tried to drive the pictures out of his head. but they just wouldn't leave.
"It's just tonight. It's just tonight. Don't worry about the others, just worry about tonight." He muttered under his breath as he shook slightly as he closed his eyes and took shaky breaths. "It'll all be fine in the morning. It's not real. It's just for this one night."
Of course this last part was a lie, and he knew it, but it was all the comforting that he could give himself in order to make it through this night and onto the next.
Taking another couple of deep breaths he leaned back on his bed and stared up at the ceiling still with a sick feeling churning in his stomach, but he ignored it and closed his eyes. 'It's just tonight. It'll all get better. Don't worry about it.'
****************
The next day, or rather the next afternoon, Kaiba returned to the house from his daily walk and took a shower. Now he was coming back downstairs after picking out another entirely black outfit, and he looked over at Mokuba who was playing the Nintendo 64.
"Hey Mokuba. Did we get any mail today?"
"Yup, it's over on the table."
Seto walked over and flipped through the papers. "Bill, bill, bill, bill, junk, junk, Oh, what's this?"
Mokuba didn't look away from his game but asked, "Something interesting big brother?"
Kaiba shrugged and put the other things back on the table as he starts opening the letter in his hand. "Not especially, just a letter."
"Who's it from?"
"I'm getting to that." When he finished opening it he pulled out the piece of paper and ran his eyes over it as he started reading out loud. "You are invited to a pool party hosted by Aina Travis. Everybody's going to be there. Come and join the fun." Pulling a wry face he dumped it back on the table. "Why would I waste my time with something like that?"
Mokuba paused his game and jumped up to go look at the paper himself. While looking it over he yank on Seto's pant leg. "Can I go?"
Kaiba looked down at him. "I'm not sure if you can, do you really want to go?"
The small blue eyes stared at him pleadingly. "Can you ask? Please?"
He couldn't help but smile at the eagerness of his little brother. "Okay, I'll see what I can do. But don't get your hopes up."
Mokuba grinned and held the invite into Kaiba's face. "Call 'em now!"
Seto shook his head and pulled his cell phone from his pocket with a chuckle. "Okay." He then took the paper from Mokuba and pushed in the number and waited for someone to pick up.
Ring. Ring. Ring.
"Hello?"
"Hello, may I please speak to Aina."
"This is she, may I ask who's calling please?"
"It's Seto Kaiba, you sent me and invitation to your party."
"Oh hey! Do you need directions or something?"
"No, that's fine. I was wondering if my little brother could join me. Would that be alright?"
There was a little pause and then a valley-style. "Okay! See ya Wednesday then! Make sure to bring your suit and your towel! Later!"
"Bye." Hanging up the phone he shoved it back in his pocket and then looked down to the hopeful gaze of Mokuba and shook his head. "Sorry Mokuba."
The little one's expression sank and then Seto smiled and ruffled his hair. "Just kidding little guy. You can go, it's no problem."
"Yay!" Mokuba leaped in the air and hugged onto his brother's leg. "Thank you!" Then continuing on with his happy spazz he ran around the room a couple of times before springing over the back of the couch and starting right back into his video game.
Kaiba shook his head at the youngster's antics and chuckled at how please he was to just be allowed to go to some lame party some random person from Seto's class was throwing. 'If only it were so simple to find happiness for me.'
***************
Tea walked through the house and into the backyard with Yugi and the gang. All of them had gotten invitations to this party as well.
She felt very uncomfortable and wrung the ends of the towel that was draped over her shoulder, but as soon as they stepped out onto the back porch a perky blonde bounced up to them.
"Hey, glad you could make it! Pools over that if you like, wanna take a swim, and the food is like right next to it." Aina flashed a smile at them and then ran back to all the other people who were already there.
Tea glanced around and them and relaxed slightly when she saw that most or all of the people were just from their class. Stepping off the porch she watched Joey and Tristan bolt off towards the food. She rolled her eyes and smiled before putting her towel down on one of the chairs next to the pool, and she also slid off her shorts that she had put on over her bathing suit.
Next she made her way to the diving board where she did a hop skip run to the end before springing off and going down into the water.
****************
Kaiba was idly sitting in one of the lounge chairs on the edge of the pool. He hadn't brought his suit, he didn't have any intention whatsoever of going swimming. The only reason why he'd come at all was because of Mokuba, who was having a high old time swimming around in the pool. Seto smirked a little and shook his head at his little brother. 'I'm glad he's enjoying himself.'
The other kids hadn't minded at all having the ten-year-old join in the game. He was actually doing a very good job of fitting in. The main event in the pool at the moment was someone standing at one end throwing a Styrofoam football, and the large group of people at the other end would scramble to get it when it was thrown in hopes to get the points that the main thrower called out. Mokuba was thoroughly enjoying himself as he splashed around and giggled. Seto almost wished he could join them. almost.
"Hey, why aren't you swimmin'?" Joey came up with a plateful of food and sat down on the chair next to him.
Kaiba blankly stared at him, only slightly annoyed that his peace had been interrupted. "I don't want to."
Tristan then came up on his other side with a plate of food similar to Joey's and raised an eyebrow. "What's the point of coming to a pool party if you aren't going to swim?"
Seto just lifted his arm and pointed at Mokuba swimming in the water before he leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms with his eyes closed.
As such, he didn't see the evil grin that passed between Joey and Tristan.
A few moments after he'd leaned back Kaiba found himself feeling his body lifted off the chair as hands grabbed onto his feet and underneath his arms. He opened his eyes and realized what was happening a little too late..
******************
Tea covered her face with her arms as the splash went out. Wiping the water from her eyes she looked over at Tristan and Joey who were smiling on the edge at somebody in the pool and her eyes traveled over to who they were staring at.
Kaiba was in the water, fully dressed, shoes and all with a look of disgust on his face. He made his way towards the ladder and climbed up it and then traveled over to the two who had just thrown him in with a glare as the water dripped off of him.
Reaching into his back pocket he opened his cell phone and watched the water pour out of it and then glared at Joey and Tristan.
"Did it ever occur to you two, that I didn't WANT to go swimming?"
Joey shrugged and smiled. "Hey, it's all in fun dude."
Seto gave a low growl and clenched his fists before speaking through clenched teeth. "Well next time have your 'fun' with somebody else." Eyes twitching slightly he turned and strode away from them leaving Tristan with a curious expression to his blonde friend.
"That's it?"
Joey was just as bewildered. "I, guess so."
*****************
At seven Kaiba drove Mokuba home and dropped him off before returning to the party that was going to go much later that night. He didn't really want to go back, but the only way that the hostess, Aina, would allow him to bring Mokuba home was if he left something as hostage in assurance that he would come back.
Therefore he was being forced to go back in order to retrieve his necklace, which he had very sorely parted with, but it was the only thing that he had had on him that was worth anything after being dumped in the pool. At least with him being able to go home for the brief moment he was able to change to another pair of black pants and t-shirt to match.
As he walked back into the back of the party as the sun set he retrieved his necklace from Aina and put it back around his neck as small hate thoughts for the ditzy blonde that was throwing this bash flitted through his mind. As soon as he had gotten the item of interest he made his way to a far corner where essentially no one was.
'I don't even know why I'm still here. It's not like I have a reason to be. Mokuba's gone now, and the only reason I came in the first place was just to watch him. I could go pay Joey and Tristan back for dumping me in the water, but that would upset Tea and I don't want to do that.'
Realizing what he'd just thought he stopped and tilted his head in the slightest. 'Okay, I didn't just say that. I don't have any feelings for her anymore. That's gone, said and done. No more.'
He folded his arms and closed his eyes just as he noticed his stomach starting to churn and an image of him walking away from Mokuba's grave with the shovel in his hand started playing through his mind.
'No!' His eyes snapped open and he stared around at the people who were illuminated by the lamplight since the sun was long past down. The recurring dream started going further and he shook his head trying to halt its progress. 'No, not here! This can't happen here!'
Leaving the corner as quickly as possible he rushed through the people as fast as he could without drawing attention to himself and went inside the house trying to find a solitary room for himself that would be safe.
******************
"Be right back guys!"
Tea waved at her friends and started heading for the inside. She'd slid her shorts back on over her swimsuit and was now wandering around the inside of the house looking for a bathroom to use.
She opened a couple of the doors and found other rooms instead. A guest room, billiard room, the like, nothing special. Walking down the hall further she heard a thudding noise come from one of the rooms and she opened the door.
Inside she found the room she was looking for, but it was already occupied. Stammering a couple of times she blushed. "Oh, I'm sorry! I'll just leave and." Her voice trailed off and she stared a Kaiba curled up in the corner, sitting on the floor, shaking.
Tea took a few steps forward and cocked her head to the side as she stared down at him. "Are you okay?"
Seto's eyes remained squeezed shut as he muttered quietly through clenched teeth. "I'm fine. It's almost done and-" Gasping a few quick breaths he banged his head back against the wall and then stood up, still shaking slightly, but better than he was. Still looking at the floor as he straightened his shirt he started, "Okay, sorry. You can-" He stopped for the second time and his pupils shrank as he fell back to the floor and clutched at his stomach. "Tea, please leave."
She raised an eyebrow and crouched down to stare at his wincing face and his teeth chattered in his pale face. "You don't look so good."
Seto shook his head and stood again where he supported himself on the wall while still clutching at his stomach. "Just. Leave. I'll be fine. I just need you, to leave."
"Um." Tea blinked and stood up as well. "Are you going to be able to drive home like this?"
An almost playful smirk came to his face. "Hey, don't worry about me. Dreams don't hurt anybody. I just get through this night and then I won't have it again. It's just tonight."
Getting a skeptic expression she watched him as he still stood there chattering and she couldn't help but get the feeling that he was lying about something. "Are you sure you're gonna be okay?"
"I'll be fine. Just go." Seto cringed again and slid down the wall to be on the floor once more.
Tea shook her head. "I'm gonna go ask Joey if he'll give you a ride home." She turned to leave and was just about out the door when she heard a heaving sound behind her. Turning again she say Kaiba with his head in the toilet, throwing up.
Walking over she patted him on the back a couple times and after a little while he pulled away and flushed the toilet. Standing he went over to the sink and splashed water over his face while Tea continued watching him. Finally after he'd done that he turned to face her and gave a weak smile. "I'll be fine now. No need to get Joey involved. Maybe it was just the dip in the pool earlier. Caught a cold or something."
Tea crossed her arms and shook her head again.
Seto eyed her. "What?"
Sighing she uncrossed her arms and shrugged. "Oh nothing." Flashing a quick smile she pushed him towards the door. "Now if you'll excuse me."
Kaiba found himself shoved out of the bathroom and the door shut behind him. Glancing sideways at it he gave a half smirk. 'Same Tea as always I see.'
****************
Nine o'clock, still early in the evening and Seto had had enough time to fully recover himself. His daily dose had been taken for the day, and his dream was over. 'So I don't need to worry about it.' He gave a soft sigh and scanned his eyes across the still fairly large amount of people at the party. Just before he was about to drift back into thought, the perky voice that made him twitch reached his ears.
"Kaiba! Like, get over here! We're gonna play truth or dare!"
His reply was flat. "No."
Rolling her eyes Aina came over and yanked him off of the chair he was sitting on the small group of people that had gathered. Half of the members of the party were still in the pool or off doing other things, so the little crowd that Aina had managed to force into the game resulted in Yugi, Joey, Tristan, Tea, Bakura, and a few other odd classmates.
When she shoved Kaiba down next to Yugi in the small circle that was formed she smiled and took her own seat next to Tristan before opening in her chipper valley, "Okay, so we're gonna play truth or dare. First person I pick iiiiiiiiiis.." She paused and ran her fingers around the circle. "Yugi! Truth or dare?"
Yugi thought for a moment and then replied, "Dare."
An evil smile grew onto Aina's face. "Then I dare you too, like, dance around acting like a chicken while singing the muffin man song for like three minutes."
*****************
A few minutes later Yugi sat down and gave a little smile. "Well then, Bakura, truth or dare?"
"Truth, I guess." He shrugged.
Yugi nodded. "Who do you have a crush on?"
Bakura paused and shrugged again. "Nobody currently."
Aina rolled her eyes. "Well, like, that did us a lot of good. Let's try to ask, like, more original questions?"
Yugi blushed. "Sorry."
And so the little circle rotated around and Kaiba watched it all until finally it was his turn.
Joey, the last person to be asked, looked over at him and grinned. "Okay Kaiba, truth or dare? Take ya pick."
'I despise this game. It's just a stupid way to poke your nose into other people's business and to embarrass them, with an excuse to justify it.' "Truth."
The blonde's grin widened and he rubbed his hands together. "Well then, here's what ya got to answer. When was the last time you went out in public and actually enjoyed yourself? And! Why did you stop?"
Aina was about to protest that this wasn't a good question, but Joey stopped her, still with the grin on his face.
Kaiba sat there with crossed arms and stared at the ground in front of him. "I'm not telling you."
"Come on Kaiba. It's the rules o' the game. Ya gotta answer!"
Seto sent a dead glare over at Joey before staring back at the ground and continuing flatly, "November 15th, seven years ago."
Joey pressed forward. "Well, what happened?"
Kaiba shook his head and continued to stare at the ground. "I'd gone out with Mokuba for the morning. We'd gone around town and had a small shopping spree. Candies, video games, what have you. For lunch we had ice cream cones. Mokuba got chocolate, I got vanilla. I always used to like vanilla because it was never too sweet and never too bland. Once we finished our ice cream Mokuba wanted to go back home, and that was it." He stopped and stared at them all with a blank expression. "That was the last time I enjoyed myself."
"You didn't tell us why you stopped though."
He stared back at the floor and closed his eyes. "You really want to know?"
Joey pressed, "It's the rules of the game, ya gotta answer the full question."
Seto flicked his gaze up to match with that of Joey's and he tied him in as he began to speak once more in his terse voice. "It stopped because when I got home I was given a little gift that I didn't enjoy too much. I doubt you've had the same feeling Wheeler. The feeling that you were wrong to give yourself a little happiness, even on a day when you should be the happiest person alive. But I was wrong Joey, I was wrong, and I've learned from it. That's why, and now I've answered your silly little question, happy?" The last word had a tone of mocking in it as he finally released Joey from his gaze and stood up. Turning on his heel he walked away from them and a soft churning boiled inside him.
'Why did I do that? I should've just walked away in the first place. They never needed to hear about that. Now Tea's going to start thinking I have issues again and-' He stopped walking, already standing next to his car he froze. 'Why am I doing that? I don't love Tea anymore. I don't.. But then why-? In my dream." He shook his head. "No, it's just the night talking. I don't love her. My mind is just tricking me into thinking that I do. When the morning comes I'll realize how foolish these thoughts are and then it will all go back to the way it's supposed to be."
Last chapter: Tea was surprised to see Kaiba there in the glade at night. They had a very small conversation of just sort of idle chitchat. Afterwards it skips right into where Seto is walking away from the grave that he just dug and put Mokuba in. Who is now dead. Then he chucked the shovel through a window and used that to get into the mansion instead of a door. The floor of his mansion has turned into a swamp, which he ended up sinking down into presumably dead. After that he was in a dark tunnel and flashes from the past were just sort of humming around him until he came to a crossway. One direction was essentially heaven, the other hell, and the last an unknown. Kaiba went down the unknown since he heard the song Tea had been singing earlier coming from it. Down that hallway he in fact found Tea, and was about to go up to her when he fell down a hole in the floor that he couldn't see since it was dark. After that, he woke up inside a coffin, which he dug himself out of, and was now in a sort of Land of the Dead, should we say. There he found his mom, his dad, and Mokuba and was catching up with them on how things were going. The subject of Tea was brought up and Seto explained how he was planning on marrying her (even if he really wasn't, it's just the way dreams work on things not being the way they really are.) After that his parents told him he wasn't supposed to be dead yet and that he should go back to life. Seto of course was unhappy about this, since he wanted to stay with his reunited family. The zombie people attacked him and started eating him. He tried to pull one of the zombie's in front of him as a sort of shield, and in fact that particular zombie was Mokuba. Seto let him go and then Mokuba was all possessed and turned on Kaiba saying that "Good things come to those who wait." The lovely line that I keep bringing up in this fic. And then Mokuba attacked Seto like all the other zombies were.
Eheh, well. That was sort of long, but I hope it helped some . Anyway, here's the next chap for ya.))
"Mokuba, No!" Seto shot up in his bed with his eyes wide open. Looking around he checked where he was before flinging the covers off and walking out onto the balcony.
Another perfect night, the same dream again.
He ran a finger down the side of his face and shook his head. He hated that dream, just hated it, and of course that was the one that kept coming back to haunt him.
Turning from the balcony again he walked inside and sat on the edge of his bed clutching at his stomach as a sickly feeling took over him and the ending scenes flickered across his brainwaves. Leaning forward he took a couple deep breaths as he stared at the floor and tried to drive the pictures out of his head. but they just wouldn't leave.
"It's just tonight. It's just tonight. Don't worry about the others, just worry about tonight." He muttered under his breath as he shook slightly as he closed his eyes and took shaky breaths. "It'll all be fine in the morning. It's not real. It's just for this one night."
Of course this last part was a lie, and he knew it, but it was all the comforting that he could give himself in order to make it through this night and onto the next.
Taking another couple of deep breaths he leaned back on his bed and stared up at the ceiling still with a sick feeling churning in his stomach, but he ignored it and closed his eyes. 'It's just tonight. It'll all get better. Don't worry about it.'
****************
The next day, or rather the next afternoon, Kaiba returned to the house from his daily walk and took a shower. Now he was coming back downstairs after picking out another entirely black outfit, and he looked over at Mokuba who was playing the Nintendo 64.
"Hey Mokuba. Did we get any mail today?"
"Yup, it's over on the table."
Seto walked over and flipped through the papers. "Bill, bill, bill, bill, junk, junk, Oh, what's this?"
Mokuba didn't look away from his game but asked, "Something interesting big brother?"
Kaiba shrugged and put the other things back on the table as he starts opening the letter in his hand. "Not especially, just a letter."
"Who's it from?"
"I'm getting to that." When he finished opening it he pulled out the piece of paper and ran his eyes over it as he started reading out loud. "You are invited to a pool party hosted by Aina Travis. Everybody's going to be there. Come and join the fun." Pulling a wry face he dumped it back on the table. "Why would I waste my time with something like that?"
Mokuba paused his game and jumped up to go look at the paper himself. While looking it over he yank on Seto's pant leg. "Can I go?"
Kaiba looked down at him. "I'm not sure if you can, do you really want to go?"
The small blue eyes stared at him pleadingly. "Can you ask? Please?"
He couldn't help but smile at the eagerness of his little brother. "Okay, I'll see what I can do. But don't get your hopes up."
Mokuba grinned and held the invite into Kaiba's face. "Call 'em now!"
Seto shook his head and pulled his cell phone from his pocket with a chuckle. "Okay." He then took the paper from Mokuba and pushed in the number and waited for someone to pick up.
Ring. Ring. Ring.
"Hello?"
"Hello, may I please speak to Aina."
"This is she, may I ask who's calling please?"
"It's Seto Kaiba, you sent me and invitation to your party."
"Oh hey! Do you need directions or something?"
"No, that's fine. I was wondering if my little brother could join me. Would that be alright?"
There was a little pause and then a valley-style. "Okay! See ya Wednesday then! Make sure to bring your suit and your towel! Later!"
"Bye." Hanging up the phone he shoved it back in his pocket and then looked down to the hopeful gaze of Mokuba and shook his head. "Sorry Mokuba."
The little one's expression sank and then Seto smiled and ruffled his hair. "Just kidding little guy. You can go, it's no problem."
"Yay!" Mokuba leaped in the air and hugged onto his brother's leg. "Thank you!" Then continuing on with his happy spazz he ran around the room a couple of times before springing over the back of the couch and starting right back into his video game.
Kaiba shook his head at the youngster's antics and chuckled at how please he was to just be allowed to go to some lame party some random person from Seto's class was throwing. 'If only it were so simple to find happiness for me.'
***************
Tea walked through the house and into the backyard with Yugi and the gang. All of them had gotten invitations to this party as well.
She felt very uncomfortable and wrung the ends of the towel that was draped over her shoulder, but as soon as they stepped out onto the back porch a perky blonde bounced up to them.
"Hey, glad you could make it! Pools over that if you like, wanna take a swim, and the food is like right next to it." Aina flashed a smile at them and then ran back to all the other people who were already there.
Tea glanced around and them and relaxed slightly when she saw that most or all of the people were just from their class. Stepping off the porch she watched Joey and Tristan bolt off towards the food. She rolled her eyes and smiled before putting her towel down on one of the chairs next to the pool, and she also slid off her shorts that she had put on over her bathing suit.
Next she made her way to the diving board where she did a hop skip run to the end before springing off and going down into the water.
****************
Kaiba was idly sitting in one of the lounge chairs on the edge of the pool. He hadn't brought his suit, he didn't have any intention whatsoever of going swimming. The only reason why he'd come at all was because of Mokuba, who was having a high old time swimming around in the pool. Seto smirked a little and shook his head at his little brother. 'I'm glad he's enjoying himself.'
The other kids hadn't minded at all having the ten-year-old join in the game. He was actually doing a very good job of fitting in. The main event in the pool at the moment was someone standing at one end throwing a Styrofoam football, and the large group of people at the other end would scramble to get it when it was thrown in hopes to get the points that the main thrower called out. Mokuba was thoroughly enjoying himself as he splashed around and giggled. Seto almost wished he could join them. almost.
"Hey, why aren't you swimmin'?" Joey came up with a plateful of food and sat down on the chair next to him.
Kaiba blankly stared at him, only slightly annoyed that his peace had been interrupted. "I don't want to."
Tristan then came up on his other side with a plate of food similar to Joey's and raised an eyebrow. "What's the point of coming to a pool party if you aren't going to swim?"
Seto just lifted his arm and pointed at Mokuba swimming in the water before he leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms with his eyes closed.
As such, he didn't see the evil grin that passed between Joey and Tristan.
A few moments after he'd leaned back Kaiba found himself feeling his body lifted off the chair as hands grabbed onto his feet and underneath his arms. He opened his eyes and realized what was happening a little too late..
******************
Tea covered her face with her arms as the splash went out. Wiping the water from her eyes she looked over at Tristan and Joey who were smiling on the edge at somebody in the pool and her eyes traveled over to who they were staring at.
Kaiba was in the water, fully dressed, shoes and all with a look of disgust on his face. He made his way towards the ladder and climbed up it and then traveled over to the two who had just thrown him in with a glare as the water dripped off of him.
Reaching into his back pocket he opened his cell phone and watched the water pour out of it and then glared at Joey and Tristan.
"Did it ever occur to you two, that I didn't WANT to go swimming?"
Joey shrugged and smiled. "Hey, it's all in fun dude."
Seto gave a low growl and clenched his fists before speaking through clenched teeth. "Well next time have your 'fun' with somebody else." Eyes twitching slightly he turned and strode away from them leaving Tristan with a curious expression to his blonde friend.
"That's it?"
Joey was just as bewildered. "I, guess so."
*****************
At seven Kaiba drove Mokuba home and dropped him off before returning to the party that was going to go much later that night. He didn't really want to go back, but the only way that the hostess, Aina, would allow him to bring Mokuba home was if he left something as hostage in assurance that he would come back.
Therefore he was being forced to go back in order to retrieve his necklace, which he had very sorely parted with, but it was the only thing that he had had on him that was worth anything after being dumped in the pool. At least with him being able to go home for the brief moment he was able to change to another pair of black pants and t-shirt to match.
As he walked back into the back of the party as the sun set he retrieved his necklace from Aina and put it back around his neck as small hate thoughts for the ditzy blonde that was throwing this bash flitted through his mind. As soon as he had gotten the item of interest he made his way to a far corner where essentially no one was.
'I don't even know why I'm still here. It's not like I have a reason to be. Mokuba's gone now, and the only reason I came in the first place was just to watch him. I could go pay Joey and Tristan back for dumping me in the water, but that would upset Tea and I don't want to do that.'
Realizing what he'd just thought he stopped and tilted his head in the slightest. 'Okay, I didn't just say that. I don't have any feelings for her anymore. That's gone, said and done. No more.'
He folded his arms and closed his eyes just as he noticed his stomach starting to churn and an image of him walking away from Mokuba's grave with the shovel in his hand started playing through his mind.
'No!' His eyes snapped open and he stared around at the people who were illuminated by the lamplight since the sun was long past down. The recurring dream started going further and he shook his head trying to halt its progress. 'No, not here! This can't happen here!'
Leaving the corner as quickly as possible he rushed through the people as fast as he could without drawing attention to himself and went inside the house trying to find a solitary room for himself that would be safe.
******************
"Be right back guys!"
Tea waved at her friends and started heading for the inside. She'd slid her shorts back on over her swimsuit and was now wandering around the inside of the house looking for a bathroom to use.
She opened a couple of the doors and found other rooms instead. A guest room, billiard room, the like, nothing special. Walking down the hall further she heard a thudding noise come from one of the rooms and she opened the door.
Inside she found the room she was looking for, but it was already occupied. Stammering a couple of times she blushed. "Oh, I'm sorry! I'll just leave and." Her voice trailed off and she stared a Kaiba curled up in the corner, sitting on the floor, shaking.
Tea took a few steps forward and cocked her head to the side as she stared down at him. "Are you okay?"
Seto's eyes remained squeezed shut as he muttered quietly through clenched teeth. "I'm fine. It's almost done and-" Gasping a few quick breaths he banged his head back against the wall and then stood up, still shaking slightly, but better than he was. Still looking at the floor as he straightened his shirt he started, "Okay, sorry. You can-" He stopped for the second time and his pupils shrank as he fell back to the floor and clutched at his stomach. "Tea, please leave."
She raised an eyebrow and crouched down to stare at his wincing face and his teeth chattered in his pale face. "You don't look so good."
Seto shook his head and stood again where he supported himself on the wall while still clutching at his stomach. "Just. Leave. I'll be fine. I just need you, to leave."
"Um." Tea blinked and stood up as well. "Are you going to be able to drive home like this?"
An almost playful smirk came to his face. "Hey, don't worry about me. Dreams don't hurt anybody. I just get through this night and then I won't have it again. It's just tonight."
Getting a skeptic expression she watched him as he still stood there chattering and she couldn't help but get the feeling that he was lying about something. "Are you sure you're gonna be okay?"
"I'll be fine. Just go." Seto cringed again and slid down the wall to be on the floor once more.
Tea shook her head. "I'm gonna go ask Joey if he'll give you a ride home." She turned to leave and was just about out the door when she heard a heaving sound behind her. Turning again she say Kaiba with his head in the toilet, throwing up.
Walking over she patted him on the back a couple times and after a little while he pulled away and flushed the toilet. Standing he went over to the sink and splashed water over his face while Tea continued watching him. Finally after he'd done that he turned to face her and gave a weak smile. "I'll be fine now. No need to get Joey involved. Maybe it was just the dip in the pool earlier. Caught a cold or something."
Tea crossed her arms and shook her head again.
Seto eyed her. "What?"
Sighing she uncrossed her arms and shrugged. "Oh nothing." Flashing a quick smile she pushed him towards the door. "Now if you'll excuse me."
Kaiba found himself shoved out of the bathroom and the door shut behind him. Glancing sideways at it he gave a half smirk. 'Same Tea as always I see.'
****************
Nine o'clock, still early in the evening and Seto had had enough time to fully recover himself. His daily dose had been taken for the day, and his dream was over. 'So I don't need to worry about it.' He gave a soft sigh and scanned his eyes across the still fairly large amount of people at the party. Just before he was about to drift back into thought, the perky voice that made him twitch reached his ears.
"Kaiba! Like, get over here! We're gonna play truth or dare!"
His reply was flat. "No."
Rolling her eyes Aina came over and yanked him off of the chair he was sitting on the small group of people that had gathered. Half of the members of the party were still in the pool or off doing other things, so the little crowd that Aina had managed to force into the game resulted in Yugi, Joey, Tristan, Tea, Bakura, and a few other odd classmates.
When she shoved Kaiba down next to Yugi in the small circle that was formed she smiled and took her own seat next to Tristan before opening in her chipper valley, "Okay, so we're gonna play truth or dare. First person I pick iiiiiiiiiis.." She paused and ran her fingers around the circle. "Yugi! Truth or dare?"
Yugi thought for a moment and then replied, "Dare."
An evil smile grew onto Aina's face. "Then I dare you too, like, dance around acting like a chicken while singing the muffin man song for like three minutes."
*****************
A few minutes later Yugi sat down and gave a little smile. "Well then, Bakura, truth or dare?"
"Truth, I guess." He shrugged.
Yugi nodded. "Who do you have a crush on?"
Bakura paused and shrugged again. "Nobody currently."
Aina rolled her eyes. "Well, like, that did us a lot of good. Let's try to ask, like, more original questions?"
Yugi blushed. "Sorry."
And so the little circle rotated around and Kaiba watched it all until finally it was his turn.
Joey, the last person to be asked, looked over at him and grinned. "Okay Kaiba, truth or dare? Take ya pick."
'I despise this game. It's just a stupid way to poke your nose into other people's business and to embarrass them, with an excuse to justify it.' "Truth."
The blonde's grin widened and he rubbed his hands together. "Well then, here's what ya got to answer. When was the last time you went out in public and actually enjoyed yourself? And! Why did you stop?"
Aina was about to protest that this wasn't a good question, but Joey stopped her, still with the grin on his face.
Kaiba sat there with crossed arms and stared at the ground in front of him. "I'm not telling you."
"Come on Kaiba. It's the rules o' the game. Ya gotta answer!"
Seto sent a dead glare over at Joey before staring back at the ground and continuing flatly, "November 15th, seven years ago."
Joey pressed forward. "Well, what happened?"
Kaiba shook his head and continued to stare at the ground. "I'd gone out with Mokuba for the morning. We'd gone around town and had a small shopping spree. Candies, video games, what have you. For lunch we had ice cream cones. Mokuba got chocolate, I got vanilla. I always used to like vanilla because it was never too sweet and never too bland. Once we finished our ice cream Mokuba wanted to go back home, and that was it." He stopped and stared at them all with a blank expression. "That was the last time I enjoyed myself."
"You didn't tell us why you stopped though."
He stared back at the floor and closed his eyes. "You really want to know?"
Joey pressed, "It's the rules of the game, ya gotta answer the full question."
Seto flicked his gaze up to match with that of Joey's and he tied him in as he began to speak once more in his terse voice. "It stopped because when I got home I was given a little gift that I didn't enjoy too much. I doubt you've had the same feeling Wheeler. The feeling that you were wrong to give yourself a little happiness, even on a day when you should be the happiest person alive. But I was wrong Joey, I was wrong, and I've learned from it. That's why, and now I've answered your silly little question, happy?" The last word had a tone of mocking in it as he finally released Joey from his gaze and stood up. Turning on his heel he walked away from them and a soft churning boiled inside him.
'Why did I do that? I should've just walked away in the first place. They never needed to hear about that. Now Tea's going to start thinking I have issues again and-' He stopped walking, already standing next to his car he froze. 'Why am I doing that? I don't love Tea anymore. I don't.. But then why-? In my dream." He shook his head. "No, it's just the night talking. I don't love her. My mind is just tricking me into thinking that I do. When the morning comes I'll realize how foolish these thoughts are and then it will all go back to the way it's supposed to be."
