Rowan: Wow! Four reviews! Not bad, I must say…
davidfreeza: Yes, I hate cliffies as well, but you're right! They do make you want to keep reading!
Misura: OMG thank you so much! I really love your stories and esp. since this one was inspired by one of them, it means a lot to me that you actually R&R, and, more importantly, liked it! Glad you like Mokuba! I always believed that Mokuba knows everything about Seto. Hope you like this chapter!
Kay and Fantasychick: Okay then!
Lady Guena: If only Jou knew! When he finds out his letter ended up in the school newspaper, he'll freak!
Disclaimer: When the moon really is made of green cheese, then I'll own YGO!
Warning: Shounen-ai, maybe some OOCness.
Misprint
Chapter 2
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The next day, Seto arrived at the school exceptionally early. He did not want to miss his crush. He stepped into the hallway, a baby blue colored coat hanging over his arm and covered by his own azure jacket. His cerulean eyes scanned the corridor eagerly. 'Where is he? Where's my blonde puppy?'
The bell rang ten minutes later, warning the students to get to their homeroom and Seto had still not seen Jou. 'Well, he is in my first class. Maybe he got here before me,' he thought hopefully.
When Seto entered the classroom, he looked around quickly for Jou. His eyes first went to the corner where Yuugi, Anzu, Honda, and Ryou were gathered. But their blonde friend was not there. The other four were reading the February edition of The Domino Blocks. Seto strode across the room over to the group. "Where's the mutt?" he asked bluntly.
The four of them lifted their heads and glared at Seto. "He's sick today. Fever," Yuugi answered. "Good thing too."
"What makes you say that?" the CEO said curiously.
"Read the newspaper, you'll understand." Yuugi, Honda, Ryou, and Anzu then went back to their reading.
'The newspaper? What does Yuugi mean by that?' Seto shrugged and grabbed one. He opened it up and started reading.
He found the article on the second to last page. Hate To Love: My Secret Crush by Jounouchi Katsuya. 'When I first met you, I thoroughly despised you. It might have been because you were rich, smart, and arrogant. I just know that you're insults made me hostile towards you. What had I done to you anyway to make you hate me so?
'But, in time, you calling me 'puppy' no longer was so offending. It was even a little welcome. Of course, when I first started to think that, I blew it off as insane. But every time we had a verbal sparring match, I longed to hear you call me 'mutt' and to hear you refer to yourself as 'my master'.
'Eventually I realized that I liked you. Even loved you. But I just couldn't bring myself to tell you. I guess I was afraid of rejection. I mean, how could you possibly reciprocate my feelings? No, I told myself, it's impossible.
'But I just can't take it anymore. If I don't tell you about my feelings I think I might burst. So I'm writing you this letter. If you don't feel the same way about me, you can just burn this and forget it never happened. It might burn my heart as well, but I'll deal with that myself.'
Seto blinked. 'He's writing about me? Who else could it be? He-he really likes me?' For a split second, Seto's face lit up with happiness and hope. But then it became shadowed as a thought occurred to him. 'What if this is all made up? What if he just wrote this to get a reaction out of me? Of course, that's what it is! Jou couldn't possibly love me! He knew of my feelings for him and decided to make fun of me! That's what this article is! One big joke! I bet he and Yuugi and the rest of them are getting one big laugh out of this! Well I won't let them get the satisfaction of seeing me upset about this!'
~*~
Yuugi smiled at Jou, who was lounging on his couch in his robe watching TV. "You feeling better Jou?"
"Yup! Much better! I should be back in school tomorrow."
Yuugi looked down at his hands. "Umm, Jou, I think you ought to know something."
Jou looked confusedly at his friend. "What is it Yuug?"
"This," Yuugi said, passing Jou The Domino Block, turned to the page with his article on it. Jou's eyes immediately fell on the bolded headline. He paled visibly. "How'd my letter end up in the newspaper? What happened to my cafeteria food article go?"
Yuugi shrugged. "Did you accidentally hand in the letter instead?"
"No, I gave Otogi the disk! How'd this happen?"
"Maybe we should ask Otogi."
~*~
"So, how was school today Seto?" Mokuba asked when his brother arrived home.
"Fine," Seto replied shortly, hanging his coat up. He walked into his study.
Mokuba was following behind him, and spied the indigo jacket in his brother's hand. "What happened Seto? Was Jou not in school?"
Seto shook his head sadly and handed the tabloid to his sibling. Mokuba quickly scanned the article. "Ah, I see."
Seto sighed heavily. "I knew he didn't like me, but does he hate me that much? Even I have feelings. Did he think it'd be funny to break my heart? Or does he think I don't have one?"
"I'm sure there's a logical explanation for this Seto. It might not be what you think! Jou might not even have meant to put it in the paper. See here? 'If I don't tell you about my feelings I think I might burst. So I'm writing you this letter.' Letter, he said. Not article. So maybe he was planning on sending this to you! You should ask him about it!"
Seto shook his head firmly. "No. I never want to see his face again."
Mokuba exhaled noisily. "How can I make you see reason Seto?"
But Seto wasn't listening. He was busy rebooting his laptop. Mokuba left the office, discouraged.
~*~
"Otogi, how did my letter end up in The Block?" Jou asked shrilly the moment the raven-haired editor entered the apartment.
"You told me to print 'newspaper article six' so I did!"
"But my article was not this! It was on the lunch food!"
"Well that's what was there Jou! Don't blame me!" Otogi said defensively.
"We're not getting anywhere guys! Why don't we just look at the disk?" Yuugi suggested.
"Good idea. Do you have the floppy?" Jou inquired.
"Yes, right here." Otogi took the disk out of his pocket. "Here you are Yuugi," he said, handing it to the spiky-haired teen.
Yuugi turned the computer and opened the file to the disk. "Ah, newspaper article six. Let's see what you really are." Yuugi double clicked on the icon. "Umm, Jou, I'm afraid Otogi's right. You accidentally put the letter to Seto under the wrong name."
Jou smacked his forehead. "Darn! How stupid of me!"
"It's just a simple mistake Jou. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes. And it might turn out for the best, you know. After all, now Seto knows that you like him!"
"Yeah, him and the rest of the school! I can't go back! I'm sure to be the laughing stock of the entire school!"
"Jou, I'm sure half of the school doesn't even know who you are. Sop worryin-" Yuugi was interrupted by the doorbell ringing.
Otogi answered the door to reveal Mokuba Kaiba. "Mokuba! What are you doing here?"
"I came to see Jou."
Jou smiled at the younger boy. "Hi Mokuba. How are you?"
"I'm fine, it's Seto I'm worried about."
"S-Seto?"
"Your article really affected him. He thinks you wrote it out of spite and he's really heartbroken about that."
"Heartbroken? Why?" Jou asked curiously.
"Well he really likes you Jounouchi! Even though he's too proud to admit it, he loves you a lot! Actually, he was planning on telling you today, but you weren't at school and on top of that, the article is making him question his love for you. He thinks you meant it as a joke."
"It's not! I truly, truly love him too!"
"I know that, but Seto doesn't! So, will you talk to him tomorrow?"
"Umm, I'll try."
Mokuba smiled. "Thanks. Well, bye!" Mokuba walked over to the door. "Oh, and Happy Valentine's Day!"
~*~*~*~
Rowan: Only one more chapter after this! I actually have a short story that's not a one-shot! Hopefully I'll have this one finished before school starts on Thursday!
Sakura: Hopefully.
Rowan: Well, review please! After all, reviews make the world go round!
Sakura: I thought it was love!
Rowan: No, it's reviews!
