Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of the characters. If I did, this wouldn't be fanfiction, now would it?

Yay, I'm happy people like my story! ^_^ Thanks to you awesome people who reviewed! This next chapter is for you and all those freaky lurkers who read my story but didn't review it (you people scare me O_o I feel like I'm being watched).

I just started school and I'm in the process of moving into a new house, so don't expect lightning-quick updates. But I found the time to make a new chapter, so here it is!

Just so you know, it's an incredibly low-key, non-action chapter, and is basically just dialogue. If you like action stories you should probably go read something else.

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Chapter 2: Under the Stars

"Aren't you hungry?" Téa asked, a bit concerned.

Joey shook his head, disregarding the burger he had barely touched.

"Wow," Tristan teased, "This must be serious!"

Tristan earned himself a death glare.

"Well," Yugi interrupted before a fight could break out, "Is there anything we can do?"

"Maybe... you should talk to her?" Téa suggested timidly.

By now Téa and Tristan had been informed of everything that happened at the party the night before. After Mai had left, Joey had refused to do anything but sit at the table. Expect when Yugi got cornered by a bunch of fans on his way to the snack table and Joey had to rescue him.

Joey stared at his burger as he answered her question. "I would if I had any idea where she is. She doesn't live around here, remember? She was probably just here for the party. For all I know, she could be in France by now."

"Oh..." Téa muttered.

There was a moment of awkward silence, until Joey broke it by pushing away his plate and standing up.

"It's getting late," he said, "And I've still got some homework to do and stuff."

Joey's friends said goodbye, and he walked out of Burger World into the night.

***

Joey stood out in the middle of the deserted Domino Park, marking something on a piece of paper. He nearly had a heart attack when he heard someone behind him say, "Hey."

"Geez, don't scare me like that!" Joey snapped as he whipped around. But then he jumped again when he saw who it was. "Mai?!"

Sure enough, there stood Mai, not looking much different than the last time he saw her. She gave him a tired smile.

"I... I thought you left!" Joey stammered, still in shock.

Mai's smile faded and she turned her eyes to look at the ground. "I was going to... but... I just..."

Joey was dumbfounded. He had wanted so badly to speak with her, but now that she was here he could not think of anything to say. For a long while neither of them said anything. Then Mai's eyes went to the paper Joey was holding, and she looked up at him.

"What are you doing anyway?" she asked.

"Huh?" Joey said as he snapped out of his trance, "Oh, this. Just some stupid science homework."

"What do you have to do?"

Joey held up his paper, cleared his throat, and read in a bored voice, "'Find, sketch, and identify five stellar constellations. Be sure to label each.'"

"What do you have so far?"

"The Big Dipper."

Mai laughed. "Maybe I can help you."

She sat down on the grass where she stood, then lay down on her back, her hands behind her head. Joey watched her for a moment before following her example.

After a few seconds of silence, Joey finally worked up the courage to talk to her about what he had been meaning to.

"Um... Mai?"

"Yeah?"

"I was just wondering... you know... about last night... what happened... between you and... you know..."

"Oh. That." There was obvious malice in Mai's voice. "The wonderful Chris ran into an old girlfriend, and apparently decided he liked her better than me. The two of 'em ditched me and left the party."

"Oh... I'm sorry..."

"Don't be. He's a jerk. Just before that he tried to get me to go back to his hotel room with him."

Mai went into silent thought for a moment before continuing.

"It seems so stupid doesn't it? How we'll continue to give up our hearts for someone even though it always ends up broken in the end. I'm not even sure it's worth it anymore."

"Someday it will be. You'll see. When you finally give your heart to someone who won't break it, you'll understand what it was all for."

"But how will I know when I've given it to the right person?"

"If I knew I'd be rich."

Mai smiled. "I suppose you're right."

Joey decided it was as good a time as any to ask what he had really wanted to know.

"There was... something else I wanted to ask you..."

"What is it?"

"Why did you... run away like that?"

She sighed. "I... don't quite understand myself. I guess I got scared."

"You were scared of me?"

Mai laughed. "Not exactly. It's hard to explain. Ever since my parents died when I was little, I've always sort of pushed everyone away. I guess I've been afraid of losing someone else important. I figured if I never got close to anyone, I would never have to worry about it again."

"But being with other people is what makes life worth it!"

"I know. I know it's stupid. But I was so young then. I hated being lonely, but I managed to convince myself that I was better off that way. Even though... I have friends now... I can't help still feeling that way. It's not easy to change a belief you've had your entire life. And... last night... I suddenly realized how close I was getting to you. That's what scared me. I panicked. Running was all I could think of to do."

Joey stared up at the sky, listening intently to everything Mai said. There were so many things he wanted to say to her... about how much he wanted to be close to her... that he would never let her be lonely again... But he was afraid he would end up sounding stupid. So he remained silent.

A shooting star streaked across the sky, and this apparently inspired Mai to start a new topic.

"I had a dream last night," she said amusedly.

"I have those a lot."

"Very funny."

"I know."

"Now you wanna hear what it was?"

"Yeah!"

"Okay." Mai dropped her sarcastic tone and her voice took on a much darker note. "...All I could see was darkness. There was nothing around me. I stumbled through the choking blackness, calling out in hopes that someone would find me. But there was nothing save the crushing silence. I felt like I was wandering forever. Finally I couldn't take it anymore and I broke down, collapsing onto the ground and beginning to cry. Then I heard a noise, a sort of whimper, and looked up to see two glowing red eyes in the darkness. The creature that had made the noise moved toward me, and soon I could see what it was. The Red Eyes Black Dragon."

For the first time since he had laid down in the grass, Joey moved his gaze from the stars and looked over at Mai. She had tears in her eyes.

"It... stopped just in front of me," Mai continued, "And just stared at me for a moment. Then he brought his wings forward and he... he wrapped them around me... protecting me from the darkness, the loneliness... and for the first time I felt... safe..."

Mai closed her eyes and allowed a single tear to fall down her cheek.

Joey was about to speak, but before he had the chance she opened her eyes, looked over at him and spoke again.

"It's late. Don't you have school tomorrow?"

"What are you my- Ah, crap!"

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, man... I forgot I have this big, stupid test tomorrow in math. I was supposed to study tonight... I'm so screwed..."

"Maybe it won't be as bad as you think."

"No, you don't understand! I don't get any of it! And my teacher told me if I fail one more test, I fail the class!"

"Um... Sorry..."

"Don't be. It's not your fault I'm a moron."

"You're not-"

"Ugh, I have to go."

It was Joey's turn to run away, leaving Mai sitting in the grass, wishing she hadn't brought up the subject.

~~~

Yeah, so there you go. I told you it was dialogy (made up word). Hope I didn't bore ya too much.

I know the thing about the math test was pretty random, but it has a significance.

So anyway, please review! ^_^ Whatever you have to say, feel free to say it!