Chapter Six: I'm With You
~~Mai's POV~~
It was not by accident that sunset found me standing on the oldest, most potentially dangerous bridge in the park. I was actually there hoping to win a bet. Yeah, yeah, I know, I'm an obsessive gambler or whatever, but this bet had been on for nearly a year, and I was determined to win /something/.
About seven of my friends and I had placed fifty dollars on when the old bridge would collapse. In my relief over worming my way out of the bet with Bakura, I had been reminded of /this/ bet. I had been sure that the bridge would break on or near the American Independence Day of this year. That's the fourth of July, I believe. And as that was only a few weeks away...
I jumped on the bridge, quite satisfied with the harsh creaking sound. Well, of course I wasn't intending to fall /with/ it. I'm not /stupid/.
I almost wished Joey would show up. He had sounded pretty depressed when I broke up with him. Then again, maybe it was just the shock that /anyone/ could resist him.
There was another young man I was interested in talking to, but not for reasons anywhere /near/ those I had for talking to Joey. Like, no way.
**I'm standing on the bridge
I'm waiting in the dark
I thought that you'd be here by now
There's nothing but the rain
No footsteps on the ground
I'm listening but there's no sound**
As the sun set, it started to get colder. Not too cold, of course, but cold enough to make me wish I had brought my jacket along. And where was Joey? What about Yugi and his Yami? Or even Tea? I kept expecting them to show up and beg me to take him back or something just as stupid, but it apparently wasn't happening.
The bridge creaked and swayed alarmingly. I grabbed the rail and glared at Bakura, who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.
"What are you doing here?" I moaned, trying to get over my brief moment of fear and weakness.
"I came to find you."
There was a shockingly loud meow from nearby. "Jeez, was that a cat?"
"Yes, that was Atenna-Rana. My cat."
I stared at him, trying to make out the form of a cat anywhere on or near him. "You have a cat?"
"I do now."
Against my better judgment, I stepped closer to him, wincing as the wood shrieked under my feet. "Can I hold her?"
There was a flash of pale skin and dark fur as he placed the kitten in my outstretched arms. Her warm body did a great deal to assuage my coldness, although when she turned those green eyes on me, it was sort of creepy.
**Isn't anyone trying to find me?
Won't somebody come take me home?
It's a damn cold night
Trying to figure out this life
Won't you take me by the hand
Take me somewhere new
I don't know who you are, but I...
I'm with you
I'm with you**
I snuggled Atenna for a moment, then handed her back to Bakura and resumed my leaning position against the railing. "So. Why'd you come looking for me?"
"To prevent everyone else from doing so," he murmured. "Yugi was all set to prove that it was some kind of mistake."
I snorted, which is very unladylike but satisfying all the same. "He's so naive," I muttered. "How can dumping someone be a mistake?"
"Seriously? I have no clue." He joined me in leaning on the railing, which tilted forward a few degrees with a squeak. "It's kinda dark."
"Yeah, I noticed."
"And this bridge is kinda old."
"I know. I'm trying to make it collapse." I vaguely saw the funny look he gave me. "Jeez, of course I don't intend to go down with it! God, I'm not suicidal..."
"Just checking."
**I'm looking for a place
I'm searching for a face
Is anybody here I know?
'Cause nothing's going right
And everything's a mess
And no one likes to be alone**
I stared down at the river below us. "How deep do you think it is?"
He leaned further over. The railing gave an alarming crack, which didn't seem to faze the tomb robber. "I'd say a good ten feet at least." He turned around and examined the bridge. "They should've torn this down years ago."
"Yeah, I know. But everyone knows not to walk on it." He gave me another look. "Stop doing that!"
"Well, you're just not making much sense tonight."
"I'm depressed. I have every right to be incoherent."
There was a moment of silence. "Why would /you/ be depressed? You broke up with someone who we both agree was bad for you."
"Yeah, but still. He was my first crush." More silence, except for the bridge creaking slightly under our weight. "Why did you come?"
"I told you, to - "
"No, the real reason."
**Isn't anyone trying to find me
Won't somebody come take me home?
It's a damn cold night
Trying to figure out this life
Won't you take me by the hand
Take me somewhere new
I don't know who you are, but I...
I'm with you
I'm with you
Yeah yeah**
"The real reason?"
I nodded, quite sure that he could see me, even in the increasing darkness.
"Well, really...I missed you. I missed talking to you all the time about the bet and stuff."
I rolled my eyes. "It's only been a day."
"Hey, I went and bought Atenna nine hours after we ended the bet. Know why? Because I lo - I miss you."
"You what?"
He tried in vain to pretend that he hadn't slipped up there. I think he forgot momentarily that I'm a great deal smarter than I let people think. "You /love/ me?"
"That's not what I said. I said I - "
"And you bought a cat for me?"
"Not for you. She's my cat." He hugged her close in apprehension.
"That's so sweet!"
"I just - it's what?"
Even the tomb robber can be adorable when he's confused.
**Oh, why is everything so confusing?
Maybe I'm just out of my mind
Yeah yeah yeah
It's a damn cold night
Trying to figure out this life
Won't you take me by the hand
Take me somewhere new
I don't know who you are, but I...
I'm with you
I'm with you**
Before I could allow my better judgment to make a decision, I hugged Bakura as hard as I could, given that there was a cat in between us. Even so, Atenna yowled. Bakura let go, and she dropped to the ground, where she wound herself around my foot. I didn't even care, lost in the closeness of the tomb robber.
"I did miss you," he murmured into my hair. I grinned and looked up at him, suddenly noticing that he was taller than I was. It's amazing, the little things one notices when one isn't thinking rationally.
"I missed you, too."
And then he kissed me, a lot gentler than I would've expected had it been, say, a week ago. A week ago, I would have pulled away, maybe hit him. But it wasn't a week ago, was it?
So I kissed back.
**Take me by the hand
Take me somewhere new
I don't know who you are, but I...
I'm with you
I'm with you**
I know it sounds remarkably cliche, but that kiss was downright electric. It sent a chill down my spine, but was at the same time extremely warm. I felt light-headed and lost all track of time...until Atenna poked me. With claws extended.
"Ah, shit," I said, pulling away and picking the cat up before she could do further harm. "I think I'm bleeding..."
"Sorry," Bakura said, taking Atenna from me.
"Don't apologize for your cat." After a quick inspection of my ankle, I let my eyes slide upward to meet his. "That was...interesting."
"Warm," he said, touching his lips thoughtfully.
"Mai?" a way-too-familiar voice called. I stared up at the sky in sudden depression.
"Joey..."
Bakura shook his fist at the stars. "I hate you!" he called. "C'mon, we can still escape before he gets here." He squinted into the darkness, where we could barely see assorted flashlight beams coming toward us. "Him and the rest of the weakling brigade..."
**Take me by the hand
Take me somewhere new
I don't know who you are, but I...
I'm with you
I'm with you
I'm with you**
I took a single step and screamed as my foot plunged through a particularly weak spot in the wooden planks. Bakura grabbed my arm, and I grit my teeth in sudden pain.
"Hang on," he said calmly. "The others will be here in just a sec..."
I let go of him with one hand and reached for the railing. It hurt like hell to drag my leg out of the hole in the bridge.
"God," I moaned, staggering to my feet. "Let's get out of here before something worse happens."
The flashlights turned toward us, making me blink at the sudden onslaught of light. "Caught," Bakura said. He set Atenna on his shoulder. "I can carry you, if you can't walk."
"I'm fine." Actually, it still hurt, and mentally I was running through my extensive vocabulary of swear words.
We started off the other way. I barely took one step before my leg gave out and I snatched at the railing, which crumbled in my hand. I grabbed at Bakura, and only succeeded in pulling him and Atenna into the river with me, along with most of the bridge. A piece of wood crashed into my head, sending me spiralling into darkness and cold.
~~Mai's POV~~
It was not by accident that sunset found me standing on the oldest, most potentially dangerous bridge in the park. I was actually there hoping to win a bet. Yeah, yeah, I know, I'm an obsessive gambler or whatever, but this bet had been on for nearly a year, and I was determined to win /something/.
About seven of my friends and I had placed fifty dollars on when the old bridge would collapse. In my relief over worming my way out of the bet with Bakura, I had been reminded of /this/ bet. I had been sure that the bridge would break on or near the American Independence Day of this year. That's the fourth of July, I believe. And as that was only a few weeks away...
I jumped on the bridge, quite satisfied with the harsh creaking sound. Well, of course I wasn't intending to fall /with/ it. I'm not /stupid/.
I almost wished Joey would show up. He had sounded pretty depressed when I broke up with him. Then again, maybe it was just the shock that /anyone/ could resist him.
There was another young man I was interested in talking to, but not for reasons anywhere /near/ those I had for talking to Joey. Like, no way.
**I'm standing on the bridge
I'm waiting in the dark
I thought that you'd be here by now
There's nothing but the rain
No footsteps on the ground
I'm listening but there's no sound**
As the sun set, it started to get colder. Not too cold, of course, but cold enough to make me wish I had brought my jacket along. And where was Joey? What about Yugi and his Yami? Or even Tea? I kept expecting them to show up and beg me to take him back or something just as stupid, but it apparently wasn't happening.
The bridge creaked and swayed alarmingly. I grabbed the rail and glared at Bakura, who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.
"What are you doing here?" I moaned, trying to get over my brief moment of fear and weakness.
"I came to find you."
There was a shockingly loud meow from nearby. "Jeez, was that a cat?"
"Yes, that was Atenna-Rana. My cat."
I stared at him, trying to make out the form of a cat anywhere on or near him. "You have a cat?"
"I do now."
Against my better judgment, I stepped closer to him, wincing as the wood shrieked under my feet. "Can I hold her?"
There was a flash of pale skin and dark fur as he placed the kitten in my outstretched arms. Her warm body did a great deal to assuage my coldness, although when she turned those green eyes on me, it was sort of creepy.
**Isn't anyone trying to find me?
Won't somebody come take me home?
It's a damn cold night
Trying to figure out this life
Won't you take me by the hand
Take me somewhere new
I don't know who you are, but I...
I'm with you
I'm with you**
I snuggled Atenna for a moment, then handed her back to Bakura and resumed my leaning position against the railing. "So. Why'd you come looking for me?"
"To prevent everyone else from doing so," he murmured. "Yugi was all set to prove that it was some kind of mistake."
I snorted, which is very unladylike but satisfying all the same. "He's so naive," I muttered. "How can dumping someone be a mistake?"
"Seriously? I have no clue." He joined me in leaning on the railing, which tilted forward a few degrees with a squeak. "It's kinda dark."
"Yeah, I noticed."
"And this bridge is kinda old."
"I know. I'm trying to make it collapse." I vaguely saw the funny look he gave me. "Jeez, of course I don't intend to go down with it! God, I'm not suicidal..."
"Just checking."
**I'm looking for a place
I'm searching for a face
Is anybody here I know?
'Cause nothing's going right
And everything's a mess
And no one likes to be alone**
I stared down at the river below us. "How deep do you think it is?"
He leaned further over. The railing gave an alarming crack, which didn't seem to faze the tomb robber. "I'd say a good ten feet at least." He turned around and examined the bridge. "They should've torn this down years ago."
"Yeah, I know. But everyone knows not to walk on it." He gave me another look. "Stop doing that!"
"Well, you're just not making much sense tonight."
"I'm depressed. I have every right to be incoherent."
There was a moment of silence. "Why would /you/ be depressed? You broke up with someone who we both agree was bad for you."
"Yeah, but still. He was my first crush." More silence, except for the bridge creaking slightly under our weight. "Why did you come?"
"I told you, to - "
"No, the real reason."
**Isn't anyone trying to find me
Won't somebody come take me home?
It's a damn cold night
Trying to figure out this life
Won't you take me by the hand
Take me somewhere new
I don't know who you are, but I...
I'm with you
I'm with you
Yeah yeah**
"The real reason?"
I nodded, quite sure that he could see me, even in the increasing darkness.
"Well, really...I missed you. I missed talking to you all the time about the bet and stuff."
I rolled my eyes. "It's only been a day."
"Hey, I went and bought Atenna nine hours after we ended the bet. Know why? Because I lo - I miss you."
"You what?"
He tried in vain to pretend that he hadn't slipped up there. I think he forgot momentarily that I'm a great deal smarter than I let people think. "You /love/ me?"
"That's not what I said. I said I - "
"And you bought a cat for me?"
"Not for you. She's my cat." He hugged her close in apprehension.
"That's so sweet!"
"I just - it's what?"
Even the tomb robber can be adorable when he's confused.
**Oh, why is everything so confusing?
Maybe I'm just out of my mind
Yeah yeah yeah
It's a damn cold night
Trying to figure out this life
Won't you take me by the hand
Take me somewhere new
I don't know who you are, but I...
I'm with you
I'm with you**
Before I could allow my better judgment to make a decision, I hugged Bakura as hard as I could, given that there was a cat in between us. Even so, Atenna yowled. Bakura let go, and she dropped to the ground, where she wound herself around my foot. I didn't even care, lost in the closeness of the tomb robber.
"I did miss you," he murmured into my hair. I grinned and looked up at him, suddenly noticing that he was taller than I was. It's amazing, the little things one notices when one isn't thinking rationally.
"I missed you, too."
And then he kissed me, a lot gentler than I would've expected had it been, say, a week ago. A week ago, I would have pulled away, maybe hit him. But it wasn't a week ago, was it?
So I kissed back.
**Take me by the hand
Take me somewhere new
I don't know who you are, but I...
I'm with you
I'm with you**
I know it sounds remarkably cliche, but that kiss was downright electric. It sent a chill down my spine, but was at the same time extremely warm. I felt light-headed and lost all track of time...until Atenna poked me. With claws extended.
"Ah, shit," I said, pulling away and picking the cat up before she could do further harm. "I think I'm bleeding..."
"Sorry," Bakura said, taking Atenna from me.
"Don't apologize for your cat." After a quick inspection of my ankle, I let my eyes slide upward to meet his. "That was...interesting."
"Warm," he said, touching his lips thoughtfully.
"Mai?" a way-too-familiar voice called. I stared up at the sky in sudden depression.
"Joey..."
Bakura shook his fist at the stars. "I hate you!" he called. "C'mon, we can still escape before he gets here." He squinted into the darkness, where we could barely see assorted flashlight beams coming toward us. "Him and the rest of the weakling brigade..."
**Take me by the hand
Take me somewhere new
I don't know who you are, but I...
I'm with you
I'm with you
I'm with you**
I took a single step and screamed as my foot plunged through a particularly weak spot in the wooden planks. Bakura grabbed my arm, and I grit my teeth in sudden pain.
"Hang on," he said calmly. "The others will be here in just a sec..."
I let go of him with one hand and reached for the railing. It hurt like hell to drag my leg out of the hole in the bridge.
"God," I moaned, staggering to my feet. "Let's get out of here before something worse happens."
The flashlights turned toward us, making me blink at the sudden onslaught of light. "Caught," Bakura said. He set Atenna on his shoulder. "I can carry you, if you can't walk."
"I'm fine." Actually, it still hurt, and mentally I was running through my extensive vocabulary of swear words.
We started off the other way. I barely took one step before my leg gave out and I snatched at the railing, which crumbled in my hand. I grabbed at Bakura, and only succeeded in pulling him and Atenna into the river with me, along with most of the bridge. A piece of wood crashed into my head, sending me spiralling into darkness and cold.