The Girl Next Door

by ilukaiba

(who does NOT own Yu-Gi-Oh!)

((Hello there everyone! ^^ This is ilukaiba. My A/Ns will be in this format (with '((' and '))' For those of you who are waiting for an update on _Every Dragon Has a Heart_ and my other fics, I'll try ASAP! Okay now... this fic's chapter 1 takes place BEFORE the series... during the Japanese Series 1 kinda... I guess (but Seto has brown hair, not green ^^) Also, Seto is still the CEO of Kaiba Corp and all that good stuff, and the Big 5 DO work for him (so that stays the same) Also, I do not *bash* any character in this fic... If Joey, Tristan, Yugi, Seto, Tea, Pegasus, Mokuba, etc. seem annoying(er) in this fic, sorry, but don't think I dislike the character (I like them all... thought Tea does get a bit annoying...) And Bakura/Ryou is NOT in this fic (*yet*) Eheh... and ignore the fact that I use the English names ^^ Hopefully it's not a problem. I know that English Tea is much more annoying than Japanese Anzu, but she isn't in this fic. See, she has the same name as English Tea, but she has the heart and personality of Japanese Anzu... (lol I don't quite understand myself either... so screw that...) And finally, though flames are welcome, they are not appreciated or recommended. If I get pissed (^^) then don't hold it against me... ^^ Also PLEASE R and R! I update based on reviews! If you want a fast update, REVIEW MORE! I have this story written out already, and a long wait for an update is probably because of a lack of reviews. On that note... on to... the first chappy.))

Chapter 1 / The New Student At Domino High

"Did you hear? About the new kid?"

"New kid?" Tea looked at Joey with surprise. "We're getting a new kid?"

"Hell yeah!" said Tristan excitedly, "Some sort of 'Big Cheese' I heard..."

"'Big Cheese', Tristan?" said Tea with a sigh.

"He means the CEO of some company..." replied Yugi with a grin.

"He's filthy rich, I've heard!" yelled Joey, "We better make friends with him... so maybe we'll get some money!"

"He?" asked Tea, blushing.

"Yeah... he's a guy... why?"

"Well... you know how... in romance novels... with the hot rich guy that moves to a new place... and..."

"Tea... you don't mean..."

"No... I don't want to... go out with him or anything... but I wonder what he'll look like..."

Yugi, Joey, and Tristan sighed.

"Girls..." muttered Joey scornfully.

"So... when is this guy coming?" asked Tea, her face reddening.

"Uh... tomorrow I think..." answered Yugi quietly.

Tea smiled to herself. "Well guys... I have to go home now... or my mom will get mad."

"Bye Tea!" yelled her friends, waving.

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Tea walked along the sidewalk. As she was walking, she glanced at the large house that was next to hers. It was a mansion, worth at least a million dollars. It was brand new, finished one month before. A large limousine was parked in the driveway.

'Hmm... I wonder who they are?' she thought while looking at some tall men with dark glasses and black suits.

"Tea, honey, come on in! Dinners ready!"

Tea looked at the mansion for one last time before walking to her house. "I'm coming, Mom!"

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"So, sir, is this the place with the card you were looking for?"

"Yes." replied the brown-haired CEO haughtily, "This is the city where the dragon is."

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Tea Gardner lay in her bed. She imagined what her new classmate would look like.

'Blue eyes... definitely... maybe green eyes... but... nah... probably blue...'

She smiled to herself and continued.

'Hair? Blonde maybe... wait... no... he's a too smart to be blonde... maybe black or brown...'

A sudden buzzing sound interrupted her imaginative thoughts.

"Damn clock!" she said, slamming her finger on the button.

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"Hey Tea!"

"Yugi! Joey! Tristan! Hey guys!"

"I hate Monday mornings!" complained Joey with a sigh.

"Doesn't everybody?" asked Tristan sarcastically.

"Hey! Stop being fresh with me!"

"I am not being fresh, Joey."

"Yeah... you're being rotten Tristan!"

"You wanna feel rotten too, punk?!" yelled Tristan, glaring at Joey holding up his fist threateningly.

Tea groaned. "You guys are so immature!"

"No we aren't!" protested the two while clawing at each other's faces.

"So... we'd better hurry or we'll be late for class!" said Yugi.

"Aww shit... school!" The gang ran to the building, narrowly avoiding the loud school bell.

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"Class?" said the teacher quietly. He watched as paper planes crashed, spit balls flew, and girls giggled.

"Class... we have a new student!"

There was a sudden silence.

'It's him... the rich kid!' thought Tea dreamily.

The door opened and a teenager walked into the classroom. He had brown hair and pale skin. He was tall and thin. He had thin lips that were pursed together in a seemingly cruel manner. He had no smile, hell, he probably didn't even know how to smile. Even with the traditional blue school uniform, he looked like a wealthy snob. It was surprising that all the girls were swooning over him.

But his eyes... his gorgeous blue eyes. Sure they were cold and unfriendly, but they were a deep blue.

'He's handsome,' thought Tea, 'yet he seems so mysterious!'

"Class, please welcome Seto Kaiba to our ninth/tenth grade class at Domino High." said the teacher in monotone.

Whispers suddenly filled the classroom.

"Seto? Seto Kaiba?!"

"He's that CEO of... of..."

"Kaiba Corporation! My dad works for him!"

"He's so smart!"

"And dreamy..."

"Now Mr. Kaiba," said the teacher to the new student, "I don't expect you to be an expert on what we are studying now since you ARE new here... so just relax for today... and watch your classmates at work."

Seto Kaiba looked at the teacher with narrowed eyes. "I think I'll catch on soon enough." he said with a deep voice.

"Oh... well," began the teacher nervously, "I'm sure you will..."

The boy made no effort to smile or frown. He had no emotion. He just sat down in the seat that was vacant, which happened to be diagonal to Tea. He was indifferent to and unconnected with the people around him, like he was in his own world.

"Now class," said the teacher, "please put the radical on the board into simplest radical form."

"Damnit!" groaned Joey, "I don't remember radicals! Students flipped through their textbooks, but only one had their hand raised. The one who had no textbooks. Who had no pencil or paper. Or even a calculator to work out the problem.

Seto Kaiba.

"Yes Mr. Kaiba," said the teacher, "If you'd like me to explain it to you, feel free to-"

"Seven times the square root of thirty-one."

"Excuse me?"

"That's the answer."

"Oh."

The class stared at the boy with amazement and admiration.

"Damn." said Joey with awe.

Once again, the boy had no triumphant smile. He looked bored and preoccupied.

"Lunch time!" said the teacher suddenly, as he looked at his watch.

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The lunchroom was filled with excited teenagers. Tea bought her lunch and looked around.

"Hey Tea!" yelled Yugi, "Over here!"

"Yugi," she said, approaching him, "I think I am going to sit with that new student today. I feel bad for him." She looked at Kaiba, who was sitting in the far corner at an empty table. He was busy typing on his laptop and wasn't eating any lunch. She walked over to him.

"Hi." she said to him. There was no response.

"Hi!" she said louder. He didn't even bother looking up at her.

"Um... my name is Tea... I am in your class!"

'Damn... why won't he respond?!' she thought.

'Shit... can't she just leave me alone!' thought the impatient CEO.

"So... uh... can I sit here?"

He nodded slightly as he continued typing. She sat down next to him.

"So what are you typing?"

Suddenly, he turned and looked straight at her. She felt his icy blue orbs burning into her and blushed.

'He looks even better now!' she thought.

There was a silence as he looked at her, as if observing her every feature.

"You're the girl who lives next-door, aren't you?"

"Uh..."

"I live in the white house... with the big driveway."

"The mansion?!" she gasped.

"No... the mailbox..." he said sarcastically.

"You live in THE mansion?!"

"Is something wrong with it?"

"No... it's just... it's so... pretty... your mansion I mean... but I do live next to you though."

"Oh." he said quietly. He started typing again.

"Why aren't you eating?" she asked him with concern.

He looked at her, his eyes glinting. "Why are you sitting here?"

She reddened quickly. "Do you not want me to sit here?"

There was no reply.

"So... what do you think of the school, Seto?"

He stiffened up and glared at her.

"What did you call me?!"

"Seto... that's your name... right?"

"You can call me 'Kaiba'."

"Oh... sorry..."

"And your school is a bit boring... but I guess it'll do..."

"Uh... so are you always on the computer?"

"Pretty much." he said, typing rapidly.

"Don't your parents get mad... if you're always on the computer?"

He stopped typing completely. He turned and looked at her with tired blue eyes, looking lost and forlorn for just that one moment when he said...

"I don't have any parents."

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

"Don't be sorry. Everyone pretends they are sorry. But they aren't. At least not for me they aren't."

"Uh... do you... uh... live by yourself?" stammered the poor girl, hoping to get a more cheerful response out of her new classmate.

"I have a little brother."

"Oh... cool!" said Tea enthusiastically.

"Whatever..." He turned back to his laptop and continued with his work.

Tea looked at the screen ((A/N I know at this point Tea may seem annoying like the English Tea (damn her...) but bear with me, k?... ^^;)) with curiosity. She gasped as she saw monsters on it. Yet they looked so familiar...

"What are those?"

"Hmm?"

"The monsters?"

"Duel Monsters." answered the CEO gruffly.

"My friends play that game!" exclaimed Tea excitedly.

"Oh cool." replied the CEO sarcastically as he continued his work.

"Maybe you could all duel or something?..."

"Look Tea," he said arrogantly, "I'm the number one duelist in the whole damn world... I don't have time to waste with your silly friends!" He closed his laptop and walked off haughtily.

"What was that all about?" said a voice.

"Oh hey guys," said Tea, looking at her friends, "Oh that was nothing..."

"Ya know Tea," commented Joey, "that guy is such an asshole..."

"Why?"

"He acts all smart and superior... Geez I haven't even spoken to him and I already hate him."

"Give the guy a chance, Joey." said Yugi.

"Sorry Yug, but that guy's a jerk!"

((A/N Just to let you all know, Joey is more like English Joey than Japanese Jou (lol... not this again...) because he is really stupid in this fic (for now at least) no offense to him... I mean... I love the guy... he just adds more humor to this dramatic (*yawn*) fic...))

'A really hot jerk...' thought Tea.

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"Hey! Joey! Schools over!"

"Wassup?"

"It's time to GO Joey... The bell rang five minutes ago! We'll miss the bus!"

There was a brief silence until realization suddenly seemed to hit Joey. "Yug... we don't take the bus..." He lifted his sleepy head off of the desk.

"So Tea, are these those dueling friends of yours?" said a cold voice.

"Oh... it's the NEW kid..." said Joey unenthusiastically.

"Oh you must be JOEY... how could anyone forget the name and face of the loser who didn't know the square root of sixteen in math class?..."

"YOU WATCH IT RICH BOY!" growled the blonde angrily.

"What are you... a common mongrel or something? You are the one who should watch it, DOG-boy..."

"Take that back you bas-"

"Sorry, but I can't stop and chat... or should I say bark... you see... my LIMO is waiting outside..." Kaiba left the classroom, leaving Joey staring furiously after him.

"I HATE that snobbish little..."

"Calm down Joey..." said Tristan soothingly, "He's just a new kid... what can he do?..."

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"Bye Tea."

"Bye guys!" said Tea waving.

"If ya see Mista Moneybags, tell him I'm gonna beat the shit outta him tomorrow!"

"I'm sure you will Joey..."

"Damn right!"

The boys walked over to one of their classmate's houses, leaving Tea to walk home by herself.

'That Seto Kaiba is cute,' she thought, 'Cute and rude...' She walked across the street until...

"WHAT THE -" A man dressed in a black suit peeked out of the limosuine he was driving.

"What seems to be the problem?" said a deep voice from the back of the black vehicle.

"My apologies sir... there was a young girl on the road and..."

"Is she okay?"

"Uh, let me check sir."

"Make it quick, I am in no mood to be delayed because of some careless girl who doesn't look where she's going."

"Yes sir." said the poor driver, stepping out of the limo. He looked down at the stunned brunette, who lay in the middle of the road with an apologetic look in her blue eyes.

"Are you all right, miss?"

"I think so." stuttered Tea, standing up slowly.

"Would you like a ride, miss?"

"Uh... thanks I'm fine..."

"No miss, I insist." said the man, pointing to the back of the limo.

"Oh. All right." she said, "Thank you sir."

"You're wel-"

"WOULD YOU TWO QUIT YAPPING ALREADY?! I don't want to be LATE!"

"Yes sir!" The chaffeur opened up the back door to let Tea in. He then got in to the front and began driving.

Tea looked at the angry man who sat behind her and gasped.

"Se- Kaiba?!"

"You!" he yelled, "Tea Gardner!"

"Yes..."

"Look... the only reason you're getting a ride is that your house is right next to mine."

"Whatever..."

The car paused at the gate to the Kaiba mansion.

"We're here, sir."

"It's about time!" Kaiba and Tea got out of the car and the driver drove off.

"Listen, uh, Kaiba, thanks for the ride."

"It was nothing."

The gate opened and he walked to the mansion, while Tea walked to her house.

((A/N So what do you think? Good, bad, okay? REVIEW! Remember what I said about updating... *winks*))