Disclaimer: *look at other chappies*
Italic : means that the person is thinking to him or herself.
A/N: Uhhhh....I forgot what I was going to say here. Oh well! Anyway, thanks again for the reviews you left. Oh and thanks to Chibi Momoko for bringing Mai's age to my attention. Yes, Mai is really supposed to be an old fart compared to the rest of the group, but since there might be some romance between Mai and Joey....I wanted her to be the same age as him. Sorry for not saying that before!!! On with the story!
Chapter Eight: Reckless
*Honk!*
Yami peeked through his blinds to see Joey's car parked in front of his house. He grabbed his backpack and slid down the banister to catch up to his impatient friend. He ran out of the house and into Joey's car that was also called the "chick-mobile." Joey smiled and high-fived his friend as a welcoming gesture.
"What's crackin' my bro?" He asked as Yami cocked an eyebrow up.
"Joey.....don't say that again." He said as he placed his backpack in the back.
"Word." Joey said as Yami glared at him.
Joey smiled at his accomplished attempt to make Yami upset. He sighed and looked toward the Moto house to notice that something was missing. "Hey....where's Yug?"
"Ohhhh....he said he would catch up with us in school." Yami answered.
Joey nodded and started driving toward the school. On their way there, Yami turned on the radio to hear what was on, but found one of Joey's Blink 182 cds playing. He was about to change it when Joey stopped him and said, "wait....this is my favorite song." Yami sighed and reclined in the leather-covered seat.
She makes me feel like it's raining outside
And when the storms gone
I'm all torn up inside
I'm always nervous on days like this
Like the prom
I get to scared to move because
I'm a stupid boy!
Joey sang out loud, while Yami ignored him and tried to listen to the words. He usually didn't like this artist, but for some reason....today.....they seemed to connect. The song made him think of one person that stole away his sleep last night. He sighed and looked out the window to see that particular person. Joey slowed down and paused the song to speak to Tea and Mai who were walking to school.
"Hey ladies...." Joey said as they turned around and frowned.
"Hmmm....you know Joey.....I heard that this was the famous 'chick-mobile,' but I don't see any chicks in it." Mai said sarcastically as the two girls laughed at a flushed Joey.
"Well....." Joey said as Mai sighed and continued to walk.
"See ya later guys!" Tea said as she flashed a smile at Yami.
"I'll show that Mai one day!" Joey said as he pushed the resume button on his system.
Remember when I was in the grocery store
Now's my time!
Lost the words, lost the nerve, lost the girl
Left the line
I would wish upon a star but that star
It doesn't shine
So read my book, with a boring ending
A short story of a lonely guy......
Yami sighed as he watched Tea continue walking with Mai in the rear-view mirror until he could not see them anymore. He leaned back in the seat and listened to the song fade away shortly. As the song finally came to an end, they arrived in school. Yami thanked Joey for the ride once Joey parked in his usual spot, near the basketball court, and walked toward the school with Joey close behind.
"Hey....why are you in a rush?" Joey asked once he caught up to Yami. "This is school, remember?"
"I know, I was just looking for...."
Yami looked at Joey and sighed.
"...Yugi." Yami lied as they walked into the school.
"He's probably around," Joey said as they walked to their lockers.
Yami sighed and opened his locker, only to see pictures of Serenity. He hung his head and closed his locker. Joey looked at him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey.....she's gone man."
'If Joey only knew......'
Yami thought as he sighed again and walked toward homeroom. Joey followed, wondering why Yami was taking this break-up so seriously. After catching up with him, Joey stopped him in the middle of the hall.
"Listen.....it was hard for me too......I mean....I'm losing her again." Joey said as Yami nodded.
"Yeah." Yami said as he rolled his eyes once Joey wasn't looking at him.
{A/N: Don't think Yami cares for Serenity....it's just an act in front of Joey....because Yami doesn't want to tell him that he moved on to Tea that quickly. *_*}
They were about to continue walking when a crowd of girls stopped them. Yami growled on the inside, but smiled warmly on the outside toward them. As the girls chatted about their cheerleading squad, Yami ignored them, while Joey listened attentively. That's when Yami saw Tea and Mai walking toward their homeroom. Tea stopped and waved, while Mai rolled her eyes and walked inside.
'Still the same Yami.....'
Tea thought as she walked inside the classroom and sat down next to Mai. Yami, on the other hand, was trying to get away from the crowd to talk to Tea, but found it useless.
{A/N: Man, if Tea ONLY knew!}
*Ring!*
'Thank RA!'
Yami thought as he ran with Joey to homeroom, so they wouldn't get a detention.
~Lunchtime~
'Hmm....where to sit.....'
Tea said to herself as she looked around the cafeteria. That's when she spotted Yami sitting next to his loud friends, including Joey. 'Ohhh well.....maybe next time....yeah...'
She finally found a seat at an empty table. It was lonely, but better than sitting with people that only went by popularity status. As she was eating and reading a book that her English teacher assigned for the class, she heard a faint grunt. She looked up to see Duke.
'He's like an itch that won't go away!'
"May I help you?" She asked as he did one of his trademark smirks.
"No, but can you ever?"
She closed her book and looked at him.
"Seriously, what do you want?" Tea asked with an annoyed tone.
"I got a proposition for you." He said as she frowned.
Yami stopped talking to his friends to notice that Duke was bothering Tea. His blood started to boil. He was about to get up and say something when Tristan walked over to Tea.
"Really Duke? Me too." Tristan made a fist. "Stay here and meet my fist or leave."
Duke smiled and Tristan and cheerfully left Tea and Tristan alone.
"Maybe I should just transfer to another school." Tea said to Tristan as he sat down next to her.
"...and let him get the better of you?" Tristan said as Tea shrugged her shoulders.
"I really don't care at this point." Tea said as he sighed.
"Listen Tea, I'll take care of him." He said as she smiled and put a hand over his.
"Don't....that's all we need is for you to go down with him." She said as she removed her hand.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." He looked over to her lunch tray. "Hey, are you going to eat that?"
Tea sighed and shook her head. "Take it."
"Thanks." He said as she smiled and continued reading her book.
"Hey Tea....watch this!" Tristan said as he put two straws in his nose and began sniffing his milk carton with them. "You should try it!" He said as he continued.
"Uh.h...." Tea said, with disgust in her voice. "How about another time?"
"Suit yourself." Tristan said as he pulled the straws out of his nose.
"Yeah..." She said as he burped.
"Nothing hits the spot like this stuff." Tristan said as Tea looked up from her book again.
"Seriously Tristan, how do you have a girlfriend?" He shrugged his shoulders.
"It's probably the facial hair growing in," Tristan added, "wanna guess how much I have now?"
"No." Tea said, knowing she didn't want to play a round of "Guess my Facial Hair" today.
"You're no fun." Tristan said as Tea grinned.
"Believe me, you aren't the last one to say that."
Tristan looked up and started cracking up.
'What was so funny?'
Tea gave him a confused look, until he stopped laughing and looked at her.
"Come on, Tea....think about my line...and then what you just said...." He said.
Tea thought about it, but still didn't get it. That's when a light bulb appeared above her head. She smacked Tristan lightly, and started laughing herself. "You are such a perv!"
"Am not!" Tristan said defensively. "You're the one that said it!"
"You're the one that thought of it!" She said as they started laughing again.
*Ring!*
"Oh Geez....was that the bell?" She asked as he nodded.
"Yup." He said.
"I got to get to class." She said as he smiled.
"See you later." He said as she waved and left.
{A/N: NO TRISTAN/TEA!!!!! I just like them joking around together.}
~After School~
"Hey Tea, want me to walk you home." Tristan said as Tea nodded, but looked around just in case Yami would want to do the same. She frowned when she didn't see him in sight.
"Thanks Tristan," Tea said as they started walking.
Soon, Yami came outside with Joey. As Yami started looking around for Tea, Joey stopped him and looked at him. Yami saw the serious look in his house and raised an eyebrow.
"What's up?" Yami asked as Joey frowned.
"We need to talk about Serenity." He said as Yami sighed.
"What is there to talk about, like you said...she's gone." Yami replied.
"Exactly, but why? I know my mother was sick...but we could have easily put her in a hospital with the money I had left over from what Yugi gave me during Duelist Kingdom." Joey said.
"So...what are you saying?" Yami asked as Joey folded his arms.
"Maybe you are responsible." He said as Yami gasped.
"What? Joey....how could you think that!?" Yami exclaimed.
"Well, come on! She left right after you two broke-up!" Joey exclaimed.
"So? Maybe she really wanted to see her mother!" He cried.
"Yeah right! Deny it all you want, but this is your fault!" Joey yelled.
"I can't believe you are blaming me!" Yami said as he put his hand to his forehead.
"You're the only one to blame AND now I lost my sister thanks to you!" Joey exclaimed.
That's when students started looking over toward them, they didn't care.
"Forget you!" Yami said as he started walking away.
"Yeah, keep walking! Just like the coward you are!" Joey yelled.
Yami turned around to object to that statement, but Joey was already near his car. Yami breathed in some air and started walking home, trying not to glance at Joey's car that sped by. Yami soon sat on a bench and thought about what just happened. He couldn't believe his best friend turned on him like that. As minutes turned into hours, he realized that Yugi and Grandpa would probably be worried about him.
He stood up and started walking toward the Game Shop. As he walked in the Game Shop, he saw Grandpa look up from the phone and frown. Yami tried to ignore his glance. Grandpa hung up the phone and called his name. Yami walked up to him with a sad expression.
"So....you heard the news?" Grandpa said as Yami cocked an eyebrow up.
"What news?" He said as Grandpa cleared his throat and looked at him.
"What happened?" Yami asked as Grandpa cleared his throat.
"It's Joey."
"What did he yell at somebody else on account of his sister?" Yami said sarcastically.
Grandpa shook his head. "No."
"Huh?" Yami said, awaiting the answer.
"Joey got into a car accident with a truck." Grandpa said slowly. "His car flipped over a couple of times and now they don't know if he is going to live."
"WHAT!?" Yami yelled as he looked at Grandpa.
"Yeah." He said as he held back tears. "Yugi is down there already."
"I have to go!" Yami yelled as he ran out of the Game Shop frantically toward the hospital.
'No Joey! This is all my fault!'
Yami yelled to himself as he ran as fast as he could. Tears escaped his eyelids as thoughts of Joey entered his mind. The tears grew so heavy that they blurred his vision. He didn't care, as long as he got to see Joey. As he neared the hospital, he could see a couple of ambulance in front of the building. He ran past them and into the hospital, looking as if he was about to faint.
'Hang on pal! I won't let you die!'
~To be continued.......~
No Joey! *tear* That was a terrible ending....I mean....Joey....dying? That was unexpected. I hope to get another chappie up soon, but don't count on it because finals start soon....but I'll do what I can!