Bakura ran down the steps to the school to meet the gang. He jumped the last few, then ran over to his friends.
"Hi!" he said happily. He was in an extraordinarily good mood. After spending the day with Alex he usually was.
"Hi!" Tea said.
"You're in a good mood," Tristan commented.
Bakura simply nodded, shoving his hands in his pockets.
"Come on, are we goin' to Yugi's or not?" Joey asked, starting down the road.
The gang nodded and followed Joey. Bakura looked over his shoulder to see Alex head down the sidewalk in the opposite direction. As he watched, she bent down to pick up an old soda can from the grass. She lifted her arms in the air and tossed it into the trashcan a few feet away from her. He held in a laugh as she punched the air and pretended like she had just scored in basketball. Then she suddenly looked around to see if anyone saw her and shoved her hands in her pockets as she continued down the sidewalk.
"Hey, Bakura," Joey said, waving his hand in front of his friend's face. "You okay?"
Bakura's head snapped around and he blushed. "Uh... yeah," he said.
Yugi and Tea exchanged looks that Bakura didn't see. They walked in silence until they reached the shop. The gang greeted Grandpa Motou and headed upstairs. When they entered Yugi's room, they just sort of sat around silent for a moment.
- This is a little weird, - Bakura thought. "Is something wrong?" he asked.
Tea shook her head, then grinned. "Are we having a repeat of Elsie?" she asked.
Bakura stared at her and blushed furiously. "Ahhh... no... uh..." he stuttered, remembering Elsie Bridges.
The gang just grinned.
"Well, Alex is better than Elsie, that's for sure," Yugi said.
Bakura's face flushed a deeper red. "What? N-no... Alex and I are just friends..." he stuttered.
"Bakura, practically the whole school knows the only time you run into things is when you like a girl," Tristan said.
Bakura stared at him. "N-no... I... we...we're just friends... that's all!"
"Maybe, but that's not really what you want, is it?" Tea asked.
Bakura stared at her, color flooding his face. His heart was pounding in his nervousness. He felt rather stupid; the second girl he'd liked in a year. Joey and Tristan would never let him live it down.
"It was pretty funny when you dropped your backpack," Yugi said and the gang laughed, making Bakura flush.
"I... I didn't get a good hold on it," he stammered.
"She obviously doesn't have a clue," Tea said, in a matter-of-fact sort of tone.
"Um... that's good," Bakura said, wishing the ground would open up and swallow him.
"So you're admitting it?" Joey asked.
Bakura wanted to disappear. "N-no... I..."
"He doesn't have to admit it, Joey. It was pretty obvious when he walked into the locker the other day," Yugi said.
"That wasn't my fault! I didn't see the girl open the door!" Bakura protested.
"Because you were looking at Alex," Tristan said with a grin.
"Um... she had just said something that surprised me, that's all," he said.
"What'd she say?" Joey asked.
"She... wanted to know if I'd go the arcade with her," he said.
Tea laughed. "No wonder you walked into the locker!"
Bakura put a hand over his face to hide the fact he was blushing. "You were better when it was Elsie," he said.
Joey scowled. "No, we were trying to talk you out of Elsie," he said.
"Well, you weren't poking fun at me then," Bakura said, taking his face out of his hand.
"We're not poking fun," Yugi said. "It's just sort of..."
"Cute," Tea finished, making Bakura cover his face again.
"All right, how is this any different than Elsie?" Bakura asked, looking back at them.
"Well, for one thing, Alex isn't a prep," Joey said.
"Yeah, Elsie was a real snob," Tea said.
"Snob doesn't begin to describe it," Tristan groaned.
"Alex may have attitude, but she's a heck of a lot nicer than Elsie. Especially to you," Tea said with a grin.
Bakura blushed, realizing it was true. She was nicer to him than to anyone else, except for maybe David. He began to think of the times she had laughed at him and wondered if maybe... No. He wasn't going to start analyzing everything she did. That was pathetic.
"Yeah, did you ever wonder why you're the only one who she'll smile at or talk civilly to?" Yugi asked.
"Uh... no, not really," Bakura said, thinking about it. "Wait, no, I'm not. David too. She's nice to her little brother."
"That's different," Tea said.
"Why?" Bakura asked.
"He's family, Bakura. She has to be nice to him," Tristan said.
Bakura laughed. "No, no she doesn't. She tries to hit her si-mother," he said, stopping himself. He hoped his friends wouldn't catch it.
They didn't show any sign of it.
"She tries to hit her /mother/?" Tea asked incredulously.
Bakura nodded. "According to David, all the time," he said.
"They don't get along very well I guess," Yugi said.
"They're fighting whenever they're in the same room," Bakura said.
"Oh," Tea said.
Bakura checked his watch. 4:12 p.m. He wanted to go home; this conversation was making him very uneasy and embarrassed. "Um... I have to get home. I promised dad I'd help him with dinner," he lied.
"But you just got here!" Joey said.
"I know, sorry, I forgot about dad. I'll see you tomorrow, though," Bakura said, standing up from the bed.
"All right," Tea said. "Bye and good luck with Alex."
Bakura flushed and turned towards the door. "R-right. Bye."
He quickly ran down the stairs and waved to Grandpa Motou as he left the shop. Breathing in relief, he shoved his hands in his pockets and headed home. When the gang had asked him if he wanted to come over, he hadn't known that /that/ was going to be the conversation. He never would have agreed in the first place had he known /that/.
The days were getting colder as each passed. He shivered as a strong wind blew a few dead leaves by him. He found himself wondering what Alex was doing. All right, so maybe he was being slightly pathetic. If he was alone, he could be as pathetic as he wanted.
He smiled to himself and kicked a pebble down the street. After a moment, his smile faded slightly. He remembered how he had dropped his backpack and how Alex had called him on his blush. Did she know? Or was she clueless? If she knew, would she do anything about it, or let him make a fool out of himself? Was she secretly laughing at him, or did she feel something back? He saw no indication of feelings on her end, but was she just hiding it? If she was, she was certainly a good actress.
He snapped out of his thoughts as he walked past Alex's house. He stopped a moment and looked up the driveway. The car was in the driveway, which meant Jade was home. Alex probably wasn't to happy about that. He sighed at his lack of nerves and continued home.
He opened his front door a few minutes later and closed it behind him. "Dad," he called. "I'm home!"
"In here, son!" his father called back from another room.
Bakura followed his voice into the kitchen. Mr. Ryou was lying on his back under the sink, a toolbox next to him. "What are you doing?" Bakura laughed, kneeling down beside his father.
"Fixing the sink," Mr. Ryou replied. "Hand me that wrench." He held out his hand and Bakura put the wrench in it.
He watched his father crank a nut a few times. Suddenly, one of the pipes shot water out at his face. Mr. Ryou pushed himself out from under the sink and sat up, his shirt and hair plastered to his body.
"It has a bit of an attitude problem," he commented, pushing his hair out of his eyes. He took off his glasses and started to wipe them off on his shirt, only to find it wasn't drying them. He shook his head and replaced them on his nose.
Bakura laughed. "Maybe you should call a plumber," he said.
"Nonsense," Mr. Ryou said. "I can take this thing." With that, he moved back under the sink with the wrench. "Hey, Bakura?"
"Yeah?" his son asked.
"Did you see which nut I turned a few minutes ago? There's about three of them here and I can't remember which one it was."
Bakura cracked up and couldn't respond. His father slid back out and sat up. He watched his son laugh for a moment, then started to himself. Soon both of them were laughing so hard they couldn't breathe.
When they finally managed to get control of themselves, Mr. Ryou took off his glasses again and reached over to Bakura, drying them on his shirt.
"Hey!" Bakura laughed.
Mr. Ryou put them back on his face and looked at his son. "There, that's much better. Now you actually look like you're from this planet."
Bakura laughed and looked at his father, who was drenched from the uncooperative pipe.
"Say, why don't we go out tonight? We'll go to a movie and then go to dinner, what do you say?" Mr. Ryou said.
"Yeah, okay," Bakura replied happily. "You might want to change first, though."
His father laughed. "You sure have a way of stating the obvious," he said, standing.
"It's a talent," Bakura said and they laughed. "Are you going to clean this up first?"
Mr. Ryou looked down at the toolbox and the multiple tools lying around the floor. "Nah. I'll get when we come back."
Bakura shrugged. "Okay," he said.
"I'll be right back. I have to go dry off," his father laughed, indicating his shirt. He went upstairs to change and Bakura headed into the living room.
With a glance at the stairs, he picked up the phone and dialed the number for the local plumber. If his father was left to do it, the hot water knob would spout cold and vice versa.
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a/n: lol The next chapter will be Bakura and his dad's night out. How are you liking it? You know how to tell me...
"Hi!" he said happily. He was in an extraordinarily good mood. After spending the day with Alex he usually was.
"Hi!" Tea said.
"You're in a good mood," Tristan commented.
Bakura simply nodded, shoving his hands in his pockets.
"Come on, are we goin' to Yugi's or not?" Joey asked, starting down the road.
The gang nodded and followed Joey. Bakura looked over his shoulder to see Alex head down the sidewalk in the opposite direction. As he watched, she bent down to pick up an old soda can from the grass. She lifted her arms in the air and tossed it into the trashcan a few feet away from her. He held in a laugh as she punched the air and pretended like she had just scored in basketball. Then she suddenly looked around to see if anyone saw her and shoved her hands in her pockets as she continued down the sidewalk.
"Hey, Bakura," Joey said, waving his hand in front of his friend's face. "You okay?"
Bakura's head snapped around and he blushed. "Uh... yeah," he said.
Yugi and Tea exchanged looks that Bakura didn't see. They walked in silence until they reached the shop. The gang greeted Grandpa Motou and headed upstairs. When they entered Yugi's room, they just sort of sat around silent for a moment.
- This is a little weird, - Bakura thought. "Is something wrong?" he asked.
Tea shook her head, then grinned. "Are we having a repeat of Elsie?" she asked.
Bakura stared at her and blushed furiously. "Ahhh... no... uh..." he stuttered, remembering Elsie Bridges.
The gang just grinned.
"Well, Alex is better than Elsie, that's for sure," Yugi said.
Bakura's face flushed a deeper red. "What? N-no... Alex and I are just friends..." he stuttered.
"Bakura, practically the whole school knows the only time you run into things is when you like a girl," Tristan said.
Bakura stared at him. "N-no... I... we...we're just friends... that's all!"
"Maybe, but that's not really what you want, is it?" Tea asked.
Bakura stared at her, color flooding his face. His heart was pounding in his nervousness. He felt rather stupid; the second girl he'd liked in a year. Joey and Tristan would never let him live it down.
"It was pretty funny when you dropped your backpack," Yugi said and the gang laughed, making Bakura flush.
"I... I didn't get a good hold on it," he stammered.
"She obviously doesn't have a clue," Tea said, in a matter-of-fact sort of tone.
"Um... that's good," Bakura said, wishing the ground would open up and swallow him.
"So you're admitting it?" Joey asked.
Bakura wanted to disappear. "N-no... I..."
"He doesn't have to admit it, Joey. It was pretty obvious when he walked into the locker the other day," Yugi said.
"That wasn't my fault! I didn't see the girl open the door!" Bakura protested.
"Because you were looking at Alex," Tristan said with a grin.
"Um... she had just said something that surprised me, that's all," he said.
"What'd she say?" Joey asked.
"She... wanted to know if I'd go the arcade with her," he said.
Tea laughed. "No wonder you walked into the locker!"
Bakura put a hand over his face to hide the fact he was blushing. "You were better when it was Elsie," he said.
Joey scowled. "No, we were trying to talk you out of Elsie," he said.
"Well, you weren't poking fun at me then," Bakura said, taking his face out of his hand.
"We're not poking fun," Yugi said. "It's just sort of..."
"Cute," Tea finished, making Bakura cover his face again.
"All right, how is this any different than Elsie?" Bakura asked, looking back at them.
"Well, for one thing, Alex isn't a prep," Joey said.
"Yeah, Elsie was a real snob," Tea said.
"Snob doesn't begin to describe it," Tristan groaned.
"Alex may have attitude, but she's a heck of a lot nicer than Elsie. Especially to you," Tea said with a grin.
Bakura blushed, realizing it was true. She was nicer to him than to anyone else, except for maybe David. He began to think of the times she had laughed at him and wondered if maybe... No. He wasn't going to start analyzing everything she did. That was pathetic.
"Yeah, did you ever wonder why you're the only one who she'll smile at or talk civilly to?" Yugi asked.
"Uh... no, not really," Bakura said, thinking about it. "Wait, no, I'm not. David too. She's nice to her little brother."
"That's different," Tea said.
"Why?" Bakura asked.
"He's family, Bakura. She has to be nice to him," Tristan said.
Bakura laughed. "No, no she doesn't. She tries to hit her si-mother," he said, stopping himself. He hoped his friends wouldn't catch it.
They didn't show any sign of it.
"She tries to hit her /mother/?" Tea asked incredulously.
Bakura nodded. "According to David, all the time," he said.
"They don't get along very well I guess," Yugi said.
"They're fighting whenever they're in the same room," Bakura said.
"Oh," Tea said.
Bakura checked his watch. 4:12 p.m. He wanted to go home; this conversation was making him very uneasy and embarrassed. "Um... I have to get home. I promised dad I'd help him with dinner," he lied.
"But you just got here!" Joey said.
"I know, sorry, I forgot about dad. I'll see you tomorrow, though," Bakura said, standing up from the bed.
"All right," Tea said. "Bye and good luck with Alex."
Bakura flushed and turned towards the door. "R-right. Bye."
He quickly ran down the stairs and waved to Grandpa Motou as he left the shop. Breathing in relief, he shoved his hands in his pockets and headed home. When the gang had asked him if he wanted to come over, he hadn't known that /that/ was going to be the conversation. He never would have agreed in the first place had he known /that/.
The days were getting colder as each passed. He shivered as a strong wind blew a few dead leaves by him. He found himself wondering what Alex was doing. All right, so maybe he was being slightly pathetic. If he was alone, he could be as pathetic as he wanted.
He smiled to himself and kicked a pebble down the street. After a moment, his smile faded slightly. He remembered how he had dropped his backpack and how Alex had called him on his blush. Did she know? Or was she clueless? If she knew, would she do anything about it, or let him make a fool out of himself? Was she secretly laughing at him, or did she feel something back? He saw no indication of feelings on her end, but was she just hiding it? If she was, she was certainly a good actress.
He snapped out of his thoughts as he walked past Alex's house. He stopped a moment and looked up the driveway. The car was in the driveway, which meant Jade was home. Alex probably wasn't to happy about that. He sighed at his lack of nerves and continued home.
He opened his front door a few minutes later and closed it behind him. "Dad," he called. "I'm home!"
"In here, son!" his father called back from another room.
Bakura followed his voice into the kitchen. Mr. Ryou was lying on his back under the sink, a toolbox next to him. "What are you doing?" Bakura laughed, kneeling down beside his father.
"Fixing the sink," Mr. Ryou replied. "Hand me that wrench." He held out his hand and Bakura put the wrench in it.
He watched his father crank a nut a few times. Suddenly, one of the pipes shot water out at his face. Mr. Ryou pushed himself out from under the sink and sat up, his shirt and hair plastered to his body.
"It has a bit of an attitude problem," he commented, pushing his hair out of his eyes. He took off his glasses and started to wipe them off on his shirt, only to find it wasn't drying them. He shook his head and replaced them on his nose.
Bakura laughed. "Maybe you should call a plumber," he said.
"Nonsense," Mr. Ryou said. "I can take this thing." With that, he moved back under the sink with the wrench. "Hey, Bakura?"
"Yeah?" his son asked.
"Did you see which nut I turned a few minutes ago? There's about three of them here and I can't remember which one it was."
Bakura cracked up and couldn't respond. His father slid back out and sat up. He watched his son laugh for a moment, then started to himself. Soon both of them were laughing so hard they couldn't breathe.
When they finally managed to get control of themselves, Mr. Ryou took off his glasses again and reached over to Bakura, drying them on his shirt.
"Hey!" Bakura laughed.
Mr. Ryou put them back on his face and looked at his son. "There, that's much better. Now you actually look like you're from this planet."
Bakura laughed and looked at his father, who was drenched from the uncooperative pipe.
"Say, why don't we go out tonight? We'll go to a movie and then go to dinner, what do you say?" Mr. Ryou said.
"Yeah, okay," Bakura replied happily. "You might want to change first, though."
His father laughed. "You sure have a way of stating the obvious," he said, standing.
"It's a talent," Bakura said and they laughed. "Are you going to clean this up first?"
Mr. Ryou looked down at the toolbox and the multiple tools lying around the floor. "Nah. I'll get when we come back."
Bakura shrugged. "Okay," he said.
"I'll be right back. I have to go dry off," his father laughed, indicating his shirt. He went upstairs to change and Bakura headed into the living room.
With a glance at the stairs, he picked up the phone and dialed the number for the local plumber. If his father was left to do it, the hot water knob would spout cold and vice versa.
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a/n: lol The next chapter will be Bakura and his dad's night out. How are you liking it? You know how to tell me...