DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi.
AUTHOR'S MOOD: ::Shadow's Mirror grins wickedly as evil laughter echoes around her::
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Part 12: Joey and Téa
By Shadow's Mirror
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"Man, when I get my hands on Tristan…" Joey was still grumbling when he spotted a familiar figure walking along the park walkway ahead of him. "Hey Téa! Wait up!" He ran to catch up to the girl, who he hadn't seen since the day before.
"Huh? Oh, hi Joey." Téa smiled at him, although she seemed to be somewhat distracted. After his encounter with Kaiba, Joey wasn't surprised about that. He knew he'd have to say something.
"Hey. Um… Téa… about what happened yesterday… between you and Kaiba…" As usual, Joey charged in head first, with no real thought to tact or subtlety.
"What? N… Nothing happened between Kaiba and I! R… Really!" Téa eyed Joey nervously, trying desperately to keep calm. There was no way he could know what had happened, she told herself.
"Relax Téa. I know what he did to you. He did the same thing to me." Joey smiled at her, trying to be as reassuring as he could be. After that experience, he was sure she'd want to talk to someone and this wasn't really something she could take to Yugi. There was no way of knowing how Yami would react, but Joey suspected that it wouldn't be pretty. Yami was very protective of his friends.
"…" Téa stared at Joey in shock, her mind struggling against the mental image that the boy's words had summoned. She didn't doubt Joey for a heartbeat. She knew he'd never lie to her. Of course, there was always the possibility that Kaiba had lied to Joey about what had happened. The more Téa thought about it, the more it made sense. "Um… are you sure Kaiba wasn't lying to you?"
"Sure I'm sure! See, I snuck in and demanded to know what he'd done to you and I dared him to try it with me. So he did. Only I… Why are you looking at me like that?" Téa was giving him the half compassionate and half 'I can't believe he fell for it' look that she gave him whenever he let someone rile him over nothing. Which happened more often than Joey cared to think about.
"If Kaiba had done to you what he did to me, you would have put him in the hospital. It's nice of you to try and cheer me up Joey but I'm…" Téa shook her head, unable to bring herself to finish what she was saying. She couldn't say that she was over it… because she wasn't.
"I guess there's only one way to prove it…" Joey got his familiar 'I know this is stupid, but man it's gonna be fun' look in his eyes as he smirked at Téa. She frowned at him in confusion.
"Joey what are you… mmmppphhh!" Téa's eyes flew wide in shock as Joey proved that he knew exactly what Kaiba had done to her the day before.
Footsteps echoed on the path behind them. Someone was coming. Téa and Joey started to move apart, but they were too late.
"Huh? Joey Wheeler! Téa?!" Mai Valentine stared at the two blushing teenagers then shook her head, more than a little shocked. She eyed Téa thoughtfully. "It's always the quiet ones you have to watch out for…"
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