Zero: thank you for the reviews!! Wow...you people review fast! ^^ Anyway,
about being hard on Joey...well, all I can say is I must believe in that
you-hurt-the-one-you-love thing. He will be ok in the end!! *nods*
And now about Mai...ok, so she's not in that school...or in school at all,
but she's needed here. So She'll be Joey's age about. Ok? Hope that doesn't
get confusing.
DISCLAIMER: Don't own, wish I did.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
'Dear Diary,
I'm out on da streets for the 2nd time this week...I've got me a buddy down here now. His name's Duke. Won't tell me any more than that. Says he goes to my school. Well, I've never seen him there...
Anyway, he's been on the streets longer than I have by the looks of it. He calls it a game, says he has a place to go to in the winter or when it rains. Can't see why anyone would choose out here instead of a house, though.
The sun's going down...I'd better wrap this up so I won't go blind trying to see the words.'
"Hey, Puppy-dog!"
'Duke's back...usual greeting of-wait!'
Joey Wheeler turned from his diary to face the other boy. "What was that? What did you just call me???"
"Cool your jets, man. I didn't mean nothin'," Duke replied coolly.
Joey started to fume then remembered this was the only person that'd talk to him out here and calmed down. He growled and turned back to the book, latching it shut.
"What's that?" Duke asked, peering over Joey's shoulder.
"My Will," Joey replied, tucking the book carefully into the gym bag.
"You planning on dying on me?"
"When I step foot back in my own house, I'm dead."
"It can't be that bad."
"Wanna go back in my place?"
"No thank you!"
Joey smirked and pulled up the rag that would be considered a blanket. He wrapped himself in it and rolled over so his back was facing Duke.
"Going to sleep already, Puppy?" Duke asked innocently.
Joey nodded. "I gotta test tomorrow...and I'm tired."
Duke shrugged and sat cross-legged on his blanket. He was silent as Joey slept.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The next morning
Joey rolled out of his cocoon as the sun began to rise. He yawned, stretched, and looked around. Duke was lying curled up on his blanket, snoring softly.
Joey got up and changed quickly. Their little alley was tucked between and behind two or three buildings, so he didn't need to worry about any punk watching or picking fights with him.
He picked up his schoolbooks, tucked the gym bag in a crack in the wall, and whispered 'good-bye' to Duke, who only rolled over in his sleep.
As Joey walked up the path to the school, the sun was already climbing higher in the sky. The first bell was just ringing as Joey walked in.
'Perfect timing!' He thought triumphantly.
He walked to his locker and put in his number code. He grabbed what books he'd need and stuffed the rest into the crammed space before shutting the door.
He met up with Yugi on the way to their homeroom.
"Good morning, Joey!" Yugi called happily, bouncing over to him. Joey couldn't help but smile at his friend. Yugi's attitude was catchy.
"Mornin', Yug," he replied.
They walked into the room. Joey sighed, thinking that maybe today, his luck would change.
By History class, Joey was in high spirits. His test in Math hadn't been as hard as he'd expected and he just felt good about being away from his father and rotting house.
His grin faded as soon as he walked into the room.
Kaiba was already in there, chatting with his fans. When Joey appeared at the door, he glanced in his direction and did a good imitation of a puppy begging for food. The crowd went wild with laughter.
Joey scowled and sat at desk furthest away from Kaiba and his pals.
The bell rang and the teacher walked in. He went straight up to the board and began a very boring lecture on taxes. The teacher completely ignored Kaiba, who was sitting on the desk right in front of him making puppy-dog motions and other things.
Joey sighed and concentrated hard on the lecture.
By lunch the next period, Joey wasn't feeling any better. It seemed that Kaiba lived only for his factory, girls, and tormenting Joey.
Yugi bounced over, sliding his tray onto the table and sitting next to his friend. "Hello, Joey. How'd the morning classes go?"
Joey sighed and pointed. It seemed as if the brown-haired jerk never ran out of insults. Still making puppy-dog motions, Kaiba sat with his back to their table. Just then, a kid a little younger than Joey got shoved by a bigger kid and accidentally rammed into Kaiba. Kaiba stood; the crowd- the whole lunch room- went silent. Yugi's mouth was slightly open.
Kaiba looked at the boy, now on the floor. "Excuse me?"
"I-I'm s-s-sorry, M-mister," The boy, clearly a junior, replied, standing up.
Kaiba brushed himself off and glared down at the boy. "Watch where you're going. I'm having a good day. Stay out of my way!"
The cafeteria 'ooh-ed' and 'ahh-ed' as Kaiba sat back down. A few clapped.
Yugi blinked and turned to Joey.
"That's how I ran into him at this school," Joey said, turning back to his food. "And I haven't had a days peace and quiet yet!"
"That was only yesterday," Yugi replied, sipping his juice.
Joey shrugged.
Just then, Mai walked into the room. She quickly got her food and walked over to their table. "Hello, boys," She said pleasantly, sitting down.
"Did you see that?" Yugi asked, nodding over at Kaiba.
"See what?" Mai followed Yugi's gaze, but shook her head, confused.
"That creep just mowed over some kid," Joey replied.
"That's not what happened!" Yugi said. He turned to Mai and filled her in. Back at Kaiba's table, a girl with short blonde curls was gesturing over at their table, then making a lovey-dovey face and kissing the air. Joey realized she knew he was watching and Kaiba smirked.
Joey looked over at Mai, then back at the others. The girl nodded and pointed at him and kissed the air again. Joey growled and ignored them.
"Joey?"
"Yeah, Mai?"
"What was that about?"
Joey blinked then blushed, realizing Mai meant the exchange between him and that girl. "Nothing," he replied quickly.
Mai raised an eyebrow, but didn't push the matter. "There's a dance next week!" She said cheerfully. "You two going?"
Yugi nodded. "Tea should be back by then!"
Joey shrugged. Dancing was the last thing on his mind right now.
Mai continued to chat about the dance and which cute guys she was going to ask. Joey sighed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~After School
Joey walked towards his house. The place seemed dark and gloomy since there were no lights on. Joey snuck around to the back door and quietly went in. He needed a new outfit for the next day, and he'd hoped he could catch a shower.
Joey winced as the door creaked loudly as it swung open. He looked in. Nothing. He took a step in. Nothing. He shrugged off the feeling that he shouldn't be there and crept up to his room. He turned the doorknob and opened the door. What he saw made his mouth drop open.
There was blood covering his bed, pictures thrown across the room with the glass broken. There were broken beer bottles on the floor. Two lumps in his bed proved that he wasn't alone.
One of the lumps shifted, rolling over. Joey saw that it was his father. He started to back out of the room, but his dad's eyes popped open. At first he just stared, as if not seeing anything out of the ordinary. Then he spotted Joey in the doorway, frozen in fear.
He swung his body out of the bed and stood up. He took a step towards Joey. Joey stepped back. Before long, Mr. Wheeler had Joey against a wall. "What the hell you doin' back here boy?" he roared. "Thought I told you ta git!"
Joey gulped. "I-I just came back t-to w-wash up."
"What am I? You're baby-sitter?! Get outta here and get a damn job!"
Joey flattened himself against the wall, turning his head slightly to miss the terrible smell of his father's putrid breath. It smelled of beer and other alcohol.
"Y-yes sir!" Joey stammered. His father cuffed him around the ear, hard, and threw him away from him.
Joey scrambled away and was out the door by the time his father made it down the stairs.
It all happened in one swift movement.
Mr. Wheeler picked up a beer bottle and hurled it out the open door at his son. It hit him squarely on the back; throwing him off balance and making him trip. He rolled over and over before stopping in the middle of the street.
He sat up groggily and looked around. His dad had disappeared back into the house. Everything was quiet. Instead of being clean, as in the plan, Joey was covered in dirt.
He stood up, trying to brush himself off. He shook his head to clear his vision, and found that his arm throbbed painfully. It wasn't broken- he could flex it all right. It just hurt.
He took a step towards the opposite side of the road, just as he noticed headlights appear over a hill in the road. He froze. The car was coming at full speed- straight at him!
He took a step back on instinct, his mind fogging up and not allowing him to think straight. He was going to die.
Right after that thought, he noticed who the driver in the bright red convertible was. Non-other than Kaiba himself.
At the last moment, Kaiba saw the obstacle in his path and managed to swerve away from Joey, who finally found his brains and dived off the road, rolling through the grass on the other side.
Kaiba got out and strode towards the blond. "What the hell were you thinking, Wheeler?!" Kaiba said severely. "Sleeping out in the middle of the road??"
Joey blinked and stood up, brushing clumps of dirt off his already dirty uniform. His head hurt, along with his arm. His legs felt wobbly. He'd just escaped Death.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zero: 'nother chapter up!! And on a roll!! ^^ Anyway, a cliffy ^^ stay tuned for the next chapter of...Joey's Diary! The next chapter will begin with a diary entry as usual...it'll tell what all happened! ^^
DISCLAIMER: Don't own, wish I did.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
'Dear Diary,
I'm out on da streets for the 2nd time this week...I've got me a buddy down here now. His name's Duke. Won't tell me any more than that. Says he goes to my school. Well, I've never seen him there...
Anyway, he's been on the streets longer than I have by the looks of it. He calls it a game, says he has a place to go to in the winter or when it rains. Can't see why anyone would choose out here instead of a house, though.
The sun's going down...I'd better wrap this up so I won't go blind trying to see the words.'
"Hey, Puppy-dog!"
'Duke's back...usual greeting of-wait!'
Joey Wheeler turned from his diary to face the other boy. "What was that? What did you just call me???"
"Cool your jets, man. I didn't mean nothin'," Duke replied coolly.
Joey started to fume then remembered this was the only person that'd talk to him out here and calmed down. He growled and turned back to the book, latching it shut.
"What's that?" Duke asked, peering over Joey's shoulder.
"My Will," Joey replied, tucking the book carefully into the gym bag.
"You planning on dying on me?"
"When I step foot back in my own house, I'm dead."
"It can't be that bad."
"Wanna go back in my place?"
"No thank you!"
Joey smirked and pulled up the rag that would be considered a blanket. He wrapped himself in it and rolled over so his back was facing Duke.
"Going to sleep already, Puppy?" Duke asked innocently.
Joey nodded. "I gotta test tomorrow...and I'm tired."
Duke shrugged and sat cross-legged on his blanket. He was silent as Joey slept.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The next morning
Joey rolled out of his cocoon as the sun began to rise. He yawned, stretched, and looked around. Duke was lying curled up on his blanket, snoring softly.
Joey got up and changed quickly. Their little alley was tucked between and behind two or three buildings, so he didn't need to worry about any punk watching or picking fights with him.
He picked up his schoolbooks, tucked the gym bag in a crack in the wall, and whispered 'good-bye' to Duke, who only rolled over in his sleep.
As Joey walked up the path to the school, the sun was already climbing higher in the sky. The first bell was just ringing as Joey walked in.
'Perfect timing!' He thought triumphantly.
He walked to his locker and put in his number code. He grabbed what books he'd need and stuffed the rest into the crammed space before shutting the door.
He met up with Yugi on the way to their homeroom.
"Good morning, Joey!" Yugi called happily, bouncing over to him. Joey couldn't help but smile at his friend. Yugi's attitude was catchy.
"Mornin', Yug," he replied.
They walked into the room. Joey sighed, thinking that maybe today, his luck would change.
By History class, Joey was in high spirits. His test in Math hadn't been as hard as he'd expected and he just felt good about being away from his father and rotting house.
His grin faded as soon as he walked into the room.
Kaiba was already in there, chatting with his fans. When Joey appeared at the door, he glanced in his direction and did a good imitation of a puppy begging for food. The crowd went wild with laughter.
Joey scowled and sat at desk furthest away from Kaiba and his pals.
The bell rang and the teacher walked in. He went straight up to the board and began a very boring lecture on taxes. The teacher completely ignored Kaiba, who was sitting on the desk right in front of him making puppy-dog motions and other things.
Joey sighed and concentrated hard on the lecture.
By lunch the next period, Joey wasn't feeling any better. It seemed that Kaiba lived only for his factory, girls, and tormenting Joey.
Yugi bounced over, sliding his tray onto the table and sitting next to his friend. "Hello, Joey. How'd the morning classes go?"
Joey sighed and pointed. It seemed as if the brown-haired jerk never ran out of insults. Still making puppy-dog motions, Kaiba sat with his back to their table. Just then, a kid a little younger than Joey got shoved by a bigger kid and accidentally rammed into Kaiba. Kaiba stood; the crowd- the whole lunch room- went silent. Yugi's mouth was slightly open.
Kaiba looked at the boy, now on the floor. "Excuse me?"
"I-I'm s-s-sorry, M-mister," The boy, clearly a junior, replied, standing up.
Kaiba brushed himself off and glared down at the boy. "Watch where you're going. I'm having a good day. Stay out of my way!"
The cafeteria 'ooh-ed' and 'ahh-ed' as Kaiba sat back down. A few clapped.
Yugi blinked and turned to Joey.
"That's how I ran into him at this school," Joey said, turning back to his food. "And I haven't had a days peace and quiet yet!"
"That was only yesterday," Yugi replied, sipping his juice.
Joey shrugged.
Just then, Mai walked into the room. She quickly got her food and walked over to their table. "Hello, boys," She said pleasantly, sitting down.
"Did you see that?" Yugi asked, nodding over at Kaiba.
"See what?" Mai followed Yugi's gaze, but shook her head, confused.
"That creep just mowed over some kid," Joey replied.
"That's not what happened!" Yugi said. He turned to Mai and filled her in. Back at Kaiba's table, a girl with short blonde curls was gesturing over at their table, then making a lovey-dovey face and kissing the air. Joey realized she knew he was watching and Kaiba smirked.
Joey looked over at Mai, then back at the others. The girl nodded and pointed at him and kissed the air again. Joey growled and ignored them.
"Joey?"
"Yeah, Mai?"
"What was that about?"
Joey blinked then blushed, realizing Mai meant the exchange between him and that girl. "Nothing," he replied quickly.
Mai raised an eyebrow, but didn't push the matter. "There's a dance next week!" She said cheerfully. "You two going?"
Yugi nodded. "Tea should be back by then!"
Joey shrugged. Dancing was the last thing on his mind right now.
Mai continued to chat about the dance and which cute guys she was going to ask. Joey sighed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~After School
Joey walked towards his house. The place seemed dark and gloomy since there were no lights on. Joey snuck around to the back door and quietly went in. He needed a new outfit for the next day, and he'd hoped he could catch a shower.
Joey winced as the door creaked loudly as it swung open. He looked in. Nothing. He took a step in. Nothing. He shrugged off the feeling that he shouldn't be there and crept up to his room. He turned the doorknob and opened the door. What he saw made his mouth drop open.
There was blood covering his bed, pictures thrown across the room with the glass broken. There were broken beer bottles on the floor. Two lumps in his bed proved that he wasn't alone.
One of the lumps shifted, rolling over. Joey saw that it was his father. He started to back out of the room, but his dad's eyes popped open. At first he just stared, as if not seeing anything out of the ordinary. Then he spotted Joey in the doorway, frozen in fear.
He swung his body out of the bed and stood up. He took a step towards Joey. Joey stepped back. Before long, Mr. Wheeler had Joey against a wall. "What the hell you doin' back here boy?" he roared. "Thought I told you ta git!"
Joey gulped. "I-I just came back t-to w-wash up."
"What am I? You're baby-sitter?! Get outta here and get a damn job!"
Joey flattened himself against the wall, turning his head slightly to miss the terrible smell of his father's putrid breath. It smelled of beer and other alcohol.
"Y-yes sir!" Joey stammered. His father cuffed him around the ear, hard, and threw him away from him.
Joey scrambled away and was out the door by the time his father made it down the stairs.
It all happened in one swift movement.
Mr. Wheeler picked up a beer bottle and hurled it out the open door at his son. It hit him squarely on the back; throwing him off balance and making him trip. He rolled over and over before stopping in the middle of the street.
He sat up groggily and looked around. His dad had disappeared back into the house. Everything was quiet. Instead of being clean, as in the plan, Joey was covered in dirt.
He stood up, trying to brush himself off. He shook his head to clear his vision, and found that his arm throbbed painfully. It wasn't broken- he could flex it all right. It just hurt.
He took a step towards the opposite side of the road, just as he noticed headlights appear over a hill in the road. He froze. The car was coming at full speed- straight at him!
He took a step back on instinct, his mind fogging up and not allowing him to think straight. He was going to die.
Right after that thought, he noticed who the driver in the bright red convertible was. Non-other than Kaiba himself.
At the last moment, Kaiba saw the obstacle in his path and managed to swerve away from Joey, who finally found his brains and dived off the road, rolling through the grass on the other side.
Kaiba got out and strode towards the blond. "What the hell were you thinking, Wheeler?!" Kaiba said severely. "Sleeping out in the middle of the road??"
Joey blinked and stood up, brushing clumps of dirt off his already dirty uniform. His head hurt, along with his arm. His legs felt wobbly. He'd just escaped Death.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zero: 'nother chapter up!! And on a roll!! ^^ Anyway, a cliffy ^^ stay tuned for the next chapter of...Joey's Diary! The next chapter will begin with a diary entry as usual...it'll tell what all happened! ^^