The Science of Attraction 4
IceAngelDarkMoon
****Thanks to all of you who reviewed my story. I never expected that many reviews. I never expected anything, because I never planned on writing this story, but it is now my main one. It has taken the lead in words and chapters. Hopefully it will take the lead in reviews. IADM****
For anyone that I have been confusing 'IADM' is just an abbreviation of my name, IceAngelDarkMoon. But depending on how I feel I'll use IADM or Ice, either way it is still me writing. Thanks for reminding me to tell people, Mew-Magic5!! I am also a girl, but I do admit with the way I act it might be hard to tell!!!
There will be just what is left over from the beating, no new beatings. But there will be more hints at shonen-ai, but nothing too bad. Please enjoy this chapter; it should be one of the longer ones!!
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The sharp pain in Joey's side woke him the next morning. He groaned when he realized it was only 7:30 in the morning. He hated the weekends, because it meant his father didn't have to work. As he got dressed he realized how bad the beating from the day before was, he was polka dotted blue and black. There were even hints of green in the really sore spots. He couldn't really recall much of the day before, but he didn't try very hard to remember either. He got dressed in silence and then slipped down to into the kitchen even quieter then he had gotten dressed. His father was stilled passed out on the floor of the family room. Joey gave a small sigh of relief, he could leave and his father wouldn't realize he was gone until that night at diner. He would not be late again, that was for sure, but there would still be a beating for something there always was. He grabbed a granola bar and headed out of the door.
He thought as he walked, he didn't care where he went; he just had to get away. His feet were the ones choosing his path and he didn't care how far away they took him, he just knew it would never be far enough to escape his father. He ate his granola bar slowly as he walked down the street. His memory was back, like it always was and it was painful but there was another memory. If someone had told him a week ago he and Kaiba would have a fun and friendly pillow fight, he would have slugged them for being so crazy. Something was still bugging him, why had Kaiba cared so much about that bruise on his arm? And something he was curious about was something Mokuba had said to him, who had hurt Seto before? And what about Mokuba saying Kaiba was capable of love? That thought was still very unrealistic in Joey's mind; Kaiba could never stop being his selfish self to care for anyone. Joey stopped thinking about it, his head hurt from trying to think that in-depth after the beating form the night before. He realized his feet were taking him to his favorite spot in the world. One were no one would find him and he could be alone for as long as he liked. He knew that he really should call Kaiba about getting together to finish their project, but he didn't want to talk to anyone at the moment. He needed time alone to think about everything that had happened the day before, and feel safe for at least a little while.
Safe, loved, and comforted were all words Joey had thrown out since his parents divorce. He didn't even think he'd ever be able to feel any of them ever again.
He got to his favorite place in the world. He remembered stumbling across it after one of his father's earliest beatings. He had been wandering around aimlessly for a while when he found it. It was tucked out of the main area of the park. It was right on the edge of the open playing field. He had spent so much time hiding there it was like his new home. It was a large weeping willow tree that overlooked the playing field majestically. He always climbed into the branches and pretended he was invisible to the world. He would watch the live of the people who walked under it and feel envious of them. He really hated the little kids who had fathers to push them on the swings and play games with them. It always reminded him of what he didn't have for a family. He felt like he had missed something, and that he must have done something to deserve to live this hell he called life (sorry I don't usually cuss, but I couldn't think of a better way to put this thought). He didn't even care or really even feel it when he let a single tear fall from his eyes and spilled down his cheek. He always felt like the willow was there to catch his tears and had been planted just for him and his tears. He didn't realize he had drifted to sleep in the tree until the noise of boys playing a game below him woke him.
He peered down at the boys below him through the branches of his tree, and refuge. He was surprised to see it was some of his classmates playing football. He wanted to play, but he would wait for a good entrance. After a few minutes the chance he had been waiting for happened. One boy broke free form the mass and headed towards the area that served as the end zone. Just when the boy thought he had all but scored he passed under Joey's tree, and Joey jumped out of the tree onto the boy. The boy now knew what it felt like to be a pancake and he didn't like it! The opposing team cheered for Joey and ran over to him. When they reached him they immediately asked him to join their team, and he accepted, but the other team wanted another player to make the teams even. Joey had to go and find some sucker to play for the other team. Then to his surprise as he was scanning the park he saw Kaiba walking a little ways off. He smirked and headed over to Kaiba to convince him to play football with them.
"Who would ever have thought that a rich pig like you would grace a park with your presence." Joey scoffed as he got close to the other boy. Kaiba seemed just a little surprised to see him standing there, but the surprise quickly faded.
"Well it figures the mutt would go to the park to get his walk, and romp about with the other fleabags." Kaiba sneered at the blonde boy. It was their usual way to greet each other.
"They," Joey pointed over his shoulder to the group of boys, "say I have to find some pathetic life form to play on the other team so I can join. I assume you don't want to play because you would have to play with the 'other fleabags', but I think you're just afraid my team would beat yours." Joey was playing his cards just right, and he saw the anger and challenge in Seto's eyes. Joey had won!
"Let me get this straight you need someone to join the other team so you can play?"
"Unless you're too afraid to play." Joey could see the anger swelling in Kaiba's blue eyes.
"Fine I'll play, but as soon as the game is over we have to finish the project." Kaiba's cerulean blue eyes hide any emotion as they headed back to the football area.
"Deal, but don't get mad when your team suffers a horrible beating from my team." Joey ducked the halfhearted swing at his face. The game progressed and the teams seemed to be pretty evenly matched. Kaiba turned out to be a really good player; maybe it was his lack of fear when tackling someone. But the whole game came down to the last play.
Both teams were tied with the same score; Joey's team had the ball and was within scoring distance. But both teams had decided the game had to end, so Joey's team could either score in this last play or the game would be a draw. The quarterback from Joey's team got the ball and pulled back, and launched a pass to Joey. Joey caught the pass and ran towards the end zone, the whole time dodging the other team. Just when he thought he would score and win Kaiba came out of nowhere and tackled Joey. Joey ended up one football length short of winning the game. Both Joey and Seto were stunned at what had happened, Seto wasn't sure if he would get Joey and Joey wasn't sure Kaiba would get him. They lay like they had fallen for a few moments, too tired and shocked to move. Seto on top of Joey pinning him down, and Joey suddenly became aware of how close they were and what they must look like to any passerby. Joey was face down in the grass and Seto's arms were around him like they were when he was tackled. Kaiba's head was in the crock of Joey's neck and his warm breath tickled Joey's ear and neck. Joey suddenly began to realize how heavy Kaiba was on top of him as his chest reminded him of the beating he had had the day before. But for some unknown reason his heart speed up, he didn't like that he wasn't sure what he was feeling. He was really have trouble breathing now, with someone on top of him, the pain from his beating, and his heart racing for some unknown reason.
"Are you going to stay there all day? Let me remind you that even though you worship the ground I walk on I don't like you like that." Joey joked, continuing the joke from the day before, he couldn't bring himself to say anything mean at the moment. Kaiba flushed into Joey's neck and started to try and get up. He found they had a problem; his hands were locked together under Joey and himself.
"Mutt, as much as I would like to get off of you, my hands are stuck under you. I can't get up unless you get up, too." Kaiba said tickling Joey's ear with his words. "On the count of three, roll to the right and I can then unlock my hands and we can get up." Joey nodded, and accidentally brushed his head and Kaiba's together. "One, two, three!" They rolled to the right, but neither one had realized they were at the edge of the field, and were on the hill above the park pond. When they rolled to the right their momentum continued to roll them right down the hill. They hit the pond in a tangle of arms and legs. Joey knew that if it was any one else he was watching it would have been really funny, but not when it was he and Kaiba. On the way down, unbeknownst to Joey, Kaiba had hit his head on something and was not conscious as they entered the water. Joey broke above the water gasping for air and gulping it down, he would never let Kaiba forget that this was his entirely fault. Joey looked around and realized Seto still hadn't come up for air yet. He suddenly felt bad in the pit of his stomach like something was gnawing away in there; he didn't like that feeling. He scanned the water with his eyes and to his horror found Seto lying just beneath the surface a few yards away. In a few powerful strokes he was there pulling Seto up. But the rescuing was not over yet, he had to get Seto to shore, he had stopped breathing. In a moment they were on the edge of the pond, and Joey was administering chest pumps. The boys up at the football hill were just starting to follow were Joey and Kaiba had gone, they thought the two had been fighting there on the ground. But now they could see something was wrong. Joey was thinking to himself trying to remember what all you were suppose to do if someone stopped breathing. He cringed only a little when he remembered that if Seto didn't start breathing soon he would have to do mouth to mouth resuscitation.
"Come on Seto breath" Joey said to the still body. Joey was no longer if looking at the still form he was looking at the boys coming down the hill to help with what they could. To himself Joey whispered, "I don't want to waste my first kiss on someone who can't return it." (Notice he didn't say he didn't want to kiss Seto ~_*)
"What was that?" a raged voice below him asked. Kaiba had woken up but Joey had been to busy hoping to notice.
"I said I didn't want to waste my breath to try and resuscitate you. That would be my worst nightmare to have to kiss you to save you and have to put up with you for even longer. The only reason I saved was to get a good grade on the project." But even as he said all that he could feel he didn't mean it. That confused Joey, he hated Seto, right? Wait he had called him Seto again in his thoughts, why was his mind acting up like this? The boys who had come down dispersed seeing that the show was over.
"Was that the only reason you saved me?" Seto, no Kaiba asked, his voice was quite and unreadable.
Joey knew that there were other reasons he had saved Kaiba, but he didn't want to think about it. "No that wasn't the only reason I saved you." Joey was still fighting the alien feelings that had grown inside him since he had first realized Seto was in danger. Now he felt funny, kind of light and almost feathery. He decided he was losing his mind and stood up quickly. Seto followed suit and stood up next to the blonde boy that had just saved his life.
"Thanks mutt, fir saving me." Kaiba's voice was still quite but it was sincerely held. Joey was perturbed at Kaiba's use of the nickname he had given Joey. Joey wanted Seto to recognize him as an equal not just as a rescuer. The Kaiba asked something else, "Did you call me 'Seto' just then?" Joey hadn't even realized his slip until Seto pointed it out. But why had that name just slipped off his tongue so easily? And why was it even coming out in his thoughts?
"You're hearing things!" Joey said trying to convince both Kaiba and himself that that was all. He started up the hill and Kaiba followed his lead. (Don't ask what happened to the football, I think it's in the pond!)
"We can go to my house now and work on the project. You could borrow some clothes until yours are finished being cleaned." Kaiba offered, he hadn't really thought that Joey would accept. He was expecting a smart alike remark about even the thought of wearing Kaiba's clothes.
But Joey was starting to fell the bruises from the night before, again. He didn't want to go home until it was time for diner, even then he didn't want to but he would have to. "Alright, but I get to chose the clothes!" Kaiba nodded agreeing, and covered his surprise. "What were you doing in the park in the first place?" Joey asked he wanted to know why a rich kid who had everything would want to come to the public park. Kaiba didn't seem like your normal park appreciator. They were getting close to Kaiba's mansion now and their clothes ha stopped dripping but were still soaked.
"I was looking for you," Seto started, Joey did a double fault but Kaiba ignored him. "I looked for you at Yugi's grandfather's shop, since I didn't have your phone number. Yugi said you were probably at the park and also asked me not to call you. He said you would most likely be near the grassy area in the park. And guess what, he was right!" Joey laughed at the statement.
TBC
Hope you all like it!!! Joey is falling in love slowly but the next chapter is very important. I will not be able to post until after Thanksgiving, I won't even be near a computer. The pond scene was an after though to the story, how was it? Please tell me what you want to see happen and what you think. IADM