Chapter 21 Of unlocked doors and promises

Disclaimer: Ugh, I wrote this chapter after six hours on the road in a van with 10 other people in it, but I still got it finished. When I got this far, I hadn't even gotten to Florida yet. It was miserable. I don't own

Yu-Gi-Oh.

"Serenity?" Joey knocked on her door. "Serenity, open the door. We need to talk to you."

She said nothing, but continued sobbing into her pillow.

"Serenity, it's Tristan. Do you want to talk about it?" He asked softly.

"No!" She shouted hatefully.

"Serenity, please talk to me…" Joey knocked on the door again. "I'm worried about you!"

"Go away!"

"Serenity, you don't understand. Kaiba's a bad person, he's the type who only cares for himself. He's…Serenity, please just trust me, you don't want to go messing with him. I learned that the hard way when we dueled him.

"But this isn't a duel, Joey! When will you get it through your thick skull? I love Seto, and he loves me!"

Joey sighed and pulled a penny from his pocket. He slid it into the flat keyhole and turned it. Serenity could see the lock turning.

"Serenity," Joey said, stepping into her room. "I was the one who taught you how to unlock this door from the outside, remember?"

Tristan timidly walked into her room and looked around in awe. (You know that he has to be in heaven!)

Serenity turned away from them and looked out the window. The tree was outside her window was covered in snow.

"Come on Serenity." he sat down on her bed and touched her cheek. "He can't have meant that much to you…"

"Joey…how do you feel about Mai?"
"We've been over this. Me an' Mai have a relationship stronger than anything. You and that…person have nothing. Kaiba is a man who has no feeling except hatred."

"He told me he loves me…"

"Serenity, don't you understand? Kaiba was probably just using you to get back at me."

"Seto would never do that…" She whispered. "When he kisses me…"

"Kisses? As in…more than once?!" Joey turned that strange shade of purple again.

"Yes." She said defiantly.

"G…J…Mom!" Joey ran downstairs. Tristan, unsure of what to do next, followed, closing the door behind him. Serenity picked up the phone.

Okay, that was going to be the end of this chapter, but I figured that it would be way too short, so I added the next chapter. It fits anyway.

That night, Seto returned to his office. What a fool he had been, to let some woman get between him and his work. And not just any woman: Serenity Wheeler! How could he have been so stupid? How could he have thought that he could have a relationship with the sister of the friend of his biggest rival.

But then…she had seemed so…different. She wasn't like all the other girls who hung all over him. She was just…different…and he liked that.

His fingers typed quickly, trying to finish. He would be up after midnight once again, and all because he had been blinded by Serenity.

Mokuba was downstairs, shivering slightly. What had just happened? He had gone upstairs to ask his brother how his day with Serenity had gone, and he replied curtly "It's over. Now go and don't bother me right now!"

"Brother…" Mokuba said out loud as he sat downstairs "What happened?" All that he had worked for, trying to get Seto to be happy. Had been blown in a single day. Seto didn't know how long he had been looking for someone for him, and Serenity had seemed so perfect…

Seto was typing away, not even half way through the document, when the telephone rang. He instinctively picked up while typing with his other hand.

"Kaiba residence." he rested the phone on his shoulder and continued typing.

"…Seto?" A soft, timid voice said his name. It was her voice. Seto stopped typing and almost dropped the phone.

"S-Serenity!" he gasped. "What are you doing calling me? Won't Joey blow a fuse?"
"What he doesn't know won't hurt him." She whispered.

"Oh, Serenity…" Seto breathed. "I'm so sorry about what happened today…"

"It's not your fault. She said softly. Seto breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't blame him…

"So…is this the end of our relationship?" Seto asked, even though he was utterly scared of what the answer might be.

"I don't know…I don't want it to be. I still love you, Seto."

"I love you, too. And Serenity, I promise, I'll find a way for us to be together. I promise…"