Melika sighed and shut her locker door. She looked over and saw Yula at her own locker, accompanied by Draga. Melika walked over to her friends.
"Hey Yula. Hey Draga," she said.
"Hey Melika," they both said.
"Do you want to do something tonight?" Melika asked.
"Well, we were going to see Gothika at the theatre," said Yula. "But you can come with us if you want. It'll be fun."
"Umm... no thanks. I just remembered that I have something else to do," said Melika, looking down at the floor. She walked past Yula and Draga and out the doors.
"What's up with her?" said Draga.
"I don't know. She's been acting strangely lately," said Yula.
Yula looked over and saw Marik at his locker, getting ready to leave.
"Hey Marik! Wait up!" Yula said, running over to him, Draga right behind. Marik turned around.
"Hey you guys. What's up?"
"Do you know what's up with Melika? She's been acting strange lately."
"Yeah, I've noticed it too. I'll call her tonight; maybe I'll get something out of her."
"OK Marik. See you tomorrow!" With that, they went their separate ways.
Melika lie on her bed, her school jacket and shoes lay piled on the floor next to her. She untied her bow and tossed that aside as well. She began to unbutton her shirt, revealing her Millennium Necklace. Her phone began to ring. She picked it up and said into it: "Hello?"
"Hey Melika, it's Marik."
"Oh, hey Marik."
"You OK? You sound a little depressed."
"Yeah, I'm fine. Listen Marik, I'm sorry, but I've got to go. Talk to later OK?"
"Oh, OK. Bye Melika."
"Bye Marik."
Melika hung up her phone and shoved her face into her pillow.
"What's wrong hikari?"
Melika looked up and saw her Yami, Akilem, standing in her room.
"Nothing's wrong Akilem-chan. I'm fine."
"No you aren't. Stop pretending."
"Really, Akilem, I'm fine." Melika stood up next to her Yami.
"Melika, why'd you stop talking to Marik so quickly? That's not like you."
"I just didn't feel like talking to him. Is there anything wrong with that?"
"No, but the shortest you've ever talked to Marik for was an hour."
"Listen Akilem, get off my case!"
"Calm down hikari! What has gotten into you lately?"
Melika sighed and sat on her bed. "Sorry, Akilem-chan."
"What's the matter hikari? You haven't been yourself lately."
"I guess that I'm a little sad... and a tad jealous."
"Of what?"
"Of what Yula and Draga have. They're so close to each other. They're best friends and I'm not. I'm a good friend, but not a best friend."
"So you want to be best friends with them?"
Melika nodded her head.
"Well, maybe it's because they have more in common. Plus, they've known each other longer so their friendship's going to be stronger."
Melika stood up abruptly, spooking Akilem a little.
"You just gave me a great idea Akilem-chan!" Melika ran to her closet and put on a pair of jeans and a white shirt. She grabbed her boots from underneath her bed and shoved them on her feet.
"Where are you going hikari?" asked Akilem.
"To the mall," said Melika, grabbing her purse from a hook on her door. "See you in a few hours!" She shut the door behind her, leaving a confused Akilem behind.
The next day at school, Marik, Yugi, Joey, Yula, Draga, Seto, and Ryou walked into the classroom to see a group of people surrounding a desk.
"I wonder what the commotion's all about?" said Yugi.
"I wonder where Melika is?" said Marik.
They all walked over to the desk and shoved their way through. Sitting there was a girl. She had black hair and sapphire blue eyes. She wore the boys' uniform and wore a black shirt underneath. Around her waist were multiple chains and a belt. The one thing that gave away who she was was the necklace she wore around her neck: the Millennium Necklace.
"Hey guys," Melika said.
"Melika?" said Yugi. She smiled.
"Holy crap Melika!" said Joey.
"You look so different!" said Ryou.
"You look like a Goth!" said Draga and Yula together. "Cool!"
"You look hotter than you did before!" said Seto. Draga smacked him across the back of the head then.
"Thanks you guys," said Melika. "Where'd Marik go?"
"There he is," said Yugi. They all looked over and saw Marik sitting at his desk.
"He didn't even say anything about Melika's new look," said Joey.
Melika stood up and walked over to Marik's desk.
"Hey Marik," she said quietly.
"Hey," he said, not looking at her.
"What do you think of my new look?"
He looked at her. "It's OK... but I don't see why you needed one in the first place."
"I just wanted to try something new. You don't like it?"
"It's not that I don't like it it's just..."
"It's just what?"
Marik looked away.
"Listen, class is about to start. Let's pick up this conversation after school. I'll meet you at your locker."
Just then the bell rang and everybody took his or her seats. Melika looked back at Marik, and then sat down, waiting for the end of the day.
When school ended at 3 o'clock, Melika leaned back against her locker and waited for Marik.
"Hey Melika!"
Melika turned her head to see Yula coming towards her; Draga was waiting at Yula's locker.
"Hey Yula. What's up?"
"Draga and I are heading to Hot Topic. You want to come with?"
"Sure, but I have to meet up with Marik first. How 'bout I meet you there?"
"OK. See you there!" Yula turned around and headed out the door with Draga.
"Melika?"
Melika turned and faced Marik.
"Hey Marik. So, are we going to finish this conversation or not?"
Marik nodded. "Melika, why'd you change the way you look?"
"I told you: I wanted a new look. I'm just trying it out for a while."
"So, you're going to change back?"
"Maybe, unless I like it."
"And if you like it?"
"Then I keep my new look. It's that simple."
"Melika, it's not that simple. You didn't change because you wanted to did you?"
"Of course I did. What makes you think otherwise?"
"Well, you've been acting strange lately and I think that's why you got a new look."
"Are you serious? I honestly just wanted to try a new look."
Marik sighed. "Fine. I got to go. I'll see you later Melika." He kissed her on the cheek and walked off.
Melika sighed and walked off as well.
Melika hopped into her car and drove to the Domino Mall to meet Yula and Draga.
A month passed since Melika got her new look. She was enjoying herself and she was hanging out with Yula and Draga more.
One day, Melika was working at the Domino Café. Her uniform was a black shirt and skirt with black shoes and a black apron-, which greatly pleased Melika. She was behind the counter when Marik came in.
"Hey Marik," she said. "What can I get for you?"
"Can we talk?" he asked. His eyes were pleading.
"Um... sure. Christa! I'm taking my break now!" she shouted to the back.
"OK!" was the response.
Melika untied her apron and led Marik to a corner table. They both sat down and looked at each other.
"So," she said, "what do you want to talk about?"
"Melika, when are you going to change back?"
"Change back?" Melika was only slightly puzzled.
"Yeah. Change back to your old self."
Melika sighed. "Marik, I thought we had this talk a while ago. I told you that if I didn't like my look then I would change back."
"It's been a month. Don't you think you should change back?"
"Marik, I just told you, if I don't like my look, I'll change back."
"But don't you think 1 month's long enough to decide whether or not you like your look or not?" Marik's temper was rising, as was Melika's.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. And I like this look."
"Well, I don't. I don't think you should change yourself just to be closer to your friends."
"Well, Marik, I didn't ask for your opinion now did I?"
"No, but as the person you love, you should be able to trust my opinion! And the person you are now is not the person I fell in love with!"
"Well that's too bad Marik! Because I'm not changing back to my old self!"
"So are you willing to throw away our relationship just like that!"
"If it will get you off my back then yes!"
By now they were both standing up. Marik stiffened and stepped away from the table.
"Fine. Then I guess this is goodbye!" he said angrily, but you could see the tears welling up in his eyes.
"Fine then! Goodbye!" Melika said. Tears were starting to well up into her eyes too.
Marik stormed out the door as Melika stormed back to behind the counter.
Angrily, she thrust her apron back on and tied it.
By now, Christa had come out from the back room. She had green eyes and her long brown hair was braided.
"Melika," she said. Melika spun around, her cheeks streamed with tears. Quickly, she wiped them away with her sleeve.
"I'm sorry about that Christa," she apologized. "I didn't mean to cause trouble."
"Forget about it." Christa hesitated before saying, "Why don't you take the rest of the day off? It seems like you have a lot to think about."
Melika shook her head. "I couldn't do that," she said.
"Yes, you can, and I'm making you," said Christa stubbornly.
Melika sighed and untied her apron. "Alright," she said finally. "Thanks Christa."
Melika hung up her apron, grabbed her purse, and walked out the door.
She closed her eyes and took in the slight breeze as she walked down the street. Tears were starting to well up in her eyes again.
Darn it, why won't these tears stop?
While she was wiping her eyes, Melika bumped into somebody.
"Oh, I'm sorry," she said.
"It's Ok," the girl said.
Melika looked up and saw Tea Gardner looking back at her.
"Oh, hey Tea."
"Hey Melika. Are you OK? You look upset."
"Yeah... I'm fine Tea..." Melika sighed. "No, as a matter of fact I'm not."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"Sure. Do you want to go to my house? It's only a few blocks away."
"Sure."
They walked off together and were silent until they entered the house. Melika put her purse on the counter and walked into the kitchen.
"Do you want anything to drink Tea? Or are you hungry for anything?"
"Um, tea's fine thanks."
Melika grabbed the kettle and filled it with water. Putting it on the stove, she turned it on.
"Will you excuse me while I go change?" said Melika.
"Sure, no problem," said Tea.
Melika walked up the stairs into her bedroom. She changed out of her work clothes and into a pair of jeans and a white shirt. She walked down the stairs and pulled out 2 cups as well as 2 teabags. The teakettle began to whistle. Silently, she turned the stove off and poured the boiling water into the 2 cups.
"Do you like anything in your tea?" Melika asked Tea.
"Oh, um, no thanks. Black tea is fine for me." Melika brought the tea over and placed 2 napkins underneath the cups.
"You're going to have to let it seep for about 5 minutes before taking the tea bag out- unless you like your tea weak."
Tea nodded. "So," she said, "what's on your mind?"
Melika sighed and rested her head in the palms of her hands.
"Marik and I had a fight. He doesn't like the way I look. He also doesn't know why I changed my look. Because of that, we broke up. That's putting it short."
Tea was quiet before answering. "Oh. Well, I can see where Marik's coming from."
Melika glared at Tea. "You too! God! No wonder Yula and Draga hate you so much!"
Tea was silent, her eyes sad. "That's why I don't see why you changed," she said quietly. "I don't want you to be like Yula and Draga. I liked the old you. You never treated me like scum like they do. I don't try act jealous around Yula, but I love Yugi just as much as she does. I try to be happy for Yugi but I can't. I just can't." Tears were starting to form in Tea's eyes.
"I'm sorry Tea," said Melika quietly. "I didn't know."
Tea wiped her eyes and smiled. "It's OK. See, this is what Marik means. You're still the same person on the inside- caring and beautiful- so what's the point of changing what you look like on the outside? You're still the same person, no matter what you do to your outer self. Yula, Draga, and Marik love you for who you are, as do the rest of your friends."
Melika looked down and took out her teabag from the cup.
"I guess you're right. I thought that if I changed, I would have a stronger bond with Yula and Draga."
"But don't you see, you already have a strong bond with both of them. Sure, they think it's cool that you're gothic like them, but you're still the same old you- you just changed the way you look."
Melika took a sip of her tea as a crash of thunder sounded outside.
"I guess it's raining outside too," said Melika.
"Maybe I should head out before it starts to pour," said Tea getting up from the table. She walked to the door and opened it, looking outside at the pouring rain. "Never mind," she said walking back to the table and sitting down.
"Tea, why don't you give your mom a call and tell her you're staying here until tomorrow morning. If you walk to your house in this weather, you're going to get a call for sure."
Tea nodded her head and took the phone from Melika. She dialed the number and walked to the living room.
Tea walked back into the kitchen a short while after.
"My mom's coming to pick me up. It'd be easier for her. She's already out and about and she's passing this way anyways. Thanks for the offer though."
"OK, no problem."
About 5 minutes later, Tea's mom arrived.
"Here's my mom," said Tea, looking out the window. "Thanks for the tea." She walked to the door.
"Thanks for the advice," said Melika. She walked to Tea and embraced her.
"Any time," said Tea. She let go of the embrace. "So, does this make us friends?"
Melika nodded and smiled. Tea smiled back. "Great," she said. She opened the door. "Bye Melika!" she said as she shut it.
As soon as Tea shut the door, Melika shoved on her boots and grabbed her jean jacket. Forgetting an umbrella and the fact that she had a car, Melika ran to Marik's house.
Marik was lying on his couch. He was still upset from the fight he had had with Melika.
Fine then! Goodbye!
Those words were repeating in his head. He couldn't believe them.
He heard the doorbell ring and got up from his spot on the couch. A crash of thunder sounded as he opened the door to Melika, the rain pouring down her body.
"Hey Marik," said Melika panting.
"Melika, you didn't run all the way here did you?" he asked as he let her in.
"Yeah, I did. Why?"
"For 1, you're going to catch a cold and 2, you have a car you could've drove in to get here."
"Oh, I forgot about my car." Melika blushed slightly. Marik sighed and took Melika's rain soaked coat from her. The rain had seeped through the jacket and had gotten her shirt wet, showing her entire upper body. Marik blushed slightly and turned around.
"I'll be right back," he said. "I'll get you a towel." He walked into the bathroom and soon returned with a towel in his hand.
"Thanks," she said, taking it from him. She wiped down her wet clothes and then her hair.
"You know, it's kind of awkward for someone's ex-girlfriend come over to her ex-boyfriend's house this late at night," said Marik as Melika sat on the couch.
Melika blushed again. "Actually, that's what I came to talk about," she said quietly. "I wanted to apologize for the way I acted- for the way I've been acting."
Marik sighed and sat down next to her. "I guess I should apologize too. I've on your case a lot lately. But, I couldn't see why you had to change. You've always been perfect to me." Melika blushed even more.
"If I was so perfect, I wouldn't have changed the way I look," she whispered. Melika noticed Marik's gaze. She blushed a dark crimson and hugged the towel to her chest, covering her wet shirt. She looked away, still blushing.
Marik slid over to her and lifted up her chin with his finger, making her blue eyes look into his purple ones.
"No matter what you do, you'll always be perfect; you'll always be the one person I love the most," said Marik. He pressed his warm lips against Melika's cold ones. They were comforting to her, filling her body with warmth again. Melika closed her eyes and enjoyed the kiss until Marik pulled away, blushing.
"You should probably get out of those wet clothes," he said. "I can put them in the dryer for you and give you something to wear until then."
"OK," said Melika.
They were both silent for a while until Marik spoke again. "So, are you going back to your old self?"
Melika blinked.
Yula, Draga, and Marik love you for who you are, as do the rest of your friends.
She smiled and nodded. "Yes, I am."
Marik smiled. "So, when does the black hair dye come out of your hair?"
"The next time I shampoo it," she said.
Silence grew between them again.
"Do you want to rinse out the dye now? You can take your shower here instead of waiting until tomorrow," said Marik.
"Sure." Melika stood up and walked down the hallway to the bathroom.
Marik sat on the couch and heard the rushing water in the tub, then the shower turning on. He sighed and got up. Silently, he crept down the hallway to the bathroom door. He opened it and felt the warm steam blow in his face. The mirrors were already fogged up from the steam and Marik could see the outline of Melika's body in the shower.
Carefully and silently, he took off his shirt and put it next to Melika's clothes. He pulled back the shower curtain quietly and stepped in. He stared at Melika's body, the black dye from her hair running over it, and her golden blonde hair showing.
Marik crept up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.
Melika was startled then closed her eyes to the warm touch of her lover.
He nuzzled his neck against hers and kissed it lightly.
"You forgot to give me your clothes," he whispered into her ear.
"Oops," she said jokingly.
She sighed and let the warm water run down their bodies.
"So, does this mean we're back together?" she said.
Marik nuzzled against her ear.
"I don't think we ever broke up," he said.
Melika turned around and embraced Marik, nuzzling her head against his shoulder, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"I love you Marik," said Melika.
Marik had tears steaming down his cheeks too as he said, "I love you too."
The next day at school, Melika was back to her old self. She was sitting at her desk when Yula and Draga came up to her.
"Hey Melika," Draga said.
"I see you got rid of your black hair," said Yula.
"Yeah, I did."
"We're going to miss it but I'm glad we have the old Melika back."
"Really?"
"Of course," said Draga. "It was really cool that you were gothic and everything, but it wasn't the same old you."
"She's right," said Yula. "You weren't acting like the same old you."
"We're glad to have you back!" they both said.
"Thanks you guys," said Melika. They stepped aside and let Yugi, Ryou, Joey, and Seto talk to her.
"Hey you guys," she said.
"So, you've lost the gothic look?" said Ryou. Melika nodded.
"Eh, it's alright! We love you either way!" said Joey.
"And you still look hot," said Seto. Draga slapped him across the head and everybody laughed.
"Glad to have you back Melika," said Yugi.
"Hey you guys!" They all looked and saw Tea standing there.
"Hey Tea," said the gang.
"Thanks for everything Tea," said Melika.
"No problem. Well, I'll see you around!" said Tea. She walked off back to her seat then.
"Since when did you become friends with her?" asked Yula and Draga.
"Just a short time ago," said Melika. "She's not as bad as you guys think."
Yula sighed. "OK, any friend of yours is a friend of ours- even if it is Tea."
"Thanks guys," said Melika. They all walked off to their seats about 5 minutes before the first bell rang.
Marik came in then.
"Hey Melika," he said, kissing her lightly.
"Hey Marik," Melika said.
"So, have you talked to everybody yet?"
Melika nodded. "They're all happy that I'm back to normal."
"They're not the only ones." They both smiled.
"I'll call you tonight OK?" said Melika.
"Sure." Marik walked off to his seat.
The bell rang and Melika heard those words repeat in her head.
Yula, Draga, and Marik love you for who you are, as do the rest of your friends.
And I'm glad, she thought to herself. I'm very glad.