a/n: Uhhh... Aren't I intelligent? lol
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She held the branch for Yami, then let it swing back. The scenery here was much different then in the woods. It was a clearing with a few trees here and there and a huge body of water with a fallen oak by it's edge.
Kai grinned at Yami's surprised face, then grabbed his wrist and pulled him over to the fallen tree. It was too high to just climb onto, but Kai had moved some large stones over so they could climb up.
She got on first, then extended her hand to help Yami. She then scooted to the middle of the log with him behind her.
"Welcome to my secret hideout," she said when they were settled. Their feet dangled a few feet over the water that stretched as far as the eye could see. "Carlos doesn't even know about this place. I come here sometimes when I just need to clear my mind."
Yami understood how it could help. He had been there for only a few minutes and he already felt more relaxed than he had in a while.
"I found it after Gran left. I took a walk in the woods just to think about stuff and I got lost. Then I came here. I don't know how long I stayed; that's how well it cleared my mind. Then I got lost on my way home," she laughed. But there was a sadness in her eyes as she recalled her grandmother. "It took me a few more times coming here until I got it completely right. Then I marked the way. You can get here from any place in the woods and I know how to get here from all of them, but the fastest way is from my house." There was a moment of silence before Kai continued.
"I used to come here so much in the weeks after that. The water could do for me what Carlos, or anyone else for that matter, couldn't. I'm not sure what that is exactly, but I can still feel it. It's just so peaceful here. Like nothing is wrong. Maybe that's what it is," she said, staring ahead.
Yami watched her for a few seconds. He couldn't decide whether she looked upset or just absent. He turned back to the water and realized she was right. It did help. He hadn't noticed that he was a bit tense, but he could feel himself relaxing.
It felt good to sit there with the warm breeze blowing against his face. He could stay there all day. He would have to come back here. Maybe Kai could take him with her next time she came.
Then another thought came to mind. Why had she shown him? She said Carlos didn't even know. Maybe she just wanted something to do. Or she was going to come here and thought that it wouldn't hurt anything to show him. It wasn't like he was going to tell anyone. She didn't even have to ask him not to. That was a given.
"So what do you think of it?" Kai asked him.
"It's very calming," he replied, looking at her.
"I told you," she said, smiling. He smiled in return, then looked straight ahead. "Makes you want to stay here for ages, doesn't it?"
Yami nodded.
"How often do you come here now?" he asked.
"I don't know. It depends on the stress I'm feeling. It varies from day to day. I'm really not all that consistent you know," she said with a laugh. Yami laughed a little too and looked at her. It was almost like time was frozen here. He wondered what time it was, but didn't feel like using the energy to lift his arm to look.
"I sit here for hours just staring out there," Kai said.
Yami nodded in agreement. He could do that too. This was exactly what he needed sometimes.
"You should see it during a sunset. You think this is relaxing," she said, grinning at him. He grinned back. Now she had him curious. Maybe they could come back again later. Or just stay here all day.
"One of the better parts of this place is that you are completely isolated from the rest of the human world. No one to bother or bug you. That's one of the reasons I never brought anyone here," Kai said.
Apparently, he didn't bug her. It was the best indirect complement he had ever received. He wasn't even sure if she had meant it as a compliment. It still made him feel good.
Kai looked at her watch. 2:41. They had been out here for nearly three hours. Somehow, even though time seemed to freeze here, when she looked at her watch, it always appeared to have sped up. It had gone faster today. She no longer felt the urge to hurry back to the house to greet Carlos. Staying here was the only thing on her mind right now.
- A few more minutes, - she thought.
"What time is it?" Yami asked when he saw her check. She told him and he stared at her in surprise. He checked his own watch and confirmed it.
"Time really flies here, doesn't it?" Kai asked. He nodded. "We'd better go. Elaine will wonder where we are. And /that/ would be a bad thing," she said, following Yami off the log.
"Why?" he asked.
She went a bit red. "Uh, well, you'll probably see anyway. Come on."
He gave her a puzzled look but dropped it as he followed her out of the woods. They entered the back door a little while later. Yami had managed not to get snagged by any thorns and was very pleased about that. He followed her to the living room, but she threw out her arm and caught him in the stomach, making him stumble backwards.
"Oh, shoot," she whispered, backing up herself.
"What is it?" he asked, catching his breath.
"Elaine's in there. Uh..." She started thinking quickly. He could almost see the wheels turning in her mind.
"What's the problem?" Yami was incredibly confused.
"There you are!"
Kai groaned when she heard Elaine's voice. - Great. -
"Where have you been? Or don't you want to tell me?" Elaine had a huge grin on her face as she folded her arms.
Yami suddenly understood what Kai had meant. This wasn't going to be good.
"I came up here when you started playing ping pong and Kai was..." he started. He looked at her to finish.
"I was..." she started but Elaine interrupted.
"It's all right. You don't have to lie to /me/. I sneak off like that all the time," she said, grinning wider with every minute. With that she turned and walked back into the living room.
"And you wonder why I like Carlos better," Kai grumbled, her arms folded. She was glaring after Elaine, her face rather red. Yami knew his was red too, so he stood behind a little behind her. Kai sighed loudly and headed into the living room.
Yami considered waiting a little while before going in, so his friends wouldn't assume what Elaine had, but decided that she had probably told them already. He braced himself for what was about to hit and followed Kai.
When he entered, Kai was already seated next to Tea. He leaned against the doorframe and hoped no one would notice him. There were a few sly grins going around, but no remarks or questions.
- They can think whatever, as long as they don't say it aloud, - Yami thought. He wasn't used to this sort of thing and going red in front of Joey would be very bad. He'd never hear the end of it.
"Carlos should be home soon," Elaine was saying, looking at her watch.
- Great. So Elaine can tell him what Yugi and I were "up too." - Kai sat with her arms crossed, a disgusted look on her face. Yami couldn't blame her. He felt as though he could do the same.
Seeing Carlos wasn't exactly what Yami wanted to do. If his mood was anything like what it was the day before, he wasn't going to enjoy Carlos' company much. Yami couldn't help thinking that he might not be as tolerant with him as before. He himself was hardly in a good mood. It was amazing how fast someone could go from a good mood to a bad one.
Then the front door opened.
"I'm... home," Carlos said, pausing for a second when he saw who was in his living room. - What are /they/ doing here? -
"Hey Carlos," Kai said, leaning around the back of the couch to see him.
"Hey," he said, looking around the room. If the rest of them were here, Yami would be too. Carlos saw him in the doorway, leaning against the frame, and held in a scowl.
Kai looked at Elaine out of the corner of her eye. Her friend was grinning widely. - How do I stop her from telling Carlos without telling her where we were? - All of this was making her headache come back.
"What are you doing here?" Carlos asked, dropping onto the couch next to Kai.
"Why, aren't you happy to see me?" Kai asked, grinning despite her mood.
- You, yes. Yugi, no. - "Sure, I'm just surprised you guys are here," he replied.
"Elaine called us over," Kai said.
"Yeah, I was so bored, watching fish would have seemed fascinating," she said. She got laughs out of everyone except Kai and Yami. Kai made a little effort to give a weak smile, but Yami didn't even grin. He didn't much care for Elaine. She shouldn't jump to conclusions about people without at least a little evidence to back it up. Just then, Kai didn't seem to be that fond of her either.
"So," Carlos said, slowly.
"So what?" Elaine asked grinning evilly at Kai, who glared at her.
"What did you /do/, Elaine?" Carlos asked, sighing loudly. Whenever she grinned like that she was hiding something. Most often it was some guy she had just snuck out with. He never told their parents though, so Elaine was pretty okay with telling him about it.
"Ohhh, it wasn't /me/ this time," she said, her grin getting bigger. Carlos looked up.
"What?" What did that mean?
Suddenly Kai felt her headache sear through her mind as if it were a knife. She pressed a hand to her temple and winced.
"Are you okay?" Tea asked, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder.
"Yeah," Kai managed to say. "My headache." It was growing worse with every second.
Yami walked over and sat on the coffee table, a concerned look on his face.
"I'll get some Advil," Elaine said, jumping up and running into the bathroom. But Kai knew that Advil wouldn't control this. Despite that, when her friend came back with the medicine and a glass of water, she took it.
"Are you all right?" Carlos asked, looking at her.
As the pain shot through her head again, she stood. "I'll... I'll be right back," she said, heading into the kitchen. She opened the back door and closed it behind her.
Crying out as it seared again, she dropped to her knees and passed out.
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a/n: Another cliffhanger! You poor people, I keep doing this to you! Maybe I should stop... nah. Anyways, REVIEW and I'll post the next chapter!
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She held the branch for Yami, then let it swing back. The scenery here was much different then in the woods. It was a clearing with a few trees here and there and a huge body of water with a fallen oak by it's edge.
Kai grinned at Yami's surprised face, then grabbed his wrist and pulled him over to the fallen tree. It was too high to just climb onto, but Kai had moved some large stones over so they could climb up.
She got on first, then extended her hand to help Yami. She then scooted to the middle of the log with him behind her.
"Welcome to my secret hideout," she said when they were settled. Their feet dangled a few feet over the water that stretched as far as the eye could see. "Carlos doesn't even know about this place. I come here sometimes when I just need to clear my mind."
Yami understood how it could help. He had been there for only a few minutes and he already felt more relaxed than he had in a while.
"I found it after Gran left. I took a walk in the woods just to think about stuff and I got lost. Then I came here. I don't know how long I stayed; that's how well it cleared my mind. Then I got lost on my way home," she laughed. But there was a sadness in her eyes as she recalled her grandmother. "It took me a few more times coming here until I got it completely right. Then I marked the way. You can get here from any place in the woods and I know how to get here from all of them, but the fastest way is from my house." There was a moment of silence before Kai continued.
"I used to come here so much in the weeks after that. The water could do for me what Carlos, or anyone else for that matter, couldn't. I'm not sure what that is exactly, but I can still feel it. It's just so peaceful here. Like nothing is wrong. Maybe that's what it is," she said, staring ahead.
Yami watched her for a few seconds. He couldn't decide whether she looked upset or just absent. He turned back to the water and realized she was right. It did help. He hadn't noticed that he was a bit tense, but he could feel himself relaxing.
It felt good to sit there with the warm breeze blowing against his face. He could stay there all day. He would have to come back here. Maybe Kai could take him with her next time she came.
Then another thought came to mind. Why had she shown him? She said Carlos didn't even know. Maybe she just wanted something to do. Or she was going to come here and thought that it wouldn't hurt anything to show him. It wasn't like he was going to tell anyone. She didn't even have to ask him not to. That was a given.
"So what do you think of it?" Kai asked him.
"It's very calming," he replied, looking at her.
"I told you," she said, smiling. He smiled in return, then looked straight ahead. "Makes you want to stay here for ages, doesn't it?"
Yami nodded.
"How often do you come here now?" he asked.
"I don't know. It depends on the stress I'm feeling. It varies from day to day. I'm really not all that consistent you know," she said with a laugh. Yami laughed a little too and looked at her. It was almost like time was frozen here. He wondered what time it was, but didn't feel like using the energy to lift his arm to look.
"I sit here for hours just staring out there," Kai said.
Yami nodded in agreement. He could do that too. This was exactly what he needed sometimes.
"You should see it during a sunset. You think this is relaxing," she said, grinning at him. He grinned back. Now she had him curious. Maybe they could come back again later. Or just stay here all day.
"One of the better parts of this place is that you are completely isolated from the rest of the human world. No one to bother or bug you. That's one of the reasons I never brought anyone here," Kai said.
Apparently, he didn't bug her. It was the best indirect complement he had ever received. He wasn't even sure if she had meant it as a compliment. It still made him feel good.
Kai looked at her watch. 2:41. They had been out here for nearly three hours. Somehow, even though time seemed to freeze here, when she looked at her watch, it always appeared to have sped up. It had gone faster today. She no longer felt the urge to hurry back to the house to greet Carlos. Staying here was the only thing on her mind right now.
- A few more minutes, - she thought.
"What time is it?" Yami asked when he saw her check. She told him and he stared at her in surprise. He checked his own watch and confirmed it.
"Time really flies here, doesn't it?" Kai asked. He nodded. "We'd better go. Elaine will wonder where we are. And /that/ would be a bad thing," she said, following Yami off the log.
"Why?" he asked.
She went a bit red. "Uh, well, you'll probably see anyway. Come on."
He gave her a puzzled look but dropped it as he followed her out of the woods. They entered the back door a little while later. Yami had managed not to get snagged by any thorns and was very pleased about that. He followed her to the living room, but she threw out her arm and caught him in the stomach, making him stumble backwards.
"Oh, shoot," she whispered, backing up herself.
"What is it?" he asked, catching his breath.
"Elaine's in there. Uh..." She started thinking quickly. He could almost see the wheels turning in her mind.
"What's the problem?" Yami was incredibly confused.
"There you are!"
Kai groaned when she heard Elaine's voice. - Great. -
"Where have you been? Or don't you want to tell me?" Elaine had a huge grin on her face as she folded her arms.
Yami suddenly understood what Kai had meant. This wasn't going to be good.
"I came up here when you started playing ping pong and Kai was..." he started. He looked at her to finish.
"I was..." she started but Elaine interrupted.
"It's all right. You don't have to lie to /me/. I sneak off like that all the time," she said, grinning wider with every minute. With that she turned and walked back into the living room.
"And you wonder why I like Carlos better," Kai grumbled, her arms folded. She was glaring after Elaine, her face rather red. Yami knew his was red too, so he stood behind a little behind her. Kai sighed loudly and headed into the living room.
Yami considered waiting a little while before going in, so his friends wouldn't assume what Elaine had, but decided that she had probably told them already. He braced himself for what was about to hit and followed Kai.
When he entered, Kai was already seated next to Tea. He leaned against the doorframe and hoped no one would notice him. There were a few sly grins going around, but no remarks or questions.
- They can think whatever, as long as they don't say it aloud, - Yami thought. He wasn't used to this sort of thing and going red in front of Joey would be very bad. He'd never hear the end of it.
"Carlos should be home soon," Elaine was saying, looking at her watch.
- Great. So Elaine can tell him what Yugi and I were "up too." - Kai sat with her arms crossed, a disgusted look on her face. Yami couldn't blame her. He felt as though he could do the same.
Seeing Carlos wasn't exactly what Yami wanted to do. If his mood was anything like what it was the day before, he wasn't going to enjoy Carlos' company much. Yami couldn't help thinking that he might not be as tolerant with him as before. He himself was hardly in a good mood. It was amazing how fast someone could go from a good mood to a bad one.
Then the front door opened.
"I'm... home," Carlos said, pausing for a second when he saw who was in his living room. - What are /they/ doing here? -
"Hey Carlos," Kai said, leaning around the back of the couch to see him.
"Hey," he said, looking around the room. If the rest of them were here, Yami would be too. Carlos saw him in the doorway, leaning against the frame, and held in a scowl.
Kai looked at Elaine out of the corner of her eye. Her friend was grinning widely. - How do I stop her from telling Carlos without telling her where we were? - All of this was making her headache come back.
"What are you doing here?" Carlos asked, dropping onto the couch next to Kai.
"Why, aren't you happy to see me?" Kai asked, grinning despite her mood.
- You, yes. Yugi, no. - "Sure, I'm just surprised you guys are here," he replied.
"Elaine called us over," Kai said.
"Yeah, I was so bored, watching fish would have seemed fascinating," she said. She got laughs out of everyone except Kai and Yami. Kai made a little effort to give a weak smile, but Yami didn't even grin. He didn't much care for Elaine. She shouldn't jump to conclusions about people without at least a little evidence to back it up. Just then, Kai didn't seem to be that fond of her either.
"So," Carlos said, slowly.
"So what?" Elaine asked grinning evilly at Kai, who glared at her.
"What did you /do/, Elaine?" Carlos asked, sighing loudly. Whenever she grinned like that she was hiding something. Most often it was some guy she had just snuck out with. He never told their parents though, so Elaine was pretty okay with telling him about it.
"Ohhh, it wasn't /me/ this time," she said, her grin getting bigger. Carlos looked up.
"What?" What did that mean?
Suddenly Kai felt her headache sear through her mind as if it were a knife. She pressed a hand to her temple and winced.
"Are you okay?" Tea asked, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder.
"Yeah," Kai managed to say. "My headache." It was growing worse with every second.
Yami walked over and sat on the coffee table, a concerned look on his face.
"I'll get some Advil," Elaine said, jumping up and running into the bathroom. But Kai knew that Advil wouldn't control this. Despite that, when her friend came back with the medicine and a glass of water, she took it.
"Are you all right?" Carlos asked, looking at her.
As the pain shot through her head again, she stood. "I'll... I'll be right back," she said, heading into the kitchen. She opened the back door and closed it behind her.
Crying out as it seared again, she dropped to her knees and passed out.
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a/n: Another cliffhanger! You poor people, I keep doing this to you! Maybe I should stop... nah. Anyways, REVIEW and I'll post the next chapter!