Ok, so here follows the disclaimer: I do not own YGO or any of its characters…only this story and its plot! So there you have it! Anyway, I now proudly present chapter 12 of 'The Meaning of Life'. Hope it's good! Leave me a review and tell me!
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12. If Only There Were More Hours in the Day
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Serenity took in a deep breath and sighed happily. She was sitting at her desk in third period, listening to her teacher drone on and on about irrelevant issues. Actually, she only looked like she was listening…her mind was really far away.
'I can't believe the last four days have gone so well…' she thought to herself, her eyes glazed over, 'It's really…unbelievable! Seto's been really nice so far, well…ok, so I wouldn't classify it as "nice" nice, but still…he's at least kept his patience these last few days…' She smiled to herself. 'Besides, he gets released tomorrow! He'll be back to his regular routine, going to school, going to work…'
Serenity's thoughts trailed off as she frowned. 'Wait a minute…does that mean that, as soon as he's released, he'll forget all about me? I mean, we are friends, right?' Serenity's face suddenly clouded over in doubt. 'He won't just…forget about me, will he? I mean, he can't! Things won't just…go back to normal…will they?'
"Pssst! Earth to Serenity! Quit your daydreaming!"
"Hmmm?" Serenity said, her thoughts now broken by her best friend beside her.
"I just asked if you wrote down the homework assignment he just assigned…" The brown haired girl looked at Serenity worriedly. "Hey, are you ok?"
"Oh, me?" Serenity responded, a bit embarrassed, "Oh yeah, I'm fine! Don't worry about me. And, uhh, no, actually, I didn't even hear what he assigned…"
"Ummm, yeah, I figured as much. Daydreaming about Kaiba, huh?"
Serenity felt her cheeks get really red at the mention of Kaiba's name. "No!" she hissed, "I was not daydreaming about him and anyway be quiet! No one's supposed to know about that!"
"Oh yeah?" Her friend challenged, "And why is that?"
"Ummm, well, because…" Serenity struggled to think of a good response. "Because…I don't want anyone to know, ok? So, just, leave me alone!"
"Alright, alright, geez…" her friend replied, "you're hanging out with him way too much…his attitude is rubbing off on you."
"Uh! N-no it's not!" Serenity stammered, afraid that everyone was going to hear what they were saying…a quick glance around though said that that wasn't likely since everyone else was absorbed in their own conversations now that the teacher had quit talking…
"Whatever." came the response.
'Man,' Serenity thought, 'I never should have told her that I was visiting Kaiba in the hospital…oh well, at least she's leaving me alone now…' Serenity let out a sigh of relief and tried to do her best to mentally shoo-away the blush on her cheeks. 'Man…my cheeks feel as if they're on fire!'
"Hey Serenity," came a voice from behind her, "what are you up to?"
Serenity turned around at the sound of the voice to discover Duke Devlin behind her. "Oh, hi Duke. Ummmm, nothing much actually. How are you?"
"Well, I'm doing fine." He came around her desk and sat down in front of her. "Hey, why are your cheeks so red? Are you not feeling well?" Right away he extended his palm to her forehead to "check her temperature".
Serenity pulled her face away. "I'm fine, Duke, really. It's nothing."
'Why am I blushing anyway?' she thought to herself, 'It's not like anyone heard our little conversation about Kaiba, so…what's going on?'
"Well if you say so." Duke answered. "I haven't seen much of you around lately, Serenity, you been busy?"
Serenity looked at him and nodded, "Yeah, I've been busy…"
'Why won't he go away already?' she thought, 'I need some time to think!'
"Yeah I thought so." Duke said. "In fact, I haven't seen so much of you lately that I thought that maybe we could spend a little time together tomorrow…you know, just the two of us…" He trailed off and looked at Serenity. "That is, of course, if you feel like it that is."
Serenity paled. 'Oh no!' she thought, 'He's not asking me out on a date…is he? And tomorrow…tomorrow is when Seto gets released…'
Serenity paused, trying to think of a nice way to say that she didn't want to go…she knew that Duke had a crush on her…"Ummm, Duke…well…I kinda already had plans made out for tomorrow. I really couldn't cancel, I'm sorry." She looked up to see how he was taking it. 'Good so far,' she thought, and then continued on, "Yeah, and…ummm…like I said, I've been really busy lately…I just don't think that now would be a good time."
Duke nodded. "Oh, I understand about being busy, Serenity. Don't worry about it! I know that school has been very hectic lately and everything…"
Serenity nodded, agreeing with everything Duke was saying. 'Oh, when will this day end?' she thought while Duke droned on and on…
"…and anyway, there is always the dance next month! Do you think that you'd be up to that? I mean, if you don't have anyone else already, we could go as friends…" He eyed Serenity cheerily. 'Just be cool…' he thought, 'don't move too fast…'
"Oh, um, yeah…" Serenity replied, "well, we'll see about that when the time comes, ok Duke?" She smiled up at him. 'I hope he gets that I don't want to go with him…I mean, if it were Seto, sure…oh no! What was that? Seto? It's not—we're not—it's not like that between us! We're just friends! I mean, although of course friends do go to dances together too, I suppose, but still, he's not the type, and it's not that way…'
Serenity continued arguing in her mind about how it wasn't like "that" with Kaiba while Duke went on about talking to her later about the dance, in a few weeks. Serenity, however, had stopped listening in between her thoughts about "Seto" and "Kaiba". When Duke finally got up to leave and said goodbye, it was the best she could do to mutter a response back at him. 'Poor Serenity…' he thought, as he walked away, 'I think she really is getting sick and doesn't even realize it…'
Meanwhile, what Serenity was thinking was very confusing indeed. 'Well…with Kaiba, I guess…I just never thought of him in that way, I mean, I've only really begun to get to know him this past week, and…there hasn't been any hint of anything like that, I mean…' Serenity struggled in her mind helplessly. 'Well…yes he is very attractive…and smart…and he isn't a complete jerk like Joey says…but still…that doesn't mean that I like him as more then a friend…right? I mean we hardly know each other!'
Her mind flashed back to the day she had seen his hair light up in the sunlight…to his small laugh, if you could call it that, every time that he beat her at chess…to the way his blue eyes looked at her and she felt almost…naked to them, like they could see right through her and peer into the very depths of her soul…
'Oh no,' she thought, 'I really do have it bad for him!' The image of his face floated in her mind. 'Lately…he's been all that I think about…even dream about…I guess…without even realizing it…I've started to like him so much…' Her thoughts trailed off as she thought about Seto. 'I've been blushing…because I like him. I care about him so much, how could I have not seen this before…? He's…wonderful…'
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Kaiba shifted in his seat as he watched the seconds go by on the clock. 'Where is she…?' he thought in annoyance, looking as the clock ticked past three in the afternoon. 'I want to get out of this place, and they give me some bullshit about not letting me leave by myself until tomorrow…fuck…arggg…this place is fucking annoying!'
He let out an aggravated sigh and crossed his arms in front of him. Sitting in a chair near the door, he closed his eyes and waited. His white trenchcoat billowed around him, the buckles on his arms shaping the lean outline of his body and giving him the attitude he strove for. His fine brown hair hung down over his face and covered his eye as he sat. This was the first day that his wound actually did feel better; he wasn't just saying that to get everybody off his back. But it's not like it mattered. He felt that he could take anything at the moment.
Impatient, he let out another sigh and opened his eyes. The clock read one minute past three. 'Arrgggg, Damn it! How long is this girl gonna take!'
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"Oh, excuse me, pardon me…" Serenity dealt out apologies as she rushed through the crowded supermarket. Just making it to the end of one of the checkout lines, she glanced back down at her shopping list, hoping to find that she hadn't missed any items on it. No such luck.
"Arggg…" Serenity groaned aloud when she saw that she had forgotten to stop for the fish. "And that's the main course…" Frowning unhappily, she once again made her way out of the checkout line and back into the main store. 'Just my luck…' she thought to herself bitterly, 'No matter what I do…it's always the bad luck that stays with me…'
Pushing herself through the crowds once more, she once again started to mutter apologies to the people that pushed past her. 'This is just not my day…' she thought.
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"Dang it! Where is she?" Joey looked up at the clock, waiting for his little sister to return from the market. "Mai'll be here in another hour and Serenity's gotta get back in time to cook us dinner…"
Joey smiled to himself. During their last duel, when they were supposed to have been working on their english projects, they had each bet something on the outcome of the duel. Joey had declared that if Mai won, she would have to cook him dinner and wait on him hand and foot the whole time. Mai agreed, saying that if she won, Joey would simply have to cook her dinner, and that was that. 'I already know that your cooking is gonna be lousy Joey Wheeler, so I won't ask you to wait on me hand and foot. I wouldn't want to turn you into my little puppy now would I?'
"Arrgggg….that Mai!" Joey exclaimed, her words still echoing in his mind, "She's got some nerve!"
Despite trying to be angry, he felt himself break out into a wide grin. "Yeah…" he muttered to no one in particular, "She's some girl…"
Finally snapping out of his daze, he looked up at the clock again, this time annoyed. 3:15 PM. "Serenity…" he said aloud, "where tha hell are ya?"
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Breathing a sigh of relief now that she had finally left the market behind, Serenity adjusted the bags that she now held in her hands and walked quickly towards her home.
'I hope Joey isn't mad at me…' she though absently, knowing that he wanted to impress Mai tonight. She smiled at the thought. 'They would be really cute together…'
Regardless of what Joey said to her, she knew that he really did like Mai, and in a way that went beyond just general friendship. 'Yep…' Serenity thought, smiling at her brother's reluctance to admit it, 'it's really cute…'
Leaving thoughts of her brother behind, Serenity began to think about Kaiba. 'Now Joey I'm not too worried about, but Seto…I told him I'd come visit him today…I hope he's not angry that I'm going to be late…' Her thoughts drifted off as she walked down the street. 'Those feelings that I had today…I guess it really was inevitable that I would fall for him…I mean, every girl in the school practically is in love with him, even though they don't know him…' She smiled at the irony of the situation. 'I had always said that I wouldn't like someone just because everyone else did, that I would need to know the person first and decide on my own…and yet all of these other girls just throw their affections towards him without even knowing him…and here I am, and I fall for him regardless of how well I know him or not…' She smiled sardonically at herself. 'Well…that's me, I guess…still…it feels good knowing that he doesn't pay attention to all of those other girls at school, and yet…he pays attention to me…'
She ignored how her mind tried to bring up the images of all the times that he had told her to leave. 'Those times don't matter now…' she told herself in justification, '…all that matters now is that he accepts me in more or less his own fashion…I guess that's the best that I could hope for right now…'
Serenity's thoughts were interrupted as she reached the outside of the apartment complex that was home to her and Joey. Smiling to herself as she paused for a few moments to rest, she looked up at the clear blue sky that hung like a painted canvas above her. 'Maybe…' she thought, shielding her eyes from the sun with her hand, '…just maybe…in the future…it will be possible…' She lowered her hand and began to walk towards the apartment. '…but for right now…let's focus on Joey and Mai.'
"There you are! I was gettin' worried about ya, sis! What took ya so long?" Brushing aside Joey's exclamations as she walked into their kitchen, Serenity set the bags of groceries up on the counter. Taking off her coat, Serenity sighed as she began her explanation.
"It was nothing, Joey, the supermarket was just a little crowded is all…" She smiled up at him reassuringly as she placed her coat over the back of a chair. "Don't worry so much, I have everything you need to make Mai a delicious dinner!"
"Well that's a reli—Wait a minute! Whadya mean, everything I need to cook Mai a dinner? I thought you were doin that!" Joey looked down at his sister and crossed his arms. "Sure, we both know that I'm talented, Serenity, but even I have some problems with things…cooking being one a 'em!" He looked pleadingly at Serenity. "Come on sis…help me out here, this dinner's gotta be good!"
Serenity returned Joey's pleading gaze with a coy look of her own. "Oh?" she asked, innocently, "Is that so…? And why would you want everything to be absolutely perfect, hmmmm? Could it be that you're trying to impress Mai, maybe even like her a little bit, maybe just a teeny-tiny bit?"
Serenity smiled mischievously as Joey's face began to turn red. As he started to protest, like she knew he would, she quickly held up her hand to silence him. "Now Joey, I'm really sorry but I've gotta go now, so don't worry about anything…"
"Wait a minute…" Joey interrupted, placing his hands on his hips. "Just where are you runnin off to now?" He looked at her suspiciously as Serenity began to feel her own face heat up under his scrutinizing gaze.
"Well…" she began, trying to come up with something quick, "Umm…well I've gotta leave you two alone, right? I mean, come on, you wouldn't want a third wheel like me hanging around, right? Besides I'm only going to a friends…"
"Oh, come on now Serenity, you'd be no third wheel…" Joey smiled down at her, trying to reassure her. "You're welcome to stay…" a big grin broke out on his face, "…and to cook…"
"Haha." Serenity replied sarcastically, glad that Joey didn't ask just who she was going to see. "Well, no, I am already late, but don't worry about dinner. I knew this was going to happen beforehand." As Joey gave her a questioning look, Serenity started to explain about dinner.
"Well I already knew that you'd want me to stay and cook for you even though it was your bet…" she smiled as she saw the knowing look on Joey's face as he agreed with her. "…and so, in effect, I made it really simple for you. So listen up, big brother." She led him around the kitchen, explaining to him what to do as she pointed out different things.
"Here's the rice cooker, Joey, I already steamed the rice…" she opened the lid so he could see the white grains underneath. She then led him to the refrigerator, where she opened it up to show him a bowl that was resting inside. "Here are your vegetables, already prepared…" She shut the door and then retrieved a pink box from one of the bags that she had brought back with her from the market. "And this…this is your dessert for later…" She opened the box to show him a dozen chocolate-iced cupcakes resting inside. She watched amused as his mouth started to water and then quickly covered the cupcakes back up so that he would not ruin them with his drool.
"Joey…" she told him, "these cupcakes are for later. You better not mess them up now." She laughed as he looked over at her and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, sure, Sis, whatever you say." They both looked at each other knowing that as soon as she left he would take the opportunity to inhale five of them at once before Mai arrived. As if Serenity didn't know that much already. 'And that's why I purchased a dozen…' she thought.
Setting the cupcakes aside, she then took out the package of fish that she had bought.
"Ok Joey, so this is going to be the only part of the dinner that you'll have to make." Seeing his worried expression, she smiled and quickly tried to reassure him. "Don't worry, it will be easy. All you have to do is place this fish…" she pointed to the fish, "with this sauce…" she took out a bottle of sauce from another grocery bag and showed it to him, "and combine them in that wok over there. See? Nothing too difficult, right?"
Judging from the expression on his face, it seemed to her that Joey begged to differ. Letting out a sigh, she turned around to start taking the fish out of its wrapper. 'Maybe it's just easier if I do it…' she thought, but was then startled when Joey took the fish out of her hand.
"It's alright, Sis. I'll do it. You go ahead and get ready to see your friend."
Pleasantly surprised, she looked up at Joey's determined face and agreed. "Alright Joey, thanks. And don't worry; I know you can cook this. Dinner will be fine."
As Joey set about his task, Serenity went into the bathroom to make sure that she looked ok. It had been a hectic day alright. Her hair was a little out of place, but a few strokes and it was all going back in the right direction again. Smiling in the mirror, she thought about where she was now headed. Butterflies began to dance in her stomach and she told herself to calm down. 'I'm already late…' she thought, but, despite this, she still remained in the same spot. 'This is crazy. Me and Kaiba? Yeah, like that would ever happen…' she leaned forward and stared at her reflection. 'Yeah…kinda crazy…'
Exiting the bathroom a few minutes later, Serenity made her way back into the kitchen in order to get her coat. The night would probably be cold later and she would be glad that she had it.
"Alright Joey, I'm gonna leave now…" She picked up her coat and then turned to say goodbye to her brother. "I should probably be back—" Her words cut off as soon as she saw what Joey was doing. Trying to pour the whole bottle of sauce into the wok.
"No, Joey! Don't do that!" Leaving her coat and rushing over to stop him, she managed to save the pan from being flooded. "Here, let me see it." Taking the bottle from his hand, she set it on the counter and let out a sigh. 'Looks like I will be doing all of the cooking after all…'
Ten minutes later, with the fish simmering nicely and four o'clock on the way, Serenity was finally ready to leave. "Ok Joey, now when the timer goes off that I set for you, come over and turn the heat off. After that all you'll have to do is get the other items and then serve them, ok?"
Joey stood by, smiling sheepishly. "Alright Sis. Sorry 'bout this. I didn't mean to make you late or nothing. You're just better at these kinds of things I guess." He turned towards the stove, "Anyway, thanks for all your help. I don't know what I'd do without ya."
Smiling at his comment, Serenity agreed. "Yeah, I don't know what you'd do either. Anyway, have fun tonight. No making out with Mai, ok?"
"Serenity!" Joey exclaimed, blushing. "I can't believe you just said that!"
"I was only kidding, don't worry." Serenity laughed at how embarrassed Joey had become. "I guess a little kiss would be ok…"
"Serenity, you better cut that out right now…" Joey said, chastising her. "You know it's not like that."
"Yeah…sure it isn't" Laughing at her brother, Serenity conceded. "Ok, ok, fine. It's not like that. Anyway, I've gotta go. Mai will be here soon and I'm already late. So I'll see you later tonight, k? I won't be back too early…I wanna leave you two alone for a while…" Winking at Joey, Serenity turned around and walked out of the apartment as Joey ranted in the background about it not being "like that" with Mai.
'Whatever Joey…' she thought to herself, knowing better then to believe him. 'If that's what you think…'
Turning her attention back to her destination, she felt herself grow nervous again. She hadn't told Kaiba what time she was going to come see him today, but still…she usually did arrive right after school…
'I hope he's not angry or anything…' she thought to herself, as she walked out to the car that she and Joey shared. 'He was just starting to warm up to me a bit too…I hope I didn't screw anything up.' Sighing as she got into the vehicle, she pulled the door shut behind her and started the ignition. 'Well…here I go…'
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Alright, alright, so that's the end of chapter 12…so what'd ya think, hmmm? I hope everyone thought it was good. Please review, you know, with comments, suggestions, ideas, *praises* heehee well anything you would like actually! I love 'em and I read 'em! So thanks a lot for supporting this story. I know that every time I see that the chapter has gotten many reviews, well, it makes me want to write more and more and more. So yeah, if you review, I will write. Or type, haha. Deal? Deal. Ok, so let's see what kind of gifts I have to give out this chappie…hmmm…~looks around the Kaiba mansion~ well…there is this nice lovely painting of the BEUD behind Seto's desk…he loves it, but then I love you guys, so why not? ~takes down painting~ Oh it's so cute! And…scary. Heehee. Well just like Seto, they only look tough. Underneath they're just big softies! So enjoy! Oh, and I can't forget the candy! Well, you can never go wrong with chocolate so here, ~hands out giant bags of chocolate~ hope you enjoy! Alright, well I'm off now so see ya next chapter! Oh, and don't forget to review. Thanks and have a nice day!
~Seren147