Author's Notes: Well, my last update was about a month ago, so I'm doing a pretty good job getting to all of my fics. Yay for me!
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If You Still Believe
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Chapter V
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Ryou's Point of View
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"This is the ancient stone tablet of the Pharaoh," Isis explained to me. I stared at the stone carvings with wide eyes. It was magnificent. Truly remarkable.
She pointed to the man on the right. "Does that remind you of anybody?"
I stifled a gasp. It was difficult not to recognize the spikey hair that covered the head of the man in the picture. Yugi's hair was very unique--not only because of its shape, but because of the three distinct colors that could be seen: the red, black, and gold. "That looks just like my friend, Yugi!"
"He's the kid who holds the Millennium Puzzle, right?" Marik asked.
"That's right," Isis responded gracefully.
"I can't believe it…" I said breathlessly. "What does this all mean?"
Isis tilted her head thoughtfully. "I don't know, exactly."
"You know that multi-billionaire, Seto Kaiba?" Marik asked suddenly.
"He goes to my school," I replied carefully.
"That's him, on the left."
"Are you serious?" I inquired, awed. I noticed the locks of hair that hung around the man's face, resembling the texture of the hair of the teenaged CEO himself. Even the eyes…they were exactly the same--I could see that icy glare through those narrowed eyes, his gaze challenging the Game King's. "That really does look like him!"
Yugi would be thrilled to see this! I thought excitedly. He's been searching forever for a clue like this about his Millennium Puzzle!
But then I remembered Yugi and I were fighting. He wouldn't speak to me anymore, unless it was to convince me not to meet my online friends.
Oh well, it's his loss.
Yugi doesn't know his elbow from his arse.
"Ryou, are you okay?" Isis asked, searching my eyes.
"I'm fine," I told her. "I was just thinking."
"About what?"
"My friend's angry with me."
"How come?"
"I met you guys."
"Don't listen to him," she advised. "He's probably just jealous of you."
"You're right."
"Come on," Marik urged. "Let's go see the next Egyptian exhibit."
"You going to be all right?" Isis asked me.
"Yeah. Let's go."
We followed Marik into the next red-carpeted room, joking and laughing as we went.
For the first time in a long time, I felt at home.
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Yugi's Point of View
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Ryou went to meet Isis and Marik today.
He went to meet them in person.
Is he crazy?!
He went to meet them in person!
How could he do such a thing?
How could Ryou's dad let him go through with this?
Does his father even know?
What if he gets hurt? Mugged? Killed?!
If something happened to Ryou, I'd never forgive myself.
Never.
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Isis' Point of View
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Ryou, Marik, and I have been hanging out at the museum, viewing the various exhibits and artifacts, and taking special interest in the ones of Egyptian origin. I've been having a great time, mostly, and Ryou seems to be enjoying himself, too.
But the entire time, the whole issue with Stefano has been nagging at me. I feel like hanging out with Ryou is betraying Stefano, and at the same time, I feel like I am betraying Ryou by not telling him about Stefano.
Marik had to go to the bathroom, leaving me alone with Ryou. Though, now that I think about it, Marik went to the bathroom before we left for the museum, and he hasn't had anything to drink since then. He seemed kind of upset when he left us…I'll have to ask him about it later…
Ryou smiled at me shyly, his eyes brightening as our gazes locked.
"I've been having a great time, Isis," he told me. "I'm glad you convinced me to meet you in person."
I smiled faintly. No, please don't make this any harder for me, Ryou! I pleaded silently.
"Those Egyptian artifacts were amazing," he remarked.
"Yeah," I agreed.
This is it. Now or never.
"Ryou…I have something to tell you."
"What is it, Isis?" he asked me, his eyes filled with concern.
"I…I love someone else…"
Ryou stared at me, shock, hurt, and disbelief all evident in his eyes. His mouth hung slightly open. "Pardon me?"
"I love you, but I love someone else…"
"I…I don't understand." His voice was shaking.
"I wish I could be with both of you," I explained hastily, "but I can't. I have to choose one of you. And I want to be with Stefano."
Ryou turned away and ran.
"Ryou!" I screamed, praying my voice would stop him.
What have I done??
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Author's Notes: Um, yeah…that was rushed…gah, that sucked…
Reviewer Responses: (Chapter 4)
Isis thinking of someone other than Ryou: (DreamingChild) Yes, I agree…Isis must be crazy to choose some other jerk-off over sweet Ryou. Ah, but we can't always choose who we love, even if in Isis' case, her head's just not on right…
Internet friends: (Princess of Mirrors) I do believe that talking to people from fanfiction. net is the lesser of some evils, because most pedophiles prey on people in regular chat rooms (I mean, logically, most people would not go through all the trouble of creating a profile, writing stories, and reviewing peoples' work, etc.). I even admit that I do occasionally speak to people from the fanfiction sites I am registered at, but it's usually either to work on a co-authored fic or to say something like, "Hey, I think your fic is really awesome…" I just refuse to get personal with them. Sometimes people come to me with problems, whether their writing-related or personal, and I'll listen and try to help them, but I go to my real friends for help when I need it. I am really against developing a personal relationship with people met online, because in a lot of the cases it only causes trouble. And that's basically what's happening in this story: Ryou develops a relationship with online friends that are just too close, and it has devastating effects on his mental/social health. It also has detrimental repercussions on his real life friends. Which is basically what happened to my group. Everyone started falling apart, and it ruined friendships. That's what I'm trying to portray.
Detail: (Princess of Mirrors) I will do my best to add more details in the story. My memory is a bit hazy (at least about the beginning), but as I go on, hopefully everything will be much more detailed.
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