Sorry for the long wait. I've been buried with homework and I've entered the National November Writing thingy - the one where you write a 50,000 word novel in a month. Needless to say that's taking up a lot of my time.

- Chapter 16 -

"I don't know what to do…he hasn't been this bad since…" Mokuba started, his voice shaking slightly. Joey tried to absorb this information. Why would Seto suddenly, well, act like this? Why, indeed. He gripped the phone tightly in his fist, trying not to think of the most likely answer. He shook his head and tried to rid his mind of all those thoughts, but it did no good - he kept seeing imagines from a few hours before. He suspected why, he wasn't that naïve.

Joey looked up to see his reflection in a wall length mirror. He could see himself sitting on the floor, phone clutched in hand. He looked like a normal guy with his baggy clothes and messy blonde hair. He looked like he always had. But this time something was different. He was with Seto Kaiba. With as in together as in… There isn't any easy way to say this but – he was gay. Or bi, but that didn't make much of a difference to Joey. All he knew was that he and Seto was a couple. Joey smiled at his reflection. He liked the sound of that. He only hoped it were true…

"Joey? You still there…" Joey jumped slightly having forgotten he was still on the phone with Mokuba.

"Yeah," He paused, thinking of what to do. "I'll see him tomorrow, okay?" He knew Mokuba probably wanted him to come over now but, he couldn't. Or really, wouldn't. He didn't want to deal with this right now. Sure, eventually he'd have to but later was the better option.

"Alright," Oddly Mokuba didn't object, but then he probably assumed there was something else afoot. Luckily, he didn't ask what. They said their goodbyes and Joey hung up the phone.

He looked at himself again in the mirror. Being, well, gay didn't bother him. It wasn't a big issue to him. He just knew that he liked Seto regardless that he was also a guy. But Seto obviously cared. Joey would find it funny if the situation weren't so seriously. Seto never cared what people thought about him before – he didn't care if they hated him or… Maybe he was wrong. Maybe Seto had cared and this was just the last straw.

Joey sighed. It was complicated alright. He laughed bitterly. Hell, he should have known that getting involved with Seto would be complicated. He closed his eyes, remembering those few precious kisses. But hell, it's worth it.

Joey ran his hand through his hair and glanced at the clock. It was late and he had school the next day – not that he cared about being on time or anything. It's just…tomorrow is another day.

And god, he hoped that everything actually would look better tomorrow.

"You okay Joey?" Joey looked up to see his friends concerned faces. It was lunch time and they were out in the school courtyard, eating lunch under an oak tree.

"Just tired," Joey half-lied. True, he was tired but that's only because it took him so long to get to sleep because he kept worrying about…the situation with him and Seto.

Normally he would tell his friends but this was different. He couldn't say he and Seto were together – what if they weren't? Or what if Seto didn't want him to tell his friends yet. I mean, if Seto was afraid of what people thought, telling his friends just might make it worse.

"You sure?" Yugi asked; his violet eyes full of worry. Joey paused before answering. He hated lying to his friends, but he hated lying to Yugi the most - especially since Yugi always knew when he wasn't telling the absolute truth.

"Well," He started. "This is all hypothetical." Suddenly Tèa burst out laughing.

"I'm sorry," She said between a giggle. "But do you even know what hypothetical means?"

Joey pretended to look insulted. "Of course I do," He defended himself.

"Go on," Urged Yugi.

"Say there's someone who…" Joey stops for a second, thinking of a situation to compare to his and Seto's. "Someone who is trying to act like somebody they're not – and they're acting really mean and horribly and doing things they would really never do but they don't realize it because now they're popular. And their friends are trying to get them to be themselves but they won't because they think that they're better this way when they're not. When really it's just hurting them. And sure, if they go back to being themselves they might loose a few friends but really those friends don't matter anyway because they're stupid…" Joey takes a breath. "And…and…what are this person's friends supposed to do?"

Joey looked at his friends expectantly. After a few moments Yugi responded.

"Tell them that."

"Tell them what?" Joey asked, still slightly out of breath from his rant.

"What you just said," Tèa said. Tristan nodded in agreement.

"How…How's that supposed to work?" Joey asked puzzled.

"You're this person's friend; they should care what you have to say. Tell them that you're worried about them; show them that they don't need to act like someone else to get people to like them," Yugi said answered.

Joey pondered over that for a few minutes. He wasn't sure if it would work, but it was worth a try. Joey grabbed Tristan's wrist and looked at his watch. Only a few hours before school were over.

"He's in there," Mokuba told Joey, nodding his head towards the door to his room. Joey was about open the door, but then noticed that Mokuba hadn't left. Joey gave him a look.

"Fine. I'll leave if it's that secret then," Reluctantly Mokuba left Joey alone in the hallway. Joey felt kind of bad for basically telling Mokuba to get lost, but he felt this wasn't a conversation he should hear.

Joey took a breath and opened the door. Seto was at his desk working – working! – could you believe it? Before he could say something Seto turned and saw Joey standing in the doorway.

"I…" A flash of panic suddenly appeared in Seto's eyes. Then his eyes returned to their normal selves.

"We need to talk," Joey nodded and shut the door behind them. Perhaps this wouldn't be so hard. Seto was being coherent, and perhaps he didn't need to be told what Joey had come to say. But Joey tried not to keep his hopes up.

Both men sat down on the couch across from each other. At first neither of them said anything. Then they both said something in unison.

"What?" Joey questioned, alarmed at what Seto had just said, hoping he had misheard him.

"I said that yesterday was a mistake," Joey's heart dropped.

"You don't mean that," Joey murmured softly trying to convince himself that Seto was just afraid or… something. That Seto didn't mean this.

"I'm sorry," Seto said. "But we can- are not together." Joey took a deep breath.

"Why?" He asked. Seto looked slightly surprised at the question. Then he recovered.

"It was a mistake," He repeated monotonously. Seto stood up to leave but Joey also stood up stopping him.

"What if I say it wasn't?" Joey contradicted. Seto looked down at him, and then said sternly:

"It was a mistake," Seto emphasized the word mistake. Seto started walking back to his desk, signaling the end of the conversation when Joey grabbed a hold of his wrist.

"This conversation isn't over," Joey objected. Seto spun around, now angry.

"Let. Go. Of. My. Hand." But Joey was also angry.

"Not until you listen to me!" Joey rebutted.

"This conversation is over – and that isn't up for discussion." He pulled his hand out of Joey's grip. Joey didn't care, he just kept yelling.

"Why was yesterday a mistake? No one's going to care if we're together – and even if they did, since when do you care what other people think?" Seto glared at him momentarily, but didn't give the reaction of sudden denial as Joey had expected. So he tired a different tact.

"You can not deny that you enjoyed it! You can not say that yesterday meant nothing to you!" Joey yelled anything that came to mind, and suddenly he got the reaction he was looking for.

"How would you know?" Seto asked bluntly. "When I said it was a mistake, I meant it," Joey was not going to leave it at that.

"Look me straight in the eye and tell me it meant nothing, that you felt nothing!" Joey was sure that he couldn't. Seto's blue eyes stared into Joey's brown ones.

"It meant nothing," He said simply. Joey couldn't take it.

"You're lying!" He abruptly accused. Joey was now panicking. Seto was supposed to give in, admit that he actually… What if Joey was wrong? What if the whole thing that Mokuba described was only an exaggeration – or something else entirely? What if Joey was making an idiot of himself arguing something that was completely and absolutely wrong? What if Seto didn't like him…?

Joey did the only thing that could think of. He pushed himself up against Seto and kissed him full on.

Needless to say, Seto did not like this one bit.

He pushed him away – or really threw him away. Joey was pushed against the coffee table, flying over it, hitting Seto's desk and then falling into a slump onto the floor. Joey blinked a few times, unaware of everything, only knowing that his head felt really heavy and… Joey was out cold.

Seto stood there for a few moments staring at Joey's body on the floor.

"Joey?" He asked, kneeling down near him. Joey didn't move or make a sign that he had heard him.

"Joey?" Seto asked again.

He forgot that a few moments ago they had been fighting. He forgot about his fear of them being together, fear of people knowing. He only remembered that yesterday they had kissed and how perfect it had been. He only knew that there on the floor, unconscious, lay the guy that he cared about – loved maybe.

"Seto!" Mokuba, slightly out of breath from running, stood in the doorway.

"Wha-" He didn't finish for he immediately saw Joey slumped on the floor in the most unnatural position. He saw Seto just sitting there, staring at Joey.

Mokuba gasped, almost able to guess what had happened. He rushed to the phone that lay on Seto's desk for the second time in two days. This time he called the hospital.

Shortly after, sirens could be heard in the distance.

- End of Chapter -

Whoa! Long chapter, eh? But then, it should be considering this is the second to last chapter. Sad, isn't it?