QoH: Yes, I, the evil authoress/torturer of Yugi and Serenity, is back! And be grateful! lol I have a new job (go me!) and I just put in two and a half hours of overtime, not to mention that I rode my bike to the library (that is, where I am now lol) a couple miles away, so I'm practically dead on my feet… o_O There's also the fact that I had to get up at the ungodly hour of 5:30… _ I'm so glad I have the weekend off! I get some real time to write my fics! WAI! :D
Chapter 6: Reflections
Serenity adjusted her sunglasses as they started to slip down her nose. She twirled her spoon a little, half-listening as the other chatted away over their ice cream sundaes. As usual, Tea's voice was grating on her nerves.
"Hey, guys, who's going to the dance next month?" Tea's incessant, overly cheerful demeanor made Serenity's eyes narrow in annoyance. Doesn't she ever get tired of that?
"Not me, for one, I know that much." Bakura replied, shaking his head fervently from his position beside Serenity, "That's not my sort of thing, really."
She turned her head towards him curiously, "Why not?"
He smiled at her vaguely, "Far too many people for my tastes."
Serenity nodded, knowing how that felt. She sat back, "What about the rest of you, then?"
"Tea and I are going." Yugi spoke up, smiling bashfully at the thought beside his girlfriend.
Eyes flashing something so quickly, even she barely caught it, Tea answered, "Yeah! I've already got a dress, and everything! It's going to be great!"
Was that resentment I saw there for a second? Serenity wondered in surprise. Surely not… What girl in their right mind would be like that when the guy they're going with is someone like Yugi? I certainly wouldn't…
~Got a love that's hard to find.
Got the boy I wish was mine.~
No. It's wishful thinking. It has to be. Serenity told herself briskly, stabbing her spoon into her now-melting sundae. I can't be thinking that way when Yugi's happiness is on the line. No matter how much I wish I were in Tea's place, she is the one he loves. I just have to accept it, that's all there is to it. Another ring of Tea's "lively" laughter rang out, breaking into her thoughts. But it doesn't mean I have to like it…
"Perhaps you should give the poor sundae a break, huh, Serenity?" Yugi's soft voice made her head fly up, giving her a moment of vertigo. She blinked a few times to try and get rid of the spots that swam before her, scolding herself mentally. Despite the fact that she was doing incredibly well, her eyes were still healing, and that probably hadn't been the wisest thing to do.
Though the dark glasses were doing their best to shield her eyes, she saw his face clearly across the table from her, once the dizziness had passed. Much clearer than she'd let on, in fact, even to Joey. She wasn't sure as to why she did this, but she had a strong feeling that she shouldn't reveal her recovery just yet. As for Yugi, he wore a slightly teasing grin, looking expectantly at her, as though waiting for her to say something. That was when her memory sent a "wake up, stupid" jolt to her brain that he'd asked her something. "What?" she asked, confused as she tried to remember exactly what it was he'd said.
"From the way your face was set, for a second there, I was sure you wanted to melt it with your X-ray vision." Seeing her still-puzzled look, he indicated her bowl, laughing quietly in that good-natured way he had. The one that fascinated her so much…
"Oh," she blushed faintly, her head bowed in embarrassment, "I didn't mean to go 'space cadet' again…"
"Don't worry about it," he shrugged, still smiling at her, "It looks like I'm the only one who noticed, anyway." Yugi tilted his head in curiosity, leaning toward her, "So, what was with the five-alarm glare?"
"I, uh…" she stuttered, thoroughly unnerved, and not in the least willing to tell him, of all people what she was really thinking about, "Oh, just some stuff I heard earlier, that's all…" Well, yeah, just not as early as I'm implying…
"Are you sure?" Yugi was clearly unconvinced, but didn't seem inclined to push her, for which she was grateful to him. He frowned in concern, laying his hand on hers where it rested on the table, "You know you can always talk to me if something's bothering you, right?" The bittersweet contact, and his words, effectively tightened her throat to the point it was almost painful. Unable to speak, she simply nodded, and he smiled at her again. Naturally, the moment was shattered when Tea announced that she had to leave, something about homework, or whatever. Serenity scoffed in her mind, Like I care…
But then, a mere glance to Yugi's face turned that all around. The pained expression in his eyes, carefully hidden to all but the most observant, showed that he, for one, most certainly cared. Watching him watch her breeze out the door, she had the notion that this happened often, and that he'd learned to deal with it. What's wrong with that girl, Serenity wondered, shocked anew at the coldness she hid beneath the bright exterior. She hadn't even said goodbye, not really. A wave without even turning around, that was it, even though the guy she supposedly loved was sitting there staring after her like there had been, not just a rain, but a veritable flood on his parade. While he was right in the middle of it, no less.
She studied him silently under the guise of eating the soup-like substance that had once been her ice cream. I really wish I could do something. I hate seeing him like this. It's just wrong. So wrong... For once, she was glad she had those stupid glasses on. That way, no one could see the tears she felt stinging her eyes as her heart wrenched for the sad youth she loved more every day.
~But, she's a fool.
She's a fool.
She has his love,
but treats him cruel...~
****
Early the next morning
Serenity flipped over on her bed, unable to sleep, frustrated as she was. Sitting up, she sent the clock yet another sullen glare for its insistance on creeping minute by minute. When she noted the time to be nearly one, she threw up her hands and rolled out from beneath the covers to stride over her desk, where a small gooseneck lamp rested. A handy thing to have around when you didn't want anybody else to know you're up, she mused, smiling just slightly as she flicked it on. The soft light immediately filled the room and, staring in the full-length mirror on the back of her door, she got a good look at herself in for the first time in years.
She knew she wasn't entirely unattractive. She may have been blind (or nearly so), but she wasn't oblivious. From all the visits Tristan had paid her while she had been in the hospital, it was about as obvious as a neon sign that he'd liked her. She played the part of being clueless, though, because she didn't want to hurt his feelings. He was nice enough, but she felt no spark beyond friendship with him. Of course, she didn't think he'd taken her silence too hard. She'd listened to their conversations over time she'd known them, and he seemed to hit on practically every pretty girl he could work up the nerve to talk to.
Her medium-long chestnut hair fell around her lean form in a wild tangle as she ran her hands through it, scowling at her reflection. Serenity leaned forward so that her nose almost touched the glass, scrutinizing her eyes. In her opinion, they were an odd mix that resulted in a fluid hazel that always reflected her mood, which was something she was not fond of, particularly now.
At the moment, they were green, tinged with quite a bit of brown. Whenever she was angry, it took on green as the main color. Once, not long before they'd been separated, after he'd taken her favorite doll hostage in a game of his, he'd told her her eyes looked greener than St. Patrick's Day, and she'd stuck her tongue out at him. Of course, this had made them both laugh, and she eventually got her doll back when they'd managed to get off the floor, where they'd been rolling in their innocent humor.
In those days, her eyes had been predominantly blue, which, in her case, signified happiness. Being around her brother never failed to cheer her up. For a moment, she considered going to Joey with her problem, but discarded it almost as soon as it entered her mind. As much as I wish I could talk to him, that's just not possible right now...
As she thought about this, the brown gained supremacy, coinciding with her increasing sadness. All of a sudden, the tears she'd held back since yesterday afternoon spilled forth, and she sat quickly on the floor before she fell. Drawing her knees up, she buried her face in her crossed arms. Why does it have to be Yugi? she wondered, not for the first time. Sure, she'd had crushes before; she was a teenage girl, after all. But, this was different, somehow. The very moment she'd met him, she'd felt a connection with him, a link she had instantly known was extremely rare. This was the stuff you read about but hardly ever saw, so little that most doubted it even existed, but Serenity Wheeler knew. In that moment, she realized she'd known all along, but had tried to deny it. Yugi Motou was the love of her life. A new wave of tears greeted this news, and she cried until she fell asleep against the wall.
QoH: *sniff* Aw, poor Serenity... She's in a sticky little situation, isn't she? Gee, and it's gonna get worse, 2.... ^_~ hehe I know not a lot happened in this chap. It was more a thing of self-discovery for Serenity than anything (though it also set in motion events later to come… hehe) Neways, I'm sooo sorry about the late update! I'm not home much anymore, and my aol account has been cancelled due 2 some prob with my grans credit card... -_-' oi.... I'm just glad I was warned a couple days early, and was able 2 switch my ffn account over 2 my yahoo email, so I didn't lose my fics.... Hopefully, I can get it back... *shrugs* Whatever ^_^ Please review! I hope ya liked this chappy! :D I'll get the next up as soon I can, ok?