Seto, I want to... (scribbles it out)
Seto, I think that... (scribbles that out too)
Se...
"So what's Seto? A new game or something?" Joey crumpled up the paper and looked up at his father.
"No. It's nothing." He tossed the paper toward the trashcan and missed causing it to roll back toward him.
"You wrote it all over the TV Guide and I think I heard you talking about it in your sleep. A new food? Is it good?"
"Food? Well, I guess in a... No, it's nothing," he repeated more vehemently.
"Well sorry. Tristan's on the phone." He held out the phone.
"Thanks," Joey said reluctantly taking it. "Hello," he said boredly.
"What were you doing?" Tristan asked.
"What do you want?" Joey ignored the question.
"Can't I just call to say hello?"
"No."
"Oh, well, I feel loved. What, do I have to change my name to Set..." Joey hung up the phone. Almost instantly it started to ring again. Joey answered it but didn't say anything as he held it up to his ear. He pulled his book bag over to him and pulled out his homework. Grabbing a pen he started to draw pictures where the answers should have been. "Okay, I'm sorry. That was out of line. I should have just said that not everyone gets..." Joey hung up again but this time it took several minutes for it to start ringing again. Not losing focus on his main task, he answered the phone again.
"You forget the number?" Joey asked, stopping his current drawing to actually answer one of the questions.
"You didn't even let me get to the good part. How do you know it wasn't going to be a compliment?" Joey made a sound of disbelief. "Alright, so it wasn't very nice. I'll just have to get you when I see you. Anyway. About this whole Ally thing..."
"I'm not interested," Joey moved on to the next page.
"But, you'd be letting down every guy in the world of guys if you don't even give it a chance to..."
"Sorry Tristan. I didn't know my decisions effected every guy," Joey replied sarcastically.
"Come on. Just because you had one make-out session with Kaiba doesn't make you gay. I know you. Last year all you could talk about was that girl in study hall. The summer before that was Jaime. Before her it was Paige. You can't tell me that one unexplained, misjudged attraction to a jerk that won't even talk to you anymore is enough to change your whole way of life." It was quiet on Joey's end of the line. "Joey, are you even listening?" Joey stopped his doodling and stood up, going over to his window.
"No. I stopped paying attention at hello. Bye Tristan." Joey hung up again. He sighed and tossed the phone onto his bed, not bothering to answer it when it started to ring again. He would be lying to say that he didn't feel any attraction to Ally and her flirtations, he was after all still a guy, but what he shared with Kaiba went deeper then just simple attraction and he knew that Tristan or any of his other friends would never understand that. And that was why he wasn't ready to give up on Kaiba just yet. He just needed to figure out what to say to him to get him back.
He left the phone ringing on his bed and left the house to go for a walk.
At Kaiba Corp
Kaiba looked at the eight screens in front of him boredly.
"This is what you call an emergency?" he asked annoyed.
"Well we weren't sure what to do," one of the men answered. Kaiba looked at him but didn't say anything. The man backed up a few steps and looked to his other associates for help but none of them seemed to want to be there anymore then he did. "H...how do you want to handle it...s...sir?" the man stuttered. Kaiba rolled his eye and shook his head.
"You're all fired. So I suggest with all the free time you have now, that you go back to school and find out how to actually DO your jobs." He hit a few keys on a keypad by the screens and the problem was resolved. "Have a good day gentleman." He left them all standing in the room unable to comprehend everything that had just happened. Halfway down the hallway Kaiba stopped, suddenly stricken with guilt. He lingered a moment, uncomfortable with the feeling, so then he closed his eyes and pushed it aside continuing on his way out. He cursed himself for the day he'd decided to take a chance on something new.
The next day at school was normal, except that instead of being a few minutes late, Joey showed up around lunchtime. He avoided all the stares as he moved to his seat only to stand up again as the bell rang for lunch. He stopped at his locker on the way to the lunchroom.
"We were beginning to think that..." Tristan started.
"Alarm clock didn't go off. Yugi can relate," Joey interrupted him. Yugi blushed at the statement.
"We're just glad that you're okay," he said trying to hide the embarrassment.
"Yeah, I'll be fine," Joey closed his locker door and walked away. Tristan turned to Yugi.
"Is it me or has Joey suddenly become Mr. Avoidance?" he asked. Yugi shrugged.
"He just has a lot on his mind, I guess."
"Like what? His mind can't process too much at one time." They started toward the lunchroom.
"I think you underestimate Joey too much," Yugi said.
"And where was he going? The only thing down that way is the library." Yugi just shrugged.
In the School Library
Joey pulled the nearest book off the shelf and opened it. After scanning it and seeing words like privation and contumacious he closed it again and put it back.
"Just because you know where to find them won't make me believe that you're smart enough to read them," a voice came from behind him. Joey turned to face Kaiba, leaning on the wall with his arms crossed. "What are you doing?" He dropped his arms and moved toward him, reaching behind him to straighten the book he'd just put back.
"Well I thought that..."
"Yeah. I know what you thought." Kaiba walked past him, toward the back of the library. "Go back to playing nice with your friends like a good dog and leave the thinking to the people who actually know how to." He disappeared around a corner and Joey looked back at the shelf of books. Forgetting why he'd gone in there to begin with and not ready to confront Kaiba again just yet, he exited and started toward the lunchroom.
Seto, I think that... (scribbles that out too)
Se...
"So what's Seto? A new game or something?" Joey crumpled up the paper and looked up at his father.
"No. It's nothing." He tossed the paper toward the trashcan and missed causing it to roll back toward him.
"You wrote it all over the TV Guide and I think I heard you talking about it in your sleep. A new food? Is it good?"
"Food? Well, I guess in a... No, it's nothing," he repeated more vehemently.
"Well sorry. Tristan's on the phone." He held out the phone.
"Thanks," Joey said reluctantly taking it. "Hello," he said boredly.
"What were you doing?" Tristan asked.
"What do you want?" Joey ignored the question.
"Can't I just call to say hello?"
"No."
"Oh, well, I feel loved. What, do I have to change my name to Set..." Joey hung up the phone. Almost instantly it started to ring again. Joey answered it but didn't say anything as he held it up to his ear. He pulled his book bag over to him and pulled out his homework. Grabbing a pen he started to draw pictures where the answers should have been. "Okay, I'm sorry. That was out of line. I should have just said that not everyone gets..." Joey hung up again but this time it took several minutes for it to start ringing again. Not losing focus on his main task, he answered the phone again.
"You forget the number?" Joey asked, stopping his current drawing to actually answer one of the questions.
"You didn't even let me get to the good part. How do you know it wasn't going to be a compliment?" Joey made a sound of disbelief. "Alright, so it wasn't very nice. I'll just have to get you when I see you. Anyway. About this whole Ally thing..."
"I'm not interested," Joey moved on to the next page.
"But, you'd be letting down every guy in the world of guys if you don't even give it a chance to..."
"Sorry Tristan. I didn't know my decisions effected every guy," Joey replied sarcastically.
"Come on. Just because you had one make-out session with Kaiba doesn't make you gay. I know you. Last year all you could talk about was that girl in study hall. The summer before that was Jaime. Before her it was Paige. You can't tell me that one unexplained, misjudged attraction to a jerk that won't even talk to you anymore is enough to change your whole way of life." It was quiet on Joey's end of the line. "Joey, are you even listening?" Joey stopped his doodling and stood up, going over to his window.
"No. I stopped paying attention at hello. Bye Tristan." Joey hung up again. He sighed and tossed the phone onto his bed, not bothering to answer it when it started to ring again. He would be lying to say that he didn't feel any attraction to Ally and her flirtations, he was after all still a guy, but what he shared with Kaiba went deeper then just simple attraction and he knew that Tristan or any of his other friends would never understand that. And that was why he wasn't ready to give up on Kaiba just yet. He just needed to figure out what to say to him to get him back.
He left the phone ringing on his bed and left the house to go for a walk.
At Kaiba Corp
Kaiba looked at the eight screens in front of him boredly.
"This is what you call an emergency?" he asked annoyed.
"Well we weren't sure what to do," one of the men answered. Kaiba looked at him but didn't say anything. The man backed up a few steps and looked to his other associates for help but none of them seemed to want to be there anymore then he did. "H...how do you want to handle it...s...sir?" the man stuttered. Kaiba rolled his eye and shook his head.
"You're all fired. So I suggest with all the free time you have now, that you go back to school and find out how to actually DO your jobs." He hit a few keys on a keypad by the screens and the problem was resolved. "Have a good day gentleman." He left them all standing in the room unable to comprehend everything that had just happened. Halfway down the hallway Kaiba stopped, suddenly stricken with guilt. He lingered a moment, uncomfortable with the feeling, so then he closed his eyes and pushed it aside continuing on his way out. He cursed himself for the day he'd decided to take a chance on something new.
The next day at school was normal, except that instead of being a few minutes late, Joey showed up around lunchtime. He avoided all the stares as he moved to his seat only to stand up again as the bell rang for lunch. He stopped at his locker on the way to the lunchroom.
"We were beginning to think that..." Tristan started.
"Alarm clock didn't go off. Yugi can relate," Joey interrupted him. Yugi blushed at the statement.
"We're just glad that you're okay," he said trying to hide the embarrassment.
"Yeah, I'll be fine," Joey closed his locker door and walked away. Tristan turned to Yugi.
"Is it me or has Joey suddenly become Mr. Avoidance?" he asked. Yugi shrugged.
"He just has a lot on his mind, I guess."
"Like what? His mind can't process too much at one time." They started toward the lunchroom.
"I think you underestimate Joey too much," Yugi said.
"And where was he going? The only thing down that way is the library." Yugi just shrugged.
In the School Library
Joey pulled the nearest book off the shelf and opened it. After scanning it and seeing words like privation and contumacious he closed it again and put it back.
"Just because you know where to find them won't make me believe that you're smart enough to read them," a voice came from behind him. Joey turned to face Kaiba, leaning on the wall with his arms crossed. "What are you doing?" He dropped his arms and moved toward him, reaching behind him to straighten the book he'd just put back.
"Well I thought that..."
"Yeah. I know what you thought." Kaiba walked past him, toward the back of the library. "Go back to playing nice with your friends like a good dog and leave the thinking to the people who actually know how to." He disappeared around a corner and Joey looked back at the shelf of books. Forgetting why he'd gone in there to begin with and not ready to confront Kaiba again just yet, he exited and started toward the lunchroom.