' I thought I'd never get away,' Joey thought to himself as he started his walk home. It was already dark out and a wind had picked up, making him shiver. He hadn't been able to aide Ally at all in her objective but he thought he'd managed to hear her whole life story from the first time she'd seen the light of day to bringing home her last perfect report card. She'd tried to teach him the importance of wanting to be the best at everything but he'd gotten tired of listening after the first word. Now he felt like he just wanted to fail at everything on purpose, just so he'd never have the slightest chance of ending up like her. He shook his head to erase all the memories of that day from his mind and sped up to get farther away from her faster. Just the sound of her name was enough to send chills down his spine.

He shivered again uncontrollably.

"Seto used to give me chills," Joey mumbled somberly. He remembered the anger and resentment that the cold-hearted teen had invoked in him so many times. How he'd shudder inside when anyone mentioned his name...Kaiba... Those chills had been different. Unlike Seto, he hadn't started out hating Ally. He couldn't even be as harsh to say that he hated her now. Ally wasn't a bad person, she just...didn't know when to shut up. He'd given her a chance and he didn't like where that had taken him. With Seto...he was still trying to figure out if giving him a chance was even worth it. He wasn't in love with Seto, no, that would be ridiculous. So why couldn't he just forget him and move on? Seto apparently had. Why was it so hard for Joey?

' So what if he's been at Ally's house all afternoon, I don't care what the stupid mutt does with his time. He couldn't even tie his own shoes correctly without help so he's just a hindrance anyway. I don't care if he can...'

"Seto?" Kaiba looked up, coming to the realization that he'd miscalculated the entrance to his room and wandered into his brother's. Mokuba stood up from playing a game on the floor and looked at him expectantly.

"I..." Kaiba found himself at a loss of words.

"Did I forget to clean up the living room again? I know you told me not to..."

"No. It's not that. I didn't mean to..." he cut himself off and shook his head, turning around. "I'll see you in the morning."

"I didn't mean to sound like you had to," Mokuba said making him stop. He faced his little brother again.

"What?" he asked confused.

"When I asked you if you loved him. I didn't want it to sound like an obligation. The way you were talking it just seemed... You don't have to to see him." Seto avoided eye contact and turned back to the doorway.

"Good-night, Mokuba." He went to his room. ' It was never a question of whether or not it was an obligation to continue the relationship. It just made me realize how much the whole thing was really just going to ruin what I've gotten started for myself and for Mokuba... It was just too much trouble. I was hurting Mokuba and I was hurting myself by taking time that should be spent keeping my company running properly with something that wasn't even that important to begin with. I don't even know why I'm still wasting my time thinking about it. And I sure as hell don't know why I went to talk to his stupid friends. He doesn't matter and I have to forget about him... So why does that seem so hard?'

"Are you ever going to tell me what that is?" Yami asked, watching Yugi pass the funny shaped piece of glass between his hands boredly. Yugi looked over from the desk as Yami sat up on the bed.

"I thought you were sleeping?" Yugi smiled. Yami shrugged.

"So, what is it?" Yugi spun the chair around and leaned over.

"Well... You have to hold it up to the light and if you..." Yugi held it up in front of the window and tilted it to its side as Yami inched a little closer himself. "...find...the right...spot..." he started to move it to his left in searching. "...it can tell you your whole future and everything you ever wanted to know...and I think..." he closed one eye as if in concentration and moved it up a little further. He looked sideways at Yami, who had become so captivated that he'd moved to a spot close behind Yugi, now only inches from Yugi's face, just waiting for something to happen. Yugi smirked and brought it down again. "Only kidding." Yami scowled and walked away, crossing his arms. Yugi laughed and shook his head and Yami just went back over to the bed. "It's a wish stone," Yugi continued, looking at the gem. "It's blessed by the moon to bring truth and help guide you in certain areas of your life. This one is for love." He stood up and walked over to sit next to Yami. "I bought it for Joey to cheer him up but I haven't had the chance to give it to him...and I feel kinda weird about it anyway."

"Why's that?"

"I don't know. I guess because it would be like I'm prying into his business." Yami pulled him into his lap.

"I think it's a nice gesture. A way of letting him know he still has a friend if he needs someone to talk to...if he ever decides that he wants to."

"But he should already know that. If he wanted to talk about it he would. I just feel so disconnected from him...like I'm losing my best friend, but I don't know what to." Yugi leaned against Yami's chest and let him hold him.

"Just be patient. He just needs some space to sort things out. A lot has happened and he needs some time to comprehend it all. I actually think giving him that stone would help him...if it's as powerful as you say it is." Yugi pulled back and met his eyes, then smiled.

"I need to finish my homework before it gets too late," he said, crawling out of Yami's grasp. He went back over to the desk, looked back at Yami and nodded. "Thanks," he said, and sat back down to work.