RS: Sorry this took so long; I had a lot going on. Look: standardized testing started, I was so sick I could hardly get out of bed, then there was the science fair, plus a close friend of the family ended up in the hospital. Also, I wanted to update all my stories on the same day. So, here's the next chapter.

WARNING: Major oocness! (Hey, I was sick!)


Chapter 3

WHERE THE HELL AM I!

'Ugh, what happened? God, my head…'

Téa opened her eyes, waiting for the blurriness to disperse. Sitting up, she placed a hand to her forehead. Her palms felt cold and sweaty on her skin, almost like a mixture of nerves and sickness. Her mind swam as she moved her hand to in front of her mouth, muffling a short coughing fit. She finally looked around the room.

She was sitting on a soft, queen-sized bed. It was covered in ocean blue, silk sheets and a midnight blue canopy above. To her left was a nightstand, wedged between the one of the denim colored walls and the bed upon which she currently resided. Other than that, there was a bureau, another nightstand, and two white doors. All of which rested on clean, white carpeting. A beautiful, blown glass light fixture adorned the blank, white ceiling. What really caught her attention, though, was the folding table sitting directly to her right. A tray sat there, with a covered platter, hot cocoa, and a vase holding a single rose.

Furrowing her brow, Téa picked up the red flower and fingered its silky petals. The smooth, satin like texture mixed with a slight coating of dewdrops felt soothing against the girl's fingertips. She placed the rose back in its crystal holder, before allowing her gaze to flicker toward the digital clock residing on the dresser by her side.

'Wow, it's 10:49. That's pretty late.' Now, it is common knowledge that when one first wakes up in a strange place, you do not immediately panic. A drowsy haze is set on one's mind, and it takes a moment for your common sense to kick in. Téa's moment has just passed. The common sense should kick in right about… now.

'Wait a minute… WHERE THE HELL AM I?' jumping up, she looked around wildly, only stopping to steady herself from a head rush. She placed a wet palm on her brow. 'I remember Johnny and-' Her memory dawned on her 'Oh shoot! Shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot! God, how far did he get? I don't think very, I feel exactly the same. Someone must have stopped him and helped me; he'd never have taken me anywhere. No way, I'd have been left to rot. That smarmy bastard…'

Deciding she couldn't just stand there mentally cursing out Johnny Stepps, she opened one of the doors: a closet. Well, that didn't help her. She moved to the other door, residing on the wall farthest from the bed. Opening it, she found herself in a dark hall.

'At least it's not a closet.' The brunette mentally reasoned, 'now, which way do I go?' after randomly choosing a direction, her trek had begun. Actually, you couldn't really call it a trek, because five minutes later she had bumped into something and landed on the ground.

"Oof!" her hand found it's way up to her head. It seemed to be doing that a lot as of late.

'God, and I thought I had a headache before…'

"Téa?" a young voice called out.

"Mokuba? What are you-… where are we?" She was seriously confused.

"You don't remember?"

"Remember what?"

"Oh, I guess you were already unconscious when you got here."

"Got where?" she asked, beginning to sound slightly exasperated.

"The mansion."

"Mansion! How'd that happen?"

"Wow, you were unconscious for everything, weren't you?"

"Yeah, I was. What's going on?"

"I'm not sure. All I know is big brother carried you here."

"WHAT? Why would Kaiba bring me?"

"I dunno." Mokuba lied with expert precision.

'Maybe because he's desperately in love with you and has been since you guys were freshmen…' the boy shook himself of these thoughts, choosing to return to the real world.

"Did you find the food Seto left for you?" he asked, attempting to sound nonchalant. If his brother wasn't going to let her know how he felt, Mokuba would have to play matchmaker. Lord knows the older boy needed a girlfriend.

"H-he left that?" Téa squeaked.

"Yeah, did you eat it?"

"A-ac-" she cleared her throat as she was hit by another coughing fit, "actually, I was kind of preoccupied." She chuckled nervously, "wanted to know more about where I was before eating some randomly found food."

"Oh, ok."

"I should probably find S-your brother. I need to, uh… thank him and get home."

'Why did I almost call Kaiba 'Seto'!' the brunette mentally panicked (An: yes, I know, the whole 'Kaiba'/'Seto' thing is way over done)

'Yeah right,' Mokuba mentally rolled his eyes, 'you just want to see him and find out whether or not I was lying. It's totally obvious you like him.'

"Sure, do you remember where you came from?"

"Yeah…" She coughed a bit more. (An: Grr… there are no synonyms for cough!)

"It's five doors down the hall, on the left. By the way, are you alright?"

"Yes," she cleared her throat, "Why do you ask?"

"Well, you don't look so good. And you keep coughing."

"I'm fi-" Téa was cut off by another fit, which she quickly silenced before placing a hand to her head. "I've felt better."

"Why don't you go back to your room and get some rest? I can send Seto in to see you."

"No, no, that's alright Mokuba. I'll just go thank him now. I've got a long walk home."

" What do you mean 'a long walk home'? You can't walk around like this, you could get worse, or go to the hospital, or… or… or die!" he emphasized his point by flailing his arms about, making it so the female couldn't help but giggle.

"I'll be fine." She spoke reassuringly, a small smile on her face. "I just need to get going."

The two chose this moment to stand up. Well, Mokuba jumped up while his female counterpart slowly lifted herself into a vertical stance. Unfortunately, Téa's stance didn't last long as she was hit by another coughing fit. This one caused her migraine to increase tenfold, making her sway. Her hand made it's way to her forehead as her knees buckled and she collapsed backward.

"Oh no!" Mokuba reached out to grab, although the action was in vain. Seconds before her back would have met the ground; she was enveloped in softness and warmth. Glancing up, blurry cobalt filled her view.

"He's right," a raspy voice reached her ears, "you aren't in any condition to walk home."

"Wha- Kaiba?" she asked confused and dazedly. Quickly shaking herself back to reality, she stepped out of his arms and muttered a quick thank you, blushing the entire time.

"Big brother!" a black ball of lint- er, fuzz pounced on the boy for the second time that night. "What are you doing here?" the fuzz had noticed the exchange between his sibling and, hopefully, soon-to-be half-sister, but chose to pretend not to, although inside he was grinning. (An: Boy, the fuzz's overactive imagination sure thinks far ahead.)

"I was coming to check if you were in bed yet. What are you doing here?" the handsome one countered.

"I was coming up from the kitchen, where I was getting a glass of water, when I bumped into Téa on the way to my room."

"Alright then." Kaiba sighed, crouching down to Mokuba's level, "But, right now, it's time for bed. 'Night kiddo."

"'Night, Seto. Good night big sister." The older sibling stiffened in surprise at the boy's final words.

"G-" Téa cleared her throat, ridding her voice of all shock from his words, "Good night, Mokuba." Grinning, the young boy scampered around the corner and into his room. Upon the sound of his door shutting, the two teens turned to regard one another.


Ok, I know this is the middle of the chapter. However, there is a matter I found important and needed to address: ditching stories. This is not a personal insult, but some of you may connect with what I'm saying in a positive or negative fashion. It's no problem if you are going to put one on Hiatus if you need a break from it, but if you may not come back to writing it make sure you say it somewhere. There are plenty of places, including an author's note or your bio.

Further more, if you're a member but no longer wish to be one, LET PEOPLE KNOW YOU'RE LEAVING! This is especially bad when you have a large number of fan fictions, like fifteen, in the works. Many loyal reviewers are waiting for an update that never comes. The least you could do is announce your departure so no one's holding his or her breath. In fact, if you're leaving, why keep half written stories up?

I'm sorry if I've offended anyone, but this really gets on my nerves. I had to put this here because, in my experience, no one reads the beginning or ending authors notes. Now, back to the fic.


"C'mon," Kaiba ordered gruffly, "Let's get you back to the guest room."

"Oh no," Téa protested, "I should get home. It's late and I have things to do."

"Tch, it's not like you need to be worried about getting enough sleep, Gardner, we have off from school tomorrow, remember?" (An: don't ask me why, they just do!)

"Still, I should go."

"You're too sick to-" Ignoring the statement, she bowed in gratitude.

"Thank you for your help, Kaiba-kun. It's most appreciated, but I need to be going. I'm sorry for being a burden and for any trouble I may have caused. Thank you again and please, say goodbye to Mokuba for me." She turned to leave in an attempt to escape, only to feel a tight grasp on her forearm. She whipped around to meet him.

"Gardner: you're staying." His head was spinning, partially from the suffix accompanying his surname, partially from the contact, though not intimate, that had brought them so close.

"Let. Go. Kaiba." She enunciated each syllable with extra emphasis evident in her soprano voice, which was growing more and more hoarse by the minute. The formal title indicating some level of respect had been dropped from his name.

Their eyes met and time seemed to stop. Fire challenged ice; her warm, oceanic orbs fought his hardened and dull cerulean gaze. An azure battle waged between them, sapphire sparks flying. Their angry expressions dispersed under each other's observation, making way for a hazy, distracted appearance. It was like the sea after a raging storm. The dark of the ocean and violence of the thrashing waves gave birth to a calm paradise of crystal clear water, swaying ships gently toward their destination with a clean sky containing only small wisps of cotton candy floating next to a glowing sun and contrasting the dark outline of birds crossing overhead. Their fight had become a calm presence.

Kaiba was the first to awaken from his mental zen. His eyes hardened to their original state and his expression grew cold once more. He got ready to send some harsh, biting words her way.

"God damn it, Gardner! You're in no condition to go anywhere so get back to your room, now!"

"No, now let go of me!" she gave a futile attempt to get away, "What do you care, anyway?"

"I don't need your death on my conscience!" he tugged a little, temper slowly approaching it's low boiling point.

"Grr… don't you have a boyfriend you can run of to or something?" she spat venomously, before coughing a bit.

"What could possess you to ask that?" he asked, his guard up as far as it could possibly go.

"Come on!" she moaned, obviously tired of him being stubborn, as she rubbed her temple "You're 100 percent homosexual! I should know," she added, "I'm the one who first figured it out." Téa knew she had said the wrong thing as soon as the words came out. She clamped her free hand over her mouth in fear.

"… What?" the female attempted to step back but he still had a firm grip on her arm, which had promptly tightened. She wished desperately to get away, and found that wishing with all her might didn't work. "You started that rumor?" the boy seethed.

"Well, yes and no." she spoke calmly, hoping the demeanor would rub off on him. "I was the first one to figure everything out, but I only told my friends. I have no idea how it got out, honest!" it didn't.

"How dare you…" he advanced, "How can you come to such extreme conclusions without any proof?" he was yelling now.

"K-Kaiba? Now d-don't do anything d-drastic…" she reasoned backing away, coughing all the while.

'Stupid wall!' her back collided with something hard. He was inches away from her, rage burning in his dark eyes.

"'Don't do anything drastic'? Everyone's calling me a faggot because of you! I've become the laughing stock of the world! I'll never be able to show my face again! You want me to be calm?" Okay, that was it; she was tired of him overreacting to one small rumor. Plus, he was making her migraine worse.

"God damn it, Kaiba! It's not like it isn't true!" she screeched back, eyes watering from the bruising grip on her arm. "I'm a girl, I have gaydar!"

"But what proof do you have?" he demanded, only to be blown away by how perceptive she was. He'd always known she was intelligent, but never thought she was this intuitive.

"Plenty: You sit with your legs crossed in a gay fashion. No guys dress with such well coordinating colors unless they're homosexual. You never dress like normal guys out age, your pants and shirts are all the right length, and nothing's baggy or ripped. I've never seen you really do anything that might get your hands dirty, like your afraid of filth or something. You're always completely neat and tidy without a strand out of hair out of place. You're a complete perfectionist, always minding the minor details. You always arrive on time, right on the dot. Put all those surface qualities together and that spells gay." She ended with a cough.

"I'm not gay, Gardner. Besides, that's hardly proof."

'Man, how stupid am I? 'All those surface qualities', hello, 'surface qualities'! That means she has more details to support her!'

"Oh yeah? Well, how 'bout this: You don't have a girlfriend and instead of flirting you're always glaring at boys, even though there are females throwing themselves at you! In fact, you never pay attention to any girls at all!"

"That's not true…" his grip lessened. She was about to pull away when something found its way to her waist. It was his other hand. Looking up, she was met with a face two inches from her own.

"I have to go." She all but ran from him, only to fall back down on her knees after couple of yards. "Ugh, my head…" she leaned forward on her hands, "Why do I feel this way?" she asked, mostly herself, while coughing.

"Post traumatic stress." Kaiba answered bluntly walking over, "You're shaken up and your body's a mess."

'But it's not in my eyes. To me, you're gorgeous…' It was amazing that, no matter how angry he got at her, he always loved her immediately afterward, sometimes even while he was still mad.

"Oh." she coughed a little, before standing up and shivering, "I-I h-have to get h-home."

"No, you're far too sick. You just got the chills for god sakes." He looked at her like she was insane, and to stubborn for her own good. "You'll have to spend the rest of our week off resting."

"Look it's just a s-short walk across a few streets to my place. I'll be f-fine!" she reasoned.

"Where do you live, Gardner?" he asked suspiciously. She mumbled something incoherent. "What?" he leaned in closer so he could hear her.

"Sunnyside Drive." She whispered.

"Where's that?"

"… Near Main Street."

"Near Main Street! That's half way across town! Further more you'd have to walk through the worst neighborhood in Domino City! I can't let you go!"

"I t-told you, I'll be fine!"

"No! What happens if some other jerk tries to touch you! I don't-…" he snapped his mouth shut and turned away. Téa's sapphire eyes softened as she regarded his profile quizzically.

"You don't what?" she inquired softly, gently placing a hand on his shoulder.

"…I don't want you plaguing my conscience." He replied hotly, shrugging off her hand and beginning a rant. "You never…" he kept going.

"I'll stay."

"…Thought about- what?" his rant came to an abrupt halt as he turned to look at her. She sighed and closed her eyes; this was tough for her to say, especially to Kaiba.

"You're r-right, it's not safe. I'd be a fool to go now; it's better if I s-stay. Thank you, Kaiba-kun" She coughed yet again.

"Tch, whatever. I'll take you to call your parents."

"Oh, you don't have to. They're out of town on a b-business trip for the next three weeks."

"And no one's checking up on you?" he asked incredulously.

"Actually, I contact my neighbor if I n-need help and they call every three days."

"Well, when did they last call?"

"Today, while I was at the arcade w-with Yugi, Joey, and Tristan."

"Hn, figures you losers would be together." She rolled her eyes.

"What do you have against us?" she asked, poking a finger into his chest. She only stopped to cover her mouth and muffle another fit.

"I don't think that's really important at the moment…" he gazed down at her, emotionless mask back up in order to hide his worry. "Let's get you back to your room." On the way there they took part in some friendly small talk… well, as much as Kaiba could stand for.

"So, uh…" Téa was at a loss for ideas. She was used to hanging out with her friends, not Kaiba. What was there to say?

"You said your parents are on a business trip," he interrupted, "are the together?"

"Yeah," she answered nonchalantly, "they're psychiatrists, met in college n' became partners. T-there's a month long seminar in Hong Kong where a bunch of speakers were i-invited." She faded off.

"What are psychiatric field are your parents speaking about?"

"Children, Teens, a-and Young Adults."

"Three?"

"My mom focuses more on Young Adults and my d-dad on Children. Both work with T-Teens."

"… Do you fight a lot? With your parents, I mean."

"Interestingly enough, no. You'd think I would, since it's assumed their always trying to psychoanalyze me, but we get along great. The only t-time it's annoying is when they can tell why I'm acting the way I am, especially before I know the r-reason myself." She added an honest joke to lighten the mood a bit.

"Hn."

"… Uh, hey Kaiba-kun?"

"What?"

"If you don't mind my asking, w-what were your parents like? I mean, did you get along with them like me or did you feel like you hated them?" There was a long pause.

"… I don't remember them well enough." He stated gruffly. Téa could tell he was lying, but determined it wasn't a good idea to push the subject. "Here." They arrived at the room she had been staying in before.

"Thanks again for letting me stay, Kaiba-kun. It was extremely g-generous of you." She half-whispered sincerely.

"Whatever, I just don't want you on my conscience."

"Oh… well, good night."

"Night."

Before he had a chance to move, before she had a chance to think, it happened. The young dancer had boosted herself up using the tips of her toes, and brushed her lips against the soft skin of his cheek. Blushing she moved down, not missing his flushed face and stunned bunny appearance.

"Good night." She repeated quietly slipping back into her room.

Kaiba blinked, before blinking a second and third time.

The female brunette could have sworn she heard a very distinct 'YES!' coming from the otherside of the door.

'Nah,' she thought, 'It was just my imagination.'

End Chapter


RS: I warned you, major ooc. Leave a review please!