Just Trust Me

# CW: Come on! We need more voters on the scene! I bet there's someone out there who's mad about Tristan/Duke (poor deluded being). T: 7, D: 2. VOTE!! #

'Ok. In you go.' The door slammed before Keith got a chance to argue.

'Are you both Ok?' asked PC Maun.

'Fine, thanks.' Said Mai. 'Good job I didn't swallow any, huh?'

'Indeed.' Replied the policewoman. 'I trust you know what was in there?'

'Uh, not really.'

'A typical household bleach. The same amount that there would be water in a normal mug of coffee.'

Joey whistled. 'That would not have been good.'

'I'm glad we've got rid of him.' Said Mai. 'But I guess we've still got to find the motive, huh?'

'You better call us if you can think of any reason at all that would explain why he's been after you.' Said Clive, climbing into the front seat of the police van.

'Will do.' Joey saluted.

PC Maun smiled in amusement. 'Watch yourselves now, Ok?'

'Sure.' Mai smiled back. They watched the police van drive off into the distance.

'I hope that means it's over.' Said Joey.

'It's far from over.' Said Mai. 'They've still got evidence to find – I mean that was just circumstantial. What are the odds of spitting out poisoned coffee just in time? I could have put it there to frame him. Or you could have done.'

'Yeah, but we didn't.'

'I know, but they don't know that, do they? We've got to find more evidence, for or against Keith being our guy.'

'Preferably for.'

'Yeah, otherwise they're going to suspect one of us.'

'I was just thinkin' o' that before.' Said Joey. 'When you was still in the hospital. I thought: 'how come they don't suspect me?"

'They probably do.' Said Mai. 'There's just no evidence that you did it, apart from the way you weren't there at the beginning every time.'

'I say we search the house.' Said Joey. 'We gotta find something.'

'Ok. Just don't expect me to shift anything heavy.' Mai nudged her crutch.

'Nah, I'll take care o' that. Guys weren't made stronger for nothin'!'

'Why you sexist little - ' Mai attempted to get Joey in a headlock with her free arm while supporting herself on her crutch with the other.

Joey swept her off the ground, laughing, and spun her round.

He stopped suddenly, but didn't notice the crutch still swinging, attached to her arm.

It came across the back of his head with a mighty THWACK!

'JESUS!' Joey sank to the floor and curled up in a ball, clutching his head.

'Oh God! Joey, are you Ok?' Mai struggled to get herself onto her belly to get closer to Joey's face.

'Am I hell.' Groaned Joey.

'Are you getting a lump?'

'What's that supposed to mean?'

'No, I mean on your head.'

'Dunno.'

'Here.'

Mai lifted his hands gently from his hair and stroked the area the crutch had hit him.

'Oh dear.' She said, as if to a little kid who had just grazed his knee. 'Yeah, a bit of a lump there. You want ice?'

'No, just keep doin' that.' Muttered Joey.

Mai smiled quietly. 'Sure will.'

They sat there for about a minute, Mai stroking Joey's hair.

'I feel better now.' Said Joey, pulling himself up with a dazed smile on his face. 'Thanks for that, Mai. I owe you one.'

'Hey, no problem.' Mai looked away, suddenly embarrassed. 'Hey, are you Ok to start searching?'

'Think so.'

'You don't want me to kiss it better?'

Joey looked astounded.

'Hey, hey, I was joking!' said Mai.

Joey pouted.

'Right, so – er – where're we going to look first?' asked Mai.

'Kitchen's always the best place to start. That's where I keep the bleach.'

'And where Keith made the coffee.'

'Ok then.'

They searched the kitchen up and down.

Minutes later they were heading for the sitting room again.

'Tell you what's weird.' Said Joey. 'There wasn't a bleach bottle in any of the cupboards or in the waste bin.'

'Yeah, Keith didn't go anywhere apart from the kitchen and this room.'

They searched the sitting room. Still nothing.

'Now that's really weird.' Said Joey. 'Nothing.'

'Where else could we search?' asked Mai.

'Let's just search everywhere.' Said Joey.

They searched the bathroom and even Joey's father's room. Nothing.

'It can't be in my room.' Said Joey.

'Well, it's the only one left.' Said Mai.

'Mai, you think it was me, don't you?' Joey muttered.

'No, of course not!' Mai's eyes (rhyme!) widened.

'Let me tell you now, if I had anythin' to hide, I know exactly where I'd put it. No one else knows, but there's a loose floorboard under my bed. I keep secret stuff there.'

'Ok, so if it's in your room but not there, it definitely wasn't you.'

'Even if it was there you know it couldn't have been me 'cos I just told you.' Said Joey.

'Smart thinking, Sherlock.' Replied Mai. They pushed open the door to Joey's room.

'Damn.' Said Mai.

'What?' Joey looked at her.

'Have you been raided?'

Joey looked around the room.

'No. It's always like this.'

'Oh.'

'Is that a problem?'

'No. No, it's great.'

Joey headed straight for the bed.

'Tell you what, I'll pull the bed away so we can both get to it, Ok?' he suggested.

'Ok.' Replied Mai.

Joey heaved his unmade bed to the side with remarkable strength.

Mai struggled to her knees next to Joey. Joey lifted the floorboard.

'Damn.' He said. 'Look.'

He lifted a large blue bottle out of the hole.

'It wasn't me, Mai. Honest. They framed me!'

Mai wasn't looking. She was pulling a shoebox out of the hole.

'Mai! Don't you look in there!'

It was too late. Mai pulled open the lid and looked inside.

'Hey! My handkerchief!' exclaimed Mai, pulling out a piece of frilly white material. 'What's this inside it?'

She pulled out a glory of the king's hand card and a photograph.

'This is my card. And this picture – this was at the Battle City tournament.'

The photograph showed her sitting on the edge of the fountain in the city centre, smiling.

Finally, Mai pulled out of the box a piece of golden hair kept together with string.

'Sorry, Mai.' Said Joey. 'I took it when your mind was trapped in the shadow realm.'

'What does all this mean?' Mai looked up at Joey with puzzled eyes.

Joey felt as if there was lead in the pit of his stomach.

'Eh – well – shit! Mai, no more lies. I guess you've probably guessed now anyway. We first met on the boat to Duellist Kingdom, yeah? I behaved like a jerk. I know. I was a guy and you were a good-looking girl. You knew I was all like 'whoa!' but it was just lust, y'know?'

Mai nodded, unsure of where this conversation was headed.

'Then we sorta fell out and you kept insulting me. You know how Kaiba and me hate each other's guts? Well when he insults me, it hurts like a millionth of what it did when I argued with you. I like to think I got through to you when we duelled, but I dunno. Then you gave me your glory of the king's hand and I just kept that and your handkerchief. I dunno why. Then I kept that photo and then I just took the hair, but – man, this is getting nowhere. I'm crap at speeches and shit like that.'

'Joey.' Said Mai. 'I've got a confession to make. You scared me. You really did, but it wasn't actually you that was scaring me. It was – how can I put it – it was the way I felt around you. I've never felt wanted in my life. I've just felt out of place, and that's just how I wanted it. Then you came along and you were always trying to be nice and it made me feel bad. Real bad. But at the same time I felt kind of weird. I felt edgy around you and my stomach kinda flipped every time you looked at me.'

Joey grinned. 'Hey, we sound like a couple o' idiots, don't we?'

'Yeah.' Smiled Mai.

'D'you wanna say it, or should I?'

'What's that supposed to mean?'

'Oh, come on. You know.'

'I'll say it.'

'You sure?'

'I'm sure.'

'Go ahead.'

Mai took a deep breath.

'I love you, Joey.'

Joey whooped and punched the air. He grabbed Mai round the waist, her cast forgotten, and swung her round and round. He put her down clumsily and she fell over forwards, grabbing him round the neck. He caught her and brought his lips to hers.

They kissed for what felt like an eternity, but when Joey broke the kiss, Mai realised she didn't want it to end. She pulled him towards her and they kissed again. They edged backwards towards Joey's bed and fell on it together.
Minutes later, the doorbell rang.

'We're not home.' Joey Murmured in Mai's ear, slightly out of breath.

'No, what if it's the cops.' Said Mai. 'They might have found more evidence.'

'Ok, Ok.' Joey rolled off Mai and sorted himself out. He then hurried downstairs, trying to control his wildly tousled hair.

'Hello?' Joey pulled the door open.

'Hello, Mr Wheeler.' It was indeed Clive and PC Maun. 'Found anything?'

'Eh, yeah.' Joey swallowed heavily. 'Whoever it is is trying to frame me. We found the bleach under a floorboard in my room.'

'Oh good.' Smiled PC Maun, rather sarcastically. 'We'll soon see if that's the same bleach that we found in the coffee. But right now, Wheeler, you are under arrested on suspicion of arson and attempted murder. You have the right to remain silent, but anything you say will be taken down as evidence against you.'

'What?' Joey tried to fight Clive off as he handcuffed him. 'I haven't done shit! Get Mai! Mai'll tell you!'

Mai watched from the bedroom. She grabbed her crutch and hurried downstairs as fast as she could.

PC Maun was still on her doorstep, but the only sound was the faint wailing of a police siren heading into the distance.

# CW: NO! Not Joey!!! Heh heh! Cliffie! Find out why they arrested him next update! #