Raventhedarkgoddess: Thanks to those of you who found this and reviewed again, means a lot to me that people are still interested in this crappy story. Anyway, here's your update. Enjoy.

Chapter Nine: A Plan in Motion

Serenity awoke with her arms still around the tiny bear that Malik has given to her the night before. That was when she noticed that someone was curled up behind her, breathing slowly and warmly. She turned to face Malik, who lay behind her, curled up in a small ball as he slept. Time for phase one, she thought to herself. "Time to wake up, honey."

The group on the other side of the screen, who were sitting around eating various bowls of ceral the arriving morning clerk has offered them, stared at the sound of Serenity's voice.

"Did she just say... Did she... Did... Did she just call him HONEY!" Joey managed to gasp out, almost choking on the cornflakes he was eating, eyes wide and staring at her sister as she sat up on her knees and began gently shaking Malik's shoulder.

"Come on, honey, wake up," she crooned softly. I can't believe that this feels natural...

"Mmm... Five more minutes..." Malik rolled over to face her and opened his eyes slightly. "Oh, good morning." Did she just call me honey? He asked himself, but then it all came back to him: He was pretending to love her and nothing more, to get back at those friends of hers.

"Did you have a good night?" She asked him, and then winked. Mai felt Joey go slack next to her, almost as if he might fall over, dead, on the ground at any given second.

"This certainly is a change," muttered Bakura under his breath, holding Tea's hand in his own as she took in the screen with just as much shock as everyone else. To no one's surprise, however, Marik was one to laugh at the scene before him.

"Now look what you've done, gotten them to get together! Good job there, matchmaker Mai Valentine!" He hooted.

"Shut it! This isn't all Mai's fault," Yami pointed out, doing his best to be rational and keep his head.

"He's right! We all agreed to it, so we're all guilty!" Yugi said, trying to shift some of the blame away from Mai, who looked as if, had she not been stunned into tears by watching Serenity help Malik to his feet, she might have started to sob.

"Ah, it was great. I mean, you're great." He slid his arms around her shoulders gently, quietly. "I am really sorry about last night, you know, reading your diary and all... Making that stuff up like that just to get you in trouble..." You're only stage acting, you're not really sorry... Am I?

"I'm sorry I harrassed you about the bear, I know how much it means to you and didn't mean to upset you." She leaned her head on his shoulder. "Forgive me?"

"Only if you forgive me," he answered, then glared definatly at the screen as if to say, "Ha, look at us now!"

"We've got to get in there!" Joey hollored. "Who knows what kind of things he did to get her to act like his girlfriend!"

"Don't be vulgar," Ishizu whispered. "He's a good kid, really he is." Yami squeezed her shoulder gently, her way of letting her know that it was okay, that she shouldn't worry about it.

"She's still our friend, and we should respect her choices..." Tea was cut off by Bakura, who set a hand over her mouth and gave her a warning look. Ryou, who was sitting nearby, smiled at him and Tea, and Bakura could only sigh. Mental note: Hurt him for that later.

"I forgive you." He dropped his glare at the screen. "Shall we kiss and make up?" He wondered if, laying her head there, she could tell just how much he loved her and needed her, cared about her.

She wondered if it showed just how nervous she was, just how much she really did want this as so much more than stage acting. Here it goes... "Yes, yes, let's."

He leaned closer to her and shut his eyes, wondering what he was racing into, and set his lips against Serenity's. He began to kiss her quietly and was shocked at the power of her kiss back, pulled her closer and closer, wondered how enragded everyone at the control room was...

"And now there's love everywhere. Disgusting," Kaiba muttered.

"Brother, you don't have to be so cold!" Mokuba pointed out in a whiny tone.

"Aw..." Said Duke and Tristan together, but it was not because of the brotherly love or because of the love in the room: It was because they wanted Serenity and, of course, thought they had lost their chance to an evil, soul-stealing freak.

"I'm gonna kill her! I'm really going to kill her for this!" Joey appered to be freaking out, but Mai held him into place next to her, digging her long nails into his arm as the two got closer and closer, and Joey grew angerier.

"We really don't have any place to stop them, you know," Yugi pointed out quietly, but Joey ignored him.

The two broke apart. "I love you," Malik whispered, no longer play-acting.

"I love you too." I really love you.

Ishizu tried not to look too pleased. "We've got to stop them!" Joey was insisting, and Kaiba was laughing at him.

Can true love be stopped? She questioned.

Raventhedarkgoddess: Sorry it's so short, I'm probably gonna wrap it up next chapter. R+R!