Sorry this chapter took so long to put up. Not only did I go on vacation, but my internet was temporarily unavailable.

Anyhow, I hope you enjoy this chapter! This story is getting really good! The next chapter's going to kill you!

The replies to your responses!

Shadow: Thanks for reviewing! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Kobear91: Thanks for reviewing! Alex and Joey are fine, for the time being anyway.

joeyluver-dragonofra: Thanks for all your reviews! I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as you enjoyed the other chapters!

Well, onto the story!

The Life of a Blonde

Chapter 8: Plans of Death

By yllom21

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh (I'd be snoozing in a hot tub if I did)

Perhaps it was because Joey had never had a civilized conversation with Shawn or perhaps it was the nervous air that surrounded the spiky brunette. Either or, the blonde knew something was up.

"What is it?" Joey said as he flicked a strand of hair out of his eyes. The brunette had his undivided attention.

Shawn did not want to answer.

"Well you see…" the other teen started as he went in search of a chair and found one close to the door. He pulled it near the white-covered bed, the brunette sunk into it and began to comb through his spikes. "Do you know what happened to O'Neil?" He said.

"What's wrong with Alex?" Joey said as he sat up suddenly. He wanted to jump up and yell at Shawn to continue but the bandages were stiff and any movement at all was difficult. He resolved in glaring, hoping the brunette would be freaked out enough to continue. His evil glares were wondrous; he had plenty of practice glaring at a certain Seto Kaiba back in Domino.

"So… you don't know…" the brunette whispered to himself, oblivious to the fact that Joey could hear him. After a second or so of silence, the boy started up again, "Ok… it wasn't long after school ended. I was heading over to skate park when this dude in this rusty vehicle called me down,"

"What'd he look like?" Joey said, wondering what this had to do with him or Alex.

"It was an old man. He seemed high or something… couldn't stop stuttering or swearing and he smelled awful… like booze." Shawn shuddered. The movement was invisible to Joey. He knew the drunk that Shawn was talking about. He was describing his father!

"The funny thing was he asked were you where. I wasn't going to tell him, even if you're my enemy, this dude was high! He told me he was your father. He even had papers to proving it. So I thought it was this one-time thing, ya know? Like, maybe he got a promotion and he decided to celebrate in a nearby bar." The brunette continued, as he described the scene that had took place earlier that day.

"So, what'd you do?" Joey asked as he tried to pretend that he didn't care one way or another. He was proud to admit that his voice didn't stutter at all.

"I told him… he had papers and all… it was pretty convincing that he was your father. Since you fainted in school, there was a reason why he wouldn't know where you were. So I pointed him in the direction of the hospital… and he left. He almost ran over a lady with a stroller. I'm surprised his license hasn't been taken away by a cop," the boy said as he continued to describe the scene. He didn't notice the odd look that overcame Joey's face.

So his father knew about that fainting thing? But how, Shawn was describing it like it happened right after school! But normally he would have been doing one of his jobs. His father never expected him that early.

"So what happened next?" the blonde asked as he bit his lip to stop himself from stuttering.

"Well, my father is the chief cop and they think you've been abused." Shawn said as he paused to glance at Joey's facial expression, which Joey just managed to keep blank, "They think it's the same dude I saw… and the same dude that shot O'Neil,"

Well that seemed about right. He had already guessed that much and wait… Alex was shot? Joey's eyes bulged and he gasped.

"Wait a second! What happened to Alex?" Joey said as his facial expression finally gave away and the panic shown through his face. Shot! His father had hurt somebody!

"The person that claims to be your father, that's who. My dad thinks he wanted O'Neil to tell him where you were and when she didn't, he shot her." Shawn said as a glimmer of regret shown through his face. Joey began to wonder why Shawn was here.

"So you're here…. because why?" Joey said with a notched eyebrow as he tried not to think of Alex's condition.

"I told him were you where," Shawn reminded the other teen. "If I hadn't… then Alex wouldn't have been shot… and… I feel a bit guilty." Suddenly anger that was directed at himself overcame the boy's face and eyes and before Joey knew it, the brunette had stood up and was heading towards the door.

"Wait a second!" Joey called out as he watched Shawn pause. "What's Alex's condition?"

"She's out of danger… she'll make it," and then he left.

Joey doubted that he'd ever see him again.

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Yep… something was most certainly up.

The three teens couldn't think of a time in which they saw so many police cars in one place with their sirens blaring and screeching. Adults in blue uniforms were talking to doctors, staff, and other people that had no idea what was going on. The three of them were certain that it had to do with Joey and Alex.

"What do we do now?" Evan asked Paige who was frowning as she played with the braid in her hair.

"We spy on the cops," Paige said like she was conversing about the weather and began to walk towards a large cop who was talking to an elderly old lady.

The two boys gasped.

"Wait a second… we're going to spy on cops who are questioning other people?" Toby said as he watched the girl go, her back stiff and her head back in a nervous manner.

Paige never spied on people… and cops were the hardest to spy on. After all, they were trained to spy. How could they know if somebody was spying on them spying on somebody else? They had to know what was wrong with Joey and Alex. After all, they were there best friends.

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Joey had the best of plans… in fact he was wondering why he had never done it before.

Joey was beyond furious at himself. After watching the brunette boy leave, Joey had screamed into the pillow and had punched the wall, resulting in an aching mouth and a bleeding fist. After letting his anger die down, he could think more properly. Alex… one of his best friends had been shot by his father because he had let his guard down. Out of the million things his father could do to him, this one was by far the worst. And was totally unexpected and Joey was furious.

Joey began to think of his options. Joey had decided to go with the one he liked the most. He couldn't tell the cops everything, no matter what they did to his father, he would punish him some how. He couldn't run away, what if he hurt Alex again or injured another one of his friends? He couldn't find his father and pretend nothing had happened. His father would make him pay… which meant death. If Joey was scared of one thing… it was his father. There was no way he could beat his father. His father was too big and powerful and he was too scrawny and weak. He was scared. After having the life beaten out of him by his father for so long, there was no way he could face up to him. He was too scared.

There was only one option, and that was to kill himself.

His friends had always scorned people who had committed suicide. They always wondered how life could be so horrible that someone would want it to end. Joey had always admired them. He had wanted his life to end, but he had been too much of a coward to do it. Now, he had a true reason to do so. He had to make sure none of his friends got hurt. A horrible smile came upon Joey's face as he thought of the true end.

His life was horrible, after all. He had been taken away from his friends and even though he had made new ones, it wasn't the same. He had to work day in and day out to supply himself and his drunken father with money. There was no way that Joey could go to college and fulfill his dream to become an animator. He was abused every night by his father and he had scars littered all over his body. He was scared of sudden movements. He was thin and weak. He was a coward and a worthless human being. He was scared of his father and he was scared of his knives. He was worthless. He was weak. He was ugly, he was dumb, he was pitiful and he hated it.

His friends didn't know the true Joey Wheeler. They didn't know how he cried every night. They didn't know that he slept in his own bloody bandages. They didn't know how he was practically starved. They didn't know how he worked every minute of the day. They didn't know how he was always tired, how he always wanted a break. They didn't know how his strong spirit was being eroded away. He had practically nothing left.

His father had finally won. Joey had lost all of his will to live. He just wanted it to end. End it for eternity.

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Paige, Evan and Toby found out a lot of information.

After spying on a meeting between the chief cop and his lieutenant, the three teens finally figured out what had gone wrong.

Joey was a victim of abuse and none of them ever knew.

"I can't believe it!" Paige half-screeched, as a few tears trickled from her eyes. She tried to imagine Joey with scars and abrasions and was unable to. This was Joey they were talking about; celebrity, duel-monster champion, innocent and carefree. Joey… a victim of abuse… they couldn't believe it.

Then it all started to make sense. That's why Joey never went swimming or wore shorts and t-shirts. He was afraid of showing off his scars. Joey hated being touched. He was scared of being hurt. That's why they never saw Joey after school and why they were never invited to his house and finally, why they never met his father. It was all there, the facts and the figures, and they had never noticed it all. The three of them felt beyond guilty.

"We have to do something." Toby said firmly as stood up with sudden grace. They couldn't just sit here.

"Like what?" Evan demanded to know. He felt they should leave it to the police. They would only screw it up. The only thing they could do was cheer Joey up, but he was zonked out at the moment or so he thought.

"Well… uh…." Toby stuttered as he glanced at Paige for help. Paige could not offer support. Tears were streaming from her eyes and her face was all blotchy. Evan, who was sitting close to her, embraced her and whispered, "It's gonna be ok,"

None of them really thought it would be.

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Joey was all set.

He thought through all the details to his little plan. Joey saw no reason to stay. He decided the sooner he got it done the better. Leaving was really quite simple really. Nobody was in sight. He had no way of knowing that most of the doctors and nurses were being questioned outside. He had no way of knowing that the cops were close to figuring out the entire case.

The only thing on his mind was ending his life and he couldn't wait for it to happen.

However, there was one thing that needed to be done first. After pausing for a second to grab a razor knife from the kitchen, he headed towards his first destination, Alexandra's room.

It was easy enough to find. The only people in sight were two nurses, and after ducking behind a potted plant he managed to stay concealed. He heard their gossip which was about him… and Alex.

The nurses knew way too much… and he didn't want to think about what the cops knew. He waited until the nurses were out of sight and then he ran towards Alex's room, which was room 120.

Even though he found it easy enough, going in was harder. Inside was a friend who had been injured because of him. In his current state of mind he placed all the blame upon himself, and never thought about how he was unable to stop it. It was entirely his fault. His father was right. He was a worthless scum and a dumb one as well.

Hearing the nurses approaching, he quickly slipped into the room and began to walk towards the bed, Alex's bed.

She was pale, so pale that she was as white as snow and her freckles were more clearly visible. Her flame-red hair was the only bright thing in the room, and it was mussed and messy. All the bandages were what really stuck in his mind. Although the blankets were mostly covering her, he could tell that her chest was covered by thick white bandages. They looked just like the ones he was wearing. She was injured… and it was entirely his fault.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered as he stood near the bed. He watched her face as she turned and muttered in her sleep. She didn't answer. But he didn't want her to.

"It's just… oh I shouldn't have gotten you involved. Look at you! You're in a hospital and encased with bandages." The blonde continued as he watched Alex, who still did not answer. He needed to get going… before she woke up.

"I came here to apologize and to say goodbye." Joey said as he began to comb through his hair, causing it to spike in almost the same manner as Shawn's.

"It's all going to end tonight. My father's abuse. If I'm not around he can't hurt me, and nobody else will get hurt. I'll finally be free! Free from all my pain and suffering and…" Joey began to whisper before he broke into endless sobs and he fell to his knees on the floor.

He had held it in to long, all his pain and suffering and it was finally coming out. But he didn't care, because it'd be over soon. He began to sniff and soon he stopped crying. He stood there staring at Alex and affirmed that she was still asleep. He began to search his pockets and found what he was looking for… his deck.

After finding it he placed a single card on the desk and turned away before leaving the room.

He'd never see her again… he was completely certain of that.

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They felt useless.

After stating idea after idea and criticizing them all the three of them had collapsed onto the ground. They were beginning to question whether they should just go home before they heard a shout, a very loud shout.

"He's gone!" a woman shouted, her nurse uniform swirling around her. Before anybody could ask who, she continued. "Joey Wheeler's gone!"

"Where'd he go?" The chief cop asked as he frowned. This case just got even more serious. He should have thought about issuing a guard earlier!

"How should I know?" The woman demanded as she placed her hands on her hips. "I just went into his room and he was gone! I thought you'd want to know."

The cop nodded before issuing his orders. A few policemen left to examine the victim's room. Others continued to question the staff. The only two not working were the two head cops, who were having a whispered conversation. Luckily for the teens, they were hidden close by.

"Yeah, they think he's off on Vine Street," the lieutenant whispered to his superior officer. "A report came in. The suspect's drunk and is muttering something about a son and something he did,"

"It seems right," the chief agreed, "Get the crew that's examining the room and head out to vine street. I'll stay here,"

The lieutenant agreed before hurrying off to Joey's room.

Unknown to the two of them, three interested ears had been listening.

"Where do you think he went?" Evan whispered as the three of them puzzled. Why would Joey run away?

"We have to look for him!" Paige said as she rubbed her eyes and stood up with energy, "Maybe we can find him and figure out what's wrong,"

"Yeah…" Toby whispered as he frowned, "Let's split up! You two head of towards Rose Ave. I'll head towards Chestnut Street,"

"Ok!" Evan agreed. He knew if they split up they would find him sooner. Paige agreed. The two of them didn't think about how Chestnut Street was right next to Vine Street. If they had, perhaps they would have guessed Toby's plan.

Toby watched the two leave before he turned around and headed off towards Vine Street muttering, "You and I have a score to settle,"

Joey might have been weaker than his father, but Toby was positive that he was stronger than the old man. He was going to teach him a lesson, one he'd never forget.

Never hurt those who are weaker than you.

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Unbeknown to the officers and his friends, Joey had headed out of the hospital and to the largest building in sight… he had an idea.

At first he considered jumping, but if he did something that extravagant, it wouldn't take somebody very long to realize what he had done. If he somehow managed to survive, he would be taken to the hospital and he would be totally screwed.

So he was at lost for a short while until he came upon the razor blade. He could cut himself and eventually bleed to death. If he could find a good enough hiding place he could just lay there until he died. It would take a while for anyone to find him, and when they did, all they would find would be his cold corpse. Besides, cutting and bleeding hurt less than slamming into the ground. All he needed was a place to do the act, and he decided on doing it on top of one of the many skyscrapers. It was night time and nobody would be on top of a building, it would be perfect.

It was also good that almost nobody else was out. That way he could avoid stares, in which he would most surely get. He could feel a weird tension around him, almost like he was surrounded by a nervous air. Even though he now possessed a grander amount of bravery, anybody, even if they were partly insane, would be nervous about attempting such an act.

Being a celebrity didn't help much.

So, happily, he headed off towards the building, avoiding the few stares from the few people that were there as he rubbed the razor blade which was securely fastened inside his pocket.

Soon he would be free.

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Paige and Evan had no idea about what Toby was up to nor did they know where there friend was hiding. All in all, they were pretty clueless.

"Perhaps we should just go home," Paige said sadly as the repeatedly walked down the streets on there side of the city.

"Maybe we should check the phonebook!" Evan suggested, "Perhaps he's at his home. He never told me were he lived,"

"It wouldn't work," Paige said sadly, "He just moved here remember? He couldn't have been added to the phone book so quickly,"

Then there was more silence.

"Where would you go if you ran away from a hospital and you were abused?" Evan questioned.

"I wouldn't have gone home. I would have found somewhere safe. But the hospital was safe, why would he have run away from it?" Paige mumbled as she pulled a bang away from her face, "Its past curfew you know,"

"Yeah, I know," Evan said, "But I'm going to continue looking for him. I can take you home if you want."

"No," Paige said. "I want to keep searching. I just wanted to tell you in case you didn't know."

They went off continuing their endless search.

Wahoo! I finished another chapter! The next one is going to be the last. This story's almost over! I hoped you enjoyed it!

Well I'll be seeing you! And I'll update as soon as possible!

Bye-Bye!