Author's Notes: Um...Yeah XD; Finally getting this chapter up. I kept changing it, and I STILL don't like it all that much, but I decided this was the best it would get for now.
This chapter focuses around Jounouchi and Mai, since I had to toss in my OTP. Yeah.
Shizuka looked in the mirror and hesitantly sighed. "I don't know, Mai…"
"Nonsense!" Mai said wistfully. "You look great! Honda will just die when he sees you!"
"I just don't feel comfortable like this…" Shizuka pulled a bit on the hem of the short skirt.
Mai rolled her eyes. "Well, you asked me here to help you get ready for your date with Honda, and now you don't want to take my advice?"
Jounouchi was scowling in the doorway. "There is no way she's going out dressed like that," he said plainly.
"Quiet, Jou," Mai ordered. "This has nothing to do with you."
Jou grumbled and walked out into the living room.
"Men," Mai sighed with a smirk.
Shizuka smiled a bit, but the smile faded as she looked in the mirror again. True, she had asked Mai to help her pick out an outfit for her date, but…she didn't expect Mai to come in with her OWN clothes for Shizuka. Everything was meant to be tight, but the clothes hung awkwardly on Shizuka since she didn't have Mai's figure.
"I think I'm going to wear one of my dresses, Mai," she tried to smile sweetly.
"Hmph. Fine," Mai rolled her eyes again. "That didn't look good on you anyway."
"Thanks anyway, Mai."
The knock at the door startled Jounouchi, though he didn't know why. He knew exactly who it was. But childishly, Jou didn't budge from the couch.
Mai was sitting on a chair in the kitchen, waiting for Shizuka to come out for her approval. She noted that Jou was making no attempt to open the door even after the second knock. "Aren't you going to get that?" she asked dryly.
"Nope," Jou proclaimed.
"You know, it's probably Honda."
"…And?"
"…You are SUCH a baby," Mai sighed, deciding to get the door herself. She was a bit shocked to see Honda dressed rather nicely, with a nice brown jacket and dark jeans. "Well, don't we look snazzy?" she grinned, impressed.
"Very funny, Mai," Honda sneered, but the slight blush showed he appreciated to comment. "Is Shizuka ready?"
"Almost. Come on in," Mai smiled.
Honda walked in, immediately earning an icy glare from Jounouchi.
"…Hey, Jou," Honda tried being friendly. Jou's glare hardened in response. Honda coughed.
"Don't mind him," Mai said blandly. "He's just being a big baby, like always."
"Hey! Your best friend isn't putting the moves on your baby sister!" Jou objected, nearly jumping over the back of the couch.
"Jounouchi, NO ONE is putting the moves on ANYONE," Mai yelled back, getting annoyed. "They're just going to dinner and a movie!"
"Psh. I know what goes on in movie theaters."
"How would you?"
"I….HEY!"
Honda, meanwhile, decided to break up this lovely conversation. "Gee, sure is taking Shizuka awhile," he said offhandedly, secretly sweating bullets.
"Look here, Honda," Jou said sternly, walking over from the couch. "You even LOOK at my sister the wrong way and I'll rip your arm off and beat you with it, got it?" he threatened.
"Oh, please," Mai sighed, exasperated.
Jou shot her a glare, then eyed Honda again. "….I STILL don't like this," he said a bit more calmly. "But for some reason, Shizuka wants to go with you." Mai looked like she was about to add something else to the conversation, but Honda got there first.
"Jou, I promise. I'll be a good boy. Scout's honor," Honda said blandly. How many times would he have to say that before his BEST FRIEND would believe him?
Once again, Jounouchi did not look convinced, but at this point there wasn't much he could do about it. "I want you to know the only reason I'm not killing you right now is because Shizuka would be sad, and I'd have to break in a new best friend. And I don't wanna deal with the hassle."
"Gee. Thanks."
Shizuka finally emerged from her room. Mai was a bit disappointed to see she'd chosen a jean skirt that fell to her knees and a pale pink shirt with a light green shirt on top. "Hello, Honda-kun!" she said. "You look…very nice…"
Honda blinked. "Oh! Um…thanks. You too," he stammered. Mai chuckled. This was just too cute.
"Well, you two kids should get going," Mai clasped her hands together. Jounouchi glared at her.
"You'd think she was the one going out from how happy she is," he commented. Mai returned the glare.
"Excuse me for being happy for them, Jounouchi," she sneered. During this little spat, Honda and Shizuka were already out the door. They'd wanted to avoid further interference from the two blondes.
"Well. That was interesting," Honda said, ruffling his hair as the walked towards the steps.
Shizuka nodded. "I wonder why they fight so much," she said.
Honda smirked a little bit. "I don't think we have to worry about them."
"Honestly, Jounouchi. I don't know what the big deal is here," Mai groaned, flopping on the couch and crossing her legs. "Honda's your best friend, so why don't you trust him? He seems to really like your sister."
Jou shot her another icy glare. "Why are you still here?" he asked harshly. "I thought you were just helping Shizuka."
"You're avoiding the question," she said in a singsong tone.
"Mai, I don't see what business it is of yours."
"And I don't see what business it is of yours, either."
"She's my sister!" Jou yelled. "How's it not my business!"
"Jounouchi! She's old enough to handle her own personal life!" Mai yelled back.
Jou just scoffed. That really got under Mai's skin.
"Don't you just write me off, Jounouchi Katsuya! I know what I'm talking about!" she jumped up from the couch.
"Uh-huh. Sure you do," Jou rolled his eyes, but he was getting just as irritated.
Mai fumed. No one in the world got her madder than Jou could. "You're such a baby."
Jounouchi didn't like that. Mai always called him names and contradicted everything he said. "Don't call me a baby! I'm trying to protect my sister!"
"From what! Being happy with another guy!"
"No!" Jou screamed, then paused. "I mean, yes! I mean…I don't know what I mean!" he spazzed. "I STILL don't know why you're still here!"
"You are so predictable, Jounouchi!" Mai sneered. "The second you start losing a fight you try to get out of it!"
"What the HELL are you ranting about! How am I losing!"
"There's no way you could win! Seriously! What the hell do you know about love?" Mai scoffed.
Jounouchi scowled. "I know more than you, Mai!" he declared.
She got even more irritated. "What! There's no way!"
"Yeah! Sure!"
"How DARE YOU, Jounouchi Katsuya!" Mai screamed. "There's no way that you understand love more than I do!"
"And what exactly makes you think that!" Jou yelled back, taking a few angry steps towards the girl.
"You're so DENSE you can't even tell that I LOVE YOU, YOU MORON!" Mai stepped forward as well.
"OH YEAH? WELL THAT DOESN'T HELP YOU ANY!" Jou screamed.
"AND WHY NOT?"
"BECAUSE YOU HAVEN'T NOTICED THAT I LOVE YOU EITHER, SO THERE!"
"THEN WHAT THE HELL ARE WE FIGHTING ABOUT!"
"I HAVE NO IDEA!"
Mai was about to scream back, but the events that just took place finally sunk in. Had Jounouchi just said…?
"…You…you love me?" she said softly.
"YE-" Jou began screaming, but stopped mid-word. "Yeah…"
Mai stared at him a moment, the sat on the couch and looked down at the floor. This couldn't be happening. In the heat of the moment, she and Jounouchi had just admitted how much they cared about each other. Somehow she couldn't decide if she were admitting to Jounouchi or if she was admitting to herself.
"…Wow…" she whispered.
Jounouchi watched her from where he stood, eventually feeling the need to go over, take her in his arms and show her all the feelings he'd held for so long. But he fought it, resisting the urge by clenching his hands and staring at her troubled face. Finally, she looked up to him, eyes wide and curious.
"So…do we both…really mean what we just said?" she asked softly.
Jounouchi gulped, then slowly nodded. "I…I meant it."
Her ruby grape eyes blinked, then looked back to the floor, her blonde curls falling over her shoulders as she stood. "I…should go," she said, still not looking at Jou.
He froze. He didn't want her to leave. All the fighting they'd done…? Had it really been some sick twisted form of flirting? "What?"
She walked around the couch towards the door. "I can't stay here," she said, obviously just as disturbed as he was.
"Wait!" he finally broke his trance and jumped over the couch to grab her arm. "Mai, you can't just go, we gotta talk about this!"
"There's nothing to talk about!" she insisted, trying to pull away. "This is all too weird! I can't-"
"Why not!" he pleaded, bringing her to him. "I'm freaked out too, you know! You think I don't know how twisted this is!"
"Jounouchi, you don't understand-!"
"The hell I don't!" he yelled, but not with the anger from before. Rather with a passion he didn't know he possessed. He grabbed both her shoulders and made her face him. Suddenly he wasn't thinking anymore. It was all about making Mai see. "Tell me what I don't understand, Mai!"
"Jounouchi, let me go!" Mai demanded.
"Not until you tell me what I don't understand!"
"I don't KNOW, OKAY!" she yelled up to him, eyes brimming with tears.
Jounouchi froze again. He hadn't expected tears from Mai. Then again, he hadn't expected that she'd loved him back. Crazy.
"This is all so insane!" she continued, her voice more subdued. "It can't be! I mean, one minute we were ready to rip each other's throats out then we're saying we love each other? It doesn't make sense! I think…I think we just…overreacted, Jounouchi. This isn't love, it can't be!"
"…But, Mai-"
"No, Jounouchi! There's no way this is what love is! It-"
But she couldn't finish the sentence. Jounouchi had pulled her against his chest and pressed his lips against hers within an instant. She didn't even have time to react. She stood frozen in his arms as Jounouchi kissed her. Even once she somewhat regained her senses, she couldn't pull away as much as her mind screamed at her to. Her fingers grasped at his shirt and her heels lifted off the ground as she began to kiss him back out of instinct, one of her arms wrapping around his neck. She felt his hand press against the small of her back as he deepened their kiss. She became overwhelmed by the fiery passion she could feel from his lips. It was something she'd never felt before, and she didn't want it to end even if her brain knew how wrong this whole thing was.
Jounouchi finally pulled away, his warm lips still hovering over hers, and his breath heavy. "Do I still not understand, Mai?" he asked in a husky voice that made Mai shiver.
"…No," She finally answered breathlessly. "I think…I think you understand just fine." Then she pulled him into another, deep kiss, and Jounouchi gladly complied, smirking a little the whole while.
Author's Notes: Daw X3 OT-Freaking-P right there. I need to work on my characterization of Mai, though. Huh.
Oh well. One more chapter. Pure Honda X Shizuka floof.