As soon as I got into the front doors of my grandfather's Kame Game Store, I hurriedly ran up the stairs and avoided everyone's onslaught-- even the usual handful of otaku who came here to get dueling tips from me. If they wanted tips so much, they should have just asked Yami. He was better at it than me. Of course, Yami was away on a trip with his wonderful Seto. Still, as I tried desperately to avoid them, they hurried towards me and tried to cut me off before I went into the part of the store they were not allowed to be. I swear they had a Yuugi radar on me. Luckily, I evaded their attacks and went up to my room, slamming the door shut behind me. After tossing my bag onto the floor, I threw myself onto the bed on my stomach, my face buried into the pillows. Why, oh why? I thought to myself. Why was this happening...? I had been taken off guard and flattered when Jonouchi had confessed his feelings for me. But I had never expected Otogi to feel anything beyond friendship with me; much less tell me he loved me! It was too much for me to deal with!

"Oh, Ra..." I muttered within the confines of my fluffy pillow. "What the hell is wrong with me?" I wanted to cry, but knew I could not. It took a lot more than just this to bring tears to my eyes. Knowing nothing would come from being stubborn and feeling sorry for myself, I sat up, pulled my pillow onto my lap and rested my back against the wall my bed was beside. Sighing heavily, I thought this through, forcing myself to relive the moments of Otogi's confession.

"I... I have something I want to tell you." Slightly confused but interested, I inquired on what it was. "Well..." Otogi admitted slowly. "I... I have had a crush on you for a long time..." His face was flushed. Upon hearing the words "I", "crush" and "you", my stomach plummeted. Uh, oh was my only thought. "And I wanted to tell you..." throughout his confession, Otogi avoided eye contact at any cost, looking at anything (specifically ground-ridden) but my crimson eyes. "I'm in love with you."

After several moments, I still had not responded. It was almost the same as when Jonouchi had confessed. I finally did say something, but even I had to admit that it was not the talk of a pure genius. "You what?" I only thanked myself inwardly that I had not told him I loved him too. That would have put me in a whole other realm of trouble. But I also knew instantly that, by looking at Otogi's hurt eyes, I had not been extremely swift.

"I... I love you." His voice was quieter than it had been, and my only guess as to why, was because I had been so frank with him. There were a few more second's pause and then he turned away. "I... I'll go now..."

And I did not even try to stop him.

Okay... so I knew I was an awful person. That much was relevant. Pulling my legs closer to my chest, I put my head down and sighed heavily once more. There was no reason to squash the truth: I did feel awful for the way I acted. But I did not know how to respond. I was so confused and throughout the entire day, I had been thinking incessantly about Jonouchi, and then this. It was hectic. The one thing, above all else, that made me feel worse and more like a slug, was the fact that Otogi's confession had had an effect on me. It had caused my heart to pound in my chest when he said it. Because of this, I felt so awful; as if I had betrayed Jonouchi in a way. Could I have feelings for Otogi? Was it possible? Or was I simply dwindling on it too much?

Laying down on my bed, I did feel closer to crying. It was all too much on me and my heart. I was desperately trying to find out if I returned Jou's feelings, and now I had to desperately search for the answer if I liked Otogi as well. Clenching my fist, I pounded it against the bed and a few tears escaped my eyes. "Dammit, Otogi! Why did you have to say something like that?"

And it did not even cross my mind that I blamed Otogi... and never once did I blame Katsuya.

The next day, I waited outside the classroom for both Jou and Otogi. I wanted to talk to them both, but seperately. I had a plan. I was convinced that I would find out who I was in love with, and I knew just how to do it.

"Yuugi." I looked up and met the surprised face of Otogi.

"Oh... hi, Ryuu." I smiled lightly. My heart dropped into my stomach in guilt when I saw the look of sadness in his eyes. His depression had not seemed to dwindle. Desperately searching for a way to change the subject, I cleared my throat before telling him of my plan-- not including Jonouchi, of course. "Otogi... I need to ask you a favor."

"Hmm?"

"What..." I swallowed the nervous lump in my throat. "What are you doing Friday?"

"I'm... going to school..." Otogi said frankly. I sighed heavily, a small smile on my lips.

"No, no." I shook my head. "I mean after school, what are you doing?"

He shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe go to the mall... play DDR or something..."

"Do you wanna... go to the movies with me?" I asked. This shocked Otogi. Pupils dialated, he looked at me, his mouth agape. When he finally spoke, all he whispered was,

"Are... you serious?"

I smiled again. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

Otogi said nothing. For a while, I thought he had died-- in the least, fainted but was still standing. When he did speak again, his voice was not the only thing he found. Glomping his arms tightly around me, he said happily, "HAI! Of course I will go to the movies with you! Arigatou, Yuugi!" With that, he smiled at me once more and rushed into the classroom, joyful as I had ever seen him. As for me, I leaned against the wall and took several deep breaths. He had spared no expense in hugging me-- my ribs felt bruised.

"You alright, Yuug?" My heart jolted and I looked up instantaneously, my eyes landing on Jonouchi's sweet and adorable face.

"Ha... hai..." Why am I having trouble speaking right? I thought to myself, my head filled with a mass of confusion. I mean, it's only Jonouchi... isn't it? The trouble was, even if it was "only Jonouchi", I still could not help but feel dizzy. I felt like my body had traveled into the world of shoujo bubbliness and I could not get out of the foamy pink cloud.

"Hey, Yuug... I wanted to ask you something."

"Yea?"

"Do you... do you wanna do something with me on Saturday?" My heart pounded loudly and more rapidly in my chest when I saw his cheeks-- they were red. He was so kawaii(cute) when he was blushing!

"Sure." I smiled at him, fighting the urge to laugh happily. I wanted to hug him and tell him how cute he was; but again, I resisted. I could not do that-- especially not in school. Blushing still, he threw his arm over his head and draped it onto his back, avoiding eye contact with me in embarrassment.

"I know Friday would be better. I mean... for the whole 'date' thing. But I have to be with Shizuka on Friday. She made me swear it." He told me. I smiled again.

"That's alright." I promised him. "I have to do something on Friday."

"Oh?" Jou asked curiously. "What? Is Yami coming back?"

I shook my head. "No. He and Seto are staying until Sunday afternoon."

"Hmm." There was a pause, and then his curious/nosy nature took over again. "Then what are you doing?" My words got caught in my throat and could only be described as 'ack!'

"Eto..." I thought quickly for a lie. I could not tell him I was going to be with Yami, for he already knew the truth about that. What was there? Did he know my grandfather was leaving for America this weekend? Had I told him? Would he figure out I was lying if I said I was hanging out with my grandfather? And suddenly, before I even knew it, my mouth was half-way through a lie. "...and since he is leaving, he left me in charge of the store for Saturday morning, until he comes home Sunday night."

"Oh." Jonouchi muttered. I sighed in relief, a sweatdrop sliding down my face. It was a miracle that my mouth had decided to tell him that rather then tell him the truth about Otogi's date with me. "Oh, well." Jonouchi shrugged, smiling and petting my head. "Ganbatte(good luck), Yuugi." With that, he went inside the classroom. As before, I stayed outside and leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. That was a close one. I thought to myself. What would he have done if he found out about me asking Otogi on a date? The word 'date' triggered something in my memory and I stood there, frozen, as the event trickled down onto me. Jonouchi had asked me out on a date. A bonafide date. I was going to ask him on a date, but him asking me first was unexpected. Heart palpiltating, I felt a small smile swim across my lips. I was going on a date with Jonouchi. Joyfully, I went inside the classroom and closed the door just as the bell rang to start the new day. As I walked over to my desk, I walked by Otogi. He smiled at me and waved briefly, looking embrassed but giddy. My attention did not stay on him because, two seats behind him, sat Jonouchi. He smiled broadly and winked at me. I felt my insides grow numb. I smiled back, my face flushing before finally sitting down. For the rest of the class, I could not keep still. All I could do was daydream about my date with my shinyou and watch his golden locks through the rest of the class period. I probably failed the test we had on Modern Japanese Wars, too. I did not care, though. All I could look forward to was that Saturday when I would spend time with my best friend.

I nearly all but forgot about Otogi.