JEALOUS ILLUSIONS
By Starflower Sakura

DISCLAIMER: Yu-Gi-Oh belongs to me!! You don't believe me, do you? Yea, I don't even believe myself... -.-;;

To readers/reviewers: I'm soooo sorry for the long wait! Hmm, come to think of it… that's what I usually say in this section, huh? *sweatdrops* So I guess that means that I usually don't update fast... which also means that I have a lot of people angry at me... Okay... I'd rather not think about that. I'm actually quite inspired to write fanfics for I have just finished another chapter of another fic called, "To Deceive Is to Believe" just yesterday! Yes, yes... I must agree that Malik-kun's plan really isn't the smartest one he has ever came up with, but how would they know that it would only cause them more pain? *smiles innocently* Please enjoy!

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JEALOUS ILLUSIONS
CHAPTER 2 - DATING AN EGYPTIAN

"I can't do this..." Ryou whimpered to Malik who was on the other end of the phone.

Malik had called him a few minutes back and told him that their first "date" was today. He also informed our poor white-haired angel that the next date they were having was going to be a double date with Yugi and Jou. Ryou was positively shaking when he thought about what Bakura's reaction to the whole "date" would be.

"Sure you can! Just do what we practiced yesterday!" Malik encouraged.

"He'll kill me!!"

"He can't kill you just because you're going on a "date" with me," Malik argued.

"Oh yes he can, and you know it!"

"Yes, yes. And you love him for his over protectiveness, ne?"

Ryou blushed a bright red and hoped again and again that Bakura wasn't listening in on this conversation he was having with the crazy Egyptian who came up with this absurd plan. Why he ever agreed with it was beyond him, but he agreed with it no less and he supposed he had to go through with it.

"Fine, I'll do it, but if he hates me even more than he does now I'll hurt you Ishtar Malik!" Ryou whispered to him.

Malik laughed and said, "Of course, sweetie. I'll meet you at the park at 3:30 sharp, okay?"

Ryou sighed, "Right."

They both hung up and Ryou sighed again. He slowly climbed the stairs to his room and opened up his wardrobe.

"At least I had practiced yesterday..." Ryou mumbled.

Yesterday afternoon Jou and Malik dragged out Yugi and Ryou to teach them what to say to their yamis. A few hours later, they had to settle for the stuttering the two hikaris were doing.

++FLASHBACK++

"Don't look into their eyes and you can stutter all you want," Jou said.

"Yea, it gives you more of a embarrassed look," Malik added, frowning slightly that they haven't figured that out earlier and had to spend all this time trying to make the two hikaris before them stop stuttering.

"I don't think we can do this," Yugi commented, looking uneasy.

"Me either."

"You want your yamis to love you back don't you?" Jou asked, folding his arms across his chest, looking at them seriously.

Yugi and Ryou nodded slowly.

"Then you got to do this. If not, they'll never notice you."

"I guess you're right..." Ryou said, feeling new determination build in him.

"I knew you'd see it sooner or later," Malik said, grinning.

++END OF FLASHBACK++

The determination he had felt slipped away as soon as he grasped it, Ryou remembered bitterly. It must be done either way so here goes nothing. He rambled through his wardrobe, throwing things everywhere, well... not really. Being the neat freak that he was, he simply stacked them down gently onto his bed.

"What was Malik's advice on what to wear again?" Ryou pondered, as he stuck his head out of the closet he was searching through.

Something tight and sexy. It would be better if it actually showed some skin. Like me! Malik's voice rung through his head as clearly as the day he had said it.

Ryou grabbed his head and shook it. He didn't want to wear anything like what Malik had described! Why can't he just wear normal clothing? Plain and simple. Casual and sweet.

Because... it won't capture Bakura's attention! You need to stop being so shy! Malik's voice once again rang through the abyss of Ryou's mind.

Sighing, Ryou looked around at his room and finally noticed a white box lying on top of his desk. It looked out of place for it was carelessly placed, while his desk is perfectly set so everything is neat. Walking slowly towards the desk, Ryou also noticed that a small piece of paper with writing laid on top of the box. It read:

Ryou-

I know you would have a hard time picking what to wear so here's a little something for you to wear on the date... It's just perfect for you! Wear it and I'll see you in a couple hours.

-Malik

Ryou gulped as he opened the box. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to be horrified or relieved. Inside the box that Malik left for Ryou was somewhat casual... and somewhat... well, not. Ryou picked up the blue shirt, and found out that underneath it was a pair of leather pants. Come to think of it, was he the only hikari that doesn't wear leather?

Yes.

Okay, then it wouldn't hurt that much to wear what Malik had left him. In a matter of minutes, he was dressed in the new clothing and surprisingly enough, he looked casual, but good enough to match up to Malik's err... exquisite taste.

Wondering to himself, he decided that he needed Bakura's opinion on what he was wearing.

/Yami, can you please help me with something?! It's a crisis!/ Ryou exclaimed through the mind link, hoping that he sounded desperate enough.

//What is it?//

/Just come out, please!/

He heard Bakura's frustrated sigh as he materialized before him. Ryou look at his yami, sighing inwardly like a young schoolgirl in love.

"Well, what is it?" Bakura asked, not quite realizing what his hikari was wearing-yet.

"Oh! Well, you see..." here Ryou let a blush creep on to his face. It wasn't that hard since real or not it was embarrassing. "Um... do y-you think this w-would look g-good on me?"

Bakura looked at Ryou's choice of clothes, not knowing that it wasn't his choice at all. Gape was all he could do at the appearance of his feminine hikari. Unfortunately for Ryou, or fortunately for Bakura, Ryou didn't notice any of this for he was too embarrassed to look his yami in the face.

After a few more seconds of stunned silence Bakura choked out, "Why in hell are you wearing something like that?!!"

Ryou felt his face heat up even more. "Y-You s-see, Yami... I well... I... it's like this..."

Ryou felt like he was on the verge of tears as the words won't come out and Bakura was looking more and more irritated by the second.

Okay... here goes nothing. Take a deep breath and count to three.

One... Hmm, does the leather make me look fat? ... Nah!

Two... Oh god, he's going to maim me!

Three!

"I'M GOING ON A DATE WITH MALIK!" Ryou exclaimed, covering his mouth in shock as he realized what he's done.

"You're what?!"

"Going on a date with Malik?" Ryou replied timidly.

"And what makes you think you're going?"

"Because Malik just called me and asked me to go meet him at the park and if I don't go he'll come and look for me?"

"What, are you a couple now or something?" Bakura asked, his arms crossed across his chest.

"I guess you can call it that..." Ryou answered, not liking where this conversation was going, not at all.

Ryou was definitely having second thoughts about this. Maybe he was going at it the wrong way. Why make him jealous when he could just tell him straight out?

Well, it could be the fact that you're too scared to tell him and getting him jealous is one of the ways that can actually prove whether or not he feels the same or not, a voice answered.

True, but too true.

Startling both of them, the doorbell rang. Ryou ran to open the door, leaving Bakura behind. He swung open the door to find Malik standing there, holding a dozen red roses behind his back.

"For you, my angel," Malik exclaimed, hoping that it was loud enough for Bakura to hear-wherever he is.

Ryou accepted the roses with a light tint of pink on his cheeks.

"Thank you, Malik. They're beautiful."

Ryou bent his head to smell the roses and stiffened as he felt a large shadow loom over him.

"Why, hello Bakura!" Malik greeted, quite enthusiastically for someone who's going to die, Ryou thought. "Fancy seeing you here!"

"And just exactly why won't I be here, Ishtar?" Bakura growled.

Ryou, sensing Bakura's anger, quickly pushed Bakura back inside, said a fast goodbye, grabbed Malik's hand and ran off. He ran all the way to the park, dragging Malik behind him. He stopped, panting, and waiting for his breath to come back. When it did, he looked up and glared at Malik, or as well as he can glare.

"What did you do that for?!"

"Do what?" Malik asked innocently, looking up into the trees and waving happily to the birds that flew by.

"You were trying to anger Bakura! That is not a good thing! I would like to live long enough to see the day of my graduation and the days after that, thank you very much!!"

"Sheesh, calm down. I was only having some fun."

Ryou sighed, "Now what should we do?"

"We wait."

"We wait? What for?"

"You'll see... According to my calculations, it'll happen in 3 minutes and 43 seconds!"

Ryou sweat dropped at Malik's preciseness. Surely, whatever is going to happen won't happen in 3 minutes and 43 seconds, right? Right?! Ryou sighed and took to a bench and waited. Ryou looked at his clock and counted the minutes and seconds, wanting to prove Malik wrong. Why? Because he was bored. In exactly, 3 minutes and 43 seconds, something did happen. Malik snuggled up to him...

Wait a second, Ryou thought, That didn't sound right. Malik snuggled up to me?!

Looking down at his right shoulder, there was Malik resting his head on it and clinging onto his arm.

"What do you think you're doing, Malik?!" Ryou exclaimed.

"Be quiet," Malik ordered. "Bakura and Marik are spying on us, so let's put up a nice show for them."

~*~*~*~

Hiding behind the bushes, Marik and Bakura were indeed spying on the two hikaris. Bakura was trying to glare a hole through Malik's head, while Marik was trying to get out his dagger to stab Ryou. That was until they both wondered why they are feeling like so just because their hikaris are going on a date. Having no time to ponder on the question for Malik and Ryou were starting to walk out the park, they "stealthily" followed.

"That looks like a good place to eat, don't you think, Ryou-chan?" Malik asked. Quite loudly too, in fact.

"As long as you're there, I'll go anywhere," Ryou replied sweetly.

Bakura fumed, his usually pale skin turned red with fury. Marik was faring no better. Before they knew what they were doing, they were standing right behind hikari's date, hands raised ready to strangle.

"Hey look, Mommy! Those two boys look like tomatoes!" a small boy exclaimed, pointing at Bakura and Marik.

They dashed behind a baby carriage and hoped that their aibous didn't see them. They both breathed a sigh of relief as Ryou and Malik continued on as if nothing happened. They watched as they entered the café and slowly entered after them. Grabbing the table behind the one that Ryou and Malik sat in, they hid their faces behind a very large menu. After watching the waitress take Ryou and Malik's order, they strained to hear the conversation between the two.

"Where would you like to go after this, Ryou-chan?"

Ryou sighed deeply, "I guess I have to go home."

"Home?! But why?" Malik asked.

"I feel bad about leaving Bakura at home... by himself."

"Ahh, I see where you're going. I guess I would have to go home then since you put it that way."

So they do care! Bakura and Marik thought in unison.

"I hope the house is still in one piece," Ryou stated.

"I wouldn't be surprised if the house is in ashes when I get back," Malik replied.

Bakura and Marik face faulted. And they actually thought it was because their aibous cared about them being lonely.

Their conversation stopped as the waitress came and brought them their food. The conversation that followed was completely useless to the two yamis. It was extremely random, starting with the weather and ending with what kind of torture they use on their yamis to get what they want. Bakura and Marik dashed back to their respective houses and waited for their hikaris to come back. Bakura sat rather impatiently waiting for Ryou to come back. Feeling that the room was much too stuffy, he opened the window just in time to hear a new tête-à-tête between Malik and Ryou.

"Since this date has to end so early, how about on the double date, we have a beach picnic?" Malik asked.

"That sounds perfect! It would be really fun!"

Bakura smirked, A beach picnic, hmm? Perfect, indeed.

To be continued...

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Wow! I'm on a roll with the updating! I guess I'm quite inspired nowadays. Next, is the date between Yugi and Jou! *grins* Guess who's going to be the ones to stalk these two "lovebirds" this time. *laughs evilly* How fun! Please wait for the next chapter of "Jealous Illusions!"

Any comments? Questions? Suggestions? Reviews? Email me at--- xstarflowerx@hotmail.com if you want to ask me anything!

~* Starflower Sakura *~