a/n: Hello everyone! Sorry this took so long I needed inspiration and creative process was a little off kilter! Now I'm leaving for Germany on Sunday and because I'm such a wonderful person. I'm gonna use the whole 7 1/2 hr flight to write. Or at least most of it! Please read and review and ENJOY!
Chapter 6
Music of the Night
"Class dismissed." ProfessorJames Takahishi said as Mai's 12:00 physics class was dismissed. She grinned broadly tonight was the night! She practically floated out of the classroom.
"You and me, and Me and you! So Happy together!" Mai sang happily as she danced down the hall and right into Arideen.
"OH NO! She feels pretty oh so pretty and witty!" Arideen sang back.
"NOPE! Him and me and me and him! So Happy! AND! Every thing he does is magic everything he does just turns me on!" Mai sang happily.
Arideen shook her head, "No wonder you don't get too many dates! You totally lose all the rationality that is inside you!"
"Ah, come on Ari, aren't you happy that I'm so happy?" Mai asked as she stopped dancing.
Ari smiled, "Of course, but if you weren't so lucky, it might have been Hiroki you ran into and that would not be so good. AND you wouldn't be so happy!"
"True, true, but no time to talk I gotta get a shower!" Mai said running off to house Artisan. She ran into the shower and soaked up the water grateful that there was still hot water! She quickly got out and began to get dressed. She placed a red paisley tunic over her dark blue jeans. She found her favorite necklace to go with it. It was a large red oval on a silver chain. She began to blow dry her hair and apply makeup with her free hand.
"You're never going to get done that way!" Amanda Sparta said. "Here I'll dry your hair." Mandy took the comb Mai had and freed her other hand so she could properly do her makeup. "So what's the occasion?" Mandy asked as she took her fingers through Mai's hair.
"I have a date." Mai said with a grin on her face.
Mandy looked at Mai in the mirror, "REALLY?"
"Yeah! Can you believe how long has it been since I've had a date?" Mai said her eyes sparkling.
"Since before Duelist Kingdom with that Hollywood dweeb!" Mandy said smiling. "He would have made an impressive husband!"
"Yeah and we would divorce three months latter!" Mai said sarcastically as she outlined her eye with black eyeliner.
"Too true, so who's the guy?" Mandy asked as she patted down the top of Mai's hair.
Mai smiled, "Joey, he was at Phantom the other night."
"That dude that was in the alley with you?" Mandy inquired
"Yep, that's the one!" Mai chirped.
"What a cutie!" Mandy chirped.
Mai smiled, "Ya Know it! AND HE'S ALL MINE!"
"That's fine by me, besides I'm busy distracting your real life phantom who doesn't want you with your real life Roule!" Mandy smirked as she fluffed the bottom of Mai's hair.
Mai raised an eyebrow, "Hiroki?"
"Yep, he's actually really nice when he's not being an obsessive freak!"
"Yeah." Mai responded as she hooked a large hoop earring into her ear.
Mandy grimaced, "That's so gross, why would you poke holes in your ears?"
"So I can wear fun loopy earrings like these ones!" Mai said poking the other one through.
"Well whatever, go have fun with Joey, kiddo. See ya when you get back."
"Alright, Bye Mandy."
Mai ran down the stairs and out of her complex to catch the near by metro. She caught on and then got off at her desired stop. She ran the stairs looking for Joey until she saw him standing there with a slightly Californian look about him! He was wearing long frayed jeans with a slightly tighter aqua blue tee shirt.
"JOEY!" Mai screamed running the rest of the way.
Joey opened his arms to Mai, "Hey You! Didn't I just see you yesterday!"
"YEAH!" Mai screamed as she ran right into his embrace squeezing tightly
Joey gasped, "Hey, Mai, I need to breath!"
"Sorry ." Mai said shyly and slightly blushing.
"Missed you, I thought about you all night." Joey said, "As corny as that sounds."
Mai smiled, "not as bad as me totally thinking about you all during an important Physics class!"
"Oops!" Joey said sheepishly, "So where to Mai?"
Mai gazed longingly at a dress boutique.
"Mai!" Joey groaned.
Mai smile serenely, "I do need a little black dress for College Tony's."
"Why me?" Joey asked to the sky.
Mai grabbed his wrist, "Come on it'll be fun!"
Joey whined, "Oh alright."
"I knew you'd say Yes!" Mai said dragging him into the store. Mai looked over the black and red cocktail dresses. "Short or long, Joey?"
"Um, for Tony's… longer." Joey replied thoughtfully all though he full well wished Mai would grab a short dress.
"Yeah, but one short one can't hurt." Mai said grabbing a small black dress. Joey grinned to himself, 'this isn't going to be all that bad!' Mai began to try on a few dresses and finally decided on a long black draping dress.
"Yeah that one!" Joey responded enthusiastically, "Looks like a winner."
"Are you just saying that to shut me up and stop this trip." Mai glared at him.
"Nope!" Joey replied taking his hand through his hair, "I like that the best, it isn't too… um… slutty for lack of better words. AND! It looks great on you, Mai."
"Alright, I'll be out in a minute." Mai changed back and paid for the dress, "Okay Joseph Wheeler, your turn to decide where we go."
Joey was already drooling at the sight of a Duel Monsters Card shop.
"Boys and their toys." Mai sighed.
Joey turned and bickered, "But you're into duel monsters too!"
Mai shrugged, "Yeah, I guess I'm so good I don't need to improve my deck." Joey glared back at her.
"Shove it Mai! You're not that good yet." Joey complained and dragged Mai into the shop.
"True!" Mai exclaimed as she picked up a case holding several cards, "Of course how do you beat those Egyptian God cards Yugi has!"
"You can't" Joey groaned. "There freaking unstoppable." The two stayed in the shop till 4:30. "I'm starving, Mai!" Joey complained. Mai smiled and noted it was getting dark.
She smiled, "Come on, I have the perfect place for dinner, it's on me!"
"But Mai!" Joey whined, "I'm suppose to be the one taking you out!"
"I know." Mai said, "But it's expensive and I'd hate to have to deal with you paying for it!"
"Mai, we'll get ourselves then, sound good, now lead the way Miss Daea!" Joey said overdramatically.
Mai shoved him lightly, "You're too much!"
"I know it!" Joey said smiling.
Joey and Mai got on the subway and Mai took them to seventh street extension stop. Mai lead them to the busy street above. She took him down a block and Joey began to hear music.
"Oh, I've heard of Shahiana's," Joey said gazing up at the sign, "No lie it's expensive!"
Mai smiled, "Yeah, I know but I figured we could just sit, talk, and listen to the "music of the Night"" Mai smirked.
"Phantom junkie" Joey bickered rolling his eyes at Mai's lame joke.
Mai shrugged, "Sorry. Phantom too long." The couple went in and were seated on the garden patio under the stars.
"This is about perfect." Joey said.
Mai smiled back, "Yeah I know isn't it wonderful!"
Then one of the kids in Mai's Friday physics class came up to perform. He played "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" on piano with a girl who was in the Phantom production as a chorus girl. Mai smirked and never said it but she wasn't all that great. Then the girl caught Mai's eye. She gasped and dropped the microphone. Then she said, "I'm sorry, I'm killing this song, Tonight, there is a very talented singer in the crowd. She plays the actual Christine Daea in Kyoto's Phantom of the Opera production. Mai Valentine!" Mai blushed as the girl came and grabbed Mai's arm, "Come on Mai, sing it, you'll do so much better." Then aloud, "Mai has graciously agreed to sing with me tonight."
"What are you doing!" Mai hissed in the girl's ear.
"Making you showcase your talent. There are professional scouts here." She said smiling out at the crowd.
"I want to be an engineer!" Mai hissed angrily, "I'm not even in the theater arts program at Kyoto!"
"That's alright, just sing!" Then she looked over at the boy, "Michael from the top again." Mai closed her eyes and blushed deeply. She really didn't want to sing in front of Joey. Knowing he was there made her more nervous than normal!
Mai closed her eyes like she did when she was nervous and sang, " You were once my one companion, you were all that mattered. You were once a friend and father, then my world was shattered. Wishing you were somehow here. Wishing you were somehow near. Sometimes it seemed if I just dreamed somehow you would be here. Wishing I could hear your voice again, knowing that I never will. Dreaming of you won't help me to do all that you dreamed I could."
By this point Mai had relaxed into the song and opened her eyes catching a glimpse of the lights above. At the climax of the song Mai heard her best notes shinning through. And started her phantom choreography. She hit her soft ending perfectly. She then looked out at the crowd and saw Joey. Another blush illuminated her cheeks. She took her bow and quickly ran off stage. "THAT WAS SO NERVE RACKING!" Mai hissed at Joey as she sat down.
"Sounded good to me, Miss Daea!" Joey responded.
Mai gasped, "Not cute, she told me there are professional scouts here tonight. We better make this quick!" Mai said scared that if she were recruited she'd forget her goal. Joey smiled and talked to the waiter. Then a few minutes latter a bag full of their ordered dinner was brought to the table.
"Thanks," Joey said tipping the waiter handsomely. "Come on beautiful."
"MAI!" A random voice called out, "I'm Amanda Myers I work for Kyoto starlight opera. We'd love to have you come for an audition. You'd probably at least get 6,200,000 yen(a/n: about $25,000 American dollar but it's a little off)for signing!"
"Wow, Mai, that's a lot…. Mai?" Joey asked as Mai seemed to stare off into space.
"I'm sorry, I have to reject your offer thank you though." Mai said as she strode off and quickly left the premises of the restaurant.
Joey jogged to catch up, "Mai!" He said grasping her arm, "what's wrong with you! That's a lot of money!"
"Joey, theater is not my calling. I'll explain once you explained what's up with dinner in a box."
"You wanted to get away quickly. Besides, that place was way too stuffy!" Joey smirked as he led her to a park in the middle of town. They climbed a steep hill.
"Joey, do you know what you're doing?" Mai asked as she pulled her self up closer to the top.
"Yeah, I do." Joey said as he reached the top and held his hand out to Mai to give her a hand up.
"Better, because…" Mai started to say then she saw the breathtaking view.
Joey smiled, "I told you Mai, I know what I'm doing!"
"No lie. This is beautiful!" Mai exclaimed as she looked over the city of Kyoto. The city life before her seemed like something out of a movie. It moved but Mai felt as if it were a separate world all together looking in on the world of the city.
"Yeah Serenity and I use to play on this hill when we were little." Joey said, "So Mai, why turn down that lovely offer you received?" Joey asked as he began to unpack the dinner.
"Well, I've always dreamed of doing what my father wanted me to do." Mai said off handed. "To be an engineer and when he died I promised I'd make it. That's why I've pushed and pushed myself all these years. Theater was something to help me get into Kyoto. I never wanted it to be my life." Mai explained.
"Understandable." Joey said as he tore into his ravioli.
"Yeah, but people ask me that all the time, and I feel like I have to lie." Mai said. "But with you I don't feel that pressure anymore."
Joey took a mouth full of the square pasta and said, "phats cuz you know I phont question you on it."
"Yeah, but I know you're the one who's always seen me for Mai Valentine and nothing more." Mai said as she grabbed her salad from the bag. The two sat in an enjoyable silence. "Joey." Mai asked.
"Huh?" Joey said as he leaned back from finishing his food.
"Do you know this is the most relaxing evening I've had in a long time." Mai stated.
Joey responded, "No, but I'm glad I could be of service."
"Thank you." Mai said leaning over and was ready to kiss him. Then her nerves screamed at her to stop and Mai shied away. "Sorry, I can't."
(A/N: yeah that killed me to write it that way. But I did it for a reason!)
"Yeah, understandable." Joey said as he sat back uncomfortably. The two stared off into the distance for a while then Joey couldn't take it. He asked quite flagrantly, "Mai, is it because you're afraid to love again that you won't kiss me?"
"What makes you say that?" Mai asked starting to feel awkward.
Joey said, "Well you said about your father. I would be afraid to love again if I were you."
Mai lay back in the grass, "You would, huh?" She pondered was it fear that kept her back from him. The more she thought about it the more she realized she was afraid. "Joey?" She whispered.
"Huh?" Joey said as he wrapped his arm around Mai's shoulder.
"I know I'm afraid. Is that bad?" Mai questioned.
Joey took Mai into the crook of his arm, "No, not at all. You've admitted it, that's the first step. Now I want you to know I will always be here for you. I will never desert you."
"Thank you." Mai said as she lay there smelling his cologne.
"You're welcome." Joey said as he began to pick up things. "I guess it's time to get back, huh?"
"Yeah, Ari will think I fell into the sewer or something. Thanks Joey I had a wonderful day." Mai said as she slipped him her cell phone number. Mai went home and lay on her bed.
"HOW WAS IT!" Mandy and Ari screamed as they bounced onto Mai's bed.
"Wonderful." Mai said dazed as she closed her eyes.
"OH NO YOU DON'T MYRA VALENTINE!" Mandy said as she playfully hit Mai.
"Come on, seriously! You guys actually want details?" Mai questioned groggily.
Ari smiled, "Yep! Now where did you go!" Mai then proceeded to tell the two of her night.
"YOU TURN DOWN 6,200,000 yen!" Mandy shrieked, "MAI!"
"Theater isn't what I was destined to do, it just happened." Mai said
"MANDY!" Hiroki's voice called up.
Mandy said, "Just tell me later."
Ari nodded as Mai continued. "Then I couldn't do it. Something wasn't there."
Ari listened as Mai explained what Joey had told her, "Mai, you're going to hate me for saying this, but I agree."
"No, I'm not mad." Mai said, "I agree with you two. I'm afraid, the last time I loved people I watched my parents shot to death and my brother die of the common cold turning into pneumonia"
"But Mai that was like 13 years ago. Mai if you don't show Joey how much you care you can forget about keeping him."
"But Ari, it's not like that with him. He knows I'm afraid." Mai said.
Ari looked at her and said, "Mai, I remember reading a quote from a famous duelist. "You looked your demons in the eye and you overcame them" have you done that yet? Have you trusted in yourself yet. You're afraid to move on, afraid you will forget them if you love someone again. Mai?"
"Good night." Mai said preparing to take another hard look at herself and admit to things she didn't want to all over again.