Loneliness Befalls the Flawless.

Chapter three

Jou's PoV

The rain pounded gently on my head as I walked home from school. Though its rhythmic beating was hastening, my pace did not. I looked up and could see the grey sky with no signs of lightening. There was no immediate sign that this storm would pass, but I knew it would eventually subside; it always did.

The wind thickened, pulling my jacket back from my body, but I did not move to pull it tighter around me. The occasional rolling thunder brought my mind back before I was once again consumed in my thoughts.

My dad was at home with the flu of some sort, and was even less desirable to be around in these conditions. Though, in all truthfulness, there was never really a desirable time to be around the bastard. Work started in an hour and my mind was debating as to whether or not I should even waste my energy going home before it in the first place. I had no doubt that my father would need my assistance in some way or another, whether it be to prepare a snack for him or to call his whore of a girlfriend to invite her over to see the lazy ass. But I worked to support the both of us nonetheless; after all, there were only three months until I was eighteen- when I could officially move out and make it on my own.

My job wasn't anything special, nothing with good conditions or a significant pay, for that matter. Much to Anzu's dismay, the school had granted me permission to take up a part time job at none other than the infamous burger world. I was the head chef, which actually wasn't saying a lot, seeing as I was the older of the two of us. At first I kept the job a secret from my friends, not wanting them to worry that I was over exhorting myself. But like all good secrets, they are eventually figured out. Yugi was concerned for the first week, but after he realized that a part time job wasn't going to be the death of me, the tension between us cleared. Eventually he even insisted that he do my homework; but of coarse I didn't let him. I couldn't bring myself to burden him and more than I have already. He had no time for selfishness because he was always preoccupied with me. I wish I could make him stop for his own sake. After all, friends aren't supposed to make each other feel guilty about caring for one another.

Water began to rush down the street sides, threatening to carry away whomever was foolish enough to get near. It wasn't attached to anything; there was nothing to hold it back from what it wanted to do. The only thing it had to worry about was which direction it wanted to go in. I paused momentarily under a tree so shake the wetness out of my hair and then heard footsteps from behind. I turned to see Yugi running at me; a coat over his head and a worried look spread across his face.

"Yug you should--" I started, but was then interrupted by my best friend.

" Jou I'm worried! Grandpa isn't at the shop, and he didn't leave a note or anything. It's just not like him to take off like that. What if something terrible has happened like that time he fell down the stairs and was lying there for hours before anyone got to him!.."

He was clearly frantic. But he was right; it wasn't like Gramps to just run off without telling Yugi or leaving a note. I had an hour to kill anyways, so I guess chasing after his grandpa once again wouldn't hurt.

" Don' worry Yug, we'll find him. He couldn't have gone far; he doesn't have a car or anything. He's probably just out for another of his afternoon walks in the middle of a thunderstorm... heh.."

Yugi looked franticly from side to side yelling out 'Grandpa!' every few feet. The time was passing quickly and after we had walked only a few blocks, I found myself beginning to worry if I would still make it on time to work. Every time I would muster up the strength to tell Yugi hat I had to be going off to work, I shut my mouth. Though I did have a commitment to my job, I couldn't stand the thought of my best friend wandering around in the rain alone searching for his grandpa. I couldn't stand that thought more than anything, and that was saying a lot, seeing as how angry I had been at Kaiba today. His obsession with puppy-dog remarks seemed to be getting increasingly worse as the days progressed. Honestly, what gives him the right to make fun of me when he is the one with the issues... I wonder if he looks in the mirror in the morning; maybe then he would cut back on the amount of starch he washes his jackets in. But I suppose when you have that much money what else are you going to spend it on? Even when you do have a little brother.

"GRANDPA!" Yugi shouted as he sprinted around the corner of the next street. "Grandpa!"

And sure enough, as I panted up to him I saw the figure of an elderly man. Not hurt, not in a state of fear or shock, but standing in the middle of the one way street staring up at the tops of the buildings, watching the rain fall straight down onto his face. I let a sigh of relief escape my lungs as I checked my watch; 15 minutes to spare. Perhaps I would make it to work just in time. My shoulders shook and I wished that I hadn't loaned my car to my dad for the day. Even if the car's heat didn't work very well, at least it proved as a shelter from the rain. But I guess it was for the best; if there has been an issue with his health, I would want him to at least be able to move himself to the doctor's on his own.

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My back is stiff and there is an aching pain in my leg. I move my finger and slowly come to. I come to…or so it may seem. The room stops spinning, but this is not the angle I am used to viewing it from.

(end chapter three)

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