NOTE: Sorry it took a while to get up. If I ha gone with my instincts in the first place, I would have probably updated sooner. I was decided whether to disappoint or not disappoint you guys. I'm so mean, thinking that way, aren't I? However…you should…maybe…like the outcome! READ ON! I mean, I left you with that AWFUL cliffie!

Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. Yu-Gi-Oh! Nor. Do. I. Own. The. Part. Of. The. Lyrics. To. Who's Cryin' Now. By. Journey. That. Are. In. This. Chapter.

Chapter 5: Turn of the Tables

Flashback

(You do know that I'm pretty much doing this to make you guys wait, right? Man, I'm evil…. I'll have to think over my prospects…. But…I did always like evil people…. I mean, look at Seto. He's not evil but…blabbers on endlessly so much, that LuvinAnime became bored even listening to herself, and stopped typing, deciding to be nice for once and got the STUPID STORY GOING!)

Seto was laying down the pressure. He was waiting for her to crack.

"Kaiba, if you don't stop, you're seriously going to regret it," Tea's fists clenched, until they turned red.

"Am I?"

"Yes. This is your last warning…."

"What are you going to do, kiss me or something?" Seto threw out the thought as if it were nothing.

And crack she did: "Exactly." Before Seto had time to take in her words, she had whipped around, and locked lips with him.

Tea was pushing into that kiss. She wanted to make him solely regret pestering her. She was not one to deal with pests well….

Seto's eyes widened. What the crap was she doing? WHY WAS SHE KISSING HIM? Oh how he was going to shove her off: he'd make her so dizzy it would make her ancestors spin. So why was he just crouching there, readily taking that awful kiss? Not even he knew. But it was going to stop: now.

And yes, it was going to stop. But not in the way he thought.

For instead of pushing her off, violently:

MUCH to his surprise…and definitely Tea's for that matter…for some unexplainable, weird, remarkable reason…he began to kiss her back.

Seto had totally surprised himself. He was going against all his morals…values…thoughts…EVERYTHING!

When Tea realized what was happening…when she realized that her plan was having side effects, she enacted a thought-up-in-a-second Phase Two.

She slapped him across the face.

And dang it, did she slap him hard.

Ow….

Kaiba pulled back immediately, holding a hand to his face. He had been completely off-guard for once…and he had paid the price. He never knew girls could slap that hard…let alone Tea Gardner! He had seen other girls slap other boys. She had seen Tea pummel her dopey friends at times, but in a playful manner.

Dang, she really packed a wallop. Where in God's name did she learn to do that?

Tea stood up, her cheeks flaring red. She was breathing deeply.

Kaiba pulled back immediately, holding a hand to his face. He had been completely off-guard for once…and he had paid the price. He never knew girls could slap that hard…let alone Tea Gardner! He had seen other girls slap other boys. She had seen Tea pummel her dopey friends at times, but in a playful manner.

Dang, she really packed a wallop. Where in God's name did she learn to do that?

Tea stood up, her cheeks flaring red. She was breathing deeply. Why, she was asking herself why was that MORON kissing her back? This was supposed to be HER payback, NOT HIS!

"GARDNER, WHAT THE CRAP IN HE-" Tea winced here, having been brought up on nicer terms, "WAS THAT FOR?" Tea pondered her options quickly. She could run…as usual, or she could face him. Usually, she ran from her problems. On the other hand, she also stood up to Kaiba.

She was going to stand up to him. That was a for sure. She was never going to back down to that idiot. Now the question was: what was he referring to? The kiss? Or the slap?

Why would he refer to the kiss? She had specifically told him that he would pay for infuriating her. But why would he question a slap? Hadn't he wanted to stop her from kissing him? Why hadn't he just pulled away? Why…. Tea smirked evilly here. Why did he kiss her back?

Dang it, the tables were turning. And they weren't in Seto's favor. In a sense, it was much like Hamurabi's Code: an eye for an eye. Except this time, it was: talking about a "crush" for talking about a "crush."

"What? The slap?" Tea inquired, innocently. Yeah, right. Oh, this was going to get good….

"YES! There are more efficient and less painful ways of getting my off your mouth! Had you waited a minute, you could have at least saved me some pain!" Seto yelled. Poor Seto…lost in his own words…not realizing everything he was spilling to his enemy. "No-no" number one in Gozaburo Kaiba's book….

Tea raised an eyebrow, taking this in a very amused way. In the light of the flashlight, Seto could see her. He didn't understand it. Usually, she would be yelling, or cowering, but now. What was going on?

"So, someone has actually physically hurt the "Great Seto Kaiba,"" she mocked, circling around him, as best she could, with her screwed up, stiff knees; like a vulture, circling its prey.

Seto's eyes widened slightly. He actually had been hurt. He hadn't really ever been hurt that way…not since Gozaburo's time….

"And what was that about waiting a minute longer? Are you trying to imply something, Kaiba?" Tea then clasped her hands together, and rested them on Seto's shoulder. It would make this all the juicier…. Not that she would actually do this to him, heck no! She was just trying to make an impression, or a point…or was she?

"Get off me!" Seto shook her off, and looked at her strangely, "And what do you mean, am I trying to imply something? I'm not trying to imply anything!"

Tea walked up to the front of him, and looked him straight in the eyes, smirking, "Suuuure. That's why you…" she paused, wondering if she should bring it up. Seto looked at her expectantly. Yeah, she would, "That's why you kissed me back." She smirked. She watched as Seto's face hardened with realization, and slightly with fear. Mission Accomplished.

"Yes…. See, I thought I was supposed to be the one doing the punishing…not the other way around," she added.

"Keep mouthing off Gardner. You're this close to getting hurt even more than your pathetic body already is.

By the flashlight, Seto swore he saw fear flicker through her eyes. He stopped. He hadn't meant to scare her that bad. It was just a threat for her to stop playing with his mind.

As if I haven't been hurt enough. One more time won't hurt me anymore, Tea thought.

"You wouldn't," Tea retorted.

"Would I?" Seto replied, grabbing her upper arm. He wasn't really going to hurt her. He just wanted to see the fear in her eyes again. He wanted her to be afraid of him…so that she wouldn't tease him, or stand up to him like she was his equal. It drove him nuts. But he wasn't expecting what came next.

"OW! That hurt, you moronic imbecile!" Tea shoved his arm off hers, and she slowly, and gently rubbed the section of her arm that he had grabbed. Seto looked at her, slightly confused. What had he done? Nothing! All he had done was slightly grab her! He hadn't grabbed her harshly; on the contrary, it was quite gentle. What was she hiding?

"What's wrong Gardner? I didn't grab nearly as hard as I had anted to, so you shouldn't be in that much pain. Either you're taking Drama class, or you're as weak as I've always thought you to be," Seto inquired.

"It's…it's nothing! Just…just leave me alone!" Tea retorted. Now was the time for her to run. She quickly walked backwards slightly, tripping on the desk a bit. But, before Seto could at least ask to help her, (like he wanted to, anyway), she had regained her footing, thought not for long. She tripped near the trashcan, but just as quickly as she went down, she was out the door.

Seto watched where she had stood. There was something wrong with her. Something that she wasn't telling anybody. Not even her friends. But why should he find out? It was her life, not his. He didn't give a dang about Tea Gardner.

And yet…

He had kissed her back.

He casually brought his hand up to his mouth, and lightly touched his lips. He still had an impression of her on there….

He sighed, exasperated. An impression that would probably never come off! That girl was going to make him miserable for the rest of his life!

Tea had walked quickly to the girls' bathroom (having had an open hallway, and turning right, she wasn't locked out there, thanks goodness; the boys was fashioned the opposite way on the other side of the hall: the school one, not the bathroom one). Once safely inside, where she was positive, Seto Kaiba wouldn't disobey normal standards, and intrude (as if he even wanted to find her) she slid down the wall, and put her head against her upraised, and bandaged knees.

Why her?

Why was all the pain in the world directed at Tea Gardner?

She sniffed, and rolled up the sleeve of her left arm (the arm Seto had grabbed), and brought it up to where it was near her shoulder. She gazed at the white gauze wrapping her arms. Not long ago, she had fallen into the corner of a sharply edged desk. His had left a deep, and long gash.

How could the world get any worse?

First her parents died.

Then, she was practically pushed to be the best, in academics, morals, and just about everything else that was necessary, or that she enjoyed.

And lately she had been getting hurt badly.

What more could go wrong?

She looked at the thing in her hand then. It was the drawing she had crumpled up and tossed into the trashcan. She had purposely made herself look like she tripped, and fetched it. For some reason, she wanted it back. Not that she liked the image of the drawing, heck no! Tea Gardner and Seto Kaiba not possible. Actually, Seto Kaiba being with anyone was impossible.

Really, she wanted the drawing back because, it happened to be one of her best ones. Go figure. Not paying attention while drawing something against your every moral: and it turns out being one of your best.

She didn't understand it. Why was she even thinking about Kaiba in this way? It was sick…. She looked up. And she was in a bathroom. The toilets could become very handy….

Seto sat at a desk, with the flashlight in hand, reading a book he had retrieved from his backpack: That Was a River. If you thought that Seto Kaiba liked books about sci-fi and technology…well…you were…partially right. Sure, he liked those books, but he liked other genres. It was something he hid from everyone.

Really, he enjoyed mysteries, action/adventure, tragedy (they seemed to relate to his life), horror, and angst. He utterly DESPISED humor and fantasy. However, he could tolerate the books that had a bit of romance in them. Let's just say Seto had a fun time reading about the people's feelings and arguing mentally with them. For example, the book he was reading now contained some of that genre:

I couldn't stop thinking about her…. Her eyes: sparkling pools of sapphires; and her smile: dazzling as a thousand full moons….

Get real kid, Seto thought, she doesn't feel the same for you and she never will. Honestly, she's going to cheat you when you least expect. Isn't it obvious? Please…no wonder real-life romance is so pointless. At one point in your life, some tragedy is going to happen, and you'll be left a lonely corpse. That's why I don't deal with love. It's pointless. Only books end with a happy life. There you have it: straight from the CEO's mouth. He may like it in stories, but it's only because it can't happen in real life, and he doesn't bother with it (another thing Gozaburo taught him; to sum it up: emotions stink; they're for the weak-minded fools).

"Hmm…that's very interesting…" a voice spontaneously said. Seto snapped the book shut, and whipped his head around.

"Good Lord, woman, what do you want! You could at least warn me when you're around. I might then be able to go and get my earplugs," Seto smirked upon saying the last of his statement.

Tea frowned, "Ha, ha, very funny."

"You finally come out of your hole?" Seto inquired, referring to her running off. Tea threw him a nasty glare. What was her problem was her business, and her business alone. Seto continued, "How long have you been standing there?"

Tea answered, "Not that long…I was just making a quick observation."

"What kind of observation?" Seto asked, testily.

"What type of stuff you like to read," Tea replied. She smirked, " I never would have guessed that you had a liking for the more…how should I say this…" Tea put a finger up to her chin, pretending to think.

"I know what you're going to say, and no, I don't like…it," Seto replied, both of them referring to the small genre of romance in there.

"Please. Then why are you reading Ashtari Hiarki's, That Was a River? Well…maybe for the mystery part of it…but otherwise-"

"The stupid genre is a small price to pay for reading an otherwise worthwhile book. However, I have now lost my interest for any type of reading," Seto slammed the book down on the desk.

"Oh come off it. Don't let me influence your wants. I was just going to sit in a corner and listen to music," Tea replied.

"With what?" Seto inquired. It's not like there was a stereo, or even any electricity for that matter.

"With a CD player, of course. Duh. And here I thought you were smart," Tea dug through her backpack.

"And here I thought that Little Miss Perfect followed school rules, which state that electronic devices aren't allowed on the premises."

"Well, that would go for both of us, Mr. I-Bring-My-Laptop,-Cellphone-And-Other-Crap-Everywhere," Tea replied. Seto frowned, purely disgusted. How dare she….

"Besides, I bring cellphones too. The stuff is only "illegal" if you're caught," Tea finally found her player, and marched to the back of the cold, dark room, where she set herself at a desk, and turned the set on. She wasn't one for listening to music loudly, so the room was therefore silent again.

Seto finally turned back to reading. He glanced at his watch, though, before he opened the book. Four thirty seven. They had only spent four hours stuck here? Lord, it felt like an eternity! Seto sighed, and turned back to his book.

A good forty-five minutes had passed. Seto was really getting into the climax of the story. He'd kill the person who disturbed him during this. Of course, it wasn't like Tea was going to disturb him. He hadn't heard a peep out of her all this time. She was actually comfortable listening to music all this time? Maybe she had fallen asleep or something. That was possible. It really probably was the only way she would ever shut up.

Something stirred him out of his book reverie. He closed the book and looked behind him, slightly flashing the light towards the back. He saw Tea's head on her desk. She was shaking slightly, and sounding like she was trying not to cry. He caught a few phrases coming out from her mouth…more like song verses than her own regular talking:

"…Why somethin' good can hurt so bad…taste of bittersweet…I wonder, who's cryin' now? …Who's cryin' now? So many stormy nights, so many wrongs or rights…only so many tears you can cry, till the heartache is over…will never die…."

Seto furrowed his brows. She really was asleep…and yet she was still talking? Gosh! But, he supposed it was possible to unconsciously have "dreams" of music if you slept through it. And…the song seemed to have and impact on her.

Seto stood up, and slowly limped over to her desk. He shined the flashlight on her body, where with the extra rays (that weren't directly hitting her face) he could see her profile. A tear ran down her cheek as she shivered.

Seto hesitated, but slowly put a hand on her slightly showing wrist. He took his hand away. She was freezing. He had to admit, with the electricity off, and it being a rainy day, it wasn't exactly going to get warm. He himself was a tad chilly; but he could deal with it. Tea however….

Seto sighed, and without any thought, or regards as to why he was being so kind, unbuttoned his school jacket, took it off (revealing a white T-shirt) and draped it over her. Her shivering slowed. Of course, a jacket wouldn't be enough to stop a whole course of coldness, but it seemed to help.

Satisfied, he returned to his seat, and turned out the flashlight. They should really be saving its batteries. After all, the thing had to last them three more days. Thus, without anything more to do, he put his feet up on the desk, and laid back as best he could, in the chair. Fighting with Tea Gardner could really take the energy out of you. A nap really did sound good now….

Well? Did you like it at all? I'm sure the beginning, and maybe right end were the best parts to the chapter. Oh well. At least you got an update. Oh, and I'm sorry if Seto seems a little OOC. I mean, come on, I like to make him a little different. I still throw in the vocabulary and insults and all that, it's just that we don't really know what books and all he likes! I have a right to guess! After all, THIS IS A FANFICTION!Anywhoremember to PLEASE REVIEW!