Tornado: Hey people! Sorry it's been so long since I updated, but hopefully I'll be able to update more often. On with the fic.
Sclera's POV
"Hey, Sclera, we should go shopping!!" Tea exclaimed at lunch.
I was eating, spacing off in my own little world when her voice sounded through my ears. My head snapped in her direction. Did she actually mean that she wanted to go shopping with me?
"You mean it?" I asked.
"Yeah! The frost king dance is coming up, and I still need to buy a dress."
"I don't have a date for the dance."
"Neither do I, but we're all going as friends, so I thought that you might want to join us."
"That'd be awesome! It's been a while since I went shopping. I know a great store that you can get gorgeous dresses in. It's a tad expensive, but you can rent the dresses rather than buying them."
"Did I hear something about a shopping trip?" a female voice inquired from behind.
We both turned to see Mai Valentine standing behind us. She looked absolutely stunning. It had been five years since I had seen my cousin, but she had not lost the air of elegance. She greeted the group with a series of nods and a hug for Joey and Yugi. The table seemed taken aback by the gesture to Joey.
"Okay," Tristan began, "I know Yugi's your cousin, but the last time I checked you and Joey were in no way related."
"Didn't he tell you? We're dating," she replied with a smile.
The table gasped. I was even surprised at the girl's choice in boyfriends. Mai had always fallen for the rich, preppy types. Not the ruff, punk boys. For the first time she noticed that I was at the table. Her eyes widened slightly at the sight me. I shot her a silencing look. Tea was the first to realize what she was staring at.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Mai, I forgot to introduce you to Sclera. Mai, this is Sclera Marshal, she's relatively new to the town. Sclera this is Mai Valentine."
"Pleased to meet," I replied, extending a hand.
She accepted with a questioning gaze. She saw right through my name as she looked into my eyes. I smiled, gently chewing on my lower lip. Never had I been this nervous around one of my family. She still seemed uneasy, but changed the subject anyway.
"So, this shopping trip, when and where?" she asked.
"I have to work on Friday and Saturday night, but Sunday and Saturday day I'm free," responded.
"I got a date on Saturday night and I'm going to a spa that day, so Sunday would be preferable," Mai stated. "Tea, does Sunday work for you?"
"Sunday's perfect. Lera, you said something about a great store to shop at?"
"Yeah, I get all of my formal wear there. It's called 'Regal Impressions.' I know the guy that designs dresses. We're friends. He'll custom design anything that you want, and he'll even make make-up, shoe, and jewelry suggestions. I bet I can sweet-talk him into doing our hair and make-up for us. It may come at a small price, but I think it might be worth it."
"I've been there before! They had beautiful dresses and the help was amazing. They made me a dress in the color that I wanted. You see, I fell in love with this dress that was all beaded and lacey, but they only had it in red and black, and they made it in purple for me. The designer is a cool guy. That'd be a great place to go," Mai said enthusiastically.
"So it's a date then," Tea said proudly. "Who's gonna drive?"
"I'll drive," I answered. "I have a nice sedan that has plenty of space for all of us and any purchase that we make."
"Where do you live? Tea and I will meet you there."
"High Tower Penthouses, top floor, apartment L8. I'll leave a note at the front desk that you'll be coming. They'll be able to direct you if you have any problems."
"Sounds good. High Tower Penthouses? That's a top dollar area. All of the business headquarters and fancy restaurants are down there. You're parents must be rich," the blonde commented.
"They were," I whispered, referring to all of my "parents" that had accommodated me over my life.
Mai pretended not to catch the last part, but a look of understanding glimmered in her eyes. She knew that it was a subject that I wanted to avoid. She said a few words to Joey before she left. I was not at ease with my mind. It kept screaming that this was a bad idea. Have you ever had your mind tell you that something was definitely not a good idea, but you did it anyway, just too see what would happen? Well, that was the situation I was in, and I was not listening to the little voice, which was probably a bad thing.
I sat there, staring off into space, thinking about the long Sunday ahead. Something irked me. I felt like I was being watched. Joey, Tea, Tristan, and Yugi were all deep in conversation about something or other. I gazed around the lunch, attempting to find the source of the gaze. Finally, I succeeded. Sitting in the far, shadowy corner, all by himself, was Seto Kaiba.
Seto's POV
Watching Sclera Marshal had become part of my daily routine. The girl captured my attention like no other had. She was as mysterious as an unsolved mystery. During the night, I searched deeper into her murky past, but she seems to have appeared out of nowhere. She was placed in the care of the Marshals shortly after March of 2001, but any records before that were missing. She owned four vehicles: a sliver Mercedes Benz CLK 350, a black Mercedes Benz SL 500, a blue Ford Mustang Cobra, and a blue and sliver Suzuki V-Storm. Not your average cars for a teenage girl. She owned a penthouse apartment in High Tower Penthouses, apartment number L8. She owned eight of Marshal's seafood and steak restaurants, placed all across the country. She inherited a three-million-dollar beach home in Ocean City, MD, and spent ¾ of her summer there. Her favorite type of music was rock and her favorite band was Three Days Grace, whom she saw at a large concert in Philadelphia, PA along with many other bands including Staind and Finger Eleven. I had searched into the deepest aspects of her life that not many knew about. If you asked my sassy, opinionated computer, she'd say that I'd become obsessed.
I was starting to realize the truth in that statement as I longingly gazed at the beauty. Yes, I know, the words sound strange even coming from my mind. I wanted her. I don't know why because I think to become dependent on another person is absolutely insane, but I wanted her. Something about the way ignored the guys who threw themselves at her feet, or maybe it was the way she casually defeated everyone that challenged her at Duel Monsters and acted as though it was no big deal, or perhaps the way she gracefully walked to her car after school, long brown hair billowing behind her, cerulean eyes obscured by dark shades. She was absolutely beautiful. I knew that she was attracted to me from my previous encounters, but I could not bring myself to ask her out on a date. My brother had been on me for weeks, and still I cannot do it.
I suddenly realized that she was staring right at me. I jerked out of my daydream, and looked away blushing. Why am I blushing? Do I care if she saw me? I sure as hell do not! Why should I? Okay so maybe I am a bit obsessed with her, but who can blame me? I mean, look at that figure, those eyes, that beautiful… WHAT THE FUCK AM I THINKING!!! I gathered my stuff and stormed down the hall. I could not allow anybody to affect me the way she was. It was absolutely out of character for me to be falling for someone. No, scratch that. It was out of character for me to find a girl attractive. There, that's more suiting for the situation. Even as I thought these words, I knew I was only bull shitting myself. I had spent a lot of time with the girl and found our personalities to quite similar. We were motivated, highly intelligent, reclusive, and deprived of a stable home-life. We had to work to maintain our stature and assets while attending school.
I was fumbling with the lock on my locker when the click of heels caught my attention. I turned to see Alicia Spinet walking toward me with a seductive smile on her face. I rolled my eyes and turned back to my lock. She came up, leaning beside my locker, intently watching me. The first three buttons of her top were undone, giving me a perfect view of her cleavage, and she occasionally licked her lips. I rolled my eyes willing my fingers to undo the lock.
"Is there something you want Alicia?" I asked, annoyed.
"I want you to be my date to Frost King."
"No," I answered automatically.
"Why not?"
"Because you're a slut, and I do not go with sluts."
"I'm not a slut!"
"You're standing there with the first three buttons of your shirt undone, which gives any person who even glances your way a view of your cleavage, you have sparkly pink spikes, which is absolutely unseasonable, and you've altered your skirt so that it barely covers your ass. Now, how can you say that you are not a slut?"
"I don't go through guys like sluts do."
"You had two boyfriends last week. That's more than the amount of girlfriends I've had in three months."
"Will you just go with me?"
I was about to reply when I spotted Marshal, gliding down the hall surrounded by her gang. Her long hair flipped over her shoulder, and her laugh echoed through the hallway, sweet and addicting. My eyes locked with hers and stayed that way for many minutes. She had stopped walking and raised her chin in acknowledgement before continuing down the hall. A realizing look crossed Alicia's face as she watched me.
"You like Marshal," she whispered.
"Yes," I replied without thinking.
"She's nothing but trouble. Her, the mutt, and pointy-head are no good and beneath you."
"She has more money than both of your parent's combined, and she works for every penny of it. She is a hundred times more respectable than you are because she doesn't parade herself in front of guys, and her grades are a lot better than yours. So what can you offer me that she can't?"
"Sex. Lots of good, guilt-free sex."
"I think that if I'm going to have sex, I'd rather it not be guilt-free," I stated calmly, walking away.
I didn't have to look back to know that she was glaring after me. More importantly, I didn't care. It struck me that I had told her that I fancied Marshal, but once again I found that I didn't care. I knew that she'd spread rumors about us being involved in a relationship or sleeping together. The only person that I could see that bothering would be Sclera, but I've spent enough time with her to know that even she's not that sensitive. Whatever Spinet did one thing was assured: it would include 70% of the student body.
My English and science classes seemed to be the shortest ever, and before I knew it, I was right outside my homeroom. I heard the sweet voice of Sclera coming down the, chattering away with another student. The moment I heard that English accent, I knew that she was speaking to Ryou Bakura. Bakura and I were on neutral grounds. We neither liked nor disliked each other. I hadn't spoken to him in nearly three years or at least not about anything of importance. I had ran into him a few times during the Battle City Tournament, but none of the situations allowed for any catching up. He escorted Sclera to her class before his eyes caught mine. He stared for several minutes before approaching me.
"You can't keep breaking her heart and expect her to be there when you finally pull yourself together. I don't know what you're problem is, but I know that Blue Eyes would not want you to live nor act this way. Do yourself a favor: decide," he whispered before continuing down the hall.
"Decide what?" I called after him.
He stopped, turned, and quietly replied, "What you want." After that he left.
I stood in the hallway with my mouth slightly ajar. It was out of character for me, but it was also out of character for the albino to speak to me. His words rang through my mind, particularly the part about Blue Eyes. I thought of the words that Taylor spoke to me long ago: "She won't go out with an asshole." I was torn between two girls. One that I had known all of my life, loved since before I knew what love was, who had stuck beside me through thick and thin, and another, whose past was an utter mystery, whose beauty was not picked off the trees of an apple orchard, but instead dug from the deep depths off dirt in an unpolished form, ruff but beautiful, who remained civil though tested with many trails of uncivilized behavior. Bakura's words struck a nerve, whose grave lie too deep for any drill to penetrate, deep within the iron core of Earth. It was indeed correct. Blue Eyes would not want me to be like this, but how could I change? After all of the people who bore my trust and abused the ability? After all of the pain that the loss of loved ones provoked? After all of the nights, which held the suffering of two innocent people, whose trust lies in one another?
I thought about my behavior since Blue Eyes had left, and it had steadily worsened each day. The way I treated others was the remnants of my "training". I do not treat Wheeler the way do because I hate him that badly but rather because I envy the friends he has, the people that trust him and hold his trust with respect, the sister that was willing to stand by his side even if the situation seems hopeless. I treat Sclera the way I do because she could possibly become another weak point of mine. I already had one, and that was one too many. I also felt like I was betraying Blue Eyes. I felt the same emotion every time I looked at an attractive girl, finding myself longing for her. My heart has always belonged to her, but lately that seems to be changing. For the CEO of one of the largest technological companies, I really didn't care for changes to my personal life. Maybe this would be an exception.
I made my way to my seat near the back, thinking about how Blue Eyes would have wanted me to live my life. She would have wanted me to protect Mokuba and keep him happy, to work my hardest to accomplish everything that I wanted, but, most importantly, she would have wanted me to be happy. I honestly could not say that with my current life I was happy. I missed the spontaneity I once had, the fun times that I experienced, the friends that I had, and, above all, the love that I gave to a certain girl. I made myself a vow. Starting tomorrow, I'm going to find the person that I used to be. I'm not going to be a slave to my work. I'm not going to be an untouchable jerk. I'm not going to be alone anymore. All these changes will take awhile to make, but eventually they will all be made. I glanced over at Sclera sitting laughing with her friends. Step one: get close to that girl.
Tornado: Yay! Another chappie!
DT: Are Yugi and Mai really cousins?
Tornado: Who knows, but they kinda look alike. You know, purple eyes and they both have the lightning bolt bang thingy going on. Anyway, R&R.