Disclaimers: I don't own Yu-gi-Oh…
A/N: Now this is what really sucks—I can't find enough time to update my stories! It would have been easier if I had a laptop of my own (like Kaiba does) and I could go typing all day until I run out of ideas. But it happens that whenever I have free time to use the comp, everyone in my house is occupying it! So I'm really, really, really sorry if updates aren't that often, plus I have school. GRRR… ok, I better learn to be more patient. So… here's Chapter 10.
But before that… REPLIES!
Freak09: Wow! Really? Thanks:) Although I owe up that this chapter's not my very best, but still I tried my best to make it as interesting as possible.
RiterAnonymous: That's okay, at least you found my story again, hehehe:) hope you enjoy this one…
xXRoseGoddess874Xx: Hey, thanks for reviewing:) sorry I'm kind of late with all your stories and poems, I've been really busy! But I'll review them all in time, promise. :)
lilxangelxsweetz: lol! You get the answer here… Thanks for the review:)
ya1ya: Here's the update:) thanks for the review
Tea checked her watch. Serenity was supposed to meet her at the parlor right now, and she still wasn't here yet. What was taking her?
"Can I help you, miss?" asked the girl behind the counter, putting down her scheduling notebook.
"Um, no, sorry. I'm just waiting for my friend." Tea answered.
"Oh, I see. Do you want me to check if she's here right now?"
"No thanks." Tea replied, adjusting the straps of her backpack. Where the heck was Serenity?
Meanwhile, at the Wheeler's…
Serenity woke up late that day, since she had punished her alarm clock earlier that morning for waking her up. Yawning, she flipped her hair back.
There was something she just wasn't remembering now… She struggled to remember what it was, but came to no luck. Practically flinging herself into the shower, she washed her face. A douse of warm water always woke her up in the morning. Opening her eyes clearly, she focused her memory to remember the events of yesterday.
She was shopping with Tea yesterday afternoon… then she remembered eating dinner with Joey… then she remembered talking to Tea on the phone afterwards… What was that she said? … "Meet me tomorrow at 7:00, okay? I want you to meet your date." But why was she meeting a date? Was there something planned?
Then the whole, nervous feeling came back to her again in crashing torrents. 'The dance is TONIGHT! And I'm going to meet my date! I just HOPE Tea picks out someone that I know I'll like…' she thought frantically, her thoughts racing. How could she have forgotten? She was thinking about it all night, even until the moment she slept.
There was something else she was forgetting… another thing Tea had said…
Then a realization hit her. She was supposed to meet Tea at the parlor! 'I hate it when mornings start like this!' She thought, angry at herself for being so absent-minded. After dressing quickly, she ran to the parlor, ignoring the red blinking of the answering machine.
"Where have you been?" Tea asked when Serenity reached the parlor breathlessly.
"Was… at… home… I overslept. Sorry…" Serenity gasped, briefly taking a few deep breaths.
"That's okay, come on, they're waiting for us," Tea said, gesturing at the two ladies waiting to service them.
After the two friends finished their appointment at the parlor, they settled for taking a break over some ice cream.
"So, don't forget—meet me at 7 once you get in. Okay?"
"Yeah, it won't happen again." Serenity smiled confidently.
Upon arriving at the dance, Tea Gardner scanned the small crowd who came early for the winter ball. 'The decorations are not bad, the food looks fine… although I only hope that Kaiba and Serenity will work this out!' she couldn't help thinking.
She was supposed to meet Serenity at 7:00 to introduce her to her blind date. Tea looked at her watch. It was 6:30. 30 minutes to spare, and she still couldn't find anyone to talk to.
"Hey, Tea," greeted another teenager.
"Yugi! What are you doing here so early?"
"I might want to ask you that too, but I'll tell you why I'm here. I'm a volunteer to help with the decorations. Now," he said, "what are you doing here so early?"
"Nothing much," She said a bit defensively, and Yugi sensed her tone.
"You're not planning something, are you, Tea?"
"No, I'm not." She lied.
"Oh come on, when you're acting defensive, I know you have something in mind… I won't tell… promise."
Tea hesitated before answering, "Okay, fine. You got me. Now, you better not find me regretting that I told you… so yeah, I'm matching Serenity up on a blind date."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I just hope they both come early."
"Okay, Tea, wish you luck. I have to finish setting up the tables now. Bye!"
Tea waved goodbye to Yugi, and once again checked her watch.
Before getting down from Joey's car, Serenity checked herself one more time. Her hair, which she had someone at the parlor perm for her, was hanging neatly down her shoulders. The light makeup she put on before the dance was still in place. Her dress, a red halter which Tea had said matched her perfectly, hung about her body frame. And the final touch were her new sandals.
'Now all I need to do is find Tea. Where is she?' she asked herself.
After scanning the crowd, she spotted Tea in one corner and headed over to her. "Serenity! There you are… Well, Serenity, let me introduce you to your blind date…" Tea pulled the arm of the person next to her, whom Serenity hadn't noticed when she headed towards Tea. Now she fastened her eyes to the man beside her friend. He was tall… and as her eyes worked upward, she recognized the familiar features and she nearly vomited.
"K-Kaiba?" she exclaimed. "What are you doing here! Tea, he's not my date, is he? Did you make a mistake?" she spluttered, barely getting the words out of her mouth.
"Yeah, he is your date, and now, Seto, you have Serenity all to yourself. You two have fun, okay?" Tea said a mighty bit too cheerfully and left the two of them alone.
Now Serenity was facing Kaiba with the red imprints on her cheeks, as we all identify as blushing. 'Ohmigosh, what am I going to do?' She was faced by the hopeless question. Kaiba bent down and whispered in her ear, "We've got a whole night. What do you want to do? And let me tell you, Wheeler—I would not have agreed to this if your friend hadn't done something." There was an icy quality to his voice that made Serenity shiver.
"Where is Serenity? Did she come?" Tristan demanded of Tea as she walked over to them.
"Yeah, she did. She's over there with Kaiba." Tea said coolly.
"WHAT? SHE'S WITH—" Tristan practically freaked out and looked in the direction Tea was pointing out. And lo and behold, there was his crush—walking slowly with Seto Kaiba and from where he was standing, he could tell that she was blushing immensely, judging by the redness of her cheeks. He glared, his heart flaring up.
But little did he know that there was also a person who felt the same as he did. Duke Devlin was flaring up inside, rage building. Seto Kaiba was here AGAIN. Why did he have to mess Serenity's and his relationship? They were doing just fine before he came into their lives. How dare that guy.
Before they even realized it, the two of them were fuming horribly and remained in a bad mood for the rest of the night.
Seto Kaiba couldn't believe that he was right beside his crush—right beside her in this very room. It would have been the last thing in his mind, but he found his heart leaping, even though it was quite against his will. He was so determined to hate that girl, the sister of the mutt—but here he was, falling in love with her.
Funny how love can drive a man crazy.
He wanted to take her hand in his—all the things that normal couples do. But this wasn't the time. "Do you want to dance?" she asked him stiffly. He was surprised—he thought that she hated him. But now she was asking him if he wanted to dance.
He knew only a few dance moves, ones that Mokuba taught him. Now the band on stage was playing a slow song, one of the classic pop songs that he wasn't familiar with.
"Fine." He said with dignity as he took her hand, admiring its smooth quality and leading her to the dance floor. Meanwhile, he was thinking to himself, 'Now what have I gotten myself into?'
Serenity was looking on the floor as they danced. She was hoping that he knew how to dance. Finally, she looked up at her partner, and he was staring at her in a weird, spaced-out way. And somehow, her heart managed to beat quickly as she looked into those cold steely eyes. She didn't know what to say.
He led her into a slow waltz, and with him touching her, she felt so nervous. 'Why have I never felt this with any guy before?' she thought.
When the dance ended, she sighed in relief. At least that was uneventful.
Then he took her hand again, not saying anything. She felt alarmed. Where was he taking her? She breathed another sigh of relief when he just took them into the garden outside Domino High's gym. She'd always loved this garden, ever since she came here. Although she hadn't imagined that she would be here with Kaiba, of all people.
Now he was turning to face her. But before he could say anything, she cut in. "Sorry, Kaiba, but I really don't know if we should be here. I mean, this night was just too… weird."
"What do you mean, weird?" He asked. He was acting totally out of character. 'What was happening to this world?' Serenity thought.
"I mean, don't you see? We don't hang out. We hang out with totally different crowds. We may have been childhood friends, but that's gone now. We even had a row in the library, for goodness' sake! And now we're standing here outside the gym. Now isn't that weird?" she blurted out.
Kaiba had an unreadable expression on his face. "That may be true," he said slowly. "But I've changed my mind about that…" And without any more words, he bent down and kissed Serenity.
The shock that Serenity had felt seemed to have faded away. It seemed so familiar… that the kiss was part of her, in some way… Like she was totally meant to be with him. She too became absorbed in the kiss, and she wrapped her arms around Kaiba.
Then it hit her. She was standing outside of the gym, kissing Kaiba. What was she thinking? She pulled away from the magnetic yet passionate kiss and stood her ground.
"I can't do this, Kaiba… We're just too different." She cried out. Then stumbling her way past him, she ran, as fast as she could.
Kaiba watched her, speechless. What had he done? That was totally not like him. If Mokuba heard about this, he'd might as well die. She was running… and then she stopped. Before Kaiba realized it, Serenity was at a short distance and now she was on the ground.
In blind confusion, he ran towards her, wondering what had happened. He couldn't find anything wrong with her—she had just fainted out of the blue. But why? He had no time to think. Instead he ran inside the gym, looking for his enemy.
Joey was sitting with Mai, enjoying her company and wild stories about high school until they were interrupted by a flustered Seto Kaiba.
"Wheeler," he said. "Your sister's just fainted."
That was enough to make Joey cringe. He followed his worst enemy to where his sister was lying on the ground.
"We need to take her to the hospital before anything else goes wrong." Kaiba said calmly.
"Yeah," Joey replied faintly, "let's do that."
Kaiba notified the hospital on his cellphone, and when they said that they would reserve a room for the patient, he climbed into his limousine. Joey climbed into the seat next to him, and Serenity was laid in the backseat, looking so peaceful. Without a word, Kaiba drove to the hospital.
A/N: Now that's done… phew! At least I have one almost free weekend… So I finished this. How do you like it? Comments, suggestions, questions, violent reactions… any kind of review is welcome. Thank you very much.