Author's Notes/Disclaimer: I don't own the show Yu-Gi-Oh, sadly enough. Before I start the chapter, I'd like to say that I am totally against fanfics where Joey's dad is abusive and he just takes it and while Seto comes to the rescue. That's not Joey, nor is that Seto. I'm going to try to make it where Joey is smarter then that and he wouldn't need or want help from anyone unless he asks for it. He seems the type to do that, right? Also, I don't quite understand why people bash Anzu. I mean, so what if she likes Yami and Yuugi? If you're expecting Anzu-bashing, you're not going to find it here. In any case, sorry about the rants and here is the fifth chapter.

A Boy and His Dog

By LilyChan

Chapter Five

Down in the Slumps

The blond had run until he was sure the brunet couldn't follow him. Joey looked back to see if anyone was following him, but luckily there wasn't. He sighed and proceeded to walk home. Even though rich boys like Seto didn't scare him, he was quite surprised on how strong the older boy was! Joey made a mental note to be careful not to fist-fight with him anytime soon, but he knew his big-mouth would cause a fist-fight eventually so there wasn't any point to that.

He placed his hands in his pocket and muttered. He then realized that he had planned to meet Yuugi at his shop. He slapped himself on the forehead on how easily he forgot things. How could he forget? He made a quick turn and dashed toward the direction Yuugi had informed him earlier.

oooo

Yuugi glanced out of the window again and sighed. Where was he? He was supposed to be there a few minutes ago! Plus the arcade wasn't that far off as far as he knew. The brunette had her attention in a fashion magazine when she saw Yuugi glance out the window again.

The store was quite small even though it was very popular.

"Yuugi, relax! He's going to be here." she said as she set aside her magazine. Ever since school let out, Yuugi had done nothing but talk about Joey. Not that it surprised her or anything. Whenever Yuugi would make a new friend, he would talk incessantly about them until they had established a relationship. At first she was jealous because of the special attention they were getting from the happy little boy; after some drama, however, she realized that's just his personality. Despite his rather odd choice in clothes, Yuugi Motou is a happy boy.

Yuugi pouted and gave her an innocent look. "But what if he forgot?"

She placed a hand over her mouth and giggled. "With you hanging on his arm and talking his ear off, I'm sure he wouldn't!"

And right on cue, the blond came in – huffing and puffing though he had just ran the triathlon. He had sweated a little and he had a bruise and a scrape on his elbow. She waved her hello but frowned when she spotted the scrape.

Of course Yuugi chimed in before she could open her mouth for concern. "Joey! Are you alright?" the boy exclaimed as he rushed to Joey, to check if he needed help.

Joey waved his hand as he caught up with his breath. After a few moments, he was finally able to speak.

"It's just a scrape. I tripped over my shoelaces and fell on the way over. Don'tcha worry bout me, Yuug!" the blond stated as he gave the smaller boy a cheeky grin.

The brunette rolled her eyes since there's no distracting the boy from the other. She picked up her magazine and picked up where she left off. Yuugi rushed to the back of the shop to get a box with a red cross on it.

Once Yuugi opened the box, he got out the alcohol to rub against the red mark, as well as the blue and purple mark. Joey winced slightly because it stung and cold, and wished that Yuugi stopped treating him like a child – though he appreciated the gesture. Yuugi cleaned it up for it had pebbles and dirt on it despite Joey's calls for him to stop.

"Joey, I don't want this to become infected!" Yuugi stated as he got out a bandage. Joey frowned for he knew Yuugi's right. He glanced over to the side with a pouty look on his face. Yuugi giggled and went back to put the first aid kit back.

The girl sighed and decided that she was no longer needed there. Apparently Yuugi had taken a liking to Joey, and that he didn't need her around then. She picked up her magazine and made her way out the door without so much as a glance to the confused blond.

Joey blinked after her. He didn't even noticed that she was even in the shop… this was not good. He'd have to apologize to her the next day because of his unobvious stupidity. Joey may not seem like he's the smartest, but he's quite observant – and it's obvious that girl's jealous. He took the time to look around the shop he was in. It was small despite being very popular (according to Yuugi). When Yuugi came back, he didn't notice that the girl had gone off.

"So, Joey, how come you were late?" he asked, wondering what had kept his new friend up.

Joey shrugged. "Yanno, just got a bit too distracted at the arcade I guess. Oh yeah. I ran into that prick again!" as he remembered the rich boy's crazy brother calling him a dog.

Yuugi gave Joey a confused look. "Who, Joey?"

"Yanno! The dude who runs that company? The dude I fought with earlier today?"

Yuugi nodded his head. "What about Kaiba?"

"Well, get this! His crazy brother came up to me and thought I was a dog! What tha hell is up with that?" Joey ranted. But this obviously offended Yuugi.

"Mokuba's not crazy, Joey! He'd probably mistake you for a dog that had run away." Yuugi huffed.

Joey raised an eyebrow. "Is that his name? He seems pretty crazy ta me."

Yuugi sighed and shook his head. "Mokuba's not crazy. He's just depressed, Joey. I was going to ask you if you'd like to come over and meet him this weekend, actually."

Joey stared at him for a minute or two and then busted out laughing. "A-Are you serious? I seriously don't think that guy would allow me to see him! Yuug, he'd kill me if given the chance!"

The shorter boy crossed his arms. "Joey, I'm sure he'd forget it by then. Kaiba has a lot on his plate."

"Aside from being a prick?"

"Joey…"

"Alright, alright. But be sure to call tha morgue. In case, yanno…I end up killing the prick or he kills me." Joey winked. Yuugi just rolled his eyes with a faint smile on his face.

oooo

The rest of the visit was fun as expected and Joey had to return home. He waved to the boy and headed off. He glanced at the sky and noticed that it had gotten much darker then what it was earlier. He ran, being careful not to fall down again. When he looked around to see the neighborhood looking quite trashy, he smiled. He was on the right track. The trip seemed endless since he practically lived on the other side of town. But he was thankful that his dad was sober enough to drive him to school.

Once Joey had made it to his apartment complex, he stopped for a minute to yawn – now realizing how tired he really was from the day. He shook his head and headed to the elevator that was working. When he had reached his floor, he got off quite groggily. He almost tripped and fell if it weren't for the fact that there was glass on the ground. Joey smirked. Perhaps some hapless burglar tried to break in his apartment, eh? Good thing his father could tell the difference between some burglar and his flesh and blood. He walked to his apartment where the door was slightly open. The smell of alcohol overwhelmed the blond, but he tried to control his gag reflex.

"Boy? Is that you?" a much older voice rang out.

"Yeah, Dad." he said as he cleverly walked over the empty and discarded bottles that were scattered all over the floor. He yawned since he'll have to get used to going to work on the weekend, and having to go to school during the week. He thanked God that he had Sunday off. He walked over to the tiny kitchen they had and started to scurry for anything to eat – even if they were almost moldy leftovers. His stomach made itself known as Joey hunted for his dinner. It was then he realized that his father had forgotten to go grocery shopping.

Joey sighed. He really should've put on better locks on it. Maybe he could steal from his new friends' during lunch. Besides Yuugi would probably be worried about his diet, the blond was sure. Joey laughed at the thought, but considered giving him a call despite being late. Joey shook the thought of his head. Nah, he shouldn't even thought about taking advantage of Yuugi's kindness.

He decided to go ahead and sleep. He'd have to wake up pretty early anyway. Even though his dad's an alcoholic, he was able to maintain a job…for once. Joey had to get a job so he could get the things he wanted without any questions. "It's your money, do what you want" the older Wheeler would say. His father worked not only to pay the bills, but to pay for Joey's tuition to Domino Private School.

The apartment was small and it looked trashy. There was a small television screen on a piece of crappy furniture. The ground was covered in used beer bottles and various potato chip bags. The sofa and recliner looked much worn out and dirty as if it hadn't been washed in years. Thankfully, there weren't any strange smells emitting from said furniture. He headed past the bathroom that had a rusty sink with an equally rusty tub.

When Joey opened his door to his room, he let out a sigh from the stressful day. He got lost in the hallways looking for the damn homeroom no thanks to that bastard, and then he had fought him! And even a trip to the arcade to let out his stress was interrupted! Although when he recalled when that crazy little kid calling him Katsuya, he had that déjà vu feeling like he had met them before. But he considered it him being tired from all the excitement from the day. Joey sighed as he sat on his bed. He reached over and took off his shirt and tossed it amongst the rest of the clothes that were scattered on the floor. He laid back and yelled various curse words.

Maybe he shouldn't think of that brunet before he'd go to sleep. It's only going to bring unwanted nightmares. Joey spent the rest of the evening tricking his dad into signing the forms he had to return to school and reading up some comic books he had purchased some time ago. Once it was 10:52 PM, Joey was beat and his stomach was still demanding food. Joey patted on it as if it were to calm it down.

"Don't worry – I'll just see if we have any leftovers at the joint." Joey stated as he dreamt of dancing hamburgers and drinks.

oooooo

Ending Notes: I apologize for the tardiness – but I really need to busy myself with another fanfic before this bunny can start attacking me again. XD For some reason, when I fully dedicate myself to a fanfic, the bunny hops away and another starts nibbling… So just because of that, I'm going to try to update whenever this bunny's in control. -eyes reviews- Because of how popular it seems to be getting, I take it I better up it a notch. XD In any case, please review if you can. Constructive criticism is always welcomed. :)