As Seto Kaiba sat in his room, busily hacking away on his laptop, Joey appeared in the doorway, his one hand clutching the side of the doorframe.
"Wheeler, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in bed? I told you not to disturb me!" Seto stood up, his voice overflowing with so many different emotions that it was hard to tell what he was really feeling.
"I know you did but there's something I want to ask you," Joey spoke, now leaning on the door which was pressed against the back wall.
Seto sat down and continued typing. "Whatever it is, make it quick. I have important things to do and I don't have the time to deal with your problems."
"Mhm… But weren't you the one who said that you'd be in your room if I needed you for anything?" Joey questioned the CEO, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, but I also said that I hate being disturbed for unimportant matters and anything you have to say can only be unimportant," Seto corrected.
"Whatever. I just wanted to ask you when your brother is going to be home. I kind of wanted to play some video games with him. Dat guy is so cool!" Joey beamed.
"His classes finish in another hour. So until then, find something to entertain yourself but whatever you do, don't go into any of the rooms except your own without permission."
"What about the bathroom?" Joey knew this was a stupid question but he just felt like annoying the CEO by bombarding him with so many questions.
"I forbid you to go there too," Seto grimaced.
"Hey that's going against my rights as a human! I could sue you!"
"Yah, with what? You'd have to sell your house, everything in it and even the clothes on your back just to afford a lawyer."
"Nah, I'd just borrow one of yours and pay them to work for me. I do have money you know Kaiba."
"Probably only twenty bucks, if that. My lawyers are top notch and won't just work for anybody," Seto informed.
"I'd find a way," Joey smirked evilly.
Seto then decided to change the subject. "Okay Wheeler, I have to get back to work now. Yes you can use the bathroom but as I mentioned before, don't go snooping around in any of the other bedrooms. That includes my brother's too. When he's away, no one, except for me, is allowed in his room. Now get out of here before I call security to escort you back to your room," Seto demanded.
"Fine, I'm going, I'm going…" Joey mumbled and took his leave.
Seto then leaned back in his chair, slowly massaging his temples as he felt a slight headache coming on. He opened the right hand drawer in his desk and pulled out a bottle of aspirin taking two pills out and throwing the bottle back into the drawer, closing it. He downed the pills and took a quick drink from his bottle of fresh Dasani water. Afterwards, he went back to his work, feeling a little bit better now that he had no one to continually pester him.
When Joey got back to his room, he flopped down on his bed and sighed. He was bored and there was nothing to do seeing as how Seto wouldn't let him wander the halls of the mansion. He couldn't wait until Mokuba got home. He loved playing with the younger Kaiba because he was always so much more enthusiastic than his brother. So for the time being, Joey decided to take a little nap. He curled up under the warm, goose-feathered blankets and within seconds, fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.
Later, around three o'clock in the afternoon, Seto was just on his way out the door to pick up Mokuba when he noticed Yugi standing outside with a worried look on his face.
"What do you want Motou?" he sneered.
"Um…I know this is a stupid question to ask but do you know where Joey is? He said that he was going to come over today around one o'clock but he never showed up and I'm getting worried. I'm afraid something's happened to him…" Yugi's words trailed off so that they were almost inaudible.
"And what makes you think that he would be here?"
"Well I asked everyone else and they said that they haven't seen him since Friday at school," the spiky-haired teen replied.
"So you just assume that I would take someone like Wheeler into my house? Is that correct?" Seto inquired in an intimidating voice.
"I – I was just wondering…" Yugi stammered, trying to avoid direct eye contact with the CEO.
"Well if you must know, yes, Wheeler is here. He's upstairs in the room that I provided for him. Just don't go thinking that I'm doing this out of friendship and that I'm suddenly going to join your little playgroup. I'm only doing this Mokuba and that's all. Understand?"
Yugi nodded his head in response. "Would it be okay if I went to see him?" he finally managed to ask.
"Fine, but only go into his room and nowhere else. I don't want you wandering aimlessly around the mansion with no reasonable excuse," and with that, Seto brushed past Yugi and walked over to his limo that was waiting for him. When the vehicle pulled out of the driveway and vanished out of sight, the smaller teen pulled the door open and walked into the mansion.
As he climbed the spiral stairs, all he could think about was if Joey was all right and if anything was troubling him. He had known the blonde-haired for going on two years now and somehow he always knew if something was wrong.
I hope he's okay… Yugi prayed silently to himself as he walked down the hallway, peering into the all the rooms looking for his best friend. He finally came to the last room on the left and when he looked in, he saw Joey lying in bed, curled up and sleeping serenely. Yugi quietly crept into the room and took a seat on a rocking chair that was placed in a nearby corner. His eyes refused to drift away from the sight before him. The blonde looked so calm and placid that he didn't want to wake him. Suddenly, the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle appeared beside his hikari.
"What seems to be the trouble Yugi?" the spirit asked.
"N – nothing…" the younger of the two hesitantly replied.
"Doesn't look like nothing to me. I sense that you are worried about Joey. Is that correct my light?"
"Sort of. I'm just curious as to what's bothering him. He hasn't been acting like himself lately and I'm growing concerned."
"Of course you are. He is your best friend and best friends are made to look out for one another." Yami had learned a lot about friendship over the years and knew how much Yugi's friends meant to him.
Just then, both Yugi and Yami noticed that Joey was beginning to stir slightly. Yami withdrew himself back into the Millennium Puzzle as Yugi watched his friend start to awaken. When Joey slowly opened his eyes, he was a little startled to see someone sitting near the foot of his bed, watching him like a mother hawk.
"Yug?"
"Hey Joey. How are you feeling?" Yugi asked, trying to sound cheerful.
"Okay I guess. How come you're here? Did Kaiba let you in?"
"Yah. He told me that I could come visit you for a while. I've been really worried about Joey and so has everyone else. We really want to know what's troubling you because we've all noticed that lately you've been acting strangely." Yugi's concern was growing deeper by the minute.
"I'm fine Yug, really. I've just been sick the past few days, that's all. No big deal. I'll get over it," Joey lied. But what he didn't know was that Yugi saw right through that cover up story and began to raise even more suspicious.
"I don't think it's because you're sick Joey," Yugi spoke as he raised an eyebrow. "I think it's more than that."
Joey placed his hand on his forehead and sighed heavily. "Look Yug, nothing's bugging me. If something were, you'd know I'd tell you guys. It's just that, I haven't really been feeling like myself lately and things just haven't been going my way."
"Like what?" Yugi questioned, hoping to get a decent answer out of his friend.
"School mainly. It's just been really tough on me with exams and everything coming up. I can't stand the pressure." Joey hoped that that excuse would be good enough and Yugi would stop asking him a thousand questions. It's not that he didn't enjoy Yugi's company, he really did, but he just didn't want to tell him the truth. He thought that if he did, all his friends would hate him for keeping it a secret for so long. He couldn't take that risk.
"Well I told you that I would help you study," Yugi informed.
"I know, I know. I'm sorry about not getting a hold of you sooner but things just kept coming up…"
"Like what?"
"Errands that my father wants me to run for him. He's not usually home often so I have to do most of the grocery shopping." Joey then realized what he had said. He didn't want to mention anything about his father to Yugi or any of his friends because it would bring about more questions. He then decided to close his mouth and not say anything else.
"What does he do?" That was the question that Joey was hoping Yugi wouldn't ask. He couldn't just say that his father didn't work, lived on welfare and drank all the time. That wouldn't have sat well with him.
"Joey?" Yugi repeated.
"Huh? Oh, sorry Yug. I guess I kind of zoned out there."
"Looked that way. So, you never answered my question. What does your father do for a living?"
Joey didn't say anything for a minute and then began to speak. "I'll tell ya later, Yug. Right now I'm kind of getting tired and I really need to lay down for a little bit. I'll talk to you later, okay?"
"Well…" Yugi hesitated for a moment, wondering what was wrong with Joey and why he didn't seem to want to answer the question about his father. "Okay. Call me later and let me know how you're doing, all right?"
"No problem. See ya," and with that, the tri-coloured haired teen left the room, leaving Joey alone with his thoughts.
Phew, dat was a close one. I really didn't want to lie to him but it was the only thing to say without making him suspicious about my life. I don't want to tell him that my father abuses me otherwise he'll become really concerned and tell all our friends. I don't want everyone knowing what goes on in my life. I left that asshole anyway and I'm never going back. I just hope he doesn't go to the police or I'll really be in hot water. There would be no escaping then, unless of course Kaiba decided to be nice for a change and stop them from taking me away. But I know that would never happen. He only took me in because of Mokuba. If it weren't for him, I'd still be on the street, starving with no place to go. Kaiba hates me and that's something that will never change…