As Seto walked down the hallway in total silence, the only thing on his mind was the fact that he was actually concerned for someone like Wheeler. That thought still refused to leave the corridors of his mind and quite frankly he was getting tired of it. True, they may have experienced similar tragedies in both their lives but what really boggled the young CEO's mind was that it had to be Joey Wheeler of all people.
I'm only doing this for Mokuba. Seto kept reminding himself of that small detail over and over again so that he wouldn't turn his back and leave. As soon as he approached the door that led into Joey's room, he noticed that it was wide open. The moment he stepped into the room, Joey looked up from where he had been sitting and literally gaped at the sight before him.
"What are you doing here, rich boy?" he asked, almost with a sort of sneer to his voice. He wasn't expecting anyone to come and see him, especially not Seto Kaiba. He thought that he would have been too busy with his work to even eat, let alone visit one of his own worst enemies.
"Well if you must know Wheeler, Mokuba wanted me to check up on you to make sure you were doing all right. I'm not doing this out of the goodness of my heart you know. I'm not one of your nerdy friends and don't plan on becoming one. The only reason I took you into my house was because of my brother, I told you that already. So don't expect anything from me because if it's anything to do with friendship or anything of that sort, more than likely you won't get what you want."
"Someone seems to be a little rough around the edges, don't ya think?" Joey arched an eyebrow at this comment.
Seto kept his cool for the most part. He wasn't going to release all of his rage on Joey, but he didn't want to keep it bottled up either. Whenever someone spoke of him being rough around the edges in the way Joey phrased it, he never seemed to take it too well. Then again, who would?
"Listen Wheeler. You know nothing about my life or me for that matter. I'm the way I am for a reason. Do you think I like being this way? Do you think I like having to spend endless hours working at Kaiba Corp? I'd rather be with my brother during those times but I have no choice. Someone has to run the company and I don't trust anyone but myself to do it. That's why I want Mokuba to live his life to its fullest extent. I never could do that, what with the way Gozaburo treated me. He made me work day and night with hardly any rest. I didn't have the chance to do the things most children were doing at my age. I had to work while they got to play. Do you think that was fun? That's why I don't see fun like you and your friends do; I never got the chance to experience it for myself. So before you go thinking that I have a boring life, think about what I just said. It may give you a clearer vision on reality, which is something I don't think you have." As Seto spoke, his tone seemed slightly depressing.
As Joey took in all that he heard, he began to realize that Seto's life isn't all that it seems. He has problems too; problems that aren't so noticeable at first sight.
"That sounds kind of like my life and what my father does to me…" Joey's voice then sank low as he started to enter a depressive state.
Seto then began to grow rather concerned and inquisitive as to what Joey would say. "What do you mean?" He knew that Joey's father abused him but he didn't want the blonde to find out that Brianna had told him. He wasn't about to break the long-lasting friendship bond that the two shared.
"My father…he…he abuses me…not just physically but emotionally as well…" Joey stuttered with his words, finding it difficult to tell someone, other than Brianna, about his pain-filled life.
"As you heard, that's just how my life was." This sign of sympathy wasn't something that the usual cold-hearted teen showed all the time, but from all that he heard from Brianna and now Joey, he couldn't help that feeling. As he looked into Joey's chocolate brown orbs, he could see that the blonde was indeed suffering internally and it caused a sharp pain in his heart. However, with a slight nod of his head he urged Joey to continue.
"My father's an alcoholic. He drinks every night, and every night he beats me. Some nights are worse than others. Sometimes it's so bad that I can't even show my face at school the next day, so I just hang out somewhere until it's time to go home. I can't stay home from school because if I do my father will force me to go using drastic measures, which I'm quite aware of…" Joey then began to trail off, trying to keep his voice steady.
Just then, the unthinkable happened. Unaware of his actions, Seto sat down on the bed next to the blonde and wrapped his arms around him in a warm embrace. Joey was just as confused as Seto as to why he had done that. It felt like one minute they were fighting to no end and the next they were snuggled up against each other like two sweet, tender kittens. However, to both the teens' surprise, they rather enjoyed being in the comfort of one another's arms. Nonetheless, this moment didn't last long. Seto soon realized what he had done and quickly pulled away, leaving Joey looking rather dumbfounded.
"What was that about?" Joey asked as Seto refused to say even a word for the longest time. By the look on the elder Kaiba's face, you could tell that he was slightly embarrassed, which is something you rarely see. He couldn't understand why he had done what he did and knew that if anyone were to find out about it, he would never hear the end of it.
"Listen Wheeler. You better not tell anyone what I just did or I swear you'll regret it. What just happened was purely coincidental and nothing that I would do again. Understand?" he spoke in such a voice that one would be a fool to disobey.
Joey was unsure of what to say for fear that it would get him into trouble so he just nodded his head in response. Seto grunted and then departed from the room, which was now filled with an eerie silence. The blonde fell back on the bed and sighed. What just happened sure didn't seem like a coincidence to him. It seemed more like Seto wanted to hold him. But that didn't make any sense. Why would Seto Kaiba, of all people, want to be with and hold someone like him? The more he thought about it, the more confused he became. Was he falling for him? Joey shuddered. No, that couldn't be it. Seto Kaiba just didn't seem like the type of person to fall in love, especially with one of his own worst enemies. It just didn't seem right. But for some reason, Joey just couldn't shake that thought out of his mind. Maybe Seto really did love him and he just didn't want to admit it. Lots of people are like that. Why, Joey himself was like that when he wanted to confess his feelings to Mai. However, their relationship didn't work out because Mai eventually moved to Las Vegas and couldn't handle the stress of a long-distance relationship. But this was different. This was about his yearlong enemy falling for him. It seemed crazy until Joey started to realize his inner feelings. Now it was like he was falling for the charm of Seto Kaiba. But he couldn't be, could he? It just didn't seem right, falling in love with a guy. Dating a girl is one thing, but dating a guy? It just didn't seem like it would be accepted in society. If two girls were seen together, holding hands, people come to recognize that as normal. However, if two guys are seen walking down the street hand-in-hand, people consider it wrong. Joey didn't want to be talked about in that way, but yet he couldn't resist his inner feelings either. What was he to do? Give in to love or let society win? It was a hard decision, one that would take some time to consider.
Meanwhile with Seto Kaiba, all he could think about was what just occurred in Joey's room. He still couldn't comprehend why he had done what he did. Was it pure instinct? Sometimes when his brother was feeling despondent he would draw him into a hug and comfort him until his mood would change to a more lighter one. But this wasn't Mokuba. This was Joey Wheeler, one of his worst enemies and he was actually drawing him closer to himself. That wasn't like him. Everyone knew that Seto Kaiba wasn't one to get close to anyone other than his brother so why was it that he was acting so strangely around Joey? Was it that he was falling in love with him? No, absolutely not. Seto shuddered, trying to rid his mind of those horrid thoughts. He wasn't falling in love with Joey that was for certain. If he were falling in love with Joey Wheeler and people started finding out, his life would be ruined forever. No matter how much his emotions tried to persuade him, he was not going to give in to love. He didn't need anyone except his brother, especially not someone who he has never liked to begin with. Love was for fools and Seto Kaiba was no fool.