A/N: Eheheh… Anyone wondering where yesterday's chapter was, don't worry. I think I should tell that there is a perfectly good explanation.

(Crickets Chirp)

Meh. I hate Writer's Block. And when people turn the Power off for no real reason. And Saucepans.

And the Microsoft Paperclip, but that's another story entirely.

Still, at least I'm back now! Unfortunately, I overslept this morning, so the chapter doesn't include everything I wanted it to, which probably means you'll get a shorter chapter again tomorrow. But I figured I ought to at least post something, and it's a decent length, so maybe you won't kill me… If I'm lucky.

Review Responses:

Willowwind: Mokuba is cool. Chicken Jalfrezzi is nice. I can't row. I is done responding. (Laughs)

Dragonlady222: I'm glad you liked the beach scenes... The Quaver/Curry Sauce thing was a true story, only it didn't happen on the beach, but rather Upton-on-Severn. Luckily, I wasn't there, and have not been forced to try it.

Note: The film at the start of this chapter, as if no-one can guess from the title, is Forrest Gump. The song later on is, as it says, I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing by Aerosmith. If there's ANYONE out there who doesn't know the song, I've oh-so-helpfully written the lyrics under the chapter, along with an URL that you just put into WMP if you want to hear the song. Unless you're Willowwind, and have misplaced the programme. (Just teasing. I should really stop… or one day you'll wreak your revenge… (Shudder)) Oh, and Ker-Plunk? If you haven't heard of it, it's very simple. There is a tube on top, and one underneath, with something like two colanders stuck together in the middle, and it all rests in a tray with different sections for each player. You poke straws through the holes in the middle section, and then dump marbles in on top. The players take turns to pull a straw out, trying not to let any of the marbles fall. The one with the least marbles at the end wins.

Disclaimer: One of these days, I'm going to figure it out how to say it in Binary… Anyways, normal rules apply.

Seven: Life is Like a Box of Chocolates…

The Feather, abandoned on the ground, was picked up by the breeze and swirled off, the Start and End of it all.

"Oh man…" Azreal sniffed, wiping her eyes. "I always cry at this film…"

"Me to…" Téa mourned, swallowing the last of her tears. "It's so sad…"

"I don't get it, man…" Joey complained. "Every time I watch this film, mom and 'Ren cry at it, and now these two! What is it with girls and this film? It's not that sad."

"I like it because it's funny." Ryou shrugged. "But I guess maybe it's because he is trying to get her for the entire film…"

"They get together in the end though," Yugi pointed out. "So it's happy, right? Well, except for the fact that she dies at the end…"

"And then he's left to bring up Little Forrest all on his own…" Tristan concluded.

Téa and Azreal, dry eyed now, watched in bewilderment as all the others were suddenly crying to.

"Well, this is disturbing." Téa commented.

"Uh-huh." Azreal agreed. "But I'm just wondering whether to get a photo for blackmail purposes…"

"…I think I'll just go and get some more crisps." Téa decided, snatching up the empty bowls.

"Think I'll come to." Azreal agreed.

It was Téa's birthday, and, just like they had done for everyone else's, the whole lot of them had piled into her house. It's just a good job her parents were away on business… They had been bowling, which had been an adventure in itself. Still, at least Azreal was familiar with it. Apparently, one of her jobs had been a guy who worked on the shoe counter. Since the company had decided he would respond best to a physical friend, Azreal had been forced to get a job there. But it was to her benefit now, as she was second only to, surprisingly, Duke- who had had to go right after. They hadn't seen much of him recently… According to Yugi, DDM was taking up a lot more time now that it was officially International.

When the two returned to the room, the guys were composed again, and looking a little embarrassed. Téa put the now full crisp bowl down on the table, and next to it…

There was a collective groan from everyone except Azreal, who blinked.

"Do we have to play this every year, Téa?" Tristan groaned despondently. "We already know who's going to win…"

"I don't get it." Azreal admitted. "What's so bad about… Ker-plunk?"

"Téa got it when she was, like, seven." Tristan explained. "And she's never lost a game."

"I know," Yugi agreed. "Most of those games were against me…"

Téa did not reply, pulling the two tubes and the round centre piece out of the box. "Just shut up and help me set up…"

As they all began to dutifully poke straws through holes, Azreal opened her mouth to ask for an explanation, but looking at the box, depicting someone pulling out a straw, and marbles tumbling down, it seemed simple enough.

Téa went first, carefully selecting a straw. No marbles came out.

Joey went next, but only got one.

Ryou just pulled out any old straw, so was surprised when only two clattered down.

Tristan managed to get five, and growled in annoyance.

Azreal wiped her hands on her jeans, and then choose a straw. No less then eight Marbles fell into her tray.

Yugi was last, and he smirked slightly when his score matched Téa's. This year, it was going to be close.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Some time later, the game was nearly over, and, after Azreal's turn, there was only one marble left, and, more worryingly, only three straws.

Yugi squinted at it closely. The straws were distorted through the plastic. But he could tell from the angle they were at that only two supported the marble-just about.

The problem was, he couldn't tell which ones.

He and Téa had gone the entire game without causing a single marble to fall down. It was obvious that the others didn't have a chance. But maybe, if he could just get the right straw, he could win… There was no guarantees he would, of course. Two straws was a very precarious balance for a marble. It might fall off anyway.

But he had to try.

"Choose carefully, Yugi…" Téa taunted. "This could be the difference between life…and death."

Yugi picked a straw. He pulled.

It had been the right one, he was sure, but still, the marble wobbled, wobbled…

And fell.

"Ahh, man…" Yugi groaned, covering his head in his hands.

"Oh, don't worry, Yugi." Téa said sweetly. "We still have to count how many everyone has to see who wins…"

"You enjoy this, don't you?"

"Now let's see…" Téa continued. "That's none for me, One for Yugi… fifteen for Joey… seven for Tristan… ten for Ryou… and about a million for Azreal."

"Well, then!" Azreal said happily. "Looks like I won! Sorry, T."

They all blinked at her in confusion, until Yugi thought of something.

"Um, Azreal…" He said slowly. "You do realise that the object of the game is to get as few marbles as possible, right?"

She looked at him, and then back her section, full of marbles.

"Ahhhh, crud…" She moaned, resting her head on the table. Then she sat up suddenly. "I demand a rematch!" She declared, slamming a hand on the table. "Playing properly, this time…"

Of course, she still got twice the amount of marbles as anyone else.

"Man, you really take the mick at this game…" Joey laughed.

"Shut up." Azreal replied, tossing a cushion at him. "What do you know anyway, Mr-I-Thought-'Forrest-Was-His-Surname!"

Joey made no instant reply, grabbing a handful of cheese puffs from the bottom of the bowl.

"Sorry," He mocked sarcastically, holding one up. "I dropped my pencil."

Azreal took one look at him, and started to giggle.

"Well, I can't argue with that…" She laughed, holding her hands up in surrender.

"Do you ever get the feeling you're missing something?" Ryou asked Téa innocently, seeing that she wasn't laughing either.

"Yes," Téa replied. "But with these guys, I don't really mind…"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Everyone had gone home, and only Azreal remained, helping Téa stack empty dishes, glasses, plates and bowls into the dishwasher. Apparently, Téa's parents didn't want her to have boys spending the night, so only Azreal was sleeping over. Téa felt it was important for her parents to be able to trust her.

So she'd chucked the guys out at five to twelve that night.

"Well, that's the lot!" Téa said cheerfully, slamming the machine door shut. "What do you want to do now?"

Azreal shrugged. "Hey, it's your birthday. You get the right to choose."

"Then why don't we watch another movie?" Téa suggested, picking up the box set from the counter and looking at the remaining films inside it. "How about Shirley Valentine? I haven't seen that one before…"

"Really?" Azreal asked, following her into the front room. "I love it. You'll like it. It's really cute and funny."

"Yeah, I heard that." Téa replied, taking the DVD out of it's box and setting up the player.

"I met one of the actors, once." Azreal commented. "Another one I had to inspire directly…"

"Oh," Téa said in some surprise. "Wasn't this film made in the early '90s, though? I would've thought they'd all be too old by the time you were inspiring to need a muse."

"Well, you'll see in a bit," Azreal explained "But one of the couples had a baby in the films. He was a baby. Of course, by the time I met him, he'd just finished drama school and was making a film about a teenage spy. But he couldn't do it. Despite all that training, he couldn't make the character feel real."

"But I bet you inspired him and got lots of creativity and made him a big star, though!" Téa grinned. Azreal laughed, embarrassed.

"Not exactly. It was my first big case… and my first big screw up. I was one of the extras on set, you see, and it never seemed like the his heart was in it. That was the first time I saw Forrest Gump, you know- I made friends with him, and he made me watch it, and then he said… 'Life is like a box of chocolates… empty, and full of other people's wrappers.'."

"That's so sad…" Téa replied, looking concerned. "What did you do?"

"Well, by this point, I kinda figured it was his mom that wanted to him to be an actor." Azreal shrugged. "I mean, she'd made him act even when he was only a year or two old, and she sent to Stage school. I kinda guessed that maybe he was only acting because he didn't know what else to do. So I…" She turned away, slightly embarrassed. "I told him he shouldn't act if he didn't want to, and that he should go where his heart took him. The next morning, he quit, and… well, the last I heard, he had gone to college, and was studying to be a doctor."

"Sounds like you really helped him out- you made him realize he didn't have to act if he didn't want to ." Téa blinked. "Why are you embarrassed?"

"'Helping people out' comes second." Azreal laughed. "They were sympathetic to my reasoning, of course, but because of me the film was stopped, we lost another actor, and a good potential for Creativity. And Muses need Creativity more then they need a clear conscious, that's the reality of it."

"Well, I think you did the right thing." Téa said stubbornly as the film began.

"Thanks, Téa."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

At about half one in the morning, half way through the film, the phone started to ring. Téa excused herself, and went out into the hall to answer it.

Azreal frowned, pausing the film for her. She didn't mean to listen in, but she couldn't help it…

"Hello? Oh, hi mom! Yeah, I'm having the best time! No, the guys were here earlier, but they went- it's just me and Anna now. I told you about her, remember. Yup, that's the one. She's a really nice person mom, really, don't worry! Of course she's not a bad influence… I wish you wouldn't worry so much. No. No! Mom! You'll have to meet her one day… Well, we just did the normal, really… Yep, I won. We watched a few movies and stuff. Oh! Mom, listen, Anna got me the best gift! I don't know where she got it…"

Azreal smiled, trying desperately to drown Téa's conversation out of her ears. At least she was sure Téa liked her present now. Just hearing the happiness in her voice made it worth it.

Almost.

The reason Téa didn't know where Azreal had got it was because the box set of the five films were not available on Earth. Movies were had to get in Wherever, so three times a year, the government would hold a kind of huge raffle for a box set like that. A month or so before meeting Seto, she had sent in a ton of postcards- she didn't care what movies were in the set, she had just wanted to win something, just once.

Surprisingly, she had. Now, as expected, exiles could not win prizes, and it had been given to her sisters.

Who had passed it on to her.

She was surprised when it had turned up on her doorstep a few weeks ago. More surprising was the fact that it didn't matter so much to her anymore. She had always thought it would be a sign of being accepted as a Muse if she won, but now she wasn't so bothered. She had found people who had accepted her as who she was, and that was all that mattered. She had known Téa would like the films. So, she had given it up to her.

Maybe that was a sign she was finally leaving her past behind…

Téa returned a moment later.

"Sorry about that," She said. "It was my mom. She and my dad are in England, you see, so it's only about half four in the afternoon where they are." Evidently, she did not realise Azreal had been able to hear her.

"Speaking of England," Azreal began. "Didn't you say it was Ryou's birthday next? Because I have no idea what to get him…"

"It's always hard." Téa agreed. Then she pouted. "Except for Yugi. He just gives him a video game from the shop. I don't know what the fascination is…"

"I didn't know Ryou was a gamer!" Azreal yelled. "Hey, does he have a DS? Does he have the remake of FF III?"

Téa looked at her.

"Sorry."

"I wonder what his old friends got him…" Téa said thoughtfully. "He must have had some friends before he came here. I don't think he keeps in contact with them, though…"

"Téa!" Azreal yelped. "That's it! His old friends!"

"What…?"

She explained, and, after several more movies, including Armageddon, they decided to call it a night.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"I had so much fun tonight…" Téa yawned from somewhere below her. Due to Téa's room being too small to fit two people, there was an argument over who had the sofa- Azreal thought Téa should have it because it was her birthday, but Téa insisted that that Azreal was the guest. Eventually, they played Ro-Sham-Bo for it, and Téa had ended up on the floor. "We should do this every year…" She was saying. The words tore at Azreal.

"Téa…" She said slowly. "I'm not altogether sure I'll be herenext year."

"What?" Téa blinked, as they both sat up. "What do you mean? Where are you going? Back to Wherever?"

"Um…" Azreal ran a hand through her hair, wondering how to explain. "Well, you know I'm only half muse, right?"

"Uh-huh…"

"It means my Musing Powers have always been weak, and they're fading. Quickly."

"But…" Téa began uncertainly. "That just means you lose your powers, right? It's not like you were sent to your death…"

"I didn't think so…" Azreal replied. "Listen, Téa, Muses are a lot more stubborn then humans. We have a billion different defenses to keep alive. That's why I never get sick. Normally, it wouldn't be a problem, but my Muse half- my powers- are trying to keep themselves alive. And in order to do that… They're leeching off my human half, Téa. I keep my powers for longer, but if they keep draining me like this, then…I don't get any weaker then normal, but… it just gets shorter. Less time."

Téa looked at her in shock. "…but… isn't there anything we can do?"

"Not unless you know a way to kill off my Muse half completely separately to my human one." Azreal sighed. She had accepted it all, but… It made it harder when other people tried to help her.

"I'm not scared of dying, Téa." Azreal said calmly, to her friend who was standing up by now. "I just don't want to… It's great here, and I've never regretted coming. I didn't have much of a choice, but…"

"But…" Azreal was beginning to wish she hadn't told her. She knew that from now on, whenever Téa looked at her, she would see a 'dying friend'. "If coming to Earth means that you…"

"I love it here." Azreal said firmly.

Téa nodded. "I guess… but what am I supposed to think? How am I supposed to just accept…!"

Azreal shrugged. "You're going to have to, Téa. But… don't tell the others, okay? Please? I think they'd force me back to Wherever… They wouldn't accept I'd rather be here."

"I…" Téa replied, sounding frustrated. "I don't know what to do!" She hopped about anxiously.

Azreal couldn't help but laugh. "What was that?" She asked.

"That?" Téa replied, confused by the abrupt, and slightly inappropriate change of subject. "Just something I've been working on for Dance Class…"

"Show me."

"Um, okay…" Téa did it again, with more grace this time.

"That's some footwork." Azreal said admiringly.

"Try it!" Téa giggled.

"Okay…" Azreal said uncertainly, standing up. She tried to mimic Téa's actions, succeeding only in tripping over her own feet and crashing painfully to the floor.

"And it was going so well…" Téa giggled, helping her up.

"Ow… I think this puts an end to my dancing career…" Azreal replied, rubbing her banged elbow.

"Anna…" Téa said determinedly. "I won't tell the others. And I won't try to make you try and go back to Wherever. But you have to promise me that you won't give up on trying to find a way out of it yet! You have to promise not to give up till the very last minute!"

Azreal considered her.

"Okay then, I promise." She smiled, lying back down. "Hey, who knows, maybe I'll hang around long enough to see you on Broadway…"

"If I ever get there…" Téa replied sleepily.

"You will!" Azreal told her with such firmness that it left no room for argument. "Or you will die in the attempt!"

"Fine, fine…" She giggled. "We'll get there, both of us."

"…Goodnight, Téa."

"'Night, Az."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Azreal stood on the sidelines, as did most of the school, watching admiringly. It seemed that almost all her friends had entered the dance competition this year, even Tristan and Ryou.

But, dancing together, Yugi and Téa were easily the best, tearing up the smoke-filled school auditorium. Azreal spotted the step that Téa had shown her at the sleepover more then once, and she saw the judges- none professionals, of course- looking as impressed as she felt.

Joey and his partner weren't doing so badly either. Joey had proved to be far more graceful then she had imagined, and he and his partner looked like they were just doing it for the sheer fun of it. They defiantly had a shot at second prize, but she didn't think they cared, as they swirled past her, laughing.

If anyone was going to win on sheer popularity, though, it would be Ryou. Surprisingly, none of the girls that usually hounded him felt particularly bitter about not being chosen as his partner, and many cries of support were going out to them. She had been quite surprised to see Ryou enter, though, and was even more surprised when he looked totally relaxed out there, confident. Maybe they taught dance as part of PE where he came from.

Azreal didn't recognise any of the other couples out there, except as faces she'd seen around the corridors. Just then, she spotted Tristan's trademark hair, and it looked like he had finally convinced 'Ribbon' he was worthwhile, because she was his partner- and looking like she regretted it as Tristan stumbled and stomped around the other dancers. She was bright red, but he didn't appear to notice, getting into it now. Azreal didn't envy her…

"Why you just standing there?" Someone asked from behind her, whispering in her ear to be heard over the music. Azreal wasn't surprised. She had known the second he had started to approach who it was. She was just surprised to see him here. "You should be dancing."

"I thought you hated school dances." She smiled up at Seto.

"I do." He admitted, shrugging. "But you're here, aren't you? And nobody should have to dance all alone…"

She laughed. "Thanks, Seto, but we can't dance right now. They're in the middle of a competition."

"To the contrary," Seto replied, a glint of mischief in his eye. "I already took the liberty of entering us." He held out a hand. "What are you waiting for? Shall we?"

She looked at him uncertainly.

"Unless you're scared, of course." He added, raising an eyebrow. "Whatever happened to 'I can handle anything'?"

"Is that a challenge?" Azreal asked him. He nodded. "I never back down from a challenge. As you well know…" She grumbled as they moved out onto the floor. A ripple of surprise ran through the audience. Seto Kaiba did not go to dances. And he certainly didn't dance in them. Only the other dancers hadn't realised they were there.

Yet, there he was.

And he happened to be rather good.

Aerosmith's most famous song, I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing from the Armageddon soundtrack was half way through when Seto and Azreal began.

"And I don't want to miss one smile, I don't want to miss one kiss…" He sang "I just want to be with you, right here with you, just like this…"

It was about this point that Azreal noticed things going wrong. Seto was good, too good, she couldn't keep up…

"Seto!" She hissed "Can't we slow down…?"

"And I just want to hold you close, and feel your heart so close to mine, and just stay here in this moment for all the rest of time…"

But it was too late. She lost her balance and span, and span, tripping through Yugi and Téa, who knocked over some more people, the room spun and twisted, and she slammed painfully into the wall.

"Oof!" She gasped, falling to the floor, the wind knocked out of her.

"Are you alright?" Téa asked, by her side in an instant. But Azreal felt so awful… she had ruined their chances, and now, as the only ones left standing, Tristan and Ribbon would win, and her hurt, and Seto had gone, leaving Téa's living room without even checking to see if she was alright…

Hang on.

"I'm still in your living room…?" She asked Téa. "Oh man! Sorry about your wall… I hit it pretty hard…"

"Um, I think you're still dreaming." Téa said, sweat dropping. "And you didn't hit my wall, you hit my floor. And me, incidentally."

"Huh?" Azreal wondered intelligently, before blinking and waking up fully. It had just been a dream, and she had fallen off the sofa and… "Ahh, sorry!" She yelled, scrambling off Téa's legs. The girl sighed in relief.

"Are you alright?" She asked. "You have a nightmare or something?"

"No," Azreal shook her head. It hadn't been a nightmare, just…odd. "No. I just don't think I like dancing very much."

"Oh." Téa replied, obviously not sure what was going on. "Right."

"Yeah."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

A/N: Oh, Scary dream… I hope you all enjoyed that, even though not much happened. Oh well. Here's the lyrics, as promised- though you'll have to excuse me if they're a little wrong, as this is done totally from memory. Yes, I have listened to it one too many times. Same for seeing Armageddon and Forrest Gump. Oh well.

I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing- Aerosmith

I could stay awake,

Just to hear you breathing,

Why do you smile while you are sleeping?

While you're far away and dreaming?

I could spend my life in this Sweet Surrender,

I could stay lost in this moment

Forever

'Cause every moment spent with you is a moment I treasure…

Don't want to close my eyes,

I don't want to fall asleep

'Cause I'd Miss you, babe,

And I don't want to Miss a Thing

Cause even when I dream of you,

The Sweetest Dream will never do

I'd still miss you babe,

And I don't want to miss a Thing

Lying close to you,

Feeling your heart beating,

And I wonder what you're dreaming

Wonder if it's me you're seeing

And then I kiss your eyes,

And Thank God we're there together

And I just want to stay with you

In this moment Forever

And ever and ever

Don't want to close my eyes,

I don't want to fall asleep

'Cause I'd Miss you, babe,

And I don't want to Miss a Thing

Cause even when I dream of you,

The Sweetest Dream will never do

I'd still miss you babe,

And I don't want to miss a Thing

And I don't want to Miss one Smile,

I don't want to miss one kiss,

And I just want to be with you,

Right here with you,

Just like this.

And I just want to hold you close,

And feel your heart so close to mine,

And stay lost in this moment,

For all the rest of time.

Don't want to close my eyes,

I don't want to fall asleep

'Cause I'd Miss you, babe,

And I don't want to Miss a Thing

Cause even when I dream of you,

The Sweetest Dream will never do

I'd still miss you babe,

And I don't want to miss a Thing

Don't want to close my eyes,

I don't want to fall asleep

'Cause I'd Miss you, babe,

And I don't want to Miss a Thing

Don't want to close my eyes,

I don't want to fall asleep

'Cause I'd Miss you, babe,

And I don't want to Miss a Thing

URL: http/www.users. I like that song… I also like the movie.

Again, besides the point.

Join me next time, in witch we will have the teaming up and the fiendish plot- all to give Ryou his birthday present- we see the not-so-long-awaited return of Seto and Mokuba, the girl's uniform is changed… and Azreal has a brilliant idea for Seto's birthday present.

Doom is impending…