Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh.

Wohoo I am not dead. Sorry for the long wait.

'' Joey's thoughts

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Joey walked into Domino High School hoping to avoid his friends for as long as possible. He wasn't looking forward to lying to them, but he couldn't get them involved with his personal life, it would be dangerous to let them find out. His father had made it perfectly clear that he would wish he were never born if anyone found out what happened at home.

As he reached his first class he became acutely aware to the fact that he was soaking wet. 'This is just great. How can things possibly get worse?' Joey thought. Just then Yugi, Ryou, Tea, and Tristen entered the classroom and headed over towards where he was seated at his desk. 'That's how.' Joey let out a heavy sigh knowing what was to come. Yugi's voice broke him from his thoughts.

"Hey Joey! How are y… Oh my gosh! What happened to you?" Joey raised his eyes to meet Yugi's concerned filled ones.

"Hey Yugi." Joey unintentionally cringed at the looks he was receiving from his friends. They shone with concern and anticipation of an explanation.

"Joey, how'd you get all those bruises and why are you sopping wet? I know it's pouring and all, but why didn't you bring an umbrella?" Tea looked at Joey impatiently waiting for his reply.

"Well to answer that question Tea, my umbrella broke and I couldn't find my jacket," Joey stated flatly. It hurt to talk. It hurt to move. It hurt to breathe. Joey figured that doing anything would most likely only result in more throbbing. However despite the pain Joey was able to act as if nothing was amiss. He had a fairly good tolerance to pain that he had developed over the years and lots of practice. It came in handy in tight situations.

"Joey you idiot." Tea's sudden outburst startled everyone. "You could get pneumonia or…" Tea kept rambling while Tristen stepped in.

"Answer the other question Joey. You know what I'm talking about. How'd you get the bruises?" Tristen kept his voice steady, but made sure he emphasized the question.

'Well here goes nothing. Sorry I have to do this guys.'

"I just got into another brawl that's all. Nothin' to worry about" Joey stated calmly, even though deep down he was terrified that his friends wouldn't believe him. He hated lying to them, but he had no choice. Tea stopped rambling, leaned over him to make herself more intimidating, and started lecturing, which In Joeys opinion was more or less yelling. This action made him sink lower into his chair.

"Nothing to worry about. What the hell is that supposed to mean. Have you looked in a mirror lately? That gash looks pretty serious."

"Don' worry bout it. I'm just fine. It just looks worse than it actually is. Really I'm ok. You don' need ta baby me. I can take care of myself." Joey was getting slightly irritated that she wouldn't let this go. Though in reality he appreciated their concern.

Yugi gave him a concerned look but stayed quiet. He knew better than to pry. They may have been best friends, but no matter how many times he protested Joey could never resist a good challenge, even if that meant fighting someone ten times his size.

Now it was Tristen's turn to start in. "Man, Joey! When are you going to stop getting into fights by yourself? One day you're going to get yourself killed cause you insist to do things solo." Tristen was frustrated that his friend refused to accept anyone's but Yugi's help.

"Thanks for carin' and all Tristen, but if you haven't noticed I'm fine, really. Never been better." Joey tried his best not to be mad he knew they only cared for his well being, but he had about his share of lectures for one morning.

"Really? Is that so?" Tristen reached out and grabbed Joey's wrist. Joey let out a gasp of pain and blinked back the tears. The pain was almost unbearable. He was just happy that he was right handed, thinking that he could avoid the pain, but he was wrong. Tristen quickly rolled up Joey's jacket sleeve and looked at his wrist. Joey heard the gasps come from the other three. "Shit. That looks bad. Have you had anyone look at this?"

"No and I don' intend to. Like I said I'm all right. It only hurts when I move it to much or when someone applies pressure to it." Tristen took the hint and let go of Joey's arm. Joey stared to roll his sleeve back down and decided to add to his story. "One of the guys pushed me and I landed on it. And before you ask there were only three guys."

"Joey…" Tristen stopped when he received a glare from Joey the turned to Yugi, "Yugi isn't there anything you can do or say to knock some sense into him?"

"Well Tristen what makes you think Yugi can if threethugs can't." Tea interjected. Joey cringed at this, if only they had known the truth. In actuality he hadn't been in a fight with anyone but his father in months.

"Simple he's Joey's best bud." Joey let out a sigh, lowered his gaze to the floor, and started to rub his forehead with his right hand.

Ryou had been silent the whole time just watching how Joey reacted to the conversations. He had come to the conclusion that the blonde didn't want to deal with this right at the moment, so he stepped in.

"Guys, I think you're getting a little carried away here. He has obviously had a rough enough day already. What do you say we just let him be, even if just for a while?" Ryou caught a glimpse of a grateful look that Joey sent his way.

Yugi sighed, "Ryou's right. Let's just give it a rest for now and talk about it later. Ok?"

"Oh alright." Tea was disappointed at the conversations turn out, but realized that Ryou had been correct. Besides she could always get answers out of Joey later.

"Fine." Tristen mumbled just as the teacher walked in. The bell rang and they all returned to their seats, but not before giving Joey one last concerned look.

'That could have gone better' Joey thought as he let out a soft sigh and started working on his warm up hoping the day would get at least a little better.

TBC

Hope you liked chapter 2. Please let me know what you think. Thanks.

Special thanks to animeaddict99, Luxie, Forces of the Dark.

And a BIG thanks to Death Jester for sticking with this story since it was first posted.