Disclaimer: I do not own yugioh.
A/N: Here's chapter two! Thank you to the few WONDERFUL people who reviewed; I don't think I've ever been this nervous about a story before. That's probably because I've put so much work into this one. It may not seem like it, but I actually take the time to plan everything out, check each scene for coherency and good transitions, and then go back and proofread and revise TWICE. Gah, and I still wish it was better... Anyway! Sorry-- shouldn't have gone into rant-mode. Well, with all that out of the way... Please remember that, though this can stand alone, it is in the "Lifestyles..." universe, so be aware that Honda's, er... unique-- and he's dating one of his former teachers-- and Anzu was dating Seto. Yeah... The story's about Jounouchi and Mai, though (mostly Mai), so that stuff's not really important. Enjoy, everyone!
-Chapter Two: I Didn't Mean to be With You
A week had passed, and Mai still hadn't told Gabe of her indiscretion. Jounouchi still hadn't called. She was stuck in a purgatory– waiting, waiting, waiting, desperate for some sort of conclusion, for something to be reached. She didn't feel as much guilt as she imagined was appropriate. She was sorry that Gabe would be hurt, she was a bit angry at herself for cheating– something she truly despised– and... she wanted so badly to hate the man who had made her heart start to beat again.
He made her feel alive when she would have happily settled for numb.
Where Gabe was smooth and refined, Jounouchi was rough and nothing but sawed-off angles. He wasn't anything that she had ever dreamed of in a man, but... And he certainly couldn't give her the kind of life that Gabe could– he could barely afford to take care of himself! Gabe was more intelligent, and certainly just as handsome, and... and...
She still couldn't convince her heart that Gabe was the one it wanted.
Mai sighed. She had already told herself the same exact thing a thousand times since she had left his apartment. Gabe Valentine was a good man; she genuinely liked him even if she knew she would never love him.
There was only one thing to do in her time of crisis.
Shop.
And, in a fit of sudden madness, she knew just the girls she wanted for her accompaniment. Even if she couldn't tell them the truth, she wanted advice and sisterly companionship.
And maybe a pair of kicky heels, too.
Anzu and Shizuka, Mai's chosen degenerates, were more than happy to comply with her impromptu command to meet at the Domino Mall. The gladly grabbed purses, monies, and headed out the door.
Mai wasn't particularly close to either, but they were probably the only females in Domino whose names she knew, and she knew that they'd put up with her. Shizuka was handy simply because she trusted her companion's judgement far more than her own. Mai, more than willing to admit it, was bossy; Shizuka made a perfectly compatible companion. Anzu was certainly not Mai's biggest fan, but she was intelligent and so much fun to tease. Mai, in all honesty, valued that trait much more than Anzu realized.
"Congratulations on your engagement, Mai," Anzu said, as the three browsed through a rack of potentially un-horrendous woolly... things trying to pose as sweaters. "You really got a catch."
Mai grinned. "Yeah, Gabe's a sweetheart. I'm set– secure future, handsome husband... what more could a girl ask for?"
Shizuka sighed. "How about a love life at all?" Her face turned red and she shyly smiled. "I don't meet many nice boys."
Anzu laughed. "With a brother like yours, I expect more than a few get a little scared off."
Shizuka giggled in return. "Yes. I... Well, there is one rather persistent suitor, but I'm..." She nervously twirled a piece of hand around a finger. "I just don't know how I feel about him, and... Well, like you said– Katsuya has the tendency to disapprove of everyone."
Mai sighed. "Stupid boy still hasn't gotten it through his thick skull that his sweet little sis has to grow up sometime?" She laughed, and her eyes shone with her fond smile. "What a bonehead."
Anzu "heh"ed. "Yeah, I'd agree with you there."
"Well... What about you, Anzu?" Shizuka asked innocently. "I heard you were seeing someone."
Mai chuckled. "I hear you were seeing some very eligible bachelor with oodles of cash and his own company."
Anzu's brows lowered and she flipped through a rack of dresses with more force than one could say was really necessary. "Oh yeah– I was seeing someone alright. But..." She sighed. "Well, after high school you go your separate ways, right?"
Shizuka "aww"ed sadly. "You two had to split up? I'm so sorry, Anzu."
"Yeah, well, so am I. Guess love doesn't mean a thing, huh?" She walked around to the next rack of clothes. "Of course..." She sighed.
Mai and Shizuka exchanged glances. They followed after her, feeling rather sorry that they had brought up the subject at all. Sorry– but still insatiably curious.
Anzu looked off into the air, focused on something far past the middle-aged, plump woman scolding her two kids that was in the direct line of Anzu's sight. "It was my fault, so what right do I have to complain? I ruined it; I basically told him just to go screw himself and let me get on with my life. And... And well look at that! Oh my God, that's such a cute skirt!"
Shizuka sighed, unhappy for her friend. "Anzu," she said, though the other girl had already walked off, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything."
Mai scoffed. "Don't blame yourself, hun. She's just bitter still. Trust me, it's best to help her get it all out. And–" She looked around before pulling Shizuka closer conspiratorially. "If the gossip I've heard is anything to go on, he still loves her as much as she loves him." Mai winked. "And with our little Anzu's indomitable 'charm'– and knowing men like I do– he'll come begging for her back any day now."
"Guys!" Anzu yelled from across the store. "Are you done or what? I'm ready to go!"
Mai rolled her eyes. "Yeah hun, we're coming." She grabbed Shizuka. "Let's go, before she decides to start throwing mannequins at us."
The three visited a few other shops, chatting happily as they made a few "must-have" purchases. The conversation, much to Mai's chagrin, centered mainly on her own engagement. They (Anzu and Shizuka, of course, as Mai was suspiciously silent) gushed over Gabe, got her to show them the ring again, told her how lucky she was to get such a great guy. And, coupled with the stress of her secret, it was only a matter of time before she just snapped.
"You think this looks alright?" Mai asked, holding up a top and surveying the effects in a mirror.
"Um..." Shizuka stumbled over a response. "It's... very... purple, isn't it?"
Anzu snorted. "Yeah, it's alright Mai– if you want the world to become intimately acquainted with your rack."
Mai raised a nearly-irate eyebrow. "I could get a bigger size, hun."
Anzu shrugged, and Shizuka kept looking back and forth between the two women, ready to interfere if damage control was needed. "If you want. I know how much you like things tight."
"Aw, thanks doll, that makes me feel so much better."
Anzu rolled her eyes and grinned. "You know you tease me all the time, so don't pretend that you don't deserve it a little." She laughed.. "I don't even want to see what you're wearing to the wedding. Nothing too conservative, I hope."
Shizuka perked up. "Ahh! Yeah, Mai, what does your dress look like? I bet it's really beautiful."
Mai sighed. "Girls, we only just got engaged. I haven't planned everything out yet. Give me some time!"
"I can't wait til I get to plan my wedding," Shizuka said happily, already half in a daydream. She beamed at Mai. "And I hope I find a nice man who's as good to me as Gabe is to you. You two seem so happy!"
Wishing they'd drop it, Mai said, "Uh, yeah hun– in fact, I hope you meet someone better. You deserve it."
"He's a real babe, though," Anzu said with a playful grin. "You are lucky."
"Right." Mai sighed. "Lucky."
"What's wrong?" Shizuka asked. "Does this have anything to do with what happened, um... at your engagement party a week ago?" She looked down. "I don't mean to pry, of course."
Anzu was interested. "Was everything alright, Mai? Nobody knew what happened to you; you just sort of left. What happened? You and Gabe have a fight or something? We were all worried."
Mai shook her head. "No, not a fight. I just... needed to get out of there."
Shizuka nodded. "I could tell you were pretty uncomfortable. But– where did you go? We tried to call you at home, but you weren't there, and then you never picked up your cell. You weren't..." The girl suddenly looked worried. "Nothing bad happened, right?"
Mai laughed tiredly. "No, nothing bad. I was perfectly safe, and... well, enjoying myself more than I should have been."
She picked up the pile of clothes she had set aside for consideration and smiled at the other two. "I'm ready to buy; how 'bout you?" Anzu opened her mouth to say something, but Mai cut her off. "And I'm not changing the subject. You want some answers, then ask some questions." She smirked and headed to the check-out.
They were in their last store of the day, all feeling a little tired. Mai had tried to move the subject away from herself, but with very little success. She had finally admitted that she had gotten more than a little intoxicated, but she had told them that she had been alone.
Anzu sat down on the edge of a display counter, throwing her bags to the ground. "I am SO exhausted. Mai, if you ask me to come shopping with you again, remind me to say no." Shizuka giggled and Mai rolled her eyes.
"Hun, just stick to the minor leagues; you can play with the big girls later."
"Whatever. I'm hungry; do you two want to get something to eat after we're done here? I have dance practice this evening and I need to be energized."
Shizuka shook her head. "Mm, sorry Anzu, but I told my brother that we could have a little dinner 'date' later." She gasped. "Ahh! Mai, you should come! He was just talking about calling you a day or so ago, so I bet he would be really happy to see you!" She beamed. "Oh, that would be so much fun!"
Mai inwardly groaned. There was no way she would come out of that encounter unscathed; and explaining any reason she might have for declining to Shizuka sounded just about as appealing. "Um... Sorry, hun, but I'm gonna have to postpone."
She looked a little disappointed. "Aww. Did you already have plans?"
Sure she did. With her empty refrigerator and a sappy flick on TV.
"I was just going to spend some quality time with me, you know? Maybe take a nice long bath, relax on the couch for a few sweet hours..." She smiled apologetically. "Some good pampering– I think I kinda deserve it."
Anzu laughed. "I'll agree with you there. Who doesn't love one of those nights? No men; no problems."
"Alright. My brother will be disappointed, though. He's been acting strangely the past few days, and I was hoping..." She looked at Mai with big eyes. "I just wanted to cheer him up."
"Well I don't see how I could help. He and I were never... well, all that close."
Anzu hopped down and picked up her stuff. "Oh sure you weren't Mai; if you didn't have Gabe when you came back to town, we all know he would have made a move."
"He's not the one you should have worried about," she muttered.
"What was that, Mai?" Shizuka asked curiously. "What do you mean?"
"Look, I know you two mean well, but I really don't want to discuss this now. Actually, I really don't want to discuss it– ever. So why don't we just gather up all our stuff and head home? Anzu, you've got that dance gig later, and Shizuka, sweetie, you don't want to keep that bonehead brother of yours waiting. I'm done, myself; I take it both of you are, too?"
They nodded.
"Good. Then let's jet!"
They were leaving the mall when Anzu got up the courage to ask, "Mai? Is there something... wrong? You seemed a little... Well, like you had something on your mind."
Mai visibly drooped. "God. Anzu, you may be a preachy, self-righteous, overly perky little fireball, but... damn. When it comes to reading people you've got a skill. I give up! It's eating me away already, so I might as well unload my troubles onto you two." She sat down on one of the benches scattered throughout the building. She looked up at Anzu and Shizuka, who wore expressions of matching curiosity.
"There is something wrong. Shizuka, honey, you hit the nail on the head when you guessed that stupid engagement party. And something, well... bad did happen. I did go out to that little bar two blocks from Yugi's place, but I wasn't alone." She looked at Shizuka meaningfully.
"And, besides being drunk out of my mind, I couldn't answer because..." She sighed. "Hey! Why not admit it? I wasn't thinking about Gabe– my fiancé– at all. I should have stopped, but... I just didn't care. I was so sick of it all, I just didn't care. So I left." She flashed Shizuka a sardonic smile. "And instead of enjoying time with my friends and celebrating my engagement to a wonderful man, I was out having sex with your big brother."
Neither one could say anything for a full three seconds.
But when their shock did subside, the reaction was exactly as Mai had expected:
"WHAT!"
Jounouchi slammed the phone down again.
Damn it. That was the third time. He just couldn't do it.
He ran a hand through his hair. He needed to call her; he wanted to call her– wanted to get the mess that she had thrust him in all straightened out. It had been a week. And he still didn't have the guts just to do it.
"Aww, damn it," he muttered to himself, trying to rationalize, "What would I possibly say to her anyway? Hey! Thanks for choosing me to cheat on your future husband with; have a great day!" He groaned to himself and pushed the phone off the counter it was sitting on. "I can't do this!"
But he didn't want to leave things as they were. He had to do somethingand even– as he knew she would– if she did go back to the slimy bastard completely forgiven, he wanted to clear his own conscience of the heavy guilt that just wouldn't go away.
With a grimace, he bent down and picked up the phone. With hands that seemed to have a mind of their own, he heard the 'beep' of numbers slowly being dialed. One left... One last second he still had to change his mind...
With a finger devoid of any discernible hesitation, he pushed the last digit.
After two rings, a warm voice picked up. "Hello?"
"Hey Mai, it's... It's me."
He could feel the tremble in her voice as clearly as he could hear it. "H-hey."
End A/N: There we go! Sorry this one was shorter than chapter one, but I still think it's good. It was supposed to be short, though, and I don't think that the length detracts from the reading. Knowing me, there's a good chance chapter three could be finished tomorrow. (Seriously. My muse is fickle.)
And now... (drum roll, please)
Reviewer Awards!
And the winners are...
--Almandine-Azaleea--
--XxSexiItxX--
--catti--
--HikariAngel--
--Chibi Tora--
Thank you all! You're beautiful!
(And please notice that I did not actually respond to any of the reviews, so I'm not breaking a rule. I felt these wonderful people needed acknowledgement. I'm... eh, story-self-conscious. They reviewed; they rock.)