AN: I meant to have this chapter out a few days earlier, but I had a power outage. Since no one writes AsterxAlexis, I decided to do it. I kind of like Fianceeshipping, depending on how it is written. But I have an easier time writing Aster and I think that he is 50 times hotter than Jaden. XD
The next morning, Alexis stood in front of the school's entrance, waiting for the duel for the Slifer dorm to begin. Syrus, Hassleberry, and Bastion waited behind her, clueless as to the identity of her opponent.
"I wouldn't worry too much about your opponent if I were you, Alexis. At the most, I imagine that all they can give you is another Obelisk Blue student." Bastion said reassuringly.
"Yeah! And since you're the best that Obelisk has, this will be a no-brainer!" Syrus said enthusiastically.
"This is clearly a desperate tactic for the enemy camp! You got this, Private Lexi!" Hassleberry chimed in.
Are they ever in for a rude awakening… Alexis thought to herself miserably.
"So glad that you all could make it! This duel will determine the future of the Slifer Red dorm! Or maybe I should say its lack of a future." Bonaparte said nastily. Dr. Crowler didn't say anything, but he wore a somewhat uncomfortable expression on his face.
"We'll see about that! I don't intend to lose! Where is my opponent!?" Alexis demanded.
"That would be me." Aster's voice came from behind them as he finally revealed his presence.
Bastion, Syrus, and Hassleberry looked shocked. They had clearly not been expecting someone from outside of Duel Academy to be Alexis' opponent.
Alexis tried her best to act surprised. But she couldn't stop the way her heart raced and the light flush on her face as the memories of her encounter with Aster last night flooded her mind. There he was, as gorgeous as ever, with nothing in his expression giving him away. Alexis felt as if she could still feel his touch, the warmth of his skin against hers, even him being inside of her…
Pull yourself together! You need to focus on the duel! Alexis scolded herself.
"Very well, I accept." Alexis said determinedly. Even though Aster's reassurance to her about the dorm last night had somewhat lifted a weight from her shoulders, Alexis still planned to give this duel everything she had.
Xxx
Aster stared down Alexis resolutely from across the arena as they readied their duel disks. As much as he had enjoyed her company last night, he could not afford to lose his focus in this duel. Even if Bonaparte's claim of having a contact in the Underground dueling circuit who had information about his father's killer turned out to be a lie, he was going to take any lead that he could get. He only wished that there was a way that he could silently communicate to Alexis that she didn't need to worry about the dorm. He had spent all morning on the phone, but word had eventually gotten through to Seto Kaiba about the demolition plans. So when the time came, he would ready to take action.
"I've heard that you're good. Guess I'll see just how good. But you won't defeat me." Aster said.
"Don't take me lightly, or you'll regret it." Alexis warned Aster.
"DUE-"
"WAIT!" Jaden shouted as he ran into the arena.
"Jaden!" Alexis and her friends exclaimed in surprise. They all gathered around to greet him, the duel totally forgotten.
Fuck it! Why did he have to show up NOW!? Aster thought to himself angrily. He didn't know why, but he felt extremely annoyed by Jaden's interruption. And seeing Alexis smile warmly at Jaden somehow made him feel even more pissed off than he already was.
It looks like I'll have to duel you again, Jaden. And I'm going to make sure that you LOSE again. Aster vowed silently.
Xxx
Alexis breathed a silent sigh of relief after the duel was over. Ultimately, she was glad that Jaden had won. But at the same time, she was surprised to find herself feeling a little sad that Aster had lost. He had damn well given that duel everything he had, but it still hadn't been enough. Aster's reaction to his loss had been a lot better than Alexis thought that he would take it, but he still had to be feeling a little down.
Alexis looked at everyone else in the arena. They were mostly gathered around Jaden, still talking about the duel. Would they even notice that she was gone?
Before she lost her nerve, Alexis quickly exited through the back door to follow Aster outside.
Xxx
Aster walked down the path away from the main Duel Academy building, deep in thought. Even though losses were extremely rare for him, he still didn't particularly enjoy them. But he believed that Jaden had been right about one thing: his drive for vengeance had caused him to forget some other important aspects of dueling. The Destiny Heroes were a gift from his father, and he needed to try harder to remember just how much that connection meant to him. But despite everything, Aster still couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed about losing. Ultimately, he knew that he could always learn from his losses and avenge them since he knew how to keep his cool and be a good sport about them. But this time was somewhat different. She had seen everything.
Why does this even bother me at all? I had sex with Alexis last night and that is all. She was going to go back to Jaden and the others either way. And besides, I have more important things to worry about. Like this Society of Light. Sartorius has clearly been keeping some things from me and I have to find out more. This is no time to worry about what one girl thinks of me. Aster told himself firmly.
"Aster!" Alexis' voice came from behind, causing Aster to turn around in surprise.
"Hey. Didn't expect to see you after that. What is it?" Aster asked curiously.
"Oh. Um, I just wanted to tell you that I thought that you dueled really well back there. I mean, I know that losing can really suck sometimes, but when you can go as long as you did, that is saying something." Alexis explained.
"If this is just some "pity the loser" thing that you guys do, I don't need it." Aster said a bit more sharply than he intended to.
"It's not! I just thought that it would be nice for you to hear that you dueled well from someone besides your opponent. The same goes for the first duel. The only reason why I didn't congratulate you for that was because you acted like a total asshole after you won. But after seeing how well you took it this time and how you offered to help us last night, I'm starting to believe that I was wrong about you, Aster. You're not a bad person." Alexis said, blushing a bit at the last part.
"Well…thank you. I didn't expect to hear this from you, but I appreciate it all the same." Aster said gratefully.
"You're welcome. It's just too bad that we didn't get to have our duel." Alexis said thoughtfully.
"Who says that we can't? If you come over later this evening, then we can have our duel…in more ways than one…" Aster trailed off suggestively as he pulled Alexis closer to him.
Alexis turned bright red. Aster's lips were only a few inches apart from hers as he tucked a few strands of her hair behind her ear. The urge to be closer to him was almost overpowering. To take him up on his offer and let him have his way with her all night long… She had never felt an attraction this strong towards a boy before. A physical chemistry that made even the softest of his touches feel as if every nerve within her body were on fire.
Alexis quickly pulled away from Aster's embrace. As much as she wanted him, her heart told her that this was wrong. If she truly did like Aster, then this wasn't how she should start anything between them.
I knew it… She doesn't want anything to do with me now that Jaden is back. What was I even thinking? Aster thought to himself miserably.
Aster wasn't completely sure why it was happening, but for some reason, he felt drawn to Alexis. He had never met another girl who was as receptive to his touch as she was. The other girls that he had slept with had been more thrilled with the idea of sleeping with him than anything else. But Alexis was different. She had simply been excited by each new experience and was not relishing in the fact that she was being fucked by Aster Phoenix like the others always did. And it wasn't just that. She spoke to him with an honest conviction behind all her words, never worrying about displeasing him by accident. Maybe that was what he had secretly been wishing for all along? A girl who would treat him as himself.
"Look, Aster… Last night was…really great. Amazing, actually. But I really shouldn't have done that. That wasn't me. I mean, I don't want to be the kind of girl who just sleeps with anyone like that. I don't even understand why I did that last night…" Alexis explained carefully.
"I didn't mean for this to upset you or make things awkward between us, Alexis. But if you want to pretend that this never happened, I will understand." Aster said apologetically.
"No! I didn't mean that. And I can't pretend that it never happened. I wouldn't want to anyway…" Alexis said quickly. She blushed and looked away from Aster.
"So, what exactly are you saying here? That you want to date me?" Aster asked slyly.
"Well… Can't we just be friends?" Alexis asked cautiously, her face turning even redder from Aster's question.
Aster raised his eyebrows in surprise. It had been a long time since anyone had suggested this from him, but it sounded even stranger coming from a girl.
"If that's what you want, then I don't see any harm in that. If last night bothered you because you only want to sleep with someone that you are serious about, then I can respect that. But you shouldn't believe that you did anything wrong. We were simply making use of our situation to take care of our own needs. It was completely normal." Aster said practically.
Easy for him to say… Alexis thought, still at a loss from trying to completely figure out her feelings about last night and now.
"Well, this conversation got awkward pretty fast. Look, since I still have time before my next class, do you want to maybe, get something to eat?" Alexis asked hurriedly, not even sure where this was coming from. All she knew was that she was desperate to change the subject.
"Sure, why not?" Aster said, unable to stop himself from smiling at Alexis' suggestion.
Looks like the duel is the only thing I've lost today. Aster said to himself thoughtfully.