Disclaimer:

No fan fiction writer typically owns what they are fan-ficcing. (May this statement never come to bite me in the...oops, too late! grin)

Author's Notes:

Yeah, I know. This story has some points worth defending at the moment. At least, I know it's going up edited. I honestly think I edited the first chapter three times. We'll see how many edits this one goes through.

In case you're curious how privately schooled Seto ended up as a student at Domino High, I'd suggest getting a hold of the first episode of the American cartoon. (Strangely enough, he's sitting right there in the Japanese version of the corresponding episode, too.)

I am seriously not giving my author's notes any love on this story, but I really don't know what to say on this one. I'm a die hard Tristan/Serenity kind of girl. I can't explain how Seto/Serenity got into the base of my skull and just nested there until I agreed to write this story. Anyway...you'd probably rather read the story...

Chapter 2

The next couple of weeks went by almost painlessly as Serenity adjusted to the routine of her new life. She was even starting to enjoy her job at the coffee shop, although she was noticing a certain person coming to dog her steps every couple of days. Joey must really have gotten to Kaiba for him to go out of his way to further annoy her. The one thing she was grateful for was that Kaiba's little brother was always very nice to her. She became so grateful for Mokuba's interventions that she even put extra sprinkles in his cocoa. If that small dose of extra sugar made the younger boy more of a handful for his old brother, then all the better.

What was truly bothering her was the fact the older teen often said nothing. He preferred to tower over her counter and silently intimidate her. It worked initially, but Serenity forced herself to build up a thick skin. When that failed her, she befriended Mokuba and started chatting with him. It only seemed to annoy Kaiba further.

Even more disturbing was the day Serenity realized she was running into Kaiba far too often at school, too. They shared one class together; otherwise, their classes were nowhere near each other. Yet there he was, passing her in hallways she was almost certain he didn't need to be in to move between his classes. As always, he waited until he established eye contact and sneered that horrible sneer that she thought messed up an otherwise tolerable face.

It started happening more frequently. Eventually, she couldn't walk from one class to another without bumping into the upperclassman. One day, she was talking with a friend, not paying attention to her path, when Kaiba literally ran into her, knocking her books out of her hand and sending them flying. With an angry sigh, she gathered her books as her companion squealed, "You are so lucky, Serenity! You just got to touch Seto Kaiba!"

The redhead wasn't thrilled.

She was even less thrilled when she realized Kaiba had figured out her work schedule. Because she had to work around her school schedule, her schedule at the coffee shop almost never changed. It quickly became routine to see the Kaiba brothers during nearly every one of her shifts.

One day, she was wiping down the bar, enjoying a lull in the normal late afternoon rush. She lightly hummed to herself as she cleaned, hoping the quiet would last for a while. Somehow, she failed to notice the tall brunette leaning his back casually against the bar. He said nothing as he watched her, both amused and entranced. Serenity had, unbeknownst to her, given the teen a whole new set of insults to turn against her beloved big brother. Her graceful movements, however, were giving the CEO other ideas.

Another woman appeared behind the counter, "May I help you?" Seto Kaiba 's eyes narrowed as a wry smile grew on his face. Startled, Serenity looked up from the bar. Her heart sank into her shoes as she saw the look on the older teen's face. She had no idea how long he'd been silently standing there, but she knew she was about to find out.

Realizing that Joey's little sister was now aware that he was watching her, Kaiba's smile darkened. "You really ought to hire better help. I've been waiting five minutes." The girl felt the room start to spin as her heart beat raced. Seto Kaiba had just recommended that she be fired. While he technically held no control over this particular coffee shop, it didn't change the fact that he was still Seto Kaiba.

"I- I- I'm sorry, Mr. Kaiba," her supervisor stammered out. Kaiba looked satisfied at the woman's cowering. "I'll have a talk with her as soon as possible."

"See that you do."

Serenity felt miserable. Without meaning to, she just caused trouble for the coffee shop. Her heart was pounding in her ears, but she managed to hear her supervisor ask Kaiba if he wanted anything, and she heard the silence respond.

To the woman's credit, she wasn't angry with Serenity. She could see the girl's face was pale and she was trembling. Seto Kaiba had been bringing his brother to the coffee shop for weeks now, always when Serenity Wheeler was working. She had noticed that Kaiba Corp's CEO never failed to make some disparaging remark to the girl every single time he came into the shop.

With a motherly smile and a great deal of concern, she sent Serenity on a break. She had no idea what the teenager might have done to land herself on the wrong side of Seto Kaiba, but Serenity was a sweet girl and a hard worker who was not going to be dismissed on the orders of an arrogant, power-grabbing teenager.

Serenity had to will her legs to carry her out the back door of the shop and into the alley. There, she sat on a crate and had a good cry.

"How could you go without me, Big Brother? I wanted to see Serenity!" For an eleven year old, it often angered Kaiba how frequently his brother could act like a small child. If it had been anyone else, he'd have been irritated, but Mokuba more often than not failed to annoy him.

"I just stopped by on my way home," the elder Kaiba replied gruffly.

"Oh!" Mokuba exclaimed with a hint of mischief in his voice. "You just wanted to see Serenity alone!"

"Why would I do that, Mokuba? She's a Wheeler. You think I want anything to do with the mutt's family?"

"Well, she is kinda pretty," the younger Kaiba started.

"She looks like her brother," he growled. With red hair and softer eyes, he added silently.

"You're not denying that she's pretty, Seto!" The elder Kaiba brother exhibited a clear discomfort as his brother laughed. No, he hadn't denied it. He had, in fact, gone to the coffee shop to engage in his new favorite past time of harassing the younger sister of that two-bit duelist Joey Wheeler. As his younger brother bounced around the room taunting him, Kaiba wondered how much trouble he had actually caused the girl. He felt an unfamiliar twinge of guilt momentarily and dismissed it as quickly as it had appeared.

Mokuba finally flopped down on the couch that sat along the far wall of the office, "So, what are you going to do now, Seto?"

His eyes never left the laptop he had been working on ever since his brother walked in, "About what?"

"Serenity!" Mokuba's tone held the "duh" he wouldn't utter at his older brother.

The older boy's face clouded for a moment. Until a moment ago, he assumed he would just continue to torture the girl, both because it was fun and it would kill Joey to know his sister was being tormented by someone he couldn't stop. Right now, though, other thoughts were plaguing him, emotions tugging at him. What he most wanted was to make sure he hadn't caused her too much trouble, but looking up at his brother, the best he could offer was, "I intend to do nothing about Serenity Wheeler." He then turned back to his computer, the conversation ended as far as he was concerned.

Knowing better than to continue on, Mokuba just looked at his brother knowingly.