Disclaimer:
Just use the one from Chapter 1. I'm too lazy to cut and paste it today.

Author's Notes:
In case anyone is wondering, I write these while waiting to teach my half of a test prep course. Two hours of dead silence just seems the appropriate setting to open my composition notebook and start scriblling. All right, my handwriting is actually better than that, but that's really neither here nor there.

I did want to take a moment and thank everyone who has taken the time to read the first two chapters, with a special thanks to those who have been kind enough to review this story or add it to either their favorites or story alert list. It's honestly more attention than any of my stories has ever received, and I greatly appreciate it.

I'm honestly now nervous to write, now that I know people are watching with interest. It's the same thing that has put my graphic novel script on hold. I'll work through it, never fear, but it's going to be through the support of those of you who read and respond to my work. If you see something good, let me know. Similarly, if you see something that doesn't quite work, say something. Thank you!

Feel free to check out my other stories, too. They could use some love.

Chapter 3

On her next day off, Joey invited Serenity to join his friends at the Domino Museum, and she gratefully agreed. Schoolwork was starting to pile up, and work was starting to become a place she dreaded, so a relaxing afternoon at the museum was a welcome opportunity.

"Come on, sis! We gotta get goin'!" Her brother's voice floated down the hall.

"Just a minute!" Joey was only occassionally concerned with being on time, and that was only when there was a duel to be had. Serenity shook her head and sighed as she finshed brushing out her hair. Grabbing her jacket on the way out of her room, the redhead quickly joined her brother in the living space of their apartment. When she saw the other person standing with her brother, she suddenly understood Joey's urgency.

"Hi, Serenity! Ready to go?" Mai Valentine winked at her. The girl couldn't help but smile. She looked up to Mai. Pulling on her jacket, she nodded.

"Well, all right! Let's go!" Joey's exicted voice was about all the warning either girl got as the blond duelist ran between them, grabbing each of their hands on his way out the door.

Fairly quickly, Serenity found herself in a sea of familiar faces. Her brother's friends had always welcomed her presence, and she always felt like she just belonged with them. The group split up to explore the museum, though, as they couldn't agree on where to go. The girl quickly found herself dragged off by Tristan and Duke. She'd spent a fair amount of time with both guys in the past, and truth be told, they were the two she felt most comfortable around as a result. The trio walked into a newly opened exhibition, a series of dioramas tracing the history of samurai in Japan.

Serenity was quickly swept up in the eye-catching exhibits, reading every caption she could find. Her companions were distracted, quickly falling into arguments that made little sense to her as she heard snippets of the conversation. Hoping to pull them both back to their purpose for walking into the exhibition, she tried to catch their attention, "Wow, I wonder how much these guys had to work out just to be able to wear their armor for long periods of time?" Not realizing she was furthering the argument, she blinked her eyes as innocently as she could.

The teens both just about fell over themselves trying to step up beside her to look at the diorama and answer her question. Frustrated, and slowly realizing at least part of what was fueling their argument, she marched out of the exhibition, hoping to escape the two boys competing for her attention while forgetting she was right in front of them. They soon realized they had driven her off, which only aggravated the argument further.

She could hear their voices getting louder and louder as she ran out into the museum's main gallery. Looking over her shoulder to make sure the two hadn't followed her, she soon collided with something solid that knocked her to the ground. "Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry! I-" she looked at the ground as a small, slender hand reached down to help her to her feet.

"It's okay, Serenity," she looked up in surprise. It was Yugi, the last person she expected to find. He gently pulled her to her feet, "Why were you running out of there?" His voice was full of concern as he looked past her into the exhibition. Serenity looked back, too, trying not to laugh as she saw a rather bedraggled Tristan and Duke come around the corner into the last section of the exhibition.

"Let's just say I had my reasons," she sighed. An idea popped into her head, one she hoped would let the other two know exactly where they stood with her. She quickly grabbed Yugi's arm. "Thank you for helping me. Come on, let's get out of here"

The spiky-haired teen looked at his best friend's sister incredulously. "Um...okay." He started walking toward the Egyptian exhibition, where he knew Tea was waiting for him, but he couldn't help noticing that Serentiy hadn't let go of his arm. "Are you all right? Should I find Joey?"

"Hmm?" she asked. Then, she realized she was still grapsing his arm. With a look over her shoulder at two forlorn faces just exiting the samurai exhibit, she smiled sweetly, "Nope, everything's fine."

"All right," Yugi sounded doubtful as he stuffed his hands in his pockets, her small, gentle hands still wrapped around his upper arm. Serenity certainly wasn't acting like she was all right, but if she wouldn't tell him what was wrong, then he decided he could be a good friend and play along until she was ready to talk.

As she looked over her shoulder to look for Tristan and Duke, Serenity failed to notice two figures watching her from the other side of the main gallery. The shorter one kept tugging at his brother's sleeve insistently, but the taller one seemed completely uninterested in going anywhere. For reasons that escaped him, he was seething at the moment.

Kaiba kept trying to tell himself that the anger was firmly rooted in seeing Yugi Moto and his geeky friends wandering around the museum. It was bad enough he had to see them throughout the week at school, but now they were encroaching on his free time, too. Mokuba had wanted to go say hi to Yugi when they first saw him, but Kaiba responded by storming out of the exhibition, dragging his younger brother with him.

It hadn't stopped there. The geek squad had apparently decided to split up through the museum, and he couldn't set foot in a single exhibition without running into at least two of them. It was enough to put him in a very bad mood. Mokuba finally found an exhibit free of the group, and the two wandered through it. When they emerged, however, the main hall was occupied by two of the group. Kaiba felt his blood boil as he watched Joey Wheeler's red-headed sister grab Yugi's arm, and the two walked off. There was no discernible reason why seeing those two together should irk him so much, in his own mind, but he definitely didn't like the thought of the fiery girl attached to his rival.

Mokuba's tugging had become more insistent, pulling Kaiba away from his wall perch, tearing his eyes away from where Serenity Wheeler and Yugi Moto had been standing. The little boy was starting to whine as he dragged Kaiba through the main gallery, and the elder brother decided it was time for them to leave.

Subconsciously, their path took them to a certain coffee shop. The older woman Kaiba was used to seeing working with Serenity was on the bar, and smiled as she started Mokuba's cocoa. If she weren't terrifed of the older Kaiba, she'd have told him that the barista he appeared to be stalking wasn't in. As it was, he didn't appear to be searching for her anyway. He let his brother pick up the large cup and they departed more quickly than usual. She sighed, almost gratefully, and started preparing the bar for the next order.

Author's Endnote:
Please don't hold this chapter against itself. It came to me on my walk yesterday, and I'm not entirely certain that I'm happy with how it played out. Suggestions and reassurances welcome.