Author's Notes:
I'm dead tired. I've just finished ediitng Chapter 8 and writing Chapter 9. For whatever reason, though, this story wants to be written. I may hold onto this and not post it for a couple of weeks, just because I'm enjoying the regular posting schedule. (Update: I have been sitting on this for two weeks!)

There's a page in my planner that's becoming filled with tiny, almost indecipherable notes and post-it notes regarding this story. It's pretty funny. Somehow, everything is coalescing into this interesting little writing exercise. As long as everyone is still enjoying it, it's fine...I guess...I hope..

It's occurring to me as I write this chapter (I'm rereading Chapters 8 and 9 as I write) that this story seems to have become a series of vignettes. Does it feel that way to anybody else? Is it just me?

On another note, does anyone else listen to the song "Photograph" and think it just really fits Yu-Gi-Oh somehow? I do. For many reasons. Then again, I'm crazy. We've already established this.

Chapter 10

Again, Kaiba kept Serenity from going to school. This time, it was as much doctor's orders as it was that he didn't want Mokuba to spend all day worrying about her. This time, Joey was in his face as soon as he entered the classroom. His thoughts focused on the small, auburn-haired girl he'd left sound asleep in his mansion, he walked right past the older Wheeler without acknowledging his existence.

Joey didn't take well to being blown off. "Don't walk away from me, Kaiba! Serenity didn't come home yesterday." When the brooding teen failed to respond, Joey pleaded. "Just...," he faltered, "please...at least tell me she's still with you and not out lost somewhere."

The upperclassman turned slowly. He'd heard Joey's last statement, and something in it just struck him. For as much as he hated the guy, they did have one thing in common. They were both older brothers. In Joey's voice Kaiba could hear concern, a concern for the younger sibling the blond hadn't been able to watch over for so long. He gave the guy a long, appraising gaze, and then nodded. Relief flooded Joey's face, and then he turned bright red again.

"So, when are you planning to send her home? When you're tired of her? Kaiba, if you hurt my sister, I'll-"

"You'll what, Wheeler? Challenge me to a duel that you'll lose." The blond scowled at the insult. "Or perhaps you'll ask Yugi to duel me. Is that what you want? A duel over your baby sister?" Joey deflated into the nearest seat. Serenity would kill him if she thought he was dueling over her. "As I told you yesterday, Serenity is sick. She's staying with us until she's well enough to travel."

"Can I see her?" Kaiba's politeness was grating on the teen.

The brunette snorted. "I don't really care what you do, Wheeler. If it'll ease your mind to make sure I haven't done anything to her, then by all means visit. Just don't disturb me when you do." He watched Joey carefully for a reaction. The boy looked surprised, and then somewhat relieved. Not surprising, Kaiba thought. Wild horses couldn't keep me from Mokuba if I thought he was in trouble.

Still wearing a stunned expression, Joey made his way to his seat as the first bell rang. Kaiba was being nice in taking care of Serenity. Now he invited Joey to come check on her. The blond couldn't help but feel something was wrong, but he hoped he was just being overprotective.

Kaiba went straight from school to his office at KaibaCorp to deal with paperwork he didn't feel like bringing home. By the time he was finished, he realized how late it was. Mokuba and Sernity have probably eaten dinner by now. One of them might even be asleep. He stared out the window, seeing nothing before him but the pale girl curled up in her bed that morning. The sooner I get home, the sooner I'll know she's all right.

He hopped into the limo, wondering why he even cared. A small tug at his heart answered the question. He was worried because Serenity Wheeler had caught his attention. He was slowly starting to care about her well-being almost as much as he cared about Mokuba's, and it frightened him.

When he walked into the mansion, he heard laughter coming from the game room. Loud, obnoxious laughter. Great...Wheeler's here. He decided to change before joining the three people he knew were in the game room. By the time he was headed into the room, he could hear Serenity laughing as her brother unleashed a slew of expletives at the game he was playing with Mokuba. For just a moment, he stood at the doorway to take in the scene. Mokuba and Joey were sitting in front of the television playing some sort of fighting game. Serenity was sitting on the couch behind them, wrapped in a blanket. She was the first to notice him.

"Welcome home!" Her cheerful greeting caused the two boys to face him as well.

"Seto, you're home!" Mokuba's smile warmed his heart, even if he understood its source. "Joey came over to check on Serenity and I invited him to hang out. I hope that's okay." The gray eyes quickly found their way into a look that so clearly begged Kaiba not to be angry with him.

Of course, it's not okay. That mutt is sitting in my house, Kaiba thought bitterly. There wasn't much he could do about it, though. He had invited Joey to come over. As long as Serenity was in the house, he knew he'd have to tolerate her rough-around-the-edges brother. He looked at her, sitting on the couch. Her face was lit by a smile stretching from ear to ear. He'd heard rumors that the Wheeler siblings were close, and there was no doubt in his mind that her demeanor was a direct result of her brother's proximity.

He didn't want to put up with Joey any longer than he had to, but he couldn't cope with the feelings of selfishness creeping into his heart. He wanted to throw out the older Wheeler without losing the younger Wheeler. But she looked so happy. He didn't want that smile to leave her face; she was so much prettier when she smiled. Wait...prettier? Had he really just thought that?

Mokuba and Joey had returned to their game, a fact that became evident when Joey yelled at the game again. He was already on Kaiba's last nerve. "Don't you have a curfew, Wheeler?"

"Huh?" Joey looked about the room for a clock. "Oh, I guess it's later than I thought." He stood up, getting ready to leave.

"And take your sister with you." Both Wheelers looked at him in shock.

"Heh, so you did tire of her! Kaiba, you're a real jerk, you know that?"

"Nonsense," Kaiba responded coolly. "It just makes sense to let her go home with you. She would never have made it there on her own." He sneered, casing Serenity's blood to run cold. Joey opened his mouth, but his sister stopped him.

Serenity, not believing her luck, pulled at her brother's arm, "Come on, Joey. Let's just go!" She ran up to the guest room, grabbed her purse, and met her brother in the foyer.

The two were soon on their way home. Joey was talking nonstop about various things as Serenity stared quietly out the window, grateful to be away from Seto Kaiba. As they reached their apartment, Joey finally allowed himself to ask the questions he'd been afraid to ask. "Are you all right, sis? Kaiba didn't do anything to you?"

The girl, shocked out of her reverie, shook her head. "I'm fine, Joey. Nothing happened." Her brother nodded, a bit relieved. Kaiba had told him as much, but he never trusted the guy. Hearing it from his sister herself made him feel much better.

Walking into the home she hadn't seen in two days, Serenity hung her coat up and removed her shoes, and then made her way to her bedroom, where she collapsed onto her bed and into a deep sleep.

Mokuba was put to bed not long after the Wheelers left. Kaiba sat down in his chair and spun around to look out the window. In the reflection, he could see the couch he'd laid Serenity on the night he'd brought her home. Its reflected image looked cold, empty. Much like how he felt. No one was allowed to affect him this way, so why was Wheeler's sister, of all people, making him so aware of how alone he felt.

He finally left the office and out of habit went to peek in the guest room on his way to his own room. Of course, the room was vacant. Kaiba made his way to his room and got ready for bed, trying to ignore the dull ache in his heart.