Author's Note:
Why is that my writing schedule and my work schedule want to co-exist? I'll have my word processing program open most of the day, occasionally plinking at writing or editing projects, and then an hour before I have to leave for work, I suddenly am seized with a need to write. I kid you not. I need to be getting dressed for work. Instead, I'm sitting here trying desperately to get a scene out of my head and onto my hard drive. It's crazy.

It's insane how many chapters of this particular fan fic have come out that way. This chapter, for example, was left with a little bit of the scene to finish out. If you ever see a weird jump in one of my chapters, you now can say you know what happened!

Also, it's been a while since I have said this, but I really do want to thank those who have read and reviewed this story. You have no idea how much your feedback has meant to me in developing this story! I was pretty scared when I started because this is an unfamiliar pairing for me, one I don't support normally. I knew it was going to be a challenge from the start, and you guys have just been incredibly supportive. Thank you so much!

Chapter 13

He stared at the cell phone before slamming it into his pocket. There was just no way he was going to allow Duke Devlin to get under his skin. She wouldn't. She couldn't. He was positive she was incapable of saying anything of the sort.

If there was one thing Seto Kaiba prided himself on, it was being an excellent judge of character.

He'd been wrong before, though, and that was enough to make him doubt. Slowly, he drew out the cell phone and punched in the number he had coerced from the school's rather simple-minded secretary.

A male voice responded, "Hello?"

Kaiba nearly stuttered. He was so distracted that he'd managed to momentarily forget that Serenity lived with her brother. As Joey repeated his greeting, Kaiba seriously considered hanging up.

No, he decided, I don't want this hanging between us. "May I speak with Serenity Wheeler?"

Joey nearly dropped the phone. If he didn't know better, he'd swear the voice on the other end of the line sounded like Seto Kaiba. Deciding his mind was playing tricks on him, he handed the phone to his sister and then plopped down beside her on the couch. Serenity glared for the briefest moment at the lack of privacy, and then lifted the phone to her cheek, "Hello?"

"We need to talk."

The bluntness surprised her, but she quickly regained her composure. "How did you get my phone number?" As the tone of his sister's voice confirmed his suspicions, Joey snarled and stomped into the kitchen. He'd be asking Serenity for the answer to that question as soon as she was off the phone. The younger Wheeler ignored her brother's huff as she tried to focus on the conversation.

"What did you tell Duke Devlin?"

"Hmm?" Duke? "What do you mean?" Her genuine confusion came through the phone clearly.

Kaiba paused. He knew he was right about her. If she were like other girls, he'd have never noticed her as anything but an inconvenience. He struggled now to find words to bridge the gap he knew he was creating. "Forget I said anything." Yes, because she is going to buy that, he thought angrily to himself.

"Wait." His heart missed several beats as he waited. "What do you think I said to Duke?"

"Nothing." He sighed. "Sorry I brought it up."

Serenity wasn't about to let it drop. "No. If someone is saying I said something, then I deserve to know what's being said!" She was nearly yelling into the phone, which for her amounted to a voice nearly at a person's normal speaking volume. At the sound of his sister's voice, Joey ran back into the room and just stared, trying to make sure his baby sister was all right. In the back of his mind, he felt sorry for Kaiba. Serenity didn't lose her temper often, but the person on the receiving end rarely survived.

"Fine," Kaiba growled. "He told me you've been saying we slept together."

Serenity dropped the phone.

As she stood there in shock, Joey dove for the phone. He could hear the upperclassman, but Kaiba's single-word question was lost as the hot-headed blond got control of the phone.

"Kaiba! What did you say to my sister?"

There was a pause on the other end of the line. If Joey had the phone, it could only mean that Serenity didn't want to talk to him. He had no intention of complying with her wishes. "Give the phone back to your sister, mutt."

"No! Not until you tell me what you said to her."

A low chuckle came through the line, "You Wheelers are certainly a persistent lot, aren't you?" Joey started to get angry, but quickly realized Kaiba was just trying to needle him into either a change of subject or into handing the phone back to Serenity.

The girl was now staring at the phone. "It's a joke," she said simply. "It has to be." Joey just stared at her, dumbfounded.

Through the phone, Kaiba could almost make out what she was saying. He'd handled the phone call wrong. He'd handled her wrong, and he knew he was about to pay for it. "Wheeler, get your sister back on the phone."

Joey knew his response as he watched his sister repeat the same two sentences over and over. "Hell, no! Stay away from my sister, you jerk!" With that, he hung up the phone and wrapped Serenity in a protective, brotherly hug. "It's okay, sis. I'm here." The redhead's shock soon wore to tears, and Joey did the only thing he could do. He let his sister cry on his shoulder as he gently stroked her hair and whispered comforting words.

The next day at school, Kaiba knew he had to find Serenity to make sure she was all right. It occurred to him that he had spent a lot of his time over the past week trying to check on Serenity Wheeler, someone who didn't want him around and really didn't need to be looked after.

Every time he checked her locker, she was nowhere in sight. He was starting to wonder if she'd even come to school at all when he arrived at gym class and found her talking to Yugi. Great, he thought as he watched them. She seemed a bit...agitated. Was that even the right word? She clearly wasn't happy, and Yugi was being himself, patiently listening to the redhead.

It made Kaiba's blood boil. Pushing aside the thought that he might actually be jealous of how easily she spoke with Yugi, he watched them for a moment more before continuing across the gym. He took his place along the wall and waited for the small duelist to move away from Serenity, but class started before Yugi gave him that opening.

As it turned out, Serenity wasn't by herself until after the class had ended, and he wasted no time in making his way over to her. She jumped as he fell in step with her, but quickly tried to cover her shock. "Hello, Kaiba."

Her eyes locked on the ground in front of her, and he couldn't help but notice she had quickened her pace. She was still upset about last night. The voice in his head that often came out of his mouth said, Yeah? Well, she can just get over it. He managed to push the voice aside. "Look, I'm sorry about last night."

She stopped and stared at him. "What do you mean?" If Kaiba was apologizing for last night, then she knew it wasn't a prank call. It had really been Kaiba. Her heart sank. He had been acting almost human over the past few days. She'd almost been falling for his act. Now, she stood, staring at KaibaCorp's CEO doubtfully, positive she didn't want to hear anything he had to say.

It took all of Kaiba's self-control not to start stuttering like an idiot as he fumbled through his apology. "The phone call? I'm sorry. I knew Devlin was just trying to push my buttons."

"Looks like he succeeded," Serenity replied coolly as she resumed her walk toward the locker rooms.

This was more like the girl that had intrigued him days ago. He couldn't help but be impressed at how easily she dismissed him. Lengthening his stride in a vain attempt to catch up with her, he called out, "How can I make this up to you?"

Again, Serenity stopped and turned. She couldn't have heard him right...could she? After a long moment, she finally responded, "You can leave me alone." With that, she spun on her heel and stormed into the girls' locker room.

Frustrated, Kaiba slumped against the nearest wall. His graceful form looked somewhat defeated with his shoulders slumped slightly. He wasn't used to having to fight for someone's attention, and fighting for any sort of pleasant acknowledgement out of the more enchanting member of the Wheeler family was slowly draining him.

I can't quite decide if I just stumbled well into the realm of OOC-ness here. I've read over this chapter countless times, and I can hear all the voices. There's just something...I can't explain it, except that it centers around Kaiba. Maybe you guys can tell me if I'm crazy or if you see it, too.