Author's Notes:
I really don't know what to say. I never expected this story to be so long, so warmly received, to bring so many people into my little corner of the world.

Thank you to each and everyone of you who took the time to read any part of this story. Thank you to those of you who took the time to review it. Thank you to those of you who added it to your favorites. (Why do I suddenly feel like an inept acceptee at the Academy Awards?)

Special thanks go to KiWingz for inspiring bits and pieces of this story, and to GenericHero for not being afraid to offer suggestions on various chapters. I shudder to think what this story might have been like without them!

This is it. The end. I hope you've enjoyed it!

Chapter 18

Serenity was out of sorts the next day. She'd spent the better part of the morning trying to reach Tristan to apologize, but he still wasn't answering his phone. She still felt awful about forgetting their meeting. When she tired of not being able to reach Tristan, Serenity took a deep breath and called home. As expected, Joey answered the phone.

"Hey, Big Brother. It's me," she tried to quiet the trembling in her voice.

"Serenity! Where are you? Are you all right?"

Just once, I wish he would stop being overprotective. "I'm fine, Joey. I just spent the night...," she had to think quickly, "...at a friend's house." If Joey had any idea where she was, the redhead knew her brother would strangle Kaiba.

"What friend?" Joey asked suspiciously.

"Just...a friend from school!" A lie of omission is still a lie, she told herself. Hoping to distract Joey from further questioning her, she continued, "Have you seen Tristan? He's not answering his phone."

"Tristan? No, haven't seen him."

Serenity's heart sank. "Okay, thanks. I'll be home later." Before he had a chance to respond, she hung up the phone.

She was debating trying to call her brother's tall, dark-haired friend one last time when she heard a knock on the door. Putting the phone in her purse, she called out a less than cheerful, "Come in."

One look at her face told the elder Kaiba that his peace was about to be disrupted. "What?"

"I forgot that I had plans with a friend last night."

"Oh." The tone in Kaiba's voice clearly said, 'Is that all?'

Serenity stared at him in near disbelief. "'Oh'? I'm feeling guilty and all you can say is, 'Oh.'? He won't even talk to me right now!"

"Taylor will get over it," Kaiba replied smugly.

The girl's blood boiled. "How did you know it was Tristan I broke plans with?" The brunette snorted and walked out.

Serenity chased him. "Kaiba, how did you know?" She cursed her diminutive height as the older teen's longer strides took him father from her reach. As she tried to catch up with him, she tried to remember if she had told either Kaiba or Mokuba, but she knew she hadn't.

By the time she reached the top of the stairs, Kaiba was out of sight. She plopped down on the top stair, wondering why he'd come looking for her in the first place.

He hadn't expected her to be so upset about missing her night out with Taylor. Perhaps he had misjudged her after all. Perhaps she knew all along what Taylor's intentions were, and even welcomed them. It seemed highly unlikely that after being so oblivious to the monkey's overtures, Serenity Wheeler had suddenly caught on. It seemed even more unlikely that she reciprocated Taylor's feelings.

She was genuinely upset, though.

Kaiba opened his laptop and logged in. He could feel anger rising in the back of his mind, but he pushed it aside and tried to focus on his work. If Tristan Taylor was what she wanted, then she could have him.

Half an hour later, he realized he was looking at the same document he had opened when he sat down and had changed nothing on the file. Frustrated, he slammed the laptop closed and rested his head in his hands.

"This is why I hate dealing with people," he muttered as he massaged his temples. In the back of his mind, a small voice bravely warned Kaiba that he was the source of his own headache.

Unable to get any work done, he walked out into the manor. He peeked in the guest room he'd assigned to Serenity, but she wasn't there. In fact, her purse and jacket weren't even in the room. Recognizing the significance of that fact, he went looking for his brother. Unsurprisingly, Mokuba was in the game room.

"Where's Serenity?" He mentally cursed himself as he realized his anger was leaking into his voice.

:She left," Mokuba replied glumly. "She was pretty mad when she left. Did you two have a fight?"

"No," the elder Kaiba replied bluntly. "She just found out that I really am a beast."

Mokuba looked at his brother uncertainly as his joke from the previous morning came back to haunt him. "What happened, Seto?"

"Don't worry about it, Little Brother." Before Mokuba could say another word, Kaiba slipped away. He was fairly certain he knew where the redhead was headed.

"I'm home!" Serenity's voice, much calmer after the long walk from Kaiba's mansion, rang out through the apartment.

"Hey, Sis," was all the response she got from Joey. She peeked around the corner and saw him watching a movie. Somehow, she'd expected her arrival would have garnered a stronger reaction, given Joey's behavior over the phone. With a small sigh, she hung up her coat and continued on toward her room.

As soon as her purse landed on her desk, she heard a knock on the front door. Knowing Joey would deal with it, she kicked off her shoes and changed clothes.

The next knock, a firm rhythmic tone against her bedroom door, caused her to jump. She opened the door and saw Kaiba standing there, hands stuffed in his pockets.

She must have stood looking at him too long. He interrupted her reverie, "We need to talk." Without even thinking about it, she opened the door farther, allowing him to enter the room.

"About last night...," as he turned to face her, his eyes swept over her spartan, tidy room. It was very much like her, and in direct opposition to the living area of the apartment.

"Yes?" she responded curiously. Had she said something wrong, done something? She couldn't imagine hurting two friends in one night.

Looking at her face, realizing that she had no reason to connect him to missing her date, he wished he hadn't followed her and just let her be. Of course, he could still let things be... "I just wanted to make sure you got home safely. Now that I see you have, I'll be going." He blew past her, slowly letting out a cautious breath.

"Kaiba?" He could hear it in her voice. She wanted to hear him say that he had made a lucky guess, to tell her anything that would let her continue thinking he was a somewhat decent human being. Her voice full of hope and doubt, she asked the question he didn't want to answer, "How did you know it was Tristan I had broken my plans with?"

His hand reached for the door knob. He could easily have walked out, never answering the question. That path seemed cowardly to the businessman, and he sincerely wanted nothing but honesty between himself and the girl. With a deep sigh, he turned around, "I overheard you."

Serenity didn't have to say a word. Her face clearly had, "What?" written all over it.

Looking away, Kaiba continued, "I heard him ask you out. I knew you had plans."

She continued to look at him, surprise replacing the questioning look, "You...knew...?"

Her innocence almost made the scene too painful. For one brief moment, his need for revenge over something so inconsequential seemed truly pathetic. He looked at her, her hazel eyes pleading with him to tell her...anything. She was looking for anything that would allow her to believe he was a good guy.

He couldn't give it to her. "I knew. I came home early to make sure you didn't go."

"You what?" Her temper slowly started matching her long hair.

"It would seem it was unnecessary. You forgot anyway." Kaiba's breezy tone ignited Serenity's temper.

She was silent for several moments, trying to organize her jumbled thoughts before addressing him. "You wanted me to miss meeting Tristan? Why?"

"Because he doesn't deserve you," Kaiba responded flatly.

Serenity was certain she hadn't heard the billionaire correctly. "What do you mean?"

Oh, yeah. She never figured out that was supposed to be a date. The one trait Serenity appeared to share with her brother was being painfully oblivious to the most obvious things. "I just thought you'd enjoy yourself more if you spent the evening with Mokuba and me."

Behind him, the silence was deafening. He wanted to turn around, to see the look on her face, but he couldn't make herself face him.

"Let me get this straight, Kaiba. You knew I was supposed to meet a friend last night, but decided to change my plans for me?"

He now had little choice but to face her. Her porcelain face was nearly the color of her hair, and he knew she had every right to be upset. Even if she had forgotten, he had known and could have said something. He had chosen not to, though, hoping to keep her soothing presence around.

A silent tear slid down Serenity's cheek, "How dare you? What gives you the right to make decisions about who I can spend my time with?" He just stood there quietly, unmoved. Not that the girl had expected a response from the brooding teen. "Get out!"

For a moment longer, he stood silently, trying to figure out how to resolve the situation in his favor. When he didn't leave, she rose her voice," Get out!"

He reached for the door knob behind him, willing his feet to carry him out of the room, but the door burst open before he grasped the cold metal.

"Serenity!" Joey looked at Kaiba, dusting himself off from being bashed by the door. "What's going on?"

The lanky teen moved around the elder Wheeler, "I was just leaving." His dismissive tone infuriated Joey.

The blonde opened his mouth, forming an angry retort, but his sister's quiet voice stopped him, "Joey, just let him go."

The door to the office opened slowly. Small footsteps padded quietly across the office. Mokuba sat down in the chair across from his brother. The elder Kaiba had been locked in his office all day, growling at anyone who violated his sanctuary.

As he looked at his older brother, Mokuba noticed the life had leeched out of those piercing blue eyes that brought grown men to their knees. Hoping to restore the sparkle to those cerulean eyes, he asked, "Is Serenity going to join us for dinner?"

Kaiba tensed. Mokuba knew immediately that something bad had happened, his lovely hopes had been derailed.

Several moments passed in silence before the brunette finally responded, "Forget about Serenity, Mokuba."

The younger boy blinked, "What happened?"

"She taught me an important lesson." That the only love I need is that of my brother.

"Oh?" Given the look on his brother's face, Mokuba was certain he didn't want to hear this lesson.

"Wheelers aren't worth my time."

I realize this is probably not the ending anyone was expecting, but it's the one I'd intended.

Well-defended flames will be tolerated. Pointless flames will be ignored. Thank you!