Mmmmm. An update. Love it up people, It might be the last one for (another) long while X3!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters of Yu-Gi-Oh! They all belong to Kazuki Takahashi!
WARNING: This contains slight shounen-ai and Yaoi hinting. Meaning boyxboy shit. Fuck off if you find it offensive.
O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O- Indicates end of scene. Because, c'mon, you can tell which one's a dream and which one's real, right?
THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THE REVIEWS! I will now not give personalized reviews, because this story has reached over 100 reviews, only on this site now BECAUSE THE OTHER FUCKERS DELETED MY ACCOUNT! Thank you for supporting me despite the lack of updates X3!
When All Else Fails, Chapter 12
Oh my life is changing everyday
Every possible way
Though my dreams, it's never quite as it seems
Never quite as it seems
I know I felt like this before
But now I'm feeling it even more
Because it came from you
-Dreams by Cranberries
O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O
"Jou-kun!"
Knock knock.
He told himself to ignore it, turning over on the sofa and trying not to (and failing in the process) shiver. Fucking cold apartment.
"Joouuuuuuuuuu-kuuuuuun!"
Knock knock knock.
Ignore it, he told himself, turning over again and burying his face in his pillow. It was stained with red and reeked of old blood. Pop was gonna kill him.
"JJJJJJJJJOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUU-KUN!"
Knock knock bang bang BANG.
"Alright kid! Fuck, I'm coming!" Christ, kids could be persistent. Was he ever that persistent when he was a kid?
He had to give his dad some excuses for being an asshole, then.
Kicking off the thin sheet he had had for warmth for the night and grabbing the shirt that was on the back of the chair (that was supposed to be a Lazyboy, but looked more like something set on fire and thrown in the trash), he resisted the urge to shiver again and walked towards the door, grabbing the door knob and swinging it open.
He glared at the black-haired girl who was staring angrily up at him, face contorted into a frown. "You know you can break in, kid! Why bother to wake me up!"
"Because it's already seven, shit face! Geez, if you weren't so fucking hot, I swear…"
He paused awkwardly and then sighed, rubbing his hair. "You don't have to do that to me, Tohmy. You know I don't got any money, anyway, and you have to take some time off being a pro' an' all."
She sighed, more exaggerated then normal, and gave him a pout. "You know my Dad likes me to do that to everyone, Jou-kun! Now hurry up, it's almost seven!"
…When had he missed that part!
"Holy shit, are you serious!" His eyes widened and he darted frantically into his home, looking for a clock or any semblance of something that had the time. Giving up his search in the living room, he dashed into the kitchen to see if the stove clock was working.
…Shit. Electricity had been cut off. That was the only clock, too!
"Yeah, Jou-kun! See!" Sometime in between his panic and his running to the stove, she had followed him into the dingy residence and thrust her silver watch into his face, displaying the black numbers and handles proudly, as if it was the Holy Grail.
When had she been able to afford that? It was something like the rich kids at the public school would have! And…
He stared at it for a minute, at the hands, and then tried not to laugh loudly, rubbing her messy dark hair. "Shit, kid, that thing is'n even working'!"
"Oh? She frowned at this and brought it down, black eyes staring at it for a split second. Soon as the split second was over, her eyes darkened further and she let out a ferocious yell, stomping her foot angrily. "Fuck!"
"Watch your language."
"No, Cuz you don't!"
"I don't care. Watch it."
"Shut up!" Her lip trembled and she ripped the watch off, throwing it into the sweet oblivion that was his apartment.
It was most likely not to be found again.
"That's why those rich bastards gave it to me! Cuz' it was broken! I bet they're laughing at me right now!"
She sniffed and he let out a little chuckle, smoothing her hair back down so it was presentable. "Yes, that's why they gave it to you. They are bastards. So don't take any other things from them no more, k?"
She sniffed again and launched herself at him, hugging him tightly around the waist and almost knocking him over in the process. "Alright!"
He grinned and petted her hair again, mimicking the way he saw her mother once do it, in the park. Ironically, this was before she had come here, to the 'wrong side of the tracks'. He only remembered because the boys in his gang were eyeing the mother up and he had strictly said no. Children an' all.
"So, what have we learned today?"
"Shut up or I'll bite you."
"Wow. I almost forget you're in elementary school with that mature come back!"
"Shut up, Jou-kun! You're so mean! And you're too grown up, too!"
He laughed and ruffled her hair, messing it up again, and she stuck out her tongue and blew a raspberry at him.
"Alright kid. Since you woke me up so early, I'll walk you to school, how about that?"
"Ok… But, Jou?"
The blonde looked at her guilty face and looked at her suspiciously, separating them so they were at a arm's distance. She never said his name without the mean-spirited, unique-way-she-said-it, '-kun' added on unless she could help it. "What?"
She grinned cutely and turned a towards the door, taking a few footsteps until she was outside the door. She then took her backpack from where it was on the floor by the door, walking back to him and unzipping it slowly.
The blonde stared at the bag suspiciously but couldn't keep his curiosity from peeking, or his body from leaning forward to try and look into the bag.
Her demeanor seemed to change as she smiled nervously and finished unzipping it and thrust it in front of her face so all he could see was the top of her hair, and her next words were quiet. "Jou, can you take what's in the bag? I don't want daddy finding it and hurting mummy #5, ok? Please?"
The blonde stared at the object inside of the bag and paused for thought, then sighed and took the .9mm gun out of the bag. He flipped it in his hands and stared at her hair seriously. "Ya know he prolly has more."
"I hid them all where he wouldn't look, I swear!"
The brown-eyed boy paused again, glaring lightly at the gun and turning over his choices and consequences. If he was found with the gun, even if it was in his apartment and he was at school or somewhere, he'd probably be sent to a foster home. Or charged. Or something. Something bad, no doubt about is, since no good could come out of a gun.
But her face was so damned hopeful. When had he gone from bad-ass to softie!
The blonde gave his thoughts another second before throwing them to the wind, shrugging coolly and nonchalantly. "Fine. I'll just blame it on Pops if the police find it and say I hid it from him."
"Thank you, Jouuuuu."
"Whatever, Tohmy." He lifted up the cushion of the couch and threw it under, not giving it anymore thought. "Now, just let me get my shit ready and we're outta here."
O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O
Damn it.
Damn Mary Poppins' and all of her fucking penguins.
Go to school early since you're up early, he thought to himself. You could get your homework done! Get help from the teachers! Learn the rest of the fan-fucking-tastic English language!
Christ.
He might have paid attention to the detail that one of his friends might be here early. Specifically, Honda being here early.
They stared at each other uncertainly, Honda looking embarrassed and panicked, Jou eyeing him and weighing the possibilities of what he could and could not do. Could he walk away without saying anything but lose a friend? Or should he just sit down and ignore the other? Or even (insert gasp here) talk to the other!
While he contemplated this, the brunette had somehow managed to sneak a few feet forward so that they were all but 5 feet away from each other.
Damn his lack of attention.
"Um, Jou?"
Well, he couldn't really ignore his friend now. That was a guaranteed way of going on the road to losing a friend. If he even still had one in the brunet.
"What, Honda?" Don't glare.
… Damn him. He couldn't help it if he was still a little touchy.
The other teen looked slightly put off by his grouchy look and gave the signal of backing up and off. The blonde glared harder to encourage the action.
Something happened and Honda seemed to… gain something. Like a backbone.
The other boy straightened up and looked him straight in the eye (or as best he could, since the blonde was now avoiding looking at him), and waited a few more seconds before speaking.
"You know that I didn't mean to blurt that out, man."
There was an awkward pause, and when Jou made no move to speak, the brunet continued talking.
"Like, shit, man… I know I was supposed to keep thatta secret! But he did this before, and I'm so damned sick of watchin' you get hurt by your dad that way! It hurts me, too, man, and I always have to make excuses to our friends when you come up bloody or bruised, 'cuz I know you dun wanna drag them into that kinda world!"
Honda's accent, he noticed, only came out when he was riled up.
And, damn it, Honda was presenting a good point, and making him feel like he was blind and finally seeing the light.
Oblivious to his changing features, the brunet kept on speaking, eyes blazing. "It hurts ta see you like this, ya know? Depressed and angry and pissed off? It's like yer half dead, man, and I can't help at all! It's fuckin' frustratin'!"
The young duelist nodded slowly and Honda didn't seem like he was going to stop, to caught up in his tirade.
"And I'm sick of it, man! Why can't you just tell me at least some shit that's goin' on so I can help! It seems like you'd go ta Seto fucking Kaiba before you came to me now!"
He almost laughed but chose not too. Honda didn't have to know about that little incident. Shit, he didn't want to know about that little incident.
While he was contemplating, he hadn't noticed that the other teen had edged up closer until the second he felt arms wrap around him tightly, enveloping him in a warm embrace.
"See, man, I'm not gonna hurt ya, and I'm sorry, and I'll understand if you just tell me some shit, ok? I'm your friend, and friends help each other, right? So help me understand!"
The brunette was whispering now, Jou paralyzed under his arms and confused on what to do.
He hadn't been hugged like this in a long time. Once, in his dreams. One of the few non-sexual ones.
The blonde refused the urge to shake his head and stood there, staring out of the window at the gray sky.
Honda wasn't trying to be an asshole, and he was sorry. He hadn't meant too, right? He'd saved his life too. And… Shit, why did he have to be such an asshole to all of his friends!
The blond felt frustration rise up in his stomach and pushed it forcibly down, instead raising an arm to wrap around the silent brunet's shoulders.
He spoke and his voice was soft, a little pain seeping into it. "Ok, Honda. I'm sorry too, for bein' such an asshole."
The teen felt a nod against his shoulder and he let out a shaky laugh before speaking again. "But, I need to do some shit on my own before I tell ya anything, alright? Can ya tell Yug' and the others I'm sorry, too? I just need some time away from everyone, ok? Can ya do that for me, Honda? Early Christmas present and all?"
Honda laughed and Jou squeezed his shoulders before gently pushing him away, trying not to let his bright smile quiver from where it had taken a stand on his face. "OK, Honda, I'm gonna do homework in the library. See ya later."
The other boy nodded slowly and raised a hand, grinning, and Jou grinned wider and nodded.
"Seeya around, man."
"Seeya."
O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O
His eyes were closing, and he tried not to let them, but it was just before lunch, and…
There was red, all red…
God, he was tired.
The blonde gave up and fell into the sleep that was pulling him along, giving into the images that were haunting his closed eyelids.
His hands were flinging around and he was laughing, bare feet stepping in something that crunched and crackled and made delightful sounds. He knew he was dancing to A Music and he was happy for some reason, but he didn't know what reason that could ever be.
He didn't look back at the body of a man that resembled him, blonde hair limp and stubble blaring against his sagging face, the broken beer bottle stuck in his throat, intestines shaped like a broken heart, bones like a broken house…
He let out a loud, vibrating moan. Shrieking and found himself bound, being beaten by endless whips, someone calling him the Messiah's analogous…
There was laughter and voices and screams, all calling his names and he sobbed, sobbed for help and death and drowning, murder and mourning…
He felt something rip out of his throat and he shot up, slamming his fists into his eyes and clenching his teeth to keep the scream of 'let me go please help'from coming out of him.
When he realized that he had complete control over his body, he let out a shaky breath and buried his fists into his eyes further, bringing his knees up to his chest and leaned forward instead of backwards, onto the bookcase that he'd been resting against.
His breath was labored and he tried to keep it quiet, grinding his teeth so that was the only thing he heard. Not those screams. Not those shouts. Not that laughter.
The blonde felt a sob rising, trying to rip out of his throat, and he sucked in a sharp breath to stop it. His fists… He could feel the tiny crescent shaped marks he was giving himself through his fingernails, and he dug in harder to concentrate on it instead of something else.
What the fuck was that?
Why the fuck had he been… That image of his father! All those shadows and people and… Fuck!
With a loud cry, he grabbed the nearest thing he could get his hands on and chucked it at the wall opposite of him, making a seemingly loud bang ring through his ears and the corridors of books.
The only thing louder then it was his breathing and the sudden cough coming from the end of the aisle.
Quickly, eyes wide like a trapped animal, he turned his head towards the sound of the cough and almost died when he saw who it was.
Instead, he just stared at the guy.
Seto Fan-fucking-tastic Kaiba.
A few seconds of awkward pause before Jou finally got his surprise under control and anger out, voice snapping as he spoke. "How long have ya fuckin' been there!"
If he had been more sensible and controlled at the moment, he would have appreciated the completely flustered view of Kaiba looking away with his mouth set in a small frown, eyebrows creased and eyes not straying towards him.
What he did notice, however, was that Kaiba's face looked completely undamaged. As in look-at-me-I'm-perfect-looking-again unblemished.
Before he could even think about what he was saying, the angry tone from his voice disappeared completely to be replaced by a confused one. "What the fuck happened to your face?"
Silence for a few seconds before Kaiba made a sound of disbelief, finally looking over at him and scowling his usual scowl. "Usually, people ask that after you've been beaten up, not after you've fixed it."
"You got plastic surgery!"
"No, idiot." Kaiba walked over and bent down in front of him, dark blue eyes trained on Jou's brown ones as he scowled. "I fixed it."
As if showing a child what to do, Kaiba held up his thumb and promptly licked it.
This confused the hell out of Jou. As well as incredibly turning him on (and effectively turning him even further away from the dream he had).
Before he could even ask what the hell Kaiba was doing, or ask him if he could lick his fingers instead, his eyes followed where they were stuck on the thumb and watched as Kaiba swiped under his eye in one swift motion.
It took him a second to realize that there was a bluish tint under where Kaiba had swiped, and it took him a few seconds to realize what Kaiba was wearing.
"Make-up!"
"Yes. Make-up, Wheeler. I had no choice."
"But… Why Make-up!"
"I didn't have much of a choice. You're the one who… damaged my face, and the News would have had a field day with that fact."
He stared at Kaiba, realizing what the brunet was hinting towards.
Roof. Hitting. Confessing. Kissing.
Wow wow wow, when had Kaiba gotten so close!
The blonde flattened himself against the bookcase and avoided his eyes this time, stumbling through his mind for a suitable… different-conversation starter.
It hit him in the head in the form of a book and he cursed, rubbing the spot which had gotten hit and glaring at Kaiba when he decided that not looking at the brunet wasn't going to make him go away. "Why the hell are you here, anyway? It's like you're stalkin' me, I swear!"
It looked like Kaiba was about to burst out laughing until he said this, then the taller boy seemed to deflate and gave him the cool Kaiba-stare. "I'm not stalking you. And I'm only here because I need to do some school work I've missed."
"Yeah, but… Why here? The libraries huge!"
The blue-eyed boy's stare faltered for a split second, and the blond congratulated himself mentally as he watched the genius Kaiba searching for a simple answer.
"You really want to know?"
What was Kaiba, stupid? "Of course I do, you prick!"
Another pause and the young CEO gave up, words blunt. "You were moaning in your sleep."
Silence.
"What? I was moaning? Holy fu-"
"The librarians heard from downstairs, so did every other student in the vicinity."
"WHAT!"
"They came up here and were going to ask you to quiet down, but I was the nearest student near you and said you just bumped your head hard and blacked out after 5 minutes. I was supposed to take you to the nurse's room."
"… You're serious, aren't you."
"Have I ever joked with you? About anything?"
"…"
Jou looked like he was about to have an aneurysm while Kaiba looked like someone had just died.
It only lasted a few seconds before Jou snapped out of it, face red as he banged his head against the stack of books, eyes closed. The thumps were the only sound besides their breathing before Kaiba spoke, voice sighing.
"Stop doing that or you really will black out."
"A few blows to the head never did no harm!"
"Idiot."
"Wha-"
Suddenly, there was a hand between the wall and him and his head ended up thumping into it and resting there, the long fingers comfortably fitting into his blond strands.
The young duelist froze up, taking the seconds to bathe in the feeling before he opened his eyes to look at the blue eyes staring intently at him.
The hand moved from behind his head and up, the feeling of hard books pressing into his head again ignored as fingers slid over his head, palm against his temple…
Then he cringed and softly swore when one finger pressed down on the spot where the book had hit his head, gaze turning into a glower at the nice-turned-rough treatment that Kaiba was giving him.
"Hey, that hurt, you fucking bastard!"
"I'd go get that checked out, just in case."
And with nothing more then a nod or a kiss (which Jounouchi had been expecting in the back of his mind), Kaiba stood from his crouching position and walked the opposite way he had come, only pausing to give a small wave and a quiet "Seeyou." before walking away, his boots echoing in the quiet library.
He stared after the brunet before cursing both of them, curling his knees up after toeing the book he had thrown towards him.
Were all the men in his life gonna disappear like that?
O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O
"Katsuya Jounouchi, come to the office please, Katsuya Jounouchi, come to the office."
At the crackly voice over the intercom, a loud 'ooooh' rang through out the classroom and Mr.Yuriko slapped his hand on the desk until he got everyone's attention back. "Ok, ok class, he isn't being executed! We got rid of that form of punishment a long time ago."
A few titters rang out in the class and Jou grinned, standing up and saluting the skinny teacher. "That's the only way you could get rid of me, Yuriko-sensei!"
"Yeah yeah, now go before I bring it up in the next staff meeting."
"Alrighty then! Bye bye class! Don't miss me!"
A few giggles and he strutted out, grinning happily, and the last thing he heard was Mr.Yuriko's voice saying "Ok, anyone care to tell me when execution was banned?"
He was in a good mood. For no reason at all.
Ok, maybe it was because he hadn't gotten a hard-on today. Or that Kaiba was acting civil at lunch. Sure, he missed said lunch, skipped breakfast that day too, but he was fine! It was last period, and who cared if he skipped the next 45 minutes? It was just History!
His footsteps and thoughts were fast so that when he arrived in the office, the blond swore he could've just been in the class a moment ago.
The brown-eyed boy shrugged it off and sat down, kicking his legs out. Moments, seconds, whatever. He was going to skip the rest of last anyway.
Just was he was about to get more comfortable, his name was called by the secretary and she motioned to the office.
He was getting really comfy, too.
Sighing, he got up and trudged to what was inevitably his doom, and once inside the office, noticed that there were three people in the room.
One was Mr.Yaminako, of course. He was the principal, after all.
One was a women he had never seen before. Kind of pretty, if you looked past the huge nose and tight lips.
The third was someone he wished he wouldn't ever see again.
"Mrs. Sakura? Mr.Yaminako? Uhh… Lady? What's going on?"
Ok. Three people he didn't like (well, he was sure he wouldn't like the other woman), all in the same room? This was not going to be good. At all. Things like these usually meant intervention or something bad for the only person who didn't know what was going on.
"Jounouchi-kun." His eyes darted over to Mrs.Sakura as she spoke, voice as calming to him as if it were a train bearing down on him like the hands of God. "Please sit down."
"Nah, I'd rather stand."
"Alright Jounouchi-kun, if you feel better standing." Her arms crossed over her breasts and he sneered. Who was defensive now?
His small gloating was interrupted by Mr.Yaminako's voice drifting over to him. "Jounouchi-kun, we're here to talk about housing arrangements, since it is… very unlikely that your father will be bailed."
… What?
Housing arrangements!
Housing arrangements equaled foster homes! Foster homes meant moving! Moving was a definite no-no!
Fuck no!
"Fuck no!"
"Watch you're language, Jounouchi-kun!"
"I'm not talkin about no fuckin' 'housing arrangements'! I'm not going to any damn foster home!" He edged towards the door, shoulders hunched and back rigid as he thought of escaping. This became apparent to all three adults and Mr. Yaminako stood up from where he had been sitting behind the desk, hands pressed hard against the desk top.
"We didn't say anything about a foster home, Jounouchi-kun!"
"Fuck, you sure could've fooled me!" His voice was sharp and he glared over his shoulder, hand inching towards the doorknob. The blonde took a quick look at the other lady, who looked aghast at his behavior. He'd have find out about her later, when he wasn't so pissed off.
"Jounouchi-kun, we're here for your best interest!"
The blonde's eyes went back to Mrs.Sakura and he paused before leering at them, thinking for that moment and then snickering for no reason at all. "I got most of the money, anyway, so fuck right off and don't help."
"But, Joun-"
"Bye bye, and don't look for me again, you assholes!"
With that, he opened the door and walked out, slamming it with such vigor as to make the secretary jump and stare at him angrily.
He grinned and flipped her the bird, much to her surprise, and walked out.
Thursdays were very fucked up days.
O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O
OMG WORK SUCKS.
Managers treat me like shit. But at least I got a day off to finish writing what I had.
So please, savor and enjoy, because I probably won't update for another month X3!
And review! Might make me work faster XP!
(Oh, I might go back and edit some of the first chapters because they are Horr-i-ble! So enjoy this extra much XD!)