Author's Notes: I just wanted to clarify a couple of things because of how confusing the story tags here may be. (When I get a chance, I'll update the prologue with this note as well.) This is a Kaiba X OC fic although it has kind of turned out be a love triangle with Joey involved, which is why I put the Joey tag there. I tried to modify the tags so that it'd be obvious that the pairing would be Kaiba X OC, but the site seems to be refusing to update it, so I might have to contact support at some point for help with that. Also, there are scenes where the OC has contact with Yugi/Yami, but obviously, it's more of a friendship thing.

Hopefully, that clears things up and with that, enjoy this latest chapter. ^^

Chapter 17

Alex was at the museum again, gazing at the Greek exhibit she and Joey saw yesterday. Although it briefly reminded her of the disastrous end to her first date, her main objective was to look more closely into that picture of the lady with the bracelet that looked like Alex's. As she studied the picture, she thought,

I hope I can discover some answers. I need something to distract me.

She shook her head, remembering what happened after she got back to her apartment. She didn't cry but dived head first into the couch, wanting to bury all the negative feelings in her heart. She felt sad and angry and needed time to herself to process it all. Unfortunately, it was hard to do so that day, as Joey kept trying to call her. Of course, Alex didn't pick up and then Joey resorted to sending her text messages, something along the lines of

Alex, please, don't listen to him.

Just call me back.

We need to talk.

Alex sighed quietly to herself. Joey kept wanting to talk to her although strangely enough, Kaiba was quiet. Then again, Alex thought,

It's probably not that strange. Kaiba got what he wanted.

Alex sighed, her thoughts about to wander again when a voice called out to her.

"Alex?"

She turned towards the direction of the voice and she saw Yugi approaching her. Alex was glad to see him, worried that either Joey or possibly, Kaiba had found her. She smiled a bit once Yugi was within speaking distance and said,

"Hey, Yugi."

Yugi replied, "It's good to see you. I'm surprised to find you here."

Alex replied, "Oh, um, why's that?"

Yugi quietly replied, "I heard what happened. Are you ok?"

Alex sighed and replied, "I guess Joey told you, huh?"

Yugi nodded and replied, "Yeah."

Alex replied, "Well, I'm not bawling like a baby or anything. I guess that's what normal people would do. But I thought that would be a waste of time. I wanted to look more into this thing."

She looked at her bracelet, and then her eyes focused back on the picture of the brown-haired lady.

Yugi replied, "Alex, no one would blame you if you wanted to cry. What Kaiba did-"

Alex took a breath and then interrupted, "I don't want to talk about him. I'm sorry, Yugi. I can guess what you were about to say. But I'm not going to mope in my apartment or anything."

Yugi sighed and replied, "Ok."

As Alex's eyes were focused on the exhibit, Yugi appeared to be having some sort of conversation with Yami.

Yami said, "Yugi, let me talk to her."

Yugi replied, "Ok. Maybe you'll have better luck."

Yugi then switched places with Yami, and after they did so, Yami spoke up,

"This exhibit looks interesting, doesn't it?"

Alex's eyes focused on where Yugi had been standing, although now it was Yami speaking. She leaned in and quietly replied,

"Umm, you know that you shouldn't just switch like that. There are security cameras and people around?"

Yami smiled and replied, "Don't worry. We always check to make sure people don't see it and the cameras don't pick it up."

Alex replied, "Really? Ok then."

She shrugged and then added, "I found something curious here, which is why I decided to come back today and look more into it."

She pointed to the picture of the lady with the bracelet and added, "Her bracelet looks eerily similar to mine. Don't you think?"

Yami looked towards where Alex was pointing and once he saw the lady, his eyes shot up. He then experienced what one would call a flashback.

"Pharaoh, it's an honor to finally meet you. I have traveled a long distance."

A brown-haired lady wearing ancient Greek clothes underneath a cloak was talking to Yami, who was wearing the clothes of an Egyptian pharaoh. They were meeting under the moon, in the cover of darkness.

Yami looked curiously at the lady and replied, "It is an honor to meet a faraway traveler."

As it was extremely rare back then to hear of visitors from faraway lands, let alone meet them, Yami was curious about this lady.

He then asked, "Who are you and why have you come all this way?"

The lady was about to reply when…

"Umm, you ok there?"

Alex spoke up, and Yami snapped out of it. He quickly smiled at Alex and replied,

"Yeah, sorry about that. I think I was recalling some sort of memory, and it had to do with her."

He looked towards the picture of the lady. Alex nodded and replied,

"I see. Then I guess it's good that we're both here. This exhibit may very well help both of us."

Of course, Alex wanted to find out more about her bracelet, and it looked like Yami might end up getting some memories back. As she was about to say something else, suddenly, Alex saw the last person she wanted to lay eyes on. She frowned and quietly muttered,

"Why can't he ever leave me alone?"

Yami looked curiously at Alex and then turned towards where Alex was looking. He inwardly sighed, as it was Kaiba who had just entered. Kaiba noticed the two of them and was walking towards them. Alex muttered,

"Need to get out of here."

She began to walk away, with Yami following her. Yami commented, "Alex, I don't think running away is going to help."

Alex replied, "I'm not running. I'm making a strategic retreat from an impending battle."

She looked around quickly and then had an idea. She quietly said,

"Follow my lead."

Yami nodded although he still thought that Alex shouldn't be avoiding Kaiba. Alex walked towards a small group of high school girls who were chatting and gazing at one of the paintings in the exhibit. She approached them and quietly said,

"Hey, ladies? I don't mean to interrupt or anything, but isn't that Seto Kaiba over there?"

The group of girls looked at where Alex was pointing and one of them replied,

"It sure is. OMG, I can't believe he's here."

Alex smiled mischievously and replied, "Well, a little birdy told me that he's here for a special promotion but it's a limited time. If you talk to him right now, he'll be happy to sign autographs and even take pictures. But you'll have to go right now."

The girls nodded and one of the others said, "Thanks, miss. You're the best."

Despite one of museum rules about not running, the group of girls ran towards Kaiba, looking excited and hoping for autographs and pictures. Kaiba looked horrified as he was suddenly assaulted by a bunch of high school girls. Alex grinned and without saying anything, she grabbed Yami's hand and walked quickly towards one of the doors, then heading towards the exit.

Once Alex and Yami were outside, Alex hailed for a cab and the two of them got in. She then told the driver to head towards the game shop. Once the driver drove away from the museum, Alex took a breath and commented,

"Ahh, finally. Sorry about that. I know you would have wanted to stay for a while, but we can always come back…"

She looked towards Yami, who seemed to be speechless. She waved a hand in front of his face and asked,

"Uhh, you ok?"

Suddenly, Yami burst out laughing, and Alex couldn't help but start laughing, too. The driver looked at them funny, but Alex simply waved her hand, as though telling him not to make anything out of it. The two of them continued to laugh and then eventually calmed down. Yami took a breath and said,

"I can't believe you did that."

Alex replied, "I can't believe it, either, but it was the only idea I had."

Yami replied, "I don't remember ever laughing that hard."

Alex nodded and replied, "You know, I'm going to be paying for that later, but it was so worth it."

She and Yami laughed again although a little quieter this time. They soon reached the game shop, and Alex paid the driver. She and Yami then exited the cab and headed inside the game shop, where Yami switched places with Yugi. Yugi's grandpa was at the counter although there were no customers. He smiled upon seeing them and said,

"Welcome back, Yugi, and it's good to see you again, Alex."

Alex smiled and replied, "Thanks. I'm sorry for coming here suddenly."

Yugi's grandpa shook his head and replied, "Don't worry about it. You're welcome here anytime."

Yugi added, "We're going to hang out in the living room."

Yugi's grandpa nodded and replied, "Ok. Have fun, you two."

Yugi led the way towards the back of the shop to the living room. There, he gestured Alex to take a seat while he went to the kitchen to get them a couple of drinks. Alex took a seat on the sofa and after a couple of minutes, Yugi returned, placing a glass of orange juice in front of Alex. She thanked him and took a sip before saying,

"I'm really sorry about that. I'm sure the last thing you wanted was that craziness to happen."

Yugi smiled and replied, "It's ok and it was worth it. I think this is the first time I've seen him laugh like that."

Alex nodded and took another sip of her juice. She then added, "I hope it's ok for me to hang out here. I would go back to my apartment, but I think I need to wait things out a bit."

Yugi nodded and replied, "Yeah, I understand."

He wondered if he should bring up Kaiba again although Yugi had a feeling that would have been a bad idea. Instead, he said,

"Since you're here, do you want to play some video games or something? I have a collection."

Alex's eyes lit up and she nodded and replied, "Sure, I'd love that."

Yugi took out his game console and a bunch of games, letting Alex choose. Then the two of them began to play a two-player game while they chatted about a bunch of topics. It felt fun just to hang out without worrying about anything. As Alex glanced at Yugi, she thought,

They're both really good friends. I have to make sure they don't disappear.

As they continued to spend the rest of the afternoon having fun, they heard some loud talking coming from the shop. Yugi paused the game, looking concerned. He got up and said,

"I'm going to check on grandpa. I won't be long."

Alex nodded although she, too, was concerned. Yugi walked to where his grandpa was having some kind of conversation with Kaiba. Yugi looked at Kaiba and asked,

"What are you doing here, Kaiba?"

Kaiba glared at Yugi and replied, "Where is she? Before you deny anything, I saw you – or rather, him – with her earlier."

Yugi sighed and replied, "Leave her alone. She needs her space, and you being around her is only going to make things worse."

As the two of them talked, Alex had walked close enough that she could hear the conversation about her.

Kaiba replied, "I'm going to talk to her, even if I have to carry her out of here."

Yugi looked angrily at Kaiba and replied, "You're not getting anywhere near her."

As the two of them looked to be in a heated argument over her, Alex decided to come out of hiding. She took a breath and said,

"I'm here. No need to throw a childish tantrum."

Her words were directed at Kaiba, although Kaiba simply replied,

"Finally. Come with me."

Alex replied, "Why? Planning on kidnapping me or murdering me, perhaps? As if you haven't done enough."

Kaiba angrily replied, "What goes on in your head, woman?"

Yugi interjected, "Kaiba, if you really plan on hurting Alex, you know I won't just stand by."

Kaiba replied, "I'm not going to hurt her. I simply wish to talk."

He looked at Alex and added, "I'll drive you back to your apartment, but we need to talk."

Alex sighed and replied, "You really don't understand the concept of personal space, but fine."

She turned to Yugi and said, "I should go. I don't want to cause any more trouble for you or Gramps."

Yugi replied, "Are you sure? You don't have to do anything you don't want to do."

Alex smiled and replied, "I know, but I can take care of myself. Thanks for hanging out with me, Yugi. I had fun."

Yugi nodded and replied, "Me, too." He gave Alex a quick hug and added, "Be careful."

Alex replied, "I will." She turned to Kaiba and said, "Let's go."

Kaiba left the shop without bothering to acknowledge anyone else, with Alex following him. As they got into Kaiba's car and Kaiba drove off, Yugi looked on and said,

"I hope she'll be ok."

As Kaiba and Alex headed back to Alex's apartment, Alex remained silent, not feeling up to talking for obvious reasons. Kaiba didn't like the silence between them, so trying to break it, he said,

"Nice move you made, back at the museum."

Normally, Alex would have made a snarky remark, but as she wanted as little to do with him as possible, she chose to remain silent. Kaiba frowned and thought to himself,

I'll get her to talk.

Meanwhile, Alex felt her phone buzz in her purse, so she took it out and saw that it was another text message from Joey. She sighed inwardly and quickly put away her phone. All she wanted was to be left alone, but it seemed like the two guys in question were refusing to let her have some peace.

The two of them made their way back to Alex's apartment, and that's when Alex quietly asked,

"Do you want to talk here or my place? I know you won't leave me alone until you get whatever you have to say out of the way."

Kaiba replied, "Your apartment."

Alex nodded and got out of the car. Kaiba followed, and the two of them went inside the building and then upstairs to Alex's apartment. Once inside, Alex said,

"Have a seat wherever. Want anything?"

Kaiba replied, "I just want to talk."

Alex nodded and then she put away her purse and then took off her jacket, placing it in the coat closet. Kaiba took a seat in an armchair and Alex took a seat on the sofa, sitting as far away from Kaiba as she possibly could. She was going to wait for him to speak first, hoping that their conversation would end quickly.

As Kaiba sat, figuring out how he wanted to word his thoughts, he observed Alex. Immediately, he noticed that she refused to look at him, so he couldn't figure out exactly what she was thinking. He wondered why he wanted to know although he knew that her behavior had something to do with what happened yesterday.

Getting tired of the silence, Alex quietly said, "You must really hate me."

Kaiba's eyes shot up in surprise as he heard Alex's comment. Immediately, he replied, "What?"

Alex looked sadly at Kaiba and quietly replied, "To do what you did, that can only mean you wanted to hurt me and in turn, you hate me."

She bit her lower lip, and Alex looked down at her lap. Kaiba sighed and replied, "I don't hate you. I did that because you needed to know."

He paused and then continued, "I kept telling you again and again that Wheeler's all wrong for you, but you wouldn't listen. So I had to bring her up."

Alex glared at Kaiba and asked, "Why do you care? It's none of your business who I choose to see."

She took a breath and then added, "I apologize. I shouldn't have lost my temper there, even for a moment."

She turned her gaze away, taking a breath and trying to calm down. After a minute of silence, Kaiba asked,

"Do you really like Wheeler that much?"

For some reason, Kaiba felt a little worried that Alex might have really fallen for Joey although he couldn't figure out why. Alex replied,

"That's not it, exactly."

Kaiba replied, "Then what is it?"

Alex glanced at Kaiba and replied, "I'd tell you, but either you'll laugh or scoff at me, so I don't want to waste my breath."

Kaiba replied, "I want to know, so I promise I won't make fun of you."

Alex looked at Kaiba, studying his face to gauge his sincerity. Determining that he seemed genuine, Alex stood up and walked over towards the balcony, gazing at the sunset. After a moment, she said,

"You probably know that I haven't had a normal upbringing. Sure, I was lucky to be raised by Cas, but I might as well have been looking after myself. I'll spare you the details, though.

Anyway, while I'm here, Cas told me to try to have a normal life, do normal things. So yeah, I've been trying to do that, make friends and all that. Not so easy back home where people consider me a freak. One normal thing I've always wanted was to have the perfect first date. To go out with someone that I like, get to do fun things, and maybe, have my first kiss."

She sighed and then quietly added, "I suppose I don't deserve any of that. Once a freak, always a freak."

Her hand clutched onto her necklace and a tear slid down her right cheek. Alex immediately felt it and laughing a bit, she commented,

"I'm so stupid, getting upset over a little thing. Please excuse me while I compose myself and-"

Suddenly, Alex felt strong arms envelop around her waist, and she turned around, gazing straight at Kaiba's face. She felt uncomfortable being so close to him and didn't know what to do. She wanted to let the tears flow but at the same time, she tried to tell herself to get it together. Kaiba hugged her close to him and gently rubbed her back. It felt warm and soothing as Kaiba held her. Alex couldn't understand why he was doing this to her although she was able to calm down.

After a few minutes, Kaiba let go of Alex and his hand gently brushed Alex's cheek. He gazed into her eyes and said,

"I understand, and I'm sorry."

He leaned in close to Alex's right ear until Alex could feel his breath brushing against it. He quietly said,

"I'll make it up to you. I promise."

His lips quickly and gently kissed Alex's right cheek and then he left her apartment before Alex could process what happened.

It took a few minutes before Alex snapped out of the daze she was in, and then she realized something.

Did Kaiba just kiss me?