I hope you are all keeping well and staying safe.

This next chapter was a pain to do. When I went to edit it I decided it was not coming across quite how I wanted, so I started re-writing it and ended up with it in an even worse mess! But I think it's about as good as I can get it now, and I hope the angst and hurt, along with the hope for a resolution comes across in both characters. Please let me know what you think?

Warning: Adult themes, mentions of drugs and some swearing.

Chapter 4.

How Bad Can Things Get?

At the sight of her walking away from him, possibly for good, Yugi felt crushed. Had their friendship reached the point of no return? He wasn't willing to accept that just yet.

"Anzu, wait!" He yelled. But she ignored him and quickened her pace. He cast a very quick glance towards his bemused work colleagues. "Sorry. Gotta go.." Without acknowledging them further, he ran after Anzu.

The rain was getting heavier and Anzu was anxious to get away from Yugi as quickly as she could. A taxi would be the fastest way to escape, and several cabs were already parked up, waiting for people to start leaving the nearby pubs and club.

As she made a beeline for the cab at the front of the line, the anger and hurt she felt towards Yugi for his behaviour, bubbled over, causing tears to prick at her eyes. She had to get away. She had to reach that car before he came after her.

But he was fast, catching her as she reached for the taxi door. "Anzu. We need to talk."

Distraught that he had caught up with her, she whirled around to face him, glaring at him, eyes glistening and face wet with rain and tears.

"There's nothing to say Yugi. You and I no longer live the same sort of life. We're going in different directions." Her voice was shaky with emotion, and her words were lacking any real conviction. The truth was, there was so much she wanted to say to him, but she just could not face him right now.

"I don't believe that, Anzu. And I don't think you do either. You at least owe me some sort of explanation."

Her jaw clenched. "Explanation for what? You're the one who came to a club to watch strippers. You're the one who jumped the stage because he did not like what his ex-girlfriend was doing. Well, congratulations Yugi, you've probably just lost me my job. Happy now?"

His jaw flapped. "That's not.. I.." He looked frozen in place by her vicious words.

She huffed at him, and when she spoke it was with little patience. "Please, Yugi. Just go." She turned and reached for the door handle of the taxi but he seemed to find his momentum again.

"I'm not letting you go that easily, Anzu," he shouted, moving fast to slam his hand on the car door frame to stop her opening it. He squeezed himself between her and the door.

"Get out of my way, Yugi." She was glaring at him, shaking with rage, but he did not back down.

"No." He said adamantly, grabbing her shoulders, imploring her to listen. "It doesn't matter why I was in the club. You shouldn't even be working there! I want to know why your doing it?"

"I would have thought that was obvious," she snapped.

The taxi driver wound his window down and shouted out at them. "Hey, love! Is that guy giving you hassle?" Although the taxi driver did not understand what they were saying in their native Japanese, it was easy for him to believe that Yugi might be harassing her.

Anzu almost said 'yes' but did not want Yugi arrested so she hesitated, until a person wanting a taxi, also confronted them. "Are you two gonna stand there arguing, or are you gonna get in that cab?"

Realising that people were starting to come out of a nearby pub and were after a cab, Yugi moved to one side to allow Anzu to open the rear door and get in, but he quickly jumped into the vehicle with her.

The driver turned in his seat and glared at Yugi threateningly. "The young woman ain't interested in you dude, so get the hell outta my cab, or do have to call the cops?"

Yugi held his hands up apologetically. "It's not what you think..." he began in his defence, but Anzu pushed his hands away and interjected.

"Thanks for your concern, but it's okay, we're together. We're just having a slight disagreement, that's all," she told the cab driver.

Taking her word on that, the driver grunted. "Where you goin?" He asked.

Anzu told him where she wanted to go and then turned to Yugi. "When I get out, don't follow me," she said coldly. "You can ask the cab driver to take you back to your hotel."

"I'm not going back to my hotel. I want us to sit down together and talk this through."

"Why? So you can continue to judge me? Well, I'm a stripper. Get over it," she said bitterly, turning her face away from him to look out the window on her side.

He shook his head in dismay. She seemed so bitter; defensive even. Had life here changed her that much? He was certainly finding it hard to believe this was the same happy go lucky girl he used to know.

"I may not approve of what you're doing, but I would never judge you personally Anzu. You should know that?" His voice was intimidating. Whether he was conscious of his tone was hard to tell, but he sounded so much like the other Yugi used to when he confronted an enemy, that Anzu knew it was pointless to argue with him.

She turned her gaze back to him and let out a desperate sigh. "Okay...But I don't want to talk in here."

She heard him huff some sort of agreement, and they sat in an uncomfortable silence for a minute or two, until Anzu found the tension too much and decided to break it.

"How's the gaming thing you're attending?"

He seemed to brighten up a bit at being asked about why he was in New York in the first place.

"It's great thanks. I've been demonstrating the latest duel disk with the new cards, to help the sales team sell them. The new holograms are pretty awesome."

"More cards?" She snorted lightly. "Another new duel disk? They cost enough as it is, I can't imagine people wanting to spend more money."

"You'd be surprised," he chuckled. "They like to have the latest technology. And besides, wait until you see how incredible the interactive holograms are."

Anzu raised an eyebrow and Yugi was pleased to see she was smiling. "Interactive?" She giggled in a slightly sarcastic way. "Does that mean Kaiba can stroke his Blue Eyes White Dragon now?" When she made a 'how gross' face, it made Yugi laugh.

"Not in the way your thinking," he tutted, rolling his eyes.

"Oh! We're here," Anzu sat up straight, changing the subject. "You can stop just in this delivery bay," she told the driver, pointing.

Anzu did not complain when Yugi paid the driver and got out with her.

The first thing he noticed was how shabby this area looked.

They rounded the corner onto her street and he tried not to notice the person sleeping in a doorway, or the huddle of guys drinking and taking drugs in the entrance to the alleyway opposite. It worried him that Anzu was living in such a neglected area.

"This is it," she said, stopping in front of a grimy, dark green door. "Welcome to the Ritz!" She chuckled mirthlessly.

"Oh! I've seen worse." But not much worse, he thought, frowning; no wonder she did not want him to come back here.

"I doubt it." She rolled her eyes at the disgusted look on his face and huffed. "You haven't seen the inside yet." She punched in the door code and pushed it open. "Landlord lives on the ground floor – he's an alcoholic," she whispered, pointing at the ground floor flat and office. "Sometimes he comes out and shouts abuse at people for being behind with their rent, other times he thinks he's your best friend and wants to hug you." There was a look of repulsion on her face and Yugi knew he needed to do whatever he could to get her away from here.

"Elevator doesn't work by the way," she added, heading for the stairs. "But at least I'm only on the third floor."

Yugi looked around in dismay.

The bottom of the stairwell was dingy and dank, with peeling brown paint and an unpleasant smell of cannabis, alcohol and urine. The dark grey linoleum floor was sticky. It almost made him gag and he had to hold his breath.

Anzu pinched her nose. "Disgusting, isn't it?"

"Mmm," he nodded, grimacing and trying not to breathe in. But as they ascended the stairs, it got less smelly, and he was relieved that the floor Anzu lived on was not too bad; just a bit musty with a hint of stale cigarette and cannabis smoke. Anzu's apartment was right down the end, near the fire escape where the air was a little fresher.

"Be warned, it's not exactly spacious," she said, unlocking the door. "But I've made it as nice as I can."

Yugi stepped inside and looked around the small entrance lobby. To the left was a small bathroom, and on the right a broom cupboard. In front of them another door opened out into a living space of about twelve feet square, which also included a compact kitchen area to the left and a window in the far wall looking out onto the street below. There was a small fold down dining table and two dining chairs, and a two seater sofa that faced a small television on a dented and scratched chest of drawers. To the right of the living room was another door, leading to what he presumed was the bedroom.

Yugi smiled, spotting the cuddly toys on the sofa and eyeing the pretty pink curtains. "It definitely has your touch." It smelled nice too; like roses and sandalwood.

Anzu took off her soggy pumps, and to be polite, Yugi took off his own shoes; he noticed they had been scuffed during his fight with the bouncers and frowned – he only bought them a week ago.

"I need to get out of these wet clothes," she said, leaving him standing in the sitting room while she went to the bedroom.

He took off his wet jacket, hanging it over the back of the chair. His trousers were also wet, but he was not sure he should take them off – might give her the wrong idea.

Shoving his cold hands into his trouser pockets, he rocked on his heels as he waited.

::::::::::::

Anzu pulled off her wet clothing and grabbed a warm fleecy top, some comfortable baggy bottoms and warm socks. She looked at herself in the mirror and frowned at her smudged make-up. She grabbed a tissue and gave it a quick dab to tidy it up a bit. She still looked a mess but Yugi was waiting so it would have to do for now.

She emerged from her bedroom feeling like her insides had been hollowed out. It was upsetting to think that the boy who used to make her feel so at ease, was now making her feel so anxious.

Yugi immediately noticed how nervous she was, and wondered what he should he say to make her feel more relaxed. He said the first thing that came to mind. "You've made it nice. You would never know what the outside was like."

"Thanks." She wrung her hands together. "Would you like coffee? Tea? Something stronger?"

He was tempted to say 'something stronger,' for some Dutch courage. "Do you have green tea?"

"I do," she managed a smile, and then went into the little kitchen area to put the kettle on. "So. Hmm. What did you want to talk about?" She said curtly.

He had ten million things he wanted to say, but could not think of any of them right now. If he said anything about what happened tonight, he would probably upset her even more than he already had, so he shrugged.

There was an awkward pause.

"Guys asked me to say hi," was all he could muster in the end.

She huffed. She was pretty sure that was not what he was planning to say. "Not heard from any of them in so long, I've almost forgotten what they sound like," she said bitterly. "How're they all doing?"

"Jou and Mai are together in a casual sort of way. Honda is dating Shizuka and Jou is not happy but is forced to accept it. Mokuba is growing up to be a really nice guy and Kaiba's... well, Kaiba," he chuckled. "Bakura is doing better. He's training to become a criminal psychologist."

"Guess he's well qualified for that, given what he went through with that horrible inhabitant of the Ring."

"Yeah.. I suppose he is."

Another awkward silence while she poured the boiling water into the teapot.

"But you didn't follow me back here to talk about the guys, did you?" She said, breaking the silence.

He shook his head. "I'm not sure what to say without saying it all wrong." He swallowed. "It's just that.." He poked at the well worn carpet with his toe. "I don't want to give you a hard time about being a stripper, because I think you already feel bad enough about it as it is. But what I do want to know is what made you do it? Does anyone else know about it?"

"A I supposed to feel bad about what I do, Yugi?" Tears pricked the backs of her eyes.

"I don't know. Do you?" He asked, voice tight.

"No. Why should I?" She snapped. "I'm only trying to make a living. And promise you won't tell. God.. if my parents found out..." She looked frightened and Yug felt his heart clench in his chest.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel awful. Don't worry, I promise I won't tell anyone."

"I know," she mumbled, quietly. She knew she could trust him. "And please don't keep implying I feel bad, or awful."

"I'll try not to. But I do want you to tell me why you're working in that club?" He pressed, keen to get her to open up.

She shrugged defensively. "How else am I supposed to survive? Bills don't pay themselves. And I'm only doing it until I get my finances back in order, or find a proper job."

"What about the cafe? You have that, right?"

She shook her head. "It's minimum wage and I only get twenty hours per week. It barely pays the rent, let alone the bills."

"Why didn't you ask for help, or even come home if it was that bad?"

"And give up on my dreams?" She was almost in tears again, but distracted herself by pouring the tea. "My parents saved up for years. They put everything into my education so that I could chase my dreams. If I give up now, I would not only fail myself, I would be dishonouring them." She looked sad and reflective as she handed him a mug of tea, before taking her own mug over to the sofa, where she set it on the floor before sitting down. "I'm going to keep fighting for my dreams, and I will do whatever it takes to make them a reality, even if it does mean working at the club."

He sat down beside her, not too close as to get into her personal space, and placed his own mug carefully on the floor.

"Forgive me for being blunt, but I don't get it." He said, turning slightly to face her. "Your parents love you and going home isn't an admission of failure! New York isn't the only place in the world where you can dance; even I know there's dancing jobs in Japan you could apply for. But for some reason you're so caught up in this idea of Broadway, that you can't see anything else beyond it!" He was on a roll now and every little bit of hurt and frustration was tumbling out as his voice became more forceful. "I thought we were in love; we made promises to each other. But you dumped me, ignored me and now you don't even want to see me! I don't know why you insist on staying here."

Anzu stared him, dumbfounded, the wind knocked out of her. It took her a second to compose herself.

"Because it's too late for me to turn back now. I've fucked up my life! I've fucked up my career and I've fucked up our relationship and... Shit! What about you, Yugi? It's not as though you've been behaving like an angel either! Screwing silly little pop singers. Why is everything so fucked?!"

He shook his head in annoyance. "Yeah, I've made mistakes, but this isn't about me. It's about you and where you have ended up... And don't swear like that. It isn't like you."

"Guess I've learned a few new words since I've been here," she snapped defiantly. This conversation was rapidly descending into an argument.

Yugi pressed his hand over his face in exasperation. It was going badly and it was probably his fault for being too aggressive in his approach.

"Look. I'm sorry," he said. "If you want to know? I will be the first to admit the thing with me and Suki – the pop singer– was a disaster. But it's over now and I'm glad. I don't want to talk about her. But I do want to talk about you and me. I still love you. But if you don't love be back, or don't even want me as your friend, then I'll leave. But know this Anzu: Whatever you decide, I will support you financially until you get back on your feet and find a respectable job that pays well enough for you to survive. And if you're thinking of arguing with me on that, don't, I won't take no for an answer." He sounded heartbroken and pained, but his voice was still assertive.

Anzu felt her energy suddenly drain from her, causing her to sag. The desire to fight her corner was gone. All that was left was a sadness over the love she had been prepared to lose in order to chase her dreams.

"I wanted to call you, Yugi, but I couldn't; I didn't want you to know how low I've sunk. If we had talked I would have been forced to lie. And I know you would see through my lies and then I would have cried and spilled all my sorrows on you. I was too scared."

"But we're supposed to be friends Anzu. If you had confided in me, I would have listened. I would have dome anything to help you avoid ending up in a..."

"Shit hole," she finished for him.

"Yeah," he nodded. "A shit hole. This building. This area. Performing to leering perverts – it's not healthy. If you let me take you home, away from all this, I can look after you in the way you deserve."

She bit her lip and looked away, her hair shielding her eyes. "I don't know if I can," her voice barely more than a whisper.

He stood up and crouched in front of her; waiting, watching, imploring her nervously with a rapidly beating heart. She was rejecting him, he was sure. She was going to stay in this hell hole, even if it meant losing all of her sanity and dignity. Even if it would kill her in the end, she intended to stay. She did not love him enough to agree to go home.

"Please give me the answer I want Anzu?" He tried again.

After a handful of seconds, that seemed like an eternity, she looked up at him with tear filled eyes.

"But all my dreams Yugi. They've all gone and I don't know how to get them back again," she whined desperately, her bottom lip trembling as her tears started to fall.

"Hey!" Without hesitation, he leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her as she slid like jelly off the sofa into his embrace, allowing his strong arms to hold her against his manly chest. The weedy little boy she once knew had always been her comfort blanket, but he was no longer a weedy little comfort blanket, and that made her feel all the more secure. She wanted to bury herself in his protective embrace forever.

"Your dreams haven't gone." He kissed her head and held her like he never wanted to let her go again. "They've just been mislaid. If you let me take care of you we can find them again."

She laughed sadly through her tears and buried her face in his neck. He smelt of stale booze, perspiration and burgers, but underneath, he still had his distinctive Yugi scent she remembered so well and loved so much.

"I don't know what I want right now," she sniffed. "I don't even know if there's a hope we can work things out between us."

"But we can try, can't we? I won't push you into anything, but... I still love you Anzu – I will never stop loving you. But if you no longer like me that way, then I will..." he swallowed and said quietly and sadly, "accept it."

Her heart melted into mush and her muscles quivered under her skin.

"I love you too Yugi. I wish I never suggested that we break up. I've been so stupid." She was mumbling tearfully into his neck and it tickled. He stroked her hair.

"We've both been stupid. I know we have some issues, but maybe we could make a fresh start. What do you think?"

"I'm surprised you still want me after what I've done," she replied bitterly.

"Of course I want you. I don't care what you've done." To prove it, he put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her away just enough to look into her eyes. He hoped that the sincerity in his gaze would be enough to convince her that it did not matter what had caused them to end up in this mess, he still loved her and still wanted to be with her.

He smiled at her softly and she smiled back, all be it solemnly. He leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on her lips, lingering just long enough to see if she responded.

When he felt her lips part slightly, he pulled back hesitantly. She followed him, her lips keen to remain connected with his. They both swallowed and waited a second to see who made the next move.

Her phone started ringing loudly –Anzu always did like noisy ringtones –and this one certainly ruined the moment. They pulled apart.

She turned her head towards her phone on the kitchen counter. "I should probably see who that is."

Yugi noticed how she visibly paled when she saw the name of whoever it was ringing her. But before he could walk over and see who it might be, she rejected the call.

"Are you alright? You look worried," he enquired. She shook her head.

"It was my boss, Tony." She did not want to tell him that Tony was also her boyfriend and the man who bribed her with a promise of stardom, only for her to end up working in his club. "I don't think I can deal with him right now."

"Maybe he just wants to know if you're okay?"

She huffed bitterly in response to his reasoning. "I very much doubt that."

Her phone started ringing again. Biting her lip, she looked at Yugi. He could see the fear in her eyes and he started to wonder just what sort of man this Tony was.

"I suppose I should answer it," she said, voice trembling. "Stay quiet while I'm talking Yugi. If Tony finds out you're here..." she trailed off and shivered. At some point Yugi would want to know what her involvement with Tony was and she would have to tell him the truth.

Anzu had met Tony when he came into the cafe several times. After chatting for a bit she told him she had graduated from Juilliard with a first class honours degree, but even with such good qualifications she was still finding it impossible to get work as a dancer. She had applied to dance companies, but they either told her their portfolios were full or that they only wanted experienced dancers. Without being given a chance she could not even get experience!

He listened to her complaining for at least half an hour and then said he was in the entertainment industry himself and had a lot of contacts; he might be able to help her.

However, she had to agree to have dinner with him first so that they could discuss, and then he would need to see her dance to asses how good she was.

Alarm bells were ringing but Anzu was desperate, and he seemed nice, so she threw caution to the wind and agreed; nothing ventured noting gained, and she could always say 'no' if he tried anything.

Luckily, he was a gentleman at first, taking her on lavish dates and spoiling her rotten. But it was not long before he asked her to sleep with him. She already knew from Mai that Yugi was dating, so what did she have to lose? Tony was hot and it was a long time since she had enjoyed any intimacy, so she said 'yes'.

But the promised auditions never materialised, and having reeled her in, he told her he wanted her to dance in his club.

When she realised what sort of dancing that was, she refused.

However, when her phone died and she could not afford a new one, Tony gave her a new I-phone. She nearly threw it back at him when he hinted that she could repay him by working in the club.

As a compromise, she agreed to work as a waitress. She did not like it –the outfit she had to wear was too revealing and the customers were groping pigs!

But when the weather turned extremely cold and her wafer-thin coat and leaky shoes were not enough to keep her warm and dry, when she could not afford a new travel card for the subway, when her choice was to either pay the rent or keep her electricity meter topped up, she was forced to reconsider.

The truth was, she was stony broke and the money he was offering her to dance was good.

She sat down and looked at her budget: Her coffee shop job covered the rent and paid for some food, but not much else. Just two nights per week at the club would be enough for her not to have to worry.

It would also increase her chances of him finding her a part in a Broadway show... she hoped.

Swallowing her pride and shelving her dignity, she agreed.

That first night dancing in the club was terrifying, but with much encouragement and support from the other girls, along with a reluctant line of cocaine, she got through it.

That was five months ago and she was still waiting for her dream audition.

Thank you for reading.

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