Author's Note:A reader brought to my attention that one chapter was posted twice as two separate chapters, so I deleted the duplicate. It doesn't change the story in anyway, but I will do my best to make up for the little mishap. Thank you for your understanding and continued commitment to my story.

The two made it just in time for the next class, the teacher a step behind them. Jonouchi glanced over to Terry, hoping to catch her eye. When he finally does, he gave her a questioning glance with a small tilt of his head as he pointed to her cheek where she held the ice pack. She shook her head in response and waved dismissively to him as she pointed to the bandage beneath it. He frowned at the sight of it but left it be since there was nothing he could do.

She's obviously been through worse. He assured himself and turned to Atem who was no next to him. "Thanks, for helping her out. I fell asleep in class and missed a bunch of shit it seems. Hiroto brought me up to speed on everything. Damn those two yo! Like, what sort of bullshit is this?"

"Bullshit doesn't even cover the crap." Atem scowled as he slouched in his seat. "You don't have to thank me though, I helped her cause I wanted to...she does enough of it for me that I may as well do this little bit for her in return ya know?"

"Yeah, she's a handful alright." Jonouchi snickered in agreement. "Every visit she just got worse. I didn't think it'd be contagious though." He nudged Atem.

"Fuck you, I'm just evening out the score here!" He scowled as he nudged back. The fuck you talking about contagious! I'm not going off running in to someone else's life and just handling shit blindly! He glanced over at Terry who held the cold pack to her cheek as she diligently took notes. It probably would have been an admirable scene had it not been for the silent panic of the condensation drops wetting her paper.

Atem silently laughed to himself as he started to take notes as well. The old habit of being a diligent student reawakened in him from his note taking he did for Terry while she was sick. Now it felt odd to not do it, though there were moments where he was not in class at all. Since her arrival though, those incidents had become far and few in between.

She's changing you, whipping you in to the good little student. Now you're just like everyone else...scrambling for a dead-end pencil pushing career and not really caring what happens to the others. You've always wanted to fit in, now you found your excuse. The voice in his head sneered at him. Oh what, trying to ignore me? If only Atem could. It's never gonna happen and you know that. You're stuck with me. It cackled.

There had to be some way to get the voice in his head to shut up, but he had yet to find any cure to it. Not like it's wrong though...I'm just gonna end up in a cubicle sometime in the future. Dad would've been disappointed... He softly sighed to himself. That's right, why bother when you're just a disappointment? The hospital didn't want to tell you the truth of your father dying from disappointment at the sight of you. He knew you were a born failure. Atem grit his teeth as he resumed taking his notes, ignoring the self-hatred that had been growing in him since that day.

The school day could not be over faster. The bell rang and he sprang to his feet to gather his books. He needed out fast, but stopped and turned to see Jonouchi head over to Terry. The thought of them so closed together sat uneasy with him. He knew there was nothing between them, but she was with another guy and his mind quickly turned back to Anzu.

Quit it, she's not like that you know it! She's different in every fucking way possible outside of being a woman! He reminded himself as he walked over to the two. She's just like a cat. He mused to himself as she peered up at him with her ever-watchful eyes. "Well little kitten, shall we get you home safe?" He chuckled.

"Kitten, me?" She looked up at him surprised, the small scowl making him chuckle.

"Yes, you. You're exactly like a wild kitten who wants to do what all the big cats do." He clarified for her. The look of disapproval only made him laugh more as he pulled her closer and leaned in to her ear. "Don't worry, I'll make sure you never stray too far." He purred and nipped at his ear. He turned to Jonouchi who looked at the two utterly perplexed as Terry jumped back a step and scowled at Atem.

"Did I hit my head somewhere or did I miss something?"

"Not at all," Atem smirked and looked to Terry. "Do you want me to help you pack?"

"No, I'm good thank you very much!" She stuck her tongue out at him as she quickly packed her bag and walked out of the classroom with them. The change of pace was refreshing for him and he would simply keep at it.

Remember, you said you'd take responsibility no matter what that entails. He smiles to himself at the small 'promise' she had made to take responsibility. Knowing her, she'll take that with the utmost seriousness and I can finally get her flustered all over again. At least she's talking to me again…I really thought I screwed up big time. I was worried…shape up Atem! You can't do that again. He had yet to properly place a title to the feelings that welled inside him when it came to her, the whirlwind of life always hitting him since the very first day they met when she crashed into him in the hallway. I'll take my time figuring it out though…without losing this…her.