As the final bell rang the classroom filled with a cacophony of sounds as students gathered their things and spoke with their friends. Atem watched the clusters of students for a moment before looking over at Terry. Fear gripped his heart as he glanced between the others and her.

They'll obvious notice you walking over to her. When don't they notice you? You're a walking talking mistake that they all are forced to watch and she's obviously going to be labeled along with you. At least you won't be so lonely anymore right? Another piece of shit to wallow with? The little voice in his head sprang to life at the first sign of hesitance, reminding him that it was still there with all the darkness he held inside himself. Clenching his jaw, he found himself frozen in his seat until a nudge to his right pulled him from the grips of the self hate that cackled in his mind.

"Oi, are you just going to sit here and wait? I mean, if that's your game then by all means, but if you're letting her lead...well you've got a hell of a long wait ahead of you...and running, lots of running." Jonouchi patted him on the shoulder.

"I wasn't wait," he scowled as he quickly retorted and swatted the hand away. "I just was giving her time to get her shit together. I don't wanna just loom over her like some weirdo stalker. We got time as is since the halls are so congested too." He pointed out with ease reasonable excuses for his lack of movement.

"Ah, that makes sense." The blonde nodded his head in agreement. "Well, you two have fun or well her and Yugi have fun since clearly this is a meetup for him and not you." He teased him.

"Screw you asshole! Yugi really has taken a shine to her and my mom does wanna meet the girl I keep hanging out with now!" He scowled to hide his blush as he stood up from his seat finally as he packed his bag. "I'm not complaining because I wanna spend time with her too, so it's a win all around."

"You sneaky little bastard!" Jonouchi pulled Atem into a headlock and ruffled his hair a bit. "Well I'm rootin' for you buddy! If it looks like it's getting late just let me know and we'll come get her so you don't have to come drop her off." He assured as he released his friend.

"Yeah, I'll keep you posted on that. I don't mind dropping her off though. If it gets late, that's the least I can do. Plus, not like it's a long walk. I can easily head back on my own. Anyway, the others are waiting on you so quit sticking your nose in my business and get going." He motioned to the group by the door who waved at them. Marik grinned and winked at Atem, giving a thumbs up to him which he scowled at in response.

"Oh right, see you later. Good luck, don't do anything that'd make us kill you." He gave him a thumbs.

"My family is home and we're going to spend time with them...the fuck are you expecting me to do you creep?" Atem reminded him, earning a laugh as he walked off to the others. I swear he has a few screws loose. He shook his head as he turned and walked over to Terry's desk as she stood from her seat, rechecking that she had everything. "Ready?"

"Oh, hi!" She quickly looked up at him. "Didn't see you there, sorry." She sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck. "Yeah, I'm ready. Are we going to pick him up from school too?"

"No, he had a half day so he's already home. I'm sure he's spent the day with mom trying to make everything perfect in his own way." He snickered, the thought of his little brother so excited bringing a warm smile to his face. Terry stared at the soft expression, wanting to etch it forever into her mind since it was so rare to see. He only ever showed this side of him when it concerned Yugi and it was a rare treat for her as well in its own way.

Always showing me so many new faces of his...I wonder how many more there are and if I'll be able to see them all. She wondered to herself as they fell into step side by side to the train station. They were close enough that their arms occasionally brushed up against one another. To Terry, it had not meant much. She was used to being in crowded and cramped areas. To Atem, it was taking all of his concentration which led to an awkward and silent walk to the train.

Stepping into the nearest car, he pulled her close just like he had this morning. She looked up at him curiously only to be greeted with a smirk.

"Don't want you running off and falling all over the place again. I need you in one piece unharmed." He teased, laughing as her cheeks puffed a little and turned a little red.

"That wasn't what I planned on doing! Stop making it sound like I planned to go tumbling into a group of strangers!" She huffed, lightly whacking chest when the train started to move and she quickly tried to right herself to avoid falling from the initial jerk.

"I got you," he whispered in her ear as his arm instinctively tensed to help keep her steady. "Just relax and enjoy the ride, I won't let you fall." Her heart jumped at the feel of his hot breath against her skin, a sudden sensation that left her feeling more unbalanced than the train. She glanced up at him through her lashes, unsure of what she was supposed to do in this sort of situation.

"Ok," she managed to finally say in a soft whisper as she left herself in his care. It was not something she was used to but with him she felt as if she could without regret. A slight awkward pause settled around them and it made her a little nervous. For the second time she was hyper aware of Atem and the differences in their physique. His chest was broad and his arms were well built though he was more lithe in form than overly bulky. He was taller than her and lacked the curves she had though she too was athletic in build. Unable to keep listing the differences between them, she blurted out something about homework.

Atem silently watched her, amused at the various emotions and expressions that flitted across her face before she spoke up about homework. It was a silent private show he enjoyed thoroughly and had not the heart to interrupt. To see her a little unhinged was a rare sight and it only fueled his courage. The topic of homework caught him by surprise thought and he stifled his laughter to answer her properly. Giving in, he followed her lead in the conversation to help her relax.

As soon as they reach their stop, he shifted his grip from his arm around her to holding her hand as he led her out of the station and down the usual path home. It was a quick walk, both of them eagerly walking towards their shared destination when Terry realized something and abruptly stopped walking.

"I don't have anything to give your family! I can't just go empty handed, that's rude!" She frowned. Atem blinked a few times as he wondered whether this was something serious or not at first, but upon reminding him this was her he knew this was something she was not going to let go easily. The fact that she cared so much about it for his family made him feel warm inside and he found he was not able to tease her thought he wanted to.

"You want to pick up something on the way? There's a bakery near my house that we like the cookies and cakes from." He motioned with his head in the direction they were headed. "It's a roundabout way to my place, but we'll still be there and you can get what you want as a gift." He offered her.

"Please? I really don't feel right heading over without something. It's just how I was raised, even when we met Marik and his family we brought them stuff every time we stayed with them." She smiled with relief at the suggestion. "Help me pick out what everyone likes? I want to make sure I get stuff you all like." She squeezed his hand that held hers as he chuckled and nodded his head.

"Sure, I'll help you out." He agreed and led the way to the bakery first. His hand stayed firmly clasped with hers as they walked. Some people stared at them, it obvious they made an odd pair and their lack of matching uniforms only added to the confusion. He paid it no mind, but he wondered how she felt. Girls were usually very sensitive to this sort of thing and it actually made him a little nervous to see. He was not sure he could stand seeing her uncomfortable beside him.

Fuck it, quit being a chicken and look! He scolded himself as he peered at her from the corner of his eye. To his surprise, she was smiling happily beside him. Either she was oblivious to the stares or she simply did not care. Whichever it was, he personally was not pressed to find out. He was too happy to know she was fine. Holding the door open for her, they enter the store and he led her around to point out all the favorites of his family members. Taking his advice to heart, she selected a few things for everyone but he noticed there were some things he had not mentioned at all. Huh, maybe for her family? Though there's a lot of them now...is that enough? Maybe some of them don't have sweet tooths? He wondered as she paid the bill and they were out the door once again. Before he could ask, the extra bag of pastries was suddenly thrusted towards him.

"Here, a thank you for you helping and taking me here. I also noticed you didn't tell me anything about what you like or dislike so I kinda just worked with what I know about you from all of our lunch meets." She genuinely smiled at him.

"Me? Are you sure?" He blinked a few times at the offering that was held out to him. She nodded her head in response and patiently waited until he finally took the bag from her hand. "Thanks, you didn't have...man, I thought you were picking stuff to bring back home with you."

"I thought about that, but with me at your place I didn't want it going bad so I figured it was better to leave that for another day." She snickered as he caught her other idea. "I planned on getting you something too, I figured why not from the place you enjoy." She shrugged her shoulders lightly.

"Thanks," he chuckled at her explanation and pulled out one of the smaller cookies. He hummed with delight at the sweet taste that spread through his mouth. "Damn, so good!" He happily swallowed the rest of it before leading her to his house. "Let's share these at my place later. If we eat before dinner mom will get pissed cause it would ruin the dinner she spent making." Grabbing her hand again to silence any of her protests about sharing his gift, he led the way to his place with her.