Short chapter, but the next one should be longer! Thanks, guys, for continuing to read after that super long hiatus i took. I had hit a road block, but now I'm back! Leave me reviews?

-Mystie

Chapter 7:

It was the second day of school, and Yugi could tell that Yami was on edge. It was with great reluctance that Yami had agreed to allow Yugi to return to school after the previous night's events, and he was not exactly hiding how upset he was. Yugi had insisted that he was fine, and that they couldn't start out the school year with absences. It would raise too many questions that neither of them was ready or willing to answer. It wasn't until Yugi had vowed to stay away from Joey that Yami had relented. When they arrived at the school, Yami looked at Yugi with fearful eyes, knowing this is where they would go their separate ways until lunch time—Yugi to the junior building and Yami across campus to the senior building. Yugi smiled at Yami reassuringly, squeezing his hand.

"Don't worry, Yami. It's just a few hours."

Yami snorted. "Yes, but you have a class with him." He shook his head and sighed. "So help me, if he even looks at you—"

"We're in the most public of places, Yami, and I'll avoid him at all costs. Trust me, I don't want to be near him anymore than you do. I'm sure after last night he wouldn't even dare." The warning bell sounded, and Yugi pulled Yami into a quick embrace, feeling Yami release a long shudder. "I'll see you at lunch, okay?" He pulled away with a smile and headed towards his first class of the day.

Yugi's first three classes zoomed by, each teacher beginning to settle into a routine and giving their students a decent night's amount of homework. He sighed, adjusting his now heavier backpack on his shoulder. Just one more class, and then it was lunchtime, and he would get to see Yami. The dull ache in his chest that he experienced whenever he hadn't seen his other half in quite a while had returned full force, and Yugi was just barely holding it together. That, coupled with the fact that he shared this class with the last person on Earth he wanted to see, left him feeling edgy and tense. He was one of the firsts to arrive to his biology class, surprised to see that the desks that had been present the day prior were now pushed to the back of the room, and chemistry labs were sitting in their place. Each lab could sit two people, and there were various tools and test tubes of different sized splayed about. Yugi inwardly groaned. It was the second day of school, and already his teacher was ready to start experiments and assign lab partners. He plopped down at one of the empty labs as more students began to file in, some with annoyed expressions and others with excitement at seeing the new class layout. Yugi tried unsuccessfully to entice random classmates to sit next to him with small, shy smiles to be his lab partner, though everyone seemed to ignore him as they partnered up with their buddies. Disappointed, he laid his chin on his palm, taking in the only empty seat in the class sat next to him.

The tardy bell rang, and the teacher went to close his door and begin the lesson, but stopped suddenly as a student pushed his way inside hurriedly. Yugi bit his lip anxiously. Joey stood, a proud smirk on his face as he had just barely made it inside on time. The teacher shook his head in disapproval before finally shutting the door. "Late already, I see, Mr. Wheeler," he said flatly, adjusting his glasses on his nose. "Let's not make this a habit for the new school year, alright? Now take a seat there, next to Mr. Moutou."

Crap, Yugi thought to himself, berating himself for not trying harder to get a lab partner. Joey's smirk turned into a frown for a second, but then he made his way towards Yugi's lab like a lion approaching a scared, little deer. He sat down, gave him a little wink, and turned back towards the teacher in the front of the class. Double crap. The previous night's events seemed to have done little to intimidate Joey. In fact, he was acting so nonchalant about the whole thing that Yugi vaguely wondered if it had all been a dream; yet, as he had that thought, he glanced towards the tall blonde and noticed the skin around his neck peeking from under his uniform jacket was still red and inflamed, from where Yami had held a death grip. Yugi had never seen Yami so angry before. It was scary to look into his love's rose red eyes and find nothing—no compassion, no recognition, just darkness. Joey caught Yugi's stare, the corners of his lips upturning into a tight grin.

"See somethin' ya' like, Yug'?" he whispered as the teacher began explaining the assignment in the background. Yugi's heart somersaulted in his chest, but he forced himself to appear unruffled.

"Nothing at all," he shot back, giving his best attempt at a glare. Joey's sneer widened as he leaned in a bit closer.

"Really? 'Cause it sure looked like you liked it last night." Yugi swallowed, his cheeks reddening from embarrassment and anger. So much for his cool façade.

"You know, you sure have a lot to say for someone who was rendered unconscious less than twenty-four hours ago," Yugi spat, his voice rising from a small whisper to a harsh murmur. "I can see the evidence on your neck, or do you need Yami to remind you?"

"Mr. Wheeler, Mr. Moutou, am I boring you?" the teacher asked abruptly. All heads in the classroom turned towards the pair. Yugi shook his head and muttered an apology, his irritation cooling and humiliation taking its place. Joey only laughed. The teacher rolled his eyes and continued. Yugi bit his lip. Okay, so he had to get through an assignment with Joey as a partner. No big deal. It was just for a class period after all.

"…and so we will begin this three-week experiment, in the hopes that you all will end with an in-depth understanding of the hierarchical organization of interacting systems within multicellular organisms," the teacher continued. "The work will not be limited to the classroom. You will each need to construct a model of your assigned structure, so you may need to meet outside of school to complete your projects. Any questions?"

Yugi sighed. Triple crap.