abstract melody
Disclaimer: I'm sorry, were you under the impression that I owned the characters I'm writing about? Don't worry dear, they make pills for people like you.
A/N: YARGH! I LOVE this one-shot. I LOVE it! I'm quite serious; I was very close to posing this as a separate story. But it is in the "Addiction" universe, so I thought that it would be good here. (I might post it separate later, butI really doubt it.) I hope everyone likes this, I LOVE IT! I guess it's the tired talking, because normally I'm not too keen on my own stuff. I hope it's good- who knows? Please enjoy; I had a lot of fun writing this!
Note: The key of 'C', for all those who didn't know, has no sharps or flats (all natural). And this, for some reason, is the first song-inspired short. (I think... I probably forgot tocredit the songs in the other chapters.) I don't know why, but I got this idea from "Take Me Home, Please" by Reggie and the Full Effect. There aren't any lyrics! I was just inspired by the song.
Movement 6: Moonlit Melody (In the Key of C)
Joey knew something was wrong as soon as he saw the steam emanating from her ears; Tristan knew something was wrong when Téa and Kaiba didn't walk in the door together; Yugi knew something was wrong by the dark circles under her red, obviously tear-stained eyes.
"Are you alright, Téa?" Yugi asked hesitantly as she furiously sat down and slammed her bag on the floor.
"No! I am not alright!" She put her head down on folded arms. "I hate him! I hate his stupid, arrogant, no-good, cruel, arrogant, domineering guts!"
Joey and Tristan exchanged a look. "So you and Kaiba-boy had a fight?"
"A fight? A fight? You think he would ever lower himself to mere fighting? No, of course not! I just dared to disagree with him. How could I have done such a thing- of course I was wrong! He's always right; anyone who dares to cross him is a foolish, stupid being doomed to be forever lost in ignorance."
"I'm sorry," Yugi said sympathetically. "What happened?"
"I don't want to talk about it," sheanswered caustically.
"So..." Joey began, his voice loaded, "Does this mean that you'll be dumping his sorry, unworthy ass for good?"
"Yes! There's no way I'll ever forgive him. He doesn't deserve to be forgiven."
"Not even if he shaved his head?" Tristan asked teasingly.
She shook her head sharply. "No."
Joey eagerly took up the thread. "Well what if he burned all his trench coats?"
Téa couldn't help her evil grin. "I still wouldn't forgive him."
"You know what? I think he should cover himself in thick honey and jump into a hill of swarming fire-ants."
"That would be funny," Téa agreed maliciously, "But I still wouldn't forgive him."
"Well..." Yugi piped up hesitantly, "Wouldn't it be enough if he just apologized?"
The others stared at him blankly. Then suddenly, they all burst out laughing. "Apologize?" Téa laughed, "Apologize? Him? That'll NEVER happen- he's too stubborn to ever do that. And..." Her expression saddened. "Words don't matter. I want him to prove it, not just say it. And he'll never do that, so it's not like it really means anything anyway." She sighed.
"But what about an entire jar of toenail clippings? If he ate that, would you forgive him?"
She stuck up her chin and tried to suppress a giggle. "Nope."
"If he bathed in a vat of chunky sour milk?"
She grinned. "Not a chance."
Tristan tapped a finger on his chin in deep thought. "What about... If he let ten 250-pound barbarian women with unibrows wax his legs? Would you be willing to forgive him then?"
"As tortuous as that is, it still wouldn't be enough. He's not getting off easy."
"No, I know!" Joey announced. "If he hung upside-down by his toes- for a week- you'd have to forgive him." He crossed his arms over his chest and smiled smugly.
"Would I?" Téa pretended to think. "Hmm... No, I don't think I would." Joey pouted and the others laughed.
The game continued off and on throughout the class period ("If he admitted his inferiority on national TV?"), the guys trying to come up with the most outrageous things they could. ("If HE dressed up in a dog suit and begged?")
They were still laughing about it even as they filed out of the classroom. Téa spotted Seto a few people in front of him. Yugi wanted her to give him a chance to apologize? Well then... She would.
"You know what guys?" she said rather louder than necessary, interrupting an argument between Joey and Tristan over which was worse: eating a live rat or kissing a rattlesnake. "I think there is one way I'd forgive the asshole."
"Oh really?" Joey asked with a smirk, putting his arm around her shoulders. "Do enlighten us; we're all quite curious."
She grinned, having gained their full attention (and his). "Well... What better way to prove to me that he's sorry than to utterly humiliate himself for me? I will forgive him if, and only if, he'll stand outside my window and-"
"And what?" Tristan asked skeptically, "Yell Romeo and Juliet up at you?"
"No," Téa said, her patience thinning, "You didn't let me finish. He has to stand outside my window completely bare-ass naked." She was pleased to see Seto's shoulders draw up a little, the very idea making him cringe. "That's the only way I'll forgive him."
Joey and Tristan- and even Yugi- laughed, not even able to imagine Kaiba doing something like that. Téa sighed quietly to herself. That's right- he'd never do it. He obviously didn't care if she forgave him or not. He probably didn't even care that he had upset her. But... There was nothing else she could do.
Joey and Tristan were laughing as they stumbled down the sidewalk. The night was young, the air was cool, and the fridge at Joey's house was still filled with beer. (They had only had a few each; Joey's dad probably wouldn't even notice they were missing.) They had gone outside to take a picture of a bird Joey had seen- it was red, it was totally red- but they had gotten a little distracted. So armed with their camera, they were off- headed to only their foggy minds knew where.
Suddenly...
"Hey!" Joey said in a whisper, pointing across the street. "Do you see that? You see that?"
Tristan peered over. "You mean the mailbox?"
"No! Stupid... The guy! There's a walking guy, right over there. Over there, you see him?"
"Oh, that dude. Yeah, I see him." Tristan frowned. "Hey, Joey... Don't you think that looks a lot like... Like..."
"Kaiba!" Joey said hoarsely, trying to keep his voice low. "Damn it, that's Kaiba!"
"Hey," Tristan said laughing, "Let's follow him; where do you think he's going?"
Joey grinned, the idea definitely to his liking. "Yeah, we'll follow him." He grabbed the sleeve of Tristan's shirt and tugged. "Come on!"
The two, whatever else they might have been, were NOT stealthily. If their prey hadn't been so distracted, he would have noticed them immediately. Tristan kept laughing, and Joey kept telling him to shut up, but Kaiba never even turned around to see what the ruckus was.
Suddenly, he stopped. Joey grabbed Tristan, and they dove into a bush.
"Hey... Doesn't this look familiar?" Tristan asked quietly, brushing leaves out of his head. "I mean this house and neighborhood and stuff. Man... We've been here before, Joey!"
"Naw, don't you think we would have noticed? And why would Kaiba go somewhere we go?"
"Joe, how would he know where we go?"
They stopped suddenly, when they noticed Kaiba moving. He bent down and picked up something from the lawn he was standing in. They watched him cock his arm back, and then throw it at a window on the second story.
So he must have picked up a rock, they concluded. They saw a light flick on in the room, and then were shocked when a familiar head stuck out the window. It was...
"Holy shit, Joey," Tristan said, slapping his friend's shoulder repeatedly. "This is Téa's house- Téa's house!"
"I know..." Joey said slowly. They looked at each other, faces in matching expressions of utter horror. "And- and that mean..."
Their eyes wide, their heads snapped back to stare at Kaiba. "Oh... No..." Joey said in apprehensive fear.
"J-just because his legs are bare under that trench coat..." Tristan agreed. "I mean... He's probably wearing shorts."
Joey glared at him. "Have you ever seen him wear a pair? The guy probably doesn't even own shorts."
"Why not? He owns everything else," Tristan muttered back.
-Meanwhile, as the idiots are trying to puzzle out the situation, another conversation is going on.
Téa's jaw dropped as she saw who was standing outside her window. She couldn't believe it- what was he doing there? He wasn't... He couldn't be... But... was he? His attire certainly was suspicious enough, and there really wasn't any other logical explanation for him to be outside her window- after a fight no less- in the middle of the night.
"Téa," he called up to her, his voice a whisper-scream, "I hope I haven't woken you up."
She laughed. "No... I was just watching TV for a little bit before I went to sleep. But... What the hell are you doing here?"
He shrugged. "Destroying my dignity. I don't particularly enjoy having you hate me."
Her smile threatened to split open her face. "You're kidding, right?"
He glared and slowly shook his head.
Téa jumped up and down a bit in suppressed joy. He loved her; he really loved her! She had to tell him. "I love you, Seto!" she called down to him. "Even if you're the biggest jerk on the whole planet- I LOVE YOU!" She grinned. "But... That doesn't mean I forgive you yet!"
By this time, Joey and Tristan had realized that Kaiba was indeed about to fulfill the one condition Téa had set for him to be absolved of his crimes. And, apparently, he would be doing it in front of them.
"Oh my God, this is BAD," Tristan said. "What the hell are we gonna do? How do we always get ourselves into these messes?"
"Just calm down," Joey said, "I'm thinkin' of a plan."
"A plan?" Tristan repeated angrily, "What the hell kind of plan could possibly save our asses now? We're doomed."
"Shut up! Come on... I think we can make a break for it, if we hurry."
"Make a break for it? No! You know Téa will hear us, and then she'll think it's a prowler or something and call the cops!"
Joey was silent for a brief moment. "But... What's a prowler? Is it like a panther?"
"No you idiot, it's like someone you call the cops on!"
"Oh."
They watched Téa and Kaiba talk for a moment more. Suddenly, Joey hit Tristan's arm. "Hey, hey wait! I've got an idea."
Tristan rolled his eyes. "Great. What is it this time?"
Joey waggled his eyebrows and held up the camera. "Payback."
"Wha- Oh. Oh no! I'm not taking any pictures of him, I don't care how bad it'll get him back."
"Aw come on," Joey whined, "You can close your eyes and just snap a couple times. Get it pointed in the right direction and it doesn't matter if you're looking or not."
Tristan slammed the camera into Joey's chest. "You do it."
"No, you do it."
"You do it."
"You do it!"
"Shh, look, I think he's about to take the coat off! Get the camera ready."
Joey glared. Tristan shrugged. "Hey, it was your idea; you do it." Joey gulped, and aimed the camera.
Téa stood at her window, watching as the clouds moved away from the moon. It was about half-full, and beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. The light shone down, and flooded Seto's pretty face. Good- she could see him even better if he was illuminated.
"I'm only doing this because it's the only way; if there were any other options, I'd be viciously pursuing one of them."
"But there aren't any other options. This is definitely the only way!" He frowned; obviously, that wasn't what he had wanted to hear.
"Fine. Then I guess I don't have a choice."
She bit her lip, grinning in delighted anticipation. She couldn't believe he actually cared enough to do something so outrageous! He had proven her wrong- she had no choice but to forgive him. Slowly, he untied the trench coat, and she watched it slide off his body to pool around his feet on her parent's crisp, green lawn.
He threw his arms up and said, "There. Are you happy?"
She smirked and moved her index finger around in a little circle. He didn't look very pleased about it, but he still complied.
He really was gorgeous, smooth lines and taut skin bathed in iridescent, shimmery moonlight. She giggled again, and he glared up at her.
Seto crossed his arms over his chest. "Is that it? Can I please go home now?"
Téa smiled. "Of course. Come around front and I'll give you a ride."
He grabbed the trench coat and slipped it back on, then ran around the house. Joey and Tristan waited til they heard the car start and pull out before they said another word. With wide eyes, Joey gently set the camera on the ground. "You know what, Tristan? I don't really think that I want to get these developed." Tristan nodded mutely, and they both stood.
Stiffly they headed back to Joey's house. The atmosphere was tense; any trace of inebriety completely gone. Clearing his throat, Tristan said, "This night will never be spoken of again."
"Right."
...And Téa and Kaiba lived happily ever after.
(It may interest the reader to know that Téa's neighbor, a bright young girl named Lina, soon came into a surprisingly large sum of money. When asked, all she would say was that she made it through the internet. And- interestingly enough- when Téa's father was trimming the hedges, he found a black camera strap. A camera strap, ladies and gentlemen, but no camera.)
End A/N: WHAA! Wasn't that fun? I hope I gave at least one person a good laugh; I know I had one. I would appreciate any reviews, and of course a huge THANK YOU goes out to all the people who have already reviewed. You are the ones who make the world go round! WHAA...
ILB