NOTE: Okies people, I'm back! Now, I think you guys seemed to like the "new" revisions. And guess what? I had been thinking about something COMPLETELY different for the Serenity/Noa thing…but I thought up something new and MUCHO better! You'll love it! I promise! No matter whom you are voting for! Well…maybe if you're voting for one specific person…but anywho, on with the story! Oh, and in this story, I'm going to raise Mokuba and Noa's (physical) age from like…12 to 15. Meaning that they are going to be 15…also going for Serenity. She's 15 too. This is due to some…romance…and should they be any younger…it probably wouldn't look right…. NOW on with the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! nor do I own parts of the lyrics to "Open Arms" by Journey.

Chapter 6: Changing Moods and Emotions

July 3

Tristan woke up, and rolled over in bed. Slightly opening his eyes, he peered at the time: 7:53. He groaned and pulled the covers over his head: too early. He didn't understand how Tea and Ryou could wake up so early, and not be tired…. He could hear them downstairs, laughing.

Still, he kept under the covers. After all, what else did he have to do today? He could sleep all day if he desired. Yugi had done so yesterday. What was he going to do otherwise?

Eat

Swim/Play on the beach

Keep Joey from tackling/killing/getting killed by Kaiba

Eat some more

Flirt with Serenity

Eat again

Wait…speaking of "flirting with Serenity"… reminded him that he also had to "ignore Noa."

Tristan fumed under the blankets. How could the kid get so lucky as to have Serenity hang around him all day? Before vacation, Noa had been nowhere in her thoughts…or so he hoped. And now, she was tagging along wherever he went…like she was in…

Tristan shot up. No…it couldn't be… not his Serenity…in love with someone else?

Serenity lay in her bed, asleep. However, it was not a restful sleep…it was restless She was in the confines of a dream…a most puzzling one at that….

Everything was dark around her. There was no light. The only thing she could see was…herself. She walked around slowly. Suddenly, one by one, her friends…and others appeared before her. And each time she tried to call their name, she couldn't. There was nothing. It seemed as if she had become mute or something…. And each time she went to touch them, to see if they were "real," they disappeared.

Joey, Tea, Yugi, Mai, Duke, Tristan, Kaiba; they all disappeared.

Though, when Duke and Tristan appeared, they stood side by side, each holding out their right hand, signaling for her to take one of them. Serenity couldn't choose. What did it mean? How could she choose one friend over the other? What was going on? Finally, she ran and spread out both her hands, to grab each boy's hand. However, on contact, they disappeared, and serenity took a small stumble.

Suddenly, someone new appeared before her. The person seemed to just dissolve from the air.

"-!…" Serenity had tried screaming his name: Noa. Yet nothing came. So instead, she ran to him. But before she could reach him and stop, Noa stepped forward, directly in front of her. She tried halting, but was too late. However, instead of knocking into him…she phased right through Noa. Serenity fell to the floor on her knees. It was as if he was a hologram or something….

Serenity sat up and looked behind her, at him. Noa turned his head and shoulders, and smiled. Serenity tried calling his name again. Nothing.

Suddenly, though, Noa's form began to get fuzzy, like a television with a bad receiver. His form faded in and out, before it transformed altogether:

"Mokuba!" Serenity cried, her voice lifting out. She covered her mouth suddenly, not used to being able to speak, and used to the silence around her. Mokuba just smiled warmly (looking very mature and such) and walked over to her, kneeling and putting his hands of her shoulders. Serenity shuddered. His hands were so…warm. Since when did you feel anything but emotion in dreams? And he didn't disappear or phase through her. He was "real."

"Serenity…" he said, softly. Serenity couldn't answer. Not because she was mute again, but because her heart was stuck in her throat. She felt completely happy…relaxed…everything all at once.

She looked up at his softly smiling face. He had a childish look to him, but all the same, could act so mature for his age….

"Mokuba, I-" Serenity stopped. What was she going to say?

"Yes?" Mokuba replied.

"I…I-"

KNOCK KNOCK!

Serenity woke up with a start, her heart pounding. For two reasons, that is. The first reason was due to the idiotic moron knocking on her door. The second was due to the dream. She hadn't realized it unconsciously, but her heart had been beating madly ever since Mokuba came into the picture….

"Hey, Serenity, you up?" Tristan's voice could be heard on the other side of the door. Serenity scowled. TRISTAN! How dare he wake her up! She had wanted to see what she was going to say to Mokuba!

Serenity hopped out of bed, with a glare still on her face, and opened the door, glowering at Tristan. Joey stood behind him, looking slightly confused. Duke was on the other side of Tristan, his hand having been raised, having been ready to knock, though Tristan had gotten there first. As he lowered his hand, he was glad that Tristan had been the one knocking.

"Serenity, is something wrong?" Tristan looked at her sheepishly.

"Yeah…you woke me up!" Serenity yelled in his face. She suddenly saw Tea running up the stairs. She heard a door down the hall open. Two sets of eyes peered out from their room.

"What's wrong?" Tea inquired, approaching the crowd.

"Tristan woke up Serenity," Duke filled in.

"Is that all?" Tea asked. "Why is it such a big deal?"

"Yeah, sis, I mean, it's 9:00 already, for Pete's sakes!" Joey retorted.

"I DON'T GIVE A…A-…" she was trying to hold her tongue in front of her brother, "A DANG WHAT TIME IT IS! I WANT TO KNOW WHAT I WAS GOING TO SAY TO HIM!" she regretted the second the words came out of her mouth. She quickly covered her mouth.

"Him?" both Duke and Tristan looked at each other, confusion written on their faces, with a mixture of slight fear, at whom she would be talking about.

"Sis…who's "him?" Joey asked calmly (well, trying to keep calm), tapping his fingers together, slowly, a large vein popping in his head. Tea sensed the danger. She quickly pushed Serenity back into her room, and shut the door.

The three immediately directed their glares to the brunette.

"Whoops…sorry…guess I accidentally grabbed the handle…by mistake," Tea said, sheepishly.

"TEA! WHAT THE HECK DID YA DO THAT FOR! WE WERE ABOUT TO GET SOME ANSWERS HERE!" the three yelled in unison.

"Um, uh…gotta go!" Tea whipped around, and ran…smack dab into someone. She fell backwards, and the person she bumped into, stumbled back a few steps. However, he still managed to grab her arm and pull her back up before she hit the floor.

Poor Tea was being jostled so much; she hadn't even registered yet whom she had bumped into. It was only after she had stepped back, and heard silence behind her, that Tea realized it had been…Seto Kaiba.

"Kaiba?" Tea inquired.

"Gardner…. How is it that I always seem to find you first, after barging out of my room having been rudely awakened?"

"If you're blaming me for waking you up, then you have the wrong person. I wasn't the one to start the commotion. I wasn't the one yelling."

For once, Seto thought.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get to my room before those three remember they were on a rampage after me," Tea walked past Seto, and quickly opened her door, and shutting it soon afterward. Seto then looked to see Joey glaring at him, and the other two taking glances between him and Serenity's door. He scoffed and left them, walking down the stairs, decided for once to go to breakfast.

Entering the dining room, he found Mai sitting at the table eating the last of her toast. Seto scowled even more. He would have preferred to have breakfast alone….

"I see you're up for once," Mai smirked, taking the last bite of her toast.

"Ha, ha," Seto sat on the opposite side of the table from her, remarking sarcastically.

"So, you know what all the commotion upstairs was about?" Mai inquired.

"Go ask the mutt yourself. He seems to know plenty about it," Seto replied, waiting for the waitress.

"Humph, fine, then, I will," Mai stood up and left the room. Seto sat there, until the waitress came out.

"What'll ya be havin', hun?" she inquired.

Truth be told, Seto hadn't been eating very much lately…not his usual portions, at least, so he could keep his dignity up in front of the others, and this meant he was actually quite hungry; "Give me one of everything you've got."

Joey stood at the top of the stairs, a thought suddenly dawning on him, "Hey…we didn't wake up Yugi! And he's the lightest sleeper around here!"

A door opened down the hallway: Yugi's door.

"Spoke too soon," Duke commented.

"Great…more sarcasm and such coming," Tristan replied, knowing Yugi's habits if he didn't sleep well, or was waken up.

"GOOD MORNING PEOPLE!" Yugi suddenly exclaimed enthusiastically, practically leaping out of his room. Yami (in ghost form) was following him around, looking at him strangely, as if his protégé had gone insane.

"Yug?" Joey looked at his best friend, shocked.

"Hi ya!" Yugi smiled happily, a little over-enthusiastic.

"Hey…" Duke looked at him uncertainly.

"Y'all know where Tea is?" Yugi inquired, still way too happy.

"Yeah…in her room," Tristan replied. Mai reached the top of the stairs just as Yugi bounced off to Tea's door. He rapped on it quickly.

"What's up with him?" Mai inquired.

"Dunno. We'll see in a minute, I guess," Joey returned. Tea opened the door shyly. Seeing it was Yugi, she then opened it to it's fullest…and was met by a sudden hug from the boy. Everyone's eyes went wide. He wasn't going to tell her…was he?

"Tea, I can't tell you how much those earplugs helped! Thanks so much, and thanks for pushing me up to bed yesterday! It was exactly what I needed!" he pulled away, very peppy still. In fact, he was peppy, that he wasn't blushing; having just hugged her, as he usually did when close around her.

"Oh, well, you're welcome!" Tea smiled one of her sweet smiles.

Yugi smiled back, happily, then skipped down the stairs to the dining room.

"Maybe he didn't need that much sleep…" Joey looked down at him.

"Yeah…but notice how his mood always changes. He's completely grumpy when he loses the least bit of sleep, and he's way too energetic when he sleeps too much. I think this tells us…" Tea started.

"That we have to monitor his sleeping?" Joey smirked. Mai laughed.

Yugi entered the dining room, and walked over to a chair sitting down, not even noticing that Seto Kaiba was sitting across from him. Seto stopped eating, and set down his fork…not really wanting anyone, especially Yugi, to see him eating all those plates of food.

Yugi finally seemed to realize that Seto was there, and smiled widely, "you've got the right idea there! Man, I'm starved! After a day without food, who wouldn't be?" Yugi inquired. Seto's eyes widened slightly, seeing that Yugi was very different from his usual, serious self this morning. He only nodded in reply. The waitress came in.

"What can I getcha?"

"Get me everything that he got," Yugi replied, nodding towards Seto.

Serenity sat on her bed, thinking. What was wrong with her today? Yesterday, she had been so peppy…so happy…. But today, she was downright…down. And it wasn't because she had been woken up. It was the dream. It confused her.

Yesterday, she had been so sure that she was in love with Noa…but what if she wasn't? What if she was after the wrong person? What if…what if the feelings were just some sort of reaction, or illusion?

She looked over at her suitcase, and dove into it. She found what she was looking for, and plopped back on her bed. It was that picture of Noa that Tea had drawn yesterday…for that test.

"It's just a piece of paper, what does it matter? It's just not the same…." That's what she had said. And she had seen Tea sigh…almost looking like a sigh a relief. Maybe she was thinking of Joey's reaction if he found out. Maybe…maybe the test had proved her…wrong. Maybe…Tea didn't think she and Noa went together, and maybe she had failed this test. Yes, now everything was becoming clearer, since she didn't have her head in the clouds today.

Suddenly, she crumpled up the paper, and tossed it into the wastebasket near the desk, and collapsed on her bed, burying her face in the pillows. How did emotions change so rapidly? It didn't seem possible. She had to be in love with him. She was so sure of it yesterday. But the emotions; the fluttering; the dream.

Of course, she had heard Yugi and the others outside her door…. His emotions had changed rapidly over the course of a day…. Maybe it was possible she had done the same….

No, it just couldn't be. She had been positive! But then…what had that dream meant? Why did Mokuba make her feel so…happy? So much happier than she was now! So much happier than she had thought she felt yesterday…. The pressure and stress of these emotions were getting to her. She began crying.

Joey, Tristan and Duke had gone out to the beach. Tea had gone back inside her room to do some things. But Mai had stood there. It hadn't been long after Joey had left that she heard things going on inside Serenity's room. And then…she heard sobbing.

Immediately worried, she knocked quietly on the door, "Serenity, hun, what's wrong? Open up, hun," Mai stated, through the door.

A minute later, Serenity opened the door, her eyes completely red. She was still in her pajamas.

She sniffed, "Mai?"

"Yeah. You need to spill something out, hun?" Mai inquired.

Serenity nodded. Mai was about to come inside, when Serenity then piped up.

"Could you…could you go get Tea?"

"Tea? Well, sure, but…"

"She needs to know…because of what I told her yesterday," Serenity murmured. Mai nodded. She didn't know what Serenity had told Tea yesterday, but she was going to find out soon.

"Girl talk, I see," Mai replied. Then, she went to Tea's door. She knocked on it.

Tea sat on the edge of her bed, staring at something she held in her hand. It was photograph. A sudden knock on the door brought her out of her reverie, scaring the living heck out of her. She had dropped the photo in her sudden jerk.

"Tea? You in there?" Mai said.

"Mai! Geez, you scared the heck outta me!" Tea stood up, and walked to the door, opening it.

Mai stepped in, "Serenity wants to talk to us."

"Girl talk?"

"Yeah."

"I bet I know why," Tea mumbled, smiling at Mai, then walking out the door, to the next one. Mai was about to walk away when she noticed something lying on the floor. She left the door for a moment, and picked up the white slip of paper. Feeling the waxy side, she flipped it over, revealing a photograph.

She recognized Tea immediately, as the young girl in the picture. She looked completely happy, next to the boy, who was with her. She stared a little harder at the boy. By definition, she knew who he was. It was that Takanaka kid that Tea usually talked about all the time. He was smiling too. He had a cute smile. He looked really familiar too…. But that was impossible. She wouldn't know him. After all, this picture had been taken when Tea lived in America, and had been years before Mai even knew Tea, or the rest of the group.

She stared at it for a second longer, then set it down on the bed. She walked back through the door, and over to Serenity's room.

First, as most girl talks go, they talked about other things in general. Their vacation and all that. They played with each other's hair (just to make Serenity happy) and related small stories when certain topics were brought up. Finally though, about an hour and a half later, it was time to get down to business.

"So, what's all this about, hun?" Mai inquired, sitting on Serenity's bed. She was braiding Serenity's hair, so that the girl might start relaxing a little.

"Is this…about Noa?" Tea asked. Mai gave her a surprised, and questioning look, before Serenity answered.

"Sort of…I don't know anymore!" Serenity suddenly dove downwards to put her head in her hands. Mai let go of her hair in surprise.

"Whoa, kid, pull your head back up. I'm not through yet," Mai said, as Serenity lifted her head back up. Mai fixed the braid and continued. "So, what's all this about Noa?"

Tea, standing in front of the mirror, answered, "Yesterday, she told me that she thinks she has quite the crush on him."

"WHAT?" Mai dropped Serenity's hair in shock. Serenity looked at her.

"I didn't think it would be that big of a surprise for you," she laughed.

"Well, no actually…I understand now. That's why you were taggin' along around him, yesterday," Mai replied. "But why start now? How long have you had the crush?"

"Well…I started admiring some of his…qualities ever since Yugi brought him back to life, but I never thought it was that serious. Only two days ago, when I yelled at him about taking care of his last chance at life, I felt that I really started to care. So, yesterday, I felt the feeling grow. But…."

"There's a "but?"" Mai inquired. Tea was still looking at herself in the mirror. Just staring…as if in another realm.

"But…somehow…for some reason…I'm starting to doubt that now…."

"Why's that, Serenity?" Mai continued.

"Well…I had this dream this morning…"

"Dreams are pleasant," Tea responded, sounding totally spaced out. Both Mai and Serenity looked up at Tea. She was still looking at herself in the mirror…just standing there. "But, they never come to pass." Tears welled up in her eyes, but she wouldn't let them fall.

"Yes, well…this dream…it included Noa…and others, like you guys, however; back to Noa; I didn't feel anything towards him, like I felt towards M-…someone else," Serenity replied.

"I see," Mai smiled, mischievously. "Whom might this guy be?"

"It's…" Serenity faltered. Did she really want to tell? Maybe she could just keep this part a secret. After all, everyone else had secrets of his or her own; why couldn't she have one? "I don't remember."

Mai's face frowned slightly, "Pity. I might have been able to help you…" she let the offer dangle. She felt Serenity tense up, and smirked. Bingo. It was the sure fire way to see who Serenity thought she really liked.

Tea knew Serenity was lying. Serenity knew whom she thought she might possibly have feelings toward, instead of Noa. But if she wanted to keep it from them, then so be it. It was her life, not theirs. Mai was trying to pry into matters that didn't concern her. Tea's eyes narrowed. She'd stop the prying.

Mai and Serenity's head perked up, as they saw Tea swaying in front of the mirror, humming. In the mirror, they saw her face, reflected with a smile, and some happiness. And softly, they heard some of the words that she had been humming:

Living without you;

Living alone.

This empty house is so cold.

Wanting to hold you.

Wanting you near.

How much I wanted you home.

"Tea?" Mai spoke up. Jackpot. Mentally, Tea smirked. It had worked. She had used her feelings, found a song she knew, and distracted Mai and serenity from their present conversation. Now, the act continued:

"Yeah?" Tea turned around.

"What was all that about?" Serenity asked.

"Yeah, the singing and the humming ad the swaying," Mai counted off her fingers.

"Oh…I was doing all that?" Tea replied.

"Uh, duh!" Mai retorted.

"I'm sorry. I guess I was just lost in thought…thinking about…someth-"

"One," Serenity smirked, stressing the word. Tea flushed.

"Maybe. Maybe not," she smiled, and checked her watch, "Hey, it's almost time for lunch, and I'm starved! Let's go! Oh…but you might want to get dressed, first, Serenity. Mai and I will leave you to that," Tea stood up and grabbed Mai's arm, pushing her ahead. Tea turned her head back, to face serenity and winked. Then, they exited the room.

Serenity sat in confusion for a moment. Why did Tea wink at her? She turned to see what time it was. Her eyes widened. It was only 11:30. It wasn't time for lunch just yet. Usually, they had lunch between twelve and one. Then, a realization dawned on Serenity. Tea knew that she had been lying about not knowing who had made her feel safe, protected, and happy. Tea wanted her to have her own little secret, since it was what Serenity wanted.

Serenity smiled. Tea really was a true friend. Of course, unbeknownst to her, tea had known, and partially learned (she had always been a great friend) from her one, true friend….

"Tea! Look at the clock! What were you thinking? It's not lunchtime yet! I was just about to get some answers out of her, too!" Mai protested, as Tea led her outside. Geez, she thought, everyone's mad at me today…because I won't let them get into Serenity's private life! Good Lord! I'm only doing what's right! I think….

"I know. But we really did need to let her be on her own for a little bit. We haven't been outside all day. Come on and enjoy the beach while we have it!" Tea replied, dragging Mai outside.

"I don't even have my bathing suit on, you know," Mai responded.

"You don't need it. Go play some volleyball, or relax, or something! Let's just leave Serenity be until she decides to come out," Tea answered.

Mai stopped, and Tea turned around to look at her; "you know something I don't, don't you, Tea?"

"N-No…why would you think that?" Tea rebuked.

"I have my reasons," Mai smirked. "Like your rushing; your stuttering; your reasons for getting us out of her room…you're hiding something about her from me."

"Look Mai, it's no big deal…. She just was lying to us, that's all. She knows who was in her dream; she just doesn't want to tell us, that's all. She wants her own secret. We all have our secrets, Mai. Don't you?" Tea explained.

"I might, but for some reason, I don't think it's much of a secret…to everybody except a couple people," Mai replied, smirking.

"Let me guess, Joey?" Tea whispered.

"See what I mean?"

"Yes, but I' sure you have something else that you're not telling anybody," Tea replied. I know I do, she thought.

"Fine then. I'll go play volleyball with the others," Mai walked off. She stopped and turned, "You coming?"

"Nah, you go ahead. I'm just gonna go sit on the patio for a while," Tea answered, and walked down the sidewalk. Mai shrugged and ran off down the beach.

Tea reached the patio. There were some tables and chairs around, a couple benches, a large, cleared area, and a drink stand that resembled a small bar. However, this was where all the drinks were given. She approached the "bar" and looked around. No one was there. To the side, she saw a silver bell, with a sign that read, "Ring for service."

So, Tea tapped on the bell. She didn't know if anything would happen. Aside from the waitress and cook in the dining room, Tea hadn't seen any other workers for the beach house. However, when she came back to her room near noon, or at night, her bed was always made…and she didn't make it.

So, she supposed on the ground floor, there was some sort of room for the workers, or even a basement for them. She hadn't completely explored the ground floor yet. All she had seen were the signs pointing to the Guest Laundry, and the downstairs bathroom (not to mention, of course, the dining room, and the "living room" that was pretty much the lobby).

A couple minutes later, a small man appeared behind the bar, smiling. So, they were hiding somewhere around here….

"How can I be of service, to you, mademoiselle?" he said, with a French accent. His name, by the nametag, was Jacques. Funny, Tea thought, there seems to be a range of different cultures serving this place. The southern American waitress and cook, and now the French "bar"tender.

"Um…what drinks to you give here?" Tea inquired.

"We haf ze usual, lemonade, certain varieties of juices, water, of course, slushies, I believe, and if you're looking for something stronger, we have mild wine," he smiled toothily.

"Oh, well, a slushie would be great! What flavors do you have?" Tea inquired, sitting on a stool there.

"Cherry, Blue Raspberry, and Lemon. Zat is all," Jacques replied.

"Cherry, please," Tea smiled.

"Coming right up!" Jacques shuffled around back. Tea could hear him giving orders. She heard another man reply, "Yes sir! Danka!"

"Oui!" Jacques returned, and came back to the front.

"Wow…Americans, French, and Germans?" Tea inquired, in awe.

"Oui, mademoiselle, many of us foreigners to Japan like to come here to this beach spot. It is so recommended in ze newspaper ads. And we have a good time here, as well."

"Sweet," Tea replied. The German came around with her cherry slushie. He slid it over to her, and went back to the back room.

"Danka! Mr. -…um…" Tea faltered, not knowing his name.

"Kommen, Mr. Kommen," Jacques offered,

"Danka, Mr. Kommen!" Tea called out.

"Ya!" she heard from the back.

"Hey, Tea!" she heard from behind her. She saw Yugi come up the walk, and take a seat next to her, "Wow, that looks good," he said, hinting at the slushie.

"It's great!" Tea replied, sipping some.

"Would you like one, monsieur?" Jacques inquired.

"If I could, yes, please," Yugi returned. Mr. Kommen came back out a few minutes later with Yugi's slushie. Then, the two workers returned to the back of the bar.

Tea and Yugi hopped down from the stools and went over to a table near the railing. From there, they could see others playing volleyball, and some other friends splashing about in the water.

"So…Tea, how are you enjoying vacation?" Yugi inquired, trying to start up a conversation with his crush.

"It's perfect!" Tea responded.

"Perfect?" Yugi smiled at her, a bit surprised, though.

"Sure, why not?" Tea added.

"No reason," Yugi answered. The two continued watching the volleyball game. Mai and Joey were on a team, playing against Tristan and Duke. Serenity still hadn't showed up. Mokuba and Noa were out in the water, with Ryou. Kaiba was obviously cooped up inside, though he had woken up hours ago.

The two especially watched Joey and Mai. At one time, they had gone after the ball at the same time, and collided, especially close to each other's mouths. They fell backwards, and Joey turned as ready as their cherry slushies. Mai turned a tad pink, but hid her further emotions.

"You think they'll get together this summer?" Tea inquired, watching them.

"Joey and Mai?"

"Yeah."

"Sure they will…even if I have to force Joey to tell her how he feels," Yugi smirked, looking like Yami for a moment. However, Yami wasn't present anywhere, except in Yugi's mind. Tea laughed. Yugi's cheeks went red from hearing her laugh. It was weird: anything she did, even if it was completely normal, made him go red in embarrassment, or admiration.

Truth be told, it was her normal qualities that he loved and admired so. And Yami was starting to get tired of the boy bottling up his feelings and keeping them roaming around his head…which Yami could hear constantly, and was beginning to get on his nerves.

Sure, he was fine with Yugi having feelings for Tea, and he was a friend of Tea's. The only problem was that with her on Yugi's mind all day, it became irritating after a while to listen about her all day. So, this summer, Yami's master plan was to get him to tell her how he felt…sort of like how Yugi said he'd force Joey along. Problem was…Yami didn't know just how to do so, yet.

Then, there was the thing if Tea rejected him. That would never get off Yugi's mind either, and Yami would never hear the end of it. Even though he had his own side and chamber of Yugi's mind, his thoughts still seemed to somehow drift through (or maybe it was under the crack in the door?) into his chamber.

And it didn't really help when Yugi came to personally talk about it. Usually, Yami would reply, "I know," to everything, before Yugi finished his sentence, having heard the same thoughts at least three times previous in the same day.

"Do you…do you ever feel that way?" Yugi suddenly asked.

Tea looked at him strangely, "What way?"

"I dunno…they way Mai feels about Joey…you know…wanting some guy like him in her life…wanting him?"

"Why the sudden interest, Yugi?" Tea looked at him with an I've-never-heard-you-talk-about-this-stuff-before look.

"Oh, well, I was just wondering…. You don't have to tell me, of course; I'd understand. It's like you said earlier, we all have some secrets to hide," Yugi replied.

Tea nodded, and then sat up straight, suddenly, "Wait…you weren't there…how'd you know I said that?"

"Oh well…don't call it eavesdropping, but I was sort of near you guys, in a way, and you were talking loud enough to where I could hear you…" Yugi looked a little guilty.

"Nothing to be ashamed of, Yugi," Tea answered.

"Oh, good. Now that's off my chest," Yugi smiled. Tea laughed. Then, Yugi brought up something else he had heard, "so, what's this about Serenity…and some dream? Or is it not my place to ask?" Yugi looked up at her, sheepishly.

Tea almost chocked on her slushie…something that only a skilled person can do, "You heard that too?"

Knew I shouldn't have said anything, Yugi mentally slapped himself, "Uh…yeah."

"Man, if we're not careful, that fact's gonna spread…right into Joey's ears…and that won't be pretty…. And what if Noa starts hearing certain things…?" Tea mumbled off, forgetting Yugi was across from her.

"Noa? What's he got to do with this?" Yugi inquired. Tea, physically, slapped herself. "Oh, I see, not my place," Yugi replied, "Shutting up…."

"No, Yugi, it's my fault. I blabbed on accident. But, just don't tell anyone about any of this. I know you don't have all the facts, and for Serenity's sake, I'm not going to tell you them, okay?"

"Yeah, of course! I understand. No problem. Just pretend none of this ever happened," Yugi replied.

"Yeah," Tea sighed in relief.

"So…is that why she was hanging around Noa yesterday? She got a crush on him or something?" Yugi inquired. Tea's eyes closed as she took a sharp intake of breath. "Aw, crap, sorry about that," Yugi threw his head on the table, "I don't' know what's wrong with me today…. I'm too…peppy…too inquisitive…. Maybe I ought to go back to bed or something…."

"NO!" Tea suddenly yelped. Yugi's head shot up, confusion written all over his face. Tea saw this, and recovered, "I mean…no…you slept through yesterday…you ought to enjoy today at the beach…get as much of it as you can…."

"You said that to Mai as well…" Yugi commented, thinking aloud.

"Yugi, please, let's just drop it," Tea replied, closing her eyes and holding the bridge of her nose, while dropping an empty, plastic cup on the table. No wonder she had that brain freeze….

Nobody saw Serenity until dinner. That's when she first decided to show.

"Hey sis! You've actually come out!" Joey said, from one end of the table. He had been worrying all day about his sister, and if she was alright. It wasn't like her to be cooped up all day.

"Hey, Serenity, long time no see," Noa piped up. Serenity stopped and turned to look at him. She stared into his eyes for a minute.

"Yes…long time no see," she replied hazily, and then sat down next to her brother, which happened to be on the opposite end of the table. Noa was a tad confused. He expected, like yesterday, for her to come rushing over. For some reason, she didn't. He decided that later, he'd confront her about it….

Mokuba couldn't hold a grudge. He had forgiven Noa last night when he had to sleep in the same bed with him. So, all had ended there. And during the day, concerned for Serenity, and seeing that she wasn't hanging around Noa all the time, Tristan and Duke gave up their cold shoulder techniques as well. Talk about a day for changing emotions.

Yugi still felt guilty about the whole conversation between him and Tea. And if he let one word about Serenity slip, he was sure two girls would be wringing his small, scrawny and puny neck…while one guy did as well, mainly: Joey. That is, if he wasn't tearing the interior of the Noa out first. However, as Tea said, he didn't have all the facts, so he couldn't presume anything. There was more to it than he knew, and that's why he shut his thoughts off; to the liking of Yami.

Tea had sat down next to Serenity, and Mai beside her. Mai was determined to still get some information…whatever info Serenity passed onto Tea at the table.

Ryou kept quiet, as usual. He wasn't one for talking much. And he wasn't really seeing the thing between Serenity and Noa, nor the changing emotions and moods of everybody. Really, he was still trying to keep Bakura quiet, who for three days, non-stop, was complaining about being here. At least he let him sleep at night…barely.

Seto just sat at the table, watching everybody else. He hadn't really associated much after breakfast. He had gone up back to his room and hung out there for a while, resting. When everyone was outside, he had gone downstairs to watch some television, mainly the stock market and other news. He had wanted to see how his company was doing, having been cut off from all sorts of communication. The lack of technology was starting to get to him. It was eating away at his insides. He needed something…even if his brothers would just trust him with the cell phone charger and let him play games on it or something. That's how desperate our Seto Kaiba was. He had reduced himself to thinking about playing games. Not our normal hot, multi-millionaire genius….

Not much was said during dinner. A few people asked how Serenity was doing, and she always answered: fine.

After dinner, thought, Noa tried catching up to her, before she disappeared into her room again. To his surprise, she walked with Tea into Miss Gardner's room. Drat, he thought, guess I'll have to try tomorrow….

Mai hadn't yet come out of the dining room, so didn't see the action. Serenity had wanted to talk with Tea privately, and asked her do to so during dinner:

"Tea…after dinner…can we go to your room and…talk?" Serenity whispered.

"You...do want to talk?"

"Yeah…but just to you…. Somehow, I feel more comfortable talking to you than Mai, if you get my drift."

"I understand," Tea nodded.

Tea closed the door, and went to her bed, where Serenity sat. Serenity had noticed the photo that Mai had laid back down on it, and had picked it up. She glanced at it, before Tea turned around, and set it back down. It was a good thing too, because Tea snatched it up immediately, as if it were some ultimate secret; one that had needed the utmost protecting and guarding. Serenity saw her place it on the nightstand. Then, Tea took a seat.

"So, what did you want to talk about, this time?" Tea said, getting right to the point. After all, they had no time for small talk…it was getting late.

"I…wanted to explain my dream to you. I wanted to see what you could make of it. I don't really want Mai to know. She helps sometimes, but then there's those other times…" Serenity drifted off.

"I understand. Believe me, I know. Half the time, she helps me, but then, the other half, she tells me to forget him and move on," Tea continued to voice off. She hadn't even caught what she had just said.

Serenity was sure that "he" or "him" was the boy in the photograph. But it was an old photograph…for Tea looked quite young in it. She couldn't have been more than eleven or twelve….

So, Serenity explained the dream. She explained all the friends; Tristan and Duke; and finally, Noa, and his transformation into Mokuba. And she told her of his comfort. Tea seemed pretty surprised by the whole prospect of the dream, and had to think over it for a while. Finally, she began.

"You probably have already thought about this. But this is all I can give you: I think your subconscious or something is trying, in some way, to communicate to you through your dreams. I think it might be trying to say that you really don't love Noa. Maybe…maybe it's trying to say…you love…someone else…like…"

"Are you trying to say that I might like Mokuba instead?" Serenity suddenly cut her off.

"Yes."

"But…I don't see how that's possible…. Sure, he's a nice guy and everything…charming…pretty cute…kind…" she was rattling off. Tea smiled. Bingo. "But that doesn't mean anything! I mean…every time I saw Noa, my heart would go off! Well…except for once, yesterday, I think…but that's not the point. The point is-"

"You have to figure out the emotion," Tea put in, "Figure out a real way to test if you really like the guy or not."

"I know. That's what I thought about too. And…."

"And what?"

"And I just came up with the perfect way," Serenity looked at her with determination. The fire was in her eyes; the fire to find out about herself; about her feelings.

"What's that?" Tea inquired.

Serenity smirked, "You'll see." She hopped off the bed, "Thanks, again, Tea. It seems I can always talk to you. You're like…the sister I never had," Serenity smiled.

Tea laughed, "Glad I could be of service."

"Night."

"Good night," Tea stood up, to go to the door. She watched Serenity go next door, and go inside her room. Tea sighed. It was almost over. Tomorrow…hopefully…would be the day. The day this whole confusing mystery was figured out.

Just before she had completely closed the door, leaving a small crack open, she saw Mokuba and Noa run out of their room, and rap on Seto's door. She smiled, thinking if Serenity's dream was leading towards Mokuba…what would he think?

Seto opened the door, and smirked. The two others gave him their nightly hug. Seto's smirk turned into an actual smile, as he ruffled the two boy's hair. Tea's stomach flipped. Why were these scene of his care and love towards his brothers haunting her lately? Why was she thinking about them? Was it because it was a different, and better looking side to him? Or was it because the action seemed so familiar?

Tea closed the door quietly, trying not to give Seto Kaiba…or his brothers…another thought that night, as she crawled into bed, and one last time that night, looked at the photograph on her nightstand….

Whew! Now that was a long chappie! I seem to be writing those lately…. Yeah, cause my newest chapter for DWTD (coming out this week, hopefully…once I fetch it from another computer) is over 20 pages! Yep! So, did you like the chapter? See! I told you the Serenity/Noa was going away! And now you see what's replacing it…MUWHAHAHAHAHA! I have it all planned out! However…it depends on the voters of course…which reminds me… PLEASE VOTE OR RE-VOTE NOW! PLEASE REVIEW AND VOTE! (OR RE-VOTE!) I NEED THE VOTES AGAIN, NOW THAT THE POLLS HAVE CHANGED! AND I NEED TO MAKE SURE MY PLANS FALL IN LINE WITH THE VOTERS! SO PLEASE REVIEW AND VOTE TOO!