Disclaimer: I do not own the Yu Gi Oh bunch nor am I making any money off of this. Thank you
A/N: Sorry for the wait but things have been pretty crazy here for the past couple of weeks. Car problems and helping my son get ready to crossover to boy scouts have taken up most of my time but to help make up for it I will be posting 2 chapters today. As always thank you for reading and if you don't mind take a moment at the end of the chapter and let me know what you think.
Beware: Contains some cursing if you mind that sort of stuff please do not read on.
Chapter Two
*Lily's POV*
"Today class," the music teacher intoned, " we will be doing Latin dancing, such as The Tango, The Samba and Salsa dancing."
With the exception of a few people the whole class groaned. I looked at Duke and grinned, "Talk about easy" he said to me. I started to rummage around in my backpack hoping I had tossed a particular CD in there when I packed it this morning, when I find it I hand it to Duke with a mischievous little smirk on my face, "Well?"
He chuckles, "Why not?" and raises his hand.
"Yes, Mr. Devlin?" Ms. Len the teacher asks.
"Lily and I know a little bit about Salsa dancing, ok if we give it a try first?"
Ms. Len clapped her hands, "Oh, that would be wonderful! Please come up both of you, I'll just start the music."
"No need, we have our own." he said as he walked over to the stereo and put in the CD.
I chuckled softly to myself as I walk over to the small area that was set up for dancing in front of the class, as I pass Kaiba's desk I hear him mutter "Loser" under his breath I ignore him and join Duke who was waiting for the music to begin, I stand in front of him and reach for his hand while staring into his warm green eyes as the opening guitar stains of "La Vida Loco" fill the room. Duke takes my hand in his and the two of us start dancing, we proceed to blow the whole class away; at some point during the dance Duke had taken out the combs holding my hair up and tossed them over to Joey. My hip length brown hair now fell in soft waves down my back as we danced, I felt alive and free as the song reached it's conclusion and I stared into my best friends eyes. Thank you I mouthed silently at him before we turned and took our bows to the applauding class.
*Duke's POV*
I looked at Lily's smiling face as we took our bows before the class God, I thought to myself I had forgotten how beautiful she was when she really smiled. As we head back to our seats I lean down and whisper in her ear, "I missed you", she smiles brightly at me and lightly squeezes my hand, "I'm here now." I take my seat and watch her trying to get her combs off of Joey would had conveniently "lost them", I watched the two of them for a few moments. Joey would be good for Lily, I thought to myself, she needed someone who would help her lighten up a bit and he needed someone who might bring him a bit more down to earth a little more often. I smile as she finally gives up and heads back to her seat to start looking in her bag for something, probably a barrette or a ponytail holder knowing her. Ms. Len was talking about The Tango and I started tuning her out until I heard her start announcing partners for the next dance.
"Mr. Wheeler and Miss. Yo, Mr. Devlin and Miss. Pi, and finally Mr. Kaiba and Miss. Tao."
I see Lily raise her hand, "Ms. Len?"
"Yes, Miss. Tao?"
"Is there anyway that Duke and I can switch partners? I wouldn't want to offend Mr. Kaiba with my "Losers" skill on the dance floor." I look at her oddly as she throws a sickly sweet smile toward Kaiba. Her mouth is gonna get her in trouble one day, I thought as I watched Kaiba glare back at her.
"No, you may not Miss. Tao. I need to see how people react to a variety of partners and skill levels. Is that understood?"
"Yes, Ma'am." she replied looking none to happy with the prospect of having to dance with Kaiba. I also couldn't help but notice the death glares that the one blonde, Julia shot Lil's way. Great another one of Kaiba's fan-girls out to make trouble, I'll have to give Lily the heads up about those types I thought to myself as I headed over to my partners desk and gave her my most charming smile, "May I have this dance?"
*Lily's POV*
I can't believe I have to dance with that jerk, I thought to myself as I made my way up to the front of the classroom and stand in front of him. He's an ass who thinks I'm a loser just because I hang out with Duke and his friends. I fume silently tossing my hair over my shoulder and look right into his eyes. But he is sexy as all hell a small voice inside your head whispers, and when his lips touched yours the other night....Wow. Not bad for a first kiss, kinda make you wonder what a real kiss from him would be like. I quickly tune out that little voice and mutter under my breath, "What the hell does a cold jerk like you know about a dance of passion?"
"More then those losers you hang out with do." He snapped and pulled me into his arms as the music started.
As soon as our bodies touched it was like someone held a lit match to a puddle of gasoline, neither of us were prepared for the shocking intensity of the heat that flared up between us. The look of surprise in Kaiba's eyes, and I was pretty sure my own, was testament as to how surprised the both of us were. I stared into his eyes as the dance demanded while the opening strains of music fill the room and find myself swept away by the combination of Kaiba's superb dancing, the nearness of his body and the heated look of desire in his cobalt eyes.
Neither of us even noticed that the music stopped until Ms. Len started applauding.
"Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful! That class is a perfect demonstration of the Tango, it is both passion and control. Fire and Ice, Love and Hate, Submission and Domination. Yin and Yan if you will, a dance of opposites that join together and become one perfect whole. Thank you so very much, Mr. Kaiba. Miss. Tao that was truly exquisite. Please give them a round of applause class."
I can feel my face start heating up as I pull away from Kaiba and hurry back to my desk, ignoring the self righteous smirk on Kaiba's face and the dirty looks I was receiving from some blonde Barbie Girl cheerleader type. I sit down and reach for my backpack quickly pulling out my sketchbook so I could put the finishing touches on my art homework, I unconsciously tilt my head down so that some of my hair falls down and covers my face. It was a very old nervous habit of mine and I still unthinkingly did it at times when I needed to mentally regroup, that habit was the main reason I always wore my hair pulled back. My Uncle considered this odd habit of mine a weakness and he despised weakness, he had drilled that into my head since the day my sister, brother and myself were dropped off by social services on the day of my seventh birthday.
I quickly turn my thoughts from the direction that they were turning in back to the sketch in front of me, it was a fantasy scene of a dying dragon with a phoenix being born out of it's last flame filled breath. It was a twist on the old circle of life theme, for something new to be born something cherished must die, I stare at it for a few moments before grabbing a watercolor pencil and putting the finishing touches on it. I became so engrossed in my work that I didn't even notice that class was over until I felt someone lift my hair out of my face and gently push it behind my ear. "Thanks, Duke." I say without even looking up as I put the final touches on the phoenix's feathers.
"It's not Duke and you're welcome, Lily."
I look up and see Joey standing there, "Sorry, Joey. I'm just not used to anybody but Duke doing stuff like that."
Joey smiles as he sits at the desk in front of me, "Well, I hope you get used to me doing stuff like that."
I reach into my backpack for another pencil and twist my hair up into a quick messy bun. I stick the pencils in it to hold it in place. "You do, huh?"
He smiles at me and gently takes my hand in his, "Yes, I do. You've got a free period before your next class, right?"
I laughed softly and remove my hand from his so I could pack my stuff up in my bag, "You tell me, Mr. Wheeler. You seem to know my schedule better then I do."
"I have a free period before my next class too, wanna go grab a cup of coffee?" He smiles broadly grabbing my backpack and laptop bag before I had a chance too.
I smile at him as I stand and am about to say yes when Kaiba comes back into the classroom, "If you want a second chance at that interview Miss. Tao I have a few moments I can spare right now." He glares at Joey, "Don't you have something better to do, Wheeler?"
"Back off, Kaiba!"
"Listen up, Dog boy, I'm talking to Miss. Tao not you so just back off before I get angry."
"You don't own everything or everyone, Rich Boy!"
"Listen, Moron I've got better things to do then talk to you."
I saw how worked up Joey and Kaiba were getting and slipped between them lightly touching Joey's arm in an attempt to defuse the situation a bit, "Yes, Mr. Kaiba I would like another shot at that interview. I'll meet you outside in a few minutes, alright?"
Kaiba looked like he was about to say something but seemed to think better of it, "You aren't worth my time, Wheeler. Five minutes is all I'll wait, Miss. Tao." With that he spins on his heel and leaves Joey and me alone in the classroom.
"I hate him. Do you really have to go with him, Lily?" Joey asked looking down at me.
"You know I do, Joey. And it'll be fine," I give him my most charming smile, "I'll go get this interview done and we'll get that cup of coffee after school, ok?"
He quickly hugs me before handing me my bags, "I wish you didn't need this job so much. I'll meet you outside the front doors after school, ok?"
I return his hug lightly and smile, "Ok. I'll be there."
We leave the classroom and Joey walks me to the front doors where Kaiba was waiting, none to patiently I might add, for me. Both Joey and Kaiba glare at each other before Kaiba turns and starts walking away. I wave bye to Joey and follow Kaiba towards what I can only assume was his car, the brand new top of the line 2006 silver mustang GT.
"I never would have pegged you for a sports car type Kaiba." I say as I settle into the passengers seat.
"Hrmp." Is all I get in response as he shifts gear and swings out of the student parking lot.
I quietly watch the scenery while Kaiba weaves in and out of traffic, within a few minutes he pulls up in front of a tall white building with the name "Kaiba Corp." emblazoned on it in black letters and quickly exits the car. I hurriedly grab my stuff and go to open the car door when the handle gets ripped from my hand, I look up in shock to see Kaiba standing there smirking at me, I raise my right eyebrow at him "Thanks." I say and step out of the car, Kaiba watched while I quickly slid my bags up on my shoulder and flinched slightly at the stab of pain in my left shoulder that was bruised from the other day.
"Problem, Miss. Tao?" he asked as I quickly transfer my bags to my other shoulder.
"Nothing I can't handle, Mr. Kaiba." I say as I breeze past him through the double doors of the building. I get some pretty odd looks from the people in the lobby as Kaiba comes up behind me and places his hand on the small of my back to guide me towards a private elevator, he inserts a key card into the slot and the doors open with a quiet hiss of air. He motions me inside first before he enters and taps a code onto the security panel that's there instead of a numbers panel, the two of us spend the ride in silence and soon were exiting through the open doors right into Kaiba's office.
"Please take a seat, Miss. Tao." Kaiba motions to the chair in front of his desk as he sits behind it and opens his briefcase. I sit down and cross my legs at the ankles silently cursing the Domino high uniform as I try to pull the hem past my knees and fail miserably, I fold your hands in my lap and study Kaiba as he takes some folders out of his briefcase.
"How's Mokuba?"
"Fine."
The next few minutes were spent in an awkward silence; a silence that Kaiba suddenly breaks when he throws 3 file folders down on the desk in front of me, "Why is there no record of you or your siblings until five years ago, Miss. Tao?"
I knew that outwardly I appeared calm and unaffected by his question but on the inside I was seething. My eyes stay focused on the folders as I calmly ask; "You had my family investigated?"
"Yes, and you still didn't answer my question, Miss. Tao. Until five years ago neither you or your siblings existed. Why is that?"
I don't answer him, I just pick up the folder bearing my brothers name on it and open it slowly to find myself staring into the sparkling tawny gold eyes of my older brother's photograph. I bring my fingers up and lightly trace his face, this had always been one of my favorite photos of Adam...It had been taken on the day of his 15th birthday, the day our Uncle had signed over custody of Evie and myself to him and we were at the beach with a few close friends having a duel celebration. If I closed my eyes I swear I could still hear my siblings laughter on the sea scented air. I study the photo a minute longer, smiling slightly at the way the wind had ruffled Adam's light brown hair and the sun and given his normally pale skin just the faintest hint of pink, before my eyes travel over to the page opposite the picture. I start to read the information on the page:
Name: Tao, Adam
Race: Caucasian
Hair Color: Brown, Light
Eye Color: Gold
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 198
Age: 20
DOB: May 1, 1985
Residence: Bayville Psychiatric Facility
Date Admitted: January 1, 2002
Condition: Catatonic
I close the folder and put it back on Kaiba's desk without reading any further, the last thing I needed was to see some shrinks interpretation of the worst day of my life. I stand up and pick up my bags, "Thank you for your time Mr. Kaiba but I don't think I'd like to work for you. Please give your brother my regards. Good day."
I turn around and very calmly walk over to his office door, which was amazing since I was currently fighting the urge to cry and smack Kaiba for investigating my family. I open the door and softly close it behind me, I give his secretary a small smile and exit through the waiting room doors. I pass the elevators without a single thought and head right to the stairwell as my eyes start to fill with hot tears, if I can just keep control for a few more minutes I thought to myself as I push through the stairwell door letting it slam closed behind me. The sound of it echos through the empty stairwell as I lean my head against the cool wall as I try to stem the flow of tears pouring from my eyes, I close them hoping that would work but when I do that images from my last duel start flashing before me. I slide down to my knees as my tears become soft sobs and for the first time since my brother lost his soul I cried when the images from our final duel runs through my head.
*Little flashback time....*
I smile to myself as I draw three cards from my deck and look at my opponent, "I place two cards face down and end my turn." I say before switching my gaze to my brother.
This duel was going great, both Adam and I still had our full amount of life points while our opponents were at 1600 and 1000 life points, once we won this duel we would be shoe in's to go to the finals in this tournament. And once we were there I knew that one of us would win it, with the other probably coming in second but that the way things usually happened with Adam and myself. If we were both involved with something one of us would come in first and the other would come in second, I smirk under the porcelain mask that I wore when I dueled to hide my identity from everyone, in this case though I knew I could win this championship. Don't get me wrong, Adam was a great duelist but I was better.
Adam placed one monster card on the field in defense mode and attacked with his Zombie Dragon knocking his opponents LP down to 600, then the guy playing against me played this card that I had never even heard of before, "I play the Seal Of Orichalcos! This card allows me to draw upon the power of the Orichalcos and give my monsters 300 additional attack points. And Siren, whoever losses the duel losses their soul to the seal. And with that I end my turn."
I look at Adam and he just nods at me, he had as much faith in my skills as a duelist as I did in his. "Fine," I say as the glowing green seal spreads out on the arena around us "Then prepare to lose your souls because I play Jade Dragon in attack mode. Jade Dragon attack his life points directly!"
I feel someone's arms wrap around me and then feel myself being lifted onto someone's lap and that breaks me out of my reprieve. With tears pouring down my face I look up and am shocked to see Kaiba's cold blue eyes full of concern as he looked down at me. I try to pull away but he just holds me tighter, gently rubbing my back in an effort to calm me down, "I didn't know seeing your brothers file would affect you this strongly." Kaiba softly says as he tucks my head under his chin.
"Honestly..neither did I." I manage to say between soft sobs.
After a few minutes of Kaiba just holding me and rubbing my back I start to slowly calm down and start just enjoying the feeling of being held in his strong arms. I close my eyes and lean against him fully for a few moments before I grudgingly pull away slightly and start digging around in my pockets for a tissue. I soon find one and start drying my eyes. "I'm sorry, Mr. Kaiba.... Believe me when I say that this is not normal behavior. It must just be the stress of moving and starting a new school." I try to smile but it comes out wobbly and weak.
His strong hand tenderly cups the side of my face and I fight the urge to lean into his touch, "It's Seto."
My eyes slowly drift shut,"Seto?"
His thumb starts moving in slow teasing circles in front of my ear, "Not Mr. Kaiba, Kaiba or Sir. To you it's Seto."
My eyes open slightly "Seto...I like that....And it's not Miss. Tao."
"Really?" He smirked at me as he leans closer; or maybe I was leaning closer to him I really weren't sure right now, and in all honesty I really didn't care.
"It's Lily." I whisper softly.
Our faces are so close that I could feel his warm breath tickle my lips as he whispered, "Lily...It suits you." right before he lowered his lips to mine.
In that instant my entire world was turned upside down, it felt like I had finally found the missing piece of myself that I had been searching for the past 3 years in that kiss. It was new and familiar, comforting and exciting all at the same time, it almost was like I had been waiting for this very moment for my whole life. I try to pull away but feel his arms tighten around my waist pulling me closer to him, I tentatively slide my arms around his neck as I shyly return his kiss. The tip of his tongue darts out and teases the seam of my lips before retreating, my lips instinctively part and he takes the opportunity to deepen the kiss by slipping his tongue into my mouth. His hands move up towards my hair as his tongue slowly starts stroking mine, I feel the pencils being pulled out of my hair and my hair falling down my back. His strong hands tangle themselves in my hair and pulls my head closer as I start mimicking his tongues movements, he groans sightly into my mouth and deepens the kiss even more. The kiss continues like this for a few minutes getting hotter and heavier until the sound of a ringing cell phone interrupts the two of us. I break the kiss and lean my forehead against his trying to control my breathing as he untangles one of his hands from my hair to reach into his pocket for his cell phone and answers it.
I slowly move off his lap after his other hands leaves my hair and stand up so I can get a little bit of space between the two of us. What in the goddesses name did I just do? I thought to myself as I watch Kaiba through the dark curtain of my hair. I lean down and grab one of my bags and start going through it looking for a rubber band or something when my own cell phone starts vibrating wildly. I move over to the other side of the stairwell to answer it with slightly trembling hands. "Tao."
"Thirty minutes to your next class and you are where exactly?"
"You're kidding right?" I ask as I look down at my watch and curse very softly under my breath.
Duke chuckles on the other end, "Such ladylike language...Seriously, Lil, where are you? Joey said something about you going off with Kaiba for an interview....Something you wanna tell me about?"
"Later, ok?"
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"I can hear it in your voice, Angel. Is it something Kaiba did because if it is I'll----"
"Let me get a word in edgewise? I'm fine, Duke."
"And I'm Duel Monsters champion."
"I'm just a little edgy about the interview, ok?" I hated lying to Duke, after all he was my best friend but if he knew what was really troubling me he'd freak.
"That's really it?"
"That's really it, Mr. Devlin. Now, if you will please excuse me I know have," I pause to look at my watch, "20 minutes to get to school before art class starts. See you when I get there." I say as I hang up and look over at Kaiba who was done his own phone call and was standing there with his arms folded over his chest.
"Let's go." He said before I had a chance to say anything and heads out the stairwell door. I quickly pull my hair back with a rubber band that I found in my bag and take a moment to straighten out my clothes before following him.
*Seto's POV*
Within a few minutes the two of us were in my car on my way back to school, neither of us had said a word about what had happened in the stairwell back at Kaiba Corp. I look at Lily out of the corner of my eye and see her looking out the passenger side window with a thoughtful expression on her face. What happened in the stairwell was very much unlike me, if my phone hadn't rung when it did...Lets just say I highly doubted that things would have stopped when they did. I had gone after her to demand the answers I wanted but when I saw her crying and heard the raw agony in her sobs all thought of the answers I wanted had fled from my mind, the next thing I knew I was holding her and trying to calm her down by rubbing her back. It was the same way I used to calm Mokuba down after a bad nightmare and it worked on her quite well, then she looked at me with those wonderfully expressive eyes and I couldn't help myself. I had to know if what I had felt in the park the other night was just a fluke or if her lips still felt like heaven.
There was something about Lilith Tao that made me take leave of my senses and I didn't like it one bit, my hands tightened on the steering wheel as I remember the feel of her innocent response to my kiss...Now either she was one hell of an actress or she had never been kissed like that before. A nagging feeling in my stomach kept saying no one's that good of an actress, she wasn't the type of woman who would do something halfheartedly; I could tell that much about her from her artwork...With her it would be all or nothing and that was the last thing I needed right now. I decided as I maneuvered my car into the student packing lot that it would be best to nip this in the bud before it got out of control. Too bad she was the most talented and qualified for the job, I'd just have to find someone else for it. Yes, that's it I smirked to myself as I turned off the car and looked over at her to tell her that she wasn't quite what I was looking for in an artist. "Miss. Tao?"
"Listen, Kaiba....I think it would be best if...." she took a deep breath before continuing, "we completely forgot about what happened back at your company."
"Like that fact that you refused to answer my questions or that you threw yourself at me like a cheap trollop?" Where the hell did that come from? I thought as I watched her eyes color darken with anger.
"You get 3 chances to insult me before I lose my temper, Kaiba....That's number one." she said before stepping out of the car and walking over to where Wheeler was standing. I watched him take her bags from her and heard her soft chuckle at something he said, I feel my own temper rising as I leave the car and walk close enough to them to hear what was being said.
"And why aren't you in class, Joey?"
"Waiting for you. After you got off the phone with Duke I told him I'd wait out here for ya."
She sent him a smile that made my heart skip a beat and I make my way over to them ignoring the glare that dog Boy kept sending my way, "How sweet.....A dog waiting for his mistress."
It looked like Wheeler was about to say something but was quickly interrupted by Lily, "Well, Mr. Kaiba since we are on the subject of animal comparisons I must say I've never seen a snake walk on two legs before." She started to walk away but stopped a moment to toss one last remark over her shoulder, "Must less a two faced bastard of one."
Both Wheeler and I watch her start walk away with the bearing of a Queen, I heard Wheeler mutter "wow" under his breath and as much as I hated to admit it, even to myself, I wholeheartedly agreed.
*Lily's POV*
I was halfway to art class when I remembered that Joey still had my bags, now that left me with two choices. One, I could head back and deal with Kaiba again or number two head to class without my stuff and not turn in my homework...Or I grinned mischievously to myself, option number 3.......Cut class. I was just about to go with option number three when Joey comes up behind me with my bags and hands them to me, "I thought you might need these, Lil." He said to me smiling.
"Thanks, Joey. That was sweet of you."
"Then how come you look like someone just told you your puppy died?"
"I do?"
"Uh huh."
I grin at Joey and lean up so I can whisper in his ear, " 'Cause when I realized I didn't have my bags I was considering playing hooky for the rest of the day."
I can feel Joey grinning as he leans closer to my ear, "But that would be very naughty of you to do that, Lily."
"Uh huh, especially since I don't know my way around the city that well yet.....Why I might get lost unless I had someone to show me around." I said trying to suppress my laughter.
"That's right. And if this person who's showing you around just happens to miss a history test that they didn't study for, that wouldn't be so bad would it?"
"Nope and I could even help that person study after say....a nice little dinner of homemade lasagna?"
He leans close enough so that his breath gently tickles my ear, "Mmm...Well, that persons car just happens to be in the student parking lot today."
"Oh, really?"
"Really."
I take a step back and look into Joey's brown eyes, "Then what are we waiting for Mr, Wheeler?"
20 minutes later I find myself sitting in Joey's car listening to music and trying to get Joey to tell me where we're headed. Every time I asked he just said, "It's a surprise."
I watch as he pulls into a convenience store parking lot and grin at him, "Is this the surprise?"
"Wait here, I'll be back in a few. We'll need a few supplies." He says before hopping out of the car and heading inside the store. I watch him and shake my head still grinning. It had been a while since I had felt this relaxed, I needed it especially after dealing with Kaiba today. What right did he have investigating my family like that? I shake my head to clear it a bit and take a deep breath, I wouldn't let myself think about that right now, I thought to myself. Right now I just want to put the whole Kaiba fiasco behind me and just relax, tomorrow was another day to worry and figure things out. I reach into my pocket and pull out my cell phone, I look at it for a moment before hitting the off button. If Kaiba was gonna call and tell me I didn't have the job he could talk to my voice mail, I didn't quite trust myself talking to him right now. After what had happened back at Kaiba Corp between the two of us and then basically being called a tramp, I doubt I'd keep my mouth shut. I turn around in the front seat and reach back so I could drop my phone into my backpack, I also reach in and grab my sunglasses. I was just getting settled back into my seat when Joey comes out of the store and tosses a bag into the back seat.
"Ready?" He asked as he inserted the key in the ignition.
"As ready as I'll ever be for someone who has no clue as to where she's going or what she's doing." I said as I slip my sunglasses on.
"It's gonna take us a while to get to where we're going so if you wanna just relax and catch a nap it's cool."
"Just where are we going, Joey?"
"Some place I think you'll love....Trust me, ok?"
"Does this place involve midgets, a green city and a saccharin sweet witch named Glinda? Or flying monkeys, I can't believe I almost forgot the flying monkeys."
Joey laughs as he pulls out of the parking lot and back onto the road. "Well, Dorothy I don't think you're in Kansas anymore but ya sure as hell ain't in Oz."
I lean my head back on the headrest and close my eyes, "You get my sarcastic humor. I like that."
"You do, huh?"
"Uh huh. Not many people besides Duke get it."
"What's the deal with you and Duke anyway?"
I open my eyes and turn my head to look at Joey, "What do you mean?"
"Well, you guys have known each other for a while, right?"
"Ten years last Christmas, why?"
"Have you two always been friends?"
I laugh softly thinking back to when I first met him, "We couldn't stand each other at first actually."
"Oh."
Joey was quiet for a few minutes and I just watched him while he drove. I close my eyes again and turn my head towards the front of the car, "By the way Joey, if you're trying to ask if Duke and I ever went out the answers yes and no. He was my date for my first and only formal dance, my uncle insisted I go to it and Duke was nice enough to be my escort for the evening."
"I bet all the other guys were jealous of him that night."
"I was a 13 year old geek with braces so I don't think so."
"That I find hard to believe, Lily."
"Ask Duke to show you the pictures from that night."
Joey laugh's, "I might just do that one day."
"Duke's been like another brother to me for most of my life, Joey. I think I'd have gone nuts if we had dated, in case you haven't noticed he's a bit full of himself and I've just never found time for guys. Dating and romance have never just had that much appeal for me."
"You've never been out on a date? Ever?" I could hear the shock in Joey's voice.
"Nope."
"So, when I kissed you the other day...Not a date ever?"
"Can we please just drop the subject please?" I ask blushing slightly.
"Why?"
"Because whenever I tell anyone that they start treating me like this total freak who's got something wrong with me. In all honesty, Joey I'm a bitch and I have a very hard time getting close to people. I've yet to find someone who I think will hold my attention long enough for anything besides friendship. Ok?"
"I have a hard time believing most of that, Lil. I just think that you're scared to let someone that close to you, you're scared that maybe they'll get to know the real Lily and actually like that person."
"Think what you will, Wheeler. So, are we anywhere near this mystery location we're headed too?"
"We still have about another hour or so."
"Ok...I think I am gonna try and catch that nap, ok?"
"Ok."
"And Joey?"
"Mmmm?"
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"Just being you." and with that I close my eyes and drift off into a light sleep.
*Joey's POV*
"Lily?" I whisper into her ear once I have the car parked, "We're here."
Her beautiful grey eyes open slowly and she smiles a tired smile at me, "Where's here?"
"The beach."
"The beach?" her head shot straight up from the headrest and her eyes lit up, "We're really at a beach?" "Yep."
She throws her arms around me in a hug before jumping out of the car and running towards the water. I stand by the divers side door of my car and smile as I watch her kick off her shoes and run into the surf like a little girl during her first trip to the beach. I reach into the back seat and grab the stuff I had bought for our lunch, I close up the car and make my way over towards Lily who was now seated on the sand about 10 feet away from the water. I sit next to her and we just sit quietly for a few minutes looking out at the water, impulsively I reach over and release her hair from the ponytail that she was wearing running my fingers through her hair as I do, she looks over at me and sighs softly before standing up and brushing the sand off of her uniform skirt, "Joey, I think we need to talk."
"About what?" I ask standing up next to her and looking into her eyes. As I look into her eyes I feel myself becoming lost in their grey depths and my heartbeat starts speeding up, I reach up over and lay my hand against Lily's cheek, "You are so beautiful......" I say before leaning down to kiss her, only to have my lips meet her forehead as she quickly lowered her head. I pull back surprised as Lily takes a few steps away from me.
"Joey, answer me this honestly; was bringing me here just two friends getting together or did you have other motives?"
I take a deep breath and figure it's now or never, "I like you a lot, Lily. As more then a friend."
She holds up a hand towards me and takes another step away, "Joey.......Stop before you say something that you can't take back."
I walk towards her and take her hand in mine, "I think I'm starting to fall in love with you, Lilith Tao."
"Don't say that....Please don't say that." she said as she pulled her hand from mine and took another few steps backward.
"Why can't I say that? You are a wonderful person Lily. Please just give us a chance."
"Joey......Bad things happen to people who tell me that...Just don't."
"Lily......"
"Please Joey, just drop it. I can't feel that way about you.....About anybody really."
"What do you mean you can't feel that way about anybody?" I yell starting to get angry, "or is it just because I don't have money like Rich Boy does?!?"
I see the look of shock and hurt flash in Lily's eye's for a brief moment before something in them slams shut and she turns around heading back towards the car. I stand there and watch her go into the backseat and grabs her bags before she starts walking back towards the beach. She stops in front of me and very coolly says, "Thanks for bringing me here, Wheeler. I'll call a cab or something to come get me."
"Lily, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that I mea----"
"I really don't care how you meant it. Now, if you'll excuse me, Wheeler I'm going to take advantage of the view and get some sketches done."
My cell phone rings before I have a chance to say anything to her. I hear Dukes voice as soon as I answer, "Do you know where Lily is? She's no where around school and she's not answering her phone. I'm getting really worried, Joey."
"I think I messed up big time, Duke. Real big time."
*About Two Hours Later*
*Duke's POV*
"You said what?" I look at Joey in shock, "Of all the things that you could have said to her why did it have to be a money thing?"
"I wasn't thinking, ok? And how was I supposed to know that she would close up like that."
"I told you before, Joey you gotta take things slow with Lily. Just take it easy 'cause she's really skittish when it comes to relationships.......I can't believe that you told her that you were starting to fall in love with her. That is neither slow or easy!"
"I just thought that she should know how I felt before—"
"Before what?" I interrupt, "Before she was settled in and felt comfortable enough with you where she could start to develop feelings? Before she was past her first instinct to run when she gets scared? Or before you thought that she might meet someone else?" I could see from Joey turning red that it was that last bit that was the truth.
"I just thought that if she knew I felt that way about her that she wouldn't look twice at somebody else."
"Somebody else in general or somebody like Kaiba, Joey?" I ask before heading over to where Lily was sitting.
I sit down next to her and watched her draw for a little bit, she had her headphones on but I knew that she was completely aware of my presence. I reach over and slide her headphones of one ear, "You can drop the ice Maiden routine, Angel...Joey realized he messed up."
"Yeah, but what do I do when I realized that I could have handled it better?" She asks pulling the headphones off all the way and looking at me, "All he said was that he was starting to fall in love with me and panic like a deer caught in a hunters sights......What's wrong with me, Duke?"
"Nothing." I reassure her as I slip my arm around her shoulder and she leans her head against me. "Absolutely nothing."
"Bullshit, Devlin. Bullshit."
*A Couple Days Later*
*Lily's POV*
I was sitting in art class distractedly doodling and think about the day before at the beach when Duke came over and sat next to me. I look up and smile at him slightly, "I thought you were trying to get closer to the cute red head this week."
"Is it a crime to want to sit next to my best friend on this beautiful day?"
"What do you want, Devlin?" I ask putting my pencil down and giving him my full attention.
"What makes you think I want something?"
"Call it a lucky guess....Or perhaps it's just because I've known you too long. Now what's up?"
"Well, I was wondering if I could tap into that savvy little brain of yours for something?"
"Oh?"
"Some idea's I have for DDM....If you think you could handle such an intense and complex game that is."
I break into laughter for a few moments, "Smart ass.....You are such a smart ass you know that, Duke."
"Yeah but it got you to smile." he said leaning over and giving me a kiss on the check.
"Yes, it did now go over and sit next to the cute girl before the daggers she's glaring at me actually penetrate my skull, ok?"
Duke flashes me his hundred watt smile and stands up, "Anything for you, Angel."
I watch him go over to the red-head and turn on his charm. I could practically see her melt as he sat next to her, I shake my head and turn my attention back to my notebook when a small stack of papers gets dropped in front of me. Without even looking I move them aside and pick my pencil back up, "Yes, Kaiba?"
"Look those over and get them back to me by the end of the day." He said before heading back to his seat towards the front of the classroom. My curiosity gets the better of me and I look over at the pile and I almost fall off my chair in shock.
They were contracts.
Contracts to be signed by me and given back to Kaiba at the end of the day.
Contracts that said I was now an Kaiba Corp. Employee.
I had gotten the job!
I quickly slide them inside my bag keeping my expression neutral as the teacher comes into the room and announces that today we would be starting to work with oils. I quickly look over at Kaiba as I head over to the easel and notice him smirking at me I turn my attention to the easel in front of me and soon lose myself in working with the smooth vibrant colors and all thoughts of Seto Kaiba and the beach yesterday fled my mind with each stroke of the brush upon canvas. Before I knew it the teacher announced that it was time to start cleaning up but if any of us had a free period next we could stay and work on our paintings since the classroom would be free until next period. Big surprise I was the only one who took him up on the offer, I nod absently to Duke as he leaves promising to meet him and the others for lunch later.
After about half an hour of working on my painting I stretch and decided I was done for the day, I toss a cloth over the canvas before heading over to the sink to wash out my brushes. As I'm cleaning them my mind goes over the events of yesterday...... I can't believe that I kissed Kaiba like that, I thought to myself, I mean yeah it was an amazing kiss and everything but I just don't do stuff like that. I've gone from never having kissed a guy to getting 3 kisses in almost as many days! I blush as I think about how it made me feel then my eyes travel to the window and I sigh loudly. Outside Duke, Joey, Tristan and Yu-Gi were all goofing around with a soccer ball while Tea sat under a nearby tree and watched Yu-Gi with a starry-eyed look on her face. I can't help but chuckle to myself ,"Guys can be so clueless sometimes."
My eyes travel back to Joey and I start biting on my lower lip. He's such a sweet guy, I thought to myself I mean look at how gentle and sweet he's been with me since I showed up here in Domino City. It's just him saying that he was starting to fall in love with me...was just...well...scarey.
I turn from the window just as a snide voice remarked, "Well, well. What have we here girls? Just the slut trying to steal my man from me!"
I see some blonde that I've seen hanging around trying to get close to Kaiba and not having much luck, I had a really bad feeling about this as I headed over to my desk to grab my stuff. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me slut. Stay away from my man or else!"
"Or else what? You'll facial me to death?" I comment as I slide the straps of my bags up onto my shoulder.
She comes up to me and pokes me in the shoulder with a long pink painted fingernail, "Listen, new girl Seto Kaiba is mine so just do yourself a favor and back off."
"You and Kaiba are an item?" I raise an eyebrow as her two friends come up behind me. "I would have thought that he would have more taste then that. Guess that just goes to show you that money can't buy everything." I push past Cheerleader Barbie, "Now if you ladies, and I use the term quite loosely, will excuse me I have to go."
I feel someone grab my ponytail and yank causing me to lose my balance and fall backward. "I don't think so, bitch." Barbie hissed in my ear wrapping her fist even more in my hair. I quickly hook behind her knee with my elbow and pull causing her to lose her balance as well, as she falls I elbow her in the stomach and as she gasps in pain she lets go of my hair letting me jump back to my feet.
"You'll..pay...for...that...bitch!!" she gasps as she stands up.
"Listen, sweetie if you know what's good for you you'll just let me walk out of her and we'll just pretend that none of this EVER happened, ok?"
"Get the whore!!!" she screams at her friends as I make my way towards the door.
"You still have a chance to leave here with what little dignity you have left, you know."
One of her friends grabs my left arm while the other goes for my right, I toss my bags at the one on my left knocking her down and drop while sweeping my right leg out to trip the one on my right side. I hear a sickening crash as my bags hit the floor, "You better hope to hell that wasn't my laptop." I say standing back up. As I do I feel someone grab my hair in a death grip and this time I was yanked back hard enough for my scalp to start burning. I feel something cold and metallic lightly brush against my cheek and move towards the back of my neck, I try to keep from panicking as visions of having my headless corpse found by the next class flash in front of me....Duke always told me that my mouth would be the death of me someday, I just didn't think it would literally be the death of me though.
"By the time I'm done with you, you little tramp no one's gonna look at you ever again! I told you to leave my Seto alone and you just won't listen to me so this is really all your fault."
"Listen, Julia...It is Julia right? I'm sure we can work this out.....You gotta believe me when I say that I have no interest at all in a relationship with anybody.....Least of all, Kaiba." I start talking as visions of blood, mostly mine, splattering the classroom walls dance in my head.
"Shut up!" Julia screams blends with the sound of metal closing in my mind when suddenly the pressure on my scalp was released and I fall backwards on my butt. I look up and see her holding my ponytail in one hand and a pair of scissors in the other, I close my eyes briefly in relief before standing up. She throws my hair down at my feet, "That's step one, slut."
I run my hands over my hair which now just barely brushes my shoulders and look from Julia to the pile of hair at my feet. Even though I was relieved that she hadn't tried to slit my throat yet I was getting really pissed!
"I'll be nice, sweetheart and give you more chance to stop this bullshit once and for all. If you leave this room right now we can just forget that any of this ever happened...Ok?"
"Scared of what I'll do to you, huh?"
"You wish. I've dealt with bigger and badder things then you in my sleep. Now be a good little girl and put down the scissors before I'm forced to take them from you."
"Stay away from my Seto and I won't kick your ass."
"Did the frontal lobotomy come with the pom-poms or was it extra?"
"You high and mighty bitch!"
I roll my eyes, "Please..Like I haven't heard that one before. Can't you at least try and be a little bit more original? You know, the more I think about it the more I realize that Kaiba wouldn't even look twice at someone like you. He strikes me as the type to value brains, something my dear that you seem to be severely lacking."
She goes to punch me but I grab her wrist and twist it hard. She drops to her knees as I twist it just a little bit more, "Another quarter of an inch and you will have what's known as a twist fracture. Now, again I ask are you going to leave here and pretend that none of this ever happened or do I really have to hurt you?" I place my left hand down on the desk next to me and lean down closer to her, "Well?"
She smiles a twisted little smile at me, "Die bitch!" she screams as she drives the scissors she's still holding point first into my hand pinning it to the desk. Agonizing pain shoots through my hand and I twist her wrist as hard and fast as humanly possible. The sickening sound of shattering bone fills the room and is quickly joined by her scream of pain.
"You.....just....made....the....biggest....mistake.....of.....your.....miserable........life." I say through clenched teeth right before I black out from the pain and fall hitting my head on the corner of the desk on my way down.
