Paladin: Well, it's been awhile. Sorry for the wait. Hope everyone had a good Christmas. I'm going to cut this one a bit short. My arms are killing me. It's tough trying to become a Guitar Hero.

One Day

Chapter Five

I Just Wanted

Yugi reached up shyly, running his finger tips down Yami's jaw. "That's awful." He whispered. Yami chuckled.

"It's not that bad." Yugi looked up. Did he look a little hopeful? "Yugi, now that…Seto and I aren't together, would you want to…" Yami threw his head back and took a breath. Why was he stuttering? He felt so nervous for some reason. It felt like he had swallowed a handful of butterflies since he had grabbed Yugi and brought him outside so they could be alone.

Yugi, luckily, knew what he meant and decided to take some pressure off him. He already knew what he was going to say anyway.

"Be your new boyfriend?" Yami ginned and nodded, and was totally shocked when Yugi shook his head.

"No." He said quickly, and walked away.

Just like that.

What?

-----

Yami came stalking across the schoolyard towards Bakura who was leaning up against the big oak tree swatting at a bee half-heartedly. It looked like Ryou, who was sitting on one of the tree's roots, was trying to quiz him on something.

"What is the difference between an acid and a base?" Ryou asked as Yami stopped in front of them.

"Uh, one of them burns."

"You're so smart." Ryou said dully, closing his book and looking up.

"Did you tell him?" Yami demanded, crossing his arms.

Bakura swatted the bee lazily, looking at him from the corner of his eye. "Huh?"

"You know what I mean. Did you tell him about the dare?"

"No," Bakura frowned. "Did you?" he asked Ryou, who flushed.

"No. Why?"

"He knows I broke up with Seto, but he still turns me down."

"Maybe you should just forget it for a while."

"You don't understand."

"I don't, Yami, but I don't think I'm the only one." Yami rolled his eyes and started to walk away. "Just be careful!" Ryou called after him.

They watched Yami walk away with his head down.

"You shouldn't be so hard on him." Bakura said slowly. Ryou looked up at him sideways.

"I just have a bad feeling."

"Maybe, but at least Yami is pretty much through with Seto right?"

Suddenly the bee got its revenge on Bakura and stung him. He yelped and managed to trip on the tree roots, falling flat on his back. Ryou just sighed and shook his head.

He wasn't so sure.

-----

"Go away."

Yami couldn't believe who was on his doorstep.

"Please just hear me out for a moment?"

The very fact that he was here coupled with the 'please' thrown in his request brought Yami outside. He closed the door on his mother's voice yelling at him and sat down next to Seto Kaiba on the step.

"What did you want to say?" Yami asked quietly.

"I was going to tell you, I promise I was. I wish you could have found out another way."

Yami stared at him.

"I haven't been totally honest with you either." Seto raised an eyebrow and suddenly Yami was nervous again. "I've sort of started to fall for someone else."

Yami could see a hardness in Seto's eyes suddenly that he had never noticed before. He seemed to struggle for a moment, then he said, "When?"

"A few weeks ago."

"I should have known." There was quiet for a while, then they both smiled.

"We are pathetic, aren't we?" Yami asked, chuckling at his situation.

"Very." Seto agreed. "This is probably better for both of us."

"Yeah."

They each said a quick goodbye, and Yami watched as Seto walked away. As soon as he turned the corner, Yami slammed his fist into the concrete next him, cursed under his breath, and then burst into tears.

-----

"Hey, Yugi, are you alright?"

Yugi smiled brightly. He was the picture of happiness. "Yes, I'm fine."

He could tell it was just a charade. Not wanting to pry, however, he let Yugi run by him and up the stairs to his room.

'Why did you turn Yami down? You like him don't you? You want to get to know him. You are attracted to him. So why?'

Yugi fell across his bed, closing his eyes and groaning. A headache had started behind his eyes and wasn't getting better. All he wanted to do was go to sleep. Instead, he pushed himself up and went to spend some time with his grandfather. Maybe he could find something to take his mind off Yami.

-----

"I feel bad for Yami." Ryou murmured from beneath the blankets. Bakura pressed his forehead into the cool glass of the window.

"Yeah, I know. Why do you think Yugi refuses to have anything to do with Yami? He obviously likes him."

"Yugi is shy." Ryou replied, pushing back the blanket from his face so he could see his lover silhouetted in the window. "He doesn't know how to take Yami's attention."

Bakura leaned back. "I don't get it."

-----

The next day, Yugi made the decision to skip school easily. He never even thought twice about it. Waking to the sun in his eyes, and his alarm clock ringing he decided he just didn't feel like bothering with it today. It was Friday, after all. So he shut off his clock and rolled over, throwing his blanket over his head.

----

Yami felt like he had been hit in the head with a brick. He touched his temple gently as he climbed out of his own bed for the first time in about a month.

'Has it really been that long since I've slept in my own house?'

Between Seto and Bakura, it was possible. Yami noticed he felt lighter, like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. It was almost as if he was relieved about something. He glanced at the clock.

It was almost six a.m. Yami struggled to remember what day it was, found he didn't really care, and went to shower.

Paladin: Okay, not much happens. This chapter was supposed to be two pages longer, but I decided just now I really don't like the scene in them and want to change it. So, till next chapter, thanks!