I can't believe it….I have….*blinks repeatedly* reviews…I have reviews! *dances around the room* thank you so much to all those of you who took the time to post your comments and opinions…you guys rule *starts bouncing up and down on bed* ok, it's time for a mood change…it's time…for some serious angst...:)
Joey's POV
As he headed back to the kitchen, Joey was feeling positively dumbfounded. Willing to admit he wasn't exactly the brightest crayon in the box, confusion was almost a natural state for Joey. However, that didn't make this painful confusion any less disconcerting.
He had this terrible feeling that time was running out, even more so than that time Marik had chained him and Yugi to an anchor, informing them that they would be pulled down to the depths of the ocean when the timer ran out. In fact, though both instances had resulted in similar feelings of confusion and dread, this time the emotions he experienced seemed to have been intensified at least tenfold.
At least that other time he knew what he had to do….kind of. He knew that his life points dropping to zero would release Yugi's key and vice versa. Now, however… he hadn't a clue. If he didn't act quickly he was going to loose something incredibly important to him but the thing was…what was it? What could possibly be more important that the life of his best friend? Then his own life?
Kaiba's POV
So far so good. Kaiba had never really thought about the way women perceived him. True, he never let his body lose its lean, muscled form but still, that was only so he could intimidate his foes and inferiors…and the occasional Mutt. Before he knew it he was once again picturing Joey's face. In spite of all that separated them, (wealth, talent and position, to state but a few) Joey would never deign to show the fear that seemed to emanate from nearly all those that came into contact with the might Seto Kaiba. With the possible exception of Mokuba, of course.
Ahhh! That was just great. Now he was back to thinking about that tail-wagging, slang-using, hyperactive, low-ranking, scruffy looking, poor duelling, gorgeous looking mutt. NO! Righteous Obelisk! There was no way on earth that he was going to let that third-rate duelist contaminate his thoughts any more this evening. That was his new challenge. And Seto Kaiba was yet to fail at a challenge.
Joey's POV
For the third time that hour, Joey adjusted his cramped position in the pantry and sighed heavily. When Alice had spilled the scorching oil over her left hand and had been forced to go home, well, Joey had found it difficult to contain his jubilation.
Sure, he felt bad for her, after all, she wasn't that bad when he turned up on time, didn't spill the orders, refrained from crashing into other staff members and remembered to conduct himself with the necessary decorum. Ok. Alice would have been ok if Joey ever managed to do those things. Which he didn't. However, Alice leaving meant one thing. Escape.
However, though he might have been able to escape from the CEO's corporeal form, his voice, his smirk and his image remained engrained in Joey's mind. He tried to think of something else, anything else, but failed. Repeatedly. By the end of the hour Joey had made up his mind.
By the end of the hour he realised that the something that was bothering him wasn't the something he told himself was bothering him. If that made any sense. It wasn't the name-calling that had made him retreat to the pantry and hide in the coldest, cobwebbiest corner – it was the civil yet indifferent manner with which he had been treated by Kaiba. There was something else too, something that had nothing to do with Kaiba's rudeness and everything to do with the gorgeous blonde sitting beside him. What was it?
Ahhhh….what was wrong with him? Why was he obsessing over that rich jerk? Surely, he didn't enjoy being pelted with insults from that limo-driving, money-loaded, over tidy, too compulsive, super snobby, gorgeous bodied, smart-alec man? Surely, he wasn't that masochistic? Was he? There was only one way to confront this mystery.
With his idiosyncratic look of fierce determination written all over his face, he turned the handle of the pantry door… just in time for desert…
Kaiba's POV
The limo-driving smart alec in question was, at this moment, engaged in a fierce staring contest with a gravy boat. He was furious? Make that absolutely livid. And the worst part? He didn't know why.
Nevertheless, at least he could stop flirting with that vapid blonde woman beside him. Her bright green eyes had initially seemed pretty intelligent but honestly, he now realised there wasn't a thought in that pretty yellow head of hers. Really, at least he replied when he was spoken to – or at least inclined his head, a little. This woman just stared at him with a blank look on her face that seemed to scream "Not interested." In fact, it looked like she was watching an extremely boring documentary.
After Joey had disappeared his evening had literally melted into mind-numbing monotony. How dare that mutt stand him up like that! No one treated a Kaiba that way. No one…
"Have you gentlemen decided on ya deserts yet?"
Kaiba shot a poisonous glare at the waiter. How dare he interrupt his train of thought like that? Especially when he was just warming to his theme! It was then that dreadful recognition dawned on him and acrimony melted to horror, which warmed to ecstasy which, after being identified by a petrified Kaiba, promptly froze into disdain. However, he still couldn't hold back the comment on the tip of his tongue.
"Ah, return of the puppy. What happened to you? I thought you must have curled up in the corner of the kitchen and gone to sleep. Were you asleep little puppy? Or perhaps you were looking for scraps underneath the tables? Or maybe you were being taken on a walk so you could do your business. Which was it, little pup?"
For some strange reason, Kaiba felt himself warming up inside, despite the contemptuous look he had plastered on his face. And, even stranger, the mutt appeared to be smiling, beaming in fact and, worse still, instead of aggravating Kaiba, it was…warming him, somehow…
NO! This had gone far enough. After shooting Joey a look of pure loathing and repulsion, he reached out for the woman next to him, dragged her lips towards his and kissed her with all the passion and emotion that was currently bubbling inside of him. Funnily enough it wasn't too difficult; providing he focused on her hair, that was. By the time he allowed himself to surface for air, Joey had turned tail and fled and, within moments, another waiter came to take their orders. He'd failed. For the first time in his life.
Joey's POV
Joey was a wreck. He hadn't solved the mystery he had set out to solve. Instead he had ended up looking like an idiot in front of a table of distinguished businessmen and, worst of all, in front of Kaiba. He was a complete failure.
Bursting back into the kitchen, he holed himself up in pantry and resigned himself to an hour dedicated to lashings of self-pity and self-loathing. Joey sighed; he was going to be cold in more ways than one when he eventually left this little pantry.
He wished he could leave straight away but the card scanner was electronic, meaning it recorded the time the card was swiped, meaning there was no way he could keep his job if he attempted to leave just one minute before midnight, the time when the restaurant closed for the night. One hour alone to contemplate his thoughts. Joey started shivering at the very prospect.
Kaiba's POV
Kaiba was awash was guilt, anger, resentment, grief and all sorts of emotions he couldn't even begin to comprehend. Not that he was a stranger to pain, but he certainly hadn't experienced such intense pain when there was no apparent cause.
As much as he had desired to fall in love with the blonde beauty next to him, he had written her off as a lost cause following the disastrous consequences of…the kiss. True, she hadn't exactly expressed an interest in him before but, come on, he was the all powerful, all knowing, all seeing Seto Kaiba for crying out loud, was there anyone in the world who didn't want a piece of him? Apparently so.
Pulling away from the woman's bright red lips the moment the mutt was out of sight, he had expected her eyes to bulge with disbelief at the great honour which had been bestowed upon her. But nothing. She simply continued to act as if nothing at all had happened. As if Kaiba hadn't wasted his first kiss on her ungrateful, ridiculously red lips. Damn that woman, she clearly wouldn't recognise quality if it tapped her on the shoulder – or kissed her on the lips.
Then again, perhaps she was just a cold fish. After all, he hadn't registered a single expression displayed on her face the entire evening. Thank goodness the evening was almost over. Then he would finally be able to put to the whole calamitous evening behind him – along with the memory of this strangely inscrutable woman with her too-red lipstick cat-like green eyes.
As the evening drew slowly to a close, Kaiba looked towards the exit with mixed feelings. The moment he stepped outside, his limo would meet him and rapidly whisk him away from the remnants of his shattered evening. Which was exactly what he desired. Wasn't it?
Emma Charmer's POV
Operation Sycophant, full speed ahead. Tonight had certainly been an eventful evening – no doubt about it! What a good thing she had decided to come. After all, had she remained at home, she might have lost him forever to that extremely dull, ridiculously pompous CEO she had been seated next to for the entire evening.
When Emma had first spied Joey not six weeks ago, she was convinced it was love at first sight. The way his blonde hair and blown over his warm honey eyes had made her stone heart melt and eventually led to the drawing up of Operation Sycophant – her plan to snare Joey for herself.
It had started with her poisoning Joey's relationship with Mai. It was really too easy. Not only could she use the fact that they had only just started dating but she was also able to draw on Mai's many insecurities as well as her lingering feelings for Valon. Phase 1 Complete.
Nevertheless, it was Joey's completely unrealised feelings for Kaiba which had posed the greatest problem for her. Firstly they were buried so deep that they required her to strain her mind-reading skills to their limit in order to unearth them and secondly, they were extremely temperamental and therefore difficult to understand. However, one thing had become blatantly apparent to Emma, the apprentice magician. Kaiba had to be exterminated from Joey's mind once and for all if anyone else was to stand a chance with him.
As a result, Emma had taken up the arduous task of ensuring she present every time they met, each time fully prepared to take the necessary measures to prevent any possibly tender moments. Her constant presence could have threatened her need for concealment, had they not been quite so obsessed about each other. Or, to be more precise, if they hadn't been so intent on pelting each other with every insult known to man.
Oh, and if she hadn't mastered the perception charm – a tricky little spell which stopped people from noticing her unless they knew what they were looking for or unless she made herself noticeable through a sudden noise or gesture. As a result, she really didn't know how Kaiba had managed to escape it. Strange.
Nevertheless, she was feeling too elated to work out the mystery at the moment. Her presence tonight had essentially led Kaiba giving up on his hidden feelings for Joey being reduced to a state of complete vulnerability and feeling in desperate need of comfort. Time to make her move and administer to her puppy some much needed TLC.
Erm, yeeeh, about the action I promised, well….*hides behind a pillow* …I'm so sorry! I really did intend to move it along a bit faster but Kaiba and Joey are such great characters I really wanted to do their psyches justice. Not to mention the fact that I also had to start setting up the plot. I know it may seem bothersome at the moment but please try and refrain from getting too impatient. Just think, the better the set up, the more exciting and believable the conclusion (and middle, of course;)
Reviews will, as always, be extremely appreciated. Comments, criticism (mild ones…), opinions etc. All received with joy, enthusiasm and gratitude… :D xx