Okay, I'm finally writing more! Sorry for the wait. I really do think this story is going somewhere, so I'll try to update more often from now on.

"Well, here we are." Malik gestured dramatically toward a table in the front of the cafeteria. Save for a few people eating silently and not looking up- presumably used to Malik's noise- the table was almost completely empty. I looked up to see Malik grinning expectantly. I managed a small smile.

"I guess I'll sit here, if that's alright." Malik rolled his eyes, the smile still not leaving his face.

"Well, I did bring you here, right? Go ahead; no one ever sits here anyways." Figuring that was as close to an invitation as I would get, I agreed and sat down. It only took a moment, however, for me to notice Malik, who was still looking at me.

"Um, is there something wrong?" Was there something on my face? Or had I said something wrong? Countless possibilities welled up in my mind for why he could be staring at me like this, none of which were positive.

"Were you going to get something to eat?" he asked. "'Course, I'll go with if you are." I almost let out a sigh of relief at his reasonable answer.

Despite the fact that I really wasn't in the mood to eat, I faked another smile and rose from my chair. "Yeah, sure. Let's go." He smiled again and started walking, leading me toward the short line of people waiting for food.

"I always get so hungry in the mornings," he said after a moment of silence. I smiled and nodded, mostly because I didn't know what else to do. He looked me over, narrowing his eyes.

"You know, you really don't say much, do you?" His blunt manner of stating the obvious made my face feel warm with embarrassment.

"I just don't have much to say, I guess." Reaching the front of the line, I grabbed a bowl, a small box of cereal, a spoon, and a carton of milk, putting it all on a green plastic tray. "Besides, I never really had anyone who would listen."

"Malik frowned. "Come on, everyone has something that they want to talk about. Besides, you'll be doing a lot of talking in here, so let's hope you find a topic." Malik's plate was piled with eggs, toast, and fresh fruit, along with a carton of orange juice. I made a mental note of the fact that he didn't take any meat- he was probably a vegetarian. I would ask him later, I decided.

But for that moment, he must have had as little to say as I did, because he was quiet for most of the walk back to the table. I took the chance to glance around the cafeteria. It was small, but there were few enough people that it wasn't too crowded. That was a good thing, considering how I panicked in large crowds. The majority of the people that were there looked to be around my age, probably ranging from their early teens to their early twenties. I assumed that there were different floors for adults and younger children, considering that the floor seemed mainly made up of teens such as me.

We were almost back to our table when Malik paused, noticing someone out of the corner of his eye.

"Hey, Bakura," he called out. "How long have you been behind us?"

"Since you left," Bakura grumbled, clearly annoyed at such an obvious question. Malik, however, didn't seem to pick up on it, showing no reaction whatsoever. We all took our seats, reaching the table with our food. As soon as I had started picking at my bowl of corn flakes, however, Bakura looked at me and spoke.

"So, new kid, what's your deal?" I glanced up.

"What do you mean?"

"Please." Bakura snorted. "You know exactly what I mean. What did you do to get yourself locked up in here? What did they decide was "wrong" with you?" Malik looked up at me as he shoveled food into his mouth, clearly wanting to know the answer as well.

I swallowed. I really wasn't used to getting so much attention, and talking about something like this was so nerve-wracking it made my stomach hurt.

"Um." I cleared my throat and shifted in my seat, trying to find the right words to describe what had happened. "I…"

"Come on," Bakura interrupted. "Spit it out, kid." My face flushed, and my entire body felt hot.

"I, um, well…" my heart was pounding throughout my entire body. Everyone's eyes were on me, and it was so embarrassing, and I was so self conscious, and-

"Hey, Bakura, stop pressuring him. He doesn't have to talk if he doesn't want to…"

"Malik, please. He's a man, isn't he? He can at least tell me what happened to him."

Malik and Bakura continued to fight over me, and whether or not I needed to talk. Meanwhile, my face only grew warmer, and I started shaking. This was bad, if this kept up I would-

"Ryou, are you okay? Because you really don't have to-"

"No, come on, just tell me-"

"…I'm sorry." I stood up from my chair quickly. "I-I'll be right back." I tried running, but only made it a couple steps before falling to my knees and vomiting into my hand.

I hated talking to people for a long amount of time. Maybe it was because I wasn't used to it, but whenever someone tried to pressure me into saying something, I would panic, and this would happen. It was social anxiety, I had been told for years. But either way, I assumed it was the reason for my lack of friends. I wouldn't want to be with someone like me, either.

Malik stood up, eyes wide as he ran toward me.

"H-hey, are you alright? Um, did something happen?"

"…I'm sorry." I was still shaking uncontrollably, and I was rooted to the spot I was in. "I-I'm just like this, that's all." Everyone in our general vicinity was staring at us, and I felt like I might throw up all over again. "I'm so messed up, aren't I. I'm sorry. You didn't do anything, so don't worry."

"Hey…" Malik put a hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry about it. Come on, relax."

The longer I stayed there with Malik calming me down, the easier breathing became, and the less nauseous I felt. His hand on my shoulder felt nice. It was a comforting gesture I had rarely received in my lifetime.

"We're all messed up," Malik said quietly, so only I could hear it. "Why else would we be here, in this place?"

Bakura only stared at us from the table, his eyes cold and unforgiving.

Xxx

Alright, there we go. I managed to get this together in a couple hours, honestly. But I think it's alright. Review, if you want to~