Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N: You'll notice things are slowly but steadily occurring. I'm hoping you all enjoy this chapter and know I have more in store for my lovely readers. As always, please leave a comment. It really does make me happy seeing all your thoughts and revelations.

Tea made her way toward her dorm room, walking in slowly before laying her things on her floor and flopping her tired body on her bed. She closed her eyes sighing deeply. She wasn't sure how she was going to let James know she wasn't interested in him in that way without hurting him. Although he did irk her sometimes, he was her friend and she did care for him.

She flipped herself over groaning, why did the man she like completely look past her, while the one she didn't care for couldn't stand to be away from her. It was all so confusing and unfair to the brunette. Her mind thought back to the last time she spoke to Atem before Kiya came into his life. After that he virtually ignored her phone calls and texts, eventually making her give up all together. Yugi was the only one to give her updates of his life.

She sighed once more before closing her eyes, praying she ends her night with a dreamless slumber.

The next day Tea continued to go to her regularly scheduled dance classes before meeting Kaya at the end of her school day to practice. She changed into a different leotard and made her way toward the room her and Kaya shared. She nonchalantly opened the door and met eyes with her supposed dance partner.

"Kaya?" she asked confused. She was usually late to their practices which caused Tea to warm up by herself.

"Problem Tea?" she sneered with hands held toward her hips.

"Not at all." Tea sighed ignoring the attitude in Kaya's voice. She didn't have the energy to fight with her today. She then began to warm up while watching Kaya dance. She noted her movement was much more fluid and erratic, almost perfectly embodying the black swan.

"Um wow Kaya, did you actually take my advice yesterday?"

The girl smirked. "Oh please Tea, your advice is meaningless. I'm just a better dancer than you and clearly a harder worker."

Tea glared at Kaya menacingly. Why was she always trying to make herself seem better than everyone else? Was she seriously this insecure?

"Good for you." She spoke through gritted teeth.

Tea then began to practice the scene in which she was being turned into a swan by the evil sorcerer. Although it would have been immense help if James was there to guide her with her movements, she continued to portray the dance the best she could. While practicing she realized she hadn't seen James all day. He was in almost all of her dance classes since they both had to practice together for the ballet considering their roles worked together. She was so lost in her thoughts and only now realized the replacement they had used for James' part during practice earlier. She didn't think it was strange until now, considering he had never missed a single practice since she'd known him. He would even show up when he was sick much to the dismay of her various teachers.

"Hey Kaya have you seen James today?" she asked the spinning girl next to her.

Kaya's eyes suddenly got wide and she stopped spinning.

"Of course not, why would I have seen him." She scoffed a look a worry flashing behind her eyes. Tea noted the change of expression leaving as quickly as it came.

"What's wrong Kaya? Is there something you're not telling me?" she asked more forcefully.

"No Tea, mind your own business and get back to dancing. Miss G still hasn't come in to see how much we've improved and you still need a lot of work done." She stated sharply.

Tea looked at the dancer beside her with questionable eyes. She knew Kaya was lying to her.

"Stop staring at me and get to work." Kaya sneered at Tea who then looked away.

It didn't matter if Kaya didn't tell her today, she would find out Saturday whatever she and James were hiding.

Practice had gone surprisingly well today. Kaya had actually given Tea some helpful advice even going as far to change some positions she thought made Tea's dancing look less fluid.

Although Tea was put in a good mood because Kaya was actually acting like a person, she couldn't shake the feeling that this had something to do with James.

"Good practice today Kaya, I hope we can dance like this for the coming weeks before the show."

Kaya rolled her eyes at her partner.

"Whatever, I just don't want to discredit the reputation of our school because they let dancers like you in."

Tea glared at her.

"What's that supposed to mean."

"Nothing." She waved her arm at Tea and left the room.

Tea almost felt a growl come to her lips. Kaya really was a bitch all the time.

She quickly grabbed her bag and exited the room with an annoyed look on her face. It seemed she always had an aggravated look plastered on her face these days.

She made her way down the hall toward the elevators when she heard the sound of soft crying.

"Mom please, I'm trying my best. I'm the second lead!" the weak voice spoke stunning Tea. She recognized it as Kaya's and Tea quickly stopped in her tracks.

She knew it was wrong to eavesdrop on someone else's conversation but this was Kaya, and the cold hearted girl was actually crying. This was a revelation in its self to Tea.

Kaya was quiet for a moment probably listening to whatever her mother was saying to her on the other end of the phone call.

"She's not better than me." Kaya suddenly growled. "She's an annoying ugly twit. She slept with Professor Hans that's why she got the part." She stated flatly.

Tea could feel the angry heat entering her body. How dare she state such lies to her own mother.

Suddenly, she heard a gasp following Kaya's previous words.

"What do you mean I should sleep with him too? Why would you suggest such a degrading thing to do mother?" Kaya sounded so hurt and astonished Tea almost felt sympathetic. Damn her mother was almost as crazy as her, she thought.

"I will do exceptionally well on opening night whether you're there or not. I don't need to give myself away when I already have talent. I'll get chosen to work for a company in no time and you'll regret ever speaking those words to me." She finished before ending the call.

Tea heard a sudden sob escape Kaya's lips. Never once had Tea seen Kaya look so vulnerable as she peered out of the wall hiding her body. The red heads face was astonishingly pink, with tear marks drawn along her cheeks. Her eyes were covered by her hair and Tea watched as she slowly breathed in and out before wiping her face and spinning around to press the elevator button. While waiting for the doors, Tea watched her open her bag to take out some makeup and dabbed at her face getting rid of any traces of the breakdown held moments before.

The elevator doors then suddenly opened and Kaya walked in with her usual impassive face. Had Tea not just seen everything that went down she would have never known it happened.

The elevator doors closed and Tea was finally in the clear, making her own way toward the elevator. She pressed the button and waited in deep thought.

So maybe this was why Kaya was the way she is, she thought, because her mother is even more terrible than her. The brunette couldn't help but feel bad for her adversary, she was starting to understand why Kaya was the way she is. Although this still didn't excuse some of her actions, it finally gave Tea a reason as to why she hated her so much.

Stepping into the elevator she couldn't help but think what Kaya's life at home was like. She knew Kaya came from a wealthy background with her father being a stock broker and her mother the chairwoman at a major New York City hospital. Her family was an important one in the city and Tea always thought her life was perfect because she had the means to make it so. She was now realizing just how wrong she was.

After exiting the elevator, Tea decided to head towards Central Park to take a walk and clear her head. Too many things were stressing her out and she need a place to forget where she was. Before leaving outside, she traded her dance shoes for some warm boots and entered the busy Manhattan streets, walking towards west 66th street. Her body was met with the brisk winter air making her toes curl and face red. She really should have changed into something warmer before leaving.

She continued on, seeing her warm breath dissolve into nothingness and decided on her way back she would get some coffee. Soon she reached the now bare Central park. Many of the leaves on the trees had shed forming mounds of shrubberies around the base of their trunks and the surrounding area. Her boots crunched against the now brown pavement filled with the remnants of fall. Snow had yet to fall upon the city and it was something she was anticipating greatly. She loved the small white fluffs that fell from the sky and how it cascaded upon all the nooks and crannies of her beloved metropolis making it look like a heaven of sorts.

Her walk into the park was quiet as the sun was setting and many people had long gone home trying to escape the harsh cold. She certainly looked out of place in her thick winter coat only covering her leotard leaving her legs bare and pink. Her limbs were only covered by thin pink tights and she could feel the cold stinging at them but she ignored the sensation. The cold never bothered her too much. She finally made her way toward the small pond she had found one summer afternoon exploring the park. It usually held ducks and swans swimming in circles with flowers surrounding the bowl of water and grass surrounding the trees that encircled the small area. She noticed that not too many people came her and was happy to have found her own secret little space. The pond was now a frozen white as Tea observed the adjoining area. The grass and flowers had mainly died except for a few patches here and there clinging to the hope of spring coming. She made her way toward the frozen pond, poking the solid water with her finger. She wondered if the ice was thick enough for her to ice skate. She then sat along the shore, bringing her knees up toward herself in an attempt to warm them. She looked up seeing an incredible view of the massive skyscrapers adorning the skies of Manhattan. Her eyes moved from the massive structures to the giant white orb in the sky. The moon had just come out and Tea could make out small twinkling stars slowly decorating the evening sky. Although seeing the stars was hard in a city as bright as New York, Tea could make them out perfectly tonight. It almost seemed as though they were smiling down at her. Tea closed her eyes, suddenly not feeling so cold. She hadn't felt this relaxed in a while and wanted to escape into this feeling for as long as she could. Her mind wasn't filled with thoughts of anyone. Kaya, James, Atem, Yugi, her parents and anyone else were long gone as her attention moved to blissful nothingness. She reveled in this moment, a small part of her hoping she never had to wake up to deal with her complicated life.

While sitting in her frozen wonderland, she abruptly heard crunching footsteps. She quickly looked around to see who was coming. This part of the park wasn't very well known and it was now pretty late so she wasn't sure whoever was approaching would be friendly. Just to be on the safe side she grabbed a nearby rock, hiding it in her coat pocket. She'd rather be safe than sorry. Soon the figure began making its way toward her pond. She squinted in the dark, her eyes trying to make out who the person was.

Slowly her eyes began to focus on the unruly hair of the unknown being, noting the spikes and realization hit her as he made his way into the moonlight.

"Atem." She said with complete surprise.

"Tea?" he asked, his deep voice catching her off guard once more.

"Yes it's me." She replied. "What are you doing here? How did you find this place?"

He walked toward her a smile etching across his face.

"I wanted to go for a walk and clear my mind." He simply stated. She nodded understanding him.

"But how did you come across this area? It's kind of hidden, not many people know about it."

She asked again as he quietly sat beside her.

"I don't know, I was walking along the trail and saw a small pathway leading towards this place. Something made me want to go." He replied with a shrug.

She looked away from his face, staring across the pond. Out of all the places to go in Central Park he somehow found her safe place. She wasn't sure if she was angry or ecstatic that he was with her right now.

"Oh well your gut led you to a beautiful little piece of this massive jungle." She decided to say with a smile. He looked around observing his surroundings.

"It is kind of magical, you can actually see the stars from here."

She nodded agreeing.

They stayed relatively quiet for a moment before he spoke again.

"I hope you're not still angry with me about what happened after our dinner."

Tea looked over at him surprised he was still thinking about that. She was sure he had forgotten about it.

"No I'm not. I think I may have overreacted a bit." She said rather sheepishly feeling the warmth enter her cheeks.

She heard him chuckle lowly.

"Maybe I was a bit invasive of something I didn't fully understand." He replied thoughtfully.

She looked at him with a smile. "It's okay I won't beat you up over it."

He smirked. "You left me grappling in fear my dear." His eyes held that same wicked gleam from their dinner bringing about a feeling in Tea she had felt so long ago. She didn't think this feeling would ever come back.

"I've been told I'm a very intimidating person."

"You certainly make my knees bend." He replied with a small laugh.

Tea felt herself having to catch her breath. Was he actually flirting with her?

She put her hands in her coat pocket trying to warm her cold fingers and felt the cold rock she had stuffed in earlier. She tried to throw it out as inconspicuously as possible but Atem saw her toss it from the corner of his eye.

"What is that?" he asked.

"Uhh see I thought you might have been someone not so friendly so just to be safe I took some precautions."

"So if you hadn't realized it was me and decided to be brash about your decision, you have thrown it at me?" he asked rather humorously.

"Probably." She mumbled.

He let out another jolt of laughter and Tea couldn't help but join in. Both of them smiling with glee, sat by the frozen pond enjoying each other's company.

"This is nice." Atem finally stated. "It feels like how it was before on our many adventures."

His words caught Tea off guard. She wasn't sure what to say, she didn't think he even thought about all that, or even about her. She figured his mind was so consumed with Kiya he wouldn't remember the countless times he saved her and the many battles she faced with him, right by his side, cheering him on. She didn't think it mattered to him anymore.

"You still remember those?" she asked.

"Of course, you were once a big part of my life Tea."

Once, the words stung no matter the innocence behind them.

"Yeah times change. You left just as suddenly as I did." She said meekly.

Atem looked at her. "I came back, you never did."

Another shot of pain ran through her heart. She could feel his gaze burning right through her but she refused to look at him and stare into his fiery eyes.

"Do you think it would have been different –" his voice was cut off by a cellphone going off.

Atem reached for his pocket taking out the device. Tea looked over at him seeing the apparent frown on his face. He sighed and finally answered.

"Hello Kiya." He simply stated.

It was then Tea got up and went to walk away. She wasn't sure what his question would lead to but she knew the moment was ruined by her, again.

As she went to leave she felt a warm hand grab hers. She looked to see Atem looking at her with pleading eyes.

"Kiya I'm in the middle of something, I'll call you back once I get home."

She heard the soft voice of his lover say I love you to Atem who responded with a click of his phone. Why didn't he say it back, she wondered.

"Wait Tea would you like to get some coffee to warm up?" he asked. She thought she saw an almost desperate look in his eyes.

"I don't know Atem, I have dance practice tomorrow and opening night is coming up. I should really get home and rest."

"I won't keep you for long. Don't make me kidnap you." He teased with a smile.

She looked at him, this time meeting his soft gaze. Blue met red and suddenly she couldn't let go of his stare. He was enchanting and she felt herself caught under one of his spells. He looked at her with such tenderness how could she possibly say no.

"Fine."