Oops, slightly longer chapter! I just couldn't find the right time to end it :)
Hope Y'all enjoy, and thanks for the reviews and private messages, it's so much fun to hear what you think of the story and where you think it's going!
Love to you all!
~Jehbel
Possession! (feed my only vice)
Confession! (I won't tell you twice)
Decide- (either die for me),
Or give up, any thought you had of being free.
The Nameless- Slipknot
Yugi fiddled with a bit of his unwieldy blonde bangs, trying to smooth it back down with the rest. Glaring at his eclectic hair in the mirror, he wondered for the umpteenth time if he should just cut it. But, then again he reasoned, the hair gave him an additional illusion of height that he did not possess, so he couldn't stay too mad when it refused to cooperate. Taking a step back, Yugi took in his appearance. He was wearing his typical black singlet and leather pants; in fact, he rarely dressed any differently, although he no longer wore the Millennium Puzzle around his neck, and instead kept it propped on his bedside table. He wasn't sure why he held onto the relic, seeing as its original owner no longer relied upon it to exist, but he couldn't bring himself to trash it.
"Yugi! You have a parcel!" the sound of his Grandpa's voice just outside his door made the short teen jump.
"A parcel? What is it Grandpa? Who is it from?" He frowned as he tried to recall if he had ordered any Duel Monsters cards or manga comics lately.
His grandpa came bustling into the room, a sizeable cardboard box in his arms. "Seems to be from your good friend Mr. Kaiba," Grandpa chuckled as he placed the box on the end of Yugi's bed. "Or at least, from Kaiba Corp."
Yugi's face cleared with sudden understanding. "It's merchandise! That's right, I forgot that the winner of the Duel Tournament last month received some free Kaiba Corp. goods!" With renewed energy, Yugi plunged into the box, flicking the packing beads and foam out of the way. With a cry of delight, he pulled out several booster card packs, some shirts, a hat, a poster and even a new state-of-the-art duelling disk. Yugi's grin was huge, his excitement palpable. With a chuckle, Grandpa picked up a piece of paper with writing on it that Yugi had flung away in excitement, placing it back into the box before turning to leave. Suddenly he paused, turning to look at Yugi who was holding one of the new shirts up against his torso, trying to ascertain if it was small enough for his petite frame. "By the way, Yugi, do you have James' birthday party tonight? Should I not bother with making dinner? I suppose you will probably be home a little late."
Yugi paused in his motions. "Yeah, Grandpa, in fact I should probably head off in a minute. I think James will have food at his house, so don't worry about dinner for me. Thanks!" Grandpa flapped his hand in silent acknowledgement and shuffled out of the room, clicking the door shut behind him. Yugi stood silently for a moment, before shaking himself alert again and continuing to dig about in the box. The grin was back on his face. He briefly read the note, chuckling at the generic, impersonal note from Kaiba, noting that the signature was real, and very deeply scratched into the paper. I suppose it probably galled him to have to address this to me again! He thought with amusement at the idea of Kaiba grimly scribbling his name below a note he knew would end up in Yugi's hands.
Glancing back at himself in the mirror, Yugi shrugged and pulled his singlet off. Turning back to the box of merchandise, he pulled out a particularly nice Duel Monsters shirt and pulled it over his head. It was only slightly too big for him and looked quite good, in his opinion. He was particularly pleased that the images on the shirt included the Dark Magician. Taking one last look at his own reflection, Yugi rolled his eyes at his frantic hair before turning to leave. He grabbed a small flat package off his bed on the way and tucked it neatly into the pocket of his pants.
As he wandered down the footpath, smiling to himself, Yugi wondered what the night would entail; James had decided to throw a little party for his birthday. As he had few friends in Domino, Yugi knew it would be a small affair. As well as that, Joey was out of town for the weekend visiting Serenity, and only Tristan and Tea had indicated that they might come. At least we will all know each other, and I haven't seen the gang for a few days now so it'll be great to see Tea and Tristan! Yugi gave a little cheerful skip. He had put a lot of thought into the present for James and hoped that the brunette would like it; he was taking a bit of a risk but was sure he had chosen well for his boyfriend. He couldn't wait to see James' face when he opened it!
At first, Yugi thought he had come to the wrong house. There were a lot of people in the front yard, milling about under lights, drinks in hand. After a moment though, Yugi realised he was indeed at the right house; James had obviously invited more people than Yugi had realised! Walking up the front footpath, Yugi looked about, noting that none of the people were familiar, although they were all roughly his age. Are these friends of James? How come I've never met them before? He was slightly confused, but also please that James' birthday was not going un-celebrated by his friends and family.
Stepping tentatively through the front door, Yugi was assaulted by the loud thumping of popular music and the sound of many voices clambering to be heard over the top of it. Wincing, Yugi wondered why they didn't just turn the music down- then people wouldn't have to shout! There were even more people inside the small lounge room, milling about, flirting and arguing good-naturedly. Yugi peered about, trying to make out James among the crush of people. He was considerably shorter than everybody else and struggled to push himself through; people were oblivious to him and jostled him as they moved about. Finally, puffing slightly, Yugi found himself in a corner of the room away from the rest of the teens. It was a little darker and quieter here and he was glad for the chance to regroup and catch his breath. He supposed he should go find James, but he was not looking forward to tackling the crowded room again! Fishing his phone out of his pocket, Yugi tapped a quick message to James, asking him where he could be found. Once he sent that, Yugi flipped the phone closed and looked up again, yelping slightly as he came face to face with an immensely relieved looking Tea.
"Yugi! Thank goodness I found you! It's so hectic in here! Tea winced slightly at a sudden surge in noise, leaning closer to her shorter friend to be heard. "Listen, this is a mad house. Do you want to go outside? Have you seen James yet?" Yugi nodded his head at the first question, grabbing Tea's hand to avoid losing her in the crowd. "Let's get out of here!" he called to her. Nodding her head, Tea took the lead, sidling past the many people with murmured apologies. Yugi followed closely behind, avoiding eye contact where possible. He had always found large groups intimidating.
Finally, the two emerged, stumbling into the crowded yet far less densely populated back yard. The night air was cool after the steamy lounge room and Yugi took a deep appreciative breath. Tea gently pulled his hand and the two wandered over to a low brick wall running along the back of the garden. Sitting appreciatively, Yugi released Tea's hand and rand his fingers through his wild hair. "Phew, that was not fun! I never knew James had invited so many people!" Yugi huffed. Tea nodded, her eyes scanning the back yard as she replied. "I know! I've been here for over an hour and you're the first person I've seen who I know! I'm already exhausted!" She flapped a hand to cool her face and eyed Yugi beside her. "You're looking very nice tonight Yugi; is that a new shirt?" Yugi sat up straighter so she could make out the design on the shirt, grinning broadly.
"It is! Courtesy of our friend Kaiba! It came in the mail this afternoon; it's from winning the tournament last month." Tea hummed with approval and leaned in closer to look at the smaller images. "oooh look, Yugi! Dark Magician!" With excitement, Tea poked the spot where the character was located, causing Yugi to pull back with a chuckle.
"Careful! That tickles!" Yugi knocked Tea's finger away jokingly, as though it were a live snake. Tea's eyebrows rose mischievously.
"Is that so, Yugi? Interesting… oh my, is that the Dark Magician Girl? Is that a Blue Eyes? Huh? Huh?" Tea laughed as she repeatedly poked Yugi, eliciting a small shriek of laughter from the smaller teen. "Oh, I think I see some more characters over here-" Tea dug her fingers into his ribs, making Yugi gasp and giggle harder, his voice coming in a stutter. "Tea! St-stoh-stop it! Th-that tickles!" Finally Yugi grabbed both Tea's wrists, pulling them back from his body. The two laughed helplessly and perhaps with a little relief; they were both so glad the other was there to keep them company.
"Well, this looks nice and cosy! Yugi! I wondered where you were!" The two jumped with surprise and turned to see James making his way across the garden toward them. He looked great; his hair had been messily plaited to keep it under control, and he wore a tight high necked jacket and black jeans. James was grinning widely at the two, although Yugi had the impression that he was not happy about something; certainly his eyes were not smiling as his mouth was.
Feeling oddly guilty, Yugi released Tea's wrists and jumped up. "James! I was looking for you, I couldn't find you anywhere! There sure are a lot of people here!" Feeling slightly self-conscious, Yugi moved to give James a hug. He felt the brunette stiffen slightly before returning the hug quickly. "Happy Birthday James!"
The taller teen grinned down at Yugi . "Thanks Yugi! I'm glad you could make it. And you, Tea!" He released Yugi, moving forward to give Tea a hug, and the momentary feeling of awkwardness faded. Yugi wondered if he had perhaps been imagining it to begin with.
James moved back to Yugi's side, eyes taking in the crowds of people moving about the yard. "Yeah, I invited a few people I've met down at the track-" James was motorcycle-mad, just like Tristan- "and it sort of snowballed from there. But Yugi, I'm so excited! A couple of my friends from my old school drove down this afternoon, to visit! How great is that? They're going to stay the weekend, but they came down mainly for the party! You have to come meet them!" Flinging an arm around Yugi's shoulders, James steered him away, back toward the party. "We'll be back soon Tea!" James called over his shoulder, picking up the pace and pulling Yugi around the side of the house. Yugi glanced back desperately at Tea, who was half-standing as though she'd made to come with them. She waved at him to indicate that she would be fine where she was, before returning to sitting on the wall.
James was speaking. "Yugi you're gonna love the guys, they're so much fun… and they're dying to meet you!" Yugi felt a small knot of anxiety in his stomach; he hoped that James' friends would like him. "Oh and by the way, Yugi- " here, James stopped, pushing Yugi gently against the side of the house. It was very dark; this side of the house was plunged in shadow- "they know about you and I, but I haven't told them how serious I am about you yet. And I am serious." With that, James leaned forward to give Yugi a gentle kiss. Pulling back, he looked at Yugi in the dim light, reaching up touch the smaller teen's face. "But, I want to keep you to myself for a bit longer, and avoid all the childish jokes they'll come up with, so is it okay if we just keep it on the down-low how serious we are?"
In the darkness, Yugi could not make out James' features very well, but his eyes glowed brightly purple, staring at him with a familiar intensity. Nodding silently, Yugi understood what James meant; he had been reluctant to even share the news with the gang at first, despite their easy acceptance of such relationships- after all, Joey and Kaiba had been a serious couple for a while now. He understood James' desire to keep a part of it precious and secret, and besides, he didn't know James' friends very well yet and would be uncomfortable if they knew every little thing about him.
Taking his nod as agreement, James released Yugi and pulled him in for a hug. "Thanks Yugi, you're a champ. Now c'mon, let's go meet the guys!" With an excited grin, James took Yugi's hand, yanking him along again toward the lighter opening up ahead.
There were more people in the clearing than Yugi had expected; there were at least ten that he could make out, all sitting on the grass or on camp chairs, chatting happily and drinking what looked like alcohol. Before emerging into the light, James released Yugi's hand, moving ahead with his arms spread wide. "My friends! The birthday boy has returned!" the statement was met with hoots and cheers as his friends stood to crowd around him. Nearby, Yugi slowed to a stop, watching as the teens flung away their mostly empty cups and bottles to clasp James on the shoulder or wrap their arms around the scrum that was forming. James was laughing. Finally, he struggled free of the chanting cheering group, extending an arm to Yugi in invitation. The smaller teen shyly stepped forward.
"Guys! This is Yugi Motou- I've told you about him. Yugi, this is the guys. We got Brendan, Yuuchi, Ritso, Damon…" He rapidly shot off a list of names, and Yugi tried to match a face to each. Several guys would nod or wave at their name, but most barely responded, leaving Yugi unsure of who was who. Yugi smiled weakly out at the group as they began to walk away to sit back down in their previous positions. James pulled Yugi down to sit beside him on the ground near to the rest of the gang. Several of the group members immediately turned to each other to engage in a conversation that they had clearly been having before James' interruption, while others wandered over to a nearby cooler to grab out a drink. Yugi could smell beer; clearly someone had got hold of some alcohol. He was a bit awed by these people; they were his and James' age, but seemed so much more mature than he felt. Yugi would never dream of drinking while he was underage.
James leaned across to murmur in Yugi's ear. "Yugi, you want a drink? I'm gonna go get one." Yugi began to shake his head, before changing his mind. "You know what? I will have a drink, thanks James." The brunette grinned at him before launching to his feet and wandering over the cooler to rifle through the ice. With a cry of disgust, he suddenly turned to face the group, shouting "you dogs! You drank all my beer! I'll have to go grab some more from inside now!" he stomped theatrically inside, shaking a fist with mock rage. The group laughed and shouted insults to him as James walked away. Yugi smiled; they were all clearly good friends. He was glad that they had come to visit James and hoped that he could become friends with some of them too. Looking around the group, Yugi noticed that almost everyone was engaged in a conversation or activity. Yugi felt a little awkward sitting by just watching; but he was unsure of how to join in.
Suddenly a slight youth beside him turned to face Yugi; dimly he remembered the boy's name was Ritso. The black-haired teen had a beer in his hand and looked quite merry; Yugi had a feeling it was not his first drink for the night.
"So, you're Yugi, huh? James has told us about you." Several others halted in their conversations slightly to eavesdrop on Yugi's reply.
Yugi gave a friendly smile. "Yeah, that's me! Uh- it was nice of you to come all the way here for James' birthday. I think it means a lot to-" Yugi was interrupted as another teen leaned forward suddenly, pointing at Yugi.
"Hey! You're the card playing guy right? King of the Gamers or whatever?" He sounded quite tipsy, his blurred eyes taking in Yugi's shirt. "You're like, wicked good at card games." A few more people ceased their conversations to look at Yugi with mild interest. It was as though they had been waiting for somebody to speak to Yugi so that they could satisfy their own curiosity about him.
Yugi flushed a little. "Y-yeah, I suppose so. I'm the current International Duel Monsters champion, but you never know what will happen, that could change any day!" He desperately tried to sound confident and just a little bit cool, which was hard when talking about himself, as it embarrassed Yugi to discuss his fame and success.
The drunk teen nodded slowly, before blurting out his next question. "So, is that like, all you do? Play card games? Like, isn't it a kid's game? Or is it like, a proper job you have? How does it work, will you have to stop playing one day to get a real job and like, be all grown up?" Yugi flushed deeper red as a few people tittered and quietly sniggered. His whole face felt hot and he gave a little shiver of embarrassment. Kid's game? Grow up? He had never thought of Duel Monsters that way before; it has always occupied such a large part of his life that he couldn't comprehend being without it. Is this how people saw what he did? Did James feel this way about the game? He had thought that James appreciated and understood what Yugi and his friends did, but if he felt the same way as this group of people, perhaps he didn't get Yugi as well as the short teen thought he did.
Yugi looked down at his lap, mortified. He didn't know how to respond. The silence was beginning to get a bit awkward as the other guys in the group realised that Yugi was likely not going to answer their probing questions. Say something! ANYTHING! Yugi thought frantically to himself. Salvage the situation- maybe if you tell them more about it they'll get it- but what if they laugh? His eyes began to feel a bit hot and prickly.
"Alright, alright! What're we talking about? Yugi-here." James thrust a lukewarm can of beer into Yugi's hand, before pausing to look at the shorter teen properly. Yugi was beet-red, staring unblinkingly at his lap. "What's happening? Ritso?"
The slender boy shook his head quickly. "Not me, Jameo- Hando was askin' him about his Duel Monsters stuff, that's all! Hey Yugi- sorry if he embarrassed you! Hando couldn't win a game to save his life so he's probably just bitter." Ritso laughed as Hando threw a shoe at him, catching the item with ease and flicking it back. James scowled at Hando.
Yugi shook himself out of it, determined to remain positive and friendly. It couldn't hurt to think about these things anyway, he reasoned. "No, it's ok, I'm not embarrassed. I just haven't really thought about it. I don't know if I'll ever have to stop. Right now I'm pretty good at it and I enjoy it, so I'll keep playing."
James nodded in support. "That's right, so shut up Hando. Yugi is like, the best player in the world, that's pretty awesome! Who cares if it's just a card game if he's good, alright? Remember when you wanted to be a fireman? We all go through phases." Some of his friends nodded along in agreement with James.
Yugi felt a lump in his throat. Suddenly, he found himself standing; he could not remember actually moving to get to his feet. James and several of the guys looked up at him. "Yugi? You alright?" James asked with a slight frown.
Yugi looked down at James, then across to the beer in his hand. "Y-yeah, I'm fine. I just decided I don't feel like beer; I might go get a soft drink or something instead." James nodded, turning back to talk to Ritso, and Yugi turned and wandered over to the cooler. Opening the lid, Yugi nestled the can of beer into the ice in the cooler, digging about for something else to drink. There was nothing left in the cooler besides some empty tins, however. Standing upright, Yugi turned to call out to James to ask where he could find something else, but he paused, his mouth open. James was laughing loudly, slapping Ritso on the shoulder, and from where Yugi was standing, the entire group seemed whole, exclusive. Yugi realised he didn't really want to join them again; while he wasn't angry about James' friends probing him with questions, he just felt that he was an outsider here. Perhaps it would be better if he left James to catch up with his old school friends instead of having to be the common point between them and himself.
Yugi pulled out his phone to check the time and was surprised to see he had a message. Flipping the phone open, he saw it was from Tea: she had decided to leave as she couldn't find Tristan and didn't want to wait for Yugi to return. Yugi felt a stab of guilt for leaving Tea alone; checking the time stamp on the message, he saw it had only been sent a minute ago. Yugi had a sudden desire to leave as well; if he walked quickly he might even catch up with Tea and walk with her for a bit.
Yugi flipped his phone shut, looking up decisively. He felt terrible for leaving James' party so soon, but he didn't want to be a burden either. Looking about, Yugi noticed with a lurch that the group had gotten to their feet and begun to move off; he could see James at the front, his arm around another fellow, laughing along with something they'd said. He did not look back.
Yugi's resolve hardened. James would be fine; he looked happy socialising with his school friends and Yugi would send him an apology message tomorrow for leaving the party so early. Turning, Yugi made his way out of the front yard and turned for home, his hands in his pockets. While he knew better than to take it personally, James' friends had given him a lot to think about with their questions and remarks. Yugi was full of doubt. Do I really have to give up Duel Monsters one day? Is that what I'll have to do if I want to be with James? Yugi slowed to a stop at this new thought. Can I give up Duel Monsters if that's what is required to stay with James? Lately I haven't been enjoying it as much- maybe I only played it because Yam... because my old partner enjoyed it. Maybe if I stop duelling, I will be able to forget all about him for good. Yugi looked up at the sky, the thoughts twisting throughout his head, his heart aching as his thoughts tripped dangerously close to his Other, who he had tried so hard to forget about. None of James' friends play Duel Monsters, and they seemed happy enough. Perhaps if I put more energy into making friends with them and learning about life outside of Duel Monsters, I'll be happy like them too?
Yugi began to walk again, his head down. The design on his shirt caught his eye, and he looked at the upside-down image of Dark Magician as he walked. Suddenly, the picture seemed so childish to him. Reaching around, He pulled the small silver wrapped gift from his back pocket, suddenly immensely glad that he had not had a chance to give it to James. He had spent the last week slowly building a deck for James, with the intention of teaching him to play Duel Monsters. He had chosen characters that he thought would appeal to James- the deck had a lot of mechanical and robotic cards in it. Yugi had been so proud of his effort, but now he was realising what a selfish gift it was; he had simply been trying to press James into being someone he was not- a replacement for the partner he'd lost. Yugi felt ashamed at himself for preparing such a thoughtless present, and decided to go and buy James a proper gift the next morning. Pausing by a nearby rubbish bin, Yugi paused, his hand hovering over the open bin, clutching the silver packet. He was loathe to discard the cards he had so carefully collected for James, but he didn't want them if they weren't going to go to his boyfriend.
Get a grip, fool. They're just crappy cards!
With a scowl, Yugi opened his hand and watched as the silver package fell into the trash with a hollow thunk.
It's time to move on.