Sorry for my delay in posting, I have been very busy lately! But today is my birthday (go me), and I have some free time, so here is another, shorter, chapter. I hope to have a longer one completed soon.

Let me know what you think! I have finally decided upon the ending for this story and so now all that is left is to write the chapters. hopefully this means I will submit them a bit faster than usual now.

As always, I welcome and in fact look forward to your reviews, questions, comments and private messages.

~Jehbel

"Come on, you're always so alone. Join us!"

The young woman gestured excitedly, trying to draw the mysterious teen to her side. She had long wavy brown hair and beautifully rich hazel eyes; those eyes now drank in the sight of the eclectic haired boy in front of her. He always sat at the same table in this café, slowly sipping at coffee and staring silently out the window at the passing pedestrians. It had been this way for weeks.

They had only been on speaking terms for the past fortnight; it had taken the girl no small amount of courage to walk over and strike up a conversation. The teen had an air of great aloofness and strangeness to him; besides his wild hair and unusual taste in clothes, he was very good looking in a serious way and his mysterious nature intrigued her. When she had finally spoken to him, she had been excited to learn that he was both polite and attentive in conversations, if slightly reserved. His voice was deep and rich, somehow exotic despite his lack of an accent.

He was always alone; watching him furtively each day, the girl noticed that he never brought anybody with him to the café. He never brought books, or newspapers, not even a puzzle or game to keep him entertained. He merely sat, and watched, and drank his coffee. Every day. She was fascinated by him; what was his story? Where did he come from, so suddenly? And why did she distinctly feel as though he was sad and lonely to his very core?

The teen looked up at her, a small smile flickering across his stoic features. She had not startled him, as such; more so she suddenly felt with a surge of unease that he had never even realised she was standing there. So caught up was he in his thoughts and silent watchfulness.

Shaking his head gently, the teen graced her with a more genuine smile before turning to stare out the window again. "I thank you for inviting me, but I must decline."

The young woman swallowed a faint feeling of disappointment, but not surprise; she had asked the boy the same question every day this week, inviting him to join her and her girlfriends for brunch, and had been gently but resolutely rebuffed every time. Grinning wryly, the girl replied, "I see. Another important appointment that you can't miss, huh?" This was the excuse that he had given her every time she extended her invitation.

The eclectic-haired boy turned, amusement written across his face. "Indeed." Dipping his head in a silent nod of thanks, as well as dismissal, he picked up his coffee and took a small sip, his eyes moving again to stare blankly at the passers-by outside.

With a huff, the girl shook her head and turned to walk back to her friends, waiting with nervous anticipation by the counter. They too thought this odd stranger was very attractive and intriguing. Suddenly, in a bold move that set her stomach fluttering with excitement and nerves, the brown-haired girl stopped, turned, and reached out to place a small hand on his shoulder. With a jolt of surprise, the boy slowly turned his head again to meet her eye.

"I just- I can't help but feel that you are maybe… lonely? And, well, that makes me sad. You don't need to be alone, so if you ever feel up to it… join us, 'kay?" Her face flushed pinkly as she spoke, her hazel eyes locked on his own deep amethyst. She had never seen eyes like his before.

The boy smiled at her, however the expression did not extend to his eyes. To her, they seemed full of weariness, sadness, and perhaps a little longing. "Thank you. I will remember." Nodding in response, the girl turned and made her way slowly out of the café, her friends giggling and crowding around her, asking for details about their conversation, and the boy in general.

The teen reclined, his eyes taking in everything and nothing at once, the girl and her friends already fading from his mind as his thoughts took him out the café, that town, and far away, where his beloved was somewhere living, breathing and managing, without him.

Things were uneasy at school.

Since the night of their argument, Joey and Yugi had been quietly yet noticeably distant. Yugi did not know how to breach this gap between them; while he knew that the blonde had sincerely been trying to help Yugi, and had been concerned over his decision to leave Duel Monsters, Yugi could not forget Joey's thinly veiled criticisms of James, and his broken promise to return to talk with Yugi; the fact that the smaller teen had not wanted Joey to return was beside the point, he figured. In fact, Joey's non-show and his failure to mention the argument again since had been particularly hard for Yugi to swallow; it seemed as though his tall friend just didn't really care anymore. Yugi had managed to apologise briefly for his hurtful words the following Monday at school, however Joey had brushed him off in an oddly hasty way, and had not broached the topic again.

It didn't help that Kaiba was still furious at Yugi for his sudden departure from the sport, overshadowing all of the CEO's upcoming announcements and releases. The brunette could barely look at Yugi without spitting in rage and his scowls and pointed silences were more frequent and obvious than usual. Kaiba seemed to take Yugi's retirement as a personal affront, particularly as he had missed his chance to challenge Yugi for a final battle to determine who the better duellist was once and for all.

Bakura, of course, continued his ongoing campaign against James, becoming if possible even more vocal and demonstrative of his dislike of the other boy. With horror, Yugi had only days before thrown away a roughly woven grass doll that looked suspiciously like a caricature of James. He had found the item by chance, when Ryou had asked him to retrieve a book from his locker for him; clearly of Bakura's design, Yugi had had no idea what the purpose of the simulacra was, but had decided it was far too sinister and creepy to leave in the white-haired thief's hands.

Yugi had not dared to share the news of his living arrangements with the group yet; his grandfather and James' parents had agreed that Yugi could stay at his boyfriend's house for the next few weeks; in fact, it was a help to the brunette's parents as they were both travelling extensively for work that month and appreciated Yugi keeping James company. They were surprisingly relaxed about the two teens being alone together.

And so Yugi kept this news close, and secret; something had shifted in the group, and he was not sure what exactly it was, but he did not trust his newfound happiness and excitement with it. Was it merely his lingering awkwardness with Joey, causing their conversations to become stilted and tentative? Was it Kaiba's scowling face and scathing remarks every time Yugi mentioned the game he used to love so dearly? Was it Tea and Duke, who had further withdrawn into a private bubble of their own making, spending more and more time together as their relationship bloomed? Or, perhaps, was it him? Am I causing this? Have I done something wrong, am I the reason nobody really looks me in the eye any longer?

Yugi sat on the table top, feet swinging, leaning back to let the sunlight filter through the leaves of the large shady tree and warm his face. It was a glorious day, and he wished that lunch break would last longer. Glancing across the grounds, Yugi saw James ambling toward him, long hair floating gently behind him in the mild breeze, hands deep in his jacket pockets. The rest of the gang was nowhere in sight, but Yugi was not surprised; he had not seen much of his friends lately, and was becoming used to spending all day with his boyfriend instead. Really, it was not so bad. Yugi took a moment to watch James' form as he moved across the yard, his lean build and incredibly long hair distinctive amongst the other students.

Yugi's eyes widened a little as he suddenly noticed another person, making their way purposefully across the paddock toward James, clearly intent on intersecting the brunette on his path. It was Joey. The blonde had his shoulders slightly hunched, as he was wont to do when feeling slightly defensive or uncomfortable, and he kept glancing around him as though looking for something. Yugi, mostly shadowed by the large tree he was sitting under, watched from afar as the two boys met in the middle of the field. Yugi could not make out any words being said, but he could see that the two were acting friendly. Joey was gesturing widely as he spoke, and Yugi was swamped by a sudden feeling of great affection for his taller friend. Joey might be acting odd around him lately, but they would recover; their friendship was too great. With a grin, Yugi hopped off the table, deciding that he would meet the two where they were standing and apologise properly to Joey again.

"Er- so, you'll pass this along to Yug' right?" Joey handed the bright green piece of paper over to James, glancing about him again as he did so. He dearly wished that he'd managed to find Yugi to hand over the party invite in person, but he had searched everywhere and had had no success in finding the little fellow. He half wondered if Yugi was avoiding him, and so he had decided that in order to get to Yugi, he had to go through James these days. As much as his unease around the brunette had increased in recent weeks, Joey knew that the only way to keep Yugi's friendship was to be on good terms with his boyfriend. And if he makes Yug' happy I should be happy too, he thought. Smiling at James, Joey continued, "and of course yer invited too, James. I hope you guys can make it on Friday! Kaiba's even lettin' us use his place for the party, so there should be some decent grub there!" Joey's amber eyes sparkled with the prospect of billionaire-CEO funded party food, and James grinned in response.

"Thanks man! I'll definitely let Yugi know. I have a club event that night so I won't be able to make it, sorry; but I know Yugi doesn't have any plans so I'm sure he would love to come to your party." Joey's own smile increased dramatically with the news that James would not be in attendance, and clapped the brunette on the shoulder in a sudden display of magnanimity. "Sounds good, J! Tell Yug' I'll see him later, eh?" Job completed, Joey spun on his heel and bounced off to find Kaiba- he had to tell his boyfriend that they were throwing a party on Friday.

Yugi slowed down; he had just missed Joey, who had clasped James on the shoulder before scooting away. Yugi closed his mouth, which he had just opened to call out to Joey, and shrugged to himself. Oh well, I'll catch him later. At least he doesn't look awkward anymore! Yugi grinned widely at the thought of things going back to normal with his best friend, and skipped over to hug James around the waist. James huffed a little as Yugi knocked the breath out of him, and grinned down at his shorter partner. "Hey, you".

Yugi smiled up fondly, his sweet face open and trusting. "Hi, yourself. What did Joey want?" As Yugi released James, he saw the taller boy tuck a piece of green paper into his jacket pocket and cocked his head inquiringly.

James did not reply for a moment as the two teens wandered back over to the lunch table. As soon as the two were within the deep shadow of the tree, James snatched Yugi's hand to hold as they sat on the table top, side by side. "He was asking me if I had seen Tristan anywhere; he has a note from the careers counsellor for him. I said I'd pass it along when I see Tris' next." Yugi nodded, flopping down to lie on the table top, looking up through the dappled leaves. A small, peaceful silence fell across the two boys, and Yugi closed his eyes happily, feeling quite relaxed. Beside him, James remained sitting, deep in thought.

Just as Yugi was about to ask what was on his mind, James turned to look down at him. "Yugi, do you want to do something on Friday night with me? I was thinking we could go see a movie or something." Yugi scrambled into a sitting position, his small face alight with excitement. "Ohh yes, of course! That sounds like fun! Can I get popcorn?" He swung his legs excitedly and jiggled on the spot with happiness. James chuckled, pulling Yugi closer for a swift kiss. "Of course you can, Yugi. You can have whatever you want!"

As their lips met, the school bell began to ring shrilly, signalling the end of lunch. The two boys pulled apart, their eyes still locked, purple on purple. James smiled gently and patted Yugi's cheek. Yugi grinned back, his heart so happy it could burst. James was the best.