Chapter 6 – Apology

The morning's altercation had made Tea sick to her stomach. She was having trouble understanding exactly what had happened, but all she knew was that she had upset the cold CEO. He knew her reasoning for signing up to help at the orphanage and was ashamed of her. And for some reason, this troubled Tea to no end. School seemed to drag on all day, and she simply couldn't focus on any of her work. Her friends kept questioning her about her sudden change in attitude, but she would just tell them her stomach was really aching, and they would leave her alone. All she could think about was the way both her and Kaiba acted.

"That was so unlike me, what I did this morning," she thought as she sat under one of the many cherry blossom trees that were littered around the school grounds. It was lunchtime, and instead of sitting with her friends as she always did, she opted to sitting by herself outside. Not only was the fresh air nice, but she didn't feel so well and figured that the peace and quiet the outside had to offer would be good for her. "I was basically scolded for the truth and then yelled at him out of defense. I'm not like that at all. What came over me there? I mean, he provoked me and all, but I should have been the bigger person in the situation. I…I shouldn't have done that."

"Besides, now that I think about it, it wasn't like he did anything wrong," she mused as she opened her lunchbox. Not surprisingly, nothing looked good, but she knew if she didn't eat anything now, her stomach would torment her all the rest of the day. "He was just protecting and looking out for those kids. Asking me those questions should have been something natural. If I worked at an orphanage for years, I'd be worried about newcomers as well, even if I knew them. He was just doing his job and what felt right…and I began arguing with him over it. This doesn't help me at all. I should be trying to get along with him. It would make the experience all the more worthwhile. Maybe…maybe I should apologize to him…even if he did provoke me."

"What are you doing out here, Gardner?" a sly voice asked, making Tea gasp and turn to see none other than Kaiba glaring down at her, his trademark smirk on his face. "Don't tell me you've been pouting all day because of this morning. If that's the case, you have even thinner skin than I originally thought."

"What do you care?" she asked, anger in her voice. Sighing in frustration, she shook her head and decided to stare forward. "Yeah, get into another argument. That will solve the problem." "What do you want?" she asked after a moment of silence passed between the two, this time her voice timid and weak.

"I wanted to make sure you weren't upset over this morning, but obviously you are. You shouldn't be mad or anything. You were just arguing your point. That's nothing to be ashamed about."

"I know, but…" Suddenly, it sunk in what he had said, and she blinked and quickly turned back to face him only to find him now sitting next to her. "Why are you comforting me?" she asked.

"Would you rather I just say nothing?" he countered, glaring over at her. Shaking her head no, he nodded and said, "That's what I thought. And for your information, I realized how pointless it would be for us to continue arguing if indeed we're going to be working together. So I'm here to set the record straight; I understand why you're doing this at the orphanage, and I guess whether I agree with it or not is irrelevant. I'm just making sure you know what you're getting involved with. Got it?"

"Are you…apologizing to me?"

"In a sense, yes. However, I don't take back what I said this morning. I meant what I said."

After another moment of silence passed between the two, who were both looking up at the beautiful, blue sky, Tea smiled and nodded her head. "Thank you," she whispered. "I apologize as well. I should not have argued with you about that. I mean, you're doing something good, and I was scolding you for it."

"There's no need for you to apologize," Kaiba protested. "I know exactly why you argued with me, and it's perfectly fine."

"Oh really? Care to enlighten me?"

"You know nothing about me, and I would admit that finding myself working with children is a little out of character. You were just curious as to why I changed so much yesterday for those kids. It's fine. Besides, I don't want people knowing about me, so if this is the price I'm to pay, I'm willing to do it."

"Jade mentioned that yesterday." She could see Kaiba turn his head out of the corner of her eye to face her. "I asked her what you were doing working there, and she basically said it wasn't her place to answer and to ask you. She really seems to like you, you know?"

"That's because her and I have been friends for years."

"How did you two meet?"

"Well, I'm sure she told you about her father originally owning the orphanage. She worked alongside him and often hung around the kids, playing games with them and what-not. When Mokuba and I arrived, Mokuba was beyond devastated at our loss. She helped me comfort him, and we soon began to hang out more and more. It was never a relationship, per se, but just a good friendship. We had a lot in common, and at that time I was desperate for anybody to call a friend. Mokuba was a brother, and even though we were closer than ever at that point in our lives, I still wanted another friend."

"So you haven't always been the loner, have you?"

"No. It was after I was adopted that…" Hearing him stop, she looked over to see him shaking his head slightly. "I don't want to talk about it," he finally stated.

"It's okay," she said. "I'll admit I'm surprised you shared what you did."

"You're not the only one." She saw him glance over at her and bite his lower lip slightly. "You don't need to know any more than that. You probably shouldn't even know what I told you, but I guess I can't take it back now."

"Hey, it's fine. I appreciate it. Maybe…maybe we can stop treating each other like enemies now that we're working together. Who knows? Perhaps we have more in common than we think?"

"Perhaps not," he retorted, looking away from her.

"Don't tell me you still want to fight with me all the time? It's just like you said; it's pointless to fight when we'll be working together."

"Just because I don't want to fight with you doesn't mean I want to get close to you."

Tea went to say something when she remembered what he had said that morning. "People are dangerous…" she repeated, more to herself than him.

"Exactly. I don't like getting close to others, and that includes you."

"But why? Why can't you trust anyone?"

"That's for me to know and you to never find out."

"You don't think I would betray you or anything like that, do you?" Silence answered her question, and she sighed and went back to looking up at the sky. "Kaiba, what made you trust Jade so easily? Do you blame it on being desperate, or were you really searching for some comfort? That's what friends are for, Kaiba. They're supposed to provide comfort. I understand if many who you once called a friend aren't anymore, but I guess…what I'm trying to say is that…"

"That you understand the true meaning of what a friend is," he finished for her. "You think you know what constitutes a friend and want to become mine. Sorry, but I'm not looking for a friend. Not anymore…"

"Well, just know that I'm always available if you need one."

"I don't need one either." Tea watched as he stood up and brushed himself off before looking down at her. "I appreciate you worrying about me, but you shouldn't. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be off to class."

"Okay. And…Kaiba?" She saw him stop and turn slightly to see her out of the corner of his eye. "Thanks a lot for the apology. It really does mean a lot." He simply shrugged his shoulders and continued walking until he reached the building and entered. "Maybe this won't be as bad as I originally thought…" she thought as she watched a flower from the tree fall down in her lap. "Even if he doesn't trust me, as long as we can get along, maybe he can learn to trust me. Wait…why do I care so much?!" Groaning, she shook her head and quickly stood up. "I need to stop thinking about him." And with that, she picked her things up and headed into the school.