Author's Note: Hello again. I just wanted to thank you guys for being as patient as you have been with these chapters. This kind of schedule will continue from now on, however, as I have band at least two nights a week, plus school will be starting in another week or so. Just be aware that there probably won't be a chapter a night any longer, but I will still do my best to update ASAP. Thank you so much for your support thus far!!

Chapter 22 – More Help

"So how was the party last weekend?" Jade questioned as she set the last plate in its rightful place inside the cabinet. Closing the little door, she smiled over at Tea and leaned against the counter. "Seto told me he had invited you to go with him. He knows how I really don't like those things."

"It was actually pretty fun," Tea answered, wiping her hands on a nearby towel. "We just talked a lot and got to know each other a bit better."

"Well that's good to hear. I'm really happy you've entered his life, you know. You seem to be doing him a whole lot of good."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, he just seems a lot less…tense lately. I really want to believe he's starting to move on with his life and just getting over the past, and it's my belief also that you are, indirectly or otherwise, helping him through this."

"I'll admit we talked a little bit about his past at the party," Tea merely whispered, letting out a small sigh and sitting down in one of the metal chairs nearby. The kids were all watching television in the adjacent room, letting the two alone for some discussion time.

"What…did he say?" she asked, her eyes narrowing slightly in suspicion.

"Well, first we chatted a lot about school and him working at KaibaCorp, which inevitably led to us discussing his home life with Gozaburo. I figured that he didn't want to talk about it, so I dragged him onto the dance floor since the place was set up like a ballroom."

"You got him to actually dance?"

"Yeah. I didn't really give him a choice, to be honest. Like I said, I just dragged him out."

"And he didn't sit back down or anything? He actually danced with you?"

"Uh-huh. But, uh, he did act kinda weird at first. He became very edgy and seemed kind of…anxious, I guess is the best word for it. All he said after that was that he used to dance a lot with some old girlfriend… I think he said her name was Sophie… But he said—"

Tea stopped when she glanced up to see Jade's expression. The woman's eyes were wide as saucers, and she was gripping onto the counter so hard that her knuckles were pure white and slightly shaking. "He…mentioned Sophie?" she asked slowly, the words sounding as if they were choked out.

"Y-Yeah," Tea answered, wondering if she had said something wrong. "He only briefly mentioned her. All he said was that they used to dance a lot together and that she was an old girlfriend before we ended the conversation."

"But still… He mentioned her…" Putting a hand up to her face, Jade shook her head slightly and said, "I can't believe he actually told you her name."

"What the hell happened between those two to make everybody so upset?" Tea questioned, her eyebrows knitting together in confusion. "First he freaks out over it, and now you're having a heart attack! What on Earth happened to her?"

A moment of silence hung between the two before Jade looked up at her with sad eyes and frowned. "I'm sorry… I can't tell you…"

"Oh, so you're going to flip out and then say it was nothing?" Tea asked, her voice rising slightly. She was sick and tired of all the secrets. She wanted to know what was going on inside Seto's head, what made him think and act the way he did. Keeping these secrets away from her was not helping her out at all. "If I'm going to start accepting the fact that I love him, I need to know the facts first. All these secrets are just pushing me away."

"Please don't get angry with me," Jade pleaded, wrapping her arms around her waist. "I just…can't talk about it. I was friends with her too, you know."

"I'm not angry, I'm just frustrated. I can't get any answers at all between the two of you."

"If Seto wants to keep his past a secret, then let it be. What about you? What's your deepest, darkest secret, huh? Care to share that with Seto and me?" Tea's silence answered her. "Exactly. So let's just stay peaceful with one another and let the secrets be in the closets they belong in. We don't pry into your past; don't pry into his or mine."

Tea blinked and slowly nodded her head, letting out a long sigh. "I'm sorry. I just…"

"You want to help him. I know. I've wanted to help him out as well, yet I can't do it. I think with the impact you've had on him, you'll be able to do so. I'm…I'm happy for you two."

"You act as if we're a couple," Tea joked.

"You aren't…yet."

"And we probably never will be."

"You say that as if you're sad about that. Please tell me that you love him."

"Why do you want me to develop feelings for him?" Tea asked, feigning ignorance.

"Because I've seen how good of an impact a girlfriend is for Seto."

"Did…did you ever date him before?"

"Didn't we already go over this? No; I think of him as a little brother, not as a younger boyfriend. We have never had a relationship go beyond friendship status. Sure, we often talked about it, but we both agreed that it would most likely end the relationship on a bad note and wanted to keep it where it was. It's worked out for the both of us, and if he finds somebody, say you for example, then I'll be just as happy for him as any other friend would."

Tea smiled slightly before looking down at the nearby counter. "He's lucky to have a friend like you."

"I know, and he knows. Friends are always useful, no matter what. I don't care how high and mighty you really are; friends pick you up when you fall down. Seto's fallen down so many times I don't even know if he can tell the difference anymore, but I've always been there to help him back up. You've only become friends with him recently, and already I can see familiar patterns with you and…and Sophie. I think you two would make a good couple. But the question remains; do you, indeed, love Seto Kaiba, heartless bastard extraordinaire?"

Tea let out another long sigh before nodding her head. "Yes… I needed a friend to help me understand it all, but I think I am developing feelings for him. However," she added, looking over at Jade, "I don't need a relationship right at this moment. I'm happy being single right now, and I don't want anything serious until a little later on, or at least until I know him and his past a little more. Once I know more about his past, I think I'll be ready to accept him as my boyfriend."

"Understandable. With a past like his, I wouldn't just jump into a relationship either. But now that you have said that, I won't be answering anymore of your questions. From now on, they're yours to ask him. Got it?"

"Yeah. Got it."

"Good. As for the whole relationship between you and Seto, I can tell he thinks about you often, but it's not in the same way as I'm sure it's affecting you. He's become rather…sullen lately. Sure he's less tense, but he's also becoming very thoughtful." Smirking, she said, "Talk to Mokuba about it. He'll definitely help you out with this whole thing."

"That's what my friend told me to do."

"Alright, then you have good friends as well. Mokuba wants his brother to be happy, and if you know that kid like I do, he'll do anything to achieve it. Mokuba owes everything to his older brother, and he knows it full well. He will help you get closer to Seto, even if Seto doesn't want to get closer."

"I don't want to force Seto into anything, though. I mean, if he's uncomfortable—"

"You won't be. Trust me on that. All it takes is a little persuasion. He's, amazingly enough, a very shy person when it comes to somebody he cares about, so it wouldn't be you forcing him, but rather you helping him out of his shell, which will really help him get out of this last stage of depression he's going through."

"Speaking of which, how is his medication doing?"

"Pretty well. The side effects are all gone, so he's back to sleeping and eating normally. I'd say that—"

A sudden knock interrupted the two, and Lilith soon walked in with a small smile on her face. "The television show is over," she replied, glancing back and forth between the two. "Do you want us to go to bed now?"

"Yes; tell the others I'll be there in a second to tuck them all in," Jade ordered. Lilith nodded her head and quickly walked out of the room, leaving the two alone once more. Jade sighed and said, "Alright, your shift is over. But talk to Mokuba when you get the chance; I want to see how you two end up."

"God, why does everyone want the two of us together?" Tea asked jokingly as she stood up out of her seat and grabbed her nearby bag.

"Because the people that know you and the people that know Seto all understand that you two would be good for each other. Now get going. And this discussion never happened!"

"Got it!" she exclaimed before heading out the door, cringing as she heard a gunshot far off in the distance.