[A/N]: It seems I've been on an extended hiatus! While I browsed my own stories, I realized that I had left one unfinished, and so I intend to complete it! My sincerest apologies go to anyone who read the first chapter and hoped for more… I will finish it. I swear! .

To any new readers, I hope you enjoy it!

That being said, I will do my best to update every so often, and I look forward to reading any comments and your reviews!

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from Yu-Gi-Oh.

That awful noise; that wretched, unforgiving sound drilling incessantly into his mind had to stop. It was like a chanting choir, and it seemed to grow louder by the second, unwilling to stop for even a moment.

Beep, beep, beep…

Jonouchi groaned and rolled onto his side, swinging his arm over in one swift movement to slam down on his alarm clock's snooze button. Finally… after those excruciating seconds, it had ceased. He gave a sigh of relief and slumped into his mattress, his arm now dangling lifelessly over the side of his bed.

The morning light was already peering in through his blinds, spilling into the room and threatening to make its way up onto his bed. As much as he didn't wish to move, Jonouchi saw it as an inevitable evil. If he didn't get out of bed himself, then he could count on his mother to do it.

He opened his eyes and squinted, casting a glance at his alarm clock, of which stated that it was 7:24am. Thusly, he rolled himself out of bed and began preparations for his day: a shower, clothes and some breakfast.

It wasn't until he set off for school that his mind wandered to the brief period of time he had spent with a certain Mr. Seto Kaiba after classes had ended. He mulled it over, replaying each second that had transpired between them in his mind.

He had been too flimsy due to his beverage yesterday to precisely gauge Kaiba's behaviour and what had happened. Surely Kaiba had not been sincere? That would be utterly ridiculous.

If Jonouchi had to be honest, he felt like a fool. It was one thing to admire Kaiba from afar in the cafeteria, during classes or upon spotting him at the mall, but to bluntly flirt with him, as well as throw compliments at him mindlessly, was humiliating.

This little fondness he felt for Kaiba was never something he had seriously thought of acting on, and now it was a given that Seto Kaiba had some idea about Jonouchi's feelings towards him.

However, maybe he felt embarrassed about it for relatively nothing. Kaiba wouldn't plant one on him without reason, right? Even if he had, Jonouchi had spotted evidence of Kaiba's enjoyment of the situation.

Jonouchi's brow furrowed in thought. Would it be foolish to consider that Kaiba may return his sentiments? It wasn't as though Kaiba had ever given him a reason to think so. If anything, he was always cold towards him and his friends; he was rude and arrogant.

It was laughable to think that Kaiba had any real friends; the guy ate his lunches alone most of the time anyway. It didn't seem far-fetched to think that the only person that would tolerate Kaiba was his brother, Mokuba; and vice versa.

Kaiba's reclusiveness wasn't overly surprising to Jonouchi, not when he thought of it in-depth. His arrogance was a family trait. Why wouldn't it be? Kaiba's family owned an important corporation after all.

Jonouchi shook his head slightly. It seemed to him that Kaiba felt his own importance surpassed those of everyone else around him. He couldn't fathom Kaiba's ego inflating any more than it already had. Kaiba was rich, powerful and confident, desired by many – all of which he flatly declined.

A slight smile perked the corners of Jonouchi's mouth, unable to keep from filling with a bit of pride.

Kaiba, the guy who had rejected and refused anyone who had ever made their move on him, had kissed him, Katsuya Jonouchi, a crummy student at Domino High School who (in his own opinion) had nothing special going for him at all.

His grades were mediocre, he wasn't a part of any school clubs, nor did he have any special talents or skills; he wasn't popular, nothing about him was outstanding. Meanwhile, he scored a kiss from Kaiba whilst the head cheerleader last month had gotten shut down, prized with nothing more than a cold stare from the brunette.

Even if Kaiba wasn't smitten with him as he was with Kaiba, it didn't matter. Jonouchi was certain of one fact, that Kaiba at least found him aesthetically appealing.

It wasn't love, but at least it was something. Jonouchi felt his chest swell regardless.

His moment of internal celebration was cut short once he heard his name being called, a sprinting Yugi darting up the street behind him.

Yugi wheezed once he caught up to Jonouchi, clutching onto his friend's sleeve as he gasped for breath.

Jonouchi smirked and reached to yank Yugi upright, a grin on his face, "Sorry, man, I didn't see you at the corner so I kept on goin'." In truth, he had been too wrapped up in his thoughts to have even stopped to consider waiting for Yugi.

Yugi breathed heavily and looked up to Jonouchi, presenting him a forgiving smile, "It's all right. I was late getting out anyway! I had to find a way to pack the flower I got for Anzu's birthday today, didn't want it crushed."

Jonouchi chuckled, giving Yugi a light slap on the back, "A rose, right? You're such a dork."

Yugi flushed immediately and waved his hand at Jonouchi defensively, granted that his friend had been correct about the flower being a rose, "It's just one! I didn't buy her an entire bouquet or anything."

Yugi had had an obvious crush on Anzu for years; it something everyone and their grandmother knew. Anzu, on the other hand, seemed to be a bit oblivious to the whole thing. Either that or she didn't know how to put him down easy and was biding her time.

Jonouchi gave his friend a reassuring pat, "Just teasin' you, man. I'm sure she'll love it."

It had crossed his mind to tell Yugi about what had happened with Kaiba yesterday afternoon, but he left it as a fleeting thought, deciding that it was best to keep to himself for the time.

If anything, he wanted to dig for any extra evidence towards his claim of Kaiba finding him attractive. He would have time for that during the school hours. Interrogating Kaiba was an item on Jonouchi's list of things to do that was sure to be interesting.

Together he and Yugi pressed on toward Domino High School.