Another chapter in one week!...I should probably ease up. I don't have many other chapters written yet….but I love you guys to much to make you wait!
Sage: Push over.
You just jealous cause they love me and hate you.
Sage:…No reviewer has ever said that they love you. What delusion are you living in?
….Warnings for this chapter are as followed: Swearing, mentions of violence, abuse, and blood.
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Yugi sat in the passenger seat of Yami's car, trying to keep his eyes closed. His head was throbbing, and with each heartbeat the pain only increased. He let his forehead touch the cool glass of the window and tried to get his mind of his headache. He had vomited everything he had in his stomach, but still felt nauseous each time Yami drove around a corner.
He felt incredibly stupid for getting drunk last night. He still had no idea how he managed to walk from his apartment to just a few blocks away from Yami's. He didn't know where the older man lived, so it had only been coincidence he ended up there. But it was still a long walk. Roughly fifteen miles from what Yami had said.
It had only been late afternoon when Joey came home, and Yami found him late at night. Yugi guessed there was about six hours difference from when he left home and when Yami found him. He had been walking for six hours. It explained the soreness of his legs. Having that plus his hangover, he was miserable.
Thankfully Yami said nothing as they drove him back home. Any sounds, not matter how subtle, only caused him pain. He wasn't in the mood for talking, either. Especially since Yami seemed to know something he didn't.
Yugi sighed. Whatever it was, he didn't care. All he wanted to was to go back home and sleep.
Yami pulled into a parking space and turned the ignition off. He glanced over at Yugi as he took of his seatbelt.
"Come on." Yami said, opening his car door.
Yugi groaned. "I can get home by myself."
Yami had to suppress a chuckle. He wasn't sure whether he admired or disdained Yugi's stubbornness. It was bound to get the boy in trouble eventually. "I don't think so." Yami said, walking over to Yugi's door.
"Joey's going to kill you." Yugi moaned through his headache.
"He can do it after he kills you. Something tells me he's not going to like seeing you hung over like this. Besides, you can barely sit up straight. You expect me to believe that you can climb several flights of stairs unassisted?"
Yugi looked at Yami for a moment; his eyes dark and empty. "Fine."
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After several moments that included Yami half dragging, half carrying Yugi up the necessary flights of stairs, they were finally at Yugi's apartment. Yugi leaned against the building as Yami knocked on the door, anxiously awaiting the answer from Joey.
Several seconds later, the door opened, revealing a steaming blonde.
"Where is he?" Joey asked without hesitation.
Yugi tried to fake a smile as he walked into Joey's view. He waved slightly and gritted his teeth as another throb attacked his temple. "Hi, Joey."
"You're drunk." Joey said, his voice one tone of anger.
"No!" Yugi denied, but then winced as another stroke of pain hit his head. "I just have a hangover…it means I was drunk."
"Yeah, yeah. You can be a smartass later. Get inside."
Yugi complied without further word and ran into his bedroom. Joey sighed and looked over at Yami, whom he had been ignoring earlier.
"Thanks for bringing him home." Joey said, avoiding the older man's gaze. He felt guilty for having yelled at him earlier, even if still didn't totally trust him. He had just wanted to help Yugi and get to know him.
Yami waited for a moment in silence. The words Yugi had said in his drunken stupor last night still playing in his mind. He needed answers. He wanted answers.
"Who's Jack?" He said before he could stop himself. He saw the look of pain and anguish that flashed in Joey's eyes at the mention of the name, but as quickly as it came, it disappeared, leaving the mask of anger.
"Where did you hear that name?" Joey's voice was a low, deep growl. It sounded animalistic to Yami, and he knew at that instant that it only brought up bad memories.
"Last night…" Yami began, feeling his throat constrict. He had seen Joey angry before, but this looked different. The look he had now looked murderous, as though he could kill anyone at any moment and not care. "Yugi woke up in the middle of the night and started rambling about someone named Jack…I didn't really get anything except the name." Yami lied.
Yugi's words still continued to play in his mind. They repeated in his broken, drunken, voice, sounding the exact same as Yami had heard them.
He hits me.
But Yami couldn't let Joey know how much Yugi had told him. It might make things worse between the two of them, if that was possible. Besides, he didn't even know how much of what Yugi said was the truth. He was fairly incapacitated, and he had no memory of what he had said. For all Yami knew, it was nothing but one large story. There probably wasn't even a Jack.
But, he knew there was someone named Jack. He wouldn't have gotten the reaction of out Joey that he did if there wasn't.
Joey looked into Yami's eyes and sighed. His eyes lost their anger and instead filled with sadness and pain.
"Come with me." Joey said quietly exiting the apartment and closing the door behind him. "You already know half the story. What's telling you the rest going to hurt?"
Yami said nothing as Joey grabbed a jacket and threw it on. He turned around facing Yugi's door.
"Yugi, I'm off to kill your boyfriend and hide his body in the woods!"
He turned towards Yami and smirked, while the older man felt the blood drain from his face. He wasn't sure if the blonde was joking or not. He hoped he was. He didn't feel like being buried underneath a tree.
"Relax, man." Joey said, noticing the tension in the older man's face. He laughed a little and stepped outside the apartment door, closing it behind him. "I don't bite. Hard."
"Very funny." Yami muttered, taking a step back. He watched as Joey walked down the stairs, taking them two at a time. He followed the blonde and once they both reached the bottom of the stairs, continued to walk wordlessly.
Yami followed Joey down the street, unsure of whether or not he should break the silence. In one way, it was comforting. If no words were exchanged, then there was no way to make the other angry. But, it was also suffocating. Yami felt like the air around him was growing hotter each minute, and closing in on him.
The streets weren't very crowded for the time. Every now and then another person would pass by them, not bothering to exchange a wave or a good morning. It seemed that the only noise was the occasional honk of a car, and the birds chirping in the sky.
Yami hadn't been paying much attention to where Joey was leading him, but was surprised at where they were. It was the diner. Yami frowned. Why would Joey take him here, of all places?
"Wait here." Joey commanded, walking towards the entrance.
"Why?" Yami asked, not enjoying being told what to do by a teenager. He was older than the blonde, even if it didn't look like it.
"Look, right now I'm the only thing preventing Anzu from chopping you into a dozen pieces. While that would make hiding your body in the woods easier, I don't think it's the way you want to die. Just give me a few minutes to calm her down, and then we'll talk."
"What does she have to do with this in the first place?" Yami asked, unconsciously placing his hand to the space on his neck where the brunette had placed the tip of her knife. Honestly, she hadn't made a very good first impression, and he couldn't see how someone as timid and shy as Yugi could be friends with someone as blunt and violent as her.
"She's Yugi's friend too." Joey said, angrily. "That's how she's involved." Then, Joey entered the small shop, leaving Yami alone on the street. The older man sighed and leaned against the wall of the building. He could only imagine how the conversation between Yugi's two friends was going. Neither of them liked him, although Joey was giving him the time of day. Perhaps the blonde was warming up to him.
Or leading him to his grave.
He still wasn't sure what to make of the 'bury your body in the woods' comment.
He thought he could hear Anzu screaming through the brick wall, but then disregarded it. It was only his imagination preparing for the worst. Part of him was saying that he should cut his losses and run. He wouldn't have the knowledge about Yugi, but at least he could get away with his life.
He groaned. It was so conflicting. He wanted to know about Yugi. He wanted to help Yugi with whatever problems it was he had. He needed to hear what Joey had to say in order to do that. But, Yugi's friends still hated him. It was evident in their eyes and the way they spoke to him. They apparently were willing to talk about Yugi's past, which seemed to be such a taboo. Maybe their opinion had changed somewhere along this road.
The door opened and Joey, along with a steaming Anzu, came out. The woman was wearing her uniform. A white top with a black, pleated skirt. Her face was red and her eyes seemed to be murdering Yami a thousand times over in her mind.
"Why should we tell him?" She demanded, not caring that Yami was standing right in front of her, hearing every word that was being said. "He's going to hurt him!" Tears prickled at her blue eyes, falling like sparkling diamonds. She whined, inhaling a deep breath. Yami could tell that it was really hurting her to think of Yugi's past.
"He already knows some of it." Joey said softly, also ignoring Yami. He placed a hand on her shoulder and suddenly the two were hugging. He petted her hair, whispering soothing words into her ears. "Yugi deserves it." She hiccupped some, and then nodded, breaking free of the hug.
She turned to Yami. The older man expected a glare, but instead all he saw was her crying, broken eyes. She sniffed and walked towards Yami, not at all intimidated by the slight height difference. Her eyes were beautiful in their pain, but they still held their assertiveness. The same protectiveness Yami witnessed the first day he met her.
"If you use what we tell you to hurt Yugi," she paused, her voice cracking slightly, "then I will not hesitate to make your life a living hell. I will follow you until the end of time, I will follow you across the Earth," her voice became low, and she spoke her words slowly, enunciating each word as though she were speaking to a child, "and I will do all I can to make you suffer and pay."
Yami inhaled softly. Was this another death threat? It was a record for him. But, he felt happy to know that Yugi had such good friends. They loved him enough to kill for him, which said a lot. Not many people would do that to protect a loved one.
"I want to help him." Yami replied, trying to keep his tone steady.
Anzu studied his eyes for a moment. She didn't blink, but her eyes did waver. Yami felt like she was staring straight down into his soul, ripping it apart, dissecting it, piece by piece.
"Let's go." She said, cocking her head in Joey's direction. She turned around and began to walk towards the blonde. Yami was quick to follow and the trio walked silently down the road. Yami had no idea where they were taking him, but they seemed to have an idea. He understood that this would be done on their terms, wherever they were comfortable with talking.
Curiosity eventually got the better of Yami. He wanted to know where he was being lead. He needed to know. Hopefully not the woods, he thought. He still couldn't trust that what Joey had said earlier was just a joke. The blonde didn't seem to be the one to joke when it came to the safety of his friends.
"Where are we going?" He asked, feeling his throat grow dry as he spoke.
"My place." Anzu said without looking back. "My parents are out of town for the next few days, so it'll be a private place to…" she paused for a moment, and Yami noticed her chewing on her lip as she tried to find the right word, "talk."
The way she had said the one simple word was like a slap in the face for Yami. It was just another reminder that he was not wanted, nor liked. She had said the word as though it were poisonous and she couldn't wait to spit it out.
Suddenly, Yami found himself outside a small home. It had a green yard with rose bushes against the side of the house. The shutters were a dark black color that contrasted nicely with the white exterior of the house. The front door was a blood red color, and it finished off the curb appeal of the house pleasantly.
He followed the duo up to the front door where Anzu fiddled through her purse for a key. She inserted it into the lock and Yami could hear the click as the door opened. Yami walked in and was astounded by the homey-ness of the modest house. He found himself in a living room, with a small TV and two large couches, with a coffee table in the center.
The carpet was a beige color, and Yami could see the indentations of Anzu's shoes in it, indicating that it was thick too.
"Wait here." Anzu ordered. "I'll go make some tea." She left Yami alone with Joey, who was already making himself at home. He had plopped down on one of the couches and had his feet propped up on the table.
Yami sat down next to the blonde, deciding he would rather sit next to him than Anzu. The girl's hatred radiated off her body, and she was likely to snap at any moment.
Yami tried to get his mind off his possible impending doom. He thought back to the previous night when he found Yugi lying on the sidewalk. It was hard to get that image out of his mind; from the road, Yugi looked as though he were dead. And seeing as how earlier that day hadn't gone so well, Yami could only conclude that Yugi and Joey got into an argument.
"What happened between you and Yugi yesterday?" He asked, trying to keep his voice low so Anzu wouldn't hear it.
Joey grunted and placed his hands behind his head. "We got into a little spat, and Yugi ran out."
"And you didn't follow him? Or call the police?" Yami questioned, finding it hard to believe that Joey would just Yugi run off. He seemed too protective to let that happen. Whatever had happened, it was big.
"No," Yami pressed, "it was more than that. After all the death threats you guys gave me for coming near him, am I to believe that you would just let walk out in the dark?"
Joey was silent for a moment, and he sighed. "He said I was babying him and then said he wanted to be emancipated."
The memory seemed to cause pain for Joey. Yami could see the blonde fighting back tears as he spoke.
"I've been his guardian ever since…the incident. Sometimes it's hard for me to remember that he's almost an adult. Having this title…it's made me see him as my kid. I have to protect my kid, right?"
Yami was astounded by how much the blonde was sharing. He never expected Joey to feel like he was Yugi's parent.
"The last thing any father wants is to hear that their kid hates him. I spent all last night thinking about these last few years. And, I was considering if I should emancipate Yugi. If it's what he wants…" Joey paused for a moment and looked over at Yami, his eyes wavering. "I want him to be happy."
Anzu came in carrying a tray of tea. She slammed it down on the table angrily, drips of the copper liquid flying out of their cups.
"Joey!" She scolded, grabbing a nearby magazine and rolling it up, "get your feet off the table!" She smacked the blonde's ankles, getting a jolt from him. He scowled at her for a moment before putting on a playful smile.
"Whatever you say, Anzu." He placed his feet on the ground and reached for the cup of tea, taking a large sip. "So…do you want to start?"
Anzu's angry glare disappeared and she sat down on the second couch. She folded her arms protectively around her chest and seemed to sink into the sofa. "You better do it." She muttered.
Joey nodded and turned to Yami. "First things first: you will not interrupt me. Got it? You can ask questions later, but right now, I just want to finish the story at once."
Yami nodded.
Joey sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Okay. Where to begin? Yugi's life has been one giant disappointment after another. Nothing ever seems to go right for him, and the World literally has been out to get him since the day he was born.
"His parents died when he was little. His mom died giving birth, and his dad died a few years later in a car crash. At four years old, he was orphaned. His only living relative was his grandfather, so that's where Yugi went to live.
"I visited his grandfather's many times when we were little. The old man dotted on Yugi like he was his son. Yugi was always happiest when he was at home.
"School was a living hell for Yugi. He was always shorter than the rest of his class. He would get bullied a lot. The fact that he was the smartest in his class didn't help either. Not only was he a 'midget'," Joey paused and his face seemed to contort at the use of the word, "but he was also a nerd. Anzu and I were two grades higher than Yugi, so we couldn't be there for him all the time. Many times when we saw him at recess, or lunch, he had some kind of bruise on his skin, or dried blood under his nose. But the funny thing? He always had a smile on his face."
Joey paused to laugh at the irony of the memory. "He was always smiling when he saw us." Then the smile disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. "The bullying continued for several years. In fact, the older we got, the worse it got. The bullies got bigger and stronger, and Yugi never really peaked. And in high school, we rarely saw each other during the school week. Our schedules just wouldn't allow for it. So every Sunday when we would meet up, he looked as though he had been hit by a truck.
"Then, Fate decided to fuck with Yugi some more. His grandfather died when he was fourteen. The bank repossessed Yugi's home, and he was about to be sent to an orphanage. We would more than likely never see him again, and that was the last thing Yugi needed. His only family had died, and his childhood home had been stolen from him. If they took him, and separated us, Yugi would no longer have any connection to his old life. So, he ran.
"He was homeless. We don't know where he would stay, but he did jump around between three or four places. We knew about his situation, but there was nothing we could do. My dad…" Joey paused again and began to chew on his lip. "My dad wasn't the most responsible person, let's just say that. He couldn't take care of me, and there was no way he would take care of Yugi. Anzu's parents would've just called CPS and Yugi would've been taken to the orphanage. We had no choice but to keep it secret if we wanted to see him."
"I found him sleeping under a bridge one night." Anzu interrupted. Her eyes were already tearing up and she sniveled some. "I couldn't bear to see him like, so I took him to the diner. I had an old mat stored in there for when I would go to my dance class. I let him sleep in the diner during the night and he would work during the day. He dropped out of school because they would've called CPS. He spent his entire life at the diner, it seemed, for that one year."
"And then it all changed." Joey said, his voice growing grime and hateful.
"What happened?" Yami asked, feeling his heart sink at the story of Yugi's life. He couldn't imagine being homeless. He couldn't even begin to imagine being homeless at such a young age. And all so he wouldn't be separated from his friends. He could've told someone, gone to CPS, and had a home. It would have been a foster home, but it would have been better than nothing. He was astounded by how strong Yugi's friendship truly was with these two.
"Jack happened." Joey growled. "He saw Yugi at the diner one day and asked him out. Yugi would've been…fifteen at the time. And this bastard was twenty-one. Anzu and I were against it from the start; he was a pedophile about to abduct him and done God knows what to him for all we knew. But, Yugi seemed happy in the weeks he had known Jack. And we hadn't seen him happy in a long time, not since his grandfather died. So we kept our opinions to ourselves.
"Yugi moved in with him after just a month. That only made our suspicions of him being a pedophile rise even more. It was too soon. But, Yugi needed a home, and the diner wouldn't cut it. So we didn't say anything.
"I met Yugi for lunch a few days later, and I could tell something was wrong. He was sitting at the booth with his head held down. So I decided to surprise him. Instead, he surprised me. He had the biggest, blackest eye I had ever seen. He tried to give me some bullshit story that he had walked into a wall in the middle of the night. Yugi always tries to protect people, even those who hurt him. I never understood it, and I still don't. I was able to tell right away that he had been punched.
"And it wasn't hard to tell who had done it. I was dead bent on killing that bastard, but Yugi begged me not too. He said it was just a drunk mistake, that Jack loved him and apologized right away. Seeing how upset Yugi was, I had to concede. I wanted him to be happy. So, I let it go. I didn't realize how big of a mistake I had made. And the funny thing? I actually forgot about the black eye until several months later."
He glanced up and looked at Anzu with his sad eyes. He pulled his head away after a moment and took in a shaky breath. Yami couldn't help but feel his heart drop even further at the sight. He took the blonde as the type to hide his emotions, to keep them secret. And yet, Yami was watching him break down.
"We don't know what exactly happened in the next few months." Joey cried, tears pooling out his eyes. "Yugi…he just seemed to pull away from us. He was quieter…and jumpier. We would make plans for movies, or dinner, and he wouldn't show up. We were worried, deathly worried. We tried calling him all the time and he never answered. If we saw him on the streets, or if we did manage to meet him for lunch, he just seemed…out of it. He wouldn't say why he wouldn't answer our calls, or talk to us."
"One day," Anzu interrupted, wiping the tears out of her eyes and taking a shaky breath, "Yugi stopped showing up for work. Just out of the blue. I called him and called him and he never answered. And," she paused for a moment and seemed embarrassed by the information she was about to give, "and we didn't know where Jack's house was. We had no way to contact him. And he didn't show up for two months!" Anzu put his face in her hands and cried softly.
Joey sighed. "Then, Yugi called me. After two months of silence, he called me. I asked him question after question about where he went and why he never called us. He told me he didn't have much time, but that he and Jack were fighting. He asked if he could stay at my place for a few nights. By now , a year after Yugi started going out with this creep, I had gotten emancipated and was living on my own.
"I told him he could and we agreed that he would be over at seven that night. Well, time ticked by. Yugi never came. At ten, I was panicked, finally remembering the black eye Jack had given Yugi. I set out searching for Yugi. I didn't know where I was going, but I just went where my feet took me. I searched all the areas between my home and Anzu's diner, and even went in the northern part of town. It was midnight and I was tired, about to call the police, when I heard it: a low moan. I saw I was next to an alleyway and in the alleyway…"
Tears ran down Joey's face, splashing onto the couch. "God, he had so much blood. He was unconscious…His face was bruised and bloodied…I put his head in my lap and I felt the sticky substance…he had a head injury, and his fingers looked like broken chopsticks. I called an ambulance and when we got to the hospital, they took him into surgery. I called Anzu, despite the hour and she came right away and we waited for what felt like eternity for the doctor to come out those large metal doors.
"Finally, he did and I could tell from the look on his face that it wasn't good news." Joey's voice was cracking in despair. "His fingers were broken, and he had a broken wrist but that had already begun to heal, telling doctors that it was at least a few weeks old. He had bruises all over him. They were everywhere. And the big injury…he had a skull fracture. Doctors said it was clear he had been abused. I remember Anzu and I….we just looked at each other and then we started crying. And then the doctor said that he had been in the alley for a while…he had lost a lot of blood, and….he had fallen into a coma.
"The odds of him waking up were slim to none. And if he did wake up, doctors said it was likely he would be a living statue. He would lose his personality. He would become…apathetic, and it was likely he would never talk.
"I sat by his bed for three days, crying my eyes out. My best friend had been tortured for over a year and I didn't notice! It explained everything…Yugi's change in behavior, and his sudden disappearance. Doctors said it was likely that Jack was keeping Yugi prisoner in his own home…it's fairly common in abuse cases, apparently. And I couldn't help but blame myself for everything. I told myself that if I had done something that day I saw Yugi with the black eye, things would be different. Yugi wouldn't have been hurt. He wouldn't be lying on the damn hospital bed in a coma fighting for his life."
Joey let out a shaky breath and then he did something unexpected. He laughed. It was bitter and cold, but it was a laugh. "After three days, Yugi woke up. He beat the odds. And when I saw the light in his eyes, I knew he would be okay. He wouldn't be a robot, he would be the Yugi we knew. He beat the odds again. Yugi had to stay in the hospital for the next few days. Luckily, he had no problem with his motor functions. The only problem was—"
"His memory." Yami interrupted. It had made sense now. Why Yugi's friends were so protective of him. Why they were so against his and Yugi's relationship.
Yugi had been abused.
It took a moment for the word to register in Yami's head, for him to understand the full meaning behind it.
Yugi had been abused.
Oh god…
"I'm sorry." Yami whispered, feeling tears prick at his eyes. He felt so bad for Yugi's past. He had no idea just how much the younger boy had suffered. It wasn't fair! Yugi was nothing but a sweet, innocent little boy. He would never harm a fly, and yet…people seemed to love to hurt Yugi.
And Yami hurt to love Yugi. His heart pained for Yugi. He wanted nothing more than to find his little partner and hold him tight; telling him everything would be okay, no one would hurt him ever again.
"What are you sorry for?" Anzu whispered, wiping tears from her eyes. "You haven't hurt Yugi. But, we've hurt you." She hung her head in shame. "I'm sorry for calling the cops on you."
Yami no longer held any ill-bearings about that. He understood that she was only trying to protect her friend. Had their roles been reversed, he was sure he would do nothing different.
"No, it's fine." Yami said. "I understand now."
"Understand this." Joey said, gritting his teeth. "Yugi is not to know we told you this. It would break his heart. Yugi doesn't like talking about it and neither do we. Next time you see him, act like you know nothing."
"I have your blessing to date him?"
Joey scoffed. "It's not for you, lover-boy." Then his eyes softened. "Like I said. You make him happy. He deserves to be happy. Life hasn't allowed him too." Joey's eyes hardened then suddenly. "But I swear, if you hurt him…let's just say that I know some people."
Another death threat? Yami smirked. He knew it was only Joey's way of saying 'I don't hate you'.
"I wouldn't have it any other way."
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Isn't this…sorta…sweet?...Uh…..The point is Anzu and Joey don't hate Yami anymore! Hooray!
Sage: You're a b—
And that's all the time we have for today! Also, I have a poll on my profile, regarding my next story. Please go and vote on it!