Joey awoke to the sound of a buzzing alarm in his room. Flipping over he noticed the clock tick over to 7.30. An hour and a half until school. Groggily he sat up, putting a hand to his aching head. What had happened last night? He looked at himself for bruises to notice he was still dressed it jeans and a dress shirt. Oh, he went on a date last night…with Duke. He vaguely remembered dancing, after that, everything else was a blur. He let out a light groan before undressing and walking to the shower.

By the time he was out and ready for school it was 8.20. Perfect. This gave him enough time to put his clothes in the washer and grab a bagel on his way to school. As he picked up his trousers, a note fell from the pocket. Crunched and screwed from where he had been laid on it, he gently began to unfold it. His eyes scanned the paper, his chest beginning to burn slightly.

'Aishiteru.'

The only words written on the paper tore straight through him. He bit his lip. Duke…loved him? He wasn't sure how to feel. Sure, he liked the green eyed boy, he was kind of sweet and good looking, but…love? It was a little fast. He placed the paper on the side, before setting off to school.

He arrived slightly early again, taking a seat by the window. Kaiba was already there and he seemed to be staring at the blond. Joey shifted uncomfortably.

'What the fuck you loookin' at Kaiba?' the blond finally burst. Kaiba shook himself to sit up straight.

'Nothing. You seem different.'

'Yeah well I've had a headache all morning.'

'I wonder why that is.'

'I went out last night.'

'I know.'

'How?'

'I saw you…' Kaiba instantly looked away. That wasn't supposed to have come out.

'When?' Joey thought about it, 'Before we went?'

'Uh, Yeah.' Kaiba shifted slightly, feeling instantly uncomfortable. Joey noticed this.

'You're lying.' He stood up quickly, his chair falling back. They where still alone in the room, so they could argue freely.

'What the fuck does it matter to you anyway, mutt?'

'I wanna know when the fuck you saw me!'

'I followed you OK? I was there when you had cocktails, I was there when you danced and I was there when you where about to go into his apartment and fuck him!' Kaiba had raised his voice to a yell, his fists slammed on the desk.

'I wasn't gonna fuck him!'

'Oh? You said otherwise!'

'I didn't even see you last night you stalker!'

'Yes you did, you fucking came to my house!' Kaiba blushed red before sitting down and taking a few deep breaths. The blond was getting to him and he was beginning to regret the words that came out of his mouth.

'What?' Joey's eyes widened. He picked up his chair and flopped into it, his features unmoving. He swallowed hard. He'd gone to Kaiba's house? 'Why would I go to your house?' he asked honestly, suddenly concerned at what he did last night.

'I t..I took you there.' That had been a lot harder to say than Seto had planned. Joey's eyebrows knitted.

'Why…'

'I didn't want you to sleep with Duke.' He sighed. There was no point lying now. It was over. His plan was totally ruined. No one would believe the blond anyway.

'Why would you care.'

'He isn't right for you.'

'He loves me.'

'He told you?'

'He left me a note.' Kaiba felt his chest widen.

'Oh. What did it say?' He scanned the blond's face.

'Aishiteru.' The honey eyed boy shrugged.

'How did that make you feel?'

'What are ya, a shrink?'

'Well?'

'Not that it has anythin' to do with you, but I dunno how to feel.' Kaiba took a deep breath.

'What if I told you…' the blond glanced over. 'That the note, wasn't from Duke.' Now Joey was confused.

'Who else would write it, and put it in my pocket?'

'Me…' Kaiba's voice was almost a whisper. Joey slowly processed the thought. Different possibilities crossed his mind.

'Why would ya do dat?' He swallowed hard, anger slowly lacing through his voice. 'Why would you sabotage our relationship? Is it cos you don't have one? Is it cos you're jealous Kaiba?' The anger became thicker, his voice turning red.

'No. It's not like that.'

'Then how is it?' The blond exploded. 'You're a fuckin' bastard Kaiba.'

'I…I like you.' The brunet finally stammered out. None of this was going right, this wasn't how it was supposed to happen.

'Yeah I fuckin' bet you do. Like to fuckin' piss me off.' Joey snarled and eyed Seto. 'Is this your idea of a joke? To play with my emotions? To ruin what might be my only chance at love?'

'No…it's not a lie…Joey…I…'

'Save it, richboy. I'm done screwing with you.'

'The project…'

'I don't give a fuck anymore. I'd rather fail than work with you.'

'You can't mean that…'

'I do. I'll gladly get held back if it keeps me away from you, ya bastard.' Kaiba reclined back into his chair, pinching the bridge of his nose fighting back tears…this was not supposed to happen.

'What do I need to do to show you?' He muttered finally. Seto Kaiba did not loose anyting. Ever. Except the occasional Duel Monsters game. But only to Yami!

'There ain't nothing you can do, Kaiba.'

'Fine.' The brunet gave in, and whipped out his laptop. Furiously he began to type. This is not over.


Hey everyone!

Second post today! I had an exam earlier and spent an hour of it just staring at the invidulator who was staring at me like I was about to whip a gun out. I decided to sit and smirk to myself the whole time. He eventually got creeped out. Maybe it's cos I have black eyes? People tell me theyre freaky…oh well. It has inspired me for a Bakura oneshot that I'll post later. If you read and liked 'The Speech' you'll probably like it. Anyway I hope you like this chapter!

Much love

AB

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