Kaiba snarled into the mirror. He hoped it wasn't the stupid mutt in the stall, and he wasn't about to stick around to find out. Just as he turned to leave, the stall opened and a messy blond walked out. Kaiba turned around, merely from curiosity. The blond had stumbled over to the mirror, gripping onto the sink. He had splashed his face with water, but when he met his hazel eyes in the mirror, he flinched away. Kaiba watched as he the blond dragged himself to see his own reflection again, this time wiping away the tears and dried blood. It was too hard to resist.

'Aw, the mutt got in a fight?' he snarled, 'and lost, again?'

'Shut the fuck up Kaiba, this don't concern you.' His voice was angry, but quiet.

'If you ask me, it's your own damn fault for been in a gang. You're a threat to society.'

'Yeah well, who cares anyway?' it was better that people thought this of him, at least then when his father finally went too far, there would be no one left to care.

'You're friends seem pretty pissed. To be frank, they're pissing me off. So why don't you drop the hard act and apologise already. I don't think I can take them anymore.'

'You can't take them? You haven't just been dropped for something you didn't do.' Fuck, he'd said too much.

'Something I didn't do, mutt? Don't tell me, the drama continues…'

'Kaiba, it doesn't concern you, fuck off.' The brunet became intrigued. He wasn't sure why but he wanted to know more. It meant Yami was wrong, and that was always good. He got closer to the blond, inspecting his face.

'Hmph.'

'What.'

'So, this isn't the mutt's first scrap?'

'Yeah well. What's it to you?'

'It isn't.' Kaiba turned on his heels. 'But I'm not stupid, Wheeler.'

'What's dat supposed to mean?'

'You figure it out.' With that, he left. Joey looked to his face in the mirror. He was a mess and there wasn't much he could do. It was the first time he'd seen his own reflection and it was bad. If he didn't know better, he wouldn't have recognised himself. What was Kaiba's problem anyway? He knew the brunet wasn't stupid but he had no idea what he meant by the comment. He shrugged it off. Where could he go now? He couldn't go to class. He couldn't go home. He couldn't go to dinner as he refused to sit alone. He thought about it for a while before walking out of school and heading to the park. It was safe there. He could sit by the pond for a few hours to collect his thoughts, maybe relax. He'd be able to go to the chemist before school was out and buy some painkillers too.

He arrived at the park, the sun shining in his eyes. He smiled to himself. It was nice to have those few hours of freedom. He gently laid himself down on the grass and closed his eyes, letting his fingers run across the soft blades beneath his palms. Was this what it felt like to be happy? He'd just lost everything, his friends and most of his body, but he felt…different. He felt alone, but in the good way. He cherished it as he knew the feeling would leave him soon, and he'd feel hollow and empty. His friends had been his only reason to hold onto life, and now he'd lost it. He sighed to himself, feeling the warm breeze blow at his hair. If his father killed him tonight, which was quite possible, it wouldn't even matter. No one would know, and they'd assume it was a gang fight, so they wouldn't even care. He opened his eyes looking at the clouds. Maybe this is why he was so happy? Maybe he knew, deep down, that this was his last day. He had nothing left to live for, which made him finally free. His hand roamed to his arm again, touching the old scar. He smiled contently, he'd lived long enough, he'd experienced so much more than many others. It was his time. It had been a nice day, and he'd come to terms with everything that was going to happen.

He let his hand fall back down to the grass and closed his eyes, letting the sun tan his face. It was all so peaceful until a shadow loomed over him. He opened his eyes to see the tall silhouette of Seto Kaiba. Joey rolled his eyes and sighed,

'What is it now, moneybags?'

'You look very happy for someone who just lost all of their friends.'

'Yeah well, today is going to end well.'

'Is that what you think?'

'It's what I know.'

'What makes you so sure?' Kaiba looked arrogant as always.

'I just know my luck.'

'You sound pretty confident, mutt.'

'I am. I don't have to worry about anything. It'll all work out for the best.'

'So you're taking the easy way out?'

'What?'

'You know what I'm talking about.' Joey's breath caught in his throat.

'No, I have no idea. Enlighten me with your knowledge.'

'Then you didn't figure it out? Hmph. How boring.' Kaiba's shadow left and Joey closed his eyes again. Crazy moneybags, must have had too much coffee.

Hey

So another chapter!

Please R&R

Mwah!

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