Jaden just lay around his dorm room, completely void of contact from anyone. He hadn't eaten, slept, bathed, or even spoken in over three days. He had isolated himself from everyone in his life, be it human or spirit. Winged Kuriboh, Neos, Professor Banner, not even Yubel had a shot at getting through to him. He'd essentially shut himself out from the entire world, locking himself in his dorm room with every form of light turned off or shut out. He wanted to wallow in the dark and hope that, by some miracle, the Supreme King came to life and ended his suffering by swiftly killing him.

It had been three days since he had returned to his own dimension after fusing souls with Yubel, but it felt like an eternity since he last saw the face of the one he loved and it was driving him into borderline insanity. That person left him behind to go back home, and, while Jaden could understand the logic behind their decision; he was heartbroken that they were no longer a permanent part of his life.

Jaden sat uncomfortably against the railing of his bunk beds, his arms wrapped around his legs. He had the blanket from his bed wrapped around him, even childishly throwing it over his head while leaving his face exposed. As he cuddled into his own legs, pulling them tightly against his chest, he choked out, in a cracked and hoarse voice, the one and only word he had been repeating since his return:

"Jesse."

Jaden felt tears fill his eyes as he reminisced on his fond memories with Jesse. He remembered the day they first met on the roof, immediately forging a near inseparable friendship. Then, to the time when he awoke to Jesse keeping a protective eye on him after his duel with Professor Stein, showing that Jesse cared greatly for his well-being. Finally, the time when he and Jesse were duelling Yubel, and Jesse said that he'd sacrifice himself to keep up the energy of Rainbow Dragon's attack. The instant that he realized that Jesse would give his life for the latter was when the latter knew for a fact that he was in love with Jesse, and has been ever since that day.

When Jesse didn't come back home with Duel Academy and all the students, Jaden was devastated, even more so than he currently was. Jesse could have been dead for all he knew; Yubel could have taken Jesse and tortured him for interfering with her and Jaden; Jesse could still have been trapped in the other dimension with no way back. Any of these scenarios meant that Jaden would never see him again, and that result was just too much for him to bear. So, when Winged Kuriboh came and told Jaden that a dimensional portal had opened up on the far side of the island, he became overcome with hope that it may lead to Jesse. Seconds later, he had packed his bag, thrown on his shoes and was running out the door while following Kuriboh.

Jaden didn't care if he never came back again. If there was even the tiniest of chances that Jesse was on the other end of that portal, he would still take it head-on. Jesse was too important to him not to be with, and if Jesse was willing to risk himself for a Jaden then he was going to return the favour.

He didn't want to drag his other friends into his problem. There was no telling what was on the other side of that portal, or even if they would come back alive. That was why he decided to leave without telling anyone. Finding Jesse was his mission, and his alone.

Not that he was complaining (especially considering that Bastion stabilized the portal, and if he had not then Jaden may not be alive at the moment), but the reason that Jesse was closer to him than everyone else was because, if Jaden told Jesse that he'd be doing this, Jesse would understand his decision to go alone and wish him luck on his quest. If Jaden asked Jesse to stay behind, he would. His friends basically pressured him into letting them come, despite the number of times he asked them not to. He appreciated the sentiment, but he didn't want them to get hurt or worse, and if they were as good friends as he and Jesse were, they would have respected his request and abided by it. And, because they didn't, they were all sent to the stars. He didn't want to blame any of them, because they were all still very important to him. If they hadn't followed him, however, Atticus, Alexis, Hasselberry and Chazz wouldn't have been made sacrifices for the Super Polymerization card, Axel and Jim wouldn't have had to be sent to the stars to break the Supreme King's control, Aster wouldn't have lost to Adrian in a vain attempt to save Echo, Zane wouldn't have been killed by Yubel, and Syrus wouldn't have had to sit back and watch all of it unfold as his best friend descended into madness.

He wasn't sure if the Supreme King would have awakened or not, but he was certain that it wouldn't have happened the same way if he didn't have the loss of his friends to anger him beyond his breaking point. He didn't know how he would have fared against Yubel without the Supreme King's power, but he knew that he probably could have rescued Jesse with less interference or casualties.

Jaden sighed, collapsing to the floor on his side while still wrapped in his blanket. He looked across the room, staring intently at the door. If miracles could happen, the door would open at that moment and Jesse would be outside. Jesse would run up to him, wrap his arms around him and give him a kiss that was filled with love and fervour. Afterwards, he would say to Jaden, "I love you, Jaden," and they would spend hours in each other's arms; hugging, kissing, getting into bed...

Jaden blushed, sitting up and shaking his head furiously. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Not again..." he muttered stressfully. Ever since Jesse had left, Jaden had been having many sexual thoughts about the two of them. He had imagined them both in numerous positions, though most times Jaden was allowing Jesse to be the dominant one while he was on the bottom. He didn't want these images in his mind; partially because it was still very new to him and also very embarrassing regardless, but mainly because every time it happened, he was reminded of something that may never happen; having Jesse as a partner (in any sense of the word). Even so, he felt a strange sensation of desire and (after a brief session of online research) what he assumed to be lust every time these images flashed into his mind.

Jaden groaned as he heard his stomach growled ferociously. He hadn't even thought about food for days; his only thought was being apart from Jesse. He wasn't used to starving himself like he had been. While he really didn't want to get up to walk down to the Slifer cafeteria, he also didn't want to have another thing gnawing at him from the inside besides his feelings. So, after standing up, throwing his blanket on the bed and slipping on his sneakers, Jaden walked up to the door and opened it. He was momentarily blinded by the sudden flash of light that resulted from doing so, having not seen any form of light in days, but shortly after, his vision began to clear up. When he could finally see again, he was surprised to see the person in front of him.

"A-Alexis...?"

Alexis looked at Jaden with a surprised expression. One hand was raised up into a fist, inches away from the doorframe. In the other, she held a plastic bag but Jaden couldn't make out what was inside. "Hey, Jaden," she said softly, lowering her hand to her side. "I came by to make sure that you were ok. You've been cooped up in your room for days now."

Jaden tried to fake a smile, scratching his cheek. "Yeah, I'm all right..." he lied. "I just miss J- I mean, everyone from the other academies, that's all."

Alexis looked down at her feet, hiding a twinge of pain in her eyes. "I bet you miss Jesse the most, don't you?" she asked.

Jaden nearly gasped at the mere mention of Jesse's name, feeling his heart skip a beat, but tried desperately not to show any signs of it affecting him. He continued to put on a brave face while he answered Alexis' question. "No, I miss him just as much as I miss Jim and Axel," he lied once more, subtly checking to make sure his pants hadn't literally caught on fire. If he combined how much he missed Jim and Axel and multiplied it by a thousand, it still wouldn't even compare to how much he missed Jesse, but he didn't want Alexis to know that.

Alexis sighed, looking Jaden in the eye with an entirely different look in her eye; a look of anger. "Jaden, don't lie to me," she said firmly, taking Jaden by surprise. "Jesse was the best friend you've ever had; better than Syrus, better than Hasselberry... better than me." Jaden noticed a spark of jealousy in Alexis' eyes when she was referring to herself. "You knew him for like five minutes and somehow he grew closer to you than I ever did. You wouldn't have locked yourself away in your room for days over someone you knew for such a short time, unless they were really important to you!"

Jaden watch Alexis rant on, but he couldn't come up with a response. "Alexis..."

Alexis continued to go on and give Jaden a piece of her mind, not even noticing that her volume was increasing steadily. She raised both of her hands into fists, glaring angrily into Jaden's eyes. "And Jaden, we've been friends for over two years now. I thought we had an understanding in our friendship, that we trusted each other and could tell them anything that was bothering them! So, how can you just stand there and lie right to my face?" Jaden's eyes widened when Alexis' began to tear up. The look of anger was soon washed away by one of sadness. "Why is it that you're so close to him, but not to me? I've been trying to get your attention for years and you've barely noticed me at all! If Jesse was still here, you'd be ignoring me to spend time with him just like you'd been doing since the year started!"

As he watched his friend cry her eyes out and yell at him, Jaden came to a realization. He couldn't help voicing his epiphany. "Alexis, do you... like me?" he asked. "As in, like me like me?"

Alexis wiped the tears from her eyes, giving Jaden a cold stare. "What was your first clue, idiot?" she asked sarcastically.

"But... why?" Jaden asked. "What could I have possibly done that would make you like me? There's nothing special about me!"

Alexis sighed, letting her enraged facade fade away. Instead, it was replaced with a small smile and a tinted blush. Her arms crossed gently across her chest. "There are so many things you've done that I admire about you," she stated. "You saved me from Titan. You saved my brother from being a Shadow Rider. You saved the entire world from the Sacred Beasts and the Society of Light, and you did it all single-handedly. You're the bravest, most selfless, and most wonderful person that I've ever met, Jaden. You're the kind of person that I always hoped to be with..."

Jaden began to blush as well, feeling both flattered and embarrassed about being praised so highly. "Oh, stop it..." he said, trying not to grin. "Seriously, Lexi, you have no reason to like me, especially after what happened in the other dimension. Did you forget that you were sent to the stars because of me?"

Alexis shook her head, a frown growing cross her face. "No, I didn't," she said. "You abandoned all of us to find Jesse, even though you had no clue if he was even there. Because of that, Brron captured all of us and sacrificed us to make the Super Polymerization card, and, according to Syrus, you turned into a psychotic king and nearly killed everyone in that world. Axel and Jim sacrificed themselves to bring you back, and Aster gave his life up to protect you. I know everything that happened..."

Jaden nodded. "Exactly," he said. "That's why-"

"And I couldn't care less."

Jaden gasped, surprised by Alexis' interruption and by what she said. "Say what?"

Alexis smiled. "Jaden," she began, "there's no denying that you made a mistake when you did what you did. You didn't know Jesse nearly as long as me and the others, and you were prepared to throw us down the river in order to save him." Alexis' hand placed itself in front of her chest, squeezing into a tight fist. The look of pain in her eyes had returned. "I'll never forget how I felt when we were trapped in Brron's chains, and one by one you sent us to the stars. I'll never forget the pain I felt on that day, the pain of watching my friends disappear because of the guy I cared about most..." She gave Jaden a stern look, a hint of confidence and security mixed in with it. "But, everyone makes mistakes. Everyone has those moments in their lives when they do something they regret. Brainwashed or otherwise, do you really think I'm proud of my time in the Society if Light?"

"Well, I... guess not..."

"And it's the same thing with you. You did something you weren't entirely proud of, but you can relax knowing that it was for someone else." Alexis took hold of Jaden's limp hand and looked lovingly into his eyes, the blush on her cheeks spreading rapidly onto his. "I know that we sort of pressured you into letting us come to find Jesse, so don't blame yourself entirely for what happened to all of us. We know you wouldn't want to do that to us on purpose. We should have respected your decision to go find Jesse on your own, so I'm sorry about that. I get that finding Jesse was very important to you."

Despite Alexis' kind words and the warm and endearing smile she was giving him, Jaden found himself trying not to cry. He couldn't believe the things she had said, how she had the same thoughts that he had had moments ago. She agreed that letting Jaden go to the other dimension on his own was important with him and that they should have let him go.

She respected him... She liked him... She appreciated his feelings...

In a way, Jaden was briefly reminded of Jesse by Alexis. She cared for his well-being, like Jesse did. She respected his decisions. She wanted the best for him. The only major difference was that he knew that she... liked him.

In a brief, extemporaneous moment, Jaden found himself almost jumping forward, embracing Alexis in a firm hug and crashing his lips longingly against hers. There was no warning, no subtle hints, or even so much as a step forward. Jaden had all but thrown himself at Alexis, kissing her as passionately as one could ever hope to describe, and he didn't show signs of stopping.

He was ecstatic; overjoyed; completely and utterly happy. After dreaming of it for weeks, he was finally kissing Jesse-

That last thought caused Jaden and his lips to come to an abrupt halt, and his eyes to snap wide open. He wasn't kissing Jesse; he was kissing Alexis. He had confused his best girl friend for the boy that he was in love with; all over one small connection that (in his opinion) his idiotic mind had almost forced into existence. He had but one thought as he separated from her and moved backwards, against the wall of his dorm; 'I'm dead meat!'

Despite being afraid of what he could expect to see, Jaden stared into the eyes of the woman that he had just accidentally kissed and saw an expression that he was not expecting. Her eyes were narrowed softly, as if she was trying not to cry; her face was coated with a bold blush; the bag she was carrying had long since been dropped. Most shocking, however, was that she was smiling; a smile that he hadn't seen since Atticus had recovered from his time as a Shadow Rider. It was so wide and filled with joy that Jaden couldn't help but think that Alexis looked beautiful because of it.

"Jaden..." Alexis said, her voice almost cracking. She brought a hand up to her mouth and covered it shyly. "You... You just..."

"I-I'm sorry!" Jaden exclaimed, clapping his hands in front of his face and bowing. "I don't know why I just did that! After you said all of that, that you should have respected me, I... I just..."

Jaden couldn't even come up with an explanation for this whole mess, at least not one that wouldn't hurt Alexis. If she actually did like him, saying "I kissed you because you reminded me of Jesse for a few seconds, that's all" would probably break her heart and get himself slapped across the face. He had to say something else; anything else. Alexis was one of those people you didn't want to have as an enemy, and also one of the closest members of his circle of friends.

Quickly, Jaden came up with something that he thought may save him a sore spot on his cheek and the loss of a friend. "I was just... so happy that someone didn't think that my going to look for Jesse on my own was as stupid as everyone makes it out to be," he stated, still looking down.

Technically, that wasn't a lie; Jaden was thrilled that Alexis believed in him like that. It made him feel like going to the other dimension after Jesse, all by himself, wasn't, to quote Chazz "one of Jaden's idiotic mistakes that his friends had to clean up." If it were under just about any other set of circumstances, Jaden would be thanking Alexis as if she had just given him his last meal. In this case, however, Jaden wasn't sure of what to do; friend or otherwise, Jaden knew about as much about girls as he did on how to stay awake during Duel History class. The best thing he could think of was to just stay quiet and let the pieces fall where they may.

There were no words that were spoken, not for what Jaden felt was an eternity. He did not know how much longer that he could take the anxiety of waiting for Alexis to respond. Just as he was about to peek upward to see if Alexis was still in shock, he felt a gloved hand caressing his cheek and lifting his head upward; Alexis' hand. She placed her free hand and grabbed the back of Jaden's head, pulling him in for another kiss.

It was now Jaden's turn to be shocked. He didn't know that Alexis could be so bold as to forcibly kiss someone, assertive as she normally was (not that he was in any position to judge, having done the same only a few minutes ago). This must have been extremely important to her - something that she desperately wanted - if she was willing to go this far.

Several seconds passed before Alexis pulled away from Jaden, allowing the both of them to breathe once more; they each inhaled and exhaled in almost perfect unison. Alexis gazed into Jaden's eyes with a laser-like focus. "Jaden... What do you see me as?" she asked.

"Excuse me?"

"I mean... Do you think I'm someone you'd actually like to take a chance on in a relationship?" she said, her fists clenching tightly once again as she did so. "Or will I always be just a friend to you, like Hasselberry or Syrus?"

Jaden started twirling his fingers around one another in circles, nervously trying to think of an answer. He had no idea how to respond to Alexis' question. The only thing he had ever been crazy or passionate about was Duel Monsters. The entire idea of being in a relationship with anyone, even if that one was Jesse, scared him senseless; it was all still very new to him and he didn't have anyone he could think of to talk to that wouldn't poke fun at him for it; Syrus would lord it over his head forever that Syrus reached puberty before him, Hasselberry would think he had a concussion, Chazz would probably die of laughter, and Atticus would...

No. "Ladies' man, Atticus" wasn't even an option, especially after everything that just happened with his sister. Jaden would sooner burn his deck and jump off a Cliffside into shallow, jagged rocks than talk to Atticus about his delayed puberty.

"I didn't come here just to ask you this, Jaden, but now that it's out in the open I need to know where we stand. I can't keep living in a world where I'm always asking 'What if?' So tell me now, Jaden: Will we ever have a chance at being a couple? I'm not leaving until I have an answer."

"I... I don't know, Alexis..." he said softly, crossing his arms defensively across his chest. "I've never been with anyone in a real relationship before, and it's too embarrassing to talk about it to anyone else that has. I have a million and six different things I'm trying to figure out on my own, and... and-"

"Whenever you find the answer to one question, two more pop up?"

Jaden's eyebrows raised in surprise when he heard those words escape Alexis' mouth. She had practically hit the nail on the head. "Exactly..." he said, astounded. "How did you...?"

"Jaden, if you think you're the only one trying to figure themselves out, you're sadly mistaken," Alexis said in a mocking tone. She crossed her arms defensively across her chest. "I've been asking myself different questions for years now, and some of them leave me even more confused than when I started. Online research didn't exactly help, Mindy and Jasmine would have a field day with me if I asked them, and my brother..."

Both of them had a brief shudder.

Jaden raised a hand. "Say no more," he said. "Well, I guess it's nice knowing that I'm not alone with this stuff, but it doesn't make anything less confusing. So... where do we go from here?"

Alexis pondered for a moment, her hand on her chin. "I don't know..." she said. "I have an idea, but I don't know if you'd be up for it."

Jaden put his hands behind his head and sighed. "It couldn't hurt to hear it, I guess. Try me."

Alexis began to blush. "How about... we try dating each other."

Jaden's hands dropped to his side, a frown on his face. "Alexis, how is that going to-"

"Just hear me out," she interjected. "Neither of us knows what being in a relationship is like. We both want to know. So, we try being a couple and see where it goes. If both of us feel like the relationship isn't working, we can end it and go back to being friends. Think of it like... testing a new card in your deck. If you think the card doesn't work, you can all ways take it out and return the deck to the way it was before. So... what do you say?"

Jaden didn't want to agree to these terms; he enjoyed having Alexis as a friend and only a friend. He would be lying if he said that he hadn't had the occasional thought about Alexis and him dating, but he could live without it. Besides, if he was dating Alexis, he couldn't go out with Jesse when he came back...

That last thought gave Jaden another much-needed epiphany; Jesse wasn't coming back. He had returned to North Academy and he wasn't going to return. There was no evidence that Jesse even wanted to be in a relationship with him. That day, three days ago, when Jaden watched Jesse waving goodbye as his boat carried him back to North Academy, may have been Jaden's last chance to be with Jesse. Alexis, however, was a different story altogether. She was there, she liked him and she wanted to be in a relationship with him. She wasn't going anywhere. She would be there for him. She would help him figure himself out. And, in case their relationship didn't work out, they could all ways go back to being friends and being a part of each other's lives. In all honesty, as much as he loved Jesse and wanted to be with him, Jaden didn't want to spend the rest of the year clinging to the hope that Jesse might return to Duel Academy, or return his feelings…

"A-All right..."

Alexis blinked several times. "What?"

Jaden smiled weakly, his cheeks growing slightly red. "I said 'all right,'" he repeated. "I guess I really don't have anything to lose by simply experimenting... But let's just take things slow, and ease our way forward. And, lets just keep this between us for now. Chazz would probably kill me and the others would never leave us alone about it"

Alexis smiled joyfully, her eyes widening with excitement. She nodded eagerly. "Agreed," she said. "So, until further notice, I guess the two of us are..."

"Uh... B-Boyfriend and girlfriend?"

Alexis couldn't help but chuckle. "I've imagined you saying those words before... but, its actually a lot funnier hearing it out-loud than what I thought it'd be," she said, holding a hand up to her face in a vain attempt to hide her laugh. "It'd kinda like watching a little boy trying to eat at the grown-up's table; less mature-looking than it's supposed to be, but still kinda cute."

Jaden blushed, feeling a strange combination of embarrassment and pride. He crossed his arms and grinned awkwardly. "Thank you...?" he said, joining Alexis in a brief laugh. Suddenly, he remembered that Alexis was carrying something in a bag when she came to visit. The bag now resided on the patio of the Slifer dorm. "What's in the bag, Lexi?" he asked, pointing to the bag.

Alexis looked at the ground, suddenly noticing that she wasn't holding the bag anymore. Quickly, she bent over to pick it up, holding the bag open for Jaden to see inside after doing so. It appeared to be frozen shrimp, flour, eggs and several other ingredients. "I got these from Dorothy on my way here," she explained. "Everyone was worried that you weren't eating, so I said that I'd make you some deep-fried shrimp to make you feel better. I know it's your favourite."

Jaden's stomach growled ferociously at the mention of his favourite thing to eat, but he was too distracted by the fact that he now knew that Alexis could make it. He barely even noticed a small dribble of saliva hanging from the edge of his mouth. He stared downward at the bag. "You're kidding," he said. "You can cook? ...and one of the things you can cook is the most delicious thing on this planet?"

Alexis laughed. "Well, I may not be a professional chef, but I can follow a simple recipe as good as anyone," she said. "It'll only take a few minutes to make these, so lets go to the Slifer kitchen and you can taste my cooking first hand. What do you say?"

Jaden's eyes briefly sparkled as he stared at both Alexis and the bag she was holding simultaneously. "What do I say?" he repeated. "I say that I may end up marrying you!"