Chapter 18: You Belong With Me

The first thing Matt thought when he stepped in his room was, "Everything looks the same." He turned around to look through the open door next to his, the room where his suitemate lived. That room was similar to its appearance before Matt left for the winter break, but the bed's blue sheets were black now, there was a white carpet on the previously hardwood floor, and all the furniture was replaced in positions that accommodated one person's living quarters; it was no longer set up for weekend gatherings.

"Yet so different."

Matt walked into his room and dropped his two suitcase bags next to the dresser. He considered leaving them there until just before bed, but his general rule was to unpack right away. All he had was clothes and books, anyway. But he really wanted to see how Bryan was doing; that his door was open suggested he couldn't be far. He probably just ran downstairs to grab something from the vending machine.

After Matt plugged in all his electronics and turned on the TV for background noise, he started unpacking. As soon as he finished putting away his underwear, a light rapping on the door alerted him to the presence of a hesitant friend.

"Hey, Kas!" He was happy to see the beautiful, auburn hair and knockout body of his girlfriend Kasumi Okuyama. She wore her yellow Academy jacket over a purple sweater, blue jeans, and high heeled boots; her hair was perfectly straight around her shoulders; and her lip gloss made it irresistible for Matt to kiss her. "I missed you."

"I'm glad," she replied, not intending that to sound as insecure as it did. Matt seemed not to notice, though, so she put on a smile.

"How did you get in?" Yellow duelists couldn't enter the Blue Mansion with their ID cards alone. They had to be let in by a resident or a staff or faculty member.

"I was visiting Cary downstairs. When her suitemate came in, we figured you'd be here, too."

"Sorry it took me so long. I wanted to help you move into your dorm."

She clicked her tongue and said, "That's what happens when you wait until the very last transport to Duel Academy. I got here yesterday."

"I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you."

He couldn't help just staring at her. Her hazel eyes were like amber gems on her face, and even though her default expression was neutral and she didn't smile widely, the little grins she managed really made Kasumi beautiful. And it helped that she was willing to be a confidant without feeling compelled to offer advice. The fact that she was willing to sit and listen while he ranted made her even more beautiful to Matt.

"Thank you for being there for me. It really helped."

"I'm here for you." That prompted Matt to kiss her again.

Behind her, another student clad in a black, leather jacket that he wore even indoors walked into the next room with the open door. Then he popped back out to do a brief double take and realize Matt's door was also open. Putting a big smile on his face, he walked in.

"Hey! Look who's finally back!" Not one to be shy, Bryan hugged Kasumi from behind. She reacted with a start, which made Matt chuckle. Bryan released her and pulled Matt into a hug, saying it was good to see his co-King of Games back in time for classes to start the next day.

"Good to see you, too, bro. I guess that means you managed to complete all the coursework you missed?"

"Yep. Even with the penalties for doing it all late, I still managed to keep my GPA better than a 3.0. I'm ready to get my grades back this semester."

Matt smiled. "Good. I'm glad to hear it."

"So what about you? My mom said you only stayed for three days and then you were gone until the end of the break. Did you find anything?"

Matt paused for a second, wanting eagerly to say he found the information he wanted, but he couldn't even convince himself that what he found was worthwhile. "No. I have no idea if the guy stealing cards last semester is my brother or if he's just a look-alike."

"You had to find something in four weeks."

Recalling the research and interviews he conducted, Matt described, "I started back home in Avesta. The three days I stayed at your mom's house were how long it took me to get anything substantial out of the jackass."

The "jackass" he referred to was his foster father. He used to beat Matt for stress relief because Matt was a quick healer and never left any evidence of abuse. Leaving for Duel Academy was the best feeling Matt had all through high school. Matt recently tried to get information from the jackass regarding the details of his adoption. As a man-couch hybrid, the jackass was not very open about anything; Matt wasn't sure if he was being difficult or if all that beer and liquor destroyed his hippocampus and, thus, his long-term memory. The jackass's wife was even more useless, being unconscious half the time from drug use.

It took three days of pressure, repetition, and fighting back, but Matt finally got the name of the social worker who performed the routine checks on the jackass's child-rearing skills.

"Mom said the day after you left, the police arrested the jackass and his wife on charges of child abuse. Apparently some of their kids, current and former, testified at the trial last week that abuse was common in many forms in that household. Where did that fit in your fact-finding mission?"

He shrugged. "A bonus. And it helps the other kids, too."

"You worried about Lindsay?" She was the only person aside from Bryan who Matt recognized as a sibling. She was not related to him by blood, but he actually developed a connection with her during their years in foster care.

"I didn't need to. She's starting her second semester at Georgetown: full academic scholarship."

"That's amazing. Isn't she, like, three years younger than we are?"

"And twice as smart," Matt agreed. "She'll be fine. But more pertinent to my trip back home, I checked in with Miss Rebecca Levron, the social worker who always allowed the jackass to maintain his certified foster care status. It turns out she was guilty of a few things, too."

Bryan made a face. "I hope you waited until after you learned something to turn her in."

"I said Lindsay was smarter; that doesn't mean I'm stupid." Matt explained how intensive interrogation and a little compute hacking—completed with the telephoned advice from an old friend—helped him learn that Miss Levron was taking bribes, but that she had no record of Matt's family.

"That led me to the big city of Gathas. It turns out my life is like a Disney character's. As an infant, I was found on the doorstep of a church. I tried to find out anything about who left me there, but no one at the church saw anything. Not even something as insignificant as a gender. It's like I just appeared."

Bryan sighed sympathetically. "That's it? Man, that's tough. I'm sorry, bro."

"It's okay. The next step is to find my look-alike and find out what he knows. Only a handful of people have actually seen him so far, and even though I trust Darius's word, I'll need to see this guy myself before I believe he is my brother."

"I'm here for you," Bryan admitted and slapped Matt on the shoulder.

Matt replied, "Good. Then let's stop talking about my boring break and start talking about you. What with your leaving school for a while and everything, it feels like it's been months since we had a legitimate chance to catch up."

Kasumi stepped beside Matt at one point; she stood quietly the whole time Matt recounted his winter break. "I'm going to head back to Cary's room before she starts assuming what we're doing. You guys need to catch up."

"We'll catch up, too," Matt promised as he kissed her. He watched her walk out of the suite and toward the stairs; Cary's room was on the second floor.

Bryan asked, "How's the relationship going?" Even before he left the campus, he knew Matt and Kas were having issues with jealousy and commitment.

"We're doing okay. I called her every night while I was in Gathas. It was nice to have someone to talk to about what I couldn't find." He took a breath and shifted the subject. "What about you and Lucy?"

Bryan hardly reacted. "What's to talk about there? We broke up." Before Matt could follow-up, Bryan suggested they not just stand there like characters in a sitcom; they should play video games while they talk. They went into Bryan's room and turned on Halo, but that wasn't enough to suppress Matt's curiosity.

"Why aren't you apologizing to Lucy and getting back together?"

Bryan laughed. "Dude, not every relationship is going to last. Even Ross and Rachel took ten years to get together."

"But they got together," Matt pointed out. "You and Lucy are perfect for each other. You help her relax and see the fun side of life and she puts up with all your crap… It's a perfect match."

"Move on, bro. We did. Isn't she still seeing that Bird Boy?"

Matt sighed. Lucy was comfortable talking to him, and she frequently did during the time right after Bryan lost a duel to Jason, a freshman prefect with a very impressive win ratio. She felt almost ready to say that she loved Bryan; she certainly felt strongly toward him. Matt wouldn't tell Bryan about it because it would mean more coming from Lucy, but knowing she felt that strongly made Matt uneasy seeing Bryan push her toward another guy.

"She doesn't love him."

"Well, give it time. They look good together."

"You can't mean that."

Bryan looked over with a glazed, nonchalant look in his eye. "Let it go. I don't know why you're so insistent that I get back together with Lucy when just six weeks ago you were ready to break up with Kasumi."

"A, we worked it out. B, Kasumi is a little nutty with her jealousy. She jokingly suggested that maybe I shouldn't even be friends with Cary anymore."

"You shouldn't. Cary's abrasive and sarcastic. She's just a bad seed."

It was clear Bryan wasn't interested in having a serious conversation. He wasn't even interested in taking the video game seriously; his Spartan was killed multiple times when Bryan stopped to look at his cell phone and exchange text messages with someone he wouldn't name. And he had no reservation with pausing the game amidst a hectic battle when his phone rang. He spoke a few words to the effect of someone outside the dorm ready to meet up, and his voice was somewhat giddy and excited.

"Expecting company?" Matt asked him.

"Yep. Want to come?"

Matt wasn't sure at first who Bryan was meeting, but by the time the two of them reached the ground level and stepped through the front door, he wasn't surprised to see someone vaguely familiar. The tattoos and piercings were easy to recognize; she was tall and her hair was colored pink. Perhaps none of that was as obvious at the five hundred-pound collection of mechanics beneath her seat; she drove a black Suzuki motorcycle, but that was as specific as Matt could get.

"Hey, babe," Bryan said as he wrapped his arms around the woman's leather bodysuit, which was very flattering for her form and unzipped way too far for January weather. She looked like she might be about seven or eight years older than Bryan, though, which was weird from his perspective. Matt also wondered if kissing her pierced lip didn't feel strange or painful.

"This is my brother, the guy I told you about," Bryan spoke to the woman. "Matt, this is Valerie Sheehan, mechanic from the bike shop."

"We met briefly," Matt recalled as he shook Valerie's leather-gloved hand. "I believe your hair was maroon at the time."

"Good memory," Valerie replied. "It's nice to meet you more officially. Bryan's told me a lot about you."

"Did he mention his age?"

But Valerie didn't miss a beat. "He even showed me his ID." Matt had to admit he was impressed that she kept up so quickly. That only meant he approved of her humor; he still didn't like that Bryan was dating her.

"We're going to the Duel Grille tonight," Bryan announced. "You should come with us. You never did get a chance to see me do stand-up. And it will give you and Val a chance to get to know one another through the mutual appreciation of making jokes at my expense." He was pleased with that thought; it pre-empted any jokes about him because he knew they were coming.

Matt nodded. "I'm game." He didn't want to be unfair to Valerie before he got a chance to know her. There was a chance she was a good match for Bryan after all. He just hoped Lucy was going to be okay. Bird boy—er, Jason—seemed like a less mature, more stereotypical guy than Lucy deserved.

When Matt glanced at the bicycle rack by the side of the mansion and saw the motorcycle chained up, he realized what Bryan did with all that money he got making book on the 3T last semester. It was also a Suzuki, but it was bulkier than Val's, and its ownership was obvious from the paint job—the H design found on Elemental Hero cards.

"I'll meet up with you guys after dinner, then," Matt decided. "I'm not interested in going cruising right now. I haven't even unpacked, and you know how I am about putting it off." He was able to jump to conclusions about what Val and Bryan had in mind when Bryan grabbed his motorcycle helmet before leaving the mansion.

"Fair enough," Bryan consented. He signaled to Val that he would be just another minute to join her. While she strapped on her helmet, Bryan jogged over to Matt's side and whispered so no one else could hear the conversation.

"Dude, how could you not even notice Val's rack?" He clarified that Matt had an excellent view when he shook Val's hand, but he didn't take the opportunity. And there's only one reason a real guy ignores a chance to check out a hot chick in a leather bodysuit.

"You're already in love," Bryan clarified.

Matt scoffed. "I like Kas a lot, but we're still nowhere near love."

"Say what you want, but I know you. Remember in high school when you fell for Lauren Montgomery? You completely ignored Wendy Waldeck even though she was totally hot and all over you, and just because you were in love."

"I am not in love," Matt repeated more sternly. "Kas's jealousy placed a major strain on our relationship. She and I are finally getting comfortable. That's all so far."

"Whatever you say." He hopped on the bike and strapped his helmet on. "If you ever want a turn on here, just let me know. This baby rips."

And it sounded like it was ripping up the sidewalk as Bryan rode the bike down the path to the street. He and Valerie made all kinds of engine noise on their way out as Mitsuro Itachu, resident advisor in the Blue Mansion, exited the building. She looked down the road at Bryan as if she were ready to confiscate the bike altogether.

"I hate that thing," she commented to no one but aware that Matt was right next to her. To him specifically, she said, "I've only been back three days and he's already driving me nuts with that noisy engine."

"Some guys like being the center of attention." He looked over to change the topic and asked, "How was your break? It's good to see you, Mitsuro." Mitsuro was tall and stern, making her somewhat intimidating for people who usually avoided confrontation. She was approachable and intelligent, though, despite her sometimes rough edges.

"You, too. I noticed you waited for the last ship to the island." Oh, she also had the discipline of a military family, which meant she was always among the earliest to an appointment.

"I had some things to take care of," he replied. "What are you up to? All ready for classes and everything?"

"Of course. I just hope Bryan and that stupid motorcycle don't spend much time around the dorms. I understand Dr. Lankford already spoke to Bryan about disturbing the other students, and even though there isn't currently a rule against having a motorcycle on campus, there might be soon."

"Geez. I always knew Lankford could be a bit of a stick in the mud."

"He has to be. Otherwise those motorcycles could keep us up all night, and a few of the other students actually like to study and learn."

Matt put on a curious expression. "Really? Could you point one out to me?"

Having nothing better to do for the moment, Mitsuro opted to head back upstairs with Matt and catch up while he unpacked his bags. She hung back at the door telling Matt about the changes she was making in her deck when Kenny Stewart, Matt's other suitemate, came back to his room wearing his spurred boots, heavy duster, and cowboy hat. He tipped the hat gently toward Mitsuro and said, "Evenin', ma'am."

"Hey, Kenny," she replied somewhat dryly. She thought Kenny's cowboy getup was goofy, but she didn't make fun of him for it as thoroughly and Matt and Bryan did.

Kenny looked past her into Matt's room. "Howdy."

Matt gave a slight nod. "Good to see you, Pompey. Could you do go get Doc Willoughby? If he's sober, bring him back." His quote was met with laughter as Kenny recognized lines from his favorite movie.

"I heard Bryan was doing comedy tonight at that Open Mic Night place he likes. You reckon they'll let me play a new tune I came up with?"

"That's why they call it Open Mic."

Mitsuro smiled amusedly. "Actually, that sounds like fun. It's nice to get off campus every now and then, even if the semester hasn't started yet."

"You're welcome to come along," Matt invited her. "If Kenny sings before Bryan does his stand-up, it sure could be an interesting evening. Plus, you'll get the chance to meet the lady who convinced Bryan to purchase his four-cylinder noise machine."

She rolled her eyes. "Dream come true." But she was still going; she tried to support and understand her classmates, even if that meant getting to know someone who could be a potential problem on campus.

Knowing Bryan's ego and his propensity toward an audience, Matt did not find the size of the crowd at the Duel Grille a coincidence. In addition to the usual suspects, comprising Cary and Kas, Matt recognized from campus a few other Blue duelists and a whole slew of Red duelists. The easiest to notice in the latter crowd was Rory Ruiter, who smiled so brightly she could reflect light directly back in Matt's eyes.

Aurora Ruiter was an easygoing girl—she had to be with a name like Aurora—who always dressed comfortably and encouraged liveliness in those around her. She contrasted with Kasumi fairly sharply. Rory was lighter in skin, smaller in weight, and had no more fight training than a musician; Kasumi was Oriental, strongly built, and trained in several styles of karate. The thing Kas found most annoying about Rory was that she didn't even seem to care she was the cause of the potential rift between Kas and Matt.

"I hate that girl," Kas grumbled.

"Why?" Matt wondered.

Suddenly Cary smacked Matt in the back of the head with a spoon, prompting him to recoil and complain that she got him right in the pointy part of the skull.

"It's called the occipital bone," she told him, "and I just wanted to know if you were really that dense or if it was all through stupidity." She didn't feel the need to clarify that in a large group of freshmen, Matt's attention went straight to the middle of the crowd, past the tattooed girl and the guy with the French fries in his nose to the short girl with the red highlights in her hair, which weren't even all that noticeable in the dim lighting of the Duel Grille.

"She's just a friend," Matt defended himself. "And a student. Even if I thought she was even remotely attractive, I wouldn't be allowed to act on it at all." Not a good argument when trying to convince his girlfriend he wasn't attracted to someone else. And everyone was aware of the sudden shift in the mood; the heat and humidity seemed to rise dramatically even though the room temperature never changed.

"I think I might order a drink after all," Mitsuro suggested, stepping toward the bar briefly to share her ID. Kenny was inclined to agree with her sentiment.

After looking at the almost tangible frustration between Kasumi and Matt, Val asked bluntly, "Do you guys always fight like this?"

"Only on days that end in 'y,'" Bryan answered her.

The only thing that Kasumi liked less than knowing Rory was within a hundred yards of Matt was realizing Rory was going to sing on stage and Matt wanted to stay and hear it. She wanted to make some excuse that would drag Matt outside for a few minutes, but he wasn't the kind of guy to shun one friend at the request of another.

Rory winked in Matt's direction when the jukebox began playing Taylor Swift's You Belong With Me. The beat was pretty good and music was a good way to relax. Well, for everyone else it was; Matt's and Kasumi's heart rates rose when Rory winked. Rory began by singing:

"You're on the phone with your girlfriend, she's upset. She's going off about something that you said. She doesn't get your humor like I do."

"Oh, come on," Matt complained. "That could be directed at anyone."

He found it harder to ignore it when Rory soon sang, "She wears high heels. I wear sneakers."

He looked down at Kasumi's gorgeous legs and said, "Now that's just creepy." As Kasumi's glare threatened to bore a hole through Matt's eyes, he sighed and said, "Okay. I'll talk to her." Six weeks later when the song ended and Kasumi still glared, Matt couldn't even remember the words. He cautiously slipped away from the table and approached the table where Rory sat with her friends.

"Hey, Rory," he said uncertainly. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

Many of Rory's friends made immature whooing sounds. Lili even suggested, "I told you he'd figure out that song was meant for him." Rory blushed as she told her roommate to shut up.

"Be careful," Synthia suggested when she noticed the people at Matt's table. "Kasumi over there looks ready to snatch you bald-headed."

"You could be right," Matt muttered, adding, "I think."

Unfortunately, the diner was too small to find someplace convenient to talk in private, and so Rory readily followed Matt just outside.

"Look," he started eloquently. "I hate to sound egoistical, and I know your friends are probably just messing with you, but Kas thinks you might have intended that song for me. I think she's being jealous and a little crazy, but she is certain—"

"No, I definitely directed it at you," Rory agreed.

Matt was prepared to deal with Crying Rory, Angry Rory, and Passive Aggressive Rory, but Confident Rory caught him by surprise. "I'm sorry; the light was in my ears. It sounded like you just said that Kasumi is not being paranoid."

"She's totally paranoid, but not about that song," Rory repeated. To clarify, she said with a grin that coy, yet confident, "You belong with me." Matt was still stunned and unsure how to proceed. Rory took the initiative:

"I like you. And Lili is positive you like me, too." She put up her hands in anticipation to say, "I know there's a rule against dating students when you're a TA, but that's why I'm not taking Dr. West's class this semester. I plan to keep flirting with you and I don't want to get you in trouble through mere accusations."

One reason for Matt's speechlessness was his heart rate; it was difficult for him to get oxygen to his throat when it felt like his heart stopped. Finally, he managed to force in a wheezy voice, "Kas and I finally got comfortable. Why are you still going to push?"

"Because it took you a full year to get 'comfortable,'" she replied, using air quotes as she spoke. "Besides, Bryan says you're in love with me. He thinks things will work out if I just make the first move. That's how he convinced me to come out tonight. He also promised me a ride on his motorcycle."

Bryan! He mentioned earlier that ridiculous theory that Matt must be in love with someone because he failed to look down Valerie's shirt. He obviously jumped to the conclusion that if Matt wasn't in love with Kasumi, he must be in love with the cute freshman. Yet, it didn't stop him from flirting with her a little.

Rory took a step closer. "I know you want things to work with Kasumi, but they say all's fair in love and war." She looked him right in the eye and said, "Unless you can convince me that you care more about her than about me, I don't plan to hide my feelings for you." When Matt stammered in reply, she just grinned. "That's what I thought." When Matt caught himself watching Rory walk back inside, he decided to stay outside in the cold for just a moment longer.

Channeling Scott Bakula, he sighed, "Oh, boy."

Sorry for the delay. New job meant spending a lot of extra time at work these past three weeks.

For those of you who have never tried posting one chapter of a story every week, allow me to point out something that will explain the change in tone over the next few chapters. The advantage to writing a whole story and only publishing it when finished is that you can go back and edit without having to go through the annoyance of replacing the previous post, and you can change something whenever the mood strikes you. The previous few chapters got away from me as I tried to use all the OCs who were submitted to me. I promised to add one more in the new semester, but I would like to hold off on adding more until the next part of the story. When this arc finishes, I will send a few people to another location for a while, and I will have room for new characters then.
The point for you to know is I will try to improve the way I use the characters I have, but I am not the most skillful writer, and so I can only promise to do my best. I appreciate your continued support. I do need to get the story moving, and so I will need to let up a little on the dueling. But don't worry: Dueling is still the central plot device; you'll see.

Credits:
Darius Mantzios...tiramisu19
Jason Maxim...Maxim and Knight
Nathan Zislaw...Mavrik Zero
Hillary Delaney...Nodqfan144
Lili Von...Happy2BMe
Carter Jade...Jaden2010
Mitsuro Itachu...Titanic X
Sean Bivins...DarkVestroia2
Naoto Kurotsuki...Kurotsuki Haru
Hayley Wilson...TeamRocketDiva
Maikeru Stone...onyxshade7
Victor Rocks & Abel Shinzou...Iron-Arm-V
Alister Kazama & Jessica Parks...ZaneKazama001
Synthia Spencer...Madly Chessur
Leila & Linear Lockhart...Windraider
Romulus Malligan...Maximus1
Everyone else so far...YamiRuss