Miya's POV
He hung up and sighed deeply. You moved over and sat next to him, turning his head to look at you.
"What's wrong Joey?"
"It's my dad. He…He's drunk and he…Went after my mom and Serenity."
"Are they okay?"
"Yeah, the cops are there now. But Serenity's scared to come out of her room, and Mom thinks I'll be able to calm her down a bit."
"How bout I just take you there? That'll be easy that trying to wake Tea up."
"You don't need to Miya."
"Sure I do. No need to get everyone else all worked up."
His hand found yours and gripped it tightly.
"Thanks Miya. This means a lot to me."
He got up and you crawled back over to your bag. Instead of changing completely you just threw on your jeans and shoes.
"Ready?"
Joey nodded as he put his jacket back on.
You grabbed your wallet and keys and the both of your quietly made your way out of house. On the way, you drove 15 miles over the speed limit as Joey gave directions.
When you got there, you parked at the end of the ally. Out in front of Joey's apartment were 3 police cars and one very pissed off drunk man.
"Take it that's your dad?" you asked locking your car.
"Yep. Easy to spot huh?"
"Mhm."
You calmly started walking over towards the house but Joey stopped you. Before he could say anything you pushed past him. When you got within a few feet of the man, the police began to come near you, urging you to get out of their way.
"What? Ha wha do you want girly? Come to party wit me?"
You rolled your eyes.
"Sorry you're not my type."
"No girl isn't my type darlin'." he slurred, wrapping an arm around you pulling you close.
This is just what you wanted, a close enough shot to a pressure point. You grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back. A instant later you kicked his legs out from under him, sending him to the ground.
"Cuffs please!" you said holding him down with your foot.
The police stood in awe and one of them finally tossed you a pair. You hit a pressure point in his neck with your foot, knocking him out cold. You then turned him over and cuffed him.
"There. He's all yours boys. He'll wake up in about 2 or 3 hours."
You walked over to Joey, smoothing out your (well Joey's) shirt.
"Uh? Thanks?"
You smiled and took Joey's hand.
"Come on, you have a sister to go console."
Joey's POV
You were still in a state of shock as Miya led you up to your own doorstep. She slowly opened the door, and stepped in. Your mom was sitting on the window ledge, staring down at the street. Apparently she was just as shocked as you were by the incident that had just occurred moments ago.
"Hey Mom."
"Oh Joey! I'm so glad you could make it. My poor Serenity."
"Miya, you can have a seat. I'd better go talk to her."
You slowly let go of her hand and rushed down the hallway of the apartment.
Miya's POV
You watched as Joey ran down the hall and to the left, when he was out of sight you took a seat on the love seat.
"That was amazing you know…What you did out there. Putting yourself in danger like that."
"Oh you saw that?" you said biting your lip.
"Mhm. So, you must be the new friend Joey always talks about?"
"Heh yeah. I just moved here about 2 months ago. I'm Miya Suro. It's nice to meet you Mrs. Wheeler."
"The same to you my dear. And you're the one he saved? With the performance out there, I doubted it was the same girl."
You blushed slightly, she'd hear about that too.
"I've come to believe that Joseph is very fond of you. You must be a special friend indeed."
"Thank you Mrs. Wheeler. And it's the same for him, he's a friend dear to my heart."
You turned quickly when you heard a thump come from down the hall.
"Oh dear."
"I'll go check on them."
You got up from the love seat and made your way down the dark hallway. Across from a very girly decorated door was Joey. He was slumped up against the wall, knees bent up to his chest.
"You okay Joey?"
He didn't move or answer. You sighed and sat down next to him and took his hand. His head found its way to rest of your shoulder.
"She won't talk to me."
"You gonna be okay hun?"
You heard a soft cry come from behind the door. You sighed again, worried about the both them and stood up. Joey was still staring down at the floor.
You knocked lightly.
"Serenity? Are you okay?"
Serenity's POV
You felt another whimper forming in your throat when a knock came at the door. This one was much softer and so was the voice that followed.
"Serenity? Are you okay?"
You didn't recognize the voice. It wasn't any of his friends that you knew, but something in her voice made you want to open the door.
"I know you don't know me and it may seem weird, but I'm here if you need to talk to someone other than your brother hun."
You stood and walked over toward the door and froze before your hand touched the handle. If she was good enough for Joey to trust and your gut feeling told you the same, you knew you could talk to her.
You took a breath and unlocked your door. When the light hit her face, you were slightly stunned. Joey had never had such a pretty friend before. Sure Tea was, but this girl was gorgeous.
-So why's you lock yourself up? Why didn't you talk to Joey?-
You thought those were going to be the first words out of her mouth, but they weren't.
"Can I come in?"
"Oh sure."
You stepped back and let her in, shutting and relocking the door.
"I'm Miya by the way. I know it can be weird talking to someone when you don't know them."
"Sometimes that's better since you can't judge each other."
"Good point."
"Oh and I'm Serenity, but I'm sure you already knew that."
"Yeah, heard a bit about you from Joey."
"Oh?"
"All good things I assure you."
"So is he okay?"
"Joey? Yeah why?"
"Whenever Dad come over here and Mom calls Joey, Joey ends up in a huge fight and gets hurt."
"Not this time. He's perfectly fine. Your dad was taken care of before Joey could do anything."
"Really?"
"Mhm."
"Plus, I'm sure he's not happy with me."
"Why would he be mad at you?""I'm kinda, well I'm dating his friend Tristan."
"Oh please. He's not mad about that. Sure he'll be iffy with Tristan for a few days. He just wants you to be happy."
"So he's not mad?"
You sat down on your bed and curled your knees up to your chest. Joey wasn't mad at you.
"Nah, he's just really worried. You're mom was pretty upset when she called him." she said sitting next to you and putting a hand on your shoulder. As soon as she did a calm feeling came over you.
"I knew Mom would call him."
"She called because she thought you'd come out for Joey."
"I just wish I had a normal family. That way I didn't have to worry about a drunk dad, or having the gang come back for Joey, and everything else."
"Gang?"
"Heh, so I take it Joey hasn't told you? He use to be in a gang when he lived with our father. But he got out of that when he moved here with us and made friends with Yugi."
Miya's POV
You knew Serenity's pain and hope for a normal family all too well. You had been wishing for a normal family for years.
You felt terrible as tears began trickling down her face. She bowed her head down and resting them on her knees. You sighed, for the millionth time tonight.
"Serenity, ya know what? Sometimes a non-normal family is better. In these families you get something out of the norm, and in the end, it makes you stronger."
"Are you sure?"
"I've been in your shoes before. Spent most of my life wishing for a normal family. But now, I've realized if I didn't have the family and life I did, I wouldn't be the person I am now; wouldn't have the friends I do."
"Ya know…You're right!"
She flung her arms around you and hugged you. You let a small laugh escape your lips and hugged her back.
"Now, I think you need to go talk to Joey. He's a wreck out there."
You got up off her bed and unlocked her door and stepped out into the hall, leaving the door open.
"Joey? Hey…"
"Yeah?"
"She wants to see you." you said kneeling down next to him and kissing his head lightly.
"Thanks so much Miya."
He kissing your cheek and quickly got up and went into her bedroom. You smiled as he closed the door and went back out into the living room.
Joey's POV
When you got into Serenity's room, the look on her face was priceless.
"So much for just friends."
"Huh?"
"I saw that out there. I'm so happy for you Joey! She's really pretty and awfully nice."
"Heh, um Serenity. We're not together."
"But…what was that out there? I've never seen friends have a moment like that."
"It's a long story. But let's just keep this to ourselves for the time being okay?"
"Hm, let me guess. You two like each other, but…she's got a boyfriend."
"Yeah, you nailed it on the head. But… it's worse that just that. Her boyfriend is Seto Kaiba."
"What?!?!? Kaiba?"
"Shush, Mom would freak if she found out about me and Miya."
"Okay, so…Our little secret?"
"Yeah."
Seto's POV
You were finally done with your meeting, and it had been dreadfully boring. When you got back to the Manor, Miya's car wasn't in the garage.
"Hm, must have stayed at Tea's."
That name tasted bitter in your mouth. Of all people in Domino, she had to be friends with them. At least she didn't see them much or bring them around you more than necessary. Of course, all the drama didn't help much either. You walked into the manor to hear the TV blaring from the family room.
"What? They can't be up at this ungodly hour?" you said looking at the clock.
When you got in the room, they were both passed out cold on the couches.
"They're adorable aren't they Seto?" you heard a voice say into your Bluetooth ear piece.
Miya's POV
You'd been out in the living room for Ra knows how long, and you were beginning to drift in and out of sleep.
"Dear, if you're tired, you can sleep in Joey's room."
"No, I'm fine. But thank you."
"If you say so dear."
Moments later Joey came out of the hallway and stood next to where you were sitting.
"Ready to go back to Tea's?"
"Yeah, sure."
"Um yeah, I'll be driving back if you don't mind. You look extremely worn out."
"That's fine Joey."
You got up and handed him your keys and he said bye to his mom and sister.
"Drive safe hun!"
Joey walked you out to the car since you could barely see straight.
Serenity's POV
You stood with your mom at the front door watching them drive away. A smile spread across your face when you saw Miya and Joey together.
"Joey's asking for trouble."
"Why's that Mom?"
"They're dating aren't they?"
"Nope. But they should be, don't you think?"
"They are cute together, but he's got to get past Seto Kaiba."
"Mhm."
Joey's POV
You conversation with Serenity was playing back through your mind as you made your way through the empty streets.
"Ya know Joey. You and Miya would be ultra-cute together!"
"Serenity, Miya's a great girl. She deserves so much more than what I can give her. Kaiba can give her everything, and I'm…well I just can't."
"Oh Joey. I may not have known her for very long, but she seems like a girl who doesn't care about that kinda stuff."
Miya was staring out the window, resting her hand on the center console. Feeling the need to touch her again, you took her hand in yours; lacing your fingers with hers.
"Everything okay?" she asked squeezing your hand lightly.
"Yeah. Everything's great."
When you got back to Tea's, everyone was still passed out. No one had moved, so it was like you'd never left. No need for a fuss over the incident.
"Bed?" Miya asked.
"Mhm."
You smiled as Miya tried to walk in a straight line down the hallway. When you got in the guest room, Miya didn't even bother changing. She plopped down on the bed and kicked off her shoes.
You changed into your shorts and threw your shirt and jacket on your duffel bag. You then climbed into bed, pulled the blankets up and adjusted your pillow.
Miya moved back, pressing her back to you. You wrapped an arm around her and molded your body to hers. You reveled in the flowery smell of her hair and drifted off to sleep.
FF 10 AM
Tea's POV
You awoke to the bright sunlight glaring into your bedroom. You looked at your clock and it said "Mon. 10:02"
"Oh shit! School!"
You jumped out of bed, grabbed your uniform and ran to the kitchen.
Miya was standing there looking at you like you were crazy, making pancakes.
"Calm down Tea. We don't have school today remember?"
"Oh crap. Heh yeah, forgot all about that. Making breakfast?"
"Well by the time I'm done and everyone's awake, it'll be brunch."
"You don't need help do you?"
"Nah, I love making pancakes. But could you get me some plates and silverware."
"Mmkay. And I'll start waking everyone up."
You got down a stack of plates and set them in the center of the table along with a bunch of forks and knives.
"I shall go wake the creatures." you said giggling.
"Thanks Tea."
"Oh and before I forget, how was your night with Joey?"
"Uneventful if that's what your wondering. We simply went to sleep, nothing more."
"Uh huh. So why are you wearing his shirt?" you asked crossing your arms. "You guys didn't have sex in my guest bed did ya?"
"Tea! No. Someone spilled their drink on my stuff so Joey let me barrow it."
"Hm okay then."
Miya's POV
You hid your face when Tea asked about Joey's shirt to hide the smile that automatically came to your lips.
"Uh huh. So why are you wearing his shirt? You guys didn't have sex in my guest bed did ya?"
"Tea! No. Someone spilled their drink on my stuff so Joey let me barrow it."
"Hm okay then."
Tea got up from her seat and went to wake up Tristan and Yugi first. You were silently praying that Joey was awake already. God knows what he could say to Tea if he thought it was you.