I don't know how long this story will be; I think it could be around ten chapters. We'll see.

Anyone else pissed off that you have to keep reuploading chapters so they can appear?

Crush

Chapter 4: Walk Me Home Tonight

Why did it have to rain today of all days?

Teà sighed in frustration, her blue eyes scouring the scene before her. It seemed like her window of tolerance had shrunk even more lately. She had been fairly certain that it wasn't going to rain today, but you know, Teà was apparently wrong about a lot of things.

She knew she was going to be done dance practice early, which was why she didn't think about bringing a jacket, much less an umbrella. It was kind of her fault though; she had noticed how dark and gloomy the clouds were, as she walked over to the studio a few hours ago, but paid no more attention than that.

Teà lived a few blocks away from the studio where she normally practiced at, but still, she was not looking forward to getting completely soaked in the rain. The last thing that Teà wanted to do was get sick, and if she did, she always caught a cold that seemed to last her weeks.

But it wasn't like she had a choice…

Before she knew it, Teà stepped out into the rain and immediately winced, feeling the rain hitting her brown hair.

Oh God, I really need to pick up the pace.

It wasn't long before she started shivering as well, which only served more motivation for her to get home quickly. The logic that she was clinging onto went something like this: if she hurried, maybe she wouldn't feel as cold. But Teà forgot that she was speed walking in flats, not her sneakers. As she was racing down the sidewalk, with both of her hands clutching her worn, black duffel bag, she failed to see a crack in the pavement, and lo and behold, she tripped on it.

Yelping in shock, Teà fell on her knees, dropping her bag, which held her school clothes in them. Luckily, none of them had spilled out onto the wet sidewalk.

That's just great, Teà thought to herself angrily, as she felt the palms of her hands scrape amongst the pavement, leaving behind a burning sensation. She was never a klutz by any means; she had taken dance nearly all her life. But she was angrier of the fact that she could have ended up in a worse position than she was right now. She could have broken an arm – or at the very least sprained it.

"Teà, are you alright?" Frozen in place, Teà could feel her cheeks blush in embarrassment and her heart accelerating a million times faster against her chest, recognizing the voice that was eerily so close to her.

Looking up, she could see Yami standing a few feet in front of her, and it appeared that he had witnessed this whole fiasco. But Teà realized that she would have run straight into him if she never tripped in the first place. Which was less embarrassing? Hmm…

The initial embarrassment had gone away though when Teà saw concern in his amethyst eyes. If it were Tristan or Joey, they would have been laughing at her from the get-go. They'd be cracking jokes about her clumsiness before making sure that she was okay. It was something that she had grown used to.

But this was Yami – who hardly seemed to be the type to laugh at someone if they managed to make a fool of themselves. He had more class than that.

And speaking of class, he also happened to look handsome today, with a navy coat to match his dark attire. She could look at him all day if she wanted to…

Nope, she wasn't going to go there again.

Instead, Teà could think about the fact that Yami remembered her to begin with.

"Oh, uh, yeah," Teà muttered, realizing that he was speaking to her. But she quickly got up on her feet, quickly grabbing her duffel bag in the process, and wiped off any mud that had clung to her bare knees since she tripped. She should have had the decency to grab sweatpants that morning, but that was only another regret she could add to the list of failures.

"I hope you are not injured. That was quite a fall." His voice could warm her right to her soul.

"I'm fine. I can't really say the same for my shoes though," she chuckled sheepishly, as if it weren't a big deal that the bottoms of her flats were caked in mud. "I had no idea it was going to rain today. If I knew that, I would have planned my outfit out."

"I don't think anyone prepared for the weather," Yami replied, with a small smile on his lips.

"Says the guy with the umbrella," Teà pointed out, though she returned his smile with one of her own. "And a coat."

"Touché."

"I'm sorry to say bye so quickly, but I should probably head home. I really don't want to catch a cold."

She didn't expect her heart to skip a few beats when Yami proposed, "Would you like me to accompany you?" Her cheeks also flushed at his words; he was such a gentleman. An articulate, well-mannered gentleman. "Please forgive me for my forwardness. I apologize if I made you uncomfortable."

"N-no, it's not that. Are you sure you want to walk me home? I don't live that far away and I'm sure you have other things to do…" There was a part of her that wanted to accept his offer though. She never really had a guy walk her home before; yes, she and Yugi would walk to and from school together, but this was different. When was the last time someone asked to walk home with her out of their own volition? Teà was smart enough to detect the gentlemen apart from the scumbags; she had experiences encountering guys who only wanted to get in her pants.

"It wouldn't be a problem on my part. Here." Teà's azure eyes widened, taking in the fact that Yami had quickly unbuttoned his coat to drape over her shoulders. Using only one hand, no less, while the other one held onto his umbrella. If it were anyone else, she would not have accepted this at all, but there was something about Yami that made her feel at ease with him.

"Thank you," Teà smiled gratefully, feeling way too shy suddenly to be looking into his eyes. She didn't really know what else to say at this point. She could say how she really liked how his coat smelled – it wasn't overpowering like a lot of other colognes were – but she wanted to keep her dignity intact.

"You're welcome. Now, which way is it to your house?"

"We go straight for a few blocks, then we turn west. My house is at the end of the street."

Teà was glad that she had been the last one to leave her dance practice; she knew that her fellow dancers would be giving her a field day if they saw her with Yami. They would be just as merciless in their teasing as her other friends were. Well, she shouldn't say that; if anything, they would be encouraging her to go after him. They weren't the type to forget a conversation.

"Thank you, by the way. For making sure I was okay." Teà cleared her throat, staring straight ahead into the pouring rain. "Not a lot of people would have stopped to help me out. Do you always look out for the little guy?"

Yami chuckled briefly. "I was raised to help someone if they needed it." He probably got reminded of this all the time.

"If only more people appreciated that," Teà sighed in response. "Domino isn't such a dangerous city, but people here just tend to look after themselves."

"Is that why you carry pepper spray in your purse?" Teà's cheeks flushed once more, but not enough for Yami to notice. Again, she was shocked of how observant this guy was. When did he take the time to look through her things? Glancing down at her duffel bag, she noticed how she didn't zip it up entirely, revealing a can of pepper spray which rested at the top of her clothes.

"It's a precaution. I've run into creeps before. It doesn't happen that often though," Teà explained, cringing inwardly. "Well, this conversation is getting a little dark."

"What would you like to talk about?"

"I don't know. Maybe just about anything other than creeps or pepper spray." Teà paused, biting down on her lower lip. She was also resisting the urge to cuddle into Yami's coat. "So are you from Domino?"

"I have family here, but I lived in Egypt for a few years," Yami explained.

"Any particular reason you came back here? Or did you just hate the heat?"

Yami chuckled, and it was right then and there that Teà decided that was one of her favourite sounds of the entire world. "Have you been to Egypt?"

"No. I haven't really left the country."

"Well, you're not wrong about the heat. But it was home to me for some time." Yami paused, appearing as though he was choosing his next set of words carefully. "I was there for work, and I had close friends I was acquainted with, but I felt that something was missing. For a while, I wasn't satisfied with how I was living."

"You weren't happy there," Teà said softly, making eye contact with Yami for the first time since they started walking together. "You don't have to tell me anything else if that makes you uncomfortable. If anything, I kind of understand how you feel in a way." She could feel her heart pound quickly against her chest; of course she was feeling nervous that she was about to tell Yami her dream. "I'm planning on going to New York after I'm done school. I want to be a dancer. And honestly? I haven't even told my friends this, but… I'm kind of terrified. What if I don't get into the school I want? What if I do get in, and I feel like I can't handle the pressure? But I'm following my heart and this is what it's telling me."

Teà could feel her cheeks burning red (for the billionth time), knowing that Yami was listening to her intently. The fact that he was still gazing at her had her stomach twist itself into a knot. Or maybe it was just the anxiety from thinking about her future. She liked to think it was a mixture of both. "I know, it sounds really cheesy."

Yami didn't answer her immediately, which did raise her anxieties somewhat. Maybe he was going to tell her that she tended to say things without really thinking about them. Which Teà absolutely did sometimes. But she was more level-headed than her friends were.

"Not at all, Teà. From what you have just said, I can tell that you're passionate about what you want to do. I find that admirable." Seriously, is there anything that Yami would say that doesn't sound swoon-worthy? More importantly, it was a relief to know that he wasn't laughing at her.

"Thanks." She couldn't hide her smile after that. And she was trying extra hard not to make it look like she was wincing. "It's not often I hear that. I'm lucky that I have my friends though. They're the ones pushing me to chase my dreams."

"It helps to have a support system, doesn't it?"

"I wouldn't know what I would do without them, to be honest. I mean, I keep saying that I need more female friends, but the guys always have my back when I need them to." At this point, Teà knew she was rambling. "I mean, they don't watch a lot of my recitals, but they still think I'm gonna make it big."

"They sound quite confident about that."

"They're confident about a lot of things," Teà snorted in response. "They're just… sometimes they can be a handful, and other times, I'm surprised of how mature they can be. So are you glad that you're back?" Teà cleared her throat, deciding to look away momentarily. She supposed it was the right time too, suddenly realizing that they had almost reached her house. She would be lying if she said she wasn't disappointed.

"I am. My family is glad as well." Yami wasn't shy about giving mysteriously vague responses. But again, it wasn't Teà's place to push for answers. "They have grown concerned that I was more obsessed with my archaeology than taking the time to talk with them."

"Archaeology? That's a noble profession." She certainly should have expected Yami to say something like that; why else would he have been living in Egypt? "You'll have to tell me more about it sometime. My house is just up here. Thanks again, for walking me home. You really didn't have to, but I still appreciate it." Teà's eyes widened, suddenly realizing that she was still wearing his coat. "You will probably need this back," she chuckled, as she took off his coat – with a lot of reluctance, she might add – and handed it back to Yami. "Thank you."

"It was no problem." Teà could have sworn that his fingers brushed against her own. And she could have sworn that Yami was clearly not in a rush to go anywhere. Or maybe he was just waiting for her to answer him… Teà scolded herself for raising her hopes for nothing.

"I was also wondering if you'd like to.. you know… hang out again sometime? Maybe I can take you on a tour around the city? I know a few new places that popped up."

Yami's lips curled into a smile. "I did say we would be seeing each other more often, didn't I?"

"Of course."

"Well, I look forward to it. Is it alright if I give you my number?"

She nodded, just as she grabbed her phone from her duffel bag and plunked it into his hand.

Teà knew she was grinning like she had won the lottery – and there was no doubt that she would look like it for the rest of the day.