It's been a long time since I've updated on a consistent basis. LOL. Anyways, here's the next chapter!

Crush

Chapter 7: Happy Accidents

"Mmm…" Teà hummed in absolute ecstasy, closing her azure eyes, before taking a sip of her milkshake. She could never get over how delicious it was, and she knew that she had to appreciate it as much as she could, given that Teà was not going to incorporate it into her diet in the near future.

"How's your drink?" Yami, who was sitting across from her in their assigned corner table, leaned forward, almost as if he was eager to hear Teà's opinion.

"I have to say, it's pretty good," Teà grinned, as she opened her eyes to lock gazes with Yami. "I didn't peg you for the milkshake type." She wanted to venture a guess and say he was a coffee enthusiast.

Yami chuckled in response, tapping his fingers against the table. "I came across this restaurant one day when I first came to Domino." He paused, noting that Teà took another sip of her drink.

"Happy accidents. Gotta love it."

After their nice little stroll in the park, Yami proposed getting drinks from one of his favourite restaurants; he claimed that Markiens had the best milkshakes, which definitely prompted Teà's interest.

She had to admit that these milkshakes were better than the ones she normally got at Burger World. Oh, woe is life. She was kind of tempted to bring Yugi and the others here, but then again, Burger World was their place. Nothing could replace that – even better prepared drinks.

"I can see that you are debating whether to come here for now on," Yami suggested.

"Guilty," Teà confessed, knowing that the look on her face was enough to give her away.

"I've seen you around Burger World a few times." Bless his heart for not sounding like a total creep. But frankly, she couldn't say the same for herself. She was surprised that he didn't file a sexual harassment charge based on how long she had been watching him.

"I see. So all of this was a ploy to take away a beloved customer?" Teà teased, unable to keep a straight face.

Yami laughed at her joke, and Teà felt shivers run down her spine and her heart skipped a few beats. If only he knew what he was doing to her – just by the sound of his voice alone. Teà decided not to dwell on that, and instead focused on the fact that he thought she was funny enough to laugh at her jokes.

She could be hilarious when she wanted to be. And it was a shame that her friends didn't appreciate her sense of humour as much as she wanted them to.

"I suppose so."

And then another silence washed over them, which left Teà to ponder what else they could talk about. She felt like she had gotten to know him quite well since their walk in the park.

"So what would you be doing if you weren't into archaeology?" Teà asked, thinking it would be the safest question to ask. "Like, when you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?"

Yami chuckled once more. "I played quite a lot of games as a child; I wanted to have the title of Game King."

"Aww, that's really adorable," Teà gushed. She could just picture a five year old version of Yami, wanting to play games with everyone he came across. Now she had the urge to ask for baby pictures.

"I'm glad you think so. But I wasn't aware at the time that there is no such title."

"Well, that's too bad. What kind of games did you play?"

"Well, I played a few board games, but I was more interested in card games. Anything to do with strategy." She could tell that Yami was still passionate about them, if the excited glint in his eyes were a sign of that.

"Like, if I were to challenge you to Ramoli or Poker, would you beat me?"

"I will say that my opponents do not look forward to playing with me," Yami said cryptically, with a sly grin on his face. Teà interpreted that as 'yes, I can beat my opponents to kingdom come, they can all suck it'. She had an inkling that he played games to win, not just to have fun. Not gonna lie, she was tempted to introduce him to Joey and Tristan, and she wanted to see their reactions to him beating them. She was a monster like that.

"Oof, maybe I should just give up now," Teà remarked, rolling her eyes playfully. "I don't think I would have a shot to beat the King of Games."

"By all means, I do not wish to discourage you," Yami retorted back, with just as much playfulness – and Teà also wanted to say flirtatiousness? Nope, she was reading too much into it. "Do you play games?"

"If Animal Crossing counts, then yes. But honestly, I'm not much of a gamer," Teà replied sheepishly. "My friends are the hardcore gamers. I swear, ninety percent of the time we hang out at Yugi's house, that's all everyone wants to do." She saw that Yami looked extremely amused by this statement.

"Sounds exhausting," Yami said, seemingly sympathetic, but it wouldn't be shocking if he was trying to be sarcastic.

"It can be. Joey and Tristan get salty whenever they lose. It's funny, but Yugi's grandpa would come upstairs just to tell them to shut up."

"I do not envy him."

Teà snickered in response. "Me neither. But whenever they play, I just watch them. There may have been some occasions where I intentionally give them advice which dooms them in the end."

"So what else inspires you, other than dancing?" A very intriguing re-wording to the age old question of 'what are your hobbies'.

"Well, I like watching movies, going to see plays, musicals, you know, stuff like that." Her parents were the ones responsible for introducing her to the arts; some of her best memories as a child were going to see Beauty and the Beast on stage at the local theatre. Of course, she was also introduced to Dirty Dancing when she was ten years old, much to her father's dismay. It was at that point when she took her dancing classes more seriously; she wanted to be Baby and have someone to practice the lift with (she even bothered her dad multiple times to practice it with her, but he adamantly refused).

So, it was kind of her parents' fault that dancing was an integral part of Teà's life.

"The arts seem to be underrated these days," Yami said, sipping his milkshake.

"It's kind of true. I wish people would appreciate them more." Teà sighed morosely, "It seems like all everyone wants to do is game, or just watch movies from the comfort of their own home."

"Are you anti-streamer?"

"Oh, no, I'm not. But I think it's saying something about our society, with all these streaming sites. It's like these companies just want us to stay at home."

"Fair point. What is your favourite musical?"

"That's not fair – that's like asking 'what's your favourite game', and you can only choose one." In all honesty, she didn't mind the question, but she loved a variety of different plays and musicals. Phantom of the Opera was an obvious choice, but she also loved Rent, Chicago, etc.

"My apologies," Yami bowed his head slightly, but once he lifted his head back up, Teà could see that he was joking. His sense of humour was subtle, not over the top. Before Yami could say anything else, Teà's iPhone – which was relaxing right by her left side – started buzzing.

She could have sworn that she turned it off, but it didn't matter. Not really. "I'm sorry, I'll just check this real quick."

"It's alright. Take all the time you need."

Teà wasn't surprised in the least that it was Joey who texted her.

We have an emergency! Repeat, we have an emergency!

She rolled her eyes, and sighed in exasperation. She knew fully well that Joey was melodramatic sometimes, and she had a feeling she knew what this text was about.

What's up?

It didn't take even thirty seconds for Joey to fire back a response. Tristan's out with Serenity. He had the nerve to post some pics on Instagram. And Joey sent a plethora of angry emojis. Yeah, not shocking.

So…why do we need to have an emergency meeting? Teà hadn't checked her social media in the past week or so, but could definitely see Tristan using his timeline for sharing selfies with Serenity. She had to admit that it was kind of cute. But, knowing Tristan, he would also be the type to announce his relationship status as soon as he got the confirmation that Serenity would be his girlfriend. And God knows how Joey would respond to other important milestones in a relationship…

Y do u and Yugi havta share a brain? Teà snorted in amusement, knowing that Yugi would have said the exact same thing as she did. It's amusing that Joey didn't bother tagging them in a group chat, where all three of them could have been talking about this. But, Teà knew what kind of shenanigans Joey and Tristan would get up to if there was a group chat…

FYI, if u can see this thing happenin, our group will dwindle down to 3. Of course Joey would include a subtle nod to the Lion King. Even though he insisted in the past that he never saw the movie.

Look, I can't help you right now, even if I wanted to. I'm busy. This text should be enough to extinguish any impending fire. But Teà could never really predict how Joey would react when he was in these moods. But apparently, Joey didn't seem to get the memo.

I doubt that ur doin' ur twirlin' and jumpin'. Didn't u say that ur class had a no phone rule?

'Twirling and jumping'. She kind of had the urge to find Joey and punch him in the face for that comment. Teà pursed her lips, cursing herself mentally. She had to wonder why Joey wanted her help specifically with this, but she knew that she was the only female in the group, and probably assumed that she had experience with relationships.

And why did he have to pay specific attention to the rules of her dance class?

I'm out right now. Get Yugi to help you. And with that, Teà put an end to the conversation, and shut off her phone.

"That was exhausting," Teà stated. "Sorry about that. That was Joey."

Yami nodded. "Is everything alright?"

"He wanted my help with something, but it's not really my place to get involved." It wasn't a total omission of the truth. "It's not the first time that he tried pushing boundaries." One time, when she was using the bathroom at school, Joey happened to be standing right outside, clearly wanting her opinion on what kinds of snacks to bring to Yugi's after school. There was another occasion when he wanted to use her cell phone to play pranks on the girls in her dance class, and Teà immediately shut that idea down.

"But we all have friends like that, I suppose," Teà continued, seeing concern written all over Yami's face.

"Does he do that often?"

"Not as much as he used to. Early on in our friendship he didn't quite understand what boundaries I had," Teà shook her head, trying not to think about the kind of person Joey was before they were all friends.

"Well, I think I'm done my milkshake." Teà paused, as she stretched her arms. "I can get this if you want."

"No, please allow me. I was the one who invited you."

Teà was a 21st century girl – she had a thing for guys with manners, but there were things that should stay in the past. I.E: feeling the need to pay for someone else's food, just because she was a girl.

"You don't have to. I want to." Teà certainly was not going to let this drop. Before she could stop herself, she blurted out, "Maybe next time."

Yami looked hesitant to accept her offer, but at least he was taking this better than some other guys, who would be downright offended by Teà calling out this practice.

After Teà waved down their waitress, and paid the bill, they proceeded to make their way outside the restaurant. And boy, Teà was not anticipating the weather to be even hotter than before.

"Oh jeez, I didn't think it was gonna be this hot out." She even made it a point to block the sun from blinding her with her right hand. Turning to face Yami, she knew that this was probably goodbye for now – which was the most awkward part of any of the outings she had been on with anyone.

"So, you're probably off, huh?"

"Yes. I believe there are a few errands I need to run." Yami paused, as if he just noticed that Teà looked forlorn that their time together was so short. "But we must do this again, Teà. I had a wonderful time today."

"Y-yeah, for sure. Me too." Teà realized it would be some time before they could hang out again. "Well, I just remembered my recital is coming up pretty soon. So I probably won't be free until after it's done."

"When is it?"

"It's about a week and a half away," Teà shrugged her shoulders. "I think it's on Tuesday night, but I'll have to recheck."

"And where is it being held?" Teà nearly dropped her jaw in shock; could this be for real? Was Yami seriously offering to come and see her dance?

"Um… it's at the Domino Centre for the Arts on 5th avenue. It's not a huge venue, but it has a pretty good space."

"If it's alright with you, would it be alright for me to come? I would very much like to see you dance."

"Only if you want to. You don't need to feel indebted to me or anything." She did kind of feel bad for dragging Yugi and the others to see her performances, and she knew how uninterested they were in dance in general.

"Believe me, I am not. I truly wish to see you dance." Teà might as well be blushing if it weren't for the heat.

But the thought of seeing Yami seeing her perform on stage was enough to plaster a stupid smile on her face. "Alright. I'll… I'll see you then. I'll text you the right date and time." And she gave him a thumbs-up. Seriously, she needed to check herself more before doing anything cringy.

"I'm looking forward to it. Goodbye, Teà," Yami replied sincerely, before walking off, leaving her to stand by herself.

It was probably a good thing that he left before she did – otherwise, he would have had to witness her doing a quick spin and fist pump.

Well, at least now she had more motivation to do well at her show.