AN: Just want to say if anyone is still reading this, thank you and please leave a review if you have a chance. It would really help my motivation for my stories. Have a Blessed Day and a Happy New Year!
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or its characters, just my OCs. RIP Kazuki Takahashi
Chapter 5: The Bully From The Past
A loud bell rung out across the entire building of Domino High, signaling the end of another school week. A swarm of students in their blue and pink uniforms poured out from the school's front entrance. Inside, students at their lockers talked excitedly about their plans for the weekend while Amber waited for Téa at her locker. It had become the girls' routine to walk each other home after school instead of going with the guys since Téa decided she wanted to have just a female friend to walk home with. Make no mistake; Téa loves her friends but it gets old when all Joey wants to talk about with Yugi is Duel Monsters or Joey and Tristan get into their usual scuffle.
Amber heaved a heavy sigh as she glanced at the clock on her purple iPhone for what felt like the umpteenth time. Still no sign of Téa and the school had become quieter as most of the students had left already. Her ears perked up when she heard footsteps approaching from down the hall.
Finally, she's here. But when Amber looked up from her phone, instead of the fun-loving sky-blue eyes of her best female friend, she was met with the most beautiful, deep oceanic eyes of…
"Seto? What are you still doing here?" Amber blurted without thinking. To both of their surprise he stopped and turned towards her. However, his icy eyes did not melt but only seemed to get colder as he stared her down. Anyone walking within the vicinity of them would have felt a chill in the air. The next words said felt like a frost-bitten slap in the face.
"I highly doubt that is any of your concern." It was at this moment that Téa approached from behind Kaiba but he ignored her and continued to address Amber in a chilling manner. "Furthermore, you don't have the privilege of addressing me by my first name."
Even Téa was surprised to hear Kaiba talking this way to an old childhood friend of his, based on what Amber told the gang about how she and Seto knew each other.
"Alright, Kaiba, that's enough." Kaiba cringed upon hearing the female voice behind him. He knew someone had walked up and stopped just behind him, but he hadn't realized it was the nerd herd's cheerleader. He continued to stare at the girl slightly shrinking before him as a painful memory rose up from the depths of his mind.
"Twilight, what's wrong?" The young strawberry blonde girl turned to the boy with the soft, loving blue eyes while her own golden orbs spilled tears.
"Damien chased me around again while insulting my parents."
Seto felt his hands ball into fists. Damien, that fiend… He will pay for this. He knelt down and wrapped his arms around the grief-stricken girl pulling her into a comforting hug. "Sh, sh, it's okay, Twilight. Mokie and I are here for you."
Kaiba shook his head, causing the memory to dissipate. Had they been close like they were back then he would have guided her to a secluded area where he could comfort her in private, but those days were long gone. Thanks to what she told that fiend.
"Um, Kaiba, do you mind stepping aside so I can get to my locker?" Téa asked.
"Whatever, I'm late for a meeting anyway." Amber snapped out of her own trance and realized now was probably the only time she would get to ask the one question that's been gnawing at her since day one. Kaiba was just about to walk out the front doors when Amber called out to him.
"Wait! I need to know one thing."
Kaiba stopped but did not turn around as he asked in a biting tone, "What?"
Téa looked between the two former friends, sensing a tension she had never felt around Amber or even Kaiba. Sure, there was always tension between Kaiba, Yugi, and Joey but this between Kaiba and Amber felt foreign. She could easily tell the two students did in fact have a history together.
Amber mustered her courage and took a deep breath before speaking. "What have I done to make you hate me so much?"
By now, they were among the only few people left in the building as all of the other students were gone and most of the teachers and administrators were wrapping up their last-minute tasks before the weekend. Time seemed to have stopped as Kaiba mulled over her question. He couldn't believe she had just asked him that when, in his mind, she knew exactly what she did.
Téa finished at her locker and put her free hand on Amber's shoulder, guiding her friend to the doors. "Let's go, Twilight, before it gets too much later. I have a dance recital I need to practice for."
As the girls walked by, Téa holding the door open, Kaiba's hands balled up by his sides as he shook with an uncontrollable rage as he shouted at their retreating backs. "It is because of what you said to that fiend!"
Amber quickly halted and turned around to peer at the dragon standing a few feet from her. "What are you talking about? Who is this 'fiend' you speak of?"
"Hmph!" Was all the brunette uttered as he stormed past the two girls and headed for the blue Viper parked in front of the building.
"Whoa, I haven't seen Kaiba that angry since—."
"Um, Téa? I'm sorry to interrupt but do you mind if we go our separate ways today? I really need to be alone and clear my head before I reach home."
"Oh, um, sure. Are you going to be okay?" Téa asked. Amber smiled to reassure her best friend that she would be alright. Téa smiled back but she wasn't entirely convinced. However, she knew that whatever had transpired between Amber and Kaiba was between them and that Amber had to deal with it in her own way.
"Okay, but I'm here if you need to talk." Téa held and shook her phone for Amber to see. The strawberry blonde chuckled at the notion.
"Thanks, Téa, I appreciate that."
The girls said their goodbyes and went separate ways. Suddenly, Amber felt a buzzing in the pocket of her pink blazer. She pulled her phone out to find a message from her stepmother.
Meet me at KaibaCorp. Your father is working late tonight, and I am about to get off.
Amber inwardly groaned but responded to her stepmother anyway.
I am on my way.
She hit send and let her mind wander back to the argument she had with Seto. What did he mean by what he said? Who was the fiend, and what did she say that could have hurt him so badly?
It was too late when she looked up just in time to see she was about to walk right into a taller boy's back. Thud
"Hey, watch it!"
"Oh my gosh, I am so sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going."
"Clearly, you were not." The boy turned towards her, and she felt her body go numb. He had blonde hair that was gelled back and had deep green eyes that sparkled like emeralds. She would recognize this face anywhere.
"Uh, hi, Damien."
"Huh? Do I know you?" Damien looked at her skeptically.
"It's me, Amber, from the orphanage. I used to wear my hair in pigtails."
Realization dawned on him then and he gave her a very friendly smile. She had never seen him smile like that before, it was like he was a totally different person from the bully she once knew.
"Amber, wow, it's been a long time, hasn't it? Six years, right?"
Amber nodded but said nothing.
Damien frowned and said guiltily, "Hey look, um, I'm sorry for always chasing you around and being mean to you. That really wasn't cool, and you didn't deserve that."
Wait, did he just apologize to me?
"I understand if you don't want to forgive me, but can I at least make it up to you somehow? Let me buy you a coffee or maybe lunch."
Amber wasn't expecting this kind of reaction from the bully of her past. "W-what? You want to buy me lunch?"
Damien blushed and Amber had to admit, he looked rather cute. "That was probably too forward of me, in which case I apologize. But there must be some way I can make it up to you."
Amber looked thoughtfully at him as she remembered her real mother used to tell her that forgiveness is always important and that everyone deserves a second chance. She finally smiled and said, "Lunch sounds good. Shall we say tomorrow?"
"R-really? Just like that?" Damien's expression was of pure shock. He hadn't actually expected the girl he used to bully just to forgive him that easily.
"Why not? Everyone deserves a second chance, right? So, yes, I forgive you, and I would be honored to have lunch with you."
Damien smiled genuinely as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. "May I have your number?"
Amber couldn't believe this was really happening. It was like she had fallen down a rabbit hole of sorts and was wondering in her own wonderland, or in her case, opposite land. Her former best friend hates her guts, and her former bully wants to be her friend. It was all very strange but at least there was someone from her past now being very kind.
She gave Damien her number and he punched it in on his phone. She felt a buzz and looked down at her own phone to see a message from an unknown number. She opened it and smiled when she realized it was from her newfound friend.
Now you have my number ;)
"Is it ok if I call you later to finalize the lunch details?" Damien asked as he pocketed his own phone, his eyes sparkling under the bright sunlight. Amber felt like she would melt if she continued to stare into those bright green eyes.
"That would be fine. Oh! I need to go; my mom is waiting for me. It was good seeing you again."
"Likewise, you be careful where you're going. Can I give you an escort?" He winked, causing her to blush.
"Thanks, but I'll be okay. I'll see you tomorrow." And with that, she waved goodbye and ran off in the direction of the tallest skyscraper in Domino City. Damien waved back and smiled mischievously to himself.
This will be fun.
XxXxXxXxXx
The tall blonde woman looked at her phone for the tenth time since she had texted her stepdaughter to meet her at her place of work. She had expected Amber to be here already and there was no text or call from said girl either. She was standing at the base of the stairs turning her head in all directions trying to see if she could spot long and wavy strawberry blonde hair amongst the crowds of people mingling about outside. She sighed and checked her phone again.
"Mom!" The blonde looked up and swiveled in the direction of the caller. Amber was running towards her along the crosswalk.
"Amber, there you are! I was starting to get worried, what took you so long?" She led Amber to an underground parking lot where she had her red Hyundai Sonata parked.
"I'm sorry, Mom, but I accidentally ran into someone I knew at the orphanage." Amber replied as she got into the passenger side while her stepmother was getting in on the driver's side.
"Oh? Well, that was nice. Was it an old friend of yours?" Amber didn't want to tell her stepmother that he was her old bully, so she told a white lie. "Yeah, kind of. Like, we weren't close like I was with Seto and Mokuba, but still friends."
Suddenly, Linda hit the brakes before pulling out of the garage. She turned to her stepdaughter with a look of disbelief. "Wait, you're not talking about the Seto and Mokuba of KaibaCorp are you? You grew up with my bosses?"
Amber felt uncomfortable under her adopted mother's gaze but still nodded. "For a month, but yeah, I knew them at the orphanage."
Linda Dawson shook her head and smiled mischievously to herself, but Amber saw it and wondered what her mother was thinking. The car started moving again and Linda changed the subject.
"So, this friend from the orphanage you say you ran into. Is it a boy or a girl?"
"Mom, why is that important?" Amber asked, eyeing her stepmother suspiciously.
"Can't a mother be curious about who her daughter's friends are?" Linda innocently asked.
"His name is Damien, and we're actually planning to have lunch tomorrow to catch up." Amber felt her cheeks heat up and she quickly turned her head to the passenger window in the hope of preventing her mother from seeing the redness on her face. Amber slightly turned her head and could see her stepmother smirking in her peripheral.
"Is he cute?"
"What? No, it's not like that! Mom, we're just friends!" Amber buried her face in her hands and outwardly groaned hoping her adopted mother would drop the 20 questions.
"Well, Amber sweetie, you should really tell your face that." Linda smiled in amusement at her stepdaughter's desperation to hide the blush that was consuming her face. The rest of the ride home was awkward as Amber tried to get her adopted mother to stop probing into her business.
As soon as they got home, Amber raced to her room and immediately called Téa. It only took two rings before the chipper voice came on.
"Twilight! How are you feeling?"
Amber smiled to herself; she was truly grateful to have a very caring friend such as Téa. "I'm actually doing much better. You won't believe who I ran into today on my way to meet my mom at her work."
"Wait… you didn't go straight home?" Oh yeah, Téa didn't know that my mom texted me to meet her at her job.
"My bad. My mom texted me just after we said goodbye and told me I had to meet her at her work cause my stepdad was working late."
"Oh, I see. That makes sense. So, who did you run into?"
"Do you remember me telling y'all about a bully I had back at the orphanage?"
"A little… I remember you saying he chased and picked on you a lot. Wait, are you saying that's who you ran into?"
"Mmhm, except this time he was very apologetic, and he wants to buy me lunch tomorrow to make up for all the times he was mean to me."
There was a brief silence and Amber had to check her phone to make sure they were still connected. As soon as she put the phone back to her ear, however, Téa shouted out, "What?! He asked you out?!"
"Jeez, Téa, you trying to make me deaf?"
"Sorry… I just can't believe someone you haven't seen in several years just asked you out!"
"No, it's not like that. He just wants to establish a new friendship and apologize for the past misdeeds."
"C'mon, Twilight, do you really believe that?"
Amber had to think it over and let the earlier meeting with Damien replay in her mind. Come to think of it, he did seem a little flirty. But no, it can't be true. We're just going to be friends.
Amber sighed what felt like the hundredth time that day. "Let's just see how tomorrow goes."
"You've got to call me afterwards and give me the scoop, hehehe."
"I'll do that if you promise that you will go on a date with Yugi." She could practically see her friend's face turning beet red.
"You're a witch, you know that?"
"Haha, I'm serious though. Go on a date with Yugi and I'll tell you all about my lunch date with Damien."
"If only he would ask me out." Amber heard Téa sigh dejectedly and thought maybe she could help get them set up on a date.
"I'll talk to you tomorrow, Téa, I've got homework to do before bed."
"Goodbye and have fun tomorrow!"
Amber got her notebook and a pen out and began jotting down ideal dates for Yugi and Téa as she really didn't have any homework assignments since she completed them during her classes that day. It was another fifteen minutes before her phone rang.
"Hi, Damien. Figure out where you want to meet tomorrow?"
"Actually, I was wondering if you wanted to catch a movie and we could eat there?"
Amber paused and mulled this idea over. It seemed that Téa might have been onto something after all. It was sounding more and more like he was asking her out on an actual date.
What do I do? I already agreed to eat with him, but a movie too? This is too much. And besides, I always thought Seto and I… would…
The earlier argument between her and Kaiba resurfaced, and she even remembered the incident in the limo the weekend before. It was clear that Kaiba hated her, and it seemed their friendship was long gone. So why should she keep kidding herself and wait on a guy who wants nothing to do with her when now she has someone showing actual interest?
"Hello? Amber, did I lose you?"
"Oh, sorry, I was thinking about your question. I think going to see a movie sounds fun. What did you have in mind?"
"Do you like murder mysteries? I thought we could see 'Glass Onion'."
"Oh yeah, that's the sequel to 'Knives Out'. I really want to see that."
"Great! I'll pick you up at eleven. What's your address?"
Amber gave Damien her address and they hung up. Amber looked at the clock on her phone. It was going on 9pm and she was starting to feel very tired. She looked back at her notebook and decided that could wait until after her date. She changed into her pajamas and climbed into bed, and for the first time in a good while, she was able to sleep happily.
AN: So, I know "Glass Onion" came out in 2022 but this is one film I've been wanting to see, but I want to see it with my husband since we watched the first one together and right now, he's not home for us to be able to watch it together. Plus, it was the first film that came to mind, so I went with it. Thanks for reading and please review, follow, or fave!