The Bet

*gulps * *peers nervously at her readers * yes, you can believe your eyes. after an impossibly long 5 months, i've gotten off my dead ass and updated. i deeply, deeply apologize for keeping you guys waiting so long. >.< just...i had to stop updating all together for a while, because i was in the school play and we practiced like every night from 5-8 when it got close to show time, my school work piled up; 2 languages is NOT easy, and i just thoroughly lost where i wanted to go with this fic; my inspiration fell flat, dead, and i didn't want to write just anything and turn this fic into junk. and....*sighs, realizing she's rambling * i'm deeply deeply sorry and hope you guys can forgive me!

on another note; i love you all so much! thank you, i really do love all the reviews i get, i read and re-read each and every single one of them. they all mean alot to me! really, they do! you guys are the greatest! ^_^

li= they're mentioned briefly here. i didn't write anything wit seto and jou cuz i wasn't sure how the lemon would turn out. but i've gotten started on that, so....yeah....the lemon should be coming up soon.

nekocin= yes, i'm on the mm.org forums, too. my pen name there is sadistic_siren, but the bet isn't there, actualy, alot of my stories aren't, and the ones that are are incomplete. i'm just not crazy about mm.org.

talaco= yes, yuri's weird for me too. but i wanted to experiment with it. and yami's smart...he's TOO smart for his own good. though, i really don't see him as the studying type; i think he'd like do what he *had * to do to get bye, but i think most of it would just be his own intelligence and memory; i.e., he'd remember from class and stuff. just what i think, tho.

overlyobsessedwithyugi= thank you very much for the offer! i shall keep it in mind if i do get stuck again. ^_^

i know yugi and ryou being such pansies has been driving alot of you up a wall. but i've made them like this on purpose. i've played up the whole "innocent and virgin" thing as much as possible. i had this planned from the beginning. i'm doing this because i have something i want to happen in the last chapter.....but i don't want to give it away. i already told katya, and i knocked her socks off. not in a bad way, though. 'tis all good. but i don't want to ruin it for you guys....trust me, though; i've plannedit out carefully, put alot of thought into it; you'll love it! ^_^

oh, and i did finally start that seto/jou lemon, but it's proved to be uber- hard to write...but i'm trying my best! i shan't give up!

you all will be happy to know malik's in this chapter! about time, ne? this one here kind of goes over brief scenes with all our couples- even seto and jou- and next chapter, things will get more steamy and better *beams * and now, i shan't detain you any longer!

&&&&&&&&&

"Yugi! Yugi!" Hanasaki tried to weave through the throng of students eager to escape the penitentiary, better known as school. The pimple faced blonde was pushed against the wall, and he inched his way along it, only stopping when he reached his friend.

Well, he and Yugi had never been buddy-buddy. Hanasaki's father was very ill with a terminal disease, so he was unwell and frequently in the hospital, and that left Hanasaki very little time for a social life. That and no one at school really seemed to like him. Yugi was the only one who had ever been to his house, for a grand total of three times. It was only twice for group projects for science class, and once just to play a computer game.

Yugi was standing on tip-toe, peering through the crowd, like he was looking for someone. "Yugi?" Hanasaki pushed his glasses back up on his nose. Yugi turned, smiling and waving at him. "M-my dad's feeling better; mom's picking me up today...and...and..." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Would...I thought...maybe you'd want to come over and play for a bit...I-I got a new computer game...." He trailed off weakly.

The smile on Yugi's cherubic face faltered. "I-I...that's nice, but it's Friday, and Yami and I always go out on Friday." The little one, who was about half an inch taller than the blonde, looked over his shoulder into the crowd once more.

"Ohhh.." Hanasaki tried not to sound too hurt. "W-what about tomorrow? It's Saturday-"

Yugi shifted his book bag, still hopping up and down. "I don't know....Yami's coming; I gotta go. See ya, 'Saki!" Yugi's voice became warm and cheerful again and he dashed off, weaving his way through the students. Yami smiled brightly at him, bending down and kissing the little one's soft lips, before Yugi slipped his hand into Yami's and, already bundled up, they headed toward the exit and the student parking lot.

Hanasaki sighed, head down and eyes filling with tears as he went to the doors to wait for his mom.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

Ryou twirled his lock then pulled it loose. He was about to open his locker when a hand suddenly grabbed his shoulder and whirled him around, slamming him into the locker, gripping his shoulder painfully and holding him in place. He whimpered in pain and fear, automatically thinking it was Ushio.

Instead of narrow, dull beady eyes, dark, smoldering ones burned into his. Bakura's sneering face was mere inches from his own. "What are you doing?"

Ryou blinked, surprised by the question, and very uncomfortable with their close proximities. Bakura's body was muscled and firm, a good four inches bigger than his. And Bakura's sheer force of spirit was enough to cow him. But it wasn't his menacing vibes that made Ryou shudder; it was the dark, secretive look in those deep eyes. That look send a shock straight down his spine and made his whole body go numb and tingly.

"Well?" Bakura tightened his hand on Ryou's thin shoulder, making the boy wince.

"G-going to the year book meeting." The smaller boy rasped out, his soft chocolate brown eyes wide with fright, his chest rising and falling rapidly from the adrenaline rushing through his veins. Bakura was very exciting...and dangerous, which only made him that more exciting and desirable.

Bakura's face twisted, as if he'd say something else. Gazing into those doe-like eyes, Bakura lost it. What the hell was he doing? He'd gotten the idea into his head to go and ask the boy out on a date. He'd acted impulsively, without thinking as he always did, and here he was, slamming him into the lockers. Real great way to get into his pants! But...what was done was done. Besides, he couldn't fathom any other way to do this.

"Screw yearbook. Come with me." Hearing the boy's gasp, he smirked. "Don't worry, I won't eat you." He chuckled at the startled look on the soft, pale features. "I'm leaving now. Come to the parking lot in five minutes if you want to go. Mine's the red Hummer. With the Taz plushy in it." He added as an afterthought, and turned and walked away, hands jammed into the pockets of his coat.

Ryou's eyes widened further. Bakura was asking him out?! His breathing increased, and he hoped he wouldn't need his inhaler. Clutching his hands to his chest, he leaned back against the lockers. Bakura had asked him out! But the yearbook meeting....good, dependable Ryou had never missed a meeting, unless he'd been terribly ill, which he often was. But to purposely skip.....Bakura, hot, sexy, bad boy Bakura had asked him out..... And he liked the Taz plushy! He'd put it in his vehicle! And he'd asked him out....that thought kept swirling around in Ryou's head, and he sighed dreamily.

He just didn't know what it was about the delinquent that made him go weak in the knees, made him feel dizzy and incapable of coherent thought. It was those impossibly dark eyes, the rippling, slightly tanned muscles, and that jagged, silvery hair, parts of which were died black. Sighing and blushing, Ryou pulled his coat out of his locker and made his way to the parking lot.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

Marik huffed, chewing on his pencil. Detention sucked ass, and there was currently no one here to bother, save for the teacher monitoring them. But he'd fallen asleep over his Playboy magazine, drool dangling from his open mouth.

Snorting in disgust, the senior flipped to another page in his notebook, absentmindedly sketching another dragon in his beat up, spiral notebook. God, he was so bored! This was cruel and unusual punishment. The detention room was deserted, except for him, it was a Friday, and while everyone else was free to let loose and party, he was trapped for one more half hour before he would be turned loose as well.

He groaned, thumping his head off one of the sideboards, which isolated the desks and made little cubicles for the students. He just started shading in the dragon when the doorknob turned. His attention was immediately drawn by what appeared to be a slimmer, shorter, less maniacal version of him.

"Damn it, this isn't the office." Malik rolled his pale purple eyes, about to leave again, when he looked up at the room's sole conscious occupant. This boy looked just like him! Their eyes met, gazing into one another's.

"Who the hell are you?" The both said at the same time. Malik laughed, a rich, golden sound, and Marik was entranced. He jerked his head, and Malik took the silent signal, approaching his desk and peering down.

"Cool dragon. Must be nice to be able to draw so well." The tan blonde tossed off casually.

"Yeah, it's really useful for killing time in detention."

Malik laughed again, and Marik decided he liked the sound. He also liked this boy. "New here?"

"Lived here all my life, but, yeah, I'm new to the school. Just got out of the Academy for 'good behavior'." Malik snorted and Marik shuddered at the memories the juvenile correctional facility brought up.

"Nasty place, that. This hell hole ain't much better, except they don't lock you behind bars. And you get to go home. And there's no Rez."

It was Malik's turn to shiver; solitary confinement had never sat well with him. "You know.....screw the fucking principal. They should make the office easier to find. I'm not wasting this gloriously cold, freezing Friday stuck here. I'm outta here."

Marik slumped lower, not wanting to be alone and bored again. "I've got another half hour before the after school activities bus comes and I can get the hell out of here."

Malik paused, his hand on the door. He looked over his shoulder at Marik, eyes raking over the faded black t-shirt, worn jeans, spiked wrist cuffs, jean chain, and boots. "I'll give you a ride."

"Works for me." Marik smiled, licking his lips, grabbing his shit, and following the new boy. He wore a white, long sleeved t-shirt, baggy, light blue jeans with a chain, and black boots. He had silver spiked ball earrings hanging from each ear, and a chain of metal balls around his neck. He kept his eyes trained on the boy's tight ass the entire way. He'd definitely have to help this kid learn his way around.......

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

Jou was walking towards his bus on the slushy, salt and snow caked sidewalk. The wind was bitter and cold; his cheeks were already turning pink from it, and his lips were chapped.

He and Seto had been actively avoiding each other. They hadn't spoken or laid eyes upon the other ever since that night Seto'd picked him up from a bus stop, where he was half dead from cold and so drunk he couldn't think straight. The spoiled brat had taken him out to one of his family's townhouses and the two teenagers had proceeded to get drunk off their asses then screw like horny, hormone-crazed, sex-deprived rabbits.

And did they ever go at it! Neither one could remember what happened that night, but Jou had trouble walking for the next couple of days. He wasn't comfortable around Seto anymore. He didn't know what it was with him. One minute, they were insulting and trying to rip each other limb from bloody limb, then the next they were necking and humping like there was no tomorrow.

Jou reached up, grasping the cold, thin iron railing of the bus' stairs when a familiar green Jaguar raced down from the student parking lot. Jou's brown eyes briefly met cold, artic blue, and he shuddered. Their eyes were locked for a split second, and it felt as if their souls touched, clashing, and the junior felt his body heat up, adrenaline pumping, ready for action. Whether it was fighting or screwing, he didn't care. He just wanted physical release.

Blushing hotly, furiously at the strong torrent of emotions Kaiba's simple glance could evoke within him, Jounouchi hauled himself up onto the bus and cursing that spoiled rotten, rich brat to hell and back.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

Anzu wiped the water from her chin with the sleeve of her pink coat. She straightened up from the water fountain, adjusting her book bag and purse higher onto her shoulder, and turned around. And ended up face-first into a huge pare of breasts.

Face red and murmuring apologies, the cheerleader looked up at Mai's amused smirk. The older girl's mocking laugh let her know she'd planned this on purpose. "Mai..."

"What? Want another go?" Mai's smirk widened, and she thrust her chest out a bit, making her boobs jiggle near Anzu's face. The top of her tan, fake fur rimmed coat was undone, allowing her breasts to protrude out. She had on a simple dark purple knit top with tight, low rising hip hugger jeans that exposed the back of her thong when she sat down.

"Mai!" Anzu's face was red. She wasn't naive like Yugi and Ryou were; she'd had some experience, but Mai was a little too brazen and bold! She backed up into the fountain, and Mai smiled at the flustered look in her summer blue eyes. The blonde haired girl stalked forward, like a lion towards its prey, her dark blue violet eyes gleaming with pleasure.

She reached out with a manicured, painted fingernail and traced Anzu's lip. The short haired girl's breathe caught in her throat, and she simply stared up at her. Mai's eyes flashed, then she closed the little remaining distance between them and covered Anzu's lips with her own.

tbc........

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

gonna end it there cuz i really ain't big on yuri, i ain't too crazy about anzu, and i really dun wanna see, let alone write, some lesbian action. gimme the sexy bishies ^_^ *drools *

eh...anyway...... *blinks several times * i...really don't have much to say...except this chappie is a bit shorter than my usual ones, i'm not overly pleased with it, but i'm just glad i managed to crank something out. i think it needed some more descriptions, and the action was rather dull, but i'm just getting back into the groove. i hope i get better next chappie! it will! it will! i've got it all planned out! a turning point in the plot is coming up; we've got a bakura and ryou lime and angst. those two take center stage next chappie! their date! *beams * and, of course, you all know what bakura's after....and i've also got something for yami and yugi planned the chappie after that...that one's uber-steamy and uber- angsty as well.....

and...i really do beg your humble forgiveness! i apologize once again for the terribly long wait, and i hope this chappie made up for it! *blinks again * are there even still people reading this thing?