EMO

"Get out of here! I hate you!"



CRASH!



"Mother! Stop!"



"Leave this place! Never come back here!"



BANG!



"Mother!"



"Its your fault! Its all your fault!"



SHATTER!



"You're not my son! You never were my son! You're the bitch's son!"



"No, I'm not!"

SLAM!



"I HATE YOU!"



A sigh. Slience. He hated silence. It reminded him of all the yelling and screaming ringing in his ears. His father had left him with a psychotic woman who called herself his 'not mother'. Why she hated him, he had no idea. Supposedly his father had an affair with a woman during his relationship with Atem's mother and the woman gave him the baby.



He'd left the hospital about noon yesterday and he hadn't gone back that day. Instead, he went home and took a long, hot, bubble bath. When he grabbed a razor to shave the stubble from his cheeks and chin he was reminded of when he himself tried to kill himself when he was twenty. Luckily his friend, Mahaad, found him and took him to the hospital.



'If Mahaad hadn't saved me... who would be with Yugi-kun right now?' Atem thought, staring at the razor after shaving his chin and cheeks. He sighed again, rinsing the razor and putting it in a cup on the sink, then grabbing a rag and wiping his face off all the excess hairs and cream.



The door bell rang and Atem grabbed his dress shirt from the hanger on the door of his bathroom and walked out. He went to the door and opened it. A man with short brown hair and beautiful hazel eyes smiled at him.



"Hey Mahaad. Come on in." Atem said and turned away while putting his shirt on.



"How are you, Atem?" Mahaad asked.



"Hn."



Mahaad raised an eyebrow at the response... well... non-response. "I'll take that as a not-so-good. What's wrong, buddy?"



Atem sat down, not bothering to button up his shirt. He sighed and covered his face with both hands and groaned. He felt the couch dip next to him.



"Did you have a nightmare?"



"No. My best student tried killing himself last week and now he's in the hospital."



"... Ah." Mahaad said and put a hand on Atem's shoulder.



"He's... doing better... but... he's still not stable."



"And... he makes you think of yourself from when you were a teenager?"



"Exactly. He's bringing back memories that I had buried long ago. He's going through the exact same torture I went through."



"You mean... his mother is abusing him?"



"No. His father is."



"Ooh. Thats even worse."



"I know. You should see the bruises on his neck and chest. He has a broken rib and the nerves in his right wrist are permanently damaged from him trying to kill himself." Atem explained.



Mahaad sighed. He wrapped an arm around Atem's shoulders when they began to shake. He pulled his friend close and let him cry. They had done this many times. At one point, Atem had kissed Mahaad, even though he knows Mahaad doesn't swing that way. Mahaad, of course, let him kiss him, thinking that maybe this would make his friend feel better. He hadn't expected Atem to want sex. Even though he didn't want to, he went ahead and had sex with his friend.



Atem had felt guilty when he woke up the next morning feeling like he'd betrayed his friend. Mahaad had assured him that it was alright and that he didn't mind. Some friends do these kinds of things: Mahaad had said. He hadn't expected that night to bring them closer than they had been before. He was surprised, but not disappointed. They went to college together and became teachers at the same high school.



"So... do I get to meet this student of your's?" Mahaad asked, smiling.



Atem looked up at him. He smiled. "Sure. I was going to visit him after our meeting at the school."



"Cool."



"Yugi-kun?" Atem peeked his head into the room, ignoring Mahaad's surprised gaze.



"Atem-chan!"



"Ouff!" Atem smiled down at the student hugging him around the waist. "Well... I see someone missed me." He wrapped his arms around the small shoulders.



Yugi looked up, smiling happily. "I was beginning to think you weren't coming today."



"Of course. I'm here now aren't I?" Atem smiled.



Yugi nodded.



"Now... why are you out of bed, little mister?"



"The doctor says I should try to walk a little. Besides... I just had a bath." Yugi smiled. He blinked when he saw Mahaad. "Who's this?"



"Oh. This is my friend Mahaad. Mahaad... my star pupil Yugi-kun."



Mahaad smiled. "Hello, Yugi-kun."



Shyly, Yugi turned his head into Atem's chest. "Hello, Mahaad-chan."



Atem blinked at this odd reaction. "You're... strangely shy today Yugi-kun."



Yugi looked up at Atem, a slight shine in his eyes, making Atem's heart skip a beat. But when he saw bruises on Yugi's neck, he felt as if his heart was tore out of his chest. He tightened his arms around Yugi and held him closer. Mahaad blinked at this action. He didn't think Atem was this close to his student. He saw Yugi blink in surprise as well, but still smile and nuzzle Atem's chest. Mahaad had to smile himself.



'Its almost like a baby with it's father.' He thought, watching as the teacher and student held each other. 'Its... almost fate... for them to be clinging to each other like this. Yugi has no idea that Atem went through the same thing he is currently going through though. I wonder if Atem will tell him some day.'



Soon the three were playing a card game, Atem sitting on the edge of the bed and Mahaad sitting on a chair next to the bed.



"You know Yugi... you're not alone." Mahaad said while trying to choose a card to lay on the table... well... Yugi's lap.



"Hmm?" Yugi looked up from his hand and tilted his head at Mahaad. "What do you mean?"



Atem looked at Mahaad confused as well.



"I'm sure a lot of kids have gone through the same thing you are going through."



"I know a lot of kids go through bad things... but... I just... I feel like no one can compare to what I went through. My own father tried to kill me witt his bare hands."



"At least he was around though."



"Mahaad-"



"What do you mean?"



"Atem's father left him and his mother."



"Mahaad!"



"He did?" Yugi looked at Atem.



The teacher sighed. "Yeah. After he left, my mom slowly lost her mind and began blaming me for everything."



Yugi frowned.



"But... that was long ago and it doesn't bother me anymore." He smiled at Yugi. "So don't worry about it, Yugi-kun."



The student smiled sadly and looked back down at his hand. Atem sighed. Now that Yugi knew part of his secret, will their new relationship change? For the past fifteen years the teacher has been hiding his emotions and keeping his heart closed to outsiders. And here is one of his student's trying to do the same thing. He couldn't let that happen to someone who used to be kind hearted and loving. He had to do something to help Yugi. Even if it cost him the rest of his sanity.



After dropping Mahaad off at his house, Atem returned to the hospital and to Yugi's hospital room. While standing in the elevator, he began to think back to when Yugi first came into his class. He was so small and pale. Then again... he's still small and pale. Just... not as bad now that he's in the hospital. Irony... Atem hated it. It could cause so many bad things to happen and hurt so many people. A sigh escaped pass his lips and he laid his head back against the cold, metal wall of the elevator. He was beginning to get a headache. One of those painful migrains he got when he thought hard about the past. He wondered if maybe Yugi's nurse would give him some Tylonal or Excedrin. The ding of the elevator made a bolt of pain strike his temple and he winced painfully.



"Damn... shoulda brought my own pain relievers." The teacher muttered as he stepped into the hallway past a little blonde girl and her blonde mother. He passed a long set of windows and stopped to stare at the sunset. 'So beautiful.' He thought. 'I haven't seen this beautiful of a sunset since...' He thought for a moment longer. 'Since that night I ran into that boy in the park three years ago.' His migraine suddenly got worse. Turning quickly away from the window, he walked up to the Nurses' desk. "Excuse me... I have a really bad migraine, I was wondering if you might give me some pain killers."



"Um... sure." The nurse stood up from her desk and walked up to a cabinet behind the desk and pulled out a bottle of excedrin. She pulled out two pills and then put the bottle back up.



"Thank you very much." Atem said as he took the pills from her. He went up to a vending machine and bought himself some water and took the pills. After swallowing, he continued on his way to Yugi's hospital room.



"Atem-chan... I was wondering if you were going to come back." Yugi smiled slightly.



Atem smiled back, just as fake.



After visiting hours, Atem went back to Yugi's house to visit his grandfather.



"How is he doing today Atem-sensei?" Sugoruko asked, inviting the teacher into the house.



"He's actually doing a lot better. He was tired today, but I suppose thats from having to stay up until almost two in the morning for his damn doctor to get to the hospital." Atem replied, sighing tiredly. He sunk down into the chair at the table. "Thank you." He said when the old man poured him some green tea.



Yugi's grandfather sat down across from Atem after pouring himself some tea. They drank together in silence for a few minutes, listening to the violent wind blow outside.



"Sounds like a thunder storm will be hitting tonight." Atem whispered softly.



"Thats not good."



"Hm?"



"Yugi is terrified of thunder storms. He almost got killed in a thunderstorm three years ago." Sugoruko said.



"... I see." Atem thought for a moment, which was a bad idea. "Mr. Motou... did Yugi have any friends before his mother died?"



"Of course. He had three special friends."



"May I know who they are? If I can get them to talk to Yugi, maybe he'll stop hanging around those punks." Atem said.



"I can write you their names and give you a picture of them." The old man stood up and went into the living room.



Atem waited for him, staring down into his small cup of tea. He sighed. Strangely, the tea reminded him of alcohol. He'd got drunk only once in his life, and he regretted that night to this day. The next morning when he woke up with some kid in his bed in a hotel room, he felt so... disgusted at himself. He had left the kid money to pay for a breakfast and a way to get home and then he left. He was sure the kid had told him his name, but he couldn't remember it. He doesn't even remember what the kid looked like.



"Here's a picture of them."



The sound of the old man's voice made Atem jump. He looked at Yugi's grandfather and then down at the picture on the table. His eyes widened slightly.



"Thats Yugi?" He asked.



"Yes. Just a day before his mother died." Sugoruko replied.



"I have all three of these kids in my class." Atem said.



"Maybe you can get them to talk to him and become friends with him again." Sugoruko said.



"If they forgive him."



"So Alexander the Great was from which country? Lets see... Jouinchi?"



"Er... wadn't he from... Macedonia?"



Atem smiled. "Correct."



The bell rang and the teacher gave his students homework and dismissed them.



"Ah... Jouinchi, Mazaki and Honda, please stay here with me." Atem said.



The three said students blinked and looked at each other and walked up to his desk.



"What's up, teach?"



"I have a favor to ask of you three."



"A favor?" Anzu asked, tilting her head to the side.



Atem nodded and stood up, he turned away from them and began to wipe the chalk off the chalk board. "Do you remember Yugi Motou?"



"Of course we do. How could we forget him? He's our best friend." Honda said. Jou nodded in agreement.



"Speaking of Yugi... where has he been the past few days? I haven't seen him around at all." Anzu asked.



"He's in the hospital." Atem replied, turning to look at them and placing the black chalk-board eraser in his desk.



"What?! What happened?!" Jou yelled.



"He... well... you should probably ask him yourself. I'm going to see him again today around four if you kids want to come with me." Atem replied.



"Of course we'll go!" Honda exclaimed.



"Then meet me at the Motou Game Shop later after school." The teacher said.



"Will do." Jou said and the three left the classroom.



"Man... Yug's in the hospital?" Jou whispered once he shut the door to Atem's classroom.



Anzu peeked into the classroom. "Looks like Aknunkadin-sensei is just as worried as we are." She whispered.



The two boys peeked in with her and saw Atem sitting in his desk, hands folded infront of his lips with a weary and sad expression on his face.



"Yugi is his prize student when it comes to history." Honda said. He sighed. "We should get to lunch guys."



The other two nodded and the three friends walked away from the classroom.



'I hope this works.' Atem thought.



Atem was talking quietly with Yugi's grandfather when the three students walked up.



"We're ready, teach." Jou said softly.



"I hope Yugi is alright." Anzu whispered.



"The doctor called a few moments ago saying Yugi will be fine physically except for his right wrist." Sugoruko said.



"Whats wrong wid it?" Jou asked curiously.



"That is something Yugi will have to tell you." Atem said with his eyes closed. The tie to his suit was loose and his hair was ruffled from the long, tiring day of teaching high school students. "Shall we go?"



The three students nodded and followed their teacher into a cab.



"Domino Hospital please."



Yugi was reading when he heard a knock on the door. He looked up with a hopeful expression on his face that it was Atem-sensei.



"Atem-chan?!"



Atem smiled. "Hello Yugi-kun."



The violet orbs that were slowly gaining their shine widened when he saw the three students behind his favorite teacher.



"Hey Yug." Honda smiled.



"Its been a while... Yugi." Anzu said softly.



But Yugi didn't hear their words. He was staring at his most valuable friend behind the two. "Jouinchi... kun?" He whispered, barely adubile.



Said boy grinned. "Yug... how're ya?"



Tears filled Yugi's eyes as the three people he'd left smiled at him as if he'd never left them at all. He looked away, ashamed at the way he had acted toward them. The bed dipped beside him.



"Yugi... they're all very worried about you." Atem whispered, putting a hand on his student's shoulder.



"Atem-kun... did you..."



"Your grandfather and I want you to be happy. Mr. Motou says you were happiest when you were with these three." The teacher whispered.



"Then... they..."



"We forgive you Yugi. We went you to be happy as well." Anzu said.



"Yeah man. You're still our friend no matter who you are and what you are like." Honda said.



Yugi looked to Jou.



"Friends til' the end Yug." Jou whispered.



Yugi felt his heart beat faster. "Jouinchi-kun!" He cried, climbing out of the bed and running into his friend's arms.



Jou stumbled slightly, but held his ground as he gripped Yugi tightly to his chest. Anzu and Honda smiled at each other, then smiled at their teacher, who smiled back. He had done a very good thing today. He had helped someone he was beginning to love get his friends back. He and this boy were more alike then he'd thought at first.



Atem frowned and looked away. That was something he feared.