The Ride

Chapter 6: Willful Blindness

He avoids me as though I have the bubonic plague for the rest of the day; no insults, no projectiles flying across the classroom at me, not even one of his vacant glares. I suppose that I should be enjoying the peace and quiet, but my impatience makes it impossible for me to concentrate on anything but the advancement of my life’s final goal. If that letter doesn’t work, I’m going to need a contingency plan, and advance preparation can only help me in that case.

As I cross the parking lot to my car, I’m still so absorbed in my plotting that I don’t notice him leaning against the hood, staring at me, until I’m less than ten feet away. “Hey,” he says, offering a halfhearted grin.

Damn. No time to compose myself. Come on, all those business meetings must have taught you something about improvisation. Say something! “Hello,” I reply at length, and his low chuckle reaches my ears as he realizes just how many million miles away I was.

“Zonin’ out, Kaiba?” He asks as I toss my briefcase into the back seat of the Mercedes, and ordinarily, I would have rearranged his face for that comment. Must stay in character.

“Was there something you wanted, Joey?” I return, and it takes all of my considerable willpower to keep my tone amiable, not to mention remembering to call him by his name instead of one of my many canine references.

I never imagined that such an innocent question could so put him off balance, but evidently it did. His confident air disappears, and he stares at the ground, unconsciously biting one fingernail. To his credit, he catches himself almost immediately, folding his arms across his chest as I look on with an amusement I don’t find myself having to feign. I think I hear him mutter something, but I can’t be sure. “What was that?” I ask, keeping the smile from my face. Of course I know exactly what it was.

“I have feelings for you too!” he shouts, and suddenly conscious of how loud his voice is, he glances around the deserted parking lot in a manner more suited to owls than . T. Thankfully, we’re the last ones still here; he’s bad enough when he’s not embarrassed. Satisfied that nobody else heard that outburst, he locks his eyes with mine, and suddenly I realize what all this window to the soul bullshit is about. His normally clear honey orbs are clouded with fear, apprehension, and I detect a hint of relief at finally getting his feelings out in the open. If I take advantage of this vulnerability, I can hurt him right now and be done with the charade, but the damage probably won’t be permanent. Not good enough, then.

That decided, I need an answer, quick. Well, time to put that old cliche about actions and words to the test. Clearing the distance between us in the time it takes him to blink, I pull him into my arms and touch my lips to his ever so lightly. I hear a muffled yelp of surprise before I feel his arms around my neck, his lips caressing mine with just the slightest bit of urgency. My tongue darts out quickly, like that of a snake, demanding entrance, and he yields completely to me.

I smile against his mouth even as our tongues begin to duel. Joseph Wheeler, you’re mine.

* * *

To my mild surprise, it takes his friends an entire week to realize that we’re together, and another weekend to decide that they should interfere. We’re eating lunch up on the roof when the Scooby Gang finds us; Yami and that annoying Tea girl leading the charge, Yugi, Tristan, and Ryou bringing up the rear. Of his sister, Serenity, there’s no sign, something I find quite strange. If anyone could break my spell, it would be her. Are they so overconfident as to think they stand a chance on their own? And here I thought they would present a threat, however minor, to the fulfillment of my plan.

“Joey, can we talk to you for a minute?” the midget asks.

“Alone,” specifies his other half, shooting me a e the that I think is completely unfounded, but that I return anyway. It occurs to me that he hasn’t aired the yet yet, and I wonder why. Surely he wouldn’t be that patient with it, would he?

“Not a chance,” the mutt replies, holding my hand in a death grip. “Anything you can say in front of me, you can say in front of him.”

Oh, this is just too perfect. He’s that gone after a week and change? You give your heart too easily, puppy. That will be thath ath of you. I should have started a cult; seems I’m pretty good at this brainwashing stuff. Oh well, too late now. At this rate, my life’s being measured in weeks, not years.

A few feet away, Taylor sighs and pushes his way to the front of the group. “Joey... come on, wake up. Kaiba’s your worst enemy, remember? And now you’re... with him?! What’s the deal?”

“We’re all very worried, Joey.” puts in the albino boy, and I find his accent annoys me more than usual right now.

“Please, Joey...” begins Yugi, and my eyes narrow a fraction of an inch. If anyone stands any chance of convincing him that I’m bad news, aside from his sister, it’s the parasitic little cherub over there. “I hate to say this, but Kaiba’s poison.” He looks over at me in apology, but turns away as he remembers the last time he tried to be nice to me. “What I mean to say is...”

“Oh, for Ra’s sake, stop sugar-coating it!” Hmm, this just might the first time Yami’s ever yelled at his precious light. Yugi’s shoulders slump, and he begins to stare at the floor, sadly. “Joey, Kaiba’s obviously playing some twisted game with you, using you for something. That... monster,” he spits the word like a curse. “...is incapable of human emotion. You must realize that.”

“That’s enough, you guys!” The mutt’s on his feet, still holding my hand, and I stand as well. “Kaiba and I are in love. Why can’t you just be happy for us? Is it that hard?” As a gesture of complete defiance, he pulls me down to his level and kisses me with all the passion he can muster. His back is to his friends, so I open my eyes just wide enough to catch their reactions. Ryou and Tristan are both completely defeated, torn between interfering in their friend’s life for his own good or letting him make his own mistakes. Yugi’s clinging to Yami, the pharaoh’s outburst evidently forgotten for the moment. the the Gardner bitch seems to be ready for an encore, striding up to us bravely and tearing Joey from me, spinning him to face her. I always knew she was stupid, but this could kill whatever seed of doubt they might have already been planted in his mind. Hmph... not like I’m gonna stop her from helping my cause if she really wants to.

“Joey, listen to us!” she cries in that shrill, nails-on-a-chalkboard voice, and everyone except for me cringes. “We’re your friends! Friends know best, and we know you don’t exactly have the best track record for decision making. Don’t you remember all those bad decisions you made onlistlist Kingdom? What about the time you took on Duke to save your pride and wound up in a dog suit? Now, you want to get together with Kaiba, your worst enemy? Come on, stand back for a second and think about what you’re doing!” As though her outburst hadn’t done enough damage to their mission, she slaps the mutt across the face, hard. “Wake up, Joey!”

I watch as his eyes blaze with a fire that I’ve only seen on rare occasions, when he’s fighting for something he believes in. Angrily, he rubs at his cheek, where a red mark is already taking shape. “You listen to me, okay, Tea?” he growls. “I’ve had more than enough of your airhead cheerleader crap to last a lifetime! It’s no secret you think I’m stupid, that I can’t take care of myself without you guys holding my hand, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to give up my chance with Seto just because you guys are paranoid!” His use of my first name doesn’t go unnoticed by anyone. Oh yeah, definitely gone. “If you were half the friend you claim to be, you’d butt out and go fix your own mess of a life!”

That’s taken the wind out of her sails, to put it mildly. Just as defeated as the rest of them now, she turns and shuffles back to the others, who immediately start heading for the stairs. All except the midget, who comes up to me alone and begins rummaging in his backpack, eventually taking out a small glass case. Is this what I think it is...?

“I don’t know just what you’re trying to do,” he whispers, low enough that his best friend can’t hear him, “but please, stop it. It’s not too late.” With a small nod, he pushes the case into my hand and runs off to catch up with the rest of them.

The mutt comes over a few moments later. “What’d Yug’ w” he” he asks, and although he might not be happy with any of them, there’s a certain note of tenderness in his voice at the mention of the shorter tricolor-haired boy.

I open the glass case, and a tape falls out. “He wanted to give me this,” I say in disbelief, turning it over in my hand. It’s definitely the right size for that camcorder Yami had that night... but why? It hits me a few moments later; a peace offering, so that I wouldn’t go through with my plan. Smooth move, Yugi, but I’m not about to back down.

Pocketing the tape, I put my arm around him, forcing myself to smile. “You called me Seto back there.” I say, and my voice is so sweet I think I’m going to be sick on the spot.

He grins shyly. “Do you mind?”

“Not at all, pup.” It means that my plan’s working like a charm.

I watch as he sighs contendly, burrowing into my side. I’ll let him twist in the wind a while longer before I cut him loose, I think. After all, it’s only been a little over a week. Who knows just how far he can fall given a litle more, and thetherther he goes, the more painful the final blow’s going to be. Nothing can stop me now. He might as well just lay down and die right now instead of waiting for me to shoot him like the dog he is.