Puppy

"Hey guys! Jounounchi's here and he's got pizza!!" I yell, entering Yuugi's house. I'm immediately stampeded by a herd of hungry teenagers. Man, I've missed these guys.
"You men are pigs," Tea announces when we're done. "Four pizzas! Gone!"
"Hey, you had your fair share too, ya know," Tristan said defiantly.
"Yeah, two pieces, not six!!!" she challenges.
"Ain't our fault you're such a lightweight."
"Why you-"
"Tea, remember the happy place," Yugi tries to console her.
After finally deciding which movie to see, we round ourselves up and head for the theater.

At the theater I see another familiar face. “Mokuba! Hey! Over here!” I call, arms waving. He waves back shyly, and I notice he’s holding hands with the girl next to him. Woo-hoo, Mokie’s got a girlfriend, Mokie’s got a girlfriend... I wonder if Seto knows.

We had decided on ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.’ Hilarious! I have a whole new respct for Johnny Depp. Anzu, however, wasn’t as impressed.

“He hardly even looked cute! What was that director’s problem?!?” she whined.

“Anzu, they had to make him fit the part,” Devlin reminded her.

“So? He was funny and sarcastic in ‘Pirates of the Carribean’ and he was still hot!”

All of us, all at once, hung our heads in defeat. There’s no reasoning with a fangirl. We walked the rest of the way back to Yugi’s trying to change the subject.

Back at Yug’s, everyone suddenly got silent, all at once. “What’s wrong guys?” I ask tentatively.

Yugi looked at me. “We all wanted to talk to you.”

I arched an eyebrow. “About?”

“Seto.”

“Aww, come on, not this again!” I cried.

“Jou, please, just listen this one last time, and we’ll never bring it up again.”

“Never?”

“Never.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

“Swear on your Dark Magician?”

“I swear on my Dark Magician.”

“Alright.” I sat on a nearby chair and waited for the drilling to begin. “Start talking.”

“Well, Jou, I guess we really don’t understand why you continue to see him. He doesn’t seem to treat you very well, at least not at school.” The others stayed silent. I guess Yugi was doing all the talking. “I guess that’s what we want, to understand why you care so much for someone who’s so cut off from the rest of the world.”

“I get to defend myself this time?” I asked, looking around.

“Jou, please, don’t be like that,” Anzu said.

Oh God, let me live to bitch slap that woman just once. “I don’t know what attracted me to him at first. No one puts up a fight like he does. And no one’s gotten me as angry as he has.”

“That’s hardly grounds for a relationship,” Anzu stated.

Just once, God, just once. “Normally, I’d agree,” I replied slowly.

“Do you know why this time is different?” Yugi asked.

“No, I don’t. But Seto doesn’t treat me like you think he does. He is kind to me.” At least, sometimes he is.

“Well, you never say anything about him, how are we supposed to know?” Anzu asked.

“How am I supposed to bring him up if all my friends cringe at the sound of his name?!?!” I demanded.

“Jou, clam down,” Yugi said, seemingly self-appointed moderator. “Anzu, stop provoking him.”

“Really, Anzu,” Tristan added. “What the hell’s the matter with you?”

There was only a ‘Hmmph” from her. Just once, God. And if I can’t, let Tristan do it.

“Tristan,” Yugi warned. “You were saying, Jou?”

I noticed the pharaoh sitting off to the side, keeping completely out of the conversation. “Seto does have a kind heart, whether you believe it or not. The pharaoh could tell you that as well.”

Yami looked up as everyone’s gaze fell upon him. His eyes met mine in surprise.

“Yeah, he remembers, Yami. He remembers everything.”

The spirit looked as if he were thinking of a happy memory. “He is still the man he was then, is he?”

“Stubborn and scowling, hard to get through...” I began.

“But once you do, you never regret it.” the pharaoh finished. His eyes cleared and looked at the group. “I think it would be wise for you to stop pestering Jounouchi about his choice of mates.”

“Thank you, Yami,” I said. He responded with a small nod. “Now guys, it was great seein’ y’all, but it’s getting late. I’ll see ya in school Monday.”

“‘Night, Jou,” Yugi said, and the others murmured similiar things. I left the house and walked straight for Kaiba Mansion.