Tell Me a Secret
Tell Me a Secret
“Bad dog!” Seto yelled, as he chased a blonde boy through the yard after school. “I know you’re the one who stole my favorite pen, Joey! Heel!”
“I didn’t take anything, Kaiba!” Joey yelled back, still trying to keep away from his nemesis, but Seto caught up with him and tackled him to the ground.
“Please don’t hurt me, Kaiba. I swear-“
Wham! Seto punched him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of the poor teen.
“You’ve been a naughty, naughty puppy, Wheeler! I wouldn’t have to punish you if you obeyed your master!” He grabbed Joey’s bag. “Time for me to find what you took, thief…” He dumped the bag’s contents on the ground, and threw everything around in search for the pen that wasn’t there.
Super pissed, Seto grabbed Joey by the hair and pulled hard. “Where’s my pen, dog?” he spat.
Joey winced back tears, and pointed to the pocket in Seto’s shirt.
Seto looked down to his chest to see his missing pen exactly where he now remembered putting it.
Giving the honey-eyed teen a look of remorse, he let go of the handful of hair and scrambled to his feet. “I’m sorry, puppy,” he whispered. Then, he got on his knees, picked all of Joey’s belongings up, and placed them neatly into the book bag.
Joey watched Seto in amazement. Seto had never apologized to anyone for anything in his life! Especially not someone he hated like Joey! Joey gave Seto a confused look, then a sad grin, took his now-organized bag, and headed home.
His father was gone, as usual. He’d be at the bar as he was every night, getting wasted. It was his favorite pastime. Hell, it was his only pastime, next to beating the shit out of his teenaged son.
Joey did a quick cleaning of the house before returning to his room. He lay on his bed and lifted his shirt, peeking at the new bruise appearing on his skin where Seto had punched him. Seto hadn’t really punched him that hard. The little veins in this area were used to being damaged on a daily basis. It was Joey’s father’s favorite target, after all.
“Seto,” Joey breathed quietly, as his fingertips circled the bruise. “Why do you have to hate me so much?”
He sighed, tucked his shirt back into his pants, and got up to make dinner for his father.
Meanwhile…
Seto paced his office, holding the pen he had hurt Joey over, looking at it in disgust. He had punished an innocent little golden haired puppy over nothing. He thought about the fear-filled eyes that had pleaded with him before he threw that punch.
“Joey, why would you smile at me after I beat you up? I know you hate me, and I know I deserve it. I’ve been awful towards you.”
He continued to pace his office in silence, still staring at the pen. How could this pen, no matter its cost, be more important to him than his puppy? His innocent eyed puppy….
Seto screamed, and threw the pen out the window. “I will never hurt you again, Joey! I swear it!”
“Joey, you stupid little punk!” his father bellowed. “We had this for dinner two nights ago. I’m not eating this shit again!”
The teen winced at the hateful words, but calmly stated, “There’s nothing but ham and beans in the house, dad.”
“You insolent little shit! You always make the lamest excuses!”
“Dad, please. I’m not happy with our dinner either, don’t be angry with me. Please.” Joey held back tears as he backed away into the living room.
But, to his upmost surprise, his father just shrugged, and filled a bowl with the boring meal.
Joey decided to test his good luck. “Daddy, may I go to Yugi’s house tonight? I did my chores, and all my homework.”
Again, his dad shrugged. “I don’t care, but I want you home by 10:30. Don’t be late.”
The blonde grabbed his jacket off the chair and ran out of the door. His father was actually being halfway decent tonight. As he arrived at his best friend’s house, he dug his watch from his pocket to check the time. It blinked a feeble ‘7:30’. The poor item had a broken leather strap, and a dying battery.
Nevertheless, he had approximately three hours to hang out. He knocked.
“Joey! What’s up?” Yugi all but shrieked as he opened the door.
“Dad let me come over. I have to be home in three hours though, so let’s have fun while we can.”
Yami appeared from Yugi’s room. “Hey Joey, it’s been forever since you came over. What’s kept you?”
“Oh, just been busy at home,” he lied.
Yami knew better, but only nodded. He had promised Joey that he would keep the abuse a secret, even from Yugi.
They walked together to Yugi’s bedroom, and sat in a triangle on the beanbag chairs scattered on the floor. Yugi started chatting immediately. “Seto is such a jerk, blaming you for taking something he had all along, and punching you for it! You should have beaten him up, Joey; I know you can take him on… You’ve done it before!”
“I don’t want to fight with Seto,” Joey replied slowly.
“Yugi, Seto apologized to Joey for hitting him, and, well, Seto never apologizes to anyone for anything. He must feel really bad about what he did. Have a little compassion,” Yami said quietly.
The little light nodded. He always took his yami’s advice, and it had not failed him yet.
The three teens talked, joked, and pillow fought for an hour before turning their attention to their Guitar Hero game, which they played ‘til ten o’clock, when Joey had to leave. For encouragement, Yami gave Joey a gentle embrace. “Take care of yourself.”
“I’ll try.” He smiled at his two best friends before walking out the door.
Seto Kaiba walked the streets of Domino mindlessly, sticking to the shadows as much as he could. So many thoughts were running through his mind, and he tried to sort them all out. Joey’s sad confused smile was still etched in his brain, making the rich boy’s heart ache for a reason he couldn’t place.
Was he in love with the blond haired, honey-eyed puppy? Was he losing his mojo, his tough act he liked to keep in place? ‘No,’ he thought. ‘It’s not possible. I can’t be falling for the mutt.’
Out of nowhere, it seemed, a running figure hit him, sending them both to the ground. Growling, Seto jumped to his feet, and yelled, “Watch where you are going, idiot!” He balled up his fists as the hooded figure stood up, then punched the stranger’s arm hard.
Joey cried out in pain, grasping his quickly bruising arm with the other hand. “I’m sorry, Kaiba. I… If I’m not home in ten minutes, well, ya don’t wanna know what my old man might do!”
Seto jumped back in shock. “Joey?”
The poor boy let down his hood and sighed, the look on his face forlorn. “Don’t worry, Moneybags. I’ll watch my step from now on,” he whispered, before continuing the run home.
The teen billionaire sat on the curb and held his head in his hands. “Joey,” he moaned, “I’m sorry I keep hurting you. You deserve so much better than my torments. If I ever hurt you again, even by accident, I swear I’ll hurt myself worse…”
Joey glanced at his watch. He was only half a block away from his home, and shuddered when he saw the time. 10:32. He ran the last few meters, and quickly passed the threshold, hoping his dad wouldn’t be awake. Quietly, he locked the door, and moved towards his room.
“You’re late, you worthless piece of shit.”
Joey gasped and turned around. His dad had a beer bottle in one hand, and brass knuckles on the other. They were his favorite tool to beat his son with when he was really angry. The boy tried to back away from his drunkard father, and the older man lunged…