Yugioh: The Hope of Six

Chapter 51: Arcadia Arc - Part 6

"Hmm. As usual, the Blue-Eyes Mountain is perfect." Jack commented after sipping his favorite coffee at the Cafe la Geen.

The waitress serving him, a tall, young brunette named Stephanie, smiled and blushed as she slightly bowed her head. "T-Thank you, Jack Atlas." She said shyly. Stephanie had a huge crush on Jack. She wanted to tell him of her feelings for quite some time, but she became flustered whenever she was serving him and ended up not saying anything personal. The thing was, she was just too shy to speak to someone so famous. She hated being like that. 'Darn it. I want to be more than just some coffee serving waitress to him. I want to be his girlfriend! I've been wanting it for months and months! Why can't I be bolder?' Stephanie furrowed her eyebrows and crunched up her face. She had enough of it. 'Oh screw it! I'm just going to come out and say it! I'm sure Jack loves a girl that isn't afraid to speak her true feelings! I'm not passing up this chance! Not today!' Stephanie then took in a deep breath. "Jack Atlas, I..."

"There you are!" Crow shouted as he came strutting over to the table where his friend was sitting. His unannounced appearance made Stephanie yelp and fall comically down on the ground. Neither guy seemed to have noticed. "Are you drinking that expensive coffee again? You really should go for something cheaper." He mildly complained.

Jack grunted as he put his cup down. "I refuse to settle for something less than the best." He retorted. "Did you come here just to complain about my choice of beverage?" Jack asked. Crow snorted in response.

"Actually, no. Yusei just got a phone call from Ushio. He and Mikage want all of us down at the station right away, especially Aki. It has to do with those Elite guys she told us about." Jack's expression became more serious before he stood up.

"Then let's go." He then left the money for his coffee and walked off. Crow started after him when he heard a muffled crying sound behind him. He turned to see Stephanie sitting on the ground, tears pouring down her face. "Crow, are you coming?" Jack asked after walking a bit.

"I'll catch up." Crow told him. Jack then resumed heading back to the apartment. Crow then focused on the upset waitress. "Hey, what's wrong? Did you fall and hurt yourself?" Crow asked, sounding concerned. Stephanie kept her face lowered as she wept.

"Why... Why did you butt in like that? Just when I finally, finally had the guts to confess my feelings for him, you ruined it! How dare you?!" She shouted angrily. Crow flinched a bit from the tone in her voice. He seemed to really upset her.

"Confess? What do you..." Crow didn't understand at first, but then he got it a second later. He figured what she meant. "You mean Jack? You like him?" Stephanie didn't answer. She just kept looking down, her tears still falling off her face. Crow sighed and scratched the back of his head. "Oh crap. I'm no good at this kind of stuff." He then knelt in front of her. "Look, um. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you like this. It's just I had to tell Jack something important and he had to go without any delays." Stephanie shook her head.

"I hate being like this...I hate myself for being so pathetic! It's just too embarrassing!" Crow gave her a stern look.

"Hey, don't say stuff like that. You'll only make yourself feel even worse. There's nothing wrong with who you are." Stephanie gritted her teeth and tightened her hands into fists. She didn't seem to hear a word Crow was saying.

"Who am I kidding? He doesn't notice me one bit. I'm just some waitress who is too cowardly to even make small talk with a guy like him. I can never be the kind of girl Jack Atlas would want..." She then slam her fists on the ground. "I hate who I am! I don't deserve to be noticed by anyone!"

Crow had heard enough. He grabbed Stephanie shoulders firmly, finally making her look up at him.

"Stop that! Shut up and listen!" His words got the girl to stop crying. She appeared startled. "Insulting yourself isn't the solution! If you don't like the way you are, then do something about it! Work on improving the part of you that needs to change! If you're too shy, then try to become bolder and more outgoing! If Jack still doesn't notice you after all that, I'm sure there's bound to be someone who will!"