The Alternative

Chapter Eleven

            "Oh my God...Yugi? Are you okay?"

Clearly he wasn't, but being polite, Ryou didn't want to jump to any conclusions.

Yugi Mutou stumbled into the room with exhaustion depicting his look. His hair appeared tangled and frizzy, with eyes sunk low in their sockets and his whole body hunched over. Ryou was appalled by the fact that Yugi was dressed in nightwear rather than his clean pressed designer clothing. What could have happened?

The new student dragged his feet across the tile, oblivious to the judgmental stares shot at him from his peers. The moment he arrived at his desk, he slid into the chair and cradled his head in his arms.

"Thank God it's Friday, huh?" Ryou murmured, chocolate eyes glued on Yugi all the while.

"Mmm," the young adult mumbled through his arms.

"So, Yugi, if you don't mind me asking, why do you look like you just crawled out of bed?"

Yugi slowly lifted his head, exhibiting his creamy pale skin and dark circles around his eyes. His eyes couldn't focus on Ryou; instead, they dazed unsteadily around the room.

"More like just crawled off a chair," he huffed softly. Slowly he began rubbing his temples.

"Excuse me?" Ryou questioned in shock.

"I accidentally left my room last night and forgot my key," the gamer sighed, which turned into a yawn. "I didn't want to wake anyone up, so I slept in the laundry room."

"You slept in the laundry room?! Even after that story Mai told us last week?"

"Well I couldn't sleep in the lobby and have people pass me as they left for class," he groaned in tiresome.

"You should have just woken someone up! You look like a mess....I'm sorry to say so," Ryou quickly apologized after his offense.

"I couldn't!" Yugi growled in annoyance. "Jonouchi and Honda would have been upset with me. They're like my parents sometimes. They'd want to know where I've been and all that garbage."

"They care about you," Ryou bowed his head in thought. "Next time you lock yourself out, come wake me up. I'll let you in with no questions asked."

Yugi lifted his head in hope, a smile crawling upon his face. "You mean it?"

"Of course!"

At that moment, the replacement Sensei waltzed into the classroom. Yugi took one tired look at the desk next to him where Yami once sat. Yami was already controlling his thoughts, and it wasn't even ten in the morning.

()()()()()()()()()()

Yami Yami YAMI.

Atem? Yami. "Yami" Atem.

"Yami" Atem Sennen?

Last night happened, right? Yugi couldn't help but think about it. It made him itch with desire...with a burning need. He needed to know more. He wanted to talk about it. His first lecture wasn't even over yet and he could find himself fidgeting to talk.

But there were only two people in the whole university he could talk with Yami about. About all of the things that happened last night.

Kaiba and Bakura.

Both would be very difficult to reach out to.

Yugi contemplated it for the remainder of class. Which would be the better candidate?