Tarnished Innocence

Chapter 10

Well, here's Chapter 10! Sorry it took so long, this girls been on vacation. Anyways, enjoy!
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Jou had a feeling that something had changed in Yugi when he came to his appointments. The teen was more unfocused and he seemed to be in deep thought. Jou wanted to address the problem, which is exactly what he was going to do.

Yugi came into his office early in the morning, his hands shoved in his hoodie pockets and eyes staring at nothing in particular. The kid was completely out of it!

Jou was flipping through his notes and glanced up at the teen every now and then, "Something on your mind?"

"Hm?" Yugi's eyes flickered to his psychologist as if noticing him in the room for the first time.

"You want to share what you are thinking about?" The blonde pressed.

Yugi shook his head, "I-It's not important, really."

"It is if you don't even hear a word I say."

The teen slid down in his chair, eyes cast away from the other male. He tried to word his sentence as best he could, "I'm really happy where I am now, but I keep feeling like something is missing, like I'm not complete yet."

"Hm, being complete is really just a fairytale. You will always feel as if something is missing, but it doesn't dismiss the fact that you obviously want something more in your life. Tell me about what you've got going for you right now and we will work from there." Jou explained, all the while jotting notes in his journal.

"Okay..." The teen had to look away in thought. "I've got a roof over my head, a decent job with decent pay, I'm doing better mentally, and I've made a lot of good friends since I got here." Yugi threw a small smile Jou's way at the last statement. Catching it, Jou smiled and nodded.

"Good, all of what you've achieved has made you a happier person in general, it's easier to function once you've achieved peace with your surroundings. But, it all narrows down to what you could do to fill that empty space."

Yugi looked at him thoughtfully, "Do you have anything in mind?"

Jou stood up and walked around his office, along the walls were hundreds of books nicely organized on shelves. He pulled a single hard-back book off of it, its title reading 'To Build a Happier Life...' he then opened it and flicked through the aged looking pages. "It says here, building a life is one of the largest milestones that a young adult can achieve. It comes with great responsibilities as well as the ability to keep up with the people who are involved in your life." Jou paused and looked at Yugi who was listening intently, "The life that you have built up consists of the following, A well paying job, a roof over your head, better stress management , as well as strong relationships built with those around you...did I get all of that right bud?"

Yugi nodded, "So what does the book say about the next step?"

Jou turned the page, taking his time to read over its contents before shutting the book and putting it back on the shelf. He walked over to his seat and sat down. "Relationships, they are bonds built between two or more people that could last a lifetime. They are viewed as platonic, for example you and me have a platonic friendship. Or, they are viewed sometimes in a deeper, more romantic manner depending on how you decide to go about your decision making and feelings towards others."

An elegant eyebrow rose on Yugi's face, "So, what you are saying is that I should...start dating?"

Jou shrugged, "I'm not saying that you should just jump into something, I'm just saying that you should experience it before you even think about anything. Go out, meet new people, find love or whatever you decide to do. Or if you see yourself better alone, work on your self-love....is this making any sense?"