Lightning.

Reflection.

Joey slowly made his way down the street towards the Kame Game Shop. His mind was reeling, he was too busy to even think about where he was going. It was as if his feet just knew where to take him, he was pretty much just on autopilot. He stared down at his feet as he walked, watching the large raindrops crash against the already soaked pavement. It was late, probably going on midnight.

"This is stupid."  he whispered to himself as he continued down the street. "But what else can I do? I can't stay there. Not tonight."

It was hot and humid, a mixture of rain and sweat made Joey's clothes cling to him and strands of his wet golden blonde hair stuck to his face. It was uncomfortable, but he didn't care. Joey had just gotten into another fight with his dad, and he had the busted lip and bruises to prove it. Before he knew it he had arrived at the game shop. Joey paused for a moment in front of the shop before letting out a shaky breath and climbing the steps to the front door.

Joey knocked a few times and then took a step back, nervously waiting to see if the door would open and praying to God it would be his best friend, Yugi, and not his grandfather. Minutes felt more like hours as he waited. It felt like everything around him was fading out into nothingness as the thoughts of what had just happened buzzed around in his head.

"You'd think I'd be used to it by now."
He thought to himself as he brought his fingers up to his lips to touch the bruised skin around his mouth. The door opened, pulling Joey out of his thoughts. When he saw Yugi standing there staring at him the reality of the situation hit him and he immediately felt embarrassed.
"Joey," Yugi said, his voice full of concern. "Are you alright?"

Joey looked back down at his feet, refusing to meet Yugi's gaze. Joey could still feel the intense stare of Yugi's violet eyes on him though.
"Joey..?" Yugi questioned, his voice cracking a bit this time.
"I'm sorry, Yug."
Was all Joey managed to say. He didn't know why he was here. This wasn't Yugi's problem, he shouldn't be getting him involved in this, yet here he was. Joey didn't know where else to go. He had other friends that he could have gone to, but for some reason going to Yugi just seemed better, safer than going to anyone else. 

"Don't be." Yugi said as he gave Joey a soft smile. Yugi had obviously been asleep before Joey got there. His normally wild, tricolored hair was pulled back in messy ponytail instead of being teased and spiked to oblivion and remnants of black liner still rimmed his tired eyes.

"You should come inside." Yugi said. "You're soaking wet, let's get you out of the rain."
Yugi stepped back as he spoke, opening the door wider and gesturing for Joey to come in. Joey forced a weak smile and nodded.

"Thanks." He said as he stepped inside. Yugi shut and locked the door and then turned and proceeded up the stairs to the apartment above the game shop. Joey followed, trying to be as quiet as possible as to not to disturb Solomon, Yugi's grandpa. They made it up the stairs and rounded the corner that took them down a short hallway and to Yugi's bedroom.

"So." Yugi finally broke the silence. "Are.. you okay, Joey?"
"Ha, 'course I am." Joey lied.
"Just got in a fight with some punk, but don't worry. He looks 10 times worse than I do."

Joey was attempting to be he usual cocky, goofy self and failing miserably.

"I see.." Yugi said slowly as his eyes studied the discolored skin and bruises on Joey's face and hands. It was painfully obvious that Joey was lying, but Yugi figured it was best to leave it alone. When and if Joey wanted him to know what really happened then he would tell him.

"Well, I am sure you probably want to get cleaned up a bit. You're more than welcome to take a shower but I don't have any clean clothes that will fit you."

Yugi was much smaller than Joey was. He was maybe 5'2. while Joey himself was nearing 6'0.
"I could dry your clothes for you, though. It would be better than nothing." Yugi smiled.
"Sounds good." Joey nodded and smiled a bit. Even with everything going on it was hard not to smile when he was around Yugi. Yugi was such a genuinely kind person that being around him just automatically put you in a better mood.
"Alright then!" Yugi exclaimed as he leaned out of the room and pointed back down the hall.
"First door on your left. Just leave your clothes outside the door. I'll toss them in the dryer for a few and bring them back when they're done."
"Yugi," Joey paused for a moment. "Thank you."
"Anytime." Yugi smiled and nodded and Joey smiled back before heading to the bathroom and shutting the door. He quickly got undressed and then cracked the door just enough to drop his clothes just outside the door and then shut the door again.

Joey got into the shower and turned on the water. He stood there for a few long minutes, letting the warm water wash over his body. After awhile of just standing there and letting the warm water soothe his aching muscles he went on to wash his hair and body before turning off the water and stepping out of the shower. He grabbed one of the towels that was hanging on the nearby towel bar and wrapped it around his waist.

"I wonder what time it is. Probably won't get have much time to sleep before I gotta get up for work tomorrow." Joey then quickly turned to look at himself in the mirror. The thought of going to work tomorrow had reminded him that he'd probably get questions about the marks on his face. He stared into the mirror and was ashamed of the person staring back at him. His jaw and mouth were bruised and there was a split in his lip, there were a few scrapes and bruises on his brow bone as well.

Tears started stinging in his eyes and it took everything in him to break down and cry. He'd been through this countless times and every time it chipped away at his confidence. Joey felt worthless, like a waste of space. He clenched his fist and shut his eyes tightly. Not only was he trying to fight back the tears, but he was tired of looking at weak, damaged man that the mirror reflected back at him.

There was a soft knock on the door.
"Hey, uh, Joey?"  Yugi said timidly. "I have your clothes. And I put clean sheets on my bed so you're more than welcome to sleep in it if you want."
Joey felt horrible for intruding on his friend like this. Yugi was already being more than kind by letting him come in and shower.
"Thanks, Yug. But it's alright, I can sleep on the floor."

"No, no. You've had a rough night. Don't worry about it, Joey. You could probably use a good nights rest and I really don't mind. Besides, that's what friends are for." Yugi let out a quiet laugh. "I'll leave your clothes outside the door for you. You can go to bed whenever you're ready. Goodnight, Joe."

"G'night, Yug. Thanks again." Joey said as he wiped at his eyes, brushing away any tears that were threatening to fall. He waited for awhile to make sure Yugi had left before opening the door and collecting his clothes. He quickly got dressed and then made his way back down to Yugi's room. Joey slowly pushed open the door and slipped inside. He saw Yugi curled up with a blanket on the floor beside the bed and his heart sank. He felt like he was such a burden to one of the people that he cared about the most and it made he feel worse than he already did. Joey stood there in the doorway for a moment, watching his friend as he happily snoozed away on the floor. Yugi was so selfless and never hesitated to help out a friend, even if it meant inconveniencing himself.

"I don't deserve to have a friend like you." Joey said quietly as he made his way to the bed. He carefully stepped over a sleeping Yugi and crawled into the bed. "But I'm really glad we're friends. Thank you, and I'm sorry." Joey closed his eyes as he let himself sink down into the soft mattress. He hadn't  realized just how exhausted he was until he let his eyes close. He was asleep within minutes, however, his slumber was short lived.

After only a few short hours of rest, his phone alarm went off, waking him up and alerting him that he only had an hour before he needed to be at work. Joey quickly silenced the alarm so that it didn't wake Yugi and then got up and stretched. He contemplated letting Yugi know he was leaving, but decided against it, he'd already inconvenienced his friend enough for one day. Joey tiptoed around Yugi, grabbed his shoes from next to the door, and then hurried down the stairs and out of the game shop.