When You Said You Love Me

Chapter Six

For a while, things seem to go back to normal. I hang out with my friends when I have the time, I order some greasy American takeout when I get my check, and I think about things like the exams coming up soon. The only thing that has changed is that Tristan doesn't walk me home as often anymore, and that doesn't bother me too much.
Kaiba acts like he always has, and everyone is better off because of it, I think. There's no more starin' or confrontation; not even a glance in my direction.

It's been about two months since the last time I talked to Kaiba, and I feel like I can forget the whole thing even happened at all. Honestly, I don't even know what started it-

"What was that?" He asks, walking towards the closet.

My heart leaps in my chest at the memory, and I glance around. Maybe I should stop letting my mind wander in class...
I write down a few notes in my notebook, then look to the front of the classroom. The teacher is giving some lecture about, um... Biology something-or-other. I take down my notes, not really reading the words so much as copying the letters in order. When the bell rings, I gather my stuff and head to lunch. I have a nagging thought at the back of my head, but I can't piece it together enough to understand it. It's like I'm forgetting something, but it feels a bit different.
I sit at the usual table and wait for my friends to arrive. I feel the lingering thought get more persistent; it's like trying to hear someone whisper from across the room.
Yugi is the first one to sit beside me. He gives me a funny look and tilts his head. "Are you okay Joey?"
"Hm? Oh, yeah. I'm fine." I say. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, you look like you're thinking pretty hard-" Yugi starts, only to get interrupted by Tristan.
"Joey? Thinking hard?! Save us all!" Tristan jokes, laughing. I laugh along with everyone else, but something feels wrong. I guess Yugi notices.
"Joey, are you really feeling okay? Is something wrong?" He asks, and I nod. Moving my head makes me feel dizzy, and suddenly I'm looking up at the ceiling.
I don't know when I got on the floor... But now Yugi's lookin' down at me and Tristan is turning to yell for... Um, help I guess. Right? Do I need help?
Yugi asks me something, and I have the overwhelming urge to respond with a name. A name... What name? Somewhere in the back of my head, I know something is wrong.
Someone, a staff member probably, picks me up and carries me somewhere. My friends all follow behind me, saying things that I can't hear. All the noise around me is muffled, and the people look real blurry. I'm... I feel really hot for some reason.
And then there's someone grabbing me, nails digging into my arm as they try to yank me away from the guy carrying me. He yells something and I look over to who it is. It's Mai, and she has this crazy look in her eyes. There are other people trying to grab me too, but Tristan and Yami and Tèa are pushing them back. Yami and Tristan are holding their noses closed and using their shoulder instead; it's so funny I start to laugh, even when I feel myself slipping out of the guy's arms. Mai is pulling me so hard I think my arm is gonna break, and...
And suddenly she isn't. She gets a fist right to the face and falls away, and in her place...

"Seto Kaiba..." I think. Or did I say it out loud? The thought echoes in my head over and over. He touches me and I hear someone make a really loud noise. I'm in the guy's arms all the way again, and Kaiba... Seto Kaiba Seto Kaiba Seto Kaiba is beside me. His face looks red, and he has a hand over his nose too. I would laugh, but something is different. Unlike Yami and Tristan, Seto Kaiba Kaiba Kaiba... His hand has blood dripping through it. Did he get hit?
The world spins around me and I hear someone make a loud noise again. This time, it sounds different. It's a word; a name.

*perspective change and time reversal*

It's lunchtime. I know he'll walk in at any minute and wait for his friends... And there he is. He does exactly what he does every day without fail, and I can't help the smile that slips onto my face. One of the people that hangs out with me at school- not a friend, mind you- asks me a question, and I turn to look at them in annoyance.
"What?" I don't mean to sound so annoyed, but he is interrupting my schedule.
"I asked if you smell that." He says. His eyebrows are creased, and his nose is working overtime.
"No, I don't smell anything." I say quickly. My snappish tone keeps him from further disturbing me, and I look back over.
Wheeler is saying something to the little runt, and then the runt is interrupted by the big idiot. They all laugh and...

Wait. I do smell something.
It's something I've smelled before, only this time the lingering smell of cigarette smoke doesn't get in the way. My hand flies up to cover my nose, and I glare over at the others at my table. They all do the same. I'm about to stand up when all hell breaks loose.
"Joey, are you okay?!"
"HEEEY, WE NEED HELP!"

Someone runs over to where Joey is laid out on the floor. It's one of the coaches, and even as my heart is basically squeezing itself to death, I recall in the back of my mind that he teaches Omega Volleyball. Funny how people think about the stupidest things in the worst situations.
He takes Joey out of the cafeteria, all of Joey's friends following. And then there's the sound of multiple chairs being dragged across the floor as half of the Alphas in the room stand. I stand and make a dash for the doors, and a split second later I'm being followed. I run as fast as I can, following the muted smell of Joey's heat. I uncover my nose to push past a thick crowd of hormonal Alphas, holding my breath as I go. I re-cover my nose as soon as I get to the edge of the crowd. Lucky for me, I guess, Yami is the one I run into. Tristan is too busy keeping people back on the other side of Tèa to notice me. As a matter of fact, they're all so busy that they don't notice when Mai sneaks up from the front. She must've anticipated a challenge and went around the long way, because now she's pulling at Joey's arm and baring her teeth at the coach. I push forward and make it to the very front. Yami is about to push me back, but I instinctively snarl and glare at him. He must see the urgency in my eyes, and it must look different from the way everyone else is looking. He lets me through and I run up to Mai, my fist moving on its own. She falls to the ground unconscious, leaving Joey dangling out of the Coach's arms. He says something under his breath, and it sounds vaguely like my name.
I grab his shoulder to help him into an upright position, and I almost drop him when he wails at my touch. Instead, I do what I intended to do and let him go as soon as I can.
I'm shaking, and it's not because of the smell; it can't be. I've had my nose covered almost this whole time, and yet, it never even crossed my mind that his scent wasn't the only thing able to throw me off.
That sweet, heated cry when I touched him... It feels as if sparks are racing up and down my arm even still, and my legs are shaky as I walk beside the Coach. I look down at him and his eyes flutter shut, his face flushing even more.
"Setooo... Seeetooo K-Kaibaaaaa..." He cries out, his voice a mixture between a whine and a moan. I feel my entire body shudder at the sound, and I run ahead to open the front door.
There's an ambulance waiting outside, and the paramedics are getting everything ready.
"What's the Omega's condition?" One of them asks.
I blink and shake my head to clear it, the hand over my nose muffling my voice a bit. "He passed out, I think. Some harpy attacked him, and his arm is bleeding. And-"
The coach runs through the door I'm holding open, a panicked look on his face. "He looks pretty bad. There's no way this is just a Heat."
The paramedics' eyes widen and one of them rushes forward. "Shit. We'll have to do a blood sample on the way. If we wait too long-"
She tries to tie something around his upper arm and he starts to flail around. His eyes are open again and he's panting heavily, each exhale sounding a bit different. The lady backs away and looks around the crowd. "Which one of you is Seto Kaiba?"
"Seee-toooooo!" Joey yells breathily in response to my name, and I gulp. I step forward, and without a word she hands me a face mask. She turns back to Joey and a different paramedic hands her what I can only assume is a needle filled with a sedative.
I look down at the mask in my hand, then back up at the paramedics. "What is this for?"
As soon as she's finished administering the sedative, another paramedic moves to put Joey on a gurney; he remains limp this time. She raises an eyebrow and purses her lips, as if wondering why I asked. Finally, she gives me an answer. "Well, it's a long ride to the hospital."
"Wh-what?" I ask. For a second, I'm not sure what she means.
"Isn't it obvious?" She asks, then gives me a weird smile. "You're coming with us."

//1729 woooords! Probably will do a double update, so excuse the cliff hanger.
//how did y'all enjoy that change in perspective? Did y'all like that awesome plot development!?