When You Said You Love Me

Chapter Thirteen

Perhaps you are not my enemy any longer.
The pitter patter of my heart grows stronger.
These feelings from out of the blue
Have me falling faster for you.
I cannot hold on for much longer.

It's not as awkward after a few days. Things are still tense, but a normal kind. I still feel kinda weird saying Kaiba's first name, and I'm sure he feels just as weird sayin' mine. That hot feeling has gone away for the most part, and I only have to take medicine every couple days or so. That doesn't stop me from carryin' a few pills with me every now and then or anything though.
School flies by, and the next thing I know it's Summer. The school lets out for a pretty decent break around this time of year, and I'm really lookin' forward to maybe spendin' more time with Seto. I'm puttin' things away in my locker on the last day of school for the next three weeks, Seto standin' beside me and leanin' against the other lockers.
"So, when are you able to, um..." I pause, not sure what exactly to call it. "Hang out next?"
'Hang out' is putting it a bit too casually I think, but I can't think of any other way to phrase it. I'm not gonna act like some thirsty Omega and ask if we can spend a lot of time together or anything.
"Hang out?" He asks, then shakes his head. "I'm going to be busy all throughout break."
"What?!" He says it with such certainty that I'm sure he's lying. There's no way Kaiba Corp. is so reliant on him; I mean, hell, all those workers get paid for somethin' right? "Whaddaya mean, busy?! We have three weeks!"
He crosses his arms and glares. "I mean exactly what I say. Those imbeciles that work for me hardly know what they're doing. Any number of things could go wrong if I step away for too long."
I can't believe this.
Well, I can, but I don't really want to. I don't even know what to say. Instead, I just shrug and shut my locker. "Fine then. That's okay. Hope everything goes well."
"Joey." He groans, catching up with me as I walk away. "I'll message you if I get the chance."
"Nah. I'd hate ta clutter up your schedule or somethin'." I say, picking up my pace a bit. He really is a huge prick. "If I wanna talk to you I'll make an appointment."
"Seriously? Stop acting like a child." He says, and I turn to glare at him.
"Look, Mr. High-and-Mighty. Whatever you do, don't go out of the way to treat me like a priority or anything. It's not like we're supposed to be together or nothin'." I turn and start walkin' again. "But if ya do happen to need me I'll either be at my house or Tristan's. Whichever one, really. You might wanna call first though."
I don't hear him say anything after that, and I figure that's the end of the conversation. Until I hear him walking towards me again, this time with purpose. I turn around, ready to swing if I have to.
I grew up watchin' my parents fight all the time, so I expect that kinda thing. I don't think it's love or anything, but it's what I'm used to a relationship being. He stops just out of hittin' range, and I frown. "What-"
"If you expect me to call, then I expect you to answer." He says, glancing briefly at my curled fist. He walks outside, leaving me alone.

*perspective change*

I feel my stomach twisting at the look in Joey's eyes. He had expected something more than just words and I...
I don't know how to feel about that. I know that look; the fear, equally matched with the resolve to fight if necessary. The fact that I made him feel that way...
I want to run back and apologise immediately.
I'm already late getting to the office though, and I don't have time to stall. It's not that Joey isn't important. I've just worked too hard to get to this point, where I can feel safe; where my little brother, Mokuba, can feel safe. I refuse to risk his security for the prospect of being less lonely.
Not that I'm lonely or anything. I'm not.

I don't have time to feel lonely.

I make it to Kaiba Corp. in well enough time. I'm still astoundingly late, considering the fact that I'm usually at work early. I haven't told anyone about my arrangement with Joey. Not even Mokuba, which I feel a bit bad about. The thought that I don't often see my little brother comforts me a bit though, since there hasn't been much opportunity to tell him recently anyways. As for the rest of the company, it's hardly any of their concern.
My phone vibrates in my pocket and I glare at it briefly, switching it to silent without even looking at the notification. I get to work immediately, working with the programmers on a code that they have screwed up unbelievably.

*perspective change*

He doesn't answer my text, although I don't think I really expected him to. It's nothing important; just letting him know that if he has any free time this next week that I'll probably be with Yugi and the others. As soon as I get home, I realise that I'm not alone. My dad is home, and he's passed out on the sofa.
What I've cleaned up has been re-trashed, and my hands get a little cold at the sight of my pill bottle popped open, pills strewn across the table. A medical bill sits beside them, and my heart squeezes in my chest. It almost stops when I hear my dad moving, and I glance over at him without moving. He's still sleepin', but I'm not sure how long that's gonna last. I scrape what pills I can find into my hand, constantly looking over to check if my dad's still sleeping. I put them back in the bottle, and flinch at the sound of them rattling against the plastic.
I hear a creak behind me and freeze, looking over quickly. My dad has sat up, and he slowly turns his head to look at me. It takes him a while to register that it's me, but when it finally hits him he moves to stand.
Out of instinct, I dart towards the door, runnin' without lookin' back. I feel small bits of glass hit my ankle through my jeans, but my veins are so pumped full of adrenaline that I can't tell if I'm cut or not.
He's slurrin' about the bill, askin ' how I mean to pay for it and what the hell I need pills for. I don't pay him any mind, focused more on gettin' as far away as possible. A car swerves as I run across the street, and for a moment I'm blinded by panic. Then, I'm on the other side of the road and runnin' like I'm tryin' out for track and field.
Even after the yelling fades behind me, I don't stop.

I get to Tristan's house, and I'm outta breath. My palm smacks against the door, although I want to pound on it like there's no tomorrow. I don't hear anything for a minute, but I don't have the energy to move much more. Thankfully, Tristan opens the door. He catches me, his eyes wide.
"Shit, Joey! What happened?!" He asks, but I don't answer. My throat is too dry anyways.
He lifts me up, bringing me inside and shutting the door behind himself. In any other situation, I'd struggle or worry about lookin' weak. Right now, I feel weak. I don't know why, but the thought that he'd find out about my hospital trip slipped my mind. Tristan sits down on the couch and situates me into his lap. He lets me rest against his chest, and my eyes close lightly.
"It was your dad, huh?" He asks. I don't answer; he's seen me like this enough to know. He runs a hand through my hair, tryin' to calm me down. It works, like usual.
And I fall asleep.

//1385 words!
Me: Cool chapter, right?
Me to Me: Write a love triangle.
Me: Fucc, is that what this is? Not again...