«I'm more of a Dog Person.» | Joey Wheeler x Reader [Yu☆Gi☆Oh!]

Chapter 6 ❀ Insecurities

"Hey Yuge, ya wouldn't mind givin' dis nice girl here ya' autograph, would ya?"

And so, Joey's group of friends stole chairs from other tables and joined the two of you, not hesitating when it came to get to know you better. Yugi was also kind enough to sign your Duel Disk and giggled when he saw that you had already stolen Joey's autograph. Tristan just made fun of the blond by asking why you would purposely ruin your Duel Disk with such a low-class Duelist's autograph.

The bunch was certainly a friendly one, something you more than appreciated. Joey was also happy that you seemed to already like his circle of friends and vice versa, but somewhere deep inside him he also felt a bit restless once the others started to get closer to you. He felt like you would begin liking them more than him which was the last thing he wished would happen, even if thinking that way made him appear mean and selfish.

"What's this? Some sort of party, but I wasn't invited? How mean.~" A male with a slightly feminine face yet attractive masculine voice, gorgeous turquoise eyes and raven hair that had been tied in a sloppy ponytail with curls sticking out almost everywhere had come humming words of displeasure, interrupting Tristan and Joey's already third dispute, causing the latter to get even more riled up than the brunet had caused him to become. "Beat it, ya dice boy."

"Oh it's the dog-loving customer! Our mutt here has been barking to us about you nonstop for the last couple of days." Ignoring the blond's snarky remark entirely, the young man with a dice earring made the spontaneous decision to join your group by leaning over the table with his elbow, sending a wink your way before nodding at Joey as if to emphasize that he was the person he had referred to as a canine. "Have not! And stop callin' me a mutt, pretty boy!"

"I'd like to remind you that I'm the reason girls like you in your dog form." One thing you had certainly learned from being surrounded by this specific group of people was that among them, Joey was the one everyone loved picking on — in a friendly manner of course — which for some reason or another made you view him as unexpectedly cute. Another thing that had become clear along the way, was that the raven-haired male who had joined the discussion last was also a worker here at Otogi's cafe, the son of the manager to be more precise, and that his name happened to be Duke Devlin.

It was odd to have a boy so openly flirt with you, but it was just as entertaining to discretely turn down his advances. Apparently telling girls pretty words was a hobby of his — Tristan said something along those lines to which everyone agreed in one way or another. Closing time came just as fast as evening did, and that time arrived even quicker since all the group did was mess around and converse about silly things such as playing card games while riding on motorcycles. Joey had to leave you and his friends a few times because the manager had been giving him a hard time, but in the end, the only loyal dog that waited for him to finish up was you.

"Whoah, yer still here? I'm sorry, I made ya wait so long..." The Brooklyn boy gasped almost too dramatically the second he saw you causally standing near Mr. Clown's ice cream truck, and even though he might have tried to, he didn't exactly hide the smile that had snuck up on his face. You on the other hand pretended to be hurt as you approached the male who had completely changed out of his Shiba Inu costume by now, hitting his arm with your elbow playfully. "What do you mean 'You're still here', of course I am! I promised, didn't I?"

"Hehe I guess ya did!" The male's smile transformed into a grin that was brighter than the sun itself, and at some point, the two of you had started walking side by side without even knowing where your destination lied. Talking with you made Joey feel all warm and fuzzy inside, and without even realizing it, you had robbed him of those pleasant sensations with mere smalltalk. "Your friends are such a fun bunch."