Pairings: Chazz/Syrus, Alexis/Jaden, Atticus/Zane, Bastion/not sure yet

Warnings: Yaoi, use of English names(never seen the Japanese version), OOCness(Hey, if people can have Syrus committing suicide, I can have Chazz be nice-ish. In a stuck-up, sarcastic way of course.)

Disclaimer: The only thing I own is my friend Nina, even if she says I don't.

Summary: Syrus skips lunch to do some thinking. Chazz skips lunch so that he doesn't have to see Jaden and Alexis

This isset after the Duel Monster Spirit Day festival episode, as that's where the dub is at this moment. Also, I have heard the plot to the next episodes and the next season, and I don't like it very much so….this story is basically what I would do if I was in control. This won't be all romance, I swear. These first few chapters are just setting up the back story. Thank you for reading all that. To the story-

-1-

Syrus had a problem. It had black spiky hair, grey eyes, and went by the name of Chazz Princeton. Of course, Syrus had many other problems, like Shadow Riders trying to steal his best friend's souls, the fact that his brother had briefly been turned into a doll, and that he was flunking. The problem called Chazz, however, was at the forefront of his mind.

The bluenette straightened his jacket with a sigh, looking out at the water from the dock. He was skipping lunch, but didn't really care now. Chumley and Jaden were probably fighting over the last bits of food, including Chazz's mostly uneaten portion. The mighty Princeton still refused to eat more of the meager fair than he needed to be healthy. Some said Alexis and Zane were smuggling the thin boy food from the Obelisk cafeteria.

Leaning back against the lighthouse, Syrus reflected that he was a really bad decision maker. It was stupid to skip lunch to sit and stare at nothing. He was horrible thinking under pressure, like in duels. The worst decisions he made, however, were about his crushes. Syrus had known for a long time he was gay and had felt small attraction for a few other boys when he was little, but he had never had crushes until he'd come to Duel Academy. There was a reason that he claimed to be attracted to female monsters. It was to cover up for the fact that he felt nothing for real girls. He had been terrified when Dark Magician girl came to life. Thank goodness she could only appear once a year…

Jaden had been an obvious first crush. He was one of the best young duelists around and a great friend. His pure enthusiasm coupled with the seeming lack of thinking made him adorably clueless. It Jaden's world, everything was optimistic and 'sweet'. Brimming with joy and flushed with excitement, he was amazing to watch duel, which meant that Syrus went out his way to never miss one of the boy's matches.

Of course, the near sighted boy had not been the only one to notice Jaden's good traits. Alexis Rhodes, queen of Obelisk and his brother's good friend, had set her sight on the Slifer. She flirted with him, becoming more and more obvious over time. Syrus could have told her to save her efforts. Jaden's only passion was for dueling. When asked to explain how he escaped the strange effect of the little Belowski, Jaden had even mentioned that he dueled even in his dreams. Nevertheless, he was still, oh, so cute that Syrus, Alexis, and several others, girls and boys alike, had sighed themselves sick after him.

Chumley had guessed and confronted Syrus about it. He had told the younger boy that he wasn't a hater but Syrus was living in a dream land if he thought that Jaden would ever respond in kind. Sexuality and hormones seemed to have passed Jaden by, at least at that point. Right after Duel Monster Spirit Day, the brown haired boy had suddenly grown up and discovered he had fallen for Alexis and the two had started dating. Chumley had watched Sy for signs of heartbreak, but found none. Syrus's crush on the other boy had dimmed much earlier.

Yes, Alexis was welcome to Jaden in Syrus's mind. The bluenette had fallen for another. Someone who was taller, thinner, and darker in hair, eyes, clothes and spirit. Chazz seemed like the opposite of Jaden. Indeed, the two had been rivals for a long time. Now they were on good enough terms. Though Chazz might deny it, one could even say they were friends. They were still very different, though.

Chazz was unfriendly, resistant to positive advances of any kind. A confident exterior gave the illusion that he was cocky, but the academy's student body had learned that he was covering up for feelings of being a failure to his brothers. Disowned and disgraced, the boy still somehow pushed others away with barbed comments that stung. He talked to himself a lot, like a crazy person. Jaden said he was talking to duel monsters, but Syrus wasn't sure if that was always true.

Still, Chazz was charismatic. He couldn't help but draw people to him. Plus, inside he was weak and vulnerable. Syrus knew the feeling. They were very alike. Both had brother problems, though in the end Zane loved Syrus while Slade and Jaggur…did not love Chazz. Syrus understood Chazz, and Chazz, if he put his mind to it, could understand Syrus.

Of course, Chazz obviously liked Alexis. That hurt Syrus, hurt him a lot. He had to stand by like a moron while Chazz stared longingly after Jaden and Alexis. In the end, it was all rather ironic, as Bastion had pointed out when he had found Syrus sniffling and demanded to know the cause. Chazz's heartbreak caused Syrus to experience the same thing. Sy had not found it that amusing.

"You're not at lunch." The voice made the bluenette jump. He half-turned to stare into slate eyes and smiled slightly, scooting over to make room. The Princeton's youngest son sat down.

"You aren't either." Syrus said. "I wasn't that hungry." His stomach quickly told him otherwise, to Chazz's obvious amusement. The younger boy blushed, reddening even more when he found a packet of chips stuck into his face. He took it with a nod of thanks and eagerly ripped the plastic open.

"The food in there is shit, and I have better things to do than hear Jaden mooning on about his girlfriend. I wonder if Burstinatrix is jealous what with all the attention going to a female other than herself. She must not be used to it." Syrus looked up at the weird tone in the other boy's voice, and shook his head.

"Jaden's pretty adamant that Avian's enough for her…oh wait, you were being sarcastic again, weren't you?" He suddenly realized as Chazz rolled his eyes heavenward with a sigh.

"How'd you guess?" Syrus stuck his tongue out at his crushe's sardonic smile. It was such a sexy smile, but Syrus forced himself not to focus on that. If he did, the conversation would become incredibly awkward. Syrus noticed that Chazz wasn't saying anything else. Keeping the conversation going was up to him.

"You really like Alexis, huh?" Syrus had no idea that was going to pop out of his mouth. He wished he could retract the words, but bit his tongue, intently watching the pale boy for reaction. He was surprised when Chazz only lifted his hand and waved it lazily.

"I suppose I did, but somehow hearing the ongoing list of her virtues everyday has made her seem unappealing. Watching Jaden and her doting on each other is rather sickening. She is, at this moment, in our lunch room, nearly sitting on his lap. Even if the glop here wasn't so disgusting, that would put me off my food." Syrus blinked at the seriousness of Chazz's answer. So…he didn't like Alexis anymore. That was interesting, very interesting. He then furrowed his brow when Chazz said it was sickening.

"I dunno, I sort of think it's cute, you know?" He explained. The older boy looked at his fellow Slifer with an oddly keen expression in his eyes. "I mean, Alexis has been waiting for this for such a long time, and Jaden always goes overboard with stuff. It's sweet that they were able to admit their feelings for each other."

"Hmm. What you mean to say is that you're jealous that Alexis was able to confront Jaden and you can do that to the person you like." Syrus looked in alarm at the older boy, but Chazz was staring out at the ocean, expression indecipherable. "You like the duel monster, right? Dark Magician Girl?"

"Of course I do, how can you not?" Syrus quickly said, as he always said when people questioned him. Then he suddenly shook his head. Maybe it was because he liked Chazz, or maybe it was just that the usually mysterious boy had opened up to him a bit, but he wanted to be honest. "No, I don't. I just say I do so that people don't bug me with guesses."

"Good strategy." Chazz commented, voice emotionless. "But you realize that if you pretend to like a card than real people who have crushes on you would think their chances are zero, zip, zilch, nada, as Jaden would say." Syrus groaned lightly as the other boy looked at him in surprise. "What now?"

"Chazz, come on. Like me? Not likely." Syrus smiled at his almost play on words. "In case you've forgotten, this is Syrus Truesdale you're talking to, not Zane Truesdale. I'm bad at dueling, in Slifer, fail tests, Shadow riders favor me as bait, I'm short, and have glasses."

"What happened to all the 'I go the looks' part?" Chazz asked, smirking slightly as Syrus mimicked Chazz by rolling his eyes. "Besides, you're the only one who compares you to Zane. You shouldn't try to measure up to the people you think are better than you. In the end, people like you because you're the way you are, whether you seem weak or strong. No I was NOT making reference to you three, you little snot rags!" Syrus blinked at the older boy's suddenly elevated tone and annoyed expression.

"Ummm…" He trailed off, not sure what to say. Chazz blushed.

"I am not talking to myself. I know you can't see them or hear them, but I can. They are real." He argued, then suddenly sighed "Anyway, as I was saying, we all like you for who you are." Syrus widened his eyes slightly and watched as Chazz mentally kicked himself. It was obvious he was biting his tongue. "Not that I, you know, like a slacker like you. I was just making a point." Syrus laughed.

"Sure, Chazz, sure. And I'm Yugi Moto." Chazz blinked, offended. "It's okay for you to admit that you have friends, Chazz." Syrus told him seriously. The other boy exhaled in pique.

"You sound like a crazy shrink." Chazz informed him. "If that isn't an oxymoron, that is." Syrus laughed. "You never gave me a real answer to why you're down here instead of eating lunch like a normal person."

"You're not eating lunch." Syrus pointed out. Chazz smirked smugly.

"I'm not a normal person. I'm Chazz Princeton, and only the rest of you lesser mortals need sustenance." He gently mocked his former attitude, which he had allowed to slip slightly since rejoining Duel Academy. "And you're still dodging the question."

"Let someone defeat a few Dark Scorpions and suddenly they think they're a detective." Syrus teased. At Chazz's glare, he sighed, defeated. "Okay, okay. I'm down here to think. Don't laugh at me, Chazz Princeton!" He ordered.

"Wasn't gonna, Syrus Truesdale." His face was a picture of innocence. Syrus snorted. "Thinking about what? You're secret crush?" Syrus smiled slightly.

"I was thinking about you." Syrus realized how that sounded and felt his cheeks flaming. "I, I mean, I was thinking about how much you've changed and how you and Jaden aren't enemies anymore." He glanced up quickly into those grey eyes and detected a flicker of something. Was it disappointment?

"Oh." Both boys seemed content to let their discussion trail off there, turning inward to think about things. Syrus watched waves rolling softly and wondered how he could be so calm what with Chazz sitting so close to him, so close that he could feel the other boy's body heat radiating like a small furnace. He let himself examine his 'secret crush' thorough the corner of his eye.

Back against the lighthouse tower, knees folded up against his chest, hands tucked loosely around said knees, the boy looked smaller and more peaceful than usual. Normally hard features were softened in uncharacteristic thought. Syrus let his sneaking gaze wander down Chazz's jaw line. His chin was hard and stubborn, but his mouth was soft and full, contradictory signs. Dark hair and clothes set off the paleness of his skin. Syrus wondered at how pale he was, they certainly spent a lot of time outside.

As always, the other boy's expression was unclear. His eyes were thoughtful and his entire posture made him seem slightly far away, as if he was off in some kind of little Chazz-world, where god-knows went on. Many people had tried to solve the mystery that was Chazz, but none really had success. Though they knew his brothers were unsupportive and over all generally evil, they didn't know a lot of Chazz's past. It made Syrus sad to realize that the other boy could have been abused, or worse, and nobody knew, because he wouldn't open up. Syrus himself had long since stopped trying to figure the other boy out. Just when they thought they had him pegged, he surprised them. Syrus just waited it all out.

Syrus sighed softly and brought his own knees up so he was in the same position as Chazz, and then tucked his chin on his knees. He stopped staring at his crush, fearful of being caught and ridiculed, so instead watched ocean gently lapping at the docks. Syrus loved to watch water, but he couldn't swim for his life. Zane could swim. Zane loved swimming.

Syrus remembered the time Zane had tried to teach him to swim by pushing him into the water. He had thrashed his arm and legs in an imitation of what he'd seen his brother do a thousand times, but nothing seemed to happen. Strong arms had encircled him and brought him up to the surface. Zane had told him to try harder, then let go again. Syrus had sunk once more. This repeated for several minutes before Zane gave up.

The memory brought a slight smile to the small boy's lips. Those were the good old days, before Zane had become obsessed with dueling. Then the barrier between the two had grown. To Zane, dueling had become his life's ambition, one that his parents supported greatly. They figured that if Zane could do it, Syrus could, too. At least this way, they figured Zane would be around to help his brother through even the worst of predicaments. They sure hadn't planned on Shadow Riders coming, using Sy as a hostage more than once, stealing his brothers soul, losing his brothers soul back, so on and so forth.

Syrus glanced over at Chazz and found the other boy watching him. As soon as he realized he was caught, the pale boy's skin turned pink. Sy watched him curiously, heart hammering. Now that he thought about it, several little somethings had been weird about their entire conversation…unless he was just trying to trick himself, subconsciously, into believing something that wasn't true...

"You have chip stuff on your cheek." Chazz hurriedly stammered. Syrus reached up and wiped his face quickly.

"Oh…well, lunch is almost over, we'd better get to class, Chazz." Syrus said, quickly getting up and grabbing his school bag. Chazz did the same.

"Hey Syrus," Chazz started. Syrus turned to him, waiting patiently as the older boy walked up to be right next to him. Syrus had to crane his neck a bit to look in the boy's eyes. "I personally think you're better looking than you're brother." Chazz suddenly leaned down and brushed his lips gently against his fellow slifer's. He straightened with a blush and hurried ahead, leaving a very confused but happy Syrus to stare after him, hand pressed to his mouth in wonder. Even Jay would have to agree that was a real kiss.

-1-

Alright, that's chapter one! Should I leave it as a one-shot? Only your reviews will tell! I probably will anyway though, because I have no life. Well, I do, but it can fit in a peanut shell and involves waaaay too many tests for my comfort. This is the first fanfic I have ever shown anyone, so please be gentle. If you do flame, however, I will use the heat to warm my ickle toesies(Fred and George moment).

Announcement: I need a beta. If you are interested, please contact me via review or PM. Thank-you!

-Edge.of,Insanity.Was.Long.Ago