Disclaimer: I deny any and all possession of the characters featured in this segment. I rent them.

Is this supposed to be a Royalshipping thing? No. Was it intended for Starshipping? Not really. I just thought it'd be funny. And it kind of makes sense, too. Why do you think Atti was so eager to help Chazz woo Alexis? Either he only wanted to help her get a boyfriend, or he just wanted her away from Zane...and don't tell me that Atti and Lex never had their share of sibling spats! Everyone with a brother or sister has them. Believe me, I should know.

(Starshipping...that is Zane/ Atticus. I don't know the real name for their pairing, so I kind of just made up a name. Because those two are the stars of Duel Academy, if you catch my drift. But if someone knows the real name, I'd appreciate it if someone told me. Thank you.)

Oh yes, I must give you some warnings before you advance any further: this might contain slight OOC-ness, plus language, suggestive themes...and overall, stupidity. Do you not like any of the above? I recommend that you find a more wholesome read, then.

"SUGAR, WE'RE GOING DOWN!"

PART I

"COWABUNGA!!"

Atticus dipped under the crest of the wave, wiggling his tush just for the amusement of it. His limbs were spread out like wings in order to maintain balance, as he became daring enough to creep to the very nose of his surfboard.

On the shoreline, at least twenty or so girls in their swimsuits were gathered, squealing with delight. Some were clapping her hands, others hopped up and down like jumping beans. Still, others more waved and chanted one of the countless pet names they'd give him: "Yaaaay, Atti! Go, Atti! Atti! Atti! Atti!"

He got the hint that it was time for the finale. He swerved to the left, then the right. He started to try standing on his head, legs kicking into the air. This stirred such a riot within his female fans, no matter how many times he had done it!

"Awright, girls! Want some of this?" he shouted to the witnesses, proceeding to perform a back-flip to the very end of his surfboard. How he relished in the way the waves would roar into his ears! And how the ocean spray sprinkled his cheeks, and how the wind tossled his lustrious milk-chocolate hair this way and that!

"YEEAAAHH!! ATTI! ATTI! ATTI! ATTI!" the girls' screams practically echoed across the shoreline, as they watched with twinkles in their eyes for their hero to make his final loop-de-loops up and over the crest. As the ride receded into the water, Atticus paddled out on his surfboard.

"Ha-ha!" he chuckled with just one more flirtatious toss of his locks, board erected into the warm, crisp sand. "How'd you like that, ladies?" Even though he knew their answer right away.

Almost like a pack of hungry wolves, they encompassed the surfer from all sides, squealing childishly and waving out pens and perfume-laced notebooks...for the autographs, of course. On Duel Academy, Atticus recieved the treatment of a celebrity.

He put a hand behind his head and flashed a sheepish, charming grin. "Okay, okay! One at a time! There's plenty of me to go around!" Hastily, he grabbed a pen from a nameless girl's hand (she swooned just seconds later with fat pink hearts in her eyes), and began scribbling his signature here and there: Atticus Rhodes: B.F.F!

It took at least ten minutes on that spot to cover every last one of those autograph beggars, combined with the fans' rather disturbing desire to caress his muscles or stroke his inviting hair. Some even brought cameras to take pictures with him! But he did it. Piece of cake.

"Well, ladies, that's all we've got time for today! But don't worry: I'll be here, same time tomorrow! Believe it!" Atticus smirked, pointing upward towards the cloudless vault above their heads.

The girls did as they were told, but not without producing a chorus of farewell giggles and "We love you, Atti!" Some took longer than others, just lingering in the heartthrob's presence before hesitantly skipping off with friends. Others gave him shy finger-waves and blushed when he did a thumbs-up.

Soon, Atticus was alone. All alone on that beach. Just himself and that surfboard.

Inhaling the sea breeze through his nostrils, he ran his fingers through his mane in an attempt to smooth it out. "Well Att, you've done it again! The fans are satisfied for another day...although I think you might want to consider changing the material a notch. Today's number of fangirls must've dropped by at least two girls from yesterday-"

Pause. All he could hear was the thrashing of the waves, saltwater wrapping around his bare ankles. He blinked.

Suddenly, the content smile from his face faded out, the glow in his cheeks dimming. He slumped against his board. "Ohh, who am I kidding? It doesn't matter how many of those rabid fangirls come to watch me surf. Every day, it's the same thing: I show off, it drives them wild, I pass out autographs...then they're gone. It's no fun anymore...it can't be fun when your best friend is never there to watch for himself."

Indeed, out of all the shows Rhodes had ever performed, not once did his dear old friend Zane, come around to watch him. Was it the lack of interest? Or was it because he was being chased up trees by his own share of fangirls? After all, they were both the most wanted "bishies" in the school.

Was it him, or was his blood beginning to boil at the image of Zane being chased up a tree like a cat? His fists clenched at his sides. But it was not out of indignance of his friend never getting any peace. More rather, it was out of jealousy. But you'd be more than surprised if I told you what the source of that envy was.

Atticus plopped rear-first onto the sand, still leaning on his surfboard. He began muttering to himself: "Dang, it's not fair. I've felt so awkward around him ever since...well, just before I got abducted and transformed into Nightshroud. And I've never said a thing. Now I've back here, and he still doesn't seem to notice me.

"Then again...now I've got all the oppurtunity in the world to tell him, at least until it's the end of this year. Then he and I will be separated..." He shivered. It was most alarming to imagine the two of them so far apart. Dear Zane would be out shining like a diamond in the Pro Leagues, while he himself would have to stay behind to make up for all the time that had been lost when he was Nightshroud. They were far apart then, there was no way he could stand being far away again.

"So why don't you tell him, Att?" he questioned himself. "What are you, scared?"

Pause.

"Hmm...maybe. What if he doesn't feel the same way? For all I know, his preference may just be girls...although he doesn't seem to show any interest in them...except Lexi..."

Atticus froze. His own little sister, Alexis, was virtually the only girl that the Kaiser let near him. He was the one that had comforted her during his absence. And to boot, she was dubbed the Obelisk Queen. Zane was Kaiser of the whole school. Atticus was merely the Prince. It really would be no ground-breaking shocker if the two developed an intense fondness for each other. Except for himself.

Now, do not get him wrong: Atticus did love his sister, and would gladly be happy for her if she finally found true love. Who wouldn't be?

But something about this probability of she and Zane in love with each other, hit him brutally. As if he was being stoned. I mean, it would be no problem if she got with that Chazz Princeton, whom he knew had his eye on her for the longest time. Or that tennis boy, Harrington Rosewood, who had had the actual nerve to ask her to be his fiancee (he heard the whole story from Lex herself). Why, even that Jaden Yuki would be wonderful for her! Although he only had the romantic understanding of a mere child.

But Zane...

Atticus hung his head down. He let a wave crawl up and crash over him. At the same time, it was also a figurative wave, a fury of emotions. First, there was envy. The guilt for that envy followed closely behind. In third place flowed...well, frustration. For the very fact that he could not find a way to spill his heart out.

Just then, he shot his head back up, shaking the salt and water out as a dog would. "No! Pull yourself together, Rhodes! Just 'cause they spend loads of time at that lighthouse together, doesn't automatically mean they're dating! They haven't shown any signs! Yet. Maybe I still have a chance!

But the question is...how do I use that chance in the best way possible?"

Another pause.

"...And to think that I'm a romantic guru, and still I'm asking that question to myself. Maybe...if I can find out what Zane likes in Alexis...then apply that to myself..."

Already, you and I can tell that this will not go well.