Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or 'White Houses' by Vanessa Carlton.

Italicized: Yugi's thoughts

Chapter 1: Undone

"Crashed on the floor when I moved in
This little bungalow with some strange new friends.
It's alright and it's nice not to be so alone
But I hold on to your secrets in White Houses."

~White Houses by Vanessa Carlton

There's a reason Aries is the first zodiac sign. Though the calendar begins in January, regards to Julius Caesar, it was believed that the beginning of spring was the true start of the new year. Spring symbolized birth and beginnings. The blossom of flowers, the warm air that offered comfort after a chilling winter, the morning dew that grazed front lawns, the jubilant laughter of children, and the sense that everything prior to Spring was the past and was meant to be forgotten. It was a chance to start over, to forget all of the grievances and wrongs of the previous year. Another opportunity to perfect the present and change the future; to begin anew.

That was Yugi's thought process the moment he stepped out of the taxi, grabbing his belongings, and paying the driver who merely grunted an incoherent reply. It wasn't a second later that the car disappeared down the street leaving Yugi on the sidewalk to stare up at the imposing structure before him. At the age of 21, Yugi was rather short and his features were that of a child which caused many people to mistake him for one. He sported a torso-hugging black sleeveless shirt with a slim white jacket over it. He wore blue jeans and a belt that hung around his hips lazily. His eyes, round and wide, resembled an iris, a rare amethyst color swirling with uncertainty. The eyes were framed with black, sooty lashes that only emphasized the loveliness of the youth's face.

Over the past weeks, his eyes had become increasingly dull but he had somehow still managed to retain some of their innocence. Petal-like lips graced his once creamy complexion that had grown pale from the lack of sleep and nutrition. Bangs bleached the color of gold hugged onto the side of his face the remainder of his hair defied gravity and stood up towards the sky, a violet tint at its end. His hair looked a bit more tousled than usual as the tips sagged down as if they had grown tired of standing straight. Though tiredness and disappointment assaulted every single striking feature of his, someone would be both blind and stupid to say that he was anywhere near unattractive. His infinite beauty managed to crack through his lifeless state, leaving one to only wonder how breathtaking the young man was when his life wasn't shattering to the ground around his very feet, breaking off into sharp, jagged pieces that scratched and scarred his insides.

The house wasn't huge but it was certainly bigger than his previous home. It was a pure white with black shutters framing the windows placed in various spots. It was a one-story house but was wide and tall nonetheless. Gazing down the quiet street, Yugi absently noticed how every, single house was exactly the same. This didn't surprise him since he it was already expected. The little neighborhood he had seen on the Internet while searching for a new place to live, or rather a new place to hide, lived up to its name.

Serene Oasis was a common place for college students. Each house contained four, relatively large bedrooms along with a living room, bathroom, and kitchen. Each bedroom was rented out at a decent price, providing struggling students with an alternative for the costly prices of boarding at college. Some people who had already graduated continued to live here so that they could start working and saving without worrying too much about a place to live. As long as you didn't mind having several roommates than there was never really a problem.

Intelligent beyond his years, Yugi managed to graduate from college at the age of 20, where he majored in mathematics and minored in psychology. College was not the reason he was here nor did he really have the strength to live in a house with strangers. However, he knew that if he planned on doing anything productive in his life that he would have to start from the bottom. He didn't have the money to live alone and Serene Oasis was very close to the center of town where he could hopefully find some type of employment.

Yugi continued to gaze at the perfectly sized house before looking down at a small crumbled piece of paper in his hand that had the number 11 on it. Glancing at the red mailbox in front of him, Yugi confirmed that he was at the right house. The smell of fresh-cut grass prickled his nose and Yugi could tell that the lawn had just been mowed. Although the entire neighborhood was relatively clean and attractive, the house in front of him outshined them all. It wasn't difficult to guess that someone with the passion for perfection lived here.

A duffle bag swung over one shoulder and a rather large suitcase held tightly in his hand, Yugi walked up the wooden stairs, stopping each step to reconsider this rash decision that he had made only the day before. Releasing a small sigh, Yugi let his hand rest on the doorknob, his fingers clutching to the round edges as he leaned forward and rested his forehead against the white door.

As guilty as he felt for leaving his grandfather alone, Yugi knew that he could no longer live in the house that he had grown up in. It held to many memories that only caused him grief and misery. The longer he stayed, the further his pain was pushing him towards insanity. Maybe he would be able to sleep for more than an hour without a nightmare startling him back into reality. Maybe he'd be able to walk into his room without collapsing onto his knees in tears. Maybe he could learn how to breathe again.

Not realizing that he had turned the knob during his last thought, the door swung open under Yugi's weight, forcing the youth to fall forward on his face, his bags following in suite. A frustrated growl escaped his lips as Yugi reached his hands out in front of him and pushed up so that he was resting on his palms and knees.

Maybe he was wrong.

He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't even notice the hand that reached out in front of his face until someone had cleared their throat. Yugi looked up in surprise to see concerned amber eyes watching him with the slightest glint of curiosity.

"Hey man. You alright there?"

Yugi blinked at the man before looking back down at the hand that was being offered to him. Surprise lit up those violet eyes at the unnecessary act of kindness especially when the man bent down and pulled him to his feet after realizing that Yugi wasn't going to accept the help offered to him.

"There." A grin fell onto the man's face. "Good as new. The name's Katsuya but feel free to call me Jou. All my friend's do."

Katsuya, Yugi noted, was a man no older than 23 with a mane of sandy blonde that fell short of his broad shoulders. Adorned in a red, dress shirt and light blue jeans, Katsuya stood tall at 6'1'' towering over Yugi who was a foot shorter. Yugi noticed that the blonde had not yet shifted or squirmed under his observing eyes which showed Yugi that Katsuya was confident and patient. When Yugi realized that he was also being examined by the curious amber orbs, he couldn't help but turn his gaze towards the ground.

"Yugi."

"Huh?"

Yugi tilted his head slightly. "My name."

It took Jou a few moments to gather the information that Yugi was disclosing to him. After the minutes of uninterrupted silence, he was slightly caught of guard when Yugi suddenly spoke up causing his mind to reboot and take in the other's words a little bit slower than it would originally. Yugi noticed this with slight interest. So Katsuya wasn't perfect after all.

After another moment, a goofy grin appeared on the blonde's face. "Nice to meet ya'. Here, I'll show you to your room," Jou offered and Yugi just nodded to signal that he would follow. It was then that Yugi realized that they were in a kitchen. The walls were an off-white color that reminded Yugi of home. The thought alone made Yugi's heart shiver. There was an oven, a refrigerator, and a microwave along with several cabinets that Yugi could only assume were filled with various plates, bowls, and cups. A long wooden table covered with decorative tablecloths sat steadily in the middle of the room encircled by four chairs. The cleanliness of the rather large kitchen surprised Yugi. Immediately eliminating the man with the wrinkled shirt and untamed blonde mane that led him through the house as the culprit, Yugi found himself slightly interested in meeting his other roommates.

His curiosity was quenched sooner than he had hoped. Upon departure from the kitchen, the two men arrived in what Yugi guessed was the living room. A long jade green sofa rested peacefully in the center a matching loveseat beside it. A coffee table stood on four short legs in front of the couch with multiple magazines littered on top. A flat screen TV hung from the wall and Yugi observed the various game consoles attached to the impressive television set. He used to love games…

What called out to Yugi's attention more than the furnishings were the two men sitting on the couch engaged in what seemed like an updated version of Monopoly. "Jou, Malik rolled for you while you were gone," one of them said without looking up.

"Yeah, and you owe me 1, 600 dollars for landing on my—"

The man with tantalizing lavender eyes stopped short the moment he realized that they were an even amount of people in the room. The Egyptian heritage shone through the man's unique eye designs and the tan colored skin. Platnium blonde hair reached his angled shoulders and Yugi could tell that the man was very well-built for his age which he assumed was 23 as well.

"Hello," Malik greeted with a friendly smile. "Are you our new roommate?"

"No Malik, he's an axe murderer and I'm just giving him a tour around the house. You know, just in case he wants to kill us," Jou replied before Yugi's mind could even fathom the question.

Malik glared at the blonde before gazing back at Yugi. By this time, the other man on the couch had stood up and walked over to the duo, snow white hair running down his back and framing his round face. By the ironed blue shirt and tamed white mane, Yugi concluded that he had found his obsessive-compulsive roommate.

Brown eyes smiled down at him. "Hello. My name's Ryou." He pointed to the couch over his shoulder. "And that's Malik. You are…"

"Yugi."

"Yugi," Ryou repeated as if he was digesting the name and writing it into his memory. "Well, it's a pleasure to have you here. Come," he beckoned as he took a seat back on the couch and motioned towards the loveseat. "Let's get to know each other since we'll be living together."

Sensing Yugi's overwhelming reluctance, Jou gently pushed the shorter towards the seat before sitting down besides Malik. Slowly, Yugi released his suitcase but let the duffle bag remain over his shoulder. He sat on the edge of the seat and it looked as if he wasn't really sitting at all.

"So, what brings you here, Yugi?" Malik asked. The way the life in Yugi's eyes broke at the simple inquiry forced Malik to bite back a gasp. Ryou noticed the sudden shift in the atmosphere as well and he quickly replaced the question with another.

"How long will you be staying with us?"

Who knows? Yugi said to himself. He looked up into the expectant gazes of these strange new people and smiled though it was broken in several places. "I'm sorry," Yugi apologized softly. "The trip here was tiring. I need to unpack and get some rest."

Ryou returned Yugi's smile. "It's quite alright. We understand." He motioned to the door in the left corner of the living room. "That's your room. If you need anything, just let one of us know."

Yugi looked at the door and then back to Ryou before nodding his head and disappearing with his luggage behind the safety of the wooden barrier leaving three very concerned youths in his wake. The moment the door closed behind him, Yugi felt his knees give out from underneath him.

It was 5: 45 pm.

It had been three hours since Yugi had arrived at his new home. His suitcase was tossed in the corner of his room besides his duffle bag, neither of them even touched since he arrived. His room consisted on a full sized bed and a bureau that stood up against the wall. Besides his bed was a small nightstand that sat underneath a round mirror. A window shaded with violet curtains was mounted on the wall closest to his bed. The only evidence that there was actually someone in the room was the shallow breaths that mixed with the silence of the night.

Yugi laid on his bed, not even bothering to get under the covers, as he stared at the ceiling as if waiting for it to do something extraordinary. One look at his blank expression was all it took for someone to realize that Yugi was not really there. No, instead he was battling an internal war and losing with each passing moment.

Part of him wanted so badly to belong here. If there was anywhere where he could learn how to live again, then he wished it for it to be here. The better part of him knew that he was being foolish. He was meant to be alone. That had been proven to him already. However, his life was given to him as a farewell present and he had promised to live it regardless of anything that happened. And that's when another argument appeared. If he didn't at least try then was he really living? Was life measured by the number of breaths you took? Or by the effort you put into each breath?

Swinging his legs over to the side of the bed, Yugi used the support of the nightstand to get to his feet. When that was accomplished, Yugi trudged over to his bedroom door and leaned his ear against the wooden surface. When no sound greeted him, Yugi slowly pulled the door open and scanned the living room for any sign of human life. Before he could make any assumption as to his roommates' whereabouts, an eruption of light-hearty laughter reached his ears.

Yugi glanced at the door that led to the kitchen before reaching out to push it open. He stopped the moment his hand touched the hard surface. What was he trying to prove? And who was he trying to prove it to? These along with so many other unanswerable questions circled his head. So, he was caught off guard when the door disappeared from underneath his palm, leaving his hand cold and grasping for the support that had been ripped from right in front of his very eyes. Suddenly, he felt like he wasn't talking about the door anymore.

"Yugi?" Ryou said with no intention of hiding the surprise in his voice.

"H-hi," Yugi greeted weakly. He immediately regretted leaving the peace and solitude of his room. He should have stayed where he belonged. Ryou had obviously sensed the other's uncertainty as he wrapped a hand around Yugi's thin wrist and tugged him into the kitchen. The light atmosphere in the capacious room contrasted almost painfully to the intensity of his room. It was easier for Yugi to breathe in here. The fresh scent of muffins teased him, making him realize just how hungry he was. Jou and Malik looked up from the table, smiles painted on their faces as if permanently stuck there.

"Hey Yug'. I hope you had a good nap," Jou welcomed earnestly and Yugi could practically touch the genuine sentiment that laced the blonde's words. Yugi thought it was sad how such meaningless words could affect him, only proving that his need for acceptance and comfort was beyond pathetic. He was beyond pathetic.

"Would you like to join us for dinner, Yugi?" Ryou invited softly. The doe-eyed youth opened the oven and peeked at his muffins, poking them gently with the tip of a plastic knife. With a satisfied sigh, Ryou turned his head to look at Yugi, his eyes shining with anticipation as he waited for the other's answer. Yugi turned his gaze to the floor, knowing that it would be easier to decline the man's offer without those bright, brown eyes staring into his soul, unraveling the secrets that Yugi had spent weeks burying into the deepest parts of his heart.

"No, I wouldn't want to be a burden," Yugi assured with equal politeness. The blank faces on the three young faces unnerved him. Had he offended the boys who had showed him so much kindness? Yugi's heart sank into the pit of his stomach but before he could apologize, a choir of laughter reached his ears causing Yugi to feel even more uncomfortable than before. He waited patiently for the ravenous laughter to dissipate until only small snickers floated around the once soothing atmosphere. Ryou was the first one who was able to regain his composure.

"Yugi, why would you ever say something like that? You wouldn't be a burden." A smile came to Ryou's lips. "Now Jou, he's a burden."

"Am not!"

"No?" Malik mused. "You practically demolished our food supply for the next two weeks."

A red tint came to the blonde's face. "I was hungry."

"How ever will Kaiba support your eating habit?" Ryou teased.

As the conversation between the three friends continued, the corners of Yugi's lips twitched and his eyes shined with a little more life than before but that was the only indication that he had found the argument amusing.

"Anyways," Jou said, returning his attention to Yugi who had remained quiet during the entire exchange. "You'll love Ryou's muffins! They're the best. Oh, and we have a few friends coming over for dinner as well." At the instant panic that filled Yugi's child-like features, Jou added quickly: "There just like us though. Just a little more…"

"Crazy?" Ryou offered only to receive a fleeting glare from the blond.

"Oh…" Yugi replied, his tone holding no emotion in it whatsoever. He turned back towards the kitchen door and sighed. "I'll be back."

Jou raised a thin eyebrow before standing from his seat. "Yeah, me too. I have to grab something from my room."

Malik nodded absently while an unspoken message passed in between Ryou and Jou before the blonde exited the room with Yugi in tow. Malik waited a moment after the two had left to voice his concerns. "He's quiet," he said softly.

Ryou's smile fell. "I'm sure he's just nervous. He doesn't even know any of us. It's only his first night."

Malik shook his head. "You know that it's more than just that, Ryou. I can't help but worry about him. No one should be so…" Malik paused as he searched his vocabulary for a fitting word only to find one that could truly describe the vibe that radiated off of the amethyst-eyed youth. "Sad."

A small sigh escaped Ryou's lips. "I admit, he seems more distant than the others but, hopefully, after a few more days, he'll adjust. Until then, we do what we always do." Ryou reached over to turn off the oven. "Offer our friendship."

"And if he doesn't want it?"

Ryou shot his skeptic companion a steady glance. "The offer will remain regardless off his acceptance."

"Why do you always do this to yourself, Ryou?"

Brown eyes looked at him, confusion dancing in the soft orbs mingled with the light the kitchen provided. "You think you can fix everyone," Malik said, answering Ryou's silent question. "You think everyone's...fixable. Some people are just too broken sometimes, Ryou. They can't be fixed."

Ryou shook his head. "No one's beyond repair, Malik." And after a short pause, reminded softly: "You weren't."

Malik tensed lightly. That was true. Ryou hadn't given up on him when he had first come to live here. No matter how many times he had pushed Ryou away. The white-haired youth was definitely stubborn when it came to helping people. That was a fact not to be messed with or altered. After a few months, Ryou had eventually taught him how to emerge from his cold façade and pessimistic attitude that had surfaced shortly after his disownment. Malik subconsciously sighed, allowing his eyes linger on the door that Jou and Yugi had exited only minutes before. If Yugi could find help anywhere, then it would be here.

The sound of the doorbell deterred Malik's thought process. Lavender eyes locked onto the door before switching over to Ryou who was just taking out his infamous, chocolate-chip muffins. The second shrill of the doorbell made Ryou look up into Malik's impending gaze.

"Can't you see that I'm busy?" Ryou asked, annoyance clearly seeping into his voice at Malik's laziness. Malik only shrugged, making no apparent attempt to get the door. The third ring, this time long and drawn-out, signaling that the person on the other side of the door was growing increasingly impatient, forced Ryou to grab a newspaper and swing across the back of Malik's head.

"Get your ass up and get the door!"

A scowl embedded onto his face, Malik stood to his feet while rubbing the back of his head but not without mumbling some obscenities at his white-haired friend who just shrugged them off. Just as the fourth ring of the bell was being initiated, Malik swung the door open, his joy only escalating at seeing his friends' smiling faces.

Not.

Jou sat on the edge of the bed cross-legged as he watched Yugi brush out his hair that seemed to not want to cooperate with him. He ignored the fact that Yugi's belongings were still unpacked in the corner of the dimly lit room. Taking one look around the closed space, he realized that the only thing that had been touched was the bed. Something else sparked his interest. It wasn't something that was there. It was something that was missing.

There were absolutely no pictures of family members. Living in Serene Oasis since he was 18, Jou had found it almost customary for new people to put up pictures and frames of their loved ones. Part of him told him that Yugi just hadn't gotten to it yet while the other part told him that no such pictures existed.

"Katsuya."

Jou turned to look at Yugi and could practically see the defeat written in the other's features. "Yeah?"

Yugi had not stopped brushing out his hair and still had his face towards the mirror. His eyes were closed and Jou could see the way Yugi's knuckles turned white due to how tight he was holding the brush. "You know you don't have to wait for me," Yugi all but whispered. The sentence alone stunned Jou into silence. It wasn't the words so much as the tone. It was said as if Yugi didn't believe he was worth the time. As if he wasn't worth anything.

After a few moments of silence where the only thing that could be heard was the quiet brush strokes of Yugi's hair, Jou smiled. "I know I don't have to," the blonde replied. Violet eyes opened to stare at him through the mirror, void completely of any emotion that Jou had to resist the urge to reach out and hug Yugi. "I want to." A minimal amount of surprise flashed in Yugi's eyes but it left as quickly as it came.

Why? Yugi asked, though not expecting an answer since he had said it to himself. Placing the brush back down on the nightstand, Yugi turned towards Jou. "I'm ready."

Jou nodded his head and uncrossed his legs before standing to his feet. As they exited the short man's room and walked towards the kitchen door, Yugi tilted his head. "Don't you have to get something from your room?"

Jou paused, his hand already on the kitchen door, before turning around to flash Yugi a sheepish grin. "No."

Before Yugi could respond, Jou opened the door and walked into the heavily occupied room. "It's about bloody time!" said an extremely annoyed voice and Yugi was thankful that Jou's tall body hid his. "I'm starving and you know how Ryou gets when everybody's not at the table."

"Bakura," Ryou admonished. "If you were a little bit more patient then maybe people wouldn't run in the other direction when they see you." Brown eyes locked onto Jou followed by a small frown. "Where's Yugi?"

"Yugi?" a silky, baritone voice repeated. "Who's Yugi?"

If he wasn't having a nervous breakdown then Yugi would have noticed the way his name rolled off the unknown man's tongue. Instead, he was making a break for the door only to have Jou turn around and grab his wrist. The moment Jou moved, Yugi could see several pairs of eyes lock onto him. Any strength that he had to leave evaporated into the room at that very moment.

"Ah, Yugi!" Ryou smiled happily, oblivious the shorter man's mental state. "Glad you could join us." He turned to the others. "Yugi's our new roommate."

Yugi directed his gaze towards the floor as he cursed himself for ever agreeing to come to dinner. He restrained himself from walking out the door when a man with the most alluring crimson eyes brought his attention back to reality by clearing his throat. "Yugi," the man said and Yugi immediately identified the voice as the one whom spoke his name only a few moments prior.

"My name is Atemu. That's Kaiba," he introduced as he pointed to a brunet who greeted him with a small head nod. "Bakura." He pointed to a man that looked like a darker version of Ryou. The similarity actually surprised Yugi. Bakura acknowledged him with a small salute. "And Marik." Yugi looked at the man standing next to Bakura who had an uncanny resemblance to Malik with the exception of his hair that shot up in several directions. Atemu turned back to Yugi. "It's nice to meet you."

Atemu, Yugi noted, was a stunning man in his early twenties. His hair, though similar to Yugi's, stood straight towards the sky in a proud manner. Instead of purple, Atemu's hair was tinted an eloquent red and had several more blonde bangs that framed his face and others that fell back into the rest of his hair. Standing about a head taller than Yugi, Atemu's complexion was painted a gentle tan color that revealed his Egyptian heritage. Dressed in a simple red shirt and a pair of dark blue jeans, Yugi could honestly say that Atemu was the most handsome man he had ever seen.

Yugi bit his lip in a refusal to speak. This action caused Atemu to turn to Ryou. "Is he mute?" Atemu asked curiously.

Ryou quickly shook his head. "No and he's certainly not deaf either."

"He's just shy," Jou said as he led Yugi to the table and seated the quiet youth before taking a seat as well.

Yugi tried to hide behind his bangs when he felt several eyes watching him with slight interest. He felt better when all of the attention suddenly centered on Jou and the brunet beside him, who Atemu had introduced as Kaiba that had eyes so blue, it put the majestic color of the ocean to shame. Yugi watched as the two began to argue about something and blinked when he realized the intensity and passion in the two pairs of eyes. He could only assume that the two men were lovers.

Besides Kaiba, sat Ryou and Bakura followed by Malik and Marik leaving only one place for Atemu to sit. Noticing the steady gaze of the ruby eyes that centered on him, Yugi focused his attention on the steaming hot pizza that sat in the middle of the table. Without warning, everybody filled their plates, Jou filling two. Yugi, who had waited until everybody else to take their food, took the smallest slice he could find.

"Yugi, you should have a little more," Ryou offered softly but wasn't surprised when Yugi shook his head, his eyes drooping down into his lap.

"Come on Yug'. You're skin and bones. You need some meat on ya," Jou said after shoving a slice of pizza down his throat. Another twitch at the corners of Yugi's mouth made Ryou smile.

"So Yugi, what brings you here?" Bakura asked curiously, missing the instant glare that was sent his way by his significant other.

Atemu was startled at how quickly Yugi's entire body tensed and subconsciously reached out his hand and placed it on the other's arm, causing Yugi to jump at the sudden contact in effect spilling a cup of water on the table. Repeating several frantic apologies, Yugi reached out and grabbed a dozen napkins before placing them over the spilled liquid. With the help of Malik and Ryou, they managed to clean the table before the water spilled off to the side. The fact that everything was okay though didn't stop Yugi's broken apologies.

"Yugi, it's okay," Malik said, hating the way that Yugi was beating himself up over such a trivial matter. "No harm done," he assured but it was obvious that Malik's words didn't convince the shorter man. After mumbling an incoherent pardon that was meant to be an 'excuse me,' Yugi stood to feet and left the room as quickly as possible. A sigh escaped Jou's lips as he placed his pizza slice back down on his plate. "I'll go see if he's okay."

"What's wrong with shorty?" Bakura questioned once Jou left the room.

"He's awfully shy," Atemu commented.

"It's not easy meeting new people," Ryou said quietly. "He just needs to adjust to..." After a few seconds of silence, Ryou gestured around the table, "Well, us."

Everyone at the table nodded mutely in agreement as they continued their meals with light conversation.

To Be Continued...

Reviews/comments are appreciated as always.