Hi everyone. Sorry I haven't updated, especially with The Fountain of Time but I haven't forgotten, I promise. School is coming to a close and that means lots of tests, so it'll be hard to get some writing time in but I'm trying.

So, third chapter, third day for the gang.

Disclaimer, I own nothing.

The Beach House

Chapter 3

The next morning no one made a move to wake up early with the exception of Atem who took a shower but went right back to bed. Spending some time staying up late looking for those little ghost crabs had been fun, but when it came to waking up the next day afterwards, there was no point and no sign of life with the exception of two snoring idiots.

Yugi woke up to the obnoxious sound of his two friend's snores. Frowning, the boy rolled over and buried himself into the two fluffy pillows. He sighed and grabbed his phone to discover that it was eight o'clock. Out of boredom since no one was awake yet, he went to his messages and quickly texted Rebecca.

'Becky?'

'Yugi!'

Yugi sighed, relieved that he didn't wake her up. It was always best to let the ladies get up first and wake up before daring any contact with them. 'How's it going?'

'Boring, you're away. :('

Yugi smiled. 'But you know I'll be coming right back for you.'

He was rewarded with a happy text. 'Aw, you know best how to make a girl smile, Smootchy.' Yugi smiled. 'So, how's your master plan working?'

Now he frowned. 'Umm, I haven't actually gotten a chance to start on it. There's been like zero openings to get them together. -_-'

'You have to be smarter than they are!'

His frown deepened. Atem and Anzu were pretty smart people, heck, Anzu had been in honor roll since middle school and Atem was already joining her and the other honor roll students. 'Is that even possible?!'

'Lol, of course it is, you just have to time it just right.'

'Still…'

'Want me to help you? Just cause I'm not there doesn't mean I can't help you with a few ideas.'

Yugi smiled. 'I sort of have a plan; we're playing beer pong and quarters tonight.'

'Play quarters first! That way every time you get one in, you can just pass it to Atem, heck, get the Idiot Duo to help. They don't need details, just a little suggestion like, 'Who wants to know what Atem is like when he's really drunk?' That will get them on your side for sure.'

'True… I'll try it and tell you how it goes.'

'Bye, bye, Yugi Poo!'

'Bye Becky.' The text messages ended, leaving Yugi to ponder on how exactly he was going to be smarter than his two friends who were already getting offerings, and two of those offerings were coming from Harvard and Yale of all places.

He decided that he would just have to get lucky tonight but first . . . "More sleep." He muttered and closed his eyes, instantly falling asleep.

From above Atem sighed and looked down to see the phone in plain view. He slipped down, holding himself in place with his knees so he didn't fall and break his neck and with grace, grabbed the phone and pulled himself back up. Atem quickly unlocked the phone. He wondered why the boy even locked his phone in the first place when Yugi opened his phone in front of him all the time.

He looked through the texts, his mood turning black. What in the world was up with Yugi and his constant attempts to get him to date Anzu? Yes, he had to admit, Anzu did make his heart flutter and his cheeks burn but damn, he would tell her he loved her when he had the fucking courage, which was a little ridiculous because he's fought so many enemies without batting an eye but saying three words to the girl that was basically his whole world, yeah, impossible.

Atem slipped out of bed, put Yugi's phone back and walked out of the room to gently knock on Anzu's door. "Anzu?" he whispered softly.

From within he heard a moan and some shuffling before the door slid open. "Atem? What's up?" she asked.

Atem pulled her into the bathroom, the one room in the house that no one could eavesdrop. Anzu looked at him with sleepy confusion as he closed the door and turned on the vent. "Yugi was just texting Rebecca."

"Annnnnnd . . . ?"

Atem leaned against the door and told her what Rebecca and Yugi had been talking about. "So, what in the world are we going to do? Joey and Tristan are very good at these drinking games, almost as good as Yugi and I, so the chances are; we're both going to be very drunk."

Anzu, now very much awake, mulled over what Atem had informed her of. "That's true . . . I guess we're going to go after Yugi first, once we reduce him to a drunken state we can work on the idiots and they should fall like dominos."

Atem's brows rose. "Well, well, strategizing already?"

"I've learned from the best." She said, making Atem smile before something clicked into place.

"I know a way you can get that title."

Atem glared at the shower curtain. "That little imp." He growled. Anzu blinked. "Just remembering the comment Yugi made coming up about you gaining the title, Queen of Games."

Anzu blushed before grinning. "He is an imp, isn't he? I dare say he get's it from you."

Atem slapped his hand over his heart dramatically. "Oh, right for the heart, Anzu, I would love to agree but I believe its Rebecca we should be blaming."

"Too true." She said, nodding in agreement. "So, I guess we're teaming up to prevent some . . . unpleasantness?"

Atem smirked and held out his hand. "I believe so." They shook hands, both grinning. Since they were now up they couldn't really go back to sleep so Atem sat down on one of the couches, curled up and turned on the flat screen TV. Anzu on the other hand put on her running shoes, grabbed her jacket and went for a run.

"I'll be back in maybe an hour, Atem." She said. "I got my phone."

He turned and nodded. "Going for a run?"

"Yeah, I have to run off the food I ate." She grinned. "I should probably wake up the idiots in there but I'll let them get fat." Atem chuckled as she left. Anzu walked out to the beach, passing through the sandy gate and being hit by the salty air. She walked down close to the water where the sand was wet, yet much more firm when walking on it. She looked around first and poked a stick in the sand, indicating where she first started before starting her morning jog.

It helped her clear her mind and thoughts. Other joggers were running up and down the beach, some with partners that made her pout a little. Anzu pushed it off, figuring she was just lonely being single and whatnot. 'Get over it, Anzu.' She sighed and stopped to turn back around.

By the time she came back to the stick she was sweating lightly and continued on a little ways before once again turning back around and heading back to the stick to go back to the beach house. When she went back in she found Atem making eggs and bacon, she could smell the hash browns cooking in the oven. "Need any help?" she asked.

Atem turned and smiled. "No, I'm fine. I just started cooking because I figured that would be the only way to get our sleeping friends up."

Anzu blinked. "They're still asleep?"

"Indeed."

Anzu rolled her eyes and went into her room to grab some fresh clothes before grabbing another shower. When she came out, they were still asleep. Anzu frowned. "Really?" she said, irritated beyond belief. She slammed the door open, making Yugi jump out of bed in his sleep before he stumbled on the ground, his blanket following him creating a lump on the ground that was kicking and poking in random directions to get out of the self made prison.

She stomped over to Joey's bed and yanked the covers off. Joey woke up, immediately missing the warmth. He looked up only to shrink away when he saw Anzu glaring down at him. "Uh . . . I'm up?"

She then turned her sights on Tristan who was glaring out at the room, of course, upon seeing Anzu, he paled and sat up. "Good, now that you all are awake, Atem has kindly made breakfast for us all. Get up, clean up." She commanded and left, slamming the door behind her.

When she came back into the kitchen Atem was smiling. "You sure are funny."

She blinked. "How so?"

He chuckled. "You sound like a scolding mother."

Anzu blinked before grinning slyly at him. "Then you must be their stay-at-home daddy." Atem blushed before pouting.

"I don't need to be a daddy yet."

"And I don't need to be a mommy yet." Anzu replied with ease. She smiled and got her breakfast. "I would get yours, Yugi just finished with his shower and Tristan is the last." It was amazing how fast Joey could move under pressure.

Atem smirked. "You really are mother-like if you know that." He chuckled. Anzu rolled her eyes and punched his arm softly. Truth be told Atem hadn't even heard the Joey get in and out of the shower; he was having too much fun talking with Anzu.

She gave him a friendly punch and slipped towards the table and sat down. Atem had just finished up his plate when the rest of his friends came in, all waiting patiently for Atem to finish. Atem sat down next to her, one brow up. "Sleep well you three?" she asked innocently once they were all sitting down.

Yugi grinned. "Yep!" Joey and Tristan nodded. Atem chuckled and munched quietly on some scrambled eggs. When he was done chewing he spoke to Yugi.

"Were you texting Rebecca this morning?" Yugi looked up, blinking in surprise.

"Yeah . . . how'd you know?"

"Simple, you don't text a lot, not even for your friends, but when it comes to Rebecca," he shrugged. "You text, a lot." He wasn't going to tell Yugi he went through his phone, that would just blow the whole situation up.

Yugi blushed, prompting Anzu to tease. "Were you sending a few kisses over to her?"

Yugi glared as his face went from a dusty pink to a lobster red. "No! It's none of your business about what I text to Becky."

Anzu turned to Joey and Tristan. "Now isn't that suspicious in itself?"

They grinned at Yugi. Joey wiggled his eyebrows. "Sure it isn't more that just kisses?"

Yugi's jaw dropped making Atem turn away to laugh. "It's nothing to be embarrassed about, Yugi, just tell us before hand when the wedding and baby shower will be."

Yugi glared angrily at Atem. "It's not like that!"

"Oh?"

Yugi smirked. "At least I got me a nice girlfriend, Mr. Single."

Atem narrowed his eyes. "Very funny, little brother." He said, putting emphasis on the word, little.

"Enough." Anzu said, smiling a bit. "Joey, tonight we're having ribs, so I'm hoping you'll be working at the grill?"

Joey gave her a salute. "Yes ma'am!"

Tristan smiled. "It's been forever since I've had some good ribs. Do they have meat on them?"

Anzu rolled her eyes. "What do you take me for? Of course they have meat on them. I'm feeding two monsters for a week." She laughed.

Tristan and Joey didn't even bother to pout. They were monsters. "So where should be go Monday night?" Yugi asked.

"Somewhere not expensive." Joey said quickly.

Anzu grinned. "I'm sure there has to be a nice local restaurant around here. Every place has one." She said getting up to throw away her plate. She walked off to go read one of the books she brought up while the rest went and did their own things. Atem flopped down on one of the couches to take nap while Yugi, Joey, and Tristan went to the beach to try and grab some more of those big craps.

"So Yug, you want us to team up with you to get Atem drunk?" Tristan looked at him as though he were crazy.

"Oh come on! Have we really seen Atem drunk? For real?" Yugi pointed out as he bent over to grab a shell he spotted. Joey hummed and kicked at the sand in thought while Tristan still looked at Yugi like he was crazy.

"You know T, he does have a point. Just for kicks I'd probably want to see Atem drunk for real." He paused for a moment. "Of course, I wouldn't bring it up again for health sake, but still, would be fun."

Tristan sighed, looking very much torn. "Nope, you guys can go ahead and team up, I'm not doing it." He said looking out into the ocean. He paused.

Yugi looked over. "What's up, Tristan?"

"I just noticed this, but that's a shit load of oilrigs out there." They all looked out this time and low and behold, Tristan was right. Yugi pointed towards the left.

"That's the biggest one . . . do you think it's the same one that exploded? You, BP and all that crap?"

Joey squinted his eyes as he tired to get a better look at them. "Maybe, but sort of figured it'd be . . . farther away."

They sat in the sand for a while, just talking before Joey got up and went a little closer to the water and just started to dig a hole. The other two joined him, just digging around when Joey spotted a little movement. Quickly he reached out and scooped up the sand to reveal a very large oyster. He quickly stuck it into the sand and all three spread out a little looking for more.

Some time later, though time at the moment was very much forgotten so they didn't even know, Joey pulled out his phone and practically screamed. It was six fifty-nine. Dinner time!

The three boys rushed back to the beach house, flip flops in hand. When they got back to the beach house they quickly cleaned up their sandy feet and ran up the stairs. Atem was playing with some cards he had found while Anzu was preparing the ribs for the grill. She turned and smiled. "There you guys are. I was wondering when you all would get here, considering you didn't come back for lunch." She said.

Joey gave her a goofy grin. "We lost track of time, sorry, sorry."

"We're on Spring Break, Joey." Atem chuckled, not looking up from his game. "You can stay at the beach for as long as you like until we have to leave."

Joey grinned before walked down to the concrete base to get the grill started since there was no grilling allowed on the deck. Yugi went to the sink and cleaned off the shell he'd found and showed it to Anzu who commented on its pretty pinkish color. Yugi smiled and set it on the window with the others before flopping next to Atem to watch him play.

Tristan went into the bunk room to probably do some more sleeping until dinner was ready. Joey came up and told Anzu that the grill was ready as he walked up to the counter and grabbed the plate of raw ribs and headed back down. "Anzu."
"Hmm?" she replied from the counter where she was making a salad.

"Could you grab me a beer, please?" he asked.

"Sure." She said and opened the fridge while putting some lettuce back before grabbing the small mini tomatoes and was about to reach for the asked beer before she grinned. "How about we play Quarters when Joey comes back up with food?" she suggested.

Atem blinked. "That might be a good idea, considering we'll be dulling the alcohol a bit with some food." Yugi grinned.

"We could make a point system, ten points for making it in, five for picking whoever to drink it, and we could take some points away should the quarter land in someone's dinner plate."

Atem brightened. "That doesn't sound like a bad idea, Yugi."

The boy beamed brightly while Atem and Anzu shared a look, both not forgetting that they had teamed up to prevent Yugi's plan from happening. After some minutes Joey came in holding a plate of ribs and grilled corn. Tristan soon rejoined them and they all sat down and ate while Yugi got up to set out three beers, then went to grab a small glass.

Anzu produced the quarter. "Ready, boys?" she asked.

Joey grinned. "Yugi and I are a team."

Atem gave them a sly smile. "Then I guess Anzu and I will team up, Tristan?"

"Call me Switzerland."

They all laughed, Atem smiled and narrowed his eyes as he watched Tristan for a moment, sending him a very clear, but subtle message. Tristan noticed and his mouth became dry. Suddenly he was very happy for not teaming up with Joey and Yugi. 'They're so in for it.' Tristan thought as he quickly looked over to Joey and Yugi grinning madly. 'They already know . . .' He sent a silent prayer to whichever god was listening.

They rolled a dice to decide who would go first and already it was going down for Yugi and Joey. Atem, Anzu, Tristan, Yugi, Joey.

Atem bounced the quarter in on the first try. He passed in to Yugi. "You first, little brother." Yugi huffed but downed the beer after taking the quarter out, refilled it and put it back in the center. Atem went for the second try. In. "Now Joey."

The blond removed the quarter and drank it like a shot before the glass was once again refilled. Thankfully, Atem missed on his third try and passed it to Anzu who missed and passed the quarter to Tristan who got it in. "Oh Yugi!" Tristan grinned. "Thirsty?"

"Fuck you." The teen growled. The game went on even when dinner was over with and Sunday was coming to a close. Yugi and Atem had lots of drinks to give while sometimes missing, Joey, Anzu, and Tristan often missed, sometimes got in. It was safe to say that by nine thirty Joey and Tristan were yelling at each other and the rest were looking a little bit tipsy. Anzu on the other hand was the only silver one in the room with an embarrassed look on her face.

She could hold down three beers, but that was it. By her maybe twelfth drink from the glass she was already feeling a little bit sick and stepped out, apologizing to Atem. He only smiled, told her it was alright before continuing with his game.

But that was about an hour ago . . .

Atem and Yugi were now throwing snide remark after snide remark. Anzu found it amazing that they could come up with new name-calling names so easily. It usually took her a few moments to think of something new, and half the time it didn't even sound all that insulting yet Atem and Yugi could go on and on.

After one remark Atem fell silent while Yugi grinned drunkenly in victory, that was, before Atem smirked, and there was nothing 'drunk' about it, it was malicious smirk. He told Yugi something and since Yugi's cheeks turned to an interesting shade of bright red, it was something about his height. 'Oh dear . . .'

Yugi stood up and ran around to try and grab Atem but he had already moved out of the way and into the living room where Yugi basically slammed into him sending him tumbling to the floor. Joey and Tristan squealed in a girl-like fashion from the couch they were sitting on. "Caaaaaaaat fight!"

Anzu rolled her eyes and finally decided that it was time to end this drunken party. "Alright, enough!" she yelled, trying to yank Yugi and Atem apart. With effort, she finally managed to get Yugi to let go of Atem. "Joey, Tristan, room, now!" The two stumbled over each other trying to get into the light green room giggling about something random while Yugi and Atem continued to glare at one another. "Now, Yugi, bed." She turned to Atem with the same frown. "Atem, you have the couch."

The two stumbled to their sleeping places, Yugi in his bed and Atem on the couch. The former pharaoh slouched down on the cushions, pouting like a child. Anzu sighed. "S'rry Zu." He muttered before he hiccupped loudly. He covered his mouth as a bright blush settled over his cheeks. Anzu giggled and sat down next to him. It was hard to stay mad at them, besides, they were drinking and not really in control of things.

"Got hiccups?"

"'Uess so." He hiccupped again, his blush deepening, making Anzu giggle as she stood up to grab a blanket from the green room. Joey and Tristan were laughing about something she didn't want to know and Yugi, actually snoring away. 'The drinking must have gotten to him the most considering he's so small.'she thought, smiling. The Mutou brothers would probably apologize tomorrow and laugh about it but tonight they would pout.

When she came back out of the room, closing the door of course, she found Atem fighting to try and stay awake. "You can go to sleep, Atem." She said. His crimson eyes flickered to hers before he sighed as she spread the blanket over him and put the pillow under his head.

"Zu . . ." he said.

"Hmm?"

His hand reached out and latched on to her wrist. "Stay wi' me?" he asked. Anzu blushed, her cheeks now matching his own blush. Conflicted, she bit her lip.

"But, Atem-"

"Please, Zu?"

She sighed and gave up, especially when he gave her those freaking puppy eyes. Gods, she could barely stop herself from hugging Yugi every time he used his puppy eyes but when Atem did it you might as well have been looking at a puppy that still looked at its abusive owner with love, though she wouldn't wish such a fate on any puppy. "Okay."

He smiled and pulled her gently so she fell in between the couch and Atem. Blushing, she rested her cheek against his chest, shaking a bit in nervousness yet she was enjoying this. 'Its low for me to think like this but damn, I should get him drunk more often.'

Warm and feeling safe within his arms, Anzu drifted off to sleep with a smile on her face, the last this she heard was his steady breathing and strong thudding heart beat.

And there we have it! The third chapter of The Beach House. It was short, but I'll make the next chapter longer, since it'll be a rainy chapter.

Thank you for reading everyone and I'll try and update The Fountian of Time. :)

Thanks again, have a nice day or night!