A/N: *buries head in hands* Ack. This is gonna suck.written for Neo-
Cosmic's challenge. First Yu-Gi-Oh! fanfic, first songfic, so don't hurt
me. Oh, and I don't know what happens to the Millennium Eye in the end,
since those episodes haven't aired in America yet, so I'm just going to say
Bakura got to keep it. Good for him.
Chapter One: Losing Grip
~~Mai's POV~~
I sat down on a bench in the park with a soft sigh. Today /definitely/ hadn't been a good day - not by a long shot. My fists clenched. And it was all /his/ fault. Joey. One of the only people to ever defeat me in a duel - and one of the only people I ever really cared about.
We'd been going out for two months, and it wasn't going so bad. He was a great kid - although the accent drove me positively insane. But lately, he didn't want to "waste his time" with me.
We went to a restaurant for lunch with his friends. Okay, so they're my friends too, but it just feels wrong to say it. After all, they aren't /all/ my friends. Tea drives me crazy with her arrogant "friendship" speeches, and I'm not sure what's up with that Bakura. Ryou is nice enough, but his Yami is downright evil. Maybe it has to do with the fact that he was a tomb robber in ancient Egypt. Maybe it's just me, trying to find a logical explanation for all this magic stuff.
Anyway, I sat down next to Joey, and he totally ignored me, busy arguing about something obscure with Yugi's Yami. I heard a soft laugh and turned to see the white-haired Bakura, snickering.
"Shut up," I hissed at him. The tomb robber only sneered at me.
"How does it feel to have your heart broken?" he asked cryptically. I turned away, unwilling to let him see the doubt that sprang up in my violet eyes.
"You okay, Mai?" Joey asked, turning to me. How could he ask something like that, after ignoring me all day? With supreme effort, I got myself under control.
"Oh, sure," I said. I leaned closer. "I love you, you know."
"Yeah, I luv ya, too. Where's the waiter?"
I felt Bakura's cold gaze on me, and my resolution hardened. I /was/ going to make this relationship work out - just to prove that psycho spirit wrong.
**Are you aware of what you make me feel, baby?
Right now I feel invisible to you
Like I'm not real
Didn't you feel me lock my arms around you
Why'd you turn away?
Here's what I have to say**
So, there I was - in the park in the middle of the night, trying to think of a way to get a grip on the whole relationship thing. It was my fault that it wasn't working out, so I had to do something!
"Don't bother," a soft voice whispered from the shadows. I jumped and spun to face Bakura. Dammit, I hate it when he reads my thoughts...
"What," I hissed, my eyes glittering angrily, "are you doing here?"
"It's a public area," he replied, the smirk returning to his lips. "I can come here whenever I want, Mai, and you can't stop me."
I sat down again, crossing my arms. "What do you /want/, tomb robber?"
He sat down beside me, the smirk disappearing and the mocking brown eyes turning suddenly serious. "He doesn't love you anymore, Mai."
"How would you know? And why should I trust you?" I glared at him, although inside my heart was ripping in half. No one had /ever/ dumped me before - mostly because I had never dated anyone before.
He shrugged. "You know the power of the Millennium Items," he replied. "The Eye is mine, now that Pegasus has been proved unworthy. I can read your thoughts, and /I/ don't have to actually wear that ugly thing." He smirked. "Ryou would rather I didn't take advantage of its power, but he's just lucky I'm not using his body anymore."
I shuddered. Bakura seriously creeped me out. "So, you read his mind and he doesn't love me anymore. So what? I still don't believe you, so we're right back where we started."
"Then you're a fool," he said simply. "Believe it or not, blondie, I care about your welfare - mainly because Ryou might decide to strike back if he found out that I let you or the others get hurt. Mai, he's just using you. He likes the pathetic weakling."
"Tea?" I whispered.
"If you want to call her that. I like pathetic weakling better."
"That jerk!" I flared, leaping to my feet. "I'm going to kill him!" Tears came unbidden to my eyes.
"Don't cry," Bakura said softly. I thought that I caught a hint of sorrow in his tone - yeah, right. He would probably enjoy seeing me cry.
**I was left to cry there
Waiting outside there
Grinning with a lost stare
That's when I decided**
"I don't care," I choked out. "I don't care. I don't need him."
"You need someone to love you," Bakura said calmly. "You're the kind of person who can't be alone. That's why you used to hide behind the whole tough-but-pretty routine - so no one would ever see how vulnerable you are."
"Stop reading my mind!" I snapped, raising a hand to dash away my tears.
"I'm not," he murmured. "I've been able to tell since the first day I saw you."
I shuddered. "Shut up, you stupid thief," I said. "I don't care about Joey! I don't need him, and I sure as hell don't need you!"
**Why should I care?
Cuz you weren't there when I was scared
I was so alone
You need to listen
I'm starting to trip
I'm losing my grip
And I'm in this thing alone**
Bakura faded back into the shadows he had come from, but I sat down on the bench again, this time letting the tears fall. Joey - he would never play with my emotions like this. He could be annoying, sure, but he was such a good guy! He wasn't as tough as he pretended to be. And neither was I.
Dammit, the thief was really getting into my head. Just what he wanted to do, no doubt, the sadistic creep. But he had done what he had probably wanted to do - he had planted the seeds of doubt. I wasn't even thinking coherently anymore.
**Am I just some chick you placed beside you
To take somebody's place?
When you turn around
Can you recognize my face?
You used to love me
You used to hug me
But that wasn't the case
Everything wasn't okay**
Now that I was actually thinking about it, there had been all kinds of little signals that Joey didn't care anymore. All the times that he had invited Tea over to help him with his homework, all the times he had been too busy to go out. It hadn't been like that at the beginning of our relationship, but I had been so stupid - I hadn't seen the change.
And now I was truly alone. Even the tomb robber had abandoned me.
Only because I had told him to...
Was he right after all?
**I was left to cry there
Waiting outside there
Grinning with a lost stare
That's when I decided**
I stood up and stared into the shadows, willing him to be there. "All right, I believe you!" I cried. "But I'm not - I'm not going to give up. I bet I can win him back."
There was a very uncomfortable silence, and then Bakura answered. "How much would you bet?"
I swallowed, hard. "How much do you want me to bet?" This was ridiculous! Joey didn't like Tea - he couldn't. But he wasn't here, either, was he? I felt like I was losing my grip on the situation.
**Why should I care?
Cuz you weren't there when I was scared
I was so alone
You need to listen
I'm starting to trip
I'm losing my grip
And I'm in this thing alone**
Bakura sighed, and I could practically see his evil grin. "If you can't get him back, you owe me your heart."
"What?" I asked, blinking. "My heart? You bloodthirsty - "
"I meant figuratively. You can't live without love, so I'm not going to let you. If you can't get him, you can come to me. You /will/ come to me."
"Why are you being so nice?" I asked, trembling with sudden fear. "What do you want?"
"I want to help you, Mai. Is that so hard to believe?"
"Coming from you, hell yes!" A sob tore its way from my throat.
"Dammit, don't cry!" he said, emerging and taking me into his embrace. I sobbed into his chest, forgetting on purpose that he was evil.
**Crying out loud
I'm crying out loud
Crying out loud
I'm crying out loud**
I pulled away from Bakura, trying to regain my self-confidence. "I'll take that bet," I said firmly. "I can open his eyes. He's the only one who deserves me. What do I get if I win?"
"Twenty dollars." It was impossible to tell if he was kidding or not. I snorted. Twenty dollars versus my heart? That didn't seem fair!
Bakura shrugged. "Life isn't fair. Open your eyes to the truth, Mai..."
**Open your eyes
Open up wide
Why should I care?
Cuz you weren't there when I was scared
I was so alone
Why should I care?
Cuz you weren't there when I was scared
I was so alone**
"He doesn't care anymore," Bakura continued. "He likes the pathetic weakling - Tea, if you want to call her that."
"I still care," I objected, although the fading pain in my heart told me that I didn't, really. I never really had - it was mostly admiration that he had done so well in the tournament, I guess. Admiration that he could beat me. And he was /so/ cute.
**Why should I care?
If you don't care, then I don't care
We're not going anywhere**
"If you really want to take this bet..." Bakura said softly. For the first time, I detected a hint of indecision in his tone. Maybe he didn't want to waste twenty dollars on a bet he couldn't win!
Or maybe he really /was/ sure of it, and he didn't want to further humiliate me...
Yeah, right. Not him. The evil one. The tomb robber.
**Why should I care?
Cuz you weren't there when I was scared
I was so alone
Why should I care?
If you don't care, then I don't care
We're not going anywhere**
"I'll take the bet," I repeated. "You're going down. You'll see!"
Bakura shook his head. "You're losing your grip on the relationship, Mai, because there /isn't/ one. Open your eyes, mortal fool!"
I shook my head. "Nuh-uh. I'm gonna win, tomb robber. You'll see."
"You have a week," he answered. "Have fun losing." He vanished into the shadows again, and I sat down.
What the hell had I gotten myself into?
Chapter One: Losing Grip
~~Mai's POV~~
I sat down on a bench in the park with a soft sigh. Today /definitely/ hadn't been a good day - not by a long shot. My fists clenched. And it was all /his/ fault. Joey. One of the only people to ever defeat me in a duel - and one of the only people I ever really cared about.
We'd been going out for two months, and it wasn't going so bad. He was a great kid - although the accent drove me positively insane. But lately, he didn't want to "waste his time" with me.
We went to a restaurant for lunch with his friends. Okay, so they're my friends too, but it just feels wrong to say it. After all, they aren't /all/ my friends. Tea drives me crazy with her arrogant "friendship" speeches, and I'm not sure what's up with that Bakura. Ryou is nice enough, but his Yami is downright evil. Maybe it has to do with the fact that he was a tomb robber in ancient Egypt. Maybe it's just me, trying to find a logical explanation for all this magic stuff.
Anyway, I sat down next to Joey, and he totally ignored me, busy arguing about something obscure with Yugi's Yami. I heard a soft laugh and turned to see the white-haired Bakura, snickering.
"Shut up," I hissed at him. The tomb robber only sneered at me.
"How does it feel to have your heart broken?" he asked cryptically. I turned away, unwilling to let him see the doubt that sprang up in my violet eyes.
"You okay, Mai?" Joey asked, turning to me. How could he ask something like that, after ignoring me all day? With supreme effort, I got myself under control.
"Oh, sure," I said. I leaned closer. "I love you, you know."
"Yeah, I luv ya, too. Where's the waiter?"
I felt Bakura's cold gaze on me, and my resolution hardened. I /was/ going to make this relationship work out - just to prove that psycho spirit wrong.
**Are you aware of what you make me feel, baby?
Right now I feel invisible to you
Like I'm not real
Didn't you feel me lock my arms around you
Why'd you turn away?
Here's what I have to say**
So, there I was - in the park in the middle of the night, trying to think of a way to get a grip on the whole relationship thing. It was my fault that it wasn't working out, so I had to do something!
"Don't bother," a soft voice whispered from the shadows. I jumped and spun to face Bakura. Dammit, I hate it when he reads my thoughts...
"What," I hissed, my eyes glittering angrily, "are you doing here?"
"It's a public area," he replied, the smirk returning to his lips. "I can come here whenever I want, Mai, and you can't stop me."
I sat down again, crossing my arms. "What do you /want/, tomb robber?"
He sat down beside me, the smirk disappearing and the mocking brown eyes turning suddenly serious. "He doesn't love you anymore, Mai."
"How would you know? And why should I trust you?" I glared at him, although inside my heart was ripping in half. No one had /ever/ dumped me before - mostly because I had never dated anyone before.
He shrugged. "You know the power of the Millennium Items," he replied. "The Eye is mine, now that Pegasus has been proved unworthy. I can read your thoughts, and /I/ don't have to actually wear that ugly thing." He smirked. "Ryou would rather I didn't take advantage of its power, but he's just lucky I'm not using his body anymore."
I shuddered. Bakura seriously creeped me out. "So, you read his mind and he doesn't love me anymore. So what? I still don't believe you, so we're right back where we started."
"Then you're a fool," he said simply. "Believe it or not, blondie, I care about your welfare - mainly because Ryou might decide to strike back if he found out that I let you or the others get hurt. Mai, he's just using you. He likes the pathetic weakling."
"Tea?" I whispered.
"If you want to call her that. I like pathetic weakling better."
"That jerk!" I flared, leaping to my feet. "I'm going to kill him!" Tears came unbidden to my eyes.
"Don't cry," Bakura said softly. I thought that I caught a hint of sorrow in his tone - yeah, right. He would probably enjoy seeing me cry.
**I was left to cry there
Waiting outside there
Grinning with a lost stare
That's when I decided**
"I don't care," I choked out. "I don't care. I don't need him."
"You need someone to love you," Bakura said calmly. "You're the kind of person who can't be alone. That's why you used to hide behind the whole tough-but-pretty routine - so no one would ever see how vulnerable you are."
"Stop reading my mind!" I snapped, raising a hand to dash away my tears.
"I'm not," he murmured. "I've been able to tell since the first day I saw you."
I shuddered. "Shut up, you stupid thief," I said. "I don't care about Joey! I don't need him, and I sure as hell don't need you!"
**Why should I care?
Cuz you weren't there when I was scared
I was so alone
You need to listen
I'm starting to trip
I'm losing my grip
And I'm in this thing alone**
Bakura faded back into the shadows he had come from, but I sat down on the bench again, this time letting the tears fall. Joey - he would never play with my emotions like this. He could be annoying, sure, but he was such a good guy! He wasn't as tough as he pretended to be. And neither was I.
Dammit, the thief was really getting into my head. Just what he wanted to do, no doubt, the sadistic creep. But he had done what he had probably wanted to do - he had planted the seeds of doubt. I wasn't even thinking coherently anymore.
**Am I just some chick you placed beside you
To take somebody's place?
When you turn around
Can you recognize my face?
You used to love me
You used to hug me
But that wasn't the case
Everything wasn't okay**
Now that I was actually thinking about it, there had been all kinds of little signals that Joey didn't care anymore. All the times that he had invited Tea over to help him with his homework, all the times he had been too busy to go out. It hadn't been like that at the beginning of our relationship, but I had been so stupid - I hadn't seen the change.
And now I was truly alone. Even the tomb robber had abandoned me.
Only because I had told him to...
Was he right after all?
**I was left to cry there
Waiting outside there
Grinning with a lost stare
That's when I decided**
I stood up and stared into the shadows, willing him to be there. "All right, I believe you!" I cried. "But I'm not - I'm not going to give up. I bet I can win him back."
There was a very uncomfortable silence, and then Bakura answered. "How much would you bet?"
I swallowed, hard. "How much do you want me to bet?" This was ridiculous! Joey didn't like Tea - he couldn't. But he wasn't here, either, was he? I felt like I was losing my grip on the situation.
**Why should I care?
Cuz you weren't there when I was scared
I was so alone
You need to listen
I'm starting to trip
I'm losing my grip
And I'm in this thing alone**
Bakura sighed, and I could practically see his evil grin. "If you can't get him back, you owe me your heart."
"What?" I asked, blinking. "My heart? You bloodthirsty - "
"I meant figuratively. You can't live without love, so I'm not going to let you. If you can't get him, you can come to me. You /will/ come to me."
"Why are you being so nice?" I asked, trembling with sudden fear. "What do you want?"
"I want to help you, Mai. Is that so hard to believe?"
"Coming from you, hell yes!" A sob tore its way from my throat.
"Dammit, don't cry!" he said, emerging and taking me into his embrace. I sobbed into his chest, forgetting on purpose that he was evil.
**Crying out loud
I'm crying out loud
Crying out loud
I'm crying out loud**
I pulled away from Bakura, trying to regain my self-confidence. "I'll take that bet," I said firmly. "I can open his eyes. He's the only one who deserves me. What do I get if I win?"
"Twenty dollars." It was impossible to tell if he was kidding or not. I snorted. Twenty dollars versus my heart? That didn't seem fair!
Bakura shrugged. "Life isn't fair. Open your eyes to the truth, Mai..."
**Open your eyes
Open up wide
Why should I care?
Cuz you weren't there when I was scared
I was so alone
Why should I care?
Cuz you weren't there when I was scared
I was so alone**
"He doesn't care anymore," Bakura continued. "He likes the pathetic weakling - Tea, if you want to call her that."
"I still care," I objected, although the fading pain in my heart told me that I didn't, really. I never really had - it was mostly admiration that he had done so well in the tournament, I guess. Admiration that he could beat me. And he was /so/ cute.
**Why should I care?
If you don't care, then I don't care
We're not going anywhere**
"If you really want to take this bet..." Bakura said softly. For the first time, I detected a hint of indecision in his tone. Maybe he didn't want to waste twenty dollars on a bet he couldn't win!
Or maybe he really /was/ sure of it, and he didn't want to further humiliate me...
Yeah, right. Not him. The evil one. The tomb robber.
**Why should I care?
Cuz you weren't there when I was scared
I was so alone
Why should I care?
If you don't care, then I don't care
We're not going anywhere**
"I'll take the bet," I repeated. "You're going down. You'll see!"
Bakura shook his head. "You're losing your grip on the relationship, Mai, because there /isn't/ one. Open your eyes, mortal fool!"
I shook my head. "Nuh-uh. I'm gonna win, tomb robber. You'll see."
"You have a week," he answered. "Have fun losing." He vanished into the shadows again, and I sat down.
What the hell had I gotten myself into?