Marik sighed as his alarm blared in the distance. He really didn't want to get up and face another day of the same old thing, but he had to push himself. So after a few minutes of stalling Marik stood up, walked to the other side of his room, and shut off his alarm. Pretty smart idea, huh? He knew he would never get up if he could reach the noisemaker from his bedside. He quickly got dressed, barely examining the garments he chose, and he applied his eyeliner. Though he was starting to think he should stop wearing it. He had already decided jewelry wasn't needed. Marik had always showered at night. That way, there was no rush in the morning. He looked at the clock and groaned.

He had another 12 minutes to burn, but he just didn't feel like eating. So with that he settled on doing some homework he never got to the night before. Once that was finished, he grabbed his bag and forced his way out the front door. The walk to school was the same as always. Marik's mind was torturously numb in the mornings.

In a matter of minutes he'd made it to Domino High. He walked through the doors and soon found his group of ecstatic friends. They always forced him into a conversation, and so he would fake a smile for them. After that class started and day became bleary. His thoughts consisted of barely anything. That was until Bakura found his way to the Egyptian. That stupid whitette always threw Marik off for some reason.

"This seat taken?" Bakura asked, while smirking.

"Of course not." Marik replied, tone formal. (They had this game they played where they pretended to be strangers sometimes) They both burst out laughing, smiles growing on each of their faces.

"So didja do your homework, goody two shoes?" Bakura mocked.

Marik frowned. He never did know why his friend referred to him as "goody two shoes." The Egyptian barely did his homework, and when he did it was incorrect. Although in retrospect, Bakura never did homework and was always out stealing. So in comparison, maybe Marik was the good one.

Somehow that didn't make sense in his mind. Bakura began waving a hand in front of Marik.

"Are you in there or did you die in the past 10 seconds?" The white haired teen blurted.

The blonde couldn't help but smile, he loved the way Bakura always bugged him. They continued laughing and joking around for the rest of the period.

Then the bell rang and the guilt set in.

Marik always got really mad at himself after he'd thought over how he'd acted. He was getting way to close to Bakura, and that wasn't his plan. His plan was to have absolutely no emotional attachment to anybody. Why waste the time loving someone else when you know nobody could ever love you? For in order to have somebody love you, you must first love yourself.

Marik sighed and gently massaged his forehead. He beat himself up for that whole class period, and half of the next. Then finally his thoughts simplified. He could relax knowing that he wouldn't see his white-haired friend for the rest of the day. I mean c'mon what were the chances of Bakura even liking Marik? They only had 1 class together, and they weren't even in the same group of friends. Frankly, the blonde was surprised Bakura even still talked to him at all. In the middle of his thoughts, Marik's right ear started acting weird.

'Not again.' He thought, as he covered the ear with his hand, knowing full well it wouldn't make a difference. A high pitched screeching noise had started and the real noise blurred in comparison. He began to feel his heart throbbing in the affected ear. Though in a matter of seconds, it all faded, leaving behind a mere earache. Marik sighed as he knew that in a few minutes a migraine would set in. He dug through his bag and found a bottle of pills. He knew he wasn't suppose to have them in school, but he needed them. As quietly as he could, he twisted open the lid and shook an ibuprofen into his palm. Then he closed the lid, put the bottle back into his back, and dug around for his water bottle. Once he found it, he put the tablet onto his tongue and swished it back with water. He swallowed and sighed, already feeling the beginnings of his migraine setting in. He could only hope the medicine would work.

After school ended Marik walked slowly home, almost dragging himself. He really didn't want to go back there either, and he could only hope that his dear father wasn't home. Once he arrived, he gingerly unlocked the front door. Stepping inside, he quickly scanned the living room and kitchen. He saw nothing and visibly relaxed. When he was absolutely positive he was home alone, he closed the door behind him. The little click reassured him. He then turned and walked towards his room. Unfortunately his dad had been home during the day. That was made obvious by the little note left on Marik's dresser.

"Clean the kitchen Cinderella." Was all it said.

Marik growled to himself. If only he wasn't the last one left for father to toy with. If only Ishizu hadn't died...No!

Marik wasn't allowed to have thoughts like this. If he did then that would make him no better than the person he was before. And he wanted to change, so he had better stay this way. Marik believed he was strong. He pushed himself harder than ever before because he despised the weak. The weak hearted, the weak minded, the people who actually let others in. He despised them all. That was why he forced himself to eat only small portions (if at all) no matter how much pain it brought him. That was why he forced himself to work extra hard in gym class, no matter how hard it could be. And he stayed up as late as he could every single night. He did this because when he was sleep deprived, a lot less sorrow found it's way into his heart.

Marik truly believed he was strong.

The sad fact is that the Egyptian is sorely mistaken. For buried deep inside him, a sweet, innocent person still lives on.

A/N: I know what you all are thinking "Another supposedly multi-chap story that will never get updated, tsk tsk"

Buuuuut I'm really into this one, so expect an update soon! Please review! Oh and sorry this chapter was relatively short, but I had to just get the ball rolling. Then I can move on to the real meat of the story!