He's All That

Summary: Mai bets Tea that she can't turn sloppy Joey Wheeler into prom king. But then they started to fall for each other…..and what if Mai starts to notice him as well? R&R

A/N: Hey, y'all. If you guys like this, I'll continue. Simple, right? Right. .

Disclaimer: AllDay doesn't own Yugioh!

Chapter 1: "Mai-pulative"

Domino High School looked like any other regular high school, save for a group of friends that had seen worse times, as well as good times, the latter being sparser. But they still would do anything for the other, that is, when they weren't being possessed or tortured by evil forces…….but other than that, they were a bunch of average high school teenagers.

Now, they had taken a break from saving the world, and were actually attending school like they should. Tea Gardener was in the cafeteria with the Mai Valentine, who was visiting her dear friends, the only friends she'd ever had. She was fond of all of them, but mostly Tea, since they were the only girls in the whole funny team.

"So, why'd you turn down Joey again?" Tea asked, sipping her namesake -- iced tea. She was a pretty but tomboyish sixteen-year-old, with straight, brown, shoulder length hair and blue eyes, complemented by a peachy complexion.

"Why'd you turn down Yugi?" Twenty-three year old Mai shot back with a supercilious smile, sipping a diet coke with a twist of lemon. She was old enough to drink, butnot especially in a school. At Tea's carefully blank look, she supplied, "I think the word you're looking for is, ' Touche. ' "

Tea let out a false laugh, and pulled a chunk of fine straight hair over one ear. "No, because he didn't ask me yet. So there. Because he's too... shy."

Mai raised perferctly penciled golden eyebrows at the brunette's matter of factness. "Same here."

"You wouldn't go with Joey, anyway," Tea said suddenly accusingly, smoothing the dark green skirt of her school uniform down over her bare knees, straightened her white socks.

A cat-like smile spread across the tall, beautiful blonde's face. "True….." Mai studied her hot pink vermilion freshly done nails, "It's not that I don't like the guy…." She went on, rationalizing, "He's just so…..needy….and …..barbaric….and--." She stared across the caferteria with her exquistely made-up eyes.

Tea felt she had to stick up for her best friends. "Yes, but you'll never meet a more, uh....... honorable guy…." Mai moved a bare slender shoulder, in way to say, Oh, yeah, that's convincing!. "Even though I agree with you…." Tea mused, uncertainly picking at her collar.

The two girls were staring across the nearly empty wide hallway, where students milled about, hoping to get a last minute conversation for the sake of socialization in the strict school. A tall, messy-haired blond guy kicked his locker door shut, the sound reverberating around the walls. Then he lifted a tattered, well-worn used gray bookbag over his blue-grey shoulder, that once had been blue, before constant washings. The white shirt worn underneath DHS's standard boys' uniform was slipping haphazardly out of wrinkled blue trousers, and Tea didn't have to see up close to know there was a hole at the knee of them.

"See?" Mai said simply, as thought that scene proved her point to a T. "Plus," she murmured, adding, "He's so clumsy to boot…..Hi!" she waved at him, and Tea sweatdropped because she saw him bang into the wall from looking over.

"So, Joey's clumsy," Tea admitted, turning back to spare herself the chagrin. "But I think you ought to give him a break!" she exclaimed. "I mean, he's really poor; working two jobs to pay his bills….."

The statement didn't seem to have any effect on the materialistic blonde. Mai wrinkled her perfect smallish nose. "So, he's broke, also?!" Tea sighed, sinking down over her end of the wooden table. "Look, I know he's one of your best friends, and you're just sticking up for him like you always do," Mai said the word 'sticking up' as if it were something incomprehensible, "But Joseph is just not right for me…..!" Her sharp, violet-hued eyes noticed a flier in the silence. "Hmmm…..'prom 2004.' I didn't know that schools still did those…."

"What, it's been that long since you've been here?" Tea pointed out meanly, still stinging from Mai's comments and snobbery. When anyone rejected her friends, she felt rejected as well.

Mai didn't notice. Rather, her ruby-red mouth spread into a speculative smile. "Imagine Joseph being elected prom king….." She tossed back her golden locks and let out a peal of laughter. "Imagine! Ha! Ha!!"

"What? He could….." Tea trailed off uneasily, inspecting the loopy cursive of the flier. It was already June, the prom was only about two weeks away. "Stop laughing; he could be it!" she insisted.

Mai continued to snicker joyfully. "Wanna….bet?" she said between laughs.

"Yeah!" Tea said determinedly, standing up to go and gathering her books for class. Like we'd really bet on something so.....trival! Yeah, right!

"Okay…." Mai stood up too, a good foot taller than the short haired brunette. Though they were good friends, the girls were often rivals, all the same. Though Tea disliked they way Mai strung Joey along, as if he were some kind of puppet, pulling his leg. Joey has a big crush on her, and she doesn't seem to care…..! Tea thought, frowning while straightening out her pink jacket. Plus, why does Mai always have to make me feel so plain and untidy... while she always looks drop dead gorgeous!? It was inhumane!

"I gotta get to class now, see you," Tea muttered, turning away with a gather of her texts.

"Wait." Mai's violet eyes glinted mischievously. "Let me be frank. Let's make a bet. I bet you can't turn Joey Wheeler, the most sloppiest character, into Prom King, 2004!" she finished with a flourish, her expensive gold bracelets clinking..

Tea raised an eyebrow. "You have GOT to be kidding!"

"Then you do agree he's wrong for me!" Mai pointed dramatically, in triumph. "See?!"

"No, I MEANT," Tea replied, with a roll of her blue eyes, "This bet! It's stupid to bet against your friends like this. Mai-pulative!" she quipped.

"I'm not manipulative!" Mai let her mouth drop open in shock. Sometimes….. "Lighten up," she said easily. "It's your chance to prove me wr-ong…." She let the sentence hang tantalizingly.

"Then…..will you give him a chance? Will you go out with him... let's say, prom night?"

"Sure, if you can do it."

"Really?"

"Really."

The two girls shook hands to seal the deal.

Little did they know the cafeteria wasn't as empty as they thought……

I will do it! Tea thought. I'll show her! Then Joey would-should thank me....

To Be Continued……