Noise. That's all he could hear. The noise that filled the background, bombarding him at all angles.

People talking.

Pages being turned.

Chair sliding across the floor.

The door slamming sounds of life. Nothing but noise.

The clock ticked away the precious seconds of life Jou were wasting, sitting there in his seat only waiting for the day to end already. At 8:17 in the morning.

Yuugi was showing off the newest cards he got from his Grandpa's game shop and Jou pretended to be interested, failing miserably.

"You don't look ok, Jou. Something wrong?"

"I just don't feel good Yuug," he simply replied and left it at that.

"If you're coming down with something then you should go see the nurse about it.""It's ok. I'm sure it will fix itself."

The feelings of neglect. Rejection. Shame. All these things can heal themselves. Right?

Within seconds of each other, Kaiba and the teacher arrived and Jou perked his head up. His eyes followed the dark boy across the room and to his desk. Scanning his profile, Jou's body could recall every sensation and emotion he had experienced the previous day as Seto and he shared a tender moment.

But now, that all seemed like nothing more than a delusional dream. Kaiba walked past him and didn't even acknowledge his existence. Instead he sat down and pulled out his laptop and began typing away, his fingers dancing across the keyboard. Those delicate fingers that could be as gentle as a lover's touch. Jou turned away and stared down at a blank sheet of paper. By now, a week's worth of thoughts would be scribbled across its surface but so much has happened. Too many things. His brain could not process a single thought properly without the brunette's cruel words attacking his heart and making it bleed a little more.

'This never happened.'

The teacher called out for order in the class and pulled out a textbook, the rest of the students following his every action and command. Looking up, the teacher spoke directly to Jou, his voice hard and stern, "I trust there will be no interuptions today, Katsuya?"

He sat there silently. Not even bothering to lift his eyes. The sound of plastic keys clicking ceased and he could feel Seto's eyes stare down his back. 'He's watching me. I could say or do anything I want to get his attention even more. God that's all I want. But…'

"No sir."

*************************************************************************

The day crawled by. Seconds seemed like minutes. Minutes like hours. So on and so forth.

As the teacher lectured, Jou remained motionless. The piece of paper before him stared at him. A blank face.

They were gone. All of them. Every thought, idea and personal opinion of the teacher's monotone voice was gone. Where had they gone?

Click.

Click.

Click.

The strokes of the pen. The elegant lines that would decorate its surface. The drive behind it was missing. Where had it gone? Something was taken away from Jou and he had no idea how to get it back.

Click. Click.

Click.

The lunch bell rang and students crambled to leave the confindments of their classroom. Yuugi waved over to Honda and Anzu, telling them it was ok if they went ahead. Jou didn't move. He was obsessed with the wereabouts of his thoughts.

"You should go see the nurse Jou. You've been eerily silent all day."

"I…I'm just tired Yuug. You better go and catch up with the others. I'd come with but I don't want you guys to get sick too."

"That's very thoughtful of you Jou. I'll grab you something to eat.""No.. I'm not hungry. Enjoy your lunch, Yuug."

Worried but trusting in his friend's word, Yuugi left the room and the door shut softly behind him.

This was familiar. Jou in the classroom, accompanied only by the one person in the world he both loved and hated.

Not a word was said. Silence pressed itself down on Jou's shoulders, making him heavier and harder for him to remain silent.

Finally, silence was shattered by the screetching sound of metallic chair legs scraping across the ground and heavy footsteps approaching him. The sun was blocked out by a tall, dark figure and casted darkness on and around the blond.

"Take that look off your face. That hopeless, broken harded look. What happened never will be spoken of. You and I both know that it could have never lasted long. You think you love me but you've just confused love with hate. I played along until I discovered why you confused the two. Deep down there is no difference, both lead to passion that results in actions that one later regrets. It's best to forget it ever happened and get on with our lives."

With his things packed, Kaiba headed towards the door and placed a hand on it before stopping in his tracks. "I have to hand it to you though. You have one twisted sense of humor. For a moment there, I really thought you loved me."

The door swung open and he was gone.

As the sun beat down on Jou through glass window, rain fell and decorated the blank page, smudging blue lines into tiny snowflake shapes.

"Yeah… some sense of humor."