A/N: Hey all! So, notes concerning this fic: All chapters will be short, but as the story progresses, things will be explained and questions will be answered. The story as a whole will be generally shorter than my other fics, but enjoy nonetheless!

Dance In The Dark

Silicone.

Saline.

Poison.

Inject me.

I slid my fingertips down the side of my arm, my eyes watching my movements through the bathroom mirror. I applied a little pressure when I got to the dark, discolored bruise on my bicep to see if it was bad as it looked.

It was.

----

He knew.

Oh, yes, he definitely knew.

He took one look at me, and he knew.

He reads me, kind of like a book.

His favorite book.

I don't know why I even bothered lying to him in the first place.

"What's wrong?" he asks me.

His voice.

It's something meant for dreams.

I do dream about it actually.

All the time.

Every night.

Because I love him.

I love him unconditionally, with my whole heart.

So much so I would die for him.

But we've been best friends since we were three.

Since we could talk, and walk, and hurt, and bleed.

So it wouldn't work. It just wouldn't.

He had a girlfriend anyways.

A very pretty, nice, smart girlfriend.

I realized long ago that he could never return my feelings.

Especially when his were directed towards someone else.

And besides...

I had a boyfriend.

"Is he hurting you again?"

An abusive one.

"No," I reply.

"Yuugi." He looks steadily at me. "Is he?"

Did I mention the color of his eyes?

They're scarlet.

A little burgundy.

With a hint of crimson.

And a touch of cerise.

They draw me into his world.

They control me.

They make me tell him the truth.

"We just got in a fight. I kind of deserved it, I guess. I should have kept my mouth shut."

His lips go into a tight line.

His cheeks, his tan gorgeous face flushes an ivory pink.

His eyes narrow so much, they become dark slits in the dim light.

His entire body is glowing, radiating heat and anger and protection.

It pulls me in.

I want nothing more than to touch him.

I want nothing more than to cry.

"Yuugi," he says to me. "You can't go back to him anymore."

"Atem." See. He has a beautiful name, too. "Don't worry so much. Everything's fine."

"You call this fine?" He pulls my arm towards him and lifts up my jacket sleeve. The bruise is not as dark, but it's still there.

And Atem is livid.

"Atem —"

"Where is he?"

"Stop, please."

"Don't." His eyes find mine, and God they're so beautiful. "Don't defend him."

I pull at his arm when he makes an attempt to leave and my hand reaches up on its own to rest against his cheek.

"Até," I say, searching his eyes. "Please. I'll take care of it, I promise." I recoil at the lie in my throat. "I'll leave him."

"Yeah." Atem scowled. "Right after I break his face."

"No, I don't want that!" I yank my hand away from Atem's face and take a step away from him. "Please, just —"

"What, Yuugi?" He closes the space I've made between us and grabs my wrists, pulling me to him. "You promised me this wouldn't happen again!"

"Stop, let me go," I try to break away from him, but his grip is too tight.

"Why do you keep going back to him, Yuugi?" he asked, shaking me a bit. "You deserve so much better, can't you see that?"

He doesn't understand.

No one does.

I can't leave.

I can never leave.

"Please." I look up at Atem, and I can feel the tears lingering right beneath my mask, consisting of phrases like 'I'm fine. I'm okay.' I can't even begin to explain how familiar the foul taste of those words were on my tongue. "Just let me take care of it, Atem," I tell him.

He watches me carefully, reading me, and the anger in his face diminishes with each passing second.

Then he lets me go.

"Yuugi... I just..." He sighs and looks away from me, while raking a hand through his hair in a fit of frustration. "I just don't want to see you hurt. I... I can't see you hurt."

"I'm sorry," I say, wanting more than ever to just fade away. I wanted to disappear to a place where no one could find me, where no one could see my pain. "I'm so sorry."

"Stop, Yuugi." He looks at me dejectedly. "Stop blaming yourself."

"But —"

"Shh." He reaches out to me and pulls me into an embrace. "We'll talk about it tomorrow, okay?"

It is so, so hard not to cry in his arms.

"I'd like that," I say, breathing out deeply. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me," he says in my ear quietly.

I breathe again, and I don't say another word. Besides...

What else is there to say?

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