Look out for the 'official' second installment of the Symphony Series "Out of the Woods." Enjoy!

Undertow

Cause I don't wanna let you go, but we're caught in the undertow.

I trudge my way through the pouring rain.

And with each drop that hits the pavement, I feel like I'm suffocating.

And the water's rising.

Cause I am losing my control...

Yuugi called me and told me to meet him at his apartment at 10:00 o'clock tonight.

I didn't mention what had happened with Anzu.

I didn't tell him that I had left her.

I didn't say a word.

Because I wanted to tell him in person.

I wanted to confess everything while looking into his eyes.

While kissing his lips and touching his skin.

I wanted the moment that I told him how I felt to be surreal.

I only hoped that he was ready and accepting and willing to take everything I had to offer.

And, if what Anzu had said was true, maybe even give me some of his heart in return.

.~.

I got to the apartment around 8:30 P.M.

I know I was early, but it was pouring and I was already drenched.

Besides, I knew Yuugi wouldn't mind.

When I get to his door, I knock as quietly as I can, just in case I was interrupting his studying.

Or worst.

A date.

But after two minutes without a response, I decide to knock a little harder.

Another minute passes, and I wiggle to doorknob to see if it's open.

And to my surprise, it is.

I slowly creep the door open and call out for Yuugi.

When I don't hear anything, I walk in and close the door behind me.

I look around for any sign that Yuugi is here, but everything's spotless.

Cleaner than usual even.

I check the bedroom and the bathroom, and still nothing.

I finally come to the conclusion that he must be out, when something on his desk catches my eye.

A letter, already open, lays perfectly in the center.

It ominously begs for me to read it.

And I can't help but walk closer to it.

I intake a deep breath when I see my name at the top.

But it's obviously meant for me, so I grab it and hold it in my hands.

The words on the paper seem to float off as I read them, and they manage to wrap themselves around my throat.

I love you, it says, and I re-read my name at the top just to make sure its really for me.

I always have.

I feel my heart pounding, hard enough that my chest begins to shake.

But...

And then I freeze.

I know you could never love me.

Please don't hate me.

I just... I don't know what else to do.

I'm lost. I'm drowning. And I just don't want to do it anymore.

I'm just so tired, Até.

So, so tired.

I don't want to hurt you, but I don't know how to protect you from him.

I don't even know how to protect myself from him.

It's my fault, anyways.

If I had been stronger, then he wouldn't be doing this to me.

If I was stronger, then I wouldn't let him.

You shouldn't have to pick up the pieces, Atem.

And so this is the last time you'll ever have to pick up my mess.

I know you'll be hurt, but you'll move on and you finally won't have me weighing you down.

Goodbye Atem.

Forever yours...

Yuugi.

.~.

It's hard to breathe or comprehend anything.

But the next thing I know is that I'm outside in the rain again.

Stumbling and staggering at each corner.

Running so fast I can't decipher street signs or traffic lights.

Horns blast in my ears as I run into an intesection, but the fact that I a car came so close to me that I felt the license graze my leg doesn't stop me in my movements for even a second.

In fact, the only thing I can see is the gray house that sits at the very corner of the street I'm currently dashing down.

After what seems like hours, I finally get to the door, and I consider breaking it down.

But instead I hesitate, catch my breath, and look down at my watch.

It's 9:01.

I've already called Yuugi over a hundred times on his cell.

But what if he's not here?

What if he went somewhere else?

What if I'm wrong about this and he just ran away?

What if this was all just a dream?

Or a nightmare?

I don't have the chance to second-guess myself again, for the door in front of me opens and Yuugi stands there, still as stone.

For a moment, he just watches me, not sure if I'm really there, just like I'm not sure if he's really there.

But then he accepts the impossible and searches my eyes frantically, looking for some clue as to why I'm here.

Then he glances down at his letter crumbled tightly in my grasp.

And he knows.

"Where. Is. He?"

Yuugi takes a step back into the house at the way my teeth ground together.

And, without hesitating, I follow him in.

"Atem, leave before - "

"No."

Yuugi's hands are on my chest, but it's already too late.

He'll pay for what he's done to you, Yuugi.

I promise you.

I'll make him pay.

"Atem, please. Get out, before he hears you. I'll die if you get hurt because of me."

Suddenly I'm shaking, and I don't why.

But then I realize that it's not me.

It's Yuugi.

He's crying in my arms, begging for me to leave.

So for the first time, I do what I should have done long ago.

I cup his chin in my hands and kiss him.

I press against his lips so hard that it hurts, but at the same time feels so damn good.

I feel the life that I never had a chance to truly live fill me from head to toe.

I feel the air in my lungs replenish, and suddenly it's so much easier to breathe.

I feel my heart beat in my chest, and it's like my pulse has a sound again.

Everything is real to me.

This is real.

Finally.

"I really hate to break this up," a voice from behind us hisses.

But now it just became too real.

I break the kiss with Yuugi and press my face against his cheek.

"Yuugi," I whisper against him. "Leave. Now."

"No," he murmurs back, and I tighten my hold on him as he begins to shake again - but this time, it's from utter fear. "I'm not leaving you."

"Don't argue with me. Go to your apartment. I'll meet you there soon," I say quietly.

Yuugi shakes his head, tears still in his eyes. "No. I'm staying with you."

"Yeah, Atem." I clench my teeth when Yuugi's boyfriend says my name. "Yuugi's gonna wanna be here for this. Trust me."

And then I hear the click of a gun.

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