I LIIIIIIIIVE! Hey guys! Sheila Wolfe here! Guess who's not dead!? *Hides* I know it's been a while since my last update so hope you enjoy this chapter! As always, thanks for your support, reviews and feedback are always welcome, and you guys are awesomely patient. Lots of love and hope to see you again soon!

~ Sheila Wolfe! ^~^

11

The rest of the school day past by in a blur. When Sadie returned for her afternoon classes, Bakura was watching her curiously but his schedule had him moving rooms before he could ask any questions. It wasn't until after school that Sadie finally had to explain her absence at lunch.

She was switching shoes at her locker when Miho suddenly appeared, catching her by surprise in a bone crushing hug.

"There you are!" she squealed in relief. "We didn't see you at lunch!"

Sadie would have jumped out of her skin if Miho hadn't been clinging so tightly to it. She relaxed enough to escape the embrace and coughed out her half-baked alibi. "Yeah, sorry. I had some homework I needed to do in the library."

"Oh, okay," Miho shrugged, finding nothing suspicious in Sadie's nervous response. "Well everyone is heading to that café you were talking about. Let's go before they leave without us!"

The purple haired girl starting tugging at her arm but Sadie dug her heels in and refused to budge. She'd forgotten about hanging out after school and started to panic. The girl needed to get to the museum but she didn't want the others to get involved.

The sooner Sadie got the bracelet off without a fuss, the better.

Shaking her arm out of Miho's grasp, Sadie gave a dramatic sigh. "Oh no, I forgot! I wish I could go but I have so much homework I have to get done then I have to feed my cat and do my chores and that's going to take all night. Guess today's just not my day! You guys go ahead and enjoy yourselves and I'll go next time!"

As she rambled, Sadie starting backing towards the front doors, trying to look as casual as possible under Miho's confused gaze.

"Are you sure? I thought you finished your homework during lunch."

Sadie flinched when she realized her story was sliding and a quick glance down the hall confirmed Yugi and the others on their way to rendezvous with Miho. If she was going to escape without an interrogation, it was now or never.

"I only got some of it done but there's still so much to do and I need to get started," she glanced at her watch and noted she had five minutes to catch the bus downtown, "right now! Sorrygottagobye!" In a rush, the burgundy headed girl fled through the door and took off at a dead sprint across the school grounds.

Yugi was a little worried about Sadie though 'little' was a bit of an understatement. First, she showed up late, looking like a zombie. Next, she told them about her strange dream that somehow involved the Millennium Puzzle. Then, she changed the subject before he could ask any more about it.

It wasn't until her no-show at lunch time, though, that he truly became suspicious. Something was up and he was determined to get to the bottom of it.

Do you think it has something to do with those thieves yesterday? a voice in his head wondered.

"I sure hope not," he whispered.

"Hey guys!" Miho's cheerful greeting broke Yugi from him thoughts. "You ready to go?"

"Sure thing," Joey nodded, "And Tristan said he's buying."

Before the brunette could object, Miho had pulled him into a tight hug. "That's so nice of you, Tristan!"

"Yeah, no problem," Tristan stuttered out, his face burning red as he shot Joey a dirty look.

"Alright that's enough, are we going or what?" Tea interrupted, leading the way towards the doors. The others turned to follow but Yugi paused as they passed the lockers.

"Hey Miho," he called, trying his best to scan the crowd with his short stature. "Wasn't Sadie here a minute ago? We saw you talking with her from down the hall."

"Oh yeah! She was here but she had to go home. Something about having homework."

"Homework?" the others echoed.

"And some other chores," the girl added, "She said we should go have fun and she would have to go next time."

"That's a bit strange, don't you think?" Bakura interjected thoughtfully. "I mean, we did all agree that no one should wander off on their own. What if those thieves are still lurking around?"

"He's right," Yugi agreed nervously. "Sadie's been acting strange today. We should make sure she gets home alright."

Everyone nodded and hurried outside, following the sidewalk past the gate and down the street. When they turned the corner, though, they all screeched to a halt. Standing across was their friend in question, fidgeting with her watch as she watched the road expectantly. The group backpedaled out of sight and discreetly peered around the corner to watch.

"What is she doing?" Joey whispered despite how far away they were.

"Looks like she's waiting for the bus," Bakura answered in a normal volume.

Joey rolled his eyes. "Nah, ya think?"

Tea checked the time on her watch. "I think that's the bus that goes downtown. I thought she was going home."

"That's what she told me," Miho pouted, not happy about being lied to. Tristan patted her arm sympathetically.

"I don't like this," Yugi muttered, more to himself than the group.

I don't either, the voice agreed solemnly. We should follow and see what she's doing.

Yugi nodded to himself and stood, stepping from behind the wall. The others panicked and reached to tug him out of view but only succeeded in losing their balance and tumbling onto each other in a tangle of arms and legs. Yugi sighed in embarrassment and started for the bus stop.

"Where you going, Yug?" Joey asked, attempting to free himself of the dog pile.

"I'm going to go talk to her. You guys wait here."

Tea sat up suddenly, shoving Tristan off her legs. "I'll come too!"

"No wait!" Miho shrieked, throwing herself over Tea's lap to keep her pinned. "If you go too, Sadie will know we all followed her and Miho will look like a bad friend!"

Tristan struggled to escape Joey's legs weighing on his back as he added, "Miho's right. I don't think Sadie would be happy knowing we all were following her around like a bunch of creeps."

"Who are you calling a creep?" the blond snapped, flailing his legs and almost kicking Tea and Miho. "We're just trying to help. What if those thieves come back and try to start something?"

Flattened underneath everyone else, Bakura let out a weary sigh as he waiting patiently for the others to let him up. "Something tells me she'd be safer with them."

What is taking so long? Sadie thought as she stared at her watch. The bus was only a minute late but she was antsy. Or maybe guilty was the right word. She hated lying to Miho but it was the only way she could keep the others out of the bracelet business.

Once I get this bracelet off, there won't be any more trouble and I won't have to lie anymore.

Just as she saw the bus turn the corner, a familiar voice spoke from behind her.

"Hey, Sadie."

The girl jumped and spun around. Yugi had suddenly appeared next to her, his expression serious and almost hurtful as he watched her with troubled, purple eyes.

"Oh, hey Yugi," Sadie greeted, trying to sound as casual as possible. The boy's frown deepened.

"You okay?"

Sadie forced a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just have a few errands to run before I head home. Sorry I couldn't go to the café. Did everyone else already go?"

It was Yugi's turn to be nervous. He chuckled, scratching the back of his head awkwardly and hoping the others weren't still lurking across the street. "Uh yeah, I told them to go ahead."

With a loud screech, the bus pulled to a stop and swung open its doors. Sadie repressed her urge to sigh in relief.

"Well, guess I better get going," the girl said before jumping up the stairs and paying her fare. "Cya later."

Yugi, though, wasn't giving up so easily.

"You don't mind if I keep you company, do you?" he asked, following her onto the bus and paying for his own ticket.

Sadie tried her best to look calm while fighting down guilt and panic. "I don't know. I have a lot to do and it'll probably be boring."

"I don't mind," Yugi smiled, leading the way to a pair of seats near the back. "I can help out, if you want. It would get everything done faster."

"You don't have to do that. Really. I can take care of it. Besides, the others are probably waiting for you at the café. You should go have fun with them."

Yugi's expression suddenly turned more serious than Sadie had ever remembered seeing him. Well except for his strange personality change at the apartments but this was different. It wasn't angry and it was still Yugi. He just looked concerned and a bit sad.

"You know, if there's something bothering you, you could tell me right? That's what friends are for. I'm here to help, I want to help you, but you have to tell me what's wrong."

Sadie stared at him for a minute, feeling exposed and guilty. Yugi knew she was hiding something and it was making her secret harder to keep. If she continued, he might think she didn't trust him and lose his friendship but if she told, he would get dragged into her mess and she couldn't stand him or any of her other friends getting hurt because of her. She weighted her options, feeling Yugi's eyes watching her somberly while she made her choice.

"Promise you won't get mad?" she finally whispered, clutching her bag so tight, her knuckles turned white.

Yugi gave a curt nod. "I promise."

"Remember when those thieves chased me down?" she asked, releasing her backpack long enough to set it on the empty seat next to her.

Yugi's eyes narrowed a bit. "Yes," he answered stiffly, a bit of anger cutting the word blunt.

"Well I know what they were after," Sadie admitted as she shrugged her jacket off. "At the museum, one of the things they were trying to steal fell into my bag. I didn't know it was in there until they tracked me down and tried to take it back. Right before you and Joey showed up, it started glowing and latched onto me."

Sadie unbuttoned the cuff of her left sleeve and rolled it up slowly, revealing the golden bracelet sparkling smugly around her upper arm. "And now it won't come off."