It's White Day today, so I made this two-shot fic for my current OTP. Please enjoy! I hope to put up the second chapter before March 14 ends, PST. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's.

Step Up

Her Thoughts

Nearly everyone in Duel Academy knew that Jack Atlas and Carly Nagisa had been inseparable since the day they both stepped inside the campus grounds. Jack, the tough guy that he was, had been the person whom Carly was holding on to when they went there on the first day of school. Because of Carly's nerdy look (everyone had stereotyped her because of her glasses), most students had picked on her, though they usually clammed up whenever the blond best friend was within vicinity. Despite this, whenever he looked away, they would continue to bully her. This went on year after year, and the more they bullied her, the more she would run to Jack for protection. Of course, he took his role seriously and glared at anyone who would even try to look at her.

That included the professors in the Academy as well.

Years went by, and everyone grew up. Carly still retained her nerdy look because of her glasses, but this time, everyone knew that she was a slacker who still managed to get decent grades. Jack, on the other hand, became too handsome for the female populace to handle and was the object of nearly every girl's affection in their year. The two had also widened their social circle by including Fudou Yuusei, Crow Hogan and Kiryuu Kyousuke in their group. Despite being the only girl in the group, Carly was 'one of the boys', and was treated like one. She was the boys' best friend and the decoder of the female mind whenever they found their female classmates too hard to understand. Yuusei, in the particular, had ask Carly for advice when he found himself crushing over a certain red head transfer student named Izayoi Aki. Most of the boys asked her for love advice, except for Jack, who thought that romance was overrated and stupid. In their first year in high school, he was the only male in their group who have had been unattached since birth. Carly, too, was unattached since birth, though it was her choice. Her excuse had always been that she had no time for such but…

The truth was, she was in love with someone, and that 'someone' was totally out of her reach.

The said 'someone' also happened to be her best friend, Jack Atlas.

When they were in their junior high years, during Valentine's Day, Carly had given them their usual obligatory chocolates. The ritual had started when they were in their fourth grade, and she had been giving them the chocolates ever since. When they started with junior high, girls suddenly began noticing how handsome Jack was, and started giving him honmei chocolates, which he had rejected outright. The only chocolate he accepted, curiously, was the obligatory chocolate given to him by Carly. Because of this, rumors of them finally getting together ran like wildfire the following day, with some girls bold enough to hurt Carly Nagisa when she got to school. When Yuusei had witnessed it, he had immediately broken up the fight that was erupting between a lone Carly and a group of jealous girls. Crow had arrived soon afterwards, and had pulled their girl friend away from the mob.

"What happened?" he asked her as soon as the group ran off for safety, Crow Hogan chasing after, threatening to make them feel the same way they did to their friend.

"T-they attacked me because of Jack… t-they were jealous, I guess…" she rubbed her swollen cheek and winced from the pain.

"We should really keep an eye on you until the furor dies down." The young man with the crab hairstyle informed her. "I'll tell Kiryuu about this."

"Tell Kiryuu what?"

Both looked up to see Jack Atlas' towering figure. The blond frowned upon seeing Carly's state of disarray. "What happened to you?"

"I-it's nothing… I was just… clumsy, that's all." Upon Yuusei's confused look, the female gave him a look that told him to keep quiet about what had happened earlier.

Jack snorted. "Carly, you're thirteen years old. Act like a girl for once and be more graceful."

"S-sure, why not." She smiled, though she winced a bit from the pain.

"Oh, and I need to talk to you, privately." He eyed Yuusei, who took the hint. With one last look at his female friend, he walked off to their building, leaving the blond and their female friend alone.

"What's on your mind?" she asked politely.

"Yesterday made me think of… things that I never really wanted to bother with, but I was forced to, and I have to tell you about it."

"Which is?"

"Carly, whatever happens, do not fall for me."

At this, she gave a loud laugh, which made him glare. "Sorry about that… I mean, that was really ridiculous." She explained, still clutching her tummy. "Come on, you're like a brother to me. That'll be like incest."

He nodded. "Glad to know we see this situation eye-to-eye. Promise me you won't have any romantic feelings for me. Everything will get complicated." He stated. "Also, you should know that if you do become foolish and end up doing what I don't want you to do, it's over for us as friends."

She grinned at him, giving him a look as if he had turned into some kind of monster. "Well then, same to you. Don't fall for me too, okay?"

At this, he snorted. "Totally impossible. You're just a friend, nothing more." He informed her. "No offense, Carly. You're just an annoying little sister to me." At this, she playfully hit his arm in retaliation and he huffed.

Then, she suddenly turned serious. "I promise not to fall for you, and you promise not to fall for me." She held up her right pinky, and he did the same.

The deal was sealed.

Thank you for bringing it up. After you said those, I began seeing you in a different light.

Instead of feeling indifferent towards her best friend after the talk, to her horror, she began developing feelings for him. At first, she totally ignored it, even telling and convincing herself that it will pass, but as months went by, the feelings grew stronger than ever before.

She suspected that it probably had something to do with him just being a good friend, but crossed it out immediately when he had given her a hug after a school competition. What got her thinking was the fact that their hug lingered a bit longer than usual, and that he seemed to have hugged her tighter than before.

'Don't think about it too much. He just won the inter-school dueling championship in the district. He was just happy and got carried away.'

Heck, even Yuusei had given her a hug, as well as Kyou! Crow, on the other hand, slapped her on the back instead.

So why was her brain making up stuff anyway?

Or… was it not making up stuff and simply presenting her with logical evidence?

Honestly, she liked the hug. To her, it wasn't friendly at all. It was more of a hug that one gave to a significant other…

Again, she felt confused.

What did she even feel for Jack Atlas? True, she was slowly seeing him not as a friend nor a big brother anymore, but as a… potential boyfriend.

Was this the effect of growing up? That she now saw boys as love interests other than best friends?

'Honestly, this is all so confusing…'

At the age of fifteen, Carly Nagisa finally accepted the fact that she was in love.

Two years have passed, and all of them were in their first year high school. For Carly, those two years were total agony on her part. She had kept her feelings intact for two long years, suppressing every urge to give Jack Atlas a gesture that was not platonic. No one knew of this secret of hers except herself, and she was not about to tell the whole world about her dilemma.

Besides, she made a promise not to fall for him…

"You sure are thinking hard lately." The carrot top in their group commented during their lunch.

She shook her head. "There's a lot on my mind… sorry about that." She gave out a forced smile and started eating her lunch, though she still retained that distant look in her eyes.

Truth to be told, she was worried.

Valentine's Day was just two weeks away, and she debated whether to finally admit it to him or not.

She knew what the consequences will be if she went on with her plan to confess, yet somehow, she felt unperturbed.

Was it because she was hoping for him to be lenient and not go through with what he and she promised to one another? Maybe so, but Carly knew that even if she was hoping for it, she still had somewhat accepted the scenario of him really breaking off his ties with her should she dare to break her promise.

The truth will set you free, or so they say.

'In that case, I'll need a contingency plan. I'd better make new friends, just in case he goes through with it.'

"Carly, what the heck is wrong with you? You just spaced out on Jack!" Crow said out loud, snapping her back to reality. As soon as she turned to face the blond, he was scowling at her. He hated it when people ignored him, and hated them even more if they were spacing out while he was talking to them.

"Sorry…" she mumbled. "I've been distracted lately."

"On what?" Kiryuu asked.

"Err… girl stuff." She lied, knowing that any topic related to the opposite sex made the boys turn away and not ask anymore. As soon as the words left her lips, Crow's face twitched and he ate his meal silently. Yuusei chose not to say anything while Kiryuu gave her a puzzled look. Jack rolled his eyes at her.

"Girl stuff? Carly, just when did you start thinking about those?"

"Ever since I realized that you guys are… guys while I'm a member of the opposite sex?" she replied sarcastically. Why was Jack asking her stuff like that all of a sudden? Like he cared when she had first experienced cramps (she couldn't say out loud to the boys that the cramps were female-related problems and they simply assumed she ate something bad), and when she turned violently moody at any joke that Crow said (and they also assumed that she had just woken up at the wrong side of the bed).

Crow swallowed his food before barking out a short laugh. "Admit it already, Carly. You're one of the boys, even if you have big boobs!"

To her mortification, she turned red. "W-what?" she screeched, hitting Crow on the head with her fists. "You pervert, what the hell are you saying?"

"Every guy is talking about it, you know." Crow informed her seriously. "So don't go opening that blazer of yours unless you're really asking for it."

Suddenly, she looked down on her red blazer, which was covering her… assets. Puberty had been kicking in since last year, and the first thing that was developing was her bosom, then her butt. "Uh… Crow, is that true?"

"I've been hearing stuff lately… and I'm not joking this time around." He said. "Carly, really, be careful. Guys are looking at you in a different light now, even if you still look like a geek."

"Enough. That thing shouldn't even be discussed." Jack glared at Crow.

"Believe it or not, it's a piece of advice a guy friend gives to his female best friend." Crow argued. "Let's face it: we've all been hearing stuff about Carly, and it's either perverted or downright mean."

Carly shuddered. "I get the downright mean part, courtesy of the many dumb females in the Academy who are getting their panties in a bunch whenever they see Jack strolling, but perverted? That's new… and it sounds scary."

"Just heed my advice and you'll be fine. No more prancing around just because you want to. Guys are on a lookout for anything you might flash."

"Got it." She nodded at Crow, then proceeded to eat her lunch, thoughts still plaguing her mind, though it was not because of what her other male friend had said.

It was still all about her confessing to Jack Atlas.

Two weeks later…

Valentine's Day was in the air as females in Duel Academy carried huge bags filled with chocolates that they will be giving to the boys they like, as well as the obligatory chocolates. As Carly had a very small circle of friends, she only had to make three obligatory chocolates for Crow, Yuusei and Kiryuu.

As for Jack Atlas…

Well, she had managed to whip up a homemade honmei chocolate for him, which she will be giving when she and him would have an 'alone time' together, whenever that was. She would definitely not give it to him in front of everyone else. She wanted to at least walk away from rejection with her dignity still intact, as well as her pride.

"So, where's my chocolate?" Crow asked jokingly as he greeted her that morning, a cheeky grin on his face.

"You'll get it later at lunch. Where are Yuusei and Kiryuu?"

"Got mobbed, as usual. Yuusei was kinda blushing over a gift some Izayoi girl gave him." Crow said. "Kiryuu got surrounded too."

"How about Jack?"

"Hiding in the usual place." He spoke of the secret spot that only all five of them knew, which was just behind the main building of the campus. No one goes there because the secret spot was tedious to go into.

"Oh, is that so. I'll go look for him before classes start." Waving goodbye to Crow, she headed to where Jack was hiding.

'I'll give it to him there. That way, it will be his and mine's secret.'

Ten minutes later, she found Jack Atlas, who was leaning against the wall of a building, scowling and breathing hard to himself. "Hey there. Hiding from your fan girls?"

"Shut up." He said, not looking at her. "Thank god you're the only logical female here in the Academy who is immune to all this nonsense."

She blinked at his statement. "About that…"

"Got any spare chocolate with you?" he asked. "Kinda hungry after all that hiding and running I did…"

"Oh! Uh, yeah… I do. Your, uh, present for today." She rummaged through her paper bag and dug out the honmei chocolate she had made for him. "Here."

He frowned at heart shape container. "Did you run out of wrapping paper?"

She shook her head. "I like you."

"E-excuse me?" suddenly, he stood up straight and looked at her, confusion evident on his face.

"I like you more than a friend." She stated bluntly.

"What are you saying?" she could hear disbelief in his tone.

"I meant what I said. I like you more as a friend, Jack Atlas. Ever since you brought up that topic, I've developed feelings for you. I did what I could to suppress it but… I simply can't." she swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat.

Not surprisingly, his amethyst eyes turned cold in a second. "I don't want anything to do with you anymore." Forcefully, he grabbed her hand and placed the chocolates she had just given him. "A promise is a promise. You broke yours, so deal with the consequences."

She sighed. "I knew it… I knew you wouldn't be lenient, even towards a friend." If anything he was the type to follow the rules to the T.

"You knew the consequences." He shot back.

To her shock, she felt hot tears blind her from both frustration and rejection. Just how cruel could a person get? Not only did he reject her outright, but he was figuratively stomping on her heart! "Was it my fault that my emotions got the better of me? You know as well as I do that these… things cannot be taught what to do! I tried so much to suppress everything. I even tried those psychology stuff I read on the internet, and it didn't work! On the contrary, the opposite happened!

"I'm sorry for breaking my promise… even I didn't want it to happen, but this was simply too much. I knew this would happen anyway, so don't worry. I'll get over it, and… and just… I don't know, get out of your life...?" she shrugged, keeping her head down. "Even if you don't want the chocolates, keep them. It's for you."

"I won't go around the campus parading those chocolates around." He spat angrily.

"Fine, I give up. Chocolates take up the space in your bag when there's barely anything there." She said, sighing to herself. "Despite the end of our friendship, I will still hang out with Crow, Kyou and Yuusei. Ignore me if you wish, but don't keep me away from my other friends."

With that, she turned and walked away, never looking back. "Good day, Atlas-san."

Goodbye.

Honmei choco is the chocolate you give to the person whom you truly like. Obligatory chocolates, know as the giri choco, are given to boys whom you have an obligation to. This ranges from father, brother, cousin, uncle, co-workers and the like. There's this new trend as well called the tomo choco, or the friend chocolate, which girls give to their female friends.

Valentine's Day in Japan is the day where girls do the gift-giving. A month later, on March 14, it's the guy's turn to respond to the girl who gave them chocolates. :)

If you have questions about this whole Valentine's Day/White Day social obligation whachamacallit, feel free to PM me or ask me in the review. :)

I hope you had fun reading this! Tell me what you think. :)