Life was difficult after the Pharaoh - I mean, Atem - left. I was so used to hearing his thoughts, having conversations with him, and supporting him during duels. Now I was the one doing all the dueling and winning my matches all on my own. I had no one to talk to throughout my match and no one to help me and give me some encouragement. Sure, Joey, Téa, and Tristan were still there to cheer me on, but it wasn't the same without Atem. I knew I was ready to be on my own, but it was still hard to deal with.

I was so used to having the Millennium Puzzle around my neck that I almost felt naked without it. Something didn't look right in the mirror and I knew that was it. I almost wanted to return to Egypt and go digging for it just so I would have it again. I knew that Atem wouldn't be inside of it anymore, but it would comfort me to wear it. Grandpa thinks I'm handling this whole situation very well, and in a way, I am. I'm not depressed, I still go to school, I hang out with my friends, and I haven't stopped eating. That's always a good sign.

But I think the others have noticed a change in me. It's so small and subtle, but they know me all too well. Joey said I seemed "off," Tristan thinks I'm really quiet now, and Téa won't say anything. She just gives me this sad yet understanding look. I know this sparked a big change in her.

She took Atem's leaving really hard. She wanted him to win our duel so he would have to stay in our world, she almost didn't watch the end of the match, she wanted to stop the whole thing altogether, and she wouldn't stop crying when he walked away. I think she's the one we should be worried about getting depressed. I miss Atem more than I can say, but I think that Téa somehow misses him more.

I tried to talk to her about it one day. We were walking home from school and I asked her how she was holding up. She didn't understand my question, so I got more specific, and she looked away from me and said she was fine. It was completely obvious she was lying, because she wouldn't look at me and she refused to talk to me for the rest of our walk. And now I'm finding every possible reason to worry about her.

Now she never looks me in the eye, I haven't seen her smile or laugh since he left, she never gets lunch anymore, and she never says or does anything when we hang out. Joey and Tristan just kind of brush it off and they keep telling me to "give her some space," but I don't think that's helping. They think this is just some sort of phase and that she'll get over it, but I don't see it that way. I think that if it were that, she'd have gotten better by now.

So I cornered her one day. We were walking home from school again and after we got to the Game Shop, I asked her to come inside and help me with something. She didn't try and fight me and followed me upstairs to my room. She asked me what we were doing and after she walked in, I shut my door and blocked it. She gave me a funny and almost frightened look and stood back. It kind of hurt to see her look at me like that. Like I'd ever hurt her. I sighed and asked her to take a seat. She tried to refuse, but I didn't give her a choice.

After she was seated and semi-relaxed, I grabbed my desk chair and sat across from her. I put my hands on my knees and sighed, unsure of how to approach the situation. It's not as if she'd just come out and say what was bothering her. She was clearly trying to hide it, even though it was clear that she was troubled. So I took a deep breath and sighed, praying that my words would just flow and somehow comfort her. I wanted to let my heart speak and not my head, because she didn't need logic right now. She needed empathy.

" Téa... I know this seems weird, but I really needed to talk to you. You keep running away from me and you won't say anything, so I figured that this would be the best way to get you to talk to me."

"About what, Yugi?"

"Well, ever since Atem went back to the spirit world, you've been acting... different. You never smile anymore and you're unusually quiet. But worst of all... you won't look me in the eye anymore. Téa, do you blame me for him leaving?"

"No! No... of course I don't. You did what was best for him. I could never blame you for doing the right thing."

"Then why?"

She looked down at her lap and balled her fists. She was quiet for the longest time and it made me uneasy. I know this is a tender subject for her, but I just want to do what I can to help. She's my best friend and the last thing I want is for her to be upset or depressed. I never like it when she's sad.

"Because..."

Her voice was quiet and squeaky. I knew she was on the verge of tears.

"Because... you remind me so much of him. You guys looked so much alike and he gave you his courage and bravery and... you both had the same passion and he was just as kind as you are... I just... I miss him so much!"

And then the waterworks came. She started sobbing and she leaped at me and started crying into my lap. It pained me so much to see her so upset by all of this that all I could do was cry and stroke her hair. She always had the ability to pull on my heartstrings. I couldn't think of anything else to do but let her cry. She needed to let it all out. But after a half hour, I forced her to get up and take her seat back on my bed. She wiped furiously at her eyes, ashamed that she had been crying.

I tried to think of anything I could say or do to make her feel better. Anything at all. The only problem was that everything she liked to do cost money and I... well, I didn't have any. Sure, she liked to do simple things like read, play Duel Monsters, go for a walk...

"C'mon, Téa, let's go for a walk."

She looked at me confusedly and I had to grab her hand and drag her outside to get her to go with me. There was a slight pink tint to her cheeks and mine as well. I was being unusually bold, but I figured it was all part of the courage Atem gave me. And boy was I happy to have it, because when she squeezed my hand back, I thought my heart was going to beat out of my chest.

There was no question that I liked Téa. I've liked her from the very beginning, but I was never brave enough to tell her. I didn't start to develop my real bravery until Battle City. But by then, I figured I didn't have a chance with her. She seemed to have a thing Atem. I only thought so because of how much fun they had together and how much of a big help she'd been to him. He didn't seem to feel the same way about her, but that didn't matter. All I knew was that she liked the person who came out during the duels and not the pipsqueak that came back after they were over.

It became really obvious she liked him by the way she cried over him when he left. And now that I've confirmed her reasons for being so sad, I knew why she was taking this so hard. It's not easy to let go of someone you love. But that wasn't going to stop me from trying.

After we had finally been walking for awhile, Téa started to calm down and relax. She loosened her grip on my hand without letting it go and walked evenly with me. My cheeks were still pink and I was content with our situation. Sure, I was still worried about her, but I was happy to be able to walk with her like this. Joey and Tristan weren't around to make jokes, Duke wasn't making them mad by talking about Serenity, Gramps was back at the Shop, and Rebecca hadn't called and asked for me. Not yet, anyway. I have to e-mail her again tonight.

I was pulled out of my train of thought when Téa stopped walking. She looked down at the ground and sighed and I thought that she was going to cry again. But she didn't and instead she gripped my hand tighter and chocked out her words.

"Um, Yugi... why are we doing this?"

"Why? Well, I thought that walking would help calm you down and-"

"No, not that. This."

She glanced down at our joined hands and I got the hint. I blushed a deep shade of red and I quickly tore my hand from hers, clearly embarrassed. I tried to laugh it off as a mistake and I apologized, but she still seemed sad. I quickly turned serious and stood in front of her.

"What's wrong, Téa? Did it really upset you that much that I held your hand? I wasn't trying to; it was a complete accident, but-"

"You don't get it, do you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why I'm upset. You really don't understand it."

"Well, sure I do. I... I know that you liked him. He was a good guy and I could see how someone would fall for him. He left with no chance to return and that's rough on you. I can't imagine trying to say goodbye to someone I loved-"

"Jeez, Yugi, you're so dense!"

"What?"

"I didn't like the Pharaoh like that! Yeah, I liked him, he was a good friend, but I wasn't in love with him. I miss him so much because I feel like we hardly got to know him. We didn't have as much time with him as it seemed. And this... I wasn't upset that you were holding my hand. I was upset because... because I know you didn't mean to."

"What do you mean?"

"You don't like me like that, Yugi. Why would you want to hold my hand? You've got Rebecca-"

"Rebecca! I don't like Rebecca like that. Yeah, she's a great person and I really like her, but not like that! Why would that bother you, though?"

"Because... because..."

Her fists were balled and she was ready explode. I backed away slightly, terrified about what she could possibly have to say. Did I do something? Why would she be upset with me? Or about Rebecca? I was baffled, beyond confused, and scared. This didn't look like it was going to end well for me. Not at all."

"Because I do! Because I like you like that and you never noticed! Because she could so easily admit her feelings and cling to you, while all I could do was be jealous and watch from the side!"

I was in pure shock. I had no idea she felt that way, not even in the slightest. She always seemed so interested in Atem, but now that she said it, I started to remember all the subtle hints she gave me. All those times she'd get mad at Rebecca for clinging to me, how she'd always worry about me so much, how we'd always walk to and from school together without the others. All those little things she did and I never noticed them until now. Well I couldn't let her down anymore.

" Téa... I'm so sorry that I never noticed. You left me all those little hints, but I never recognized them. I guess I was caught up in my own pity-party to see that you felt the same way I do."

"What?"

"I like you, too, Téa. I've liked you for as long as I can remember, but I've always been too shy to tell you. Then when I started to get braver, I thought you had feelings for Atem, so I backed off. I've always wanted to be the one you liked - the one you wanted to be with - but I never thought I would be. So I gave up. I'm sorry, Téa. Can you forgive me?"

She did more than forgive me. She smiled, let her tears run down her face, and hugged me. She started sobbing again, but this time it was out of happiness and not sorrow. I let a few tears slide down my face as I hugged her back, wondering when I was going to wake up from this dream. But I knew this was no dream as soon as she pulled away and kissed me. It was a light peck on my lips, but it sent electricity up and down my entire body. Fireworks were going off inside my head and I felt a wave of happiness flow through me.

We both still had to deal with the fact that Atem was gone. We were missing a big part of our lives. But I was happy to know that the girl I had been longing for since the beginning would be right there by my side to help me cope and that I could do the same for her. We really would be just fine.

"A/N: Kay, so this is my first Yu-Gi-Oh! fic and I'm not sure how I feel about it. I just finished the whole series yesterday and I loved it. I tried my best to keep the characters in character and I thought this could be a possible aftereffect of Atem leaving. I hope I didn't rush it or make it too corny. Though, I got to admit, the entire show was pretty corny and cliché. So I guess I tried to do that. Anyway, please let me know what you think, I would like to write more for this category and improve upon my skills both as a Yu-Gi-Oh! writer and as a writer in general. Leave a review."