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It was already starting to get cold and dark outside of the movie theater (though it could just mean that it was going to rain, not just that night was approaching), making Joey Wheeler get even more frustrated and impatient at Tristan, Bakura and their strange friends for taking so long to arrive.
Some months ago, after the two best friends had entered college, they met Ryou Bakura, a weird art student with long white hair and an fascination with death and the occult (all things that Joey hated), who had quickly become really close to the two. He was really nice, and also had a really fancy house that both liked visiting… but Joey hated the fact that he always wanted to show the two some random horror movie he had watched recently, and the way he often had nightmares about them, regardless of how campy they were or how bad the effects ended up being.
That meant he wasn't exactly excited when he and Tristan got invited by Bakura to go to the movie theater with his friends to watch one of his favorite old horror movies that was going to be re-released for a short amount of time.
And no, Tristan, reminding him that it was made in the 60s did nothing to make him calmer about watching it; he had watched things with Bakura that were made in the 1930s that had gotten him terrified, so the age of those things did not matter!
He really just wanted to get inside quick so that this torture would end soon and he could finally go watch some stupid comedy flick at his home to try to forget all that they would-
-"Hello lads, sorry for the wait! Yugi had some problems getting here, he lives a little far away."
Joey turned around ready to say something sassy to his friend, but his words failed to come out as anything coherent, as he froze up staring at this Yugi guy that Bakura had brought.
He was quite shorter than his long-haired friend, who was already shorter than both him and Tristan, but still attracted attention for himself with his very colorful spiky hair, his very pale skin emphasized by the very dark makeup he was using, and his very… uh, how would Joey describe his fashion style, with that sleeveless leather jacket full of belts and chains and those tight black leather pants? Unique? Flashy? Kink-
-"It's great to finally meet you two! Bakura has talked a lot about how nice you guys are to him, so I hope we can become friends too!"- He exclaimed excitedly while waving at them, making Joey smile at his very sweet voice, somehow a little high-pitched and raspy at the same time, and notice his kind, gorgeous eyes covered with thick black eyeliner and staring at him, making his knees tremble and his heart skip a beat-
-"Hey, we should enter already! We are going to be late if we keep stalling!"- Tristan loudly declared next to the blond, shocking him enough that he almost fell back into a bush behind him. As the other two went to buy their tickets to the movie, Joey heard his friend grumble close to his ear: -"You really aren't subtle you know?"
-"S-shut up man, I don't know what you're talking about!"- The blond uttered, face beginning to get very red.
-"Well, if you want I can talk to Bakura and see if we can get you to sit next to him, maybe it help you to get less nervous during the movie."
-"I won't get nerv- Wait, really?"
-"Yeah, I imagine he won't mind it."
-"…Alright. Sure."- He tried his best to not show how happy that made him, it was almost as if he was going on a date with that Yugi twink! Maybe watching the movie wouldn't be that bad!
…Okay, forget about that, sitting right next to Yugi was not making that horrid movie better; If anything, it was making Joey feel even worse!
In every movie he had ever seen, the tall, strong, courageous man hugged his cute date during the scary scenes of a movie, making sure they were feeling okay and preparing for some a very romantic scene right after it.
Joey Wheeler was way taller than Yugi, and clearly had more muscles than him, but while the blond stared horrified at the main character of the movie transforming into a werewolf and chasing his date over the gloomy forest, the short man ate from his giant bucket of popcorn with a big smile on his face, completely calm despite what was happening on the screen.
The moment the damn werewolf attacked a (young, blond) man's arm and blood started oozing out of his arm, with the camera focusing on his desperate face while he wailed out in pain, he felt as if he was going to get ill, or pass out. He got closer to Yugi and mumbled: -"Hey, do… D-do you want to go outside with me? T-this movie is… kinda lame, right?"
-"Huh? Really? I'm enjoying it!"- The man whispered back, making Joey feel a bit embarrassed at how afraid of the damn thing he was. He tried to watch a little more of it, but the moment that the werewolf finally got to the girl and bit her neck so hard that blood started gushing out he felt like he couldn't take it anymore. He screeched out something about going to the bathroom and ran out of the room, not stopping until he arrived at the lobby where he leaned over a wall and started to collect his thought.
'Great, now he probably thinks I'm a huge coward…'- The blond thought to himself, face heating up in embarrassment, but he couldn't control himself. He was always very afraid of horror, ever since he was a child, and did not know how to change that.
He did not know how long he stayed there, in a corner of the theater just calming down and hoping that the movie would end soon and he could go home to hide in shame, sometimes looking around hoping that the staff wouldn't kick him out. Why couldn't he just-
-"Hey, there you are!"- Joey almost jumped as he heard the familiar voice behind him, turning around to see Yugi behind him. How had he not noticed the man walking towards him? Was he really that desperate because of the movie?! -"I was wondering where you had-"
-"Don't worry, I just… felt kinda nauseous!"- Joey exclaimed, trying to sound casual in front of the man he definitely didn't have any chance with now. He didn't seem very convinced by what the blond had just said, but also didn't ask any further questions. -"So, where are Bakura and Tristan?"
-"Oh, the movie hasn't finished yet, I was just worried something had happened."- The short man told him, with a little smile on his face.
-"Oh."- Okay, now Joey really was nervous. Could it be that Yugi was actually a little interested in him? Or did he really look that pathetic when he ran out that Yugi felt pity on him… -"You really didn't have to do this, you better go back…"
-"I really don't mind it though, you are sick after all. We could talk while waiting the movie to end!"- Yugi told him warmly, giving him a wink and a cute smirk .
-"Huh?! A-alright then!"- Joey felt his face getting red again, but this time accompanied by a big smile on his face. Maybe this day wouldn't be that bad after all…
Joey and Yugi talked for a little while, or at the very least the blond had rambled a lot about his job, his friends and sister, while Yugi listened quietly with a calm yet absent-minded look on his face. He asked a few times about the man's own life, but he seemed a little shy about sharing, and tried to change the topic, which Joey accepted.
After around half an hour, the movie finally ended and everyone started to leave the theater. Tristan offered to give Joey a ride home, but he had already agreed to walk with Yugi to his house.
-"Really huh? You two sure are getting along well…"- His friend commended, a sly little smile on his face.
-"Shut up, we just talked a little…"- Joey murmured back to him, while waiting Yugi to finish saying goodbye to Bakura. The short man finally joined him and grabbed his arm, surprising Joey for how cold his hand felt, and the two left the theater, walking towards a bus stop that was some 15 minutes from there.
Joey felt a little embarrassed from how quiet he was while the two walked side by side, but he really did not know what to say now. Somehow it felt more intimate, being completely alone next to Yugi…
He did not seem to care though, or at the very least he did not show any issue with him not talking a lot. Though, he did look like he was a little more… in a hurry than before. Well, it was getting late, and Bakura had said he lived far from the movie theater…
-"Hey, I think I just remembered a shortcut! Why don't we go through there?"- Yugi asked, pointing at the entrance of what looked like a long abandoned park. He guessed it might help them to get home faster, but it also looked a little too much like the forest from the movie for his own liking…
That being said, obviously Joey wouldn't admit that to Yugi, he wasn't a coward or anything!
He just nodded with his head and proceeded to follow the guy through the entrance of the park, looking around a little… unnerved by how dark it was under all the trees, and how quiet it was, with the only sounds being their own footsteps and the wind howling… For someone used to the loud familiar noises of cars and people talking that he usually heard going back home from work. This just felt unnatural.
After a little while, Yugi stopped walking, looking at his distressed face and asking: -"What's wrong? You look so tense…"
-"Ahhhh, nothing, I'm alright!"- He exclaimed, still quite scared of the whole situation. -"I'm just… I've never been here before, don't remember even seeing this park before, so I'm a little… worried about you, y'know? It looks abandoned, seems a tad dangerous…"
-"Huh? I-oh, don't worry, you don't have to be afraid, I'm here with you…"- Yugi tells him, holding his hands and looking deep into his eyes, with Joey feeling his heartbeat get faster and-
Yugi's eyes were… A strange shade of red, now that he looked at him. Under the light of the moon, they almost seemed shiny, with his yellow bangs also glowing in the dark, and the colorful tips of his hair flowing in the wind like fire. It was weird, because despite the fact that Yugi looked nothing like him, it still gave him the same chills as that werew-
-"Oh Joey, you're trembling!"- He hadn't even realized it yet, lost staring at the man in front of him, but he did feel his legs wanting to give up, and his teeth chattering. He tried to say that he wasn't scared, or at least shake his head disagreeing, but he could not move. Yugi giggled, approaching him a little more and whispering: -"Are you scared because of the movie? You have nothing to fear…"
At that moment, Joey heard a loud shrieking sound right behind him that finally managed to make him move, and just one look at that figure almost made him fall down: an almost transparent figure advanced towards the duo, wearing tattered clothes and golden shoes, with a big scar crossing his face under a lot of messy white hair. His smile was big and aggressive, and his movements were unnatural and stiff.
-"A -a ghost!! It can't be real!! That's-"- But as the blond tried to finish that sentence, more translucent figures started to approach, coming from behind trees, bushes and lamppost.
Some were covered in blood, of had clothes that were clearly from decades ago, but others were almost normal if you didn't realize they were walking through objects as if they weren't there.
A number of them were smiling. Others were angry. A few had an very miserable look in their faces, that almost made Joey want to cry too. But they were all getting close to them, and by their posture it looked like they all were interested in the same thing: making him and Yugi suffer.
That realization, of how dangerous the situation was, and of how similar it was to the climax of so many of the movies he had been forced to watch with Ryou before, finally made the blond feel his snap out of his terrified mood: He puffed out his chest, standing in between the awful creatures and Yugi and shouted:
-"Look here, y-you weirdos, we just want to go home!!! Fuck off or I'll have to-"
One of them, a younger looking spirit with pointed black hair that had gotten very close, raised his hand towards the duo, seemingly trying to touch Yugi but instead scratching their nails against Joey. That almost made the blond hesitate in shock of how much it hurt, almost like a freezing knife being pressed against his skin, but he still pushed the creature away, thankful that they were at least corporeal enough for that.
Joey continued for a while to keep them away from them, pushing and kicking away any of the spirits that tried to get close to them, but he wasn't sure if he would be able to knock all of them back… The more he tried, the more certain he was that he wouldn't succeed, but he couldn't just lose like this!
-"Y-YUGI, please run away! I'll try to keep them away, just-"
-"Oh my…"
That made Joey frown, he was certain that Yugi was right behind him but his voice sounded… off, a little more raspy than it was before. He turned his head back just enough to look at the man he was trying to protect and almost stumbled back, seeing how his forehead now had a glowing third eye that stared at him and how a weird radiance glowed around him, a little too similar to the souls closing in…
But he did not look angry, nor freakishly happy, nor depressed, like the phantoms close by. In fact, the tears going down his face were accompanying a sad smile…
-"Nobody has tried to protect me in centuries… They always run away, or try to throw me at the mob…"- He said, while grabbing his hand yet again, the coldness of his palm now making a lot more sense. -"You made me feel very precious today, Joseph Wheeler. Thank you!"
-"Huh…"- Joey did not have time to process what exactly he meant by that, as the mob finally reached them and he started to feel the odd and slightly painful sensation of hands grabbing or crossing through his own body, leaving a weird chill afterwards. But even as he started to lose consciousness, he still kept staring at Yugi's red eyes, somehow feeling better just by looking at them…
-"-ey, Joey! Earth to Joey Are you in there?"
The blond almost bumped his head against Yugi from how fast he rose up, desperately looking around until he realized that he was sitting in the couch of his own house. He still felt his heart beating fast, and a chill all over his body, but as he tried to calm down and started to think about what he remembered of the past few moments… Had him just dreamt all of that?
-"O-oh, hey, I'm alright! I'm just…"
-"Don't worry, I've saw how tired you were after that movie! You were almost falling asleep as we were getting close, so I helped you enter and left you here!"
-"I see… I'm sorry."- God, Joey really felt pathetic… Not only had he freaked out during the movie, but he had forced Yugi to carry him to his own house… If the man now announced that he was going to leave and never see the blond again, he wouldn't be surprised.
-"Please don't apologize, it's probably also my fault! I saw how uncomfortable you were in the movie theater, we shouldn't have taken that shortcut through the cemetery…"- Yugi said shyly, making the blond's eyes almost pop out. So that part was real, and that park was a-
-"C-cemetery!?!"
-"Yes, that was were I met Bakura, actually! He always visits that place with some of his friends."
-"Oh…"- Somehow that part made perfect sense for him. -"Look, I'm sorry how freaked out when I was there, I must have embarrassed you…"
-"Huh? Oh, I don't mind at all! Everyone has their own fears, It's perfectly normal! Besides, you saved us from those thugs that tried to rob us there, remember?"
-"I did?!"- Oh, so that's what had really happened! He must have been so scared and sleepy that he only remembered the version of those events from his nightmare.
-"Yes, thank you… I often feel very alone, it was actually a nice feeling to have someone want to help me…"- Yugi looked warmly at the blond, holding his hand and smiling. -"We should go out again some day, I would love to watch another movie with you… Preferably something that isn't horror themed!"
-"Wow! I-I mean, sure, it would be great!"- Joey declared, face getting red while Yugi chuckled. This had actually ended up being way better than he was expecting!
After that, Yugi had to leave to go home, which the blond helped after searching a little while for his keys, eventually finding them in his own jacket, leaving a very happy Joey alone to celebrate how he managed to even get a goodbye kiss!
Somehow, thanks to all the excitement, he did not wonder how they had entered his own house without needing the keys to the door, nor did he stare at Yugi walking away for long enough to see him disappear into thin air after walking under one tree.
Yugi would reveal the truth to him another time. At the moment, he was happy just seeing that handsome man happier.