“Midterms are coming soon, those of you in Ra or Slifer, be sure to study hard for your chance to move up!” The next day came an announcement after class was over, one that took my head up from my desk. Now when school said ‘soon’ that always meant weeks away, but I guess they were saying it for a while, since it was during this week. “What do we do for the Midterms again?” I asked, taking my jacket off my desk, and wearing it again. “With how well you pay attention in class, I think you would consider yourself lucky to just stay in Slifer.” Jasmine said snidely, crossing her arms at me.

Alexis sighed before explaining it to me, Jayden and Syrus joining along to listen in. “The Midterms consist of a mix of standard paper tests, as well as Dueling exams. “Exams? Plural?” Blair asked, already skipping her chance to move up to Obelisk when she entered, she would now have to prove herself after staying for weeks at the lowest level the school had. Alexis nodded while I leaned back in my chair. “During the exams, students are free to Duel against each other only once each, and your Duel Disk as well as your PDA saves that data. The more you win, and how you play your cards will be saved and analyzed for any misplays or mistakes.”

“Sweet! I don’t know about needing to move out of Slifer, but I get to have rad Duels all I want!” Jayden cheered, his massive smile growing at the idea of more fun to be had. I scoffed at his attitude, his contented and simple life looking almost envious to me right now. Both Alexis on one side of me, as well as Blair on the other, the knowledge that I belonged to both of them now. Today was Alexis’ day, since she managed to win against Blair yesterday, so I was at her disposal for the evening. ‘But that’s what I get for being selfish.’ I thought with a shrug, deep down I was still glad to have both girls as well as the spirits.

“Well that’s not much different than what I’ve been doing this entire time.” I scoffed, vaguely remembering all the Obelisk guys that tried to beat me away from Alexis. Alexis sighed, shaking her head, already apologizing earlier, but still feeling slightly guilty for some reason. “I guess that’s true…” I decided to move the conversation along to push past that unneeded guilt she still held. “Anyway, this’ll be easy.” I glanced at Jayden, an idea sprouting in my mind. “Wanna make a bet?”

Jayden tilted his head at Rakki. “A bet?” He asked, unsure what Rakki would want to bet. In fact he was slightly worried that Rakki would have problems with his drop in morale. Rakki smirked with a nod, not showing a hint of hesitation. “Yea, wanna see who can win the most DP?” He asked, Jayden slowly gaining a smile of his own, glad that Alexis and Blair were able to help him get over his worries. “Alright. Don’t think I’ll go easy on ya!” Jayden declared his intent on winning, knowing that going easy would just make Rakki feel worse. If he was going to help, he would have to give it his all, even if that meant beating Rakki. “Great, whoever wins gets half the loser’s DP.”

Jayden and I bumped fists to complete our bet, each of us smirking to see who would win. Alexis sighing beside me. “Hahh… Why are you like this?” I chuckled at her while getting out of my seat to stretch. “I don’t know, I always wanted to gamble but never had the luck to see it through? I’m finally feeling lucky now!” Alexis tilted her head up to stare at me, an inevitable smile on her face, like she knew from the get go that I would do something like this. “What makes you feel so lucky now?” She asked, raising a brow at me, her smile turning a bit more playful.

Rakki stuttered, his eyes darting away from everyone while he scratched the back of his head, his usual scowl back in place when he held back his emotions. Alexis had heard him yesterday, muttering his luck for finding both her and Blair. She knew that her and Blair were an indicator in his mind that his life was turning around for the better. Something in her stirred knowing that, knowing that she was a part of his life that he held dear. So much so that she was almost asking him to admit it out loud in front of their friends. He then suddenly glanced at the door, looking at something in the distance. “Oh look! A reason to leave!” He yelled in fake shock, before walking away.

After I left the class, unable to speak my mind to the girls in embarrassment, let alone yell it for the world to hear. The idea just gave me shivers. “Too embarrassed to say how much you care?” Dreamsprite asked, giggling at her mischievous question. I sighed while entering the rooftop again, my favourite place, knowing that Alexis, Blair, or both would be here soon. ‘Not as if I have any room to ask for alone time outside of Saturday.’ “It’s alright~! You don’t say it often, but you show it at a moment's notice~” Dreamsprite continued, playfully poking my nose while fluttering around.

I frowned at her, but before I could explain to her that my ‘care’ for all the girls was nothing special, the door opened. I looked at Alexis alone, walking over to me, smiling. “You are just always up here when you have a chance huh?” She said, sitting beside me, inching herself closer, but still barely touching me with her shoulder. I smirked, she was still a bit shy. “Being alone is nice from time to time, don’t you agree?” I asked, poking a bit of fun at her main gripe before. She blushed, pinching my arm in response.

I took my arm, and broke off her grip, instead wrapping it around her shoulders, pulling her closer, what she silently waited for from the beginning. “What do you wanna do?” I asked, she was still in charge for the day. Alexis was quiet as we sat, watching the island from up high. “That’s a question I haven't even known myself for a while now.” She finally chuckled, leaning her head on my shoulder. I nodded at her, remaining silent and letting her take her time to form her ideas into words.

“What I want… Everything has been so chaotic between us from the beginning. I can count on one hand the times things have just been okay while we were together. That night in the house, Jinzo, That thing controlling Atticus…” She listed off things I had almost forgotten about by now, it all seemed so fast, one right after another it was just a blur in my memory. “And then yesterday, in the springs with Blair and the spirits, it finally felt… calming. I could finally just enjoy the moment. My brother is safe, I have friends, I have you. It felt kinda like the end of fairy tale.” She scoffed, shaking her head from just saying the words, but I didn’t. I took her words seriously, I knew this was a serious topic.

“Are you worried that nothing can be better than that? The other shoe’s about to drop?” I asked, Alexis jerking a bit from my bullseye. She nodded at me. “Yea. What I want is for things to stay like this.” I finally scoffed a bit at her, resting my chin on the top of her head. “Join the club. I’m pretty sure everyone wishes they could just have everything still the same.” Alexis grasped my arm, that I now held around her, giving her a hug. “Things come, things go. That’s how the world works, and it’s almost never fair.” Alexis was silent, her hand shivering a bit while grasping tighter.

I then held her tight, and moved her onto my lap. “Ah- Hey!” She yelled in surprise, but gave up very little fight as I gently pulled her waist back to lean into me. “Sorry to force that change on you, you wanna go back?” I asked with my tongue slightly out, now granting her a question I already knew the answer to. “That’s not fair…” She murmured in a low tone, never looking at me. I chuckled, shaking my head. “No it’s not. Sometimes things get better, sometimes they get worse, but if there’s one thing I learned from you, it's that even the worst things get better with the right company.”

There was silence yet again, and Alexis looked back, staring at me intently. Her lips parted, like she was about to say something, but stopped. She slowly turned around in my lap, her hand holding the nape of my neck. Her eyes slowly closed shut as she moved her face closer. I did the same, instinctively knowing what she was doing. I held the small of her back nudging her closer to me while I leaned in, our lips gently touching, no need for words anymore.

We both enjoyed the moment where everything was perfect, but it wasn’t to last. "Mon Coeur! Sacrebleu!” “Alexis!” Both of us jumped in shock, staring at the dapper young man dressed in an all white tuxedo, a red handkerchief delicately placed in his breast pocket. Behind him stood a middle aged couple, a sinking feeling reached into the pit of my stomach, one that was soon confirmed. “Mom? Dad? Pierre?” Alexis mumbled in complete shock. ‘Well… That ended fast.’