"Hey Yuge, ya wouldn't mind givin' dis nice girl here ya' autograph, would ya?"

And so, Joey's group of friends stole chairs from other tables and joined the two of you, not hesitating when it came to get to know you better. Yugi was also kind enough to sign your Duel Disk and giggled when he saw that you had already stolen Joey's autograph. Tristan just made fun of the blond by asking why you would purposely ruin your Duel Disk with such a low-class Duelist's autograph.

The bunch was certainly a friendly one, something you more than appreciated. Joey was also happy that you seemed to already like his circle of friends and vice versa, but somewhere deep inside him he also felt a bit restless once the others started to get closer to you. He felt like you would begin liking them more than him which was the last thing he wished would happen, even if thinking that way made him appear mean and selfish.

"What's this? Some sort of party, but I wasn't invited? How mean.~" A male with a slightly feminine face yet attractive masculine voice, gorgeous turquoise eyes and raven hair that had been tied in a sloppy ponytail with curls sticking out almost everywhere had come humming words of displeasure, interrupting Tristan and Joey's already third dispute, causing the latter to get even more riled up than the brunet had caused him to become. "Beat it, ya dice boy."

"Oh it's the dog-loving customer! Our mutt here has been barking to us about you nonstop for the last couple of days." Ignoring the blond's snarky remark entirely, the young man with a dice earring made the spontaneous decision to join your group by leaning over the table with his elbow, sending a wink your way before nodding at Joey as if to emphasize that he was the person he had referred to as a canine. "Have not! And stop callin' me a mutt, pretty boy!"

"I'd like to remind you that I'm the reason girls like you in your dog form." One thing you had certainly learned from being surrounded by this specific group of people was that among them, Joey was the one everyone loved picking on — in a friendly manner of course — which for some reason or another made you view him as unexpectedly cute. Another thing that had become clear along the way, was that the raven-haired male who had joined the discussion last was also a worker here at Otogi's cafe, the son of the manager to be more precise, and that his name happened to be Duke Devlin.

It was odd to have a boy so openly flirt with you, but it was just as entertaining to discretely turn down his advances. Apparently telling girls pretty words was a hobby of his — Tristan said something along those lines to which everyone agreed in one way or another. Closing time came just as fast as evening did, and that time arrived even quicker since all the group did was mess around and converse about silly things such as playing card games while riding on motorcycles. Joey had to leave you and his friends a few times because the manager had been giving him a hard time, but in the end, the only loyal dog that waited for him to finish up was you.

"Whoah, yer still here? I'm sorry, I made ya wait so long..." The Brooklyn boy gasped almost too dramatically the second he saw you causally standing near Mr. Clown's ice cream truck, and even though he might have tried to, he didn't exactly hide the smile that had snuck up on his face. You on the other hand pretended to be hurt as you approached the male who had completely changed out of his Shiba Inu costume by now, hitting his arm with your elbow playfully. "What do you mean 'You're still here', of course I am! I promised, didn't I?"

"Hehe I guess ya did!" The male's smile transformed into a grin that was brighter than the sun itself, and at some point, the two of you had started walking side by side without even knowing where your destination lied. Talking with you made Joey feel all warm and fuzzy inside, and without even realizing it, you had robbed him of those pleasant sensations with mere smalltalk. "Your friends are such a fun bunch."

"Yeh... I might say dat they ain't when they're not around, but they're really important ta me." Even though he genuinely believed in his words, the tone in which he said that so sadly made you wonder if you had touched a sensitive topic, and your assumption wasn't entirely wrong. Having realized that you might have upset Joey in some way, you decided to take a different approach and try to cheer him up with straightforwardness. He was always sincere after all, and it's not always opposites who attract. "I'm sure they all feel the same about you."

"I mean, I totally feel that way about you, so why wouldn't they?" It took the entirety of your being to keep an innocent smile on your face and the blushing to a minimum when saying that, especially once Joey's face turned so red so suddenly that one could imagine the steam leaking out of his ears. The blond as well had managed to compose himself again after a second or two and attempted waving it off, despite the fact that he actually liked the choice of words that you were saying to him. "Ya almost got me for a second there, but I know yer saying all dat cuz ya like me as a Duelist."

"Hey! That's not what I was getting at and you know it." You snorted at Joey's response and at the way he was trying to make himself believe what he was saying more than he was attempting to convince you. The two of you were exchanging careless and somewhat flirtatious touches such as the casual brushing of his hand against your own and the 'accidental' bumps into each other. It all began feeling like every gesture had an ulterior meaning to it until the next person you bumped into was no longer Joey but a young woman.

"Joey? And what's this, you're accompanying a lady?" The female had long, blonde locks and a slightly deeper voice that was impossible to ignore. Her amethyst-colored eyes were swift to find their resting spot on Joey first before quickly meeting yours. It was as if the Brooklyn boy's accent had been blurred out completely the moment you entered a staring-contest with this female stranger whose identity was still not fully clear to you. "Mai! Long time no see!"

The two didn't chat for too long, but those few minutes sure felt like an eternity to you. You could feel your heart sinking with every passing second, making the situation even more painstakingly evident for you. You were clearly displeased about the way Joey and Mai so naturally and effortlessly got along, even if what they had didn't differ that significantly from what you shared with your idol Duelist yourself.

"I'll catch you two later!" Mai announced as she slowly but surely took her leave, talking as if she were in a rush and as if she had properly made your acquaintance when all she had done was tell you her name and ask for yours before chatting away with Joey again. You two on the other hand resumed your walk, and whilst strolling you had been urging yourself to keep your mouth shut about the situation because you didn't want to get hurt in the process of finding out the truth. Of course, you failed quite miserably. "You two sure seem to get along. Was that your girlfriend?"

"HAHHH?! No way!" The Brooklyn boy jumped slightly once again, his gasp now sounding more like a manly screech than someone catching their breath. You were a bit relieved that his cheeks weren't tinted pink like they had been priorly or how they would be when the so-called Tsunderes were to lie about their relationships or opinions, to say the least. Though his panicked movements weren't able to silence your suspicions wholly. "What makes ya think dat? Mai's just a friend and fellow Duelist."

"You might say that, but..." The same way reason had stopped rolling off your lips, your feet stopped taking steps as well. A lump was brought to your throat, one that prevented you from uttering any other words. Not wanting Joey to see this unsightly display of emotions, you forced your eyes to meet the ground while biting on your lower lip to stop it from trembling like a leaf.

"Hey. C'mon, look at me." Apart from his voice, Joey's hands had also reached out to you, and did so quite literally since they had found a nice place to rest on both of your arms. The most effective thing the blond could do to make you raise your gaze in order to make it meet his own was to shake you gently and just the tiniest bit. You swallowed your pride if one could even call it that and did as the male silently wished, hesitantly looking into his brown eyes that glimmered in the fading sunlight. "Why are ya makin' dat face and sayin' dem things?"

"That Mai-person is so pretty, confident... attractive. Don't make me spell it out." Once again searching for a non-existent escape route, you let your eyes trail away from the young man's, trying to ignore how he had tightened his grip on your arms as if to ask you to look back at him. Which he managed to make you do anew, actually. "Listen. I don't know what got ya ta think dat Mai and I are a thing, but we ain't. She's a lil' flirty, but she's like dat ta everyone."

"Besides, ain't I da one who should be insecure?"

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Thank You for Reading!