Disclaimer: I own nothing. Jason and Brett are completely imaginary characters based on the various voices in my head. Or not. Anyway, they are OCs, but my motto is that the only good OC is an expendable one. So don't get too attached..... They're only plot devices designed to allow me to explore my more heinous side.

Forbidden Fruit

The best way to convince a fool that he is wrong is to let him have his own way.
-- Josh Billings

Two teenage boys sat at a table in the corner of the Domino High School Library. One of them, a black haired boy, was trying to read a book about Plato's Allegory of the Cave, as his blond haired tablemate observed a brown haired girl as she searched for a book in the various stacks.

"She is so-damn-fine." The blond boy stated through clenched teeth, his eyes roaming over the brunette girl's body as she pulled a book off a shelf across the room.

The boy's companion turned towards whom his buddy meant, and closed his eyes as he shook his head. "Most definitely, but even she's not worth it."

"Worth what?" The blond asked, his mouth watering as he stared at the girl's legs.

His raven-haired friend rolled his eyes. "Worth getting your ass kicked by Wheeler and Taylor, that's what. You know she's untouchable, don't you?"

The blond snorted. "Oh please, those losers are all talk." He grinned when he noticed that whenever the girl reached for a book on the top shelf, her short blue uniform skirt rode up almost scandalously high. 'If only it was three inches shorter. Three measly inches!'

"Wheeler's not. He used to be in a gang, back when he was in junior high." The black haired boy replied, sighing when he realized what his friend was grinning about. "You're just asking to get beat down, aren't you?"

The blond turned to his friend in annoyance. "That's not even fair. Just because that midget Motou has a hard-on for her, doesn't mean she shouldn't be able to date other guys."

"My, what a prolific notion. And so selfless of you, too." The raven-haired boy said sarcastically, smirking.

The blond frowned, his eyes riveted on the brunette who was headed to the checkout counter with an armload of books. "I'm serious. Just look at her. All that's just going to waste while that pansy, Yugi, grows the balls to make a move."

"Look Brett, just drop it. You'll only get screwed over. That girl is trouble." The black haired boy ordered, his mouth set in a straight line as he glared at the brunette girl.

"Gardner?!" The blond laughed loudly, causing the girl being discussed to glance at the two of them as she received her books back from the librarian.

The black haired boy smacked Brett's arm with the back of his hand. "Shut up!" He growled, when the girl looked away.

"What the hell is your problem, Jason? Gardner's as goody-two-shoes as they come." Brett whispered, quirking a brow at his friend's irrational behavior.

Jason looked him straight in the eye, with an anxious kind of ...... fear? "Don't mess with her. I've heard some pretty freaky rumors about what's happened to guys who have."

Brett watched as the girl finally left the library, her arms full of books and the upbeat skip in her step making her hair swish as she disappeared from his sight. He couldn't help but smile.

"What kind of freaky rumors have you heard about her?" Brett asked, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Not like that. I mean..... creepy shit. Some guys have dropped off the face of the earth after saying the wrong thing to her." Jason whispered, not meeting Brett's eyes.

Brett cocked his head to the side, and squinted his eyes as he scrutinized his friend. 'What is he so nervous about?' Jason's face was dead serious as his dark bangs stuck to his forehead with a light sweat, and his eyes shifted every once in a while as if checking to see if they were being watched. Brett had never seen his notoriously cool-headed friend look so on-edge.

"You're not kidding, are you?" Brett asked, feeling an uncomfortable tingle of fear shoot up his spine when Jason's eyes met with his blue ones. There was an intense, fathomless dread in his raven-haired companion's brown eyes, something deep and dark that Brett didn't even want to begin to comprehend.

"No, I'm not. Just stay away from her. Forbidden fruits may taste the sweetest, but they'll also trigger the beginning of the end for you." Jason intoned, his gaze unwavering.

The two stared at each other. And stared some more. And still, stared. The two didn't break eye contact until the sound of the librarian accidentally dropping a large book shattered the tense moment.

Sighing, Brett ran a hand through his blond hair. "You're pretty morbid, man." He said, chuckling nervously.

"Hmm." Jason looked away from him, and began to read his book again.

"I mean, Gardner's completely harmless. What are you wigged out over?" Brett asked, in a teasing way.

"Hmm."

"Besides, if anything did happen to those guys, like you said, it was probably just some stunt those punks Wheeler and Taylor pulled." Brett tried again, trying to reassure himself and lighten the mood at the same time.

"Hmm."

Brett frowned at Jason. "I should be able to date her. She should be able to date me!" He affirmed, annoyed at his friend's lack of response.

Finally, Jason looked up from his book, and fixed him with an emotionless stare. "Clearly, your inherent idiotic tendencies have you convinced that Gardner is worth your sanity, and therefore nothing I can say or do will convince you otherwise."

"Damn straight!" Brett grinned, intentionally trying to irritate Jason.

Jason only rolled his eyes and returned to his book.

'Tomorrow I'm going to ask her out. And I'll be damned if I'm gonna let that loud-mouthed moron and that dopey tag-a-long stop me.' Brett thought to himself, smirking at the white paneled ceiling of the library. 'Sorry, Yugi. You may be the King of Games, but I guarantee your girlfriend's gonna be playing a whole other type of game with me.'

Author's Notes: Alright. I know what you're thinking. 'Not another fic where the author makes all the guys fall in love with Téa...' Well, I promise, this isn't like that. In fact, notice that romance isn't even one of the two main categories. This won't be all that romantic, but frighteningly, it will be steeped in canon. Well, okay, I will cut and paste a few situations here and there, and destroy one character's good reputation, but otherwise..... I just love stories that explore the world of characters on the outside looking in. That's why the OCs are there. Next chapter should be a Yugi POV. Then I can start getting dark. MWAHAHAHAHA!

Lastly, thanks for reading, and please review if you feel like it.