ACM: Okay so there you have it another chapter. Woot! And I assure you that it even has a shirtless—oops I mean you'll find out soon enough. I hope you like it, I was kind of concerned that it moved a little fast but I think it works in the end. Anyway, please read and review! Oh by the way I tweaked the chapter before this...not much of a difference but I just thought I'd let you know. It's mostly small errors anyway—eh what can I say, I can a bit of a perfectionist sometimes.

When the Heart Flutters

The house was relatively quiet when Odeon had arrived, it was late of course and as he waved good bye to Ishizu the moon shone down on the empty, slumbering neighbourhood. He entered the house and treaded as silently as he could when he noticed that soft music was coming from the living room. Odeon put his bags down and hung up his black coat. Curiously he peered into the dark room, the music was emanating from the TV, credits signalling the end of a movie wound their way up the screen. On the couch sat Malik and a girl he didn't know, cuddled together, fast asleep.

Odeon strode over to them, reached across and gently squeezed his brother's shoulder, "Malik?" he murmured.

The younger Egyptian stirred and his eyes fluttered open. He yawned and looked around in a daze, before he realized who had woken him, "Odeon?" he mumbled. He noticed Carrie snuggled up beside him sleeping, "oh we were just watching movies..." he muttered with a yawn.

"I can see that," Odeon chuckled.

"It's good to see you," Malik told him and smiled tiredly.

Odeon nodded, "Yes, I'm glad to see that you're well," he whispered.

Malik cautiously moved off the couch, he slid one arm under Carrie's legs and the other around her back. He hoisted her up gently and held her bridal style. Odeon stepped closer and offered to carry her himself but Malik shook his head.

"No it's alright I've got her, you had a long day of traveling, get some rest," Malik assured him. "Your room has already been set up for you, it's upstairs, first one on the left," he explained.

Odeon let out a yawn himself but tried to hide it. He watched Malik exit the living room; carefully trying not to wake the slumbering girl in his arms. Odeon sighed and decided to get some sleep; he would talk more with Malik tomorrow.

Malik walked to the end of the hall and pushed the guest room door open with his foot. He strode across the room and laid Carrie gently on the single bed. He pulled up the covers up over her body and then turned to go but hesitated for a moment. Leaning down he brushed a strand of blond hair from her face. He traced his thumb across her cheek and touched her lips, the same lips that he had almost kissed.

Why?

He mused that it would be just like him to try and kiss the girl that was seemingly his only salvation. Malik shook his head; he stood back up and yawned again. He stole one last glance at the sleeping girl before leaving the room, closing the door behind him quietly.

"So this is your plan?" Tea inquired and thought for a moment.

"I think it's a great idea," Serenity, who sat beside Tea, said enthusiastically.

Yugi sat on the other side of Tea and smiled brightly, "I think it could work, I mean if we get everyone in the same room together, they'll have no choice but to talk to each other at some point," Yugi confirmed.

"They could take it the wrong way though aibou," Yami mentioned he was sitting between Ryou and Yugi, "they might see it as you making them talk to each other and it could only upset them more."

"If we leave it to all work out on its own I think that would mean relying on fate a little too much," Ryou countered and he was sitting by Bakura.

"A party can always bring out the best in people," Serenity said supporting both of the lights.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that..." Bakura muttered. "By the way, why are you so enthusiastic about this? I thought you would hate Malik just as much as your brother," he wondered.

Serenity shrugged, "the past is the past, sure he was scary at one point, but he seems awfully nice now."

"Serenity's right and I think this is worth a try," Tea agreed.

The group was sitting in a round booth in a new coffee shop on the more touristy side of town. They had decided to meet here and discuss Ryou's and also Yugi's idea of throwing a welcome back party for Malik, Ishizu and Odeon. However; Malik was intended to be the guest of honour but no one else would know that. In fact no one else really knew this would be a welcome home party, they thought they were celebrating Ishizu and Seto Kaiba's relationship, since they had dating for nearly a month now. A month may not have been a big deal to anyone else, but considering this was Seto Kaiba they were talking about, well some celebration was in order, it helped that it was also the anniversary of when Yugi had first put the Millennium Puzzle together. The cafe that the group was sitting in had just opened days before and neither Joey nor anyone else would know of it, or at least it was less likely that anyone would walk in on their discussion.

"Hey you know what, I got a call from Mai last night, she said she was in town, we could invite her too," Serenity suggested.

"That's a great idea," Tea agreed. "Oh and I know who else should be in on this too," Tea said.

"Who?" Yami pondered.

Tea rolled her eyes, "Carrie, I'll send her a message right now," she stated.

Sunlight infiltrated the heavy curtains and sprinkled into the room. A particular ray reached far into the bedroom and shone on the single bed. The girl slumbering there frowned in her sleep, her eyes opened slowly and the light blurred her vision.

"Mmm...Too bright..." she whined and closed her eyes. When she opened them again there was a sudden glimpse of someone sitting on the bed, hovering above her. Her eyes widened and the figure leaned down, he was smiling and his lips moved as if speaking to her. Carrie noticed that he was wearing a very familiar lavender shirt, she gasped as he leaned closer still as if too...

She shut her eyes tightly and when she opened them again the figure was gone. Carrie bolted up in bed and glanced around the room quickly. There was no one in sight. She sighed, what in the world was that all about? She wondered. Carrie pushed back the covers and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. She looked around the room again and remembered watching movies with Malik, I must've fallen asleep, she thought.

"Did he carry me here?" she asked aloud before standing up and stretching.

Carrie left the room quietly, unsure if Malik was still sleeping. She checked her phone, it was eleven am but she couldn't remember when exactly the two of them had fallen asleep. She knew that it had been late though. She found the living room, the TV had been turned off but the DVDs were scattered everywhere on the floor, the bowls that had previously held their snacks were empty and still on the coffee table. Beside the bowls were two empty pop bottles.

"Maybe I should just wait until Malik's up," she said to herself and wandered back to the guest bedroom.

"Oh, you're awake," she suddenly heard someone say.

Carrie turned around quickly and spotted Malik at the end of the hall. It appeared he had just finished having a shower, all he had on was a pair of black cargo pants and a towel that was draped around his shoulders. His hair was still damp and various beads of water rolled down his chest and shoulders. Carrie felt her cheeks heat up and her eyes immediately looked at the floor.

"Oh, uh g-good morning, Malik," she mumbled to her feet.

"Good morning," he replied and walked closer to her. "Are you okay?" he wondered.

Carrie glanced up at him and smiled. "U-uh...Oh yeah! Of course I'm okay! I am A-Okay!" she suddenly exclaimed giving him a thumbs up. "I was just surprised that's all....Uh I mean by you and no shirt—oops did I just say out loud? Uh well your looking very ho-hands—I mean well today Malik! Err...Oh it's a nice day isn't it, yup, yup very nice, very nice indeed," she blurted, her hands flailing frantically, her once pink cheeks were now red and Carrie began to laugh nervously.

Malik, looking rather bewildered could only raise an eyebrow before stating, "It's raining."

"It is? But the sun's shining," Carrie pondered.

"It can still rain when the sun shines," Malik said with shrug and strolled past her whiling drying his hair with the towel.

"I suppose..." Carrie said.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he inquired, his back was to her and he looked at her concerned.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine, just—tired you know? We stayed up pretty late last night and—hey are those tattoos?" she asked suddenly as she noticed the markings on his back.

Malik froze and dropped the towel. He glanced away and he could feel his chest tighten. Damn't...what...what do I say?

"Malik?" Carrie wondered and moving closer to him placed her hand gently on his arm. She examined the markings and realized that they weren't written in ink like normal tattoos in fact... "Malik your tattoos they're..."

"Engraved," he finished for her.

"I—I don't understand...did you?" she mumbled.

"Do you really think I would willingly mutilate myself this way!" he snapped.

To his surprise Carrie only flinched but did not back away. She peered up at him with concerned eyes and Malik looked away.

"Sorry..." he muttered.

There was a long silence as the two stood there in the hallway. Carrie leaned her head against Malik's arm and stared silently at the ground, while Malik gazed off in a different direction. Both struggled for their next words. Finally, Malik spoke...

"My father, as well as my sister and I lived underground, in Egypt. We were Tomb Keepers and these markings on my back were the Tomb Keeper's initiation. They held the secret to unlocking the power of a great Pharaoh. This secret was passed down from generation, to generation, and I was also chosen to receive this initiation," Malik explained softly.

Another wave of silence washed over the two.

"May I ...touch them?" Carrie whispered.

Malik could only nod and Carrie gently traced her finger across his back. She touched the ancient hieroglyphics and tenderly brushed the scars, places the blade had dug deep into the skin. Her touch made Malik's hair stand on end, never had he let anyone do this, and the tip of her finger left a sensation that made him shudder. Carrie pulled back and looked up at him.

"Does it hurt?" she wondered.

Malik shook his head, "No...It just feels...strange...no one's ever..." he trailed off.

Carrie buried her face in his back and wrapped her arms around him, hugged Malik from behind. "I'm sorry..." she said.

"For what?" Malik wondered.

"I don't know...I just thought that--"

"It's okay," he assured her. "I was angry once, very angry and I was filled with so much hatred and despair, I hated my father, I hated everything about my life because of this initiation," he told her. "I mean it still brings up bad memories but I've tried to leave it all behind me, it's in my past now, I can't change it."

Carrie tightened her grip, "I'm still sorry," she mumbled her voice muffled.

"Thank you," Malik sighed and turned to Carrie and pulled her into a tight embrace. "Thank you for everything."

Carrie blushed, "Uh...I..." she stuttered trying to form some sort of sentence. Malik's scent of men's cologne and lilacs wafted around her, "Your welcome..." she mumbled finally but was still unsure what he was thanking her for exactly.

"So the party will be at Kaiba's right?" Ryou asked.

"I think so but I'll have to give him a call to confirm," Yugi told him.

"Alright, we'll see you guys tomorrow then," Tea said

She and Serenity waved goodbye as the foursome, Yugi, Ryou, Bakura and Yami left the small cafe.

Tea turned to Serenity, "Can you stick around for a bit?" she asked.

"Sure why?" Serenity wondered.

"I sent Carrie a message asking her to meet me at Stella's Tea House," Tea explained.

"Sure I'll come along," Serenity said with a smile and a nod.

"Scrambled or sunny side up?" Malik asked.

Carrie sighed as she poured the flour into the large mixing bowl. She then added the appropriate amount of milk, followed by two eggs.

"Carrie, scrambled or sunny side up?"

She then starting sprinkling the sugar into the bowl, this is so strange, she thought as she poured. It was like the side of her that was Carrie had up and left and another Carrie, the one who tripped, spilled, spoke extremely fast and could never look Malik in the eye had suddenly appeared.

"I think that's a little too much sugar Carrie," Malik suggested.

What's wrong with me? She thought when she remembered the vision or dream she had of a certain someone. Her cheeks heated up again and she sighed, I have to get over this! Carrie resolved and suddenly straightened her stance and clenched on fist while pouring the sugar.

"Carrie...?"

I just have to be me! Just be me Carrie! She thought to herself. Suddenly someone grabbed her wrist and jerked the bag of sugar upward stopping the flow.

"I think that's good," Malik chuckled.

Carrie glanced up at him and then at the bowl wear a nice sugar mountain had grown.

"Oh...oops sorry," she muttered.

"Don't worry about it, just scoop some out with spoon," he suggested and handed her a spoon.

"The pancakes will be too sugary though," Carrie pouted.

"Eh, I have a bit of a sweet tooth anyway," Malik laughed but noticed Carrie still upset about it and sighed. He placed a hand on her shoulder, "It's no big deal really..."

"I have to go to the bathroom," Carrie sighed she turned to hurry out of the kitchen but Malik grabbed her hand.

"Carrie, if this is about last night or this morning. I didn't mean to make you nervous, I—"

"Good morning," Odeon suddenly announced as he entered the kitchen.

Carrie glanced up at the man curiously, "Uh...hi," she murmured. He was tall, very tall...very, very tall. Carrie had to crane her neck to look up at his face. Strange though, she felt in no way intimidated by him and in fact this man seemed kind to her.

Malik let go of her hand and sighed, "Carrie, this is Odeon, my older brother, he arrived late last night," he explained.

"Oh uh, Good morning!" Carrie exclaimed a little too cheerily. "I uh...I'll be right back," she told the two Egyptians and hurried out of the kitchen.

After she left Odeon glanced at Malik, "Bad timing?" he asked.

"You have no idea," Malik muttered.

--------

Collapsing on the single bed, Carrie buried her face into the pillow and let out a frustrated cry, which was muffled by the pillow. Why? She thought with a sigh, sure she had crushes on boys before but never like this. Besides it couldn't be a crush, Malik was her friend. Carrie peered over at the bedside table and spotted her phone; she had forgotten all about it and reached over to grab it.

One new message, it told her when she flipped it open. She pressed the okay button which allowed her to view the message.

'Hey Carrie, this is Tea,

I was hoping we could meet at Stella's Tea House around 2 o'clock, I have something to discuss with you.'

Carrie sighed and thought for a moment before slowly typing in her answer.

--------

"Malik, Tea wants to meet me at 2 o'clock," she said when she re-entered the kitchen.

The smell of pancakes, bacon and eggs reached her nose and she smiled, like her old self. "Mmm...Breakfast for lunch, my favourite," she laughed.

Odeon had helped Malik finish up, and both of them were setting up by placing plates, cutlery and the freshly cooked food on the table.

"Can I help?" she wondered.

"It's alright, sit down, you are the guest anyway," Malik said and ushered her into her seat.

"Were the pancakes saved?" she asked with a slight pout.

"They might be a bit sugary, but I think they'll be just fine," he assured her. "So you're meeting Tea later?"

"Yeah, I just got a message from her," Carrie confirmed.

"After we eat I'll drive you there," Malik said.

"A party eh?" Joey inquired with a smug grin.

"Yeah, we're pretty sure it'll be at Kaiba's and it'll be next weekend," Yugi confirmed.

"Sounds like it'll be a good time," Duke said while twirling a strand of his hair.

"You gonna invite Serenity too?" Tristan suddenly asked, ignoring a glare from Joey.

"I'll be able to show off my dance moves," Duke mentioned and smirked.

"Hey! I was going to say that!" Tristan shouted. "And I'M going to get to dance with her first!"

"Who died and made you pharaoh?" Duke countered. He paused and glanced at Yami, "err excuse the pun," he muttered and he and Tristan began to bicker back and forth over who was going to dance with Serenity first.

Yami just raised an eyebrow in question and shook his head. Yugi could only laugh nervously as he attempted to stop the two from fighting.

"Hey, come on guys, you'll both get a chance to dance with her," Yugi reasoned.

"If you two don't shut up right now, neither of you will have legs todance with!" Joey threatened.

"Oh cool this is yours?" Carrie exclaimed and immediately rushed over to the bike to examine it.

"Yeah," Malik confirmed.

"Are we riding it?" she asked.

"No, I have to get the brakes adjusted, but once I do we can, maybe I'll even let you drive," Malik suggested with a laugh.

"Promise?" she asked.

Malik blinked and chuckled again, "Yes I promise."

Carrie held up her pinkie to him and Malik stared back at her in confusion. "Like this," she explained and took his hand; she linked his pinkie with hers. "Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a thousand needles in my eye if I lie!" she sung.

"That's a little morbid don't you think?"

Carrie giggled and shrugged, "Maybe."

Malik sighed then and squeezed her hand, "It seems you're back to normal," he said.

She tilted her head in confusion, "normal?"

"Well you seemed so nervous earlier, I thought something was wrong," Malik told her.

"Oh...well I..." Carrie mumbled and looked at the floor.

He let go of her hand and shifted his stance, "Look if what happened last night or earlier this morning had anything to do with it...."

"Oh no, I-I was just tired and little bit weird from all that sugar you know?" Carrie stammered.

Malik opened the passenger door for her and she climbed in. He strode around the front of the sleek black sports car. The car was parked beside Malik's motorcycle and was intended to be the family car for everyone to share. He got into the car and put the key in the ignition and started it up.

"I don't want to make you nervous Carrie," he began and glanced at her, "I just want you to smile."

---------

"Thanks for the ride," Carrie said and turned to Malik before opening the door. "Can we hang out later?" she asked.

"Of course," Malik laughed. "Just give me a call."

As soon as she left and was out of sight Malik smacked the steering wheel and let out frustrated growl. "Damn't! What the hell is wrong with me?" he grumbled.

He kept telling himself that she was his friend and nothing more. However; what was this ache in his chest? A romantic relationship would just ruin everything. At least that's what he told himself, wasn't it true that high school relationships rarely lasted very long anyway? If they did end up dating, they would eventually break up right? And the relationship they had shared before would disappear.

I don't want that, he thought and his eyes burned slightly, he shook his head, but I want her.

Malik pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger. Muttering to himself about how his life couldn't get any more complicated he switched gears, pulled out of the parking spot and headed home.

"There you are," Tea laughed when Carrie rushed into the Tea House and sat down at the table, with a sigh she slumped down in the seat.

"Sorry I'm late, traffic," she explained and smiled brightly.

"Carrie, this is Serenity, she's Joey's younger sister," Tea said introducing the two girls.

"I'm glad to finally meet you Carrie," Serenity laughed.

"Well I'm glad to meet you too...why do sense that you know who I am already...?" Carrie wondered.

"That's because you're in a lot of conversations and Joey can't seem to talk about anything else. Always about you and Malik," Serenity chuckled.

"Speaking of which, Malik is the root of our discussion today," Tea piped in.

Carrie flushed and the red hue on her cheeks could be plainly seen. "He is?" she asked.

"Yes, actually..." Tea trailed off and studied her; she leaned closer to examine Carrie's face. "Are you...blushing?" she gasped.

Serenity leaned in too, "You are!" she announced, "she is, she so is," she confirmed glancing at Tea.

"The heat!" Carrie blurted, "The heat in here is on really high that's all."

"Uh huh, and it's just a coincidence you notice the heat right after we mention a certain blond Egyptian," Tea said with a smirk.

"It's the heat," Carrie pouted but she couldn't hide her flushed cheeks or the sudden need to study the salt and pepper shaker.

"You like him," Serenity claimed.

"I don't blame you, he is pretty attractive," Tea added.

Carrie glanced up at her immediately, "No I don't!...Uh well I mean he's a friend so of course, I like him, but he's just a friend..."

"No I mean you, really like him, you like him, like him," Serenity persisted.

"Actually I thought that you two were dating for a bit there," Tea suddenly mentioned. "I mean you kept grabbing his hand and everything..."

"N-no that wasn't...I was just...just being selfish," she muttered.

"Selfish?"

"Well not at first, I mean that's just how I normally am. But..." Carrie sighed and folded her hands together. "Every time I hold his hand I get this nice warm feeling in my chest and I just never want to let go...that's all."

"Ah young love," the waitress suddenly announced with a dreamy sigh.

"What?" Carrie gasped.

The older women smiled, "Sorry I couldn't help but overhear, looks like you have a case of 'first love' hun," she laughed.

"He's just a friend...a-and even if I did like him, it's just a little crush that's all," she claimed.

The older women shrugged, "maybe but in my experience that expression only belongs to someone who is falling in love. But hey, I'm no expert; I just call 'em like I see 'em." The waitress paused before she flipped open her notepad. "Anyway, what can I get for you ladies?"

"Uh an apple cinnamon tea," Serenity told her.

"Peppermint tea please," Tea said.

"What about you love bird?" the waitress chuckled.

Carrie's face was a ripe tomato and she just groaned in defeat, "Chai tea, please," she mumbled.

Serenity and Tea peered at Carrie, "See, told you," they said in unison.

If Carrie was the kind of person who glared, she probably would have but instead she only pouted.

"Now onto other business," Tea said with a laugh.

Malik grunted as he tightened a bolt on his bike, next he fiddled with the chain. He was lying on his back and was wearing a simple white sleeveless shirt and a pair of old dark jeans. He was covered in dirt and grease and he had just decided that his garage was not a garage; in fact it was a sauna, because the sun was out and heated up the room like green house. Malik grumbled to himself as he contemplated rolling his back outside, wondering if the temperature would change at all.

He wiped his sweaty brow, "this is ridiculous," he complained gruffly.

"Talking to yourself are we Malik?" a gruff voice suddenly asked.

Malik jumped and hit his head against a metal bar on his bike, "Shit! Damn't that hurt!" he hissed. He moved away from the motorcycle and sat up.

"Nice going Bakura, you've given him a concussion and you haven't even touched him," Yami drawled.

"What the hell are you two doing here?" Malik muttered.

"Great way to greet your guests Malik, I feel so loved," Bakura said and rolled his eyes.

"Hey Malik!" Yugi called and bounded into the garage. "What's up?" he asked, Ryou peered into the garage close behind him.

"Oh nothing, just fixing my bike before someone decided to scare the living crap out of me," he grumbled and held his aching head. He was pretty sure a bump had formed and he sent a death glare at Bakura.

Bakura shrugged, "You should've been on your guard," he said.

"For what?"

"Anything of course, I can strike at any time," Bakura threatened.

"Oh Ra, I'm so scared of the big bad thief, get over yourself, Bakura," Yami said and rolled his eyes.

Bakura snarled and looked as though he was about to lunge at Yami before Ryou stepped in between the two dark spirits. He patted Bakura on the head and frowned. "Be nice," he said.

"Touch me like that again and I'll bite you," Bakura growled.

"Very mature, thief," Yami grumbled. "I'm sure you'd like to bite him all over," he chuckled.

"What was that?" Bakura shouted though there was the slight hint of pink on his cheeks.

"Ahem," Malik cleared his throat, "mind telling me what you guys are doing here?" he asked again.

"We wanted to see how you were doing," Ryou stated glancing at Bakura and then back at Malik. "We haven't gotten much of a chance to talk since you moved here."

"Yeah, we thought we'd pay you a visit," Yugi added.

Malik looked a little surprised and a small smile spread on his face, "Uh thanks, I'm alright," he assured them.

"You sure?" Yami wondered, "You seem to be in a bad mood."

"I suppose I am, a little bit," he admitted.

"What did that blond girl dump you?" Bakura inquired.

Smack!

"O-ow! That fucking hurt! What the hell was that for?" Bakura snapped and glared at Yami.

"Hey don't look at me, you deserved it though," Yami said holding up his hands innocently.

Bakura looked past Yugi, because he knew the squirt couldn't have been the culprit and Malik was still over by his bike. He whirled around and stared at Ryou in utter shock.

"Ryou?" he gaped.

"And you thought all those years being controlled by you hadn't influenced me at all?" he wondered and shrugged.

Bakura rubbed the back of his head and glared at the floor. "Well at least we'll both be taking away a bruise from this stupid little meeting," he grumbled.

"Anyway back to Carrie, so how are things between you two?" Ryou asked and turned his attention back to Malik.

Despite the dirt and grease that decorated Malik's face there was the small hint of pink that touched his cheeks. "Alright," he muttered.

"Oh and what does that mean?" Yugi pried.

"Nothing," Malik said quickly and turned around pretending to be fiddling with his bike again.

"There's nothing going on?" Ryou wondered and strode over to Malik and peeked at his blushing face.

"Nothing, now drop it," Malik threatened.

"Aha, the first step is always denial," Yami murmured.

"The first step to what?" Malik snapped.

"To admitting you like someone, the second step is anger," Yami said.

"I do not like her!" he shouted.

"See?"

"I—I mean I do like her, she's my friend, but I don't like her in that way," Malik said quickly.

"And then there's acceptance," Yami confirmed.

"Acceptance? What the hell are you talking about? I didn't accept anything!" Malik spat.

"Back in stage two," Bakura piped in then.

"You two need to go find a nice tomb to bury yourselves in, I think the pollution and caffeine is getting to you," Malik growled.

Odeon came into the room then, "Malik, Carrie just called, I told her it was alright for her to come over," he announced.

Malik dropped the wrench he was holding onto foot, "OW! You what!?" he gasped.

"You said that if she called to go ahead and invite her over," he said.

"You should have called me, when is she coming?" he asked in a panic.

"Well she said that she would come right away," Odeon said slowly.

"Damn't! I need to take a shower," Malik said and scrambled over to the door that connected to the house.

"You look fine Malik, covered in sweat and grease, wearing a sleeveless shirt, anyone would be turned on," Bakura mentioned.

The room went silent.

"Having one of your Ryou fantasies again?" Yami finally asked.

"What? No!" Bakura said quickly, Ryou went scarlet and stared at Bakura questioningly. Bakura glanced at Ryou and a very small hint of red touched his cheeks again. He shoved his hands into his pocket and stormed out of the garage, Ryou was hot on his heels.

"Anyway..." Yugi began once the two had left.

"I'm going to go have a shower," Malik confirmed and trudged out of the garage and into the house.

When Malik finished his shower he entered the living room only to find that Odeon sat there with a book in his lap and Malik raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Where'd everyone go?" he wondered.

"They said that you and Carrie probably needed some time to talk. It sounds to me that something happened," Odeon said and stood up.

"Nothing, happened," Malik grumbled.

Odeon shrugged, "In any case, I'm meeting Ishizu down at the Domino Museum," Odeon told him. "So I hope everything goes well for you two," he said before exiting the room.

Odeon grabbed his jacket and turned the knob of the door when someone knocked. He pulled it open and chuckled, "Well speak of the devil."

"Hi, Odeon," Carrie said with a smile.

"Hello, I'm sorry I can't stay to chat," Odeon said quickly, "but I'm sure Malik will keep you company," he said and motioned behind him.

Malik stood in the hallway leaning against the wall and mustered a grin, "Hey," he said.

Odeon glanced at Carrie and then at Malik and sighed, he really hoped Malik could bring himself together and not say anything unnecessary. He nodded at Carrie again and rushed passed her to the car. Carrie watched Odeon leave before stepping into the house and closing the door behind her.

"Hi," she said shyly.

There was a silent moment, Malik shifted his stance nervously and stuck his hands into his pockets. Carrie began twirling a blond strand of hair and bit her lip.

"Uh..." they said at the same time, blushed and looked away.

"Carrie—I," He began.

"What happened?" She asked.

"Huh?" he wondered.

"To your head...I barely noticed because of you bangs but you have a purple bump there, what happened?" she asked again.

"Oh," Malik touched his forehead gingerly, "this is courtesy of our neighbourhood 5, 000 year old thief," he grumbled.

"Who?" she inquired and giggled.

"Bakura," Malik stated.

"Oh."

Carrie slowly reached up and brushed back his bangs, she grazed the bump softly, "You should put some ice on it," she suggested.

"It's fine," he said with a shrug.

"Oh don't be silly," she huffed gabbing his hand and pulled him into the kitchen.

She ushered him to sit at the table and then rummaged through the freezer before she located a blue ice pack. Carrie wrapped it in a clean dish cloth and sat beside Malik. "Here," she said and pressed the pack against his injury.

"Ah!" he gasped at the contact and the bump throbbed; he immediately placed his hand over her hand that held the pack against his head.

"Sorry," she said quickly.

She pulled her hand away and placed both hands in her lap.

"It's okay," Malik sighed, with his free hand he reached over and touched her wrist. He then held one of her hands in his and ran his thumb over her slender fingers.

Carrie stared down at his hand and couldn't bring her eyes to meet his.

You like him don't you?

Malik removed the ice pack and placed it on the table and leaned closer to her. "Listen Carrie, I was wondering if you would like to go to the park with me later," he said.

"Okay," she said and looked up at him. Her smile was bright and for a moment she regained her old self. That was until she realized how close he was, Malik was gazing down at her and staring up at him matched the vision she had that morning. His warm breath heated her cheeks and her hair stood on end. His eyes were simply stunning this close up and all words melted from her lips. As if in a trance her fingers reached up and touched his chin, almost as if beckoning to him. Malik moved closer still and his eyes half closed and Carrie noticed his lips part slightly. The sudden realization of what he was about to do hit her.

"A party!" she blurted out loud.

"What?" Malik mumbled breaking out of his trance.

"Seto Kaiba's having a party!" she confirmed and looked down at her lap.

"Oh..." Malik sighed and leaned back in the chair.

She looked up at him and noticed the disappointment in his eyes. "You've been invited too, and it'll be so much fun, it'll be great!" Carrie said quickly.

"I have?" he wondered curiously, however the disappointment never left his eyes.

"Yes of course," she said and managed a laugh.

"I'm not sure, they probably only invited me because they knew it would be too rude to leave me out," Malik muttered.

"No, that's not true," Carrie protested. "Promise you'll come?" she asked and gazed up at him hopefully.

Malik sighed and nodded, "Alright, alright I'll come, but now you have to promise me something," he said.

"What's that?" she wondered.

"Dance with me," he stated.

___

ACM: There you have it, whoop, and the romance! EEe! I wish I was Carrie, damn't Malik is just too smoking hot ain't he??