Yugi opened the door wide, and was surprised to see Joey there. As the boy collapsed, he knelt down beside him, attempting to pick him up. "Guys, come and help me," Yugi called. Within a second, Atem, Tristan, Tea, Ryou and Gramps were by Yugi's side.
Before he could say anything, Atem picked the blonde up, carrying him to the couch while the others looked on, with concern written on all of their faces. Ryou left the room and came back silently with a warm wet cloth. Gramps took the cloth and began to wash the boy's face. Softly Joey whimpered, before forcing his eyes open. Seeing his friends around him, he tried to sit up, just to have Yugi push him back.
"Dude, what happened?" Tristan asked. All the others started talking at once, not giving Joey time to put in a word.
Ryou, who until then was silent, whispered softly, "maybe we should give Joey a chance to talk." Instantly the room went quiet as the others waited for Joey to tell them what had happened.
"I-I got in a fight. I was outnumbered, so… I ran," he finished weakly. It was a horrible excuse and Joey knew it, but maybe they would believe him.
"You can tell us the truth," Atem said. The others turned to face Atem in shock. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "It's kind of obvious that he's lying."
The others turned back to Joey, as if waiting for him to deny or confirm what Joey said. Tea looked at him sadly before saying, "You know you can tell us anything. We're your friends, and that's what we are here for."
"I told you it was nothing, so lay of ok," Joey snapped. He was tired of their questions. If he let them keep this up, he was convinced that he would tell them everything. Yugi and Atem seemed to notice something was bothering Joey, but before they could say a word, Gramps spoke up.
"Why don't you young ones go on home. My grandsons and I will keep an eye on your friend."
The others looked at Joey, as if they wanted to say something, but instead, they turned to go. Finally, Yugi turned to face his best friend. "Do I need to call a doctor, or take you to the hospital?" he asked uncertainly. Joey quickly shook his head no. Without a word, Gramps left the room.
"What happened to you Joey?" Atem asked. "We can help if you'll let us."
Without thinking, Joey felt tears building up in his eyes. He blinked to brush them back, not wanting to tell his friends the real truth behind what had happened. He flipped over onto his side, to prevent them from seeing the tears that he could no longer hold back. He blinked, and tried to think of a way to think of what he could tell his friends. There was so much that he wanted to share with them, but how could he do it without making himself look weak. How do you explain to your friends that you had been lying to them for years because you didn't want them to think of you as weak? Sometimes, Joey felt as if living itself was too much. He could feel his friends concern as they watched him, waiting for the time to come when he could trust them. He realized it was time to tell them everything.
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