Kaiba sat in his car outside of Aria's apartment. He methodically tapped his fingers against the steering wheel. Here he thought he was so courageous charging off to see Aria, but when he arrived he realized one flaw in his plan; he didn't know which apartment was hers. Kaiba scowled at his predicament. Other than going and knocking on every door, Kaiba wasn't sure how he was supposed to find her.

Just when he was about to leave his car to do just that, Kaiba spied one of the geek squad walking up towards the apartment building carrying a bag of groceries. Wasn't his name Travis or something? Kaiba huffed. Whatever his name was, it looked like he was Kaiba's ticket in.

Stepping out, Kaiba approached Tristan just as he was heading up the steps. Tristan paused when he noticed Kaiba, but if he was shocked at seeing him there, he didn't show it.

"Can't say I'm surprised to see you here," Tristan said, shuffling the grocery bag in his arm. "Are you here to see Aria?"

"Well I'm definitely not here to visit you dweebs," Kaiba sneered.

Tristan shook his head, but a small smile played on his lips. "Some people never change. Well you might as well come on up then, but I can't promise anything."

Kaiba was slightly surprised that he was given entry so easily but he decided it was best not to question it and instead followed Tristan through the front door.

Kaiba shrunk back at the dinginess of the place. How could Aria live in such a dump? He made sure not to touch anything as he continued up a set of stairs. Tristan finally stopped in front of a door that didn't even have a number on it and let himself in.

"Hey Tristan, did you bring back somethin' to eat?"

Kaiba inwardly groaned. The last thing he needed was having to face the guard dog.

"Yeah, and that's not all I brought up," Tristan said, nodding his back at Kaiba who was still standing in the hallway.

"Eh?" Joey asked. When he walked over to the doorway, Joey's face suddenly darkened. "Oh, it's you."

Kaiba crossed his arms but didn't respond. It wasn't worth wasting breath on this loser.

Joey leaned against the frame of the door, blocking Kaiba entry into the apartment. "I was wondering when you were going to show up."

Kaiba narrowed his eyes. It was no secret as to why he was here, still he didn't like that his being there was knocking a few points off his ego. "Where's Aria?" Kaiba asked, a slight growl in his tone.

"She's not here."

"And I'm supposed to believe that?" Kaiba snapped.

"Believe what you want, rich boy, but she's not here. Not like she would want to see you anyway," Joey coolly responded.

His patience spent, Kaiba grabbed Joey by the lapels of his jacket and pushed him hard against the doorframe. "Then tell me where she is," Kaiba said through clenched teeth.

"Kaiba."

Kaiba let go of Joey, letting him slide back down to the floor and stepped back. He didn't like that he lost his cool with the mutt, but when it came to Aria it seemed he never acted himself. Regaining his composure, Kaiba looked over to see Yugi standing in the living room.

"Why don't you come in and sit down so we can talk?" Yugi asked, an authority in his tone that Kaiba usually only heard when he was dueling.

"Are you sure Yug?" Joey asked, eyeing Kaiba warily. "Even after everything he's done to Aria?"

Kaiba glowered at Joey but remained silent. Truth be told, the dog was right. Kaiba had treated Aria abhorrently, and if it were up to Kaiba, he wouldn't let him see her either. But as Kaiba was learning, love was irrational and hardly ever made sense. Which also explained why Kaiba always seemed to feel off-kilter with Aria, he was much more used to things that were logical and could be explained.

"I'm sure," Yugi replied, turning and walking towards the couch.

Kaiba shouldered past Joey as he followed Yugi deeper into the living room. Yugi sat down on one end of the sofa and motioned towards an armchair. Kaiba was too afraid of catching fleas so he remained standing.

Yugi sat, legs crossed and arms folded while staring at Kaiba with a smirk. Kaiba had the feeling that he was smiling at the situation. Kaiba did not appreciate the humor. He hated that he was back to asking Yugi for help. Hated that Wheeler got the satisfaction of seeing him groveling back to Aria. But in spite of all that, he would do it again in a heartbeat if it meant having Aria back in his life. But the geeks didn't need to know that.

"Cut the crap Yugi," Kaiba said, "Just tell me where I can find Aria and I'll be on my way."

"She isn't here," Yugi replied evenly.

Kaiba rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Yes, your guard dog already mentioned that. So how about you try telling me something I don't already know."

"And why should we?"Joey said as he joined Yugi on the couch, his foot propped up on one knee. "After all the things you said to Aria you don't deserve her. You wouldn't trust her so I see no reason why we should trust you."'

Kaiba grit his teeth together. He didn't owe anything to the geek squad but they were the only ones who knew about Aria's whereabouts. She could have left the country for all he knew. It looked like he was going to have to shave even more points off his ego.

"Look," Kaiba began, "I made a mistake, alright? So just tell me where Aria is so that I can tell her that."

"Well, well," Joey said with a smirk, "Rich boy actually admitted to being wrong. I could get used to this."

Kaiba ignored Joey and instead focused on Yugi. If anyone was going to tell him anything, it wasn't going to be Wheeler.

Yugi looked back at Kaiba with a knowing smile on his face. "I think you may have actually taken my advice to heart Kaiba. How does it feel to compromise?"

It felt like crap. Kaiba didn't think compromise in a relationship meant groveling to a bunch of dorks. But he guessed that was the point Yugi was trying to show him. Compromise required sacrifice.

"It's interesting," Kaiba blandly replied.

Joey was looking back and forth between Yugi and Kaiba trying to figure out what they were talking about.

Yugi chuckled. "I can't tell you where Aria is right now but I can tell you where she's going to be tomorrow night."

Kaiba raised a questioning eyebrow. "And where would that be?"

Joey laughed and leaned back into the couch with his hands behind his head. "Time to pull out your tux rich boy, it looks like your goin' dancin'."

+++

"Ugh, I think this one must have come from the 80's," Aria said as she put back another dress on the rack. It was their third thrift store, and so far nothing was coming up. "I don't know Téa, I'm having serious doubts that we are going to find anything wearable by tomorrow night."

"Don't worry," Téa said from the next aisle, "We have plenty of other stores to go to. Believe me, I got thrift shopping down to a science."

Aria laughed at her friend's comment and continued searching through the dress section. "This one might work," Aria said brightly. She held up a deep green satin cocktail dress with a halter top. She frowned however when she looked at the tag. "Oh, but I think it's going to be a little too small."

"Doesn't hurt to try it on," Téa said with a shrug. "It is really cute, it would go well with your dark hair."

"Alright, I'll head over to the dressing rooms and you keep looking."

Téa gave a silent salute and continued rummaging through the racks.

As Aria walked back towards the women's dressing room, she glanced out the front windows at the pedestrians and cars passing by. Her steps slowed when she saw a black sedan parked on the other side of the road. That looks like Riku's car.

Aria's heart sped up a beat. Had he finally found her? She couldn't see if anyone was inside because of the tinted windows. Clutching the dress, Aria forced herself to relax. Plenty of people could own that type of car, it didn't mean it was Riku's.

Aria made her legs move then continued on to the dressing room, trying to dislodge any fear that Riku might have caught on to her trail. She wasn't even sure if Riku was looking for her, there was still a small chance that he didn't know who stole the files. Whatever the case, Aria was just glad she wasn't around when he discovered they were gone, or when he had to tell Pegasus that they were missing.

Closing the curtain at the change room, Aria shimmied into the dress. It was as she thought, the dress was a tad small, sitting a little snugly around the chest. But it was really cute and she didn't think she was going to find anything better. And after seeing what looked like Riku's car, Aria felt too shaken up to want to keep shopping.

Heading back towards Téa, Aria thought about what would become of Riku when summer came to a close. Her stepfather didn't end up needing her to get the files. Pegasus had that already well in hand. But with the Industrial Illusions data stick gone, would Riku still carry out his threats? Did he even care what happened to her anymore? He now had Pegasus' wrath to deal with.

Maybe it didn't matter. Kaiba had said that he wasn't going to have her arrested, but that didn't mean he wouldn't also blacklist her from entering into the programming world. She wondered if Langley had given him Pegasus' plans yet. Would it change anything? Aria sighed in frustration at all the questions and unknowns that she didn't have the answers for. It was just one more reason why she needed to get out of Japan and start over in a completely new place.

As Téa came into view, Aria was once again reminded that she wouldn't have been able to get through all this without the aid of her friends. Going to the prom with them was the least she could do after all they had done for her.

"So, what's the verdict?" Téa asked.

"It's a little snug but I think it's the best option we got."

"Great!" said Téa enthusiastically. "Let's check out then how about we head over to a cafe for some lunch?"

As the girls purchased the dress and walked out the front doors, Aria looked back to where the black sedan had been parked but thankfully it was gone.

After placing their orders at a cafe around the corner, Aria and Téa took their drinks and grabbed a seat on the outdoor patio.

"So?" Téa asked. "Do you know where you're going to be flying off to yet?"

Aria grimaced. "It doesn't look like I'm flying off anywhere. It's just too expensive."

"Does that mean you're staying with us?" Téa asked hopefully.

Aria shook her head. "I plan on working for a year and hopefully that will be enough to get me started someplace else."

"Oh," Téa said dejectedly. "What about the computer program you applied for? Didn't you get accepted?"

"Yes."

Téa paused, waiting for Aria to continue. When she didn't say anything more, Téa looked at her in exasperation. "So? Doesn't that mean anything? You worked so hard to get into it, you're just going to let it go?"

Aria took a sip of her drink before responding. "I did work very hard for it," she conceded, "But without the scholarship I have no way to pay my way through."

"But surely you're a shoe-in for the scholarship, what with working for Kaiba Corp and all."

Aria winced at the name. "I'm afraid without the reference, my scholarship application falls flat."

Téa's shoulders slumped. "I'm so sorry Aria. I know how much this all meant to you."

Aria shrugged, trying to act nonchalant about it all. "It is what it is. I'm hoping to continue computer programming in America. You know, 'the land of opportunity' and all that."

"Well I'm glad we get to have you around a little longer, even if it is only for a year." Téa suddenly brightened. "And we get to end the summer with a bang at prom!"

Aria laughed. "Although it's not really my thing, it will be fun going with everyone."

Téa fingered the handle of her cup, not meeting Aria's eyes. "Do you think Kaiba will be there?"

Aria suddenly started coughing as she was mid-drink when Téa asked her question. Once she could breathe again she replied, "Knowing how Seto felt about high school, I highly doubt he would attend its prom."

Téa cocked her head to the side in amusement. "You still call him Seto?"

Aria blanched at her slip. "Just a bad habit," she mumbled, taking another sip of her coffee.

"I'm just sorry that you won't get to see him all dressed up," Téa said with a wink. "Or get to see you in a tight dress."

Aria rolled her eyes at her friend's teasing. "Trust me, Kaiba wouldn't be caught dead at the prom. Of that I can be absolutely certain."