Atticus Rhodes x Reader (NaNoWriMo 2017)

Chapter 1

There you stood in front of the building that would become your home for the next four years. It wasn't grand but you thought that the architecture was beautiful. In all honesty, you were sure where your cousins were. All they told you was that you should meet them at the academy entrance. "Sheesh, your cousins sure are pushy."  Since you were small, you had the ability to see duel monster spirits. You snort in reply, "That's the least of my worries right now, Hiita." Another voice spoke after, "My goodness, Hiita. You are quite excited, aren't you?" Hiita replies, "Your sweet talking isn't going to work with me, Rayla." Rayla the Ice Crystal Archer is your spirit partner. Rayla adds, "Isn't your older cousin extremely overprotective of you?"  You groan, "Please don't remind me. It's been almost three years since I've seen Zane or Syrus. I doubt that they'll remember what I look like." You continued to wait patiently for the Truesdale brothers.

Meanwhile, a certain Obelisk duelist was sprinting towards the academy entrance. Zane sighs, "Syrus, calm down. She isn't going to kill us if we're a bit late." Syrus replies, "I hope not, big brother. It's been almost three years since we've actually seen Y/N." A cheerful voice spoke up from behind, "Hey guys!" Syrus jumped out of skin and into his older brother's arms. Zane exhales, "Syrus get off me." Syrus clears his throat, "S-Sorry." That cheerful voice belonged to Syrus' best friend, Jaden Yuki. Jaden's chocolate orbs were filled with curiosity, "Where are you guys going?" Syrus replied with a small smile, "We're meeting up with our cousin. She's going to be a student here now." Jaden was surprised, "She? Your cousin's a girl?" Zane crosses his arms, "Is there a problem with that?" Jaden shakes his head profusely, "N-No...I was just surprised." Syrus tugs his older brother's arm, "Let's go, Zane." Zane mutters a small "goodbye" to Jaden and follows his impatient brother to where you waited.

You lean against a wall and gaze up at the clear cerulean sky. Your H/C hair was tickled by the soft kiss of wind that blew in your direction. "Hey Y/N!" You hear someone call your name and see both of your cousins running toward you. Zane asked, "How are your parents?" You put your hands on your hips, "Blunt as always, Zane. My parents are fine by the way." Syrus began to apologize, "We're sorry we kept you waiting for so long." You wave him off, "I'm fine, Sy. I just got here an hour ago, I didn't wait for that long." Zane replies back, "Seems like you're still the same." Rayla said, "That's such a backhanded compliment. He's basically saying you haven't changed.... yet at the same time he is saying that you're incredibly childish."  Syrus grabs your hand, "Come on, let's walk to the girls' dorms."

You see several girls staring at you. You felt awkward but you were used to this. There was a blonde girl in an Obelisk Blue uniform who was waving to Zane and Syrus. Wynn the Wind Charmer appears and comments, "That girl must be their friend, Y/N."  Zane said, "Hey Alexis, what's up?" The girl -who you identified as Alexis- looked incredibly confused when she saw you. She asked, "So...who's the girl?" "It hasn't even been thirty seconds and I'm already starting to hate this girl." "Give her a chance, Hiita." Syrus responds with a shy smile, "Alexis, this is our cousin Y/N." Alexis holds out her hand, "Nice to meet you." You smile and return her handshake. Zane adds, "Well, we'll let you get settled in. I'm sure you're tired. See you tomorrow." You watch as they both leave your line of sight. Alexis cleared her throat slightly, "I'll show you where your dorm is." You follow the blonde Obelisk to the dorms.

Moments later, you collapse on the bed. You let out a groan and yawn loudly. Rayla remarks, "Instead of complaining, you should put your things away."  You state, "I'm not complaining, Rayla. I'm just tired. Besides, if I was complaining I'd be complaining about how overprotective Zane is."

*The following morning*

You let out a yawn and almost scream when Rayla comes into view. Rayla sighs, "I thought that you'd never wake up. You sleep like a log, Y/N."  You roll your eyes and reply sassily, "I was tired, okay? Sheesh, you sound like my mother." Wynn chimes in, "Come on Ray, you don't have to be strict with her all the time." You look at Rayla and say, "I know you're looking out for me. Don't worry, I'll be fine." You look at the time and yawn once more. You said, "I guess I'd better be getting dressed." You look at the uniform that laid on your chair. You shake your head and proceed with doing your hair. Something flew into your hair as you finished tying it. Rayla remarks, "Your hair looks cuter with that hairpin in it."  You chuckle, "You make me sound like one of those ancient spirits from five thousand years ago." You grab your bookbag and leave the dorm.

Alexis was thinking about the other day. When you had come to the academy, Alexis couldn't help but feel confused. Alexis notices that you are walking towards the academy. She decided to call out to you.

You hear someone calling your name from behind. You recognize her as Alexis, the girl you met the other day with Zane and Syrus. She said, "So you're Zane and Sy's cousin. I would never have known if they hadn't have pointed it out." You reply, "People mistake me for someone different all the time. I'm used to it." The response was unexpected and it also shocked Alexis. You sigh, "Sorry...I'm not used to socializing with so many people in one day." Alexis replies, "It's fine." Rayla remarks, "You should be more up front about your feelings you know."  You mutter, "I know, Ray. It's just hard for me to do so sometimes." You wanted to make friends but you felt hesitant about it. How were you going to survive?

Elsewhere, Zane continued to pace back and forth inside of his dorm room. He wanted to make sure that you were okay. Although, he also knew that he was being overprotective of you. Zane heard a knock on the door. He exhales and mutters, "It's not my problem anymore..." An upbeat brunette greeted the emotionless older Truesdale. The brunette remarks, "Why are you so down, bro? Did something bad happen?" Zane shakes his head, "It's nothing, Atticus. I was just helping my cousin get settled in." Before he could add more, Zane heard your voice. Zane mutters to his best friend, "Hold that thought..."

Many of the boys were giving you strange looks. Then again, you weren't exactly supposed to be at the Obelisk Blue boys' dorms. You were looking for Zane and you were wondering if you had made a mistake coming to the dormitories. You see Zane with another student. You didn't recognize him; however, you were strangely drawn to him. Zane let out a sharp breath, "Y/N why did you come here so suddenly?" You remark, "Zane, it's not like I didn't come here without a reason." The guy beside your cousin remarks, "I'm lost....do you know each other?" You reply, "Well yes.... we are related after all." Zane face palms, "Atticus, this is the cousin I was telling you about earlier." You roll your eyes, "You're making me sound like a villain." Zane asked, "Did you need something, Y/N?" You reply, "I just wanted to tell you to stop being so overprotective of me. I'm only two years younger than you. Besides, I'm pretty sure I forgot to give you something." You hold out a small paper bag. You added, "There's one for Syrus too." Zane peers inside and notices two new deck holsters. You reply quickly, "It was my parents' idea...they thought you both needed new ones since the ones you have now are pretty worn down." Zane smiles, "Thanks, Y/N." The brunette said, "Wow...you're a lot more sarcastic than what Zane described." You reply, "I'm going to take that as a compliment." Zane sighs, "Just ignore Atticus, Y/N. He's just...well I don't even know anymore." Atticus replies, "Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!?" You yawn, "I'm going to go, these guys are giving me weird looks." You add, "By the way Zane, Atticus ran away from you." Before Zane could respond to you, you had vanished.

Later on, you look at your deck with a sigh. You said in exasperation, "No one knows about this deck yet. Zane and Syrus have no idea either." Neva gave you a confused look and asked, "How did you even get our cards?" You exhale and reply, "Apparently, my parents found this card in one of their expeditions." It was Rayla's turn to become confused. You explain quietly, "My parents are famous historians. They went off to Egypt a few years ago and somehow found all of you in an abandoned shrine." You add with a sad smile, "It sucks that I can't see them a lot. However, I have you all to keep me company." You sigh once more and stare out at the pale moon kissed skies.

Part of yourself wondered about the past you left behind. That other part of yourself ignored it and looked toward a fresh start.

You didn't know what your "real" first day at Duel Academy would be like. You hoped that you could begin a new chapter of your life without any obstacles standing in your way.

A/N: Welcome to my new book! This is the start of NaNoWriMo for me. Fresh slate, let's go!

Word count: 1657 of 50,000