//------------------------------// // Lonely Hearts Find Each Other // Story: Yu-Gi-Oh! Friendship is Dueling Side-Story: Love is in The Air // by Bahamut0 //------------------------------// Shadow sighed as he woke up. Today was Valentine's Day. But to him? It was a reminder that he was still single. Almost all of the guys he was friends with had a special someone. Burst had Nightmare, Inferno had Rarity, Ace had Sonata, Gold had Sunset, Ice had Indigo Zap, Steel had Rainbow Dash, Veenus had Adagio, Fang had Aria, Nightfall had Twilight. Out of all of them, Shadow was the ONLY one who didn't have someone to love. Shadow got up and got dressed. "Might as well start to face the wave of couples fawning over each other." Shadow walked out of his room, and headed for the kitchen to get his breakfast. Shadow got himself a bowl of cereal, and frowned when he noticed the blissful smiles on Ace and Ice's faces. 'I can guess why they're so happy...', Shadow thought as he ate. Midnight had just woken up and walked over to Ace and Ice. "I take it you two have big plans for today?", Midnight asked with a smile. "You know it!", Ice and Ace replied in unison. "I'm meeting up with Indigo after school today!", Ice said with a grin. "I've got a card that I'm gonna give to her! I had her in mind when I picked it out at Discord's card shop!" "Same deal with me and Sonata.", Ace said with a fond smile. "I picked a card up for her too! Had it in mind just for her!" Shadow sighed as he heard his brothers spilling their plans for their girlfriends. Ace and Ice noticed Shadow's distress. "Oh man.", Ice began. "Bro...so sorry! We should've considered that..." Shadow put his hand up to Ice. "Ice. It's fine. I think I just need to get going...." Shadow finished eating, and grabbed his things as he headed out the door. "Come on out Dragluon!" Dragluon materialized out of his card, and waited for Shadow to get on him. "Come on. Let's go." As they flew towards CHS, Dragluon noticed Shadow's mood. "Shadow? Is there something wrong?", Dragluon asked. "Nothing." "Shadow. I'm your monster partner. I KNOW when something's up with you." Shadow sighed. "I'M SO ALONE!" Dragluon was shocked at the sudden outburst! "Out of all the guys I know, I'M the only one left that's single! Seriously! Can't I catch a break?!" Shadow took a moment to catch his breath, and Dragluon spoke. "Well, you never know. Today's the day when everyone's heart is swelling with love. Today, Shadow? Today just might be your lucky day!" "Yeah. Sure." They soon landed at CHS, and Shadow headed off for his class. 'Forever alone....', he thought with a sigh as he walked over to his locker. He should have been paying attention to where he was walking. "Oof!" Shadow had just bumped into someone! "Ow!...Sorry about that. Are you....." Shadow was speechless when he saw who he had literally bumped into. It was a girl. And a fairly cute one at that. "Alright?" The girl had purple hair with turquoise streaks running through it. She also had light purple skin, and her outfit consisted of a black skirt, a dark purple shirt, and a pair of turquoise boots. "Oh! Sorry about that!", The girl said with a kind smile. "Oh! My cards!" Shadow noticed the Duel Monsters cards scattered on the floor as well. "Oh man! Here! Let me help you with that...." Shadow began to help her pick up her cards. "Wow! You've got one copy of some of the legendary dragons!" "Oh. Thank you! I love dragons! Especially iconic ones like Blue-Eyes or Red-Eyes! There's just something about them that makes the game so exciting!" "Huh. I use a dragon deck too!", Shadow said with a smile. "Hey! Maybe we could duel later! I don't have anything better to do, so how about it?" "Sounds like fun! I'll be sure to bring my duel disk." "Great! Also, I didn't get your name earlier. Mind telling it to me?" "Of course not. It's Starlight. Starlight Glimmer.", Starlight said with a smile. "Cool! See you after school today!" Shadow went off to his locker with a smile on his face. 'Maybe today won't be as bad as I thought...', he thought. "Still hating today with a passion?", Dragluon joked. "Not completely. At least I have something to take my mind off things after school today. So that's a plus." "I told you things would look up!", Dragluon said with a smile. "Oh shush you. I still haven't met the girl of my dreams." "All it takes is time Shadow~!", Dragluon chimed as he returned to the monster world. The day passed on as normal, and lunch period soon arrived. Ace and Ice noticed Shadow's lifted mood, and decided to see what got him in a better mood. Especially since they saw his lousy mood that morning. "Hey Shadow. You sure seem a bit happier now.", Ace said with a smile. "Yeah. I kind of am. I ran into a girl on my way to my locker.", Shadow answered. "Ah! A bachelor no more!", Ice joked. "Welcome to the relationship lifestyle bro!" "Knock it off Ice! We're just dueling after school!" "I don't know Shadow. Great romances have small starts.", Burst said with a smile. "Take me and Moon for example." "Same deal for me and Rarity.", Inferno chimed in. "Look. Nothing's happened between me and her!" Shadow then lightly blushed. "Even if she was pretty cute..." "Well, don't keep her waiting dude.", Steel said with a nod. "It'd be rude of you." "Steel's got a point.", Gold said with a nod. "Dad always taught me to honor any engagement I have with a lady." "For the last time! Nothing's happened!", Shadow shouted. "C'mon Shadow! This could be your chance!", Veenus urged. "Yeah!", Fang cheered. "Just give it a chance! Love's in the air today!" "They're not wrong.", Night said with a smile. "Cyber Dragon even scanned the atmosphere. Love IS in the air." "Look. We're just dueling! It's not a date! I'm just having fun with a girl I met today." Shadow let out an exhausted sigh. "Just let me have this moment. Okay?" The guys nodded. "Thank you." Lunch period soon ended, and Shadow went about the rest of the day.