(Jim/Jesse) He was found in an ally, beaten, bruised, bleeding, and raped. Letters written over the span of two years takes them back to his days as a duelist. His fall from grace. But they show the truth in his scared heart. But will the one he loves be able to mend the broken heart?

The cold air bit hard against his cheeks as he marched through the snow, trudging up his own path where grass had been nearly four months ago. It was hard to focus with all the snow, but he had managed it many times before.

His last performance had gone so beautifully. They loved him on that slick, cold surface. He always pulled off crazy stunts and people applauded him. They cheered for him, but not by his given name. They only knew his stage name.

"JESS!"

With a jolt he stopped and hopped off the wall where snow had been piled up. He turned around. His aqua eyes were always glazed over and his blue hair was starting to flake with snow.

Coming closer was a young man, maybe twenty or so, who was a brunet. By natural hair, his was light on the top and dark on the bottom. He had bright yellow-hazel eyes and smooth, ivory skin.

"Jess, we were gonna grab a drink. Wanna come with?" he asked in a cheery voice.

"Not really." He smiled, but his eyes showed no sign of happiness. This wasn't his fault, really....

"C'mon, please?!"

"N-no!" Jess pushed his friend back. "Look, I don't wanna go, Bruce."

"Aw, but you promised! Then tomorrow?"

Bruce knew what tomorrow was. "Umm...."

"Jess, it's one drink. I don't wanna go drunk." Bruce smiled and too Jess' hand. "Think of it like a pre-birthday gift." He smiled and leaned forward to kiss Jess' cheek.

By reaction, like he'd done for several years, he ducked and scooted around Bruce. "No. Today's okay. Um, just not tomorrow, please. I'd like to be alone."

Bruce crossed his arms and made a fish-face. "You really need a boyfriend."

"B-BRUCE!"

Greg had nudged Bruce pretty hard in the gut. He pulled Bruce back. Greg was a lean wall of muscles. He had green hair with yellow spikes. He always wore a pair of orange headphones on his head like a headband.

"Bruce, you know that boyfriends are a touchy subject with Jess! You know he's not fond of his.... preference. So stop bringing it up! Besides, your girl will kill you if she finds out." Greg gave a sly smile before he bounded over to Jess. "Let's just get a drink and go home."

Jess was looking up and not really paying attention. "No, that's okay. I'll just go home." He smiled again.

Three hours later, Bruce's phone rang a shrill tone as he stumbled out of the shower. He looked and was curious why the police were calling him. He dried his face and hands before answering.

"Hello?"

"Are you Bruce McNally?"

"Uh, yeah." Bruce put the towel down. "Am I in trouble, officer?"

"No, no trouble, but would you be willing to give us an identification on a person?"

It was twenty minutes to the hospital and then another five to actually get to the room. When Bruce turned the corner in the hall, he saw Greg crouching near a door that was open. He was covering his face and he was as still as a statue carved of colorful marble.

"Greg?"

He didn't move, but a man in the blue uniform of the police stepped out. He gestured for Bruce to follow him. Leading him into the room, Bruce stopped dead.

Lying on the bed was Jess. Tubes pumping oxygen, IV fluids, blood, and medications were wired all around him. Nurses were writing up notes on clipboards, taking EKGs, and drawing blood. It was Jess, and Bruce could see it was because he recognized the cloths.

Jess always wore black tees in summer and white long-sleeves in winter. His jeans always had holes near the knees and were always missing the back, left pocket. It was his tradition to be odd. But what gave it away was the necklace that was pinned to his chest by his own sweat.

A gold chain with a silver pendant. The silver was twisted and morphed into an elegant dragon and crocodile.

Greg and Bruce wore ones exactly like it.

"Is this Jesse Anderson?"

Bruce couldn't hold himself together and he slumped against the wall, his eyes wide. "J-Jess...." His eyes began to water. "Y-yes, o-officer, that's.... th-that's Jesse."

"Please step outside."

It seemed like a nightmare. Jess wasn't breathing on his own. He had blood all over his cloths and a knife wound on his side, right below his ribs. His heart was weak and needed constant supervision. Jess wasn't dead, but he wasn't alive. Bruce stumbled and collapsed beside Greg and that was when he saw Greg shaking slightly. He couldn't blame him.

Jess had become know as a friendly man. He'd never talk of the past, but always speak of the things that made him enjoy life. But he never spoke of the time he spent in school. It was an unspoken rule that Jess was a loyal friend, no matter what. But nobody ever knew why he was so loyal, nor why he was so touchy about lovers. He never said he'd had one, nor did he say he wanted one. But all the same, Jess brought about a change that made people believe they were great. It was an amazing gift to make people believe they were great.

But Jess had befriended Bruce and Greg because they were the only ones that saw his crying eyes. They loved to joke about being his boyfriend, just to get him to laugh.

Jess was a good friend, but now, his life hung in the balance. Just one more drop in the bucket, it would seem.