Before I start the chapter, I would like to apologize to Yukiko Shiroryuu. I got him/her all worked up for the weekend when I planned on updating but I ended up not happening so I apologize. I hope you forgive me!
Anyway, here's the third chapter? I can't remember. That's kinda sad isn't it? Lol ENJOY!
The next morning Judai woke up screaming which surprised him. He thought he mastered the not-screaming-in-sleep-thing. But maybe it was because he had a different dream?
Yes, Yuki Judai had a different dream. It was only a tiny bit different but it was a step up for the boy.
Of course, it started off with his with Megumi's death but afterwards, Judai sat in a room filled with complete darkness.
Then, a narrow-looking hallway opened up with such bright light Judai had to squint. And at the end, he saw a shadow. A figure with spiky hair and stood in a confident stance.
"Judai-kun," the voice said.
And before the brunette could decipher who the voice belonged to, he was awake and kicking and screaming in his bed.
He expected his father to walk in but only then did he remember that he wasn't home.
Judai wiped his face and swallowed away the rest of his screams. But what confused him the most was that they weren't screams of fear. They were screams of frustration.
He wanted to know who that voice belonged to and why it sounded so familiar. Who could it be? Was someone that could protect Judai? Or was it tricking him?
He groaned again. Why was his brain so slow compared to everyone else?
He did his morning routine. He visited Megumi, brushed his teeth, showered and ate a little breakfast. Then he was off to school.
Judai was feeling just a little more happy today. Just a little. That voice in his dream felt like it was giving him a glowing feeling. Like it was protecting him.
Well, until this happened. (A/N: this scene is very unlikely to happen but also very painful and violent. So don't try this at home kids lol)
Judai was pedaling down a small hill until a shiny black Hybrid swerved into Judai's path.
Again, because of his slow brain, he didn't have fast reflexes. So before he hit the brakes, the wheel of his bike crashed into the car and flipped him over the hood and head first to the hard cement. (A/N: ouch. sorry, I tried to warn you.)
Takeru and his friends snickered and drove around the poor boy and continued off to school.
Luckily, Judai wore a helmet. So he wasn't in as much pain as he would've been in. It was just his shoulder and his wrist that was hurt.
Moved them both and found it wasn't broken. It would only leave a bruise if anything. So, he hopped back on his bike and continued down the hill.
LATER
Judai arrived to school a few minutes late. So he hurried to his locker and then rushed into homeroom. Well, it wasn't really homeroom anymore. It was first period. But first period was in his homeroom so, yeah.
When the door closed, all eyes turned on him which he didn't like. He felt like shriveling inside a rock.
"Judai, I'm glad you could make it," the teacher said with a smile.
The awkward silence grew so Judai hurried to his seat and slouched in his seat.
"Judai-kun."
The brunette gasped. It was the same voice in his dream. It couldn't be. No! Johan was a stalker! Kind of…
"Judai? You still there?"
"Huh?"
"What happened?"
"Oh um, I slept in," Judai answered. Wait, why am I explaining myself to him? He thought. And…why am I finding it hard to answer his concerned questions? Was he even concerned? And if so, why?
"Then, how'd you get a bloody lip?"
"Hm?" Judai put a finger to his mouth and saw there was blood. He must've gotten that when he fell off his bike. "Um, I have really chapped lips."
Johan narrowed his eyes but continued his work.
The teacher caught Judai up on what he missed and soon he had his head down on the desk with a half finished worksheet and thoughts running through his head trying to explain to him how possible it was Johan was the one who wanted to help him.
AT LUNCH
Judai sat at the same table, alone once again, and ate a small lunch. (A/N: so unlike Judai.)
He was about to take his first bite when a bluenette sat in front of him. Again, he got lost in his emerald green eyes. They were so beautiful, he almost forgot he was looking at Johan.
"Um, hi?"
"Is that really all you're gonna eat?" the European asked.
"Yeah, why?"
"All you have is small sandwich and water."
Judai gasped. "Oh my god! It's a sandwich and water!" he said sarcastically.
Johan ignored his ironic retort. Then he picked up an apple from his tray and handed it to Judai. "At least have a little more than that."
"If I take it will you leave me alone?"
"Yes."
The brunette rolled his eyes and took the apple. And just as he promised, Johan left and sat back at his original table.
"Nothing can get through to that boy," Jim stated.
"You already told me that," Johan replied nicely.
"He scares me sometimes," Asuka said. "I can't help but see him when he's older and turned suicidal." She shuddered.
"It'll probably happen anyway," Johan said with disappointment. "But I can't help but try."
Back with Judai, he had already finished the food he bought and was now chewing on Johan's apple. When he finished it, he put it down on his tray and saw a piece of paper stuck to the bottom of it.
He took it off and read what seemed to be an e-mail address and a phone number. Then underneath was a short message.
Just in case you wanna talk, it read.
Judai wanted to throw it out, but his fingers wouldn't cooperate. They ended up folding the paper into fourths and pushing it into his pocket. And instead of feeling frustrated from the weird movements of his fingers, he felt relieved instead.
At the end of the day, Judai was about to exit the school when Takeru and Takeru alone, stood in his way.
"Hey, Judai. Where were you this morning?" he laughed. "What happened? Oh yeah, I hit you with my car. Now it's coming back to me."
"Leave me alone," Judai whined. There was too much going on and Judai wanted to break down and cry right then. He wanted Hiroshi to hold him in his arms but he wasn't home. He couldn't take this anymore!
"Leave you alone? I think not." He shoved Judai into the lockers and he hit his bad shoulder. "It's just too much fun to mess around with you."
Judai took a deep breath. He didn't wanna be beat up again so he pushed Takeru with all his strength.
The bully fell to the floor. And before he could get up to go after the brunette, he was already on his bike and racing down the street.
Judai burst through the door to his house and he broke down into tears. He called both of his parents' names but neither of them came.
Hiroshi was at a meeting until dinner and Megumi was…somewhere unknown.
When his sobs calmed, the phone started to ring. It was his father. He took a deep breath and tried to keep his voice strong.
"Hello?"
"There's my boy!" Hiroshi boomed. "How was school today?"
"It was fine."
"Good. How are you doing with me gone?"
"Um, well it's a little awkward with all this silence but I'm alright," he tried to joke.
Hiroshi laughed. "Ok. Well, from what it looks like, I think I'm gonna have to pull an all-nighter. Will you be ok alone until tomorrow?"
More tears spilled down his face. He had to swallow the sob in his throat so he could speak. "Yeah, I'll be ok."
"Alright. I'm sorry Judai. I'll be home by dinner tomorrow."
"Ok. I love you, Dad."
"I love you too, son. Bye."
"Bye." He slammed the phone as quickly as possible and started crying again. He couldn't be alone for another twenty-four hours. He just couldn't! Look what all has happened so far! He couldn't do it. He just couldn't.
Judai felt the loneliness creep up on him and he suddenly felt his lungs stop working. He couldn't breath no matter how much oxygen he sucked in.
He found himself searching through the drawers and pulling out his inhaler which he hadn't used in over seven years.
His lungs still felt like they were ripping apart but at least he could breathe.
Ok, Judai, he thought. How are you gonna deal with this? Alone for another twenty-four hours? Ok, we'll find a solution. He thought for a moment and a very dangerous idea popped up.
He wasn't sure if it would help but he was desperate. He pulled out the piece of paper and dialed Johan's number.
"Hello?"
"Johan? Hi."
"Judai? Is it really you?"
"Yeah, it's me. Look, I'm sorry if this is-"
"No, it's fine. Is everything ok? Your voice is trembling."
"Um, actually, no. Can you come over? I just need someone here to talk to."
"Sure, where's your address?"
(Just make something up, I don't wanna give away any stranger's address lol)
"Ok, I'm on my way."
In the mean time, Judai sat on the couch and looked through his deck. He lost his ability to see monster spirit's a couple days after Megumi left.
The cards gave him a little more comfort but there was something missing.
DIIIIING DOOOOOONG!
Judai jumped off the couch and looked through the peep-hole. It was Johan. He opened the door and the bluenette walked in and shut the door behind him.
"Hey, Judai-kun."
"Hey," Judai breathed.
"Were you…" Johan rubbed his thumb on Judai's cheek. "Were you crying?"
The brunette wanted to make up a lie but why? He already gave in to calling the boy. Mind as well go all the way. "A little." He wiped his face and showed Johan to the family room.
They sat down on the couch.
"What happened?" Johan asked. "Start from the very beginning."
Judai gulped. He had never opened up to anyone before but he gave it a shot.
He told him the story about his nightmares and how scared he was when it actually happened.
"So, she died?"
"No!" Judai exclaimed. "She's not dead! Everyone says that but she's not! She's out there, I know it!" He felt himself crying again but he didn't care.
Johan decided to go along with it. "Of course she is. I'm sorry." He put his arm around Judai's shoulders and told him to stop crying.
Judai was surprised. No one every apologized for making that mistake nor did they admit they were wrong. "Y-you believe me?"
"Of course I do." Johan didn't like lying to the boy but it was too soon for him to tell the truth about Megumi.
Judai continued his story about how Takeru and his friends bullied him and about his father being away.
"Oh my god. You're gonna be home alone for another day?"
"I hope not. That's why I called you. You were the only one I knew and I can't stand to be alone again." He sighed. "And Johan?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm really sorry for being a jerk to you. You know, you're really not that bad."
The bluenette chuckled. "Why, thank you. And I was never angry with you."
The boy smiled. He thought opening up to someone was hard. And it was. But with Johan, it was different. He didn't try to argue. He just let him talk and never said anything except for words of encouragement so he could continue on.
Soon, it was eight o'clock, almost time for Judai to go to bed. But he didn't want Johan to leave his side. He was the only friend he had and he couldn't stand to be alone at night. Of course, he did it every night but Hiroshi was right across the hall and he came running whenever Judai was scared.
"Johan?"
The bluenette turned his head from the TV and looked at Judai.
"Um…would you be willing to…spend the night?"
He smiled. "Of course. Just let me call my mom." He searched his pocket. "Shoot, I left my phone at home. Can I use your house phone?"
"Yeah." Judai reached over and pulled out the cordless phone. "Here."
"Thanks." He dialed a number and put it to his ear. "Hey, Mom…yeah, I'm fine, I just called to ask you something…can I spend the night at Judai's house?…he's my friend…Ok…Thanks…Love you too…Bye."
He gave Judai a thumbs up.
"Yay!"
His excitement made Johan laugh.
"Ok, where do you wanna sleep? It's a pretty big house?"
"I dunno," was Johan's smart answer.
"Um, we can sleep in my room, my dad's room, here, the basement-"
"How about here?" Johan asked. "It's a pretty room."
Judai laughed. "Ok." He pressed a button on the side of the sofa and the bottom part pulled out to make a bed.
The bluenette's mouth dropped. "That's awesome."
"You don't have one of these?"
"Nuh-uh."
"Cool, then this can be your first time sleeping in one." He retrieved some pillows and blankets and brought them in.
About ten minutes later, the two of them were asleep. But even with Johan with him, Judai still had the same nightmare.
He sat up straight and panted. He tried to be quiet but still Johan shifted in his sleep.
"Ju-chan?"
He couldn't answer.
"Did you have the nightmare?"
Judai couldn't only whimper as tears built up in his eyes.
Johan wrapped his arms around him. "Ssh, everything's ok. Just go back to sleep."
The European's sweet smell put Judai to sleep again. And instead of watching Megumi's death, Judai dreamt of Johan leading him outside to a beautiful meadow. They lay down in the flowers and they watched scenes of happy moments of Judai and Megumi.
THE NEXT MORNING
The two woke up wrapped up in each other like they were since the last time they woke.
"Judai, c'mon, we've got to get ready for school."
Judai whined. "It's not Saturday yet?"
Johan laughed. "I wish. C'mon, get up."
Judai excused himself to see his mother. But instead of having a full conversation, he made it quick and then hurried back to Johan's side. He felt more safe than ever with him.
Soon, they were out the door and heading for school. And Takeru didn't bother trying to get near Judai because Johan walked in front of him and glared at everyone who dared to touch him.
Then they entered their homeroom and for the first time, Judai walked in with a small smile on his face which Johan found adorable. The bluenette would do anything to protect Yuki Judai. Anything.
YEP THAT'S IT! I HOPE YOU ENJOYED IT! I'M GONNA START THE NEXT CHAPTER RIGHT AWAY SO THE STORY IS STILL VERY MUCH ALIVE. REVIEW PLZ!
