Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX or 'At The Sign Of The Sugared Plum'

Chapter 13

First Signs Of Heartbreak

Jaden's gasp was the only sound besides his beating heart, which felt like it was literally trying to escape his chest. He whispered his friend's name very softly while staring at the man who was Jesse, and yet at the same time was not Jesse. Jesse was cheerful and presented himself to the world with a smile. He had a positive outlook on life - or at least, the Jesse that Jaden knew did. But this man was different.

Jesse's face was very pale, except for the red spots on either cheek which Jaden assumed was due to a fever. He was sweating and had to lean against the window frame to keep himself standing. He appeared to be in some pain and seemed unwilling to open his eyes. When he eventually did, Jaden knew why - Jesse's beautiful green eyes were dull and clouded over with pain.

"Is that really you, Jess?" the brunette whispered, terrified.

A small nod was his answer. The two stood in silence for a few moments before Jesse smiled down at Jaden, looking almost frightening as his did.

"I've been visited, Jaden" he said, speaking with something that was close to excitement but at the same time was the opposite of that. "It has barely taken a hold on my body yet, and I already feel the pain of a thousand fires."

He slumped weakly against the window frame and closed his eyes. This only brought tears to the brunette's eyes and he fought to not let them fall.

"You've … been … I mean, you've contracted …" he stammered.

"Yeah" Jesse said quietly. "It's left me for a long time, if you think on it. It took most of the others already …"

"Most of them? Who? Jesse, who's dead?" Jaden cried, fear rising in him.

"All but one of the servants downstairs were taken sick - one's healthy for now." He paused and whimpered slightly as a pain shot through his body. He turned away from Jaden and let out a sharp cry of pain, taking a minute or two then to get control back before turning back to his friend. "Two are still alive but sick and the rest are dead. They will soon be all dead."

"What about your master and mistress?" Jaden panicked.

"Dead" Jesse said sadly. "Within an hour of each other. In their bedroom with the gigantic mirrors and tapestries that I would have loved to show you." He grit his teeth for a minute or two and then continued. "Blair looked after Lady Truesdale until the very end, she was that loyal."

"Blair's … she didn't catch the plague, too, did she?"

"She caught it last night and now can't move from her bed" the bluenette said, fighting to keep the tears in his eyes when they were threatening to fall. "And the girl in her care, Louisa, died only a few hours before Blair knew that she was sick."

By now, Jaden was crying openly. So many dead in a house. He hadn't been away so long, and yet people were dying so quickly. The master and mistress, Zane and Alexis Truesdale, gone. Many of the servants, gone. The eldest Truesdale child, gone. And Blair was sick and other servants were sick and Jesse was sick …

"Jesse, what of the baby?" the brunette whispered.

"She is well enough, but she's left in my care, and I don't know if she will have any resistance to the infection. But what can I do? The one healthy servant in the house won't come up to see to her - it's plague or starvation, I at least have to give her a chance to survive. I promised Alexis I would!"

"Calm down, Jess!" Jaden pleaded, seeing the hysteria threatening to envelop his friend.

Jesse then gasped and collapsed, disappearing from view, but Jaden could tell from the agonized moan that he hadn't passed out.

Jaden's heart was beating violently in his chest, and he placed his hand over that spot on his chest, trying to make sure his breaking heart didn't burst through the skin. Why did he have these feelings? Oh, yeah, that's right - his only love was dying right before his eyes and he couldn't do anything about it!

"Jesse … can you hear me?" he called.

"Yes" Jesse called. "Give me … a minute to get …" There was a sharp gasp. "God, it hurts …"

Jesse then reappeared, paler than before but clearly taken by fever. Jaden couldn't see any marks on his friend's body, and fearfully remembered what Jesse had told him weeks before - if a person had only buboes, they may survive, but if they had tokens, they had no chance. Jaden didn't want to know what Jesse was having to endure, but he knew that he couldn't go home that day without knowing if his friend had any chance of survival.

"Jesse, what is it that you have?" the brunette pleaded. "Do you have the tokens?"

There was an intense moment of terrifying silence, and then Jesse shook his head.

"No tokens."

Despite the pain the bluenette obviously felt, Jaden felt relief spread through his body. There was at least still a chance, then.

Ten minutes of silence - excluding the occasional sound of pain from the bluenette - passed before Jaden gathered up the courage to talk to his 'friend' about what was really in his heart. He couldn't watch Jesse dying and not tell him.

"Jess …"

"Hmm?"

"This isn't a good time but … I can't not find out, Jesse!" the brunette said, deliberately looking away. "Jess, what are we, exactly?"

"We established this" the bluenette said wearily. "We are what we are."

"But how do you feel, Jesse? About us, I mean."

"Jaden, didn't I already tell you?" Jesse said, his voice softening as he looked down at the crying brunette. "If I get out of here … we'll be together."

"There's no 'if' about it!" Jaden shouted. "Don't say that, don't even think it! You're going to get better and come out of that house, Jesse! You have to!"

"Jay, I'll try. You know I will." The bluenette paused and then sighed, deciding there was no point in delaying what he had wanted to say to the brunette for a long time. He might die and he didn't want to go without telling him. "Hey, Jaden?"

"Yeah?"

"You know how I feel about you."

It wasn't a question.

"Jess …" Jaden stammered, his heart beating furiously. Was he going to say it? "I hope I do know, Jesse. Because I'm sure you know how I feel about you."

"As long as we both know it, Jaden, then the feeling is there."

"Hang onto that feeling, Jess. Don't give up, right?"

"I know."

Jaden suddenly smiled.

"Just think how the people of London are going to react when they see two guys holding hands out in the streets. Man, are we going to get some stares!"

"Just wait until we show a bit more affection, and then you'll see them stare as if the Devil himself had just popped up" the bluenette grinned, before the pain wiped the smile away. "Jay, I'm so tired. I have to get some rest before the baby wakes up. I have to keep my strength up for her."

"I know. Get some rest, Jesse, please."

"Will you come tomorrow?"

"I promise."

Jaden then started walking away, but before the bluenette disappeared from view, he called the brunette's name.

"This is the best we can do just now, right?" Jesse smirked, and he blew a kiss to Jaden.

Jaden paused for a minute, mentally dancing, and then blew a kiss back to the bluenette.

"I'll be back tomorrow, Jesse. I won't let you down."

Please R&R