A/N: I've been really bored lately. No one's been able to talk to me since I've been out of school. Ah well. I hate isolation though. I'm very sociable. DX So for my friends reading this, please talk to me more if you have time. T.T Anyway, this chapter will have some fianceshipping (uh, obviously) but…yeah…that's it. Just a warning I guess. X(
Disclaimer: I do not own GX. I wish I did. If I did, then there would be a 5th, and a 6th, and a 7th season!! DX
Chapter 21:
"Well, this is it." Jaden said, looking down at the slip of paper in his hand and then at the tall building in front of them. "Now, we just have to get the guy at the front desk to give us the key…"
"We do have Chazz's signature," Alexis reminded him, "We'll be all right. It sure was nice of him to offer for us to be able to stay in his condo, though. I really hope he's all right." Her eyes dropped to the ground. As much as she tried not to worry, she found herself unable to help it. She wished with all her heart that they could be with Chazz.
Jaden patted her on the shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry, Lex. I'm sure he found a way out. You know how he is. He always squirms his way out of trouble."
"Not really," Alexis said, sighing, "He usually gets in more trouble trying to get out of trouble. Poor guy. We really shouldn't have abandoned him back there."
Jaden rubbed her back. "I'm sure he's fine. Now, come on."
She followed him up the front walk. They went through the revolving glass doors, and stepped into the cool, airy lobby. The floor was made of white marble with gray and black veins streaking through them. There were columns on each end of the lobby with gold gilding on the tops. In the center were several plush, plum colored sofas and a few mahogany coffee and end tables. Several small shops were to their left, and there was a deli in the corner. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee was thick in the air, along with the smell of cinnamon buns. On the right wall going down the hall and behind the information desk were reproductions of famous paintings, illuminated by accent lights that gave off a soft, warm yellow glow. Behind the highly polished information desk, there was an old, balding man, who was dressed in a highly distinguished business suit, placing a dish of water in a birdcage. Jaden gestured for Alexis to follow, and approached the desk.
"Excuse me, sir," He said politely, "But my friend and I have been invited to stay here by Chazz Princeton, in room 1201. Here, I have a paper with his signature on it."
The man looked down his nose at the two teens, but took the paper and looked over it for a moment. He reached into a file cabinet and compared the papers in the folder to the signature on the slip of paper. Much to their surprise, he went so far as to pull out a magnifying glass to study the two. Finally, he handed them the slip of paper back.
"There's nothing in our call logs about this," He murmured, going through the computer, "But that is Mr. Princeton's signature…"
Jaden and Alexis exchanged a glance, biting their lips. They were both worried that the signature might not be enough. Deep inside, Alexis had known that it wouldn't be enough. She didn't know what they would have to do if they didn't have a place to stay. Zane would be able to find out where Alexis and Jaden lived with ease. Going home was out of the question. But if they stayed at one of Chazz's many homes, perhaps he wouldn't be able to find them. Besides, this place was highly guarded. There was no way they'd let Zane, or anybody for that matter, in without confirmation prior to his visit.
The man scrolled down the computer screen, adjusting his glasses every now and then. Finally, he found what he was looking for and printed it out. He handed them a paper. "It looks as though your friend did come through for you after all," He told them as they inspected the paper authorizing them to stay, "He sent an e-mail from his cell phone. And since you have his signature as well, I suppose it would be all right for you to stay. Use this paper whenever you leave or come back. You need to show it to whoever's working at the front desk. Now, I need you to leave your names with me so I can put them in the log book."
Alexis broke out into a sweat. For a split second, she wondered if she should come up with an alias. But Jaden beat her to it.
"Yuki," He said, "Jaden and Alexis Yuki."
Alexis stared at him. He shot her a wide eyed, nervous glance as the man entered their names into the computer. She remained silent.
"All right, then." He turned from the computer and unlocked a glass case. Then, he pulled out two key cards and handed it to them. "Be careful not to lose these. These are your keys into your room. And here are two key cards for the elevator. Be sure to drop them off at the front desk each time you leave."
Jaden and Alexis nodded as they took the key cards from him. They thanked him respectively, then went down the lobby to the elevator.
"Well, Chazz's family spared no expense," Jaden mused, "They're on the top floor."
"Penthouse?" Alexis asked, shaking her head, "I'm sorry, but that's a waste of money."
"Hey, if it's what they want." He shrugged, punching in the numbers.
As the doors closed, Alexis shifted uncomfortably and glanced over at the boy standing next to her. Finally: "Yuki? Jaden and Alexis Yuki?" She looked at him skeptically, "Come on, Jay. We don't look like brother and sister at all. And we're far too young to be married. That's obvious."
"It was the first thing that came to my mind!" He protested, "Besides, we could be step-brother and step-sister. You know?"
She shrugged. "Whatever. I just think it probably was a mistake to do that. I mean, what if Chazz had sent our names?"
"Obviously he sent my name…" Jaden said, glancing down at the sheet, "He has your name too, but I guess that it didn't matter…"
Alexis groaned. "This is just crazy. I don't know how we were let in so easily. It was almost too easy. And he didn't even ask for any identification!"
"Hey, miracles happen I guess," Jaden said, grinning.
She simply brushed past him as the doors opened. He followed her to the door.
"Well, here it is…room 1201. And by the looks of it, it seems as though it takes up the entire floor!" Alexis commented. "Ugh. Such extravagance." Feeling slightly disgusted, she unlocked the door.
They stepped into the darkened room and shut the door, hearing it safely lock and deadbolt with relief. Jaden flipped on the switch by the door, lighting up the foyer. The floor was cool, glossy white tile. The walls were painted a darker shade of cream, with a few paintings hung on the walls. Off to the right, there was a small drop leaf table against the wall, with a tall, white vase of faux red roses. Above the table was a small mirror with an elaborate silver frame.
At the end of the foyer was the living room, which was also painted cream. The beige carpet was plush and thick, quite pleasant to walk on. Against the wall was a long, tan sectional sofa with a few plum colored accent pillows. There were two light brown leather chairs against the sliding glass window, which was framed by thick plum drapery. Against the opposite wall was a cherry entertainment center with a flat screen television, DVD player, and stereo. In front of it was a cherry coffee table. Two matching end tables went at one side of the sofa and next to the plum colored loveseat. There were contemporary prints and paintings hung on the walls.
Near the living room was the kitchen, which had a bar looking into the living room. There were a few barstools against the gray granite countertops. The kitchen itself spared no expense. It had polished cherry cabinets going around in a U shape, along with the island in the middle. Above the island hung a chandelier, which matched the one over the dining room table in the niche nearby. There was a black and white patterned backsplash against the range. All the appliances were stainless steel.
"Well," Jaden said, looking in the cabinets nosily, "Looks like we have everything we need."
"Except for food," Alexis said grimly, "Looking in the refrigerator, "We'll need to go grocery shopping. Though I really don't want to go out quite yet. I want to get settled and make a checklist of what we need. I'm really worried about leaving too."
"I'll go if you'd like while you stay here." Jaden offered.
Alexis shook her head. "That's really sweet, Jay, but I'd rather we stick together. I can't imagine what might happen to us if we split up. It's best we look out for each other, Ok?"
Jaden nodded. "All right. So what do we need so far? I mean, we do have Chazz's pin number. We can get some money at the bank, and then go shopping."
"We could go downstairs for some of the simpler items," Alexis sighed, "But we might as well just go to the grocery store for it all. At least we have that option if we need something…We won't have to leave all the time. And we could eat at the deli if we're too tired to fix anything to eat tonight. But as for things we need…Let's check the rest of the rooms before deciding that."
She led Jaden into the master bedroom. There was a king sized bed against the wall, with two night stands on either side. Across from the bed was a dresser with a mirror, and a television was perched atop the dresser. There was a chair in the corner, and a bookcase. On the other wall was a closet, and then next to the closet, then entrance into the spacious bathroom.
She checked the closets, and found there were bed linens, soap, shampoo, towels, and tissue. Looking through the cabinets underneath the bathroom vanity, she found a hairdryer, pain medication, bandages, and a first aid kit. Feeling satisfied, she straightened up.
"We're just going to need food, dish detergent, and clothes," She told him, "So I guess we should go ahead to the grocery store. Then, I guess we can try one of the small boutiques nearby. I just hope it's not too expensive."
"We're in the rich area of the city," Jaden sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed, "Of course everything's going to be expensive."
Sighing as well, she sat next to him and laid her head on his shoulder, looking sad. "Do you think we're going to be here a long time?"
Jaden put an arm around her shoulders comfortingly, "I don't know, Lex…I'm sure that something will work out and we'll get to go back to Duel Academy soon. It's not like we could really learn in that environment anyway."
Alexis laughed softly and slipped her arm around his waist, giving him a squeeze. "It's not like you were trying anyway…" Sighing again, her expression melted away into sorrow again. "I really need to know how Chazz is doing…I can't stand not knowing if he's dead or not."
Rubbing her shoulder, Jaden finally admitted, "I can't stand it either. I really wish we knew…but there's nothing we can do right now. I would go back if I knew it'd do any good. But I promised him I'd take care of you. I have a feeling that he wanted to take care of Zane himself…though it would've been best had he allowed us to help too."
Alexis shrugged. "Chazz likes to handle things on his own. He doesn't really like having help." Slowly, she rose to her feet, grabbing Jaden's hands and pulling him up as well. She looked up at him, into his chocolate eyes, then murmured, "You're getting taller."
He refused to respond to this comment, only led her out of the bedroom and down the foyer again. "We should be going."
She nodded, clutching his hand. "I'm uneasy…but I'll trust you…"
"I don't like going out right now either. But if we stock up on food, we won't have to leave for awhile." He told her. "And Zane doesn't know where we are right now. So it's best we go ahead and take care of it before he finds out."
Reluctantly, Alexis left the safety of the room. She found herself clutching Jaden's arm as they rode the elevator down. They didn't say a word to each other until they were out on the sidewalk.
"Do you know where to grocery store even is?" Alexis asked.
Jaden shrugged. "I haven't the slightest clue."
Alexis sighed. "I guess we need to do our clothes shopping first anyway. We don't want any perishable groceries to get too warm or anything."
"All right," Jaden agreed, following her down the sidewalk.
It was a rather pleasant day. The sun was shining warmly down on them as they walked towards a small shopping center. A gentle breeze blew the trees slightly, which kept the day from being uncomfortably warm. It was just perfect. Unfortunately, both of them had a rather heavy burden resting on their shoulders. They could not enjoy the peace because of the huge predicament they were in.
After withdrawing some money from an ATM at the bank, they went looking for a place to buy some clothes.
"How about this one?" Alexis asked, pointing to a small store.
Jaden shook his head. "It looks too expensive. Let's keep walking." He seemed uneasy. Grabbing Alexis' hand and lacing his fingers with hers, he hurriedly led her away.
Concerned, she asked, "What's wrong?"
He refused to respond, only kept walking and didn't look back. That was when Alexis knew something was wrong. She gripped Jaden's hand tightly as they slipped into the store. As they hid among the aisles, she realized she was trembling. Jaden pulled her close to him and peered around the shelving. She was so close, she could feel his heart pounding against her. His sudden discomfort bothered her greatly. She wished he could tell her what was wrong.
He stood still for a minute, then reluctantly released his grip on her. Grinning sheepishly down at her, he told her, "Sorry, I could've sworn we were being followed. Guess it was just my imagination."
She frowned. "Don't be so paranoid!" She reprimanded, "You had me scared to death!"
He blushed, embarrassed. "I'm really sorry, Lex. Can we just go on with what we need to do?"
Alexis just nodded. She was glad that Jaden was being cautious, however, she did not appreciate him scaring her like that. Trying to shake off her fear, she led him through a few aisles until she found the racks of clothes. They went about their business, but more quietly and discreetly than before.
Once they'd picked out a good enough sized wardrobe, consisting mostly of T-shirts, jeans, and sweatpants for comfort and for economic reasons, they checked out. They were given some strange looks for buying such a large amount of clothes; however, they were not questioned.
"Ok, Jaden," Alexis told him, putting the bags and packages in his arms, "We'll go pick up some food now. You carry those while I shop, Ok?"
He nodded, looking at her from behind the packages. She laughed softly at how loaded down he was and at the annoyed expression on his face. After a moment, he grinned as well and followed her down the street, towards the grocery store.
Once more, they received strange looks. This time, however, it was from how many bags Jaden was carrying. Alexis knew it looked suspicious, but they didn't have any other choice. She ignored the strangers and began putting things in a shopping cart.
"I don't think we have enough food," Jaden said, watching her.
"What do you mean?" She asked, blinking as she put a couple of cans of mixed vegetables in the cart.
"I eat a lot," He told her sheepishly. "I can't help it…"
Sighing heavily, she took several more cans off the shelf. "How long do you want the food supply to last?"
"A couple of weeks? I don't know. If we run out, I'll go out and get some more food, Ok?" He smiled at her, "Don't worry, Lex. I can handle myself."
"All right," She agreed, "We'll do that then. So, we have canned vegetables, crackers, soup, bottled water, juice, sliced bread, dried meat, rice, flour, butter, milk, eggs, and dish detergent. Is there anything else we need?"
"Snacks." He said, blinking.
She gave him a look. "Jaden, we can't waste our money on snacks. We need to be as frugal as possible with Chazz's money. We're NOT taking advantage of him."
Jaden gave her a puppy look. "Can't we have just a few snacks? Like some chips or cookies or something? Please?"
Sighing heavily, she finally agreed. "All right, Jay. You win. If it'll keep you from starving."
He smiled widely. "Thanks!"
As she turned the cart around to go down the snacks aisle, she thought she saw someone duck around the corner. Feeling uneasy, she cautiously moved forward. Jaden followed close behind her, oblivious to her discomfort. Seeing a shadow hovering at the end of the aisle, she suddenly stopped, causing Jaden to crash into her back. Turning around, she looked up at him in alarm. He gazed down at her, concerned. Silently, she beckoned for him to follow the other way around. Quickly, she took the cart to the checkout.
He turned to look at the magazines, but she grabbed him by the front of the shirt and leaned close to him. "Jaden," She hissed, "I'm sorry, but we have to get out of here. I don't think you were being paranoid when you saw someone following us. I think we're really in trouble…"
"It's Ok," Jaden assured her, "We'll get back in time. And don't worry about any extra food. We'll find a way to make do."
Alexis nodded, biting her lip. She turned to pay for their purchase. Then, she carefully took as many bags as she could in her arms. Seeing that there were quite a bit left, she turned to Jaden, giving him a helpless look. Sighing heavily, Jaden managed to gather the rest of the bags, along with the packages he was already carrying. Loaded down, they hurried out.
They struggled to keep hold of their bags while hurrying down the street. Since it wasn't too far away to the condominium, they took the sidewalk instead of riding a bus. It might take them longer to get back that way, especially if they had to wait. It really didn't seem to be like a good idea to be sitting idly by the bus stop, waiting in such a vulnerable state.
Alexis sighed in relief, seeing the building. However, her relief was short-lived. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a darkly clad figure watching them from the shadows. Catching her breath in her throat, she tried to ignore him and tried to tell herself that he was just another pedestrian and she was being paranoid. Another glance at him revealed something rather unsettling; there was a glint of silver from something beneath his jacket. Swallowing hard, she turned to Jaden and quickly whispered the situation.
"Should we go back to our building or go to another, so he won't know where we're living?" She asked softly.
Jaden's eyes flickered briefly over to the figure. He looked back down at Alexis, uncertainty written on his face. "If we go somewhere else…Well, what if we can't get back?"
Alexis nodded weakly. "Good point."
Without hesitating any more, Jaden led her back to their building. Only when they were in the elevator did she begin to relax. However, she did not feel entirely safe until they were locked securely in their room. Throwing the bags on the counter, she turned to Jaden. He looked down at her as he placed his bags on the counter as well. His chocolate eyes softened.
"Geez, Lex, calm down. You're shaking all over. It's all right."
She laughed nervously. "I'm fine," She assured him, brushing a strand of hair out of her face, "Just a little shaken, that's all." Crossing her arms over her chest, she averted her gaze.
Jaden hesitated, then slowly slipped his arms around her waist and held her. "It's Ok. We're not going to be hurt. No one can get to us here. No one can hurt us. Besides, even if they do get past security, they won't be able to get past me." Beaming, he poked her nose with his forefinger.
"Ok," She reluctantly pulled away, "I'm fine now…thanks. Look, why don't you go watch the news or something? Just to see if there's any information about Duel Academy. Unless they're covering it up. In the meantime, I'll make us a little dinner. Sound good?"
He nodded, "I'd like to help you, but I guess I'll see what they talk about first. Though I'm not very good at focusing on the news…"
She groaned. "Please try to just this once. It's important. I'm worried sick about Chazz."
"Ok. Will do." He ruffled her hair affectionately, then went into the living room and flopped on the couch, turning the television on.
Hearing the blare of the TV, Alexis began to feel a bit more comfortable. Things were going to be all right. They could go back to normal if they tried. Relaxing a great deal, she began to cook some rice and meat on the stove. A few minutes later, she heard the TV turn off, and Jaden stepped up to the bar, resting his arms on it and looking at her. Seeing his pale face, she quickly turned the stove down and stepped over.
"What's wrong?" She asked, a sick feeling hitting the pit of her stomach.
"Lex…" He swallowed hard, "Zane's lost it…if he's even the one doing all this. Somehow, I don't think he'd be capable of it. But…someone set up a bomb in the Ra dorm and…it's gone….And there was another one in the teacher conference room."
She stared at him, her hand covering her mouth. "Was there anyone in the dorm?"
He nodded weakly. "Most of the Ra students were in there. And there was a teacher conference going on at the time too…a lot of people died. They finally started evacuations. They finally stopped covering everything up."
"It's about time!" She gasped, "What's wrong with those people? Don't they know when to let their pride go?"
"Well, do remember that they've covered up plenty of scandals before…I don't know why they care about publicity more than the students…they could've prevented this." He rested his chin in his hands, looking downcast, "It sucks that so many people got hurt…I just hope Bastion is Ok."
"It's all right," Alexis told him, petting his hair, "But I don't understand why anyone would want to do this…Why would anyone want to direct an attack on both the teachers and the students? Usually, it's just directed towards the students."
Jaden shook his head. "You got me."
Sighing, she turned back to the stove and stirred the rice, then turned the meat. "Oh, Jay…things just seem to get worse and worse. I don't know if we'll even be able to go back. What if we can't leave? What if we're in danger for the rest of out lives?"
Jaden banged his fist on the bar, causing Alexis to jump. "Don't ever think that we can't get out of this mess!" He told her, frowning, his eyes filled with determination, "I'm not going to stand for this. Something has to be done. If Zane did it, then we're going to have to take him down. If he didn't do it, then I'm sure he knows something about it. Whatever the case is, I'm going to take care of this matter once and for all. I've stood back too long. Now it's time that I stepped up and did something about this."
Alexis gawked at him. "You can't seriously be thinking about taking whoever this is on all by yourself! Would you like me to help you?"
He shook his head, "You have other problems you need to take care of. It's so complicated it's going to take our all…a group effort to bring down the whole operation. Don't worry, I got this one."
"I can't let you do this!" She protested, "It's far too risky."
"Hey, if no one else can do it, don't you think I deserve a shot? What, do you think I can't do it? I don't have a deck of heroes for no reason, you know." He grinned wryly at her, holding up two fingers, "Don't worry, Lex. I'll protect you with my life. There's no way that anything is going to happen to anyone else, either. I'll give my life if I can just defeat whoever this culprit is…"
"Well," She murmured, half closing her eyes and sighing heavily, "I do have faith in you. You can duel. But can you hold your own if it comes down to weapons or hand-to-hand combat?"
"I can do more than enough," Jaden told her, frowning, "We can stay here for a few days to see if things get any better. After all, we have to find out if there is really someone following us. And we need to see if we can gather some information on Zane and what's been going on…"
"And on the Shadow Riders," She added, wagging a finger at him, "Don't rush into this."
"I'm not. That's why I'm taking a few days to learn about my enemy." He clenched his fists, "But, man, do I want to go there right now! I'd do anything to take care of this before anyone else got hurt. If my delay causes other people their lives, I don't know if I can forgive myself!"
"It's not your fault, then," She told him, placing a hand on his tense shoulder, "We're doing the best we can do. We're doing what's the smart thing to do. For now, just eat some dinner, all right? Then we can talk about saving our peers and Duel Academy's reputation."
Crossing his arms and looking oppositional, he scowled and thought for a moment. Finally, he sighed and nodded. "Well, I guess you can't fight evil on an empty stomach."
Smiling sadly, she held a plate out to him, "That's right. Now let's eat."
Later that evening, Alexis stepped out of the bathroom, having finished her shower, to find Jaden on the computer. Curious, she leaned over his shoulder to read. He was trying to look up information about the Shadow Riders, and was not having much luck. Glancing at the time, she gently tapped him on the shoulder.
"Jaden, I'm exhausted. Can that wait until tomorrow? It's late anyway. It's been a long day."
Looking up from his work, he yawned and nodded. "All right. I'll go take a shower and be right back."
"Thank you," She muttered, turning the computer off as he went into the bathroom.
Feeling as though she were about to pass out, she dropped down onto the bed, her face in the down pillow. She let her eyes droop shut for a few minutes. She lay still for awhile, listening to the shower, then rolled over on her back and laid her arm over her eyes, to block out the light. Hearing the shower turn off and the hairdryer blowing, she let herself start to drift off to sleep. It wasn't long, however, until Jaden came back into the room, redressed in a black T-shirt and gray sweatpants. Yawning, he flopped down next to her, jolting the mattress. She jumped a little, then looked tiredly over at him. His eyes were half shut, but glinted ever so slightly in the light. His dark hair spread across the pillow, almost like a girl's might. Laughing a little, she sat up and turned the light out.
"So you're sleeping with me tonight?" She asked him.
He nodded, snuggling against his pillow and closing his eyes. "Where else is there to sleep, really? Besides, I want to be here in case anything happens to you."
"Ok," She agreed, closing her eyes as she pulled the covers up over them, "I don't mind. Good night."
"Night," He murmured, then almost immediately fell asleep.
However, both were oblivious to the obvious danger outside. A figure stood below in an alley, talking on the phone. He smirked, his white teeth gleaming in the moonlight.
"I found him. I've found Jaden Yuki. We can move on to step two of our plan."
Hanging up, he snickered softly as he dashed off, disappearing into the shadows of the night. It wouldn't take much more to lure Jaden into his trap. Of this, he was sure.
A/N: Bleh. I hope that wasn't too boring. It was kinda short too...and ended really quickly because I ran out of inspiration. Next chapter will be better. But I had fun writing this one, so...that's all that matters. XDD
Next time: Jaden and Alexis decide whether or not to go back to Duel Academy as strange things begin to happen. A new alliance is formed, and a new corruption appears. Also, Zane has a little surprise for Chazz. And will it help him to understand what's wrong with Zane?