Spirit Caller
Chapter Eleven
11
The dreams kept coming... And they only got more intense. Norika and Jaden stood watch over her as her breathing seemed to vary between slow and steady and hot and heavy. She had chills, and she burned up.
"I can't believe we found her just laying on the beach..." Norika sighed, "Thanks for carrying her Jaden...She's practically dead weight when she sleeps, I can't lift her come hell or hight water." she said, "You know, you're stronger than you look-"
But Jaden didn't seem to notice. His concern seemed focused on Connar whose struggle seemed to be completely internal.
"You know...we really should take her back to the infirmary." said Jadem "If her condition is this bad, she should never have left." he sighed,"Whatever is going on with Connar...this doesn't seem normal." he said, "Has something like this ever happened before?"
"Well..." Norika stammered with her words.
"Nori?" Jaden blinked, "...What do you know?"
Norika gave a heavy sigh.
"I...don't really know too much about it." she said, "But...I do remember some weird incidents happening with her nack at Duel Prep... but she seemed to have a better handle on it then." she stated.
"Really?" said Jaden, "Can you tell me anything that happened?"
"Well..." said Norika, "She used to have some weird episodes now nd again...so not many people really talked to her...only a select few. People she seemed to already know..." she explained, "But then she began dating this guy named Jesse. " she explained, "He seemed to really understand her on a level that even I couldn't comprehend...and the incidents died down..." she stated, "But...they broke up last Summer...and seems like ever since then...whatever was happening to her back then...is trying to come back with a veangance.
"Really?" said Jaden.
"It couldn't be depression...could it?" said Norika, "I mean, the two of them dated for about 3 Summers until they broke up..."
Jaden shook his head.
"No...I think what's going on with Connar is a bit more complicated than a simple heart break." he stated, "And it seems that Jesse guy she dated knew about it and was able to keep it at bay...however he's not here anymore...so it's all Connar's own will now...and that can be heavy." Jaden's eyes narrowed with a sense of familiarity. The look of eyes that knew loneliness...
"Not to mention these dreams..." he stated..."I'm thinkin' they might not actually be dreams..."
"Don't be rediculous...what else could they be?" Norika blinked. Connar's friends watched over her as she remained out of sorts, lost in her own thoughts and not saying much of anything about it to anyone.
XXXXX
"Man Connie's been way off, hasn't she?" Syrus asked, sighing as he watched her fumbling around in the passing days. She had been running into walls, spacing out in class and sleeping in weird places.
"Tell me about it..." Jaden sighed,"Honestly, I don't know what's been going on." he shifted his gaze to Norika who instantly felt put on the spot.
"Well, neither do I!" Norika huffed,"But I'd like to know..." She wasn't sure if the information she had shared with Jaden about Connar's past relationship was really helpful at all...
Jaden sighed and leaned back in his chair,"I've been hearing her screaming at night..."
"Me too." said Syrus,"Maybe she's having nightmares?"
"Maybe..." Though Jaden seemed to doubt this was the real reason.. He. couldn't help but feel like these dreams Connar has been having were far more than that...considering the things she'd say in her sleep.
"If I may chime in?" Bastion cleared his throat to demand the attention of the gossiping friends,"She has seemed a bit off ever since the field exam." he stated, "And more so after finding out that Chazz had lost to Jaden...could it be possible he is like her idol or something?"
"That guy!? No way!" Norika scoffed waving her doubts in Bastion's theory, "He's just some jerk she had to deal with in her family's line of work. He was a jerk then too, and a bigger one now!"
"Yeah! Who would like a jerk like Chazz?" Syrus laughed.
"...But then again, I have heard her call his name out a few times, so maybe..." said Jaden.
"Show's what you know!" a female voice broke between them,"Which isn't much of anything, I'm afraid."
"Oh, hey Alexis." said Jaden as the Obelisk girl joined their little pow-wow.
"What do you mean, Alexis?" Syrus asked seeming confused by her statement,"Are we missing something?"
"Well, for starters..." Alexis began," Unlike how Norika vaguely describes their relationship...Chazz and Connar aren't strangers to eachother." she said,"In fact if you want to get technical, Connar knew Chazz a little bit longer."
Norika huffed and pouted a slight.
"She's a little biased..."Alexis chuckled. "But they were in the same class in Duel Prep School."
"Wow, for real?" Jaden asked. This seemed to surprise him.
"Oh yeah, sometimes I forget she went to Duel Prep School." said Syrus, "Especially since Norika doesn't come off as the private school type."
"I got in on a Scolar Ship from doing well in DUel Tournaments~" she said quite smugly. She wasn't a bad duelist. She was a terrible test taker.
"Really, Sy?" Jaden blinked,"But I thought you and Connie were like child hood best friends or something?"
"Well...not exactly." said Syrus,"Connie and I were only really friends because my brother would babysit her once in a while." he said,"We never went to the same school or anything like that..."
"Pfff...Zane babysitting." Jaden snickered,"Man, I have got to hear about that sometime!"
"It's a treat~" Norika snickered.
"I went to school with them too." said Alexis,"To be honest, I don't really remember Connar having any friends." she blinked,"Aside from Norika, I mean. She wasn't mean or anything, she's always been pretty friendly but she kinda seems to keep people at arm's length." she sighed and sat down next to Jaden,"She and Chazz would be seen together a lot but I don't know if you would really consider them friends or anything." she said,"It was more like they had a kind of common ground with eachother...I remember they used to duel eachother too, from time to time."
"Really!?" Jaden beamed,"Who usually won!?" His brown eyes sparkled in excitement and it always took Alexis by surprise how excited Jaden would get over a duel. It made her giggle.
"Well, Chazz did, usually." said Norika,"But I think that's more because Connar seemed to be holding back a lot..."
"Really?" Jaden blinked and seemed to suddenly get serious,"Connar holding back huh? That's interesting...I wonder why..." He paused in thought for a moment as he recalled her duel with Norika. Norika had a power house monster, and Connar's were weaker and lower leveled, but she played smarter and with better defensive. Snf sd he thought...he came to realize that even as she was winning defensively. she DID still seem to be holding back.
I wonder why...?
He thought to himself.
But... I intend to find out!
he blinked once and gave a slight smirk.
"Uh oh...Jaden's getting that look again..." said Syrus.
"What look?" asked Norika.
"...That look he gets when he has a bad idea."
"Excuse me, guys." said Jaden as he pushed himself up from his seat, "But I'm gonna go ahead and check out."
"Oh no, Jay...where are you going?" asked Syrus.
"Nothing to worry about..." he said, "Later!" and he was gone before Syrus could even try to talk him out of it.
"Awe man..." Syrus sighed, "This can't be good."
XXXXX
Connar heaved a heavy sigh as she finally made it back to her room. She had placed her deck in its original position face down on her night stand. She treated it as a friend who she was trying to avoid all contact with, and sighed once again as she turned her back away from it.
*Knock Knock Knock*
"Nori...you live here!" said Connar, "You don't have to knock you know."
*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*
"Ahhhh! " She screamed as the sudden banging made her jump,"All right ...so you aren't Norika..." she blinked and called out, "Who is it!?"
But all she got was an even louder banging in response.
"All right, I'm coming!" she huffed,"Is there a reason you can't just answer me!?" She swung the door open in a huff to be greeted by a grinning brunette.
"Heya Connar! How's it hanging?" Jaden beamed and invited himself inside wandering around the room as though he were looking for something.
"Jaden?" she blinked,"What are you doing here?"
"It's come to my attention that something's been bothering you, Connie." Jaden said as he turned toward her with a smile.
"Ah...that is...that's." She blushed and tried to avoid his gaze. His personality was so inviting. It was a warm and fuzzy feeling that came all too familiar to her...and she felt like she could trust him. Maybe she really could tell him what was going on...
And perhaps he would't judge her.
After all...you didn't.
she thought to herself.
Right, Jesse?
But then she felt that wave of doubt wash over her once again.
But...what if I'm wrong...?
What if I do tell him everything...and he just thinks I'm weird?
Like when My father did...?
"Could you do me a favor, and quit corrupting my child's mind with nonsense? I've heard just about ebough of this hocus pocus..."
She shivered and shook her head franticly.
No, he was right!
It's 'Hocus Pocus'!
It's not real...it never was...
She could feel herself trembling and clenching her fists tightly, digging her nails deeply into her skin as she began to bite down on her lip. Suddenly, she felt a firm grip on her shoulders. It wasn't forceful, but rather, warm.
"It's okay, Connie, you don't have to tell me anything." Jaden said to her as he lowered his head down so that their eyes could be level on each other,"I have another way of figuring this out...without you having to say a word."
"Ah, really?" Connar blinked, she felt relieved that she didn't have to be forced to spill everything foing on her mind to him this moment.
He nodded gently and gave her a warm smile.
"Listen to me Connie...I want you to duel me." he stated,"Right now."
To Be Continued
