Chapter Thirty-Seven
37
"Can I ask why we are sneaking around the Obelisk Blue dorm, Jaden?" Connar huffed. She would have escaped him sooner, but Jaden had a tight hold on her hand.
"I thought I saw Blair come this way." He said quietly.
Connar blinked and raised a brow.
"So?" she blinked,"Chase him yourself!"
"I can't!" he said,"You're in good with Obelisks right? I figured you could help!"
"I'm in good with Zane...not all Obelisks." Connar sighed,"Did you forget I threatened one?"
"Yeah. what was up with that!?" Jaden asked,"Something's going on with you Connar and I wish you could just tell me what that is." he sighed.
"...Honestly, Jaden?" she sighed,"I wish I knew myself..."
"Hmmm..."Jaden blinked and let out another soft sigh,"Well...I'm here for you, ya know?"
Here for me, maybe...
She sighed.
But are you really? Would you even understand...?
She didn't know how to ask him. And suddenly the silence between them was broken with a light chuckle which led her to give him a look of confusion.
"Have you noticed?" he asked,"It's been a while since we were last alone together just the two of us."
"And?" she blinked,"Is there something wrong with it not being just the two of us?"
"Well...no." he laughed lightly," But I seem to recall last few times we were alone together you felt more open to share things with me." he smiled,"I'm just saying, so long as it's just us...you can tell me anything."
Connar let out a soft gasp as the realization hit her and she could feel his grip on her hand tighten a little more into a gentle squeeze.
"Uhh...Jaden." she blinked.
"Yeah Connie? What's up?"
"You dragged me here to follow Blair right?"
"Uh...well...yeah, kinda." he spoke awkwardly,"But also I thought getting into some good old fashioned Shinanigans might help you get your pep back...so..."
"Then you should have invited Norika." she stated, "I mean...risking detention?" she blinked,"That's how you want to get my pep back?" she let out an awkward chuckle,"You do know that if I get in trouble again I doubt my dad will be as easy on me as he was last time."
"You call that easy?" he laughed,"Man I'd hate to see what 'hard' is for you~!" he snickered and leaned in closer.
"Jaden, look!" she gasped and motioned Jaden to turn as she pointed into a tree.
"I knew it!" he stated,"It's Blair!"
"Is he sneaking into the Obelisk Blue Dorm?" she blinked.
"Looks like it." said Jaden,"And added in with that weird comment about Zane...something's definitely up!" he blinked,"Stay here!" he said to her, as he finally released her hand and began to climb up after Blair.
Curiouser...and Curiouser...
Connar blinked as she crept in close.
Wait a minute...this room...?
It's...!
Jaden slowly crept onto the Obelisk balcony and peeked inside the open door that he was certain Blair went into.
When he peeked inside he was met with a disturbing scene of the small Slifer student, snugging his face into what looked like Zane's deck.
"Ahh...oookaaay...this is getting weird." he shivered and gave a soft gasp as he noticed a group of Obelisks approaching the building not far from where Connar was hiding. And among them happened to be Zane Truesdale.
Jaden...!
Connar thought to herself.
This isn't looking good...hurry up!
"Uh Oh...it's Zane!" He gasped and ran inside the open room,"Listen Blair, I don't know what you're up to...but you gotta get outta here now!" Jaden claimed to the startled Blair,"Other wise you'll get booted out of this school for trespassing!"
"But...where'd you come from?"
The sound of muffled conversation resonated on the other side of the door and the two students didn't have time to chat.
"I'll explain Later!" he stated as he took the small statured student by the hand,"We need to leave now!" as he tugged away at full force the smaller student stumbled over his feet and the hat he wore flew off, releasing a mass of long dark hair.
"Huh!?" Jaden blinked and let out a gasp,"Wait-you're-!" But neither stayed to chat. The student called Blair Flanagan was actually a girl in disguise, and she leapt at the first chance she got, right back out the window she got in through.
"Outta here." He stated as he watched her run, and he too took to the balcony.
Connar gasped as she watched the scene play out, the small girl took a leap of fate to the tree she climbed and ran off as soon as her feet hit the ground.
I knew it!
Connar gasped.
I knew I had heard the name Blair before!
Jaden was now on the balcony preparing to run for it himself.
"Come on, Jaden, hurry!" she panicked but he didn't make it out in time.
"Hey you!" One of the Obelisk students caught sight of him and he had no way to run,"Take a wrong turn on your way to detention?"
"Hey Zane, check it out!" said another student,"Look who we caught hanging out in your room!"
"Oh no, Jaden!" Connar gasped and acted quickly, making her way inside.
"Huh...so it seems he wasn't just hanging out...but digging around your cards too!"
"Oh boy..."Jaden gulped,"Hey look, so listen...This is a misunderstanding." he stated,"See there was this guy-well...girl-and-"
"Girl!? Ha!" One of the Obelisks laughed,"What girl? I don't see one-"
"ME!" Connar declared as she made a dynamic entry startling Zane.
"Connar?" he blinked as he glanced between her and the scattered cards on the floor.
"He was..uh...he was here with me and...we were here on a dare." she stammered trying to come up with a valid excuse."Y-You know...truth or dare?" she gulped and Jaden was at a loss for words.
"W-well uh...as you can see things got a little bit...heated~" She stated,"I needed to go freshen up...sorry about knocking your deck over, Zane." She blushed profusely. This excuse was a wild one but she had come too far to stop it now.
"So there really was a girl." One of the students muttered," And a cute one at that..."
Zane shot a glare at the target while the other student shouted.
"Save it you Slifer Slackers!"
"You know, it's funny... I didn't think Slifer guys would be ones to have girlfriends." scoffed another,"But then...she's a Slifer too so I guess it's not surprising."
Zane only held his silence as he glanced upon Jaden and Connar, who quickly united with her brunette classmate and laced her fingers with his, hugging onto his arm.
"Ooh, yeah haha , he uh..." She coughed,"He really rocks my world, ha~"
Zane narrowed his eyes and gave Connar that look. And she really began to squirm under the pressure.
"Connie what are you doing-"
"Shh-shut up Jaden! Go with it!"
"Is that so?" the three students behind Zane muttered with doubt,"Prove it." they stated.
With a gasp, Connar nearly choked on her own breath.
"W-Wait, what?"
"You heard me...prove it!"
"Uh...y-yeah...uhm..." She gulped,"S-Sure..." feeling her heart beat pound against her chest she didn't know what to do in this situation. So she did the first thing that came to mind. She swallowed hard and turned toward the Slifer male, clapping her hands on each of his cheeks. His eyes widened as he didn't quite understand how she wanted him to follow, when suddenly, while cupping his face she quickly pushed herself forward and pressed her lips against his in a, what she hoped would be convincing, lip lock. Though with Jaden's stunned reaction, she wasn't sure how believable it seemed. Without much else to go on, he quickly grasped her hips and returned the gesture, sending the audience in a disturbed shock, where as Zane just shared a disturbed twitched.
Upon releasing their alleged lip lock they both glanced awkwardly at the discomforted crowd.
"And well...there you have it...haha" Jaden said as he pulled Connar in close to him to try and carry on the ruse,"So uh...we'll just be going now!" With that he gave her a gentle push toward the Balcony and attempted to follow after her.
"Hold it! You're not going anywhere!" One of the students huffed as they grasped the two by the collars of their uniform,"Except for 's office!"
"Noooo~ Anyone but him!" Jaden whimpered.
"Fine then we'll deal with you ourselves!"
" ! Heeelllp! !"
"Hands off!" Zane snapped, and the fellow students instantly obliged.
"What?" Jaden and Connar both questioned this sudden act of mercy.
"Do you two want me to change my mind?" he asked,"Or do you wanna leave!?"
"Leave!" they both stated.
"Yup leave is good!" Jaden laughed as he quickly grasped Connar's wrist and headed for the room door,"Thanks a ton guys, it's been fun but let's not do this again some time!"
XXXX
Connar and Jaden walked together in awkward silence before the brunette finally decided to break the ice.
"You know Connie...maybe a better warning before you just plant one on me!?" he stated,"Had I known I was gonna get kissed today, I would have taken a breath mint-"
"That...was a one time thing...never to be dicussed again..." she murmured.
"Connie-"
"NEVER AGAIN!" she huffed, and Jaden heaved a heavy sigh.
"So listen, about Blair-"
"You mean the fact that she's a girl?"
"How did you know!?"
"I saw her Jaden." she sighed," I saw her running off before I had to pull an escape plan out of my ass in order to save your ass!" she sighed,"A lot of good it did...Zane knew right from the getgo that I was lying through my teeth, even as I was planting a fake kiss in a panic!" she sighed,"...he just didn't say anything about it...but I'm sure I'll get a heated conversation over the phone later on."
"Well...atleast you helped us out of that jam..." he blushed,"...Thanks for that." he sighed and quickly coughed to clear his throat, "So...about Blair."
"...I kind of had a hunch." she said softly.
"And you didn't think to say anything!?"
"We had this conversation before!" Connar stated,"I can't just accuse someone of something without proof!" she sighed,"But after what I just saw I know I knew her from somewhere."
"Really? From where?" Jaden asked.
"Nevermind that." Connar sighed,"Let's just hurry back to the door."
"Yeah..." said Jaden,"Wait until I tell the guys about this!"
"Never...to be discussed...again."
XXXX
The light of the light house spun and Alexis Rhodes was on her way to meet Zane after a concerning message.
"Wow...a cold wet dock in the middle of the night." she stated sarcasticly,"You sure haven't forgotten how to show a girl a good time."
"Lex..." Zane said softly," I caught Jaden snooping around my room today."
"Jaden?" Alexis blinked,"Why would he be in your room?"
"I don't know..." he said softly,"But I found this."
He carefully took Alexis's hand in his and placed a small item in her palm.
"But..."Alexis blinked,"This is a girl's hair clip..."
"Funny you should say that." said Zane,"Because as it turns out Connar was there too." he blinked,"But I know this isn't hers."
"Huh!?" Alexis blinked,"Connar too? What was she doing?"
"...She claims she was there making out with Jaden due to game of Truth or Dare gone wrong."
"What!?" Alexis gasped and coughed choking up on her breath and a mix of sea breeze.
"Relax, Alexis, it was fake-out make-out." Zane explained,"She was lying about something..." he sighed, seeming somewhat relieved that Connar and Jaden weren't actually fornicating in his dorm room,"The question is..." he blinked, "What were they really trying to cover up?"
XXXXX
Before Jaden and Connar could reach their dorm, Blair had caught up with them and pulled them to the cliff side for a quick chat.
"Listen...the fact that I'm a girl, has to stay a secret!"
"Okay...but how come?" Jaden asked
"I'd like to know that too." Connar said softly.
But the small girl couldn't say anything more. Or rather, she just wouldn't.
Jaden sighed.
"Look, I don't wanna blow your cover, but if I'm gonna keep a secret, I think I should at least know why it is one."
"Got that right." Connar stated,"I Had to plant a hot wet one on this thing in order to distract those guys and I think I deserve to know what I'm covering for and why I'm covering!"
"Thing?" Jaden blinked and gave an awkward chuckle,"Aw come on, my breath wasn't that bad, was it?"
"That's not the issue!" Connar huffed,"The issue is I didn't want to kiss you in the first place!"
"okay, So why did you!?
"I panicked!" she huffed with a heated blush and Jaden and the small girl child joined eachother in subtle snickering.
"Come on, Connie no need to work yourself up, it was just a little kiss." he said patting her on the back,"Think of it this way, you gave your first kiss to someone you can trust, so now it's outta the way!"
"What?" she blinked,"You're not my first kiss!"
"Huh!?" Jaden blinked and gulped awkwardly,"Uh...I'm not?"
"No!' she stated,'Thank goodness...er-" she twitched and turned to Jaden waving her arms apologeticly,"N-No offense!"
"Uh...some taken! Ouch..." he sighed.
"Well anyway, You two don't need to know why!" Blair huffed,"Nobody does!"
Connar and Jaden stared at her in silently for a moment before exchanging glances with eachother.
"Fine...if you're not gonna tell me,"Jaden shrugged,"Then you at least have to duel me." he stated, both girls seemed exceptionally confused as he grabbed his duel disk and strapped it on," Get your game on!"
"A duel?" Blair blinked."How will that solve anything?"
"Because in a duel, the truth always comes out!" he gave Connar a quick glance and flashed Blair a grin.
"Fine!" she said,"But if I win, you keep quiet without me having to explain myself!"
"No worries about that." Jaden nodded,"This duel will tell me all I need to know."
Meanwhile from up above the rocks, Syrus, Chumley and Norika were creeping in and watching from the shadows. Though they couldn't quite make out the missing bits of conversation.
"Well...we found them." Chumley stated.
"But...what are they talking about down there?" asked Syrus.
"Dunno." said Chumley,"But it seems pretty serious."
"I knew this would happen!" Syrus sighed,"Jaden's found a new guy to pal around with..." he blinked and let out a soft gasp at it dawned on him that Connar was down there too,"Hey, wait!" Syrus exclaimed,"What if the new guy is in love with Connar!" he stated, and Jaden is in love with her too and now they're fighting over her!?"
"Uhh Sy-" Norika tried to get the bluenette's attention.
"Ahhhhh! I knew this would happen if I introduced Jaden to my friends! Especially my cute ones!" he huffed,"Now they're gonna start going steady and then they'll get married and it will just be so awkward-!"
Too late he's too far gone...
Norika chuckled to herself.
I better just let him roll with his wild stories and get it out of his system...
"...That's not it, Syrus." another male's voice broke into the pow wow causing Syrus and Chumley to turn and check out the situation.
"Zane!" Syrus gasped and the male continued the explanation of the situation.
"See...Blair isn't a guy." Zane stated,"She's really a girl. Obelisk Security Cameras showed her in our dorm earlier."
"But what they didn't show is why she's gone through all this trouble." stated Alexis who had arrived on the scene alongside Zane.
"Really?" Syrus blinked,"I wonder how Jaden plans to solve that mystery..."
"DUEL!"
"...I'll give you one guess." said Norika.
"...Yeah that sounds like Jaden." Syrus stated as he shifted his gaze back to the cliff side action.
Connar kept a distance back close to the rocky terrain as she watched closely, focusing on any details that may give her any explanations that Jaden was trying to find. And after Blair's opening move, All was made clear to Connar in an instant.
"Get ready!" said Blair as she drew her first card,"To fall in love" she beamed and placed her first monster on the mat,"I summon, Maiden in Love!"
Wait...
Connar blinked.
Maiden in love...?
she gave a sudden gasp as she went through the events she had witnessed through out the day that led to this point.
First Blair gave that compliment about Zane...
Then we find her sneaking into the Obelisk Blue dorm...
And it turns out the room she snuck into...and that I had to bust Jaden out of...was Zane's!
She gulped as she could feel the heat in her cheeks flush.
Awe man...now it makes sense...
"Very well done, ~!" a familiar spirit's voice echoed within her,"You're getting better at reading a situation!"
Kaibaman!
She gasped softly.
Yeah...I think I'm starting to understand how Jaden can do it so well...
She thought.
Now the question remains...what will Jaden do?
"I'm dueling for Love~" was Blair's declaration as she wound up taking control of another one of Jaden's monsters.
"Dueling for love?" Zane blinked, "Doesn't she mean dueling with love?"
"You mean, you haven't figured it out yet, Zane?" Alexis chuckled. Though he usually was awkward with that sort of thing.
It wasn't hard to see that Jaden was having a hard time keeping on his feet. The duel was a cringey one that even gave Connar the chills, and not in a good way. While the Slifers on the cliff tops enjoyed the show, each love and romance themed card played made Connar's theory more and more clear. And it didn't take long for the two Obelisk spectators watching from above to figure it out either. Well, Alexis anyway, who had to explain it to Zane.
Finally in the end, Jaden was able to make his final come back with the help of Burstinatrix and the fusion of a Jaden classic: Elemental Hero Flame Wingman. The remaining life points Blair had instantly dropped to zero and the peanut gallery quickly made their way to the main stage.
"Ah-Syrus! Chumley!" Connar beamed,"Er...Zane..." She gulped and Alexis shot a few daggers in the pinkette's direction and she gulped once again.
Uh Oh...Don't tell me Zane told her-
She let out a heavy sigh and face planted into her palm.
This is just not gonna be a good day for me...
She sighed.
"That's game!" Jaden beamed,"Thanks for the sweet duel, Blair! That was fun!"
"All right..." Blair sighed,"I guess I have to tell you my secret now..."
"Nah...I learned more than enough from our duel, Blair." Jaden chuckled,"And I think our spectators learned a few things as well." He motioned toward the approaching group of students, one among them being Zane which had been clarified was the reason Blair was doing what she did in the first place.
"Sure did~" Alexis snickered,"Love is on her mind Zane~"
"Zane...you're here...!" the small girl blushed and fidgeted shyly,"Then I guess I should let you know..." she said softly,"I'm the one that snuck into your dorm room...not Jaden." she blinked,"I've been in love with you, ever since I met you."
Zane nodded.
"At Nationals." he said softly.
So that's where I saw her!
Connar blinked.
She was at the Nationals of the last tournament my father spectated...
"That's right!" Blair giggled,"We met right after you won the Championship match! And since then I made a pledge...that I would do anything to be with you."
"Awww." Chumley and Syrus gave swooning sighs.
"It's so cute I almost wanna barf~" said Norika.
Meanwhile Connar tried the best she could to try and blend into the rocky terrain during the small girl's innocent confession.
Love...huh?
Connar blinked. She knew that feeling once...
At least...she thinks she did. She blinked as she replayed the kiss she stole from Jaden and blushed as that event triggered another memory...
I envy that she can say it so boldly like that...
So easily...
She sighed.
Meanwhile I can't even figure out my current emotions, let alone anything bold such as...'love'...
"I remember that you said if I trained hard enough I could get into Duel Academy! Like you! So I did!" she giggled,"And now that I'm here, we can get married!"
"Ha, get married! That's a good one!" Jaden laughed.
"But...I'm not joking..."
"Blair...sweetie..." Alexis said softly,"Love doesn't work like that...you can't sneak your way into somebody's heart."
"Yeah right!" Blair huffed,"You just want Zane all to yourself, so you're trying to get rid of me!" She pouted and puffed her cheeks putting Alexis into an awkward position.
"Uh, Zane...mind helping?" Alexis pleaded.
"Blair...as flattered as I am by your affections...I'm afraid I'm only in love with one thing right now, and that's dueling."
Alexis let out a sigh as she slipped over by Jaden and they exchaned an awkward but relieved smile.
"I'm really sorry." Zane said as he carefully placed the hair clip back into the small girl's hands,"But it's time for you to go home."
"Wait? Why does she have to go home?" Jaden stated,"She's a student here. And a good one!"
"Jaden...she has to go home."
"Oh, I get it, Zane." Jaden said,"You're pushing her out because she's a good student!"
"N-No wait, Jaden, you don't understand-" said Connar as she tried to find the right words to explain the situation.
"What's to understand!?" Jaden laughed,"Zane is afraid that she might de-throne him!"
Even Alexis couldn't hold in her laughter as Zane tried to explain himself to the naive red brunette.
"No..." he huffed,"She has to go home because she's in second grade!"
"Wait...what!?" Jaden blinked, and Connar burst into a fit of giggles.
"So...you're saying that I almost got beat...by an 8 year old!?"
"8 in a half!" Blair giggled,"If it makes you feel any better~"
Jaden collapsed to the ground in shock which only made Connar roll even harder. When morning came, they all gathered to the docks to put Blair on the next boat off the island, waving their farewells.
"Byyyye~!" The girl beamed waving happily,"I'll be back as soon as I finish both middle and grade school!" she giggled,"But I'll be back~!"
"HaHa, hear that Zane~?" Jaden teased.
"Oh please." Zane shrugged,"I'll be long gone by the time she gets here."
"Yeah, that's true." Jaden chuckled,"So I guess Blair's crush ends right here."
"I wouldn't be so sure~" Zane smirked and Jaden blinked with curious suspicion.
"Good bye Jaden~" chimed the girl,"My sweet Prince!~ I Looooove Yooouu~!"
"PFFFT HAHAHAHAHAHA~" Connar folded over her gut as she burst out into laughter.
"What!?" Jaden gasped,"I thought she liked Zane!?"
"She does like Zane~ But apparently she LOVES you!" Alexis giggled as well.
"Good luck." Zane shrugged and prepared to take his leave.
"And Connar~" Blair called out," I better not find out that you kissed my Jaden again! You got that!?"
"WHAT!?" Connar gasped and turned pale as a ghost as Alexis took her turn to roll in the laughter.
"Wait...what did she say!?" Norika huffed and and shot glares at Connar who knew she was in big trouble this time.
"Wait-hold on Nori...it's not what you think!" She let out a shriek when the taller female began to make chase
"You better start explaining, Connar!" Syrus huffed,"Best friends are off limits!"
"It was a fake out Make out!" She cried out as they chased her wildly around the dock,"A FAKE OUT MAKE OUT!"
"Zane explained the situation to me already..." Alexis chuckled as she watched the scene play out in front of her,"Still...this is pretty satisfying to watch!"
XXXXX
Finally having escaped the wrath of Syrus Truesdale and his partner, Norika Satsuna, Connar found herself back on the beach once again, catching her breath as she gazed out to the distance where the sky meets the sea.
I see...I was finally able to come back here after all...
She thought to herself.
"So tell me, Connar...was kissing Jaden as good as your last boyrfriend?"
"Oh shut up, Zane!" Connar huffed as the older Obelisk male student approached her on the shore with a teasing smirk,"It was a panicked attempt to escape a desperate situation!" she huffed,"It's not like either of us were trying to put any effort into it, we just wanted out!"
"You're a good friend, Connar." he said softly,"You did whatever you could think of to help out a friend in need..." he blinked,"That's admirable."
Connar blinked and hung her head in silence for a moment as she let that sink in. Somehow, it helped her feel a little better inside...
"Though...You could have done better."
And there it goes.
She huffed a sigh.
"Okay, we've clarified that I wasn't thinking straight and I haven't been myself lately, can we please drop it now?"
"There's a lot going on in your mind, isn't there Connar?" he asked gently, startling her into showing he was right on the money.
Zane blinked for a moment as he looked at her before gazing back out into the sea at her side.
"It's okay to open yourself up to people." he said softly,"I know you have a lot of pressure on you..."he blinked,"But if you continue keeping your guard up around the people who are trying to be your friends...all because of your fear of losing what you think you have..."he said as he turned toward her,"Then in the end you really might lose out on the real friends that you could have."
"But, Zane..." she said softly,"How do I know who I can trust?" she blinked,"How do I know if the friends I supposibly have, are really the friends I do have?" she blinked,"What if everything changes once they...know?"
What if everything breaks?
A flash image of cracked glass played behind her dazed over eyes and she gasped, startled back into reality.
I...can feel it...
She thought to herself.
Something inside...is...breaking...
"...I can't tell you how you will know which people to trust." Zane said softly, bring Connar back into reality,"Sometimes, trusting means taking a risk, it can be scary, and sometimes, it will end badly." he said,"But what I can tell you, is that the real friends who do mean well, will continue to see you in following days, the same way they saw you in the previous." he stated," The way they look at you will never change."he said softly,"But in order to find those people...you first need to look at yourself, and learn how you see you. The rest will fall into place from there."
A long silence hung between them as they stared out into the ocean.
"You know...I may not be able to grasp at my emotions and understand them as easily as Blair did..." she said softly as she blinked,"But I think I still learned something from her."
"Oh? And what's that?" Zane asked.
But Connar didn't respond any further, except with a gentle smile as she looked up at him while her pink hair feathered around her.
How to be more honest...with myself, so that I can be honest with everyone else.
To Be Continued