Chapter two, and after, I will have character's thoughts in there and they will be in italics. Also, at the beginning of this chapter, we see a dream and it'll be in italics as well, since it is in the mind. I do not own The Host, or any characters from the book. I do own Ethan…in a not weird way.
Ethan was laughing, running through the park. His dad was following behind him, his mother staying behind with a smile plastered on her face. He laughed when his father wrapped his arms around him and pulled him up, twirling him around.
"Daddy!" He giggled furiously.
He kicked around, trying to free himself from the tickling that his father was lashing out. Suddenly, he found himself sitting on the swing set, reaching higher and higher with each swing. He laughed happily, feeling the breeze slide through his hair.
When he swung up again, he let go of the swing and closed his eyes. He smiled, spreading his arms out like an eagle as he faced up towards the sky. He felt like he was flying, and he was a bird. He giggled some more when he felt himself crash into a warm body.
He opened his eyes, smiling up at his dad. The sun shone in his father's face, and he felt his smile fade. His father had silver rings in his eyes. Ethan widened his eyes in horror, "Ah!"
"What's the matter, son?"
Ethan sobbed, trying to wiggle free, "Let me go! I want my real daddy!"
He fell to the ground and shot up, running away from the man who was once his father. He ignored his cries as he continued to sob, trying to jog as fast as his little legs would let him.
He felt two extremely warm hands grab his shoulders and gently shake him. He let out a scream, "No! Let me go! Let me go! Let me-"
"Ethan!"
The voice sounded familiar, but Ethan continued to shake his head, "Let me go!!!!" He kept screaming and crying.
"Will someone shut that kid up? God, where's the chloroform?" Kyle asked, walking into the room.
"I'm trying!" Jamie said, panic clear in his voice. He continued to gently shake Ethan, "Ethan…come on, buddy. Ethan!"
Ethan's eyes and mouth shot open. He gasped and then followed it with a loud scream. Kyle covered his ears, "Jesus Christ! What did we pick up, a friggin' banshee?!"
Jamie rolled his eyes, ignoring Kyle as he looked at Ethan, "Ethan! It's okay! It's me, Jamie. You're fine."
Ethan looked up at Jamie, horrorstruck, "You're one of them!"
Jamie shook his head, "No, I'm not. Look," he turned around and grabbed a flashlight. He turned it on and held it to his eyes, "See? No rings. I'm human, like you."
Tears formed in Ethan's eyes, building up until they flooded over and slid down his cheeks. He sniffled as he tried to hold in his sobs, "My daddy was one of them…"
Kyle shook his head, "Uh-uh. He's yours." He quickly walked away, wanting nothing to do with crying kids. Jamie shook his head, unable to think of what to do to help calm Ethan down.
Ethan continued to sob as he pulled his feet in and wrapped his arms around his legs. Jamie let out a soft sigh and moved to sit beside the upset boy. He pulled Ethan into his chest, holding him as he sobbed, "It's okay, buddy…everything's okay. You're safe."
Ethan sniffled, "You don't understand! My daddy was one of them…and he tried to get me!"
Jamie let out a soft sigh, pulling Ethan in a little closer, "I understand completely, Ethan. My dad became one of them…and led them right back to us. They got our mom, and Mel and I ran. I couldn't grab anything, we just ran. In a matter of moments, we went from having a family and a home to having nothing but each other."
Ethan looked up at him through his bloodshot eyes, "You're only trying to make me feel like I'm not alone."
Jamie laughed, "Actually, I really am telling you the truth. That's the one thing you can always predict about me-I'm not going to lie to you. Why don't you take a breather and calm yourself down and then we can go get something to eat, alright?"
Ethan shrugged away and shrunk into himself. Jamie groaned, "Ethan…you can't just sit here and wait for them to leave. In this place, you get it while you can, otherwise you won't get anything at all. I want you to be comfortable, but you can't stay here and avoid everyone forever, ask Wanda."
"But you're the only one I know."
Jamie nodded, "True, but you also know Wanda, Ian, Kyle, Jared, and Mel in a sense…you're familiar with them. If you're afraid of people being mean to you, then I suggest talking with Wanda, Ian, and Mel. Jared's never had much patience with anything and Kyle's, well...I can't really describe him with you in the room. Let's just leave it at that. So, take a few moments and I'll wait for you outside." Jamie smiled and ruffled the boy's hair before he got off of the bed and walked out of the room to give him some privacy.
A few minutes later, Ethan poked his head out, "You can go on without me."
Jamie laughed, "Haha, nuh-uh, little man. I'm not falling for that one."
Ethan pursed his lips and sighed, "I promise that I will go."
Jamie bit his lip, "Okay, I'll trust you. If you're not in there in ten minutes, I'm coming to get you. Just walk right down this…hall and make a left. Then, you'll see a big opening on the right-that's the kitchen, ok?"
Ethan nodded, "Got it."
Jamie smiled and placed his hand on Ethan's chin, wiping some of the old tears away, "Make sure you don't have any tears on your face, otherwise you'll be interrogated by a bunch of people."
Ethan raised an eyebrow, "What's that?"
Jamie snickered, "You'll get a lot of attention that you don't want. Remember, ten minutes," He held up all of his fingers and mouthed the word 'ten' before turning and heading to the kitchen. Ethan sat back down on his bed and exhaled again, thinking about his father.
Jamie was walking to the kitchen when he heard people talking loudly. He stopped, listening in,
"He's what?!" Sharon asked, bewildered.
Jamie could hear Melanie let out a sigh, "Tobias said that he's gay."
Jamie's eyes grew. Tobias was a seventeen year old from the group of rebels that Jared and the group had met on a raid. He was the only one who stayed behind because he had broken his ankle and couldn't maneuver too well.
"What is 'gay'?" Wanda asked quietly to Ian, but loud enough that Jamie could hear it. The teenager snickered, trying not to let himself burst into laughter.
"We can't let that pansy stay here, Jeb!" Maggie said, "He'll do us no good."
Jamie rolled his eyes. He had hung out with Tobias a lot when he had stayed with them, because he was closest to Jamie's age. Jamie thought that he was actually pretty cool.
"Now, hold up there, Maggie. We're not going to just throw the boy out!" Jeb said.
"If you don't, I will take your gun and shoot him myself."
Jamie clenched his fists and felt the anger rise inside of him. Tobias was his friend, and he needed to do something. He couldn't stay and listen to it anymore. He clenched his jaw and walked in, "If you shoot him, then you're going to have to shoot me, too."
Maggie raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms, looking at Jamie, as did the rest of the room, "And why is that?"
Jamie looked at everyone and noticed Tobias was sitting in the back corner. They had the nerve to say all of that with him right in the room? What the hell? "Because," He said blatantly, "Because…Tobias is my friend, and if you're going to shoot him, then you're going to have to shoot me, too."
Maggie blinked a few times, surprised, "Oh, really?"
"Yes, really," Jamie said with his newfound strength. He walked across the room and pulled Tobias up with his hand. He turned back to everyone, "Tobias has been nothing but kind to all of you since he got here. He hasn't brought trouble of any kind and you're all just itching for an excuse to bring up trouble, so you chose to pick on him because he's sly? So what? He likes boys, doesn't mean he's going to be hitting on any of us! You had no trouble with him until you found out…so one can't help but wonder if you'd have the same trouble with anyone else."
Melanie raised an eyebrow, "Jamie…what are you getting at?"
Jamie let out a sigh, unable to hold back anymore. He couldn't believe that he was about to do this, because it was a total lie, but he felt the need to do it. For Tobias, his friend, "Because I love Tobias. And if you have a problem with him, then you have a problem with me. So, if you do have a problem with that…then get out of my face because I'm hungry and I'm not too keen on the idea of eating while your beady eyes are all boring into me."
Sharon and Maggie walked out, but everyone else stayed where they were. Jamie turned to Tobias and checked him over to make sure he was still okay and not catatonic, "You okay?"
He nodded, "Y-yeah, I'm fine."
Jamie whispered to him, "Help me with the field today, ok?"
Tobias nodded and sat back down. Jamie sat down next to him and smiled when he saw Ethan walk in. He waved him over and looked at Tobias, "You're gonna be okay, man."
Tobias nodded as Ethan took a seat. Jamie ruffled the kid's hair again, "Tobias, this is Ethan. Ethan, this is my best friend, Tobias."
Ethan waved slightly, "This bread isn't that bad…"
Jamie smirked, "Trust me, after a while your opinion will change. Wanda said she's going to watch you while I work today, alright?"
Ethan shrugged as he chewed another piece of bread, "I don't need a babysitter."
Jamie smirked, knowing the feeling, but he knew that it was for the best, though. He ruffled Ethan's hair, "Yes, you do. You can get lost in these tunnels, Ethan, and you're afraid of the dark."
Ethan let out a sigh, "What does sly mean?"
Jamie's eyes grew. He didn't think that Ethan had heard it, and was surprised that he was so nobchalant about it, "It means…he's smart about stuff. He can sneak things, sort of." He didn't have the heart to tell him that the sly he meant was 'gay'.
Ethan raised an eyebrow and nodded, "Uh…huh. Interesting."
Jamie laughed, looking over at Tobias, who had a confused and panicked look on his face. Jamie straightened up in his seat, "Ethan, we're going to get to work, ok? Come on, Tobias."
The two teens stood up and walked out of the kitchen and out to the field. Jamie was unusually quiet, which Tobias took note of.
"Jamie…why are you being so quiet?"
Jamie stopped and let out a heavy sigh, closing his eyes as he tried to think. He didn't know why he had told everyone that he loved Tobias, because he wasn't really attracted to boys, but he just felt the urge to. He hoped that Tobias didn't like him in that way so that it wouldn't have hurt him. He bit his bottom lip as he spoke hesitantly, "Tobias…what I said in the kitchen…I…it wasn't completely true. If they want to shoot you, I will definitely stand in their way, always trust that. But…I don't…I'm not attracted to guys. I don't know why I told them that I was."
Tobias nodded and patted Jamie on the back, "It's cool, man. You were right-I'm not going to hit on anyone here. Nobody's clean-cut enough."
Jamie laughed, "Yeah, well maybe that's because we're all too busy working in the World of Dirt."
Tobias shrugged, "Maybe. Look, thanks for standing up for me, Jamie. Really, it means a lot to me."
Jamie straightened up at that and smiled proudly. He felt like the hold Jamie when he was around Tobias. Ever since Ethan came, he had to be responsible. Yes, Ethan had only really been there a day, but Jamie couldn't stand being that responsible all the time. He was pulled out of his stupor when a small clog of dirt hit him in the cheek. He gasped slightly and looked at Tobias, who was snickering while attempting to act innocent. Jamie smirked and kicked some dirt up at him, "You loser!"
Tobias' eyes grew, "Hey!" He laughed and kicked dirt back at Jamie. When the two teens were finished, they were covered from head to toe in dirt, and were still laughing hard.
~~~~~~~~*-*~~~~~~~~~
After they had finished their chores, Jamie and Tobias were sitting down, looking out at what they had done. Jamie smiled and looked at Tobias, "Why don't we go get cleaned up and maybe I'll look more like your type?"
Tobias laughed, "I need a bath…definitely. I'll go after you."
Jamie rolled his eyes, "We've bathed at the same time before when we were on a rushed schedule. I really don't care, it's not like we can see anything anyways."
Tobias stared at Jamie, "Okay, if you don't like me, then why do you want us to bathe together so bad, you weirdo?" He laughed.
Jamie shrugged, "Well, I think that they had some nerve to be talking about you like that while you're sitting in the back as if you don't even exist. I meant what I said when nothing's changed besides knowing about you now. I want to prove it to you and everyone else. You're probably my best friend here-aside from my sister, Wanda, and Jared."
Tobias shook his head, "Don't worry about it, Jamie. I'm fine, alright?"
Jamie exhaled sharply, "Dude, if I can sit in the room with an 11 year old boy bathing without it being awkward, I think I can handle bathing with a gay guy, who I've bathed with before, without it being awkward."
Jamie truly wanted to prove to Tobias that he honestly didn't care. He actually thought that it was cool, in a way. It made Tobias more special, what made him stand out from the rest. In case if nobody noticed, Jamie was attracted to that type of people. He instantly befriended Wanda, and he hated to say it like this, but she was a worm. So, he was perfectly fine to be friends with worms, but not with a guy who happened to want to kiss other guys? It wasn't going to work like that.
Okay, that is Chapter 2. I know it's a little strange, but I have a plan that I want to do with this. I think it shows how mature Jamie can be, but Jamie is my favorite character in The Host, so I needed to be able to have some outlet for him to be himself since he has to be mature with Ethan. So, instead of him always hanging with Wanda or Mel and having to worry about keeping everyone in character…I figured I'd make one up. In future chapters he'll be like himself around Tobias, so please let me know what you think and what you think Jamie and Tobias' relationship should be. Do you think there should be drama and a fight? A brother-like relationship? Basically, I want feedback, haha. So, please review? Thank you!
